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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 3 years ago

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Dead Man’s Cell Phone--Chapter 1

Summary: When Emma Swan starts getting phone calls and texts from an unfamiliar number, she decides to check it out–only to discover the number belongs to a Killian Jones, who was killed in a robbery gone wrong six months ago. With some help from a medium, Merlin Emrys, Emma hopes to find out why a dead guy is contacting her–and why she feels such a strong pull to someone she has never met before.

Rating: K+

Welcome to my entry for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer! A big thank you to @cssns, the ladies on the Discord! Thank you also to @eastwesthomeisbest, my artist and my beta @veryverynotgood!

Other Chapters: Prologue 2 3 4 Epilogue

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Six months later

Emma Swan pulled open the foil packaging of her Pop Tarts and smiled as she breathed in the sugary, fake blueberry scent. There was no question. Junk food was the only thing that got her through these long, seemingly endless stakeouts.

Emma had made quite a name for herself as one of the best private investigators and bail bonds persons out there. She had the unique ability to either blend into her surroundings--or stand out in the most distracting way, as happened when she pulled her honey traps--and she knew exactly how to use those abilities to her greatest advantage. When Mayor Regina Mills of Emma’s hometown of Storybrooke needed to determine who had been breaking into town hall and stealing town secrets, Emma was naturally who she called.

The job promised to pay well, but it was also turning out to be one of the most boring jobs she’d taken in ages. Tonight was the third stakeout in a row in front of town hall, and just like last night and the night before, she was coming up empty.

If she didn’t come up with anything new tonight, she might have to revise her strategy. Patience was paramount in this business, but there was only so much time she could spend hunched down in her yellow bug staring at the entrance of town hall before she went crazy.

Emma took a bite of her Pop Tart humming in appreciation as the taste hit her tongue. She was just about to take a second bite when it happened.

Her cell phone rang.

She frowned. Who would be calling her at this time of night? Fishing her phone out of the cup-holder where she’d stashed it, she glanced down at the number. Not only was it an unfamiliar number, it didn’t even appear to come from the US.

Clearly someone had the wrong number. Shrugging, Emma dropped the phone back into the cup holder and took her bite. As a rule, she avoided calls from numbers she didn’t recognize. Best way to avoid telemarketers.

A moment later, her phone buzzed again, and Emma looked down to see that the unknown number had left her a message.

That was weird.

Emma took a moment to look carefully at her target and the surrounding area to make sure there was nothing she was missing, and then curiosity got the better of her. Swiping through her phone, she saw she had one single forty-five second voicemail from “UNKNOWN NAME”.

She pressed play, bringing the phone up to her ear as she looked back at town hall. For a moment she couldn’t hear anything, but gradually she began to notice something.

It sounded like breathing, harsh quick breathing, like the person on the other end of the phone was in some kind of emotional distress or had just completed a difficult workout.

That wasn’t creepy at all.

Aside from the breathing there was some other sound that she couldn’t quite place--some sort of beeping.

Emma continued listening until the end, but there was nothing else to hear, only the breathing and the beeping.

Weird. Must be either some kind of a lame prank call or a butt dial.

A movement caught the corner of her eye, and Emma peered into the darkness. There, at the edge of the building stood a single figure. Finally! Got ‘em!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma Swan always got her man--or in this case, her woman--and the town hall job was no exception. She’d waited until the intruder had actually broken into town hall, and then she’d nabbed her, pulling off her mask to reveal Zelena Mills, Regina’s slightly unhinged half-sister.

She had no idea what kind of family drama had brought all of this on, but luckily that wasn’t her problem. She’d done her job and done it well. It was up to the mayor to sort out the rest.

After another successful case, Emma had let herself sleep in the next morning. She had a few cases she still needed to do research on, but there was nothing pressing, and Emma decided after three long nights of stake-outs, she’d earned the extra rest.

It wasn’t until she was back at her desk in the office and she’d turned on her computer that she remembered the weird phone call and voicemail from yesterday.

There was just something about that call, some weird feeling she couldn’t shake. Who was it that had called her and why? As the morning continued, Emma tried to push the curiosity to the side. After all, wrong numbers happened; why was this any different?

But by the time she broke for lunch, the questions swirling in her head would no longer be denied. One of the perks of being a private investigator was that she had all kinds of resources at her disposal. What would it hurt to use one of them to trace back the number and find out who’d called her?

Emma plugged the phone number into a program on her computer and found out that the number belonged to someone named Killian Jones, who was from England.

After a few minutes of Googling, Emma discovered something that sent a chill down her spine.

Six months ago, Killian Jones had been found beaten to death after an apparent robbery gone bad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Getting a creepy voicemail from a dead guy was weird, there was no denying that, but Emma lived in the real world. In the real world dead people did not make phone calls. Dead people did not leave eerie voicemails consisting of harsh breathing--dead people didn’t breathe at all. Ghost stories were fun and all around campfires or at Halloween, but that’s all they were. Stories.

And so there was one thing Emma knew for certain. There was a perfectly logical, rational explanation for the phone call she’d received. Maybe one of Killian Jones’s relatives inherited his phone and had neglected to change it to their name. Maybe the thief in the robbery gone wrong had stolen the phone and was using it. Maybe there was some other explanation.

What Emma knew for sure was that it was NOT Killian Jones calling her, whoever he’d been.

Despite reminding herself of this fact, Emma couldn’t stop thinking about her phone call from the dead man’s cell phone. Why did the phone call her? Why did it leave a message? Why did she feel this strong, inescapable connection to a man she was fairly certain she’d never met in her life?

But Emma hadn’t gotten where she was in life by indulging flights of fancy, and so she’d done what any rational person would do--she resolutely put the phone call and the resulting pull to the phone’s owner out of her mind and went back to her ordinary life, an ordinary life that did not involve messages from the dead.

It worked well for a week, but then it happened again--a second phone call from the same dead man’s number.

Emma’s heart pounded and her breathing picked up as she looked down at the phone. This was NOT happening! A part of her was curious what would happen if she answered the call, but the larger part was just so weirded out that she stood staring at the phone until it stopped ringing.

After a moment of silence, there came the voicemail beep.

With shaking fingers, Emma opened her voicemail box and clicked on the new message--only twenty seconds this time. It was the same as before: harsh breathing and some sort of distant beeping.

This time, though, there was a chilling addition. Just before the message ended, Emma heard a faint, other worldly voice speak two solitary words: Help me!

Notes:

--And so the cell phone has made contact. Things look pretty impossible right now, but don’t worry; there’s always a happy ending in my stories. Just how that can happen in this story, you’ll have to stick around to find out--but there’s actually a subtle clue in this chapter.

--Up next: When Emma starts getting texts as well as phone calls from Killian’s phone, she mentions it to her best friend and sister-in-law Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret convinces her to visit a medium, a man named Merlin Emrys.

Next Chapter-->

#cssns #captain swan supernatural summer #cs ghost story au #my fanfiction #dead man's cell phone

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brainwashingdetective · 4 years ago

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A3! Translation: Yuki Rurikawa SSR [MANKAI Encore] - Encore: Shiro, Part 2

Basically just The Great Sardine Search: Extended Edition.

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

For reference for the play portion of the story:

Yuki - Shiro

Kazunari - Kuro

Muku - Nora

Tenma - Mike

Misumi - Tama

Kumon - Chief

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

Izumi: And just like that, it’s the final show of the encore performance of our second play!

Muku: How do I put this… It’s like it just flew past us!

Tenma: Whenever eyes pile up on me, it’s hard to speak cat language....

Izumi: Ahaha, it’s the same as before.

Yuki: ——

Our adventure this time was really fun too!

Kazunari: I agree… It’s fun being with Shiro and the gang on this adventure!

Tenma: It’s not over yet, y’know?

Yuki: I knyow that! Everyone, get in a circle~!

Kazunari: Meow!

Muku: Mew.

Tenma: Meow.

Misumi: Meeeow!

Kumon: Mew!

Yuki: ——Nyatsugumi, fight on!

Summer Troupe: MEOW!

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

Izumi: (The story begins in a small town tucked away in a corner of the World of Cats.)

(One day, Nora comes back to town unexpectedly and tells Shiro and Kuro about his travels.)

Nora: “I heard that there’s a great treasure somewhere in this world that will weaken any cat who takes one bite of it,”

“And it’s called… ‘niboshi’.”

Shiro: “‘Nyiboshi’....”

Kuro: “It’s ‘niboshi’.”

Shiro: “‘Nyiboshi’.”

Kuro: “Shiro, try saying ‘na ni nu ne no’.”

Shiro: “Nya nyi nyu nye nyo.”

Nora: “He’s still bad with his N sounds.”

Kuro: “Never nab a nanny’s noodles” [1]

Shiro: “Nyever nyab a nyanny’s…”

Kuro: “Then how about this?! Nine nice nyaight nymphs…. Wait.” [2]

Nora: “Kuro can’t say it either!”

Izumi: (Yuki-kun’s and Kazunari-kun’s dialogue has a better tempo this time around.)

(Muku-kun’s acting has improved since he’s also played a lead role in a performance. Nora’s gotten manlier compared to the first time he played him.)

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

Tama: “Sounds nice. I wanna go outside too.”

Mike: “There’s no way we can go outside though.”

Tama: “Yeah, we don’t even know how to do stuff like transfer train lines.”

Mike: “I think there’s nyapps you can use for transferring trains, but I can’t use my smartphone very well because of my paw pads….”

Guest A: *snrk*…. Ahaha!

Guest B: Hehe, so the World of Cats has stuff like smartphones and trains!

Izumi: (Tenma-kun and Misumi-kun always had stability since the beginning, but it feels like the range of their acting has expanded.)

Shiro: “Mew don’t need a nyapp to leave! We’re gonna go look for ‘nyiboshi’ together!”

Mike: “But we have work to do at this mansion....”

???: “Mike, Tama, come over here.”

Mike: “Chief!”

Chief: “All you guys ever do is slack off, so I don’t have any particular problems with you guys going.”

Mike: “We don’t slack off! Don’t say weird human stuff like that!”

Chief: “So your job is to play with the broom like it’s a toy and take siestas on top of the laundry?”

Tama: “Er… That’s…”

Mike: “He’s not even denying it....”

Izumi: (Kumon-kun wasn’t here when we originally performed the play, so we had him play the senior cat.)

(It’s not the type of role he usually plays nor does he have a lot of scenes, but it’s good to have a presence.)

Tama: “Alright, I’m gonna go look for niboshi too!”

Mike: “Fur real, Tama?”

Tama: “Chief said it was okay, so you should come with us too!”

Mike: “Might as well...”

Chief: “Listen up, Mike and Tama. Be sure to listen to them properly and don’t slack off!”

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

Izumi: (After a long journey, the gang arrives at Fish Valley. However, Shiro manages to fall prey to a catnip trap….)

Tama: “Get a hold of yourself, Shiro!”

Shiro: “Get lost! This catnip is all mine!”

“Hissー!”

Tama: “Ouch—!”

Mike: “Hey, what’d you do to Tama?!”

Kuro: “If you don’t cut it out Shiro, I’ll get really angry.”

Shiro: “Shut up! You’re always acting like some big brother and it’s annoying! I don’t need you Kuro, I can do this all by myself!”

Kuro: “——”

Nora: “Kuro’s just worried about you, Shiro.”

Shiro: “You’re so pushy! I don’t need ny’all to help me!”

Kuro: “——Have it your way then!”

Izumi: (They try to make Shiro return to his senses but have no success, so they go their separate ways….)

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

Izumi: (Having come to his senses, Shiro reaches the bottom of Fish Valley all by himself and finally discovers the “niboshi”....)

(He then reunites with Kuro and the others.)

(Shiro was going to give Kuro his niboshi in order to make amends, but the two of them compromise as Kuro was thinking the same thing.)

Nora: “In the end, you two really are alike. It’s nice to eat something when everyone gets along.”

Tama: “That’s right!”

Mike: “Since you guys made up peacefully, we can divide this equally neow.”

Izumi: (The five of them happily share the niboshi, savoring its deliciousness with happy smiles on their faces….)

Kuro: “Well, we should go home soon.”

Shiro: “But I wanna eat more ‘niboshi’!”

Tama: “I wish there was niboshi that you could eat and it’d never run out!”

Mike: “There’s no way that exists.”

Nora: “No, it’s possible that the other valleys have it.”

Shiro: “‘Niboshi’... Infinite ‘niboshi’...”

Kuro: “It’s like you’re muttering an incantation...”

Shiro: “Alright, I’m gonna go look for the infinite ‘niboshi’!”

Tama: “I’ll go too!”

Mike: “I’ll go if Tama’s going!”

Shiro: “Kuro, you come too.”

Kuro: “Good grief, guess I don’t have a choice...”

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

Guest A: That was so funny~

Guest B: It was cute! I laughed a lot!

Izumi: (Alright, the guests’ reactions are good too!)

(Everyone has definitely improved since we first performed this play… They’ve become more resolute and enthralling in various ways.)

Yuki: Mew mew mew ♪

Muku: Meow meow ♪

Kumon: Mrrreow~! ♪

Guest B: Look, it’s a cat dance!

Guest C: Everybody’s smiles are so cute…!

Summer Troupe: Thank mew very much!

Izumi: (The final show’s a big success!)

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

Part 1 | Part 3

TL Notes:

[1] The original tongue twister is バナナの謎はまだ謎なのだぞ (the banana’s mystery is still a mystery).

[2] The original tongue twister is 生麦生米生卵 (raw wheat, raw rice, raw eggs). Kuro flubs it by saying “生麦生米にゃま卵”.

In an attempt to try not to sound too much like the localization as well as to make a certain portion flow better, I decided to keep “niboshi” instead of translating it as “sardine”. Niboshi actually refers to dried sardines. My apologies if this translation sounds awkward to read as a result.

It’s also worth noting that the World of Cats was originally referred to as にゃんげん世界 (Nyangen Sekai), with にゃんげん being a pun on “nya” and “人間/ningen”, the word for human. I just went with “World of Cats” since there’s no way to tackle the pun in English and “Cat People World” sounds weird in my opinion (lol).

This part was very long since it’s the entire play and I was also pretty self-conscious about the TL so translating took longer than it should have, and I must apologize for that. Fortunately, the next part isn’t quite as long.

#a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#a3! translation #yuki rurikawa #summer troupe #kazunari miyoshi #tenma sumeragi #muku sakisaka #misumi ikaruga #kumon hyodo #izumi tachibana #mae tl

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kdtheghostwriter · 5 years ago

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SNK 4-Pack

Just to avoid any confusion, yup, it’s just what it says on the tin. I’ve gathered my thoughts on four chapters here. A combination of IRL obligations, lifestyle and equipment changes all of which has been more or less rectified. For now lol. To those who reached in the past months, I appreciate the thought. Apologies for keeping you waiting. Accept this humble offering and enjoy the new chapter release.

123 - Turn Me Loose

We’re in a very distressing place both in-story and IRL. So here:

It’s Mikasa’s first taste of ice cream. Feel better? Cool. Now let’s talk about the end of the world, pls.

I’ll get the obvious out of the way first. Just what did you think The Usurper meant when he said [checks notes] “I’m going to put an end to this world?” This isn’t Sword Art Online. He wasn’t talking about a virtual world. It’s closer to the SpongeBob bit where Squidward runs into his place of work to exclaim that robots have taken over the world, before he clarifies “Our world!” Paradis was merely a blip on the radar before the Royal Family lost the Coordinate. It was fun at first to rattle their cage and watch them war with eachother. Now the war is about to leave the shores of the Island and no one is laughing.

I don’t have much to say about this development in particular because I predicted it nearly one year ago. No one wanted to hear it, but I said to any ear that listened: if Eren is going to play the Bad Guy, he needs to be the Bad Guy. You can go back and read it. I said Eren Jaeger will be the new villain of the story. Well, there’s a word we use for the person who wants to exterminate all life on Earth and it’s not Samaritan.

But for every villain, a foil must rise. Reiner is the easy choice here. Not the wrong one, but easy and predictable. Eren and Reiner have been intersecting since the 104th squad’s first expedition. When Eren could have hidden during Marley’s 11th hour raid of Paradis, he chose to confront Reiner and expose himself for the sake of a fight he knew he would not lose. This is why I don’t have Reiner in this role. Reiner’s role is what we all thought Eren’s was up until Chapter 120 or so. He is Lady Fate’s whipping boy. Beating him down again and again while calling him and dummy for trying to resist against his lot in life. If Reiner steps to Eren this time, it will be more than just humiliation awaiting him. Yes, it’s still Mikasa. I doubt Eren’s plan (whatever the full scope of it is) can even be stopped but if it can she is the one to do it. It can only help that she has the God of Destruction on her side.

Getting ahead of myself, though. We have the famous confrontation to speak on. You know the one.

I understand the sentiment by Eren here but he was never going to get an accurate answer. At least not immediately. The poor girl is shocked. She’s been interrogated time and again about her loyalty to Eren and what exactly it means. The one person who has never questioned her further is the man himself. One can imagine how long he’s sat on this inquiry. He knew what he had to do. No answer she gave would have diverted his path, but maybe he wanted one last thing to feel good about before he doomed the world.

Either way, the team runs in to interrupt them like some teen movie and they all proceed to get drunk with the family of the Middle Eastern boy they aided earlier. Ever since this type of story analysis was popularized online (and especially on YouTube) people have fallen into the habit of using the word “filler” without knowing what the word means.

Because we are consuming this series week by week and because Eren’s descent into arch-villainy has lasted well over a year at this point this current disaster really does feel like it would in real life. A long, brutal decline with only one outcome and no way to stop it. This chapter was a palette cleanser after months of endless despair. If you can remember there was indeed a time where everyone was friends and Eren wasn’t trying to KILL THE WORLD. This chapter was a reminder of that. The faintest light shines brightest in total darkness. That light is what Mikasa is doing her best to hold onto.

124 - All Falls Down

The most interesting part of this chapter, which is largely set-up, is Jean’s assessment of the situation from his perch on a rooftop. It’s muted and resolute. The usual emotion is missing entirely. The fire is gone as he accepts the world’s creeping fate. The story’s most morally consistent character is seen trying to work out the thought process behind ending the world. They’re our enemies. They were going to attack us eventually. We were sitting ducks. Maybe this was always going to happen. His last observation is less rhetorical. In order to protect his friends, Eren has sacrificed the entire world. This includes the Subjects of Ymir who all received Eren’s message from the last chapter.

No time to contemplate that horror with the fresh hell of Zeke’s titanized victims running wild in Shiganshina which sounds mighty familiar. There’s a poignant scene that follows of the 104th cutting down their fellow soldiers, many of whom helped train them. It shows how far they’ve come and the overall affect their adventures have had on them that they are able to destroy their comrades without hesitation.

Ah! But this is SnK after all. The horrors are often double stacked. The time has come to decide which titan Falco gets fed to. Before anyone can note what terrible timing this is with a horde of Titans destroying the village around them, Connie makes an executive decision to nab the unconscious boy and feed him to his stranded Titan mother in his hometown.

Of course, no one believed at the time that Connie would be able to go through with such and act especially on someone as sweet and naïve as Falco, but it really drives home the not-so-quiet desperation of these characters and how each of them reacts to it. Mikasa and Jean are both trying to keep a level head. Armin isn’t in hysterics by any means but is missing his usual confidence. Connie, having already lost his best friend and half his squad is the first to let the despair of the situation get to him. It’s the same reason Armin volunteers to go after him. No it won’t solve any of their macro problems but reconciling with young Gabi and feeling like a hero again can at least make you feel useful in the face of your best friend trampling the world underfoot.

The reveal of Annie at the very end of this chapter after more than half a decade gone is classic Isayama melodrama and it’s one of the reasons that, despite monthly leaks, Shingeki no Kyojin is still a worldwide best-selling phenomenon. I don’t have much else to say about it other than having her gasping for air like a fish out of water after being encased in a Disney Princess Prison was a nice choice. One would have to think that seeing Annie again would have some sort of affect on Eren even in his current Kaiju state. Eh, I’m getting ahead of myself though.

Stray Thoughts

- Jean continues to be my favorite character in the story. With Pixis gone and Hange out of action, he’s the easy choice as acting Commander. Leading his own squad and the neighboring soldiers into battle against the rampaging Titans is heroism that stands out even more after sitting through months of the Jaeger Brothers’ power play.

- Shadis returning to aid the cadets that beat him down at Floch’s behest is all you need to know about his character. He’s a gruff man and his stint as the Survey Corps Commander left him emotionally busted. However, he never once forgot why he started doing this in the first place. He can’t save the world but he can save these kids, dammit.

- All Titan hardening has been rendered inert by Founder Ymir throwing off her chains. This includes Reiner who reveals to Gabi that his Titan’s armor fell off as the walls came down. Nothing in SnK happens on accident so we’ll put a pin by this and see where it goes.

- Reiner explains to a distraught Gabi, who is looking for Falco, that Eren is extra unstoppable because with full control of the Founder he now has full control of all Eldians. One has to wonder if the Ackerman Loophole is still in effect.

- Gabi used the same gun that started The Rumbling to save Kaya from a 2m Titan. Alright, jokes aside, I can put on my critical hat and say that this callback to Sasha was a bit ham-fisted and you could have found a less visceral way for Gabi to realize the error of her ways. (Avatar: The Last Airbender will always hold the title for this trope.) All that can be true and I still like Gabi showing some agency here. Being insistent on finding Falco and helping him is pretty key development imo. He’s the main reason she’s still alive.

125 - The Next Step

Annie is me when I write exposition. I know you think it’s “boring” and “filler” or whatever but I don’t care! Shut up and learn something for once, eh?

Anyway.

Annie and Hitch have catching up to do. I was about to say they were former roommates but as noted above, Hitch spent four years watching over the captive soldier. Now that she’s free and the world is ending she sees no reason to hold on to her backstory any longer. Annie was adopted and the man who trained her was also the man who raised her. It wasn’t until she was about to set sail for Paradis that he showed any remorse for her indoctrination. Even still, Annie never forgot his words and has been trying to get back to him as soon as she can by any means she can.

Taking off my critic hat I have to wonder what her mindset was locking herself away in that crystal. Obviously if she hadn’t the outcome is almost certainly being devoured by Eren or someone else as they were but a few short months away from learning the truth behind Titan Succession. Still, there’s no guarantee that she ever escapes at all. I was half convinced that Isayama was working toward the biggest troll job in the history of fiction by ending the story with Annie still in captivity. He didn’t though, so we have the rest of the narrative to work out what that means.

Sorta like these two.

Eh, he’s not wrong but his frustration is misdirected here. Mikasa asked a very valid question about what to do about the World Killer that happens to be their (former?) best friend. Mikasa is the only one in the group asking this question because she’s the only one that no longer id’s Eren as the hero of Stohess. Connie is a minor distraction especially compared to the army of Colossals; Armin knows this too but Connie is a distraction from the creeping dread that Eren is now unstoppable.

And Mikasa’s face here…oof. That’s two of her soon-dead Titan Bros who have yelled at her today. Should it hurt more? Probably but she is so far past hurt feelings at this point. She’s a soldier and she has work to do. Asking for a directive isn’t something to get triggered by but Armin is at his breaking point here. The little things that add up to make your shit sandwich 12 feet high. And so we hope that his side quest brings him peace.

I love this character.

He never once falters in his moral fiber. The depression keeps him from recognizing this but he is indeed special in his own way. After all is said and done that’s really all that can be expected of us. Shadis, ever the mentor tells his kids not to be heroes. Really, this quote can be transplanted to our current political situation IRL. There’s a lot of things wrong with the current system and we’d all like to make it better but we still have work and school and various other obligations to deal with and those don’t go away because we want to “make a difference.” The time will come to make your voice heard. Be ready when it happens, not before.

I do like how Shadis basically accepts his fate as a sacrifice to Floch’s faction as his only other option with the other heads of military dead are going on the run like Solid Snake and he is not about that life. He would rather take the rest of his lumps and be done with it.

This Fucking Guy

This is peak Lord of the Flies shit. Society has dissolved and the chain of command has been broken so just do whatever, dude! Think about what Armin said before. History always repeats itself without the proper prevention. The best prevention, of course, being education. Floch is the best example of why eliminating one side does not truly extinguish conflict. Even at the start we see various Shiganshina residents rightfully blaming Eren for his role in the destruction caused by the walls coming down.

The only way to reach consensus is with terror. We got a mere preview when Zackley got TNT’d so many moons ago. Now we see Floch Forster doing his best Neegan impression, splattering a volunteer’s brains across the floor. I won’t repost it but that panel is probably up there with Ymir’s cannibalization for most visceral of the story. Brutal in its suddenness, it almost becomes a smash cut. After so much death and destruction this act of violence isn’t lost in the pages because of how much grislier the executions are rendered. The intimacy of a human ending another’s life without the aid of a fleshy mech. I digress, though. Floch must be stopped or the future of Paradis is sealed, Rumbling or not.

Stray Thoughts

- “I’ll tell Connie! That even as a Titan overturned on her back, his mom is fine as she is!” My goodness this story is dark.

- I have been mercifully absent from fandom developments, so I have no idea if people are still as turnt about the Gabi character as they were when I left. With that said, it’s fun to see some good logical development, just like every adult fan of this series predicted there would be.

- Again, is Kaya being saved by Gabi in a direct parallel to Sasha doing the same a bit on the nose? Quite so. It isn’t good or bad and, honestly, judging by some meta I’ve seen in the past I don’t blame any author for erring on the side of the obvious.

- Have I said this next one before? Who knows? Reviving Erwin on that rooftop instead of Armin wouldn’t have changed much besides short-term strategy. Once the Usurper started down the Dark Path even Commander Handsome would be powerless to stop him.

126 - Hold the Line

Levi and Hange are on the lamb in the Forest of Big Ass Trees and the set up for this detour is a solid string of pages with Hange building shelter, tending to Levi’s wounds and picking off the new Survey Corps members that have been sent by Floch to find them be cause War is Hell.

This opening stanza is good because it highlights one of my favorite aspects of this character: their resourcefulness. First impressions being what they are lead people to take a throwaway joke about Hange keeping a pet Titan and let it inform one-note headcanons of their entire character. It shouldn’t be said but I will anyway. Hange is a clinical genius with a sharp wit in compliment. Their best skill is problem solving which would explain partially why they work so well with Armin. However, their particular thought process makes the kind of executive planning required from a Commander extremely challenging. Hange is better at devising a plan then receiving the instructions necessary to carry it out, if that makes sense.

Isayama, per usual, doesn’t spend the whole chapter on backtracking. He could have maybe but we do still have a story to get through. Isayama is a good author to study for improving your exposition. He conveys so much information with so little real estate. I still struggle and I’ve been at this for years.

I digress, though. Now we have Theo Magath lifting his gun to a crippled Levi in order to cope with the fact that he is A) stranded and B) not even slightly in control of this hopeless situation. So he listens and it turns out all four of these folk want the same thing, which is Zeke’s head on a platter. A very popular menu item to be fair.

For the uninformed here I am a fan of good dark comedy. This panel right here had me howling. As predicted by [checks notes] everybody, Connie did not have the gumption to callously lead this innocent child to their death. In one last effort to preserve his own conscience he explains that his Titanized mother who has been stranded for four years needs to be cleaned. Like you do. Every little detail eight down to his face when he thinks Falco has him made is so well done.

Of course, Armin and Gabi show up just in time. Armin, still haunted by Levi’s choice to save him, makes a bet on Connie’s bond with his squad that he did not seem overly confident in being correct on. Can’t truly call yourself a 104th alum until you’ve accepted your own untimely death.

Skipping ahead a bit now. Floch is very busy being The Worst and if there hasn’t been a better collection of panels to illustrate the moral of the story. Yelena and Onyankapon have been lined up and are set to be publicly executed for their “crimes” against Eldia. The notable bit here for me is the way Isayama depicted the spectators. The have gnarled, twisted visages, some of them literally frothing at the mouth. You see, because extremist nationalism is bad and racism makes you ugly in every sense of the word.

Jean is tasked with gunning down Onyankapon but fires four rounds into the ground instead. This begins a series of Hashtag Machinations that will no doubt become clearer as the story unfolds. Jean and the two POWs escape in the Cart Titan’s mouth and the rest of the 104th leaves to collect Reiner and try to (somehow) stop Eren.

They had to try. Even at the cost of their own security it is difficult to agree with mass genocide. Having Annie on the team will be interesting as she and Eren were close. What’s left for me to wonder is how they plan to reach Eren, physically or otherwise, while he’s like…that. Every month more questions for each answer but after a decade you get used to it.

Stray Thoughts

- Pieck’s surname is Finger? Or is this some Hange headcanon?

- We know Isayama is a big GoT fan. Apologies if this take has appeared elsewhere but an Ackerman keeping their promise seems to be his version of a Lannister paying their debt.

- Years after his death, the spirit of Erwin lives on in these characters. For some, it inspires strength; for others, only guilt.

- I’ve gone back to the interaction between Mikasa and Louise several times to try and get between the lines. Mikasa asking for her scarf back seems self-explanatory since it’s hers but Eren telling the girl to “throw it away” intrigues me. Seems to me that of all the things he had to give up to walk this path that his relationship with Mikasa is what he mourned the most in that cell.

- Always a good time to see Jean being a clever boy.

- Hange/Pieck banter is not something I knew I needed until I read this chapter.

- Hange’s fierce protectiveness of Levi makes more sense when you realize that these two are the only ones left of their original squad. The veterans of the military have all been cleared out, some more violently than others.

- It’s all but stated outright that Ackermans are part Titan. Goes a long way to explain their freakish strength and athleticism and their durability. Evidenced by the fact that Levi was apparently further from death than Zeke after the latter blew them both up.

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bloomandcoffee · 5 years ago

Note

Is it possible that Dimitri and Edelgard could be foils in regards to their trust issues and the progression of their character in their respective routes? I remember there was a big post a while ago about Edelgards line in AM where she meets with Dimitri and ends up talking about how there is no way someone like Dimitri can understand the poor (a very out of left field line). Then it turns out that her actual japanese line translates to the following: (1/7)

“Someone who was fortunate enough like you to have those things, will never understand those of us who don’t have those things. ” I’ve seen people act like this entire line changes a lot about Edelgard and the scene in general, and while I agree that it makes more sense in context than the english line we got, I also dont think it puts Edelgard in a more favorable light. The problem is, Dimitri here is saying that he belives that even weak people are capable of supporting and (2/7)

lifting eachother up (in response to Edelgards ideals that people have to be strong on their own to survive), and that he has learned this from his friends and Byleth helping him when he was at his worst. So, the ‘things’ in Edelgards line can be replaced with 'the support and trust of ones friends and Byleth’, because that is what Dimitri has that Edelgard claims she herself doesn’t. The problem is pretty obvious at this point because this line doesn’t change wheter or not (3/7)

the players nabbed any Black Eagles from the Empire, so Edelgard says this even though its very possible she still has the support of her former classmates. It all just comes down to Edelgard going “Well, you were fortunate enough to have the professor to with you (that taught you those things), and you will never understand those of us that don’t have the professor (to teach us those things).” ('those things’ being trust in other people). Edelgard is basically stating that since she has (4/7)

no one she can trust, thats her motivation for going to the extremes she does, and compared to Dimitri she’s unfortunate (despite the fact that her war ruined his life) because he has Byleth by his side and she doesn’t. This sort of give a basis for a potential change in her if you play CF that actually doesn’t end up happening. Because compared to Dimitri, who does eventually try and reach out to his friends and rebuild their relationship despite him being a dirty murder hobo (5/7)

for over five years, in her route Edelgard never tries to reach out or justify herself to anyone that isn’t Byleth. She keeps everyone in the dark about her past, her motivations, and her connection with TWSITD. She still goes to the same extremes she does in any other route as confirmed by several NPC dialogues. Edelgard is a static character that never overcomes her lack of trust in others even with the help of the player (who is the sole exception to the no trust rule), (6/7)

while Dimitri overcoming his lack of trust and reaching out to others in AM (compared to Edelgards route constantly having others reach out to her instead) is arguably the biggest character development in the game. (7/7)

There are translation issues abound, not only in regards to our imperial lord, after all a key part of Dimitri’s and Dedue’s relationship in CF was cut off by the translation. Nevertheless, that is a wonderful point anon.

She’s never open to trust, nor does she try to reach someone else. Not even with Lysithia who is someone that suffered the same as her. Be it a product of bad writing, trauma, waifu MC-sexual bait, whatever you want to call it; fact remains that she doesn’t reach out, and in fact openly deceives even if Byleth is with her.

The fact that she only does it with Byleth is more suspect than genuine. At least to me. For a route that advertised you reaching for her hand, there was an absurd lack of imperial Majesty genuine hand offering to those around her.

I always remember how in VW she gets this whole “I wanted to reach for your hand :C” after taking over Enbarr, and I only thought how self serving of someone who used her people as human shields and benefitted from crimes against humanity, to lament about not having support or trust.

It also comes to mind that in CF Dimitri is in a far better headspace than he is in all the other routes, and that he has both the trust and support of his people. After all, Kingdom soldiers (aside from Dedue) go behind his back (taking Dedue’s lead!) to transform into crest beasts in order to both protect King and Country.

Byleth isn’t with Dimitri, heck all the BLions may be recruited, but with Rhea’s help he pulled through and avoided Cornelia’s backstabbing. He still has issues, of course, but he’s in a much better headspace, and has earned the loyalty and love of his people. The fact that Kingdom Soldiers follow the plan made by a man from Duscur? It speaks quite a lot about the kind of cultural shift that ought to be in motion in Faerghus all those five years.

Dimitri (and Dedue!) reaching out, establishing trust and support with other people can happen even if Byleth is not with them. It’s just a matter of circumstances.

Byleth is in fact key essential for Dimitri’s and Dedue’s survival. Yes, throughout the route they help the lions bond more, but the social networks they create carry their own weight aside from Byleth.

I have to say however that, as beautiful and tempting as his CF state of mind is, Dimitri’s journey in AM is far more poignant. Not only because of his trauma, establishing connections, fall from grace, resolution and eventual clawing back –but how brutally honest it is with him and all those around him. It’s a feedback loop of connections and supports that go both ways, and how it can both harm and heal. Heck even recruited units react to him, and comment on him, his behavior, and what they expect of him regardless of possible supports or not.

Trust and support is a two way street, and IS allowed Dimitri to interact with the world and the world to interact back.

Also, as a funny trivia, when Dimitri talks about trust and not looking for deceit behind every word, he’s in fact the only lord who hasn’t done a betrayal of his fellow lords at that point.

Edelgard had hired Kostas to assassinate her fellow lords and future leaders of foreign nations. Whereas Claude, though his betrayal is nowhere near Edelgard’s extreme, had tried to bail out and leave them for dead.

#ask #anon #fe dimitri #fe3h #fe meta #fe edgelord #Anonymous

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storyunrelated · 5 years ago

Text

Will it go round in circles

Look at me, ma! I wrote Star Wars fanfiction!

Well, ‘fanfiction’ might be giving it too much credit. Rather, it’s basically me attempting to organise some of my thoughts on the matter, put into the form of a dialogue between two Resistance grunts following the conclusion of Rise of Skywalker.

So spoilers? I guess? By default?

Anyway. It’s in in two other places and now I’m putting it here, too.

Because I’m bored.

Will it go round in circles

First Order? Defunct.

Logistically improbable fleet of Star Destroyers? Star destroyed.

Emperor? Dead (again).

If there was ever a time for a celebration now was definitely it.

And so it was that the Resistance or at least what remained of it at this point was having something of a shindig. Hugs of joy, kisses of jubilation, handshakes of camaraderie, drinks of relief - that sort of thing. Everyone was having a fine old time.

All, perhaps, barring Rot, background Resistance grunt, who was sitting on a crate being quiet and looking thoughtful amidst all the happiness.

Spotting him doing this Cin, another background Resistance grunt and Rot’s friend, broke away from the conversation she’d been having with a group of surviving pilots (about how great X-Wings were - the conclusion so far? That they were pretty great) and headed on over.

“Why so glum, chum?” She asked, sitting heavily along the crate and making Rot jump.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just thinking,” he said.

“What’s there to think about? We won!” Cin said, giving him a playful - though perhaps somewhat harder than she’d initially meant, drinks had been taken after all - jab to the shoulder.

Couldn’t argue with that, and Cin’s enthusiasm and joy was so apparent that Rot couldn’t help but chuckle. He rubbed his shoulder, too, but felt it best not to make an issue of it.

“I was thinking-” he started, but that was as far as he got.

“Wait, hold that thought, there’s Rose,” Cin said, pointing, and indeed there was Rose, hurrying, looking harried.

“Hey Rose,” Cin called out and Rose, snapped out of whatever reverie she’d been in while walking looked up, saw her, and zeroed in on the pair of them on their crate.

“Hey guys,” she said, a little on the breathless side.

“Feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. You alright?” Cin asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Just, you know, busy,” Rose said. She seemed strained.

“But it’s a party! It’s the party!” Cin said, utterly appalled that, following on from what had been a fairly significant space battle (to put it mildly) poor Rose was still being rushed off her feet doing...whatever it was she did. A little bit of everything, seemingly.

“Just wrapping some things up,” Rose said, smiling weakly.

“Surely you can sit for a minute?” Rot asked and for a moment Rose did seem tempted, but then some invisible psychic weight appeared to reassert itself and whatever strength had entered her left. She visibly deflated.

“Soon, maybe. Just got to go and do something somewhere where no-one’ll see me for a bit,” she said.

That seemed quite an oddly specific thing to say. The two grunts were perplexed.

“If you say so. When you’re done and free there’ll still be a spot here,” Cin said, patting the crate beside her.

“We’ll save a drink for you,” Rot added.

“Thanks guys,” Rose said

And then she was off again. They watched her go. She disappeared into the crowd far faster than they might have expected her to. It was kind of odd.

“Poor Rose, she’s had a rough time,” Cin said, shaking her head.

News to Rot, who only knew Rose in passing.

“She has?” He asked.

“Course! Her sister dies, she goes on some madcap adventure that doesn’t turn out so great, she nearly gets executed - mean, that’ll put a kink in anyone’s day - then she just gets saddled with enough Resistance busywork to keep her in the background while all this business with the Emperor is going on. That, and a lot of people just don’t like her. It’s rough, like I say.”

“Who doesn’t like her? She’s lovely!” Rot protested and Cin held her hands out, palms up and open, empty of answers.

“I don’t know what to tell you. Some people are just like that,” she said.

“Bastards. She’s lovely,” Rot said, clucking his tongue and shaking his head.

Some people indeed. Mean, her crashing into Finn that one time had been a bit weird and - according to rumour - she’d given a pretty hamfisted speech following the crash but what of it? Everyone has their moments of weakness.

And it all worked out alright in the end, hadn’t it? All that business with the running away and Holdo and Krayt and all that had turned out to barely matter anyway, somehow, having next to no impact on the resolution of things, so who cared about Rose crashing into anyone? She remained lovely regardless of the quality of her speeches!

“Bah,” Rot said, still annoyed at having learned of this dislike, a sour fact now sitting in his brain. To distract he thought back to what he’d been thinking about before, and tried to get it rolling again: “So yeah like I was saying, I was thinking-”

Cin cut him off again, to his chagrin.

“And Poe’s over there, looking over at - hey, who’s that?” She asked, pointing. Rot - mouth still open from being midway through his sentence - swallowed his words, looked over and frowned, seeing someone he did not recognise.

“The lady in the gold helmet? No idea,” he said.

Cin squinted at the lady in the gold helmet and at Poe gesturing at her.

“Are they friends?” She asked.

“I guess? We weren’t introduced.”

There were a lot of new faces around lately. Things had been pretty hectic last few days. Hours? Hard to keep track, especially in space.

Just one of those things.

“Huh. Well, whatever. He’s allowed friends. And ah, speaking of, there’s Finn! Let’s wave!” Rot said.

Rot waved while Cin personally favoured a hearty thumbs up. Finn, in turn, responded by giving both a wave and a thumbs up at once, much to the delight of the grunts, and then carrying on along his way to go talk to whoever it was he was going to talk to. Busy lad he was.

“Top bloke that Finn,” said Cin.

“Top bloke, top bloke,” Rot agreed, nodding.

“You know he gave me credits for the vending machine the other day? Wouldn’t let me pay him back!” Cin said and she wasn’t kidding - he wouldn’t accept it! Said she shouldn’t worry about it!

“Top bloke,” Rot said again, frowning a little to himself. “Which is a bit worrying, if you think about it.”

“Why?”

“Well you know how he got nabbed as a kid, right? He told you about that?”

“Yeah, but we knew the First Order did that anyway, bastards. Stealing kids, messing with their heads, turning them into cannon fodder,” Cin growled, pounding a fist into her palm.

Even by the standards of an organisation that had shown a willingness to blow up planets - hell, whole systems! - stealing kids was still a dick move. Just seemed unnecessarily evil, really. Cin was fairly certain the First Order handbook also mandated that all pets in the houses ransacked for kids should be kicked, too.

She wouldn’t put it past them.

“Exactly. first rate pricks. So yeah, we know that. A good chunk of the Stormtroopers are just kids who got taken, brainwashed and made into soldiers without a whole lot of say in the matter. And then we have to fight them and we have to shoot them - you and me have shot a bunch just on our own, ain’t we?”

“A whole bunch,” Cin nodded with perhaps a touch more relish than was required.

“But, like, Finn was like that, wasn’t he? And look how he turned out. How many of these poor fuckers were just doing what they’d been beaten into shape to do? How many could have turned out as nice as Finn if they’d had the chance? Only we shot them?” Rot asked.

“Oh,” said Cin, this time without relish.

She hadn’t thought about it that way before.

“I know, right? Doesn’t make me feel good. Like hell, that horse lady, she’s ex-First Order too,” Rot said, nodding over to the horse lady in question.

“She seems nice,” Cin said.

“Haven’t really got to know her yet but yes, she does seem nice. And that’s kind of the problem. They could all be nice! And they were just kids! Mean, back when dad was gunning down Stormtroopers he said you could be pretty certain they were a card-carrying bastard who’d signed up - not like the Imperial Army, Stormtroopers were the hardcore ones. But these were just kids! Stolen! And we shoot them. See what I’m saying?”

“I do, I do,” Cin said.

“Kind of too late now, I suppose,” Rot sighed.

Some part of him wondered whether now, with hostilities either wrapping up or wrapped up, there would have to be some sort of system set up to reform the Stormtroopers, and whether it’d also work to try and get them back to the homes they’d been snatched from. A daunting task, surely, but it had to be the right thing to do. Didn’t it? The decent thing.

Rot was glad it wasn’t his job either way.

The two of them went quiet for a moment, the wind kind of taken out of the sails of the conversation by this rather grim aside. It was something that had been gnawing at Rot for a while now, and would gnaw at Cin too now that he’d passed it on.

Keen to move on Rot sat up straight and looked around.

“Where’s the lady of the hour, anyway?” He asked, slapping his thighs.

“Who? Rey? Oh, who knows. Probably doing something else important. She’s always being pulled this or that way to do that or this thing. Sometimes it kind of feels like the galaxy itself can’t quite settle on what it wants to do with her,” Cin said.

She’d bumped into Rey briefly once, and she’d seemed nice. Busy though. Always something needed her attention, always something she had to be doing. Rot felt much the same.

“Probably a Force thing. Probably?” He ventured. Cin shrugged.

“Probably,” she said.

Most things that seemed arbitrary, random or difficult to explain turned out to be Force things. You kind of got used to it after a while, particularly if you were just a background grunt. If you didn’t make a fuss about it you tended to live longer.

“Anyway, sorry, before all that I think you were saying something?” Cin asked, swivelling a bit on the crate so she was better facing him.

“Was I?” Rot asked, blinking, baffled. They’d gone off on so many tangents he’d quite lost the thread. It all came back to him quickly enough though - all the surroundings reminded him. “Oh! Oh yes. I’m happy about all this, about us winning, obviously I’m happy, I’m just concerned.”

“About what?”

“Well,” he said, shifting in a little so he was sitting more comfortably, his bottom starting to go numb. “I was thinking. My grandfather was involved in the Clone Wars, right? Not fighting, just some contract work on one of those old Star Destroyers.”

“Star Destroyers?” Cin asked, confused. Weren’t they bad guy ships?

“Yeah, the old ones. Uh, not the old ones we were just blowing up, the ones before those. Venators? The Republic ones? That kind of thing. Anyway, point is, my grandfather was involved in that war, right? That ends, Empire comes in, my dad gets into the Rebellion, he fights in that war. We get the New Republic which sticks around for a bit only to get destroyed in this war that you and me fought in. I’m just…”

He trailed off, fishing for the words.

“My kids aren’t going to have to be fighting in the next one, are they? When this all happens again in like, twenty, thirty years time?”

“You really know how to puncture the mood, don’t you Rot?” Cin said. She sounded sour.

“Hey look, I’m sorry but it’s a concern, isn’t it? Dad told me about all the celebrations after the second Death Star got blown up and the Emperor got killed - well, not ‘killed’ killed but, you know, everyone figured he was dead so it works out the same. Dancing in the streets! Statues pulled down! Galaxy-wide party! Everyone was happy! Figured that was it! Job done!”

Rot’s dad had been very effusive about this, telling a young Rot not to take the peace he grew up in for granted, to remember the sacrifices, the struggle, and young Rot had done so - it had been a primary motivating factor in his joining up himself.

“Then it all just...happens again. Only bigger and shinier. They even still had Stormtroopers! All over again! Star Destroyers again! And something that made the Death Star look like a cheap joke! Poor dad. Felt like he’d done all he’d done for nothing. He had friends die in the last one, just so his son could go in for the next one,” Rot said.

Rot’s dad hadn’t been very happy in the last few years, the only ray of hope being that grandfather - Rot’s dad’s dad - had lived long enough to see the Republic come back, but not long enough to see it go away again. That would have just been depressing.

“Yeah but it won’t happen again this time. We won! That’s it!” Cin insisted. She felt very, very strongly about this. Rot wasn’t so sure.

“That’s what they thought last time though, ain’t it? And it depends on what happens next. A lot of what led into this was just how badly handled everything after the last war was. Just a fucking mess. I mean, I know we had the Military Disarmament Act, but-” he started but, again, true to form, Cin cut across him.

“The what?” She asked.

“The thing that reduced the New Republic’s military? Greater emphasis placed on planetary defence forces? It’s why there wasn’t a Republic army or fleet or anything to come crashing down on the First Order when they started causing problems. Well, that and general flip-flopping and bureaucratic inertia. Politics, eh?” Rot said with a ‘what you gonna do’ kind of a cadence. Cin stared at him, appalled.

“Why would they do that?” She asked.

“What? The act? Eh, I guess towards the end of the war - the last one, not this one - there was a feeling that having a massive army sitting around was an invitation to use it. And I guess the last time the Republic did have a big army sitting around someone did use it.”

Took Cin a second to work that one out, but then she got it.

“Oh, right. The Empire. Still seems like a dumb idea,” she said.

“It was a dumb idea but that’s politicians for you. Not the best long-term planners. And I guess they figured what with having just got out of a war they couldn’t afford to throw their weight around, wanted to keep everyone on-side,” Rot said.

This explanation had always seemed vaguely convincing to Rot. At least, he could see some sort of logic running through it. It made sense to him. He didn’t like it, but it held together.

For her part, Cin was hearing about it for the first time and wasn’t feeling especially happy about it.

“Wish someone had told me this earlier, it’d have made the whole ‘Resistance’ thing make more sense…” She grumbled, taking a swig from the bottle she’d been nursing the whole time.

Cin had always felt that dubbing themselves ‘The Resistance’ right from the start had been needlessly undermining. ‘Resistance’ implied a certain level of passivity to her mind, suggestive of struggle against a force that was by very definition stronger and more powerful, but she hadn’t been in charge of branding and had arrived too late anyway - the name had stuck by the time she’d signed up.

“You didn’t do the required reading?” Rot asked and Cin sputtered, spitting out her drink.

“There was reading?!”

She’d just been shooting at the guys in the scary armour! She hadn’t thought there’d be much more to it! Certainly the instructor at the Resistance camp hadn’t mentioned any of this! They’d just told her which end of the gun to point towards the guys wearing white.

“It was all in the Resistance introduction packet they gave out. Or it was in mine. Didn’t you ever wonder why we were having to basically fight the Empire all over again?” Rot asked and Cin shook her head vigorously.

“No! I didn’t think I was supposed to be wondering that! Just thought we were meant to be getting on with it,” she said, coupling her statement with a very emphatic fist-pump, to demonstrate ‘getting on with it’.

Rot considered this, and saw her rock-solid sincerity and - not for the first time - wondered if maybe he was in the minority in thinking about the things he thought about.

“Huh. Maybe it’s just me…” He said.

They went quiet again.

The party continued.

#Star Wars #Rise of Skywalker #Fanfiction #Amwriting #Writblr #Writeblr #Writing #Will it go round in circles

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impendingfascination · 6 years ago

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Where Does The End Of Discovery Season 2 Leave Show?

Executive producer and showrunner Alex Kurtzman recently confirmed that ‘Discovery’ was going 950 years into the future and not coming back. So what does this mean for the show? We know a little bit for the Short Treks episode ‘Calypso’. There we see a human male and hear about how he’s been a soldier in a battle against the V’draysh. Michael Chabon, the writer of the episode, has confirmed that the V’draysh is the future version of the Federation. The Discovery crew has abandoned the ship for reasons unknown, but not without first installing a sophisticated AI. So let’s take a deeper look at what we know and how that might affect what is to come.

The first question is the positioning of Discovery in the future. In ‘Calypso’, the ship’s AI, named Zora, informs Craft after she rescues him that she’s been abandoned for almost 1000 years. That doesn’t quite line up with ‘Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow pt 2′, as Discovery is already heading that far in the future. Will the crew have to take her back to the past and get yanked back to the future without the ship? We did see that time is pretty insistent when Michael’s mother was pulled independently of her time suit. And why is Discovery abandoned for that long? Surely another vessel would have come across her at some point unless that is the reason for Zora in the first place? Perhaps she is responsible for hiding the ship until the crew can retrieve her in the future?

Let’s also talk for a moment about who travels into the future. The presence of Philipa Georgiou is a bit contradictory to what we’ve been told - that we’ll see her star in her own show at some point, and that show was to be about the formation of the Section 31 we know from ‘Deep Space Nine’. Not the glamorous 31 operating in plain daylight, but a 31 that is not generally known to most citizens of the Federation. How is she going to do this from the future? I have a feeling we aren’t quite done with time traveling just yet, but Georgiou’s presence in the future makes some sense if she is acting as an agent of the organization still. The V’Draysh sound like an enemy right up Section 31′s alley.

I hope this doesn’t mean that we are done with the story of those left behind either. Chief among them is Ash Tyler. His throughline feels completed, and yet I still would like to see more of this character. Obviously being named the new head of Section 31 leaves at least an opening to bring him back in Georgiou’s show, but any future interaction with Burnham seems doubtful at this point. I guess sometimes a tragic character just stays tragic, but I would have liked to see a happier resolution for this character.

Of course, there is another way that we’ll get to see more of all of the characters left in the past. The producers went to a lot of budgetary expense to bring us on board the Enterprise. Though nothing has been announced yet, it doesn’t really seem like they would have done that without intending to use the sets again. It also doesn’t seem like you’d nab someone like Rebecca Romijn to play Number One, and then barely use her in ‘Discovery’. The further adventures of Pike and Spock seem almost a given at this point, and why not? It’s not as though there aren’t plenty of stories to tell in that area and since we’d be dealing with characters already established, the worry of canon does diminish somewhat. Let’s hope that we get some announcement on this spin-off soon.

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brilliantorinsane · 6 years ago

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The Case of the Lady Beryl

As the name suggests, the closest canon analogue for this episode is The Case of the Beryl Cornet. As far as I can tell the similarities are pretty superficial, basically just consisting of the fact that both mysteries feature a suspect taking the fall for a crime they didn’t commit for the sake of a loved one. I didn’t notice anything particularly interesting in the episode’s use of the canon story, however, so I am going to set that aside and focus on Watson.

Introduction, Ep1 Pt1, Ep1 Pt2

This episode features Holmes at his best, but I was initially bothered by the fact that Watson spends the first half of the episode being rather stupider than normal. Now, characters needn’t be intelligent to be loved and lovable, and the fact that Holmes and Watson take their turns being played for fools is frankly one of the strengths of the series. But given the history of adaptations erasing Watson’s capabilities I get touchy when he is being underestimated, so when in the span of 10 minutes he has fallen for a transparent lie from Lestrade, mocked Holmes’s experiments, taken 24 seconds to process a perfectly straightforward sentence, and flat-out forgotten how bullets work, I start getting defensive.

Fortunately, fandom has taught me a great deal about the potential for audience interaction with texts to be transformative as well as analytical, so I’ve brought my stubbornness to bear and found an interpretation that (mostly) satisfies me. I do not know whether the reading I have to offer was in any way intended, but I do think it is consistent with what exists on the screen and adds depth to Watson’s characterization. That being said I don’t suppose I’ll ever entirely forgive them for implying that John Watson, a fricken doctor and soldier, is unable to differentiate between a bullet-wound and a bashed-in head.

The observation that prompted my re-evaluation of Watson’s behavior was realizing that in every instance his slowness is directly related to his following Lestrade’s lead or being more focused on Lestrade than Holmes. This is a curious thing, particularly since I think it would be far too simplistic to infer that Watson is simply looking for someone to follow and imitate. After all, even though Holmes has a deep effect on him, Watson frequently challenges Holmes’s conclusions and never adopts his manner. So of all people, why would Watson choose to imitate Lestrade, a man who is frequently the butt of the joke and at times seems to care about his own image more than the justice he has been given the authority and responsibility to protect?

My theory, counterintuitive though it may seem, is that Lestrade is the sort of man Watson believes he ought to be. I think there is evidence that this Watson, regardless of his actual personality and inclinations, thinks he ought to be a traditionally proper English gentleman. Throughout the show he continually protests Holmes’s eccentricities, and yet far from meaningfully attempting to abate or escape them, he not infrequently joins in wholeheartedly. To me, this seems indicative of a pattern: in this series Holmes and Watson are both eccentric madmen, but whereas Holmes is perfectly comfortable with the fact, Watson has put effort into appearing ‘normal’ and ‘correct’, and periodically struggles to maintain or reclaim that image—both in the eyes of others and himself.

And the funny thing about Lestrade is that, for all his buffoonery, in a very real way he represents the proper English gentleman. When Holmes isn’t busy destabilizing Lestrade’s self-image he is confident, assertive, and takes the lead. His manner (when he feels in control) is dignified and polite. He has the socially sanctioned “correct” opinions about gender and class and English superiority. And granted much of this is a facade which interferes with his accomplishing his job justly and well, but it has been sanctioned by the symbol of the police cap and the power of the Inspector. He has been chosen as the protector of a society whose cultural ideal he (superficially) embodies.

So, all things considered, Watson is very little like Lestrade, but Lestrade is very much like the sort of man Watson has been socially conditioned to aspire to.

(As a side note, part of the reason I enjoy this reading of Howard Watson is that it puts him in conversation with other Watson adaptations and the canon itself. Certainly it fits with my reading of the BBC Sherlock and Guy Ritchie Watsons. I haven’t decided the extent to which I read canon Watson in a similar manner, but the potential for such a reading is there in the way he paints himself as a deeply normal man while engaging in highly abnormal behavior. The Sign of Four, I suspect, provides especially good material for such an interpretation).

Perhaps the best part of this reading is that, if Lestrade leads Watson into performative normality, it is Holmes who releases him. Once Holmes is included in the investigation, a gradual shift occurs. At first Watson maintains his alliance with Lestrade, but for all that Lestrade has the advantage of social pressures pushing Watson towards him, this cannot last long once Holmes has re-entered the picture. By the time they are interviewing the primary suspect, he has returned to his usual intelligent and capable self.

Because that’s one of the many the beauties of their relationship: Holmes frees Watson from the endless task of conforming, and his genuine self is far better than any cheap imitation. And while I didn’t get into in this write-up, Watson returns the favor by loving Holmes as he is while curbing his more dangerous exterminates and keeping him grounded and present. Also in this episode he’s already 2-for-2 saving Holmes’s life and property and they’re just so good for each other and I love them.

My Story:

I don’t have anything particular to add on this point aside from what I’ve already said, but here’s the link to chapter two of Hidden in the Moments:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12795147/chapters/29238576#workskin

Highlights:

Although Watson’s behavior around Lestrade isn’t his finest, I quite enjoy the fact that in the second episode Watson has already wheedled his way into cases on his own merit. Then his first move is to convince Lestrade to involve Holmes, which is adorable.

Also when he suggests they bring in Holmes his eyes get all soft and he has this warm little smile, like he’s so pleased and excited at the prospect of seeing Holmes at work again (3.20).

It’s also worth noting that the first thing that gets Watson on Lestrade’s side is Lestrade ranting about how Holmes deserves more credit. I’m pretty sure it’s insincere deflection on Lestrade’s part, but Watson believes him and is so endeared to Lestrade for defending Holmes and it’s honestly quite sweet.

Wilkins!!! Have I mentioned yet that I really love Wilkins? He’s smart without being showy, plays everything straight but is actually rather snarky, doesn't dismiss Holmes’s experiments like most people do and is maybe the only character who always enjoys Holmes’s intelligence without ever feeling threatened by it. I just find him really endearing.

So Wilkins walks into Baker Street when Holmes is doing an experiment, and Holmes immediately drags him into his experiment while absentmindedly offering him tea twice. And I love this scene because this Holmes is actually pretty social, it’s just on his own terms. He’s probably not going to do small-talk most days, but when he’s in the right mood he will serve you endless cups of probably-not-poisoned tea and ramble about his current fixation, which I honestly feel is very true to canon. Also I think he just genuinely likes Wilkins.

When trying to hurry Holmes off to a crime scene Lestrade calls his experiments ‘nonsense.’ Poor Holmes looks absolutely stricken, then passionately lectures Lestrade on the importance of Science and Progress all the way to the crime scene. Holmes is a nerd and I love him.

As they rush off to the crime scene Watson pauses to turn off the burner under Holmes’s experiments, and by Holmes’s estimation very likely saved Baker Street. It’s a lovely little example of how Watson’s somewhat more grounded personality works in tandem with Holmes’s absentminded hyperfocusing.

I quite like Lady Beryl. Granted her performance and circumstances are a bit melodramatic, but she has a quiet and calculating strength that draws me to her.

There’s a scene at 16:15 when Holmes is (rather unnecessarily) ribbing Lestrade and Lestrade begins to get worked up and defensive. Matters could have escalated from there, but Watson quietly leans forward and relays some pertinent facts about the crime scene to Holmes. It’s just a little moment of unpretentious conflict-resolution born of what Watson has already come to understand about these two men, and I really appreciate it.

24:27–24:32: “Brilliant Holmes, absolutely brilliant!”“Thank you Watson :)”

Watson again nabs the criminal efficiently and without posturing, while Holmes watches with all the attentiveness he offers a crime scene before offering one of his secret little smiles.

Holmes runs off in a panic upon realizing he left the burner on, and the episode ends before Watson can catch up and reassure him. And while I have my own (much longer) mental timeline of events, I must admit that what with our not being privy to it, the rush of gratitude and relief when Holmes realizes what Watson has done makes that unseen moment an excellent candidate for a first kiss.

@the-prince-of-professors @tremendousdetectivetheorist @devoursjohnlock@mafief @the-hopeless-existentialist@irishunic0rn @a-candle-for-sherlock@rfscommonplace @acdhw @artemisastarte

#it's 10:24 #which means its still jan 29th here #i mean it's not actually about their meeting #but it still is about them #and at any rate this gave me an arbitrary date to force myself to post it by #anyhow i've been struggling to get this one close to right and i'm currently half-asleep so i've no clue if it makes sense #enjoy!#howard holmes #sheldon reynolds #howard marion-crawford #ronald howard #howard holmes meta

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fordanoia · 7 years ago

Text

Cast Away (2/2)

Words: 5,700~ || CW: Some Violence. || What happens when Stanley is the one to fall through the portal instead. Part 1

Hurting his back as he fell backwards wasn’t something Stan figured he’d ever miss after getting shoved, but he also didn’t think slowly lifting up and away from the ground would happen either.

Stan’s stomach flopped, and he wobbled in the air, trying to balance himself with his arms. “W-Woah, what is this?” When Ford tried to reach out for him, he tried stretching back out towards him, but he’d already drifted too far out.

This was already looking like bad situation, but then he saw Ford’s face and that’s when Stan got scared. Ford didn’t look ‘worried,’ he looked like he was already full blown panicking as he quickly glanced between Stan and the floor around himself.

“Stanford, what’s going on?!” Stan snapped out this time, looking behind him and eyes widening as he saw the massive circle of light he was headed towards. The cause for concern was pretty clear now.

“It’s the gravitational pull from the portal, it’s-”

Stan swallowed around a dry throat. For all he knew this portal thing was just going to burn him up like a bug zapper. Or he’d get spat out into some part of space and suffocate. Or a million other things. There had to be an off switch. Maybe a big red button. Something to stop it, right?

He looked back to Ford who was- who was just standing there, holding onto his journal and not even looking at him anymore, like he’d just given up. Like Stan might as well have already been dead and gone.

“Ford!” Don’t leave me hanging.

Stan desperately tried to kick a foot out below him to see if he could reach the metal ring, but it was too far away from him and the back of his heel sunk into the light for a second before he pulled it back out again.

Do something.

He tore his gaze away from the bright light that was so close it was burning his eyes now, looking back to Ford, hoping for something. Anything.

Bristling winds scrambled across his back, agitating the fresh burn on his shoulder, and he leaned forward to avoid getting sucked in for just another second. There was no running out of this one though.

“Ford-” His throat closed up, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. Please.

“Hold on, Stan! Just hold on!” Ford’s voice cut through the howling wind behind his ears.

His brother was looking up at him again again, and he took an urgent step forward, wind lightly pulling his clothes forward. He resolutely yelled over all the noise to him. “I’ll get you!”

The words rattled around his head, and he held fast onto them as he took a breath around all the rushing air. He didn’t have a chance for anything else, not even to fully breath out.

Crackling energy swallowed him up, static running over his skin, before the world disappeared in on itself with a loud pop to black.

For just a couple seconds he felt like he was free falling sideways in a weird darkness full of wind rushing past him with lights sparking behind his eyes and in his joints. He didn’t know what it was, but he wouldn’t call it a ‘place’ persay. Then colors spun into existence in front of him, and he was out of that rushing darkness.

He was scared for a split second, because it looked like he had gotten spat out into the middle of outer space rather than somewhere that at least had air. A short attempt at breathing proved he wasn’t going to suffocate though. So, he had that going for him at least.

There were a dozen different colors clashing against each other and crackling lines in the air. Plus, everything in the background was distantly shifting like he’d downed one too many drinks. The only things that were solid, which he was already focusing on, were a bunch of rocks floating around and-... all the monsters in front of him.

Aliens, he guessed, he really didn’t care either way because every single one was giving him a predatory look.

One of them, sitting on top of some big chair that made his eyes hurt, was a large, yellow triangle. It looked like it’d been drawn by some five year old, honestly. Just a triangle with a top hat and a couple of black arms and legs. It’d be pretty ridiculous if it wasn’t towering over him right now.

It blinked at him, its voice booming out. “STANLEY PINES!” If this situation didn’t already scream bad news, that sure as Hell did.

The triangle laughed, the high-pitched noise making him cringe as the sound echoed around him over and over. “Just the pawn to push this party BACK OVER!!” Its voice toned down to something less like screeching as he looked down to one of the bigger monsters underneath it and snapped its fingers. “Hey, chop, chop! Catch the human time!”

A huge ball of fingers and teeth, howled before charging at him.

“No way, bud!” Stan kicked off in the air and, to his endless relief, started actually moving away in the middle of nothing from the couple dozen monsters already starting to chase him.

He dove around one of the bigger rocks to hide, finding a hole big enough for him to duck inside. Thankfully, his feet dropped to the rock with some kind of gravity as he put a hand to the wall. No idea why there was suddenly gravity, but he wasn’t gonna look this particular gift horse in the mouth right now.

“Christ, Ford- hah.” He hoarsely whispered to himself, panting, “warning would ‘ave been nice. Agh.” He leaned his forehead against the rock wall for a second. Just a little ‘hey, watch out for the monsters’ would have been good. Not sure it would have helped all that much, but still.

“COME OUT, FISHY, FISHY!” The triangle’s voice boomed.

Stan pressed back against the wall, keeping still and holding his breath.

“COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!”

He slowly let himself breath again “Sucker,” he muttered with a slight smile. None of them actually knew where he was at, and Stan was gonna keep it that way. He quietly edged further into the small cavern.

Lay low for a bit, wait for the search to calm down, then- then uh...

Stan faltered, pausing. He really didn’t have an idea for after that. He moved back toward the edge of the hole, sneaking a glance outside. There wasn’t exactly a big bright ring of light like the one he’d gone through, so... how was he supposed to get back?

He swallowed uncomfortably, pulling his head back to think.

Ford.

Ford had said he was going to get him. All Stan had to do was hold on for a little while and not get caught.

Between all the cops, thugs, mounties, and everyone else in between - Stan had plenty of experience outrunning people. Plus, he’d already given these monsters the slip and nabbed himself a hiding spot too so he was by this point he was ahead of the game.

Stan settled near the edge of his spot, enough to where he could keep an eye outside without being seen. Just had to wait out for a few seconds.

He kept his hands against the side of the tunnel, ready.

The seconds stretched into a minute, and then a few minutes. A long time to be stuck around with a bunch of monsters, but it was probably just taking Ford a couple seconds to set everything back up again.

Five minutes, but he was sure some science-y calibrations had to be done or whatever. They’d been knocking around in that control room, after all. Had to fix that up. He found himself picking at the rock, as he waited now though, leaning against it.

Any minute now. It was a big machine, with a lot of buttons and switches.

Ten minutes... was that right? It had to have at least been ten minutes, maybe fifteen. He wasn’t sure. It felt like a lot longer, but he hadn’t bothered counting. Maybe... Ford was trying to open up something right next to him.

A few more minutes passed. Something was just holding Ford up, was all. Stan stayed vigilant, keeping an eye out for even just the hint of light again.

......

Just... Just a few more seconds and.... and who was he kidding?

Stan let out a breath of air, letting his eyes wander over to the rock wall in front of him. They’d started the thing up in less than a minute without even trying. If Ford had wanted, he could have already flipped the portal back on by now.

He should have known better. Wasn’t like this was the first time he’d gotten cast away, after all.

It was just what happened. Everyone looked out for themselves. The only times he’d ever gotten bailed out was when someone needed an extra set of hands with something because they couldn’t find anyone else.

Ford had probably thought about it, and decided he wasn’t worth turning the portal back on for.

He started to slump back against the rock, but a harsh burning pain made him hiss out a curse and jump forward. He put a hand over to his injured shoulder, feeling the burnt fringes of the hole in his jacket.

“Ugh, right.” He made a face. “You’re still there.” He’d kinda forgotten about the burn with all the adrenaline of outrunning monsters out in the middle of nowhere. There was a subtle burn building back up again, but he’d have to worry about it later. Wasn’t like he had a first aid kid on him, or even just a water bottle.

Would have been great if Ford hadn’t pushed him into some big scalding piece of metal, but you know... whatever, right? Stan scowled a bit, fingers picking at the burnt cotton of his coat. He probably shouldn’t have been that upset considering Ford had also pushed him into a literal hell hole, but you know what?

He was hiding away from a dozen monsters in space somewhere, maybe it wasn’t even space. It’s not like Ford had explained where this portal went or anything else about it really.

If Stan wanted to be mad about the damn burn then he was going to be mad about it, damn it! He’d earned the right to be mad about anything he wanted right now!

All these years, and Ford winds up shoving him and burning him. Gets him to come to the middle of the woods, asks for him to take a book and just leave. Then, on top of that, gives him a third degree burn!

Well, Ford really got what he wanted, huh! He’d gotten as far away as anybody ever could! Only thing missing was he hadn’t taken the stupid book with him. Stan gritted his teeth.

Why had he even believed Ford when he’d said he’d get him? After everything! He should have known better.

He’d really thought the one guy that hated him more than anyone else in the world was just going to up and pull him out of the worst situation he’d ever wound up in?! How stupid could he get?

He’d stood here for at least twenty minutes, maybe even a whole hour waiting on him - really thinking Ford was going to get him. All because- Because of not even ten words... that Stan had just ate up the second he’d heard them. Because of the look on Ford’s face when he’d said he’d get him back.

... Ford wasn’t the kind of guy to lie though. Not that convincingly, at least. He’d meant it. At least in those few seconds, he’d actually meant it.

Stan sighed loudly, and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, rubbing his knuckles into them. He wished that he wasn’t here.

At least on Earth he knew what he could do. He would have taken another couple seconds at the door, if he’d known there was a chance this could happen. Now he was stranded in some alien dimension with tons of monsters on his tail... How was he going to do this?

A loud voice made him grit his teeth, frustrated. “OHO, ALRIGHT!”

Stan turned to look outside, half tempted to just yell at the triangle to shut up. This was already bad enough, he didn’t need his ears to start bleeding too.

The gratingly annoying voice continued though, absolutely giddy. “STAY HERE AND FIND THE HUMAN BEFORE I GET BACK!! FIRST ONE TO FIND HIM GETS TO HAVE A BITE!” It then added in a scolding tone. “AND THAT’S ONLY ONE BITE! NOTHING VITAL EITHER, GOT THAT TEETH?”

There was a loud crumbling sort of noise and Stan threw a hand up into the air. “Getting eaten alive’s on the table now, that’s just great.” He muttered.

As he was thinking, there was a loud pop and a distant, familiar swirling sound that made him stop.

He hesitated for a second, before peeking outside again. He couldn’t see anything from the angle he was at, but there was something throwing light from around the bend of the asteroid.

... That... No, that hadn’t been there before, he knew it.

Stan waited until the coast was clear before he slinked out of his spot and sneaked around the asteroid he’d hidden inside until he was able to see it. Back, where he’d first popped out at, was a big bright circle of light like the one he’d gotten sucked through. A large beacon of bright light standing out, clear as day.

He... He’d done it.

Stan grinned, smile stretching practically ear to ear.

That was Ford! He turned the portal back on for him! Haha! No getting left to rot in the middle of space with half an arm gone for Stan Pines!! Not ttoday!

His relief faded a bit at the obvious realization that well- he had to friggin’ make it all the way back to that portal while monsters were swarming all around trying to find him.

Stan breathed out, and waited, gripping onto the side of the asteroid. Alright, he could do this. He’d already gotten this far out, he could get back just the same.

A few monsters had gotten near the portal, talking to each other before one shoved the others and suddenly flew off, the rest soon shooting off in different directions.

Besides some of the rocks floating around, he really didn’t have much options for stealth so he’d have to book it most of the way.

He took a break for one rock, checking around before kicking off towards the portal once again, swimming out into debris filled space.

About half way there, there was a loud screeching hiss. He turned to look and let out a frustrated noise.

Off in the distance behind him was a monster that was literally just a huge pair of dentures with arms and legs. One of the ones that looked like it was literally made to try to take a damn bite out of him.

He went right back to pushing along towards the portal, ignoring the thing as it scrambled towards him. Stan immediately noticed that the commotion had gotten plenty of attention though. A few more monsters came out of the woodwork, all headed for him, of course.

As the teeth monster got close to him, he grabbed a large piece of warped metal and turned to chuck it at its’ gums.

The dark blue metal embedded into the shiny flesh, and even caused the monster to fall back with a scream.

Stan quickly turned back to keep going, and grimaced at what he saw up ahead. There were a few monsters passing the portal on their way towards him now, which meant for him to make it back he’d have to dodge around them now.

He could do it though. He was going to.

He scanned around and spotted a piece of oily scrap metal that looked as big as his forearm that he snatched up. The texture felt more like a ridiculously thick crab shell that had splintered off rather than scrap metal, but hey. As long as it was solid, he was using it. “Alright! Try me, uglies!” He shouted, egging them on.

A gray loaf monster hurtled towards him, but Stan easily dodged over top of it, missing the arms that couldn’t even reach its own back. “Sucker!”

When an eyeball with wings flew at him, he swung at it, letting out a laugh as he sent it flying off like a baseball.

Just like that, he managed to pass through the small crowd of monsters. There were only a few more monsters way up ahead, but he had a clear path to the portal again. Even better, now he could see a long thick rope dangling out of it, dangling listlessly out just for him like a piece of fishing line in the water.

“Ha! You can’t take a bite out of me, but you all can kiss my butt!” He shouted a final farewell, this nightmare nearly behind him. As soon as he got to the rope he could just pull himself in. He was home fr-

Something slick and painfully sharp wrapped around his ankle and forced him to a stop. No.

He only had a split second to panic at the realization, his throat instantly closing up. Not enough time to even kick out of its grasp or even try to rip his ankle out from its teeth.

An intense, blazing energy ripped through him making his shoulder burn then. Harsh, but oddly enough it didn’t really hurt him. Apparently the same thing couldn’t be said for the monster that’d latched onto him though.

A loud, anguished cry of what he could only describe as ‘weird slormp-ing noises’ came from behind him as it quickly detached from him.

Stan quickly looked down to see what had happened. The monster, which was a mix of an octopus and a lot of brown fur, had remains of bright orange electricity running over over it. Its tendrils twisted and curled in pain, the spasming movements only lessening after the final traces of the electricity seemed to stop.

Stan blinked, but as he glanced around all the monsters around them had paused, looking just as confused and startled as Stan felt. They didn’t know what had happened either.

When the brown furry sea monster hissed, coming back to, all the monsters focused on him again.

“Watch your step or I’ll zap you out cold this time!” Stan threatened, jabbing a finger in its direction.

It faltered to a stop, and all the other monsters hesitated too, glancing between each other.

“That’s right.” He boistered with a crooked smile. “I came prepared and there’s plenty more where that came from.” He kicked back off towards the portal with a cocky wave, hoping that whatever that had actually been that it wasn’t going to get him in the next minute.

A few of them started up after him, hesitating long enough that he had plenty of a headstart, but none of them were fast enough to actually catch up to him again. Plus, a quick look back was enough for him to see they definitely weren’t trying as hard as they had been before.

A nervous looking creature with a keyhole in its forehead was near the rope when Stan reached it. “H-Hey,” it started nasally, “we were just joking, you know!” It tried, putting on a smile. “None of us were really gonna try eating you, so uh- you can stay and he’ll be back any second.” The creature pointed to one of the big rocks- wait, no.

It was that triangle from before, but turned completely to stone.

“I’d rather eat through a car trunk again, no thanks.” He dismissed, waving a hand to shoo the monster away, before he started to pull himself along the rope. “Now beat it, pal.”

It jerked backwards when his hand got close, and didn’t even try to follow him. Not that he would have been worried about that particular one, honestly. All he cared about right now was getting back to Earth again though.

He tugged himself through the portal with a prepared grimace. His raw shoulder flared up from the energy and the same sensations running across his body again, but it wasn’t any worse than last time.

Stan grinned as the rushing darkness disappeared and he was back in Ford’s basement. He used the rope to pull himself further into the room and away from the portal. “Ford! Poindexter! Where are ya?”

“Ford?” He tried again, louder this time. He scanned along the floor for his brother. That’s when he spotted a paper at the end of the rope pinned to the wooden beam.

Once he got past the cautionary tape on the ground, there wasn’t anything tugging him back to the portal again... but there also wasn’t anything pulling him back down to the ground. He was really starting to miss Gravity.

On the brightside, he was getting good at this whole swimming through the air thing. He tugged on the rope to gently launch himself to the end.

“Okay, okay,” he mumbled, ripping the paper from where it was literally nailed to the beam, “what’s the word here, Sixer?”

Stan,

You have to shut off the portal. NOW!!!

Please, I’m buying you some time, but it won’t last.

If the portal doesn’t shut down in time before He gets through, that’s it. You have to run.

I’m sorry, Stanley.

-Ford

Stan flipped the note over, gritting his teeth when he saw that was it. “God-” He pushed the heel of his hand up to his eye. “How the Hell am I supposed to even shut this thing down, Ford?!” He shouted down at the note. “What-” His throat cut out. “What kind of note even-” he stopped, looking down at the final words.

The portal was big and complicated, and Stan couldn’t just figure it out like it was a hotel shower. Instead of even writing down how to turn it off, Ford just-...

“Agh!” Stan folded the paper and tucked it into his back pocket before springing around towards the door of the control room. “Okay, fine! Fine, Stanford!” He shouted, pulling himself into the room. “Pin the whole world on a guy then forget to give him the instructions, fine! I’ll shut it down!”

He looked around at all switches and buttons. One of the machines near the corner was now pulled out of place, revealing a metal staircase in the wall. A huge rectangular chunk of thin drywall floating nearby. That must have been where Ford went, but he’d have to add ‘why was there a hidden staircase’ onto the monstrous pile of questions he already had going on.

Stan pulled himself over to some of the controls by the edge of the panels, pushing at different buttons and switches. He didn’t have to figure it all out, just enough to turn it off. Maybe push a big red button. He could do this.

After pushing at enough buttons, he glanced out the window and saw the portal still going, but to off to the right were blinking red lights.

When Stan pushed back out and over to the console of blinking lights, ‘MANUAL OVERRIDE’ was written plain as day across it with three keys already in place.

His smile slowly slipped off his face when he tried to turn one of the keys and it didn’t budge. He tried another, but it didn’t work either.

Okay. Okay, he was a resourceful man. They just all had to be turned at once or something. He’d done a lot harder stuff. It he just-

Stan spread so his hands were on the farthest keys then leaned down and bit on the middle one. No matter how much he tried though, he couldn’t do it.

If Ford had just been down here...! He grunted and pushed off to find a tool he could use to clamp down on the middle key, looking around a floating metal bench with all sort of stuff floating in the air around it. There were pliers, a blow torch, the nail gun, some tools...

A muffled and distant voice from above caught his attention.

“Stanford?!” He looked up above, then over towards the control room, but he could barely hear anything over the monstrously loud sound of the machine. Stan glanced back at everything, mind kicking into double-time. If Ford wasn’t busy with whatever then he had to-

“Stan! Stan, HURRY!” Ford’s voice cracked with a desperate urgency, closer and loud enough to be heard. “Shut it down! Please, you need to shut it down now!!”

He glanced back at the keys then to the portal.

If there was one thing Stan Pines knew he was good at, it was ruining things working perfectly fine, and in record time.

His eyes caught onto the huge beams of light that were big and judging by the looks of it - really important to keeping this machine running.

Stan turned back to glance over what he had, but the second he turned around he already knew.

Grabbing onto the large metal desk, he swung himself behind it and grimaced with his back against the wall as he kicked the thing with as much energy as he had right towards one of the beams. He watched it fly off, holding his breath.

As soon as the desk went into the beam of light it was instantly was shoved down with a loud metallic clang. It ricocheted back up only for the beam to push it down again a lot faster than before. It bounced with a horrific sound of scraping metal and sparks coming up from the bottom ring. The huge column of light flickered like a dying lightbulb before shutting off completely, leaving the room half as bright as before.

The portal seemed to stall, slowing down, but... it didn’t stop. The rim of light circling around the portal faltered, and Stan suddenly dropped, but was weightless again before he’d reached the ground.

Almost immediately afterwards, Stan heard a gratingly loud screeching noise, filtering out of the portal and into the room.

“Shit!”

Without even thinking, he grabbed the blow torch and flung it at the remaining beam of light.

Half a second afterwards, he realized what he’d done and shot off towards the control room for cover. As soon as he got a hand on the door frame there was a quick succession of noises behind him - metal banging against metal, a garbled sounding voice, then the loud boom.

The explosion went off behind him with a bright flash of light and scouring his back as he was knocking into the room. He flipped head over heels before hitting the elevator doors, and then tumbling to the ground as gravity finally came back.

Stan coughed, pushing himself up by his elbows to look up. The column of light was already gone, with a huge black scorch mark on the ground with a largely destroyed ring of metal.

The light of the portal was rippling apart and bubbled up only to dissipate entirely, leaving the cavernous room dark with the garbled screeching fading out as it did. The rumble of the machine was completely gone and he could hear everything falling back to the ground. The metal desk, all the tools, everything. Including something thudding down from the staircase nearby.

He saw a hint of beige up through the stairs before Ford actually came into view. His head cracking against the steps before he finally landed at the bottom of the staircase with most of his body sprawled out onto the floor.

Stan messily picked himself up. “Ya gotta be kidding me- Ford!” He wouldn’t be surprised if Ford had gotten a concussion at the very last minute, right now. “I swear, you better be okay.”

Ford opened his eyes, and pushed himself up from the staircase, staring right at him with an unexpected amount of malice.

Stan paused, having barely even started on his way over. “Uh, Ford?”

“Leave.” Ford said simply, and if looks could kill then Stan was sure there would have been a hole burned through him right now.

“Are-...” He hesitated, shell-shocked for a long second. “Ford, are you being serious, right now?! No! No, I’m not just walking out right now!”

“You ruined eve̞̥rythi̜̹̲͢n̵g̹.” Ford replied, voice seething and splitting apart and threading back together in a way that- didn’t sound real. “L̗̺̰eave̞͖͉.” Just the way Ford was even holding himself as he stood there felt like an open threat.

Stan ground his teeth together. “No.” He told him, steadfast in front of the alien behavior.

He barely reacted, narrowing only one of his eyes before taking a step towards him.

Stan didn’t back down. He jabbed a finger at his brother’s chest. “After everything that just happened, I-”

The second they touched, his shoulder burned with another surge of energy running through him that zipped through his finger. Stan saw the bright orange electricity crackling down his arm, as quick as lightning, before hitting Ford’s body. Several splintering lines exploded out over his skin.

Stan’s eye widened and he jerked his arm back, too late for it to matter.

He was expecting Ford to scream in pain or flinch away. Which was what made it all the more concerning when Ford didn’t even make a sound. The intense glint in his eye instantly vanished without a trace as he fell backwards toward the staircase.

Stan’s gut dropped like a stone.

“Ford!” He reached out to grab Ford by the shoulder, but stopped himself in time. “Ford, I-I didn’t mean it!”

To his utter relief Ford opened his eyes again, blinking.

He put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

Ford looked up at him, using the railing to lurch himself back up to his feet. Half-dazed, he glanced over through the window then back to him. “Stan.”

“Listen, Ford, it- I swear, it was an accident.” Stan started.

Suddenly, Ford let go of the railing and wrapped his arms around Stan. He latched onto him. No burst of energy or bright orange electricity zapping Ford.

“Ford..?” What was going on? One second he wants him gone, then there was that electricity again, and now...

“I didn’t know if you’d make it back.” Ford said, a bit suddenly. He paused, like he was on the edge of saying something more, but it never came out. All he did was keep a tight hold onto Stan. It was like he was trying to keep him on the ground with him. As if, even now, he thought Stan was going to float back up into the air

Stan hugged him back and closed his eyes, letting himself hold onto the moment. After everything - the past half hour, the past decade.. He just wanted at least a couple seconds.

He shakily breathed out, maybe taking a bit more than just a couple seconds, but so what if he went a little over. Besides, when would he ever get the chance for something like this again.

“What’s..” He sighed, tired and sore before just openly asking him. “Sixer, what’s going on?”

“I... messed up.”

He didn’t know what Ford was talking about, but he had to crush down hopes that were already springing up. Last time he’d let that happen, Ford had told him to get as far away as possible from him. “You told me to leave not even half a minute ago, Ford...”

At that Ford tensed up, pulling back, and putting his hands on Stan’s shoulders. “No.” He said, oddly urgent. “No. No, that wasn’t-” he shook his head. “That wasn’t me.”

“Heh. Hate to break it to you, but there was nobody else here to say it.” Stan told him. “If this is how you joke around now, I can’t say I’m a big fan.” Not that it’d even seemed like a joke back then. Maybe it was his mind coming right off of a concussion though. Or maybe that’s what was happening now.

“No. No, you have to understand! That was-” he faltered, glancing away momentarily. “Someone inhabiting my body- it’s hard to explain.”

Or.. that, he guessed. “That’s hah-” Stan ran a hand through his hair. “Really?”

Ford nodded his head. “What else did-.. What else did ‘I’ do?”

“Got zapped by this weird electricity then got up like it didn’t even happen.” A thought came to him. “Were you the one making that happen?

“The what?” Ford made a slight face.

“The electricity thing, it’s already happened twice now and- ugh.” Stan rubbed his hands over his face. “Look, I got a whole list of questions, and that one was really high up on the list, Sixer.”

Ford breathed out, putting a hand to his head. “Okay ah... electricity.” He concentrated for a second, glancing over him and getting distracted. “What about the cuts?”

“The what?” Stan stopped to look down at himself. On the right side of his midsection was a fresh cut that was bleeding over onto his jacket. He stood there for a long moment. He didn’t even remember any of that happening. “Huh... didn’t notice that.”

Ford grabbed his arm, tugging him back towards the elevator and pushing the button. “That’s not a good sign. Increased adrenaline levels for periods of time can increase risk of bodily harm going unnoticed.” He kept going on, babbling about this or that medical thing all seeming more for his own benefit than trying to actually explain it to Stan. “Then- then I have to think about the electricity, depending on the amplitude that could numb your muscles. You’re at least not pale though so you shouldn’t have lost a lot of blood.”

Stan waved a hand, trying to ease him down. “I’ve survived a lot worse, poindexter. One cut isn’t going to kill me, especially after everything that just happened.”

His brother hesitated. “The blood loss it what kills you, and the infection.” His eyes widened then. “There could be alien infectants inside the wounds, that could be it.”

“Okay. Okay, alright. Well, let’s clean it up before I get the space flu or something.” He pointed to him then. “You’ve got a lot to explain though.”

“I’ll try.” Ford promised.

#2/2 meaning this is the last chapter on this baby of course #so if you got questions by the end feel free to ask if you want #mullet stan #gravity falls fic #my fics #Fic: Cast Away #C: Stan #C: Ford #C: Bill #aHAHAAHHA I'VE DONE IT!!!!!#I'M HAPPY WITH IT TOO!!!#my own

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mikegranich87 · 3 years ago

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Windows 11 review: Microsoft’s most pleasant OS—until it isn't

What's the point of Windows 11? With Windows 10, Microsoft had to make a big course correction from Windows 8, an ambitious yet flawed attempt at bringing PCs into the touchscreen era. Before that, Windows 7 was meant as a palate cleanser to help us forget about the bloated mess that was Vista. Given that Windows 10 was already pretty polished when it launched, and only got better over time, why the need for a whole new version?

After testing early builds for months, as well as the shipping release this past week (here's how to nab it yourself), it's clear that Microsoft isn't actually trying to fix much with Windows 11. It's basically a fresh coat of paint on top of Windows 10 (and likely a last-ditch attempt at rebranding the defunct Windows 10X.) But the more I use it, the easier it is to see that small design tweaks can go a long way. Windows 10 was laser-focused on productivity; it aimed to make you as efficient as possible. Windows 11 goes a step further: What if being productive was also pleasant and oddly relaxing? Windows, meet mindfulness.

What's new

At first glance, Windows 11 may seem like a radical departure from Microsoft's typical desktop template — an aesthetic that hearkens all the way back to Windows 95. The taskbar is still around, but now all of your icons are centered by default. The Start menu is back with a redesigned look featuring pinned and recommended apps (you can also hit All Apps to see everything you've got installed). RIP, Live Tiles — nobody ever used you.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

This refreshed look extends throughout Windows 11: App windows now have rounded corners; icons, Windows Explorer and the Settings app look sharper than ever; and even the sound effects have been cleaned up. This is Windows at its most refined. To put it uncharitably, though, it also seems a lot like macOS. But fret not, Windows diehards: You can still shove the entire taskbar back to the left side of the screen. (Editor’s note: Where it belongs.)

Microsoft has also reworked system tray, for better and worse. Hitting the date and time brings up your notifications and calendar, while clicking on the volume or networking icons makes the new action center pop out. It’s similar to the system shortcuts in Windows 10, allowing you to change Wi-Fi networks, enable airplane mode and quickly change your brightness and volume. You can also easily reach some accessibility tweaks, like enabling the magnifier or color filters. Everything looks sleeker than Windows 10, though some options are gone entirely, like the ability to turn Night Lite settings on and off.

Windows 11 also marks a major return for widgets: bite-sized apps that also appeared in Windows 7. You can reach them by hitting the widget button in the taskbar, but frankly, I found them useless. These days, I don’t need a glanceable screen for my calendar, news and mail, not when my smartphone is always within reach.

Microsoft

Less noticeable than the taskbar changes, but still important, is the new Windows Store. It looks cleaner, with a left-hand navigation bar and multiple panes for individual app entries. I'd wager Microsoft just wanted to keep those install and purchase buttons in clear view at all times. Windows 10 is also getting the same Store app eventually, so it's not really an exclusive for the new OS. Eventually, we'll also see Android apps in the Microsoft Store, but it's unclear when that's happening.

Similarly, Windows 11 ships with the latest Xbox app, but that's also available on Windows 10. You'll still want to upgrade for the best overall gaming performance, though, as Windows 11 will be the only way to use Microsoft's DirectStorage technology on PCs. Whenever that does land it should dramatically speed up load times (assuming you have a compatible GPU and SSD) just like the Xbox Series S and X.

Microsoft

Calm from the start... mostly

On a new PC, Windows 11 welcomes you with a series of setup screens that feel like you're flipping through a spa brochure. Log into your Wi-Fi (or plug into Ethernet), enter your Microsoft credentials, and maybe grab a cucumber water while you wait.

As with Windows 10, you can choose to disable advertising IDs, which prevents ad tracking, and opt out of sending diagnostic information to Microsoft. But there aren't many other choices you'll have to make; the setup process basically runs on autopilot until you see the new desktop.

It's worth noting that Microsoft has made setup more restrictive for Windows 11 Home users: Both an internet connection and Microsoft account are required. You won't be able to set up a local user account, or use your computer at all, until you meet those requirements. Windows 11 Pro users won't have that limitation, which is good news for IT professionals and power users. But it could be frustrating for people without reliable internet access of their own.

(As of last year, the FCC said around 14.5 million Americans don't have steady broadband, defined as at least 25Mbps download speeds and 3Mbps uploads. Recent figures from Data Reportal say around 40 percent of the world's population are offline. Microsoft is probably assuming that the majority of its potential customers won't have an issue finding internet, but that goes directly against the company's moves towards increased accessibility.)

I'd expect many consumers will be upgrading their existing Windows 10 systems, rather than setting up a new computer. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't have a way for me to upgrade my PC with a final Windows 11 release. Based on what I've seen with the latest Windows 11 Insider previews, though, moving to the new OS appears to be very similar to installing a major Windows 10 update. On a Surface Laptop 4 I had lying around, the upgrade process took around 15 minutes after downloading the new OS via Windows update.

You're going to have a tougher time if you own an older PC that doesn't meet Microsoft's hardware requirements. You'll need a compatible Intel, AMD or Qualcomm processor; 4GB of RAM; and at least 64GB of storage. Also, you'll have to enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module), features that should make it harder for spyware and malware to attack your OS. Microsoft's PC Health Check app can help you see if your system is ready for Windows 11.

If you don't meet the upgrade requirements, you can download a Windows 11 ISO and install it manually, a method that bypasses Microsoft's CPU restrictions. Still, you'll need to be savvy enough to create a boot disk and deal with a more complex installation. Another caveat: manual installations may not receive some future Windows Updates, according to The Verge. (It sounds like Microsoft hasn't decided how restrictive it wants to be just yet.)

If you've built your own desktop PC, I'd suggest bracing yourself for additional upgrade complications. Microsoft's Health Check app initially said that my system — powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X processor, an ASROCK motherboard and 32GB of RAM — wasn't compatible with Windows 11. It turned out I needed to enable the AMD TPM 2.0 module and Secure Boot in my BIOS. But once I did all that, my system couldn't boot into my Windows 10 installation.

After a bit of sleuthing, I learned that I needed to convert my Windows 10 installation disk from MBR (Master Boot Record) to GPT (GUID Partition Table). So off I went into the command line to run some strings and pray for my Windows installation's safety. Five sweat-soaked minutes later, I rebooted and saw my trusty Windows login screen. Whew. From there, I was able to proceed with the Windows 11 Update as normal.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a Windows 10 installation on an MBR disk — that was the standard on older computers — so I'm hoping Microsoft eventually bakes that conversion into the entire Windows 11 setup process. I can't imagine average consumers trying to figure out command line prompts without wanting to throw their PCs out the window.

Microsoft

In use: A new look, new frustrations

Windows 11 is nice to use. Pleasant, even. Windows 10 wasn't ugly, but Windows 11's focus on design leads to a more refined experience at first. I enjoyed having color-matched themes. The new Settings app is a dream; it's actually easy to find things for once! I genuinely love the new automatic window snapping, which lets you shove an app to a particular area of your screen by hovering above the maximize icon. Even better, snapping a few apps together creates a group that you can easily revisit in the taskbar.

That facelift doesn't come at the expense of performance, either. Windows 11 feels just as fast as Windows 10 on all of my test systems. But I'll be more interested to see how it performs on PCs older than five years, which is about the cut-off for Microsoft's upgrade requirements.

As impressed as I am by the design changes, a part of me feels constrained by the new OS. No matter where you place your taskbar icons, for example, you won't be able to see app labels anymore. Microsoft has been pushing an icon-focused taskbar since Windows 7, but you always had the option to turn on labels, so you could see what was in an app window before you clicked on it. Dealing with that loss is the single biggest hurdle I had with Windows 11.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Now it takes me multiple clicks to find a specific Chrome window, or to locate an email I popped out of Gmail. Icons just aren't enough. I can understand why Microsoft took away labels: They make your desktop look chaotic. It's not nearly as zen as a simple line of high-resolution pictures.

But as a Windows user, I'm used to chaos. I was shaped by the instability of Windows 3.11; I learned to tame Windows XP as an IT admin; and I was there at the Windows 8 launch in Spain (an event that seems cursed in retrospect). Even after all of that, I'm still primarily a Windows user. If chaos can make me more productive, I embrace the madness. Sadly, Windows 11 doesn't give me that option. It just wants me to relax, damnit.

To be fair, I have similar issues with macOS. As pretty as it is, finding a specific app window can be frustrating. To mitigate that, I typically rely on Mission Control to establish hot corners that can either show me every open app, windows within a specific program, or the desktop. Windows 11 lets you set up a hot corner in the bottom right of your screen to show the desktop, but you'll have to rely on keyboard shortcuts to see open apps. (I'm still debating whether Alt + Tab or Win + Tab is better.)

After spending so much time with Windows 11, I'm begrudgingly getting the hang of the new taskbar, at least. I'd bet some Windows diehards will be similarly frustrated with the new Start menu, especially if they're used to seeing all of their apps instantly. Personally, I find the focus on shortcuts and recently added files and apps to be more useful. And as of Windows 10, I just hit the Windows key and start typing to search for specific apps. (I'm glad that's still practically instantaneous on the new OS.)

I’ve only dabbled in the Windows 11 touchscreen experience so far, but in general it feels easier to hit specific targets. Microsoft has also made apps more responsive to touch, so it’s being able to quickly expand and maximize windows feels less frustrating. You still won’t mistake Windows 11 for iPadOS, but I never expected Microsoft to go that far. This new OS is simply better for laptops that have touchscreens, and it’s far more usable for hybrid tablets like the Surface Pro.

While I've found Windows 11 pleasant overall, I'll be interested to see how mainstream users react to all of the changes. Some members of Engadget's staff initially found the new design to be ugly (some warmed up to it later), and at least one was grateful I explained how to move the taskbar back to the left. It's tough for Microsoft to make any major changes to Windows without having users throw a fit. (Remember everything that happened around Windows 8?) So I expect the initial reaction isn't going to be welcoming. Let's just say I'm glad I'm no longer in IT support for this transition.

Microsoft

So, who needs Windows 11?

To paraphrase Thanos, Windows 11 is inevitable. It's going to start rolling out to eligible Windows 10 users today, and it will ship with new PCs this Fall. Aside from re-learning the taskbar and Start menu functionality, there's not much of a reason to avoid it. The new Secure Boot requirements will make it a safer OS overall; gamers will eventually get faster loading times; and everyone can appreciate the clean new aesthetic.

It's a step forward, even if it isn't as momentous as Windows 10. It's also hard to ignore the story behind the new OS, which makes Windows 11 feel more like a way for Microsoft to save face after an embarrassing failure. In the fall of 2019, the company announced Windows 10X, an OS variant meant for dual-screened PCs. Those devices, like the intriguing Surface Neo, failed to arrive. (It's unclear if the complex new hardware was the roadblock, or if PC makers were waiting for Windows 10X to be completed.)

Microsoft announced last year that it was shifting the focus of 10X to single-screened devices, and it put the final nail in the coffin this May, when it said that Windows 10X development had stopped. A few weeks later, we got word that Microsoft was gearing up to reveal the next version of Windows, and shortly after that the Windows 11 leak occurred. On June 24th, with practically all of its new features spoiled, Microsoft officially revealed its new OS.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

In my head, I imagine the frantic meetings around Windows 10X's rocky development like something from The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. With dual-screened devices a no-show, maybe they could just repurpose that work for traditional laptops, a harried Panos Panay would say. But why even make that a separate version of Windows 10? The PC market is pretty hot right now, perhaps there's a way to capitalize on that? And at some point, someone just said "Why not just go to 11?" A stunned silence. Applause all around.

Not to sound too cynical, but releasing a new OS is an easy way to encourage people to buy new computers. That's particularly true now that we're relying on our PCs more than ever, as many people are still working and doing schoolwork from home. A new version of Windows is no simple thing, and it’ll surely get more headlines and media attention than a mere Windows 10 update. (Stares directly into camera.)

from Mike Granich https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-review-microsoft-mindful-os-200028040.html?src=rss

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4colorrebellion · 7 years ago

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4cr Interview - James Montagna On Dodge Club Pocket

James Montagna is ready to release Dodge Club Pocket tomorrow on Nintendo 3DS, so we got in touch to talk a bit about the game and about the potential of new projects on Nintendo Switch.

4colorrebellion: Hi James! Always great to have you with us at 4cr. How have you been?

Hey Antonio! Thank you! It’s been a busy time lately. Between wrapping up some major projects in my work at WayForward, as well as getting my personal hobby game development stuff like Dodge Club Pocket all buttoned up, I've had my hands full. I recently have returned from the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco and am currently feeling fired up and inspired by the many friends I met there, both old and new. And with that, the seeds of future projects are already being planted…

4cr: Dodge Club Pocket is releasing on March 29 on Nintendo 3DS. Care to tell our readers what this game is all about?

Dodge Club Pocket is a quirky action game that presents players a checklist of various micro gameplay challenges! If I had to compare it to something, I'd say fans of a game like WarioWare may want to give this game a shot. However, compared to the core experience of that, in which games are being rapidly thrown at you in succession, there's some key differences. The player can review and handpick which gameplay challenge to take on. For each challenge, the player is briefed on the unique rules, which may occasionally be a bit deeper than what a one-word prompt could convey. And then there's the biggest catch of all — the gameplay is entirely distilled down to 16x16 pixel visuals! Making this game was a challenge in itself to explore how many crazy ideas we could cram into that resolution with Dodge Club gameplay as a base template.

I might as well add, the game has plenty of lore and story behind it too! Honestly, probably way more than it requires, but its all in the name of fun. The conceit for what is happening in the gameplay is that it's an underground club, where the sport of Dodge Club is enjoyed by these raver characters. In the game, the ravers are conveyed as 2x2 pixel squares, but you can see their full-size raver selves in Linzb0t character art throughout the game as well! The eManual of the game goes pretty in depth regarding the story, and is a great place to look to learn more about the world of Dodge Club in general… as are the comics you'll unlock as presents when playing the game!

4cr: Way back when we talked about Dodge Club Party we also touched a bit on Dodge Club Pocket for smartphones. How different is this version on Nintendo 3DS? What is new?

Right, in the past we spoke in depth about the origin and history of Dodge Club as a series, its party game sister, and the initial version Dodge Club Pocket. What you are looking at today on Nintendo 3DS is the completely polished, re-imagined, balanced, and over-all best version of that experience. There's new content in many challenges, tweaked and re-balanced difficulty, twice as many presents to unlock, and an all-new ending too! The idea was floated of discontinuing the previous version to make way for the Nintendo 3DS game and help avoid confusion with players who may think they are exactly the same, but in the end that didn't feel like the right thing to do. I definitely believe there is enough new content to justify getting the game on Nintendo 3DS, and we're offering it at a great value for only $4.99. (Also, Nintendo doesn't let you sell a game on the eShop for free, for what it's worth.)

Actually… the game's price point is just enough to make sure the hard-working artists and programmers who helped create it are properly paid for their effort. And since I'm just making this in my spare time alongside my job at WayForward, it's hopefully enough that I myself can break somewhat even on my out-of-pocket (pun not intended, I promise) development costs. In the end, it's most important to me that the game is able to get in the hands of as many players as possible, and that I can support my talented collaborators in the process.

4cr: With Dodge Club Pocket almost ready to go live on 3DS, are you perhaps now on a Nintendo Switch mood? What are the odds of a version of Dodge Club and/or Dot Arcade making it to Nintendo's hybrid console?

Naturally, Nintendo Switch is the new hotness — I love it too! Dodge Club Pocket development on Nintendo 3DS actually began years ago, when Nintendo Switch was not even a thing. But as a platform, Nintendo 3DS is totally still viable, and like, everybody has one. I also firmly believe Nintendo can ride out Nintendo 3DS as a platform for a long time to come. Let's keep making Nintendo 3DS games in the year 2020 and beyond! I'd really love to see that.

All that being said, Nintendo Switch experiments have already begun. I can't speak to any specifics here today, but I can all, but guarantee games created by myself will appear on Nintendo Switch. Whether it's the future of Dodge Club, bringing over Dot Arcade, or some all-new stuff simply remains to be seen.

4cr: Along with the many side projects you decide to groove on from time to time, there's also the WayForward side of things. Since the last piece of DLC for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is almost ready to go, what are you currently hard at work over at WayForward that you can talk about without breaking all the NDA?

Right, so, of course, Dodge Club Pocket isn't a WayForward game at all. It's published by me, under my own name. However, you're likely to continue seeing the same sensibilities and DNA as my solo projects pour into WayForward games for which I am on the development team (or spearheading). Most recently, we brought Shantae and the Pirate's Curse to Nintendo Switch. It was fun to re-visit that game and direct the new HD Rumble experience, as well as design a new mini-game called Super Shantae Nab! and I really hope people will check it out! Hit me up on Twitter (@JamesPopStar) and let me know your best score! There's also Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition to look forward to! Every day I have the privilege to make cool stuff with my incredible WayForward family, and I'm truly honored by that.

4cr: And now it's time for us to go. Is there something else you'd like to add before we end this one?

Just a round of thanks. Thank you Linzb0t for always being down to make crazy stuff together — let's keep it going forever and ever! Thank you to this game's composer, Tommy, for the incredible soundtrack, and for being a constant source of inspiration with his work and being. Of course, an enormous thanks to the hyper-talented and super chill Mathias of MP2 Games for making Dodge Club Pocket on Nintendo 3DS possible. And finally, a deep and sincere THANK YOU to everyone that has supported me and expressed interest in weird, cool, and nearly inexplicable games like Dodge Club Pocket. You have my promise to continue to do my best to entertain you in surprising ways for years to come.

Anyway, hope you will dig out that Nintendo 3DS and pick up Dodge Club Pocket on the Nintendo eShop! Out March 29th, 2018 in North America, and sometime mid-April in Europe! Montagna… out!

#dodge club pocket #nintendo 3ds #interview #james montagna

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shitkkwrites · 7 years ago

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Closeted Feelings; Ch.1: Red Day Shenanigans

Hello @paladinquen, I’m your NedCan secret Valentine! Due to the rather wide scope of genre you gave me (honestly when I found out you were my Valentine I kind of freaked out, rip me), I decided to go focus on the Red / White Day shenanigans featuring these two fabulous dorks. This is actually split in two chapters, due to following the trend of February 14 being Red Day, and March 14 being White Day. Yes there’s a rejection scene in this, but the (happy) resolution will present itself in the second chapter, so enjoy!

Also on: ao3

Léa - Belgium, Lars - Netherlands, Henri - Luxembourg (only mentioned in passing)

2018.02.11; 3 days to D-Day

Why did he like putting everything off until the last-minute?! What was it with him and rushing things, anyway? He didn’t know why, but he was lucky to have scored the last packets of baking chocolate in the shop he’d dropped by, albeit the shop clerk had grumbled in his direction that he was cutting it way too close to the ‘rush’ that was Valentines’ Day; also known as ‘Red Day’ among the student body.

He’d even gotten a rather cheeky leer from the shopkeeper about last-minute presents and had given him a couple of molds half-price for him to make use of once he’d gotten home. Once his purchases had been wrapped up—and he’d been all but shooed out of the store—he then made his way back out on the streets and began skirting his way through the crowd. He could see a lot of people as giddy as he was, running around and making last-minute purchases for the special occasion coming in a few days, and he couldn’t blame them at all—everyone wanted the fourteenth to go off without a hitch.

To be honest, so did he.

After brushing some stray bangs that were falling into his line of vision, he looked up and continued to make his way back to his apartment—he’d agonize over all the details in private later.

2018.02.11; Brotherly Conversations

“Why are you so uptight about the fourteenth, anyway?”

That was the question that Matthew had asked his younger brother, Alfred, as the other was busy running around the kitchen in a panic. While he’d already purchased all of the obligatory chocolates that he was going to hand out in a couple of days, Alfred had insisted on making his own chocolates.

“Alfie, brother, you’re doing it wrong. Most of the obligatory chocolates, you buy. Why’re you making all of yours?” he continued, watching as his brother continued to rush around the place, trying not to melt down and cause a disaster. “I’m all set to go on that day, but you’re losing your head over something so small and trivial.”

“Mattie, bro, you don’t understand, I really want to leave an impact! Which is why I’m making it all from scratch!” the younger blonde exclaimed as he ran over to the boiling pot on the stove so he could stir the melting chocolate without risking it burning for staying on the fire too long.

“Alfie, how many times do I have to tell you, you’ve got it reversed? You only make the chocolate for the one you want to confess to! Don’t tell me you have someone in mind already?!” he exclaimed, watching as his younger brother turned around to glower at him with an embarrassed blush on his face.

“Sh-shut up, Mattie! I’m not like you, you’re oh-so-completely oblivious when it comes to acknowledging your own feelings for other people! Admit it, you’re just scared because of what happened to you before…” Alfred retorted, not realizing he’d overstepped a line in the process. He then grew silent the moment he remembered what he said, before muttering a hasty apology and returning his attention to the chocolate he was melting.

Maybe he does have a point… but… I would rather think not… the older of the two pondered to himself after listening to his brother’s tirade (yet again). It was a very sore topic for Matthew, at the very least when romance or anything similar to it was mentioned; which was why he tended to avoid it altogether. But he couldn’t help himself, though—how come this guy from another class kept on, well, trying to talk with him? He’d already made it very clear he wasn’t interested in him…

“…Alfie, do you think…” Matthew began, staring at the table while gathering his thoughts. “…do you think that exchange student…” he continued to mutter, biting his lip as he tried to find the right words to say.

“Bro, I already told you once, I’ll tell you again: quit being dense. Honestly, it’ll get you into more trouble than you’re asking for…” Alfred trailed off, holding the wooden spoon up before sighing and attacking the mound of melting chocolate in the pot. “I find it weird that I’m the younger between us, but you’re the one having problems like this. ‘s kinda weird, you know…”

“…I know, I know I’m weird, shut up,” Matthew retorted as he then stood up from the table. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

2018.02.13; Tension in the Air

“Hey, Keeks! I… I have a question for you,” Alfred called out, once he’d spotted his friend through the crowd of students. They didn’t share as many classes together as they could’ve, so talking to him in the hallways was the next best thing.

“Hai, Alfred-san, what is it?” the Japanese exchange student asked, stopping in his tracks to allow the other to catch up with him. Once the loud blonde had come in view, Alfred then blurted out the question without even thinking, “Keeks, did I get it wrong? Mattie told me that the handmade chocolates are the ones you’re supposed to give to your friends… or is it? Or did I remember this all wrong again?”

That earned a bit of a smile from the other, before he replied, “You got it wrong, you know. Your older brother is correct—the handmade chocolates are supposed to be for the person you want to… well, confess your feelings to. Everything else is the obligatory chocolates that everyone gets handed. Don’t tell me you did—” he trailed off, watching the coloration on Alfred’s face drain.

“I—what?! Seriously?!” was all he could exclaim, before the other student nodded and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, speaking of which, your brother’s here, I must go,” he muttered before giving a small bow and leaving Alfred to turn around right in time to avoid crashing into Matthew.

“See, Alfie? I told you so. You got it all wrong,” he began with a teasing grin on his face, to which Alfred responded with a very pointed eyeroll. “Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in, geez… at least I have a lot of chocolates to eat later… wait, why’re you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in--?”

“I know, Alfie, but that’s not the point, I just wanted to talk to you about… well, remember what we talked about a few days ago? Guess what… he dropped by my class again! And this time he even talked with Carlos, so I definitely think he’s trying to stalk me!”

“What? No way, bro? He talked with Carlos? What for?!” Alfred asked, wiggling his eyebrows in Matthew’s direction.

“I don’t know! Hell, when I asked him about it, Carlos only gave me a look that said ‘it’s for me to know and for you to find out’ without even telling me what it was about! I don’t know, Alfie… things are getting weird around here…” he groaned, running his hands through his hair. He honestly had no idea why the freakishly-tall guy frequently came by to talk with his classmates before hurriedly leaving the scene whenever Matthew would catch him around the area.

Seriously, what was with him?!

2018.02.13; 2 hours before ‘Dawn of the Final Day’

“Sister, do you think I’m doing it wrong?”

The video call was on, and he was busy typing up an assignment that he had to turn in the following day. Never mind if his visits to Matthew Williams’ classroom were becoming more and more frequent, he was trying to get the courage he needed so that he could do what he was planning to accomplish tomorrow! While he’d heard from most of the students that ‘Red Day’ was when people swapped chocolates with each other, he knew that there was at least a significant difference when it came to store-bought chocolate and handmade treats.

“Well, this isn’t the first time you’ve tried doing this, right? What’s stopping you now?” came the reply from his sister over the video call. While it was pretty late for Lars, it was early morning over in Belgium—he was lucky to catch his sister Léa before she’d left for her university classes. “I know you’re nervous. I mean, it’s pretty damn obvious…”

“You think?” he continued, typing away as he added onto the essay he was trying to cram for the next day. “I don’t know if he’ll actually take the chocolate, you know. It was hell looking for the cheapest block I could find!”

“Seriously… seriously, Lars? You’re going to make chocolates, and then you use the cheapest kind?! If you’re really hell-bent on ‘confessing’ to him,” she continued, using ‘quotation marks’ as she emphasized the word ‘confessing’ before smacking her palms to her face out of sheer annoyance, “…you should’ve gone all-out and used something much better! Don’t tell me you nabbed the discount chocolate?!”

“What?! Is it so bad for me to try and save money?” he countered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the camera as he continued to type away, before realizing that half the paragraph he was working on was wrong. Huffing to himself as he highlighted and erased what he’d written, he then sighed before continuing, “You know I’m living on a budget here! It’s hard enough as it is, and I have to try and keep my scholarship! That leaves me with little to no time to look for a part-time job,” he grumbled as he snorted and began rewriting the paragraph he’d crossed out.

“Yeah, I know you are. It’s just that… do you really have to take your frugality that far? Seriously, brother… seriously…” she tsked, shaking her head and chuckling for a few moments. “Anyway, I have to go now, do you have anything you want me to tell Henri?”

“Well, just tell him I said hi, and to keep his nose out of other people’s business. You know how incredibly nosy he can get…” he grumbled as he then waved with one hand before eventually disconnecting the call. Sighing, as he knew that he might’ve messed up, he then turned his attention to the small box that contained the chocolate he was going to give Matthew the next day.

I hope nothing too bad happens… he thought to himself as he rubbed the sides of his head as he returned his attention to the essay he needed to finish.

2018.02.14, ‘D-Day’

Both Matthew and Alfred, along with the rest of the student body, had turned up to school carrying large paper bags full of the obligatory chocolates they needed to give out. While Alfred had gone to join his classmates (and was seeking out his friends in other courses), Matthew had mostly distributed his chocolates to his classmates as well as teachers he’d met throughout the day.

He’d even managed to give some to Kiku as well, and had a laugh with the Japanese exchange student as he told Matthew what Alfred had been up to, having eaten most of the chocolates he’d made the night before (and was now literally distributing handfuls of Kisses chocolates to his friends instead as some kind of weird compensation). After they’d exchanged the obligatory friendship chocolates, Matthew then made his way back to his homeroom—only to be stopped in the hallways by the person he was secretly hoping to avoid.

It was Lars van Meijer, the tall Dutch weirdo who’d stalked his classroom every single chance he could get for the past two years now. Hell, he didn’t even know why the guy had spoken with Carlos and Paolo (as well as everyone else he could approach without scaring them off in the process). Was he asking about information on him?! Who knows.

“W-well, fancy seeing you here. What do y-you want… are you…” Matthew began, stammering for a few moments before managing to pull together his best impression of a glare, looking the taller one down as a pair of light-green eyes stared at the light purple that were now boring a hole right into him. “What, i-is there something on my face?” he stammered out, suddenly running a hand over his own features to check for whatever blemishes were there—which were of course, nonexistent.

Now that Lars had finally managed to corner Matthew Williams, he’d lost the ability to articulate properly, and had settled instead for staring at the slightly shorter one, clearing his throat several times before eventually reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small, giftwrapped box.

“Cat got your tongue?” Matthew continued, now looking at him and observing the other’s actions with a curious light in his eyes. Just as he was about to skirt around the other and return to his classroom, he then felt something being pushed into his hands. Blinking at the sudden action, he then looked at the other, before staring at what was being shoved into his hands—and felt a wave pf panic rising up inside him.

No. Oh, no. No, no, no, no! What the hell is this?! He thought in a panic, before looking at the other—who was now avoiding having to look at Matthew directly. Lars was waiting for the other to accept the gift he’d made for him, his ears turning red as he waited for something—anything—to come from his intended recipient.

“…I’m sorry, I—I… I can’t accept this,” Matthew finally managed to say, once he recognized the package in his hands. “I—I would really want to, but… I c-can’t. I—I hope you understand…” he said, before dropping the box in the process and making a mad sprint down the hall towards his classroom; the better to put as much distance between himself and the strange one as fast as humanly possible.

It had taken a few moments for Lars to comprehend what had happened—a few seconds ago, Matthew Williams was right in front of him; and then when he’d thought to blink, the blonde had vanished. He thought all had gone right until he looked down and saw that the giftwrapped box he’d tried to give the other had fallen there…

What had he done wrong?!

#nedcanvde #nedcan #aph canada #aph netherlands #aph america #aph belgium #looks like someone was being a dork #guess who's the mature one here #you'll be hella surprised #closeted feelings #shitkkwrites

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minaminokyoko · 7 years ago

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Thor: Ragnarok is extra as fuck and I am so down with that.

Oh, sweet Odin, you don't know how much I fucking needed this movie in my life.

Now, I am one of the only MCU fans on the planet who not only loves the Thor movies but would like to happily tell the rest of the MCU fans to fuck off the edge of my metaphorical dick for constantly ragging on them. They are fun films with lots of charm and I can't stand that Thor is constantly thrown under the bus by these same fans who worship worthless characters left and right and yet won't give the God of Thunder the time of day. Well, if nothing else, I think the naysayers have to admit that Thor: Ragnarok if nothing else will be the most memorable film in his trilogy. To me, it's like a giant, decadent chocolate sundae. It gets sweeter with every bite and you love every second of it. Naturally, spoilers ahead.

Overall Grade: A-/B+

Pros:

-Obviously, the script writers had a bet with the Guardians of the Galaxy writers on how they could make the funniest film in the MCU, because Ragnarok was making an honest effort to beat their films in terms of just gut-busting moments. It's awkward humor, it's visual gags, it's wonderful performances, it's everything to make you damn near pee yourself in your theater seat. I've always liked Thor's balance between serious Shakespearean drama and goofy humor, and Ragnarok basically turns it up to eleven. I think that Thor's best quality is that he's a big old dork with a big old heart, and it shines true in this film. He's a warrior and a giant golden puppy and it's shown so well in this film. The way I've been describing it in my head is "the most extra Marvel film in the entire MCU" and I mean that in the best possible way. Everything is extra as fuck and it works.

-Hela was awesome. I mean, duh, Cate Blanchett, and she was deliciously over the top exactly the way we were all hoping for. The House of Odin is basically the House of Big Hams and so she fit right in. Plus, she was a legitimate badass threat and it was great to see women in this film kicking ass and looking fly as fuck while doing it.

-Valkyrie was also a delightful welcome. I thought Jane was cute as a button and I didn't mind that her badassery came from her mind, but I liked Valkyrie palling around and being a grumpy drunkard who could kick your ass if you looked at her wrong. I also liked that they didn't make her a tomboy--she's just cranky as hell. She didn't feel unfeminine, and that's good to see in a film that's kind of a boys' club. It was so wonderful to see a woman of color kicking ass and taking names, and it was even more of a relief that the initial rumor was wrong and she isn't Thor's love interest. I wouldn't mind a future romance, but it's great that they are just brothers in arms.

-Jeff Goldblum. I don't need to elaborate. Just...Jeff Goldblum.

-Loki, to me, felt pretty balanced here and he didn't overtake the film the way he did in The Dark World. Mind you, I loved TDW. I thought focusing on the brothers was awesome and interesting, but it came at the expense of the villain and that was kind of a bummer. Here, we get just enough of the God of Mischief, but he doesn't stifle Thor or the others. Plus, he was so fucking extra in this movie. I'm crying. The play he put on and the statue he built was just hilarious. He's sitting there mouthing the lines and what have you. Oh, Loki. You are just a fountain of fucking entertainment. Also, I forgot how utterly attractive I find Tom Hiddleston, especially in tight clothing and all black, so I may have had a lady boner for pretty much most of the film. Damn you, Tom.

-The action was extremely well-paced. You had just enough time to get to know people and see the new characters and understand the threat while being treated to some truly awesome fight scenes. Plus, the Thor/Hulk battle lived up to its potential. We were all waiting for them to throwdown, and they certainly did in an epic way.

-Thor and Bruce's dynamic was charming. So, so charming. It was cool because of the Avengers team, the two of them seemed to interact the least and it was great to see them bond and develop a rapport. It's also cool that the film is sort of nodding to the Planet Hulk idea while not being able to go into it with a solo film, but hey, you get what you can out of the MCU.

-Surprisingly, no Avenger cameos and no references to what's happening on earth aside from Age of Ultron. Very cool of them to let Ragnarok be its own story and not get interrupted.

-Ragnarok is honestly as visually stunning as the Guardians movies. I'm really glad they amped up the way everything feels foreign and alien. It gives it its own unique flavor and sets it apart from the first two movies, and I know a constant complaint has been Thor being on Earth too much. Problem solved.

-The Matt Damon and Sam Neill cameos had me roaring. So random, but so good.

-Even though he's pretty much the Butt Monkey for most of the film, I loved seeing Thor be his big adorable, doofy self. He's like a wonderful frat bro, but not the obnoxious kind, like that adorable meathead kind of personality like Joey Tribbiani from Friends. He's a good man and he's been humbled a lot and he does the right thing whatever the cost may be. Good on you, giant puppy god. I'll always have your back no matter what.

-Side note: MCU fandom, I'm not saying you should write Valkyrie/Loki hate-sex fics...but you should totally write some Valkyrie/Loki hate-sex fics.

Cons:

-I hate it when major franchise sequels do this shit: writing the love interest out of the entire story with one line. I was furious. Look, I know Natalie Portman exited the franchise. I don't know if she said anything rude on her way out, but she was instrumental to the first two fucking films and it drives me insane when movies don't address why a major character has left, and it's especially fucking rude when said character was the love interest of the main lead. Stop. Doing. This. Hollywood. Respect these characters. I don't care if the actor/actress left--you need to neatly wrap it up and explain what happened out of respect for the story and the audience, not your fucking studio. Jane Foster started the entire story of Thor. Without her, everything would have been incredibly different and Thor might not have had the development he received as a character without her. I'm not saying you had to drag Natalie back on set. All I'm saying is to give Thor a five minute scene explaining why they broke up, because that's fucking important to him and to those of us who shipped Fosterson. So fuck off with your one sentence explanation, you selfish pricks.

-To that end, fuck you for killing off Volstagg and Fandral without a single fucking word or nod of acknowledgment of Thor's that they died defending Asgard. Look, I'm not stupid. I can acknowledge that these characters were an afterthought and they weren't given time to develop, but they were still a big part in helping Thor out and he loved them like family, so letting them die without even going out like badasses for shock value was a discourteous move. I can't believe the actors even agreed to show up for that bullshit. It's disrespectful. They also never reference where the hell Sif went, so thanks a lot for that too. I haven't watched Agents of SHIELD in over a year and I know she cameo'd there, but I have no clue where she was and why they didn't tell us why she wasn't protecting Asgard. At least Hogun got a goodbye, but why him and not the others? You dicks.

-The story is overstuffed and it's probably because Ragnarok is only 2 hours and 10 minutes long. They really should have just trusted the audience and made it two and a half hours long. Guys, we can sit through great films for that long. We don't mind. We are excited about the characters and the worlds they're in, so don't cut your movie short when you have this much going on. It's okay to slow down.

-Related to the above con, Bruce didn't really get a resolution to his story. His fear of being trapped inside the Hulk forever is legit as hell, and because of the short running time, he just sort of gets over it and switches back to save the Asgardians. While that is noble, it's frustrating to see his story arc get pushed aside due to the short running time, much like in the first Avengers where we don't see how he is able to control his transformation. Do the work. Give him some room to develop alongside Thor.

-Curiously, they didn't give us more fuel for Infinity War aside from (possibly) Thanos' ship popping up. I was sure they were going to show us Loki nabbing the Tesseract in the end credits and then Thanos finding out and going after it, but I guess not. Odd. I figured they'd allude to the Grand Master still being alive as one end credits scene, but I'm once again a bit frustrated with the lack of teasing.

-This isn't a personal con for me, but if you went into this looking for a serious story, you're going to hate this movie. It's charming and full of delicious Narm and one-liners, so if you've got a stick up your ass about your Marvel films being deep dramas, don't even bother with Ragnarok. It's a popcorn flick on steroids.

-I kind of wanted a little more of Thor mourning Odin, but part me is also like, "Man, FUCK THAT GUY. Odin won the Worst MCU Father award alongside Howard Stark.” I mean, Christ. "By the way, you have a sister who is the Goddess of Death and instead of preparing you for her arrival once I die, I'm just gonna spring this shit on you at the last second. Kthxbai." FUCK YOU ODIN. I tried to defend you when the Loki fangirls came after you, but now you can kiss my ass and die. Ugh, what an asshole.

-I would have liked Thor and Valkyrie to have a quiet moment to bond. Yes, this movie is all big laughs, but I'd have enjoyed seeing them genuinely have a moment, platonic or otherwise.

-I wish they would have outlined Hela's abilities and weaknesses (if she had any) before we got her showdown with the Big Nasty. It might have made the finale go down a little easier.

Ragnarok was oodles and oodles of fun and delivered what it promised. I'm already ready to see it a second time and enjoy the charm and the extra-ness. Please do yourself a favor and join me.

#Thor #Thor: Ragnarok #Thor III #movie review #film review #Marvel Cinematic Universe #MCU #Loki #Odin #Hela #spoiler alert #spoilers

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localmilk · 7 years ago

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Want to see a really jacked up mom bun and me being awwwwkward (but totes excited about my newsletter!)? Yeah, then you should check out my stories. . . Want to spare yourself the pain of me on the wrong side of the camera and just nab some sweet pearls of hard won wisdom AND a free guide to my Slow Morning Routine for pretty mornings like this (it's perfect New Year's resolution material!)? Then just click the link in my profile and hit the "join the community!" button. Implementing that morning routine has helped me have productive yet peaceful days —I don't always do it all, but every little bit counts even if all I do is make my bed! . . Tomorrow's newsletter shares some seriously life changing stuff I learned through good old fashioned fails. I reeeealllly like to beat my head against the wall before I learn anything. But after years of stress, anxiety, being out of shape, and working jobs I actually wasn't passionate about, I finally had a wake up call, and you can read alllll about it in that newsletter that will be beamed out tomorrow just in time for New Year's! 🥂💌🎉 • • • • • #communityovercompetition #risingtidesociety #creativepreneur #savvybusinessowner #makewavesmonday #livemoremagic #calledtobecreative #mycreativebiz #ohwowyes #creativeentrepreneur #theeverygirl #gritandvirtue #creativityfound #creativelifehappylife #tnchustler #pursuepretty #theeverydayproject #soloverly #stylemepretty #lifeofaphotographer #mastinlabs #theknot #bedeeplyrooted #tuesdaystogether #girlboss #makersmovement #flashesofdelight #thehappynow #darlingmovement #beingboss (at Chattanooga, Tennessee)

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cabiba · 4 years ago

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Although there are some great movie reviewers out there who evaluate newly-released films from a red-pill, non-leftist, traditional-Western, masculine viewpoint, I feel it would be worthwhile to review older “classic” films through such a lens, especially given that many of us believe that men, movies, and messages were far less cucked in the past, and many more are looking for an antidote to the pretty, poisonous lies spewed by Hollywood today.

I’ll begin this series with one of my favorites: the hilarious 1940 “screwball” comedy, His Girl Friday.

Original movie poster. Note the tagline. Dropping red pills even in the ads.

Short Version of the Plot

The basic plot is this: over the course of twenty-four hours, big city newspaper editor Walter (Cary Grant), convinces Hildy (Rosalind Russell) — his paper’s former star reporter and also Walter’s ex-wife — to cover the story of convicted cop killer about to be executed in the morning. Complicating matters is the fact that Hildy, who has quit the newspaper business, is leaving town that day with her beta fiancée, Bruce (Ralph Bellamy), who is taking her far away to be a stay-at-home wife.

Meanwhile, it turns out the murderer, Earl (John Qualen), is really a sweet, forlorn fellow with a sad life, who only accidentally killed the policeman in a moment of panic thanks to unemployment, loneliness, and desperation; however, despite the plot ostensibly centering around him, Earl’s story has become a cheap political football for everyone to use to their own cynical advantage.

This movie is so red pill, it almost hurts, except the comedy is so good it makes swallowing it easier. The more you look, the more truths you see.

The Press is Nothing but Liars, Slanderers, Thieves, and Crooks

One of the major themes of the movie is that reporters are conniving trash and all have agendas that gratuitously shape everything they “report.” (Sound familiar, Journolisters?). Almost every scene has a reporter lying, backstabbing, or being a heartless jerk, all for the sake of their stories.

A great illustration is when Earl is finally discovered in the rolltop desk; you get individual close-ups of each reporter as he calls his office, and they each give wildly contradictory lie-filled accounts. Molly Malloy’s accusatory harangue of them could be applied to any reporter working today.

Molly Malloy: “They ain’t human!” Hildy: “I know, they’re newspapermen.”

Politicians Use the Law and People’s Very Lives Merely for Political Points

The mayor and the sheriff conspire to deny Earl his lawful reprieve, and thus kill him, all to score political points. The governor is only giving sad-sack Earl his reprieve to push his execution closer to election day. And when the sheriff realizes where Earl is, he gives orders to shoot; it is only the bystanders’ protests that make the sheriff arrest Earl instead.

Alpha Fux, Beta Bux, and Cads over Dads…

Walter’s an alpha cad, Bruce is a clear beta, and guess who gets the girl here?

Alpha Walter and Beta Bruce. Bet you can guess which is which.

…But Betas can Have Dignity

One truth buried a bit is that Bruce, despite being a beta, isn’t a total pushover. Although he wrongfully trusts too many people, he still eventually realizes and embraces harsh truth, even if it hurts. Bruce walks out on Hildy in a manly way, and, although he leaves the door open for her to come back, he’s resolute in saving his pride. Most betas today lack such a backbone; they merely slink off in denial or humiliation at being rejected, or worse, spazz out like a gamma.

Career Women are Bad Wives

A woman obsessed with her career will never obsess over her man or her family. Hildy, despite her protestations, is infatuated with being a reporter and getting famous. She may have hidden behind a mask to nab Bruce’s proposal, but the mask slips. Thankfully for beta Bruce, he didn’t marry her or get divorce raped by her. Any woman “on the fast track” or is “career-oriented” is a bad, BAD idea.

Tough, Strong Women Existed Before the Feminazis Arrived, and Were Far Stronger than the Feminazis

Hildy, despite being bad wife material, is a tough, beautiful broad who has earned the respect of her male peers because she is a good reporter. She takes the guff they give her and gives it right back. She didn’t need affirmative action or #MeToo (though sleeping with Walter certainly didn’t hurt). She would eat the feminist snowflakes of today alive. (I like to imagine her walking into a Huffington Post editorial meeting and making all the feminists cry).

Hildy Johnson : she’d rip today’s women’s studies majors to shreds.

Divorce Still Happened Back in the Day

Social conservatives and red-pillers who hate divorce have to come to terms with the fact that divorce didn’t suddenly begin in the 1960s with Gloria Steinem’s urging. Career gals with options in the big city divorced. Country girls whose society forced them to stay married didn’t divorce.

Cowardice, Manipulation, and Scummy are No Bar to a Woman’s Panties

Walter is hilariously shown to be a liar, a cheat, a fraud, a conman, a coward, and in bed with criminals — and yet Hildy is madly in love with him. Sure, as many an anti-PUA will claim, it’s because he looks like Cary Grant, but that doesn’t solve it; objectively, Bruce is as good-looking as Walter. Behavior matters.

She’s saying this to Walter, and just shortly after she’s marrying him. If you can get a woman to hate you, you can get her to love you.

Young Hot Women are Attracted to Older, Established, Powerful Men

Hildy came to work for Walter fresh out of college — meaning she was twenty to twenty-two years of age — who is not only clearly older, but was the big chief editor of the paper. ‘Nuff said.

And, Most Importantly, The Final Scene is a Fountain of Redpill Truth

As the movie closes, shameless conman Walter tries to get rid of Hildy after she’s served her purpose, and even stiffed her with counterfeit money, but Hildy’s hamster takes all this only as proof that Walter loves her. In reality, if you watch Walter’s behavior, it’s hard to say he has any love for Hildy, only a desire to keep her working on the story. Yet despite that, Hildy is willing to do anything Walter demands, breaking down like an obedient schoolgirl.

It’s amazingly bizarre from a logical point of view — even Walter is taken aback by her reaction — but fits in quite well with female psychology: a caddish man who shamelessly manipulates and abuses a woman is catnip to her, and she will love him and apologize for him, no matter what he does.

This is only halfway through the film, and Hildy’s already under Walter’s spell.

Bottom Line: See His Girl Friday, and Absorb its Red Pill Truths

This truly hilarious movie is full of old-school truth buried underneath the intelligent comedy. Watch this film, enjoy it, and be filled with truths that, today, are in far too short a supply.

Read More: Who Killed Adulthood In American Culture?

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