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iggy-of-fans · 5 years ago

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Of Being Ladybug 9

Previous Master List

The cons of not believing

(- - )

Tim looked at his phone in surprise. He’d been in Paris for only a week to help train the Miracles, and already Bruce was calling him? Was hell freezing over? Did someone die?!

“B?” Tim whispers, not wanting to wake up Stephanie. There is silence on the other line. Tim frowns and moves to the other room so he can turn on the video.

“Bruce?” he asks again, now looking at the brooding older man. He looked like Joker just shat in his coffee.

“Tim… I… when you were younger… how… what could I have done to support you more?” Bruce finally bit out. His pauses long and his eyes drawn together. Bruce was looking to the side and was speaking quietly. Tim recognized the room as Steph’s before she moved into his room. A new sibling? AH! Bruce had been petitioning to have the previous Ladybug brought under his custody. He’d been blocked and turned away every time. It seemed Diana was extremely excited to be teaching a new Ladybug, had in fact claimed her as her sister. Bruce had been told that he had enough children and that he didn’t need to “corrupt” another one.

“Is the new sister having a hard time adjusting? Shouldn’t you be asking Dick?” Tim asked, relieved no one died��again.

“… Marinette is fourteen and about to graduate high school this Christmas. She was tossed to the side by her family for some unknown reason. She was torn from her friends and responsibilities. Since receiving the Miraculous at thirteen, she has hardly had a minute to breath, let alone figure herself out. And when, by all rights, she should have had the time, Diana takes her, shaves all her hair off and tells her “[W]ith every hair that falls, a part of Marinette must die. As your new hair grows, Maria will grow as well.” She wasn’t allowed to sew or draw or bake or cook. She wasn’t allowed to do anything that had any connection to her previous life,” Bruce’s hands and jaw were clenched.

Tim frowned again. What?!

“Marinette trained from dawn to dusk, but was never allowed out of the house, nor to shadow her on missions. She was to study, to train, and to sit quietly and behave herself.”

“You’re kidding?! No wonder her friends here are so worried! They’ve been trying to contact her!” Tim growled. He felt ready to go hunt an Amazonian.

“What would you suggest I do? She thinks further ahead than anyone I know, has strategies and back-up strategies and back-ups for the back-ups. She has social anxiety, with a history of being bullied. She skipped grades and then stopped for some reason. She had the same teacher for years, despite having been bullied by classmates. I just… I need to hear from someone who is closer to her age and had similar problems. What can I do?” Bruce wiped his hand down his face. He looked so tired.

Tim sighed and thought back to when he was fourteen. He’d been Robin for three years by then already. What could he have used? More time together? More friends? More sleep? Did any of this help his new sister?

Tim shook his head, “I don’t know, B. I was more interested in being Robin than being a teenager. Time with you was always good. Sibling time with as well. Maybe call Dick. He��s always been the best adjusted out of all of us.”

Bruce just nodded, gave his half smile and was about to sign off when a light went off over his head.

“Tim, one last thing. Please look into the school and classmates for me. Something tells me Marinette was being held back against her will.”

Tim frowned more. He nodded before signing off and sending a message to the Miracle Team that Marinette would be able to speak in the next week and would video chat with them soon. He was about to text Jason when Stephanie called for him. He put his phone down and walked back to bed.

( # , # )

Richard Grayson was used to getting calls at weird times. But two in the morning and from Bruce’s civilian phone? He sent a quick prayer up that no one died and answered.

“What’s up, B? Miss me already?” He asked cheerfully.

Bruce looked tiredly at the camera, “Dick. I need some advice to help your newest sister adjust.”

Dick’s eyes widened. Bruce finally got custody! That’s good. But he looked so exhausted. He wondered what happened.

“Adjust to what, specifically? The fighting? School? Is she moody? What’s going on?” Dick asked. When did he become the one to give PARENTING advice to his father?

As Bruce talked about what he’d learned from Marinette’s journal, Dick became more and more angry. He was a guy, but even her knew that you never cut a girl’s hair without permission!

“Sounds to me like she just needs to believe that this is real and permanent. Just be there when you can. Talk to her about decisions and let her work the way she is used to on missions. Thing’s will fall into place after that” Dick said pragmatically. There really wasn’t much to do but be there. He wished he could be there to help in person, but India had recently fallen prey to the mouse Miraculous. He and Starfire were there to capture the thief that was misusing the Miraculous.

Bruce sighed and nodded, before hanging up. Poor Bruce. Dick would do his best to get done here and head home. He was excited to meet his new sister! He sent a message to Jason and Tim, warning them of the new sister and to be nice if they caught her on the video chats.

< ( ^ ^ ) >

Bruce sighed, exhausted. He hadn’t meant to call the boys yet, but this was not something he wanted to go in blind to. Diana had made a lot of mistakes with Marinette, and she deserved better than that. Bruce had only glanced through the journal to get some insight, but it seemed Marinette suffered from Imposter Syndrome, social anxiety, abandonment issues… And Diana, who only exasperated the problems. Keeping her locked away, training her to exhaustion, taking her hobbies and passions, killing any and all aspects of her personality. Bruce had thought Marinette was just shy. This though. He frowned. Had he known about this he would have treated Marinette very differently. Maybe an hour of sleep would help him clear his head. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

< ( >< ) >

Alfred stared blankly at the ceiling. Something wasn’t adding up. For all that her parents were busy people, they seemed to love their daughter a great deal. He couldn’t imagine they had just randomly abandoned her for being a hero. Not when they hosted Chat Noir for dinner one night. Not when they seemed so proud of their daughter with every award she received. Something was off. Alfred wasn’t a detective, but he would find out what had truly happened if it killed him.

{ J }

Jason stared at his phone, re-reading the message from Dick. A new sister, huh?

‘Che, poor kid. Dealing with B all on her own. I’ll have to make this quick,’ he thought as he lifted the binoculars.

He was currently in Germany, following a suspected Miraculous user. The information about the Horse Miraculous stated that they could open portals anywhere. And recently a string of missing women from Cologne was becoming very concerning. Especially when companions and eyewitnesses all claim the same thing: a glowing yellow circle opening in the air and the woman vanishing through it. Jason watched silently as Cass walked down the street below. The tracker and her own training would hopefully keep her alive long enough for Jason to find her and the rest of the women. Nothing below. Maybe check the other side? Just as he was getting up, he felt a fist to his head. And then black.

*!!*

Luka looked at his phone. Marinette was finally in contact again? The day Black Canary had landed, they had bothered her from dawn to dusk to talk to their old leader, but were stonewalled, as her new guardian didn’t think it was a good idea to be constantly reminded of her failure. The team had shouted that it wasn’t Marinette’s failure alone, but the whole teams. And more over, the League’s, as they never took their calls for help seriously. Canary was pretty quickly chased away by them, and another trainer was sent. Green Lantern 1 and 2 were a great help for Kaefer, but the rest of the team didn’t see any real benefit from them. And they didn’t care in the least about Marinette. They didn’t last very long either. It went on like this for a year. Trainers came and went, all of them parroting the same thing. Luka had a new reputation now, as the trainer wrecker, on the team. And as a civilian? He became completely cold and closed off. Only his teammates saw any warmth from him. But even Juleka was being steadily pushed to arms length. Paris did this to Marinette. And none of them, not her friends or her family, even cared.

<(**)>

When Marinette woke up the next morning, she knew immediately that she wasn’t alone. Looking out through blurry eyes, she saw the figure of a man standing by her window. He was turned away, looking outside with the sun streaming in. She tried to remember how she got to her room.

A knock at her door had her quickly closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. Bruce went to the door.

“Master Bruce. I thought you and Miss Marinette might enjoy some breakfast.”

“Thank you, Alfred. Will you be joining us for breakfast?”

“I’m afraid I have an errand to run in town this morning. But I will be sure to return for lunch. Do try not to burn the kitchen down.”

“You can sit up now, Marinette. I heard the change in your breathing earlier.”

Marinette cracked an eye open. Why? She sat up on her bed and looked up at her current guardian.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Bruce gestured at the end of the bed, carrying a large tray filled with waffles, fruits, yogurt and coffee. Marinette shook her head mutely.

After Bruce set the tray on the middle of the bed, he sat down and looked her in they eye.

“Marinette, what I said last night still stands. I want you to feel at home here. This isn’t temporary. Two of the oldest boys are already calling you their newest sister. Marinette, most of my children are adopted. In fact, only one of my kids is related to me by blood. I wanted to bring you here from the beginning, but lost the custody battle to… Anyways, you’re here now. I want you to feel at home and remember yourself. To have a safe place to just be.”

Marinette felt her eyes watering again. Was this… was this real? But her parents had promised to always be there too, hadn’t they? Marinette nodded. Eventually everything would come to an end. But for now, for just this moment, she would allow herself to be comfortable.

“Okay? Okay. So, I wanted to talk to you about school and extra curriculars. Your work schedule… “ Bruce pulled a notebook out of his breast pocket. Her eyes widened. He… He wanted HER opinion?

“No school” her voice was barely above a whisper, her hands clenched in the blankets and her head bowed. She missed his nod of understanding.

“No school. Just distance education with tests and exams taken in the principle’s office. But I am more interested in what you might be interested in taking in University. Are there any particular courses that interest you? Is there a career path you’d like to follow? We will have to start the applications right away if you want to get in for the Spring term. And what about extra curriculars? Dance? Ice dancing? Gymnastics? Parkour? Sewing? Singing? Music? Most of the kids all learned piano from me at some point…” He was looking in his notebook and tapping his pen against his pants.

Wah…? Marinette felt her jaw drop.

“Am I overwhelming you? It’s okay to take a few days to think things over and let me know…” Bruce looked at her face, jaw slack and eyes wide. Marinette just nodded.

“Breakfast?”

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@maya-custodios-dionach @dur55 @driftingmoonlitpetals @kill-the-purses @annabellabrookes @a-marlene-s @queenmj10 @loveswifi @elmokingkong @aestheticnpoetic @animalgirl05 @northernbluetongue @lilacandcream @yin-390 @silvergold-swirl @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo @goblinwhoships @weird-pale-blonde-person @ @moonlightstar64 @krispydefendorpolice @kuroko26 @ladylupa @jardimazul @welcometopradasa @thatrandomfandomgirl @imanerddealwith @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @loysydark @nataladriana9

#Of Being Ladybug #cons of #maribat #bruce wayne #Marinette deserves better #marinette wayne #marinette fu #daminette #minor lukanette #BatFam

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jae-canikeepyou · 5 years ago

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| bad boy | j.jh | sequel

pairing: jaehyun x fem!reader genre: au t/w: slight violence and blood. a/n: a sequel was requested for this scenario & to be very honest i thought it’s best to leave as it was.. but who am i to turn down my lovely readers? 🥰 as promised, here it is! blame my lazy butt for procrastinating to post it. it’s not proof read too woohoo! 😂 anyway, enjoy! :3 ~j

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“...i’ll be happy to see you again.”

it was the only sentence that stuck into the back of your mind. a similar feeling to when you liked someone and his very existence wouldn’t just leave you alone. you thought you might go insane because every time you think of nothing at all, that dimpled smile of his reappears and your brain immediately sends all kinds of signals that maybe science couldn’t explain, let alone you.

the students who walked pass you and him had questionable stares. you were well aware that jaehyun was fresh from returning back to town; though according to him it only had been two years. even the faces of the neighbourhood gave scoffs and looks of disbelief; unconvinced that he had changed for ‘the better’. honestly people still avoided him— maybe it was due to the fact he wasn’t seen as often by day, only at dusk.. doing stuff that jaehyun himself chose not to remember.

coming out of the university, an annoying tug on the shoulder caused you to turn around to identify the doer, jolting you back to reality from your thoughts. however the tug was too familiar that you already knew who it was, even with eyes closed. he bugged you during training— though it was not in a bad way.

the regretful look on his face made you pinch his cheeks with his dimples as the support. he was one good-looking lad with now good intentions to help people. ever since that encounter with him at the alley, he never really left your side; stuck with you like glue. your parents joked about how he was as loyal as a golden retriever would be to his owner. he followed you everywhere and even if you didn’t mind, you had to remind him about boundaries.

and boundaries meant when he accidentally followed you to the toilet that one time.

leaving that aside, jaehyun smiled and this adorable puppy with chocolate eyes made you snap your fingers. “jaehyun, i told you not to stare at me like that.”

“why can’t i? i already told you you’re pretty.” he smirked, nudging a tease with his brows. “it’s worth staring at, even for a whole day.”

“uh-huh.” you hum in faux agreement. “and you told me that a month ago, which was after your friends broke my door. you’ve been calling me that nonstop.”

“it’ll approximately be thirty two- no, thirty three times i complimented you, today included.” jaehyun took your bag with him. as gentleman as it sounds, your own friends once had to pull your stuff away from him when he did the kind gesture the first time.

“hey, give it.” you attempted to retrieve it back when he raised it higher.

“maybe i’ll consider if you give me a kiss.” he poked his cheek, leaning into your face. you gave him a disgusted look before it turned out to be more so when he pointed his lips instead.

“in your dreams jaehyun.” you rolled your eyes, nudging him to leave the training centre.

you both spent the next two hours chilling at a local coffee shop, doing some recaps of what you learnt earlier. to your surprise, jaehyun was actually quite studious. it was a little difficult to approach him whenever you had questions. who knew that behind the acronym the townspeople gave him, ‘bad boy’, was a very hardworking and intelligent guy. sometimes you would think he was a real-life manhwa character, where he’d ace a test despite worrying over whether he’d flunk it.

on the bright side of jaehyun’s reputation to everyone, some students would arrive in crowds after your training; which was, how you’d call it, fanbase. they’d usually giggle to themselves and ask for a picture, but jaehyun declined their requests.

whilst at the café with chill jazz music playing, and despite feeling uneasy and worried for no reason at all, jaehyun sighed deeply, indirectly asking to call it a day— it was already 10 pm. every friday night, he’d go with you to the orphanage to read books to the children; or go along with them to give medical care with a stethoscope just to satisfy the curiosity of the kids.

jaehyun fumbled his bag to look for his keys. you waited for the lad, skimming through the university’s fountain and statue. you looked at the far distance, and the unease came back just when you thought it went away. “okay i got them. let’s go.” he tapped to us shoulders.

you soon hopped onto his car, fastening your seatbelt as you propped your arm onto the edge of the window rest. “tired? me too.” you heard jaehyun ask, his car keys clashing towards each other before being put onto its place.

“yeah i kinda am.” you lied, still having that uneasiness stuck in your chest. at the night you met jaehyun, you would say that the encounter with the screwed-up man traumatised you; the sound of gunfire rang in your ears, the man’s grip onto your wrists left a bruise, jaehyun’s flirtatious moves to his favourite couple’s daughter.

“well, we can go to the riverside if that’s what you’re looking for. tell your parents we’ll visit the kids next week and that you’re on a date with me.” he started the engine, rubbing your head with the other hand as he began to drive.

“a date with you? i’ve got other priorities.” you eyed him with a grin.

“change it then. put me on your top 5 or something.” his proud giggles put a confused look on your face and his lips flattened quickly at your response. jaehyun hoped you at least felt butterflies, but maybe it hasn’t developed yet. “what? i gotta be on your list somehow.”

“oh wow jaehyun you’re really determined.” you soothed your temples and he just laughed. “fine, uh. top 10?”

“agh man i gotta work nine bars higher to be your top 1.” he faked a hiss, earning an airy scoff from you.

“you’re not gonna be my top 1. my mom and dad are. education’s second.”

“then third?”

“no. that’s my bunny’s place.”

“ugh bunbun’s before me.” he whined. “anyway i’m gonna be part of your top 5.”

the car turned to a much narrower road. jaehyun insisted it was the shortcut and that the longer way was going to take minutes. not like you wanted to assume highly of how he knew some paths, but maybe he had dealings or encounters before at 17 years of age. heck that was him in the past. he was different now.

he reached out to the stereo and made a few taps onto the touch screen, sliding his fingers to the side to maximise the volume. it was a playlist full of jazzy, chilling instrumental tracks to hype up the mood and taking your heads off of studying. you never really heard him sing before, but you knew he was a good one in just humming.

as you listened with the playlist he tuned in, your eyes stayed on the road for a good minute before the car’s side view mirror flickered with lights, catching your attention. to be exact, they were red laser lights.

was something there? or were you just tired?

you brushed it off, telling yourself continuously that it was a result of staying behind the laptop screen too long. jaehyun didn’t seem to notice so maybe it was really just you. the car finally reached a stoplight, you sighed heavily at its disappearance when you looked at the mirror of your side.

but then it flashed again.

as if you both were being followed.

jaehyun spotted your discomposure and the frequent shuffles in positions to find comfort of the seat. “y/n, need a break? wait a little because we’re almost there-”

“i- i think we’re being followed.” you find your palms clenching the sides of the seat, avoiding to look at the mirror again. the feeling you had that night at the dark alley came back; chest pounding and breaths so uneven. you didn’t tell jaehyun what you felt that night and kept it to yourself so of course he wouldn’t know of your situation now.

jaehyun’s brows creased inquisitionly, his pupils shifted to his side of the mirror in an instant. they grew wider at the sight of a familiar vehicle and logo that was overlapping the car brand. he thought he’d never see them once more, but unluckily he did tonight. he cursed in whispers and although he said it softly, those alone made your worries shoot up like rockets. the circular light emitted green. you felt your body being pressed back against the seat at the force and speed jaehyun drove. “we’re gonna have to skip the date and rush home, okay?”

he tapped the stereo’s touchscreen to mute the track that coincidentally matched the tension you both were feeling now. “you’re driving fast~” you said with your sarcastic singing. a hum from him raised a tad more worry. “why are you driving fast~”

he only chuckled.

“jaehyun, the only time you drive fast is when we receive an medical emergency!” you panicked in all high pitches your voice could ever give.

“uh- this is kind of an emergency y/n!” he still gave a giggle despite being in a frenzy.

“it’s not medical! we’re not in the ambo!” you huffed in excessive breaths to attempt to calm yourself.

“i know but-”

gunshot.

it wasn’t once.

it was five times at most.

you gasped then squealed, unsure whether to cover yourself with your forearms or still hold onto the seat. jaehyun pulled over the car to a stop, making you shiver and the feeling went down to your spine then palms while your grip tightened onto the seatbelt. you let the window on your side lower for some air. it might seemed strange to some people passing by, but you were muttering words as if you were enchanting a spell to summon the supernatural; where as in fact you were really, really scared.

at times like these, all you wanted to do was to head home and forget that this ever happened.

“why did you stop?” you asked, sounding panicky and jaehyun didn’t seem to do the same. “we’re being chased and you decide to-”

the scratch of the tire from the vehicle following you hit from behind, plunging both of your torsos to the front and stretched the seatbelts. your eyes blurred for second and as the clear began to come in, jaehyun signalled you to bend low. when you obliged and cowered down, he took off his jacket and placed it above you. “y/n, don’t get off the car. i got this.” you felt that he grabbed something from the drawer in front of him, later putting it in his pockets.

you hitched a breath. “w-why? where are you going?!”

“shhh.. if you did, i won’t forgive you.” he warned and closed the door.

“stop cutting me off!” you gave a little tantrum that you hit your head onto the pull-out drawer. “stupid jaehyun!”

you heard mumbles of exchanged dialogues between jaehyun and two late twenties men. the patience you’ve always had had run out and carefully your fingers pulled the door handle to head out. soon you found yourself tiptoeing and crouching all at the same time; just like how you used to sneak to the kitchen at midnight to grab some snacks. the air was cool, much to your surprise jaehyun and the two men were just, talking.

in the two weeks since knowing jaehyun, you hesitated in asking more of his past. not that you couldn’t tolerate the endless stares and whispers from the public, but you were just curious about the man who evolved to b.a.d boy.

“jaehyun.” you whisper-yelled but there was no response from him. he had his hands behind him. though relaxed, there was tension shown in them. based on his gestures he knew of your presence. his hands formed to a ‘thumbs up’; turning sideways, telling you to head back into the car.

you had your palms onto the door handle when the conversation became clear to you.

“what're you both doing here?” he asked the two men, later their surnames revealed to be park and jang. “i thought i said i’m resigning.”

“you resigned before boss made his decision. he wants you back in the group.” park said, handing him an envelope. “accept this and you’ll get all you asked for; your own room at the base, the money from-”

jaehyun took the envelope and tore them to pieces. “i’m not going back to that life ever. knowing you lot, pisses me off up until now, you tried luring me into dirty money.”

it wasn’t like you wanted to get involved with jaehyun. it just seemed you were just caught in the wrong time and in the wrong moment. even that night in the dark alley. you mumbled and grumbled to yourself, profanities spoken internally that maybe you shouldn’t have heard something so private-

“then i could just guess you’re now using her for dirty money?” jang caught your collar and pulled you from behind the car. “you really think you could earn money without our help huh.”

“y/n, i told you not to come out.” he turned around so quickly that the scowl from his lips made you regret breaking that order.

“who do we have here? jaehyun you seem to get yourself a hottie-” park walked closer to where you were.

“let me go.” you spat him, disgusted at their assumption.

“let y/n go, she has nothing to do with this.” jaehyun grabbed your arm, putting you behind his large, broad frame.

“sure will, jung. but she has something to do with you.” park laughed, his hands reached for his pocket. jaehyun didn’t seem to see that, but you were aware where this might escalate to. you plunged forward that you were in front him, hugging him fully before your friend realized the frightful action.

bang. bang.

the tightness and uneasiness in your chest wasn’t the car chase nor the two men, nor the fired gunshots.

it was the men’s bloodlust for jaehyun.

they cursed and yelled as they left the scene, saying that they meant to shoot him, not you. it took a while for jaehyun to process what had happened. he looked down at your collapsing body, blood dampening his hands as he touched the wound to stop it from bleeding further. “y/n?.. y/n! stay with me, okay? don’t you dare close your eyes on me!”

he saw you attempting to caress his cheek with a pained smile before it turned emotionless.

“y/n!”

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it had been exactly a week since you were shot, because of that jaehyun avoided you. people looked at ease when they saw you alone and you weren’t used to it. he would always be there every second of the day, either already buying you lunch or carrying your bag. not even your parents heard of him when after jaehyun brought you to your apartment. having parents work in the medical field sure was convenient.

the morning’s sun shone your room and you stood in front of your mirror, still in your pj’s. turning slightly to the side, you lifted the fabric to see the two sets of stitches just below the bra strap line. your mom knocked onto your door, smiling in relief at the sight of recovery. “breakfast’s ready.”

you smiled back, remembering the worries plastered on their faces. in most cases, a patient would want to see their parents once they came into the conscious. for you however, wanted to see jaehyun. “yeah i’ll be down soon.”

the smell of toast and hot chocolate smacked you in the nose and you started walking slowly down the stairs. your groggy eyes caught sight of the one you didn’t want to see. “ah, she’s awake.” your dad nudged the male. jaehyun looked up at the loft, his ears shading from pink to red.

he gulped, and your dad laughed. “wow that was loud. chill jae, she’s walking down the stairs, not the aisle.”

“i didn’t think of that, sir.”

jaehyun got up from the dinning area to help you. his fingers felt the bandage wrapped around your torso and immediate guilt flushed his body. “y/n i-”

“don’t apologize. it wasn’t your fault.” you smiled and he flattened his lips, surprised that you knew what he was about to say. as you sat down, your parents were all dressed and ready for work. “i just got here and you’re leaving me alone?”

“that’s why we called jaehyun here. he lives just across the street. we’ll see you tonight sweetheart.”

silence consumed the house once the door shut to a close. jaehyun rested comfortably on the chair with his arms behind his head. hungry as you were, you began to eat, cautious and carefully. you told yourself you should be used to having him around. however, it was today that you felt nervous. even his exhales got you on the edge. you tried to look at him, only to avert your eyes immediately when he caught you. “how’s the wound?” he asked.

“well i never thought i’d experience it myself before i’d treat actual patients.” you said, soon grasping the situation that you didn’t mean to put it directly at him. “ah i’m not saying this because i blame you for what happened-”

“i know, but.. you did treat me when i was shot.” jaehyun took a sip of his cup. “so your answer’s invalid.”

“you asked the damned question jaehyun!” you scoffed and slight stood from your chair.

jaehyun saw a brief shade of pale onto your lips and went beside you. you looked up to see him with eyebrows narrowed. “get up, i’m checking your wound.”

“my wounds are perfectly fine! mom just fixed it.” you angrily munched on your toast when he suddenly knelt on the floor, back facing you. “what the heck are doing?”

“i’m giving you a piggyback ride.” his hands gestured you to get on.

“what am i, five?” you ignored his offer.

“what are you, ms. stubborn? if you move now, you’ll widen the already opened incision.” he finally turned around to carry you and when he placed you on the sofa, he grabbed the first aid.

“this is so awkward.” you sat in front of jaehyun as you lifted your shirt.

“not at all. i’m treating a stubborn patient who apparently is very cranky early in the morning.” he carefully cut the surgical tape and held his breath when he saw the two stitches from gunshot wounds onto your flesh. “look about this..”

you waited for him to speak, but he didn’t continue further and treated the wounds. “why are you blaming yourself?”

“because you got hurt.” he gently dabbed with a cotton. “when it was supposed to be me. i didn’t see that he already got it out and before i know it, blood was spilled.”

“but you didn’t pull the trigger.” you bent your head down.

“but i’m the cause why it triggered, okay?!” he raised his voice, making you flinch at his tone from behind. “i ran away from my past so that i could live a good one! yet it still haunts me and every where i go, i’m always caught in their web! it’s been like this! then when i met you, i was afraid and i knew that i’ll eventually put you in harm’s way. deep inside me, i saw it as a sign that being with you might protect me, that they wouldn’t do anything to me when you’re with me. then when the gun fired, there you were saving me from my mistakes and-”

you felt a heavy weight onto your head, teardrops dampening the nape of your neck. “i’m so sorry y/n..”

“you really *coughs* are a bad boy.” you said so suddenly that jaehyun shot up. your coughs made him to kneel in front of you, checking if you were alright.

“what?” he asked.

“a baby and dumb boy.” you giggled through breaths and though it got him taken aback, he was assured, somehow. “did i ever blame you for the gunshots? did i say it was you who hurt me? i never thought of you as the guy everyone thought they saw two years ago. so why are you still sticking with the fact that i might change after that night? i know you grabbed a gun too, but you didn’t bring it out. if you ran away from the past that just means you’re willing move forward to the new. if you’re afraid of ever hurting me, i know fully that you’ll never do that.”

he sat onto the carpet waiting for your next words; like a golden retriever, you told yourself. “i was looking for you when i woke up and besides, when i took the bullet.. it’s kind of..” you paused. “..returning the favor for saving me too? if you were shot, it might ease the people who were judgmental of you but.. not me. i wouldn’t be able to sleep if that happened you know? like-”

you saw his torso moving closer to yours. it was brief, but you saw the warmest smile from his lips before he hugged you. his hands caressed your head as if he was doing it to a child. “ah.. so i topped first?”

“ha?”

“i was your top 1 after all.” he smiled that his cheeks formed those damned dimples. “you thought of me before your parents and bunbun.”

“n-no! i mean i-it’s normal, right? the last person i saw before fainting was you so i-”

jaehyun rather than listening to your excuses longer, he preferred to hug you before you catch his ear turning redder. when he let go of you, his eyes twinkled as if a shooting star reflected in them.

“y/n, do you know you’re extra pretty when you’re flustered?” he teased, going back to treating your wound.

dumbfounded, you scoffed at his easy-goingness. “do you know you’re extra flirty when you think i like you?”

“you don't like me?” he whimpered how a puppy would do.

“i don’t.” you replied so proudly.

“that’s so mean.” he began to take the scissors to trim off the extra strand of tape. “i compliment you all-”

you closed the gap in between. “i love you.” you closed your eyes as you said the three words you planned not to tell him.

jaehyun gasped but he smiled afterwards. “my dream’s granted already?”

“urgh don’t make me more embarrassed than i already am jaehyun! i hate it when you’re always having fun and-”

“i love you too.”

#nct 127 #jung jaehyun #jung yoonoh #nct jaehyun #nct #jaehyun #jaehyun nct #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun writings #nct writings #jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun oneshot

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hell-heron · 6 years ago

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The mighty crusaders 1957 - Liveblog

First of all this is a terrible title, second can't believe this is really the only adaptation available. I really have been spoiled by all the previous classics-related obsessions. But yeah, because I hate myself I decided to watch this extremely weird and unfaithful movie, thankfully not mute nor black and white but in English and unsubbed so I'll try I guess

- We open on a war council. Goffredo is good, Rinaldo is a fuckin brat, nothing new. Then we cut to Tancred leading his troops + war prisoners back to the camp. Tancredi is cute enough, he's slightly mean to Erminia bc when a Muslim soldier tries to escape he blames her saying she should have prevented him and save his life which?? How?? But overall he's nice enough, which is important because really so many girls fall for him just because he's pretty, honorable, nice and overall boyfriend goals. Erminia just gives him an half smile before being scolded by some old man for fraternizing with the enemy but oh well. Erminia's character is actually quite well presented. She has a very melancoly line about how for a soldier life as a prisoner is worth nothing, but she as a woman has no such pride which really feels like something she might say in the poem. Going back to Tancredi, because he is nice, he allows a groups of Muslim (?) merchants to spend the night in their camp under his protection. Among the merchants is Clorinda, in incognito, who Erminia calls the daughter of King of Persia (No???). She and Tancred banter a little with the usual "This is no place for a woman" "I'm used to danger" schtik. Obviously everyone involved is snow-white but whatever, its the fifties

- "You should not trouble your pretty head with matters of war" and then he asks her out to dinner... Tancredi... It turns out Clorinda actually wanted this to get the battle plans, which is...weird bc why would you send the famous warrior literally everyone knows to spy? But she says only Erminia will recognize her and she won't snitch... cut to Erminia snitching. Slander, bc Erminia takes seven years to make any decision and she and Clorinda are bros but fine I guess. At least she asks him not to harm her. Also Tancredi has a tiger skin hung in his tent which miiiiight be foreshadowing but I'm sure Clorinda will not get to wear her awesome tiger helmet so whatevs. The costumes are pretty nice tbh, I love Erminia's dress. Less Tancredi's sparkly emerald green doublet but eh.

- The dinner date is HORRIFYING Movie Tancredi: "A woman with your elegance is wasted in battle. You were born to help man live not to let them die" Poem Tancred: *sees Clorinda* "We don't have to fight here is my chest for you stab you I'm glad to die if it's you my heart is already yours take it out would you like me to take my plate off so it's easier baby I'm all' yours"

- "It was not my choice to be the only child of the King of Persia but I have my duties" HELLO???? "Your words are strange for a soldier" "What, because I have the needs of a man?" AAAAAAAH The two dumbasses remember that if they meet again it will be in war and there is a brief pissing contest where he slashes stuff open and she throws knives around, which is a welcome reprieve.

- Random guy: "We were waiting for your arrival to give the final assault" Tancredi: "Don't be overconfident, my arrival won't make it any easier" Away from Clorinda he sounds vaguely more like himself. Though they are equally good Rinaldo is the action hero, not Tancred and that is important. Passing on the Christian side, Clorinda looks way better in armor and badass red cloak than in a dress, though still no tiger imagery to be seen, Olindo and Sofronia look like they're out a terrible R&J movie, Clorinda proposes to trade them for Erminia (who is here the king's niece) which is a concept the learnt from Tancredi apparently bc no one else knows how war works.

- We meet Argante. He's bald and a dick but has an interesting moustache. He and Clorinda have a chat. Clorinda: "I'm sure you would kill and woman in your captivity who denied you her favors". Because that's you talk about your best friends. Argante: "You refused to marry me and I didn't kill you." Yup. I would like to say "Ugh, the fifties." But frankly what I really must say is "Where has all the willingness to let men and women be purely platonic close friends gone in the last 4 centuries" because it's not like it's any better now. Pity because their relationship in the poem was so lovely. OH WAIT no so Clorinda is BETHROTHED to Argante by her father, the king of Persia, who is a person that exists and raised Clorinda, his actual daughter, alright, but the marriage will only be valid if celebrated on free land, so he will have to wait until Jerusalem is, uh, delivered. Argante then says something about if she leave him for another man it will be trouble -FORESHADOWING

- Tancredi: "You can return to your people! Aren't you happy?!" Erminia: *sobs*. Cut to her, who famously is an oversensitive, tormented shy nerd who understandably is conflicted about her feelings and keeps everything to herself, babbling everything to Clorinda, saying he would have been hers had Clorinda not come along. Clorinda is not amused. Then an harem dancer with a terrible accent announces Argante. We can see, unlike Tancredi, Argante is a dick because, unlike Tancredi, he is glad Clorinda is a worthy fighter and considers her an equal. Also because he's the only visibly darkskinned person despite being probably the one with less reason, being from *googles* the Northern Dead Sea area. Also Clorinda "I didn't get enough melee fighting today, must compensate with arson" is """"tired of fighting"""". Yeah. Poem Argante: No, no, thy fellow have I been in arms/And will be still, in praise, in death, in harms Movie Argante: "If you don't love me its the same thing as if you despised me He also suspects Clorinda might fancy a Christian, but changes the subject and proposes a plan to kill Rinaldo. Meanwhile Rinaldo, who is Tancredi's best bro and absolutely not a reckless teenage nuisance, is bantering with the aforementioned as a messanger announces Argante's attack. Battle scene. Irrelevant stuff happens, they do NOT kill Rinaldo, but Tancredi and Clorinda (who now wears a badass leopard skin tunic) meet. He disarms her way too easily and asks her to promise he'll leave fighting to the warriors and stop endangering herself. She tries to set him up with Erminia to get rid of him, no use. He keeps insisting on his love, she demures, they kiss, she goes away but he said he won't give up on her.

- They celebrate a funeral for some dude named, I shit you not, Dudone and Rinaldo swears revenge. This person was killed by Argante with a blue steel sword taken from a murdered Christian and a big deal is made of it but it's absolutely not, to my memory, in the poem so?? Rinaldo and Goffredo fight because Goffredo is not enough of a dumb reckless bitch, apparently. Cut to Argante shit talking Rinaldo. My boy never disappoints. The king (I know this is not a dumb movie thing but I can't bear to call him Aladin) proposes to use Armida, witch slash seductress in hot flowy sleeves, to sow discord. Argante says women in war are only useful if they know how to fight like Clorinda. Armida has a surprisingly feminist speech affirming the contrary. Clorinda, who was introduced to us as an undercover spy, says it would be unfair to use such deceitful means, the king says Armida is not a warrior and she's not honest (rude) so no other way, she goes

- Armida, all in virginal white but tiddies out, goes to Rinaldo who is disputing with Gernando who will take Dudone"s army. "Your great generosity is known even to us" EHM.... She gives a slightly different story but to the same effect, that she turned Christian so now Aladin is persecuting her native town of Damascus and the Crusaders have to help them. Rinaldo compelled by chivalry and the power of pussy accepts but no one listens to him. I can't understand if Tancredi is present or not because all the dudes look alike to me. I can set apart Rinaldo just because he is dressed in white to emphasize his nonexistent youth. More drama goes on, Rinaldo kills Gernando way too ungruesomely, but he will be mourned because he had style. We lose Tancredi trying to Relate To The Youth providing Rinaldo with unsolicited advice, instead he just advises him to run away.

- Clorinda talks to Erminia and says she doesn't want to fight because the enemy is too virtuous and generous... again? This is really not how it goes, neither of the too really gets a lesson about peace from falling in love. This is not Romeo and Juliet, it's not a completely senseless feud, it is a war that by Tasso's point of view being a guy in a religious crisis writing during the counter-reform, needs to be fought and, on both sides, is virtuous. That's why the love is tragic and doomed. But whatevs. Someone snitches about her feelings at Argante, Argante snitches at Aladin and requests to fight Tancredi in single combat. The duel is boring and they both fight dirty in an out of character fashion. I changed my mind about Erminia, she's so fucking bratty and horribly butchered. Then she gets her illumination (obviously no monologuing about her femininety and powerlessness bc why valorize the nice moment of real empathy and sensitivity from a male author) puts on Clorinda's armor and goes to look for Tancred. She's chased away, Tancred goes to look for her, he finds out about Armida's trap. Things go a bit different for Erminia than in the poem, instead of finding the shepherds she joins the Christian camp and then Piero, the priest, sends her to to the shepherds. Clorinda (horrifyingly) gives Tancredi information to find Rinaldo so he goes away telling no one. The discussion with Argante re: postponing the duel happens and Raymond, bless the old man, is appropriately badass. Argante botches the treaty and the king insults him, though in the poem he was like this kindly old man who kept hugging the warriors in inappropriate moments

- Cut to Armida's palace with beautiful visuals, horrifyingly skinny harem dancers and HUGE dubcon undertones by Armida to Rinaldo but I still like her, though any real magic and wonder is completely stripped from the whole situation. Tbh I'm not invested in this plotline enough to bitch much.Tancredi sneaks in and lasts in his disguise about three seconds before starting murdering people. I might start spiteshipping him with Rinaldo, so much I dislike the situation with Clorinda. Armida hits on Rinaldo once more then lets them go.

- Clorinda: "You forget they are fighting for a cause they are dedicated to and would die for their leader without hesitation" again... so would the Muslims it's kind of the point... She and Argante have a little sweet conversation that contrasts horribly with the rest of their relationship, but her feelings are like... general presentment of dying, no thirst of glory, desire of doing more, feeling of inadequacy and everything else. Also it's HIS idea to destroy the siege tower which Ugh. I'm frankly gonna skip the siege until the duel now. It's clear that we are going to miss Erminia's time with the shepherds, the reveal about Clorinda's identity and tbh all' her beautiful relationship with her adoptive father, so che changes faith just because cute crusader is cute I guess and based on the time remaining, nothing of Tancredi's complete, poetic, heartwrenching mental breakdown either. Nice. The duel is in a nice location but all fucked up, it's not wild and energetic at all, no simbolism of it lasting dusk to dawn, none of all the raw dialogue, not even "What do you bring" "War and death" "Death and war you will have of you pray for them", no Clorinda refusing to reveal her name and claim her glory to reveal how her priorities have shifted, Tancredi recognizes Clorinda as soon as she falls so no moment where he thinks she's just some random guy but he still is moved to tears from her desire to convert and is willing to forgive her (which is imho what led Clorinda to fall in love with him). They exchange a few words but no hand holding in sign of peace which I guess wasnt necessary when it’s not the only tragic, bittersweet touch they’ll ever exchange but still :( and overall I just feel nothing. At least they don't kiss. Also I feel like there is something very compelling about Tancredi shutting in and saying nothing for the whole scene and it's lost here. Also he can't push everything inside and then let it out when Clorinda dies bc when Clorinda dies Argante comes and they duel right here so we also lose the BADASS scene of eberyone mourning Clorinda and him swearing revenge. One bright note is we get to see Tancredi dramatically fainting as he is famous for at least once, but it's from Argante's wounds, not Clorinda's, which is meh. Then Erminia finds him and there's some sort of victory celebration where Erminia and Tancredi are implied to be getting together. Yay. What the fuck happened to the Armida plotline?? Well, no matter. This is over, we have learned that being clingy and selfish but traditionally feminine gets you the man, and everyone is happy

#Jerusalem Delivered #the mighty crusaders #found in the drafts and feel like I should put it out at this point #gonna maybe out a read more when I'm on PC

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rose-of-fair · 7 years ago

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Top 5 books

OK! So I laughed when you as well as the lovely @thefoxylexyblog asked the same thing so here is an answer for both your responses on my top 5 books!

1.) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

I adore this classic novel with all my heart. It’s a very long read and I find it fascinating how the main character Edmund goes from poor sailor boy to rich Count and disgusies his real idenity to plot against those who falsely accused him of a crime he never committed just so theycould see him suffer (his arrest happened on the day he was gettinf married!) It’s a moving tale of revenge, love, and pondering the real meaning of justice.

2.) The Wizard Heir by Cinda William Chima

I love this novel because I’m a sucker for magic and history. The story takes place in modern day Trinity and at the beginning in Toronto Canada. Portagonist Seth is a powerful wizard and learns to control his magic and endures a lot of hardshios because of his power. I read this book over and over because it feels real and it brings back conflict from the War of Roses~ I can dream tgat wizards and dragons are real okay?!

3.) Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan

This book is so so funny! It’s got so much comedy and sarcasm that you can’t get enough of. I love Riordan’s gods and demi god world a lot. Also I enjoy reading from the god Apollo’s perspective. He starts off all “I’m Apollo praise me and shower me with attention because I’m a smoking hot god” and as the story progresses in the first book he experiences doubt, fear and lack of confidence, all very human emotions!

4.) Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

Okay so it’s clear I love Rick Riordan but if you love Norse mythology this book is for you! It occurs in the same world of Riordan’s Greek gods content but with Norse focus. Like all his books It’s extremely funny with very likeable characters. Loki is that one character you want to hatw but you CAN’T. You start to doubt yourself over and over when it comes to Loki. I love this book so much mostly because of Hearth, a mute elf who practices magic and was shunned by his parents. He is a sweet cinnamon roll of an elf and I will protect him with my life ❤

5.) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I love fantasy and faeries so I was drawn to this book for that reason. It’s a rich but not overly complicated fantasty world that oulls you in instantly. The main heroine Feyre is a strong young lady who endures through so much but keeps on marching forward. The romance in this is top quality and you are always swooning over Ilyrian guys like Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel. Reading this book I was trying to not scream in delight and I died at every cute romantic moment. You just automatically love every character in the Night Court like they are family.

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thebibliomancer · 7 years ago

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #152: NIGHTMARE in New Orleans!

October, 1976

It’s a shame sometimes when timing just doesn’t work out. I was lucky enough with a bit of double time that I got the first Mantis appearance out in time for her screen debut. But here we have what would have been a perfect Halloween issue (it was even published in October!) and I got to it a week too early!

I could just put the blog on hiatus and post it in a timely fashion but what Avengers-related content will people read in the meantime? I couldn’t deprive them of that.

So lets get to this book that features Wonder Man being pretty blase about being an unliving slave.

And never wonder how far down that inverted cross goes.

So.

Last time: After many trials and tribulations and some drama and bad decision making, the Avengers selected a new roster. Its a pretty typical Avengers roster. Really only missing Thor. We have Iron Man, Captain America, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket, Wasp, and Beast.

Oh and when they announced the new roster, a giant crate that was shipped to them burst open to reveal the not-quite-dead Wonder Man who accused Vision of being a mind-taker. WeeeeeeEEEEEEoooooooooo mind taker.

And forty-two seconds has passed between issues and undead Wonder Man is still repeating the same accusation.

Cap is worried that for some reason, this will drive the crowd to become a hysterical mob but before that can happen, Wonder Man collapses.

The Avengers act fast, picking up the collapsed dead superherovillain and frenemy.

Sam Reuther tries to get in their way to interview them but Iron Man and Cap tell him to fuck off.

How dare he try to do his job right now? Although in fairness, he really shouldn’t be getting in the way.

Iron Man muses that the Avengers have been under a lot of stress going through one crisis after another since... hell probably since the Celestial Madonna Saga.

Anyway, Wonder Man is brought inside to the Laboratory of Hanks. Where Hank and Hank examine him. And here’s the weird thing Hank (Pym) discovers. He’s not actually undead. He’s alive. Dun dun dun?

Meanwhile, outside, Sam Reuther casts suspicions on the Avengers for their secrecy, alluding to Watergate-era White House.

So Jarvis kicks him off the property. Cast your suspicions from outside the gate, newsman.

Meanwhile, inside, the Hanks brief the others on what they discovered. Wonder Man has all the biometrics of a living person who is alive and not dead. Except one weird thing. His brain has been wiped clean of all memories except that one sentence he kept repeating.

It’s pretty chilling.

Vision decides to feel the human emotion of guilt over all of this. He has decided that Wonder Man’s accusation is true. What right does he have to the mind that was rightfully Wonder Man’s?

Nobody asks to be born, Vision. They literally can’t. And you’re not to blame for your asshole dad. But, eh, emotions are frequently irrational.

Scarlet Witch calls shenanigans on Vision’s self-loathing. Whoever sent Wonder Man to sort of spook the Avengers is the one responsible for his condition. Not the Avengers and definitely not Vision!

So she heads outside, blows the lookie-loos away with a localized hurricane, and goes to investigate the crate Wonder Man came in.

Maybe there’s a return address or... clumps of dirt.

What is this, a Batman story?

Instead of a Bat-Computer, Scarlet Wanda has her new witchery and she uses the witchery to psychometrize the dirt. She gets an image of men performing a ritual around a fire and of a place. A big easy place. A New Orleans place!

Oh boy, the Avengers are going to New Orleans! Maybe they’ll team up with Monica Rambeau oh she doesn’t exist yet. Dammit.

Yeah. So she tells the rest of the Avengers what their precious science with all of its chemicals and instruments couldn’t. WONDER MAN HAS BEEN TURNED INTO A ZUVEMBIE!

Which is a made-up word that Marvel uses to not get in trouble with the comics code for saying the zed-word.

I imagine that Marvel Zuvembies would not have sold as well. What a world that would be.

So the Avengers pack up some stuff, including Wonder Man’s not-deceased body, into a Quinjet and blast off.

And the trip is long enough (and the Avengers are outgoing enough, which I guess is the expected default in the superheroing biz) that we get some character moments.

Wasp apologizes for pressuring Yellowjacket into rejoining the Avengers. He was just so grim recently that she thought it might be good for him to get back into the action-adventure life. And forcing him into things for his own dubious good is the only tactic she has for helping him.

He apologizes for being grim but says that he’s grown out of trying to be a swashbuckler. He feels kind of silly in the superhero life.

Wasp insists that he’s just insecure because being insecure is basically Hank Pym in a nutshell.

Meanwhile also, Beast is grappling the absurdity of the situation, I guess? One would think he saw weirder things when he was an X-Man. Like an island that walked like a man? But whatever.

Cap tells him that when you’ve seen the things he’s seen, nothing is really strange anymore. True story: he fought a Nazi vampire (now there’s a mashup: Captain America/Hellsing). So voodoo hoodoo ain’t a big to do.

Iron Man chimes in that he teamed up with a werewolf recently, perhaps being that guy who always has to one-up any stories. And then he very insensitively points out that when you come down to it, Beast himself looks like a monster.

Which isn’t exactly a thing that Beast was thrilled to here. So he spends the next hour and forty-eight minutes exactly brooding.

The Avengers land their very boat looking Quinjet at an abandoned Algiers airport and then get a quick ferry ride across the Mississippi.

Because fording would have been far too dangerous with Iron Man along. He’d sink like a stone.

In New Orleans, Scarlet Witch spots one of the people she saw in her dirt vision and the Avengers immediately start running at him screaming because nonchalantly walking up isn’t an option when you’re dressed in bright colors.

Everyone in the bar goes running because uh yeah a bunch of superheroes just starting running at them and they all have some petty crimes on their conscience but the man in the borsalino hat knows they’re after him.

He must escape to warn the Master! But not that one! I think!

Wasp and Yellowjacket give chase, in tiny size. And Wasp is gratified that Hank is sounding more like his old self, cracking jokes and such. And as much as he won’t admit it, she knows that the superhero life is in his blood.

Anyway. Yeah. Yellowjacket ties the man’s shoelaces together and this superpowered application of a childish prank sends the man down long enough for the Avengers to catch up with him.

But he refuses to tell them anything so Scarlet Witch steps up.

And she casts a spell. And in a voice inaudible to the Avengers but audible to the perp, she says something so terrible that it makes him crumble with fear and spill the beans.

Le Mort Bayou.

So that’s where the Avengers go next.

And the trudge through the swamp is long enough for a character moment! I love when there’s enough transit time for some character moments.

Although its an unhappy character moment. Beast tries to reassure Vision that they’ll know who was behind this zuvembie stuff soon and then Vision can relax.

Vision: “No matter what the outcome today, certain doors have been opened, which before this were closed. There are questions which require answers, questions I must ask myself -- concerning my ‘immortal soul.’”

But Vision realizes time and place and quits bumming everyone out.

Scarlet Witch hears a silent calling which makes Wonder Man stir. A zuvembie master’s summoning!

So they set him down and follow the shambling plot element from 140-some issues ago. They let zuvembie Wonder Man go ahead and watch from the... trees or something.

And watch in apparent mute horror at the voodoo ritual they discovered. It has everything you might expect a hollywood comic voodoo ritual to have. Zombies Zuvembies pulling themselves out of the ground, drums, people dancing with snakes.

Wonder Man joins the other zuvembies in front of the ringleader. The man in the chicken suit. Black Talon. Because, he’s black. If he didn’t have black in his name, someone might think he was not in fact black.

But Black Talon is surprised and alarmed to see Wonder Man. He should be in New York. Zuvembies can’t catch a plane back to New Orleans. What’s going on here??

But rather than really question it, he decides to just destroy Wonder Man.

So the Avengers jump out and start punching.

And apparently punching a voodoo cult is just what everyone needed after all the craziness in their lives recently to get them back in rare form.

Except Vision.

He’s doing the thing where he lets people jump through him but only in a very bitter way. Scarlet Witch is worried about him, not taking any joy out of people bonking heads while trying to double team him.

Wasp and Yellowjacket dismiss Black Talon as inconsequential to go fight some of the cultists. Which turns out to be a mistake.

Black Talon can apparently summon the spirits of the loa and a nasty sounding fellow called the serpent god Damballah.

And something enters the clearing shrouded in shadows and the Avengers all fall. The cultists and zuvembies too.

Its a huge, oppressive force that feels like being stepped on and crushed by a giant.

But there is one person unaffected.

The Scarlet Witch.

She’s getting a real good showing today, huh?

Her role as a sorceress apparently protects her from the being-stepped-on effect. But Black Talon just tries to strike her down with magical bolts of possibly lightning.

And while Scarlet Witch’s power comes from within, Black Talon’s might is the might of the dark god Damballah.

And after getting blasted some more, Scarlet Witch has an epiphany.

Dark god. Lurking shadowed.

So she throws a burning branch at the dark god, exorcising him.

Good job, Wanda.

And then she uses her witchery to pelt Black Talon with wood until he gives up.

It was a good showing for Scarlet Witch. Unfortunately, Black Talon doesn’t know anything.

Wonder Man was brought to Black Talon by his servants already “alive” with a message from someone known only as “the one whose will we serve.”

So the mystery has unpeeled into another mystery. Like an enigmatic onion.

And also, Wanda is quitting the team.

Whaaaaaaaaat?

She beat Black Talon and Damballah but what if she hadn’t? It’s possible that she could have maybe possibly lost the fight due to her incomplete self-knowledge! She needs to go on a journey of discovery!

Vision doesn’t even argue. Just wishes for god to give with her. Even though she’s decided to have her ‘I must go off alone’ journey right in the middle of the nowhere bayou.

Couldn’t it have waited until they got back to New Orleans?

Also: Damballah is apparently an actual loa under vodou and doesn’t seem to be an evil shadow god of evilness. Good job respecting other cultures, Marvel!

Also x2: next time the Living Laser again? But that guy was the worst! He’s probably the one who was whining about Wasp not loving him in the previous issue.

Ugh.

Well at least I’ll get to see him get his ass kicked again.

Hey. Why not follow @essential-avengers? Its the dedicated sideblog just for these posts and also I accept questions. Like. About Avengers stuff.

#Avengers #Black Talon #Scarlet Witch #the Vision #Wonder Man #Beast #Captain America #Iron Man #the Wasp #Yellowjacket #you remind me of the babe #today Wanda broke a man just by talking #and we'll never know what she said #until we get a better explanation i'm assuming that leaving wonder man on their doorstep was just trolling #like the superhero equivalent of a flaming bag of poo #the triumphant return of robo angst #and the stunning debut of fuzzy angst #Essential Avengers #Essential marvel liveblogging

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the-desolated-quill · 8 years ago

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Planet of The Apes - Review Of The Planet of The Apes blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t seen this movie yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Planet Of The Apes could so easily have become yet another tacky sci-fi B-movie, merely coasting on the novelty of a world where the roles of apes and humans had been reversed. But what made it stand out and what allowed it to stand the test of time was the intelligent allegory and social commentary that was at the very core of the story.

Since its release, the original Planet Of The Apes has received a lot of critical acclaim. In fact, on the back of the box of my DVD copy of the film, it’s described as ‘a legendary masterpiece!’ Now while I do enjoy Planet Of The Apes immensely and agree that it’s a very good movie, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a masterpiece. There are some problems with it, mostly in the opening scenes.

A spaceship crash-lands on an unknown planet after a long deep space voyage. Due to the time dilating effects of light speed, the crew have only aged 18 months when in reality they’ve been traveling for over 2000 years. How we managed to build a faster than light spaceship in the year 1972 is never explained, and perhaps that’s for the best. The trouble is its a lot of exposition to suddenly dump on the viewer right out of the gate. There’s no slow build up or anything and I did find it a little bit jarring. It’s not helped by the clunky dialogue at the beginning that tries to instil a sense of wonder into the audience about space travel, but nowadays just comes across as a little bit silly.

Once we get down to the planet, the opening scenes are tediously slow. For example there’s one scene where one of the astronauts finds life and tells the others to come to him, at which point we spend a full minute watching the characters run down a mountain to meet him. Couldn’t we have just cut straight to them meeting him? Why did we need to watch that? In fact a lot of Franklin J. Schaffner’s direction seems a bit off in the opening scenes. There’s one moment where the main character Taylor, played by Charlton Heston, talks about the fact that the world they knew is long gone, followed by a long scene of them walking across landscapes before being chased by large boulders, which leads into another scene where Taylor talks to the other two astronauts about the exact same topic again. Another scene is when one of the astronauts plants a little American flag in the dirt, despite the fact that America as we know it doesn’t exist anymore. It’s a genuinely touching and amusing moment that got a little bit of a chuckle out of me. But then it cuts to Taylor letting out a huge belly laugh and a bizarre shot where the camera pans into Charlton Heston’s teeth (not even his face, his teeth). Um... okay. It’s not that funny and what’s the significance of Charlton Heston’s teeth?

While we’re on the subject of Charlton Heston, he’s by far the weakest part of this movie. His performance is incredibly wooden and the way he delivers his, admittedly cheesy, lines leaves a lot to be desired. It says a lot that Heston becomes infinitely more watchable when he becomes mute. The character of Taylor himself isn’t all that interesting or well developed, but to be fair his only real role is to act as the audience cipher as we explore the planet of the apes, with most of the characterisation going to the more compelling ape characters (so the apes were more fleshed out than the humans even back then I see. I guess some things never change). But it would have been nice if we could have been given some reason to care for Taylor and his predicament other than because he’s the main character. When he discovers the fates of his fellow astronauts later in the movie, we should feel some sense of loss, but because we never really got to know them, I didn’t feel a thing.

Something that really hasn’t aged well is the film’s attitude to women. Sure we get the ape zoologist Zira, but we also get Nova. A mute human female who’s unceremoniously bundled into the same cage as Taylor’s in the hopes that they will mate. Nova’s character never gets any real growth or development and is basically there just to serve as eye candy. A wide eyed innocent in scantily clad clothing to appeal to the male gaze, and she’s mute so we don’t have to listen to her talk while we’re jerking off to her. Taylor himself exists partially to act out a male power fantasy and there’s a very uncomfortable moment where Taylor talks about a female astronaut called Stewart (who dies near the beginning of the film and is unconscious in the one scene she’s in) and how she’s basically only there so the male astronauts can have sex with her and repopulate whatever planet they find themselves on. Sigh. Don’t you miss the 60s?

But while there are a few problems, they’re completely overshadowed by how good the rest of the movie is. When Taylor and the astronauts finally come across the scarecrows, the tension and intrigue builds considerably. And then things really get exciting when the apes show up.

While the original ape makeup doesn’t hold a candle to the motion capture technology they’re using in the current movies, it’s really good for its time and holds up tremendously well even now. At no point did I ever feel like I was watching an actor in an ape costume. These were walking, talking apes. It also helped that the actors playing them really committed to their roles and gave extremely good performances. Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans and others all do an exceptional job of acting through all of that makeup to create believable characters.

It’s truly fascinating to explore this ape society. There’s an established hierarchy and caste system with gorillas acting as the warriors and soldiers, chimpanzees as the scientists and orangutans as the politicians. The attention to detail is impeccable. All the stuff about the Sacred Scrolls is interesting and we get to visit locations such as an ape church and a museum filled with stuffed humans. You can tell a lot of thought has been put into how this society is constructed and organised. What’s even better is that the film doesn’t keep us at arm’s length. By getting to know characters like Cornelius and Zira (played by McDowall and Hunter respectively) and seeing them navigate this complex hierarchy whilst trying to get their own controversial scientific theories heard, we get to delve deeper into this world and actually form an emotional connection with its denizens. I really cared about the fate of Cornelius and Zira and was devastated when they were tried for heresy at the end, despite the fact that they proved that their hypothesis about intelligent man preceding intelligent ape right.

Which brings me to the most memorable and well executed part of Planet of The Apes. Its allegorical elements. There are a lot of ways you can interpret Planet of The Apes. The most obvious being its Cold War themes where its revealed at the end that this was in fact Earth all along and that nuclear war was what caused society to turn upside down. Another theme you can extrapolate is that of race. The scenes where apes on horseback capture humans are reminiscent of how white people viewed and treated black people during the height of the slave trade, as is the declaration that men have no rights during Taylor’s hearing. And considering that this movie was released in the 60s where the black civil rights movement was at its peak, its hard not to make the comparisons. Scenes depicting Taylor’s treatment in ape custody displays examples of animal cruelty, with the use of role reversal criticising how we view animals. But by far the most predominant theme is the relationship between faith and science. Or rather the juxtaposition of faith and science, as the film demonstrates that, as much as we try, the two cannot be reconciled.

The ape society is very much theological. Its Minister of Science, Doctor Zaius (played by Maurice Evans), is undoubtedly a religious figure, believing in the Sacred Scrolls without question and in many ways representing the stubborn and archaic nature of religion. Just like with the Bible and the Qur’an, the Sacred Scrolls are viewed as absolute. The divine truth. Any evidence that contradicts this is censored, as we see when Zaius rubs out the message Taylor wrote in the sand, when he has one of the astronauts lobotomised and when he crumples up the paper aeroplane that Taylor made to prove that flight is actually possible. There’s no flexibility or willingness to accept new ideas, as proved during Taylor’s hearing when Cornelius tries to tell the orangutans about his hypothesis that intelligent man preceded intelligent ape, to which they respond by posing as the three wise monkeys. This obviously parallels with the ‘controversial’ theory that mankind evolved from apes and how religions view this even today. Even now there are parts of the world, including certain states in America, that refuse to accept, teach or even acknowledge evolution despite the fact that at this stage the evidence in support of evolution is overwhelmingly strong.

Zaius makes for a very compelling antagonist as we learn that he knew the truth all along, but insists on keeping the apes in the dark and even blows up the cave with the talking doll because he knows that humanity destroyed this world and fears that apes may follow a similar path should they follow in humanity’s footsteps. The best villains are the ones that don’t see themselves as the villains. Zaius believes that he’s the apes protector. That by keeping them in blissful ignorance about the truth of their origins, he can prevent a similar fate happening to his own kind. This movie demonstrates why religion can be incredibly dangerous. By standing in the way of scientific progress and clinging on to archaic and flat out incorrect beliefs, he is in fact holding his society back.

Oh and I guess we should quickly talk about the ending. While the reveal is somewhat robbed of its impact by Charlton Heston melodramatically shouting to the heavens (why couldn’t they just let the image speak for itself?) and because we all know what the twist is now to the point where they put the end scene on the front of the bloody DVD, the image of the Statue of Liberty on the beach is still very powerful and evocative.

It’s not perfect by any means. As I said, the opening is a tad flawed and there are some aspects of it that really haven’t aged well, but nonetheless Planet Of The Apes is still a pretty damn good movie that has a lot of intelligent things to say about our society even today.

Not quite a masterpiece, but still an undisputed classic.

#planet of the apes #20th century fox #review #spoilers

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