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rsbry-beret · 3 years ago

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watching vox machina for the first time!!

SPOILERS BELOW. SO MANY. FOR ALL THE EPISODES IN SEASON 1

telling apart vax and vex is gonna SUCK

liam obrian my beloved

they’re so stupid this mean council guy is OBVI a dragon who can shapeshifte,, these fools

the king is a dilf

awwww vax with kids

AWWWW THE KIDS ARE DEAD UH

gnc barkeep nice

this show is rly gross like. barf blood ew

THSI INTRO SLAPS

thought fince the dragon was just trying to drive down real estate prices until he mentioned bargaining w gold

TUSK LOVE in gilmore’s shop omg

WAIT THE SCOTTISH GUYS THE DRAGON WHATTTTT NOT THE RAISIN GUY ???

why is there a troll dick

this sad victorian stage coach??? apparently his name is DESMOND which. yeah.

omg vampire nevromancer power couple?? hate them but also love that for them.

i’ve been told to stop chanting “horsdeourves” (how spell)

oh 1% anime boy has trauma D:

THE SNAKES NAME IS SIMON 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

vax ur awesome

yea okay i love percy hes my fav

apparently he needs wooden bullets?

side note would silver work ???? bc ik silver works for “evil” creatures generally like werewolves and steel for “nice” creatures like fey?? so would vampires count hmmm

also btw their fancy outfits are so coooool i love them !!

we’re taking a break and i have many thoughts;

do grogs tattoos have significance??

also cleric struggling w faith hell yea cool side quest tho

vax being disaster bisexual ICONIC of him

surprisingly i am not struggling w vax vs vex names v much :0

BEADS OF LOVE

your soul is forfeit dude ur so cool

duuuude secret passages!!!

WHY did the guards keep the twins together??? big stupid moment ngl

woa the ever light kinda dark tho. just saying.

keyleth <3 ur so nice 🥰🌸😇

ghosts fuck yes

NOOO THE GUARDS WERE SO HOT NOOOOO

aw grog not wanting to break piles shrine

ghost grabbed grogs titties lol

why doesn’t ANYONE have the light spell omgggg

PERCY IS CURB STOMPING A GHOST RN WHAT

He’s my fav

oh my GOD grog’s “what if i need you?” 🥺🥺🥺

“you’re their light now” stfu 😭😭

omg gilmore’s back :0

ok but what the heck IS percys weird shadow smoke thing??? intriguing

oh my god vax is a bisexual disaster wow.

these scenery shots are sooo pretty oh my god

oh my god that’s a massive fuck off dog

woaaa cool omg it’s just a torso that’s metal as fuck

that’s awesome ok

wow

hahah cool blood dogs okie

it’s sorta trottin along aww

percy’s tutor guys is eugh

AWWWW VAX “kiki”

bruh “friend”

wow these guys. suck at not accidentally bringing up percys trauma lol

vex’s abandonment issues popping off okay

this whitestone flashback is GORGEOUS so it’s gonna be in ruins now :/

yea it sucks now 😬 sun tree looking uhhhh

fits the vampire aesthetic a lot more now ngl but i like the pretty version personally

oh damn. the ending of episode 5. damn. augh

percy V pale. vitamin deficiency? very very white boy

why tf are there giants/goliaths here?? does not make sense bestie like is it an ecosystem thing? additional guard force?? i am wondering.

whitestone? more like graystone OOOOO BURN it’s bc the city is dirty.

religious person keeping the peace? BOOOO RISE UP VIVA LA RESISTANCE

Oh nvm she’s in the resistance ! sick. good for her.

aww archie and percy childhood crushes?? adorable

everlight on FIRE?? i guess not dark now but that can’t be good oof

“those were bad ideas and you should all feel bad” so tru bestie

also vax and percy standing like a power couple in that scene polycule rights

that’s a RLY COOL gun scope omg

haha back door team are all bottoms

oh my GOD they can’t open the door jesus

help action unsuccessful yikes scanlan

scANLANS FOOT???

PERCY FELL OUT A WINDOW

oh my god archie is nice and i like him <3

keyleth going FERAL I LOVE THAT FOR HER

WAIT. scanlans piercing is on the gay ear !!!!!

FUCK YES NO MERCY PERCY

and the NAME melts off the GUN this RULES

Cassandra is alive!!!!! holy shitttt

percy was a NERD in his youth

still is lol

this tutor suuuuuuucks booo

“who’s the sixth barrel for?” THE SHADOW. OH.

awwww archie and percy <3 <3 cute

let. me. be. annoying.

oh this lute music is a VIBE.

scanlans song slaps as well this is great

OMG THE GUARDS ARE PLAYING DND HAHA

“he’s a really tall guy” “scanlans just got shrunk” thanks @a-human-pippin-took i’m dumb at moments

WHAT FIRE BREATH WHAHAHAT HA

HEY HE IS BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE!!!!

this rules.

DUDE HES A TRICERATOPS THIS IS AMAZING 🦖🦕🦖🦕🦖

So dinosaurs are real??? or are they like mythical creatures in this universe ?

i can’t believe this mission was a total success good job scanlan

dick lightning omg nice sam

oh shit. cass. fuck man.

FUCK this tutor guy !

this loser brought a sword to a gun fight. sHit nvm he brought golems

OH MY GOD SHES ALOVE SHE SURVIVED JESUS CHRIST AH THANK GOD

pikes side quest goin Wild rn

oh THATS what it’s supposed to look like. a bit more light-y

oh this possession thing is uhhhhhh Fucked Up

oh my GOD percy is cool. fucked up but cool.

cass is. she has trauma as well! oof moment

oh my god. keyleth and the de rolo crest. that’s cool as fuck 😌😌

this vampire building is cool af and definitely trustable!!

uhhh that’s some. strange looking ceiling mold. 😬

oh FUCK THAT the hanged children have been ununalived now

ARCHIE NOOOOOIIIIIIOOOOOOIIOJOOKOOOOOOO THIS IS SO SAD

still torn up about that but holy shit keyleth

aw “kiki” 💚💚💚

that was a V good speech percy!! i miss archie :,(

oh my god “you know i’m in love with you, right?” “NOW?”

PIKE YES

“marry me?” “yes right now let’s do it” “really?” “no”

aw fuck still zombos

necromancer lady tattoo is messy as fuck. stick poke?

vax u CANT just free EVERYONE who the briarwoods hate,,

woa percy what did she do tho

oh this credits song!! <3 cute

oh FUCK this doctor lady

egh i rly don’t like anna ripley eghhhh

i agree w scanlan lol the smoke is a Bit fucked up lol lol hmmmm

WOA

OH MY GOD WHAT PERCY WHAT UR SOUL DUDE WHAT WOAH WHAT

this is so sus

cass u better be chill and not not chill

OH THATS SO COOL OMG “you’re at the bottom of my list”

taliesin king of one liners and crow noises

i only just realized pike is astral projecting

sick dagger vax 🔥🔥🔥

WAIT THE NAME CAS NO

shit fuck balls i called it

shittttt

percys crying vex is crying i’m gonna cry

HEAVY METAL

grog why is ur dick named that,,,,,

oh scanlan u genius

WATCHING W SUBTITLES ORTHAX IS THE WEIRD DEMON WTF AHHHH

percy holding his arm back from shooting cass,,,

oh my god scanlans muted,,,, smart but UGH

PIKE !! ❤️❤️❤️❤️💕❤️💕❤️❤️💕💕💕

KEYLETH THE LIGHT YEs

WEAKENS VAMPIRE FREES VEX THIS RULES YES

FUCK. YES. PIKE. THIS IS AWESOME KICK HER ASS

ok that fight was EPIC

And cass is more chill again!

aw fucks sake vampire lady pls stop it jeez

KEYLETH

the demon is orb

shittttttt

percy nooo ur soul is being overtaken haha

okay i got so wrapped up in the last episode i forgot to write ANYTHING but this show is VERY GOOD i highly recommend

!!!

#Rsbry’s jam #vox machina #vox machina spoilers #critical role #critical role season 1 #the legend of vox machina #tlovm

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years ago

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Worst Flash Storylines and Plot Ideas of All Time

As you’ve probably ascertained from the general contents of this blog, the Flash is my favorite comic book series. I love the characters and most of the stories. However, just like any series that’s been around for eighty years (counting the Jay Garrick stuff), the Flash does, unfortunately, have some truly terrible stories and plot ideas.

In terms of terrible plot ideas that didn’t completely ruin the surrounding stories:

1. Barry Allen uses the Mirror Master’s mirrors to manipulate Iris into agreeing to start dating him again (Flash #109). Creepy, Barry. Just creepy. The story is great Silver Age fun otherwise.

2. Iris West: meanest woman alive. Iris was, by and large, incredibly awful to Barry up until maybe about a year before their 1966 marriage. Almost every time she shows up in an early Silver Age issue, you will admire her daring and independence (this is good) and be bewildered as to why on Earth Barry would want to spend time with a woman who is constantly calling him slow, lazy, and ambition-less (this is not good). It doesn’t really affect any one issue too much, but when read in a conglomerate, she starts looking really awful. Although as bad as Early Silver Age Iris seems as a romantic interest, she’s got nothing on Silver Age Superman and Lois Lane, the most dysfunctional couple in the DCU.

3. Wally West’s zero-effort code name and costume (Flash #110). It really could not be more obvious how little effort the writers were putting into creating this character. The duplicate origin is also pretty cheesy, but there are enough differences from Barry’s origin for it not to frustrate me. But the name “Kid Flash” and the fact that his first costume was literally identical to Barry’s just feel incredibly lazy. Barry and Wally do have an adorable dynamic in the issue, though, so it’s by no means all bad.

4. Barry Allen waiting an entire year after his marriage to tell his wife that he’s really the Flash. Frustrating and unnecessary; especially since Joan Garrick had been in on her husband’s secret since the 1940s.

5. Iris Allen is FROM THE FUTURE. I both love and hate this idea. It’s so perfectly comic-booky, but at the same time, it opened the floodgates for the Allen family being a confusing, time-displaced mess.

6. The Trial of Barry Allen. This one’s weird. I like many of the individual issues in this arc, and I actually think the last two issues are really great as an ending for Barry Allen’s original run, but this storyline dragged on for waaaaaay too long. There’s a reason I call it the Arc that Never Ends. Also, the titular trial is actually the least interesting part of the entire storyline. His battles with the Rogues and Kadabra are far more interesting.

7. Wally West’s borderline creepy, chauvinistic attitude towards women under Mike Baron (and, to a much lesser extent, William Messner-Loebs). There’s being a hormonal twenty-something, and then there’s going through girlfriends at the rate other people change their socks. Messner-Loebs mostly avoided this issue by making it clear that Wally was under intense psychological stress that was negatively impacting his behavior, but under Baron and in some of his JLE appearances, he comes across as a real creep around women.

8. Kadabra overkill under Mark Waid: I like Kadabra, but when he’s the main villain in like four distinct arcs, it gets to be a bit much. It’s like modern Eobard. He is legitimately written well, though, so he doesn’t drag down any of the stories too much.

9. Pointlessly Dead Rogues: Killing off the Rogues in Underworld Unleashed for no good reason (the rest of the story is great, especially the Trickster).

10. Pointlessly Dead Rogues 2: Electric Boogaloo: The Golden Glider’s pointless death to build up a character who was himself killed two issues later. (The rest of the story is decent.) Also, the treatment of Lisa in general post-Crisis is frustrating, since she becomes considerably more unhinged than she was before.

11. Any time Waid tried to write McCulloch, with the exception of Flash vol. 2 #105 (and even there, he seemed off). It’s like he forgot Evan wasn’t Sam.

12. Apparently, the Top trying to blow up both Central City and half the world makes him a loser? Also, he suddenly hates Piper for no readily apparent reason. (At least the story had some good Piper and Wally bits.)

13. BARRY ALLEN HAS A SECRET EVIL TWIN! DUN DUN DUN! (The rest of the story, where we get to meet a whole whack of interesting future Flashes, is actually pretty good, but whoo boy, the Malcolm reveal feels like it came straight out of a soap opera.)

14. In order for Captain Cold to ANGST, the Golden Glider’s pointless death remained in place for over ten years. It did give us a really, really good Capt. Cold story, at least...but it’s still fridging.

15. Rainbow Raider’s mean-spirited murder by Blacksmith. Poor Roy.

16. Albert Desmond becomes Hannibal Lecter, only twenty times as rude, for a Gotham Central arc that would’ve been terrific without him as the main villain.

17. Owen Mercer is an idiotic child murderer and gets killed by the Rogues. Why was this necessary? (The rest of Blackest Night: The Flash is pretty good.)

18. Josh Jackam-Mardon’s murder. The murder of small children for shock value is pretty gross. Especially since nothing was ever really done with it.

19. Barry’s PARENTS ARE DEEEEAAAAD! (Okay, it’s really just his mom, but still. This is a very frustrating retcon, since originally his parents were alive and well until after his own death.)

20. Albert Desmond was Barry’s jerk coworker; which never impacted the plot or led to anything. As a result, it’s just another frustrating retcon.

21. Sam Scudder murdered someone before becoming the Mirror Master. Yet another Johns retcon that never went anywhere and only serves to darken the Silver and Bronze Age stories after the fact.

22. Flashpoint (a decent story) wiped out a whole bunch of characters I really liked from existence for several years. Evan McCulloch’s still not back.

23. Giving the Rogues metahuman powers doesn’t suit them, on the whole. They work better without them.

24. Roy’s second pointless, brutal death in (I think) Forever Evil.

25. IT WAS MEEEEE, BARRY! After serving as the main villain for like six arcs in eight years, I’m glad that Eobard finally seems to be getting a rest. The level of bad things he was responsible for was getting ridiculous.

26. Sam/Lisa. WHY? (The only time it even kind of worked was in Forever Evil.)

In terms of entire storylines I didn’t like:

1. The Flash: The Most Terribly Written Man Alive. Poor Bart is aged up with no adequate explanation, loses all the traits that made him a likeable character, fights some awful villains, and then is murdered by the badly OOC Rogues. Meanwhile, Inertia goes from an at least somewhat sympathetic villain to a complete psychopath with little explanation, a murder is retconned into one of Captain Cold’s reformed periods, the Pied Piper and the Trickster completely forget that they’re supposed to be reformed, Abra Kadabra inexplicably teams up with the Rogues despite generally being a solo operative, and all of the Rogues act like total morons, willingly following a teenage speedster for no adequately explained reason. UGH.

2. Countdown to Infinite Crisis: Even though Piper and Trickster were probably the best part of Countdown, that isn’t saying much. Both of them are uncharacteristically stupid (especially James), and James is a grade-A jerk to Piper for no reason. Also, both of them continue to forget that they reformed, and then James gets brutally murdered and Piper almost loses his mind. Also, the other Rogues cameo, and continue to act like idiots. Countdown: it really does ruin everything it touches.

Superboy Prime will kill you! He’ll kill you to DEATH! And after you read Countdown, you’ll wish he had killed you to death.

3. The Identity Crisis Tie-In Retcon: So, you know all that awesome character development the Rogues have had over the years? Well, forget all that, because it was all just Roscoe brainwashing them! Which was something he could definitely do before this story! And why did he do this? Why, because Barry Allen, one of the most upstanding men in the DCU, brainwashed him! Also, apparently, the Top had a huge bodycount that we never heard about back in the Bronze Age, because we need even MORE grimdark retcons for our cheerful Silver/Bronze Age history! I like Geoff Johns’ work, I really do....but BOY HOWDY does he need to lay off on the retcons sometimes.

4. Identity Crisis: With the exception of Owen’s introduction and the establishment of the relationship between him and Digger, this story was pretty awful all around. More specifically, as far as the Flash was concerned, it was responsible for Digger’s second pointless death. It also killed off poor Jack Drake and poor, mistreated Sue Dibney, who deserved MUCH better. And the Justice League, including Barry, are A-OK with brainwashing, apparently. Comics are fun!

These last two stories are pretty recent, and they did have some parts I liked, but on the whole I felt they also belonged on the list.

5. The Trickster finally returns! Hurrah! Except it turns out that he’s way more like the Joker now than he ever was before, and he mind-controls the city in a super-creepy way. A very disappointing return for the character, especially since it was set up really well.

6. Forever Evil: Captain Cold becomes a murderous dictator with a stupid Santa Beard, all of the Rogues get horrible costumes, and Sam completes his mutation into Evan-in-all-but-name. There are some good characters bits in the story (even for Cold), but on the whole, I found the story to just be unlikeable and depressing and thought Cold was pretty out-of-character. Poor Commander Cold....

So, what are your least favorite Flash storylines and plot ideas?

#flash comics #flash rogues #dc comics

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sunhwa-sunshine · 3 years ago

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Tell us more about your oc!! Do they have a wild backstory like the other survivors 👀

YEA lmao she does! her backstory is below the cut cos it's soo long but some fun facts about her:

she pretended to know how to use a gun for like the first bunch of weeks on the island so she could come along on the adventures into the jungle and when the occasion arose that she actually had to shoot she made a silly fool of herself

she vaguely knew desmond pre-island through theatre stuff but can't remember his name and he can't remember hers so when they see each other for the first time they just look at each other like :| trying to remember

shes a locke rights activist because she is a teensy bit delusional (medically) nd she believes in divine paths and everything and also she father figured him early on and can't unfatherfigure him BUT she has a mad rivalry with boone because she called him out whenever he said something cruel to shannon so season one is just locke going through the jungle like this :) and her and boone following him glaring at each other like this >:|

gets left out of soo much of the plot because she will not shut up and can't keep a secret. 3 people will have died and 5 major plot points happen and she is oblivious. like in later seasons that changes she sticks along for more stuff but in season 2?? season 3?? girl she has no idea

i love her <3

she grew up in dublin w/ her mum and dad mostly hanging about at her mum's tiny lebanese restaurant. her mum and dad split when she was 12 & they basically let her pick who she wanted to stay with. she picked her dad because he was the more 'fun' parent but he was one of those dads who would make a really cool friend but a really bad dad. they moved to london and he did sound engineering for loads of underground shows in scummy venues and mo just sort of hung around. got into drugs & alcohol at a pretty young age and even played drums in a really shitty and short-lived band for a bit. this is the origin of her silly little wig because she wore it as part of her stage get up and then just liked it as a fashion statement later.

she tried uni for a year and a half (by this point she and her dad barely talked) and got really into theatre where she became an acquaintance of desmond (who did sets for uni productions before doing sets for rsc) but they never got close. then her grades were too shit to keep doing school and she hopped down to first NZ then australia so they'd have a hard time tracking her down to make her pay her school bills lmaooo. when she moved she changed her name and started going by mo.

she found various and silly ways to make money in australia including but not limited to: sinead o'connor tribute act in pubs, tour guide, very brief stint as an aquarium janitor, fast food cook, and so on. also it feels worth mentioning that she never got a drivers' license and she literally uses her fake ID she got when she was underage as her drivers' license. but she only speeds when no one's looking so no one has pulled her over.

over the few years she's there she basically comes to terms with the fact that she needs to go see her mom again and apologise for not trying to keep in touch at all. like she didn't answer any of her mum's calls or write any letters back since she left. because as a kid she had a really rough relationship w/ her mum which is why she left but it was genuinely not her mum's fault and it took her 10 years to realise that and come around to the fact she has to try and reach out and make things right.

she went through all this to track her mum down without actually reaching out at all and found she had moved to the US and went to school to become an anesthesiologist and was working at a hospital in LA. then she got wet feet about reaching out because she is a coward.

in a pub in sydney right she has a drunken talk w/ another woman at the bar - ana lucia - who was going to try and rebuild a relationship with HER mum and was learning to accept help/love from her mum and mo went huh. yeah i need to go do this. and she buys a ticket, ends up on the same flight as ana lucia, and the rest is history

if u wanna know more about her on-island life lmk!! i love talking about her and i have not said anything about her for so long omg

#mo rufus #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING ABOUT HERRRR AUAOUH #she is just my silly little blorbo. to coin a phrase.#lost show #asks #anon

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silvysartfulness · 3 years ago

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Omg I saw that you used to write for the assassin’s creed fandom and honestly what a throwback 😭 are they on livejournal?

Aahhh, this is the part where I have to admit, I don't think I ever put any of those drabbles online! It was more a fun thing me and wife used to do, writing very very short 5 minute one-shots based on single word-prompts.

Oh, wait! Apparently I actually still have them, in an old folder of mine! Will post under a cut. These are AC 1-3-brotherhood, primarily focused on the latter.

La Volpe/Cesare post the fall of the Borgia was my main rarepair ship in that fandom, so that's the main (if occasionally only implied) focus for a lot of these. (CW some dubcon/non-con under the cut, so be warned.) 😊

1 Unwillingness

It goes against everything he is, a greater challenge than any battlefield taken on. Snarling, eyes blazing his defiance, Cesare submits for now.

2 Memento

”Something to remember me by,” murmurs Volpe softly against the sensitive skin of his neck, and it's all Cesare can do not to yelp as those vicious teeth leave a bleeding gash in his ear.

3 Baseline

He still doesn't trust Machiavelli, Volpe muses, and it's equally clear Machiavelli doesn't trust him. Perhaps their shared love of secrecy is the one dependent thing about their relationship.

4 Sniper

He has shot guards from rooftops, towers, horseback, beams and the treacherous crumbling tops of ancient stone pillars. So why was it, muses Ezio afterward, that he hadn't even thought of pulling crossbow or gun out as his sworn enemies held their short council in the courtyard a few measly yards below his feet?

5 Birthplace

It is in Masyaf the order of Assassins was born into what it is now. Searching for answers Ezio sets out on the longest journey of his life, back to the beginning of all.

6 Denunciation

It is hard to remember what it was like to have faith, Cesare thinks, but easy to remember when it was lost. What God could ever work through the instrument that was Alexander VI, his father?

7 Distaste

”Volpe, you didn't!” Ezio exclaims, his face a mask of distaste. Volpe smirks.

”Oh, it was not at all bad. Cesare is well trained.”

Ezio shudders. ”That is exactly what bothers me!”

8 Elimination

Constantly, frustratingly one step behind, it is little Cesare can do as his allies are meticulously taken out by the Assassins one by one. And yet it is not until the last of those on his side willingly turn their backs on him that he realizes this battle is lost.

9 Bluntness

”You can do as I say,” says the master thief matter-of-factly, turning the vial of antidote over in his spindly fingers, ”or you can spend the night dying slowly while vomiting your innards all over the floor. The choice is yours.”

Pale with fury Cesare chooses to live.

10 Turf

The Assassins had been myth, legend, bed-time stories to frighten a young boy already afraid of the dark. But as they dealt an all but deadly blow to his father inside the Vatican itself, Cesare grimly declares war. Roma is his city, and all who oppose his rule must be swiftly and mercilessly dealt with.

11 Assassination

He burns for the ideals, fights the fight with passion and utter devotion. But when Shaun's shaking hands lower the suddenly impossibly heavy gun he knows something he'dnever even thought about (Innocence? Compassion? Humanity?) has perished as surely as that very first body at his feet.

12 Apprentice

He remembers a gangly youth skidding across slippery roof tiles, trying so hard to keep up and even harder to hide his inability to do so. La Volpe silently studies Il Mentore and considers he's no longer sure who would lead the way across the rooftops.

13 Debris

Ezio swears as the ceiling collapses over the bed he shared with Caterina until moments ago – his armor and weapons are buried in the rubble and will be hard to replace. He does not yet know they will be the least of his losses this day.

14 Scolding

Altaïr has never been one to accept blame or criticism for his actions, but something about the way Malik's not-there left arm twitches as to shake a not-there fist in his face as the man speaks makes him look away in hidden shame.

15 Torrent

The rain pours down over the city, making roofs and cobblestones alike wet and slippery. Volpe tugs his collar tighter around his shoulders against the biting cold and idly contemplates if a trip to the Castello would be worth the trouble.

16 Anchor

He cheats and steals and tells honeyed lies with the ease of a snake. But his eyes can be oceans and his touch velvet – sometimes Ezio wonders if his always restless, inspiration-ridden friend keeps Salai around just to remember what it's like to be human.

17 Truce

”It would be nice,” says Machiavelli evenly, ”if you would not so readily name yourself judge, jury and executioner the next time you fall victim to unfounded suspicion.”

”Fine,” mutters Volpe, frowning. ”It would be niceif you were not so secretive. And stop trying to steal my spies. Get your own.”

”Fine,” Machiavelli replies with a minute smirk.

Fellowship is knowing just when your brother-in-arms is lying.

18 Nook

There are many unknown and unseen hiding places among the rooftops of Florence. On his back, hair plastered against his face and hot breath against his ear, Giovanni concludes it's very handy that La Volpe always knows to find one when you need it.

19 Orgy

These parties are more to his father's tastes than his his, Cesare firmly tells himself, perhaps letting his eyes linger thoughtfully on the multitude of courtesans a moment longer than intended. Then a familiar slender hand grazes his thigh and he is reminded that the only person even close to matching his own schemes, cunning and skill is the woman on the throne next to his.

20 Scoff

”I spend all my time in the Animus,” Desmond frowns, ”Lucy's keeping an eye on Abstergo and Rebecca... hacks and stuff. What do youdo, really? Anyone could use, what, Google and Wikipedia?”

Shaun grins or at least bares his teeth.

”You mean Templar Central One and Two? No, it's called obtaining knowledge, Desmond - sifted like little gold nuggets of fact from the vast sands of ignorance you're so fond of burying your head in. Google can't help you there, I'm afraid.”

21 Scolding

At the time, Ezio always figured Giovanni's constant nagging and pleading with him to stay out of trouble was only the worrying of an overprotective father. Only later was he taught discretion was part of the ancient Assassin's creed. He never got very good at it, even so.

22 Bonfire

No-one is entirely sure why Julius II has tempered justice with mercy for now and opted for his enemy's imprisonment rather than death sentence. As far as la Volpe is concerned, the way Cesare goes pale whenever the topic is brought up is at least good for entertainment.

23 Nakedness

Being exposed holds no particular shame for him, but the walls and floor are freezing to the touch, draining precious warmth from his aching body. Now would be a prudent time for an accursed thief to show up with a blanket to bargain for.

24 Arbiter

It was funny, Machiavelli drily noted in his notebook, how God and Divine Justice so often were on the side of the biggest army with the sharpest swords.

25 Purgatory

The land burns, smoke choking the sky and tinting the sun a sickly shade of blood. It is with a cold and unfamiliar sense of foreboding Cesare hurries through the flames toward the towering walls of the fortress to escape this hell on earth – one way or another.

26 Fingernail

Ezio has more than his fair share of scars adorning his hardened body, some remembered more fondly than others. He would never dream to ask Caterina to trim her nails, or use them just a touch more carefully.

27 Slavery

The Creed dictates freedom of thought, and in his reckless youth Altaïr would use it as justification for any rash impulse. But the older he grows, the more he comes to realize freedom and all its crushing responsibility can be the harshest master of all.

28 Carnivore

When confronted on his nasty habit of biting, Volpe only grins and quips something about foxes and their nature. Cesare is tempted to snap he's often seen dirty foxes prowling the back streets for garbage, but can see where Volpe would go with that, and so holds his tongue.

29 Bluntness

Ezio is too flustered after his mother's blunt request he find other outlets than vaginas to realize the enthusiastic young artist at his side seems more than eager to offer a few suggestions on the particular subject.

30 Vow

He will live, Cesare vows. He will live, he will regain his freedom, his power and his army. At any cost. And then they will. All. Pay.

31 Blending

It was simply not fair, thought Machiavelli, that no matter how solid your acting, no matter how meticulousyour disguise, Volpe would immediately spot you in a crowd and grin at you. Clearly spying on the sly old fox called for more cunning means, he conceded as he made his way to the Rosa to shamelessly bribe Claudia for information.

32 Misconduct

“Not that we are in any particular hurry to the Castello,” Orsini says, the knuckles of his war-gauntlet quite pleasantly buried in Cesare's face, “but things would just be easier all around if you would stop squirming and came quietly.”

33 Ultimatum

“If you don't stop hogging my mp3-player,” Rebecca whispers softly in Shaun's ear, “I'll tell Lucy exactly whatyou and Desmond used her yoghurts for last night.”

34 Takeover

“Stop!” Lucrezia commands as the soldiers feed the paintings to the fire – already the image of a swan is crackling and fading to black amongst the flames. Such a waste of beauty. She hasn't even realized Cesare is standing behind her, fierce and bloodied after the battle, until he speaks.

“You like them?”

She nods, and he touches her cheek with a smile, careful not to stain her hair.

“Then they are yours. A memento of the day the Assassini fell.”

35 Afterlife

“I blame you for this,” says Cesare flatly as the imps re-heat the lake of boiling tar. Again. “There is no God, you said. No heaven and no hell, you said. Stupid old bastard.”

Rodrigo mutters something about Hell being other people, but will have to concede that in this trifling matter, yes, he was mistaken.

36 Distaste

He would rather be hated than forgotten, Cesare sullenly thinks, rubbing his stiff hands for warmth. Bony, filthy, with the matted long hair of a hermit falling into his face, he has to settle for the guards' contempt. At least it's better than pity.

37 Slavery

He isn't really paid, Leonardo thinks, merely kept alive, yes. Not really compensated as such. And so the construction of the intricate war-machines is really on the consciences of his masters, not his. Sting of guilt quenched he returns to the blueprints with renewed fevered enthusiasm.

38 Probation

“What's the catch”, asks Cesare with deepest suspicion.

“No catch,” Volpe assures, looking innocent. “Just a reward for your recent good behaviour. Keep it up and there may a meal and a hot bath in it for you, too.”

Cesare does not for a moment believe they are just going out 'to stretch their legs', but a meal does sound inviting. He follows.

39 Adversity

Ezio strongly disapproved of the idea of his little sister taking over the Rosa in Fiore, and he frankly can't say whether he is more disappointed or proud when it flourishes under her care.

40 Bluntness

“You are a thief,” Machiavelli growls, piqued into a rare display of anger. “A liar and a cheat and an honourless thief!”

Volpe grins.

“All those things. And I'm still better than you.”

41 Scheming

Ezio gave the Apple to Mario, who had it stolen by Cesare, who gave it to Leonardo, who found it plucked out of his helpless hands by the Pope and his daughter. He ponders life was easier when he was just a painter. The Apple is a thing of awe, but the intrigues in its wake make his head hurt.

42 Favorite

It wasn't that Cesare particularly hated his older brother. It was just that while he no longer childishly sought his father's approval, the position as the Pope's favorite son came with several practical perks. Unfortunately for Juan, that meant he simply had to go.

43 Truce

When things are civilized, they can be bearable, almost even pleasant. The food is good, the wine plentiful, and Volpe's skilled fingers all but gentle. An unspoken truce, no matter how temporary. But neither man ever forgets the truth, which is war.

44 Scour

They answer to no-one, self-proclaimed executioners beyond all law. Too much blood on their hands now. Just before sunrise Cesare gives the command to attack. The cleansing of Monteriggioni has begun.

45 Extrovert

To hold his own council and play his cards close to his heart has always been his way, and he knowshe is a master at his game. And yet, Machiavelli can grudgingly admit to himself, it isn't until the boisterous chaos in human guise that is Ezio bursts in on the Roman scene that he begins to see how they will win this war.

46 Protagonist

“I will avenge the cowardly, treacherous plot against my father,” he thinks. “I will root out all those involved, every single one, and I will kill them and all they stand for.”

No-one ever sets out to be a hero, only to do what is right.

For Cesare, the path ahead is clear.

47 Willpower

It is never easy. Every time Altaïr visits his (his!) bureau in Jerusalem, Malik has to struggle with himself not to slay the man in his sleep. On many a moonlit night, only a lifetime of discipline stays the blade in his white-knuckled hand.

But strangely, it does get easier over time.

48 Esacalation

At first it had been mere proof of his ability to go anywhere in Roma as well he pleased, the taunting and impotent rage in response a given bonus. After some time, forced still-furious intimacy gained through blackmail had appeared a logical step. Then force turned out redundant. As Cesare clings to him, nails biting into his arms and teeth bared with need, Volpe admits to himself he would never have suspected the caged Borgia would so willingly use him to sate his desires – nor the other way around.

49 Torrent

Raw grief fades over time, a broken heart healed into a dull ache. The thing that keeps Claudia from sleeping at night is not all she has lost, but her screaming frustration at not being able to take her fate, and that of those responsible, into her own hands.

50 Danger

The peaceful life he had envisioned just the evening before will have to wait, Ezio grimly decides, pressing a hand to his wounded shoulder and focusing on not falling off his horse. And despite the shock, grief and pain, it somehow feels right. He has lived this life so long, he isn't sure he remembers how not to.

51 Splattering

Leonardo likes to buy birds at the market and set them free, watching with dreaming eyes as they take to the endless sky. Once, Ezio surprises his friend with twenty white doves. Much belatedly he wishes he'd remembered that stressed pigeons prefer to lighten their load before taking off.

52 Ramification

“It is time you take responsibility for your actions,” Rodrigo snarls, and Cesare struggles with the impulse to scream, childishly, “But father, younever did!”

53 Concession

“I'm not sure we should...”

Lover and Thief, silhouettes in the dark, alone. A light touch.

“Come now. It will be good, I promise.”

“But, what if...”

“Ssh. Are we not both Assassins? Everything is permitted.”

His honed thief's nerves tingling with foreboding warnings, La Volpe allows Claudia to persuade him in the end, knowing Ezio will probably kill him, and that it will no doubt be worth it.

54 Leer

You can't even seehis face in the shadows beneath the cowl. And yet, Volpe just standing there outside the bars, nonchalantly leaning one hand against the wall, makes Cesare want to scream. Or punch him hard. Preferably both.

55 Whisper

Ezio reflects that there are few other voices he would instantly recognize by just a short, urgent uttering of his name. His hesitation to turn around stems not from uncertainty, but the childish wish to postpone the trial of his oldest friend's rumored treason just a few moments longer.

56 Absurdity

At first Ezio had felt confused, then worried and finally terrified. But as they've fled Florence and the man introducing himself as uncle Mario tells him that his family belongs to an ancient clan of legendary assassins, relief washes over him. Finally is clear it has all been an insane dream. He can't wait to wake up.

57 Experimentation

Leonardo da Vinci is a true genius, his brilliant mind always seeing the world through a lens of wonder. Nothing escapes his never-sated curiosity – but that a small poseable wooden mannequin could be used like that? Cesare is a man not easily impressed, but will have to admit the artist rarely fails to amaze.

58 Farewell

It is with uncharacteristic kindness Volpe kisses him, between shared gasps for air after their final tryst. A last goodbye before the approaching dawn will see Cesare on his way to exile in Spain.

”Growing sentimental, old fox?” the younger man scoffs at him. ”No need. I shall return soon enough, and repaint the walls of Roma with Assassin blood.”

Volpe just smiles. He has already helped Ezio prepare his own journey and knows with certainty that Cesare will never again return to Rome.

59 Turf

”Maybe Giovanni could get away with doing paperwork all day over in Florence,” Mario says, and his tone clearly states what he thinks about his brother's choice. ”But arround here we train Assassins, not accountants or delivery boys.”

Ezio's body has never ached as much in his life as it does after his first day of training with his uncle.

60 Smoothness

When she smiles her deep red lips are like tantalizing rose petals, framed by sun-ray golden hair. She is smooth, flawless, perfect. But every rose has its thorns, and Lucrezia's are laden with poison.

61 Kneeling

Every fiber of Ezio's body strains desperately to regain control as he jerks like a puppet on golden strings of light.

”You are lucky,” breathes Rodrigo in a low, husky growls, leaning hard on the staff after the battle, ”So verylucky, little Assassin, that I am in a hurry.”

As the dagger sinks into his guts, Ezio briefly thinks that indeed, it could have been so much worse.

62 Purgatory

The imps don't know whether to feel amused or put out that the screaming, flailing argument between father and son has by now escalated to the point they don't even seem to register the lake of boiling tar anymore. A bit of respect for good solid workmanship, is that too much to ask?

63 Lick

It has to be said in favour of Machiavelli's assassin reflexes that the unexpected lick at his ear out of the dark earns Volpe neither a jump or a shriek but a rapid fist to the nose.

Only half an hour later, safely home in his bedroom, does Niccolo allow himself to contemplate what might have otherwise transpired.

64 Bonfire

It is a sad thing, reflects Ezio in hindsight, older, wiser, that compared to all the priceless art and knowledge fed to fire during Savonarola's mad reign of Florence, the mere loss of a human life that ended it is remembered with little sense of loss or revulsion.

65 Last

After Mario's death, Ezio has felt the weight of being the last Auditore Assassin ever heavier on his shoulders. But as he watches Claudia fearlessly take her leap of faith, he wonders how he could ever have been blind enough to think himself alone.

66 Well

The guards in hot pursuit yell and stab at wells, haystacks and dark alleyways. From his perch on a rooftop Ezio smiles. He always did prefer to take to the sky.

67 Wrongdoer

As his support falters and the opposition grows ever bolder, Cesare becomes increasingly frustrated with their attacks and accusations. He would prefer to answer only for his own sins, not those of his dead father.

68 Deliberate

It really is getting unnerving, decides Machiavelli, the way Volpe has taken up the habit of commenting on his every observation with a frosty ”Indeed” or ”Yes, quitethe coincidence”. He wishes he could believe the man isn't doing it on purpose.

69 Counter

When he first arrives in Jerusalem, Altaïr can't quite shake the feeling that the only thing between him and certain death is a rather narrow, map-strewn desk.

70 Bribe

Cesare has always been good at striking a profitable bargain. Unfortunately Borgia as a currency is bitterly deflated, and these days he often have to sell himself too cheap for comfort. Even though it isa warm, snug blanket.

71 Chess

Cesare knows he is a brilliant strategist – not so much because of the expected praise from his subordinates as from the satisfactory number of pins currently adorning his map of Italy. He would like to believe himself modest in this, careful not allow hubris to cheat him of a victory. And yet he never knows whether to frown or laugh helplessly as the absent-minded artist all but appologetically check-mates his king time and time and time again.

72 Feel

Leonardo never knows how to feel when Cesare enters the room. At first he is apprehensive, but as weeks turn into months and he realizes he's not only allowed but encouraged to dream up grander designs than ever before he is thrilled.

In the end, seeing the Assassins' plans put into motion long before Cesare even knows the final battle has begun, he can only avert his eyes in regret.

73 Mister

”Outside the kingdom of God is the realm of men,” Salai says, leaning just an inch too close. ”You worship there, Messere?”

Only years of training his clueless look on Leonardo helps Ezio keep a straight face as he blankly waves for the boy to follow him.

74 Fine

There are simply too many guards around for a discreet kill, so Ezio grudlingly counts the florins and hands them over. How was heto know he wasn't allowed to park his horse there? Time to liberate another stable from its Borgia-tower shadow, he decides. Burning them all down is easier than keeping track of territories anyway.

75 Dog

If La Volpe is the fox and Ezio the bird of prey, Pantasilea ponders, then Bartolomeo reminds her of a large, lumbering dog. Faithful and loyal unto death, but with a booming bark and a vicious bite for those who threaten those dear to him.

76 Forgotten

When Volpe appears he is the first person Cesare has seen in days. He greets the thief with his usual brazen curses, careful not to let any trace of relief shine through. Of all things he is most afraid to be left alone to die; not slain out of hatred or need, but simply ignored and forgotten.

77 Changed

Had Ezio been the kind of man to think upon such things, he might have noticed the Cesare facing him atop the towering walls is not the self-assured young general he met a handful years previous in Roma. Tired-looking and hunched over he looks defeated even before the battle has begun. But Ezio is here for one single purpose alone, and has never been the kind of man to think of such things anyway.

78 Gondola

Antonio assures Leonardo that only from an extensive tour with his private gondola will the artist truly get to know his new home town. As it happens, a rocky two-hour boat ride later, Leonardo still hasn't really seen much of the city. But that's quite alright, as he happily agrees to repeat the endeavour soon again.

79 Casino

It never hurts to try to win Fortuna's favour when gambling is one of your favorite pastimes, Salai knows, but in this particular case divine intervention is quite a bit closer at hand. As long as you have La Volpe's favor, the dice at the Sleeping Fox will never let you down.

80 Soup

The first bowl of watery gruel ends up thrown in the guard's face with enough force to break his nose. The next morning the second splinters against the wall. Nearly a week passes before he forces himself to eat the fifth, to preserve his strength.

Cesare closes his eyes as he quickly raises the bowl to his face to wolf down the hundredth, before the reflection in the dull surface can show him what he has become.

81 Carrot

”Tell you what,” murmurs Volpe in the starving prisoner's ear, dangling the vegetable in front of his face, ”If you give me a good enough show I'll even let you keep it for supper when you're done.”

82 Madame

Volpe has to admit himself impressed – Claudia is shrewd, ruthless and horrifyingly practical, and stillmanages to be praised a good businesswoman rather than cursed a thief.

83 Kilt

Yes, Ezio decides as he flexes his body inside the unfamiliar weight of Romulus' armour, there is definitely a draft around his nether regions. Whatever the old Romans may have thought, a skirt of leather belts does notconstitute proper clothing.

After some swearing and creative arranging of his spare cloak he considers it may well look even moreof a skirt, but at least this cut preserves his manly dignity when he jumps.

84 Theft

He has stolen valuables, information, people and lives. La Volpe draws in a deep breath as he surveys Roma in the first light of morning, then exhales in satisfaction. She is the greatest city in the world, and she is all his for the taking.

#asksilvy #blast from the past

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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years ago

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Retrospective Review: Dalton and Brosnan Bond Era

So finally I am at the era of Bond films that I know a bit more of. I had not seen The Living Daylights or License to Kill in their entirety before, but I had seen all 4 Brosnan movies. He was the Bond I knew first before I saw Casino Royale. But I was looking forward to seeing Dalton's Bond movies because I had heard they were more serious and grounded.

For me, the both the Dalton films are really solid Bond movies. They are a refreshing break from what the Roger Moore had become towards the end. Not to mention, Dalton actually looks like he's in the type of shape and age to be a secret agent, running from country to country. The Living Daylights is good. There is immediately a more grounded story of espionage. But the better Dalton movie imo is License to Kill. Which is the revenge movie that we never got after Tracy Bond's death. License to Kill is really good. There is less romantic entanglement because Bond is more focused on what he wants to accomplish. And there is a slightly unhinged edge to him. Plus, you can tell that the movie is going into some darker stuff compared to previous Bond movies.

When it comes to the Brosnan era, I have a bit of a bias since he was the first Bond I ever saw. I genuinely like 3 out of the 4 Brosnan movies. GoldenEye is arguably one of my favorite Bond movies. It is fast paced, it has a good villain, it moves away from the stereotypical cold war era Bond plot, the Bond girls are good, and the action is splendid. Its the best of the Brosnan era. Given its made by Martin Cambell who also made Casino Royale, it doesn't surprise me. I know people aren't necessarily big fans of Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, but I like both. Tomorrow Never Dies is really fast paced. There are some really solid action sequences, including a big bike chase which is quite fun. I actually liked the news mogul as villain idea. Its maybe more relevant now with the idea of 'fake news'. The World is Not Enough is more classical Bond. Its a more personal plot because M and Bond are more intricately involved with some of the players. Bond also has more of edge and is harsher in this movie which is actually pretty cool to watch. There is also a really disturbing element with the relationship between Renard and Elektra King which is also interesting. Die Another Day is unbelievably dumb for sure. To be fair, its fun in a dumb way but it goes into full blown science fiction with the whole idea of DNA being changed and a Korean man becoming a white british guy. Then there is the whole beam of sun villain plot. It is incredibly cartoonish. Its also the most effects heavy of the Bond movies and the effects have not aged well at all. The Brosnan era is one full of really cringey double entendres from Bond. In every movie, there are at least 4-5 and everyone of them is just so cringeworthy now but it seems that the writers were so proud of themselves when they wrote those lines.

The Bond girls across all these eras were a mixed bag to be sure. Kara Milovy, the Cellist from The Living Daylights is a bit on the dimmer side for sure. But there is some humor there because you see Dalton's Bond get really frustrated with her at times. Pam Bouvier is a pretty good Bond Girl because she is actually quite important to the story and plays an active role in rescuing Bond. Lupe is also not bad. In the Brosnan era, Natalya was pretty good. The romance between her and Bond wasn't really necessary and could have been taken out, but she is at least a competent person who is not dependent on Bond doing everything. We also get maybe the hottest side villain of all time in Famke Janssen's Xenia Onnatopp. I loved how sexually charged and batshit crazy she was. I had a crush on Teri Hatcher in the 90's when she was Lois so I always love seeing her even though she's there just to be killed off in TND. Michelle Yeoh was a badass even then. So she was cool. TWINE has the first Bond girl who is the main villain. I loved Sophie Marceu in that role of Elektra King because you are not sure how much to feel sorry for her in how her mind was warped by her trauma and how much to be a bit disgusted by her. Denise Richards on the other hand is perhaps the most hilarious piece of miscastings in a movie that I have seen. She is so completely wrong for the role that its almost entertaining to watch how bad she is. I would love to hear the casting director try and justify her casting for the role in any way other than to say that she is hot. Rosamund Pike and Halley Berry are probably the biggest names out of all the Bond girls. They have done much bigger and better things since but in Die Another Day, they are basically just there to fight each other and be bedded by Bond.

The villains are similarly a mixed bag. In The Living Daylights, the villains are nothing much to speak of. License to Kill has some good villains because Sanchez has some menace to him as does a young Benicio Del Toro as Dario. I think Sean Bean is one of the best Bond villains. Jonathan Pryce seemed to be having a ball in Tomorrow Never Dies. And I already mentioned that Marceu was damn good as Elektra. Renard is more the physical villain in TWINE but he feels more like a henchman for Elektra by the end. Gustav Graves is just completely ridiculous an a villain that just can't be taken seriously. He also wears a power rangers looking suit by the end of the movie which doesn't help.

One of the big plusses of the Brosnan era is the inspired casting of Judi Dench as M. She was so good that they kept her in the rebooted Craig era, despite a possibility of confusing the audience. M in the past was just a figure who gave Bond the mission and occasionally told him off. Judi Dench brings a personality and a weight to the character. She has a combative relationship with Bond but you still see that they share mutual respect, especially when you see where she admits that he's the best agent she has in TWINE. After the Roger Moore era, there was a refreshing in some cast such as Moneypenny which changed to Caroline Bliss under Dalton, and then to Samantha Bond under Brosnan. We also got the introduction to John Cleese as the new Q in the last two Brosnan films, taking over from Desmond Llewelyn. Robbie Coltraine has an entertaining supporting role in GoldenEye and TWINE. The Dalton era also saw the last use of Felix Leiter until the Craig era.

When it comes to the Bonds themselves, I think Dalton is extremely underrated. I think he is a precursor in spirit to Craig's Bond. I love the darker edge to his Bond. He gets angry and frustrated. It humanizes his Bond so we see he's not a superhero. He doesn't have the suaveness and charisma of a Moore or Connery but he has the physicality for it. He sells the action scenes far more than Moore did. He is really good in License to Kill which played to Dalton's strengths as an actor. Brosnan's portrayal split the difference between Moore and Dalton. He feels very much like a mixture of the two. He has the suaveness and charm to feel like the womanizing Bond, but he also brings out moments of anger and harshness. Even in the goofiness of Die Another Day, you always feel that Brosnan is giving it his all. I really like him particularly in GoldenEye and TWINE. I do feel both Dalton and Brosnan are underrated as Bond because they were both very good.

Anyways, now only the 4 Craig films, coupled wit No Time to Die. Not sure if I should do a restrospective on the 4 Craig Bond films and then do a separate one for No Time to Die or just include them all together to do a Craig era review since those films are so interlinked.

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dragonoffantasyandreality · 4 years ago

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Kamen Rider Thunderbirds Chapter 3 (Bit 5 End)

Prologue, Bit 1, Bit 2 Updated, Bit 3, Bit 4

Finaaaly! I finished Chapter 3! :D

Big thank you for @janetm74 for the beta read, thank you @myladykayo for helping me through the story. Tagging @willow-salix, @katblu42, @gumnut-logic and @dreamycloud)

So let’s end this chapter, right? :)

-0-0-0-

“So you are saying that you’ve been attacked by some unknown monsters?” Jeff asked, his fingers gripping the paper. The bandaged up boys nodded.

“Yeah. And we believed it was a set up." Virgil pointed out.

"It seemed like deliberate sabotage by those… things, so we came in and fell into their trap." Scott theorized. He continued explaining: in fact, the way the fires started was suspicious, the flames appeared in random parts of the building, according to the recent investigations. And according to the testimonies of the rescuees who were trapped underground, the humanoid fire-monsters appeared out of nowhere and they are the ones who started the whole fires, and then… they were simply waiting. The field commander finished that the poor fellas acted as bait for the monsters to finish him and his brothers off.

"Long story short: they were after our heads apparently." Gordon concluded.

Their father had a look of extreme concern. To think those threats with impossible yet fantastic power to bring down a building were after his sons was very alarming and pose a threat to their lives and security. Here he thought that time where they had to save the world from a mind-controlling alien sphere was a close call!

"Thank heavens the Kamen Riders came and saved us!" Alan chirped, his ocean eyes sparkled like stars with memories.

"Yes. You guys are very lucky. And those rescuees as well." Agreed Jeff, "However, we don’t know if we could trust those bug-eyed warriors.”

“But dad! They saved us!” Argued the youngster, “They saved us from these creatures! I am pretty sure they are our allies! Friends even!”

"Alan! We don't even know who they are!" Pointed out Gordon.

The young blonde crossed his arms and gave the most dramatic pout. Jeff sighed, gently shaking his head with a slight sympathetic smile, “They may be on our side now, but we still don’t know what their intentions are. Especially when they got those… other-worldly powers. So take their alliance with caution.” he said sternly.

The brothers nodded in agreement, including Alan who simply cocked his head to the side. They did tell John about the whole thing, in which the middle brother had mixed feelings. Concerned, relieved and interested. But mostly worried.

After the debrief, the atmosphere was a lingering silent worry.

“Hey kiddo, don’t be upset.” Gordon smiled optimistically.

“You sure?” Huffed his youngest brother.

“Yeah. As much as I am suspicious about them, I am also curious.” his innocent smile turned into a cheeky smirk.

Alan’s grumpy face slowly transformed into that of an excited gremlin that the redhead knew and loved, “Alright! How about we go talk to Brains? See what he thinks of this rescue.”

Gordon grinned, “Right behind ya, Sprout!”

And soon enough, the terrible two vanished through the door of the lounge, their excited feet echoed through the halls.

“What do you think of the Kamen Riders, Scott?” asked Virgil, placing a gentle hand on his older brother’s shoulder.

Scott shrugged, “I don’t know.” He was mostly worried about those monsters. Those… things. What are they after? Why do they want International Rescue dead? Of course it was only one time, but what if they do it again? He was beginning to feel dread. Being possessed by an alien was bad enough, but almost getting burned alive by monstrous animal-headed gladiators with powers to control fire was out of the question!

“You know, I do have a hunch that our bug-eyed acquaintances are on our side.” admitted Virgil, “But, I also have a feeling that we’ll meet them again, considering the circumstances.”

Scott looked back at his brother. Sky blue meets earthly brown. There was a silent conversation. An understanding. And then a nod from the eldest brother. They sat there in compassionate silence.

The quiet must’ve been killing his brother, because all of the sudden the mechanic asked, “Say, would you like to play the piano again?”

“Why’s that?” Scott raised a brow.

“My fingers are sore from fixing the Mole in a rush back there.” Virgil smiled with a little embarrassment, as he revealed his bandaged hands.

Scott gently tapped his brother’s shoulder with a chuckle. He got up from the couch and walked over to Virgil’s beloved white piano. He sat on the stool once more, opened the lid and stretched his fingers, “What should I play?”

“Anything, I don’t mind.” His musical brother shrugged, standing beside him.

As Scott thought which song to play, his mind drifted back to the moment when he looked into the eyes of the golden Rider. It seemed to him that there was something warm behind those bug-eyes… something human. Scott wondered if there's a sensitive soul behind that mask.

Maybe it was just in his mind, maybe it was not true, but it made him relax. Pressing the keys, he began playing a familiar, jazzy beat as he remembered that moment. After a few repeats of the rhyme, he went to the main part of the song.

“Ah, my favorite! Take Five!" Jeff exclaimed, "Just like you guys.” he chuckled.

Scott smiled at his father as a response. There were some remnants of his stress, but it didn't bother him as much as he was in the morning. Jeff gave him a relieved nod before continuing doing paperwork, quietly humming and tapping his foot to the beat. Virgil smiled widely at his brother before humming as well and snapping his fingers along with the melody of the immortal piece of Paul Desmond.

Scott jumped into improvising like he was here to woo the girls at a party. As he was playing, he thought back of their victory. And his tension melted away. Outside the villa, the soothing music echoed through the beautiful nature of the island and into the night sky.

-0-0-0-

The moon shone in the night sky and the cold was a constant companion. The sounds of distant cars driving through the streets could be heard from the top of the skyscrapers. On one of them stood four figures, taking their time enjoying the view from above.

The Kamen Riders were resting after the heated fight. Gills was leaning on a wall next to the entrance, between his legs lay his loyal dog. G3-X was finishing writing a report of the fight on his custom laptop. Kuuga was laying on top of the entrance, admiring the stars. And Agito was standing near the railing, staring into the lights of the city.

"Oi, Agito!" called Kuuga all of a sudden. The golden Rider turned to his best friend.

"Nando(What is it)?" asked Agito.

"Why wouldn’t you come up here and watch the stars?” suggested the red Rider, "It's beautiful up there."

"How can you see stars from here?" objected G3-X, "Ya can't see Shiitake with all those slagging city lights!"

"They can see them through their visors," scoffed Gills, making the robocop Rider whistle a sound of realization before turning back to his computer.

Raider looked up and tilted his head as if trying to see them, but after a few moments he gave up as he put his canine head back to the ground.

Agito had taken a moment to stare at the city, then moved towards the entrance, climbed and sat next to Kuuga.

"Not too cold buddy?” the red Rider asked, only to receive a shake of the head from his golden companion. The two took a moment to appreciate the stars in the cold night sky. Few stars faintly glowed in the dark sky.

"Man, can't believe we just met with International Rescue in person!" excitedly said Kuuga, "I gotta say, they are quite tough guys, ne? Especially Noodle, he looks quite young!"

"Noodle?" asked the golden rider in confusion.

"The blond kid! The one I saved from falling into a ravine and returned the gun to?" Kuuga sensed Agito raising an eyebrow that cannot be seen from the cover of his mask. "We should give them nicknames. To… you know, to know who's who we're talking about?" He explained, shrugging.

A sparkle of mirth could be faintly seen behind the faceted eyes of his friend, a warm smile could be felt radiating from his breath. "Sure...But why the blond kid 'Noodle'?"

"Because his blonde hair reminded me of noodles. And to be honest, 'Noodle' sounds kawaii~! Don’t you think he looks kawaii, ne?” A big grin was radiating from behind the mask of the red Rider. Agito laughed wholeheartedly. Kuuga continued, "The auburn hair guy; I think we'll call him 'Kuma'! He looks so serious, strong and tough, like a bear! Remind me of someone…"

The golden Rider laughed again as he nodded. "So um… shall we call the leader 'Sky Eyes'?"

Kuuga rubbed his silver chin for a bit, "Hmm…the one who pilots that big-hyper-speedy-rocket-jet thingy? Why's that?" he asked.

"Because… his eyes reminded me of the sky...” The red Rider saw the sparkling human eyes behind Agito’s red bug-like lens. Kuuga nodded, agreeing that the name was well suited for the blue sashed commander.

"What about the redhead guy? What should we call him?" asked G3-X as he looked up at the two Riders, seemingly curious.

"Clownfish..." Gills dropped the answer. There was an awkward pause. "He smelled fishy..." He deadpanned. Everyone laughed, acknowledging his typical 'I don't care, deal with it' attitude as they accepted his answer.

"Noodle, Kuma, Sky Eyes and Clownfish. Sounds good for our mystery gang of rescuers!" Kuuga clapped and rubbed his hands excitingly

Agito chuckled softly before looking back at the stars once more. The more he stared at the little faint glistening lights, the more the made him think of sky… sky eyes… the man whose eyes were always drawn to the sky.

He felt a warm feeling as he remembered those cobalt irises. He wondered why he felt like that. He barely knows that man, let alone the fact that International Rescue seemed to keep themselves secret. Maybe he'll never know. But one thing for sure, they'll cross paths again. Because of those things...

Those kaijins… they were new. He had never seen them before. And they are as aggressive and dangerous as disasters. Agito… Yuuki sensed that whatever they were, they seemed to be after International Rescue. But for what? And why?

The answer will remain unknown, for now...

-tbc-

#Kamen Rider Thunderbirds series #kamen rider #thunderbirds #kamen rider fanfiction #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds 1965 #kamen rider agito #kamen rider kuuga #my fanfics #yay! I finished chapter 3! :D

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noobsomeexagerjunk · 4 years ago

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EPISODE 6 THOUGHTS

Interesting title choice, TCB

Donny is a furry out of desperation, huh

Jon Cozart is rocking the wolf wear though

Okay, I feel like the Dockweiler family is sworn not to talk about the wolves; Aubrey is trying way too hard to cover up what Paul and Artie have testified and seen

Madison can vouch, though arguably not Riley as she was clearly drunk during the encounter (and was hungover during the Election, according to Chapter 5)

What’s Agnes from leaving, now that I think about it? She could just forgo her position and role in the community, unless she had no choice in the matter

Vern is closing early out of paranoia

Riley really loves her guns

“Let’s hope not” Paul is convinced he’s been turned into a wolf, right?

Watch Helen’s ticketing be important lmao

The In Memoriam being a bunch of illustration boards makes me send

Also the events of Wayward Guide are canonically in 2018

Prism’s full name is Bethany Hurst

RITA WTF

Mary Jo is the real gossip starter and it shows

Quinn’s idea isn’t that bad actually

Riley is going hard on everyone and I do not like it

Good on Jerry to invite the wolves into Church

Ellis is not in the town hall meeting hmmmm; “That we have no secrets” my ass--I bet that scene with the florists is important

Barney was attacked, but he’s pro-mining though

Lmao I swear if Barney faked that shit--I wouldn’t blame him he’s literally running Connor Creek’s equivalent of the Mystery Shack

“I spent my whole life thinking it was true, and dang if I ain’t goin’ out the same way” watch this line become important lmao

He collapsed within the presence of the Town Doctor, so maybe he’ll be fine?

RIP egg

CRISPIN SPEAKS

People Who Were Not in the Town Hall Meeting:

Truman Hensley

Silas Torsen

Ellis Walker

Desmond Brewer

Vern Marrow

Helen Unger

Olivia Tompkins

Wallis Gale

Garmen Patrick Saget

I’ve italicized the people I’m suspicious of; most likely wolves, but one of these may have taken a part in attacking Barney:

Desmond - while he could be running the Dead Canary, a lot of business owners were in the meeting, including Quinn, so he has no reason to be missing; while Desmond has refused to engage in the politics of the town for mysterious reasons, he has been really benevolent not just to the twins but to all the patrons. Actually, have we ever seen him outside the Dead Canary?

Truman - She literally just got elected, so what reason would she have not to attend? Madison may have failed to show up during the election, but Truman failed to show up in the meeting’s first discussion of werewolves. Is she with Silas perhaps??? her chair is there and noticably empty

Ellis - as mentioned earlier, he reiterates in the first half of the ep that he has nothing to hide from Mary Jo--why isn’t he in the meeting? Based on Chapter 5, he is the one who found Artie’s recorder; though a renegade wolf wouldn’t actually try to record on it, so I believe he’s innocent

Olivia - All we see her do is get orders; why though? They seem weirdly personal and not for funerals. It’s also worth noting she’s representing the Conservative party in Connor Creek, which by that argument, implies Riley’s in the Liberal one; with the knowledge that Riley is pro-mining, this makes Olivia anti-mining

Vern - We just saw him close shop before town meeting! Why isn’t he in the town meeting? he seemed threatened by Paul and Artie’s interviewing, plus “Look, what do you want me to say, huh? That I’m a werewolf?! Are you happy now? Is that good for your story?” doesn’t exactly confirm or deny anything; he also seemed surprised at Riley’s plans for a wolf hunt. Vern represents the Liberal party in Connor Creek, according to Chapter 5, which would make him pro mining??? I mean, unless there is confirmation that the parties in question don’t actually represent the town’s opinions on Miner Mole, it would be weird to call Vern pro mining as he has been expressing anti mining sentiment in his introduction (ie his priority of quality over quantity, plus Artie approached him as though believing he was anti mining); point is that Vern’s political stances are blurry and therefore, so is his motive, if he’s a wolf who actually murdered

I don’t wanna sus out Silas because he hasn’t been attending the town hall meetings to begin with; he’d probably get info via Truman, who for some reason isn’t at the meeting

As for the other 3, they have jobs that involve surveillance; one or more of them may have seen/have a part in Barney’s attack but there’s less chance of suspicion since they are not expected to be at the meeting to begin with. Alsom Barney came running into Town Hall, implying the attack (if it is an attack) happened outside their watch

#wayward guide #wayward guide for the untrained eye #wgftue #wayward guide spoilers #wayward guide for the untrained eye spoilers #wgftue spoilers #tcb #tin can bros #tin can brothers

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michelles-garden-of-evil · 3 years ago

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Episode 46 Review: 2 Theories About Jean Paul, Erica, and the Locket

{ YouTube: 1 | 2 | 3 }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

In this great house on Maljardin, evil lives, even amongst the dead, and the poison this evil spreads threatens Erica Desmond, who lies frozen in this cryocapsule until the day a scientific miracle returns her to the living and back into the arms of her husband Jean Paul Desmond, who has defied powers real and imagined to assure his wife’s return from beyond the veiled curtain of death. Strange happenings are forcing a decision that could doom Erica Desmond...forever.

Hello and welcome back to my Garden of Evil, where today we will examine Jean Paul’s reaction to Dr. Alison Carr’s new discovery about her sister’s bloodied locket and two possible explanations of what it may say about Erica’s death and Jean Paul’s state of mind. I could do an entire recap of this episode if I wanted to, but I'd rather narrow the focus of this entry to the theories that have been floating around my head for a while (one since before I started this blog, in fact).

A brief summary of the important stuff that happens in this episode: Alison learns that the blood on the locket is human blood, type AB-, which leads her to conclude that it must be Erica’s, because both she and Erica have that rare blood type[1]. She also tests the poison found in the glass of wine that Holly drank from two episodes ago and finds that it’s not the missing cyanide, but an unknown poison of vegetable origin. Elizabeth defends herself to Matt, telling him that she has no motive to kill Holly, not even her inheritance--and, surprisingly, he believes her. And then Raxl and Quito steal the rabbit from Jean Paul’s room and stumble upon that wonderfully sinister skull, which will co-star with Jacques in Episode 47.

Jean Paul receives irrefutable proof that the locket found around the rabbit’s neck belonged to Erica.

Outside of those plot points, this episode focuses primarily on Jean Paul’s confusion over how a bloodied locket even ended up in the cryonics capsule with his beloved Erica to begin with. When Alison shows Jean Paul the blood sample under the microscope, he's skeptical at first and tries to convince her that she either bled on it or someone else somehow put her blood there to confuse him. I would say it boggles my mind how someone with an IQ of 187 like Jean Paul can conceive such a ridiculous theory, but, honestly, it doesn’t. The popularity of conspiracy theories and other misinformation in our time has convinced me that human beings of any intelligence level can trick themselves into believing anything, no matter how patently absurd, if they want to believe it enough.

Subtle Dark Shadows reference?

I can’t tell how much of the next part where Jean Paul continues speculating about the locket is actually in the script and how much is just a particularly bad line flub. Listening to his dialogue, it sounds like a combination of both, but it’s hard to tell given that the character is supposed to be very confused already. Here’s an exact transcription of what he says:

Jean Paul: "Well, maybe I-I-I put the necklace on her neck without realizing it. I perhaps didn't put it on her when I put it in the capsule. It could have happened that way very easily. You see, I had thought I had. You didn't see me do it, did you, Raxl?" Raxl: "No." Jean Paul: "Quito, did you?" Quito: *shakes head* Jean Paul: "Well, there you are. You see? She could have cut her finger a while before she died, and so the blood got on the locket, and maybe I put the locket in the, uh, dresser drawer, and it was left there, and in my grief I didn't know what I was doing and I gave her another piece of jewelry which I put around her neck. Don't you think that probably is what has happened?"

Vangie isn’t convinced of any of these theories, and neither is Raxl. The latter believes that the locket appeared because of evil, “slimy like a snake, ugly like a black rabbit.” (WTF? The rabbit is adorable!) Jean Paul accuses Vangie of suspecting him, but she insists she doesn’t. Of course, he doesn’t believe her and he takes out his anger by breaking Alison’s microscope in half, throwing it to the ground, and accusing Erica of mocking him.

In the next scene, he ruminates in his room over the likelihood that he killed Erica, intentionally or otherwise:

Could I have killed my Erica? Could I have slain my love? That's impossible! Oh, you would like it, Jacques Eloi des Mondes, my bloody murdering ancestor. If it was so, how you would rejoice! But then, if I didn't put the locket in the cryocapsule with Erica as I thought, what other things that I believe as facts--things which are part of my life and experience--may be no more than creeping, malicious, lying fancies? Perhaps I didn't love my Erica at all. Perhaps I hated her!

Jean Paul pondering whether he truly loved Erica.

Getting dramatic!

Later, while lying on his bed in shirtsleeves, he realizes that he genuinely loved her, but that his memory is still faulty:

Jean Paul: "I loved her. I remember how I loved her. There was no world but the world outside, and then there was another world and that was us. Oh, how I loved her, so good, so beautiful, but what happened at the end? I can't…was the necklace with Erica when she was sealed in the capsule? I can't remember."

But later on when he visits the Great Hall (inadvertently giving Raxl and Quito the opportunity to retrieve the Rabbit of Evil), Jacques torments him by implying that Jean Paul, like him, is a murderer. “Think there’s a chance you may have murdered your sweet Erica?” he asks. “That blood was very interesting, wasn’t it?”

Jacques hinting again that they’re the same man, or just that the apple doesn’t fall far from the proverbial tree? Or perhaps this is like that one line from Game of Thrones: “You can’t kill me, I’m a part of you now.”

Then we get this exchange which acts as a segue into the next scene:

Jacques: "So maybe you killed your little love before you put her in that tin coffin, hm? Maybe there is no pristine, pure body to revive. That's what's been on your mind all day, isn't it?" Jean Paul: "Even if it has been, I certainly wouldn't tell you." Jacques: "You can have no secrets from me, anyhow. You know, if you ever are thinking of murdering again…" Jean Paul: "I did not kill her!" Jacques: "All right!" *laughs* "But whether you did or not, you might want to kill someone else one of these days." Jean Paul: "Good night." Jacques: "All right, run away, but you might find an example of my skill nearer than you know and sooner than you think."

After he storms out of the Great Hall, Raxl and Quito return, the latter carrying the rabbit. Before they can sacrifice the rabbit in an effort to rid the house of its evil, it jumps from Quito’s arms. While trying to catch it, he bumps his head into a painting of mysterious ancestor Étienne des Mondes and knocks it off the wall, revealing a hidden cupboard with a skull swinging from a rope through its jaws.

We’ll discuss this skull in the review for next episode, where it becomes the focus. For the rest of this review, however, let us turn our attention to two possible interpretations of the Jean Paul and Jacques scenes in this episode. My theories are as follows:

Theory #1: Jean Paul killed Erica and is living in denial

Jean Paul’s reaction to learning that his deceased wife’s blood is on the locket and especially Jacques’ comments about it seem to imply that Dan Forrest’s theory about murder may not be a red herring after all as Ian Martin would have had us believe. Remember that, although Jacques is evil and Martin’s episodes portrayed him as the Father of Lies, he and Jean Paul may or may not be the same man. That could mean anything from Jean Paul having a split personality to Jacques having transported himself forward in time to live as Jean Paul Desmond before the events of Episode 1, but I’ll save those ideas for another essay. The point is that Jacques seems to know Jean Paul as well as he knows himself, and as such knows things about him that the other characters don’t.

It’s possible even that Jacques has observed and interacted with Jean Paul since long before Jean Paul freed him by removing the silver pin from the conjure doll’s temple. Think back to Jacques’ introductory scene in the pilot, where he responds to Jean Paul’s proclamation of “on this island, from this moment forward, I am God” with “bravo.” He could speak through the portrait and even give characters visions before Jean Paul freed him! Also think of all the things he’s referenced that a man from the 17th century wouldn’t be aware of: merry-go-rounds, bus time tables, the figurative expression “jack up by the bootstraps,” and whatnot. Assuming Jacques is a spirit like he claims, he’s been observing and learning things on Maljardin for a very long time! Sure, he looked confused about that fountain pen in Episode 4, but perhaps that was only because he hadn’t had a chance to practice using one before Jean Paul set him free. If Jean Paul killed Erica, Jacques would know about it and may even have encouraged it by communicating with him through the portrait. There’s no indication that the scene in the pilot is the first time he made contact with his descendant. It could be the second time, the fifth, the tenth, the thousandth, or more.

Also note that the exact cause of Erica’s death is never made clear. Jean Paul claims in Episode 5 that she died of eclampsia, but the Lost Episode summary for Episode 47 from the CBC program log indicates that Dr. Menkin’s missing notes would have eventually revealed her to have “died attempting to gain eternal youth.” The latter could have meant anything from plastic surgery complications to swallowing gold à la Diane de Poitiers. It’s not even clear if the attempt at eternal youth is truly the cause of her death, just what she was doing when she died. This leaves the possibility of homicide open.

But did Jean Paul (or Dr. Menkin) intentionally kill her, or could it have been an unpremeditated, spur-of-the-moment decision? I believe the latter is more likely. Jean Paul seems genuinely confused by her death, and even by whether he loved or hated her. It’s possible he already wasn’t in his right mind before her death and may even have blacked out during it (although probably not because of possession, as he had not yet freed Jacques). Perhaps the artificial intelligence hinted at by the reference to W. Grey Walter’s “Imitation of Life” factored into this: for example, the implant inside Erica’s brain may have malfunctioned, causing her to become violent and attack Jean Paul and/or Dr. Menkin.

SPOILER WARNING FOR THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961)

Another thing to consider: Strange Paradise shares many plot points in common with the Roger Corman/Vincent Price movie The Pit and the Pendulum. In the film, we have (1) a husband whose wife recently died under mysterious circumstances, (2) whom he comes to suspect he accidentally murdered. (3) His doctor is living at the castle with him, when (4) a sibling of his deceased wife comes to investigate her death. Among the ghostly happenings in the house, (5) a portrait of the wife is slashed. Finally, (6) the husband goes mad and (7) is possessed by an evil lookalike ancestor, in this case his father. While I don’t think that we can accurately predict planned revelations in Strange Paradise using the events of a film written by someone unaffiliated with the show’s production, it is interesting to note that Vincent Price’s character accidentally buried his wife alive. This connects to the events of Episode 44, where Erica’s spirit possesses Holly and tells them to “let [her] out,” although in Erica’s case it’s more likely that she’s just been resurrected from death instead of being buried alive.

END SPOILERS

Theory #2: Jean Paul is imagining things

Another possibility is that he didn't kill Erica and is using the new (apparent) evidence to construct a false memory of killing her. Although most of us like to think of memory as infallible, numerous studies have proven that it's anything but. This can occur on a collective level, such as the famous Mandela effect where, prior to Nelson Mandela's actual death in 2013, many people misremembered him as having died in the 1980s. More often, however, individual people remember false versions of events from their own lives.

In the late 20th century, numerous psychological studies identified the way that even changing small details of a story--changing a stop sign to a yield sign, for example, or adding the detail of broken glass to the story of an accident--could alter a subject's memory of it, creating a "misinformation effect." During one such study, researchers used a fake advertisement showing Bugs Bunny in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland to trick their subjects into believing that they could meet Bugs at the park (despite Bugs being a Warner Brothers character and Warner Brothers being affiliated instead with Six Flags). For 16 percent of the subjects, it worked, and they described further false memories of meeting Bugs at Disney, adding details like that they touched the ear of his costume[2].

Speaking of false memories of amusement parks, I swore for years that I remembered visiting a dinosaur theme park in the northern Ohio woods back in 1998 or 1999, when I was five or six. I never questioned whether the memory was real until one day when my family drove past a drive-through dinosaur exhibit and my dad said to my mom, "They didn't have anything like that when Michelle was a kid." Skeptical of his claim, I did some Googling and discovered that there was a dinosaur-themed park in the woods near Sandusky called the Prehistoric Forest that looked much like what I thought I remembered[3]. When I sent my parents the link to the article about the Prehistoric Forest, both of them denied ever taking me there or even having heard of the place. Nevertheless, I swear I've been there or somewhere very similar. I think the most likely explanation is that I dreamt about it, but that the memory of the dream was so vivid that I mistook it as one from my waking life.

Much as a researcher can convince their subjects to believe that Bugs Bunny appeared at Disney or I convinced myself that I had visited a place like the Prehistoric Forest, Jean Paul is capable of brainwashing himself into thinking that he murdered Erica. This isn't even the only time he speculates without clear evidence that he’s guilty of murder. We'll see something similar in Episode 137 regarding the murder of a different character, whom Jean Paul will successfully convince himself he killed despite hazy evidence at best.

Note that these two theories are not one hundred percent mutually exclusive. It’s entirely possible that Jean Paul killed Erica, but misremembered specific details about her death or how he felt about her. Also note that this show contains quite a few retcons, one of which we saw last episode. Just as the trajectory of this show has changed significantly from Ian Martin’s original plot, the truth about Erica Desmond’s fate is currently in flux within the show’s universe.

The contents of the secret compartment that Raxl and Quito discovered.

Coming up next: A delightfully chilling episode where Jacques uses the skull that Raxl and Quito found to further terrorize his guests.

{<-- Previous: Episode 45 || Next: Episode 47 -->}

Notes

[1] While rabbits can have type AB blood (or type ZY blood, using the system from this 1954 study) and they cannot tolerate injections of Rh-positive blood, they have different antibodies in their blood from those of humans.

[2] Elizabeth F. Loftus, "Memories of Things Unseen," in Current Directions in Psychological Science 13:4 (2004), pp. 145-146. There are other examples from other studies, including one involving false memories of witnessing a demonic possession, but the Bugs one is my personal favorite. Also, this period of Strange Paradise puts me in a rabbity mood.

[3] Coincidentally, the Prehistoric Forest's entrance appeared in the 1995 film Tommy Boy, which also featured Colin Fox and Pat Moffat (Irene Hatter) in supporting roles. There was also an animatronic dinosaur attraction at Sea World Ohio called Carnivore Park that operated in the late 1990s. Despite having visited that Sea World many times as a kid, I couldn’t have gone to that exhibit because we couldn’t afford to go there in 1998 or 1999.

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evalieena · 4 years ago

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35 Questions for Fanfiction Writers

well since dearest @bachint asked, here goes nothing!

1. From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!)

well if no downplaying’s allowed i guess i’d give it a 3/5? some mistakes since i’m not a native plus i”m still working on getting my english style better! i like what i come up with all the same, i’ve improved a lot these past two years, and my grammar isn’t that bad i guess?

2. Why do you write fanfiction?

to do what developers didn’t do in the first place to make good use of my imagination, to cope with the fact that some characters don’t exist and i will never follow another one of their adventures, to forget about a boring real life...

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

my writing doesn’t stand out lmaooo but i guess i’m always trying to focus on the character’s psychology, struggles and all that, so if someone likes my work, it’s ‘original’ bc it’s usually quite different from the usual stories where there are a lot of dialogues and interactions.

4. Are there any writers that inspire you?

i’ve been inspired a lot by @welcometogressenheller (i wish i could do as well as she does.....), @aceklaviergavin (kudos to you even if you never see that post and you probably don’t know who i am), and some others whose name i forgot (sorry!)

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

i didn’t write much but i guess that my latest fics are really nice (There’s No Light In You Anymore, and the whole Faith series on AO3). also my big project “Now That You’re Gone”, i’m glad i’ve been able to write that much for it and i intend on continuing as soon as i find the motivation!

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily?

pain, struggles and all that comes with it as long as it’s in the character’s mind, because beware here you step in a dark space

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most?

ordinary scenes of life? i always find my writing lacking as soon as i step out of my comfort zone, i’m all for rambling and never-ending pain

8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write?

desmond/descole surely

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

all the good guys (and dimitri allen because i’d love writing about him but i’m? just unable to?)

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for?

that may come as a surprise! angst!

11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most?

a mix of question 8 and 10 and you’ve got your answer

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

professor layton and the shattering secrets!!! i’m so happy of what this AU will look like when i’ll be done writing the following chapters, at first it probably looks annoying but heck i wanna promise anyone who’s reading it that the plot twists are gonna be worth it even though the overall background isn’t that original because i’ve mixed up different elements from other games (aaaand we’re back in our oh-so-amazing comfort zone that covers up a massive lack of imagination)

13. First fandom you ever wrote for?

ummm? the vampire diaries maybe? back when i was 10 or 11 lol

14. What’s your favorite fandom to write for?

hands up... pROFESsoR LayTON

15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for?

i didn’t write for many fandoms but back in my younger days i used to do self-insert fics with the vampire diaries cast and it was so odd and i wish i hadn’t just confessed that on my tumblr blog

16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

nothing that comes to mind

17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for.

dunno either

18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written?

PL and the shattering secrets! huge canon divergence and one heck of an AU (also its original version is much worse, my mind was going crazy when i was 15)

19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between?

i love reading AUs, writing some requires solid imagination which i have not, but honestly i don’t really mind

20. Gen fic or shippy stuff?

gen

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

desmond sycamore x his wife / randall ascot x hershel layton (be it romantic or platonic) / randall ascot x basically anyone from the MM i guess though i didn’t write anything about that yet (it’s about to change guys)

22. Do you listen to anything while you write?

yea i can’t write without listening to music - any playlist does the trick as long as i like what i’m listening to but usually i listen to sad soundtracks, or i’m inspired by some random lyrics

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

i’d go with challenges bc my horrible ass has very few ideas but i usually come up with independent ideas

24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works?

one shots!

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

i don’t remember ;_;

26. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try?

i’ve got one OS in mind with randall/layton but i don’t want to be the talk of the town because it’s probably going to be awful? also any other fic including the PL3 crew

27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

@welcometogressenheller telling me she believed i was a native!!! i struggle so much trying to improve my writing style in english and i have a lot of insecurities so it was so heartwarming and incredible to read...

also basically any other comment where people tell me they like what i write. i love that writers feel the need to take some time reviewing my works bc i need constant validation

28. How well do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing?

well i’ve never really received ‘harsh’ criticism or anything, save for some very rare remarks on my grammar so i guess i don’t know? at first it’s always sad to see that what i’ve done isn’t perfect but i guess it’s impossible to be perfect so i’m really happy that people take some time to underline what looks wrong to them

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out?

currently trying to with shattering secrets and it’s actually a great way to improve!

30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst?

MERCILESS ANGST

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!

i wish i could but it would perhaps be a huge spoiler so i don’t wanna say much about them...

i have 1) annabell sycamore, des’s wife, whose personality fits very much mine. she’s a playwright, spends lot of her time writing and acting in front of des AND WITH des. also she’s a very realistic person and some people usually tell her that she’s being too pessimistic

2) aurelia from the shattering secrets and on her i really cannot say much... if anyone’s read this far it would be so nice if you could give SS a shot by the way!!

32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

desmond sometimes finds happiness but it’s always taken from him

(isn’t that a summary for everything i’ve ever written?)

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

i don’t translate my works from my original language to english, i write straight in english. i spend a lot of time making sure i haven’t done any grammatical mistakes, checking the definition and the use of some words i’m not sure about, and sometimes it’s quite a pain and it can be also very discouraging bc i end up believing what i write comes from a random internet dictionary while deep down i know it’s not true but hey what can i say. huge insecurities laid bare here.

(if any reader of mine’s reading this, i apologize)

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

(beware: spoilers for the whole prequel trilogy!!!)

“Hershel Layton was puzzled. A funny emotion to feel for someone who loved puzzles that much, but nothing could ever describe better the way he’d felt for hours now, hours that seemed like ages.So much did happen in the span of a few hours.

First he’d learned his parents could be targeted by Targent, then Aurora had made it clear that she didn’t want to live anymore, all so she could protect them. Then Desmond—no, Descole—had taken the key from her hands, and revealed himself as the dangerous scientist Layton knew him to be.

Then they’d fought. Despair was filling the air, though Hershel didn’t understand what Descole meant when he cried that the Azran legacy was all he had to live for.

And as if there hadn’t been enough betrayals as it was, Emmy was soon to follow. Luke had been abducted. He’d had no other choice than siding with Descole to prevent Bronev from unleashing doom on Earth. Misery didn’t seem to end.

Just when he’d thought he’d finally be able to change things, Descole had been ready to sacrifice himself to save Luke. And then…

Then everything just collapsed.

He held his agonizing brother in his arms; the one who’d wanted so hard to take him down only a few hours back was now confessing, fearing death was on the way.“

[...]

from ‘Six Times Hershel Layton Remembered, Plus The One Time He Didn’t’

35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

oops i haven’t got anything more to say but thank you for reading? perhaps?

#asks #asks for fanfiction writers #eve rambles #professor layton fandom #how does umblr work #also sorry my english may be lacking #you know the meme sorry for my bad english don't you #well i'm that meme

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danieljradcliffe · 5 years ago

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tagged by @lukeskywalkre thank you!! this actually took some thought tbh

1. name 4 fictional characters who showcase your personality the best, with explanations if you want.

lisa simpson - "THE WHOLE DAMN SYSTEM IS WRONG!”

amy santiago (b99) - goal oriented, competitive, ambitious

moira rose (schitt’s creek) - i can be so fucking melodramatic sometimes for no good reason!

ron weasley (hp) - insecure AF but still a solid friend, clever & funny (atleast i think so)

2. aesthetic

thunderstorms, old libraries, red wine stained lips/teeth, hot showers, blasting music on headphones, staying up late, cozy wool sweaters, the city at night

3. favorite musical/play? (If you’ve never seen a musical or play, one you’d be interested in seeing?)

Wicked lmao don’t judge me!!! It holds such a special place in my heart from my teenage years. Also Equus and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying because I saw Daniel Radcliffe in them in NYC and met him after :’)

4. what is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

why can’t i ever remember positive things people have said to me??? what comes to mind is recently people have told me i’ll make a good social worker which is nice to hear since i am paying thousands of dollars to go to school for it!!! 🙃 and also it’s my dream career and im super passionate about the field

5. how many times have you been in love?

one

6. embarrassing story or fact about yourself that makes you laugh now?

oh god i am so bad at being put on the spot like this... ummmm all that is coming to mind is this one time when my best friend and i were literally 10 YEARS OLD she stood in the locker room after gym and was like ‘im so fat’ and i shoved her aside and was like ‘you’re just saying that for attention! IM actually so fat’ and we always laugh now at how fucking ridiculous that was of us

7. favorite disney/pixar movie?

this is really hard?????? Monster’s Inc came to mind first

8. favorite flower or plant?

Peonies and all succulents

9. what’s your favorite holiday?

can I say my birthday???? or halloween

10. name three things that made you laugh or smile this past week.

on my block, cuckoo, some of the ridiculous stuff my boss at work says

11. what song would you play to introduce yourself to someone?

welcome home - radical face

12. name something that truly makes you feel peaceful even at your most stressed moments.

listening to music and reading to separate myself from the stress by distracting myself with other thoughts!

13. what do you, did you, or would you study at college?

i have a degree in communications and i’m back in school right now getting my bachelor of social work

14. this is kind of a weird one, but which outfit of yours makes you feel most like yourself?

just like black jeans and a jean jacket. i recently got old skool vans i am also obsessed with

15. what is a quote you live by?

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. - desmond tutu

16. name the funniest playlist name you have.

'songs i love more than my own life’

17. make a reference to an inside joke you have with someone you love with zero context.

let’s light a candle

18. what is a message you would give your younger self if given the chance?

don’t take your relationships for granted

19. who is your favorite family member? (If you have no good blood family members, feel free to mention someone in your found family)

my mom AND my sister sorry I’m not choosing just one of em!!

20. what’s a secret dream of yours?

i live in the major city 15 mins away from where i grew up and i wish i could’ve lived somewhere else. even if just for a year or so it would be nice to experience something different.

tagging: @three-drink-amy @maxbegone @leopxld-fitz @danlevys @roguebabyinyourstore @stuck-on-your-heart @imargaery as always absolutely no pressure :) (if anyone sees this and wants to do it i tag you!!)

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mithrilwren · 6 years ago

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Given the new Kickstarter stretch goals, I’ve been thinking a lot today about how the Briarwood arc could be condensed into 6 episodes. There’s obviously going to be stuff that’ll have to be trimmed for the sake of time, pacing, or episode structure, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. This is a good chance to tighten up certain elements of the story and make the whole thing punchier as a result.

Though I will almost certainly be wrong about a lot here, because I don’t have a beat on what the cast deems absolutely essential (eg. can we cut a guest star’s character?), this is my take on a possible structure for the series, focusing on smooth pacing and each episode having a poignant/exciting conclusion.

Episode 1: VM is invited to dinner by Seeker Assum. Percy explains the Briarwoods and their backstory significance. Brief pre-dinner chatter introduces Allura and the council. Tension-filled dinner with the Briarwoods. Vax and the Jenga heard around the world. Climatic fight sequence in the courtyard. The Briarwoods bamf out. Percy shoots the carriage driver’s hand in a fit of rage, and we see the first hint of black smoke.

Final shot: VM staring, stunned, at the empty carriage.

What’s cut:

Tiberius’s feeblemind, for obvious reasons.

Lilith’s involvement in the fight. Although she’s lovely, her character isn’t really tied into anything substantial here or in subsequent arcs. Brutally killing the old lady hunting her had interesting character implications for both Keyleth and Percy, but without Tiberius and his spinning blade of death I’m not sure how they’d make that sequence work anyway.

Episode 2: The charmed council lets VM know they’re on the hook for the attack on the Briarwoods. VM does a short interrogation of carriage driver Desmond and we’re introduced to Jarrett. The attack of the Shadows spurs VM to set out for Whitestone immediately. They pass the Stone Giant Fortress and note that it’s empty. VM disguise themselves as farmers, start to scout the town, and come upon the Sun Tree.

Final shot: the bodies of VM hanging from the tree.

What’s cut:

COWS. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s space for silly cow escapades without killing the pace or cutting more vital plot elements.

Fighting the Behir and exploring the Stone Giant fortress. We don’t want to spend too much time dallying on the road to Whitestone. If the shadow fight was cut for some reason, I’d keep the Behir fight in to ensure we had an action sequence, but it’s far less relevant plot-wise.

Episode 3: Keyleth attempts to revive the Sun Tree while Percy, Vax, and Scanlan battle The Door, and face a very short encounter with the Banshee. On their return walk, they learn about Sir Kerrion and start hatching rebellion plots. VM reunites and heads for Keeper Yennen’s temple. After meeting Yennen, VM kills Ser Kerrion and sets his mansion on fire.

Final shot: Percy’s gun, minus one name.

What’s cut:

Not much, actually! Pretty much everything here is essential minus the banshee fight, but that could literally be 20-30 seconds of animation, so why not have a mini action sequence?

Episode 4 (aka where things start to pick up pace): VM discusses Percy’s list and the black smoke. They return to Yennen, meet Archibald, discover Cassandra’s alive, and decide to do the dual hit on Vedmire and Tylieri. Scanlan’s triceratops fucks shit up. The gang kills Tylieri and realizes they’ve started the rebellion, oops. They fight the skeletons and Pike makes her appearance. Stone giants are killed and the rebellion is postponed.

Final shot: VM finds the secret entrance to Whitestone Castle.

What’s cut:

The vampire fight in the tunnels. The Tylieri fight already reminds the audience about the vampire threat, we don’t need this one too.

Jordanna’s shop. Doesn’t provide enough new information to justify the time.

(Possibly) Vax and Scanlan’s father and son act. Which would KILL me to lose because I adore it, but it’s all a matter of how they decide to handle the rebellion plot and how much else is going on.

Episode 5: The heroes feast. VM meets Anna in the basement and visit her laboratory. They “rescue” Cassandra and kill Anders. Vax kisses Keyleth, and the gang heads downstairs towards the Ziggurat after becoming illusory Percys and Cassandras. The acid vat escape sequence.

Final shot: VM launches their first attack at the top of the Ziggurat.

What’s cut:

The ghostly possession crypt fight. As fun as it is, there’s already a lot of action in this episode.

Episode 6: The climatic final battle commences .Silas is killed. Delilah completes the ritual. Vex is brought back from the brink of death, Keyleth nearly loses herself to the orb. VM retreats into the tunnel, and Orthax makes his appearance. After “killing” Orthax, Scanlan destroys Percy’s gun. VM leaves the castle and joins the citizenry. Vax and Keyleth have a quiet chat by the Sun Tree.

Final shot: a weary but happy VM celebrates the liberation of Whitestone under a finally-clear sky.

What’s cut:

Again, not much! There’s too much important stuff in this last batch of episodes to really cut anything substantial.

#critical role #the legend of vox machina #critical role kickstarter #briarwood arc #i'd love to hear other takes!#disclaimer: just because i put something under 'cut' doesn't mean i don't care for it #just means it might not be essential in the scope of 6 22 minute episodes

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just0nemorepage · 5 years ago

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In the Time of Dragon Moon || Janet Lee Carey || Wilde Island Chronicles #3 || 480 pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 3 Genres: Fantasy / Young Adult / Dragons

Synopsis: On the southernmost tip of Wilde Island--far from the Dragonswood sanctuary and the Pendragon Castle--live the native Euit people. Uma, who is half Euit and half English, and not fully accepted by her tribe, wants to become a healer like her Euit father. But the mad English queen in the north, desperate for another child, kidnaps Uma and her father and demands that he cure her barrenness. After her father dies, Uma must ensure that the queen is with child by the time of the Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake.

Terrified and alone, Uma reaches out to her only possible ally: the king's nephew Jackrun, a fiery dragonrider with dragon, fairy, and human blood. Together, they must navigate through a sea of untold secrets, unveil a dark plot spawned long ago in Dragonswood, and find a way to accept all the elements--Euit, English, dragon, and fairy--that make them who they are.

Finished: February ??nd, 2020.

Progress: 8 / 10. 80% complete.

My Rating: ★★★☆☆. [3/5]

My Review: [Under the read more - NOT SPOILER FREE]

First things first: big TW for sexual assault, attempted rape and victim blaming in the first half of the book.

I have very mixed feelings about this book, and I have to say, generally it was a disappointment. I went into it with VERY high hopes from the last book, but I didn’t like this one anywhere near as much.

I absolutely loved the main theme of English oppression of the natives, and the real-world connotations that represents. I also deeply enjoyed the underlying message of female power, and of not being ashamed of being a woman.

But just.. I feel like there were so many missed opportunities, and a lot of loose ends and dropped balls. Like.. I don’t believe the Tess of the last book would have been as strict and shaming of Jackrun’s dragon fire as she is said to be. Jackrun’s temper really isn’t the best, and he takes it out on Uma a lot without much in the way of apology. Uma is left to figure out her femaleness entirely on her own, with no one to really directly address it with her – which brings up the topic that gender is VERY binary here. Uma herself seems to be more fluid, fighting with two halves of herself – one masculine, one feminine – but what doesn’t sit well with me is that the aspects must be defined as one way or another at all, such as a more personal healing touch is something only a woman can give and understand. Gender roles are really still very strictly defined, and especially when painted under the guise of lady power and gender fluidity, it really didn’t sit well with me.

The female rage coming from Tanya after she was found out is entirely understandable, and I genuinely felt for her. I’ll admit, I was very glad she managed to kill Desmond and the Queen before she was discovered, cause the both of them were COMPLETE dumpster fires and quite frankly deserved it. That much was very satisfying. But of course, she is to be executed for the crimes of murder, and never once does the King admit what pieces of shit his wife and son were. He won’t even let Tanya speak ill of his son, regardless of the fact that his kid tried to rape Uma. Ultimately, I felt bad that Tanya had to be punished at all.

I know this is historical fantasy and all that, but… fantasy. It’s FANTASY. You don’t have to include some things. Like the sexual assault. And the isolation and victim blaming that comes from it. And the fact that Uma never really did have what was done to her acknowledged. And the king and Bianca – Tanya’s daughter, a TEENAGER – marrying a year after the queen’s death. Yeah. Ew. It was painted in a very mutually consensual light, but… no.

I also feel like the idea of “being womanly” or femininity in general was overall painted as being very shameful, and you had to prove yourself “masculine” or “neutral” enough to be seen with any kind of respect. No one really seemed to respect the feminine on its own.

And really, the aesthetic I loved so much in the last book really didn’t have much play in this book. It was still there, especially when the Fey were present and when Uma was in the Dragonswood, but not as much as I wanted it to be.

Also, I really don’t like Uma’s father. At all. Or much of her tribe. Most of them seemed like grade-A sexist assholes.

I am grateful for Jackrun, though. Aside from his temper, I was glad he existed. He’s respectful and kind and considerate, and behaves as a true ally should – and even left everything he ever knew to live with Uma once she decided to return home. A male character doing that for a female character is very rare, and is a pleasant change.

There are so many more little things I don’t remember, but overall, while certain parts of this book left me feeling very excited and happy and satisfied, others… nowhere near as much. There was enough that left me feeling dissatisfied and like “wait, no, that’s not done right,” that it persevered after finishing the book and left me feeling like I couldn’t possibly rate it any more than a three. So much of it felt like attempted cliché subverting, but ended up… kind of playing right into the aspects that make them problematic in the first place.

The characters, the character growth, and the world building I absolutely adore – the world building especially. I’d LOVE more books set in this world. But this one is the last one…and that leaves me feeling very sad. This book being the last one for this setting feels very much like a disservice to its potential.

But, alas. I’ll just keep talking in circles if I keep going, so I’m gonna cut myself off here. This book and this series is done – on to the next one!

#book reviews #in the time of dragon moon #janet lee carey #wilde island chronicles #★★★#fantasy #young adult #dragons #romance #magic #faeries #library book #print book #series book #jomp original

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cath-with-a-c · 6 years ago

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Nothing and Everything, 5/7

In which the decision is made

Wordcount: ~2800

TW: implied/referenced homophobia, implied sexual relationship between consenting teenagers

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

2003

Robert huffed, blowing a stray lock of hair away from his eyes and squinted at the car's underbelly. He was trying to fix the suspension for over an hour now, with no luck. Not everyone could be Tony freaking Stark. That was an unforgivable oversight on the universe’s part.

Well, at least he didn’t have to work outside in the sun - the barn was relatively cool.

There was a slight pop somewhere high above and Robert rolled his eyes, focusing on the suspension once again. After a few moments, the faint clatter of the car’s spares scattered around told him that the intruder had reached the ground level.

"This place has a door, you know," Robert called out, grinning.

"Yes, and it's out in the open. Wouldn’t want anyone knowing I’m here," Desmond countered, peering under the car. "May I…" he dropped on his back and slid under the car in one smooth motion, layin himself alongside Robert. "...slither in?“

Rob facepalmed, probably smearing his face with grease and machine oil. "You are taking this Harry Potter shit way too seriously," he accused, half-heartedly.

They've rediscovered the series thanks to Sam and Penny, and Penny, with all her seven-year-old might, had assigned them all houses, picking Hufflepuff for herself, Ravenclaw for Sam and Gryffindor for Rob, because" he looks like a knight, and knights are brave, so there", which left Slytherin for Desmond.

He didn’t seem to mind much, attesting that it suited him, as he was ambitious and cunning, just as his house required. With a hint of dark magic.

That last one? Rob was willing to agree.

Desmond poked his tongue out and hissed like a snake. Ambitious, cunning and an idiot. Rob huffed, trying to hide his laugh, and lightly shoved Desmond’s face away. “Rawr, I guess," he said and snapped his teeth at openly laughing Desmond. “In case you missed it, I'm working. Either help or stay out of the way."

He turned back to the car's underbelly, picking up the wrench. For a couple of moments, everything was quiet and then Desmond's chapped lips found their way under his ear. A shiver tore through Rob's body, pleasant and welcome.

"I told you I'm working," he grumbled, but there was no real heat behind it.

Desmond chuckled in his neck, sound going straight through Rob's blood, making it run faster. "No, you aren't," he said. "You are staring at the ruined suspension with no idea how to fix it."

Well, true. Instead of admitting it aloud, Rob turned his head to shut Desmond with a brief, biting kiss. Desmond relaxed and made a content noise, chasing the kiss when Rob reluctantly pulled away.

"Not here. Someone will see us," he said, placing the wrench under Desmond’s chin to keep him still.

Desmond gave him an unimpressed look. "Who? We're under the car, if you forgot," a crooked half-smile appeared on his lips. “Good luck to anyone trying to lift that bad boy up.”

His eyes were bright, shining in the semi-darkness under the car, lean body pressed against Rob’s side hot and tense. Desmond took him by the hand, lacing their fingers together and brought it to his lips, placing faint kisses to the knuckles.

At this point Rob kind of forgot where his thoughts were headed, the only thing on his brain now was just how to arrange them both in a comfortable way in the incredibly limited space under the car. He dropped the wrench on his chest and tugged his best friend-turned-lover closer, crushing their mouths together to the accompaniment of Desmond’s lewd moan.

When they broke up for air, Rob’s whole body felt on fire, heart beating fast and hard in his chest. Desmond looked positively debauched, messy hair, blush running high on his cheeks, breathing rapid, eyes wide and burning.

This was theirs. Being with Desmond felt so right, every ounce, every moment of it, however sparse and hidden they were. “You are so beautiful,” Rob found himself whispering like it was some sort of a secret, and Desmond laughed, blushing even harder.

“No, you are,” he whispered back and opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped abruptly, at a little creak of the door.

Someone entered the barn. Rob’s breath hitched, heart plummeting and beating somewhere in his stomach. They broke their half-hug, lying side-by-side and staring at the car underbelly, as the steps approached.

“Son, you still there?” the voice called out, and Rob exhaled. Dad. “Oh, hello, Desmond.”

Desmond’s one-sided grin was equally relieved. “Hi, Mr. North,” he replied cheekily. “You don’t sound surprised.”

“You two are practically joined at the hip, I’d be more surprised if you weren’t here,” Dad looked under the car and Robert could only hope his face wasn’t too red. “It’s dinner time, boys. No luck fixing this old thing?”

“Nah,” Robert replied, sliding from under the car first. “I still don’t get how it got so trashed.”

Dad helped him up and gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s okay, son,” he said, eyeing the car. “We’ll have a look at it together later. Come on, food time. You too, Desmond, your mother was looking for you.”

He left the barn just as Desmond got out from under the car. Rob helped him up and for a moment they just stood there, locked hands between them.

Then Desmond stepped closer, squinting at Rob’s face, and cupped his cheek with the free hand, thumb tracing just under Rob’s cheekbone.

“What are you doing?” Rob whispered, breath hitched at the thought of them being almost out in the open, and Desmond gave him another one-sided smile.

“You have grease there,” he explained, and then his face softened. “I love you. You know that, right?” he asked, voice suddenly almost sad. Something wasn’t quite right, but before Rob could comment on how mushy that question was, Desmond leaned forward for a quick kiss, and then for another, deeper and sweeter, before he practically jumped back, licking his lips and grinning crookedly. “I think we should go.”

And, giving his hand one last squeeze, Desmond walked right past Rob, out of the barn, like nothing happened. Robert breathed in and out, slowly, like it could help his racing heart, counted to five and walked out too. He could still taste Desmond on his lips and his heart was beating too fast for it to be healthy. All he wanted to do is go back to kissing his best-friend-turned-lover.

And yet all he could realistically do? Watch Desmond retreat to his own house, shoulders dropping lower with every step, feeling empty as if a dementor was hovering over him. They couldn’t be like Sam and Daria, sucking on each other’s faces in public. Well, semi-public, but still. Couldn’t even hold hands, couldn't hug for too long, because while Brotherhood had no problem with homosexuality as a concept, they still were all expected to have children at some point. And there was no telling how any of the adults would react if they’ve learned about their relationship…

Sometimes Robert wondered if his father knew. What would his father say if he knew? Would he just tell the others? Would he keep it close to himself? Would he disown Robert on the spot? Or worse? And what would happen to Desmond?

Panic started to rise in Robert and he squandered it down, forcefully turning his thoughts to something, or rather someone else. Desmond. Rob pictured the curve of his smile, the way when he laughed he would throw his head back and squeeze his eyes shut. Desmond was… better after they’ve started dating. Less edgy, he was at ease more and laughed more, and his eyes, while still weary, were brighter. Like he made some sort of decision.

Perhaps he was coming to terms with being an assassin. That would be good. Probably.

Honestly, Robert wasn’t sure anymore.

After dinner, Robert completed his chores and was planning on finding Desmond to make plans for the night, but got derailed by Penny, who was put in charge of a litter of puppies for the evening and then promptly lost them.

In the end, they’ve spent almost an hour and a half looking for and herding the pups back where they belonged.

“I guess it’s the last of them,” Robert said, picking up the pup, which whined and tried to lick his face, and putting it back into the paddock to the others.

“Thanks, Robby!” Penny gave him a beaming, if rather toothless, smile and locked the gate. “Wish the magic could work.”

She took a wand from her belt and waved it at the lock, muttering the spell. Robert smiled. “That’s nifty, Pence. Haven’t seen it before, where did you get it?”

“Desmond made it for me,” Penny replied, proudly showing him the complex-looking carvings along the length of it. “Said it was better than the knife.”

Robert nodded. The kids weren’t allowed real weapons outside training, but a lot of them would start wearing wooden knives and daggers by that age. “It sure is more beautiful than any knife I’ve seen,” he told Penny and she beamed at him.

The bell behind them tolled. Once, twice, three times, more, sharp sound cutting through the air, ominous and foreign. Robert froze on the spot, and Penny grabbed at his hand. The bell never tolled in the evening before.

Something has happened. Something really, really bad.

Robert shook his head. “Come on, Pence,” he said, picking the frightened girl up. “We gotta go.”

The otherwise peaceful evening broke into the flurry of action, with everyone flocking to the central hall, adults carrying younger kids, William Miles barking orders like a general. In the midst of it, Robert saw his dad. His face was dark, like a storm cloud.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Robert asked, elbowing his way through.

Father gave him a sad, weary look. “Desmond is gone,” he said after a tiny pause.

The ground slipped away from under Robert’s feet. “What?” he asked again, slowly.

“Maria says his backpack and jacket are gone too,” dad replied, rubbing at his forehead tiredly. “We believe he-”

“Ran away,” Robert finished for him quietly.

Desmond had run away.

His dad’s face softened. “I’m sorry, son,” he said.

“No! This must be a mistake,” Penny looked like she was about to cry. “Desmond is brave! Why would he run away?”

Dad turned to her, smiling sadly. “We don’t know yet, little one. Not until we find him,” he looked back at Robert. “Put the kid down, we will need your help.”

He nodded dumbly and went searching around for Penny’s parents, in the end transferring the protesting girl to her older brother Craig, before joining the others who were organizing into search groups.

Robert and his dad ended up with Maria, searching the eastern side of the hill. It was quickly getting dark, and Mrs. Miles’ cries were becoming more and more desperate with every hundred feet they made into the forest. Robert felt like she was starting to realize something he knew since they were just kids playing tag.

If Desmond is given any headstart, you are not getting him.

“Desmond, where are you?!” Maria cried out once again, looking around frantically, and her eyes were red and watery. This was the most emotional Robert had ever seen her, most human. He was so perplexed by it, he’d almost missed a tiny movement out the corner of his eye, but when he looked back, there was nothing, only a few low-hanging branches, that were slightly rocking with impact.

They’ve searched the hillside until it was pitch dark and even torchlights weren’t enough, so they had to return. William was already back with his group, and, judging by the uneasy look on Colin’s face and the way Daria was standing two steps in front of Sam, questioning had taken place.

As soon as Robert joined the scene, William turned to him.

“Did you know?” he barked out without any preamble, and Robert’s back straightened involuntarily. “Did you know Desmond was going to run?!”

In the unforgiving shine of the streetlight he looked downright menacing, half of the face in deep shadow and the other pale as a ghost, with grey-blue eye almost looking unnatural.

“No,” Robert shook his head, his throat closing. “I swear, he didn’t tell me anything!”

If only he did...

William stepped closer, seething with anger. They were the same height now, but Robert felt so small compared to him. “Hard to believe,” William all but spat, baring his teeth. “Don’t think I don’t know how close you two are...”

Robert had to fight the urge to take a step back. “Bill, stop it,” his dad said from behind him, but William Miles wasn’t listening.

“...and if you think silence will get you off punishment...”

A figure appeared between them. “Leave my son out of it, Bill!” Robert had never seen his father so angry.

William wasn’t backing down. “Do you really believe his shit-”

“Look at him!” Robert’s dad bellowed. “He is shocked! As well as the others,” he exhaled and rubbed at his forehead tiredly. “I’m sorry Desmond is gone, Bill, I really am, but you can’t take it out on everyone else.”

If looks could kill, Robert’s dad would already be dead. Instead, William Miles stepped back, scowling. “I want the car fixed by morning. We will go looking for Desmond in Rapid City,” he said in a clipped tone, turning away from Robert, allowing him to breathe.

Robert’s dad shook his head. “He won’t go there,” he said softly but Bill waved him off.

“I don’t need your comments, Nolan. Just fix the car,” he barked and father nodded.

“Sure,” he replied and clapped Robert on the shoulder. “Come on, son. We have things to do.”

He nodded silently, watching William’s retreating back for a few moments before following his father. They won’t find Desmond, Robert thought tiredly, he probably wouldn’t stop until he is as far away as possible. Probably will keep to the forest too. Desmond was always good at finding his way by compass.

Father sighed. “I wish Desmond had told someone something, anything. Stupid boy,” he shook his head.

Robert didn’t answer.

Morning came, and the car was more or less ready to go. After William and Maria left with a couple of other adults, the buzz started to slowly die out, but the routines were still thrown out of the window for now, with both adults and kids being too wired up to follow the schedule.

Amidst the commotion, Robert slipped out of the house and went to their clearing. He needed… space. The place still looked like it did yesterday, and that was a little bit comforting.

He sat down, opening his stash and mindlessly sifting through it, shifting things around for no reason. What happened was yet to settle in his head and his guts.

It took Robert a few moments to notice that his swiss army knife was missing, and suddenly he wasn’t able to breathe again, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Desmond was gone. He’d ran away. He isn’t coming back, And, even if the adults manage to get him back. Robert was sure he’s going to try again.

Or do something worse.

Choked up, Robert looked up and around the clearing and noticed something else. Desmond’s stash wasn’t closed properly. After a few moments of consideration and battling with himself, Rob went to check.

It was empty, all the painkillers, and food and band-aids gone. There were a few things left at the bottom, - a wooden medallion with a badger carved into it - the Hufflepuff’s house animal; the heavy, carefully wrapped book from a series Robert vaguely recognized being Sam’s favorite, some sort of fantasy that was being written incredibly slowly, he always complained about it.

And the two new Iron Man comics tucked carefully into ziplocks.

No note. Rob expected there to be at least some sort of note.

He took the comics in his hands, not really seeing them. Why didn’t Desmond tell him anything? Should he had guessed it, from the way Desmond stopped questioning things, stopped dragging the Creed every chance he got? Should he? Did he allow his wishful thinking to get in the way?

Did he even mean anything to Desmond?

He remembered the way Desmond cupped his cheek, the way he said “I love you”, and the way his lips moved for a fraction of a second, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Was it “I’m sorry”? Was it “Run away with me”? Was it something else, that had nothing to do with his escape?

He will never know now.

Sniffing angrily, Robert dropped the comics back into the stash and closed it with a little too much force, stomping away from the clearing.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

part 6

ao3 link

#assassin's creed fanfic #Assassin's Creed #Desmond Miles #assassin's creed OC #boys in love #desmond is precious

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missmudpie · 7 years ago

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Tumblr Tag

Rules: Choose any three fandoms (in any order), answer the questions and tag 10 people you want to get to know better.

Originally posted by thedoomydogs

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@ah-maa-zing - Thanks for the tag! I’m going to follow your lead and also do five.

3 5 Fandoms:

Arrowverse (even though I’ve stopped watching um, all the shows - but I fully intend to binge LoT this summer!)

The 100

The West Wing

Agents of SHIELD

The Americans

The first character you loved:

I came to Arrow towards the end of the second season, and a large part of what drew me in was all the chatter about Felicity Smoak. So I’ll go with her. But if I’d started from the beginning, it probably would have been Diggle, just because of his early Season One facial reactions to all the bullshit excuses Oliver was spewing.

Again, came to this in the second season because I kept seeing Bellarke cross my dash, so I was already predisposed to love Clarke and Bellamy. So, yeah - we’ll go with those two.

ALL OF THEM.

Phil Coulson. His death in Avengers didn’t make such a big impact on me, but I fell for him hard in the pilot. Also, FitzSimmons.

Henry. HAHAHA just kidding. Love isn’t the right word. I was intrigued by Elizabeth from her first scene and she still captivates me. Philip is also a really interesting character, but it’s Elizabeth - wife, mother, Soviet spy - who I feel I could watch for ten more seasons and still not fully unpack or understand all of what makes her tick.

The character you never expected to love so much:

Sara Lance. I thought she was a really interesting addition in Season Two of Arrow, but didn’t think too much about her, especially since she left at the end of Season Two. I figured she’d pop up for a few eps every season. Then they shot her full of arrows and threw her off a roof and - oof. I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss her til she was gone. I love who she’s become on LoT and watching her become a Captain has been amazing.

Murphy. That little cockroach has really grown on me. And Kane. For the first few episodes of Season One, I would look at him and be like, “Ugh, Desmond would be so ashamed.” But then the Culling happened. Watching him grow and change has been amazing.

Ainsley Hayes. What’s so funny about her is she was only in - a dozen? - episodes, yet she made such an impact on the show. Also - Alan Alda. I love Alan Alda in anything and everything.

Skye/Daisy. Look, let’s just all admit that the pre-CA:TWS episodes were - not great. And Skye just - she didn’t connect with me. This sarcastic hacktavist I didn’t really trust - not because I thought she was bad, but because the mistakes she would make were SO STUPID. And now look at her - Saving the world and leading SHIELD. This show has really excelled at growing its characters in a way that feels organic and natural.

Oleg. I don’t know when it happened, but I’ve grown attached to that man, and I fear he’s not going to make it back to his wife and son come series end.

The character you relate to the most:

The crew of the Waverider. Only because I would also be like a kid in a candy store if I got to travel through time.

Bellamy. Because I, too, am a history nerd trying to keep children alive.

Leo.

Simmons.

None of them?

The character you’d slap:

I haven’t watched a full episode of Arrow since Oliver and Felicity’s reception, but apparently in finale he goes to jail?? Without consulting Felicity??? Leaving her alone to raise the son he lied about and visited while she was paralyzed in the hospital???? Yeah, I’d slap him. Or, more accurately, I’d like to slap the Arrow writers who can’t write their way out of a paper bag.

People on this show either don’t deserve to be slapped, or would kill me if I slapped them, so, yeah.

AMY GARDNER

Ward 1.0. Like, OG traitor Ward, not the thing he became in Season 3.

@lerayon sing it with me: Paige is the WOOOOORST (Although not as The Worst this season as she has been?)

Three favorite characters in order of preference:

I’m kinda mad at everyone right now? Okay, okay, I won’t be such a sourpuss. Arrow: OTA, obvi. Flash: Joe West, Iris, Caitlin (HM: Cisco). LoT: Sara, Martin, Jax (HM: Rip Hunter)

Clarke, Bellamy, Raven

I reject the premise of the question.

So, remember at the end of Season Three, we knew whoever had the cross necklace was going to die, and the cast just kept passing it around like a hot potato? Those were the most stressful episodes for me. They are all my faves.

I’m two episodes behind because I was out of town, but it looks like the screws are tightening and it’s all coming down to Elizabeth, Philip and Stan and I am HERE for this.

Character you liked at first but don’t anymore:

Curtis. UGH, Curtis. Also, has Barry finally stopped fucking with the timeline?

I remember being intrigued by Jaha early on, but then he went prophet-crazy and I wasn’t really ever able to reconnect with him after all that. And this will get me in TROUUUBLE - Lexa. When she was first introduced - a young woman Commander who could work with and square off against Clarke - I thought she was great. But then Season Three happened, and to be honest a lot of it has to do with the fandom. I still think Lexa is a really interesting, complex character - but she’s very much an antagonist, and her actions are really problematic. And I would have fun discussing or debating that. But some in the fandom only see her as THE Hero, and are pretty ruthless when you disagree.

I tried to think of one, I really did.

The only one I can think for this is when Ward just kept coming back, even as the evil thing in Season Three. It just started to feel like the show was reluctant to let go of the actor (who, by all accounts, seems to be a lovely person).

It’s hard to put these characters in “like” and “don’t like” boxes. EVERYONE does really horrible things at times.

Character you did not like at first but do now:

Ray Palmer. I will admit that I was late to the “Ray is a Stalker” train, back when I was trying to talk myself into the idea that he could be good for Felicity while we all waited for Oliver to get his head out of his ass - but yeah. Ray on Arrow was not good. Ray on Legends, on the other hand, is a delight, as long as he’s not actively pursuing someone romantically.

Again, Murphy, Kane. I came into the show knowing Bellamy was a fanfave, but those first couple of episodes are rough for him.

Okay, I got one -Bruno Gianelli. Because when he’s working for the Bartlet Campaign, he’s annoying because he’s going against what Our Guys want. But when he’s with the Vinick Campaign, I really started appreciating him. I liked him so much better when he was an external antagonist.

Skye, as I said. May really grew on me, as well. Again, the character growth on this show is just outstanding.

Martha. Poor, poor Martha.

Three OTP’s:

Olicity, obviously. It’s the reason I still keep one eye on the show. I shipped Sara and Rip Hunter back Season One (and Two), but it looks like that will never happen. Sara and Nyssa, another one I shipped. Diggle and Lyla don’t get nearly enough screentime but I love them. And I was very happy to hear Thea and Roy got their happy ending.

Bellarke!! Battle Couple Supreme, the Head and the Heart, their hugs kill me so when they finally kiss I will probably implode.

Josh and Donna, from Day One. Going out on a limb, I feel like CJ and Toby had a really special connection. I think they loved each other, but never would have been happy in a relationship with each other. Jed and Abby Bartlet. And I would have liked to have seen Sam and Ainsley really make a go at it.

FitzSimmons. He jumped through a wormhole to another planet to save her! She went into an AU simulation to rescue him! Also, May and Coulson - we don’t normally see more “mature” couples on shows today, but their development was pitch-perfect, even if the show did make me wait til the very end.

Elizabeth and Philip’s marriage and relationship is one of the more complex and fascinating ones on TV. The first season was about them actually committing to each other and their marriage. Their secret marriage ceremony (in Russian!) is one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen on a show. Now, we’re watching their marriage under immense strain and I have no idea what’s going to happen and WHY IS THIS SHOW ENDING??? Other Americans OTPs: Martha x Happiness; Stan x Office Robot.

No pressure, but if you’re looking for something fun: @lerayon @millennialfangirl @eilowyn1 @machawicket @scu11y22 @jedichick04 @almondblossomme

#Tumblr Meme #Arrowverse #The 100 #AoS #West Wing #The Americans

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