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fuzzballsheltiepants · 5 years

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The Sparrow

Green light filtered through the window. It made the room feel like it was under water, or on some foreign planet. Andrew dropped his arm over his eyes trying to block it out, trying to will himself back to sleep for another hour. Or three. Nobody was counting.

A sharp pip sounded from somewhere outside. A minute passed, and it sounded again. And again. Andrew dropped his arm and glared out into the greenish dawn. A little bird hung from one of the branches of the giant vine that clung to the side of the house. It stared at him, cocking its head to the side, bright eyes considering. Pip!

“You’re an asshole.”

The bird gave a self-satisfied pip and flew off. Bastard. Just what he needed, an alarm clock with a mind of its own.

He yawned and stretched, taking inventory of what hurt. Knees. Left thumb. Right hip. Better than yesterday. He left his cane where it was, leaning against the wall.

Going down the narrow stairs that his physical therapist had assured him were a terrible idea, he entered the tiny kitchen and grumbled at the landscape of boxes he could see stacked in the living room. The coffee maker was the one thing he had set up yesterday, and he listened to the gurgling sounds as the water dripped through while he looked over the boxes. Finding the one labeled Dishes, he dug through and pulled out a bowl and a mug.

He took his meager breakfast out onto the patio. The cracked concrete was shot through with weeds; the abandoned furniture peeling and rusted. The little pipping bird was back to sitting in the vines. He couldn’t figure out why it was there; other than the vines that were assaulting the house and a few coarse weeds, the yard was bare dirt, hard and unwelcoming and littered with junk. It was ugly as hell, but Andrew didn’t really care. All he had to do was lift his head, and the view was spectacular: rolling mountains, the caps slowly baring themselves to the spring sun, the slopes a mix of trees and green expanses that he knew from photographs were covered with flowers. Someday, he’d walk there. Someday, he’d reach the top.

Scoffing at himself, at his stupid impossible dreams, he creaked to his feet and went in to take his medications.

Andrew’s house was full of strangers. If he hadn’t just bought the thing two days ago, it would’ve been tempting to set it on fire.

They weren’t technically strangers, as Allison had pointed out, given that he worked with them. But when Renee had said she’d be stopping by to help him unpack, he would’ve preferred it if she’d mentioned she’d be bringing half the town. He glared across the room at Renee, who pretended not to notice while she helped her girlfriend unpack cooking supplies. There was banging overhead where Kevin and Matt were putting together his bed. On the one hand, he was glad he was going to be able to stop sleeping on his mattress on the floor. On the other hand…

Movement outside caught this eye, a flash of reddish brown in his front yard. “What—”

Renee paused in her silverware sorting and followed his eyes. “Oh good! Neil came.”

“What, you hadn’t brought enough people?”

His words were punctuated by a crash from upstairs, followed by Matt’s voice calling a strained, “Everything’s okay!”

“Neil’s a gardener,” Allison said, as if that should have been obvious.

“Great.” More help he didn’t want. He made his way outside, but Neil had disappeared. Grumbling, he walked around the house, only stumbling twice. A slender man stood at the edge of his backyard, facing the mountains. Andrew tried to pretend that the man didn’t improve the view considerably, and stepped up to his side.

The man gave him a slashing glance, then a matching smile. “You must be Andrew.” He held out his hand, shrugging when Andrew didn’t take it. “Neil. I’m a friend of Allison’s.”

“What fresh hell do you have in store for me?”

Neil laughed easily. “Depends on what you want. Clean all this trash up to start; after that it’s up to you.”

“Up to me.” So far not a damn thing had been up to him, despite Renee’s lip service. “In that case, can you get rid of the assholes who have taken over my house?”

“Sorry, no,” Neil said, grinning. Andrew couldn’t take his eyes off of him, and he cursed himself for his weakness. “You know how it is. Once you’re in Renee’s clutches, you will help people and you will like it.”

“I most definitely will not.”

Neil laughed again and turned back to the yard, picking up one of the discarded plastic buckets that littered the space. “I better get started.”

It was rapidly becoming familiar, getting dismissed in his own house. He would have stayed just to watch Neil work, but Dan called his name and he headed back inside to prevent a book-arranging disaster.

The rumble of a truck pulled Andrew out of the mental cocoon he went into whenever he started working on his book. The week had been blessedly quiet, save for his avian alarm clock, but it appeared that was at an end. Grumbling, he forced himself to his feet, leaving his cane leaning against the couch.

Neil was standing on his front walkway, rubbing a hand sheepishly through his hair. “Morning.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m here to figure out what we’re doing with your yard. Didn’t Allison tell you?”

Andrew thought of Allison’s parting words on Friday. “You’re welcome!” He hadn’t known what she meant and hadn’t cared. Evidently he should have. “Why?”

Neil looked at him, nonplussed. “Because having that yard basically being a wasteland of dirt is criminal?”

“Hey, it’s my wasteland of dirt.”

That damn smile made a reappearance. “You deserve more than that.”

“That’s such bullshit. Nobody deserves anything.”

Neil cocked his head to one side. “Do you really believe that?”

Andrew studied his face, the faded scarring across his cheeks, the stubborn set to his jaw that made the smile a lie. “How much is Allison paying you?”

He looked genuinely startled at that. “Nothing. I volunteered.”

“Why? What do you get out of this?”

Neil looked away, color staining his cheeks like a sunrise. “Everyone deserves a little beauty in their lives.”

Andrew wondered what it was like, going through life with the evidence of other people’s viciousness on your face, and believing in beauty anyway.

Slowly the garden took shape, each Sunday adding a little more. When Andrew greeted him the third Sunday leaning on his cane, the truckload of gravel went back to where it came from without a word. The next week, he came outside to find Neil laying out paving stones in a sunburst pattern where the concrete had once been.

Neil was interesting and unpredictable, some days working for hours in silence, others chattering at length about plants and birds, on this continent and others. Sometimes Andrew helped, raking the dirt in the raised beds, then setting the native perennials Neil had picked out gently into the sun-warmed soil. Sometimes his hands wouldn’t close on the tools, and he sat in the shade of the house and talked or read aloud from the book he was writing. Once he stopped, uncertain if Neil was even listening; his friend raised his head from where he was setting out a bird bath. “Is that it?” Neil asked, disappointment coloring his voice, and Andrew bit back his smile as he turned back to his book.

Neil arranged shrubs around the house and planted a couple of flowering trees for shade. Soon Andrew’s little pipping bird had friends of his own, and he woke to a melodic cacophony each morning. One afternoon, they sat in silence on the new furniture Andrew had ordered, sipping lemonade and watching fat bumblebees tumble in and out of hot pink flowers. The garden was almost done; the summer had already passed its peak. Andrew looked at Neil, at his summer-sky eyes and his autumn hair, and he swallowed back the grief as he realized these Sundays were drawing to a close.

The singing was not enough to stir him. He heard it, dimly, through the haze of pain, but he closed his eyes and drifted back into the darkness.

“Andrew?”

He knew that voice; it wrapped itself around his heart and pulled, forcing him into consciousness. Stifling his groan was impossible, and Neil was at his side in a flash. “How can I help?”

“I need to take my meds.” His voice sounded like gravel, and he tried to clear his throat but it was too dry to make a difference.

“Bathroom?”

Andrew hummed, and Neil disappeared, only to reappear in a second with his pill case and a glass of water. “Can I?” Neil asked, hovering an arm over Andrew’s shoulders. Nodding didn’t hurt, at least, and Neil slipped an arm gently behind him and coaxed him into a sitting position against the headboard. He held the glass so Andrew could suck some water through the straw, then handed him the pills, one at a time. When he was done, they sat there like that for a while, Andrew avoiding Neil’s eyes. He hated this, hated that Neil found him like this. Hated that this was the new reality of his life, where he could be going along okay and then suddenly be incapacitated by pain.

It hadn’t struck him down like this since he first got sick; he would never forget that panic, being alone and unable to move without screaming, having to drag himself to the bathroom. Then the weeks of doctor’s visits and tests, the medications that helped the pain but messed him up otherwise, until they finally found a cocktail that worked, more or less beating his immune system into submission. He had moved here out of sheer stubbornness; maybe he should call it stupidity. But he needed this. He needed the mountains out there, calling to him. He needed to believe that one day he would climb up there.

“Why are you here?” he asked, shattering the silence.

“It’s Sunday.”

But the garden is finished, he wanted to say; you are wasting your time with me.

Neil reached out like he was going to touch his hand, but refrained when he saw the red, swollen joints. “Did you think I was just coming for the garden?”

“Why else would you bother?”

“Andrew…I could have finished that garden in two weeks, if I’d wanted to. That was my plan, at first.” He laughed, shaking his head as if at himself. “But then you wouldn’t let me cut down that damn vine because that sparrow likes it…”

Andrew closed his eyes, hearing the unspoken words behind Neil’s soft tone. “I will never be more than this, Neil.”

“You’re Andrew. What more do you need to be?”

There was music in the trees. A symphony composed of wind through tree boughs, of the singing of birds, the chattering of squirrels, the baseline of leaves crunching underfoot. Andrew paused for breath, gulping down some water. The early springtime air traced cool fingers through his hair, and goosebumps erupted down his arms.

Recapping his water, he followed the sound of footsteps in front of him. His walking stick was worn smooth where his hand rested, and he rubbed his thumb in the glossy spot as he negotiated his way over some roots.

“It’s just up ahead,” Neil’s voice called from somewhere out of sight. Andrew took his time, even though he knew he would follow that voice anywhere. He had waited a year for this; he could wait a few minutes longer.

The trees finally opened up to a scene out of a movie. Flowers, blue and purple and white and yellow, all bowed before the wind that tore across the meadow. Neil stood on a little rise, one hand shielding his eyes, staring west. Andrew climbed up to stand next to him. He could see their house from here, the windows glinting in the sun. When he squinted, he could discern the blossoms on the flowering cherry Neil had planted near the bedroom. The tree was still small, barely taller than they were, but it bloomed with reckless abandon. Warmth crept through him that had nothing to do with the springtime sunshine as he thought of their tiny tree, and the nest the sparrows were building in its branches.

Neil bent down and kissed him, soft and lingering. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Andrew nodded, looking at the riot of color all around him. Up above, he could see the peak of the mountain looming white; once, he had longed to reach the very summit. Once, he had thought he would never set foot in the woods again. His free hand found Neil’s, tracing the familiar calluses and scars. “Beautiful.”

#writing #forgetmenotaftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #andreil #disabled!andrew #gardener!neil #my wriitng #aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court

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antihero-writings · 5 years

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Reminded by a Flower—Pandora Hearts fic for Phmonth19, Rainsworth Trio, Day 6: Flowers (Full fic)

Fic Title: The Simplest Gifts

Chapter Title: Reminded by a Flower

Fic Summary: Christmas may not be the happiest time for the Children of Misfortune, still, sometimes it's the simplest things that can bring joy

Notes: This was a Christmas fic I started during Phmonth18 last year. I wasn't able to write Break’s chapter for it, so I decided to use one of the Phmonth19 prompts to finish it this year! Oh, and you dont need to have read the other chapters to understand this one!

Fic:

Kevin crouched beside a flowerbed. Most of the flowers were white, especially considering the snow, but as he dusted off the frost he found a single red bloom amongst the rest.

“Which of them is to be tonight’s victim?” a voice only he could hear said behind him.

He glanced over to the group it was referring to, which probably looked like a lavish dinner table to the Chain.

Christmas had taken over the town. Evergreen trees were set up like well-decorated sentries at the corners of streets, a large one guarding the town square. Candles, tinsel, ribbons, bells, and other assorted decoration had claimed shops and houses as their own, inside and out. There was barely a person without a candy cane, gingerbread or other cookie in their mouth. The children were especially affected by its cheer, making angels and fights out of the cold.

People did litter the area, carolers, rich folks in suits and fancy dresses, chatting in benches, poor people in rags sharing bread and a smile, kids slipping and giggling as they fell on on the ice, families, parents holding their children’s’ hands, friends drinking together.

The world rarely looked so alive, so…merry. Often he wouldn’t care, his eyes glazed with the potency of his goal…Today was different.

He returned his gaze to the flora, reaching down and picking the red bloom.

“Master?” Albus asked.

*****

He had never seen the place so alive. The manor, the family, always radiated a sort of warmth, but the glow of the assorted candles, the fires in their places—picture perfect, like everything else— the reflections in the ornaments and plates glittering like the sunset on the ocean were enough to make anyone feel the cheer of the time of year. The sweet scent of pine flittered down from the trees, the aroma of cakes, gingerbread, and other treats drifting in and out of each room. The hubbub of party guests, along with music, floated in the air like butterflies drawn by the lamplight.

Kevin stood by the door, his eyes sharp, surveying the room, the guests, like a guard dog, always trying to find a threat, never fully relaxed. It was his job of course, but the festivities didn’t appear to interest him in general. The guests, with their fanciful dresses, words, and smiles, didn’t seem to notice the young man either, like he was just a decoration, a painting in black, white, and red, on the back wall.

Two did notice him, however: a rather large man, with a brown—greying—beard, wearing a nice black suit, (the tie only slightly askew), with a white flower on his lapel, a smile on his face, and a little girl with short blonde hair sitting on one of his shoulders.

“Roman-sama,” Kevin bowed to his master. “Do you require my services?”

He laughed a little. “No, no…Well, yes. Actually…seeing as it’s Christmas, little Emily wants to give you something.”

Kevin blinked, as if waiting for the punchline. The thought that his master’s daughter would give him, a servant, a gift for Christmas, was at the least improper, at the most mad.

Upon seeing the quizzical look on his face, Roman grinned. “Come now, it’s Christmas!! Will you not allow one little gift?” he leaned over and spoke behind his hand, (though she could probably still hear him), “if you don’t accept, the little tyrant might just get offended. We wouldn’t want that, would we? Who can tell what her majesty’s ruling would be?”

“Please, I couldn’t possibly accept—”

“Keeviin!!” The little girl moaned. “Just let me do something nice for you, you dummy!”

He blinked. He knew The Sinclairs to be both benevolent and stubborn, but this was something else.

“My apologies, Ojousama,” he bowed.

The little girl had been attempting to hide something by keeping it behind her father’s back. Roman now lifted her off his shoulders, giving her to the floor. She pattered up to Kevin and offered him the gift with the innocent smile only little girls are capable of.

It was a red flower.

He blinked, reaching down and plucking it from her hand.

“It’s a…I forget what they’re called. But I’ve only ever seen these flowers be white. I’d never seen a red one, and it made me think of your eyes!”

The aforementioned eyes widened.

“See, I’ve never seen a person with red eyes either! I think they’re really pretty…and I just thought maybe you and the flower should be together!” She put her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth.

Others had noticed his eyes too...’noticed’ was a bit of an understatement. At her age he often got bullied for his strange appearance, but as he grew older people would often avoid eye contact, or seem very uneasy beneath his gaze…and those were some of the milder reactions.

“Well, what do you say?” Roman said like someone had just complimented his young son. Kevin cleared his throat and spoke properly and simply. “Thank you…I appreciate it,” he added when she continued staring at him.

She grinned, giving a small curtsey. “Good. Then I won’t have to behead you for your impudence!”

Something of his expression must have shown his shock because her father laughed, patting her head, ruffling her hair, “Always the little jester, this one.”

“Father! You’ll mess up my hair!” the Sinclair girl put her hands on her head, scowling at him.

“Sorry, sunshine!”

She took his hand, dragging her father back out into the party.

“We’ve leave you to keep manning the fort!” Roman saluted, and Emily waved.

Kevin leaned back against the wall, twirling the stem, watching the petals twist like a dancer in a red dress, trying to hide his smile.

*****

Kevin twisted the stem between his thumb and forefinger.

The same flower, but the times were so different.

A lot can change in a year.

“Master?” Albus asked again.

Kevin stood, looking the way of the painting-like scene the Chain looked at as a menu.

“It’s Christmas,” he said softly.

On this day last year, he was in a warm manor, the knight of an even warmer family. On this day last year he was a part of these traditions and games, even if on the sidelines.

Now he was cast out of that world, and no fires warmed his skin, no glittering lights peppered his vision, no candy or cake gracing his tongue…Not that having come now could sooth the ache in his stomach.

“And?”

His eyes darted from the twirling children to the twirling petals in his hand.

But others could still enjoy the warmth of this day. Even he was alone, and cold, his eyes attuned to the dark, others still gave each other gifts, and told stories, and ate sweets in the firelight. Others still had families they could sit with, and who they would be devastated to lose…especially tonight.

He began walking forward, tossing the bloom to the ground, it landing like a drop of blood on the snow.

“I won’t be killing anyone tonight.”

*****

“Break! Break!” the little girl toddled up to him, her feet carrying her as fast as they could in the snow, causing her to nearly topple over in her oversized coat. “I—” she panted, “I found something for you!”

She held up the bouquet of unevenly picked flowers like a trophy of war.

“Mother said you’re supposed to put flowers on people’s graves.” Sharon explained once she’d caught her breath, “I don’t really know what that means, but I made sure to pick the prettiest ones I could find.”

He blinked at her, taking them in an almost ginger way. It took him a moment to notice the red bloom hiding, slightly wilted, amongst the white.

“Do…Do you like them?” she asked, drawing circles in the snow with her boot.

He tried to smile, “Yes. Thank you, Sharon.”

Reim caught up with his friend, then gasped when he saw the makeshift bouquet.

“Sharon! You shouldn’t have picked those! I was just reading somewhere; the red variety is very rare!”

“You have nothing better to do then read about flowers?” she put her hands on her hips, “Why not pick up a book about something exciting,” she flourished with her hands, “something that will actually strengthen your mind… like a romance novel!”

“Shelly told you you’re not ready to read those!”

As the children squabbled—(he tried not to smirk at their fight…he’d slipped her that romance novel)—Break carried the bundle to said graves.

He pieced out the group, setting a few blooms on each, until only the red one was left.

As he let it drift onto the last stone, he murmured, “Merry Christmas, Emily.”

*****

Break strolled through the frosty Pandora garden. Reim had left his notebook back here—(…either that or someone hid it from him)—and he had commissioned (more like drilled) everyone in a nearby radius to help him look for it.

The garden was mostly barren at this time, though there were a few flowers that bloomed in winter. In particular, white blooms lined the pathway near the ground. He thought nothing of them until he rounded the corner to find a bit of a disaster on the pathway:

Petals were strewn about the stones, the stem in fractured pieces, like flower had offended someone, and this was their revenge.

Break knelt down and picked what was left of the bloom, guessing exactly who had decided to take whatever frustrations he had out on the innocent flower—(he made a mental note enhance those frustrations later).

“Oh, there you are Break!” Sharon ran up to him, hugging Reim’s notebook to her chest, “I found—Oh! What’s this?” She knelt down, observing the crime. “Who would do such a thing?”

“I think a rat may have gotten in here.”

She frowned, standing back up. “That’s too bad, I would have liked to put it in a vase. I think I remember someone telling me the red ones are very rare variety. It’s pretty... It kind of reminds me of your eye.”

He tried to laugh it off, crushing what was left of the flower and standing, joining her to return Reim’s property, thinking all the while it probably reminded Vincent of his eye too.

*****

“What is it, Sharon?” Reim asked.

She had stopped, before proceeded to running off to a nearby patch of flowers.

He couldn’t recall their name, but when he caught up to her, he saw that they were white flowers, blending in to the surrounding snow. Sharon knelt down before them and plucked one.

The one in her hand, however, was red.

“It’s been a long time since I saw a red one of these,” she said softly, twisting it in her finger.

“Yes,” he leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at it, “I believe they’re quite rare.”

She proceeded to add this red flower to one of the bouquets she was carrying.

“My apologies for the detour,” she mentioned properly as he helped her back up.

They finished the rest of their journey, stopping before the graves. She knelt down and set one down at each respectively, removing the red flower and carefully placing it on top of the headstone.

His wife tried to smile as she said, “Merry Christmas, Mother. Merry Christmas, Break.”

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kariachi · 5 years

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Hail, bitches! Guess who’s back to do more bitching about the shit that went down with Charmcaster in UAF/OV!

You. Have. Been. Warned.

Okay, can I just start off cutting certain sectors of this fandom off at the pass by pointing out that I get Kevin’s redemption was shit too, but it was still better than the bullshit we got with Charmcaster? I mean, not that you can get much worse than the shit we got with Charmcaster, but you get my point. At least with Kevin we’ve got a fucking 5 year timeskip we can assume things happened in, with Charmcaster we’re just supposed to believe that she revealed her tragic backstory and so is suddenly a wonderful person laid low by her own sorrows and traumas and just, for the love of fuck!

Literally we get an episode where she tries to kill Ben’s mother, then the reveal of her tragic backstory, and then her committing genocide and people feeling sorry for her over it!

It’s like a fucking parody!

Like, she does horrible things in this show! She takes advantage of and briefly enslaves a teenager for the sake of fucking with another teenager, we get to see an alternate timeline where she keeps the former as a slave and murders the latter alongside another teen, she acts as part of a group to assassinate an innocent woman, and that’s just the shit we get before the show decides she’s actually just horribly misunderstood!

So we get her backstory and immediately all that other shit doesn’t matter! At least Kevin’s bullshit was still referenced! And again, we had a timeskip for changes to happen in! We don’t get that here! We go straight from ‘I’m trying to kill people’ to ‘I’m sad’ to ‘oh it’s okay you’re my bestest friend let me help you nothing is your fault’!!

“My people were victims of genocide and I was raised by my abusive uncle*” That’s sad but also you’re a murderer of innocent people and totally cool with slavery. And also the first chance you get you, what was it she did again in her episode directly after the tragic backstory, what was it?

Oh, yes

Killed over 16,000 people in one fell swoop, wiping out the entire population of her kingdom because she missed her dad!!

Big fucking whoop! Kevin’s missing two dads at that point! One of which he saw murdered while trying to protect him!! He’s killed all of one person over the matter, tried to kill another, and that’s where it fucking ends!!

16,000 people!!

And we’re supposed to feel bad for her!! That’s the population of not only my village but the three towns closest by!! And she’s the one I should feel sorry for!

Bite my fucking ass!! That is the goddamn line! Right there, in the fucking sand, with glaring neon signage!! “Thou shalt not commit fucking genocide and expect me to feel sorry for you, so sayeth the Lord!!”

“But Achi, it wasn’t her fault, it was the Alpha Rune!” Fuck that bullshittery excuse the writers came up with for how they could still have Charmcaster be a horrible, horrible villain without actually being a bad guy!

I mean for one thing, how the fuck exactly am I suppose to believe she got the Alpha Rune in UA? Nobody has physically gone in or out of Legerdomain prior to the genocide episode. Did Paradox bring it back? Isn’t he supposed to know everything because it’s all in his past? If it does drive people mad, then wouldn’t he have known that giving to her would cause all these deaths and shit?! Am I to believe he did so anyway and if so, why the fuck am I supposed to believe he’s a good guy when he actively has that all the resultant blood and trauma on his hands?

But then, that’s assuming that’s even the truth because who the fuck is it that tells us that the Alpha Rune drives wielders mad? That it makes them do things like commit genocide?

Adwaita!

Also known at Genocidal Dipshit Prime!

Yes show, I totally believe the dude who committed genocide when he says it’s not his fault, it was the magical artifact. Couldn’t have had Bezel say it? Or Hex? Nope, gotta be Adwaita, because gods know that’s a trustworthy source of information. I’d be more likely to believe Mike, who I cannot believe is seen as one of the worst people involved in this whole mess given he’s the one with the shortest track record and quite possibly the lowest bodycount!

But no, Adwaita, suddenly a good guy because we can totally believe him when he says it’s the Alpha Rune causing all the trouble. It’s not that the murderous creeper who gives slavery a thumbs up was an absolute dipshit who finally snapped and went completely around the bend, oh no, it was the magical artifact that did it. Fuck that bullshit right up it’s whitewashed, half-baked ass!

*And Hex! Let’s briefly touch on Hex, who we’ve apparently forgotten by OV was an abusive shitheel to his niece? What, he worries about her once, gets a job at a university, and suddenly he’s an innocent victim of the innocent victim of the Alpha Rune? Who wrote this shit? Who signed off on it?

He was a shitheel uncle to a shitheel niece who I’m supposed to feel sorry for because their lives were ruined by a shitheel turtle who supposedly wasn’t to blame because he was being affected by a magical artifact that he promises us drives it’s wielder mad.

Speaking of which, isn’t Adwaita’s species immune to magic and it’s effects? Wasn’t that like, a minor plot point during the Aggregor arc because it meant Gwen couldn’t do jack shit to him? So if he’s immune to magic then how the fuck is the Alpha Rune supposed to have affected him? Wouldn’t that make him the best wielder for it because it wouldn’t be able to affect him? Or am I trying too hard to force logic into this fucking disaster of a storyline?

It is fucking painful y’all. Fucking. Painful. She’s a murderer, she’s genocidal, she’s cool with slavery, she’s a statutory rapist, she’s a kidnapper, and I’m supposed to feel bad for her because she’s traumatized, like that’s not the case for the majority of the damn cast. Everybody is fucking traumatized, half of them do a shit job dealing with it at best, and yet none of them pull the extent of shit she does. None of them. None of them. You get some murder, maybe kidnapping, and the rest is a hard no. But we’re supposed to feel bad for her.

I’m supposed to send my heart and best wishes out to this woman because committing genocide didn’t work out in her favor.

I’m supposed to forgive her all she’d done before because she had major traumas.

I’m supposed to let everything she did from the genocide on slide because another genocidal shitheel says it’s not their fault.

This storyline out to be burned down to the fucking cement and either completely fucking redone- with some dignity, morals, and brainpower this time- or struck forever from the annals of history.

It’s a rot that we’ll never got out of our franchise any other way.

#ben 10 analysis #achi rants #haaaaaaattttttteee

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dcarevu · 5 years

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DCAU #16: The Cat and the Claw (Part 1)

“Never trifle with the affections of a woman!”

15 episodes into Batman The Animated Series and, hey, we’ve finally arrived at the first episode! Isn’t that something! Yeah, I’ve stated a few times that this show was aired in a very different order than how it was produced. Some people like one way vs the other, although I’m a production-order guy myself, but I’m not gonna pretend like this doesn’t make a decent first episode. It has a pilot quality to it, and the way the episodes sounds in particular make it seem like it would come before episodes like Heart Of Ice. But whichever way you prefer to watch the show, let’s agree on one thing: airing part 2 seven episodes later was not the best way to watch the show. For anyone that’s curious, though, this was done because the way weekend airings vs weekday airings worked. Part 1 was shown on a weekend, so part 2 was shown the weekend after.

Episode: 15 Robin: No Writers: Sean Catherine Derek (story), Laren Bright (story), Jules Dennis (teleplay), Richard Mueller (teleplay) Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Sunrise Airdate: September 5, 1992 Grade: B

Saying that this episode has a pilot-quality to it isn’t exactly a compliment, as in some ways it feels like we’ve again taken a few steps back here. This episode sits right at home with On Leather Wings, Nothing to Fear, and even The Underdwellers. It’s not bad, but the footing just isn’t there, and the vibes are very similar to those three. Looking at the credits only backs up this observation. Some of the lower-tier episodes we’ve seen have come from these writers. I think that so far this is one of the better ones they’ve worked on, but it didn’t blow me away or anything. Sunrise handled the animation, and it worked for the most part in Pretty Poison. Here, though, there were some weird things. There is a shot of Catwoman climbing up a building that looks pretty damn awful. It’s quick, and most may not notice it, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter because someone working for Warner (probably an intern or something) chose this shot for the DVD menu on disc 3. What the hell? You turn on the DVD and you get this awkward, misshaped Catwoman that gets worse the longer you stare. Like god, it’s ugly, guys. And Catwoman is an attractive character! I can only imagine that they were pressed for time or something. I’m mostly just bringing this shot up because I find it funny, but there were some other things too that stuck out like sore thumbs. This included some weird facial expressions (like the goon at the end or the dude constantly gritting his teeth like an old Looney Tunes antagonist), some overall messier work, and the lighting was all over the place. A lot of shots just seemed a little bit too bright for the show. It’s not all unsightly, though. Sunrise have a weird, weird style, guys. There are some scenes that I think I like the looks of, much like some moments in Pretty Poison, but really nothing I was blown away by. I hear Akom did part 2, so I am actually genuinely excited to compare them. I’ve been okay with Akom so far.

So this sounds like a recipe for disaster so far, I know. But the episode is generally enjoyable, despite. I have no idea how they pulled it off either. Where the visuals fail, the magnificent, ballet-esque score picks up the slack. While the lines don’t always stick with me, they don’t downright flop, and the characters are great. Catwoman really impressed Char (who, once again, is a newcomer to the DCAU), and like some other rogues, I don’t know if she was necessarily expecting much beyond a typical villainess dressed in a distinguishable suit. In fact, I wouldn’t necessarily label Catwoman the villain at all. Yeah, she shows that she has a robbing hobby at the beginning, and I’m not gonna defend that, but she spends the rest of the time attempting to get her way with the animal preserve and genuinely showing that in some ways she’s pointed in the right direction. I’ll talk more about her character, along with Batman’s, in a bit, however. But before diving into some of the more social/psychological aspects, I wanted to note how fun the beginning of this one was too. It was a unique start for the series, and watching these two run around on the night rooftops is fascinating to watch. I was almost sad when it ended. Especially since a lot of the other action in this one was a lot more par for the course. When we cut to a police chase going on, I internally groaned just a little bit. I feel like that is one of the most common things to happen on this show, and there was no real twist on it. Things are calm and casual, then out of nowhere some guys with machine guns are being tailed by the police. Maybe I’m imagining things, but I think it’s getting a little bit stale. Oh, also, just as an observation, I felt like everyone was whispering throughout this one. Catwoman, Batman, and Red Claw all said their lines in such a soft manner, and while inside some of the buildings made sense, I’m surprised they didn’t have a tough time hearing each other on the rooftops at times. That’s what I mean when I say this one sounds like an early one. Anyone else feel me on this? Like, did the actors have to be quiet because another show was being voiced or something? That’s a joke, by the way.

A big plus was getting to dive into our main characters. Batman and Selena’s chemistry is fairly natural, despite them not sharing too-too many lines with each other, at least in costume. Yet it just works. Batman is a man of few words sometimes. I don’t think his ways of communication and relation necessarily rely on English. You get a sense of chemistry from watching them soar among the turbines, free fall toward the street, and basically try to keep ahead of each other in an almost playful way. We even see Batman crack a smile as he talks to his new, curious friend, and it’s not even weird to see. Add in that downright beautiful score, along with them mixing as their civilian selves, unbeknownst to them, and it starts to become a shame that you know that in their current ways, they’re not gonna work. It’s as both of them worked together to say; there is something in between them, that thing being the law. Parts of me reluctantly want Batman to just give in, but admittedly, that would be rather hypocritical of him. Ha. Yeah. Imagine how that relationship would go. “Hey, honey, have fun hitting the Smiths’ house tonight! I’m off to stop a robbery!” Would make for a decent parody, though, for sure.

Even without Batman, though, Catwoman is an interesting character. I love how strong and dedicated she is. She knows what she wants, and she’s not gonna back down until she obtains it. She goes a little too far with taking things into her own hands because, well, she’s literally taking things that don’t belong to her into her own hands, but you get the feeling that she works her ass off with her conservation efforts and doesn’t take shit. This is another factor that makes her relationship with Bruce so interesting. She first flat out tells him that she’s not interested in dating him. He politely asks her if they can just try it out once, she agrees, but she actually ends up cancelling to do something that she sees as more important. She’s not about to feel bad about it either, and why should she? You get the feeling that in some ways she is equal to Bruce, and if she were a lot weaker than him, then their midnight meet ups wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. By the way, a cartoon show displaying a strong, independent woman acting like a hero, but also performing cat burglary? Some parts of me are surprised that at the time this was let through. She is clearly someone to admire in some aspects, but not necessarily in others, which is kind of a complex, abstract idea for kids.

Of course, you wanna talk about strong women, we can’t leave out Red Claw, the terrorist leader. Now this lady, she is not someone I’d ever wanna mess with. She looks like she could pound me into a pancake with one whack. Char was not a fan of her design at all. When she walked into the screen, I heard her go, “That design is shit.” It didn’t strike me nearly that hard, and while I don’t find her to be awesome-looking, her design never really bothered me. Char mentioned it being the way she was proportioned. I did think that she looked a little bit…hm…maybe hefty is the word? But I sorta dig that choice. It adds to her intimidation-factor. She looks like she’d be a challenge for even Batman to square up with (even though this is likely not the case if we’re talking strictly hand-to-hand combat). But maybe the strong reaction to her design was simply Char finding the model off-putting, and maybe Akom can amend this next time. We shall see! I’m also hoping that she’s not wasted potential. I get that most of the emotional depth should be focused on Batman and Selena, that’s obvious. But I at least want to avoid Red Claw being obvious stock. We have a whole extra near-half hour to use, so let’s hope the writers learned from their light mistakes in previous episodes and deliver a thrilling conclusion. Char really loved this episode (she liked it a lot more than I did), and was very interested at what was going on basically the whole way through, plus I think Catwoman is going to be a new favorite of hers. Don’t want it to let her down! Even if this one is an episode that I don’t consider amazing, it brings me a lot of joy to see it getting so much mileage with someone else. This is part of the reason I’m doing these blogs, people, and I hope that many more of you in the future will end up following along and coming to your own opinions that you can compare and contrast with mine. It’s no fun if everyone feels the same way and makes the same observations, right?

Oh, we both agreed that this one had one of the best title cards so far, by the way. And after the episode is finished, you go from thinking it’s a Catwoman reference, to realizing that it almost seems to be referring more toward Red Claw with that scratch mark!

Char’s grade: A

Next time: The Cat and the Claw (Part 2) Full episode list here!

#dcau #dc animated universe #catwoman #the cat and the claw #batman #batman tas #batman the animated series #red claw

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sweetlysilent · 7 years

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The Little Things

Requested By: A few snazzy peeps

Pairing: Archie Andrews x Reader

Description: Archie’s dad has gotten shot from the robbery at Pop’s, Archie's in a frantic state and all you want to do is help him like the rest of his friends.

Warnings: It’s kinda sad, but also kinda fluffy?? idk tbh

Word Count: 1,961

A/N: Hello! Remember me?? Yes, it is I.. back from the dead! In honor of Riverdale season 2 starting, I am here to hopefully not bore you to death with this Archie imagine! I’m doing my best to get back into writing, so this is a start, it’s kinda iffy, I don’t think it’s great, but then again, you might think otherwise! Let me know :)) Enjoy.

So, the story continues. The Mayor’s Jubilee was supposed to change everything, be a new start. But when everyone woke up the next morning, Riverdale was still, at its heart, a haunted town.

Even if it’s a small town that nobody really knows about, nothing goes unnoticed, there’s always the constant feeling that you’re being watched underneath a magnifying glass.

So when Archie’s dad got shot that night in Pop’s diner, that for sure, didn’t go unnoticed.

You remember receiving a phone call from Archie, you figured he just wanted to chat, he had stayed behind with his dad that night after the rest of you had gone home.

However, you didn’t expect it to be Archie shouting through the phone, panic laced in his voice as you tried to make out what he was saying.

“Y/N, m-my d-dad he’s b-been s-shot!” Archie would shout through the phone, instantly making you focus.

“Oh god, is he alright? Are you alright?” You’d reply in a panic, sitting up on your bed, your breathing a bit hectic.

“I-I-I don’t know..” You’d hear him mumble, shuffling in the background making your heart beat faster.

“I’ll meet you at the hospital alright? Just get there, safely please.” You’d speak calmly, before the line went dead.

Now here you were, rushing into the hospital to see a pacing Archie Andrews, blood covering his clothes, he looked like a complete disaster.

“Archie!” You’d shout, catching his attention as his head would snap up, rushing over to you as you engulfed him in a tight embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, how’s your dad?” You’d mumble, pulling away to see his face full of panic still.

“I don’t know, he’s in surgery right now.” He’d sigh, his eyes switching from you to the door to where his dad was.

“I know he’ll make it out okay, he’s an Andrew, he has to.” You smiled slightly, nudging Archie’s arm, making him give a small smile in return.

Before you knew it the rest of the crew arrived, Archie had called them after calling you, and next thing you knew you were engulfed in a group hug from everyone.

“Archie I’m so sorry, I’m glad you’re okay.” Betty spoke up, as Archie nodded, his thumb resting nervously against his lips.

“You’re dad is a strong cookie I know he’ll be alright.” Jughead chimed in, making Archie smile a bit.

“He’s going to be okay, we all are here for you too.” Veronica smiled, rubbing his arm gently, trying to calm him down.

But all Archie could think about was his dad, and what had happened at the diner.

Hours went by, but it felt more like weeks, it was driving everyone insane, Veronica went after her mother, thinking that her dad and her mother were involved somehow, while Jughead went to talk to the serpents to see if they knew anything.

“I’m worried about Archie, I feel like he’s not telling us the whole truth.” Betty whispered to you quietly, making your eyebrows scrunch in confusion.

“Why do you say that?” You’d reply, crossing your arms as you glanced at Archie who was sitting in a waiting room chair.

“Everytime he starts to talk about what happens, he pauses, and just says that Mr. Andrews got shot, that’s it, but I think something else happened that he’s not saying.” Betty explained further, making your head spin, she did have a point.

A few more hours passed and the doctor finally came out, saying Mr. Andrews was going to be alright, but he was in a coma, but at least Archie could go and see him.

Which of course he did, and soon after he disappeared down the hallway, the one and only Cheryl Blossom came out of nowhere walking behind someone wrapped in gauze.

Needless to say you were all confused and very curious, so you all had to go see for yourself.

“Cheryl? What are you doing here?” Betty questioned, as the rest of you looked at her in confusion.

“You didn’t hear? Thornhill burned down last night, my dear mother risked her life for my very own to save me.” Cheryl smiled, before skipping off to who knows where.

Kevin gave a look at Betty as if to say ’what the actual hell’ which just resulted in Betty shrugging her shoulders.

It was Riverdale after all, nothing ever made sense.

After a while Archie gathered everyone into a room, Jughead said he had something he needed to tell everyone, which he did, and it wasn’t pretty.

“I watched him get shot, and I froze, I raised my hands up, the gun was pointed to my head, I shut my eyes closed so tight, and I didn’t even open them until I heard the bell ring.” Archie finally admitted, as everyone listened in horror, tears falling down everyone’s cheeks.

“I-I was a coward.. I didn’t even see if he was alright.. I just froze.” Archie spoke bitterly, as everyone shook there heads.

“No, there wasn’t anything you could of done Archie..” Betty tried to reason with him, but we all knew that was pointless.

After finding out what else had happened you all separated, you decided to give him some space for a few hours, until you decided to go find Archie, which wasn’t hard since he was sitting next to his dad.

“Hey, got a second?” You gave a faint smile, as he nodded hesitantly, before exiting the room and into the hallway with you.

Archie crossed his arms, giving you a look making you quickly snap out of your thoughts.

“Do you maybe want to go home, you know.. to change out of those clothes.. you might feel better..” You suggested, you knew that if you were in this position you’d want to change out of the bloody clothes too.

“I-I don’t know Y/N.. I don’t want to leave him..” Archie sighed, rubbing his arms anxiously as he gazed back into the room.

“I think you should..” You pressed on, eventually convincing him, which took some time.

“You don’t need to worry, everyone will still be there to look after him okay?” You reassured him, as he nodded in agreement.

Soon you arrived at his house, where you met his dog, Vegas, you always had a thing for animals, ever since you were a kid, so this was a happy surprise after a horrible day.

“He’s so sweet.” You would smile, petting his head while Archie smiled down at you.

You both had gone on a walk, just talking, letting Vegas explore the scenery.

“Yeah.. I always wanted a pet, and I convinced my dad I could handle taking care of him, but it ended up being my dad that took care of him more just so I wouldn’t have to..” Archie trailed off, looking down at his dog, his face full of sadness, making your heart ache.

“Hey, he’s going to wake up Archie, and then you and your dad can go on long walks with Vegas.” You attempted to cheer him up, making him smile, which you took as success.

Once you both returned from the walk, Archie went up to shower, you on the other hand played with Vegas.

After a few minutes you decided to check on Archie, which in the end lead to something a lot steamier than you expected.

You had always had feelings for Archie, but you knew for a while he had a thing for Betty, and then for Veronica, and you didn’t want to come off intense, especially after what he was going through.

You didn’t even know if Archie felt the same way towards you, he had always messed around with you, and sometimes you thought he flirted with you, but it was always hard to tell, he was a charmer, it was what he did.

However, all those questions were answered the second you stepped into that bathroom, something you knew would need to be talked about later.

Soon after the shower incident you both were in the kitchen, but something was off, Archie was off.

“Hey I hope you don’t mind but I unpacked his clothes.” You patted the folded clothes on the table, which Archie thanked you for, that is until he started to panic over the fact his fathers wallet wasn’t there.

“He never leaves without it! Where is it? All his information is in that wallet!” Archie shouted, shuffling through all the clothes on the table.

“Why did you even go through his clothes!” Archie yelled, sitting down in the chair, making your heart drop.

“I-I was just trying to help..” You mumbled, looking at him sadly.

“I want you to go.” Archie spoke up after a few seconds, making your heart drop even more.

“Is that what you want?” You questioned, as he nodded.

“Yeah, that’s what I want.” He replied, giving you a look, as you nodded, starting to walk off, until you stopped, and turned around, hugging him tightly as he started to cry in your arms.

You wanted to do what he said, but sometimes you have to ignore words, because they aren’t meaningful, and you have to see the bigger picture in front of you.

And the bigger picture was Archie was hurting, and all he needed was someone to care for him, and that was exactly what you were going to do, whether it was to go on walks with Vegas, or eat tons of junk food from a vending machine in the hospital, or even showering together, whatever he needed to make him feel better you would do, because it's the little things that make a difference.

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junker-town · 7 years

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Farewell, 2016-17 Russell Westbrook

Good morning. We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.

The immaculate season of Russell Westbrook is over.

The Houston Rockets, who are excellent, dispatched Westbrook's Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 to move on in the West. Westbrook left this season the way he lived it: scoring like a maniac and watching his bench give up a lead. (In Game 5, the Thunder were +12 in Westbrook's 42 minutes and -18 in the six minutes he sat. OKC lost by six. This was a common thread throughout the series.)

Westbrook fell one assist short of a triple-double, and shot just 5-18 on three-pointers. (Those 18 attempts tied the single-game playoff record. The others to shoot 18 in a playoff game: Ray Allen, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson.) His final game was, fittingly, a beautiful mess. But the Thunder were competitive with him on the court and a disaster without him. We'll forever debate whether his style contributes to that fact. Perhaps the Thunder will be restocked by next fall and we'll see a new look.

Westbrook was the best thing about the NBA all season long. It appears he will win the MVP over the Rockets' James Harden. He'd rather be going to the second round, of course. Harden's Houston is still alive, and we'll be talking much more about them over the next couple of weeks as they face San Antonio or Memphis. Speaking of which ...

Playoff Scores ...

Thunder 99, Rockets 105 (HOU wins series 4-1)

Grizzlies 103, Spurs 116 (SAS leads 3-2)

Jazz 96, Clippers 92 (UTA leads 3-2)

... And Links Galore

The home team stayed dominant in Spurs vs. Grizzlies. San Antonio put away Game 5 with a late 12-0 run. Kawhi Leonard remains unstoppable. Mike Conley had another great game, but the Patty Mills vs. Andrew Harrison match-up off the bench is just completely untenable for Memphis. We'll see if David Fizdale has any angles to fix it for Thursday's game.

Jazz vs. Clippers stays amazing. There's just so much tension in each game. Would you believe that Chris Paul was brilliant in this one but a Joe Johnson dagger sealed it? Of course you would. Of course Steve Ballmer would. The Jazz can advance at home on Thursday.

Wednesday's schedule: Hawks at Wizards, 6 p.m. ET, TNT (Series tied 2-2) Bulls at Celtics, 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT (Series tied 2-2)

The Players' Tribune put out the greatest essay of the season with the greatest headline-byline combo perhaps in history: "The NBA Is Lucky I'm Home Doing Damn Articles" by Dion Waiters. I implore you to read this magnificent piece of work. Glory be to the Dagger God.

Speaking of the New Heatles, Wright Thompson went deep on Pat Riley. Yeah. You're going to want to read that one.

Westbrook and Patrick Beverley went face-to-face during the game, and continued their battle in their press conferences. I'm starting to think these guys don't like each other.

As if the anti-Westbrook crew needed more ammo, Russ accidentally blocked a teammate's putback attempt. That's ... unfortunate.

Rockets franchise owner Leslie Alexander stepped onto the court during play to talk to an official. The league says it's investigating. The Rockets are definitely getting fined.

Rajon Rondo, who broke his thumb on his shooting hand like a week ago, is going to try to play on Wednesday. This is insane. Also, Rondo once played on a torn ACL, so ...

Really interesting look at Draymond Green's defensive excellence as a roamer from Mike Prada.

Paul Flannery and I theorize about why the NBA's coaching carousel has stopped cold.

You'll be shocked to learn that Gregg Popovich is a generous tipper.

Ramona Shelburne writes that the Rockets prove you need a star and a system to win big.

Rudy Gobert is mad his teammates won't give French rappers a chance.

Here's a full list of early entrants into the NBA Draft. The guys who haven't inked an agent can still withdraw after the Combine. The internationals can withdraw even later.

Ernie Johnson admits to Shaq that he voted for Steve Nash for MVP in 2005. Shaq's stunned silence says it all.

Jason Concepcion compares Kawhi to Peak Kobe. I have no comment on this matter.

Damian Lillard admits he's now obsessed with beating the Warriors.

Guess who will host the NBA's awards show? It's not Kevin Hart. That will be cold comfort for many of you.

And finally: Tim Hardaway is out here claiming that Allen Iverson didn't popularize the killer crossover, he did. Iverson kindly reminded us that Hardaway brought the crossover to the NBA, The Answer brought it to the Hall of Fame. Got 'em.

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