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lacrimosathedark · 3 years

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Hamilton Inaccuracies/Corrections (because why not?)

Okay so, I saw a post on reddit that was like, “what’s some inaccuracies in Hamilton off the top of your head?” and I got a whole bunch...and then I had to double check to make sure if I was right...and I’m pretty long-winded...and now I have this 5,000ish word monstrosity. And apparently you can only post 1000 characters at a time on reddit. Laaaaame. So here’s some Hamilton facts I’ve gathered in my brain. Since it was kinda off the top of my head despite being so long, it’s kinda vague in some places, so if anyone wants to expand on anything (or correct me if I oopsed somewhere) please do! Though nicely please.

Also I am also awful at citing things, but I know I learned some of this from @john-laurens and @ciceroprofacto so thank you.

LET’S BEGIN!

Act 1

Rachel Faucette was not a prostitute, but she was a “whore” in the sense that she did what she fucking wanted with her body. During her first marriage she may or may not have been sleeping around, but she refused to stay with John Lavien, her husband, anymore. So he had her arrested. And he could do that. Because patriarchy and theocracy. And she was essentially put in solitary confinement. You can see why she tried to leave, right? She tried to get their marriage annulled or get a divorce. I forget what the issue was but she couldn’t and eventually she just moved to another island where she met James Hamilton.

The intro song makes it seem like Alexander was an only child. He actually had an older brother, James Jr., but he kinda fucked off after their mother died, working and taking care of himself. They also had an older half-brother Peter Lavien, but I don’t think they really knew him other than as the son of their mother’s abusive ex who took everything from them when she died. John Lavien was able to do that because when Rachel was with James Hamilton, she had not been able to get legally divorced from him so she wasn’t really married to James Hamilton, so James Jr. and Alexander were illegitimate ie bastards. He was an asshole. I don't think Peter had anything against the Hamiltons, but I think he grew up to be a Loyalist so. He actually made some trouble in South Carolina for Henry Laurens, John's dad! But I think I read somewhere he also left money for Alex and James Jr. In his will, which is sweet.

This is more visual since it’s not specified in the song, but in the show, Hamilton’s cousin mimes hanging himself. Peter Lytton’s cause of death if I recall was inconclusive, but he was in his bed and there was a lot of blood. So, yeah, he didn’t hang himself.

Alexander did not punch the bursar. However he did return to Princeton later during the war and blew a canon through the school and apparently decapitated a painting of King George lololol. He was under orders, but yknow. Probably felt pretty good after he was rejected for accelerated courses. He wasn’t the only bastard rejected, though! Ben Franklin’s bastard son was too. The guy in charge of admissions, Witherspoon, hated bastards as a concept and Princeton was a very religious school at the time I believe.

It may have been the plan by Aaron and Esther Burr for Aaron Jr to graduate Princeton, but like, he couldn’t really be sure of that? He was like 2 years old when they died, and his older sister Sally was 4 I believe, maybe 5.

Hercules Mulligan met Alex in 1772. His older brother Hugh knew Alex’s old employer in St. Croix and helped him get to mainland America. Alex and Hercules lived together for a long while, and Hercules is actually who got him interested in the revolution.

John Laurens was in England in 1776. He wouldn’t meet Hamilton and Lafayette until he accepted his post as Washington’s aide-de-camp upon his return in August of 1777.

Lafayette couldn’t have met Hamilton before August 1777 because that’s when he met Washington, and he was appointed as a volunteer to the Continental Army only a week prior, and before that he had been in France. But Lafayette later declared their relationship to be like that of brothers, Alexander his closest connection in the states besides Washington.

Lafayette admired and absolutely adored Laurens and they were besties, but neither of them knew Mulligan. They may have met in passing, or heard about him from Hamilton, but nothing more.

“Lafayette” was actually a nickname based on his title of “Marquis de la Fayette”. In his autobiography, he wrote: “It’s not my fault I was baptized like a Spaniard, with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me more protection in battle.” I’m glad he thought it was funny at least. His name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Fayette.

Hercules Mulligan is not known to fuck horses.

The Revolution had already sorta started. Actually, Hercules and Alexander had been part of local militias before 1776.

This is more of a miscommunication since the actors are close in age, though the lyrics try to get it across. There’s a reason Mulligan says he’s got the others “in loco parentis”. In 1776 Hamilton and Lafayette would have been 19, Laurens would have been 22, and Mulligan would have been 36.

I think we all know “Laurens, I like you a lot” does not cover the scope of their relationship but that’s rather self explanatory so unless someone asks I’ll leave it at that. And for other clarifications. But at the very least I’ll share this: Anyone who saw them knew they were like attached at the hip (without knowing how attached *winkwonk*) and you could almost always contact one through the other. Laurens was notoriously bad at answering letters, to Hamilton too (and Alex did bitch about it because he is insecure and needs love), but it became quickly known he got back to Hamilton fastest so people would be like “Tell Laurens I said hi!” or “Hey, I need to get these to Laurens, you send them to him.” Which is hilarious. I just imagine Alexander going, “Why me?”

While all of them are Revolutionaries, Laurens is the only one you could solidly call an abolitionist, and Mulligan’s even shaky on the manumission part. He was supposedly part of the Manumission Society Hamilton helped start, but Mulligan also personally owned slaves and was never known to have freed them (One helped him with spy shit. His name was Cato!). In fairness, Hamilton and Lafayette wholeheartedly agreed with Laurens, and Hamilton was the biggest supporter of his battalion plan, and both of them did try to continue working towards equality after the war, but it was never the top priority for either of them and their lives kinda went to hell, so it fell to the wayside. Lafayette actually did some nifty stuff worth looking at, and Hamilton might have tried to keep one of John Lauren’s freed men from Henry Laurens! But as slavery stuck around for a while, it clearly wasn’t anything significant.

Angelica would meet and befriend Thomas Jefferson in Europe, but she would never manage to convince him to put women in a sequel because he’s a huge misogynist and told her in multiple letters that politics isn’t for women and I think he deserves a shoe up his southern backside. Side note, it always bothered me that Lin played up the misogyny in the musical. I mean, yeah, all of them would be misogynists compared to us, but for their time, Hamilton wasn’t so bad. If there was anyone to play up misogyny with, it was Jefferson, because he would tell Angelica for years and years that politics could never make women happy, and that the women in France were foolish for trying etc.. Hamilton would actually discuss politics with Angelica frequently and openly. And there’s a proto-feminist in the cast that was never recognized—Aaron Burr! He respected Theodosia Sr. as an equal and she was his most valuable political ally, and he made sure Theodosia Jr. got the same education any boy of her time would have. He actually respected women to a decent degree. Not to say he wasn't as much of a ho as Hamilton cuz yeah that's accurate (but they were both disaster bisexuals more on Burr's sexuality later)

Farmer Refuted was an essay Hamilton wrote arguing against Samuel Seabury's posts. They weren't shouting in the public square(but Lin got the sass right. I love his face when Hamilton and Seabury are fighting over the podium). Seabury was also really really old, not young and cute like Thayne, hence the line about "mange". Blech.

General Montgomery didn’t take a bullet in the neck, it was a grapeshot from a canon in his head (and his thighs), but close enough I guess. Side note: Burr actually served a short interim on Washington’s staff, but only for like 10 days because they hated each other lolol.

Alexander didn’t bring Laurens, Mulligan, or Lafayette to Washington. Lafayette joined up with the Continental Army in 1777 and quickly convinced them he wasn’t like the other French nobles; he was a glory-seeking kid with a boner for America (for some reason???). Laurens was requested by Washington to join his military family and he arrived also in August 1777 just after Lafayette. Like previously stated, Mulligan was doing shit even before Hamilton did.

Alexander would not have been in charge of spy shit (though may have been somewhat involved). Washington had people like Mulligan for that, who actually saved Washington a few times. But also, the "King’s men who might let some things slide" was the tactic Mulligan used. He was actually very charming, and his wife was very high in British society and he was a skilled tailor, so they were thought of well among the redcoats, and he got a lot of information through chatting with his customers. He also could usually smooth-talk his way out of trouble. Actually, Mulligan blended in so well, when the war was over, people in the city wanted him out cuz they thought he was a Loyalist. So George fucking Washington paid him a visit and commissioned I think a coat from him, and that cleared that up. He got a LOT of business after that.

Alexander would not be Washington’s right hand man, or at least, not his only one if Lin was using that to mean aide-de-camp. In that case, Laurens would also be Washington’s right hand man, along with many men not named in the musical.

John Laurens may have been reliable with the ladies (comes with the territory of being hot, rich, and a perfect gentleman), but he most certainly didn’t want to be. His father noted, rather proudly at the time, that as a young teenager he expressed no interest in girls. John was also married by 1780, and at least Alexander knew. (he told John he'd found out in the well-known April 1779 letter. You know... “Cold in my professions...find me a wife...the length of my nose...” That one.) Because John apparently didn't tell people he was married. Laurens. Sweetheart. Get. Your. Shit. Together.

John also would not be at this ball. February 1779 to March 1780 he is fighting down south, and this ball was early 1780.

The tomcat thing may be half true. Martha Washington did supposedly name a cat Hamilton, but it was an affectionate thing. The slang tomcat meaning ho wasn’t a thing at that time, so it couldn’t be named to tease Alex for his promiscuity. I believe this was one of the many things John Adams made up to slander Hamilton.

Hamilton and Eliza had met before 1780. They had met once two years prior at a dinner her father had hosted. Also, Hamilton had been courting her friend Kitty Livingston, and his friend and fellow aide Tench Tilghman had been attempting to court Eliza, and they’d actually done at least one sort-of double date (which is adorable). So this shouldn’t have been the first time they’d seen each other. Could still be when they fell in love, though, since they started courting after this. Which is cute to think about.

Speaking of Tench and Eliza! I don't remember when this took place but Tilghman journaled it, he went out on something of a hike with a few ladies and they got to a cliff. Of course, he had to help the girls climb up. Except Eliza who started climbing by herself like a natural to the bewilderment and likely horror of the other ladies. Elizabeth Schuyler was a bamf okay?

Of course everyone knows by now, Angelica was married before Eliza. During the Winter’s Ball, she’d already eloped with Jack Carter aka John Barker Church and run away to Boston.

Their courtship was not that fast. Not like, weeks. More like months. Fun fact, Eliza is the only of the five (yes FIVE) Schuyler sisters who didn’t elope and actually got her parents permission! But here’s a heartbreaking fun fact: while Alex was courting Eliza, Laurens was taken prisoner and then on probation. He wasn’t allowed to leave the state of Pennsylvania. He was mentally in a very dark place. Alex kind of procrastinated telling Laurens about Eliza, didn’t say he was courting anyone until they were already engaged.

I can't leave this alone if I'm sad you have to be too. Alex was hella depressed during this time too. Of course he was a soldier so he couldn't see Eliza as much as he'd have liked. On top of that, he kept pushing for an exchange for John and kept getting rejected because they couldn't show preference for him. And then Laurens was sending him very few letters, of course, and the ones he did send were very depressed, even suicidal sounding. He had to work while dealing with that. He had to keep begging Eliza to write to him to be reassured that she still liked him.

No one could show up for Hamilton for the wedding. Some sources say fellow aide James McHenry showed up, but he’s the only one. Alexander even invited his deadbeat dad, offered to pay all his travel expenses and everything, guess how that turned out. So Eliza’s side of the hall was packed and his was empty. God, can you imagine how sad that is?

Another heartbreaking fun fact! John Laurens was out of probation and could have made it to the wedding, was invited (Hamilton, I kid you not, jokingly invited him to a threesome with his new wife in a letter: “I wish you were at liberty to transgress the bounds of Pensylvania. I would invite you after the fall to Albany to be witness to the final consummation.” (emphasis is original to Hamilton. As is the misspelling of Pennsylvania. Yes, seriously.)) and John did not go. Instead he went back to work trying to talk his way out of getting sent as an envoy to France and suggesting Alexander to take his place. You know. His boyfriend who just got married. Sure, he was right that Hamilton was better equipped for the job, but yknow. Another fun fact, one of the guys who voted for John to be the one to go to France was John’s ex-boyfriend Francis Kinloch. Who was a turncoat, and had been a royalist when he and Laurens split. How’s that for some twisty bullshit.

Sorry, this one isn’t about the musical, it’s a tangent, I just got excited about that quote. Both that style of innuendo and the misspelling of Pennsylvania are consistent in Hamilton’s writing. Listening to john-lauren’s podcast about the April 1779 letter can really help you understand how Hammy uses innuendo but also I just love listening to it it’s insightful and hilarious and I love John Laurens but y u do this and my heart hurts for Hamilton but he is also a ho but aNYWAY. As for Pensylvania...well, he kinda made that mistake on an important document. ...It’s The Constitution. He misspelled Pennsylvania on The Constitution. No big deal. Not like something that could haunt his legacy forever. Oh my god I’m so sorry.

Philip Schuyler did have sons. Five in fact. Two of them died pretty young though I think, considering there are three kids in a row named John Bradstreet Schuyler. The other two were named Philip Jeremiah and Rensselaer.

Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan were all married before Hamilton. Hercules Mulligan married Elizabeth Sanders in 1773. Lafayette married his beloved Adrienne in 1774. John Laurens was regretfully obliged to marry Martha Manning in 1776.

Sigh. Again with the misogyny. Anyway, I wanted to comment on the marriage as a loss of freedom. From what I can tell, Elizabeth helped Hercules with his spy work at home. John was literally fighting a war across the ocean from his wife, and probably having an illegal affair with Alexander (though to be fair to him, he was kind of running away from Martha because he didn't marry her for love, gosh, there are no winners here). Lafayette absolutely adored his wife but still was also fighting a war an ocean away, and had multiple affairs, at least one with his wife’s blessing. So yeah, losing your freedom with marriage? Bullshit.

Despite where it is in the musical and Eliza singing the beginning, Stay Alive is roughly about Valley Forge, which would be December of 1777 through June of 78. So before the ball and wedding. (Fun fact! A lot of people theorize Valley Forge as when Hamilton and Laurens’ relationship may have escalated into romantic and/or sexual territory. They may have had more privacy, as small temporary buildings were being made to better withstand the cold, and Hamilton was sick a lot during that time and did need tending a lot. West Indian boi did not like Northern winter.) But yeah, Congress being stupid and the army resorting to eating their horses sometimes and not being able to buy food and equipment? All true. It was a real bad winter.

Mulligan wouldn’t have to go back to New York, he never would have left. He remained there as a tailor and a spy throughout the war. He wouldn’t have been traveling with Washington.

Hamilton and Laurens didn't write essays so much as start working out John's battalion plan and writing letters trying to push for it.

This duel happened in 1778, so like. This timeline is so fucky.

Stay Alive makes it seem like Hamilton was the one who wanted to duel Lee, but it was 100% Laurens from the start. The off-Broadway version demonstrates it a bit better. Hamilton was Lauren's second to save his ass. Hamilton had a rough relationship with Washington, but Laurens admired him greatly and would have willingly defended his commander’s honor. John was a Good Boy who always bowed his head to his asshole father, even at first for his battalion plan, but John wouldn’t let even his father talk shit about Washington. Fun fact about this duel, Alex and John were late to the duel because they “got lost in the woods”. Oooookay. Suuuuuuure. And Baron von Steuben was straight. (Fact: Steuben was very gay and pretty much pushed out of Europe for it. And he actually also had challenged Lee! They talked things out before this.)

Aaron Burr was not Charles Lee’s second. His second was a Major Evan Edwards. Lin wanted a parallel with the final duel. To be fair, that was a really cool way to do it and I like it better that way.

Alexander Hamilton could NOT agree that duels are dumb and immature. He was in 10 duel challenges as a participant in his lifetime, 9 of which he was the challenger. One time he challenged two people at once. One time he challenged an entire politcal party apparently. No, I am not kidding. He had a bad day. And I think you know the one time he wasn’t the challenger.

Lee did not yield on the first shot, nor was Laurens satisfied. Lee was pretty much like, “It’s just a flesh wound!” and wanted to go another round and Laurens agreed, but Hamilton and Edwards managed to talk them down. Yes he was shot in the side. But that wasn’t all because Laurens absolutely roasted Lee at his court martial.

Lee: Were you ever in an action before?

Laurens: I have been in several actions; I did not call that an action, as there was no action previous to the retreat.

I love this man. So much. The sass of this man.

We don’t know if Washington was angry about the duel with Lee. We do know that Laurens, and probably Hamilton, had Christmas dinner with him two days later. When Hamilton left, it was because Washington had snapped over a misunderstanding (caused by Lafayette actually, and he really tried to make it better because Lafayette is a sweetheart), and then continued to deny Hamilton the command he requested, and he resigned. It was entirely unrelated to the duel and Laurens. However, the daddy issues are real.

I don’t know if Lafayette went to France for more funds and came back with more guns, but Laurens certainly did! Ben Franklin told him to chill, but he actually got super impatient and ended up supposedly disrespecting and maybe kinda threatening the court, demanding what he needed, and walking out. They were were kind of shocked and impressed into giving more than had been requested. Any existing deities bless John Laurens. I love him.

Lafayette actually nominated his own aide to lead the charge and Hamilton appealed for himself and Washington finally gave in to Hamilton.

Laurens was not in South Carolina. When he finally got back from France, he was sent to Yorktown. He actually was commanding the group Alexander led. (Power couple lol) He also helped with negotiations after the battle. Also, supposedly making the British play ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on their way out was Laurens’ idea because boy is made of sass and spite.

Henry Laurens would not have sent a letter to Hamilton about John’s death. Even if he would have, he couldn’t. At that time, he’d been locked up in the Tower of London as a prisoner. We have no idea when or how Alexander found out, or who might have told him. We know he wrote to Nathanael Greene on October 25 and Lafayette on November 3 (literally 2 months after Laurens' death), and the mentions of Laurens were very short. It’s thought that he really couldn’t talk about Laurens. People have compared it to the stories of how Benjamin Tallmadge apparently couldn’t hear Nathan Hale’s name without crying.

After Yorktown Alexander resigned and John went down south to flush British troops out of the southern states. His group was ambushed at Combahee River and he decided to charge instead of wait for backup and he died. Many people think it was a combination of his usual recklessness, suicidality, and glory-seeking mixed with a desperation with the war coming to an end. It was such a small skirmish. He deserved better. He left his daughter, Frances, whom he had never met, orphaned, as her mother had died months earlier from sickness. She was adopted by John’s oldest younger sister, also coincidentally Martha Laurens (though married was Martha Laurens Ramsay).

The Levi Weeks case was years later than that, in 1800, though it was alongside Burr. Hamilton actually lost his first trial as a defense lawyer and was not with Burr.

The whole conversation where Hamilton proposes Burr help him write the Federalist Papers is fake. Lin made that up entirely.

John Church’s wealth kinda...varies. He was a gambler. At first, he was actually in quite a bit of debt. He did make it big eventually and he and Angelica moved to Europe. He really didn’t seem to be a lot of fun to most people, but Angelica eloped with him. She chose him against her father’s wishes. I don’t get why Lin kept writing lines saying she didn’t love him, at least at first. He also does this in the cut song Congratulations where she says “I languished in a loveless marriage” bish you eloped wat She also lived as a socialite and was adored by anyone who met her apparently, so like???? da fuq Lin. Didja really do Laurens dirty for these lies or at the very least uncertanties? Could you not prop up that romance without making her say she hates her husband?

Act 2

More of a personality miscommunication. Irl Thomas Jefferson was shy, quiet, and hypersensitive, nothing like how Daveed plays him. If you knew a guy like the real Jefferson in real life you might be endeared to him out of pity or because he seems sweet, but in the short time of a musical that would immediately be read as cold and unlikable. So the best way to portray “this guy is a likable asshole” is to make him loud and made of sass which is what Daveed does magnificently. So, not at all accurate to real Jefferson, but gets the concept of him across.

Thomas was not off getting high with the French. Probably. He was making negotiations for the Revolution. And abusing Sally Hemings (his, at the time, 14 year old slave, who was also his sister-in-law, and 30 years his junior, and was brought along to entertain his daughter). And actually probably chatting up with Angelica!

By the time Philip was 9, he had two sisters, Angelica (7) and his foster/adopted sister Frances Antill (6), but he also had two brothers already, Alexander Jr. (5) and James Alexander (3), with maybe another one on the way since William Stephen would be born next year.

The whole comma thing is backwards. It was Angelica who made the initial mistake. Hamilton pointedly and flirtatiously teased her about it before closing it with “Adieu ma chere, soeur” French for “Goodbye my dear, sister”. So it’s more playful and less lovey dovey in context, so the tone is all wrong. It’s not romantic, it’s teasing and snarky.

Say No To This feels like it’s over quick. The affair lasted a year, not just the summer Eliza was away.

Clermont Street wasn’t renamed until many years later.

I don’t know that Alex has always considered Burr a friend. Irl they weren’t as close, and Hamilton was keenly aware of how slimy Burr could be.

Lafayette was NOT fine. He was imprisoned a lot during the French Revolution, the poor man, and many members of his wife’s family were killed. HOWEVER! Hamilton was not just sitting by. Angelica and her husband did make an attempt to rescue Lafayette, and the Hamiltons fostered Lafayette’s son Georges Washington Lafayette (yes that was his actual name). So Hamilton also did not forget Lafayette.

Not all his defendants got acquitted, obviously. Stop being cocky, Ham.

People comment on how Jefferson whines about Hamilton’s fashion sense while literally dressed in violet velvet. The original plan was to have him in browns, but Daveed is just such a friggin star that they just had to give him something brighter and decided to go with a Prince-inspired look. Originally the browns were going to be representative of his supposed representation of farmers. Though note here: Jefferson’s agricultural representation is much the same as modern Republicans’ rural representation. More for show.

Actually, let's get political for a sec. I've done some research in my hyperfixation and in searches for Hamilton shiz I've ended up stumbling into far-right nonsense and I know how to recognize the degrees of nonsense from years of actually paying attention to it now because this is what I do apparently. Which is weird, right? Lin kinda portrays him like a lefty. Well, here's the thing. Any proud historically educated Republican will tell you that their roots are in the Federalist Party. Which is technically true. What they will neglect to mention is the flip between parties that happened when the Republicans decided to use southerners racism to their advantage in elections. Being subtly racist can get the racists and the non-racists on your side! Yeah, it's gross. Federalists are more like Democrats. The corporatists. They clearly care more about companies and Wall Street, but they put actual action into social progress on rare occasion. Democratic-Republicans are like Republicans, conservatives who don't want social change and rail against it and pretend they aren't for corporate interests while being just as bad as the other guys. But Republicans have a tendency to rewrite history to paint themselves as the good guys, or reclaim things that aren't theirs as their own. Just look at the Civil War! Or...literally just...America I guess. Yikes. But yeah, here's your warning. Don't just go looking at and trusting things labelled Federalist. It likely won't be friendly.

John Adams didn’t fire Hamilton, Hamilton left. Eventually. And this is not the only time this kind of verbal confrontation happens, and not the one that destroys the Federalist Party. That actually happens after the Reynolds Pamphlet. But John Adams hates Alexander Hamilton with the burning passion of a thousand suns and really kinda earns this.

I’m not sure if he specifically called Alex a Creole bastard but I wouldn’t be surprised, there were other similar racist and bastard-related insults. You know the tomcat thing mentioned above. He started the rumor of the affair with Angelica. He accused him of being a rake (male version of whore at the time). He also may have behind closed doors accused him of being a sodomite. His (probably gay) son Charles helped with that one, bringing back rumors from a dinner he had with Hamilton (who he was working for) and John Church because Church joked about Alex being fond of a guy. Adams probably thought working for Hamilton was what made his son gay and alcoholic (Charles was an alcoholic and may have died in part because of that; Hamilton was not an alcoholic, but he supposedly could not hold his drink. He was smol).

Jefferson, Madison, and Burr didn’t accuse Hamilton of speculation. It was James Monroe, Abraham Venable, and Frederick Muhlenberg. Lin wanted to keep consistent representation of the Democratic-Republican party. But anyway, the whole thing went to hell because Monroe sent the letters to Jefferson (or I’ve also heard Monroe gave them to Madison who sent them to Jefferson) who, the spiteful gangly fucker, started spreading rumors because fuck Hamilton, amirite? Hamilton challenged Monroe to a duel over that. And who stopped this duel? Aaron Burr. He gets to be the good guy now and then.

It wasn’t just total strangers that got Alex off the island. He was sponsored by his cousin Ann Lytton and his teacher Reverend Hugh Knox. Also, he was kind of expected to get an education and come back and help out the island...guess what he never did. Oops.

This one I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure. I think Eliza was upstate with her family when the Reynolds Pamphlet was released, away from Alex. I also know she had recently given birth to their son, William Stephen. A lot of people think Alexander had been keeping that in mind. Eliza had had a miscarriage once before, when she was under a lot of stress and alone and with the kids and he had to be away (Whiskey Rebellion), so some people think he made sure she was surrounded by her family and waited until the child was born to drop this on her, and gave her distance from him if she needed it. At least he knew he fucked up, and he really did love her.

Those weren’t Alexander’s guns. They belonged to John Church.

It was quite some time between Philip’s challenge and the actual duel.

Another age miscommunication; Eacker was 27ish and Philip was 19 when the duel happened. There was a whole 8 years between them!

Eacker didn’t shoot early. Actually, both of them stood staring at each other for a really long time doing nothing. But Philip went to make a move and Eacker shot him.

Alex and Eliza had made up from the Reynolds Pamphlet bullshit before Philip died. When he passed, Eliza was already pregnant with the son they would also name Philip in honor of his older brother.

Hamilton wasn’t really the deciding factor in the election of 1800. But he did say that about Burr and it did help swing the vote somewhat. But also, this was before Philip died. Philip died in 1801.

If a vote is that close, you can’t win in a landslide??? That’s not how words work???? Mister Miranda????? You are a writer??????? Sir???????

Burr actually held a term as Jefferson’s Vice President.

The Burr vs Hamilton Duel was in 1804 and was actually about another election and other things Hamilton was saying about him. Burr was running to be governor of New York and lost but heard about Alexander telling people the things he listed Alexander saying in Your Obedient Servant.

Thayne should not have played Alexander’s doctor. Sydney should have played Alexander’s doctor. Do you know why? Philip and Alexander had the same doctor when they died. Alexander took that doctor with him to the duel. His name was David Hosack.

While there’s evidence to suggest Burr experienced immediate regret (he stepped forward as if wanting to see if Hamilton was okay and supposedly asked after him and wished him well before Alexander passed) in the years that followed, until he was on his death bed, he expressed nothing but neutrality or even pride for having shot Hamilton. The ‘the world was wide enough’ comment could plausibly be entirely made up, and even if it were true, it was supposedly said toward the end of Burr’s life. Burr's life was quite a ride after Alex. He tried to make like his own empire out of Texas, and then of course was tried for treason, but he got out of that, but then everyone hated him for that ON TOP OF already hating him for killing Hamilton, so he had some crazy journey around Europe for a while. He kept a journal, writing entries like letters to Theo. The most notable things I think he writes he'd "been amused for an hour with a very handsome young Dane. Don't smile. It is a male!" which implies maybe Theodosia knew her dad was bi and was at least amused by it? And he spent a while living with Jeremy Bentham, who is generally accepted to have been gay (if you want more Burr gayness look into Jonathan Bellamy and Robert Troup. Troup knew Hamilton too!). Unrelated to his sexuality but I find it important, Burr spent, in modern cash, $40 on a coconut, in his own words, "like an ass." He returned to America eventually. I dont remember if it was before or after his foreign adventures, but his beloved grandson (also named Aaron Burr) died, and then not long after, Theodosia was lost at sea on her way to visit her dad. No one knows what happened to her. It's so sad. Anyway he married a wealthy widow named Eliza, spent all her money on charity, and died the day their divorce was finalized. And Eliza Jumel's divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr..

Poor Eliza couldn’t go through all of her husband’s papers. Her son, John Church Hamilton, finished the work for her when she no longer could and put together the biography that inspired Chernow’s that inspired Lin’s musical. (He named a son Alexander and a daughter Elizabeth. He even named one of his sons Laurens! Aw.) And we have come full circle.

The End :33

There’s probably more but that’s what I’ve got. Thanks for reading!

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tfw-no-tennis · 4 years

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hunty movie 1

sooo ruth and i watched the first hxh movie holla

me as soon as we’re done w/the yorknew arc: OH FUCKY ITS ANIME MOVIE TIME

i love anime movies. theyre so often Entertaining As Hell, and also Not Very Good. its a very fun intersection

overall this movie slots pretty easily into that category. it was a good time but nothing revolutionary. which is ok! and that makes sense bc its not canon apparently

this movie was basically the ‘killua and kurapika have Trauma(tm)’ movie lmao

we open w/killua having a trauma dream abt illumi, rehashing the stuff we saw in the hunter exam arc....we see this a few more times in the movie, and it really drives home how killua is still rlly scared of illumi and kinda just goes into a dissociative trauma state whenever illumi is around (even fake doll illumi or dream illumi, in this movie). poor kid :( :(

regrettably tho ruth and i agree that illumis outfit in this movie was pretty sexy

ok that whole beginning part where kurapikas eyes get stolen happens SO fast hvbfhdjshfsk its like ok guess thats the status quo for this movie!

jesus poor kurapika. they cant catch a fuckgin break huh

also that kid was totally the kid that was alluded to by kurapika at the end of the yorknew arc...so i guess that was included in the anime as a setup for this movie?

also apparently that stuff was based off of a short story thing the author did a while ago which is p cool

leorios terrible drawing skills is hvhbjsdfbsdfngsjkdf

also leorio is so tender w/kurapika hhhhhhh im gonna die. im gonna gay die

and gon and killua are just. tiny soulmate boyfriends ok

ah yes i see the obligatory movie original character who befriends the protag

it kinda cracks me up how hostile killua is to retz like vhbhskhdfbaj i get that its bc of Trauma and his fear of betrayal/betraying but it also reads as killua being a Jealous Gay which is kinda hilarious

ruth and i when hisoka shows up: [prolonged annoyed groaning and dismayed yelling]

hisoka literally just shows up to sow chaos and throw around information to stir shit up huh

of COURSE the villain is the former 4th spider thats like. easy choice lmao

it might just be the fansubs but i feel like there were strong implications that hisoka and 4th spider guy fucked bhjdfashfdjnakn

the most unbelievable thing abt this whole thing is that hisoka didnt kill that doll guy lmao

ohhh shit its uvo

OHHH SHIT NOBUNGA AND MACHI....its so bad but i really like the troupe members and when they show up im like !!!!!!!

machi is so cooooool

aughhhh its like....i feel bad for nobunga for having to face down uvo like this....and THEN when pakunoda shows up too :( and nobunga tells her doll ‘rest in peace now’ or something when he cuts her down....oof. but also like theyre evil murderers so im!?! conflicted?!?!

also the shadow beast guys that uvo killed showing up and then proceeding to do LITERALLY NOTHING was kinda hilarious

and damn so technically the troupe is on the same side as the main crew, what with all of them wanting to wreck omokages shit

also omokage looks like sephiroth lmaoooo

ill be honest i barely know what sephiroth looks like but ruth said this and i felt in my bones that its true

ok i gotta talk abt the kurapika backstory stuff bc OUUGHGHGHGHGH my fucking UWUS BITCH!!!!

seeing a bunch of kurta was sad....and seeing baby-er kurapika OUGH and also pairo is sooo cute and him and kurapikas friendship is so pure

kurapika is so different :( theyre like, so much more innocent and excitable....thats so damn sad bro wtf

pairo pulling some slick moves swapping that little potion thing - all while using his blindness as a cover - was so good...no wonder he and kurapika get along so well

also gotta say its even more brutal that one of the main reasons kurapika didnt get Big Murdered w/the rest of the kurta is bc pairo pulled this stunt - if he hadnt, kurapika wouldve failed the test and never would have left

also kurapika saying theyre gonna find someone who can help w/pairos eyes ;_; the similarities w/leorios backstory/motivation makes me die

and seriously im still caught up at how innocent and pure kp is oooof ough

tho still defs the kurapika we know....theyve seemingly always had a temper, what with the reaction to the dudes in the market

like, kurapika did NOT hold back...even after finding out that they were just part of the test! tho i do get it bc they insulted pairo...kurapika’s love for their friends/stalwart need to defend their friends is clearly a big thing

also the market people’s reaction to seeing kp’s red eyes is rlly interesting to me...are the kurta like, known to anybody? or are they more of a vaguely talked-about group that like, ‘probably exists’? or is it that people know abt them but not the red eyes thing? it seems like these people, if any, would know, bc this market is seemingly a day’s travel from where the kurta live....i want more kurta lore bro!!

i big love pairo helping kurapika cheat like that....such an interesting twist, and makes it obvious that theirs is a friendship of equals

anyways i loved that flashback stuff and it just drives home how absolutely fucked up and horribly sad kurapikas whole existence is, especially in this movie w/pairo’s doll being used against them

n e ways back to the non flashback stuff

i love that gon’s super nose returned for this movie omg

im just auhghghghgh gon and killua know each other so well uwu....

aaaand illumi (well, doll illumi) is back to fuck shit up for poor killua

ugh it still gets me how clearly terrified of illumi killua is...we dont really see him act like this any other time :( and the fact that doll-illumi was able to scare killua enough to get him to run away and leave gon behind (albeit briefly) was oof

gon jumping in front of killua and getting his eyes stolen instead....baby boyyyy oughhh

also can i just say thank fuck they didnt replace illumis eyes w/gons bc THAT wouldve been some serious nightmare fuel lmao

cant believe killua then ran away again and walked emo-ly on the train tracks

and THEN he saw a train coming and was like oh well :( guess ill die :/ JESUS KID

but gon w/his Big Sniff Powers comes to the rescue!!

it was so cute how gon told killua that killua didnt run and abandon him - they were working together to fight :’) gon understands killua so well

i love how the squad then squads up to fight omokage...with half of them being blind lmao

and in the half that isnt blind is leorio, who STILL doesnt know nen, and literally brings a knife to a nen fight

i totally saw the whole ‘retz is a doll and her older brother is omokage, and retz actually died a while ago’ thing coming lol but still, not bad

all omokage does is talk abt the beauty of his dolls or w/e like ENOUGH bro

kurapika fighting pairo and killua fighting illumi (AGAIN) was all so fucked up they shouldve switched opponents for less trauma oof

and poor leorio is literally no help vhhvdijfhjbashkj he just gets throw around this whole time

kurapikas fight against pairo was sad bc it was such a fucked up situation...kp did gr8 tho, i liked them saying that this isnt the real pairo, cause pairo would never say/do these things. still and extremely sucky situation to be in!

meanwhile its the gon and killua vs doll-illumi rematch...and this illumi is like, a version of illumi drawn from killuas mind/heart (or something idk, it was kinda glossed over which i understand), which means that hes extra scary and focused on telling killua how much hes just a mindless killing machine who cant have friends

but luckily we have gon here to help snap killua out of his trauma haze, which certaintly wasnt the case at the hunter exam - so it was kinda nice to see how things went w/gon around :’) they work so well together oughhhhh....and they love each other so much broo gay preteen love real

hisoka just fuckgin materializing in the house place to help sow more chaos....unbelievable

me: i bet hisoka wont want to fight doll chrollo bc its not The Same as real chrollo

ruth: no i think he will bc hes a whore

hisoka: [fights doll chrollo]

me: oh shit u right

kurapika: ok omogake its time for you to FUCKING DIE-

and then killua stops them and says that he’ll do it, be he doesnt want kurapika to kill anymore :( :( :( bro im sooo fucking sad. killua rlly b out here thinking that hes already too far gone to matter when it comes to murder, but he doesnt want his friends to end up like that, so he might as well take on that burden, because whats one more person’s death on his hands? (EVEN THO HE SAID HE DIDNT WANT TO KILL ANY MORE...but theres exceptions when it comes to saving your friend’s souls and whatnot) :( :( AUGHHH

but luckily retz comes THRU with some good ole fratricide

killua: [takes notes]

the fact that the phantom troupe just fuckgin shows up and is like oh hey its you guys. this casual enemy stuff kills me lmao i love it

then they just fuckgin LEAVE and theyre like welllll we cant rlly fight u bc of chrollo’s state so by i guess. its NOT On Sight but someday it will be! YOU TOO HISOKA DONT THINK WE FUCKIGN FORGOT ABOUT YOU.

dramatic house burning! and rip retz, saw that one comin tho

when they all went thru and said their life goals and then killua was like shit i dont have a cool definitive anime goal LMAOOOO

but THEN gon said his goals should be to stay by gon’s side UHMMM???? baby gays AUGHHHHH and killua is just like lovestruck AUGHHHH

Gays Win

then they all peace out to resume the next arc lmaoooo

and then we see flashes of other characters, like the blonde girl (who ruth and i totally thought retz was, seeing thumbnails from this movie....we were like w8 hasnt that girl not been introduced yet??? lmao)

we also see some dude w/long hair and a hat who ive never seen before but ruth went OHHH ITS SCYTHE GUY!!! so i guess hes gonna b important?? lol

and then we saw chrollo....still in the same place the squad left him vbhajfdjkahsbfkdjabhsukfdj CAN HE NOT GET DOWN FROM THERE W/OUT NEN OR AN AIRSHIP??? THATS SO FUCKING FUNNYYYYYY ARE YOU KIDDING ME

general thots:

so this was very much an Anime Movie, in that they cant like, advance to plot or develop the characters much, bc its a movie. and this one is non canon

it was enjoyable but i do feel like it was much more typical shounen then hxh usually is...like, i feel like this was made by the same people who make like, the naruto movies or w/e, and w/the same sort of approach/attitude

this isnt necessarily bad - i LIKE shounen for a reason - but it was a bit noticeable bc it wasnt quite as smart as hxh is usually, and it rehashed a lot of stuff weve already seen in this show itself

but still i think it did a good job w/what it had, and it had some good angst, and everyone was very gay which is good

the art style was SLIGHTLY wack but it wasnt as bad as i thought itd be

overall a fun time like most anime movies. didnt reinvent the wheel but i had a good time. im excited for the greed island arc, and im also disproportionately excited to watch the hxh musical bc that is a thing that exists and i MUST see it asap bc that sounds like the kind of hilarious wackiness that appeals to me specifically

so thats it...later!

#this is more of a recap than a liveblog lmao #anyways. good times #lj watches hxh #hxh

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absolutefuckingmess · 5 years

Text

Baby bat's got a trick up his sleeve.

The nights were a bit cooler now that fall has arrived, but the chilly Gotham air was a welcome balm against Tim's overheated skin. The suit doesn’t allow for much breathing, and what with all the layers tied up into his ensemble, it was a miracle Tim managed to jump from rooftop to rooftop. The latches and body armor was heavy and weighed down on his smaller frame every night.

But tonight felt different; and he didn't know how or why he knew this, but tonight was going to end very badly if Tim wasn’t careful.

That’s how he went through the nights motions; land a kick here, a punch there and ignore the way your head swims when you duck under a bullet too fast. His entire night felt off kilter, off balance. Maybe he didn’t eat enough today? Or was that yesterday? Time seems to blur when you’ve been up for over forty-eight hours.

He landed in a crouch after another jump, the gravel of the layout trying to dig into his knees as he did. He stood himself up, ignoring the popping of his joints as he went over his supplies for the fifth time that night: re-breather, fear gas antidote, two extra grappling hooks, baterang, smoke bombs.

Everything was there. Then why were Tim's hands shaking so hard? Why was it so hard to breath?

Tim leaned over the side of the roof as he dry-heaved, the only thing coming up being a few mouthfuls of brown bile, as he puked up his last two cups of coffee from earlier that night. His face felt fuzzy, like it was buried in a fluffy pillow as he let his weight settle on his haunches; his skin felt clammy and cold, while his entire body was drenched in a layer of sweat.

His heart sped up as he tried to stand, vision blurring as he wobbled on his feet.

"A few-a few minutes nap, then." He muttered to himself as he stumbled towards the entry way to the roof, leaning against it’s side as his body wracked itself with chills and shivers. The last coherent thought he remembered having was something along the lines of "Oh fuck."

Jason's night had gone perfectly. Black Masks deal with Lex Luthor had been thwarted, all of Masks’ smuggled cocaine had been blown to bits and Red Hood made away with a duffel bag full of high-quality guns no one else on the market has, nor will they have for at least another seven months; longer, if Hood has any say in the matter.

The night was supposed to end on reviewing the notes he had left in Baby-Birds hands to go over; something he found on Ra's and Penguin working together over something big. When he pulled up to the cave’s garage, his bikes motor ringing in his ears along the concrete wall, it was to B sitting at the computer, a heavy scowl laying on his slightly stress-wrinkled face.

"Heya B, whats gotcha all wound up? You look a little tense.”

Bruce’s scowl only deepened as he spun around to glance at Jason, the dark rings under his eyes obscured by the black make-up he wore.

“Red Robin has been neglecting his duty of filing reports in the computer. He hasn’t completed a full report in the past four days, and his equipment check last night was sub-par at best. I will be needing to talk to him about this within the next few days if he does not adjust his behavior accordingly.”

Jason knew he wasn’t going to get to that talk; Bruce never was good at communicating, and even though he’s seemed to have gotten better over the years, it doesn’t negate the fact that mot of the time it was Alfred or Dick that helped little Baby-Bird around the whole ‘bat business.’

“Well do you have any clue on when his patrols usually end? Because the two of us have a few notes to go over before I end the night.”

Bruce shook his head no. “Red Robin only finishes his patrols when he feels he no longer has anything to stop.”

Jason let his head fall forward with a groan.

“But,” Bruce continued, grabbing his empty coffee mug with a flourish as he stood, “As long as he hasn’t called you to re-schedule this meeting, he should be back by three.”

Jason startled, “Wait, like three in the morning? You let the kid stay out that long? Hell, I wasn’t even allowed to go on a patrol alone before I was fourteen, let alone until three in the morning.”

Jason had to stress these last few words as Bruce made his way up the stairs, onto the base level of the manor. He stopped, his back still to Jason as he spoke with clarity.

“Not only has Timothy proven that his IQ is almost equal to mine, he has also shown he has remarkable capabilities when referring to both his fighting styles and his problem solving skills. I trust him to not only ensure everyone around him is safe, but to also keep himself in check when met with unsavory enemies.”

The blatant ‘I never trusted you to do that’ was clear in his voice as he continued up the stairs. Or maybe it was just in Jason’s head, that tone of voice. He felt his heart drop slightly as Bruce closed the entrance door behind him, effectively leaving Jason alone in the cave.

By hour three of waiting for the kid, Jason had had enough; seating himself in the bat-computers chair, he brought up the tracking device attached to every robin uniform up onto screen. It reads that Tim was apparently on some building rooftop in the nicer parts of Gotham, and Jason transferred the location to his helmet, leaving the cave with a loud revving of his bike and skid-marks against the concrete floor.

As Jason swerved between buildings and empty alleyways, his palms began to sweat. He and the replacement haven’t been alone together since the ambush in titans tower, and that was a bit of a tough spot for the both of them. Jason himself was a touch guilty about it, and every time the two of them had been in a room, there was underlying tension in Jason’s shoulders.

Hand it to the Baby-Bird to be a mini-Bruce about it; it’s almost like the incident never happened, according to him. Yeah, he was always tense whenever Jason spotted him, but that just seemed to be how the kid carried himself. He’s always curt and short-spoken, only revealing the necessary information and nothing more.

Hell, if it wasn’t for Dick’s text he wouldn’t even know how old the kid was. He’s apparently turning fourteen next month, and Dick’s planning this whole party for the little shit. Jason felt himself snort at the idea; a circus boy turned billionaire heir throwing a spoiled brat a surprise party? Sounds hilarious.

His helmet informed him he was arriving at his destination, and as he pulled his bike into an alley way to begin his ascent to the rooftop, he felt.....off.

Something was wrong; the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing up straight, and as he hurried his climbing and finally hefted himself over the side of the building, he could see why.

Jason never realized how tiny the kid was; sure, he knew he was young, but no thirteen year old boy should look so small, so breakable. The area of his face that was visible from under his cowl was pale, almost a greenish tint as all the blood left his face. The kid was leaning his back against the rooftop entrance, his upper body listing forward slightly as he begins to lose whatever consciousness he has left. there was a puddle of something on his lap, and as Jason got closer he could make out the acrid smell of bile.

Jason hurried his steps, getting closer to the kid as he lifted his head up, looking towards the direction of footfalls. His eyes widened as he saw Jason, alarm bells ringing in his muddled mind.

“No,no no no. NO! Go away!” He lifted himself from the wall and threw his arms out, panic obvious in his voice as he spoke. Jason stopped, his body stock-still as the kid heaved another breath before leaning forward, puking up another mouthful of vomit. It was brown, which sent another wave of alarm bells through Jason; this kid obviously sick.

“Hey, hey kid listen-” He tried to step closer, but the panic was still clear in Tim’s mind as he threw himself even closer to the wall, jerking back so abruptly his head cracked against the concrete. He was clearly out of his mind with fever. The small slip of skin visible to Jason was covered in sweat.

“Baby-Bird, listen you need to calm down or-”

Tim wasn’t listening; the fever has completely destroyed his observation skills. One moment he was standing right in-front of Jason, shaking so hard he thought the kid might fall over, and the next he was trying to leap over the side of the building.

Jason had to think fast; without realizing it, he was following the kid until he could safely wrap his arm around the boys mid-section before he made that final leap over the edge. Jason pressed Tim’s back to his chest, and had made it two steps away from the edge of the building before Tim’s thought process kicked in. He thrashed in Jason’s arms, wiggling as hard as he could against the steel grip surrounding him. His arms flailed around violently, trying to get a grip on Jason’s shoulders, head or biceps.

The struggle lasted for a full minute, Jason taking one step back at a time as Tim wore himself out. It took Jason a moment to realize that, under the grunting and half-formed screams that Tim was letting loose, he was also pleading with Jason not to hurt him and wow, that hurt.

Words like “Please,” “I didn’t mean to,” “What did I do this time,” and the last one that really struck a cord in Jason’s chest was the tiny plead Tim let go once his struggling finally died down to a whimper of “Please don’t do it again, I won’t be able to fix it this time” before a heavy sob broke through his throat.

“Don;t you worry your pretty little head, Baby-Bird,” Jason muttered once Tim had gone completely limp in his arms, eyes fluttering closed behind the lenses of the cowl, “I’ll fix ya.”

Riding a bike with an unconscious passenger was a lot harder than one may think; Jason had to sit the boy on his lap as he ride, head against his chest as the bike rumbled across the road. He felt some sick gratitude towards how small the kid was; at least he was easy to carry when not in his right mind.

By the time they reached one of Jason’s safe-houses, his stomach was once more heavy with guilt and regrets as he lifted the kid up carefully, arms tight around his smaller body as they made their way up to Jason’s supply room.

“Sorry about this in advance, Baby-Bird, but I gotta get a look at what we’re dealing with.”

Jason muttered as he slowly un-did the latches scattered across the kids chest, careful not to apply too much pressure before he knew what he was dealing with. The latched body-armor stretched across the kids torso was released with a final snap, and as Jason lifted it from the under-suit, he was once again hit with how tiny Tim was. The armor added another three inches to his width, and without them he looked so tiny it was almost sick.

As Jason got to cutting the body-suit off from the kid, he felt a wave of nausea as he slowly cut downwards from the hollow of the kids throat; his collar bones stuck out sickeningly, out towards the ball of his shoulders. Going further down revealed the ribs poking out from his clavicle and towards his armpits that were as hollowed out as his collar bones.

Even further shows a caved-in stomach, the ribs lining it poking out with a sickening sharpness. Clearly, the kid was malnourished, and the look of it forced Jason to remove the helmet and glance away sharply, a hand covering his mouth as bile threatened to travel up his throat.

Not only was the kid skinny to a drastically concerning level, he was also beat all to hell. There wasn’t an area on him that didn’t look like it was beaten with some chain, or maybe a baseball bad when looking at the wide bruising along his ribs and stomach.

He continued to cut the rest of the way down, revealing sharp hip bones and bruised thighs. His knees were knobby and bow-legged, leading into black-shined legs and grey feet. The swelling in his left foot looked like it had been hit pretty hard, but id didn’t seem to be broken.

Jason pressed his hands against Tim’s sides gently, looking for a broken or fractured rib as he went down, another wave of nausea hitting him when he noticed the large hand-print bruised into his upper thigh, dangerously close to his nether region.

Thanking whatever god was listening that nothing seemed extremely life-threatening, Jason sat down on his knees as he watched every rattling breath the kid took. All Jason could do was dress the kid in actual clothing, cover him and attach an IV drip to him to keep the kid hydrated.

Jason lifted Tim in his arms once more, bringing him to the master bedroom and gently bringing a shirt over his head and sweatpants to cover his legs. Both articles were drowning the kid, another sign to how unhealthy he looked.

Jason placed him under the heavy duvet and wiped the inside of his elbow down before sticking the needle in.

He looked so sick, so small Jason couldn’t believe he had done what he did. Who was he to think he had any right to make this kid suffer? Jason sighed and placed his head in his hands, guilt once more weighing him down. He’s grown a lot since then, has more control over himself and what he does. He no longer feels hatred for the kid before him, no longer holds Bruce responsible.

It doesn’t mean he isn’t hurting though. Yeah, what happened was horrible, but he had thought that maybe Bruce would treat the replacement better; would put down more restrictions. The only reason that incident happened in the first place was because Jason had been out, alone. Maybe, he had hoped, the next one would be safer.

Then he actually saw the next one, and his blood curdled in his veins. How dare Bruce replace him, just like that? How dare he not even care what happened to him? How dare he not avenge him?

Jason has yet to get the full story out of anyone, but what he does know is that 1), the kid is smart as a whip. 2), He’s the son of some high-up socialite, and 3) he’s too young to look the way he does.

Hours pass in relative silence, the only noises being Jason’s shifting in the seat and Tim’s ragged, shallow and wheezing breaths. By sunrise Jason was haggered, his eyes burned and his head hurt but he wasn’t moving from this seat until the kid woke up.

If he wakes up, Jason has to remind himself. It’s possible the kid is in a coma, from what Jason had witnessed. He leaned forward and removed a glove, pressing the back of his hand against the kids sharp cheek and wincing; he was burning up.

Jason resolved to leave the room for a moment, gathering a rag from a drawer and rinsing it in cold water from the sink. He was just wringing the extra water out when he froze; a very loud thump sounded throughout the apartment, and Jason dropped the rag to run through the kitchen, picking up a discarded gun on his way to the master bedroom.

He pushed the door open, expecting to see some robber or thug standing over Tim, but what he was greeted with was a small puddle under the IV drip, an empty bed and an open window. Jason dashed over to the opening to peak his head outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the kid as he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, but all he could see was the slow rising of the sun over Gotham as the city woke back up.

Jason really hoped he’d be seeing the kid the next time he entered the cave; awkward or not.

He did, in fact, see the kid the next day. He was awake, in uniform and still gearing up for an early patrol. Jason parked his bike next to the kids, watching tense shoulders roll out as he turned. Jason was almost offended at the blank look in those sharp blue eyes, the cowl hanging loose down the kids upper back. But instead of turning back to whatever he was doing, he opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again and let the silence stew in his absence of what to say.

“Eh-hem,” He cleared his throat, rubbed raw from vomit and acid as he tried to speak clearly, the clicking of his dry throat making Jason feel uncomfortable.

“Thank you for the assistance last night, Hood.”

As always, the kid was sharp and curt, voice low and raspy as he lifted the cowl up and over his head.

“When.” Jason blurted out against his better judgement, and Tim froze.

“When what, Hood?”

“When did B make you robin?”

The silence was almost physical, like one could touch it if you tried. Jason watched Tim’s shoulders hunch up, close to his ears as he inhaled sharply, letting the breath escape him slowly through his nose.

“He didn’t. I did.”

Jason reeled back as if slapped as Tim continued.

“When you died, Batman went berserk. He went from incapacitating simple thugs until police arrived, to placing them in full bodied casts for six months. Over a wallet. By the time he had nearly beaten five people to death, I had approached him.”

Tim brought up files on current cases as he spoke, like he was bored and planned to pass the time, but Jason could see the new tension across his jaw and shoulders.

“I had known who all of you were for quite some time, and so decided to confront batman. I had said that batman needed a new robin to keep him in check, to keep him from going too far.”

Jason laughed humorlessly, “And he just let you in? Just like that?”

“No. No at all. It took me three days to convince him to train me, let me become robin. As long as I made sure I was at home by seven A.M, I was free to do what I needed to. Six months after training, during a mission with the titans, you came back.”

And that was where Tim ended it, signaling so by standing up from the chair and making his way over to his own little bike and swerving out into the night. Jason felt a heavy ball of regret and shame well up inside of him as watched the kid go.

#batman #tim drake #jason todd #sad #malnutrition #DC comics #red hood #red robin #robin #bruce wayne #batfam

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rheyninwrites · 4 years

Text

Old Friends Part 14

A week or so later, we were getting ready to head out. It was Friday night, and all of us were going to get together at a bar in town. Lenny finally had some time off, and it was far enough in advance that Mary-Beth could plan her schedule around it. Abigail and John had found a great babysitter- an older man in their neighborhood named Mr Matthews. His wife had died a few years before, and they’d never had children, so it seemed he had “adopted” their family. I thought it would be as good for them as it was for him, since they’d had either really shitty parents or none at all.

As usual, Arthur was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and boots. The colors might change a little, but it was always the same. But, hey, he was comfortable and it looked good on him. Really good, tonight. The shirt was black- my favorite color on him- and just a little tighter than usual, probably meaning it was new- he wore them until they wore out. The jeans were that perfect level of worn that meant they were almost t-shirt soft, and fitted perfectly. He’d showered after he got home from work, and actually taken the time to smooth his hair back away from his face, meaning his cheekbones and eyes were on full display. When I first saw him, I let out a low whistle of admiration.

“You look good. Planning on finding someone special tonight?”

“Nah, just thinking that after seeing me dirty all this time, you might’ve forgot what I looked like clean.”

“Definitely a good look on you. You should try it more often.”

He laughed while I sat on the couch to pull on my boots. Normally in the summer, you won’t catch me wearing anything more than sandals, but this was a special occasion. So I traded in the comfortable minimalism I usually went with for something a little more festive. I had on a tight green tank top, with equally tight denim shorts- cutoffs with enough stretch that I didn’t feel constricted, but not enough that they would be falling off by the end of the night. My chest tattoo was on full display, due to the wide neck of the top, and I had actually made an effort to put on one of the few necklaces I owned, along with a couple of bracelets. Being a minimalist, they were plain black leather strips, with one silver chain on the opposite wrist, but it was still something. The final touch was my boots- an old pair of doc Martens I’d gotten in college, heavy enough to be tough, but worn enough to be comfortable. When I finished lacing them, I stood up to let him appreciate my outfit like I’d appreciated his.

And appreciate he did. He eyed me up and down, circling me to get a full view. His eyes widened just a bit, and he raised one eyebrow. Then he stood back, his thumbs hooked on his belt. When he spoke, his voice raised just a little bit.

“Okay.”

That was high praise from him.

I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my back pocket, then headed out the door ahead of him. I looked back to see if he was coming and saw he was checking out my ass. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. Just a bit, at least.

I climbed in on the driver’s side, then scooted over to give him room to get in. He still hadn’t fixed the passenger seatbelt, so I was in the middle, our shoulders pressed together. I usually made an effort to keep my hands in my lap, but this time I opted to just let them fall wherever, which meant that my elbow was resting on his thigh. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind, and we chatted away as he drove. At one point, he made a joke and grabbed my knee, but left his hand on it. I guess he found it encouraging when I didn’t move it or say anything, because he let his hand slide backwards a bit and tucked it underneath my thigh. In response, I laid my head on his shoulder and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

When we got to the bar, we could see that most of our friends were already there, so we headed inside. Tilly, Charles, and Mary-Beth were at the largest table with a man I didn’t recognize. She introduced him as her boyfriend, Kieran. Apparently he worked at the same construction company that John and Javier worked at, and they met at one on Javier’s famously wild parties. I was surprised that quiet Mary-Beth would go to one, but found out that it was the first, and last, time for both of them. Kieran seemed really nice, and very reserved and quiet- a perfect fit for Mary-Beth. I was more than a little happy for her, as if always worried that her desire to stay at home and write all of the time would keep her from finding the family life she wanted. Although it had made her a top ebook seller of romance novels.

We were soon joined by Lenny, Sadie, and the rest of the gang. The bar wasn’t overly crowded, considering it was a Friday night, but we made more than enough noise with all of our catching up. I got to hear about all of my friends successes, and more than a few hilarious stories as I nursed my beer. Kieran and Mary-Beth left early, the crowd being a little too much for them to handle, and I promised Mary-Beth that I’d come and visit soon. Abigail and John were quietly dancing in the corner, and Karen and Sean were loudly making out near the bathroom. The rest of us had either finished or nearly finished our drinks, so Arthur and Lenny went to grab more. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sadie burst out.

“What the hell is going on with the two of you, anyway? He ain’t left your side all night, you keep leaning on him, and both of you is looking at the other like the they’s a steak dinner and you ain’t ate in months.”

“Oh, please. It’s not like that Sadie. Well, maybe it is for me, but it’s not for him.”

“Uh-huh. Then tell me why he’s over there staring at you from across the room.”

I wasn’t going to turn around and look, making it obvious we were talking about him. I knew if I did he’d get all self-conscious and wouldn’t let it go until I told him what it was- and that wasn’t to happen. Instead, Charles, who was sitting beside Sadie, confirmed it. I rolled my eyes and assured them once again that it wasn’t like that.

“You know I just got out of that bad relationship, and he’s been watching out for me. We’ve sort of fallen back into that best friend mode, that’s all.”

“Well if my best friend looked at me like that, I’d definitely think they had more than friendship on their mind.”

“Shut up, Sadie. It’s just- not that.”

“Well why not? You’re single, he’s single?”

“He doesn’t like me that way.”

“How do you know?”

Because I’m a hideous fat bitch who doesn’t deserve love.

“Well, what about this fella coming up over here? I been watching him stare at you all night.”

I looked over where Tilly was pointing, and saw a big, beefy guy with heavily oiled hair and black cowboy boots coming toward our table. I prayed he was going to tell me I had something on my face, because he was definitely zeroed in on me, and so far from someone I’d be attracted to it made me nauseous to look at him. Yes, I know lots of people are into heavily muscled, hyper masculine dudes, but I wasn’t one of them. I wanted a guy who would spend more time with me than at the gym. If he’s muscular, it should be because of his work, natural.

He pulled a chair up next to me and sat down. I could see Charles and Sadie both trying to keep a straight face, while Tilly at least had the decency to look sympathetic. I kept my face forward, trying my best not to acknowledge him. He wouldn’t have that, though. He leaned around the table, far too close to my face for comfort, while tapping on my shoulder.

“Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing in here tonight?”

I grimaced, then turned to him with what I hoped was an obviously sarcastic smile.

“Spending time with old friends, is what I’m doing, and that’s all I’m doing. And I’m not your sweetheart.”

“Oh, I think I can change that. I like your tattoo.”

He reached out to trace the tattoo on my chest, and I slapped his hand away.

“You don’t get to fucking touch me unless I say so. Back the fuck off and leave me alone.”

I’d backed my chair out, angling it to give me space to leave if I needed. Charles and Sadie were standing up, and this scene was drawing far more attention than I liked. Instead of leaving, however, he leaned in closer to me, consciously trying to invade my space.

“Oh, I think you’ll give me permission. In fact, by morning, I think you’ll be begging for it.”

As he reached out to grab my chin, I put my arm up to block him, intending to stomp on his toes and leave, but I didn’t get the chance to, as he fell on his back to the ground and a familiar figure stood over him, using the iciest, most menacing voice I’d ever heard.

“I suggest you get your ass out of here without saying another word, or I will break every goddamn bone in your body.”

Rather than waiting to see what happened, I screamed Arthur’s name and pushed him toward the door. Through clenched teeth, I spoke

“Outside. NOW.”

#arthur morgan fic #rdr arthur #rdr 2 #modern rdr2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan fanfic #rdr2 fandom #arthurmorgan #red dead redemption fandom #red dead redemption two

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histrionic-dragon · 5 years

Text

Google Says WHAT?! --A mini-fic

I’ve been reading the Hundred-Year Playlist series by the amazing @girlbookwrm and also creeping on other people’s comments on the story, because that’s something I do with stories I like. @girlbookwrm mentioned, in one of the comments-conversations, that if you Google “queer 1930s Brooklyn” you get Steve Rogers fan research on the first page of results. I may have swooped in to say that Tony’s reaction if he accidentally saw that, in-universe, would be hilarious, and then-- this happened.

It’s a bit more serious than I originally intended it to be, but still has some levity to it.

Story below the cut and maybe eventually on Ao3. Takes place a few days after CA:TWS, because who better than Tony to sift through the SHIELD/Hydra data dump?

“Really, sir,” said JARVIS, “I must strongly advise you to go to bed.”

“Great,” Tony said absently. “You’ve given me the advice. Now you can feel good about it.”

“Sir . . . .”

Tony pushed his chair back from the table, spinning a little as it drifted smoothly across the lab until he was juuuust within reach of the countertop where he’d left his coffee. He picked it up and took a sip. Not too cold, yet.

Almost, but not quite.

“Look, JARVIS,” he said out loud, “I’m not working with fire, I’m not operating heavy machinery, I’m not actually making anything. I’ve even slept in the last 24 hours. Why are you on my case?”

“It is the total amount of sleep you’ve had in the past five days that concerns me, sir.”

Tony snorted.

“. . . and your reactions to some of the information uncovered by the Black Widow’s information dump at the beginning of that time.”

Tony put his mug down on the counter. It made a sharp clack sound. Not like the normal ting or click-thump of putting down a drink--this was loud, attention-grabbing, the sound of ceramic hitting on granite countertop just barely not hard enough to break.

Great. Now his coffee was a drama queen.

“Look,” he said. “It is entirely in character for Obie to have been paid off by someone to do what he did, and he needed sketchier contacts than Stark Industries has to get in with the Ten Rings. Might as well have been Hydra. I honestly could have put that together if I’d had time to stop and think before everybody I know called me up and asked me to start going through those files, it just rattled me that I didn’t and then that came up, okay? Honestly, I’m kind of surprised Rhodey didn’t think of it first and warn me when he called,” he added thoughtfully, “except I’m pretty sure Rhodey hasn’t slept in a lot longer than I haven’t. --Shouldn’t you be bugging him?”

“Colonel Rhodes is not my priority,” JARVIS said mildly. “And I believe he would agree with my assessment of your needs in this situation--as would Ms. Potts, who has repeatedly contacted me from the construction site in Malibu to inquire as to your well-being. I would hate to tell her you’re neglecting yourself.”

Tony stopped scowling at his lukewarm coffee and its noisy mug and moved the scowl to the ceiling. Technically JARVIS’s sensors were at least as dense at mid-wall and in the baseboards, but JARVIS would know what he meant. “You,” he said, “are a cheating cheater who cheats.”

“You did build me, sir.” JARVIS’ voice was extra-bland. He only did that when he was very pleased with himself. Tony sure as hell hadn’t made that part of him.

Artificial intelligences. They grew up so fast.

“Fine,” Tony said after a moment. “I won’t go down that particular rabbit hole anymore tonight, alright? No more looking to see how long Obie was working for Hydra, no more sniffing around what happened when—” His hands clenched tight enough to hurt and he made himself relax.

“I won’t follow up on the ‘was Obadiah Stane involved in the car crash’ angle until tomorrow. In fact, I won’t look at the secret files anymore. Just give me a few more minutes to finish up a couple trains of thought about other things from them, and then I’ll call Pepper myself, okay?”

“If you must, sir.”

Tony really was being good, dammit. He didn’t follow up on anything he thought could be related to Obie or his parents’ death. He didn’t go looking for anything new and unpleasant. He didn’t do anything but follow the money, because Hydra couldn’t have come out of nowhere. Once they got into the US government, sure, money wouldn’t be an issue, but how do you get your secret little evil organization off the ground? Couldn’t exactly ask around for angel investors.

No, all he was doing now was hunting for cash. He was going to figure out just how far down the rabbit holes went (the hydra-holes? Something something Hercules burying the immortal head under a rock and the other heads grew two more unless you torched them and arson would cover up a lot of records of failed operations but not all of them and THAT was interesting funding-wise, because to extend the Greek monster metaphor and borrow from that one D&D comic, you actually would get lightheaded and pass out if you had too many heads and too little blood supply to deliver oxygen and so they needed some stable sources of income in this heads-are-evil-operations-blood-is-money metaphor and again, once you were embedded in a government organization, you could totally just use that funding, but they weren’t like that to begin with and if you were going to get started as mostly outside a government operation in the US but needed the ties to get in, you needed money, and leverage, and that meant organized crime, and that meant—)

Long story short, he was looking up the history of various criminal organizations in the US and trying to figure out which ones might have been started by Hydra, or which other, older organizations they might have taken over or just steered in the ways they wanted. That meant reading about, among other things, the Mafia and their various sources of revenue going back to--based on what he knew about business and networking and family ties and inheritance and seriously, fuck you, Obie--about a generation and a half before the official, formal rise of Hydra as a Nazi science organization, to see if that would connect up with ties made even later when Hydra people came over in the fifties. So basically, large-scale criminal enterprises from the early 1900s on.

Maybe it took a little more than a few minutes.

On the other hand, it was a particularly fascinating more-than-a-few-minutes. People had gotten homicidal over really weird shit in the dark ages. Street gangs beating up people until they sold a different newspaper--now that was aggressive marketing. Tony still hated pop-up ads--Stark Ad Annihilator was the best adblock software on the market for a reason, that reason being that Tony had been bored and hopped up on decongestants one day and--anyway. Still better than getting stabbed to death. And then of course there were the hilariously inventive ways people had come up with of making, smuggling, and secretly serving booze during Prohibition, and that was probably where he really ought to be looking if he was going to follow the money. But there were all these interesting little spinoffs, like—

“The mob owned a lot of gay bars?” Tony said out loud, frowning. “What, like—’da boss says love is love. Dis is an equal-opportunity institution’?” He snickered. (It was not a giggle.) “That’s probably too funny to be accurate.”

“Indeed, sir,” JARVIS said. “The article you are about to click on reports, in summary, that the mafia had a great deal of expertise in running illegal nightclubs. When Prohibition ended, some mob bosses saw an opportunity to maintain this revenue stream.”

“That makes a decent amount of sense. Not very funny, but—” He waggled his hand. “Could see da business sense.” He snickered again.

“Quite,” JARVIS replied. “Sir, I must remind you—”

“Yeah, yeah. Just a few more minutes, J.” Tony glanced up briefly. “Promise.”

“I will hold you to it, sir.”

Tony nodded absently— “sure, whatever”--already looking through a few other databases. The proto-SHIELD organization had been based in New York City for a while--with other offices elsewhere--before its official rebranding and move to DC, which meant he was looking for people with behind-the-scenes pull in NYC in the fifties.

“JARVIS, if you’re mother-henning, help me out and open up a few Google searches.”

“Sir?” JARVIS sounded marginally offended.

“I need crappy, surface-level information. Broad strokes. Your searches are too good. Give me anything they’ve got for searches on banking, politics, real estate, whatever pseudoscience or spiritualism was big at the time, and hell, why not, the LGBT community--all of those--in the twenties, the thirties, and the forties, and then take those results and show me anything that cross-references with our SHIELD people of interest in the fifties or later.”

A pause.

“Done, sir.”

“Anything good?”

“A few more data points to cross-reference with other sources. We may have the beginnings of a paper trail on the history and extent of Mr. Stane’s involvement with the organization, related to his business ties before Stark Industries, but—”

“Skip that,” Tony ordered. He wasn’t going to go into that. Not tonight. Not until he had everything he needed to chart out the whole festering shit-show and deal with it all at once.

“As you wish, sir. Two, perhaps three, of the prominent city council members at the time may have had ties to Hydra, most likely unknowingly. A housekeeper’s murder may have been precipitated by something she overheard rather than her affair with her employer, although the perpetrator may be the same woman as originally suspected. There may be more behind the apparent suicide of a SSR agent and a deadly riot at a movie theater than was originally suspected as well--though in those cases the revelation is the extent of the foul play, not its presence. There are also a few cases I have flagged as false positives. Would you like to review those?”

Tony stood up and stretched, his spine popping. Ow. “Sure,” he said, yawning, “they’ll be funny. And then I’ll call Pepper and go to bed,” he added, rolling his eyes, “so don’t say anything.”

“That is wonderful news, sir.”

The false-positive Google searches appeared as holographic screens around him. The first one was about a shady real estate deal that Hydra clearly hadn’t had a hand in, because the fact they didn’t own a particular piece of land later was a real hindrance to them, so that was good. The triumph of run-of-the-mill white-collar crime over evil. Or something.

The next few were restaurant reviews, for some reason. About all they proved was that foody talk from seventy years ago was just as weird as foody talk today, except people back then had really really liked preservatives as much as they really really hated them now.

Another search result was a Buzzfeed article: “17 of Howard Stark’s most hilarious parking tickets.” Apparently his dad had had a bad habit of just leaving cars lying around once he’d modified them with anti-theft mechanisms. One had sprayed a cloud of skunk musk at the officer leaving the ticket. Judging by the comments, people thought this was hilarious. They were all missing the point of the collateral stink-damage to bystanders and nearby cars. Tony could do it better than his dad ever had. Tony could do better in his sleep.

That left a sour taste in his mouth. --His brain? His mouth tasted awful, come to think of it, like the stale coffee now gone stone-cold at his elbow and too long without sleep, but that wasn’t the point. He needed mind Mentos, was the point. Next false positive.

(this is the actual search result!)

Tony started cackling.

“Are you alright, sir?” JARVIS asked.

“Yeah,” Tony said, clicking on the flagged article. “Yeah, I’m fine. What, this came up because of—?”

“Confluence of a known Hydra target and the search term ‘queer 1930s Brooklyn.’”

“Like the rainbow mafia, that makes sense when you think about it.” Tony shook his head. “Oh man, I’m gonna tell Cap that someone’s turned their history project on him into the history of Grindr.”

“Sir?”

“He blushes like a lobster. This’ll be the best. Thank you for this, J, you’ve made my night.”

“Are you going to leave the laboratory at any point in the near future, sir?”

“Yes, Mom, as soon as I read this actual article because even though it’s probably not really about Grindr, I’m sure there’ll be plenty in there I can embarrass Steve with. . . . --Oooh, excellent subtitle. ‘Mr. Rogers’ Gayborhood,’ I’ll have to . . . .”

He trailed off absently as he realized what he was reading. “Huh. --JARVIS, how deep in the search results was this buried?”

“About halfway up the first page, sir.”’

“Huh.”

“Are you alright, sir?”

“Fine, it’s just--really good historical research, kind of light tone, but actually . . . probably not a horny undergrad messing with a history prof on a paper assignment. And the comments are . . . people are agreeing with . . . There are historical documents here. --OK, real search engine time, JARVIS: is there some sort of, like, scholarly and/or Internet message board consensus that Captain America is gay and I missed it?!”

“It appears to be a topic of heated debate, actually,” JARVIS replied, “the foremost proponents of which are adamant about it not being a joke.”

“Okay,” Tony said, “I know about the clone conspiracy theorists and the Russian conspiracy theorists and the weird cultists and the Reagan administration snake-people conspiracy theorists, and I know he does too. How does Steve not know about this already?”

“He does, sir.”

Tony made a wheezing, squeaking noise, torn between hilarity and incredulity.

“The Captain has apparently been approached on occasion--in person, informally, and inconspicuously, most often by people who have written scholarly articles on the subject—”

“He has?”

“--and has refused to give any meaningful reply one way or another, other than that it’s not really anyone else’s business.”

Tony blinked. He was familiar with that bland kind of shutdown. It did not go well with the picture of flustered, wrong-footed Cap that his head kept trying to give him. He got flustered when he didn’t know what was going on. He got calm and blank and authoritative when he did.

“His refusal to answer questions has been especially marked when asked about his relationship with James Barnes.”

Tony blinked again, reached out on autopilot, and took a gulp of his now definitely too cold and ugh ugh ugh awful coffee.

Once he’d finished gagging and had acknowledged that, yes, his mouth absolutely hated him and this was possibly worse than waking up hungover and tasting stale vomit because he had been sober and in control of his own behavior when he slugged that down, there were no excuses--once he was done with that little ritual of disgust, he frowned, then firmly swiped the article’s display off to one side. “Save that for tomorrow, J,” he said. “And start a new file. I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

“Are you certain that’s wise?”

“‘Is Cap into guys’ is a more fun mystery than ‘did a terrorist organization recruit my dad’s best friend to spike his drink or cut his brakes the night he died so he’d be out of their way,’ JARVIS,” Tony said heavily. “Let me have my fun.”

He might be imagining it, but he thought JARVIS sounded almost gentle when he said, “Of course, sir.”

***

CODA.

Tony had been asleep.

He knew he’d been asleep, and he knew he was awake now, and he wasn’t sure when he’d transitioned from sleeping to thinking or if he’d just woken up abruptly. It hadn’t been a nightmare. He was lying perfectly still, his heartbeat was regular, and he wasn’t sweating or anything. He was just lying in bed, awake, aware that he was awake, eyes open and staring at the ceiling.

“JARVIS,” Tony said.

“Yes, sir?”

“The guy Steve wouldn’t tell the Internet people about. That’s the same guy--that really weird message from Natasha . . . . ?”

“So it would appear.”

Tony thought for a minute.

“Well shit.”

“Aptly put, sir.”

Tony look at the ceiling some more.

“Merge the new folder I told you to make with the other one, the—”

“The folder entitled ‘Soviet Winter Reunion Tour or Something, Romanoff is Being Cryptic, Get Steve to Explain When He’s Conscious,’ sir?”

“Yeah, that one. Merge ‘em. Rename, uh, ‘Ancient History, Search and Rescue Edition.’ Mark it high priority.”

“Done, sir.”

“And JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Send Pepper a bunch of flowers and see if you can maybe find an earlier flight for her to come home.”

#meta #sort of #my writing #fanfic #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #JARVIS #Hundred Year Playlist

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ryouverua · 5 years

Text

Trial 6 - Revisionist History, Pre-Accusation (2)

AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?!

Trial: 1

So last time on YGO I was getting a bit full of myself because everything was pointing to me being right about the mastermind, and then I proceeded to get clothes-lined by Shuichi’s conclusion about the first trial:

Sweetcheeks is taking revenge on me for all the times I got ahead of him in the trials. It’s okay I’m here for it -

TFW you’re called on in class and you were barely paying attention to what was going on -

Also yes any excuse to beat down on the Monokubs I will welcome with open arms THANK YOU DRV3

“Also hey, player controlling me right now? Fuckin’ duh.”

It’s okay Shuichi, I’m more than happy to have been wrong on this one.

... which also could have doubled as planted evidence to frame Kaede as the mastermind I-I’M JUST SAYING okay maybe not 100% over it -

But okay, ‘I’m getting carried away. The important thing is that there is no doubt that this shot should be associated with Kaede. She and Miu rocked that pink look, after all.

whispers I miss you Kaede; I’d like to think you’re with us in spirit right now

MAN Sweetcheeks is making this look so easy in hindsight! When I originally thought it was just part of the frame job, I didn’t consider the implications of having a clean shotput there with the fiber. After all, if it existed, the bloody version complete with the fiber would have worked just as well!

I’M SHOOK

But... but Kaede didn’t know that, did she? That’s why things went the way they did. She believed she was the killer the whole time. And that’s part of the genius of the plan...

And what, she - they got away with it? With all the groundwork and clues pointing to Kaede, it was just fine for Monokuma to accept that wrong conclusion? Does that mean if they had ever come to a wrong conclusion in any of the other trials - well, wait. No, the actual killer would know that they had gotten away with murder....

....

What..... if Monokuma had pulled a similar stunt in a different trial, but executed an innocent person anyway? I wonder how the killer would react to the idea that they wouldn’t be freed after all - and how they would continue living with everyone with that hanging over their heads. Well, I guess we know how Korekiyo would probably deal with it, but what about Kirumi or Miu, for example? Would they kick up a fuss or accept it quietly and bide their time with the knowledge that there wasn’t any way to truly graduate? Hell, what if they had chosen Kokichi for the 4th blackened and Monokuma accepted the ruling, and a totally oblivious Gonta survived with the rest of the cast to Chapter 5?

sorry don’t mind me just speculating...

Tsumugi adored Kaede, but she just couldn’t bring herself to trust her, huh. Did she have back-up plans for all of the murder plans or just this one?

STOP KILLING THE ONLY TOLERABLE MONOKUB!!!!

BLOW YOURSELF UP NEXT TIME SMH

because he made a great play to steal her potential girlfriend in a super cute nail-painting scen - I-I mean -

yeah that seems more likely somehow

But Kaede folded first...

Are you telling me that after all that planning, all that work, all that effort, all that agonizing -

she....

SHE MISSED?!

The goal wasn’t to kill them off.... well, of course it wasn’t. Rantaro even aid at the beginning that if they wanted them dead they could have killed them off with the exisals. It was always about the game.

So the plan fails, and because Tsu - the mastermind was keeping tabs on Kaede and Shuichi’s plan (for obvious reasons! I wonder if she was ready to deal with someone else finding the door aside from Rantaro?) she was able to prepare a second backup shotput and take things into her own hands... with Kaede none the wiser that she had failed.

Attempted murder and murder by proxy aren’t considered equal - Chapter 4 was proof enough of that. And yet...

‘Played along’ - again, talking about him like he’s a completely separate entity and that he should be treated as such.

“The moment you let murder into your heart, you lost.”

Again, what if Kokichi had ended up taking the fall for Gonta’s murder and Monokuma let him??? What would have happened? Would Monokuma have executed him? Would Kokichi have protested at the last minute??? And Gonta wouldn’t know better - !

It was always just killing.

The wound he got when Kaede died healed, but it was never truly gone. It’s been a few weeks at most, and it got ripped open again during the investigation. I’ll probably end up making a few small asides about how he’s only bringing up Kaede over everyone else (including Kaito who! just! literally! died!) but at the same time, he’s probably reeling at the idea that he was tricked into sending her to die. It’s not surprising that she in particular is monopolizing his thoughts right now.

“AND UH EVERYONE ELSE TOO BUT I’M REALLY OVERCOME BY FEELINGS OF SUNK SHIPS’ PAST!” okay I see like I really couldn’t resist

You know what’s really awesome to see amidst all of Shuichi’s speculation? How helpful the rest of the class is being. They’re contributing now just like they were in the investigation, in big ways! Even Himiko, who is definitely out of her element, isn’t letting herself get distracted and is trying to keep everyone’s spirits up!

With that said... hehe ~

fml that was cute

I didn’t need to keep this screenshot but I love Himiko’s spell names lmao

GRHGRKGHK

Shuichi literally blocked out the Kaede twin!theory from his mind.

“Tsumugi please - We’re not actually doing this, right? Right???”

My cousins are twins too! CLEARLY ONE OR BOTH OF THEM MUST BE MASTERMINDING A KILLING GAME SOMEWHERE -

“And all twins have at least one evil person in the set! That’s, like, science or something!”

“Well crap - I’d refute that but without the solid backing of the Ultimate Genetist, can we really say that’s not true?”

The ellipses better be leading to a ‘fuck no’, Sweetcheeks.

To think that all of those awkward ‘Himiko has a small bladder’ jokes have l had to suffer through were leading to this grand pay-off.

‘Please tell me this isn’t the answer. Damn you Tsumugi, I’ll give it 5 minutes of my time at maximum, but I will be so mad if it’s the answer.’

That noise is totally Shuichi’s inner voice, master of deadpan and silent sassy killer, breaking free from the confines of his mind to dunk on Kaede!mastermind theory one last time.

AND DUNK ON IT HE DOES. And oh boy did Motherkuma really screw Miss Mastermind over, because that line about ‘visiting the room often’ knocks that 17th person theory straight out of the park.

And honestly? That rules out a ‘faked their death’ student scenario too, for the same reason.

.... Which, just like the above, rules out a hidden student theory for a fantastic reason that didn’t really occur to me as a fully-formed thought apparently because I was nodding along with Shuichi’s reasoning, lol. There’s no use for a classroom that hides its contents for someone who could have easily set up a hidden room for exclusive use in their hiding spot. Though with that said... why not have it in the mastermind’s lab? What was the point of keeping them separate?

“Crap, you weren’t supposed to see that. Why didn’t anyone tell me he saw that???”

.......... This....... really does make it sound like he hasn’t realized who the mastermind is................

What a totally unbiased bit of speculation, Tsumugi!

I would kill to know her thoughts right now. There are moments like this where she helps out, but only with information that seems to be inevitable or easy to speculate. She needs to maintain the image of helping out. And then, of course, there are her wilder diversions offered under the guise of speculation that she’s able to throw out with that same tone of voice! What is your thought process, girl???

I think there’s a deep part of himself that’s known this from the beginning. Even if he didn’t know it was specifically Tsumugi, he knew that one of the last four people here was the mastermind. And ruling Maki (who got tricked and almost became the blackened) and K1-b0 (who literally just went berserk and had to be talked down from destroying the whole school) out, well...

The fact that Himiko is trying so hard to keep them all together and cheerful, even ending her speech like this:

... is, uh, darkly hilarious.

A WITCH!!! wait wrong series -

AND SOMEONE WHO DIDN’T PLAN ON ‘DYING’... just sayin’

I mean, the rest of them can be friends right??? Just because one of them trapped the others in a strange place, stole/potentially overwrote all of their memories and made them kill each other - wait, this is coming out wrong -

“Seriously, I’ll take any leeway I can get here.”

“Well now that you bring it up, we never actually saw Kokichi’s body and he’s absolutely, totally, 100% a Remnant of Des -”

..... Oh thank god no one actually said this. I was kinda expecting Tsumugi to try this tbh. 8′D So, um, when exactly are we going to use his motive video then?

WE’RE NOT PLAYING DR1 DAMN IT NOT AGAIN

Which Shuichi knows. Oh, Sweetcheeks definitely knows. And he remembers....

Ooooooh this is it. This is it!!! We’re finally going to the trial 1 alibis! And I know a certain someone’s alibi that isn’t going to stand up to scrutiny this time... ~

“A nice hole that we can just thrust our big, hard truth into. That was for you Miu, RII (Rest In Innuendos).”

can you imagine if we just had a little tribute to every character we lost along the way in this trial GET ON THIS SWEETCHEEKS

I cannot impress upon you all how desperately I have been waiting for this moment - !

So I let all the dialogue play. Every little bit of it. And oooooh boy, seeing Shuichi react to seeing that certain obvious part stick out....... well.

You can tell I was looking forward to this part because I was literally screencapping every bit of her dialogue lmao while also trying to maintain proper, y’know, control of the reticle.

Yup...

How very ~convenient~.

WHICH KOREKIYO BROUGHT UP SPECIFICALLY.........

WHERE IS THE GOLD TEXT

FUCKING

COUNTER

BABY!!!!

If he wasn’t sure before... if he even had a hint of a possibility in his mind before... there is no way he doesn’t know now. There’s no way he isn’t sure now.

HIMIKO YOU CREATED THIS CHANCE FOR US!!!

“Wow, I’m really glad I didn’t go through with murdering you after all!”

Tsumugi is absolutely standing there sweating bullets, just wondering when the hell this was discovered under her nose. You really should have tried to stick with Shuichi to mislead him further!

YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT IT IS.

“No seriously, when the hell did you find the bathroom secret passage?!”

FML okay the fact that Himiko is still hoping she could find a way to defend Tsumugi is.... incredibly sad....

he placed a receipt in the doorway

he put tape on the windows

the entrance was sealed via detective’s authority

I wonder how she knew the right timing to go to the girl’s bathroom... maybe she had a similar alert set up for when Rantaro went into the library? She was only gone for five minutes - any longer would have been suspicious. Does she have a way of accessing the cameras outside of the lab, or am I just nitpicking something that has an explanation I’ve forgotten?

.... WHELP ANYWAY -

Come on, you’ve been so creative up until now - there’s no way you don’t have something else up your sleeve!

OI -

OI!!!! HAVE SOME PRIDE!

wait why am I getting defensive about this -

The ability to navigate truth and lies and know when to be relentless in pursuit of truth... is this the new Shuichi we’ve been building up to? It’s interesting, because there are similarities to the last trial where he wouldn’t be shaken off the path to the truth - but taking after Kokichi, he won’t let emotions sway him this time. Where he was gentle and tentative in Chapter 4, he won’t give an inch here.

DAMN BOY! HE’S COMING OUT SWINGING!

Neither of these two are clamouring to come to her defense, I notice.

speaking of people who can’t deal with much more heartbreak and betrayal, how about that ‘slowly slipping back into depression’ Himiko here -

“HEY DON’T INTERRUPT MY DEFENSE YOU’RE MAKING ME LOOK WAY MORE SUSPICIOUS!!!”

Er, well, about that next chapter...

What proceeded was probably Shuichi’s most aggressive, brutal and merciless Rebuttal Showdown of the entire game. Damn, Sweetcheeks!

....... yeah, they didn’t stand a chance.

“.... and it will require you all to test me and yourselves by finding ways to slip the word ‘birth’ in casual conversation around me. Or really awkward sentences! That’ll work too, I’m actually not that picky.”

LMAO WAY TO THROW HIM UNDER THE BUS

“EVEN NOW, IN THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE GAME, ROBOPHOBIA PERSISTS - “

let tsumugi say fuck

Maki gives NO FUCKS

Actually, you gotta appreciate how Maki isn’t swayed at all. Right now Shuichi really needs that steady support by his side and, with so few options left, it looks like Maki is ready to act that way for him.

NO THIS IS TOO SAD, EVEN WHEN HE’S CREATED AN AIRTIGHT ARGUMENT HE STILL HAS A SHRED OF DOUBT IN HIS ABILITIES AND DEDUCTIONS...

But... more importantly, he’s okay with being wrong. He’s not afraid of being proven wrong and being potentially embarrassed in front of everyone the way he was before. That.... takes a lot of guts, for someone as perpetually anxious as him. Good on you, Shuichi.

And Maki is with him 100%. I think she may have already accepted Shuichi’s deduction as the real deal, tbh.

but what is there left for her to defend herself with at this point

What is going on in your head right now -

quietly skips over the random interlude where Monosuke attempts to conspicuously disrupt the proceedings and gets blown up for his trouble -

Thanks, dude.

GREEN PUKE

WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS thank atua

Also it’s interesting - they have a bit of a back and forth about Monokuma ‘loving’ the kids which, you know, has been of a running joke. But unlike during the rest of the game, he’s never actively destroyed them before... but he is now. Why? He brought them back to man the exisals and attempt to take the fight out of the students after the fifth trial, so why is he knocking them off one after the other like this? Sure they’ve been shown to be replaceable but...

Two different entities with different goals, I’m telling ya!

The moment of truth..... it’s finally here.

It’s. It’s finally here.

Well then.........................

here we go.

Looking like she would rather be anywhere but here...

How strange.... to see the accused so rattled like this. Not crying like Gonta, not angry or upset like Kirumi and Korekiyo - and just think of the last game too, where they were resigned, resolute or just accepting - she just looks.... scared in a different way. And decidedly not ‘mastermind’-like. So where are we going to go from here?

“Any last words?”

“Goku didn’t die for this.”

#Ryou plays drv3 #Shuichi Saihara #Tsumugi Shirogane #Himiko Yumeno #Maki Harukawa #K1-b0 #Kiibo #Keebo #spoilers #drv3 spoilers #i underestimated how long this post would get oTL #should have split it up #ah well live and learn #my hand's been worn out though I'll have to continue asks tomorrow 8'D #and play the game then like damn that was supposed to be TODAY

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tepkunset · 6 years

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A list of things I liked and didn’t like about The Last Jedi

I know literally everyone has beaten me to the party by now, but I’m gonna do it anyway, just cause I wanna talk about it.

Things I didn’t like:

Poe Dameron is a completely different character. Like the only thing the same is his charisma, which I'm pretty sure is thanks to the actor. And I'm just gonna say it: It's suspicious that this drastic character change is for the benefit of demonstrating heroism for some rando new white woman who dies anyway.

Also the conflict between him and Holdo was so ridiculously artificially created. What actual reason did she have for not telling people the plan? Besides one-upping Poe? Leia then says Holdo “cared more about being a hero than looking like one” but I would disagree--because the only damn conclusion I can come up with for why she wouldn’t tell people what she was doing is to appear superior.

While there were some fleeting scenes where Luke Skywalker felt right, he mostly just felt so off to me, especially his sudden, vague dislike of the Jedi. And are you seriously telling me Luke motherfucking Skywalker was going to murder his nephew??? Because he sensed the dark side in him? He spent most of the original trilogy convinced that Darth Vader could be saved from the dark side, but not some kid?!?!?

But like that’s just it--So much screentime and character continuity flaws were all for the sake of trying to make us pity Kylo Ren. Only to then end the film with the same message we got loud and clear from the last one: He chose the dark side. We get it. We got it the minute he killed Han Solo. It just makes it all the more frustrating that we had to sit through all that BS without any actual story progression.

Finn was majorly sidelined in comparison to the large role he played in TFA. There were a few good “That’s Finn” moments, though. But Finn also apparently had to learn the lesson “you can’t run away from what’s right” all over again too, despite, you know, that being a major point in his character arc in the first movie as well!

Luke says the Jedi should end, but doesn’t ever really get into it? Besides just saying that Jedi are too prideful? Ignoring that Luke would never give up on the Jedi, Rian my dude there is an actual, legitimate list of things you could pull together to make a real case for why the Jedi Order wasn’t so great. But I guess it was just easier to have him constantly interrupted or act illusive.

I can only assume that it was Snoke’s manipulation that was leading Rey to the dark side all of a sudden, since she was so purely, strongly light in the first movie. Like, that was how she defeated Kylo Ren! She finds her focus in the light, where he was unbalanced!

This is something I’ve seen pointed out a lot already, and I’m sure as hell not gonna avoid it either: It’s really suspicious how poorly the characters of colour are treated in this film, in comparison to the white characters. That comparison is important, because a classic defence I always see in any media where lots of people die and get hurt, is that “well it happens to everyone.” Because somehow some (white) people can’t see the disproportions? Or maybe they just don’t look.

The “humour” about the little creatures on the island constantly having to clean up after Rey’s destruction of ancient structures was really uncomfortable.

I am now 100% sure there are no actual rules about what the Force can and can’t do. (But TBH this one doesn’t really bother me that much; the Force has always had evolving lore.)

The screenshots of Kylo Ren’s shirtless scene cannot do justice to how gratuitous and awfully inserted the actual scene is.

I know a lot of people like the porgs but... TBH I found them annoying.

The scene where Kylo Ren and Rey are both trying to reach for the lightsaber with the force doesn’t add up; in the last movie the same thing happened, and it went to Rey without competition--But now it’s portraying them as equal? Rey was deserving of the lightsaber, Kylo Ren was not.

Despite getting to see Rey kick some major ass... TBH the fact that a lot of her story revolves around male characters’ stories just felt like a downgrade from the last film, where her arc was quite independent. It overlapped with the other characters around her, like any good movie with an ensemble cast does, but it was not driven by them.

Almost the entire film felt like filler. I get that the moral of the story is what Yoda says; failure is an important learning tool. But it would have perhaps hit home better if more failure was even in the characters control? The only sense of growth through failure was with Poe, which was a lesson he didn’t even need to learn in the first place except Rian decided to rewrite him entirely so he did.

Things I did like:

Snoke’s shiny gold bathrobe was hilarious to me. Jeff Goldblum from Thor: Ragnarok wore it better.

I am super fucking relieved that the “romance” between Rey and Kylo Ren was drastically overstated by those who actually somehow ship them together. THANK. FUCK. Rey even symbolically closes the door to the Falcon when he tries to reach out to her. Like I said, it frustrated me how bordering total pointlessness the whole thing was between them, I’d rather it be pointless than take Rey in a total 180 degree direction.

R2-D2 showing Luke the recording of Leia in order to try and convince him to help.

When Luke guides Rey through connecting with the Force around the island, and talking about how the Force doesn’t belong to anyone, but is part of everyone and everything, that was really good.

Pretty much everything about Rose, but especially her passion against the rich and corrupt. I can’t wait for more with her.

When Leia uses the force to guide herself back onto the ship.

BB-8′s imitation of the little mouse droids.

When Kylo Ren ignites the lightsaber through that guy’s eye.

Finn’s face-off with Phasma, and the part where her helmet breaks just showing her eye, and she calls him scum, and he so proudly says “Rebel scum.” Like what a power move OMF. And she falls to a fiery death.

The red under the salt was such an aesthetic for that final battle.

When Luke brushes off his shoulder after his Force projection was hit with a billion lasers LMFAO.

The whole stand-off between Luke and Kylo Ren. It reminded me a lot of Obi-Wan and Vader in A New Hope.

Luke's death was a satisfying one. I definitely figured he'd be dying, so I wasn't surprised when it happened. I was just concerned it wouldn't feel... complete? Like you know that feeling when writers kill off characters just for the sake of getting them out of the way, or for shock value? But this really did feel fitting, and it was a beautiful callback to the famous scene in the first movie, where he looks up at the sunset and the music swells like it does.

Poe’s reunion with BB-8, and rubbing BB-8 like a pet.

Rey’s reunion with Finn and the Resistance, oh my gosh. It just felt all the more powerful after Kylo Ren told her she’s nothing and no one cares about her except him, and like, there’s Finn who literally runs to hug her, and she and Leia exchange a knowing, connected look, and she just fits in so well with the whole crew, like, this is her new family. People do care about her.

Anyway, overall I don't regret watching it at all, and I will with certainty watch it again. I just, very plain and simply, did not enjoy it as much as the last one. And I hope the third one gets more of that spark, if you will, back.

#star wars #the last jedi #tlj #tlj spoilers #movie thoughts #anti reylo #whoops this was drafted and forgotten about #anyway here it is a few months late

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sparda3g · 6 years

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Gintama Chapter 675 Review

youtube

After the fans practiced the feel of no Gintama for a week, we are back with a new chapter that thankfully didn’t give us a major brain damage. Instead, we got what we expected from our normal prediction with a few new twists that is best to say that we are going to be here for a long time. I’m not going to complain; more Gintama for us. Seriously, this chapter increases my interest with its setting and more questions that have me intrigued to follow.

There was a brief feeling of uncertainty in the first scene with some guy in a Mafia suit because well, I was scarred from Kanna’s reveal. It was building up to his reveal like he was going to be someone we believe we know who he is, only to troll us. Luckily, the man behind the suit is in fact Sougo, only now he has his own gang. The good news is Sougo is back. The bad news is Sougo is back.

Interestingly though maybe not surprising, he attacks Shinpachi and the kids like they’re his target, even though it is Katsura that they should target at. I got to credit Shinpachi for dodging those bullets swiftly as well as protecting Tamako. It’s worth noting that Kanna did her own saving, so the Yato bloodline is an amazing perk for kids. It’s great to see Sougo and of course, he didn’t die. That would have killed fans. His disappearance remains unanswered; at least until after the next scene.

The gag scene with an awful drawing of Takasugi is hilarious. This has to be a reference to One Piece gag scene; only this one has its own way to bring in the laughter. Gintoki either can’t draw a person accurately or he’s trolling hard, he does go around asking for help to find him. The best part is where he found a guy with the same look as the picture and yet, he bad mouths it like it’s not his business.

What’s funnier is his family has the same face but pay no mind that they’re identical. It made it better that it went casually and never really point out the obvious from anyone. I got a good laugh from that small scene. Eventually, Gintoki does find Takasugi in a feud with strangers. I would have thought he was going to show more sinister vibe of his to gives us more insight of his agenda. Nope. It wasn’t him.

I laughed so much at the reveal because it’s Takechi behind the disguise, yet I should have known better. The buildup was the guy bashing him about women being disappointed; somehow I missed that cue. The running gag never fails to make me laugh. Gintoki just pummel him like he is going to finish him off where the War failed to do so.

Once Matako shows up, I was back to focusing on the potential drama for we finally see Kiheitai in the scene again. I was ready for a serious talk with them since Gintoki did encounter Takasugi. But nope, Gintoki got another serious question in mind. He was very curious of Matako, but not actual her, rather her movie counterpart.

Apparently, there was “something” from her towards Shinpachi in the live-action, which is funny because I have the blu-ray copy and I haven’t seen it as of this time of writing. After what Gintoki said, I’m pretty curious now. There’s a good innuendo joke that thankfully the note was written to understand completely. The joke is just him being him but in a funny way. What a way to break the serious moment there.

The chapter shifts back to Shinpachi and his more or less battle against Sougo. He does pretty well for evading all of his attack, so that’s a good progress. He doesn’t fight back because that’s not his intention, which I respect that. Sougo does want to test out his strength after two years for entertainment purposes. Well, that’s one hell of a way to do so.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the new insight of the current world that really screams for this arc to be lengthy. Sougo’s “death” is only addressed as a metaphor because realistically, they felt cheated from this world. It’s revealed that the Mafia is practically Shinsengumi; even Saitou is there without a mask. It’s rather clever for Sorachi to somehow made Sougo as the leader without dealing with the ranking within Shinsengumi.

What compelled me is what Sougo said about why he left or “died.” The New Government has been controlling the new state of the world behind the scene and when you look over the past chapters, it really does feel like it’s all been a farce. I’m very impressed that Sorachi didn’t go with the typical route of war ending equals happy ending. Tell me, when was the last time the war aftermath doesn’t result to all peace, no problem?

I find this direction very appealing because not only it is going to be on a personal level than the War portion, but it went with a realistic route of not everything would result happiness. Utsuro wasn’t wrong when he said that life will have many hardship and suffering even without him. This revelation made his words truthful; making a villain credible is worth admiring. Now I really want to know how this would be resolved. This also could connect to the last part of this chapter.

It is funny that despite some truthful words about the lies and conspiracy from the New Government, Sougo has created a new organization that surely doesn’t scream evil. If anything, without the law of Shinsengumi, let alone in general, he is now free to be as sinister as he wants to be. Hell, he’s looking more like the main final villain of the arc; that’s how much darkness he’s showing. There must be more to his agenda behind this Mafia thingy, but right now, he’s a savage beast that wants to kill.

Maybe it’s because of the design, but Kanna is adorable here yet she was being rather thoughtful and taunting in a way towards Sougo. She didn’t feel any bloodlust from him at all, so she didn’t get what’s dangerous about that. Wow, that is some fighting words you’re spouting. Sougo swings his sword at her, but she’s taunting him further while standing on his sword. Sorachi knows how to make a kickass child.

For what it’s worth, the action is pretty neat for what it is. The artwork is solid with choreograph of evasive maneuvers. Kanna was easily dodging his move and even called him a disappointment. She must have motivated him to fight at his best for being reminded of Kagura. Another interesting piece is Sougo dropping another mystery by mentioning “other.” It appears that Katsura won’t be the only target and whoever other is it could be a sign of a real focus coming in play. I’m really absorbed with this new plot.

It’s an appealing approach to have two focuses going at once and it does feel like both are slowly tying-in together. It ends with Gintoki being sincere and somewhat protective for Takasugi. I do like the connection from the last arc with Kiheitai never dissolved; only gone away for a moment. I do hope they reunite to shed the light on why Takasugi left. It’s a bit eerie for Gintoki to not call him living.

The most touching scene is when Gintoki defends Takasugi and it’s not only because of his defense. Despite the hidden feelings behind Takasugi’s action, Gintoki understands his motive or at least has the best idea on why he split up and tries to attract no one’s interest. It’s obvious that he’s trying his way to cleanse his past; it’s just hard to understand his action and why that path.

What really stuck me is not only Gintoki was defending him in a way; he’s actually speaking from his heart because he can relate to him. By that, I mean splitting up from his family. When he reminds himself from his farewell to Yorozuya, there’s that sense of possible regret or action that he must take care of without others to be involved. It’s a past that they feel that the present should not intervene for it is their own personal demon they must cleanse for good.

I seriously love where this is going. We have Shinpachi who is struggling to move forward to a new path while Gintoki is struggling to move forward from his past. That subtle expression of him believing their loved ones stopping them would be the best option speaks volume of his feelings. Two years and they got no real progress in their life. At least Kagura got a child. But seriously, it’s only matter of time for her coming in to bring the balance and hopefully, the payoff will be the best that any series could offer me right now.

The ending is interesting because Gintoki is under attack. Honestly, I thought it was just a one-time moment with Hijikata’s men, but this surprised me that he’s really being targeted. The only question is who. I am grasping the feeling that the New Government may want to wipe him out because maybe we are back to the period before Amanto’s Invasion.

This was a pretty compelling chapter to read with a good amount of comedy moments. It’s good to see Sougo back in action, despite being even more devilish. The art is clean and the comedy is well delivered. The buildup for this arc is getting really interesting. The personal scene with Gintoki is touching and sincere. I feel that this is going to be a real personal arc and honestly, that’s the best option to end the series with.

#gintama #chapter 675 #review

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leio13 · 7 years

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I was Tagged!!! Thrice!!! (Holy Cow...)

I’m back with 33 more questions to answer! I was gonna make a joke last time about it being the ultimate get-to-know-me post, but I guess not. Good thing I held off on that joke, huh.

1. Post the rules

2. Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

3. Write 11 questions of your own

4. And tag 11 people

First, I was tagged by the lovely @missmizpah! Thanks, Emily!

1. Opinion on nuts?

Nuts are alright. Honey nut roasted peanuts though are more than alright. They are some good stuff.

2. Favorite book genre?

Hmm... I don’t really have a favorite genre. I’m really picky about books and a lot of other things honestly but my pickiness applies to all genres. I just like books with complex characters really.

3. Worst injury/illness?

I don’t actually get seriously injured that often; however, there was this one time I dropped my metal water bottle on my thumb. It hurt like hell and there was some blood under the nail. No big deal, right? That’s what I thought too. And I don’t really remember the transition that well, but in a few days, the area under my thumb nail was a navy blue and swelling out under the nail. a lot. It was probably one of the grossest things I’ve seen. good thing my mom took before and after pictures before they drained it. Don’t worry though. I won’t be posting those here.

4. What attracts you to someone platonically?

Er... kindness, loyalty, respect, AKA the really cliche stuff, and uh, chivalry, I guess. Treat me like a princess (for some reason) and you’re halfway there!

5. What was the last dream you had?

I had an interesting dream about Ouma from NDRv3. I went to his house which was more of a shack since his single parent family was super poor. His dad said that Ouma was actually a good boy (I have doubts). Ouma owned a crap ton of rainbow shark plushies (he really liked sharks apparently), and some bad dudes who were pissed at Ouma chased us back to the school (which was apparently a safe place that we wanted to be at). I skipped some details, but that was basically it. Also, keep in mind that I’ve only seen up to the death of chapter 2 (haven’t even started the investigation yet), so I kind of just made these details up in my dream and don’t spoil me. Orz.

6. Are you someone who eats cough drops like candy?

I haven’t had cough drops since I was in eighth grade and thought was I was having an asthma attack and my inhaler wasn’t working. In hindsight, it was a panic attack, but I recall the cough drop working a bit strangely enough. Anyway, I don’t really eat cough drops, no.

7. Native language?

English.

8. What size shoes do you wear?

Size 8 apparently. I think some of my shoes are a 7 1/2 though.

9. What is your current hair length?

Around my shoulders.

10. One habit you’re sure is specific to you?

I don’t know if I have any habits that are specific to me. um... I don’t really like the part of the utensil which you stick in your mouth touching anything besides me, my plate, or a napkin, so I tend to hold utensils in my mouth (knives excluded, duh because they don’t go in your mouth). It’s kind of a habit now, I guess. Does that count?

11. How far would you swim out into the ocean?

Negative feet. I’m not going in the ocean. There are things in there that I want nothing to do with such as seaweed, angry crabs that I could accidentally step on, sharp rocks or shells, sharks, jellyfish, etc.

Next, @excitable-nugget‘s questions! Thanks a bunch, Gnugs!

1. If you could have one sense enhanced, what would it be?

Definitely not taste. Tastes are wonderful (or some of them at least), but I’m already picky as it is, so I don’t really want more tastes to discriminate against. Touch probably wouldn’t be such a good idea either since I get startled easily and tongue (one picky dude, I tell you) is actually pretty sensitive to food textures too. Smell wouldn’t be bad except sometimes when I’m sick, everything smells like vomit, so I don’t really want to risk that being enhanced. Overall, I’m gonna go with sight (yes, I did skip hearing. I didn’t have much to say about it). Better vision in the dark could be pretty lit. Might also help ease some of my night paranoia. 2. Can you link your hands behind your back with one over the shoulder and one under? (like this)

One way. I can do it with my right hand reaching over. Kind of freaked me out though. I wasn’t ready for my hands to meet like that even if it was the goal. 3. Favourite colour to wear, or your favourite colour in general?

Favorite color to wear? Black. I just own a lot of black. Favorite color in general? Orange. 4. What was your internet pseudonym when you were 12-14?

It was Leio13. I’ve been Leio13 for as long as I’ve been on the internet. 5. What’s your favourite meat-based dish? If you don’t eat meat, what’s your favourite dish in general?

My favorite meat dish is steak. It’s just sooooo good. 6. Would you rather be known as wise or strong?

Probably wise. I used to think I was super smart as a kid, but now I feel pretty average and/or stupid/incompetent, so it would be nice for that feeling to come back. 7. What’s your favourite physical feature about yourself?

Probably my hair even if it knots excessively when no one wants it to. 8. Would you rather explore the ocean depths or space?

The ocean is such a vibrant, beautiful place! I love underwater images and would love to see it in person, but it would have to be in a submarine or something because I’m not going out there with only a wet suit protecting my flesh. 9. What’s your favourite snack food?

This is hard... I eat so many snacks. Hmm... I’m feeling ritz bitz. 10. If you could make one thing from fiction (e.g. a character, a place, a food, a machine) real, what would it be?

I don’t really have any deep answers here, but I think Odasaku (as he is in Bungou Stray Dogs) and his orphans being real would be really sweet. They’d be such a cute family. #familygoals 11. Is Australia real or just a conspiracy?

Australia? don’t know her.

Finally, I was tagged by the wonderful @chom-raaa! Thanks, Chomra!

1. Heroes gone bad or villains becoming good?

How could I choose???? They’re both so fantastic!! Wonderful character development opportunities abound with both!! ...that being said, while I appreciate the psychology of both of them, I tend to side with the good guys, so if all you wonderful villains could join the side I support, I guess that would be better.

2. Did you ever get in trouble in school? When was the last time and what was it about?

er... I don’t think so. No wait. One time, we were playing a game in class but my friend and I got out, so we were chatting on the sidelines even though we were supposed to be paying attention to those still playing (this was an ice breaker game). Anyway, the teacher said something about being quiet, and my dense self took it as “you can continue talking but quietly,” so I did. The teacher had to yell again for it to click with me. This was in like 5th grade, but I’m still disappointed in that me. I wasn’t that dense normally in fifth grade.

3. Hot drinks or cold drinks?

cold drinks.

4. Any siblings? Older/younger? Would you have it any other way?

I’ve got two amazing siblings, both older than me! I don’t really think I would want it any other way. I’m content with what I have now.

5. You most prized possession?

My technology and anime merch maybe?

6. What’s a fandom trope that makes you uncomfortable?

hoo boy. Where to begin??? I hate slave AUs (can’t really understand why you would like them). As you probably already know, I dislike smut, so the appeal of A/B/O universes is beyond me entirely. er... sexualizing characters? calling out the soukoku fandom: Chuuya always seems to be the more sexy one who other dudes and Dazai are always eyeing and lusting after. Like, can we appreciate the guy for more than his looks and impeccable fashion taste?? uh... also, Fyodor being depicted as some dude who is dead set on destroying soukoku (usually by the means of torturing Chuuya in some way to hurt Dazai which by the way is just... no.). I’m pretty sure Fyodor has better things to do??? Like kill all ability users?? Er, sorry. Not sure if you wanted specific fandom tropes or not, but uh, yeah.

7. What do find attractive in a fictional character?

BLAZERS!!

If you meant personality wise, I like passionate, kind characters, and also the mysterious, probably misunderstood type.

8. If could bring a character back to life but sacrifice another character in return (major-ish characters for those fandoms with a big cast), who would you choose?

Bringing back Odasaku, sending Fyodor to hell where he belongs. Of course, I wouldn’t actually because as much as I cry over the events of the dark era, I know that these things needed to happen for Dazai to end up where he is currently.

You know what? Better idea: still bringing back Odasaku but killing Lovecraft. The dude should’ve died after Chuuya destroyed him. I’m still bitter about his survival even if his parting scene was hilarious.

9. Long fics or short fics? In terms of both reading and writing?

I’m typically hesitant to read long fics because I have difficulty keeping up or finishing things. I bet there are a plethora of interesting long fics out there that I haven’t clicked on because I fear my motivation might die before I finish them. Likewise, it takes me centuries to write long fics, but I do really admire the art! Creating a complex story that spans over chapters is an epic feat that should not be underestimated. That being said, I do love short fics too! Short fics that still fill me with intense emotions are an equally epic thing. Like, how do you get so many feels in so little words???

10. Are you content with who you are?

haha nah. There are a lot of things about me that I wish were better. For one, i wish my motivation actually existed. I’m so unmotivated to do anything, even the littlest of things. Even things that I know would be fun. I just can’t convince myself to do them... Orz. Er... There are more things, but I don’t want to make this super sad. You came here for memes, not angst! Maybe not, but anyway...

11. What is holding you back from getting what you want?

I don’t know what this thing I want is referring to, but I’d bet 5000 imaginary monies that its my motivation or anxiety that’s interfering.

Thanks for the wonderful questions, y’all! <3

Now, it’s my turn!

er... actually, I’m not feeling any creative question vibes, so if I tag you, please refer to the questions of the last time did this meme (psst! over here!). Without further ado, I’m tagging @haruki-00, @dusttodawnn, @melrw22, @bandaged-chessmaster, @ai-san-arts, @4nimenut, @96percentdone, @monokumamastermind, @sadtiredbaby, @wymoup-nox, and @yesterdayohhowimissit! As usual, only do it if you want, and do it if you want but you weren’t tagged.

#I was tagged!#sorry for that negativity at the end #orz #I had things to say in the tags but I have them no longer it would seem #I forgot #what's new?

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geeksrs545 · 6 years

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20 Christmas Toys That Have Become Classics

You say the word Christmas to any kid, they think of one thing: Christmas toys.

For the past 30 years, there has been a major 'toy of the year' every year that every parent needs to get their kid to assure they keep up with the Joneses and meet the 'kid status quo'. Though these toys differ greatly from generation to generation, they have one thing in common. Grown ass adults would literally be willing to actually fight over them in the store to get them for their kids. Adults acting like kids to get their kids gifts that make them act less like adults.

Related: The 25 Most Valuable Old Toys (You May Still Have!)

Kind of a funny cycle, really.

So when thinking back on my own childhood, there were many popular Christmas toys for kids that I got those years and now in hindsight, I wonder in terror if my parents had to assault any other adults to obtain them for me. Good thing I know better about them than that. All that said, here are a list of 20 Christmas toys from over the last thirty years that have become toy classics (some very much still selling to this day).

This list is numbered for your convenience but presented in no particular order.

20) Zhu Zhu Pets

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Who who WHATS? I'm gonna do some quick research to find out what these things are.

*Comes back wholly unimpressed

They are just stuffed animals that move and do some basic crap is all. Run a maze and push a ball, WOOHOO!

But when you are writing a list about Christmas toys that got big, one would not necessarily call Zhu Zhu Pets “classic toys”, but in 2009 and 2010, if you were a little kid and did not get one of these, apparently you threw a tantrum.

Keep in mind, a literal HAMSTER cost less than these fake ones.

God, kids have gotten so lame.

19) Anything Branded by Apple

Apple has become the go-to brand to make yourself seem superior to others, so anything Apple has dropped (especially the iPod) was and is always the big gift to give that year.

Why do you think they make their OWN software obsolete so frequently? Because us sheep keep on buying it, so they keep doing it. But since the iPod (and iPhone and iPad and – one more thing…) dropped, Apple has essentially owned every Christmas simply by updating their software and making their older stuff obsolete.

Hey, if it ain't broke, break it and then sell it back slightly upgraded for triple the cost. Good for them. We would all do it and get rich that way if we could, don't even play.

18) Atari 2600 (and All Video Game Consoles Thereafter)

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You cannot mention Christmas toys for kids without bringing up the impact that the Atari home console had on gaming. It really was the console that kicked off this world's love of home systems, as it was the most powerful home console we had seen up to that time.

It also set the tone for the console wars in the forthcoming years, which would see MANY Christmases being met with requests for the newest game consoles, still to this day! And now that they are coming out at around $500 a pop, the request becomes more and more unreasonable, unfortunately.

17) Barbie

I hope you did not expect this to be gender-specific. A fad is fad, despite what gender plays with it, and in this case, to not call Barbie a classic toy would be to undermine just how much this toy changed the game for young girls (and even some boys).

It would also be foolish to bring up a list of classic and retro toys and NOT mention Barbie. Hell, I feel the odd urge to mention her 'Dream House' and I don't even know why.

Moving on…

16) Gi-Joe

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See, everyone gets represented so relax. Gi-Joe was to young boys what Barbie was to young girls. The best part is, Gi-Joe had a 50-year run (that is still going, much like Barbie, Hasbro know what they're doing).

Starting in the sixties as more of a shout out to the American soldier, over the years they took on a life of their own, and their popularity has made them a classic Christmas gift for all the young boys and girls in your life who like to pretend to blow things up.

Also see Transformers. I put them in the same category and love them ALMOST equally, but Michael Bay kinda ruined the Transformers for me (and probably you, too), so Gi-Joe lands the spot.

Deal with it.

15) Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin was one of the dopest Christmas toys I ever got. He was a Teddy Bear who was animatronic and you could put cassette tapes into his back and his mouth would move and he would sing you songs and joke with you and shit. It was cool and kinda creepy at the same time.

It was also creepy AF to put Black Sabbath tapes in his back and see him try to lip-sync along with darkly Satanic sounding music.

Good way to freak out your parents after the fact, too.

14) Easy-Bake Oven

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Though more of a “conditioning method” than a toy (hey, give this to young girls to teach them to be subservient housewives, great message to send) but the truth is, my sister had one, and we would sit there for hours watching a single lightbulb try to make a single, tiny cupcake that was the size of a single bite.

In hindsight, it is hilarious, but at the time it was the bomb. But really, it is literally like a ten-watt lightbulb that cooks one cupcake over nine hours time, and the cupcake is bite-sized. So it taught girls how to cook AND become anorexic.

Good times!

13) The Pogo Stick

The 70's were a weird time. At one point, “pet rocks” were a thing. I think a lot of 70's toy fads are a direct result of all the drugs people were on in that decade. One example of classic toys that blew up over Christmas time in the 70's and 80's is the Pogo stick.

If you don't know, it is a giant stick you bounce up and down on. Yup, that's about it.

But it was so big at one point that you could leave your house Christmas morning, look down your street, and see twelve other kids (and adults) in their driveways trying to bounce like Tigger.

Like I said, the 70's and 80's were weird times, man.

12) Beanie Babies

Hey, remember that crappy moment in time when almost all the world was obsessed with collecting, tiny stuffed animals called Beanie Babies?

Yeah, unfortunately, so do I. Enough said about that.

Moving on…

11) Pogs

I will admit, I never really “got” pogs, but that doesn't mean in the 90's you could go anywhere without seeing them. Kids were obsessed with collecting them and dueling and shit.

I guess it could be said that things like Pokemon wouldn't be as popular today had pogs not set the tone for something similar years earlier.

To me, it just always looked like kids slamming things on a table, so I never saw the draw, but MILLIONS did, and that is why it makes the list (even though it is more like a stocking stuffer).

10) Bratz Dolls

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Listen, I don't like it any more than any of you. I tend to think Bratz dolls kind of emphasize little girls being slutty, but that is just my opinion. Regardless of how I feel, this was another 90's-2000's toy that was just the IT toy for young girls for quite a few years.

And you know what, I don't slut shame. Screw it, you want to buy your son or daughter a tiny girl that looks like a stripper, that is all on you. More power to them, frankly.

I sold my kids into slavery so I don't have to worry about that crap anymore.

9) Anything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Whenever you are bringing up Christmas toys for kids you know pop culture is gonna get brought into it, and when the TMNT got huge in the 90's, they had one of the most financially successful toy lines ever, because everyone wanted them.

And the kicker is, if you did get any of those 90's TMNT toys and still have them, they are worth a pretty penny now.

8) Tickle-Me-Elmo

Why kids wanted to tickle a heavy, robotic muppet was always kind of beyond me, but it was supposed to be, that was not my demographic. That fad kicked in when I was already an adult, so I can't relate to the desire for this thing, but sure enough, Elmo had a run of many Christmas' in the 90's and on, from Rock n' Roll Elmo to Tumbling Elmo to the “Stab and then run away” Elmo as seen above.

Honestly, the only reason we are no longer inundated with Elmo toys is because of this terrible story.

Glad it all worked out in the end, no pun intended.

7) Razor Scooters

First it was BMX bikes and then skateboards. Now it seems everyone 12 and under wanted to be seen busting nasty spin-tricks on their scooters.

But I can't have any gripes with this one. It got kids back outside and doing physical shit which we see all too infrequently these days as more and more kids choose to hide away in virtual reality.

Those weird hoverboards from a few years back almost took this spot but they started catching fire so that fad died as quickly as the people using it did.

Boom goes the dynamite.

6) Furby

Ah, from the very depths of Hell comes this furry beast. Mocking your family non-stop in gibberish. Waking people up from dead sleeps for no reason. Screaming to be fed, but fed WHAT?

NEVER understood the allure of these sick little bastards, but that seems to be a running theme here.

5) Tamagotchi

Another one of those retro toys that EVERYONE had at one point and another example of a virtual life kids had to keep alive as a pastime. How is that FUN?

Honestly, I also never understood this fad. I don't want kids in the least and can barely keep MYSELF alive so why do I need a virtual pet that essentially exists only to annoy and worry me?

No idea, but a LOT kids loved these things.

P.S. The Tamagotchi is back – new 2017 versions available. Seriously.

4) Nintendo Wii

I know I already shouted out consoles on the list, but the Wii was something different. The year it came out, every person got one, from young to old. Nintendo went and redefined gaming, making it more accessible to all ages, families, and groups again. It was cool to witness and be a part of.

This was actually one of my fave toy fads from Christmas' past simply because it got EVERYONE hanging out and having fun again, and that hadn't happened since the old days of board games.

3) Anything Star Wars Related, the Older the Better

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This one was a given. The main toy I was going to mention was the Darth Vader head for carrying all your Star Wars figures (oh, cuz Darth Vader was a “headcase”, hahaha, well played).

Though there have been many Star Wars toys that have been popular, that is the one that is worth the most money now, especially if you have it filled with all the figures.

You are talking BIG BUCKS if you still have one. Like “put a kid through med school” money.

2) Anything Pokemon

Though kind of generic to say ANYTHING Pokemon, you guys and gals all know it's true. From the Gameboy games to the toys and the clothes, Pokemon is more than just a toy line for many. It is an obsession.

The weirdest part here is, these things have been big since I was a kid, and you RARELY see a toy stay that famous for that long without major changes. It is actually kind of impressive, TBH, and Pokemon Go proved this series still has a lot of life left (and a lot of Christmas dollars to still get you to spend).

Finally, the one you were all waiting for…..

1) Cabbage Patch Dolls

One cannot mention Christmas toys that became classics and not mention the mother of all classic collectible and the toy that kind of started the crazy Christmas phase when parents would kill to buy their kids gifts.

My overall thought on that is, if you need to fight another adult to make your kid happy, you raised your kid wrong. Real talk.

But Hell, even I had a Cabbage Patch Kid. His name was Skipper Anthony, he was a Premie (why the fuck was I getting fake premature babies to play with?) and for no reason, I grew up to buy the adult outfit version of what he wore, so apparently, that little f*cker made some HUGE impression on me.

(Tan corduroy jacket, blue shirt, jeans, and soon enough, the bald head, too).

Now for those looking for a list of more CURRENT gifts, we've got you covered there, too. You're welcome.

The 25 MUST-HAVE Xmas Gifts of 2017

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elkian · 7 years

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Chapter 18: Holy shit suddenly we’re in the not-endgame

the thing about that sidequest is that what little build up to this end-of-Part-1 kind of deal there was is completely obliterated. The sidequest probably should have been placed after chapter 15 or 16, really, or even before that.

(also, the Inuyasha main BGM is playing during this, it’s interesting, and not entirely inappropriate)

I will say that Blazer’s sense of gameplay and gameplay lead-up (especially in when you can gain items) is pretty good, though.

Also, Here’s the more completionist LP by Blastinus if you like more detail

there is a metric buttload of foes on the field, though thankfully they’re mostly sporting E and D rank weaponry; some of the archers have Long or Short Bows, there’s a cav with a Cappricio (the low-hit crit lance) up top, and a knight with a Short Spear, but other than that it’s fairly generic.

We’ll be bringing Cia for plot reasons; speaking of which, those levels last chapter will serve Anakin well, since he’s due for a Plot Promotion at the end of this chapter. One nice thing is that if your Anakin didn’t turn out really combat-viable, you can still grind him up to level 20 by Motivating people.

Considering I’m fielding 16 units, another healer probably would have been a good idea. Especially when Corben can’t outdamage our Archer.

...man, Lirin’s doing the same fucking damage with a SLIM LANCE

i have her take down the archer instead, and her first hit is a crit. Beautiful.

there’s a Sage with Thunder and 2x the magic of most of the mages in the middle of the map, lest you get complacent

Shon lands 4 of 4 shots at 86% and only gets hit once. I’m kind of proud!

Ehh, still kind of proud. I’ve been so starved for Skill levels that this is fine with me.

the Knight in range of Emma decided to loop around to take a potshot at the now-healed Shuuda. Whatever.

now we’re talking. Shuuda went from being equal to venom blades with steel to outdamaging Steel with Iron. It’s all in your foe.

in both of my attempts as well as Blastinus’ LP, this Allied Merc is just invincible. They dodge two attacks entirely and take about 2 damage from the third attacker.

that upper Cavalier on the left moves before the mage, saving Corben some burning - there’s no space to attack from now. And that Cav didn’t have a ranged option.

the generics were going to kill a sniper, so cia runs over the finish them for....

anyways

starting to regret not training Tekun. We break out the Lancereaver instead (and I really should have grabbed the Armorcutter earlier)

a) Mark can double this poor sod

b) look at the fucking size difference, it’s like they were built on different scales

idk it’s just jarring.

I possibly-foolishly free up the chokepoint in front of Corben for a pretty okay level.

I have no idea why you are so hell-bent on gaining resistance, but I will not argue.

Also, the sheer amount of Skill makes me so happy.

Supporting Ace with both Eduardo and Anakin may work out well, since it means he either has a high-Move decent frontliner watching his back, or that our squishy mage of a protagonist has a physical unit nearby

Also, Eduardo is getting better Hit with WTD and Steel thanks to Javelins being heavy and the support. And just Ed being Ed.

Refresh Units+Healers is always a great combo, and this is an astounding level.

good thing Ed has so much HP, cause he can’t dodge worth squat at the moment

ow. Mark missing both counterattacks is also an Ow moment.

it takes something like 7 collective attacks, but dodgy Merc is brought down.

Ace’s high luck and HP makes this viable. Good thing, too, cause he takes the hit.

Tekun kills the Knight for an okay level.

i don’t know whether to be mad he didn’t crit or glad he landed both hits

i leave Emma in kind of a bad spot, and she gets a level to help mitigate my fears (she’s carrying the Guiding Celestial Ring but I didn’t think to throw her a Fire tome)

this cav rides over to... deal her No Damage.

weirdest. troubadour. ever.

Zach kills the cav and breaks into double digits with an okay level.

keep in mind that at level 14, Corben has 2 less Strength

the cav that’s been harassing Tekun is much less scary against someone with defense and no WTD

are... are you fucking with me, Ben?

this is the second time this phase that a sword user has missed on high-70s odds

and again!

Emma caps out with - sure.

this boss’s palette is just... bad.

this mage did more damage than a cavalier with a sword

worried now

dodging a hand axe gives eduardo... even more HP and slightly more dodge

so Noah is supposed to appear here instead of this NPC, but i’ve never gotten it to trigger and I don’t know why.

Itsuke takes some heat off Cia for a pretty solid level.

all those Res levels pay off.

I was wrong about her promotion item somehow, but anyways, Emma promotes. Look at those defenses!

Mark’s been taking potshots at the first boss, and it pays off okay.

i don’t do this, but again, HP-Luck-Res levels are underrated

i’ll take it

what hurts even more than the lance is the miss on the first counter.

uh oh

fuck

reload

my last save was apparently several turns ago

Mark gets the HP-STR-DEF level again

one nice thing is that for some reason the enemy AI prioritizes attacking Allied units, so I can use them for a bit of a screen

(the downside is that allies will gank kills on enemies you were planning to feed on your phase)

that is fucking weird but okay

(it’s literally his alternate level inverted)

Shon crits on the first hit and subsequently buries this fucker, taking no damage in the process (and jumping to 99 EXP)

there’s something so hilarious about an Archer killing a General with an Iron Bow, 2 damage a hit, 52% hit chance.

this.... this is a peg knight level minus the skill.

where Eduardo failed with 3 out of 4 55% Charge attacks, Ace manages with one 53% Javelin. Whatever.

One thing that’s interesting and good attention to detail is that there’s actually 3 enemy factions: Ft. Darner, Magnians in general, and Howard’s Unit (Hwd’s Unit)

it’s been a while since i’ve used Kelik, and enemies are just homing in on him. somehow he’s been avoiding 65%+ hits so far.

Shon fails to hit the Thunder Sage but gets a dodgy level for his troubles. Also, Jesus, that Strength.

This enemy archer was in range of Ben because I am a fucking genius (Lirin has the Delphi Shield) but decided to attack an Allied AI instead.

possibly because it couldn’t OHKO him? idk

Ace’s first level in quite a while. He’s the first on our team to cap speed, and Luck and Defense ain’t bad.

I grab Tekun and Kelik’s C Support. (Wind and Fire.)

an Allied AI baited the Sage over - Lirin takes a chip at him for a strange but good level

see, now I have to deal with this

Eduardo brings us home and nets 60 EXP in the process

Tekun kills a cav for an excellent level

and then almost dies to my carelessness. I can’t even be mad that he missed on 75%

this random-ass NPC has a Brave Sword, btw

sure

look at this shit. Howard is EXTREMELY dangerous - his attack’s always in the 30s and his base Speed is 20, so you need to make sure whoever’s in his way can live through that. He’s also got one of each physical weapon (sans bows) so getting WTA is tough

That NPC baits him into using his Spear, but that’s not a bad thing - in my previous play, all the Allies zerg-rushed Howard, and he expended something like half his Spear uses on them. We’re going to be employing that plan again.

Yes, Kelik (plus Tekun and a Javelin-wielding Ace) is our bait. He’s got the HP to tank a hit, the Speed to not be doubled, and just enough luck (+crit dodge from his support) not to chance being critted.