#matt in the comics be shooting his shot at literally anyone

[graysbullshit]

slightly more lowkey but kinda the same in the comics. I mean, remember that one time that matt regained his sight and decided that the last thing he wanted to see was foggy?

feel like it’s always framed as ‘oh foggy is the one in unrequited love’ when matt is the one who overtly designates their relationship as romantic. like when they were stumbling around drunk together and matt pulled foggy close, saying he’s looking for someone he likes listening to while staring at foggy (who was talking). or when foggy says ‘we’re going to share everything [...] for better or worse’ and matt is the one who immediately goes ‘it sounds like we’re getting married’. or when matt says to foggy, out of no where, ‘youre not going to kiss me’. matt always compares their dynamics to a couple bc that’s what he wants them to b!!!!!

[wikia22]

🕷🕷🕷

My thoughts and feelings about Spider-Man: No Way Home. Beware of the long post (and I could have made it even longer - so many thoughts and aspects that I wanna discuss)

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers

Proceed with caution ⚠️

Well, it finally happened. The movie we've been waiting for. The one that had so many theories, speculations, ideas, news and fake news (i don't even remember that much hype around the Endgame). Therefore I avoided news and posts like hell for the last 2-3 weeks. I gotta say - totally worth it! Because it was...amazing!

So Peter's life's gone to shit. Everybody knows his secret identity, half of the people think he's a killer, other half follows him with smartphones. Thank God all charges are lifted (hello Matt - so glad to see you in MCU officially), but the reputation’s gone to hell. Plus, he, Ned and MJ receive rejects from MIT due to all this mess. Well, I was worried about too many people knowing Spider-Man secret identity since Homecomming (cause there were too many indications in previous films/cartoons/tv series that there is no way Peter’s gonna reveal his secret identity to anyone (even his most beloved ones - like MJ or Aunt May). But now - best friend knows, his girlfriend, aunt May, her boyfriend, and pretty much all of the Avengers know.  I knew it’s not gonna end well, and the ending of Far from Home confirms it. And No from Home makes it a really serious issue.

Next - main theme. I realized what was missing in MCU Spider-Man. He is shown in the universe with the Avengers, so at first Peter is trying to be like them, be part of that team, resemble his hero, Tony Stark. So it was obvious that MCU Spidey had a guide, superheroic mentor. Which is not bad, it’s quite interesting seeing this development, Spider-Man as a part of the team, but here for the first time we see Peter acting on his own, without guidance (actually against senior superhero’s command), that’s transforms him into the Spider-Man that we know and love since 2002.

Music - Michael Giacchino was great with his Arrachnoverture, but when I heard Electro-music by Hans Zimmer and them listened to track 19 - I teared up. Litteraly.

I absolutely adore how the heroes were portrayed. Tom Holland acts more serious and mature, more consumed by the guilt that he is failing everybody. Which causes him to go in the dark places of himself... The trials, challenges and the tragedy could change our sweet boy into a vengeful antihero. My heart as truly breaking for him...

MJ here is the best than before - no longer bitter sarcastic and obsessive truthteller, she is here for Peter, supporting him and caring for him. I could literally see little hearts in their eyes. Plus, MJ is wearing a piece of that broken necklace! 

The villains are awesome - great ungrading of Max who looks cool in new costume. Doc Oc - was my favorite (confirmed) comeback guy. But Norman Osborn was the best of them all. His inner struggle with the Green Goblin - even more serious and scariest than before (because he’s talking without the helmet). Also new costume - so like the one in the comics!

And now - what we exicted the most! You know, I decided not to trust unconfirmed news untill I see it with my own eyes. And when Ned opened the first portal - my first thought: Oh my God! That’s Andrew’s suit! That’s Andrew’s suit!!! And when he got the mask off - I screamed, with everybody else! My God, he is so awesome, smart and hillarious! Cannot believe that they made him clean the webs on the celling! And it was the matter of minutes before the very first Spider-Man’s gonna appear... And here is Tobey! Still the same sweet, kind and polite guy that we last saw 14 years ago! Web-shooting with Andrew and backflips - way cooler than pointing fingers!

That shot with two Spider-Men on the full moon coming to help Peter... And this talk when they could totally understand whan Peter is going through, remembering their lost loved ones and saying this words once again: With great power comes great responsibility. What our young hero needed to hear in that moment.

Lab scene - both dramatic and hilarious. I’m happy that Tobey’s Peter really worked things out with his MJ, but still sad that Andrew’s Peter is still grieving and alone... But that the funny parts - Ned’s fear that the others best friend (btw the SAME best friend) tried to kill them and vows infront of everybody that he's not gonna do it (and that shoulder pat from Andrew). And WEB SHOOTERS - finally, the secret is revealed of Tobey’s own web and the other Spideys are totally fascinated by it! 

When I dreamed about it, I imagined the trio sitting somewhere in top of a skyscrapper, eating pizza and sharing stories of their lifes as Spider-Man. Well, there was no pizza or a skyscrapper, but there is a Statue of Liberty with Cap’s shield (!) and Spideys are sharing stories! Helping with the back, continuing questions with organic web’s origins, taking about their coolest villains, and remain a certain someone, who is the Amazing Spider-Man... 

Final showdown - too awesome. Swinging together with the full moon on the backgroung, curing villains one by one, meeting with old friends (like Doc Oc with Tobey’ Spidey, or Max with Andrew's and pondering of the existance of a black Spider-Man). And MJ’s fall - I held my breath when Tom went to her, only to be intercepted by the Goblin. And when I saw Andrew. I knew he’s gonna make it and finally have the closure (7 years since Gwen). Final duel with the Goblin - I was really worried for Tom’s Peter, seeing him for the first time in a violent rampage. I love it that his comrades were there to stop him and finally cure Norman. Way to go, Spideys! And that final hug - my only wish that Stan Lee could have seen it. That is really a defining moment for all generations of fans of Spider-Man in films. And both Tobey and Andrew look at Tom with such pride and joy...

When Peter came to Dr Strange with a request to make the world forget that he's Spider-Man, I've got the feeling that it's gonna be like the story in comics (with Mefisto and the same problem), but still, that was very hard and dramatic... Him saying goodbyes to his very best friends, doing final high five with Ned, kissing MJ. I still hope, that (maybe after some time) Peter will make friends with them (I hate the idea of him being alone).

The epilogue - Peter, making his new suit (sewing, like it should be) that resembles his comrades ones (and to me - the original suit from comic books and 1994 TV series as well), making the fresh start as Spider-Man. Good luck, Peter. Wish you the best in you new superhero life! Everything's gonna be alright.

[aion-rsa]

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan Is a Netflix Docu-Drama Written in Blood and Ink

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Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan, a new historical documentary series on Netflix, is being billed as a “real-life Game of Thrones” but it’s much more than that. This is actual history, which is far more compelling than fantasy because it really transpired. “It is like something out of a movie,” says showrunner Matt Booi. “If you wrote this down, no one would believe it. And if you saw it, I think you’d say, ‘Nah.’ But it happened.” 

According to Booi, the show covers one of the most violent periods in Japanese history. The six-part series begins in 1551 with the death of feudal lord Oda Nobuhide and follows the rise of three of Japan’s most influential warriors: Nobuhide’s son, Oda Nobunaga (Masayoshi Haneda), Tokugawa Ieyasu (Hayate Masao), and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Masami Kosaka). Japanese historians, as well as dedicated fans of Samurai movies, will be all too familiar with these three Samurai because their impact on Japan, and their consequential representation in Japanese media, is enormous. 

“It’s something that a lot of people outside Japan don’t know a lot about,” Booi says. “They know the iconic sort of figure of the Samurais, but a lot of the minutiae was missing. Netflix understood, and so did we, that this was a great story that is going to resonate with a lot of people.”

Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Hideyoshi lived during Japan’s sanguineous Sengoku period (1467-1615). Sengoku means “warring states.” It was a time when the country was ravaged by civil war, political intrigue, and upheaval. This period is the setting of almost every Samurai story. It was when these noble and brutal swordsmen were beginning to become eclipsed by firearms. “That’s what makes this era so poignant,” Booi explains, “We’re seeing the end of an era. It’s like the same way that guns ended the mounted knight in Europe.”

Booi understands why Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is being compared to one of the biggest TV series of the last decade, too. “The Game of Thrones reference is a nod to the political maneuvering that is happening on the political landscape at this time. It’s a chessboard that these certain players are moving key pieces to try and control it all. It really is about an attempt by a handful of people to gain control over a fractured nation.” Like Game of Thrones, the Sengoku period is an epic saga, full of tales of honor, ruthlessness, and betrayal. It is one of the most colorful eras of Japanese history. 

And that color is red – blood red.

Lessons from Akira Kurosawa and Manga

When it comes to Samurai films, the undisputed master was Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. One of the world’s most celebrated directors, Kurosawa made classic films like Hidden Fortress (the inspiration for Star Wars), Seven Samurai (the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Stars, and many more) and the psychologically relevant Rashomon. The Samurai genre owes a tremendous debt to his work. 

“I’m such a Kurosawa fan,” Booi says. “In terms of cinema, he rules over everyone almost in my mind. His ability to tell a story visually, I don’t think you can touch it. He’s just so astonishing. He’s the greatest. He’s the master. In terms of movement and shots, of how nature was, it was always something that we were aspiring to try and walk a little bit in his shadow.”

Additionally, Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan stole some pages from another leading Japanese media. According to Booi, graphic novels were a major source of inspiration. “If you look at the composition of shots, look at the color, at the color correct, it’s very dark. It’s a very gritty world punctuated by blasts of color, the reds of the blood, the red of the armor sometimes. So we thought a lot about graphic novels because, obviously, that’s such a big part of the world of contemporary Samurai lovers. We wanted that to inform it.” 

Furthermore, many of the re-enactment scenes are framed through doorways and such to resemble a graphic novel panel. This was a very conscious effort from the filmmakers. “There are two motifs that are heavily used, and one is blood and one is ink,” Booi explains. “The history of Japan in this period really seemed like it was written in blood and ink. Graphically, we were trying to make a world that nodded its head towards graphic novels and comics in general.”

Several battle scenes are shot in shadowy darker tones, contrasted by brilliant splashes of digital blood. “We might’ve got a little carried away with that,” Booi confesses, “but it’s hard not to when you’re in that world…It’s pretty shocking though when you get into some of the accounts of Nobunaga literally putting swords through just unfathomable amounts of people who stood in his way.”

Getting the Battles Right

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan balances these ferocious battle reenactments with explanations from some of the world’s leading scholars and authors. They put the violence into historical perspective. 

“We leaned on what we thought were some of the best storytellers, not just best academics,” Booi says, “people who can not only download the information but do it in a way that was comprehensible but also entertaining, because for so many of our viewers, a lot of these ideas and these concepts and even names are going to be very foreign. To have people like we had to unpack this for us was really incredible.”

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For any period project, historical accuracy is key. Authenticity was paramount for the production. Booi’s team sourced armor and weaponry from some leading companies that make them for other Japanese historical activities. “Some we had to make,” Booi admits. “Obviously, authenticity is really difficult when you’re dealing with such intricate designs and such incredible craftsmanship.” The filmmakers made sure objects like the family crests were accurate and were careful not to have them pop up in the wrong places. “It was incredibly challenging to try and portray any of it accurately.”

Another critical detail was to shoot all the reenactments in Japanese. Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is produced by the Toronto-based production company Cream so Japanese dialogue presented a unique challenge, both during production and for editing. “It was an essential obstacle. We all felt that trying to tell this story, if we did not have Japanese-speaking actors representing these people, there would be no credibility. There would be no authenticity.” The Cream team felt that the whole thing would fall apart the minute one of the Samurai spoke in English. Japanese dialogue is translated with subtitles, including for the featured Japanese-speaking experts. However, the subtitling never gets obtrusive because the bulk of the story is in English. “We just felt that was non-negotiable, that it had to be there. And it was something that Netflix really backed us on too.” 

A Blood-soaked History Lesson

Booi has made other military history documentaries. Among them are award-winning and Emmy-nominated productions such as Breathing Fire: The Secret Weapon of the Somme (Channel 4), The Weapon Hunter (Smithsonian Channel), and Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War (AHC). War stories are his specialty. 

“There’s so many things that draw me to the genre. There’s the sweeping sort of historical stuff, but also as somebody who is really interested in stories, I think you can get some of the most gripping and entertaining stuff when people are forced with sort of life-and-death decisions like that.” Booi feels that telling the big picture stuff through personal stories is particularly compelling, which is why he focused his lens upon Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Hideyoshi. As Booi says, “Looking at what happens with those three guys, you get an incredible window into how the period ends ultimately and how the next period begins.” 

Nobunaga alone is a fascinating figure. He has been portrayed repeatedly in movies, books, manga, anime, and even video games, usually as the villain, but not always. Kurosawa’s award-winning film Kagamusha depicted Nobunaga as a strong and respectful leader. Booi can’t categorize him as a villain or a hero. “It’s hard not to stand back and be sort of knocked out by his ambition, his genius. But on the other hand, it’s tough not to be revolted by his violence and cruelty. He would do anything for power.”

“It’s not by accident that one of our contributors constantly refers to him as sort of an Alexander the Great of Japan in that he was just so innovative. He was raised with so much tradition, but he wasn’t bound by it. That’s what’s so fascinating about him. He’s constantly doing the unexpected.”

In many ways, Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is an exploration of how power corrupts. “It’s really interesting to watch what happened to Nobunaga and how the decisions that he makes later on in the show come back to haunt him.” 

Without dropping any spoilers (although anyone can just look up the Sengoku period online to find out what happens), Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan examines the consequences of what power does to a person and how it can cause devastating blind spots. It’s a time-honored tale, still so relevant for our time. 

“There’s always an appetite for some stories about the Samurai,” Booi says. “It was such a lovely period because it’s such a violent world, but it’s also a world that is so bound by honor and duty.” Booi enjoyed exploring both sides of the same coin. “It’s just such a remarkable world.” 

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For Booi, the Game of Thrones reference is an easy comparison to make. “But I think that’s where it ends. There’s lots more than the fantasy element of that.” Being reality based, Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan doesn’t include sorcery or White Walkers. “We have a one-eyed dragon,” Booi teases with a grin. But to learn who that was, you’ll just have to watch it.

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan is a six-part series that premieres on Netflix on February 24, 2021.

The post Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan Is a Netflix Docu-Drama Written in Blood and Ink appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[evrthefanatic]

soulmark part 2 | Elijah Mikaelson x OC

tPairings: past Tyler x Oc, past Matt x Elena

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence

Word Count: 3,873

Read on AO3, FF.net, Qoutev, Wattpad 

ACT 1 | The first day of school

Dear Diary, 

September

Surprise, surprise. I’m starting a journal. I suppose it’s more tradition for our family to journal our lives than do therapy. I’ve never been one to write my emotions, and I’d rather bury myself in music. But I’m taking Elena’s advice and starting you up. Let me introduce myself;

My name is Alyssandra Gilbert.

Elena's my twin sister, and we have a younger brother named Jeremy. So our story goes like this: three months ago our parents died in a car crash. Their car whipped over Wickery Bridge and into the water. They both died before they got brought to the hospital. Elena was with them, and she was lucky to have survived. She hasn’t been the same since, although admittedly, none of us have been. 

 I’m honestly worried about her, and my brother. I’m prepared to help out however I can. It’s the least that I could do for them. I miss mom and dad so much, but somebody needs to hold it all together. I hope Elena doesn't think that Jer and I blame her for their deaths. I can see that she blames herself.

I haven’t told Elena, but  I feel like I almost lost her too the night our parents died. We got connected (?) somehow. And by some chance, I was able to see what happened and she was able to come back to life. 

I don’t believe in divinity, but I suppose that’s as close as I can get.  

Damn.

Anyways, I hear them rattling around downstairs. I better get down if I don't wanna be late for school.

The now Gilbert-Sommers household already bristled with life when Aly got down the stairs. She watched as her Aunt Jenna almost comically ready the kitchen, filled with energy despite it being early in the morning. Elena was already down as well, looking tired as usual.

"Toast?" asked Aunt Jenna, working around Elena as she walked to the coffee maker. "I can make toast." 

"It's all about the coffee." Elena replied, yawning."Morning Alyssandra."

Aly smiled. Despite the obvious circles on Elena’s eyes, Aly was glad to see that her sister took effort in herself that morning. Elena had worn her signature long sleeves, and her straight hair was thoroughly brushed. "I'd have some of that." she murmured, playfully grabbing the coffee mug from Elena.

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy’s voice echoes from up the stairs, making himself known. Aly painfully notes that unlike Elena, Jeremy didn’t seem to have taken any effort at all.

She made a face, taking a sip from the mug. "Dude you need a haircut." 

The glare Jeremy sent her was icy. "You need to leave me alone." he frowned, bumping into her as he got in the kitchen. Aly rolled her eyes, somebody had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. "Do we have more coffee?"

Jeremy steals the new mug in Elena's hands, much like she did, earning a glare from the oldest Gilbert sibling. It was half-hearted. Guilty for doing the same, Alyssandra hands her mug back to Elena. The younger twin looks at Jeremy, feeling a little concerned as he continued to harshly pushed things around as he walked. He had a complete personality change since their parents died, she wanted to reach out somehow- but nothing seemed to go through him.

Growing up, it was Elena that Jeremy had always gone to whenever something was wrong. By no means did Alyssandra believe that the two were closer to each other than Aly was to them, as she also believed that Elena was simply easier to talk to. Simply by being the eldest, Elena always had something to say to the younger two.

Jenna wore a pained smile. "Your first day of school and I'm completely unprepared." she sighed, "Lunch money?" 

Aly gives her a smile. "I'm good."

"Same," Elena answered. "You coming with Bonnie and I to school, Aly?"

Aly shook her head no, “I’m heading to Caroline’s.” she explained. Caroline Forbes, Deputy Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Forbes’ daughter, her best friend. “I kinda promised her we’ll go together.”

With literally no shame, Jeremy takes the money hanging from Jenna’s hand. Aly decides to shoot her shot.

"Hey Jer," she called out. "Wanna hang at the Grills later?"

He doesn't even look back at her as he heads out, yelling out a ‘no’ as an answer. 

Elena frowned, "You think he's gonna be okay?" she asked, looking as worried as Aly was. She placed her coffee mug back down to the sink.

"Honestly I have no idea." Aly had a sinking feeling in her stomach, remembering the early days of their parents' death. Aly personally blamed herself for Jeremy’s new behavior, she herself had almost fallen off the wagon just as hard in early June. 

"Well- whatever.” she forcibly took the thought out of her mind, beginning to feel uncomfortable. “I'm heading to Caroline's. See you later-" Aly idly presses a kiss on her twin in the cheek before heading out as well. She briefly hears Elena and Jenna talk some more before Jenna follows her out through the door.

"Hey Aly, do you wanna ride? Caroline's house is just on the way," she pointed to her car.

Aly shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

The ride to Caroline's wasn't exactly tense. But it was quiet. Aly follows the urge to trace her wrist. Finding comfort in the misshapen rough edges of her skin there. Jenna repeatedly taps the steering wheel.

"So-" Jenna starts, breaking the silence. "You ready for the first day of school?" she asked.

Alyssandra shrugged once more. "It’ll be alright I guess." she takes a look at her aunt. "Thanks, by the way," she tells her, softly this time. "I have no idea what we'll do without you."

It was true. 

Elena had refused to go out of her room for days at a time the week of their parent's death, Jeremy decided it was a good idea to meet up with her druggie friends, and at the day of their parent’s funeral, Aly herself had almost ran away. It was their Aunt that had somehow huddled them back together. It was nowhere near perfect, and Aly seriously doubted that things would go back to normal. But today was better, their lives were better, and it was all because of their aunt.  

Jenna smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Your mom was way better at this than I am" she shook her head. "She always wanted kids."

They fall into silence once more, one that's more comfortable. Alyssandra watched as they passed by houses. Thoughts of her parents running through her mind. She was once again reminded of the dream she had that night. She hasn't really talked to anyone about it. She can't get her dad's panicked face in his last moments out of her mind. She still didn't know or understand how she managed to see through Elena's eyes.

She felt her stomach churn over the thought that Elena had actually gone through what she saw. That Aly herself was already panicked by the thought. A part of her wanted to open up to her sister about the events of their parent’s death. But she couldn’t bring herself up to the conversation.

Alyssandra shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Already they had arrived just outside the Forbes residence.  "Thanks for giving me a ride." 

"You sure you don't need anything?" Jenna asked. 

"I'll be alright," Aly assured her. "Take care!" she said as she shut the door. Jenna gives out a beep as her car drives by. She hears the Forbes house open, revealing her friend, Caroline.

As always, Caroline had her blonde hair curled to perfection, her cheerful happy smile radiant and infectious. Aly was forever grateful for her personality. Many had thought that Caroline was shallow, often jealous of others, and always trying to do things her way. But Aly knew better. Her best friend had a heart of gold beyond the rough ‘shallow’ exterior. She was fiercely protective of her friends, and had always been kind despite her ‘say before think’ attitude.  

"Aly!" Caroline called out, giving her a hug. "I'm so glad to see you" she then pulls back, smiling brightly before- "Your hair is a mess," she tells her. "Come on," Caroline grabbed her hand, "Let's get you fixed up before we go. It's the first day and all."

Alyssandra shakes her head, slightly laughing at her antics. "I think my hair is absolutely fine." but she lets herself get dragged anyways.

 The first few hours of school went by smoothly. Aly ran a hand down her hair, carefully not messing up the handkerchief headband Caroline pinned up. She looked at herself in the mirror, tying her curls into a low bun. She felt oddly jittery, feeling as though something was about to happen. She took a deep breath to calm herself, closing her eyes. The restroom door opens, and she jumps in surprise. 

It was Elena. 

"You scared me."Aly couldn’t help but send her a glare as she washed her hands. Giving herself a little shake.

"You alright?" 

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" Elena pushed, her frown never leaving her face. Sometimes, even Alyssandra got unnerved by looking at her twin, astounded by their likeness. Aly wiped her hands down her skirt, looking at herself at the mirror one last time before rolling her eyes. 

"I'm fine, Elena," she said, giving her sister's arm a squeeze. "You?"

Elena shakes her head. "Not really," she mumbled, leaning down on the sink. "I saw Jeremy getting high off earlier."

Aly frowned, disbelief evident on her face. "Are you serious?" she shakes her head, disappointment rolling off her in waves when Elena nods. 

Elena looks at her hopefully, "I was wondering if you could talk to him later?" she asks, "I tried to tell him off but it didn't really work."

“I could.” she said, “But he’ll just give me a speech about being a hypocrite.” at Elena’s look she adds- “I suppose I’ll go find him with the druggies later.” she grabs Elena’s hand, hooking her arm with hers. “Come on, we’re gonna be late for class.”

They bump into someone as they head out. Alyssandra hears the guy gasp. He was tall, brown-haired, green-eyed. Pretty lithe and looked pretty shocked. He was obviously the new kid everyone had been talking about. Although he was new, Aly thought that he looked oddly familiar.  

"You alright there buddy?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. 

"Y-yeah," he stammered. “Hi, Elena.” 

"Stefan." Her twin greeted, smiling wide. It was an obvious sign, Elena had a new crush. "this is my sister, Alyssandra. Alyssandra, this is Stefan. We have History together."

Aly couldn’t help but snort at her choice of words. She reached out her hand for the guy to take, the obvious sign basically confirmed, Elena was into him. “Hi.”

There was still this weird look on his face, his eyes kept on darting back from her to Elena. Aly found it a little funny. "First time seeing twins?" she couldn’t help but ask.

That seemed to get through him, shaking his head, he laughs. "No- no. I’m Stefan" he shook her hand. "You two just look so identical. "

"Aly," she tells him, the handshake lasted longer than normal. “And yeah- that’s how twins work.”

"Sorry," he said, apologetic. "I didn't see you in class earlier." He trails off in question.

"There's a no twins per class policy here. I also have more classes than Elena here." Alyssandra explained, "Anyways," she looks back at Elena, giving her a tug. Elena had been staring at him. "We should get going, Care and Bonnie are probably waiting for us."

Elena, seemingly oblivious from the awkward moment, smiles. "Yeah," she said, nodding along. "I'll see you around, Stefan."

"See you." He smiled back. As soon as he was out of earshot, Alyssandra could no longer contain her tiny fits of laughter.

"Omygod," Aly laughed. "What was that?"

"Shut up" Elena rolled her eyes, "What do you think?" she asked, smirking. "Cute? Hot?"

Alyssandra rolled her eyes, lightly pushing her sister. "He's alright." she conceded. Not really her type, but he was obviously hot. Emo-looking, soft guy. "You have a crush?"

Elena pushes her back, "No," she says, "just- slightly interested." she nods off to the side, where Tyler Lockwood and his friends stood. "I know someone else who's slightly interested."

"Shut up" Alyssandra harshly pinched her, not looking at Tyler's direction at all. "You know how that worked out."

"He's still your best friend, Aly" her sister insisted, Alyssandra just shakes her head. Her mind thought back on Tyler and their rather weird together-but-not-really relationship. It abruptly ended when he had finally confessed his feelings to her, which she shot down. In hindsight, his confession was incredibly sweet, not to mention well thought out. But it was badly timed. Her parents had just died, and she wasn’t ready to jump into a relationship just after that.

She knew though, that even if they didn’t die, she still would have said no. Aly figured that she’ll just have to apologize, words were said that night. 

"I'm not really interested in relationships right now." 

Elena just nods, expression turning solemn. "Yeah, I get it." she says, suddenly falling quiet. Her playful expression was gone from her face, replaced by one that was more subdued and pained. Alyssandra felt a pang through her chest.

The younger twin backtracks immediately, realizing her mistake. "I don't know," she said, forcing herself to become livelier, "Maybe if he does it again" she feigns a giggle, instantly feeling better as Elena smiled. They enter the cafeteria together, finding their friends quickly. Soon enough, they were busy chattering about their day.

Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, and Alyssandra, four fast friends since their childhoods. There wasn't a month in their lives where they didn't see or talk to each other, except during fights, but they never did last that long. Caroline was just explaining how the new guy, Stefan, was Elena's next beau when Alyssandra's eye catches Jeremy's form leaving the caf.

Alyssandra stands up, "I'll be right back." she tells her friends. "I'll just go talk to Jeremy."

Following her brother, Alyssandra quickened her pace. A frown settling in her face. She knew the appeal of drugs, understood it, had it. But she couldn't. Not anymore. Elena would be heartbroken, not to mention it'll look terrible as Jeremy's role model. She sees her brother talking to Tyler, who looked like he was having a whiff of his own.

"Jeremy," she called out, smiling tightly. She ignored Tyler behind him. "Can we talk?"

Jeremy looked immediately pissed off. "What are you doing here?" he immediately grabbed her by the arm, dragging her away.

Aly pushed him back, not liking the rough handling. "What?" she asked, "I happen to be friends with the people here."

"Did Elena tell you to talk to me?" he glared. At the side, Aly sees Tyler come closer. "Why can't you two just leave me alone?"

Her ex- something gives her a look, joining in the conversation. "Aly"

Alyssandra ignores him some more. "Listen, Jeremy," she says, "This isn’t the way and you know it... You don’t use this shit for things to magically get better. Recreation, fine. But it isn't going to help you okay? It's not permanent." she makes a point by grabbing the joint from his hand. “You don’t depend on these things. It’s dangerous. I know this.”

Jeremy has a pained expression in his face, but he just shakes his head, handing out his hand. "Give it back Alyssandra."

Aly sighed, handing it back to him but taking her arm back when Jeremy instantly reached for it. "Promise me you'll think about it?" she pleaded.

"Yeah. whatever." he took his joint back, huffing as he walked away.

Tyler immediately rushes to say, "Aly I swear it's not what it looks like."

Alyssandra glares at him. "Just stay away from my brother alright?" she bumps into him as she walks away. Fully aware that it'll just get him mad. Tyler has always had anger management issues.

He grabs her hand, practically forcing her to face him. Alyssandra tenses up as he holds her up by the arms. "I promise," he says, looking at her in the eyes. There was a sad look in his eyes. She feels her resolve break up a little. "I'm not giving your brother any drugs." 

Alyssandra shrugs him off, huffing. "Fine" she bites back, "It doesn't matter anyway, Jeremy will just find someone else to get him his next hit." she huffs.

Tyler looks at her, sympathetic. "I'll look after him," he says. "I know how much he means to you."

Alyssandra murmurs him thanks, making a move to head back to the cafeteria but-

"Hey," he stops her again. Alyssandra desperately hopes he isn't gonna bring up what happened the last time they were together and, "Jenny wants you to come by her house later." he tells her instead.

"The drummer girl?" she asks in disbelief. Alyssandra folds her arms, "What does she want?"

Tyler gives her a genuine smile, she tries to ignore how cute it looked "Well," he says, "I gave her one of your songs." he admits "She told me she liked it and wanted you to come over."

"Seriously?" Alyssandra’s excitement was evident in her voice. "she wants me to what? Sing it to her or something?"

"I guess so," he agreed. "I can drop you off later after school if you want."

Alyssandra rolled her eyes, "If this is some kind of ploy-"

"It's not" he quickly cut her off. "You write good, you sound good. That's all real."

She finally gives Tyler a smile. He's always been nice to her when it came to music. Before, Tyler was always the first to hear the songs she made and he was always ready to give her his thoughts about it. But then her mind flashbacked to her parent’s funeral, and her stomach once again went up in knots. 

"Thanks," she mustered up. "I'll see you after school"

The first thing Aly noticed upon arriving was that the music was obnoxiously loud.  Tyler had just dropped her off by Jenny's house, and he tells her to send him a message once they're done so he can give her a ride home. She felt nervous, her heart beating in time with the drums. She had removed her hair tie, letting her hair fall by her shoulders in waves. She adjusted her headband, making a move to fix it up again before-

"You look fine." says a girl's voice. The door had opened, and it revealed a girl who had bright pink hair and a spunky attitude. "Come on in." 

Instead of a living room, Alyssandra was greeted up with a studio. The band had stopped playing. It took her a moment to realize they were waiting for her to introduce herself.

"H-hi" she stammered, she cleared her throat "I'm Alyssandra Gilbert, you can call me Aly." There were four of them in the room, five, if you count Alyssandra. They all stood by their instruments, looking as comfortable as she felt she wasn't.

"We know," says one of the guys, by the looks of it the lead guitar. "Sarah-" he calls out, motioning the girl that stood by the piano. "Play her cd."

Alyssandra almost cringed as the familiar strum of her guitar began to play from the stereo. The very first song was one she made from freshman year. She mentally cursed Ty for giving them  that song. It was spectacularly cringy.

"You have a nice voice." says Jenny, "and you know how to play with a song. This one" she holds a finger up. "Is really catchy"

Catchy but cringy, she thought.

"How long have you been doing this?" asked the dude, Alyssandra wasn't sure if she saw him around the school. His colored hair and face were unfamiliar. "Name's Nick, by the way."

"I learned how to play the guitar when I was 13," she explained.

The girl by the piano, Sarah, gives her a look. Her hair was dark red, straight, and she had bangs that almost covered her eyes. "How committed are you?" she asks, "If you join us," she says, leaning in "You'll be very busy. Don't you have cheer?"

"I'll have time," Alyssandra answered quickly. She knows how their lead singer had just left their band a few weeks before, having to move. "I'm good at scheduling things." she added.

Nick snorts, "You're on honor roll too, founding daughter.” he said scathingly. “Are you sure you'll have time?" 

Alyssandra had to stop herself from glaring at him. She forced out a yes.

"Oh stop it," says the other guitarist, the only one who didn't dye his hair. Alyssandra was glad, she didn't really want to color hers. "Name's Jamie," he tells her. "I think she'll fit in just fine."

"We have a couple of songs we want you to hit up first before anything serious," says Jenny, handing her a note sheet, one that impressed Alyssandra. "And also- Nick’s right, if you do join us we’ll need your commitment."

She nods, taking the paper from Jenny’s hands. "Yeah, sure" she felt herself slightly calming down. Jenny had switched up the player into something else, and by the looks of the lyrics, she's reading the first song they're gonna try out. She listens intently on the tune. Tapping her foot by the beat. Inside, she felt something inside her lighten up and she almost felt giggly.

After a while, Jenny gives her another look. "Ready?" she asks.

Alyssandra nods. She hears Jenny countdown, stopping her hands from shaking, she holds the mic a little tighter. She looks at the markings by her wrist as a last-second effort to calm herself down. Relief passes through her in an instant.

They ended up staying there for a couple of hours. Running down some renditions, letting her sing other songs, letting her sing her songs- the ones that they liked anyways.

Then there they were, all huddled up in a circle. The past few hours had felt exhilarating and fun, leaving a happy smile on her face. At first, she had felt regretful to not join her friends and sister at The Grill but now she realized she had made the right decision. The four were trying to decide if she got in or not, they all looked to each other intently as though they were having a silent conversation.

"You have a nice voice." Nick conceded, he looked at Sarah- "What do you think?"

"Nice?" she echoed, and for a moment Alyssandra's heart freezes "It's great. Honestly, Aly. Your songs are super good too."

"Thanks," Alyssandra replied, her face feeling hot.

It was Jenny who said the final cut. "We'll call you." she says- and before Alyssandra could react she says, "We need some time to think. There are also a few people that we've called that could sing and we wanna hear them out too- you understand, right?"

Alyssandra was nodding all the way through, "Yeah," she said, "definitely. You got my number?"

"We got it from Tyler," Jenny assures her. Alyssandra takes a quick look at Jamie, who has been quiet all throughout. "So that's that-" Jenny continues, standing up. She holds up a hand, which Aly takes. "You need a ride home?" 

Alyssandra shook her head. "Ty's picking me up," she says, standing.

"You and Tyler," Jamie finally spoke up, looking at her intently. "You two still together?" 

"No," shaking her head again "We never were." She hoped they'd fix their friendship though. Aly missed their late-night hangouts. She gives him a smile, though once she sees the look he's giving her she immediately says; "I'm also not looking into any relationships right now."

Jamie's face falls, "Oh," his face morphed into realization. "Your parents,"

"I don't wanna talk about it." she gets out through the door, a frown on her face. She wasn't about to tell her problems to a stranger. No matter how nice their day had just been.

"Condolences," he said instead, respecting her space.

"Thanks," she answered softly, giving him a warm smile. "You're really good at the guitar back there."

Jamie nods, chuckling.  "You're pretty good too," he tells her, "wish everyone knew how to actually make songs."

Alyssandra pouts, "But then I won't be special." she tells him jokingly. They end up talking some more and after a while, Alyssandra realized that Tyler wasn't going by any time soon. Excusing herself from Jamie, she calls Tyler up a couple of times. Angrily cursing when he didn’t answer.

"Typical." she muttered angrily, shoving her phone back to her pocket. 

"Need a ride?" Jamie asked, looking sympathetic. Alyssandra sighed.

"I think Ty ditched me, yeah." she grabbed her bag, huffing. She really needed to get her own car somehow. 

Later in the comfort of her own house. Aly stared aimlessly at the ceiling, comfortably lying down in her bed. It was already late at night- and she got multiple texts from her friends and Elena to meet up at the Grill- one that she refused in order to rest. The time at Jenny's place tired her, she hasn’t sung out to people since her parent’s funeral, and she'd like to get her nerves relaxed. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

She was being chased in a forest, dressed in blue. Her hair was half tied up. She felt fear run deep in her bones, urging her to run even faster. Her breath came in pants, and she felt her heart almost stop when she fell by accident.

A man called up to her, "Tatia," he yelled. Alyssandra felt confused, wondering for a moment what was going on. "Wait!- wait!"

She heard herself speak without her accord. "Stay away from me!" she panicked. Alyssandra stood up immediately.

The man is admittedly gorgeous. He looked sharp. With his jawline and piercing dark eyes. His hair was long and went past his soldiers. Alyssandra felt like she knew him, but she has never seen him in her entire life. His hands were up, presumably to signal that he meant no harm.

"I won't hurt you," he begged. He sounded desperate, sad. A part of her felt pained over the sound of his voice.

Alyssandra gasped, for some reason she wanted to tell him that she believed him but- "What have you become?"

"I'm what I've always been," he tells her, coming closer. But there's something else in his eyes, which slowly bled red. Alyssandra's heart raced- fear clouded her mind. "I'm the one who loves you."

His words made her warm, but at the same time, it churned her heart.

"Your mother asked me for my blood." Alyssandra admitted, "she said nothing about the dark magic that would turn you into a monster!" Aly took a step back once more. The man has his hand held out, silently shaking his head with each of her steps.

"Look at me," he said, "I'm not a mons-" he abruptly stopped, taking a look at her hand. Alyssandra's heart spikes out once more, suddenly scared and protective of the writing on her wrist. She looks, but her hand was wretched in blood. "Tatia" he breathed, taking a step forward.

Her hand moves on its own, slapping him. He backtracked, "I said I won't hurt you." he looked at her, breathing harshly, "I don't-" he tells her.

"Elijah," she begged. The name sent a jolt through her.

"Run." 

And so she does, but it doesn't take long for him to catch her. A scream tears through her throat as he takes a bite out of her neck.

Another scream woke her up. She was shaking from head to toe, her bones vibrating on its own. Her heart seemingly wanted to break open her chest, and she had to gasp in order to breathe. Inside her own head, Alyssandra briefly wondered who was sobbing, it took her a moment to realize that it was her.

She stands up, holding up to her desk for support. She felt nauseous. Her dream repeated itself over and over inside her own head. Replaying itself, as though it was permanently ingrained inside. Once again, Aly had an inkling feeling that she had just died. 

She quickly made her way to her bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach. She tries her best to calm herself down, her right hand going to her wrist- but when the usual contact of her skin used to soothe her, this time she felt nothing but fear. She regretted ever learning Norse.

Elijah

Alyssandra quickly washed her face, banishing the name from her mind. She took deep breaths instead. Holding down the sink to stop herself from shaking. Once the tears had finally stopped streaming down her face, she made her way downstairs. It was pitch black outside, a quick look at the clock tells her that it was an hour past midnight.

She gets a mug, fully intent on making herself a hot cup of chocolate milk- when she jumps, screaming in surprise at the noise behind her.

"Jesus Christ Alyssandra!"

It was Jeremy. He immediately rushed to her, but it was too late. Alyssandra found herself down near the sink, taking sharp intakes of breath. It squeezed her lungs, and her vision blurred. Without even realizing, Aly ends up babbling everything, wanting to get the pain in her chest gone. From her nightmare, she had just woken up from the one she had the night their parents died.

"I swear-" she gasped out, shaking still- holding unto her brother for dear life. "I swear it felt so real."

It takes a while to calm her down. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he repeatedly ran down his hand through her back in circles.

They both went silent as she drank the contents of her hot drink. The only sound coming in was the harsh breaths that she released every now and then.

"It was a dream." he finally said. "You'll be okay." in a softer tone, pulling her up. Alyssandra stands, burying her head by his shoulder. It registers in her mind that this was the first time they’ve hugged since June.

"It felt so real.”

Jeremy gives her a slight shake, "He's not real." he tells her, Alyssandra notices the bag under his eyes and the taut expression in his face. He looks almost as though he was in pain. Alyssandra felt worse, feeling bad for what just happened. "Nobody is gonna come running to you, alright?"

"Yeah" she nods, looking intently at the mug. Her hands were still shaking.

Jeremy sighed, then held out something. It was a joint.

Alyssandra shakes her head, eyes closing "Jeremy I-"

"It'll calm you down." he sighed, putting it in her hands. "You know it will."

Aly couldn’t help but frown at her brother’s words, staring as he leaves through the door to their backyard. Her mind goes to another time as the scent of the joint reaches the house. Simpler times, better times. She really thought that he should stop, but then again, no one had really gone against her when she started.

Briefly, Aly wondered how she thought that it was different. Aly did them because it was fun, Jeremy did it because it took the pain away. She wondered if she really was a hypocrite. 

Alyssandra followed him out the door.

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

[d0g-bless]

concept: protective pidge

uMM excuse me this is not a concept this is 100% canon let me explain you many many things

I think being protective of others is a double-edged sword, and we see it with Pidge a lot.

If you fall under the list of people who believe Pidge didn’t tell her mother she was breaking back into the Garrison, in a way, I see her not telling her mother as a form of protection. If you can tell me you firmly believe Iverson would only arrest Pidge on treason, I’d argue otherwise.

The Garrison might’ve gotten Colleen into trouble. If Katie’s a minor (I headcanon her to be at least 16. I see Pidge at 14, but Katie at 16), her mom might have gotten in trouble with the Garrison, too.

She also tried to protect her mother from the Garrison’s lies. Yeah, she definitely had her own motivations to uncovering the truth. She knew that there was something more to Matt and Sam’s disappearances than what official sources told her. But in doing so, she might’ve been trying to give her mother hope. (I’ll own up to these being a stretch.)

ANYWAYS, onto more solid canon things regarding Pidge.

In “Return of the Gladiator,” Pidge learns that Shiro attacked Matt at some point. She looked like she was ready to take him down; luckily she managed to calm down enough and then later we learn Shiro saved Matt. (Lucky for Shiro, really.)

Pidge is super protective of her teammates. Yeah, she’s aloof and unsure at first, but she pushes past this. But that’s really not until the Castle of the Lions Siege arc. It breaks my heart because I’ve seen so many fans disregard the things she said and did during those episodes.

Pidge could’ve left earlier than she planned to during that arc. But she stayed longer than she probably intended. Not only that, but she saved her teammates’ lives by sabotaging Sendak and Haxus’ plans. Also, Lance can suck it because he is NOT the one who “shot Sendak’s arm off.” That was Pidge. And she didn’t just shoot it off. Oh, no. She sliced that sucker off with her bayard. Not to mention she killed a Galra onscreen (RIP Haxus). I don’t think anyone else has done that. 

Had Pidge not stepped up to the challenge in that arc, her team would have died. I really hate it when people make the claim that Pidge needs protection. But all of those dumb but lovable boys would be dead without her protecting them.

Note that my memory of season 2 is foggy because I haven’t re-watched as many times as I have the first season of VLD. (I’m really bitter about S2, and I will stop talking about that bitterness here otherwise I won’t shut up about it.)

But when Ulaz broke into the Castle, what was Pidge’s first move? Stealth attack. Protecting her team and the Castle. Sure, she ended up getting dragged (literally!) for it, but she still tried to protect them.

And in the comics, there’s a moment in the third issue (MY FAV BECAUSE MY GIRL’S FRONT AND CENTER) that I fucking love. If you haven’t read it, spoilers ahead.

Basically she has to fight all of the other Paladins. She knows all of their weaknesses and uses them to win.

Well, all of them except Shiro, that is.

She can’t think of any of his weaknesses except for his PTSD. She probably could’ve found a way to trigger it, but here’s the thing: SHE DOESN’T GO THAT ROUTE. Instead of choosing to hurt Shiro though a debilitating means, she takes a risk and hacks his Galra hand to “freeze.” (She wasn’t sure if it would work, but my girl got lucky.)

So yeah, Pidge is protective af.

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 26

Spoilers, obv.

This felt like a big issue to us. I mean, in a literal sense it was a big issue. We normally are 20 pages of art (plus cheats). This is 23 pages of art, due to me completely fucking up and writing a 22 page script extremely early, thinking I'd go back to it and work out a way to compress it to 20. Except I forgot I had extra work to do on the script, so didn't leave enough time to rework it before Jamie had to get it. And then Jamie insisted on expanding a sequence by a page, because he loves you guys, or at least loves the comic.

I don't really think I could have compressed it without hurting the comic either. I compress the action at the start, and it leaves a reader cheated. I talked about false drama of cliffhangers last time, and if you don't have at least some manner of satisfying that promise, it's a cheat, and not in an interesting way people would thank us for. However, at the same time, that's not what we're really doing here. Equally, losing stuff from the back of the issue would move it into the next issue... and that is also sub-optimum, for reasons you'll see next time.

Put it like this: Jamie joked “can we split this issue in two?” and I took it entirely seriously, and started doing the math on making this a seven issue arc.

But no.

There's also one change which should be mentioned – we've gone up to $3.99 from $3.50. Why? Image suggested we should. There are very few Image books that are $3.50 now. The vast majority are $3.99. We've had our price set at $3.50 ever since 2006, with the exception of Immaterial Girl. We figured we should listen to our publisher. 50 cents across a decade seems reasonable, especially in an industry where $3.99 seems standard.

Anyway, let's do this thing...

Jamie/Matt's Cover The Norns, and they are kind of core to this issue, so more of a connection between cover and contents than for most of the issue. For reasons that become clear this issue, The Norns and Baal step forward as alternative protagonists for the story structure. They are key.

There was considerable EEEK! Over the wearing of masks.

Nicola Scott's Cover

Nicola's wonderful. I've wanted a candid photo cover for most of WicDiv, and I'm surprised it's only turned up now. It's also delineating Sakhmet and Persephone, which is a key note towards the end of the issue.

The Image 25th Anniversary Cover

It should be stressed, this was Eric Stephenson's idea.

You may wonder how we did it.

This is how we did it.

In short: we did it like an episode of Playschool. The lighting being a lamp, gaffataped to a wall is a particular highpoint.

And then Katie-west worked her magic.

All the good jokes on the covers are Jamie's, which is very annoying, but makes me feel better when I laugh at it, as at least I’m not laughing at my own crap.

Page 1

I love the first panel. I almost put it in the newsletter, but decided we should save that thrill for context. It's very much in the establishing shot mode, and a promise. Jamie and Matt executing things like Minervas concussive wind blasts out of the swirling body is lovely detail too.

I did have something akin to a NOT AGAIN! As a line of dialogue from Minerva here, but was obviously killed for breaking tone. See later in the notes for other thoughts on that whole sequence.

And by the end of the page, we've changed direction entirely. No, this isn't going to be a straight fight. We have other narrative fish to fry.

Page 2-3

RISING ACTION was basically four issues of straight punchy, with a middle act of woe. We're not the sort to do that again, and immediately try and make this feel different. That first panel where we get a very human observation of a superhero event. A glance out the window, and shit is going down out there. There is a lot to try and ground this as we go on, even as it escalates...

I suspect Amaterasu's realisation is one of the cruellest lines I've written for her.

Heh. Okay – want to hear another example of me messing up? I knew I needed Amaterasu here, ASAP. But I had also set the scene at night, so her long-range-teleportation doesn't work. This led to a rewrite to bring in the Woden-designed-arm-piece from Rising Action. And it helps in other ways – we get the interaction with her mum, which says a lot about Amaterasu. I do like the idea of Amaterasu having left this piece of fancy armour lying around on her bedroom floor and her mum tidied it up.

Jamie pushed a panel from page 3 onto page 2, which is obviously a smarter call, letting him keep a steady angle on the three teleportation panels, which nails the effect. The breaking up dialogue to show that things are instantaneous is obviously one of our tropes.

The lettering on this sequence involved some messing around with layers to get work, and to make the fade in operate. Nice work, Clayton. This is also an area where my suspicion of sound-effects was entirely over-ruled.

Page 4

And hulllllo Baal's family.

This strikes me as a very WicDiv take on a reveal. It could have worked with just a reveal of his family – we'd want to see that. But to reveal that, and juxtapose it to the creeping monsters, so mixing the excitement of meeting new people with the fear of losing them? That's WicDiv, innit? Sigh.

This was also the page which went through the most colouring notes. Getting the exact level of reveal on the Great Darkness creatures, of how much they're in the light or not took quite a few takes. We're very happy.

Page 5

We are totally not rated PG.

Page 6-7

If you follow me on twitter, you'd see me doing a crowdsurfed suggestion for a line of dialogue for someone to say when they're pulling someone out of the way. That was this page, and Persephone pulling the tentacles. I decided that any dialogue was too much. It even makes it jokey (clearly not the intent) or slows down the action. Even a “NO!” felt too much for me.

We're heading more towards action here, and doing a beautifully rendered fight-scene in someone's garden. This feels a very us thing to do.

I believe I described the Amaterasu laser beam shot in the mode of a Quietly moment, that sense of a still moment in time. Jamie and Quitely don't have a huge amount of overlap as artists for me – Quitely is all about the 3D space of a shot, which Jamie simply isn't – but this captures something really furious. The colouring from Matt on the heat vision is particularly A+.

The push and pull of Amaterasu is very much her thing. Her bravery is an open question, as is her capacity for anger and violence. From Persey-Poo to incinerating her foes in a couple of pages doesn't exactly make me feel comfortable about her. So nice work, J ane M.

Also Good Job Baal's Brother on spotting the baddies.

Page 8

Jamie and my debate on exactly how to (er) Biggify the Darkness creature was quite a thing. Of course, the creatures are granular. We can't just make the grains bigger.

We were a little worried that Persephone firing red thorns being a little confusing, when red is Amaterasu's signature. We may end up tweaking them green in the trade. Not that we've seen anyone complain about it.

I think Amaterasu's living-Darkseid-stary-beam is my favourite regular power signature in this book.

Lots of careful unpacking on what is said on the phone, to ensure clear storytelling. That we never actually show the Great Darkness Creature back at the shard defeated is an unsusual choice... but we need to make sure that people know it HAS been defeated and Minerva rescued. Equally, we come back to the nature of cliffhangers we mentioned earlier. We've promised a fight against the Great Darkness, but are much more interested in introducing Baal's family, showing Amaterasu's complicity in this, Persephone's powers, etc. So you DO get a great darkness fight, just not the one you were expecting, which is hopefully okay as the one you were expecting is a lot less interesting than this. Hopefully.

The Phone is a Woden design, as referenced later in the issue. Baal can't just go down any phone. You'll see one on his living room table in last issue.

Page 9

This is the sort of page I'd have ended up cutting if I tried to reduce the issue... and why would I want to do a thing like this?

There was a discussion of whether ALL I DO IS WIN was too much. It eventually worked around to obviously it's too much, but WicDiv is too much, so that's all fine.

This is a lovely set of colouring from Matt here. The white and purple is just a delight.

Notice tiny Scarab-esque thing shooting off in the top right panel. In a moving medium the Great Darkness' nature would be a lot cleaner, but we do stuff like this.

Page 10

And we're back to grounded colours. Just turn this page and see how things change. Isn't that a delight? Matt Wilson For Eisner, etc.

Yes, Baal's name is Valentine Campbell. Obviously we chewed it over a bunch. Valentine has so many connotations seemed to be useful.

I find myself thinking that in the first half of the issue Persephone is almost back to volume 2 Laura. She's primarily an observer, one who is taken places and sees thing. That does tend to make Amaterasu's final line particularly pointed.

Lovely pair of expressions in that final panel.

Page 11

The title for this was originally ONCE MORE, leading directly into Baal's first line, and hitting the beat again. That changed when I realised I wanted to do the whole sequence as a nine panel grid.

This is the first time all the surviving gods have been in a scene together, and it's a circular table. Luckily, when I mapped the gods to the seats, the ones who are most important to interact are actually sitting beside each other – imagine how difficult it would have been if Baal and the Norns weren't seated by each other.

(We'd have done something else, clearly, and had the Norns standing like Persephone is.)

So I was trying to work out how to panel all this political-meeting style chat, and hit the bit where the gods vote. And I realised that as there were nine gods voting, it'd work really well as a nine-panel grid. That rapidly expanded to... wait, especially with Baal/Norns sitting by each other (so minimising the need for wide shots) I could do the whole thing in a nine panel grid. That allows you to cut between individual characters speaking, and not have to worry about the interactions for most of it.

That unlocked the way to best dramatically sell the Persepone's final line. If we build a structure, we can get an aesthetic effect by demolishing it.

It's not the first time we've done a Nine Panel Grid in our work, but its' certainly the longest. And if we're doing Nine Panel, it brings it back to Watchmen, which means that we should highlight that. Hence, the title altering to THE WATCH, which obviously has all kinds of connotations.

I go through this to primarily show how much fun this job can be. Stuff builds on top of other stuff, and you eventually end up with something much more full than the original idea. For me, pretty much nothing is as good as writing is when it's going right.

Which is the sort of thing I'll get depressed about if I think too much about it, so let's not for now, eh?

Page 12

If we're going to do the nine panel thing, we need to establish the scene properly. Two panels, built on a nine-panel grid superstructure.

Obviously this was a heavy described panel, as we had to cram in all the character beats for all the people. Baph's slouch is particularly on point. The coffee that Dio is hanging onto for dear life another. The Norns not getting a seat.

One thing I particularly like about this page? It forefronts the visual element of the table with twelve gods around which people may not have noted. This, on a page after a big title saying THE WATCH is more obviously a clock face.

Yes, Watchmen was a big influence on me as a writer. Did I mention it? I may have mentioned it.

Page 13

Oh man – look at Matt's use of shadow here. Baal in the darkness on last page was great, but passing from the shadow to light in the first panel.

When I first saw Jamie had put Minerva in plaid I worried for him. “Er... Jamie. Drawing Plaid is a lot of work.” He noted that as there was only a few panels with her in, it'll be fine. Jamie is not entirely foolish.

The page does show one of the things about the nine panel – as in, you get more beats... but you have to be pretty particular to choose those beats. 9 panel is good for a writer, for certain things (most important: timing), but you can do less with any one panel. On the plus side your beats are more deliberate, more delineated.

In this case, showing Persephone's is relatively “expensive” in page space, but clearly necessary – Baal is saying the stuff he's never said before. We need to see her response.

And yeah... Baal finally lays out his main motivation. I suspect for close readers or re-readers, things make a lot more sense.

The seventh panel is one of four two shots I can see in this whole sequence, to get an idea of how sparsely we tried to use them. Maybe 5 if you include the one with Woden asking “Does she get a vote.” Though I say this having only skimmed quickly, and am sure I must have missed one..

The non sequitur panel of the 8th is one of my fave things you can do with a rigid panel like this. Drop a silent panel and break it up.

Page 14-15-16

Honestly, this kind of shit is stuff I love. Just lock characters in a room and let them argue. Political dramas. Legal dramas. It's just a fascinating writing challenge – who speaks next and why. How to delineate the information, how to lampshade information is questionable, etc, etc.

I mean, in some ways this sort of debate is pure exposition – here are some statements – but the fact that each is immediately interrogated turns it into something else.

Basically, if left to my own devices, I'd have just done a 40 issue series in the style of 12 ANGRY MEN called 12 ANGRY GODS.

In terms of my outline, I knew that the pantheon would have a schism at this point. Until Brexit happened, I didn't realise that it would be by something as clear and true as a simple democratic vote.

The hand on Cass' shoulders is the sort of thing I'd have only done in a nine panel grid.

Yes, Baphomet, there was a time for jokes, and it was in the first arc.

PAGE 17

This issue, for reasons which we'll get to shortly, had some consultants' eyes on. That bit was fine. The thing which was tweaked then, and tweaked time and time over is trying to delineate the sides. The first draft simply hadn't sufficiently. Hell, the second or third lettering tweaks didn't do the trick completely. At least from the comments we've seen, no-one seems lost, so the effort seems worth it.

The problem is that each member of the debate wants to phrase their position in the best way possible and their enemies in the worst way, which actually leaves it hard to say what's actually go on. This led to Baal in the final panel actually bringing it together – the PRIORTISE THE GREAT DARKNESS vs STUDY is the key thing. ANARCHY had to be introduced explicitly by cass to describe someone else's position as a label before it could be used here too.

In terms of minor fact drops? One of the things people always ask is what's going on with the skulls. Here we just let people know they're ornaments.

In terms of the nine panel grid, I think the single hardest decision was letting go of showing the Norn's response to Sakhmet's threat. Alas, everything else is more important.

The second one would be Baal doing something like counting people around the room, to ensure that the reader knows that Baal thinks he's won. In the end, we highlight that later, and with the ellipsis  in the eighth panel. And, of course, as always a Jamie McKelvie expression goes a long way.

Er... I'm writing too much about this stuff, but I hope it's useful for people who think about comic craft. And to double-triple stress, as always in these notes, I really am just telling the surface level storytelling basics.

Page 18

And the vote page. As said earlier, was where the 9 panel grid came as possible.

These lines were especially tweaked to sell the positions and why.

And Dionysus, for the first time in the scene, speaks. Obviously a key issue for Dio, where we move him into an explicit new position in the plot.

Page 19

Man, I don't even want to unpack this page.

But I can easily imagine how both Baal and Cass are feeling in the last panel. Uh... wait...

Page 20

Formalism doing its formalism thing.

This was written in a nine panel grid, but with descriptions of which panels are covered by Persephone's hair.

Page 21

And then we go into our quick cuts to move to the new status quo, the nine panel.

It's very much our aesthetic that we show the break-up but don't show the getting-together.

I suspect it's the sort of scene I'd like to talk about further down the line, but not now.

The gold prize for Jamie here are panels 3 and 4. For me, that's comic, and that's why I love comics.

Well, one of the reasons, anyway.

Page 22-23

Cass continues to be a gift for those who like reaction images.

The strangest rewrite of the issue for me was the “What's the saying about stopped clocks?” line, which was originally a lot more suggestive and less explicit. But 2 of the first 4 people to read it didn't get it in its more suggestive form, which meant that I was always going to dial back for clarity's sake.

So, yes, this is a Cass/Dio/Woden team-up for the Study side. Splitting your cast into smaller narrative units is a good tactic in a team book (I sort of learned it properly when I was writing my 9-core-person Uncanny X-men team). You also see it all over the place – if you listen to Community notes, you'll see how they split their cast into different arrangements and see how the characters interact. Having three characters who, on the surface, appear to have very different priorties come together under a larger banner is an interesting one.

In terms of the explicitly delineating at least part of the sexualities, this has been considered for a while. Let's start with Cassandra.

Early on in WicDiv, I saw a random comment of someone annoyed with something I'd said. Specifically me saying something akin to “I sometimes need room to discover a character's sexuality.” Her response – and one I completely get – was annoyance with suggesting people don't know their own sexualities. The “No, I know I'm Bi – don't say it's a phase. Don't say it's something I'm discovering.”

As I said, I get it, but that's not what I meant. I meant characters. Writing often feels like excavation. Not always, but sometimes, and especially in a book like WicDiv. You get to know them by writing them, sometimes in actually fundamental ways, ways which were always there but now come to the surface. For all my planning in WicDiv, it's also a living creature.

So when starting off, I always had a few feelings about Cassandra. There was the possibility that she was actually asexual. It would fit with her for a few ways, and the evidence for a reading of that was certainly there. However, I rapidly realised it caused huge problems inside the narrative in terms of what it was saying about asexuality. One of Cassandra's primary traits is that she doesn't experience the performances. If she's asexual, that implies that it's linked to that – especially when the performances have been linked so strongly to sex at various places in the narrative. I thought that'd be true even if we had another asexual character in the primary cast to show the contrary. I continued writing her and thinking, and having an awareness of the various potentials I saw in her. I didn't have to make a choice yet.

The flashpoint was issue 20, where I realised that it just was untenable for her to be asexual. Because if performances are linked in the readers' mind to sex, that eventually Cassandra does response to a performance is a sign that asexuals just haven't met the right person yet.

No. I'm not writing a book that suggests that.

There is also the real world thing that trans women are viewed through a hypersexual lens or an asexual one, which is certainly one feeds into the final dialogue on the page.

So everything re-arranged and solidified in the other way I saw them – a stable lesbian polyamarous triad. I saw with Imperial Phase ahead, that felt more and more necessary. WicDiv is... not a book where relationships are healthy. Every single romantic relationship in the book is openly dysfunctional. Relevantly, there is a lot of people doing polyamory very badly. It comes to a point where it looks like the book saying this behaviour is bad rather than this specific practise is bad. The Norns would be the counter-argument. In this issue, we show them in an private, loving supportive relationship that's arguably more unconventional than any other in the book.

We don't get to see any of the sex, of course, as it's none of our business and they're not there for the readers' pleasure. But with them in our story, it shows there's nothing implicitly wrong with kink, or polyamory or anything else... as long as you don't act like sentient burning trashcans.

That was the thinking. Some of it, anyway.

Oh – on the note of discovery, I only realised that she'd lean submissive as I wrote the page. It was a surprise to me as well, but seemed to align with everything else and make a lot of things make more sense.

In Dio's case, it was there as a possibility even as I first wrote him into the bible. I see myself writing around it in my notes, saying that I just didn't feel like sex was a big drive for him in the way it was for so much of the cast. The problem eventually came for the place to introduce it, and how, and in the same action where we move Dio towards the centre stage (or at least primary supporting characters) seemed to be it.

We've had a lot of supportive messages about both of these, so thank you. And thanks again to our consultants, who we will continue to high five at the slightest encouragement.

Page 24-25

This was originally written as a page, but Jamie insisted on MOTORBIKE DRAMA!

And how could we resist that?

I actually wrote a first draft of this, and wondered if it was too much, and then did a completely different end scene based on Persephone leaving the Shard. Arguing it over with Chrissy, we came down strongly on this. It's WicDiv. We crash motorbikes into walls for the sake of it.

Worth noting: this is a return to a non-cliffhanger ending structure. The “read the next issue” comes from the whole of the issue rather than a specific beat. This is about leaving it with a mood.

Favourite thing in colour – the circle of light on the wall, a half second before impact.

I'll give you one for free: Persephone is on the phone to one of her people, probably an agent. I could have put an explicit call in that to the dialogue, but it was too crass and fake, and the specific identity doesn't really matter that much. It's just someone who's clearly going to get her a new bike.

Also: the main reason why I wondered whether this scene wasn't too much, is because it is literally the lyrics to Icona Pop's I LOVE IT.

Page 26

“Hey, C, is referencing Kesha too much on the interstitial? It sort of is a trashy pop take on Watchmen's encroaching apocalypse feel.”

“No, that sounds like exactly the sort of thing you do.”

“Cool.”

See you next month, where we reach the penultimate part of IMPERIAL PHASE (I). It's just being put to bed, and we like it a lot.

Thanks for reading.

[joneswilliam72]

Meet actor Charlie Cox, Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Netflix's Daredevil and Basil in the new based on a true story heist film King of Thieves.

I caught up with actor Charlie Cox – Matt Murdock, Daredevil himself in Netflix's adaptation – for a chat on acting, film, Daredevil, influences and what it was like to work with heavyweights like Michael Caine, Michael Gambon and Tom Courtenay in his latest, King of Thieves, based on a very real (and very historic) British heist. Catch King of Thieves out now On Demand and Digital HD.

Cox plays Basil, the younger outsider to a crew of retired British thieves (also including Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent). Basil brings them in to the biggest heist they've ever faced, and the film chronicles what ensues and how – as in many heist movies – greed takes over with disastrous consequences.

The real robbery the film is based upon is interesting in and of itself being considered "the largest burglary in English legal history". In 2015, an elderly gang of thieves staged a robbery of safe deposit boxes in London's Hatton Garden jewelry district. Their loot had been able to get back totaled around 13.69 million pounds, yet they ultimately settled for a paltry 3.6 million pounds for their score. At least, that is what was returned to victims via the British courts after the gang was caught.

King of Thieves, in fact, delayed the trial for the alleged real Basil, Michael Seed. In September 2018, Seed's barrister asked for more time to prepare his client's defense because, "The court has little or no power to deal with it [the film], and little locus to obtain an injunction." The judge agreed. As of this writing, Seed's trial is still on-going having started 5 February 2019.

Those sentenced for the robbery John "Kenny" Collins, Daniel Jones, Terry Perkins (top row, left to right) and Carl Wood, William Lincoln and Hugh Doyle (bottom row, left to right)source:bbc.com

Catch King of Thieves now and enjoy our interview with Charlie Cox below.

Hello Charlie.

Hey Wess, how's it going?

Oh just great, how are you?

Very good, thank you.

Fantastic. Getting right into it, what was it that initially attracted you to the Basil role? I found the twist on his name at the end of movie really clever, too.

What's interesting is, we didn't know that when we were filming. That was something that came to light after we shot the movie.

Oh really?

When we were filming the movie, the information that we had was that Basil was potentially called "Basil" because he was slightly posher than the rest of the guys. His accent is slightly more posh and there's a very famous cartoon character in the UK, well puppet actually, called Basil Brush. He's a posh fox on television in the UK, and so the thinking was they called him Basil because he was like Basil Brush, because he spoke like him. That part's in the movie, but it wasn't until after the movie that someone read, or someone discovered, that possibly he was called Basil because of that play on the word.

Interesting.

In terms of what attracted me to the role was this is one of those ones where I kind of am amazed that I got the job, you know what I mean? Working with that group of actors obviously is a dream come true for anyone, but particularly for a young, British actor. Those guys all were my heroes growing up. To work with any one of them on one job would be amazing, so working with all of them on the same job, it's kind of like as good as it gets.

Absolutely, and honestly Charlie I think if you stay on the trajectory that you're at, you'll be at their level someday.

Oh, wow man, that's so cool! Thank you! That's funny to think about. That's funny to hear someone say that because of course it's impossible to imagine that you'd ever reach those kind of hopes of 'icon-ness' or whatever you call it. The fact that you're saying that is very encouraging.

Oh and I mean it too. I definitely think you'll get there. Now what did the process look like for getting into that head space of the thief, of Basil?

It was such a fun challenge because when I got the job, I got it very late on in the process. In fact, I literally got a phone call on a Friday and I was rehearing on Monday, so it was a very last minute decision I think. They were struggling with that character and I think a couple of people had maybe fallen through, or I don't know exactly what went on. It was a very pleasant surprise, but it did leave me very little time to kind of really investigate the character.

The challenge that I felt I was faced with, of course Basil is the one character that got away, the one no one really knows anything about. So we had to invent a lot about him, whereas the other characters, they're a known entity.

The thing that was confusing to me... We knew that Basil was younger, we knew that he was the guy that did the computers and shut down the alarm system, we kind of knew bits and bobs. What we didn't know was why, if he was younger, and he was the one with the key that got them in the building in the first place, that kind of was the catalyst, he got Michael Caine's character interested. What I couldn't figure out was why didn't he have any friends of his own age that were more physically capable of doing the hard work. What was it about him that felt like he needed to go to a bunch of geriatrics to pull off one of the biggest heists in history?

Really what I thought was an important element for that character was someone who was very socially awkward and maybe doesn't have mates of his own age. Maybe there's something kind of untrustworthy about him, something that doesn't seem quite right. At the beginning of the film Brian Reader [Michael Caine] had just lost his wife and he felt lonely, and Basil by his nature is quite lonely, so they kind of take each other hostage for a period of time. That was the way I ended up explaining it.

It almost makes me wonder, too, with that if he didn't know at some level that they were going to get caught and he was comfortable with the geriatrics taking the fall or what have you. But just hypothesizing.

(L-R) Charlie Cox as Basil and Michael Caine as Brian Reader in the thriller “KING OF THIEVES” a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

Any funny or memorable moments from the process of filming that stick out in your mind?

So many... It's not one particular memory, but normally on a film set in between scenes, sometimes it can be quite a long time between camera set ups. Normally people kind of go back to their trailer and they relax or they do whatever they want to do. But because the majority of the cast were slightly older, they didn't always want to go back to their trailers, it was too far sometimes, so we would all sit together in chairs, just around the corner from the set. And what was nice about that is you end up doing a lot of socializing, a lot of chatting, a lot of stories being told. So I got to hear some amazing anecdotes from all these legends and their illustrious careers and the lives they've had. That was just a memory that I'll never, ever forget.

Very cool. That'd be something in itself.

(L-R) Tom Courtenay as John Kenny Collins and Michael Caine as Brian Reader in the thriller “KING OF THIEVES” a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

We kind of touched on this, but what were the challenges like and was there anything else that you wanted to add in there with that?

Filming with those guys in London, particularly Michael, can be challenging because of how well known he is and the fans and people who recognize him in the street. We shot lots of scenes in the streets that were almost impossible to completely block off. And then when people walked past Michael Caine they had a look of amazement on their face and you can't put that in the movie. He has to be someone just walking down the street, so that's a challenge.

Wow yeah. I bet.

Other than that, I just thought the whole thing was just so tremendous. To this day I can't believe that I had that experience. I think it will always be one of the great, great highlights of my life.

Absolutely. Being based on a true story, too, it's just tremendous.

I would be remiss if I didn't ask about Daredevil when I had you here, too. It sucks that it's over. That was really an exceptional show and it was very gritty. I loved that.

Thank you.

I heard you didn't know the character was blind until the day before the audition. That leads me to ask, what was it like getting into that Matt Murdock, Daredevil head space and developing the character over three seasons like you did?

Again it was a really wonderful, challenging experience. I'm lucky with that particular job that I had a couple of months notice, so I could really come about... That job was hard because there were so many elements for my character that I had to kind of learn about and discover and investigate. For example, obviously the fact that he's visually impaired. What does that mean? What does that look like? How do you act that? What do your eyes do? I spend a lot of time working with a blind coach-

Fascinating.

Then the things that are related to the blindness apart from the eyes themselves. How do you use a cane? How do you find things on the table if you're looking for something? How do you read Braille? How do you use a computer? How do you use an iPhone? How do you do all those things? You have to learn all of that stuff.

Plus it was the first time I'd done an American accent, so I was working very hard to get the accent right.

Oh, you did.

[Laughs] Thank you. Then don't forget there was all the martial art stuff and a lot of weight to gain because I was much, much lighter when I got the job, I think I was about 162 pounds. By the time we started shooting I was 180 pounds. I put on a lot of muscle very, very quickly and that takes up a lot of time.

Whenever I got a second I was reading comic books, reading as many Daredevil comic books that I could get my hands on. In that job particularly it felt like there was a lot of work to do. But I loved it, I love all that. That's actually, in some way, the best part of the job is studying to kind of learn and delve in to the whole area of culture that you've never experienced before.

Oh absolutely.

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, DAREDEVIL's alter ego.

Switching gears just a little bit, a question I ask everybody, what films and performances have been most influential on you as an artist and an actor? Big question I know.

Yeah, it's a big question. Obviously Brando is a go-to, Hopkins – would be the actors that I've obviously grown up with and admire. His work is so influential. Gene Hackman is one of my favorites. There's some younger guys, I think Ryan Gosling is exceptional. I think that one of my favorite actors is Oscar Isaac, I think he's amazing.

He was great in Annihilation.

In terms of specific performances, Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind I think is one of my all-time favorites. I love the Coen Brothers and I think that everyone in almost all of the Coen Brothers’ movies, all of the performances are impeccable. I love the tone of a lot of those movies.

Me too.

Clooney in Michael Clayton and Tom... Williams... am I thinking of the right... in the same film, in Michael Clayton. Is it Tom Williams?

I'm trying to remember the name there... it's something like that...

I'm blanking on the name... it's something like that. What else... that might be it. That might be all I've got on me.

Well, like I said, it's a big question, too-

Tom Wilkinson! Tom Wilkinson!

Yeah, Wilkinson! I should've known that…

Tom Wilkinson is the guy in Michael Clayton.

Oh absolutely. I couldn't think of that either until you said it and it's like, yeah, I knew that.

(L-R) Jim Broadbent as Terry Perkins, Ray Winstone as Danny Jones and Charlie Cox as Basil in the thriller “KING OF THIEVES” a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

One other question I like to ask everybody, what makes a great film?

I think the honest answer to that is there is no formula. I think that if there was a formula, then you wouldn't get movies that were supposed to be fantastic that aren't. And you wouldn't get movies that were made for almost no money with an unknown director and an unknown cast, that are sensational. There's no way of knowing what is... There's so many elements that need to come together when you make a film, or a TV show for that matter.

There are so many things that have to be exactly right for that movie, including the acting, including the script, including the sound design, including the set, including the editing. There's so many elements and even sometimes if just one of those things isn't quite right, a movie doesn't quite work. When they all do come together, you get a great movie. Not a good movie, a great movie. That's a very special thing. Like I said, I think that if there was a formula then you could just churn out hit, after hit, after hit, and of course we know that that doesn't happen.

I couldn't agree more. I've had more than a few answer with, it's a form of "alchemy" when I ask that question.

Our last question, what's next for you Charlie?

I'm going to be doing a play in London. A stage play in the West End in London, of a Harold Pinter play called “Betrayal”, so that runs from the beginning of March to the beginning of June of this year, so that's what I'm gearing up for right now.

KING OF THIEVES trailer.

Netflix's DAREDEVIL trailer.

The award-winning opening sequence to DAREDEVIL. This was designed by the same people who did the opening to TRUE DETECTIVE: SEASON 1.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2DuICx5