#the oscar wilde vibe is still going strong | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

agentnico · 3 years ago

Text

The Suicide Squad (2021) Review

This may be the better of the two, but the first Suicide Squad film will always hold the crown for managing to win an Oscar... somehow.

Plot: The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world -- Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn and others -- to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

“So that’s it, huh? We’re some kind of suicide squad?” says Will Smith in the original first film, with the line in itself being a poor attempt at a fourth wall break, yet, that movie never reached that promise of being a true Suicide Squad film. Because hardly anyone died, and as a whole David Ayer’s film was a generic mess, regardless of studio interference or not. In comes James Gunn from Marvel, who seems to have cracked the code for how to bring this comic book series to live action in proper gratuitous form, with even the ‘The’ in the title symbolizing that this is the one!

I remember going to see the first Guardians of the Galaxy film at the cinema, and back then I was still only just getting acquainted with watching western media, and that included superhero films. Heck my first ever Marvel movie was Thor: The Dark World! I know, what a banger to start with.......NAAAWT!! Anyway, I went to see Guardians and it was one of the first superhero films I came out of feeling like I truly witnessed something special. It had action, comedy and a good heart to it, and wouldn’t you know, my good old pal James Gunn was behind that flick. I don’t know why I called him my good old pal, I don’t even know the fella. Except in my dreams, but we don’t talk about that. So, flashforward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which I absolutely hated, and for that movie I’m pretty sure Marvel gave Mr Gunn mostly full reigns of creative freedom, as long as he kept it family friendly, and the result was a mess. Hence naturally now I was really sceptical when James Gunn ended up at Warner Bros. following the controversial moment when cancel culture decided to aim it’s slimy fingers at him, as he was given directing and writing duties for this new The Suicide Squad film, and also it was heavily insinuated that Warner Bros. basically told him he could do with the movie whatever the f*** he wanted, excuse my French. And we remember how it panned out last time when James Gunn was given a lot of creative freedom.

Flashforward to present day; here I am wondering and scratching my head thinking what in the heavens has happened, as by golly I am happy to report that The Suicide Squad is a total winner and a blast with a capital B - Blast! Gosh goodness golly goblin, this movie is so much fun from beginning to end. Right from the opening sequence you know that this film isn’t holding back any punches. It’s going at a 447.19 km/h speed of a Koenigsegg Agera RS crashing through any barriers like it’s nothing. Speaking of the opening sequence, it establishes why the movie is called what it’s called from the get-go. You straight away are proven how not a single character is safe, minus the obvious one that we know who it is, as there ain’t no way Warner Bros. would have allowed James Gunn to kill off that one character. But besides that person, everyone else feels like they could die at any given moment. That’s really a big charm of it, as it is frustrating how in many superhero films, let alone any blockbuster action flicks, so many characters always feel so safe and unstoppable, no matter how many times they get shot or how many buildings crash down upon them. And yes, this movie features a certain CGI character that constantly gets that treatment and survives, although it’s very self aware in that regard and is purposefully humoristic. But overall the entire set of characters feel easily disposable, and so so many of them die in such gruesome fashion, so indeed don’t get attached, as they don’t.

Speaking of which, this movie is hardcore gory! You see limbs and intestines flying round left and right, a guy gets ripped in half by a humanoid shark, another’s face gets teared off by a shotgun bullet and so on forth in all kinds of gruesome fashion. Visually this is one for the big screen, as here’s the thing: you’re either a mummy’s boy or you grow some cojones and go see a man’s heart get stabbed with a piece of debris glass in 4K high rate definition! Your choice! Oh, and it’s not just the violence, also the cinematography and the practical set pieces all look incredible. This is easily James Gunn’s best looking movie. The entire think LOOKS incredible!

We also have to talk about the cast, as they are all great! There literally isn’t a single weakling among them. Each one, no matter how big or small their role is, brings something to the table. I can’t talk about all of them, as we’d be here all day, so I’m simply going to mention a few of the stand-outs. Idris Elba comes in to replace Will Smith as a character called Bloodsport, who is in some ways a different character but evidently is a replacement of Smith’s. But that’s no bad thing, as with any ensemble movie you still need a main character to latch onto and have an emotional hook towards, and he is that character. In fact, I’d say he’s arguably better than Will Smith in the last movie, or at least he seems to be having more fun here. He works as a solid leading man, however what works even more is his banterous competitive genital-size-measuring back and forth with John Cena’s Peacemaker, who by the way is awesome as that character. He is not a good character, in fact he is as bad as a bad guy can get, especially cause he’s someone who believes that what he is doing is right, making him much more of a dangerous wild card. This is easily John Cena’s best role, with him adding to the comedy one-liners, but also delivering such an interesting character who I’m looking forward to seeing more of in his standalone spin-off show confirmed for next year. Oh, and he wears a toilet helmet on his head which he defines as “a beacon of freedom” which says it all. We also have returning characters from the last film Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis as Rick Flag and Amanda Waller respectively, and both are given much more room to stretch their talents and spread their beautiful acting wings like the Hollywood angels that they are. Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is the moral compass of the group, as even though Elba is our main guy, he’s nonetheless a villain still, whilst Flag is a genuinely good guy and what is defined as a true American hero, to which Kinnaman fits the part well. And Viola Davis as Amanda Waller is on an absolutely different level. You can tell she’s an Academy Award winner through and through, as she plays such a serious character in an otherwise goofy movie, and so her presence is felt and it is felt BAD! She’s such a despicable yet intimidating personality and she gravitates all of the screen presence to herself. Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, and she gets even more chance to develop this character that she’s played in multiple DCEU films now, and as per usual the Harley Quinn shtick works well for her, though I do kind of wish she didn’t always get all the attention. Look, I think she’s a fun character and Robbie plays her well, however she’s constantly used to overshadow others in these films which I don’t think is too fair, and its evident as ever in this film too. Anyway, the remainder of the cast including Jay Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Michael Rooker as Savant, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2 (who gave me strong A Plague Tale: Innocence vibes) and many more all play villains, but villains that don’t have particularly great superpowers. This is where the tragedy of Task Force X as a team plays a part, as many of these villains aren’t even good at being villains. They are useless, and the movie is really self aware of this and so treats all characters as they should be. Dare I also not forget to mention the CGI characters in this film, with both Weasel and King Shark being absolute scene stealers!

The Suicide Squad is the type of wham-bam-thank-you-mam batshit crazy entertainment which exists for the pure reasons of fun. It doesn’t set out to be the best superhero film ever, nor does it need to be. It’s an exhilarating, shocking, funny and amusing ride from beginning to end, with the energy never stopping, and is easily the best time I’ve had with a comic-book film in a long while, and I’m even talking about before COVID! Do yourself a favour and watch this one as soon as you can, as I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - The Suicide Squad is a BLAST!!

Overall score: 9/10

38 notes · View notes

dajaregambler · 4 years ago

Text

HeliosR - Dino Albani Character story - part 3

Translation of the third part of Dino’s character story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Dino: Fuh! Haah…!

Dino: Hey-ho….!

Dino: .....

Dino: Phew…. Guess I’ll take a break….

Brad: Looks like you’re putting quite the effort in it, Dino

Dino: !! Brad…!

Brad: I’ve heard you’ve been training every day lately. Aren’t you burdening your body?

Dino: It’s all good. I’m completely back on track and have more than enough strength to use

Dino: Wait, am I hogging the entire training room too much? Did you come to see if I had put a claim or…..?

Brad: That’s not it. I simply came to check up on you.

Brad: You returned to HELIOS and got admitted as a mentor in West immediately. I want to hear if there’s anything outside of your physical state that you’re having trouble with.

Dino: Ah, that’s what it’s about. It’s not like there’s anything bothering me right now?

Dino: Tower’s not looking too different than before either…. I can’t be more thankful to people I know and everyone else that are welcoming me back.

Dino: ….Well, the current situation is as it is though.

Brad: ……….

Dino: Being a mentor…. It’s going kinda so-so?

Dino: I’m trying out various things to learn more about Junior-kun and Faith-kun though. Like, copying Jay’s methods and inviting ‘em to play some catch♪

Brad: Catch huh, been a while since I heard that. Honestly, I’m not too worried regarding that.

Brad: Compared to other mentors, your skill in communication is high. ….If anything, I’d want Keith to have more of a sense of danger.

Dino: Ahahah…It does feel that Keith’s the same as ever

Dino: Like, the type of guy to keep saving his energy. Was a bit of a shock to learn that he drinks that much though….

Brad: ….Whether it’s about the rookies or Keith, if there’s anything that’s weighing on your mind don’t hesitate to tell me about it. I’ll give you my support as the Mentor-leader

Dino: Thanks. Man, you being a Mentor-leader’s giving me a big sense of security

Dino: Back at the academy too, I remember teachers going on how it was such a peaceful year when you were the president of the student council

Brad: Hmph…… Fellow students would frequently heckle me though.

Dino: Still, when once in a while you’d be organizing events, all these complaints would get cancelled out by the good vibes, right?

Dino: You properly did what you’d promise, but still listened to what people had to say around you…. Seriously, it made me think that you’re such a smart guy

Brad: I was merely preserving the balance so the order wouldn’t get disrupted.

Dino: That you can do it is amazing enough. I’m the type that lets my feelings go ahead and do whatever I want, I totally can’t be serious

Dino: I admired you since forever, but this gave me a newfound respect for you

Brad: ………..

Dino: Ah, right… Remembered there was something I wanted to ask about, can I?

Brad: Yeah, go ahead

Dino: My physical condition is back to where it once was…. With my intuition it’s kind of a different story which is bothering me.

Brad: Intuition?

Dino: Yup. Until now I…. had been moving my body while I was at Eclipse, but it wasn’t like I was controlling it myself.

Dino: I’ve been training everyday while trying to recall my intuition from before, though I can��t feel that I’m getting ahold of it

Dino: So with that, if you don’t mind…. I want you to do a bit of sparring with me!

Brad: What……?

Dino: If you still have work left to do then tommorrow’s fine too, or rather, whenever you actually have the time is totally fine too!

Dino: And I know veeery well that you’re busy----

Brad: It’s not a problem

Dino: Really!?

Brad: Yes. However, would I be good enough?

Brad: Even if it’s a light match, I might be lacking in strength to take you on

Dino: What are you going on about, Brad. Who else am I supposed to fight if I leave you be?

Dino: Honestly feel like I’m lucky since you came here. Thought to ask at once if you were gonna stay

Dino: Ah, and…. it’s not just a light match, let’s do it seriously

Brad: …….

Brad: Hm, let’s go then

-----

Brad: Haah….. How about it, have you regained your intuition, Dino

Dino: Heheh yup, all thanks to you♪

Dino: Aaah, been a while since I felt this. It’s making me think of how I enjoyed to sparring with you back then

Dino: How do I put it? It’s reassuring to feel that I can always go all out and fight with everything I have?

Dino: Of course Jay and Keith are strong too, and their respective powers are worthwhile in different ways but….

Brad: Same here, I’m also able to gain a lot from sparring with you

Brad: It’s been a while since I had seen it, but your power is truly an interesting one. It’s certain that you’re flexible, yet again and again you exceed my expectations by thinking outside the box.

Dino: ‘Cuz it’s the style of a wild wolf. I can use different martial arts at my disposal, but basically it’s like resorting to the senses of an animal….. such as “Don’t think, feel”?

Brad: Oscar would be envious if he were to hear that we fought each other.

Brad: He highly thinks of you as his mentor and respects you. If perhaps next time you need a sparring partner, give him a call

Dino: Ooh, that’s a good idea. I’ll do it♪

Dino: I’m telling you though, you’re the one that Oscar idolizes the most. He’d go all like “You sparred with Brad-sama!?” and get jealous, ahaha.

Brad: I also admire you.

Dino: ...Eh?

Brad: During battle it’s a given, but your friendly personality that can be open about anything to whoever, and how you’re honest and such…..

Brad: You always had what I was lacking

Dino: Uwah…. It really makes me happy to hear that coming from you….. Actually, kind of a bit embarrassing?

Brad: You said the same thing yourself earlier.

Dino: Right. How I admired you and all...

Dino: Nihi, great to see that we feel the same about each other♪ Love and peace…..☆

Dino: Guh! Kinda just noticed Keith’s staring at us suuuuuper hard now!

Dino: Let’s go give Keith some honoring too!

Brad: Hmph. If you were to ask me what’s there to admire about him, you wouldn’t get it out of me any time soon

Dino: Ahahah…. But well, Keith’s got his strong points too

Dino: Seriously, I’m glad from the bottom of my heart that we’re classmates. And that I could also come back to where you two are……..

Dino: Really, thanks for sparring with me. I had lotsa fun!

Brad: Yes….. I was able to spend my time productively too.

#heliosR #helios rising heroes #dino albani #brad beams

21 notes · View notes

wrestlethethistles · 3 years ago

Text

And the top 10 new-to-me films of 2021! It was a year with stiff competition, and I could have easily done a top 25 without breaking a sweat. But you have to draw the line somewhere. Here’s the ten, in alphabetical order:

Charade (1963) Utterly incomprehensible to me that it took me until this year to see this. Audrey Hepburn‘s wardrobe is unreal, silver fox Cary Grant is truly making the best use of his talent for charm + mild danger, fun dialogue, diverting mystery, Hitchcock vibes without being Hitchcock. Loved it.

Emma. (2020) Even if there was nothing else good about this film, it is so stunning to look at that I might not have cared. Luckily, it’s also very funny and charming. Anya Taylor Joy really nails the combination of self-absorption and vulnerability that makes Emma so arresting and infuriating. Johnny Flynn’s frustration as Knightly is palpable. Sometimes, I too just want to lie on the floor. Do Northanger Abbey next, Autumn de Wilde!

The Green Knight (2021) This is the only movie I saw in a theater this year, and if it had to be only one, I’m glad it was this one. Immersive and weird and memorable, centered around an indelible performance from Dev Patel. I made my family listen to the score under the guise of “Christmas music” because I love it so much.

Haider (2014) Not everyone is as into Hamlet as I am, I grant you, but this adaptation knocked me out. The first hour feels slow until you realize it’s a slow burn and that the entire story is eventually going to explode. (More or less literally.) The adaptation of the play within a play is maybe my favorite approach to that scene in any Hamlet film. Tremendous.

Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017) OK, it’s sort of cheating to count these as a single spot on the list, but I watched them together and I couldn’t imagine cutting this little bear for space. I’d heard raves, especially for 2, but I was unprepared for the pure level of joy these movies created. Absolutely no notes.

The Rider (2017) I knew nothing about this film going in, and it fully murdered me with feelings. I’m glad Chloé Zhao picked up her Oscar for Nomadland, which was also lovely, but I slightly prefer this one. It is wild to me that this didn’t even make it onto my radar in 2017. Slow, sad, and stunningly beautiful.

Rocketman (2019) I’m very picky about both movie musicals and biopics, so I didn’t rush out to see this when it was released. I was a fool. This movie is a delight, using the musical numbers in a way that’s both well-thought out and genuinely fun. Egerton’s performance is warm without being maudlin, and the story is well-shaped by the script and the editing. The costume design is next-level.

Sound of Metal (2019) Another slow, sad one. I already admired Riz Ahmed, but the subtle nuances he portrays here blew me away. Paul Raci richly deserved his nomination too, and their scenes together were unshowy but I’m still thinking about them months later. And, of course, the sound design is bonkers good.

tick, tick ... BOOM! (2021) Look, I’m as surprised as you are that there’s a second musical biopic on this list. But Miranda took a loving and thoughtful approach to actually adapting, rather than faithfully recreating, the stage show. In doing so, he both pandered to this film’s presumed audience of old millennial/young Gen Xer former theater kids, but also made a genuinely strong movie centered around a standout performance from Andrew Garfield. What do you know.

War and Peace (1966) This movie is fully bananas. It is seven hours long, there are thousands and thousands of extras in the battle scenes, the colors are wildly intense, everything happens so much. I fully loved it. If I get the chance to see all seven hours in a theater someday, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.

#movies #film #best of 2021

2 notes · View notes

ihaveonlymydreams · 4 years ago

Note

for when you have a moment, hoax!

hoax is not an easy song! It gives me mythological vibes, kind of like my tears ricochet - maybe an Orpheus and Eurydice, or a Hades and Persephone vibe. (I get the Orpheus vibe because of the line "when they tore me apart" because that's how he died 😳)

"no other sadness in the world would do" is a very strong line and there are some moods in which I just want to dismiss it - but I think there is some real truth to it. No person can make you happy all the time! When you choose someone to love you choose to accept the difficulties you'll have with them and the sorrow they'll bring you!

Also "your faithless love" just makes me think of Kichijiro from Silence. (is this song from the point of view of Christ? Am I going too far with this?)

This song also seems to align with the cardigan/betty/august trio; just like illicit affairs echoes august's themes, hoax echoes the choice betty makes to keep loving James (that's my reading anyway).

Gosh this is a hard song. It struck me as dark at first but I think ultimately it's hopeful, in a very realistic way - it shows the price of love in the fallen world, but without ever backing down from it.

I feel like some people could find it problematic and say it's about an abusive relationship - I don't think it is, but I can see that it treads a rather fine line in its language, and probably that's why I find it hard to disentangle. I need to think further on all the imagery, but my instinct is to say it's not about abuse but rather about the breaking down of defenses and of pride and also of the idolization of a person you love. It can be really painful to realize that someone you love has flaws - it can feel like it breaks you apart.

Makes me think of Oscar Wilde's line: "It takes great courage to see the world in all its tainted glory and still to love it. And even more courage to see it in the one you love."

#Thank you for sending me this because it made me crystallize my ideas about this song a lot more #Send me a song from folklore and I will give you a thought I have on it

3 notes · View notes

lonelypond · 4 years ago

Text

Nico Attacks: A Campfire Story, Ch. 4

Love Live, NIcoMaki, 1.7K, 4/4

Summary: Maki is hoping Nico is out of tricks, but will there be a treat?

Trick or....?

The music was still playing. And pernicious. It had to go. Maki found the speakers, but they were secured in strong harnesses. To keep her safe as well as random animals and children who might wander by(although Nico had a twitch about chipmunks for some reason). Maki imagined Nico climbing up trees to set everything up. For better or worse, Nico was all about the personal touch. No one did anything like Nico. It had fascinated Maki from her first encounter with the charismatic, ambitious, and quicksilver charmer she’d married. The lantern caught a glint of pink. Ah, Maki had tracked the source of the evil, Nico’s back up mp3 player. Maki reached up to pull it out of its cozy case, and resisted the urge to stomp it into the ground. It wouldn’t have damaged it though, like Nico, it was made of surprisingly resilient material. When other people saw Nico and thought soft, tiny, fluttery petal, Maki just chuckled and waited for them to crawl, battered and crying, out of whatever battle arena they’d chosen to confront Nico in. Urban or wilderness environment, social media or backstage fan meet and greet, Nico thrived. Not that the Nishikino mountain camp was a particularly wild spot, still Nico was as much in her element here as performing on a stage or anonymous in downtown Tokyo, elbowing people out of the way for rare Idol collectibles.

Maki sighed, she couldn’t imagine Nico had a prank climax better than forced listening to deliberately awful versions of Maki’s original creations, but it was Nico, so there were always surprises. She had the sudden urge to just turn around and have Nico right there, ready to be pulled into her arms and distracted from further chaos. But first, some payback was required. Or at least some grumpiness. So Maki stomped her boots, set her jaw, and turned toward the cabin. Nico was going to have to earn her Halloween treat.

###

Dia had always been fussy. Nico had just crawled into the tent to kiss Dia and Ruby before she headed to the cabin to complete the Halloween prankfest. Ruby was curled up against her sister, soundly asleep, red hair such a vivid reminder of Maki, their child’s rare sweetness protected fiercely by everyone around her. As Nico smiled at her daughters, Dia’s green eyes opened suddenly. The scowl was accusatory as was the whispery hiss.

“Bzzzt...you’re going to wake up, Ruby, Mom.”

“Nico is quiet.” Nico smiled, pulling Dia’s blanket up, “You take good care of her, bun.”

Dia nodded, serious and grave. Neither Maki nor Nico claimed credit for that part of Dia’s personality. Maki had always seemed more mature than her years, but had been quick to revert to the goof Nico loved to tease. Dia vibed grandfatherly accountant.

“What’re you going to do next?” Dia whispered.

NIco smiled, “Make sure your Mama gets home safe.”

Dia nodded. She could approve that. “You could help her change clothes too. The pumpkins were really messy.”

Nico swallowed a nervous giggle. They’d obviously used the “changing clothes” excuse too many times in Dia’s hearing. Nico was just glad this was the RinPana tent and not one Nozomi was anywhere near.

“I’ll do my best. If your Mama wants help.”

Nico wasn’t sure about that one. She’d probably gone a little far with the Soldier Game and Bibi remixes. But Maki shouldn’t have said that Nico was slowing down. Nico always kept two steps ahead of Dia and several jumps ahead of Maki. Nico snorted, remembering Maki’s panic when she’d seen Nico’s glare.

Dia glared and pointed at Ruby. “Shh.”

Nico nodded, kissing Dia softly on the forehead, “Don’t worry so much.”

“Don’t let Mama get too mad. Ruby gets sad.”

“Nico will do her best.” And Nico did the quietest, quickest version of her signature gesture yet, “Nico Nico Ni.”

It was as good as a lullaby, Dia yawned and flipped over. Nico waved to a Hanayo absorbed in her phone, grabbed the lantern, and went back to mischief.

###

Maki was on the right path. The trees were thinning out. There was no warped music in the air, taunting and teasing her. The air had a bracing chill, light from the lantern scattered against roots, bushes, and branches in intriguing patterns. Everyone else was settled in camp, around the campfire, a comfortable picture, but Maki was enjoying this solitude, stopping to glance up at her favorite seasonal constellations, feeling her posture straighten up after weeks of being hunched over a midi keyboard scoring an animated short for an Oscar winning studio. Of course, there still might be traps. Nico was always thorough about anything she did. Maki chuckled, when had dates become this crazy? Well, kinda always, she admitted to herself with a giggle. One of their first dates had been running away from Rin pretending to be paparazzi so a booby trapped trail of minor terrors was very Nico. Maybe it was past time to leave Ruby and Dia with her parents for a couple of weeks and take her wife off somewhere romantic. To reeducate Nico on what constituted a proper date. Nico always claimed marriage precluded dating, but Maki relished Nico in courtship mode, on the rare occasion the Number One Idol in any universe decided to be the Number One Wooer. But recently, Nico had been even crazier busy working on her switch to directing and producing.

A rustle. To the right. Maki froze, listening. No followup movement so either gravity on a leaf or a nocturnal animal rushing off. But she needed to pay more attention. Nico surely had more tricks in mind as Maki approached the cabin.

Dark, silent cabin in sight and fishing wire across the path. Nico suddenly being obvious? Maki knelt and pulled the lantern through the obstacle. Rows of softly lit luminaries and golden fairy lights created a lovely path to the separate entrance they’d had installed for the master suite. Had Nico switched to treats?

###

Nico lit the last candle, and the low light around the master bath set a cozy, romantic mood Nico wanted to stay and enjoy with her stubborn, gorgeous, slippery even when not wet wife. But as much as Nico claimed this was a revenge prank, Maki had also been spending too much time commuting between Tokyo and Uchiara, dealing with both the girls and Nishikino family business while Nico was working on her directorial debut. So Maki was definitely peopled out even before all of their Muse family had arrived for the Halloween camp out.

Nico smiled, remembering years of sitting together, fireside, with Maki, telling stories of when they each realized it was love, reminiscing about the Muse training camp that had proven their connection deeper than either had been ready to acknowledge.

Humming “Yume No Tobira,” Nico scattered rose petals over the scented bathwater, smiling at the ripples that would turn into waves when Maki stretched out those dreamfuel legs to dip them into the water, sink in, lean back, eyes closed, shimmering red hair wrapped in a turban, arms stretched out...Nico dipped a hand in the water, splashing her face to shake off fantasy mode. She meant to give Maki some solitude. After that, there would be time for mutual appreciation.

Nico saw the fairy lights glow on. Maki had arrived. Pulling up her dark hoodie, Nico headed to the front door. Maki would probably follow the path Nico had created so Nico could sneak back to the campsite. And then, tomorrow, Nico would show up bright and early to cook a beautiful princess a delicious brunch.

###

“Nico?” Umi stepped out of her tent.

“She’s not here.” Nozomi said with a smirk, “What do you need?”

“Kotori wanted to know what the plan was for breakfast.”

“In bed, I’d guess.” Nozomi winked.

“What do you mean? Maki was quite determined…”

“How long have you known the two of them, Umi?”

Awkward silence and then Umi sighed.

“Where’s your wife?”

“Passed out from exhaustion.”

Umi paled, not quite taken sick enough to faint. Nozomi chuckled, “Why do you even ask?”

Umi rolled her eyes with a wry chuckle, “That is a very good question. I will consider it. Good night, my friend.”

Nozomi waved, continuing to sip her herbal tea. It was a beautiful night, crisp and clear. She always appreciated the chance to exist in mountain stillness, far from urban bustle.

###

Ahmad Jamal. "Jeff". Just perfect. Maki swooped a hand hrough the water. The shower had gotten the pumpkin goop out of her hair. Now, warm water and flickering candles. Nico knew how to set a romantic scene. There had even been a snack, bruschetta warm from the oven, the perfect Chianti to accompany it. Maki's private chef. Smiling at so many memories and tracing a languid finger across her now tingling lip, Maki wondered where the Halloween imp was. And perfectly timed, her phone pinged.

N: The stars here are stunning, but don’t leave Nico breathless like your eyes.

M: I was wrong. You haven’t matured at all.

N: And you haven’t gotten any better at flirting.

Maki paused, wondering if she dared.

M: I’m just so...

N: ?!?!?!

M: Wet.

Maki splashed her hand across the surface, imagining Nico’s expression.

N: You’re giggling, aren’t you. That’s not flirting, that’s…

M: ?!?!?!

N: Provoking. Nico is provoked.

M: Not as provoked as I was listening to...

N: Nico is a genius (￣︶￣;)

M: Nico is a terror ƪ(`▿▿▿▿´ƪ). Trick or trap.

N: That’s not how it goes. Nico prepared a full, IMPRESSIVE, immersive Halloween experience. You shivered, don’t lie to Nico.

M: ((ﾟ□ﾟ;))

M: I might be cold. Or…

N: Or?

M: You know, wet ^.~

N: You are going to be so embarrassed when Nico asks you exactly how wet…

Maki put the phone down, her face was flaming, she could feel it. Conversations with Nico always went just too far. But the thought of Nico showing up, opening the door, knowing Maki was under the sheets, waiting...Maki stood up, legs already shaky, Nico’s voice repeating whispers in her memory. A brash knock on the door to the master suite startled her as her phone pinged. Nico always ruined fantasies. Or improved them.

N: Trick or treat?

M: Just come inside.

N: (^_<)～☆

M: I can still lock the door.

And there was Nico’s bright, knowing laugh in the bedroom, “Nico just wants a sweet.”

Maki draped a towel over her shoulder and opened the door, “All right.”

A/N: You did good, voters.

Working on my multi chapters, chunk by chunk.

Do you like Edgar Allan Poe? We did radio plays. https://anchor.fm/upstart-arts/episodes/The-Cask-Of-Amontillado-em6rq3

#NicoMaki #nico attacks #Love Live #Nishikino Maki #Yazawa Nico #sonoda umi #tojo nozomi #camping

1 note · View note

jmsa1287 · 5 years ago

Text

The Oscar Oracle: Joker’s Wild

After months of anticipation and debate, “Joker” went wide this weekend, opening to an incredibly strong box office but mixed reviews —at best.

The DC Comics film currently has a 68% critics rating and 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — which is good. But the discourse around the movie is the opposite (see this piece from The Hollywood Reporter). In something that’ve not seen before, the blowback has almost knocked it out of the Best Picture conversation but not totally. “Joker” was sitting high up on the list of likely nominees but fell so far down, nearly getting shut out. Should it sneak in there, it will be thanks to good will voters have for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the titular villain. And if “Joker” does get nominated, then Phoenix is almost surely a lock to win Best Actor.

It also didn’t help that on the day of its release, Martin Scorsese offered his harsh critique of superhero movies, sparking a back-and-forth debate if Marvel movies et al. are considered cinema — something director Todd Phillips has been on the road championing, linking his “Joker” to Scorsese films and even Belgian arthouse filmmaker Chantal Akerman.

We also got our first look at Clint Eastwood’s new film, “Richard Jewell,” which I mentioned in my last post. The trailer definitely is going for an awards vibe but currently has an aura of old man yells at chair. An untrustworthy woman journalist (played by Olivia Wilde) may be kind of yikes for some of the Academy’s liberal voters. But time will tell.

Things are shifting; most people consider “The Irishman” the current frontrunner but it still feels like to me that “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is the one to beat.

What to look out for: It’s a quiet weekend, with more of Netflix’s awards film opening in limited release, as well as “Parasite,” which has sold out in New York City. We’ll see what its box office is like but there seems to be nothing but positive energy propelling Bong Joon-Ho’s latest to the top of the heap and big business in a small release is the perfect way to kick off the film’s run. Also opening is Ang Lee’s next technological flick “Gemini Man” starring Will Smith. Early reviews suggest you can count the two-time Oscar winner’s latest out of the race, however.

Below are my current Oscar rankings for the five major categories.

Best Picture

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2. The Irishman

3. Jojo Rabbit

4. Marriage Story

5. Parasite

6. Ford vs. Ferrari

7. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

8. Little Women

9. Pain and Glory

10. 1917

Best Director

1. Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

2. Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)

3. Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit)

4. Noah Bumbach (Marriage Story)

5. Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite)

Best Actor

1. Adam Driver (Marriage Story)

2. Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

3. Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)

4. Robert Di Niro (The Irishman)

5. Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)

Best Actress

1. Renee Zellweger (Judy)

2. Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)

3. Awkwafina (The Farewell)

4. Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)

5. Lupita Nyongo’o (Us)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

2. Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)

3. Al Pacino (The Irishman)

4. Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

5. Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)

2. Laura Dern (Marriage Story)

3. Margot Robbie (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

4. Annette Bening (The Report)

5. Meryl Streep (Little Women)

16 notes · View notes

grigori77 · 5 years ago

Text

Guilty Pleasure #30

SUCKER PUNCH

Dir. ZACK SNYDER; Wri. ZACK SNYDER & STEVE SHIBUYA; Music. TYLER BATES & MARIUS De VRIES; Starring. EMILY BROWNING, ABBIE CORNISH, JENA MALONE, VANESSA HUDGENS, JAMIE CHUNG, CARLA GUGINO, OSCAR ISAAC, JON HAMM, SCOTT GLENN; R.T. 109 mins; 2011, USA/Canada

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Possibly somewhere in 1960s America, Babydoll (Browning) finds herself locked away in an asylum by her brutal, corrupt stepfather, with just one week to go before she’s due to be lobotomized. As she seeks escape, she slips into a fantasy world in which she’s been sold into sexual slavery at the brothel run by Blue (Isaac), and as she enlists the help of fellow prisoners Sweet Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Blondie (Hudgens) and Amber (Chung), Babydoll slips further into her delusions, leading her into epic battles against monstrous foes in far-flung, impossible lands …

WHY IT’S GUILTY: Wow, where do I start? There are DOZENS of reasons why this movie shouldn’t work, and plenty why it DOESN’T – the narrative structure is a twisted mess, riddled with plot holes, wild stretches in creative credibility and more than one shameful use of full-on deus ex-machina, several of the characters are badly drawn ciphers or clichéd caricatures, the pacing can be PAINFULLY inconsistent, and parts of the action sequences drag when they really should race. Accusations of misogyny have been levelled at the film, and they’re not without foundation, while the rapey vibe of the main characters’ core dilemma can sometimes leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth. This certainly is one of the strongest examples of a “Marmite film” in cinema, dividing critics and audiences across the board, and while the film ultimately managed to scrape even at the box office, it was nothing like the blockbuster tour-de-force it was intended to be.

WHY IT’S A PLEASURE: And yet, if you just switch off and go with it, there’s still plenty to enjoy here. This was, after all, written and directed by Zack Snyder (co-writing with relative unknown Steve Shibuya), whose more successful features include 300, Watchmen and Man of Steel, and if there’s one thing we learned from his other (relative) misfires, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, it’s that even when he delivers a clunker, it’s still an interesting and often ENTERTAINING clunker. While it becomes an incoherent, bloated mess in places, it’s still visually stunning, every shot of the film designed to almost anal degrees of detail, some compositions genuinely transitioning into realms of high art, so the whole thing looks like a particularly rich and glossy graphic novel brought to vivid life. The action sequences are, for the most part, EXQUISITE (no surprise, really, since they were handled by stunt coordinator Damon Caro, who, as well as working on Snyder’s previous two films, also choreographed the Bourne movies), particularly Babydoll’s initial meeting with Scott Glenn’s mysterious mentor, the Wise Man, which progresses into a moody, evocative confrontation with a three enormous demonic samurai, and the spectacular steampunk-flavoured World War I-set adventure where the girls are first put through their collective action paces. Indeed, while many characters fall short, one of the film’s genuine strengths is its five strong female leads – Emily Browning (American Gods) may be deceptively slight but once Babydoll picks up her katana and .45 automatic she’s transformed into truly iconic ass-kicker filled with unbreakable spirit, Jenna Malone (Donnie Darko, The Hunger Games) is all fire and unpredictability as troubled teen runaway Rocket, and Jamie Chung (The Gifted) and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) definitely aren’t underdeveloped eye-candy as they both bring true depth and nuance to Amber and Blondie, but in many ways the true heroine of the story is Sweet Pea, Abbie Cornish (Three Billboards, Jack Ryan) adding a powerful “big sister” vibe that brings additional pathos as the tension peaks in the final act – and a genuinely memorable, compelling and creepily seductive villain in future Star Wars-star Oscar Isaac’s Blue. YES, the film IS misogynistic, but there’s a message beneath the overt sexuality and glossy presentation, Snyder clearly trying to ram a message of feminine empowerment home and sometimes succeeding, even if it does tend to get lost in the noise. More interesting, however, is a more subtle idea buried in the narrative, telling us to keep fighting no matter what, even if the battle really can’t be won. Clearly it’s one Snyder and co took to heart – this is a deeply flawed film that fails on many levels, particularly the genuinely ridiculous twist ending, but it’s not for lack of trying.

#sucker punch #zack snyder #steve shibuya #emily browning #abbie cornish #jena malone #vanessa hudgens #jamie chung #carla gugino #oscar isaac #jon hamm #scott glenn #guilty pleasures #so bad it's good #BUT MORE BAD THAN GOOD #guaranteed to be one of the most divisive guilty pleasures in my collection

41 notes · View notes

darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts · 5 years ago

Text

Echo pt6

Warning: This is a little dark. There is blood, death, Strong Language and yeah … please read with caution. **Still not sure what direction this is taking so I should add a warning for Author with no plot **

Masterlist

—

Echo part 6

A heavily adorned cold hand touched her arm and as if by magic it was like someone had reconnected her mind to her body allowing her to once more move. Kit looked at the hand noting the different sized ornate rings and followed the length of the arm to its owner.

Long flowing blonde hair perfectly styled and accented with crystal droplets that just seemed to add a mysterious lustre to it. Blue eyes that looked as clear as ocean water were observing her as much as she was them. There was something off though. Kit couldn’t place it exactly which irritated her but it really did feel like she wasn’t looking at reality as it should be. Something hurt much more in the back of her mind than before. It was only then that she had noticed that the whole-body experience she had had in the past week or so where she had felt like her very bones were vibrating had more or less subsided. The only conscious pain she had was in her own head.

It made no sense to think otherwise but logic dictated that it might have had something to do with being where ever she was now. Breaking eye contact Kit looked around the room her eyes finding the window and noting that the scenery outside was nothing like she remembered from where she had been. Not only that but it appeared to be a different time zone.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me but seeing you here now… I thank the Graces for bringing my child back to me.” The words spoken by the Queen were executed flawlessly like an Oscar-winning actress.

“You say that but I have no clue as to who you are.” Kit replied quickly turning back to look at the other woman. For a brief moment, it looked as if a shadow had passed over the Queen’s eyes.

“Is that any way to speak to your mother?” For a second Kit though she saw something shift in the Queen’s face. It was like something was showing through a crack in a veneer. Her expression changed so quickly before returning to that unnerving crocodile smile that it was almost easy to believe it to be a trick of the light. Curious to see if it would happen again and also with no real reason not to keep stating the obvious truth Kit continued to press on.

“I wouldn’t know I’ve never had one.” Kit shrugged watching for any signs that the Queen was going to do something.

“I would call you out on your insolence for talking to me in such a manner but I understand that you might take some time to adjust and that you know nothing of your origins.” The ocean blue eyes seemed to grow darker as if the depths of them were deepening. The smile on her face was so forced it was almost a painful grimace and the rings glinted in the sunlight as her fingers twitched. “Fine then let us start at the beginning. I am Queen of this land that makes you a Princess.” The Queen stood there beginning her explanations.

“Princess? You cannot be serious.” Kit caught herself before her laugh could progress past the initial snigger. Whatever was happening here it was clear that everything she knew was about to get a lot more complicated. If this was a lie or a dream it was a very convincing one.

“It is your birth right. Honestly, I wonder what kind of a land you grew up in to become such a…” The Queen trailed off her harsh tone evaporating as the light seemed to return to her blue eyes. “Anyway. About thirty cycles have passed since you were last by my side. You were only a baby at the time so you cannot possibly understand the level of betrayal that surrounded your disappearance at the time.”

“Betrayal?” Kit raised her eyebrows. She had naturally been told some from her father when she visited him but there was nothing in what he said that made it sound like the Queen had been the one to be victimised.

If Kit had been on guard before she was a lot warier thanks to the Queen’s phrasing. There are always two sides to a story, three if you want to get pedantic about it. Yours, theirs and the truth. Sometimes you needed to see or hear all three before you could know for sure but she remembered the sincere look in her father’s eyes as he told her about things. He hadn’t been lying to her. When he said he was worried or scared it had been the truth. It might take a bit more time to figure out how much blame could be placed and where in this situation but it wasn’t going to happen right this second.

“Such an ugly topic of conversation. I would rather not discuss such things right now. Right now, we should be celebrating. The long-awaited return of the lost Princess.” The Queen practically sang her words as she began animatedly walking around the room. Once more it struck Kit as a performance. Something to show a crowd but there was no one here except for Kit. “We should have a feast – no a ball. And invite everyone from across the unified lands to gather. You will need a dress and someone simply must do something with your hair and make-up of course.” The Queen had taken some strands of Kit’s hair in her hand and let it fall through her fingers as she continued to assess her like she was nothing more than an object. “I’m not convinced there will be enough time to do anything more than that to make you presentable to the world but that can wait till later.”

The Queen’s expression was that of a judgemental frown and it did nothing but make Kit bristle. She had had years of her life without a mother where she had been reminded time and again that she was in a lot of respects not very girly or ladylike. None of that had ever mattered to her. She had never wanted to change and was happy enough in her own skin. And yet here was someone, her mother no less, that was wanting to change every aspect as if she wasn’t good enough.

“Wait a minute! I’ve just got here and you are telling me I’m your daughter. Not just that but a Princess by default. I can ignore the passively insulting my appearance but don’t you think it’s a little crazy to just decide to throw a huge celebration on a whim?” Kit took a step backwards removing her person from the touchy-feely hands pawing at her.

“I am the Queen. My whim is the law of this land and you child would do well to remember such and hold your tongue.” It was not so much a warning as an order.

“Sorry never been very good at that.” Kit obstinately replied refusing to back down in the face of a bully.

“Then learn. Someone will be with you shortly for a fitting.” The Queen elegantly glided out of the room leaving a chill in the air as she went.

---

The staff in the castle were moving around with hushed whispers as they gossiped about the new arrival. Some of the older members of staff had more of a drawn-out worried pallor to their faces than the younger ones.

A white figure cut through the rooms of the castle as it wandered around gleaning information as it went. They knew the room, that the Queen had visited. They had even found out about the grand display that was being planned and laughed at the show of audaciousness given the situation.

Cards had been dealt, the die cast and all the pieces were in play. And now out of nowhere a wild card. One that could tip the scale and provide a certain level of uncertainty to the playing field. They had not seen much more than a glimpse of the returning offspring but from what they were hearing they were very entertaining. Who would have the backbone to stand against the Queen? No one in seven lands had survived to tell that tale.

“Such a curious little creature.”

---

The roadside diner was like stepping foot into a time warp. Old vending machines and metal signs decorated it with what now could be called a retro, vintage vibe. The tables and booths still seemed to be upholstered with the same serviceable fabric as when the place first opened.

Col looked around the place almost expecting to see his younger self at one of the tables with a small Kit and her father. A waitress came out of the swing doors at the back carrying a plate loaded with pancakes the size of hubcaps and a jug of syrup. He felt his stomach grumble as he remembered he hadn’t eaten anything yet. His eyes followed the staff member hungrily until she had placed the dish on a table with a figure, he knew all too well.

“Thorn.”

The man turned at the sound of his name the cutlery in his hand chinking lightly on the side of his plate as he did so. He was the same man he remembered from the barbeques in the summers of time past. One guy in a stream of many that knew Kit and tagged along to gatherings. He had wondered if there had been something more romantic between them but he later figured out he had nothing to be concerned over. Thorn’s hair was shorter and pushed back these days. His suit was a more expensive brand but still off the rack. Fine lines now etched his face telling of the passage of time and the stress of promotion.

“Col. It’s been a while. How’s it going?” Thorn smiled and turned back to his stack of fluffy pancakes.

“Logistical shit storm would be putting it mildly.” Col slipped into the booth seating by the window and watched the other man pour syrup over the melting butter as if he were trying to drown it. “Are you going to tell me a bit more about my missing freelancer or are you expecting me to continue to field questions in the dark?”

“I told you everything I know already.” Thorn shrugged stuffing a loaded forkful into his mouth not making eye contact.

“Dammit Thorn what you told me amounted to nothing and you know it.” Col was irritated with the off-hand reaction. He had been slowly going out of his mind with worry and here was someone who claimed to be a friend of hers who apparently didn’t have the same common decency to be worked up at all. To make it worse he knew it was him that had sent those files.

“Yes, I do but I can’t change the facts.” Thorn looked out of the window for a moment before turning to face Col head-on. The emotions he was not showing physically were clear as crystal in those green eyes. “How much did Kit tell you before she left?”

“Nothing. I did call her father out of curtesy for an old friend but…” Col felt his anger at the other man dissipate when he realised, he was not so indifferent to the situation. Feeling a little uncomfortable to have the tables turned on him now in the cross-examination he brought his hand up to his neck and ran his fingers over his collar imagining it to be more of a noose than starched cotton.

“You didn’t tell him she’s missing?” Thorn paused in shovelling his syrup loaded breakfast into his mouth and quirked his brow at his companion.

“I don’t think that’s the kind of thing you tell people over the phone.” Col dropped his hand from his neck and motioned for the waitress so he could order coffee. She gave him a smile in acknowledgement as she finished serving some customers at the bar.

“Be with you in a minute Hun.”

“You were part of it, weren’t you? The Original investigation.” Thorn waited for the exchange to finish before he continued. He knew the contents of those files he had sent. The list of names of attending officers and all the dead ends that had been found. The evidence collected that generated more questions than it ever answered.

“You know I was. I was still a rookie back then not much more than a greenhorn in these parts.” Col grumbled. The memories of that time had been a mixed bag. He had been happy about the transfer. A chance to set up roots in a new place and get out into the world and make a difference in it. But he also remembered all the strange things. The bodies, the lifeless expressions… the movements in the dark.

“How well do you remember it?”

“I still have nightmares if that’s what you’re asking.”

---

Everything was happening so fast. True to their word the Queen seemed to have set into motion preparations for a grand celebration and with that a small army that also felt as if it was part circus paraded in and out of the bedroom Kit had been occupying.

They had been poked, measured, constricted, contorted and preened into someone completely unrecognisable. Her hair shone like spun gold, her skin was flawless porcelain and her figure that was now bound in a corset dipped and curved more than ever.

She was completely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of this shapewear. After almost shoving the last person out of the room she pulled her hair to the side of her neck and began to unlace the ribbons. It was then with almost perfectly laughable timing that a knock came to the door. Kit sighed as it seemed her release from the steel boned prison was going to have to wait and she covered herself with a robe before answering the visitor.

“Hello, Little One.”

---

9 notes · View notes

real-jaune-isms · 5 years ago

Text

RWBY Volume 7 Chapter 9 Rundown

I felt very satisfied for the first 90% of this episode but then I got kinda annoyed in the literal final 40 seconds before the credits. But that’s just my own growing agitation for Cinder, so it’s fine. We’ll get to that later.

There isn’t exactly a very happy vibe at the start of the chapter though, as it opens on the cold streets of Mantle as the cold is now likely setting in something fierce and people have realized the heat is gone. As Maria and Pietro welcome folks into the shelter of his pharmacy, some of those inside wonder if this same problem is affecting Atlas as well, and if this dangerous change was done intentionally by the city on high. The two kind elders stare up at Atlas with growing concern.

In the dinning room once more, the council continues to bring up criticisms that have been leveled at Ironwood, specifically that he has two council seats. He tries to counter there are checks and balances to make sure he doesn’t misuse his authority, but they interject that he has been ignoring those regulations and making major decisions all on his own. The General tries to defend himself and say he had no intention of running amiss of the rules, but Councilman Sleet reminds him that intention and action are not always the same and his actions have been wrong. Speaking of making wrong decisions without meaning to, a faunus servant comes in to whisper concerning news in Jacques ear, presumably that the SDC Heating Grid has been off for a while and people are freezing. And it was done on his authorization. Guess Watts just loves to frame people. As Jacques urges the staff member to check the system again and grows visibly concerned, Sleet notices he’s not paying attention and pulls him back into the conversation. He tries to act like he knows what’s going on and agrees with what Sleet was saying, then claims he has no further concerns or questions. But Robyn is by no means done yet, badgering Ironwood about all his secrecy and fears that he refuses to share with the council. He says he fears Atlas becoming a tragic site like Vale or attacked like Haven, but she knows there’s more to it and wants to use her lie detector Semblance to force the truth out of him and test if he’s hiding something. The pressure is palpable, and we know he wants to be more open after the talk he had with Oscar...

But then the door behind Jacques slams open to reveal Weiss with a Phoenix Wright worthy OBJECTION to this one sided accusation. She knows the real culprit for the killing of anti-Ironwood speakers, and the fraudulent election, and she claims Jacques not only knows him in name but knows him personally. With such an accusatory prelude she sets Willow’s Scroll on the table and projects the video big enough that Camilla and Sleet can recognize Arthur Watts, who was thought to be dead since the “Paladin Incident” years ago. Papa Schnee feigns confusion and ignorance, but Daddy Ironwood stands in steely determination and tells Weiss to play the video. It shows the tail-end of Jacques conversation with the bad Doctor, how he hates Ironwood for the embargo and wishes he could fire everyone to save money, and we get to see just what Watts had in mind for Jacques to have his cake and eat it too. Watts is pissy and petulant that Ironwood disgraced him despite his genius contributions and wants to return the humiliation he received ten-fold. All Jacques has to do is give Watts his login for the Atlas Network and promise he’ll make ol’ Jimmy’s life a nightmare, and Watts will manipulate the polls to guarantee he gets that Council seat. Robyn seems very pissed off to learn the voting was rigged and she would have actually won like she had hoped. Jacques, or at least the version in the video, is delighted at the offer and commends Watts for his cutthroat “business” strategy. Ironwood has had enough of this, and Weiss stops the video so they can all glare at Jacques. He tries to get up to run and claims the video is fake. Sleet tells him to SIT. BACK. DOWN. but instead he bolts for the door only to find Weiss’ Knight standing guard and ready to take him down. By the power vested in her by the Kingdom of Atlas, Weiss arrests her father for treason... but maybe she doesn’t actually have the power to do that? It’s unclear but I definitely hope she can. Her entire relationship with her father has been based on him having power and control over her, her wanting to earn his approval and remain on his good side or suffer the consequences of his rage. The crux of her character arc has been recognizing her old way of living was unacceptable and finding ways to get free of that control and influence to become her own strong person. Now, through her hard work, she has more power than him and he has to do what she says or suffer the consequences of his actions against justice. But on the other hand you have to wonder what legal authority Huntsmen have to make arrests and the like. They’re not military or police officers, but they do handle more dangerous threats than the common man. If their job involves apprehending human criminals then they probably would be sanctioned to make arrests. To draw reference to another of my favorite shows, perhaps they are akin to deputized vigilantes like Green Arrow and his team on Arrow? They have specialized skills with which to handle threats the regular military and police aren’t trained enough for.

But breaking off from that topic and back down to one such criminal, Watts is standing on the street catching a snowflake in the palm of his glove before he sees people looting a store that I SWEAR is called Dust in the Wind. Desperate civilians have already started burning things to create a big enough fire so they can keep warm, and a few stolen Fire Dust crystals get thrown in to make it really flare up. Atlas soldiers are watching on and requesting advice on what to do. Glad they’re not stopping them forcefully since no one really knows the procedure for all the heat not working and this being the only way to live in warmth at the moment. Watts relishes in the chaotic moment and is joined by Tyrian.

We go back to the dining room where the adults stand around a sitting Jacques to continue interrogating him while the teens stand off to one side. As Ironwood berates the still defensive Schnee for stooping for such disgraceful lengths to get what he couldn’t fairly earn, Clover gets a blip in his earpiece and walks away to take the message, likely about the freezing crisis. Jacques warns Ironwood he’ll hurt his knees if he keeps jumping to such wild conclusions, but no avail. Better switch condiments, cuz that weak sauce ain’t working on the General. Now that he knows Watts is around and willing to cause trouble, all the loose ends are tying together quite smoothly. Since he made the Mantle security network he would know exactly how to manipulate it and work with Tyrian to do such violent acts and frame good people for it. Penny still seems pretty upset over her tarnished reputation because of that. And to top all of the scandalous deeds of Arthur Watts off, all of that was just to help Jacques cheat through the election. I should like to note that as Ironwood is giving Jacques the works he is backed by a smirking portrait of an armored Nicholas Schnee, as if even now the founder of this great company of his is amused by just how badly his son in law has fucked up royal. Jacques didn’t even consider the consequences of his alliance, he only saw the way it benefited him. There is blood on his hands for this, and he needs to be held accountable in a court of law for both his treason against the safety of his kingdom and the lives it lost. He is of course very much against this idea, all he intended was to win the election after all! But like Councilman Sleet said earlier, what you intend and what you are responsible for doing are not always the same thing. An excuse like that is not enough, and Robyn is physically enraged that he would try to trivialize the deaths of good people, to the point that she throws a chair across the room. Councilwoman Camilla asks the important question, what will Watts be able to do with the power Jacques gave him? They can only speculate into the grim infinitudes, until all their scrolls start buzzing with the concrete facts of just what he’s done. The heat is off, and Jacques can’t even log in to fix it anymore since Watts took his account and locked him out. The bastard tries to save his own hide and distance himself from the situation by saying he didn’t know Watts was planning this, but Winter tells him to SHUT. UP. and fix the heating grid, but he reveals what I did just now about no longer having access. Sleet voices the depressing obvious as Ironwood stares at his scroll and Robyn looks out the window, both in solemn concern: if the heat doesn’t come back on people WILL die. Ruby tries to get the General’s mind off of desperate what-ifs to focus on the facts of how things are right now. Since they know whose credentials Watts is using they can follow his network activity, but he would now have the ability to find out about the Amity project and get into its network. Fortunately, he hasn’t looked hard enough yet so neither he or Salem know about it. Weiss asks if they can lock the good doctor out, but he’s already set to work blocking their access instead. They can’t exactly trace him if he’s on the move so they need to lure him out so they can get to his access point. Robyn interjects, since she has been listening to all this cryptic talk and planning with no one paying any mind to her still being in earshot, that people as vastly different as Tyrian and Watts banding together seems rather farfetched without some larger factor. Their unanimous decision to go after Ironwood in particular seems even stranger with only one of them having much motive, and she still doesn’t get why Ironwood is keeping the Amity Tower a secret. James is quite shocked that she even knows about that, and I’m sure Blake and Yang will have a rather sheepish confession to make.

But we don’t see that, because instead we bear witness to Atlesian Knight robots being sent in to dispel the rioters gathered around the massive fire. But as Pietro and Maria watch on in silent shock, the people of Mantle lash out hard at these cold metal symbols of a cold ruling society and smash two of the robots. But these heated emotions are the tipping point and the streets start lighting up red to warn the civilians. Grimm are coming, and they are coming in mass. Mammoth-like Megoliaths and swiftly vicious Sabyrs are charging at the massive gap in the border wall, and the assembled Atlas soldiers and robots are not enough to hold the line, while Manta aircraft on bombing runs do nothing to slow the pack or thin the numbers. The Sabyrs are the first to get in and demolish the robots at ground level, and unidentified avian Grimm fly over the heads of the soldiers on top of the wall.

The scene shifts again from that chaos to the dining room again for a calmer moment of building faith, as Robyn admits she now sees just how much Ironwood is trying to protect with all the work he’s doing and the secrets that means keeping. She recognizes he has genuine fear for what will happen if the truth comes out. But the moment is stalled there as Clover and Oscar burst in to inform everyone about the Grimm swarming into Mantle, and how the airfleet can’t do much of anything or else it might result in civilian casualties. Ironwood goes back into beard-stroking panic mode, this is precisely what he hoped wouldn’t happen. Clover urges him to send in ground support to handle the Grimm within the city, but Robyn insists nowhere in the city will be safe if it gets completely overrun. Evacuating people up to Atlas with the airfleet should be their priority. But Daddy Ironwood has to raise his voice, he can’t move the fleet for any evacuation measures or else Atlas would be vulnerable instead. He worked so hard to keep everyone safe, and it’s all falling to pieces in the worst way. But Oscar is there to offer his advice again, though Ironwood rudely rebuffs him that he doesn’t want that. He wants Ozpin’s advice, but Oscar tells him that’s not the fix all answer he wishes it were. Oz would have told him to keep secrets, but Ironwood already knew that wasn’t the right way to go and made his own new and better plan. That plan has failed, the General argues, but that just means the day he was preparing for is upon them already. It’s time to tell the truth and have faith that the world will accept it, starting with Robyn and the council. Ruby assures him, he will not be alone in this. That puts the wind back in his sails, and he starts making a plan. Oscar is probably best off going back to the Academy for safety, and Ironwood needs to have a talk with his critics. In the meantime, the huntresses and huntsmen need to head down into the fray to do what they do best. And that means everyone is coming, even Penny. They still trust and believe in her, and the people will too. Winter has a look of approval as Ruby starts calling the shots, she definitely sees growth from how unimpressive the young rose seemed at Beacon. Clover couldn’t have said it better himself, and they all go running out the door... past a servant who had been in the dining room a couple times last episode bringing in drinks. She watches the trained warriors all leave, and smirks. Creepy.

As everyone else heads out the door, Ruby and Oscar stop for a moment to try and talk, and of course they talk over each other and act like a couple of dorks. They both think that since Ironwood is revealing everything he knows, they ought to do the same. But a lot of the fans are just thinking how they seem like such a cute adorkable couple. Y’all know who I ship so I can’t say too much about this, but I do certainly think it’s fun how they get along so well and seem to be on the same wavelength. Anyway, Ruby wants to be the one to tell Ironwood but duty calls so it has to be Oscar. Marrow is not amused by their awkwardness, or by the fact that Ruby uses finger-guns. Still, the Ace Ops, Qrow, and the young huntsmen head down in an airship where Clover lays down a reminder that their priority is saving people not racking up a Grimm kill count. Ren seems very distressed, so Nora holds his hand and it seems to help a little. They both feel a bit safer being able to feel that they still have each other, and Blake and Yang share a look that seems to imply the same sentiment even if they’re not going to hold hands too. As the ship soars swiftly downward into the danger, we see a streak of danger soaring above them too.

Back to the political scene, Sleet and Camilla are quietly discussing the world changing whiplash they just had from Ironwood telling them about Salem existing, and how they almost can’t believe it’s true but know he wouldn’t make something that serious up. Robyn, meanwhile, is just staring at the ground as if thinking to herself “I know I asked what he was hiding, but I immediately regret asking”. She looks over to the closed door, and we cut to the other side to see the General in his own mind shattering crisis. Oscar told him everything they know about Ozma and Salem’s past, how as far as they know she’s immortal and they can’t do a damn thing to change that. He’s understandably upset that Ozpin kept this from all of them, you can almost hear anguish and sadness in his voice, but Oscar affirms that it was for the sake of keeping hopes alive so they would stay motivated. Oscar also apologizes on behalf of RWBY and co. for likewise keeping it a secret, but they just didn’t know who could be trusted to know. Of all people Ironwood would understand that. But now was the time to bare it all, before anything terribly important was lost for good. It might be too late for that though, Ironwood’s hope seems pretty broken now. The poor boy tries to make sure the General is okay, to see what he’s going to do now that he knows all this, and for a second it seems like even he doesn’t know. But his head finds a firm place back on his shoulders and his gaze returns to the task at hand. Grand scheme matters will have to wait, they need to save Mantle. Oscar seems proud, says Ozpin would be too. Atlas is providing the hope it was always meant to, since such a marvel of ingenuity and power is supposed to be held to standards matched only by its altitude. I’m paraphrasing, but the way Oscar says it seems all too familiar to Ironwood, as if he was there to see Atlas get its start. It would seem there’s more of Ozpin in Oscar than even he realizes, or maybe there hasn’t been much Oscar himself in there for a little while?... But we don’t have time for that, because their transports have arrived and they need to go. The two agree that neither of them could handle any more surprises, but it’s the huntsmen and huntresses who are in for the surprise.

A new Grimm called a Teryx that as you would expect resembles a pterodactyl has latched onto the ship and no matter what fancy flying Harriet does to shake it loose it’s not budging. All that comes of it is Jaune starting to get airsick for the first time since Volume 1 and the Grimm moving around to the starboard side and digging its talons into the wall, right between Blake and Yang’s heads. Any further to either side and one of them might have died. The news only gets worse as another Teryx dive bombs them and damages the starboard engine. They all agree now would be a good time to bail and just get to the ground, and Clover opens the side door... on the side where the Grimm is. As his copious luck would have it, the damaged engine breaks loose and takes the Teryx down in a ball of flame so they’re safe to jump. As the kids start jumping, Elm playfully tells Harriet not to stay on board too much longer and she responds with sarcastic thanks. Not friends my ass, they all get along so well! Harriet decides to be a little extra with her exit and punches the windshield to go out onto the roof, inviting Ruby to try and keep up. Ruby gives a smile with more purity than distilled mountain spring water and follows her. Clover and Qrow are the last to jump, and Clover tries to show off a little for his boyfriend.

We go back to Schnee Manor for the last time as Jacques is being taken away by soldiers and Willow watches from the front door. Whitley is sitting sadly on the stairs alone, and Willow looks over to him with a slight smile. Clearly, she feels like the worst is behind them and hopefully they can try to be a real family now, but he runs away up the stairs. I don’t blame the poor kid, he feels like he has no one now. His mom has always preferred to drown her despair in liquor over being a present parental figure, and his sisters see him as an annoyance whom they never give the time of day. His father was the only one who showed him any attention or guidance, and that was so he could mold the boy in his image. He played along and did as he was told because no one else was there for him to give him much choice. Whitley probably wants to get along and be cared about by his sisters, but they thought the worst of him because he chose to listen to the father they wanted nothing to do with. Its a tragedy of circumstances, and it gives new context to lots of old scenes. The poor kid probably was kinda hurt that Weiss didn’t even say hello or show joy in seeing him again when she arrived for the party last episode. I definitely hope these two can recover and find a happier life. But as Jacques is brought to the armored truck, complaining all the way, we instead focus on a member of the staff leaving rather nonchalantly: the same young woman we saw smirking at everyone leaving earlier. She even starts skipping and if you couldn’t tell the twist already the familiar creepy music should make it obvious; Neo is already in Atlas, and if she’s here then Cinder can’t be far behind. Neo goes to a locked room in an unknown building with wall to wall windows showing the city outside, and sure enough there’s the fiery cockroach herself waiting for her companion’s return. Neo was in disguise to do recon since Cinder would stick out too much in a crowd, and it seems she found what they’re looking for. That sounds quite ominous and troublesome, and I’m a little annoyed that at the first sign of the new interesting villains getting exposed and being in our heroes crosshairs we return to the old villains who’re still trying the same old shtick. Still, at this point they almost feel like the Pilaf gang from original Dragon Ball, once the worst thing our heroes had to deal with but are now practically comedy relief villains who still think they’re the top threat. I’m not that mad, I just don’t much like Cinder and her nefarious schemes anymore. Still, doesn’t detract from the great satisfying episode.

2 notes · View notes

coffeeandcalligraphy · 6 years ago

Text

9 things finishing my 9th book taught me

Hey People of Earth!

Oh boy is that title real. Is this it. Have we reached the top of the mountain. I think yes?? The deed has been DONE, the book has been WROTE, I am in SHOCK.

I honestly didn’t think I’d be writing this post until June, seeming as though I figured REWIRED had another 3-4 chapters still kicking. I’ll go into detail about how the end of this book came to be in a separate writing update, but in short: it was an accident! (The book actually ends with the last chapter I updated on for this blog--BAD HABITS. If you missed that update, check it out HERE.)

I’ve been writing REWIRED since October of 2017 (lil munchkin was in grade 11!). That means I’ve been drafting this novel for a year and a half! Out of all my books, this one has definitely taught me the most.

I’ve done posts like this in the past for my other books, so in honour of the tradition, here is nine things finishing my ninth novel taught me!

1. What I like to write

Oh boy, this is such a big one. The start of REWIRED was really hard for me to write because I was transitioning between two styles: YA with dystopian vibes, to a more literary voice. At the start of drafting, I had no idea I would eventually start writing this novel as litfic, hence why the style on page one is so different from the style on the last page. I knew my literary voice and tastes were developing, I just didn’t know where this development would take me.

From October 2017-February 2018, the style was a more refined take on its initial YA dystopian predecessor. It was only when I read The Girls by Emma Cline in March of that year that I really realized where I wanted my style to be! I had struggled finding my voice in that four month period of the novel’s first draft, but reading that book really clicked everything in place for me. Whilst I’d incorporated more of a literary tone in the early chapters, I felt unsure about the voice. But when I read The Girls and drafted chapter 9 of the book shortly after (ironically, I later titled it Girl), everything really clicked in place for me! (so basically my writing advice is read the girls)

From playing around with my style in this book, I’ve really solidified what I love to write: adult litfic is where it’s at for me currently! yee haw.

2. Who my protagonist is

Reeve, the protagonist of REWIRED has been a character that has been with me since I was in grade eight (age 13). I’m going to uni in the fall and turning eighteen this year (wILD), so I’ve been in her head for five years. I talk about this in detail in the vlog I’ll have up of me finishing this book, but for so long, I tried to make Reeve someone she wasn’t. I had this idea of what the “right female protagonist” should be: someone kickass, unflinching, generous, but also a fighter. I had the very tropey ‘strong female character’ idea stuck in my head for so many years. Instead of writing Reeve as who she was, I wrote her as this strong female character--the person I thought she should be.

For a long time, I couldn’t understand why I’d always get feedback that Reeve was “so dramatic”, or “so selfish”, or “so annoying”. I tried really hard to fit her into this mould: I made her selfless, I made her kickass, the list goes on. But none of this worked. She was still “so dramatic” and “so selfish” and “so annoying” and even I got so fed up with her, I considered writing her in third person because I just couldn’t stand her anymore. After five whole books of being in her head, straight on, I couldn’t do it anymore.

But REWIRED changed the game for me. Even in the beginning of this book, I won’t lie, I made an effort to make Reeve self-aware and apologetic for her bad actions, but it never made her any more ‘likable’. I’d literally wrestled with her for five books and nothing I was doing to make her likable was working. So I gave up! I stopped trying to make her this kickass protagonist that was well-rounded and generous and logical and just accepted her for who she was. For five books, I’d tried to make her someone she wasn’t, and she literally didn’t care and kept up until I gave in and really accepted her and allllllll her (many) flaws.

And... that’s actually how I started to LOVE Reeve. Before this, I’d never really loved her (I’d always preferred my boys), but book six Reeve said FUCK THE BOYS I'm THE BEST. Which. Fair. Because she really is. Reeve is arrogant, and selfish, and irrational, and manipulative, but I love her SO much, and I’m so sad I didn’t appreciate her this much until this book because she’s the best?? On top of this, I’ve been absolutely blown away at the reception she’s gotten on this blog and within friends! I’m still sometimes shocked when people say they love Reeve because I spent so much time trying to fix her when she didn't need fixing. Now she goes around claiming she’s God and shit, and she’s never been more herself, oops.

3. That writing buddies are important

Like for real though, this book never would have been written without my buddies. Literal extreme thanks to @sarahkelsiwrites for putting up with my ass writing this book. I was the worst??

This book was really difficult for me to write/keep up with. I’d experienced an overload of school, and tonsss of anxiety that really witheld me from drafting as I’d expected. Thanks to Sarah, this book actually got written? Sarah is basically my ghost writer? Sarah is basically my ghost?? Period??

Also a huge shout out to my moms @sssoto and @shaelinwrites who’ve been cheering me on and like being so nice about the writing in this book since the start?? Like I’m sorry this is a cheesy Oscars speech, but I love you all?? Y’all are the reason this book done got wrote??

My writing buddies are the best please send them all the love in the world!

4. That writing doesn’t have to be fast

I love going back to my writing updates from 2016 where I was like “omg guys I only wrote 500k words this month omg ahaha!” and laughing because sis went from the goddamn HARE to the TURTOISE real quick with this book.

With the style + genre change, this was to be expected, but holy wow? I slowed down like 200%. But--I’m not mad at this at all. I think I learned how to actually take my time with writing because of this book. I wrote 70 words today? GREAT. I wrote 200 words this month? You know what--that is WONDERFUL, writing is not always about how quickly you’re putting out words! I used to get caught up in this mentality a lot when I was younger, so learning to accept that slow + steady wins the whole fckin race really helped.

5. That my writing doesn’t have to be morally correct

Lol I learned this so much, so so much. I had a huge habit of trying to correct the morally incorrect in my book, even when it was out of character. I did this a lot with Reeve (see above), where she’d say something, and then stiffly apologize for it even though she never would actually do that. This was my attempt at making everything morally correct, and ties into the whole ‘my characters must be likable thing’.

I call book six the book of making everyone bad people, and that’s what it BE. And I’d never want it any other way! I learned I love writing about bad people, and bad things, and bad people doing bad things. It’s my guilty pleasure, and I ain’t ever going to stop.

But I really stopped trying to resolve all the ‘morally incorrect’ content in my books like I used to (when out of character of course) and embrace evil?? like yesssss, welcome to the dark side.

6. I’m capable to push through struggle

Whilst I never felt this way during times of struggle, looking back, I definitely know I’m capable to fix my issues even when I feel they are unfixable. Even if I have to do this with a LOT of help (*cough* sarah *cough*), I know this is possible. I had a lot of lows writing this book, but I always made it out, no matter what. I’ve learned to trust myself a lot more, and give myself time to sort through the mud instead of giving up entirely.

7. Everything is changeable

Ya girl done changed everything in this book. From resurrecting characters to changing Reeve + Darren’s relationship from *wholesome friendship* to *wild failed engagement*, to giving Emily an entirely new personality, I really learned to embrace change in this book. I think a lot of us get caught up in the worries of change. This can cause lots of self doubt etc etc. The FOSTERED series is a personal project, but even knowing that, I was so hesitant to change things at the start of the novel. But as it progressed, I learned that hey--I make mistakes. Sometimes something doesn’t go the way I thought it would, sometimes I think of a better way to execute something. It’s not the end of the world to change things. I’ve embraced chaos, basically.

8. I don’t always have to stick to plans

This sort of plays into the last point, but I definitely want to talk about this! Whilst I’ve pantsed this entire series, I’ve also incorporated *some* level of planning. Whether that’s loose character arcs or plot threads etc, there’s always been a direction to follow. However, upon realizing even minimal planning sometimes was not working, I took a step back and just said it was totally okay for things to go “off course” (I like to think it’s being driven to a new course). I scrapped 50% of what the novel was supposed to be and let it occur as it was.

This is even relevant with how the book ended! The end came suddenly, and I’d had it written for a month without realizing it was the end! Plans are good, but not sticking to them is sometimes even better. This book turned into something completely different than intended, and I’m very happy about that! It allowed me to discover the story as I went, which is invaluable! I can’t stick to plans and you know: I dig it.

9. I’m a good writer

I impulsively want to put a question mark at the end of that, but you know, we are *confident* in this house *not really*.

This book made me really consider that maybe... just maybe... I’m a good writer. That doesn't mean I’m a perfect writer or never make mistakes--lol I make *many*, but I do think I really honed in on my craft through this book and wrote some good shit?? This book really solidified that I know I can write--not perfectly, but writing, nonetheless. I hadn’t really considered myself a good writer until this book, but ye, I def think I’m at least half decent!

So that’s about it for this update! THANK YOU for following this journey, folks, I can’t believe it’s over (like really I’m in shock someone help lmao), but unfortunately the party aint over til its over cuz I’m dragging you with me as I write the next book in this never ending series someone take the PEN out of my HAND. Your support has been so valuable to me! See y’all in the next book what mess will I get myself into next, oh god !!

--Rachel

#writing #amwriting #writerblr #writeblr #fostered #writingupdates

55 notes · View notes

pikachunas · 5 years ago

Text

Chrono Clobbered

“Are you gonna finish your french toast sticks?”

Jay looked up from his tray. The Burger King was crowded for a Monday morning and he was eager to get home and sleep for the rest of his day off. “You can have em’” Jay muttered. “I’m not hungry.” Ennis sighed and reach across the booth to grab a french toast stick off of Jay’s tray. “It’s always hard at first, but this is a good time to focus on doing things you enjoy and pursuing stuff you’re passionate about.” Jay stared blankly into his lap. “Some people say getting back to work sooner than later can help occupy your mind.” Finally, Jay looked up “No” he insisted. “There are too many memories there… good and bad.” Ennis paused for a second. “I hate to see you like this, but I know that you’ll feel better with time.” Jay scoffed “The only time I’ll feel better is in the past. There’s nothing left for me to look forward to.”

“I could tell you how to go back in time but you wouldn’t believe me.” Ennis teased. Jay raised an eyebrow and turned his palms upwards, shrugging. “You just have to take a punch.” Jay sighed “I would take a punch from present day Mike Tyson and then another one from 1991 Mike Tyson if it meant I could go back then and start over.” Ennis chuckled “then you’ll be relieved to learn that it’s not a Hall of Fame boxer you have to get slugged by.”

“Alright, then who is it?”. Jay was genuinely curious. “Do you know Mike Moak?” Ennis asked. Jay nodded “I know of him, I’ve seen After the Fall a bunch of times but I’ve never spoken to him for longer than a couple of minutes.” Ennis put a hand on Jay’s shoulder “Then you know what you’re getting into.” Jay shook his head “I don’t understand. What does Mike Moak have to do with going back in time?” He was already upset but now he was confused and growing increasingly irritated. He had seen Mike Moak in person enough to know that he was much too small and out of shape to throw a punch that could knock someone to the ground, let alone break the time space continuum.

“I know a guy who got in a fight with him in high school and he says he travelled back in time after MIke clocked him.” Jay was in no mood for jokes and he didn’t want to entertain this nonsense, but his curiosity was piqued. “That doesn’t make any sense.” He pondered out loud “Did he not wake up after Mike hit him?” Ennis looked away and rubbed his chin pausing for a moment “of course he did, but he was different ever since. Something changed in him and he wasn’t shy about telling people he had gone back in time. He made a believer out of me.”

“You believe him?” Jay asked. “Hell yes I do” Ennis replied emphatically. “He won $3,000 when he bet that the Giants would beat the undefeated 2007 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.” Jay curled his lip “You’re telling me this guy knew for a fact the Giants were going to win as heavy underdogs and he still only won $3,000?” Ennis smirked and nodded “That’s what I’m telling you. That was not an easy call back then. They were 12 point underdogs.” Jay lifted himself out of his chair, almost jumping “If he travelled back in time from the future and knew for a certainty the Giants were gonna win that game, how come he didn’t bet everything he owned on it?” Ennis shrugged “I’m sure he did but he didn’t have that much to bet. It’s not like he knew he was gonna travel back in time, and I would venture to guess that if you get punched hard enough that it sends you back in time then you’re not exactly Stephen Hawking when you wake up…. At least not intellectually.”

Jay watched Ennis and waited for a smirk or giggle or some kind of tell that he was bluffing. Any indication that this was an act. “I believe him” Ennis doubled down “he’s just got that vibe like there’s something peculiar about him… like he really is from another time or dimension or something. You’ll understand when you meet him.” Jay thought for a second before pontificating “it’s just so absurd, I know it can’t be true, but I want to suspend disbelief and go into it with an open mind… just for the sake of his act.” Ennis slapped Jay on his back between his shoulders “If it’s an act then he deserves an Oscar for his commitment to the craft, because he’s living it.” Jay faked a smile “Snake oil salesman always do when they’re being watched.” he alleged. Ennis laughed and patted Jay’s back a few more times “That’s the thing about this guy, my friend… he’s got nothing to sell but a story and he’s giving it away to anyone who will listen.”

Later that evening, still unconvinced, Jay invited his friend Teddy to get lunch the following afternoon. Teddy had always been more involved in the local music scene than he ever was, and she would surely be much more familiar with Mike Moak. They agreed to meet at the Iron Gate Cafe on Washington Ave in Albany. Jay arrived first and was seated at a table by the kitchen. When Teddy walked in, he waved to signal her and she walked over to greet him at the table. Before she finished hanging her purse on the back of her chair Jay asked “How will do you know Mike Moak? Do you still see him at shows?” Teddy froze and looked at Jay before taking her phone out of her purse and sitting down. “A little, not super well” she replied “I see him about once a month at a bar or a show I’d say.” “How big is he now, do you like him?” Jay inquired. “Not very” Teddy responded at once. “I mean, he’s chubby and moody and obnoxious, so I don’t talk to him if I don’t have to. He always kind of reminded me of the Mayor of Halloweentown from the Nightmare Before Christmas. Both in shape and attitude. Why the sudden interest in him?” she finally inquired.

“I might have to start a fight with him” Jay responded blankly. “Oh… ok” Teddy countered inquisitively uncertain of whether or not she wanted to know more. “Well, you’d probably win” she paused “he must cut his coke with powdered sugar because nobody that parties as much as him should be that overweight. He’s got the same body type and hairline as the Penguin from Batman Returns.” She took a sip of the coffee she ordered and moaned “I hate to do it but I have to ask. Why do you feel like you need to start a fight with Mike Moak?”

Jay crossed his hands on the table. “I met someone who says that Mike punched him in high school and it sent him back in time.” Teddy laughed out loud, cackling at the thought “That’s great, but I don’t understand the joke” she chuckled “why do you want to go back in time anyway?” Jay looked away “There’s just something… someone I need to start over with.” The room fell silent “Is it someone that passed away?” Teddy asked somberly. “No…nothing like that” Jay answered “It’s just something I can’t let go, and I’d rather risk the rest of my life than keep going on without them.” Teddy was silent for a second then pried “that’s sad, and strangely romantic, but can’t you just talk to them?” Jay shook his head “Too many things have happened that can’t be taken back… I may have said or done something wrong at some point, or I wasn’t honest enough with myself, or I came on too strong… I don’t know, but I know I could make it right.” Jay thought out loud.

“Have you thought about talking to someone?” Teddy asked thoughtfully “Sometimes it can be really helpful to get an unbiased objective opinion.” Jay exhaled a frustrated sigh “There’s nobody else I want to talk to, just forget I said anything.” Teddy nodded “I’m not trying to second guess you, and you know I’ll support whatever you think you need to do, but you’re scaring me a little bit” She paused for a moment, shaking her head struggling to decide whether or not she should even continue to entertain this conversation. “I’ve never seen him swing on anyone but I don’t think he could throw a hard enough bare knuckle punch to knock you off your feet, let alone back in time.” She could tell Jay was anxious by the way he was toying with the straws and sugar packets. “I know that you know how silly this sounds and I hope that you know if you’re going through anything you can talk to me about it.” Jay looked into the distance before meeting Teddy’s eyes “Thank you” he murmured. He then shoved his money, the sugar packets and his still full cup of coffee to the center of the table in one thrust. “But I don’t want to talk about it, I want a chance to start over.”

Jay opened the door to Ennis’ 1984 Corolla and sat next to him in the passenger seat. “I have to remind you” Ennis warned “this guy is pretty wild. This is gonna be a fascinating experience for you. “I’m ready” Jay assured him. “I’m going in with an open mind and I’m willing to try anything.” The ride only lasted about 15 minutes from Jay’s Albany apartment before they parked in front of a modest single family home in the suburbs. “One last thing…” Ennis alerted “he goes by “The Chrone” Jay couldn’t help but break “Ha what?” he laughed “Why?” Ennis opened the door “Short for Chrononaut…. A Time Traveller” he responded stepping out of the car. He was afraid if he thought about it too long he would be overcome by how preposterous this was and he would succumb to logic and reason. He stepped out of the car and followed Ennis to the front door. Ennis rang the bell and after a moment, a near-elderly woman in a light sweater with ducks on it appeared in the doorway. “You must be some of Gordie’s friends” she said smiling. “Come on in, I’ll show you to his room.”

Jay entered the Chrone’s room and was overcome with nostalgic sentiment. He became fully engrossed in the atmosphere and found himself unable to look away from the E.T., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Surf Ninjas, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Super Mario World, the Legend of Zelda, Mortal Kombat, X-Files and Resident Evil posters that covered the walls. The Chrone was laying spread eagle in a beanbag chair in the center of the room playing NHL 95 on Super Nintendo and listening to “...And Justice For All” by Metallica. He was wearing a Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness T-shirt and a Misfits Crimson Ghost hat. Strewn out on the coffee table in front of the Chrone were stacks of Pokemon cards and Nintendo Power magazines. Jay sat beside Ennis on a futon that was against the wall adjacent to where the Chrone was seated.

“Welcome dudes” the Chrone said without looking away from the television. “Hey man! Thanks for letting me stop by” Jay replied enthusiastically. “Ness said you were interested in becoming a chrononaut.” Jay had picked up and was studying a Tamagotchi that was in the attached cup holder of the futon. “That’s why I’m here… it sounds too good to be true but I’m willing to try anything.” The Chrone stood up and walked over to the stereo that was resting in the center of a bookshelf that was spilling comic books from every shelf. He turned a knob to lower the volume and then looked at Jay, “I can only speak to my own experience, but I have no reason to believe the results couldn’t be replicated if the methods are the same.” Jay put the Tamagotchi down and looked at the Chrone to try and read any potential signs that this was a goof. The Chrone met Jay’s gaze “I wasn’t asking for it, and I didn’t want it… I was just a high school senior in 2007 trying to get laid and next thing I know it’s 1996 and I’m 12 years old again.” Jay stared at the Chrone for a minute and thought to himself before quizzing “If you went all the way back to 1996 why didn’t you invest in Microsoft or invent Google or something?”

The Chrone had told this story and had therefore answered this exact question dozens of times “I tried that kind of thing for a while. I told my parents that Apple was a surefire investment but to them I was just a kid with a sudden and fleeting interest in business and they shrugged it off. I would have loved to invent the iPod or developed Amazon.com but I didn’t have the money or resources to capitalize on what little knowledge I had retained from the future and by the time I was old enough to earn my own money the only thing I could remember was that the Patriots lost the Superbowl after their undefeated 2007 season. I told everyone I knew and I saved as much as I could but I was only able to save a couple grand. By then I had been living in an apartment with two roommates and delivering pizzas. I still had to live my life and I wasn’t positive that going back hadn’t altered the current reality I was living in. I was confident, but if I did nothing but save money and then I lost it all in a bet it would take me years to recover. You don’t realize how much of your life becomes forgettable when it’s just the same routine day to day. There were moments and events that I thought I remembered but most of the time it was no different than experiencing Deja Vu.”

Jay sat still and looked up at the Chrone. He hesitated for a moment then asked “I get this guy to hit me, then what?” The Chrone picked up a Dragonball Z Goku action figure that was on the bookshelf “if you do what I tell you then the same thing that happened to me will happen to you.” Jay was encouraged by the confidence with which the Chrone delivered this promise. He knew the story was laughably outrageous, but as far as he was concerned, he had run out of options and this was the desperate measure brought on by the desperate times in which he was living. .

“What if he kills me?” Ennis whispered, staring at the ground.

“Are you afraid to die?” the Chrone asked.

“I’m a little afraid of what comes next”

“If you believe what I’m telling you you’ll get a chance to live again however you choose”

“If you’re wrong, I’ll be humiliated or dead”

“Would you give what’s left of your life to relive the best times?”

“That’s why I’m here”

“Then do as I say”

Jay flipped his notepad open and tried to focus in spite of the millions of thoughts he had racing in his head. He exhaled “Mike seems like such a sensitive guy, how do I make him mad enough to hit me?” The Chrone sat back down in his bean bag chair and leaned back “There is only one way” he paused “You have to date his ex girlfriend.” Ennis froze, staring straight ahead. This wasn’t a qualifying objective that he was expecting to hear. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since high school and struggled to remember the last time he had even been on a date. After a moment, he flipped his notebook closed and asked, his voice breaking “I’m not very good with women, what if she doesn’t like me?”

“She’s never met a man she doesn’t like” the Chrone assured him “Swooning her will be the easy part.”

“What’s the hard part?” he asked nervously.

The Chrone smiled “Faking it for long enough to draw his attention.”

Again, Jay found the Chrone’s confidence to be encouraging “That’s ridiculous, how bad can she be?” he wondered out loud.

“She’s cursed with the face and the odor of a sewer dwelling rodent. Are you attracted to Dave Grohl?”

“Jesus… no. I mean, I like the Foo Fighters but I never got into Nirvana”

“Then this is going to be very difficult for you.”

Jay rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand “Why does he like her so much then? He’s a talented, decent looking guy.”

“He wanted a woman which no man would desire. He understands that his jealousy is a weakness that he’s unable to control.”

Jay paced back and forth in a daze of bewilderment “None of this makes any sense, can’t I just hit him first or break one of his guitars or something?”

“Nothing else will inspire the rage necessary to elicit the desired response. If you want to go back, this is the only way.”

Jay sat down and cupped his nose and his mouth with his hands. He sat still for a moment and then released another heavy sigh “How do I find her?”

The following Friday night Jay drove to the bar that the Chrone had told him about. The Chrone had assured him that Michelle hung out there every Friday night since she and Mike had broken up in an effort to meet guys in other bands. Jay wasn’t sure who was playing, but he was hopeful that he would find Michelle inside. Before he walked in he stopped to consider how long it had been since he had approached a woman he didn’t know with the intention of asking her out. Had he ever?

Reluctantly, he walked into the building. The room he entered was narrow with an elevated stage at the end opposite the entrance. There couldn’t have been fifteen people in the bar but there was a band playing that had two keyboards next to each other on stage. He walked to the bar and scanned the room. It didn’t take him long to notice a short girl with thick dark hair in a messy bun and eyeglasses that looked like they were bought at a Golden Girls celebrity auction. She was doing a dance that looked like she was running in place while goose-stepping. She was kicking her feet out in front of herself one after the other while swaying her folding arms back and forth as if she was jogging. He had seen it before at ska shows, but there was no brass in the band on stage, in fact, she was dancing visibly faster than the rhythm of the mellow shoegaze song that was playing.

Jay stood at the bar watching this girl dance and the realization seriously struck him that if he was going to have an opportunity to begin again he would have to spend enough time with her to elicit an emotional reaction from Mike. “Maybe things aren’t so bad” he bargained “maybe I’ve been so focused on starting over that I haven’t spent enough time thinking about how to improve things for myself going forward.” He couldn’t imagine approaching this women, or speaking to her. At this point, he would be surprised if she were capable of holding a conversation. “This girl has gotta have an extra chromosome” he thought to himself. Nevertheless, he was determined to make an impression.

He stepped in front of her and tried to match her rhythm by swaying back and forth and shuffling his feet. For the first time, he looked into her almond eyes and not ten seconds passed before she lunged forward and planted an aggressive kiss on his mouth. Their teeth collided and there was an audible clank that compelled Jay to attempt to pull away. She mirrored the movement of his head and forced her tongue into his mouth. “This isn’t so bad” he tried to convince himself as she grinded their teeth together. After 30 seconds of her gnawing and breathing into his open mouth he slowly began to tilt his face back while gently pushing her away at the waist. He stepped backwards and as they parted she took her glasses off and bit her bottom lip. “Umm” he stuttered “Do you want a drink?” She rested the tip of her glasses frames on her cheek “Vodka soda” she demanded.

Jay trudged to the bar in a stupor. He was relieved that the first, and ultimately most important, goal in his quest was accomplished so effortlessly, but the reality of what was to come was daunting. “I already wish I never met this girl, and I don’t think she even told me her name yet.” he pondered. “You alright?” the squirrely bartender with glasses and a considerable nose asked. “I don’t know, man” Jay responded without thinking “Do you ever feel like you’re already in over your head before you even get started with something?” The bartender twisted his mouth and nodded “hmmm” he mumbled “like when you start a new video game and you have no idea how to control your character or which direction to go and you’re not sure if it’s even gonna be worth playing because there are so many other games that you already know are good?” Jay stared blankly at the bartender for a moment before responding “.... I guess?” he muttered “It’s a little like that” The bartender smirked and nodded “Then yeah, I feel that way all the time. I find it’s best to give it a chance. If by the time you know what you’re doing it still doesn’t seem worth the time and energy, try something new or revert back to the classics…. Anyway, what can I get for you?”

Jay considered what the bartender said and tried to decipher some meaning from his stoner philosophical musing. “I’d rather just give up now then spend any more time with this girl and then realize it’s not worth it, though” he conceded. “No” he asserted to himself “I’m not going to allow myself to be so easily dissuaded, and I’m not gonna quit just because this girl is insufferable. I’m gonna make her fall in love with me and I’m gonna flaunt it all over town so that Mike gets so incensed he slugs me back to the Mesozoic era.” He looked up at the bartender “One Vodka Soda” he commanded.

When the bartender returned with the drink, Jay collected it and then walked back to the center of the room where Michelle was dancing. “Here ya go” he said, handing her the glass. She took a small sip to taste it and then drank the rest of the glass in one gulp. Before he could say anything she smiled and handed him the glass “Vodka soda” she repeated. “Um… OK” he mumbled before turning around and making his way back to the bar. Before he could say a word the lanky bartender had two vodka sodas waiting side by side at the edge of the bar. “This should buy you a couple more minutes” he said with a grin. “What am I getting into?” he asked the bartender, exasperated. “Well..” he said smiling “That all depends on what you’re looking for.” Jay stopped to think of the best way to explain without giving away too many details. “She seems cool” he lied “I guess I’m just looking to get to know her.” The bartender was a aghast “Why?” he asked immediately, failing to mask the look of concern and confusion on his face. Jay was puzzled and disheartened by the bartenders reaction “I don’t know” he replied “she seems fun.” The bartender threw a towel over his shoulder “I guess it depends on how desperate you are… let me know if you need anything else.”

Jay returned to MIchelle with both drinks. He handed the first one to her and again she swallowed it in one gulp. Before he could move she reached for his hand “Is this one for me too?” she asked while ripping the glass from his hand and inhaling the second vodka soda. Jay looked had her wide-eyed for a moment before she spoke again “What’s a girl gotta do to get you to buy her another drink around here?” she asked. Jay was amazed and befuddled “Dude are you serious?” he asked without thinking “Can I at least get you something you can pace yourself with?” MIchelle shrugged and pursed her lips like she was thinking “You can buy me a snack” she answered before pausing “but first…. Vodka soda.”

Jay waited for the band to finish their set before retreating to the bar to add a fourth vodka soda to his tab. When he turned to walk back towards the stage he noticed that MIchelle was kissing one of the guitar players in the band. “Jesus, what the fuck?” he cursed out loud. The squirrely bartender snickered “I could have told you that was gonna happen… she’s got a thing for dudes in bands.” Jay shook his head “I walked away for like two minutes, to get HER a drink” he was struggling to keep his voice down. “She’s moves quick” the bartender said “she’ll be bored with him before the next band is off the stage.” Jay ignored him and walked backed toward MIchelle, who had finished kissing the guitar player and was now chewing the straw from one of her drinks while he finished packing his gear. He handed her the drink “Do you know that guy?” he asked reluctantly. “Which guy?” she replied. “The guy you were just kissing?” he asked as monotone as he could. She looked at the guitar player and then back at Jay “I thought that was you” she said assuredly. Without thinking Jay snapped back “He’s like Asian or something and he’s six inches taller than me, are you feeling alright?” he inquired feigning concern.

“I’d feel better if I had a snack” Jay covered his eyes with his left hand. He had spent less than an hour and $40 on drinks with Michelle and he was ready to ride his fixed gear bike into the Hudson River. “What do you want?” he asked patiently. “I don’t know” she replied “but I’m well hung.” Jay had already spent enough time with Michelle to know that correcting her on the application of that phrase was a fool’s errand so instead he took her by the hand and led her outside to his car. “Where are we going?” she wondered aloud. “I’m assuming I have to decide for you” he said before starting his car. “Do you want to just go to Bombers and then I’ll drop you off back here?” Michelle shrugged in agreement.

“Would you like to sit upstairs or downstairs?” Jay asked after he parked in front of the restaurant. Michelle pursed her lip “The bar is upstairs” she asserted. “Alright” Jay replied holding the door open for her. While Jay was waiting for a host to seat them he turned and noticed that Michelle was no longer by his side. He scanned the room for a moment before noticing her in front of the bar with her arms around a chubby guy with a skull cap and a beard. She was thrusting her waist into the back of his legs and they were both laughing. “How many?” a waitress in a black tank top and cut off jean shorts asked. Jay looked up from the ground “Just two” he replied turning to look back at Michelle who was now taking a shot in unison with the bearded guy, their arms intertwined. “Follow me” she said and Jay followed her to a booth in the corner of the room. He sat alone for a minute confused at the behavior he was witnessing first hand, but moreso why anyone would want to date this person, and uncertain about what it is about her that someone would be willing to fight for.

While he was lost in consideration, Michelle appeared across from him “Did you order me a drink yet?” she demanded. “No, I wasn’t sure what you’d want.” Michelle tucked her head into her chest and tightened her lips, almost resembling a turtle retreating into its shell. She lifted her necklace out from under her “Propaghandi” t-shirt. Hanging from the thin rope in chipped fool’s gold letters were the words “Vodka Soda” in script lettering. “I should have guessed” he chuckled trying to hide his smile. Just then the waitress reappeared “Are you guys ready to…” “NACHOS” Michelle interrupted, hollarring. The waitress laughed nervously “and for you?” she asked, turning her gaze toward Jay. “I’ll have a tofu burrito.. And can we get a Vodka soda and a PBR draft” he requested. “I’ll be right back with that” she promised walking away as quickly as possible.

When Jay turned again to look back at Michelle, she was leaning toward him with her elbows on the table. As she crept closer, he was overcome by the smell of a citrus fruit left to ferment in a fast food dumpster. “What are you doing?” he asked with a tremble in his voice. “Kiss me ya bum” she demanded before puckering her lips with her eyes closed. Jay ducked her attempt and rolled out of the booth. “I’m gonna grab some napkins, and wash my hands; do you need anything?” MIchelle looked in his direction without looking at him directly and shook her head. When Jay came back from the bathroom he found their food waiting on the table but Michelle was nowhere to be found. He checked the rest of the tables in the lobby and the bar but she wasn’t there. The women’s restroom door was ajar so he knew it was unoccupied.

He walked downstairs to find Michelle sitting in a booth with two college aged men. When he stepped into the dimly lit room he saw that she was sitting on one man’s lap and either whispering into or nibbling on his ear. He wasn’t sure why he was still surprised but her audacity was so foreign to him. He approached the table and ignoring the men looked at MIchelle “our food is upstairs, come up whenever you’re ready” before turning away and returning to their booth. He sat by himself for a few minutes, eager to enjoy his burrito but somehow still concerned about Michelle thinking it rude if he started eating without her. After 10 minutes she appeared in the doorway and took her seat across from him, her black lipstick was smeared all around her mouth who had just eaten a chocolate ice cream cone on a roller coaster. There were visible red marks on both sides of her neck “Maybe she’s having an allergic reaction to that dudes cologne” he considered but he knew the truth was that one,each, or both at the same time, of those guys were sucking on her neck. He didn’t mind, but suddenly the panic set in that he might have to sleep with her to keep her interest or for word to get back to Mike and besides the physical act of that likely being as fun and exciting as getting a tetanus shot at your grandmother’s funeral, he didn’t doubt for a second that she might be carrying… something. He had to distract himself from these excruciating thoughts so he quickly asked “Do you work or go to school?”.

“Both” she replied while balling some cheese from the top of her plate of nachos and popping it into her mouth. “Oh cool, what do you do for work?” he was sincerely curious. “I’m a teacher.” Jay wanted to laugh but he wasn’t rude by nature and he still wasn’t positive he had sealed the deal. “Do you teach a spin class or something?” He wondered out loud, trying to mask his sarcasm. “No, I teach English as a second language in an elementary school, I’m almost done with my masters.” He stared blankly at Michelle, hoping the shock he was feeling wasn’t displayed on his face. “Do you go to the University of Phoenix or Devry or something?” he had never been more puzzled. “UAlbany” she responded, stuffing a fistfull of nachos into her mouth. He was literally speechless that this person who had kissed half of Albany and had hardly uttered a coherent sentence in the last two hours provided such a valuable and formative service to children of the community. She didn’t seem to notice that they finished their meal and he payed the bill in silence.

“You ready?” he asked, turning to step out of the booth. “Mmhmm” she mumbled before rubbing the last bit of salsa out of her side cup and then sucking on her finger. He wondered if she was trying to be seductive but she looked like a largemouth bass with human teeth struggling to swallow a breakfast sausage. Jay put on the Casket Lottery for the drive back to the bar. “This sucks” she concluded more than once on the ten minute ride. When he parked in front of the bar on Central Ave, one of the busiest roads in the city, Michelle reached over and began loosening the belt that held his corduroy pants up. “I’m kind of full” he squeaked, attempting to slunk away from her advances. “I”m not” she declared confidently. “I really think we should wait” he could feel the sweat pooling on his face. “Mmm mmm” she hummed still toiling with his belt. “Thank God the technology of a belt buckle is so perplexing to her” he obliged. He heard the thwip of his belt come undone and he could feel his pants loosen.

Just then, in a state of panic he slammed his forearms onto the steering wheel and the horn blasted a long continuous note. It was the most satisfying abrasive E flat he thought he would ever hear and she jumped back at once. “Sorry…. I’m just a little nervous” he fibbed. “It’s ok ya freak, just relax” she returned, attempting to pacify him. “Yer gonna love it.” He found himself involuntarily balling his fists and tightening his arms against his upper body. “I need to get the fuck out of here” he knew, but he had never hit a woman… or anyone, and he wasn’t about to start tonight. He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him at once “no no no no no” she mumbled gripping at the front of his pants. In a disoriented and frantic daze he absent-mindedly wrapped his upper and lower arms around her forehead and began wrenching her head back and forth. At first she tried to wiggle free “oh, you like it rough, let’s see if you can ride this bull then” she laughed. Jay ignored her and continued to placidly swing her head back and forth close to his hip in rhythm with the song that was playing. After about 30 seconds, her body became limp and she fell asleep in his lap.

He let go of a long satisfied sigh and rested his head against the back of his seat. He was profoundly relieved but too terrified of what might happen if he fell asleep so he opened the window hoping the cool air would refresh him. Suddenly, he heard a thunderous roar like a freight train colliding with a jet engine at a nuclear bomb test site. Bewildered he scanned the street only to realize that the sound was coming from his lap. Michelle had been passed out for no longer than a minute and she was already snoring like the Krakatoa volcano eruption. The rumble of her trumpeting appalled and paralyzed him. He shook his hips and she began to sway. Lifting her head she inquired “How long was I out for?” Jay was still in a fog of slackjawed confusion “Umm about two minutes” he replied. She smiled and sat up. He had had enough MIchelle for one night, and one lifetime, so he was eager to get home and die in his sleep. “You’ve been a lot of fun” he lied “I’ll text you tomorrow.” They exchanged numbers and she stumbled out of his car.

The next day Jay was playing destiny 2 and enjoying a Nine Pin Signature Cider from his couch when his phone lit up. He hadn't lived alone long and it had not been a welcome change but listening to records and gaming were a welcome distraction. He checked his messages to see Michelle had sent him a picture. He expected to be disgusted, but was pleasantly surprised to see it was just a screenshot of a different text conversation. The wall of text were from an “MM” and read “That Jay kid, really? I’ll fucking lay him the fuck out” “He’ll never be in a good band because he has no talent and nobody likes him.” “I really need to die. Expire. Disappear.” Jay was concerned at first and then his heart began pounding and he began laughing to himself when he realized his plan was working exponentially quicker than he had expected. Then he saw the most recent message and a chill shot up his spine. “I need to talk to you in person or I’m going to jump of the Patroon Island bridge.” His excitement was immediately curbed when he considered the possibility that he had spent a night with Michelle for no reason. “You should go talk to him” he texted her back “he seems really upset and there’s no reason to burn bridges…. No pun intended.” She responded a moment later “I guess. I need to get my Ipod anyway.”

Michelle arrived at Mike’s apartment and parked on the lawn. She had lived there for four years so in spite of the circumstances, she had no problem walking in unannounced and found Mike sobbing in the kitchen. “I can’t even fucking buy milk that doesn’t expire, I should soak some marb reds in a pint glass and force them down my throat.” she could hear him cursing himself from the living room. He smirked when he stepped out of the kitchen and saw Michelle lighting up his bowl on the couch. “I knew you’d come back to me when you realized you would never find someone with my creative fun qualities.” Unsolicited, he went on “Anybody who has experienced any success will just lie and deceive you… they’ll be like “I love THICC” and then fucking ghost you.” She took a long hit. “Nobody will ever appreciate you like I do or give you a life as exciting as I did. Everything you have and everybody you know that means anything is because of me.”

“Nobody will ever come close to my worth, and my talent, and my heart” Mike went on. “You fucked up. Enjoy your boring lonely bullshit life.” Mike picked the cat up off of the coffee table and held it up to his face. “Look what you’re doing to Henri” he said, rubbing the disinterested cat against his cheek. “We could have been a family… now you’ll never have anyone. Nobody is ever going to care about you as much as I did.” Michelle had become accustomed to tuning out Mike’s rambling and was crafting a paper boat out of a sheet of looseleaf paper that he had scribbled some lyrics on. The words “I’m still alone here waiting to feel the hype we once had both being psyched and in love” were visible on the starboard side of the vessel. Mike droned on “Just leave me alone unless you want to make me happy or make me cum” he proposed. “I’m stoney baloney” she announced, placing the boat on top of an empty vase that sat at the edge of the table.

Mike put the cat down on the couch, turned away, and pounded his fist against the door frame “I wouldn’t take you back if you begged, fuck you” he roared “you gave up GOLD… I’m Mike fucking Moak… I hate your fucking guts.” He covered his face with both hands “There’s no escaping you and this crippling sadness and pain” He turned around and noticed he was alone in the room. “Look at this caterpillar!” he heard Michelle celebrate from the front yard. “I’m gonna drive it to my house!” she announced picking the caterpillar up and stuffing it into the pocket of her jean jacket. She climbed into her Nissan Versa and backed out of the yard, waving as she turned to drive away. “Why doesn’t she understand that she’s in love with me?” Mike wondered while he watched her from the doorway. “It’s like she doesn’t realize I could replace her tomorrow if I wanted to… she’s making the biggest mistake of her hopeless life.” He walked back into the house and sat on the couch next to Henry.

By midnight Jay realized he hadn’t heard back from Michelle. He texted her “You alive? LOL?”. She replied less than a minute later “I forgot my Ipod but I got a caterpillar.” Before he could respond a second message came through “I crushed it in my pocket trying to find my juul though so I fed it to a toad.” Jay snickered and wrote back “Maybe if you kissed him he’d turn into a prince.” Michelle wrote back “I licked it but I didn’t feel anything and it didn’t eat the caterpillar.” and then “Do you want to come to Mike’s show tomorrow night? Everybody in his band is cool except for him.” Jay face lit up when he saw that. He couldn’t believe this plan would come to fruition so rapidly but he was glowing with delight. “You bet!” he responded. “I can’t wait!” He didn’t have to wait long for her reply “Great, I’ll pick you up at 7.”

The following night Mike was on stage when Jay and Michelle entered the bar. He was tuning his guitar and talking to the drummer of his band when Jay noticed the bass player make eye contact with Michelle. “Here we go” he thought “it’s all gonna pay off soon.” Just then the bass player walked over to Mike and said something to him. Mike spun around in a flash and ripped his guitar off his shoulder, tearing the loop of the strap.He stomped off the stage in a rage “What the fuck are you doing here?” He hollarred “Didn’t I tell you I’d fucking lay you the fuck out if I saw you?” Jay’s instincts were to run, but he had invested too much time and sacrificed too much of his pride to give up now. Suddenly he was overcome with a certainty that everything he had done in his life, and especially in the two days, had led him to this moment. “This is my manifest destiny” he thought to himself “I’ll never have to go to work, or wonder what went wrong, or kiss MIchelle again after tonight.” He planted his feet and braced himself for a confrontation. “You trying to steal my 80-85?” Mike squealed.

Jay tensed his upper body and with his newfound hardened will he held his ground “She’s my 80-85 now, motherfucker” wrapping his right arm around Michelle’s waist. Mike balled his fists and shuffled toward Jay. “I’m gonna knock you into last week” he threatened. “That’s not far enough you weeble-shaped invalid” Jay rebutted without thinking. Mike ignored the comment and stood nearly nose to nose with Jay. He exhaled, and Mike could smell onions and discount vodka on Jay’s breathe. This intense olfactory reminder of Michelle was enough to send him into a state of psychosis rage and in an instant he grit his teeth and pulled a punch with his right arm while grabbing Jay’s collar with his left. Jay’s instinct was to duck, but he knew that this moment was the culmination of everything he had endured. He flinched and turned his head slightly to the right wincing just as Mike’s closed fist connected with the left side of his face.

Jay woke to the rumbling thunder of a passing train. He opened his eyes and lifted his head off the pillow to scan his surroundings. There were cd’s stacked on a desk by a computer and records in old milk crates on the floor. He rolled off the bed and walked to the window. Across the street he could see the Menands Little League Baseball field. He smiled and nodded before he paused and let go of a long slow sigh of relief. From outside his room he could hear voice, although it was too faint to decipher what was being said or who was speaking. He stepped over a collection of “A Song of Ice and Fire” books and pushed aside a hockey stick that was resting against the bedroom door. The voice grew louder as he stepped out of the room and into the hall. He walked passed a bathroom and a set of stairs and pressed his ear against the door from where the voice was coming. A tear came to his eye when he was certain recognized who was speaking. He waited for a moment and then knocked softly. From inside the room he heard Pat say “Hold on mom... JG is at my door.”

Epilogue:

Mike sat on the couch in his empty apartment. He lifted his Gibson SG guitar off his lap and set it against the opposite armrest on the springs of the couch where a cushion was missing. He got up and walked down into the basement. He looked at the drum kit that was set up in the corner, a collection of guitar amplifiers, monitors, and speakers stood idle on both sides. “Nobody with my talent will ever use any of this stuff again.” he assured himself. “I might as well set this place on fire so nobody can taint the legacy I’m leaving behind here”. “No” he stopped himself “This place will be a historic site someday… a tribute to the monolithic phenomenon that I was and the heart and talent and greatness I left in my wake” He walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind him.

He walked to Everett road and then down the exit ramp to Interstate 90 East. He stayed on the right shoulder, pausing every couple of minutes to catch his breath. “I should really work on my cardio” he admitted “not that it matters now.” When he got to the bridge that overlooked NY route 787 and ran parallel to the Hudson River he felt nervous for the first time. “Am I really gonna do this to all my fans” he wondered. “They’ll never find another recording artist that produces as much flawless content that’s as meaningful to them.” He looked over the three lane highway that was hundreds of feet below him. “This world doesn’t deserve me” he repeated to himself. “I’m too talented… and creative….and passionate. What a waste.” He stepped over the guardrail, reaching behind his elliptical body to grip it with both hands. “So many fucking posers in this town. Nobody would even be able to find Albany on a map if I didn’t live here.” He let go of the rail with one hand. “Doesn’t matter now… this whole fucking city might as well collapse into the Hudson River.” He leaned forward. “Later Dickheads” he said out loud. He let go.

Michelle parked in front of her building and shut the engine down. She collected her jacket and purse from the passenger seat before stepping out of the car and making her way toward the entrance. She opened her purse to remove her keys and when she looked up she saw a small crate to the right of the front door. As she stepped closer, she saw that a cat was sitting on a couch cushion inside the crate. It mewed as she approached. When she got close enough to recognize him, she saw that a note was taped to the front of the cage over the latch with her name on it.

She unfolded the note and read it to herself. “Henri has a vet appointment on Monday, please take care of him.” Taped to the bottom of the note was a card with the vet’s address and the appointment time and date. She put the card in her pocket and crumbled up the note before throwing it into the shrubs outside her building. She lifted the cage and carried Henri through the front door and into her apartment. She unhinged the latch and left the gate open so Henri could come out when he was ready. She paused as she poured a can of club soda into a half empty 200ml bottle of vodka. “Who am I gonna buy cocaine from now?” she wondered.

3 notes · View notes

essu-rwby-desu · 6 years ago

Photo

Episode 1: Argus Limited

-SUPER LONG POST. SPOILERS-

LETS START OFF WITH SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT:

SMILES. When the girls smile, I smile. It’s such a good feeling.

“LONG. LIVE. THE KING.”

...Anyone else feel like having some soft serve right about now? A soft serving of White Rose-

It’s funny because while watching this part in the theater, I think everyone unanimously said in a whisper: “what the fuck was that?” and then laughed. Cuz I know I did LOL.

Keep crying Adam.

Vale is still fucked up, confirmed.

Honestly look at her. How can you not smile.

...Is. Is it Yang’s birthday or something?

You know, if I didn't know any better, I would’ve said Nora’s semblance is instant-posing and teleportation.

AND THE THEATER GOES WILD.

Honestly though, poor Weiss. Breaking out just to. Go back in.

Ugh. LOL. Im sorry, that IS my reaction still.

LIKE. LOOK. THEY FEEL THE SAME TOO.

...Weiss is packing the most, but. She FLED Atlas. How much could she possibly have- DIDNT SHE RUN OFF WITH JUST ONE BRIEF CASE???

Indeed Sisters.

Take a moment and enjoy the facial expressions.

More happy/excited Ruby. There’s never enough.

Ooo Ilia with some new threads, very nice~ Also that piano version of Smile. My heart.

DID SHE JUS-

Oh. Of course she didn’t. YOU CANT JUST SETUP A SHOT LIKE THAT. THAT’S THE UNIVERSAL “Tippy toe kiss off screen” SHOT.

Sun’s turn to say goodby-

NEPTUNE. WOOO. THE BRO-SEIDON. This is a meme in the making. Also where are Neptune’s legs.

Sun is me, Neptune is my brain trying to tell me to do things.

Neptune. Don’t. She doesn’t. (But look at her though, look how cute.)

Welp, there he goes.

The poor useless noodle. LOOK AT BLAKE. SHE WANTED TO STOP HIM BUT. LOL.

Sun is such a good boi. Like. He just wanted to help Blake, help her to realize it’s okay to have her friends’ help. And now:

She’s back with her team.

BUT WHAT’S THIS???

AND THE THEATER GOES: WOOOOOO!!!

See you in Volume 7/8, Team SSSN. Seriously. Scarlet. Sage. It’s over due time.

THE GANG IS BACK TOGETHER. IT’S LIKE THEIR DORM ROOM. AHHH-

Blake. It’s okay. You really don’t have to do that. Yang is fine.

UGHHH YANG, YOU BEAUTIFUL SOUL.

The team is just happy that they’re back together again. And I think everyone is too.

I, too, would whoop my niece’s butt in video games. It’s not like shes almost 2 years old or anything.

Yang is. Always. ARMED AND READY.

Now you see him.

...Now you don’t.

...O-Oh. Did. Did he actually just die? Oh shit.

OH.

GOD.

NO.

I. I feel bad now.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE RELIC ATTRACTS THE GRIMM??? The team had all the right to be angry.

...How strong is Gambol Shroud and Blake? One swipe to be able to decouple a caboose? Also, throw back to the Black Trail-

Speaking of the Black Trailer.

Oof. Not the kind of memories you want to remember.

Does Oscar’s/Ozpin’s fighting style make anyone think of Sora from Kingdom Hearts had he gone with a one handed fighting style?

THE DUEL SCYTHE ACTION. YAS.

Team RWBY: OH GOD, IT’S VOLUME 2. NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN.

Well, at least there’s no Grimm this time.

AYE ITS KATARA. #WaterTribe

OPENING REVIEW:

Blake and Ruby look really bad ass in this shot. Composition people.

Im guessing based off the credits, this character’s name is Maria Calavera?

There was a post I saw a few days ago speculating that Maria was once a warrior with Silver eyes, much like Ruby. IS SHE GOING TO TEACH AND EXPLAIN THE POWERS OF SILVER EYES TO RUBY? FINALLY? WILL RUBY BE THE NEXT AVATAR?

Who’s this hooded figure? Getting more Kingdom Hearts vibes again-

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW LOUD I ACTUALLY GASPED WHEN I SAW ROMAN’S HAT. LIKE I DONT THINK IVE EVER GASPED BEFORE IN MY LIFE. EVER.

“Who is this hooded figur- wait, that’s RoMAN’S- *GASPS* IS THAT NEO!?” PLEASE. BRING MY ICE CREAM ASS KICKER BACK.

But. Upon more observation, there’s 2 things to account for:

The skeleton like left hand. Perhaps a Grimm left hand. Though it is missing the dark Grimmy aspect to it.

The hand and the sword:

Welp, there goes the Neo aspect.

BUT WAIT. What if it was Neo who had Roman’s hat, and it’s NEO’s perspective that we’re seeing. NEO OUT FOR REVENGE FOR ROMAN? WHETHER IT BE CINDER OR RUBY???

...Neo has Silver eyes too, right?

There’s so much gay energy coming from this LOL. WHY WOULD WEISS BE RUNNING FROM RUBY WITH SUCH A HAPPy LOOKING EXPRESSION. ITS NOT LIKE HER??? LOL.

Is that Zelda?

Local boy beats up Farm boy.

LOOK AT THIS TEAM. A GOOD START TO THE VOLUME.

#rwby #Essu's RWBY Reactionu #Like seriously this is a super long post #Maybe I should start doing video reviews...#Essu's RWBY Commentary

101 notes · View notes

gawaine · 6 years ago

Note

you've been given a chance to have a meal with 6 people. anyone can be invited, past or present, living or not, real or fictional, famous or otherwise. catch is you have to cook a meal for each of them, only one dish. you're allowed to have only 1 fictional character. you can keep 3 for the whole night till next morning, 3 will leave after eating the meal. And no language barrier. Who are those 6 ppl and what will be the dish?

Hmm, this is a really cool question (and excellent final act during my study break) (this got really long. You have so much more than you bargained for. Would place it under the cut but nah, I love these people and this q. Sorry for answering eons too late);

I’m assuming there’s no dietary requirements, so my amazing salmon salad is what I’m cooking. Plus, if they’re from the past, they could potentially do with the protein?

[... I answered this and then realised I was allowed fiction. Fuck.]

[... I have redrafted my reserve list several times. This q is taking me the best part of a half hour.]

[... Fuck. No. Changes to the main list must be made.]

Confirmed guests: Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Akbar the Great, Sansa Stark, Oscar Wilde, Oliver Saks and Hawraa Zakery.

Just dinner: Hawraa Zakery, Oscar Wilde, Oliver Saks.

[... I needed more females than in my original draft. Holding back the rant about the lack of representation of strong females in history and every career ever, as I had to Google these people bc I realised answering this how, even as I as a feminist, know of so little strong historical/written figures.]

Reserves who I’m going to get punched in the face by the universe for bumping; Ibn Sina, Rumi, Leonardo di Vinci, Cristina Yang.

If it were a dinner party, aka additional guests who would be invited before all the other invites (after the reserves) went out and my favourite funky glasses were allocated for (in order); Alexander the Great, Hades (+ Persephone, duh), Cleopatra, Captain Marvel, Rebecca Lee Crumpler.*

[... FUCK I KEEP THINKING OF MORE PEOPLE.]

Super added bonus round because I’m an indecisive lil’ bitch: King Arthur and Merlin (knights and Lady of the Lake PLUS Morgana would be ideal, but that’s for like... the general list), Fa Mulan, Arya Stark, Ned Stark, the Muskeeters (plus D’Artagnan ofc).

* = I wanted to say Elizabeth Blackwell, but lbr, even as the first female surgeon, her experiences as a white woman would not be as relatable as Rebecca Lee Crumpler.

Who the fuck are these people and why are you inviting them to dinner, Hannah?HMMM SO GLAD YOU ASKED pls prep yourself for salty-ass additional comments (by order of priority) [... okay this is going under the cut bc I’ve been doing this for almost an hour and it’s long and cool ok];

Khadija bint Khuwaylid | Wife of Prophet Muhammad (SWAS), first female follower of Islam.Wealthy, educated divorcee who married a man a significant amount of years her junior in a sexist, ageist patriarchal world? Who was his first follower in what would later become the fastest growing, youngest and tbh probs most controversial religion in the modern world, whilst being a beloved spouse? I feel like she’d have some fucking useful insights to life tbh.Plus, it could never hurt to have a genuine, theological conversation regarding religion, philosophy and being a woman in the modern world (which, after some confusion, I feel like she’d still vibe with tbh) would be... Awesome.

Akbar the Great | Mughal Emperor at the height of its power.Initially first on my list. So many questions. So much advice. I’m also assuming my Dad would be invited and even if not - urgh, it’d be so cool. He was the Original Dude who, via basis of his marriages, formed ‘Desi’ South Asian (e.g large parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc) culture that has lasted to the modern day, whilst solidifying the Middle Eastern roots of the language and culture as well (e.g Persia - inc. surrounds in modern geography). He helped the expansion of Islam and was a figure of political enlightenment, encouraging acceptance in religious and racial diversity throughout his empire.I wanna know so much. I need to know so. Much. How did he feel about his family’s conversion to Islam? Their assimilation into a culture that, largely through his influence, created the mixing pot of cultures that exists as the Desi identity today? Bearing in mind the current political climate, does he regret that mix - because if that mix hadn’t started, there is an argument that more subtle divisions may have lessened the resentment and tensions between groups over hundreds of years of complicated history (not that that’s necessarily my view)?

Sansa Stark | fictional character from Game of ThronesShe has been through so much, she’s so smart, she’s so underrated and puts up with so much shit inside the GoT universe and outside, she is literally the embodiment of the ‘perfect’ 21st century young woman, with the difficulties attached to that included (though not from lack of abysmally poor characterisation from the male writers. Yes, all of them).Her over Arya because I feel Sansa more relatable and I feel she’d be a useful buffer at dinner and a delight to crack jokes w/ if things went South. Not Ned because idk if he’d walk in carrying his own head (how does this work?) and like... More females pls. She was literally the first female I thought of and now I can’t unsee it.

Oliver Saks | neurologist, authorI can’t believe all this time, I thought he was a brain surgeon and he’s not. What the fuck? But Henry Marsh would be potentially abrasive at dinner.I read my first Saks book at around 8; I then went out of my way to reference my own outdated, battered copy in my first neuro assignment at med school.All of the med talk. He was such a fantastic author and neurologist and did the most amazing research and I need all the career advice I can get.

Oscar Wilde | authorBecause I’m a fangirl and he wrote my favourite book. He’d also bring the fun to the party. And possibly the scandal, which is why I’d sit him near to Sansa.

Hawraa Zakery | human rights activist, mental health & psychology researcher, life coachI actually had to Google women to include and this one screams out at me. So much interesting, cool stuff.So much advice on looking after my messy ass self.

The others (who aren’t well known);

Rumi | famous poetI only chose Wilde out of loyalty to my favourite book, otherwise... Rumi. Famed poet, philosopher and academic. Yes pls. I’d also say Kabir, though Rumi influenced Shakespeare, so... Ya know.

Ibn Sina | ‘the father of early medicine’ aka Avicenna (but that’s not his nAME)Does this need justifying?

Rebecca Lee Crumpler | first female surgeon of colourSo many q’s. So much bowing.

Okay, I have to stop now because it’s an hour later and this was meant to be a fifteen minute revision break and that did not happen, did it?

#fave #inspo #hannah the med studeent #the student diaries #i want to tag this as everyone but i don't want to clutter tags but cool people are on my list and u should read about them ok #Anonymous

1 note · View note

littlemisssquiggles · 7 years ago

Text

RWBY Musings #44: A Squiggle Meister’s Views on Whitley Schnee. The Proverbial Black Sheep of the Schnee Siblings or the overlooked Diamond in the Rough?

An uncommon character for me to muse about, I know. I don’t generally make it habit to ponder about this character but, oddly enough, recently I got thinking about Whitley Schnee. Mind you, Whitley didn’t exactly receive the most favourable of introductions back during the events of RWBY Volume 4.

However, in spite of this, it didn’t deter from making him come off as a less than interesting character.

I wanted to take today to not really do any sort of in-depth analysis on Whitley but rather share one or two ponderings about him that I’ve considered. To think, this all started with just one thought.

Whitley with the Good Hair

Imagine...the same Whitley Schnee we all know from RWBY but with fluffy, unkempt, wavy, hair.

I am not even joking with this. Not gonna lie either. Whitley’s hair kinda bugs me a little bit. It’s so perfectly well-kept all the time that at moments when he’s onscreen, it almost appears too perfect if you actually get what I’m saying and I don’t sound like a complete imbecile bringing up this point. Never have I figured I’d have to use the words ‘outlandishly neat hair’ to describe a character.

In an odd way, I pegged Whitley to be the type to be born with hair that’s not exactly like his sisters. I noticed from the Schnee Family portrait in their residence that Jacques’ hair doesn’t seem to be as naturally white as snow as he’d like others to presume.

As a matter of fact, in the portrait, Jacques’ hair is predominantly black but while his mustache is still dark, you can tell that his hair was starting to grey a bit from age. That’s right, I said, grey. Not white.

However, when we met Jacques in the series, both his hair and mustache were completely chalk white. Give the man a big red and white bucket of fried chicken and he’d be Colonel Sanders.

A dye job perhaps? I wouldn’t put it past him. The series has already painted Jacques as such a ‘wannabe Schnee’, that it wouldn’t surprise me not one bit if he did change his hair colour to fit with his new Schnee title. This actually makes me curious about Jacques’ origin.

What kind of upbringing and background would a man such as that have to come from to become this kind of tyrannical person? So far, we know naught of Jacques’ previous life beyond the fact that he married into the Schnee Family and was only interested in Mama Schnee for her name. This is a man who wanted to the wealth, power and status that the Schnee name brought that he was willingly to feign romantic interest in the Daughter of the Head of the Schnee Dust Company to do so.

This is a man who wanted to be somebody. So with that thought in mind, this pegs the question. How much of a nobody did Jacques used to be before becoming a Schnee?

This makes me wonder if even having children, the proclaimed heirs, is nothing but another superficial front for Jacques to hide behind. It makes me wonder if Jacques has any real intention of ever giving up being the Head of the Schnee Dust Company. This is a man who stole the integrity of a well-known and trusted name in Remnant and tarnished it for his own egotistical greed.

Would a man as devious as that wholeheartedly and willingly just hand the reigns to someone else, even if that someone was his own spawn and rightful heir? I don’t think so. I think Jacques might even end up double crossing Whitley, the current heir, in the end and using him to heighten his running in the company.

This brings me back to Whitley again. This post is supposed to be about the youngest Schnee Sibling after all and not his bad-minded father. However Jacques will be mentioned now and again because the type of person Whitely is now, is as a result of Jacques’ grooming.

Resuming talk about his hair. Soft, silky, snow-white hair seems to be a hereditary trait amongst the Schnee bloodline. That being said, what if...like his father, Whitley’s hair is different from his sisters. Though it may be white in colour as a Schnee’s head would be, the texture of his hair is not of his family.

Imagine if...Whitley’s hair is naturally wavier than his sister’s, creating this constantly dishevelled look that he hates because it’s not the vision of him that his father wants of him and because of this, Whitley desperately tries to keep it under control. Whitley certainly strikes me as the type. He’s so snooty all the time and his hair oddly mimics that level of contempt.

I’m kind of chuckling to myself imagining for Atlas Arc where Whitley is forced to play nice and befriend our heroes because Jacques is making him act the part as a means of gathering intel. But that’s not why I’m laughing. I’m laughing because I’m envisioning Whitley hanging out with the Rosebuds: Ruby and Oscar and the two, mostly Ruby’s idea, drag the poor Schnee boy to an area where there’s water.

And while Ruby and Oscar go for a quick dip, Whitley cautiously chooses to stay dry, remarking that he doesn’t quite enjoy going to pool areas because he doesn’t like getting his hair wet. However Ruby and Oscar don’t buy the excuse and hatch a plan to get the Schnee boy to join them. So while Ruby distracts Whitley, Oscar sneaks up behind him and playfully shoves him into the water.

It was originally meant as a playful joke to get the pretentious rich boy to loosen up a little but the entire act ends up infuriating Whitley. Turns out, Whitley is just as harsh with words when he’s pissed like his sister Weiss.

But as Whitley is uncharacteristically yelling at our veteran rose buds, Ruby and Oscar are in awe.

Not for Whitley losing his cool, which was a first, but because of what the water had done to his hair. When Whitley had fell into the water, it washed away whatever chemical hair products that was keeping it at bay because Whitley now stood with a full head of the fluffiest curly white locks the two had ever seen.

He looked like a completely different person; albeit while also looking like an angry lollipop with a head of white cotton candy.

And upon realizing what had happened based on Ruby and Oscar’s shared surprised reactions, Whitley becomes incredibly embarrassed at the fact that his secret was out and before anyone could tell him to stop, Whitley immediately climbs out of the water and storms off.

If Whitley had tougher hair, he’d probably trust Klein to comb it because he’s the only one who fully understands Whitley’s need to please his father.

Just picture, Whitley Schnee---the real Whitley Schnee with his natural fluffy ‘bed head’ posed disgruntled before a mirror, looking disgustedly at himself, surrounded by varying hair styling utensils and products while Klein works his magic to get the young boy looking like a proper boy; just as daddy would like it.

Yup. Whitley definitely strikes me as that type. The type who would have wild, unruly hair but is able to pull it off quite handsomely because, though a little more difficult to maintain that his sisters’, Whitley actually has really good hair. Whitley with the good hair. He just needs to learn how to maintain it but unfortunately doesn’t want to.

To Whitely, while the wild natural ‘bed head’ look might suit him better because he’d look less like a mini-Jacques with it, due to the young man’s obsession with living up to his father’s expectations of him, he keeps this side hidden because...the real him isn’t up to his father’s standards. Neat Whitley is and that’s how he wants to keep it.

Yep. Though this is all mostly me just speculating, I can totally see this being canon because as I’ll say again, Whitley strikes me as that type of character. The type that probably has another side to him that feels more true to himself but chooses not to show it often or at all. The type that would need someone to help him with his hair and other things because he doesn’t know how to maintain this delusion of himself on his own. Someone to help him keep his guise up, quickly painting all the cracks in his mask whenever one of his many pretences start to fall apart and his real nature and feelings start to leak out.

The type where if the slightest thing isn’t perfect, he’ll completely unravel and wouldn’t know how to piece himself back together without help from those who truly care about him because he’d been forced to suppress himself for so long. At least, this is how I’m interpreting Whitley’s character.

Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree

‘...It’s foolish, not to do what father asks...’

‘Are you jealous? Is that it? Whatever do you mean? Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winter’s? Hmm. Not really. Honestly I find it barbaric. It’s beneath people like me, like father...’

Y’know what’s funny? If you pay attention to some of Whitley’s dialogue from V4, you can interpret a lot about his character regardless of whether it was the writers’ intention for this assumption or not. For starters, what I’m gathering from this is that Whitley, contrary to what Weiss might think of him right now, doesn’t hate his sisters’.

Between Weiss and Winter, I feel a stronger connection with Weiss resonating from Whitley. I certainly get the vibe that he likes her more than Winter.

‘...You’re strong, like Winter. You never liked Winter. True. But you can’t deny her resolve...’

What’s interesting to note is when Weiss called Whitley out for disliking Winter, he didn’t deny it. As a matter of fact, he openly admitted it without the slightest hint of remorse. However when Weiss questioned Whitley about hating her, he never exactly said he did. His answer was a nonchalant ‘not really’. So Whitley dislikes Winter but not Weiss. So why is that?

Here’s my deduction. I think the reason why Whitley may resent Winter is because in his head, not only was she the first to defy their father but she was one whose actions encouraged Weiss to follow in her defiant footsteps; choosing to study to become a huntress away at Beacon rather than in Atlas where Jacques continue to keep a very tight reigns on her.

Winter was the first to break free from her cage and started this whole debacle of disobedience. If Winter had just stayed in line, then Whitley wouldn’t have lost not one but both of his sisters.

‘...You seem different. And you’ve been gone. I’ll have you know, I didn’t stop growing while you were away at Beacon...’

In rewatching this scene where Whitley was first introduced, this line he said to Weiss really stuck out to me. It kind of implies Whitley’s true feelings about Weiss leaving here. It tells me, as the viewer, that Whitley might be harbouring some unspoken feelings of bitterness towards his sister’s departure for Beacon.

I’m not sure how close the Schnee Siblings were growing up but it is safe to assume that there was some level of closeness as family, right? The impression I got here is that to Whitley, with his sisters around there was the slight comfort of knowing that he wasn’t alone. Even if their relationship was shaky, his sisters were always present in his life at all times. But because Weiss chose to defy their father, like Winter did before her, for a second time in his life, Whitley lost yet another sister.

His big sister had left home...left Jacques...left him and why? To forge her own path outside of the sheltered lifestyle their father had laid out for them.

There is no doubt that Whitley is loyal to Jacques to a fault. He’s such a trained canary with the way how he just blindly follows Jacques around and adheres to everything he says and does; that it makes me wonder if this kid is even human and not some robo-child programmed to be subservient to the whim of Jacques Schnee.

Even Penny Pollendina felt more human than machine than Whitley and she was the real deal.

That being said, I also believe there is no denying that Whitley...in his own Whitley way, loves his sisters. Particularly Weiss and when they both left...it probably hurt. A lot more than he alludes to. Perhaps he feels like his sisters both abandoned him. While Weiss and Winter stayed close and held on to each other, Whitley was left alone with only Jacques as his guide.

Not even Mama Schnee was around, as it would seem. Too preoccupied with her own drunkard stupor to be there for her own son.

Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that in V4, Jacques keeps a picture of Whitley on his desk in his study but one of his own wife on the shelf in the corner of the room?

What does that say? Whitley is certainly special to Jacques. I mean, he is the only he has left. The only one that hasn’t pulled away. His little perfectly groomed puppet that he occasionally likes to parade around for all of Atlas to see what a caring father he is including every wealthy Atlesian aristocrat dumb enough to fall for their act and invest in Jacques. It’s a never-ending game of manipulation where Whitley is the sole MVP.

However the weird thing is, I don’t get Whitley’s real motive for following Jacques. Though he’s painted as a puppet, the way how Whitley played Weiss---oh I’m sorry, based on the way Weiss claimed Whitley played her like a fiddle while he himself didn’t deny that that was his intentions from the start, makes me wonder if he could have his own schemes underway.

Whitley is such an elusive character to me that I can’t tell if his faithfulness to Jacques is out of blind love, a son’s desperate need for his father’s constant appraisal and acknowledgment or...could Whitley have his own plans for the Schnee Dust Company and Jacques is just too ignorant to notice his own son’s deceit?

I brought up this hunch in another musing about Whitley. Sure Jacques is probably just manipulating Whitley and using him in the same fashion he does for everything and everyone around him. But what if...the twist is that Whitley is also using Jacques and plans on giving him his just desserts.

They say karma is a cold-hearted bitch so wouldn’t it be ironic and a fitting punishment for Jacques to get taken down by the very perfect child he’s been grooming to be like him in the same fashion he duped Mama Schnee? A nice addition to Whitley’s character is if of all the Schnee children, he’s the one that cared about their mother the most.

Though like father, like son, I like the idea of Whitley being a momma’s boy too; sharing a close bond with Mamma Schnee from since birth. I imagined, before Weiss’ 10th birthday, Mamma Schnee was probably a very loving mother who adored all her children. However Whitley was the spoiled one because he was the baby of the bunch. But after hearing the truth that the man she’s been married to for years didn’t truly love her, the news changed Mamma Schnee and suddenly, she just wasn’t the same caring person anymore.

What if...as a young boy, Whitley was very close to his mother and hated the pain his own father caused her growing up. So much so that he’s been plotting his own devious scheme for years, smartly playing the role of ‘the good child’ as a ploy to gain Jacques’ trust before removing him from the picture as revenge. That’s one cool hunch for Whitley’s character story, dontcha think?

The Phantom of the Schnee Dust Company

Speaking of ideas for Whitley’s character story, this brings me to a next theory I’m wanna talk about.

Does Whitley Schnee secretly have summoning powers like his sisters?

Winter Schnee once told Weiss that every member of the Schnee family has the ability to summon and have done so for generations. She made mention of this back in V3. That being said, I wonder if the same can be said for Whitley, who isn't a huntsman per say, but certainly has the potential to unlock this kind of power given his lineage, right?

What’s to say he hasn’t already? Perhaps, Whitley already awakened his semblance but no one else knows of this. Not even Jacques. I believe Whitley Schnee probably does possess summoning powers but unlike his sisters, who have both fully embraced their potential, Whitley despises his powers and thus, suppresses his abilities.

We’ve seen two Schnees accept their powers upon unlocking them. What would happen to one who’s unlocked their power but shows resistance?

This is going to sound weird to say but perhaps, Whitley’s Schnee power is surprisingly the strongest of the three siblings; even more powerful than his sisters’ combined; probably mirroring that of their grandfather’s skill level at that age.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Whitley associates the Schnee’s hereditary semblance with being a curse due to the rebellious nature that its current wielders seem to adopt once fully realizing their potential. After all, look at Winter and Weiss. They both left Jacques’ cold clutches upon acknowledging their strength as huntresses.

What if...Jacques has drilled into Whitley’s head that having such powers is a curse in itself because it made his sisters’ insolent and thus, Whitley sees it the same way too.

The more I consider it, the more I’m falling in love with the concept of Whitley having summoning abilities but because he chooses to ignore the existence of such powers within himself and thus represses his own semblance, he’s lost control of his own summoning.

Imagine...Whitley being haunted by a summon he unintentionally manifested in the real world? Besides having an arsenal of summons to chose from, both Winter and Weiss seem to have a signature summon that they call upon the most. For Winter, it’s her Beowolves. For Weiss, it’s her Arma Gigas.

So what if...Whitley’s summon is a Geist? A literal phantom that can take the form of anything it possesses. A creature of many masks, no different than its amateur summoner.

The Geist, being a summon, acts on the will of Whitley, its summoner. However because Whitley has been suppressing his powers for so long, he doesn’t quite know how to control the summon. Similar to how Weiss lost control and accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk at the charity ball out of her frustration with one of its disrespectful patrons, imagine Whitley’s Geist manifesting itself during moments when his emotions at its peak and the creature acts out on those negative emotions.

I’m just envisioning a side story for the upcoming Atlas Arc where some strange occurrences have been happening around Atlas that put the Schnee Dust Company in the spotlight. Competitor company buildings going up in flames. Missing former employees who were all reported to have quit the job in recent times. Severe injuries and in some cases, death, surrounding people who were in recent alleged heated contact with head of the company: Jacque Schnee; etc. At first the incidences were suspected to be White Fang activity, even though the White Fang haven’t been relevant since the Triumph of Haven and the reformation of the Brotherhood. But due to the unusual nature of the cases and the fact that no evidence was found at the scene of the crimes, these incidences eventually became closed cases. But that didn’t stop it from creating negative propaganda that brought the Schnee Dust Company to the forefront of the Atlesian headlines; catching the attention of the public including Weiss and Winter.

Imagine...Weiss and Winter working together to solve the mystery of what was going on within their family company while subsequently concocting a plan to remove Jacques Schnee once and for all under the assumption that he’s been orchestrating the events as an interrogation tactic to ward off competition while gaining the sympathy of the public eye. So in the beginning, Jacques Schnee was believed to be the main culprit. However, in the midst of it all, all traces of added evidence started pointing towards the true mastermind: Whitley Schnee who had been using his newly awakened semblance to get his father ahead and keep him at the top.

But do you know what the bigger twist would be? That Jacques was oblivious to Whitley’s powers and his intentions of using them the way he did.

Even better. Wanna hear the biggest twist? Whitley is oblivious to his own powers or at least, decides not accept that they aren’t real and his to control. While the rich boy was aware of the strange occurrences was due to a monster, he called ‘The Phantom’, what he didn’t know was that the beast was his summon. He always figured the beast was a ghost sent by karma to haunt him. But what he didn’t realize was that the wild summon was a manifestation of his own suppressed powers he’d been trying to hide even though they’d been growing stronger. So strong that’d become erratic with the summoned Geist appearing chaotic in form.

I just would love to see Whitley as a summoner; particularly an antagonistic one. I wonder if this is what the CRWBY Writers might be alluding to with his character or at least it’s one way to look at it. At first I figured he might’ve been the one to have no powers. But imagine if he does but uses them for all the wrong reasons; be it intentional or not.

Picture....a Battle of the Schnees where for the first time in RWBY history, Winter and Weiss tag-team to take down a crazed and broken Whitley who is revealed to be a summoner like his sisters and whose own summon had been attacking victims on Whitley’s behalf.

Of course, like I mentioned before, Whitley is unaware of this because he’s been suppressing his powers just he’d be suppressing so many other things about himself, forcibly trying to keep it all at bay to maintain his facade of perfection.

But in the end, it all falls apart and the Schnee boy suffers a mental breakdown with his own monstrous phantom lashing out because of it. So it’s up to his big sisters to come to his rescue.

Doesn’t that sound like a cool story to tell?

I want so much from the Atlas Arc. So many side stories I wanna see done and this is one of them. And if it leads to Whitley receiving an inkling of redemption; y’know reconciling things with his sisters with the three Schnee Siblings finally coming together as a family which then leads to them working together to put an end to Jacques’ reign, wouldn’t that be an interesting way to conclude Weiss’ story arc with her family on a positive light?

I know this is something I’d love to see as part of the Atlas Arc. But again, I’m not a writer for RWBY so I am curious to see what Miles and Kerry has in store for us going forward, particularly for Whitley.

A Better Whitley

Although I originally wrote him off as a bad character, I’m actually intrigued as to where the CRWBY Writers are going to go with Whitley’s development, particularly regarding his role in the upcoming Atlas Arc.

I know for a fact that Whitley will be a major player in Weiss’ side of the story, for sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I still desire for Whitley to be an antagonist or rival character to Oscar Pine in the arena for Ruby’s affections.

While I doubt Whitley would have any genuine affection towards Ruby beyond using her in a similar fashion his own father used his mother, I think Whitley would be the perfect Ying to Oscar’s Yang to give the farm boy a well-deserved shove towards realizing his true feelings for the Silver Eyed Girl.

I love the idea of Whitley being a rival to Oscar. But believe it or not, I also like the idea of the two becoming allies too if possible. Whitley looks like he could use more people in his life that care about him besides his father. Maybe even Klein cares deeply for Whitley---the father figure he deserves but he just never acknowledges it. I think Oscar can be a good friend for Whitley.

While I don’t ship Rich Farmers as a relationship (proud RoseGardener over here), I do like the thought of them being a friendship. If Rubes becomes Oscar’s closest best friend, then can the precious farm boy begrudgingly become the snooty rich boy’s best friend or...the closest thing to it?

The kind of friendship that I imagine Oscar and Whitley having is the one where either originally hated each other’s guts but when you eliminate the object that made them butt heads in the first place (like Whitley pursuing Ruby and Oscar becoming jealous for of it), turns out the two might actually get along quite well. May even like each other...or at least respect the other enough to not kill them in their sleep when they piss them off.

An unlikely friendship that thrives on a shit ton of inside jokes and even more sarcastic quips at the other’s expense. The kind of friendship that makes others question why and how the two participants befriended each other when their attitude makes it seem like they hate each other when in actuality, they love each other like two inglorious bastard brothers bred from the same illegitimate father called anarchy.

So yeah, while I’m drawn to the concept of Whitley being a rival and a mini boss character, I’d also like to learn more about his character in hopes that he may be redeemed.

Though not much was revealed about Whitley back in V4, it did hint of there being more layers to him and I’m hoping we get to explore those layers once the group returns to Atlas.

I just don’t want for Whitley to be another throw away character who’s just there for the sake of moving the plot along or being an unnecessary red herring. I don’t want Whitley to be another Vernal or Professor Lionheart. Both characters had the potential for more, the writers just chose not to flesh them out before cutting straight to their inevitable deaths in the Haven Battle.

While very straightforward, this left me feeling more like these two characters were merely just plot devices rather than what they’re supposed to be---actual characters. While the CRWBY writers didn’t necessarily have to keep these characters around for future arcs, my complaint here is that they could’ve done a much better job at fleshing them out.

As I said, make them feel more like characters. Never mind that they were meant to die, at least make me care about their deaths.

I don’t want this to be the case with Whitley or any character during the Atlas Arc. Which is why I’m hoping that the Conclusion to the Mistral Arc in V6 leading into the Atlas Arc would be handled much better. Regarding Whitley, the writers have already established some keen plot points to assist with composing his part in ongoing story.

I just pray that Miles and Kerry learnt from their mistakes during the last two seasons and will work towards making sure that the seasons ahead are done much better.

Despite being painting as this conniving person, when I recall V4, I don’t remember Whitley actually doing anything that’d suggest that. As a matter of fact, all the allegations that Weiss made about Whitley were pointed out by her without the show visually showing that he committed these crimes. There was a lot of ‘Tell. Not Show’ for volumes 4 and 5 and I sincerely hope this is a habit that the CRWBY will drop for the upcoming V6.

They could’ve easily not have given Weiss a brother at all. This is the thing though. Why was Whitley introduced? In the scope of things, his character wasn’t really necessary because the past seasons had already established the tension of Weiss’ relationship with Jacques and that was enough to drive her own arc during the V4 Split.

It’s not like Whitley’s introduction in V4 actually acted as a good catalyst for the events that happened to Weiss during the season that lead to her outburst at the charity ball after party to her fall out with Jacques to even her departure.

Did Whitley give Weiss the brilliant idea to present an expensive painting as part of an auction to help raise funds for Beacon, knowing full well that Weiss would fail in that regard? No.

.Did Jacques give Weiss reason to bring up the painting during their fight so that Weiss could have leverage to make mention that Whitley supported her in her idea only for the boy to turn on Weiss in the moment and take Jacques side, showing just how two faced he could be? Nope. The charity painting and the Atlesian Elite’s total disregard for the People in Vale following the Fall of Beacon was what drove Weiss to spiral out of control the way she did. Whitley Schnee played no part in that scene yet somehow Weiss blamed him like her being punished by Jacques was his doing when really...what did he do though?

Seriously. In the grander scope of things, Whitley did nothing for V4 except talk. And even when he did talk it’s not like he was being a clever snake, whispering in Weiss’ ear and encouraging her to pursue her own personal ideas that in hindsight, would please her but knowingly irk Jacques.

Nope. All he did was play nice the entire time yet when Jacques took away her heiress status, there was Weiss accusing Whitley of being devious the entire time and there he was smiling and acting like this was all true. But in reality, nothing happened on screen to prove this.

You could remove Whitley from the story in V4 and the plot wouldn’t have played out any differently. I’m sorry to say this for all the diehard Whitley fans in the FNDM but his character added nothing more for V4 beyond giving Weiss a punching bag to point fingers at for the consequences of her own actions against Jacques; which wasn’t even necessary. Up until V4, there has been no prior mention of Weiss ever having a brother. We knew she had Winter since her debut in V3 and we knew of Jacques because he was already established as the authoritarian father she was trying to avoid. The one whose crimes she constantly found herself having to pay for and whose royal test she had to shoulder.

But there was never any mentioning of Whitley at all. Neither Schnee sisters didn’t even comment about Whitley being in the picture during their one on one talk before Winter’s leave in V3 C6. Jacques was mentioned, naturally. But no Whitley.

So then why does his character exist? What are the CRWBY writers’ setting him up to truly be? Is he indeed the proverbial black sheep of the siblings, driven by the negativity of feeling abandoned by both of his older sisters or...will he be the diamond in the rough---a conniving trickster on the surface but his trickery is merely another one of his acts to conceal the ambitions of more caring soul.

Whatever it is, I hope it isn’t another poor plot device and actually fits within the context of the story and the overall direction the Atlas Arc is leading towards.

So to conclude...

As I’ll say again, I don’t want Whitley to be another Vernal or Lionheart otherwise it’d just be boring. If he does have a bigger role to play, I hope it’s a well conducted one that gives him more depth than what was glimpsed in V4.

I’m even hoping for a twist or perhaps twists with his character like what I theorized. Overall, whatever Whitley’s story is, I hope it’s handled with enough tact to leave his fans happy and satisfied.

♦ More RWBY Musings by Squiggles

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

#rwby #whitley schnee #oscar pine #whitley and weiss #rwby volume 6 predictions #rwby theories #jacques schnee #rwby musings

40 notes · View notes