#revenge and dd looks are amazing too

[myheadphonesareneverloudenough]

The Black Parade is an incredible example that everything is better when Gerard Way gets to dress up their friends.

[n-m-and-p-avocados-at-law]

Treason Thoughts: The Show Itself

No one asked for this. Spoilers below the cut! I also talk about Kin a bit, so spoilers for that show too if you care.

I’ll post a separate thing with DD-related thoughts/parallels in a little bit!

I thought it was solid overall! Not an amazing show, but I was entertained.

I thought all the actors did a great job. It was cool to see Charlie Cox and Ciarán Hinds working together so soon after Kin.

I did like seeing more of the family side of things even though this was a spy show.

As much as it made me sad, I did think it was kind of a cool twist to kill Adam and have the last bit of the show really focus on Maddy and Kara. I felt like Kin also did something similar with the focus ultimately being on Amanda and her journey toward revenge even though the show starts out with the viewer thinking the focus is going to be on Michael.

I felt like the dialogue was a little...awkward maybe isn’t the right word, but sometimes something felt off. “Unnatural” is maybe the word I’m looking for? I think it was just written oddly, though, not badly acted.

I also felt like it would have benefited from being a bit longer because some of the characters’ actions didn’t make sense to me without further backstory. In particular, I didn’t feel like it made sense to have Maddy be so suspicious absent some past infidelity on Adam’s part. For one, his job inherently involves secret-keeping. And two, Maddy was in the military--presumably she would understand/have some experience with confidential intel/not being able to talk about things.

I felt like they didn’t afford Dede the same amount of nuanced treatment that they did Adam, Kara, and Maddy. Even before she killed Adam, I felt like they set her up to be villainous in a way they didn’t with the other characters, and that didn’t really sit right with me, especially since she’s the only Black woman in the cast.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

OOP Bobby o.o

OHHHH GOSH

10 YEARS AGO O.O

I thought he was supposed to be a burn unit nurse FROM that time but oh gosh he was a victim :OO that makes so much more sense

Not that I thought it didn't but my gosh o.o

Also gosh that it's ten years ago xd 😭

Especially when I was recently rewatching some season too, specifically the Begins episodes (though others too), and Bobby's (I specify since I believe that was season 3)

Anyway AOUAGH THE FLASHBACKS O.O 😭

Is Bobby finding out like this too by the way o.o

AOUGH y'all stressing o.o

OOP Bobby D:

Fair but gosh :((

Uhhh??

Bobby where are you

BRO BETTER NOT BE GONNA GO FOR REVENGE O.O

UHHH

UHHH OHHHH THAT BETTER BE A MISLEAD O.O

UMMM???

Y'all I be stressing 😭😭 xdd o.o

Also forgot about these one plot promos xdd wild lol

Anyway

Gosh o.o

Scared thank you xdd xD

Well, that's the last of my last thoughts, so now it's time for the. . .

REVIEW

I loved this episode!! I thought it was amazing :D. There were a lot of great plots going on (okay right now for Eddie's I'm just confused and mad at him but that's besides the point xD it was wild so I'll count it as good because entertaining lol, it better go somewhere good though I'm also counting it for that), but Jennifer absolutely CARRIED this episode :O :D. Girl is an icon <33. And of course so is Maddie :') 🥰🥰. Henren may be committing crimes (as in they might be crimes) but we love them xD :D. Lol xD. All these idiots on this show I swear lol. But ah, I love them <3. Maddie and Chimney were not idiots this episode though to be clear they were icons <33. Anyway xD. Some really interesting plots, great storytelling all around (that's just what my brain decides to say just go with it ik it's kinda strange), and some great moments for everybody even if they weren't really in a main plot today :D. Also I'm stressing about Bobby o.o some really cool moments there too. But yeah, great all around!!

Okayy the next episode's in an hour so lol! Time for individual parts.

Bobby and Athena! They were great as always :D. Athena slayed the investigating! And Bobby coming in with the baby :'). I'M STRESSED THOUGH Y'ALL 😭😬. Anyway, I love them <33.

Tommy! I miss you 😔 xD.

Buck! Didn't see him much but he slayed :D. The scene with him and Christopher and Eddie at the end was :')). They're so silly your honor <33. I love him so much :'D.

Eddie! BOYYYYY. Someone stop this insane man 😭. Just realized I'm gonna have to deal with this again in an hour xd. Anyway, what the heck is going on o.o. His storyline was absolutely wild 😭. I'm glad we're addressing his grief but my gosh o.o xd. Anyway, lol, I love him xd. Usually <3. Nah but for real what's going on bro xD. He better be hallucinating or something I swear 😭 xd.

Hen and Karen! Y'all why are you being stalkers xD. Nah but genuinely I'm glad they were fighting for Mara :')). And AAHHHH I'M SO GLAD SHE AND HER BROTHER GOT TO SEE EACH OTHER :'DDD!! I hope the dad is okay with it so it can keep happening, not him find out and stop it or anything <3. It really is good for both of them :')). Anyway, I just love their little family <33. They ain't perfect but they try their best and Then and Karen fight for their kids and it's just so beautiful :')). I love them so much <33.

Maddie and Chimney! Y'all the FEELS they were making me feel this episode 😭😭😭🥺💔🥰. Jennifer absolutely ate, carried. She was so amazing :D. But seriously it was heartbreaking 😭😭 and then seeing Chimney support her and listen to her 🥺🥺🥺😭❤️ he is perfect <3. And they slayed so hard figuring out the abduction!! I'm so glad everybody ended up okay :'DD. They really figured that out, ate that for real 🥰🥰. Also the whole thing about the woman in the passenger seat :'(((( 😭😭😭🥺💔💔❤️. So good <333. I'm so glad they have each other <33 :'D. Also that scene with Jee-Yun at the end was absolutely adorable 😭😭❤️❤️🥺🥰. And Chim just looking on with how much he loves them in his eyes :')). Y'all I love them so much <333.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode! I thought it was super good, and the acting especially was just on point (though of course it always is). It also set up some really interesting things for next time, which, while I'm scared about, could be really cool :O xd. And the calls were great! I'm so glad the main girl from the call and her baby are doing alright <33. They went through a lot but they'll be okay :')). The moment of her seeing her again and then reuniting was just so amazing 😭😭🥺🥰❤️. But anyway, everybody did great figuring it out, and just in this episode in general :'D. Don't know what Eddie's doing though lol, though he did do well on the calls xD.

So yeah! It was amazing, I really loved this episode. Certainly a wild one though. I'm excited and nervous for the next one! This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1, Season 7, Episode 7: Ghost of a Second Chance

It was really great! I'm so excited for the next one but I have no clue how it's gonna turn out. This is gonna be wild. I'll be back next week for my review of. . .

9-1-1, Season 7, Episode 8: Step Nine

See you next week!

[noodlyappendages03]

He got in minutes after I came back from lunch. We got off early Friday, but he stayed because he's salaried and had a deadline. I didn't see him at all and he didn't see me. Had a couple glasses of Pinot Grigio and a good cry, then got my hair cut. Wasn't a fan of the hairdresser (seemed kinda snotty considering how much I was paying her for a haircut), but my hair turned out wonderfully! 3 inches gone in a flash. That and more toned down makeup definitely cheered me up. Felt a bit bougie, but I need some pampering this weekend.

Woke up in a funk this morning, but I'm feeling the best I have all week. Out of sight, out of mind. Need to be extra kind to myself for a while. Honestly, I'm not very kind to myself due to childhood issues with shame and self-care being deemed as "selfish", so I'm working more on that right now than some stupid man who fumbled me. Because that's what he did! He had doubts, freaked out, and talked himself right out of the relationship. He could have said he chose me or had feelings for me and what do we do about this, but he didn't. I'm not going to convince him otherwise or chase him. I am a goddamn prize. I am a fucking goddess and he should've worshipped the ground I walked on. I agree that access to me is a privilege and he specifically lost girlfriend privileges by saying it wasn't going anywhere. He has to earn my friendship, too.

I soothed myself with honey green tea and ramen, then found some secondhand clothes and a Kate Spade bag for a steal. DD really liked my purse, so of course it has to go, along with the fact that it wasn't sturdy enough to hold my stuff. New hair, new clothes, new purse was just what I needed to boost my mood. Also bought new watercolors to experiment with. Going to start painting in a new medium. Went to the store and bought gluten free things and a nice dinner. DD gave up gluten but there is something to be said about giving up dairy and gluten that works on my gut that I had to try it for myself. Had some whipped cream with a coffee drink this afternoon and really regret it now...

Resting in my PJs now. No alcohol, just kombucha. Going to bed early. My skin is looking amazing now that DD is not constantly filling my glass with Prosecco anymore. Alcohol makes me feel terrible right now, so I'm taking an indefinite break from it. Guess it's time to work on my revenge body. Haha! I hope his jaw drops on Monday and I walk in with an attitude like, "You could've had all of this...your loss!"

I'm not going to act angry. I'm just going to be nonchalant. Just have to remind myself that I am the prize and he blew it.

[realworldsucksendhelp]

Why do they need 8 legs?

Marc Spector/Steven Grant (Slight Jake Lockley) x GN!Reader

Summary: Steven and Marc are tough guys, they used to be the Avatar for an Ancient Egyption God for god's sake! But they have one weakness..

✨️spiders✨️

Set after the events of the series, slightly allusions to smut at the end but there isn't any, (you can imagine they have a tickle fight if your not into that sort of thing)

Also btw I actually have Shark Sliders and I where them everywhere :DD

Y/n! HELP!"

Steven shouts from the kitchen, despacito filling his voice, I throw my book down not bothering to bookmark it and run to the kitchen.

"Steven! Marc! Are you OK? What happened!?"

I scan the room for any threats, none apart from Stevens fear in his eyes

"See! You big baby you've scared them"

The fear leaves Stevens face and is replaced by a annoyed mercenary known as Marc Spector"

"Marc it's massive"

Steven whispers back into the reflection on one of the random mirrors that you have put up around the house, this one hand in a kitchen cabinet, it wasn't the best look in the world but it makes for sentries like these even more funny as Steven seems to be augering with his reflection.

"What's massive?"

As funny as this is I need to know what has caused Steven to look this distressed.

"There's a spider"

"What"

He points at the corner of the kitchen to where on the wall there is a spider, I haven't even noticed it either because of the fact my boyfriend was screaming for help so the fact is a TINY HARMLESS SPIDER!!.

I shake my head and take of my *amazing* shark sliders and go to kill the spider.

"No!"

"What!"

"Don't kill it!!"

"Oh my god Steven!"

I laugh and walk over to his distraught face, the poor guys nearly in tears.

"Steven, is it just a spider OK? It can't hurt you"

I cup his face in my hand, he leads into my touch as I stroke his cheek

"They have 8 legs Y/N!"

I light again and pull away, Steven gives me a pout and I give him one back, I put my shark slider back in and get a glass and an old magazine and Cargill captures the spider.

"Why do they need that many legs"

Steven continues in a whisper, I hold the glass up to see the little.guy, before walking over to Steven.

"Nonononono y/n get away from me"

"Come on Seven! Just say hello"

He comes face to face with the glass and the spider he gulps before whispering underneath his breath.

"Hello Mr.Spider"

I take the glass away and he lets out a breath, I open the window and set the super free, even though it will probably die anyways but Steven doesn't need to know that.

"Well done really manley of you"

I recognise the slite Chicago accent and slap Marc on the shoulder.

"Hey! I'm nor the one who made you pick up the beast"

"Hey Marc! You were scared of it to"

Steven takes control, it's funny when they have these arguments but also INCREDIBLY ANNOYING.

"GUYS! Calm down okay! The spider's gone you're both safe and i'll defend you two as long as I live"

I give a little superhero pose and Steven laughs before Marc takes control wrapping his arms around me and wearing the same goofy grin I am

"Dork"

He mutters before kissing me, I pull back before he gets into it to make one last point.

"You're scared too!"

"Shut up"

He buries his head into my shoulder to hide the blush covering his face.

"I mean I can kinda understand Steven,but Marc Spector! Ex-Mercenary and Ex-Avatar of the Egyptian God Konshu! Scared of a teeny weeny spider"

Marc stays quite before kissing my cheek

"You were going to kill it!"

He says on my shoulder, nuzzling his face into my neck, peppering me with kisses.

"No I-mmhh"

He gets the right spot on my neck, causing me to let out a moun, Marc's

eyes light up and he pick me up

"Marc! Stop! Where are we going!"

I laugh as he carries me across Stevens flat onto his bed before laying me down.

"This is revenge mi amor'

[roxyfoxgamer150]

I saw some ask doing this, I wanted to join too😀

*walks through a wall like a ghost*

Hello, I am not dead, but here to send a message.

Observer.. little fact you are actually my favorite, though which means being my favorite may cost your mental stability. I may ask the creator about some ideas... which may or may not give you more trauma than you already have... but hey, trauma builds character after all :D(don't worry, I still care about you're mental health :)), also yes, I do love your character :) )

Scrap, I wish I can hug you (　；∀；), you're a cool person and I think your mechanical arms are dope, Keep being badass, even though you aren't my favorite, I still like you and you're character and you're attitude(I will also protect you with my life if I have to) :DD

Hollow... Just do what you do best, you're an amazing person to me, and you deserve to get revenge on who wronged you... I also wish I can give you a hugg(　；∀；), and keep being that cold, badass mother that you are :D (also you're outfit is really cool and fighting style is dope after :D)

And creator... I like you're work a lot, and it's the one thing that gives me motivation to start writing again, you're works are creative and gave me something to look forward to everyday, so thanks for that :D💖

Welp, that's all, a lighting strike just happened near our area and scared the living shit out of me, so I think ima lay down for a while, so... lexdrigo out (☞ ᐛ )☞

*Walks through the again, backwards, while doing the (☞ ᐛ )☞ expression*

"Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad I give you motivation!"

-Akuma, me

Observer Mirabel raised her arms, "FUCK YEAH I'M THEIR FAVORITE!" She pauses, "WAIT WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN AT THE TRAUMA-"

Scrappy Mirabel squealed, "Hell yeah! They like my mechanical arms!" She excitedly looks at Hollow Julieta, who stared at the literally-nothing-here camera.

Hollow rose an amused eyebrow, "I wish I could also hug you, though I am already planning for revenge on the naive mortals who have wronged me." She crosses her arms and chuckles.

[theji]

SDOC 4 Ep 6 Commentary

I thought I would be able to sleep earlier last Sat since SDOC was postponed but nope. Ended up reading till 6+am. What is wrong with me?

• First up. I just wanna exclaim. DD looks so good in this episode. I love his hair!

• Henry and his voice change shenanigan at the beginning where he confused everyone. 😅 But it was sweet that he was trying to console Lay.

• My top vote for the team captain's performance goes to Henry, followed by HG. I usually rank Henry quite low in my books (sorry!) but his team did really well in this ep. HG continues to surprise. Much as I love DD, I have to agree with his own assessment - that his team members lack cohesion. Major props to DD's facial expressions during his performance though.

• Of the 2x2 battles, my fav goes to Zyko and Ma Xiao Long's. It's a relatively silent performance, but loud in meaning and symbolism. The epitome of quiet strength. I like the flow and concept of succession that they are trying to convey. And DD's reaction. 😆 I also really like Huang Xiao and Ken Ken's. I thought it was brilliant to use the concept of mirroring to show Yin and Yang.

• AC attempting Locking. Good try! I love his personality. It was super awesome to see him pair up with Ibuki. I said it last week but ain't his new haircut cute?

• I've always known DD to be a smart guy but he has high EQ too. You can tell from the way he reacts, not just in SDOC but in other interviews. He has his own pace and he doesn't take the bait even if you try to get him to react to something or react in a certain way. He's not the kind to shoot his mouth off as well. For eg. his reply to Henry's attempted provocation before their battle "Aiyo, what to do?" in that cutesy but slightly annoying way, throwing the ball back to Henry. Like I'm not being rude, I'm still giving a response but I'm not playing your game.

• "I lost. I only got 4 votes." Can see that DD was slightly disappointed at himself and the team but he was still very objective when appraising his team. He knew going into the challenge they had issues. This is something I admire about him. I have no doubt In his head he's thinking how to be better, how to solve the issue etc, rather than feeling down. Compared to season 3 when he ranked last in the captain's first show, where he was visibly disappointed. You can really see his growth and change in attitude in the past year. Like him telling Nelson to do more of a certain dance move, cos that's what the judges like. Him rambling on about how fair this voting system is, despite losing. Now, results are not as important; he's really there to learn. He's more relaxed. Not just in SDOC but like in general, DD seems more cheerful, carefree this year. I love it.

• Hahaha Rochka's sweet revenge against DD. He's probaby the only one who can say that DD's performance is so-so. They're both so good natured.

• It was cool that the foreign judges had short performances.

• Acky San 'Firstly I want to tell everyone, I didn't contribute!'

• Unpopular opinion but I really like Bunta and his style. I had my eye on him since ep 1. The 'best friends' dance that he cheoreographed with Ye Yin was great but this week's performance by the waackers/choreographers was just amazing. Amazing. Truly my fav of the season so far. And the part where he collapsed at the end? Hope to see at least one or two more performances from Bunta before he inevitably gets eliminated. He is so underrated. I hope DD chooses him to join his team as choreographer but I have a feeling he might go for Chun Lin?

• As usual, Xiaoji was so entertaining. Can he join DDU as a co-host?😛 I think he gets undermined a fair bit and relegated to the comic relief sometimes but the guy has some great moves that I hardly see others using. Like the free fall one and the other one where he bounces across horizontally. All these require a lot of core strength and body control.

• I kinda wished they had cued DD to join the Lockers. That would have been amazing and I'm sure DD would have killed it. The boy was so excited the moment the familiar locking music came on. Give him the chance to share the stage with the OG Lockers whom he admires so much, please?

• Next week's ep looks so fun. And we get to see DD and his fav Hammer dance again.

DD gets it. He really lives and breathe street dance culture. Seeing him get excited over the song choices of the locking performance and reminiscing the times when he used to practice with the same song. Also, DD correctly identifying which member choreographed which segment of the waacker/choreographers group dance says a lot of his observation skills and understanding of the participants' expertise and styles. Also his experience. Also, DD always seem to get the underlying storyline eg. The Japanese theme. And that is why he has gained the attention and respect of the dance community, both from participants within his team and even other teams, in the show and outside. He knows his stuff.

I saw a comment made by a C-BXG, that WYB was a dancer first before an idol. As a child, he learned dancing to become a dancer. Because of his love for dance. Whereas for many others, they learn dancing with the aim of become an idol. That's the difference, and that's why he can relate to the dance community. Cos they have the same experiences. He really gets them.

[lucy-sky]

So, darlings. I wanted to talk about Small Engine Repair (2021) and I don’t want to avoid spoilers, so I’ll do it under the cut. There’s a smaller and spoiler-free review on my letterboxd (y’all are very welcome to follow me there btw!) 

The movie is pretty wild and I realize it’s not for everyone, but I actually loved it a lot! As I already said, the more I think of it, the more I like it somehow :) So yeah, if anyone wants to talk to me about this film - please do :) 

Warning: I apologise for any possible mistakes/typos. It’s not an adequate review, it’s basically just a mess stream of consciousness :’DD

I was excited about this movie mostly because of... My men, of course :’) Well, I’m not ashamed because let’s be fair - we all watch movies for our actor crushes. I got interested in it since the first teasers, because Jon Bernthal looked amazing *_* And then Shea Whigham crush happened, so can you imagine my excitement?? To say I’m not disappointed is to say nothing at all, I’m absolutely delighted to see these two as besties :)))) I mean yeah, all the three characters are besties, but the chemistry between Bernthal and Whigham is just *chef’s kiss*. So, even if the movie wasn’t great I would still enjoy it in a way because of them.

But the plot seemed intriguing too. Remember the trailer? It started with just old friends having a good time, and then the tone suddenly changes and you realize something really bad happened. To be completely honest, after the trailer I expected the film to be even darker than it turned out to be. I thought Frank was gonna kill someone, or already killed someone or who knows, maybe not all of the characters were gonna survive. I thought there might be some plot twist where a nice guy suddenly turns out to be evil or something like that... And you know what? Maybe some people would be disappointed that there’s no shocking twists like that, but as for me - I’m glad the film is the way it is. That the characters are managed to stay human. That they didn’t kill anyone. That the story ends on such a touching note. Yeah, I might be sentimental, so what? 

Small Engine Repair is such a wierd mixture of a dark (like REALLY dark), yet absolutely hilarious comedy (damn, this whole revenge thing made laugh so hard I teared up, because asfdafafafg %))) Packie’s dick being the most photogenic - I died x’DDD Surely Swaino is an expert here xDDD This whole scene was so explicit, but SO hilarious, every line and every second of it - brilliant!), a serious drama, and just a very endearing, touching movie about friendship. I can’t believe how it manages to be both dark and touching at once, but surprisingly it WORKS! The fact that you can see Jon’s doggos and his daughter in the film makes it even more personal, gives it more warmth. Yes, you may say the plot twists are predictable. When Chad Walker appears, we already understand it’s somehow connected with Crystal. And when he tells that story, I also low key realized it’s about her. So maybe it all wasn’t surprising enough, but it doesn’t really matter, at least to me. This movie and these characters - they’ve got heart and soul, despite the dark/dirty jokes and countless f-words during the movie. Of course none of them is flawless. I’d say all of them are quite problematic, but somewhere deep inside they’re nice guys. And yes, they really are a family. 

I love the way the characters are written. Yes, especially Swaino and Packie. Love those little details about them, like Swaino’s sisters :)) idk, to me Jon’s character is like a huge teddy bear, and he’s incredibly charismatic in this one, even if he doesn’t know how to instagram xDDD Packie is cool too, looks like he’s just a dumbass, but at the same time he’s smart and even helped Crystal with her essays :)) Shea’s filmography is really impressive, but Packie somehow feels different from all his characters, and is possibly the funniest (I think only Eugene from Wristcutters can compete). I’m glad my man had quite a lot of screen time here, he even gets to narrate a childhood story and I absolutely loved it :))) oh and someone really should make Whigham start an instagram account after this movie, I insist! xDDDD

Actually the topic of social media and privacy is really important these days. For example, not so long ago Lainey Molnar (you probably saw her illustrations) posted in her instagram stories about her nail artist who had a bachelorette party and was challenged to give her phone number to a random guy. As she was a bit drunk it didn’t occur to her to give him a fake number, and the dude literally posted her pic and number online saying she wants to get laid. So yeah, shit like that happens all the goddamn time in our age of social media, and that’s why it should be talked about. It’s also disgusting that for some dudes like Chad Walker all this is just fun and games, they easily get away with this and live their life like there’s nothing wrong while someone’s life is completely ruined. In a way Small Engine Repair made me think of Promising Young Woman, if you get what I mean. 

So yeah - serious drama and hilarious comedy work together surprisingly well and the film manages to be surprisingly heartwarming until the end. At times it’s as cozy as those warm knitted clothes Swaino and Packie are wearing. I hope Crystal is gonna be alright in the end and they will just get through it together! And one day they’ll gonna hang out together again: Frank, Swaino, Packie, Crystal, and Karen too, eat steaks and make silly photos (no nashville filter!) Ugh, did I tell you I’m sentimental?..

Anyways, conclusion. I liked Small Engine Repair way more than I expected!

I think this is all I wanted to say, yep. 

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Duuuuuude. Listen. I’m not the kind of fan who loves Peter’s rage, you know? Like, I love that he has this flaw, and I love how he interacts with it, how it interacts with his sense of morality, since he hates the brutality his anger brings out in him, not just because it’s him, but in general. I find it very interesting. But I find it interesting most of all because of the betrayal it is to his main philosophy of responsibility. It’s not just the worst part of him because it “ooohhh, a flaaaww, so baaad”, but because of the consequences it’s had. All his greatest sins (ironic, seeing the story that inspired this post) were caused by his uncontrolled rage. So... I don’t exactly want him to be like that... but I don’t like it when writers don’t make him like that, because it just shows they don’t understand the character. 

Take Tom Taylor (too many t’s). He tries to sell this sort of... cinnamon roll version of Peter, who not only never has any violent urges, but has never had them, either. Take Zdarsky - he’s a bit more willing to present Spider-Man as someone who’s threatening and scary, but even he paints it as something unintentional, best illustrated in that scene in Daredevil #23 right after DD and Spider-Man interrupt a meeting where Fisk appointed his successor, and Peter, who had been appropriately intimidating, asks Matt if he’d been able to sell “dark and menacing” and he replies that “tearing a vault door off its hinges is bound to spook most of them”, as if it’s something that’s just because of Peter’s powers, as if he can’t help it and needs to put on an act and, what, only pretend that he’d like to beat up each and every one of those gang leaders in that meeting within an inch of their lives? As if the kind of anger that would make him look dark and menacing would be fake?

Not long ago, I compared Peter’s anger issues with alcoholism, and, just like alcohol has its upsides, a reason why people use it and abuse it, so does Peter’s anger serve him in crime-fighting, as a sort of fuel and even as a bit of a moral compass. I mean, if you see the things Peter sees, the violence and brutality and cruelty and indifference, and don’t feel at least a little bit angry... well. His struggle is (or was), as someone with a short and explosive fuse, to keep it under control - to quote this issue, to make it “about justice, not revenge”. Heck, Amazing Fantasy? Ben’s death? Peter becoming an entertainer instead of a superhero off the cuff? It wasn’t just irresponsibility, or self-absorption, or a sort of understandable “he was just a kid, he wouldn’t expect stopping criminals to be his job”. He was angry. He literally said that he was looking out for the people who had been kind to him (Ban and May) and the rest of the world could burn for all he cared. I agree that it’s a bad thing, but it’s a part of Peter. I’d say it’s an essential part of Peter. Ignoring it, denying it, is just... wrong.

Now, Spencer has been referencing this part of Peter. Not a lot, but it’s there. In his confrontation with Kraven during Hunted, and now with the return of the Sin Eater. I believe Peter’s anger is anathema to his responsibility - that’s why it’s so fun, because every once in a while the guy goes batshit and betrays everything he believes in. Not just because of what he does when he’s in a rage, but because of the very fact that he has these huge anger issues and the ability to cause an enormous amount of damage before he gets stopped, and he’s done nothing about this. No one has! What the hell! He used to be friends with a psychiatrist who worked rehabilitating villains and founded Ravencroft, who once saw him without his mask and still respected him enough to not look, who he talked about his parents and the beginning of his guilt complex with, and he never went to her with this! And he almost went to her during his “Spider” phase (only to find her in badly hurt after being attacked during an escape from Ravencroft, thus making his mental state worse, but yanow), but it never occurred to him to go to her for help with his anger issues, and that’s a big oversight. Very, you could call it... irresponsible.

But if Spencer’s bringing it back... we 1) could organically return to a better characterized Peter, and/or 2) see him go through an arc where he deals with his issues. Not just a “The psychology of Peter Parker part one of four” kind of arc, but a real, long character arc, like an addiction recovery kind of thing, with him acknowledging the problem, the pitfalls and the upsides, talking to the people who’ve seen him when he’s gone berserk, people like MJ, who’ve managed to talk him down, like Matt, who’ve only managed to “calm” him by knocking him out. Again, like MJ, who quit smoking, but started for a reason, and could share her experience with recovery (which, correct me if I’m wrong, but we never saw, so it could be a chance to write it for the first time), and with Doc Connors, who could remind him that, as strong as his rage might make him, the price to pay for losing control like that would often be high, and he won’t be the one paying for it. 

It would make for a good balance between past characterization that got lost in a sea of mediocre (of we’re being kind) writers and his current characterization, which hasn’t only been pretty solidly established in the comics by now, but also outside of them, so that new readers will probably be expecting a more... mellow Peter. If it’s made clear that this is something he chose and worked for, and still struggles with...

It’s a very big if, but if Spencer is planning to do something with it... I’d be so here for it.

Of course, I haven’t even finished reading this issue, yet, so none of this might actually be true. Still, one can hope.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: A Real Kick in the Cunt

A while back, i saw this weirdly overproduced trailer for a flick call Promising Young Woman between Youtube videos and thought it looked interesting. I expected it to be kind of wonky. It felt like this sh*t should have went the way of, say, Terminal but i watched that so i figured why not watch this, too. I was intrigued by the look of the film and, after researching it a bit, found myself enthralled with the plot. In a year where the movie pickings are mad slim, will Promising Young Woman deliver?

The Good

Immediately, the music to this film hits you like a ton of bricks. You can tell that this soundtrack is going to be an intricate aspect of this cinematic experience. From the second that Charli XCX remix hits over those credits, you knew this was going to be an entire situation and i was totally down for it. This flick did not disappoint from that perspective.

I love the whole visual of this film. The way the camera frames everything, the saturation of color, the almost surreal nature of the visuals; They all coalesce into a real feast for the eyes. There is a very distinct presentation displayed and it feels as unique as a film like Atomic Blonde or Terminal. I kind of really love it.

Bro, i love this cast, man. It’s kind of amazing. Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Alfred Molina, Adam Brody, Alex Greenfield and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Like, this thing is straight up loaded to the gills with that star talent. I mean, they even got McLovin in on the action and none of them disappoint. That said, this is definitely Carey Mulligan’s movie.

There is a level of chemistry that runs through every performance in this film. It’s actually preppy palpable. It enriches the very core of this film and makes each relationship feel incredibly authentic.

Carey Mulligan turns in an amazing performance as the lead, Cassie Thomas. She feels like an extension of such violent heroines as Asami Yamazaki from Audition or Jen from Revenge. Cassie is intelligent, calculating, captivating, amazingly charismatic, and terrifyingly sinister. There is a real, underlying, malevolence to Cassie and i ate it all up. Mulligan delivers this with such precision, it’s unnerving.

Bo Burnham was lovely in his role as the love interest, Ryan Cooper. He has this awkward, earnest, energy that s the perfect counter to the abject disdain that Mulligan festers. Dude has some stand out scenes that really show his range as an actor. Dude is one of the best of his generation, Eight Grade showed us that, and that excellence carries over to this role, too. I’m looking forward to what he does next.

Emerald Fennell really directs her ass of in this thing. I’m familiar with her work from Killing Eve, another excellent work, chock full of that potent female energy, and i loved that, too. I really enjoyed the look of this film, the feel of this presentation. There is a distinct passion behind the camera, like she knows this story and absolutely needs to tell it. That makes sense because she also wrote the thing. Definitely an auteur creator in the making. Considering this is literally Fennell’s directorial debut, i have to say, she has a bright future ahead of her.

I have to say, the pacing of this film is pretty brisk. It’s about seven minutes shy of two hours but never actually feels that way. Again, the deft touch from Fennell is definitely on display. One of the pitfalls of freshman directors is wonky pacing, most take a film or two to find that sweet spot, but Ferrell seems to have a handle on it out the gate.

The Okay

The plot isn’t rally anything new. It’s your basic revenge story with a bleaker ending than most but the devil is in the details. The strength of this narrative lies in the performances and the presentation. You’ve definitely seen this story told before, and probably better, but never like this. Assassination Nation and I Spit On Your Grave are similar takes on this type of plot. While the story being told is rather cliche to the point of being a sub-genre in it’s own right, how this trope is told makes for a great experience.

This thing is definitely a Carey Mulligan vehicle. That’s not a bad thing, per say, but the rest of this cast was amazing and we don’t get enough time with them. Alfred Molina and Laverne Cox steal every scene they’re in and i just wanted a little more time with them. Alas, it was not to be...

The Verdict

I really liked this movie, man. It is one of the best I've seen this year. One of but not the best. Promising Young Woman is gorgeous in every way that counts, with one of the strongest lead performances from Carey Mulligan i have ever seen her give. The direction is on point and the cinematography is absolutely stunning. Like, i really enjoy this camera work, man. The supporting cast is chock full of heavy-weights and they bring as much energy and believability to their roles as Mulligan. The only real downside is the fact that this story is a little cliche in the cinematic zeitgeist but what narratives aren’t? Is this flick perfect? No. But it is fun, engaging, and entertaining If you have the opportunity to check it out, definitely watch Promising Young Woman It dd not disappoint.

[fantasiesescape]

Cookies with Eva

The sounds of the Tower trying in vain to pull Diana’s attention from the vast sky, dotted with snowflakes as they lazily danced to their resting place. Passing conversations, yelps and cries of victory as the “whump” of snowballs found or missed their targets. A few people had tried to speak to her, to wish her “Happy Dawning”, and she had successfully ignored them into leaving her be. Only one showed concern for her out of ordinary eccentricity, Shaxx had tried to convince her to her feet or at the very least to sit up and look at him properly rather than lying on the ground above the Eververse shop. He had been the only one Diana had not been successful at ignoring.

“I’m fine, Shaxx.” She told him flatly, looking blankly up into the orange and white helmet.

“I would believe it if you were running about and trying to hit someone with a snowball like last years Dawning.” Shaxx boomed at her, his hands curled into fists at his hips. “You’ve laid here for hours, just…watching. That’s not like you hunter.”

“Maybe it’s a new me.” Diana sighed, folding her hands onto her stomach, “Maybe I’ve calmed down a little.”

“A little would look different.” Shaxx persisted, his helmet cocking to the side. “What’s got your mind so snared?”

Diana sighed heavily and closed her eyes, struggling to find a way to put voice to the feelings whirling around inside her mind. She didn’t want to admit to them, if she didn’t give them voice and identification then she could not admit to their existence. Shaxx waited patiently for a response, a retort or a snap but Diana laid there with her eyes closed. She didn’t bother thinking about time, and when Shaxx gave a dissatisfied grunt and his footsteps faded away, Diana was upset she didn’t feel any better.

“Hello my dear,” The warm, elderly voice took Diana by surprise. She opened her eyes to see Eva standing over her with her gentle hands clasped in front of her. “Happy Dawning.”

“Happy Dawning Granny.” Diana sighed, feeling too pre-shamed to no reply to Eva. “Are you here to set up for the Festival?”

“Oh Yes,” Eva looked behind her, and Diana was forced to sit up and look behind her to see several manual worker frames carrying supplies. “This year I decided to set up over here, it’s closer to where everyone will come home, but out of the way enough that people can visit without making too much fuss.” Eva turned and gestured in her slow, matronly way for the frames to get started setting up the temporary shop where she would be staying.

Diana finally climbed to her feet, noticing that Shaxx and Banshee were watching from afar. When she took notice of them, Banshee raised one hand in silent greeting and turned to go back to his shop, leaving Shaxx standing with his arms folded across his massive chest. Diana raised a hand as Banshee had and the former warlord gave a tip of his head before leaving his spot to return to his designated area.

“I think you will like this year’s festivities,” Eva said softly, touching Diana’s elbow, bringing her mind back to the present before she could slip into voidless thought. “I had so much fun with you last year, baking treats for everyone and more people have decided to help—so I had a commission made for a bigger oven.” She pointied to a large, blue pot like oven with Dawning symbols painted white to make them stand out against the blue and dark metals. “I’m afraid my little lantern oven just wouldn’t be enough this year.”

The elderly woman smiled but Diana couldn’t find the heart to force a fake one back, which drew the older woman’s attention and concern. “What’s the matter my dear? You look so glum?” When Diana couldn’t meet her yearning eyes, Eva put a hand under Diana’s cold metal chin and lifted her head. “How about you make some cookies with ol’Eva hm? And you can tell me what is bothering you?”

“Granny I’m fine, I’m just a bit down right now is all. Tired I guess.” Diana lied and replaced her gaze to the ground.

“Nonsense.” Eva scolded lightly, waving a finger at the exo, “You are the liveliest person I know. Come, we will make treats and you can tell me what is really wrong.” Diana looked up and was shocked to see that the frames had worked quietly and deftly, constructing the makeshift shop with ease. They were in the process of hanging the curtains and cloth that would keep the chill and wind down while standing at the shop and two frames had just finished constructing a pull-out table which Eva assembled and began covering with ingredients and utensils.

“Come my dear, I am afraid my joints won’t let me go quite as hard as I used to.” Eva began pouring dry and wet ingredients into a bowl before picking it up and placing it and a whisk into Diana’s hands. “You want it to be nice and thick dear, so don’t over work it if you please.” Eva turned and busied herself with the oven, leaving Diana to start mixing the mixture in the bowl.

“How is the city Granny?” Diana asked, the pressure of silence occupied only by the sounds of work too much to bear quietly.

“It is recovering,” Eva smiled over her shoulder as she placed logs in the oven. “People are getting things back to normal after the Red War. What about you? How are you with everything?” She closed the oven and stood, glancing into Diana’s bowl as she approached to show her work. “That’s good love,” She sprinkled flour onto the tabletop and took the bowl from Diana who moved to the other side to assist. “I know at the Festival of the Lost you were not quite as…present as you were at other years.”

“I…had a lot going on.” Diana tapped the side of her metal head. “Been uh.” She glanced around as Eva worked, “Been missing Dad a lot lately, been…messing with me. Just didn’t fee like partying as much this year. But it looked amazing as always Granny. So does the Dawning.”

“I had a feeling it had to do with Cayde’s passing.” Eva sighed, watching as Diana fiddled with one of the cookie cutters. “DD.” Diana looked up, her hands freezing. “Cayde would not want you to carry on like this,” She reached out and cupped Diana’s cheek, “He wouldn’t want to see you this way. Missing out on times with your loved ones and beating yourself down.” She watched Diana closely, “You know he does not blame you, he told you as much, did he not?”

“Granny,” Diana’s voice broke, the pressure swirling around her threatened to crush her into scrap metal.

“You hunters,” Eva removed her hand from Diana’s cheek and waved it in a circle as she went back to prepping her surface, “You have this…debt ritual you go through yes? When someone you love is killed in cold blood and you…oh how did Cayde say it?”

“Settle the debt.” Diana finished, “Yeah. We uh, we avenge…or get revenge, depending on who you talk to.” She watched as Eva put the cookie dough onto the table and rolled it out with a wooden rolling pin. “That’s just the thing Granny.” This made Eva pause as she put away the rolling pin, “I went through hell to find Uldren Sov. I took down every one of those Barons he made and put a stop to them. I killed countless Scorn to work my way up to Uldren.”

Eva worked more slowly, listening as Diana ranted, her eyes unfocused and staring into nothing as she continued. “I pull him from the maw of a giant meatball with tentacles and teeth and put one of three bullets into him myself.” She lowered her voice, the feeling of pressure shifting from an overwhelming, towering force into the pinpoint of a knife in her side. “But that…that bastard.”

“DD.” Eva scolded lightly, watching as Diana began pressing the cookie cutter into the cookie dough a little to hard, the tone in her voice shifting from loss and pain to anger and hatred. Her posture went rigid, her arms shaking slightly, causing objects on the table to rattle slightly.

“Uldren Sov, is walking around…hiding out near the city…as a guardian.” Diana finished, going still, the cookie cutter still pressed into the dough. She waited a few moments before pulling it free and moving on, making more. “It just…makes me so angry to think that he, he of all people Granny, gets to come back as a Guardian. The one who took away one of the greatest Guardians of all time…” When Diana had reached the middle of the dough, she let Eva take the cookie cutter from her and start on the other side. Di busied herself by placing the freed cookies onto a pan to be put into the oven, grateful that Eva wasn’t trying to lecture her the way some of the Warlocks and Titans had when they had witnessed her reaction to the rumors.

Neither spoke for a while, finishing the prep work for the cookies and sliding the pan into the new oven before taking up the task of cleaning up the station. A few people stopped by to wish Eva a Happy Dawning, get recipes and ask about cookie deliveries, offering a nod and a Dawning greeting to Diana. Some had remarked how they were happy to see Di up and moving again rather than lying in a open, strange area as she had taken to doing when she had no work to be done.

When the timer on the counter buzzed, Eva turned it off and removed the cookies from the oven before lying them on the counter to cool. Diana watched as the old woman worked, making icing in different colors and preparing bags to start decorating the cookies with. It wasn’t until she started washing dishes in the small make-shift sink that she spoke again, drawing Di’s attention.

“I understand how, complicated the matter must be.” She offered as Diana picked up a rag and began drying the bowls and utensils they had used. “You had a lot of justified hatred toward the Awoken Prince and his Scorn.” She said the word with a level of distaste that surprised Diana. “And you ‘settled the debt’ as Cayde would say. But…” Eva dried her hands and sighed, “The Traveler thought that one worthy of fighting on the side of humanity.”

“He—” Diana felt the rage boil inside her chest, an itch to her finger that longed to kill something that deserved it.

“I said ‘that one’, I didn’t say Uldren Sov.” Eva warned her with a stern look. “When you Guardians are woke up, you don’t remember anything of your past life. You wake up with no identity and a clean slate, right? You do not hold any grudges toward anyone you would have known in your past life.”

Diana said nothing, she had heard others try with this reasoning before, but she wanted to hear nothing of it. She was still too angry, too hurt to admit that there was truth behind it as Eva continued. “His body might be up and moving around, he may even still look the same, but he is not Uldren Sov anymore. If he is hiding out, he is probably too scared to come to the City. I would say that those who had taken notice of him and know what Uldren Sov did while he was alive, have tried to settle the debt again.”

As she spoke, Eva tapped the cookies, testing their temperature before handing Diana a bag with the end clipped off, black icing inside. She started decorating her own portion of the cookies, covering them in the black icing before using a small metal stick to fill in all the holes and move on to the next cookie.

“He has no memory of what he did to Cayde because the man who killed Cayde is dead. This is a guardian. Not Uldren Sov.”

“Just the meat-suit,” Diana mumbled, remembering something that Cayde had told her long ago, before the Red War—when she was still new to being a Guardian and didn’t understand the new concept of Death to the world.

“I don’t like to word it quite like that…but yes.” Eva offered, nodding her head as she swapped bags to a red one and began decorating the outer edges. “Cayde’s debt was settled and while it does not mean that you should go out and be best friends with this new Guardian—I think it does mean that you need to learn to let go of some of that anger concerning Uldren, my dear.” Eva glanced up as Diana’s hands stopped moving, her cookies less immaculate than Eva’s. “You did your part. Uldren paid his price. You wouldn’t want to be held responsible for something you feel you didn’t do, would you?”  

Diana closed her eyes, and felt the twist of the knife in her side, how could she start to feel guilty about holding a grudge now? To him? She remembered the shock on his face, the way he replaced his helmet and how deftly he had gone into hiding. Rumors hadn’t circulated in a while about a new Hunter on the edges of the city. Would she ever be able to forgive the walking body that had been Uldren? Would she ever be able to look at him and know him by another name? Or would he always be Uldren Sov. Reef born Awoken Prince. Cayde’s murderer?

Diana slowly went back to working on her cookies, lining the sides with red and attempting the lions crest that Eva walked her through as her mind walked in circles. The knife pain subsided, the pressure faded away as Eva loaded the cookies into a box and held them out to Di. On the box was a little sticker, a label written. To: Zavala, From: Diana-3.

“Oh no,” Eva complained as she looked through the cabinets the frames had constructed, “I am out of ingredients.”

“I’ll get you some Granny.” Di offered as she lowered the box to her hip level, “I think I need some fresh air anyway.”

[babblingblondegenius]

Felicity Megan Smoak-Queen rules the roost aka the Queen residence

We been knew that Oliver will do anything she says and William should know by now who runs the world (or will, once she gets Smoak Tech launched).  EPISODE SPOILERS AND SPOILER-ISH SPECULATION AHEAD...

There’s an old saying ‘If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!’ and clearly having had Moira Queen as a mother, Oliver knows this well.  So when mama Felicity says no pancakes until we talk, there will be no pancakes.  In the interest of full disclosure, it took a while for William to grow on me.  I blame the writers (for more than I could ever possibly write about but let’s focus on William right now).  But tonight I was #TeamWilliam.  As much as it hurts him to hear, Oliver needs to know how his decisions have affected and do affect his family.  He is so worried about redeeming himself to the team and the city but he needed to start with his wife and son.  So I truly appreciate that they gave William a voice.  

William not only used that voice to call out Oliver but to call his grandparents.  I don’t believe William did that to lash out at Oliver (okay, maybe a little) but to regain control.  William didn’t have a say when Oliver sent him away in season 4.  William didn’t have a say when Samantha died and Oliver assumed custody in season 5.  William didn’t have a say when Oliver cut a deal with the FBI at the end of season 6.  Felicity had talked to William about the realities of this life and fallibility of Oliver Queen.  Felicity, more than anyone, knows that Oliver defaults to making decisions alone and isn’t always forthcoming with the truth.  Felicity chose to leave when Oliver didn’t tell her about William and didn’t include her in his decision to send him away forever.  Felicity chose to stay even though Oliver didn’t tell her about the sacrifice he made for the team.  And as Felicity knows well and William has learned, loving Oliver Queen isn’t always easy.

Of course in true Arrow fashion, the timing is bizarre.  William lived with Oliver (and then Oliver and Felicity once they were married) for all of season 6.  Their apartment was shot to smithereens during dinner.  Oliver outed himself as GA, went to prison for what was supposed to be a life sentence, and William went with Felicity into witness protection, where they were attacked.   Instead of going to live with his grandparents, he is sent off to boarding school.  Last episode, he was pissed at Felicity for that decision and now one episode later, he decides he wants to have a normal life?!?   Kiddo, that’s not possible with these two. :/

One of the best parts of the episode was Oliver defending Felicity to William’s grandparents.  Felicity has cared for and treated William as her son.  She was willing to die fighting Diaz to protect him.  She has loved and nurtured him and I’m very glad that Oliver recognizes that.  And I think William does too.

I’m a fan of horror movies so I was really looking forward to seeing Stan terrorize the team.  Except I wasn’t nervous or on the edge of my seat like I should have been.  I was bored because the flash-forwards have sucked all the suspense out of the show.  TBH I probably wouldn’t have really cared when DD got her throat slit regardless but I already knew she wasn’t going to die.  I thought they might kill Curtis so I was just confused when it didn’t happen.  I am a little concerned how much I related to Stan.  He was wielding a knife but dropping some major truth bombs about NTA to Oliver.  They aren’t your friends and you shouldn’t trust them.  Preach it Stan.  So while I loved Oliver, Felicity, and William working as a team to take down Stan without anyone else’s help, it kinda sucks Stan isn’t the big bad and it looks like Diaz is back next week.  Yawn, no surprises there. 

 Arrow did drop a couple of ‘surprises’ tonight, if things the fandom has known for months count as surprises lol.  The first surprise was Arrow letting Curtis live.  I’m okay with it since he did me a solid before he left and gave Felicity his part of Helix so she is now free and clear to establish Smoak Tech.  #finally!!!!  The second surprise is that Felicity is pregnant / Mia is Olicity’s daughter.  The Olicity baby is on her way.  This has been a long time coming....  

 ...especially for Oliver.  Oliver may have been conflicted about his dual identity way back when but he knew if he ever let himself have a life beyond the mask, that life would be with Felicity and their own genius ninja babies.  

 However, since we have barely seen Oliver look at Felicity onscreen since winter hiatus, I’m gonna need the writers to provide proof of the conception.  ;) #theonlytimeflashbacksareacceptable

These are both huge developments in Felicity’s life and both will be part of her legacy.  I am keeping my fingers crossed (and expectations low lol) that the writers will show Felicity being a kick-ass mother-to-be as Overwatch and the future CEO of Smoak Tech.  There is no doubt in my mind that she can do it all. I’m just terrified after the last two episodes where she has been overlooked for her contributions, not deputized and completely separated from the team that the pregnancy just gives them more reason to sideline her.  I hope I’m wrong.  

I also hope I’m wrong about the very bleak picture that the flash-forwards are painting for Olicity.  It seems they are estranged from both their children.  The fact that Mia asked if William had dated Felicity means Felicity is single and that means that Oliver is dead.  It appears at this point that Oliver will be Oliver and sacrifice himself in the season 8 crossover which is right around the time when Mia will be due (talk about angst on top of angst) and Felicity will have to raise Mia alone.  Arrow asked a question in season 6 that I thought we got an answer to when Oliver went to prison.

But this scene wasn’t talking about prison, even a life sentence.  It was talking about a more permanent removal of Oliver from their lives.  What happens to Felicity Smoak without Oliver Queen?  I think Arrow intends to answer that question in the upcoming episodes.  Clearly, a world without Oliver is a dark dystopia but I believe Felicity will honor the dead by fighting, continuing the mission that Oliver began and trying to help the city as best she can.  Oliver is the love of her life; she has been in love with him from the start and she will honor his legacy until the end.   For the record, I’m not waxing poetic about this speculation.  I want Olicity to have the happy-ever-after they deserve.  After seven years of investment in this journey, I hate the thought of Oliver dying so young and never getting to live the life he so desperately wanted.  I hate the thought of Felicity feeling scared and alone like she did in witness protection, only there is no reprieve.  

Nope.  Not freaking acceptable.  Give these two their own version of the Queen mansion; Olicity raising their kids in a happy and loving home; in a city that has recognized them as heroes and is safer because of them; Felicity running her tech empire, and Oliver cooking for his family and doing whatever makes him happy and fulfilled.  Let our heroes live long lives to see the fruits of their labor and the difference their sacrifices made.  <3

As always, thank you to the fandom’s amazing gifmakers!  :)  6x11 gif credit:  Felicity Smoak gifs and 6x18 gif credit: M-Art Revenge

[daresplaining]

Hello! I've seen you guys mention Mr Fear a few times and his power and dynamic with Matt sounds fascinating. Could you elaborate on it when you get a mo? From what I know I'd love to see a version of him in S4

    Ooh, yes, of course! There have been several versions of Mr. Fear, and they’ve all been nasty. (And yes, it would have been nice to get one of them in the show. I was really rooting for that.) I mostly know Mr. Fear in the context of Daredevil, which is where he/they originated, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on here, though I know at least one of them has appeared elsewhere as well. I appreciate the various Mr. Fears not just because they are terrifying antagonists, but also because of the sheer variety with which the basic premise– artificially inducing fear– has been depicted over the years. This has kept the identity fresh, and has helped them become more than just cheap knock-offs of DC’s Scarecrow.

    If you just want reading recommendations, below are all of the issues I will be covering in this post. They encompass the full range of Mr. Fear’s history in Daredevil, from 60s wackiness to 2000s noir, and I think they’re all worth reading if you’re looking for the full Mr. Fear experience.

Daredevil volume 1 #6

Daredevil volume 1 #54-55

Daredevil volume 1 #90-91

Marvel Team-Up volume 1 #92 (not digitized)

Daredevil volume 1 #222

Daredevil volume 1 #314-315 (not digitized)

Fear Itself: The Home Front #5, “A Moment with… Mr. Fear”

Daredevil volume 1 #363-367 and 371-375 

Daredevil volume 2 #95-106

    If you want plot summaries and character commentary, read on: 

      The first Mr. Fear was introduced way back in Daredevil #6, as the leader of the Fellowship of Fear (a trio that also consisted of the Ox and the Eel). This first version had the fantastically supervillain-y name of Zolton Drago, and an appropriately wacky origin story: He is a humble sculptor, dismayed by the failure of his wax museum, who makes an astonishing discovery while mixing up chemical concoctions intended to bring his wax statues to life. 

Drago: “I did discover something after all! Something I never expected! I’ve found a way to fill any foe with indescribable fear!!”

Caption: “For long weeks, the strange, haunted man worked, refining his discovery, learning all he could about the chemicals involved…”

Drago: “Perfect! Now I know that I can make all the “Fear Gas” I need! With such a discovery, I could become the most successful criminal who ever lived! […] I’ve modified an ordinary pistol to fire my new “Fear Pellets”! And now, for psychological purposes, I’ll create a costume… the perfect disguise for one who shall henceforth be known as… Mr. Fear!!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #6 by Stan Lee, Wally Wood, and Sam Rosen

    There’s a certain goofiness in most Silver Age villains– Daredevil’s, in particular– but I find Wally Wood’s depiction of Mr. Fear’s skull-and-cape look to be genuinely creepy, and his Fear Gas is no joke. When hit with it during his first encounter with the Fellowship of Fear, Matt is rendered helpless with terror, and barely escapes with his life. 

Matt: “Fumes! He fired a gas pellet at me! But, it isn’t tear gas! Nor is it poisonous! What can it be?”

Caption: “Suddenly, the sightless adventurer turns making a frantic effort to flee!”

Matt: “Both of them… about to attack me! No! Stay back! An air current! …Directly above me! That means an opening! It’s my one chance! If I can swing over in time! […] I just made it!”

    Matt manages to defeat Mr. Fear at the end of the issue by, uh… positioning himself in front of a fan (seriously). But this is only the beginning.

    Mr. Fear returns in Roy Thomas’s run, in Daredevil #54-55. This story starts with Matt faking his death to escape the consequences of a supervillain named Starr Saxon discovering his secret identity. His plan is to continue on as Daredevil and invent a new civilian persona for himself. But no sooner has he put this plan into action than Mr. Fear– who has recently been freed from prison– baits him on live television. Mr. Fear claims he can prove, without using his Fear Pellets, that Daredevil is a coward. And… he does!

Mr. Fear: “I neglected to mention my new power– to fill you with frenzied fear– with a mere gesture!”

Matt: “Tell me another one, friend! Now to– No– NO! That tingling I feel– that sudden sinking sensation! Drago was right! Suddenly, I feel– deathly afraid! Getting dizzy– just realizing how high we are–! And now– I’m falling! Nnooo!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #54 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

    There are several stories during this period that focus on Daredevil’s reputation being tarnished, and this is one of them. The adoring public, who was watching the fight, now think Daredevil is a wuss, and Matt fears they might be right. It’s all a bit humorously melodramatic, but what matters is that Mr. Fear seems to have become an even more serious threat, since Matt is struck by that same fear the next time he goes out as DD, when Mr. Fear isn’t even around. In the end, after a quick call (courtesy of Foggy) to the prison where Drago was being held, Matt discovers the truth: Zolton Drago is dead and the new Mr. Fear is actually Starr Saxon himself, who stole Drago’s costume and equipment after murdering him. Matt confronts him with this revelation, after which Saxon accidentally falls to his death. 

Matt: “Funny how Saxon died lunging for my billy club– the very weapon he’d been using to make me turn coward when we fought! Once Foggy called the warden, it was as simple as ABC! When Saxon briefly possessed Matt’s cane he rigged the club with these specially-timed Fear-Gas pellets… which his flying disk triggered during our first battle! It was his warped revenge on me… for ‘killing’ Matt Murdock to escape his blackmail threats! And, with that erudite explanation, I rest my case! DD, it’s been a looonng day!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #55 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

    (Just for the record, Matt should have known it was Saxon from the beginning, because he would have recognized his voice/scent.)

    Logic suggests this would be the end of Mr. Fear… but no! Matt and Natasha  encounter him in San Francisco, in Daredevil #90-91…

Caption: “His arm jerks out– fingers brush– and then, the Widow tumbles away, her ebon-suited body twisting– her hands flailing, legs spinning–”

Matt: “TASHA! She froze up– couldn’t make the extra effort needed to complete the swing! Something about her heartbeat– rushing, panicky! She’s terrified! I’ve got to chance it– push away from the flagpole, try to grab her before it’s– too late!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #90 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

    If the previous story was mostly melodrama, this one is viscerally frightening. Our heroes are struck, without warning, with bouts of overwhelming terror– a dangerous affliction for people who lead such risk-filled lives. With Mr. Fear seemingly long dead and no obvious source for these attacks, Matt and Natasha are helpless to prevent them. 

Caption: “This is how it begins: as suddenly as a rifle shot, a surge of inexplicable fear courses through Matt’s arced body– and with that fear, all thoughts of contacting a friend on the staff of the Daily Chronicle seem to dissolve into darkness– abruptly buried under a grim sensation of choking– A sensation that builds as he spins helplessly at the end of his billy club wire! Trying desperately to regain control, Matt finds himself unable to think– and becomes increasingly aware of the terror clutching at his heart– a fright unlike any he’s ever felt before– a fear without cause– a horror without reason!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #90 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

    Natasha is convinced the attacks are tied to a mission from her past, engineered by one of her former espionage allies. But in a surprise twist, the real culprit is a man named Larry Cranston– one of Matt’s fellow law school alumni, and one of his new law partners since moving to San Francisco. It turns out that Star Saxon was not the only person to benefit from the original Mr. Fear’s death, and with his jet pack, Cranston has been attacking Matt and Natasha from a distance.  

Cranston: “I heard a sound from the room across the hall– voices arguing. A door was open– I looked in, and saw a man called Starr Saxon shoot another man– Zolton Drago, the original Mr. Fear. Drago lived long enough to tell me where he’d hidden his costume and equipment– he thought it would buy his life– Unfortunately, it wasn’t mine to give. He died as I held him.”

Matt: “But why did you do all this, Larry? And how did you know–”

Cranston: “When Matt Murdock moved to San Francisco with Madame Natasha– and Daredevil with the Black Widow– it wasn’t hard. And– I’ve always despised you, Murdock. In school, it was always– Murdock this, Murdock that– and I tell you, I’d had ENOUGH!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #91 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

    Cranston isn’t the only person to notice the coincidence of Matt and DD both moving to California with Natasha– it’s actually amazing more people don’t figure out his secret identity because of this– but it is significant that he knows, since his motivations are so personal. His irrationally intense hatred of Matt, and their shared history, makes him a particularly eerie figure among the ranks of DD’s villains, and it will come back in his most horrifying appearance, in Ed Brubaker’s run (which I’ll be covering later). While he appears to fall to his death at the end of this issue (that sort of thing happened a lot in early Daredevil…), he isn’t gone yet. 

    Marvel Team-Up #92 introduces the next guy to inherit the Mr. Fear identity– Alan Fagan, Larry Cranston’s nephew. Like his predecessors, he attempts to find new, more insidious uses for the Fear Gas…

Alan: “Ha! I can’t wait to see the faces of those buffoons who said Alan Fagan would never amount to anything… They dared to laugh at me… because I kept getting thrown out of schools… wasted my father’s fortune… Well, I don’t need his money now– or their fancy schools! I’ve got something better than that now! They won’t laugh at me anymore– because I’ll make them deadly afraid of me… and I owe it all to you, Uncle Larry! You despised me– but your money and your Mr. Fear costume still fell into my hands after you died! I have the imagination to use the identity in ways neither you nor the original Mr. Fear ever dreamed of! My genius requires a large-scale reign of terror– and this radioactive isotope I stole tonight will bring it about!”

Marvel Team-Up vol. 1 #92 by Steven Grant, Carmine Infantino, and Carl Gafford

    (Larry is around Matt’s age. Don’t ask me why his nephew looks so old.)

    Alan is a little too cartoony in this issue to seem like a serious threat, but he is still dangerous. 

Peter: “H-how… did you d-do this to m-me?”

Alan: “My Fear Potion, insect– injected through this ring when I hit you! I usually administer it as a gas, in dilute form– but a man of your power required a full-strength dose! You are mine, Spider-Man, body and soul– and we are going to conduct a little experiment! I am curious as to just how many injections of pure Fear Potion you can receive… before you die– of fear!”

    Fortunately, Spider-Man and Hawkeye are able to take him out and send him to prison, but even that is not the end… 

    Daredevil volume 1#222, one of my favorite issues in Denny O’Neil’s run, opens with this chilling scene, during Glorianna O’Breen’s return flight from Ireland to the U.S.: 

Caption: “This is Aer Lingus flight number 2241, originating at Dublin and bound for Kennedy. It will never arrive.”

Hijacker: “Stewardess– tell the pilot to put this crate down at the Tinkerville airport.”

Glori: “A man… with a wee plastic gun– the kind that the detectors don’t detect. A man of violence… bloodshed… the things I’ve seen so much of at home. Is there no escapin’ them, then? No!”

Caption: “Sudden, shattering the near-silence of the cabin– the shot sends a bullet into an unexpected target…”

Hijacker: “Aiiieeeee!”

Glori: “Funny odor… gas… Noooooo”

Pilot: “[…] You guys smell something?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #222 by Denny O’Neil, David Mazzucchelli, and Ken Feduniewicz

    Matt, Foggy, and Becky receive news that Glori’s plane has crashed in a New Jersey swamp, and Matt and Foggy rush to the scene, fearing the worst. 

Cop: “…Sorry I can’t tell you more, Mr. Murdock. But your friend Ms. O’Breen isn’t here.”

Matt: “Are you absolutely sure, Officer?”

Cop: “’Fraid so, sir. There were only fifty passengers on the plane– and we’ve accounted for everyone except Ms. O’Breen and two others– a Dr. Sadd and a local man named Julius Mudd. What I figure happened is, they were… well, their bodies were thrown clear. We’ll find ‘em when the rain stops.”

Matt (Caption): “Bodies… death– Another woman dead? Like Elektra? Like Heather? Another of my women dead?”

    Refusing to believe that Glori was killed in the crash, Matt changes into his DD suit and sets out into the swamp to find her. Partway into his hunt, he runs into Natasha, who is searching for one of the other missing passengers– Dr. Ephesus Sadd, who acquired and subsequently improved a sample of the Fear Gas for use in chemical warfare. One of the great strengths of this story is the fact that the antagonist remains off-panel for significant chunks of the issue. Matt himself is not under attack, and so we, just like him, are left fearing for Glori’s safety as he and Natasha race to her rescue.

    Meanwhile, Glori and Dr. Sadd are living through a nightmare. They have been kidnapped by the hijacker and his associates. It turns out that he was hired to assassinate Sadd and now– having seen his worth, but unaware of why he’s so valuable– he’s decided to hold him ransom instead. As the hijacker attempts to give Glori to his brother as a wife, Sadd decides to use his secret cargo to escape. 

Dr. Sadd: “Before the ceremony begins, I would like to deliver a… a sermon! Yes, a sermon. Always at weddings there is sermonizing. My topic will be fear. It is a subject dear to me– a subject I have studied… a subject I cherish like a child. I have seen fear drive men to splendid achievements and crush them like insects… It is the force which lifted mankind from the primeval ooze and which keeps us from being as angels–”

Hijacker: “Git on with the wedding.”

Dr. Sadd: “Yes, the wedding. I have brought a gift–!”

Glori: “No! Don’t do it!”

    When Matt and Natasha arrive, they encounter a horrific scene: Glori and her kidnappers, driven into a violent frenzy by fear. 

Matt: “–Glorianna! Glori… are you all right?”

Glori: “No… no… no no NONONONO”

Matt: “[…] I was expecting to find people whimpering in terror… which is what the original Mr. Fear’s gas caused.”

Natasha: “Obviously, Dr. Sadd changed the formula. Glorianna and the others are reacting like cornered rats.”

    The creepy conclusion of the issue is two-fold: It reveals a second version of the Fear Gas– one that drives people to lash out in fear, rather than being subdued by it. And it ends with Dr. Sadd dying of fear, despite the revelation that his canister of Fear Gas was empty– thus showing just how powerful terror, as a mere concept, can be. This is an issue in which Mr. Fear isn’t even present but is nevertheless still profoundly dangerous, and that sums up why he is such a good antagonist. Way back in Daredevil #6, Stan Lee commented that Mr. Fear shared certain similarities with the Purple Man, who had just been introduced two issues before, but these later stories are where those similarities really start to appear. Mr. Fear and the Purple Man are effective villains for similar reasons: they are both immensely powerful, manipulate basic facets of human nature, and can strike from a distance (or without even being directly involved at all!) with unpredictable and deadly consequences. 

    If this wasn’t creepy enough, Chichester goes full-on macabre with his Mr. Fear-centered story in Daredevil volume 1 #314-315 (not digitized yet– come on, Marvel!), in which he introduces another variation on Mr. Fear. This version is Alan Fagan’s daughter, Ariel, who uses the code name Shock, and who is both tragic and terrifying. While I’m generally not a fan of Scott McDaniel’s art style, it works to great effect here to depict the twisted gruesomeness of Shock’s physical appearance. 

Matt: “All I have to go by is the sudden shift in the crude patterns my radar blocks out for me– only a hint as to the radical transformation that has seemingly occurred. Perceptions become clouded in the sudden wave of warm gases that wrap around me, raising the hairs on the backs of my arms. I’m still trying to make sense out of the sensations, trying to form a mental picture of what I’m dealing with, when the gases turn suddenly cold– and unease becomes an uncontrollable rage. Intellect knows better, but emotion overrides. Guttural sounds crawl up out of both our throats as we throw ourselves together– a railing grapple empty of technique and filled with a purpose no higher than to tear each other apart. In my head, I know we’re stories above the hard city streets. In my heart, I just want her dead before we hit.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #314 by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Christie Scheele

    I think I’ve said it before, but I can’t say it enough– I love Chichester’s writing. What a way to end an issue!

    Shock is yet another reinvention of the concept of Mr. Fear; her powers come from her body itself. She arranges for her father to be attacked in prison. His attackers cut the skin off his face(!), which Shock then uses to brew a concoction that when ingested, causes her to undergo a grotesque physical transformation and gives her the ability to literally exhale Fear Gas. (The idea is that her father’s skin absorbed traces of the gas, which could then be distilled). She uses these powers to cause mass hysteria by making people hallucinate things that anger and disgust them. Those in her sway turn primal and bloodthirsty. Matt’s battles with her turn into attempts to keep crowds of random civilians from killing each other. 

    Shock is also more sympathetic than any of the other Fear-styled characters. We learn that her father was neglectful, and she has been left alone to care for her ill mother. Her decision to take over her father’s identity comes from a desire to both overshadow his legacy, and to make money to pay for her mother’s treatments. 

Shock: “That’s better. That’s steady… Oh, I worry so, Mommy! I’ve always worried! […] Keep going, that’s it, you’re doing fine…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #315 by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Christie Scheele

    Matt subdues Shock by taking her by surprise, and tries to ensure that both she and her mother receive the help they need. He hopes this is the end of his Mr. Fear problem at last, but he is wrong. Sadly, Shock doesn’t appear again (I really like her), but her father recovers from his face-stripping and much later resumes the Mr. Fear identity– notably, just in time to provide this funny interlude during Marvel’s “Fear Itself” event: 

Alan: “This is just terribly, terribly wrong. I mean, really– I’m Mr. Fear… but it’s not me making everybody queasy. Used to be I’d be the one dragging everybody’s deepest fears out of their closets, for all the world to see. Now the bar’s been raised– or is it lowered? Whatever. With everybody running around in a state of anxiety, nobody gives a damn about a guy named Mr. Fear. Yesterday, some loser stops me in front of Penn Station, gets in my face… yells, ‘Hey– Doctor Doom!’ Doctor Doom, for god’s sake. I mean, really– can you believe this?”

Fear Itself: The Home Front #5, “A Moment with… Mr. Fear” by Howard Chaykin and Edgar Delgado

    In an overarching plot that starts toward the end of  Karl Kesel’s run and extends all the way through Joe Kelly’s, Larry Cranston returns, miraculously alive and working as a law professor at Columbia University. (If anyone has started to get their Mr. Fears mixed up, Cranston is the one who attended law school with Matt and knows his secret identity.) He is more dangerous than ever, and works from the shadows to avoid detection. Armed with an extra potent version of the Fear Gas, Cranston enslaves people to do his bidding, sending his agents into Matt’s life to create chaos by infecting others with the gas. These victims are helpless to fight back, and Cranston seems to be able to engineer how they react. When convenient, they lash out with violence, becoming dangerous to everyone around them– while others are rendered obedient and docile by fear. 

Matt: “Vinnie’s heartbeat is erratic, and his sweat carries a trace of ammonia… His body is rejecting something through the skin… the remnants of Fear Gas… Have to get through to him somehow…”

Matt: “…Vinnie, I’m here to help you. Vinnie… your wife and daughter miss you.”

Vinnie: “M-my wife? I– I don’t have a family. I can’t have a family… I don’t deserve one… *Gasp* Oh god. A-all I have… m-means nothing… nothing but the truth… yes… yes… I’ll be good…”

Matt: “(His voice… so distant… almost as if he’s not speaking to me… His pulse just sped up… shallow breathing… Could he be hallucinating?) They miss you, Vinnie. They want you to come home.”

Vinnie: “[…] Fear controls everything. Knows everything. Hears everything. Fear is God. I serve him… forever…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #366 by Joe Kelly, Gene Colan, and Christie Scheele

    As Matt continues, barely, to fight back, Cranston increases his efforts to tear him down, concluding with sending a serial killer cop into his life and then framing Karen Page for his (the cop’s) murder. Karen is put on trial, and Cranston gleefully sabotages the proceedings from behind the scenes. Besieged on both sides of his life by someone who seems like an all-powerful force, Matt nearly gives in to despair.   

Cranston: “How hang the scales of justice, Counselor? The blind lady treats her consort well, I pray.”

Matt: “(Kill him. No. Make him talk.) Why? Why Karen? Why us?”

Cranston: “Come now, Murdock… what good is a nom de guerre if I don’t back it up from time to time… I want you to lose your faith in everything. Your woman. Yourself. The system of justice you so carelessly flaunt when it suits you… because once you strip a man of his faith… all that’s left is fear. That… and an ex-junkie whore girlfriend in jail. Oh, I’m sorry… did that last part slip out?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #375 by Joe Kelly, Chris Claremont, Ariel Olivetti, Christie Scheele, et al.

    Even when Matt finally manages to track down evidence against Cranston that he can use to prove his guilt and Karen’s innocence, he still nearly loses, because Cranston has a member of the jury under his sway. This juror nearly succeeds in releasing Fear Gas to impact the verdict, when he is stopped by– of all people– the Kingpin. 

Matt: “What do you want, Fisk?”

Fisk: “Tut tut… such venom… towards a friend helping a friend. A present. The ghoul used hypnosis so you couldn’t smell the gas. Clever… but he should have chosen a juror with a stronger heart. He’ll live, don’t worry. Just with a pacemaker.”

Matt: “You– why? Why?”

Fisk: “Simple. Someone was playing in my sandbox… and no one gets to break you but me. Congratulations, Counselor. You won your woman’s freedom. With a little help from a friend. I trust you will remember the favor… when I return.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #375 by Joe Kelly, Chris Claremont, Ariel Olivetti, Christie Scheele, et al.

    (D’aww…)

    It’s a shaky victory, but it lasts all the way until the end of volume 2– when Ed Brubaker gives us the most upsetting Mr. Fear story to date in #95-106. 

    The setup for this story is similar to that of its predecessor: Matt’s life starts falling into chaos for reasons that aren’t initially clear. His law partner, Becky Blake, is urged by an old friend to help Melvin Potter (the Gladiator), who is accused of killing people while in prison. Matt and Foggy agree to help, since they have a long-standing relationship with Melvin and suspect foul play. But then, Melvin is sprung from prison and goes on a rampage, before nearly killing Milla Donovan (Matt’s wife) and then trying to commit suicide. This coincides with an increase in violent crimes throughout Hell’s Kitchen. Becky’s friend kills himself under mysterious circumstances. Matt knows someone has engineered all of this, but has no idea who.

Cranston: “Hello, Matt… I thought it was time I said hi. You can hear me… right?”

Matt: “What? Who is this?”

Cranston: “Heh, little joke. I know you can hear me, Matt. But I can’t hear you. And don’t bother trying to recognize my voice… even your ears couldn’t get past this voice-scrambler.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #97 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth

    Before too long, he learns the truth– Larry Cranston is back, and is more powerful than ever. With an array of underlings from all walks of life at his command and a new arsenal of fear-inducing chemicals (including a new drug he is distributing on the streets), he appears capable of just about anything. He singlehandedly throws Matt’s life, and Hell’s Kitchen’s criminal underworld, into chaos. 

Cranston: “It was so simple, I can’t believe I didn’t discover it myself… the myriad ways in which fear affects the human brain. But it took Professor Dante Govich only minutes to realize the full potential of the drugs from my arsenal. His experiments– once he came under my persuasion– once he looked at me with fear and awe– made all this possible. Dante understood the links between fear and love… the synaptic paths from desire to paranoia to insanity. Under my thumb, he created new drugs beyond anything I could have dreamed of.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #102 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth

    The whole time Matt remains one step behind, and has barely figured out who his enemy is before he gets doused with one of the new versions of the Fear Gas. As a celebration of the hundredth issue of the volume, #100 features a visually stunning and thematically disturbing sequence of Matt tearing his way through the city streets, hallucinating enemies all around while still helpless to attacks from Mr. Fear’s minions. 

Matt: “Your lies… mean nothing! You hear me, Fisk?! You hear me?!”

Cop: “… Heh heh… heh… Why do you keep… henh… calling me… Fisk? …Please… just stop hitting me…”

Matt: “Oh, God… No.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #100 by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic, Michael Lark, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

    But Cranston’s most disturbing attack is inflicted upon Milla, Matt’s wife. Without Matt’s knowledge, she is dosed with a concoction that amps up her emotions and makes her violent when angry. Her new condition is the final blow to Matt’s mental state, as she risks jail time for accidentally killing someone. Cranston baits Matt by engineering her release, then– the moment Matt starts to experience some hope– has one of his minions sabotage her into committing another violent act, which gets her locked away for good. 

Matt: “Milla, what have you done? What have they done to you? Milla, I can hear your heartbeat… your breathing… It’s me, baby… calm down… It’s Matt… I’m here.”

Milla: “But… I don’t understand… I don’t… I don’t know… I don’t know what happened…”

Matt: “I know. I know you don’t. It’s not your fault.”

Matt (caption): “I hold her tight, but she’s already gone. I can hear the sirens approaching from three blocks away. An ambulance and three police cruisers. They’ll be here soon… to take her away again.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #104 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

    Brubaker’s run is the darkest, most brutal Daredevil run to date, and this story plays a major part in that. As his failures pile up, Matt grows more and more desperate, more and more willing to cross lines he might not have crossed before. After beating and torturing Cranston’s whereabouts from one of his pawns, Matt hunts him down, ready to wrest the Fear Gas antidote from him any way he can… at which point Cranston deals the final blow to Matt’s psyche. 

Cranston: “There is no cure, Matt. That’s why I had to kill Dante Govich… He was my chemist… Can’t believe that didn’t occur to you, Mr. Valedictorian. So go ahead, hit me some more. It means nothing… Everything you do means nothing.”

Matt: “No…”

Cranston: “’Cause I beat you weeks ago… you just didn’t know it.”

Daredevil vol. 2  #105 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

    This story is heartbreaking on every level. Matt goes through all of that, and achieves nothing. He loses. Cranston gets the last laugh. It’s also not a major supervillain victory. It’s not like Cranston was trying to take over the world, or anything. His motivations are personal and frivolous, and that somehow makes it worse. He just tears Matt’s life to pieces because he wants to, because he can, and because Matt is powerless to stop him, and then gets a little chuckle about it afterward. Of course, the real victim of this story is Milla, who is still, to this day, locked up in a psychiatric hospital– a heartbreaking (and, frankly, criminal) fate for such a fantastic character. This is also the last Matt has seen of Larry Cranston. He hasn’t had chance to retaliate, and in my opinion, this victory alone would cement Mr. Fear as one of the most dangerous Daredevil antagonists. The fact that the various Mr. Fears have been at the center of 55 years-worth of genuinely disturbing stories just further backs this up. 

[moonraccoon-exe]

Consider this: FFXV x Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney. Noctis inheriting Caelum and Co. from Regis, advised by long-time family friend Cor. Cor being adoptive dad to Prompto, and the whole first case where you meet Maya. Ignis and Gladiolus being Edgeworth and Gumshoe. Caligo as Prosecutor Payne. Weskham as Godot. Umbra as Missile. Just imagine that~

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

YES

YES SO HARD OHMYGO DSAIJDJFKGDFSDKF SDOKFJ

YES OHMYGOD DEAR LORDS ABOVE THIS IS THE AU I DIDN’T KNOW I DESPERATELY NEEDED AND NOW I’M IN A…MIGHTY  N E C E S S I T Y HHGNHNFGH

*THROWS TANTRUM*

I    WANT   THIS    A     U     AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Dude, yes so hard!!

Defense attorney Noctis! I mean, he already has the black spiky-on-the-back hair and the blue thematic! Besides the non-impressed sort of attitude at times, where the bouncy sidekick is all “HEY HEY LOOK AT THIS FUNNY THING :D” and he’s just “…eh.” BUT without being a too-serious too-dead-inside person. It fits so ridiculously good, dammit!

Veteran defense attorney Cor, I just- *fangasms* HNNNNNNNGGGGGG, YES! Dear Cor being a mentor to dear Noct, aah. Imagine that; the two standing at the defense’s side, Cor being quiet and just going with hinting Noct at what to do. “Did you hear that, Noct? The witness thinks he’s so smart that he didn’t notice he just let out some vital bit of info. You should press him, but be careful with how you word it.”

Hnghngh

Maya!Prompto. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

BUT IT FITS SO GOOD!? The happy cinnamon roll that’s too pure for this world and is always such a happy presence. Always smiling, being a hyperactive little ball of adorableness, enjoying of kids’ TV shows, and being the most loyal of companions to Noct. :’) The very loyal and happy sidekick, that remains badass in his own way. THIS IS A MIGHTY NECESSITY THAT I HAVE FOR THIS AU WITH THESE ROLES GODDAMMIT *punches through wall*

Everything fits so nicely, but Maya!Prompto is definitely the most accurate. Even when they’re sad it fits! You can just imagine the one frame where Maya has the head slightly down, eyes on Phoenix, and tears on the corner of her eyes, and see Prompto like that instead almost like he was made to take the role aaaaaah!

Ignis as Edgeworth and Gladio as Gumshoe COULDN’T HAVE EVER GOTTEN ANY BETTER.

Prosecutor Ignis, though, CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT. UNGH. To start with, Ignis in fancy suits is already fantastic enough and I need it. Now imagine him going “Objection!” and being all smug and confident about his stuff. I just…love this.

And it also fits really nicely, considering the entire “childhood friends” with Noct! :O   AAAAAH

Gumshoe reminded me of Gladio in some ways, but there were two or three parts where I was like “this is ABSOLUTELY some sort of Gladio”. I mean, Gumshoe likes puppies (he’s super fond of Missile, it seems!), he’s this big and tough looking guy but he’s really just a giant teddy bear, always laughing, and even a little naïve at times, he likes flirting with girls at times, but he’s not rude or bad with them, he has this absolute devotion to Ignis/Edgeworth…and not to forget about that time when Gumshoe arrived to Phoenix’s office asking for a job, saying he could be useful and cook, and said his speciality is “Instant noodles”. Hahahahaha!! And later on he says something about his salary being so poor that he’s been living on instant noodles for who knows how long. ABSOLUTELY GLADIO!

Caligo would work great as Payne just for the fact that they’re both annoying AND I HATE BOTH OF THEM.

B   U   T

I HAVE A BETTER ROLE FOR CALIGO.

Just imagine….it’s Caligo but he takes the role of one..

Prosecutor Manfred Von Karma.

*EXPLODES*

I mean, it would be SOOOOOOOO cool considering Edgeworth Ignis! Manfred and Caligo both are men older than Miles/Ignis, both killed a figure that was senior to Miles/Ignis, both hold a huge grudge against Miles/Ignis because Miles/Ignis did something better than them or ruined them in some way and both Miles and Ignis actually physically INJURED them, which is the reason both want revenge on the younger ones and want to ruin their lives, and both are always all “lmao I am so perfect”.

Imagine Caligo taking Ignis under his wing pretending to be an ally but really he’s just waiting for the moment to ruin him…D:

*CHIMES IN THROUGH THE WALL*

ARANEA IS FRANZISKA, RIGHT?

I mean, grey-haired dominatrix with a whip that goes around smacking Noctis and everyone but who’s just doing her job and is actually amazing at it B|

(Omg, Gladio being scared of Aranea, ahahaha)

Weskham as Godot.

OhmygOD….Weskahm as Godot….hnHNGHNGNFGNH-

*SHORT CIRCUITS*

*SHARP INHALE*

I LOVED WESKHAM AS HE IS. I LOVED GODOT AS HE IS.

AND YOU JUST MADE A MIXTURE OF THE TWO!?!?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

DUDE, YES!! IT FITS SO AMAZINGLY WELL AAAAAAAAAAAH

The fancy guy in a fancy vest who talks fancily. I NEED THAT.

Imagine Weskham at the prosecutor’s side. He already has the clothes. And now he has a mug of coffee (or perhaps a cup of Altissian wine), and he has that smug smile and shakes the head.

Oh boi, did you see what you just did with Godot!Weskham?

You just shipped Weskham/Cor and made it very much canon, oh my~ ewe

speAKING OF cOr thOUGH

CAN WE PLEASE….NOT KILL HIM, THOUGH? ;A;

Hnhfgnhnfgmhfg, I know in some way Mia lives even if just through Maya and Pearly and in random flashes Phoenix has, but…it’s…not…the same hgnhgfngf

I mean, it would make quite a story! Your second case as an attorney, where they killed one of your dad’s best friends and who was a dear friend to you, and your mentor, and the defendant is no other but COR’S SON HIMSELF what the fahk ohmyfgidkjgfmfd, THE SCANDAL! AAAAH!

…I just- *deep breath* I don’t have the heart to kill Cor… ;w;   Even less to make Prommy walk into his corpse…. ;w;    and be BLAMED for it… ;w;

I DON’T HAVE THE HEART TO DO ANY OF THAT, CAN WE KILL SOMEONE ELSE AND CAN COR LIVE PWEASE

When I first read “Umbra as Missile”, and partly because I was waking up and half asleep as I read it, I was like “Missile, who the hell is Missile. OhnO, surely Missile is a dog that appears later on in Apollo Justice or DD or SoJ and I haVEN’T PLAYED ANY OF THEM, YOU’RE SPOILING MEEEEEEEEEEEE oh wait no Missi- *gaASPS* MISSILE IS THE- AHAHAHA of coooooourse! HOW CUTE! C:”

Goddamit, this is the AU that’s ENDING ME and I happilly accept this end. BOTH GAMES ARE TOO GOOD UNGH MIXING THEM IS LIKE MIXING EPIC WITH EPIC, YOU GET EPIC SQUARE.

Just- imagine that. B|

It’s Final Gyakuten Saiban Fantasy XV. Also known as Final Ace Attorney Fantasy XV. It sounds- weird now that I read it, BUT IT’S THE MOST EPIC GAME/STORY YOU WILL EVER ENCOUNTER.

Noctis Wright Caelum, rookie defense attorney in the job. He likes blue and black suits and has a spiky black hair, and usually comes up with ideas as he’s on the go. He’s usually “wright” ;D

Meet his mentor! Cor Leonis, a more experienced defense attorney and friend to Noctis’ dad, an attorney retired due to health problems (now worries, he’s fine now that he gets to rest). Cor Leonis, usually coming off as rather serious and cold, but is actually a very caring and friendly ally during trial.

His son, Prompto, a rather bouncy and slightly hyperactive young boy, Noctis’ age, passionate for photography, and with rather poor comprehension of the law, BUT incredibly useful when it comes to seeing people’s lies and contradictions.

And on the prosecution’s side, we have one Ignis Scientia! With a mysterious background, Ignis is smart, calculating, sly, dark, and he’s tagged as a genius, having started at age 19/20 and not having lost one single case up until now. And his mentor, oh, yes, the man that took him under his wing when Ignis lost his father under mysterious circumstances…

Caligo von Uldor, a FUCKING PIECE OF GARBAGE.

And he grows up next to one grey haired and slightly aggressive, super sassy Aranea, who started prosecution at age THIRTEEN because she’s a bloody genius. And cheats sometimes. Because she’s still a mercenary as a lawyer but HEY I DIDN’T MAKE THE RULES.

And let’s not forget the friendly and adorable detective Gladiolus Amicitia, a guy that may come off as tough looking at first, but is really just a noodle-obsessed pet-lover flirty adorable precious angel that just wants justice and for everyone to be happy and for those he cares about to be safe. He has absolute devotion to and admires prosecutor Ignis Scientia a lot and would do ANYTHING for him… :’3

Detective Gladio likes to hang with the dog-in-training at the police department Umbra! A NICE FLUFFEEH ADORABLE LITTLE BOY THAT WILL EAT ALL THE SAMURAI HOT DOGS IN ONE GO!

And I would talk about the mysterious prosecutor Armaugh, and maybe also about Cor’s former and apparently now dead boyfriend defense attorney Weskham, but that’s- quite a long story and I’m not sure I should write it all XD

GASPS.

Bro.

Bro…

Twins Stella & Lunafreya…

YOU KNOW FOR WHICH ROLES.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*HEAD EXPLODES DUE TO MINDBLOW*

CAN TALCOTT BE PEARLY PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Yes. Simply…simply YES to this AU… ;A;

[[There’s no more under the cut other than my own thoughts. It’s not a long answer but I’ll add a keep reading here, buddy c:]]

I recently beat the Ace Attorney trilogy for the first time just a few weeks ago and I’m still absolutely enamored and in love with it. I didn’t think it would be more than just funny criminal cases, didn’t know there was an entire plot and character building and development in there, and I had of course close to not a single idea I would fall for this series SO DEEP AND SO HARD.

And now, thinking about it mixed with the GLORIOUS FFXV that is sorta special to me…

*SOBS*I CAN’T.

THIS IS THE PERFECT CROSSOVER/AU AND I’M STILL IN THAT NECESSITY FOR IT ADH AHSDAS DHA *BAWLS*

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me. As I was playing I was trying to think of some way to mix it with FFXV but didn’t put much brain in it. But YOU, my friend, you landed it PERFECTLY and so exquisitely. URGH. Your ask was so glorious to receive and to read through because YES to everything!!!

I’M ALL THE WAY INTO IT FOR ACE ATTORNEY AND FFXV /AND/ FOR ACE ATTORNEY X FFXV ASDKJFKSDJFDS ;A;

I was so happy to receive something AA too, ahaha. I don’t talk much about it because 99% of the people follow me due to FFXV but I’d do it gladly anytime, so I’m SUPER HAPPY that you talked about it with me. BOTH GAMES FILL ME SO MUCH OF SO MANY AND SO INTENSE FEELS HFNJGNF

Now I desperately need art for this. Godot!Weskham, Prosecutor!Ignis, Detective!Gladio…URGH. IT’S ALL TOO GOOD AND THE MENTAL IMAGES IN MY HEAD ARE BRILLIANT (ﾉД`)

GODS, thank you so much for reacing out to me with this LOVELY and wonderful ask. I’M SO INTO THIS HELL AND AU AND I’D GLADLY TALK ABOUT IT ANY DAMN TIME AGAIN KALSDJKLDSFJD

Thank you so, so, so much for dropping this INCREDIBLY LOVELY ask in! I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW EPIC IT TRULY IS, AT LEAST TO ME, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Now I’m gonna be thinking about this FOREVER

(; ω ; )

I hope you’re having a WONDERFUL day or night, buddy! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: A Real Kick in the Cunt

A while back, i saw this weirdly overproduced trailer for a flick call Promising Young Woman between Youtube videos and thought it looked interesting. I expected it to be kind of wonky. It felt like this sh*t should have went the way of, say, Terminal but i watched that so i figured why not watch this, too. I was intrigued by the look of the film and, after researching it a bit, found myself enthralled with the plot. In a year where the movie pickings are mad slim, will Promising Young Woman deliver?

The Good

Immediately, the music to this film hits you like a ton of bricks. You can tell that this soundtrack is going to be an intricate aspect of this cinematic experience. From the second that Charli XCX remix hits over those credits, you knew this was going to be an entire situation and i was totally down for it. This flick did not disappoint from that perspective.

I love the whole visual of this film. The way the camera frames everything, the saturation of color, the almost surreal nature of the visuals; They all coalesce into a real feast for the eyes. There is a very distinct presentation displayed and it feels as unique as a film like Atomic Blonde or Terminal. I kind of really love it.

Bro, i love this cast, man. It’s kind of amazing. Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Alfred Molina, Adam Brody, Alex Greenfield and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Like, this thing is straight up loaded to the gills with that star talent. I mean, they even got McLovin in on the action and none of them disappoint. That said, this is definitely Carey Mulligan’s movie.

There is a level of chemistry that runs through every performance in this film. It’s actually preppy palpable. It enriches the very core of this film and makes each relationship feel incredibly authentic.

Carey Mulligan turns in an amazing performance as the lead, Cassie Thomas. She feels like an extension of such violent heroines as Asami Yamazaki from Audition or Jen from Revenge. Cassie is intelligent, calculating, captivating, amazingly charismatic, and terrifyingly sinister. There is a real, underlying, malevolence to Cassie and i ate it all up. Mulligan delivers this with such precision, it’s unnerving.

Bo Burnham was lovely in his role as the love interest, Ryan Cooper. He has this awkward, earnest, energy that s the perfect counter to the abject disdain that Mulligan festers. Dude has some stand out scenes that really show his range as an actor. Dude is one of the best of his generation, Eight Grade showed us that, and that excellence carries over to this role, too. I’m looking forward to what he does next.

Emerald Fennell really directs her ass of in this thing. I’m familiar with her work from Killing Eve, another excellent work, chock full of that potent female energy, and i loved that, too. I really enjoyed the look of this film, the feel of this presentation. There is a distinct passion behind the camera, like she knows this story and absolutely needs to tell it. That makes sense because she also wrote the thing. Definitely an auteur creator in the making. Considering this is literally Fennell’s directorial debut, i have to say, she has a bright future ahead of her.

I have to say, the pacing of this film is pretty brisk. It’s about seven minutes shy of two hours but never actually feels that way. Again, the deft touch from Fennell is definitely on display. One of the pitfalls of freshman directors is wonky pacing, most take a film or two to find that sweet spot, but Ferrell seems to have a handle on it out the gate.

The Okay

The plot isn’t rally anything new. It’s your basic revenge story with a bleaker ending than most but the devil is in the details. The strength of this narrative lies in the performances and the presentation. You’ve definitely seen this story told before, and probably better, but never like this. Assassination Nation and I Spit On Your Grave are similar takes on this type of plot. While the story being told is rather cliche to the point of being a sub-genre in it’s own right, how this trope is told makes for a great experience.

This thing is definitely a Carey Mulligan vehicle. That’s not a bad thing, per say, but the rest of this cast was amazing and we don’t get enough time with them. Alfred Molina and Laverne Cox steal every scene they’re in and i just wanted a little more time with them. Alas, it was not to be...

The Verdict

I really liked this movie, man. It is one of the best I've seen this year. One of but not the best. Promising Young Woman is gorgeous in every way that counts, with one of the strongest lead performances from Carey Mulligan i have ever seen her give. The direction is on point and the cinematography is absolutely stunning. Like, i really enjoy this camera work, man. The supporting cast is chock full of heavy-weights and they bring as much energy and believability to their roles as Mulligan. The only real downside is the fact that this story is a little cliche in the cinematic zeitgeist but what narratives aren’t? Is this flick perfect? No. But it is fun, engaging, and entertaining If you have the opportunity to check it out, definitely watch Promising Young Woman It dd not disappoint.

[naomioiko]

Thinking about you --- Draco x DD Part 3

A/N: Hellooooo part 3 is here! I wont put much nsfw in these bc yea so,,, :o

TW: cursing, angst, fluff, etc etcc

lets just get into it shall we?

-------____-----

Madelynn secretly hands DD a note with something on it, its tickets to todays quidditch game! But theres only one ticket. DD raises an eyebrow. "Why is there only one?" Madelynn smirks. "I gave the other to Malfoy" Dayana covers her mouth so she doesn't scream. "YOU DID WHAT?!" Madelynn just nods and picks up her books for her next class, leaving Dayana surronded in her own thoughts.

Madelynn invites Dayana to the Slytherin common rooms, so she can get ready in a pretty outfit. It's winter time, so she is wearing a sweater with a cute pattern on it, with tights underneath. Also, she is wearing her scarf, and she looks adorable!!! After she's done dressing we work on homework on the dining table while Draco Malfoy gets ready in his room.

Madelynns POV * As me and Dayana walk, I notice how cute she is, how red her cheeks are, how colorful and sparkly her eyes are, and most importantly, how kind and caring she is. Draco is so lucky to have her. She is quite literally the cutest thing I've ever seen. I walk DD into her chair next to Draco then leave them alone for a little bit. They are so cute together... But... He's trying to take Dayana away from me. I can't let that happen. Anyways, I digress. I go meet Harry Potter and Hermione in the study hall so we can read together.

Hermione is a beautiful girl. She is the smartest and most amazing girl in gryfindore. I've liked her since 1st year, but she seems to show interest in Ron, not me. Anyways, I should check on Dayana. I wave at Harry and Hermione, leaving for a few minutes. What good friends they are. I run over to Dayana to see...

^^^^ DAYANAS POV ^^^^^

I couldn't help but notice how handsome Draco was in his winter outfit. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he pets my head. He was so warm, and soft. I wanted to stay here forever, with him. Just him. He cups my cheeks with his hands and gives me a soft kiss, which of course, I kiss him back!!! "Dayana, theres something I must tell you" My heart beats fast, what is he going to say??! Is he going to break things off?! "Dayana, i, I'm in love with you" He says, him turning his head away from me, probably to hide his blush. "I, I like you too Draco" I manage to say, blushing so much I was bound to stand out of the croud. Draco holds my hand and takes me back to the rooms.

^ Madelynns POV ^

WHAT THE HECC?!? They just kissed! I can't let this happen. I feel tears streaming down my face, but they aren't tears of sadness. They are tears of ANGER. I run after Draco and DD, So I can plan what i'll do. They go into the common room so I follow, unnoticed. Dayana uses the bathroom so I take this as my chance. I jump on Draco and hold my wand to his neck. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER! YOU HEAR ME, MALFOY?!"

I try to calm down, but theres no coming back from this. "avada keda-" Dayana comes out of the bathroom and immediatley tries to stop me. "DRACO! ARE YOU OK?!" She says. "She almost killed meh!" Draco squeaks out. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I was just practicing spells, sorry aha" Surprisingly, Dayana fell for it. Draco didn't, though. I want him to feel the pain I do. Anyways, I run off to find Hermione. Maybe she will help me get revenge on Draco.

Dayana's pov ^w^

Dayana picks Draco up from the ground and tucks him in the bed. "I hope you're ok, its not like her to do that" Draco sits up and clears his throat. "Dayana?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be my girlfriend"

Dayana's heart dropped at the question.

"Dayana...?"

.

..

...

"No"

.................... THATS THE END OF 3333!! making part 4 soon :) love u dd mwah

ddxdraco