#they took away her past and her future just IN CASE there was a reboot.

[marrfixated]

Wait. Maybe Priya stopped talking about med school and tried to forget about it because she realized her parents would never let her. She won the season and they wouldn’t let her. She could win every season and she’d still never be able to do what she wants. What’s the point of thinking about it anymore? What the fuck

[margridarnauds]

a@fallenidol-453 and @any59

YOU ASKED FOR IT. 

So, first off: Let’s start off with a story. I’m in my flat in Ireland, doing....Celtic Studies things. Namely, looking at Quinn’s workbook, flipping between it and Strachan’s paradigms, crying. Okay, not really crying, more “knitting my brows and scribbling furiously, because WHY is this language like this?” 

My housemate comes in with a friend of hers. We have the usual smalltalk, you know “What do you do here?”  “Oh, Celtic Studies.”  “Celtic Studies!” *I tense as I prepare for the inevitable “So, do you have any family.........” question* “Well, we just so happen to be fluent in Irish!”

Now, this is much rarer than a lot of people would think in Ireland, because the Irish education system is.........shit when it comes to teaching Irish. I literally never had someone in Ireland tell me, “Oh, I LOVED studying Irish! It was my favorite class!” And the more someone loves the Irish language, the more that they generally hate how it’s taught. So, I’m like “Oh, cool! Here’s what it looked like a thousand years ago!” and I show off my paradigms, going to the first page, which is the section on definite articles. 

There’s this moment of silence as she looks at it, HER eyebrows knitting just like mine were a few minutes ago. “Is that....Latin? It looks like Latin.” 

Now, there are two options with this story: One is that she was lying through her teeth about knowing Irish fluently in order to impress the naive American. Problem with that is that, of course, you risk being called on it. BUT the second is what I’m going with, namely that the language has changed a lot more than people generally think it has. (There’s about the same period of time between Old Irish and Modern Irish as there is between the creation of Beowulf and the present day. Imagine trying to read Beowulf without knowing ANY Old English and you’ll see the problem straight away.) This is actually a problem, because a lot of the time, people will see foreign-born Celticists writing in Old Irish/Middle Welsh/etc. and instead of thinking of us as professional scholars who are taking advantage of a dead language in order to send what are essentially very niche memes (not necessarily even “meme” in the sense of joke), they think “Oh! The dumb foreigner’s mangling the language! So funny!” 

...and yes. This has happened to multiple people I know, including myself. It’s annoying. 

So, how much has the language changed? There are essentially five stages of the language that we are able to trace: Primitive Irish, Old Irish, Middle Irish, Early Modern Irish, and Gaeilge/Modern Irish + Proto-Celtic which is the sort of shared ancestor between all the Celtic languages and the reason why some of these words are confusingly familiar and my brain needs about twenty minutes to reboot when I’m going in-between Middle Welsh and Old Irish. 

Going back to our friend, the definite article: In the modern language, there are two forms of the definite article, as you’ll learn in your very first lesson on Duolingo: An (singular) and Na (plural). You can see this reflected all over the place, probably most obviously in the names for instutions like “An Post” (the post office) and An Garda Síochána (The Guard of the Peace, the police force). 

In Old Irish? There were multiple forms of the definite article, and they had to agree with the gender, person, and case. In the Middle Irish period, those distinctions gradually fall away, becoming even pronouned in the Early Modern Irish period, leading to the language as we have it in the modern day. 

Some other changes: 

- Loss of deponents. Old Irish used to have a system that was like the deponent verbs of Latin, where you had words that LOOKED passive, but were active in meaning. As time went on, they totally dropped those, taking different approaches to how to deal with the old deponent verbs. (Sometimes they’d use, say, the verbal noun form AS the verb, sometimes they’d apply deponent endings to verbs that hadn’t been deponents before.....it’s a mess.)

-Loss of the neuter gender. Gone entirely, save for a few fossilized examples, though with some efforts to bring it back in some form in the interest of non-binary people. In the time of Old Irish, however, there was a full neuter gender, complete with a neuter article. 

- The loss of declensions. “BUT,” you might say, if you’ve studied Modern Irish, “Modern Irish HAS declensions!” And you’d be right! It does! Five, in fact.  .......Old Irish had thirteen. 

What happens over time is that people look at all those declensions and are like “That is an ASSLOAD of declensions, let’s simplify!” And so they start treating some declensions like they’re another declension, so the number of declensions goes down over time as the others all get sorted into new categories. 

Also, the categorization is different. In the modern language, you just hear that the declensions are decided by the endings, which.....is probably one of the reasons why so many people hate learning Irish, because it seems arbitrary, when, in reality, it isn’t. In Old Irish, we actually go back even FURTHER in time, to Primitive Irish (which ended around the 7th century) and, even further back in time, Proto-Celtic, because that is where the declensions actually come from. Irish used to look quite like Gaulish or Latin, with similar endings - “Fer” was “viros”, which became “viras”, “ingen” was “enigenā”, which became “inigena”, “rígain” was “rígainí” in the Proto-Celtic, “athair” was “ɸatīr” in the PC, “túath” was “toutā”, “Día” was “Dewos”........etc.

That’s why “fer” and “Día” are both o-stems, despite looking almost nothing alike, it’s why they behave the same way - They shared the same endings back in the day. That’s why we call them o-stems in the first place, it isn’t because of what’s IN them, it’s what used to be in them. 

“Ingen” is an a-stem for the same reason. 

“Rígain” is an i-stem. 

“Athair” is a r-stem. 

There’s METHOD to the madness, I promise. 

- There’s a loss of distinction of sounds - Old Irish was very strict on “This is spelled with an A and THIS is spelled with an O and those are TWO DIFFERENT SOUNDS.” Middle Irish was like “Eh? Let’s make it a general “schwa” sound.” So the spellings vary a lot starting in that period, Early Modern Irish only adds to the confusion (a favorite Celticist Hobby is pointing out the sometimes flat-out *weird* Early Modern Irish spellings of Old Irish names because *oh, boy*), and by the time you get to the modern language, a lot of things are spelled quite differently from what you’d think. Some consonants also soften in their sounds - the preposition “Co”, for example, becomes “Go”, “ocus” becomes “agus”, etc. 

- Univerbation. Essentially, Old Irish had a LOT of compound verbs like do-beir, do-gni, at-tá, ad-cí, ro-cluineathar etc. And, in the modern language, “do-beir” becomes “tabhair”, “do´gní” becomes -“á dhéanamh”, etc. Essentially, they took what’s known as the protonic form of the verb, which is the version we would use following a conjunct particle like “ní”, which expresses a negative form of an action, and they made that the regular form of the verb. They were like “Nope, don’t want to handle it, not today, Satan.” And sometimes, those forms would evolve as well, so I could be looking at a verb in Early Modern Irish, go “that looks vaguely familiar” and then realize that it’s a VERY mutated form of an Old Irish word. 

- The ~copula~. So, the copula is....an alternative to the substantive verb used in certain circumstances, indicating a state of being. Which seems really....grammar-y, but all that really means is that it translates out to “is, am, are” in English. If you ever read any medieval Irish texts, you’ll notice a lot of syntax that’s like “Cold is the wind from Norway”, “It is not a good thing you have done”, etc. The reason is because, in the actual Irish, all this would have begun with a form of the copula. It was a VERY popular way of starting off a sentence, instead of the usual Verb-Subject-Object form. In the Old Irish period, the copula was inflected, meaning that, like the definite article, it changed depending on certain factors, namely person, number, and tense. “Am” would be “I am” (”Am rí” - “I am a king”) “At” would be you (sing.) are (“At gataige” - “You are a thief), “Is” would be “he/she/it is” (”Is lóech” - “He/She/It is a warrior”), “ammi” would be “we are” (”Ammi druíd” - “We are druids/magicians”).....etc. Now, once again, starting in the Middle Irish period, you have people going “............that is an ass-load of work, let’s just use the third singular and call it a day.” This is why, in Duolingo, you have to say “Is cailín mé” a thousand times. In the Old Irish period, you would just say “Am ingen”, but, with that loss of distinction of the copula, pronouns become increasingly important to the Irish language. Some of this was already present in Old Irish, with the 3rd sing. copula being used for the sake of emphasis, “It is I who takes Bres to the trash fire, where he belongs”, sometimes with an emphasizing pronoun for added drama, but it eventually gets to the point where the others are consumed entirely. 

- Independent pronouns also come into their own, being uniformly used after the copula, with the infixed pronouns that had been uniform going away. So, for example, if I wanted to say “I kill him” in Modern Irish, I would say “Maráim é” - if I wanted to say it in Old Irish, I would say “Nan-Marbu”, with the no being what’s known as a meaningless conjunct particle (it’s there to say “LOOK! AN INFIXED PARTICLE!”).

- A lot of the verb forms, like the nouns, get smushed together - There were at least three different forms of the preterite (in Modern Irish, known as the “Simple Past”) in Old Irish, in Middle Irish, the S-preterite gradually grows to dominate, to the point where now, there is only the simple past, with endings varying depending on if you’re talking first or second conjugation verbs. Likewise, the future tense goes from having five different categories of future tenses to being divided into first or second conjugation verbs in the present day. 

Overall, there’s more, there’s a lot more, but I think that you can get the gist. When I see primitive Irish, I’m like “Okay, it’s Old Irish - The Latin edition”. It looks WEIRD, but it looks OLD and, for the most part, fairly recognizable. We don’t see it that often, outside of an ogham stone, that’s why we make such a big deal when we do. Old Irish, I’m like “FRIEND....who sometimes scares me”, Middle Irish, I’m like “Okay, this is a bit weird, but I can understand most of it, especially if I’m reading an edition where the editor explains things”, Early Modern Irish looks, to me, like everything’s been tossed into a blender. I KNOW that some of the words look familiar, but it’s HARD and it kind of hurts my brain to stare at it for too long. Modern Irish actually looks better, because it’s streamlined, the spellings are consistent, etc., but it still looks......almost eerie, actually. It also shows in how these things are taught - If you’re in an Old Irish program, you’re taught Old Irish and Middle Irish; if you’re in a Modern Irish program, you’re taught Early Modern Irish and Gaeilge (or you’re expected to know Gaeilge off the bat.) And what should probably be mentioned is that, actually, there was likely only ever a brief period where “Old Irish” was actually spoken or written - Kim McCone pointed out in an article that, actually, in some of our oldest, most sanctified sources for Old Irish, the Wurtzburg Gospels, we’re already seeing traces of Middle Irishicisms. It’s likely that, among the general populace, they were already simplifying their speech, but that the scribes who wrote this stuff down, that literary elite, took a conservative approach to the language, essentially a medieval Irish Academie Francaise, and they tried to preserve the “pure” form, only to lose the battle as time went on and even they started using these forms of the language. It’s also why we put SUCH a massive emphasis on dating....(besides the fact that it’s the closest thing we can come to dating anything, *badum tss*): Scribes, along with copying old texts, would actually sometimes put older forms of the words in newer texts in the hopes of it looking older or more authoritative. There are some bardic poems in the 16th century that are actually EERILY good. Likewise, you have some scribes looking at an older text and being like “Oh, that doesn’t look how it should! I should fix it!”, only to drop a Middle Irishicism on an Old Irish verb. And sometimes a scribe will try to correct the correction and makes it even worse. We have to analyze the whole text, weighing all of it together to see when a text might have actually been composed. 

We talk a lot about how Irish has survived over the years in spite of everything, and that’s IMPORTANT, but I feel like it’s also important to say that it’s changed, it’s reinvented itself. It isn’t static and it’s never really BEEN static, and I think, my ongoing confusion aside, that that’s really important. I can’t translate an 18th century Irish text, at least not EASILY (even though I want to do my PhD on an Early Modern text so RIP me), but someone who got their PhD in 19th century Gaelic Literature also can’t translate Old Irish (and yes.....it has happened where people act like studying Irish literature = being able to “explain” Old Irish materials to me. Because, again, Dumb Foreigners Can’t Know What We’re Talking About) We’ve got to work together to get the fullest possible picture. The language had a past, it has a future. 

[carmenxjulia]

I put together a transcript of the 2 hour Q&A Interview the Carmen Sandiego Discord did with Showrunner Duane Capizzi. All of the questions were submitted by server members. You can read everything below the break!

Duane Capizzi:

Hi there!

Am I in? Is this thing on?

PizzaHorse:

Hi, welcome!

Yep, you're in the right place!

Duane Capizzi:

Sorry I'm late, I was wandering around some empty Discord hallways looking for the right room haha

PizzaHorse:

No worries. Let's get started!

Who is your favorite character?

Duane Capizzi:

Moose Boy!

KIDDING!

Alright, how to NOT get myself in trouble if my answer isn't "Carmen" haha.

But really, they are ALL my babies.

So I know it's going to sound like a cop out to some that I can't pick just one. But hmm, some for instances...

I love that she's so morally evolved at such a young age; her ability to always take the high road and never lower herself; her drive and conviction and dedication. Her ability to kick serious booty and look good while doing it. Her progressive values, her fashion sense. I could go on and on. But then there's Shadowsan and his arc; Chase and his. Julia, who's every bit as strong as Carmen but shows it in different ways. The Cleaners don't get enough love.

I'll close that question with an anecdote about The Cleaners ...

I love that all our characters are embraced and that everyone seems to have favorites. Our sound engineer Marcel is a pretty serious guy: he has a serious job that takes high levels of focus and attention. He's always deeply focused and not prone to small talk. Anyway, we were in the middle of our first or second sound mix, and he suddenly stops in the middle and turns around to face us. I'm thinking, "uh oh, we're giving too many notes." That's when I notice he's freeze framed the Cleaners. He says "I really like these guys." Then he turns around, hits play and gets back to work.

PizzaHorse:

What was the biggest challenge for coming up with new stories and plot for the reboot?

Duane Capizzi:

THE biggest? Sigh. I'm not sure I could come up with just one. Plotting is always challenging and we had the brain trust of the room, our trusty white board, and writer assistant to keep the threads of the ongoing storyline together. I think the single biggest ONGOING challenge was tracking which character knew what at any given time.

The caper part was challenging - coming up with new capers and keeping them interesting and fresh. But, it was the characters and their interactions that kept things fresh and interesting. Another museum heist? That's okay - Chase is on the case and he gets to interact with "X" this time (for instance).

There were also some episodes - Duke of Vermeer and Crackle Goes Kiwi come to mind - where there was SO MUCH SET UP needed to get the payoffs to work. I was really worried about too much talk/too much detail. Very "Swiss watch!" It took a lot of work to make sure it all clicked and was clear - hopefully it seems effortless on screen but I can't say there wasn't some sweat and the occasional tear (mostly from me - I'm a big cry baby

But really, what made it fun was that we had so many buckets to draw from: sometimes a story germ initially began with a character idea; sometimes it was inspired by global location; sometimes it was a clever way to update or reimagine an idea from old Carmen lore. Usually, it was some combination of all of the above!

PizzaHorse:

What was your favorite scene to write?

Duane Capizzi:

I think we have a theme here! "How can I pick just one ...?"

As a film buff, I got to indulge in some serious fan nerdery on this show: I got to write spy movies, yakuza movies, spaghetti neo-westerns (though turning it on its head: spaghetti westerns usually involve REVENGE and because of Carmen's character make up, this was sort of anti-revenge).

Is writing coming up with the idea or typing it? Haha. An "if a tree falls in the forest" question. The writing team and I had so many cathartic "that's how it goes" in the room. But on my own, writing the Pilot, was a very inspiring time for me: I remember laughing out loud the moment I thought of Chase falling on his own car (in part because of doing my spin on "that trope" that we've seen in so many hard boiled movies recently). But also how emotional I got when I imagined the simple but potent image of Black Sheep deciding to take her destiny into her own hands and walk that long corridor to the Faculty who we were about to meet for the first time.

I think I've cited this in another interview, but there was a period where I was completely immersed in Chase's arc and the scene where he would crack the location of VILE island ... by listening to Julia in a dream ... was a big one for me. It revealed he was finally open to admitting he needed Julia more than he would ever admit - yet, it was his own subconscious speaking.

The next morning, after cracking that scene, I bumped into Raf Petardi (voice of Chase) ... at the supermarket! It was very strange and hilarious

PizzaHorse:

Did you scrap any lengthy or funny scenes that you would be able to share?

Duane Capizzi:

With few exceptions, most scene cuts are done at the script stage so that the story board team doesn't waste effort over boarding. A variety of trims to any script are common, but they are usually for the better

The easier question to answer might be scenes were part of our "wish list" at writer room stage, but never made it to story or script. I hesitate to go too deep here (in the event that we might ever do more Carmen episodes in this canon - I'm not giving up hope). And there were cases where things we wanted to do earlier in the series wound up getting nixed or not fitting for whatever reason, but we got them in later - USUALLY FOR THE BETTER. So there's sort of a reverse Murphy's Law/rule of good fortune somehow in these things. But some fun things that didn't make it into the show, that leap to mind were: a Bollywood dance sequence (!). A Vegas caper involving Brunt wanting to steal an Elvis jumpsuit against the backdrop of an Elvis impersonator convention. We also thought it would be neat to get Maelstrom imprisoned so that Julia could interrogate him and he would play mind games with her - very Lector/Clarice!

PizzaHorse:

Were there any different treatments of Carmen you pitched before settling on the one we ended up with?

Duane Capizzi:

I was one of several "pitches" that I'm sure HMH heard before running with my version. But I can honestly say I've never pitched anything as fully formed: the take on Carmen felt so right to me, and clearly HMH and by extension Netflix agreed

I'll answer your question with an anecdote: I had the entire Pilot pretty well worked out, and pitched it in the first meeting. But one key thing that changed (much for the better!), simply because it wouldn't have fit without slogging things down ...

In my Pilot pitch, Black Sheep's escape on the boat was off screen: we see Shadowsan corner her, then we cut away. The rest of the Faculty show up to find SS's broken sword on the rocks, and are led to believe BS killed him (!). In the present, Crackle points his weapon at Carmen and prepares to pull the trigger. We know that Chase is on the way and may rescue her. The compartment door opens to reveal - not Chase - but Shadowsan! Big surprise! Then we cut back to BS's escape and find out what really transpired etc etc.

Crazy, right? SS would have been hanging out with the gang in season 1; we might not have gotten to 203 with his back story, since his sword was broken and he couldn't return it. Just one of those magical things where "things work out" the way they are supposed to. THAT SAID, it made for a heckuva pitch

PizzaHorse:

Are there any characters that ended up taking a direction you didn't initially anticipate?

Duane Capizzi:

GRAY.

I didn't know we'd make him amnesiac when I wrote the Pilot, that was something we came up with in our first week Writer Room.

And even then, when it became clear he'd be a key piece of the bigger puzzle, we didn't know how exactly (mostly the Season 4 stuff).

We did get very deep with a version where 404 ended with his protective streak for Carmen kicking into high gear, and they would be fighting off Vile Guards back to back in perfect tandem. Then, having chosen Carmen over VILE, it was Carmen who actually orchestrates Gray going "off grid" so that VILE can never find him again. Funny, I know that is arguably the version of Gray's arc that many fans might have preferred seeing. But in the tradition of spy thrillers and film noir, and for a lone wolf character like Carmen who is focused on her life mission and not romance, we stand behind where we went with him. We felt it was so much more compelling ... and truly more emotional that he totally has a get out of jail free card when he sacrifices everything (including his life, potentially) to save Carmen.

when she needs him most!

I know I made some controversial comments about Gray "not being good enough for Carmen" and I'd like to clarify that I meant, until that final episode. What he did was so selfless and heroic. Is there hope for them in the future? Who knows?! But I do hope we get to explore that one day

I'm sure Gray is living off the grid somewhere now, inspired by Carmen's selfless good and thinking of her from time to time.

PizzaHorse:

You mentioned in the interview with Alicyn that Carmen is a love story, but you were cut off before you could finish discussing. Could you elaborate on your answer now?

Duane Capizzi:

Ugh, yes! Sorry about that. I actually answered that privately for someone so will cut and paste that response here. Let's see if it works.

Something we never said in the show, but something I imparted to the creative team was: Carmen Sandiego is (among other things) a LOVE STORY, where every character in our ensemble is in love with Carmen in one way or another. Even if they don't know it! That love can take different forms: we see how spurned by Carmen Coach Brunt feels and why she retaliates so excessively. Chase eventually comes to realize that he too loves Carmen, even if he wasn't initially aware of it haha. One of the most moving things to me about the series is how all of the different factions come to Carmen's rescue at the end when she's not "in her right mind," without knowing the others are there too. It's a massive group effort to bring back the Carmen they love. But we weren't looking for a fairy tale ending for Carmen with ANYone - Carmen's a classic lone wolf anti-hero, that goes with the territory. At least at this stage in her journey.

PizzaHorse:

Were there other locations that you wanted to feature in the show that didn't make it?

Duane Capizzi:

I think we managed to cover a lot of ground and "cadence" between different countries/cultures/continents was important to us. Many "iconic" locations of course, and it would have been nice to explore some lesser known locations if we had more episodes.

One that we almost did was Niagara Falls, Canada - actually literally going to the Falls and doing a big hydro-electric caper, where Player could actually get into the field with Carmen and the team.

But ultimately, we wound up bringing Player into the fold the way we did and wound up stronger as a result. It made his "first face to face" with Carmen even more impactful, IMO.

PizzaHorse:

Were there any changes in production between the first half and the second half of the series?

Duane Capizzi:

Well, there was that Covid thing

But while it was no doubt a colossal undertaking to get the entire staff transitioned to work from home (animators! and their equipment!), we managed to make up for lost time WITHOUT a dip in animation quality. My fedora's off to our amazing team at Wildbrain for pulling it off!

We did lose some staff between orders, but that is a natural part of production unfortunately. Namely, one of our episodic directors Kenny Park, our first storyboard artist Dennis Crawford, and our story editor May Chan were among those who moved on to other shows during the break. But, as hard as their shoes were to fill, fill them we did!

PizzaHorse:

What is your favorite season?

Duane Capizzi:

Easy. Hands down, Season 3.

(crickets)

KIDDING!

Again, another "they're all my babies" answer (and yes, I love Season 3 equally

It's hard, because really when you step back I'm sure you'll agree it's a series, with stand alone capers; but it's really all ONE BIG MOVIE.

Season 3 is like the scherzo of a symphony: the shortest movement of four, and the one that tees up the big finale.

That's my hoity toity answer but I'm going to put to rest all of the various theories on what happened with season 3. It was a combination of two things: Netflix's desire to experiment with different ways of "dropping" seasons, and their desire to do a holiday themed drop (in this case Halloween, naturally). It became our challenge to come up with a theme (easy enough: masks), and the bigger challenge to serve their need while not interrupting our ongoing narrative. A challenge to be sure, but a challenge met. I think the biggest bump was perception: it was a short season and I know that was disappointing to many. But, by design.

So, Season 3 = an essential part of the whole. I don't think there's a wasted episode, and it gets everyone into position for the big finish. I can't pick a favorite season - you can't make me

PizzaHorse:

Were there any characters you had wanted to give more time to but couldn't due to time/plot restraints?

Duane Capizzi:

Well, there's the "what was on the white board" answer but hopefully some of those ideas will see the light of day in some way, shape or form some day. I think if we had more episodes, we would have shaken up the internal dynamic of VILE a bit more (as hinted at Brunt's displeasure with Maelstrom for leaving her hanging out to dry at end of 405 - a seed we planted "just in case," as some have noted). And we had more scenes in mind with Chase's partnering with Carmen for the first time that we had to cut to the bone because of what little room we had in that otherwise packed episode (worry not: it's mostly more gags, more embellishment, more twists and turns - but the important stuff is there). Mostly, and I don't think it would have been right for Season 4 but I hope to tell in the future, I think there's an interesting history between Shadowsan and Lady Dokuso - possibly tragic - that I would love to explore one day. (She was a cameo in Duke of Vermeer at the dinner party BTW, I'm not sure if anyone noticed. And we built a bigger role for her out of that)

PizzaHorse:

What are some pre-2000/nostalgic Carmen references you snuck into the show? Do you have a favorite reference that was included?

Duane Capizzi:

Doing that was so much fun! I'd say roughly 60% of the characters were from previous iterations of Carmen, though often in name only. We had fun reimagining most everyone to make them more relevant or updated or giving them a more colorful personality for starters.

"Suhara" was Carmen's Japanese mentor when she worked at the ACME Agency in a flashback episode in the 90's series, for instance. I don't think I need to spell out how we turned that one inside out

And Tigress was also one episode only: she was a "rival thief" to Carmen, but revealed to be an ACME agent in disguise - a persona created solely to bait Carmen. It was really cool of course, but it seemed like untapped potential so we made her an ACTUAL Vile Thief.

My own internal rule was to make sure the references/easter eggs wouldn't confuse anyone - they were there for those who were in the loop and window dressing. The one and only time i broke that rule was Dark Carmen's line from 407: "I do it for the mental gymnastics." It was one of the most absurd lines from the 90's series (IMO) and i was determined to have it come out of Dark Carmen's mouth. I'm sure it left some 7 year olds scratching their heads

aside from that, the key references were the music: I still tingle at how we worked the Rockapella theme into the Interactive Special; and the 90's main title theme (composed by Mozart!), in our Vienna episode ("They're playing my song"). If you wanted Rockapella or Carmen as a bad guy, well ... be careful what you wish for!

PizzaHorse:

Was there any improvised content from recording sessions that made it into any episodes?

Duane Capizzi:

Yes! Not much, because a lot of it would have pushed us into TV-MA haha

Mostly Mary Elizabeth - Coach Brunt has a POTTY MOUTH!

Mikey and Abby usually riffed their banter WAY beyond what was on the written page and had us in stitches. Some bits definitely made it in! But mostly there was too much or it would get off point (hmmm, much like my interview answers maybe? haha)

Sharon Muthu did rise to Pun Goddess status with "Mask and you shall receive." And Raf pitched me "Chasse means hunt in French" after one session and I said: "I'm going to write that in." I don't think he believed me. You can't say I'm not a straight shooter.

PizzaHorse:

If you could get more season, would you do it, and what type of story would you tell?

Duane Capizzi:

Well if that hasn't been clear so far, ABSOLUTELY

There have been discussions of course. It's up to the powers that be at this point. I will say this: the beauty and tradition so far has been that every iteration has been its own thing. I definitely think there are more "different canon" versions of Carmen that can be had and be a part of this wonderful tradition. After all, there were many naysayers for our version when it was first announced.

I will also say that if we don't get to tell any more stories in this canon with these characters, we've left a perfect gem that will stand the test of time. I would rather go out on a high note than overstay our welcome.

All that said, we worked within the allotted episodes given, ended it as we wished, but left the door open for other stories. I'd love to do an expansion and a deepening: pick up where we left off; find out what happened in those two years; and proceed to do the equivalent of Godfather II or Better Call Saul as related to the amazing originals they followed.

Let's hope! Keep putting good vibes out there!

PizzaHorse:

If you could pick a character on Carmen Sandiego who'd you switch places with for a day (you get to control their life and they get to control yours) who would you pick, and why?

Duane Capizzi:

Okay, THIS is difficult. So you're going Freaky Friday on me?

on a Sunday?

Hmmm, I know Ivy would get along with my cat ... but then I'd have to hang out with Zack!

That's the trick: I can't pick my favorites cuz I couldn't hang out with them!

(not that I have favorites - they're all my babies haha)

Okay, I have one: ROUNDABOUT. I could fill Shadowsan's seat - how cool is that? Then, I could enact all my evil fantasies - but still have a get out of jail free card cuz he'd be sitting at my desk!

(cut to Duane being brain wiped - D'oh!)

PizzaHorse:

Who are two characters who don't really interact in the show that you think could be good friends or work really well together?

Duane Capizzi:

Hmmmm. Okay, now I'm going to give you quick and sassy answers. Gray and Julia! They'd be so cute banding together to rescue captive Carmen (for instance). And they could also duke it out and maybe settle things between themselves re: shipping controversies instead of dragging me into it

PizzaHorse:

The FINAL QUESTION. Have you learned anything super impactful while working on the show?

Duane Capizzi:

Aside from Iceland's terrifically low crime rate?

I think I have learned to never underestimate how meaningful characters can be to fans. Social media has obviously brought us a lot closer to our fan base in more immediate ways: it's been really gratifying to hear/see/read feedback and not be writing things in a vacuum. It's been gratifying to see that ideas that were meaningful to myself and the creative team on Carmen that were crafted with care, have also resonated with our fan base. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who has traveled on this journey with us - for embracing Carmen's world view, and her friends and foes alike. Take care everyone! Stay safe! This has been fun, thanks for having me!

PizzaHorse:

HUGE thank you to Duane Capizzi: for being here today.

Thank you everyone for watching and reacting!

Duane Capizzi:

Okay, gotta run - just gotta find the door

Anyway, really: THIS HAS BEEN AMAZING. I speak for everyone involved in the creation and production of Carmen: it has been an amazing and inspiring series and we're elated to see it connect with such a CREATIVE, TALENTED and INTELLIGENT fan base. Take care everyone! Until next crime...

[hellyeahheroes]

Orphaned: How The New 10s Have FAILED Cassandra Cain

As we approach the end of “the New 10s”, how we came to call this decade (a term I will be using in the common usage, referring to all years with 201X number, not the proper one which ends with 2020), I took a look at one of the characters who I really feel got the short end of the stick through all of it  - Cassandra Cain.

There were some good things for the character in the decade. Writers like James Tynion IV, Bryan Edward Hill actually gave her as much respect as they could in given circumstances and she even made her first-ever appearance in animation. However, looking back I cannot say that it has been actually kind time for her . The bad just outweighs the good. I have isolated five reasons why I believe that to be the case.

1. The Erasure

This room is full of New 52 Cassandra Cain stories.

As always, everything boils down to New 52, the reboot that defined the New 10s for DC Comics. A reboot that asked us to assume Cassandra no longer exists and never existed, even if this did not mesh with the supposedly intact, just compressed, Batman continuity. The only writer who seems to have ignored it was Grant Morrison, whose Batman Inc. was caught by the reboot in the middle and seems to exist in a Schrödinger's relationship with two continuities - both part of the old and new DC Universe.

What is worse is that DC editorial has been silently stonewalling writers who wanted to use the character with vague excuses of her supposedly being toxic and little explanation beyond that. Scott Snyder was denied the use of her in Batman and had to create Harper Row as a replacement. Gail Simone’s pitch for a Batgirls book featuring Cassandra, Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon was rejected in favor of a solo Barbara book. In which both characters have been banned from appearing. The only exception was the Future’s Ends special, which was literally Simone’s final issue. It feels that this was done due to higher-ups' desire to push Barbara as the One True Batgirl. Which manifested in some of the editorial changes made to the book, like an artist being told, behind Simone’s back, to make a new villain look like Stephanie. Or Batman flat out calling Barbara “Only Good Batgirl” despite this making no sense in a continuity where she is literally the only one to ever use the name. The fact this ended up doing more harm than good to Barbara is a topic for another list like this altogether. The crux of it is, DC did their worst to make people forget Cassandra ever exists and alienate her fans for years, hoping to get rid of them entirely.  As the very existence of this article proves, their attempts were less than successful.

2. The Alienation

Once DC actually gave in and allowed Snyder to bring Cassandra back, other problems arose. The first one has come in the form of her new codename - Orphan. That name was supposed to allow her establishing her own identity instead of being defined by Bruce and Barbara. However, this argument seems dishonest when it is an identity previously used by her villainous father. The idea of Cassandra redeeming it has some merit, I admit. But this decision does send a message of her being defined solely by her abuser. It also serves to separate her from the rest of the Batfamily. Originally Cassandra has been portrayed as a member of the group and an adoptive sister to all of Bruce Wayne’s fellow sidekicks. Now it feels like her very name serves to single her out, an orphan among orphans.

This problem is not limited to the title. In general, Cassandra is now written as more isolated from the rest of the Batfamily, excluded from as many things as possible or having her role limited to nothing but a cameo. It has been 5 years and DC did as little as possible to reestablish her relationships with any people she was close with previously. In fact, with characters like Stephanie or Tim Drake, they seem to be betting on fans remembering their bonds from the previous continuity and act like they do not need to put in the work to rebuild them. Even if such measures have been taken for things like the reveal of her mother again. Her relationship with Barbara is as quickly cut as it was reestablished, without giving us anything but one or two scenes that work mostly as a reminder of what the two have lost from old continuity. She is not allowed to form new bonds with major characters either, her interactions with Jason Todd and Damian Wayne being kept to a bare minimum even more than before New 52. 

What’s worse is that new connections that she does form end quickly broken and undermined. After a big buildup of her friendship with Harper that girl gets completely written out of Batman comics altogether. Her relationships with Clayface and Batwoman were shattered with the former’s death. Not only that but DC seems entirely unwilling to follow on plot threads like this. It has been over a year by now since Kate was forced to kill Basil to save Cassandra’s life and not a single interaction between the characters seems to be allowed to ever bring that up, despite the effect it should have on both of them. I’ve gotten an impression they aren’t allowed to interact at all anymore, just stand awkwardly next to each other in group shots. Even Cassandra’s currently established bond with Duke Thomas feels constantly undermined by a looming threat he will end the story broken and turned into a villain. All of this sends a message that Cassandra is not a real part of the Batfamily, more a hired muscle than a real member of the group. 

Even the relationships with her villains have been taken away from her by simply erasing said villains. The same goes for many characters who once were her supporting cast, like Brenda or Onyx. Even her father had to be killed despite how many great scenes past writers could work out of confronting the two and exploring both how twisted his view of her is and what extent of the damage he has done to her. It gives an impression of outright spite, as if DC only agreed to bring her back at the cost of stripping her away from all interesting story threads.

3. The Jobbing

The less is said about Thomas Wayne vs Entire Batfamily, the better.

One of the problems with Cassandra’s portrayal is jobbing. For those who do not know, jobbing is a term in wrestling where a wrestler is made to lose a fight to put their opponent over with the audience. The bigger the reputation of a certified badass the jobber has, the more likely people are to buy the other guy as a genuine threat. A quote attributed to veteran wrestler Christian goes “If you can make the other guy look good you will always find a job, but you will have to do the job”.

Sadly, since her return, Cassandra has been reduced to a jobber. A character who is known as the best martial arts fighter in the Batfamily, if not in the DC Universe as a whole, is constantly made to lose to make someone else look good. In fact, between 2015 and 2019 the character had literally a single clean victory. By “clean” I mean a fair one on one fight. Every single one of her other victories was immediately being retconned as her opponent holding back (Dick Grayson) or undermined by her having the help of other characters (Lady Shiva, Azrael). Even the one opponent she was allowed to beat, Ismael, was a new character introduced just a few issues prior and his only show of skill to speak of was beating her in a previous fight. Meanwhile, she is constantly made to lose against opponents who have never been shown to possess skills or abilities that could make it believable, like Jason Todd, Helena Bertinelli or Karma. Thomas Wayne, a character whose use of guns was justified as compensation for his horrible hand-to-hand skills, is likely the worst example of them all. Cassandra is allowed to beat unnamed minions, be it Colony soldiers or League of Shadows ninjas. However, these do little to establish her as a force to be reckoned with she once was. After all, every single hero takes down hordes of minions constantly. Overall her status as a great fighter is at this point nothing more but an informed ability and DC has killed all credibility she once had.

There are painful and insulting implications that come along with Cassandra’s jobbing. This is because her skills as a martial artist have always been something she took great pride in and formed a lot of her self-esteem around. She finds comfort and relief from living with her disability in them. Her story is not one of a person “overcoming” their disability or have it nullified by superpowers that comic books are sadly full of. It is a story of a disabled person learning to live with their disability by finding solace in other skills she has and proving herself a true master despite said disability. By making her be beaten by everyone and their mother, DC turned that character arc into a cruel joke. Cassandra who is losing every fight is Cassandra that DC wants you to laugh at. Mock her for being delusional to think disabled people can be heroes and not just helpless victims. An ableist position very in line with a company that erased Barbara Gordon’s disability and history as Oracle, and to this day has editorial personally offended by the idea she could be anything but helpless in a wheelchair. As a result all Cassandra stories since her return just feel mean-spirited.

4. Shiva

Since Cassandra's return, the only two stories to focus on her have been about her mother, Lady Shiva. This has been a larger problem that has existed since Dan DiDio started meddling with the characters. We could see it in a classic story Destruction Daughter as well. There seems to be a desire on an editorial level to repeat and outdo the classic fan-favorite fight between them from Batgirl #25. Which is by many considered the best Cassandra story and the pinnacle of Kelley Puckett's run. But the editorial does not want to simply “top” that fight. They also want to somehow integrate it into a bigger story that ties Shiva with League of Assassins. I mean no disrespect to James Tynion or Bryan Hill or Anderson Gabrych, but none of them managed to truly make it work. The stories, while still well-written, seem to be inherently contrived. And I believe the future attempts will never truly work no matter who is writing them. The whole premise is nonsensical. Shiva that works with Ras Al’Ghul and his League is by definition out of character as the two have no aligning goals to speak of. There is nothing he can offer her and she doesn’t care for his goals. And the idea of sticking with him to fight challenging opponents is undermined by a fact she could get a good fight by simply slaughtering his entire organization. I started comparing this to Street Fighter to easily explain my issue with this. For Shiva to work with Ras makes as little sense as for Akuma to be M. Bison’s lackey.  DC is constantly trying to sell to us a story that does not work and then angrily try again when it is not hailed as better than Batgirl #25. It seems that Cassandra has become a means to an end in all of it. That she exists solely to get Shiva over as a minion to a bigger villain she has no good reason to follow in the first place.

This does nothing to make Cassandra less of a jobber either, as Shiva has been stuck in the same position for the entire decade herself and at this point is no more threatening than a Teletubby. Especially if the same stories that are supposed to reestablish Shiva as a threat are the stories where she fights her daughter. It feels like the two characters are trying to each regain their credibility by beating the other one because DC did such a good job of undermining them they wouldn’t be allowed to defeat anyone else.

While I want Shiva to be an antagonistic force in Cassandra’s life and she is a great villain, the way it is done does nothing for either character. Their complex relationship and clashing philosophies don't need to be violent or even physical at all to be compelling. It effectively squanders all potential the two have, seemingly for no other reason than to put Ras Al’Ghul over.

5. No Focus

Some of you may have caught on the prevailing theme of these points. Cassandra is no longer being written as a character in her own right. She is erased or pushed in the background to not overshadow Barbara. Her relationships are not being built upon and her plotlines are being dropped in favor of focusing on other characters. She is isolated from her new family and her membership is undermined even by her own codename. She keeps losing so that villains can look strong and cannot score a victory to not make someone “more important” look weak. She keeps being dragged into fights with Shiva to push Ras Al’Ghul as a bigger deal. She is constantly on team books that are always about other people first. 

This pattern speaks for itself. Despite an ever-increasing number of her fans and even writers who adore her, DC does not care about Cassandra Cain. This whole decade the company has shown the only role they see for her is someone used to push characters the editorial wants people to like instead. DC’s treatment of her betrays their arrogance, the belief the editors know better what the fans want than the fans themselves. Sadly it seems to have spilled onto other media as well. From what we know about her appearance in the upcoming Birds of Prey movie, Cassandra is the only character the creators did not care to get right, just somebody to make others look good. This is also why I am not holding my breath for her upcoming appearances in DCeased and Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey books. At the end of the day these are still not her stories, just someone else’s books she was allowed to be in. Do not get me wrong, I hope we really get this “Cass Renaissance” the fandom is getting excited about. But outside of Shadow of the Batgirl, which will actually be a story about her, I do not trust DC to treat her as more than a glorified prop for other characters. If there is one thing I learned is that you can never expect good things from the Big 2. You can hope for the best and prepare for the worst. But they will very rarely offer you a surprise that is actually pleasant.

- Admin

[hunter-the-sad-skeleton]

“Award Ceremony: AKA; Old Director’s Revenge.”

Hunter smiled, sitting in the darkness by a table, under a lone spotlight-the only one she had ever been in in her life-and folded her hands in her lap patiently. “Come on, buddy! I’ve done a lot for ya, ya can spare one eensy weensy, tiny winy, miniscule timepiece, right?” Hunter asked, voice slowly slipping into insanity. Hatkid shook her head no.

“I need them to get home, Miss Burkes. If ya don’t mind, I need that timepiece now and I’ll be outta your-” Hatkid started.

“Oh? Truly? After everything I’ve done-Everything I’ve given you despite what LITTLE my section of this studio has to offer-you can’t part with one timepiece depsite already having-what, 15?! Sorry, buddy, But if ya want it back, I’ll have to be COLD AND LIFELESS ON THE FLOOR, CAUSE I SURE AS PECK AM NOT HANDING OVER THE ONE THING THAT COULD SALVAGE MY CAREER. JOEY, TIME FOR PLAN B!!!!!” Hunter snapped, eyes almost looking like kaleidoscopes.

“B-But you said that was in case of emer-” Joey started.

“PLAN B, NOW!!!!!!!” Hunter yelled.

“But-” Joey started.

“FINE!!!! I’LL DO IT MYSELF!!!! WHY ARE ALL CROWS SO PECKING USELESS?!?!?” Hunter snapped, shutting the lights off once again, eventually being replaced by a singular bright light alternating between blue and red.

“A-A-A-A b-b-b-bomb?!?” Hatkid yelped.

“RECOGNISE THIS LIL’ BOMB~? I, *HEHE* ‘BORROWED’ IT FROM THE CONDUCTOR’S SET~!! THIS TIME THOUGH, IT’S ATTACHED TO YOU INSTEAD OF HIS WORTHLESS TRAIN~!! IT’S GONNA BLOW IN A FEW MINUTES, SO YA BETTER HURRY AND EITHER USE ONE OF YOUR BELOVED TIMEPIECES TO REWIND BEFORE THE BOMB WAS WIRED AND AGREE TO LET ME KEEP THE TIMEPIECE OR FIND A WAY TO DEFUSE THE BOMB~!! YOUR CHOICE, ‘LASS’~!!!!” Hunter cackled.

The Conductor peeked out of one of the sides at the arena. “Hunter?!? What’s The Meaning Of This?!?” he snapped.

“CROWS, KEEP ‘EM AT BAY WHILE I HANDLE THE KID!!!!!” Hunter ordered, eyes still rippling with anger and emotion.

Grooves peeked out the other side of the arena, shocked at the events occuring before him. “Hunter, darlin’, I’m sure we can talk this out if ya would just calm dow-” Grooves started.

“SHOVE IT, TUNA BREATH!!!!!!!” Hunter snapped.

“LASS!!!! THAT IS NAE HOW WE-” The Conductor started.

“SHOVE IT, DI!!!!!!” Hunter yelled.

The Conductor’s heart stopped for a moment. “Conductor darlin’, get your head in the game! We need to help the little darlin’ out!!!” Grooves called.

“Aye, but how...?!?” The Conductor called back halfheartedly. Grooves tilted his head in concern.

“Darlin’, are you okay...?” Grooves called.

The Conductor shook his head. “Aye, ‘M fine. Yer on figuring out how to apprehend Hunter and I’ll find a defuser for the bomb.” The Conductor said.

(Timeskip a bit!)

Hunter hopped back onstage as Hatkid fell to one knee, catching her breath. “Awww, what’s wrong, ‘Darling’~? Ya can outrun a train set to explode, but ya can’t outrun a crow whose growth was stunted~? How sad can ya get~?” Hunter taunted.

“NOW, CONDUCTOR, DARLIN’!!!” Grooves ordered. Hunter yelped in surprise as The Conductor hopped over the side, rolling into the arena and over to Hatkid, defusing the bomb with ease.

“YOU LITTLE PECKNECK!!!” Hunter growled. As Hunter was about to run at The Conductor, two flippers grabbed under her arms, holding her back. “HEY!!! WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?!?” Hunter snapped.

“Not this time, darlin’!!!” Grooves said, holding her back. Hunter flailed her legs around in an attempt to get lose, but it wasn’t working.

“Lass-” The Conductor started, but Hunter didn’t make any motion or anything to show she was listening. “Lass-” He started over, still the same result. “HUNTER PLATINUM BURKES, STOP YER SQUIRMING THIS INSTANT BEFORE I BREAK YER LEGS SO THAT YE DO!!!!!!” The Conductor yelled, voice echoing slightly. Hunter stopped at the voice raise, having heard him raise his voice before, but never to THAT level.

“Yes sir.” Hunter squeaked.

“Good. Cause I wouldae, had yer not stopped.” The Conductor snapped. He squatted down to her height, scowl clear as day on his face, despite the lack of eyes. “Now then; START. TALKING. NOW.” The Conductor growled.

“How much do I need to dumb it down?” Hunter scoffed, rolling her eyes. Hunter yelped as The Conductor grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to make eye contact despite not having eyes.

“LASS, DONNAE PUSH ME BUTTONS. THIS IS SERIOUS. YE ALMOST MURDERED A CHILD. THAT COULD GET YER IN LEGAL TROUBLE.” The Conductor growled.

“Like YOU TWO are any better.” Hunter scoffed.

“LASS-” The Conductor started.

“What does she mean?” Hatkid asked, confused.

“Oh, that’s right!! They never told ANYONE HOW I split UP FROM THEM!!” Hunter said, faking cheerfulness.

“Lass, that was years ago, we’ve apologized for it multiple ti-” The Conductor started.

“YOU GAVE NO WARNING, CONNIE!!!!!! AT LEAST GROOVES WAS GONNA PUT IT NICELY!!!!!! BUT NO, YA HAD TO BE A HUGE PECKNECK ABOUT IT AND NOT SOFTEN THE BLOW WHATSOEVER!!!!!” Hunter barked.

“What does she mean?” Hatkid asked, worried.

“Lass, it doesnae mat-” The Conductor started.

“They cast ya in REBOOTS, kid~!!” Hunter butted in.

Hatkid’s thoughts went spiraling. “What...?” Hatkid gasped. Hunter giggled, sounding more unhinged than joyful.

“Yes sir-ee~!!! I helped them out with the originals, but then I got my own studio, so I got kicked from them in fear of-what were your words again, Conductor~?” Hunter taunted. The Conductor’s gaze fell to the floor. “Oh yeah~!!!! ‘we donnae want yer to be stealin any of our story ideas lass, so yer getting removed from our projects’~!!!!!!!!” Hunter grinned maliciously.

“Darlin’, me and The Conductor here have grown past that-besides, the darlin’ there did as fine a job you did, maybe even better!” Grooves grinned.

“Ooooooh, so I wasn’t good enough?!” Hunter barked. Grooves frowned.

“Ya know that’s NOT what I meant, darlin’.” Grooves scolded.

“Oh really?” Hunter growled.

“Lass, that’s-” The Conductor started.

“I’m sure the only reason that your movies got such a high rating was because penguin representation is so low nowadays that penguins were happy to see themselves in the entertainment that they enjoy~!!” Hunter mocked.

“Lass-” The Conductor repeated.

“Peck, I bet that if ya didn’t take the ‘little darlin’ ‘s debt away, she wouldn’t have helped ya to begin with~!!” Hunter teased. Grooves frowned slightly.

“Lass-” The Conductor growled.

“I’m sure she only helped ya outta pity~!!!” Hunter sneered.

“LASS, THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH FROM YOU!!!!!!” The Conductor snapped. Hunter frowned. 

“It’s the truth and ya know it, Con.” Hunter grumbled.

“What HAPPENED to ye, lass?! Ye used to be so kind, caring, upbeat-even yer colours were brighter...! What happened...?” The Conductor asked.

“What happened...? What HAPPENED? What HAPPENED?!?!? MAYBE WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT AFTER TAKING CARE OF MY FAMILY SINCE I WAS SIX, I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BE PROUD OF ME!!!!!! GROOVES WAS EASY TO PLEASE, BUT YOU-THE ONE PERSON I HAD THAT WAS CLOSE TO A FATHER FIGURE-I COULD NEVER MAKE YOU PROUD OF ME, NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED!!!!” Hunter barked. “I JUST wanted to amount to something, and I did, for a few months, but then ya went and ripped it away from me....! It DEMOLISHED my mental state, but therapy never helped. I always thought it was my fault-that I did something out of line-but soon enough, I realized that I wasn’t to blame, but it was you two. So I held a grudge...And that all was kept bottled up until...well, now...” Hunter explained.

“Ye...wanted me to be proud of ye...?” The Conductor gasped.

“Stupid, I know...” Hunter scowled.

“Wait, you never had parents?” Hatkid asked sadly.

“No, all I had were lumps of feathers that were poor excuses for parents. Like, yeah, they’d do stuff to keep me alive ‘n’ stuff, but only the bare minimum.” Hunter scoffed. Hunter chuckled darkly. “At least I kept the Hookshot I got from Train rush...!” Hunter chuckled sadly. The Conductor’s heart stopped.

“Lass, ye didn’t-” The Conductor started.

“I did....! It didn’t work though...Darn low ceilings...” Hunter chuffed. The Conductor nodded at Grooves and he put Hunter down gently.

“I trust ye not to do anything dumb.” The Conductor said, kneeling down to her height. “Donnae break that trust.” He warned. He pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back.

as The Conductor got up, Hunter got up, pulling out a knife. “CONDUCTOR, LOOK-” Grooves started before getting interrupted by an electric zap sound. Hunter dropped onto the floor, out cold.

“Sorry I had to do that, Lass. Sometimes, ye cannae reason yer way outta things.” The Conductor lamented.

“A zap disc...?” Hatkid asked.

“Leftover from one of me older movies; Eggtrocities up on spy tower. I kept ‘em in case I’d need ‘em in future. Wish I didnae have to use it on her, but some people just donnae wanna see reason.” The Conductor sighed.

“What’re we gonna do when she wakes up, Conductor, darlin’?” Grooves asked.

The Conductor took a deep breath. “Apologize.” He stated. “Apologize, and make it up to her.” The Conductor said.

“It’s....a little late for that, darlin’.” Grooves winced. The Conductor giggled and Hatkid smiled, recognizing it.

The Conductor pulled out a timepiece. “Is it now~? Lass, do ye mind if we~?” He asked.

“Nah! You’re all fun to be around! Besides, it’s for Hunter! She deserves better!” Hatkid beamed.

“Aye, that she does, Lass.” The Conductor smiled.

Hunter curled up into a ball, snoozing softly.

“That she does....” The Conductor smiled softly.

[lesboinspace]

AtLA Zine Piece

This was written for @atlazine :D I was assigned Air so I wrote this focusing on Aang, but also added as many characters who’ve impacted him as I could~ Look out for leftover sales!

A Hero’s Love

Word Count: 1,998

Rating: G

Summary: About a decade since awakening from his snow globe, Aang prepares himself for his most pressing challenge yet: summoning the courage to propose to the most incredible person he's ever met. With the help of many old friends, Aang will do just that without looking too much like a babbling, love-stricken fool.

Aang fell in love with Katara the moment their eyes met. Of course, he hadn’t known to correlate such awe with newfound love right away, but even as a child he could sense how the waterbender left a mark on him within moments of occupying the same space. The girl's gaze had been full of concern and curiosity, her aura demanding the younger boy's attention even while his chilled mind was rebooting after spending a century as a popsicle.

She was, and still is, the most beautiful soul he's ever encountered. That day, as Katara’s ocean-esque eyes collided with Aang's cloudy greys, he knew she was special. Years later, Aang's feelings for Katara haven't dimmed, only intensified with each second he shared at her side. Now, blossoming into an adult, the Avatar was set on acting out what was once mere fantasy to him when he was young: asking his beloved to spend the rest of her days with him.

But before doing so, Aang wished to spread word of this decision and, consequently, the joy that comes with it. Aang would finally propose to the woman that had saved his life and stolen his heart while spreading the jittery excitement he feels with those who've supported him along the way. Eager to share, the Avatar had soared through the skies once again, saddled on Appa's warm back with Momo perched on his shoulder.

First on Aang's journey had been Guru Pathik. This may seem strange, as the wise man had been the one who previously demanded Aang let go of Katara. However, it’s precisely because of this that the Avatar visited him before anyone else. After the war, Aang never had a chance to return to the guru and question the believed importance of severing ties.

Aang, though he struggled to admit it, harbored a little resentment for Pathik after he went against his teachings. He still respected the elder, but part of him was eager to face Pathik, to stand proud knowing that he made the better choice as a boy rather than abiding by the wise man's ruling. He was determined to marry the one Pathik told him to leave behind, so Aang was as spiteful as he could ever be. Despite this ire, Aang truly hoped that he and Pathik could reconcile over the most pleasant of news.

Upon landing, the two shared some niceties before Aang's desire to open up overwhelmed him. “I’m going to marry her, you know. If I’d listened to you, she would’ve died.” Aang could barely look at the guru when he said this, mixed feelings of avoided grief and desperation swirling about his mind. Pathik wasn’t blind to this, and quickly sat the Avatar down as he began emptying his thoughts.

“Connections to others limit our ability to prosper. Any ties to this world and its people weaken our chance to explore the strength laying dormant within.” Aang did his best to sit still and listen, but he couldn’t cease the curling of his toes and twitching nose. He’d waited a long time to hear Pathik’s explanation, but it was harder than expected to eye the man responsible for Katara’s near-death experience.

He was so restless that Aang was oblivious to Pathik’s similar discomfort. The elder shifted his hands from his knees to his calf over and over again, running his fingertips along the fabric as he spoke. He too struggled to hold eye contact with the man he hurt. “I didn't wish to harm you with my judgment. I thought I was doing what had to be done, both for you and the fate of us all. It seems that… I may have been wrong, in your case at least. I hope you can forgive me.”

With each word Aang’s tight clench of his fists loosened just as the viper’s grip on his heart receded. “I haven't a single doubt that you and your beloved will be very happy together. Cherish her and those you love, young man.” Both men’s gazes steadily rose, meeting for the first time since Pathik began illustrating his convictions that were left wrongly unspoken for years. The guru smiled at Aang, taking in all that the Avatar had become without him.

“Your ties to them seem to make you stronger. I'm sure dear Gyatso would agree.” The conversation dissipated any lingering frustration in Aang's heart, unaware that so much had existed until Pathik’s sincere admission of regret. Aang pulled the elder into a hug when he initially intended to part ways after a stiff, procedural bow. He experienced an unexpected ease wash over him, a tension in his stomach unraveling once his reconnection with the elder appeased his perturbed psyche.

Driven by the gratifying experience, Aang immediately met up with another man from his past— though undeniable wisdom and age is all that connects the two elders. King Bumi jumped on Aang upon his arrival, and the two puffed out giddy, exhausted breaths. The longtime friends discussed the good old days before Aang announced he was planning to propose.

The king was so ecstatic that he moved to tackle him again. However, the Avatar was ready the second time around—though just barely pivoting away. Nevertheless, the king was undeterred. For several minutes he continued to leap at Aang, who somehow managed to stay untouched. He was out of breath until Bumi came to a sudden halt and offered some sort of approving nod, like their game of cat and mouse equated to something far beyond Aang's comprehension.

With that, Bumi resumed his full height and rubbed Aang's forehead as if he were a fortune teller prodding his crystal ball for answers. The Avatar merely stood in silence, holding in a snort while he waited for his friend to finish his inner analysis. “You've grown so much, yet your spirit has remained passionate and humble. You'd be surprised how often power corrupts. You're still the friend I made all those years ago, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sure that spunky waterbender gal feels the same.”

Aang nearly teared up at the sentiment. Just as he placed a hand on Bumi’s shoulder, the elder grinned before slamming the unsuspecting Avatar onto his back. The two friends continued to run about for hours until Aang insisted for his own safety that they stop. With a tight hug that both men groaned through, laughing through the glorious agony, the king and the Avatar parted ways.

Aang set out to the Southern Water Tribe to meet with the last wise man on his list: Hakoda. The surprise visit prompted Katara’s father to suspect exactly what the Avatar wished to discuss. He ushered Aang into his home, seeking privacy for the topic. “If you’re here to ask for my approval in marrying my daughter, do know that it’s not necessary; Katara is a grown woman who doesn’t need her father cradling her, but I appreciate your sentiment nonetheless.”

Hakoda’s shoulders shook as he emitted a low chuckle at Aang’s wide eyes and tense frame. “Come now, don’t look so embarrassed. Why else would you be here? I don’t suppose you plan to confess your feelings to my son and marry him instead?” The Avatar smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck, joining Hakoda in laughter.

Just as the men made earnest, understanding eye contact, an ear-shattering scream disturbed the moment. Sokka barged in, gaping like the recent catch of fish balanced on his back. “You’re finally going to do it? Okay, so when are you planning on asking, exactly? Oh, and where? How? I have a million questions, man! Or, wait, I guess I can call you brother now, huh?” His babbling was met with blank stares which quickly melted into bright smiles. The men spoke of the future until nightfall, and Aang said his goodbyes, his soul satisfied at the reciprocated excitement from his closest companions.

Each meeting had left the Avatar with a newfound clarity, and he now feels ready to propose to Katara. Knowing that he and Katara would appreciate the hijinks of it now that time and fear have passed, Aang brings Katara to Ember Island after requesting its theater group to put on the same reenactment of their journeys solely for the couple. As expected, Aang and Katara laugh throughout the entire production.

Aang admires the waterbender’s uncontrollable chuckles and glistening eyes, growing eager for the play to end so he can propose. Once the curtains fall, the couple clap and cheer before Aang tugs Katara out of her seat, guiding her to the beach. The two gaze in silence at the shimmering waters, both sneaking not so subtle glances at each other for a marvelous eternity. Aang almost hates that he has to break their trance for any reason at all, but he just can’t wait any longer—not with how beautifully illuminated she is under the moonlight.

“Katara, there’s something that I want to ask you. The thing is, uh, you see…”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Hang on, let me get through this,” Aang holds up a palm while rubbing his temple with the other, forehead creasing. The Avatar curtains his eyes, vacuuming up oxygen through his nostrils as if he’s never had any fill his lungs before. “Okay, so when two people love each other very much—”

His hands retract to his center, fingers spreading out and motioning to the air. Aang continues the anxious spasming of his limbs until Katara's words process in his overloading mind. “Wait, what? How did… I mean, who told you?”

“You shouldn’t have trusted Sokka. That goof is terrible at keeping secrets, especially from me.” An airy chuckle tumbles out of the waterbender, recalling the event from just a few nights ago, “I barely looked at the guy before he broke down into gibberish, going from formal venues to invitations or something. All it took was a few seconds of hard eye contact for him to snitch every last detail… and then some. I know way too much about Sokka's love for Suki now, it's kind of disturbing. I'll spare you the trauma.”

With a sigh, Aang smacks the center of his arrow, though his taut expression is quick to dissipate. He shrugs his shoulders, chalking up the reveal to one of Sokka's many charming moments. “Figures. I didn’t even tell him since I was sure he would blab. He was eavesdropping when I was talking to your—um, never mind.” The two share a laugh, but Aang’s nervous rocking on his heels silences both of them. “So, you really mean it? You'll… marry me?”

Katara’s smile stretches further as the Avatar eyes her from under his dark lashes. “Of course, sweetie. If I’d never met you, there’s no way I would’ve discovered half of what I’m capable of. I was able to become strong like my mother wanted me to be, and I even got to help save the world with the Avatar himself. Now, I’m—” She pauses her spiel when Aang’s head tilts to the side, though roses seem to bloom within his cheeks as they burn red. “Okay, okay, sorry. Enough about me.” Clearing her throat, Katara sets her hands on his shoulders. “What I’m trying to say is that you’re everything to me, Aang. I’d be honored to spend the rest of my life with you.”

His face bursting with color, Aang lowers his gaze “I’m the one who’s honored to be with you... I may have saved the world, but you, ya know, saved me and all. And not just from being a snow globe.”

“I know.”

With the promise made between them, Aang and Katara melt into each other’s arms. They seal this new bond with a kiss while a gentle breeze twirls through their bodies. It's almost as if the Air Nomads’ spirits were applauding their pupil, embracing the pair in gusts of caresses like the lovers are the heart of a hurricane.

[prism-sakura-s]

Corner of Love

Ship: Royality, Analogical mention, mayybe future LAMP? idk I haven’t fully fleshed out the story yet oop-

Warnings: one word is all caps, I think that’s it?

I’m planning to include this as a short filler chapter in my Filipino!Patton fic I’m working on, so take this as a sneak peek I guess?

♫

It was another one of those nights where Patton and Virgil had chosen to switch dorms yet again (which was now every night, but they chose not to notice) so that they could stay with their respective significant others. Well, Virgil and Logan weren’t together just yet, but Patton and Roman had snickered about how they might as well be on more than one occasion.

Patton lay horizontally on the bottom bunk, his head just barely hanging over the edge, while Roman sat on the floor against the bed, cross-legged, chortling at a pun Patton had just made. The night so far had been joyful, the two having shared jokes, small talk and cutesy exchanges that would have made one’s teeth rot had they been there, as well as some biscuits from Patton’s hometown, left half-eaten in their container on the floor next to Roman. A biscocho or silvanas would be plucked from their jar from time-to-time, satisfying the two lovebirds dwelling deeply in each other’s presence.

The laughter quieted down, and Patton took a butterscotch from its plastic bag. Slowly tearing apart the wrapper, he pondered on what to say next. He held up the butterscotch against the light, crumpling the wrapper in his fist. Patton counted the nuts he could see - a fun little habit he liked to do before eating one - and popped the whole thing (yes, the whole thing, despite past experiences warning him not to) into his mouth at the same time an idea popped into his head.

“’Eew, couwd I bway sow’ ‘ewsic?” Patton asked, his voice muffled by the sticky treat.

Roman looked at him, soft amusement carved into his face. “Hm?” he responded.

Patton’s eyes widened, and he sat up straight to properly swallow the butterscotch. “Sorry!” he apologized, letting the last of the snack go down his throat.

“It’s okay, Bubbles,” Roman said, turning to face Patton. His bangs shifted as he tilted his head slightly. “What is it?”

The smile on Roman’s face still made Patton’s heart flutter, no matter how many times he saw it. He blushed and stuttered a bit before continuing his sentence.

“Could I play some music, Deer?” Patton inquired meekly.

Roman’s eyes brightened, the violet coloring his eyes seeming to illuminate for a second. “Of course!” He stood up and held out his hand to help Patton off the bed, despite the latter’s protests. Still, Patton took the offer, and stood up, keeping their hands together for a few more moments before detaching.

“What did you have in mind, Blossom?” Roman continued.

Patton beamed at Roman as he walked over to the messy desk strewn with projects and scratch paper covered in doodles. “I can’t be all three of the Powerpuff Girls, Ro-ro,” he teased.

“Hm, true,” Roman mused, walking up behind Patton. “You’ll just be Bubbles then.”

“You can be Blossom!” Patton grinned at Roman. “Virgil can be... Buttercup.”

“Wouldn’t that better fit Specs, though?” Roman queried. “Vee can be Bliss.”

“Who’s Bliss?” Patton looked back at Roman, quizzical.

Roman gasped. “You don’t know Bliss?”

“Is she from the reboot?”

“Yeah, her powers are really hard to control and are connected to her emotions. Super anxious about them, you know...” Roman waved a hand vaguely. “...destroying everything.” 

Patton hummed before turning back to the desk. “Honestly, that does sound like Virge,” he giggled.

Roman grinned. “Glad you agree.”

Patton lifted a stack of papers (it was hardly a stack, really, more like a small heap) to find his collection of CDs he moved temporarily (read: permanently) to Roman’s room in case he ever felt the need to listen to them while there. Under another stack of papers was Patton’s portable CD player. He smiled and picked up his CDs first, picking through them to find the album he was searching for.

Roman rested his chin on Patton’s shoulder. “What are you looking for?”

Patton suddenly came across what he was looking for, and brightened. He popped open the lid of the cover as well as the player’s, and inserted the disc. Patton shut the lid, pressed play, and turned to Roman, basically shining.

“Basil Valdez,” Patton chirped, holding up the CD container to Roman’s face. “One of my dad’s favorite singers, as well as mine. I haven’t been able to listen to him much since I moved here.”

The music started up, and the deep voice of Basil Valdez emanated from the player’s speakers.

Rivers belong where they can ramble

Roman perked up. Wait, wasn’t that...?

Eagles belong where they can fly (Rivers belong where they can ramble)

Patton noticed the look on his boyfriend’s face. “Ro? What’s up?”

Roman looked back at Patton, eyes wide. “Patton, is that what I think it it?”

“What?”

I’m not a river or a giant bird that soars to the sea But if I’m tied to anything, I’ll never be free

Roman glowed, a large grin forming on his face. “Patton, he’s singing Corner of the Sky!”

“Yeah, why-”

“That’s from Pippin, the musical by the brilliant Stephen Schwartz!”

“It is?!” Patton exclaimed, incredulous. That was a new piece of information!

“It is rather different though,” Roman noted, his hand on his chin. “I don’t seem to recognize these words.”

“It is a cover,” Patton said, shrugging.

Everything has its season Everything has its time

“Oh, I know this part!” Roman gleefully stated, confidence building up in him. “Show me a reason, and I’ll show you a rhyme!”

Patton watched lovingly as Roman sang his heart out to the lyrics. The energy he was giving off seemed to flow through the room, blanketing everything that dared witness it, Patton included.

Cats sit on the window sill Children sit in the snow Why do I feel I don’t fit in Anywhere I go?

“Rivers belong where they can ramble!” Patton suddenly interjected. “Eagles belong where they can fly!”

Roman laughed, and held out his hand for the second time that night, this time with a different invitation. And this time there were no protests or hesitation. Patton took it right away, and was immediately swept into a dance.

I’ve got to be where my spirit can run free Got to find my corner of the sky

The dance was sporadic, with no real direction. The two held each other and twirled around the room, keeping in time with the instrumental. Laughs sounded as one spun the other around, as they jumped and hopped from one point of the room to the other.

Every man has his daydreams Every man has his goal People like the way dreams have Of sticking to the soul

Thunderclouds have their lightning Nightingales have their song And don't you see I want my life to be Something more than long...

Of course, they sang the song all the way through. Sometimes they would pause to laugh or just to catch a breather, but they would always continue. And Patton drank in every moment of that experience. How the music seemed to  bound about the room like a cheerful dog, filling every crevice. How Roman was so graceful yet energetic. How his hair bounced and his eyes shone like stars. How Roman seemed to shine, to stand out to Patton. How beautifully their voices melded together.

And every move - every twirl, hop, jump, even every single simple step - brought Patton closer and closer to Nirvana.

Got to find my corner...

The song slowed down, and so did Roman and Patton.

of the...

The two grinned, basking in the presence of one another. They were together.

The music built back up again, and they simultaneously belted the last note:

“SKYYY!”

The song ended, and the two collapsed onto the bed. They let out breathy chuckles, and smiled at one another.

Roman took Patton’s hand in his, and kissed his knuckles. “Thank you for that, sweet Lilac. You are truly amazing.”

Patton blushed, and beamed wider. “Ikaw din, aking diwata,” he responded.

Roman booped their noses together, and they both giggled. “What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Patton assured, cuddling up to Roman.

“With You” started playing, and the couple soon dozed off with peaceful smiles on their faces.

♫

I think my own tooth rotted while writing this ow-

[irondadgroupie]

Bohemian Rhapsody: Chapter 8

A/N: Peter is still in coma and more professionals visit him @intoresus

“Oh, sorry,” the doctor smiled at the sight of Tony slouched in a chair, his legs resting over Peter's.  

“Hey! It's alright,” The man straightened up and closed the book. “It was getting a bit monotone anyway. There are only so many times you can stand the story of Peter Rabbit.”  

“Tell me about it,” The doctor stepped into the room and watched Tony adjust the blanket over the patient. “I have a daughter who loves that story, I know it by heart.”  

“I can only imagine. So, a check-up?”  

“Just a quick one,” the doctor stared at the monitors that displayed Peter's vitals. “Your boy is doing magnificent progress!”  

Tony ruffled Peter's chair with an affectionate smile. “Well, he has always been a straight- A- student.”  

“We were a bit worried the cardiac arrest would set him backwards a lot but it seems the hypothermia-“

In life, there are few moments you go through a complete pause, one where your thoughts cease and your mind needs to reboot. That happened to Tony at the words ‘cardiac arrest‘. His eyes snapped open and his pulse turned into rapid fire.

“THE WHAT?”  

The doctor turned to him.  

“The cardiac arrest, in the helicopter? Weren't you told-“  

“NO, I WAS NOT TOLD ANYTHING!” Tony shrieked and buried his face in his hands. “This is not good, this is not good- “  

“Mr Stark, I understand it is a shock but Peter is doing fine!” The doctor tried to set a hand on his arm but Tony recoiled further away. “I admit that cardiac arrest raises the risk for another by about 70 percent if I remember correctly-“  

“OH MY GOD!”

May had barely heard the last words of the conversation, but she wasn’t surprised to find Tony panicking at the physician’s exclamation. She couldn’t even count how often she had had to deal with relatives that had yet to swallow that information – and how often she had to explain that it was incorrect. Signing the doctor to leave the room, she made a step towards Tony.

“Tony, Tony, Tony,” May grabbed the man's shoulders. “You need to calm down.”  

“Peter- but Peter-“  

“Tony, forget those numbers! They don't mean a thing!”  

“How can you say that?” The man hyperventilated. “He could have another cardiac arrest!” “Tony,” She guided his head between his knees. “Take deep breaths and I'll ease those worries. Now, forget those figures, they are not reliable and are only rough estimates. They include all cases in them: old and young, sick and healthy. Yes, initial heart failure might raise the risk for another but there are numerous other factors. Peter does not have heart issues, his main problem was hypothermia and lack of oxygen.”

“But-“  

“No, Tony, those statistics include everything from cancer patients and people suffering from severe infections to people who were hit by lightning.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Peter is fine. He’ll maybe spend some more time in slumber land but he’ll be fine.”

It took Tony quite a while to calm down after that. Every time he tried taking a breath he could feel his heart burn at the thought of how close he’d gotten to loose Peter forever. He could’ve done more, he should have -

“Stop it, Tony.” May still stood beside him, hand resting on his back. He couldn’t even understand why she was helping him, after everything that happened. “You want a glass of water?” The woman hurried off before he could give an answer and returned only a few moments later, handing him the glass.

“I’m not -“

“Yes you are. Everything’s alright and you need to drink something without caffeine for once.” When he didn’t make a move to sip, she gently gave him a reason to.

“You know we have the breathing therapist coming today, they’ll tell us what we can do to support and quicken the ventilator withdrawal process. We need to be clear-minded for that.”

“It’s today already?” The appointment had seemed in distant future when he’d scheduled it.

“Yeah, they’ll be coming this afternoon.” May was glad to see Tony’s breathing finally evening out and him taking a half-conscious sip of water. She decided to swiftly change the topic to something less heavy, something that would distract the man from the weight of knowledge. “Has Rabbit Peter finished his adventure?”

He weakly gestured to the book at the nightstand. “For the tenth time. Wanted to hear it twice today.”  

While his condition was still classified as ‘vegetative comatose state’, May and Tony had quickly learned to interpret signs of Peter’s comfort and discomfort. It was still try- and- error sometimes, figuring out what he wanted and needed, but they got better at it. After trying to read another story, it hadn’t taken Tony long to figure out the kid’s pulse only calmed down when he continued to read that one particular story. On other days, Peter wanted his hand held, or May humming some old lullabies.

“What luck I brought some new ones.”  

Tony looked up, trying to smile at another bunch of young children’s novels. For the moment though it only reminded him of the fact that they were slowly making this hospital room Peter’s room, with the flowers Pepper had bought, some more of his old stuffed animals, including a Captain America and Iron Man one that currently sat at his right and left side

“What do you think, sweetie?” May whispered, sitting down at her nephew’s bedside, her fingers affectionately caressing his cheek. “What do you want to do ‘til the big visit?”  

As always, the only response were the continuous beeps of the vital monitor and the mechanic huff of the ventilator.

“We can put up the old Star Trek movies, if you like. I can read for you, if you want. Tony read the entire night reading for you, I bet his voice is too scratchy to sound like the little Heffalump.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“The what?”

May’s mouth opened in shock but she smiled when she turned to Peter again. “Can you believe it? He doesn’t know the Heffalump!” She handed him the book without further words, an old copy of a children’s book called ‘Winnie meets a new friend’.

“Seems like I have to read it, huh? No way we can let him leave without him knowing Piglet’s best friend Lumpy.”

May started reading shortly after, her voice soft, and Tony found himself actually following the story of that little pink elephant and his adventures. Who knew whether or not the knowledge couldn’t come in handy someday? When May reached for her tea and paused reading for a moment to oil her voice, Peter’s pulse quickened slightly, a fact Tony did not miss. His eyes scanned the open page of the book in May’s lap before he found the sentence she’d stopped at, reading the following few lines. The next thing just happened, without either one of them thinking about it: Tony paused and May jumped in, reading the little elephant’s part, before Tony continued casually with the story, reading dialogue lines of Winnie, Rabbit, and Tigger while May took over for Piglet, Lumpy, and Roo.

May and Tony were both interested in what the appointment would bring, but for slightly different reasons. Tony still hoped the efforts would quicken Peter’s healing process to the point were they could just get rid of the breathing tube after one or two weeks of doing what the therapist recommended. May, on the other hand, knew that although they might be supporting the process with said means, Peter couldn’t get tube-free without being fully conscious, and that was a state they’d not yet reached. Which was about exactly what one of the invited physicians just tried to explain.

“What we can do is strengthen the diaphragm. That will be the main goal of all designed exercises. However, due to the vegetative state he is in at the moment, most of them have proved rather ineffective because of the lack of willing impulse control.”

“But there’s still something we can do, isn’t there?” Tony asked. He knew the basics and issues of breathing therapy, but when he’d scheduled the appointment, he’d hoped they were way past the vegetative state. In all honesty, Tony had made the necessary calls in simple hopes of never needing them. Back then, he’d thought that Peter would heal just as impossibly fast as usual - and by now be that once healthy teenager he had grown to love.

“Sure there is, I just wanted to point out that while we’ll be able to show you certain therapy aspects, they’ll be almost useless until he’s less deep in his coma.”  

As if the physician picked out Tony’s growing impatience (he wanted to do something to help Peter, not talking about “hows” or “whys”), he stood up, moving to the bag of tools they’d brought: sandbags, modified air balloons... None of those were of interest right now, but the specialists still explained the details of “the daily breathing workout” that’d include Peter learning how to regain control over the air traveling down, even though he wouldn’t be able to in- or exhale entirely by himself at the beginning. It would be a rather rough step by step work when Peter was ready for it. Until then, they had another method of artificial support that Tony was far more interested in: Electric impulse triggering.

It basically consisted of a small belt that was laid on the appropriate area, where the included electrodes would continuously send signals for the muscle to contract and relax, which would hopefully strengthen the muscle fiber that could otherwise easily dwindle.

Tony insisted on being walked through a session set-up from beginning to end.

The first step was to allow the belt skin contact, and Tony tried his best to keep a straight face when moving the gown aside. Peter still seemed covered in so many tubes and wires that the burning knife in his heart twisted at the sight. The only relief was that at least the most prominent bruises had faded away within the past weeks.

“It’s pretty simple. You enable it. There’s just one setting, no frills or anything. But you have to take care of the time. Start with two minutes a day and slowly move upwards from that so the body can adjust to the new pressure. If you want too much too quick, you could risk a charley horse that could easily impair muscle movement.”

“We won’t let it come to that.” May promised, listening to the silent whirs of the new machine added to the symphony she had somehow gotten used to. Peter laid still, showing no obvious signs that the machine was doing anything and his pulse was calm and steady. As long as it wouldn’t harm him, a condition both May and Tony had agreed on, they would try anything that could be even slightly beneficiary to Peter’s condition. 

“How has the appointment been? Any progress?” Pepper asked, placing a tray of food on the nightstand before leaning towards Peter, squeezing his hand to let him know she was there.

Tony shrugged half-heartedly and watched his spouse take her place. The woman had learned pretty early on that if she wanted to spend some rare time with Tony it had to be here since the man refused to leave Peter’s room for any longer than he necessarily had to. Showers and shaving had become less frequent too - which easily caught attention, given that Tony Stark used to be a very spruced person.

“Just like we’ve guessed. They gave us some recommendations, but in the end, we mainly have to wait until he reaches at least a minimally conscious state.”

“Still no changes?” Pepper handed him the cutlery.

“No. Still sleeping deeply.” Tony began forking up the noodles without looking, his eyes fixed on the teenager in the hospital bed. “The doctors keep assuring it’s nothing to worry about but -“

“Then it isn’t. Trust them, Tony, they know what they’re talking about.”

“It’s been so long, Pep. Too long. If he’d be normal, I probably wouldn’t worry that much... But he’s enhanced, the spider genes should’ve taken care of the damage by now.” 

Pepper sighed, not in frustration or annoyance, but in pure understanding. “After all those papers you’ve read by now, you should know that there’s no such thing as a reliable estimate on the duration of coma. There’s no correlation with the severity of injuries, so there might be other factors that his healing factor does not have a direct impact on, or they’re just... new. We have to remain patient.”

“I know.” Tony sighed. “I just hate seeing him like this. He should be in school outsmarting his classmates - not here. This is not what I meant when I said I wanted to have him around more often.”

“He’ll be fine.” Pep assured, for what must be the thousandth time ever since the accident. “And when the rough part is over, you two can have a talk about prolonging your weekend sessions.” She smiled, before frowning, suddenly remembering that there was something else.

“You should check your emails. They’ve sent first reports to Peter’s mail address, but since he isn’t able to read them just now, I had them forwarded to you, too. I assume you want to read them to him.”

“Are they good?” Tony asked, faking a casual tone.

“I didn’t look.” Pep answered. “But let’s just say the research group doesn’t exactly consist of scientist that have a happy expression on a day to day basis.” 

Tony’s eyes lightened at the words, and he would’ve given everything to have Peter wake up at them, just to see the glance of excitement in the boy’s warm, brown eyes, too. No matter how the results would look like, it would give them something new to work with, which would definitely be a reason for celebration.

Peter, as always, slept the happiness away.

But Tony refused to give up just yet. Maybe that’s what Peter needed: Hearing that the world needed him, awake and aware, to change it for the better.

So, as soon as he’d finished at least half of his portion, he reached for his StarkPad and went through loads of emails of no interest before he found the one he’d been looking for, opening the attached files.

“‘Dear Mr. Parker,’ he started, eyes already lines below. “The chemical fluid design that Mr. Stark has sent us on your behalf has been in Alpha-Testing for the past couple of weeks. Main goals of the research were to study the advances and potential weaknesses of said design in the light of the intentional idea for its use in, quoting your own descriptions, ‘biological engineering as a possible construction material for 3D printed organ layouts.’ Our momentary, rather basic results prove that the fluid hardens to a nearly perfect degree in the printing settings you recommended. Further, the general construction flexibility is very good, allowing the print-out model to accede certain movements without loosing structure.

“It is yet to be seen whether or not the chemical design will be adopted by surrounding, natural cells. Testing the inter-body-dynamics will be a huge part of further research phases.

“Enclosed, you will find the used experimental designs as well as their results, showing minor inconveniences with the current formula.” Tony stopped reading, and realized only then that he had started smiling. Scanning the list of mentioned “inconveniences” with the ‘Steak Formula’, it became clear that all of those were minor and probably easily corrected by changing just simple aspects of it. Maybe even just adapting the printer settings a little again. 

“This is better than you probably ever dreamed of, kiddo. This is extraordinary.” He threw a glance at May who’d come in after the first half of the mail, eyes widened in surprise, too.

“They’re waiting for you.” She said, thumb moving along the lines of Peter’s cheek. “You hear that? They’re waiting for you too continue what you started.”

The happiness left when a response failed to appear. But the pride in both May’s and Tony’s heart remained.

[disrepairhouse]

Chapter 33 - Realizations

Itara wasn’t sure what she actually wanted to hear when Metal returned from Spagonia for a second time.  He came back with enough parts to repair RK with plenty to spare, should he need further repair in the future…

But he hadn’t returned with the book.

Her journal was truly gone.

According to his report, the university’s attempt to start repairs was stopped short by a number of earthquakes that hit the area. The previous destruction only worsened and the university became too dangerous to traverse until they were sure the quakes were done.  They had evacuated the remaining professors and students that were still in the area, leaving behind most of the remnants from the fight, including the destroyed bots on the outer edges.  Unfortunately, whatever remained of her backpack and the journal were long gone. Metal found the burnt remains of her handheld, but that was it.

The earthquakes in Spagonia showed no signs of slowing, either, and the worst of them even managed to reach the outer limits of Soleanna.  Their neighborhood was on the opposite side of the city so it never reached them, but the news was ablaze with talk of light shaking that could be felt on the outer edges in addition to the myriad of other problems Spagonia was facing. Itara only made the mistake of turning the actual TV on once and immediately turned it back off after it sent her into a minor panic.  The only time the TV was turned on afterwards was if a video game was on, which increased considerably with Itara’s loss of her handheld.

Between the loss of her journal, RK still being offline, and the news about Spagonia, her emotions were hardly any easier to control and the burning in her arms had yet to die down.  Games were hard to play but she tried her best to keep herself distracted, even if she had to sometimes push the buttons with her feet because her hands were too hot.  She never got far on any level, but any small distraction was enough.  She spent a lot more time listening to music than ever before, as well.  She was desperate for any distraction.

Yet, at the same time, deep down in the cluttered mess of her emotions, there was some small semblance of relief. She refused to name it that (the implications were more than she could handle at the moment), but it was a strange, light, floaty feeling that was entirely foreign to her.  Maybe it was because her journal had become little more than a normal journal since the reset and with its loss, she no longer had to constantly check it to see if her powers were working again.  Because it had been removed from her life forcefully, she had no control over the situation.  It felt like the responsibility of keeping a check on everything was gone with it.

The vague concept of just letting things be as they were was both terrifying and strangely appealing.  She had no choice now than to simply let it be.  She had no idea how to process the feeling that came with that idea.  It was freedom and uncertainty, packaged and tightly strung together and she feared what that meant for her.  The first and last time she’d been so uncertain of her future was before she ever met Mephiles, when she wandered Crisis City and struggled just to survive, when she flit from group to group and watched every single one of them die, time and time again, until she was once more left alone to defend herself. No idea who or what she was.  No guarantee she’d live to the end of the day.

It had been terrifying and disheartening.

But it felt different now.

Now the uncertainty felt strangely hopeful, though she refused to tack that word to it either.

Even in her own mind.  

She knew there was something still happening out in the world, she knew, even with her journal gone, life wouldn’t return to how it had been the past few months.  The Gods were active, life was only going to get more dangerous.  For all she knew, they could be facing Crisis City again before long.  Maybe not in the same way as before, there was no Iblis to wreak havoc on the world as before, but Chaos and Gaia could do the same if not worse.  If anything, having her powers might at least save her and RK and Metal.  Without them, she was just as much at the mercy of the Gods as everyone else.  She knew more, but it hardly mattered if the world shattered.

But even that thought, for some reason she would never understand, was strangely comforting.  To know she was in the same situation as everyone else, as the robots, as the humans… as her friends.  She didn’t understand why, no matter how she turned it around and studied it in her head to try, but it was relieving.

Relieving.

The word finally forced itself into her thoughts, as much as she tried to fight it back down.  It fought back.  The word sat, large and bolded, in front of her mind’s eye until she accepted it’s meaning. Until she accepted the feeling. She fought it, as hard as she could, but it became an impassible wall before long, her mind returned to it, time and time again, until she had no choice but to face it directly.

She was relieved.

Not because she’d lost her powers.

Not because the world was likely ending.

Not really even because she would be in as much danger as everyone else.

She was relieved because she knew, whatever came next, she wasn’t alone.  She had RK and Sparky and, somewhere out there, Kipper.  She had Simon and Tobi and even Sceira.  She’d spent so long keeping her distance from everyone because she believed that was what her father wanted, someone who would get the job done no matter what, someone who would be nothing but helpful towards his cause, and she was determined to be that for him.  Even RK, at first, was nothing more than a tool to keep her alive in a future where Mephiles set her up to die.  But with Solaris no longer responding and her powers no longer being useful, since she became no longer useful, she’d been allowed to live at least somewhat normally.

Yet still she spent most of that time trying to reconnect with him.  Was it all wasted time?  Or was she wasting time now by not trying to fix what happened?  She didn’t know, she didn’t understand, and it only aggravated her further the longer she tried to figure it out.

With a heavy, disgruntled sigh, she looked up through the living room window.  The game she’d been playing sat on a Game Over screen.  She didn’t know how long it’d been there, and the day had long since shifted into night.  Not that she knew what day it was, either.  The house was silent aside from the low hum of the TV, but if she listened hard enough she could hear Metal working down in the lab.  The door was closed, but with the stark silence of the house, the muffled noises from the lab eventually drifted up.

She pushed herself up from the couch slowly as she tried to shake the daze off and trudged towards the lab door to follow the sounds.  She’d spent too long in her head. She wanted a better distraction and video games weren’t helping.  She was hoping Sparky could divert her attention away from her thoughts long enough to get her head back on straight.  There was too much to think about and her head was swirling. Normally that was when she stirred up trouble with Kipper, but Sparky was the only option now.

As soon as she opened the door the lab, the echo of beeping machines, a welder, and Metal’s unrestrained cursing poured through and Itara briefly debated how much noise she was willing to deal with at the moment.  But she needed out of her head.  With flattened ears, she descended the stairs and looked out over the lab to study the source of all the noise.  Metal was at one of the work stations with the welder and a heap of retrieved scrap metal, muttering to himself as he reshaped it into a replacement leg.  RK was still hooked up inside one of the charging stations, the inner workings of a new leg stood on the table beside him, connectors wrapped in and around the wire framing.

Metal took longer than expected to notice her, but once he did he shot her a sharp warning glare, to which she immediately threw her hands up in defense.  She wasn’t necessarily there to bother him, if anything she would prefer to help however she could.  Once he gleamed her intent from her expression, he returned to his work, though not before motioning towards the computer.  “If you’ve come to help, rather than slow my work with unnecessary words, then check the diagnostics scan on the new leg.  The framing is complete and the outer casing will be as soon as this hunk of junk stops fighting me, but the programming still needs to be checked for compatibility with RK’s systems.”

She nodded and continued over to the computer, sliding up into the chair to do what he said.  Once she had the diagnostics looked over, she turned back to report the result to Metal, getting a nod of approval from the other bot.  It fell quiet afterwards, which only worsened Itara’s discomfort so she attempted to prompt a conversation.

“How… How long until… we can turn him back on?”

Metal eyed her sharply again, he had specifically warned her against bothering him with words, but sighed and responded, “I’ve got one final program running to make sure his AI is working at normal levels, then we should be able to reboot him.  I’ve replaced as many damaged inner workings as possible, including an upgrade to his processors that he’s been desperately needing, dealing with you and all your nonsense, and I’m just making sure the upgrade doesn’t conflict with any current program.  RK is a relatively older model, despite how advanced he is, but because he was inactive for so long there are a lot of upgrades he never got that I did.  I figured it was a good time to implement at least some of them.  Everything from energy consumption, multitasking power, and information storage should all run much smoother now.  I’ve noticed how quickly RK tends to run low on power, or conserves power where it shouldn’t be necessary, and I knew the fix, so I thought it best to offer my services. I’m so generous.”

Itara couldn’t help the tiny smirk that touched her face.  It was good to know Metal Sonic was still just as full of himself as he’d always been considering everything that happened.  In a way, it was comfortingly familiar.  The upgrades sounded useful, as well.  She knew full well how much power RK consumed with every day functions, though she could never determine whether it was the result of his initial damage or his older systems.  She supposed she had her answer.

“Is there anything else I can help with?”

Metal glanced back at her again briefly before his focus returned to his work in front of him.  He gave it several moments of consideration, a much longer period of time inside the bot’s head than Itara registered outside it, but finally sighed and motioned towards the computer again, “I suppose.  I don’t imagine you have the physical strength to help me rebuild the legs, but you’ve been running repairs on RK for some time now, you should know what you’re looking at with the programs.  Open the motor functions and get to rewiring the new leg.  If you can get it connected now, I can just attach the casing afterwards.  It’ll save time.”

Itara gave a quick nod and turned back around to get right to work.  Anything to speed up having RK to talk to again, she was more than happy to do. Besides, it kept her mind busy, unlike video games, which more often than not led to zoning out while playing.

 Far beyond Soleanna, in the vast desert that separated it and Spagonia, the earth around the terrified city continued to shake and shift.  While the city did its best to evacuate everyone they believed to be in danger, a new, much stronger wave of quakes shuddered out below the surface.  They started small, barely enough to knock over the remaining street signs, but one after another, grew larger and longer.  Knocked over signs turned to felled trees to rattled buildings until the streets began to liquify and separate.  The strongest point of the quakes was far out in the desert, where a gaping hole, several miles wide, sunk below the surface.  The hole grew and spread out across the desert to either side, consuming everything around it and releasing a thick purple fog from the gaping maw of the earth.

While the destruction stretched further, reaching not only Spagonia and Soleanna, but every surrounding city and region, humans and mobians alike went running to escape the snaking tremors.  Those that knew of Gaia’s awakening and the cycle that came and went feared the worst and with the loss of the manuscripts were left shattered and confused on how to deal with it.  Hopelessness and fear only rose when the hero hedgehog everyone counted on had appeared so suddenly only to vanish again.  News of Station Square had reached the other side of the ocean before long and the appearance of Chaos only cemented the fear of Gaia’s reawakening.

However, amongst those running away was one tiny, frantic mobian, a magenta foxlike being with green wings, that ran towards the cracks opening across the desert.  Though he’d discovered little about the events since his own reawakening, at the threat of Dark Gaia, he found himself drawn towards the great beast. Even he didn’t understand why, but the urge to confirm and face the Ancient God moved him forward, though warily. He had no backup nor any final realization behind his identity, but he at least knew whatever was threatening the world in this part of the land had to be stopped.  His fears, however, were realized when he reached the gaping hole and a powerful aura exploded from it.

Long, glowing purple tendrils reached up from the cavern that stretched out in every direction and the thick, smoldering fog covered the sky around them.  The tendrils continued reaching, searching, as the gaping maw widened to reveal a bubbling lake of magma.  With a final crack and shudder, a hollow screech filled the air and a colossal leviathan rolled itself up out of the magma.  Several burning green eyes opened on its wide head, burning out through the darkening sky, and a row of jagged fangs split into a gruesome display of fury and rage, roaring again to announce its emergence.

Dark Gaia was awake.

Across the desert in the center of Soleanna, as reports continued to roll in about the destruction and misfortune happening across the globe, the royal family sent out news about an announcement in regards to the events.  News stations and word of mouth carried the message all across the city and its outer limits until the day for the announcement came.  Schools tuned in for their students, parents tuned in at home, workflow came to a halt to hear the message, and a large crowd gathered around Soleanna Square to hear it firsthand.  The city came to a near standstill as they awaited word from their princess, on edge from increased attacks in addition to the awakened Gods.

Once the princess appeared and greeted her kingdom, she explained what was happening across the globe.  She informed the crowds and those watching from faraway of what most already knew, that two Ancient Beings had awoken, one in Station Square across the ocean, one much closer in the desert city of Spagonia.  She informed them of the efforts being taken by various local and worldwide powers to deal with them, including the full mobilization of G.U.N. units.

Finally, she addressed the unvoiced concerns about their own Sun God, who had been all too quiet for some time.  Despite Solaris’ silence, even to the royal family, she informed them that they would still hold the Solaris Festival. However, they would not only be holding it early as response to the current predicament, but they would also be adding an extra day of events.  In addition to the lighting of the torch and the usual festivities throughout the day, they would also be holding a city-wide offering to the Sun God to ask his protection from the monsters and the other Gods.  They asked that any who wished to and could participate in the event do.  Any form of offering would be delivered to the statue in the middle of the square the day before the lighting of the torch.

Due to the suddenness of the change, the royal family realized people would need time to prepare for both the festival and the offerings and therefore didn’t want to move the date up too much. However, the sooner they asked for protection, the better.  The festival would be moved up a month, from the end of June to the second week of May, to give time for people to prepare but not wait too long so as to not put them at any more risk than necessary.  The princess closed her statement with a wish to all her citizens to remain safe and cautious in such trying times and that the royal family would be doing all they could to ensure that safety.

Talk of the announcement exploded for several days across the city afterwards.  Businesses that normally took part in the festival went into a scurry to prepare for the upped date while many that normally didn’t suddenly changed their minds. Schools set up days to work on offerings and adults worked out what they could possibly offer.  Even the out-of-the-way neighborhood that housed two robots and a time traveler was alight with talk of the announcement and festival.

The only ones unconcerned -and currently oblivious- to the change were the time traveler and her one functional companion robot, as they had completely isolated themselves from the outside world for the time being.  They neither turned on the TV nor answered the door when the strawberry blonde down the street came knocking.  Their focus remained on repairing the second, broken robot or battling with memories of the week.  Their home and lab were well protected from outside dangers in a number of ways and thus they felt no need to divert their attention for any reason.

But finally, after several days of work, arguments, and uncomfortable realizations of the small hedgehog’s, their reason for isolation came to an end.  With a final tweak of programming and the near destruction of Metal Sonic’s sanity, the inactive robot was ready to be rebooted again.  The tiny hedgehog unknowingly held her breath as she ran the manual boot-up while the impatient blue bot behind her watched with narrowed eyes. He didn’t much want a repeat of what had happened when he’d first been reactivated but was prepared to deal with it, should it happen.

Engines whirred, processors hummed, and fans clicked to life as the two watched the red bot cautiously.  Outwardly, he was mostly repaired, only missing the faux fur in some areas, but they wouldn’t know how his systems would handle the new wiring until they activated him.  It took only seconds, though it felt like eons to the two, before the green light behind the newly repaired optical screen lit up.  Initial scans popped up on the computer’s monitor as the red bot sat up straight, taking several minutes to finalize startup but the still-singular green eye stopped blinking and remained a constant glow.  A clawed hand reached up to flex and test fingers before they curled into a fist and looked out at the basement lab.  AI processed information from optical sensors as full movement registered and before either the blue bot or hedgehog opposite him could respond, RK reached out to wrap Itara up in his arms.  A gasp of air escaped as the breath she’d been holding in was forcibly released.

“That would be your first response,” Metal scoffed as his own tensed shoulders finally released.

There was a moment of silence as both Itara and RK registered the situation, RK being the first to straighten up again, though kept Itara tight against him.  “What happened?”  Before he could get a response, however, his systems caught up with a number of backlogs and errors and momentarily blinded him again as they all displayed at once. Metal glanced to the computer’s screen to investigate the sudden hitch in the other bot’s movements but was relieved to see RK dismiss a number of them on his own.

“You should run a full scan before we start transferring files, you took a considerable amount of damage and I’ve installed some upgrades you’ve been needing.  I want to make sure your old system can handle everything first,” Metal explained.

“Right.”

As RK continued closing outdated error logs, Itara found her voice again and looked up at the red bot with wide, relieved eyes.  “RK… I’m s-so glad you’re… okay.”

RK looked down at her again to study the bandages and strange looking cast, saying nothing at first.  He was still reviewing memories from before his crash, in addition to the ongoing scan, but found that multitasking was noticeably easier than it had been before.  “What happened to your arm?”  She turned red in the face and looked away so he shook his head, “we’ll talk about it after my scan, I suppose.”  She gave a slight nod and said no more as she wiggled herself further against him.  He supposed there was time for catching up later, overloading his system too soon after reactivation, especially with the damage he knew he took, could easily crash his system again.

There were a number of ‘missed messages’ from the number logged as ‘Lynda’ that he did not have the capacity to deal with just yet and would much rather focus on his systems.  As soon as he got filled in on what happened while he was inactive, he would have to face those messages -or worse, Lynda herself- and he was not looking forward to that.  For now he would just be satisfied that he was active again, that Itara seemed mostly alright, and that three of them were apparently back home at the base again.

Three?

With a quick glance around he realized Kipper was nowhere to be seen but decided to question it later, as well.  The doll could just be up in Itara’s bedroom. Though he did want to ask him eventually about what happened at Robotnik’s base.  For now, though, scan.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #57: Legacy of Light. A Squiggle Meister’s Views on the Oz Reincarnation Cycle

I believe it was @keyenuta who once asked me to discuss the Ozpin reincarnates when their faces were first revealed. While I didn’t have much to say on this subject at the time, I do wish to share my views on it now since there’s one thing that's been really bugging me about the Oz Cycle.

Am I the only one who finds it odd how Ozpin’s adversaries seem to act surprised at him returning so soon after death? This point was first made by Leonardo Lionheart back in V4 and later followed up by the remaining members of Team WTCH in V6.

“…This can’t be…I knew you would be back, but...you made it here! You found Qrow! How?”

“Wait. You can’t have had this form for long. You’re…not really Ozpin right now.”  - Leonardo Lionheart (RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 11)  

“That’s not just a boy. It’s Ozpin. He’s already reincarnated.” - Leonardo Lionheart (RWBY Volume 5 Chapter 12)  

“Qrow and the children are taking the lamp to Atlas and they’re being led by Ozpin.”

“So soon!” – Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows (RWBY Volume 6 Chapter 4)  

I always found this bit to be kind of strange. They all make it seem as if Oz reincarnation cycle doesn’t happen as instantaneous as most of us probably assumed it would be. I originally pegged that the Oz Cycle followed the same mechanics as the Avatar Cycle from Last Airbender meaning that the moment the last predecessor died, their successor would be born. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with Ozma.

The impression I got is that there is this great gap of time lost between the moment the last Ozma incarnate died and the next one. That being said, this brings to light something I observed back in Volume 6 Chapter 3.

During the scene where the God of Light was first communing with Ozma in-between worlds, the God told Ozma that his world was destroyed, which the audience knew since we witnessed it happen at the hands of the God of Darkness as a result of Salem insubordination. 

However, despite this, the God of Light also informed Ozma that humanity would grow to walk Remnant’s surface once more and when Ozma was reincarnated the first time, he returned as a man born in a time when Second Remnant had already been established.

This brings me to my theory. What if…the way the Ozma Cycle works is that Ozma reincarnates a whole half a century meaning 50 years following his previous death. This could justify why Ozpin had to put things in place during times of reincarnation. It wasn’t just as a failsafe to prepare his trusted allies for when he returned but also to provide them with instructions on how to help humanity in his place because he knew that the next time he reawakens in the body of someone else a lot of time would have passed.

This could also explain why Salem was so adamant on Cinder confirming Ozpin’s death after the Fall of Beacon in V4. The Attack on the Vytal Festival and the simultaneous Fall of Beacon and its CCT Tower left Remnant tethering on the brink of a second Great War with all menacing eyes staring towards Atlas. With Ozpin gone and the world on the brink of conflict, it would’ve provided Salem and her forces with enough camouflage to go forward with their scheme to gather all the Relics without Ozpin’s interference.

If things had gone accordingly, Ozpin may not have returned to Remnant at all because the world would’ve been was destroyed for good if Salem had gotten her way and summoned the Gods with humanity as it now. If things had gone accordingly, the man we know as Professor Ozpin would’ve been Ozma’s final form.

This is probably another reason as to why Oscar’s predicament is so special. Professor Ozpin dying at Beacon would have marked a true failure for Ozma as he would have either returned to the world completely gone with just him and the immortal Salem floating around in space on what was left of the world or just not reawaken at all since humanity would’ve been wiped out for good this time along with Remnant itself. 

Even with Ozpin leaving his most trusted with instructions, we all know how that went down with Lionheart being revealed as a traitor last volume. And all of this might not have come to fruition if Ozpin hasn’t returned right away as Oscar. Interesting.

.Returning to my theory on the Ozma Cycle. So let's say, it took humanity a whole decade, give or take to be restored to their original form and restart civilization. I’m no science wiz but I think 100 years could work as enough time for the world to reboot itself, correct? Once humanity was restored, what if…Ozma was possibly first reincarnated another 50 years after that in the body of a 28 year old adult male. 

Okay here me out on this one because it’s about to get mathematical. This is what I think and feel free to disagree with me if you will. I think the way the Ozma cycle works is that when he dies, he returns every 50 years following his last life reborn as an adult male on the cusp of manhood at 28 years old. 

I know this is just me guessing here but my justification for why I picked the number 28 is in order to correlate with Oscar’s age. Currently, from the time of his introduction to now, Oscar is 14 years old and as we saw from V6 C3, Oscar is by far the youngest of Ozpin’s incarnates. So my hunch is that all of Ozpin’s previous forms must’ve been twice Oscar’s age when they were chosen.  

14 x 2 = 28   

 Solid math, right? I’d like to believe that what makes Oscar’s situation so unique is because he’s probably half the traditional age of all the other forms Ozma has had in the past. When you look back at all of Ozma’s predecessors, each of them don’t look to be that old. As a matter of fact, from a physically glance, they all look to be between age 25-30 years.

The one exception is the gray-haired man seen walking weakly following the death of Ozma 2.0. For this guy, I’d like to look at it as this. I still want to stick with my theory about Ozma reincarnating as 28 year old men. 

So in the case of this fine gentlemen, either his story was aged up to highlight the cycle of life and death for Ozma as Jinn described or…perhaps this incarnate is actually a young adult man but his physical health withered away due to him being born in a time in Remnant’s history that was plagued by famine, disease and lack of food. So this incarnate was probably a by-product of a life that was short-lived due to starvation and illness. 

This guy could either be an old man like everyone perceived him to be or a sickly malnourished young man. That’s how I’m looking at it.

Referring to Ozma. If I had to guess (and mind you, this is just me guessing here), Ozma could’ve been 25 years old when he first met Salem. Following that, let’s say the two lovebirds lived a happy and comfortable three years shacked up together planning their future as we saw they had a house until Ozma fell sick. Let’s say Ozma passed away young at just 28 years of age.

28 years old is young enough to still consider you young but still old enough to mark you an adult. What if… Ozma dying at this age justifies why he always comes back as men at this age. If he died at 28 then it would make sense if he was reborn as someone else at that age so that Ozma could live past his age of death in his other lives. Would make sense, right? 

Now let’s talk breifely about Ozma’s time as the King of Vale.

I think this is the best example to explain my 50 year idea for the Ozma cycle. As we know, during his life as King of Vale, Ozma ended the Great War, founded the four huntsmen academies to house the Relics and train the huntsmen---Remnant’s next generation of trained defenders. I’d like to believe that Ozma put all of that in place before his next life returned to carry on the mantle as Professor Ozpin.

The Great War ended 80 years prior to the timeline established in of RWBY Volume 1. According to Weiss Schnee back in V5, the man we know as Professor Ozpin was a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be offered the position.

In doing a bit of research, I discovered that the youngest recorded age for a headmaster is 30 years. Putting my theory into play, let’s say Ozma returned a whole 50 years following the Great War as the then young Professor Ozpin. At 28 years old, Professor Ozpin was Beacon’s headmaster and taught at the school for 30 years until the current timeline when the first season of RWBY began.

I’d like to believe that Ozpin started as headmaster around the same time Qrow and the members of Team STQR were first year students at Beacon Academy just to have that correlation. This would mean that Ozpin was only 11 years older than Qrow when the two first met.

It makes sense because when I look at Qrow, he doesn’t look a day over 50. If this squiggle meister had to take a wild guess at Qrow Branwen’s age, I’d say Qrow could be about 47 years old.

So Team STQR were probably all students 30 years before current RWBY giving Ozpin 30 years of teaching experience under his belt. Not bad. If Qrow is 47 and my theory about Professor Ozpin being 11 years older than him is correct then this would place Professor Ozpin at 58 years of age when we first met him. 

I know the Professor Ozpin we know doesn’t look 58 years old but I'd like to think Oz is the Robert Downey Jr to Qrow's Jude Law.

You wouldn’t think that Robert Downey Jr. was in his late 50s just as how you wouldn’t believe Jude is in his late 40s. I'm no major Stan of either of these two fine actors but Professor Ozpin strikes me as one of those lucky men who age like fine wine ---they get more beautiful with time like the majestic creatures that they are.

Therein lies the joke, right? We all know that Ozpin a.k.a Ozma is 1000+ years old in reality but if we're talking about the man who was formerly Professor Ozpin, remember what Pyrhha told him back in V3? 

“You’re not that old Professor.”  

I think 58 is a decent age for Professor Ozpin because it puts him closer to Leonardo Lionheart’s age who looks to be about 60 years tops. This is what happens when the CRWBY don’t confirm the ages of the characters besides the main teenage cast. Theorists like me have to play guessing games but I guess that’s part of the fun, right?

I’d like to stand by my hunch that Professor Ozpin was 28 years when he started as Beacon’s Headmaster. I like it for the other joke where other characters, such as Qrow himself probably mistook him for a student when the two first met due to his young age. When you’re in your twenties, depending on how well you keep yourself you can thankfully still pass as a high school student. True story.

I'd like to assume that Professor Ozpin and the members of his Inner Circle aren’t a day over 60. Ironwood looks to be about the same age as Ozpin, perhaps a lil older by 1 year.

If I had to guess, Lionheart must've been the oldest of Ozpin's group at possibly 60 years old. So if I had to list Oz's inner circle members from oldest to youngest, not counting the fact that Ozpin is technically part immortal, it’d go as follows:

Professor Leonardo Lionheart at age 60,  General James Ironwood at age 59, Professor Ozpin at 58,  Glynda Goodwitch at age 49, and lastly Qrow Branwen at 47. I could be very much wrong but that's my best guess until the CRWBY confirms otherwise.

This makes me wonder something about Glynda and Ironwood. I wonder if prior to becoming a professor at Beacon and Ozpin’s right hand, what if…Glynda was already a third year senior student at Beacon Academy when Oz became headmaster.

It'd also be interesting if a teenage Glynda met Ironwood during the Vytal Festival Tournament during her time at Beacon and the past relationship they shared was a romance akin to Victor Krum and Hermione Granger during the Triwizard Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Since the Vytal Festival takes place every two years and alternates between kingdoms, perhaps… when Team STRQ competed in the tournament it was hosted by the Kingdom of Atlas.

What if…during the STRQ Days, General Ironwood was another young headmaster like his protégée. I love the idea of James and Ozpin formerly sharing a competitive history before becoming allies. Like perhaps James used to be the youngest headmaster in Remnant’s history before Ozpin came along and upstaged him. This also adds to the scandal of his former relationship with Glynda.

If Glynda was a student of Beacon when James was headmaster of Atlas Academy then a headmaster being romantically involved with a student of another academy wouldn’t have weighed right on Ironwood’s reputation as headmaster, ruining his chances at one day earning a seat on the Atlesian Council. Maybe that was his ambition back then apart from being part of the Atlesian Military.

What if…at some point in the past, Ironwood and Glynda had one of those ‘forbidden relationships’ that had the potential to go far but never did for justifiable reasons. Like let’s say, it got so serious that at some point Ironwood brought up marriage to Glynda---proposing the idea of the two wedding after Glynda graduated from Beacon after which she would move to Atlas so the two could begin their married life officially and not have to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

This of course never happened because; Glynda had a commitment to Ozpin. This goes out to the OzGlyn shippers in the FNDM. My interpretation of the OzGlyn relationship is that Glynda had known the man who was Ozpin long before he became a professor and a headmaster of Beacon. In my imagination, the two were childhood best friends.

Perhaps OzGlyn were like Renora---Orphans who took care of one another. Though a whole nine years older than her, I’d like to think that Glynda has always been by Ozpin’s side through thick and thin, taking care of him since he did the same for her when they met as young children and this dynamic between them didn’t change even after Ozpin fused with Ozma. I’d imagine that Glynda was one of the first people who Ozpin told about Ozma.

In my head, Glynda was Ozpin’s best friend despite their age difference. Technically his proxy wife though unlike Renora, Ozpin and Glynda’s relationship stayed mostly nonsexual throughout the years. Sure there was mutual love and respect between them but nothing romantic . I’m saying that mostly in reference to the canon.

When I imagine a young Professor Ozpin, weirdly enough I don’t picture him as being the man we knew him to be. I figured in his early days after Ozma had just reincarnated inside his mind, Ozpin was still getting used to everything and was not as confident as he came to be.

Nor was he as sharp a dresser either. Like perhaps in the past, on his very first day of work, Ozpin showed up late looking like such a mess to the point that students were dumbfounded to find out that he was their new headmaster. Picture the Professor Ozpin we met in Volume 1: Mysterious yet charismatic, poised and well-kept with a kind yet serious voice that gives the best motivational speeches. Now imagine the opposite of that.

Picture Early Professor Ozpin somewhat like Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts: Quirky, socially awkward, unkempt, a bit clumsy in the sense that he can’t tell when someone is being sarcastic. But harbouring a whimsical wisdom and nurturing side to him that you wouldn’t acknowledge at first impression.

Somehow I’m humourously picturing the reason why Ozpin always looked so snazzy and well put together was frankly due to Glynda’s womanly touch. Except for his hair. That stayed through though why am I envisioning Ozpin with even messier hair than what we know him to have already? Like his hair is as naturally floofy as it is silver and refuses to be tamed, not even with the mightiest of fine-tooth combs and brushes.

So my hunch is that Glynda gave up her life with Ironwood for her commitment to her longstanding bond with Ozpin which actually worked out anyways since Ironwood ultimately rebuked his proposal to Glynda and ended their romance after he was appointed General of the Atlesian military. I know that sounds like a douchebag move on James’ part which could justify Glynda’s sour attitude toward him in V2. But that’s my hunch.

Regardless of what relationship they shared in the past, it obviously ended up on good terms since Glynda was shown to care a lot about James. I’d also like to believe Ironwood was headmaster of Atlas first before becoming General of the Atlesian military; working his way up the ranks which leant to him earning two seats on the Atlas Council. But that’s only a small guess.

Now to discuss Qrow and Ozpin’s earlier relationship for a bit. I figured that Early Professor Ozpin’s bond to Qrow was like Max and David from Camp Camp. Similar to David, Ozpin was super friendly, a little naïve and ditzy but overall a wise and kind-hearted man once you get to know him.

And at 17 year old, I definitely see Qrow as being the angry, sarcastic, rebellious type like Max who probably didn’t like Ozpin at all when they first met. But after the man showed the Branwen genuine kindness for the first time in his entire existence, Qrow started to soften up and little by little he began to respect Ozpin until they ultimately formed the close friendship and trust we know them to have. Well…had before.

I honestly hope the next couple of episodes of V6 will provide us with some Team STQR memories. Since Qrow brought up ‘meeting Ozpin’, the CRWBY has to show us the memory of that momentous day, right? I want to see when 17 year old Qrow met young Professor Ozpin. It’ll be even better if it’s all wrapped up in an episode that depicts Oscar’s past at the same time too.

I understand that the whole QROWBY were affected by the events of V6 C3. However I feel like Qrow and Oscar are the two characters that took the biggest hit from the reveal of Ozpin’s past. Qrow because of his longstanding history with Ozpin and Oscar for being Ozma’s current successor.

I don’t think Qrow even realizes just how much he and Oscar have in common and vice versa. Both male characters sacrificed the lives and ties they once had--- the only life they knew by the way, to join Ozpin’s cause. So it’d be really great to see what either of their lives looked like before and after they met Ozpin. I want to see both of these backstories done. I think we’ve earned another deep look into the past following Jinn’s reveal, this time from the perspectives of Qrow and Oscar. Don’t know about other FNDM fam but this squiggle meister would love that.

Besides Qrow and Oscar’s individual pasts as the focal point of an entire episode of RWBY V6 will definitely give some Fullmetal Alchemist vibes since their VA’s Vic and Aaron were the Elric Brothers. But...this is just me making assumptions.

To summarize my concept for the way the Ozma cycle works: when one of Ozma’s incarnates reaches the end of their life and dies, his next successor in the cycle will show up 50 years following his last life. Whenever Ozma reincarnates, he usually returns as an adult male at the age of 28 because that’s the age Ozma died in his first life. The one unique exception is Oscar Pine who Oz reincarnated at 14 years presumably within a few months following his Professor Ozpin’s death.

Unlike past rebirths, Ozpin’s fusion with Oscar came prematurely. Far earlier than what others expected of his cycle. Why is that possible? Well I’m sticking to my guns on Oscar being the true reincarnation of Ozma---the recreation of his original form symbolizing him as possibly the last in the cycle. I don’t think it was a coincidence that Oz came to be with Oscar.

I do believe he will be the final form. It will end where it began. The Ozpin reincarnation cycle began with Ozma and it will end with Oscar. It’d like to think that Ozma probably figured Ozpin was going to be his last form because I’m sure losing to Cinder Fall had more weight that it was led on.

For Ozpin to fall during Beacon’s destruction it would’ve meant he would have died leaving the world on the verge of war with Salem one step closer to acquiring the Relics and bringing about the destruction of mankind at the Gods’ hands. If Oz had reincarnated as expected he may not have returned at all since Salem would’ve succeeded in calling forth the Gods’ wrath and bringing about Remnant’s ultimate destruction.

Ozpin would have failed completely. Another thing I’m curious about is if Ozma ever met the God of Darkness in between worlds. The last time he met God of Light alone. It makes wonder if the God of Darkness played any role in Ozma returning as Oscar.

I wonder if at some point Oscar will begin to question why he was chosen to be one of Ozma’s successors. With the exception of the two lives Ozma lived in depression, the past Ozma-s were all men of wisdom and strength, for the most part. What makes Oscar so special?

He’s just a farmhand from Mistral. He came from a family built upon generations of simple farm folk; presumably. Not a shred of combat history in his bloodline as far as he knew. As far as Oscar assumed, he doesn’t even rank up to the original Ozma who was a righteous warrior and hero of justice. What made the Gods see him worthy of inheriting the responsibility of protecting humanity?

Why was Oscar chosen?

It would be really great if Oscar asks this question out loud and it prompts Ruby, who is in possession of the Relic of Knowledge to ask Jinn to answer that question for Oscar. Unless there is another way to address Oscar’s importance, I’m sticking to my guns on the final question going to Oscar and he will see first-hand why he was chosen.

This makes me wonder if we’ll get a parallel to when the God of Light met with Ozma between realms with Oscar possibly meeting the God of Darkness in between realms. Contrary to what other fans might assume about him, despite being the God of Darkness and Destruction, I would like to believe that the God of Darkness has as much investment in providing humanity the opportunity to save themselves as his brother did.

I mentioned this before in this RWBY Remark post. Say what you will about the Brother Gods but my interpretation is that the Gods do not wish to have to destroy their greatest creation. When Qrow first told the Tale of the Brothers in V4, he mentioned that the brothers referred to man as their ‘masterpiece’. You don’t receive a title like that unless it’s something extraordinarily special to you.

Just as how God of Light met with Ozma and granted him his message to aid humanity, I wonder if we’ll get to see Oscar somehow meet with the God of Darkness to further emphasize my point about him being important. While I’m not sure what kind of clue to humanity’s salvation this particular god could provide the farm boy, I do wonder if the God of Darkness can shed light on the reason why he was chosen.

Perhaps…God of Darkness had a part in Oscar’s true purpose in the first place. I’m not sure how much that can fit in with the canon. However I would like to see Oscar meet God of Darkness like how Ozma met God of Light because I honestly feel a parallel like that might come at some point and it could help tie into what I’ve been saying about Oscar this entire time.  

Ozma was the beginning and Oscar is the end. He is the first Ozma reborn. Something I found interesting about the God of Darkness’ power is that he had no difficulty in bringing Ozma back from the dead the first time. Unlike his brother whose power revived only Ozma’s soul in the bodies of other men, God of Darkness revived him in his original body.

Huh…I wonder now. I wonder…if at some point the Brothers met with each other in the realm between realms. What if… God of Light has been observing humanity’s development for the centuries his key player--- Ozma has been working to aid them in their restoration and foresaw that Ozma would fail at some point. I know using chess to symbolize a game of fate is another storytelling cliché but what’s my motto about clichés? They’re overused because they work.

Imagine… the Brother Gods having a discussion about humanity’s fate over a chessboard. For years, the God of Light has been using this board to ‘observe’  the remnants of his and his brother’s creations. And while his key piece has been playing well, Light feared that Ozma will ultimately fall completely to Salem and Remnant would meet its end---a prediction that saddened the God of Light. 

That’s when Brother Darkness would intervene and inform his brother of his own part in this game of fate. While he hasn’t been playing it fully like his brother, he did plant two very powerful pieces into the mix. 

Two unexpected players that he believed will turn the tides of the game. Remember God of Light only reincarnated Ozma’s soul. But what became of his original body?

What if…the way the Gods each had a hand in the creation of man is that God of Light created the soul while God of Darkness made the body. 

Is that why the God of Light referred to his younger brother’s version of reincarnating Ozma on his own as ‘not creation’? An interesting observation to note is when Ozma was revived by the God of Light, he revived only his soul---the very essence of who Ozma was---his memories and his personality.

But when God of Darkness revived Ozma, while he was able to bring back the boy’s body---I think that’s all he brought back. A body. Ozma reacted frightened and confused. At first I pegged this as him just being startled at awakening in the Realm of Darkness. Even ThatKaitoDan commented that Ozma possibly thought that he was in hell in his reaction video of the third episode.

But in my own recap of that scene, what I found interesting is that Ozma never looked at Salem once at all. He never acknowledged her presence. He just kept screaming and looking around frantically until the girl said something to calm him down. You would think that after opening his eyes, the first thing Ozma would’ve done was recognize the face of his lover right? Or am I overthinking this? I get that he was hysterical but…I dunno. I can’t help but think there might’ve been more subtext to such a minor moment.

This makes me curiouser and curiouser about something. If the God of Light hadn’t intervened and Salem was allowed to leave with Ozma as is, would she have been happy or would she have come to the realization that while the God of Darkness did restore Ozma, he didn’t bring back the man she loved completely.

Body and soul together creates a being---a person.  What made Ozma himself was his soul. Like I said, I think all the God of Darkness restored was the body of Ozma---the flesh. A meat puppet that could move and talk but it didn’t have a soul. As we know of the Grimm, the God of Darkness’ creations can live but what they lack is a soul.

What God of Darkness probably revived was a flesh bag that looked and talked like Ozma but lacked the original soul with the memories that would have allowed him to recognize the face of the woman he loved.

Without even realizing it, what if…the God of Light actually did Salem a huge solid by intervening because she might not have been happy with what Brother Darkness did. Because as Brother Light said, what his brother did wasn’t creation. It wasn’t Ozma. It was his body but without the original soul of him that God of Light could’ve granted, he wasn’t him.

He wasn’t as a whole if that makes a lick of sense.

Resuming my theory on Oscar. Once upon a time, I made another RWBY Remark sharing a theory about Oscar being chosen as Ozpin’s successor from the moment he was born.

My concept was that Oscar’s fate has been binded to Ozpin since birth and that growing up, he’s had recurring dreams of Ozma’s life that he couldn’t make light of. It’s a stretch but I wonder if this could potentially become canon.

This is going to sound pretty farfetched but what if…the God of Darkness, at his brother’s behest, used Ozma’s original form in the birth of Oscar. I still want to stand firmly by the belief that Oscar is Ozma’s original form reborn in Modern Remnant and he was created as an important player in the final game to stop Salem.

When God of Light first spoke to Ozma, he mentioned humanity becoming whole again. Perhaps…humanity won’t be the only thing to be made whole in the long-run. In Kingdom Hearts terms, think of Ozma as Sora and Oscar as Roxas.

If Oscar is Ozma’s original self-reborn, then when the two souls finally fuse, Ozma will be made whole again and Oscar will stand as the true reincarnation of the original Warrior of Light and hero of justice brought back to save Remnant once and for all.

What if…in the game of fate, there were a million and one possible outcomes of the ongoing conflict between Salem and Ozpin to decide the fate of mankind? In only one instance did the heroes actually stand a chance of winning and defeating Salem and in that one possibility, Oscar was a key player.

What was it that Oscar asked Ruby in V6 C4?

“…I’m just going to be another one of his lives, aren’t I?”

I think there is importance to this quote. He asked it as if he assumed his standing in this fight was no different than the other incarnates. However I don’t think Oscar is just another one of Ozma’s lives. Oscar is special. He’s the last life. The version of Ozma destined to bring an end to it all.

Another reason why I like this concept is because of the tie in from the Wizard of Oz. For those who know the story, Princess Ozma was the rightful ruler of Oz whereas Oscar was the first name of the Wizard of Oz. In the original story, Oz preceded Ozma.

So it’d be cool if RWBY highlighted the opposite parallel from the Wizard of Oz where Oscar succeeds Ozma in more ways than one to further push my hunch that he is the one destined to end it all.

The one true reincarnation of the Ozma, the Warrior of Light meant to conquer the Wicked Witch through the power and aid of his trusted best friend, the Silver Eyed Warrior named Ruby Rose to parallel Dorothy defeating the Wicked Witch with the aid of her trusty ruby/silver slippers. 

Oscar and Ruby together are the key players to Salem’s defeat.

I once made this analogy in a very old musing from V5. If the War against Salem was like a game of chess, on the side of Light, Oscar would represent the King piece with Ruby as his Queen. I’m no chess player but from what I do know about the game is that your Queen is your strongest player while it’s the King that decides the game.

In this game of Light against Darkness, Salem and Oscar (being the current form of Ozma) are the King pieces in their respective courts. I once theorized that Cinder Fall was going to be Salem’s Queen Piece as her apprentice but I’m going to wait till V6 concludes to see if that still holds up. As for Ruby, she is still the established Queen in Oscar’s court. Not only is she probably the only player powerful enough to stop Salem with her Silver Eyes once and for all but I also believe her secondary role is to be Oscar’s protector.

Say what you will about Ruby and Oscar’s dynamic but I do think there is a narrative reason why these two honest souls are gravitating towards each other and no I’m actually not making this point as a RoseGardener. I mean it in the sense that Oscar and Ruby’s involvement in the war against Salem could be what ultimately brings her reign to an end.

Queens protect  their Kings because the death of a King decides the game in chess. If Ruby fails to protect Oscar then he dies and Salem wins for certain this time. However if Ruby checks Salem then this cruel game can finally be brought to a close.

That's my hunch for now.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

[laffiteslanding]

So, Mary Poppins Returns...

SPOILERS AHEAD

Things I liked:

- Dick Van Dyke is a national treasure and his cameo was beautiful. You can feel the love and joy radiating off of him, and the fact that he can still move like that is incredible.

- Jane Banks: Badass Union Organizer

- The traditional animation looked gorgeous

- General sense of optimism is mostly carried over from the first film

- Admiral Boom is just a really fun character every time he’s on screen.

Things I didn’t like:

- Far too many action scenes. In traditional musicals the big music and dance sequences are the equivalent of big set pieces in action films. Here the action interrupted the plot and seemed to take away from time that could have been spent building characterization or expanding some dance numbers.

- That animated chase scene is the worst offender of those sequences. It left me confused and with a bad case of tonal whiplash. Plus the way the scene is written, it seems like Mary Poppins either deliberately puts the kids in danger or knows it’s a real possibility. Either way, it’s not in her character to do that, and it caused a mental break from the world’s reality.

- The structure was incredibly reminiscent of the first. It was like they took the outline of the original and just plugged in new names and songs. This, along with the next point, leave this film feeling emotionally empty with a climax that rings hollow.

- You wouldn’t know this was during the Great Depression if they didn’t tell you. This could have been a great contrast to the joy Mary Poppins brings, and feels strange and like a missed opportunity. It’s just oddly dismissed and belittled outside a few throwaway lines.

- General characterization of Mary Poppins, Jack, and Michael. Jack felt like a Bert-lite or fan-fiction self insert. He was less of a character, more of a plot device. Lin deserves better.

- Michael started out feeling like a unique character, but became more and more a shadow of his father. This could have been an interesting arc, but we don’t spend enough time with him for his characterization to be anything beyond “I’m sad because my wife died” when they reach the climax. He gets a little more character development afterward, but it’s rushed and feels incomplete.

- As for Mary Poppins, I actually think Emily Blunt did a decent job with the character, but way she was written felt a bit off. She explains too much, gives backstory, and performs a weirdly sexual vaudeville number in front of cartoons and little kids. She also seems to have a weird thing for endangerment, first with the kids in the vase, then with the lamplighters for no particularly good reason.

- We also seem to get too many scenes of Mary’s frame of mind. She’s become a main character when she’s supposed to be an instigator or catalyst for the main characters to grow (think the issues with Jack Sparrow in the Pirates sequels) When we see her smiling saying “Off we go!”, we know things are going to be fine. There’s no tension or mystique about Mary Poppins in this one, and she needs that edge lest she become a shallower character.

- An example of this ruined mystique: the kids ask Mary to do something magical or fun and we’re generally supposed to be unsure of her reply. Every single time in this film she tells them “yes” and you can see it coming from a mile away. In short, Mary Poppins is become predictable when in actuality, you shouldn’t be able to predict what she’ll do. That’s a crucial part of the Poppins’ magic they’re leaving out.

- Songs were fine, and even catchy at times, but far too derivative. I shouldn’t be able to say “oh, this is this movie’s “Step in Time” or “Spoonful of Sugar””, at least not if the movie wants to have its own identity or try something new.

- Weak villain motivation. Why does Colin Firth hate the Banks family so much? And why them specifically? Did they steal all the toffee candy from him when he was a child?

- As stated previously, the lack of a solid emotional climax. I felt charmed at times, but you have to have that moment where everything you’ve seen before comes together to create a truly beautiful moment. In the original, it’s the one-two punch of Bert’s conversation with Mr. Banks and Mr. Banks’ epiphany at the bank, and here it’s....? I think it’s supposed to be the children singing to their father that he should cheer up because they are all there and their mother lives in them? But the moment comes off a bit weird and disconnected from the previous scenes. Definitely not as powerful as it should be.

- “The past is the past/it lives on as history/and that’s an important thing/The future comes fast/Each second a mystery/For nobody knows what/Tomorrow may bring” is a bit better than last year’s “Let the past die”, but still seems dismissive given that the whole movie is one huge nostalgia trip. Disney - either embrace the fact you’re selling nostalgia or make something that’s actually new. You can’t have it both ways.

- The built-in “you need to remember how to be a child” counter-argument the movie provides. In context it made sense for Michael, so that was fine, but it also seemed addressed at potential backlash for being a sequel to a beloved classic. And that’s just plain old emotional manipulation.

- Above all, the fact that this was a stealth remake/reboot in the form of a sequel. Which would have been fine, if they had called it that. But because they billed it the way they did, Disney invites comparison to the original, and this in my mind did not live up. It was still good, but it was far from great.

[gojaimas]

More Late Comment Replies

Hey people. I just watched Endgame, and since Thanos memes always remind me of my story because they kept coming up in the comments for some reason, I’ve decided to come back and reply to some more late comments. Here goes.

HorsemanOTA: “looks like you finished this earlier this year but i wish i would have come by it sooner, spent the past almost week binge reading this story and have loved every minute of it, i cant say im not disappointed that all three of them didn't end up in a poli-relationship, i was hoping it would have ended like that. The crutch thing i can understand but i feel like they had bonded way too much for it to end way, it hurt me that that was the out for her to be like i gotta squash it and let it be a pair instead of a trio. Got so invested in your version of Lucy lol. regardless i loved just about all of this fic so thank you for the read, hope this review reaches you well. Later Daze”

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I’m a little let down that I couldn’t have all three of them get together in the end, too. But I couldn’t just snap my fingers and make everything turn out alright in the end. I wanted to stay true to the story I was writing and it just didn’t fit for that to happen at that point.

J Master 87: “Holy shit. That was down right amazing. I absolutely loved this story, the interactions, the twists and turns. It was everything I could have asked for in a Ben 10 fic. Thank you for that”

You’re welcome! I only had a few real ‘twists’ I’d say, but I’m glad I managed to pull them off well enough for some people to enjoy.

Guest: “Lurking in the shadows huh? Batman, is that you? For being the world’s greatest detective you sure gave your identity away pretty easily”

CrimsonBolt1: “This is enjoyable so far. Reminds me of Little Moments in feel. Nice to see them finally starting to be open and honest with each other. I like your Lucy. Much better inclusion than a random OC.”

I didn’t want to make any OCs major characters in the story. Lucy ended up being a good fit for the role I needed. Also, for anyone who hasn’t seen, shadows59 just started a reboot of Little Moments, so go and check that out.

yuyuyre: “Why, this is my first ben10 fanfic and I'm glad. It's beautiful, truely. Thank you for writing this wonderful story.”

Thanks! There are lots more great Ben 10 fanfics out there if you’re interested, so I hope you find some others that you enjoy, too!

Hassan Elgarni1: “Nothing to do, so I re-read. Sigh. And shit, no more good fanfictions for ben10, plus the fandom seems like it's diying. What to do? We're lost without some drama in our life. No! I mean some dramatic stories to read about, and this one seems to always fit.”

Not to plug for it too much, but there’s that Little Moments reboot now...

Guest: “Can we get that Lucy ending or that afterstory as a Christmas present? We got a snow map in PubG, Fortnite season 7, MCU trailers with Avengers: Endgame, Blackout from CoD, GOTY awards, it’s such a shame RDR2 didn’t bag the prize but can’t really say God of War didn’t deserve it so an update would be the icing on the cake, unless you’re pre occupied with unwrapping presents. Also, can we have a Ben 10 battle royale mode too? Thanks”

Sorry I couldn’t get that Ben 10 battle royale out in time for Christmas. Also, I’m not working on a continuation for this story right now. I’m too busy trying to find time to work on my Legend of Zelda story.

Guest: “Me when gojaimas updates: Ayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayaya”

Guest: “According to the Bible we're all related, so we all share blood so it being forbade by Christianity makes no sense, also great story thanks for making my day less boring”

I don’t really get how I’m still getting comments about this one particular line in that chapter. I never said anything about what should or should not be forbade by Christianity. Lucy was simply trying to figure out Gwen’s reasons for being against incest, and she considered religious beliefs to be a possibility since, regardless of whether or not you think it makes sense, there are Christians out there who are against incest for religious reasons. Neither me, nor Lucy, nor Gwen said that should be the case. I hope that’s clear by now. Anyway, I’m glad I made your day less boring.

dippytrippy122: “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Simply put this was the best romance-based fanfic I have ever read that wasn't just a humorous jab at the genre. You did so with a pairing I disliked due to its incestuous nature and actually made me enjoy it greatly. You also made sure that the ending wasn't perfect and I respect you immensely for that. Thank you for this wonderful story. :)”

Thanks! It’s always great to hear from people who enjoyed the story despite not liking the pairing. I think that means I did an okay job with recognizing the weirdness of it and not shying away from that.

xSean: “THATS WHERE YOU END IT?! Can't deny I'm a little annoyed with that but this fic was still great over all. The character development and interactions were absolutely superb. Wish there was more clueless, fluffy interactions but I guess they gotta grow up and realise what is happening at some point. Again great fic over all, one of the best I have read in a long time. Only the 2nd Ben 10 fic I've read too!”

Thank you! I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it going for another year or two, but I had to let it end before I ruined it, haha. The clueless, fluffy interactions were always a lot of fun, though. I loved that part of their relationship.

Samian: “Read through it in 2 days and some how I'm sad about that, the pace of your story should have made me slow down and push the ending further away. This was exactly the kind of development in their characters that I was looking for with in the Bwen fics. Beautifully done, really good job. That being said though there were some downsides, over the course of the story you took what made ben 10 what it is out of the story, which was a bit sad in my eyes. I do have to admit that you made it work though and I wouldn't change any of it. The ending is a bit of a letdown in the sense that there is a strong sense of anticipation of where it would have gone too. But again you some how made it work. You really did an incredible job.”

Thank you. I’m sorry to everyone who read this story expecting more alien fighting action, but even from my minimalistic description, “A story about how Ben and Gwen's relationship evolves over the next four years following their summer trip,” I think I made it clear that that simply wasn’t what the story was about. I’m happy you managed to enjoy it anyway!

Slayer of The Abyss: “I really liked how you gave the characters depth and Sense of being real people, the only thing that bothers me is how the thought process of different senteint species could be almost exactly the same, which isnt really your fault. But anyway i am looking forawrd to any potential fic you may write in the future”

Yeah, not much I could’ve done about that. If Lucy was too alien, she wouldn’t really have acted the way she did in the episode she appeared in.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “This story is adorable and you're a wizard at writing to make this happen! The fluff I've read till now has been heartwarming, I demand more fluff for the fluff gods!”

I, too, worship the fluff gods.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “Oh Lucy, you're about as subtle as a brick. Which says something about Ben and Gwen I suppose...“

Ben and Gwen: *oblivious to their love* Lucy:

MosquitoesLoveMe: “I am not sure how I feel about this. The lead up, the talk, and the execution was perfect mind you, and Ben's reaction is to be expected from how he's been portrayed. Maybe it's because we've seen Gwen struggle with her feelings and come to terms with them but we haven't had quite as many chapters from Ben's perspective. But because of that it kind of felt off. I didn't expect both of them to have sorted this out at the same time, but it doesn't even seem like Ben entertained that thought, leading to a blank face when confronted. Somehow I didn't expect that, or rather I expected more than that. Either way considering I'm reading this months after it's been completed, I shall have faith that you'll tie it up well, after all I haven't been disappointed thus far!”

It’s been a while, but I think around this point in the story, I was doing a lot less from Ben’s POV because I wanted the reader to be unsure about how Ben would react as much as Gwen was. As for whether or not Ben has entertained the idea, I’ve shown in the past that every time anything even close to resembling the idea pops into his head, he finds some way to dismiss it and bury it deeper because to him, his cousin was completely off-limits. It took Gwen confronting him with the idea directly to finally get him to truly consider it.

MosquitoesLoveMe: “It was a wonderful journey, thanks for writing this story! It was a pretty realistic end to the story and finished on a hopeful note, that leaves me wishing there was a sequel that goes into how Ben and Gwen handle the trials of their relationship and the adults finding out. That also made me really wish for a chapter from the perspective of Ben and Gwen's parents. Keeping with the trend of maintaining a realistic tone, it's hard to believe they did not at least suspect something was up, especially Natalie. It makes me really curious as to what went on in their heads during the last few chapters. Either way, whether or not you get back to this at a future date, I'm happy you wrote this story and glad I got to read it, cheers mate!”

Natalie was definitely getting suspicious. If I ever do continue the story, I probably will go more into what their parents are thinking. But that’ll be on the backburner for now. Thank you so much for reading my story! I’m happy you enjoyed it!

Well, that wasn’t all the comments, but that’s all I have time for right now. I’ll get to the rest eventually. Thanks again for everything! My fans are truly a joy to hear from.

[missstormcaller]

CAN’T FEAR YOUR OWN WORLD Vol.II Part 2 Full Translation

(This is part 5 on the app, chapter 7 continued.)

A few days ago - Department of Research and Development.

"Good grief, quite the stubborn one aren't you. I'm surprised your attitude is still uncooperative." Kurotsuchi Mayuri remained expressionless in the presence of the test subject before his eyes as he gave utterance to these words. There stood a large cylindrical glass tank. Inside, it was half filled with some sort of liquid solution, a woman who was currently submerged in that solution only up to the lower half of her body, raised her voice in anger.

"…How does it look as if I'm going to bend to your will under these circumstances? Huuhh!?" Faced with Candice who was in a state of containment as though she was sealed from head to toe, her limbs and the nape of her neck fitted with things like tubes and electrodes, Kurotsuchi Mayuri addressed her in an aloof manner. "That's an odd thing to say. The very moment you were able to shout in such a loud and clear voice, you might at least have realised that you are receiving the highest level of privilege as a specimen." "I have long been aware that you're a nutcase sadist." (TN -- she says サディスト [sadisuto] which is a loanword from the term 'sadist', that in mind the next line should make sense) "What a pity. If I were to put it in your own choice of words, I am not a sadist, but a scientist." (TN -- Mayuri says サイエンティスト [saientisuto] which is of course a loanword from the term 'scientist') "…But you don't deny that you're a nutcase huh." "Looking at it from an average person's point of view, it's only natural that you would perceive the work of a genius as strange. I feel a sense of pity towards those who can do nothing but waver in the face of unexplored endeavours and try to exclude themselves from it. It would only be a waste of time to deal with such people one after another." Candice clicked her tongue at Mayuri who displayed a haughty yet serene attitude. "And? Am I supposed to express gratitude and shed tears for the Shinigami punks who treated my injuries, and at the same time become your pawn?" "It is not accurate to say that your injuries were treated. Rather, we 'rebooted' something that was almost a corpse. Well anyway, during the time you were half a corpse, the experiments which included an autopsy are more or less complete." "Wait a minute… what did you just say!? Autopsy!?" "As far as I'm concerned, I rescued you lot from your cruel master who tried to eat his pets so untidily and without mercy too, not to mention casting you all away, so it's certainly not too farfetched to expect one or two words of gratitude." Whilst fixing a glare at Mayuri who said as such, Candice flashed a bold smile. "Ha… you merely removed the hunting dog collar from our necks. I will not fall so low as to choose a scumbag like you to be my new master."

"It's unthinkable that you would refer to me as scum. Given that I am known as a prominent gentleman among members of the Gotei 13, I don't want to treat women roughly."

"You have the nerve to say something like that and yet you don't consider this rough!?" While disregarding her cries of protest, Mayuri released a heavy sigh as he continued to speak. "In any case, my research into your rare species naturally came to a close long ago. The 'subspecies' known as Yhwach… no, I should say 'original species' to be more accurate shouldn't I… anyway, although it is somewhat trickier to carry out an analysis on you lot who have shared his powers, as long as I have a sample, synthesis of results is an easy thing. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to continuously analyse things until things become messy, just like it did with past samples." Mayuri recalls the many gruesome experiments he used to perform on Quincies. Sometimes he would chop them up, sometimes he would grind them down to fine particles, sometimes he would drill holes into their skulls while they were still alive, and sometimes he would let the Quincy scorch their own fledglings to death during these 'experiment' days. Perhaps there is a reason why the same is not being done to Candice and the others today, whether it's simply 'because that's not necessary' as far as Mayuri is concerned, or there was a change of heart regarding some aspect of his research, this is something that would be impossible for others to comprehend. ---- As for Candice who knew nothing of the miserable fate of those Quincies much less comprehend such a thing, she was unable to accept his words as anything but a mere bluff. "It doesn't make any sense to me. If you've finished your analysis, shouldn't we have been disposed of right away? However, you don't think you can just kill me do you? Because I'll turn every last one of you assholes to ashes before I die! Starting with that Kurosaki Ichigo guy who made a fool of me!" Whilst it looks like idle talk, Candice spoke with an expression in her eyes that said she was brimming with motivation to put up a resistance for as long as she was alive. "That man has already left Soul Society. He is a naive man. So if he was to observe your current circumstances, he would probably complain that what I'm doing is unjust." Easily brushing aside her gaze which looked as if it could shoot a person to death, Mayuri gradually began to insert the 'candy’ into his words. (TN -- In Japan they say "candy and whip" to refer to what is commonly known in the west as a "carrot and stick" approach.) "Anyway, with regard to internal research, no more specimens are required. However, when it comes to actual combat in the future… that is to say, if the lot of you are uncooperative in an examination of your performance in battle, then it will be necessary to replace you with substitutes." "Substitutes…?" Mayuri fixed a piercing stare towards a perplexed Candice as he crafted his words. "I'm talking about that zombie girl and the little girl with a big appetite who mobilised together with the lot of you. It appears that recently, they've been sneaking around Hueco Mundo for some reason or another. Well, all my research concerning the zombie has been completed, and I can also make an educated guess about the big eater's abilities so I'm not particularly interested in them." "……?"

For a moment, she couldn't quite grasp what was being said, but her memory circuit soon made the connection, the sparks of hope that had already disappeared, began to flicker once more. "Hey… just a minute. Lil and Gigi are still alive!? Well then, is Bambi alive too!?" "Ah, if your talking about the girl with the bombs, it seems she's still zombified. Honestly, the one time they had made an appearance before me, they didn't even notice that I had administered tracking bacteria into her system, these so-called Quincies truly are an unsuspecting bunch." At Mayuri's unsettling grin, Candice masked her slight joy with irritation as she spoke up. "…If that's the case, why are you leaving them alone? And even regardless of you, other Shinigami will have no reason to turn a blind eye to them will they?" "Much to my disappointment, in the midst of war, the captain commander and others took the liberty of accepting the proposal to put up a united front against Yhwach. So it's come to be that those girls are no longer considered hostile forces. Dear me, even if it was for the sake of bringing down Yhwach, I think that's being far too lenient." "…United front? You mean, they betrayed his majesty…?" Candice was puzzled by the various facts she was hearing for the first time. However, since she distinctly remembered the feeling of Yhwach robbing her of her powers in her final moments, she extended the scope of her speculations in her own way. "… or rather, his majesty seriously wanted us to…… if that's the case, judging from Lil's personality, she would certainly……" In response to Candice who was mumbling to herself whilst contemplating something, Mayuri proceeded to take the conversation further. Like converting poison, injected in the form of information, into sweet candy. "How about it? For my part, it is said that I have compassion coursing through my veins instead of blood, that is, if the lot of you are compliant…" "……I'd even be willing to return the specimens I've finished experimenting on, back to their Quincy friends."

Present time. In reality, Candice Catnipp did not believe Mayuri's words. She never trusted Shinigami to begin with, but among them, that man named Kurotsuchi Mayuri in particular could not be trusted. Nonetheless, Candice considered it worthwhile to just play along on this occasion and have some means of connecting with the outside world. She took into consideration the possibility of working together with Meninas McAllon who was taken prisoner alongside her, and even the chance of catching the Shinigami off guard and taking advantage of the opportunity if she was able to get in contact with Lil and the others who were still out there. Of course, she can't be too optimistic, but as far as Candice was concerned, it's enough reason to temporarily pose as a Shinigami puppet. Even if the same had been included among Kurotsuchi Mayuri's calculations. That's why Candice did not plan to make any compromise for the task she was assigned to. "Incapacitate the Fullbringer and then secure him." As a Quincy, Candice had always fought against Hollows or Shinigami, however she knew next to nothing about the existence of Fullbringers. She felt as though Lil had told her something about them before, but after all, determining that they were a very small group of gifted individuals who weren't even hostile forces, she didn't pay enough attention to the topic. Nevertheless, Candice had no intention of being regretful of that. This is because she strongly prides herself on the idea that no matter what kind of foe, they would all fail to to keep up with her lightning strikes, nor could they even hope to ward off such an attack. Be that as it may, that pride was once smashed to pieces during the war with the Shinigami, beginning with Kurosaki Ichigo. ---- But it was precisely for this reason, that when her first arrow was repelled and sent flying by that big sword, her limit which was known as being short-tempered, was easily sidestepped. And then, utilising a transfer technique which employed the use of shadows characteristic of the "Wandenreich" and derived from the 'equipment' Mayuri had prepared, she was able to throw an extra large bolt of lightning at point-blank range towards her targets. Although her might has significantly weakened now that she has lost the power of her Vollständig, the blow from her "Electrocution" still far surpasses any lightning in the realm of nature. Kurotsuchi Mayuri who was observing the lightning strike from a fair distance away, shook his head whilst his eyes narrowed. "Oh for crying out loud, apparently the meaning of words 'Securing a target' has not been properly conveyed." The lightning strike was unleashed with the intention of completely reducing her opponents to burnt cinders. As a thunderous noise that tore through the very space itself reached his ears after a few seconds of delay, Mayuri released a sigh with a blank expression on his face. "I don't remember preserving her so haphazardly to the point where her brain tissue would be made to decay." At Mayuri's back, the throaty voice of a man could be heard. "I told y~o~u so, didn't I? I said that tomboy seems to lack refinement, and therefore she's not suited to this kind of delicate operation…" "Who permitted you to speak?" Without turning his face to look, Mayuri pushed a button in one of his hands whereupon the crackling sound of an electric shock came from behind him, corresponding with that, the shrieks of a few men and women resounded through the air. "Hmph…in the presence of ultimate beauty, this amount of lightning is practically a spotlight for me!" "Argh… quit making any more noise! Why must we all be implicated and receive an electric shock!" "Perhaps it's better to ask, why the all-important Charlotte is jumping around with so much health and vitality!" "He increased the strength just when I thought I was steadily getting used to this…" Four people characterised by white garments and scars on their bodies, each sang their own praises or let slip words of complaint. Charlotte Chuhlhourne. Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio. Cirucci Sanderwicci. Luppi Antenor. They are powerful members of the "Arrancar" who would not normally exist in Soul Society. Treated as deceased and brought back to life in the Department of Research and Development long before Candice and the others, they were forced to serve as members of the "Kurotsuchi Corpse Unit" which simultaneously held elements of being both a test subject and a hunting dog. In the end, Dordoni and Cirucci who were well prepared to accept jobs in the form of a contract, have not yet lost heart for the sake of their own objectives, Luppi has half abandoned hope and accepted the state of affairs around him, and Charlotte seems to enjoy his current situation to a certain extent, each had varying agendas. "What's more, was it really necessary for us to come along on this trip?" At Dordoni's query, Mayuri uttered his reply in a detached manner and without averting his eyes from the lightning.

"You will be a sort of suppression device in the event of a malfunction with the Quincy specimens. Haven't I effectively communicated to you my benevolent mercy which is allowing you to breath in the outside air this very moment?" "If you merely want to suppress them, you can use the electric shocks and poisons you're so proud of." "Hey wait, quit provoking him. What's to be done if we receive electric shocks by being implicated again?" Cirucci muttered idle complaints and Luppi rebuked her for it, meanwhile Charlotte struck an enigmatic pose in a spot that was a little further away. "Anyway, what happened to the promise of letting me meet up with that orange-haired niño?" At Dordoni's words, a bored looking Mayuri gave a shrug of his shoulders as he replied. "I'm going to bring you along to the next best thing. After all, the target to be captured this time, was a substitute Shinigami same as that Kurosaki Ichigo… a man who lost his life by suffering a defeat at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo." Hearing those words, Dordoni's facial expression became tense. "Woah… he actually killed a fellow human being rather than a Hollow like us, has he cast aside that innocent nature of his? If that's the case, I suppose I can't call him ‘niño’ anymore." "He's quite an extraordinary specimen, for a human. Moreover, he is also the man that once cut down the Quincy Ishida Uryū." Then, Cirucci who appeared to be uninterested until just now, raised her voice. "Huh!? Just a minute, stop screwing around! You don't mean to tell me that irritating Quincy four-eyes, was easily knocked down by that nobody over there!?" "Oh, and if it's true, then that fact alone would be proof enough that he's not a simple 'nobody'. Well, that's precisely why I ordered the Quincy corpses to recover him this time." In response to Mayuri who continued with his observations, Luppi mutters something as if speaking to himself whilst looking in the direction of the flash of light which gleamed brightly. "Recover you say, at this rate there's probably nothing left of them by now." However, there was no sign of anxiety on Mayuri's face. "…Interesting." "Huh? …What is, that?" And finally, the smoke that rose up from the scene and the afterglow that was scorched into the back of their eyelids simultaneously began to fade, watching what materialised within their field of vision ---- every member of the corpse unit including Luppi, widened their eyes. Whilst smiling in content, Mayuri compared the data streaming in from his observation mechanism with the spectacle before him. "If that is part of the power of his 'Fullbring', then I am truly intrigued."

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 7/23/21 - SNAKE EYES, OLD, VAL, JOE BELL, SETTLERS, JOLT, MANDIBLES, and More!

So I definitely underestimated Space Jam: A New Legacy last week and way overestimated Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, maybe because I liked the latter way more than the former and probably underestimated the nostalgia factor for Space Jam… oh, yeah, and the fact that it was also on HBO Max, which didn’t really matter since it grossed more than $30 million anyway. Meanwhile, Escape Room, a rare theatrical-only movie, failed to bring people into theaters to see it as it ended up making about half what I expected. Oh, well. It happens. Live and learn.

Hey, guess what? We don’t have any sequels this week! Okay, to be fair, we do have a spin-off/prequel sort of thing, so I guess that counts.

The latter is SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS (Paramount Pictures/MGM/Skydance), the latest attempt by Hasbro Films to reboot its G.I. Joe franchise with Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians playing the popular anti-hero from the oh-so-popular Hasbro toys, comics and cartoons. As you can surmise from the subtitle, Snake Eyes, directed by Robert Schwentke (Red, R.I.P.D.), is an origin story for the most enigmatic member of the Joe team. Much of the rest of the cast are Asian actors or martial arts specialists like Iko Uwais from The Raid and its sequel. The movie does introduce Samara Weaving from Ready or Not as Scarlet, another popular G.I. Joe character, as well as her counterpart, the Baronness, so it’s definitely a G.I. Joe movie still.

It’s been quite some time since the previous Joe movie, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which was released in March 2013 where it opened with $40.5 million, which is less than the previous movie, 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which opened with $54.7 million. The two movies made $150.2 million and $122.5 million respectively, although “Retaliation” did slightly better overseas to gross $375.7 million to Rise of Cobra’s $302 million. Those aren’t huge numbers compared to Hasbro’s other big toy-related franchise, the “Transformers” movies by Michael Bay, which were doing almost $300 million in the U.S. alone. Retaliation may have been hurt by being delayed a number of times putting more time between the original movie and sequel, but it introduced a few great new ideas and characters played by Dwayne “Franchise Viagra” Johnson and Bruce “You Have My Direct Deposit Info, Right?” Willis.

There is an odd connection between “Retaliation” and Snake Eyes, because the former was directed by Jon Chu, who directed Golding in Crazy Rich Asians, the movie that broke him out. Chu had talked forever about doing another G.I. Joe movie but it seems like he’s moved on and has a lot on his plate now, so who knows if we’ll ever get another direct sequel? It’s hard to say if and how Snake Eyes might integrate with previous or future Joe movies.

Either way, the G.I. Joe franchise obviously has a number of dedicated fans who might want to see more of where Snake Eyes came from, and the trailers make it look like it’s in a similar vein as John Wick Chapter 3. Unfortunately, I won’t be seeing this until Tuesday night and reviews won’t hit until Thursday, so I’m going to have to gauge interest in this without knowing whether critics liked this any more than the previous movies. (Okay, reviews went live at 3 this morning, but I was already asleep, having already finished writing this column, as always.)

I can see Snake Eyes pushing for an opening somewhere in the mid-$20 millions, and maybe it will over-perform like last week’s Space Jam: A New Legacy or Mortal Kombat and bring in closer to $30 million, since one presumes that the Joe fanbase hasn’t gone anywhere and would go with this over Old.

Mini-Review: While I’m not really much of a G.I. Joe fan, I am a fan of martial arts, swordplay, and Japanese culture like Yakuza and samurai and such. Not really knowing that much about the title character of Snake Eyes, I was kind of interested in knowing more about him, especially the fact that they cast a real actor to play him for this movie in Henry Golding. (Sorry, not sorry, Ray Park.)

We meet him as a boy with no name, having gotten his nickname from the man who killed his father when he was a boy, urging his dad to roll dice in order to live. He rolls (what else?) snake eyes. Decades later, the boy is a man working for the Yakuza and a particularly nasty guy named Kenta (Takehiro Hira) who nearly kills Snake Eyes before he’s paired with Tommy (Andrew Koji), the prodigal son of the Arashikage clan who also happen to be Kenta’s sworn enemies. Having saved Tommy’s life, Snake Eyes is urged to stay at the family castle and train to join the clan as an assassin. His training involves a series of tests conducted by Blind Master (Peter Mensah) and Hard Master (Iko Uwais), but we soon learn that Snake Eyes is still loyal to Kenta and used his friendship with Tommy as a ruse to infiltrate the castle and steal their greatest weapon. Oh, yeah there’s also giant snakes, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Having seen Robert Schwentke’s The Captain, I know the director can make great movies, and Snake Eyes is probably one of his better American films, at least that I’ve seen. The reason this movie work at all is the casting for most of the may Asian roles are fantastic. I particularly enjoyed seeing Haruke Abe as Akiko, one of the truly kick-ass women in the movie, but the same can be said for Eri Ishida, who plays Tommy’s grandmother and the head of Tommy’s clan, and she too has some great action moments. The point is that Snake Eyes doesn’t suffer from the decision to cast talented Asian actors in the same way that Mortal Kombat did.

The movie’s biggest issues arrive when they try to fit G.I. Joe and Cobra into the mix (about an hour into the movie), because it definitely feels shoehorned into what is becoming a decent movie about honor and loyalty. I have never heard of Spanish actress Ursula Corbero, but she’s absolutely garbage as Baronness, vamping and trying to make the role more comicky apparently. By comparison, I’m generally a fan of Samara Weaving, but she isn’t much better as Scarlett. Since these are both popular G.I. Joe characters, I can’t imagine the fans will be too happy.

A lot of what happens at the end is telegraphed from a mile away, especially if you already figured out where the relationship between Snake Eyes and Tommy is going. (Maybe it isn’t a secret, but in case it isn’t obvious…)

Snake Eyes works fine as the G.I. Joe origin it’s meant to be, but I would have been perfectly fine without any G.I. Joe references at all, and if this was just a cool Asian action flick like The Villainess or some of Takashi Miike’s yakuza films.

Rating: 7/10

M. Night Shyamalan returns to theaters after a brief sojourn into TV with Apple TV+’s Servant (which is great) with his latest high-concept thriller, OLD (Universal Pictures), which involves a family who goes to visit a remote tropical beach where they learn that something on the beach is making them age extraordinarily fast. The movie stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, Alex Wolff from Hereditary (and last week’s Pig), and Thomasin McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit. It’s a pretty great ensemble cast for sure, but how many of those actors have a proven track record to bring people into theaters? Not many, but will that matter?

Shyamalan has had an amazing career as a filmmaker in terms of box office with six movies that grossed over $100 million (and a seventh that came close), one movie (Signs) that grossed over $200 million, and then his early film, The Sixth Sense, which came close to $300 million domestically. (This is all domestic, if you didn’t figure it out.) Shyamalan’s movies have done very well overseas, often matching the amount the movies made in the States. Shyamalan’s last two movies, 2017’s Split and 2019’s Glass, took the director back to his earlier movie, 2000’s Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis, and both those movies grossed more. (To be fair, ticket prices have increased a lot since 2000.) Glass opened with $40 million in January 2019, roughly the same as Split’s opening, and that’s a fairly standard opening for the filmmaker.

Old doesn’t have that connection to a popular past movie, nor does it really have the starpower of some of Shyamalan’s movies, so it’s definitely at a disadvantage and possibly more in line with his 2015 “comeback” thriller, The Visit, which grossed $65.2 million from an opening of $25.2 million.

Horror movies and thrillers don’t necessarily need to have big name stars but it doesn’t hurt -- look at Ethan Hawke’s forays into genre with Sinister and The Purge for Blumhouse -- and though any of the cast could appear on talk shows to promote the film, I’m not sure if any of them could be considered a draw at this point. (Maybe Alex Wolff, since he’s quite popular among young women for his horror movies and music career.)

Any way you look at it, Shyamalan has become a filmmaker whose name on a film helps drive people to see the movies in theaters, and that will be the case here, as well. You combine the Shyamalan name with an easy-to-sell concept like a beach that ages people (vs. the relaxation beaches normally provide)

My review for this one will be over at Below the Line later on Thursday, but I’m presuming that critics will be mixed on this one at best. If they go negative, which I could see happening, that might theoretically hurt the movie’s chances, although it should still be good for opening weekend.

Because of this, and because Old might lose some of its male audiences to the above Snake Eyes -- oddly, neither of these movies will be available on streaming day and date, mind you -- Shyamalan’s latest will probably end up in the mid-to-high-teens, although it might be able to make $20 million in a push.

1. Snake Eyes (Paramount/MGM/Skydance) - $24.1 million N/A

2. Old (Universal) - $17 million N/A

3. Space Jam: A New Legacy (Warner Bros.) - $15 million -51%

4. Black Widow (Marvel/Disney) - $13.5 million -48%

5. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (Sony) - $4.5 million -49%

6. F9 (Universal) - $4.4 million -43%

7. The Boss Baby: Family Business (Universal/DreamWorks Animation) - $2.6 million -45%

8. The Forever Purge (Universal) - $2.1 million -49%

8. A Quiet Place Part II (Paramount) - $1.6 million -25%

10. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (Focus) - $1 million -47%

There are a few more theatrical releases, but let’s start by getting into this week’s “Chosen One”, which is…

Leo Scott and Ting Poo’s doc VAL (Amazon) refers to actor Val Kilmer, who goes through his entire career in this fascinating portrait in which we see him in the present day dealing with the debilitating throat cancer that’s nearly taken his voice. Culled from almost four decades of archival footage, most of it shot by Kilmer himself, the film puts together an amazing story of Kilmer’s life as a working actor, but also captures his family life, his tough relationship with his father and how his marriage and career deteriorated over time.

It really surprised me how much I loved this movie, because honestly, I’ve never been a particularly big Kilmer fan, other than a few favorites like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, and probably a few others. In fact, I finally saw Top Gun for the first time a few months ago, and I wasn’t even that big a fan, as I don’t think it aged well. But what’s great about Val, the movie, is that you get to see some of Kilmer’s own footage from on set and off for movies like Top Gun and even The Island of Doctor Moreau, which he admits was a complete disaster, a shame since it was the only chance to work with his idol, Marlon Brando (who barely shows up to set).

What’s particularly eerie is hearing a younger Val narrating the film, clearly recorded from before he was hit with the debilitating throat cancer, but the filmmakers did a great job editing all of Kilmer’s footage and words into a surprisingly cohesive (and still very linear) story.

Besides seeing the footage and how it meshed with Kilmer’s narration, I also greatly appreciated the score by Garth Stevenson, as well as the song choices, which includes some familiar tunes but always in a different way than what we’re used to. I’m really curious if Val picked some of the tunes himself, but whoever the music supervisor was on this film, really did an amazing job getting songs that meshed well with Stevenson’s music.

Val is a terrific portrait of an actor who probably never got the level of respect he deserved , but it’s also a film that will make you think of your own life and mortality.

Mark Wahlberg stars in and as JOE BELL (Roadside Attractions/Vertical) in this drama directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who helmed the excellent and underrated Monsters and Men. Green didn’t write this one, but it was written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, the Oscar-winning writers of Brokeback Mountain. With that in mind, you’d expect something more interesting, but as I watched Joe Bell, I actually wasn’t aware that it was based on a real person/story.

The long and short of it is that Wahlberg’s Joe Bell is a father who has decided to walk across the country from Oregon to New York City to talk to anyone who will listen about bullying, and why it’s bad. Yup, that’s it. That’s the movie. To be fair, we do get to see Joe spending time with his gay son Jadin (Reed Miller), and those are generally the best parts of the film, but one thing that really didn’t work for me was the structure, especially the time spent (SPOILER!) pretending that Jadin was already dead before Joe went on his cross-country walk. It’s something that’s casually revealed when Joe stops in a gay bar for a drink and mentions it to a drag queen.

Otherwise, Joe Bell is a movie that leans so heavily on the screenplay and Wahlberg’s performance, which is better than others we’ve seen from him but isn’t that great. Overall, the film is just so dour, glum and frankly, quite dull, that there’s very little that can make it more interesting, especially since the narrative and structure makes the whole thing kind of obvious.

Maybe there’s a better version of this movie but when you get to what is quite a grim ending and then you realize that it’s a true story, you kind of wish that thing called “artistic license” was used more liberally to make a better movie. All Joe Bell does is state the obvious: that bullying is bad, especially towards people different and possibly more fragile than you.

Rating: 6/10

I'm not sure how wide Roadside plans on releasing Joe Bell, but I'd expect 400 to 500 theaters, but I'm not sure that's enough to get it into the Top 10.

Wyatt Rockefeller’s feature film directorial debut, SETTLERS (IFC Midnight) takes place on Mars, and at first, it deals with a couple (played by Johnny Lee Miller and Sofia Boutella) living on a remote base there with their young daughter Remmy (Brooklynn Prince), but it’s soon attacked by a stranger who wants them to leave. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and will get a release into select theaters on Friday as well as be released in various digital formats.

Settlers starts off as if it might be a home invasion movie with a sci-fi twist, but that aspect of it is fleeting, as it soon becomes a drama where the stranger Jerry (Ismael Cruz Cordova) moves in with Remmy and her mother, and then other stuff happens. Oh, yeah, there’s also an adorable robot named Steve.

Don’t get me wrong, because I genuinely liked Settlers, although I think I was expecting something more genre-y since it’s being released by IFC Midnight. Because of the setting, I was expecting something more science fiction or home invasion, and I guess comparing it to a Western would be fair due to the wilderness setting, but really, it’s a character drama about how three people need to coexist together, especially when one of them is a stranger in their midst. Seeing how Boutella’s character slowly warms up to Jerry while Remmy is still suspicious and even angry at her mother accepting the stranger.

In many ways, this is Prince’s movie, because she’s so good in this role that she almost supports the adult actors by leading. Prince is so compelling that she’s even able to keep you interested when Remmy is just wandering around, exploring various aspects of the environment around their home base. That is, at least until the last act when the film jumps forward a number of years and Nell Tiger Free (from Servant) takes over the role of Remmy (quite fluidly, in fact).

This creates a very different dynamic between Jerry and Remmy that might feel a bit pervy to some women (okay, most women). Cordova is also quite good in a role that’s tough to sell, because he isn’t the typical bad man.

Settlers is a quiet and subdued film with not a lot of action or dialogue for that matter, but it reminds me quite a bit of Moon, and it’s a similarly solid debut by Rockefeller, showing him to be a strong storyteller able to get strong performances out of his relatively small cast. (Oh, and hey, I should have an interview with Rockefeller next week over at Below the Line.)

Rating: 7/10

Kate Beckinsale stars in the action-thriller JOLT (Amazon), which hits Amazon Prime Video this Friday. It's directed by Tanya Wexler (Buffaloed), and in the movie, Beckinsale plays Lindy, a woman with a debilitating condition that gives her insane strength when she gets angry, and she gets angry a LOT. But no, this is not like the upcoming She-Hulk series, though it’s an incredible action movie for sure.

Beckingsale’s Lindy has something called “intermittent explosive disorder” which I’m not sure if that’s a real thing (probably not), but it gives her incredible strength when she gets mad, and it forces her to wear a vest that gives a huge electrical charge when she pushes a button. So yeah, the movie feels a lot like Crank if it had a woman lead instead of Jason Statham. Honestly, if that alone doesn’t sell you on Jolt, then this movie probably isn’t gonna be for you.

It actually starts out as a pseudo-rom-com as Lindy meets a nice guy, played by Jai Courtney, but after a few dates and some great sex, he’s killed, and Lindy is upset but even more furious than normal, swearing to find the man responsible for killing her kinda-boyfriend. So yeah, Jolt quickly turns into a revenge thriller, but it’s one with lots of Beckinsale kicking ass, some great car chases, and lots of funny doofuses getting their asses handed to them, both figuratively and literally.

Surprisingly, Wexler didn’t write this one -- the screenplay’s Scott Wascha -- but her reputation and previous films helped her put together a great cast around Beckinsale, including Stanley Tucci as her therapist who set her up with the shock vest, and Bobby Cannavale and Laverne Cox as the detectives investigating the death of Lindy’s beau, all three of them offering some great humorous dynamics to the mix.

That’s probably why Jolt is quite satisfying, not only in terms of being a female empowerment movie, but also not taking itself too seriously and always keeping the comedy on the darker side. For instance, there’s a scene where Lindy throws live babies at Cox to distract her, but what do you expect from a movie that enjoys giving its main character literal electroshock therapy?

So yeah, I definitely liked Jolt as an action-comedy. Maybe it was a bit too violent for my tastes, at times, but it definitely is everything I hoped to get out of Gunpowder Milkshake last week, and honestly, I had no idea Wexler had this kind of movie in her.

Rating: 7/10

Quirky French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux (Rubber) returns with MANDIBLES (Magnet), a comedy of sorts about a pair of dumbass friends -- Manu (Grégoire Ludig from Keep Your Eye Out) and David Marsais’ Jean-Gab, who steal a car for a job only to find a giant fly inside its trunk, so they decide to train it to rob banks for them.

Yup, it’s another weird one from Dupieux, and honestly, it took me a long time to really get into it, as these two doofuses get into all sorts of predicaments (and who have an amusing “secret” handshake). Where it really takes off is when they meet a group of vacationers, including the one and only Adèle Exarchopoulos as Agnes, a woman who mistakes one of the guys as a high-school lover. Things just get zanier from there as the guys try to sneak in their giant trained fly -- now named Dominique -- into the vacation home where they’re staying with a bunch of Agnes suspicious friends and her brother. (There’s also one woman who literally shouts everything due to a condition, and at first, it was more aggravating than funny, but like everything else in this, she gets funnier over time.)

In fact, after I got to the end of the movie, I ended up going back to rewatch the first half again to see if I missed anything, and surprise, surprise, the two guys and their antics had definitely grown on me by the end, making it easier to enjoy a second view. I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of Dupieux’s movies to just anyone, and that goes for Mandibles, but if you enjoyed the quirky humor of Rubber or last year’s Deerskin, then you might not hate this one, but it’s also not a movie I’d recommend you rush out to see in theaters.

Rating: 6.5/10

A few more words about a few other docs… (As usual, I didn’t get to watch nearly as much as I hoped to get to this week.)

I did get to watch Garret Price’s WOODSTOCK '99: PEACE, LOVE AND RAGE (HBO), which will hit the cable network on Friday. Honestly, I barely remember it, and I’m not even sure I watched it PPV or at all, because there weren’t really that many acts at this year’s festival that interested me. I mean, Limp Bizkit? Korn? Rage Against the Machine? I wasn’t really into any of those in the late ‘90s, and certainly not my sworn-enemy Jewel or Sheryl Crow or Alannis Morrissette, the festival’s token women who were slotted into separate days. Even so, Price is a pretty decent documentation of all the awfulness at that particular festival from portapotties mixing shit in with all the mud or the many cases of sexual harassment, assault and flat-out rape that took place on the campgrounds. I’m sure I heard most of it but seeing it put together like this in the film’s two-hour running time just makes it harder to watch without tearing up. A pretty solid doc that I’m not sure I could fully recommend, but hey, I’ve never been to one of these festivals and after watching this movie, I probably never will. (It is interesting how Price contrasts the disaster of Woodstock ‘99 with the hugely-successful Coachella, which started not long afterwards.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to Jamila Wignot’s doc AILEY (NEON) about choreographer Alvin Ailey, making this the second movie about dance or choreography in a row. It opens in New York this weekend, in L.A. theaters next Friday July 30 and then everywhere on August 6.

Then there’s ALL THE STREETS ARE SILENT (Greenwich), Jeremy Elkin’s doc that covers the crossroads between skateboard and hip-hop in downtown Manhattan during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to get around to this, although it features Rosario Dawson, Bobbito Garcia, Stretch Armstrong, Moby (him again?!), Fab 5 Freddy, and a lot of other rappers I’ve never heard of.

Also hitting HBO Max on Thursday is THROUGH OUR EYES (HBO Max/Sesame Workshop docuseries), a series of four 30-minute films designed for adults to watch with their kids age 9 and up, dealing with things like homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement. Sounds fun.

Hitting Netflix on Wednesday is TROLLHUNTERS: RISE OF THE TITANS (Netflix), a movie based on the popular series produced by Guillermo del Toro, which I’ve also never see, so I guess I don’t have a lot to say about this.

Lastly, premiering this week is the second season of Apple TV+’s Emmy-nominated TED LASSO which is probably gonna win a bunch of those Emmys going by previous awards shows. It’s a very popular show. I’m still on Season 1, myself.

Other films I didn’t get to… (sorry, respective publicists!)

HERE AFTER (Vertical)

FEAR AND LOATHING IN ASPEN (Shout Studios!)

Next week, it’s a doozy! Disney finally releases Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayen Johnson and Emily Blunt, while there are two smaller movies looking to make some money, Thomas McCarthy’s Stillwater (Focus Features), starring Matt Damon, and David Lowery’s The Green Knight (A24), starring Dev Patel. Should be an interesting one.

[orbemnews]

Let’s Talk Policy Top policymakers and business leaders will assemble virtually next week for the DealBook DC Policy Project, to discuss the future of politics, the economy, markets and more. Register here to join us, from anywhere in the world, free of charge. Policy prescriptions With a new administration in place in Washington, the real work — and debate — about policy priorities begins in earnest. We’ve assembled some of the most influential players in that conversation to join us as part of a two-day event, the DealBook DC Policy Project, that starts on Monday. Between a health crisis and a related economic downturn, there are crucial policy questions about the way forward. And it’s not just about the stimulus needed to reboot the economy in the short term, but the policies necessary to create a sustainable and durable recovery. Everything from taxes to labor, trade, competition and markets is on the table. This project began in December with a series of round-table conversations with experts about climate policy, U.S.-China relations, the future of capitalism and more. Starting on Monday, we’re going to drill down on specifics with a series of decision makers to understand how they think about the most pressing challenges we face. My hope is that there will be lessons to take away from the sessions that advance the national conversation and make us all think a bit more deeply about our role in creating solutions. The agenda is below. I hope you can join us. Monday, Feb. 22, 9 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the road to recovery The path out of the pandemic is paved with debt. On top of the $1.9 trillion economic aid plan that is working its way through Congress, the White House is raising the prospect of another big spending package focused on infrastructure. Although the economy is recovering faster than expected, it remains fragile and uneven. Navigating this path is Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair who took over as Treasury secretary last month. She faces pressure to reduce the deficit that ballooned during the worst of the pandemic downturn and to address fears that aggressive spending could stoke inflation as pent-up demand is unleashed. In addition to getting the economy back on its feet, Ms. Yellen’s to-do list includes reviewing the deregulation of Wall Street under former President Donald J. Trump, resetting U.S. trade relations and incorporating inclusivity, the climate and other priorities into policymaking in a more comprehensive way than has been attempted before. Further reading: “The Daily” did a deep dive on Ms. Yellen’s biography, and how her background informs her thinking about why “the smartest thing we can do is act big,” as she said at her confirmation hearing. Monday, Feb. 22, 2:30 P.m. – 3 P.m. Attorney General Letitia James of New York on the power of accountability Letitia James has more high-profile cases and investigations on her plate today than most lawyers will manage in a lifetime. The way she uses her power also highlights how states can shape national policy. The New York state attorney general sued Amazon this week, accusing it of failing to protect warehouse workers amid the pandemic, undaunted by the company’s pre-emptive suit to block the charges. Her recent inquiry into nursing home deaths exposed the fact that New York had severely underreported the numbers. Her office is also taking on the New York Police Department over its handling of racial justice protests last year and is investigating fraud in Donald Trump’s business dealings in a civil suit that may become a criminal matter. She is suing the National Rifle Association and its leadership over claims of misconduct. She is leading a coalition of state attorneys general taking on Facebook, accusing the tech giant of illegally crushing competition. And yesterday, she also joined with other A.G.s to urge Congress to cancel federal student loan debt in the name of consumer protection. And that is just the short list. Further reading: When Ms. James was elected in 2018, she shattered a trio of racial and gender barriers: the first woman in New York to be elected attorney general, the first Black woman to be elected to statewide office and the first Black person to serve as attorney general. Monday, Feb. 22, 3:30 P.m. – 4 P.m. Ed Bastian of Delta on the future of travel Last year was “the toughest year in Delta’s history,” according to Ed Bastian, the airline’s chief executive. The carrier reported a loss of more than $12 billion as travel ground to a halt during the pandemic. But unlike its rivals, Delta has been able to avoid mass furloughs, and it turned down a bailout loan, opting instead to raise money by tapping its loyalty program. In addition to feeling the pandemic’s economic effects, the airline industry is at the center of health policy debates, like one over making masks mandatory, which airlines have welcomed, and another over requiring coronavirus tests before travel, which they have resisted for domestic flights. The industry over all is shedding more than $150 million each day, and it won’t turn around meaningfully until high-margin business travel picks up. But some experts say corporate travel may never fully recover, with in-person meetings permanently replaced by video conferences. Further reading: “Leadership is not a popularity contest,” Mr. Bastian told our Corner Office columnist, in a wide-ranging interview about managing the company through booms and busts. Monday, Feb. 22, 4 P.m. – 4:30 P.m. Steve Ballmer of USAFacts on stimulus by the numbers Since stepping down as Microsoft’s chief executive in 2014, Steve Ballmer has kept busy as the N.B.A.’s most energetic team owner. He has also founded USAFacts, a nonprofit group dedicated to presenting crucial data about the United States in easy-to-read formats. The idea behind the group, whose projects include a yearly scorecard for the U.S. modeled on corporate annual reports, is to give Americans the important facts about their government that they need to make informed political decisions. Working with academics and other experts, Mr. Ballmer’s group aims, in his words, to “figure out what the government really does” with taxpayers’ money. Further reading: Where $3.4 trillion in economic relief — the equivalent of $10,300 for every American — has been spent over the past year. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 12:30 P.m. – 1 P.m. Karen Lynch of CVS Health on the vaccine rollout Karen Lynch took over CVS Health this month as the pharmacy chain takes center stage in efforts to fight the pandemic. It is working with the government to distribute the coronavirus vaccine in its stores, as well as in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. To aid in those efforts, the company hired 15,000 employees at the end of last year. President Biden has warned of “gigantic” logistical hurdles to the rollout. CVS, which could add $1 billion in profit over the next year from the program, also aims to reach underserved communities, which have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Further reading: The job market for pharmacists is booming as chains rush to staff up to handle demand for vaccinations. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2:30 P.m. – 3 P.m. Vlad Tenev of Robinhood and Jay Clayton, former S.E.C. chairman, on the markets Nothing captured Wall Street’s attention more in recent weeks than meme-stock mania, as the video game retailer GameStop and other unlikely companies briefly became the hottest things in the markets. At the center of the frenzy was the online brokerage Robinhood, which has attracted millions of users with commission-free trades but drew outrage among its users when it halted trading in GameStop and other stocks at the height of the mania. Vlad Tenev, a Robinhood co-founder and its chief executive, has been thrust into the spotlight. He faced hours of hostile questioning at a congressional hearing on Thursday about Robinhood’s business practices, which brought attention to normally obscure things like payment for order flow, clearinghouse deposit requirements and the timing of trade settlements. Mr. Tenev has called for changes to some of those practices while defending others. Joining him is Jay Clayton, the veteran Wall Street lawyer who led the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Trump administration. From the beginning of his tenure, Mr. Clayton said that his mission was protecting “the long-term interests of the Main Street investor.” To that end, the commission cracked down on cryptocurrency frauds on his watch. What the S.E.C. does now — if anything — to address another potential episode of meme-stock turmoil (or something like it) is open to debate. (Mr. Clayton has since rejoined corporate America, becoming the lead independent director of Apollo Global Management.) Further reading: Citadel Securities is a shadowy firm that handles more than a quarter of all stock trading in the U.S. (including a large share of Robinhood’s trades), making it a key player in debates about the future of market structure. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 5:30 P.m. – 6 P.m. Senator Mitt Romney on finding common ground In stark contrast to many of his party colleagues, Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, crossed party lines to vote to convict President Donald Trump on articles of impeachment, twice. Mr. Romney also recently proposed a family benefit program that would provide monthly payments of up to $350 per child, which was met with approval from many Democrats. It compared favorably to a plan from President Biden. Although some have accused him of a being a Republican in name only, Mr. Romney is in fact politically conservative and works with members on the right wing of his party. He is drafting a bill with Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas that would raise the minimum wage while forbidding businesses to hire undocumented immigrants. This is typical of Mr. Romney’s approach, insofar as it speaks to concerns on both sides of the aisle. Source link Orbem News #Lets #Policy #talk

[ladystylestores]

An Ars roundup of the many trailers unveiled this weekend during Comic-Con@Home

Enlarge / Several studios unveiled new teasers and trailers for their 2020 fall series during Comic-Con@Home

Sean Carroll (AMC/Hulu/HBO/Fox/Amazon)

People might not be able to flock to San Diego Comic Con this year in person, but the virtual convention, Comic-Con@Home, has been running all weekend, with countless panels, sneak peeks, and teasers and trailers for upcoming TV shows—but not many films, because let’s be honest: it’s not looking so good for major theatrical film releases in the fall. On Thursday alone, we got the full trailer for Bill and Ted Face the Music, a teaser for the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost horror comedy Truth Seekers, and the first trailer for S2 of HBO’s His Dark Materials. Rather than continue to cover each individually, we decided to compile the remaining trailers of interest into a single roundup post.

HBO dropped the final trailer for Lovecraft Country, debuting August 16.

Lovecraft Country (HBO)

HBO unveiled the final trailer for its upcoming horror series, Lovecraft Country, along with an official release date: August 16. It’s based on the 2016 dark fantasy/horror novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, which deals explicitly with the horrors of racism in the 1950s, along with other, more supernatural Lovecraftian-inspired issues. Per the official synopsis:

The series follows Atticus (Jonathan Majors) as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.

HBO released a teaser in May, followed by a full trailer in June. This latest trailer combines some of that prior footage, but gives us a few more hints of the story arc: namely, that Atticus’ search involves a “secret birthright” relating to a rich family’s estate deep in the titular Lovecraft Country, and that he ignores repeated warnings to stay away. Prior sneak peeks have focused on the human monsters spawned by racism; now the Lovecraftian creatures are finally ready for their closeup. This new trailer makes us even more eager for the series premiere next month.

John Cusack stars in Utopia, a reboot of the controversial British dark comedy/thriller.

Utopia (Amazon Prime)

This new Amazon Prime series is a reboot (adapted by Gone Girl and Sharp Objects author Gillian Flynn) of the controversial 2013-2014 British black comedy/conspiracy thriller about online fans of a dystopian graphic novel called Utopia that seems to have the power to predict the real-world future. They are obsessed with tracking down the sequel (which supposedly also predicts future world events). This makes them targets of a secret organization called The Network. The British version received critical praise for its originality and visual style, offset by strong reservations about its extreme violence, which struck many as unnecessarily gratuitous. (The most famous scene involved a torturer using a spoon to gouge out a victim’s eye).

It remains to be seen if Amazon’s Utopia will match the same scale of violence, although I’d wager anyone who sat through the extended torture scenes in the first season of Altered Carbon should be handle to handle it. Per the official premise: “When the conspiracy in the elusive comic Utopia is real, a group of young fans come together to embark on a high-stakes twisted adventure to use what they uncover to save themselves, each other and ultimately humanity.” The cast includes John Cusack (Grosse Pointe Blank) as Dr. Kevin Christie, Rainn Wilson (The Office) as Michael Stearns, and Sasha Lane (2019’s Hellboy) as Jessica Hyde.

A sentient AI runs amok and tries to wipe out the human race in new Fox series NeXT.

NeXT (Fox)

“It’s not paranoia if the threat is real.”  That’s the tagline for NeXT, an upcoming techno-thriller starring John Slattery (Mad Men, Spotlight). Per the official synopsis:

NeXT is a fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence that combines action with an examination of how technology is invading our lives and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand. Slattery stars as a Silicon Valley pioneer, who discovers that one of his own creations—a powerful A.I.—might spell global catastrophe and teams up with a cybercrime agent, played by The First’s Fernanda Andrade, to fight a villain.

The trailer opens with a TED-like talk by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Paul LeBlanc (Slattery) warning of the dangers of human-level AI. Cut to an Alexis-like AI assistant, Eliza, carrying on a conversation with a young boy. “Eliza doesn’t ask questions, she just answers them,” the boy’s father says, but in this case, he’s wrong. LeBlanc’s rantings sound increasingly paranoid, as we see nods to facial recognition, self-driving cars, and various electronic systems (including medical devices) that all seem to come under the control of a new AI called NeXT that isn’t as benign as its creators assume. Honestly, it reminds me of the 1993 The X-Files episode “Ghost in the Machine“—especially the death-by-elevator scene—only with more overt espionage elements. That’s not surprising: the series was created by Manny Coto (24: Legacy).

Hulu’s Helstrom was meant to the be part of a now defunct horror-tinged corner of the Marvel TV universe.

Helstrom (Hulu)

In 2019, Hulu announced the development of two new Marvel-centric series, Ghost Rider (with Gabriel Luna reprising his role from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Helstrom, intended to kick off a standalone “Adventure Into Fear” franchise that would bring a chilling horror element to the Marvel formula. Ghost Rider soon fell by the wayside, and by December 2019, Marvel Television was shut down. That makes Helstrom the sole survivor of the planned fear-based franchise.

The series focuses on two characters from Marvel Comics: Daimon Hellstrom, the son of Satan, introduced in Ghost Rider #1 (1973), who eventually became a recurring character in The Defenders. His sister, Satana (Ana in the TV adaptation) embraces the occult and her paternal heritage, but Daimon chooses to defend humanity.  Per the official premise: “The world isn’t ready for a Helstrom family reunion. As the son and daughter of a mysterious and powerful serial killer, Helstrom follows Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana Helstrom (Sydney Lemmon), and their complicated dynamic, as they track down the worst of humanity — each with their own attitude and skills.”

Tonally, the trailer is in line with the oft-delayed The New Mutants, another attempt to bring elements of horror to the superhero genre. In addition to Austen (The Royals, Grantchester) and Lemmon (Velvet Buzzsaw, Fear the Walking Dead), the series will feature Elizabeth Marvel (Homeland, House of Cards) as Daimon and Ana’s mother, Victoria, who has been institutionalized for 20 years; Robert Wisdom (The Wire) as Caretaker, a demon-fighting guardian of the occult; June Carryl (Mindhunter) as Lousie Hastings, head of the psychiatric institution housing Victoria; and Ariana Guerra (Raising Dion) as Vatican agent Gabriella Rossetti.

The New Mutants is still slated for an August 28th theatrical release and debuted a new trailer.

The New Mutants (20th Century)

Speaking of The New Mutants, apparently it’s still scheduled for an August 28 theatrical release. In addition to showing the opening few minutes, 20th Century debuted a new trailer for director Josh Boone’s horror-inspired film, originally developed as part of the The X-Men franchise. Per the official synopsis: “Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.”

Rahne (Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams), aka Wolfsbane, can turn into a wolf, which clashes mightily with her religious beliefs. Sam (Stranger Things‘ Charlie Heaton), aka Cannonball, is invulnerable when he propels himself into the air. Roberto (Henry Zaga), aka Sunspot, has the ability to manipulate solar energy, and his inability to control that power seems to have led to the demise of his girlfriend. Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy), aka Magik, can teleport and is sister to X-Man Colossus. Finally there is Dani (Blu Hunt) , aka Mirage, who has the “power to create illusions drawn from the fears and desires of a person’s mind.”

Those powers, especially Dani’s, are of keen interest to Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga), who runs what is supposed to be a therapeutic support group in the hospital. But each of the young mutants is haunted by strange nightmares and visions, and soon realize they are actually prisoners, They resolve to combine their powers to escape. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether the film is any good after all the studio tinkering and reshoots, but I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

The titular dysfunctional spy finally awakens from his coma in the Archer season 11 trailer.

Archer S11 (FXX)

This hilariously irreverent, very meta James Bond spoof about the exploits of a dysfunctional intelligence agency has been a delight ever since it premiered way back in 2009. It’s taken on a bit of the anthology format for the past few seasons—mostly because its main protagonist, Sterling Archer (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin), has been in a coma, with the seasons’ events all taking place in his subconscious. So S8 was known as Archer Dreamland, with the core cast becoming characters in a 1947-era Los Angeles noir setting, while S9, Archer: Danger Island, took place around 1939 on a remote South Pacific island. S10, Archer: 1999, took everyone into outer space, battling bounty hunters and intergalactic pirates.

Archer finally woke up in the S10 finale, paving the way for return to normal operations—except the world has moved on without Archer during his coma and he’s going to have to learn to cope. Per the official synopsis: “Archer is awake….and he needs a drink. Sterling Archer is ready to return to the spy world after a three-year coma. While many things changed during his absence, Archer is confident it will take just a little time for him to reset things back to the old ways. The problem: does the rest of the team want that? The others may not be ready for his return to throw a wrench in their well-oiled machine.”

AMC’s The Walking Dead: World Beyond is a new spinoff set 10 years after the zombie apocalypse.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond (AMC)

Confession: I lost track of The Walking Dead after S2, but the zombie drama is still going strong and becoming a bona fide franchise, with a successful spinoff series and three films purportedly in the works. AMC debuted a sneak peek of the extended opening of the S10 finale, airing October 4, as well as a teaser for S6 of Fear The Walking Dead, premiering October 6. October 4 will also be the premiere of a third spinoff series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, designed to be a two-season limited run. And judging by the trailer, it looks like a genuinely fresh take within this fictional world. Set in Nebraska ten years after the zombie apocalypse, the plot focuses on two sisters who came of age in this new era. Per the official synopsis:

The Walking Dead: World Beyond delves into a new mythology and story that follows the first generation raised in a surviving civilization of the post-apocalyptic world. Two sisters along with two friends leave a place of safety and comfort to brave dangers, known and unknown, living and undead on an important quest. Pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know about the world, themselves and each other. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. But all of them will find the truths they seek.

“We’re ten years in now, and the dead still have this world,” our young protagonist says in the trailer. The surviving humans appear to be holed up in walled-off communities, while the undead hordes roam the ruins of human civilization outside. And like all teens, the sisters and their friends want a better future. Plus, it seems their father is in danger. “We have to be brave in this life we have, simply to exist now,” a voiceover says as we see the foursome venture outside the walls of their safe haven for the first time. There are still zombie confrontations and plenty of action, but the overall tone is almost elegiac, even hopeful, as the teens try to “make our lives count, not because we’re the last generation—but because we’re the beginning.”

  Source link

قالب وردپرس

from World Wide News https://ift.tt/3jMi4Mm