#I've been wanting to make charms for a while and finally got the gears turning!

[flamebloom]

Happy 16th Birthday Hatsune Miku!

I'm currently in the process of making a Halloween Miku charm! Lemme know if you're interested in having a spooky little ghost/pumpkin of your own!🎃👻✨

[yennasun]

February 15th, 2007. The rematch. Promotion; The USFC

After pulling off an upset victory over defensive wizard Wilfredo Pedroza, Midas climbs the light heavyweight rankings. eventually, he earns his rematch against a rival he and many others believe never really beat him.

After his shocking TKO victory over #1 contender Wilfredo Pedroza, Midas toppled the other contenders one by one.

After a big win, many fighters take time off training to rest and recuperate; to avoid injury. But not Midas, no no no.

Creator heightened Midas' training regimen to levels not thought possible even by the once incredibly endurant Rooney.

Midas had been chiseled into peak physical condition, but below the surface, he could feel physical predictions of what could very possibly be his downfall as a fighter.

But he knew what was next for him, the literal (courtesy of creator) and metaphorical aches and pains of his loss to Dark had boiled and festered. He wanted this; he was hungry for it, starving even.

and during training, he finally got his wish.

"see that?" creator barked while they watched dark's last fight.

"He's uncomfortable with the pace..." Rooney observed.

"that's right, I've upped the intensity for a reason. if It's geared to pour it on all 20 rounds it won't even go 20."

Rooney cringed inwardly at the backhanded description creator seemed oh so eager to use.

Rooney continued his observation. in a game of jabs, dark was unmatched. He blasted his left jab with authority now, abandoning the whipping jab that only seemed to bother the younger Midas in their first fight.

He used it as his Pacemaker, he used it wisley and sparingly; timing it just right.

creator had left to finalize some fights with the commission, so Rooney continued watching.

He'd been so silent Rooney had nearly forgotten he was there.

"Don't listen to "im kid, you're not an it." Midas was confused as to what Rooney meant by this but nodded his head in understanding.

He had noticed that every time creator referred to him, Rooney would make a certain face. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but it couldn't have been good.

He could scarcely understand why. it never bothered him because creator had just always referred to him that way.

The two watched in comfortable silence, formulating a gameplan.

Rooney spoke up.

"It's all a system." He declared.

"Everything comes off of that jab; the cross, the left hook, the combinations all start with the jab." He braced his hands on his knees in thought.

"The first step to dismantling this system is to shut down his jab and force him to fight your way, at your pace." He turns to Midas

"You're not gonna be shifting your feet as much, not at the start anyways. as long as he can land that jab on you, he'll force you into a long-range sniping battle at his pace. So, starting tomorrow, we're gonna focus on countering the jab from your "native" southpaw stance." Rooney stands up and assumes a right-handed stance. He beckons Midas to stand as well.

"From an orthodox stance, the right jab from southpaw comes at a very odd angle; instead of coming straight at you, it either comes over your shoulder or it comes from inside your own jab." Rooney throws a very slow jab at him.

Reacting on instinct, he pulls back at an angle and arcs a slow right hook that still seems to catch Rooney off guard.

He smiles

"Good thinkin' kid, that works like a charm as well."

The two had drilled how to counter the jab endless times, Rooney had also taught him the art of the high-guard.

"The common misconception with the high-guard that's even done by people at a high level is that the high-guard is just putting your hands up and taking punches on the guard. now that KINDA works but let me show you the drawback. put your hands up."

Midas did as commanded, and Rooney threw a stiff hook on the side of his guard.

"Still hurt, right?" Midas nodded

"It didn't hurt as much but i still felt it."

"Even if your hands are up, damage is still damage. The high-guard isn't just some "keep your hands high and tight, then hope for the best." It's an art just like evasion and requires pristine timing to pull off."

Rooney put his hands up.

"Throw some at me." He ordered.

He threw a stiff salvo of lighter punches, but Rooney did something Midas had never seen in over 250 fights.

instead of just sitting there taking them, he only tightened his guard in the areas Midas' punches were gonna land, and he didn't even do it very much.

He timed blocks so that the momentum of the punches only grazed his guard and continued sailing by harmlessly.

for straight punches, He'd move his arms just slightly as if to parry, even taking one hand away from his guard to catch or parry a punch.

Rooney dropped his hands.

"Now that may look risky but Look at this. Put your hands up."

He held his hands up the same way Rooney did.

Rooney threw a slow straight right and he caught it the same way he did.

Rooney stayed in that position while explaining.

"With you catching my right hand, not only am i in a very vulnerable position, but i have only one punch i can follow up with." Rooney threw the left hook afterwards, and it landed harmlessly on Misas' guard.

He finally began to understand.

"The point isn't to make them miss, it's to limit their options." Rooney nodded.

"Exactly, and with your familiarity with the cross-guard you'll make for a jabber's worst nightmare."

as the fight drew closer, the Becker P.C was still very much alive, even with its owner fast asleep.

As it would seem, Midas wasn't the only one doing research on his opponent.

While not being thrilled with the idea of fighting such a difficult fight once again, as a celebrity, he had to put up with much ridicule following the first fight.

you were gifted that fight.

you better kiss the chief commissioner's feet for that decision!

They ought to put you in prison for grand larceny with that robbery!

It all made dark so bitter, so angry.

as the fight drew closer, he wanted nothing more than to punish the one he thought responsible; Midas.

'He's gotten bigger." Chosen said behind him.

in less comfortable silence, dark replied.

"...so have I."

"You were both far too young, must've been 16 when you two first fought."

"How old you think he was?"

"Probably around the same."

They were watching Midas' fight with Pedroza, who'd given dark all kinds of problems in their fight.

"He throws so many punches...how do you even beat that?"

"I like to think he's speeding, Pedroza's not putting up any "roadblocks" to stop his momentum." She looked to dark.

"Your jab will be that roadblock. If he starts speeding, slow him down a bit. see what im saying?" Dark nodded

The fight drew closer yet, until both were in their dressing rooms.

The training was over, now it was time from both sides to put their tactics to use.

"Deep breaths kid...Yeah, just like that." Rooney soothed Midas' growing nerves.

"You got butterflies in your stomach?" He was nervous to answer, any sign of weakness around creator usually resulted in whatever sadistic punishment creator seemed to have on his mind.

"You don't gotta answer. we all feel it. In fact, it's good that you feel it. it means you're here; it means you're alive. It means that you're not an it." Midas felt a strange sense of gratitude and... another emotion he just couldn't seem to name no matter how hard he tried.

"But if it helps, try to look at it less as fear, and more as excitement...like a roller coaster!" He looked up in confusion.

"A what?" Rooney looked like he was getting ready to explain but stopped himself.

"I'll take you to one someday..." Rooney trailed off as another emotion Midas couldn't name played across Rooney's eyes.

"Alright kid, you ready?" He put on his game face and nodded.

Rooney clicked the link, and they were transported to a snowy forest with c clearing in the middle and old, towering stone structures.

Once again, boulders littered the area for the amp rounds.

Dark and Midas eyed each other from their corners as the announcer announced.

"Ladies and gentlesticks, we introduce our main event for the light heavyweight championship of the world!"

"In the red corner, weighing in at 176 pounds even, standing at 6'2 inches with a record of 233 wins, 6 losses with 193 big wins by way of knockout; the champion, the dark lord!"

"And in the blue corner, weighing in at 174 and three-quarter pounds, standing at 6'2 and-a-half inches with a record of 268 wins, 9 losses and 241 big wins by way of knckout. introducing the challenger; MIDAS"

The crowd boomed their appreciation, and it would be far from their first time doing so.

The two approached each other in the middle of the arena, the snow on their skin doing nothing to ease the fire these two had.

"Alright boys im expecting a good, clean fight. fouls will be met with a warning first, then a point deduction. 3 point deductions will result in a disqualification. remember to protect yourself at all times and to obey my commands. Touch up and let's get started."

the buzzer sounded for the 1st round.

Midas first tried to jab his way in, using tricky footwork to outmaneuver his foe. He baitied darks jab and attempted to counter it with his own, but dark simply stepped back or side stepped to avoid it.

He eventually caught on that Midas would jab after faking so dark would quickly follow up his jab with another one and caught Midas several times.

He rethought his approach. Instead of rushing forwards to land his jab, he instead cut off the arena and attempted to corner him and get dark to react on fear.

He used this tactic well and managed to arc his own jab around Dark's shoulder. he even timed dark into his jab while dark was jabbing.

But ultimately, dark kept his jab more active. he almost certainly won the round.

"Alright kid, Hes not biting on any of these feints because you're not using them enough. make him pop his jab too early or too late, keep him guessing!" Rooney advised.

"I-I mean i don't even know what to say, that was a perfect round! keep doing what you're doing and build off of this momentum. keep that jab active and he can't get to you." chosen praised.

In the second round, Midas began to use head and foot feints more actively, he leaned his head slightly forwards to fool dark into thinking he was closer than he actually was and used foot feints to cut angles and cheat distance.

however, dark began to intercept Midas' jab with his right hand. But Midas was evening out the game of jabs, landing numerous snapping right jabs on dark.

So far, the judges had their work cut out for them. the more the fight went on, the harder it was to score.

towards the end of the round, dark landed a swift 1-2-3 combination. the jab baited out Midas' jab, the straight intercepted it and the left hook topped the sequence off.

dark HAD landed more power punches but as far as number go, Midas landed more punches in general. the second was even

"Remember what we practiced kid, keep those arms up but keep them loose until punches start flying at you. keep your lead hand active to act as a wall for his jab. Remember, he who controls the left, controls the right and he who controls the right, controls the fight."

"you're doing great dark, keep it up and keep on adding more punches. you'll get this guy outta here in no time."

in the 3rd, Midas kept a more defensive mindset. He did as Rooney asked. He used his lead hand to control the jab and, consequently, to control the distance.

he either stopped Darks jab before he even threw it, or he batted it off course. whenever dark tried to follow up with the right hand he would use his high-guard to essentially "shrug off" most of the force from the punch. he also found that he could slide his lead foot slightly to his right to slip dark's punch.

But with Midas' defensive mindset, he had a much harder time getting any offense going. Neither man landed much but dark threw the most punches of the two in that round.

"You're starting to shut his jab down, good. hes getting more and more hesitant to throw it. Now when he bites on those foot feints, throw the right hook."

"You're sweeping this fight so far, but don't overwork yourself. get that jab more active and sprinkle the right hand and left hook to keep him guessing."

In the 4th, Midas enacted his game plan. He marched forwards but not in a straight line. He kept his high guard active and dark began to throw his jab less and less.

Dark attempts to initiate an exchange, but Midas slides his rear foot to the left and loops a right hook over Darks jab, wobbling him.

He rushed in an attempt to get an early finish, and the two erupted into a momentary brawl that left the crowd explosively appreciative.

Midas once again stunned dark with the same sequence he used earlier; he threw the right hook and followed it up with a left hand down the middle.

Midas once again tried to get the knockout, but the buzzer sounded to end the 4th.

"Great work kid, great work! See what happens when you shut his jab down? he doesn't know what to do. But don't get careless, we're still down a couple rounds but i think this fight is mostly even. Slow him down a little and dig into his body" Rooney cautioned.

"Alright...Look at me...Okay...Alright, look that last round was a little rough but i think we're still up by a round or two. Keep an eye on his right hand, he's trying to use it to stuff your jab."

He came out more aggressively in the 5th, ramming his jab out in an attempt to either back dark up or bait out his own jab.

The two once again erupted into a brawl when Midas entered an exchange with a lead left hand. Dark pulled back and caught him with a 1-2 but Midas instantly slammed a right and left hook to his midsection punctuated by a right hand to the side of darks head while moving to his left and back to range.

once the buzzer sounded, still no one knew who was winning. One of them had to make a bold move to get ahead on the scorecards.

The two once again matched each others' jabs, but dark marched into a 1-2-1-2 combination, Midas utilized his head movement and high guard to their fullest, and none of the punches score. MT followed up with another lead left hand, and dark just pulled off the center line enough to get away from the punch.

Midas pivoted into a right hook to the body to cut off darks escape and dark attempts a lead uppercut but is intercepted by a left hook.

"Nice round kid, keep going to his body. This next round, i want you to ramp up the pace a bit, make him uncomfortable. That's all the advice i got for you."

"Watch out for his body attack, his body shots were giving you fits in the first fight, don't let him get it started again."

In the 6th, Midas started strong, landing thudding lefts to darks head and stinging rights to the body. but dark wasn't completely out of it.

He jabbed to Darks head and threw a sharp straight-left to his body. He noticed dark dropping his guard slightly.

he tries it again, intending to add a right hook but dark intercepts his jab with a left hook over the top and a right uppercut while Midas tries to dig to his body.

The two yet again slugged it out, and he fell back into his old habit of chasing dark in a straight line, allowing dark to move laterally and reset the distance.

It was yet another even round that saw no clear winners, and yet Midas couldn't help but notice dark huffing and puffing on his way back to his corner.

"That wasn't bad but, damnit kid you gotta stop doing that! if you keep chasing him straight-on like that he's just gonna walk you into that right hand. when he starts moving laterally, move with him. inch closer and closer like a Sherman tank."

"Good work, keep resting the distance like that. when you reset the distance you reset the pace keep moving and moving, pop that jab while you do."

if the last few rounds were even, the 7th is where the tide shifted.

Midas did as rooney asked; He blocked, slipped and caught darks jab intending to build counters off of it.

He also found it much easier to corner dark while he moved with him instead of chasing. He also found that dark threw panic punches when he felt he was being pressured into something.

Once cornered, Midas let his hands go. He threw a 1-2, intending for dark to throw back. Dark threw a 1-2 of his own, but he slipped the jab and caught him with a perfectly timed left hand, stunning him badly.

Midas began to put on a masterclass, smoothly slipping punches through darks guard and digging to his body whenever necessary.

he threw quick punches to the head to entice dark to raise his guard before slamming hard hooks to his sides.

The 7th round was the only round so far that had a clear winner.

"Keep it up kid, we're taking this fight back. But try this, when you corner him make him throw with you. He can't out-brawl you and he knows it which is why he's trying to stay on the outside.

"What did we talk about in training?! Never stand infront of someone with an inactive guard! You can't keep letting him corner you like that, when he tries to do so, fake one way and go the other."

The advice chosen have was good but dark was too spent to properly follow it.

The 8th round wasn't much better for dark, Midas began to switch his footwork up, finally finding enough of a groove to search for those hidden angles.

He continued with his earlier tactics and skillfully blocked, slipped and countered most attempts dark made to keep him at bay.

But he wasn't completely out of the fight. In fact, dark could hang surprisingly well at such a high pace.

But he didn't just throw random bombs, he was smart with his explosions, waiting for an opening to present itself once Midas began throwing. But this tactics was far from ideal, as he was still getting scored on.

Dark did use the momentum to spin him and exit the wall his back was up against to reset the distance but Midas continued setting up his body shots and used hook to cut dark off when he tried to move laterally.

"I like the pace you're setting, ramp it up more and more and this guy is toast!"

"Alright alright, that wasn't as bad as it could've been. I think it's time we switch it up, i want you to fight with your back to the wall. Whenever he digs to your body rip those hooks and uppercuts to his head."

In the 9th, Dark's new pace actually caught Midas off guard.

He fought off his back foot, trying to lead Midas into punches that mostly swung at air.

His combination punching were still issues for Dark, but he began throwing with him, timing him into hooks and uppercuts.

In the mid-point of the round, dark caught Midas with a left hook over his jab. He steps out and uses another left hook to try and set up a right hand, but Midas steps out and slips it, landing with a right hook on Dark's momentarily lowered guard.

The rest of the round was an even slugfest that saw both damaged but dark was once again the worse for wear by the end of the round.

Midas had a cut opened on his right cheek, but dark's cut was above his left eye.

"Target that cut, once he can't see that right hand coming the ref is sure to stop him on cuts!"

"Defend defend defend, do not let him tee-off on that cut otherwise you won't see that punch coming."

Midas came out in the 10th determined to gain the initiative, but Dark wasn't eager to let him.

Darks' constant jabs and movement gave off the impression of a fighter who didn't want to fight, and this angered him.

Sure as the sun rises that he had dark right where he wanted him, he tried to add insult to injury by attempting to beat dark at his own game.

He followed dark's slower pace and was even scoring on him, he could win this after all!

At least, that's what he thought. Little did he know, Dark was lining him up for a nasty overhand right over his jab that caught him flush.

For the first time in the fight, Midas was staggered.

"No! No No No! You practically gave him that last round on a silver platter, what the hell's wrong with you! You never try to beat someone at their own game unless you're confident you can!"

"That was a good punch you caught him with, line more of those up and you'll put him away in no time"

Midas tried to come out more aggressively in the 11th but dark instead threw combinations to make him raise his guard before circling away. He then countered him from long range.

Most of the round went this way with Midas getting visibly frustrated.

At the end of the round, Midas used his tricky footwork to bait the initiative before shifting into orthodox and slamming a hard overhand right and left hook combination into dark's head.

But he had the sense dark was planning something, he readied himself but the buzzer ended the round.

"What you did at the end of the round...More of that, i wanna see more of that. When you do that, he comes to you and he's not as good on the front foot against a fresh opponent.

"Keep doing what you're doing, if you keep him busy then he can't fire back once you start moving away. Even if they're not landing clean they still count for something."

Midas came out more slowly in the 14th, dark had first assumed it was fatigue and began to try and pressure him.

His intuition proved to be correct, Dark sprang to life and began landing combinations.

But he made the mistake of trying to stand and trade with Midas.

He rallied back, making dark back up several times.

The round was volatile, when it seemed one finally established control the other would quickly and violently wrench it from their grasp.

Towards the end, Midas landed a 1-2 and dark immediately tried to counter with the left hook. He used his momentum to slide his right foot to sn extreme outside angle. He then turn shifted into orthodox, using his new left lead foot to land a left hook through Darks guard.

The two had beaten each other bloody, and Midas was seeing double through his good eye, but the worst was yet to come.

The 15th was more high paced than the last, the two stood in the middle of the arena and didn't leave the spot for a majority of the round.

They traded blazing combinations that left their faces a crimson mask of viscera.

Both fighters would rather die than back up, the two had all but abandoned their gameplans and put everything into taking each other out right here and right now.

When the buzzer signaled the end of the 15th, but fighters didn't retreat to their corners.

They stood before the other, eyeing each other down defiantly through the blood, sweat and very few tears.

"alright boys, c'mon time to pack it up." The ref ushered the fighters to their respective corner.

The 16th was more of a high-paced chess match but dark seemed the worse for wear, but then again, there weren't many who could match the menace's stamina.

Midas landed hard combinations, flowing his straight and looping punches into a smooth cacophony of devastation. It was all dark could do to survive.

The round had ended, and both where damaged badly. The fight was dead even and would be judged by these last few rounds

"Okay kid, Amp rounds are coming up. you know what to do"

"Okay dark, Amp rounds are coming up. You know what to do"

The two met at the center again, the beaten fighters still attempted to stare each other down while the ref laid out instructions.

"These are the amp rounds gentlemen, which mean no holds are barred. touch up and lets get the fight going.

When the buzzer started, dark immediately took flight, Midas flew after him but dark landed swiftly and hurled 2 of the large boulders at him.

Midas blasted them to bits as he flew, and sent another one at dark, but he moved just in time. he landed near dark with a large explosion, sending him careening away.

Midas began following the instructions of a seemingly invisible coach that knew exactly what to do.

Dark quickly recovered from the explosion and decided to engage in hand-to-hand combat again.

Midas sees this and allows volcanic crystals to encase his arms.

Dark utilized leg and body kicks from range to slow him down and one of them hurt Midas' knee badly.

Catch The ravenous voice bellowed.

He caught dark's body kick and floored him with a nasty overhand that he was sure to break bones.

Dark may have outpointed him as far as strikes, but Midas' activity and the knockdown may have evened up the round.

In the 18th, dark tried to go back to his plan of using kicks at range, but Midas was in his flow totally and completely.

Move forwards. The same voice said once he caught darks body kick, this was good at forcing dark backwards and applying pressure.

Check! MT lifted his shin and checked a leg kick dark threw.

He was all too familiar with this voice; he didn't know what it was or where it came from, but it'd always been there.

It was ravenous, cantankerous and it wanted blood. It scared him

He continues to shut down darks kicks to the point where dark is desperately plodding forward in an attempt to reach.

"-Are definitely setting a strike record according to the judges" Midas vaguely heard one of the arena-side commentators say.

Then Midas did something he never did before.

Punish him the voice demanded.

He was unsure what to do.

Punish him, let it all go! It demanded louder.

Suddenly, he felt his confidence go through the roof and into cloud 9, he felt on top of the world, like he couldn't be touched.

He dropped his hands and turned to the commentator.

"Count 'em up!" He demanded as he smashed a jab into darks face.

He picked dark off at range; his long straight punches and looping hooks easily found their way through his guard and busted him up.

"I'm the best in the usfc!' He yelled as he landed another 1-2 and dodged Dark's return fire.

"I'm the best there's ever been!" 2 more hooks wobbled dark.

"I'm the best there ever will be!" another 1-2-3 combinations sent dark's blood splattering in the already crimson-tinted snow.

In the 19th it seemed the same would continue, Midas kept exerting his volume until dark haphazardly rushed him with and overhand right.

He took a step back, shifted into orthodox and pulled dark into a brutal knee that slammed into his side.

Dark doubled over and sent a blast at Midas to make space.

He gave chase but dark shot a double leg and attempted to wrestle him to the ground.

Midas planted himself and put a whizzer in on one of dark's shoulders, but dark got an ankle pick and went into a full mount.

Dark used his superior wrestling to maneuver Midas into worse and worse positions.

He reversed the position and found himself on the bottom half of the north-south position, but Dark took his back while Midas tried to posture up.

Dark sank the body triangle and attempted to sink the rear-naked choke, but where Midas' offensive wrestling lacked he more than made up for in defensive wrestling.

He peeled dark's arms off him and controlled the limb before digging his way out the opening he just made, prying himself out of the body triangle.

The two stood back up and the round ended.

While in his corner, Midas had an idea.

He left his corner just as the round was about to start and pointed at the ground, signaling he wanted to stand and trade this last round.

dark also pointed at the ground, nodding his head.

The buzzer started and the two aired it out for the last 3 minutes.

The round was non-stop explosive action as the two fought tooth and nail for a last second KO.

But Midas got the better of the exchange and wobbled dark. He threw punch after punch, and the ref, as well as chosen, were considering stopping it.

Just when it seemed dark was ready to go, the buzzer signaled the end of the fight.

The two smiled and embraced, battered, bloody and exhausted the two awaited the judge's verdict in the others embrace.

"Ladies and gentlesticks, the cards spell a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 6 rounds to 8 with 7 rounds even...And NEW, USFC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD: MIDAS

He cried out in joy as he dropped to his knees, exhausted thoroughly.

The fighters were promptly escorted to the hospital for a post-fight check-up. The fight left both with injuries warranting a sat of a few hours. Midas needed to have the burns on his arms treated and dark needed stitches to stop the bleeding on his face.

The two sat in their beds, in silence at first.

"Heh, that was fun...dontcha think?" Dark was the first to speak.

'Yeah...it was pretty fun."

"You got some juice on those body shots, gonna be feeling that for a while."

"Yeah? you kept that jab in my face so much that I'm still seeing it." Dark laughed, and Midas felt a strange connection building.

The two had, less than an hour ago, tried to essentially kill each other.

Not only that, but they'd done it twice now.

And here they were, bandaged like mummies with blood still seeping through, laughing and joking.

Enemy, He is an enemy! The voice boomed yet again.

He tried to shake it away, but it was persistent in the back of his mind.

Eventually, dark was escorted out to get an x-ray done.

He came back in with a sly smile on his face.

"You broke my ribs and my jaw, good job!" He chuckled.

Midas was then escorted out.

They hadn't told him what his x-ray yielded until the doctor came in saying he needed surgery.

"Your orbital is fractured and the muscles in you eye socket are trapped, we'll need to operate but lucky for you, it's on the commission's dime this time." He pulled a syringe out.

His eyes widened as the voice boomed over all else.

POISON, Don't let them!

The doc drew close to inject and Midas struggled, trying to keep him from injecting the poison.

"Shit! nurse, help me restrain him!" He thrashed and yelled, even activating his powers before feeling a pinch in his neck.

NO! The voice yelled as everything went dark.

Midas woke up on his desktop next to Rooney, who went giddy at the sight of him.

Rooney embraced him tightly.

"You did it kid, you did it! I'm so proud of you!" He felt that same, unfamiliar warmth spread across him. But this time, he welcomed it.

However, the joy was short lived as creator barged in.

"You let the fight go the distance and nearly lost...That is unacceptable...I've had this planned for a while but i think now is a good time to go through with it." He said with a sick smile

"You, With Me, Now!" He pointed to Midas and demanded.

He reluctantly obeyed, and creator took him to his personal window.

Midas was frozen in place as creator began re-writing his code.

His vision dimmed as searing pain soared through his body.

He screamed, it felt like he was being ripped apart and burned alive all at the same time.

He felt something on his left and whatever it was seared into his skin.

Rooney came running but froze in place.

It was over, Midas cradled his left hands with whimpers as steam leaped off of it.

Rooney looked closer and his features blanched.

It was a recall brand...Now he could never escape.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oh man this one's been a long time coming. sorry for the lack of updates, life's just been super busy and ive been turbo-burnt out.

I did some experimenting and took the emphasis off the psychological side for a more tactical approach as this fight scene was supposed to be a tactical chess-match that slowly turned into a slugfest, which is why it seems so drawn out.

I will eventually go back to my original approach but i had to beat writers' blocks somehow, and why not do it while updating my story.

[taraljc]

One of the things I've been thinking about recently is how most of the things that upset me about The Dark World relate to pacing, and cutting a significant portion of Jane's storyline so that she ends up a damsel in distress for a huge chunk of the movie. It's a massive disservice to the character and the actor, and I remember really empathizing with how frustrated Natalie Portman was when Patty Jenkins was no longer available because she had mostly signed up to do the movies specifically to work with Jenkins.

But I remembered that apart from scrapping the entire original Jane and Thor ending where they break up and also Odin voluntarily leaving Asgard and decides to wander Earth for a while, that they had gone back and added scenes with Loki. I kept thinking that they were more of the banter while attempting to fly Malekith's ship, but it turns out it was two scenes that I can't actually imagine the movie without.

I had some notes saved in a file but I had to figure out where they came from so I actually dug up the original article from 2013.

Here are the excerpts that are relevant to my and probably other Loki fans interests:

[Director Alan] Taylor was very clear to say they were not "reshoots," but "additional photography," he gave some insight into the Marvel process:

"It's my experience with the Marvel process they save a portion of the budget for this and what we were basically doing. A lot of it was getting more Loki stuff, because we realized how successful he was in the movie, so we sort of "Loki-ed it up" a little bit.

"There's a scene that we probably shouldn't identify too much, that's one of the funniest scenes in the movie where Loki's a shapeshifter. That was a very, very late addition. And there's a connective thing at the beginning that bridges from The Avengers story to sort of explain how Loki is in prison or why he is in prison. That was a very, very late addition. That was probably "more Loki is a good thing," but also we decided it was an expositional link that was needed for the audience. So those are two examples of Loki stuff."

Tom Hiddleston further clarified:

"[The bridge scene and morphing] were the only scenes [added], yeah. What does it do, adding scenes? It's interesting, because I had actually always wanted there to be that scene with Odin. I remember saying when I first got the draft of the script, "Shouldn't he have a scene with Odin where you see them lock horns one more time?" So I was very glad to do that and I think it makes more sense of the references to Odin all the way through the film.

"And the morphing scene was just so fun. It was just adding more mischief, more playfulness to the character. His charm is so much of the character and is a facet I love to play. I suppose the challenge of adding stuff later is just trying to capture the same psychological and emotional continuity, because there were many months between... Of course when you're shooting, that's when you're focused solely on that particular job and then once you wrap you go off and get distracted by other things, other projects in your life. So it's having the discipline to shift back into the right gear, but it was worth it."

You definitely want to read the entire article because from a production standpoint, the fact that they were still rewriting well into post-production. like they didn't have a complete script until picture lock which I just can't even imagine. No wonder Idris Elba was so disgusted with the process that he asked specifically to be killed off in the next film. and I know that Christopher Eccleston was very disappointed in the final film because a lot of the material that he shot was cut. and the thing is if you look at all of the excise material, and all of the additional photography, it would be very easy to recut the movie into a significantly better movie in every way.

The deleted scenes with Jane and Odin by the way are not available on any of the home entertainment releases that I've seen. The only place I found them was on YouTube. If I can dig up the links, I will post them next.

[darling-i-read-it]

General Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi x reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: smut, curse words I think, age gap (reader is legal)

Author’s Note: Hello there, I just started writing this and then it kept going and I just kept writing so here is this long af story that I literally just went crazy for 2 thousand and 4 hundred words but its what you deserve. This is also the first thing I wrote in 2020, I love that.

Requested: by @daphne-fandom-writing ,My dear friend (that I've met not a week ago) hello (there). You know I adore your writing. I also think you do age gaps better than I ever could. So I'm gonna request an Obi-Wan Kenobi x Reader age gap smut if you're up for it😇

Summary: the request

Genre: smut, fluff at the end

Song:

(not my gif)

Beside the point that Obi-Wan wasn’t supposed to have romantic feelings for anyone, he was surely not supposed to have romantic feelings for his padawans friend who was quite a few years his junior. Alas however, that was what his heart now desired and every time you came around to see Anakin his heart stopped for a moment.

You were intelligent and if he was saying so, more compatible with him than Anakin was. He found you were always on the same wavelength about things, Jedi training wise along with just random stuff that came up in conversation. You were still a Jedi in training and he promised himself he would do nothing to sabotage your dreams of climbing up the ranks.

Still though, he couldn’t deny his feelings for you. Well he could but it was getting harder by the day. The more he saw you the more difficult it got.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve asked Y/N to join us today Master, her teacher is out on a mission that she couldn’t come to,” Anakin said as they stood in the elevator going down to the training rooms. Obi-Wan nearly choked on his saliva. It took him a moment to answer his padawan.

“That's fine,” was all he managed out.

Anakin was well aware of his Masters growing feelings for you and because he was so inthralld in Padme he figured it might be good for Obi-Wan. Not to mention he was also able to catch the way that you looked at him. You were both so intensely into each other sometimes Anakin felt like he was being inappropriate when he was in the room with you two.

The tension was unbearable. He hoped he wasn’t so obvious with Padme.

The two of them walked down the hall to the regular large room they trained at. You sat on one of the training mats, messing with your lightsaber, watching the blue move back and forth in front of you. At the sight of the two boys you stopped, smiling and putting your lightsaber down.

“Anakin!” you said, walking over and giving him a brief hug. It the best way to have an excuse to touch Obi-Wan if you hugged Anakin first.

“Obi-Wan, thank you so much for allowing me to join you today,” you said with a small smile and gave him a brief hug. Anakin rolled his eyes at his Masters flustered ways when he hugged you back.

“Of course, it's always a pleasure to have someone who listens to me at these sessions,” he joked, a charming smile on his face. Anakin moved across the room to the other side and sat on one of the mats while the two of you flirted for a moment.

The session went on for a long while of Obi-Wan just showing you and Anakin the few movements that you needed fixing in your stance and then you practiced together. You beat Anakin more times than he beat you but he was also tired and you were also trying to show off. There was a mutual agreement there that went unspoken.

“Anakin you need to plant your feet before making that swing, it opens your side for an attack,” Obi-Wan told him sternly. You stood back and put your lightsaber in the hilt, seeing from the clock that the session was to be over soon.

“Well than you fight her Master,” Anakin huffed, tired of having to be in the middle of the tension but also hoping it was the day the two of you would get together. A blush formed on Obi-Wan's face that was subtle but there.

“That's hardly appro-”

“Oh come on Obi-Wan. Don’t think you can handle it old man?” you teased and he raised an eyebrow. He knew you were trying to agitate him and it was working well. Anakin smiled at your words and moved off the mat.

“Well if you say it like that.” Obi-Wan brought out his lightsaber and the blue light rivaled your own, the soft hum able to over take your light nervous breathing.

“Don’t go easy on me sweetheart,” you teased. A charming smirk came over his face and he pounced where you deflected, on the defensive immediately. Anakin put his head in his palm as he sat on the floor, watching the two of you. You both moved with an easy grace against one another. Your lightsabers caught each other in front of you and you tried not to look at him through the blue glow in front of you two. Eventually you raised your arm, catching him in a weak spot while he looked at your face. You both stumbled away from one another, shaken by the force behind one anothers blow.

“It's a draw. I have to go meet a Senator,” Anakin said, standing. You didn’t look at him, instead at your lightsaber in your hand that you had closed but was still slightly shaking from the force you and Obi-Wan had been fighting out.

“You’re very skillful Y/N,” Obi-Wan said, practically ignoring his own padawan as Anakin left the room. You chuckled and met his eyes.

“You aren’t all bad either General Kenobi.” Your voice drawled out unintentionally but seeing his eyebrow raise at you calling him General made you glad you did. You walked closer to him, boots hitting the floor lightly. You had never been alone in the room with him before.

“Just Obi-Wan is fine,” he said smoothly, practically fully masking his feelings at you being so close to him in a room alone. Boldly, you stepped forward again grabbing his lightsaber from the hilt on his hip. Your fingers brushed his side and while both of you pretending not to notice it was obvious you both felt it.

“I have a book that I was wondering if you could take back to the council for me. I’m busy this afternoon and I understand you have a meeting?” He nodded and took his lightsaber back from you. You whined a bit unintentionally.

“Of course. Do you have it with you?”

“It's back in my chambers. It will only be a minute I promise.” You stepped back and toward the door opening. He nodded, following you out. You walked side by side to your room.

When you got there and the door shut behind the two of you, you grabbed the book off of your nightstand and stared at it, unable to give it to him for a moment. He watched the gears turning in your head.

“What is it?” he asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on your arm. You turn your head to look at him, smiling a bit.

“I know Jedi aren’t supposed to have feelings for others but I’m a little distraught about that rule,” you say as though it was a joke but he could hear the seriousness in your voice. His heart dropped a bit, selfishly hoping you were talking about him but sure you were talking about Anakin,

“It's a hard rule to live by.” You hesitated.

“Have you ever ...had feelings for another Jedi?” He let go of your arm and tried to look natural.

“Yes,” he breathed. Your eyes widened and your heart strings tugged.

“Who?” you whispered. He shook his head but was unable to back away from you.

“I shouldn’t-”

“Obi-Wan please.” Your voice sounded so mature in that moment as you pleaded with him. Like you had grown so tired after years of living.

“You.” His voice was barely audible but you caught it because you were looking for it. He waited a moment to hear your rejection and when it didn’t come he was going to speak again but you were setting the book down on your nightstand. He opened his mouth to ask what you were doing but your lips crashed onto his and he promptly closed them, gripping your sides to steady the both of you.

You shoved him onto the bed with a hard force and he didn’t have time to make a snarky comment before your lips were back on his. You sat on top of him, hands running through his hair as you kissed him roughly. You pulled away to look at him and make sure he was alright, that you weren’t doing anything he didn’t want.

“Oh don’t stop now,” he muttered with a snarky smile. You rolled your eyes and worked on his complicated outfit and getting it off, desperate to find more skin. If you didn’t have one just like it would have taken forever.

You laughed a little as he grabbed your own robes and you were both frustrated in getting one another's clothes off.

“This is the reason Jedi shouldn’t have sex, these damn robes,” you joked and he sat up, you still sitting on top of him. He finally made a breakthrough and your were naked other than your bra and underwear. He undid your hairdo just by kissing you again and roaming his hands through your hair. You finally kicked his clothes off as well as he kissed you.

Feeling your hands on his body made him feel a fierce urgency he had never felt before. A sense of need, needing to be in you, needing to be one with you. Your lips moved down his neck and he undid your bra through a moan while you grind your hips against his crotch.

He was done waiting. He had waited so long for this moment, for sure nothing was going to happen. But here you were, on top of him, your lips leaving sloppy kisses on his bare skin. He would have thrown out his lightsaber and his Jedi status if it meant you would never stop.

“I need you General Kenobi,” you muttered as you pulled away from his neck. He made a noise that sounded like a moan just at your words.

“What are you doing to me,” he whispered and you smiled, pulling off him and sliding off your last bit of clothes. He shrugged off his as well and you connected your lips to his again hungrily. He took his hand and lined himself up with you and you slowly sat down on him. You gasped in unison to the feeling and you clung to each other, your hands gripped his built shoulders and his hands on yours lips, nails digging into your skin.

“Y/N,” he muttered and you nodded, moving up and down, creating a pace. You moved a hand up to move his hair out of his face and stared at him as you moved, him staring right back. You kissed him again briefly and then stuck your head in the crook of his neck. Neither of you lasted very long and you came together, shaking against one another.

After a moment you pulled off him and you both collapsed on the bed beside each other. He threw an arm around you and snuggled closer to him, despite both of you being sweaty and tired from training and sex.

You put an arm around his stomach and traced lines into his chest with your finger. There was a moment of content silence as you came down and processed what just happened.

“Should we have done that?” he whispered. You laughed lowly and looked up at him.

“Well we can’t take it back now.” He shrugged.

“I liked it. Very much,” he said chuckling. You laughed a bit too, finger going up to his chin and then back down to his chest.

“I like you very much.” He smiled dreamily.

“You don’t care I’m...older than you?” You rolled your eyes.

“Sweetheart that is the least of our problems,” you said with a smile. He nodded, understanding. He seemed calmer now that he knew how you felt. Now that he had you in his arms.

“We can make it work.”

“Oh yes we can.” You sat up, looking down at him. He propped himself up with his elbow. “And you know what, I may be training with you and Anakin more. My Master is supposed to be gone for a few months. Very important mission.” He looked at you for a moment and then you smiled sneakily. “You did that. Oh my Maker, you sent her on a mission!” you said laughing. He shrugged.

“I didn’t know we would end up here but in hindsight I sure hoped we would.” You got up and grabbed his robe, putting it over your bare body. It was big on you, the sleeves falling over your fingers.

“You have a council meeting and I will be here when you return. I’ve stolen your robe so you have to come back.” You threw him his other clothes and he started to put them back on.

“I would have come back either way. You’re officially stuck to my side.” You smiled and handed him your book.

“Oh darn what am I gonna do?” you teased. He kissed you softly when he was fully clothed and you melted into his lips, cursing when he pulled away.

“I’ll see you later,” he whispered dreamily.

“Later General Kenobi.” He gave you a look and then the door clicked behind him. He walked down the hall a ways and didn’t even notice when he ran into Anakin. His padawan held up his hands to steady Obi-Wan.

“Focus on your surroundings Master,” he joked as Obi-Wan regained his composure.

“Thank you Anakin,” he said snarkily. Anakin was about to walk away when he caught a mark on his Masters neck that made him pause. He lifted up his hand and touched it, making Obi-Wan pull away, annoyed.

“Maker, you and Y/N-”

“Anakin Skywalker I will-”

“Well at least cover it. Where's your robe?” Obi-Wan didn’t meet Anakin's eyes, cursing himself for being so sloppy. He had just been so caught up in the moment. Anakin laughed, taking off his robe and handing it to Obi-Wan who took it with a sour look.

“Thank you,” he stammered. Anakin smiled.

“Anytime.”

[revchainsaw]

You're Next (2011)

Greetings Flock! Reverend Chainsaw here with another film review to feed your souls. Parishioners of the Cult of Cult should be familiar with todays offering, and that is good news for you shall find your hearts strangely warmed. Please join me as we dive into the Book of You're Next and renew our devotion to the Trinity that is The Tiger, the Lamb, and the Holy Wolf.

The Message

You're Next is definitely a tough film to review. For a movie as young as it is to have had such a strong and committed following speaks volumes and I believe you would be hard pressed to find a review by anyone who loves horror that is down on the film. While it can sometimes bring me great joy to review the awful films of the world, occasionally it is a pleasure to give honor to those films which deserve it.

You're Next is a film which fits neatly into both the Slasher and Home Invasion genres. The story centers around a vicious assault on a wealthy family by 3 masked men, all on the evening when our heroin, Erin, is meeting them for the first time. Avoiding the Slasher genre trope of generic murder lambs we are yet again faced with an excellent cast where not even the early victims are forgettable.

The movie opens with the grizzly murder of the Davison's nearest neighbors by our animal masked assassins, insuring that should anyone attempt to flee they will not be finding help any time soon. Then we get one hell of a title card before we find Paul and Aubrey Davison preparing to have their children and their respective partners over to their home to celebrate their anniversary. Aubrey is played by Re-Animators own Barbara Crampton. Foremost among the children visiting are their son Crispian, a college professor, and his Australian girlfriend Erin, who was once his T.A. This is a source of contention for Crispian when his siblings judge the professional nature of this relationship.

Two by Two the Children arrive. It is off handedly mentioned that the Davisons money comes from defense contracts, and that the family dynamic is particularly strained. An arrow from a cross bow pierces the window during a particularly tense dinner, and then the film enters full force into unyielding action. There are characters murdered by arrows, a gruesome slice to the jugular by some sinisterly placed piano wire (during what was ramping up to be a daring escape from the home), and of course axe murders.

Crispian manages to escape into the night abandoning Erin and his remaining family. At this point, Erin, who is revealed to have been raised on a survivalist compound begins to fight back. Erin goes full Home Alone on the invaders, and the hunters soon become the hunted. After Erin kills one of the villains It is revealed through the course of the night that the murder of the Davison family is an inside job. These men are paid assassins and they were hired by Felix and his gothy girlfriend Zee, whose macabre tastes include being sexually aroused by dead bodies. Once Erin discovers this fact she dispatches the rest of the animal masked crew as well as Felix and Zee with some very creative uses of kitchenware.

Just as we are about to declare Erin the final girl of this film Felix's phone rings, it's Crispian. When Erin answers Crispian reveals that he was the ringleader, but his weak constitution had caused him to flee the scene. Impatient when he doesn't here Felix on the other end Felix reenters the home to find a bloody Erin. He begs and makes excuses, promising Erin that she was intended to be a witness to the slaughter and was safe the whole time. Erin is having none of it, and ends the relationship once and for all with a stab to the neck.

The film ends with the arrival of the police who upon discovering Erin murdering Crispian set off one of her Home Alone traps and she is set up to be held responsible for the whole affair. Here's hoping we get the court room drama sequel that this movie deserves.

The Benediction

Best Kill: Erin, In the Kitchen, With the Vitamix It's not often in a horror flick that the best kill can be said not to have come from the hands of the monster, but from the heroin. Toward the climax of the film Erin has had enough and she expresses her self in glorious gory satisfaction with a blender to the skull of her lovers brother Felix.

Best Character : T.A. Taking Action Suprise! It's Erin. The best character is Erin. I really wanted to try and say that it was some more obscure character like snarky big bro Drake, but No. It's Erin, it was always Erin. She is the stand out feature of the film. The Lamb, the Tiger, and the Wolf masks were instantly iconic and sold in Hot Topic from the minute the movie made a wide release, but no one comes out of You're Next thinking about the mercenary assassins. We come out thinking about how the lass from the land down under turned the tide against the terribe trio. The audience wants more Erin.

Best Actor: We Came, We Got You, Barbara!

It's just so good to see Barbara Crampton whenever we can. It says something for a person to still be doing the Scream Queen thing for this long. She is not the most likeable character in You're Next but she is selling the fear, the tension and the goals of her character. I think it would be safe to say that the first act would not be nearly as effective without Barbara Cramptons performance.

Best Villain: Zee Nation

Zee was just something else. The Masked Trio of Home Invaders were sort of plug and play. The masks and tactical gear definitely sold the menace, but they were not really characters. They are given some slivers of back story and I don't think that it's really a problem that way. I've been happy with less before. It just sort of means that no one killer stands out in particular. Though the Lamb Mask is my personal favorite. For all the brutish merciless killing these three dole out to the Davison family it's really Zee who makes a splash in my memory. She's absolutely as gleeful as a deadite about all this bloodshed going on around her. She isn't just dark and edgy cuz it's a look, it seems like she really took that aesthetic to heart. The fact that you couldn't tell she'd happily tear your throat out by looking at her certainly makes her a bigger threat than she gets credit for.

Worst Character: Poor Little Rich Kid

All of the characters in You're Next work. Some move from grating to sympathetic, others from charming to pitiful, but at some point every character has a presence and a personality that the viewer can recognize. No Character in this film will receive worst character because they are poorly written, unneccessary, or just obnoxious. However, one character is consistently self-indulgent, cocky, sniveling, and has all the undeserved sense of superiority of a Kevin Smith protagonist, and that's Crispian. Fuck Crispian. He's a bad boyfriend, a bad brother, a bad son, and a bad teacher. He has so much that he doesn't deserve, and earnestly feels he's entitled to more.

Most WTF Moment: Crossing the Line

Was it Crispian's heel turn? Was it Felix stabbing drake? The realization that the family extermination was an inside job? Was it the twist that Erin was a bad ass? What single moment made everyone who's seen this movie go "WHOAH!!!" all at once? When Crispian was attempting to make his exit the first time he proposed he go and get help claiming he's the fastest, to which his overestimation of himself is comedically undercut by the fact that he is in fact out of shape and his sister Aimee used to run track. The family unanimously agrees they would put their lives in the hands of poor Aimee and her athletic past, but they also propose she back up and bolt out the front door the minute they open it up. The music swells, and Aimee makes a run for it. She is stopped short by a piano wire trap set by the mercenaries, as her momentum allows the wire to cut deep and clean into the meat of her neck. She is not decapitated but bleeds out on the floor of the house. It really catches the viewer off guard and is a very impressive effect. Not only is Aimee's kill the most WTF moment, but it is runner up for best kill.

Summary You're Next is hands down my favorite home invasion movie. It's wide appeal is undeniable. As of 2015, You're Next was predicted to be considered the best horror movie of the 2010s. Unfortunately for You're Next but how wonderful for us, the later half of the decade really ramped up the great horror films releases. I wouldn't call You're Next the best horror film of it's time, but it definitely deserves to be remembered. People's enthusiasm for the film does seem to be slowing and I think it would do our congregation a great service for us to continue singing it's praises.

Overall Grade: A