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thedelusionreaderbitch · 3 years

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Kaz Brekker x alkemi Reader - Strange Truths

A/n: This was so fun to do and me being an Alkemi really was happy with this request! Thank you! I'm so sorry it took so long though!

Warnings: None? Needles?

Request: ok ok so i have an idea- a kaz brekker x alkemi reader where kaz accidentally drinks one of the reader's newest chemical (prolly cause jesper slipped it into his drink) and it makes him super flustered and vv talkative and the reader has to keep him in their lab until they can finish the antidote and kaz tells the reader he likes them right after he takes the antidote so the reader realizes he's actually serious-

I do not own six of crows or shadow and bone or you!

Most people underestimated alkemi's but once they did it once they would not do it again. Kaz Brekker knew that alkemi's could just be as dangerous as a squaller all the way to a shadow or sun summoner if they were powerful enough. To be fair, very few were that powerful but most could kill you slowly and far worse than a heartrender so...

But you were a very powerful alkmei- one of the most powerful to ever live and that was why you are part of the crows. You can fight just fine, but the dregs had seemed to be getting very creative with their ways of killing to getting information and this was all thanks to you.

Though not all appreciated your talents.

Nina has grown up thinking that the alkemi's were weak was a part of those few, Inej just didn't understand you, Jesper understood but was still trying to come to terms with his own Grisha powers, Wylan thought you were amazing and Matthias was just flat out scared.

But that all changed when one day you poisoned a whole army.

Oh, Kaz was just... Happy? No one really knew, but sometimes he just seemed a bit more satisfied about how things were going with you around. Unfortunately for you, that meant he had to spend a bit more time around you trying to come up with more ideas. And that would have been just fine if it weren't for the fact that you were falling helplessly in love with Dirtyhands.

Ya, fuck.

Lately, you had been conjuring up something new in that lab of yours in the basement of the Slat. It was almost like a truth potion but not quite, it was to make it easier to get information out of its victims but not enough to notice.

Officially it was finished and you were going to go tell Kaz but you realized today everyone was going to be at the Crow Club. Just your luck that you hated socializing.

You sigh but you quickly grab the elixir and start running to the Club. Being late to a meeting was never really your foreté.

Finding finally the Crows even with the sea of people around you spot them when you meet Kaz's eyes. Of course, you had to meet his eyes. You go and sit down beside him as everyone had already decided on their drinks.

"Y/n's getting them this time since she's late!" Jesper grins in triumph as you just roll your eyes. It doesn't matter you guessed he was almost always going to be the one late so you figured it wouldn't matter if you had done it this one time. Besides, it would give the sharpshooter (and his boyfriend) a break for once.

Getting up from your seat you walk towards the bar and ask for everyone's drinks. He hands you them and you talk to the bartender as you walk back towards the group.

"I'm your waiter for one time only, don't get used to it."

Kaz just clears his throat and starts talking about a plan that's really in reality just a decoy because of Inej's intel there would be Dime Lion spies in the Crow Club today.

And why not take that to your advantage?

Suddenly Kaz stops talking and you lift an eyebrow at him. He just shakes his head and the others just shrug their shoulders and start a different conversation.

For a bit, you do engage in conversation with the other Crows but Kaz just seemed different? Like he was trying not to burst out talking or something?

"Dirtyhands, you good?"

Instantly his face flushed a bright pink and he stutters out;

"Ya-ya fine. Totally fine, everything's good. Go back to whatever I guess. Just leave me alone and do your work you shouldn't have even asked, so can you please-" He cut himself off and flushed (what you didn't even know was possible) red even brighter.

What the- You always called Kaz Dirtyhands as more as a nickname than a mean term almost like a term of endearment. Although he didn't know that he never had even blinked when you used the little nickname more than necessary so why was he now?

Also to add to that fact, was that you really never called him Kaz. It was mostly to keep yourself in check so you didn't get used to him too much. It was more like reminding yourself that you both weren't on a first-name basis even if you already were.

Narrowing your eyes, you can see that his pupils are slightly dilated and that he's bitting down on his tongue really hard to stop himself from talking. This wasn't just Kaz Brekker flustered, there was something else going on here. And you had to figure at fast before the Dime Lion spies did, or if they already had.

"Brekker, I need to you answer me honestly okay?" You lower your voice and you soften your tone like you would with your targets to get information out of them. You didn't like doing it, but it was the price to pay for his safety.

He just bobs his head up and down trying not to say anything.

"What have you ingested today?"

"Just the drink. Not anything else, being that I forg-" He cuts himself off from his whisper-rant covering his hand over his mouth.

"You haven't eaten today!" Accidently you raise your voice and the anger and concern shine through your usual stone-cold tone.

Kaz widens his eyes and gives you a look to shut the fuck up. He was still the Bastard of The Barrel after all.

Wait, now that you think about it...

You reach into your pocket for your newly brewed elixir and when you take it out it almost confirms it for you.

The lid is open.

Oh, fuck maybe it's better not to cure Kaz because you might just die after this.

It all made sense now though; talkative, flustered, overused & exaggerated facial expressions, looseness of the tongue. Those were all symptoms and you hadn't even noticed.

Well... At least you knew it worked and it was effective. Very effective... Fucking hell Kaz really is going to kill you now.

Grabbing onto his coat sleeve (being extra careful not to touch his skin) you drag him out of the crow club away from the prying eyes of everyone and the shouts of 'what the hell!' From your friends.

Quickly you drag him to the basement of the Slat where all your potions, bombs, machines, elixirs, poisons and most importantly supplies are.

"You can sit there." You point at a chair in the back of the room that basically had a view of everything.

"You better make me an antidote or I swear to-"

You cut him off before he says something he'll regret later. "Go sit your ass down Dirtyhands and let the real Grisha do their magic."

He flushes again and walks over to the chair but not without muttering under his breath how Grisha cannot do magic. And how their abilities work and etc.

By the saints! Now you really didn't want to reverse that chemical elixir, he just sounded really cute. But who the fuck are you kidding? This is Kaz Brekker we're talking about and you just thought of him as cute.

Welp, this is getting interesting.

Quickly you mix some ingredients together trying really hard to go as swift as you can. No one could see Brekker like this it would kill his reputation.

You look down at the antidote and you curse under your breath. This was going to need a needle. Oh fuck, you might as well just die right there.

Hurrying over to your cabinet you quickly go through the vials wondering what size you would need till you found the perfect one. It wasn't very big, and because it was fabrikator made he wouldn't even feel a pinch. But at the same time, it would hold your elixir even if it was a very tiny vial.

"Brekker, your gonna have to put your arm up for me."

You don't turn around knowing that this probably could be your death right here in your lab. At least Kaz Brekker will kill you so at least that's memorable. You sigh, Kaz Brekkers Alkemi was killed by Dirtyhands himself.

"Why?" Most of the time Kaz would just raise his eyebrow at you but because of the fun chemicals that he had in his body that was not the case.

"You might want to roll up your sleeve as well." You say nervously turning around so the needle was visible.

"Because I'm going to have to use a syringe."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

You slowly walk over and you shake your head.

"Sleeves up."

Kas just grumbles while putting his sleeves up you can tell he's uncomfortable. Now looking back at it you didn't really know how many barrel rats have had needles before, and if they did it probably wasn't good.

"What's your favourite colour?"

He snaps his eyes to meet yours and that's the moment you press the needle in his skin.

As you thought before he didn't flinch but he looked like he wanted to kill you with that stare but his eyes seem to soften with your worried stance.

"It didn't hurt did it?"

Kaz just shakes his head and you sigh in relief. "There shouldn't be any after-effects but I might just check in to see just in case."

He's almost out the door when he stops just at the entrance.

"Your eyes."

You whip your head around to meet his dark eyes.

"What?"

Slowly he comes away from the door frame advancing on you and he shakily takes off a glove and presses his hand against your cheek.

"You asked me what my favourite colour was."

You have convinced yourself that at this moment you have stopped breathing. Nothing else matters but you two of you in this room. The feeling of his hand on your cheek sends butterflies everywhere in you. And you can't stop to think about how beautiful and terrifying those brown nearly black eyes are.

"Boss!" There's a shout from upstairs and he quickly pulls away putting his glove back on.

"So I'll be seeing you around Brekker?"

He rolls his eyes. "You know you can call me Kaz right?"

You laugh as you herd him through the door knowing that he has business to attend to.

"But I think you much prefer when I call you Dirtyhands."

The blush spreads across his cheeks albeit not as strong this time but at least you know it's not from one of your elixirs.

"Only you Y/n only you."

Words 1799

-thedelusionreaderbitch

Shadow and bone taglist: @kaqua @rika90 @thefandomplace @musical-theatre-obsessed-dumbass @gallysonegoodlung @navs-bhat @sumsebien @dontjudgeabookbythecover

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eleutheramina · 4 years

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Michiru & Shirou Thoughts

Binge-watched BNA last night.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was cute and fun to watch. Most of all, I really appreciated the development of Michiru and Shirou’s relationship, and I wanted to write a bit a lot (channeling the former English major in me) because I’m sad there isn’t more content about them, and clearly, the relationship is integral both the narrative and each character's growth. Contains spoilers for BNA.

I want to talk about their relationship in general, but I first want to address what I have perceived as the conventional interpretations of their relationship on the interwebz.

Shipping? Romance?

On one hand, I totally understand many people not seeing them romantically - there's not much explicit evidence for it in the show--no random blushing, no side characters teasing them about their feelings, no kisses or anything close. Indeed, I think anything like that in the show would feel uncharacteristic of both Michiru and Shirou as we know them, especially since they don’t really grow closer until 3/4 of the way through the series. And I also understand that Shirou not only looks older than Michiru, but also is technically a thousand years old and immortal regardless of how childish he may sometimes act, so for many people that’s not acceptable or appealing.

Certain scenes could be construed as having romantic undertones (rather than simply just showing they care for each other, which is pretty incontrovertible)--I’m thinking mostly when Shirou jumps off a building to rescue her in episode 3. While I think this can be also be explained as conveying his general heroism and concern for beastmen, rather than being romantic, I think the inclusion of it in the story and the heightened drama surrounding it adds to an element of romance (I’m reminded of Guts and Casca’s fall in Berserk). Similar things could be said about their confrontation in episode 11.

I also think it's not beyond the realm of possibility (i.e. fanfiction) for there to be romantic development between them down the line, especially with Michiru staying in Animacity, and I personally do ship them because of my personal tastes (the aloof guy with the cheerful girl trope is v appealing to me) and because I love the development of their understanding of one another (which I elaborate on below).

Daddy Shirou?

At the same time, I'm somewhat bewildered by the popular reading of their relationship as one between a father and daughter. I get that it could seem that way from the promotional material, and also that it's cute and maybe mostly a meme (in which case, sorry for taking it seriously), but I honestly think there's not much support in the show for that kind of dynamic in their interactions beyond superficial things, like Shirou being older that Michiru, often protecting her, and giving her food (which happens on-screen, like, once).

Not only that, I think this label feels unnatural because it undermines Michiru's roles in their relationship and makes her seem like someone Shirou needs to care for. Instead, I'd argue that so often (and more and more as the series goes on), Michiru serves as more of an equal to Shirou, and their relationship is one of mutual trust and respect.

This doesn't mean that there aren't obvious power imbalances in their relationship--again, Shirou being older and being a super powerful immortal god, him having close ties to the mayor and literally serving as Michiru's social worker at one point, as well as him generally being more savvy about beastmen and Animacity. Significantly, Michiru also just perceives Shirou as older--in episode 3, she refers to him as an "adult," and in episode 10 she calls him a “stubborn geezer,” suggesting that she recognizes his older age. In contrast, Michiru is apparently 18 and still has high school student vibes, and at the beginning of the series, she clearly is ignorant and naive about many aspects of beastmen life and Animacity.

Despite these things, I think Michiru has power in their relationship because she erodes the dogmatic assumptions that Shirou has about humans and beastmen. This happens as early as episode 2, when Shirou is adamant that it's impossible for Michiru to be a human because "Humans are humans. Beastmen are beastmen." (Indeed, Michiru turns out to be right about most of what she says to him in that scene--her condition is termed as a “disease” later in the series, and there is someone else like her--namely, Nazuna.)

Not only does Michiru have power in their relationship because of this, but Shirou also recognizes Michiru's independence and agency. In episode 4, when he learns that she has left Animacity, he says she can "do what she wants." When the mayor tells him to get retrieve Nina and Michiru, he ruffles his hair, clearly annoyed, suggesting he doesn't see her as his responsibility (beyond, of course, his general concern for beastman wellbeing). He even doesn't go to the party himself to get the girls, but rather asks Michiru to return Nina--and act of trust that Marie even comments on. They also clearly have no qualms about roasting each other, as evidenced at their interchange of insults at the end of the episode. Here, if anything, their relationship resembles bickering siblings more than a father and daughter.

Additionally, we see Michiru growing to be able to hold her own with Shirou in the action sequences. Indeed, Michiru begins to be able to actually help Shirou with the enemies they face as her knowledge of her beastman capacities, rather than just needing to be rescued. I’d say we first see this in episode 7, when Michiru sprouts wings that allow her to save the falling Shirou and also help him catch up with the airborne Pinga. Then we see Michiru stepping up to help Shirou take down the rampaging Yaba in episode 8. Not only does she play an integral role in subduing him--it’s her wings that allow him to be transported to a remote place (where Shirou can then go Ginrou-mode), but it’s also here that we see Shirou and Michiru’s partnership really start to kick off. I find their teamwork pretty endearing, as they grow to trust one another--Michiru challenges Shirou’s independence and forces him to rely on her, and Shirou actually allows her to help and gives her directions. This doesn’t mean that Michiru unquestioningly accepts Shirou’s orders (for example, she pushes back when he tells her to drop them in the warehouse), but it’s clear that even when she doesn’t always agree with him, she’s willing to trust him.

Indeed, rather than their relationship being one of great power difference, I think they actually grow to have a pretty balanced amount of power in their interactions with one another (as much power as is possible given the aforementioned situational differences between them). Just as Michiru challenges Shirou’s conception of humans and the rigidity of the division between the two races, Michiru also recognizes her own lack of understanding about Shirou and of beastmen. More than that, he makes her aware of her own prejudices about him (just as he challenges his prejudices).

Really, I’d say episode 9 is probably the strongest case for their relationship being something like a father-daughter relationship, but I think the dynamic is ultimately subverted. Shirou comes in with food for Michiru to lift her spirits (classic Asian parenting) while telling her not to go near certain places. Probably the most paternal we’ve seen him. Yet her response to the food she gets is not one of simple gratitude or even ingratitude toward a caregiver, but one that shows she is learning more about him and is willing to tease him (“I was thinking how a thousand year old person is so different.”) And also, because Michiru is her own person, she defies the restrictions he lays out--not out of rebellion against him, but out of her own friendship with Nazuna. Evidently, even when Shirou tries to guide Michiru in a father-like way, she responds in a way that subverts that dynamic.

Mutual Respect & Understanding (aka in which I gush about them)

Instead of a father-daughter relationship, Shirou and Michiru grow to have a relationship founded on respect for one another and a burgeoning understanding of each other’s differences. They care for and encourage one another and help each other grow, and I think that’s awesome regardless of whether or not you have hope for a romance between them.

I love how Michiru, whom Nazuna accuses of rushing into things based on her assumptions and an egocentric sense of justice, humbly recognizes not just her lack of knowledge about Shirou after learning his divine identity, but also the lack of effort she put into trying to know him. Not only that, but in episode 12, she is able to recognize Shirou as one who is “so sad and miserable, but still thinking about others,” rather than the offputting scary crying wolfman she met in the first episode. She knows that there are fundamental differences between her as a human and him as a beastman (in contrast to Nazuna, who says in episode 11 that “Humans and beastmen aren’t all that different”), but she is nonetheless able to understand him. She literally transforms into a wolf in order to track him down, using the acute sense of smell that is his trademark.

I love how she grows to understand why he turned into Ginrou during the festival. I love how, when she confronts him in episode 11, she starts with an apology for not understanding his feelings about the vaccine, when she should be the one to understand him most. I think basic but important things like these, like apologizing for not paying more attention to how someone else is feeling, is one of the reasons why I really appreciate Michiru as a character.

Likewise, Shirou learns to humble himself and trust someone else, as well as better understands a human. I love how he eventually just accepts that Michiru will want to help him when he goes off to fight. I love how he apologizes himself when Michiru confronts him in episode 11, and how he explains his intentions to her without holding anything back. I love how he thanks her for saving him from the Nirvasyl syndrome, how he chooses not to kill Alan when reminded of how Michiru does not like killing, how he encouragingly says that she can return to her human form soon (even if that means her leaving Animacity, which it’s implied would sadden him). Even his overlooking of baseball gambling, even if somewhat questionable, is sweet if you read it as him doing it because he knows Michiru enjoys it.

#michiru kagemori #brand new animal #shirou oogami #michiru x shirou #meta

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zachsgamejournal · 3 years

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COMPLETED: Breath of Fire 3

It is done. God is dead. Well...a self-proclaimed god. While we cheated, my son and I did beat the game...and, despite this being one of my favorite RPGs, it's uh...my first time "beating" it.

So! We crossed the desert into the futuristic city that now lies in ruins and took the elevator up to the Myria Orbital station. It's, uh, a space station connected to the earth by an elevator shaft...I guess. Concept Art

After all the wandering about, I was pretty ready to meet "God" and get this over with--but it's the finale, so they had to make it count. We wandered about, trying to feel our way around the "space station". Eventually, we found a room I had forgotten about...it had electrified floors. To un-electrify them, there are three consoles. Each console has a pattern of negative and positive signs on a grid. You have to get the three patterns to over-lap so that the postive-negative charges cancel each other out. But with three panels, you run into issues of two positives and one negative occupying the same space: thus it stays electrified.

Clever idea: yes. Fun idea: no.

One console is in the room with the floor, and the other two consoles are in a completely different room, separated by a 30 second walk not counting the one or two random battles you're likely to get. I got really frustrated, and my son went and told my wife: "That game is making daddy nuts!"

Anyway, I figured it out and moved on. This required a boss fight (easy enough cause we're cheating), which got us a keycard and special plant-killing shells for Momo. Going back to the other wing of the station, Momo uses the special shells to blow up plant vines blocking the door (not unlike a puzzle in Resident Evil 2...).

I think beyond this, we find a labyrinth of utility hallways. I had to back track a few times. Eventually we get to an indoor garden.

FLASHBACK: (not in the game, but mine)

Back when I first tried to play this game, I defeated every challenge thrown at me. I think I did have the guide to the game, but it was mostly used to help me through some sticky parts (and look at the cool art!). I made it to the final dungeon (Myria Station) but struggled to beat the final boss.

As a matter of fact. I never beat the final boss.

I needed to be a higher level. To reach that level, I did some grinding in the garden area. Mostly, you fight Plant 42s, which I loved since it was a reference to the mutated Resident Evil plant. But it shocked me to see that the exp was about 800, when there are fights elsewhere in the station that land closer to the 2k range. Surely that would have been more effective leveling?

Either way--I just never got strong enough to win the final boss.

BACK TO PRESENT:

We find Teepo here. Jack and Rei are surprised as hell! My son was excited, cause we all thought Teepo was dead. Turns out, Teepo is also a dragon, just like Jack. But instead of wandering the world with Garr and Nina, he joined the Goddess Myria who convinced him that his powers were dangerous. So he surrendered himself to her and is now her brain-washed lapdog, more or less.

Teepo causes Ryu to go into a weird dream (which we had to play twice due to game-freeze). Here, Ryu is exposed to the thoughts and anxieties of his party members. This is supposed to convince him to surrender his power like Teepo, but it doesn't.

Nina apparently struggles to please her mother by being a good, respectable princess while also trying to be herself and pursue her own sense of justice: such as helping Ryu and saving Rei!

Rei...I guess is concerned about his own power as Weretiger. Mostly, he just seems to want to help his old friend?

Garr wants to reconcile why he was ordered to kill hundreds of dragons, especially then they easily could have defended themselves--but they didn't.

Momo wants to understand all the advanced tech here, and how it could be used to better the world.

Peco is apparently the fucking tree of Yggdrassil in mobile form, and wanders about with thousands of years worth of world-knowledge, but can't communicate it to the team cause he doesn't speak English.

So anyway, Ryu doesn't relent and Teepo must be defeated. He dies and turns into a purple dragon. Rei and Ryu are sad, but yo--dick move.

Next, we have to find our way to Myria. First, there's this confusing 3 level maze of boss rooms that have you fighting past bosses, sometimes several at a time. It was annoying, and my son was done with it. WE JUST WANT TO MEET GOD!

Once through, we find a super sci-fi, futuristic room with holograms explaining Myria's intentions. The advanced world was being consumed by sand. My guess is that pollution made that world self destructive. Myria led her people to a greener, more flourishing land and then built a giant ocean between them to stop the sands. She also made the ocean very dangerous so the humans wouldn't return. Some how, she feared the power of the dragons would bring about another sand-issue, so she had them killed to save humans.

Now, this seems like a Lost scenario where Myria is no God, and likely didn't actually build any oceans. Instead, she helped people escape their self-destructive technology, and then controlled people's knowledge of tech so they wouldn't repeat past mistakes. So basically, she kept building machines and letting them fall in the ocean so they'd wash up on shore (Steel Beach). This allowed people to use machines a little, but not "make" machines.

I think she really feared dragon power as a threat to her own power, and wanted them out of the equation since they didn't submit to her rule. Since she martyred herself as a savior of humans, she felt justified in her genocide.

Ryu chooses whether to help her or fight her. But she warns that fighting her would mean facing the desert without her protection. Warning that holds little merit in my mind, cause she's a liar.

So we fought her. We defeated her.

The space station starts to crumble. Garr decides he's completed his journey and turns to stone like the other guardians. Everyone else escapes. Myria prays to God, asking, "If there is a God..." revealing that she was playing a part and did not actually know shit (like Jacob in Lost).

Afterwards, Ryu is seen joining his friends at a cliff overlooking a desert: fade to black.

Despite the many deviations the story takes for the sake of taking up time, I really enjoy this game. The world is well defined and the characters are good. Even the villains often have empathetic motivations, or perspectives that make you doubt your first conclusions. The game also tackles a variety of concepts that are morally challenging and deals with death and sacrifice in meaningful ways. It led to great conversations between my son and I. The last leg of the game is a bit tedious and shallow. I understand why they felt compelled to make it "bigger", but they used up most of their plot early on.

We cheated. We had infinite health and all that. Basically, we just killed all the grinding and retries. The game has a great story and fun mini games (and the sound track is fucking amazing!) so I don't think much is lost by skipping the tedious random battles and leveling up. If that's something you want as part of your experience, go for it.

It's just, for RPGs like this, the best things about them are story, characters, mini-games, puzzles, and exploring. The fighting is fine, and expected, but it shouldn't take up 70% of your play time when it's really only about 10% of the fun (if that).

So I feel no shame in cheating.

My son wants to play Breath of Fire 4 now. I'm excited to revisit this one (I actually beat it before (no cheating))!

#Zach's Game Journal #PLAYING #Breath of Fire 3 #Breath of Fire III #PlayStation #DuckStation #PS1 #Emulators #God is Dead #JK: she might be fine

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janexeu · 3 years

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though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, JANE MÁRQUEZ is actually a descendent of HYPNOS. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-SIX year old DEMIGOD ELEMENTARY EDUCATION MAJOR from NEW ORLEANS, USA has taken after HER godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite SACRIFICIAL & STUBBORN.

( she’s b-b-b-back on her bs : katya ! tis uhm ,,,, a lil bit of a chonk of an intro but ill try 2 b cute w it. any time u wanna yeet jus peep the gif again & forgive me bc Look At Her ! )

POWERS ( more info here )

hypnokinesis — p much made her a glorified babysitter w lynch-esque wacko dreams. it got stronger naturally as she got older, but jus w herself n eventually the ppl shes real close w. its also gotten a lot better since comin to eonia

seeing gods in dreams — she doesnt hang out w em every fridays at tgifs but like ,,, if she had Pertinent Questions she cud smhw make it happen. found out abt her being a demigod at age 10 when she met hypnos

memory retrieval — shes got great memry of her own but bc she knows it can help w grief n all that, shes been learnin in eonia how to do it 4 others if they mayb wanted it

BIO POINTS

her single ma died during childbirth so jane's been in the foster care system since 5ever. attempts at reunification nvr worked out but thankfully she got real lucky w her group home and foster families. twas stable enough to not emotionally scar her even further but the instability of it all was fosho a big ol’ lot and has influenced her rigidness in sum aspects of her life

she lived p much as a mortal even tho her powers r a lil freaky. never went to camp but it worked out bc all her abilities r internal and cannot be Perceived by others. she had a talk w hypnos abt what 2 do n he mentioned camps but also gave sum monster avoidance tips ( like rarely use ur powers, maybe learn self defense, yada yada ) n she jus ,,, did that so she cud continue livin real normal w the mortals. logistics of camp stressed her out esp bc shes livin w non-family n stuff yk it was All Too Much, miss her w the added demigod stress tyvm

got married at 23 to her childhood sweetums luis, but he ,,, died abt a yr later fr a car accident. coma for 2 weeks n jane p much slept the entire time in his hospital room, visitin his dreams n talkin to him. twas a life support sitch so they eventually decided to pull da plug whch was real sad but like she's processed it 2 da best of her abilities. her powers helped a lot in the coping too n she visits memories of him in her dreams smtms when it gets real sad then shes ok again bc life goes on n life is pretty uwu

bc of her bg round kids of all kinds, shes always been passionate abt em. always takin babysittin/tutor gigs and went to community college so she cud teach n then worked as an elem teacher. only started considerin goin 2 eonia 4 postgrad when she had a student who showed signs n strugglez of bein a demigod. she eventually got to talk to their godly parent 2 confirm n she was shocked pikachu meme, real concerned for all those youngins who hav no clue what to do ! or how to cope ! bc they cant facetime w the olympians lyk she can ! so cue her discussin eonia w luis a lot then a year after the accident, broke out the pro-con list again. took abt *checks watch* another yr til she finally decided to zoom 2 athens but then whoosh she did !

PERSONALITY

yearning ? idk her — shes can be a bit of a take it as is typa chick. can be a lil literal jsksj not dumb but like ,,, def doesnt read into things enuff to pine n long n year yk. some things might def fly over her head. she says Yes To Serotonin in this house. she dk the the mitskis n the sikens n the carsons ; its all mary oliver up in this joint. we just tryna luv life n be grateful folkz

le freak, say chic ! — control freak, that is. growin up in an unstable envi meant shed cling 2 stability n independence, wrvr she cud get it. so when it comes 2 the way she does things, she can be real a heel digger. also bc she has 2 deal w kids yk so it can b A Lot n shes v stern lyk dat. ofc she wont infantilize the eonians .,,,. or will she ? big sis vibes outta control. she means well tho always always means well. itll also b v hard to get her 2 giv up on sum1 bc life ? she luvs it n knows u can too

changes by david bowie — is decidedly skipped on the playlist. she doesnt like change !!! i mean she knows its inevitable but still not entire unavoidable. ever since she got out of the system, shes had a partner n her own way of doing things n its been workin out so why change it yk ? she says time may change me but jokes on u i can sorta trace time

rip but im different — this goes out to all em whores in this house. she respectz ur hustle but like ,,,, not her thang. girl doesnt even get drunk when she drinks bc she doesnt rlly drink sksjsk doesnt like the taste of it, big baby ! but like she's Lived, its more like. ok tried it, not for me. thanks tho. also for all the meanies in the house, y’all perplex her. shes empathetic n wont show the judgement but smtms shes lowkey lyk .,., ur how old n u had all this goin 4 u n ur still so rotten ? how u actin like a 7yo w a trantrum ? scratch head, make it make sense

at least u tried — dad jokes, bad puns, tries to be big jokester but isn't funny. she's pretty tho so she gets away with it. idk wht else 2 say ur honor. shes the type thatll embarrass u w affection

well that was Awkward — probably sum1 abt her if they see her actin a Fool bc shes in a foreign sitch or topic. when shes a fish outta water then she can be so ! easily ! flustered ! which is p much her in eonia. shes not new new but theres way 2 much godly shennanigans for her to wrap her head ‘round n sis has never gone to camp so its ice bucket challenge level shock from time to time still w da magics n lore

til death do us part — yknow when death cab for cutie said i knew that u wer a truth i wud rather lose than 2 hav nvr lain beside at all ? how abt when they wrecked me by rudely sayin love is watching sum1 die ? yes ? no ? nywy thats jane 4 ya. if she loves then shes in and if shes in then she is all in, luke danes stylez

was that a vivid enough picture or did i just word vom the same things agen n agen sjksjs jus know shes cute n sweet if a lil frustrating n annoying bc shes stubbornpants mcgee. may or may not have a slight compulsion to help fix other ppl ..,,.. someone set her str8 n tell her fix u by coldplay isnt it !!!

OTHER INFO

5′9″ born 4 october 1994, virgo sun n moon

not a freshie ! idk how long her program is but like ,,, lets ignore that 4 now ok jus kno that she been here a while

yogi & boxing enthusiast back at home. hc her mans got real into the martial arts w her when hypnos told her she gotta learn how 2 defend so that was one of their things : bonding by workouts so jane cud protecc herself if need be

her maiden name’s jane fulton. got her mommas surname but the name jane ? thats some jane doe bs some rando picked out for her which she hated at first but then seeing tarzan made her go hmmm, ok bet !

lgbtq+ alliance president ! identifies as pan

she met her late hubbie when they were abt 7ish, real friends 2 lovers cuteness. jane was there for him throughout his entire coming out & transition ergo her passion for the community esp queer kids bc she was That Cis Ally for her mans. wears her ring as a real lowkey necklace now

shes also real passionate abt sleep. will ask u how did u sleep last night p much every day u see her bc ppl spend like half their lives asleep catherine ofc shes gonna ask

her fave thing abt eonia ? the whole siblings bit. shes had 2 make do w what she got n build a family from scratch so this ? she luvs it a lot let her give u kithes hypnos babies

shes p well versed in the greek thingies but only thru the knowledge mortals gets + dream info. after her realizin who she is, all things ancient greek jus sorta became her niche interest ykwim ? shes not like Super Learned abt it more like ,,, ok i gotta at least make Sum sense outta all this, gotta learn what i can. imagin how embarrassin it wud b 2 see a god in ur dream n then go : sorry to this man. nope. not jane, not her, nuh-uh

luv languages : words, acts of service, physical touch !

useless hcs but she loves disney sfm ok. smtms dresses up as princess tiana for bday parties n shit bc shell do nythin 2 put a smile on the kids n babs faces

ya like jazz ? bc jane surely does ! adores motown & 60s music. nina simone owns her. no one drag peggy lee from 101 dalmatians ! not an important hc but i jus wanted to quote my bubble butt winged bee lover barry

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

children ! infants ! babies !

demigods that make her scratch head damn u live like this ? but also wud knife emoji to protect n care for. shes not the oldest on campus but shes been livin independently p much her entire life so she finks shes got a tight grasp on the myth that is Adulting

srsly tho the Big Sis vibes is off the charts w this one. shell perserve u dumdums

baddie influencies !

convince her 2 get drunk at a party ! bc she never does. convince her to maybe try drugs ! or go hook up ! do smths impulsive idk jus smth new !

gl tho bc shes not rlly ,,, easily influenced But she can b reasoned w ! in general i fink its just gonna be a fun dynamic if y/m knows how to coax sum wildness outta her or w/e bc thotty yummy theyre hotty yolo rzning jus wont do w this gal. will most likely get argumentative like a big ol momma hen but if u win then ur winning big

Sleep Now or forever hold ur peace !

idk sum1 she helps w their messy sleep ? shes def not super public w it, surely knows her other siblings r Better at it but if y’all are close, she probs enjoys doin it 4 ya. she runs her hair thru fingers a lot when she does it. like a lot a lot unless u tell her to get lost

lover boi, lover gorl, lover enby !

she can be a lil traditional when it comes to how she views rels. she wants all that meetcute courting bs ! no gender roles tho n u best be sure shes not constantly comparin w her late hubbie ,,, but she jus wants smth magical n 2 be wooed again yk ?

so yea ,,, crushers mayhaps ? sum1 who is tryin 2 woo her ? sum1 she had a meetcute w and now janes got lowkey heart eyes for em ? idk lotsa possiblities but pls keep in mind she is not good at the flirtings so hav mercy on her

eonia tour guide !

or jus friends who like ,,, constnatly fill her in w all the godly stuff n whatnot. years of not goin 2 camps mean u miss out on a lot ! explore ruins w her n get her info her mortal educ didnt make her privy 2 yk

head real empty atm i will think of sum n let y’all know when i do, but give us all the conekshunz. friends, enemies, the usual bit, lgbtq alliance peeps, lmk whats up whats done whats cookin we want it all

( shes p much a new muse n da result of me tryna bring in an emotionally healthy kid to this sad sad university. janes in a v good well-adjusted place rn n is my therapy muse bc that other bitch m** is a messy handful. but wbk life aint linear so mayhaps shit’ll hit da fan or one of y/m will ruin her lmfao press f pls ! but also color me eyes emoji bc we love to see it )

#euintro

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jess-rewatches-prodigalson · 4 years

Text

Episode 17: Stranger Beside You

SPOILERS and thoughts ahead.

0:13 - How freaking creepy is this? She just pops up from the floor. Did Malcolm not see her there as he was approaching? Why didn’t he acknowledge her presence as he approached? ALSO - he’s excited about muffins? Does that mean muffins are one of the only foods he eats? I find this surprising. ALSO - last episode we learned that Malcolm can’t cook…why does he have a muffin tin? I know this is a dream but still.

0:45 - Ok. Story time. I watched this episode when it premiered. It was the first week I had moved home from university since the whole COVID-19 stuff. My younger brother (20) and my mom (45) who have never seen this show decided to watch it with me. Ugh. Our family dynamic is generally a lot of sarcasm and teasing. I’m the only one in the family interested in crime shows/whump. When Malcolm said “This is when the scary thing usually happens.” both of my family members started cackling like buffoons. For the next week my brother quoted that line to me. They both now tease me for loving this show so much…so that happened.

1:18 - This is kind of sweet. I don’t like Eve but I like seeing Malcolm this happy.

1:56 - This is such a good sibling conversation. Ainsley is setting Malcolm straight. I know Malcolm is right but honestly - Ainsley has a point. Malcolm has a tendency to accidentally sabotage his own relationships because he can’t trust people and he doesn’t believe that he’s worthy of love.

3:15 - Look at this. Just. Look. JT is happy to see Malcolm. They’re bantering like brothers. This relationship has blossomed and I’m so happy…also I google “sip and see” because I really wanted them to be fake. They sound ridiculous, but they’re real. IDK. I don’t have kids but it seems crazy to organize a big fancy party right after you give birth. Invite friends and family over - sure. Order a pizza and a cake. But hang out in something comfy and keep it casual. Maybe that’s just me. IDK.

3:42 - Malcolm’s projecting again. “Perfect can be an allusion.” Honestly. Is he even aware that he does this?! Also, is he projecting about his childhood or his relationship with Eve. Either way, I’m concerned for him….though I do like how happy he’s looking right now.

3:47 - hahaha OMG. “With the stiff!” Gil is so done.

4:30 - I thought this was interesting. 1) Do dead bodies actually do that? Compress? Huh. Cool. 2) I like the way that Edrisa and Malcolm are so totally absorbed in how cool/weird the cause of death was that neither of them notice Edrisa’s hand on Malcolm’s chest. 3) Gil pointing out Edrisa’s hand makes things a little awkward - but honestly I see it as a gentle warning. He knows that Edrisa is socially awkward. She’s not in trouble and he’s not mad. He’s just reminding her that stuff like that isn’t appropriate.

5:04 - Watching this after realizing that Tally is pregnant brings a whole new weight to all of JT’s comments. Every time he mentions babies, baby swag, moms - he looks either scared, stressed (because money), or excited. It’s freaking precious.

6:15 - “It’s a cloud of love. Nothing to be ashamed of.” Again. More proof that Malcolm is an A+ adult male. Who speaks like that?

7:05 - Do I need to be scared about Dani now too? I do not like the way that Martin says her name. Wait. Is Martin going to go after every person that takes Malcolm’s time away from visiting him? I can totally see it. Martin escaping - killing Gil for replacing him as Malcolm’s Dad. Killing Jessica for trying to keep Malcolm from him. Killing JT, Dani, and Edrisa for being his friends. Can’t decide if he’d kill Ainsley…

7:41 - HOW is this show so dark and yet so funny?!?!

8:20 - I know that Malcolm knows that Tally is pregnant…but after the pizza roll comment there’s no way Gil and Dani don’t suspect. Look at their faces!!! And the way JT looks down way too quickly. He’s clearly hiding something.

8:55 - Look at Gil’s face. He’s concerned and a little scared. I am too. What the hell does Malcolm mean by “Mom’s love me”?!?! Is this some weird sex thing?

9:05 - Dani is a queen. We stan. She is the friend Malcolm deserves. I especially love the fact that later we find out that she told JT about this conversation. As though she thought Malcolm needed “guy advice”.

10:00 - Yo. People like this shouldn’t be allowed to have children. Kids are not a fashion statement - they are human beings who need to be nurtured and loved.

11:10 - So, I don’t usually like it when Ainsley snoops around for a story and gets all determined - but this time I do.

12:00 - Does Ainsley really not understand that what she did was a total invasion of privacy?!? She doesn’t look sorry. At all. The fact that Ainsley actually talks to Eve about it is kind of awful too? Like it’s one thing to do a background check on someone - it’s another thing to talk to them, unprovoked, about what you found.

12:12 - Poor Jessica. She looks upset. Between her two “socially bizarre” children ( lol ) she really has a hard time making friends. Although…..I will admit. It’s a little weird that Jessica is making friends with a woman young enough to date her son.

12:32 - Soooo this means that Malcolm has an instagram account (at least a fake one for work anyways). I feel like Malcolm is one of the people who don’t have a personal instagram account. Because a) he has like 3 friends and b) he doesn’t strike me as the type of person to take pictures of food, people, events, or himself.

12:40 - So Malcolm’s sitting at that desk again…..forget about the gitb… I want to solve the desk mystery (and the mystery of JT’s name).

12:57 - Damn it JT! We were about to get a super awesome father/son moment. Ugh. When I said I wanted the writers to give JT more screen time I didn’t mean this.

13:13 - Aww…look at how proud Dani is of herself. Girl made a cool discovery and she’s proud/excited about it. <3

13:22 - ARE YOU KIDDING ME. We finally get a good look at the desk from the front. No name plate in view?!? UGH. This is killing me.

13:33 - hahaha look at these faces! JT looks confused/freaked out that Malcolm knows so much about babies feeding habits. Dani looks so annoyed that she’s been put on Malcolm babysitting duty again. I don’t blame her. Gil is always making her babysit Malcolm. JT never has to take a turn.

13:55 - The most annoying thing about this episode is that we never find out how Alessa cut her arm. It’s a weird place on your arm to get a cut and I’m curious about it.

14:35 - I respect Malcolm a LOT in this scene. He’s asking some tough (but necessary) questions. He’s calm, kind, and respectful. He’s not minimizing Alessa’s stress, her loss, or her devotion to her daughter.

16:30 - Soooo if Christine’s (ex) husband lives in Canada - does that mean he’s Canadian (or dual citizen)? Or does he just have a work permit? I’m curious about what that means for Christine’s citizen status. I find this odd though - even if Christine isn’t Canadian - if she was last seen in Canada and her husband reported her missing - the RCMP would’ve been looking for her. They NYPD would know that. Although - she is using a fake name. Huh. There’s a reason I’m not in law enforcement. People are too crafty. I’ll stick to math.

17:55 - Look how mad JT looks that Christine tried to abduct Nina….he’s going to be such an overprotective, good dad. <3

18:25 - This is a really cool moment. This scene is the first since 1x9 when JT and Malcolm have a heart-to-heart. JT also gives Malcolm some really good relationship advice. Damn. No wonder JT’s been married for 7 years. He gets it.

18:55 - I love how manic Malcolm looks and how concerned JT looks when Malcolm goes off on his little rant about being a suspicious person. I wonder if JT is wondering why Malcolm trusts Gil, Dani, Edrisa, and himself? They are, by all means, good things in Malcolm’s life. Is he suspicious of them?

19:25 - Does Martin know about Malcolm’s sensitive stomach? I’m really curious.

19:44 - This scene is awesome. Malcolm is sad, upset, a little anxious, and angry (at Martin) throughout the scene. Martin, even though he is a crazy serial killer, actually gives Malcolm some good relationship advice. I guess it makes sense. Martin could never have tricked Jessica into marrying him unless he acted like a perfect, good dude with good relationship skills.

20:04 - Martin actually believes he was a perfect father? Nope. I can’t. Any parent who genuinely believes that should have a psych eval. No one is perfect. Parents aren’t excluded from this rule.

20:56 - This is such a powerful moment. You can see how pleased Martin is because he got through the Malcolm. You can see how desperately Malcolm wants to love his father and how painfully aware Malcolm is of who his father is and how much he despises it. Malcolm shouldn’t have to remind himself to hate his father. No one should. Watching Malcolm grapple with that (through his facial expressions) is heart-wrenching. He actually looks close to tears for a moment. ALSO screw Martin for still trying to manipulate Malcolm into loving him.

22:10 - I’ll just say it. We’re all thinking it anyways. Malcolm’s soft voice when he’s confused is so freaking cute.

23:08 - Look at JT’s face during this scene. He just about had a freaking heart attack. I feel soooo bad for him. I can only imagine how bad he feels. Gil gave him one (1) job: protect the baby. JT’s probably thinking, “If I can’t even protect this stranger’s baby - how will I ever protect my baby? Will I be a bad father?” Someone give this man a hug for me.

23:25 - Look at the way JT touches the infant to make sure she’s real. That is a man who is on the verge of a panic attack.

24:00 - AND now JT is worrying about Tally’s health throughout her impending pregnancy. Good Lord. What a rollercoaster he’s on tonight.

25:25 - Concerned!Gil for the win! Gil hasn’t been around Malcolm much this episode. Yes - Malcolm is obviously upset right now, but it makes me wonder if Jessica and/or Ainsley have called Gil because they’re concerned about Malcolm right now. Did they call Gil and ask him to send Malcolm home?

26:25 - Look at that. Malcolm looks crushed. Not surprised just disappointed. He truly believes that he’s not worthy of love. Eve just confirmed it for him. I honestly don’t know how this dude will ever trust any romantic partner ever again. My heart is shattered.

26:43 - Look at how brave he’s being. He’s trying to mask his pain with a smile and a self-deprecating joke as usual. Problem is - his eyes look tortured and he’s trying to lie to the two women who know him best. They see through his mask and they’re concerned for him.

27:00 - Ainsley is such a strange character to me. Right now as she tells Malcolm about Eve, she is looking at Malcolm with dread, concern, and determination. In 1x7/1x10 she publicly embarrassed him and revealed his personal, private details with the world - without remorse. I know that Ainsley is really obsessed with the progression of her career. However, it shouldn’t blind her to the emotions of her big brother. Ainsley needs therapy.

27:08 - soooo Eve has a key to Malcolm’s place? After two(ish) weeks? For a dude who doesn’t trust easily this seems like a stretch. I’m choosing to believe that Malcolm left the door open when he saw Ainsley and Jessica.

27:15 - THIS is so important. Jessica’s “How could you?”. See her face? She’s devastated. The first female friend she’s had in probably 20 years just stabbed her in the back. To make matters worse, this woman also just broke the heart of Jessica’s very emotionally vulnerable son - thereby also breaking Jessica’s heart. Furthermore - Jessica is definitely already paying rent in the self-loathing hotel because she traumatized her children because she married a serial killer. NOW she’s also dealing with the guilt of knowing that she’s the one who brought Eve into Malcolm’s life. That look hurt or devastation on Jessica’s face which later transforms into rage and hatred is haunting. Props to Bellamy Young.

27:26 - This. Look at Malcolm’s face. Eve looks like she’s close to tears. Malcolm is looking at her with compassion. Yes - you can tell that Malcolm is devastated and hurt by Eve. However, he also clearly empathizes with her. Again. Malcolm. Bright. Is. An. A+. Dude. Fight me.

27:40 - Can we all just pause for a second and praise Tom Payne’s acting in this scene? He captured the raw emotion of a trauma induced panic attack perfectly. Look at how utterly broken Malcolm is. Hands shaking on his head. Tears in his eyes. Ragged breathing. Followed by a brief angry outburst which leads to more shaky, anxious breathing and eyes on the verge of tears. The end result is physical and emotional exhaustion.

27:45 - Ainsley looks shocked and a little scared by Malcolm’s outburst. Has she (HIS SISTER) never seen him have a panic attack? They grew up together. I refuse to believe it. Ainsley shouldn’t look shocked - she should look sad and resigned to it.

28:06 - This is heartbreaking. Malcolm genuinely thinks that there is something about him that makes him unlovable. I know he’s already in therapy - but they need to stop focusing on his trauma for a hot second and focus on his self-worth issues. I aM nOt OkAy.

28:22 - Can we all just take a minute to appreciate Dani Powell. She has been such a good friend to Malcolm. Probably the first true friend Malcolm’s had since he was 10 years old. Even in the midst of extreme emotional turmoil a work-related text from Dani makes Malcolm smile. Because Malcolm knows that Dani - a woman who isn’t related to him and has no obvious crush on him - doesn’t hate him. In fact - she likes him enough to be his friend. Right now that’s enough. That’s a big comfort to Malcolm.

28:36 - This is sheer panic on Jessica’s part. Check out those eyes. She just saw pure self-loathing and anger in her son’s eyes. She’s terrified for him. Maybe this look is reminding her of a look he got as a teenager when he became suicidal (it’s my headcanon that Malcolm had a period of active suicidal ideation as a teenager)?

28:40 - “I can’t solve this.” Is Malcolm referring to himself here? I mean - he clearly thinks that he is the problem; despite the fact that Eve came into his family’s life with the intention of getting information on his serial killing father. Ugh. His sad eyes and messy hair (that tends to indicate Malcolm is in severe emotional distress) is breaking my heart.

28:54 - Ok. So - who is this woman? How did Christine find her? Why did Christine go to her? It doesn’t look like a women’s shelter - it looks like a random lady’s residential home.

29:00 - Again. Let’s all praise Queen Dani. The bestest friend this dude has ever had. She just goes out and asks him what’s wrong. She’s concerned about him BECAUSE she knows he’s upset about something.

29:20 - I love that Malcolm is comfortable enough around Dani to be honest with her about the really hard stuff in his life. Look at how sad Malcolm looks here. Look at Dani’s reaction. She isn’t judging him or pitying him. She isn’t pushing him to talk. She’s just supporting him. She’s a little shocked, a lot upset on his behalf, but mostly she’s just concerned. She’s being a good friend and I love her for it.

29:36 - Lucas is a scum. Anyone who abuses a spouse, child, or family member has a special spot reserved in hell.

29:52 - Look at Dani as Christine tells her story. She’s sympathetic, respectful, and concerned. Either this isn’t the first time Dani’s been around a battered woman on the job or Dani has personal experience with abuse. Maybe a friend/family member was abused? Hell - maybe Dani had an abusive boyfriend or something?

30:20 - I really respect Malcolm in this scene. He knows that women who are fresh out of an abusive relationship (or still in one) with a male are weary of men. Usually, when Malcolm gets this type of information about a case he starts speaking quickly, loudly, and intensely. He starts gesturing a lot with his hands. IN THIS SCENE - Malcolm reigns himself in. He stays relatively calm and still as he speaks. He knows that his usual hand-gesturing and loud voice would terrify a woman who was just beaten by a man who was supposed to love her. This. Is. A. Good. Dude.

31:10 - Malcolm just shows Dani his cracked phone screen. I’m curious - does she ever ask about it? I’d like to hear that conversation.

33:05 - I LOVE THIS. Gil is terrified for a) Malcolm but b) Alessa and Nina too. This is a side of Gil I’d like to see more often. ALSO notice that the second that JT realizes that Gil is suffering from a parental panic attack he floors it. JT is going to be a good Dad. <3 He knows how to love and he has a big heart. That’s the most important thing.

34:34 - Again. Malcolm is currently displaying empathy and sympathy for a murderer. This dude has the biggest heart in the world.

35:45 - Alessa is a badass. Nina is a lucky little girl.

36:04 - I love this scene. Gil looks so relieved that Malcolm is in one (mostly unharmed) piece. He’s so proud of Malcolm for keeping Alessa and Nina safe. I’m certain that Jessica and/or Ainsley called Gil about Malcolm’s panic attack which exacerbated Gil’s worry over Malcolm.

37:07 - THE SCENE. The scene. This scene is easily my favourite of the episode. I love watching JT and Malcolm’s friendship in real time. Look right here this is two guys chatting about how cool someone is. <3 Look at how happy and proud JT is of a woman he just met. I promise you he’s thinking about how awesome and badass of a mother his wife is going to be.

37:28 - JT’s scared face coupled with his softly spoken “Dude.” stops my heart. It’s as though talking to someone other than his wife makes the baby seem like more of a scary, real responsibility. You can tell that he’s excited but still terrified about fatherhood. He’s not quite ready to tell people yet.

37:37 - “The thing’s the size of a peanut.” - I googled it: Tally is about 9 weeks pregnant. ALSO how freaking cute is it that JT is so excited about his unborn child that he knows how big it is. <3 I can just see him panic researching about pregnancy and caring for infants in the middle of the night while Tally sleeps. <3

37:44 - He doesn’t want to jinx it? Does that mean he and Tally have had trouble getting pregnant in the past? Miscarriages? Infertility? Or is JT just scared from everything he’s been researching about pregnancy? Either way - if Tally looses this child I will riot.

37:50 - “You don’t do happy.” - Malcolm’s face twists into a look of hurt and sadness. He genuinely believes JT’s words - even though JT meant them as a joke. JT sees that too because he immediately starts teasing Bright. JT is concerned about Malcolm.

38:39 - So Eve does have a key. Nope. Not cool. Not in-line with Malcolm’s trust issues. I refuse to believe it.

39:11 - I hate watching Malcolm be this sad. Look at his nose. It’s just a little red - he’s been crying. His fragile ability to trust has been shattered again and Eve’s apology is quite honestly not very good.

39:45 - Can we all just pause on Malcolm’s shirt? It looks like the orange sweater Gil wore in 1x13. Did they go shopping together? Did Malcolm buy the shirt because it reminded him of Gil? Does he only wear it when he feels sad because the fact that it reminds him of Gil comforts him

40:35 - What’s the story of Eve’s Dad? What’s his deal?

41:40 - I’m really proud of Malcolm for being brave enough to face the truth and have this really difficult conversation with Eve.

43:09 - Ok. I’ll say it. Malcolm is too nice. This woman shattered his heart last night and now he’s hugging her? Bro - you don’t have to do that. You’re allowed to be upset. You’re letting her walk all over you.

Thanks for hanging out Prodigies.

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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sometimes a fantasy [is all you need] (branjie) -- frenchy

a/n: hi hello!! i’m frenchy, & this is my first fic on here, despite being a longtime reader!! i sent an ask addressing my inspiration to write a branjie get-back-together fic, where they are hiding their still existing feelings behind a pr stunt/their social media interactions & fall back together through these/acknowledge that it’s deeper than they are pretending. it seemed to interest quite a few people so here she is!! this can be read as a long one shot, but considering how much content they are providing us with, i may continue it?? maybe!

ps. this does not include all the things they’ve posted thus far, but i will definitely try to include most of what we’ve seen so far as references/plot points in future parts if i continue this! ! this takes place while the show is airing, beginning action-wise after episode 4’s airing. it heavily involves the video with branjie that nina west posted on her instagram a few days ago! also, i am not giving into the assumption that they are actually broken up, but in the context of this fic, those rumors are true! okay that is enough, i am super excited about this, i hope you all enjoy ahhh!! <3

@Bhytes1: Hey Papi

@VanessaVanjie: @Bhytes1 What

*****

It had begun innocently enough.

Or, at least, that’s what the both of them would claim if ever asked about it. A tweet or two there, a cryptic emoji-strung comment here, and a handful of tooth-rotting gif interactions. It was almost rare for a day to pass without at least once mentioning of each other through social media, whether direct or not.

Brooke Lynn recognized the necessity for this. They both did. That’s why they were doing it.

They hadn’t necessarily discussed the inevitability of fans indulging in their on-screen romance, but there was an unspoken agreement between them, as well as with their fellow RuGirls. No one would bring up their current relationship status, and all would remain playful – that’s how fanservice worked, after all. Give the fans what they wanted, to ensure they would stay in tow. It reaped many a benefit not only for the show’s ratings, but for the queens involved. The season was only a few episodes deep, and already the interest in Brooke Lynn and Vanessa had spiked – both as a duo, and as individual performers. Brooke liked to believe it was her own doing that attracted so many new fans at such an early stage, though she had to give some credit to her more widely known castmate.

Still, as harmless as it posed to be, it didn’t take long for them to be accused of insincerity. A dozen tweets couldn’t change the fact that they were no longer together, that their relationship had ended before the season had even begun airing. They knew it, their fellow queens knew it – hell, half the fans knew it, even if they had not disclosed it officially. The fandom they found themselves thrust into wasn’t one unknown for spreading gossip and spoilers. The breakup had gone smoothly for the most part, at least when concerned with the public eye. It had been a quick discussion, albeit a tense one: was it smart to remain together when their lives were about to be changed? The two of them were self-aware and smart enough to recognize that their personal growth required separation. That the glorification of their growing relationship on TV would only put a strain on what they had in the present. Neither of them wanted to risk the prospect of resentment.

But they were being proven wrong, day by day. They talked and responded to each other every day, typically without any push from outside sources. They found themselves going from simply answering questions about each other and acknowledging fan reactions, to seeking out each other, interacting with no prompting. It was for the fans, yes, but Brooke never sensed any tension between the two of them. Maybe she was misinterpreting, but she and Vanessa seemed to do the whole “indulging the fans” thing flawlessly. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

And that’s what led them to where they were tonight, in a small office at REBAR Chelsea, too many people for too small a room. The music was almost deafening outside the walls, but was no match for the voices in said room. Specifically, Vanessa. Loud, brazen Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, in a glittery upside-down jersey dress, off her shoulders, her makeup freshly set and her adrenaline pumping even before having stepped out onstage for the night. She had been meticulously placing her blonde wig on her head in the mirror, making an effort to chime in more-than-occasionally to the conversation Nina West found herself deep in with a friend, despite being across the room. Brooke opted to sit in the corner, scrolling through her phone, Vanessa being the sole one of the three of them in drag for the night.

“More than iconic, really. The fans love it,” Nina’s friend had said, prompting Brooke to glance towards them. She hadn’t been paying attention to what was being said, though the mention of fans always peaked her interest. “Definitely need a recreation of that iconic moment at the reunion.”

“Iconic moment?” Brooke asked through a growing smile, interrupting, causing heads to turn towards the new voice contributing to the conversation. Nina laughed, with a hint of hesitation, turning her body fully to face Brooke, still sat in the corner of the seemingly-shrinking room.

She nodded enthusiastically, eyebrows up. “Untucked. Y’know how funny everyone found my reaction to you and Vanessa?” Nina clarified, gesturing towards the mentioned queen, who glanced at them through the reflection of the body-length mirror, still messing with her wig.

Brooke made a noise of understanding. “They live for their memes, bitch,” she answered. Naturally, she had seen the uproar that the last Untucked had caused, specifically when concerned with Nina’s shock towards the kiss. Brooke heard Vanessa laugh under her breath, accompanied by a curt nod signifying her agreement to Brooke’s statement.

“It’s crazy,” Nina nodded as well, proceeding to take a sip from the glass of water she held tightly in her right hand. She was halfway through swallowing when her eyes widened, an excited yet smug smile bringing the conversation back from its natural pause. “Why wait for the reunion? I mean, like, it’s fresh right now! Imagine how funny a recreation would be if we made it right now. We’re all here, aren’t we?” She nodded towards Vanessa before looking back to Brooke.

“So, milk it?”

“You and Vanjie should be pros at that with how you’re playing off this ‘on screen romance’ stuff,” Nina raised her free hand to provide seemingly unnecessary air quotes. Brooke scoffed gently. The romance was real, the follow up was not. It wasn’t, none of the tweets or interactions held any merit. But Brooke almost felt a personal offense at the implication that what they had before was fake, even if she had just misunderstood and Nina didn’t mean it that way. It shouldn’t have bothered her as much as it did. “It’ll fare well for the two of you, and it’s all good fun. What’s the consensus?”

There was a moment of tentative silence, a sudden hush. It was unusual for Vanessa to not be bouncing off the walls, her adrenaline from before nowhere to be found. Brooke looked over at her, making quick eye contact with her through the mirror. Vanessa raised a painted eyebrow at her, as if asking – no, suggesting, that it could be a good idea. It wouldn’t hurt. Right?

“Could be funny,” Brooke answered for the two of them, her smile returning.

Nina nodded, handing her phone to the woman at her side. “Let’s do it!” She straightened her denim jacket, water still in her hand, posing as a makeshift cocktail. Brooke stood from her seat, clearing her throat and watching as Vanessa finally turned her back to the mirror and faced the rest of them, a smile now adorned and her reluctance from before vanishing at the sight of a camera. The sight brought a certain weakness to Brooke, if only for a moment, just as it had every time she saw that smile. There was nothing different in how Vanessa made her feel still, she could appreciate things like that about her even if they weren’t an item.

“So, what, just kiss? Like in the Untucked?” Brooke made an effort to look away from Vanessa, but it felt like the reluctance Vanjie held was instead transferred to her. It was the same loss of focus she became familiar with during drag race, where even the just the knowledge of Vanessa being in the same room was enough of a distraction. She never complained, though.

“Yeah. Just like in the Untucked,” Nina kept herself at a distance from the other two queens, her body facing the now three people with phone cameras posed at them, others in the room joining in to capture the moment.

Vanessa again quirked an eyebrow at Brooke, who felt herself get uncharacteristically nervous. Why was she nervous? She hoped no one clocked her uneasy breathing, or heard her heartbeat as loudly as she did. She considered herself a good actress, but it was easier being playful and coy through twitter – how does one kiss their ex on camera, casually enough to make it look natural and real, but not too comfortable as to earn speculation from Vanessa herself, who clearly had no problem playing this up in front of the camera. It was certainly a tricky situation they were in. She wondered for a moment if Vanessa was struggling in the same way.

Brooke made a mental note to bring it up someday.

She wondered how long she stood spacing out, due to Vanessa no longer regarding her and instead living her directing fantasy. “You gotta start, like they did – like they did when we did this, you gotta say action,” she was instructing those who were filming, gesturing wildly.

“Ready? Yeah,” the woman nodded along, halfheartedly taking in Vanjie’s words, already having pressed the record button. “Okay ready?”

“Do it now,” Vanessa told her, and Brooke registered the deep breath that Vanessa took moments before they were to kiss.

“Action. Action.”

It was a blur after that – perhaps not in the moment, as she was conscious enough to chime in with a comically over-exaggerated “Did ya’ll see that?” after Nina and Vanessa both quoted it themselves. But when Brooke thought back to the video that ended up attracting attention on Nina’s Instagram later that night, she hardly could recall the details. It was foggy, most of it. Excluding the kiss.

Was she right in calling it a kiss? It was hardly that. A quick peck, reminiscent of the one they were recreating, not even enough for Vanessa’s lipstick to transfer onto Brooke’s unpainted lips. Not even enough to Brooke to over-analyze. Or so she thought.

Nina retrieved her phone as soon as they had finished the reenactment, smiling to herself as she hit play to watch the video. Vanessa quickly joined her to watch it, her smile losing its sincerity as they watched. Brooke remained across the room, attempting to gauge their reactions under the guise of gathering her own bearings, picking her own phone back up from where she had been sitting.

“S’it good? Convincing, too?” Brooke asked after the video had ended, the unasked ‘Too convincing?’ threatening to spill from her lips. She noticed that while Nina appeared overjoyed at the video, laughing to herself and pocketing her phone, Vanessa’s expression offered an air of concern. The look of trouble alone revived Brooke’s anxiety.

“Yeah, no, it’s good. Really good, thanks, guys,” Nina addressed both the ex-couple and those who had recorded the video, each from different angles, though only one would end up on the Ohioan’s Instagram. “I’m going to head out there, good luck up there tonight, girl,” Nina nudged Vanessa, who only gave a halfhearted smile and a quiet ‘Thanks’ in response.

Nina turned to leave, the others all following her, leaving after them a tension that filled the room. The room that only Vanessa and Brooke were left in.

“Hm,” Vanessa returned to her place in front of the mirror, lost in thought and not acknowledging that she wasn’t alone. Brooke sat back down, one hand occupied by her phone and the other fidgeting with the hem of her black blazer. Maybe she was overestimating how long and uncomfortable the silence felt, but Brooke wasn’t so sure it was that crazy of an exaggeration.

“Definitely should help fuel that fire,” Brooke spoke up, choosing to entertain the prospect of discussing the kiss rather than sitting in that loud silence. Vanessa didn’t stop touching up her makeup in the mirror to look at Brooke, just nodded. “Maybe we could post a picture together at some point soon. Is that too much?” Brooke laughed, not sure if her laugh was directed at her own question or Vanjie’s lack of an answer.

After another extended silence, Vanessa suddenly turned around to grab her own phone off the small table in the center of the room. “Let’s do it.”

Brooke was taken aback, needing a second to readjust to Vanessa’s usual volume returning after having been quiet in thought for so long. She watched as Vanessa snapped her fingers expectedly, waiting for Brooke to stand up, plausibly for a selfie.

“What, right now? We can’t post it right now, girl.”

“And why not?” Vanessa countered, her free hand going to her hip. “If we gonna do this, we have to keep feeding the children. We can’t let them go hungry,” she attempted to lighten up the tension in the room that had been there ever since Nina and the others left.

Brooke chuckled deeply, shaking her head. “Not after that video. Give it a week, maybe.” She hoped Vanessa would understand where she was coming from and drop it. She had thought they shared that logic in this situation, in the faux flirting and how it worked PR wise. It was bad to over-saturate this.

“Hmm,” Vanessa repeated from before, evidently unconvinced. She dropped her phone back, heading towards the door. Brooke felt relief ease her anxiety, focusing back on her own phone.

She didn’t even notice that Vanessa had paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder back at the man out of drag.

“That’s mighty shady of you, Miss Brooke,” the graveness in her voice forced Brooke to look up, making sincere eye contact for the first time that night. “Reeaaaaalll shady.” Vanessa’s tone held a certain hesitance, a caution. She was unique in that way, in the way that she carried herself in private compared to in the public eye. While most minded themselves and grew wary when being watched, in regards to what they say, how they act – she was the opposite. Upon the chaos of the Werk Room, the need to be recognized on national television, Vanessa tended to surrender her control. She was brash, and loud, and unapologetic; she was likable for this.

That wasn’t the Vanessa that stood now before Brooke in the stuffy room.

Brooke raised a single eyebrow, unsure if her growing smirk was welcome. Unsure of whether this was a real dig, or a classic shady Vanjie joke.

“Shady? And, what? You’re innocent in this?”

No longer looking over her shoulder, Vanessa turned fully to face Brooke, her back to the hall. Brooke noted the way her eyes subtly narrowed under her four pairs of stacked lashes, her head cocking with a void of amusement. She didn’t answer or play off of Brooke as she normally would have if this was a lighthearted exchange, instead opting to stay quiet, as if observing Brooke, sizing her up. Her painted eyebrows furrowed with the narrowing of her eyes, though her concentration felt deeper than her simply fabricating another shady comment to hit back with. If she wanted to, she would have already thrown it – she was quick witted enough to bypass usual brainstorming.

When Vanessa cracked a weak smile (albeit it didn’t reach her eyes), Brooke let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“I never said I was innocent. In any meaning of the word. We both know that,” Vanessa took a step forward, back into the room, her voice knocked down a few volumes, for Brooke to hear only. “Even the fans know that, with some of the things we’ve been tweetin’ and sayin’. Whether they’re real or not,” she added, shrugging.

“They’re not,” Brooke challenged, saying matter-of-factly.

“See, that!” Vanessa laughed, pointing to Brooke. “You betta stop! Stop that, bitch.”

Confused, Brooke glanced Vanessa up and down. “What? Stop what?” She wished she could claim naivety. She knew exactly what Vanessa was saying.

Instead of answering her, Vanessa once again stood before her, looking down at her – not much, as even with Brooke seated and Vanessa in heels, the height difference made it so that they weren’t at an unusually unfair playing field now. She waited for an instant, to see if Brooke would say something. When she didn’t, Vanessa crossed over to sit in the empty chair beside her. Brooke didn’t ask if she sat so close to the edge intentionally, to be as close as possible to the Canadian queen.

That tense psychic feeling was back, but it felt different this time. She just couldn’t point to what changed. Was the whole room engulfed by this feeling, or just the few inches between the two? Regardless, Brooke felt her stomach knot, and had to stop her leg from bouncing in the space between them. If only Vanessa would get to the point. The point Brooke already knew she was making.

“Y’know, Brooke Lynn,” Vanessa drew out her words, in a sort of emphatic yet teasing manner, it being uncommon for her to use the second part of Brooke’s drag name unless addressing her by full name. Her gaze dropped, and Brooke instinctively followed it – they both watched as Vanessa’s right hand moved to draw mindless patterns on Brooke’s pant leg, right above the knee. If it weren’t for how close Vanessa’s voice was when she spoke, Brooke could have easily hyper focused on the way Vanessa’s hand traced gently up and down. “At some point we have to quit pretending like this is only for the fans.”

“We talked about this,” Brooke kept her voice solid, despite the way Vanessa dropped her’s to just barely above a whisper. They both looked back up at the same time, although neither one backed off. Brooke could have sworn they were closer than they had been before Vanjie had taken her seat.

“Really?” Vanessa frowned, puzzled. There was a cloud of doubt in her eyes. “Musta been out of it ‘cause I can’t seem to remember us doing that. I think you’re mistaken, Miss Brooke.”

Brooke swallowed, shaking her head weakly, and tried to look away. She trained her eyes to a bulletin board on the wall. She had more than enough time to push the other queen away, or scoot back, or even get up.

She stayed where she was, could feel Vanessa’s eyes on her.

When she realized Brooke was adamant on not entertaining the conversation, Vanessa continued. “So. Tell me, then… What you’re tryna say is that if I were to kiss you right now, with no one around to see it, you’d pull out a camera to take a picture of it? You’d tweet about it? It wouldn’t feel real to you, at all?” She knew what she was doing, she could tell Brooke was trying her hardest not to look at her.

Until she did, her eyes making contact with Vanessa’s again, mere centimeters from her face. “Is that hypothetical?” Brooke’s voice entered into a whisper. She made the mistake of glancing down towards Vanessa’s coated lips. She wasn’t fast enough in fixing her error, as Vanessa had already noticed and consequently did the same, a smirk playing at her lips.

“It don’t gotta be. That one’s up to you,” Vanessa breathed, yet the way she inched impossibly closer said otherwise.

“I–”

Before Brooke could allow the anticipation to drive her crazy, Vanessa’s lips were on her’s.

It was nothing like the kisses they shared on camera, neither drag race or the peck for Nina’s video. It was only the two of them, no pressure or expectation forcing them to maneuver with any caution. The kiss all too similar to the ones they would share after finally finding privacy in between filming, after not having seen each other for a week due to gigs, after spending the weekend together and waking up clinging to each other in the morning. It was all familiarity and comfort, butterflies and giddiness, as their lips moved in a passionate fervor. They didn’t think about posing, or the door to the room being wide open, or mixing nonchalance with playfulness.

Brooke had just released the tension in her body, the reluctance she feigned, when Vanessa broke the kiss.

“Mm?” Brooke blinked, fog passing slowly.

Vanessa moved away from her with a coquettish wink, flipping her wig dramatically over her shoulder that said wig didn’t even reach. “I got a show to do.”

That little fucker, Brooke huffed a laugh with an incredulous shake to her head.

“Maybe a reenactment later?” Vanessa paused again at the door, “Good luck tweetin’ unsuspiciously about that one and not bein’ urged to give me a private phone call after.” And with that, Vanessa vanished around the corner, Brooke not seeing the bashful smile she wore all the way to the stage. And she didn’t know that Brooke wore one to match.

*****

That night, the first thing Brooke saw upon opening Instagram was that damn video. As well as all the reposts and screenshots she had accordingly been tagged in. She prepared herself before playing it, not having seen it yet.

Stopping herself from smiling was out of the question as she watched the fifteen second clip. She watched it more than once, not breaking the natural loop it made whenever it ended.

And if she texted Nina later to send her the video, simply to rewatch the way Vanessa smiled into their kiss, well, she wouldn’t bring that part up.

*****

@Bhytes1: Because everyone loves a dramatic re-enactment

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #fluff #angst #frenchy #submission #canon compliant #s11 #sometimes a fantasy

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unicorns-bookshelf · 5 years

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Title: King of Scars

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Rating: 4/5

Beware! Spoilers to all of Grishaverse ahead!

I have to admit – I binged the whole Grisha Trilogy just so I could start reading King of Scars with a full picture. And I’m glad that I did because it made reading this book so much better. I was excited to see all the characters that accompanied Alina on her adventure. It was so refreshing to see them without being a background to her story and the relationships in the group were absolutely wholesome and made me so happy.

But off to the review we go!

King of Scars takes place three years after Alina defeated the Darkling and destroyed the Shadow Fold. Ravka, like always, is in a bad place financially and surrounded by neighbors who are ready to start a war. Not to mention the winged Shu soldiers who abduct Grisha to experiment on them with the use of parem. If that wasn’t enough bad news, Nikolai’s closest friends and guards need to make sure no one knows that the monster The Darkling had put into their king started acting up and now our favorite monarch spends his nights either sedated and in chains or relieving local farms of their livestock.

Good time? In Ravka? Yeah, I don’t think so.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Fjerda, Nina along with two other soldiers of the Second Army is on an undercover mission to smuggle Grisha from the country to Ravka and also find a proper place to lay Matthias’ body to rest. Because we didn’t need our hearts anyway.

I am sad to say that the one lacking star in the rating is for the plot. It was really amazing until half of the book, the political intrigue was shaping up nicely, there was the curious mystery of the miracles happening around Ravka and it was fascinating to watch how Alina’s and the Darkling’s legacy shaped up the country and what was the aftermath to the war. Zoya and Nikolai were on their way to get rid of the demon in his body and everything was shaping up so nicely. Things on Nina’s end were getting spicy too as she and her team worked to discover the mystery of a factory in a Fjerdan village and why was it poisoning the local river. At least in this end, the plot didn’t disappoint until the end.

But in Zoya’s and Nikolai’s POVs… The Saints happened.

Oh boy. I can’t even express how random and confusing this subplot was.

Let me get this straight - the Saints are important to the Ravkans. They’re a huge part of their beliefs and religion. Their martyrdoms and actions shaped the nation and sure, in The Grisha Trilogy we see Illya’s direct legacy have a huge part in the story, his actual descendants, the results of his experiments with merzost and it is hinted that maybe he’s even alive someone out there, kept young by his Grisha power but the whole point is that he’s not directly involved in the story. He doesn’t just appear out of nowhere in front of Alina being like “Hey girl, let me tell you about those sweet amplifiers I’ve been working on” and suddenly solving all her problems and giving her a super boost in power. He stays an element of Ravkan history and mythology, even if his past actions are crucial to the plot and behavior of certain characters. That’s what the Saints are and what they should stay.

But no, apparently three of them picked by a random generator are locked in a pocket dimension on the fold and just chilling there until Nikolai and Zoya get somehow sucked in. Ones with the powers and knowledge that could obviously benefit the characters. It was just so… Unreal and random and we just got a half-assed explanation for it that sounds like a story made up in five minutes without any deeper consideration for the world’s lore and magic system. And I get that the Darkling’s experiment destroyed the world’s balance but this had absolutely nothing to do with anything the Darkling was trying to accomplish. It felt like something written by a completely different author with little knowledge of the source material. And if this were means to an end, I feel like it could have been accomplished in a much more plausible way.

I didn’t hate everything about the Saints subplot. I’m happy it gave us some background on how life as a Grisha was in the past, the origins of the name and some amplifier lore too. I love that Zoya got a power boost and I would love to see her change into the dragon in the second book because let’s be honest that would be absolutely awesome. I also hope that the second book will elaborate on the topic, making it more believable and incorporate it into the world’s lore in a logical way. Maybe even show more Saints so that those three wouldn’t feel like special snowflakes chosen just to achieve the ending and give the characters a power boost. I could really just roll with it if we get a more thought-out explanation in the future because as soon as they entered the Saints’ little realm I felt like I was reading about Zoya and Nikolai experiencing a mass hallucination.

And that brings me to the ending. I know a lot of people hate it and honestly, I kind of share that sentiment. However, I must admit - it had me curious. The Darkling’s situation is completely different than it was in the Grisha Trilogy. I trust the author enough to give her a benefit of doubt in this case and see how she handles this situation in the next book. I’m curious about the Darklings interactions with other characters, as in TGT he was pretty much only focused on Alina. On one hand, I wanted a new villain or no villain at all, just a good political intrigue with some magic. On the other, I’m curious to watch the whole situation develop.

Now it’s time to talk about the characters because they’re exactly what made this book enjoyable, even when the plot went south.

I know most people came here for Nikolai and I have to admit that so did I. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely wasn’t disappointed. We could finally see Nikolai outside of Alina’s POV and it was a feat. The prince seems a little more mature than in TGT but his sense of humor and charming attitude stays the same. We get to learn about his childhood, his insecurities, and concerns both regarding the monster that is inside him as well as ruling his country. His POV allows us to see him as a more wholesome character than in TGT as back then our opinion on him was influenced by Alina’s thoughts and narration. I was very happy to see more of him and I still love him to bits.

But it’s the girls that take the spotlight in this book.

When I read the Crooked Kingdom, I had a certain picture of Zoya which didn’t exactly line up with what I saw after reading The Grisha Trilogy. Of course, from the first book to the last, Zoya went thought some character development, growing out of her mean girl phase but all we’d known about it was that she lost her aunt when the Darkling used Alina to expand the Fold. King of Scars gives us an insight into her past, more information about her relationship with the Darkling and it’s all glorious and shes glorious and ruthless and I love how she’s not softened in any way as a part of some questionable character development. I want to see this girl turn into a dragon.

Nina’s POV made me love her even more than in Six of Crows. She’s still fabulous and ready to stir trouble wherever she goes. Her goodbye with Matthias was heartbreaking but I’m glad her whole storyline wasn’t based on moping after him. I loved that Matthias’ wolf was incorporated into the story and I hope we’ll see more of him. We also got a bigger display of Nina’s powers twisted by parem and I enjoyed it so much. Nina is always ready to help other girls and women and all I can say is… Icon.

There was also a fourth POV introduced half into the book, one of a completely new character - a royal guard called Isaak. I did love him and he was shaping into a great character but the things happened and, well… We won’t be seeing any more of him and I was really looking forward to the part where he wouldn’t be playing Nikolai and we could see him as his own person. I feel like it was quite a waste but on the other hand, I didn’t grow to care enough to be bothered by it.

When it comes to relationships, both romantic subplots are a big yes in my book. When I started King of Scars I was very not on board with the whole Nikolai and Zoya thing but this book made me love it. Let’s just wish we don’t get some crappy love triangle in the second book. When it comes to Nina and Hanne, I was so excited to see Nin with a girl and Hanne is a great character who has a huge potential for development and the fact that she’s Brum’s daughter makes these dynamics even more interesting. Those two are going to conquer Fjerda together.

Platonic relationships in the book are also delightful and heartwarming. I especially loved the Grisha Triumvirate and Nikolai acting like one big family and also Adrik being done with Nina starting drama in Fjerda and disobeying his orders like the Dreg she is and Leoni just applauding her? Absolute feast.

All in all, would I recommend King of Scars? Yes, I definitely would to all the Grishaverse fans and if you’re a new fan quickly go grab the Six of Crows duology and either The Grisha Trilogy or just a recap article on it since not everyone has enough nerves to go through books that have such annoying characters as Mal or Mal. Oh and also Mal. Sadly knowing at least basic stuff about the Grisha Trilogy is crucial for understanding this book so you can’t just avoid it like with Six of Crows. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book because I can’t wait to see where all of this goes.

#king of scars #kos #book review #book reviews #fantasy review #books #my reviews #my review #fantasy #grishaverse #leigh bardugo

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bookishbloggerreviews · 5 years

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Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom -- An Honest Review

[Warning: I give an honest review that focuses not only on plot but on writing and character as well. As this is an opinion, you can take it as seriously as you want, but understand that my goal is to review, not shame or praise the author.]

HELLO FRIENDS!

I’m back with more bookish content for you, namely, review(s)! So I saw this book series was super popular a little while ago. I put it on my TBR and totally forgot about it, but recently I decided to pick it up and read it and OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.

(That stands for Oh my goodness gracious good gordy grappling grips gone... I’m just gonna end the joke there before I end up losing all of my followers in one go.)

Anyway, it was a delight to read and I am here to review not only Six of Crows, but it’s companion novel, Crooked Kingdom!

So before I get into any spoilers concerning either novel, I would like to take a moment and say that overall, I gave this series a 9/10. For many, this was a 10/10 read, and I completely understand why. The characters were interesting and entertaining, the world was complex and well done, and the plots seemed to make sense, with everything tying back in. So I can wholeheartedly understand why people love these books so much. On the other hand, I gave this a 9/10 because I feel like I caught a few things that other people might not have, or there were some problems with how things were presented that I thought could’ve been polished a little more. (Really, there were just parts that needed polishing and that was it. So that’s what I’ll be focusing on.)

But anyway... for those who don’t know, I start a book with a minimum 5/10 expectation and adjust my scores from there. So clearly I highly enjoyed the book, and there’s not much else to say about that.

Now moving onto spoilers!

(But stop, because if you haven’t read these books then you might spoil a lot more for yourself than you wish and you’ll regret reading this if you haven’t. If not, continue on, fellow Dreg!)

[WARNING: SPOILERS]

(Also, in tribute to how I imagine Kaz would look, I will use nothing but Andy Biersack GIFS. You’re welcome.)

Starting off with Six of Crows... there seems to be a major debate going around about whether Six of Crows was better or if Crooked Kingdoms took the crown. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my own opinions about this. My conclusion: Six of Crows was the better book, while Crooked Kingdoms was the better romance. (And yes, you can separate these things.)

One of the interesting things about having a character like Kaz Brekker is that Kaz keeps company who he qualifies as worth keeping. Having said that, you have to place a value on each of the characters and determine who Kaz really would keep around or not. Inej has immense value, as Kaz can let down his guard around her and expect her to keep every one of his secrets. Nina has value, not only as a soldier, but as a healer, and furthermore, as someone Kaz can manipulate. Jesper has some value as a sharpshooter, but his value lies more in the fact that he’s a fabricator hidden in sight. He’s also easily manipulated, and while somewhat more of a wild card, still easy to account for. Wylan even offers a big asset seeing his heritage and his skill set. But I always struggled to discover what purpose Matthias served.

Now in Six of crows, he has a pretty clear purpose, at least, for half the time. His skill set is weak, and his ability to make choices is ridiculously questionable, but he at least has the knowledge that one needs to get into this frozen fortress. But once we enter the Crooked Kingdom, Matthias has no purpose. He’s chosen not to return to being a soldier, he can’t commit crimes to save his life, he can’t blend in, he can’t spy, he can’t fight well, he has no expertise in weapons, his whole purpose seems to be centered around Nina. “Fight for Nina, protect Nina, help Nina.” At which point Matthias becomes less of a character and more of a plot device.

And while I understand we are having an arc of Kaz Brekker essentially becoming more and more human and less and less “Dirtyhands, Bastard of the Barrel”, Kaz wouldn’t keep Matthias around for one more second than necessary, other than to placate Nina. (And given how Matthias seems to have little interest in money, this seems even truer.)

(And many of you might say: well this is Matthias’s time to overcome his prejudices and show people of previous prejudices they can do so to! It’s an important arc to his character! Well, the problem is... he’s hardly a character. Take away that one train of thought and all you have left is “Nina this, Nina that, Nina, Nina, Nina.” Get what I mean?)

So, in that aspect, I believe that Six of Crows is better written when it comes to the characters dynamic, give/take relationships.

There’s one other thing that I believe helps define Six of Crows as the better book, are we get more of a look at the plot and what’s going to happen than Crooked Kingdom. I don’t know about you, my friend, but I’m getting really tired of the whole, “there’s a plot! I’m just not going to let you in on any of it because then you’d already see the whole thing and I can’t make up for it in writing!” Style of plots. It’s obnoxious and I feel rather patronized for the writer to feel that they need to spell out the entire plot for me to understand what is occurring. That or that the writer can’t trust themselves not to spoil the plot before the plot actually unfolds.

Either way, you’re either mocking your reader or showing that you can’t figure out how to write your own story in such a way that both teases the mind while satisfying the need for the plot to be discovered.

Now you’re probably sitting there either thinking “great, but what about Crooked Kingdom? What about that? What’s good about that?” And all I can say is ROMANCE.

Crooked Kingdom does have a great plot, and I don’t want to make it sound like the only thing in the book is romance, but honestly, it’s one of those things where you come for the plot and you stay for the romance.

The plot, while interesting, was a little overwhelming. If you weren’t paying attention, you’d miss a bunch of the tiny little details about what’s actually going on and the implications that those actions have. Then, next thing you know, you’d be reading about how Jesper suddenly has the ability to control the bullets he shoots.

But the romance, on the other hand, was very well paced. (The whole Nina and Matthias thing just felt a little bit like wasted potential but otherwise...)

KAZ AND INEJ: I’VE RARELY READ SUCH GOOD ROMANCE THAT ACCURATELY PORTRAYS PTSD WITHOUT MAKING IT SO DRAMATIC AND UNBELIEVABLE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME NOT SAYING THAT LOVE CAN CURE MENTAL DISORDERS.

Plus~

WYLAN AND JESPER ARE SLOWLY BECOMING THE BEST THING FOR EACH OTHER AND I AM HERE FOR THE OTHER TRYING TO MAKE THE OTHER PROUD. WHAT A GREAT SHIP THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

Literally, I cannot think of such few ships that have automatically topped my OTP within 2 books. I can’t. Not even the Infernal Devices ever achieved that and they’re a powerful duo. For me, I tend to see a regression of most of my popular ships on book two. Yet these couples are going strong, and with the promise of a third book, I can’t wait to see where they go next.

So... overall. Unpopular opinion: Matthias was a bit of a wasted character, and because Nina’s story was so heavily tied to his, I found it to slowly slide into the problem category as well. Another unpopular (or maybe highly popular?) opinion: Kaz Brekker is a great character. But not because he murders people, but because he is consistent in his actions, feelings, and thoughts and is not glorified to be this abusive jerk, but rather, wonderfully horrible person. He’s actually horrible, but he’s an interesting kind of horrible that makes me want to keep reading.

Until next time...

A Bookish Blogger Out!

#six of crows #kaz brekker #kaz #crooked kingdom #book #books #book review #bookreview #bookworm #review #things i love #things i hate #things i like #things to read #things i don't like #unpopular opinion

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emmelfish · 6 years

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Nina looks as confused by this as I am. Okay, so Electrocuted Amazing Hat Guy was in the Calientes’ hot tub, and when the conversation turned to Don Lothario, he took it as an opportunity to talk about how much he fancies Brandi. Everybody in my game seems to fancy Brandi. She’d have done well as a Romance sim.

Anyway, he goes and gets struck by lightning in the hot tub, leaves, and then calls Nina about giving her a sample of a ‘new product’. Said ‘new product’ turns out to be the same bloody tired old flatscreen TV from the base game!

So that’s the most exciting thing currently happening in Nina’s life, given her romantic pursuits and athletic activities have taken a backseat to nausea, indigestion, flatulence, crying at the Cat Lady movie, and pickle cravings. Let’s turn our attention to Dina, who, when she isn’t working...

... is running off to see her beloved Mort Mort. Now, game story or no, there’s a real reason I’m keeping these two crazy kids together.

Why, they’re only crystal ball compatible of course! I genuinely found it rather adorable when Dina cropped up on here, considering she already wants to marry herself off to him. Dina suiting Mort better than Bella, huh. Who’da thunk it?

The age gap between these two is still just bonkers. I mean, my own brother in real life is ten years older than me, but that still would have only made him teenaged when I was around the kid age that Alex is here. Then again, Alex is only a few days off being a teenager... and if that would put Cass in her early twenties... I’m talking myself out of an argument here. Moreover, why am I still trying to make sense of this game?

Mort’s LTW is to max out all 7 skills which is perfect for a retired Knowledge sim. And given his existing skill points from his Mad Scientist days, this one might actually be achievable, if a little tedious, repetitive, grinding...

DINA! Be nice to the fish, you’re a bloody Nature sim.

Dina: But also, fishing is a Nature sim hobby. Rargh! I’m a crocodile! 🐊

Touché.

Kristen: I’ve accidentally run to Pleasantview. Yeah I’ve mistakenly – run – to Pleasantview. I didn’t mean to, just the endorphins kicked in and uh, I couldn’t stop... I feel fucking brilliant! Can I sit down in your front room and play chess before I die?

Context:

In full view of that painting that looks nothing like Bella, you guys. No shame.

Mortimer: She’s legally dead, give us a break.

Take the painting down then and get one commissioned of sweet Diggy here, she shouldn’t have to look at her dead husband’s sister while she’s riding you like Seabiscuit.

Who *doesn’t* want their pension check to arrive right as they finish woohoo, huh? And while all around her seem to trip over and fall pregnant, Dina’s yet to have a Mini Mort in the Making after around fifteen tries at this point. I think that’s possibly fate telling me to have these two adopt, which I’m totally down for.

Hey, it’s Joan of Arc haircut tracksuited Romance sim Lainey again! She’s everywhere, this gal.

Lainey: Haaaaaai.

Kristen: My legs are gone, man... I’m a jelly.

Oh LOVERS UPSTAIRS? Alex is home and wants to yell at you about his good grades. Maybe you should get out of bed and uh –

Oh.

Oh yay, Cassandra’s in here too.

My, young Alex Goth has seen some shit in his short life. That said, at least Mort is a good enough father to get out of bed and congratulate him... even if he did do so in undies.

Dina: What am I marrying into (if he ever asks me).

Oh YIKES Cass. Don just keeps spreading that seed, weaving those tangled webs, and bringing families together in the strangest possible ways! I wonder if one day Pleasantview will solely be populated by raven-haired, green-eyed Lothario offcuts.

And now Mort gets a great reputation! I’m not sure how that’s possible given he’s famous for shoving and yelling at everybody in – what have I got, like 9 subhoods at this point? – who dares look through a telescope during the day, but there we go!

I knew it wouldn’t be long before Dina embraced the Goth Crazy and started playing terrible piano in her panties. And looky who’s here! The most underrated Curious bro of the three (probably with good reason, but he’s an all-time fave of mine)! Did he jog all the way from Strangetown too?

Cassandra: So I say, who needs best friends when you have robots and a great career in Science, right?

Vidcund:

Mortimer: No Kiernan, while I’d love to hang out Downtown I’m afraid Alexander is following me around like a lemming. Yes, well there’s a high probability of a new stepmother in his life. You know the one, Bella’s brother’s widow. You’re right, I suppose that does make her my sister-in-law. Anyway you’ve seen her, she’s very attractive and young and blonde and I’m concerned Alexander may be forming a mild Oedipal complex.

Despite technically being on the grouchy end of the Sim personality spectrum, Cass is super nice and actually praises Dina’s horrible piano playing.

Vidcund: Well I’ll be. Antisocial like me, but raised with enough social skills to keep up appearances. Note to self: Google ‘how to trick any girl into becoming your wife’ later.

Hang on... did Alex bring a friend home from school and I missed the pop-up? Was I off getting chocolate or something? I guess there’s that Pleasantview penchant for Viper Canyon kids going strong again.

Vidcund has no airs and graces and simply blows millions of raspberries at an unfazed Dina.

Whereas Kristen is so nice that she actually tips her.

Kristen: It’s a Fortune sim thing. We understand each other.

Interesting, I thought you folks would be more frugal than that. And there’s Sharla! Oh man, the Ottomi are going to be such hard work. That household is gonna be a slog and a half.

Let’s leave this here because next time, Mortimer and Dina have a date completely dominated by their outerwear. Oh no... it’s not an outdoor date to a park or anything like that... no. They wear their outerwear to a restaurant. They really do. Those delightful eccentrics.

#emmelfishuberhood

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morathor · 6 years

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Ladies of Darkness 26/?

"You see what I did there?" "I love it!" "Thanks, it was really good, I think it was um, a pretty good improv joke, and, um, I'm implementing it now, from now on, forever." "Oh my god, nice, it's like a little uh, its like a meme!" "Nope. Now it's dead. The meme is dead."

That conversation then proceeded into a Very Serious Discussion On Gun Control, so anyway what's up, it is NEW! Ladies of Darkness! That thing I talk about sometimes, because it's really cool! You can check it out here, @ladiesofdarkness! Do it! Tune in to the show bro! Or don't, like, not everything I like is everyone's taste I get that. (Because some people Have No Taste and that's okay.) Anyway this has been out for a week! Whaaaaaat? Are they coming out faster? I think they're coming out faster. DMKat did say a few episodes back, that she had wished to put out more content over the past year, so maybe they're picking up the pace? Or maybe because it's an intermission episode, it didn't take as long to do so that's why? Idk.

So we start with Nikki going ballistic because they're capturing the earthbound and not killing them. She's so mad, she's so mad all the time. I love her. But like she's not really doing anything about it? Just being mad. Also Vahkiel do NOT LIGHT THE BERSERKER ON FIRE WHAT THE FUCK. VAHKIEL COULD YOU NOT BE SUCH AN ASSHOLE ALL THE TIME, TRY NOT BEING AN ASSHOLE SOMETIMES, JUST SOMETIMES, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT. So while Nikki was doing a stop drop and roll the demons drove off. (Arakiel gave in to peer pressure here.)

So they get back to Augusta, only to realize THEY FORGOT DANIEL! THEY ABANDONED THEIR BOY! Vahkiel STOP BEING A DOUCHEWAFFLE ABOUT IT. And then they got into a discussion about, what do they even DO with the captured demons, and Arakiel is concerned about the ones they actually know? The two they are tight with. Being locked in there with Lilith especially. But it's kinda like. What you gonna do? They're a little too ass-deep in this plan to back out now.

So Valoel goes and has a meet with Paimon, who I kind of forgot was a thing? That's their boss's boss, I think, I only sort of remember this character. And Paimon wants to make small talk, like, "What is your purpose on Earth?" Just casual icebreakers like that. Anyway Paimon wants to set Valoel up as the group leader? Which kind of makes sense but Paimon you did not have to dump on Arakiel like that. You did not have to disrespect my child who is several thousand times my age you did NOT. (Valoel stands up for them. Good. Also acknowledges, has room for improvement, but in a positive encouraging way. This is why Valoel would make a good leader, I think, is the thing.)

The thing is, to the extent that I remember Paimon, I seem to remember his talk with Vahkiel was in a similar vein like, I want to make sure you're being adequately rewarded for your services, I have big plans for you, I can't rely on the others like I can on you, keep an eye on Dorian for me, etc etc, this is SUSPCIOUS AS HELL YA'LL. (Valoel agrees because Valoel is smart like that.) So she goes to talk to Dorian, who is having pizza with Nina. You interrupted pizza, Val, this better be good. It's good, though, like I'm so pleased? Your super shady boss makes a super shady request regarding your allies, and you immediately came clean with them. I love this. Good job Val, good job Tamara. Good roleplaying good storytelling good good good good GOOD.

Vahkiel goes to see Hahniel, which means interacting with her son while trying to pretend to be Charlie. Who is still kind of sulking in the subconscious I guess. Vahkiel's awkward, stammering Charlie impression is THE FUNNIEST SHIT YA'LL, this is a real deer in headlights moment and I love it. Eventually Vahkiel worms her way out with the clever story of a casserole dish to return. BRILLIANT! Anyway just wants the boss to know that the demon hunters are getting more hostile and Arakiel is very concerned about their formerly-Earthbound friends. Vahkielllll I get where you're coming from but you got to know they're playing you Vahkiel! And you're just playing along, Vahkiel, come on. Come on. Management got you spying on your teammates, looking for signs of disloyalty to be reported, got you convinced this is how you work your way up but it's just how they keep you down, keep you all down, you got to unionize Vahkiel! Got to sign on to the Local Demon Works Union 406.

Then Vahkiel has a run-in with Mary-Margaret, who almost runs into her, and Vahkiel explodes like an asshat before making another desperate and hilarious attempt to pass as Real Human Teen Charlene Mason. She even literally says "It's me Charlie" that is. Vahkiel that is the number one thing to say to convince people you are an impostor. The number one. Thing. (Number one. All others are number two or lower.) Anyway so that fails miserably and immediately and the situation is dire enough to pull Charlie out of her sulk because she's only got the one friend okay she's not gonna mess this up. So let's just drop a drama bomb up in here, that will go over well. (Also, Charlie's impression of Vahkiel is about a million times better than vice versa. It really is. "I don't want to wash the dishes, I want to kill people, blaaaah!")

And then Arakiel Did An Alone. Just sits with the bin. You know, the bin, where they dump all the captured demons. Just hanging. Stewing. Ruminating. Curling up in the fetal position. As you do. But, actually, when Arakiel starts talking to the bin, the bin talks back! Well, it dings at them. Like something knocking on the inside walls. They quickly sort out a communication system, but like there's no guarantee this is their friend? It could be Lilith fucking with them. Although there's like a weird scraping sound interrupting in the middle. So my take on the scene is this: they start out talking to their friend. Then their friend gets hauled away. And then Lilith picks up the conversation in their place. That's my thought. The final message they get is "Run." So that all ends in tears until Doris shows up and finds Arakiel bawling on her floor. And has no idea what to do with that.

Soooooo yeah. That intermission was a bit on the heavy side, as intermission episodes go. Overall a good time. Looking forward to the next arc.

#lodcast #ladies of darkness #i kind of got assigned group leader in a DnD game once #although 'leader' in this case was not a matter of having authority #so much as it was having a direct line to our patron deity #so i could get advice and make sure we were living up to her standards #basically god gave my character her number #he was very stoked because god was Very Fine

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gwydionae · 6 years

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11 Questions Meme

Rules:

Post the rules

Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

Write 11 questions of your own

And tag 11 people

Tagged by @sealandangel! ^_^

I am actually procrastinating right now and don’t really have time to make up 11 new questions so I’m gonna be a putz and not tag anyone sorry

What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

Just hanging out at home with my computer, kitty, and whatever random project I want to work on that day. ^_^

If you’re in the CLAMP fandom whats your favorite manga and favorite character and why?

Hahaha, I don’t know that’d I’d say I was in the CLAMP fandom per se, but I do like my fair share of CLAMP stuff. Perhaps surprisingly I think I’d have to say that Magic Knight Rayearth is my favorite of their manga - a bit cliche by today’s standards, sure, but it was one of the first manga series I read, so it introduced me to a lot of those cliches, haha. I just really like the characters and think it’s a solid story with a nice twist at the end.

As for favorite CLAMP character, I’d probably have to go with both Sakura and Shaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. My heart says that Shaoran is #1, but I know that without Sakura I wouldn’t like him nearly so much. So for me they come as a package deal. They are just both so sweet and innocently adorable, even if Shaoran starts out a bit grumpy, lol. Sakura is a little ray of sunshine that still gets some nice depth, and Shaoran’s journey through self discovery always makes me happy.

Favorite Anime?

My nostalgic favorite is Digimon (specifically Adventure), so I don’t know that anything will ever be able to topple it from that spot as nostalgia is a powerful thing. I love the characters and the fact that it has some surprising depth for a show based on a toy line. Also the backgrounds are GORGEOUS.

But as far as a series where my nostalgia does not taint my opinion, there are a lot I could chose from, but the one that really does just stick out the most is Tsuritama. I love that series so much. <3 Yuki honestly means so much to me, and I truly love the entire cast. That and the story is so unique and fun and interesting! Everyone should watch the show about aliens, fishing, dancing, and social anxiety! XD

Favorite Cartoon?

Oh, this one’s a lot easier: Batman the Animated Series! I mean, sure, there are a ton of cartoons I love, but none will ever top that one. The writing, the atmosphere, the characters, the voice acting, the music... it is truly a masterpiece. BtAS Batman is MY Batman (and none of this later season junk where suddenly all of his personality was zapped away and Babs was, like, dating him or something weird and gross like that and Dick was turned emo and Tim was beyond annoying... ok I’ll stop now...).

Favorite Video game?

I don’t care if it’s the cliche answer: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. While other Zelda games may do individual aspects better (Midna = best companion, BotW’s climbing and paragliding, etc), OoT has the best full package and, in my opinion, the most compelling story. It’s not a groundbreaking story, but as you might have been able to tell by MKR being my fav CLAMP manga, I’m not super concerned about a story having to be unique to be good, lol. That and I love Zelda being Shiek and running around like a ninja for half the game! XD

What do you like to collect if anything?

Hmm, don’t know that I really collect anything. I have in recent years made a point to buy more prints from artists at anime conventions despite not really having the wall space to hang them, so I suppose that might count? lol I want to get, like, a large book I can put them all in or something!

Windows or Mac?

GIVE ME WINDOWS OR GIVE ME DEATH

...I had a rough time in the computer labs back in college. I did so many art projects in a super old version of Paint Shop Pro on my Windows computer simply to avoid having to use the schools Macs because I hated them THAT much. ^_^;;

What languages can you speak in?

Only English... I can understand some Spanish and Japanese, but it’s very minimal.

Do you like the nightmare before christmas?

OF COURSE

Whats your OTP to end all OTPs?

I actually already touched on it: Sakura and Shaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. <3 It’s just so freaking cute... I won’t start gushing again, though, since, ya know, I already did. XD Just know that I think of it as a super innocent ship - I don’t ship things for the “sexy make out timez” or whatever. I just think they are adorable together.

If you could change ONE outcome in any anime/manga what would it be?

Oooooooooooh that’s rough... See, I’m one of those people who is ok with good characters dying and super bad things happening IF it has significance. So I wouldn’t, like, bring Hughes back or keep Nina from being turned into a chimera, because those are big, impactful moments. So it has to be something that really changed the way I felt about that particular anime/manga...

(I’m... I’m just gonna put this last one under a cut. XD I get pretty heated. LOL It is something that will forever bother me, and if you EVER want to get me going, just bring up Naruto’s Itachi.)

I’ll be honest, the first thing that came to mind is actually from Naruto. I’m not so sure this would be “the ONE” if I actually had time to give this a ton of thought because I stopped enjoying the series even before this happened. But this. THIS was the breaking point. THIS was the one thing that made me turn my back on it completely and despise it with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

Itachi being a “good guy”.

No. NO. NO NO NO NO NO!

This ruined everything. It ruined Itachi who was once this terrifying villain with no remorse toward the killing of his family and made him into a guy who made some really dumb and pointless decisions that ultimately went against what his supposed main goal was all for a cheap shock twist. It ruined Sasuke who should have finally come to the end of his avenging days and had to deal with the fact that it was just as empty and hollow as everyone told him it would be, leading him an ACTUAL path to redemption, but instead was given a lobotomy by the author and only made incomprehensibly dumb choices that went against literally any amount of sense, all so he could stay “bad” until the very end (or whenever exactly that happened - I’m pretty fuzzy on the whole final... war... thing). It ruined Sakura who continued to pine for a guy 100% not worth pining for because he was literally a scumbag when she could have been trying to help a post-avenging Sasuke come to terms with everything instead.

It ruined Naruto himself - say what you want about Sasuke as a character (I loved him pre-time jump, but I know many hated him and I totally get why lol), but one thing you have to give him is that the rivalry between him and Naruto was almost always interesting and fun. They learned from each other, grew together, and yet still wanted nothing more than to one up the other - good, typical shounen rivalry. Sasuke leaving made sense in the story so I was ok with it, but it DID make me care a lot less about Naruto because suddenly I didn’t find the characters he was surrounded with compelling (I’m looking at you, Sai...). If Itachi had not been revealed as a secret “good guy”, this would have left Sasuke with more chances to interact with Naruto in ways other than “I hate the Leaf and want to kill everyone and that includes you”. We could have gotten so much more from the two of them! Maybe they still would have fought sometimes. Maybe Sasuke would help him out before taking off again. It wouldn’t have necessarily meant that Sasuke would have been around all the time, but it still could have given us bits here and there of the two of them interacting with each other which is what made me like the series so much in the first place.

*DEEP BREATH*

Ok. I’m ok. I’m better now. I just... have a lot of feelings about this... XD sorry not sorry

#gwydo's musings #._.#i give long answers XD #sorry...#but this was fun so i don't care XD

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graglithans-library · 3 years

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Welcome to Paris, Fur-ance Ch 2: Tanukis, Miscommunications, and a Weeb

Ladybug and Chat try to talk with Michiru

It's a shame that Ladybug and Chat don't speak Japanese.

It's also a shame that Michiru doesn't know French

_____________________________________________________________

To anyone who reads this that knows Japanese or French, I APPOLOGIZE if the grammar is wrong. I don’t know EITHER language, and am relying on Google. If you know how the sentence should go in those languages, PLEASE feel free to tell me. Now, back to your schedualed story.

_____________________________________________________________

Ladybug and Chat both landed in the courtyard. They waited to see if the tanuki lying on the ground would do anything, and when she didn’t move, slowly walked closer. Chat scratched his head and frowned. “I thought the Akuma was a guy, not a Tanuki girl.”

“A what?” Ladybug asked. A part of her was wondering why she was even bothering. Considering the circumstances, but she honestly wanted anything to distract her mind.

“A tanuki. Tanukis are essentially a kind of raccoon-dog native to Japan.” Chat pointed at her tail. “A Raccoon’s tail is striped. Her’s isn’t. That’s the biggest difference between the two.”

Ladybug just stared at him for a solid ten seconds before she raised an eyebrow and felt her arms go slack. “And you know this... how?”

Chat beamed his signature smile and polished his knuckles on his chest. “And my father said Anime was a waste of time and money.”

It was then that the girl groaned and her hands moved to push herself up, only for her to wince and grab her head. “Itai...” Blinking a bit as she looked up, the tanuki paused at the sight of Ladybug and Chat. “E?” With a surprising amount of energy, she jumped back from the two, and her tail puffed up. She said something after that, all while waving a hand accusingly at the two of them. The tanuki was rattling it off, so fast Ladybug wasn’t quite sure what she even said and let her head tilt to the side in confusion.

Chat, however, had his eyes light up as a smile spread across his face. “This is just like one of my animes!”

Ladybug just turned to him with a deadpan stare as she raised an eyebrow. “Your what?”

Puffing his chest, Chat strolled forward with a cocky smirk on his face. “Just watch and learn, My lady.” Chat cleared his throat and offered his hand. “Konnichiwa! Watashi, chattonowāru. Kanojo, tentōchū. Watashitachiha hīrōsūpā.”

The tanuki girl just stared at him for a moment, her face starting to mimic Ladybug’s before she shook her head and scratched the top of it. “Nani?”

Ladybug could barely bite back a snort of laughter at Chat and how red his face got. “I don’t think you’re good enough to be a translator, Chat.”

“I try, and yet my words fail me.” Chat slumped in place before he looked over at his partner with a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure though that she’s an Akuma? She sure isn’t acting like it.”

Hearing him, the tanuki’s head shot up, and she looked at Chat angrily, fur bristling across her entire body. “Dare o akuma to yonde iru no!? Watashi ga kemonohito dakaratoitte, watashi ni sore o yobu kenri o ataete kurenai!”

Putting a hand on her chin, Ladybug grimaced. “I think Akuma might have a specific meaning in Japanese Chat. One she took offense to.”

Chat just stood there, blinking for a moment before it dawned on him, and he winced. “Oh! Crap, I forgot that Akuma means devil or demon.”

Ladybug facepalmed and groaned. “Chat, how do you forget something like that? We’ve been fighting these kinds of things for three years!”

Chat raised his hands and stepped back from her. “It slipped my mind!”

Dragging her hand off of her face, Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo. “Whatever, we need to focus on the-” Turning back to where the tanuki girl had been, both heroes found the courtyard devoid of anybody. “Where did she-!?” Upon the roof of the school, they spotted the tanuki looking back down at them before she pulled down an eyelid and stuck her tongue out at the both of them. The tanuki then jumped down from the top of the roof and disappeared from view.

“Hey! Get back here!” Chat shouted as he readied himself to vault away.

Only, Ladybug grabbed his right arm before he could. “Chat, wait!” Confused, Chat turned to Ladybug and raised an eyebrow as she let go. “Remember, multiple flashes were signaling the Akuma’s return from where he’d gone. If this girl is what we found in the first one, then one of the others should have the Akuma as we remember him, and that’s the one we should focus on.”

Chat nodded a bit as he thought it over. “You make an excellent point, My Lady. But what about the other three? We can’t just leave a potential threat to Paris running around.”

Concern grew into Ladybug’s face as she held her chin. “I’m not sure she’s actually a threat, Chat. If anything, she just looked confused and scared until you called her an Akuma.” She let her hand drop and sighed. “She might just be a victim of what he does, or he has an Amok helping him somewhere.”

Chat raised an eyebrow and frowned. “His power had to be teleporting, but an amok that turns people into furries? That’s just bizarre.”

Ladybug threw her arms up and huffed. “I know! And I was actually starting to have a small amount of respect for Mayura. At least on a technical level.”

Amused, Chat leaned on his baton and smirked. “Are you good with chasing after her?”

Yo-yo in hand, Ladybug, gave him a determined nod. “And by the time I’m back, I might just bring some help with me.”

“Alright then, I’ll head for the Eiffel Tower. I think that’s where I saw one of the flashes.” Chat readjusted his baton towards his new target and launched out of sight.

As Chat traveled farther away, Ladybug stayed in the courtyard for a moment more, all her determination slowly starting to ebb away. “Be safe, Chat,” she whispered as she turned to the roof where the tanuki had escaped.

It was with only the bare amount of effort needed that she took off and started to zip down the streets of Paris.

________________________________________________________________

When Michiru woke up again, her face was pressed against what felt like asphalt. It took a bit of effort, but slowly, she managed to push herself off of the ground and rubbed her head. “Ow...” Her vision was still a bit blurry, and she could feel the dart from earlier sticking her in the ribs, so she reached down and plucked it out.

It wasn’t long after her vision started to clear up again, and she shook her head. Ugh, what even is in this thing? My head feels like soup.

Looking up, however, made her pause as standing in front of her was two kids who looked younger than herself. One was clad in spandex and the other in a leather catsuit. “Huh?” Her brain took a few seconds to process until it landed on how the guy who did this was in spandex too, and she jumped back and pointed at the two. “Who are you!? Where am I? Where’s Nazuna!”

The red and spotted girl just tilted her head, looking confused, while the guy in a catsuit was starting to remind her of Nina with how his eyes were sparkling. “C’est comme l’un de mes animes!”

The girl in the red suit just stared at her partner and raised an eyebrow. “Ton quoi?” All the while, Michiru was wondering why all of these words sounded familiar.

The cat guy puffed up his chest and started walking closer with a smirk on his face. “Regardez et apprenez, Ma Dame.”

Michiru had to fight to keep her eyes from rolling. I wonder if this is how Nazuna feels when fans start hitting on her?

Stopping just shy of her, the wannabe suave held out a hand. “Hello! Me Chat Noir, She Ladybug. We Hero Super.”

At the veritable word salad that just poured out of who she is guessing is ‘Chat Noir’s mouth, Michiru’s brain had to take a moment to reset. “What?” Did... did this guy just have a stroke? Alas, it was not a stroke, though from how red his face was getting, he probably wishes it was. Oh, he just sucks at speaking Japanese. That makes more sense.

The red-spotted girl, who Michiru assumed is Ladybug, just giggled behind her hand and started talking to Chat Noir. Michiru took it as the perfect moment to look around. In most directions, she could see doorways that lined two floors of the building, which curved around her. The door leading out was behind the two heroes(?), and she eyed the wall. I could probably jump up there with cheetah legs. Then once I’m out of here, I could smell to see if I can find Nazuna!

It was in the middle of the two talking that she caught one part of what Chat Noir was saying while slumping dejectedly. “Etes-vous sûr que c’est une Devil? Elle n’agit certainement pas comme ça?” Michiru’s head shot up and slowly turned to look at him, eye twitching. Oh, he did NOT, just call me that!

Scowling as her fur bristled, she jabbed a finger at the leather-clad boy. “Who are you calling a devil!? Just because I’m a beastman doesn’t give you the right to call me that!” Ladybug at least looked like she realized what her ally had said was started trying to help him understand his faux pas. Michiru took that moment to begin her escape. Her legs shifted into a cheetah’s, and she bolted for the stairs, vaulting off the handrails to land on the roof.

She turned around and saw the two heroes looking up at her in surprise, a childish voice in the back of her head spoke to her.

It said, “Bleh!”

So she did too, much to Chat Noir’s offense and her own pleasure.

She wasted no time after that, hopping down to the street outside and bolting away. She ran for a few blocks before ducking into an alleyway and catching her breath. “That was close.” She peered around the corner and narrowed her eyes, seeing if she could spot either of the two weirdos. “If they’re in suits like that guy who wrecked the Medical Center, they’re probably working with him. And if they’re all working together, then that means Nazuna’s here too!”

Looking at the buildings that were around, Michiru frowned. “Moreover... I’m clearly not in Anima City anymore.” She stared at her arms for a minute before slumping with a sigh. “Ugh, this is going to be so uncomfortable.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled as her fur rippled and hid away, leaving her looking completely human. “UGH! It still feels like wearing heels a size too small! How does Shirou do this all the time?” Leaving the alleyway, she looked around a bit more and tried to read a few signs. “Just where did I even end up anyways?” It was when she turned another corner, that her face contorted in disbelief at what she saw in the distance. “But... but that’s...”

Sitting in the middle of the wide-open square, the Arc De’ Triomphe stood proud.

“I’m in PARIS!?” Groaning as she slumped forward, eyes twitching. Grabbing at her hair with a growl, Michiru slammed her fist into a nearby pole as her frustration started to grow. “How am I going to find Nazuna now!? I don't know my way around Paris!”

She blinked a bit before smacking herself in the head. “Oh, right. Wolf’s nose. Duh.”

Zipping back to the alleyway, she shifted her head into a wolf’s and inhaled. Her eyes shot open as she quickly changed her head back to human and gulped. Even if she was in Paris, what she smelled shouldn’t have been possible. It was physically impossible.

She could smell humans, that part was expected.

She could smell the faint scent of death from the catacombs.

She could smell ice cream from a vendor a few blocks away.

What she couldn’t smell was any other beastman.

Not even some random passerby.

Sinking down onto the ground, Michiru trembled a bit as she hugged herself. “Just what is going on?”

________________________________________________________________

In a manor on the other side of town, Tsurugi Kagami was sitting in meditative silence, as per her mother’s request. While many would have found it mind-numbing to sit in place for hours, Kagami found it relaxing, and it was helping focus her thoughts.

Or at least, it usually would.

Lately, her thoughts have been conflicting. While true that she considered Marinette her rival, even she has noticed a steady decline in the girl’s mental wellbeing. That Rossi girl clearly was doing something, but Marinette refused to tell her what. Adrien was equally unhelpful, though it felt like he was hiding something different from her.

All of these thoughts kept ruining her usual meditation, and Kagami sighed as she stood. It was clearly not working, so why continue? Leaving for her family room, she took a moment to stare at the swords on display. She knew full well her mother intended to give them to her when she turned eighteen and expected some level of competency in their use.

That expectation’s result of constant sword fighting of all kinds certainly left its mark on her skillset.

Before she could ruminate further, a blue flash and a thunderous clap of air ripped behind her. Spinning on her heel, Kagami grabbed one of the swords and held it at her hip, ready to cut down whatever Akuma had dared to enter her home.

Instead, she saw a pink fox girl lying face-first on her couch, dressed in a plain white shirt, pale blue ankle-length skirt, and white sandals.

Kagami was hesitant at first, but she slowly moved closer to get a better look. A gentle nudge of her sword’s sheath made the fox roll slightly. Seeing the eyes of the fox girl closed, she let some of the tension bleed out of her, but there was another thing that caught Kagami’s attention. A lone dart was sticking out of the fox girl’s chest, and her sleep looked to be rife with discomfort.

It was an impulsive decision, something quite unusual for Kagami, that led to her reaching down and pulling out the dart. Almost immediately, the fox’s breathing steadied, and she looked to be finding comfort in the cushions of the couch.

The door to the room slammed open and made Kagami jump as her mother started into the room. Blind she may have been, but Tsurugi Tomoe’s hearing was as concise as ever. “Kagami? What is going on?”

Kagami frowned as she looked to her mother, still holding the dart in her hand. “I’m not sure, Mother, but I believe we have an unconscious yokai in our house.”

Tomoe scowled as she walked into the room. “Kagami, you will not lie to me. Explain what happened.”

Of course, her mother didn’t believe her, Kagami thought bitterly for a moment. It wasn’t exactly surprising though, all things considered. “Mother, I am telling the truth. She is currently sitting on our couch, and-”

“Ow... my head.” Both Tsurugi women stopped, and Tomoe’s eyebrows knitted together as she listened. Slowly, the fox girl got up and was holding her head in one hand. When her eyes opened more, she yipped in surprise the moment she saw Kagami. “W-Who are you? Where am I?”

Tomoe’s face was expressionless as she walked forward until she stopped just next to Kagami. Placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, the older Tsurugi let out a long sigh. “It seems I owe you an apology. You spoke true, after all. We do have a guest.” turning to the couch, Tomoe frowned. “I am Tsurugi Tomoe, and I would like to know who you are and as to how you arrived at my home.”

The fox girl just blinked a bit before scratching at her cheek nervously. “My name is Hiwatashi Nazuna. Although, um, I’m not totally sure where here is, to be honest.”

#Brand new animal #Miraculous Ladybug #Fanfiction #fanfic #I'm bad at tags #Crossover #Chapter 2 #Welcome to Paris Fur-ance #wtpf

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dorkforty · 5 years

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So it’s time to get back to the funnybooks. After two weeks of talking movies, I’ve got a nice little backlog piling up, including the conclusion of Heroes in Crisis, the beginning of the end for Ed Piskor’s X-Men: Grand Design, and new issues of Stray Bullets and Criminal. But first, the comic I enjoyed most from the last two weeks…

The Green Lantern 8 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp

Y’know, just about any issue of this book is likely to be filled with ridiculous fun. But this one… Holy crap.

From the cover alone, you know you’re in for a wild ride. This issue is an homage to the classic Denny O’Neil / Neal Adams run of Green Lantern / Green Arrow, complete with Liam Sharp doing his best Adams impersonation throughout. But once you start reading the actual story, you swiftly realize it’s WAY crazier than that.

First, we’re introduced to Hadea Maxima, a (possibly other-dimensional?) hell-planet inhabited by a race of space demons for whom murder is not a crime, but an accepted cultural norm. One of the leaders (I guess?) of this place is a demon space-mobster named Lord Brotorr (!), who’s very very angry that rival demon space-mobster Glorigold DeGrand (!) is cutting in on his profits with a new drug that’s connected in some way to Earth. So Brotorr orders the murder of not just his rival, but also of THE ENTIRE PLANET.

Cut to Earth, where Green Arrow’s dealing with a deadly new street drug that leaves its users in a blank, zombie-like state. Green Lantern shows up to help, and we’re off to the races. Before it’s all done (without getting into too many spoilers), we’ve had twists, turns, psychedelic trips, drug dealers in pointy black hoods, and what may be only the second-ever appearance of Jack Kirby’s Xeen Arrow (the Green Arrow of Dimension Zero, which is of course an other-dimensional world inhabited by telepathic super-giants).

It is complete insanity, a frothy mixture of Silver Age goofiness and 2000 AD attitude that somehow manages to maintain the heroes’ dramatic dignity while still playing things for laughs. It’s a tightrope walk of an approach, and it’s not easy to pull off. Too far one way, and it all gets too cute for its own good. Too far the other way, and you’ve got the idiocy of a Rob Liefeld comic. But when you hit that sweet spot in the middle, you’ve got a potential classic.

And though it’s not perfect… Though sometimes Morrison’s scripts lean so far into dream logic that they don’t quite make sense even as comedy… I’m leaning toward this being a classic.

Immortal Hulk 18 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

Another classic in the making is Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s Immortal Hulk. This one’s been gathering quite a buzz, picking up readers as it goes along, to the point that the early issues (which had low-expectation print runs) are now going for a pretty penny on the collector’s market. I’m sure the prices will eventually level out, but it’s nice to see a comic going for big bucks on the basis of actual reader demand, instead of the usual “it’s worth this because we say it is” reasons for that sort of thing.

The buzz it’s getting is deserved, too. Al Ewing’s horror take on the character has been quite a bit of fun. It dragged a bit during the Hell storyline a few issues back, but otherwise this has been great stuff. Joe Fixit (aka the gray Hulk) recently reappeared, and this issue we discover that he’s been in control of Banner’s body for quite some time. It’s not entirely clear how long, or what he’s been up to, but he’s definitely had time to amass a little money. And grow a mustache.

As the story moves on, we also get a crazy new version of the Abomination WHO HAS A FIST FOR A FACE.

So, yeah. This one’s a lot of fun, too. Not as good. But a lot of fun.

X-Men: Grand Design: X-Tinction 1 by Ed Piskor

My favorite X-Men book since Grant Morrison left in a huff has begun its final chapter here. If you’re not familiar, Grand Design is Ed Piskor’s attempt to cover the history of the X-Men as if it was all one long story that was planned out from the beginning. The first volume covered the original series, and the second covered the first 100 issues or so of Chris Claremont’s long run.

This time around, he’s really got his work cut out for him, because he’s covering what might be the absolute nadir of the Claremont run: the Trial of Magneto through Inferno. This was the period when I started losing interest in the book, and finally stopped reading it entirely. These stories left a bad taste in my mouth that’s still lingering 30 years later, and I found that I didn’t enjoy revisiting them any more than I enjoyed reading them the first time through.

Piskor does his best with them, though, condensing and conflating events in a way that streamlines some of Claremont’s more over-extended plotlines, and completely skips the more forgettable stories in favor of the stuff that continued to have repercussions down the line. His one misstep in that regard, I think, is the short shrift he gives to the Trial of Magneto, which I’ve always though of as the real climax of the first half of Claremont’s run. But I suppose that ultimately had more of an impact on the New Mutants book than it did X-Men proper, so maybe he was right to only mention it in passing. This is really Storm’s issue, and he rightly focuses things on her character arc (which might be the one really interesting thing from this period of the book).

Still. Holy crap. The latter two-thirds of this issue is concerned entirely with demons and Mr. Sinister. And just when you think you’re done with the demons, MORE demons show up. It’s interminable. And there’s only so much even Ed Piskor can do to save it.

Still, though, I have high hopes for the next issue. Because I have no idea whatsoever where X-Men goes next, and I can only think it would have to be better…

Ed Piskor’s Grade for Trying Hard:

Chris Claremont’s Grade for Writing Such Execrable Source Material:

Heroes in Crisis 9 by Tom King and Clay Mann

On the one hand, it’s comforting that this book died the way it lived: telling a story that I liked in some very important ways, but hated in others.

On the other hand… DAMMIT, Tom King! Why do you have to be so good and so bad at the same time?!

I don’t care enough to go into great detail on what I liked and didn’t like in this final issue. So I’ll just hit the highlights. On the down side, King engaged in some time travel shenanigans to change the solution we already saw to his locked-room mystery, and that feels like a cheat.

But on the up side, that cheat gives us an ending that’s messy but life-affirming, rather than neat but tragic. And that ending, unsatisfying as it is from a narrative perspective, feels very real. Because life is often messy and unsatisfying. “Nothing ever ends,” as Alan Moore once told us. But this ending also fits the book better than the neat ending would have. Because the ending we got (Wally West lives) offers a chance at healing and a hope for redemption. Which is what Heroes in Crisis has been about from the outset.

So I suppose I shouldn’t complain.

But I do.

Because, dammit.

Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses 41 by David Lapham

With the Lodger side project over, David Lapham gets back to his (or maybe my) first love, Stray Bullets. And, holy crap, things are really getting out of control.

click to embiggen

It would take far more time than I have tonight to explain the vast web of plots that are coming together here. So suffice it to say that the entire huge ensemble cast, which Lapham has spent the last 40 issues meticulously establishing, is finally converging, and I have no idea how any of them are going to survive.

Except that I know most of them do.

Because this entire series essentially takes place between issues seven and eight of the original Stray Bullets series, published more than 20 years ago. And I know what happens afterwards. In most cases, that would take some of the… excitement, I suppose… out of seeing how it’s all going to end. But not here, really. Lapham’s done a sufficiently good job putting this story together that, even though I know that Beth, Orson, Nina, Spanish Scott, and so many other characters will be surviving this bloodbath, I want to know how they’re gonna do it. And then there’s a handful of other characters who seem conspicuously absent from future events, and I’m dreadfully worried about all of them.

Or, if not worried, per se, at least really curious.

Because honestly… Annie probably deserves whatever she’s got coming. Unless, of course, Lapham finds a way to make her fate even worse than I can imagine. He’s good at that…

Criminal 5 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

This fifth issue begins what Ed Brubaker has said will probably be the longest Criminal story arc to date. Which is a little weird for a series that he’s also said would feature more short pieces. But Brubaker’s a criminal at heart, as we’ve already learned, so you kind of have to take his proclamations about this book with a grain of salt.

Anyway. This new arc’s called “Cruel Summer.” It’s set in the summer of 1988, and it involves a private detective being hired to find a woman, but getting in a little too deep. Pretty standard noir premise there, and though the story’s well-told, I won’t tell you that Brubaker and Phillips really offer that much in the way of new twists on it. Where things get interesting is at the end, when Our Hero gets whacked on the head with a wrench by none other than Teeg Lawless.

That’s the same Teeg Lawless around whom every story in this current volume of Criminal has in some way revolved. Or if not revolved, INvolved. Even if it’s only in a spectral, influential sort of way. And next issue, we’re told, is all about Teeg. And, I would presume, this mysterious woman we meet this time around.

Which is just a really long-winded way of telling you that this story’s much like all the others in this series: clever, well-constructed, and more complicated than it looks on the surface.

A Walk Through Hell 10 by Garth Ennis and Goran Sudzuka

Garth Ennis’ searing look at the horrors of the Trump era continues, with an issue that calls into question the value of empathy when you’re dealing with people who have none themselves. It is not a cheerful or especially pleasant read. But it is a compelling one. It questions liberal values even as it presents the rich and powerful in a very ugly light. While it’s clear who the biggest monsters are, it doesn’t let anybody off the hook. Which is horribly unfair, but there’s also a grain of truth in it. Maybe more than a grain. Maybe. Probably. Maybe.

It’s into that opening of doubt that Ennis shoves his pry bar, and starts applying pressure. And that’s where the real horror comes from. This is a story about evil men taking advantage of people’s doubts. But they have those doubts for a reason, and sometimes that’s enough to break them.

And that is Hell.

Or at least, that’s my reading of the book at this point. I withhold the right to change my mind in light of future evidence.

And on that cheery note, it is time to bid you adieu.

Xeens and Things: FUNNYBOOKSINREVIEWAREGO!! So it's time to get back to the funnybooks. After two weeks of talking movies, I've got a nice little backlog piling up, including the conclusion of Heroes in Crisis, the beginning of the end for Ed Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design, and new issues of Stray Bullets and Criminal.

#A Walk Through Hell #Al Ewing #Criminal #David Lapham #Ed Brubaker #Ed Piskor #Garth Ennis #Grant Morrison #Green Lantern #Heroes in Crisis #Immortal Hulk #Liam Sharp #Sean Phillips #Stray Bullets #Tom King #X-Men: Grand Design

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