#at this point I have to wonder if the mouse has chosen this fate for itself too

[thatonceandfutureprat]

Still trying to trap the last mouse.

I’ve got three traps (live catching) in strategic places, clearly the mouse is getting exhausted bc today I actually s a w it (you generally don’t) AND it keeps trying to get out by returning to the gap in the closet through which it came in.

Buddy. There’s a trap in the kitchen cabinet with seeds, a French fry AND now also a cookie in it.

All you need to do is chew the wire to get to it. There’s a nice home elsewhere for you, I promise.

Please get in. Please?

[withlovelunette]

Matryoshka Doll & Wooden Soldiers writing update #1

I'm here to share some excerpts from the first chapter! You can find the WIP post for this story here if you want a more thorough introduction, but it’s essentially a retelling of Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King with elements of steampunk and magical curses weaved throughout. This post is pretty short because I’m a bit picky with my own writing, but I hope you enjoy regardless!!

So the first chapter is mostly dedicated to establishing the situation/setting, Clara’s character and her relationship with her mother. For context, Clara’s been sent off to go live in the city with her godfather, Drosselmeyer, and this is the opening paragraph!

Clara Stahlbaum never defended her mother’s state of mind, lest she also be labeled a hysterical woman. She’d packed a single suitcase and taken the first train out of Marburg’s countryside, not to pursue womanhood nor stardom the way her mother had, but to “seek respite”, as her father put it. Very few traveled further north during the month of November. Winter’s reach had expanded with each year, powdering the land in white to claim every valley and pine forest as her own. Godfather Drosselmeyer would regularly report on the local rumors within the city in his letters–about the snowflakes acting as spies for a fairy queen further north, or that a vengeful curse had overtaken the land–and Clara read each and every one of them as thrilling stories before bed. Such rumors aside, the harsh winters didn’t frighten her, but spring had never felt as distant as it did now, as Clara steps onto the locomotive that will plunge her deeper into winter’s grasp.

Honestly, I’m always very unsure of how to start a story, and I’m still not completely sold on this first paragraph, but I think it functionally does what I want it to do, so I’ll probably rephrase and restructure it in a different draft.

This is just a random excerpt that I sort of liked:

Her mother had always said that to get all the strands of Clara’s hair slicked back and neatly assorted into a tight bun was an undertaking, as if her hair refused to comply with the disciplines of ballet, her hairline embellished with golden baby curls in defiance. In her mother’s absence, Clara had wondered if her hair would refuse to be slicked back into a bun ever again.

I will probably move this part to a different chapter at some point ^^;

Here’s an excerpt of Clara reminiscing on the train. It’s a continuation of the previous excerpt except I have no plans of moving this part (for now). 

The scene of her mother bowing on stage as the applause drowns out all other sound, even her own heartbeat, is fresh in Clara’s mind despite its age, onlookers tossing out fresh bouquets of camellia and sealed yellowed envelopes to proclaim their admiration for the prima ballerina. Such admirers had remarked how Clara was the spitting image of her mother. She believed that anytime she watched her mother’s performance, she’d been staring straight into her own future, and she held onto that promise with pride. But then her mother’s hair grayed, her eyes sunken in, and her skin clung to her bones in a way that could only be considered flattering on a young woman. The convictions that once made her attractive and lively made her difficult to work with, the perfectionism that once made her brilliant made her controlling, and Clara could no longer aspire to such a future.

Initially, I want to present Clara’s retirement from ballet as if it was something she did by choice to avoid her mother’s fate, because that’s exactly how she copes with her injury (which is the actual cause behind her early retirement). She’s mentally trying to reframe her retirement as something she did by choice, rather than something she did out of necessity, because she already has a bunch of reasons she could have chosen to retire early.

That’s all I really had to share from the first chapter since I’m still reconstructing it, but I hope it wasn’t too short/long of a read! I’d love to make a post about character creation or constructing character psychology or something along those lines one day, so maybe I’ll do that if it’s something people would be interested in? Or anything fairytale related, let me know!

Tag list: @sam-glade @strangerays @writing-is-a-martial-art @amywrites256​ @eurydicefades​ @serenanymph

Let me know if anyone would like to be removed/added to the tag list for writing updates and additional content for this wip!

[birdkujapropaganda]

my completely biased and official rating of every keyblade ever:

Kingdom Key: absolute classic. excellent design for the like, mascot keyblade. very simple, vaguely key shaped. i hate the mouse head though it's so stupid and makes no sense. and i hate mickey. 9/10 minus a point for the weird mickey keychain

Oathkeeper: wonderful. amazing. never boring. excellent design love the heart and wings and all the significance. and that the keychain is kairi's charm? terrific. 10/10

Oblivion: brilliant. awesome. phenomenal. again excellent design the wings and chains and purple crystal are absolutely perfect. love the crown keychain. 10/10

Ultima Weapon 1: literally just a sword with some filigree on it. nice. too much yellow and i don't like the weird cyan gradient on the guard. 7/10

Kingdom Key D: d for disgusting. i don't have any other comments i just hate it. 2/10

Keyblade of Hearts: yeah that sure is an anti-keyblade. love the simplicity and the heart in the negative space of the teeth. and that it doesn't have a keychain, that fueled a lot of theories for 12yo me 8/10

Lady Luck: i think i don't like this one bc to get it u need to use a white trinity but you can't do that until near the end and i have way cooler blades to use. the design is pretty ok, don't really get the card keychain tho. 5/10

Olympia: oh the sight of this one makes me irritated because the kh1 strategy guide uses this in one of the pictures for the fight against possessed riku. it did not help me win. and i hate short keyblades. love the clouds and columns though 7/10

Jungle King: kinda ugly but i appreciate that it looks kinda handmade. also like the butterfly keychain bc it doesn't look like it fits but it Does. also the first good alternate blade u get in the game so. 8/10

Three Wishes: not bad but it doesn't stick out to me either. also doesn't scream agrabah to me but also it does? 6/10

Pumpkinhead: NICE. very long and very cool. the teeth looks like bat wings and a pumpkin so very epic. 9/10

Wishing Star: so pointless i already have pumpkinhead. also short. cute design though i like the gears. 5/10

Crab Claw: i never used this one because it stuck out so ugly in Halloween Town </3 i love blue and crabs though so 8/10

Fairy Harp: I HATE YOU DIE. short and stupid. does NOT remind me of neverland at all. 1/10

Divine Rose: pretty nice but short and lategame. always thought its existence was kinda weird?? like thanks belle but why. i have oblivion. 7/10

Spellbinder: for some reason i really don't like it. i like blue and the circles are neat. the handle looks really painful though. 4/10

Metal Chocobo: kinda ugly lol. love the holes and chocobo keychain. 8/10

Lionheart: oh i am so biased by recoded. absolutely excellent keyblade. design's kind of weird tho where are those lions going. 9/10

Diamond Dust: so i was really confused because i thought this was khux-only or maybe bbs keyblade but apparently it's kh1 final mix only. you know what i got as a reward for fighting the ice titan? sephiroth. you know what i got for fighting sephiroth? NOTHING. it was my favorite khux blade though so grrrr 7/10

One-Winged Angel: grr bark bark final mix again fuck you. kinda weird design though like what is the teeth? a meteor? should've been a wing. nice guard though there's not enough hand room. excellent keychain obviously. 8/10

Ultima Weapon 2: very similar to the first but blue and symmetrical. very good learn from your mistakes. 9/10

Way to Dawn: YEAAAHHHHHHH BOY HERE IT IS PERFECT EXCELLENT GREAT DESIGN WONDERFUL LORE. HAS WINGS. THE EVOLUTION FROM SOUL EATER. THE LACK OF THORNS ON THE HEART. 10/10

Destiny's Embrace: very cute!! my favorite part is the name. i wish it wasn't so like. stereotypically girly though. like you look at the destiny trio's keyblades and can immediately pick out which one is The Girl's. 9/10

Star Seeker: i wanna hate it because it's mickey's/yen sid's but honestly it's so nice. the stars and moons and comets and gradients and colors... wonderful 9/10

Rumbling Rose: oof. weird and ugly and gross. keychain looks like a ladybug from far away. 3/10

Hero's Crest: bring the clouds back. i don't really get the design but i like columns. 5/10

Monochrome: super cute!! i don't like Timeless River but this fits it so well and has cute hit effect. 8/10

Mysterious Abyss: i always get this one way late in the game so it's always pretty pointless oops lol. also the design doesn't really say atlantica?? 3/10

Follow the Wind: another weird miss but i like this one more. nice wheel shaped guard, and that the keychain is a cursed coin. 6/10

Wishing Lamp: now THIS is the agrabah keyblade. very nice and elegant. looks like the palace! 7/10

Decisive Pumpkin: THIS ONE 😭😭 it's so ugly but it's so strong so i have to use it but it's so ugly. it does look like jack's idea of christmas so points i guess 😭 4/10

Circle of Life: also pretty ugly. and short. sorry simba. 3/10

Sweet Memories: shrek voice it doesn't even have attack. i don't like winnie the pooh so that's definitely influencing me. makes cute noises iirc and looks pretty cute. 4/10

Photon Debugger: this one should look pretty cool but my brain is saying it's bad. i think the giant red ball by the teeth are throwing me off. love the neon blue tho 5/10

Gull Wing: why the weird space in the name. anyway. i really want to love this keyblade bc i love X2 but it's really bad. i'm so sorry YRP kh did you so wrong. excellent keychain choice though. 2/10

Guardian's Soul: MUCH better thank you. auron my beloved <3 the lines are very appealing and i like how simple it appears. also looks like auron's swords. 8/10

Sleeping Lion: wayyy better than lionheart. looks kinda like a gunblade! again though what are those lions doing. 8/10

Fenrir: my car key got in a fight. 1/10

Bond of Flame: looks like a bad first draft of axel's keyblade. either the teeth or the guard should look like a chakram, pick one. love it though. 7/10

Two Become One: MY BELOVED <3 excellent design, so so so roxas i think he should use it. very excellent i love the little twist at the top. checkered handle is a little weird. 10/10

Fatal Crest: lol i was so mad when i first saw this because it looked like one of my oc's keyblades. i like it now though, it's a dragon!! pretty neat bro 8/10

Winner's Proof: oh this one is so cute. if it wasn't a reward it would be really weird and bad. surprisingly elegant! and there's even 13 mushrooms on it! 9/10

(shoutout to portadorx on deviantart for the 358 keyblade refs)

Missing Ache: YOU. interesting design, though it says roxas more than ventus to me. great first alt keyblade. 7/10

Ominous Blight: very edgy names in this game <3 looks like guardian's soul, which is interesting. i don't like yellow but it works bc blight 6/10

Abaddon Plasma: what a cool fucking name. so many yellow keyblades. but very cool looking i love roxas' aesthetic 8/10

Pain of Solitude: this is just pink missing ache. 8/10

Sign of Innocence: SO COOL. idk what's going on in most of these blades but i love it. 9/10

Crown of Guilt: come on. it doesn't look like a crown. big disappointment. very cool though 6/10

Abyssal Tide: so cool!! i love blue and fighting in midair <3 the teeth kinda looks like waves 8/10

Leviathan: weirdly furry looking. very cool guard 6/10

True Light's Flight: looks like two become one if it was only one. the top kinda looks like the nobody sigil 9/10

Rejection of Fate: SPEAR. epic name too, but i think it should swap names with true light's flight. very cool but i don't remember seeing it in name. kinda awkward bc it looks like it should be a spear 7/10

Midnight Roar: sooo cool. the orange handle pops without looking wrong... nice. also the teeth kinda look like a bat. 9/10

Glimpse of Darkness: ugly. weirdly bulky and hollow. short. 3/10

Total Eclipse: weirdly bumpy sword. i like how the orange looks like it glows. 5/10

Silent Dirge: GoD but purple. 2/10

Lunar Eclipse: TE but purple. 4/10

Darker than Dark: Hello 😳TLF but purple 10/10

Astral Blast: Abyssal Tide but yellow. interesting choice, but kinda clashes with the blue accents 7/10

Maverick Flare: Ominous Blight but red... excellent. very nice. 8/10

Twilight Blaze: Abaddon Plasma but red... also excellent. very epic. 9/10

Omega Weapon: props for not looking like any of the ultima weapons. very interesting and spiky but i kinda don't like it. 6/10

Aubade: kinda weird. "draws forth its wielder's personality"... ok. looks light elemented. 7/10

Wooden Stick: lol 10/10

Umbrella: not what i would've chosen but lol 10/10

Zero/One: WONDERFUL, EXCELLENT, AMAZING. i can't really explain why i love this one so much it's just very good. 10/10

Earthshaker: very solid design. not much to say it's just nice. love the colored guard. 7/10

Ends of the Earth: love that it is so clearly an earthshake upgrade. makes u realize how incomplete the first one is. 9/10

Dreadgnaw: kinda silly looking lol those are teeth. love the red bit in the center. looks very similar to earthshaker in a good way. 8/10

Chaos Ripper: looks like EotE but in a bad way. i don't like the weird teeth. it's also almost impractically long but i'm here for that. ALSO THE EYE. NICE. 7/10

Rainfell: oooo i love this it's so simple but so nice. very elegant 9/10

Stormfall: less nice. looks like a rainfell upgrade though. also kinda looks like master's defender which makes sense but i don't like it. 6/10

Brightcrest: GORGEOUS. PERFECT AND WONDERFUL. SO PRETTY. i wish it was kairi's. kinda looks to ornamental for aqua? but good for her. 10/10

Wayward Wind: none of ventus' blades look very ventusy to me. this one looks like an extra training one they had sitting around. cool shape though 5/10

Frolic Flame: NICE. looks like lea's frisbees! i like fire and fire designs so but it's a little awkward looking 8/10

Lost Memory: ok so first off WINGS. EXCELLENT. love that the only color is the heart. very cool and epic but i don't understand why it doesn't have a reverse grip handle. or the pointy bit at the tip. but still 10/10

Void Gear: hiii vanitas :) so anyway in my totally unbiased opinion this is the best keyblade ever obviously. love the gears and red accents and it's just super cool. the eyes and chains... vanitas character development keyblade when <3 10/10

Void Gear (White?): still very cool, love the simple contrast going on. 10/10

No Name: i didn't know this one was also called no name which is kinda lame. but i love the keyblade it's very cool. super glowy and i love the time design. 9/10

Crown Unlimit: I almost really like this one. very neat design, love the crowns and twists and glow. 7/10

Master's Defender: literally so plain and boring. i don't care if that's the point give it some frills. nice design though :/ 7/10

Broken Xblade: love the broken bits and the weird rust color. wish one of the kingdom keys was more broken and i think the top bit should be broken too. 7/10

Wooden Keyblade: sobbing and crying and tears. this is literally so cute and good and i love that it looks like Ends of the earth. or the kingdom key i guess. 10/10

Treasure Trove: i never expect to like this one but it's actually pretty nice :) wish the gems looked like they were spilling from the top and not leaking from the bottom. 8/10

Stroke of Midnight: also surprisingly nice! the guard kinda looks like a pumpkin which is cute. just a very cute design. 8/10

Fairy Stars: rad as hell. absolutely love this design very appealing. like how point the stars are. 9/10

Victory Line: i hate this one. maybe bc i don't like the world. kinda ugly and the teeth look awkward. 3/10

Mark of a Hero: ok we brought the clouds back but the weirdly buff trophy arm fucks this up. the blade is also just kind of a column, nothing going on there. 4/10

Hyperdrive: super cute!! love how the blade looks like laser fire and engine streams. the teeth are weird again though, and the handle looks like a bee 8/10

Pixie Petal: SO much better than fairy harp. this one is very cute and these teeth actually fit with the rest of the design. kinda short though >:/ 7/10

Sweetstack: oh this is so cute. a bunch of ice cream scoops!! why are the teeth oranges and what are some of those flavors. why are cones on the guard soft serve. 8/10

Ultima Weapon bbs: NICE. A SWORD WITH SOME FILIGREE BUT ALL IN BLUE. LOVE the wayfinders on it, very good for them. wish it wasn't just blue since it seems so aqua-centric but it looks nice soo 10/10

Skull Noise: LITERALLY SO PERFECT. THAT'S SO TWEWY. INCREDIBLE. the headphones and mr mew keychain... wonderful. only thing is that the name is kinda weird. like it makes sense but sounds weird. 10/10

Guardian Bell: i like it more than i think i would. elegant looking, and i love the gargoyles on it. hate the sentient gargoyles tho. 8/10

Dual Disk: VERY cool! looks like it has a reverse grip. the teeth are really cool and i love the bright blue. 9/10

Ferris Gear: eh. pretty cute but i think my pinocchio bias is acting up. the gears are nice, reminds me of wishing star. 5/10

Knockout Punch: SO COOL. really love the spikiness and colors and that the guard looks like the monkey. unfortunately for it, i don't like monkey. 8/10

All for One: the design's nice and it matches the world... but eh. 5/10

Counterpoint: so fun!! the violin guard is great, and the blade looks so cool. the teeth are a little awkward looking, it goes up too much. 9/10

Divewing: RAD!. just a sword with a heart on it and i love it. just so fucking cool. and the guard looks like a wing so 10/10

Sweet Dreams: so cute :) in love with the meow wow on top, but the teeth go up too much again. and i think there should be some komory wings on it. 7/10

Ultima Weapon DDD: NICE. almost identical to the kh1 blade, but blue and BETTER. the wings above the guard and the crown coming out of dream eater sigil... brilliant. 10/10

Unbound: not a hit 💔 just kinda weird and unfinished looking? and the lime green bit is off-putting. the hear at the top is nice. 2/10

End of Pain: ok mood shift hello. looks like it should be one of terra's evil blades. at first i was thrown off but looking closer it's so cool. the wings and eye at the top... the horns above the guard... the butterfly and gazing eye (buttereye) keychain... magnificent. the blade reminds me of x2 dark knight paine's sword. 10/10

Ocean Rage: looks pretty cool at first but the monstro mouth guard is literally horrifying i don't want to look at it anymore 1/10

YMX's keyblade: apparently has no name and is different than the one in bbs. nothing new really to say since it looks pretty similar but the goat head on top is super interesting. how much did No Name (luxu) influence young xehanort... 9/10

Mirage Split: absolutely perfect. i can't think of anything that isn't positive to say. the stained glass, the heart by the teeth, the thin lines, the gradient, wings, pointy, the keychain, literally all perfect. 10/10

Nightmare's End: also utterly perfect. i don't like yellow but it works here and looks great. the cyan gradient is startling but matches MS so i love it. all the colors in the stained glass are wonderful. 10/10

Starlight+: a little guady. but i love how the stars look like comets. the twisted blade looks neat too, but what's the point of the pointy bit on top. 7/10

Treasure Trove+: love that it looks golden and gem encrusted. very rich looking, but the cart is still leaking gems. 8/10

Lady Luck+: NOW the card thing makes more sense, i love how its incorporated throughout the design. more more interesting than the original. 9/10

Three Wishes+: looks like fire?? which is way cooler but why??? i like it more but where's the agrabah. 8/10

Olympia+: CLOUDS. like that zeus is in the clouds, but they took my columns. and the cyan handles are really weird. 7/10

Divine Rose+: excellent. what it should've been all along. the iridescenty guard is suuuper pretty and all the leaves and vines are great. 10/10

Moogle o' Glory: a lot happening here but i love smacking shit with a moogle head. there's so much happening and i don't really get it. 7/10

Fairy Stars+: i didn't know it could get better, the teeth is super cool looking but i wish the twisty blade was more visible. 9/10

Sleeping Lion+: love that it turns that metallic light blue color, very pretty. and the handle looks more like the gunblade! very nice looking and i used it a lot but the top is very weird. 9/10

Counterpoint+: let's take all the fun and exciting bits from the original and crANK IT UP TO ELEVEN. wait. stop. go back it's too much. very pretty still i love colors. 8/10

Fenrir+: my car key recovered from that fight. looks wayyy cooler and looks like ff7. hate the cyan glow though it feels weird. 6/10

Darkgnaw+: took me forever to find an image bc i keep calling it dreadgnaw. much cooler than the original, it looks like it's gonna bite you. the purple is also very nice. 9/10

Missing Ache+: POINTY. super cool but how does ventus twirl it around without poking himself. the colors are fun and it looks rad. 10/10

Diamond Dust+: i used this one the most <3 very pretty i love shades of blue and purple :) looks kinda icy but the top is weirdly flat. 9/10

Bad Guy Breaker: there's so much happening calm down 😭kinda nice but there's a lot to look at. also this world irritated me. 4/10

Gula's Keyblade: #leopardus4ever. as you can see, this keyblade is perfection. fun and spiky and lightningy. i think the whole blade should be lightning tho. 10/10

Aced's Keyblade: do any of these have names. anyway what a dreadgnaw ripoff 🙄 it suits him but guess what. i don't like him. 5/10

Ira's Keyblade: i don't like ira either but his blade is fucking great. love the teeth so much, and the colors. very pretty and cool 8/10

Invi's Keyblade: absolutely gorgeous. i love the flowing lines and little vines. love the colors and also it's super long. 9/10

Ava's Keyblade: girl this hurts to look at on a white background. very pretty though, i love how wispy and cloud-like it is. looks delicate which is great considering she'll kick anyone's ass. 8/10

No Name: unfortunately, this is absolutely wicked. look at it. it's wonderful. the goat head looks so much cooler than the other animal heads somehow, and i love the hollow center of the blade. and the teeth look like a claw, a little. just so fucking cool but i hate everyone who uses this. 10/10

Shooting Star: super pretty, i love how this one flows. i wish the blade went down to wrap around the guard though, instead of cutting off. 8/10

Hero's Origin: they took away my clouds again. i like that half of it is just. zeus. the lightning bolts are cool, but the handle and guard don't really match. 6/10

Favorite Deputy: you are not my favorite deputy fuck you. i don't like toy story but i do like cactuses. 3/10

Ever After: this one's nice :) the guard is super pretty, but i wish there was more going on with the blade. 7/10

Happy Gear: this one's kinda ugly but i like it soo. the energy canister guard is cute. 7/10

Crystal Snow: i hate it so much. it's boring and the keychain is olaf and i don't like frozen. 1/10

Hunny Spout: pretty cute :) the honey jars remind me of sweetstack. i like the wooden handle. 7/10

Wheel of Fate: cool as hell that's my boat. love that the blade looks like a mast that's so cool. wish it wasn't so gray though. 8/10

Nano Gear: ah, here's the color. i like everything except how the nanobots look at the top. it's just kinda gross. 7/10

Grand Chef: oh this is so cute. but why is remy the teeth. poor rat :( but it looks very nice i like how the Tower goes into the guard 8/10

Classic Tone: fuckyoufuckyoufuc. i hate this one. pretty ugly and i don't like it. 2/10

Starlight: SO GOOD. very simple but i like that. looks mysteriously similar to the kingdom key? i love it but it needs a little more going on. 9/10

Ultima Weapon 3: LOOK AT IT. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE THEY CAN'T MAKE A BETTER ULTIMA WEAPON. the silver and red look so good and it's spiky and cool. and the red is glittery!!! why? i don't care it's phenomenal. the spiky heart teeth. that it looks like it's moving. i wish i could break my rating scale. 10/10

Braveheart: riku kingdomhearts stole my fucking car key. we've all heard the complaints i'm not repeating them 1/10

Star Cluster: it's really nice >:( mickey switch with riku pleaase. the star theme is really cute and the colors are nice but why does it look so similar to the kingdom key. 8/10

Flame Liberator: i don't like the name but ok i guess. the keyblade is so fucking cool though. it's what bond of flame wanted to be. i love fire and it looks like it moves so hell yeah. 9/10

Xblade: still can't decide if i like this or not. How do you hold it comfortably. Love the glistening spiky bits. 8/10

[vapid-slut]

A Dove Reborn; Ch.1

Warning[s]: Character death, Mentions of violence, murder, demonic possession [kinda, eh yea]

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: Reader, a catholic schoolgirl, is brought in as a sacrifice. It isn’t until she’s payed a visit in hell that she’s given a second chance at life and vengeance

A/N: This is my first michael fic so enjoy my shitty excuse for writing I’ve been think about writing this for awhile so I really you like it. Whoever you may be [this blog is a ghost town]. Also there may be some typos because it’s late and a bitch is lazy. xoxo, go piss girl

Darkness.

That's all you saw as your limp body dragged across what felt like wood. You cried out, hoping someone would have the heart to help you. Instead, they laughed at your naiveness. Before you could think any longer, a voice interrupted your thoughts. "This is y/n she has devoted her entire life to being a good little christian. Pathetic." The woman spoke with hatred in her voice as you heard others make noises of disapproval and disdain. Your breath was shaking, you knew there was little hope for you, they didn't care about you or your life, and why should they? After all, you were just a shy little girl whose own family sent her away to a convent to get rid of her.

The skin on your body crawled as you felt the burning stares of everyone gawking at your practically naked form. The woman continued to go on about how silly you were for choosing to believe in a god who couldn't even protect you now, her voice overlapping with your screams and pleas. "Well, let's not waste any more time. The honor of tonight's sacrifice shall go to one of our newest members, Jim." If you were uncertain of your fate before, this solidified it. Tonight was the night you were doing to die.

You pleaded for your life though it was ineffective, your body tensed as you felt a hand across your face remove a few stray hairs. Before you knew it, the blade held along your neck glided with ease, your eyes began to tear as you took what would be your last few breaths. There, on the floor, your once pure body laid lifeless, upper half drenched in your blood.

Eventually, the group of heinous worshippers dispersed, some going off to eat, others making their way home. All of them seemingly unbothered by the presence of your corpse. Having your body on display for everyone to see was truly humiliating. You were to be gawked at, mocked, and then forgotten. The story of your life, no one had ever taken you seriously. Your mother hated you the moment she birthed you. Your father never stayed long enough for you to remember him. With all the time you had spent laying there, your body began releasing a foul odor, making it clear that you had to go.

The blue-eyed boy towered over your figure, his head turning slightly to face the much shorter woman with hair like that of a raven. "What would you like me to do with her, Michael?" The woman named Ms.Mead asked with a calmness to her voice, almost as if she did this often. Michael sighed, letting his shoulders fall slightly. "It's such a shame she would've made a great pet." He paused, taking a breath. "Bury her or throw her in the river for all I care, whichever is easiest." He said sternly as the woman nodded, the blonde turned on his heels to exit the once full room. 

-----

You woke up from felt like an eternal sleep. Rubbing your eyes to look around the room, it all felt familiar. The soft lilac walls and crisply made bed, this was your home. Albeit one you hadn't seen in a long time. It had been almost seven years since your mother dropped you off at a convent. You observed the room with confusion, wondering why you were here.

Suddenly the door opened, revealing your strung-out mother. Your head tilted in confusion. "M-mom?" You reached to touch her, but out of nowhere, she raised the back of her hand to strike you across the face. You brought your hand to your cheek, eyes welling up with tears until suddenly she froze. 

Everything was happening so suddenly that you cowered in fear as another woman entered the room, dressed in white, she flashed you a smile. The girl reached to hold your hand, but you immediately flinched. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." She said, her voice soft and calming. You rubbed the tears away from your eyes and took hold of her warm hand. "Who are you. W-where am I?" The girl helped you to your feet. "My name is Mallory, right now you're in hell. But I'm here to take you back t-" Before she could finish, a dark figure walked in. "Ah, ah, ah. You don't get to break satans rules, my love."  The man appeared with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.

"Asclepius, this isn't any of your concern," Mallory said, letting go of my hand as she inched closer to the man. "It is actually, I too have been tasked with bringing Y/N back to the mortal realm." You watched as the two bickered as if you weren't in their presence, tired of sitting around like a church mouse, you decided to speak up. "Okay, what the fuck are you talking about?!" The two turned to look at you, almost shocked that you had interrupted them. Asclepius sighed before stepping closer to you. "This might seem hard for you to comprehend, but you're dead. Your purity made you a viable sacrifice for satan." He paused for a moment, reading the confusion on your face. "This place is hell."

You scoffed, finding his comment ridiculous. That was until you remembered the darkness, the voice of that wretched woman, and the coldness of the knife. "Holy shit." You said, your head falling as you realize your predicament. "So, what do you two want from me?" Mallory turned on her heels. "Well, I was sent to retrieve your soul and bring it back to your mortal body until he showed up." Asclepius rolled his eyes at the brunette, annoyed by her response. "My boss, satan, has been displeased with his son's work. He thinks you'd be a fine companion, someone to give him a push to bring about the end times."

All of this sounded insane. It was simply too much to process. Mallory could sense the fear coming off of you. "Good thing is that won't happen, so long as I have a say in it." She reached to hold your face as a form of comfort. But before you could react,  her body fell limp as the red-haired man retrieved his arm from her back, her heart in his hand as you shrieked in terror. "Shhh Y/N, there is no need to fear me, soon you'll be back to normal soon." His voice overlapped with the hissing of snakes as they slithered towards you.

There was no place to run, so instead you back into one of the four corners of the room, even then, you knew it was useless. Pain pierced through your skin as the vipers sank their teeth into your skin, venom mixing with your blood. You tried to scream, but nothing left your throat, your mind slowly fading in and out of consciousness. The man gave you a half-hearted smile. "Send Michael my regards." And with that, your world faded to black once again.

-----

The skin on your body began to prune, given the countless days you had spent floating in the river. Suddenly your heart began to beat as blood rushed through your veins, your eyes opened, the water starting to irritate them. You mustered up what little strength you had left and made your way to the surface, gasping for air.

Swimming was never your strong suit, but you noticed that there was land nearby, so used your bit of energy to make sure you got there. Once you reached the dry land, your body fell, your back making contact with the soil. You wanted nothing more than to sleep. But something caught your attention, a scent. One you weren't all that accustomed to, you felt something within, almost as if your body was fighting itself.

Your body acted against you as you stood, drawing closer to the smell. As you crept, the voices become much more vivid. One, in particular, was much too familiar. "This sacrifice is much more special than anyone we've done before." You thought for a moment, and your mind brought you back to the night you lost your life, your cries and pleas ignored just like the unlucky girl they had chosen tonight. 

You yearned to do something, but you were no match for them. That was until you watched as your skin went pale, bits of it turned to scales. Part of you was horrified, but part of you relished in this new power. Before you made a move, you heard a much deeper voice speak. "I sense something, someone, a  powerful presence." Suddenly your body was completely taken over. Your once [y/e/c] eyes had now turned to a crimson red. Without thought, you suddenly appeared behind one of the cloaked figures, something you weren't aware you could do till now.

All the rage and bloodlust inside of you reached a boil. As your arm plunged into the woman's chest, you retrieved your hand to find her heart in it, and with no hesitation, you took a bite. The look of shock on everyone's face was pure bliss. You stood, wearing nothing but the underwear you had on the night of your death, covered in blood. Many of the cult members attempted to stop you, but it proved useless as you swiftly discarded them.

The few worshippers that remained had fled, hoping to keep their lives. All that was left were the corpses and Michael, along with Ms. Mead. The blonde boy gave a look of astonishment. Before anyone could break the silence, your skin reverted back to its previous form, the red in your eyes fading as your body fell to the ground. Michael approached you, kneeling to be closer to your face, cupping your chin, now drenched in blood. 

"Magnificent, my father must have sent you." His face formed a wicked smile. You were far too weak to respond and watched as he removed his cloak and placed it over your cold body. With that, he scooped you into his arms, continuing to burn into you with his gaze.

His voice was smooth and mellow as he whispered into your ear. "Let's get you home." You shook your head in disapproval and tried to push yourself off of him, but there was no point. It was clear who had the upper hand. Slowly your consciousness began to fade once again. It was clear how exhausted you were, and eventually, you drifted into a slumber. Your fate left in the hands of a man who watched you die.

----

okay wow can’t believe i actually finished a fic for the first time, this feels great! I hope you enjoyed, let me know if you wanna be tag okay toodles!

[doubleshotofsomething]

Come Into My Life

This is my entry for @nekoannie-chan​‘s writing challenge. Congratulations on 500followers :D! Thank you so much for letting me participate!

This is a series. The remaining parts will be posted throughout the day. It is a Thor fanfic with a song prompt “Entra en mi Vida” (its a beautiful song, i highly recommend).

Song Prompt: Entra en mi Vida by Sin Bandera 

Warnings: swearing, like a lot of it. Mentions of human experimentation. that’s it?? Also, people are idiots here, folks. bare with me.

Summary: You live in a world where soulmates don’t exist. Like, at all. All that meant to be, fate has chosen nonsense? Not real. Literal, actual, from-the-TV-screen fairytale. So... why is the God of Thunder convinced that you’re his?

Part One: Entra en mi vida, te abro la puerta

"So—" You clear your throat, throwing yourself onto the only empty seat, "—all jokes aside, guys. What the fuck!"

Everyone blinks at you, drinks in their hands and confusion all over their faces.

You stare back at them, completely dismissing the new sets of eyes staring at you. "No, seriously, like what the fuck?" You reiterate. "Like, no guys, this fuck needs an answer. What the fuck."

"Are we supposed to know what this fuck is?" Ghost asks, the first among the group of five to surpass her confusion. "Because I have a what the fuck for that what the fuck."

You reach over to grab her drink and she – having been used to your antics after three years of friendship – moves it closer for you to grab. You take a sip, let the taste of her chamomile tea settle on your tongue, blanch and give it back.

"So, you know how the Avengers got their asses whipped after they pulled a deadbeat dad, right?" You make grabby hands towards Hope's drink, and she – just like Ghost – pushes it over to you.

"Careful," she grimaces, "it has a kick to it."

"So did Thanos," You mumble as you take a sip of her drink. The espresso sits heavily on your tongue and you swear you can feel it stain your teeth. "What the actual fuck, Hope? What is this? And why does it not have sugar?"

She chooses to roll her eyes at you and mimic the remaining two new faces by staying quiet. Her eyes narrow at you in warning.

"Don't get a tude with me, missy—" You wag your finger at her, “—you're the one that MIA'd for five years without a return address and pissed off the Feds. Like, seriously, what the fuck guys? We had plans and everything! Why the fuck would you leave me alone for that long? You know how I get when I'm not forced to socialise!"

Ghost snorts. "Don't be a baby."

Pouting, because you’re very mature, you feign a sniffle and stick your tongue out at her. "Weeeeeh."

The dude with the annoyingly short blond hair snorts, consequently gaining your attention, and tries to hide his smile with his cup.

"You're new," you narrow your eyes at him. "Why are you new? And why do you look like the dude that owes me 12K for wrecking my car?"

"Oh my god—" Ghost grumbles in the background, "—not this again."

"I have bills and crippling debts and things that need to be paid for, Ghost!"

"You're a trust fund baby, you shithead!" She argues. "You don't know what crippling debt looks like!"

"You don't know that! My investment portfolio has been crumbling since the stock market crashed last year due to the recession."

Sam grins cheekily at you. "You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

Huffing and puffing, all you can say is. "Let's go back to the what the fuck that needs to be discussed." You glare at him pointedly, "then maybe, we can discuss why you're still here and why you came back from ashes."

"I know you missed me, cupcake." The evil bastard reaches over and pinches your cheek.

"I miss dancing on your grave," You try to swat his hand away, "now, thanks to your selfishness, I need a new dance floor. Very rude of you to not stay dead."

"You're adorable."

"As I was whatting the fucks," You turn back to Hope and Ghost, "when the fuck did my life become Thor versus Thanos, and why am I the Thor without the hammer to fight Thanos?"

"Is that your what the fuck?"  Ghost frowns.

It's her turn to get glared at. "Don't act like you haven't seen the footage. You know exactly how badly Thor got yeeted off his high horse. I'm only regretful that Captain Wrecking Ball wasn't knocked off his."

"You know he's over here, right?" Hope, ever the oblivious one to your obvious jabs, points at the dude that wrecked your car.

"Yeah, unlike my car and the check he has yet to hand over but hey—" lifting up the cup of espresso, you grin at her "—when life gives you lemons."

"I'm still confused and offended about the Thanos reference." Sam, the gift from the bad side of Pandora's box, begins. "What do we have to do with your life?"

"What does pulling a deadbeat dad mean?" The other new dude asks, his face is both the definition of confused and annoyed. "And what does it have to do with the Avengers?"

You frown. "Now I'm confused—"

"Oh no—" Ghost grimaces.

"—Why do you look like the dude from Gossip Girl but also like the dude on the UN's wanted poster of 20something?" You turn to Sam for assistance. "Doesn't he look like that old geezer from the museum?"

Sam grins, leans back in his seat to take a proper look at the manbun dude. Your table is the round one placed at the corner – the irony – and, until recently, it has always been occupied by the four of you. That was before they decided to ghost you for half a decade.

 "Now that you mention it—"

"Oh, fuck off." Manbun snaps at Sam, and you swear you've never fallen in love faster in your entire life than you have in that moment.

Your grin is wide and shit-eating as you put the cup down. You extend your hand to Manbun and wiggle your freshly painted — somehow chapped – fingers.

"I'd tell you my name but it's better if you just called me sweetheart," You’re still grinning. "What's your sign and what time can you pick me up?"

He blinks at you, still confused, and frowns at your hand. Slowly, because you’re a patient girl, you lean over and pry his left hand away from his cup. You place your palm in his and wrap your fingers around each other.

"I'd ask for your name but I think I'll settle for calling you babe," You shake his hand, and then place it back on the cup. "Or hun. I'd call you handsome, but that's too tacky and we—” You point between the both of you, " – don't do tacky."

You sit back in your seat and glance at Sam. "Well... Most of the time anyway."

At this, the rest of your life flashes you a grin. "How does eight o'clock sound?"

"It sounds like a recipe for disaster." Ghost cuts in, narrowing her eyes at you. "Back off, shithead. You've hurt enough of my coworkers"

Jaw dropping and shock feigning, you gasp. "How is that my fault?"

"Is that joke?" Ghost frowns, "because I feel like it's a joke. Three incidences with the analysts and five tech support team make it look like a joke."

You scoff at that. "Look, if your little back up boys can't handle the essence of a real woman, then that's not my fault." Confidently – and silently annoyed – you also add. "Plus, I actually did SHIELD, or whatever ridiculous name you're calling the remake of a failed organisation, a favour. If your boys behind the boys in spandex can't handle being told off by a 'mouse' as they call us, then they shouldn't be behind the dude that wrecked my car.

 "But now that I've said that out loud—" You pause, "—I finally understand why the Avengers are so bad at their job. I mean, with such poor support systems, it's no wonder boy blue and red uses cars as a landing mechanism. It's almost as if he's never heard of a parachute."

There's a pregnant pause as you pretend to ponder the situation. The new dude with the blond hair has visibly turned red and is shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Manbun has a very permanent looking frown smeared all over his face and you’re pretty sure you've just ruined whatever chances you had of giving him children. And Sam, because he's Sam and is patiently waiting his turn to roast you, has the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

Ghost pretends to scowl at you, even though you’re pretty sure she's already drawing up the schematics for the pedestal she's about to build for you. Hope, because she's Hope and has first-hand experience of dealing with spoilt little brats that use creative antics to slowly drive people away, decides to use that exact moment to sigh and expose you.

"Hey sweetheart," she begins in that voice of betrayal. "Can you, like, not be an antisocial, territorial pain in the ass for five minutes and be nice? Stop trying to get our guests to leave with your little mind games, yeah?"

You blink at her. Once, twice. Because the betrayal always takes a few moments to sink in.

"They're not mind games." You retort. "Boy Blue over there did wreck my car. He used it to cushion his fall, because apparently the super-secret organisation that harbours entitled idiots doesn't invest in parachutes."

"But you don't even need that 12K—"

"I didn't ask for the 12k. I just simply pointed out that his reckless behaviour is very costly for those who suffer for it."

"Okay, guys—" Ghost tries to interject, but it's too late. The fire has already started, and Hope and you have never been on the same page when it comes to anything involving the Avengers.

"You're being unreasonable now. You, of all people, should understand that some things are out of our control."

"That doesn't excuse or make the damage done alright. The ruining of people’s livelihoods isn’t a necessary evil for your super heroe'ing righteousness." You point out, eyes narrowed, and teeth bared. "I, of all people, don't understand your defence. Because I don't use the lab that made me as an excuse to get away with the bad shit I do to people. Whether intentionally or not."

"Really? Because you weren't singing that same song when you cashed in on all that HYDRA inheritance."

"I am not the people that made me and it's not like I'm vacationing the money away. Or have you forgotten about that harbour I had to fix because your boyfriend decided to grow a few sizes?"

"Oh, how could I forget? It's not like you rub it in his face every time he tries to so much as even say hi to you."

"People should be held accountable for their actions. Excuse me for exercising my fifth amendment because I don't think communicating with the guy that turned your dad into a fugitive by siding with the anti-accords gang is cool!"

"That accords was messed and you know it!"

“Yeah, but I didn’t go around trying to be a vigilante about it!”

"Just admit that your stance for the accords is only because you need the government's protection against ex-Hydra agents."

She hit a cord and she knows it. "You're treading on very thin ice, Hope."

 "Scared they might come back and finish what they started? Now that Pierce and Rumlow are gone, there's nothing stopping them from finishing what they started, is there?"

"You know," You sigh, reaching for Ghost's drink and taking a sip. "At least, I don't have to abduct a man from his home, nearly ruin his chances at freedom, risk his life numerous times for my personal gain, just cause I have a theory about my mom's whereabouts. And then—" You let out a condescending laugh at the thought, "—have the audacity to look him in the eye and call it love. Because, ya know, turning a guy into a science experiment and berating him for doing what he thought was right is so romantic."

She's turning red. You can see it before it actually happens and there is a sick sense of pleasure coursing through your veins at the thought. At the fact that you’re the one pressing all the buttons.

Boy, are you fucked up.

"Damn." Sam mumbles, then chortles, then belts out a laugh. "Shit. Who pissed in your gourmet breakfast?"

"People," You scowl at him. “Fucking people. Because, now call me a bitch if you insist, I don't remember telling management to sign a deal with SHIELD."

"What the fuck?" Ghost, ever so caring, contributes to your bewilderment and pissy mood.

You nod frantically at her. "Exactly! What the fuck! Do you see why I needed you guys so bad? Like, it's like the creation of the Strike Force all over again!"

"Hold on—" Captain Damage Ball cuts in. "—I'm confused. What exactly is going on and what does SHIELD have to do with it?"

"Oh boy. Germany, here we go again—"

"Don't be an asshole, shithead."

 --

 When SHIELD fell and Black Widow released all those classified documents to the public, your existence was made known to the public. It turned out that running a terrorist cell inside a super-secret organisation wasn't the only thing Pierce had hidden from the world. You were.

You were supposed to be an experiment. Another volunteer, like the Twins, for Hydra's ultimate plan. Another Bucky Barnes, but without the constant torture to keep you mindless and loyal.

 You were supposed to be the next generation. The Rumlow that wouldn't need force and violence to get the job done. That was the requirement. Those were the orders. That's what you were supposed to be.

Instead, somewhere deep in the dark, cold corners of an abandoned Hydra lab, the inhumane attempt of creating Winter Soldiers through 'natural means' had taken place.

The surrogates were all volunteers, the scientist claimed.

The procedure was necessary for the mission, the doctor explained.

This is the only way forward, the master mind behind that plan argued.

Rumlow took care of the agents himself. Pierce burned down that lab himself. And, out of all the children born, you were the only one that lived longer than the rest. The others were unfortunate enough to be experimented on, before Rumlow found out.

Not knowing who to trust, Pierce kept you hidden from the world and Hydra. He never hid the truth from you, nor did Rumlow. They knew that, at some point, those that knew about the lab would eventually find you, and you needed to be prepared for when they did.

When SHIELD fell, the paper trail that led to your existence was small – miniscule, even – but it was there. Sam found it, but he kept you a secret as well until you were ready for the whole world to know.

But the world wasn't waiting for you to be ready. It wasn't that patient, nor kind. Because, with everything out in the open, chaos ensued, and you were still – at the end of the day – the next generation. All those assets couldn't remain frozen forever and all those lives that were ruined by Hydra couldn't remain unaided.

So, you had to step out and – begrudgingly – announce your existence to the world. Put a huge target on your back and claim the inheritance that Pierce had unwittingly left you.

"I'm gonna go piss off alot of bad people—" You had said to Sam over the phone, right before your News Interview. "What do you think I should start with?"

He wasn't having any of it. "Did you just wait for me to leave the country so you could do something stupid?"

"Of course not, I'm not you—" You scoffed, checking your outfit again. "—I hired a hacker to fake a series of cyber-attacks. Then I asked that girl, you know – the one that could walk through walls, to freak a bunch of people out. So, you know, it could be an Avenger level threat, but not the kind that needed Captain Spandex, so they'd send you. Then I scheduled the interview for the night of the supposed attack, because I knew you'd be gone—"

"Are you kidding me, Y/N— Clint, turn this thing around now!"

"—So, I was thinking I show up on stage and say 'the law says I can take all those assets and I'm gonna use them to do the exact opposite of what my ex-bosses would've wanted'. How does that sound?"

"Do me a favour. Don't move. I wanna kill you myself."

You grinned. "I knew you'd love it."

--

Next Part

TAGS: @nekoannie-chan​ , @thorfanficwriter​

[marjanefan]

Bewitched, bothered, bewildered- thoughts on‘The trial of Elizabeth Gadge’

’The trial of Elizabeth Gadge’ remains one of the most underrated and under discussed episodes of ‘Inside No.9’. However Reece Shearsmith has said on several occasions that this is one of his favourite episodes and there is much in the episode to enjoy and discuss

The episode concerns the trial of Elizabeth Gadge (Ruth Sheen- more of whom later) for witchcraft in the village of Little Happens at some point of the mid seventeenth century. The trial is overseen by local magistrate Sir Andrew Pike (brilliantly played by David Warner) who has summoned witch finders Mr Warren (Reece Shearsmith) and Mr Clarke (Steve Pemberton)

Please be aware this essay contains spoilers for the episode

NB spoilers for episode below

Before discussing the episode It is worth first looking at why the Seventeenth century was the peak period of witch trials in England, as it was in Europe (and North America later). The reason for this has been argued to be due to the religious and socio-political upheavals of the Reformation, counter reformation and resulting wars of religion and the beginnings of what we understand as the ‘nation state’ of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is worth noting witch trials in England became more common after James I came to power. James I as James VI of Scotland had a fascination with supposed witchcraft, setting up a royal commission into witchcraft, personally overseeing the torture of suspected witches and writing the Daemonologie in 1599 (As an aside-there is an interesting link here to another Inside No.9 episode ‘The Understudy’ which references ‘Macbeth’. Shakespeare included the characters of the three witches and references to witchcraft to specifically appeal to James I). It does not take a psychologist to read that James I’s fascination with /fear of witches may have stemmed from his issues with his mother Mary Queen of Scots because of her Catholic faith and her portrayal as a dangerous woman due to her alleged involvement in the murder of James’ father and the threat that she might one day try and reclaim her throne from James. There has been an argument that one of the factors in the amount of witch trials and number of women convicted in Scotland and England during the period was a result of anxiety around female power after the reigns of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots (and indeed Catherine de Medici in France). Almost 90 % of those executed for witchcraft in England were women- higher than any other European country. Of course it is no coincidence that witch trial numbers were at their highest during the period of the English Civil war and Commonwealth with their social traumas and religious disruptions. As someone with a keen interest in the history of witchcraft Reece Shearsmith would be aware of all of this and it shows in the care and attention to detail in the script. Shearsmith noted that it was predominantly women’s life that were on the line in a recent Guardian article about the inspirations for the episode where he also noted that the inclusion of Snowflake the mouse in the episode was also inspired by reading accounts of these trials.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/apr/24/inside-no-9-bbc-steve-pemberton-reece-shearsmith-inspirations

This may be why seventeenth century witch trials (and witch anxiety) have proved a fruitful source for art during periods of trauma and political repression in the twentieth century. There are the example of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ which uses the Salem witch trials to explore McCartyism and Carl Theodore Dreyer’s ‘Day of Wrath’ which uses the backdrop of seventeenth century witch trials to explore the Nazi occupation of Denmark and oppression of women. The motives and attitudes of those who accuse and punish suspected witches are put on trial as much the accused. This tradition continues with recent films such as the extraordinary 2017 Zambian film ‘I am not a witch’ which explores the ways women and girls around the world still have to deal with accusations of witchcraft and the resulting violence and oppression (as an aside the film also uses humour and surrealism to tackle this topic).

Two particular films have undoubtably had an influence on ‘The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge’. The first is the 1968 Hammer film ‘Witchfinder general’ starring Vincent Price as the real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins. It is revealed Mr Warren’s first name is Matthew, which must be a reference to the film. Like Hopkins, Mr Warren enjoys his work as a witch finder both because it brings him great power over others along with financial gain. Indeed the whole episode pays tribute to the folk horror genre of late 60s early 70s British cinema which both Pemberton and Shearsmith have spoken of as a major influence on their work over their careers. Another film which also has an influence is the 1922 Danish film ‘Haxan’ which Reece Shearsmith has narrated live on more than one occasion. He discussed the film and it’s influence on the episode in a 2018 Guardian article (linked below). One interesting feature of this film is that it uses humour to explore the ridiculous nature of belief in witchcraft. Shearsmith picked up and comments on this.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/08/reece-shearsmith-league-of-gentlemen-interview

Elizabeth Gadge fits the narrative we have had passed down about who the majority of victims of witch trials are. She is an elderly woman who has become ‘surplus’ in her society and an inconvenience to her family , particularly her son in law Thomas Nutter (Jim Howick). She has had to resort to selling herself to Richard Two Shoes (Paul Kaye) in order to pay the rent her son in law insists on charging her. In spite of all this she conducts herself with great dignity during her trial and manages to stand up to Mr Warren making a joke about his beard resembling a woman’s private parts much to the amusement of the court room. Her pleas to both her daughter and Richard Good Shoes to try and save her are genuinely affecting. Ruth Sheen delivers a terrific performance. Reece Shearsmith related in the recent Guardian article she was specifically chosen for the part, and that her performance makes the audience care about her fate.

While the tone of the courtroom scene are played as comic, the scene of Mr Warren’s interrogation are harrowing and illustrate that accusations of witchcraft, however ridiculous they are to us today, led to horrific violence against of thousands of innocent people (these scenes remind me personally of the scenes of the torture of Herlof's Marte in ‘Day of Wrath and of the elderly woman in ‘Haxan- a scene Reece Shearsmith commented on in the Guardian article).

The episode also suggests another reason, not often explored in scholarly literature, for witch trials. Namely entertainment and some sort of attention and distraction from the boredom and drudgery of life in these times. Sir Andrew Pike expresses delight that the trial has brought attention to Little Happens and that the neighbouring town of Much Happens will be envious. He also is pleased the trial could be ‘bigger than Pendle’ (a reference to the infamous Pendle witch trial of 1612). Sir Andrew takes an unhealthy pleasure in proceedings, lapping up the attention and the power he has been given over the life of an elderly woman. He even suggests extending proceedings by trying to accuse Elizabeth Gadge’s daughter. He goes from sentencing Elizabeth to death to advertising tickets for her burning without missing a beat. George Waterhouse, Richard Two-Shoes and Thomas Nutter are all shown to be selfish (and abusive) with their own reasons for wanting Elizabeth out of the way.

Reece Shearsmith obviously enjoyed portraying Mr Warren and he manages to show him as ridicious and vain while being incredibly dangerous and cruel that makes him a truly chilling character. His performance here is one of the most underrated in the series.

One question that I want to explore is why does Elizabeth Gadge kill Mr Clarke after he saves her. Steve Pemberton gives a tremendous performance as Mr Clarke, subtly conveying both his growing distain and concern about the system he is part of and at Mr Warren's behaviour (Reece Shearsmith gave particular praise for Steve's performance on the soundlcoud commentary of the episode and at the BFI screening with Steve returning this praise for Reeces performance as Mr Warren). Mr Clarke may come to realise that the work he is involved leads to the torture and killing of innocent people and how dangerous Mr Warren is. But he himself has benefitted from this system. as he notes. Rather than properly confront and address this system, he chooses to leave it in place and kill his colleague (who presumably was also a good friend at one point as his final words to Mr Warren reveal). He behaves in a highly self -righteous manner about it, asserting he has rid the world of a great evil. He also ensures he gets paid for the trial (I accept he gives Mr Warren’s fee to Elizabeth Gadge). It could be said he portrays himself as a ‘male saviour’ to Elizabeth, underestimating her agency. In his own way, Mr Clarke enjoys the power he has over Elizabeth’s life and sees her as someone who things are done to (even if it is apparently saving her life) just as much as Mr Warren and Sir Andrew. No wonder Elizabeth enjoys dispatching him.

But not only does Elizabeth Gadge avenge herself on Mr Warren and Mr Clarke, she also avenges herself on the village that put her on trial. Her final act before departing is to use the flames from Mr Warren’s pyre to set fire to the gathered crowd and the village. For me the end of this episode could almost said to be an act of vengeance not just on behalf of all the many accused characters (usually female) who usually end up killed in these stories but on behalf of all those killed in the witch trials of this period. This witch was not for burning.

Finally I just want to praise Yves Barre for his wonderful costumes for this episodes. He manages to convey the class system within Little Happens (with Sir Andrew and George Waterhouse being better dressed than most of the village) and his gorgeous costumes for Mr Warren and Mr Clarke convey how well they have done out of being witch hunters financially (their clothes are obviously well made with expensive materials and trimmings) while conveying their ideological commitment (their clothes are black and austere).

As has been noted 'The trial of Elizabeth Gadge' suffered from being the episode that directly followed onn from 'The 12 days of Christine'. However as I have hopefully shown it is an episode which continues in a fine tradition of exploring the witch trials of the seventeenth century and which brings something new and thought provoking to this tradition

[aizawasbedtimestories]

Thanks for the request, I tried to make it more from his view, please enjoy! (I didn’t know if you wanted anything lemon-y, so I didn’t go that far!)

Your steps were delicately small, with so much pride and carefulness, it was so cute. Though you were the one to trespass into his property, Shouta didn’t have the heart to shorten your visit. It was just too amusing to watch you slowly creep through the - mostly dark - castle, that flickering candlestick not giving you much chance to make anything out.

It was adorable, how often you’d turn around, looking around for the steps or the light snicker you thought you heard behind you. Admittedly, he did blow his breath into your neck when you thought you felt a draft. That reaction was priceless and Shouta was tempted to do it again, if not for your rising awareness of him.

So instead, he kept in the dark, watching you as you roamed the many, many bedrooms. He would have shown them to you personally, but you had been very insistent on bringing your gears and some stuff he really couldn’t stand to see or to touch, so he kept away. It didn’t surprise him that you noted all those little details that shouldn’t be, like the perfectly ‘preserved’ wine glass, or the dustfree books in his library.

But you were oh so cute when you kept muttering your theories while inspecting the castle, so how could he have interrupted you. There hadn’t been someone interacting with him - or well, his belongings - for so long, he found himself wondering what you’d find next, almost looking forward to one more hour of you exploring these stone walls.

If only you had not kept shouting his name in these echoing halls. That hurt his ears so much and he couldn’t help getting upset with you a little bit. He was a vampire, not a dog you could call on demand. With a swish of his hand, the candle went out, leaving you in the complete dark. You fumbled helplessly to find some matches and relight the fire, but even though you searched for them with the knowledge that they were there somewhere, he had long taken them away.

Shouta feared that it was time for you to go now. With his irritated hearing now, he also felt the other instincts kicking back in. Though his hearing was still ringing, there was the faintest hint of your beating heart thumping in the back of his mind. His nose could already smell the icky, iron-y scent of your blood which hit him in a disgustingly sweet cloud. You looked even cuter in his night view, especially when you gripped onto your hunter gear so frightened and his claws were reminding him of the monster he was.

“Oh, my little lost kitten...” Shouta purred, approaching you from his hideout. You turned and twisted on your spot instinctively, trying to make out his voice which was played between the walls making it impossible to determine where it was coming from. “Finally you come out of your hiding, vampire!” you yelled into the darkness, but he could see how you gripped your weapon only more tightly in your hands.

The next time he spoke, his voice was much closer. “You’ve come far, I’ll admit it.” You turned to your left, only to look deep into the dark corridor. Next time, you heard him on your right, reading yourself to attack instantly. “But what will you do now?”

“I will kill you! You’ve been terrorizing the city for too long, you dirty monster!”

“I’ve been wondering.” You felt something brush through your hair and you stumbled forward in surprise, losing your footing and crashing into something cold, but rather soft in front of you that kept you from falling. “Did you come here to see what fate has chosen for you?”

Immediately you stepped back again, defensively putting your silver weapon in front of you. You could not pinpoint where he was, yet it frustrated you more that he was playing with you like a cat with a mouse. From one second to the other it got very quiet. There was no sound reaching your ears anymore and you felt yourself relaxing from the tension a little. Your knees were shivering by now and you felt a little like crying. Everything seemed to go way worse than you expected.

Against your own will to challenge the beast and kill him to bring your city peace, you lowered your weapon, quickly retracing the steps you had made. The ticking of an old clock signaled your return to the main hall and you searched for the stairs carefully, taking steps down as quickly as you thought you were capable of. You needed some fresh air, just to clear your mind. Maybe make a new strategy and come back, that would suffice in killing the demon for sure.

You could barely believe your luck as you found your way back to the main entrance, reaching for the doorknob... Only to feel the creaking wood not buckling under your pushes and pulls. “I wonder...” you heard the awful beautiful voice again, quickly turning around and pointing your weapon into the room aimlessly.

With your back against the wall, you felt at least a little bit safe. “Did you come here to challenge your fate...” A smirk was on his lips, not that you could have seen it, but you probably heard it. The only thing that escaped you as you felt a hand closing in around your neck, a cold body coming up next to you, so close, he could whisper in your ear.

“Or did fate give you to me as a present?”

The last thing you heard was the loud clattering of your weapon as it fell to the ground, your knees giving out as you struggled for air, only followed by your darkening consciousness when your resistance had to end finally. Even unconscious, you still looked as beautiful as ever. He would not waste this.

[miikkasakari]

20

And then, at some point, it became apparent that Scott Lang was one of my favourite characters in the MCU, and the fun ride that was Ant-Man and the Wasp helped drive it home.

Ant-Man probably should not work on the big screen; it does largely because even despite all the wacky science it keeps itself grounded. The interpersonal drama is relatively minimal; by the time we’re at its sequel, it’s mostly gone. I mean, yeah, it’s there - Scott betrayed Hope and Hank - but he also has his unconventional family’s full love and support, and when he gets reunited with Hope, it doesn’t take her long to warm back up to him. Because ultimately, he’s still a good, well-meaning person, and she can’t distance herself from him as a means to an end.

It’s Scott being so likeable that makes the entire thing click. His goal is pretty simple, as it has been in most moments we see him: be there for Cassie in whatever way he can. While Maggie and Paxton weren’t trusting of him in the first movie, by the time the second one comes around, even though he’s technically done something so much worse they fully trust him; it’s because he’s made it clear Cassie is his world and he would do anything for her and to ensure her safety. Paxton saw it with his own eyes in the first one. He didn’t just magically get everyone’s trust - he had to earn it back. With his family it was off-screen; with Hope and Hank, it was on-screen.

I really, really love how quickly they’re able to come back together. And one of the highlights of these movies is how unique they can get with battle sequences - and though Ghost’s abilities limited any real battle sequences with her, the effects were extremely cool - and a big part of that is how flexible Scott and Hope can be while teaming up. It’s fun and adds an extra dynamic, both to their relationship and to the overall direction. And I really can’t emphasize it enough: the way they’re able to so quickly fall back into how things first were between them is a genuine delight. They’re partners.

There’s also the whole “Scott is the only good dad in the entire MCU” thing which, really, he is; a great deal of his emotional core focuses on parenting and him acknowledging how he can be a better parent. Cassie adores him and while he’s able to give her as much time as he can he’s also capable of recognizing what it is to be an adult and restrictions he may have to impose on her as an authority figure (i.e. telling her he’d be a terrible parent if he let her go out superheroing at 10). A lot of Scott’s character is played as a joke, but it’s a reminder that he’s an adult and a character who’s more than one-off comedic relief. It’s all through the heart of the movies and it all works so well.

Scott is just such a good, loveable character. That’s also part of what makes the post-credits scene as tragic as it is - because in all likelihood, he’s going through a lot of trauma, too. Who knows what Janet went through while stuck in the quantum realm for 30 years; we don’t yet know how long it will be for Scott but it has to be a combination of abandonment, hopelessness, betrayal, and fear, all oscillating as he has no idea what’s happened. Seeing everyone get dusted in Infinity War was tragic (and the real world implications of it were driven home in the second post-credits scene, it was haunting); seeing a terrible fate befall just one person connects so much more strongly. I was more excited for Endgame after my first showing of Ant-Man and the Wasp than I was after Infinity War precisely because of that end credits scene: I want to know how Scott is affected. I’m sure some of it will be played for jokes, but some of it won’t be. And he’s such a loveable, wholesome character; I want to know how he’s going to deal with all of it, specifically. Everyone else too, but he’s going to be in such a unique situation. The superhero name is silly, but what he can add is massive - and I’m really looking forward to seeing him in a more serious tone, something we haven’t quite had the chance to yet. (There have been moments in his films but the overall tone of them has been joyful, and I love that, I love feeling happy watching them, but hey, something else isn’t bad.)

Speaking of being stuck in the quantum realm: I really appreciate how the MCU has chosen to handle Hank. They’ve completely side-stepped the domestic abuse because it wasn’t possible in this universe, but they still made it clear he’s still Hank: the only people who can stand to work with him are his family (and Scott). The fact that he’s a controlling dick still completely comes through, especially in his arguments with Bill. It’s easy to see why he would get completely on everybody’s nerves and alienate everyone around him; he’s brilliant but who wants to be around that? How does anyone tolerate it? He’s not a bad person but you can see how he could have been.

But I also love how much Hope will always stick by him. She’s very family-oriented: she lost her mom at a young age; she’s not going to lose her dad. And she sees how Scott treats his daughter, probably sees a bit of herself in Cassie, and it helps their relationship as well. When Scott is pleading with Hope and Hank that he has to leave the lab and make sure he’s still at his place when the FBI shows up she’s obviously distraught for a number of reasons but she isn’t going to argue with him having to leave, and I’d think that’s partly because she’s more stressed out about her own situation but also because she’s thinking of Cassie, too. That they all got to have a movie night together at the end was the perfect start for a new, extended branch of this family. The amount everyone in this movie cares for one another - to the point of taking action of making sure that Ava will be okay (and that Ava’s motivation was understandable and they didn’t make her a full-on villain, but really worked well to ensure a grey area with her) - is really touching. The only major conflict was with a corrupt businessman, which we can all agree, yeah, fuck that guy.

Oh, and the constant cat-and-mouse feel of the movie, culminating in a massive three-way chase climax? So much fun, and different than yet another final battle. I don’t even know how long it takes because I don’t feel the need to check the time, it doesn’t drag at all; watching three different parties with warring interests fight over a box is awesome.

But back to Hope for one more point: her fight scenes are the best. Yes, her with Scott together, but also just her. She has a gimmick of course, but she also isn’t super-powered, and that makes them even better to watch. Here’s the first time Marvel has bothered to put a female character in the title of one of its movies, sharing equal billing with a man, and she more than pulls her weight, both in terms of character and action. She’s a woman leading in a comic book movie and she fits in so seamlessly. 

Other than the importance of family and helping people there’s no real underlying message. But the movie manages to juggle so many different plot points - six different directions, with Scott vs. the FBI, Jimmy vs. Scott (and I didn’t even get into Jimmy! But he’s hilarious and it’s the perfect fit for a bit conflict amidst everything else that goes on in this movie), trying to get Janet back, trying to heal Ava, dealing with Sunny, and Luis trying to get his business up and going (and there’s the brief political moment - “do you know how hard it is for ex-cons to get work” - and I’d really love to see how these movies could turn out if played totally straight, because somewhere out there, there’s a version of it that works) - and it never once feels overstretched or too complicated. A bunch of crazy shit happened to four different groups of people all at once and everyone’s dealing and it’s wildly entertaining (not to mention, occasionally, truly hilarious - Scott channeling Janet [and their first meeting! Kind of! Was so sweet!] and Luis’ narration coming back into the fold two of the major highlights).

It’s fun. After all of the surrounding drama, it’s just so much fun. Which is what made the post-credits scene such a shock - of course the movie itself had to stand alone from Infinity War, but there also had to be some kind of connection there - and brought it back out from its own isolated pocket of the MCU. But it’s such a good pocket that it’s going to be really wonderful to see it immersed with everyone else, even if the tone shifts with it.

[khlegacynexus]

So here I am again undertaking a huge story Project for Kingdom Hearts, The Reboot to Legacy if you will. I'm hoping to be much happier with this one.

I own nothing except the stuff I made up!

For Kingdom Hearts' 20th Anniversary

"They can take your world. They can take your Heart. Cut you loose from all you know….But if it's your fate then every step, is a step closer to home."

KINGDOM HEARTS LEGACY

Dive into the Heart

It was a strange dream he had relived memories of that terrible day. Only to be taunted by Kaen his fellow student and Corrum his master. Then he saw a strange girl; after that he fell faster and faster until he hit the water, a fall at that height and speed? It should've ended it all but it didn't he merely sunk into the water, his descent slowing down. The tails of his headband gracefully rippling with the current that bent around him. Eventually he flipped over onto his feet. He was able to breathe. But it was dark all around him.

He lifted one foot and lightly placed it back down only to disturb the doves he had apparently been standing on. Startled he covered his face with his arms shutting his eyes as they all took off feeling a smooth hard surface under him. He watched the Doves take off around him. Once he felt safe enough to open his eyes. He was in awe their pure white feathers stained red from the strange floor below him depicting a young girl around eighteen. With shiny light black hair with simple chiseled gold jewelry and tiara. Gold clips hung a blue cape elegantly from her back. She wore a white dress with a red under dress and simple black pointed shoes.

She was facing forward. There was an elegant horse rearing up behind her with a braided mane of the same color with a blue body cover for it. And for some reason surrounding both were pictures of people Kiro had never seen. One was a boy wearing a bandana tightly over his head. The other was of a portly king with large thick lips half of his face was bald and troll like for some reason. The other two was a slightly older boy with white hair and more narrow eyes belying an agenda under his looks. The other was a large thug like man with a few scars and a pointed helmet. The whole thing had a Red and Orange color scheme. The faces around the horse and girl having been simply line art filled with white. The circles in the barrier had various smiling tear shaped creatures and a small mouse with a Mohawk and tail tip. In the circle at the bottom was the top of a staff; A wooden bird with a crystal orb inside.

"A Power has been laid to rest with in you."

That voice! He knew it! it was one the first he ever heard.

"So much to do, so little time; but don't be afraid you've done this before…. Pick your form so you can regain your strength."

He walked forward appearing on three pedestals, were three weapons he was told about by the King. The Dream Blade the Dream Sword and the Dream Shield. He had made his choice long ago he picked up the staff and held it close. It disappeared within in in a flash of light.

"You've chosen the power of the Mystic; a Power of inner strength, a staff of wonder and ruin. Now what will you give up in exchange?" the boy immediately went over to the shield doing a slight jog in his steps. He picked up the shield and held it up it disappeared from his hands. "You've sacrificed the power of the guardian."

He knew that voice it filled him with sorrow and joy. He was worried he'd never hear that voice again he had wasted three years on his own incompetence. He couldn't keep thinking the whole platform shattered around him he fell. He let out a scream but his voice wouldn't come. He began to float again he could see a sky blue light rest on him tinting him the same color as he fell towards another strange platform.

This one depicted a young girl close to the same age as the one on the last platform wearing a white dress with a simple green pendant around her neck. She stood almost facing entirely to the side to the right. She had light orange hair up in a ponytail with a few strands hanging down and aqua colored eyes. There was a strange corridor behind her in the smaller circle. The Outer Circle the bottom had different forms a ship the rest had various shells that seem have different colors on them. In the smallest upper circle around her head were a boy with a headband and spikey hair. A girl with a helmet and glasses a Robot a humanoid frog and a woman with long curly hair and fierce looking eyes. Then a dark looking man, with pointed ears and slicked back hair. All of them like the last set on the last platform were line art filled with a pale gold. In the rim going into a pattern were water droplets and crossbows.

Appearing before him were three strange windows. They depicted a figure with a large shield defending others. The one was of one with a sword holding it high above his head. Then the third on the far right was of one meditating with magic around it.

"You must pick a path. Which one bests suits you?" The boy nodded and walked forward. He tapped the one with the meditating figure. "The Path of Wisdom, Is this your choice?" The boy nods he felt that power pour into him. as he did a bridge appeared. It was glass set of different colored platforms. He crossed it.

The Next one was of a girl with long purplish black hair which was flying out to the side from her fighting stance. Her eyes were closed but she still looked intense and focused. Like the first platform she was standing straight forward. She wore a long sleeved jacket with grey hood and sleeves and the rest purple with blue purple pants with a strap and small bag on her right leg both of which were spread out. One hand was out and flat the other was in a fist. There was a village or town of small kind in the circle behind her. The Rim had leaf shapes down one side and Ying-Yang symbols surrounded by line patterns on the other.

Surrounding the girls head were a boy with spiky hair and a large grin that reminded him of his father. With whisker markings, there was another boy and a man with similar hair but the man had his slicked back. Both had large empty eyes, were they blind? There was a boy with dark hair and fang tattoos on his cheeks with a large dog with dark ears and finally a boy in a hood with his eyes and face covered. Appearing before him were three boys one wearing Japanese style pants topped with a brown and gold rimmed duster. With a dark blue rimmed in red sleeveless shirt with cloth gauntlets with bits of armor and a Keyblade apprentice seal for a pant buckle. He had semi long blue and brown hair that went past his shoulders a little when let down but he had it tied in a ponytail.

The other boy was his age with a green bandana around his neck his skin a pale tan color with bright brown eyes and fawn colored hair. He worse brown pants with dark fawn and green pin stripes edging zippers on his pockets and pant cuffs Buckled boots and a light green and brown vest with a large zipper in the middle. His gloves were simple black and sleeveless with a metal bumpy disk on the back of the hand. His right wrist had a bit of navy gold and silver armor.

The Third and final boy had tanned skin with blonde windswept hair a few large chunks draping around his shoulder and head the others curving around the back of his head. He had angular light blue eyes. He was wearing a yellow, blue and grey vest with a black checkered pattern around the bottom. He had yellow and grey shoes with a light blue bubble inside. Around his wrists were small belts. Kiro ran up to them making contact with the Fawnette.

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked.

The Red headed boy Kiro, Thought for a moment before sighing. "Causing someone to be hurt; Part of me thinks it's already happened…." That boy had disappeared. The Blonde then spoke up.

"What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?" Kiro knew these questions were part of the process. His answers had changed the first time he did this though the first question was 'what, do you want out of life.' To which he answered 'To do my loved ones proud. And be a great hero like my father.' Back to this new question he thought for a bit before answering.

"My closest loved ones." He answered assuredly. This boy disappeared as well he turned to the oldest.

"Kiro what do you wish?" he asked. Kiro sighed and thought for a moment again. "I wish to recover, something important." He disappeared.

"There will be times you have to fight." The voice said as bits of darkness gathered up behind him. "Behind, you," The voice cried. Kiro quickly turned and slashed expertly at one of the Heartless the other two backed off a bit before bunching up they twisted and changed shape to something that made Kiro's blood run ice cold. It had, become a shadowy version of himself! It summoned a shadow version of his own Keyblade.

Kiro summoned his own Keyblade Legacy of Light. It had a long silver blade with hook like teeth on the end. There was a rectangular bump near the tip of the hook. Both were connected by a strip of gold going around the negative space which was in the shape of a heart. The shaft and handle were gold with a pointed bottom. The middle of the shaft was simply a red cloth tied in a knot sticking through the hole with two ties sticking out. The top half of the handle was white wings tipped with a gradient of red green and blue going down the tips of the feathers. The bottom half was swirling water. The Keychain was a small rope with a heart made-up with half water half cloud.

He dodged out of the way of an attack he blocked with a barrier as it launched various spells. Kiro felt mana tingling throughout him he knew this spell. He charged it up.

"Yes you know this, you're talented at this!" The voice cheered. Kiro's heart flew a little bit the first bit of praise of any skill he had in the past three years. Kiro cried out his mouth moving to the syllables. "Thunder!" Kiro shouted electrocuting the fake him. He rushed forward and slashed at it. It staggered back before Kiro plunged the blade into its chest. The Heartless went limp As Kiro pulled his Keyblade away and watched it fall onto his back before bursting into Darkness that threatened to cover the entire platform he backed away in fear. Seeing more of those platforms appear. He ran up them passing a white stained glass platform.

It was of a lady standing facing slightly to the left. She had brown hair two large buns on each side her eyes were closed one hand over her heart another resting at her side. Her dress was a simple white baggy gown with large sleeves and a belt with a gun attached to it. Which Kiro found a bit odd. Around her was a man with a goatee. There was a young boy about her age and a metal looking man in armor their backs turned to her as if they were important but didn't know her connection to them. There was a fish like alien as well; Kiro noticed a couple of blank circles as if waiting to be filled; a starry night sky with a large planet filled the smaller circle behind her; then in the rim. Was a crest moon spreading wide sitting on its back with a fleur de lures sprouting from the middle; the people were line art; With silver filling, with the symbols being white, as he ran up the stairs.

The Next one was green depicting a girl with pointed ears and blonde hair wearing a blue dress rimmed in gold with a large gold pattern adorning the middle. Dark regal red underneath showing in the large sleeves and high collar; There was a curly pattern on the large blue sleeves accompanying the white ones that were also gloves with a gold tipped middle finger that stuck tightly to her arms that accompanied the white bodice underneath. She also had a gold crown. Her hands were tightly interwoven with each other in a prayer. Her head was down eyes closed showing off the small tiara with three red jewels in the center. There was a woman and a young man with his hair in a ponytail on each side of her in the smaller circles. The other three had a large stone monster looking man with large bushy hair and beard. A Smug looking bird and a princess who looked like a more fish-esque mermaid in jewelry of her own; The Rim around it was full of triangle patterns in a circle with a fourth one in the negative space. In the smaller circle behind her was the ruined castle.

As he passed up the next flight of stairs, which were shattering behind him he could feel the tremors chasing after him in his feet. He jumped onto a yellow platform depicting a young Native woman wearing a Red jacket with a black t-shirt underneath form fitting blue jeans and black boots; her very dark almost black blue hair hanging elegantly from her head. She was looking up from the side with her eyes closed in the middle. To her back was a large gargoyle with a brown loin cloth and dark hair his wings curled around him like a cloak. There were a few other Gargoyles in the small circles around their head a small clock tower dwarfed by towering buildings in the smaller circle behind them with various things like more gargoyles and strange items adorning the circles in the rim. Kiro stopped to stare up at the light. But the closer he got to the light the greater his shadow became. Growing from it to his horror matching his movements like a mirror was a Dark side Heartless. He ran only to stop himself from falling at the edge. He couldn't run he wasn't going to be a coward. He turned back to the giant Heartless. He rushed at it slashing at its wrist rapidly throwing a few thunder spells in as the Heartless gathered power.

It lifted up its arm in a ready to strike motion tightening itself into a fist. The Dark Side slammed it's fist down and struck the ground head creating a pool of Darkness. Smaller Heartless came out which Kiro quickly took out. But he remembered being told that that puddle would make more he had to cause more damage fast. He summoned all his stored power and his Keyblade changed transforming into a large Bow one side a large white colored tipped wing and the other half a large stream of swirling water. That he immediately took aim with. He charged a Thunder Arrow in the small string with the gold and silver heart sight. His bright blue eyes; focused as electricity crackled in his ear the sound instantly deafening as he let it go. The Bolt struck the Heartless right in the middle of its forehead shutting down the pool of darkness. It staggered a bit before falling forward. Kiro slashed at its face doing massive damage.

The Heartless got back up batting him away. He almost fell off the cliff but quickly pulled himself up launching a powerful thunder spell at his head to blind the Heartless as it tried to charge again. Then he ran up and slashed its wrist hard before summoning a staff version of his Keyblade. It had a silver handle with the wings curled around the cloth which was now fitted into the heart shapped negative space with the ties becoming larger and curling up with the water surging around the bottom of the handle.

Kiro focused his magic energy as hard as he could and launched a barrage of magic bolts that seemed to land a powerful blow on the Heartless it slumped over Kiro tried to get out of the way but it turned into an inky wave of suffocating darkness that swallowed him.

"Run Kiro…..run far away from that man….you must….find…" Kiro tried to hear more but the world was fading around him as he sunk as if someone was shutting him out. He woke up with a start and realized. Corrum had stolen his power again. He growled in frustration burying his face in his hands in sadness if he couldn't pull what he had to do today off. He would be belittled for months!

Special attacks and Spells

Thunder: Calls lightning bolts down to zap enemies. In a small radias.

Keyblade: Legacy of Light: Kiro's Keyblade, One that has might in magic and allows Kiro to fight with Magic with much of his stamina

Strength: - 1

Magic: +4

Ability: MP Haste

Transformations

Shield: If Kiro preforms a string of Physical attacks. He can activate this form.

Staff: Kiro using magic constantly will activate this form.

Bow: Using Situation commands from either the first two transformations will trigger this.

Finishers

Bow-Prism Hail: Shoots a bright multicolored light into the sky. That explodes into a rain of light damaging enemies.

Shield-Magnet Frisbee: Throws the Shield into the middle of the fight or arena pulling in nearby enemies and grinding them for damage.

Staff-Magic Blast: Unleashes a magical explosion that hits all enemies close by. Kills weaker enemies leaves surviving stronger ones confused.

Okay so like Sora in a Cut scene in KH3 Specifically one in Fransokyo. Kiro can technically choose between which transformation he wants but I'm explaining how they would be activated in game I also decided to go back to Keyblades that hinder stats like in KH1 Not all of them will do this but I think would mix things up a bit make you think about how each Keyblade is supposed to be used if this were a game. And be more unique on whether they are balanced or lean towards Strength more magic, like How Legacy of Light leans towards Magic. Those girls I mentioned. Let me know if you know who they are. Also, I referenced seven strong, female characters or six at least. Take that Kennedy miss there has never been a strong female character prior to Rey Palpatine!

Also that quote from KH3 according to Nomura its Sora reflecting on the events of the Events of the Keyblade Graveyard after said events. Probably before he was Isekaied most likely extremely painfully by an extremely ungrateful universe and turned into crystal by not-Noctis! I thought they'd be good arc words for this story like the letter was for KH 1 and 2

Also the first few chapters will be posted weekly because it's too much for everyone to Read at once.

READ AND REVIEW!

[merigreenleaf]

Unexpected Inspiration: Short Stories

This is a list of the short stories I’ve written about the characters in my lighthearted lgbt+ fantasy series Unexpected Inspiration. Each story involves friendship or cute love, intermixed with magic, mischief, and dorks aplenty! If you’d like to learn more, you can find info posts here for the main characters and here for the series.

These short stories are listed newest to oldest, so my most recent are at the top. I’ll edit this post as more stories are added. I’ll also put the list under a read more in case anyone wants to reblog it. :)

“Someday They'll See” (on tumblr) - Love helps an imp to see that he's more than what people think. POV: Other

“Bottled Spirits” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Three friends have an encounter with a ghost. POV: Ametrine

“Family of the Heart” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Sometimes a fake family can be a real family. POV: Adair

“Roasted” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - An insult contest gets out of hand. POV: Dray

“Tranquility” (on tumblr) - Two healers in two different worlds come to terms with tranquility– or lack thereof. POV: Other

“Poisonous” (on tumblr and my website) - Adair and Blythe learn why Etri keeps referring to them as mushrooms. POV: Adair

"Stuck With You" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11) - A platonic soulmate AU series told in multiple parts with each chapter/scene from a different character's POV. POV: All

"This For That (Re)Quest" (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - One simple request sends Adair on an adventure. POV: Adair

“Rooftop Reprised” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - The trio gets a second chance at their first date. POV: Etri

“A Glimpse of the Past” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A telepath's magic forces her to relive one of her own memories. POV: Blythe

“Is This Closet Mine or Yours?” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A look inside the daily life of some dorks-- cats, pencils, arguments, and all. POV: Blythe

“Adair’s Domestic Fluff” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - aka “Extreme Makeover Home Dork Edition” POV: Adair

“A Surprise Gift” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Blythe is given a new special memory. POV: Blythe

“Spirits by the Campfire” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Is the new boy a ghost or is he just goth? POV: Blythe

“Secret Shadow” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A new friend introduces itself to a lonely girl. POV: Rosalie

“All Washed Up” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Revenge is a dish best served soaking wet. POV: Dray

“Change of Choice” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - If Adair’s choice had been different, would the chosen be changed? And why does an artist need a room full of spoons, anyway? POV: Adair

“The Shrine” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A familiar face is discovered at the center of a stranger’s altar. POV: Blythe

“Sheltered” (on tumblr and my website) - Adair wakes up and finds that he has been left alone. He’s not happy about this. POV: Adair

“Of Parties and Potions” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A mischievous scheme causes chaos at a costume party. The healer enlists the help of a cat and a mouse to right a lizard’s wrong. POV: Blythe

“Lost and Found” (on tumblr and my website) - Sure, blame the newcomer when your stuff goes missing. That won’t come back to bite you. POV: Dray

“Soul-Marks” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - It would help if anyone ever went by their real name. (Every writer writes a cheesy soulmate AU at some point. This is mine.) POV: Adair, Blythe, Etri

“Mile Long Cow” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Some myths and legends go back centuries. This one goes back five minutes and you’ll probably want that five minutes back. POV: Adair

“Rising to a Challenge” (on tumblr, my website and Wattpad) - A young arcane chef regrets her decisions and wonders if her restaurant is cursed. POV: Nina

“A New Beginning” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - A would-be thief gets offered a job after a strange blue woman catches him. POV: Etri

“Who Picked Whom” (on tumblr and my website) - The trio reflects on fate being weird. This never should have happened. POV: Adair, Blythe, Etri

“Three Keys” (on tumblr, my website, and Wattpad) - Friendship, trust, and keys. Sweetness abounds. POV: Blythe, Etri

(The oldest stories were written years ago and may no longer be completely accurate to the characters, book plots, or world building. A lot has changed since I wrote the first ones in '15!)

[webwych]

This is your Han Solo now ...

So we had the first as-yet-untitled-Han Solo project cast photo this week, wow, the “SW” Facebook page deteriorated into the childish and moronic “if you don’t want this; you’re not a fan” generation-gap mentality argument pretty damn quickly.

I don’t know how alone I am in this, but being one of the people who were part of the last Lucasfilm/fan focus group; I, at least, can say that I have pretty much directly told Lucasfilm in no uncertain terms what I thought of this particular project and I assure you that my comments were not very pretty and, in my opinion, rather scathing.  I must state for all purposes that I did that knowing that the “go/no-go” point to have this project green lit was at least 18 months ago and understand that anything I had to say had absolutely no effect on the outcome.

I can see that this film has currently split the fandom somewhat evenly, but I think the “don’t want” have the edge for the time being.  I know that there will be fans who are not happy about this project now who will be swept up in the coming months as more BTS shots are released, and there might be a “something” at this year’s Celebration to give buzz about, and there are many fans are looking forward to it.  Yes, there will also be those fans who will see it 6 times (at least) and whom will take to the myriad of social media platforms to tell just everyone who watches or listens or reads just how much they hated it every single time they saw it.  

But is this project a good idea – no, it is not.  Personally, for those of us who continue to feel Solo’s fate in TFA deeply, simply have not been allowed to grieve by Disney/Lucasfilm and this as-yet-untitled-Han Solo project does very much feel like the character is barely cold in his grave and we are being presented with a new step-father and told to call him “daddy”.  OK, that’s probably a bit too Drama Queen-y, but, gorramit, it’s how I feel.

These standalone projects highlight Disney’s business model need for this franchise - a “SW” film every year ad infinitum.  They are also, unfortunately, the embodiment of Lucas’ extremely ill chosen and inelegant analogy made during his Charlie Rose interview in 2015.  However, the decision for the return to the May release date is in itself fascinating (for those of you interested in the business of distribution) as it actually doesn’t give the title the potential longevity of theatrical release as keeping the mid-December date does, but hey; that’s likely to be all about getting it onto the home entertainment market ASAP to recoup that ROI, but I digress ... Would it have been better if the decision had been made to simply find a new director for the Boba Fett project and proceed with that?  Yes and no.

I say yes, because following the character’s somewhat gauche exit in ROTJ, Boba Fett’s “myth” has become even more entrenched especially being one of the remarkably few (and I am counting the fingers on one hand) OT characters that has a rich (read cinematic) backstory exploitation potential. And, hey, his costume’s, like, really cool!

I say no, because it doesn’t take away the “meat-grinder” element of what this fandom has to now accept.   And those canon novels, comics and video games will simply not write themselves.

As a 1 of those characters ripe for cinematic exploitation – Han Solo has it all.  Being the eldest of the original OT triumvirate, his backstory is an untapped source, which if handled correctly, could go for more than 1 film (and I don’t care what Hidalgo vehemently countered last year on his Twitter regarding the “news” of possibly more than 1 Han Solo film; potential further Solo sequels or similar is likely to have been considered due to Disney’s business model and the last thing the studio want is to keep negotiating with Alden Ehrenreich’s reps especially as this could open big enough).   Considering the career that Harrison Ford went on to have; Solo has audience brand awareness like you wouldn’t believe and is consistently voted as The Favourite “SW” CharacterTM.  This was very much put to maximum use for TFA when that film was sold to the general public on Ford’s back.  

Disney, like all companies, has its shareholder obligations and therefore quarterly projections to meet.  And I have no doubt whatsoever, that numbers have already been run for this as-yet-untitled Han Solo offering (but please, indulge me a second time while I contribute some title suggestions:  “21 Jump Falcon” or “48 Parsecs” or tapping into Kennedy’s western idea, “Butch Calrissian and the Sundance Solo” or maybe it should just be “Firefly” …  Oh, wait, that last 1 already happened, didn’t it?) so there’s an idea of possible BO both domestic and worldwide that will be gaining traction within the Mouse House.    Just add the audience …

As a Han Solo/Harrison Ford fan for 4 decades I have a number of issues with this as-yet-untitled-Han Solo project (bet you’re surprised by that, huh?)  The primary one is this:  Following the events regarding this character in TFA, why on Earth would I, as a consumer, want to buy into a Han Solo film, especially when it has been written by 2 of the architects of the character’s fate and personality in TFA?

I was never a particular fan of the former EU, so I never bought into the Han/Leia white picket fence around the Millennium Falcon scenario as was presented.  But I most definitively do not buy into the never around father and husband as presented by J J Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan in TFA (which is being currently cemented by both Chuck Wendig and Claudia Gray into a man who felt confined in his relationship and impending fatherhood, more interested in racing and general itchy-feet in their “canon” novels) as it would appear that their Han Solo remained as we first met him in ANH.  My Han Solo grew up without knowing who his parents were, very much lived a hand-to-mouth existence on whatever planet’s streets – an “SW” version of the Artful Dodger if you will, and yet was able to pull himself out of wherever to make it to the Imperial Navy to pursue a dream.   I, personally, have great difficulty in acknowledging how that Han Solo would condone his child to a similarly emotionally difficult life.  Han Solo was at that point in ANH and by the end of ROTJ, he’d found enduring friendship (the people he’d dismissed at the beginning rescued him at great danger to themselves), companionship (he’d developed love) and a sense of belonging (he stayed with the Rebellion – yes, in the beginning it was likely for ulterior motives, but not by the closing shots of ROTJ) – that is a character arc which someone who has experienced the worst that life could throw their way would not easily give up.  As it stands, for me, the Han Solo of TFA is tantamount to character assassination solely for our leisure cash.

Of course, I understand that the Han Solo we will be presented with in the as-yet-untitled-Han Solo project will be the Han of ANH as the Messer’s Kasdan can put the character in more thrilling situations, and minus Leia, give him a passing, but no doubt intense love interest.  But we’ve seen how this character’s story ends - being callously murdered for narrative purposes on the modern screenwriting altar of cheap audience manipulation; so, again, why should I spend my hard earned money on this?  And anyway, with Woody Harrelson admitting that his character’s name is Garris Shrike, I can only wonder just how much of this film will be owe to A C Crispin’s 1997 Han Solo trilogy novels (yes, OK, former EU has no place …  Right …) The very sad thing is that if this film has scenarios recognizable to her novels there is likely to be no credit for Ms Crispin which is beyond awful while the Messer’s Kasdan will call it their own work.

The last fan focus group survey was about this project and it would appear that I was one of very, very few people who actually knew who Ehrenreich is and could recognise a photo of him.  I have seen his performance in “HAIL, CAESAR!” and enjoyed it; in fact it was of a standard that I would expect of a Coen Brothers production, so do I think he will give a poor performance?  Most definitely not; but his Han Solo will not be my Han Solo and creatives/business involved in this ignore that at their error.

Rightly or wrongly, I feel that a lot of this has to be with clearing the copyright decks of Lucas’ vision (and again whatever you think of Lucas IN THE SLIGHTEST; you feel it BECAUSE you bought into his original creation) and as I’ve stated earlier, there is an element of churning out product.  I am of a certain age where I feel that quality is superior to quantity, but I also accept that there are fans (regardless of age) who are extremely happy with the thought of a film every year ad infinitum and all good luck to you.  If your question is do I think it will be a bad film?  No; no it will not, no one spends the money these days on film production expecting to make a bad film!

Once upon a time, the former EU evolved from the foundation of the OT and weaved its own path for 6 years until the announcement was made in ‘96/97 regarding the PT.  By 2005, Lucas expressed that in his opinion there were 3 streams for “SW”:  The films which was his vision and which were canon (just think, kids, there was a time when if it wasn’t on screen it simply wasn’t canon); then there was the merchandise, which included the EU, comics, etc; and lastly there was ours, the fans’, “SW” – and none of those necessarily met in a neat junction, but all ran parallel with the films trumping everything, and Lucas (whether you remain supportive or dismissive) very much recognized that, and as long as the fandom played that game, acknowledged the fandom in a manner in which no other entertainment producing entity every has or is likely to again.

The last word I have to make regarding this as-of-yet-untitled Han Solo project is this:  I can not wait for the utterly ridiculous blustering explanation that will come from Pablo Hidalgo and the Lucasfilm Story Group either in a direct social media proclamation or a canon novel which addresses how a mature adult male in his mid-20s grew 5 inches by the time that mature adult male was in his mid-30s or will that physical element simply be part of the “this is your Han Solo now” mentality?

[fictionalfriction]

The Assasin

Fandom: Marvel Universe Characters: Natasha Romanov|Black Widow, Clint Barton|Hawkeye,  Phil   Coulson 

Summary: The Black Widow was brought in from the cold with some help from Clint Barton. Her Red Room training had her waiting for some dire punishment to befall Clint for disobeying orders. Cue Clint and Coulson showing her that the good guys do not kill or injure their agents over disobedience. (And perhaps they have just a closer relationship then coworkers.)

(I have decided to make it into a series.)

Natalia Romanova was not unobservant. She was an agent of the Red Room and her skills were best described as ‘deadly’. She had her charm and allure; like a spider, she lured targets into her web and annihilate them, sucking them dry of information or disposing of them if necessary. Thing is, she was resilient like a spider too. Observe any spider and you will realized that just hours after its webs were destroyed, it would have built itself a complete new onw.

Such was the Black Widow. She was an independent operator, only needing to return after a mission to receive another mission. If she was injured or compromised, she was expected to retreat and after that, to rebuilt her web. Failure was not within contemplation. Any hints of weakness was a death sentence in the Red Room and she did not want to die.

Still, she was very tired. So very tired. Although she looked and moved as though she was in her twenties, she was in fact much older. Much like the Winter Soldier, she had been put into cryo-freeze (storage) when her particular skill set was not needed. In recent years though, with the collapse of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, her skills had become much more important. She had been thawed. She never knew what she exactly was nor who her masters were. She was but a gun they point at targets and shoot.

Perhaps this was why on that fateful mission she had deliberately slipped up. Natalia had let herself be photographed by an ATM camera (predictable, she could have avoided the camera with just a slight turning of the body). She knew full well that no one from the Red Room will come after her to collect her. It had always been the understanding that you pay for your mistake with your life. Or not.

She waited to see who will show up. Natalia Romanova was not a a fool. She knew her exploits as the Black Widow would have attracted the attention of interested forces around the world. Her next step depended on who found her. 

She did not have to wait long. Less than 24 hours later, Natalia found someone on her tail. She waited a bit, played a little mouse-and-cat with them, nearly got caught and found out they are SHIELD.

Natalia cocked her head, trying to puzzle out whether it was ok to go ahead with her plan using SHIELD. There had been two of them, a stocky man with muscular arms and a man so bland and boring that she had difficulty remembering him. Yes, she decide, SHIELD can do the job. They have ridiculously strict rules of ethics.

She left a very light trail, leading them to an old disused training bunker of the Red Room. The very bunker she had first trained in in fact. It had felt fitting, ending in the place she began.

But the stocky guy surprised her. She looked up at him (of course she knew where he was) and minutes later he was disarming his rifle and throwing away his comms. Then he was climbing down off the ‘nest’ and trying to convince her to go back with him to SHIELD.

No, she thinks. It is a trap. “Yes, I will go back with you, Clint Barton,” is what she said instead. She was drained. If he was not willing to kill her, then she will follow him back to his agency.

It was only later that she found out that his handler, the unassuming guy in the off-the-rack suit, was angry at Barton because he had not followed orders. He had ‘gone rogue’ in trying to bring her to SHIELD.

Natasha Romanov (the Anglicized version of her name she had chosen) then spent few tense weeks waiting for the punishment to be handed down. She wasn’t sure how bad it would be or how she could save Barton (Clint, her mind said), but she knew that it would be a harsh punishment. In the Red Room. operatives do not go off on their own jaunts as they liked and she couldn’t imagine SHIELD being any much different in that respect. They were militiarized as well.

She waited. And waited. Still there was no news of punishment. When one month had passed, she went to ask Barton. Even the most incompetent Red Room handler would have already handed down punishment due after one month. 

Natasha found Barton easily enough in the lounge room (why would SHIELD prepare such a room? It is so wasteful, neither useful for training or otherwise, only consisting of a television and soft couches). For once, he wasn’t on the range. For some inexplicable reason, he was banned from the range for more than two hours for three months. Enough time to practice but not so much to enjoy. She wondered at that.

“Barton,” she said once she sneaked up on him “EEEEK!” The man jumped three feet into the air. “Gods, Romanov! You scared the shit out of me. Call me Clint, I am only Barton when it is formal or when I am in deep shit,” he grinned, putting aside the stick and string that he had been trying to fashion a bow out of. “Clint. What is your punishment?” Natasha would not be deterred from her question.

“Punishment?” Clint looked bewildered. “Had I done something again? I am pretty sure I had not done anything recently?” “Don’t play ignorance, Clint. Your punishment for not obeying your handler,” Natasha said (she definitely did not growl). “Huh? What?” Clint looked honestly confused and now she was confused too. Had the rumours been wrong then?

“Have you been disobeying me again, Barton?” Natasha did not startled at the voice appearing behind them (okay, she might have had a small flinch). She whipped around and saw the man from the bunker. The unassuming man. Clint’s handler. Coulson.

Natasha did not speak, rather she observed Coulson. Same off-the-rack suit, same boring glasses, same boring hair cut, same unassuming air that made it so easy for the man to slip into places unnoticed.

“No sir, i don’t think so?” Natasha realized that both men were looking at her. “I was talking about Barton’s punishment when he went against orders to shoot me.” In for a penny in for a pound. Natasha took an imperceptible deep breath and continued, “I volunteer to take his place in lieu of the punishmen, sir.”

“Oh,” Clint appeared flabbergasted. “Oh indeed,” Coulson said, his eyes narrowed. “Agent Romanov, I must inform you that your concern, although justified, is unfounded. Barton has been punished and unfortunately that punishment is not something anyone can help him with.” 

“Barton had been punished?” she asked, feeling as though she was in a dream. “Yeah, Romanov! I had been suspended for a month and I have lost all range privileges for THREE months!”Clint moaned dramatically. “And that’s all?” she asked, incredulous. So light a punishment for so serious a breach!

“That’s all for this time. Next time, Barton will not be so lucky.” Coulson looked up at her and gave her a small smile as though he had guessed her thoughts. Perhaps he did; after all, he had her file. “If that’s all, Agent Romanov. I will be taking Barton with me. He has paperwork he had misfiled and mis-filled from at least 5 months ago.”

“Aww paperwork, no!” Clint groaned but with a glance from Coulson, he rolled off the couch and made to follow him. Natasha watched them walking out of the room together, trying to make sense of the new world she was in.

Then she saw it, the way Clint’s eyes keep straying to Coulson and lighting up with delight; the way Coulson unconsciously turned towards Clint while walking. Do they know of it, she wondered. Unlikely, she thought to herself. Otherwise, it was unlikely that she would have seen any of the tells. Both men were jealously guarded of their privacy and would not have allowed their lovelife to become common knowledge.Of course, the fact that only the Black Widow would notice did not make any difference. Very well the, she shall keep her eyes peeled for the developments.

In Coulson’s office, Clint starfished out on the couch pushed to one side. “You gonna recommend her to our team, Coulson?” he asked languidly. He knew the answer before Coulson confirmed it for him. “Yes, her skill set would be highly beneficial to the team I want to set up,” Coulson replied, not even lifting his head from his paperwork. They have a familiarity cultivated from years of teamwork. In fact, they have worked together exclusively as handler and agent for almost three years, starting from the day that Coulson had picked him out of the probies’ training class.

At that time, Coulson had had a pretty good team and adding Clint had only increaseed their efficiency. They did so well that the members of the team were gradually tapped for other vital positions until it is just him and Coulson from their original team. Clint knew Coulson had wanted to put together a team again, only he want to pick them out himself this time ‘round. Still, he had been around the man long enough to known when an asset may attract or repulse the man.

Clint was broken from his musings when Coulson said, “I had just completed Form 101(B) to requisition another specialist. I am going up to meet Fury. You finish up your stack of paperwork before lunch. After that, you can use the range for 2 hours.” With that, Phil left the room to meet Director Fury to request a team member.

Clint stared after the man in dismay.Then he turned his attention onto the stack of the computer printouts. Resigned, Clint began to fill out the forms. However, he knew for sure that they will have a new team member by the end of the week. Coulson was just that good.

[inexpensiveprogress]

Sicilian Carts (Pimp my ride).

Here is a essay on Sicilian Carts. It is from a short lived art journal called Arts and Crafts 'A monthly review' edited by Herbert Furst, and then Wilfred Lewis Hanchant. It ran from between 1927-1929.

What is interesting is the essay is by Claudia Guercio, who later became Claudia Freedman. Claudia was born in Formby, Liverpool and studied at the local art school before going to the Royal College of Art. There she met and married Barnett Freedman.

It can be a bit rambling but I think it is worth a read and Claudia also mentions her beloved Sicilian Puppets.

Sicilian Carts by Claudia Guercio

One of the most outstanding features of Sicilian life, in the eyes of any foreigner visiting Sicily for the first time, are the carts used by the peasants of that country. As the carts used in Palermo, the capital of the island, are supposed to be without parallel it is of them we shall speak the writer happens to have lived many years in Palermo and is well acquainted with the carts to be seen there and in the surrounding countryside. They are just the ordinary working carts, used by the proprietors of orange and lemonade orchards in the country to carry their fruit to market in the towns, used by the charcoal sellers and the peddlers of fruit and vegetables, who go their rounds in the morning through alleys and by-streets. These beautifully painted carts are used for even humbler purposes, great loads of seaweed are carried away in them from the sea-shores and loads of stones from the quarries. They are mostly drawn by mules and donkeys, as those are found to be the hardiest animals for that work, though horses of the Sicilian breed  are also used. 

One of those most remarkable things about these carts is that their shape is of the most primitive and utilitarian kind, and yet, they are enriched in all parts with the most exquisite carvings and imaginative paintings. The pattern is always the same though the subjects of the paintings and the details vary.: two panels of painting on each side and the axel is elaborated with wind wood carvings and iron work, all painted in bright colours, and sometimes another strip of similar work hands, like a curtain, from the back of the cart. The four panels of figure painting - two on each side of the art - are illustrations of all kinds of historic and legendary subjects, and they are placed, like pictures in a framework of carved and painted wood, which form the two sides of the cart.

Among the legendary subjects thew favourite ones are: the episode of Rinaldo and Armida, from Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered"; Roland at Ronceveaux; Oliver's Duel; Charlemagne and his Peers, and Angelica at Paris - (an episode from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso.") There are also paintings on the carts whose inspiration comes from such far sources as Greek history and mythology; such as the burning of Troy, the Trojan Horse, and the Rape of Europa! Among the historic subjects the favourites are the Coronation of King Roger - episodes from the Norman Conquest of Sicily, the Retreat from Moscow and pictures of Napoleon III: all derived from more or less authentic sources. 

Sometimes the paintings are of a religious kind; and there are also more familiar subjects such as attacks of brigands and family pictures. The subjects of these paintings are usually chosen by the owners of the cart. What must seem most wonderful to the foreigner is the surprising knowledge of such a variety of legends and historical anecdotes on the part of what are often quite illiterate people. But their two great sources of information are the Marionette theatres and the old Sicilian "contastorie"

In the Marionette theatres, for a few soldi, one can see enacted by puppets - on a diminutive stage - the whole epic of Charlemagne, to the accompaniment of a barrel organ - and with loud comments from the spectators, who become as a rule, excited to the point of jumping onto the stage to fight Orlando's battles for him! This, and the "contastori" who still goes his rounds in the old parts of the town - and relates, in the Sicilian dialect, and after his own fashion the great deeds of Paladins of France - to an audience of men and boys, who belong to the peasant class of Sicily, are their two great sources of information.

The carvings underneath the cart, round the axle, are often a strange medley of religious and profane subjects. Two little fat men with a big barrel of wine are found, for instance, carved underneath the outspread wings of an angel blowing a trumpet; and the Madonna and Child are surrounded by carvings of grotesque figures, and fantastic leaves and flowers. But all these carvings, whatever the subject of them may be, are executed with refinement and beautifully painted, and they are nearly all so miniature as to be visible only on close inspection. One can surely say that the makers of these Sicilian carts are true artists, for they lavish their skill and imaginative genius on even those sections of the cart which are almost completely hidden from view; and one feels they work for the sake of their art rather than for the effect their skill can produce on the outside world.

Even the wheels are delicately painted, and the spokes have little carvings on them, though these sections of the artist's work are always fated to disappear under coatings of dust and mud after the cart has been in use for a short period.  The shafts are also carved and painted, and now that I speak of them, I must say something about the trappings and harness on the horse which goes between them. Even on working days the horses, mules, or donkeys of the Sicilian carters, have something gorgeous and fantastic about their harness, even if it is only a bunch of scarlet plumes on their heads and a few circular pieces of mirror, set, like jewels, in the leather of their harness - or a piece of red ribbon tied on to one ear!

These are supposed to be charms - efficient in warding off the "evil eye" from the horses, or any other blight or illness feared by their superstitious owners. On working days the horses also wear large tassels of bright coloured wool, hanging down below their ears, and on their backs, there is a vertical section of their harness, about twelve inches high on the top of which is fixed a bunch of red feathers - their harness is also worked in wool, with brass nails and red ribbon as ornaments, and many bells are attached in various places, which make a continuous sound when the horse is in motion. The same trappings are used on mules and donkeys, and very often one sees a small donkey of mouse grey colour cantering along with his cart rattling behind him - a big tuft of red feathers on his head waving as he moves and all the bells on his harness jingling! 

One feels that these are proud moments for the owner of the cart, who looks well satisfied with himself as he cracks his whip merrily in the air, and nods to his acquaintances as he passes. But these wonderful carts are not used only for industrial purposes, and on holiday occasions the Sicilian peasant takes his whole family for an airing in the cart - and even long pilgrimages are attempted in them. A number of rustic chairs are placed on the cart, forming a small square and men, women and children take their places on them, sometimes as many as eight in one small cart.

One a year, in the spring, there is a special festival for the Sicilian carts, and they come into Palermo from all parts of the neighbouring country, and parade about the streets, and prizes are awarded for the finest cart and the best caparisoned horse. It is then you see the houses in their full glory, and the carts, fresh from the hands of their makers, are wonderful to behold! Last spring, when I was in Palermo, I was present at this festival, and I will describe a cart and horse which won some of the biggest prizes.

The horse was of a light bright colour, and a fine example of the Sicilian breed, and his harness was ornate to a fantastic degree; he shone in the sunlight like the steed of some fairy prince! His harness was covered with incrustations of what seemed solid silver and had the appearance of being wrought like filigree ornaments, and it was studded with tiny pieces of mirror. When he moved the music of countless bells was heard, and his whole neck and mane was covered by what seemed armour, of wrought silver, and with a great bunch of nodding plumes on his head, he looked the visionary steed of some mediaeval warrior. Everything about him was one bewildering mass of detail, and in some parts of his harness the silver fretwork stood out several inches from his body like sculptural ornaments. There was hardly a portion of his body visible under these magnificent trappings, and he had even small leggings of silver coloured fretwork. The cart behind him was fresh from the hands of the painter, and adorned with countless enrichments of wood-carving and wrought iron. Words cannot describe the dazzling colours in which every section of it was painted, or the wealth of incident portrayed in the pictures on it: the hands of the artist had lavished all their skill on it, and there was not the space of one inch on its whole surface that did not have some exquisite carving or painting on it. To complete the picture, I must add that the most beautiful Sicilian girl, among all the peasant women competing for the women's beauty prize, was sitting in this cart, and great was the applause when the cart, horse and women according to the Sicilian custom - received substantial prizes for their excellence!