#not to mention the similarities of the toy soldier stealing his voice too

[tim-stroker]

the mechs were jon jarchivists band in uni and nikola stole the toy soldiers voice bc she knew it would affect him both in an uncanny way and in a “fuck thats my friends voice” way

[avanatural]

Mind Games

Part 4

Series summary: Set in 1984. It’s that time of the year – the supes are having the time of their lives at the Herogasm festival. Soldier Boy seems to have taken a special interest in Y/N, a fellow superhero.

Pairing: Soldier Boy x female Reader

Category: Angst, humor

Word count: 3.3k

Chapter warnings: Cursing, mentions of alcohol and smoking, Soldier Boy being Soldier Boy

A/N: Welcome to part 4! I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Poor Y/N’s patience is being tested in this one. Wanna be added to my Soldier Boy tag list? Send me an ask ❤️

Part 3 | Series Masterlist | Soldier Boy Masterlist | Part 5

Main Masterlist

“I see you’ve changed into your intended outfit.”

His deep voice made me want to cut off my ears. No one had told me that this movie required me to wear a dress that would suffocate me with how tight it was.

“I’m not sure it even fits me,” I mumbled as I stroked the fabric around my midriff. It was a white leather dress with a corset, similar to my actual supe outfit, but it was restricting my goddamn access to air. It was short enough that I couldn’t sit or bend or fight without people seeing… Well, all of me.

Soldier Boy pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against. He’d put his helmet back on. It was like a mask. That open, vulnerable side of him that I’d gotten a tiny glimpse of was long gone. Hidden. Nowhere to be found.

“Oh, but you do look beautiful in it,” he flirted, pointing his finger at my scarcely clad body. His head bobbed from side to side as he stalked towards me. He was back to oozing confidence. The anger and resentment in his eyes had faded.

What was he up to? Did Soldier Boy himself even know what he wanted? 

“I take it you don’t wanna rip my head off anymore?”, I asked. My voice sounded a lot weaker than intended. At this point, I just wanted to go home. This movie was a shit show.

“What can I say? You’re lucky I’m into the assertive type.” He smiled an alluring smile. Combined with a charming tilt of his head, he deepened the creases around his eyes. 

The scariest thing about his change in demeanor was how my body responded to it. His charm was surely working its magic. My stomach was filled with swoony sensations that were begging me to shake them off.

“Lucky me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re sweet-talking me.” I tried sounding sarcastic, to the best of my ability. The problem was, his sweet-talking was working. My insides were practically yelling at me to finish what we’d started in that trailer. So, I tightened my vice-like grip on my heart as best as I could. I wasn’t gonna let him steal it.

Soldier Boy tempted me with his mossy green bedroom eyes and those plump pink lips. “Well, is it working?”

“No,” I lied, hoping that he couldn’t see through me. But then again, he probably wouldn’t believe any woman who told him his charm wasn’t working. He was self-centered like that. I had to remind myself that I was not a toy. That he couldn’t treat me as he pleased. Too bad male attention was my kryptonite.

Soldier Boy scoffed. I could see that he was losing what little patience he had. “Keep tellin’ yourself that, princess. Girls like to play hard-to-get. I know how it goes.”

“You know what?” I puffed out my chest in a rush of impulsion. “If you want different responses, maybe you should work on your technique. You need to win over a woman’s heart. Not just her body.” 

Soldier Boy narrowed his darkening eyes at me. He was like a loaded gun, ready to spit bullets in your face as soon as you got even remotely close to hurting his ego. “With manners like yours, you’re never gonna find a man. I don’t need to work on anything, how about you work on your fucking attitude?”, he snapped.

“Okay, everyone on their marks, please!”, the director called out.

Everyone hurried to their designated spots – the crew, the extras, the supes. Everyone except for us. Soldier Boy and I stood chest to chest, glaring at each other. The tension could easily have been cut with a rusty butterknife.

Gunpowder scurried past us, headed for his mark. I could feel the young man’s curious gaze on me as he tried to sneak past the two of us undetected.

Soldier Boy’s cold emerald gaze attached itself to the young supe. “Careful,” he spoke through gritted teeth, sending a warning Gunpowder’s way.

Gundpowder quickly averted his gaze and mumbled an incoherent apology. I didn’t even get a chance to catch his eye or say anything to him as he made a beeline for his mark, tail between his legs.

“Alright, doll face, let’s get this shit show over with,” Soldier Boy huffed. He took a step back, finally giving me some space to breathe. His hand reached out to me, his palm facing upward.

My eyes fixated on his hand. I hesitated. My muscles were frozen by ice-cold skepticism. When I looked up and met his eyes, warm pools of green and gold stared back at me. I tried not to let them melt away my distrust. This man was going to be the death of me. He was so unpredictable.

After a few seconds of hesitation, I placed my hand in his. As I felt his hand close around mine, a tiny, irritated smile attacked my face, forcing its way onto my lips.

“There you go,” Soldier Boy praised me with a nod of approval. He tugged me towards him and put his hand on my lower back. Seemingly deciding that he was in charge, he steered me to our marks.

We were about to shoot the final battle scene of the movie. Vought's strongest heroes vs. some no-name-greedy-for-power supervillains. And, who would have guessed, Soldier Boy was gonna save everyone’s day! Including mine. Damsel in distress number who-the-fuck-knew.

“Where- Oh! What the fuck?”, I exclaimed as Soldier Boy suddenly scooped me up in his arms, bridal style.

“Relax, princess. I’m supposed to catch you, you know that,” he had the audacity to scold me.

“How exactly is this scene gonna play out, huh?” I knew I was gonna fall from the sky like a stupid fucking apple from a tree, but this scenario rubbed me the wrong way.

“I’ll toss you into the air and catch you, piece of cake,” he sighed, obviously annoyed with my sheepish attitude.

“You’re gonna toss me?” I found myself locking my arms around his neck – a weak attempt to make him keep me in his arms. I was a supe, sure, but my body wasn’t immune to every possible danger. I wasn’t immortal. I could feel pain. My bones could break.

“Oh, have some fucking faith, will you?” Soldier Boy leaned in, so close that I could smell the whiskey we’d shared on his breath. “I’m not gonna let you hit the ground.” His insanely green eyes, framed by his new helmet, penetrated mine. “Unless you piss me off.”

“Ready, everyone?”, the director yelled.

“You better catch me,” I hissed in Soldier Boy’s ear.

He scoffed, radiating hubris. “Wanna fucking bet?”

“Sure. If you let me fall, you can kiss my ass,” I mumbled under my breath. Sue me, I was a nervous talker.

“And if I catch you, I’ll get to gag you, how about that?”, he retorted.

“You’re so-”

“And 3… 2… 1!”

Before I could say another word, Soldier Boy bent his knees, pushed himself back up, and used the force to throw me straight up into the air.

I cried out as I flew towards the sky. Right in that moment, I questioned my own sanity. A few profanities left my lips as I reached the highest point and felt myself fall back down. My stomach turned as I pictured myself flat as a goddamn pancake, spread out across the floor with blood for sirup.

Then suddenly, I felt some harsh pushback, and a loud gasp was forced out of my lungs. I had abruptly stopped falling. My eyes were shut tightly, waiting for the pain to arrive. Or the shock. But nothing really happened.

“You’re okay,” a warm, breathy voice hit my ears.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with Soldier Boy’s handsome face. He was the pushback. His arms were wrapped around me, holding onto my legs and my back. He was carrying me bridal style, just like he had a few moments ago. That son of a bitch had actually done it.

“You caught me,” I mumbled, faintly remembering the lines I was supposed to say. My heart was still throwing a tantrum in my chest.

“I sure did.” He put on the kindest smile I’d ever seen. The asshole could act, who would’ve guessed? “You alright?”

“Yes.” I had to bite my tongue before I was able to say my next line. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime, my dear.” Gently, he placed me back on the ground. His hand stayed on my lower back, sending a surge of warmth through my body. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”, he asked. 

I batted my eyelashes at him as hard as I could and placed my hand on my chest. “I’m Trouble.”

“You’re part of the cavalry,” he said, pretending to be surprised by widening his eyes. “Payback appreciates your help. Just be more careful from now on, alright?” He inched closer, cooking up his very own line before delivering it straight to my face. “Though I gotta say… It’s not every day that pretty women like yourself fall from the sky.”

The corners of my mouth quivered slightly, threatening to break out in a smile. His gaze held me down, taunting me, asking me to break. I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. “Careful, my dear,” I responded, repeating his pet name for me. I lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “You don’t wanna get in trouble, do you?” When he paused, not saying anything, I continued, “Say hi to Countess for me.”

With a wink, I turned around and walked away from him, out of the camera’s sight. I felt his heated gaze on my back and didn’t dare turn back.

I let out the biggest grunt as soon as the door to my apartment fell shut behind me. Home, at last. Without a care, I dropped my bag on the floor. My hands found my hair and tugged on the strands before brushing them back.

“You sound tired,” a small voice rang out from the living room.  

With enlarged eyes, I pushed myself away from the door and stomped into the living area. “Lily??”

And sure enough, my sister was sitting on the couch, watching tv like she’d done nothing else all day.

“What the hell are you doing here?”, I demanded, “You’re supposed to be with aunt Gemma!”

Lily shrugged her shoulders at me, wearing a tiny frown on her face. “She had an emergency.”

“Yeah, I bet with that Greg guy.” I ground my teeth. The muscles in my jaw already hurt from all the tension I’d lived through that day. I leaned against the couch, my hands landing on the backrest. “How long have you been here by yourself?”

“Just a couple hours.”

“A couple hours,” I repeated. “That’s it. I’m gonna kill her.”

“Y/N, I’m fine,” Lily objected, looking up at me with those innocent eyes, trying to be convincing.

“Did you eat?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay,” I sighed, trying my best not to seem annoyed with her. Lily wasn’t the problem. Everyone else was. Including me. I tried pushing my anger down and locking it away. “I’ll heat up some leftovers.”

My sister nodded and followed me into the kitchen, trailing after me like a puppy. “How did it go today?”, she asked.

Well, that was a loaded question. “Let’s just say you’re gonna get those sneakers you asked for.”

“Yes!” Lily fist-bumped the air. “Thank you, Y/N!” She hurried around the counter and wrapped her arms around my waist.

Despite my sour mood, I smiled and hugged her back. “You’re welcome.” I squeezed her small body and paused for a second to enjoy the moment. The smile on her face, the joy in her eyes – that was the reason why I’d accepted Vought’s offer. It was worth the crappy day I had.

“So, how was working with Soldier Boy?”, Lily asked, wriggling out of my embrace, looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

“It was… Good,” I lied through my teeth and looked away, busying myself with preparing dinner. I couldn’t look at Lily’s face and tell a lie. I’d never been able to.

“What’s he like? Will you see him again? How tall is he?”

Oh boy, it was gonna be a long night.

A few weeks later

“Touble! Trouble, just one shot, please!”

“Trouble, over here!”

I pulled down my cap, hoping to somehow disappear in it. Too bad I didn’t have teleportation powers. Ever since pictures from the movie set of Payback Rising had been sold to the press, the general public had taken an interest in little old, mediocre me.

A picture of Soldier Boy and I had made it into the newspapers. A photograph of him carrying me. Of us staring into each other’s eyes. Now people were making up stories left and right. The press liked to make these things bigger than they were.

The good news was, I was getting offers. They wanted me for talk shows, interviews, and photoshoots.

The bad news was, these offers all included Soldier Boy. It was either both of us or nothing. On my own, I still wasn’t interesting enough. Still not worthy. So, what I had gained aside from the money was to be a target for the paparazzi.

“Let me through. Thanks,” I snapped, annoyed, knowing that I once again had to take a detour before going home. I didn’t need these sleazebags in front of my building. It took me a bit longer to get home that way, but I was willing to make the effort.

When I came home to a ringing telephone, I instantly rolled my eyes. I couldn’t seem to catch a break these days.

As I stood in front of the telephone, I contemplated whether I should answer or not. All I truly wanted was to sit down, have a glass of wine, and forget about everything that had to do with Vought and Soldier Boy.

“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath and picked up against my better judgment. “Hello?”

“Trouble?”

I recognized that voice. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. With narrowed eyes, I leaned against the ugly wall in the hallway. “Who’s this?”

“Vought’s VP of hero management. We met briefly on the set of Vought’s new movie.”

That certainly rang a bell. “The Legend,” I sighed and made a fist around the telephone cord, “What is it?”

“I heard that you’ve been declining a whole lotta offers. Interviews, photoshoots, that kind of thing.” He lowered his voice, making me guess that his call was anything but official.

“Well, they don’t really want me for those appearances,” I said, “They want-“

“You and Soldier Boy, I know. Excuse my foul language, but I think you’re being a fucking dimwit.”

“You’re calling me just to tell me that?”, I demanded, clenching the muscles in my jaw.

“I’m calling you to help you out,” he retorted, “I know talent when I see it, Y/N.”

“You told me not to take anyone’s shit. And now you expect me to take yours?”

“I told you to play to your goddamn strengths. Right now, the greatest superhero in the world is interested in you. And the biggest fucking talk show just sent in an offer. Forget all the other jobs, this is the one you’ll wanna take. This is your fucking way into the business, Y/N. You can be huge. Don’t be dumb, girl.”

“Lily? Lily!”, I called out, walking out of hair and make-up. Yes, I had taken the offer. I was attending the damn talk show to speak about my experience on Payback Rising. Of course, I couldn’t say anything remotely close to the truth.

I’d told my sister to wait for me while they dressed me, and now she was nowhere to be found. 

She had begged me to take her with me to meet Soldier Boy. And when I say she begged, I mean she fucking begged me. Dozens of puppy eyes later, I had agreed to let her say hi to him. Just say hi. In my presence. I only hoped he wasn’t going to disappoint her. Because if he did, I was going to put him in the ground, no matter who the hell he was.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I found my sister standing in front of a table with snacks. I recognized him instantly. He was wearing his signature suit, minus the mask. Lily was being accompanied by none other than Soldier Boy himself. Her small hands were clasped together nervously as she admired him from below. She was staring up at that tower of a man with little hearts in her eyes.

As soon as Soldier Boy spotted me walking towards them, he smugly lifted his chin. A cunning grin appeared on his lips. “Ah, Y/N! There you are! We were wondering when you’d join us.”

My hands found my hips as I ignored him and addressed my sister instead. “Lily, I told you to wait.” I was anything but amused.

“I’m sorry.” Lily pouted at me. Underneath that pouty face, though, she was hiding tons upon tons of excitement. Her eyes held a spark.

“It’s my fault, really,” Soldier Boy spoke up, pulling my attention back to him, “She looked a little lost back there, all by herself, so I took her under my wing.” His gloved hand squeezed my sister’s shoulder to highlight his point.

I stared back at him with a blank expression. I knew exactly what he was doing, and I didn’t like it. He was painting me in a bad light. I left my sister by herself, so of course, he had to go and play her savior.

“How incredibly kind of you,” I praised him through gritted teeth.

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” He shrugged his massive shoulders, delivering a little show of humbleness. “Lily and I were having a grand old time, weren’t we?” He looked down at my younger sister with so much kindness that it didn’t surprise me how enamored she was.

“The best!”

“I may be the strongest man alive...” Soldier Boy placed a hand on his chest and inched closer to me. “But you, Y/N.” He pointed his finger at me and clicked his tongue. “You’re the real hero. Working two jobs at once, no husband to support you. This might be your breakthrough. I truly want it for you.”

Yeah, because you know this ‘breakthrough’ isn’t happening without you. “Thank you.” I put on a friendly fake smile. The one I’d practiced in front of the mirror because I’d known he was gonna annoy me one way or another. “It means a lot, coming from you. But I think we’re about to start rolling, so…”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He turned to my sister and ruffled her hair, which made her fucking laugh. Usually, she all but freaked out when someone touched her precious hair. “You stay good for your sister, okay?”

“I will. It was a pleasure meeting you, Soldier Boy,” Lily spoke, using the same polite words I’d spent years trying to teach her.

“Oh, the pleasure was all mine, sweetheart.” Soldier Boy bent down, hands on his knees as he looked her in the eye. He lowered his voice, whispering to her like he was telling her a big secret. “And call me Ben.” With a charming wink, he straightened his back again.

“Okay, Ben.” The smile on Lily’s face became so wide that I could have sworn it was about to break her cheeks. “Thank you.”

I, on the other hand, wasn’t half as bewitched as my sister. The corners of my mouth sagged, a scowl masking my face. “Let’s go… Ben.”

Part 5

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[spideyhexx]

jessica drew: the arachne

Spider-Woman (updated) movie concept.

This is very similar to my old one with some changes! This is also a loose concept, I have ideas for specific scenes I may write out eventually! Also sidenote in my idea, takes place after Endgame. When she is taken into HYDRA, it is only about two months after Endgame. Jessica's first appearance in my mcu headcanon is in Falcon/Winter Soldier when they are in Madripoor. So during that time, it would mean she is with HYDRA, but rebelling against them (before she gets brainwashed), and she is also chased by Bucky after she steals from him. However, he ends up letting her go and he does not tell anyone about this encounter. When Jess is tasked to kill Sam, the story is taking place after the events of TFATWS.

Jessica’s father brings her and her mother to Mount Wundagore in order to do more research on genetics. Along with them comes Dr. Herbert Wyndham.

Jessica gets uranium poisoning from the work her father is conducting and he and Wyndham inject her with a spider serum, saving her life. However, it was working too slowly, so they placed Jessica in a cryochamber and she was there for decades.

Jessica wakes up after the Avengers have restored everyone from the blip.

When Thanos snapped, Jessica “died” so when everyone comes back, she does as well, outside of her cryo.

She is then approached by Wyndham who informs her that he is a friend. She trusts him. And she lives in his home. She soon learns that she has spider-like powers due to the radiation and serum she was exposed to.

While working at a diner, Jessica falls in love with a man named Jerry Hunt. She accidentally kills him when their group of friends attempts to scare her. Her venom blast strikes him and he is dead.

Because this was seen by many, she is chased after and called a monster.

While in hiding, she is “rescued” by Otto Vermis, who is a leader of HYDRA.

Jessica is trained at a HYDRA facility and learns how to control her powers. Vermis purposely suppresses her memory as more of it starts to come out, so that she would be a loyal member to HYDRA. He also gains her loyalty by telling her that she was a spider evolved into a human form by Wyndham and this messes a lot with her head. They also do attempt to brainwash her, since she had a tendency for rebelling against orders. The brainwashing is a success (however it is not as powerful as like, Bucky's brainwashing).

Jessica is tasked with killing Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, for HYDRA, under the code name The Arachne.

In her ambush on Sam, she is outnumbered and taken into custody. At this prison facility, they are determined to experiment on Jessica and her peculiar powers and Bucky and Sam talk against that.

We see Jessica clearly in distress, she is not really sure who she is and what she is.

Sam and Bucky attempt an interrogation with her, where she admits she is with HYDRA. Bucky explains how HYDRA are the bad guys and Jessica is further confused since she has been manipulated by Otto to think HYDRA were the good guys.

Sam sees her as out of control and thinks she should stay in the prison, but he’d work to keep scientists away from experimenting on her.

Meanwhile, Bucky feels for her. He was once a toy for HYDRA and he can’t help but think she is in a similar situation. He still hasn’t told Sam that he saw her in Madripoor. He goes to talk to her alone, making sure the cameras are off for some time.

She asks him why he even helped her back in Madripoor and Bucky says he doesn’t really know, but he just felt like he needed to.

She tells him there’s too many contradicting voices in her head, but Bucky tells her his HYDRA experience and she is devastated he went through that. Bucky also tells her, even though he was told not to, that she wasn’t a spider evolved into a human. He tells her about her parents, that they’re dead. How she was put in cryo. How Otto lied.

Jess wonders if she could trust Bucky, but he has no reason to lie. She tells Bucky she wants to kill Otto for lying to her, but she needs his help escaping.

Bucky does help her, even though he knows Sam will be mad and it’s possible Jess is lying and is still gonna stay with HYDRA, but once he starts to help her, he doesn’t question it.

Jess goes back to the HYDRA facility and kills Otto. He takes the chance one last time to mess with her head by saying no one will ever care for her and that she will always be a monster. That she was trained to kill and they would never accept her as a hero. And that she will not be rid of Vermis, even if she kills him…and that her mother is still alive.

Jessica, distraught, runs off on her own after killing Otto. She changes her appearance and decides to reside in San Francisco, where she meets Jared Kurtz, who offers her a job. (and he is secretly HYDRA)

Meanwhile, Sam and Bucky make a deal with the government that they would find Jessica, Sam keeps it a secret Bucky helped her escape and Sam promises Bucky he would try to make sure she wouldn’t be hurt when they find her. If they don’t find her in a certain amount of time, the government will step in, and use any means necessary to detain her.

While searching for her, Bucky and Sam learn that Otto was killed and Bucky is relieved she actually did it.

When they do find Jessica, She desperately tells Bucky and Sam to let her be. She just wants everything to be normal. She feels alone.

They both sympathize with her. And while trying to have a calm conversation with her, government agents ambush her apartment. Bucky thinks Sam betrayed their trust and called in assistance earlier (but really the government just sucks and did not fully trust Sam and Bucky to get her in).

Kurtz also attacks saying he needs to avenge Otto’s death. A bunch of HYDRA goons fight Jess Bucky, and Sam. They get separated from Jess and Sam tells Bucky he didn’t call anyone and that the best choice right now is to take Jess in and convince the government to bring her to Nick Fury instead of sending her to the raft again. Bucky reluctantly agrees.

More HYDRA goons follow Jess as she tries to run.

Everyone is looking for Jess.

She thinks she is in the clear and then runs into Bucky. He’s supposed to capture her if her found her but they share this moment again, like the one in Madripoor. Where Bucky knows he should follow orders and take her in, but looking into her eyes, he just can’t. He’s holding her against a wall and Jess thinks he will detain her, and she doesn’t fight back because she does not want to hurt him.

He slips his hand into hers, and puts a comm device in it. He tells her to go and run far away from here. And to use the device if she ever needed him.

He lets go of her and Jess hugs him. Bucky is surprised at it, but gives into it.

She looks at him for one more moment before thanking him and running off.

Mid credit scene is Jessica in a bar with her hood up. She’s watching tv when they show the newsreel of when spidey’s identity is revealed. Jessica, astonished by another spider person, who seems in peril, quickly leaves the bar, leaving us wondering if she’s off to NYC to see this spider-man.

The end credit scene depicts Bucky looking at his own comm device. Like he’s hoping it’ll beep and her voice will come through. He can’t really decipher why he longs for her. Sam comes in and Bucky hides the device. Sam tells him that he knows what he did and starts to make fun of him for doing so, cause it MUST mean that he likes her. Bucky deflects it a bit, but just says she reminds him of himself. Sam also mentions that if they did take her in, he would’ve made sure she would be okay, just for Bucky. Bucky understands this, but knows how she didn’t want to be “taken in” to be dealt with. Sam also is like “maybe we should just...find her. I live in the middle of nowhere Louisiana, we can bring her there?” We don’t get to see what Bucky responds with to that.

[thechocoboos]

Cor with a Daughter HC

Hey guys, it’s ya girl, thechocoboos, here to deliver some Cor HC bc he’s great! 

In this scenario, that weird fucker Verstael makes female clones alongside the normal ones (so yes there are female MTs in this AU) and Cor steals one when he takes baby Prom away, so uh... It’s a mess, but it’s a cute mess.

So Cor was the one who stole baby Prompto away right? Right. So, turns out, Verstael made a female clone as well (that also means that in this au there are female MTs)

And guess what? Cor stole one of those too.

Just picture this: a scuffed up, young Cor Leonis on the run from the Empire with two little blond, freckled babies in his arms. I know. It’s cute.

Anyways

Cor knew he was supposed to return both babies, but the second he looked into the girl’s cornflower blue eyes, he knew he couldn’t give her up

It hurt enough to give up the boy after getting so attached in only a few days, but when she looked into his eyes, he vowed he’d raise her as his own

She had been so calm, merely sucking on her thumb while her brother (what he could only assume was her brother) was wailing his adorable little head off

Even so, he saw the fear in her sparkling blue eyes and promised that she would never have to feel that fear again; Papa Cor was gonna raise her in a safe environment

And he did.

He turned baby Prompto over and had to watch as he was put in the foster system, but he quietly adopted the girl as his own with no one knowing where she came from save for Regis and Clarus

Everyone else? Well, he simply told them that she was the niece of a distant relative that was unable to care for her

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you!” or “Aw, look at you bein’ a big ole softee.” is what everyone said, and it was always followed by, “What’s her name???”

“Poppy.” she may be the same poppy from the actor au but who knows

Papa Cor raised Poppy well

He always gave her the best toys and always, always left work early so he could pick her up from daycare with a warm smile and all

He’d pick her right up in his arms, earning a cute bubble of laughter from her and he’d ask, “How was my little princess’s day?”

All the women in the area swooned (me too)

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows

In the beginning, Cor was terrified. He had no idea how to raise a child, and he didn’t even have baby furniture for a week (not to mention his apartment wasn’t babyproofed either like y i k e s)

He only survived through the help of his elderly neighbor, Gertrude. She was the mother of four kids and had more grandkids than he could count

But she was always willing to help him. “It’s not often that I see a single dad tryin’ to make it on his own like this,” She told him a couple months after he adopted Poppy, “But it always warms my heart to see a young father trying so hard. Keep it up, young man.”

And he did.

He stuck through it--through the potty training, through the tears, tantrums, incessant babbles and the waking him up in the middle of the night

He stuck through it all and never regretted it

When Poppy said her first words, he practically shouted for joy and even called Regis and Clarus up and the day after? Oh man, the trainees were scared to see such a smile on Cor’s face (he actually went easy on them that day so it was pretty nice for them)

Cor kept pictures of her in his office and always had a small pic of her in his wallet and i swear to you, if he ever had the chance to bring her up in conversation, he would brag and brag away

Poppy really liked reading and wasn’t a big fan of athletics or fighting, much to Cor’s relief

He tried keeping her away from politics and such, didn’t want her questioning too much, ya know?

Still, he knew he’d have to teach her basic combat, just in case (plus he knew one day she’d start dating and he didn’t trust those teenage boys…)

And he did. And surprisingly, as much as Poppy hated it, she was really, really good at it

Cor figured her out-of-nowhere skills at combat were due to the Empire, but he was more relieved than not that she hated fighting; it gave him some reassurance that she wouldn’t ever abuse her skills

Although it wasn’t a big concern in the first place, his daughter was pretty damn soft-spoken and shy; she hated conflict and fighting more than most

Overall, she was a tame kid

She followed the rules, listened well, was a fantastic student… Honestly, Cor counted himself lucky that she was such a good kid

Although whenever he mentioned it to Clarus, Clarus would only chuckle and say, “Yeah, you raised her that way, Cor.”

It always seemed strange to him, that he--a gruff, tough soldier--could raise someone so sweet and shy, but there many more moments where all he felt was pride--pride for himself and pride for his daughter

Still, Poppy had her faults: she had too big of a heart for her own good

She was always trying to bring in hurt animals or asking if they could get a dog or a cat (Cor ended up relenting when she was 10; they ended up with an elderly cat named Haggus and Poppy swears he’s the kindest cat ever)

And then there was her trusting nature. She was incredibly trusting and understanding; Cor was terrified that she’d get taken advantage of one day (all though, deep down, he knew she wouldn’t. At the end of the day, she was a Leonis and he raised her to be reasonable and carry a healthy amount of suspicion)

Sometimes when she was still little, he would worry about her getting into some shit or something going wrong and when he did, it would bug him in the back of his mind until he went to pick her up from daycare (he always gave her tighter hugs on those days)

Cor raised Poppy as his own, but he also told her that she was, in fact, adopted when she was around 11. He didn’t want her to find out through someone else and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could avoid questions about her mom or the strange barcode tattoo (he always told her to keep the barcode covered, and he was always so firm about it that she never dared to do otherwise)

Of course, he didn’t tell her the entire truth. Yes, she was adopted, but he still stuck by the story that she was the niece of a distant relative and eventually, Poppy stopped asking

And as previously mentioned, Cor kept Poppy out of politics and the Citadel

Like, there were a few times when she went to balls or social events (and everyone would always coo over how cute she was) and sometimes Cor might take her to work with him (when she was young), but outside of that, she was never really in the Citadel, not even when Cor was training her

However, whenever she was there, she ended up being around Noctis

There weren’t very many kids there besides her and Noct--sometimes Iggy (maybe Gladio, but he was always with the adults), so they often ended up hanging out

She’d see Gladio around here and there, too, and was pretty curious about him, but Noctis was always super reluctant to go talk to Gladio (let’s face it, Gladdy was probably a dick as a kid and tried to act older than his actual age, so basically, no fun for Noct)

They’d giggle together and run around the Citadel, playing games and goofing off while the adults went around with their boring chatter

Despite how much fun they had, those few social events a year were the only times they saw each other and as they got older, Poppy was able to stay at home instead of attending

So then, they stopped seeing each other at all

Cor always felt a little bad whenever she would ask about Noctis, but he was determined to keep Poppy and work separate (something he was very good at doing)

Still, despite all of Cor’s attempts, Poppy and Noct ran into each other again in high school

They were pretty quick to befriend each other again after a few weeks of awkward small talk, and when Cor found out, he couldn’t help but feel a tad annoyed (I mean, he’d been trying to keep her away from politics and shit for years)

Of course, through Noct, Poppy got to know Ignis very well (he was often in the background of those damn social events when they were kids, so they knew each other existed for sure)

Ignis was fairly fond of Poppy. He always said that she might be a good influence on Noctis.

Gladio was aware of Poppy and she was aware of him, and tbh, they thought the other was pretty damn cute but they never really interacted beyond group outings that centered around Noct (tho they would become surprisingly close down the line)

And Prompto? It was a bit of a weird thing

In summary: their first meeting was weird as fuck

Noct was the first one to befriend Prom, and the first time they properly met, he was absolutely S H O O K

Prompto was so similar to Poppy. They had the same freckles, the same cornflower blue eyes, same shade of hair… They even seemed to have the same inflections in their voices

The longer Noct was around Prompto, the more similarities he saw between him and Poppy and tbh… it weirded him out

And theeen… Then, there was the day that Prompto and Poppy met

Noct offhandedly mentioned that Prompto would be joining them at the arcade, to which Poppy eagerly agreed. Noct had mentioned Prom quite a bit, so at that point she figured that she should meet him

“Oh! I found Prom!” Noct said later, nodding his head towards Prompto’s familiar silhouette, “Hey, Prom!”

Prompto turned around of course, beaming as he walked closer to them in the arcade, “Hey, Noct! And you’re Poppy, ri-” He froze when he saw her

Her mouth was open to speak, but she couldn’t help but freeze when she saw him only a few feet away

It was like looking at a weird, distorted version of herself

Noct kept glancing between them, “Shit, I didn’t realize how similar you guys were until now.”

Luckily, it broke whatever weird spell they were under

Prompto managed to laugh it off and they had a quick, very awkward introduction before moving onto the arcade

It was strange and surreal for both Poppy and Prompto, and honestly, at first? Awkward as hell

They didn’t talk much to each other and seemed to be avoiding one another as best they could

Poppy even ended up going home earlier than planned, giving Noctis an apologetic smile and saying something about how her dad wanted her to help him with some pie (Cor hated pie so it was a bald-faced lie)

That evening, Cor could tell something was up

“Thought you’d be out with the Prince until pretty late.”

Poppy tried to dismiss his statement with a shrug, but Cor’s steady gaze and open silence pushed her for more info. “Just wasn’t feeling it. Met another one of his friends and it was kinda weird, ya know? His name’s Prompto and he’s plenty nice enough but…”

It clicked into place, and with a stoic nod, Cor didn’t ask any more questions. Internally, however, he was beating himself up

He knew very well it was the same Prompto he stole from the Empire with Poppy and he knew something like this would happen with her hanging around the Prince so often

It was only a matter of time before she pieced together some kind of connection and honestly? Cor wasn’t sure what to do when she did

Luckily for Cor, it was a long time before that happened

In the meantime, however, Poppy and Prompto somehow got over their awkward avoidance of each other (it was defo thanks to Noctis)

They ended up clicking very well. They’d finish each other’s sentences, laugh at the same damn stuff, freak out at the same things, and they were absolutely fantastic at teaming up together

Simply put, they became best friends. Noctis and Ignis were surprised at how well they got along, especially after the rocky start to their friendship, but at that point, they were practically stuck at the hip

Cor was uneasy as hell when it came to Prompto

There were times when Poppy’s friends were over and he was strangely tense (although he would always tell Poppy it was just at surprise at seeing the Prince in his apartment with his advisor and bodyguard)

Still, it was only a year before Noct left for his marriage to Lunafreya that Prom and Poppy found out about their barcodes

They had been goofing around like normal before deciding to try their hand at making cheesecake in Poppy’s kitchen

She didn’t want to get her long sleeves dirty and rolled them up, figuring that Prompto wouldn’t notice her wrist in their goofing around

Unfortunately, there were a few minutes of comfortable silence when he did

And boy did he clam up

“Uh… Poppy, is that uh, a tattoo?”

Poppy freaked out about it of course, “Uh, no--it’s just one of those fake stick-on tattoos ya know?” She had tried to lie her way out of the situation

“Oh--that's, that’s cool…” He didn’t believe it completely, “But,” but he had to try, right? “I actually have a similar one! Haha,”

“You do?” The seriousness in her voice was enough to cut all humor out of the room

“Y-yeah,” and he showed her.

Poppy felt the closest to understanding her damn tattoo than she’d ever felt before

Neither of them knew what it meant, but they felt an intense sense of solidarity and there was an unspoken pact between them from then on

They never really spoke about it for a long time, and Poppy never asked Cor. She was almost too scared to; she didn’t know what it meant and didn’t want to break their small family apart trying to figure it out

When she finally did find out, she was worried that Cor secretly hated her and that she was an abomination

Of course, Cor ended that pretty quickly. She ended up having a breakdown one night, and it was all Cor could do not to break down with her

He knelt down to look her in the eyes, holding onto her hands with his own just like whenever she fell as a kid and he wanted to cheer her up

“Poppy, you’re my daughter. I took you from that place and raised you myself. The second I looked you in the eye, you had me wrapped around your little finger. I could never hate you, not for spilling my favorite beer or waking me up when you were little, and definitely not for where you came from. You’re my kid, Poppy, and nothing’s gonna change that.” He managed to give her a shaky smile and earn one from her too, wrapping her in a big, comforting hug and making all of her worries disappear

“I love you, dad.”

“Love you, too, kiddo.”

Look i just love this ok. Give Me Papa Cor or Give Me Death.

B/c I’m a slut for a happy ending: Poppy did go on that road trip with the bros but guess what?

Luna lived, Noctis lived, they both got married and had some cute kids

Poppy ended up in a relationship with Gladdy (he kind of fell in love with how cute and sweet she was, plus the fact that if she had to she would kick his ass--which she did on multiple occasions)

Cor became a grandpa and both loved and hated it. He also never stopped giving Gladio hell.

Prompto married a swell gal and had some kids. Auntie Poppy spoiled them rotten btw

Regis and Clarus were proud Grandpapas, Iris and Poppy got along really really well (Iris said that if Gladio didn’t marry Poppy then she would)

Ardyn lived and became a weird trash uncle who spoiled the family kids and no one knows where he got his fortune from

Anyways, everyone lived happily ever after

Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know if you want some more realistic plot hc!

[shadowsong26fic]

Let’s Go Steal A Crossover: Part 1

No real plot here, this is mostly the background/backstory details.

Note/Disclaimer: this particular outline features an OC of mine and as a result is fairly self-indulgent. Because what else are crack outlines for?

That out of the way, here we go!

For the Leverage crew:

This is more or less in a S3 sort of environment--they may or may not be chasing Space Damien Moreau, but in terms of their team dynamic, etc., that’s where they are.

(Let’s be real, though, they are TOTALLY chasing Space Damien Moreau.)

(Who is, as in Leverage canon, very much a power-behind-the-throne kind of guy.)

(I.e., he is not a Moff or an Admiral or a planetary ruler or a sector governor or anything like that.)

(He just happens to have quite a few of them in his pocket.)

(He’s not affiliated with Black Sun or any of the Hutts or any other established syndicate, either. He’s his own thing.)

Nate--

He’s from a fairly prosperous Mid Rim world, went to a Core World university (probably either Coruscant or Alderaan).

The Clone Wars started right around when he graduated, if I’m parsing the timelines and ages right.

So, granted I’m making this up on the fly based on things I half-remembered, but while there are non-clone non-Jedi military officers, they’re mostly High Command types.

However, Nate does not have the background, experience, or connections for that kind of work.

He spends the War working for his home sector/planet's senator, as an investigator/learning about security/etc.

(How he manages to pull this off, despite his father’s legit Shady Past, is probably a Story in and of itself.)

Postwar, he goes into the private sector, working for an insurance company.

(Where he meets Sterling.)

(And Maggie.)

(And Sophie.)

Incidentally, while he doesn’t have the inside information to really disbelieve the late-stage propaganda, he’s a little Perturbed by exactly how quick and bloody the end of the war and the transition to the Empire was.

Something Is Not Right here, but he’s not sure exactly what, and is not yet so disillusioned to do anything about that doubt. But it remains, in the back of his mind, to resurface when everything falls apart.

This is, however, a large part of why he leaves public service.

From here, Nate’s backstory is more or less the same as in canon.

(I did toy with having Sam dead of Inquisitors instead for a while, but that would not translate right and, more importantly, is too mean to Maggie.)

(I love Maggie, have I mentioned that?)

Sophie--

What can one say about Space Sophie Devereaux.

...about as much as one can say about the canon version, honestly.

She’s Kuati, that much everyone knows for sure.

Whether she’s actually of the minor nobility is up for some debate.

(Yes, there was an equivalent of the King George Job)

She was in her early/mid-teens when the Clone War happened. Kuat itself seems to have been mostly untouched, but under heavy military guard because of the valuable shipyards.

She left Kuat three or four years postwar, and began creating her various aliases and legend.

(And occasionally working as an actress, of course.)

...yep, that’s pretty much what I have here.

Hardison--

Also pretty similar to his canon backstory, except that he’s slightly younger--probably closer to Jyn Erso’s age/two or three years older than the Skytwins.

Like Nate, he’s from the Mid Rim, but he’s from a planet that was heavily contested during the War.

(i.e., it ended up pretty bombed to hell)

(his parents died towards the end of the war, which is how he ended up with Nana)

His particular brand of invention/cleverness is particularly useful in a slowly-recovering warzone, though.

Parker--

Parker is actually from Coruscant.

The underlevels.

One of the kids who consistently slipped through the cracks, under both the Republic and the Empire.

Until Archie Leach found her.

And then unleashed her on the Galaxy.

And now, the fun part--Eliot!

Eliot is, in fact, a clone.

He was part of the so-called Last Batch; born (decanted?) about six months before the end of the war, so he never saw action during that conflict.

There were whispers, among the older cadets--the ones who were mature enough to hear echoes of a voice in their heads, who knew at least bits and pieces what the adult clones had done and why.

(The whispers are carefully, carefully encouraged by some of the adults who were able to fight through the compulsion. Not well enough, or fast enough, to save their Jedi, but damned if they wouldn’t protect their little brothers. Who will grow up to be men, not weapons. Which means that most of the Last Batch and varying proportions of the older cadets had their chips removed before leaving Kamino.)

(....and now I’m going to have to do something completely unrelated with the Last Batch and their relationships with their various older brothers at some point, aren’t they.)

Eliot, like most of his generation, goes into the Stormtrooper corps when he’s mature enough.

He stays in for a while--a good couple of years. He’s separated from his brothers, for the most part, but a few are with him. One by one, they die or desert--he covers for the ones who get away.

He’s the last. He bonded with a few of the non-clone troopers, and it isn’t until there’s no one in his unit he feels like he needs to stay for that he leaves.

(He promises himself, when he leaves that armor behind, that he’s not going to find himself in that situation again. He has only himself to look after now, and he is damn sure going to stay that way.)

He starts wandering, working as a bounty hunter/assassin for hire.

(He does have one brief, slightly surreal encounter with Boba Fett.)

(Who is Not Thrilled that one of the millions of men with his face is trying to do his job.)

Occasionally, he’s even hired by the Empire.

(Any jobs he does for them, he of course does from safely behind a mask.)

He spends some time on Mandalore, carefully connecting with his roots and finding plenty of work in that planet’s increasing unrest.

(There is a Story to tell here, I’m sure, possibly one involving Bo-Katan and/or Korkie Kryze...)

And, of course, he spends about six months working for Space Damien Moreau.

He occasionally, in his travels, has come across his brothers--ranging decommissioned Clone Wars vets, to older cadets, to others of the Last Batch.

He tends not to seek them out, though, and to avoid interacting when he can.

There’s too much baggage, positive and negative, with all his brothers of every generation.

Besides. He promised himself he wouldn’t put down roots with a unit or a team again.

Miscellania--

Their first job together runs much as in canon, and they settle in as a team and loosely follow the same overall storyline as in canon.

Nate knows damn well that Eliot is a clone, though he didn’t until they met in person.

(While he didn’t work directly with the GAR and never met any Jedi, he did meet several clone soldiers. It’s a hard face to forget, when you’ve seen it several times over the course of three years.)

Sophie figures it out, too--she met several soldiers assigned to guard the shipyards.

Their marks generally don’t figure it out, actually.

Not a lot is known about the Last Batch.

I mean, sure, if any of these industry/corporate titans actually thought things through, they’d remember that the clones were in production up through the very end of the war, so obviously something must have been done to the ones who were too young for combat at that point.

But, honestly, even if some part of you is aware/acknowledges that there are younger clones running around, are you really going to expect one to wander through your door pretending to be a chef/caterer or a pro baseball player or a country music star or an IT tech or...

(Parker and Hardison figure it out when one of their marks actually does identify Eliot as a clone.)

(They don’t particularly care, except Hardison remembers/learns about the rapid aging factor and starts using his downtime to try and find a fix for that.)

(When he’s not playing Space WoW, anyway.)

(Or helping Nate with whatever sketchy and underhanded Long-Term Scheme he’s got in mind right now.)

(They’re not on the black box yet, of course, but probably right now most of Hardison’s not-active-job time is spent on tracking Moreau.)

(He and Parker have probably been tossing ideas back and forth about robbing Kamino to try and find a fix, though...)

(Or at least the Last Batch’s records.)

(But that is a plot for another fic. And possibly one of the things they end up doing during the six-month break between S4 and S5.)

The Skytwins’ Team:

Here’s where the super self-indulgent part comes in.

So, this is technically an offshoot of an offshoot of Masks!Verse, which is a very near-canon AU (what I call an In Spite of a Nail AU) where Lavinia exists. Essentially, in Masks!Verse, nothing we see onscreen during the OT happens any differently, but there’s some Interesting Stuff happening elsewhere that sets up a different post-ROTJ timeline. Nothing at all changes until three years after ROTS, when Lavinia is born, and after that only things she’s Directly Involved In change, and most of that is internal Imperial power plays, at least through ROTJ.

(TFA more or less happens because I like it, but the road there is a little bit different and the canon I was operating from is locked there. I.e., due to what Lavinia and her daughter in this timeline end up doing, things go much more AU starting with the opening sequence of TLJ.)

Masks!verse, incidentally, is technically Lavinia’s core timeline, in that it’s the first one I created of the three base timelines I have for her (Masks, Precipice, and PT-generation), but that’s a whole separate conversation. It does probably explain why Masks!Verse has like a million variants/offshoots, though...

Anyway. Digression aside, this crossover actually draws from a Masks!Verse offshoot that I call the Lavinia Organa AU.

(You can probably guess where this is going.)

(It’s very much an Exactly What It Says On The Tin type thing.)

(And, honestly, could do with its own outline for the rewrite of ANH alone...)

But the Cliff Notes version:

When Lavinia is born/announced, Breha goes to Bail and says “we managed to successfully rescue/kidnap one Sith Lord’s baby daughter, we should rescue this one, too.”

They had never really decided on only having one kid, after all. Just at least one, and they wanted a daughter.

(It just ended up not happening in canon because of the need for secrecy/not wanting to complicate things and put Leia at risk.)

(I saw a meta post the other day that points out that Bail was clearly ready to take both Skytwins, but then Yoda said to separate them.)

(This may or may not have come up in primary Masks!Verse, incidentally, but there, they decided it was too risky and they had to focus on protecting the daughter they already had.)

(It’s arguable how much kidnapping was technically involved in adopting Leia. But they do just straight-up kidnap Lavinia. They also fudge some records and release carefully-timed photos and do not make any in-person appearances with her so they can claim she’s three months younger than she actually is.)

How do they pull this off? ...IDK, magic? Handwave for now, it is out of the scope of this project.

Leia and Lavinia grow up pretty close.

(Not that they never fight--they bicker constantly, especially in the years before Leia starts taking a more active role in the Rebellion and a more official role in Alderaan’s government.)

(Lavinia, at thirteen, isn’t really allowed to do much at that point, but she backs Leia in everything and helps a lot with the background research/legwork.)

A couple notable details: Bail and Breha decided pretty early on that they wanted to tell each of their daughters a shell of their bioparents’ stories, leaving out the key details but sticking more or less to the truth as best they could without putting their girls at risk.

So, Leia knows basically what she was told in canon--that her birth mother was a close friend of her parents, they didn’t know her birth father well, and both her bioparents died at the end of the Clone War.

That’s enough for her. She knows who her real parents are, and doesn’t especially care about her bioparents at this point. She has other things to worry about/deal with.

Lavinia is told that her birth mother died shortly after she was born, and her birth father was Not A Good Person and lost custody of her.

So, the thing about Lavinia--it’s less prominent in this AU because she had a functional childhood and parents who treated her like a person and not a spy/asset, but she’s very...the way she puts it in Precipice!Verse is that she doesn’t like walking into a room unprepared. And this shell of a story about her birth parents feels like the kind of thing that could bite her actual parents and her sister (and her) in the ass in a major way.

So, very quietly, around the time Leia starts working as an active Rebel agent, she starts digging into it, trying to identify her bioparents.

She doesn’t find any stories around her official age that match what her parents told her, and she doesn’t think they would lie.

But, she reasons, they might have skewed things or lied about her age to protect her from her biofather.

And then she learns Emperor Palpatine had a daughter, who died, who’s approximately the right age.

When she asks her parents about this, they don’t lie. They confirm it for her

(They would have done the same for Leia, if she had done the legwork and asked them point-blank, but like I said it’s not something she particularly cares about at this point.)

Lavinia then asks if she can tell Leia--they’ve actually been getting closer since Leia suddenly developed all these Adult Responsibilities, and the events of the Princess Leia novel happened.

This pretty much cements their relationship. While they still bicker a fair amount--they’re both pretty strong personalities, and not always compatible ones; Leia being a Soldier and Lavinia being a Spy, plus they’re teenage sisters who are fairly close in age--but they are Ride Or Die Full Stop from this point out.

By the time ANH actually rolls around, they’re both active Rebel agents--Lavinia works mostly with Intelligence and to a point with supply/other support forces, because she’s good at reading people and mapping interpersonal networks and figuring out who to approach, while Leia does more or less what she does in canon.

Again, the actually rewrite of ANH would be its own outline, so the important bits (with minimal detail in case I do end up doing this one properly at some point):

Lavinia and Leia are both on the Tantive.

Lavinia takes a shuttle/tender ship/something and separates, hoping to act as an additional decoy, that Vader will assume that the big ship is the Obvious Decoy and focus on her instead so Leia can get the plans to Kenobi safely.

Vader, of course, has the resources to track both of them so this doesn’t work.

Lavinia ends up tagging along on the Falcon and ending up on the Death Star with the others.

Everyone, including Obi-Wan, actually makes it off the station alive.

Lavinia was running around in the air vents for a while, and left behind a blood sample. On impulse, Vader runs it--he wants to identify all of Obi-Wan’s co-conspirators as quickly as possible and while there are no clear shots of her face on the surveillance footage he has, this is an available resource he can use.

Obi-Wan tells Luke and Leia who they are to each other (though sticks to the Certain Point Of View story about their biodad for the time being).

They have a moment of “...well, that explains a lot” and just accept it and move on.

So, at this point, there are some Key Secrets going on:

One, that Luke and Leia are the twin children, biologically, of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie Amidala.

People who know this: Obi-Wan, Luke, Leia, and Lavinia (they tell each other pretty much everything of this level of importance.)

Two, that Anakin Skywalker is now Darth Vader.

People who know this: Obi-Wan, Vader, Palpatine.

Three, that Lavinia Organa is Palpatine’s biological daughter.

People who know this: Lavinia, Leia, Vader, Mon Mothma (who they told in a “so this might be a Thing and we want to make sure Someone in High Command is prepared JUST IN CASE).

(They probably tell Luke before too much longer, but they do not share this detail with Obi-Wan.)

Right, so. Those are the Most Important Details for the purposes of understanding Let’s Go Steal A Crossover, I think.

Anyway, I’m drawing from this AU for two reasons:

(Or, three, if we include the fact that I Like It And I Can.)

First, it’s an easy way to get the Skytwins’ team connected/integrated with a minimum of Drama.

Second, because it’s kind of where the whole crossover concept came from. I was babbling at my very patient roommate about the Lavinia Organa AU (specifically about potential ESB/Cloud City plot points), and realized “lol, I could make a religion Leverage team out of this.”

“....WAIT I COULD MAKE A LEVERAGE TEAM OUT OF THIS!”

Here’s how it works:

Hitter: Leia. Who is a tiny ball of rage a lot of the time, and takes after both her bioparents in a large degree. She is definitely, definitely their combat specialist, even if she hasn’t really played that role in her previous work.

Hacker: Han. He’s the one who’s good at improvising tech, etc.

Grifter: Lando. Quick, act shocked.

Thief: Luke. Very different style from Parker, of course, but still.

Mastermind: Lavinia. Who, while not in any way going to use it as he did, inherited her biological father’s aptitude for strategy and manipulation.

The dynamic isn’t 100% the same, of course. For example, Lavinia may be the strategist, but Leia is more the team lead in the field. But it still lines up really great and then I started poking at the Leverage backstories above after the initial concept occurred to me and here we are.

Miscellania:

This crossover takes place in a vague “timelines mean nothing” sort of state. As I said before, the Leverage team is more or less in S3. We’ll say the Skytwins team is somewhere around ESB, though obviously the background leading them there is going to be Very Different.

The actual plot is going to start with The Two Live Crew Job In SPACE and go from there.

(Possibly getting more complicated, as we throw in Sterling and/or Vader and/or Obi-Wan and/or the Ghost crew.)

(In that last case, the Ghost crew never split up/Kanan never died/Ezra never went on a road trip with Thrawn and a bunch of space whales.)

And...that should cover it! Sometime this week (I’m hoping before Solo comes out), I’ll put up Part Two, which will cover the Actual Plot.

[furederiko]

"I won't let you... suffer the pain alone!" Kyuranger's 28th episode, conveys the tale of broken bond, and lost friendship...

- Let's get this right off the bat: POOR Balance!!! T_T... He wasn't around when Naga first succumbed into the darkness, so imagine his utter shock upon witnessing how his partner-in-crime (we'll get to this later) has become an evil, ruthless, brutal, and plain messed up person. Dark-Naga is completely different from his regular self, and this is the first time we get to see Balance gets deeply depressed. Even more so than that stolen-Birthday story... - Sure, the episode starts in a carefree and casual way. We see Balance utilizing the #43 Camelopardalis Kyu Globe to become a 'mechanical giraffe' and scout the area, while Dark-Naga is having fun with his newly found emotions through a practice fight with the Indavers (again, the actor is definitely having a blast). I also personally enjoy seeing Akyanba and Kukulga get along with one another, mirroring the bond between Ikagen and Madako nicely. But everything turns sour just 4 minutes in, and the cheerful mood has completely dissolves into a somber and melancholic tome. - Balance clearly arrives on scene with a belief that he could easily persuade Naga to the good side. That's how they've always been, right? But nope. If this is another show, the whole 'turning into evil' trope would be done and over with in just two episodes. This is Kyuranger we're talking about, and that's NOT how the show works. After declaring that the BN Thieves has now been disbanded, Dark-Naga doesn't pull any punches on his (former?) friends. He shoots Balance on the spot, intentionally injures his left thigh, and then tortures him with sheer glee. Balance refuses to react, resulting in an abusive scene that... well, rather disturbing to watch. I wonder how TV Asahi even allows this on a morning show? - It's a neatly choreograph, but devastatingly desperate fight scene. Once again, Dark-Naga is soooo close on killing the other Kyurangers with his 'Dark Galaxy' attack. This time around, a mysterious woman steps in to save the day. And it's a... female Naga! Hold on, I mean, a Naga-esque female individual from the Ophiucus system. She introduces herself as Echidna (obviously portrayed by Taiki Yamazaki, voiced by Ayumi Tsunematsu), and reveals more details about the same-faced inhabitants of her system. Trivia: In Greek mythology (nope, not the ant-eater one, nor... Sonic the Hedghehog's rival) Echidna is a half-woman half-snake 'She-Viper'. She's the mother of many mythical monsters such as Orthrus (that gave birth to Sphinx and Nemean Lion), Cerberus, Hydra, and possibly Chimaera. There's a 'mother angle' in her story. So can we assume this is just pure coincidence? Or is she actually Naga's mother? Hmmm... - Echidna's appearance is... well, a bit awkward to watch. Not because of the female voice coming out of Naga's lips, but mainly because it looks a bit out of sync. This is a common occurence in Tokusatsu, but I wonder why they don't just alter his actual voice with a sound editor? Also, design-wise, I think the production team made a minor miscalculation. IMO, they should've enclothed a 'female Naga' with a high-neck dress that fully covers the neck area. At least, give him a choker or something. The actor is what many generally calls 'pretty boy', so he CAN look and showcase Echidna's feminity just right. Yet it's also clear his adam's apple is still immediately noticeable in this dress style, and that would likely attract questions from audience. Especially observant nitpickers like yours truly LOL. With that said, her inclusion is still a much appreciated decision. It gives a good excuse to keep Naga's actor among the non-suit ones, without the need to hire a new artist. And similar to Dark-Naga's messed-up sassy gestures (that is always a delight to see), he's able to make us believe that Echidna's an entirely different character. - Echidna's exposition, leads to a deeper backstory for both Balance and Naga. And that's good. We FINALLY get to see how Balance met Naga for the first time! True to his trickster reputation, not only Balance ran into Naga when he was stealing a treasure from his planet, he also made use of Naga's pure desire for emotions to get away. On a whim! Yep, turns out things didn't actually start out in 'real' good terms for them. Back then, Balance was merely using Naga, turning him into a partner for his own selfish benefit. Not unlike Akyanba, huh? Nevertheless, it's a fated meeting that managed to change him for the better. Balance now actually cares for him and others in general! That's why Dark-Naga's berserking frenzy isn't just hurting Balance physically, but also scars him emotionally (if not all of us in general, of course). Balance is going to do anything to bring his BFF back, even if it forces him to engage in an intense heartbreaking duel with him. We've seen it teased in the preview, right? - I was initially pretty disappointed when Akyanba revealed that the key to bring Dark-Naga back to his senses, is to hurt him so badly. I admit, it IS a common thing for a Tokusatsu antagonist to foolishly state their Achilles heel. Even Kyuranger have done it before with a lesser MotW. I guess, I kind of expected more from this cunning villainess. Turns out, more is certainly what I'm getting. Televi's scans have already spoiled about this 'solution' before, along with the Gold-Silver fight, and Echidna's arrival. But what a pleasant surprise when those report (probably... intentionally?) left out the powerful twists that come as part of the actual package. - Contrary to popular assumption, Echidna isn't here to help Naga. She is sent to... eliminate him. Apparently, obtaining emotions is considered a massive threat in the law of Ophiucus system. OUCH!!! Echidna also blames Balance for 'swaying' him out of his planet. This is what I meant earlier by 'turning him as partner-in-crime'. Second, the Gold-Silver fight? Intense, but heartbreaking. I expected a Mexican Standoff-esque battle, but nope... Libra Gold doesn't want his BFF to suffer alone. So when he launches that rain of arrows using the #35 Sagittarius Kyu Globe, he's taking the fall WITH HIM. Aaaaawwww, the chills!!! But the episode saves the biggest twist of all. Hurting Naga badly to save him? LIES. That was nothing but lies. It's all Akyanba's trick to pit the Kyurangers against each other. She's merely toying with her enemy, trying to make them hurt one another. So disappointment is gone, because Akyanba IS a dangerous antagonist INDEED. - Worse thing is... according to her, Dark-Naga is beyond help. There's NO way he can be cleansed from darkness once he gains back his emotions. That means...? Aaaaaw!!!! T_T. I can already hear those devastated outcries reverberating throughout the Naga fanbase. Not to mention, Naga have always wanted emotions to make Balance happy! Putting the burden and guild on the Golden robot even more. If I didn't know any better, it seems the only ways to save Naga now are: defeat Akyanba to remove her curse/spells that unlocked Naga's emotions, and seal back the emotions he's been longing to have all these time. Those are NOT easy feats! Things aren't looking good in the present time. Fun fact: Can't believe it took me this long to realize one thing. Naga Ray's name is clearly a pun for either the Japanese word 'Nagare' which means 'to flow/washed away', explaining why he's easily persuaded; and also 'Nagareboshi' which means 'Shooting Star'. And we know how a meteor is called a shooting star, right? When it FALLS down on Earth. Suffice to say, Naga's fall to darkness has been written on his name. This character was already doomed from the get-go. And that rain of arrows is another really good metaphor to this too... - What's happening in the past doesn't fare better! 'Time Travel' team exits the time hole (healing Commander's Xiao's back in the process), and goes directly to witness Tsurugi's final fight against Don Armage. And it plays out exactly like Tsurugi's story, confirming several things: One, Tsurugi has been telling an honest truth all these time. As in, he's not dreaming or seeing illusions or alternate reality like some fans have theorized. Two, Kuervo sacrifices himself to protect Tsurugi from Don Armage's blow. So yeah, I think he's genuinely really dead, as we can only see Orion (who now has a face, more on this later) carrying Tsurugi to safety afterwards. Three, Don Armage is defeated... for REAL. Phoenix Soldier strikes him down (here's hoping we get to see that cool flaming winged attack again soon), blowing up his planet along the way. So HOW is Don Armage still alive till the present time? That side of truth is still shrouded in mystery. As if that's not enough, all of a sudden the ORION is under mysterious heavy attacks! Forcing Raptor to quickly warp off towards Earth. With Don Armage gone, WHO is attacking them then? - Before you dismiss that this time travel side is removed or unrelated, do remember one thing. Kyuranger had always run several plots in parallel, but they generally still share the same theme (examples: Stinger's route of vengeance crosses path with Champ, and the brotherhood parallel between Scorpio and Kotarou). Considering the current theme is about heroes/good person turning to the dark side, could it be foreshadowing the true identity of the new Don Armage? If we observe how Naga is Balance's best friend, we can see there's a parallel running in the past: Orion or Kuervo are Tsurugi's closest comrades too! Who do you want to bet as the real Don Armage, then? - Anyway, we're back in the present time. Akyanba walks away with a severely wounded Dark-Naga, leaving the fight to the giant Indavers. Since Ursa Minor SkyBlue has to tend for Balance, Leo Red uses Gemini Kyu Globe to duplicate Lupus Blue and Chamaelleon Green, so they can form a three-colored RGB Kyuren-Oh. What a NEAT trick! Even SkyBlue is surprised to see that this is possible. I don't think we actually need a mecha battle, but at least it's unpredictable. - Despite Echidna's firm statement that the only option to the Ophiucus Metal situation is to eliminate Naga, obviously 'Save Naga' team isn't going to give up just like that. Balance personally refuses to obey, and will do anything to rescue Naga. Even if he has to face Echidna for that. But that's when something unexpected comes up. Well, duh? This IS Kyuranger, so obviously it's one thing after another. Our present team senses an odd surge of time-paradox, and notices a distress beacon from the ORION. Has the spaceship really returned? - This is where the two time-crossed storylines come together in a shivering and shocking way. Because what Lucky and friends see, is NOT the ORION they've known all these time. It's a broken and aged ruins of the spaceship! Dang it, the goosebumps. Don't forget, there's a price for trying to break the rule of nature. A small alteration in the past will affect the flow of time and reality in its future... and this must be one! Does this mean, the real one is destroyed in the past?! Oh good heave, I hope not! But the scene that slowly shifted back in time... only confirms that concern. ORION has indeed crashed down on Earth, and its passengers are on the ground, wounded and unconscious. And standing in front of them, is none other than... Sir Orion!!! Fun fact: Orion is played by actor Kai Shishido, who is the son of legendary actor Joe Shishido. He's not new to Tokusatsu, having played DASH Captain Shigeru Hijikata in the 2005's "Ultraman Max". Looks like Shishido was added to the cast later on, because I don't think he was the actor we saw in Eris's story. That one was younger, smaller in figure, and has much lighter skin! Something that obviously a nitpicker like me would've noticed... LOL. It's a tad disappointing, because having felt familiar with his face, I've been really curious about that mysterious 'temporary' actor. Guess I won't be getting my answer anytime soon. But at the same time, I'm not complaining about Shishido. He DOES has a powerful presence worthy of an important character. Beside, if my theory of Orion being Lucky's biological father pans out, his surname would make for a perfect pun! The kanji means another, but 'Shishi' is 'Lion' in Japanese, right?

Overall: Oh wow, one surprise after another huh? Thank goodness we got a lighter episode last week, otherwise I don't think my heart is ready for such intensity to come every week. This episode left me with a bitter taste, which was both sad but good. Realizing that Naga can't actually be saved, felt like swallowing a bitter pill that refuses to go down the throat. It made me feel... hopeless. But such uneasiness could only land if audience deeply cares about him and Balance as characters, which is a really good thing. So call me hypocrite, but I'm glad the Dark-Naga arc isn't resolved too quickly. Otherwise I'd be quite disappointed. Thumbs up to the writers this time for a strong focus episode for Balance. Much needed praises also goes to the sound department, because once again, GREAT use of fitting BGM to amplify the scenes. The melancholic ones during Naga and Balance's heartbreaking moments worked gorgeously by adding shade and tint of sadness. I might have some minor nitpicks about this episode that affects my score, but overall, a truly excellent episode... Next week: Orion, oh ORION... PS: We're back to "Kyutama Dancing" as the ending theme, but this time Tsurugi has been added to the equation. Also, alongside teaser for the first Bluray Box set, the official trailer for V-Cinema "Episode of Stinger" has been aired. It's available online if you're curious about it.

Episode 28 Score: 8,3 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: September 5th, 2017 - Version 2.13. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[placetobenation]

Fantasia 2000

Release Date: December 17th, 1999 (released June 16th, 2000 nationwide)

Inspiration: N/A

Budget: $80-85 million

Domestic Gross: $60.6 million

Worldwide Gross: $90.9 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

IMDB Score: 7.2/10

Storyline (per IMDB): In this update of Disney’s masterpiece film mixture of animation and music, new interpretations of great works of music are presented. It begins with an abstract battle of light and darkness set to the music of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Then we see the adventures of a humpback whale calf and his pod set to “The Pines of Rome.” Next is the humorous story of several lives in 1930’s New York City, scored with “Rhapsody in Blue.” Following is a musical telling of the fairy tale, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Then a goofy flamingo causes havoc in his flock with his yo-yo to the tune of the finale of “Carnival of the Animals.” This is followed by the classic sequence from the original film, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” starring Mickey Mouse and followed by “Pomp and Circumstance” starring Donald Duck as a harried assistant to Noah on his Ark. Finally, we see the awesome tale of the life, death, and renewal of a forest in a sequence …

Pre-Watching Thoughts: We get a little bit of an interesting spot here as this film was technically released in 2000 after the next two films, but because it was first shown in 1999 in New York it is considered by Disney the next official film in the canon. It is a bit weird that this is the second sequel following the Rescuers and it didn’t seem like there was much demand for a sequel to Fantasia, but believe it or not Walt Disney had originally intended for Fantasia to be a continuous release with different segments in each one. While that never materialized, we do finally get the sequel 60 years in the making and we will see how this one holds up.

Voice Cast: Much like the original Fantasia, we don’t have any voice actors to talk about though unlike the first one where we had just one host for the film, we have different actors introducing each of the segments. Having said that, we do have some familiar faces here as we have Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, and Angela Lansbury all introducing different segments, and we also have archival footage of Deems Taylor from the original Fantasia opening the film. It is also important to mention Tony Anselmo who voices Donald Duck as well as Wayne Allwine who voices Mickey Mouse at brief moments. For the newcomers, we have comedian Steve Martin, music producer Quincy Jones, conductor James Levine, and magicians Penn and Teller introducing the other segments, and I will also mention the Chicago Symphony Orchestra who performed the majority of the songs. These actors were pretty much just here to introduce each segment and nothing else, but it was still good to have some star power attached to this film.

Hero/Prince: N/A

Princess: N/A

Villain: N/A

Other Characters: I am going to be drawing a lot of comparisons between this film and the original Fantasia and for good reason, since this film is basically an updated version of Fantasia though the premise of it remains the same. As such, each segment has its own characters confined to that specific segment with no overlap, and none of these characters belong in one of the other categories so they will be talked about here. In the first segment, we have the butterflies representing light and the bats representing darkness, and then in the next segment we have the humpback whales that appear in the whole segment. We then have the next segment focused on the four people named Duke, Joe, Rachel, and John whose lives intertwine without them even knowing, and then in the next segment features the toy soldier who battles with the jack-in-the-box for the love of the ballerina. The next segment features the flamingos including the main one and then we have the return of Mickey and Yen Sid, and then we have Donald Duck in his first appearance since “The Three Caballeros” and the debut of Daisy Duck on the big screen. Finally in the last segment, we have the mythical Sprite, the elk she befriends, and the spirit of the volcano and while you can say these characters along with the soldier, ballerina, and jack-in-the-box could belong in the other categories, I didn’t feel it appropriate to include them in those. Again, these characters are specific to their own segment and it makes each one feel more special than if they intertwined with each other.

Songs: Much like Fantasia, the songs featured in this film are classic pieces of music that have been given specific animated sequences to be shown during the songs, and we do have one song returning from Fantasia and that is of course “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. We start off the show with Beethoven’s legendary “Symphony No. 5” and then we transition into “Pines of Rome” by Ottorino Respighi, and then we have the classic piece “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin followed by “Piano Concerto No. 2 Allegro, Opus 102” by Dmitri Shostakovich. Next, we have “The Carnival of the Animals Finale” by Camille Saint-Saens and that is followed after “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by “Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3, and 4” by Edward Elgar, and we close things out with “Firebird Suite – 1919 Version” by Igor Stravinsky. It was good that they showcased new pieces while featuring at least one piece from the original, and it made this film feel completely different from the first one while maintaining enough similarities to it.

Plot: In the original Fantasia, Deems Taylor described it as being three different kinds of music with the first being ones that tell a definite story, another being that might not have a plot, but paints a series of definite pictures, and the last being music that exists simply for its own sake. The same held true for the animated scenes that were made for those specific pieces and now we see that happen again here. Much like the original, there is no main plot as each piece belongs in one of those three categories, with the tale about the soldier, ballerina, and jack-in-the-box, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, and the story of Noah’s Ark featuring Donald and Daisy Duck being ones that tell a definite story. We then have the stories about the whales, the four people, and the Sprite ones that paint a series of pictures, and finally we have the first piece and the flamingos that exists for their own sake. That is what made Fantasia so special when it first came out and that is what makes this film special too.

Random Watching Thoughts: It was wise showing the various clips of the original Fantasia to let those that have never seen it get a quick glimpse of what to expect; Similar to the original, we start off the with the orchestra taking their seats, though this time it feels more spread out than it did in the first one; Unlike the first one where the title card is shown in the middle of the film, we get it at the beginning like normal; I think it would be safe to say that “Symphony No. 5” is Beethoven’s greatest work; It’s always weird to hear a song that sounds upbeat yet the animation with it is dark; As it usually is, the light always manages to overcome the dark; Steve Martin’s Two-Week Master Musician Home Study course; Looking back, “Fantasia” is definitely a much better title than “The Concert Feature”; I wonder how often they would’ve re-released Fantasia in theaters with new material each time, it probably would’ve been a drain financially; Obviously, Steve Martin is not well versed in the violin though he does actually play the piano and the banjo; The Disney animators heard “Pines of Rome” and the first thing they thought of was flying whales; Could you just imagine being out on a boat and all of a sudden, you saw a bunch of whales just flying around in the air?; That calf tried to do too much too soon and it nearly cost him his life; Of course, there would be a random light in that cave that can lift the calf into the air and out of the cave; It is pretty interesting how they basically turned the sky into the sea for the whales; I also like how individual musicians are recognized as well; That dude really needs to tidy up his room; That’s quite a strong cat if he’s able to pull off the cap of that milk bottle so easily; He just stepped in wet cement and yet left no footprints; This was set in the early 1930s so we are right in the thick of the Great Depression; That waitress looks like she would rather be anywhere than at work; People just running on and off the subway; At least he was willing to give that gold coin back before just using it to pay for his coffee; The menu says Eric Goldberg who was an animator at Disney and also directed this specific piece; So 2 eggs cost the same as a hamburger at $.10?; That guy is so happy even though he was 5 minutes late to work; He keeps the same, disinterested look on his face even while falling to the next level; How were that many people able to get through those doors at once?; The bellhop thought it was over only for another wave of people to come through the doors; Everyone just stays in the same position as they get off the subway, go up the elevators, and then disperse to their respective rooms; That is a pretty efficient way to crack some walnuts, points for ingenuity; He really wanted the apple only to try and do the right thing by put it back, yet he’s reprimanded by the officer who thinks he was stealing only to eat it himself; That girl had quite a number of activities to take part in, it’s like just pick one and go with it; The monkey steals all those peanuts and the vendor is rightfully upset, but the monkey’s owner just shrugs it off like it’s nothing; He was more interested in acting like a dog than helping his wife with her dog; So all four are using the skating rink to reveal their ultimate wish; That’s quite the hefty bill rung up; The one guy decides to quit his job as a construction worker just as the guy who needs a job walks past and is tossed the jackhammer which gets him the job he needs; That is pretty rude of those taxis to just drive by when someone is clearly trying to call for one; It took the girl nearly getting killed trying to get her ball back for her parents to finally spend more time with her; In the end, everyone gets the thing they wanted; I like how they show the drawings leading up to the film of the potential ideas they had for the film; So Walt Disney originally wanted to include “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” in the first Fantasia, but was dissatisfied with it and shelved it; If you get a box of soldiers and see one is missing a leg, you would think that you would want to get it fixed; If that jack-in-the-box wasn’t so snobby, maybe the ballerina would’ve been more accepting of him; The soldier was so excited thinking the ballerina had one leg only to be disappointed when he saw she had two; That brief moment where you thought the solider was going to land in the furnace; That soldier went through that whole ordeal and didn’t even get a single scratch; They are in the middle of a sword fight and the ballerina decides to dance; For those that remember the original fairy tale, the ending saw the solider and the ballerina end up in the furnace, but it was changed to see the soldier send the jack-in-the-box into the furnace and live happily ever after with the ballerina; Interesting having the animators on the stage along with the orchestra doing some work; James Earl Jones does this big grand introduction for the next segment only to be aghast as to what the segment actually is; These flamingos are keen to do their thing in perfect harmony, but there has to be the one that just wants to play around with that yo-yo; They thought they showed him by getting rid of the yo-yo, but he ups the ante with a whole bunch of yo-yos; I wonder if Penn and Teller got any kickback for basically admitting that stage magic is fake; Of all the segments from the first Fantasia to include in this film, they were wise to pick ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” since it is the most famous one from the original; I like how they didn’t update it for the modern era and showed it as it was first presented in 1940, right down to having the original orchestrations and not having the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play it; You can check out my review of the original Fantasia for all my initial comments on “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”; It was cool that they even included the bit after the segment of Mickey meeting the conductor, and that segues into the modern day where the more modern Mickey meets the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra though they dubbed over Walt Disney’s original dialogue and instead had Wayne Allwine redo it; So “Pomp and Circumstance” was written for solemn events yet became better known for being played at graduation ceremonies, and of course us wrestling fans know full well that it is the theme song for the iconic “Macho Man” Randy Savage; Donald waits until now to take a shower?; It is funny that they would use this song to go with the story of Noah’s Ark; It’s a good thing those turtles were turned around because they were going the wrong way; Apparently, Noah didn’t anticipate this many animals showing up; That was a quick turnaround from sunshine to rain; The animals are adamant about not getting on the ark until a bolt of lightning quickly convinces them to do so; Now we know why the dragons and unicorns are extinct, they didn’t get on the ark and drowned in the flood; So both Donald and Daisy are on the ark yet they think the other didn’t make it in time; You know, considering the types of animals that are on the ark, it’s amazing that the predators didn’t have a field day and kill off the weaker animals; That dove didn’t want to leave his mate; Another quick turnaround for that water to recede; Those rabbits had no problem getting busy on the ark; For everything that Donald went through, it was nice to see him and Daisy reunite and he gets his happy ending; Of all the places to find a Sprite, it would be in a cave; That Sprite was all too eager to start spreading her love across the land; I don’t think that a volcano would be the best place I would go exploring; That firebird really had a vendetta against the Sprite if he went to those lengths to kill it; How was that elk able to survive all that?; The Sprite is completely despondent until she sees her tears makes everything grow; After not being able to grow anything on the volcano, now all of a sudden she can after it’s erupted; Unlike the first film where we had an intermission where the credits were shown, they come at the end like a normal film; Did they actually leave Steve Martin there by himself?

Overall Thoughts: Overall, this was a pretty solid film that was about on par with the original Fantasia and I would argue that it was even slightly better than the first one. Obviously, things have changed since 1940 due to animation being much more modern and you can see it here as they kept “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” as is while the other segments were in modern times. Again, I don’t know how many people were clamoring for a Fantasia sequel and even more crazy is to think that Fantasia was going to be a recurring film re-released periodically with new material each time. Even though the Disney Renaissance was over, Disney was still riding fairly high going into the new millennium and it was going to be interesting to see how the next set of films do. As for this film, it is a perfectly fine film that serves as a good compliment to Fantasia and one has to wonder if we will get a third Fantasia in the future.

Final Grade: 6.5/10