#also seems largely apathetic towards the whole wedding thing)

[guillermosguywife]

what if guillermo walks marwa down the aisle. what then

[goat-yells-at-everything]

Final Thoughts: The Witch

*SIGH*

I didn't hate it.

I wanted to hate it. I use to hate it.

I didn't hate it.

I didn't even hate William as a character as much as I use to. Still hate Ineson, though.

My Bias

Let me start off with my bias. If you couldn't tell by now, I love goats. What originally drew me to The Witch that day in Family Video (not sponsored) was, of course, the goat on the cover. After watching the movie I did some reading on it and the VAST majority of coverage about the movie was about Black Phillip. "Fine by me!" I thought. "I'd rather read about the only star that matters here anyway!"

And that's how I learned of Charlie. Charlie was a beautiful black buck with gorgeous piercing golden eyes. There isn't much base information about him but from my own research and knowledge, I beleive Charlie is an Old Irish. Funny enough, the striking horns that earned Charlie his place in the movie because of how large they were are not actually that big by Old Irish standards. These boys can grow some IMPRESSIVE racks. *cough* 

Charlie was not the most dedicated actor on set. If they wanted him to be boisterous and act aggressive, Charlie wanted to take a nap. If they wanted him to hold still and display the calm demeanor of The Devil, Charlie wanted to run around like a kid discovering his legs for the first time. This description didn't shock me in the least. "Thats...thats just a goat?" I thought. "Thats just how they ARE." Goats are like...well, goats are unique animals. While even a cat can be trained with enough patience and the right reward, goats are wonderfully intelligent and MIND NUMBINGLY STUPID animals all at the same time. You look into their eyes and you see the infinite knowledge of the universe AND the mindless empty void AT THE SAME TIME. That is just the nature of the domestic goat. So of course you will never have a goat do what you want it to on the first, second, or even tenth try. If you work with goats in any way, you just need to accept this.

So Charlie, this incredibly intelligent and extremely stupid animal, was on a set of a movie where He was the antagonist in the minds of the characters, actors, and crew. Charlie could have been just fine on the set if the actors had kept their animosity to filming sessions, and most of them did just that. Most of the actors and crew were, at worst, neutral towards Charlie when not actively filming a scene with him. Most of the actors.

Ineson was not among them. Ineson is quoted as saying "From the moment we set eyes on each other it was just kind of hate at first sight." Now, because of their vast infinite nothingness in their heads, goats really aren't capable of "hate at first sight," but they CAN sense animosity from others towards them. Like when your cat knows that your dad hates cats. They just know. So you have an incredibly intelligent moron that weighs just over 200lbs looking at this imposing angry man that was Ralph Ineson and he knows the man does not like him and Ineson has decided that every action Charlie makes is just to spite him, specifically.

It was not the best paring...

By the 4th day of filming, Ineson reported that he was on pain killers for the remainder of the 5-week shoot.

The thing was, the rest of the actors and crew (aside from Eggers but he was trying to direct a goat in a movie so he gets a little leeway) actually recall how sweet and wonderful Charlie was. Anya Taylor-Joy has said that the shoot was a "beautiful" experience. Anna Kilch, a veteran animal trainer, said Charlie was a dream to work with.

So I'm not the biggest fan of Ineson...

The Movie

With that said, what did I think about the movie?

It was...not horrible. In fact, if I put aside my own animosity towards Ineson, it was pretty ok. There are PROBLEMS, no doubt about that, but it was decent.

The Good

The atmosphere was beautiful. It was shot in a quaint little bit of nowhere in Northern Ontario. Pretty sure they put a blue filter over everything but it really did work. It muted all the color and made it all very dreary and damp feeling. In most other situations this would be a major detriment but the overall feeling of hopelessness from the characters was perfectly accented by the misty and drab landscape.

The characters....there were problems but I'll touch on that later. What I liked was how they represented the Deadly Sins.

William is pretty clear. He is the Sin of Pride. It was his pride that had them exiled from their settlement. It was his pride that caused him to lie and steal from his own family. It was his pride that kept his family in a place that was blighted and would not produce anything. It was his pride that made him refuse to see Black Phillip for what he was.

Katherine was also very clear. She is the Sin of Wrath. Her anger at Thomasin for the loss of her infant blinded her to everything around here. It blinded her to Thomasin's innocence. It blinded her to her other childrens sins. It blinded her to how hard Thomasin worked to regain her mothers favor. And, eventually, it blinded her to the avatars of the devil that came to her that dark night.

Caleb, again, very clear. He is the Sin of Lust. Caleb was a bright young boy who was dedicated to and dearly loved his family. He loved one family member a little too much. Caleb lusted after his elder sister. That lust eventually lead him into the arms of the titular Witch as she seduced him with her HUGE....tracks of land... c:

Mercy and Jonas are harder to pin down. Eventually I settled on Envy and Sloth respectively, though I'm not 100% sold on them. Jonas I'm a bit more sure on. His character is fairly one note and all about shirking any work his elder sister tries to give him. I settled for Envy for Mercy mostly because of the scene near the creak. She seemed to envy the attention her father and elder brother gave to Thomasin. Neither one are very strong connections though.

Thomasin didn't really show a sign of a serious sin until the very end. Actually, she almost seemed to embody ALL of the sins in the end after being almost pure as snow for the whole movie. Almost. She displayed minor sins throughout the movie but it made her a believable character. She was a young woman, somewhere between 14 and 16 I'd say. She got angry at her siblings, she wasn't totally focused on her chores, the normal teenage stuff.

However, by the end of the movie, Thomasin displayed nearly all 7 Sins. She was wrathful towards her father. She was greedy for her mothers love. Black Phillip's offers display Gluttony (Butter) and Envy (the Dress). She was certain that she was right in all of her actions, blinded by Pride. She was apathetic once her family were all dead, leaving them all to rot in the elements as she wallowed in self pity. And finally she disrobed and frolicked with the devil in her Lust.

The Bad

Oh yes was there bad.

The sound direction was OBJECTIVELY horrible. What should have been ambient sound effects were too loud, the dialog was WAY too soft, the music was all over the place. It fell well into that nasty hole that Horror has of turning all the sound to soft and quiet before hitting you with a sudden jolt as the action jumps to life. When used well, this can elicit a visceral feeling in the viewer that lets them connect with the urgency of the scene. When used wrong, its just a cheep tactic to get a scare just like jump scares. This REALLY needs to be called out more often in Horror. We all denounce jump scares as cheep and over used and we need to do the same for the auditory equivalent.

The dialog was really hard to understand. I understand the choice considering the setting, but it was the biggest wall that kept me from enjoying anything the first time around. By the nature of Old Low English, words would blend into one another and become almost gibberish. Its a very lovely language to read, but a chore to listen to. I put on subtitles this time around and was able to follow the story much more easily. I would absolutly advise putting on subtitles while watching it.

The ending was the weakest part of the movie aside from the sound issues. I mean the very last scene. Everything leading up to that was actually very well done. The way Thomasin goes to Black Phillip and demands he talk to her. The way he offers her everything she could ever want. How you see both the hope and defeat in Thomasin when Black Phillip began to talk to her. It was clear he was the one who set in motion the cogs that ended with her families death but they were all victims of their own sins in the end. She saw his power over their insignificant lives and was crushed by his seeming superiority to the Lord she had been raised to love. At the same time, she saw the power he could bestow on HER, a clear tangible power unlike the "story" of Heavenly Power that she never saw physical examples of.

To end on the scene of this naked woman, no longer the innocent girl burdened by heavy trappings of modesty, walking into the woods with the black billygoat hot on her heals would have been so powerful. Just cut to black right there. You can even still have the witches chanting as it cuts to black and the end credits fade in.

But they decided to take it one step further and it did NOT help the ending. It was just too over the top with the naked women writhing erotically around this fire. When the camera turns back on Thomasin and she begins writhing and moaning and laughing and you see her rise into the air, maybe its just me but it took away the power of that sure confident woman walking into the woods.

It just feels like a step too far and would have been much stronger if they'd just left that part out.

The G.O.A.T

The best part was still Charlie.

Black Phillip, Black Phillip

A crown grows out his head,

Black Phillip, Black Phillip

To nanny queen is wed.

Jump to the fence post,

Running in the stall.

Black Phillip, Black Phillip

King of all.

Black Phillip, Black Phillip

King of sky and land,

Black Phillip, Black Phillip

King of sea and sand.

We are ye servants,

We are ye men.

Black Phillip eats the lions

From the lions' den.

[mdwatchestv]

Westworld 2x04- Death: What Is It Even?

Hiiiii sorry this is so late, I have been clobbered at work to the point where I considered skipping this week all together. But NO I rose early, looked at all the Royal Wedding fashion, and am now sitting down to bring you full Westworld coverage. “Why exert such an effort?” you may justifiably ponder to yourself. Well, because Westworld actually turned out a pretty succinct, thematically coherent episode of television last week.  I have had many conversations about whether or not Westworld is actually a “good” show. Sure, it’s entertaining to watch the result of millions of dollars plastered on screen, every frame looks incredible, and it boasts blockbuster level production value and some of the best working actors. And maybe that’s enough to qualify as “good”, because do we not keep coming back week after week? Are we not entertained? However I have always felt that Westworld could, and probably should, be more than the sum of its expensive parts. Emotional connectivity to characters is low, and while complicated themes are introduced, we barely scratch their surface. What is Westworld really about? Often it seems to merely be about trying to trick the audience with buzz-worthy tricks and twists, about who can deliver the most enigmatic monologue, or put together the flashiest scene of Old West violence. I bring all this up because this episode felt more in tune with what I always wanted this show to be: a solid sci-fi story that had more to offer than just expensive window-dressing. This episode had a strong thematic through-line, and told a compelling vignette story that would have been worthy of its own Black Mirror episode. Instead of a series of seemingly unrelated events for us to try and make sense of, this episode had a natural inter-connectivity that will make it much easier to write about. So thanks for that at least!

We begin with seeing Peter Mullan (what a great episode for him, I bet this is how they pitched him the role) in a futuristic studio space, where he goes about his. Eventually visited by Jimmi Simpson, and they have an affable conversation. It’s unclear at first if Mullan is a prisoner, a patient, or something else entirely, however we soon find out that Peter Mullan is not Peter Mullan at all. Now we understand that Jimmi Simpson’s grand plan, and perhaps Delos’ endgame, is to create a way to let human beings live forever - as hosts. Mullan’s failing health was foreshadowed in previous episodes, and it’s revealed his contingency plan was to abandon his dying body for a new and improved host life. As Jimmi and Mullan converse, everything seems fine, until Mullan begins ‘glitching’ out. The hybrid human/host mind failing to adapt to reality, and turning in on itself.

At the end of the conversation, we see Jimmi exit the room, which is really a glass observation tank in the middle of a lab, and order a redo of the experiment. This is an experiment that has been run many times before, with many different Mullan hosts, but always ending in failure. Apparently a redo involves burning everything down, including host Peter Mullan AND HIS PET FISH! I just don’t understand why the fish had to be burned to death every time. It seems needlessly cruel. Anyway we return to this scene, this conversation between Mullan and his son-in-law again, and again through the episode. As time passes, Jimmi delivers bleaker and bleaker reports from the outside world. First that Mullan’s wife had died, and then later his children as well (RIP Ben Barnes). Although the technology to keep Mullan’s consciousness in tact continues to develop, his connections to the outside world, to his “real” life, continue to fall away.

In the final series of scenes, Mullan is visited by the Man in Black, the man Jimmi Simpson has eventually become. The Man in Black has become introspective about Mullan’s quest for immortality. It seems to him to now to be pointless, why go on living just to live? Mullan’s family is gone, his company forever out his control, what is left for him in the waking world? The Man in Black also tells Mullan that people prefer the memory of the man, to the man himself, and maybe it’s better that way. The Man in Black has lost faith that this project, the melding of humans with hosts, is a good idea. That perhaps human life is better left finite, living forever only brings pain and loss, which the Man in Black knows personally from his wife’s suicide.  The Man in Black abandons the host Mullan to his cell, and instead of terminating the project he simply leaves the Mullan host to its own devices. Allowing it to occupy a purgatory space between man and machine. 

The Man in Black’s storyline in the present day complements his past interactions with Mullan in an interesting way. The Man in Black and Clifton Collins, Jr find themselves in CC Jr’s character’s hometown, where his storyline is complete with a wife and young child. However the homecoming is cut short when MiB and CCJ are ambushed by Jonathan Tucker and his surviving Confederados. Tucker’s crew is after the guns and nitro hidden in the town, which MiB mercilessly gives up in exchange for showing Tucker’s men the way to the mythical ‘Glory’. Thankfully Tucker gets to grandstand a little bit in these scenes, but still feel like this whole enterprise was a waste of Jonathan Tucker. Interestingly CCJ mentions MiB’s deceased daughter to him, a conversation the two of them had had in a storyline that should have been wiped from CCJ’s memory. Curious.

MiB is at first apathetic to Tucker’s torture and killing of the town’s residents. He has seen worse things happen to the denizens of Westworld, and these are just hosts after all. However as Tucker goes after CCJ, having his own wife bring him a shot of nitro, MiB has a change of heart, seemingly related to a flashback about his own life. MiB slaughters Tucker and his men, and saves CCJ’s life, at great personal risk to himself. This is a surprising about face from MiB, who ever since his youthful experience with Dolores, has regarded the hosts as little more than objects. Could he be feeling affection for his companion, or for the host population at large? Perhaps feeling regrets about a past life he failed to save. MiB’s relationship with CCJ has been one of the most consistent of his life, journeying miles and undertaking countless adventures with his host sidekick. After saving the day, MiB is confronted by CCJ’s daughter who speaks to him with Ford’s words. She tells him that one good deed doesn’t erase his past, to which MiB retorts “who said anything about a good deed?” His wry rejoinder suggests he only saved the town because he believed it’s what Ford would have wanted him to do as part of the game.  However I am not so sure this is the truth. The little girl replies that he shouldn’t look toward the future, suggesting the key to this game lies somewhere in MiB’s past. There could be a number of answers to that riddle including Dolores, and a family he all but abandoned in the real world. Although what stock Ford has in that remains to be seen.  

Elsewhere in the park, we follow up with Katja Herbers who has been taken prisoner by the Ghost Nation tribe. One of her fellow prisoners is Luke Hemsworth, answering the question of what happened to him when he was ambushed by the same warriors at the end of season one. Katja is surprisingly resourceful, she speaks the language of the Ghost Nation, and she tells Luke she has no desire to leave the park. They are brought before the Ghost Nation leader, Zahn McClarnon who we previously saw wining and dining Ben Barnes in flashback. Zahn whispers to Luke that “You live only as long as the last person who remembers you,” before he and his fellows mysteriously disappear. This behavior, coupled with the fact the tribe was killing captured hosts while sparing guests, suggests that something is definitely up with this faction. Zahn’s words though also tie into the larger themes of the episode. What is true immortality? Is it the imitation of life, or what we pass down to those after us. How will  MiB be remembered? How does he want to be remembered? What is he passing down?  The answer to at least some of that shortly.

Finally in the episode’s last major storyline Bernard is dragged by Clementine to the outside of a cave. Within the cave he finds Shannon Woodward, who he didn’t kill at the end of last season but rather imprisoned, as well as the entrance to a mysterious lab. I was at first happy to have Shannon Woodward back, but she soon began acting like the worst video game sidekick in the world. “What is that? What’s wrong with you? Where does that go? What’s happening?” Shannon, you KNOW what’s wrong with him! Jeez o pete. Anyway the lab is a place that Bernard seems to remember, and within it they find another scene of slaughter and bloodshed - both of scary blank hosts and human engineers alike. 

Eventually the two of them uncover the purpose of the lab, which is, you guessed it, to fuse humans and hosts and is consequently the home of host Peter Mullan. Mullan is now a horrific figure, vaulting between personalities as well as the terms of his own reality. After a tense fight, Shannon and Bernard decide to put him out his misery, terminating the project once and for all in a fiery burst which makes the dying Mullan appear to be the devil in Hell itself. And was he in Hell? Tormented in a state of consciousness that wasn’t quite life? Is there something worse than being dead? Was he even alive to begin with?

During this sequence Bernard has flashbacks to his previous experiences in the lab. We also come to learn that Bernard is seeing memories out of order. Even the discovery of the lab with Shannon is a memory he is having from a future, present date, meaning everything we are seeing has already happened in the Westworld timeline. More importantly he remembers coming to the lab to create a red ball that holds the human “code” to create another host/human hybrid (ala the doomed Peter Mullan). After taking the red ball he then orders the blank hosts to kill the human engineers, before topping themselves, putting an end to the lab’s operations. Presumably he was acting under Ford’s orders, which raises a very important question - WHO is the human/host the red ball was made to create? Who would Ford (if it is Ford) choose to bring back? I have thoughts.

In the episode’s final scene we see MiB’s party meet up with Katja Herbers who turns out to be...HIS DAUGHTER. Like her father, she too is well-versed in the parks, and approaches them with his same domineering attitude. However she is also currently my best candidate for the secret human/host, here is why. During MiB’s crisis of conscious that ends in his coming to CCJ’s rescue, we see flashbacks to a scene of suicide. We know that MiB’s wife (Peter Mullan’s daughter) killed herself, but were always told that she overdosed (with contention over whether or not it was accidental). However the flashbacks we saw were of blood in an overflowing bathtub, suggesting a much more violent death. Now it’s possible that his wife’s suicide was much different than reported, but I think this is not the death of his wife, but rather that of his daughter. If Ford is pulling the strings of this game, and it was he that ordered Bernard to create the human/host, it would make sense to bring back the daughter MiB failed as part of looking to the past. But again, what’s it to Ford to get such extravagant vengeance on MiB?  

All these storylines wove together to ask and play with the same thematic questions, what is death? What is a life worth living? And finally the question asked by the title of the episode “The Riddle of the Sphinx”: what is man? Westworld this week was coherent, engaging, and thoughtful. And it still got to have all the expensive violence it so dearly loves. Even though Jonathan Tucker didn’t stick around long, at least he got to explode. And that’s the kind of shit actors love. 

Lastly I would like to point out the dialogue exchange of “I’m not in California anymore am I?” “No, you’re not.” Just another little exchange referencing the general location of the park, which I still believe will be a major reveal of the season! This is the hill I am ready to die on. 

Peter Mullan forever,

Martha

[heravenueexpert-blog]

Toffee’s Curse: Moon’s Darkest Spell Theory

Arrrgh! I was postponing this one because I want to write an analysis on how Star’s emotions and cheek symbol affects and connected to her magic but I’ve been thrown a bomb about the movie.

AND IT WILL FEATURE MOON AND TOFFEE’S BATTLE AT THAT TIME IT SEEMED! So I am going to post my theory now here, right now! Of course I’ll fix this theory a bit after watching the movie (but this is what we can hypothesize so far). . . since it’s going to be shown in just a few days.

==============================================================

First off, we have no idea what on earth Moon did to Toffee. It’s never been mentioned aside from the “will forever be haunted” by Moon’s darkest spell. However, we have clues.

The first one is Toffee’s missing finger.

Toffee is from a race of monsters that can regenerate, and we see this ability of Toffee first hand when Star blasted off his arm. However, it seemed that Toffee cannot regenerate his missing finger despite this ability.

The book suggest that Toffee lose the ability to regenerate since his great fight with Moon. So either he regained his regeneration ability little by little (until his finger) OR he really just can’t regenerate his finger no matter what.

Next is the difference in Toffee’s attitude then and now. 

Now, this is only a speculation base on art. But Toffee back then seemed to be more barbaric and expressive than he was now base on clothing where he uses skulls and spikes for clothing (and the original design was that he’s supposed to be shirtless. In SVTFOE, this kind of attire is used for expressive and individualistic characters like Star and Solaria) compared to his now more restrictive and “boring” suit attire like a lawyer’s.

Marco also noted the significance in clothing. In SVTFOE, attires can show what kind of personality you currently have. 

Which brings us to the subtle clue that needs to be mentioned.

The time Marco snap back to Toffee and called him “boring”. 

Now, I find this to be noteworthy because Toffee is almost always composed and only a few things could faze him (one of them was Star being able to deep down during the rescue which was something for her age). Even having his arm blasted off didn’t make him bat an eye. So this reaction of his is definitely worth noting and shows that Marco’s words affect him somehow.

Most likely, he turned this way due to the curse.

So what is the curse?

Going by the clues so far (before the movie trailer), we can theorize that it has something to do with emotions. 

My first thought that he wasn’t able to feel anything. Happiness, love, excitement, he wasn’t able to feel anything due to the curse. Hence, making his life monotonous and boring. 

I wasn’t even sure if he really feels anger and resentment though it seems that he’s out for vengeance against Moon and his daughter. Maybe not, considering that he didn’t even went so far as to torture Moon or gloat at her at the finale. By this point, he looks like just a man with high ambition.

On the other hand, saying that Toffee cannot feel any emotion doesn’t seem right either after thinking a bit because Toffee did show to have some emotion on few instances like sneaking smiles during the Fortune Cookies episode as he watched Star’s unique spells or his “surprise!” on Season 1 finale where Star and Marco were totally flabbergasted at his demand. He also showed irritation towards Ludo and Boo Fly. To put it simply, the curse is not something that sealed off all his emotions, but something enough to turn him into a “boring” person he is today (take note, I only meant boring in Marco’s words. We all know that he is one among the many plain villains nowadays that are both capable and interesting. He’s far from boring).

And so, this conclusion:

  Toffee can’t feel “Love”.

Maybe his heart was sealed or destroyed or maybe it’s his soul core that was taken. To put it simply, he cannot feel love or passion for anything. His brash attitude back then (base on his outfit that is similar to those who are battle-loving people like Solaria, King River, and Star when she went crazy), was then change into a monotonous one, and he now takes an apathetic approach to things.

This is backed-up by the missing part in his body which is the middle finger. While it cannot be certified because there are only four fingers in the SVTFOE universe, but what if. . . the missing finger is the “Ring” finger and not the “middle” finger?

Edit: Found a good art in this one for example.

Then his curse being about his “Heart” or “Love” would explain why he cannot regenerate his finger no matter what when he can regenerate the rest of his body.

Quoting from this site (x):  “ The Ring Finger: Emotion & Creativity The third finger is associated with affections because it is the one with a direct connection to the heart. It also represents our creativity and artistic self. A wedding or engagement ring on this finger proclaims to the world that the wearer emotions and creative goals are committed to the giver of the ring. If the ring is acquired by the wearer instead of a mate, it symbolizes self worth and a commitment to one personal skills and talents.”

The tradition of putting wedding rings on the ring finger is because it is traditionally symbolizes as a finger connected to your heart. If Toffee cannot feel “Love” at all (in a general sense), that would explain why he cannot regenerate his finger and also needed Star’s power. 

In SVTFOE universe, Magic is connected with the wielder’s emotions. This is highly displayed with Star’s and Ludo’s magic. Star magic effect depends on her emotions aligning with her thoughts. If she wanted to do good magic but have contradicting negative emotions like anxiety, boredom and anger, the results are a failure. Her casting spells is more effective when she’s feeling good through love and passion like saving Marco and her friends OR when her reasoning’s aligned with her negative emotions like jealousy and anger like when she learned to use the Spying Spell. Ludo cannot use magic at all at the beginning unless he’s feeling extremely angry or malicious.

If Mewman’s powers are through projecting magic and casting spells, then the Septarian’s powers are through regeneration. If Toffee is missing a “Heart” or cannot feel “Love”, then it explains that he cannot regenerate his “Ring” finger that is symbolically connected to one’s heart. 

Not to mention, The Ring Finger is actually associated with a celestial object we are all familiar about. The Moon

Now, isn’t it interesting that the one who inflicted the curse is named “Moon”. And isn’t it more interesting that Toffee appeared right after the “Blood Moon Ball”? The moon that is dubbed as “The Moon of Lovers”?

And that brings us to Star and, to a certain extent, Marco. And the reason why he went through all the trouble of kidnapping Marco to get at Star. It is obvious that Toffee has big plans for Star ever since he first appeared.

Watching Star fighting with Ludo’s gang in Fortune Cookies

He secretly smiled.

If we go with the theory that Toffee cannot regenerate his middle finger because he cannot feel the emotion called “Love”, then it can explain why he went after Star and went through the whole trouble of breaking the wands in half and penetrate it. It’s not just to get back at the Royal Family (particularly Moon and her precious daughter) or to get access to the power of the Universe (or Multi-verse for that matter). 

He needs Star’s magic power which is powered mainly by “Love” or her passion for her friends. Remember, Star’s cheek symbol is also “Heart” which not only represents her personality, but also what kind of power she mainly wields. That is why he chose to break the wand in half and share half of her power. He also penetrated her memories that connects her to the wand by implanting his finger there.

I guess this is also why he was quite “disappointed” with Marco. With Star as his “key” to unlocking the curse, Marco plays an essential part not only as her partner and subject of her “Love” but also the other half of the two bonded soul together for eternity. Not to mention in Fortune Cookies, Star received a fortune that “A Great Evil has been unleashed”. To say it is “unleashed” showed that he was previously tied or chained somewhere and this happened right after the Blood Moon Ball. With Star and Marco being chosen to be “tied together for eternity” may have untied or freed Toffee “partly” from the curse. 

Now that he managed to sap part of her powers and a large part of the Multiverse’s magic, it would explain Toffee’s last lines in the finale. 

"Tell Star I'm coming for my finger."

With half of the wand in his hand, he can finally get his finger back.

=============================================================

This theory came up thinking on what could possibly Moon’s darkest spell. It should be something malicious enough to call it “dark” but at the same time not something so sadistic like being killed and remain kid-friendly curse. And the curse I come up with and makes sense is the curse to never feel “Love”.

Note: This theory was supposed to be posted months ago, but I got writer’s block and now I think it’s too late to post this because the movie is coming up and this theory might get debunked soon. Still, I decided to post this for what it’s worth. 

[forcedapotheosis-blog]

Gloomy Days Chapter V

Alright fellas, apparently it’s the day of double updates. I felt a lot better with writing this chapter, hope that you might like it, too. Have a fantastic day!

Disclaimer 1: I don’t own One Piece or any of its characters

DIsclaimer 2: This seems to be Chapter 7, chapter 5 and chapter 3.4 because somewhere along the line, I messed up. It’s the seventh post of Gloomy Days and .. oh, I don’t know. Try not to pay too much attention to it D:

Chapter VII / V / III.4 - Second Chances

Where the Hell am I?

The question was not really as surprising as it should be, considering the person that was asking. After a good time of wandering around, it became blatantly obvious that he got lost within the mansion while he was looking for the bar. The exact bar that was in clear line of sight just a few minutes ago. The exact bar that the obvious blonde hair of Sanji could have been seen at. Still, he got lost. Besides that, he felt awfully naked without his trusty companions made of tempered steel at his hips. For the record, he had gotten lost in places that were much more simple than this opulent and imperial mansion, and his evergrowing thirst for booze didn't help. As did the fact that meeting Sanji after years of separation did indeed have a lasting effect on him, as much as he wanted to deny it.

They had been brothers in all but blood for many years until the rot began to tear the crew apart. Even the strongest metal could be destroyed by corrosion, a mountain could be ground down by waves. With the bonds of friendship, it was just the same. When people stopped to be true towards one another, to keep a thing going only for the sake of it being what they used to be, even the strongest ties tended to lacerate. The swordsman had used the long time apart to reflect on it, something that none of his former crewmates would have believed.

Damn cook, I bet he's at the bar now, flirting with some broad and having booze, while I'm .. somewhere, I guess. Think I didn't leave the house, did I? Why does everything here look so unfamiliar?!, he was of a mind to just punch his way through the walls until he found some people and just a few years ago, he would've done it in an instance. Today should have been a special day for his former navigator, though, and if he accidentally broke the skull of her groom, she'd probably not be too happy about it.

That, and I still owe her a load of money. This fact was more a problem now than it used to be. When they were still travelling together, there was booty to be had, money to be stolen from other pirates. Now that he pursued his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world on his own, things went .. a little slower. Falling back into his old ways as a pirate hunter, he found out the hard way that the World Government didn't actually like to pay bounties to ex-pirates. Scratching that off of his list, he worked as a bouncer for a few months, as his former captain did. Sadly enough, the paycheck wasn't even close to cover his drinking habits. That, and his employers didn't like that he slept on the job. To keep himself floating, he resorted to teaching swordsmanship, although that also didn't work out as well as he was expecting. If people got monstrously strong in a relatively short amount of time, they sometimes lost perspective. This loss of perspective did dawn on him when he broke both the arm and the wooden sword of a pupil during a practice session, after seeing that, the large influx of new people that were drawn to his name suddenly subsided.

I wonder when the ceremony is going to start, I might just be able to hear them .. until then, why not take a small nap? Can't do anything wrong with not moving any further away, right? Right?

It was all the more unfortunate that simply taking a nap wasn't as good since he left the crew as it used to be. On the outside, the green-haired swordsman was a killing machine, a force of nature when it came to battling their foes, but still waters used to run deeper than one might have thought. The events of their separation did make a lasting impact on him, traces of that even haunted him up until this very day.

"YOU GODDAMN MORON!", he shouted out in an unusual fit of rage when the first punch was thrown. The cook didn't even try to react to it and faced the consequences. His balled up fist came crashing down on Sanji's face and sent him flying straight into the ship's rail. A lesser man would've lost consciousness from the force of impact alone, but even though Zoro would never admit it, the cook was as tough as nails. Thus, he was able to simply shrug it off and stand up as if nothing happened, rubbing the place of impact in an apathetic manner.

"We're done yet?", the indifference in his voice enraged the swordsman even more, didn't the moron see that he was trying to help him?!

This scene was just the climactic finale of the developments that had occured within the crew since Brook's final death. The situation got from bad the worse and here they were, under the cover of the moon. The swordsman's blood was boiling because of the scene he had witnessed just minutes before. Not only did that dumb cook hurt himself in the process, but he hurt the one woman who might actually be able to unconditionally feel for him. Not in any physical way, of course, but that somehow made it even worse.

"YOU GET BACK IN THERE AND APOLOGISE!", he shouted again, at least showing enough foresight to not draw his swords. Things would have gotten really messy if both of them unleashed all they had.

"What does it matter? And why do you care, of all people? This crew's finished, marimo. Robin knew it, even Franky and Chopper left. This is it, deadlock for our dreams. Just stay out of my way, I'm going to hop off at the next harbor and you'll never have to see me again. It's just a matter of days.", he pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips, though he didn't have a chance to ignite it as the swordsman took his next swing. A mean hook that impacted on the right side of his head and smashed him to the ground again, throwing the cigarette from his lips.

Zoro was quite surprised about the whole situation himself. Usually, he pretended not to care at all, especially when regarding the cook. This time though, it was different. When Usopp left the crew after his fight with Luffy, there were more pressing concerns to be taken care of and things worked out in the end, anyway. He was so sure about it that he didn't feel the need to intervene. The same thing happened again when the cook was doing his spiel with his wedding, though he pretended not to give too much of a concern about the situation, he was certain that Sanji's abilities would be more than sufficient to resolve it in their favour. Yes, it did need the invertention of Nami, Luffy, Chopper and Brook, but things worked out.

This time, he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. He had to do something about it or the whole thing would go to Hell. It probably already was.

"You didn't answer my question. Why in the world do you care?!", Sanji's indifferent facade was finally crumbling, his hands were balled into fists and after the first two, free hits, he was finally ready to defend himself.

"Shut up, go in there and apologise if you don't want me to kill you.", the anger wasn't exactly subsiding, but at least the swordsman had found a way to use it in his usual manner. Focussed on the enemy, he raised his hands in the style a boxer would.

The fights between these two always had something comically serious, as if two storms were wrestling with each other, two unstoppable forces of nature. Surprisingly enough, none of them had ever been hurt within their encounters, but both of them knew that this time, the outcome could be different. One of them might die.

For an outsider, it would have looked as if two mortal enemies were engaging each other, they wouldn't have known what was lying underneath. After all that happened, this fight was still a show of mutual respect. None of them was giving quarter or a second of relieve to the other and besides the fact that Zoro wasn't using his swords, he went all out. Even blocking or evading attacks became secondary as they traded crushing blows that would have killed a lesser man. In this situation, they broke bones and tore flesh apart, but none of it was lethal. These men were evenly matched and it seemed that the only condition of losing was to go in the defensive.

After a few minutes of all-out combat, the swordsman and the cook were breathing heavily, bleeding from a dozen or more minor wounds and ignoring a plethora of broken ribs and other bones. Still, they went at each other in a final clash in which they traded hits again. Sanji's shinbone came crushing into Zoro's ripcage, again, and unfolded enough kinetic energy to throw him into the ship's rail, but the trade-off was that he wasn't able to defend himself against the swordsman's devastating right. The impact let him collapse backwards and blurred his vision. After all, none of them was in the condition to continue this fight much longer and they did make one hell of a noise out there.

Getting back up, Zoro knew that another one of those kicks would damage his internal organs enough that it might kill him. If the broken ribs hadn't already began with puncturing his lungs. Too bad that showing weakness or admitting defeat was not his strong point. At least the cook wasn't looking much better, if any better at all. He had taken so many htis to his head that he was sure to have a concussion and blood was running down his nostrils and his mouth. The situation would have proven dire if all the noise they made didn't alert one of their remaining nakama. She bursted out of her cabin, her eyes still teary from the conversation they had, before the fight between these two 'brothers' escalated.

"STOP IT, PLEASE!", she started crying the moment she realised what was happening. And against any better judgement, even after all the things he said .. or more, didn't say and didn't do when the whole world came crushing down on them, she still ran up to the now sitting Sanji and fresh tears filled her big brown eyes. "Please, Sanji-kun, please stop ..", this provided Zoro with yet another proof that he was doing the right thing here.

Sure, it wasn't easy for Nami and Sanji when things started out, but somewhere along the way, his relentless pursuit of fulfilling all of her wishes made her open up. So much, in fact, that it seemed for a while now that she had made the conscious decision of being with him, openly caring for him. And he was about to throw it all away. Zoro knew that the cook understood his trail of thoughts when their eyes met. The navigator was sitting right next to him and visibly wanted to comfort, to embrace the cook. Maybe a simple touch could have changed how things went, maybe it could have been more than a hope spot. The moment passed, though, and Sanji worked himself up, aching every step of the way, carefully averting his gaze from the red-haired woman next to him. This scene reminded Zoro too much about what had happened minutes ago, when she was on her knees and begged him not to go.

Still, he wasn't even looking at her, the one remaining person he desired more than the All Blue itself. Zoro's lips silently formed the words 'Stay. For her.', but to no avail.

The Sunny was in the middle of the ocean right now and Sanji had suffered some devastating blows, yet he still refused to give in. To do what's best. The last chance for a second sunrise vanished into thin air when the cook jumped into the air, his face full of regrets and his visible eye the source of neverending tears. He skywalked out of sight within the next moments, leaving behind shattered bonds and two broken hearts. Hers and his own.

"Excuse me, sir, are you alright?", he was opening his healthy eye, actually being happy to have been awoken from this haunting dream. The swordsman took his sweet time to reply, first and foremost beginning to inspect who was talking to him. Hrm .. too handsome for his own good.

"It's alright, just took a little nap before all the .. fuss.", he didn't know how to assess the cautious laughter that followed his remark, but an idea already began to form.

"Haha, oh, my good friend, you're absolutely right. I, too, find it a little distracting from the more important things. The wedding probably is blown out of proportion. Many of the guests aren't here to meet Nami, anyway, they're here to attend my parents.", he was holding out his right hand towards Zoro to help him get to his feet, but the swordsman declined by shaking his head, getting up on his own instead.

"Thanks, I'm .. good. My throat's terribly dry, though, where's the bar?", he was leaning his head to both sides, making his neck crack in a manner that visibly sent shivers down the other man's spine. Yet, he continued to smile.

"Sure, my friend. Right down this hallway, you can't miss it. Before you go, though, may I ask you something? Since I don't know you, I assume that you belong to my dear Nami's guests, is that right?", Zoro nodded, moving his right hand in a small circle instead of just telling him to go on.

"That's great, I'm really excited to finally meet most of her family and friends! Judging from the hair and the rough exterior, I assume that you're Roronoa Zoro, is that right, too?", again, the swordsman just nodded. How much did she actually tell that guy about her past? The scion of an old and influential family, getting married to a former pirate? Even if the guy himself wanted it, his parents might not be as excited about this prospect.

"You might not want to write it on your shirt, though. People can get a little weird when they're in the company of pirates. Or .. former pirates.", in contrast to Luffy, who's bounty had been erased by his grandfather, Zoro's was still active. That also was the main reason that he wasn't able to collect bounties from the people he hunted down.

"Oh, don't worry about it, my friend. Nami trusted me with these informations about her past, none will hear them from my lips. It would cast quite the shadow on our marriage and I really don't want to put her through this stress. I mean, even if it was to come out, I'd still stay by her side, but the act of calming the waves would be a distressing start for a life in wedlock, don't you think?", still, the swordsman wasn't really sure what to think about him. He was as tall, dark and handsome as they could get, definitely not a bad catch. And he had money and even though he knew about her past, he seemed understanding enough. A nice companion for her future.

"Yeah, better that way. What's it you want to know? Just going to remind you that I'm really getting thirsty right now.", well, he mostly was thirsty, but he also wasn't terribly delighted to be a part of this conversation right now. As far as he could see and feel it, there was nothing really wrong about this guy. Quite on the contrary, even. I've got the impression that he actually is genuine.

"Well, my friend, it might be the wrong time to fill you in on this, but since you're one of her closest friends, maybe you'd know a way to lift her spirits. During the time she was writing your invitations, especially during the last one she wrote, she actually broke down and started to cry. See, she wrote all of them during the nightly hours, away from our bedroom and in isolation. When I heard her crying, I rushed to her bureau, but she just wouldn't let me in. So .. I mean, you don't have to answer me, but I'd love to know what that could have been about. The next day, everything went back to normal and I didn't ask what was going on, thinking that she'd open up to me when she felt like it, but that did not occur yet.", for the first time now, the groom had Zoro's full attention. After meeting so many wealthy and powerful people, it felt refreshing to meet someone who at least seemed to be a reflective, true-to-himself person. Yet, Zoro didn't want to get pulled into this. He had tried to intervene once and it failed, he wouldn't try a second time. That, and if he said anything, just about anything wrong here, it might be his fault that this nice bubble that Nami had built for herself would burst. How would he react when confronted with the swordsman's theory that her heart, in fact, might still be beating for another man? Probably not what you want to hear on the day of your wedding.

"Sorry, can't help you with that, but I'm sure it's going to work itself out. This way to the bar, right?", it was obvious by now that he wanted this conversation to end. If in any way possible, without leaving a broken groom behind. Not going to carry that cross. Every other, but not this one. I'm not even going to try to fix this mess for you, freaking perverted cook.

The groom nodded in a sad fashion before he forced himself to smile again.

"This way, my friend. Well, I already said that it'd be alright if you wouldn't want to answer that question. Just .. see, I want Nami to be happy, in the best of all cases, I would want her to be happy with me. I just fear that if there's an unspoken thing between us, the marriage might suffer from it. That's not what I want, neither for her, for me nor for my parents. So, one last time, my friend: Is there something I should know about her past? Did she have bad experiences with another man?"

Whatever this is going to be, I'm not playing a part in it.

"Give it a rest, man. It's probably nothing and you'll have a nice, clean marriage waiting for you. This way to the bar, now?", again, he was pointing at the wrong direction. For the third time or so.

"My friend, this way. And I'm sure that you'll understand that it's rather difficult to put this situation to rest. You've known her longer than I did, that I'm sure of, so, shouldn't it be a shared interest of us to see her happy? I .. see, my friend, I know that I told you that you don't have to answer me, but I simply can't stop thinking about her crying in the night. I'm sure that it wasn't the only time that it happened, either. Sometimes, when she wakes up, her eyes appear to be swollen. She's always quick to cover it up, even telling me that it's because of an allergy, but you wouldn't believe that either. Especially not during the Winter."

Hell, can't he just leave me alone? I don't want to be a part of this!

It was then that another thought occured to the swordsman. For all his life, he never believed in fate, in some kind of god or a divine plan. Even if godlike things existed, they wouldn't care about humans, wouldn't they? So far out of touch with their own creation, nothing they would think or do would matter to him.

But what if .. No, no, no. We're not going down that road. I've tried it once and I failed. We're not going to do that again. Whatever happens between all of them, it doesn't concern me anymore. I really need some sake right now.

The gnawing doubt was still there, though. What if there was some kind of a divine force that lead people through their lives? Not even all the time, only appearing when they were straying from their paths? Would these powers be able and willing to grant second chances?

ARGH! They better will, because that frenzied woman will have my head if this doesn't work out!

Finally having made a decision, Zoro stopped in his tracks, turning around to the still waiting groom.

"You know .. Cassian, was it? I don't like it, because you seem to be a nice guy, but you forced my hand in this. Yes, there once was another man. Do with that information what you will. I'm just telling you right here and right now: You're not big enough to fill the hole that he left."

With these words, he started moving towards the bar, now in dire need of a drink because Nami would almost certainly kill him and dying blackout drunk didn't seem like such a bad thing.

"Hey .. my friend, that's not the way to the bar."

[meepface]

these questions seem very therapeutic and i have been havin a week so im gonna do em, please ignore me

1. What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

say no to people!! post selfies and not feel ashamed of myself for doing so!! stand up for myself without immediately crying!! 

2. What has been on your mind most lately?

well this week i’ve been in kind of a negative headspace so i have sorta thought about how much easier dying would be than dealing with any of my problems, but i have also thought about how much i don’t actually wanna kill myself also so i’ve been feelin sorta trapped between ‘mannnn if i would just fucking do it’ vs ‘but i don’t wanna my mom would be sad’, so that’s a real fun time!

3. Right now at this moment; What do you want right now?

i wanna feel myself again honestly. i’ve felt super weird n distant from who i used to be and who i wanna be and i feel like im just floatin. i feel super dissociative and i don’t feel genuine in how i behave anymore like idek myself. another super fun time!

4. In order of importance, How would you rank: Money, Happiness, Love, Health and Fame?

love (not strictly the romantic kind), happiness, health, money, fame

5. What would best describe the way you have spent your time in the last month?

feel like i’ve been wastin a lot of time bein super unhappy. buuuuut i spent a lot of time with people i love last month so that was good. kinda mixed, neutral feelings about it

6. What is the #1 motive in your life now?

to learn how to live for myself more

7. In one sentence, who are you?

i would say i am an extreeeeemely sensitive and compassionate person who’s always tryin to do the right thing and make a few people laugh when i can

8. What do you want to be known for?

being good and kind and gentle and positive

9. If you had to move 3000 miles away, what would you miss most?

my family, my dogs, my girlfriend, my friends, my grandma, this local restaurant that has amazing pancakes, my university bc i really like it there, the general atmosphere of downtown Austin, my therapist, my bedroom. in no particular order

10. In one year from today, how do you think your life will be different?

hopefully i’m taking care of myself well, am happy in my current situation and if i’m not i am actively working to do what i need to do to fix that, maybe i’ll have finally gotten another job and have moved out possibly. who knows. just hope im doin well

11. Who makes you feel good about yourself?

my friend Stein, my mom, my girlfriend, my therapist, a few of my internet friends

12. What are the top 3 qualities you look for in a friend?

someone who makes me laugh, someone who is a good listener, someone extremely supportive and non-judgmental

13. What has fear of failure stopped you from doing?

joining a club and being more social in college, getting another job, moving out, making videos, volunteering at this abuse center i’d really love to volunteer at

14. What is something you have always wanted since you were a kid?

a golden retriever

15. What stands between you and something you want?

fear of change

16. What do you do when nothing else seems to make you happy?

i find something to calm me down and distract me, like a game or something i can play so i stop thinking too much. also talking to someone helps but whenever i’m not in the mood to talk i try to do something to distract myself, or go to sleep if it’s a good time to

17. What do you need to spend more time doing?

being with friends and family, writing

18. When did you first realize that life was short?

i mean i had a few near-death experiences as a kid but none of em i was like “wow i could’ve died and that would’ve been the end” bc i didn’t really process them like that when i was that young. one of first times that i can remember feeling really deeply anxious about how short life really is is when i saw a bad car wreck just last year that had just happened and (TW ahead) i saw a person dead on the road with his head smashed. that was so scarring for me and now wrecks make me uncomfortable and i used to drive kinda recklessly as a dumb suicidal thing but now i would never ever drive the way i used to. another time i can think of is when a girl in my grade who i had actually been close friends with all throughout middle school up until freshman year died in a car wreck and our whole school was devastated

19. What issues do you continually refuse to confront?

honestly i want to confront and fix or work on all of my issues lmao so

20. What is something a lot of people do that you disagree with?

there’s a lot of homophobic and transphobic people in the small Texas town that i work in and a lot of em say super offensive things really casually and i hate it so much. also a lot of people enjoy jolly ranchers which i will never understand

21. What is a common misconception people have about you?

i’m shy, i’m straight, i’m lazy, i don’t work hard

22. What is something no one can take away from you?

no one could pull me away from my mom tbh that bitch knows everything and no one can tell me not to tell her what they tell me bc she’s gonna know in the next hour

23. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?

ummm chicken probably. it’s all i eat

24. When you look into the past what do you miss the most?

how cheerful and happy i was in 2015 and some of 2016!!!!!! the fuck happened!!!!

25. What memory from the past year makes you smile the most?

hmmm probably the times my gf and i spent hours making out n stuff in parking lots bc we finally got over our fear of havin our first kiss w each other and went all out

26. What is the number one change you need to make in your life within the next twelve months?

hmmm don’t wanna share it but i know in my head the answer to this

27. If not now, then when?

when i’m ready and when i know for sure that it’s what i want. because right now i don’t know what i want with my life but i just know that right now i am not happy. baby steps

28. What have you done that you are truly proud of?

i gained soooooo much confidence after graduating high school. came out to everyone, told my mom i wanted to finally try to go to therapy which has been a blessing for me

29. What is something new you have recently learned about yourself?

i’ve learned where my dependency issue that i used to have super bad stemmed from. i’m kinda growin from that though. i still have residual anxieties that were caused by it but nothin i can’t work through

30. What do you want to remember forever?

hmm. probably that one quote that’s like “anything that costs your peace is too expensive”. either that orrrrr that one scene in the office where Jim gets drunk and crashes his bike into the bushes

31. What could society do without?

religion (yikes yikes yikes) (don’t hate me, just hear me out) - this doesn’t mean the spirituality of it but like..... the whole rules and order part of it. the ancient outdated books and everything being taken so literally in today’s world. everyone could have their own takes and believe in their own things and they can just be without feeling like they either have to go to church or celebrate a religious holiday or be a certain way bc ‘god’, whoever they may be, wants them to. idk i like to believe there’s a higher power that just represents love, in its purest form, and that’s it. that’s all you gotta know about them. there’s no rules to that, you just do with that what you will, learn from that what you can. does this make sense at all 

32. What is the one thing right now, that you are totally sure of?

right now i am totally sure that i shouldn’t have started doing this survey bc i am exhausted and i have work in the morning but i’m definitely gonna finish it

33. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would you say?

be kinder and gentler, thank you

34. What is something that you said you would never do, but have since done?

this is uhhh super emo but i didn’t think i’d live this long and here the fuck i am

35. What is something you changed your mind about when you grew older?

my feelings about The Gays, since i grew up to be one and when i was little i was terrrrified of that idea. i didn’t care if other people were but when it came to me i was like noooo way jose. also? the concept of marriage? i’ve become super apathetic towards it. i don’t care if i end up married or not anymore, i will commit to someone for life regardless and i don’t need a ceremony and anything official to prove that. buuuuut that being said, if my future partner wants to be married, i’m 200% there and i’m already starting to think about our wedding color scheme. man. idk if i’d rather wear a suit or a dress at my wedding

36. What didn't last forever, but was still worth your while?

hmmm maybe my current therapy stuff?? i know one day i’m gonna stop going to therapy but man have i learned a lot and man have i grown. i truly think everyone needs to go to therapy at least once in their life, you learn things that are valuable in every aspect of life

37. If you could go back and time and tell the younger version of yourself something, what would you tell?

you’re not stupid, you’re allowed to make mistakes, maaaybe ask for the braces that aren’t clear bc those just made your teeth look massive and you hated yourself while they were on and you can’t look at pictures with them even years later. aaaand they made you super insecure about your mouth and smile even years down the line so, please dodge that bullet if ya can. also you’re super gay!

38. If you knew you were dying in the next 60 seconds, what would your last words be?

finally

39. When it is all said and done, would you have said more then you've done or vice versa?

hmm i’ve probably said a lot more than i’ve done, which i wanna change. if i’m understanding this question right

40. What question do you often ask yourself?

what do you want? what do you need? which of the two is more important?