#my brother was the one who finally contacted me like ''yo so that new trailer right?'' and I was like waht

[loregoddess]

couldn't find a post to reblog so HERE look at the trailer that apparently dropped 4 days ago that I didn't know about until today but I was so stupidly excited to watch it anyhow

[snarkwrites]

FFT: a visit from the sugarplum fairy; daryl dixon

Notes:

So this kinda.. turned weird. Like a vision / dream type thing in some parts. Pretty sure this would fall in either the timeline where Daryl and Evie arrive at quarry camp married or in their non apocalypse au, maybe both. Anyway, here tis.

Summary:

Daryl has an accident while hunting, that leads to a vision. That kind of comes true to an extent when years later, he meets Evie at a bar his brother Merle frequents and they wind up dating..

Warnings:

uhh, supernatural element - visions, injury mention, vague hints of Shane past and fluff.

Pairing:

Daryl Dixon x OFC, Evie

Everything went black and for a few seconds, Daryl Dixon found himself sort of just lingering, floating somewhere between conscious and unconscious. As he slipped between the two, everything around him outside of his mind carried on.

Daryl shielded his eyes at the blinding pure white light. “What th’ fuckin hell?” he muttered. His stomach churned. He couldn’t be dead. The anger bubbled forth, he was supposed to go out fighting, not be thrown from a damn horse. He was too young to die.

He didn’t particularly want to, either.

Maybe that’s why he called out, “Hey, yo, JC.. There’s a mistake, man. I ain’t dyin today. Not like this. Me n Merle, we’re gonna start our own garage when he gets outta th’ pen.”

His voice echoed.

The light seemed to flicker and pulsate and laughter bubbled out from within. Daryl’s brow raised and he stepped forward, hand raised. Into the light he went, despite everything in him knowing it might not be a good idea.

The lanky 16 year old stood there, watching a leggy blonde move around a kitchen, a little boy who looked like he did when he was a younger kid hot on her heels.

“Momma?”

“Yeah, Daryl?”

For a minute, Daryl thought he was seeing what could’ve been. What life might have been like if his mother bothered to sober up and his daddy was outta the picture. If she hadn’t nearly lit the whole damn house on fire and burned to death in her sleep because of her one last cigarette.

But things were… Off.

The house was too clean. There were things inside it that Daryl had only seen on commericals prior to that point. And his momma wasn’t blonde. She had light brown hair like his. The leggy blonde standing in front of the stove at the moment looked like she’d been ripped out of one of his wildest dreams.

He found himself drawn to her, unable to stop himself from moving closer.

The little boy spoke up again.

“When daddy gets home, think he’ll take me out to shoot my new bow?”

Daryl’s mouth curved upward in a smile and he chuckled. He noticed the calendar and he gaped at the date “December 21st 2009”, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

The little girl with her momma’s blonde hair raced into the room, genuinely excited. Like someone had given her all the dolls in the world, a fairy wing flapping crooked and dirty bare feet.

“Momma! Daddy’s motorcycle’s comin! I’ll get him a plate. I bet he’s real hungry.”

The blonde knelt down to the little girl “It is, huh, praline? Well then, I guess you better go get those hands washed. You let Momma worry about the table, m’kay?” and then she turned to the slightly older child. “You too, son. And I mean wash those hands. Don’t just go in and run water.”

“Momma, c’mon. My hands ain’t dirty.” the boy argued, pouting when his mother gave a firm shake of her head and pointed down the hallway. Daryl’s eyes followed her finger’s direction and he turned his attention back to the blonde and the boy, swallowing hard, waiting. Suddenly, he felt like he was standing on pins and needles. Hot ones at that. Her next words had him nearly choking.

“Daryl Jr, you get to that bathroom and wash those hands, sir.”

The boy slunk away, muttering to himself and making Daryl laugh as he observed it. And then, the strangest thing happened.

The little girl looked dead at him and took off at a run towards his denim clad legs, hugging them. Hazel eyes darted around the room and she motioned for Daryl to bend down, whispering into his ear in a rush, “We don’t have much time.. But I know who you are. And you’re not supposed ta be here, you’re supposed to grow up big and meet momma.”

Daryl swallowed hard as the reality of what was happening hit him like a speeding car. “That’s… I’m… We’re married?” he scoffed about it, a little more than shocked. For one thing, he didn’t really see himself married. For another, he didn’t see someone like her, marrying him.

… ain’t no way a woman like her gon’ marry trash like me… she looks like a fuckin angel… the thought came and Daryl found himself just staring at the blonde, watching the way she laughed, hugging what were apparently their kids. He looked from little girl to little girl and scratched his head, confused. She was there, and yet she stood right in front of him also.

… I gotta be dead, there ain’t no other explanation…

The little girl cleared her throat, making Daryl look at her again. “You gotta remember the name Evie. Cos that’s my momma and she loves you. You love her too.You gotta protect each other, okay? Promise me. Keep her away from a man named Shane.”

The little girl hugged him and Daryl, despite his not being a very affectionate guy, hugged the little girl back.  He couldn’t be the same man his own father had been, refusing to show any form of affection to his own kid.

As the scene around him began to fade away and the little girl began to fade, he asked her one more thing. “What if she don’t want the likes of me?”

“She will. Please, you… have to believe me…” the girl was gone, leaving Daryl standing alone in the darkness to puzzle over what he’d just witnessed.

“Hey, kid! Yo! You alive?” the voice kept repeating, poking and prodding. Daryl shrank away, throwing his arms up as a defense before finally opening his eyes and sitting up. He eyed the other teenage boy suspiciously, there was just something totally off about the guy, from the way he stared down at Daryl like he thought he was better or something to the way he held the hunting rifle over his shoulder.

“Shane, is he good? We need to get my daddy out here?” Another teenage male called from the distance.

The name that the little girl had given him came rushing back and Daryl sprang up to his feet, glaring up at the taller teenager. “ I’m good. Don’t need no goddamn help. From either of y’. Fuck off cos yer scarin off th’ deer I was chasin.”

Shane scoffed at the lanky kid, squaring up and Rick grumbled, moving to step between the two, fixing his gaze on his best friend. “Hey, Shane. Calm the hell down, buddy. Let’s just go… Leave this kid to it. He’s obviously fine, despite us findin’ him on the forest floor.”

Shane glared at Daryl and Daryl glared right back.

As the two teenagers wandered off, Daryl stood there scratching at his head, trying to process, remembering what the little girl dressed as a sugarplum fairy from his dream said in vivid detail.

He shook his head and turned away, taking the opposite direction in the forest, heading back for home…

That whole thing had to be a coincidence. Or a concussion, Daryl thought solemnly as he shook his head and wandered through the door of his father’s old trailer.

XXX

Evie eyed the biker bar and took a deep breath, steeling herself. The biggest step to being independent, to standing on her own two feet was a job. And she needed money. Shivering in the December wind, she made her way inside the bar, trying her best not to stare at any of the men present for too long as she made her way to the back, behind the bar.

One of them, a regular named Merle called out, “Hey! Sugartits! Give daddy a beer, yeah?”

“Dixon, I have a name.” one of the female bartenders called out with an annoyed look at the man. Evie tapped the bartender who’d just spoken on the shoulder.

“Hey, I’m… I’m real sorry to bother but I was supposed to be interviewin for a job?”

The brunette eyed her up and down and smirked, shoving a uniform at her. “You’ve got it, congratulations. Go on back and change, darlin because it’s about to get real hectic out here.”

Before Evie could ask where she needed to go, the brunette bartender had turned away and was pouring a round of shots for a local branch of Hell’s Angels, leaving Evie to her own devices. She hurried towards the general direction the other woman had bothered pointing in and in the process, she collided with a man wearing a sleeveless plaid shirt.

“Shit. I’m.. I’m sorry.” she stammered as the man turned, swearing and on the verge of snarling. Something in his eyes changed and he steadied her, staring at her a few long seconds, almost as if he’d seen a ghost.

“You new round these parts, hon?” the man asked and Evie managed to pull herself out of the depths of his eyes to nod. “I am, yeah.. Tonight’s my first night.”

He chuckled and my god, the sound. Deep and husky. Evie bit her lip and tried to focus anywhere but on his lips. But that lead her eyes straight to his biceps. She felt her cheeks heating up and she cleared her throat. “I don’t suppose you could tell me where a girl needs to go change, right?”

“Ladies room is down ‘at hall and to yer left.” the man stepped a little closer, almost as if to shield her when the group he was shooting pool with started to make little comments. He leaned in a little. “Ignore these fuckin assholes. I’ll keep my brother outta yer hair, he’s always had a thing for blondes and he’s the biggest asshole of us all.”

Evie could only nod… and of course stare like a complete idiot.

“Daryl, it’s yer shot, brother.” Merle staggered over, eyeing the blonde up and down and smirking as soon as he bothered to make eye contact. Evie gulped, backing further away from Merle and as a result, closer to Daryl.

“Merle, go on. Leave ‘er alone. Poor kid’s nervous enough without you runnin ‘er off.”

“What’s yer name, sugartits?”

“It’s Evie. Evie Grimes.”

“You new in town? I never seen you round these parts before.” Merle was inching closer. Daryl’s fists clenched at his side and his jaw tightened. “Goddamn it, Merle.”

“Shoot yer shot, brother.”

“Ain’t shootin shit til ya leave ‘er alone.” Daryl stood up straighter, eye level with his older brother and Merle chuckled, glancing from his brother to the blonde with the killer curves. “I see how it is. Well then, I’ll leave y’all to it.”

Evie let out a ragged breath and Daryl told her in a firm tone, “Best get movin, darlin. He’ll come back in about five seconds, he’s fuckin dumb like that.”

As Evie walked away, vanishing into the women’s room in back, Daryl let out a breath he’d been holding as a December afternoon years ago came flooding back. A dream about a little blonde girl in a sugarplum fairy costume her momma made for her and what she’d told Daryl during that dream.

He scoffed about it, chuckling to himself as he turned his attention back to the pool table.

It was just a coincidence, that was all.. It had to be.

XXX

Shane sat on the couch in his living room, watching the ball drop for New Years. The six pack he’d bought on his way in was long finished and the half a bottle of Jameson was on it’s way to being gone and all he wanted to do was drive to Atlanta and find her.

She had to miss him.

He missed her so much sometimes he almost couldn’t breathe.

… but it was yer own fault, you let ‘er go… you let ‘er think there wasn’t no future for y’all…

He stood and pocketed his keys. Maybe a drive would help clear his head. As he rode backroads and sobered up, all he kept thinking about was Evie and what she was doing in Atlanta. How much he missed her and how badly he messed it all up.

As he got closer to the interstate, rather than turning around and going back home, he kept going. By 2 am, he was sitting in the parking lot of the apartment complex she lived in. He saw a motorcycle zip past, stopping in front of her building. Evie got off the back of it, and Shane felt his stomach sink.

“Well. There went that, reckon.” he mumbled to himself, even though every part of him wanted to say something, let her know he was there and he was sorry.

The urge to do so took hold and before he could stop himself, he was getting out of his Bronco, hurrying towards the two.

“Hey! Evie, darlin.” he called out.

Evie tensed and bit her lip, eyes flitting between Daryl, who she’d just had a nice time with and considered a friend to Shane… Her ex. The one she’d hoped would be her happy ending. She sighed when she saw the look in his eyes because she knew then and there that Shane was only there to be all hot headed and cause chaos.

If he said he was sorry for anything, he wasn’t going to mean it. He hadn’t learned, hadn’t changed a damn thing.. And meeting Daryl had been a real eye opener for her in that she’d started to realize there were several varying degrees of love and sometimes, once you leave something behind in the past, it was best if it just stayed in the past.

“Shane, don’t. You need to leave.”

“I drove all a’ this way to see you, darlin.”

Daryl looked from Evie to the familiar looking dark haired man and the man glared right back at him before turning his attention back to Evie. “C’mon, hon.. Come home. You won’t have to do nothin, okay? I just… I need you.”

Evie swallowed hard. She’d been putting off driving that final nail in the coffin for a while now, but she was starting to see that the longer she just didn’t say anything about their relationship either way, the longer Shane would hold onto hope.

….just like he let you do for so long…. The thought came to her and she tilted her head, looking up at him. “We’re over, Shane. I can’t go back there with you and just pretend you won’t change your mind about us… About me… Every single time something better comes along. I’m not gonna spend my life waitin on you to grow up.”

“Evie, it ain’t like that.” Shane reached out for her and Daryl stood, moving closer, glaring at him as he stood taller and made it a point to put Evie behind him. He didn’t like the look of desperation in the man’s eyes. “She said it’s over. Have some fuckin respect for yerself and git.”

Shane eyed him dismissively. “Who the fuck are you?”

Daryl chuckled, “Gonna be yer worst fuckin nightmare if y’ don’t git gone like Evie here wants y’ to do.” as he stepped even more in front of Evie. He wasn’t sure why but something in the guy’s demeanor felt a little off. He could smell the alcohol on the guy and it made him think back to all the times his dad got out of the way with his mother just because he was drinking and she happened to be there. Evie was a close friend -and maybe he felt a little something more, so he wasn’t about to let her get hurt.

Evie looked from man to man and after a few seconds, she leaned against Daryl’s back and answered the question Shane asked.

“Daryl is my boyfriend, okay? Now will you please just go? Don’t keep at this, Shane. I’ve made up my mind.”

Shane felt like he’d been punched in the gut and he glanced at Evie, who was mostly hidden from his view by the other guy. “Darlin..”

“Go.”

“Get goin, man. She said she don’t want you startin nothin.” Daryl tensed, senses going into high alert as he squared up, ready and anticipating a fight.

Shane looked at them and shook his head, walking back towards his Bronco. “You get tired of playin house with that fuckin guy, just come home. I’ll be waitin.” - and even as he said it, he got this strong feeling that Evie wouldn’t be coming back to him. He got into the Bronco and drove away, the shock wearing off about halfway back to King County and becoming this overwhelming numbness instead.. Like someone who’d just lost a limb and wasn’t used to it yet.

He felt emptier now.

If he had to be alone, so be it. He’d go it alone. Because if he couldn’t have her back, he didn’t honestly want anyone.

Daryl turned to face Evie, staring down at her as he chuckled. “Yer man, huh? That really all you could come up with, darlin?”

Evie swallowed hard, her heart about to beat right out of her chest. Before she could stop herself, it was all pouring out. She stepped closer, her arms going around his neck as she pulled him down to her level, mumbling into his mouth, “Maybe that’s all I wanted to come up with, Daryl. What’s so wrong with that, huh?”

Daryl’s hands slowly moved down from her hips to her ass, fingertips digging into her jeans as he pulled her even closer, bringing her mouth into the kiss deeper answering quietly, “Nothin, darlin. Nothin at all. Just shocked I guess.”

“Happy New Year, Daryl.”

“Happy New Year, darlin.”

After a few more lingering kisses, Daryl nodded towards her apartment building and gave a smirk. “Wouldn’t be yer man if I didn’t walk y’ up.” he held out his arm to her and Evie slipped her arm through his, smiling up at him. “You still wanna go ridin again tomorrow? I really like ridin the motorcycle with you.”

“Anytime you wanna, hon.” Daryl answered, giving her a teasing wink as they walked up the stairs leading to her floor…

[ask-the-phan-site]

The Vain Emperor of the Track

>It’s time.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

This has been a long time waitin’. I can’t wait!

Same here. He’ll pay for what he’s done.

Playing with two people’s hearts like that is unforgivable. It’s time for him to face the fist of justice!

Then we’re off! Let the race begin!

>Mona becomes our van.

Let’s race!

Here we go!

>With that, we go on our way to take Trey Sterling’s heart.

>The penthouse overlooking the track is were very special guest to the school usually stay. This time, Sterling Sterling and his son, Trey, were staying here. They were trying to remain as calm as they can after receiving our calling card this morning.

I’m sure the police are doing whatever they can to get to the bottom of this. Don’t worry, son.

I’m sure, Dad. I’m not that worried... Although, these Phantom Thieves are quite tenacious... Especially the one called Crow.

Mr. Sterling: Now, now, things will be fine. Right now, you should get some sleep. We’ve got a lot to do later on. Good night.

Trey: Good night.

>Mr. Sterling goes off to his room while Trey stayed in the study. Everything was quite... Until...

?????: Good, we don’t want Daddy getting in the way.

Trey: !

>A red wave passes over. When it was done, the study had been replaced with a podium, a place where the Roman Emperor would sit in the Colosseum. Outside, the the track of the Colosseum of Vanity was roaring with excitement... And Trey had been replaced with his Shadow.

Shadow Trey: You have arrived.

You bet we did! And we’re here to win!

Shadow Trey: I’d like to see you try.

Believe us. We will.

Shadow Trey: Very well. To the track!

>With that, Shadow Trey leaves.

Okay, so we all remember the plan, right?

While Trey’s Shadow is distracted by his race with Zack, Joker, Panther, Queen, Crow, Wolf, Speed, X, Slice, and Dice, we will sneak the Treasure away before anyone notices. That’s pretty much it.

Lucy: Exactly.

Carmen: Good to hear. I still wish Player could be here. Or at least have contact with him.

Sorry, Red, but in the Metaverse, the only hacker you have is yours truly.

And we’re all happy that you’re here, Oracle.

We’re all counting on you.

Good luck today, Oracle.

Oracle: Thanks, you guys.

Me, Oracle, Connor, Chim-Chim, and Lucy will be in the pits over the radio.

I will join you as well. If anything happens to Joker, I want to be able to help.

Joker: Thank you, Fox. Wish us luck.

Then let’s get to it! Are we ready?

Everyone: Ready!

*Chirp*

>With that, we go our separate ways. Me, Fox, Panther, Queen, Crow, Wolf, Slice, Dice, Speed, X, Zack, Oracle, Lucy, Conor, Chim-Chim, and Ivy go to the track while Mona, Skull, Noir, Violet, Sophie, and Carmen go to retrieve the Treasure.

>Out on the track...

Oracle: Okay, Lucy, Conor, and Chim-Chim prepped the Mach 6, the Shooting Star, and Duel Aces and Ivy prepped Lydia (Zack’s car). So I did some tuning of my own.

Really? I can’t wait to see it.

>Just then, a large trailer was being pulled up to us... by a small car.

Hi, everyone! It’s been a while!

Panther: (happy) Jose, it’s good to see you again.

Zack: (confused) You know this kid?

Queen: Yes, he’s a friend of us.

Oracle: With a little technical know-how and the power of cognition, I managed to fix up some vehicles just for you. I didn’t want to store them in the garages here out of fear someone would sabotage them and they can’t really exist outside the Metaverse, so I asked Lavenza if I can store them in the Velvet Room. I also asked Jose to bring them here.

Jose: They look pretty good. Not as good as my ride, but still, nice machines.

>We go to the back of the trailer and Oracle opens them. Inside are four cars. One car had an Arsene-like design, the second had a Carmen-like design, the third had a Robin Hood-like design, and the fourth had a Valjean-like design.

WOW! These look so cool, Oracle!

Oracle: (smirking) That’s not all. Each of your cars also has a special feature. Joker, your car, Phantom Flyer, has a grappling hook with wires strong enough to pull the car or other things. Conor even helped me with laser sawblades. Use with care.

>I get in the Phantom Flyer. I drive it to the front of Jose’s car and fire the grappling hook at it. With ease, I manage to pull both Jose’s car and the trailer a decent 10 feet. Then, I activate the laser sawblades and Jose takes out a cinderblock. He moves it towards the sawblades and the block is cut with ease.

This is awesome, Oracle.

Oracle: Panther, your car, Flaming Kitty, has the same cloaking technology the Mach 6 and the Shooting Star have. But aside from that, it can also change its appearance to look like anything. Even other cars. It also has flamethrowers.

>Panther drives the car out. When she activates the cloaking technology, it becomes invisible. Then, it reappears as the Mach 6, then the Shooting Star, and then as Lydia before changing back. Next, she activates the flamethrowers which perfected roasted some marshmallows Jose just happened to have.

I wish I could show my mom! She would love this!

Oracle: Crow, your car, Freedom’s Strike, has the same camouflage technology like Panther’s. It can also shoot arrows and lasers and it also has sawblades both steel and laser.

>Crow drives the car out. It shot a few arrows and lasers into a target Jose set up. Then, Crow activates the laser sawblades and cuts a cinderblock. Then, the car changes its Robin Hood-like design to a Loki-like design. Then, steel sawblades come out and cuts the target in half.

(changing the car back to its original design) Quite amazing, Oracle. You know me all too well...

A little too well for my taste.

Yeesh, I think all that time you spent undercover really messed you up.

Either that or the connection made between you and the target.

Oracle: Now, Wolf, your car, Howling Silver, is built like a tank and is virtually indestructible. Even a wrecking ball can’t destroy it. And it has sonic canons for blasting your way through just about anything.

>Wolf drives his car out. Jose brought out his hammer and gave the car a good hard whack. But the car was just fine. Then, Wolf fires a sonic blast which shatters a stack of glass jars Jose set up.

Wolf: (excited) Sweet! I’m so going to talk to my superiors about making something like this in the real world.

Oracle: Good luck. I want to make cars for the others, but I’ll think about it after they finish their lessons.

Wolf: Probably good.

Dice: Hold on, Queen’s racing, too. How come she doesn’t have a car?

Queen: I’ve decided I’m just going to ride Agnes. She’s the closest to being a car.

Lucy: Is that even allowed?

Queen: There’s no rule against it.

Lucy: Fair enough.

>We take our cars to the track and we ready ourselves.

Racer Shadow: Yo, babe! Where’s your car?

It’s right here.

>Queen goes Third Tier.

Queen: PERSONA!

>Queen got on Agnes as Shadow Trey came on the track with his golden car.

Shadow Trey: Friends, Bostonians, countrymen, lend me your ears! Today will make the day that the Racer Family is finally put in their place! And I take down the legendary Phantom Thieves of Hearts! After this race, no one will ever question again who is the greatest person to ever live! Now, let us begin!

Announcer: Now watch as our most glorious emperor, Trey Sterling, goes up against the soon to be disgraced Racer Family and the Phantom Thieves!

>Shadow Trey comes to us.

Shadow Trey: Hope you’re ready to lose. That’s all you’ll ever be good for.

Speed: We’ll see about that.

Zack: You bet. I won’t lose to you this time.

Announcer: All drivers to your cars, please! All drivers to your!

Shadow Trey: (pointing and clicking) Later, Big Z.

>Zack was trying to hold back his rage as Trey’s Shadow left.

Ivy: Don’t let him get to you, bro. Remember what happened last time.

Zack: R- Right. That was the old Zack. The new Zack is way more cool under presser.

>Ivy left to join Oracle, Fox, Lucy, Conor, and Chim-Chim... I could tell Zack was still mad.

Joker: Are you alright?

Zack: It’s just... Ever since we were kids, Trey has always gotta do me up. Be better than me. And he does it with his old man’s money and then rubs it in my face especially. Why’s he gotta be like that?

Joker: I suppose we’ll know once we take his Treasure.

Zack: Still, I just can’t stand it. He’s worst than havin’ to eat fish.

>I know how you feel. >>You're the better person.

Zack: Come again?

Joker: Trey thinks he can buy his way into victory, but that’s not the same as having real talent. There are some things that even money can’t solve. And I speak from experience. Shido thought that because of his position, he could get away with anything, and look where that got him. The same thing will most likely happen to Trey.

Zack: You really think that?

I do. So to me, aside from Skull, that makes us brothers.

Zack: That’s... That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard. Hey, does that make Ivy like your sister, too?

Ivy: (who heard us and came over with Fox) We’re a package deal. You get one of us, you get both of us. Just remember that we ain’t leavin’ Carmen.

Joker: Don’t worry, you’re not going anywhere from her.

Zack: ... (smiling) Thanks, Joker. I owe you one.

Joker: Think nothing of it.

Zack: No really, you gotta let us thank you in some way. How ‘bout this, you change Trey’s heart, I might teach how to drive not just cars, but other stuff, too. How does that sound?

Joker: Well, if Mona where here, he’d say that would come in handy.

Fox: I agree. You never know when we might need to escape in just a car. You’ve already shown to be good on a motorcycle and you’re so close to passing your diver’s test with help from your father, I think it wouldn’t hurt to try other things.

>I think about it. I would be helpful to learn how to operate other forms of transportation.

Alright, you’re on.

Ivy: Then we have a deal.

Zack: You bet.

>Me and Zack do a fist bump together.

I am thou, thou art I… Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Shine Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Confidant: Zack & Ivy

Arcana: Shine (This Arcana is made up for this Confidant.)

Rank: 1

Ability: The Getaway Driver

Zack and Ivy will teach you better driving skills to use in the Metaverse.

Announcer: Last warning: All drivers to your cars, please! All drivers to your cars!

Joker: (putting the mask back on) Ready?

Zack: Ready as we’ll ever be.

>So, we get in our cars and Fox and Ivy rejoin the others.

Ready... Set... GO!!!

>And we’re off!

>Meanwhile, with the other at the podium, they were searching for the Treasure.

Skull: It’s gotta be here somewhere. We all sat that light thing right here.

Mona: He must have hidden it knowing someone would take it while he’s racing.

Sophie: I can sense it, too.

Carmen: I wish Oracle could have stayed with us.

Noir: I’m sure if we look harder, we can find it. Just think, where would someone as narcissistic as Trey would hide something that he believes gives him power?

Mona: My guess is somewhere really obvious. Someplace where he just can’t help but show it off to everyone.

Carmen: Maybe that?

>Carmen was pointing to some Shadows that were carrying something covered by a gold tarp.

Cognitive Being 1: There’s the prize for the winner of the race!

Cognitive Being 2: I sure wish I could enter to win it, but no one can beat the emperor. No one.

Cognitive Being 3: Still, whoever wins that... Oh, who am I kidding? Emperor Trey’s got this race in the bag!

I guess that’s it.

Violet: How are we going to get it? There are too many eyes watching.

Carmen: I think I can help with that. Oracle did a tune up to my tools. They should help us.

>Carmen pressed something on her coat and she turns invisible.

Noir: (taking out a small potion bottle) Panther gave us this camouflage potion. It should last us long enough to grab the Treasure and get out.

Carmen: Sounds simple enough... What’s the catch?

Straight to the point, huh?

Noir: Well, we might still have to fight a few Shadows along the way. Including the Palace Ruler. It’s usually unavoidable. So be ready.

Carmen: Thanks, I will.

Then here we go!

>Noir sprinkles the potion on herself and the others and they are hidden from view. They and Carmen go to take the Treasure.

>Meanwhile, back on the track, the race was raging on. A Shadow nearly rams me to the side, but luckily, I dodged it.

Oracle’s Voice: Be careful, Joker. I think Trey’s Shadow payed those guys to take you guys out.

Joker: No doubt. They don’t look like they’re going to let us leave this race with our lives.

Speed: Dad said and Uncle Rex used to deal with stuff like this all the time. I think we can make it through.

Ivy’s Voice: Just try not to do anything reckless.

Lucy’s Voice: Good luck with that. If there’s one thing you should know about Speed and X, “reckless” is their middle name.

Speed: Actually, my middle name is Daisuke.

Ivy’s Voice: Seriously?

X: Well Dad said it was either that or Pops.

Queen: Better watch it, we got one coming!

>A Shadow comes up to me. It transforms.

Bring it! Persona!

Tutorial

You have just entered a Race Battle.

If you have seen Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers, this battle is similar to the battles there.

When you attack a Shadow, it gets knocked backwards. When its HP goes to 0, it will be defeated. However, if you get attacked, you will be the one knocked backwards. If your HP goes to 0, it is game over.

>Garuda attacks with Garudyne. Luckily, I dodge it. Arsene uses One-shot Kill. Garuda is knocked back and loses a lot of HP due to his weakness to Gunfire. Garuda drives (or flies or whatever he’s doing in this race) back up and attacks me, sending me back a bit. I drive back up and Arsene uses One-shot Kill again. Then, I attack with my own gun. He is knocked back good. Garuda tries again to attack me, but I dodge it. Arsene uses One-shot Kill again and Garuda is gone.

Joker: That was close.

>Then, I notice Flaming Kitty driving up.

Tutorial

When one of your teammates is in view, you can pass the baton to them.

During this time, the one who passed the baton will have time to regain HP and SP.

>I pass the baton to Panther.

Panther: Okay, it’s my turn now! Persona!

>A Shadow come up to her and transforms.

>The Oni tries to attack Panther, but she dodges it. Carmen uses Agilao. The Oni uses Snap. Panther is sent back a bit. Carmen uses Marin Karin and the Oni is Brainwashed. Oni does not act. Panther then uses the car’s flamethrower. It had a Burning effect. After snapping out of it, Oni attacks Panther with Giant Slice. It was a critical hit and Panther is knocked backwards. Thankfully, she recovered and Carmen used Diarama. The Oni tries to use Giant Slice on Panther again, but she dodges it. Carmen then uses Marin Karin again and Oni is once again Brainwashed. The Oni slows down. Then, Carmen uses Agidyne and the Oni is gone.

Panther: Yes! That’s cool!

>Queen passes ahead of Panther and she passes the baton to her.

Panther: Good luck!

Queen: Thanks.

>A Shadow comes up and transforms.

>The Shiki-Ouji uses Psio. Queen is weak to it and it really knocks her back. She recovers and drives onwards. Agnes uses Freidyne. The Shiki-Ouji is knocked way back. Queen takes this as an opportunity and uses Freidyne again. The Shiki-Ouji grives back up again and uses Double Snap. It was a critical hit and Queen is knocked back. Fortunately, she recovers quickly. Agnes then uses Diarahan. Shiki-Ouji uses Psio, but Queen dodges it. Agnes then uses Freidyne and Shiki-Ouji knocked backwards. Queen decides to go bigger and Agnes uses Atomic Flare. The Shiki-Ouji drives up again, but is real weak. Shiki-Ouji uses Taunt, but it didn’t work. Agnes uses Atomic Flare again and the Shiki-Ouji is gone.

Queen: So glad you’re on our side, Agnes.

>Queen spots Crow in Freedom’s Strike. Queen passes the baton to him.

Crow: My turn!

>A Shadow drives up to him and transforms.

Crow: My skills exceed yours! Persona!

>Throne uses Makougaon. Fortunately, Crow resisted. Robin Hood uses Eigaon. Throne is knocked back. Throne tries to attack Crow, but he dodges it. Robin Hood tries to use Mamudoon, but it misses. Throne uses Makougaon. Crow resists again. Robin Hood uses Eigaon. Throne is knocked back. Then, Robin Hood uses Megaton Raid. Throne moves back up again and Throne attacks. This time, it was a critical hit and Crow is thrown back. Crow drives up again and Robin Hood uses Eigaon. Throne is knocked back. Then, Robin Hood uses Megidola. Throne drives up again and uses Makougaon. Crow resists again. Robin Hood uses Eigaon, but Throne dodges it with Evade Curse. Throne hesitates. Robin Hood uses Mamudoon. Throne is knocked back. Then, Robin Hood uses Megidola. Throne drives back up again and attacks. Robin Hood uses Megaton Raid, but Throne dodges it. Throne attacks again and it is a critical hit. Throne attacks. Crow manages to regain the lead.

Crow: Very well. It seems that Instant Kill didn’t do much... I guess I’ll have to do this the hard way.

PERSONA!

>Freedom’s Strike also changes. Loki uses Eigaon. It was super effective and throws Throne backwards. Then, Loki uses Laevanteinn. The now weakened Throne drives back up again and tries to use Makougaon. However, Crow dodges it with Evade Bless. Loki uses Eigaon again and Throne was gone.

Good. And not a moment too soon.

>Crow sees Wolf driving Howling Silver. Crow passes the baton just has changes back from Black Mask Mode.

Crow: (in cool down) We’re almost there. Keeping going!

Wolf: Rodger!

>Another Shadow drives up and transforms.

Wolf: So you’re the last one between us, Sterling, and the lead. Alright, bring it on! Persona!

>Baal uses Charge. Valjean uses Heat Riser. Baal uses Ayamur. It was a critical hit and Wolf was knocked backed. Baal just hesitated. Wolf drives back up and Valjean uses One-shot Kill. Baal uses Panta Rhei. Valjean uses Trible Down. Baal uses Panta Rhei again. Valjean uses One-shot Kill. It was a critical hit and Baal is knocked way back. Valjean then uses Megidola. Baal recovers and uses Revolution. Valjean uses Agneyastra. It was a critical hit and forces Baal way back. Valjean then uses Megidolaon. Baal drives back up and uses Ayamur. It was a critical hit and Wolf is forced back. Baal then uses Panta Rhei. Wolf manages to drive back up with little HP. Valjean uses Heat Riser. Baal tries to use Ayamur again, but Wolf dodges it. Valjean uses Megidolaon and Baal is gone.

Wolf: Yes!

Oracle’s Voice: Great work, you guys! All that’s left is Trey’s Shadow.

Wolf: Right!

Joker: Let’s hope the others are doing great with the Treasure.

>Back with Carmen and the others, they managed to get close to the Treasure.

Carmen: (looking under the tarp) This looks like a job for the laser cutter.

>Carmen cuts open a hole big enough for her and the others to get in. They go inside.

Carmen: Got it.

Mona: This is the Treasure alright.

Sophie: It certainly has that vibe.

>They sneak away until they were in the clear. The Treasure was a shiny golden racing trophy.

What a surprise.

Skull: And I thought Kamoshida was bad. This just takes the cake.

>Carmen then takes a closer look at the trophy...

Carmen: (surprised) I see, that explains it.

Skull: What’s up, Red?

Carmen: Something real interesting.

>Back on the track, I managed to catch up to Wolf thanks to Slice, Dice, Speed, X, and Zack.

Wolf: Good luck to you all.

Joker: Thanks.

Slice: Me and Dice will take care of things in the rare.

>Me, Speed, X, and Zack drive up to Trey’s Shadow.

Shadow Trey: Well, look who finally decided to show up. I knew hiring those idiots wouldn’t help.

X: Goes to show you that good help is hard to find.

Shadow Trey: Fine, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Speed: X and I will take care of Trey if he tries anything. Joker, Zack, think you can handle it?

Zack: You bet. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

Ivy’s Voice: Just try to focus. This isn’t like all the races we’re use to.

Joker: Don’t worry, he won’t be alone this time.

Zack: Thanks, Joker. Let’s do it!

>I nod... and go Third Tier.

Joker: PERSONA!

>Shadow Trey tries to use Brain Shake on me, but I dodge it. Raoul uses Concentrate. Shadow Trey uses Psiodyne. Raoul uses Phantom Show which puts Shadow Trey to Sleep.

Joker: Now’s your chance! Attack!

Speed: Here I come!

>I fling the Mach 6 forward with the Phantom Flyer’s grappling hook. Then, Speed attacks with his car’s laser sawblades. Speed drives back into position. Shadow Trey uses Taunt. I fall under Rage. I attack Shadow Trey with my car’s laser sawblades. Shadow Trey uses Psiodyne. It was a technical hit. I snap out of it and Raoul uses Eigaon. Shadow Trey tries to use Terror Claw, but I dodge it. I equipped Raoul with the One-shot Kill Skill Card and he uses One-shot Kill. It was a critical hit.

Joker: We get another one! Go!

X: This is for Annalise!

>I fling the Shooting Star forward and X rams Shadow Trey’s car, sending it back a bit. X moves back into position. Shadow Trey uses Brain Shake. Fortunately, I wasn’t Brainwashed. Raoul uses Concentrate. Shadow Trey uses Marin Karin. It didn’t work. Raoul uses Eigaon. It took a lot of Shadow Trey’s HP. Shadow Trey uses Sukukaja. Raoul uses One-shot Kill, but Shadow Trey dodges it. Shadow Trey then uses Marin Karin and I become Brainwashed. I nearly attack Speed. Shadow Trey uses Psiodyne. It was a technical hit. I snap out of it and Raoul uses Concentrate. Shadow Trey tries to use Brain Shake, but I dodge it. Raoul uses Phantom Show and it puts Shadow Trey to Sleep.

Joker: Get ready for another one! Just one more after this!

Zack: Here I go!

>I fling Lydia forward and Zack attacks Shadow Trey, sending him further back. Zack moves back into position.

Shadow Trey: (now really angry) I’m not done yet! Let me show you what happens when you cross me! I release upon you the deadly sin of vanity! You have no means of escape, human! The fraudulence of mankind shall bring forth ruin!

>Shadow Trey uses Distorted Vanity. Raoul uses Concentrate again. Shadow Trey uses Psiodyne. I’m knocked back a lot. Shadow trey then uses Skull Cracker. Fortunately, I didn’t get Confused. Raoul uses Phantom Show and Shadow Trey is Asleep again.

Joker: Now to finish this race!

>I give the final blow.

>After that, Shadow Trey was now back behind us. Then, I notice something.

Zack! Look!

>Zack was way ahead of us. He was in first place.

Ivy’s Voice: Go for it, bro! Go for it!

Zack: This is for you, sis! And everyone in Southie!

>Then, in a zoom... it was over. Zack crossed the finish line and won the race.

Cognition 1: (in disbelief) No way! Emperor Trey actually lost!?

Cognition 2: They must have cheated somehow.

Cognition 3: Actually, now that I think about it, doesn’t Emperor Trey do the same thing?

Cognition 4: Hey, you’re right! He paid those racers to kill those other racers!

Cognition 5: We’ve been supporting a cheater this whole time!

Cognitive Spectators: (outraged) Trey Sterling is a crook! A SPOILED LITTLE BRAT!

>Later at victory lane, Shadow Trey comes to us weakly.

Shadow Trey: It’s... It’s not possible... I should have won... I always win...

Wolf: Only because you paid those racers to lose with your father’s money. That’s not how you gain victory.

Shadow Trey: But, it’s my victory. I’m a proud son of Boston. I’m Boston Proud. Even the trophy says so.

??????: Does it really?

>Carmen and the others come to us with the trophy. She showed us the plaque at the bottom. Engraved on it was Trey’s name, but above it was another name that was chiseled out. I could definitely make out Zack’s first name, but his last name was completely unreadable.

Shadow Trey: The trophy? My trophy.

Carmen: I don’t think so. You clearly didn’t earn this. It was Zack’s.

>Shadow Trey looked like he was ready to attack one of us, but instead, he just drops to his knees and begins sobbing. We weren’t sure how to react... Then Zack comes over to Shadow Trey. He comes down to him.

Zack: (actually sympathetic towards his nemesis) Just... Why? Why do ya do this? Especially towards me and my sister?

Shadow Trey: (looking to him) ... You... You really want to know?

>Zack nods.

Shadow Trey: Look at you. You appear to be such an amateur, but the truth is... You were the better racer. You did a lot of things that were better than me. Compared to you, I was the real amateur. This was something even my father knew. He just wanted to see me happy. So, he decided to do whatever it took to make me happy. To make sure that I get what I want. From that very day at kindergarten, I convinced myself that my father and his money were the only way to get it. I love my father. He is a great man. If anyone could help me get my way, it’s him.

Noir: But that’s not how it works. There are somethings that you have to earn for yourself.

Shadow Trey: And make myself look like a fool? Like him? (points to Zack) Never. In this world, you take what you want the first chance you get. That’s why I’ve been so hard on Zack and Ivy. Because I didn’t want anyone to think that any way, despite our backgrounds... we would be the same. But we’re not. We... are rivals.

Zack: (shocked) ...

Speed: So you’re saying all this time, you and Zack could have been friends?

Shadow Trey: Maybe that’s another reason why I’ve always looked down on you. So that whenever you lose to me, you would realize that the only way to beat me was to befriend me. Though I wouldn’t be caught dead associating with someone from lower class, I could have changed all that.

Zack: But... We coulda been friends without all that.

Shadow Trey: !

Zack: Well, I don’t know. I’m still processin’ this. But bein’ so high and mighty around me and Ivy wouldn’t have made us friends. Just bein’ a good sport and welcomin’ anyone who shares the dream.

Shadow Trey: ...

Zack: I know you just wanted to be the best so that everyone would like you, but it never really hurts to show everyone who the real Trey Sterling is. You don’t need to hide behind your daddy’s wealth and power. You’ve got somethin’ that he could never get with his money.

Shadow Trey: ... What is that?

Zack: ... Beats me. It ain’t my life that needs fixin’. (offers his hand) So get up. Try to find just what you really can do.

Shadow Trey: ...

Joker: Listen to him. He may not look like a goofball, but he’s a wise goofball.

Carmen: He’s cares about others besides himself. I guess that includes you.

Shadow Trey: ...

Joker: It’s like we were saying...

You can’t buy talent or friendship. You ear it.

>Shadow Trey just sat silent for a bit. He thought of what we said... Then, he takes Zack’s hand and is pulled up.

Shadow Trey: I’m sorry. I now know that what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have treated you so terribly. And I also shouldn’t have played Bobby or Annalise. I don’t deserve either of them.

X: (whispering) That’s for sure.

Shadow Trey: For a while, I’ve always wanted to be as famous as my former idol, August Gaunt, as well loved by everyone as my old pen pal from Arizona, and a popular as... You, Akechi.

What!?

Shadow Trey: Yes, I know who you are. I suppose the me in the real world knows, too, but hasn’t fully figured it out yet. And even if he has, I doubt he’s going to say anything. Even he wouldn’t believe it. After all... It came to him in a dream. As did Augusts and his pen pal.

Crow: Then you know that my popularity as what you think.

Shadow Trey: I think so. I guess popularity, fame, and being well loved are very different things.

Carmen: You just have to find a way to connect them in a good way. Start with doing something that will get you well loved. For starters, apologizing to those two hearts you played... And maybe donate to a good charity.

Skull: Like the B.O.M.G.T.M. Foundation.

Crow: Or the Worldwide Engineering Brigade.

Shadow Trey: Yeah, I think those would be good starts.

>With that, Shadow Trey returns to his true self and we take our own leave as the Palace vanishes.

>To be concluded...

[petiteredlady]

I watched Polar Night thanks to misu-amane who kindly shared it, and for some reason I took notes while watching. So instead of letting them rot in a forgotten corner of my computer, I’ll share them here!

- Since when does Misu have a younger sister??? (Also it does not count as adding female characters if all of them are dead.) - Oh my god, Misu saying you can't do anything for the people who are dead. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE FORESHADOWING. - I think all the water effects are ALSO terrible foreshadowing >< - AMANE WHY ARE YOU LEAVING AGAIN HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING????

- You can feel the ice when Kuroko talks to Ichijima XD That's the kind of interaction I was hoping for!

- Looks like the only uniform Misu was comfortable with was section 4's XD (By the way when did he leave it and why? ôO) - Misu's LOOK when Amane n°2 introduces himself XD

- After a good ten minutes, finally, Mamoru! (Actually prettier than I remembered.)

- I wonder where Amane thinks he's going. And how he manages to ALWAYS have a full battery for his laptop.

- Ooooh looks like Misu found his match! (And Amane n°2 is slightly impressed, that's cute.)

- Now that's the Ichijima I want to see: "You have opinions? I don't care." XD - I wonder if he has flashbacks from when Souma talked about nothing but Haruki XD

- HE SAID IT <3 HE ACTUALLY SAID IT TO THEIR FACES <3 That their uniforms suck <3 Thank you Amane, you're not my favourite for nothing <3

- "Mayo-sama tte yonde yo!" XD WTF Mayo-sama. I'm embarrassed for him and I don't get how he can NOT be embarrassed.

- My god, he said it. Ichijima said Kamikita's name. I'm so happy. I've been waiting for that. (Actually I'm still waiting for them to have scenes together BUT it's a start.)

- The violin scene that only Mayo-sama can hear is so so weird. Like it's clearly supernatural, while Messiah has always been more or less realistic. I thought only the manga had an actual ghost.

- Ooooh thank you Amane for providing nicknames for Amane n°2! Now to choose between "bocchama" and "otouto"... (I like him though, he's so proud and obviously cares a lot about his family and his job, not at all how I imagined him.) - I like how Misu instantly knew the information came from Amane <3 - MY GOODNESS MISU YOU ALSO CALL HIM AMANE N°2 SO I'LL KEEP DOING THAT TOO <3<3 No seriously he was so cool: "I'm saying I can trust your brother,... Amane n°2." *smirks* *leaves* <3

- Dr Three is adorable and I feel like he's a real scientist: really excited at the idea of testing new things XD (Which is why I think Ichijima was a bit negligent in saying "Try not to kill him." like NO TELL THEM NOT TO KILL HIM YOU NEVER KNOW.)

- Now let's be honest it's been 45 minutes and I'm still not sure what this film is about^^' All the plots better tie together at some point, because there are so many of them and I don't understand why >< (Even taking into account my limited understanding of Japanese.)

- I wish Amane would find an actual place to stay. And to charge his laptop.

- Mamoru went to find Misu so he could meet Takano. I'm really happy, even though it's not really about Takano XD (At least we know what he's doing now!) - Thank you Mamoru I too was wondering why Amane would have the Mamiya report. And I wonder if this discussion implies Haruto is alive or not. I hope not, let's not resurrect dead people.

- Poor Amane. Just poor Amane. His life is already complicated enough, and now he has to bathe with strangers XD (I really liked his shower cap <3) - I don't know how realistic it is for Amane, who dislikes hand-to-hand fights and has shown to be not so good, to beat the Olympic judo athlete, but I guess judo has rules while Amane fights dirty. You go Amane. (And it looks like he's having fun <3 He's so happy he can freely beat up a Sakura XD) - My god his FACE when Haku and Eiri come in. EIRI'S FACE. JUST EIRI. You don't say "hisashiburi", you don't point out he lost weight, you just... DON'T.

- Kuroko looks so, so cool. I'm really glad I got to see Kotani Yoshikazu in that role, because I like him much more now XD (Before Messiah I had basically only seen him in Tenimyu and I wasn't impressed^^") - I squeed in Akatsuki and I squeed again, because "Momose Tatara" is such a cute name.

- Haku and Eiri are so so so cute. I'm not sure why they wanted the actors back, but I'm really happy that they are <3 (And they look happy that Amane is cooperating so I'm proud for Amane <3)

- FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING- ICHIJIMA DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT TO ARIGA!! Poor Ariga still dealing with the fact he killed Mamiya, now learns his former Messiah has probably been dissected. Please stop hurting Ariga. - Actually stop saying anything related to Mamiya when Ariga can hear it. He's suffered enough. - And now Amane's uncomfortable too. This whole incident is a mess. - OF COURSE MAMIYA HAD TO HAVE A COPY OF THE MESSIAH STRADIVARIUS. I'M A MESS. ARIGA IS A MESS. EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.

- AMANE CAME BACK. I'M SO HAPPY. MISU IS HAPPY. - They're so synchro. So are Haku and Eiri. All my favourites are so perfect how am I going to survive. - They're so proud of hating the Sakura uniform, it's adorable <3 - Oh good, everyone's here now XD (And once again Misu says the same thing I did. Thank you Misu.) "Amane Yasuchika!" "Yo, otouto." <3

- I've been waiting for Haku to say "Nice da." ^o^ ... Even though the circumstances are terrible.

- Oh, I didn't expect Suwabe to die O_O Protecting Misu no less >o< - Ok the guy attacking Misu had a pretty cool weapon.

- I can't believe I'm willingly watching that knowing what's going to happen. Amane's already panicking so much, I don't think I can live through that >< - Oh my god, the ultimate decision was Kuroko's. Oh my god. I can't live with that knowledge.

- I had read a theory that Shikura was Misu's father, but it looks more like canon than theory O_O WTF Stop having everyone be related to each other.

- Well, it had been some time since I cried and sobbed that much T_____T Why. Seriously why. You gain nothing by killing Misu. He and Amane deserved a happy end, and that's from someone who loves terrible ends and crying. I had to pause the film because I was crying so much. AND THAT WAS DESPITE KNOWING IT HAPPENED. I'm glad I knew, because I couldn't have handled the shock and the sadness at the same time.

- ... And I still ended up smiling at Yugi and Kogure getting one-hit KO'ed.

- Oh and I loved Ichijima being sadistic. (Moreso since I read in the manga that he lost his legs to the Hanged Man XD)

- I find it terrible that Eiri is wondering whether 'normal people' feel like that when a friend dies, like he's doubting his own feelings ToT Yet he's sort of implying that Misu was a friend so I'm kind of happy too >o< - And finally it's that scene when he accepts a Nanny box <3 - MY GOD THEY WERE TOASTING FOR MISU I'M CRYING AGAIN T________T

- Oh my god HOW IS ICHIJIMA TALKING TO KAMIKITA O___O I don't want to see him like that T-T He's always cool and calm and polite, not... LIKE THAT O_O - I like that Kuroko is obviously displeased because he's 100 % on Kamikita's side but I think Ichijima is in the right. (Unrelated to the fact he's one of my favourite characters.)

- I'm still not ok with there being an actual Mamiya ghost, but my goodness that scene punched me in the feelings and it was amazing. - "Ano toki omae wa tashika ni ore no Messiah datta. Sore wa eien ni kawaranai." THAT'S SO BEAUTIFUL I'M GOING TO CRY AGAIN BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH HE'S IMPLYING THERE. Like "I'm sorry I didn't treat you like a Messiah." or "Thank you for saving me." and even "Now my Messiah is Itsuki." >o< (But SORE WA EIEN NI KAWARANAI OH MY GOD ARIGA ToT)

- The bath scene was surprisingly cute and funny. Kogure is definitely my favourite new cadet. I’m (pleasantly) surprised Itsuki didn’t insist Ariga tell him what happened. Mayo-sama was too cool for the pool. Ichijima was naked. Great scene.

- Amane, didn't Amane n°2 tell you not to come here again?? (Thank you Amane n°2 for saying it right after I wrote it.) - Amane bowing to his father was almost as painful as watching Misu die. (Why did I think that now I'm crying again.) - My god his expression when he spills that everyone he ever associated with is dead T____T I can't. I just want to hug him T__T - Yeah well Dad Amane can call him "Yasuchika" as much as he wants and tell him he's his son, he STILL BEAT HIM WHEN HE WAS A KID AND THAT IS NOT EXCUSABLE. - DON'T BOW AGAIN AMANE. - Poor Amane n°2 is panicking. I really like him. Looks like a Lawful Good character, which is really really weird in this series XD

- Well there's a "Thomas Romain" in the credits and while you can get more French than that, it sounds so, so, so very French XD

- Tamaki Yuuki looks really good in a nice suit XD I'm not sure why the glasses though, since Amane has never worn glasses nor contacts. I hope we'll see more of him in the future, because you can't kill Misu then leave Amane's fate to our imagination.

Closing note: I now realise that this movie showed us parts of a main character's death scene in the trailer and we didn't know better. I bet they were cackling to themselves. Monsters. Additional note: I just realised that Haku has now lost another partner. Granted, it wasn’t a Messiah, not even a temporary one, but they did bond at some point and that makes me extra sad.

[cabinboy100]

BABY DRIVER: Take a Ride w/Edgar Wright's Rockin' Wheelman

Thanks to the Brattle Theatre and the Independent Film Festival of Boston, I got to watch BABY DRIVER at an advance screening last week!

It is a gorgeous musical roller coaster ride of a film. Writer and director Edgar Wright supercharges another beloved cinematic icon-slash-genre—the Wheelman or Driver—with his remarkable style, vision, wit, and rhythm. While not *a* musical, per se, BABY DRIVER is very musical, delivering snappy dialogue, sharp looks, slick moves, death-defying driving, and brutal gunplay, all choreographed to a soundtrack beautifully interwoven with the film…

There's not a lot more to say, really, beyond additional superlatives upon superlatives, and I don't want to go into scenes or characters too deeply and give up any of the fun. I think I'll just let one of the trailers do the talking…

Bottom line—GO SEE THIS MOVIE! And see it IN THE THEATER!

[rant] And for Space Pope's sake, do NOT take your phone out for any reason while the movie is running. You just paid $10 to $20 for this amazing experience! We live in an age of wonder that allows you to ignore a movie for free at home. Save the spacebooking, twitting, and txting for later. Or if you're gonna do that, or even look at a message on your annoyingly-bright-in-a-darkened-theater phone, get out of your seat, walk to an exit, behind a barrier, or *maybe* the back wall, out of anyone's view, and then have a look, respond if you must, and get back to the show. If you're waiting on your wife to finish delivering, or the funeral parlor's supposed to call about Pop's arrangements, or you're expecting a call from the doctor with those test results—WTF are you doing at the movies? If your phone lights up and you can see it, believe me, everyone next to and behind you can see it. Keep it in your pocket. If you see someone next to or near you futzing w/a screen, do everyone a favor, be your own (and my) hero, and ask them to put it away or take it outside. [/rant]

Beware, beyond this point, I'm gonna start lobbing spoilers into my rambling. So, exit pursued by a bear now if you haven't seen BABY DRIVER already!

CRITS (oh-so-minor, probably more like backhanded compliments).

I don't feel the heart in this that I do in the Cornetto films. Those films—SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE WORLD'S END—had relationships at their centers. But I have to say that my not feeling that with BABY DRIVER is very fair and true to the driver genre. You don't get the warm fuzzies thinking about BULLITT, THE BLUES BROTHERS, or THE FRENCH CONNECTION, right? Well, okay, maybe THE BLUES BROTHERS. =)

The characters tend to be flat and archetypal, taking a back seat *sorry-not-sorry* to the action and style. Wright does get me rooting for some of the baddies along the way, because of their professionalism, circumstance, charisma, and, well, moral relativism. And while they may be flat, they own their two dimensions and are memorable, essential, love- and hate-able in their own ways.

Of course, we know who we're rooting for—our Baby on board.

Maybe this isn't fair to BABY DRIVER, but I'd *just* seen Walter Hill's THE DRIVER, right before it, and was so frickin' impressed with its style and tension and story-slash-chase-telling cinematography. I found myself wanting more from the final car-v-car showdown in BABY. I feel like both Wright's BABY DRIVER and Refn's DRIVE put their tightest and tautest chase set piece at the start of their films. They are a-ma-zing intros to each film experience, but greedy me, I want even higher peaks in the middle and the end.

Oh, don't get me wrong—there ARE more peaks, gorgeously choreographed, executed, shot, and edited peaks, throughout. It's been a week now and I still feel my thoughts are vibrating from the experience.

I'm gonna see it again, so maybe I'll revisit this notion of the "starting with dessert" problem, if that's what it is. Maybe it was having THE DRIVER on my palate affecting my perspective…

LOVES.

I love the reason that Baby is always listening to his music. I don't know which movie or story first used music as a way to time and count off the steps to a heist—at the moment I can only think of HUDSON HAWK =) —but I was almost surprised that that seemed to be what was happening with Baby's character in the film's opening chase scene (w/Buddy, Darling, and Griff). It almost seemed too, well, easy…y'know, for Edgar Wright. But it *is* Edgar Wright, so we know he's gonna do something brilliant with it.

Yeah, I know. Sometimes I wish I could watch a movie with my 9-yo brain, and not think so much.

Then we see Baby on his apparently regular walk to Octane coffee, and in a beautiful "Harlem Shuffle" music video starring Baby against the graffiti of Atlanta streets, we learn that music permeates every moment of Baby's life. Man, when Debora walks by outside the shop in front of the rainbow heart—so simply perfect. =)

And I'm pretty sure that when he retraces his steps, "Shake Shake" has been added to a column or wall that had "Right" on the way in.

Later we learn that there's more method to Baby's madness for music. Doc explains that he suffers from tinnitus, and music helps keep the ringing in his ears at bay. Later still, we learn that he has a habit of recording much of what he hears, using the audio as samples in musical creations of his own. I really wish we'd been able to see him create some more of those, and/or hear more from his extensive library.

WRIGHTS.

Some little bits of fun that I feel are somehow Wright-ian, whether intended by the director or not. =)

J.D., of Bats's crew, is given a simple assignment—pick up three HALLOWEEN Michael Myers masks for use in the robbery. What does he show up with? Three Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) Halloween masks. When questioned about his cluelessness, one of the gang tries to clarify—The Bad Guy from HALLOWEEN, the movie! To which he replies—Oh! You mean Jason! And hey—What's Buddy's real name? Jason! As in Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th? As in the guy who keeps getting killed by never dies?

(This exchange inspired me to goof a BABY DRIVER: Halloween the 13th meta-mashup poster = )

And what's Baby's real name? M I L E S of course!

Hrm…Good thing Wright didn't make this movie on the continent somewhere or in Canada or his name would've been Kilometers! *groan*

Bananas! Doc reveals that's the phone call confirmation code word he receives from his contacts after a successful interaction. Darling reacts to the playing of one of Baby's tapes—"Is he slow?"—with B-A-N-A-N-A-S. When the Butcher's Atlanta PD colleagues show up for revenge on Doc, they give him the code word—"Bananas!"—along with some hot lead.

The invisible camera returns! In WORLD'S END, Wright shoots a scene between Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike in the restroom of a pub with the camera pointed squarely at the mirror on the wall. Sure, it could be digital magic, but I can't help but wonder if Wright has pulled off some practical magic. Just the right lighting combined with a glass plate at the correct complementary angle or something? Well, whatever he did then, he does again in…I want to say at least two shots—maybe three, with reflections in a car exterior?—in BABY DRIVER. My lame brain is now only recalling one, tho, in a pan across the washing machines of a laundromat, a sweet bit of Courtship, American Style.

Yeah, probably some "simple" digital trickery…But maybe only for the last 10% that some Houdini-like stage magic couldn't quite cover? I want to know but don't want to. =)

And speaking of courtship—I kind of adore how Baby sharing his earbuds with Debora physically connects them while they're moving around the laundromat and talking. It turns their conversation into a sweet dance number. A bit of Wright magic.

Becky & Ella? In the elevator down to P1, P2, and P3 after the first job, Buddy promises to take Darling to Bacchanalia, for the best wining and dining around, or something to that effect. When Debora presses Baby for an idea on where they'll go out, he tells her what sounds like "Becky and Ella" for the best wining and dining around. NB: Found out Bacchanalia *is* an actual ATL restaurant, but I don't believe we ever see its name or signage on screen.

I WONDER…

About the "Spirit of 85" or whatever it was called. Doc mentions it to help establish Baby's cred. Apparently Baby tied the Atlanta PD in knots on what sounded like a crazy prolonged chase involving a cloverleaf interchange of highways. I think the word "spaghetti" was used? No doubt native Atlantans will appreciate the description of the feat. Baby's Kessel Run? =)

Oh, man! Who is responsible for Baby's wardrobe? For half if not most of the film, he is strategically yet uncannily decked out in duds that scream "Han Solo" to me. I'm talking A NEW HOPE—black vest over white shirt with dark pants.

(Baby’s taste in clothes—as well as his backstory and talents—inspired this BABY DRIVER: Nerf Herder mashup… =)

After the film, I was told that our Baby, Ansel Elgort, had been on the short list for the young Han Solo film. I honestly had no idea as I did and do my best to block that sort of "news" as much as possible when it comes to films I'm looking forward to.

Was this Wright, Elgort, or another member or members of the crew expressing their support for HANsel? I have no idea how the timelines of young Solo casting and BABY DRIVER shooting line up. But if the decision was made before shooting, maybe Ansel’s turn as Baby becomes a kind of what-could-have-been/what-you-missed strutting? =)

When I heard about the LEGO MOVIE directors being dismissed from the project, I thought that maybe they'd seen BABY DRIVER and realized that Edgar Wright had already made the movie—what's the point now? =)

And in the Hollywood minute before Ron Howard was announced, I wondered if maybe BABY DRIVER might possibly be the perfect proof of capabilities for Wright as the new director. Alas—*sigh*—not to be.

I wonder just what the heck happened with Disney/Marvel/ANT-MAN and Wright.

CINEMA SERENDIPITY…

I love it when my experience of films and shows connect in little unexpected ways…

Last week, I got to see Edgar Wright's amazing action jukebox, BABY DRIVER. The next night, I caught Kumail Nanjani and Emily Gordon's hilarious, heart-warming and -punching rom-coma-com, THE BIG SICK. And tonight, a week later, experienced Bong Joon Ho's OKJA on the big screen before it streams on Netflix.

Yeah, none of that connects on paper, but in my head it's a different story… =)

In THE BIG SICK, Kumail and Emily's non-dating dates reveal his obsession with cricket and appreciation of zombies, which of course would logically add up to a SHAUN OF THE DEAD poster on his bedroom wall. That's some solid math, and reminded me that I've followed some twitter exchanges between them about movies (about ROGUE ONE, Riz Ahmed, representation, and a buddy heist film).

The content of OKJA does not directly connect to anything Wrightian (as far as I could tell on a first viewing), but Bong Joon Ho's previous film, the must-see sci-fi fable SNOWPIERCER, features Jamie Bell as a character named Edgar, apparently named for Wright. That note, plus the fact that Edgar was best buddy of Chris Evans's Curtis, inspired a couple of mashup posters, one of them a meta-mashup starring SCOTT PILGRIM's Lucas Lee.

Yeah, like I said…it's all in my head.

Why do I have a feeling like this will be read back to me in court at a later date?

BABY DRIVER AT AN ADVANCE SCREENING…?

Oh—how did I get to see all these films in the theater? And before their wide release dates? The Brattle Theatre and the Independent Film Festival of Boston are my enablers-slash-suppliers. If you're Boston-local and love moviegoing, I *highly* recommend you check their schedules and membership privileges, join/donate/support either or both, and see some amazing movies!

Allright, enough a-ramblin'. If you made it this far, I'm sorry and thanks much. Now, get thee to the theater and BABY DRIVER up!

Keep on keepin’ on~