#Many of its pacing issues and writing issues were because of the massive cuts and less time in the season to write it out

[incorrectquoteswwdits]

Love how OFMD was a popular show with a huge following, and Max is like

You’ll have a shorter second season and no budget. Work with it.

You’re cancelled now bye!

[jonsa101]

Yes, There’s Only 14 Episodes in Season 3 But Sharpwin is On Track and Progressing How They’re Supposed To.

There has been so much talk about this season’s writing and the lack of Sharpwin scenes that I thought I would just address everything in this post.

First, the writing this season is NOT BAD! In my honest opinion I actually think this season has some of the best writing in the series. Compared to season two, the writing is head and shoulders above what we got last year. More than ever before we are diving into these characters stories, seeing friendships form, getting a better look into their home life and seeing secondary characters shine! This is a good thing! These were the things that were so desperately needed in season 2 but we didn’t see this play out. I’ve said this before in my infamous season 2 rant and I’ll say it again, a show can’t solely depend on a ship! It has to have great storytelling and good character development for all of it’s main characters. This is what New Amsterdam failed to do in season two and they’re now making it up for it in season 3. The only area I would say the storyline suffered was the Cassian, Helen and Max “love triangle.” There was definitely more intent with that plot before the pandemic. Cassian was not only supposed to be a catalyst for Jealous Max and Sharpwin but he was also supposed to come in and challenge the way Max did things. Cassian’s whole thing was self care first=great patient care which was the complete opposite of Max and the two of them were supposed to clash. Obviously this completely changed due to the pandemic. You can’t have a storyline about a doctor prioritizing himself first for “better patient care”in the midst of thousands of doctors globally throwing themselves on the frontlines and even loosing their lives to COVID-19. It would have been a terrible look to have that storyline so they clearly scrapped it! What we saw was probably them trying to salvage whatever was left from the original plot while they still had Daniel Dae Kim in the limited amount of episodes for season 3.

Apart from that, I think the writers are doing a fantastic job in terms of character development this season. Arguably I would say that Iggy probably has the best storyline so far and that’s incredible for his character. Tyler Labine is acting his ass off and Iggy’s scenes with Lauren, Vijay and Martin were top tier!!! We are finally getting a Max and Reynolds bromance that was teased in season one but literally know where to be found in season two! It’s great seeing them bond on screen and I hope we get more moments with these two. We’re also seeing Reynold’s “life plan” blow up in his face and we finally have some closure with Bloom. They kept us in limbo for so long! We didn’t know if him and Bloom were truly over but now we finally know. Also, it seems like he and Evie are officially done as well and he might have a new love interest on the horizon. For Lauren, she’s clearly seems to be having a coming out story which is something I didn’t see coming at all. I’m really curious how they’re going to play this out for her and can’t wait to see it unfold. Last but not least, for Max and Helen they are both going through massive character development phases which leads me to my second point.

I love a good Max and Helen scene as much as the next person. To me they’re the ultimate ship and I want to see them thrive and flourish but just because we don’t see Max and Helen interact doesn’t mean that the show isn’t properly developing or investing in their relationship!!!!!!!!The relationship between Max and Helen is so nuanced that their relationship doesn’t hang in the balance because they don’t have more witty, flirtatious, or emotional dialogue. Don’t get me wrong, I adore those moments. Those scenes between them make us the passionate sharwpin shippers we are. At the same time though, we have to truly take a look at why the state of their relationship is where its at now and why from a narrative perspective their current interactions make sense. In order to do this, we have to take a look at where Max and Helen left off last year.

At the end of season 2, Max made a move on Helen and almost kissed her in her office. After this moment occurred he never addressed it and at the time he was still dating Alice. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was the catalyst for why Helen started dating Cassian in the first place. She had practically laid her feelings out there and told Max he was the reason she gave up half of her department. After this revelation and the massive, intimate moment he initiated in her office, he didn’t even have the decency to address it. He swept it under the rug and wanted to keep the same relationship that he had with her like nothing ever happened. Even though Helen was aware about Alice, we now know from season 3 that Helen felt a type away that Max never “officially” told Helen that he was dating her. This is IMPORTANT!!! Max and Helen did not end on a high note in season 2. In fact, the very last scenes we see of season 2 is Helen blowing off Max to go on a date with Cassian and Max breaking off things with Alice. I know this wasn’t intentional due to the season being cut short but it definitely contributes to where they are now. 

Fast forward a year later, and not only do we still have a massive almost kissed elephant in the room between Max and Helen but also the trauma of being on the frontlines of a pandemic and going through the biggest social justice movement the world has seen. This is something I’ve said many times over but I’m not sure the fandom recognizes how much these events have permanently altered these characters and changed the dynamics of this show. COVID-19 changed everything. The Black Live Matter Movement for the first time grabbed the attention of the world and changed everything too! Max and Helen are in the process of trying to heal and rebuild their lives the best they can as individuals after such a tumultuous year. At the same time, they are acutely aware of the feelings they have for each other and the UST between them and are carrying the weight of that as well. Naturally guys, the combination of all this is going to change most dynamics in a relationship. Things are awkward and distant  because Max and Helen are awkward and distant!! They have a lot of shit that they’re going through as individuals and subconsciously as a “couple.” They are clearly not in a healthy place to be as vulnerable as they once were to each other. And how can they be when their feelings have literally been eating at them for over year?! It’s hard to ignore that and try to force yourself to go back to the way things were. Especially when their feelings have “technically”  been out in the open since the end of season 2. They both know what it is! They were steps away from unleashing years of built up sexual tension between them and they went on with their lives like it never even happened. Max walking in on her and Cassian kissing in HER OFFICE and subsequently having that convo with Helen was not for shits and giggles. It triggered the BEAST of his feelings that he had fought so hard to suppress. There is no doubt in my mind that when he saw them in her office kissing, he was having some serious dejavu to their almost kissing affair last year. He‘s in love with her and she’s in love with him but this what happens when you continuously try and run away from those feelings and let it fester instead of trying to deal with it head on. The dynamic  were seeing between them now is a result of their unresolved issues and it absolutely plays into Sharpwin’s story. It doesn’t take away from it. It makes sense for where they are NOW! 

If we look at season three holistically, you’ll realize that a momentum for something significant happening for Sharpwin has been set through the acting and writing. I got to give it to Ryan Eggold. He has that fire and desire, Mr. Darcy type level acting down to a tee so far. It is so satisfying seeing Max so overcome with his feelings that you can tangibly see it in his body language and hear it in his voice. We have seen Max taken aback by Helen before but we have NEVER seen him like this. I keep on saying it but this is different guys. Something has shifted and it seems like Max is on the verge of exploding. His feeling are burning hot right underneath the surface and it’s a beautiful thing to behold. Last night’s episode was ripe with this type of content and Ryan was in his acting bag! It wasn’t an overtly “Sharpwin” episode but the writing and the acting is so clever and methodical, it will have you thinking otherwise. At the beginning of season 3 Max told Helen that he wants to build something better for Luna and something better for her. Was last night not a beautiful reflection of that? One question asking Max if he has ever loved a black woman put him in the shoes of his patient’s husband and had Max advocating for his wife like he would advocate for Helen if it was her! If that’s not fucking romantic I don’t know what it is and if the alarm bells aren’t going off that there is something deeper at play here with a huge payoff around the corner I don’t know what to tell you! Another moment that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is when Helen was telling Cassian that her brother died. I wrote about this in a previous meta of mind but Helen at her most vulnerable telling Cassian that she feels like she’s running out of time is SO SIGNIFICANT guys!!! It’s not only tell us that she fears that she’s missing out on the windows of opportunities for the wants and needs in her life but it literally sets the pacing of how quickly Sharpwin is going to progress. It is the beautiful freudian slip that tells us exactly where things are headed for these two. To me this is equivalent to Max telling Helen “I love my doctor” and “what if I want you?” in season 1. This episode had no interaction between Max and Helen but it was a MASSIVE Sharpwin indicator through and through! These are just a couple of examples but even their respective journeys in parenting is so Sharpwin driven. So in all I’m not mad in the direction the show has taken to showcase their relationship this season because Sharpwin is deeply interwoven in the storyline this year even if it’s not overtly obvious through emotional dialogue/ interactions. 

Also, one thing you have to realize is this, season three is wrapping up a lot of loose ends from season 2 and when it comes to Max and Helen these two points will be/ have to be addressed in the next six episodes.

The Almost Kiss

Whether or Not They Want To Be Together

The showrunners know without a shadow of doubt that the resolution for these two points is owed! If Sharpwin is talking about their almost kiss, there is no way that they aren’t talking about what they mean to each other and what their future looks like together. Both solutions literally go hand in hand and I promise you they are not delaying the resolution for that till season 4. It’s not happening fam. We will see this play out within the next six episodes. So in hindsight, more Sharpwin interaction are on the horizon. 

When I was making predictions about this season I wasn’t aware that this season would only be 14 episodes. I’m sad that season 3 is so short but that still doesn’t change my mind for where I think the story is going. Call me crazy but I’m sticking to my guns. There is something about how Ryan is portraying Max that is signaling something huge. Also I just trust the context clues that i believe the show is giving. I trust it! Anyway y’all! If you have any sharpwin question just DM here or message me on Twitter! my username is @oyindaodewale. 

Love you guys! ❤️

[silyabeeodess]

So... Last night, I read the Balan Wonderworld novel.  It’s... something.  It's not bad--I did enjoy it and it does have its moments--but there’s bits that don’t really seem to work as well as they could’ve and they can add up.  To avoid major spoilers, like last time, I’ll put my thoughts below the cut, so be warned:

Most of my concerns are issues with the individual characters, but I’ll start by talking about the book itself first.  Because there are so many people and themes in it to discuss, with the plot covering every stage and each of the residents’ backstories, you have to move through events quickly: We don’t really spend enough time with any of the characters to know them beyond some basic traits and what they need.  Fine for a game and with visuals, sure, but not so much for a story.  Things can feel like they’re moving a bit too fast, which I can excuse because of the large cast number; however, the writing only amplifies the problem and makes it feel like the book is being padded with wasted, repetitive dialogue that takes away from the story. I want you to imagine taking the 12 Days of Christmas and turning it into a novel--not with the things divided up into each individual day, but each chapter repeating all of the other days that came before it.  It’s stale, it’s droning, and you as a reader will just end up skipping through material after a while.  The book does this through the visions the characters share of Balan and Fighter/Emma, with Streetbeat/Leo and the residents each having them with slight differences in-between.  As you meet each individual resident, one by one, they repeat a lot of the same things over and over.  Not only that, but then you have to loop back through them and their stages a second time as Leo saves everyone.  It’s not quite as bad as my 12 Days of Christmas example, but it does get to the point where you’re ready to say, “I get it! Your lover gave you calling birds, hens, doves, and a partridge--please, just move on already!” There are such easy fixes to this issue too, like having characters already meeting in each other’s stages to cover them together, maybe summarizing the differences in their stages to set up Leo’s expectations before he sees how distorted they become later on since he’s going to have to visit each one anyway.  Instead, time is wasted that could’ve been spent on descriptions or building the characters in other ways.      

I think the one character that suffers the most because of this Fighter/Emma.  Because she’s placed in the story with the same mystery as Balan and viewed as a villain by the rest of the cast up until the end, she’s constantly being sidelined even though she’s a main character.  She’s used more-so as a plot device for Leo, running off to do her own thing when she’s no longer needed, and then gets no conclusion where all of the other characters do.  It’s like that meme where a person asks, “What about Emma?” and everyone just repeats the question dismissively as an answer. Again, I get it, we’re following Leo’s story here just as we would only be following one of them in the game, but it’s bad to keep dismissing her all while using her as a necessary key to saving everyone else.  I guess it’s implied at the end that the Wonderworld gang might seek her out too, as they did with each other, but she’s barely a footnote.  Balan and Lance suffer a little bit too, but do make enough satisfying reappearances that it’s not as much of an issue.  

I kind of want to avoid talking about the writing style further, as I can’t help but wonder how much might be more of something like a translation issue; however, I will say that if you plan on reading this with a young reader, be ready to explain some extensive vocabulary to them.  The style itself isn’t very flowery, the book isn’t a heavy text, but there are some words they won’t understand that can’t be deciphered by using the surrounding text.  Like I said, the book doesn’t have a strong focus on description: Moreover though, there’s not as many illustrations paced through the book as you would imagine based on the preview.  You end have having to rely on what you already know going off those first images at the start of the book introducing the characters or if you’ve played the game. It’s not a big thing, but I can see it being a small problem if you chose to read the novel alone.  I tend to lean toward styles with heavier description in both my reading and writing though, so that might be a bit of my personal bias as well.  Some of you may prefer it as it is.

Now getting on to the individual characters... Oh boy, is there some stuff to go through.  Let me start with the one I’m actually a little uncomfortable with, as her actions affect some of the other characters as well in major ways: The Clocktower Kid/Cass Milligan.  Throughout the story, we’re given clues that she has a big crush on Pensive Perriot/Attilio Caccini--who, as most of you likely already know--is in love with a woman who works with him at his theme park as a princess.  By the end of the book, it’s revealed that there’s a near decade-long gap between when the two stepped into Wonderworld and that Cass is the princess...  Thankfully, Attilio showed no interest in Cass as her child-self and this means that they’re actually close to the same age, but let’s unpack the assortment of other problems this brings up.  1.)  This goes beyond a childhood crush with someone older that most people get over: The girl devoted a decade of her life to getting the princess role so she could be with the guy.  If it was a year or two between teenagers, that would be one thing: This borderlines obsession.  2.) She knows who Attilio is from the beginning and waits for him to confess his love to her before revealing her identity.  She says it’s because she didn’t want to risk messing up the timeline, but her own actions could’ve done exactly that had the princess role been meant for literally any other girl on the entire planet.  She didn’t know that she was meant to be the princess: All she knew was that she wanted to be with Attilio.  3.)  Either Attilio just kind of accepts all of this or, again, the pacing won’t give us some much-needed details, because the next thing we know we’re getting to their engagement and honeymoon months later.  Keep in mind: While she waits a decade for him, his confession takes place barely a few hours after he leaves Wonderworld.  I think the guy would need at least a little time to process everything.  4.)  While the book seems to stay close to the game’s canon from what I’ve seen, this particular relationship is handled even weirder in its cutscenes.  For one thing, it’s not revealed that Cass is the princess.  For another, despite this, we see her with Attilio anyway as her young, childhood self--granted, without any big hints to a romance between them. I’ll let you dissect what you will from that.

Let me get to The Checkered King/Cal Suresh next.  In the novel, a couple of the characters had their backstories tweaked.  These changes don’t interfere with what we see from the game’s cutscenes, but they do add more context to them that changes what particular issues the characters are suffering through.  In Cal’s case, his obsession with his champion title in chess led him to ignore his dying wife, adding an extreme sense of guilt and longing that wasn’t there when we believed this was just a matter of his pride and sense of identity alone.  Enter Cass, who reappears in her timeline before this death takes place, finds out who Cal is... and apparently does nothing to warn him. We can use her timeline excuse, but this is someone’s dying wife we’re talking about--she even sees him grieving over her in an illusion as they’re all leaving Wonderworld.  Even if no one could do anything for Mrs. Suresh, even if Cal didn’t listen to Cass and dismissed everything she had to say about wasting precious hours better spent with the people you love, I think an attempt at talking to him would at least be necessary.  No though, the book just ignores that while the two of them and Attilio eat snacks together.            

Cal isn’t the only one who had the added trauma of death: They did it to The Watcher/Sana Hudson too.  In her case, she was trying to protect some endangered birds that were killed--both directly and indirectly--by the construction workers in her area, leading her to despise humanity for its “greed and selfishness.”  Now, her situation/feelings is/are perfectly understandable, especially given how the construction workers in the story are portrayed.  What doesn’t really work is the context surrounding the issue and her actions involving the event. Now, I admit this first point is a bit weak as I can’t speak for the regulations across every country and we don’t know exactly where Sana is from, but a lot of places have heavy regulations and work with big organizations to protect endangered species.  Not to mention this is a bit of a heavy topic with much-needed context for a book like this to properly cover.  This fact isn’t even glossed over though and the workers have no problem cutting down the birds’ tree despite how this would likely cause massive legal trouble for them and be a major deterrent as a result.  As to the “greed and selfishness of man,” this doesn’t really work well considering that the workers are trying to build a residential area.  A cost to the environment?  Yes.  However, it was likely ordered for the benefit of the community.  We see this debated a little more evenly in the conclusion to Sana’s story; however, we’re also pretty much told “Yeah, humans are terrible and can never change. Pick birds over them,” beforehand.  Lastly, Sana’s own actions--or rather, lackthereof.  When the birds lose their tree, their eggs are destroyed and the parents stay behind out of their love for their deceased offspring rather than leave for winter later on, resulting in their deaths.  To try to prevent this, Sana begs the birds to leave... Let me repeat that: She begs the birds to leave.  The problem?  They’re birds.  They’re animals.  And, outside of the theatre, this is supposedly a world just like ours.  You can’t reason with a bird like a person.  She could’ve just as easily tried to capture the birds and brought them somewhere safer herself or called someone who would.  If that didn’t work, at least those actions would make a lot more sense for the hatred she feels towards other humans: Instead, this decision makes their deaths kinda her fault too for leaving them there despite knowing what would happen is she did. 

I don’t know how I feel about the added issues involving death.  Yes, there’s a lot surrounding that theme alone to cover, but part of Balan Wonderworld’s charm is confronting all these people with extremely diverse problems, some stemming from issues beyond their control and some their own, internal struggles. The inclusion of death might have made the consequences of events more traumatic, but I think to a detriment.  It doesn’t affect Sana as much, but Cal’s case is the worst, as his wife’s passing echoes the regret and mourning we already get from The Lady/Iben Bia’s story when it could’ve been it’s own, independent thing focusing on pride, identity, and a sense of fulfillment that we see more in his game counterpart.  I can’t help but feel that we miss out on a wider range of messages by emphasizing on the aspect of death so much.         

Lastly, let’s get to Balan and Lance.  Overall, I greatly enjoyed the twist at the end with the connection between their characters.  The problems I have with them, honestly, I debate whether or not are even problems at all as they do address real concerns that perfectly fit what individuals in their circumstances would go through.  First Lance, then Balan, they’ve spent a millennia helping others repair the imbalance in their hearts.  People come, people go, and they’re left behind, forever alone in that that theatre.  It would be crushing.  Lance already broke under the weight of that pain, which is why Balan exists--and now he’s likely doomed to continue the cycle as he suffers this same degree of loneliness.  My main issue is that there’s so much to cover about this that we’re barely given a teaspoon of.  The author couldn’t really give us much, as this book’s main focus was on Wonderworld’s inhabitants.  It feels though that there’s something being built-up that we might not ever get to see completed depending on how successful the franchise it, which is sad if that’s the case.  (Hey though: That’s where we fans usually step in, right?)          

Secondary to that is that there’s a level of hypocrisy to Balan, Lance, and how they engage with the inhabitants.  I kind of love it, but this is where I’m a little conflicted since Balan is supposed to be the one helping people fix their hearts.  Two general themes that carry over greatly among all of the inhabitants is the importance of love and friendship, how we rely on others to grow and save us from the worst of ourselves.  Balan, however, is required to stay detached from others no matter how much it hurts or what it will inevitably lead to, as everyone must leave Wonderworld eventually.  It’s a conflict of interest.  Ironically enough, it’s Lance’s decision to trap Leo in a stage and his overwhelming longing for true connections that allow the inhabitants to find and help each other.  It’s bad that Balan and Lance couldn’t take the lessons they gave others and apply it to themselves, because their situation is so extreme. 

Furthermore, there’s a hypocrisy between Balan and Lance in their decision to wipe the inhabitants memories.  It’s revealed not to be a magical phenomena caused by the theatre itself once people leave it as many of us thought, but rather a conscious choice Balan makes--just like Lance.  However, while Lance does it to keep the inhabitants contently trapped inside their hearts, we’re not really given a reason for Balan’s actions. Memories, good and bad, are a vital piece of us: We reflect on them as we grow to maintain the lessons we learned in those moments that make us who we are.  We see the danger of lost memories not just with Lance, but with Balan as well as part of Sana’s conclusion alludes to a potential relapse.  It was her connection to the people she met in Wonderworld that allowed her to recognize one of them--Eis Glover--back home and keep her grounded in another, potentially shattering instant of her life. Similarly, Leo only managed to restore his imbalance because of his friendships with the other inhabitants--friendships he was destined to lose the moment he walked out of the theatre had Balan taken everyone’s memories.  This too, I feel, could’ve caused Leo to relapse.  If so, Balan’s choice to let them keep their memories of Wonderworld likely prevented them from needing to come back to the theatre--at least not as often as they may have needed to otherwise.  Let’s get to the question Lance brings up at the end: “Honestly, enough with the self-deception.  You normally take everyone’s memories when they leave, so why this time did you make an exception?” It could be that Balan simply didn’t want to be forgotten anymore.  It could also be that he loved them enough that he didn’t want them to suffer to the extent where they had to return to the theatre even if it meant there was a chance he wouldn’t see them again.  That idea would beg a second question though: Why did Balan erase the memories of every inhabitant who came before them?   (If it isn’t obvious by now, this scene was my favorite bit in the whole book.)    

I know this whole post seems to be mostly a series of complaints, but I did enjoy the book overall: I just have a tendency to look at every detail and, when things don’t work, they stay in my mind for a long while.  Like I said at the start, the novel isn’t a bad read, it just has some bad points.  If you’re already a fan of the game, you’ll probably enjoy it too.  If not, I’d recommend checking out some of the other content available--like the video previews/cutscenes introducing the characters--before stepping into this.   

[sometipsygnostalgic]

wanna see you keep talking about AT: what's your biggest criticism with each character in the series (as in a writing failure/something you didn't like about them, things of that sort)

Aww fuck! Now you’re asking. 

Everyone: Sometimes they went a bit too far with making the characters act dumb, sociopathic, etc. The show would usually be pretty consistent with having them react humanely. It was season 5, when the show had started taking itself seriously, that the characters acting sociopathic felt like a bit too much. 

Finn:  In his “jerk arc” he went too far. He had no empathy for the lemon people, he had even less than PB, who was already acting pretty sociopathic. He legitimately harrassed both FP and PB. He touched FP’s shoulder and made her uncomfortable. He stroked PB’s hand after the high five in Too Old, which by the way has actually been cut in many countries due to how gross it was. He got super weird in Rattleballs where he was a total simp and told PB about the robot even though he knew she’d kill him, just because he wanted to impress her.  Then in The Tower, he had tunnel vision and legitimately KILLED like a dozen candy people with his tower, which was hilariously referenced in Hot Diggety Doom when he said the candy people don’t trust him anymore.  I didn’t like that they made his arm grow back. Or that he kissed a million princesses in Breezy, which is a poor reflection on the crew’s treatment of girl characters in the show :P I know we ended up with the awesome Fern arc, and Finn got over his romantic hangups in a satisfying way, but the amount of people the episode alienated is unreal. It did a lot of damage to the fandom.  

PB: I hate the entire way they baited her having feelings for Finn. If you remove that kiss in Too Young, her character makes much more sense. Reading her around it makes the ep seem like a massive inconsistency. I don’t like they waited four seasons to work on her as an actual character.  I feel like they went a bit too far in making her cold and pragmatic or sociopathic. Just a smidgen. This is because some of her actions verge on irredeemable. I’m mostly thinking about her relationship with Flame Princess. It doesn’t seem right she’d have no feelings about ruining the life of a fairly innocent child. Also she totally got a bunch of flame people killed in The Cooler. At least in The Cooler, she demonstrated a modicum of doubt before taking apart the sacred Fire Giants. She’s certainly not like the Diamonds, but FP was right to say she was a bad person, and I’m glad she was horrified by what she was becoming, but couldn’t immediately turn off her paranoia or bad instincts - it’s something she works on for the rest of the show and post-canon. (It’s also why shes a million times better than the Diamonds) I think her character in season 10 could have been better handled. For start we got no followup to Elements. It’s pretty significant she became a giant candy monster and brainwashed all of Ooo, no???? It did take them two seasons but they eventually showed she was impacted by having been possessed by the Lich. I was hoping we’d get exploration with Elements too, especially because of how much she unintentionally hurt everyone, like Marceline. They tied her actions in the series far too much to her character for it to feel like something that could be brushed off.    But what was weirdest was that she wanted to go to war with one of her creations. That didn’t seem right. Pb has a complicated relationship with Lemongrab, shown right up through to the same finale (even exploring how they would currently interact in Diamonds & Lemons), and she didn’t want to go to war with him, but she did want to get him usurped by Lemonhope. If she is willing to stoop to war now, why didn’t she just... yknow.... have Gumbald executed? Stealth plan? It seems far more up her alley, and he even tried the same thing. The season finale tried to say she felt under pressure to go to war, but I don’t think it does a good job at communicating why. Why wouldn’t a secret mission work? Would it count as a war crime? If it did, who would sanction her? Gumbald in general sucks. There are better “dark reflections” of Bubblegum in the series, and Patience was a much better villain. I wonder how things would have been different if the season could conclude at its intended pace? 

Marceline: My criticism with Marceline is a lot easier to summarise, because I’ve thought about her less and she’s less involved with the show.... which is the WHOLE PROBLEM!   

1. Put Marceline in the show more. She was barely in the first six seasons at all! She’s such an awesome and fun character when they let her be. More eps like Go With Me would have been awesome.  Even more eps like Princess Day or Be Sweet, where she was LSP’s bestie. 

2. Her character’s personality, for a long time, revolved around being a source of angst. She wasn’t demonstrating her fun side at all. I guess they didn’t want to write her continuing to be a big jerk, but it meant she paled when pitched against the rest of the cast - especially PB and Ice King, who were always great, and if they were in an ep with Marceline, their characters always outshone her. This could have been repaired by having her go on more adventures with Finn and Jake, and developing Marceline’s reactions to various situations. Give her more complexity.     I really love Obsidian because Marceline demonstrates her wild side in this ep and goes on an adventure which is very personal to her. She has some cool action scenes near the start, and this episode connects her more serious personality with the comedic representation at the start of the series. I think this is the best Marceline episode, followed by Varmints (she was so fun but mature in this ep). I like how she was during and after Stakes too. She had far more personality when they were putting her in eps with multiple other characters.   

Ice King: I have no massive thoughts here. I think some of the things he did were a bit too messed up. He killed a bunch of cloud people and furniture in season 6. His actions before that point were far more innocuous, though he did accidentally kill PB those two times, and he did threaten to kill princesses after kidnapping them in season 1. I LOVE Ice King season 7 and up though. He’s so good. I was shocked at the finale when they “killed” him, had him revert into Simon with very few consequences, like all those years as Ice King had vanished. I was so glad to see Simon struggling with his past identity in Obsidian. “This is how I cope!” 

Jake: Like the others barring Marceline, I thought that Jake occasionally did stuff that was too messed up. But because he’s a less serious character, who is already verging on chaotic good/neutral, it isn’t as impactful. I don’t have any major issues with Jake. Maybe I’ll change my mind on rewatch? But I love how he can be so self-contradictory. 

Flame Princess: Last one I want to bring up. This character is a mess. Rebecca intended her to be this very innocent person, having new experiences. This was how she was characterised right through to Earth and Water, but after that episode, her character got... an unfortunate reset. Suddenly a mature and BORING ruler who barely appeared anymore in the show. I felt a lot more could have been done with Flame Princess, and they shouldn’t have made her so dull later on. They played her as a virtuous character who got over her breakup with maturity, and led her kingdom with honesty, to further the development of two entirely different characters rather than to make FP interesting in herself. 

[starfirette]

Hello! Can u please write Helena Bertinelli with a Fem!reader tomboy that's a muay thai fighter and look like super cool and cold,but in the apartment its a very soft and lovely girlfriend with Helena? (And how the birds will react when them met her) Thank you,I Love you writing and HELENA IS SUCH A BAE!!! THIS GAL NEED MORE LOVE AND SUPPORT!❤

masterlist | word count: who fucking knows | 🏷 @kurreapormaranet @emofairygay​ | a/n: ;0 There are some things you might want to look up on youtube so you have a general idea of what’s happening. Clinch positions, tactical stand ups, thips

The rink’s seats filled massively, stretching to every wall that bounced the cheering back and forth. 

The overall mission seemed simple, but it had Helena dreading this moment since Harleen explained what needed to happen. 

The trust fund brat of the devilish Rossini family kidnapped the Rossini’s pride and joy: their little baby girl, Ayala. Ayala Rossini, four years old, is the Brat’s younger half sister and the new written in heir of the Rossini fortune. The Brat, Carmen, had been written out of the will after she kidnapped the new little bird Batman was keeping under his wing. She’d been sloppy and left behind all marks of her family’s (unbeknownst) involvement. She made serval costly mistakes which included Batman’s uncovering of the Rossini family’s plans of Gotham, Star, and Jump city. Half the family became arrested.

Carmen was all but disowned by her father, whom she already resented for marrying another woman so quick after the death of her mother. To get her revenge, she kidnapped Ayala.

So, Mr and Mrs Rossini employed Harley and her rag tag team of anti-hero thugs.

To get Ayala back, the girls would have to go undercover.

Their heroic deed would get them 30k each, so that was good enough. The Rossinis are precise and focuses; they’d been willing to pay as much as they had to in order to ensure the safety of their little crime lord baby.

Now Harley had her connections. She knew a guy who knew a guy who saw a friend with a girl outside of the 31 Flavors ice cream shoppe, and this girl just happened to know that Carmen spends her free time hosting epic fights in the secret tunnels of Smallville.

It’s a long ways away from Gotham, but is a perfect place to host such gatherings. The fights are frightfully violent and brutal. Also very illegal. No one would ever know that beneath the wheat and corn fields of Lil’ Ol’ Smallville county lays an intricate mafia maze.

Carmen Rossini is notorious for entertaining the winners to a “fine dinner with wine”. The rumors go that she runs an entire harem of Thai Fighting women, using them for sexual favors and personal security.

The entire mission is actually depending on that rumor.

The plan was to send in Dinah as a participant in the rink and hope she would win and earn the attention of Carmen. 

But then Dinah got bronchitis. It was a nasty case, too, in which she wouldn’t stop coughing and hacking up green stuff into tissues. 

The entire thing would have been called off if you hadn’t admitted that you are, in fact, trained in Muay Thai. 

You’re positive that Helena would have rather kept this a secret, because she doesn’t like putting you in harms way. It’s a nuisance to have the world’s most protective girlfriend. Heaven forbid you even get a paper cut, else she’d make you wear rubber gloves while you read a book. 

The entire group (save Helena) jumped for the chance to replace Dinah with you. You’d do perfect, Harley said, sounding so confident. 

You intended to be flawless in the ring. 

You’d not competed since high school, when Muay Thai was still just a recreational hobby. You’d had your wins and losses, but that was before you grew up to spend majority of your time fighting mafia crime lords. 

Once Dinah officially relinquished her role of the mission, you took to the heavy bags. The repetitions became intense and harsh in the following weeks. You spent every night limping into bed. 

Your sweet whispers that begged Helena for a soothing massage fell onto her deaf ears. She is stubborn, and she had been attempting to force you out of this competition since the day you’d agreed to it. 

You were not afraid of Carmen, or anyone else she’d make you fight against. For the sake of the little Ayala, you would do this. Besides, you tell yourself, what’s the worst that could happen? With the Birds and their abilities, there isn’t much that could happen. 

Nothing would slide through the cracks. 

Hopefully. 

The day did come faster than you’d imagined, though. The drive to Smallville was tense, especially in the backseat where Helena was frostily ignoring you. 

Harleen was road raging, passing every trucker on the two way road that didn’t exceed 65 miles an hour. 

“You know the speed limit is 45, right?” Montoya asked after she had taken a long drag of a cigarette. She had her legs propped up on the dash. Between her and Harley sat Cass, who was oblivious to the chaos around her as she sang along to a pop Spanish song. “Yeah, and?” Harley quipped. She cast her bright eyes towards Montoya, a wicked smile playing on her lips.“You gonna arrest me?” 

Montoya couldn’t do much but sigh in defeat. If Harley didn’t mind crashing, then she didn’t either. 

Between the bickering and the loud singing of the three front passengers, you and Helena were sitting silently in the very back seats. Your head was leaned up against the window which rattled as the tires of Harley’s ‘64 Starfire rolled across the gravely road. 

Helena had been refusing to speak to you since the fight you got into last night. It was a real fight. She’s made it clear that she’s against you fighting in Carmen’s ring, and is especially against you joining her harem. 

You’d first thought she was afraid of disloyalty; you had promised her that you wouldn’t ever cheat on her, even if it was for a mission. But it became revealed that’s not what Helena was worried about. 

She feared for your life. She fears for your life every single day. No matter how small of a task, she can’t help but worry. She lost her mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles; everyone. She’d been so helpless. She could only watch as she became the sole Bertinelli. 

Helena couldn’t live on if something happened to you. 

The fight ended on a confusing note. It didn’t end, per say, and you two did sleep in the same bed. However, neither of you has said a word to each other. You tried this morning, but she’d given you the snippy, cold shoulder. 

As much as you hate putting her through so much anxiety, you know that you can’t back down. A girl’s life is at stake; it’s not the money you care about. Not to mention Carmen Rossini is about to make the top 50 worst criminals in Gotham County. 

Harley rolled the car to a stop around a patch of gravel and dust. Everyone climbs out, rocks crunching under their shoes as they stretch and look around. 

“Where is it?” Cass asks, shoving her hands in the pockets of her loose denim jacket. Her chapped lips are stained blue from the tootsy pop that she’d crunched on in the car. The soggy stick now hung from her lips, as if she had been imitating Montoya’s cigarette. 

Harley locked, double checked, then re locked, then triple checked her car. She turned around, using her hands to shield her vision as she scanned the open wheat fields. “Dunno,” she admitted. “I guess I supposed someone woulda been here to meet us.” 

You shifted on your feet. You wanted to try and make Helena happy before you’d at least go inside and get in the ring. The only issue is, she’ll only be happy if your forfeit now. 

You would not. 

Across the way, by a few yards at most, a rustling came through the wheat that came at least up to your hips.

A young man emerged; he approached the Birds with a guarded look that furrowed his thick, blond eyebrows. “You are Carmen’s guests, yes?” 

He spoke with a thick accent. His honey blond hair contrasted his coffee brown features. He had a handsome face with a strong jaw, but something about him seemed off. He seemed intimidated despite being taller and broader than most. 

“We are,” you answered for the Birds. “I am Y/n. I am the contestant.” 

The man beckons you all forward. Helena glared at him, her hand steadily tapping the outside of her thigh. She was prepared to draw her gun and shoot anyone that could get in her way. In your way. 

You tasted a bitter foam in your mouth as you attempted to stop Helena without raising too much attention. 

“We––I––am here for the  Carmen’s...event.” 

The honey blond man tallied the Birds on his fingers, visibly distressed. “I do not thinka’ Miss Rossini expected so many of you...” 

After a brief, strangled silence, the man shook his head and waved his arm along to escort you. “The bunker is just this way,” he explained. Harley and Cass walked after him. 

Helena meets your eyes. Her gaze is firm, and maybe even angry. No way could you defuse that situation while still heading into the rink. 

The wheat and grass crunched under your boots as you marched across the pace-by-pace clearing. A trap door in the ground lifted up swiftly, silently, as if they grease the hinges every damn day. 

You remembered how this turned out for Suzie Salmon; casting one more look over your shoulder, you assured yourself with the presence of Helena. 

Down the hatch, under the ground, you, Harley, Cass, Helena, and Mr Cannoli over here shuffled down the hall to a big dressing room. The entire layout felt more like a stadium then an underground crime rink. The dressing room has lush sofas and fur blankets; in the corner a SodaStream is mounted on an Ikea book table. 

“Miss Rossini will join you shortly,” Cannoli-guy told you, nodding his head regally. He bowed out of the room, shutting the heavy oak door after him. 

Cass jumped on the sofa. She sprawled out over the furs, kicking her muddy Chuck Taylors up. “Luxury.” 

Harley snipped to Cass to get her dirty little feet off the merchandise. 

You took a seat in the swivel chair in front of the large mirror. It looked like pure Broadway with the heavy lightbulbs that wreathed the glass. 

“Can’t say they don’t know how to entertain a guest,” Harley squealed as she migrated to the SodaStream. “They got homemade cream soda!” 

Cass jumped off the sofa to run after Harley. 

Instead of facing you, Helena took a heavy seat on the couch. Her legs spread out, looking spectacularly muscular in her tight, black pants. 

Unfortunately, you’re too annoyed with her to go lounge in her lap. 

As much as you’d like to make amends, you know the only way to do that would be to back down. You’re going into that rink.

The door flew open at the second Harley had poured herself and Cassie a drink. 

Carmen Rossini strutted in and you stared in awe. You tried not to let your jaw drop. Tall, voluptuous. Her hair is wavy auburn, her eyes deepest green. 

She looked at you immediately. Reaching out for you as if you were the messiah, she chuckled. “You’re even cuter in person! Oh, sweetie, you––you do know how to drive a hard bargain. Your agent Harleen contacted me, where is she?” 

Harley waved her hand from the corner. “That would be me. Ain’t Y/n a real figure?” 

Scowling, Helena crossed her legs. She glared up at Carmen, and you remembered that Carmen is doing what Helena hates the most; complimenting you. 

It’s not so much that Helena doesn’t like that you receive compliments; it’s just that she prefers giving them to you. 

“I’m so happy to see you all here tonight,” Carmen said, clapping her hands loudly. “There’s nothing more exciting than tonight’s event. Did you know,” she cooed as she ‘boop’ed your nose, “that I’ve got people betting about two million dollars that you’ll win? I am so, so pleased that you’ve chosen to make your debut in my arena.” 

You nod, your neck stiff. “I guess I’m excited?” you mumbled. 

Carmen snapped her fingers. She signaled to one of her lackies to come forward. A box Is presented at your feet. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but I brought you a little something. A uniform of your own, courtesy of moi. Don’t you love it? I had your photos analyzed by a fashion expert, and they designed your shorts to compliment you perfectly.” 

The high waisted, Thai shorts are a deep ivory shade, with black flowers sewn into the design. They’re the most beautiful Thai shorts you’d ever seen! Your own were cute, but simple, considering that you didn’t usually think to be a fashionista while working out. 

“They’re amazing,” you admitted. Over the top? Definitely. Did you expect anything else? Honestly, you’re not sure. You weren’t sure what to expect. 

“Oh! I almost forgot.” Carmen, as she smiled, reached into the deep pocket of her red silk kimono-blouse. In her hands is a thickly wound prajoud, made of fine threads and paracord. The black and red jumped out at you like an old friend.

“I hope I got the rank right?”

“You did,” you say as you took the prajad from Carmen. “I could have brought my own if you’d asked.”

“It’s really not a big deal, my darling,” Carmen purred. She ran her hand through your hair, taking note of the silky feeling of each strand. “I will be watching. There will be people outside the door waiting to escort you to the arena when you’re done dressing.”

Her fingers are heavy with her bejeweled rings. The heavy tear shaped gems get tangled in your hair.

“You have ten minutes,” Carmen adds.

Helena glowered after her as she flitted out of the room. Her heels clacked down the hallway following the click of the door shutting in place.

Montoya took a long drag of her cigarette before she  chortled.“You just gonna let her mark her territory like that?”

Helena didn’t say anything.

“Oi, Katniss,” Harley said loudly.

Helena’s cloudy eyes finally look to her friend. “What?”

“Carmen Rossini basically stole Y/n from you, and you let her!”

As you pulled out of your jeans, you sent Harley a little glare. “No one owned me to begin with,” you snapped.

“Hey, I’m all for women’s rights,” Harley exclaimed. “But it just seemed like—,”

“I know what it seemed like,” you snapped. “That’s the entire goddamn point, isn’t it? Get in her good graces?”

Case choked back her soda. “If that’s your idea of getting in Carmen’s creepy ‘good graces’ you gotta do better than that. You didn’t act sexy or flirt back at all!”

Helena stood to her feet. She brushed down the front of her black zip-up sweater. “I’m waiting outside,” she declares before stomping out with a frown wrung on her mouth.

Harley grimaced as the door slammed shut.

“Kid, come on,” Montoya sighed.

“I’m right,” Cass scowled. “You know that I am. We knew from the start that in order to get the little girl back, sexual favors would probably have to be granted.”

You pulled up your shorts. “Can everyone shut up?” You asked.

“What’s that?” Cass proceeded to ask, given she couldn’t talk about Carmen anymore. She pointed at the arm band that lay over the counter.

“Prajoud,” you tell her. Thank you pulled out of tour shirt. The heavy duty sports bra was already in place, but it gave you major uniboob.

“What does it do?” Cass asked again. Unable to contain her curiosity, she grabbed it off the vanity and fiddled with it. 

“It’s like a belt,” you explained. “Instead of wearing a black belt, I wear a black prajad.” 

“Who come up with that?” Cass asked. 

“Uhm, Thai people?” Harley said as though it should be obvious. She snorted and jerked her thumb towards Cass. “Get a load of this guy.” 

You rolled your eyes. “It’s alright to ask questions, guys, just try not to be annoying. ‘M a little stressed out already.” 

Harley took a final gulp of her soda. “Well, I guess we know who’s not getting action tonight. And that’s Y/n!” 

“Why is Helena so upset anyways? Because Carmen was flirting?” 

“No,” Harley explained. “See, she’s angry because Y/n’s going out and doing this fight, one, without asking her to begin with, two, for some other little kid, and three, with a evil Italian mafia tigress. She’s projecting her childhood fear that she’ll never be able to protect anyone she loves. She’s also rash, irritable, and possessive, so it’s just a cherry on top that the plan includes Y/n using her charms to sway Carmen.” 

“Bravo,” you plainly say. “It’s almost like you’re a doctor or something.” 

“Yeah,” Harley grinned. “Or something.” 

You pulled the prajad over your forearm. You pulled the band tight, holding the laces in your mouth so you could knot it tight with one hand. You looked in the mirror, unsure of what to think of yourself. 

You kicked your boots off next. 

In socks, you turned to look at Harley and Cass. “Let’s do this,” you sighed. 

Helena had been waiting loyally outside, leaned up against the jamb. Her eyes flitted up and down your figure, before rolling up towards the ceiling. “Let’s do this,” you said, sounding as if you’d already lost. 

Marching down the hall in tow of the honey blond Italian, you tried to make eye contact with Helena. She was good at ignoring you. You’re not sure if it’s because she’s angry, stressed, or both. 

Riddled with anxiety, you wish that she would look at you, or hold your hand at the very least. 

At the entrance of the arena, you could see it was filled massively to the brim of its walls. You hadn’t realized how far underground you really are until you looked at the expansive seating. The rink’s seats filled massively, stretching to every wall that bounced the cheering back and forth. 

You stepped to the stairs that wound up to the cage. You could smell the sweat and the matts; above the sound of the crowd cheering, you could hear your blood rushing fast in your ears. 

“Find Ayala,” you muttered in Harley’s ears. “I don’t want to be here longer than we have to be.”

Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief, but they were momentairly dulled by a silent question. “I thought...?”

“No,” you said firmly. “We shouldn’t be here any longer than we have to be,” you tell her. “I’ll stay here, I’ll do my thing; you take everyone and look for that girl. If you’re not done by the time the match is over, I’ll distract Carmen.” 

Harley couldn’t respond by the time you were dragged up the stairs. Outside the cage’s gate, you were given a little table at which you could rest at. It had a pitcher of ice water, some glasses, a washcloth, and a bottle of brandy. You took a large drink of the brandy first. You peeled off your socks. 

It felt like a blur as you stepped into the cage. 

Your opponent was your size; she looked your weight, too. You suppose that’s fair, at least. It’s not like in the movies. The real competitions are done by weight and height. 

You turned your head to give one last glance to your friends. 

Helena stood beyond the cage, her hand resting over the gun holster. Her eyes were fixated on you. 

You had to look away. 

Tying your hair up in a tight bun, you walked out onto the mat. Your opponent did the same; meeting you half way, you two shook hands. 

You didn’t exchange names; that would only make it harder. 

“The rules,” a voice boomed around the stadium, “are there are no weapons to be permitted in the arena. Please watch as the fighters return to their corners then begin the match on the sound of the bell. The match will consist of two rounds, each lasting seven minutes.” 

You hovered in the corner of the cage. You stretched and jogged in place. You have enough training for this. You do. You know that you can do it; hopefully, you will. 

The bell rang. You take a massive sprint out into the middle of the ring where your opponent had already paced out. 

You wound up a punch. Your feet lifted off the mat as you leap into the air, and you delivered the blow to the side of her face. 

Her teeth crunched under the impact. It was such a hit that you saw it spew out of her mouth, and hit the cage. 

The crowd exploded into a frenzy. 

Hovering at your face your hands remained in constant motion. Her kicks were well calculated and her movements tactical. She gave away all of her tricks, though, by looking twice at the target she would next go for. If she looked at your side once too many times, you would crouch and use your arms to block your ribcage. 

The sweat that built up made the more precise attacks difficult. Your punch began sliding off her face, keeping you staggering forward, and in her wide open range. 

You were struck once, twice, then thrice on your left cheek. It sent blood and saliva dribbling down your chin. 

Your prajad began to slip as you struggled to regain your balance. 

The girl’s long leg extended forward. Her foot jabbed a strong thip into the center of your stomach, practically digging against your bladder. 

The bell rang, then, marking the end of the first round. 

You fell into your corner with a wheezing gasp. You crawled for the little table. You drank directly from the pitcher. 

You looked back to the crowd, half expecting to see a flash of unfamiliar faces. 

Helena still remained at the ringside. Her hands are clenched through the cage, and her eyes are desperate to meet yours. You were confused. Why hadn’t she left with Harley? Did Harley not need her? Or did she want to stay and watch? 

You felt stronger with her just a few yards away. 

You staggered to your legs, where your knees wobbled like jello on a plate. 

The two minutes of rest time had ended, and the bell rang once more. You slid back rather than go for her first. 

She sauntered to you like a bear, her shoulders hunched and her fists close to her face. She swung hooks and uppercuts that you could just barely dodge. You were close to slipping backwards a few times. 

“Y/n, watch out!” Helena shouted suddenly. 

You couldn’t see the girl racing towards you like a battering ram through your blurry vision. Her fist slammed over your temple. You swore you could feel your brain tumbling around your skull as you fell to the floor. 

You clutched your ear with your bare hands. Pain gushed out of you like water. You thought you could see it, visibly, as it poured down bright green and crystalline. 

It wasn’t there; it was the spots dancing in front of you. Disorientation is a real bitch. 

One tactical standup later, you’re back up on your feet. You pushed yourself forward, forcing the remaining energy you had out of your hands. You grabbed the girl by her long pony tail and dragged her into a tight clinch. She attempted to swim out of it; the friction of her wrists against your neck burned. 

You tugged her down, driving a sharp knee into her stomach. She stayed in your clinch for a long time, gasping for air as she couldn’t evade the knees. You finally released her. She staggers back. She falls onto her ass, visibly shaken up and at a loss for breath. 

The crowd began to scream at you. Some did a countdown, others urged the other girl to get back up. 

It was too late for her. 

The bell rang, marking the end of the seven minutes, as well as the second round. She had lost, and you had won. 

You limped towards her. Despite your own pain, you lifted the girl onto her feet. 

“Good game?” she rasped. 

“Hell yeah,” you wheezed. 

It felt like the ultimate orgasm to go back and gulp down the water. The cold, damp washcloth made a good compress for your busted lip. You judged by the twitching of your left eyelid that you had a pretty sizable welt there. 

Helena ran to meet you as you limped down the stairs out of the cage. She threw her arms around you tightly. “You’re alright,” she gasped. 

You tried to hug her back. Your arm hung loosely over her lower back as you tried to laugh. “Did you doubt that I would be?” you asked her. “Where’s Harley and Cass? Montoya?” 

“They went to find the girl,” Helena said in your ear. “I couldn’t leave you...I had to stay and watch. I had to make sure.” 

She pressed a kiss into the crook of your neck. “Let’s go,” you said firmly, “before Carmen comes for us.” 

Helena helped you leave the arena. By the time you vanished, the stadium was already announcing it’s second match, featuring a woman named Selina. The people went into a hectic frenzy of excitement when Selina’s name was announced over the speakers. You knew as you were walking out she would never be able to escape this place. 

Honey-blond-haired Italian guy jogged to keep up with you. “Miss Carmen asks that you wait in the dressing room,” he called out. “Yeah, yeah,” Helena called out. “We’ll be there.” 

He followed you down the hallway, keeping several paces back to maintain a steady watching distance. He paused as he watched you and Helena head straight into the dressing room. 

Sitting on the sofa inside is Harley, Cass, and a little girl sleeping in Harley’s arms. You were shocked. For a four year old girl, Ayala was incredibly small and fragile looking. Her olive skin and auburn hair is just like her elder sister’s. The hollows beneath her eyes are dark and colored by her greenish veins. 

“Let’s scadadle,” Harley hissed as she rose to her feet, though struggling to keep Ayala in her arms. 

You all rushed out of the hallway, quickly as to make it before Carmen could come back from the arena. 

“Where’s the exit?” Cass asked. 

“It’s this way,” Helena says. She pointed straight down the hallway. “The car’s waiting for us above the trap door.”

“Yeah, unless someone stole it,” Cass mocked. “What if we get locked in? Like in Hotel California?” 

You could hardly begin to understand what Cass was saying. Her words were jumbles of sounds and her figure a blur of her dark hair and red jacket. 

“We’re not getting locked in,” Harley exclaimed. “Let’s just get outta here!” 

Helena climbed up the ladder first. She punched the door up, then open. “Give me the kid,” she said quietly. 

Harley struggled to lift Ayala up. 

Helena scooped her easily into her strong arms. Ayala stirred awake and whined as she became more and more aware. “I want to go home,” she mumbled, her voice quiet and empty. 

“We’re taking you home, pumpkin,” Helena assured the little girl. “I’ve got you.” 

As Cass was going up the ladder, a loud clatter arose down the tunnel. “Uh oh, spaghetti-os,” Harley whistled. She pushed you up the ladder next. “I’ll meet you guys up there,” she promised, sounding entirely confident. “Montoya,” she whistled between her teeth. “Feel like doing some target practice?” 

It was the first time all day that Montoya smiled. 

As you climbed up, you heard Harley’s shrill laugh between the shots of two, little handguns.

“Into the car,” you wheezed to Cassie. She looped her arms around your waist to help you limp into your seat. “Buckled in?” you heard Helena ask the little girl. She looked so shy despite all that’s going on. The curls of her hair were brushed behind her ear as Helena held her tightly. “You’re going back to your parents.” 

Harley came running out seconds later. “Let’s get this show on the road,” she exclaimed. 

“You have the keys!” Cassie shouted back. 

Harley jumped into the drivers seat. She honked the horn loudly. “Renee, let’s move it!” 

Montoya was limping a few feet away, struggling to keep up Harley’s pace. She crawled inside and as soon as she did, Harley pressed the gas, and sped away. 

“Smoking is so bad for you, you know that, right?” Harley chastised. “Maybe if you just used the nicotine patches I bought you for Christmas, then you wouldn’t have so much trouble keeping up with us.” 

“Take the patches,” Montoya huffed, “and shove them up your ass.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh. You leaned back into the headrest of the rear seats. Helena held Ayala beside you, stroking her hair gently as she held her cellphone to Ayala’s ear. Her parents were on the other end, and you could hear the cries of relief. 

You met Helena’s gaze, and you managed a smile on your busted mouth. 

“I love you,” you mouth to her. 

“I love you, too,” she replied. 

[unwrvtten]

⤲ ¦ 𝑪𝑨𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑯𝑨 𝑪𝑨𝑼𝑳𝑭𝑰𝑬𝑳�� 𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑫𝑼𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵

margot robbie & cis female. ⇢ CALANTHA CAULFIELD, age 26, graduated Gilchrist University in 2015 as a CINEMATOGRAPHY / SCREENWRITING major. SHE was born in EDINBURGH , SCOTLAND & has been living in NEW YORK CITY , NEW YORK working as a FILM DIRECTOR / SCREENWRITER. CAL is known to be PRODIGIOUS, CHARISMATIC, PHLEGMATIC & DEFIANT and that might be because SHE is a PISCES.

hello, all ! my name is lauryn and i’m 20 years old. i currently reside in the cst timezone and you can use she / her pronouns for me ! i’m unbelievably excited to interact with everyone ! feel free to like this post and i will come to you for plotting when i get the chance ( or you can message me if that’s what you prefer ) ! . . . do note that this is fairly long , but i promise i did my absolute best to cut it down in length ! my discord is mzsesandthings#6826.

( tw parental neglect ) calantha was born in edinburgh , scotland , to a british family with scottish ancestry. her parents were authors who started their own publishing company not long after the move and achieved great success with this. cal grew up comfortably in a religious family driven by success , though she was raised by nannies due to her parents’ busy schedule. their neglect led calantha to find comfort in television and movies.

from a young age , calantha was labeled prodigious by her teachers and other authority figures ; even at top-rated schools , cal outpaced her peers. as she isolated herself from others , a superiority complex developed within her. her above average intelligence led to apathy as logical reasoning overrode her emotions. calantha was highly competitive , driven to excel academically in order to feel as though she had an advantage over others. the mary eskrine school recruited her for enrollment after cal’s iq test put her at a score of 160. cal enjoyed writing novels and converting them into screenplays , as well as doing a massive amount of research on cinematography. as she progressed in age , religion slowly drifted out and rebellion took its place.

( tw kleptomania ) calantha’s kleptomania manifested in her young adulthood , her impulses driving her to steal from varying sources. the thrill of successfully stealing something and outsmarting society elated cal ( a feeling she had not yet experienced ) and the misery brought upon her when she would ignore these impulses tormented her.

( tw substance abuse ) in reaction to a lack of stimulation and curiosity, calantha began to experiment with drugs. cal dove pretty deep into this, as drugs exercised her creativity; some of her favored works were created in a state of delirium. many in edinburgh came to know cal as someone who could take any amount of any drug and continue to function, which, of course, made her ego inflate. by the end of secondary school, calantha had already finished one screenplay.

( tw kleptomania ) after leaving school, cal got into legal trouble for shoplifting; she was punished with juvenile diversion, much to her dismay despite the alternate punishments she could’ve received. regular drug tests and therapy were implemented, and a therapist attempted to treat calantha’s kleptomania. her illness was something that she took responsibility for but did not want to receive treatment for. however, the experience as a whole was somewhat humbling for calantha, who realized that she was not invincible; calantha pushed herself further into isolation following this realization, especially after her community branded her a pariah.

long story short, cal ended up at gilchrist university and was given an exceptional offer: to join the gravediggers society. the initiation was of no difficulty to her, as her only fears seemed to be failure and dissatisfaction. the gravediggers ended up being a godsend for calantha and her career. the production of her first film was announced after her 18th birthday ( written and directed by calantha ). the group ended up being the most thrilling thing to grace the moments of her life; it offered excitement and stimulation in an environment with intelligent, like-minded individuals, things that she craved. cal often hosted small parties for the group, centered around drug use rather than networking ( though networking was still done ). cal felt as though she had comrades for the first time.

eventually, cal met a man who piqued her interest, and they soon entered a passionate relationship. their relationship had awoken something in cal, and she became aware of the fact that she really could love. at the age of 21, calantha graduated with a double major in cinematography / screenwriting and her first movie had been released with rave reviews. with some assistance from gravedigger affiliates, calantha got her foot in the door of the film world ( much to many’s dismay, as calantha was regarded as somewhat of a controversial figure due to material featured in her first film ). cal and her lover also got engaged.

nearly a year later, however, he left her. her issues had become insurmountable for him: there was the substance abuse, habitual stealing, apathy, communication issues, and pigheadedness. cal had been spiraling even further after receiving some acclaim for her first film, and it was easily noticed. she chose to no longer put effort into their relationship and fixing her own issues. her 22nd life procured the release of her next movie; however, some of her darkest moments took place in this year, as well.

( tw sexual assault in the form of a policeman’s abuse of power  ) calantha ended up pickpocketing an off-duty policeman who offered to forget about it in exchange for sex, something a drunken cal eagerly agreed to in fear of public controversy and the end of her career. the incident was a wakeup call for cal, and she began behavior management therapy for her kleptomania; she was also given help processing what happened. the incident led to a fairly intense fear of police; even the sight of a cop car can send her into a full-blown panic attack. therapy also led to her recognization of her toxic behaviors, and Cal turned to God once again.

the last few years of calantha’s life were relatively uneventful. the incident had brought upon some of the best writing of her career as she dove deep into her work. she pushed out two movies with another set to release in 2021. calantha was achieving the impossible in terms of building up her oeuvre at such a speedy pace; outlets began releasing articles promising her success in the industry and by the middle of 2020, she was as famous as david fincher with a net worth of $78 million. despite the fame, calantha found herself lonely and void of anything fulfilling aside from her success. when an invitation came to return to gilchrist, calantha could not deny it. both the money and the entertainment intrigued her, and there was a small hope that her ex would accept the invitation, as well.

( calantha’s about is documented here. statistics are listed here. and potential plots can be found here. you can find out more about me here. )

[whentommymetalfie]

Breathe again -Prologue 

A/N: Set after that scene at the end of season five -so major spoiler warnings for the season finale. A story requested by no one that I still started writing in a frenzy. This will be a multi chaptered thing, and this is a rather long prologue of sorts. And despite this not being requested, I really hope you’ll like it x (note to clarify -this is not part of my existing AU but completely its own thing, based on the season 5 canon) 

Summary: After the field, there’s nothing left to do. Except somehow try to pick up all the broken the pieces. But it seems like no one can do that.

Somehow, Tommy might still end up right where he needs to be. 

Warnings: implied/referenced suicide attempt, mental health issues 

Pairing: (future) Tommy/Alfie 

Wordcount: 2600

A car drives up the gravel path leading to Arrow house, cutting through the evening fog, the sound of the engine humming drifting across the lawn. It comes to a halt in front of the large building looming over the grounds. Only a few of the windows are lit, making the entire structure seem bigger, like nothing but a massive shadow.  

Michael climbs out first and goes around to open the door for Gina, who makes a grimace when she sets her high heels down on the damp gravel

“This better be worth the drive,” she says and lights a cigarette, shuddering in the chilly air. Michael doesn’t respond, too focused on the building in front of him. He gazes at the windows, eyes drawn to the ones with a bit of light, and to that particular window on the second floor. He thinks he sees a figure behind the curtains. The room is dimly lit, and there’s only a small opening between the heavy folds of fabric. So the figure standing there could be a figment of his imagination. Must be, considering which room it is…  

“You coming darling?” Gina asks while letting out a puff of smoke. It adds to the milky fog. As if the entire garden is full of cigarette smoke. Michael offers his arm to her and they walk up towards the front door.

…..

“-that you have the fucking guts to even suggest shit like this!” Arthur’s voice booms through the room. Seems to echo throughout the entire house. “It’s beyond me. It’s just fucking beyond me-“  

Gina rolls her eyes. Michael squares his jaw.

They’re all seated in the living room, a failed attempt at bringing some sense of normality to the situation. Despite the lit fireplace, the atmosphere couldn’t be colder. Finn glares from where he’s positioned in the green velvet sofa, and Ada puts a hand on his shoulder when he shifts in his seat. Michael and Gina occupy the sofa opposite them and Arthur has folded his lanky frame into a leather armchair next to the small table housing the cannister of whisky. That cannister just came dangerously close to being hurled across the room.

“I think we should at least wait for Lizzie,” Ada says, with a cold look in Michael’s direction, before turning her attention to her older brother. “Arthur-“

“No, don’t use that fucking voice on me!” Arthur hisses and staggers to his feet. “Fuck, don’t you bloody dare try making this sound like I’m being unreasonable!” His face is already flushed from one too many glasses of whisky drunken too quickly. He stabs a finger in Michael’s direction. “You- the- the fucking nerve to talk about this when Tommy is-“

“That’s the entire reason we have to talk about this,” Michael says calmly. “And unless you’ve spent the past month secretly working on some brilliant plan, I suggest you let me finish.” His gaze sweeps across the room but no one meets it. “You all must’ve realised we would talk about this. Why else would we have a meeting?”

His eyes finally land on Arthur, and Arthur’s hands clench into fist where they hang by his sides, knuckles whitening. His nostrils flare and twitch. Ada grows tense in her seat, muscles coiling in preparation.

Michael and Arthur stare at each other for a moment that seems to stretch on forever.

The door opening is what breaks the tension, and the occupants of the room turn their attention to the newcomer. Gina gazes at a painting, exhaling yet another cloud of smoke.

Lizzie enters the room, impeccably dressed in a forest green gown that drapes in soft folds across her shoulders, hair shaped into elegant waves. The only cracks in the façade are the faint dark circles under her eyes and the way her jaw is set a bit too tight.

Michael raises both eyebrows and cranes his neck to glance down the empty corridor before she closes the door, leaving a small opening.

Lizzie gives him a look, but doesn’t comment on the obvious question on his face.

“I see you’ve already helped yourself to the whisky,” she says and lights a cigarette, going to sit in the second leather armchair opposite Arthur, who has returned to his seat.

The air fills with tense silence. Because there’s nothing and somehow far too much to say at once…

Arthur finally clears his throat and speaks: “Is he…” but he lets the sentence die after just those two words, trailing into the tense silence again. Lizzie shakes her head.

“No change I assume?” Michael says and earns himself steely look.

“So much for the drive out here,” Gina scoffs.

Arthur’s anger seems to almost physically swell throughout the room, pushing all the air out. But all he does is refill his whisky glass.

“Well, in that case…” Michael stands. Uses that voice that tells the entire room the meeting has started. “Lizzie, since Arthur wouldn’t leave it alone we did start talking before you arrived, even though I made it clear we should wait. But I think we all know why we’re here.” He looks around the room and only catches Arthur and Ada’s gazes. Finn and Lizzie are busy staring at anything but him; Finn’s eyes nervously flickering, Lizzie’s gaze stiffly straight ahead. “Due to the current circumstances, it’s clear that we need to make decisions and take measures to ensure not only the continued success but the continued existence of Shelby Company Limited.” He pauses. “I think we were all hoping things would be different now. But since they aren’t, I propose that we revisit the suggestion I presented a month ago. I’m willing to take on the role as head of the company, which will ensure a way into the American market. And overall just some general fucking stability that this company has lacked for some time.”

Arthur flies up from his chair again and Michael fails to hide a flinch at the sudden move.  With a sharp outlet of air he goes to pace in front of the window.

“And why the fuck should you take on that role?” Finn asks. “Isn’t this room full of people with just as much right to that position?”

“Well, not really,” Gina smirks. “All I see here is a commie sister who a few years ago cut all ties to the family, only to crawl back when she realised life without money is hard.” Ada’s eyes have turned a shade darker. Gina looks to Arthur, undeterred, “A brother who can’t even keep his own wife in line, and…” she pauses when she comes to Lizzie and smiles. “A… secretary and grieving wife who probably has enough on her mind-“

Ada’s hand clenches around the armrest on the sofa, but Lizzie is the one who cuts Gina off.

“Thank you Gina for that insightful comment. But I think I’m quite capable of handling a multitude of things at once.”

The corner of Gina’s mouth twitches. “You can’t seriously mean that you would have any kind of claim-“

“Well, as Tommy’s wife and member of the board I do think I should have some say in the matter.”

Gina snaps her mouth shut around her reply when Michael puts his hand up.

“You do have some say, of course, Lizzie,” he says. “As member of the board. But that doesn’t change the fact that I have the contacts in America, which is now our biggest and most promising market.” He slowly walks to stand behind Gina, hands coming to rest on the back of the sofa. “And I suppose I might’s well be fucking clear about this: who else in this room is honestly prepared to step up and take on this role, eh?”

The silence is stifling and thick. Cold. As if the fog around the house has seeped in through the windows and filled the room.

“What about you Arthur?” Michael asks. “Are you prepared to take on that responsibility? To have the whole fucking company resting on your shoulders?” Arthur looks out the window and Michael splays his arms out wide. “Anyone?”

“Aunt Polly-“ Finn starts weakly.

“Has made it very clear she wants nothing to do with this company or, fucking hell, this family again, after what happened to Aberama,” Michael cuts him off. “However I’m hopeful that with these changes, she might reconsider and-“

Lizzie suddenly turns to the door, eyebrows furrowed as she cranes her neck to catch a glimpse of the corridor outside.

Everyone watches as she furrows her brow and listens. Then she sinks back into the chair again.

“Thought I heard…” she trails off and shakes her head.

Michael speaks up again, “Nothing will be decided here and now. We’ll of course vote with the entire board. This is to give you some time to think. To make sure that we as a family are united.”

Arthur scoffs at that. But no one speaks, because what is there to say?  

Gina gives Michael a look and he clears his throat. “Now, to the second order of business. I think we have to start seeing things more clearly. Stop just putting out fires and think of the future, not only for the company but… the situation as a whole.”

Arthur turns from the window and comes closer. He picks up his whiskey glass and refills it. Lizzie sits up a bit straighter in her chair.

“We gathered here because we were hoping that perhaps Tommy’s condition would’ve improved,” Michael says. “That maybe he could join us. But it hasn’t. And I think we must face the possibility that it never will.”

Ada sighs. “We already have. Isn’t that why you just fucking proposed that you’d be put in charge? Or have I gravely fucking misunderstood something?”

“I’m talking about getting professional help,” Michael replies. “I’m talking about seeing things as they are: That he’s a danger to himself, and quite possibly others. And that maybe he should be institutionalized.”

Moments pass after he’s uttered the words. Long moments where everyone grapples to just understand them.   “An asylum?”  Arthur finally breathes out and takes a step closer to Michael, voice trembling when he speaks, “You’re talking, about a fucking asylum?”

“Oh, don’t be so fucking dramatic, “Gina says. “He barely even knows where he is. Might’s well lie in a different bed staring at ghosts. Someplace where people actually know how to handle it.”  

Ada drags Finn back onto the sofa, and Arthur’s eyes widen to impossible size, dark with fury.

“Arthur, I know this is not something you want to hear,” Michael says. “But you have to consider the possibility that… that he’s gone. It’s not about the injury anymore. The damage is inside his head, and it’s been there for a long time. That bullet was just a scratch compared to it.” He holds up his hands in a placating gesture as he takes a breath and continues: “An asylum doesn’t have to mean simply being locked in a cell. There are new treatments, things they do in America-“ “Oh, things they do in America, eh?!” Arthur bellows. “Things they fucking do in America? Is that what she’s told you?” he points to Gina with a trembling hand. “That they’ve got some new revolutionary method- something that’s gonna make it fucking okay to- to even fucking consider locking Tommy up in a place like that-“

“There’s a fucking reason those places exist,” Michael snaps, finally raising his voice as a red flush creeps up his neck. “And you know what kind of people they put in there? Hm, Arthur? People who hear and see things that aren’t there. People who have lost all fucking grip on reality. Who can’t take care of themselves-“

A glass smashes into a bookshelf when Arthur throws it in Michael’s direction but misses with about a mile. A rain of splinters skitter across the floor.

“Face it Arthur,” Michael shouts. “He’s not coming back. If you took your head out of your arse for even a second you’d see that-“

“Stop it!” Finn’s shout shocks the entire room into silence and even Michael falters. Staring down at his lap, Finn takes a harsh breath in through his nose.

“Tommy might be- he might not be… how he used to be. But he’s still part of this family and we- we can’t just send him away-“ his hands are shaking. Ada puts an arm around him, and for the first time in years he accept the comfort like he did when he was just a kid hiding outside the door when meetings like this went down. He leans into her side.

“We’re not sending anyone away,” she says softly, but her eyes are nothing but cold steel when she looks to her cousin. “Michael can’t do that. It’s not up to him.”

“No, it’s up to Lizzie,” Gina says simply. “If she wants to spend the rest of her life looking after a catatonic shell, fine. But you might want to consider the fact that he could decide to try again, and that he might succeed.” Lizzie’s mouth is a tight line when Gina looks at her and quirks an eyebrow, before facing the Shelby siblings again. “So maybe the question is if you’d rather have an alive brother getting the care he obviously desperately needs, or a dead one.”

Now even Ada is out of her chair and Michael steps in front of Gina when Arthur comes towards them

But right then the door opens fully and Frances is standing there.  

“I’m sorry to disturb you Mrs. Shelby,” she says and nervously twists her hands.

Lizzie pinches the bridge of her nose. “What is it Frances?”

“I just wanted to see if Mr. Shelby had joined you,” she says and glances around the room. Lizzie sighs.

“No, as you can see he hasn’t.”

“Well, it’s just that his room is empty and I thought-”

“Try the bathroom.“

“It’s empty, and I’ve checked the children’s rooms and-“

Lizzie’s face has gone completely white when she gets out of her chair and breathes out, “Check the roof.”

Frances is out the door in moments and when her steps disappear down the hallway, it’s apparent that she’s running. Lizzie turns back to the family. They seem at a loss. Always at a loss these days.

“Arthur, you take Finn and start searching the grounds. Ada, get a hold of Johnny dogs. Tell him to bring some people get those out looking too-“

She gives orders with ease and they all follow them, rushing out of the room one by one to carry them out.

“And you,” she turns to Gina and Michael. “You can leave.”

“We’ll stay and help searching of course,” Michael says. “Make sure you find him. We wouldn’t want something to happen-“

Lizzie goes to stand only inches away from him and spits, “You might already have this company in the palm of your fucking hand, but this is my house. Get out.”

Then she turns on her heal and hurries down the corridor. She heads for the roof.

....

The first rays of sunlight peak over the horizon, casting light over a calm sea and slowly burning away the mist billowing over the dark waters. Today is one of those rare mornings when the sea is completely calm, making the beach uncharacteristically silent. And in the silence, there’s a knock on a door. A door that just so happens to be situated on a house right close to that calm sea.

So even though it only results in one quiet rap, it still rings loudly in the silence.

No one opens, because it’s early and no visitors are expected.

Another knock, even more quiet than the first.

The hand falls from the door, faltering along with its owner. Unsteady feet walk away from the door. Unsteady and bare, leaving wet footprints behind. Unable to walk any longer. There’s a soft thump as a body hits the stone flooring, falling into a heap at the foot of the steps leading up to the house.

And the door opens.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs “Fueled by Hatred”

Hello everyone, today I decided to write for those people who are more interest in the space stuff and the more deep disturbing topics, but Don’t worry, I will be continuing Krill’s adventures on earth.

READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED: this contains gore and violence.

Please keep sending me your suggestions and ideas. I enjoy it, and it helps me to determine what people are and are not interested in. 

I’ve seen something about humans, something that I cannot unsee.

It haunts me.

Have you ever noticed that humans are a weird paradox of strength and weakness? They are built soft and sort of squishy, but there is no argument, that humans are one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, and one of the hardest to kill. To continue this paradox, an adult human is nearly impossible to defeat, but a human infant may just die for no reason.

Humans were born on a death planet, they are without the protection of fur or an egg (humans have live birth). Because of their physical structure, human women cannot support an infant with a fully developed cortical structure. For this reason humans are born practically blind, and completely helpless, and they will remain so for many years. It takes almost two decades for the human brain to develop to full maturity.

For this reason, human children are extremely vulnerable.

However, this weakness has allowed nature to compensate the infant’s weakness by increasing the protective instincts of parent human, and most adult humans even if they are not parents.

Human adults have been known to, lift objects more than twice their weight, leap into freezing water, fight off large animals and walk through fire for their offspring.

They have even been known to kill.

In fact, they will brutally rip apart members of their own species in order to protect their young.

If you don’t want to take my word for it, just ask a human. They have no problem admitting this to you. I guarantee if you ask them they will say and I quote, “If someone hurt my kids, I will destroy them.” Some of you may say this is just hyperbole and, depending on the situation, it might be, but I also guarantee there are times in which this is under exaggerated.

Total destruction cannot begin to fathom what a human will do to you.

They will unmake you.

***

Three separate ships and three crews had come together to investigate the tip. One crew was Human, one ship was Rundi, and one ship was Drev. Each crew had at least one human on board, and the human crew had one nonhuman.

Krill had never seen such a diverse group coming together and working with each other. Massive Drev stood tall above their human and Rundi counterparts. One human even rode easily on the back of a Drev serving as a second pair of eyes plasma rifle poised over the massive creature’s shoulder.

All in all there were three strike teams one from each ship and about seven people on each team. Captain Vir headed one of the teams having more tactical experience than many of the people on his crew, Krill had been added to the team for his medical experience. He stayed at the back of the group behind the more experienced field operatives.

He was happy to stay right where he was.

Captain Vir took point as the three groups fanned out in a relatively triangular formation.

They were investigating a couple of things. Number 1 was a small issue and included the problem of improper IGFDA certification on food packing. Products coming out of this factory were improperly labeled without all the requisite ingredient labels. Issue 2 there had been a rash of missing person’s reported in this area, and it was unknown where they could be located. The factory was the only conceivable place large enough to house that sort of thing, and number 3, the factory was run by known members of the Prodigium race’s mob, so this was as good a place as any to start.

They spread out from their established pattern and made their way in a large circle around the building. The Rundi took the docking bay, the Drev took the front entrance, and the Humans entered through the side doors. They moved swiftly and silently clearing rooms before silently moving on keeping in quiet contact with the two other teams. The building was laid out in increasingly smaller squares, so eventually, the group of them met up at the second-to-last square towards the center. All they had seen so far was storage areas, docking bays and packing plants.

They met u with the Drev team at a third door, half of each team fell back leaving Captain Vir, and the leader of the Drev stacked up on the door. The Drev commander nodded to Captain Vir who allowed the door to be opened for him, he swung into the room, and then stopped very suddenly. The Drev glanced over his head and had a similar reaction.

A waft of frigid air chilled Krill to the bone.

“Captain?” A team member whispered.

After a long pause the man turned to face them.

Krill felt the room grow cold and it wasn’t just the air from the freezer unit. It was as if time had cowered to the corners, and all sense of lighthearted laughter had fled from the man. His face grew pale and then tipped back towards red. His hands balled into white knuckled fists, his lips tightened mouth twitching. But his eyes, horror drained to be replaced by pure absolute rage and hatred.

Mercy winked out.

The ten foot tall Drev commander stepped back a pace.

One of the other humans saw the reaction and peered over his shoulder. His reaction was instant turning to the wall and retching violently. The human on the back of the Drev leaped to the floor and trotted over. Captain Vir grabbed her arm as if to stop her, but it was too late.

The plasma rifle shattered in her hands as if it were made of aluminum or glass.

Everyone took a step back.

When she turned to face them, her face was twisted into an expression of such predatory rage that Krill felt his heart freeze.

Captain Vir shut the door, but the damage had been done, whispers spread around the room, and quietly, one after another the humans grew still and silent aside from shaking hands of absolute unadulterated wrath.

The Rundi appeared somewhere during this and eventually Krill learned what had happened.

From what he understood, when the captain had opened the door, he had seen a meat processing plant and freezer. Meet was being disassembled into its component parts for packaging and eventual sale, the problem?

They were human parts, and they weren’t very big.

The rest of the hallway watched in fear as the creatures, once known as human, stalked passed them. Their teeth were bared like wolves, their hands twisted into talons their eyes were dark, their backs bent forward, focused pits of hatred, and in their hands they brandished any weapon they could find. The Drev crewwoman held a massive knife in her hand in replacement to her broken weapon.

And they moved like shadows, feet that had once shuffled were absolutely silent bodies moving with unparalleled predatory precision. Writhing muscle churned in the shoulders, veins stood out on hands and necks, teeth glinted.

Krill kept well back with the Drev following at a distance as the humans moved forward flowing like a ribbon of death on a sour wind.

The humans made it to the next room before the rest of them, and they wiped through like a wave of decimation.

The Prodigi had been sitting in a large circle playing some sort of game when the humans attacked.

They didn’t stand a chance.

Krill had never seen anyone kill with that sort of emotionless precision. The first humans moved taking one violent movement to slit the throats of the guards. Thick green ichor sprayed violently from the slits as bodies slumped to the ground.

Green oozed from the walls.

Other humans spilled through the gap overwhelming their foe before action could be taken. The next creature was bludgeoned to death. Rifle butts glowed with luminous liquid.

And still the humans did not stop.

Without fear or thought they stalked towards their enemies taking terrible hits with barely a sound. When weapons refused to work, they used whatever weapons they had, their fists, their fingernails, their teeth.

The last and largest of the creatures was able to stabilize himself enough to fight backhanding captain Vir into a stack of cages with a clatter. Cries rang out from inside those cages.

The cries of human young.

The massive creature tried escaping, but he had missed one of the humans crouching in the darkness as chaos reigned around her.  

The screams of the dying.

Then she leaped coughing the creature around the shoulders locking her legs around its massive neck, and then squeezing.

The creature bellowed and then choked swatting at her and flailing about, but she did not let go allowing the massive muscles of her legs to slowly choke the life out of the creature. She never let go clinging tighter as the thrashing grew more frenzied. The creature sunk to its knees she snarled in rage.

It fell to it’s back flailing pathetically.

The rest of the humans had stopped to watch completely silent. Krill moved forward as if to stop the human, the danger was passed, but a strong arm stopped him. Krill looked up to find Captain Vir holding him back. Blood leaked from a cut at his temple painting his face red. His eyes were absolutely cold devoid of sympathy as he watched the creature choke.

The room was absolutely silent but for those gurgling cries.

The humans did not move to stop their companion, and neither did the rest of the crews.

She squeezed harder constricting like a snake crushing the creature to death.

He eventually grew still, she held on longer.

At first no one moved.

And then it was like a light was flipped on. The human eyes widened, their bodies straightened, their hands unclenched, and they turned rushing to the cages smiling and whispering encouragement as they broke open the cages and liberated their young. The wide eyed children clung to the adult humans spirited away from their imprisonment.

Captain Vir grinned at Krill as he walked form the room carrying two, one for each arm, “Adorable aren’t they?”

Krill just watched.

***

Turns out that since humans are so soft, their meat is a prized delicacy on the black market. The more tender the meat, the better, so certain groups of aliens had been paying for the meat of children like a human would pay for veil.

They had harvested their prey and packaged it in this area and then sent it out to specific buyers. This error had cost them their lives.

Though the galactic assembly did an investigation, nothing ever came of it. Both the Rundi and the Drev kept silent about the whole situation. The humans claimed self-defense, krill kept what he had seen locked away in the back of his head always aware of what hid inside his smiling human companions.

Humans are willing to kill, fueled by rage they are ruthless and without mercy.  

To hurt a human child is to immediately forfeit your life.

They will unmake you

[moviewarfare]

A Review of Rurouni Kenshin Part 2: Kyoto Inferno

Due to the massive success of the first film, it is no surprise that it was going to get a sequel. However, it wasn’t just one sequel but a two parter sequel that was filmed back to back. I’m not a huge fan of part 1 films as they tend to drag but is this the case for “Kyoto Inferno”?  Director Keishi Ōtomo, Cinematographer Takuro Ishizaka, composer Naoki Satō and nearly the entire cast from the first film return for these sequels. so I’m going to try and avoid retreading all the praises I gave them from my review of the first film here: https://moviewarfare.tumblr.com/post/617387687371030528/a-review-of-rurouni-kenshin-part-1-origins-2012

The story is simple,  Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto to help stop Makoto Shishio and his warriors from overthrowing the new government.  Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) has one of the most amazing villain introductions in a film ever. He is WAY more of a threat than any of the villains in the first film and genuinely seems like a good reason for Kenshin to return. In that fact I have to give lots of praise to Tatsuya for giving such a great performance in making this guy seem crazy and a threat. A majority of the new characters are great Sojiro Seta (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is creepy and the actor portrays this well and also manages to make his swordplay rival that of Himura in a believable way. Misao Makimachi (Tao Tsuchiya) is a lovable but badass ninja. Okina (Min Tanaka) is a badass old ninja man with wisdom and care. He even has a really cool badass fight scene and despite the actors age still puts the effort into the fight even if there are obvious cuts to a stuntman. There are so many new characters introduced but somehow the directors manages to cover all of them fairly well and evenly. The director manages this sudden huge cast without bombarding us the audience with a massive exposition and still make us care or hate these new characters. Aoshi Shinomori (Yūsuke Iseya) is the only character I have a slight problem with and its not because of the actor. Aoshi was meant to be in the first film and was meant to lose his friends in the battle against Himura Kenshin which is why he decides to hunt him down. Of course the director cut that out because he filmed the first one as a standalone film with no sequel plans. However, this creates a writing problem in this film as Aoshi is very important for future Rurouni Kenshin stories so cutting him out entirely was not an option. This means they change his backstory so that he lost his friends to a battle 10 years ago instead but he still wants to hunt Himura Kenshin because he wants to be the strongest or something. This makes his character less sympathetically and more just kind of crazy. He does a lot of cruel things for what is kind of a stupid reason in the film. The existing cast and characters continue to do a great job even Kaoru (Emi Takei) who I had issue with manages to get a couple good scenes in.  Megumi Takani (Yū Aoi) is the only existing character to sadly get pushed aside in this film but for the sake of the story, it makes sense.

One aspect this sequel does better is the pacing. In the first film there were parts that slowed the film down but in the sequel, it is one constant ride of thrill and excitement. Despite the film goes from an often unrelated plot to another, the plot points are all interesting enough to keep you invested. The score is more or less the same with one major new soundtrack, Makoto Shishio theme “Unmei - Meikai No Kodou“  which is so amazing and fitting for his character. Another aspect of the sequel that is better is the fight scenes. The fights in this movie make the ones in the first movie feel like baby toys. Not only are there more different and unique type of fights but they also have all the amazing practical and complex choreography style of fighting. The stunt coordinator manages to make it somehow more exciting and still make every characters style of fighting unique from each other which makes for more cooler fights. My favorites fights are the one where Himura fights a dozen men cause of how fast pace it is yet it is still very clear which is also down to the set and costume department as it allows for the lead character to still be visible in the crowd. The Kyoto fight is also incredibly impressive due to how many are there and the beautiful cinematography.

Despite being the first part of a sequel, this movie is absolutely astounding. Everything that I loved in the first movie is vastly improved in this sequel. If I had to nitpick this movie then it would literally be one scene in the manga where Himura Kenshin has to make an important choice which is in this film but without being able to hear his thoughts like in the manga it just comes out as rather inconsequential in the film and is brushed away quite easily as well. However, that doesn’t really ruin anything in the film so I came out of this thinking “I really want to watch part 3 right now”.  This movie has all the thrills and excitement from the amazing sword fights and choreography with a tinge of character drama sprinkled on top and it came out as a film that even surpasses some of the big Hollywood films.

[skvaderarts]

Apocrypha Chapter Twenty Two: Visibility

Masterlist can be found Here! Thanks!

Chapter Twenty Two: Visibility

Note: Sorry if the pace has been too slow in this story. I feel like Soliloquy might have been more exciting to read, especially since we just made it to chapter 22. But don’t worry, that’s all about to change very soon. Thanks for sticking with me! Between Visions of V and Special Edition, this is a wild time to be writing for the community. I’ve never been so overwhelmed by the lore. I love it!

(-~-)

The sun approached the edge of the horizon, the sky casting a shadow of vibrant oranges and blues as it traveled over the treetops. The silhouettes of the massive trees that blocked out the evening wind danced in the dim but vibrant light as they stood tall and proud, acting as sentinels in the approaching night. And around the northern bank of the large pond they had claimed as their own stood V, his arms wrapped around himself as he leaned against a nearby tree in silence.

Something was not right about this place.

From the moment they had arrived, it had been too quiet. The path leading to the location seemed to grow more silent with every step they took, and there was no way to properly explain that kind of phenomenon aside from “deeply disturbing” and “possibly problematic”. Against his general sense of self preservation, the young summoner had written it off as nerves at first, assuming that the impenetrable silence was due to the fact that they were venturing further and further from the city and, as such, were exposed to less and less background ambiance as a result. V had spent his fair share of days in the wilderness in the past, after all. But the longer they had stayed here and spent the day enjoying the wonders of the forest, the more V felt an ever present need to leave. It was as though something had invaded his subconscious and lodged itself between whatever receptors controlled rational thought and suppressed anxiety. 

He found it profoundly difficult to focus, and that feeling of fogginess didn’t dissipate as the day carried on. In fact, it intensified to an incredible degree until a slight haze fell over him. And while he was still alert and aware of his surroundings, he couldn’t help but feel as though his head was under water. At times, his hearing seemed muffled or his sight blurred, but then returned to its normal state just as quickly as it had gone. It was as inconvenient as it was troublesome, and it had progressed to the point where V was actually starting to question what could possibly be causing such a phenomenon. 

From what he could tell, everything around him was fine besides him. Perhaps the group had collectively decided that they were just going to ignore whatever this was in favor of enjoying the scenery and didn’t know it because everyone was concealing their true motivations so well? It wouldn’t really surprise him, all things considered. He didn’t blame anyone present for desiring a little bit of normality. But it was nearly impossible to tell if that was the case. And if so, he was going to have to be the killjoy of the group once again. Thankfully Kyrie and the children had left an hour or so ago.

As V stood thinking, Griffon returned from his little adventure. The while haired summoner had tasked his loyal avian companion with scouting out the surrounding area to see if he could locate the source of the issue, he’d saddled himself with the responsibility of trying to figure out whether or not the issue he was experiencing was caused by internal or external forces. V hadn’t exactly had the easiest time since his return from the waiting room of the afterlife and, as an extension of that, he’d been feeling numerous different variations of sensory overload in random intervals ever since.Trying to place what was going on with him without anything to work off of was becoming more and more complicated to do alone, but he didn’t exactly have anyone to go to with questions of that nature. Well, at least not anyone he expected to actually answer them.

“Well, did you find anything?” V said quietly but clearly, not quite whispering as Griffon fluttered to a landing on top of the low hanging tree branch he was standing beneath. Shadow was only a few yards away, now the lucky recipient of Patty’s attention. The only thing that the large demonic house cat enjoyed more than destroying their opponents was receiving head scratches, and Patty’s were high quality to say the least. V felt no need to interrupt their fun unless he required her assistance, and at the moment, he was fine.

Griffon fluffed himself up and did something close to a shiver, clearly not thrilled with the concept of whatever he was about to say. The large bird looked like he wanted to puke as he shook his head from side to side, a metaphorical bad taste in his mouth. V craned his neck to one side, his brow furrowing. Oh, this couldn’t be could, could it?

“Oh boy, did I. You're not going to like this, V,” Griffon said as he hopped down off of the branch and onto V’s outstretched arm. As he spoke, he shuffled up closed to his shoulder, allowing the young summoner to lower the majority of his arm. “So get this. I found a cave! Well, it’s not exactly a cave. It’s more of an area with rocks all around it that you have to go into a cave to get into, but you get the jist of it, right?”

V nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure what that had to do with anything, but he decided to let his avian friend finish his little little story before passing any sort of final judgement. Sometimes the fluffy, statically charged bird just rambled a little bit before he got to the point, but the information he provided was generally very helpful. “What is it about this place that set off alarm bells for you? Is there light coming from it?”

Griffon nodded eagerly. If V wasn’t mostly sure that his loyal companion couldn’t make facial expressions, he would have sworn that he saw an almost uncomfortable look cross his face. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg, pall. There has to be at least a dozen people up there, and they are all over the place. That whole operation reeks of demonic power, and it’s just like what you were telling me about before I went to check it out.” Griffon’s tone changed dramatically as he leaned in to look at V. His eyes and tone of voice seemed to darken slightly, an act that both repelled and drew in the young Descendant of Sparda.” Mark my words, V... they’re planning something, and it’s not good. I think whatever is going on with you might be their doing. Like some sort of spell or something that’s supposed to keep people from going over there. I don’t know a whole bunch about magic, but I’m getting a pretty bad vibe from them. I’d stay clear of that whole place if I were you. It’s bad news.”

V seemed to consider Griffon’s words for a moment before looking across the space between himself and the rest of the group. After Nero and Kyrie had spent a few hours away from the rest of the group, they had made the trek to regroup with the rest of them and brought the children along. Dante and Vergil had arrived shortly after, the older of the two seemingly just as disinterested with hiking through the woods as he was with dealing with anything else negative for the remainder of the trip. Much like V, he’d spent most of the day keeping to himself and reading, though V couldn’t help but wonder if he’d noticed the strange occurrences that were plaguing the woods as well. One could only imagine that spending an extended amount of time in the underworld made someone sensitive to such things.

As he allowed himself to consider this possibility for a moment, a familiar face approached him. Nero stretched slightly as he did so, hours of sitting and playing with the children had clearly made him a little stiff. V nodded at his approach, signaling him to come a little closer. The shorter haired man gave him a curious look, but then glanced around himself before doing as his older brother wished and joining him.

“Hey, V. Something going on?” Nero said as he crossed the distance between them. Thankfully he hadn’t felt the need to shout this at him from near the water, or this entire situation might have been a little uncomfortable.

“Possibly.” V said, reaching up to scratch the underside of Griffon’s closest wing. This bird seemed to appreciate the gesture as he shivered in delight. For whatever reason, it was always a trial by fire for him to reach that spot without dislocating his neck in the process.” Griffon may have found something further into the woods. He has reason to believe that there might be something… unsavory going on there. Apparently the place radiates excessive amounts of demonic energy.”

“Radiates” is an understatement,” Griffon said, cutting into the conversation between his efforts to preen himself,” That place is a goddamn beacon for evil shit. I swear it’s a Hellgate or something, but I can’t be sure. But whatever those folks are doing up there can’t be good. If you want my advice-”

“Nope, not really. I think I’m good.” Nero said as he gestured towards the large blue bird with a nod, casually signaling for him to halt his machinations. That was too many words for him, and he was sure that V could give him the cliff notes version later on.” Let me guess, you wanna check it out, don’t you? And you want me to tag along.”

The older of the two paused for a moment before nodding slowly. “I feel almost compelled to do so. Something about this doesn’t sit right with me. The last time people gathered in the middle of the woods like this and I was in the area… well…” V trailed off towards the end of the conversation, sparing a downward glance towards his leg. Nero followed his gaze, a slightly alarmed look on his face. Was that how…

“Oh. Wait, so you weren’t born like that or something? I figured you’d always been like this.” Nero questioned, careful as to how he phrased his statement. He had no intention of insulting V with his question, but he had the feeling that his older brother wouldn’t tell him if he had done so anyway. That was simply the way he was. In fact, Nero was slightly surprised that he’d reached out to him about this in the first place. He seemed a little out of his element.

“... We can discuss that in greater detail once we return. Are you unarmed?” V said as he spared a glance towards the other six people that were still with them. Lady and Trish seemed to be talking about something, and Vergil hadn't budged from his spot facing away from them towards the pond. Whatever he was reading had caught his attention and kept it. Dante was eating part of a pizza that they had obtained earlier in the day at the behest of the children. And Patty… Well, she was still petting Shadow. Although she had progressed past head scratches and gone straight to belly rubs at this point, much to the bemusement and pleasure of the large feline. V subconsciously noted that he’d never seen Shadow lay on her back and let someone touch her there, and he was slightly confused as to why he’d never had the opportunity to experience this for himself. He would have to rectify that as soon as possible.

Nero shook his head and pointed towards the blanked he’d brought to the little campsite earlier when he’d arrived with Kyrie. “I don’t go into the woods without backup. Last time that happened, I got scratched by some stupid demon and grew a demonic arm.”

V gave him an odd look, but couldn’t help but notice the irony in that statement. It seemed that neither of them were capable of venturing into the woods without running afoul of something or someone and developing life altering injuries. They had more in common than he had initially realized, and it was almost funny how similar their experiences had been in some instances despite the fact that they hadn’t known one another until almost halfway through that year. In a way, V took slight comfort in that.

“I… regret not having an opportunity to see that for myself. What a shame. Was it the same arm?” V said gesturing toward Nero’s right side. The younger of the two glanced downward to double check where he was pointing and then sighed, nodding in conformation.

“Yea, I can’t win with this arm. Hopefully nothing else happens to it. The last couple of years have been such a shitshow.” Nero glanced over towards the blanked he’d brought with them before walking over towards it, leaving V by the edge of the clearing.” Give me a second.”

V watched him go for a moment, considering their next move. Theoretically, things shouldn’t pose much of a problem. They were just going to slip away and go and check things out. Then they’d come right back. If everything went well, no one would even miss them. Dante was preoccupied along with everyone else, and if there was a possible threat, they needed to know about it.

A moment later, Nero returned with his blade in hand. He attacked it to his back and joined V under the tree, ushering for V to lead the way. With a nod, the older of the two recalled Shadow in preparation for their departure, much to Patty’s apparent distress. The two of them had been having the time of their lives together. With a dissatisfied huff, she stood up and walked over to join Dante, grabbing one of the few slices of pizza that remained and flopping down on the ground next to the devil hunter in the red coat. He seemed to welcome her company since they immediately started a conversation, an action that V couldn’t help but envy. If only he could start a conversation with people that easily.

With a final glance in Vergil’s direction, they slipped through the treeline and into the now dark forest. V scratched the top of Griffon’s head before using his thin arm to launch the fluffy blue bird in the direction of the woods. Neither of them had any idea where they were heading, so they were going to have to depend on the mouthy bird to lead them to their destination. That wasn’t a prospect that Nero was entirely comfortable with, but it was the reality of the situation. With any luck, this wouldn’t be a long trip and they would make it back before anyone missed them.

(-~-)

Silence settled over them in a heavy blanket as they headed towards their destination. The ground was damp and shifted easily under foot the closer they got to the top of the hill, a fact that neither of them particularly enjoyed since they could barely see. The forest was unreasonably dark, even when the foliage was taken into consideration. It was almost as if the woods absorbed light and pulled it out of the surrounding atmosphere, because even with demonically enhanced eyesight, Nero couldn’t see a thing. He was unsure as to how good V’s eyesight was relative to his own, but he was willing to believe that he probably agreed with him.

As if to silently concur with him on that issue, V suddenly stumbled over something and landed palms down in the dirt, groaning quietly in dissatisfaction. Nero had attempted to catch him, but he’d underestimated his reach and totally missed him, something that made him feel somewhat stupid. After a moment, he extended his hand towards V in an effort to help him back up. He fished around in the darkness for a moment before reaching up to accept the help, shaking his head in disbelief when he stood up. Judging by the way that he was standing and the slight grimace on his face, he’d clearly done something uncomfortable to his leg in the process.

“Tripping in forests and injuring my leg. Truly the story of my life.” He said with a hint of sarcastic darkness in his tone. He clearly wasn’t very pleased with what had just happened, and it showed. Nero looked him over before turning back towards the correct direction. It was very easy to become disoriented and lost in a place like this, so he felt the need to reaffirm their whereabouts.

“I thought we weren't talking about that until we got back. Changed your mind already?” Nero said as they pressed forward. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that it had just grown even darker than before. How was something like that even possible?

V shrugged in the darkness, looking up towards the sky and then back towards the space in front of them. Griffon had indicated that if they continued to go forward, they would reach the cave he’d found shortly. The only problem was that it was further from the clearing than they had originally guessed, and the darkness severely hindered their progress. After all, how were you supposed to walk in a straight line when you couldn’t see anything in front of you? The terrain wasn’t something that they had felt the need to take into consideration when they had decided to do this. Then again, there were many things they hadn’t taken into consideration. 

A part of Nero wanted to turn back and alert the rest of the group, but didn’t. He was confident that they could handle this together, and they were not small children in need of supervision. V had his familiars back now, and although he was still somewhat weak, he hadn’t fallen victim to any dizzy spells since Magnolia had left and turned to the mainland the night after the fight at Fortuna Castle. Nero had no reason to believe that this wasn’t something they could handle.

“I was talking to myself. Nothing has changed since we-” V suddenly paused and stopped dead in his tracks. Nero drifted forward, turning to see what the problem was. An instant later, V grabbed his shoulder and held up his hand to hush any protests, nodding in the direction just ahead of them.

“V what are you-” Nero started, earning him a frustrated look from V as the older of the two pointed in the direction of something immediately to the left of them. Nero turned to find light radiating off of the nearby trees as it shined from within the cave that they now stood only a few yards from the mouth of. Three people walked into the opening, casting long shadows behind themselves that stopped just a few feet in front of the two youngest Descendants of Sparda. Judging by their familiar black outfits, they had just walked into the last place they needed to be.

These were the same cultists that had been after V in Fortuna.

And they had just walked right up to their front door.

Before either of them could process this information, the sound of a tree breaking behind them under the strain of something heavy took them by surprise. As they moved to locate the source of the sound, a vibrating hum could be heard from seemingly everywhere around them at once, immediately followed by the sound of wicked echoing laughter. Slightly alarmed, the two of them glanced around themselves in an attempt to try and locate the source of the sinister noise just as the ground beneath them began to ripple like water and the sound of a deep, hollow bell toll echoed through the surrounding area. A rapidly spinning scythe erupted from the ground between them followed by an unearthly howl as they were both knocked back across the ground in opposing directions, making impact with the trees. As quickly as they had arrived, they had been rendered a bloody mess, staggering about in an effort to try and figure out what was happening and where the attack was coming from. 

V winced slightly as he held the side of his now bleeding head, shaking it slightly in an attempt to regain focus and clarity of vision in spite of the pounding sensation that rocked his skull. Unfortunately, the blood running down the side of his head onto his face didn’t make that very easy, and neither did all the now wet hair that clung to the right side of his head. Meanwhile, Nero tried to walk off the cut he’d just received across the bottom of the side of his back, clearly as agitated as he was injured. Although his demonic powers were making short work of the injury, it still stung like hell and served as a powerful distraction from the task at hand. Neither of them were mortally injured, but the fact that they would have easily been killed in that instant if they hadn’t both moved out of the way when they did was not lost on them.

Whatever this was, they needed backup. It needed to die before it could launch a follow up attack against them. After all, there was nowhere to run to in this place. Behind them stood impenetrable darkness, and before them stood the cult that had nearly taken Magnolia and V’s lives the last time they had crossed paths. Nothing about the situation was hopeful.

Just as the large, cloaked demon attempted to fully emerge from the ground, V and Nero regrouped, rallying behind one another in an attempt to prepare themselves for another oncoming attack. If they stayed close together, they could watch each other’s back and two directions at once. Despite the fact that they were both somewhat injured and couldn’t dodge any oncoming attacks very easily, it was the only option they could employ against an enemy they could barely see.

Seconds later, a glowing black rift suddenly opened in the air a few dozen feet above them, the sickening laughter and howling of the demon returning as the bell tolled yet again. Both Nero and V drew a blank in that moment, entirely unsure as to what to do about a demon that could attack them from such an impossible position. Nero knew he couldn’t draw his gun that quickly, and Griffon would be no use against an opponent such as this, even if V could force him to manifest that quickly.

No, they were simply fucked.

As the cackling monstrosity plunged downward out of the sky towards them, spinning it’s colossal blade like a propeller composed of death, there was suddenly an eruption of light as an unseen force collided with the demon, meeting it head on and stopping it dead in it’s tracks in mid air. The scythe shattered like glass as a huge blue slash arched several meters across the space between them and cleaved the demon in two down the middle, taking the two trees behind it with it.

Nero and V watched as the vaguely familiar blue demon landed gracefully on it’s feet, sheathing its blade slowly with a ringing click before the suspension of reality around them faded and the demon, along with both trees, toppled over with a loud crash, falling into pieces around them. They were both dazed, and V was still bleeding from his skull, but altogether more alive than they would’ve been if he had not come to their rescue. Although they had not seen this form before, neither of the two young devil hunters needed to ask who their savior was. Nero had battled against it more advanced from before himself, and V recognized that kind of power anywhere. A moment later, the glowing blue demonic being that had once stood before them faded away with a cascade of light, allowing the darkness to return and leaving a familiar devil slayer in its place. A moment later, he turned to face them both.

It was Vergil.

And he did not look pleased.

(-~-)

It begins… Bring forth the angst! Boy of boy, are things about to get interesting. I hope you liked this chapter, because things are only going to get more exciting from here! See you on Friday for the next chapter and stay safe!

[saltoftheplanet]

Why I’m skeptical about the Final Fantasy VII Remake

I’m skeptical that the remake will be good because there will be a lot of changes that will impact the direction, tone and narrative of the game, and Square Enix’s track record suggests to me that those inevitable changes will destroy and undercut what was special about the original game.

An essay breaking that down piece by piece is under the cut.

There will be a lot of changes

The remake will represent a huge and doubtlessly beautiful graphical update. With these updates, however, comes the need for a variety of new directorial decisions. For example, how should the camera behave during cutscenes? Who should they frame, and how? What will their body language and facial expressions show? Now that all the cutscenes will be voice acted, what tone will characters speak familiar lines with?

Likewise, the game is switching to a third-person, over-the-shoulder view. The original FFVII used a fixed camera and prerendered backgrounds to create a world that felt rich, full, and often cluttered. Every level will require redesign to account for the new way of moving about the world, and the amount of assets required to create the same feeling and to direct your attention in a same way will be exponentially higher. Likewise, there will need to be changes to account for the new combat system, as stages will need to be designed for both exploration and combat in many cases.

The episodic format of the game will necessitate changes to the pacing. Successful episodic games excel at creating self-contained rising and falling action and narrative arcs within each episode. Conversely, Final Fantasy VII was plotted and paced as a single complete narrative. Either the pace and order of events will need to be changed to make each episode stand strongly on its own, or the episodes on their own will be gawky and suffer pacing issues as they are pulled out of context from the greater whole.

Finally, the narrative itself will change. We have yet to see a verbatim line in each of the trailers, so the script itself is being rewritten, and with it many nuances will change. Square has stated point-blank that story changes are on the table. Finally, the compilation of Final Fantasy VII and the various Ultimanias released over the years have added a variety of changes to the narrative and to the lore. The teaser trailers we’ve seen so far have been in-line with the Midgar we see in Advent Children, itself a massive change to the famously ambiguous ending of the original game.

Direction and tone will be affected

All of these changes will not be neutral. In just about every decision of how this story is retold, some things are necessarily going to be emphasized and de-emphasized. Each of these decisions will carry and shift meaning in subtle ways. In that sense, the remake should more truly be considered an adaptation.

Examine the opening of FFVII; a meandering view of the stars fades into Aeris’ face. A single long shot pulls back to the city of Midgar. The tone here is mysterious, and the amount of time dedicated to the environment equals or surpasses the time spent on a character. This direction in cinematography echoes the game’s focus, as it is very much a story about the interplay between the characters as they exist inside of larger, overwhelming forces and environments.

The remake does have the opportunity to give us more meaningful cinematography in its cutscenes, but it may also make directorial decisions that change the meaning or impact of scenes. Especially likely is an increased focus on the characters and the action, and implicitly, the “cool” factor of both of those things, seeing as how the Remake and Square Enix as a company largely foreground great visuals and cool sequences. There’s absolutely room for that, of course, considering the bike scene in the original - but the broader point here is that no intervention can be neutral, and the Remake will inevitably have a different focus from the original.

One influential decision the writers have made is in their audience. All promotional material thus far has been aimed squarely at “returning” players, with no explanations offered for newcomers. What we’ve seen so far is in line with the marketing material - they are not simply trying to recreate FFVII as it was, but also tap into our collective sense of familiarity about it. The direct engagement with an expected audience means they will likely try to recreate the feeling of the experience rather than the experience itself, which would then necessitate certain story changes to keep things surprising or mysterious. This approach will inevitably widen the gulf between the remake and the original game.

SquareEnix’s Track Record

SquareEnix has been behind many beloved games, but they are not the company they were when they released FFVII. Their track record over the past decade, maybe even closer to the past 15 years, has been one of spotty quality, half-baked ideas, poor execution, and a narrative flexibility that suggests a lack of commitment to telling a story with singular vision and protecting the integrity of that story. Whatever your opinion or personal enjoyment of more recent Final Fantasy entries, they objectively lack the clarity and direction that made older entries of this series so beloved. To be completely clear, it is not that I believe these stories could never get there; it is that I’m keenly aware of the fact that they came short.

But more relevant than Square’s entries in the mainline Final Fantasy franchise are the entries to the Compilation of FFVII. These, two, have come with a variety of directorial changes that the new format and technology demanded. They’ve built their own lexicon that will likely be drawn upon in the creation of the remake, and that bring subtle changes along with them. For instance - Advent Children’s visually spectacular fight scenes introduced us to the idea that the characters were all able to leap vast distances and perform acrobatics mid-fight, and we’ve seen this idea carried forward into all subsequent entries of the series, even though it’s somewhat at odds with the more grounded, cyberpunk tone of the original game that earmarked these kinds of superhuman abilities as specifically unusual.

That may seem like a minor quibble, but I would argue that it’s a series of minor changes that have led to the difference in tone and focus between the compilation and the original game, and it comes down to a variety of directorial decisions that continue to be pertinent. For example, in Advent Children, the writing team made a decision to base Cloud’s character around what people would most remember from the game, and decided that would probably be the Cloud that we see at the beginning of the game. This decision was in play as early as his cameo in Kingdom Hearts, and for as inconsequential as it may have seemed then, it’s carried a rippling effect with it. By choosing to write the character in a way that they felt most fans would recognize, they also chose to downplay the growth and the specific quirks that wound up making that character interesting - a repeated issue with many of the characters.

Likewise, because the compilation prioritizes its returning Final Fantasy VII fans, it also tends to prioritize fanservice and recognizable, digestable moments over the overarching narrative of the world of Final Fantasy VII. One memorable example would be a cute Yuffie cameo in the midst of the Wutai War in Crisis Core, a war we are told repeatedly was extremely brutal and which actually destroyed Yuffie’s home and embittered her for years thereafter. The result is a story that’s at odds with itself due to tonal and character inconsistency. The prioritization of a quick moment of familiar joy robs the character of her impact in the long term, and this pattern is repeated for many other characters throughout.

Of course, the compilation has changed more than tone and framing of characters, and has also contributed several ideas to the world of Final Fantasy VII that are now in play. For example, the idea that upon death, people return to the Lifestream, whereby their spiritual energy is used by the planet to create new life. This is a distinctly animist idea that the Compilation has leaned away from, as they cannot cameo dead characters if those characters have since been reincarnate as trees. The compilation has since introduced the notion that a person’s soul and consciousness not only stays intact, but that they can come into contact with the living - an idea that’s fundamentally at odds with the themes of life, loss, death, existentialism and uncertainty that are extant in the original game.

Finally, though not least significantly, Polygon’s An Oral History of Final Fantasy 7 reveals that the reason Advent Children and subsequently the compilation was created was to save Square Enix from financial ruin, not to continue the story for its own sake. It is important to acknowledge the reality that Final Fantasy VII is bankable, and the reason for the remake to begin with may very well be that bankability rather than a good faith intention to retell a story that touched many. The episodic nature of the release does nothing to help that faith, nor does the fact that initial development was outsourced to a third party.

What was so special about FFVII

“So what?” you might ask. Even if there are a ton of changes, and those change the direction and tone of the game, does that really mean it won’t or can’t be good? To that - the jury is out. But I don’t particularly care if the FFVII remake is a good video game - I care if it’s a good representation of FFVII.

I admit without reservation that FFVII is, to use a technical term, anime trash. It has lots of rule of cool sequences that keep the game light, bits of spotty translation, and narrative stumbles. It is not a perfect work. But there is a reason why it was enduring; there was meaning to it, and that meaning was what made it special and unique.

FFVII was a ponderous game. It seldom presented an idea without later exploring and unpacking it. Its characters are seldom what they appear, the mission they undergo is hardly as noble as it seems, and what you expected to happen simply didn’t. It’s rife with deliberate ambiguity and doesn’t work overly hard to explain itself. Its story is shot through with uncertainty, about identity, faith, morality, justice, and every other waymark we use to navigate our life. Its most memorable moments rest in the loss of that certainty, and its most triumphant in the character’s perseverance regardless.

Though FFVII is primarily remembered and beloved for how it made people feel, it wasn’t written to be deliberately provocative or emotionally manipulative. The story was deeply impacted by a real-world loss, and the mandate of the team at the time was to convey that loss for how it truly felt, without the celluloid gloss and tropes like a dying speech that have since proliferated through the compilation. There was an honesty, an integrity and a complexity to this story that caused people to argue in earnest that it was the first video game that could truly be considered a piece of art.

I think the ephemeral nature of these qualities often leads people to conclude that FFVII is mainly loved due to “nostalgia,” but that’s a dismissive take that fails to acknowledge the deliberateness and consistency of its themes and ideas. The same care has very obviously not been given to any of the subsequent FFVII games.

In other words: this was never going to be an easy game to remake. A remake worthy of standing on the same pedestal as the original would require the same careful dedication to thematic consistency and integrity, to tone and feeling as the original. It would require careful thought to the impact and presentation of each of the monumental changes demanded by the new technology and platform.

Square-Enix has yet to do anything to suggest that it is up to this task. I have tremendous empathy for the development team that is taking on this task, but that doesn’t mean I have faith in their ability to really, truly, pull it off.

[artyloreviews]

Death Stranding (2019) - The Incoherent Ramblings of a Porter

Death Stranding is an equally flawed as it is innovative. Hideo Kojima’s new entry, unbound from the chains of his previous corporate affiliation is a divisive one, but offers much, both technologically and narratively. While perhaps not as memorable as the former Metal Gear series, it is an attempt at an experience that would otherwise be immediately shunned, were it not for the name and talent attached to it.

Death Stranding, much to no one’s surprise, is one of the most divisive titles to release among critics and players alike. As a longstanding fan of Hideo Kojima’s work, I too was questioning whether or not the experience of going through Death Stranding was worthwhile, as some notable review websites, following the lifting of the review embargo, refused to rate the game - let alone play it. There is some fault in me reading reviews prior to experiencing it for myself, but I believe it is necessary to disclose that particular bias, in spite of my somewhat feverish favor of Metal Gear and my almost instantaneous pre-order of the title upon it becoming available. I would go as far as to say that my acquisition of a PlayStation 4 had been somewhat influenced by the announcement of said new “independent” Hideo Kojima game all the way back in 2016. To say that I had nothing but expectations, would be an understatement. The reception being as divisive as it is makes it difficult to be objective on the topic, so I will allow myself the irregular personal remark every once in a while, if need be – consider that what you will. Think of this as less of a review, and more like the condensed ramblings of a madman. Alongside that, I will attempt to be as spoiler free as possible – at least for a time. I will make it clear whenever that is no longer true. If that sounds good to you, let us move onto the brunt of the topic…

Death Stranding is a spectacularly boring game. The eternal debate whether games should innately be fun or engaging comes to mind almost instantaneously upon first impression. You’ve most likely heard it: “Mindless busywork”. “Walking Simulator”. All signifiers of the core gaming demographic’s displeasure with whatever the fuck Death Stranding is. Its director Hideo Kojima, calls it a “strand game” – the first of its kind. Something I would consider to be one massive taunt towards the public, as if saying: “We’ve made something that didn’t exist before - a new color of game.” How much of that is true remains to be seen, as the future of strand games as a genre will likely be decided, depending on whether there will be many new strand games entering the ecosystem, or if the originator of the term remains the only example of their existence. The fundamental idea of the strand game is not an unfamiliar or an unappealing one – it’s what up until now was called “asynchronous multiplayer” or “network/online features”. Death Stranding is a single-player game at its core, but these online features are somewhat more integrated into the experience. Another term comes to mind that could perhaps adequately describe how that online element is integrated, and I believe its derivation from an antiquated term for a certain subset of MMO games is not coincidental - Death Stranding is a “persistent world”. Looking at Death Stranding as a type of MMO is not too farfetched, I believe. The importance of social aspects in that type of games is not to be understated and it just so happens to be one of the core themes not only of the strand game, but Kojima’s recent beliefs as a whole.

Surprisingly for some, the thematic elements of Death Stranding are not so obtuse and impenetrable like in the Metal Gear series, but rather surface level in comparison. In essence, it is a game about reconnecting people in an age of social isolationism. Kojima hints that the internet has served to connect people, but also widen the gap in actual physical connections through its ease of use and accessibility, making people more likely to stay at home and connect via all manner of messaging services, rather than meet face to face. This topic is also likely more culturally significant to members of countries like Japan and the USA, as the notion of isolationism in general has had a greater effect diachronically, as domestic interests outweighing the need for more outward connections has been at the center of both countries’ foreign policy at one point or another. It comes as no surprise then, that a Japanese studio sets their game in a ravaged American wasteland where conversations and physical contact are merely superficial, goods and services are delivered via a third party, and the outside is seen as hostile and the idea of connection is seen as dangerous.

The game’s story, however, seems to be disconnected from all of this. I would go as far to say, that you could change the themes for something else entirely and the implications would remain the same. The writing seems more interested in revealing the deciphered cryptic marketing materials shown prior to the game’s release. Phrases such as “Create the rope.”, “Tomorrow is in your hands.”, “Stick vs. Rope” and just the word “Strand” are littered everywhere, drawing vague lines between plot events, real world history and cultural practices, and Kojima’s own brand of conjecture. The naming conventions for people and things remain as campy as they’ve ever been, as the translation from Japanese to English seems to yet again have been the difference between something that sounds cool and western, to completely banal.

On a technological level, the game is a masterpiece. From simple rendering, to the way physics is implemented, to the effects and lighting. Kojima Productions (often abbreviated to KojiPro) have mastered their 3D scanning technology, since the creation of the Fox Engine and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Death Stranding was practically sold on the idea of featuring notable voice and film actors such as Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker, Margaret Qualley, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Lindsay Wagner and directors such as Guillermo Del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn. Most people will likely see this as Kojima boasting about his connections to Hollywood celebrities, but the fact remains, that this is a star-studded cast of an incredibly high caliber. Particularly commendable are Troy Baker and Tommie Earl Jenkins, who through use of this technology enhance the fidelity of their in-game performance to almost life-like proportions.

The individual systems that make up the core mechanics of Death Stranding are made with the same level of attention to detail as one would expect from KojiPro. The same maximalist control scheme that spans the entire controller that was made infamous with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater makes a return in all of its “hold three different buttons and time a fourth correctly to perform an action you will have to do repeatedly” glory. However, the amount of menu time one has to indulge in has increased tenfold, as any and all rejiggering one has to do with their inventory and or interacting with the world requires about 2-3 button presses, holding a button to confirm and waiting through about 3-4 “micro-cutscenes” which are individually skippable by pressing 2-3 buttons per scene, even if you’ve seen that particular animation play thousands of times. And you will be seeing some of these animations thousands of times, because they are there for everything and anything, from the most core of mechanics, to the things you would never care to even see, let alone do. This is a very long-winded way of getting to perhaps the game’s biggest detractor:

Death Stranding does not value your time. Everything is very laborious, slow, monotonous and sluggish. While eventually you could get into the grove of things and begin to look at it in a different light, the fact remains, the game fundamentally works against you in every way, because the as view of it all likely reveals how little there is of Death Stranding to actually experience. Some have expressed that it should be looked at as more of a meditative experience, where the journey is not merely a means to an end, but rather time for you to be with your own thoughts and explore. While I wholeheartedly agree that that is somewhat of the core Death Stranding experience, I have to disagree that the game’s meditative nature and exploration are player-driven. Even the story itself has glaring pacing issues and it often wastes massive amounts of the player’s time through tedious backtracking, just so there can be a few hours of game in between cutscenes, even when everything is clearly urgent. Even some of the more appealing set pieces, get cut short as a spontaneous blurt of synth noises plays whenever even an insignificant gameplay event takes place.

Ludvig Forsell’s original score for the game is simply fantastic. While it doesn’t have the character of the scores for previous Kojima titles like those by Norihiko Hibino and Harry Gregson-Williams, it does retread the familiar cinematic tropes that seem to be more of what Kojima’s vision is shifting towards nowadays. Forsell’s prior work for Kojima on MGSV:TPP was forgettable, save for maybe one or two tracks, but for Death Stranding he seems to have had free reign to compose for this new IP, and has made some highly moving tracks that play sparingly in important plot moments, giving them that extra punch. Ludvig’s heavy use of synths is highly welcome, as it seems to be more of his specialty, rather than the grand orchestral compositions. In addition to the score, Kojima has picked out some select licensed tracks. Those seem to be of varying and sporadic quality, and barely any thematic connection to the game. It appears to be Kojima’s new thing; to just put in whatever he thinks will sound good and hope that it fits with little consideration as to its cohesion. Hideo’s recent displays of his taste in music seem to be embodied by the inclusion of one Icelandic band - Low Roar, whose entire discography is seemingly included, and frankly is the only one of the musical choices that seems to fit the tone and atmosphere of Death Stranding’s world, featuring somewhat melancholic and subdued vocals, backed by mellow synths and pads, slow drum beats and droning guitar. Low Roar seem to even have the range for more imposing tracks, as shown in the reveal trailer’s “I’ll Keep Coming” and the in-game track “Give Me an Answer”. If Low Roar were to be the only inclusion, I would frankly be happier than the menagerie of tracks that the in-game player provides. It is one of those cases, where less would mean more, as it would indicate a clearer vision than the strange assortment of tracks seemingly pulled straight from Hideo Kojima’s incredibly expensive Walkman.

I recommend you play Death Stranding for yourselves, despite my bold claims. I wish I could tell you why, but it is a Hideo Kojima game after all. Much lies in context and that frankly is as much as I can muster without going into it deeper. This is the point where I will not so reluctantly have to go into spoilers. And when I say spoilers, I actually mean “beat the game”. We will have to retread on some of the previous points with the benefit of hindsight. I’ve intentionally barely said anything about the actual content of the game but the briefest remarks, which you might find disappointing, but I assure you it is necessary. I would go as far to say that this is where the real review actually begins. Read beyond this point at your own peril:

Death Stranding is a spectacularly boring game… and it has to be. The ending of Episode 2 is what shifts the paradigm irreversibly. The moment Higgs – the particle of god that permeates all of existence, reappears following his brief appearance in the inciting incident with the corpse disposal team and kicks you in the head with the words: “So how ‘bout it? Aren’t you tired of the grind? Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for this whole time? A game over!?” Up to that point, I could understand the frustration that most people had with it. I myself even contemplated if this is worth my time, and was considering quitting the whole endeavor, genuinely seeing it as pointless busywork with little to no variation. But after it? Boy, was I reinvigorated to endure just a little bit more. Higgs’ fourth wall break was just a subtle wink, a hint that all of this was intentional. It recontextualized the sluggishness and the drab grinding, where it was used to make the eventual reveal hit harder, the reveal that there is so much more to Death Stranding, so much we people don’t know. It makes you feel like you’ve passed a trial by fire, where you’ve been forced to use only the most basic mechanics for the first twenty or so hours, delivering everything by foot with no aid, only to be among the few who have shown the resilience to be rewarded with confirmation that it was not all in vain. The world is miserable, depressing and unforgiving. Small mistakes can be irreversible and that carries the weight of constant hypervigilance. But with Episode 3 Death Stranding shows its true face. Suddenly you have more structures than you know what to do with, you can build roads, you can drive vehicles, you can enhance your abilities with exoskeletons, you can customize your backpack with actual useful trinkets, covers and pockets. From a game that was slow and drab, it turned into a game about actually “Rebuilding America” piece by piece, creating infrastructure and using the online features to make the game better not just for yourself but for everyone!

What a strand game truly is, is very akin to an MMO, in more than one sense; and in my opinion it is frankly better. There is this anecdote I read on Twitter while I was playing through the game. It was about how the simple act of placing down a rope over some difficult terrain carried weight, because you wanted to throw the rope back, so someone else who is following your path, can use it too; how no other game does that or makes you think of feel that way. And that is what I think is at the core of Death Stranding’s gameplay loop, distilled into one meaningful choice. No longer do you have to thing only for your benefit, but for those who will follow in your footsteps.

Building structures is your stake into the future. When you finish the game, you will most likely not come back to it for a long time, but those structures will remain, even after you’re gone (at least until the timefall eats away through them) and other people will make use of them to accomplish their goals. I can say that there are few experiences as immersive as creating a path, that evades a camp of MULEs and a BT field though a perilous mountainside and seeing that someone else is using it. That single message that pops up onto your screen, makes it feel worth it. Even the simple act of walking down a path makes it so that if enough people walk along it, it will turn into a beaten path, which is much easier to see and usually has no snow on it making traversal less difficult – a mechanic that I do not know how I will live without in other exploration-based games. And KojiPro have made an effort to make sure you know that is intentional, as seen in some of the interviews and e-mails you get, where they discuss how things like oxytocin and “likecin” are produced from physical contact and receiving likes as a porter (or even how receiving too many can lead to addiction, like in the case of MULEs and Homo Demens). There is one particular correspondence with the crew of the first waystation you ever connect up to the chiral network, and how they’ve slowly stopped using the synthetic oxytocin that you delivered to them and began producing it naturally, because you’ve given them hope and they’ve been going outside and celebrating with each other – restoring physical contact. I can’t even explain the weird sensation of meeting your first set of NPC porters out and about. After such a long time of speaking only to holograms, beginning to doubt if there even is anyone out there – meeting two confused porters, running around doing deliveries with tools strapped to their suits and being able to wave to them (or even trade items) is such a surreal experience.

Those are some of the more immersive elements of the game and frankly, I wouldn’t mind to see those explored further. However, Kojima had other intentions, and that is where I and the game’s story diverge. Sam Porter Bridges is so far from me as a player, that he might as well not even be controlled by me. His actions in the plot are so oblivious, that it is hard to sympathize with him, especially so during the final hours of the game. Fragile literally forces into the plot your love for Amelie, as if the estranged brother, who does not give a single fuck about his family or his country that (mind you) no longer exists, cares about this “sister” of his, that he is even somewhat forced into going to save. The way she manipulates him into kicking Fragile to the curb is also one of the moment that drew an even larger divide between where I was and when Sam supposedly was, and I surmise most players felt the same. There is this sentiment that most people don’t even refer to him as Sam, but rather as Norman Reedus, since Sam is not even an empty vessel for the player, but something even more abstract; something like a character that you only get to pilot in between bad decisions made in cutscenes.

The eventual reveal that the entire main goal of the game was in vain from the beginning, that you were being manipulated by Amelie, who was never in danger and needed no saving, just so that the overly forced End of the World plotline can take place, presented as a major subversion, felt expected. “Just like how The Patriots turn out to have been manipulating Snake in Metal Gear Solid from the beginning.”, I told myself when first listening to that pivotal Mario and Princess “Beach” dialogue. The fight with the big BT with Higgs stuck to it, firing rockets at the middle section and the radar dis-- I mean right shoulder of the BT genuinely felt like fighting Metal Gear Rex - especially with Troy Baker screaming in reverberated pain like Cam Clarke did in MGS1. That, followed by a hand to hand fistfight atop Re-- I mean, in a sea of tar with fighting game health bars and stamina meters to save the woman in the background – just like in my Metal Gear video game. It’s pretty blatant and it doesn’t really take a keen eye to see it.

“Getting a little touchy-feely there, Mr. Aphenphosmphobia. Well, congratulations. You won the game. Too bad you didn’t stop shit…” is where the game probably should have ended. What follows is what I would consider to be Kojima’s weirdest decision to date – explaining everything that was confusing and tying up loose ends in the same game that creates them. The next four-five chapters are just that – exposition dump after exposition dump. Nothing left for consideration, no pondering as to what something means. Kojima singlehandedly offered a MGS4 to his MGS1. A key to all questions at the very end, so that nothing is left uncertain.

Which takes me to my next point – the interviews. Slowly but steadily, the idea of the “codec conversation” in Kojima’s repertoire is phased out by optional cassette tapes or in the case of Death Stranding, actual text exposition dumps. Previously you’d at least get to appreciate someone reading them to you in character, but now you have to go through hundreds of emails and interviews by yourself. I can’t begin to imagine what understanding some of the concepts of the game is like without going through the interviews, even if I haven’t gotten to read them, as it most likely requires 100% completion. In Metal Gear, seeking out new codec conversations in random parts and events of Metal Gear, ensured there was quite a large amount of replayability and you’d usually find new details about characters or helpful tips and strategies on repeat a playthrough, but now, once you’ve completed the game, there is nothing new or different – It’s always going to be the same interviews, in the same place, at the same time. Death Stranding has no replay value whatsoever. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen all of it.

Speaking of in-game players and Walkman earlier reminded me that there is also the surprising absence of a portable music player in-game, for what is probably the most musically saturated Kojima title in years, as music is only available to you while resting in your private room or in a safe house, where you can listen to the owner’s collection of tracks, even those obtained later in the game. This is in a game, where about 90% of your time with it is in complete silence, save only the odd interjection by Sam, mumbling something to himself and the sounds of the wind and falling rocks in the distance. I feel like I would genuinely feel so much better and could stomach most of the detracting elements of Death Stranding, if I could only play some Low Roar, as I discover a nice view and decide to take a short rest to take it all in. If a game like Metal Gear Solid 4 could have an MP3 player in it and even load some podcast in for you in the goddamn war-ravaged Middle East, then surely we could have had one in this one as well, right?

The quality of Kojima’s writing also varies wildly, as genuine moments of subtlety and clever world-building are followed by incessant amounts of tutorialization, presented as dialogue that an actual human is supposed to produce in a way that sounds natural. All of that, mixed with hundreds, if not thousands, of different ways of saying “Thank you, you’ve really saved us out here!”, “Could you deliver this for me?” and “Boy, we sure do feel connected out here, thanks to you!”, littered with thousands of emoticons and expressions of adoration for your skillful and vitally important delivery of a couple of packages of old magazines and some rocks. This, complemented by the late realization that the world of Death Stranding isn’t actually that large in scale, so much so that I would bet you can pinpoint exactly were on the map a location is, given only a screenshot of a random assortment of moss and rubble; all makes the over-exaggeration of the effects of your feats seem like genuine lies, placed there to make you feel a false sense of accomplishment. Perhaps they do it with good and earnest intent in rewarding you for the things you’ve done for them, but you know what you’ve delivered, and you know it’s not that important most of the time.

A section of the game that I was particularly fond of was Episode 11 – i.e. the final episode for Cliff Unger in Vietnam. I recommend you all play that sequence again via the figurines behind Sam in his break room, but with “The End” by The Doors playing in the background. The whole bit is clearly an homage to Apocalypse Now and it almost feels timed to the beat. I felt like it was supposed to play, but they couldn’t get the license to it, so I added it on top myself and at that point I could feel Kojima and I enjoying the sentiment on the same wavelength. This is also the episode where Mads Mikkelsen finally gets enough screen time for you to really get an appreciation for his performance, which up until now had been quite subdued. Cliff is fear-inducing and nightmarish upon introduction, his voice reverberating throughout the battlefield, but with the events of Episode 11 you begin to see his more tragic side of the story’s main events. Mikkelsen lends his talent completely to the whims of Kojima, and that makes for an outstanding performance, much like those by Troy Baker and Tommie Earl Jenkins, yet somehow felt misused and underplayed, as Cliff simply fades away from existence.

The game’s ending has me holding conflicting opinions: at the same time, I genuinely do not understand why anyone would care enough for Amelie, not to empty a clip into her back, much as I did immediately upon being given the option, and at the same time despising having to just witness the non-decision you have to make in the game’s final moments. Having no choice but to hug her and listen to her ponder upon existence, and eventually having her make the decision herself whether or not to initiate judgement day. You only have to run around aimlessly and listen to her monologue about how much she cares, as your trigger finger is still itching to end it all, as the game eventually wins itself. Stylistically impeccable and unnerving, as the uncertainty of what is going to happen, continues to grow, only to climax with a whimper of what feels like a glorified deus ex machina. This is followed by Tommie Earl Jenkins’ powerful final scene, breaking down a character that up until now had seemed one-note and bereft of any emotional depth, only to reinvigorate him and shed any doubt as to who and what he represents in the world of Death Stranding. That however is thrown away, as it steps aside for the epilogue with Lou, as Sam has somehow synthesized a connection to him exactly as Deadman takes him away to delete his memories and their connection, yet Sam manages to carry it to the very end, where it is ultimately revealed that after all the displays of his renewed connection to the people and the world around him, he still doesn’t care for anyone or his country, burning his cuffs and forgoing it all, yet Lou is somehow exempt from Sam Porter Bridges’ final moment of decicive introversion. Even after all of this, Kojima adds one final series of subversions, as Sam is revealed to have been Cliff Unger’s son, through whose eyes we’ve been seeing those dream sequences, finally stitched together into one cohesive whole at the very end, revealing a backstory that ties up loose ends no one was really asking to have tied up. And also, Lou is apparently Louise – a girl. The ending is divisive, because you have the actual tangible story of Sam growing to accept people in his life, getting used to the taste of Fragile’s cryptobiotes and building a relationship with her, ridding himself of his phobia and getting in touch with the people around him like Deadman and Die-Hardman, connecting everyone in the UCA into a whole and living to see another day – only to throw it away at the last minute, but not entirely, out of fear that something would be left unaccounted for. It could have been so much more, or if not, at least somewhat better executed.

When it comes to technical execution, the game is spotty, but ultimately very well made. The physics of just walking from point A to point B are probably the most impressive thing you’ll probably experience this decade, even if it is sometimes unwieldy and comical. The whole element of keeping balance and the implementation of inverse kinematics to any terrain, is a marvel to behold and it will frankly be difficult to play anything that doesn’t have that much depth anytime soon. One could only wish they had put that much attention to detail into the vehicles, which drive like a load of bricks even on flat ground. When it comes to pure visual fidelity, the Decima Engine is stunning in its execution of photorealistic graphics when in the hands of KojiPro. The amount of landscaping that has taken place is probably mind-blowing, as a lot of the routes that the game takes you through are plotted in such a way as to lead to wide open areas of land, where the game’s more introspective moments occur, where you’ve just crossed a difficult to pass field of BTs or hostile terrain and the camera pulls back from Sam and captures the vista that unfolds before you, as the melancholic tones of a Low Roar begin to pierce the silence. I say it takes you there, because for those who have tried to make some more extreme routes, will know well that there are actually quite a lot of invisible walls all around you at all times, allowing routes to mainly take place in certain sections of the map. You still have the freedom to place whatever items in whatever location you wish, but there is almost always a clear alternate route that you can take, which more often than not has been placed there by the developers and only needs you to place the ladders and ropes along it. This is what I meant earlier in the piece by the exploration not necessarily being player-driven. The invisible hand of KojiPro is there to guide you at all times, as you can never really stray too far from the intended path, believing that you are doing so of your own free will and creativity.

Death Stranding is a divisive game because it really tries so hard to be this artistically extravagant video game with great implications, but ultimately renders its greatest threat as a Mary Sue very late into the game, way beyond the average span of interest, while it already has a very charismatic and well-defined villain in the face of Higgs from the very beginning, who gets somewhat shortchanged into being the self-insert fourth-wall-breaking tool, who is only played as a means to someone else’s end. Everything past Episode 11 feels unnecessary and diminishes from what the game had already done perfectly until now. The game’s length in pacing are all over the place as well: Excluding what I would consider to be the mandatory grind of Episode 2, everything else genuinely seems like padding for time, going back and forth across the whole map multiples of times for seemingly arbitrary reasons, haphazardly going into BT infested zones for items of sentimental value, while the threat of annihilation looms over every encounter with them, and by the time something actually engaging happens, you’re often too exhausted to do it.

At the same time, it is also offers this incredible amount of progression and gradation compared to how you started out merely two chapters ago with your ever-expanding arsenal of infrastructure changing the fundamental core of the game. It features all-around outstanding performances (excluding some awful line-reads by Léa Seydoux, which is a shame, because her character could have been so much more, only to be reduced to a fast travel NPC with a catchphrase, which she never seems to be able to pronounce). There is the amazing social strand system that takes the game from a regular single-player slog, to a somewhat indescribable social multiplayer experience, where everyone it working towards the same goal, but helping each other along the way, making travel more efficient and hauling larger loads easier. It also presents this horrifying yet beautiful world, that gets easier to traverse the more you know about its hazards and people, and in a way builds sympathy for the plight these people endure in their post-apocalyptic dystopia. Death Stranding’s world is somehow empty, yet full of substance, yet one-note in scope, yet thematically rich. A game that is equal measure incredibly gratifying, boring as shit, visually and mechanically impressive, a surface level social commentary, a love letter to war and kaiju films, an Icelandic alt pop album and a walking simulator – truly a feat only Hideo Kojima himself and Kojima Productions could accomplish.

7/10

[mostlymovieswithmax]

Midsommar [spoiler review]

Ari Aster has released his second feature film, Midsommar for which he writes and directs and it is a vast, expansive experience that threw me through a kaleidoscope of emotions, which amazingly is something I can’t say for a large number of horror movies coming out these days. That being said however, I’m not entirely sure that I could confidently class Midsommar as a horror. I don’t know if I’d really class it as any specific genre at all. It is certainly its own beast and for that, I would commend it highly. As something that is so dense with detail I will probably be jumping back and forth to moments in the story, giving this review a somewhat non-chronological structure. I can’t possibly touch on everything, especially as I’ve only seen it once. I believe it is something that needs multiple experiences to fully appreciate and is a movie I’d love to experience again.

The talent on display in regards to basically every technical aspect of the film is to be praised tremendously. I loved the cinematography and the look of the movie; the colours and the sets were all gorgeous. Mostly set in broad daylight, this stylistic choice is not something I’d immediately associate with a movie that was going for this type of vibe. Mixed with the set designs, the look of the movie made for a visual feast I couldn’t keep my eyes off of. What made the aesthetic qualities of the movie pop that little bit extra for me was the camera work and how it moved; I think of shots like when Dani goes into the bathroom in the first act and the camera pans over the door frame and twists to show her standing in the toilet of the plane. Or when they’re driving across Sweden and the camera flies over the car and turns to end up in an upside down position, perhaps foreshadowing what the characters are in for on this journey. It’s details like this that cracked a huge smile from me as I was watching, not to mention it separates Midsommar from so many other movies that try to depict suspense and terror. Furthermore, a feature that I found to be intensely thoughtful to accompany the fantastic visual display was the editing, or more specifically the cutting of shots. Often I see movies follow a certain formula when it comes to this facet; conversations cut together with a shot of one character and then a reverse shot to show another character; wide angles to establish locations or buildings, then cutting to the inside of the buildings themselves. There’s seldom ever much of a flare to the editing of a movie but I saw Midsommar capture that charmingly to add tension or even to highlight a joke. Accompanied by the score, a lot of these shots gave off an eerie tone that made me feel pleasantly uncomfortable. I loved the low, stretched out notes of the music that went that extra step further in order to make me feel slightly distressed. The sound design was incredible and generally it isn’t a facet I’d pick up on unless it was either done very well or very poorly. There were sections where even items like cutlery or people walking would catch my ear in a noticeably pleasing way. It shouldn’t be undervalued at all; great sound design can elevate a movie so much and I’m both glad and impressed at how well it was executed here.

Midsommar’s first act may have unfortunately contained a lot of my favourite moments. It introduced the main characters and worked to convey the relationships between Dani and Christian, as well as with Christian and his friends and how they all felt about Dani. I appreciated the time put into the dynamic between Christian and his friends and how they viewed Dani, although this was sort of thrown away once they got to Sweden; I never saw any sort of resentment from them towards Dani after that. Pelle obviously felt a lot differently about Dani, going as far as to kiss her during the latter stages of the movie. I’m not sure why it was necessary to have Pelle feel this way and I don’t understand what it added to the story besides forcing some conflict into Dani’s relationship with Christian, which was being achieved on his end regardless. Along with this, we are also shown the unfortunate and upsetting demise of Dani’s family which acts as a plot point in helping Dani to decide upon accompanying Christian and his friends to Europe. Seeing what happens to Dani’s family may have been the most affecting part of the movie for me. To top it off, her reaction was absolutely chilling; I love how Aster gets such raw and believable performances in his films. Dani’s loud, pained cries made me feel for her so much and forced a deep discomfort into me that carried through as the credits and title came on screen. Something that intrigued me quite a bit during this first act is how conversations were filmed through mirrors. We would see a couple of instances of characters talking to other characters that were reflected in a mirror. These static shots that carried on for a short while added to the tense atmosphere and the conversations or arguments that were taking place, imposing a kind of separation between those we could see outside the mirror and those we see inside the mirror. The main cast we’re introduced to in America are all good and give believable and compelling performances. Florence Pugh was fantastic as Dani; William Jackson Harper was decent; Will Poulter was great and one of the stand-outs from my experience. Vilhelm Blomgren portrayed quite an interesting character in Pelle. Christian seemed to be the only one that rubbed me the wrong way because he was such a massive dick the entire time and he was never redeemed. Not to say Jack Reynor’s acting was bad (quite the opposite in fact), I just didn’t sympathise with the character. There are aspects to the characters and the decisions they make that wound me up a bit but in terms of the acting, they were more or less solid.

The secondary characters, or mainly the Swedish locals didn’t stand out as individuals to me, possibly because they were portrayed more as a collective, which is fine but I would’ve liked to have seen some character development from at least a couple of them. Now, I say it’s unfortunate that I derived the most entertainment out of this first act because after that, Midsommar suffers quite a bit from some pacing issues. This movie is almost two and a half hours long and it didn’t feel like it needed to be, especially with a plot that only allows for so much exploration. The plot itself is quite basic, but it is displayed as something so grandiose in scope that it comes across as being eminently pretentious. Could it be the insanely short production time that went into making Midsommar that makes it feel fairly lacking in a few areas? Or is this genuinely the cut that Aster wanted? Results from a quick search of the movie told me that around half an hour of its running time was cut due to the content it presented. Consequently, this will make the home video release different to some degree than the cinema release as it may come to our TV screens as a director’s cut. If this is in fact the case (and I do intend to buy the blu-ray upon its release) then could it be that we’ve not even seen the movie that Ari Aster wanted us to see? Will a director’s cut make it better, worse, or simply just longer? I for one am assuredly excited to see what the end result is.

A big problem I had with Midsommar is how early it peaked in regards to the horror. One of the first things the main characters are presented with upon arriving at this rural community is the idea of people being separated into groups depending on their age: the concept that they didn’t consider themselves adults until a certain age; that they didn’t work until they were old enough to; that they died when they reached a specific year of their life. They’re then told that a ceremony will be held the next day and while our main characters ask what it is, we see William Jackson Harper’s character, Josh smiling in a sly “I know what it is” kind of way. His friends try to ask what he knows, to which he does not divulge anything. What follows this is a scene wherein two elderly people sacrifice themselves by falling off of a cliff in front of the other members of the community. To me, this scene was beautifully unsettling for a number of reasons. Despite expecting them to jump initially, I was still shocked at how well it was executed both in relation to the story and in a technical sense. At first, the woman jumps off of the cliff, dying instantly with a bloodcurdling crunch. Of course the characters from America and the characters we are introduced to earlier from England are understandably shocked. Even Josh reels back in surprise which I found to be a little strange considering how he acted as though he knew what was going on beforehand. What did he think was going to happen if not that? We’re never told. As the old man approaches the edge of the cliff and the English and Americans clue in to what is happening, they react as I’m sure we all would to what happens as he prepares to jump. He lands in a much more awkward fashion with a smaller sound that is no less distressing. Only this time, he doesn’t die... The scene is then racked up a notch as he screams out in pain at having his leg torn off and his body broken on impact. The rest of the Swedish onlookers scream in pain with him and it is terrifying to hear. I imagine this painted a picture to most viewers that the locals we are presented with in this rural Swedish village are all somewhat spiritually connected; are able to empathise with one another's emotions in a way that makes them able to feel the sensations of those they’re close to. Undoubtedly the torment doesn’t stop there and Aster has to quite literally hammer home what this ceremony is all about. In order to put the old man out of his misery, a group of people take it in turns to smash his head in with a large mallet, causing further stress to the main characters, but stopping all of the Swedish inhabitants from screaming in agony. That whole scene… was awesome! I loved it and it stands to be maybe my favourite sequence from the movie. The unfortunate part is that after this happens, I expected everything to amp up a bit and start showing me more uncomfortable and fucked up things but sadly this wasn’t the case. In a sense, it was as if the movie blew its load on this earlier scene and didn’t focus on too many other stand-out plot beats which was pretty disappointing.  For some reason, Will Poulter’s character ‘Mark’ had slept through this ceremony and as a result, hadn’t experienced what his friends had. Whether this was done for a specific reason I’m not picking up on or simply so that he could continue to crack jokes is beyond me. I will give credit where credit is due: this movie made me laugh when it wanted me to. The inclusion of comedy in Midsommar was expertly handled and never made it come across as a lame horror-comedy.

Prior to this and upon arriving in the green fields of rural Sweden, the protagonists all get high and lie around in the grass. While the comedy kicks in here, it is also notable for the reaction of Dani as she starts to feel the grief of losing her family once more and urgently tries to get rid of it. I liked this scene and how it played slightly with the visuals which foreshadowed the inclusion of drugs and their effects later on in the movie.  Sadly with what happens to Dani’s family in the first act, I’m not sure it was that purposeful overall, despite liking how it was depicted. Yes, this event does explain how Dani acts for sections of the film and yes I did like seeing it act as a catalyst for why she goes to Sweden in the first place, but I’m not sure it was hugely purposeful when referring to the movie as a whole. It never came back in a way that affected the narrative or the story that was being told. It was just something that happened to the protagonist that caused her a great deal of upset. Almost as if they could have died in any number of terrible circumstances and it wouldn’t have made a difference. While I really liked the characters’ first drug trip sequence, I got worried early on that Midsommar was going to take an approach that put the trips and the drugs at the forefront of the movie, akin to something like Shrooms (which was just awful) and sure, they played a big part but it did more to enhance what was actually happening rather than fabricate a story that didn’t really take place, just to have them wake up in a field exclaiming how crazy their collective trip was.

As the characters start to become more and more under the influence through the drugs that they’re given, we see the world warp around them. Trees ripple and form faces; the food would shift; flowers would pulse in accordance to Dani’s breathing; characters’ facial features would distort. Dani starts seeing grass sprouting from her hands and feet, or vines mimicking her movements to show how she’s progressively becoming part of this society. Characters like Christian however start experiencing the drugs in a negative and more aggressive way, as if they’re being attacked by senses! There is unease and terror in how Christian experiences the festival, whereas Dani’s experience is comparatively happier. The contrast of how Dani was being accepted and Christian was being rejected was thrilling to see, markedly in how Dani’s demeanour changed as she found herself integrating with everyone else. Although I must say I’m not sure why they kept drinking that drugged water that looked like muddy urine. Christian almost refuses to drink it until he’s told “it’s spring water with special properties” which was all the information he needed apparently! What properties were they? Doesn’t matter; he drank it anyway. The moronic decisions manage to manifest more throughout the movie, however. Regrettably we don’t get to see much of Mark and Josh’s experience with the hallucinogens or even much of the festival because their time is cut short in a manner I didn’t find all too entertaining. Mark is the first to go from the original team. Due to urinating on a sacred tree, he is murdered off-screen and has his face cut off. This could’ve made for a superb scene if it were done right but the way it was handled came across as hollow. Elements akin to this could have worked to convey unease and terror, but they are implied rather than shown which can work in some circumstances but I would’ve liked to have seen something more memorable and haunting instead of seeing an after-product and thinking “okay well I guess that happened”. Show him being mutilated, you cowards! You don’t even have to show it; just possibly what happens in the lead up! It would’ve made for a far more compelling story beat! All that happens is a girl comes up to him as he’s eating with everyone and asks to show him something. His response is just  “she’s gonna show me” and leaves. He doesn’t question what he’s about to be shown; he just gets up and wanders off with a girl he doesn’t know in a foreign country, going purely off of Pelle’s word that everyone there is great! What a way to force that in! Josh is next on the kill list because he took some pictures of a sacred book when he knew he wasn’t supposed to because either he’s just insensitive to other peoples’ cultures, or he thinks it’s okay as long as it’s for his thesis. After this happened I kind of dropped off. With most of my favourite characters gone and the remaining characters questioning everything less and less, not only was there not much left to ground the film in a world that would consider the things that were happening to be deeply disturbing, but also from the protagonists’ perspectives as well.

I’ll acknowledge I’ve been railing on this film a considerable amount... with good reason. But despite being heavy on the criticisms, I still consider Midsommar to be a good, even great movie! I adore films that beg me to revisit them and learn more about them with each watch. Sprinkled throughout Midsommar are a tonne of small details and I’m sure I didn’t pick up on everything; in fact I hope I didn’t. Along with strange “what the hell?” moments like putting scissors under the baby’s pillow (I think that’s what it was anyway) that I still don’t understand, there also exists things that maybe don’t need to be thought about but are still nice to see included, such as goats and cows that took the immersion into this countryside village a notch higher. Or to draw from more obvious details that add depth to the people: going back to how they would all scream in unison, for instance to empathise with another’s emotions; when Dani sees Christian cheating on her, all the girls she is with cry and scream with her, possibly to experience what she’s feeling and/or to show her that they consider her to be part of their people, which also manages to contrast with earlier in the movie wherein she’s with Christian in her apartment but she’s the only one experiencing the intense pain as Christian tries to comfort her.

Upon entering the third act I started to wonder what the actual point in Midsommar was. Could it possibly be one big metaphor for grief and how we can choose to deal with it? There didn’t seem to be that grand of a point being made, either in the relationship between Dani and Christian, the relationship between America and Europe, or just the presence or influence of cults and religion in different parts of the world; those ideas seemed somewhat surface level. So I can’t help but think it was trying to convey a more metaphorical meaning. Either that or its meaning was just “Europe’s weird, man”. In this way, the finale didn’t leave much of an impact besides leaving me feeling quite hollow and disappointed, wondering what all that had been in service to.  I can’t say Midsommar blew me away with much of what it showed me. There were a few decisions made which weren’t all that original in how they were executed and there were some dumb moments that had me questioning why they were included at all. Yet I would never say it isn’t unique in what it achieves; I can’t disregard all of the jaw-dropping technical showmanship and the interesting, creepy ideas that managed to meld horror and suspense and mystery and comedy into something I simply don’t know how to categorise. I could talk for ages about this film and still not touch on absolutely everything about it. Ari Aster is clearly a talented guy and I can’t wait to pick up the blu-ray and watch it a million more times. Along with that, I am for sure going to see whatever he puts out next. These are the kind of movies I love seeing and supporting and I honestly can’t recommend Midsommar enough because it’s something I feel will resonate with different people in different ways, evoking more than a few interpretations of it. It is so worth the watch.

★★★½ 

[musicalheart168]

Reflections on the end of Game of Thrones (with recommendations for further reading)

Game of Thrones was something special. There has always been plenty to criticize about it [in particular, the treatment of women (especially the overuse of rape as drama or, in some cases, as background action) and the treatment of non-white characters], but when this show was good, it was REALLY good. The casting/acting, the production design, the costumes, the music, the special effects, and—for much of the show, at least—the writing.

As much as I disliked Season 7—which was terrible compared with Seasons 1 through 6—I had hope going into Season 8 that it would be worth the two-year wait. Ultimately, I’m not surprised that Season 8 was a letdown, but I am shocked and disappointed by how much of a letdown it was. And I’m sad.

I’m sad that so many of the characters went out with a whimper instead of a bang. I’m sad for the cast and crew who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. And I’m sad for us, the fans of the books and the show, who have have invested their time and emotions in this world and these characters’ journeys.

For YEARS, we’ve combed through every line of dialogue, every camera angle, and theorized (or, in the case of fanfiction writers, written out) all the ways that it could end.

And in the end, how much of what came before mattered? Very little.

Because the show made significant departures from the books since the very beginning, I don’t believe we can blame all of the issues with its conclusion on the lack of source material. Even without a book to be based on, Season 6 remains, in my opinion, one of the strongest seasons, featuring knockout plotlines for almost every single character. Most importantly, these plotlines were built upon the development of past seasons and were paced out effectively.

But for Season 8, the plot and characterizations seemed like they were coming from an entirely different show because of how rushed it felt. Much of what happened could have felt earned if the time had been put in to get us there, but it simply wasn’t. 

D&D made so much noise about how you can never make all the viewers happy (as though that invalidates the very real issues with this season and the last) and there’s been a massive resurgence of people quoting “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.” But it isn’t about happy. It’s about having the choices that characters make feel AUTHENTIC, about plot twists feeling EARNED. It’s about the choices the show has made over the past two seasons about what to prioritize and what to ignore (and it’s also about quality control, though the water bottle and the Starbucks cup are the least of Season 8's problems). In many cases, narrative structure and character arcs were sidelined to further the Benioff and Weiss obsession with “BeT yOu DiDn’T sEe ThAT cOmInG!” writing. 

Detailed thoughts on the various storylines below the cut.

The Great War

There was a really good Reddit post about how the writers essentially screwed themselves over giving the supernatural threat so much emphasis and creating the Night King when he didn’t exist in the books.

We spent YEARS building up how serious the threat of the White Walkers was. Remember how Mance brought together all the wildlings because they KNEW they would die otherwise? What was it all for? What was the point of having the dragons if their fire did absolutely nothing to the Night King? What about the various prophecies? THOSE STUPID DESIGNS LEFT BY THE WHITE WALKERS?

One of the biggest Battle of Winterfell letdowns for me was Viserion’s death. For the emotional punch we got from watching him die and then be wighted in Season 7, there was very little focus on him in Season 8. I hated that 1) the other dragons didn’t just roast him—sure, fire didn’t kill the Night King, but we know it takes down wights and that’s essentially all Viserion was: a wight that just so happened to have been a dragon when he was alive 2) Dany didn’t get to kill him or at least have an active role in his death. To have Viserion just go down with all the other undead when the Night King was killed felt like a waste (especially after the time Jon spent chasing him).

Another thing about the Army of the Dead being defeated so quickly: I wanted more than just the North to see the impact of the Long Night. Did they even know about it in Dorne, much less Essos? King’s Landing got snow, but did anyone other than the folks at the dragonpit meeting see the undead for themselves? So, is the Great War going to be a running joke to Southerners? "Yeah, those crazy Northerners love to talk about how they saved the world from a bunch of ice zombies” . . . Wow, I guess the White Walkers really ARE a metaphor for climate change.

The Starks

It’s undeniable that the Starks won the game of thrones, but I would say their storylines are where we actually saw the bittersweet endings that were promised coming into play.

Much like Tyrion, Jon was put in a highly reactionary role for a lot of this season (at the cost of his own character) and we hardly got to see his own feelings about anything until the last two episodes. After the initial shock, what did he make of his parentage (other than what Dany thought of it)? What did he think of Arya killing the Night King?

He acted against Dany at the very end, but only when there was no other choice left. I don’t know if that was to emphasize he wouldn’t have made a good king or to play up the tragedy of it all, but once he stopped focusing on killing the Night King, it seemed like he ran out of things to do except be made a tool to bring down Dany.

His surviving Drogon’s wrath and then getting a cuddly reunion with Ghost felt unearned but also cathartic at the same time. Ironically, it wasn’t until after he killed Dany that he felt more like the Jon Snow I’ve loved since Season 1. He had so much potential and I don’t know how to feel that he managed to emerge relatively unscathed from the mess of this season.  Did the show wants us to feel like he needed to be punished for killing her?

Of all the Stark siblings, Arya had the least terrible journey this season (putting aside the “should Arya have been the one to kill the Night King?” debate), but a stupid ending nonetheless.

She’s just going to leave her family behind and travel the world? And what about Gendry? Oh right, I forgot, you can’t be a warrior woman and be in love in this show. It’s not allowed.

And Nymeria never showed up again after last season? As GRRM himself once said, you don’t introduce a massive pack of wolves led by one of the main character’s direwolves if you don’t plan on paying that off eventually.

As a completionist, it bugs me that Ilyn Payne was never mentioned after Season 4 or so because he might technically still be alive and would have been the one remaining person on her list.

My greatest wish for the end of the series was that Sansa Stark would make it out alive. And she did! But man oh man, she deserved more credit than she got from the start of this season for having been the Only Sane WomanTM. BUT SHE SURVIVED AND SHE’S QUEEN IN THE NORTH AND I CAN ALMOST FORGIVE EVERYTHING ELSE . . . OK, NO I CAN’T, NOT REALLY. But it helps.

And for all the foreshadowing of her relationship with Jon to go nowhere? At least it was left somewhat open ended.

Let Sansa Stark be happy, you cowards. A crown is nothing without her family around her!

One of the most disappointing character arcs was Bran’s. After years of building up of how the Three-Eyed Raven and the Night King were mysteriously linked and how his power was crucial for ending the Long Night, all Bran did was act as bait. Oh, and warg into a bunch of birds. It would have been tremendously satisfying for Bran to try to warg into one of the dragons, whether during the battle with the Army of the Dead or perhaps as a way to stop Dany from sacking King’s Landing. My pet theory before the season aired was that Bran would try to warg into Viserion and something would go wrong. But—just like Arya’s non-stabby Faceless Man skills—this ability was thrown by the wayside.

And as for his becoming king . . . WHAT!? It seems like the only reason he was picked was to serve as an interim step to eventually axing the whole monarchy deal in favor of democracy (maybe?). But HE’S THE THREE-EYED RAVEN! I get that Tyrion was going for “he is wise and can tell us how to not mess this up” but it smacked of a surprise twist for the sake of surprise and also sexism (we pick Bran because he’s a dude!)

And calling him “Bran the Broken” is just. . . wow. Why not “Bran the Wise?” Or “Bran the Mystical Bird Man?” Or literally anything other than “Bran the Broken.”

I’m also bitter that Jon never brought up how Benjen saved him in Season 7. Especially after Benjen also saved Bran in Season 6. For as long as Jon had kept up hope of finding his uncle and how much importance Benjen had for him, the fact that he was never mentioned again was infuriating to me.

Similarly, we just . . . never see or hear from Meera Reed again? After all that she went through and lost to help Bran? Not to mention the fact that her father had firsthand knowledge of the truth about Jon. What a completely wasted opportunity. Bran would never have made it without Osha and Meera (or Hodor or Summer or Jojen). 

Daenerys

I’ve suspected for years that Dany was going to end up as the villain, so I’ll save time and not detail every hint of what was to come. To put it simply, I’m not angry about the fact that this is where we ended up. I’m angry about how we got here. Many others have already touched on this (I highly recommend this video about foreshadowing and character development), but here are my main points:

To me, Dark!Dany always made more sense than The Mad Queen. I think going with madness was a cheap move and, frankly, a bit insulting—she wasn’t even given the agency of choosing to be evil. The “previously on” at the start of 8x05 showing her reaction to Missandei’s death with all the voiceovers making various points about her own nature and Targaryen madness seemed to tell us that you can’t outrun genetics and your choices have no impact on your ultimate fate. Now, her time in Meereen was, in many ways, the beginning of the end for Dany, but it was because of her OWN ACTIONS and growing conviction that she was some sort of savior who was owed the throne and NOT due to the proverbial Targaryen coin flip. I would have found it much more interesting to have her as a gray villain or anti-hero than just making her lose everyone and then letting us see the evulz and the crazy rolling off of her in waves.

I was always very uncomfortable with the Jonerys relationship. It was poorly developed in Season 7, relied on characters TELLING US rather than SHOWING what was supposedly going on, and the chemistry was nonexistent. After the parentage reveal, there was instance after instance of Dany coming off as clingy and aggressive. Not only did they decide to portray Daenerys as going off the deep end rather than embracing ruthlessness and/or evil, they strongly hinted that her nephew A MAN REJECTING HER was a contributing factor. Have Dany need to be killed, fine. But Jon using a kiss to do it and then crying with her in his arms? That’s sick for so many reasons.

The Lannisters

Lena Headey had almost nothing to do this season. When she was on screen, she was absolutely incredible (as always), but she should have  had something more to do than just react in the three (?) scenes she was in.

Was Cersei truly pregnant? The fact that so many of us were not sure until 8x05 just highlights how ignored her entire storyline was until it was time to kill her.

As many, many people have already said, crushed by rocks in the arms of the brother she arranged to have murdered the episode prior was NOT the ending I wanted for her. Best ending? Jaime killing her himself. Acceptable endings? Arya or Dany killing her. But asking me to believe that Cersei “I choose violence” Lannister would just cower in the Red Keep and not wildfire up that entire city herself is such a betrayal of everything that made her a compelling villain to begin with.

Peter Dinklage had more screentime this season, but the same core issue of the writers seemingly not knowing what to do with him. His character since Season 6 was has served primarily as a tool for someone else’s plotline.

Tyrion got some great lines in the final episode, but it felt like too little too late after so much blundering and bad decisions. Even more so than Jon, he seemed to be one of the biggest winners in the end, paying very little for everything that came before. And I don’t know what we’re supposed to do with that.

And Jaime. Poor, poor Jaime. They took his multi-season character arc and threw it down the toilet. If he had broken Brienne's heart and left the North to kill Cersei and fulfill the valonquar prophecy, it would have been fine if he died a hero (those same crumbling bricks would have still been terrible, but not a useless way to end). There was some pretty compelling evidence that he might be alive after Episode 5, and THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A WELL-PLAYED SURPRISE TWIST, but nope: he really did go North to fight for the living, survived, consummated his relationship with Brienne, then hightailed it back to Cersei to die with her in his arms. What happened to not being the same man who pushed Bran out of the window? What was the point of everything he did and went through and walking away from Cersei in the first place?

The Greyjoys

Theon got the best deal out of all of them. Every episode he was in was in accordance with his character, and he got to die with his redemption arc intact.

Did they just . . . forget about Yara for five episodes? Her defending Dany and calling for Jon Snow’s death felt completely random, considering Dany didn’t lift a finger to try and rescue her from Euron (or the Sand Snakes or Olenna Tyrell, for that matter). And did she forget that the Iron Islands were promised independence too?

The problem with Euron and especially his involvement in Cersei’s storyline is that he was never truly compelling as a villain or convincingly competent. All his victories (over Yara, the Sand Snakes, Dany) never felt earned. He was able to kill a dragon because the plot dictated that he had to kill a dragon. The fact that he died after pointlessly fighting Jaime was ridiculous. Yara should have been the one to kill him. But, as was the trend for this entire season, what would have made thematic sense or provided any sense of closure was discarded in favor of “I bEt YoU wErEn’T eXpEcTiNg ThAt!”

Everyone Else

Grey Worm and Missandei deserved better. I knew one of them would die, but for Missandei’s death to be used as an excuse for rampant violence and for Grey Worm to revert back to just a soldier following orders was heartbreaking. I’m glad he ended up going to Naarth and I hope he was able to protect Missandei’s people even though he couldn’t save her.

The Dothraki and Unsullied were (surprise, surprise) treated as cannon fodder and then magically had their numbers restored for Dany to take King’s Landing.

Gendry’s plot was dropped like a hot potato after 8x04. He was the last son of Robert Baratheon! There was so much left for the new Lord of Storm’s End to do (with or without Arya). But it’s all going to be left to speculation and fanfiction, because we don’t have any idea what happened in between Arya turning him down and him showing up at the dragonpit (or what happened after that). 

What even was the point of religion and prophecy and magic? Melisandre and Thoros, where did their power actually come from? Why did the dragons return? Why was Jon Snow resurrected? None of it got any freaking resolution.

Davos and Podrick surviving and thriving was a bright spot in a bunch of WTF endings.

I’m so happy Brienne survived, but she DESERVED BETTER than for Jaime to hit it and quit it. I wish we had had more time for her reactions to everything, even though the scene with the Kingsguard book was beautiful (but also incredibly annoying in some respects, because she was being used to tie up Jaime’s story rather than her own). And while I’m happy she became Commander of the Kingsguard, why wouldn’t she have stayed in the North with Sansa and become a QUEENSGUARD?

WHY DID WE NEVER LEARN WHAT VARYS HEARD FROM THE VOICE IN THE FLAMES?

They should have just split up ALL SEVEN KINGDOMS. Instead, only the North got independence. If there was going to be ANY ruler of multiple kingdoms, it should have been Sansa because she should have had the backing of the Vale (Robin Arryn), the Riverlands (Edmure Tully), Casterly Rock (Tyrion), and the North, but nooooooo we can’t have a woman with all that power.

No one ever wondered what happened to Littlefinger?

So what messages did this season leave us with?

Love makes you crazy.

Most women are unreliable as leaders and it takes a bunch of men to control them (or kill them). 

You can be a warrior woman or you can be a lover, but you can’t be both.

You can never be better than what you were and you’re doomed by genetics and abusive relationships.

Also: plot armor will let characters survive the most unlikely of circumstances, but only so they can be killed in a way that makes no sense (for the shock value!). And characters of color in particular are disposable.

What will I choose to remember from this season?

People can band together to fight against impossible odds, even when it seems like nothing matters and everything is hopeless.

Magic is never truly gone from the world, for good or evil.

SANSA STARK IS QUEEN IN THE NORTH.

[applegelstore]

My sis and I are through with the actual main plot of KH3, so I can officially go back to scheduled ToZ fangirling now. …Well, I promised Cray a bit of fix-it-fanart, so after that, I guess.

Hit the cut for a resume. It got super long and has endgame story spoilers, so you might not want to stumble upon it by accident.

Another extra big shoutout (again!) to @crazayrock for bearing my liveblogging on Discord, screaming without context and occasional spoilers. And linking me fluffy Soriku doujinshi. Here, have my favourite, spoiler-heavy excerpt of our conversation:

Okay anyway, let’s get started: GAMEPLAY

Kingdom Hearts 3 is BEAUTIFUL. The gameplay is so smooth and intuitive that you can immediately get to playing like you’d never done anything else; in fact so smooth that I doubt I will ever be able to pick up the first game ever again. It’s always been fun, but the looooooong years’ gap actually did wonders to the gameplay.

The keyblade form changes are fun and keep things fresh, you can do flashy triangle button shit every other minute, and shotlock is still insanely useful without being a game-breaker.

It seems easier than the first two main games, though?

The gummi ship is still a pain in the ass to steer, but I do enjoy the open world-like travel options (even if there’s not… much to discover except heartless lasering the shit out of you). I’m also eternally grateful that they kept the gummi ship thing from KH2 where you can just use a new gummi ship once you got the blueprint and don’t buy actual fucking legos as in the first game.

Thank you, Square. Not thanking you for the dumb cherry flan game, though.

The Caribbean being basically an open world stage was delightful! Apparently what our resident island kid needs is a big ship and tropical islands to plunder.

VISUALS AND STUFF

PRETTY LIGHTS EVERYWHERE

The long gap between the games also did wonders to the visuals.

There’s finally, FINALLY a few towns with actual NPCs you can talk to. Why it took the team so many years and the Gods know how many games is beyond me. The magic effects are beautiful, the animations smooth (honestly you can hardly tell apart cutscenes and fully rendered CGI scenes in this day and age of the PS4. I’m probably the only person still amazed by this because the only games I played on PS4 before were a few hours of Child of Light and of course Tales of Zestiria and Berseria. No, I still haven’t played FFXV but that’s a topic for another day). How far videogames have come.Even space finally looks like space, lol. Not really high-end what the PS4 can do I assume but god, it’s such an amazing and much needed upgrade from the terrible textureless colourful tubes you flew through before.

No excuse for the terrible battleship thingy before the Keyblade Graveyard, though. I got lost and beaten up so many times and crashed against more walls than I can count.

Nothing beats the World that Never Was, but the Keyblade Graveyard also has creepy cool potential, as does the beautiful but ghosted City in the Sky.

Still not getting what’s with JRPGs and very Definitely Final Dungeons (TM) that are basically space. …………or heaven. Or nothing. I’m getting the bad kind of original NGE TV series ending vibes. But. Okay.

The soundtrack is splendid

.……I miss Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, however.

Which brings us to:

THE WORLDS

I guess I can live with no more Final Fantasy characters being there (although I always loved that), and the meta jokes in Toy Story world really got me. Seeing Disney characters calling the KH villains call out on their shit was delightful. …the KH characters lampshading their own games’ sloppy dialogue writing was delightful.Still, those Disney worlds are always so much more in my head than what I actually get to play. This has been bugging me ever since the first game and it still does. I do not expect or want to replay the entire movies, but would it hurt to give the cutscenes some goddamn background music? Whenever there’s cutscenes, either the world’s usual BGM keeps playing or the music stops altogether. Together with the shortened dialogues and generally drastically shortened plots with odd cuts, that leads to scenes that are awkward at best. They never even remotely have the impact the movies had. You just sit there and think “oh wow that is so silly and awkward”.

Dancing scene in Corona? My favorite scene in Tangled. Zero impact on me without the lovely BGM (at least they made it a minigame so the moment isn’t over after 3 secs). Just for example. You can ask me like, world by world, but I can think of only exception off the top of my head and it’s not helping:

Let it Go of course. Listen guys, I actually love the song. But it’s so overused (and Frozen is an overrated movie at best that doesn’t deserve its hype in the slightest) that I can’t even really enjoy it being there. Like.


IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU,WHY DIDN’T YOU INCLUDE LITERALLY ANY OTHER ORIGINAL SONG FROM THE ORIGINAL MOVIES. Instead of BGM just not being there entirely, or in odd, cringey re-renderings that nobody wants to listen to (*cough* Atlantica *cough*).

Why torture me and not give me the one good scene from At World’s End (the up is down scene) when you had the chance?Kingdom Hearts is also prone to super lazy level design and wasting chances at wonderful scenery for no apparent reason other than I suppose empty cliffsides are quick to render. All games before did that, and KH3 is, sadly, no exception. We get to see a bit of Corona and Athens and they finally have NPCs, too, but you cannot even get near Arendelle. You cannot enter Elsa’s palace. You spend the entire time there climbing around in the snowy mountains of Norway, and unfortunately it looks less interesting than one would expect from the lovely concept art that the film unfortunately never used.You cannot enter Rapunzel’s tower although Sora can apparently parkour his way up even without her help.

………In short, the places you can go are, again, very limited, and a lot of interesting places and scenes you never get to see.

And to follow the plot you still only need the stuff that does NOT happen in those Disney worlds because they’re all beach filler episodes. It’s always been like that, but I keep wondering whether I’m the only one bothered by that. I’m also still salty they didn’t introduce a single new world from a 2D animated movie.

Also, as I said, I miss Traverse Town, it felt so warm and welcoming and beautiful.

And I get behind The World that Never Was missing although I loved it there, but why not give us back Radiant Garden? Destiny Islands since they’ve been restored? Disney Castle?

As much as I love the series, it never fucking lives up to its own potential. Idk whether it’s made more difficult by copyright issues or whatever, I just know that it bugs me.The first two games also had like twice as many worlds.

PLOT

I mean it’s never been deep; however, it’s complicated. No analysis or whatever from me because plot analysis and meta writing bore me like seven hells, just my emotional reaction: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 
Okay, bad news. I got into it expecting nothing, and still got disappointed. I don’t actually enjoy the prospect of writing essays about it, but here’s my tea with it; in not particular order:

1) the pacing is terrible. Nothing happens for like 30 hours and then suddenly like 20 characters’ arcs are (naturally poorly) resolved within the last few hours of cutscenes. Build up anyone? At least they actually did pick up Maleficent and the box thing again. …In the epilogue.

2) Speaking of build ups, Sora’s breakdown could have been developed nicely and steadily over the game to feel natural, and instead it’s hinted at in the beginning by everyone picking on him, but then it’s never further developed and comes out of fucking nowhere. Like. For real? It felt terribly OOC.

3) Why on earth have they shown 90% of the plot in the trailers already, and why are those scenes so massively disappointing in context

4) Kairi. Oh god, Kairi. What are we gonna do with you. I want to love her, I really do, but she’s a prime example of shittily written female leads. Mostly because she’s not leading. It’s not her fault. She’s just a fictional character. But honest to God, Nomura, why. Her screen time is almost nonexistent, and she’s entirely use- and helpless whenever she’s on screen (which isn’t often). Her ONLY point in the plot is being rescued because she is fucking useless. Why. Just why. Why waste her character like that. All we know is that she’s shoehorned into being the token love interest, but she has zero plot relevance and there is even less build up of her relationship with Sora. It’s all tell and NEVER show; and not even much telling, either. She has literally zero direct interaction with in the entire game before they share their paopu. The question remains: why are straights like this

5) On a related note: look, I don’t even ask for (or expect, or even hope) my ship to be canon. Squeenix doesn’t exactly have a rich history in queer representation. I’m totally fine with Sora and Riku being best friends. BUT. Building up Sora as the most important person in Riku’s life (and arguably, vice versa) over the course of several games, just to then hardly have them interact in the finale and then SUDDENLY bring back Kairi into the equation, who hasn’t interacted with him since the ending of KH2 (except for one unsent(?) letter) is just piss poor writing, period.I actually love Cray’s suggestion she gave me over Discord: let Sora, Kairi and Riku all share a paopu together (and let them group hug, too, you cowards). It would have been the perfect message to send (Sora as truly all-loving hero, and loving all your friends equally; romantic love isn’t more important than platonic love and doesn’t need to be singled out). Really sad that this isn’t what happens. Apparently that wouldn’t have been no homo enough.

LET THE DESTINY TRIO GROUP HUG YOU COWARDS


Do Riku and Kairi even interact once in the whole game?


HOW IS THIS A TRIO, IT’S JUST A SHITTILY WRITTEN LOVE TRIANGLE

6) Time travelling is a bitch, Christ. It doesn’t solve plotholes or can be played for drama, it just adds MORE plotholes. It just got WORSE. The cloning blues and people not aging doesn’t help, either.

7) Just so you know, I care absolutely zero for wild fan theories. You’re not Nomura. I want a statement from the man who wrote this shit himself why on bloody earth Sora dies when he apparently successfully found and brought back Kairi (and since nobody aged a day, apparently it didn’t even take that long lol). DUDES, THIS IS KINDA PART OF THE PLOT, AND YOU DON’T BOTHER TO EXPLAIN IT INGAME???? And how was Ienzo/Zexion able to revive Naminé while Kairi was still missing/dead/whatever…?

Okay so in short the writing is worse than ever and that’s saying something.

However, let’s try to find something good in this trainwreck; it wasn’t all bad. There’s some really nice scenes which sadly are better enjoyed without any context at all.

So, guess my favourite scenes.You had time enough, here’s the solution:

1) Purifying uhm er rescuing Aqua. Poor girl. She deserves the rest. Poor, poor Aqua. The only properly wirrten female in the whole damn franchise. Also the only person other than Riku who fucking gets shit done.

2) The Gayblade (TM)

3) Happy Axel in the reunion with his kids. Oh god, the poor chap deserves it so much. Thank you, Nomura. I don’t care that it makes pretty much no sense. Make him happy. Give him his friends back. Just give Axel all his friends and let him happily set things on fire. Hi I love Axel

4) The party at the beach cutscene before the credits roll. Axel and Xion get clothes. Half the organization is on our side now. I almost teared up at the Wayfinder trio saying goodbye to Eraqus’ forceghost. Hey come on he’s the voice of Luke Skywalker

5) Sully yeeting Vanitas

6) Woody calling out Xehanort that nobody loves him

7) Jack Sparrow bad breathing Luxord

I wish we had gotten:

1) justice for Kairi

2) a happy Zexion, the poor emo kid. Well maybe now he will be, with all the orga members who changed sides now, lol.

3) I will never trust mobile games ever again so I don’t want to play KHUX but I would have loved to learn about the Keyblade Wars :;))))


WHAT WAS THE KEYBLADE WAR ABOUT CAN WE SPEND MORE TIME IN THAT COOL CITY IN THE SKY WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH MIKLEO
I MEAN THAT EPHEMER KIDDO


WHAT’S WITH THE MASKED DUDES AND DUDETTES FROM THE MOVIE


WTF WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM AFTER THE MOVIE???? WHERE THOSE KEYBLADE USER NAMES ACTUAL MOBILE GAME PLAYER NAMES??? Next game? PLEASE?

I really, REALLY hope the epilogue means we will get Xiggy/Luxu as our new big bad and we learn more about the five dudes and dudettes from the movie. Please. PLEASE. I’m so up for it. Them finally pickung up the bit with Maleficent and the mysterious box again? Hell yeah.

The secret movie was really unexciting in comparison, although I laughed very hard at the “Verum Rex” scene in Toy Story world. Maybe that’s why it was much cheaper to unlock than in KH1 and KH2.

4) give Ven a drink

DLC ideas I would actually pay for because I’m a sad human being: 1) more Disney worlds 2) Japanese audio 3) at least one of the following as permanently playable characters: Riku, Kairi, Axel, Ven, Aqua. At least as a guest member as in KH2. THIS SUCH A BIG STEP BACKWARDS I’M FUMING

FINAL THOUGHTS

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a hella lot of fun, beautiful, and also moving when it sets its mind to it. Unfortunately it doesn’t always do so. I don’t feel like it wasn’t worth the wait; it was. However, I’m very salty how rotten the writing is. I do not mind logical fallacies, I do not mind the cheesiness and cringeyness; however, I do mind how so many interesting characters do not get the screentime they deserve, and Kairi is a very bad joke.

I’ll probably find more to nitpick about (Gods. Just. Don’t come up with dub excuses why Sora is lv 1 in each game. JUST LEAVE IT BE. You don’t explain why Donald and Goofy are lv 1 again, either. JUST. LEAVE. IT. BE. The sacrifice was dumb and not even moving, I’m just still furious that Kairi’s ONLY point in the plot is being so useless that it’s literally getting herself KILLED and she needs constant rescuing to the point that Sora has to sacrifice himself for her, effectively. Kairi deserves better, Sora deserves better, I deserve better than to think about this absurdity.…I’m just… gonna cherry-pick the good bits from the lore and try to pretend the finale didn’t exist, I guess. GODS.

[kpoptimeout]

My Top 10 K-Dramas of 2018 - What’s Yours?

2018 is ending soon and K-Dramaland has once again brought us so many goodies this year. As per our blog’s tradition [For 2017 faves click here], below are my Top 10 favs of the year (my faves in alphabetical order so it might not be yours so please don’t judge)

My only specific criteria this year is that the show must have had started in 2018 to be considered a 2018 series (Hence, Hwayugi and I’m Not A Robot were in last year’s list and honourable mentions)

Lawless Lawyer (tvN)

Every year we have a few stellar Korean legal dramas and Lawless Lawyer is one of them. Starring veterans Lee Joongi and Son Yeji, the drama details a gangster turned lawyer who used unorthodox techniques to win cases and a lawyer-childhood friend-love interest who got into trouble for attacking a judge. After his return from the military, Lee Joongi has acted in many internationally well-received dramas but “Lawless Lawyer” is the first since his return to gain massive commercial success within South Korea and becoming one of the highest viewed dramas on Korean cable channel history. Son Yeji was also able to show her acting chops and shed her pretty girl image through this drama. It is understandable why this drama did well - it was action-packed, had a well-plotted storyline and also the right laughs at the right moments. If you love an amazing legal drama, go watch Lawless Lawyer already!

Memories Of The Alhambra (tvN/Netflix)

You know it’s nearing the year’s end when tvN drops another high budget and experimental drama with a star-studded cast to steal you and the critics’ hearts. This year it is Memories Of The Alhambra, which is an ambitious project jointly produced by tvN and Netflix. Following the success of jointly produced Mr. Sunshine which also made the list, the two studios teamed up for an even crazier project - instead of the guaranteed tear-jerking historical drama they went for a sci-fi/fantasy thriller exploring virtual and augmented reality and business in the digital age. You know they are taking this project seriously when they got the writer for “W” (the Lee Jongsuk and Han Hyojoo hit about the collapse of a comic book world into reality) Song Jaejung to write this screenplay. The show with top cast featuring Hallyu stars and veterans Hyun Bin, Park Shin Hye, and EXO’s Chanyeol with exhilarating graphics and filming in Grenada has been topping online and domestic Korean viewership since its broadcast on December 1st. If you enjoy creative sci-fi adventures with Asian leads, this is the drama for you!

Mr. Sunshine (tvN/Netflix)

One of the first tvN and Netflix collaborations, Mr. Sunshine was an unsurprising hit starring world-famous Korean actor Lee Byung Hoon and South Korea’s favourite young actress Kim Taeri. Other main cast include skilled and popular actors like Yoo Yeonseok, Byung Yohan and Kim Minjung. Throw in the historical Joseon setting and the imminent colonisation by foreign powers, you have a recipe for an awards-sweeper and crowd-pleaser! Besides a plot that easily draws in audiences, the set designs, colour grading, music, and costumes are all phenomenal and is a feast for the senses. My only knit-picking critique is it seems unrealistic that a Korean man can rise to as high a rank as Lee Byung Hoon’s Eugene Choi character in the racist 1800s United States no matter how brilliant Eugene Choi was. But besides that, if you love a historical epic with romance and war, this is the drama you would enjoy!

Ms. Hammurabi (JTBC)

This drama sees Go Ara and Song Dong Il reuniting in their father-daughter/mentor-mentee like dynamic following hit dramas Reply 1994 and Hwarang, with Go Ara being an idealistic former music student who dropped out and self-studied to become a judge, and Song Dong Il being the old geezer and life mentor who only managed to become a judge later in life. They are joined by INFINITE’s L being a by the books judge who likes Go Ara’s wholesome character. The drama is exceptionally touching, not only for its realistic depiction of life as judges in civilian law countries but also as a reflection of people chasing their dreams in different stages of their life. The drama also expertly deals with real-world issues like gender discrimination in the workplace, prejudice to marginalised groups and the issues that come with an inflexible hierarchical structure in South Korea. While there is romance between the leads, this is shown subtly and naturally, without it becoming a distraction to the engaging storyline. If you enjoy a thoughtful drama about society with great acting, this is a drama you would enjoy.

My ID is Gangnam Beauty (JTBC)

Maybe I am slightly biased because I loved the webtoon but I think My ID is Gangnam Beauty is one of the best Korean rom-coms of the year. First I thought the casting was spot-on - ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo perfectly encapsulated the cold and awkward Do Kyungseok and Im Soohyang was able to display the insecurities of Kang Mirae even after plastic surgery well. The drama does a good job of touching on Korean society’s toxic beauty visual standards - it still makes the female lead insecure even after she gets plastic surgery and she gets ridiculed before and after plastic surgery. Meanwhile second female lead Hyun Soo Ah, played by Jo Woori, also struggles as a natural beauty due to fears of people no longer liking her should she ever fall below their expectations in any way. This is a thoughtful drama that does not just demonise characters for the sake of drama but gives us lots of food for thought about why people act the way they do regarding appearances. If you like a drama that is fun and cute but also has a good message, you should check out this drama!

My Mister (tvN)

There are dramas where you skip some scenes because you want to get to the main point. There are some dramas where you want every second of it. My Mister was one of those dramas you watch every second of. It was that good. While many Kdramas still having idealistic female leads who slowly get jaded and turn badass only near the end/are always protected by men and never turn badass, My Mister finally does the move of making the female poor but super resourceful, brilliant and cynical, and already super jaded to begin with. Played by top singer and actress IU, the female lead Lee Jian reverses the usual female lead tropes by slowly learning to see some good in the world and learn to dream following a life of extreme poverty and hardship. The other highlight of the drama is the male lead played by talented actor Lee Sunkyun, whose relationship with his brothers and mother, as well as his crumbling marriage with his wife provide a lot of food for thought on the meaning of family and life. By acting as a mentor of IU’s character while also being saved by IU from lots of drama unknowingly, we see two broken souls learn from each other to be better people. The drama also showcased how romance is not the only meaningful love that exists between communities. If you love an insightful slice-of-life drama with realistic intrigues, betrayals, and character development, you would love My Mister.

Radio Romance (KBS2)

Honestly at this point HIGHLIGHT’s Dojoon is just nation’s drama boyfriend and he continues to pick the good scripts as we can see in Radio Romance. The drama is simple - the assistant writer played by Kim Sohyun’s radio show might get cancelled and she manages to somehow get the top radio star played by Dojoon to host her show. Shenanigans happen and romance blossoms. It is stereotypical but done well, with the right amount of twists and just knowing when it should bounce back from the laughs and side stories. If dramas are all dishes, Radio Romance is like that cheesecake that tastes sweet and light, not so filling that it will you sick. It is the dessert you would always go for to feel good. If you like to watch something that makes you feel warm inside, this is the drama for you!

Something in the Rain (JTBC)

I am usually not super into “the younger dongsaeng has a romance with noona who he knows growing up all of a sudden” stories but there was something special about Something in the Rain. When I first began watching this drama, it did not feel like watching a regular Kdrama at all and more like an indie film from the West. There is a feeling of emptiness at the beginning, possibly to signify the resident noona and veteran actress Son Yejin’s unsuccessful love life. There was a lot of dialogue and cuts and it felt like watching a documentary about the lives of the characters. But it was this formatting of Something in the Rain that makes it feel so genuine. The pace of the leads building up their romance was steady and natural. Hence, it made issues they faced feel all the more real too. If you enjoy a realistic slice-of-life portrayal of romance, you would love this drama!

The Guest (OCN)

When I saw the trailer I already knew this was some scary shit. Following its many successful thrillers last year, OCN decided to dive in the more horror side of a thriller in The Guest. To fit this aesthetic, the drama was broadcasted only at 11pm instead of primetime but still had massive success and rightly so. The acting by the three leads Kim Dong Wook (man who can see ghosts and the future), Kim Jaewook (the cold, exorcist priest), and Jung Eunchae (a detective who does not believe in the supernatural) is phenomenal, making their team up to catch criminal possessed by ghosts all the more exhilarating. The actors who play the possessed are also amazing, making for most of the scares in this drama. If you enjoy a mystery and the horror genre, this is the Kdrama for you!

What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? (tvN)

Being the most searched Kdrama on Google in South Korea this year, it would not make sense for What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? not to make this list. The drama revolves around the successful but extremely narcissistic company vice chairman played by Park Seojoon and his capable no-nonsense secretary played by Park Minyoung, with the latter quitting after paying off family debts and not being in the mood to work for her annoying boss anymore. The whole process where Park Seojoon tries to retain his secretary of course blossoms into romance etc. etc. One of the reasons this drama did so well was that not only did it have a strong and capable female lead but Park Seojoon defied expectations in his role. As another Kdrama based on a webtoon, original webtoon readers felt like he was not similar to the male lead and were not sure how he would handle the role. But Park Seojoon did a fantastic job, to the point I wanted to bang my head on the table or slap his character whenever he did narcissistic shit. If you want a high-quality rom-com with some unorthodox twists, this is the drama to watch!

Honourable Mentions:

100 Days My Prince (tvN): The fourth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history starring EXO’s D.O and Nam Jihyun, the drama details the marriage between a noblewoman on the run and a crown prince who lost his memory during a failed assassination attempt.

Are You Human? (KBS2): With the actual development of AI in recent years, more Kdramas have embraced the topic of robot-human romances. Seo Kang Joon and Gong Seungyeon star in this story involving a bodyguard and the AI of a chaebol masquerading as the real chaebol who is in a coma.

Still 17 (SBS): A drama involving a 30-year-old man who doesn’t want to grow up due to trauma (Yang Sejong) and a woman who wakes up after a 13-year coma so acts like a 17-year-old even though she is 30 (Shin Hyesun).

Welcome to Waikiki (JTBC): A comedy-drama starring rising actors Kim Junghyun, Lee Yikyung, and Son Seungwon who run a failing guesthouse called Waikiki. Oh, and there’s a single mother and a baby in this crazy mix!

What’s your Top 10 K-Dramas of the Year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and may the drama sharing begin (and the road to more excuse for holiday procrastination!)

Also, if you want to check out underrated K-Pop songs of 2018, here are the lists for idol songs, artist songs, and OSTs!