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luigiblood · 7 months ago

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F-Zero 99 - 1 Year Anniversary and the Future

F-Zero 99 is the best thing that happened to Nintendo Switch Online.

I'm not gonna say it any other way, it's been a bit more than a year, and I have 153 hours. This game is top 2 of my most played games (just under Splatoon 3 which has 253 hours).

I was one of the people who was down for this idea since the moment Pyoro teased it and when Nintendo announced it in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct.

This game received 6 content updates since its debut, and most of them are major updates, and as of October 2024, the latest update was 1.5.0, with the addition of the Ace League, making it the first time that Nintendo has ever rereleased Satellaview content in any way, worldwide.

I gotta be honest here, this game keeps on giving, Nintendo Software Technology, the team behind this game, not Arika anymore, is doing a great job.

I'm gonna talk about how I felt about this game, but also a bit of an history of datamining, about the game's future, but spoiler: I don't think this game will die anytime soon.

Happy One Year Anniversary to F-Zero 99!

Oh, and, to everyone saying this game is pissing on F-Zero's legacy as I've definitely seen a few: Go f**k yourself.

Online Quality

To anyone who loves to mock the online quality of Nintendo, you cannot do it to this game, or even any of the games of the "99" series. If you have online problems, the problem is on your side. 100%.

Either your connection's terrible in which case I cannot do anything for you, but most of the problems that I had with the game, it was all solved with either a fix of my internet connection setup (cables, Wi-Fi setup, etc), or by rebooting the Switch system entirely, this is most likely what you need to do the most.

It's not entirely perfect of course, but for the entire year of its existence, I have legit no serious complaints to make to the game.

Datamining The Future

Now... let's go over what we originally datamined at first.

I'm not gonna go over what was clearly experimental content such as a 3D Mute City I map or other things like that.

Extra Modes

We found code and references to 2 modes that have yet to be added to the game since launch:

Arcade Mode It is believed to work similar to old arcade racing games, where you have a limited time, and you go through Time Gates (also datamined) to add more time to your counter to let you either finish the course, or run out of time and rank out.

Survival Mode We found some references to it for the schedule file, but also what is feeling like to be a circle plane. I speculate it to maybe work like a battle royale where the playable place reduces in size, but it's hard to fully understand how it works at this point in time.

I have no idea when these modes would be added, if ever, actually, it's still subject to interpretation.

Extra Courses

We also found references to 4 placeholder course files:

Sulfur Swamp

Volcania

Fungus Swamp

Forest

Three of them uses recolored Mute City I and a custom but clearly placeholder background. But the inclusion of Forest placeholder was definitely an odd one.

It was actually hard to say what it could have been, but Forest is actually the name of a course in BS F-Zero Grand Prix 2 on Satellaview, and more to that, it's the name of a course that we never actually had recovered until the recent BS F-Zero Deluxe hack that used tons of tools in an attempt to reproduce them. We still don't have the original data yet, though. The bounty for that is still up, by the way.

I did definitely get my chances to suspect that maybe, NST was looking into Satellaview tracks, alongside brand new tracks, but maybe that Forest was just also a placeholder name.

But considering the inclusion of Ace League now, I doubt it is a coincidence. Especially when they bothered to have pretty creative names for the others, Forest just sticks out from the rest for being a pretty generic word, an argument that I had already used back then.

But I also noticed something odd, though, on this one I will DEFINITELY give an update if they ever fix this, but the Ace League's best machine ranks are not saved in the stats. This is odd, I don't know if it's a bug, or if it's actually voluntary... because IF it is, then I think the Ace League will change in the future to include the rest of the Satellaview tracks alongside a new Joker (?) League.

UPDATE from October 16th: F-Zero 99 1.5.1 update just released, and they did fix this so I was just doing copium. Not that I didn't expect it, it was a very shaky thing.

In one of the updates, before the inclusion of Secret Tracks, we had seen what was named Death Wind I Remix, which was the Death Wind I + White Land fusion. It's not unlikely that in the future, we will receive what would be called Remix tracks, for possibly entire leagues, but we might need to wait a while before we get those.

Incoming Event?

As NST is definitely aware of datamining attempts, they have been actually pretty busy scrubbing every unused files related to future content especially.

But then they missed a file in the latest 1.5.0 update that added Ace League:

It seems they are looking into doing a Mario VS Donkey Kong Festival Event in the future, including a Mini Mario League, and 4 Star Rivals called Mario, Mini Mario, Donkey Kong and Toad.

There's not much else to it, as it is just text. This text was not localized in most languages from English.

If I had to guess though, I don't rule out that this event might happen for the anniversary of the Mario VS Donkey Kong remake in February 2025. Mario VS Donkey Kong was also the baby of NST, ever since the first of the series on GBA, so it might just be meant to be a fun thing they wanted to do.

I would expect the Mini Mario League to contain either brand new or modified existing tracks to a newer style related to Mario VS Donkey Kong, new music, possibly new machines, and, definitely to me, new emotes to unlock. I expect that to be a limited time event like the others, though what you unlock will definitely stay to your workshop, like previous events, and possibly Training mode if there's indeed new courses to play that they care enough to let us play after the event.

I wouldn't be surprised if we have to collect Mini Marios or something like that, but either way, it seems NST is trying to be a little more daring to F-Zero 99 and possibly follow the footsteps of Tetris 99's themes.

Depending on the situation of the Ace League machine stats, I might have to update this post if I really somehow went too far with my suspicions. (UPDATE: Yes I went too far, they fixed the bug with 1.5.1.)

I do expect more updates related to Ace League for sure, as I do think we'll get Classic versions of the Ace League tracks, and possibly Mirror versions too.

...but oh my god though there's freaking Satellaview tracks in F-Zero 99 omg omg omg we just need the 5 left now

#f-zero 99 #fzero #nintendo #nintendo switch online

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 1 year ago

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Kaiju Week in Review (March 24-30, 2024)

A coworker asked tonight me how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire measured up to Godzilla Minus One, and I responded, "Almost as good, but in a completely different way." If you like monsters (and if you're following me I have to assume you do), see it, no questions asked. There's about a million of them and they're all delightful. The franchise has long struggled to recapture the specific charms of the Showa era, and I think this comes closer than any of them. (It's the climactic tag-team battle... also Mothra returning to knock some sense into Godzilla). Pure junk food, but you can't just watch Oppenheimer all the time.

Godzilla x Kong tore up the box office this weekend, performing well above expectations. Its $80 million opening Stateside was the second-best of the Monsterverse (after Godzilla). It added another $114 million internationally for the best overall opening of the (still-young) year. China was a big part of that with $44 million; giant monster movies are among the few Hollywood imports that still play well there. With a $135 million budget, lowest of the Monsterverse by a wide margin, it's a matter of when, not if, Legendary announces the next one.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added an entry for tokusatsu, defined as "A genre of Japanese film or television entertainment characterized by the use of practical special effects, usually featuring giant monsters, transforming robots, and masked and costumed superheroes." It's part of a group of 23 freshly-acknowledged Japanese loan words; unclear if the timing is coincidental. Oh, and if you're curious, they added kaiju in 2018. As someone who remembers when the only English-speakers who used either word were in fandom, it's pretty wild to see.

French company Extralucid Films will release Gappa on Blu-ray in June. The impressive-sounding bonus features are naturally all in French, but there's one that transcends language: 17 minutes of extra monster footage. The U.S. version of Gappa, Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, only has about 7 minutes worth of shots absent from the Japanese version, so I'm pretty curious about the other 10. It's also the first time this footage has been released in HD (Tokyo Shock blew it in 2020).

Season 2 of Chibi Godzilla Raids Again is indeed receiving official English subtitles, starting the same day as the Japanese premiere, April 10. Godzilla Battle Line also added a hilariously busted joint Chibi Godzilla-Chibi Mechagodzilla unit, along with a Destoroyah variant. (Maybe Godzilla x Kong units are next month?)

A new Monsterverse movie means new books to buy. The prequel comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted is out already (not recommended), but officially you'll have to wait until April 23 for the novelization and May 14 for the art book. Chalk that up to the late release date change, maybe. Unofficially, people are already getting the novelization from Amazon, because they're a monopoly that can afford to pay the fines from publishers for breaking street date. The audiobook version also released on the same day as the film. I don't have intel on what it adds and changes yet; adding everything from the film itself to Wikizilla is all I can handle right now.

The San Francisco Giants are offering a Godzilla VIP Experience on May 17, a long-overdue acknowledgement of the savior of their city. Tickets are almost gone, though I think it's a shame that the promotion is opt-in to begin; what happened to giving these tchotchkes out to the first thousand fans? Well, figures that they'd make getting merch of the Minus One Godzilla in the States a hassle.

#kaiju week in review #godzilla #godzilla x kong the new empire #baseball #chibi godzilla raids again #king kong #gappa #kaiju #tokusatsu

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the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf · 2 years ago

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You're waiting for a train...(3)

Meeting Your Mark

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Y/n knows the most dangerous move you can make is to fall in love with your mark.

word count - 1.7k

warnings - mentions of death, the sharpness of cillians cheekbones, how piercing his blue eyes are.

a/n - okay so I promise the Robert stuff is coming! The next chapter will be an important one, this was just a filler pretty much. Also I loved writing about y/n and Ariadne cause I felt they would both relish in the other when surrounded by men - specifically y/n.

a/n 2 - We finally have Tom Hardy in this chapter!!

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I sat on the window ledge, clutching my coffee like a lifeline. It tethered me back to reality. I got out the picture from my jean pocket. I brushed my fingers over the fake braces and then found them stroking the faces of my siblings. Their gleeful smiles frozen in time.

The door creaked open, announcing Arthur’s entrance. I hopped to it and wiped away the tears that had escaped. All morning my mind had been plagued with visions of a man. I wasn’t even dreaming and yet he still remained. He’d nested within my brain, and he wasn’t leaving any time soon. But no matter how much I strained trying to make out the face, I was at a loss. It was almost like I couldn’t create the face because he had already been made. But I was yet to meet him. With how much closer I’d been getting to his figure with each time asleep, I felt our meet was imminent.

“You sleep, okay?”

“Like a log.” Arthur’s eyes drifted to the case I had hurriedly packed up.

“You went under?”

“No.” I lied. But he didn’t breach the topic any further as we were both stopped by Ariadne clearing her throat.

We turned around.

“Cobb said you’d be back.” Arthur remarks.

“Yeah, well, I tried to not come but- “

“There’s nothing quite like it.” I finished for her. She smiled softly at me.

“It’s just—pure creation.” She held her gaze with me. There was a brief silence between us three, waiting for someone to continue the discussion.

“Let’s look at some paradoxical architecture.” Arthur broke the silence and led us both to 3 deck chairs he’d laid out. We lay down and hooked ourselves up. Within seconds we were away.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

We found ourselves in a structured glass office building. Arthur winked at me. It was the first building I’d ever created, and he’d saved it all these years. This is where I’d honed my own paradoxical skills. He led the two of us up a staircase.

“You’re gonna have to master a few tricks, if you’re gonna build three complete dream levels.”

“Excuse me,” I said as we passed a woman who had dropped her files.

“Why three?” She asked.

“Successful inception depends on planting the idea deep enough that the genesis of the idea becomes too foggy for the subject. 3 levels deep, 3 dream levels.”

“Anyways, what kind of tricks do I need?’

“In a dream you can cheat architecture into impossible shapes that lets you create closed loops.” We had been walking the staircase in a circle now, proving one of my favourite closed loops. “Like the Penrose steps.”

“Aka, the infinite staircase.” We passed the woman with the dropped files once again. “See.”

Ariadne suddenly took stock of her surroundings and saw the end of the staircase culminate in a sharp drop.

“Paradox.” We left the staircase and began to walk around the office building so Arthur could explain further. “So, a closed loop like that allows us to disguise the boundaries of the dream.”

“But how big do these levels have to be?”

“Well, it could be anything from the floor of a building to an entire city. But they have to be complicated enough so that we can hide from the projections.”

“A maze.”

“Right, a maze.”

“And the better the maze- “

“The longer we have before the projections catch us.” I smirked at how quickly Ariadne had grasped the concept. She truly put my dad to shame. And having her with us meant I no longer had to work with incompetent male architects. This girl was the real deal.

“Exactly.”

“Well, my subconscious seems polite enough.”

Arthur and I chuckled. “Just wait, they’ll turn ugly.” I answered. “No one likes to feel someone messing around in their mind.”

“Cobb can’t build anymore, can he?” Ariadne questioned. I wanted to argue but she was right. He thought about mum too much where his mind could never be clean enough to build anew.

“Well, I don’t know if he can’t, but he won’t. He thinks it’s safer if he doesn’t know the layout.”

“Why?”

“He won’t tell us.” I lowered my head, Dad might not have told me why, but he told me enough.

“But I think it’s Mal.”

“Yeah, no offence but your mum was a piece of work.” She laughed, gesturing to me. “What does his ex-wife have to do with it.”

“Mal’s not his ex.”

“They’re still together?”

“No,” I spoke up. “She died. What you see in there is just his projection of her.”

Her eyes softened when they looked at me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“What was she like in real life?”

“She was lovely.” I smiled thinking back in my memories.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ariadne and I sat talking with our coffees and croissants. Arthur had left to get some supplies, so we decided to have a rest. We’d been drawing and planning all morning, so a break was well earned.

“You have an architecture degree?”

“No, I never got to finish it.”

“Why?”

“My dad needed me here. So, I left.”

“Oh.” She sensed the underlying sadness so left the topic. “But your drawings are amazing, why can’t you build.”

“Oh, I don’t build anymore.” I laughed brushing off her statement.

“Does it have something to do with your mom?”

“We all have our own demons, I guess. And it’s terrifying when they get opened up to the world.”

“She’s still your mom.”

“No, she died. That person in his head, that’s not her.”

“Seems you have a better grasp on that then he does.”

“I guess.” I rose, uncomfortable with the conversation, and she took my tone as her cue to end the conversation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Dad had arrived back from Mombasa. When he entered with Eames I immediately ran into his awaiting arms.

“My favourite little troublemaker! How’re you doing darling?”

“So much better now you’re here!” I cheekily winked at him.

“Oh, I can imagine working with Arthur is the most exciting thing imaginable!” Eames sarcastically said.

“Nice to see you too, Eames.” Arthur huffed as he walked away from us two.

“Don’t insult him or he’ll start going over safety procedures again!”

We both laughed and finished with another hug.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I sit with Eames and Cobb out on the roof. Saito flings a file towards the three of us and it opens out onto the table.

“Robert Fischer. Heir to the Fischer Morrow Energy Conglomerate.” Dad looks at the file and then hands it to me.

My breath catches in my throat as my eyes meet his steely blues. The rest of the world became water that flooded my ears with white noise. I couldn’t grasp onto any sound in the world apart from my beating heart. My finger raised to stroke the picture. He stood there, dressed to the nines. His hair perfectly styled, and his body adorned in riches. But his eyes, as piercing as they were, held a sadness. He was lost. I could feel it through the ink.

“What’s your problem with this Mr Fischer?” I snapped up but failed to notice that my daze had been caught.

“That’s not your concern.” Saito’s tone cut through the air. I scoffed at his brazen attitude.

“Mr Saito, this is not your typical corporate espionage. You asked me for inception, I hope you understand the gravity of that request.”

I couldn’t stand it. This may have been purely business and transactional, but something shifted. This couldn’t be purely business with our skills involved. I decided to speak up.

“The seed we plant in this man’s mind will grow into an idea. This idea will come to define him. It may come to change, well, everything about him. This man is on a course of fate and. We. Will. Alter. It.”

Saito took a moment, considering my words. He relented to my warning.

“We’re the last company standing between them, and total energy dominance and we can no longer compete. Soon they’ll control the energy supply of over half the world. In effect, they become a new superpower.” He pounds the table. “The world needs Robert Fischer to change his mind.”

“And that’s where we come in.” Eames perks up to give his two cents. “How is Robert Fischer’s relationship with his father?”

“Rumour is the relationship is quite complicated.” This tugged at my heart for some reason. My eyes drifted to my own father.

“Well, we can’t work based solely on rumour, can we?”

Eames turned his file around the show us a picture of an obviously esteemed individual.

“Can you get me access to this man? Browning, Fischer seniors right hand man,”

I read my own file. “And Fischer juniors godfather.” I finished.

“It should be possible, if you can get the right references.” I chuckled at how simple this request was for Eames.

“References are something of a speciality for me, Mr Saito.” Eames cheekily stated.

“Then it is done.” All three of us got up.

But I felt changed and Eames noticed my subtle slump.

“I saw how you reacted to the picture.”

“What? He has nice—cheekbones? And blue eyes.” I stumbled through my unsure answer.

“Don’t worry, I’m not your dad.” He laughs at my bad attempt at lying. “How do you fancy a quick internship at Fischer’s house.” He raised his eyebrows, inviting me into another mischievous mission. I smirked and happily agreed to his scheme.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

On the other side of the roof, Saito, who had been looking at y/n intently throughout the meeting, stopped Cobb before he left.

“Your daughter. She is committed to this mission?”

“I don’t doubt my teammates.”

“What about your family?” He probed. Cobb became silent. “I saw her demeanour when she saw that picture. I’d hate to see your one chance disappear because of your daughters schoolgirl crush. Perhaps she is not as reliable as you think?”

Cobb halted his movements and considered Saito’s words as the man left the roof. He looked towards y/n who still had the file open in her hands. In that moment, he saw his daughter for who she truly was, a child without a childhood.

Would she be that impulsive?

Would she be that stupid?

Would she risk it all for him?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Yes. Yes I would risk it all for Cillian Murphy too.

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage @theethy @fashionki11a @felicity1994

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edupunkn00b · 8 months ago

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One Last Time Around

Photo CC 4.0

Written for the @extremetimedchallengeexchange. Prompt: Platonic Sides in a human AU. Found family, dystopia, happy moments in a not-so-happy situation a plus. No fluff, no crack, no romance.

WC: 2414 - Rated: T - CW: Major Character Death implied off-screen, dystopia & post-apocalyptic -

“Is that a bicycle?”

Patton’s sudden question pulled the group from their thoughts and they stopped their trek through the underbrush. Six pairs of eyes followed the boy’s excited pointing. Remus was closest and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. “Not quite, buddy,” he grinned. His cheeks ached at the movement and his voice was scratchy. How long had they been walking? “That’s an old ferris wheel.”

“Really?” Patton wiggled, jostling his hoodie and momentarily hiding the bright yellow warning light on the fever chip at the back of his neck. He turned to look back at Logan. “Like the one Fern rode at the county fair?”

Ever the teacher, Logan crouched down and smiled at the boy like he was a star pupil. “Yes, Pat. Precisely.” Fingers twitching on his shoulder straps, Remus just knew it took everything Logan had to not whip the book out of his pack right there.

The remnants of that morning’s rain still dripping from the trees was a powerful deterrent.

“Can we get closer?” he asked, eyes now trained on Virge.

He already had his tracker out. He frowned, pulling his hood lower and shielding the screen from glare as he peered down at the splashes of color. “There’s no-one around,” he said after tapping at the screen. “Some warm spots… way too small for people. Racoons, probably.” Virge looked up at Janus’ sharp inhale and shook his head, both sets of eyes snagging on Patton’s bandaged hand. “Triple checked. None of ‘em have fevers.”

When Virge’s scanner pinged, they’d dropped to the ground, hoods pulled down and masks up. Virge was the only one who’d moved, pulling out the scanner and muting the quiet alert, intent on the screen. He made a cutting motion with his hand and they stayed down, barely breathing. Waiting.

It had taken more than an hour for a sick baby’s wails to announce the family’s proximity. They’d stayed under cover as the family passed less than a hundred yards from their hiding spot.

Not everyone waited before shooting like Lucas and Janus did.

Thank fuck for the old weather beacons still in orbit. The damn things would outlast them all. And with nobody left in mission control, there was no-one to turn off Virge’s credentials—genuine or borrowed—and stop him from drinking up all the data those satellites still rained down with every pass.

Returning Janus’ curt nod, Virge shrugged and powered down the device before stowing it away in his pocket. “It’s clean. That infected family we saw yesterday didn’t come from here.”

Hope dancing in his eyes as he grinned at each of them in turn, Patton bounced on his toes. “So we can?”

Lucas’ thumb brushed over the safety on his M70 and looked to Janus.

Binoculars raised, Janus peered between the trees. “There’s a parking lot…” The team held their collective breathe. At best, a full parking lot meant the fair would be full of the dead. At worst…

“Deserted,” he said at last. “It looks like they hadn’t quite finished setting up. There’s stuff on pallets in the back lot. Maybe something useful, even.” After one more look, he lowered the binoculars, a glint in his eyes. “It’s safer than the City,” he said, seeking Ro’s gaze.

Ro was staring at the back of Patton’s neck and when he looked up, his eyes were wet. “Yeah,” he said, and cleared his throat, a smile plastered over his face. “Books are great,” he added with a bow to Logan. “But you should see it for yourself.”

The sun hadn’t yet breached the highest trees by the time they reached the edge of the fairgrounds. What was left of them, at least. Scraggly ragweed had grown up through the cracks in the asphalt, most of it not even taller than Patton. He was cautious before touching any, inspecting the flowers first to be sure it wasn’t hogweed.

His cries had been what had made them find him. It was early days, back when they thought the only ones left were the immune. Back before the mutations hit. There’d still been birdsong back then.

He and Ro had been the ones to find the little boy. Hands and mouth raw from trying to eat the flowers, he’d sat crying in the middle of a patch of the towering weeds. Older than he looked even back then, the “throwaway” monitoring chip they stuck on infants hung loose on his forehead. All the hospitals must have gone to shit before his parents could get him in to have it properly removed after his first birthday.

Patton had sat there, just fucking bawling. Alone. But instead of recoiling from them, tall scruffy strangers, the little boy had reached for them, that now familiar hope in his big teary eyes.

Remus had kept just enough sense to check the back of the kid’s neck for a fever chip. Its bright green glow bounced off the faded note duct-taped to his dirty sweater.

His name is Patton. Please take care of him when I’m gone. Bless you. - Lynne

“Wow…” Patton stood beneath the ferris wheel, staring at the sunlight glinting of the top car. The wheel was huge, a good three or four hundred feet up in the air. It had been made of solid durasteel, too. Not a speck of rust anywhere on it and the rotors, sealed to keep out dust and shit had done a good job of keeping out the weeds.

Remus whistled. This county had had serious money. Back when magic numbers in a digital bank statement meant anything, anyway.

“We clear,” Virge reported, coming back from checking the perimeter with Lucas. “There’s no-one for miles.”

“And there’s a generator,” Lucas said, coming back from checking the perimeter. “Solar,” he added, unable or unwilling to suppress a grin. “Betcha last watch Lo and Virge can get it working.”

“That’s a loser’s bet,” Remus laughed, pointing to the tool belt already clipped to Virge’s belt. “You’ve already had a crack at it, haven’t you?”

“I will admit,” Logan murmured. “It would be gratifying to charge my tablet.”

Patton’s bright eyes followed the conversation, stitching together what else they might get to work with a little juice.

“Go for it. Ro, you take Pat around to explore.” Patton grinned and grabbed Ro’s hand and took off down the row of carnival games before he could say another word.

“I’ll go with them,” Lucas said before catching up.

“Okay, while you two see if you can get those generators going,” he nodded to Logan and Virge, “Me and Jay’ll see supplies there might be. Meet back in one hour.”

“Or sooner,” Logan said, eyes following Patton down the row of games.

“Or sooner,” he agreed. “Electric lights would be a good signal you did it.”

Janus waited until they’d disappeared on the other side of the trailers before finally voicing what they’d all seen that morning. “How long?”

Remus let his eyes close and swallowed back the growing lump in his throat before taking a deep breath. He let it out slowly, then opened them, heading toward the stacks of pallets wrapped in frayed plasti wrap. “Depends on the variant,” he said as they walked. “The kid dodged whatever got his mother, and he’s still below one-oh-two, but everyone I saw had been bad enough for the ER, it’s not necessarily—”

“How long, Dr. Prince?” Janus asked again.

Stopping, Remus sighed. “If he goes red…” He shook his head. “A day? Two?”

Janus’ jaw twitched, but he nodded. “Understood.”

The first two pallets turned out to hold nothing but folding chairs and more fencing. On the third, though, he and Jay hit the jackpot.

“Thank fuck for sodium benzoate!” Remus muttered, turning over a sealed package of ‘beef’ jerky.

Janus chuckled, shoving handfuls of powdered milk packets for some fancy ass ice cream maker into an empty duffle bag. Powdered Gatorade went next. “Wasn’t that stuff supposed to be bad for you, Doc?”

“Starvation’s worse,” he said, grabbing all four cases before tugging Janus’ sleeve. “Hey, look at the bottom layer.”

They stared together case after case of bottled water. “Plastic’s bad for a lotta stuff. It’s good for us right now, though.”

Before Janus could answer, warped music doppled out of a nearby speaker, quickly balancing out into a jaunty melody. They looked back at the fair. A merry-go-round had started up and LEDs in a rainbow of colors twinkled from every structure.

“Holy fuck, they did it!” Remus muttered, shaking his head. “C’mon, we’ll let the others load up, too, But first…”

They both stilled when the faint sound of Patton’s excited cheers carried over the music. “But first him.”

“Yeah.”

They managed to get Patton to slow down long enough to have some Gatorade and a few bites of food before he was back on his feet, pulling Lucas and Janus toward the carnival games. “I’m not hungry,” he said, smiling up at them. “Please? I saw a game with big rifles just like yours! Let’s try it!”

Lucas ruffled his hair and nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Those games are rigged but I’ll teach you how to aim around it.”

When they returned about an hour later, Patton walked a little slower and he didn’t fight Remus’ suggestion to take a break before leading Ro off to a Test Your Strength game. The others sat quietly and listened to his peals of laughter each time Ro’s hits sent the little ball up to the top.

The mirror maze was next, and Logan and Virge pointed out all the little tricks for finding his way through. The trio emerged, victorious, with Logan and Virge swinging Patton back and forth like they’d done back when he was tiny.

“Will you ride the Ferris Wheel with me?” he asked, holding out a hand to Remus.

“You two are the logical pairing,” Logan said, quieter than he usually was in Teacher mode.

Patton nodded, turning and pointing at the cars. “Logan explained how it has to stay balanced. We’re just right to be in the same car.”

“Each of you will need to join them in alternating cars,” Logan said when they’d reached the loading area. “Ah, I will man the controls, if you don’t mind.”

“It’s okay to be scared of heights,” Patton said, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Logan’s eyes widened before he smiled and cupped Patton’s cheek. “You notice everything, don’t you?”

With an answering giggle, he patted the back of his hand and nodded.

“Well, that means me and Jay in one car, right?” Virge said, looking around the group.

“Yes,” Logan nodded. “And Lucas and Roman will balance it all out.”

“Which color car do you want to ride in?” Remus asked, giving Patton’s hand a little squeeze.

“The blue one!” he said, pointing.

“Blue it is,” Logan replied and worked the controls. He opened the door to the first car to stop, nodding to Virge and Janus.

They ruffled Patton’s hair as passed. “See you in a bit, Kid,” Virge murmured and climbed in.

Logan let a few empty cars slowly trail past before loading in Ro and Lucas. Lucas rubbed his head and Ro bent to hug him. “I’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel, either, you know.”

“Really?” Patton asked, eyes big.

“Really,” Ro whispered. His adam’s apple bobbed, but he kept his smile.

With a little laugh, Patton shooed him into a car.

Finally, the blue car stopped and Logan opened the door. “All aboard,” he said. “Tell me about everything you see up there.”

“I will!” Patton grinned and clambered inside.

Logan’s hand tightened on the handle and Remus’ boots stuttered on the platform. Blood roared in his ears and he swallowed hard, lips curled up into his best smile.

Half-obscured by the back of his hoodie, Patton’s fever chip glowed red.

“All aboard,” Logan said again, quieter.

Remus cleared his throat and pushed on a smile. “Hey, make room for me,” he laughed into the mostly empty car.

Giggling at his joke, Patton scooted a bit over on the bench. His choice had been lucky. Most of the cars had benches on either side, requiring two riders to sit face-to face. The blue car held a single swiveling bench so the riders could sit side-by-side.

As their car began the lift, a little laugh spilled from his lips. “I can see the river from here!” he said. “Oh! And look at all those flowers on the other side!”

They took in the sights, the music fading as they got closer to the wheel’s zenith. Patton pointed out every detail, smile bright, even as his voice faded and he shook his head.

“Hey, Buddy, you okay?” Remus squeezed his hand. It was so hot.

“I’m okay,” he said, still grinning though he shivered. Remus pulled a blanket from his pack and wrapped it around Patton’s shoulders.

“Better?” Remus asked.

“Better. But you feel cold,” he said, touching Remus’ hand. “You sure you don’t need it?”

“I’m good, Buddy,” Remus said, passing Patton a canteen. “Drink a little, yeah?”

Dutifully, Patton sipped at the water, then handed it back when the wheel began to descend. “Everything’s so pretty up here!” he said before waving to Roman and Lucas when their car slipped into view.

Slowly they came back down, but before Logan opened their car, Patton asked, loud enough for all to hear. “Can we go again?”

“Try and stop me!” Lucas called back. Ro and Virge gave thumbs up and Janus said something too quiet to hear. His smile was all the answer Patton needed.

“The wheel is in good condition,” Logan responded, looking to Remus for his answer. "It is more than adequate for several more rounds."

“As many times as you want, Buddy,” he said, wrapping his arm around him. The boy curled into the hold, clapping his hands twice before letting them fall to his lap.

“Thank you, Logan!” Patton called back through the open windows as the wheel began to move again. Feet swaying with the movement of the car, he grinned and held Remus hand, sliding close again. “Thank you, Virge!” he called. “Thank you Jay and Lucas and Roman!” Finally, he turned his sweet little face up to Remus. Patton leaned heavily against shoulder, cheeks bright red with fever. “Thank you so much, Re. This is the best day ever!”

#sanders sides #ts remus #ts patton #ts roman #ts virgil #ts logan #ts janus #ts orange side #ts lucas #because of course i had to throw in my OC Orange #cw: major character death #implied off-screen #dystopia/post-apocalyptic #it was a dystopia that crashed. bad.#bittersweet ending #like 90% cacao bittersweet #found family #that's actually a bit of a pun for this story‚ so there's that

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apenitentialprayer · 2 years ago

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May 11, 2023

Earlier today, Pope Francis declared that 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians, who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in 2015, would be added to the Roman Martyrology. Francis made the announcement during an audience with Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The “21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya,” as they are called, were martyred on February 15, 2015. Less than a week later, they were declared saints in the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Tawadros. The Copts celebrate their feast on the anniversary of their death, February 15, and it appears that this will also be their feast day on the Roman calendar.

The world was shocked in February 2015, when a 5-minute video was uploaded to the internet by ISIS militants. The video showed the 21 kidnapped men in orange jumpsuits being beheaded on a beach near the Libyan city of Sirte. 20 of these martyrs were Egyptian Copts who had gone to Libya to do construction work. The last member of the group, Matthew Ayariga, was a fellow worker from Ghana. It is said that he told the executioners, “Their God is my God. I will go with them.” There has been some question over whether he was already Christian or whether the witness of his 20 coworkers led to his conversion, but nevertheless, his Christian witness and solidarity are inspiring. It was reported that as they died, they chanted hymns and prayed aloud.

The deaths of these men as Christian martyrs is undeniable. The extraordinary photos of Blessed Miguel Pro, a Catholic priest who was executed by the Mexican government in 1927 during the Cristero War — taken just moments before the he was shot by the firing squad — are perhaps the only other photographic images recording a Christian martyrdom as it happened. And yet the recognition of the 21 martyrs as Catholic saints is unprecedented for several reasons.

The primary reason, of course, is that the Coptic Orthodox Church is not in full communion with Rome. The Copts are Oriental Orthodox (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox), because they split from the other Christian churches in the year 451 at the Council of Chalcedon due to differences over the nature of Christ. They are also referred to as “Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches.” This means that they recognize the first three ecumenical councils, whereas the Eastern Orthodox recognize seven, and the Catholic Church recognizes 21 ecumenical councils.

After more than 15 centuries, our hope of reunion may seem remote. After all these years, the two Churches have independently developed their own traditions, theologies, forms of worship, and prayers. Yet some things have remained the same. Both Churches have maintained apostolic succession and the sacraments: Pope Francis is the successor of St. Peter and Pope Tawadros is the successor of St. Mark. In recent decades, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church has become closer. For example, in 2017, Popes Francis and Tawadros made a joint statement indicating mutual acceptance of the validity of baptism in both Churches.

Pope Francis has praised the Martyrs of Libya many times, and today he recalled our shared baptism, as well as the blood of martyrs that enriches the Church. He said, “These martyrs were baptized not only in the water and Spirit, but also in blood, a blood that is the seed of unity for all of Christ’s followers.” In the past, the pope has discussed how we must realize that we, the baptized, have much more in common than what divides us. This shared recognition of sainthood between the two Churches is a significant step towards Christian unity.

This sets a new precedent. In 1964, when the Ugandan Martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI, St. Charles Lwanga and the other 21 Catholics among his companions were declared saints. The 23 Anglicans who were martyred alongside them were mentioned briefly in the pope’s homily, when he said, “And we do not wish to forget, the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, met death for the name of Christ.”

Another reason why today’s announcement is unique was that Pope Francis did this by an official act. The Roman Martyrology is the official list of saints officially recognized by the Latin Church. Many Eastern Catholic Churches have their own processes for canonizing saints according to their traditions. Historically, when groups of Eastern Catholics have come into full communion with Rome, they will bring along their saints and prayers and traditions. Many of these saints aren’t officially canonized by Rome, and they are usually only venerated in their own tradition. By inscribing the names of these martyrs in the Roman Martyrology, Pope Francis has made it clear that these martyrs are to be venerated by Roman Catholics as saints.

Finally, in declaring them saints today, Pope Francis sidestepped the typical canonization process. They are saints, without having passed through the usual stages of Servant of God, Venerable, and Blessed. This “skipping” of steps is commonly referred to as “equipollent canonization.” Essentially, when a pope declares someone a saint by an official act, that person is recognized as a saint in the Church. This is not the first time Francis has moved a case along in this way. For example, when he canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in 2014, he waived the requirement of a second miracle for John XXIII so that the two popes would be canonized on the same day. In 2013, he elevated the Jesuit Peter Faber, whose status had lingered at “Blessed” since 1872.

Perhaps the most interesting case is that of St. Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk venerated as a saint in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Unexpectedly, Pope Francis named him the 36th Doctor of the Church in 2015. Living from in the mid-10th century through the early 11th, St. Gregory lived at a time when the Armenian Church was not in communion with Rome. After several failed attempts at reunion, the Armenian Catholic Church was officially recognized as an Eastern Catholic Church in 1742. Interestingly, the Armenian Catholic eparchy of Buenos Aires (established in 1989 by Pope John Paul II) is called the Eparchy of Saint Gregory of Narek. Perhaps this is how Pope Francis became familiar with the saint.

We Christians are blessed with a wide variety of saints from all sorts of backgrounds. They help make up the beautiful tapestry of the people of God — praying for us, interceding for us, and inspiring us. This is something worth celebrating.

21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya, Pray for Us!

Mike Lewis. Bolded emphases added.

#Catholicism #Oriental Orthodox Christianity #Christianity #saints #martyrs #Libyan Martyrs #My Pope #Pope Tawadros II #Ugandan Martyrs #Miguel Pro

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moonstrider9904 · 11 months ago

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Cave of Pools and Diamonds, part 3

Chapter 7 of Moonwalker: The Flame

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{crossposted to Wattpad - coming soon} {crossposted to AO3}

Summary: The return to Kashyyyk is not easy on Sarah, and while in proximity to the village where she and the Batch once stayed, she feels the Force calling her toward a familiar cave.

Tags/Warnings: Mature. Mild panic attacks, destruction, canon-typical violence.

Word count: 4.3k

Songs: crossroads, reflection, city of tears

Few places in the galaxy were home to so much green. The trees towered above the ground, reigning the planet, with their peaks reaching high into a light gray, cloudy sky. At that time during the planet’s orbit, the air was warm and humid, though it never felt suffocating, and the ambient was embellished by the incessant singing of birds and chittering of land wildlife.

The planet was large, but the squad knew of a village, and upon the Marauder’s entry into Kashyyyk’s atmosphere, the course toward it was already set. The ship was lowered in almost the exact same spot it had been poised on all that time ago, and when the Marauder’s platform lowered, the members of Clone Force 99 walked down in a similar formation as they had back in the day, accompanied by the two new, young faces they’d picked up along the way.

The moment Sarah’s foot touched the soil of Kashyyyk, she felt it. Like a wave that crashed onto her, the memories came flooding. The search for iron, the Wookiee villagers that greeted them, the caverns, the dangers, the company. The diamonds. Sarah felt hers radiating warmth as it rested on her chest, dangling from her neck, and she pulled to a stop as she took in the scenery, so familiar and unchanged, yet so far away from what she once knew.

Despite the warmth and the sounds of nature in the air, something felt off, and it didn’t just have to do with the plaguing memories.

“The village isn’t far from here,” Hunter said as he began to lead the way. “This way.”

“I’m detecting smoke in the air,” Tech announced, holding his datapad in front of him. “And I do not expect the source to be natural.”

“The source is fire, Tech, of course it’s natural,” Wrecker teased in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I am referring to the cause of the fire that caused the smoke afterwards,” Tech replied.

“Not a lot of forest fires happen on Kashyyyk, not with this humidity,” Echo followed.

“My point exactly,” Tech agreed.

Everyone followed Hunter into the forest, and those who had been there before expected to see the familiar huts, most of which had been rebuilt by the batchers themselves. Where they were all expecting warm tones of brown and green, and lively Shyriiwook chatter emanating from the village, when they reached a point where the village came into view, everyone stopped in their tracks with ice coursing through their veins and their hearts plunging into their stomachs.

The huts, the trees, even the ground itself, were coated in a lifeless gray ash. Faint clouds of black smoke emanated from the ruins on the ground as well as from the huts that had also been ravaged but hadn’t managed to fall from their trees, and an eerie silence tensed the air all around them. The air had lost its scent of fresh green and humidity, and was replaced with the musk of burnt wood, smoke, and even the exhaust of a vehicle.

No, the cause of this wasn’t natural, and it added rage to the pile of emotions already swarming within the squad as they witnessed the grim scene.

Unblinking, Sarah’s wide-eyed gaze scanned the ruins back and forth as she tried to make some sense of what she was seeing. As she stood still, she noticed Gungi walking past her, witnessing the scene, and he fell to his knees as he let out a mourning wail. The sorrow in Gungi’s voice cast a horrid, hollow sensation throughout the others; there was nothing but loss in the picture before them. Loss of the past, loss of life, loss of the joy of what once was.

A gentle breeze blew past Sarah, coaxing her into the direction the wind blew to, and as she looked, it seemed like the forest grew bigger before. That was when she heard her name being spoken in the wind in an unrecognizable voice, and she then realized what lay in the direction she was being called to.

The cave.

Around her, the squad had begun to discuss the next course of action, but Sarah couldn’t bring herself to listen to any of it. Slowly, she began to pace off in the direction she was being called to, but it wasn’t long before she felt a hand clutching at her fist, breaking her attention momentarily. She turned around to see Tech looking at her with concern gleaming past his goggles.

“Where are you going?”

She looked at him, and then at the rest of the squad, who looked at her with equal confusion.

“I…” Sarah said. “I’m getting a feeling. I need to go, I’m sorry.”

“Go where?” Tech asked her. “What feeling?”

Sarah exhaled softly and tried to formulate her thoughts in the clearest way. “The Force is calling me to the cave.”

“The iron caves?” Tech verified.

“You mean the cave where you got stung by the centipede and poisoned?” Wrecker approached her.

“That one,” Sarah’s heart sank. Somehow, the memory of her being high on the centipede’s venom had escaped her, as did the one of the creature that had left Crosshair wounded. It struck fear in her—she’d barely made it out alive when she had company.

“We’re coming with you,” Hunter said.

“No, you shouldn’t,” Sarah said. “This is my calling.”

“I made an oath to protect you in the kyber caves on Jedha,” Hunter argued. “As far as the Force is concerned, I am still your guardian and I should be down there with you.”

A subtle pout formed on Sarah’s lips as her gaze saddened. “I need to be there alone. I can feel it.”

Before Hunter could protest, Gungi spoke up and caught his attention. He told Hunter that Sarah was right, that if the Force was calling her to something, it corresponded only to her. And when he finished, Hunter looked at Sarah once more, silent, and she could see even through his visor that worry and disappointment clouded his rich brown eyes.

“You’re needed up here,” Sarah said. “You need to protect them too.”

“What if you get hurt?” Tech intervened, reaching to grab Sarah’s wrist again.

The gesture didn’t escape Hunter, and from the corner of her eyes, Sarah could see how his visor quickly turned in the direction of Tech’s hand on her wrist.

“I have my comm on me,” Sarah reassured, meeting Tech’s gaze again. “If anything goes wrong, you’ll know.”

“I’ll track you either way,” Hunter spoke up.

Sarah couldn’t help but glare at him.

“For protection,” Hunter clarified.

She stifled a scoff and ended up nodding at him. “Fine. I’ll track you too when I emerge.”

Omega ran up to Sarah before she left and reached out with a handful of ration bars. “Here, I don’t know how long you’ll be down there, but you might need these.”

Sarah smiled at Omega and gently placed a hand on her shoulder as she took the bars. She put them on her backpack alongside the disassembled rifle and looked at Tech, not oblivious to the fact that even in his confidence resulting from high intelligence, Tech was clearly worried. She would have loved to reach out and embrace him, kiss his helmet just over where his lips were, but she wasn’t sure that was the right time to drop such a bombshell on the rest of the squad.

“I’ll return,” Sarah told Tech.

Tech adopted a look of trust and nodded. “Do take care.”

“I will,” Sarah whispered, and she turned around to head where the Force was calling her.

Through the twigs and the plants, Sarah was led to a dark entrance. She immediately recognized that it was not the same entrance she’d used back in the day. This one was smaller, but the dark void that it led to looked equally daunting. Despite the fear she could have felt, Sarah’s marks burned as she stood at the cave’s threshold. She knew she had to step into the darkness for her to find whatever the Force was trying to tell her. Carefully, she stepped down the entrance, and the light around her gradually vanished. It was then that she remembered the trails of lights she and Crosshair had put down when they had entered, and Sarah had no such comfort this time. She reached to the ground for a large stick and tore a fragment of leather from her belt, and tying them together, she fashioned a torch that would suffice for as long as she was down there.

Sarah submerged herself into the darkness of the cave and followed wherever her instincts told her to go whenever she reached a crossroads. Though she knew there was a purpose, it began to feel as if she was wandering without a course, and for the first time since she entered the cave, Sarah felt lost. She was stranded with no idea how deep or how far she was, much less which way she’d have to turn to go back the way she came from. The warm flickering of her torch was the only comfort in the darkness, and she felt a weight forming in her mind and the hollowness in her chest returning. But Sarah knew that standing still wouldn’t get her anywhere, and she closed her eyes, exhaled, and focused.

Sarah then knew she had to walk straight ahead, and that was where she went. She lost track of the time she spent pacing in that direction, and just when it all seemed still, Sarah felt the ground beneath her become weak. Just as she made sense of the fact that she’d stumbled upon a pocket of gravel, she was already beginning to fall, with her shocked scream thundering through the caves. She fell through darkness until eventually hitting solid ground, coughing as she crawled up to standing, and when the dust finally died down and she could breathe again, Sarah shuffled through the pile of gravel in search of her torch, but it was no use. She’d lost it, and she had no way of producing light once more. Just like that, Sarah was alone, entombed in the caves where creatures lurked and no light would reach her, and she felt her entire body begin to shake.

Hurriedly, she checked herself. She had her diamond on her chest where it belonged. The rifle was still secured to her back, and her blaster was steadily holstered at her hip. She reached for her comm and tried to turn it on, but all she heard was static. She wouldn’t be able to contact anyone with it. Reaching the verge of panic, she took deep breaths. Her loud mind was eventually able to turn quiet, and when it did, Sarah was relieved to finally be able to hear the Force calling again.

Sarah…

She realized she needed no light to see. Sarah exhaled everything, mindful of her bond with the Force, and with a blind trust, she walked forward again. The darkness seemed eternal, thick and unbearably dense, but when she turned a particular corner, Sarah picked up on a delicate light-blue gleam in the distance, and the burning of her marks down to her very last instinct told her to go toward it. She picked up her feet and soon arrived at the bulb, and just as she stepped foot in it, she felt herself stop breathing.

“Fancy a swim with me, Ace?”

She’d been there before.

“You need to sleep,” she told him.

“You rest,” Crosshair insisted. “I’ll keep watch.”

“We’ll be safe here, and I’ll sense anything before it tries to sneak up on us,” she affirmed, though her words were contradicted by how tired she looked.

“The way you did with that thing back there?” Crosshair inevitably grunted as Sarah helped him sit on the ground.

“I will throw you into the lagoons if you keep being a dick, Pumpkin,” she gave him a fake smile.

An arrogant laugh escaped him. “You’re just going to jump in after me, Ace. You’re crazy for my bones.”

Sarah walked deeper into the bulb, and the blue gleaming coming from the iridescent algae in the water caused delicate reflections on her figure. Her gaze scanned every corner of the cave, battling the bitter sting of solitude, and at last, she looked at the water of one of the lagoons. Her marks burned, and she walked towards the lagoon, kneeling down on the ground and bending over the edge to the point where her hair and the chain with her diamond dangled forward above the water. The blue glow coming from the algae was enticing, even peaceful, and for a second, Sarah felt a tender smile curling her lips.

She felt the need to reach down and run her fingers through the clear blue water if only just to wash away the dust. Her hand slowly made its way down, and the moment her middle finger touched the water, a wave of sensations crashed onto Sarah and tore her from the physical world, driving her through a series of images blurring past her eyes at what felt like lightspeed. The only sensation Sarah could cling to was that of her heart pounding through her chest and her body heaving up and down with heavy breaths as the tried to process everything that she was seeing.

She saw a cloudy gray sky with nothing in sight for klicks upon klicks.

She saw Tech. She saw blaster fire. She felt sorrow.

She saw a pair of uncommonly blue eyes staring directly at her with dark eyebrows crowning them, one of them with a small scar.

She saw Crosshair in his full black Imperial armor.

She saw herself with glistening yellow eyes, and her marks were pitch black on her skin to the point where it was impossible for them to be darker.

She saw Crosshair in his original, familiar gray and red armor, and she could have sworn there was a brief smile on his thin lips.

Then, there was a blur of snow, fire, clouds, and smoke, sunlight and oceans but also a hot, towering jungle. Smiles, frowns, laughter, and tears; ships and houses and the Marauder burning in flames, it all blurred together until Sarah was brought back to reality and she was thrown back a couple meters from the edge of the lagoon onto the cold, rock solid ground, and all she saw was black as she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she abruptly woke up, Sarah panted. She couldn’t blink, she couldn’t even cry. She couldn’t make sense of how long she’d been out or the things she’d seen, and as she sat up, she felt her heart would leap straight out of her chest. On the ground, she rested a hand on the floor while the other sustained her forehead, and finally, her breathing began to steady itself. She replayed the images in her head, the visions of Tech, of Crosshair, and a man she didn’t yet know, all the smoke and violence and emptiness, and yet, the most terrorizing image of them all was the one of herself with her nebulous, pink and blue nebulous eyes turned yellow.

Sarah had studied the Force enough to know what the yellow eyes meant, and she had felt enough fear and anger up until that point to know that was where it led. Contradictorily, all she was able to feel at that moment after seeing such images was fear itself, and as she slipped into helplessness, Sarah began to weep.

“Why?” She whimpered into the cave, lifting her gaze up as if she could look into the Force itself. “Why are you showing me this?”

When all the response she got was silence, she began to cry harder.

“I never asked for this, you know?” Sarah sobbed. “I would have done things differently if you had just let me. I just want a home, I want my family together, dammit, is that too much to ask?!”

She stormed to her feet and anger crowded her features. “I just want Crosshair back, is that too much to ask?! Did you only bring me here to rub that in my face and tell me I’ll turn dark because of it?!”

Again, there was only silence. And in the middle of it, the tears falling down Sarah’s cheeks got slower, and in the distance, she could hear the occasional stone shifting and droplet of water falling into a lagoon and its echo rippling through the emptiness of the caves. She was alone. She felt forsaken, and she was lost. Sarah remained standing on her spot with her gaze falling vacantly down towards the lagoon, and she waited.

Then, on the pathway on the opposite side of the bulb, Sarah noticed a familiar trail of torch lights coming on, illuminating a cavern that was pitch black. She recognized them—she’d put them down herself all that time ago, and there was no reason for them to power on other than a higher power. A sign. An answer.

Sarah knew it was time to move. She walked in the direction of the cavern, following the lights, the trail much easier to follow than if she had remained in darkness. The road ahead seemed to quicken, as she finally felt the confidence of having been there before, her fear of the dark caverns vanishing behind her with every step. Even the air around her felt lighter and more breathable as she made her way up the caverns, and she knew she was close to the exit when she saw stone debris around the paths culminating in the large, hollow bulb she had made it to where the large carcass of a centipede rested on the ground.

Shivers coursed through Sarah as she beheld the grim sight. Her steps around the centipede were slow, basking in the sheer size of the beast that had managed to knock her down back then. The fear and the sorrow of her memories threatened to take over her again, and just then, Sarah reached the head of the centipede where, on the exoskeleton, she could see scorched bone on the area around one of its eyes—the mark had been left there by a clean bolt fired from the rifle that rested disassembled on her back.

Sarah reached her hand out and ran her fingers slowly over the scorched bone, and when she touched it, the light that crept in from outside through the entry of the cave seemed to intensify. She turned her head in that direction and noticed the ray of light falling on her, and the center of her chest got warmer and seemed to emanate a light of its own. That was when she looked down, and Sarah gasped when she saw the ray of sunlight concentrating solely on her diamond to the point where it even resembled a kyber crystal acting as the soul of its lightsaber; a beam of light powering the body around it, guiding it down the path of light.

Sarah looked back up at the light that came in through the entrance, and she made sense of it. The visions, the sorrow, they weren’t definite. Whether or not Sarah remained in the light—her fate—was bound to the things she saw. Tech had been among her visions, and he’d been the source of comfort and love in Sarah’s life. She had no doubt he’d kept her from steering down a wrong path.

And as for the pain of all the memories of Crosshair, as well as the sorrow from his departure, Sarah had also seen him smiling in his old armor again, and she knew those hadn’t been memories. She vividly remembered every angle she had seen him in before, and having seen him like that alongside her diamond shining made her feel hope. She would see him again, and that was a path worth far more than becoming enclosed in the darkness with memories of what once was. It was worth moving forward.

“I understand,” Sarah said quietly, knowing she would be heard, and after one last look, she let go of the scorch mark on the centipede’s carcass and faced the entry, heading towards it until at last climbing into the light and leaving the cave behind.

Once more, Sarah was surrounded by the endless green of the trees of Kashyyyk and the singing of birds. It was cooler than when she’d first gone into the cave and the sunlight seemed brighter—she would first need to know how long she’d been inside. Sarah knelt and placed her hand on the soil and felt the energies coursing through the planet, and she got a clear vision of where she had to go. She strode through the forest for a time she didn’t bother measuring, and eventually, she was close enough to feel her family closing in around the same area where more smoke rose between the trees.

“Sarah!”

She heard Hunter’s voice calling her from a distance, and after a last few bushes, Sarah emerged at a blank space surrounded by trunks where she met her squad still accompanied by Gungi, all of them looking at her puzzled, yet relieved. Omega ran towards Sarah and wrapped her arms around her waist, and Sarah hugged her back instantly, crouching down to do it better. Soon, everyone else had gathered around them, and Sarah stood back up to greet them all.

The first person with whom she made eye contact was Tech, and she would have said many more things to him had it not been for the fact that he and the others were holding shovels. Then, Sarah looked around and finally made sense of the smoke, and her gaze landed on Tech again, alarmed.

“What happened?” Sarah asked.

“Trandoshans,” Tech replied, removing his helmet to converse with her better. “Trandoshans with imperial tanks. They are the ones responsible for the damage.”

“Oh, stars…” Sarah looked around at the others, her gaze landing on Hunter. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

Gungi spoke to her, in his native tongue, “Don’t worry. You did what you were called to do. How was it?”

Sarah hesitated. “It was… overwhelming. But I think I know what the Force was trying to tell me.”

“Are you hurt?” Tech asked her. “You have dust patches all over.”

“I fell a few times, but I’m not hurt,” she answered softly.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asked her, his tone gentle, as he picked up on her raised heart beat.

Sarah looked at him again. “Nothing, I… I had visions.”

“Visions?” Omega asked. “Like… did you see the future?”

“Visions are tricky,” Gungi said in Shyriiwook. “Whatever you saw is not necessarily true, especially if the vision was alarming or frightening, but you do need to be mindful of the path you’re taking.”

Sarah smiled softly. “Yeah, I figured as much. Don’t worry. I’m confident I’m on the right track.”

And she didn’t need to doubt that, not when she saw her squad together. She knew that if she had them all, she’d be fine. The image of her with black marks and yellow eyes would still continue to bother her for some time to come, but Sarah knew she could get past it when she turned to Tech and he was already smiling softly at her.

“When we have the opportunity, I would like you to tell me in detail,” Tech said. “I have not studied the Force nearly enough.”

“Consider it done,” she answered and looked at Hunter and Echo. “So, Trandoshans. Do we engage or evade?”

“I say we engage,” Echo said. “We owe it to the Wookiees.”

Hunter seemed deep in thought as he considered his answer, and just then, the chittering background noise intensified. Everyone stood alert, but Sarah and Hunter exchanged a look. Whatever was approaching them was large, but it didn’t feel hostile.

And then, from between the trees, three Wookiee warriors emerged riding Mylaya steeds, large feline creatures with incredible telescoping ears and wisdom decorating their animalistic facial features. The Wookiees that rode them climbed down and greeted Gungi first, and then the rest of the squad, inviting them to come along with them to their village in gratitude. They distributed themselves among the Mylaya steeds, with Gungi, Tech, and Sarah riding on the green-furred steed alongside the chief warrior.

“You may want to hang onto me,” Tech told Sarah, looking over his shoulder.

“I would,” Sarah agreed as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. “I’d hate to fall.”

“Do so tightly,” Tech instructed. “Mylaya steeds are known to leap and climb across the flora of—GAH!”

Upon the Wookiee warriors’ command, the Mylaya leaped from the ground and made its path between the trees, shocking anyone who wasn’t prepared for such an abrupt movement. It inevitably drew laughter out of Sarah as she clinged to Tech and they seemed to glide through the air.

“Tech, you fly far more ruthlessly than this,” Sarah giggled.

“At least when I fly, I am in control,” Tech justified himself. “The steed’s course is so far unpredictable to me; I cannot calculate a path and therefore cannot prepare for impact or any other potentially unforeseen event.”

“Just enjoy it,” Sarah chuckled. “Some adrenaline every now and then is fun.”

“Do not tell me about fun, for of the two of us, I am the riot racing champion,” Tech answered with confidence.

“And yet, you were just frightened by a Mylaya,” Sarah teased.

“This conversation is over,” Tech decreed.

Sarah giggled lovingly at him and wrapped her arms tighter around his torso, leaning her head on his back as she enjoyed the remainder of the ride toward the Wookiee village.

Meanwhile, on the back of a different steed, Hunter watched Tech and Sarah closely.

Thank you for reading! Please reblog to support me! Divider at the top made by stars-n-spice.

Taglist: @nunanuggets @arctrooper69 @rexandechosandwich @jelly-m0onbeans

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

NEXT CHAPTER ->

#the moonwalker series #moonstrider writes #oc sarah adhara #tbb fanfic #tbb fanfiction #the bad batch fanfic #the bad batch fanfiction #bad batch fanfic #tbb tech x oc #tbb crosshair x oc

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zillyeh · 2 years ago

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Turned Tides

Technically an immediate precursor to this drabble. only cws i can really give is talks of bombing towards the end, lmk if i need to add anything here<3 Synopsis: Around 150 sweeps ago, Heiress Halosa Delhon discuss what to do with the den of rebels in the north of Delhon city, with the added input of some unfortunate guests.

Your heavy footsteps echo across the marble castle floors. The mere sound of your approach had always been enough to quiet a room, but since the execution? A pin could drop upstairs and you could hear it. You almost miss her air headed giggling as she draped herself over the throne.However.

You admit that you prefer what it's done to Heiress Halosa.

She sits motionless on her throne. Hollow. She is a shell of the Delhon you knew. You'd behead Bridal again just to watch the light leave Halosa's eyes.

The heiress did not wear her mourning whites for long. She was already back to her caped fleet uniform. The golden rank pauldrons sat spiky and and important on her shoulders. They glinted with the rest of the gold inlaid in her uniform in the jade and pink moonlight. Even this subtle combination of colors bouncing on her lap seemed to be grimming her already sour expression.

You greet her with a kneeling bow.

"Your highness," you say. She hardly moves but to flick her wrist- an instruction to stand.

"Steris," she says, the gravel of her voice deeper than you've ever heard it. "Approach. We don't have time for a round table. Visitors."

"Visitors?" you ask incredulously, climbing the short few steps to her side. "Now?" A quiet Delhon castle is a Delhon castle in shambles. To bring in others before you get a moment with her is… inconvenient. For you.

"They have a solution for me." Her voice is robotic. Halosa is running low on willpower. Anyone but you would think she’s just as hard as ever, but you can see her foundations beginning to crack. Mentioning Bridal in just the right way could break her, bend her to your whims, but you need her alone.

She hums, shifting in her seat. With an unenthusiastic flourish, she bangs her serpentine scepter on the ground. The ornate main doors of the throne room open, and the quartet of trolls that enter makes your thin lip curl.

They aren't clowns of yours, but they are clowns. Masked laughsassins with Enfaris' signature gaudy frills, all except for the tall elder in the front of them. He was certainly as Enfarian as the rest, but he had the decency to mute his colors and show his face. His paint was obnoxiously intricate- they have so much time for it don't they?- and did work to fill the deep lines of his face. His hair fell around his face in thin, tight braids, beaded in green and red at the ends.

"Your 'ighness," he greets. The phlegmy yet airy dust of his accent on those two words alone make your skin crawl. The beads in his hair clatter softly as he shifts. He bares his throat in place of bowing. Whatever ailment requires his cane seems to prevent his fellows from dropping to the floor as well. Disrespectful.

"Father Jortis, I take it?" Halosa asks, not looking for an answer. "I apologize for having no announcer to your entrance. It is no secret that my court is in unacceptable disarray. Please, speak."

"It is quite alright, Madame Delhon," Jortis says, gripping the cane in front of him. You do not hide your grimace when you realize it has a honking horn at the handle.

"My church received most disturbing news from someone in zis province," he continues, "A rather eloquent plea for assistance. I 'ave an embarrassment of my own you see: in short a few, shall I say incorrectly zealous of our church stole some of our‐ qu'est que ce- 'idden members. I am to believe their fleeing brought zem 'ere, based on my informant's descriptions."

"This should be our priority why exactly?" You can't see his angle. You don't like that. "What do you mean by hidden-"

Halosa puts up a hand again.

"You will be addressed when you are addressed, Steris." She can't make her voice sound as scary as it used to be. Regardless, you shut your mouth, narrowing your eyes at the clowns in front of you.

"My advisor does make a fair point, Father. You bring this to me now for the reasons I hope you do, yes?"

Jortis nods once.

"Not zat I would be so brazen as to peek into your mind, but I believe so. My informant claims to 'ave been abducted by rebels and forced to labor for zem- ones zat match ze description of my missing flock."

"Fascinating," you say, having never shut up for long before this. "Is your little informant with us tonight, Enfarian?"

"'E should be," Jortis says easily, catching you off guard. His aloofness to your own disrespect annoys you. Enfarians are so difficult to rile. "If 'e manages to-"

The doors behind the troupe open again, spilling in the last person you'd ever thought you'd see in Delhon's throne room. The guards who escort him in look like they can't get their hands off him fast enough.

"Ninefingers?" You almost can't believe your eyes. He looks genuinely afraid in a way you've never seen the Exacerbator look. He wrings his lopsided hands, warily moving beside the quartet of clowns before dropping to a bow for the Heiress.

"Your highness," he says with a shake in his voice. Closer you can see barely healed scars on his arms, and a bruise under his eye. His first finger has been replaced with something made of… wood? How barbaric. His curly hair had been pulled back tight. He looks even smaller than he already is without his mane. Crushable underfoot or under ax.

Halosa signals for him to get up, casting a wary eye at you. You step forward. He winces.

"I should strangle whatever information you have out of you, Aarika." You crack your knuckles, but Jortis and Halosa both put their arms out to keep you two from each other.

"Vionyi, fucking behave or I will force you to leave."

"Yeah, okay."

Halosa stands. She strikes you across the mouth hard enough to reverberate through the high-ceilinged hall. You swallow the bit of blood in your mouth, clenching your fists. Oh how you hate fighting the urge to do something back. Tears sting at your eyes, but you are well practiced in biting back pain. Closing your clear false lids also helps.

"We can have this conversation over your corpse if need be," she says, some of the real danger in her voice back. You grit your teeth, the hand shaped print on your face stings. Hard.

"I apologize for my insolence, your highness," you say through tight lips. "I shall not let my emotions get the better of me again."

For a split second, you think you catch a smug little smirk on Aarika's face.

"If I may-," Aarika speaks up with the well practice shake of a fearful child. Halosa seats herself again. "I apologize as well for my- everything. My unacceptable transgressions against the Empire, what I assume is a nasty scar on the back of your leg-" You want to kill him. Never in your life have you had to contain it quite this much. Cleaving him in two would only be the start. "-all of it is my fault. After those pirates took me from- kept me under the deck until I was so wound up and starved that I-" he interrupts himself with a sob. Jortis places a hand on his shoulder. Pathetic. This was what had become of Exacerbator Ninefingers?

"I- sometimes I feel like I'm still not fully come to. I'm sorry. That's not what I'm here for. Please forgive me." He clears his throat, shaking as he finds his composure. "When they landed last they took me here. Taking to the rebel groups. The Underground practically found him- us first."

"The Underground?" Halosa seems interested. That was your pet project for sweeps. He's going to take this from you, right under your nose. Or lack thereof.

He nods. "There’s a church, on the north side of the city. They call it the-" he shudders, as if remembering something terrible, "-the church of the Reverent. That's what they call their leader. He and a handful of others are Enfarian. You can hear it- and I've overheard things-"

Jortis seems to think that Aarika's frantic ramblings are enough.

"I would like your permission to retrieve ze 'eads of my missing flock, your 'ighness," he says, gesturing back to his laughsassins. Ah. That's what they were there for.

"Infiltration is incredibly difficult," Aarika interjects. "There are tunnels they will use to evacuate at even the slightest hint of smoke, the-"

"Old snake tunnels, I am familiar," Halosa says, more lively than you've seen her in weeks. Ugh. "Do you know them well enough to block them off?"

He hesitates, but nods.

"They could be… encouraged to certain routes."

Halosa turns her gaze to Jortis.

"How much time would it take you, Jortis?"

"Twenty minutes if we linger," he says. His little trio of freaks nod in unison. Aarika looks just as uncomfortable as you feel with them. The welts he came in with are slower to fade than you thought they'd be. Exacerbator Ninefingers had been rumored to heal as fast as you could cut him, but you suppose not all pirate tales are true.

You are very aware of the chunk he cut out of your thigh as you stare him down. He balks under your scrutiny, reluctantly leaning towards the subjugs. You want to find something, anything about him that you can use to get him dead. His crimes against the Empire are enough, but if he uses this leverage to beg for his life now? After giving up the location to the biggest thorn in Delhon’s side?

Halosa was far too weak not to let him have it.

"If you intend to do this, I would suggest you do it soon," he says, freaky teeth moving as he speaks. "They are intending to mobilize somewhere- I'm unsure where, I would assume further north to disperse into the woods, or south to integrate into the city."

"Two very different directions," Halosa hums.

“That is by design, your highness,” Aarika says with a solemn nod. “They listen to me about… tactics. They know who I was, not who I am. I will do anything in my limited power to make sure that the one who stole your m-”

He stopped himself with a hand over his mouth, looking like he fully expected Halosa to strike him down. You wish she would. She sits up straighter in her seat, the hardness of a several thousand year old war-ender back in her eyes. When she speaks again it is a demand.

“Who stole my...”

“The unspeakably blooded rebel who stole your beloved, your highness.” Aarika dropped to the floor again in another bow. He was really laying it on thick, though you must begrudgingly admire his commitment to keeping his neck and his head attached. “You must know she is one of the Enfarians in that church. It’s where-”

“Enough.” Now Halosa Delhon’s voice was a thundercrack, reverberating off the walls louder than when she’d slapped you. “Father, you can personally see to the unmerciful, gruesome end of your ex flock?” Jortis nodded. Aarika looked up, still frightened, but for a moment the mask slipped to unfettered glee. You would see his teeth pulled out of his face and reintroduced into his eyesockets if you could.

“Unmercifully shall tack on an ‘andful’s worth of minutes, but it can be done, easily. One of our riders has a vested interest in seeing at least one of zem dead. If I understand correctly, it is the very same.” Riders. They would have taken one of their noodly, violent dragons here. Enfarians have them to spare for every law enforcer over there. You wonder which of his troupe it is. If they aren’t out tending to it.

The shadow of a smile finds itself creasing the severe lines around Halosa’s mouth. This is bad for you. If they can just kill their leaders and get the few spies stationed to get the more egregious mutants, your position as her tactician is practically-

“Steris,” she says, alive. You stiffen. “You had plans for the city north, did you not?”

Is she serious?

“Your highness?”

“To simply kill the perpetrators of so much strife against my city is not enough,” she says cooly, rehearsing words you’d spoken to her already almost verbatim. “The rats nest must be wiped out, lest more vermin crop up. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Something in the way you shift almost makes Aarika snort. You feel almost lightheaded. Is this truly happening? This is one of the best nights of your life. Aarika and the foreign clowns at the edge of your vision be damned, she’s actually going to go through with it.

“Of course, your highness,” you say breathlessly, “An example should be made to the rest of the city- rest of the province that you-”

“Won’t stand for this behavior from our citizens,” she finishes for you. “Contact Felzee and the other two, tell them they’ll have thirty minutes. Anyone else you find terribly important as well. Everyone else figures it out when the drones come.”

You give her a short nod.

“Shall we be walling off the rest of the city then?” She nods in return. Her control over Delhon’s drones could rival even the Empress. Shielding off just the north side would be nothing.

“Get Ninefingers to mark a map for you and Jortis.” You grimace, and he winces at being mentioned by name. “I will offer you one singular favor, Amillo Aarika, aside from sparing your life.”

Of course she would.

Fucking of course she would.

That won’t sour your mood. Aarika could ask for a room in the castle and you’d still be over the moons. This is your idea, she’s listened to you, you are getting everything you wanted to do to that hole and more.

“A floor of the greenhouse tower in the center city,” Aarika says as if he’d been expecting this. “If you would be so generous. I- I want my life to be simple, all I’ve ever really wanted is to make-”

“I don’t care. It will be done. All of you come with me. This must be done now.”

When she stands, turning her back to your company, something in Aarika changes, shifts ever so slightly that you barely catch it. His shake stops. He seems more relaxed. He catches your eye and flashes you a smile, which you meet with a sneer. You know then that he’s also just gotten exactly what he wanted. Even if it doesn’t seem like much, you and he are united in this one desire- to see north Delhon torched.

That doesn’t sit well with you, but you have to ignore it. Right now you have a city to raze.

#Zilly drabbles #BY POPULAR POLL DEMAND!!#Grotesque tag #SHE tag #Smiles tag #Mr. Smiles #Jortis tag #Jortis Immacu #Turned Tides

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davisexplainableart · 1 year ago

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Mixels 10 Years Tour

[Taken directly from "News" section of Mixels site]

(Also this isn't actually real)

Attention, Mixels fans. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Mixels!!

To celebrate, the Mixels are gearing up for yet another musical trip on the road!

We'll be traveling all across, playing in as many countries as we can!

Best of all, we'll be starting a month early!

The tour begins Friday January 12th in Morrison, Colorado, and will remain in the US for about a month (see dates below). Specific venues have already been announced, the rest will be unveiled at a later date.

Here's how it'll work: each show will start with about 2-3 opening acts (the unofficial number is because one of those acts will sometimes be too busy to perform on some dates; the other openers will remain throughout the whole tour). While the opening acts will be the same people, the "headliner" as we'll name them will be sorta different for each show.

When we say "sorta different", we mean that there will be a pattern for what headliners will appear.

And now, without further ado, here is the planned tour route for America:

1/12: Red Rocks Amphitheater; Morrison, CO

1/13: Treasure Island Amphitheater; Red Wing, MN

1/16: Jay Pritzker Pavilion; Chicago, IL

1/17: Starlight Theatre; Kansas City, MO

1/18: Radio City Music Hall; NY

1/19: PNC Pavilion; Cincinnati, OH

1/20: Aretha Franklin Amphitheater; Detroit, MI

1/22: Craig Ranch Amphitheater; North Las Vegas, NV

1/23: Greek Theatre; Los Angeles, CA

1/25: Leader Bank Pavilion; Boston, MA

1/26: Maine Savings Amphitheater; Bangor, ME

1/28: American Family Insurance Amphitheater; Milwaukee, WI

1/29: Grossinger Motors Arena; Bloomington, IL

1/31: SumTur Amphitheater; Papillion, NE

Tour manager [Mr. Meanie] was asked about what his hopes were in regards to the tour. He said...

"My hopes are for the shows we play to give off a positive attitude, to show the magic of playing music, and to bring wonder and joy to the masses."

More locations and venues will be revealed later!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*grumbling*

'Positive attitude' my a**...

The gall of that stupid tour manager to make it seem like he has no flaws. You can't see it in his interview, but I sure can. I've seen it before...

I'm not even gonna show his real name, I'm replacing any mention of his name with stuff like "Mr. Meanie" because it describes him perfectly.

There is no way I'm letting that guy drag me across the world, just to strain my vocals for days on end, all while playing in frigid cold temperatures.

And there's no way in h**l that I'm performing at the show in Bloomington (hence why I've crossed it out)! I've heard too many bad stories from that place. What Davis is really trying to say is that he and his friends are excited to be one of the openers for the tour. As always, their band is sort of a tribute act to Oasis.

UPDATE: Every venue has been announced for each location on this list! See you this Friday!!

6/10/2024 UPDATE: I've decided that I'm now comfortable enough to mention the tour manager's name. It will be added to every post related to the tour after this one.

#announcement #Mixels #Oasis

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cyberbenb · 2 months ago

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Ukraine Business Roundup — Trump tariffs hit Ukraine's steel industry

The following is the Feb. 11, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.

Ukraine’s steel industry — one of its most critical sectors — just can’t seem to catch a break as of late. First a critical mine closes, then comes U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel.

Last week, we published an article on what the loss of the Pokrovsk mine that produces coking coal — necessary to make steel — would mean for Ukraine.

The mine was the last remaining coking coal site in Ukrainian-controlled territory. The country’s steel producers will now have to increase imports of the fuel, racking up transport costs, business reporter Dominic Culverwell writes.

Importing more coking coal will hinder the global competitiveness of Ukrainian steel, which has already taken a pounding since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Some analysts are unsure if Ukrainian producers can afford to cover the needed imports.

“To produce the 2024 volume of steel — 7.5 million metric tons — we would need (to import) 1.9 million tons of coal. We have doubts whether it would be possible to import such quantities and definitely it would further increase the costs of our steel producers,” Oleksandr Kalenkov, the head of Ukraine’s steelmakers' association, told the Kyiv Independent.

And then came Trump’s executive order on Feb. 10 imposing a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, with no exceptions.

Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook that Ukraine’s metallurgical products make up 57.9% of Ukraine’s exports to the U.S., or in dollar amounts, $503 million out of $869 million. It’s unclear what time frame those figures represent.

True — the share of Ukrainian products in U.S. steel products is minimal and won’t have a significant impact on U.S. producers. But it’s still another blow to the country’s largest exports of metallurgical companies — ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and Interpipe — already hurting due to the war.

“In recent years, we have made every effort to ensure that Ukrainian steel remains outside the 25% tariff limit in the U.S.,” Svyrydenko said, implying that these efforts have been unsuccessful.

The minister added that she and her colleagues are “working actively with partners to find an optimal solution by March 12,” when the tariffs come into effect.

Donald Trump speaks at a presidential campaign event at Crotona Park in the South Bronx in New York City on May 23, 2024 (JB Lacroix/GC Images)

Shifting deal

In more Trump–Ukraine-related news, the U.S. president came out on Feb. 9 claiming that Kyiv had “essentially agreed” to a $500-billion deal for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Trump and his team had already announced it was looking to exchange U.S. support for Ukraine’s critical minerals, which President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration appeared to be open to, but two things appear to be new here.

First, the size of the deal, and second, that any deal wouldn’t be in exchange for future support, but compensation for U.S. aid already provided to Ukraine. It’s unclear yet if the shift in rhetoric changes Ukraine’s willingness to enter into such an agreement.

We’re likely to find out more in the coming days — Bloomberg reported on Feb. 11 that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Ukraine this week to discuss a potential deal between Kyiv and Washington on critical minerals.

Illustrative purposes only: A picture showing Naftogaz workers leaving the Bobrovnytska gas-compressor and gas-holder station in Mryn, Chernihiv Oblast, about 130 kilometers from Kyiv on Dec. 16, 2008. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Gas woes

Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack at Ukraine overnight on Feb. 11, primarily targeting Poltava Oblast and damaging Naftogaz production facilities in the region, the company said.

Just last week, Reuters reported that Ukraine would maintain a high level of gas imports of 16.3 million cubic meters on Feb. 9 after the country began sharply increasing imports following a series of Russian attacks on its gas facilities.

Earlier in the week, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry Herman Halushchenko said Russian strikes had severely impacted Ukraine’s domestic gas production capacity, and that the country would need to import an estimated 1 billion cubic meters of gas by the end of the year.

Ukraine’s daily gas consumption was about 110 million cubic meters last month, Serhiy Makogon, the former head of the country’s transit operator, told Reuters.

KYIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 7: President of Kyivstar Oleksandr Komarov during discussion ‘Large State-Owned And Private Companies As Elements Of The State’s Cyber Resilience’ on February 7, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The main topic of this year’s forum is ‘Global Challenges of Cyber War’. Representatives of the government, technological companies, leading experts in the industry and the cyber community take part in discussions of various topics during the forum. (Photo by hurricanehank/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

The year of Kyivstar

Ukraine’s anti-trust regulator approved Kyivstar’s acquisition of taxi service Uklon, paving the way for its purchase, Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov announced at an American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine event on Feb. 6.

That’s big news on its own. Kyivstar is Ukraine’s leading mobile operator — Uklon, the country’s most popular ride-hailing service. The deal is reportedly valued at $40-60 million.

What’s more interesting here is everything going on with Kyivstar as of late. At the start of the full-scale invasion, it was at risk of nationalization over its parent company Veon’s Russian shareholders.

But in the last couple of months, Kyivstar announced a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide direct satellite-to-cell service. Last month, news broke that Kyivstar would be the first company to be listed on Nasdaq — which Komarov said would likely happen in Q3 — and now, the Uklon purchase.

What does it all mean? As one colleague noted, the Nasdaq listing plans might be a way for Kyivstar to get away from its former Russian ties. Given French billionaire Xavier Niel’s purchase of the third-largest mobile operator Lifecell last year, I’d say developing telecoms — which involves a country’s critical infrastructure — is a prime target for post-war investment in Ukraine.

President of the European Investment Bank Nadia Calvino talking to media about the annual results of the EIB in the Justus Lipsius, the EU Council headquarters, on Jan. 30, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Europe stepping in

The European Investment Bank announced on Feb. 10 that it had signed agreements to mobilize close to 1 billion euros ($1.03 billion) in investments into Ukraine’s public and private sectors — a welcome move as the U.S. cuts funding abroad.

Nadia Calvino, the EIB’s president, said at a press briefing that she had discussed Ukraine’s urgent funding needs with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to see where the bank could fill the gaps if international partners withdraw their support.

“We discussed the priority areas where the EIB could step up its support — for example, in the areas of border management, transport, energy, and municipalities,” Calvino said in Kyiv during her first visit to the country since taking up office as head of the EIB a year ago.

The investment announced on Feb. 10 includes 420 million euros ($433 million) in Ukraine’s public sector to help restore critical infrastructure such as energy, heating, water supply, hospitals, schools, and social housing.

On the private sector side, the bank has signed an agreement to mobilize close to 500 million euros ($515 million) in financing for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the whole country, including in front-line regions, Calvino said.

Read more here.

What else is happening

Ukraine’s stocks hit pre-war levels on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Polish media reports

WIG Ukraine, Ukrainian companies' stock price index on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), rose by almost 25% in a few days, reaching pre-war levels, Polish media outlet Puls Biznesu reported. Investors expect to see the recovery of Ukraine-controlled territories and negotiations on the country’s accession to the EU to follow, creating opportunities for Ukrainian and Polish companies listed on the WSE, Jakub Szkopek, an analyst at investment company Erste Securities told Puls Biznesu.

Parliament approves controversial purchase of Russian nuclear reactors from Bulgaria

Ukraine’s parliament voted in favor of buying two Russian-made reactors from Bulgaria for the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Feb. 11. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the lawmakers last week to approve the project, calling it a “key to energy independence.” Some lawmakers and anti-corruption activists have criticized the deal, arguing that the reactors are obsolete and expensive. The parliament has long struggled to pass the law, prompting Bulgaria to extend the deadline for concluding the deal until March.

French trade chief says Paris involved in rare earths research in Ukraine, adds US not a competitor

In an interview with the Kyiv Independent, France’s trade chief Laurent Saint-Martin said that France has been working with Ukraine on rare mineral exploitation for a long time, with French experts from organizations like BRGM and the inter-ministerial Direction for Rare Mineral Supply. “France remains fully involved in this sector, and we continue discussions with Ukrainian authorities,” Saint-Martin said.

Euroclear to send 2-billion-euro tranche of Russian assets profits for Kyiv

The European Union will receive a second tranche of 2 billion euros ($2.05 billion) from profits generated by frozen Russian Central Bank assets that are meant for Ukraine and its war effort. The clearing house said in a statement on Feb. 5 that the second payment is expected to be made in March and should amount to approximately 2 billion euros.

DVL Group, owner of Ukraine’s third-largest mobile operator Lifecell, plans to cut 15% of IT staff following merger

Ukraine’s newly formed telecommunications company DVL Group is planning to cut 15% of its IT department due to business consolidation and optimization, the company told Economichna Pravda on Feb. 4. The process is set to be completed in 2025. French billionaire Xavier Niel bought and merged fixed operator Data Group Volia and Lifecell — Ukraine’s third-largest mobile operator — last year in a deal worth more than $500 million.

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mariacallous · 3 months ago

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Stretched thin by a mountain of crises worldwide from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan, many aid groups are now grappling with another challenge: the return of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump, who was sworn into office on Monday and has vowed to advance an “America First” agenda, doesn’t directly determine the U.S. foreign aid budget—Congress does. But he has a long track record of targeting the sector, stoking anxiety and alarm among aid groups that had already been scrambling to cobble together the funding to meet the immense global need.

The U.S. leader sent shock waves across aid circles on his first day in office by issuing an executive order halting all U.S. foreign assistance for a 90-day period, pending further review. He also signed an order to yank the United States out of the World Health Organization, building on earlier threats from his first presidency, and announced a suspension to the U.S. refugee resettlement program, even canceling flights for thousands of refugees whose travel plans had already been approved.

“The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” the executive order said. “They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.”

Trump’s latest measures have cast a cloud of uncertainty over aid agencies and organizations, which fear how the emboldened president’s policies may upend their work and impact millions of people in conflict-stricken regions who count on programs supported by U.S. funding. For agencies that are deeply reliant on this funding, steep cuts to the U.S. foreign aid budget could be devastating, aid workers said.

“I would imagine that organizations that are smaller, that are heavily dependent on U.S. assistance, may be facing an existential crisis,” said Bernice Romero, the executive director of the Norwegian Refugee Council USA. She added, “The medium-to-larger organizations that receive a lot of U.S. money are facing a crisis of size and range.”

The United States is the world’s biggest foreign aid donor, with some $68 billion obligated in 2023, although there are some other countries that provide more aid as a share of their national income. Yet that U.S. money, which encompasses humanitarian assistance, development support, and security funding, accounts for a tiny fraction—just 1 percent—of the entire U.S. federal budget.

“Most folks agree that our goal is to end the need for U.S. foreign assistance and to help countries become self-reliant,” said Tod Preston, the executive director of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN), a bipartisan reform group. “So the question is: How do you do that?”

Trump spent all four years of his first presidency pushing to slash the U.S. foreign aid budget—although each bid was ultimately thwarted by Congress. He reinstated and then expanded a Reagan-era policy known as the “Mexico City policy” or the “global gag rule,” blocking U.S. funding to organizations abroad that offer abortion counseling or services. And he froze hundreds of millions in aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, some of which he later released after striking asylum deals with their respective governments.

Political support for foreign aid has traditionally been bipartisan, underscored by the fact that Congress prevented Trump’s first-term proposals to gut U.S. foreign aid from materializing. But many fear that this time around may be different.

Trump “has got members of his party more in line with him than he had eight years ago,” said George Ingram, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development. “I think there’s going to be less pushback by Republicans on the Hill than you saw six and eight years ago.”

Proponents stress that Washington’s contributions have major foreign-policy benefits, including by helping to advance U.S. national security interests.

“In many cases, this is a very cost-effective investment because it can prevent situations from snowballing into a humanitarian crisis or something that would require military engagement,” said MFAN’s Preston.

Yet Trump’s return to office comes at a precarious time in the foreign aid world, as total funding currently doesn’t even come close to reaching the estimated need. In 2024, the United Nations estimated that $49 billion was needed over the course of the year to support 187.6 million people globally. But only around one-third of that amount had been received by October, resulting in a $32 billion shortfall. The U.N. also reported that total reported humanitarian funding also fell by 7 percent, compared to the previous year.

“You have this kind of one-two punch of the U.S. not being a sure thing, right at a moment where the other donors are all ostensibly like going through their own spasms,” said Kate Phillips-Barrasso, the vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps.

In 2024, eight wealthy nations announced billions of dollars in cuts to their aid budgets, including the Netherlands, France, and Germany, according to the Guardian.

“That adds up to a very worrying picture in terms of what finance there will be for global poverty reduction and humanitarian assistance at a time when those needs have not been higher,” Phillips-Barrasso said.

The future of U.S. foreign aid doesn’t dominate Trump’s statements as much as tariffs, border security, or even the Panama Canal do. But his recent executive orders—along with remarks made by his close allies—help signal his administration’s ambitions.

One such ally is tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump tapped to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and who has become a prominent voice in the second Trump administration. Musk has characterized nongovernmental agencies that receive U.S. funding as an “illegal arm of the government” while publicly backing sharp rebukes of foreign aid.

In December, for example, former Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul called on DOGE to “ELIMINATE foreign aid!” in a post on X, the social media platform owned by Musk. “It’s taking money from the poor and middle class in the US and giving it to the rich in poor countries—with a cut to the facilitators in between!” Paul wrote.

“Americans don’t want their government to borrow more money to spend on foreign aid,” Paul added. “Besides, it is the immoral transfer of wealth and is unconstitutional.”

Musk appeared to agree. “Ron is not wrong,” Musk said in a post on X. DOGE “will address this with full transparency for the American people,” he wrote separately.

Foreign aid also featured in Project 2025, conservative policy blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation, which has deep ties to Team Trump. Despite having previously denied having any connection to the proposal, the president now appears to be drawing from it.

In one chapter focused on the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—written by former USAID Deputy Administrator Max Primorac—Primorac accused the Biden administration of having “deformed the agency.” He advocated for further tying of U.S. foreign aid with U.S. foreign policy and focusing on countering China’s influence, as well as turning away from climate and diversity initiatives.

“The next conservative Administration should scale back USAID’s global footprint by, at a minimum, returning to the agency’s 2019 pre-COVID-19 pandemic budget level,” the chapter said. “It should deradicalize USAID’s programs and structures and build on the conservative reforms instituted by the Trump Administration.”

Mark Green, the administrator of USAID under the first Trump administration, said he believed that Team Trump was “looking for ways to bring order to a very fragmented foreign assistance framework.”

“I think the U.S. is skeptical of open-ended, perpetual commitments, but I don’t see the U.S. retreating,” he said. “I do think they want to see others step up to the plate, and I do think they want to emphasize the role of the private sector.”

As part of that effort, Trump’s first presidency saw the creation of the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), a development bank that received Republican backing and is aimed at countering Beijing’s sweeping overseas infrastructure investments.

“[DFC] was seen as a way to leverage foreign assistance money with the private sector,” said Ingram of the Brookings Institution. “I think that was the main selling point of the DFC in the first Trump administration.” The second Trump administration will likely continue to focus on involving the private sector, he said.

If Trump does pull back, advocates warn that the move will deal a blow to Washington’s broader geopolitical interests.

“If the U.S. government leaves a big void, we are not going to be pleased with the actors who fill that void,” said Ritu Sharma, the vice president for U.S. programs and policy advocacy at CARE, an international humanitarian organization. “And if we stop investing in foreign assistance, we will have the least influence globally than we’ve ever had in history.”

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[ad_1] From Left: Vibin Mohanan, Jithin MS, Thoiba Singh, Valpuia, Irfan Edwad. Source: Instagram The players selected by India head coach Manolo Marquez have kicked off preparations for the country’s upcoming international friendly against Malaysia on November 18 in Hyderabad. Malaysia will face Laos on November 14 before arriving in India for their friendly clash. For the Marquez-led Indian team, this game may not affect their standing, as they have already secured a spot in Pot 1 for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers draw. However, Marquez will be using this opportunity to make the necessary adjustments ahead of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers set to begin in March 2025. Since taking charge in July, Márquez has focused on using friendly matches and training sessions to refine his lineup for the Asian Cup Qualifiers. Under his guidance, India is yet to secure a win, having drawn twice and losing once in three matches, making the Malaysia game a vital opportunity to test his best playing combination. “It’s true that we want to check some new players. But obviously it’s impossible to change the whole group and call 40 players in March. It’s true that we are finding the group. It means that we have maybe 14, 15, 16 players who will be there, but we don’t know exactly. And there are a lot of players who can get there. Obviously, it’s still four months, and the situation can change with a lot of things; unfortunately with injuries and the players’ domestic form. But, I repeat again, as a coach you need to find the group which can play the style that we want.” Said the Indian team head coach. For the Latest Sports News: Click Here Indian Football Team in a hurdle (PC: Indian Football/X)) The coach announced a 26-member squad, retaining the core from recent games while adding a few surprise inclusions. Jithin MS, Vibin Mohanan, Hmingthanmawia Ralte (Valpuia), Irfan Yadwad, and Thoiba Singh have all been called up for the first time, rewarded for consistent performances in domestic leagues. Here’s a closer look at why each of these players could become valuable assets for Marquez’s set-up: Hmingthanmawia Ralte (Valpuia) Having gained prominence last season for Mumbai City FC, Valpuia has locked down the right-back spot, especially after Rahul Bheke’s transfer to Bengaluru FC. His tenacity and defensive capabilities on the right flank earned him his first national call-up. This season, Valpuia has maintained strong numbers: 1 clean sheet, 8 interceptions, 11 tackles won, and 33 duels won across 7 matches. It remains to be seen if the coach will test him as a replacement for first-choice right-back Ashis Rai. Jithin MS Fans have long advocated for Jithin MS’s inclusion in the national squad. Although an injury dashed his hopes in a previous call-up, his strong showing in the Durand Cup and ISL caught Marquez’s eye. After winning the Durand Cup 2024 Golden Boot, Jithin has continued to shine in the ISL, already delivering 4 assists for North East United. Though he’s yet to score, his aggressive runs down the flanks have proven a challenge for opposing defenders. Vibin Mohanan Regarded as one of Indian football’s brightest prospects, Vibin Mohanan has been a standout for Kerala Blasters this ISL season. At just 21, his composure and skill have been impressive. In 8 games, Vibin has played 660 minutes, averaging 45 passes per match, creating 7 chances, and delivering 7 key passes—numbers rivalled by only a few midfielders in the league. A Kerala Blasters academy graduate with experience in India’s youth squads, Vibin will face stiff competition in the camp but is sure to gain valuable experience. Irfan Yadwad Irfan Yadwad has emerged as a key find for Chennaiyin FC under Owen Coyle. After scoring just once last season, Irfan has already tallied a goal and 2 assists this season, consistently making his presence felt in the opposition box. Thoiba Singh Thoiba Singh’s outstanding defensive displays for Odisha FC this season earned him a last-minute national call-up after Mohun Bagan’s Anirudh Thapa was sidelined due to injury.

In 6 ISL matches, Thoiba has registered 10 tackles, 14 duels, and 19 recoveries. Originally a product of the Minerva Football Academy, Thoiba joined Odisha in 2021 and made an immediate impact this season when he stepped up after Carlos Delgado’s injury. Competing with names like Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, and Rahul Bheke, his debut national camp will be invaluable as he learns from these seasoned players. Still awaiting his first win with India, the India head coach is patient and not too desperate at the moment. For now, the key is to find the right groove with the right bunch and get results where they matter the most. “Obviously everyone wants to win every game. But the feeling we got after the draw with Vietnam was completely different from what we got after drawing with Mauritius or losing to Syria. In some moments, we played superb. The one key thing is that the players have to believe in our style of play. I want to win every game and even every training session. The Malaysia game is the last friendly window before the official games.” Also Read: “I believe it has all the potential to be the best World Cup ever”: Neymar Jr on Saudi Arabia’s plans to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 The post Fresh Faces & New Hopes: India Prepare for Malaysia Friendly appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

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usagirotten · 6 months ago

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Movie Review: Joker: Folie à Deux is a hollow, unnecessary, mean-spirited sequel and a huge disappointment

It's no longer news that major film studios are going through a severe economic and creative crisis, and some of their biggest productions have failed during 2024. Specifically, after 100 years, Warner Bros is not at its best. They have risked a lot and generated so little, that it seems they have abandoned the quality entertainment that was once appreciated by both insiders and outsiders, who turned the studio’s productions into cult classics. In 2019, filmmaker Todd Phillips reinvented one of the most iconic villains of comics, live-action series, animated series, and cinema. Joker went from being just an origin story to becoming an instant classic. Its story and cinematography were never seen before, elevating and enriching the character at a time when the multiverse was all the rage. In 2024, a sequel was released, **Joker: Folie à Deux**, which was completely unnecessary. Since its announcement, it has been surrounded by many issues, resulting in extreme controversy and division. It's a film you either love or hate, with massive exposure that polarizes every opinion.

What is Joker: Folie à Deux about?

Two years after the events of the first film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is confined to Arkham State Hospital, awaiting trial for his crimes. As he struggles with his dual identity, he meets what he believes to be his true love, the mysterious Harleen "Lee" Quinzel (Lady Gaga). While enduring abuse, he realizes his world of madness is on the verge of collapse.

Talking about a sequel to a film that was complete in itself feels overly ambitious, stretching these characters further when their story had already been told. This story serves as an unnecessary epilogue to what we already saw, with some very interesting plot twists. For starters, much of the film is a musical, something that displeased most viewers and placed it in the eye of a storm of controversy, perhaps unjustified. The first Joker movie was surprising and highly original in its portrayal of a villain in a different light. Despite initial doubts, it became a brilliantly crafted character study, yet disturbing at the same time. It uniquely respected the original material while adding new creative elements. It had one of the best endings, which was fitting for the story being told, a flawless work that didn’t need a sequel. This sequel arrives five years later, apparently out of nowhere when it was first announced. Fans and critics alike were willing to give it a chance, but as production details emerged, our expectations shifted. The fact that the plot became a musical complicates the idea that we are watching the supposed continuation of the story of a murderer and criminal who sparked a significant social movement in Gotham City. **Joker: Folie à Deux** boasts of being an ambitious sequel, which perhaps had more to gain than lose. Some elements could have matched its predecessor, but instead, this feels like a near-total waste of resources and talent. Along the way, they could have explored incredible ideas and significant creative changes to enrich the story further. Unfortunately, the result has not met expectations, thanks to terrible narrative decisions, making this sequel entirely unnecessary. Many of us expected to see this character consolidate his development as the villain that the film itself needed, with subtle yet precise comic book references to make this part of a new universe where Batman could at least be mentioned as the nighttime vigilante trying to rid the city of crime. What started as an origin story could have added depth to the character, giving him new motivations to be even better—or worse—at what he does, in a city on the brink of decay. The film opens with a fantastic animation of Joker fighting with his shadow and singing in a fictional show where he's the protagonist. Afterward, the police break in and violently subdue him, a recurring element in the story to absurdly reflects how violence rules in prison. Then we see Arthur in live-action form, being verbally and physically abused by the guards. Being a murderer, he's treated as such. When meeting with his lawyer, he's charged with five crimes to be evaluated by a psychiatrist, to determine his mental competence for trial. If deemed competent, he will face trial and be placed in an appropriate hospital with trained doctors. His madness is justified by his traumatic childhood, which created a split in his personality—another person living within him called Joker, who committed the murders and caused a popular uprising. The script, written by Scott Silver and Phillips, contains plotlines that this film tries to explore but ultimately go nowhere. It's incredibly disappointing that this falls into complacency, considering how excellently the plot and subplots were explored in the first film. Here, there's very little ambiguity to make us question the protagonist's final fate, cementing more of his madness. The film’s main story focuses on the trial, paralleled with a romance that, at times, feels endless. It could have been entertaining if not for the excessive cuts and re-edits. In the end, the story remains shallow. As for what happens outside of that fantasy world, there's nothing new, original, or surprising to offer. Combined with its unbearable musical numbers, this is one of the most boring superhero films made to date. The musical scenes and dances add much-needed touches of color, along with a change in pace and setting. But calling this a musical is an overstatement. The musical sequences are dull and serve no purpose in advancing the story. Each song tries to have a deeper meaning to justify the actions and madness of Lee and Arthur. The scene from the trailer where they dance on the iconic stairs from the first film isn’t even in the movie, just like the courthouse steps. After establishing its own rules, this sequel betrays them. The main characters have very little development, and there’s no real chemistry between them. There’s no sense of true love or a solid future for both, as each looks out for their interests. A poorly written script, rewritten countless times, prevents these two supposed villains from coexisting in such a chaotic world. The biggest failure of this film is that it’s entirely unnecessary, and it knows it. On the other hand, there are speculations about what the studios did with all of this. The first film wasn't technically produced by Warner Bros. Studios but made with a more modest budget. Warner distributed it because they held the character's rights. Rumor has it that executives pressured Phillips to make a sequel with a higher budget, and after his multiple refusals, they threatened to cancel his future projects. Faced with this, Phillips reunited with Scott Silver to plan a sequel imposed by the studio, hoping it would achieve equal or better results than its predecessor. Many ideas were proposed and rejected by executives, leading Phillips to decide on a musical format, hoping the songs would help tie the scenes together and smooth out the cuts. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Whole sequences end abruptly, and the narrative moves in a linear fashion, making **Joker: Folie à Deux** feel like two different films in one: a courtroom drama and interspersed music videos.

Lady Gaga was not initially considered for the cast. Phillips and Phoenix decided on her to create a record inspired by the film and tied to the story—a complementary album called **Harlequin**. Gaga accepted but was disappointed that her character wasn’t the Harley Quinn everyone expected. In the end, she plays a woman obsessed not with Arthur but with the Joker. She’s drawn to his madness to the point of having a sexual relationship and becoming pregnant. In the end, we find out that she’s not even a doctor and isn’t as crazy as she led us to believe. She’s the daughter of a Gotham millionaire with existential traumas who saw in this man the perfect excuse to channel her supposed madness. Phillips planned more than one ending for the film. Among the rumored conclusions, the first had Arthur serving time in Arkham. The second saw him escape trial and begin a crime spree in Gotham City. Finally, the ending we all know: Arthur’s death at the hands of an inmate in the penitentiary. This has caused further dissatisfaction with the audience. As such, there’s little chance of a third installment, which is probably for the best. We hope Warner moves on from projects like this and gives James Gunn a free hand to create a new multiverse. Everything the first film presented is indeed contradicted here, making it seem like none of it happened. The Waynes aren’t mentioned at all, and Arthur’s transformation is reversed. Now he’s a regretful man who no longer wants to be the Joker and is willing to face the consequences of his actions from the first film. All of this is framed in a beautifully shot film that leaves us feeling pity for him. Its message and moral are misplaced, as are everything else. Criminals are treated as such and deserve to be beaten, raped, and humiliated at every turn. The consequences we face must be subject to others' judgment, and finally, if life is going terribly, just sing—life is better when you're singing. Everything here, except for a few redeemable aspects, makes no sense. There’s no shared or symbiotic madness. The hatred and disdain from the audience have played a huge role in its failure. The mistake was comparing it to its predecessor. As a musical, it leaves much to be desired, and as a suspense film, it fails as well. It doesn’t achieve balance, nor does it care to. It’s a strange and highly incomprehensible film. The film’s strengths lie in its technical aspects, which are unfortunately marred by poorly executed narrative and bad directorial choices. The atmosphere, texture, costume design, makeup, and performances are outstanding, far surpassing the story itself. The references are minimal, including Harvey Dent's (Harry Lawtey) appearance as district attorney and his transformation into the villain Two-Face in one scene, as well as the return of two important characters from the first film during the trial. This film exists merely to fulfill the ambitions of a studio on the brink of collapse. Of the $190-200 million it cost, it has grossed just over $20 million worldwide in its first week of release. While this figure might progress over time, several executives will likely lose their jobs. This isn’t about voting off the weakest link, but about building something worthwhile while leaving certain things as they are. **Joker** was a self-contained story in its first installment, and attempting a sequel was both ambitious and foolish. Here we have a clear example of unnecessary projects that add nothing of value, showcasing the studio's lack of originality and capacity to handle characters. Worse yet, it betrays its established foundations. **Joker** was an unexpected experiment that no one anticipated would succeed, but it triumphed with a raw and clear social message. And that’s what we hold onto. The cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey, and Leigh Gill, all of whom bring undeniable acting talent, doing their best with very little material. The music is once again composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, with pieces that remind us of the first film, offering nostalgic and deep cuts that underscore the film’s crude and brazen scenes. On the other hand, there’s **Harlequin**, Lady Gaga's album featuring 13 insufferable tracks that could easily have been left out without impacting the film. In conclusion, **Joker: Folie à Deux** is a hollow, unnecessary, and mean-spirited sequel. It presents a trial without tension or emotion, with musical interludes that don’t work despite the talent involved. This is an opportunity that had no direction and was forced into being a complete failure in every sense. Let’s hope the studio's other productions can somehow recoup the investment because, as an audience, we’ve only lost our excitement, time, and money. **Joker: Folie à Deux** is now showing in cinemas nationwide, but we do not recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OKAwz2MsJs Read the full article

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