#unless I put into play a very specific series of events that involved my brother getting into the video games industry
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*white knuckle gripping the screen* is there a story mode
#endless ocean#endless ocean luminous#don’t get me wrong I’m so so hyped I genuinely never thought we’d get a theequel#unless I put into play a very specific series of events that involved my brother getting into the video games industry#and slowly climbing the corporate ladder to reach enough authority to put making this game into motion#anyway#is GG gonna be there??
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Pre-Trial: Introducing Dr. Rosa
I wrote half of this like forever ago and decided to go ahead and finish it, because I love Dr. Rosa and everyone should get to meet her, she’s my favorite random bit character who shows up in everything I do set in a modern universe.
Danny’ s first meeting with Dr. Rosa.
Timeline: Shortly after returning to the United States, pre-trial.
Tagging @special-spicy-chicken, @spiffythespook, @bleeding-demon-teeth
Dr. Rosa Martinez has been in the business of treating the survivors of long-term traumatic experiences for twenty-three years. In that time, the methodologies have somewhat changed, as has the understanding of trauma’s physical components interacting with its psychological ones, but she has never wavered in her commitment.
She has worked with the survivors of child abuse, rape, domestic violence, abduction cases involving non-custodial parents, one stranger abduction, a woman who had lost two husbands, firefighters both, within ten years of each other to the wildfires that race through California when the winds are hot and the air stays dry. She’s been working with an increasingly large subset of military veterans returning from war with wounds within them that struggle to heal. She has, as they say, seen (or heard) just about everything.
Today, though, she is meeting someone whose experience differs from anyone she’s treated before.
Dr. Rosa Martinez, fifty-eight years old, feels something she hasn’t felt since her first year after changing her practice to focus on long-term trauma and PTSD; genuine nerves and concern that she may falter and fall short of a patient’s needs. She pats at her hair, twisted tightly at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way, only a few of the speckled coarse white-and-black hairs escaping here and there.
She rearranges the photos on her desk in the corner of her office, over by the window, shifting the framed pictures of her daughters with their own families back and forth, smiles at the only photo with a single person in it - a brown-haired woman smiling under the blaze of sun on their last visit back to see family down in the islands - pressing her finger to her lips and then, lightly, over the woman’s mouth.
Wish me luck, Liz.
She had rearranged the bookshelves this morning, had the cleaners come in twice this week instead of once to ensure everything is well-dusted and spotlessly clean, as she’s been informed the patient is hyper-aware of mess and might become distraught if he is not able to clean it.
She stands by the window, looking out through the blinds at the parking lot, waiting for him to arrive. The patient’s profile questionnaire and basic information rests on her desk, and she’s been reading through it over and over, preparing herself.
There is a wealth of information hidden between the lines in those questionnaires, when you know what you’re looking for. Rosa Martinez has always had an eye for the unspoken, the unwritten, the details that her patients fear to speak and so tiptoe around instead.
The younger brother is the only emergency contact. The brother’s number is listed on everything, no number for the patient himself. The brother’s name is written in the space for the potential sharing of details if considered medically necessary in the event of an emergency. The brother, the brother, the brother. There’s something to grasp onto there, a detail she shouldn’t let slide. Every inch of the initial paperwork tells her that the brother is trusted implicitly, but no one else is.
She’s seen him on the news, of course. Everyone in this part of the state has heard about the Daniel Michaelson case, his reappearance after four years of prolonged captivity and essentially total isolation. Everyone has seen his parents on the news expressing gratitude and delight that he has returned home.
But the parents are not on his paperwork, and the brother had been clear, on the phone, that they would not be attending any family sessions, only he and Daniel - and that it would be best not to talk about their parents unless Daniel brought them up himself.
It’s a situation that involves similarities to previous patients of hers, but every similarity was intensified, twisted, rearranged in new ways. The conversations about the parents suggested, to Dr. Rosa, a certain scapegoat/child abuse situation she would consider more in the future.
In the captivity there was abuse and sexual assault, but it was a vicious, ritualized cycle of violence that went far beyond abuse and into pure torture. Torture for torture’s sake, the brother told her, his own jaw shaking with the effort of keeping his voice calm in their initial consultation as to whether or not she would consider taking his brother on. Torture for fun, torture to twist his brother into something else, something less.
Neither of us is going to get through this without help, Ryan Michaelson had told her, all of twenty-four years old but with the gravity of a much older man in his voice and the way he held himself, without some help. I need you to help my brother, please, because-… because I just have no fucking clue what to do. Oh, I’m sorry for my language, it’s just been a bad few days, just… just really since he got home, he’s been-… I don’t-
It’s fine, She had said, handing him a tissue to wipe his eyes while both of them pretended the tears weren’t there. Where is your brother now?
At home with his… with… I don’t know what Nathaniel Vandrum is. But he’s home with him. I’ll bring him for his first appointment, but he’s so fragile… he picked your photo out of the others, so I think he’ll come willingly, but… please. We need help, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to make someone believe they’re human, Dr. Martinez. I don’t know how to help him.
This will probably be a challenge, even for someone with her experience, but she can’t imagine turning it down.
She twists the wedding band on one finger, letting her fingertip play over the square diamond at the top, trace the line of smaller circular diamonds that ran down each side of the band. Liz knows who the new patient is, of course, but she’ll also know not to ask - they’ve always had a “no work talk” rule, protecting Rosa’s patients even from her own family’s curiosity.
She knows some of her colleagues speak about their patients in oblique terms with their own families, keeping their identities secret but discussing the trials of their day, but Rosa has never done that. Her patients come to her with terrors they trust with no one else, and she would never betray that, not even with Liz.
Only with other professionals, in very specific circumstances, and with all identifying details carefully stripped does she seek advice or counsel when needed.
She recognizes the car when it pulls up - she’s seen it on the news, when the cameras catch Ryan Michaelson in his array of perfectly tailored suits in a series of richly deep colors when he gets out each day, waving them off, his jaw set as he gives the occasional statement as they prepare to take Abraham Denner to trial.
Today, Ryan steps out of the car in a purple sweater that probably cost more than Rosa’s health insurance premium and she’d swear even his jeans were tailored. Brown shoes, soft leather, perfectly worn. Ryan’s a handsome one, that’s for sure - all bright smiles and warm brown skin, wild black curls. He is smiling now as he turns and speaks into the car, before closing his own door, brushing some invisible wrinkles out of his sweater, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.
First, to meet Daniel Michaelson.
She has seen photos of him, of course - but he hasn’t been in any photographs or interviews, so she was not quite prepared for the incredibly tall, thin man who unfolds himself out of the passenger side. He’s wearing an oversized, dark blue heavy sweater, heavier than the weather really calls for, with a high crew neck and cable-knit braids down the front, his sleeves pulled hard to cover the backs of his hands, head dipped down so his wavy red hair falls down over his face, wearing jeans that are clearly too big and, she suspects, only staying up because of a belt.
Daniel makes it to the curb and then stops, shaking his head, saying something to Ryan and acting like he’ll get right back in the car. Ryan steps closer to him, hands out without quite touching him, gesturing towards the office. Daniel shakes his head again, and she can see they need a minute, and steps back to give it to them.
She watches them for just a second longer, than steps out of her office into the waiting room before they can make their way inside.
“Krista,” She says in a honeyed voice, slightly high-pitched, with only a hint of the island accent she grew up with. “Send Daniel Michaelson into my office as soon as they come in, don’t make them wait. And be sure to pour Ryan Michaelson a cup of the good coffee we all pretend I don’t know you keep in the breakroom.”
“Of course, Dr. Martinez,” Krista says brightly, looking up from the book she’s studying behind the desk to give her a bright smile. “I serve everyone the same coffee, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Mmmhmmm. Oh, and don’t try to shake Daniel’s hand,” Dr. Martinez adds, and disappears back into her office.
She has everything ready, but rearranges her desk one more time anyway just to be on the safe side. She has a couple of photos, as well - a photo of Daniel Michaelson pre-abduction that his brother provided, a post-abduction photo she is keeping only for reference. I put this up on Facebook like the week before he was gone, Ryan had said, shrugging his shoulders, as he handed her the pre-abduction photo. I printed it out to bring. God, I don’t even know when the last time I actually used Facebook was…
22 year old Daniel, one week before he vanished, is at what she assumes is the company Christmas party. It has that sort of look, people milling in the background in cocktail dresses and suits. He’s wearing a navy suit as perfectly tailored as Ryan’s always are on TV, his hair clipped shorter than it seems to be now. The shoulders are thinner in the past, she thinks, but his body overall is definitely skinnier now than then. He’s holding a glass of some brown liquor, one arm around 20-year-old Ryan’s shoulder, the two of them smiling for the camera.
Then the next photo, which Ryan tells her the police took and gave him a copy of. Danny is standing in front of a blank wall, looking at nothing, his eyes focused off to the side. He’s wearing nothing but a thin T-shirt, which could not have been easy for him, since they showed up at the police station in Alberta on December 11th. All the brightness and sparkle is gone, replaced by a dull terror and uncertainty that can’t quite break through the placid submission in his face. She taps one finger over his face, the slightly bloody red wounds that cut into him, and then she slides the older picture onto the top as the door to her office opens.
Ryan steps in first, giving her a friendly smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. She can see Daniel just behind him the taller man has his arms folded, nearly hugging himself, his eyes focused on the floor. “Dr. Martinez, we’re here, they told us to go ahead and come right in.”
“That’s lovely, Mr. Michaelson, thank you, but I’ll have to ask you to sit outside for the duration of the appointment.”
Ryan’s face falters, but only slightly, and Rosa watches with interest and curiosity as he shifts his stance to be even more directly between she and his brother. Only name listed on any of the emergency contacts, only person given permission for sharing of medical information, and he is standing in the hallway of my office trying to protect him from me. “Are you sure? He, um, he struggles being alone-”
“N-No,” Danny says from behind him, so softly Rosa almost can’t hear him. “No, I can do it, Ryan, it’s okay. C-Can, can you let me go in? Can I go in?”
“Hey, if you’re not totally sure, you don’t have to, I can sit right here with you.” Ryan half-turns to face his brother, and they are standing within inches of each other without ever touching. Rosa watches all of it, taking the details in, committing them to memory.
“I can try to do it. I can be good,” Daniel says softly, and Rosa’s head tilts, unconsciously, as she watches Ryan Michaelson wince at the words. She’ll need to write that down, keep that in her memory, too.
It’s come in deeply handy, over the course of her career, that she has an excellent memory for the details like this.
“Okay. Let me know if you can’t do it, we can try again later, yeah?” Daniel nods, slowly, and Rosa watches Ryan take a deep breath, close his eyes, and then turn back to her. As he does, his shoulders go back, and his voice changes - the softness slides away, replaced by a kind of hard melodic sound, the voice of the company man he is being groomed into and not the caring, worried, frazzled younger brother. “Okay, here’s the thing - don’t touch him, don’t get too into his space, and, um-”
“My name is Red,” Daniel Michaelson says, and he’s still not looking up, he still has his eyes firmly on the floor. “My name is Red and I belong to Abraham Denner.”
“… and he still does that,” Ryan says tiredly, and steps back. “Call him Red, he gets really worked up if you call him anything else.”
“Because it’s not my name anymore,” Danny says, and there’s just the barest hint of annoyance there. Ryan rolls his eyes and Rosa fights back a smile; you can hold someone captive for four years, she thinks, but brothers are brothers, still, in the end.
Rosa doesn’t move from her desk as Daniel Michaelson steps into her office. He’s even taller in person than he seemed in the parking lot, all hunched over like he can make the height or his bright and eye-catching red hair disappear if he just curls over far enough. He glances at her, briefly, and she catches a hint of light blue eyes and the circle of red scarring across his face, the scars that wrap his neck like a collar he can’t take off.
She knows about the collar - Ryan warned her it comes up in conversation. She is prepared for this. She has a career uniquely situated to make her absolutely perfect for this. She has the experience that no one else in Northern California has, the experience and the dedication and the passion for helping people like Daniel Michaelson.
And yet the nerves that flutter within her stomach never quite subside.
When Daniel is all the way in and Ryan has closed the door to return to the waiting room, Rosa waits for a beat of silence, watching Daniel put his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like a small child awaiting punishment for an infraction rather than a grown man seeking therapy. “Do you prefer to be called Red?” She asks, finally, with no change to the warmth and welcome in her voice.
“My name is Red,” Daniel says, a little more firmly this time. “You, you have to call me that. That’s my name. I get, I get in trouble if I have the wrong thoughts, and that name is a wrong thought. Puppies don’t have wrong thoughts. My name is Red and I belong to Abraham Denner.” The words seem to have a calming effect on him, some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders and the way he is holding himself. “Can I, may I have permission to sit down?”
“Of course,” She says warmly, and then watches with surprise as Daniel Michaelson sits on the floor in front of the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest. “Ah, Daniel-… my apologies, Red. Would you prefer to sit on the couch for our first session?”
“Not allowed,” Daniel says, and she watches him begin to rub, compulsively, at one of the red scars dug hard into his jaw on the left side, rubbing and rubbing with his thumb, his other arm sliding around his legs. His hands are scarred along the lines of his veins, heavy obvious markings. Ryan had warned her about those, too.
He is curled into the smallest little ball she can imagine someone so tall turning himself into.
“I’m not allowed. Only people get the couch, puppies stay on the floor. Not allowed. I, I have to be good, I want to be good. I want… I want to be good,” He repeats to himself, plaintively, and Rosa’s heart breaks, just a little.
Nothing shows on her face, but Rosa takes in the moment and wonders if she is perhaps in far, far over her head with this one.
Then she picks up a pad of paper and a pen and settles herself into a small armchair off to the side, nodding. “Is that one of your rules? Your brother told me that there are… guidelines, that you live by.”
Daniel Michaelson nods, his eyes down on the floor. She can see he’s rubbed the scar at his jaw until it’s open and a little bloody, and she takes the tissue box from the table next to her chair and slides it across the floor until it bumps into his shoes - worn-out Converse sneakers that can’t be comfortable in the rainy chill outside.
Probably they were shoes he wore before, and probably Ryan offered him new ones, and probably he refused.
Daniel looks up at her, confused, and she takes in the blue eyes again, surprisingly vibrant in the pale, freckled face. She doesn’t let her eyes drop to his scars, not at all. She holds his gaze and smiles, slightly. “You are bleeding, Red.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” He takes a tissue and presses it to his jaw, dropping his eyes back to the floor. Rosa settles back and makes a couple of introductory notes on her notepad, trying to decide where to begin.
“Th-they want me to testify,” Daniel says, surprising her by being the first to speak. “But I, I don’t want to. He’ll look at me, he’ll look at me. I don’t want to. But they said I, I need to, they want me to. Ryan wants me to. I’m… he’s going to look at me. I don’t want to, but Ryan says, but I need to be good…”
“I understand,” Rosa says softly, nodding. “So is that what you’d like to focus on, as we get started seeing each other, Red? On being able to tape the testimony for the trial?”
There’s a silence, and then Daniel slowly nods. “I want to be able to do it,” He says softly. “For Ryan. Ryan wants me to do it. I want to, I want to do it, but I don’t want to do it. I feel both, at the same time. I want to do it but I shouldn’t, against the rules, against… against the rules. But I want to, Ryan does, Ryan wants me to. I want to but I don’t want to.”
“You’re feeling ambivalent about this - torn in two directions by your competing instincts. That’s perfectly understandable,” Rosa says softly, still writing, a constant stream of her impressions and thoughts and what Daniel is saying. “I think you’ve identified a very strong starting point for us, Red. I’m very happy to meet with you today, and your brother has scheduled you to see me twice a week while we get to know each other and once a week after that. Does that sound acceptable?”
Daniel frowns at her, confused, as though he can’t figure out why she’s asking. Then he slowly nods. “Can you make me able to do it?” He asks, from behind his knees. “Talk to the lawyers about what happened?”
Rosa takes a breath. “I can’t make you do anything. But if you want to, I think that your sessions with me may be able to help you work through what you need to have the skills to make that decision for yourself, and begin building a foundation for future decisions from there. Does that sound like a good plan to you?”
Daniel is silent, tissue still pressed to his face, then he slowly nods. “Oh, okay,” He says softly. “Whatever you want. I can be good.”
Rosa nods, slightly and gives him an encouraging smile. “Wonderful. And if you need to, we can call your brother in at any time. All right, Red. My name is Dr. Rosa Martinez, and I know you’re aware of that, but while you’re in this office, I want you to call me Rosa or Dr. Rosa, is that all right?”
He nods at her again, but a little more of his face comes up from behind his knees. “Y-Yes, I can do that, um, Dr. Rosa.”
“Perfect. That’s perfect, Red. Now let’s begin.”
#Daniel Michaelson's story#introducing#Dr. Rosa Martinez#whump#trauma recovery#recovery whump#conditioning#dehumanization#pet whump#broken whumpee#Daniel Michaelson#tw: PTSD
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Ummmm howabout a one piece time travel fic of your choice?
(1/32 SI Promptfest)
The sea is a treacherous bitch, and I have never hated being proved right more than the moment I realized that the undertow that drowned mereally did come out of nowhere just to drag my ass away from shore. How, you ask me at this point, did I know my bitter sarcasm was more than simple railing against my unfortunate circumstances?
The giant glowing sea goddess clad in sea foam and coral tipped me off. A smidge. Just a wee little bit of a hint there.
Terrible and majestic, the Ocean spoke in a voice like the waves crashing against stone. ‘My son will appreciate the help you canprovide, Occhio D Vittoria.’
“… eh?” I was understandably suffering a bit of a BSOD inthe brain, between the worldview shift required when a technical atheist meets withthe divine face to face and the oxygen deprivation. The Ocean then proceeded to slam me head-first down a whirlpool before I could even get a complete word out, and then pain from the bends set my blood on fire.
Needless to say, I was not in the best frame of mind when Iwoke up still under the water. “That’s not my fucking name, you salt-soaked whore!”
A rather scandalized clownfish burbled at me in shock, retreating into its anemone. It took me longer than I care to admit to realizethat I was actually breathing water rather than using a self-taught diving trick to recycle old air. Hard on the heels of that revelation was the notice that my legs had been replaced with a fishtail. Specifically, I was sporting the iconic ray-finned crimson-and-neon barbsof a clearfin lionfish.
“…” I stared for a good long while, trying to make sense of what the hell was going on. This was a situation that called for a witty one-liner. “… Well if I have to be a male-gaze fantasy trope at least I get to be a venomous one.”
… Eh, good enough. I always did have a habit of identifying the benefits of any given situation, and being neurotoxic was a fairly decent defense mechanism when all is said and done. Next step was movement, fairly easy to adapt to given that despite the surface characteristics my tail was still jointed like an aquatic mammalian.This meant I propelled myself with the vertical kick I was familiar with from when I still had legs rather than having to learn how to steer using the lateral movements of an actual fish.
Bonk!
“Mother of fuck!” One hand pressed to my brand new brain injury, I slapped the other one forward to press against the glass wall. Now that I was paying attention to something other than my new meatsuit, I recognized the not-quite-mirror quality of aquarium glass. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking with me.”
I was in a honest-to-goodness fishbowl. What in the name of all that was held sacred did the Ocean think she was doing sticking me in a fucking aquarium? Was this vengeance for the time I let my mother help me clean my fish tank and she accidentally boiled my placo?
Holy shit I hopenot.
Pressing my face up against the glass I could see… wanted posters. In a… more-than-slightly-familiar printing style. Hm.
My fins flared out in shock as I stared at a wanted poster for Portgas D Rouge. There were other posters, all of them bounties for female pirates. Those, combined with the questionable taste of the statuary bolted to the floor, told me exactly what kind of situation I had ended up in.
I was in One Piece, I was a captive mermaid, and my ‘owner’had a fetish typical of the series’ stock of minor villains. A perversion that was played up for comedy during the build-up and action events while actually being beyond horrifying when realistically considered. I was trapped inside the glass, and swallowing back the surge of fear made me acutely aware of the pressure of what I presumed was a bomb collar around my neck. I had no resources, no allies, no clue what I was even doing in this world, and no realistic hope of rescue.
I was, in short, completely doomed unless the Ocean decided to take pity and toss a miracle or two my way.
BOOM!
Well, ask and ye shall receive… at least so long as the Ocean Goddess still has a use for me, I suppose. The water in my tank vibrated, the walls of the room outside of it shaking madly as what I assumed was a Grand Line style brawl grew closer. An ugly man, made recognizable to me by his inbred ugliness as a World Noble, flew through the far wall to crash into the memorabilia shrine. The posters and broken pieces of plaster flew up into the air.
I am Canadian to my core, and also a mouthy shit with no shame, so I threw my arms in the air and made like a bullhorn. “GOOOOAAAAALLLL!”
The man dramatically emerging from the smoke in a predatory stalk promptly stumbled as he sputtered. Two smaller bodies shoved around his knees to stare at me curiously. The view was a bit distorted, but it was hard to mistake those two particular children for anyone else.
Blinking, I took in the sight of Portgas D Ace and Monkey D Luffy in all their tiny, childhood glory. For some reason they were dressed in the tattered remains of tropical print sundresses. Which really did not make me feel any better about how they had managed to end up in the same room as my cage. Then I lifted my gaze to the adult accompanying them and felt my eye twitch.
It was an adult version of Ace, tattooed front and back with an elaborate phoenix-and-wave design that I had never managed to draw out quite to my satisfaction. Well, at least if I had to be a victimized minority in One Piece I was in a fix-it AU and now I knew how to create a situation where I could make the most of it.
“Hi, Riot!” I waved cheerfully, hoping against hope that anime physics would come into play and let my voice carry through the glass. “Could you be a dear and get the key to this bomb collar before you completely destroy that asshole’s everything?”
“Hi, Pretty Fish Lady!” Luffy waved back, and oh, look at that. There were den-den mushi installed on either side of the glass for easy communication. That made better sense. “Do you know my big brother?”
“I saw him be born! A real firecracker, your big brother.” Technically I am actually telling thetruth, which is great because Luffy is oddly perceptive about things like that. Riot gave me a sharp look, and I winked at him trying to mime holding a crystal ball, hoping he would pick up on the wording and… yeah, there it was. Thank you for your reputation, Madame Sharkey, and let us all hope I never get called out on borrowing it.
“Stop right there, pirate scum!” The man who rushed at Riot was dressed in white, and… yep. There was that sand-blasted awful coat with the hideous epaulettes.
Carnage ensued. The glass of my tank got broken as Riot’s fight with the Noble’s Marine bodyguard ramped up, and I had a terrifying flashback to the time my five gallon tank got shoved off the table and broken glass sliced my betta in half. Luck and possible divine intervention allowed everyone involved in the confusion to avoid gaining a serious injury from the glass shards. Ace proved that his pick pocketing skills were still sharp when he rushed over to me with a stupidly elaborate key ring in hand.
Key in lock and turn and yes! Free!
I ripped the collar away from my neck as soon as the clasp popped loose, glaring at the Noble only just managing to pull himself free of the pile of debris Riot had buried him in. He needed to be buried deeper and I needed my fucking legs back!
A lurch, like when your gut drops out from under you on a roller coaster.
“HA! Feet! Score one for maturity!” I am a very mature and poised individual indeed. Ask anyone. I am also really glad for the worldbuilding that means despite being a mermaid, as an adult I can have feet whenever I need them. Certain people just really need a good curb-stomping, and it is hard to deliver such without heels to slam down into tender places.
I might also have fed the Noble the bomb collar. After arming it. In retrospect, I have no idea how I managed to avoid making a horrid mess of myself.
… Honestly I think I just got caught up in the moment. Also I have a very low empathy score and a duty to future generations to remove certain bad influences from the gene pool. Especially when said bad influences make creepy comments about small children and their ‘uses’.
Noting that Riot seemed to be finishing up his fight, I grabbed one of the wrap dresses from the wreckage of the armoire and cinched it tight, vowing to change into something with a less tainted providence at the first available opportunity. Then I slung the children over my shoulders like particularly vocal grain sacks and headed for the stairs. Predictably, things started to explode as Riot put the Marine down for good. I was already up on the deck with my wiggling burdens by the time a massive fireball chewed through most of the Noble’s ostentatiously gaudy ship.
Riot emerged from the flames, predictably unscathed, and the Marine was nowhere to be seen. He stared at me, I stared back at him, and Luffy whined into my shoulder-blade about me not letting him watch the end of the fight. “You’re a mean Fish Lady.”
“Little fry should not be fighting sharks.” I told the youngest boy even as I tossed Ace at his older counterpart and re-secured Luffy before he could slip free. “Salut, cousin. I appreciate the assist and the chance to get my own back. Although I do hope you have an escape route in mind.”
“My ship is right there.” Riot caught Ace without pausing stride and motioned to where a galleon flying a jolly roger was pulling up broadside to the rapidly burning vessel. The light from the flames made it easy to see Riot frown, his entirely understandable distrust of strangers warring with the reality of the situation I was in when he found me. “… Are you comingalong?”
“If you don’t mind the company.” I smiled at him as we began to move towards the pirate ship and pulled the one bounty poster I had made a point of picking up out of my pocket. “It’d be nice to get to know Miss Rouge’s sons.”
Riot flicked another searching look at me while Ace gaped at the picture of his mother. It was probably the first time the kid had seen her face. Hells bells, they were young. I still had a decade on Riot at this point in his life, more than twice that on Ace and Luffy. Still, time to make the most of being the eldest.
“The name’s Occhio D Vittoria, pleasure to make your acquaintance.” … Aw fuck no. That was not my name. The Ocean was still playing silly buggers and I did not appreciate the sudden re-branding at all.
… Oh shit, maybe the D stood for Drowned.
#sanjuno's ficwork#one piece fanfic#wildfire riot#wildfire hearts#portgas d ace#portgas d riot#monkey d luffy#occhio d vittoria#si promptfest#heave a sigh and a wish for me#si oc#violent mermaids are the best mermaids
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The Fuck Is Karma?
I had no idea what karma was until I saw my dog get it
It made me question, how could something so innocent and controlled get hit by something called karma?
How could she be hurt by an idea that if you do bad it comes back to serve you the same dose?
Once I witnessed her get hit by something adults have feared as a spiritual entity, i knew once and for all that this thing called karma has much more to it than we think.
Now, as a human being, we have the option to speak, act and communicate amongst each other. We can choose the body language we use whilst doing anything.
Humans have opposable thumbs and we also can do what we want. Make our own decisions and control our surroundings and environments.
Animals don’t have the same freedoms and liberties as we do. Yet, we enjoy the company and fellowship even the love of animals. But we don't really give them the attention we should.
My puppy Shanel is what you would call a “Pit Bull”. She is not used for fighting or solely kept for protection. She is apart of the family like any other house kept animal ( pet ). I tend to pay attention to her a whole lot more because we discovered throughout her time with us that she is extremely intelligent and very caring. She learns quickly and she never gives up.
I know that animals cannot plot or create an idea to do something bad KNOWING that it is bad.
It simply cannot happen. She would have to b trained at this and it would only be a reaction to a specific action or reaction by another person or object. That is the only thing I could imagine an animal doing to put Hatred behind an action unless raised in that fashion.
When I have the intention of doing something to harm another person, i get what you would call karma right? WRONG.
I would only experience karma if I did something or someone did something to make a series of events happen at the right time. Now I am not saying coincidences are true, I am only pointing out that Karma as a n idea is up for challenging.
I have kind of built my life up thinking that Karma is something i should be aware of. It isn't. Let me break it down to you.
Karma: What goes around comes around. Do good it comes back to you> Do bad it comes back to you. What ever you put out there will always come back to haunt you.
True: Bad things happen to those who are good. Bad things happen to those who are bad
Good things happen to those who are good. Good things happen to those who are bad.
False: There is a spirit flying around following people keeping track of what they do so that they can give them a dose of their own medicine for sport.
True: If i drive over someone with my car and keep going the only CONSEQUENCE is jail time or fines in some states...lol
If i drive over my car and SOMEONE SEES THE ENTIRE THING (OR A CAMERA WAS INVOLVED) AND CALLS AND REPORTS ME, I would than get this consequence RIGHT?
The difference between the first scenario and the second is consequence. If you do something wrong, your intention will not be the cause of your consequence, the actions you take or allow will control that. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. We could discuss the timing of this as well. Lets dig deep.
Scene: A group of gang members are standing in front of someone's home being very loud and obnoxious. A white woman lives in this home. It is her choice to live in this neighborhood. She also happens to be racist. The gang members are ALL BROWN SKIN people. This happens often. She hates it. She calls the police and reports dangerous activities outside of her home. She doesn’t ask anyone anything or even bother to see why they were even standing there. She owns a gun. She also knows that the police will not come to her house fast enough. She decides to ask them to quiet down a bit or move up the block a bit. She didnt want any problems. They said ok sure and went on up the street.
Everybody wins. She forgot she called the police. She decides to let them show up and explain that maybe a sign should be placed on the sidewalk or her home. Why not?
On the other side of town; a young girl just so happens to have robbed a young couple with her older brother. Running home after a bust. Laughing and excited on adrenaline they head home as fast they can. They are both BROWN SKIN people. They live on the EXACT same block as The woman and the gang members. The women has just returned to her room to read after the noise has been silenced outside. She is also still a bit agitated at the fact it happens often. She is also contemplating moving or getting aggressive to assert herself. She chooses assertion, no one will run her out of her home! The two siblings are now almost home. Coming down the block they notice the gang members. They decide to talk to them and show them the stuff they got. Not knowing, they have just been asked to quiet down, they get loud and rambunctious again. They two children now head home after praises and lectures. They continue to be loud as they walk and the woman has just missed a part of her favorite show because of the noise the siblings are making.
She gets her gun to threaten, not use against the loud people outside assuming that it is the gang members yet again. It isn’t. These kids just so happen to be stealing to feed their family. Mom is ill and dad passed away due to work related illness. They have been struggling for a while, so this was awesome. Money and jewelry!
Yes. You think that no one should be doing anything bad to anyone else. It is not like that for everyone on this planet. Keep in mind we all have issues. No one issue is more than another.
The woman grabs for her gun and goes to the front door. She opens the door and sees the two siblings standing there loudly playing with each other. Coincidently dressed as the gang members. She points the gun and screams for them to leave now. They are frantic in haste and cannot understand whats happening. The brother is not armed but has a bag in his hands. The woman being racist assumes they are going to rub or shoot her first. She pulls the trigger as the sister tries to step between them and calm the situation. She drops to the floor.
Sister needed her brother to help her execute the plan. Mommy is hungry and no one can work yet. Their too young.
The siblings did indeed perform an unforgivable act. The victim also has performed acts of their own. The woman has also performed many acts in her life before this moment.
Not one of these people experienced karma. They only experienced time and consequence.
There is a consequence for every action you take and decision you make. Even making a choice at the wrong time can be your ending. The split second can change everything in your life.
Karma is an idea. It is something we grew up to fear. The bible has many lessons inside of it. Yet, The only true god is YOU. You are the only one in charge of your life. You are the only one who can make things happen. Time is your only friend. Use it wisely. The future you grow towards will not be there unless you choose to.
Yes there are things we can not explain. Those can also be explained. The choices another person makes can and will affect you if it may. Do not call that Karma. Call it Real Life.
My puppy only gets hurt because she isn’t paying attention. I tell her no. She doesn’t listen. She runs into a table leg. Now she is listening. That isnt Karma, that’s Real Life.
--SheBuujie
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Aquaman Easter Eggs And Comic Book References
I’ve seen Aquaman a few times over the last couple of weeks, and I finally got around to sitting down and typing up my list of Easter eggs. It’s unlikely I caught everything, but you know, it’s always fun to try.
There are spoilers in the list for the movie since plenty of the plot points where Easter eggs occur are major moments in the movie. By this point, you know the drill. I kept mainly to comic book references, but there’s the odd pop culture one in here as well.
Obviously, there are other pop culture references as well. Everything from The Karate Kid to Pinocchio seems to get a shout out. The more general pop culture knowledge isn’t going to be here. I also didn’t list every single character who comes from the comics unless I thought there was something specific about their appearance that deserved a nod.
DC Logo
Because Warner Brothers produces all of the DC Comic movies, the DC logo appears following the Warner Brothers one, usually. This time around, the logo doesn’t just flash in its cute CGI glory. Instead, it appears as though it’s underwater.
The Opening Sounds
In addition to the DC Logo being submerged, there’s also the sound of a sonar ping and a humming that you wouldn’t really notice as anything important. Turns out, it matches the sounds made by the trident at the end of the movie. (I only noticed this on a second viewing.)
Jules Verne
Arthur’s narration that opens the movie gives a nod to genre writer Jules Verne as he quotes the author. The hidden sea also provides a nod to Verne’s classic Journey To The Center of the Earth (though it is also a comic book locale from a recent story where Mera and Arthur discovered Atlanna was alive and leading an island full of exiled Atlantean descendants).
Amnesty Bay
This is the comic book location where Arthur Curry makes his home on land. The whole Tom Curry as his dad, owning the lighthouse, etc, is out of one of the newer comic book origin stories. The difference is that in the comics, when Arthur is an adult, his father is dead. It’s nice that the movie kept Tom alive. (In modern comics, as in, last year, Mera even lives in Amnesty Bay while she’s recovering from injuries.)
1985
I don’t know why this year in particular struck me, but I thought Atlanna ending up in Amnesty Bay that year had to be significant. After all, Jason Momoa was born in 1979, so it’s probably not a result of trying to get his age lined up with Aquaman. Here are a few things that happened in 1985: Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) was born and the Crisis on Infinite Earths event debuted. The latter seems more likely of an Easter egg nod, but we may never know.
The TV Show
The show playing on Tom Curry’s television when he brings Atlanna back to the lighthouse? That would be Stingray, a show that used puppets as underwater heroes. The group had their own submarine and a princess from an underwater kingdom. The show originally aired in the 60s, the same decade the Aquaman comic book series was originally published.
Dunwich Horror
The book under the snowglobe on the coffee table is by H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a collection of short stories, one of which is the title story. In it, a son is born of two different species, much like Arthur.
Atlanna’s Crafty
She’s got a box on the table at the lighthouse, yes? You’ll notice that its design is very similar to the motherbox. Perhaps she spent a great deal of time guarding it. That might be why we get Mera saying (in Justice League) that Arthur needed to retrieve it, since Atlanna would have been responsible for it. As a bonus, we also get Mera mentioning the events of Justice League to Arthur later in the movie.
Manta
Black Manta is (perhaps obviously) a comic book villain. His origin gets a bit of a tweak here, and I like the joke for just why ends up with the giant helmet. (And the nod to Jaws there with “I”m gonna need a bigger…” you get it.) What’s great is that before he actually declares himself Black Manta is all the nods to his ocean inspiration. You’ve got the experimental craft that’s shaped like a manta ray, you’ve got the engraved manta on the knife, and you’ve got his family backstory as well. (Fun fact: Michael Beech, who plays his dad, was originally cast to voice Black Manta for an animated series, but rights issues meant the name of the character had to be changed.)
Lifting The Sub
That shot of Aquaman lifting the submarine is straight out of the comics. A lot of the big money shots in the movie are, like Aquaman holding the trident in front of his face when he activates its power. The team did a good job at nailing the comic book aesthetic.
Languages
Probably not an Easter egg, but I find it interesting that Aquaman appears to pick up on other languages pretty well, just like the Amazons. It feels like a nod to the fact that Atlanteans and Amazons have been around for centuries and have lived hidden from humans, but have still learned a thing or two about them.
GBS
The news station that pops up is the Galaxy Broadcasting System. It’s part of Galaxy Communications, part of a multimedia company from the comics. It’s kind of like Supergirl’s CatCo.
Dr. Stephen Shin
Okay, I know he kind of seems ridiculous and cartoonish in the movie compared to a lot of the other characters, but… he’s pretty on par with the comic book character. The character actually knows Aquaman in the comics. Arthur even comes to him for help once in a while, but Shin ends up disgraced because of his involvement with Aquaman, and Arthur won’t even let him prove that some of his research is accurate. So, yeah, I could see him going the supervillain route.
Annabelle
When Mera and Arthur pay a visit to Vulko, there’s a doll on the ocean floor outside the sunken ship (BTW, is that a sunken galleon, as in the name bar Arthur and his dad frequent?). It looks just like Annabelle. It makes sense that we’d see some horror nods since that’s James Wan’s wheelhouse.
Nereus
Mera’s father is a comic book character, just like every main character in the movie, but his comic book backstory is very different than what you see in the movie. For one thing, he wasn’t her father. Instead, Nereus was a military general for the Xebel people. He was also Mera’s betrothed before she left Xebel behind on a mission to kill the King of Atlantis (yeah, her comic book backstory is a little different too). It’s an interesting twist on his character, though Nereus is very jealous of Atlantis and pushes for war a time or two, so he’s not that far off.
Atlantean “Tribes”
Some of the different groups of Atlanteans are rooted in the comics. Mera and Nereus lead the Xebels, for example. In the comics, Xebel is an extradimensional pocket for Atlantean separatists were sent long ago. It was basically a prison, but the people evolved and adapted. The royals learned magic that allowed them to control water, hence Mera’s abilities. Those in the Trench? They were a species of sea animals that lived in a literal trench in the comics that were dying out. Mera and Arthur ended up trapping them to prevent them from trying to eat humans.
Ocean Master
The name Orm spouts as the leader of all of the Atlantean tribes is Ocean Master. That term is also his supervillain name in the comics. It’s a cute way to change it up for the DCEU.
Man of Steel Reference
Okay, I frequently forget that Man of Steel technically started this cinematic universe, but when Orm takes Arthur to task for the way the surface world poisons the oceans, we get a nod to it to remind us. One of the images used is a collapsing oil platform. It’s the same one that fans theorized Aquaman saved Superman from by sending whales in to help him during Man of Steel.
Octopus On Drums
In the 1960s, back when Aquaman first got his solo series, he had a slew of sidekicks, both animal and Atlantean. One was an Octopus named Topo. I like to think this Octopus was a nod to Topo, but also, a nod to The Little Mermaid, because, come on. We all notice Mera’s fondness for ship wrecks, her red hair, and her not staying underwater like everyone wants her to, right?
Leigh Wannell
This guy appears in a cameo role as the cargo plane pilot. He’s a close friend of director James Wan. Like Wan, he’s a big horror guy. In fact, he’s an actor, director, writer, and producer for the Saw and Insidious franchises.
Africa
The sequence that sees Mera and Arthur rising from the water with the Africa remic playing in the background? That’s intentionally shot as an homage to the Fast and Furious franchise, according to James Wan. I mean, sure. I guess if you got to play in that world, and one of your stars became a DC superhero, and then you got to direct a DC movie, why wouldn’t you want to come full circle there?
The True King
Arthur becomes the True King when he gets the trident and comes back to battle Orm for the throne. Before that though, he has to find the trident with the help of the “true king” in Italy. That turns out to be Romulus. It’s a nice parallel since Romulus becomes the first true king of Rome when he defeats his brother Remus.
Murk
Played by (Power Rangers Black Ranger) Ludi Lin, Murk is one of Orm’s inner circle, and high ranking in the guard in the movie. In the comics, he’s also high ranking in security when Arthur is King. He looks a little different in the comics. He looks more like a big gladiator than Ludi Lin. He also has a harpoon for one of his arms. When he fights Mera in Italy though, she gets one very deep slash to his arm, so maybe we’ll see that come to fruition in the future.
Khal Drogo’s Kelp
The scene where Arthur wakes up on a boat after his fight in Italy? His injuries are wrapped with kelp in a very specific way. Game of Thrones fans will see that as a nice nod to Khal Drogo, the role that really put him on the genre map.
The Trident And King Atlan
There’s a whole thing in the comics with the “Dead King” coming back and trying to get control of his kingdom, wanting to use the world. There’s also his scepter in the comics, which does a lot of what his trident does in the movie. Atlan’s clothing, and the ceremonial armor Arthur ends up in, are also a nod to Aquaman’s gear in the comics.
The Karathen
The comics label this sea monster as the Karaqan, but it sounded like it was pronounced differently by the actors, so choose your spelling. The sea monster looks exactly like it does in the comics. The effects guys did a great job. More than that though, they gave it a better story. In the comics, the animal went a little crazy and Arthur ended up having to kill it because he couldn’t communicate with it. I prefer the movie version where he’s the only one who can communicate with it. Bonus: the giant sea monster is voiced by the classic Julie Andrews. She actually didn’t cameo in Mary Poppins Returns (which opened in theaters the same month!) because she chose to do this voice role instead.
Aquaman Rides A Seahorse
The Superfriends TV series had a lot of silly moments for Aquaman. One of those things was him riding a seahorse into the thick of battle. It’s one of the things that has made a lot of people make fun of the character over the years, but now, it’s also iconic. The movie gets to put its own (much more badass) spin on that idea as Arthur grabs a seahorse to meet his brother in the climactic battle.
Coast City
This DC comics locale gets a nod in the post credits scene. It’s one of the locations where Dr. Shin has a newspaper clipping from. Coast City is home to Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris of the Green Lantern comics.
That’s all I’ve got for this one! Let me know if you guys spotted anymore!
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Dragon Age questions
Tagged by @gingerbreton - thank you!!!!
I should tag people, but I’m feeling lazy and I’m pretty sure most people have already answered. If you want to do it, tag me so I can see!
01) favorite game of the series? Definitely Origins. Inquisition drags a bit at times and I’m not as invested in DA2′s characters (by a very, very marginal amount, pls don’t hate me) but the story in Origins is just so good and so involving. I love the different origins and how they all affect the story in some way, and it was the first game I played that had such rich, original lore, so it’ll always hold a special place because of that.
02) how did you discover Dragon Age? My friend @biotrashcollector introduced me. And now, to pay her back for ruining my life (<3), I send her sad headcanons whenever I think of them - which is a lot.
03) how many times you’ve played the games? I’ve played all the games twice, and I’m maybe about halfway through my third Origins run. To put it in perspective, I have 296 hours of DAO on record.
04) favorite race to play as? I’ve only played as human and elf so far, and I prefer human for all the political machinations that go on. I definitely need to make an Adaar at some point though.
05) favorite class? I love being a warrior in DAO just because it means I get into the thick of things (and I have lockbash which means I don’t need to be a roague to get the good stuff at Ostagar) but in DA2 and DAI it’s all about the mages.
06) do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time? I’ve made different choices in all of my games, except the current Cousland playthrough, which I’m fine-tuning as my ‘canon’. In all the others I tried to romance different people and play different storylines, but some of the decisions I made in my last DAI playthrough had to be done with my eyes closed.
07) go-to adventuring group? DAO is Alistair, Wynne, and then a plot-relevant fourth wheel. It helps to have the extra dog slot mod. DA2 is usually Anders and either Merrill or Varric with Aveline bringing the muscle. As much as I love Fenris I don’t take him anywhere unless I’m absolutely sure I won’t run into pro-mage people. DAI is far more dependent on what I’m going to do. I’ll take Cassandra and Dorian most places, then Bull will help me fight dragons, Solas comes to be snooty about elves, and the others are pretty much interchangeable. I am a fan of the all-mage party, though.
08) which of your characters did you put the most thought into? That would be my Queen Warden Rosslyn Cousland. I invented her and never looked back. My Inquisitor Maighread Trevelyan also gets some love, and they’re both major players in my ‘canon’ universe, but really, I don’t play a game without at least putting some thought into the character.
09) favorite romance? Of the ones I’ve played, Alistair is my favourite, followed closely by Cullen.
10) have you read any of the comics/books? Most of them! I went through a phase of trying to get my hands on all the extra stuff out there, but that was before Hard in Hightown and Magekiler came out, so I haven’t gotten round to those yet.
11) if you read them, which was your favorite book? It’s maybe a tie between The Stolen Throne and Last Flight, the first because I am a dog lord at heart, and the second because GRIFFONS.
12) favorite DLCs? All the DAO DLC I’ve played have been amazing, and I love the scope of The Descent, so I couldn’t possibly pick just one. (Legacy should have been part of the main game, so I’m not counting it.)
13) things that annoy you. DLC that should have been part of the main game (looking at you, Legacy), the turn-based combat in Origins, not being able to give your companions gifts in DAI, BEARS EVERYWHERE - also lore retcons, those really annoy me.
14) Orlais or Ferelden? Dog Lords Forever
15) templars or mages? I wholeheartedly say fuck the Chantry. I acknowledge that what is done to the templars to keep them obedient is awful, but I am very much on the side of the mages.
16) if you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one? All my OCs fit into the same universe, though some, like Maighread’s brother Sean, died as a result of player choices in specific continuities.
17) what did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc) Rosslyn’s mabari is Cuno, and she has a horse in my civil war AU called Lasan; Melissa Hawke’s mabari is Brewster and I haven’t actually played Maighread yet so she hasn’t had chance to name her mount.
18) have you installed any mods? So many. My DAO game kept crashing in Denerim.
19) did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden? She might have considered it as an idle fantasy, but definitely not the way it came about, and she’s resented Duncan for it ever since.
20) hawke’s personality? Purple with red streaks when you threaten their friends, and sometimes blue when she’s trying to be nice, but that softer side only usually comes out around Merrill.
21) did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition? No, but the liars get put in plaidweave and dawnstone so everyone will know their shame.
22) if your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change? Rosslyn would tell her father not to trust Howe, and to not send Fergus away ahead of the rest of the army. In the early days of the Inquisition, Maighread would probably go back and tell herself and Sean to leave the temple before the explosion, but once she becomes more self-assured that would probably change to events from her life in the Circle. Melissa Hawke has too many regrets just to pick one, so she’d decline the offer to go back entirely.
23) do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon? All the origins survive in spite of Duncan’s lack of interference, but apart from that, most of my headcanons just fill in the gaps left by the game.
24) are any of your character(s) based on someone? Not that I’m aware. Some parts of my stories reflect real life, but nobody has a specific real-world counterpart
25) who did you leave in the Fade? Sorry, Stroud. You’re expendable.
26) favorite mount? I don’t really have a preference.
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Really, Really Slow Thoughts on TRR Book 3, Chapter 3
• This QT took two days. Because my pace has been sluggish. Because my thoughts on this chapter have been sluggish.
• This chapter is the only time in the entire series that I was barely invested. That’s only ever happened to be at the beginning of Book 1, and only because I didn’t think it would amount to anything beyond a Cinderella story. I haven’t been in that space with a single chapter in this book since Book 1,Chapter 8. I’m just…bored.
• Title: Allies among Enemies. Sounds very Kenna and Luther, no? But I doubt Kenna ever had to sit and play marriage counselor to a squabbling couple.
•
Esther asking all the relevant questions.
I mean, sure, Bertrand, I get it: I need to make a tour and that involves visiting other duchies, Justin thinks Madeleine would make a bomb press secretary, and I have to play matchmaker for her parents –
Wait what. Why do I need to resolve a personal fight because Madeleine’s parents? I know it’s all about reaching out and getting allies and making connections but playing armchair therapist just sounds extremely silly.
• I like that they’re carrying over the “house colours” strategy from TCaTF. Kenna occasionally did this during alliances, especially when meeting with the Nevrakis family.
•
So I have a dress “as green as Madeleine’s envy towards me and black as her shrivelled heart” (bomb analogy, Maxwell!). Buuuut I’m taking part in a court event. A formal ball. Why is the dress style more like what I wore in the club for Madeleine’s bachelorette and Liam’s bachelor party???
• Also can you imagine how awkward waltzing would look in this dress? Ballroom dresses are long and flowy for a reason. Part of the beauty of your twirl comes from how your skirt flows when you’re turning, esp in a dance like the Cordonian Waltz where the twirl is the highlight.
• So I’m supposed to ensure Adeleide comes for the wedding. Loooogically the story should make this easier on me because I already did the hard work of winning her over the last book right? Wrong. Because the story doesn’t care. It doesn’t care which Liam I chose, whether I’ve ever worn pepto bismol in my life or not, whether I charmed the pants off Adeleide (not literally). Nope. I still have to start from scratch (wouldn’t be the first time tho. I won over Kiara and Penelope in Book 1 only for them to ditch me next book [even though Penelope knew it wasn’t my fault. You owe me big, sister]).
• Soooo Godfrey, Madeleine’s dad, is an English nobleman. His marriage to Adeleide was a political alliance and he doesn’t actually give a shit about Cordonia unless his daughter is the goddamn country’s queen.
• Hmm. So Madeleine is half Cordonian too. Jesus Christ for a country that doesn’t like foreigners very much, a lot of its major players seem to have at least one non-Cordonian parent: Liam (possibly), Madeleine, Drake, Hana…
• I was a little confused because Book 1 mentioned that Madeleine is “practically royalty” from her father’s side - but it’s possible that’s more a hint towards his English roots. I guess we can rule him out for who the enemy is rn because this dude genuinely doesn’t give a shit.
• So Liam, whose interactions with Godfrey have been few and far between and who admits he has never really met him in a social setting, is the one who provides us inputs on how to deal with the Duke. Turns out this advice is pretty helpful, coming from someone who barely knows the man.
•
Savour this moment, Liam stans. This - and the “we need to avoid this lack of crowd at our wedding” exchange, are the only times we will get to properly interact with him today.
• I know this decor looks like a piñata threw up over the ballroom but I love the purple and the soft lighting xD
• So the first event post Homecoming is super empty, which is quite dishearting. It’s enough to make even our resident bar-hopper Adeleide upset.
•
Is it just me or does “STOICISM RULEZ!!!” Regina sound like she gives zero fucks today? I mean sure it could just be her usual irritation around Adelaide but here even Constantine seems a little taken aback. And besides, it’s not the Krona duchy that needs anything from the Crown, it’s the Crown that needs something from them. Your arrogance doesn’t have any legs to stand on, Regina.
• Also idk but am I the only one getting a different vibe from Regina this book? In the debriefing meeting she wasn’t there at all, and this is someone who has been a part of every meeting we’ve seen in the books. Then she comes here, to an event where if anything SHE needs to be begging her cousin to come for her stepson’s/some random noblewoman’s wedding, and she’s busy making snappy comments about the appetizers (and let’s be honest, everyone else found their spread incredibly good. Even Drake. DRAKE)
• Madeleine’s dad is essentially Madeleine Sr.
• “Magic Friendship Dust” my ass.
• Madeleine’s reaction to this “be my press secretary” thing is “I told you so” followed by a resounding (implied) “fuck you”. What else were you expecting, Esther?
•
It’s great that they say this, but I would have preferred if they showed it. It really isn’t that hard. Show him talking independently to a noble or two (you don’t even have to show their faces) - winning some over and not managing to sway some others. The reason a lot of Liam fans are upset is that not only does the writing make weak excuses to keep him from working WITH the MC, we aren’t even given a proper glimpse of what he IS doing!
I’ll return to this point later, because I have a LOT to say 😠
• …cheeseburgers aren’t appetizers, Drake.
• I’d agree with you about the buffalo wings tho.
• Nomnom that pasta looks good.
• I’d betray me for a plate of truffled penne too, Esther.
•
Back in the essay I wrote on the Balcony Scene, I spoke of how Liam’s mother’s story seemed like a mirror to the MC’s (I mentioned that she might be a foreigner, though, and given that Neville and Drake make the comparison between the MC and her, and that her son is customizable by ethnicity, I still think there are chances that is true). Called it! xD
• Neville is still as big a creep as he ever was and this scene was extremely ugly, especially with regards to Drake. But it was also extremely powerful because the group gets to rally around and protect him, and show Neville that Drake has people who will support him no matter what. It was a scene I felt was needed because it gives you a much better idea of what Drake has had to deal with in court. (also I know he’s taking the tour coz he wants a wife [good luck getting one with THAT level of creepy, asshole!] but I’m suspicious about him following ppl he doesn’t even like around).
• This is also amazing buildup to the dancing scene. The version of the scene I got was automatically platonic, which I loved, and I got more comfortable with this scene than I have ever felt with any non-Liam-LI scene so far (you know how you keep stressing about accidental romance points? That).
• In my playthrough, Esther keeps it professional, gives him encouragement, teaches him how to glide using a mental image. Drake points out he needs to give Liam adequate support and he will need to actually prove himself to other nobles for that. As a romantic scene, it really shines (and indeed it should, given that the Cordonian waltz is primarily romantic) but it works very well on a platonic level too.
• I also really, really loved the comparison Drake made between his situation and hers: that the MC is proof that he can hold on to who he is even if he becomes a part of the nobility/has endured this much from them. Drake’s character arc is built heavily on his fear that being part of the nobility can change people, based on very valid experiences. We’ve seen in this chapter how desperately some nobles cling to their titles, almost using it to make up for their lack of personality (I’m looking at you, Neville and Godfrey). But he has proof all around him too, that you don’t need to lose who you are through a title. In a lot of ways this plays really well into his “letting go” arc as well.
• Okay so I went with Godfrey first. He’s talking to Liam, who again makes a disappearing act (I don’t mind, because the MC specifically stated she wanted to speak to the Duke alone). I’m not surprised Liam wasn’t making much headway. This is the second dude to dump Madeleine after all, and worse still he’s brother to the first dude to dump her. No wonder Liam’s sticking to safe subjects like choice of scotch!
• YIKES @ Godfrey’s constant harping of successes and defeats. Why don’t we talk about what a failure YOU are as a dad, Duke Karlington, since you’re only ever there for Madeleine to tell her what a failure she is!
• I like the exchange they show us between Adeleide and Regina before the MC steps in. Regina’s care and concern for Madeleine has pretty much been there from the beginning and for what it’s worth, it has been genuine.
• Oh man. I want to give Adeleide a hug and some champagne. I mean I don’t exactly envision her winning the “best mother” award anytime soon, but she’s trying. Perhaps a little too pushy and a little too focused on her own coping mechanisms, but still, she cares enough about Madeleine to want to be there for her no matter what. Which is more than I can say for Godfrey, who thinks being a father means paying an annual visit to his goddamn FAMILY and judges people for failing when he’s perhaps the biggest failure in the room.
• Waltz time!
• Though between Esther not having a twirly skirt and Drake having an injured shoulder I’m not sure they even looked that good.
• WTF ESTHER WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A MAN WHO IS IN ANY CONDITION TO MANAGE A LIFT
•
HE’S NOT JOHNY CASTLE AND THIS ISN’T DIRTY DANCING. STOP PUTTING DRAKE IN A CORNER.
• AT LEAST BABY DIDN’T MAKE JOHNY LIFT HER ON AN INJURED ARM. AND AT LEAST THEY AGREED TO DO IT TOGETHER NOT SPRUNG IT ON HIM LIKE A FUCKING JACK-IN-THE-BOX.
• “He winces at the pressure on his arm, but smiles through it”. …damn I’m angry at my own MC now.
• Drinking game time!!
• I’m not going to comment much on the scene because it’s going to be part of my group scenes essay, but I *will* say I’m so happy Hana gets her due in this one. She really shines in terms of character development in this scene and she gets the best line this whole chapter xD xD xD
•
• I think Hana has had this burn simmering in her pressure cooker ever since the bell-pepper episode in Shanghai 😂😂
• “You all know there’s more to me than liking whiskey, right?”
This is unfair and inaccurate, people. Of course there’s more. He likes cheeseburgers and pasta and greasy junk food too, cmon.
• I recall speaking not too long ago about how Madeleine and Hana had very different approaches to similar issues (family pressure, feeling like they are failures, broken engagements with men they didn’t love), and that Madeleine very possibly faced a lot of family pressure (I was wrong about the source being Adeleide, though). To me this forms part of why Hana can see Madeleine the way no one else can, and why it’s essential to have her around when Madeleine opens up.
• This doesn’t really change my opinion of Madeleine, though. It makes sense of some things, but in my mind nothing can really justify the sick pleasure Madeleine gets out of breaking people. She makes excuses for herself by calling it “not tiptoeing on other people’s fragile feelings”, but that would imply she was just being honest and not actively working towards making people feel like shit. In both Hana and Penelope’s cases she was actively working on making them feel like they were beneath her, and enjoying doing that. To me what she did, especially to Hana, was emotional abuse. Speaking ecstatically about “breaking” a human being who has harmed you in no way, is abusive. No more, no less.
• Please don’t tell me a Madeleine and Hana ship will be a thing now. No. Eww. I’d rather not pair Hana with someone who was actively trying to break her. I don’t care how much of a “crush” Madeleine seems to have.
• No matter how misguided Adeleide’s attempts to parent Madeleine are, to me she clearly wins the parenting stakes hands down. She may have made Madeleine feel like she couldn’t mourn what happened to her, but at least she views her daughter as more of a human being than a prize horse.
•
Didn’t lie to get her way? Was saying “I’m allergic to chocolate and you could have killed me” just a figment of my imagination then???
•
• You have to be fucking kidding me. The MC is a duchess now. The Beaumonts are supposed to be helping her. These three should be at the top of their itinerary right now, not throwing things together at the last minute every chapter. Isn’t this Unity Tour supposed to be about knowing your allies and enemies, and preparing accordingly? Being unprepared (somehow, barely) made sense to some extent in the first two books, but things are different now.
• Penelope next week! That woman owes us big time.
General Thoughts on this Chapter:
• Things I feel might come up in Penelope’s estate:
1. Penelope’s anxiety and her parents’ fears about sending her back to court
2. Personal issues within the family maybe? Perhaps Penelope’s desire to take up pet couture designing and her mother’s disapproval of the same might feature.
3. At some point there may be some sort of redemption arc for her where she gets reminded of her involvement in what happened to the MC earlier. Penelope clearly owes the MC a great debt for letting her off the hook so easily.
4. I’ll be damned if I have to play therapist for these people too 😠
• This whole idea of “meddling” is stupid. These people are adults. Grown people, who should be expected to know how to handle their own lives and talk to each other. The royalty/the MC shouldn’t be expected to babysit them. That’s not what we came here for.
• It stings even more when you take into account that the common public is feeling pretty terrified at the moment, and having their own, and here we are busy resolving the family squabbles of rich people.
• It highlights even more strongly what’s wrong with the whole idea of a Unity Tour. I’m hoping this “resolving-aristocrat-issues” thing won’t become a pattern because it’s beginning to look ridiculous.
• @ladynevrakis mentions in her excellent write-up on this week’s chapter that this chapter is a lot better if you’re a non-Liam shipper, and extremely frustrating if you are.
Correct on both counts. As the MC you’re just starting out as a noblewoman, and you will need all the support you can get. If you’re with Drake (especially Drake), Hana or Maxwell, you get plenty opportunities for support from all of them. With Liam, you barely get a few lines here and there before he’s completely MIA. There is no opportunity for Liam or his fiancee to talk properly, or work together as a team. And this house is unquestionably the toughest one, so why does the writing not give Liam any chance to truly be there for her when she needs it???
• I can understand why he wasn’t there for the most part. In the Neville sequence he isn’t there precisely because the writers need to highlight how people treat Drake when Liam isn’t around (and to show what people say about Liam behind his back), and there is no way you could have Liam around in either the group scene or the final scene with the family without making things worse (daughter’s former fiancè, hello?). Plus if the MC is not engaged to him, it would look weird for him to be present at some of these conversations.
STILL, there were a whole range of ways you could write him without him actually being involved in the patch-up, and still do justice to his character:
1. Eat with the group: The group eating scene could have been a perfect time to have Liam come, speak about his progress with convincing ppl, bond with the group over the delicious spread, and leave before Neville enters.
2. Check in periodically: Liam is my MC’s fiancè. They are here together on their first tour as a couple. They’re doing this tour for his people and his country. She is a newcomer and it is essential he has her back. It wouldn’t have hurt to have him come in on occasion and ask her how she is holding up. It wouldn’t have taken more than a scene or two, really, and it could have worked perfectly both on a neutral and romantic level. If you’re going to make Drake such a huge presence in this chapter that you’d go the extra mile and write him two ways, you can very well do the same for Liam. It’s even more essential in his case because he is the King of Cordonia and pretty damn invested in making this tour work.
3. Have the MC notice what Liam was doing independent of her: The writing team is no stranger to writing conversations that don’t involve the MC’s presence at all. We know Liam was spending time speaking to the few nobles in attendance, but we’re never shown how he does this or whether he succeeds. I know he’s as hard at work as the MC is, but I don’t see what he’s doing. Could you really blame readers for thinking he is less involved, then?
4. The Little Things: A gentle touch here, a smile there if he’s your fiancè. Things you would do with your partner when you don’t have much time together but still want to show them they care.
It’s not like the writers don’t know how to involve Liam. They’ve done a really good job of this in the past. The entire social season saw Liam working behind the scenes to ensure the MC was protected and cared for, even when he couldn’t be involved. The engagement tour had him pitching in to help whenever it didn’t seem too suspicious to. In all these instances they kept in mind Liam’s role and limitations, and STILL managed to make him proactive.
The writers had plenty opportunity this chapter to have Liam be there for her in small ways, but hardly bothered to involve him. I appreciate wanting to make his interactions as neutral as possible but that doesn’t mean you don’t put any effort into writing him at all.
To add insult to serious injury, this chapter follows another one where the MC practically takes over Liam’s speech (post the video), leaving Liam with little space to do anything besides agreeing with her. It’s essential - now more than ever - to portray Liam as decisive and proactive, yet the writing has him take 10 steps backwards in terms of character development. The MC is his fiancèe/close friend now. She should be able to see him properly as a politician and a leader at this point. If that doesn’t get resolved soon, we’re in danger of screwing up an interesting character who has a lot of potential.
• I’m still holding out on this book, because it’s still early and I believe they can turn things around and ensure there is a fair balance between the LIs. They are taking what we say into consideration and they have worked hard to make our other LIs’ interactions with us as safe and platonic as possible. I think this is a matter of balance, and I still think they can manage to do a good job of it once they ensure there is a balance.
• But this chapter? I’m not going pretend I’m happy.
#the royal romance#liam x mc#king liam of cordonia#hana lee#maxwell beaumont#drake walker#countess madeleine of fydelia#duchess adeleide of krona#duke godfrey of karlington#trr quick thoughts#quick thoughts#unity tour#fydelia#krona
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🔥 for the dr3 anime. Have at it. (Before I forget I just wanna say I agree 110% about your opinion on Ko's sexuality. Single-target sexuality, I think it's called?)
Thanks for the ask, Hyun :) Sorry I took so long, but I have a lot of feelings when I write about this subject ^^; I accidentally... wrote you an essay ;;;;;;;
(And also, thank you so much!!! I never knew that existed, but it sounds very much like how I headcanon Ko!)
Unpopular Opinion on DR3, huh? I feel like I am generally... aligned with how most of the fandom view DR3? DR3 was written poorly, DR3 ruined some characters (specifically a certain girl I love), DR3 had a bad mastermind/main antagonist, DR3 retconned things poorly, etc. Like, honestly, the only thing I can do is actually tell you something I like about DR3, lol.
I guess one unpopular opinion would be that DR3Z Episode 3 is still my favorite out of all of DR3 (Hope Side included)!
I think when someone refers to their favorite episode in DR3, it would be something like Hope Arc, maybe an episode of Future Arc (like in Episode 6 when we were super hype about possibly Kamukura being there instead of Hinata and all these boats coming on their way). While I was also super hype about that, and I may have watched Hope Arc 20x times that day because my boy Hajime Hinata is safe and Happy, I have to say, I just like DR3Z Episode 3 more. It wasn’t completely satisfying (I don’t know if any episode of DR3 can be said to be completely satisfying, especially once you’ve finished the series), but it made more of a lasting impact on me.
First of all, I think one of the things that made me attached to it is that this is a much more Hajime-centric episode. We start with Hinata’s POV, and it shifts only a few times to other perspectives (Like Fuyuhiko’s, or Sato’s). WHen I finally got to know and love th DR2 cast, I was prepared to be excited for DR3 and getting to know their pasts. I first saw the DR3 trailer not knowing what they were talking about until they released the game on team, so when I rewatched it in anticipation, I got excited! One of the things I definitely wanted was more of Hinata! He was, and remains, the best DR Protagonist! I kinda figured that we would get more of Izuru than of Hajime, but I wanted to at least get more out of his motivations, and, yeah, we kinda did! It wasn’t what I thought we would get, what with a few mentions of his parents, but not so much of what they were like, but parts of Episode two, and all of Episode three were made to explain it a bit. SOme stuff, we already know, or could guess, such as that Hinata was desperate for a talent, and that be acquiring a talent, he would get Hope (Or a meaning to his life).
However, we get some additional info. Firstly, in Episode two, it is mentioned that HPA is paying for his tuition, should he enter the Hope Cultivation Plan, implying his parents are not as rich as we thought (DR2 made it seem like they were, since his parents were mentioned in that sort of flashback sequence). That puts a lot of pressure on him... not to mention they give him some time to decide. By the start of Episode three, he mentions he only has a week left. Within that one week he has left, he is acquainted with both sides of the decision, represented by Chiaki, representing the Ideal solution, where he wouldn’t need the project to have Hope, and Natsumi, representing the, I guess you could say, “Logical” solution, as in that no one alive cares about anyone unless they have talent, and HPA is giving it to him with no monetary cost to him, or his parents.
Now, we know that Chiaki is technically right, that even without a talent, you can have hope, but the problem is that she doesn’t have that same perspective. She does have a talent, and those words she learned from Yukizome can only help her because they were meant to say that Talent shouldn’t restrict Chiaki from doing what she wants, just for the fun of it. Hinata, meanwhile, has much less freedom in this Talent-driven society he is stuck in. No one will acknowledge his existence without talent, and because of that, he can’t do anything even if he wanted to. By the end of this episode, he sees this flaw because unlike Nanami, Natsumi has the same perspective he does. She dies and it looks like as if no one cares at all about her death.
Now to Natsumi, she is the character struggling with society’s rules that you have to have a Talent to mean something. Both of them actually believe in these rules, and they are both desperate to get into the Main Course, but for Natsumi, the need is greater. She has a brother and his bodyguard who are both acknowledged as Ultimates, yet though she probably spends time with them both, Natsumi was left out. She was deemed, by society’s leaders in HPA, that she wasn’t enough for them, so how could she be enough for her brother? She would do anything for the same opportunity Hinata got. Hinata, who had been stuck with Reserve Course students that were all trying to accept they were nothing more than Reserve Course students and would never move on to the Main Course, now has come across someone similar to him, who has also refused to give up on their dream of being acknowledged as something special.
Hajime feels like the Hope Cultivation Plan is his only chance to finally be happy and proud of himself, but at the same time, he is, by nature, skeptical that such a plan would. It’s too good to be true (and it was, of course). The episode starts off with him looking up the school’s website, which doesn’t give him any real results. He’s only got a week to decide left, and he’s not completely sure yet if this is the right way to go even if, in his head, he desperately wants this to be the solution. It would be easy, and would benefit him and his family. But, with that doubt he still has, he latches on to Nanami’s words that he won’t need talent to be happy. THese words sound right. They sound like this is something that exists. But, it isn’t proven. In fact, it is disproven by Natsumi, first by her denial of his words that Talent isn’t everything (because it is something to enough people for it to matter), and secondly, when Natsumi dies despite coming from an influential family, and when she dies, her death is covered up with lies and unsatisfactory answers. This girl who he only just came to know and kind of befriend is dead, and he could do nothing about her death. He even pieces together that Sato killed her by chance, and that there was something clearly wrong with Sato to begin with, but then she is dead. Two classmates, now dead, and both of them had their deaths covered up. Hajime is not dumb, he can put pieces together (He didn’t need as much help in the trials unless someone was withholding information (usually Komaeda)). He knows exactly who to ask, and would have investigated it, but is stopped by Juzo.
He of course doesn’t know Juzo is trying to make sure he doesn’t dig too deep and gets targeted by HPA for revealing too much, but Juzo really doesn’t know how to talk with anything other than physical language. As in beat up a 15-16-year-old kid into submission, but you know. Juzo is just one more reason on top of Natsumi’s death that he accepts the plan. Juzo validated his thoughts that he, nor anyone that lacks talent, matters.
It’s really heartbreaking to see Hinata like that, however I suppose, in his own way, he thought of the project as his way of breaking the mould of normality he was stuck in. You know that he needs to become Izuru Kamukura, you know it has to happen, but it does crush me how he had to come to the “realization” he is worthless otherwise to do it, through two deaths and his own degradation by Juzo. (and being saved by Chisa... probably not what he wanted.)
I find it interesting that the person that represents accepting the Hope Cultivation Plan is Natsumi, because we know if Fuyuhiko had ever heard her speak the words she did to Hinata, he’d have denied it. He’d have said she deserved to be in his place, that she would have been the better clan leader, that even though she didn’t accept his role, he would always introduce her as is Ultimate Little Sister, and no old men and drunk scout can change that.
If Hinata could have known that by being such a supportive friend, his friends would value him more than just as someone who has an Ultimate Talent, or EVERY Ultimate Talent, and that he provides all the difference just by being himself, I don’t think he would have turned to the Hope Cultivation Project.
But that isn’t how things went. Hinata, had no proof that Talent was truly meaningless. Society kept on validating that Talent meant much more than someone not acknowledged to have any.
Oh... I got.... way off topic ^^;
Well, overall, this was an emotional episode. I get why people don’t like it much: They really rushed the Twilight Syndrome MurderCase, to the point of not even showing the events in the minigame. I also wished for more Natsumi and Hinata interaction, or have this episode split in two (and take place instead of Love SOup incident, please). I found Satos’ character to be ver much lacking as well, since they reduced her to some kind of yandere-like personality (although thinking back, was she like that in the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case?) However, for what we got? It’s still something that I really love! It gave us an insight into Hinata, and an awesome character to boot!
(I also kinda skipped over the Hinam bits, but the Fountain scene was pretty sad, even if I’m really ehh about the way Nanami sees he’s hurt and still offers him to play, and other weird things like that involving those two... Like I swear Nanami would be way more concerned about his wellbeing in DR2 and pick up on the obvious bad signs and act on them more)
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Questions That Actually Tell Me Something About Your Characters
If this character was sad, how would you cheer them up? Along the same lines, you’re browsing the internet and stumble across something this character would love, what is it?
People have very specific likes and interests. Understanding your characters means you get who they are on a detailed level. To use some personal examples, I’m a pretty big Marvel Cinematic Universe Fan. If you send me an adorable MCU fan-comics or the like it will always make me smile even if I’ve seen it before. Conversely, if you sent me a bunch of pictures from the Infinity War set or a link to the latest trailer, I’d be furious with you because I actively avoid anything to do with movies I want to see until I’ve actually seen them. A cast interview would make me give you odd looks because I don’t particularly care about the cast outside of the movies.
There’s a thing happening that your character MUST go to, what is it?
This is similar to the cheering them up one, but it’s a different flavor of it because it looks at what your character puts effort into doing. If we were talking about me as a character, the answer is going to be the release of a new Marvel movie (sensing a theme here?) However, if there was a local comic con where the Avengers cast was speaking, that wouldn’t be something I’d go out of my way to attend. This all plays together into the theme of what I care about as a character, namely stories. I adore stories and get really into them. I don’t get excited about people I don’t know, even if I respect them. Seeing something live and watching the video online are equally good experiences for me while another character would view the in-person event as the best-thing-ever!
It’s team bonding night and your character gets to pick the activity, what are they choosing? How do the other characters react? Does your character care what they think?
If I pick, it’s a movie night or a board game night. If my college roommate picks, we’re going hiking. If my boyfriend picks, it’s something involving video games. I’m fine with all of the above options, so is my old roommate. My boyfriend will either actively fight the movie night choice or sit there sulkily and play on his phone unless we choose a truly excellent movie. We’re still watching the movie if it’s one I haven’t seen that I want to see and, yes, we do tease him about his aversion to watching movies in groups.
What type of weather makes your character happy? What makes them sad?
Unless something weird is happening, there will be weather in your stories. Your characters will react to it. If it’s raining outside does that make them feel calm or depressed? When it’s sunny and warm does that mean they want to be outside or do they hide indoors? Does your character prefer being hot or cold? Continuing our confessional theme, I refer to the sun as the death orb because it wants to turn my Irish skin a lovely shade of scarlet. I am happiest when it is raining or snowing and I can sit there and watch it. I want a bay window specifically for this purpose.
How’s your character’s relationship with their family? Go member by member or at least set by set (parents, siblings, extended family).
This one is arguably only important if the family is going to show up, but I’d say it’s worth thinking about no matter what. Does your character talk to their parents frequently? Do they look forward to seeing them? If they have siblings, how did that affect them? I introduced my little brother to the Artemis Fowl series when he was about 9 and they’re still his go-to audiobooks on long car rides. We will often quote it at each other because we know it so well. Even if your character is an adult, their relationship with their family will play into things. My brother and I have long phone conversations any time we see the same film. If something bad or really good happens, I’m probably calling my parents and the same is true for many of the characters I write as long as they have a good relationship with their family.. Occasionally I will write characters similar to my father who has a wonderful relationship with my mother, but still waited until dinner to tell her he’d literally stopped a house fire on his way to work.
I’m not a huge fan of character sheets, mostly because I rarely find the questions useful, but these are some examples of the things I think about when working on getting to know a character. Knowing the little facts does so much more for making a character feel real because it honestly is the small things that make us individuals.
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WOKE! Film Reviews
BCN FILM FESTIVAL 2019 (DAY ONE)
by
Lucas Avram Cavazos
The BCN/St. Jordi Film Festival inaugurated its third annual showcase in the beloved Gracia district of BCN on the eve of Saint George’s Day…HappyBelated!… with a swirl of roses and lines of books, cinema lovers and industry milling about despite the rather finicky weather this year. Inaugurating the eight day affair was local director Dani de la Orden’s latest piece Litus, which was simple yet surprisingly effective… See review below. The BCN Film Fest revolves around literary and historically-based films and adaptations, and also works in tandem with EducaCine and acontracorriente films to bring cinephiles, students and history buffs together from all over the world. Below is a quick selection of films from the first day. Without further ado…let’s twawk, shall we?
Litus ###-1/2 Barcelona director Dani de la Orden made his name a few years back with his sentimental rom-com city pieces Barcelona, nit d’estiu and its sequel Barcelona, nit d’hivern with the backing of beloved TV host Andreu Buenafuente. This film however takes a step into a mature fase of what de la Orden is certainly processing, not necessarily in reference to the theme, but this is definitely a more personal take on a group of friend’s worst nightmare. When dear mate and singer Litus commits suicide, months later, his brother Toni (Quim Gutierrez) takes it upon himself to call the core group of friends together for a specific reason. He holds a series of goodbye letters from his brother for each of them and upon their opening, the truth slowly seeps out like honey. The performances by all involved are spot on, and it is hard not to love the soulful longing and sincerity in Belen Cuesta’s eyes or Tu Cara Me Suena winner Miquel Fernandez’s expressions. This may well be the best film of de la Orden’s career so far, but much of that has to do with the real-life concerns that hit all too many of us after whatever certain age. Based on Marta Bachaca’s theatre play of the same name, some things have been tweaked from her original but the exploration of themes like unexplained loss, mortality, love’s labour lost, Peter Pan syndrome and even, oh so charmingly, the wonderful film Peter’s Friends make for a film that stays with you well after you leave the movie theatre…wonderful Spanish cinema.
Rojo ###-1/2 A look-back on a time gone by, this film could easily be based on true events if it’s not already. Imagine rural Argentina, mid-70s during the Triple A drama and coup d’ etat…there is a tense yet agreeable nature to things all around you and the way director Benjamin Naishtat paints the film is curt yet on point, sad yet beguiling. Dr. Claudio Moran (Dario Grandinetti) lives a content and stable life and is a pillar in the community AND a successful attorney. This can go a long way in that day and age…unless surprise murder springs its meddling head. And this is where Rojo really begins. Here at abitterlife, I never give away spoilers (unless truly necessary, read: casi nunca!), so while there is an astounding if languid presence that mopes about this taut drama piece, there is also a wonderful telling of the 70s via the spectacle of the Latin American middle class. The style, music, autos, food and Euro-American melding, that only places like Argentina can often serve up heartily, hearken back to a time that was just starting to touch the essence of a new age dawning. The latest pieces of Argentinian cinema reflecting on its history (think El Angel from last year…exquisite!) have been rather remarkable in their ability to be good thought-provokers. No award winners here, most likely, but gripping in its own subtle way.
Sir ###-1/2 My twin brother Matthew is in love with India…and so is my dear friend Kiki, whose mum lived there for years. As I’ve never been, I can only say that the Hindi take on spirituality, spicy food, cinema, colours and great dance music make me love them…full stop. In dealing with the tensions that can most certainly exist amongst the caste systems of the Indian population of nearly 1.4 billion, it must be ever so important to shine a light on that still very wretched and enforced mentality. The beauty of this film lies in the simple gentility with which director Rohena Gera portrays the intricate, almost innocent, sensuality that plays itself out between Ratka and Ashwin, respectively Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber. She is his housekeeper and also a student of clothe making, so she keeps busy as does Ashwin, playing building foreman for his father’s construction company after the calling-off of his wedding after a massive row with his now ex. Ratka is then called on to be something of a constant house companion to the depressed, handsome loner. I love the way tiny details make extraordinary realities so apparent. When Ratka is out and about, she wears bangle jewellery; however, when she heads back home via bus, she takes them off and puts them away. Will they or won’t they becomes the big question and documentary filmmaker Gera takes her time to be cordial in her revelations of love and lust. A nice Mumbai film and a sweet showcase for this first feature film director and her actors.
#barcelona#filmfestival#cinemalife#actors#actresses#industrybish#danidelaorden#miquelfernandez#quimgutierrez#rojofilm#argentinacine#india#nonbollywood#SirFilm#TillotamaShome#vivekgomber#woke#vose#englishradiobcn#abitterlifethroughcinema#TheClubwithLucasAvram
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Hello! So excited to find this SP blog! Have a question: can you summarize the plot of all English productions of Pimpernel musical including the concept album? I've listened to the concept album, part of the original Broadway cast recording and the encore album, and I had read the book before I even knew the musical exists, but I never get the plot of the musical in its entirety. The songs are different in every recording. That's really confusing. Thank you in advance for your kindness!
Hi! I’m glad you were excited to find me! I’m happy to have you!
I’ll do my best getting through this. I’ll try to be as comprehensive as I can, but I’m no expert on the musical.
So, you typically hear talk about the different versions of SP musical. If you focus in on songs (and as it goes play structure because those are intricately connected in musicals), there are 2 versions of the SP musical. This isn’t quite like overhauls of the musical. Rather, it acted as minor revisions: rearranging songs, getting rid of songs, adding another one, changing who sings this one and when. The first album has the Original/1st version. Then you have the Encore! version that includes a mix of the original songs in addition to the revised songs. (This is not to be confused with SP 1.0, SP 2.0, SP 2.5, SP 3, and SP 4.0. Though these give some gist of which song list is being used, this references the cast and theater revivals/tours.)
However, all versions have the same basic plot despite the rearranging and revision of songs even if some events have switched order. The biggest switch comes to whether the opening scene is St. Cyr and his family’s execution or if it’s the Blakeney marriage.(I personally think “Madame Guillotine” is a stronger opening piece than “Storybook” even if “Storybook” wraps back around in the second act when “Madame Guillotine” doesn’t.
Moving from there, Percy discovers that Marguerite’s “involvement” in the St. Cyr execution we just witnessed. He pouts, broods, and becomes disillusioned with his marriage. While in his study with friends and Armand, Percy becomes determined that he must help in France and forms the League. He creates his identity as the Scarlet Pimpernel (SP). Armand is included off the bat after swearing to keep this all from Marguerite (though Percy fails to bring up his worry of Marguerite’s betrayal of the St. Cyr family).They got about their romping adventures of saving the French aristos.
Marguerite’s old friend from France and the theater (Marie) comes to visit and paint of portrait. She spends time reminiscing how much Percy has changed since their marriage. Enter left: Chauvelin who earlier was sent by Robespierre to discover the identity of SP with the help of Grappin (a spy). He confront Marguerite and underneath the overt sexual tension and leering on his part, he questions what happened to make a meek girl out of the passionate woman he knew and asks Marguerite’s help to identify who SP is. She tells him no in varying levels of politeness.
After Chauvelin leaves, Armand comes in having just returned from a mission and Marguerite frets over him. He tells her that he’s to go back to France again, and she worries for his safety. Armand, though, insists and leaves.
Now comes the Prince’s ball, and the League must take every effort to assuage any suspicion that they could possibly actually be SP and the League (unless its in a good jest with titillating laughter to accompany it). Percy instructions them all that they must dress fancy! Be a fop! Be worried only on your looks! Lace! Fabric! Tights! Hats! Shoes! All very important parts of being a man, you know. They flaunt into the ball like peacocks and the Prince is flabbergasted and Chauvelin is more than a little put off. The League though, waltzes off to help the Prince with his dress. This gives Chauvelin opportunity to sneak in and confront Marguerite once again, but this time he’s got blackmail. Armand’s been caught in France in league with SP and will be guillotined if she doesn’t help him find SP’s identity. She’s pushed into agreeing. Percy comes in. Everyone mistrusts and questions everyone. Doubts are had and feelings are repressed.
Meanwhile, everyone’s in their ball gear. (Read everyone in brights colors except for our poor, blacked-out Chauvelin.) Everything is foppish and dandy. Much talk and jest is had over who SP is and all of the rumors flying about. Percy performs his famous poem to the amusement of all, except for Chauvelin and Marguerite. Marguerite, being the brilliant woman we all know her to be, pieces together who she believes a likely Leaguer (Ffoulkes I think, but I can’t remember. It could also have been Dewhurst.) and gets him to spill a confirmation. She then manages to convince them to tell SP to meet her on the footbridge. SP comes, holding off at a distance, as Marguerite tells him everything Chauvelin is up to. SP says that he will help, and now Percy is at odds with finally learning the truth of who he married being blamed for what she didn’t do. Chauvelin runs out, suspicious and suspecting to find SP. BUT! Foppish Percy to the rescue throws him off the scent.
Into Act II, Percy and his men have gone to France. Marguerite has decided to dress up and go underground in France to find Armand. In the version I saw, she’s a barmaid/prostitute and tries to get info from the soldiers there. Chauvelin, though, comes in and sees through her act. He’s pissed off and throws her in jail with her brother. Now, Marguerite is worried that everything is falling apart, but Armand assures her that SP will save them.
Lo and behold, SP’s men come and escort them to the coast where a guillotine awaits. Chauvelin is on their heels and puts together who SP is with the help of Grapping (aka Percy in disguise). He arrives on the scene ready to de-mask our favorite vigilante. Percy comes in with all his foppish charm and “slips” his identity. He and Chauvelin duel. Chauvelin wins. Percy gets guillotined. Chauvelin cheers in triumph and sends most of his men away to tell Robespierre the great news.
But, we all know that Percy wouldn’t let things end like that. He’s always got something up his sleeve. All those now left on the coast are those in the League, and of course, Percy’s not dead! Turns out it was a wax figure made by Marie (aka Marie Tassaud). Chauvelin gets tied up and planted with evidence to make him appear to be SP.
They all sail back to England, and Percy and Marguerite are once again confident in each other’s love.
FIN.
As you can see, it’s this odd mesh of a story that takes parts both from the first book and from parts introduced in the 1982 movie version, but then also adds its own plot points and characters.
All songs in the albums should fit within that story - whether or not the timeline lines up with this summary as it sticks primarily to the 1st version. However, even the 2nd version’s songs fit into this series of events. They’re just different arrangements. If you have a question towards a specific song, let me know, and I’ll try to give as much as I can towards context and placement!
As to concept album, I don’t know much behind it. As they go, they are typically just the early workings of the idea that is then used to gather interest and funding for the finished product. Or, it acts as early brainstorming and planning. Or both. Looking at the song list, a good portion of the actual Broadway songs are represented (albeit out of order). I have’t actually found the lyrics or a audio sample, so I can’t judge how accurately it aligns to what the musical became. But, as concept albums go, it’s all just really early versions of playing with the songs and how they sound.
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