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hippychick006 · 3 years

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12.06 - Celebrating the life of Asa Fox Episode Review/Recap

Honestly, I see a picture like this on a promo and I have no hesitation diving straight in. Okay, you all know I have a hurt!Sam fetish, complete with writhing on the floor padabooty, let’s not bang on about it.

Official episode summary: THREE WINCHESTERS ARE BETTER THAN ONE – When hunters gather together to celebrate the life and tragic death of one of their own, Sam (Jared Padalecki) Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Mary (guest star Samantha Smith) must take action when a demon starts picking off hunters one by one. John Bedham directed the episode written by Steven Yockey

My optimum number of Winchesters is two but yeah, I don’t mind a buy two get one extra free here and there.

Overall, I do really enjoy this episode, even after rewatch but putting under a cut to save space.

There’s a lot of things I don’t like about the Dabb era, and in terms of this episode, retconning Mary to be a hunter after parenthood is one of those things that niggles a little (I know she was a hunter before parenthood which also irks for different reasons) so there’s a lot I have to shake off from my mind in order to be able to enjoy an episode. And on rewatch, I had less issues than I did the first time (but given I’m coming at this straight from season 15, it could be a case of me just grasping onto absolutely anything that isn’t terrible).

Aside from the Mary thing, I love so much about this episode, not least because there isn’t a single mention of feathers who I am seriously going to struggle watching in any episode going forward thanks to 15.18 debacle.

Anyway moving swifly on…

First up is the intro and I love the introduction of Asa Fox as a character. We first meet him as a child, who Mary saves from a werewolf attack. And then we see him become interested in hunting (as Mary tells him she’s soon going to retire, and he’s worried that if she does: who’s gonna save people like me?)

Asa decides it’s going to be him and through a montage set to Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Roll On Down The Highway, we see Asa grow up to become a pretty awesome hunter. Throughout all this time, he writes postcards to Mary, but doesn’t send them (no address) so he has quite a collection by the end and I think it’s all his hunts.

I’m so caught up in how awesome Asa is and how much I like this new character, I’m completely jarred when he comes to a sudden and unexpected end via hanging which also brings the music to an abrubt halt.

Great intro, Asa said very few words but I’m already mourning not getting to know him more.

After the opening titles, we switch to Jody who is chilling out at home about to watch Netflix when there’s a knock at the door. Turns out it’s Sam and Dean who have just finished up a hunt and stopped by to visit. Unfortunately the cardboard cutout “just add water” instant girl hunters are at a concert. Jody offers to feed them, and Dean lets her know that he killed Hitler since the last time they saw her.

Sam: *huffs and walks away Jody: *blank stare “thank you?” Dean: You’re welcome

Love it.

They have pizza and watch Netflix and have a debate about rom coms. Sam says Dean is more of “an animated Japanese erotica chick.”

A little oversharing on your brother’s habits there Sammy, but Sam is not concerned in the least. In fact, I love how totally relaxed Sam is sitting here. He’s clearly comfortable at Jody’s slumped on her sofa.

The phone rings and Jody goes to answer it, Sam and Dean have a conversation about Sam oversharing which Dean’s uncomfortable with.

Sam: Dude, be proud of your hobbies. It makes you who you are.

Supportive Sam encouraging his brother!

Jody returns and walks past them, she’s clearly upset. The boys follow to watch her start packing. They ask what’s wrong and Jody says a friend of hers died – it’s poor Asa from the opener and I wasn’t expecting a link from Jody to Asa.

The name is familiar to Dean and he’s trying to figure it out when Sam says it’s the guy Ellen used to tell stories about at the Roadhouse. Asa apparently killed five wendigos in a single night and now I’m even more mourning his loss. Seems Jody met Asa when he came to town on a hunt, she caught him out when he tried to pretend to be an FBI agent by the name, Fox Mulder. He’s worse than the Winchesters! Anyway she helped him out on a ghoul hunt and they kept in touch.The boys decide to go with her to the wake, John didn’t let them go to hunter gatherings outside of bars as he always said they were trouble.

Turns out Asa lived in Manitoba, Dean says “oh Canada” when he gets out of the car on arrival. Sam is impressed with the house which yes, nice digs for a hunter.

We meet Asa’s mother, Lorraine and she knew her son was a hunter. She’s heavily in to the drink but she’s just lost her son, so I’m cutting her some slack as I can’t imagine anything worse.

Dean finds his way to the kitchen (and the beer) which has no label. He’s concerned but “Bucky” homebrewed it himself and it’s strong. Dean introduces himself which gets the attention of the several hunters in the room,

Randy: No freakin’ way. Aren’t you dead? Like, four times? Dean: Yeah. It, uh, didn't take.

Just wait till they hear about Mystery Spot where he died over a hundred times in a single day!

Sam fanboy hunter: Wait. Your brother here? Sam? Dean: Yeah, he's still alive, too. He's –

Fanboy doesn’t even wait for Dean to finish, he’s off to find Sam. Same fanboy (named Elvis), same tbh

While Dean’s making friend’s in the kitchen – and learning not to say the name ‘Wendigo’ which turns out to be a trigger word to take a drink - Sam’s homed in on hotboy Max and his equally hot sister Alicia. Turns out their mother is a good witch who taught Alicia how to hunt bad witches.

Sam (to Max): What did she teach you? Max: Uh, mostly how to seduce men. Alicia: She also taught him some magic, which is actually more useful. Max: Eh, mostly the men thing.

Max is definitely getting his flirt on, making sure Sam knows he’s into hot men, and we cannot deny, Sam is a hot man. Before Sam can flirt back, Elvis interrupts and introduces himself and then makes Sam feel awkward when he asks Sam about being possessed by the devil. Bad Elvis!

Max (and Alicia) are both pissed on Sam’s behalf,

Alicia: Dude, you don't just ask someone about something that messed up. Max: Seriously, back off.

Protective!Max alert, I’m going to need a few minutes with my new ship Samax, though to be honest, the way Max and Alicia are sitting together, it might need to be Samaxia, which no issue other than it sounds like a drug that gets advertised on television with all kinds of side effect warnings, like may cause death...)

Elvis makes Sam feel so awkward that he runs off to go find a beer. Elvis then tries to talk to Max and Alicia and they outright just tell him to go away. Love them.

Aww, Sam got his beer and then went off to find his big brother. In fairness, I think they’ve been separated five minutes at this point and in that time Sam was accosted by Elvis. Dean’s looking through Asa’s office and discovers he has a real angel blade. Sam asks if Dean knew people tell stories about them.

Dean: Yeah. Apparently, we’re a little bit legendary. Sam: Yeah, but, I mean, so was Asa. Then a hunt went bad, and he ended up hanging from a tree, alone in the woods. Dean: He died on the job. No better way to go. Sam: You really believe that? Dean: Yeah. What, you don’t? I mean, come on, Sam, it's not like we're in the “live till you're 90, die in your sleep” business. This? [Dean points at Asa’s hunting wall] This only ends one way.

It’s difficult watching this knowing the ultimate end as I know Sam’s never agreed with this, being the one to want to see an end to hunting at some point; but you can’t deny Dean has been consistent in how he thinks he’s going to go out and has always seemed at peace with that.

Sam says they should get back and Dean agrees but warns Sam not to say “wendigo” to anyone. I love that he warns Sam. Every time Dean is a good brother, it just reminds me how much of a bad sister I am as I would not have passed on the warning. Sam’s confused about why he can’t say it but seems to just accept it.

Only a few people are around by the end of the night, still telling stories of Asa’s epic hunts - mainly Bucky. Why show, why give us this amazing man and kill him off in the first five minutes?!.

Anyway, turns out that the “ghoul story” from earlier had more to it. Asa and Jody got together for some “sweet sweet time alone”. Jody plays it down, says it was more of a casual thing. Turns out Asa could beat Dean in the ladies game and I think even Alicia and Max mother was one of his conquests (we saw this in the opening montage as well, Asa kissing a different woman in his car in between hunts).

Randy asks if people want a beer and heads to the kitchen, and I fear Randy is not long for this world as he walks down the hallway alone. We stay on him as he returns and my anxiety is kicking in, even with expecting something, it’s sudden when his throat is slit and he’s dragged off down a side corridor by someone wearing black.

Alicia walks back into the living room carrying two beers – and we’re reminded she’s dressed all in black?! Alicia? Surely not.

We see someone enter the door and only see their boots as they walk, they stop just outside the living rom where everyone is talking. Loraine hears the footsteps stop and tells the stranger to come in and not hover.

Turns out it’s Mary. Awkward Winchester family reunion, given I think from memory Mary walked out an episode or so ago.

Sam, Dean, Jody and Mary go somewhere more quiet to talk.

Mary: What are you doing here? Dean: What are you doing here?

I love the reversed dynamic of Sam being go between Dean and Mary (where it was the reverse between Sam and John). Sam introduces Mary to Jody as their mother.

Jody: I thought– I thought you were... Mary: I was. Jody: [quietly] Wow. Wow! [She hugs Mary excitedly] It is so nice to meet you!

She belatedly sees the awkward tension and ships out to give them “some family time”

Dean asks where Mary’s been and she responds she’s been using John’s journal to work through a few things.

Dean: You could’ve just asked us, you know. Sam: Dean, come on. Dean: She could’ve. Mary: It’s okay. He’s right. But… This is something I needed to do alone. I… Listen, most of the people I knew are dead. And then I remembered Asa. He was so young when I met him, I thought he must still be around. And then… I saw an article about his death, and, uh… Dean: So you’ll text us once a week, maybe, but you’ll drive all the way to Canada to see some dead guy? Well, that’s awesome. I’m gonna get some air. Mary: Dean, wait...

Mary tries to go after Dean but Sam stops her. Sam knows his brother.

Jody on the other hand stops Dean at the door and pretty much says she’s here if Dean wants to talk about anything other than killing Hitler (which Dean spent the five hour drive telling her in excruciating detail.). She talks about giving anything to have her dead husband and son back but at the same time she would be worried it wouldn’t be the same which gives Dean some food for thought in regard to his complicated relationship with Mary.

Mary’s in the kitchen getting a beer, Lorraine introduces herself as Asa’s mother. Mary introduces herself as Mary Winchester, which Lorraine can’t believe as Mary should be her age. Mary: It’s a long story. She says she’s sorry. Lorraine says she should be, Mary’s the reason her son didn’t become an astronaut. She’s very bitter and hands Mary the box with the postcards Asa wrote to her. Mary defends herself and says she saved Asa’s life.

Lorraine: [scoffing] What am I supposed to say to that? After you, Asa got so… Hunting was his whole life. He never married. Never had a family, kids. And now… enjoy the wake.

I love this next scene between Sam and Mary. Sam finds Mary and asks if she’s all right. She thrusts the box of postcards at him and says she’s fine. She goes into Asa’s office and tells Sam she saved Asa when he was a kid, and this is all on her.

Sam: Well, no. Obviously, mom, he made his own decisions. And he helped a lot of people, you know?

Sam and free will and then we have Season 15 debacle. Pfff

Mary tells him that everywhere she goes and everything she does just feels wrong, but she’ll get used to it.Sam tells her he understands, she just needs space and so does Dean, (who we see outside drinking from his flask), He says Dean is just scared they are going to lose her again,

Sam: “that – that because we're (Sam and Dean) hunters, you're gonna walk away. But I know that’s not true. Even looking at these… [Sam holds out the box of Asa’s postcards to Mary] I mean, you saved Asa in 1980, um, after Dean was born. After everyone thought you quit hunting. Seems like you couldn’t stop then, and… I’m guessing you can’t stop now, either. This job, this life, is crazy and insane. But it’s in our blood. Come on. [Sam puts his arm around Mary] Mary: Where we going? Sam: To say goodbye to Asa.

I love that Sam understands more than anyone the desire to have normal/safe, pulling against the need to save people/hunt things so I love this scene between him and Mary and I like Mary a little bit more because of it. Damn you Jared! You even got me to like Claire once!

They go to say goodbye to Asa and I like when Mary undoes the cover over his face and we get blood dripping onto Asa’s forehead. It’s interesting to have both Sam and Mary in this scene in a callback to Sam’s nursery scene. They both look up and it’s Randy, tied to the rafters, dead and bleeding from his neck wound.

Back in the living room, Bucky is still telling stories about Asa. Sam and Mary rush in and Sam tells everyone they need to leave because Randy is dead. I like this, it’s like a murder mystery now. All of a sudden, water is shut off (this is new canon?), and the twins can smell Sulphur. Lights are flickering. Demon alert!

Bucky tells them it’s Jael, a crossroads demon who hangs people, which is his thing, snaps necks (Asa), slits throats (Randy). Turns out Asa exorcised the demon but now it’s back. Bucky tries to open the door, Elvis helps but it slams shut.

Max (trying to impress Sam): you’re wasting your time [he waves a hand in front of the door and we see red symbols] Max says the entire house has been warded.

Not sure if that impressed Sam or not but Max had me at “Seriously, back off” and now this? *Fans self

Anyway, it means they are trapped inside.

Back outside with Dean, he’s still drinking from his flask. He hears footsteps and doesn’t bother turning around, just tells the person to “go away”. I think he thinks it’s Mary, but turns out to be Billy saying “you’re not the boss of me.”

Dean: Billie. What’re you doing here? Billie: My job. [Dean chuckles] Well, I’m not dead yet. Billie: Shame. But actually, I just finished inside. I was reaping a fresh soul.

Wait, what? But Dean’s brother is in there! Dean’s pissed and marches to the door.

Inside, Bucky is telling the group more about the demon Jael. Asa exorcised the demon but not before it killed a first nations girl by tying a noose around her neck.

Outside Dean is rattling and banging on the door

Dean: Sam. Sammy! Hey! Billie: You can huff and puff, but that house is on supernatural lockdown. They can’t even hear you.

Bucky is still expositioning and Dean is still trying to get past that old Winchester nemesis “the door”, even throwing a solid statue at it, but nothing is happening.

Okay, we’ve now reached the only part of this episode I have an issue with. We’ve got a group of hunters standing around wondering who the demon is amongst them and not one of them can remember the tests for a demon. Sam come on! You knew Christo in season 1 and you performed a reverse exorcism in season 8.

Anyway Elvis accuses Alicia of not being in the room and Max says Dean wasn’t in the room either (uh Max buddy, accusing Sam’s brother isn’t going to win you any points in the whole wooing thing, just fyi - of course wooing Sam in the first place is pretty dangerous terratory)

Finally Alicia remembers about holy water but they are all out. Elvis says they can just make more but Mary reminds them the water is off. Uh? The toilet bowl?

Dean’s stopped attacking the door and turns to Billie and asks, What did you do? Billy says it wasn’t her, she’s just cleaning up the mess but “it’s always nice to see a Winchester who can’t get what he wants.”

Dean: You think this is funny? Huh? Hunters are dying in there. Billie: Everyone dies.

Dean is pretty much losing his shit and I’d like to remind people that at this point, he doesn’t know which hunter has died.

Back with the group, Sam finally remembers his brother is outside so all focus is on Alicia who starts coughing. I think she’s faking it to screw with her brother (totally what I would do) but no,

Alicia/Jael: Alicia’s not here right now. [Her eyes glow red] Leave a message. [she punches Max] Oh, you’re a fun group. We’re gonna have a good time tonight.

Jael leaves Alicia in a cloud of demon smoke and flies into the fireplace. Sam and Max get Alicia up (Samaxia forever – warning for side effects which may include internal bleeding and even death)

They now need to figure who in the house Jael has jumped into. Jody gives the orders (I’ll forgive this, she’s a cop) and they pair off to search the house (why not sweep room to room?), Anyway, Sam’s with Mary and Jody’s with Bucky.

Dean’s worked out that Billy got in to reap the soul so if she can get in, she can get Dean in.

Billie: I could, I suppose. But– Dean: Do it! Billie: But it’s a one-way ticket. And you’re gonna owe me one.

Billie, Sammy is in there, do you think Dean cares about “cosmic consequences” at a time like this? There is a door between them right now ffs! Sammy may even be dead and Dean does not want him decomposing before he can find a crossroads to make a deal!

Elvis who was supposed to be partnering with Lorraine, left her briefly to get her a double (vodka I presume?). Anyway Dean comes flying through the door like the overly dramatic bitch he is whenever Sam is in danger.

Dean (whipping out demon knife): Where’s my brother? [he’s already marching past them btw to go look]

THIS IS MY SHOW! What moron thought this show was going to end with DeanCas? Come on, don’t be shy, show yourselves so we can point and laugh because you are going to have an epic tantrum approximately 3 and a half years from this episode which could have been prevented if you’d watched the damn show, instead of wallpaper. By the way, in this episode, Castiel was played by the statue Dean threw at the door. [It represents the violent nature of the Destiel relationship – I have a 500 page meta on this if anyone is interested].

Lorraine accuses Dean of being the demon.

Dean: Demon? Lorraine: Kill him! Dean: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, lady. Look, I’m not a demon, okay? I’m one of the good guys. Now stick with me, do what I say, and everybody’ll get out of here, okay? Everybody!

Elvis – making far too much use of his screentime matches Dean’s dramatics by pulling out his own knife and saying ominiously “well, not everybody” [complete with red flashing eyes].

In this episode, Dean is allowed to be a proper hunter and is able to fight. He taunts the demon, “You’re kinda slow for a demon, aren’t you?” which, he seriously is, no idea how this demon got my wonderful favourite side character “Asa” killed (if he’s not in the final watching Kansas play at the Road House along with all my other favourites, I will be pissed and have a full week meltdown on Twitter – just fyi) [*I won’t really because I’m not insane. Please don’t report me.]

Dean tells the demon to go to hell. The demon tells Dean that Hell is a “complete train wreck” (uh, no, what is a “complete train wreck” is most of season 12-15) Hell is much more pleasant. Dean repeats for the demon to go to hell and starts reciting an exorcism (finally, the smart brother is in the room). Love hearing Dean recite the exorcism. Demon says nuh uh though and snaps Elvis’ neck complete 180 which causes Lorraine to scream, the black smoke escapes from Elvis still standing body. Elvis collapses on the floor and Lorraine is wailing. And I can say “Elvis has left the bulding” which I’ve been waiting the entire episode to be able to say. I’m marginally disappointed Dean didn’t.

Dean helps Lorraine up while shouting “Sammeh!” which brings Sammeh running to the living room.

Mary: Dean. We thought you were outside. Dean: Yeah, I got back in. Sam: How? Dean: It was a one-time deal. Won’t happen again.

Thankfully, there’s no time for Sam to initiate the Spanish inquisition on THAT right now. They account for everyone – except Elvis obviously. The lights go out and everyone puts flashlights on (Max and Alicia have the phone torch on – me as a hunter!) but Dean pulls out the knife which Alicia and Max look at.

Alicia: Mm, impressive. Dean: Demon blade. Kills ‘em dead. Max and Alicia in unison: Nice.

While I try to work out a Sam/Max/Alicia/Dean ship name, Bucky suggests lighting candles, Dean says they need a devil’s trap. Sam says “on it” and Dean is right there with him “yep”. My boys working in sync!

Dean’s plan is for them all to stand in the devil’s trap. The person who won’t get in, is the demon. Clever plan. Mary is impressed and it’s nice for her to see how well one of her sons turned out as a hunter and the other is a cute dumbass – at least Sam had a flashlight.

Mary goes off on her own for some reason and goes to get the angel killing blade from Asa’s office.

Max tries flirting with Sam again, asking what kind of pentagram they are doing

Sam: Standard pentagram. Nothing fancy. Max: I like a Fifth Pentacle of Mars. It’s got more character.

Max bringing his A game to the flirting, I like it. Alicia doesn’t like all the flirting: “Because character is really what matters right now.” They are just like Sam and Dean! Spin off of codependent witch siblings right tf now. Please and thank you.

Jody sees Mary return and is suspicious she was off on her own. She whispers to Sam that she thinks Mary is possessed, she gets increasingly worried which draws the immediate attention of Dean who comes over and asks what is going on (demon knife drawn out and ready once again). Sam quietly tries to tell Dean that Jody thinks their mom is a demon, but Jody shouts, No, I don’t think, I know! I know she’s a demon. [points accusingly at Mary] which prompts Bucky to steps away from Mary and reaches for his knife.

Mary: Hey! Jody: Kill her! Use the knife! Kill her now! Sam: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Hold on a second, [turns to look at Jody] Jody, you… You don’t sound like yourself. Dean (not even looking around):That’s because she’s not herself. Are you?

Oh my poor Sam Dumbchester, on rewatch, this episode did you dirty, I was sucked in by my love of Asa Fox and the whole door thing and the Sammeh! I’m so ashamed. Hands my bitter Sam girl platinum membership card back to the bitter Sam girl club in recognition I am no longer worthy of holding it Jody turning into the red eyed demon is in the running for worst “playing of a different character ever” but it’s up against stiff competition from Casifer, Empty!Castiel, Gestapo!Castiel and gayforpay!Castiel and is mercifully short. My main issue with this demon is there is no real consistency through the different bodies it inhabits. They should all have agreed how to play it imo and I do think Kim goes Disney villain OTT but not enough to cause embarrassment, just would have been better if the performance had been toned down some.

Demon Jody had hoped they would kill their mom “wouldn’t that be a riot?”

Dean (sarcastically): Yeah, super fun

Sam tries to attack Jody and is thrown. Big brother is pissed and tries to attack but is thrown too. Uh, how come the lame demon can fight now?

Anyway, Mary attacks and tries to kill Jody with the demon blade and manages to scratch her arm, but Sam says no and pulls Mary away. .

Mary: What are you doing?! She’s a demon. We kill demons. Sam: No, but she’s Jody.

I like this that Mary doesn’t know you don’t just go around killing people, you try to save them first.

The demon is bored and claps her hands, and everyone collapses onto the ground and cannot move (where was this kickass power earlier?). The demon says she’s heard so many stories about the Winchesters, she stands over sam and says, “The idea that he left a meatsuit alive is just so deliciously weak.” Sam gives his “bite me” face.

As for the rest, she’s been inside their heads and starts spilling out secrets – the twins are Asa’s children (I forgot about this detail), Lorraine apparently tried to sabotage Asa’s truck to stop him going out hunting (which is a nice call back to him trying to fix the truck in the episode earlier). She says Jody fantasized about a life with Asa. Bucky manages to get up to attack but Jody grabs him and holds him on his knees.

Jody/Jael: And you. Bucky. Brave, brave Bucky. I was there that night. Tell these nice, stupid people what you did. Tell them what you took from me. Asa was mine.

I like this next scene, Sam manages to stand up and start the exorcism before he’s thrown across the room again. Dean picks up where Sam left off, until he’s thrown through a glass door, the twins are next and get pinned to the wall.

Bucky finally confesses that he killed Asa [and the way he’s dramatically thrown to the floor would never have made it into a scene in seasons 1 to 5]. Oh show, weeps for the quality that once was. Season 12 (heavy sigh).

Mary stands up and finishes the exorcism which sends the demon back to hell.

Sam rushes over to help Jody who says, “That… sucked”

[Try re-watching your performance Kim!]

Lorraine: Bucky, what did you do?

They all turn and look at Bucky.

Bucky says they were hunting in the woods for Jael and he wanted to go back and get the angel blade. Asa wanted to keep hunting but Bucky pushed him and Asa fell and cracked his head and died, which I feel kind of sorry for, not like he did it deliberately and he lost his best friend [and lets be real, it’s not the worst thing a supposed “best friend” has done on this show]. It’s a very tragic end for a great hunter (don’t fast forward to 15.20)

Bucky asks what they are going to do to him.

Alicia: Tell everyone, every hunter we meet. They’re gonna know your name, Bucky. Know what you did. Max: You like stories. This is the story everyone’s gonna tell about you. Forever

I guess I get Max and Alicia’s anger, Asa being their dad and all. It’s just tragic all round because I do feel it was an unlucky accident and Bucky clearly misses his best friend.

I like the setup of the funeral pyre, now 3 hunter bodies being burned, Jody, Lorraine and Mary are standing in front of the pyre. Alicia and Max are resting against their car and Dean and Sam are doing the same against baby.

Lorraine tells Mary she was wrong, “Asa did have a family. He even had kids. I’ve got grandchildren. Suppose I should go meet them.” She walks over to hug Alicia and Max.

Jody and Mary are left at the pyre,

Jody: I don’t know what’s going on between you and your boys, but I gotta tell you, mom to mom, they are good men. Best I’ve ever met. Mary: I know. They’re not the problem.

Jody walks away and leaves Mary on her own, which is Dean’s opportunity, he taps Sam and they both go over to Mary. They ask if she’s okay but Billy appears and says, “She’s really not.” Mary asks who she is and Dean says she’s a reaper that got him back inside.

I would like to have much preferred to have seen Sam’s reaction as well as Mary’s but we don’t get this and it’s a bad choice of angle for me. Billie says Dean owes her one and looks at Mary, “This one. This one right here.”

Billie is still on her “what’s dead should stay dead” kick. She’s a stickler for the laws on that (and never really changes tbh, I don’t really get Billie’s overall arc.)

Mary says she didn’t ask to come back, Billie agrees but says the dead man’s look in Mary’s eyes says she hates it, that she feels she doesn’t fit, like she’s all alone.

Dean: Well, she’s not alone.

Billie (still looking at Mary): Tell me I’m wrong. [Sam and Dean turn to look at Mary and kudos to Jared once again for saying so much with no words as to how he looks at Mary here]

Billy says she’s not here to hurt Mary, “I’m here to offer you mercy. A one-way ticket upstairs, away from all of this.” [Again poor choice of camera for this scene as we see Dean but not Sam]. Mary asks how it would work.

Sam: Mom. [My poor boys!] Mary: You just kill me again? Billie: Reapers don’t kill people. Rules. Mary: Well… then… [she looks up at Sam and Dean] Me: Don’t you dare break my boys fragile hearts! Mary: Then I guess you’re just gonna have to wait. Billie: Winchesters… Me: Same tbh Billie Billie: …if you change your mind– if any of you change your minds– you know my name. [she disappears]

Sam asks if this means Mary is coming home. Mary says yeah, but follows up with: Not quite yet. I just need a little more time.

Sam looks disappointed ☹ but he understands

Dean: Can we buy you breakfast at least? Mary: Bacon? Dean: All the bacon. Mary: I would love that.

I love that Dean and Mary can find a common bond through food. Sam hugs Mary as they walk together towards the Impala

Despite a couple of wobbly bits sprinkled here and there and my poor Dumbchester Sammeh, I still really love this episode overall, the good far outweighs the issues I have and I’ll happily re-watch it as a stand-alone MOTW. I loved the introduction of the witch twins and wish we’d got to see a lot more of them *coughs* and a lot less of other “fan favourite” characters.

It will be interesting where this one will ultimately fall in my definitive list.

#spn rewatch #12.06 #celebrating the life of asa fox #episode review #episode recap #Dabb era actually has some quite good episodes to enjoy #if you ignore being repeatedly punched in the face with Cass is best friend/brother

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zippdementia · 3 years

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Part 90 Alignment May Vary: Pieces of the Past

There is an adventure for 4th Edition called something like The Return to the Tomb of Horrors. It is an adventure centered around the infamous lich Acererak and his various Tombs of death. One of the more fun parts of the adventure takes PCs to the Tomb of Horrors... only it’s decades after the Tomb’s first opening and the tomb has been raided and destroyed by the thousands of PCs that have come to it since that time.

I mention this, because ever since I read that module, I’ve wanted to do something similar: bring players back to a place that was familiar to them. The Tomb of Haggemoth, which featured so heavily in our campaign and plot, was the obvious choice and there was at least one loose end left in the Tomb that I felt would serve as a good hook: an ancient celestial being, trapped in a rock. Around the time of this session, I had finished working on a revival of Haggemoth, bringing it into 5th Edition with its original creator, Robert Kendzie (you can learn more about that here). As we updated a lot of the final dungeon, it felt like I now had an appropriately “changed” setting to bring the players back to.

So for this next section of the adventure, we return to the past. We return to Haggemoth.

New Waterdhavians

The set up for this return begins in Waterdeep, with Imoaza and Milosh morose after the failure at Maakengorge and the sacrifice of Ruze. Milosh especially, has lost his entire sense of identity and nearly quits the group entirely. His only consolation is that armor has been left for him by Vraath Keep’s smith, who had promised to build him a new face. It is a wonderful piece of armor that gives him a humanoid looking face shield to cover up the damage done by Dragon fire back on the asteroid. But he also saw that smith dead in the Maakengorge temple. Everything reminds him of his failure at this point. Only one thing keeps him involved: Illrastayne.

This is the blade he took from the Abyss, the blade which contains the soul of the bard-turned-warlock Bitterberry (and his Demonic patron) and which Milosh used extensively in the Abyss but has shunned since. He decides to rid himself of the blade, almost on a whim. He is aware that it has a demon inside of it and wishes to have no connection to anything which might impede his freedom, whether it be Surveyor, Primus, or this accursed sword. But when he tries to rid himself of it, he finds he cannot. The sword will not leave him. More than that, it taunts him, telling him in a demonic voice inside his head that in his despair, the blade has latched ever more deeply onto his heart and soul and that soon it will have him completely. Determined to find a way to destroy the blade, Milosh seeks out the Shaman from the ice tribe, who survived the events at the Maakengorge and is with the refugees in Waterdeep. The Shaman tells him there is a place called Rori Rama, where the first contract between the Demon was struck and that is the only place now where the blade can be destroyed.

It is around this time that Carrick returns to the party. Yes, Carrick! If you don’t recall him, he was the prior character that Ruze’s player had created and played for many many sessions, finally losing him in the Abyss during Esheballa’s insane game. But that was only the end of the original Carrick. Carrick’s backstory involved the inadvertent merging of his soul and personality with the energy of the final Surveyor, and so when Carrick died, his soul was borne back to Faerun to awaken in the last vessel the Surveyor had left there: a final body left safely in the ruins of the Fane, whose Yuan Ti temple had been reduced to rubble by the actions of Imoaza, Aldric, and the original Carrick during the final campaign of the Red Hand.

Carrick comes to Milosh and asks him to accompany him on a final task. You see, Carrick has worked out a good portion of the prophecy and its meaning. He believes that the players haven’t actually failed to stop the prophecy. Instead, he tells them that this is what HAD to happen in order to stop it: the three had to be one. Only when together could they be defeated. To recap, according to the prophecy, the PCs will need to bring together four objects to destroy the three and halt Chaos’ advance into the world. The pertinent lines are thus:

Four things must gather to alter fate’s course The Sword, The Shield, the The Stone, The Source Then upon the throne the three must be Before they can meet their destiny

Carrick says the sword is almost certainly Imoaza’s Black Razor. The Stone he believes is a piece of the Surveyor’s Jade stone that caused so much trouble early in the campaign, years ago. He went out on a mission of his own to retrieve it (one that wasn’t played in the course of our adventures, but was occurring while the players were at the Sea of Moving Ice). In speaking with Imoaza and learning what she found out from the library on the iceberg, Carrick now believes the Source is a piece of Primus himself. Karina, before her demise, had spoken to him at length of her past adventures and mentioned that Abenthy had begun calling himself an “Inevitability of Justice” after surviving Haggemoth’s tomb. Carrick, with the knowledge of the Surveyor living within his own memories, knows of the creations of Primus, and Abenthy’s wording stands out to him: “Inevitability.” Carrick believes an Inevitable is still in Haggemoth’s Tomb and that Abenthy encountered it. The Inevitables are celestial beings, created by the hands of Primus itself in the plane of Mechanus, where Law and Order is unquestionable. And there is one being, Carrick believes, who can channel the power of that Inevitable.

“Oh great,” Milosh said, seeing the visage of the surveyor looking down at him from the alley’s entrance. “This again.”

Years ago, a surveyor had taken Milosh from the depths of failure and despair and built him a new identity. But now Milosh had remembered, remembered everything, and again he had failed. He didn’t want a third chance. He wanted to go away. He wanted the world to go away.

Carrick knelt beside him. “We’re not very different, you and I,” he said. “Both of us have experienced death. Each has had our own failures. And we’ve been brought back to do more. We have been brought back to save the world.”

Milosh scoffed. “I have no world.”

“No. You have a million. Every world is yours to protect. That was your mission. It is your mission.”

“I’ve lost a lot already.” Milosh paused. “You remember Aldric, right? Did you know Imoaza killed him? I found it out from a book we got, from this old elf in a frozen library. You trust this group to save a world? We can’t even trust each other.”

Carrick stopped and considered what Milosh had said. “We all have to answer for our past actions,” he said. “Some answer in different ways. I believe Imoaza is going through her own changes. And I... I am no longer exactly who I was before. I am not Carrick. But I am not the Surveyor, either. But I am both. Do you remember the sacrifice I made as Carrick? Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Sometimes we can avoid them. But if you walk away here, you walk away from the sacrifices we have all made.”

“Maybe I don’t care.”

“You’ll also walk away from yourself. You want freedom? Then you need to face what it is that you are afraid of. Or else you’ll never be free from it.”

While Milosh is struggling to come to terms with what he should or should not do, Imoaza begins to investigate the politics of Waterdeep, concerned by the boast from Nazragul that he had agents in Waterdeep’s council, planted there to change the teleportation destination from Vraath Keep to the Maakengorge, which is how he trapped Karina. Her investigations, which involve her ingratiating herself to certain people in disguise and exploring the homes of certain nobles, reveals to her that Yuan Ti have infiltrated Waterdeep and are turning its citizens and lords against the cause for which Imoaza and the companions fight.

These discoveries will have importance for upcoming sessions, but for now they linger as unresolved hints of danger, for it is time for the group to head to the tomb.

Return to the Tomb

“The island was warded against dragons,” Argent explained, as the bronze dragon circled down towards the island of Rori Rama. “We knew where it was, we could practically taste the magic and gold Haggemoth had accumulated, but we couldn’t get close to the island. Like an itch you couldn’t scratch. Even now, this is as close as I can come.”

For three weeks, the companions (plus Breath Giver, Milosh’s personal healer from the ice tribe) had flown via dragonback away from Waterdeep, across the Moon Sea, and towards Rori Rama, to find the Inevitable trapped inside the old tomb. They had stopped at several locations which would have been familar to Karina. They had stopped to buy provision in Ottoman’s Docks, which had changed little in a hundred years, except that it had doubled in size. They had roosted one night on a beach of a deserted island with a huge spire rising out of its middle (the site of the LaCroix mansion, though they didn’t know it). They had flown to Celaenos and spent a night as guests of the Sisters, the Keepers of the Library, who had taken over the monastery after the Knights had been murdered decades earlier. They spent a night at the island of the Oracle, and though they lacked the money to see the ageless Oracle, the monks who protected her let them at least stay on the beach for free.

Eventually they reach Rori Rama, but the closest Argent can get them is at the base of the inactive volcano which contains Haggemoth’s tomb. Breath Giver stays with Argent while the three companions use fly spells to reach the volcano’s crater and there find a way down a mysterious shaft delved into the mountain itself. The shaft takes them directly into Haggemoth’s inner sanctum, skipping the first level of the tomb entirely (I intend this to be a revisit of this infamous area, not a full rerun of it).

This high ceiling of this long chamber is held up with stout columns and the floor is tiled in marble. The rotting remains of a pair of couches can be seen towards the center of the room, along with some long-dead potted plants. Several doors lead off of this room, though some are damaged. The space is lit by arcane-looking lanterns hung from the columns, but the far end of the hall is lost in shadow where part of the ceiling has collapsed and the lamps have failed. Strange sounds echo in the distance – sounds of movement and the occasional animal like cry.

I am not going to detail all of the explorations the players make of the old tomb. There are many little rooms and surprises the players encounter, but only a few are of key importance to the plot, and I want to focus on those, the things that have changed for the worse since the last time they were here.

First, there is a new character that makes his appearance in this ruined tomb. His original name is unknown, if in fact he ever had one, but the group comes to know him as “The Painted Mummer.” He lives in paintings left behind by Haggemoth, and takes multiple disguises, different for each painting, from a feasting king to a hunchbacked dwarf. He interacts with the PCs as they explore the Sanctum, sometimes giving them dubious advice, at other times leading them through interactions with some of Haggemoth’s left over magics. For instance, they try to make a potion of invulnerability in his old study, guided by the Mummer in the guise of a twitchy scholar in a painting in the room. This ends in disaster as the potion explodes, due to them not identifying the proper heart needed for the potion (they use a Grell heart instead of a Hook Horror heart). They do get some hints that not all is well, such as when they identify some dead bodies hidden in a painting of a snowy mountain, and occasionally even get a glimpse of the Mummer’s real persona, a gaunt, tall figure dressed in skin tight black and wearing a theatrical mask, one half of which is sobbing and the other half is giving a menacing and angry snarl. Eventually, they learn to be wary of the Mummer and start burning his paintings whenever they find him in them. This only angers him the more and he begins to stalk them from room to room, not always able to do anything to them, not always even seen by them. But he watches, and he waits.

Cliff notes: The Mummer was an idea Robert and I came up with for the 5th Edition version of Haggemoth. He wanted to do more with the Inner Sanctum and was interested in maybe using the paintings to have some effect on the environment. I was thinking of GladOS from Portal, and liked the idea of an insane groundskeeper, something which was initially built to be helpful but has become broken and corrupted by time.

Secondly, while they explore, the PCs are occasionally accosted by otherwordly purple tentacles, that seem to sprout from the air itself, or the floor. The Ethereal, they discover when Milosh tries to enter it, has been completely dominated and overtaken with these tentacles, and they attack the PCs on two major occasions, sucking out not only their life, but their spell power, draining their spell slots and destorying their magical shields and other effects. The most memorable fight against them takes place in the old dining hall, where an unnatural darkness forces the PCs to fight blind against the tentacles, all the while looking for a key to a special door in Haggemoth’s Sanctum. The PCs get very creative here, with Milosh destroying parts of the ceiling to drop on the tentacles, Imoaza using the Weave Sight to be able to locate the Tentacles, and Carrick using fire and ingenuity to set up a kind of napalm effect that he uses to keep the Tentacles away from him. The scariest part is when the Mummer causes dozens of animated knives and dishes to animate around the room and swarm the players, only to have the Tentacles latch on to this living magic and erupt from the cutlery and dishes, surrounding the players with swarms of essence draining tentacles!

Another scary room involves an illusion created by the Mummer with the aid of some hallucinigenic spores. This grabs Milosh especially, and he runs into what he thinks is a vision of his old life on Eberron, where he is at a ballroom dance. He happily joins in the merriment, and takes a bite out of a thick pastry of some kind, bursting with whipping cream and flavor.

Only, what’s really happening is that he’s surrounded by Rust Monsters, absolutely attracted to his metallic form, his addled mind showing them as laughing and dancing humans. Imoaza and Carrick see through the illusion before he does, and watch as he takes a bite of what he thinks is a pastry... it is actually a larval Rust Monster, its guts and ichor spraying across his face as he bites into it.

Suffice it to say, this is not an encounter that the PCs end up liking, but it is a memorable one. By the time it is over and they flee the room, Milosh has had half his face (just restored!) eaten off.

They eventually discover a scrap of painting in a room which also contains the broken summoning circle Haggemoth used to summon the Inevitable of Justice, centuries ago. The painting shows a gnome, who swears he is not the Mummer, but seems terrified of the Mummer. He tells them his name is Lhu-Ee and he is the last surviving painter dweller, aside from the Mummer, who murdered all of the others. He explains that the paintings were created by Haggemoth to hold his knowledge and to keep him company. They are like phylacteries, holding the souls of creatures Haggemoth pulled from beyond the grave to shape to his purposes. When he prepared to depart this plane, he “turned off” the paintings, intending to let the souls rest forever. But something went wrong. Others (Karina, Abenthy, Xaviee, and Bitterberry) came into the Sanctum and their presence awoke the Paintings again. But with no Master to direct them, the Mummer went mad. Originally designed to entertain Haggemoth and be a companion for him, in his absence he declared that the paintings had failed their master and needed punishing. Only Lhu-Ee escaped his wrath, by hiding in a torn scrap of painting. He offers to go with the party in his scrap, if they’ll keep him safe from the Mummer.

Lhu-Ee knows more than just the history of Haggemoth. He is an expert on the Abyss and the Ethereal, filled with Haggemoth’s knowledge of those planes. He tells them that what’s happening to the Ethereal now is a sign of a being trying to weaken the boundaries between this plane and the Abyssal plane, with disastrous results.

“Why,” he says, pushing his oversized turban back up on his head, where it promptly falls down again. “It could be the end of the world!”

* * *

This is part one of a two part post. There’s a lot that needed to be set up this time, so I wanted to break the posts up to make it a little more manageable. And ya know, maybe also stretch this blog out just a little more. We are coming close to the end.

But not quite yet! Haggemoth’s final resting place still awaits the players, and more beyond that!

#tomb of haggemoth #Haggemoth #D&D #Campaign Journal #Alignment May Vary

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koganphrancis · 6 years

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Camless Episode 5

All The Writers Of This Show Are Shit

We had us a brand new writer this week and all we got was the same old same old: OOC, Retconing, and Repeats of Old Story Beats.

I’ll attempt a recap, but this episode really sucked the will out of me.

(gif credit: gallavichlovies)

I’m not going to do my usual character by character recap because frankly some really awful shit went down this week that I’m just going to refer to and not go into in depth. Plus, so much of the episode was tedious repeats of shit the writer had JUST TRIED to say.

We had both Debbie and Ian go knocking on the wrong doors for advice. We had two endless Lip scenes where all that was happening was he was running and riding a motorcycle. Maybe next week he can paint a fence and we can all watch as the paint dries. Liam is sexually molested (off screen, but still) by another child who had been sexually molested. Carl and Frank both get slapped around in sexually-adjacent situations just as the show is once again trying to drive home what’s unacceptable for men to do to women-hey, Shameless, that goes for what’s unacceptable for women to do to men, women to do to other women, and men to do to other men as well. They tried to make “going Fiona” a thing-twice. There were at least four scenes where Frank tried to get an erection. There were endless retcons (more on those to come).

My notes are all over the place and the show’s such a shit pile I can’t even begin to make a smooth narrative out of them, so here’s a list of my observations, saving the Ian shit for last.

Debbie had a running thread through a big part of the episode where she’s literally bored to the point of falling asleep listening to Alex-that is exactly how I feel about their relationship/the Debbie thinks she might be gay storyline. Also, if anyone cares, Debs has completely dropped her equal rights/equal pay fight. She doesn’t even seem to go to work anymore. Later, Debbie goes to visit the lesbians in Fiona’s building (rather than, I don’t know, talking to Vee about her experiences with Svetlana, since that seems maybe more in line with feelings Debbie is experiencing?) and the scene was clearly written in lieu of Shameless ever showing sex scenes anymore.

The blond lesbian, Mel, exposes herself to Debbie in the doorway of her apartment (but sadly for the Netflix fans, her back is to the camera), without establishing if Debbie is not a minor, and then she kisses her in a sloppy slo-mo saliva string sharing close up. Debbie is supposedly stunned stupid by this, but the whole “you like what you like and you don’t have to justify your sexual orientation to anyone” message falls flat. Debbie has ALWAYS been starved for attention, and she misreads any attention she gets from anyone of any sex. Since Matty she’s always equated someone trying to be interested in her as being interested in her sexually. And that kiss wasn’t sexual at all-it too was a form of molestation-it wasn’t asked for or consented to. This show is shit.

Carl meets a young woman at a West Point mixer, the daughter of the scary military officer who is throwing the party. Hello, we’ve done this already with Dom and her scary cop dad. Yawn. Carl films them not having sex after she passes out drunk so he can prove he didn’t molest/rape her, should it ever come in question. At first the young woman is mad (and jumps on him and starts slapping him around, just like Katey Sagal will do in a scene with Frank), but then later she returns Carl’s phone and says she saw he didn’t film them having sex, but there is a recording on there of him having sex with someone else. He says that’s Kassidi, his ex, but fails to let Kelly (the new chick) know she’s dead and he’s an accessory to her murder. And how fucking creepy is it that Carl’s kept sex with his dead ex on his phone? Is that something he’s still watching? Does he get off to it? This show is shit.

Kev and Vee get stuck with Frank in a few scenes, foreshadowing the boring seasons to come, should the show get renewed (why are they still sitting on announcing that, btw?). There’s a subplot for Kev where he’s going to speak at a women’s rally in his new-found position of Vagina Safe consultant, but he wisely bows out when he hears the real hell women face on a regular basis. Why this show is trying to be socially conscious this late in the game I’ll never know. Especially since they’ll keep pulling their bullshit and defend it with “it’s Shameless!” like they’ve always done in the past. This show is shit.

There’s the weekly Fiona/Bored disagreements-this time they’re about little things like music preferences and whether or not Fiona should care about her brother going to prison for up to two decades. Bored winds up singing along to a song to Fiona at the end-it should’ve been Gus Pfender’s Fuck You, Fiona and they could’ve had a cute discussion about Gus being Fi’s ex-husband. This show is shit.

Now Ian. Sigh. Nothing makes sense. Everything’s either a lie or a retcon and we the audience still don’t know which. At breakfast he’s telling the family his plea options, and when Liam questions temporary insanity, Ian rattles off, “Bipolar, off my meds.” So is Ian saying that’s just the definition of the defense he could use, or is he saying “I was off my meds”???? WHY won’t the show give us any answers? There were two significant scenes in Season 8 where he staunchly said he was taking his meds and that he (rightly) was entitled to feel emotions and be angry at times. Are we supposed to think that right about then is when he stopped taking them and then Gay Jesus happened? But if that was the case, why did he stop taking his meds, and now how long has he been off them-or did he start taking them again and now they’re working after being off them for all the GJ stuff PLUS when he was in jail for 9 months? IF he was off his meds for any amount of time but especially a long amount of time (pretty sure an argument could be made he’d been off them since leaving Mickey/Monica dying/stalking boring Terror, blowing that old couple for money), why did his manic phase seem so different than when he was back from the army? Can the show try to explain anything?

Ian and Fiona and Geneva all go to the lawyer’s office-why? There IS such a thing as client-attorney privilege and the lawyer, at least, would ask them to wait outside once the screaming began if not sooner. But oh well. Ian finally says, “Does anyone want to hear what my lawyer has to say?” Me at home: YES!!! Lawyer starts to talk, “I know this judge-he’s under...” Geneva starts yelling again and what gets lost in her bullshit is that later on, the judge is not a he?

Outside Fi asks Ian, “Are all lesbians that dramatic?” I asked last week, I’m asking again: Is Geneva a lesbian? Is this just another retcon? Her initial interactions with Ian seemed like she was crushing on him, that she wanted him, and there’s been nothing about her being a lesbian in canon. I know it’s not important, but the lack of attention to detail on this show contributes mightily to its shittiness.

Suddenly Ian has a question, and he can think of only one place to get an answer (even though Liam was able to Google “what is cocktail attire?” and get an answer in seconds. Ian should’ve asked him to look up his question as well).

Ian goes to the Milkovich house and it’s so fucking OOC I don’t even want to think about it. For whatever reason, Ian politely says, “Hi, Mr. Milkovich,” when Terry answers the door-why would he even bother? Terry’s not big on manners, for one thing, and for another, the last time Ian saw Terry he was flipping him off as he was being carted back to prison. Don’t think Terry’s going to be warmed over by a polite greeting. Anyway, Ian asks him about being in the pen, and Terry says there’s ass and mouth rapings that Ian would probably enjoy, shitty food, and beat downs from the guards. Ian asks if Terry was mouth raped (I think he specified that, I didn’t put it in my notes) and Terry indignantly says that Milkoviches don’t “bottom”. Ian says, “Was Mickey adopted?” and I can’t tell if he was trying to piss Terry off or if he was genuinely curious, but as a joke it didn’t work-Ian knows (or the old Ian did, anyway) better than anyone that Mickey was absolutely nothing like Terry, in any way, not just in sexual preferences. Another OOC comment to just make the viewer weep thinking about the old days. Also, having Terry know, let alone USE, the term bottom was also OOC in the extreme. He might as well have said, “All Milkoviches are cishet.” It would’ve been just as believable.

But back to the scene. Ian says, “Rapings, food, guards-I can handle that shit. I just need to know...” Terry interrupts him. “Anyone can handle that shit. (Again, me at home: Really?) It’s the boredom that’ll kill ya...Start reading books, lifting weights...” (Mickey already told him that about juvie AND prison-how dense is Ian that he never got it?) “But you’re in the same place, with the same assholes, doing the same shit, every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every god damn year. If I was you I’d pack my shit and run.”

Ian’s face while he’s running down all the segments of time seems to look like Terry’s getting through to him. And Terry telling him to take off is actually the best advice Ian winds up getting-in the long run Terry seems to care about keeping Ian out of prison more than his own family. Terry easily could’ve slammed the door in Ian’s face and ignored him. Does that mean I forgive Terry at all for everything he did to Mickey, Mandy, and Ian-not to mention his other sons and Svetlana? FUCK NO. But how telling is it that this show is now so bad that a villainous piece of shit like Terry is the one character we are listening to and agreeing with?

One last thing about Terry-he just got out, but he knows Mickey’s in Mexico? How? I’m hoping this is a set up for Ian being able to find Mickey next week (or at the end of the season if we have to wait that fucking long), but this show doesn’t do continuity anymore, so I’m sure there’s no logical explanation for Terry knowing that fact.

Fi goes to the Gallagher house looking for Ian and finds an empty box of hair dye, and a towel stained with hair dye, and that Ian’s drawers are empty. I also noticed that his pillow was gone-did he pack that up too? If so, I’m hoping it’s because he and Mickey shared it and he wanted to keep some part of Mick with him always, but we know this show ain’t about that anymore. Anyway, Fi goes and tells Lip she thinks Ian skipped bail and they have to go find him. Lip says no, Ian’s an adult. This conversation also just took place with Debbie-or takes place right after, the show was so boring I couldn’t keep the repeated scenes straight if you put a gun to my head.

WHY are the siblings so uncaring about Ian going to prison-or getting caught as a fugitive and spending even more time there? WHY is everyone so stupid about whether prison is “bad” or not, especially for their apple cheeked, puppy-eyed brother who is dealing with mental illness? Who may or may not be off his meds at any given time? Ian couldn’t even handle VISITING Mickey in prison, why does he suddenly think he could do a stretch of multiple years if not decades? All those years stealing cable and watching bootleg DVDs, did none of the Gallaghers ever watch Oz? In a prior season it was established that Lip has read so much he was able to determine a Louis Vuitton purse was authentic by the stitching and the lettering-he’s never read about prisons and how they affect young men that are in them for a period of time? “Hardened criminal” is a phrase he’s never come across? Lip doesn’t realize how hard Ian’s future as a convicted felon will be when he gets out? Trying to find a job (especially one with medical benefits), a place to live, all that stuff? This show is shit.

There’s a meaningless shot of Ian at the train station (we don’t even get to know where he was planning to run to-as if we didn’t know-show us he’s at least headed south, you bastards!) and then there’s a scene where Lip comes home in the dark to find Ian at the kitchen table eating ice cream right out of the Edy’s carton. (They don’t show us the flavor-it looked like it might be chocolate chip? I didn’t see any chunks of cookie dough or anything. Again, this is only important because everything else is so boring that actually knowing what kind of ice cream Ian likes would be interesting in comparison.)

I guess the ice cream is sort of a metaphor? Ian’s last sweet taste of freedom? Or maybe I’m reading too much into it and they just came up with something for the brothers to share and it couldn’t be beer-because of Lip, not because of Ian’s meds because god knows they never cared about that, plus we STILL don’t know if he’s just magically back on them-if he is, how is he paying for them? Anyway, after Lip’s earlier attitude about Ian being an “adult” and not caring all that much about him ever, he doesn’t deserve ice cream! Here’s a snippet of their dialogue:

Lip: So you didn’t run. Ian: Oh no-I ran. I just...ran back. (well, at least that’s in character since he ran away to the army and came back, and ran away with Monica and came back, and the fucking Mexican border, but I’m not happy about that fact)

They start listing the things Ian will miss if he’s gone for the next ten years. Debbie may be married to a woman (I would think her being divorced is more likely, but whatever, I won’t be around to watch it either, I’m gone as soon as Ian’s back with Mickey), Carl will be a war criminal, Liam will be the father of a ten year old, Frank, dead. Ian asks Lip, “You?” “Still in AA, if I haven’t drunk myself to death.” Ian says, “Do me a favor? Don’t.” IAN CARES MORE ABOUT LIP THAN LIP CARES ABOUT IAN. Always has, always will. “Lip deserves to get out of the ghetto.” But Lip’s fine with Ian going off to prison because of the whole Gay Jesus thing that he never even began to try to understand or help Ian find a way out of. This show is shit.

Next there’s a scene of Ian in a suit, dressed for court and talking to his Bible that’s on his bed (still no pillow-weird). He’s asking Shim to talk to him one last time, maybe give him a hint what he should do. His voice is soft and pleading and he’s almost in tears and all I can think is he needs Mickey to talk things out with. Lip comes to the door and says something like they’re all downstairs, it’s time or whatever. Ian gives the Bible one last look and seems to do a little wink-did he hear something from Shim? Would it kill this show to let us in on some things? This show is shit.

His plea hearing was so factually inaccurate it hurt. His lawyer doesn’t say anything, and when asked what he pleads Ian launches into his entire defense. And the judge lets him. OMGJ.

Again I’m pretty sure I’m witnessing a retcon when Ian says “A young man was being forced against his will into a van to be taken to a conversion camp.” Um, as I recall (and I won’t rewatch the episodes to get all the exact details, they were too stupid), a young runaway came to the Church of Gay Jesus and claimed his parents were trying to make him get conversion therapy and they were giving him drugs so he couldn’t get erections because they didn’t like the fact that he was gay, but when Ian talked to the dad he said the kid ran away on his own because he suffered from mental illness, was off his meds, and was living on the street and prostituting himself. As I recall the dad/parents didn’t say anything about conversion, they just wanted him home. Maybe the dad sought help from the guys in the van because there was no other way to get the kid home-none of this has been established for the court, if nothing else! This show is shit.

Ian gives a speech in a voice like wimpy Jeremiah trying to convince everyone Jerome was the bad one and it was just lame. He claims his family loved him unconditionally-since when? They only gave him crap about being with Mickey, or ignored him. And then when he became “like Monica” there were definitely conditions on loving him-mainly that he be on his meds. Right up to this episode they were all going around saying it’s time to let him go-they didn’t love him enough to want to keep him at the house and try to help him!

Anyway, he then states in open court he was off his meds and in a manic state when he torched the van. Then he looks back at Fiona and starts to give a tiny smile right before the credits. Was he lying to get a lighter sentence and he’s smiling because he got away with it? Or does he look to her like that because he knows she’ll be proud of him for finally telling the truth even if it disappoints/ruins the GJ movement (that is so implausible as a concept it makes my head ache)?

By next week the show will be in another writer’s hands and I’ll never get the answer to that question either, I bet. IF this means the-fucking finally-end to the GJ storyline, I’ll have to be happy enough with that.

In conclusion let me say that once again the only “great” thing about the episode was ZERO mention of Terror!

But the rest of the show was shit.

#Recap #Season Nein Episode 5 #Nobody wants it #So much to hate in this week's episode #They keep finding new depths to sink to

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sueboohscorner · 6 years

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The 100 Ep 510 Recap "The Warriors Will" #The100

This episode was thrilling, and I didn't see the twists coming at all, but like any good twist, everything that happened made perfect sense and derived from the characters. I went into the episode expecting to see Gaia fall in the arena and probably Indra too, just hoping desperately that something would happen to save Indra at the last minute. I could never have seen it coming that Monty would be the hero Wonkru deserved. I also didn't see it coming that Octavia would go full Roman emperor and decide that it's okay to become the villain if your people no longer treat you as a hero!

And no lie, I miss Octavia. Blodreina is a nightmare of a person, and I loved Octavia, for all her faults, for four+ seasons (her ascent to Blodreina was the last we saw of her). I see a lot of fans bitching online, and I suspect that what it comes down to is that they loved Octavia too much to accept this version of her, so they're angry at the show. I've been there, where a direction the creators took a character made them so fundamentally different from the person I thought they were, I disconnected from the overall experience. The 100 is beyond that for me; I am fully invested in the world of the show, and I believe the changes they make have always been explicable and internally consistent.

Just as you could see the seeds of Finn's instability long before he gunned down a village, and the clues that Bellamy didn't trust Grounders as much as his loved ones did long before he joined forces with Pike, and the signs of Jasper's fragility long before he started acting overtly suicidal, Octavia's rage, insecurity, and need for unconditional approval have been laid in as fundamental character traits from the beginning. What we're seeing now is the end result of someone whose worst instincts and basest needs were not merely indulged but encouraged for a very long time, and now suddenly. The same people who eagerly followed her are turning their backs, triggering all the fears of abandonment and rejection she has nurtured throughout her life, and her reaction is proportional to how long and how fully her needs had been met till now.

So with the reaction out of the way, let's cover the action!

Clarke and Madi have gotten well away from Polis while Madi continued to sleep off her post-Ascension hangover. When Madi awakens, she's royally pissed that Clarke has spirited her away from her people, because the spirit of the Commander has increasingly taken hold--that will continue throughout the episode, and it's good to watch Clarke lose her confident certainty that she's in charge here, much as we watched Abby experience in Season 2. Madi is also experiencing the memories of past Commanders in her dreams, and the revelation that Becca was burned at the stake possibly tells us why the chip is called the Flame in the first place, as it was presumably all that remained of her after.

Clarke also dumps out the worm eggs from the Rover, for some reason leaving them in a wriggling pile rather than setting them on fire or something...seriously, I would have found some way to destroy them rather than leaving them there to grow into nightmare creatures, but Clarke isn't great on long-term planning these days.

The closer Clarke and Madi get to the valley, the more heated their discord becomes over what to do with the Flame. Clarke keeps making moves to take it out in Madi's sleep, and Madi ultimately promises Clarke that in order to keep her from ascending all over again, Clarke would have to destroy the Flame. Because that means killing what's left of Lexa, that's a no-go for Clarke...but I fully believe that if she didn't have a personal connection to an element of the Flame. She wouldn't hesitate, any more than Abby hesitated when demolishing the radiation test chamber or interfering in Clarke's attempt at ascending, because Clarke is an overbearing mother from hell. It's a coincidence of competing for self-interest that stands in the way of her maternal instinct to stand in the way of her "daughter's" growth and power.

When they reach the valley, Madi gets another demonstration of Clarke's limited range of concern: McCreary and his goons are killing a bunch of Wonkru defectors, and Madi feels the Commander's impulse to rush in and save her people, but Clarke holds her back. Madi knowingly reminds Clarke that Abby is a defector, too.

Major badassery points to Madi for slitting the throat of a McCreary underling rather than letting him talk or possibly find a way to escape while promising to be useful.

They sneak further into the village and find Abby passed out on the floor by her pill bottle. But how she got these pills? That's a fantastic scene!

This season's MVP guest star, Mike Dopud, delivers another stunningly creepy performance this week, as Abby summons him via neck collar shock (his underlying tone of menace as he implicitly threatens her never to do that again is chilling) to beg him for help getting a fix. McCreary cut her off, and she's in such withdrawal that she insists she will literally die without more pills...who knows how true that is, but her need is evident regardless.

Vinson returns later with a plentiful supply, and he brightly says he knows what's it like to need things as he indulges his own need--the desire to rip a couple of dudes' throats out with his damn teeth!

Abby's subsequent overdose may be partially a result of taking too much after waiting so long to have any, partially the response of emotional horror after what she's just witnessed.

But that's it for the valley, so let's move on to Polis! We came into the week with the knowledge that one or even two major characters would die in the area. The deadpool greatly favored Bellamy to be last man standing, but no one was ready to lose Indra. No one except Octavia, who chooses Bellamy.

Octavia first goes to Indra, begging for help to find a solution that will allow her to maintain absolute control over Wonkru without carrying out the sentence according to Wonkru tradition. Indra points out there's no other way, it's Octavia's own fault, and by the way, I'm going to kill your brother first, so my daughter is certain to survive, so the hell with you.

So Octavia goes to Monty and asks him to convey a message to Bellamy about Indra's weaknesses, and he's like, Nope, this is your fault and your problem, and anyway, you can choose to change your entire plan because of my dope botany skills that will save Wonkru without having to go to war!

Then Octavia gives in and talks to Bellamy herself, and it's one of the greatest scenes of the series. She reminisces about one of the many times he put her safety above all other concerns back on the Ark, and she begs him to kill Indra and Gaia so he can survive. The emotional weight of their relationship is so powerful, so beautifully carried by these two brilliant actors who have built their connection over the past five years.

Rebuffed by Bellamy, the final rejection, Octavia goes away, slices open her arm in the exact place Bellamy once cut himself to protect her and uses the blood as her warpaint.

It's arena time, and Bellamy holds out as long as he can, trying to be a conscientious objector, but survival instinct kicks in, compelling him to fight back. The battle is intense, and Indra is getting a number of good slashes in, but Gaia changes the game!

Gaia picks up a spear and prays to the spirit of the Commander as she hurls it straight at Octavia! Bellamy's instinct to protect his sister is ever-powerful, and he knocks Gaia off balance, causing her aim to go foul.

In this moment, Octavia has the opportunity to end the fight, execute Gaia for attempted regicide, and pardon Bellamy for his act of saving her life, then exile Indra because she'd definitely never forgive Gaia's death...but of course, that's not what happens. Octavia just pretends not to be rattled by this near-death moment, tosses the spear back into the arena, and commands the fight to continue.

But here comes Monty, the hero we needed, the hero we deserve! He bursts into the arena with proof of his success growing new plants, and he announces to Wonkru that Octavia is lying to them! They don't have to go to war--it's not their only chance at survival, and she knows it because he's shown her how he's revived the hydrofarm! They could stay and survive and use the same technique to recultivate the land outside over time.

This revelation is all Wonkru needed to turn against their Red Queen (many of them were at the tipping point anyway, because they wanted their new true Commander to take her place!). Monty and Bellamy are heady with the joy of stopping this nightmare, but they quickly grow worried when no one knows where Octavia has disappeared to.

Their search is short-lived because a fire alarm tells them exactly where she is and what she's done. She's set the hydrofarm ablaze, destroying any hope for the future that didn't involve following her into war. Even Miller looks disillusioned with her now.

But hey, it worked...for her selfish purposes. She has deprived them of any other option besides carrying out her initial plan. The rations they have now are the last food they will ever have unless they can take the valley.

A dispirited, morose army marches out of Polis, and there's only one thing keeping them from murdering Octavia at this point: She's an incredibly strong warrior, and they can't afford to sacrifice an asset like that. Which brings us back to the heart of the series in a neat little way--The 100 has always valued people based on one thing: Are you helping your people survive, or bringing them closer to death?

10/10 (I'd give it an 11 if I could. Can I?)

#The 100 #The CW #Mike Dopud

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strmyweather · 6 years

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Third Time’s the Charm

For just a four-week (and relatively gentle) cut, this most recent adventure was definitely more of a roller coaster than anticipated! It started and ended on relatively high notes, but with a great big dip in the middle. This was my third time through the Renaissance Periodization gauntlet, and the logistics feel pretty familiar by now, yet I still somehow manage to come away from each of these with progressively deeper insight into my own physiology. I feel like one of the official RP hashtags should be #alwayslearning! I've definitely posted a lot more in the Facebook groups than anywhere else lately, so this post is going to be long, even by my standards — apologies in advance! :) Quick background recap. I finished my second cut in late January 2018 with an all-time low scale weight of 133.7# — and also with a lot of metabolic and hormonal issues. I couldn't sleep, was freezing all the time, had a nagging back injury, my hair was falling out, I had through-the-roof anxiety, and I lost my period for nearly four months straight. The goals had been to (1) get my first ring muscle-up, and (2) get below 20% body fat (read: lean enough to eventually do a massing cycle), and while I did meet both those goals, it was clear to me in hindsight that I should have stopped that cut about 3-4 weeks sooner than I did. It was also clear that I subsequently needed a LONG maintenance period, both to let my body heal and to regain some of the barbell strength I'd lost over the previous year (while focusing on gymnastics and fat loss). The immediate post-cut period was a mixed bag. Physically, I certainly started feeling better in every respect. My back pain completely disappeared within a week, and I also ultimately got my muscle-up about two weeks AFTER the cut was over (a testament to the magic of a smaller body that is ALSO properly fueled!). Furthermore, I finally listened to my coach and began rating my workouts appropriately (generally 'Moderate', not 'Light') in terms of my carbohydrate consumption, which helped performance and recovery tremendously. However, despite a fairly slow and careful reverse-diet progression, the scale definitely climbed higher than I'd hoped — my Cut Week 12 average had been 135.8#, and I finally plateaued at 140-141#. Objectively, I'm 5'5" with an athletic build (and literally haven't been in the 130s since puberty), so this wasn't unreasonable on the part of my biology by any means, but after 12 weeks of such close analysis of scale data, it took a while for my brain to settle down about it. However, in mid-April, performance finally started to hit its stride — I was still feeling pretty light and efficient on gymnastics, and when we tested a few barbell maxes, I shocked myself by easily recapturing almost all of my old numbers (most of which had been attained more than a year earlier, when I was 30-35# heavier) and even exceeding a couple (crushed my overhead squat PR by 15 lb!). After that, I finally accepted that the 140-142# range seemed to be a good all-around functional spot for me. And then I went to Cuba, on the same wonderful health professionals' trip that I took last year. Leaving aside the mojitos, beaches, and classic cars, one unfortunate wrinkle to this year's trip is that almost every single one of us developed some degree of GI issues. Apart from being rather irked that my famously iron gut had let me down, what this meant in a practical sense was that I could barely eat for almost a week (while still doing a ton of standing, walking, and other low-level activity). I had rolled my eyes at myself while obsessively packing a cache of nonperishable RP-friendly snacks, but I was ultimately grateful that I had done so, because I knew I needed to at least force myself to gag down a casein shake every night no matter how nauseated I was! I came home having dropped back to 138-139# territory — and, in hindsight, I think this served as a 'mini-cut' in the true sense of the word, in that it predisposed me to gain weight. I wasn't fully recovered from the metabolic aftereffects of my previous cut (had literally just gotten my period back for the first time while we were in Cuba... because of course that would happen), and so that week of unintentional severe restriction, combined with (undoubtedly) a major shift in gut flora, PLUS my coach putting me on a strength cycle... well, it was the perfect storm to lead to a bit of a rebound weight gain. I had stopped checking the scale daily or even weekly at this point, but throughout late May and early June, most of the numbers I saw on my spot checks were in the 143-146 range. Beyond just the scale, my clothes were also starting to fit differently (my hard-won 34C bras were getting a bit tight), gymnastics were feeling tougher than they had in months, and I was suddenly feeling self-conscious in my gym clothes. Something had to be done — but with the aftereffects of January still fresh in my mind, and with heavy barbells now the focus of my training, I had more than a little PTSD about the idea of embarking on yet another cut. The quirk of fate that provided my 'accidental' acceptance to the 2018 New York City Marathon (which is a whole other story) is what ultimately nudged me into pulling the trigger. I’ve run marathons before, but not since starting 1:1 CrossFit programming or since following RP. Knowing that a shift in my training would be coming soon, I posted a question in the RP Endurance group about my situation. I had the vague idea of combining a cut with the early or middle phase of the marathon training plan, when a calorie deficit would be easier to hit. One of the endurance coaches promptly replied — with exactly the opposite of what I'd expected to hear. "Cut now. Start today. Finish as far out from the marathon as possible." I blinked for a second, and then it clicked. For some reason, it took someone ELSE saying it to trigger the light bulb. Of course. For goals like mine — maintenance of strength and muscle mass — heavy barbells are actually the perfect time to cut. Marathon training, by comparison, would be the WORST time for someone like me to cut, because although the scale would certainly drop, I'd also be a lot more likely to lose precious muscle along with fat. I started back on strict Base the very next day. If nothing else, this made me very aware of all the tiny luxuries I'd managed to work in — no more extra glasses of milk, sneaky spoonfuls of PBfit, or "tastes" of Reddi Whip squirted directly into the mouth! :) However, because I was still fearful of pushing the limits too far and knew that I objectively didn't have very much weight to lose, I also set myself some parameters. My three 'hard stops' were that I wasn't going to go below 138#, wasn't going to extend the cut beyond 8 weeks, and wasn't going to utilize the third/harshest phase of the cutting plan (since slashing carbohydrates would be counterintuitive to my performance goals). Week 1 Starting weight: 147.2 lb Week 1 Average: 144.2 lb The first thing I noticed was that my mental state calmed down tremendously. I hadn't fully acknowledged how much this situation had been worrying me, and I had also forgotten how lovely the 'control' of a cut can feel. From day one, I was no longer afraid of the number on the scale, because now — rather than being passive (and therefore frightening) information — it was a tool that I could use to make changes. Further, I knew I got to look forward to watching it go DOWN! :)

I also knew I had a peak week programmed in (what would have been) Week 5 of this cut, so every time the scale showed a number that was higher than I'd hoped, I felt an odd mix of disappointment AND reassurance that "at least that's more mass with which to move the barbell!" Oddly, I think the fact that I had a rationale for not entirely WANTING to see a massive scale plunge helped me to approach this whole thing with a bit of a healthier mental state. The second thing I realized during this first week is that I had drifted further from my templates than I'd thought. In many instances, I was habitually shorting my fats and (not always consciously) exceeding my prescribed carbs. I made sure to write this down, so I could correct it when I started to work my way back up towards Base; however, I also didn't re-add all the fats I had dropped, because that seemed like a silly thing to do in the first stage of a *cut*. As such, my first week of this adventure was spent on an imaginary 'gray zone' tab that I named 'Cut 0.5'. :) This first week was, honestly, pretty smooth sailing. My parents had been in town for a visit, and we'd eaten at a couple of restaurants, so my starting weight of 147.2# was a bit artificially inflated; however, this meant that I had a very gratifying water weight drop across the first week (five pounds!). This made my clothes start to fit better AND my gymnastics feel instantaneously better, both of which were big morale boosts. I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I might be able to knock this out in six weeks instead of eight. Week 2 Average: 143.8 lb This was where the plateau started to hit; that lovely five-pound drop was (naturally) followed by a RISE of 4# across 4 days. This was partly being driven by hormones (PMS week), but in a shorter cut like this, you don't wait around if you don't have to. Midweek, I could tell that my average was going to stagnate, so I went ahead and moved onto the first fat loss tab. This impacted my sleep almost immediately (hello darkness my old friend...), and also led to that annoying, familiar feeling of weakness and shakiness on non-training days when carbs were low. However, in general, I continued to feel pretty good — handstand push-ups in particular were suddenly feeling awesome, and although barbells FELT noticeably heavier, my hard numbers hadn't actually backslid. I had two notable non-scale victories in week two. First, I had two unavoidable restaurant meals in the span of 4 days (a dinner and a post-workout breakfast), wherein I managed to (1) stay compliant and (2) calmly enjoy myself and my company in the process, feeling neither deprived NOR the usual overwhelming creeping dread about the unpredictability of the food in front of me (green salad with grilled shrimp/veggies for the dinner, an egg white omelet with salsa, veggies, and toast for the breakfast). It sounds so simple, but I just never learned how to do that very well on my first couple of cuts — how to simultaneously make good nutrition choices in a social setting AND truly FEEL okay mentally about those choices, rather than anxious or apologetic or defensive or self-conscious. This set of coping skills would have been a worthy takeaway no matter where the scale ended up. Second, this week made me recognize and appreciate the value of cycle tracking. Losing my period for so long after my last cut was admittedly nice on one level, but was also incredibly annoying, because I had no hormonal context in which to confidently interpret my day-to-day physical and mental fluctuations. That experience prompted me to start paying MUCH closer attention to such things during maintenance, and now that I have a couple months' worth of notes, I absolutely see a very strong correlation between where I am in the month and how I feel (both gym-wise and mood-wise). It's pretty neat to write a description that says (for example) that I woke up roasting hot overnight, or the scale went up, or my mood was calmer than I expected, or my skin started breaking out — and then flip back to the previous month and realize I'd written the exact same thing on the exact same cycle day then, too. In addition to being just plain cool information (female bodies are weird and frustrating and also kind of incredible!), this is also extremely comforting, because it reminds me that I often have additional reasons to feel 'off' that aren't necessarily directly correlated to cutting.

Week 3 Average: 142.1 lb This third week was where I really started hurting. Training started to feel like utter garbage — I could still hit my expected/prescribed numbers on MOST things, but it was taking significantly more physical and mental effort to do so, and every so often I'd run headlong into an unexpected wall. Despite ZMAs and melatonin and even the occasional Flexeril, I couldn't sleep through the night at all anymore. My right shoulder got 'tweaked' and refused to calm down (much the same as my low back had done, during my second cut). And non-training days felt absolutely horrible — I wasn't "hungry" per se, but I felt persistently weak, and would get lightheaded every time I stood up. I checked my BP at work on one such occasion, and it was way down at 86/63.

Part of me was sufficiently freaked out that I almost wanted to go ahead and call it right here — not because I was struggling with hunger or cravings, but because I was extremely leery of (potentially) losing muscle or impacting performance without (by this point) any particularly good reason for continuing to do so. However, I also knew that the wise RPer overshoots slightly, when feasible. I was also able to recognize the fact that, since I'd already made the mistake once of not stopping a cut when I should have, I was probably a bit hypersensitive to discomfort this time around, from the perspective of not wanting to make the same error twice. I decided I had at least one more week in me. And this third week wasn't all bad: I practically danced a jig when I started my period (on time!), because I knew it would be sending the scale on another nice downward trend. This was also the week when I started to feel really good about my physical appearance — which I guess shouldn't have surprised me, but did, probably just because my first two cuts had felt like such long slow slogs. But the very reason that this one was shorter was because I didn't NEED to lose very much — and it was definitely gratifying to feel this degree of satisfaction so early in the process, comparatively speaking. I also measured myself this week and compared the numbers to my old log, which made me realize that — though I was (fortunately!) not as tiny as I was at the very end of my second cut, I was generally matching up with where I'd been about three weeks from its end — at a point when I had weighed (wait for it) 138#, a.k.a. the weight I had picked as my 'hard stop'! Given this — essentially the same measurements as before, while also 4# heavier — I realized I'd probably increased my lean body mass significantly during maintenance (hooray!), and therefore should probably adjust my boundary lines accordingly. After some thought, I decided the cutoffs should be: — an average of 140# (rather than 138#) — since, along with performance, my other highest priority was (and is) muscle preservation. If I was measuring the same at 142# as I had been at 138#, then willfully cutting all the way to 138# this time might have been flirting with the edge of diminishing returns. — a maximum of SIX weeks rather than eight — because, the shorter the cut, the less it would spill over into marathon training (which was *definitely* the setting where I'd be more likely to lose muscle). — a plateau on the FIRST cutting tab, or possibly a 'gray zone' of tab 1.5, rather than going fully onto the second tab... a decision that was also related to my impending marathon training. I have a prior history of metatarsal stress fractures as it is, and hence am highly motivated to NOT screw up my hormones again at the moment, which made me reconsider the wisdom of dropping my fats all the way down to 7g/day (as I'd have done on the second tab). All of the above is perfectly reasonable from every angle. However — although I didn't quite say so out loud — in my mind, by the end of this third week, I had already made the decision to call it at the end of week 4. That certainly wasn't how I'd initially planned for this adventure to go, but I was feeling rotten, I had a peak week coming up, and it was seeming pretty obvious that the cutting process was serving neither my body nor my priorities very well. Privately, as this week drew to an end, I was feeling like a bit of a failure, knowing that I was going to ‘quit’ sooner than I had planned. I'm accustomed to thinking of myself as 'strong' on all levels, more than capable of pushing through discomfort — and the cutting process is pretty familiar to me at this point, not particularly difficult or intimidating anymore — so I truly did not expect to be experiencing the physical effects quite so strongly at this stage of the game. Even though it wasn't a terribly logical thing to feel, I was definitely more than a little disappointed in my body for 'letting me down'. However, this is one arena where my loquaciousness served me well; I started writing a blog post about the negative things I was feeling — and by the end of it, I had convinced myself that (1) it's also a victory to recognize the point of diminishing returns and know what the responsible decision is, and (2) the fact that I was 'feeling' the cut this strongly this time could, in fact, be viewed as a direct reflection of the tremendous progress I've made in my training over the past year, how very hard I'm working every day, and how well my current baseline nutrition habits are serving me. In other words, the major impact I feel when I mess with my homeostasis is itself a testament to the healthy habits I've developed in SUPPORT of that homeostasis. Looking at it that way made me feel better.

Week 4 Average: 140.2 lb Nadir: 138.3 lb ...So then, of course, things immediately improved. :) The gym started feeling closer to normal, AND the scale took a nosedive (both of which always happen in cycle week 2 — note to self: structure ALL future cuts this same way! :)). I also saw a new sports massage guru for my shoulder, who did some cupping (which I'd never had before — interesting experience) and was able to help the discomfort pretty significantly. It's not gone, but it's better, and I bet a few days of higher calories will be the tipping point. As per my mental wrestling match last week, I was always going to choose to stop today, regardless of the numbers. HOWEVER... my average for this week has ultimately ended up being 140.2#, with this morning's weight being the lowest I've seen so far, 138.3#. Meaning, based on my parameters above... it's officially time to stop ANYWAY! ...Which just makes me laugh and shake my head at the workings of the universe. :)

Numbers: This Cut: — Starting weight (Day 1): 147.2# — Ending weight (Day 28): 138.3# — Highest to lowest: down 8.9# — Weekly averages: down exactly 4# across 4 weeks — Inches: down 6" total (1" off bust, under-bust, and hips; 1.5" off waist and belly) DEXA, January 2018 vs July 2018: — Weight (on their scale): up exactly six pounds since January, from 134.8 to 140.8 — BUT, get this — LEAN mass has INCREASED by SEVEN pounds since January (!), AND — body fat is also DOWN another 1.5% since January (from 18.6% to 17.1%)... which is probably primarily from the efforts of these past four weeks. I mean... I'm just saying... it basically doesn't get better than that! Takeaways: — As I mentioned, the process of strictly dialing in my macros again has definitely helped me identify some places where I'd drifted further from template on maintenance than I should have (often shorting fats and exceeding carbs). Since I haven't left FL1 on this go-round, I'm now in a very good position for a 'controlled reentry' over the next couple of weeks, which will be a chance to correct this and hopefully end up with EVEN MORE FOOD/calories on my new base. As of today, I could technically jump to New Base all in one go — but in the interest of optimizing the final macro result (and rebounding as little as possible, weight-wise), I'm going to split it into two jumps of about 150-200 calories apiece. I'm sure I'll end up adjusting as I go, but my tentative plan for right now is to add 1.5 servings fat to NTD, and 0.5 serving fat plus 20-25g carbs to training days (to bring me back to ‘Light-Plus’ territory); the second jump (in probably 1-2 weeks, depending on what the scale does) will be adding back the rest of the fats. — Related: this experience also confirmed for me that, on maintenance, I was definitely rating my workouts correctly as (for the most part) Light-Plus or Moderate. I don't discount the RP approach of resistance training being the primary driver of ratings; however, my personal experience (yet again) is that INTENSITY matters also. I'm on the 2.0 version of the templates, meaning my first tab has only cut my fats, not carbs — but I've rated almost every single day as Light for these past four weeks, and in terms of how beat up and under-recovered I've felt, I do think the carb deficit has likely played just as much of a role as the overall calorie deficit. — We all know this already, but I think my degree of success here really speaks to the power of a long maintenance in terms of repairing our metabolism. Last time, I saw zero change on Base, then plateaued on FL1 in the middle of Week 4 and had to move to FL2 for the remaining 8+ weeks of the cut. This time, after five months of maintenance, I actually LOST a bit of weight on Base (!), and then Week 4 was where I saw the overall BIGGEST scale drop... without ever leaving FL1. — Going forward, I'll be very interested to see how well this all 'sticks' — how the degree of rebound compares to previous cuts. For obvious reasons, mentally and logistically, I found this cut DRAMATICALLY easier than either of my first two, so it'll be useful information to know whether a commitment this short in duration actually has any lasting effect to make it worthwhile as a potential future approach. (Based on this experience, if I keep training at this level, I also may need to give a bit more consideration to trying 1:1 for future cuts.) — Overall, I definitely 'got what I needed' out of this, which is: back to feeling proud of my body in all respects — happy with the fit of my clothes, with my visual appearance, and with my performance. I mean, we always want to push the envelope just a bit further — the hints of actual abs that I've been able to see this week are admittedly tantalizing! — and I certainly COULD push further if that were the priority, but right now, it isn't. And after all the ups and downs of the past few years, it's comforting on some level to know that "this is all I had to do" in order to get back to a place where I'm at peace with my body. Although this won't be my first marathon, the training for it is going to be a brand-new learning curve now that I'm on individualized CrossFit programming as well as following RP, and it'll be a huge help to know that I'm starting from the best possible place, physically speaking. — Also, although it may sound a bit silly, it's oddly mentally reassuring to know that I seized this opportunity to 'dial it in' and shave off just a couple pounds during an (admittedly brief!) window when it logistically made sense to do so. The scale is fickle and the amount of actual fat loss was certainly small — but I won't have the opportunity to cut again for another few months, and knowing I did everything I reasonably could during THIS phase — not to mention, everything I learned from that stellar DEXA result! — lets me feel a bit more emotionally okay about fueling my body purely for training and performance over the challenges to come. It's gratifying to watch the swing of this pendulum get progressively narrower as I hone in on the ideal spot in terms of both appearance and performance. Honestly, in so many ways, I barely recognize myself compared to a year ago. I'm happy right here, and this is a great spot to sit and breathe for the moment, but I'm also already curious — and optimistic — about whatever may come next. #massing? ;)

#RP #RenaissancePeriodization #CrossFit #athlete #fit #progress #weightloss #nutrition #fitness #macros #IIFYM

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memorylang · 3 years

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February’s Holidays in America | #50 | February 2021

Been feeling great! 2O2I goes well for me. I’m excited to have received more word from the Peace Corps that they’ll be in touch when they have a final timeline for reinstatement. Till then, I’m savoring my weeks still stateside.

February 2O2I encompasses many holidays, including Lunar New Year, U.S. Presidents’ Day, St. Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. Some Americans may consider the Super Bowl a holiday, too! (Ah, if only Kansas City could make lightning strike twice this year.) Anywho, this month’s tales are on how I’ve spent my holidays. I’m ecstatic to have gotten in another national parks trip!

Lunar New Year 2O2I

I begin these tales from Lunar New Year’s. (I’ll double back to recount January adventures toward the end of my tales in this blog story.) This year, my LA sister who was in wanted to celebrate the Lunar New Year with more activity, so she’d returned to Vegas, she decorated, we wore red, and we cooked.

We made dumplings and 包子 /bāozi/, which were tasty. I enjoyed getting to show my sister how Mom had shown me how to pinch them. I remembered too cooking with my Mongol host family two summers ago. This year, our older brother and his girlfriend came over to celebrate, as well as a couple of my sister’s friends.

This year’s Year of the Ox is my zodiac year. It’s the first one I remember, since in that year when I’d turned 12, I’d been still adjusting to life in Vegas after having moved from Indiana with my family the year before. Here in 2O2I, though, at what was midnight in China, I called our relatives over WeChat. We chatted briefly in Chinese and English. Many got confused about which of my sisters was which, which amused me. I felt glad to have gotten to reconnect.

For the rest of my friends and relatives, I shared photos from Tsagaan Sar 2O2O. Last year, I hadn’t posted much amid hastily packing as a Peace Corps Volunteer to evacuate Mongolia. This year’s been calmer.

Later that Lunar New Year’s Day, I and my national parks friends like Victor Del Valle embarked on a new adventure, this time to Utah’s sites. Having my driver’s license felt empowering.

The Mighty Five

By our trip’s end, I’d reach 14 national parks! I look forward to getting to share these experiences with folks abroad who want to visit the States.

On Friday, our first day, my friends and I visited Canyonlands National Park then Dead Horse Point State Park. I enjoyed seeing the canyons within canyons. Since the Wednesday before was a virtual high school reunion, I decided to wear my ol’ student council shirt.

That night we checked into this awesome and affordable place, the “Rustic Inn” in Moab, Utah. I recommend it to anyone coming through the city. It was so fantastic that I wrote a Yelp review.

On Saturday, we reached Arches National Park early, standing below the iconic Delicate Arch before rain picked up. Despite the cold wind and rain, I loved the hike to the Double O Arches. The trek involved rock scrambling what I call the ‘rock vault’ and walking across elevated slabs that I consider the ‘train cars.’ On rock scrambles, I felt like Spider-Man. Across the elevated slabs, I felt like Violet Evergarden or Captain America. We’d taken so many cool photos that day that my recap post for social media contained numerous photos from Arches.

For the Feast of St. Valentine, that Sunday, Feb. 14, my aunt who’d visited last summer had mailed ahead candy. Her gift was a pleasant surprise. Coincidentally on that Sunday, my friends and I saw Capitol Reef, to which she’d taken me last summer. But, my friends and I entered from a different side than when I’d seen with my relative. My friends and I also hiked to Cassidy Arch, along a remarkable trail that I hadn’t seen on our first trip. Though I first overshot the destination by a half-mile, I enjoyed the sights! That arch reminded me of Sedona’s Devil’s Bridge.

"A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one”

On Monday, my friends and I had meant just to see Bryce Canyon but fate had other plans. Winter snow and ice limited our Bryce options such that after experiencing its safe sites we went to Zion. Still, we enjoyed the Dr. Seuss-like sound of “hoodoos” and questions like, “What do the hoodoos do when who doesn’t?”

Zion felt like Disney, with its wonders at every turn. I’d never seen rock formations like those of the park. Its overlook path, which my friends insisted wasn’t even one of its best hikes, blew my mind. I wish that we’d had more time to see Zion. Our time was short. I resolved to return someday.

Up next is Redwood National Park in a few months! I’m so excited. Redwood was one of the first national parks of which I’d heard when I was young in Indiana reading about California. I hope that those tall trees are amazing indeed.

From 2O2I’s First Week

Presidents’ Day made my friends’ and my trip possible this month. So, in honor of Presidents’ Day, I want to share some January 2O2I experiences with its major event, Inauguration Day! With all that led to it, this year’s was one to remember.

I kick off my Inauguration Day stories with Wed., Jan. 6, an especially tense day for Americans. That morning, I’d been still in Reno, having arrived to ring in the New Year. That Wednesday, my folks and I were following results from the Georgia run-off election. Georgian friends said not to hold my breath. Well, I felt amazed to see that the two Democrats won.

But later that day, when I and my D.C. friend were to begin our usual 3 p.m. EST video call on my week’s Bible readings, we began with a different conversation. She asked me if I’d heard about what was happening at the Capitol Building. I hadn’t. She said that police were trying to protect Congresspeople from rioters who’d broken in—American rioters.

I hadn’t imagined that day that I’d be praying for the safety of our leaders, but I felt moved to do so. I tried not to let the news get to me, too much. I hoped that things would sort themselves out. I’d underestimated.

“What a year this month has been”

The next Monday, Week 45 (Jan. 8–15), I felt a bit ashamed to try explaining to my group of Mongols learning English about the U.S. Capitol events. I wasn’t certain about the facts, beyond that rioters opposed the certification of our November election’s results. Ultimately, I suspected that the media had overplayed the drama of the events. Still, I felt ashamed that not outsiders but American citizens had attacked our own Capitol.

That week’s Sunday, I also attended and later spoke at a Zoom service in remembrance of my late supervisor, Rich Siegel, co-chair of the Honors Community Advisory Board for which I’m secretary. Many on the call wondered what that man, a champion of the American Civil Liberties Union, would have thought about the violence at the Capitol. He would surely have condemned it. After our service, I spoke briefly in gratitude for Rich’s mentorship. A woman at the service contacted me with thanks for sharing my experiences with him.

On a later week, my English-language learners in Mongolia asked me to weigh in about my trust in the election results. I explained my usual position that I tend to believe whatever our courts conclude about the security of our processes. Our courts declared the election secure, so I trusted our results. Regarding America’s Capitol riots, to my amazement, my Mongol friends compared them to moments in Mongolia’s young democratic history of riots outside of their parliament building and leaders resigning. I felt strangely comforted by similarities.

Inauguration Day

At last came Wednesday, Jan. 2O. I was back in Vegas, glued to the telly from dawn till dusk. This was the first Inauguration Day I could recall when I wasn’t in school, so I decided that I’d watch the whole thing. By that day, I’d also finished much of the yard work and had even gotten halfway through the “Kafka on the Shore” book to which I’d been listening.

On Inauguration Day, I kept downstairs with a Snuggie, sitting in a soft rocking chair with a space heater between me and the TV. I set the telly to a channel showing four stations at once—this time showing CNN, FOX, MSNBC and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). I liked most the JCCIC broadcast since its hosts sounded passionate about our inaugural setting, having usually given tours of the Capitol. Commentators felt delighted that despite the violence just two weeks earlier, the area was safe and secure now.

I felt a little disappointed to learn that President Trump had decided not to attend the inauguration, instead taking off quietly from Washington. I’d loved seeing U.S. Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama gathered. I hope that in the future, Trump stands among them as a fellow past leader of our great nation.

Inauguration

As President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris arrived, I felt moved. I remembered my time as a young journalist reporting live during Election Night, November 2OI6. Seeing our new administration arrive in January 2O2I, I remembered the faces of people, many of color, who had felt saddened half a decade prior.

Though I live in Vegas, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy much Lady Gaga’s performance of the national anthem. Generally, I’m not that interested in her music. Well, I felt awed. I found her rendition of our anthem among the most moving versions that I’ve heard. She performed in ways like a guide on our nation’s musical journey.

In terms of speeches, I enjoyed hearing Rev. Dr. Sylvester Beaman bring to light important issues of diverse communities and felt blown away by the poet Amanda Gorman. Her words resonated powerfully. Her references to “Hamilton” were wonderful, too. That the Biden-Harris administration had given the green light to this magnificent speaker of my generation gave great hope.

Inauguration Night

I spent the rest of Inauguration Day texting friends as I watched the feeds on traditional Day 1 activities of new U.S. presidents. I especially loved watching that afternoon the Biden-Harris administration’s first press conference. We’re returning to transparency.

That evening, I saw the virtual concert commemorating our day. I enjoyed seeing talks and performances by Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Yo-Yo Ma, Broadway stars and John Legend. New to me yet delightful still were “Better Days (feat. Justin Timberlake)” by Ant Clemons and “Colors” by Black Pumas. Our sun set on what felt for many a renewed nation.

I didn’t see much other inauguration coverage besides a James Corden treat. He’d made a parody of “One Day More,” which I showed many. I found its lines, “What a year this month has been,” and, “Politics are dull again,” so comical.

As days went on, I felt delighted to see Dr. Fauci on TV looking far more chipper than during preceding weeks. I felt amused by Stephen Colbert’s return to jesting about political norms instead of contested facts. Thus our world turns.

Back to Reno

After my Week 49 (Feb. 11–16) Mighty Five Utah parks trip with my friends, I returned from Vegas to Reno. That Tues., Feb. 16, I got to drive the hundred miles from Tonopah, Nev., to Hawthorne, Nev.! I felt delighted. Seeing the sunset while listening to my friend’s party music evoked joy in possibilities of where I can go and what I can do in life.

The next day, Feb. 17, was Ash Wednesday. That day I returned to my college parish since I’ve been singing for this year’s virtual “Living Stations of the Cross” production. Revisiting the parish and chatting with our staff returned to mind among my favorite undergrad experiences. Meanwhile, our student coordinators have worked so hard to make their office into a recording studio. I look forward to sharing our performance video when it goes live this Lenten season.

With Ash Wednesday as the first day of the season’s fasting, I had a bagel and tea for breakfast then water throughout the day. That evening, after a series of delightful meetings, I saw a long-time friend when he had a moment free. The homie was Darren Dang, one I’d met when we’d lived in the same residence hall, fall 2OI5.

That afternoon, Darren and I visited Roberto’s Taco Shop down the street, where we caught up like we’d done a couple years ago, before I’d graduated the University. COVID causes weird circumstances, but we make the most of them. Coincidentally, I’d reconnected too with a mutual friend, through a Pokémon GO group chat when I’d asked what I’d need to do to complete the week’s challenge.

My friend wished me Happy Lunar New Year in a traditional Vietnamese greeting! I enjoyed that greatly. I knew informal New Year’s greetings in Mandarin and Mongolian, so I said those in exchange. Seeing long-time friends warms my soul.

Lent 2O2I

Later this February marks the first anniversary since I learned that I’d evacuated from Mongolia. So by the time I next blog, I’ll have been back in America for a year. Expect March tales to feature my reflections. I’m coming back to Vegas in March to see off my LA sister before she moves for work in Seattle!

The rest of February, I mean to focus on singing for the church production and revising my research for resubmission by early March. I’ve enjoyed seeing WandaVision while not working. My language and outreach projects continue.

This Lent I've also resumed my habit of praying a rosary a day in addition to daily walks and stretches. I've added, too, Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer. Let me know if you'd like to pray with me! For now, I leave you with this copy of the text that I’d found cited on Wikipedia (195I):

God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

You can read more from me here at DanielLang.me :)

#Peace Corps #Mongolia #nationalparks #memorial #WithMe #COVID-19 #Zion #Nevada #Coronavirus #lunarnewyear #news #winter #inauguration #Utah #USA #memoryLang #God #Catholic #story #memoir

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years

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Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Woof.

After seven straight victories in SEC play, the momentum hit a brick wall last night in Columbia, Missouri. Auburn went out to take on one of the worst teams in the conference, with a chance to stay in first place in the SEC, and blew a gasket away from home.

Final score: Missouri 85, Auburn 73, and it probably wasn’t even that close.

Auburn fell apart from the floor, and at certain parts in terms of their composure as well. Most notably, the turning point of the game came in the second half when Devan Cambridge was ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul in addition to a technical foul after stepping on Missouri’s Javon Pickett. It wasn’t the best display, and it seemed to have an effect with the officials not to let Auburn “get away with anything” the rest of the game. Just before that, Auburn had been doing a fantastic job of getting to the basket and drawing the fouls on Missouri, reaching the bonus while only committing one foul themselves.

With Cambridge’s mistake, that all turned. To be fair, it wasn’t the reason Auburn lost the game (more on that in a minute), but it erased all momentum and wiped out the Tigers’ resolve.

The real reason Auburn lost? Well, the numbers tell that tale. It’s difficult — nigh impossible — to win when the opposing team shoots 65% from the floor, 63% from downtown, and you don’t make a three. That was the first half last night. Missouri built a 45-32 edge at the break thanks to a blistering performance in the first half. Of course the nation’s 302nd-best three-point team would do that to us (it’s just our way), but it’s becoming an unsettling trend along with some other issues.

Yes, the absence of Isaac Okoro was likely a huge catalyst for Missouri’s big offensive night, but we were out of sync. Bruce seemed to intimate it leading up to the game, and Missouri’s 3-8 SEC record seemed to be the ultimate indicator that they wouldn’t be able to keep up despite our best defender being out. What’s troubling is that we’ve now seen a ridiculous stretch where guys seem to find their shots and have career nights against our defense.

Last night? Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith both set career high totals with 28 points. Pinson in particular was red hot, going 10-12 from the floor and breaking down Auburn’s defense. But it’s not isolated. Jaden Shackleford had 28 for Alabama the other night. Skylar Mays had 30 for LSU last weekend. Mason Jones had 40 for Arkansas, while Devontae Shuler posted 26 for Ole Miss. All of those games were wins because we had someone go off. Or we shut everyone else down. Last night, Missouri ate all game long.

Auburn actually got up to a lead early, which now seems to be a bit of a foreboding omen. 10-5 good guys right off the bat. We were getting offensive rebounds, sticking layups, and defending well. Then the fortunes changed and Missouri quickly built a double digit lead. Of course they did. Pinson banged home a pair of threes late in the first half to give Missouri the 45-32 edge at halftime, and I can guarantee you that Bruce peeled some paint in the locker room.

The second half was just a frustrating display where we were forced to take it after Cambridge’s foul. At the 15:11 mark, Auburn had trimmed the deficit to a 47-42 Missouri lead. That run seemed to take all that we had. Midway through the half, Dru Smith hit one free throw to give Missouri a 57-46 lead, and missed the second. In the rebounding action, Devan Cambridge got pulled to the ground by Javon Pickett, and Auburn seemed to catch a break. Instead of taking the ball with the slightest amount of momentum, officials saw Cambridge step on the shin of Pickett as he walked past. They went to the monitor, assessed a technical foul on Cambridge, and then docked him with the Flagrant 2 hook and hold for good measure. It was a double-tap of epic proportions. Missouri shot four free throws and then Torrance Watson came in off the bench to swish a three-pointer, putting the lead at 62-46. Ballgame.

Auburn closed within ten points later in the second half, but it was fairly academic after that. A 3-8 SEC team ran us off the floor. What does this mean?

First of all, Isaac Okoro’s presence is ultra-important. No, our defense hadn’t been playing super well over the past few games, but I can bet that him being on the floor prevents two different players from having career nights.

Second of all, I have to imagine that’s the floor for this Auburn team. Shoot 1-17 from three and allow historic accuracy from the other side, and you’re going to get beat. It’s interesting that all three losses this season have been by double digits in games that never really were close. They were all also on the road. I sense a theme.

Third, what was a huge strength over the past two seasons is such a tease this year. We were one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, and now that we get to the line more than basically everyone, we can’t hit at a reliable clip. Auburn shot 46 free throws last night, making 30. If we hit 35-46 (not out of the realm of possibility), and maybe go 5-17 from three, then it’s a win. A disjointed one, but a win. Also, factor in Missouri cooling and maybe only shooting 50% from the floor, and we win. Last night was the perfect storm. It happens. We learned that if everyone aside from the stars plays poorly, we’ll be lucky to win. Austin Wiley, J’Von McCormick, and Samir Doughty combined for 59 points. The other five players that saw time combined for 14. Can’t win with a bench performance like that.

What does it mean going forward? Well, I’d expect Anthony Edwards to go off for about 30 on Wednesday night in Athens. Isaac Okoro likely won’t be back for that game, so of course another Bulldog will somehow find his missing shot and go for 25. We have to win that game to keep pace with Kentucky, especially since we’ve got that trip to Rupp coming up.

On a positive note, the past two games have seen the Austin Wiley that we all waited for. His 18 point, 17 rebound outing against Alabama got followed up last night by 22 point, 10 rebound night. He was the only thing working on offense, and his offensive rebounding was one of the bright spots last night.

This is a burn the film and forget it type of game. Move on. Anomaly. Beat Georgia.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/2/16/21139776/game-recap-missouri-85-11-auburn-73

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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torestoreamends · 7 years

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Show Recap: 24/06/17 – Part One

This got so long (17,000 words in total), that I’ve split it into Part One and Part Two. Obviously this is Part One, and you can find Part Two here.

There are a couple of statements I've made in the past that I'd like to address at the start of this recap.

The first was that I never thought I'd never see the 3rd and 4th of November 2016 show matched in terms of quality or emotion. I'd like to retract that. It was matched, in a very new and different way, and if this is what the cast are doing a month in then I dread to think what sort of shows we're going to see in a few months' time.

The second, from my first recap of this cast, was that one day Theo would come out and steal the show. I could tell from the flashes of potential that he showed. I didn't know when it would happen, but I said I hoped I would be in that theatre the day it happened. And I'm overjoyed to say that my wish has already come true. That was a whole other level.

There are some shows that are just special, on some indefinable level. There's an electricity to them, and every single person on the stage seems to sense it and step up their game. I have no idea why they happen. I've been trying to figure out the rule for picking the best shows for the last year. But I think in the end sometimes you just get lucky enough to sit in a theatre and watch a cast collect together as a unit and deliver something that is intensely and beautifully moving. And that was this performance.

I walked out of Part One in tears, because I've seen this cast come so far in such a short time, and I was so proud and relieved and delighted that the show finally feels polished and detailed and ready. In fact, it feels extraordinary.

And so, onto some details. I could talk about the cast individually, but I think you'll get the idea as we go along. Let's do this.

Act One

Scenes One and Two

The first thing I remember about this performance was Theo's voice as he came storming onto the stage for the first line. I think that moment set the tone for the whole thing. It made a real impression, and from that second on, Theo was Albus, wholly and completely, in a way that I have never seen before from any Albus. More on that later (or we'll never make it any further than the first line).

Rupert was really great in this whole show. Brilliant as James, and even better as Cedric later on. I think what was clear from the get go was that this was going to be a show where everyone was bringing it. Sometimes you can tell from the first scene, and this was one of those.

Emma made a really huge impression on me right from the start. I said in my last recap that I loved her a lot, but she wasn't Ginny for me, so this time I was delighted to see that she really was Ginny. There were so many tiny bits of interaction in this scene between her and the rest of the family that I loved. At one point she went over to tell James and Ron off for laughing at Albus, and I adored the interaction between her and Albus and Harry. She was brilliant.

I can't go a single scene without mentioning Mackley. I noticed him after the transition to Platform 9 and 3/4 just twirling round and round and enjoying his robes.

You know you're going to get a good show when Harry and Albus give each other a huge hug on the station, and this was one of those. I thought it would never end. It was beautiful.

Myself and one of my friends came up with a theory that Jamie G's Harry only has physical contact with Albus in the first and last scenes. While this isn't actually accurate, those are the only moments where Albus actively allows his dad to touch him, which is really heartbreaking.

Scene Three

Helen played Rose's bits at the beginning of this scene a little less wild and excitable than normal, which I actually quite liked. She was great through the whole of the scene really. Brilliant job.

I noticed that James ends up sitting in a carriage with Madame Hooch and Professor Nuno (his character doesn't have a name I know of, so that's the best I can do). They had the most adorable interaction. Nuno kissed Madame Hooch's hand, and James giggled at the pair of them. Definitely some sort of budding professorial romance going on there.

This is the part where I start talking about Theo. Strap in.

So I've always loved how Albus lights up like the sun when he sees Scorpius for the first time, and in this performance it was beautiful to see. Last time I saw the show all I could see for most of it was the back of Theo's head, but I'm glad I was sitting on the opposite side of the auditorium for this one, because his face is just so expressive. He does the typical Albus crinkly-eyed smile right from the start, but it's mixed with amusement and excitement and a dozen other things. For example, when Scorpius asks if they'd like some Fizzing Whizbees, he took a step forward with his eyes all wide and enthusiastic, and he kept nodding, because of course he wants sweets. He's not allowed them at home.

One thing to note in this scene, there were two handshakes between Scorpius and Albus. There was one little one at "That's okay. Hi!" and I was almost disappointed that it was so short, because they've been going on for so long recently. But then they grabbed hands again and did this really long and enthusiastic handshake while they were introducing themselves.

I will never be over how indignant Samuel's Scorpius gets when his mum is accused of being a Death Eater. He's determined at all times to protect her, and it's beautiful.

I really enjoy how, once the boys start talking, once Rose is gone, they're left alone in their little world. It's like for a moment nothing else exists. They have these solitary moments on the train, and I love that they can be that for each other. The place where the rest of the world melts away and they don't have to worry for a while.

I still adore how Theo really thinks about whether he wants to be called Albus or Al. The thinking was less pronounced in this show than it was during the first, and I actually liked that even more, because while he does still carefully consider, it's also a very positive and almost obvious choice for him to go with Albus.

Transition Scene

This performance was a master class in how to pick up things which have been dropped on stage while remaining in character. I was really impressed with how the cast handled all four of the incidents, the first two of which happened in this scene.

Somehow a book (Scorpius's book?) ended up on the floor near where the sorting was happening, and Sarah ran past and grabbed it on the way into the flying lesson scene. Then later, the balled up Hogsmeade Permission Form fell out of Theo's pocket during the wand dance, so Mackley picked it up and taunted him with it. "You dropped your piece of paper!"

I love how during the sorting, McGonagall has her hands on the boys' shoulders, and gives them each a gentle shove towards the front when it's their turn. It's both caring and firm. Perfect for her.

The energy in this transition scene was just phenomenal. It came from everyone, and it was fantastic. It felt palpable.

Rose's 'up!' didn't work in the flying lesson, but Helen handled it really well. In the end she just snatched the broom up and looked defiantly around at everyone. She's Rose Granger-Weasley, of course this is meant to work! No one would dare say a word against her Quidditch abilities.

Scorpius gave Albus a commiseratory little shake of the head at the end of the flying lesson, like he was sorry he couldn't have helped.

Rupert did the classic Milligan "Da-ad!" which I've not seen him do before.

If anyone ever has the fortune of sitting near @the-eighth-story for the show, just watch her reactions whenever James Howard is on stage. They're classic. You will not be disappointed.

Have I mentioned yet that James Howard is literally the perfect Draco? From his upright manner and silky voice, to the way he perfectly balances seriousness and comedy. It's a really amazing performance.

There was a really nice bit of interaction between Samuel and Theo during the potion brewing. I loved the concentration with which Albus added the horn of Bicorn, and the little nod Scorpius gave him. They were both trying so hard to focus on it, but it was impossible.

There's so much pain and resentment in the way Theo says "Everything", and it's the perfect set up for the next little scene. Albus's little tirade there was beautiful. It's not vindictive like Sam's was, nothing Theo's Albus does is vindictive, instead it comes from an intense inner pain. Most of what Theo's Albus does comes from there in fact.

The way Mark delivered the second Sorting Hat speech was really captivating. I've never before felt so strongly that the Hat was addressing the audience. That first line draw me in so much, and there's such a weight to "you'll learn to laugh if first you sob". I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, I love so many of the things Mark does. And maybe this was the point where I began to be sucked more into the story than I was into watching the acting.

There was a distinct difference between this show and the last I saw. Last time I was just excited to see the actors doing well. This time I forgot all about anyone doing well and I was mesmerised, for the first time in a year, in the story and in the characters. That was what made it so powerful. The ability to forget that I'd seen this play so many times and just become absorbed in what was going on.

Mackley is a really great dancer. I used to enjoy watching Jack North in this scene because I appreciated his movement and his commitment, and I feel the same about Mackley, both in this scene and in others.

"I didn't choose, you know that?" was so broken. An outpouring of anguish. The softness and pain of Theo's Albus makes him exceptionally sympathetic.

Scene Six

I don't know for sure if Barry was aware that this was the anniversary of Cedric's death (I know Rupert did), but this was definitely one of his most potent performances ever. He's always excellent, and seems to constantly raise his level, but this one had some real bite to it.

I loved the beginning to the Delphi and Albus chat on the stairs a lot. Annabel didn't do the usual thing of threatening Albus with her wand, instead it was clear right from the start that she was joking around with the "I'm a thief" stuff. It made the interaction a touch more relaxed, and Albus was just amused by her presence right from the start.

I was a bit sad I couldn't see all of Theo's listening on the stairs routine because of the angle I was at, but I caught the end of it. This cast does some exceptional background acting. More on that later.

When Delphi goes off to join the Amos and Harry conversation, she gives Albus a little robot wave, and it's really adorable.

Scene Seven

I've noticed that in the transition into the blanket scene (and at another moment too, although I can't remember which one, maybe it's in Godric's Hollow?) Theo walks right to the front of the stage and has a moment of connection with the audience. I don't think Sam ever did that on such a noticeable level. I'm still not sure what I think of it. On the one hand I like the direct expression of emotion, but at the same time I wish the focus went straight into the next scene.

I absolutely loved Ginny's love for her kids at the beginning of this scene. When James came storming through with pink hair she was clearly trying not to smile too much and encourage him, but she didn't seem able to help herself. I also loved the little interaction between Ginny and Harry, when Harry was on his way into the room.

Theo looks so tiny when he's sitting cross-legged on the bed. Tiny and forlorn.

This is probably a good time to talk about Albus's pain! So I've noticed that Theo takes a very different approach to this scene than Sam used to. Sam's Albus was always a bit vindictive, provocative even. He used to try and almost goad his dad, and the result was that it backfired spectacularly on him. But with Theo, you get a sense that he doesn't want to be arguing, he doesn't want to be fighting, but he doesn't have a choice. He needs his dad to understand how miserable he is, and if shouting is the only way to do it then that's what he'll do. There are moments when you can see Harry's words hurting him and forcing him to take drastic action, for example the packing line, and "I'm not going to rise to your bait". It's brilliant and heartbreaking. I absolutely love the genuine, in the moment emotion that Theo brings to Albus. He was living Albus in this show, and it was amazing.

Another script difference I've noticed in this scene between the two Jamies is: "And maybe I could come and find you -- and it -- on Hallows' Eve". Jamie P used to put the emphasis on Albus (it and you), whereas Jamie G does it by the book. While I adored Jamie P's way of doing it, I equally love the line the other way around, and it works for this father-son relationship. Jamie G's Harry doesn't realise that Albus might want to be found on Hallows' Eve. He makes it sound like it's all about the blanket. And I can imagine that that aches for Albus, and leads to him wanting to end the conversation before it hurts any more.

I love how Theo's Albus doesn't get up off the bed until things really start to get heated ("Should we bow now, or will a curtsey do?")

The only thing I wanted more of from Theo in this scene was a tiny bit more of an explosion on the second "What?" I like the variation, and the build through that line. Otherwise it was a really exceptional performance. I can't handle having an Albus and Scorpius who can both cry when needed, but that's what we've got, and we're all going to have to learn to deal with it. Somehow. I'd recommend taking lots of tissues to the theatre with you.

I loved the end of this scene. The most explosive I've seen from both of them. There's a really great gritty quality to Jamie's voice when he shouts. It's more roaring than shouting, and it was used to really great effect here. Theo's shouting is also A+. They don't get nearly as close to each other as Jamie P and Sam did, but that really isn't a problem for me. That distance suits them and their relationship. I don't think Theo's Albus could stand having his dad screaming in his face. It might break him. It's bad enough as it is.

Albus reels back after Harry's line, and Harry is full of this instant regret. He seems desperate to take it all back right away (just like Draco is desperate to take back slamming Scorpius to the desk in the Voldy timeline), but Albus is already shattered.

When Albus throws the blanket onto the bed he pauses for a moment and looks at it before running away, like he's considering what he's just done, how he's just disparaged the gift from his dad and what that might mean. But then he seems to decide he's in too much pain to care so he storms out. I love the extra time he takes on that moment. It puts the perfect cap on the scene, and emphasises the importance of the moment when Albus throws the blanket onto the bed. It definitely seems like an action he'd remember.

Scene Eight

I'm delighted to report that Mark can definitely now walk down the stairs in those Hagrid shoes.

Harrison is still my favourite little Harry. At the end of the scene, when the stairs were being wheeled off, he sat down and looked at the cake he'd been given in amazement, trying to take in all this new information he'd just been told. He's a brilliant little actor.

Scene Nine

I loved Emma's delivery of "yeah, maybe don't be that honest". Perfectly dry, perfectly Ginny.

This is the first time in the show that Harry hears that Albus just wants to see the real him. It takes him so long for it to actually sink in. The way this whole cast support that arc is brilliant, and it all serves to make the eventual reconciliation all the sweeter.

It's such a cute little Hinny moment when Harry puts his hand on Ginny's knee as he explains that the quote is from Dumbledore, and then she puts her hand over his.

Scenes Ten and Eleven

Poor Mackley is sitting in a carriage all on his own. Why does Karl have no friends? Someone go and sit with him!

This was the scene where the boys really started nailing it as a pair. There was already so much energy coming out of the transition scene, but here it started to fly.

Helen is just brilliant. I love her sweet, caring, young-seeming Rose. There's a lovely quality there. She perfectly suits the two boys. They all have this really young, innocent feel to them. And I really do enjoy how she's trying to bond with Albus in this scene and he's having none of it. He keeps pulling away and looking down the corridor to find Scorpius until the moment when he finally breaks through.

It's beautiful how Albus goes from irritable, jaw all set and square when he's talking to Rose, to just breaking into a huge smile the second he sees Scorpius. It's like he opens up around Scorpius. He spends so much time breaking inside, as does Scorpius, and the moment they're together they can just forget everything for a little bit.

Albus absolutely despairs of Scorpius during the little bread rant. He keeps looking at him and shaking his head as if to say no, stop, you're embarrassing yourself. But Scorpius pays no attention and ploughs on.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find it really entertaining to watch the preparation for the hug. I always notice so clearly how Samuel sits down for a brief moment, then stands up again. This is one of the moments where his flaily little hand gestures really shine.

The hug itself is just perfect, because Albus couldn't be more committed to it if he tried, whereas Scorpius doesn't hug back. I also love the intensity of Samuel's "Do we hug?" There's a bit of pointing between the two of them, and his tone just says 'Albus Severus Potter stop being weird'.

When Albus climbs up onto the roof, Scorpius remained in the train for a moment, looking really hesitant and frustrated. He gestured like he was seriously considering strangling Albus for his impulsiveness, but that he also knew he couldn't leave Albus to his fate, so he followed him.

Sandy is fantastic as the trolley witch. I don't think I've said this nearly enough. I love her accent, and I love the familiarity of her performance. Also, in this show I noticed the hand swipe she does towards Albus and Scorpius after the jump, which I don't think I've noticed for a while.

I can't help but wonder whether Scorpius will later take immense pleasure in being right about the train being magical. I can just imagine him during the trek to St Oswald's complaining to Albus, reminding him over and over again of just how bad a idea the whole thing was.

Samuel did a tiny hesitation before saying Molliare, like Scorpius still thought it was a terrible idea to jump.

On a partially related note, wouldn't you just love the chance to try diving onto one of those mats in the wings? They always look so squishy and comfy.

Scene Twelve

I can't tell you much about what the majority of people were up to in this scene because I was watching a. James Howard, and b. @the-eighth-story‘s reactions to James Howard. I'm still not sure which I enjoyed more.

I've always noticed the group of elder statesmen who arrive through the middle of the scene towards the end of the transition (the Sorting Hat and co), but this time I noticed an equally important looking group of women arriving in from one of the wings which made me happy. I've never seen them before.

Did I mention Josh's moustache last time? Josh is wearing a fake moustache in this scene and it's hilarious.

Also, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already, but I love the little Weasley siblings interaction around Hermione's speech about the battle of Hogwarts. When the subject comes up, Ron comes over and touches Ginny's arm, and they put their arms round each other. It's the perfect way of showing how they're still grieving the loss of their brother. I like that that moment is just about applauding the victory, when so much of this play is about Harry's baggage and the people who died for The Boy Who Lived. I should watch Jamie specifically during that moment next time, because I'm certain he has an equally sombre reaction.

I say I was only watching James, but clearly that wasn't true cause I distinctly remember Nicola being one of the people who leads the charge from the room. I'm not sure which side she was on (maybe she was on no one's side), but Draco was yelling directly at her at one point, and then she stormed off.

Alright. Let's talk about James. I love the desolation and anger in his face. I love how you can see Draco's frustration building and building until he can't contain himself. His 'my scar is hurting' this time was a classic. The first time through the phrase was about the normal level of mockery, but he escalated it when he repeated it. I simply adore the posh voice he puts on, that's the perfect slight on Jamie's Harry. At some point I should watch some reactions to that, but I doubt it'll happen any time soon.

One of the things I like most is how James specifically addresses "his celebrity impacts upon you all" to Ron, and to Ginny, but mostly Ron. It's warning and goading all at once, and it's great.

Emma's "the sports pages" was super fierce this time and I enjoyed it immensely.

Scene Thirteen and Fourteen

I'm pleased to report that I've finally got over the disappointment of the kids not playing the inmates of St Oswald's. Although I'm still a bit upset that we don't get to see James P and Mackley and April and all the rest run around pretending to be old people, the adults are totally smashing it, and it's nice that they get something fun to do in the play that really features them. Also I'm never not going to be a fan of anything that involves Martin in a dress, or that allows Nuno to stretch his acting wings for a bit.

I still love how Delphi summons Amos's wall, and I equally love that the boys aren't scared when she does it. They really do trust her, even Scorpius. I never feel the intense dislike from Samuel's Scorpius that I did from Anthony's.

The scene in Amos's room is absolutely one of Theo's top three or four scenes. He's just incredible at it. Each time I've seen it Albus has been filled with more and more confidence and authority. This time around he spent the whole of Amos's speech trying to interrupt and explain himself until the moment when he couldn't handle it anymore and barged his way into the conversation.

I used to spend this whole scene just watching Scorpius's background reactions, but right now Albus is just as interesting as he gets increasingly more frustrated. It's Amos's accusation of relying on his famous name that gets him most riled up and wanting to defend himself.

By the way, has anyone else noticed the parallel between Scorpius in this scene and in the maze? In this scene he's questioning whether they're ready to risk their lives, but in the maze scene he's the one suggesting it. I love that character growth. The events of Acts Two and Three have such an impact on him.

Scene Fifteen

This was another of the great Emma scenes from this show. I think after the first show there were a lot of comments going around about how she and Tom don't feel like siblings, but they definitely do. Their banter in this scene is lovely, and I really enjoy how she's taking care of the whole family here.

Tom's reaction to "I will tell Mum" was brilliant. Ron looks all taken aback with her, like there's no higher threat and he can't believe she'd stoop so low.

Scene Sixteen

I've mentioned this before, but I love how jittery Delphi gets in this scene. She's constantly tapping her feet and glancing at the clock, and looking around to check they're not being watched. I was about to say it's the first sign of Delphi's true nature, but that's not actually true. One of the cool details of Annabel's performance is that when she's in the background of the earlier scenes with her hood up, she's constantly watching Albus. She was on the platform at one point, keeping an eye on him. Really sinister.

The Polyjuice transitions were super smooth during this show. Last time I saw it I think Rakie's head got a bit stuck, and it took ages for her to find the hole of the robes, but this one worked really well, and it was the same for the boys too.

One of the things this cast does really well is how in character the adults are as the kids. Rakie in particular is totally channelling Delphi once she's transformed. She does a lot of Delphi's giggling and tongue sticking out. She was going for it so much in this performance that I actually couldn't focus on the boys' dialogue before their transformations.

This is another scene where the original cast did not stick to the script. Every time Jamie G says "I be him and you be Ron" I panic that he's got the line wrong, but nope. Jamie P just said it in his own random order.

Scene Seventeen

I finally managed to pay attention to Harry's reaction to the "My son is missing!" exchange. He sort of buries his face in his hands, like the full enormity of what's happened is hitting him, and he's realising that this really is all his fault because of what he said to Albus. He's finally said it out loud, and now he regrets it more than ever.

James's Draco never makes it to the word "heir". He doesn't need a look from Ginny or anyone else to know that Scorpius is so much more than his heir. Scorpius is his family, his son, and he's heartbroken by the loss of him.

Scenes Eighteen and Nineteen

I have several favourite things from the baby or a holiday scene.

Number one -- I love that Albus has clearly never kissed anyone before. He goes in with his arms pressed to his sides and it's the most awkward thing ever.

Number two -- The way Tom plays Albus's reaction to kissing Hermione. He goes off into his own little corner and starts wiping his lips and pulling the most disgusted face.

Number three -- (I promise these aren't all Tom things.) The forlorn way Albus stands in the doorway, hands by his sides, head bowed, looking small and like he doesn't know what to do and he doesn't quite dare stand up to his aunt.

Number four -- Jamie Glover is absolutely spectacular at the end of this scene. One of the best comedic moments of the whole play actually. He plays it perfectly. When the attention switches to him he looks between Ron and Hermione like he's absolutely appalled and has no idea what he just saw happen, then he walks really stiffly away, like 'this didn't just happen... I'm not scarred for life... everything is fine'. It's hilarious.

I've just realised the one thing that the original cast did by the script but the new cast don't! Rakie never leaves the stage before the "you are off the scale" line, even though that's a specific stage direction. It works quite well with Jamie exiting alone, but it is weird to find something that this cast doesn't do by the book.

Again, I really enjoy the way Rakie, Tom, and Jamie work together on the first riddle. It's very nicely done, and they do a great job of pointing the audience towards the right answer.

Samuel's celebrations at getting the book back are always really good. I think this one involved sticking both his hands in the air in delight. I'd heard that Theo also did really great celebrations, including a pirouette one time, but sadly we didn't get one of those at this show.

I remember really loving what Theo did once Albus saw that Scorpius and the book. I can't remember the expression on his face, but I remember watching him and thinking it was great.

My overriding impression of Act One was just of accomplishment. The cast felt solid, and there was a detail and richness to everything that I hadn't seen before from them. They did an exceptional job really. And Theo was so consistently brilliant that when @thatwasdramatic and I met in the loos we just hugged each other as tight as we could without even having to say a word.

With this cast, their Part Two has always been vastly better than their Part One, so I didn't expect anything so spectacular in the first half. I especially didn't expect the Act Two that I was about to see.

Before this show I still didn't totally trust the cast to be continually amazing. I went into Act Two thinking that while Act One was great, it might have just been a fluke. There's been an inconsistency the first two times I saw them. Some scenes a lot stronger than others, just because of rehearsal time. So I started Act Two with a bit of nervousness, about some cast members more than others, but that was very quickly blown away completely.

Act Two

Scenes One and Two

Elizabeth is so brilliantly consistent across all the roles she plays. I absolutely love her Petunia. I think she hits exactly the right note.

Emma and Theo almost hit their mark for the effect with the light shining on their faces. Almost. I think the light ended up on Emma's cheek and shoulder, which was a bit of a shame. That's one of my favourite moments in the show. However, Theo's yelling for his dad was A+. I had started this act with my fingers crossed for him, but quickly realised that that really wasn't necessary.

I love the way Emma says "You were", in response to Harry's comment about how he was sleeping. I've seen it be almost a question in the past, but when it's said as a statement it's almost like Ginny is reassuring Harry, telling him that yes, he's okay, it was just a nightmare.

Scene Four

The first thing Theo did in this scene was not manage to catch the wand. It sort of shot out of his grip and he fumbled it between both hands to try not to drop it. It gave Delphi's line about him getting it now a different sort of twist, overly optimistic, instead of just relieved and positive.

The second Expelliarmus he didn't even try to catch. He sort of cheated it and pulled it out of his sleeve himself. In the past I've complained that we never see Albus fail a spell, but we definitely saw it in this show, and it made the moment of disarming Cedric all the more triumphant.

The wizzo hand wiggle was somehow even more ridiculous in this show? There was a sort of pause before it that really emphasised it.

In case anyone's interested, there's an added line in this scene. Delphi now says: "I'll just keep in the background and try to look clever. Ooo, maybe I could pretend to be a dragon tamer!" The 'try to look clever' is an addition to the script.

I love how you can see in Delphi in this scene that she's terrified of being out of control once time changes. She knows she won't be the same, and she can hardly handle it. The fidgeting, the panic, and her final attempt to convince Albus that he needs to find her and trust her once time changes.

I also love how Theo looks genuinely all pale and red after the kiss, just sort of discombobulated. And Samuel delivers that line brilliantly. He delivers every line brilliantly, let's be honest, but the little lean in and emphasising how ridiculous his best friend looks at that moment.

And then my favourite fact about the end of this scene is that, despite the kiss from Delphi, despite everything, Albus still takes the opportunity to wrap his arm round Scorpius as they run off. Because Theo's Albus cannot keep his hands to himself for even a second. If there's a Scorpius in the vicinity, that Scorpius is getting hugged.

Scene Five

I managed to spot individual faces in the Forbidden Forest scene, which might have been due to a lighting error? Anyway, I spotted Mackley looking for Scorpius and Albus, so that was nice.

The reason I think there was a lighting error is because I have been informed by people who were sitting more centrally than I was that you could see Bane's back end in this show. This is the second time I've heard of this happening in the last few weeks. Thankfully, however, I was at an angle to stage where Bane's back end was blocked out by the trees, so it didn't bother me.

The one thing that frustrates me with this scene is the lack of nuance in Jamie's calling for Albus and Scorpius that bookends the conversation with Bane. It's all on one level, and I wish he'd be more scared about searching for his son. Other than that, this scene is great, but I want more of the searching, especially at the end when Harry's just found out that his son is in danger.

Scene Six

There was a scarily long gap at the start of this scene before the black curtain came up and the boys stepped forward. But once they got going absolutely nothing went wrong.

This was the scene where I started crying, and then didn't stop for the rest of the Act. I think it was a combination of it being my anniversary show, and the way the boys delivered the scene that set me off.

The first time I saw this cast, there was a wonder in the way Samuel played it, and it was so genuine and beautiful. And even now, a month later, he still has that genuine sense of awe, and Theo is delivering a similar thing now too.

This was another of those scenes where I was mostly focused on Theo, because I didn't have the opportunity to watch him last time, and I loved the expression in his face. At first he was just looking out, almost caught up in Scorpius's excitement, then when he got to "it turned out to be terrible after all" there was something in his face. It wasn't a hardness, but there was more of a set to his jaw. Theo's Albus spends so much time smiling, but there wasn't a hint of a smile there. And then the second his dad was mentioned it turned to pure horror and he looked away from Hogwarts and right at the Scorpius. But then Scorpius said how Albus was his best friend, and again it was like the sun coming out, relief and delight.

When Albus tells Scorpius that he's his best friend, he grips him by the shoulders and looks him right in the eye.

Scene Seven

Tom Mackley needs to work on his French or Fleur will never love him. That's all I have to say on that topic.

Josh's search for Mackley in the crowd still continues. This time he popped out of the crowd where Mackley normally is and discovered he wasn't there. So he had a quick chat to someone (I think it was April) before diving back into the crowd again, and this time popping out right where Mackley was for a hug.

For the first time in ages I actually managed to pay attention to the boys in this scene. They were doing such a good job that even Mackley couldn't properly distract me.

Scorpius looked so excited to see Rose there, bless him. He lit up almost as bright as Albus does. And then after that he and Albus did the murmuring to each other where Scorpius apologises for messing up.

I don't think Samuel's mic was working for one of his lines. It sort of cut in halfway through. I could hear it because I was near the stage, but it was fairly essential as it was the explanation that the Time-Turner was going on. Thankfully, in the last few weeks Samuel has figured out how to correct mistakes without drawing everyone's attention to them. He calmly repeated the lines a bit later in the scene, just before Albus collapsed, and it worked so well that I almost thought I'd misremembered the script.

Theo's falling to the ground and screaming was amazing. This cast are really good at the spark effect. I always feel like it's timed to a tee. It happens three times in the show (Albus's arm, the chair in the duel scene, and Ron's leg), and each time the spark really flies and is really visible to the audience. It always happens at the perfect moment to give it the most outward trajectory.

The end of this scene is one of the exceptions to the rule that Harry never touches Albus. Actually here, when Albus collapsed, he was looking right at his dad, and Harry was the only one there to catch him. He wrapped his arms round him and held him up so firmly. It was perfect.

Scene Eight

All Harry's mistakes in the second timeline are just attempts to fix the things he did earlier really, aren't they? When Dumbledore says about looking for what's wounding him, Harry's already been reflecting on what Ginny told him. "Haven't I seen him as he is?" He thinks he's already got Albus sussed, even though he really hasn't. My point is, the clarity with which this cast play out this arc is getting better and better, and more complete, by the performance.

Jamie definitely ate the chocolate in this performance. I don't know if he always does, but I could see and hear him chomping.

I think the biggest difference between the last show and this show, in terms of Theo's acting, was that in this show it didn't feel like he was acting at all. He was living Albus's pain and despair in every single second. He was Albus, wholly and completely, and it was the most amazing thing to see. Even his posture had changed and become freer. I know what it looks like when it's Theo on stage and not Albus, and in this show there wasn't an ounce of Theo anywhere to be seen.

There was one moment in particular where Harry was in full angry flow, and Albus was just looking up at him and clearly breaking inside. The juxtaposition between the two, the solid wall of Harry's intent, and Albus's soft, desperate sadness, was so painful and beautiful. It was the perfect example of Harry not seeing his son, and you could see that Albus felt it to the core: ignored, shut out, misunderstood. That was the only reason he threatened to run away again, because it was the only way to make his dad pay attention.

One of the things that this cast does, which the originals didn't do, is that they stick rigidly to the script. I saw the originals drops bits of lines, or even add words to the ends of lines if they were meant to be interrupted but hadn't been yet. Sometimes that rigidity works, and sometimes it doesn't. I think it depends on the day and the actor and how in character they're being. A perfect example of it working was Theo's: "The robes were... the whole thing". On this occasion he felt lost for words, searching for the right way to explain without giving himself away. It would be easy for those to sound like they're coming from the script, but this time they didn't, and I was really happy about that.

Harry just totally doesn't notice Albus's comment about not fitting in at Hogwarts. He's so absorbed with the Scorpius train of thought that he ignores what's staring him right in the face. How miserable his son is.

I love how Jamie plays Harry's authority. In this scene he planted himself squarely on the stage, hands on the back of the chair, glaring at Albus. He really uses his posture as a weapon. It's weird because I never noticed the original cast's posture, but with this cast I really do. I've heard people talk about how this cast are more physical than the originals, and while I'm not sure I agree with that statement across the board, there are certainly some physical aspects that really stand out to me, like posture.

Scene Nine

I loved the moment where Albus tries to assert himself. Albus took the innate authority that he's inherited from his dad and tried to spin it back on Harry, drawing himself up all tall and powerful. But the second Harry headed him off he sort of crumpled again.

When Scorpius appeared on the stairs I noticed that Albus didn't actually look at him once. It was like he couldn't bring himself to do it. It hurt too much. He gave a cursory glance over his shoulder, but made no effort to actually meet Scorpius's eyes, which was heartbreaking.

Scene Eleven

Mackley turns round and does a sarcastic little clap at Albus when he starts losing points for Gryffindor.

Rake is so unhinged in this scene, it's amazing. Hermione isn't angry so much, just sort of completely shattered. Not even a bit of herself. She's all over the place, and seems on the verge of tears the entire time. She goes from these hysterical little giggles to shouting to having to compose herself so she doesn't cry, and the whole time she's just sort of shaky. I also noticed in this scene that her wand has a curve to it, so when she holds it like a knife it really does look like a lethal weapon, although she never threatens Albus with it in the way Noma or Nicola would.

When Rakie says "you're invisible friend" she puts this little lisp on, totally mocking Albus.

So @thatwasdramatic has this theory that when Theo is on fire he doesn't kick his stool nearly as far. In this show it barely moved the first time (it sort of fell and hit the desk and bounced back), and the second time it skidded about an inch but stayed upright. So the theory has yet to be disproved. (It's also likely that someone told him to stop trying to kick the stool into the audience, which I appreciate on behalf of everyone who ever sits in Row A. I can't imagine it would be fun having that thing fall on your head.)

Hermione's final speech in this scene was brilliant. She was such a mess, so unable to get her words out or keep focused or anything, that when Rakie got to the words "a projection of all your most positive feelings" she actually got a laugh. Hermione had no positive feelings in this scene. The irony was brilliant.

Scene Twelve

I cried again. Because how could you not with these two?

Albus was just a tiny little broken shell, and Scorpius wasn't much better. I actually think it was one of the most beautiful staircase scenes I've watched.

Theo has stolen the thing Sam used to do where he'd wipe his eyes while walking under the staircase where Scorpius is sitting, but in this show he was actually crying while he did that. He buried his face in his hands and I heard this broken little sob, and it was the most awful thing.

At the end of the scene Samuel starts walking down the stairs, a step at a time, in perfect timing with the music, looking desperately at Albus who can't look back.

I've been told by people who could see into the wings Theo's wheeled off into, that at the end of the scene Albus crumpled onto the stairs and buried his face in his hands and sobbed. On my side, I saw Samuel sit down on the stairs and sort of stare down at his feet in despair. I later noticed him adjusting the Time-Turner pouch, in case anyone's interested.

I think this is a good time to explain why this show was equally as good as the 3rd and 4th of November, but in completely the opposite way. On the 4th, the adults in Act Four particularly broke my heart. There wasn't a scene where they weren't all in tears. It got to the point where you needed the boys to come back on stage just for some respite from the overwhelming emotion. And this show was exactly the same, except in this show the overwhelming emotion came from the two boys in Act Two. I was desperate for the duel and McGonagall's office for a bit of respire. Every single scene they spent in tears, and the level of acting from both of them was just astounding. It was a privilege to watch.

Scene Thirteen

I still love how Emma's "saved by the door" is a threat to Harry, not Ginny being relieved.

James is so smooth in this scene. Smooth and to the point. It's the perfect example of businesslike Draco. It does it at just the perfect pace. So purposeful.

The last show I saw I finally managed to spot the hand holds on the back of Jamie's suit jacket. Draco has on an extra coat in this scene, which has the straps for the lifters to grab, but I'd never managed to spot Harry's before.

James always says "you've threatened both teacher and Albus himself", whereas in the script it's plural. I wonder if it'll get changed in the definitive edition? Technically we do only ever see Harry threaten one teacher.

The duel this time was a lot slicker than the first time I saw it, and Jamie is definitely nailing the Flipendo now. His landing was no more awkward or hard than Jamie P's ever was.

My favourite bit of the duel was the Mobilicorpus. I'm not sure who was doing the lifting (I'm just going to assume it was Nuno), but they were totally going for it with slamming Jamie into the table. Also I noticed that he seems to do really big gestures during this, and I wonder if whoever is playing Harry is the one controlling the speed of it. In this particular show the speed was quite slow, although like I say, the slamming itself was brutal.

Scene Fourteen

Delphi entered this scene with her hood up, which was a pretty cool throwback to her earlier stalking of the boys through the background of the opening scenes.

Samuel's reaction to hearing she was too ill for Hogwarts was really sweet. Scorpius seemed a tiny bit stunned by it. He sat down on the stairs and immediately started paying a lot more attention to her. It was a really sympathetic gesture, like he was getting ready to listen to all her problems.

When the other student walked past, Scorpius not only hid Delphi with his legs, but he actually draped his robes over he back to hide her, and tried to look all cool and casual, sort of patting her back and trying to pretend everything was fine. Albus and Scorpius should not be allowed to attempt to look casual. It just doesn't work for them.

I love how miserable Samuel's "oh" is, when he hears that Delphi is there to sort out him and Albus. It's sort of hard and not at all receptive. Scorpius has no desire to do anything to do with Albus.

Scene Fifteen

James and Jamie make a really big thing of putting their wands down on the table at the start of this scene, which makes it even more entertaining, especially with Emma giving them a 'go on, behave' look.

Draco looked at his wedding ring the second he started talking about Astoria. It's like James just can't help himself. He's determined to break our hearts with that thing.

I really love how James's "Don't lose the boy" is quite soft but still authoritative and commanding in the most Draco way. I think he got to his feet for that line, and was sort of hunched over the table, looking at Harry and pointing at him.

It really did feel like Harry was leading the way to get the Floo Powder in this scene. He had the time to think, and then he was the first to reach for his wand and get to his feet, with the others following close behind but not too close.

Scene Sixteen

I have never, and possibly will never again, see such an incredible version of this scene. It was the perfect storm of both Samuel and Theo giving absolutely everything at the top of their game, along with an audience who were clearly so deeply invested in the story.

I often think that the mark of a good audience is how much they applaud, how much noise they make for the tricks and things. But in this case we had an audience that was 100% invested and committed in the story, and you could hear a pin drop during this scene. You could feel the energy in the room and it was electric. In a way, that level of intense investment is just as important as applause and laughter, and I'm really glad I was there to experience it.

We had the classic little giggles at Scorpius's crush on Rose, which just proves that it's all down to how ridiculously Samuel emphasises it in this scene.

I loved how when Albus interrupted Scorpius's speech about who took who to the Yule Ball, it was out of irritation. He knows all this! He doesn't need Scorpius lecturing him about it. Scorpius may be the history nerd but Albus reads books too. Except clearly he doesn't in this universe, because he still has no idea what's going on.

The audience loved Scorpius's "I'm pretty sure your dad is exactly the same".

Samuel and Theo don't get nearly as loud in this scene as Sam and Anthony used to. They almost don't deserve to be told off. They could have been a lot rowdier. However, they definitely escalated the volume a lot more in this show than I've seen before.

I could see Albus's fixation on the task in hand during the last few lines before Scorpius's explosion. He was throwing in Rose's name just to appease Scorpius, but really it was all about Cedric. He's still preoccupied with his dad, still desperate to do the right thing and get his dad to pay attention to him. He wasn't even thinking about Rose before Scorpius started talking about her, and she's only part of the plan because Albus doesn't want to do this alone, but Scorpius won't help him if she isn't involved.

The boys were really going for it with the wrestling in this one. I think they wrestle for a lot longer and with a lot more commitment than Sam and Anthony used to. Theirs was almost a cursory little back and forth, but this is a proper fight.

And then we hit Scorpius's speech, and both sides were just incredible. Their dynamic on stage is very well matched. They have the perfect amount of give and take between them, and they let each other have their moments, while continuing to act their socks off even when it's the other person's moment to shine. In this scene there was a moment where I looked between the two of them and just thought wow. Here we have two exceptional young actors, who right now are matching each other in terms of performance, and helping each other give their best. This is rare, and this is special. The talent on display in this scene on Saturday was mind blowing and really emotional. We're really lucky as fans and as an audience to be able to see these two together. They're going to give us great stuff over the next year. It's really exciting.

On one side of the equation you had Samuel, breaking down harder than ever. I couldn't see his face but I could hear the tears in his voice. Scorpius was just falling apart completely. I always valued James Le Lacheur's performances for the emotional commitment to this speech, and Samuel does the exact same thing. He pulls himself apart and loses it in this moment, all the pain flooding out from behind that thin, fragile Malfoy front.

And on the other side of the equation you had Theo, silent apart from the interjections (which were spot on in terms of delivery), but saying so much with just his face. It was a captivating bit of acting. He started off really hard and closed off, because how on earth could Scorpius's life be worse than his? And how dare Scorpius tell him to be okay with something so painful as the bullying he faces every day? But then Scorpius starts talking about his mum, and Albus's face just transformed. It immediately softened and broke, as he understood the anguish and realised what he'd done to his best friend and felt absolutely horrified by it.

I'm pretty sure they were both crying by the end of the speech, and when Albus went to get the Invisibility Cloak, the lines were all cracked and fragile and broken.

We had a brief moment of respite while McGonagall was searching the library, which was much needed because I at least was in tears.

When the boys came back out, Scorpius sat stony faced while Albus talked about the cloak. But then the second Albus said sorry, with this heartfelt desperation, Scorpius turned to look at him in amazement. It was like despite everything he didn't expect Albus to actually apologise. Maybe he expected him to leave again, but it definitely wasn't for him to say sorry like that.

One thing I love about Theo's Albus is that he's so full up with pain, you can see it inside him the whole time. He's lost and aching and so upset, and it hurts him so much, but when he realises that someone else needs help, he finds the room in his heart to reach out to them. He does it for Scorpius and he does it for his dad too. He still has so much love in there, even though the pain is welling over. I think that's my favourite thing about the character he's playing.

The apology meant that Scorpius's little "thanks" was really genuine, and it was accompanied by him trying to tidy up some of his tears a bit.

Again, I absolutely love how hearing that Harry's department is investigating the rumours is Scorpius's worst nightmare. That destroys him. But Albus immediately leans in to reassure him that no. There's no way they can find anything because Scorpius is so good.

I adore how Samuel's Scorpius recovers from the depths of his despair so quickly. He goes from crying to mocking Albus in about a second. It's very sweet.

Samuel pronounces every single letter in the word 'always'. He stretches it out and makes something really important of it.

When Albus says he’s had a really good idea, Scorpius was so irate about him not getting the conversation they’d just had that he dropped to his knees and flailed his hands in the air in disbelief. Despite this, Scorpius ended up genuinely impressed with Albus's strategy. Poor naive boy. He should know by now that Albus's plans are terrible.

The way Albus said "I can do it without you -- but I want you there," in this show was just perfect. It didn't sound like he actually was convinced he could do it alone. He desperately needed Scorpius with him. Also, it's the perfect turnaround from the train, where he knows he'll mess up if Scorpius doesn't come, so he forces Scorpius to come, but this time he knows he can do it, but gives Scorpius the option to join him anyway. And of course Scorpius agrees to come.

Scene Seventeen

I don't think I was paying attention to this scene because I was still recovering from the library. I remember tuning in sometime around the 'friends' exchange, and thinking that the way Tom played it was beautiful. There wasn't the awkwardness, Ron was just sort of rambling away about friends and then slipped, which destroyed Hermione. It didn't feel like there was a barrier between them as such, it just felt like they were each playing a part, and suddenly the mask slipped and everything underneath was laid bare. It was really lovely

At the end of the scene, as he was wheeled out into the wings Ron walked down the stairs, then back up the stairs, then back down them again. It was like he had no idea what to do with himself. I heard from people with a more central view that Hermione was breaking down in tears in the other wings.

Scene Nineteen

Scorpius was so impressed with his "Engorgimpressed", and Albus just looked across at him and shook his head because no. No Scorpius.

When Myrtle showed up Albus was just getting ready with this big smug look to reveal his grand plan, but as soon as he'd taken a breath she showed up and stole his moment. He seemed the tiniest bit miffed, but mostly just like well, this is as good as anything I could have planned.

I don't know I've mentioned this before, but at the first stage door, April told us she practiced her Myrtle voice in the kitchen while she was cooking, just sort of random gurgling and meaning. It totally worked.

It has not escaped my notice that Myrtle looks directly at Albus when she says the "and boys" part of "girls and boys doing love incantations in this very bathroom".

Before I knew there was Gillyweed, but I'd never properly seen it. I'm still not sure what they use, although apparently the sweets in Scorpius's bag at the start are Haribos, and the Gillyweed looked kind of like some kind of jelly sweet.

I have never felt this way before, but when Albus disappeared into the sink I was genuinely disappointed that we wouldn't get to see him again until halfway through Act Three. Theo had done such an incredible job.

I love how Myrtle beckons the adults in like she's going to tell them what the trinket is, but then just whispers that it's a secret.

When Harry turned round to talk to Ginny and Draco and McGonagall, Myrtle kept her foot right by his head for the longest time, almost touching him, just sort of floating there and considering stroking it against his face or something. It was hilarious.

Draco gets really fired up the second the Time-Turner is mentioned. The poor guy has been keeping the secret for so long and suddenly the other one is out and about and he must be terrified of the implications.

Scene Twenty

Mackley is still double Scorpius for now... Henry has to take over at some point right?

Scorpius's delight when he comes out of the lake is adorable. Bless him.

When Elizabeth walks out as Umbridge she sort of holds her coat out of the way so you can see the dress underneath. It's exactly the sort of grand gesture Umbridge would make.

Samuel's interactions with the Dementors at the end of Part One are excellent. He gives each their time. Scorpius seems to get sucked into first one, then the other, and when he gets free he does this jerk of his body, like he's falling away from them.

I couldn't cheer at the end of Part One because I was crying too hard. I made it out of the theatre and tried to explain to the people I was with exactly what that Part had meant to me, and I ended up sobbing again.

The reason I cried wasn't only because the show was brilliant, but because the cast felt like a cohesive unit, doing a beautiful and detailed performance of the show I am absolutely in love with. My thoughts throughout that act were that they're ready, they're good, they've finally made it. They were finally doing themselves the true justice I knew they could. And more than that, I was watching the show instead of the actors. I wasn't smiling because they were acting well, I was caught up in the emotion of the play. For the first time in a year I was mesmerised by the story. And it was a truly incredible experience, which was just capped off beautifully by the brilliant Part Two to come.

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survivor-kuwait · 5 years

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Episode 2 - “The pair thing doesn’t leave much room for dRaMa and I want DrAmA” - Madison

Ok, so I'm going to recap everything I experienced during this scramble as there is a lot to cover. Willow and I lost the tik tok challenge by 2 points which sucks so we have to go to the warzone now. The warzone is kinda cool. I get to talk to more than just willow which is cool. Everyone seems to like each other and for the longest time no one had a name. Sadly, Brandon shot himself in the foot and was voted out by everyone because he never spoke a word to anyone. I kinda feel bad for the guy but you know, atleast Brandon has 100% voting accuracy. That's kinda hard especially in survivor. I also forgot to mention that I have hit 2 spaces on the Battleship grid so hopefully I get an idol or advantage soon!

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Tribal went accordingg to plan;BDC went in a 12-0 vote 😧 I hate first tribal nerves. But its over and Im good. I think i made good connections with people. Made stronger connection with Madison. We both love Dumbo 🐘. I got to talk more with Stephen and Matt so i think those are bonds i could use later on in the game or if I find myself in the warzone with them again. Cullan and Ian were pretty good and nice people. I got along with Ian a lot. Willow was a nice person, we just didnt get to talk a lot today cuz she had 2 finals today. I didnt get to talk with jacob or doodle. (But i already had Jacob as a friend so he is someone who i played with before but dont remember. Oop 🤭) overall iI think warzone this round was a positive thing.

i'm shook that we were safe from the tik tok immunity. i'm even more shook that we got second????????? in it. like what??? i literally was editing the video with like 4 (four) minutes to spare because my idiot ass partner decided last second to tell me that he wasn't able to edit it and tik tok wasn't loading on his phone. like? when were you planning on telling me this information..... anyways we won, so i guess i can't be too upset with him. warzone thing is dumb, unfortunately i was a part of another season monty hosted that has this twist and got screwed over by it hardcore, so shrug. i'm assuming the same thing will happen this time around because of how new all of these people are. i know barely any of them and i'm just gonna assume for the most part they know each other or are at least aware of each other whereas i'm like i know owen and stevie??? it's just one massive eyeroll. gonna just try to focus on not going to tribal though. if we did i would have zero issues voting tommy out. he's zzzzzzzzzzzz. first night of the game i like offered to call while we figure out who to vote, tried to get to know him, etc. he gave minimum effort, didn't want to call, didn't ask me anything about me or make any attempt to get to know me. so i have zero attachment to him which sucks because i feel like for the most part people are going to stick with their assigned sign partner. idk if it's just because he hasn't played a game outside of fb before and they all suck or what but girrrrrl he needs to step it up. i've been working on this puzzle for a minute. for a while i couldn't beat like 2:20~ but randomly got 1:43 and am gonna hope that that's a competitive score, at least good enough to keep us out of the bottom. tommy sucks and can hardly break 2 minutes after being very up front that WE ARE WINNING THIS. i told him i think my score is easily attainable so that he'd try more LMAO because i really don't wanna lose this early. i think my outlook on the game would be so much different had i not gotten stuck with a stale ass plank of wood for a partner.

I really hope Renne and I could atleast be in the top 6 and be immune. But being in in the top three would be cool only because we would see guardians of the galaxy. I got 2:27 and Renee around 2:46 i believe so we should be okay unless these people are monsters at puzzles.

Look I was going to try to do video confessions every time for this game but sometimes you look so bad the Face ID on your laptop doesn't even recognize you as yourself...and that's literally me right now. So text it is! Hey! I'm having a gr8 time. Such a fun game! To recap last round, I had SUCH a good TikTok plan and then Jacob and I are illiterate and didn't realize when the videos were due, so we lost. BUT I think that was a blessing, because we got to talk to people outside of our sign pair, which was really beneficial. At least for me it was. Talking to Renee, Ian, and Maynor was great, and I think I'd be down to work with any of them later on. Stephen potentially too, but he still scares me. Too much history lmao. Tribal was the easiest ever but I can already tell this is gonna be like Mongolia and Hogsmeade where NO ONE talks about the vote until the hour before, which is exciting, but also very stressful. I'm ready to be in a chat with more people in it though. The pair thing doesn't leave much room for dRaMa and I want DrAmA.

We F*CKEN tied!! I just saw the scores and we only got 6th because I got a faster individual time than the 2 Tauros. I’m so happy that me and Renee could take a breather even if it is for one day. I really like Renee and I’d be down to work with her all the way to the end. Hopefully she feels the same way cuz we could be dangerous together.

Ya boy just found the fucking Topaz Idol, suck it bitches! This is the first idol I have legitimately found, I get nervous about having advantages though, I don't want to waste them which has lead me to be voted of with an advantage in my pocket before. I can use this idol to turn votes against me into votes for whoever I want which is beautiful, I hope to genuinely fuck somebody's day up with this! However, if I've found one already, you can bet your ass somebody else has found something as well. Let's see whose dick is bigger, whoever you are.

So far this game has been interesting. When it started I was SHOOK by the 12 tribes of 2. Definitely thought it was going to be interesting and potentially scary navigating how people get voted out. Then the first round was voting off a team right in the beginning just based on who is on it pretty much. When that team ended up being Nehe and Chips I was PUMPED because from a previous game Nehe and I did not leave things on the best of terms. Then one of them gets to come back. And it's Nehe. Great. I did not want to let that bother me much so I figured I would worry more about it when the time came to worry about it. Then the next immunity challenge happened and i truly did not think Owen and i would do so well because I am not normally good at these things and i am shook that we won. Owen's editing ideas were what saved us I think. So not only were we safe for that round, we also get to go to the oasis! And who else but Nehe is there too. I was initially dreading it because I wasn't sure how the conversation was going to go. When we did end up talking he said that he has calmed down, matured a bit, and wants to put things behind us and move forward. I still am not sure if I believe it or not, or at least to what extent I believe it. There is always going to be the thought that he could be playing me due to our history. It's hard not to bring things from the past and carry them in the present and let it effect relationships with people. Seeing Kait in this game I was initially a little worried because I don't know what that working relationship is like. I haven't played a game with Kait in a long time but I do not know where we stand as far as working together. It will be hard to navigate but the reunion was nice to have. Another thing that is worrying me is Owen. Right now we are working well together in the challenges, I haven't had any problems with Owen in the past that I can remember, and we generally respect each other's existence I think? Idk I am just not sure what the relationship is between us two. We also don't really talk much being on this tribe together and I don't know if that's because we are kinda solid and we don't need to do the initial meeting each other and talking to build a relationship, or if because we are both content with how things are running and waiting for circumstances to change to actually start playing the game. It is hard with these teams of 2 as tribes trying to navigate how to play. With that being said, i also am unsure about what I should be doing in the oasis. I have been chatting lightly with people but I think it is too early to be strategizing with them. I don't want to play too hard and there is the possibility of not going to tribal council with these people for a while so the connections might not be worth my while to make. I am just unsure if I am being left in the dark about strategy this early on, or if I am getting paranoid over nothing because it is still a bit too early in the game for people to strategize with this game structure. Time will tell and I hope Owen and I keep winning while the game is still like this

I am voting for Matt today. All of my decisions are arbitrary until this twist ends because nothing really has weight yet at all. Also, I feel like I can definitely trust the people who voted last time because there is little incentive to betray because the voting pool is so volatile. I expect relatively straightforward votes until we actually start playing Survivor. Ready for the casting portion to end.

I’m feeling pretty good currently! Being like just safe in the middle is exactly where I wanted to be in this game, although it js a little awkward not really being able to strategize right now. I feel like I’m really good with Adrian though and in a place that we can move forward as a pair. I really just wanna make sure I make the merge or til a swap or something because I’m really ready to do well in this game. But I wouldn’t trade safety in this game for anything at this point.

Hey! So, we lost the challenge again which sucks. Willow isn’t the greatest at jigsaw puzzles, but that is ok. Is losing a bunch is making us less of a threat and giving us more social connections with the rest of the game. I got the legacy advantage last night which is awesome. No one knows I have it and I’m not going to tell a damn soul about it. I heard Matt’s name thrown out so I’m going to see if that’s what everyone’s down to do. Everyone seems to like me which is great so hopefully my charm keeps me around for a while. Me not showing excellent challenge performance is also a bonus. I’m getting weird vibes from Nehe. He talks a lot which is why I tried voting him out the first time. He’s too fucking like able so I know he’ll be tough to get rid of. People need to learn to take their hearts out of the game eventually and learn to vote someone out even if they love having the person around. The longer he lives, the harder he will be to kill.

It has been good not having to stress over tribal today. I just hope that Matt B isnt going or anyone else that I talked to in the last warzone cuz they were cool and would like to have the possibility of working with them later on in the game. Update on idol search. I guess M4 and it was a hit and ive been trying to going around it but so far it has been 2 misses so far. I have M3 and N4 left so i hope that tonights guess at 10:05pm is a hit because this is the closest Ive been to finding something in these searches. I hope its something good for my game. I just hope no one has found this ship yet.

Well, another day another dollar I guess. I was really nervous that Timmy and I weren't going to do well in the puzzle challenge because puzzles aren't my strongest challenges, but we were able to pull it out once again and save ourselves. I am starting to get a little nervous about consistently getting 4th or 5th because we are still some of the only players in the game who have not talked to anyone but ourselves. Hopefully we are still early enough in the game that we can make connections with people down the line, but the more time I waste just sitting around the more nervous it makes me. I would never throw a challenge because lord knows that I love having immunity, but if we don't place in the top 3 for the next challenge we're gonna have to figure something out. Timmy is great but you can't win this game just by having one friend and one friend only.

So I had thought that the people from last round would stick together, but apparently some people are voting for Matt? I dont mind much, I’m taking a Sandra-esque “I’m happy to vote whoever as long as it aint me approach.” Might stop me over strategising

- - - - -

All that stuff about being Sandra this season? forget it. I’m back on my bullshit. Nehe wants an alliance with me, doodle, corey, and devon. But apart from Nehe I have barely talked to any of those guys. So im gonna try and make a counter alliance of Me Matt Ian Chloe Willow and maybe Cullan? If I tell them whats going on they might join me and vote out Nehe, or maybe doodles the better play?

- - - - -

Nevermind the nevermind all these people are like “Oh? A counter alliance to protect myself from an alliance without me? Nah i’m good, getting voted out is fun!” So screw them Im voting matt, see ya suckers.

Hello Did I mention last time that I’m ready for this weird twist to be over and for us to be normal tribes? Either way it felt nice to win and I’m glad I don’t have to go back to that warzone, but at the same time, I worry if we stay out of it too long we won’t have made any allies or friends through a tribal and that could be dangerous moving forward to a swap, maybe if we stay as signs for much longer I’ll mention that to maynor and see how he feels about throwing one hm

Top six is great top three is better but like....I have a feeling it’s the wrong six to be in rn. Those bottom six get to talk and strategize. None of that happens here in the oasis zzzzz I was thankful to get to talk to Kait twice that part was rlly good. Nehe and I had a little bit of a talk. Thomas is SO BORING ATO TALK TO tho hsjshdjd I was excited to meet someone new but omfg. He was like ‘I study math’ and I was like ‘omg I could never’ and he was like ‘well I can !’ PLS LOL So I’m kind of dying here but maybe it’s better to be safe. I’m just scared the game is moving without me. Idk I guess it’s early for that.

I think I forgot to write a confessional this round so far so...WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET 4th!! I know it’s only been 2 challenges but still. I usually hate social games but I’m dying to talk to at least someone who isn’t trace. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great, but this game is so boring so far just because I can’t talk to anyone. That’s really going to screw me over in the long run. At least if you fuck up in challenges you get to talk to people. It’ll make it easier for me to get voted off since I’ll have no connections so I’ll need to work my ass off if that time comes. Fuck.

fuck these bitches. to start off, i lost immunity by less than 2 seconds which SUCKS. thought i had a decent time but i guess not Back in the warzone, theres a few people i was here with last time, including Ian, Stephen and Cullan which is nice. Willow and Chloe are back too, but we didnt speak last time so i made sure we spoke more frequently this time. Basically a group of Devon, Taylor, Corey and Nehe. Stephen W let me know this was going on and he didnt want it to happen. So i started putting forth effort into targeting taylor, but then it made more sense to go for nehe because he is also the other solo in this game. Now on PAPER it would make sense for me and Nehe to work together and have each other's back but clearly he doesnt care lol. So i focused my attention to the people that seem like they really do wanna keep me (Stephen, Ian, Cullan, Willow, and Chloe). I made my rounds, multiple rounds tbh and tried to make my best sales pitch to them. Stephen, Cullan, Ian seem all 100 with me and im like 60% sure willow wants to keep me, but her responses are so delayed that i cant really get a good read. Chloe is the biggest question mark for me just because its late for her and shes starting another org and has assignments to work on. I want to believe that she would keep me because i expressed a lot of interest in working with her in this game. As of now its 9:40pm which means 20 mins till my fate is determined. I would like to think the 6 person group i got together can stick with me and keep me in the game, but i really dont know anymore. I wouldnt be shocked if i left 9-1 tbh. these people dont wanna play the game this early or work with me when i can easily be an extra number for any pair in this game. I hope to god i stay because its been such a different experience and a new world for orgs, and i wanna stay and fight. so fingers crossed i guess

It is 10 minutes to tribal and im nervous to see what happens. This 2 person tribe twist is really weird. I want to more people. I just hope is someone i havent really talked to. Hopefully the next challenge is something that me and Renee can be good at.

Okay so we formed an alliance named The Pact which is basically a temporary alliance for warzone where the trick is to throw immunity, go there together, and get someone who isn't us, outta the game. It was created by Nehe and involves him, taylor, stephen, devon and I. Am I honestly going to THROW IMMUNITY? idk. I don't trust taylor whole heartedly But I would like to work w him for some time. I have had info coming back to me making it seem as though he genuinely likes me so! kfnskdlgdslk anyways. Tonight, the vote is matt. I am terrified if it isn't. xoxo, gossip girl.

Behind the scenes of the vote last round that sent Matt packing, I was informed by Stephen that Doodle(Taylor) has been making alliances all over town. That lets me know he is not a long term pro Ian player, conversely Stephen has won a lot of my favor. I took that knowledge to Willow, as someone else that is supposed to be "working with" Doodle ka boodle I felt that she needed to be "generally aware". I wish I would have also shared with Devon that knowledge but I didn't. Doodle can think he is running the Warzone, I'll be quietly letting people know exactly what he is. A fake. A fraud. A man building himself up to be burnt and burnt bad. I knew what he was from the moment he pm'd me with "omg lets be long term allies I hate tiktok too", buddy you can do the heavy lifting for now, I'll vote you out the second you stop playing in MY interest. The trap I think so many TS players fall into is that they begin to think they're playing a single player game, you're not the only one with friends.

#survivorstarzone #episodes

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aberorca · 7 years

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Show Review 29/03/2017

This show was the most important performance for me because it was the one I was seeing with my Mum. I was actually quite nervous. I really wanted her to understand why I keep going back to see the show again and again and why it means so much to me. My Mum says I’m obsessed. I say I’m passionate. Maybe somewhere in-between. ;)

I was also full of trepidation because my Mum is a cynic, and very hard to please. She is much more critical, generally-speaking, than I am and I was worried that she simply wouldn’t find the play as wonderful as I do and I was so desperate for her approval of it. If she didn’t think as highly as possible of it, I would be devastated. My Mum read and enjoyed the books - she would borrow my copy after I’d finished with it on every release. The last time she read one of them was nearly exactly ten years ago, when the last book came out. We saw every film together. There’s a lot of personal history for us that is attached to Harry Potter and in a relationship that has been tested at times to its absolute limit, the Harry Potter memories are positives of our time together that stand out for me. It was vital to me that this memory would be as jubilant as all those memories and that she would understand what the play and its themes meant to me and think as highly of the play as she did of the books and their themes and histories for us. Given that we disagree far more than we agree, my worries were not unfounded.

She thought the play was “outstanding”. The highlights for her were the acting, the choreography, the special effects and the music. She was particularly admiring of Anthony, Sam, Noma, Jamie and Anabel (as Myrtle), even though Noma and Jamie both stumbled on some lines (just momentary hesitation while they remembered the line. I don’t know if it was something in the air, as there were a couple of moments where I thought the cast might break, or whether they are all just very tired - it was enough for a first-timer like my Mum to pick up on but it wasn’t held against them at all). During certain moments she actually grabbed me and grinned at me like a child in Hamley’s, her eyes just shining with awe, such as in the Polyjuice transformations and the appearance of the dementors. I’ve never seen her react to something like that.

She wants to see it again. My Mum never wants to see anything twice. She gets bored incredibly easily - as I said, she’s really hard to please. She’s also disabled - it’s worth bearing in mind that sitting upright for five hours is difficult for her. But she wants to do it again. I didn’t dare to dream that she would want to see it more than once. There is no greater compliment to the show, for me, than my Mum wanting to see it more than once. For this particular performance, her reaction alone was everything to me, I wouldn’t have minded if anything else wasn’t ideal.

However, as luck would have it, the performance itself today was an absolute smasher - probably the second-best I’ve seen. The cast was almost entirely in their original roles, bar one - Josh Wyatt was on as Karl/Dudley - I really liked him in this role - I thought his Dudley in particular was very good:

I found out at the end of the night that @mrsellacott was at the same performance - it’s a shame I didn’t know she was in or I would have gone to introduce myself. I know what she looks like (though she doesn’t know what I look like, mwah-ha-ha-ha) so I feel foolish for not spotting her four rows in front of me (she was in AA, I was in C but I walked right between where she was sitting and the stage more than once - I’m so unobservant, but then when you��ve been holding your bladder for the interval, the loos beckon you rather determinedly).

She has already posted her recap (https://mrsellacott.tumblr.com/post/159003741424/cursed-child-review-29317) so I apologise if I repeat anything she has already mentioned. I notice different things in every performance, so indeed, I apologise if I’m repeating something I’ve mentioned in a previous recap, or something someone else has mentioned.

Act One Scene One:

Albus and Lily were holding hands on arriving at King’s Cross. Sibling moments within the Potters are few and far between in the play so that was lovely.

Act One Scene Two:

Ron and James laughed really hard when Albus asked about being put in Slytherin. Is it a running joke or do they find the idea ludicrous?

When Rose went to get onto the train after telling Hermione she couldn’t give a Professor love, she hurriedly said “Bye, love you, bye” as she left. It was cute and Rose-y and genuine. I love ad-libs - they make things even more real somehow.

When the kids left the platform, Albus last of all, Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck and he held her and gave her the sweetest kiss. Swoon. Okay, I promise to try to keep the Hinny swooning to a minimum.

Act One Scene Three:

Cherelle varies the “It’s exciting!” line from show to show and my favourite version of it is the one she did in this performance where she grabs Albus and shakes him back and forth as she squeals “It’s exciiiiitiiiiiiinnng!” Her enthusiasm is infectious to the audience and it always gets a good laugh when delivered like this.

Act One Scene Four:

During the flying lesson, Madam Hooch stopped the other students in their teasing of Albus by saying a scolding”Ah-ah!” at them and pointing her finger in termination when they Karl calls Albus a squib. This isn’t scripted but I really liked it because it bothered me that there was no scripted reaction from Hooch (though I understand that for the stage one has to make allowances in terms of cutting details from scenes that would extend the play). I always imagined Hooch (and any other teacher for that matter) putting a foot down if they heard that kind of thing from any student toward another. Anyway, I hope Helena keeps doing that.

The DADA scene - Rose really did try to help Albus with his wand in this scene. She hurried over to him and very briefly tried to assist and then said ”I can’t help” and re-joined the class.

Act One Scene Five:

When Hermione nagged Harry about his paperwork with a “Consider this a gentle nudge” he avoided her eye and tried to wave it off with an abrupt “Yeah, yeah, yeah”. It was childish and gave me strong book throwbacks with Hermione nagging Harry about homework or revision or working out his egg clue and I liked it. At this response, Hermione seemed to think he wasn’t quite heeding her authority, so she added the “from the Minister for Magic” which Harry reluctantly acknowledged, still avoiding her eyes. Such a kid. (I love it when something in the play gives an anamnesis of the books).

Act One Scene Seven:

Poppy gave the softest chuckle at Lily and her fairy wings. It was so natural and the way she was looking at her was with so much love and fondness. Poppy is one of the more unsung heroes of the cast. Her role isn’t as big as Noma’s so she gets less recognition but she deserves just as much, because her performance is just as outstanding. The way she looks at the people she loves, Albus, Lily, James, Harry, even Heroine and Ron - it’s so hard for me to remember that she’s acting. She is utterly, utterly convincing and she just radiates love and warmth. I imagine Poppy to be the kindest, warmest person in real life, because I really feel it from her on stage. She’s my favourite actress of the cast. It amazes me how readily she can cry real tears, too. She’s superb.

Jamie extended the “never wanted gratitude” line. It was “I never wanted gratitude or anything-” before Albus cut him off. As I’ve said, I love these ad-libs and actors playing with lines because it gives the play so much authenticity for each show and it works better for the cast because they have more to play with from each other.

Sam skipped the “Sometimes” in the infamous “wish you weren’t my Dad” line. I really like it like this because it makes it so much more hurtful and provocative to Harry. The line became simply “I wish you weren’t my Dad”. It changes the line so much - it is no more just something Albus is feeling on a bad day, the absence of the “sometimes” makes it definitive with no room for alleviation. It’s brutal. I’ve not noticed Sam changing it like this before (has anyone else?) but I prefer the line that way. Harry’s following line was the same “Well, there are times I wish you weren’t my son.”

Act One Scene Eight:

Little Harry for this performance was Jabez Cheeseman (epic name) and he is my favourite little Harry so far. He is adorable! He is indeed, really little, the smallest of the all the cast members (child actors included), and he’s excellent in his role. The child actors, particularly the young Harrys, as so impressive.

The whooshing noise in the transition between this dream scene at the lighthouse and scene nine sounds like waves. I don’t know if that’s intentional or if that’s just my interpretation.

Act One Scene Nine:

Ginny was stroking Harry’s hair when comforting him in bed. Sweet.

Act One Scene Ten:

I really feel for Rose in this scene. She is really trying with Albus, yes, it’s prompted but she’s trying. Cherelle added a new line here (it might not be new - maybe I just haven’t noticed it before - can anyone else weigh in? It’s definitely not scripted): when Albus tells Rose to leave him alone she gets really frustrated; she’s visibly hurt and angrily says “Why are you so angry all the time?” (unscripted) but they are then interrupted by Scorpius. Rose saying”I’m here, OK?” is very genuine. Rose has a good heart and she does care.

Sam was really on his game today, he gave the best performance I’ve seen from him. When he was explaining to Scorpius the conversation he overhead between Amos and Harry, he quotes Amos and says it exactly as Amos said it, same tones, same pronunciation, same expression of outrage, everything and it showed how much he’d been influenced by Amos (fuelled by their shared animosity toward Harry). However, Albus’s “I need to do this” shows that his motives behind the mission are selfish.

Act One Scene Twelve:

I mentioned in my last recap that when sitting in Row AA I could hear things in the general meeting that weren’t on microphones. In particular was Martin Johnston indignantly saying “that was unnecessary” when Hermione conjured silence from the crowd. I listened out for this time from Row C and could still hear it - he does say this every performance, it seems.

Act One Scene Fourteen:

This scene opens with an elderly witch pushing a walking frame which gets stuck. She hits it with her wand and it suddenly shoots out of her reach and zooms away. When the frame shot away this time, the witch said “You bugger” in an endearing northern accent. It was the first time I’ve heard it - can anyone else say whether she says it every time?

Act One Scene Sixteen:

When Albus, Delphi and Scorpius stand outside the telephone box at the Ministry, you can hear Big Ben chiming in the background. It’s a cool detail and I don’t remember noticing it before. Obviously, sound effects don’t change between performances, but as I said, part of the joy of seeing repeat performances it noticing new things each time - you just can’t pick up on everything in one show - there’s too much to focus on!

Anthony didn’t do his sea lion barks. :(

I love how Jamie!Scorpius looks at Delphi after he tells Paul!Albus to go to his room. He really grins at her, you can really see how much fun he’s having but it’s also as if he wants a bit of Delphi’s approval. Jamie!Scorpius was so dorky with his cloak that he actually almost fell over. I’m sure Jamie’s stumble here is intentional but it looks klutzy and accidental. He’s brilliant. Noma!Delphi gets impatient with the boys very quickly when they tussle with each other. She gets in between them with an impatient “Excuse me.”

Act One Scene Eighteen:

Hermione put her arms around Harry when she was trying to reassure him over what he said to Albus. I love the Harry/Hermione relationship. I only wish there was as much Harry/Ron in the play.

Noma did the two-fingered “I’m watching you” gesture to Paul. She doesn’t always do it.

Paul’s mortified moan is wonderful as he buries his face in his hands once Harry and Hermione leave. Paul is pure brilliance in this scene. I don’t know how he doesn’t crack every time.

Act One Scene Nineteen.

Paul!Albus got indignant at Jamie!Scorpius teasing him about kissing his Aunt, as if he felt Scorpius didn’t appreciate what he, Albus, had just been put through. :D

Jamie!Scorpius got so overexcited and high-pitched at seeing Sonnets of a Sorcerer and collapsed onto his knees looking as though all his dreams had come true. The audience loved it; it got a big laugh.

Act Two Scene Six:

This is always one of the more poignant scenes for me. Scorpius’s line about the “little tingle” is example of Jack Thorne’s genius because he knows that is exactly how the audience feels (Of course he does: he’s a Potterhead). I find the Hide and Seek soundtrack simply beautiful here. To anyone who knows the song but hasn’t heard it in this scene, it doesn’t sound like the original song. The song is cut to start from “Hide and seek, trains and sewing machines…” It sounds as though it is being sung by a choir from inside a nearby church that you are standing outside of. It’s so, so beautiful. If you recall the Part One film adaptation of Deathly Hallows, where Harry and Hermione visit Godric's Hollow: in that scene you can hear a choir singing from inside a church on screen. The soundtrack to the play in this scene sounds just like that as the theatre glows around you to make you feel as though you are in Hogwarts. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes of the play and it never fails to give me and everyone else a “tingle”.

Act Two Scene Seven:

Cherelle was great in this scene. She really went for it when cheering for Harry “HARRYYYYY! HARRYYYY! HARRYYYY!” She sounded like a football fan. Then, when she questioned the boys and Durmstrang!Albus apologised to her, Scorpius did the most ridiculous accent I’ve ever heard saying “Mmmmmm, yeeeessss” as Albus was trying to cover for him. Oh, these boys.

Act Two Scene Eleven:

I hadn’t noticed before that when Hermione warns “if anyone else interrupts me again” it’s because Polly and Yann are just in the process of rising out of the chairs again with the mouths open to speak and Hermione sits them down with her hand as she says this.

Act Two Scene Twelve:

In the musical transition between this scene and the last (impeccably smooth) you can hear the staircases being moved on, but the set pieces are so soft in sound that the movement of them against the music sounds like a background of soft rain dissipating into the scene. It’s something I noticed before but forgot to mention. Perhaps it doesn’t sound that way to others but it is what it sounds like to me and only in the context of this scene. It’s the most haunting, beautiful, soulful, emotive sound and it will stir emotion inside me before I’ve even laid eyes on the actors.

Act Two Scene Thirteen:

This was my favourite performance of Alex’s that I’ve seen. I thought he was brilliant tonight. He was softer in general and his timing and his comedy was superb. When Harry asked if he was sure Scorpius was his, there was the longest pause I’ve seen. It was as if Draco was trying to work Harry out, did Harry genuinely believe the rumours or was he just trying to antagonise, or simply just clutching at straws? Alex’s “take that back” was almost comical, almost playful, as if he didn’t entirely believe Harry meant it but that Draco wanted an excuse to get wands out anyway; he drummed a pointed finger on the table with every word. When he drew his wand and Harry warned him, he emitted this high-pitched “Uhhh” as if he was really quickly thinking about what Harry said before deciding he really does want to do it. It was funny, but the Malfoy confidence with which he expressed his thoughts without becoming sinister and taking from the scene was excellent.

Act Two Scene Fifteen:

I finally saw the infamous “cooking” reaction from Alex, which I hadn’t seen him do in this way before. Upon hearing that Harry is the cook, there is a beat while he takes this in and then the biggest, most charming, adorable grin, as though this is the best piece of news he has ever heard and he’s immediately thinking about how much fun he is going to have over teasing Harry about this.

The rest of his lines in this scene were soft. I love it when Alex plays this scene soft because it seems that Draco really feels what he trying to say. Sometimes Alex can be quite rough with this speech which I understand, given the character and his reluctant to show vulnerability but I think it takes away from what is a very profound few moments from him so I loved his delivery this time.

Act Two Scene Sixteen:

The library scene. As well as being the best performance from Alex I’ve ever seen, today was also the best performance from Anthony I’ve ever seen (and Sam, as mentioned earlier). He really showed why he got that Olivier nom. He was incredible. He has never made me laugh and cry so much in one scene. Up until this performance, my favourite version of this scene had been when I saw James Le Lacheur as Scorpius (I’m sad she’s not staying on, I’d love more opportunity to see her in the role) but Anthony did it for me this time around. We all know how heavy this scene gets but a couple of comical moments include Scorpius giving an impromptu apologetic wave with one hand to Polly when she tells them to “Sshhh!”, Scorpius really starts to lose his patience and raises his voice when he says “This is bigger than you and your Dad” - Polly looks around again and he turns to her and puts both hands up in the air in apologetic surrender which got a chuckle from the audience. The highlight of this scene was the hug at the end. I’ve never seen Sam hug him so forcefully. As soon as Scorpius grabbed his hand to shake it (sneaky Albus never wanted just a handshake) he pulled him in for the hug so forcefully that Anthony completely lost his balance and fell into him and Sam was literally holding him up with his head buried on Anthony’s left shoulder, facing away from the audience, while Anthony just hung there looking awkwardly at the audience. There was this pause and then Anthony, pure genius that he is, just goes “Okay…” (it was a slightly muffled “Okay” because Sam was squeezing him so hard and Anthony’s face was squished) and his delivery of it was hysterical, as if he was gently trying not to offend a mentally unstable person. Big audience reaction.

Act Three Scene Five:

The Neville revelation got a gasp, from a handful of people, but one person in particular gave the biggest, most comical gasp I’ve ever heard and then the rest of the audience all laughed.

I have to say that I’ve never been convinced by Paul Bentall as Snape but this performance changed that. He made me tear up. Paul normally raises his voice quite a bit, which I don’t like as I find it very out of character but he hardly did so at all this time. He was definitely convincing in this show and the way he broke when Scorpius revealed what he knew - he really showed Snape as a broken, lonely, desperate man and it worked so well. I thought this different approach made his relationship with Hermione work much better in the next scene. Kudos.

Act Three Scene Seven:

Paul (Thornley) didn’t do the thumbs-up when Ron finds out he and Hermione are married in the other world. :(

Act Three Scene Nine:

Anthony did the long drawn-out version of “it’s HARRYY POTTAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” He doesn’t always exclaim it this way, sometimes he just says “It’s Harry Potter!!” I love it when he draws out his euphoria at seeing Harry because the audience loves it and they really feel his relief. It always gets a big reaction when he delivers it like this and the audience claps and whoops because they are just as overjoyed to see Harry back to life but their reaction is definitely fed by how Anthony delivers the line. Anthony also did the McGonagall dance which gets a good laugh. He doesn’t always do it.

Act Four Scene Six:

I know I promised to keep the Hinny swooning to a minimum and I think I’ve been quite successful but the kiss was awesome, as always. It was quite short but so full of emotion. Jamie literally grabbed Poppy and took her off her feet - she had to step into him to get her footing back. He also interrupted her - the end of her sentence got lost in his mouth. ^^ Swoon.

Act Four Scene Ten:

Paul took his coat off in this scene as he volunteers and it’s the first time I’ve seen him do it. @mrsellacott can tell you more about this. https://mrsellacott.tumblr.com/post/158997227469/with-paul-thornley-at-the-stage-door-following

Act Four Scene Fourteen:

Anthony’s robe-thing on the staircase with Rose gets more and more adorable and ridiculous. This was the first time I’ve seen Cherelle really get into Anthony’s face and she held the longest beat, ever. Scorpius was nervous, Albus, was nervous, the audience was nervous because none of us knew what she might do but then she just calls him Scorpion King and laughs and Scorpius looks slightly relieved. Albus’s mouth falls open. Scorpius gave Albus the most adorable hug. They were standing quite apart for most of the scene (I still haven’t seen the nose hoop in any of the performances I’ve gone to) but you could see Scorpius thinking about hugging Albus. Part of him wanted to and part of him didn’t want to and then he just decided to go for it and slowly, gingerly put his arms around Albus’s middle (Albus was standing above him) and just kind of rests his head against Albus’s side. It was adorable.

Act Four Scene Fifteen:

Albus telling Harry that his childhood was a constant struggle got a big laugh from the audience. Jamie was very weepy in this scene - more weepy in this one than any other. Aaaaaaaannnnddd he did the hoodie thing! Not the tie-thing (because he hadn’t ruined the tie presentation this time) but he zipped up Albus’s hoodie and neatened out the hood behind his neck, smoothing his shoulders. Swoon.

And that’s the recap. It got very long, sorry!

#cursed child #harry potter and the cursed child #sam clemmett #anthony boyle #alex price #poppy miller #scorpius malfoy #draco malfoy #albus severus potter #cursed child cast #hinny

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magmasliveblogs · 5 years

Text

1.19

this is the 21st chapter! to recap: last chapter relc, pisces, and klb came at various times to check on erin. erin is depressed. she feeds some goblins

Erin woke up slowly. She woke up to the sight of a bag full of money on her table. For a moment she thought the Goblin had left it.

It wasn’t the Goblin. In fact, the mysterious bag full of silver coins was courtesy of Klbkch. Erin peered down at the note he’d written and squinted to make out the words.

For the destruction of a Goblin Chieftain within the area of Liscor you are hereby awarded 40 (forty) coins of silver or equivalent denomination. Signed and witnessed by Klbkch of the Antinium.

-Klbkch of the Antinium

Post Script: Please excuse my poor handwriting, but I am not fluent in the script used by most Humans on this continent.

Erin blinked down at the bag. She opened it and blinked at the sight of all the gleaming silver. For a while she stared at the shiny metal and watched as the sunlight made it glow. Then she closed the bag.

She stared at the table. The money seemed like it was right out a dream. But it didn’t actually matter much to her at the moment.

She looked back at the table. Had she dreamed that too? But no, she saw where the Goblin had spilled the blue fruit juice when she’d smiled at it. A large glowing fly was hovering over the table.

Erin sighed. But then she smiled. And suddenly, she knew what she was going to do.

first of all, hey, thats quite nice of klb, but also what sort of idea does erin have with the fly?

First she smacked the acid fly and ran around screaming until she washed the acid off. Then she ate breakfast, which were cold noodles mixed with sausage and onion. It was delicious. Then she walked down to the city.

A thought struck Erin as she walked. She’d have to go back to the market. The market where she’d lost all of her money. Her footsteps slowed, and then picked up. Suddenly Erin had two things to do today. She was looking forward to both.

to the city! what is erin doing? i dont know. probably something interesting

The second time the human female entered the market every head turned. This time it wasn’t just because of her smell.

Erin marched right up to the stall where she’d been ripped off. She glared at the Drake and then squinted.

“Wait a second. Have we met?”

The Drake shook her head.

“Do you wish to buy a necklace, Human?”

Erin eyed the pendants and other jewelry on display.

“Later, maybe. Right now I want to talk to the Drake guy who ripped me off the other day. You know; the one that took all my money. The ugly one.”

The other customers and shopkeepers nearby who heard that laughed loudly. The female Drake grinned and covered her smile. She pointed, and Erin turned to see a scowling Drake four stalls down.

“You.”

Erin marched over to the Drake. He glared at her, but this time Erin glared back. He shifted his gaze pointedly over Erin’s head. She cleared her throat. When he still ignored her she kicked the bottom of his stall.

The Drake looked down and snapped at her.

“What do you want?”

Erin gave him a polite smile without any of the sincerity.

“Why, I’d like to do business. Jerk.”

The Drake hissed under his breath. He shook his head at her and flicked his tail in her direction.

“My store’s closed to you, Human. I won’t sell to those without a hint of respect for others.”

“Respect? I have tons of respect. Just for anyone who’s not you.”

Several of the other shopkeepers laughed at that. Erin notice she and the Drake were drawing a crowd. She didn’t particularly care.

The shopkeeping Drake glared harder at Erin.

“You’re obstructing my business. Leave, before I summon the Watch.”

He turned his back on Erin but she rapped on his counter.

“My business with you isn’t done yet. I want my money back. You ripped me off the other day.”

The Drake looked over his shoulder.

“So? I offered you my goods and you paid my price. That is a basic rule of buying and selling. I have done nothing wrong.”

There was a general murmur of agreement from the shop owners and a discontented rumble among the shoppers. Erin leaned over the counter.

“Oh yeah? What if I’m not happy about what you sold me? I think for three gold coins you should be selling me enough onions to fill the bottom floor of my inn. So how about I return you what I’ve purchased and you give me a complete refund?”

The Drake sneered at her.

“Do you take me for a slow-witted hatchling, or a Human fool? I won’t accept food that’s days old! Besides, this store does not give out refunds!”

“Really? Where does it say that?”

“Right here.”

The Drake pointed to a sign. Erin stared at it and up at him with narrowed eyes amidst the laughter. Then she grinned.

“Oh, right. It does say that, doesn’t it? Too bad I can’t read. But I do remember you had your prices listed as well, didn’t you?”

She looked around at the other pieces of paper pinned to the wooden stall. The Drake shopkeeper lunged, but Erin was quicker. She pulled the familiar piece of paper away and waved it in front of his face.

“Well. Why don’t we call the Watch after all? Buying and selling is all very well, but what about sticking to prices you write down?”

The Drake shopkeeper hissed again, long and slow this time. His eyes flicked to the paper and back to Erin’s face. He wasn’t sweating, but Erin was pretty sure lizards didn’t sweat.

yes! revenge of the erin!

“Even—even if you have that bit of paper, what of it? I sell to many customers. And you—I barely remember what I’ve sold to you, let alone my last customer.”

“A bag of flour, one pot of oil, a small bag of salt, sugar, yeast, four sausages, and two onions.”

Erin said it instantly. She paused for a second.

“And one crappy bag.”

The Drake stared at her with open mouth. She smiled sweetly at him.

“I’ve got a good memory. A really good one, actually.”

He didn’t have much to say to that. But the look on the shopkeeper’s face told Erin he wasn’t about to start tossing gold coins around. She leaned over the counter and stared at him. She wished she wasn’t so close. His breath smelled of rotted meat.

“I want my money back. I’ll give you a few silver coins for what I paid, but I’m not leaving here until you give me my money. Now, we can do this the hard way and call a bunch of people over and you can lose all your business for the day, or you can give my money back and I’ll—hey, is that a chess board?”

Erin pointed at one of the Drake shopkeeper’s displays. Everyone turned and looked.

“Oh hey, it is! It’s just like—I mean, the pieces are different but it’s chess, it is!”

The Drake snarled and batted Erin’s hands away.

“Get your hands off that! This is a valuable item!”

Erin glared back.

“It’s a chess board. Unless it’s made out of gold—which it’s not, it’s made out of stone—it’s about as expensive as that food you sold me. So I guess you’re selling this for three gold coins, too?”

That got another laugh from the crowd who had gathered to watch Erin’s showdown with the shopkeeper. The Drake on the other hand just grabbed the chess board and pieces and went to shove them below his counter. Then he stopped and turned to her with a gleam in his eye.

“Are you a player of chess, Human? If so, why don’t we bet on a game?”

Erin raised one eyebrow.

“You mean, we play a game of chess for my money? Why should I do that?”

The Drake spread his arms innocently. Erin noticed his tail was waggling on the floor but she pretended not to notice.

“Human, you and I have a dispute. I refuse to pay for goods sold, and you refuse to leave. So long as you’re stinking up my storefront I won’t have any business, so I offer a wager in good faith. Win against the player of my choice and I will pay you back the money you paid me, though it will cost me my goods that I have earned honestly. Lose, and you agree in front of witnesses not to bother me again. That is my best offer.”

Erin narrowed her eyes at him. She thought for a moment, and then nodded. Her lips twitched once, but she managed to suppress them.

“Fine. Let’s play.”

The shopkeeper smiled down at her. It was a smile full of teeth.

“Give me ten minutes to find my player. Then I will teach you why it is unwise to bet against your betters.”

Erin smiled back.

“Fuck you.”

yep. erin is back after the trauma. also chess!

Twenty minutes later Erin sat at a table in the middle of the street and played with a pawn. She stared at her opponent, another Drake, this one’s scales colored sky-blue. He was thinner than the shopkeeper, but the Drake was still taller than she was. He finished setting up the pieces on his side and smiled at her across the table.

“I rarely get a chance to play any games within the city. May I know whom I am playing against?”

“Of course. My name’s Erin. Erin Solstice.”

He nodded to her.

“I am Olesm. I believe you know my uncle, who asked me to play in this match.”

Erin gave her opponent a friendly, genuine smile and then looked over his shoulder.

“Is that your uncle? My, you two don’t look alike.”

The Drake hovering over his nephew’s shoulder hissed at her. Olesm raised what would have been his eyebrows if he had any.

“I understand this is a game with a wager. I would urge you not to bet against me. I am quite a good player.”

The shopkeeper interjected quickly.

“We have already agreed to the terms. The Human cannot back out now.”

Olesm glanced at his uncle in irritation, but Erin shook her head.

“I’m not backing down. Let’s play. Besides, I wouldn’t want to disappoint the crowd.”

She gestured at the crowd of watching people. They were definitely people, but Erin wasn’t sure what else to call them. Drakes, Gnolls, and even one of Klbkch’s kind, the Antinium were all gathered in a circle to watch the game. Some of them seemed to be betting as well, and though Erin couldn’t see what they were saying, they didn’t seem to be betting on her victory.

oooo it seems this drake is quite good at chess, or at least above the average of liscor

Olesm sighed, but made no further objection. Instead he peered at the board and made sure his pieces were all aligned within the squares. He struck Erin as a very meticulous and careful type, which made him unique among the Drakes she’d met so far.

“I’m surprised you know about this game. It was invented just a year ago.”

“You don’t say.”

Erin was busy examining the board. She tapped one of the pieces.

“I’m not sure if the rules I know are the same in that case. This piece here. You can move a king together with a rook like this, right?”

The Drake blinked.

“That’s right. I’m surprised you know that move.”

“Oh, I’ve seen a few players use it. Knights move like this, right?”

“Correct.”

“And pawns can move two spaces on their first move, right?”

“You seem to know this game. Well, well. This might be a good challenge after all.”

Erin smiled blandly at the Drake.

“I’m no expert. But there’s a wager on this one so I’ll play my best. The white side moves first.”

“Indeed it does.”

The shopkeeper smirked and the other watchers crowded around closer as Olesm pushed a pawn forwards. Erin smiled at him.

“Not many players lead with a pawn from the side. Most like going down the center.”

She pushed a pawn forward quickly. Olesm shrugged as he contemplated his next move.

“I have found this strategy to work in some of my games. It is fascinating to play such a new game of strategy, and so I always test new theories out on the board.”

The shopkeeper anxiously hovered over Olesm’s shoulder.

“So long as you win. You must win no matter what.”

Olesm narrowed his eyes but didn’t take his eyes from the board. Eventually he pushed forwards a pawn to counter Erin’s pawn.

chess seems a bit new to this world

“Have you played many games, then?”

Erin pushed another piece forwards instantly. Olesm blinked and the onlookers muttered.

“A few. But should you not spend more time thinking?”

She waved a hand at him.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’m having a blast. I just think fast about my next move, that’s all.”

Olesm frowned at her.

“You should think harder. I have played over a hundred games so far, and won over two thirds of them. If you truly are betting something important, it would not do to lose this game so easily.”

Erin smiled back at him.

“A hundred? Wow. But like I said, don’t worry. I like to play chess too. And I’ve played a…few games too. I’m not worried.”

“Why’s that?”

Erin smiled wider.

“Because I’m going to win.”

hubris! but i dont doubt she shall win, mostly because she is the protag, partially because in her time of mental crisis she turned to chess, that indicated it was a major part of her life

By the time Relc got to the market street Erin was on, the game had gone on for twenty minutes. A few customers were at the stands haggling, but most were still watching the game. One smart Gnoll was selling them food as they watched, and the shopkeepers seemed content to put their business on hold to watch the fun.

Relc was not having fun. He shoved his way to the front of the crowd and grabbed Erin. The crowd protested angrily. So did Erin.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“What are you doing?”

Relc snapped back at her. He pointed angrily to the game of chess where Olesm was taking his time considering his next move.

Erin shrugged.

“This? I’m getting my money back. Let go of my shirt. It’s new.”

She tried to peel off Relc’s claws from her shirt. Relc let go, but pulled her away from the game. He leaned forwards and hissed at her.

“Stop playing. This isn’t a fair game.”

“What?”

Erin looked at the board and back at Relc.

“You can’t cheat in chess. It’s fair.”

“No, it’s not.”

Relc raised his voice and pointed to the shopkeeper.

“Hey, you! Yeah, you. I know you. Stop the game. This isn’t fair. The bet’s off.”

The crowd rumbled in discontent at Relc’s words. The Drake shopkeeper spread his claws out innocently.

“It is a fair game. She let me name my player and we agreed to the wager. There are many witnesses. It would be wrong to cancel the game now, Guardsman.”

Relc eyed the Drake shopkeeper balefully. From her seat Erin noticed the shopkeeper’s tail was wagging a bit. He also had a gleeful look on his face if she was reading his face right.

“I hate to agree with that jerk, but he’s right Relc. I agreed to the wager and I want to play. I’m going to win my money back and play some chess while I’m at it.”

“Are you crazy? You’re going to lose this game.”

Relc hissed at Erin. She blinked up at him.

“Am I? Why’s that?”

Relc growled under his breath. He jerked a thumb over at the seated Drake who was studying the board with a frown.

“That guy you’re playing? He’s a [Tactician]. The highest-leveled one in the city!”

Erin blinked again.

“So? Does that mean he’s good at chess?”

“Very!”

“Well, so am I. It’s still a fair game, isn’t it?”

“No!”

Relc seemed close to tearing out the spines on his head.

hmm tactician? probably involves strategy!

“All [Tacticians] can tell when they’re being led into a trap! It’s a class skill! How do you not know this? If you play one in a game they’ll win almost every time! Plus that idiot loves to play that stupid game!”

The Olesm looked up and glared at Relc. Erin glared too.

“It’s not a stupid game. And so what if he likes to play? Like I said, so do I. And I’m a good player.”

“You still can’t win.”

“I can.”

“You can’t.”

“Oh, hi Klbkch.”

Erin turned away from Relc and waved at the silent ant man who had come up behind Relc. Klbkch nodded at her politely.

“Miss Solstice. Please forgive my companion’s interruption. We are on duty and it is improper of us to disturb a member of the public without cause. But Relc insisted we speak with you once we heard of the bet that had been made.”

“Really? You heard about the bet?”

Klbkch nodded.

“Indeed. It is all over the city.”

“Yeah, everyone was talking about the stupid Human who was dumb enough to wager on a game of chess against that idiot.”

Relc jerked his thumb at Olesm. The other Drake continued pondering the board, but Erin could see him grinding his teeth in his seat.

Klbkch nodded.

“I understand this is a bet made to recover your lost coin. However, I fear I must issue the same warning as Relc. The odds of you winning a game against Olesm are quite slim.”

“Olesm. Oh yeah, that’s what his name is.”

Erin covered a smile as Olesm’s eye twitched. She turned to Klbkch and Relc.

“Look, I’m glad you two care. But I’ve got this. It’s fine. You’ll see.”

The two guardsmen stared at her, unconvinced. Relc turned to Klbkch and whispered. Unfortunately his voice was still quite loud and Erin and those around them could hear him quite plainly.

“I don’t think she gets it. Humans are kinda slow. You explain the [Tactician] bit to her.”

“I believe you have given her adequate information. If she will not listen to you, she will not listen to me.”

“Exactly. So stop calling me stupid or I’ll hit you.”

Erin glared at Relc who shuffled his feet and looked away. She glared at Klbkch who raised all four of his hands and bowed his head and then shifted her glare back to Relc.

ah yes i forgot that antinium had 4 arms. also it seems this drake is more specially picked than i thought

“Let me play. You two can watch, but I’m going to play and win.”

“But—”

Erin raised a finger.

“No. Go away and let me play.”

Relc opened his mouth, closed it, and then hissed long and loud. He threw up his hands and stomped back into the crowd.

“Humans!”

Erin slid back into her seat and smiled at Olesm.

“Sorry about that.”

Olesm glanced over Erin’s shoulder and sniffed at Relc and Klbkch.

“Think nothing of it. But if we’re done with the interruptions, it’s your move.”

“So it is.”

Erin pondered the board. Then she slid another piece forwards.

“Oi, Klbkch. What’s she doing? Was that a good move? It looked like a bad move.”

“I am uncertain at this point. Allow me a few moments to assess the board before I give you my opinion. And please, lower your voice.”

Erin covered a smile as Olesm’s eye twitched. She waited for him to play another piece. As she did, she studied the board.

Chess. The pieces were different, and she was playing in a street in a city full of walking lizards and talking ants. But it was still chess.

It was wonderful to play again.

i was right! chess is important to erin

Olesm frowned as he toyed with a bishop Erin had cornered with one of her knights. He moved it diagonally one way, and then frowned. Then he moved it another way and frowned again. He glanced up at Erin.

She stared back at him innocently.

He moved his piece back and forth around a rook she’d used to attack his queen, and then took one of her pawns with it. His frown didn’t go away, but he seemed content with the move.

Erin moved another of her pieces forwards instantly. Her knight – a scaly Drake with a buckler in one hand and a scimitar the other – took one of his pawns.

“Check.”

A susurration went through the audience around the two players. That was, except for Relc who had gone to one of the stalls to buy something to eat. Olesm leaned back in his chair and gave Erin an admiring look.

“Well done, I hadn’t anticipated that.”

“It was just a lucky move. Well, not lucky, but it was quite nice, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

Olesm moved his king sideways.

“Your turn.”

Erin pointed at the board.

“Oh, that’s check too. Sorry.”

Erin tapped her queen and pointed down the board. The Drake player grimaced and moved his king the other way.

“That’s check as well. See the rook?”

Olesm paused and blinked at the table. The crowd murmured more loudly and Relc came back to look at the table.

After a minute Olesm made a move that wasn’t check and the game went on. But now he took longer and longer between each move and his frown which had started about five minutes ago didn’t go away.

Meanwhile his uncle the shopkeeper watched the board with clear anxiety. He glared at Erin who smiled serenely back at him. Whenever Olesm made a move she would instantly move a piece and take one of his own or threaten his king. Eventually she stopped staring at the board and stared at the shopkeeper with a smile on her face as Olesm frantically searched the board for a comeback.

“Check.”

“Ooh, no check this turn. But watch out for your rook. It’s that or your queen.”

“Check.”

“Check. And it’s check if you do that too. And that…”

“Check.”

yep, seems like erin is quite good at chess, or at least compared to the people in this world

thats the end of the chapter! will the shopkeeper try to renegade on his deal? will he try to claim erin cheated? will he be forced to supply erin with free food for life? will i keep finding ways to make this end but more and more ridiculous!

see you next post!

#chrono

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