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yanderesmythos · 4 years

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🎼Yandere! Apollo(General) Headcanon⚕:

Tw: Violence, implied dub-con, delusions, mention of flaying, slight nsfw, toxic relationship, curses.

Ah, Apollo is known to be attracted to those that represent beauty. So when he got the gist of rumor spreading through the island of Kythira, that a young maiden has a mellifluous voice and an equally divine figure. He declared that he had to investigate, to make sure the rumours are true.

Thus, the blond god decided to pay a visit to meet the cryptic maiden; that had lit the flames of his curiosity as if it was the flames of Olympus* itself!

Before he descends to the village, Apollo disguised himself as man in his mid-thirties that have a flowing chocolate locks for tresses and stubbles beneath his chin. ' Now, to find the μούσα* of this village.'

The first thing that came to his mind, is that to search for her in the fields of flowers. Alas, he didn't find her which made him the more so frustrated. Were those rumours a mockery, just to taunt him for every lover he had met a tragic end?* If so, how dare they!

Yet, a kind gentlemen has came his way and saw the impatient expression painting Apollo's face. 'χαῖρε*, friend! I saw you were troubled, that's why I am here to help. As far as I am concerned, you're here to meet the allegedly fair maiden of our village. If you want to her, then head to the south east of chora. You'll find her humming a hymn and playing with animals, and Ὑγιαίνε!*'.

Before, he could give his blessing and gratitude to the man. The individual vanished into thin air as if he never existed. Nonetheless a smile tore Apollo's face, as he began heading to the place that stranger told him to go.

When he arrived to the location, his breath was hitched by not the beauty of place. But, with the woman in a flowy white dress who was singing her heart out. His heart was thumping so hard, that he feared that it may stop thanks to the woman in a simple village dress. It seems that the rumours were not an empty gossip, after all. Oh, did he finally 'meet' his muse and he won't let what occured to his past lovers happen to you!

Apollo is obsessive, clingy, delusional, and overwhelming-ly overprotective to the point of being overbearing. But, that's understandable when most of your lovers either wind up dead or turned into some kind of plant!

Apollo adores you immensely, so much that he will go as far as to defying you to his worshippers. Any mockery of you is akin of insulting him, which will steer his wrath. And his wrath isn't something to be taken so lightly, especially if his darling is involved.

It's a guarantee that Apollo will write poems, hymns*, and songs of praise for you. As well as, ensuring one of his devoted servants to sculpt you in the most pristine form and to be spread all through Greece. Then, he'll get rid of them* because he is the only one who has the right to appreciate s/o naked figure. 'What a fair woman you are, my μούσα. How fortunate, for the sisters of fate had decided to bind us together. So, let's take advantage of it and create the masterpiece of our deathless love.'

In fear of your death, the first thing Apollo will do is to force the ambrosia* upon you. Whether be it you're willing, or kicking and screaming to be let go. He simply will ignore it, as he believes those are 'signals' indicating that you desire him as much as he desires you. 'Shhh, μούσα. No need to be afraid, after all we will be together forever. Aww, those tears of happiness has blessed my day. Now, let me return the favour in our private chamber.'

If you're were to be taken away from Apollo, or worse injured significantly. Then, those imbeciles must be prepared to accept their fates. Oh dear, it has been itching him for a while to use his bow and arrow! Or, maybe flay them for their discretion of his sacred beloved.

Plus, he may or may not consider cursing their homeland with a terminal illness to make an example out of any mortal who has any ill intention toward s/o.

On another notice, rejecting or escaping him won't effect the outcome. As he'll accumulate you one way or another, in addition you'll be punished severely for 'breaking' his fragile heart. But don't worry, he won't hurt you....that much.

If you happened to escape on your own accord, not only will you make Apollo upset but also Artemis for upsetting her twin brother. (In which case, I believe from this scenario Artemis would've developed platonic obsession. Mainly, that you make her brother happy and that you haven't been dead yet. And, for that she promised to protect you until her last breath. Not only for her brother, but for herself as it has been a while since she met a kind mortal.)

Then, you'll become the prey of both Apollo and Artemis hunting game. If Artemis was the one to catch you, then you'll be handed to the lovesick god as he begin to drown you in his hold. However, if Apollo was the one to catch her then the s/o must be in for an intense 'love' session. In both scenarios, you'll be handed to him. It's just his reaction, that will differ.

Oh, also don't even attempt to break Apollo's delusions of you. As he will become a horrendous individual to meddle with, if he ever become lucid. And, the punishments will be amped to mind-shattering level. So try not to tread on his delusions, and you'll be safe for the most part. The more you escape, the more he'll be aware. Thus, he'll slowly become lucid. Oh, and just because he's lucid doesn't mean that he'll give up his beloved. NO! he'll be more persistent and bitter in his approach than his deluded state which is more softer and sweeter than any honey.

Anyways, one of his favored hobbies is to enact your and his fantasies with you. He can't help, but gushes at your flushed and drooling visage as he overstimulates your genital. 'Ahh, you're so.... dazzling especially with that flustered expression upon your face. Oh? You want more? Ask and you shall receive. No need to be shy with me, my βασίλισσα*.'

Anyways, as long as you play your cards right you might escape with your wits and sanity intact. But.....at the cost of either becoming the most dreaded immortal or cursed so no one can love you, but Apollo himself.

In which case, the isolation and ostracizion from the mortals will most likely drive you to return to him. 'Ah looks like you've learnt your lesson, κακῶς κόρην*. I forgive you now, so come into my warm embrace.'

Notes:

* Flame of Olympus: Here, I was referencing the myth of the first flame that Prometheus gave to humanity. Leading him, to be punished by Zeus.

* μούσα: Muse in greek.

* Tragic end: Poor Apollo. Each time he loves someone, they die or turn to plants. First, Daphne(turned into a Laurel tree) then Hyacinth(turned into Larkspur flower) then Cassandra(cursed for the rest of her life with the misfortune of no one believing her oracles). The last one, was a prickly act from Apollo ngl. But, then again there is no one right in the mythos. Everyone must've done something shitty for petty reasons with few exclusions (hestia/hades).

*χαῖρε: Hello in ancient greek.

*Ὑγιαίνε: Good luck in ancient greek.

*Hymns: are songs of praises towards a deity.

*then he'll get rid of them: you'll ask why would he spread sculptures of you around Greece, yet will punish anyone who worships it. Simply, because that's called hypocrisy and boy there is alot of it in the mythology. *Cough* Zeus *Cough*

*Ambrosia: Called 'the food of the gods', it is guaranteed to make any mortal into immortal.

* βασίλισσα: Queen in ancient greek.

*The first one to answer this will get a cookie from me: Who was the mysterious man that spoke with Apollo?

A/n: I apologize for uploading late, as I am busy with studying for my finals. Lastly, I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for requesting! Take care!

#yandere #yandere greek goddesses #yandere greek gods #yandere greek mythology #yandere x reader #yancore #Yandere Apollo x reader #Yandere Apollo

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agerefandom · 4 years

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I would love any content you wanted to write about greek deities. Apollo is one of my favorites. Do you have any favorites?

That’s a hard question!! There are so many versions of them that it’s hard to really pick a favourite, you know?

In general, I love figures that hold the bridge between the underworld and the overworld, so Hermes and Persephone are probably my all-time favourites. We love liminal, boundary-blurring figures. It’s hard to choose between them: Spring is my favourite season, so obviously Persephone is my favourite, but also I have an ultimate weakness for trickster figures in mythology.

Apollo and the Muses are obviously way up there as a person who’s grown up in music and art and theatre. Apollo’s role in prophecy and the way that’s used in Greek myths is also so interesting, I could study it forever.

And then there’s the maiden goddesses!!! Power!!! Obviously Athena is amazing, and I had the biggest crush on Artemis when I was a kid, and Hestia has been the goddess my mum devotes herself for the last decade, so honestly I just kind of think of her as a mother figure.

My favourite series when I was a kid was all about Hades and re-telling the myths from his point of view, so I’ll always be affectionate towards him as well. I always get Hades on those ‘who would your godly parent be’ quizzes but I feel like it just makes my goth aesthetic a little Too Much if I’m all about Hades. So I try and focus on other deities, but, like... I love Hades a lot.

Oh!!! I didn’t gush enough about Dionysus! Obviously, all the Greek gods have been used as symbols of queerness, but Dionysus is my favourite because he blurs the gender binary as well as encouraging that lovely hedonistic style of queer pleasure and desire. Of course, I’m a very quiet person, and I’m uncomfortable around drinking, but I like to think that 3am screaming along to silly 2000s music videos with friends and drinking sweetened fruit punch also falls into the delirium of Dionysus’s reign.

I’ve... almost certainly missed some other favourite mythological figures, but there you go! (Honorable mentions: Hephaestus and his relationship with Aphrodite, Prometheus, the Furies, the Fates, Medusa and her sisters, Charon my beloved, Hecate, Nyx, Psyche, Helios, Eos, and Gaia)

Ask me about Greek Deities!!! Give me an excuse to babble!

#hark i say nothing #greek mythology #not agere #i think this is a prime example of infodumping lmao #drinking mention #tw drinking

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satbiym · 4 years

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Read it on 🍞 AO3 Link or below:

Lio knows what he looks like.

He knows what people think when they look at him, especially as his appearance makes them fall under the illusion that when it comes to him, they can get away with unleashing the beasts they have lurking underneath

At least until Lio shows them what it means to house a beast too large for your body and circumstances.

The thing with Lio now is, when he talks, people listen.

Now.

but that hadn't always been the case

born to a family who gave too many fucks about public appearance and too few about their own flesh and blood

he was taught from a young age that children should be seen and not heard

to be controlled and not control

to be polite and proper and use their words

(Lio had always been better at letting his actions do the explaining for him)

(his bare hands - all fists and bones and cleanly healed callouses)

(his fire; fire that had nothing to do with housing aliens from another dimension in his body and mind and heart and soul)

Lio was the strongest of the burnish

“When the Boss’s flames are alive, the flame of the Burnish will live on!”

The promare, he now understood, wanted to burn it all to the ground, and his urge to burn had been the strongest of them all

what did it mean

did the promare prefer him most because his bloodlust matched theirs?

Lio wore duty like a beloved security blanket. He was Atlas and Prometheus and Helios all at once. He was the burner and the burned.

He was-

he was-

(Atlas shrugged.)

When Lio was younger and still unfamiliar with the literal simmering heat of bone-deep rage that never seemed to be quenched and the monsters it made of them all-

Lio Fotia used to have a sister.

Younger.

the only thing they shared were their last names - Fotia

she had been born in front of him and the first time he had held her, still trembling from her perilous journey into this world that had already started testing her

their father had been on the phone, hammering out the last negotiations for her betrothal

And blinking away trembling tears that blurred her crunchy baby face from view

he had then sworn an oath, I will protect you

it was the first - but not the last - time he had taken up arms for someone else

Eos, they named her

if he was Helios of the sun, then she was the dawn of his light

Hello Eos.

Welcome to Earth.

It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. I'll teach you how to ride a bike and sneak out of windows at night and use a slingshot and push you on the swing even though it’s my turn to fly.

Eos, if there is something I could tell you, god damn, you've got to be kind, despite it all. You've got to be kind.

I will make sure you have ample luxury to be.

It used to bother him

how they looked nothing alike

and it used to fill him with rage, that burned burned burned, whenever her fiance would come by and dismiss her with a glance and not look at the hair she had painstakingly learnt over multiple hours from Youtube videos and then made him learn to do for her, and the dress she had changed her mind on, no less than 10 times

Eos liked pretty things

and, she used to laugh, Lio, you are the prettiest of them all.

she liked to hold colourful butterflies and delicate sparrows in her hands and admire them

and then, she just... let them go

she always let them go

no matter how much it delighted her to look at them

she always let them go

and with her, Lio too, learnt a little about what it meant to be kind

(but he still hasn't learnt how to let go)

One careless afternoon, her fiance made her cry

That summer afternoon, Lio Fotia almost took his first life (and came into his burnish identity)

It was her cries that alerted him before he dealt the killing blow

Later-

Later.

when he was allowed to see her next

she brought with her bread and an unopened letter from their father

"What's in it?"

"I haven't read it"

"Hm."

they talked - not about the, now literal, flames that lived in his soul

but just talked

while breaking pieces of the bread to feed the fish in the fountain next to them

it was nice

right before she had to leave, she sat up and said the magical, familiar words, "Do you want to try something cool I saw on Youtube?"

Lio had smiled.

she had then taken out the bread clip that had been holding the bread packet closed

and clipped it onto his ear

"There." She had said, satisfied. "I knew that would work"

Lio had looked at her questioningly

Eos had smiled, "Your ears are just as thick as mine, Brother. So, I figured this trick would work."

Lio blinked.

Their ears were the same?

Lio had always searched for traces of similarity in her face, but had never found any

but maybe he had always been looking in the wrong places

"How do I look?" Lio said smiling, for the first time in a while

Eos had smiled brightly

and then

that smile trembled

"Like the prettiest thing in the world" she had said and then clutched him to her, not letting go

(but Lio caught sight of the white envelope from the corner of his eye)

and for the first time, he let go.

gently loosening her grip on him, he smiled, "Impossible. You are in the world."

Wiping at her eyes, too open and not knowing enough about the world to be discreet about it - and if Lio had any say in it, she never would have to be discreet about it - she had shaken her head stubbornly

"No. A-and you have to promise me. You will remain the prettiest person in the world. Brother, oh, Brother, your flames felt so warm and safe."

Lio blinked.

Safe, huh.

For her, he swore - the second oath he ever made, they always would be.

After she left, he opened the letter

Son, the Burnish Task Force will be collecting you in a day's time. We cannot be held responsible for harboring illegal burnish and this will impact your sister's prospects. She will be getting married when she turns 18, and cannot have a burnish for a brother-

Lio had just smiled, letting his flames consume the letter

"What's in it?"

"I haven't read it"

When did you learn to obfuscate, little dawn?

and tugging gently on the bread clip still attached to his ear, but not enough to make it let go.

That night, Lio Fotia ran away from his home and made the third oath of his life and started figuring out what it meant for his flames to be warm and safe.

Lio Fotia used to have a sister.

The only thing they shared were their last names - Fotia, and... their thick ears

and when she was to be married, her name would go but her thick ears would remain.

#promare #lio fotia #promare fic #promare fanfiction #lio fotia backstory #mypost #myfic #mymeta #myhc

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manggaeteokki · 4 years

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Secret Garden || intro

summary: for years and years, your mother whispered to you stories of the mythical secret garden, and for years, you thought they were just that: stories. but what happens when one day you stumble upon a place beyond your wildest imagination and not a clue how you got there?

come in and discover the legends of the Secret Garden.

pairing: ___ x reader, BTS x reader

genre: fluff, romance, fantasy, alternate universe! au, smut (possibly?? *eyebrow wiggle*)

words: 1.7K

a/n: this is my first series and i’m super excited! this series will have a story in the garden for each member. please read the intro before delving into the stories!!! the intro sets up the stories, so its important to read, cuties. choose one to read or choose them all. either way, can’t wait to see you in the Garden! (send an ask to be added to the taglist!!)

“Do you ever think there could be other worlds besides ours?” your friend, Aila, asks while shoving a fistful of buttery popcorn in her mouth.

It was Movie Night in your shared apartment, and your friend and roommate, Aila’s, brilliant suggestion of Prometheus was gracing your T.V. screen. She loved movies about otherworldly creatures coming to Earth and especially loved when an invasion was involved. You often questioned her movie taste, and she would explain that she likes the idea of Earth “not being the only planet with viable and intelligent beings.” It sounded insane, but in some ways it made sense, you rationalized.

You shifted on the comfy couch to look towards her. While you didn’t necessarily refute the point, you couldn’t be sure that you could answer such a question or even know where to begin with an explanation.

“When I was younger,” you started, “my mom used to always tell me stories of this other world that had a garden.”

“Sounds fucking boring,” she retorted. You hit her shoulder and she winced in fake pain.

“Shut up. Like I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted, she would tell me stories of this place. The way she talked about the garden… it made it seem like it was real,” you smiled remembering. “She said that every flower in existence bloomed there, and that as soon as you entered, a wave of calmness immediately washed over your body. ‘A pure form of serenity,’ she said.”

“No offense but it sounds like that time I got high at the Botanical Gardens with Nico last summer,” she laughed and you shortly followed suit.

“Yeah, but she also talked about these beings that lived there. I think she said there were seven of them. She said that they looked like humans, but on a closer look, their beauty was too ethereal to be so,” you babbled.

Aila’s face contorted into confusion and wonder as you recalled the stories your mother told you at bedtime each night. The movie long forgotten, Aila inquired more and more about your beloved stories until the music signaling the end credits began to play. Aila stood up and began clearing the popcorn strays from the couch while you walked over to turn on the lights in the living room.

Your roommate let out a yawn paired with a sound that could easily be compared to a banshee, and let you know that she would be heading to sleep as she had work early in the morning. You nodded your head in acknowledgement and let her know that you would be staying a while in the living to catch up on a show you had been binge-watching that week. Her door to her room closed and you landed on your couch with a fwump!

“Finally I get to watch this damn show!” you exclaimed, reaching for the bucket of popcorn Aila left out for you. The intro to Elite started rolling, and you snuggled deeper into the worn-in couch. You let out a sigh of relaxation, allowing yourself to get immersed in the show.

Two episodes and about 3 hours later (you used one of the hours to mindlessly scroll through your social media), you decided, albeit belatedly, that you should head to bed due to work being in seven hours. Working in research wasn’t as taxing as you thought, but it still required you to be awake and not slobbering on a keyboard for eight hours, as great as it sounded.

You started to head toward your own room when you heard a thump against one of the doors in the small hallway where the doors leading to the bedrooms existed. You decided that you were more tired than you felt and thought the result was auditory hallucinations; however, as you got closer to the middle door between you and Aila’s bedroom, you heard it once again and this time louder.

“Aila, what the hell are you doing in there?” you called out but there was no response.

When you and Aila first toured the apartment, the middle door did not go unnoticed. When asked about the door and why it was locked, the landlord simply said that he bought it that way and never received a key. Many jokes were made in terms of what lie beyond the door; moreso by Aila and her extraterrestrial fantasies than you, but they induced plenty of laughs nonetheless.

The thumping occurred from the middle door again, and fear slowly crept into your veins making your body feel a rush of coolness in the process. You knew not to try to open the door, not that it was even possible, but you also knew that you wouldn’t be able to sleep with that incessant noise. You started banging on Aila’s door.

“Aila, girl, I KNOW you hear that noise. Hurry up and come out! I’m scared,” you whined, but she still didn’t reply. You knew Aila was a heavy sleeper, but damn was she sleeping deep if she couldn’t hear you.

You twisted the knob to her door and ran in expecting to see a lump on plump blankets in a human silhouette. Instead, you found her bed completely made, no human in sight. There was no way that Aila could have gone out the window, you guys were on the tenth floor. Things weren’t adding up, and you were on the verge of tears.

A morbid curiosity suffused throughout your being as you slowly began walking towards the middle door. The thumping got louder with each step you took, and at some point, you couldn’t distinguish between the pounding of your heart in your eardrums and the perpetual beat against the mahogany entrance. You reached the door, and your hand encased the golden knob. You noted that it felt warm for a door that had supposedly not been used for a lengthy amount of time. With a twist of the knob, you were shocked to hear a click indicated the outdated door had been unlocked. You stood there for what seemed like forever, an array of questions racing through your mind. You finally gathered what little courage you had left and swung the door open.

It was a bittersweet feeling when you listened to your mom. All those times when you wished you were spirited away from your life only to continue the mundane quickly taught you that stories were just stories. Myths were myths. Lies were lies. And gardens of every flower didn’t exist but in fairytales.

So why, beyond a mysterious door in a crappy apartment, are the most beautiful meadows of flowers swaying in the wind, dancing a dance of entrancement, almost as if they were personally inviting you inside? Your eyes glassed over as you tried to process the view. It was as if your eyes were stuck in their place.

You were frozen.

It wasn’t until you heard the door shut behind you that realized you had moved inside. Your eyes whipped back, but you found yourself staring at acres and acres of flowers, not a door in sight.

“Is there a reason you’re standing there like an idiot?” you heard a voice say.

When you turned around, your eyes met your best friend and roommate. She donned a sheer ivory dress with golden acacias adorning her bodice and train. The silk threads shone in the sun almost as if the dress had been sewn by the heavens themselves. Her skin was as smooth as glass and possessed a beautiful brown pigment with a hint of olive. Champagne glitter bedecked the areas around her eyes, and her hair was tied up in a braid full of a different selection of flowers. Her eyebrow was raised and her arms were across her chest. You could hear her foot tapping against the ground in irritation.

“Aila?” you whispered.

“Who?” she practically yelled, “That is not my name, nor has it ever been.”

You blushed, “then who are you?”

“Who am I?” she scoffed, “More like who are you? You’re the one who stood in the middle of the meadow as if you were waiting for someone to check you into a hotel.”

Her tone was pissing you off, and if you had felt more comfortable in this situation, you would have told her exactly where she could have put it. Instead, you were too busy trying to figure out whether or not Aila put something in her popcorn.

“I’m Y/N, and I don’t even know where I am or how I even got here,” you choked.

The girl gave you a look then closed her eyes and sighed. She turned on her heel and began walking in the opposite direction without saying another word. Your eyebrows furrowed and your temper threatened to lose itself, but when she found that your footsteps were nowhere to be heard, she stopped in her tracks.

“Are you coming or what?” she bleated. You nodded slightly and began walking quickly to catch up with her.

You walked beside her for what seemed like forever, not sharing one word between each other, so you decided to take in your surroundings.

You could see the flowers, yes, but you also saw little creatures you had never seen before participating in different tasks. Some were watering sections of plants, some were flitting and flying, sprinkling an unknown substance from the air that shone like diamonds, and some were simply laying down and napping in the sun. You walked further and found little manmade living spaces made from materials like twigs and leaves, and silently thought how adorable it all was. Just when you were counting your hundredth house, the girl suddenly stopped.

“We’re here,” she stated.

In front of you, seven paths diverged and outstretched throughout the pasture. Each one looked uniform at first glance, but the longer you looked, the more you could see the slight differences. With your lips slightly parted, you turned back towards the girl, however, the space she occupied was now taken up by a lanky, ginger, cat-like entity licking its paw.

“What?” it spoke with the girl’s voice.

You jumped back slightly but a calm hushed your body. You took a deep breath.

“What am I supposed to do now?” you asked.

“What do you normally do when you see multiple paths?” she snickered, continuing to lick her paw. You stayed silent and looked towards her. She stopped licking and instead arched her back gracefully.

“Choose.”

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avelera · 4 years

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Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

Late last night I finished “Circe” and admit I breezed through it in a couple days. It was a rare pleasure to read a book that captured my attention from beginning to end, something I’ve struggled with lately. I admire Miller a great deal, (indeed have written fanfiction in her style for my Steve/Bucky / Achilles/Patroclus reincarnation fusion fic “Sing, O Muse”) and looked forward to her take on another great figure of Greek mythology.

So, let’s get right to it:

Pros:

The story has a lot to recommend it. Miller’s prose is well-renowned for its poetry and eloquence. She paints a vivid picture of a fantastical Ancient Greece where gods walk the earth and a witch/demi-goddess like Circe has a rich internal life. In no particular order:

- The Gods - Authors often struggle with how to include the gods in retellings of the Iliad and Odyssey. Most try to simply ignore them and chalk their involvement up to superstition. Unfortunately, that attempt usually runs into the brick wall of Thetis, who is key to the story of the rage of her son Achilles, and who shows up on the beaches of Troy, where no normal woman could. Miller has always leaned into the existence of the gods rather than run from it in her reimaginings of Greek myth, and paints a fully fleshed world where they reside side by side with mortals. Her use of language elevates their appearance and evokes a Celtic Faerie Court of powerful, capricious and otherworldly beings who are both intoxicating and deeply dangerous to mortals. Miller’s prose jumps off the page whenever one of these beings takes the spotlight and is by far one of the most creative takes I’ve seen of characterizing the Ancient Greek Gods.

- Passion - It is clear in the very DNA of this story that Miller loves Greek Mythology. There is a tenderness with which the great heroes and tragic figures of those myths like Odysseus and Prometheus are presented, almost a yearning to be able to reach out and offer them comfort in their trials that is very apparent. There is awe in how Athena is depicted, for all that she serves as an antagonist. There is wonder in the descriptions of beings like Helios and Scylla. The prose shines from within when these figures appear with a sort of joy and sadness that is infectious to the reader. The sense of love for this time and these characters is inescapable.

- Emotion - Particularly with the more melancholy emotions like sadness, resignation, and helpless anger there is a profound and powerful thread running through the story. One deeply feels the appeal of characters like Glaukos pre-transformation, Daedalus, Odysseus and Telemachus. When Circe falls in love with these men, I don’t for a second wonder why. They are presented with heartbreaking beauty and appeal. Circe’s own moments of tragedy are also evocative, she is deeply impacted by the ugliness of the world in a way that evokes understanding and sympathy.

Cons:

I’m going to try my best in this section to not fall too much into the trap of “I would have done this differently” but... well, I’m not entirely sure I succeed.

- Agency - The problem of character agency has plagued Miller’s two forays into Classical myth retellings, and for me personally present the most frustrating aspect of her prose. Circe, one of the most terrifying and powerful women of Ancient Greek mythology, is almost never the driver of her own destiny in this book and I found this aspect of the story baffling and at times infuriating. The moment this realization of her passivity in her own tale hit me hardest, almost enough to stop reading, was when Pasiphae, a mythological figure known almost solely for sleeping with a cow and being the mother of the Minotaur, was somehow a more terrifying and ambitious witch than Circe, one of the great villainesses of Classical literature.

Pasiphae is presented as eagerly seeking out marriage with a powerful man, and while at first she is disappointed by her match to the mortal king Minos, she is comforted by the fact he is a son of Zeus and will one day be one of the great judges of the Underworld. The events that take place after this are all mostly off-screen, but upon reaching the kingdom of Crete and its capital city Knossos, we learn she took the court over within, ruling with terror and poison, and that even when she was laid low by the shame of sleeping with a sacred bull, she still managed to twist this event to her own benefit and indeed even orchestrated the situation, deliberately giving birth to one of the most terrifying monsters of all time on purpose, using the opportunity for a multi-part palace coup including shaming her sister Circe by forcing her to help birth the monster and clean up the fallout, securing Pasiphae’s place in history and her dominance over the court with almost no repercussions. If she suffered at all from the fact that these events lead to the death of her daughter, Ariadne, we never see it, or any other negative consequences for her actions or opportunities for remorse, because at this point in the tale, Circe is (for no real narrative reason) no longer sleeping with Hermes and is therefore no longer privy to what is going on in the world outside her island. Even once she is free of her exile, she never follows up with the fates of her siblings.

Upon reaching this part of the book, all I could wonder was why were we not reading the tale of Pasiphae? This terrifying witch who took a weak position as the wife to a “great man” and twisted it to make herself one of the most powerful women in the world? What a fascinating subversion of the typical view of this mythological figure that would have been!

Why Circe? Was a question I asked myself over and over. Surely if you wanted to tell the tale of such a passive character, there were plenty of other women in Greek mythology who would have been a better fit for the themes of the story that Miller eventually told? Why take Circe and make her a cringing good girl who always does what she’s told, whose one defiance in giving comfort to Prometheus as a little girl which as a flaw is basically “being too good” and “caring too much”. Her aid of Prometheus is barely defiance at all, yet is blown into massive significance as one of the defining moments of her life when she does literally nothing purposefully bad, or even purposeful at all, for huge stretches of her life after that? Her transformation of Glaukos is cringing and secretive and almost totally accidental. Her transformation of Scylla in revenge for stealing Glaukos’s affections is more sullen than wrathful. We’re told she has a talent for transformation that exceeds the power of the gods themselves, but no sooner does she achieve these incredible feats then she apparently needs to start over and learn witchcraft from scratch and never again works such a great spell until she’s turning herself mortal so she can die at the end once she achieves her white picket fence ending.

Where is Circe?! Where is the witch that became the subject of art and literature for millennia, one of the great female antagonists of Greek myth on par with terrifying villains like Medea? In the reimagining of this figure from her own perspective, we don’t find a great mythological figure but a tailor-made “perfect victim” - nothing bad is done by her on purpose. In fact, almost nothing she does is on purpose except to serve others in her life, like Glaukos, or Odysseus, or her son. Even her transformation of men into pigs is a result of her trying to help sailors who land on her island, only to be raped for her trouble and turn vengeful towards all other men after that. Well, until Odysseus apparently, when she gives up on transforming sailors after that, the most famous aspect of her character from mythology. Circe is given a prophecy for her fate at one point that is only that a man named Odysseus will come to her island, and that paltry prophecy turns out to be the sum total of the important events in her life as once again, she stands around in limbo until the actions of a man nudge her into actually doing something. Odysseus changes her life, not that this was hard, because she wasn’t doing anything before he came around.

Even Circe’s one great selfish act, the transformation of Scylla, brings her no joy and instead haunts her entire life like an albatross around her neck. Nothing she does is joyful, except perhaps glimmers early on as she embraces her skill with magic, and her love of the animals on her island which are presented as essentially house pets. One is left with the unshakeable sense that Circe has been re-imagined as spinster cat lady who has a couple nice little romantic flings over the years before having a kid on her own and eventually settling down with a nice husband to retire and die.

Which is fine. Perhaps it rubs me, personally, the wrong way because this is now the second iteration I’ve seen of powerful mythological women being used as modern feminist parables, only to be stripped of all their power to make these points. The other was “Penelope” by Margaret Atwood, in which Penelope is reimagined as a thinly veiled metaphor for a dissatisfied 50s housewife with a cheating husband. There’s barely any of her cleverness, her authority (for god’s sake, the woman was a queen) or her love of Odysseus, one of the great het romances of equals of ancient mythology, practically the only marriage of equals one can even point to, and it’s torn down to make a point about not liking your husband very much when he cheats on you to feel better about himself.

“Circe” at times feels autobiographical for the author (and of course this is speculation to a great extent), showing struggles with love and men, finding oneself, mourning beloved pets when they die, trying to escape the shadow of an emotionally abusive family, and learning to make decisions on one’s own in a patriarchal world. Which is fine, “Hamilton” by Lin Manuel Miranda is not perfectly historically accurate because at times it makes the choice to instead delve into autobiographical notes about Lin Manuel Miranda and his father, the experience of being a writer and the immigrant experience, the latter of which is hardly something the real Hamilton would have ever touted about himself but the strength of passion in telling that story elevates the text so it can be both about Alexander Hamilton and about Lin Manuel Miranda at the same time. There were moments in “Circe” where I was almost yelling at the page, just pick one! You can use the story of Circe to elevate a modern autobiography, to give certain aspects of life mythic proportions and tell the story of a woman who feels emotionally exiled eventually finding herself and finding love, but you have to go for it. To try to tell the story of Circe and tell a modern woman’s story at the same time is to do a disservice to both stories, where Circe is brought down into the dirt with other indecisive mortals, and the true pathos of a modern woman’s striving for agency in her life is outshone by the myth and wonder of Circe’s world.

My final note on agency, but “Song of Achilles” struggled with a very similar problem. Patroclus was reimagined as the passive, doting lover of Achilles. This allowed some really beautiful meditations on love and sacrifice, but it absolutely stripped Patroclus of many of his canonical qualities. The Patroclus of the Iliad did not shrink from battle or become a healer to avoid the war, he was a willing and joyous warrior as much as Achilles was. He begged Achilles for his armor in order to keep prosecuting the war and raise morale even if Achilles couldn’t fight.

With Patroclus, as with Circe, you have two aggressive figures who are reimagined as passive perfect victims, who spend the entire book working themselves up to the courage to make a handful of active decisions for themselves.

Going back to one of the Pros, which is the love felt on the page for these great figures like Odysseus and Prometheus, there are times when Patroclus and Circe both feel like the passive vessels for a self-insert adoration of these heroes. When Odysseus appears, I was struck by how overjoyed I was to see him. What a striking contrast Odysseus presented! Active, clever, tricky, beset by trials that he overcomes only to seek out more - contrast that with Circe who is none of those things except in glimpses. What a striking reminder of what a fantastic protagonist Odysseus is, how he is one of the greatest protagonists in almost 3,000 years of literature. Because he does things and he chooses things and he has unique qualities like his cleverness that help him overcome obstacles in fascinating ways that we still read about today.

Similarly with Patroclus being the passive narrator of Achilles’ life, we feel the reflected glow of Achilles desire and drive, we yearn for it, because almost none of that quality is present in the protagonist and narrator of the story Patroclus! I am reminded of “Nick” in the Great Gatsby and his passive viewing of events, and I’m reminded that Nick wasn’t even supposed to be a character, he was only meant to be a narrative voice until Fitzgerald’s editor stepped in and said he needed to be characterized. At times, Patroclus and Circe both skirt the line of being so passive in their own story that on some level, they feel like little more than a narrative lens through which we glimpse the true heroes from afar.

I held off until I finished the book before making a final judgement of Circe’s passivity, because at every step I kept expecting her to finally change and take charge of her own life. Early on, I thought her comforting of Prometheus would launch her into taking control of her own destiny, which would have been a fascinating inciting incident, mirroring humanity’s gift of fire. Then I thought Glaukos would. Then Scylla. Then her exile. Then Odysseus. Then her son. And at every point, she fades into the background after and goes back to doing what she’s told. The book ends with her finally making a decision and that decision is to settle down with a kind husband and eventually die. She stands up to her father, the Sun, to make this stand and it is a beautiful, melancholy ending of the story but by god, woman, it would have been a much more satisfying retirement for a character that burns and makes decisions and does things than a character who takes hundreds of years to screw up the courage to ask for a quiet retirement on her own terms.

“Circe” is beautifully written. It is a lovely, melancholy anthology about one woman’s encounters with the great figures of mythology, lovingly told, as she seeks to find herself and what she wants out of life. I do not feel my time was wasted.

But if I were to sit down as an editor with the author and point out the three things I’d like her to work on for her next story it would be this:

- Structure - the story meanders and stays glued to the scattered known events of Circe’s life. It has no internal rising and falling action. It is a series of short stories with Circe’s life loosely tying them all together. Like JK Rowling no longer understanding how to plot a story when it isn’t built around a typical school year, I speculate that Miller struggles with building a structured story without having a pre-laid track of mythical events to hang it off of, and I’m not sure she is able to sculpt a tale into having a structure outside of “slice of life” moments in those fictional biographies, beautifully told.

- Agency - characters need to want something. They need to seek out something, they need to do something. Even if they are buffeted about by the events in their lives, they should at least have a way they wish things were going instead and take some steps to making the future they want real. Passive characters who sulk their way through the events thrust upon them by more powerful, dynamic characters, may have beautiful, languorous commentary on the world but they are essentially narrators rather than protagonists at that point.

- Telling rather than showing - I know this advice is often misunderstood and badly implemented. Telling is actually clarifying and provides structure to showing. But there are huge stretches of the book that read like just a laundry list of the narrator telling us what happened next “And then, and then, and then” without couching these moments in a scene that we could feel. There are some absolutely gorgeous scenes but they feel scattered and indeed, anthological, for the exact reason that we get a handful of strongly depicted scenes in Circe’s life, strung together by her telling us rather than showing us what happened in between. The fact that none of it really builds towards any sort of climax or true reversal of her fortunes makes those moments of telling, which I forgave at first because I felt they were in service of getting us to the good part, a greater betrayal when it became clear that the only thing those stretches were getting us too was the next mini-event in her life when she met another character more driven than herself.

#circe

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heatherofthenight · 5 years

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Reaction to Smurf

As usual I avoided the internet today so I could stew over this season finale without external input. If you’ve come for the (shallow) dish on our poor babies, Deran and Adrian, you’ve come to the right place.

I had the bar set pretty low for the season finale because we’ve had an embarrassment of riches in terms of Adrian propelling storyline this season. Oh, and hot guys getting nekkid (hubba, hubba) and doing normal domestic things together (boop!). So, when viewed through my low-bar lens—I only asked that they not kill Adrian off—the finale was about what I expected.

Shall we begin? *hands Kleenex to shippers*

Deran & Craig & Passports

I was conflicted during this scene; Craig has steadfastly been in Deran’s corner, presumably since they were kids, so it seemed natural to me that Craig was expressing his wishes for his bro to remain in Oceanside but at the same time I was hoping for big bro to step up and be supportive of Deran’s decision to leave. Deran’s response—that Craig and Renn are amazing together and Craig was going to rock the parenting gig—we’re possibly the nicest things Deran has said to his brother, at least within our earshot. It seemed in that moment it was full steam ahead.

Deran & Billy & The Drop

The first sign of trouble for me was when Deran told Billy he was leaving. I thought Blabbermouth Billy would tell someone who would tell Pope or J and bam! One of them would resolve the ‘Adrian problem.’ *raise your hand if you’ve read Mary Shelley’s The Modern Prometheus*; I had literal conniptions while reading this because I thought Victor Frankenstein was leaving his new bride, Elizabeth, unprotected and damned if the Creature didn’t find a way into her room and strangle her…like I predicted. That was where I thought show was going and I wanted to bitch-slap Deran at that point for putting his precious in danger.

Deran & Pope & Home, Sweet, Home

This was the sweetest scene—Pope practically giving Deran permission to leave (you’ve wanted to get away from us since you were a kid) and this on the heels of Deran disclosing to Pope why he needed Adrian to leave (no one thinks Adrian can do prison time unscathed). Pope should’ve gotten away from Smurf’s influence a long time ago because in the few short day/s since she died, he’s seemingly pulled himself together like he could only manage for Lena’s sake. I still (naively) didn’t see a barrier to Deran’s departure.

Deran & Adrian & The Listing Ship

This. Was. Brutal. I understand why Deran had first, and second, and third thoughts about leaving but he had given no indication that we, nor apparently Adrian, saw that he might change his mind. With single mindedness Deran has been all about securing his relationship with his boo this whole season. Yes, Smurf is gone and Pope and Craig say they need him, but what changed for Deran? We wouldn’t know because the writers didn’t address it, at least not to my satisfaction. I’m huge on motive—I don’t always agree with the decisions characters are making but if I can follow why they’re doing things, I can usually fall in line. What happened here?

I’m sure this break-up is supposed to set up Deran’s drama for next season (watching Deran act like a bear with a thorn is his paw because he’s butt-hurt is a blast…not) but I make no bones about being a staunch Deran x Adrian shipper and I thought this was ‘go big, or go home’ time and instead it was meh. Deran caved to peer (brother) pressure? Adrian’s first time admitting he loves Deran is seconds before informing Deran he’s the worst thing that ever happened to him? Where was the sex? The hug? Kiss? Forehead touch?! I would’ve even watched a punch exchanged at this point because passion has defined this relationship. Yes, there was friendship, and history, but Deran’s feelings were so intense that at one point he asked his unstable brother to rough up Adrian’s then romantic interest and this season Deran not only lied to multiple people to protect Adrian but he contemplated taking a baseball bat to a cop and actually killed someone he saw as a threat to his beloved. Adrian going to the car, head down, while Deran imploded on the pier…*snooze*. I think they will always love each other, and we’ll see them together again in the future, but I haven’t figured out how.

Conclusion

Deran’s change of heart was, quite frankly, disheartening. If he left I knew he wouldn’t stay gone but I think I would’ve preferred them riding off into the sunset together and then Deran returning when his brothers had difficulties. No one asked me though which might not be a bad thing because 1) I never get predictions right and 2) show would consist of never ending scenes with actual comfort for the hurt show doles out to its characters.

I admittedly view the series through Adrian’s POV because he’s been the nicest person on the playing board although still no angel; he’s appalled at using children for blackmail leverage, his crimes are pretty low-key when you stack up what we know of his history against The Cody Clan, and he rightly held Deran accountable when he dabbled in creepy behavior—that’s about as close as I can come to syncing with a character on this show. Now his heart is broken and he’s being exiled, by himself, to a foreign county (I miss his flexing biceps, triceps and all-ceps already). Deran’s heart is broken and he is having the shittiest week he’s probably ever had since blowing it with Adrian by being a controlling, creepy stalker. I guess this ‘good-bye for now’ checks the boxes for drama which is show’s mission but I never got my requested make-up sex, cuddles or tears (okay, I got those and now Deran needs your Kleenex...and a hug).

They’ve left the door open for Adrian to come back (thank you for not killing him!) but how? He’s now fled the country (or so we’ve been led to believe) and the statute of limitations on his drug trafficking charges won’t run out for at least five years as far as I can tell—unless show fast forwards into future at conclusion of series I don’t see us, or Deran x Adrian, getting the HEA they deserve. I hope I’m wrong and we see our freckled fuck next season but at the moment I haven’t figured out how it can happen without hand-waving.

Non-Ship Business

I thought Pam would play a part in Smurf’s after life but I didn’t see her being the recipient of Smurf’s riches; if you’re going to kill your main character off, this is a pretty cool idea. Then there’s J and Pope—the new (business) power couple? Angela and Frankie—free to fuck things up? Blabbermouth Billy on the loose? Jake dispensing fatherly advice to Craig? And let’s not forget Smurfette’s lack of nurturing skills with her bambinos. I think next season has potential but please leave a message at the beep because I’m currently mourning the at least temporary break-up of Deran x Adrian. Prove me wrong, show, please! In the mean time, please pass the Kleenex back.

#deran x adrian #deran cody #Adrian Dolan #(shallow) review

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meldelen · 4 years

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Dragons of Summer Flame - A (very sad) review

"So you would not apologize to her. You would not ask for forgiveness. What, then, did you want to say to her?" Raistlin was silent long moments. He had turned back to the bookshelves and was staring now at the shadows that surrounded the books, staring at a time that would never happen. "I wanted to tell her that sometimes, in my long sleep, I dreamt of her," he said softly.

Just for this moment, this sad, sad book is worth it.

Why sad? Because after the constant rise that the Chronicles and Legends have been, this closure is a bitter disappointment.

Dragons of Summer Flame is the conclusion of the cycle started with the Dragonlance Chronicles. Honestly, I’ve not re-read the 6-9 books that would go between the Legends and the present one I am going to review - series known as Dragonlance Tales and published as The Second Generation - because I don’t own copies nor did I ever. I didn’t enjoy them enough to buy them. Neither does this one, and it’s in my possession because it belongs to my husband, specifically.

From the Dragonlance Tales, a series of short stories in the style of the Preludes and other prequels and spin-offs, it was only memorable the moment when Palin Majere - younger son of Caramon and Tika and nephew of Raistlin - passed his Test for be a mage. And that's because of the chance of seeing Raistlin again, who’s mostly dead, although the idea that he survived to suffer daily the torture of Prometheus at the hands of his goddess has its macabre appeal. In the end it is just a hoax, like that abomination called Raistlin's Daughter, which I don't know how the authors could have come up with, since it fits the character like a slipper on top of a television.

But let us go to the present volume, Dragons of Summer Flame, a duology that includes The Knights of Takhisis and The War of the Gods in Spain. I said it’s a bitter disappointment, and not because it’s bad in itself - the story’s very original and very well written - but because the authors suffer what I call SAS (Successful Author Syndrome) that has led them, basically, to write a lot of fanservice and pull flashbacks because they already assume that readers will settle for it.

The story revolves around the second generation of the Dragonlance's heroes, that is, their children (or alleged children) and their actions to prevent Chaos, the father of all the gods of Krynn, who has managed to escape his confinement in the Graygem of Gargath, destroy the known world and all gods with it. As I said, it’s not a bad plot. The book rarely gets boring, although it does depending on the section. It has very positive things, such as giving more consistency to the social context, for example, of the city of Palanthas, providing more lore and depth to the story, something that they have rarely done until then. The idea of the evil knights adopting a honor code and polite behaviors to their enemies is also excellent. Not to mention the humor, as good as is always was in this series.

Dragons of Summer Flame. Cover art by Matt Stawicki.

BUT, unfortunately, they take it for granted that, as far as characterization, dialogues and character development are concerned, at this point their readers are unconditional fans and will accept anything. Nope, gentlemen, anything is not enough, no matter how great you were with the Chronicles and wonderful with the Legends. Unforgivable mistakes? Hold my tea:

1. Bring back characters that are already dead. Sorry, but in my modest view, this is a bad author resource. Yes, we loved them, we miss them, but they are dead. Leave them alone. Removing them from the grave is not going to make them better or more lovable. Sometimes the last memory, painful as it is, is the best memory we can have of a character. So leave them alone. The authors abuse visions, flashbacks, or even the physical return (it's a kind of magic!) of beloved characters from the past. Nope, it’s a mistake, because they don’t even play a prominent or relevant role. They are only there out of nostalgia, fanservice and to serve as motivation for the second generation of characters, who are alive. NO, NO, AND NO.

Raistlin was dead, a martyr to his own ambition, from villain to hero in an instant, a living legend forever in Krynn. Why bring him back stripped of his magic, but still suffering his ill health, so that everyone rubs in his face his many past mistakes, suddenly forgetting that he also died because of them? You’re mean, people. Kitiara, Sturm, Flint, they are dead, let them rest in peace, it’s very annoying constantly bringing them back in visions or flashbacks. Even Tanis, who dies in this book, is soon brought back in another vision. Oh, c’mon!

2. The characters of the second generation are not well developed, they don’t have autonomy or their own personality, I don’t get to love them as I loved their parents. Why? Well, because the authors have made them live in the shadow of their parents (or uncle), stripping them from their self-agency.

About Tanin and Sturm Majere I hardly remember a thing, they start the book already dead, and I can't figure out if they were developed much in the Tales. Palin Majere is a shadow of his uncle, poor thing. I say this because there’s nothing wrong with him - he’s handsome, he’s young, he’s brave, he’s kind - and therein lies the problem, he’s a certified Gary Stu. But he lives with the expectations of being like his uncle, all the time compared to Raistlin, which is absurd, because Raistlin is/was incomparable. His evolution isn’t believable, because we know that he’s a mediocre mage - at best - and in the end we see him guided by his uncle, endowed with invaluable artifacts like the staff and the book of Magius, and doing an OP super-spell that hurts Chaos. Come on, please. We are not blind: victory belongs to Raistlin, who’s the one leading him throughout the book. And that final statement that he’s the greatest mage in Krynn? Please. We all know WHO is the greatest mage in Krynn - and poor Palin doesn't even get to the tip of his golden heel.

Steel Brightblade is Sturm 2.0 despite his mother, Kitiara, suddenly super interested in him - although she’s dead - constantly tries to turn him towards evil. Usha "Majere" is really nobody - thank you, glorified authors, for confirming that she’s NOT Raistlin's daughter and fixing this mess a bit - apart from being another Mary Sue who’s only there to be a link between the Irda - practically just taken out of the sleeve of the authors - and the other mortals. Oh, and to be Palin's love interest, of course.

The only decent character is Tasslehoff again, who, thanks to the gods, although more mature, remains faithful to his essence - and then they go and kill him. And how. Life sentence for Weis and Hickman for doing this to him.

Dragons of Summer Flame. Cover art by Larry Elmore.

3. Flashbacks, repetitions, memories, nostalgia, repeated explanations throughout the same book of events that we already know - and reencounters. Many reencounters. Tense reencounters. Happy reencounters. Reencounters. And the only reencounter that we don't have, the only one that I wanted, that I really needed, never happens - the one with Raistlin and Crysania. Yes, I admit it, it's very problematic. It’s to reunite the victim and her aggressor. Only that a part of me refuses to victimize Crysania, because as Raistlin well says, she knew - mostly - what she was getting into, and besides, Raistlin is totally unrepentant, he doesn't regret anything. But you get to see him reunited with the one that IS his true, real victim - his twin Caramon. In this bloody book full of unnecessary reencounters by mere fanservice, couldn't you have given me this one? Life sentence for Weis and Hickman for doing this to ME.

Anyway, I leave this ranting because I won’t solve anything either. Dragons of Summer Flame, and in general, all the books dedicated to the second generation are an example of why sometimes it’s better to stop writing about the same thing and give rest to your beloved characters. This epilogue, to be honest, was superfluous, better to have closed with the Legends. As a friendly reader out there says, seeing what Weis and Hickman have done to our beloved characters makes you want to shave your head and attack someone's car with an umbrella - only in quarantine I shouldn't and I also like my hair.

SAS. Successful Author Syndrome. When you have succeeded, it’s best to quit. And if you're still going to write more - among other reasons, because the bosses make you - at least leave your dead rest in peace. It’s the golden rule.

Needless to say, I haven't even bothered to read more Dragonlance books from this point on.

#dragonlance #books #margaret weis #tracy hickman #dragons of summer flame #reviews #my reviews #you committed every sin except reuniting raist and crysania #HOW YOU DARE

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lilacmoon83 · 5 years

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Dreaming Out Loud

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 121: Heroes and Villains

"Mom...do you know what realm they're talking about?" Snow asked.

"I'm afraid so, snowdrop. It's a place called the Land of Untold Stories. Time does not move there," Persephone revealed.

"Does this group have a name? Beside the Home Office?" Emma questioned. They nodded.

"They call themselves the Order of the Jackal. Anubis is kind of a mascot of sorts," Annie answered.

"And who is this leader?" David asked. Annie and Adrian exchanged a glance.

"Dr. Henry Jekyll…" they answered.

"Whoa...like Jekyll and Hyde?" Emma asked.

"Like exactly that. However, his story is quite different than the one known to the Land Without Magic," Annie replied.

"So he doesn't become Mr. Hyde part of the time?" Snow asked.

"Oh no...he does. He's quite obsessed with exploring dark and light. Good versus evil...it's probably too much to get into now. But trust me, with him as Author, that would be extremely terrifying," Adrian answered.

"Yeah...like his own story, his story lines would be classified in the horror genre," Annie shuddered.

"Okay...well maybe you can tell us more on the way. Right now, it's time to confront Greg and his detective friend," David said.

"Do we know if the Dragon has a way to get back into Storybrooke? I mean, surely he wouldn't have left unless he had a contingency plan," Snow said.

"She's right...I'm going to go talk to Circe," Hades replied.

"She'll never tell us anything, but we have to try," Persephone agreed, as they joined hands.

"We'll meet you at Granny's later," Hades said, as they used one of his invisi-portals and stepped through. The rest of them did the same and they found themselves in Storybrooke in front of Granny's. David stormed in and scanned the diner, but was disappointed that he didn't find Greg.

"I guess it makes sense that we never see him here. They are probably have been eating at odd hours so as not to run into us," Emma reasoned.

"I really hope so, Em...or I'm losing my touch," he complained. She scoffed.

"Dad...you just got chosen by Prometheus' flame and held Excalibur. I doubt you're losing your touch," she reminded. Snow smiled and slipped her arms around him.

"She's right...they've probably been going to great lengths to move in the shadows. Plus, it's not like we haven't been busy," his wife reminded him. He nodded.

"Let's see if they're in their rooms," he suggested, as they went over to the Inn side.

"Granny...can we look at your bookings?" Snow asked. She shrugged and handed over the book.

"They're not here…" Snow said in confusion.

"Surely they haven't been tenting it in the woods for three years," Emma said.

"No...maybe they're not staying in Storybrooke," David suggested.

"Because most of the real estate is owned by Mr. Gold and Granny would have told us if Greg was hanging around her Inn," Emma surmised. He nodded.

"Then they could be staying in any number of Kingdoms. All the hotels and Inns are modernized now," Snow realized.

"And most of the homes for rent too," Emma added.

"Damn...finding them might be harder than we thought," David said. Emma smirked, as she got an idea.

"Or maybe not," she said, as they looked at her.

"The Author...Annie said that they've been recording footage of magic for the last three years. So...let's give them something to record and use a little of their own technology against them by setting up cameras right on Main street," Emma said. They smiled at her.

"What did you have in mind?" David asked. Their daughter smiled.

"Follow me," he said, as they followed her with the double stroller in tow and the babies.

"Our daughter is genius," Snow said to him. He smiled.

"Like her mother," he agreed.

~*~

Arthur stormed into his castle, still livid and seething about what had just occurred at the most recent Council meeting.

"I can't believe this!" he hissed, as he paced his Throne room.

"Sire...just say the word and we will rally Camelot's army if you wish to declare war on Misthaven," Sir Gawain stated.

"Yes...we stand with you, my King," Sir Tristan added.

"Then you'd be going into sure defeat!" Arthur hissed.

"Weren't you paying attention?" he raged.

"King David now holds a sword that was reforged by the Promethean flame. It now rivals Excalibur, if not surpasses its power," he said.

"But no other mortal weapon can defeat Excalibur," Gawain said, horrified by the possibility.

"One can when Excalibur is not complete," Arthur reminded, as he looked at his broken sword.

"Not to mention that he has the backing of the Gods," he added.

"My love...perhaps we do nothing. King David seems reluctant to go to war with us," Guinevere said.

"But he will. He thinks my rule is unjust and that our people need freed from me," he reminded.

"That's absurd...the people of Camelot will not stand for it," Tristan offered.

"He's right...Camelot stands with you, my King," Gawain added. And thanks to the sands of Avalon, that was true. But now that the flame had chosen David and his daughter, who happened to be the illustrious Savior, he knew that they had the power to discover how to release his people from the effects of the sands. They hadn't discovered how yet, but he knew they would come here when they did. And that was why he had to stop them.

"No...we must find a way to reforge Excalibur. We must force King David or his beloved daughter to use the Promethean flame for our benefit," Arthur said.

"How do we do that?" Guinevere asked.

"He already refused to reforge Excalibur at the cost of the Dark One's life," she added.

"Yes...but if he was forced to choose between them, say the life of one of his young children or his wife, he would choose them over the Dark One. Any good husband and father would," Arthur said.

"Arthur...not a child," Guinevere admonished in horror.

"I will not resort to that unless I am forced. But he would choose his beloved wife over anyone else. He gave her half his own heart, after all," Arthur said.

"But she is the daughter of Persephone. Such a plot will not be easy to enact," Gawain replied.

"No...it will not. We will need help from other magical sources. It may be time to make some new alliances," Arthur said, as he gazed out the window over his Kingdom.

"And with the right help and resources...we can and will succeed. I will not be denied my birthright and our research will continue," he said.

"We will find the answers we seek," he added, as they followed him to do just that, leaving Guinevere to watch him leave her side again in one of his endless quests.

~*~

Greg popped into the small house they had been renting in a small Misthaven village for the past three years.

"What are you doing?" he asked his roommate, as he saw Landon packing up his camera.

"Haven't you heard? I guess there's a Dragon terrorizing Storybrooke. This will make for some great footage," he said. Greg sighed.

"You have enough footage. Have your heard from your friend at the bureau?" Greg asked.

"Yeah...the coordinates we gave them naturally show that it's in the middle of the Maine wilderness. So they're not believing there's any town here. Unless we can present them a suspect in front of them, they're not going to come. Unless...we show them that there's something here. Thus why we need as much footage possible," Landon reasoned.

"They're never going to believe it's real footage," Greg said.

"Maybe not at first, but they'll get their best people on it and they will determine that it's not fabricated. Then they'll want to talk," Landon replied. Greg sighed.

"You better be right...I've waited too long for justice," he snapped, as they left the house and headed for Storybrooke.

~*~

The guard unlocked the cell block door, letting Persephone and Hades through the gate. The pair approached their intended destination and looked on through the cell at Circe herself.

"Well, well...it's not every day that I get visitors. Let alone visitors from such high and mighty rulers," she drawled.

"We're here to talk to you about something very important," Persephone said sternly.

"Oh my...the Supreme Goddess wants to speak to little old me?" Circe mocked.

"This is a waste of time," Hades said, having little patience for this woman's antics. But his wife put a hand up and continued.

"Your father has apparently been quite busy in the outside world, but then you know that, don't you?" she questioned. She hummed.

"He might have mentioned it here and there," she answered flippantly.

"If your father has left Storybrooke...then he would not have done so without having a way back in. You need to tell us how he is getting back into Storybrooke and who is he bringing with him," Persephone demanded.

"I'm not telling you anything unless I get something out of it," Circe responded.

"You're not getting out of here. That's not even on the table," Hades refuted.

"Well, then I guess you'll have to chase down dear old dad yourselves," Circe said, as she laid back on her cot and gave them a smug glare. Persephone pursed her lips and contemplated their options, until she felt her husband's hand on her arm.

"We don't need her to figure this out. I think I might have another idea," he said, as he glared back at her. Persephone gave her one last stern look, before they walked away. Letting Circe go free was not an option, no matter what she might know. They would have to explore other avenues to get the information they were seeking.

~*~

The dragon roared and David rolled away from the fire being breathed down upon him. Snow fired a few arrows, but they failed to make any kind of impact, as she dodged the dragon's tail.

"We need to lure her away from town," Emma said.

"Great idea...but not really sure how to do that, Em. She clearly wants to destroy the town," David replied.

"Unreal…" Landon said, as he filmed the footage from the alleyway near the square.

"When this goes viral...I'm going to be rich," he said and Greg rolled his eyes.

"If anyone believes this is real, which they won't," he reminded.

"Not true...all the footage I've collected is irrefutable and soon these woods will be crawling with law enforcement and civilians alike. And when I let people in, you can get the cops to arrest the woman that killed your father and I can charge admission to all the curious civilians," he boasted.

"That's going to be pretty hard to do from inside a prison cell," a voice said, as they froze and then looked behind them, finding Snow White there with an arrow trained on them.

"What?" Landon said in confusion, as they watched the dragon disappear in a puff of magenta smoke and a woman reappear in place of the dragon. David sheathed his sword, as Lancelot moved into cuff both Greg and Landon.

"Thanks for helping with the ruse," Snow said to Maleficent.

"We all have children to protect and neither of us welcomes the idea of outsiders," the dragon Queen said, as Regina sided up to her.

"You…" Greg hissed.

"You should have just left town when you had the chance three years ago," Regina stated.

"You killed my father!" Greg cried, as he struggled against the cuffs.

"You're going to lock me up while she walks free?!" he shouted.

"That's exactly what they're going to do, but they won't get away with it. You have no legal reason to put me away. I haven't done anything," Landon challenged.

"You're a threat to my family...to every family here. The author told us what you've been doing, but we're not going to let you release any of that footage to the world," David refuted. Landon smirked.

"Too late, chisel chin. It's already done," he goaded, as he showed him his phone.

"All my footage, the reports, and information I've gathered just went live," he boasted. David grabbed his phone and smashed it on the ground. The former detective rolled his eyes.

"Smashing it isn't going to change that," Landon said derisively.

"Maybe not, but we're not going to let you do anymore damage," David retorted.

"Most aren't going to believe any of that footage is real. I know what people are like in the Land Without Magic. Unless it's smacking them in the face, they'll never believe in magic. And even then, it would be questionable," Emma said. He shrugged.

"Maybe...maybe not. But the FBI has identified the remains of Greg's father and the lure of closing the case might draw them here," Landon warned.

"Doesn't matter…they can't get in," Emma refuted, as she cuffed him.

"You hope," he leered, as she marched him and David followed her with Greg in tow.

"I can't believe this! You go on about justice and yet my father's murderer walks free!" he yelled.

"Regina may not have served time in prison, but she has paid for her crimes in other ways. She's come a long way in repenting for those crimes," Snow declared.

"Oh save your hope speeches, princess!" Greg snapped and David whipped him around, grabbing him by the collar.

"She is Queen of Misthaven and Storybrooke. Show some respect," David said.

"Fat chance of that happening," Greg snapped in return.

"Look...I actually do understand where you're coming from. Captain Hook killed my father, but he gave up his revenge and became a better man. I was able to forgive him and I can tell you that it lifted a huge weight off me once I did," David advised.

"Thanks for the advice, but you got your father back. I didn't," Greg reminded.

"You have everything...literally everything. We have nothing in common. You have it all!" he raged.

"You're right...I do have it all. I have an amazing and stunningly beautiful wife, true love, children...everything. But that does not mean you cannot have the same things. But you won't have them with revenge in your heart," David warned.

"Oh but it does!" he said, as he looked around at everyone that the spectacle had drawn and his eyes noticed the author and her brother.

"I've read Henry's book and what does it say, author?" he questioned, but she didn't answer, because she knew he was being rhetorical.

"It says that villains don't get happy endings! VILLIANS!" he shouted.

"Except that everyone standing here knows that's a load of crap!" he continued.

"Because the villains DO get happy endings!" he called.

"The Evil Queen...Rumpelstiltskin...Captain Hook. They all got their happy endings. They killed probably hundreds and committed just as many other atrocities, but yet they found true love. They have children and happiness now and live in lavish castles!" he ranted.

"Villains do get happy endings!" he announced.

"Even Maleficent and your evil twin brother got happy endings," Greg spat at him.

"And they got their happy endings, because of your so-called heroes, people!" he shouted.

"They didn't really give up their revenge! No...they just conceded to these heroes, because they knew it would get them what they wanted!" he continued.

"They told Snow White and Prince Charming that they were sorry and these two ate it up like cake," he said, as David glared at him and they heard commotion spreading through the gathered crowd at his words.

"The villains learned that if they repented to the heroes that all the doors would open for them and it worked. So the book is wrong! Villains do get happy endings! They have fooled these heroes and fooled you! Because people don't really change...least of all the Evil Queen or Rumpelstiltskin!" he hissed.

"You're wrong…" Snow refuted.

"No I'm not, Your Majesty," he snapped.

"Even Hades himself got a happy ending! Your beloved Snow White forgave his atrocities as well!" he announced, furthering riling up the crowd.

"He has changed! They all have and they earned their happy endings!" Snow shouted back, but the crowd seemed too riled by Greg Mendell's speech.

"Your sentiments are endearing, Queen Snow...sweet even. But like you, they are a fairy tale. Because villains do get happy endings. You should change the book, author," he said, looking at Annie, who looked none too pleased by his words either.

"But do you know who doesn't get happy endings?" he shouted to the crowd.

"Us!" he cried.

"The normal people! The peons! The background players that no one pays any mind to!" he called.

"Because we're too busy getting screwed over by the heroes and villains alike!" he shouted.

"That's enough from you," David growled, as he started marching him toward the station.

"You all know I'm right!" he called.

"We're just bit players. I can't wield Excalibur or the Promethean flame like our valiant Prince Charming here," he said.

"I'm not the child of Persephone or the Savior born from the truest love in all the lands!" he continued to rant.

"We're peons...we don't get happy endings, because we're barely blips on the radar in that book," he added.

"You could have found happiness. That's the difference between you and Regina. She let go of revenge and then found love. You could have too," David told him.

"Keep telling yourself that, handsome. Just don't compare us again. Because I'm not Prince Charming...you are. You'll lock me up and be hailed as a hero. Then you'll return to that beautiful wife and those precious children and that perfect little family. And I'll rot in a prison cell for trying to prove my father's murder. That's real justice," he said sarcastically, as he and Landon were led to jail.

But as Snow, Regina, and the others looked around, they wondered if his words truly had an impact. There would always be some dissension, but if people truly started to believe they didn't matter, then Snow worried about her people.

"He made a lot of good points, as much as I hate to admit it," Regina whispered to her. She swallowed thickly.

"I don't believe that…" she refuted.

"Snow…" Regina started to admonish.

"I don't...I won't. You've changed and not because you conceded to us. You did it, because it was right. You did it for family and Henry, but most importantly...yourself," Snow said, hoping she was loud enough for most to hear, even as they had all started to disperse with weary looks upon them in passing.

"We just have to make them see that Greg is wrong," she added.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Maleficent questioned.

"Because at the end of the day...you're Snow White and we're still the Evil Queen and Maleficent to many of them. Greg Mendell's words didn't just plant these thoughts in the dissenters. He doesn't have that kind of power or presence," the dragon Queen continued.

"His words only awakened thoughts that were already in anyone that agrees with him," she concluded.

"Maybe so...but we'll find a way. We always do and we'll always have critics. We know that, but he's wrong. People do change," she said.

"And those that want to see it will," she added.

"And for those that don't...we'll always be what we are. Villains," Maleficent said, as she disappeared in a puff of smoke before Snow could say anything else.

"Don't mind her...she's naturally leery of most people," Regina said.

"Quite the crowd," Hades mentioned, as he and Persephone arrived. Snow hurried to them and hugged them both.

"Oh…" Persephone said in surprise, but then hugged her daughter tightly. Hades did as well, while Eli approached, having been there to witness the spectacle as well.

"What is it, snowdrop?" Persephone asked, as Hades hugged her tightly. Snow shook her head.

"I let Greg Mendell get under my skin and I shouldn't have," she said. Persephone looked at her ex and he nodded.

"Greg Mendell and his friend made quite a spectacle. You can watch the whole thing, I'm sure. People were recording it on their phones," Eli said.

"And worse...his friend claimed that he leaked all his footage and information before David smashed his phone. Supposedly, it's all out there on the Internet. There's no telling what kind of ramifications it's going to have," Regina added. Hades rolled his eyes.

"No one believes in anything in this land. They'll think it's some amateurishly made movie or something," Hades said.

"That's what Emma said...but apparently, they sent Kurt Flynn's remains to the FBI lab and they have been positively identified. We might soon have the woods crawling with law enforcement and civilians alike," Emma said, as she and David returned. Snow went to him and he hugged her tightly, as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

"But...they can't get into Storybrooke, right?" Henry asked, as he arrived with James and Regina put her arm around him.

"I'm hoping the answer is no. Did you get anything from that witch?" Regina asked. Persephone shook her head.

"She'll only talk if we set her free and we cannot do that under any circumstance. But Mushu is out there and he's as slippery as his serpent form would suggest," the Goddess said.

"She's right...he wouldn't have left Storybrooke if he didn't have a way to get back in. I'm almost certain of it," Hades agreed.

"Then there's no telling who he could let in. We really could have buses driving down Main Street soon or worse," David said.

"Yes...but I think I might know how to prevent that," Hades replied.

"How?" Eli asked.

"We don't wait for them to come to us. We go to them," Hades replied.

"You mean...out there?" James questioned. He nodded.

"We find Mushu and this Order of the Jackal. We go to them," Hades said, as he looked to the author.

"Do you know where their base of operations is?" he asked. Annie and Adrian nodded.

"We do...but you have to understand that the pen has absolutely no power to change or fix anything that happens in the Land Without Magic," she warned. He nodded.

"We understand. But I think you all misunderstand. I don't want to go to the Land Without Magic, at least not yet," he said and they looked confused.

"I want to go straight to the man himself, before we go to the base out there. We're going to find a way to the Land of Untold Stories. It's time I have a chat with Dr. Jekyll himself," Hades added.

"Going to the head of it...that makes sense. He's the main head of this Hydra so to speak," Persephone agreed.

"Just so you know...I don't have any power in the Land of Untold Stories either. People go there to pause their stories indefinitely. I'm expressly forbidden to meddle there," Annie warned again.

"We understand," Hades assured.

"Okay...so we get a bean from Anton and be on our way," Emma said.

"It's not that simple," Persephone said, with a wince.

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"She means that you can't portal into the Land of Untold Stories. Only with one of the rare keys to it can you enter," Hades answered.

"Okay...so how do we find one of these keys?" Emma asked.

"I may know where one is…" Hades revealed, as they listened closely.

~*~

The Land of Untold Stories

The tall, dark skinned man stormed through the barracks in the asylum. He was used to the moaning and screaming of the asylum's unwell patients and if he was affected by their screams and moans of sheer misery and insanity, he did not show it.

Upon entering his Master's lab, he witnessed a familiar scene. Dr. Jekyll was in the middle of another painstaking experiment and his current test subject struggled with the restraints, as they struggled to get free. But he had fastened those restraints himself and knew there was no give.

"Easy...there is nothing to fear," Jekyll assured, as he mixed his potion and added the new ingredient he had acquired. It turned the desired color that he wanted and he swirled the vial.

"Excellent...perhaps this is the one. Now to test it," he said, as he motioned to Mr. Poole, who came forward and held the victim's head still, allowing the doctor to pour the liquid down the man's throat. They stepped back then and watched the man convulse and squeal in painful agony, as he started to separate.

"Yes…" Jekyll said, as his eyes gleamed with a twisted glee behind his thin rimmed glasses. The convulsions and spasms became violent and the man threw up blood, as the machine monitoring his heart beeped wildly. The man then collapsed to the table, as he flat lined and the doctor slammed his fists on the table.

"Dammit…" he growled, as he experienced yet another failure.

"What am I missing?" he lamented, as Mr. Poole covered the body with a sheet and proceeded to wheel the unfortunate victim out. He rubbed his temples. Another headache was coming on and he was no closer to a solution once more. But he would continue his search and his quest for knowledge...

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Swanfire #Rumbelle #AU #HadesxPersephone #Greek Mythology meets fairy tales #romance #adventure #family #Dreaming out loud

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justtheendoftheday · 5 years

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AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

“Mr. Weyland, what I told you in there wasn’t bullshit. If you rush this, people will get hurt. Maybe die.”

A strange energy reading leads a team of explorers to an ancient extraterrestrial pyramid located underneath a remote island in Antarctica. But things take a turn for the worse when they learn that the structure is actually the battleground for a race of extraterrestrial hunters and their deadly alien prey.

Fright: 1.5 / 5 Crossover Events

To the movie’s credit, when it tries to generate horror it actually does an alright job. That being said, it almost never tries. The majority of the time it sacrifices scares to go for a more Action-flick kinda vibe.

Gore: 3 / 5 Incidental Alien Autopsies

Okay, so there’s certainly some gore. But it’s not the usual sort.

I mean, sure, there’s some impaling, bits are chopped off, chests are burst, organs are seen, etc. But the gory stuff is almost always one crazy alien doing something gory to another crazy alien. Outside of getting stabbed, there’s an oddly minimal amount of anything being shown done to a human. Some messed up stuff is implied to have happened to them, yes, but you almost never see it.

Jump Scares: Light

There’s certainly some potential startles, but it’s more of an action flick than a horror one, so it never bothers attempting any serious jumps.

Review:

While it certainly delivers a lot of Alien and Predator action, it never fully grasps onto any of the deeper elements from the respective franchises. If all you want is some Who-would-win-in-a-fight-between style action, it certainly delivers. However, it doesn’t really offer anything much beyond that.

Thoughts:

There is something weirdly human about wondering who would win in various bizarre fantasy fights scenarios.

And what deeper expression of that is there then the weirdly long-running existence of Alien vs. Predators stories.

But the big question on everyone’s minds is whose decision was it to name it “AVP”?? I’m dying to know who was in charge of that decision.

Am I wrong here? I think we can all agree that “Alien vs. Predator” is a much better title. There’s just something about a “AVP” that that screams old people trying really hard to sound “cool.”

Anyhoo, before we get into it I should let you know a couple things:

I have only seen the theatrical PG-13 version of this one. I’ve heard word that there’s an extended unrated version, but I think it’s only available on fancy home media versions and thus I’ve never seen it.

Despite the fact that the filmmakers wanted AVP to be canonical for both franchises, both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant chose to completely disregard it. And I honestly can’t blame them, because this movie is so clearly meant to just be ridiculous action fun. So please don’t waste your time trying to figure out how this thing fits into the timeline.

Okay? So with that out of the way, here’s why AVP bugs me: it pays homage to all sorts of memorable visual elements of its respective franchises, but doesn’t even attempt to pay homage to any of their themes. So yeah, there’s predator heat vision and sneaking around all invisible. And sure, there’s chest bursting, facehugging, wee-little-mouth frenching, and all that good stuff.

But…that’s about it. If you look past those flashy actiony bits the film is rather thematically hollow.

The original franchises had very different styles, but like all horror movies they were both stories of survival. A big part of what makes stories of survival so intriguing is the excitement of seeing characters being pushed to their limits only to overcome them. We want to watch with rapt excitement as people are put against impossible odds only to keep going through sheer feats of wit, skill, and sheer determination.

And yet AVP basically puts all the characters into a death trap from which escape is more or less impossible. Characters are put up against impossible odds and then...well, then they just die.

It isn’t a story of survival so much as it is a string of people/aliens dying in X-treme ways. Everyone kind of feels like a redshirt more than a flesh-out character, because their choices never really have any impact and they’re really only there as meat for the grinder.

Now to be fair here, lots of movies sacrifice story and fulfilling character arcs for the sake of hardcore action. But this one takes it to such an extreme that they don’t even bother letting you know what most of the characters’ names are. And yet a while into the movie someone will be all like “WHATSYOURFACE! NOOOOO!” and I’m sitting over here thinking “wait, that dude had a name?”

When it comes to a movie like this the real question is who is this movie for? The way I see it there are three types of people that would be intrigued by AVP:

People who want to see a movie that delves deeper into the lore of these respective franchises.

People who love bizarre B-horror movies.

People who just want to see xenomorphs have crazy fights with Predators.

If you’re in the first category and are looking for a movie that provides an interesting addition to your beloved Alien and Predator franchises? Well, you should probably lower your expectations.

But what if you already know the premise is inherently silly-good-fun and just want a crazy action fest, chalk full of predators (aka Yaujita/Hish-qu-Ten) and Aliens (aka xenomorphs) taking out humans and each other with signature style?

Well this movie certainly has lots of that!

Is it a quality example of that though? Well...that’s up for debate.

—————————————

content warnings: ummm...shockingly I don’t think there are any serious ones here.

after-credits scene?: None.

—————————————

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson

Country of Origin: USA...

[also the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Germany, and Canada? I’m really not sure of what the story behind that is.]

Language: English

Setting: Bouvetøya Island, Antarctica

Sequel: Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

If you liked this you might also like: Aliens (1986), Predator (1987), Tomb Raider (2018), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), Sadako vs. Kayako (2016)

—————————————

Context Corner:

Although it may seem odd, the connection between the Alien and Predator franchises actually goes back decades.

So the basic timeline goes like this:

Alien was the first one to hit the scene way back in 1979.

Then 7 years later (1986) its sequel Aliens was released.

A year after that (aka 1987) we got Predator.

The two franchises had nothing to do with one another, but they were both distributed by 20th Century Fox. Then later both franchises were licensed to the comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics.

The first time the world saw the two extraterrestrials cross paths was in a Randy Stradley and Chris Warner’s “Alien vs. Predator” chapter in Dark Horse Presents issue #36 in 1990.

Shortly thereafter the connection resurfaces as a pretty great easter egg in the 1990 film Predator 2, wherein you can see a xenomorph skull on the trophy wall in the Predator’s ship.

And ever since then it’s been a thing. Way before this movie ever came into being there were tons of Alien/s vs. Predator books, comics, video games (including a pinball video game), and even board games.

If you think Alien vs. Predator is still a slightly whacky concept, I feel compelled to mention that the crossover madness could have gone so much deeper! There are MULTIPLE examples of comics wherein the xenomorphs and predators encounter Batman...and Superman...and sometimes BOTH!

[I’m 100% serious. Look it up.]

—————————————

“I wish you’d reconsider coming with us, Lex. Come on, don’t make me pull out pictures of my kids again.”

“Your kids aren’t that cute.”

“What if we got pictures of other peoples’ kids?”

“Want my advice?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Stay on the boat.”

#AVP #Alien vs Predator #Paul W.S. Anderson #2004 #2000s

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leftnipsdoodles · 6 years

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full offense but d2 painting Asher as incompetent isnt right and it’s pretty obvious it’s mostly done to make Ikora look better and to show the two as opposites (cool concept, still inconsistent). this is pretty clear when you look at the few times Asher is paired with someone else for mission control (Sloane, Failsafe) and is suddenly right in his assumptions and succeeds with his objective. it’s like they just can’t allow more than one warlock in the room to be right lmao

anyway, let me set the record straight, Asher:

- in the main story; correctly guessed that just blowing up the Almighty wouldn’t be the smart thing to do and helped us scan and assess it -> prevented us from accidentally blowing up the sun. he was also the one to alert us to Taken activity on Io, which subsequently kept it from imploding. just saying.

- in Getting Your Hands Dirty; was able to make us control the Taken to the degree that they could be used as a weapon against the Cabal, while never letting things get out of hand

- in Postmodern Prometheus; literally WAS able to create a sort of synthetic light, even if it wasn’t to the extent that he’d hoped. I never understood why the game flat out denies this, as if he didn’t just create a ton of light orbs for us to pick up and charge our Super with.

- in Red Legion, Black Oil; he’s right about the organogel inside Cabal armor/vehicles and helps us sabotage it, which basically makes the entire supply into a guaranteed time-bomb when used. if adventures weren’t self-containted side stories, this would be a sound tactic to gain a leg up on the Cabal by making them kill themselves without ever having a chance to figure out why. btw, in this, he’s also confirmed in his distaste for Titans, as Sloane would have you blow up the supply instead, which would be a much smaller victory without any kind of future merit.

- in Road Rage; rented us a sweet Cabal Interceptor. their intermittent boost, which provides a one-second burst of speed every several seconds, and their Solar cannons that fire large explosive shells, causing splash-damage, combined with their enhanced durability compared to Sparrows or Pikes, makes them a fun and deadly vehicle to ride. furthermore, the variant seen in this particular adventure, distinguishable by its black hull, has a significantly increased rate of fire and an infinite speed boost. with its ability to fire both cannons at once, it certainly is a sight to behold! anyway, thanks to him, the Vex didn’t get their hands on sensitive data on the Warmind project, as well as our beloved copies of Pulp Fiction.

- in Cliffhanger; he managed to upload a virus into the Vex Collective

- didn’t help us in Arecibo, but i’m listing it just to say that to be fair, it wasn’t due to incompetence, just apathy.

- in the Pyramidion strike, he IS constantly wrong about things. however, to help me make my point i will point out that his experience with the Pyramidion was a lot more akin to a raid and towards the end of our strike, it’s made clear that the Vex NOT throwing everything at us was indeed like, super weird. Ikora says it was a trap but.. what kind of trap is that? just letting us waltz into the vex boss’ office and beating the shit out of him? Asher had every right to refuse to accept us getting Brakion handed on a silver platter lol

- in the Dunemarchers’ lore tab; he was able to translate Cabal language from scratch

- exposed us to radiation on multiple occasions. this isn’t actually a good thing, i just feel like we shouldn’t let it slide.

the only time that rly made me go ‘Asher wtf’ was when he wanted us to destroy the data in Road Rage and our Ghost had to suggest to recover it instead, especially since in Red Legion, Black Oil he lectures us abt not always just destroying things mindlessly. i guess that one’s Asher being 100% a hypocrite, since a lot of patrol lines and the like show him being prone to violence and wanton destruction himself. him wanting Brakion dead instead of researching it or at least its body is also p stupid but it ties into the above and it’s made obvious that his need for revenge is an unhealthy and irrational thing so. that’s that on that i guess.

i’ll use this opportunity to also say that like half the time asher uses big words it’s to hide what he’s rly saying bc he’s uncomfortable saying it, so e.g. when he means to say ‘i’m sorry, i was wrong’ he’ll tell you ‘looks like my hypothesis was disproven’ bc he clearly has trouble expressing anything other than anger and it’s also p much canon that he’s better at expressing himself in more impersonal ways, like writing. so everytime someone says Asher using big words is bungie trying to make him sound smart and failing im like yo, give them a break. stop trying to find sth negative abt everything in this game when a bunch of it is genuine characterization.

which is a weird way to end this rant since my whole point is their weird, biased writing. huh. oh well

#GOOD LUCK GETTING THROUGH THE ASHER APPRECIATION ZONE #delete later #steroid gaming #i dont actually know what wanton means and i dont care. i read it in a comic book once.#also there's a bunch of minor things he's done that are also good and stuff but like. i tried to keep it to the #crucial stuff.

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