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popculturebuffet · 5 years ago

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Ducktales: New Gods On The Block! Review or THE INCREDIBLE STORKULES: COCKBLOCKER OUT OF MYTH!

We’re back, and i’m doing away with intros, for now, i’m trying to see if offering people a bit of the review makes them more receptive to reading it and now we’re nearing the end of this hellyear, and the trump presdency, i’m going into this one with a ton of energy, so let’s get quackin!

We open with the Scrooge and Kids on a quest to get a golden helmet he’s been after for years and has been one of his lifelong goals using a carefully crafted plan with all the kids skills needed. Okay i’ll admit that last part is unique to this show: given how interchangable the boys are outside of this continuity, I assume he’d just throw them at the monster like Pikmin as a distraction while Donald grabbed the helmet and just grow new ones in his vast venture bro style clone mine if they happen to die. Thankfully there’s no Child Death but there is Child Failure as the team comes back sad and defeated and doubting themselves.. Della having a confetti cannon ready to celebrate dosen’t help. Though it does bring me to the subject of Della being out of focus this season. It’s a mixed bag for me: On the one hand I do get it, as she was the main focus of last season, even more than Louie, and now we’ve gotten to know her, she can sit back and play more of a supporting role, especially since Donald , who himself was more of a supporting character the past two seasons, is now getting more screentime and Beakly’s getting fleshed out more. Their trying to balance a rather massive cast, so it’s natural the one whose already got a ton of focus at this point would take a back seat and all around the show’s done a far better job giving everyone screentime this season. Launchpad has been lacking of late but given a Darkwing Duck spinoff is probably in the cards, and he’s had tons of episodes at this point compared to Donald and Beakly, i’m understanding of it.

On the other.. there’s still a lot of stories to tell with her: We still haven’t had her deal with Scrooge basically erasing her for a decade at all nor Donald hiding her past from the kids.. he had reason and all, but he still made their mother a stranger to them. They had no stories, nothing to really go on for 10 years. That’s gotta have impacted both the kids and gotta hit della hard at some point that her father-uncle and brother both just kinda.. erased her to the kids. Plus we don’t know how she’s been adjusting to have a life OUTSIDE the kids especially since she’s been sitting out so many adventures, likely to let Scrooge have time with them and be a good daughter and mother and what not, but still there’s a LOT of ground to cover they simply haven’t yet. The Donald and Della plot we did get, while glorious, didn’t really add anything to either’s likely strained relationship and it’d be nice to give the two a subplot to work this out. Granted this might all be coming in the Castle McDuck Episode for all I know, but I can’t pin all my hopes and dreams on that one. And this all COULD’VE easily happened off screen.. but it’s something the audience really wants and needs. I’m not sure if we’re getting it and that worries me. But again theirs a large chunk of the season to answer this if this is the last one, and another season possible if it’s not, so i’m willing to wait for it. I’m just getting impatient is all.

That being said this episode makes up for the Della Deficet as she’s one of the main driving forces of this side of the episode. I’ll get into that more in a second but Della’s been on the rare misfire adventure and knows Scrooge’s stages of grief and that he’ll come out of it with a better plan. Unfortunately for the kids that plan dosen’t include them and Scrooge runs off to assemble a better team leaving the kids utterly devastated. One of the other main driving forces besides depressed children and the greek gods is scrooge being really bad with people, but i’ll get to that.

Point is the kids understandable emotional devastation and Della trying to mom for all of them at once because Launchpad had to get to his other job and is taking Beakly this weak to teach him and Drake how to raise a child, is interrupted by said Zeus ASSHAT RAPIST OUT OF MYTH! Along with Storkules COCKBLOCKER OUT OF MYTH and Selene, DELLA’S FIRST TIME WITH A WOMAN OUT OF MYTH! There here because Zeus has lost his powers, as the Gods all collectively decided he was a dick and voted him out of office.. er stripped him of his powers. Sorry an asshole, narcacistic, sociopathic racist getting removed from his position of power happening a few days after the election was called.. the timing just could not have been better. But yeah Zeus is out, roll credits. Join me after them and after the cut for the rest of the review.

So yeah the Gods are fed up with him, and Selene and Storkules are there to pick a worthy inheritor to his Laurel Wreath, his lighting bolts, and his collection of playboys he keeps alphabatized in his mancave.. also his mancave will also go to the winner. Storkules however, having a one track mind, notices Donald isn’t there and goes to find him. The kids are all eager to try but Selene is there for Della, which they all agree makes sense: I mean she has the disposition and sexual appitite of a green god but without all the rampant sex crimes and murder, and given most of them have clearly copped to the times except Zeus, that’s a plus. Plus she and Selene have already been together before so the fact they can smooch into infinity along with all the fun stuff is a nice bonus. It’s not like Storkules isn’t selecting his candiate soley with his 13 inch penis, so ther’es a precident. But Della, seeing the kids clearly need this more than she does, convinces her once and future girlfriend to let them try out. I really do wish we got more of the two this episode but what we get is great, and Selene reluctantly agrees after Della makes the valid point their STILL more mature than her dad. The fact Zeus punctuates this by getting into a “No you” contest with an 11-12 year old probably helped. As for where Donald is he’s preparing for a date with Daisy! Horay. I’ve been waiting for Daisy to come back since the last time she was here, and Donald has naturally been considerate: Setting up a bunch of hearts, flowers, some punch that is likely just box wine and sprite, he has a budget and throwing all his garbage in the pool with bricks because he’s still Donald. Romantic, a good dad.. but still a disaster of a person who dosen’t know quite how to live like an adult... which naturally I immensely relate to and hope i’m lucky enough one day to have a lady or fella to hide all my garbage from. I mean i’m probably dying alone, but that’s likely my old buddy crippling depression talking. Oh you old scamp.. please fuck off an die. But enough chilling looks into my psyche, point is Storkules barges in to ruin it, and eat his carefully made grilled cheese. As though Storkules may be incredible he’s also STORKULES, GOD OF NOT REALLY READING THE ROOM. Daisy comes in, and we find out it’s their second date.. and i’m assuming their first wasn’t that time they ended up in a direct to video sequel to Die Hard that’s still far better than Die Hard 5.. then again a colonoscopy is preferable to that movie so I Dunno. But she’s nice, friendly, if put off by the big sweaty man suddenly in their date. Storkules COCKBLOCKER OUT OF MYTH, does not help matters by, upon hearing that seeing how in love they are, and finding out it’s the second date assumes their getting married and hugs them in THE SWEATY ABS OF STORKULES. Do me next.

Back at the God Tests, god I love a job-ish thing that lets me say that, Louie is up first, and being Louie has thought up a plan that benifets him wether he wins or looses but one that has serious underlying issues he hasn’t thought of. Naturally it turns out to be a gold touch which, as with Midas, works out about as well as you’d expect.. with Dog Murder and mass murder to follow. Selene undoes it, So Louie gets nothing. And yeah this has been a major issue this season that while I talked about it back in “Let’s Get Dangerous” bares repeating: Louie feels like he learned NOTHING from the events of last season. He still likes, he still dosen’t think plans through, and he still cheats. In contrast Dewey DID grow from his season.. it’s subtle, he’s still the same loveable trainwreck and pre-teen Hank Venture he’s always been, but he no longer hides secrets or family stuff and is more of a team player. Still an egotsitical one, but it’s there. But Louie.. hasn’t changed at all. He’s still conviving, still thinks only in short term.. it’s only once or twice like with the Impossibin the events of last year really seem to have sunk in. It feels like the writer’s couldn’t figure out how to write a smarter Louie and just gave up. It’s really disheartning especially when most other character development, subtle and otherwise, sticks.

While Huey sweats over his turn and Della tries to encourage, we cut back to the date which is going okay, Daisy’s trying to roll with it but Storkules, TERRIBLE WINGMAN OUT OF MYTH really isn’t good at talking Donald up or letting them get to know one another. While things breifly get better when Daisy brings up her career and Donald talks it up like the loving soon to be boyfriend he is, Storkules FUCKUP OUT OF MYTH screws things up by saying, when she explains to him she hasn’t made any Toga’s because she works primarily in dresses that she can “work up to them eventually. “ As proof this is the best Daisy she dosen’t dump Donald immidetly despite none of this being his fault and him trying to explain he didn’t invite him, but instead just makes an angry, and understandably so , face and goes to powder her beak.. which is clearly code for “Scream Obscenities into Donald’s Mirror for the next ten minutes”. Which if it already wasn’t abundantly clear they were perfect for each other this would be the clincher. Donald wants Storkules to go and TRIES to tell him, but Storkules just assumes he wants him to make a big romantic gesture for them and goes to “let Cupid’s Arrow” strike her. Donald understandably wants conformation he doesn’t mean that literally. Spoiler alert: He does.

IT’s Huey’s turn next at playing god and he decides to be God of Intuition, gaining future sight so he can know everything and prevent tragedy. We instead get a damn funny scene where after adjusting to his powers he tries to prevent a breakup.. only to play both parts himself and cause it anyway. Just some great acting from Danny Pudi there. We get some more as Huey slowly melts down from the information, traumatizing a kid and nearly getting beat up with a guy who wants to “Beat up the freak for making everyone uncomfortable” which..

Yeah it’s not acceptable for what looks like a grown adult, or even a Teenager if that was an intent, to whale on a CHILD, let alone ANYONE for being “a Freak”. I mean yes Huey did screw up big, not mass murder bit but still.. but he’s still a fucking child. As someone who was prone to breakdowns at that age, and up to present day... I take this personally, especially since I see Huey as high functioning autsitic. So this hits home as i’ve had many people just tell me to get over it instead of trying to help. So yeah fuck this guy, take off that Gizmoduck shirt you do not deserve it. We fans do though, I hope that becomes real merch.

But yeah Huey failed and Zeus is gloating..mostly because in his already considerably warped brain, he thinks that if they all fail he dosen’t get it. Selene explains basic logic to him: If they fail to find a new god here, they’ll just keep looking. Zeus naturally has a tantrum as Scrooge enters, wondering why the kids care about god powers and Della, being a supportive mom, tries to get him to encourage them. He instead focuses on his team. Again, we’ll get to him trust me. Selene also calls her dad out on the fact he hasn’t done anything good since defeating the titans centuries ago. Naturally being THE GREATEST SHITHEAD IN ALL OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY Zeus takes the exact wrong lesson from this and calls his brother Hades to whip up a titan for him to fight because that was her point and not that your an irredemible dick tip who their desperate to replace and who was dethroned because no one liked you, not even your horrible presumibly now ex wife. I mean unlike DC Comics Zeus he’s not planning a cou but only because he has no powers. Hades however is well aware his brother has no powers, as the gods have been talking about it and laughing about it because Zeus sucks eggs. Also Hades has a great goth look and personality here as well as muscular arms to hold my bi ass at night. A-Plus character design. I may also have a thing for goths and emos I never realized I had. Just an observation.

Back at the boat Donald and Daisy are enjoying drinks, which again has to be wine.. I mean again box wine, Donald needs a lot of booze after a hard days nearly getting murdered and Costco has great deals on it, but still booze. They cuddle a bit and it’s fucking adorable.. and Storkules WHO JUST KIDDNAPED HIS COUSIN CUPID AND STOLE HIS SHIT naturally ruins this moment by first trying to fire one date rape arrow at them, then takes donald’s rampant headshaking no as a sign to fire all of the arrows... with Daisy ending up in the water and unsettling the garbage. Granted Donald COULD’VE prevented this by explaning things to her.. but i’m betting he didn’t simply because he’s.. tired of this shit. He’s tired of adventure, tired of it intruding on his life and just hoped Storkules was gone and out of sight and didn’t have a chance to prepare for that till it was too late. NOW Daisy storms off.. but unlike say Cabs Daisy, whose a living nightmare, or Comic Daisy, whose not a great person but has her moments depending on the comic, she has VALID REASON. Donald lied to her about garbage and dind’t just take it out like a normal Duck, and didn’t just outright yell at his friend to leave on their date, a friend who just attacked her and already insulted her. IT’s understandable, especailly given a line coming up she’d WANT to leave and leave Donald behind. Donald however is naturally miserable and it finally gets through Storkules thick skull he messed up and he runs off to cry while Donald miserably floats among the garbage and my heart both relates to that nad breaks seeing it. I mean .. Daisy meant a lot to him: After years of presumibly avoiding dating, or if he did not doing so for long, to focus on the boys, after a year of putting their needs ahead of his and living with his demanding uncle, of being dragged out of a normal if miserable life and into a less miersable but adventerous one he didn’t want, of being stranded in space and on an island wondering if his kids would be okay.. he finally not only has time for himself, and his sister back after years of thinking her dead and thus someone else to take care of the kids needs for a while without feeling any guilt over it or worrying about them, but found someone special. She’s talented, beautiful, charming, and understanding. And most importanlty she LISTENS to him and throughly likes Donald for who he is. And he looses that only PARTLY due to his won incomptence but mostly because someone he already barely allows in his life came in and ruined it. Once again the adventure and everything took something from him and while not nearly as big as loosing his sister, it still fucking hurts to once again have one small bit of something just for himself, one bit of normalcy, one person who loves him for who he is now through and through.. and it’s seemingly gone. It’s why I like this relationship even if this part panes me: Donald can FINALLY be happy... finally have someone who genuinely cares about him. This also boils down Storkules character and why I don’t ship the two of them: He’s a good god, he’s brave, compasionate, carring, and generally wants the best for donald and does genuinely love him.. but he also dosen’t care really what DONALD wants half the time. He’s the embodiment of Donald’s biggest gripe with his life: No one listens to or repsects him or what he wants. Storkules wants Donald the adventurer, Donald the brave, Donald the undaunted, DONALD THE IDEALIZED VERSION THAT ONLY EXISTS IN HIS HEAD. He dosen’t really get Donald isn’t the same person, and even that person wasn’t into him. Not because he’s a man, like his sister Donald could easily be bi or pan.. but because he’s just SO MUCH and Donald’s family is already SO MUCH.. and that was BEFORE the kids and the launchpad. Donald has made peace with adventuring but it’s still clearly not his faviorite thing while for Storkules adventure and experince is his life. Storkules needs someone like him and Donald needs someone down to earth, someone who can HANDLE the amount of chaos that follows him and the famly, but someone whose .. normal. And Daisy is that. If you ship then fine fine, but I just don’t because they just don’t go together and both deserve a partner they can truly be a partner with, not someone they clearly don’t understand or someone they DREAD visiting. They both deserve better than that.

Back on the god plot, it’s Webby’s turn as she becomes Goddess of Friendship. And helps the mood at the pier by spreading sunshine.. and then deals with the pier’s greatest menace and my honorary uncle, because he’s really not much worse than some of my actual uncles...

GLOMGOLD, SCOURGE OF CHILDREN’S KIDDIE RIDES. Because of course a seemingly regular habit for Glomgold is hogging a children’s ride he somehow fits into. Of course it is. It’s cheap and he’s not the best human being but I love him anyway. Webby heats it up to scare him then tries to get the kids to hug before having a breakdown at everyone not being happy. This does fit with her personality.. I didn’t think so at first but thinking back her first response in any friendship crisis is to panic and overreact. Her reaction to her best friend telling her she may have to stop sleeping over with her and her sister/webby’s giflriend because of magic danger is an implied death threat. She’s getting BETTER with people, but she still dosen’t have the life experince to fully deal with it and naturally upon seeing things get worse and worse goes on a lighting filled rampage Selene thankfully stops and likely undoes. Though Glomgold is likely on the moon now. He’ll be fine.

Dewey is last and auditions.. but forgets the god part and fails which fits him perfectly and is a great bit. The kids have all washed out and are depressed about it. While Della is hopeful when talking to Selene, Selene gently explains to her girlfriend she shares with a space alien that the kids just aren’t ready and that maybe the power of a god just isn’t the thing you give to a kid for a self esteem boost. Della MEANS well here, she just wants her kids, Webby very much included, to feel good and get their self esteem back after Scrooge swallowed it whole. But Selene is right that this is just too much power, and given it nearly drove Huey insane and nearly made Louie and Webby murderers, she has a point. It’s a good thought, but Selene needs an actual replacement for her dad. Sadly though this breaks the kids further after this and they slink off and Selene gets she messed up.. while she was right to reject them, she missed WHY Della was trying so hard. However credit where it’s do unlike her brother, while she dosen’t try to fix her issue, it’s likely out of emotional maturity: she knows just saying nice things to the kids wouldn’t help them or would wring hollow and their mom is better for that. IT’s things like this that are going to make her a good step mom.. yeah i’m shiping Della with both her girlfriends at once. Just because I gave up on her and Launchpad dosen’t mean poly’s off the table, and frankly selene is strong enough to win Penumbra’s favor and Penumbra has the kind of pepper and violence a greek goddess likes in her women. They’d be cute all together. I likes it.

Less cute is ZEUS, SCHEMING BOWL OF ELEPHANT PISS OUT OF MYTH!, who realizes his greatest gift isn’t his powers: I’ts manipulating his children.

And since he found a sad STORKULES POOR SAD BOY OUT OF MYTH. , and hears his issue, with Storkules hilarious sitting in his poppa’s lap, he spins it into getting what he wants: Saying since he and his wife, and Storkules mother in this version apparently I dunno, fell in love with battle, summoning Chronos will do just that for Donsy. Granted for most people your dad’s tale about how he met your step mom who tried killiing you a bunch and who he’s cheated on dozens of times would raise a red flag, but STORKULES IS THICK AS A BRICK.. in both senses of the word and calls forth Chronus.

Daisy meanwhile is driving her car away, but is battling with herself. On one hand she doesn’t want to play mother to a guy who can’t dispose his trash or his weird friends. On the other she admits she can really be herself around Donald. We then get the most telling line though.. “You do not need to fall for another man who needs saving!”

That.. is clearly setup for the future. It MIGHT be Gladstone but it could be anyone. Hell it could be someone entirely new. She also could have a kid like we’ve all wanted. We could get a canon version of Juinor.. not named Donald Juinor because 1) He’s not donald’s son and 2) that name’s been forever tainted and we all know which living bottle of axe body spray to blame. I.. genuinely can’t wait to find out who this is and I expect we will before the season’s up and i’ts nice to see Tress, like last time, get to dig into some emotional complexity with the character instead of just yelling at Donald or talking about bows and stuff. Here she grapples with herself as she does love Donald but the past has burnt her a lot. But as a wise pansexual once said “ But I think it's important for us to remember that sometimes, sometimes it does work out. And even though everything inside us is telling us to protect ourselves, when you've got it, don't let it go. And I am telling you, that you have got it, if you want it. “ Love is hard, love is messy, maybe that among many other things is why i’m alone. But it’s worth it when you take the time.. and upon seeing a giant monster heading for Donald’s house, Daisy realizes he is worth it.. or that frustrated with him right now or not she dosen’t want him to die. Either way she’s a coming and i’m gathering hornets in a box in ancipation of finding out who hurt her so I can mail them to him. I popped an H on there so I know it has hornets.

Back at the mansion the mood is bleak as heelllllllllll with Louie ordering pizza minus the toppings and Della’s attempt to give the kids hot choclate just getting an ow from Webby. It does make sense: Scrooge and adventuring are their lives.. if he dosen’t need them.. how would they ever do it themselves? Plus their 11 and 13 and at that age kids are very fragile so having their mentor and grandpa reject them like this really hurts, not helped by Scrooge proudly announcing his new team and trying to awkwardly bounce not getting this is his fault, though Della is staring at him with a look that just screams.

But before Della can stab her Dunkle, we cut to a depressed donald who switches from one natural state, Depression, to another, fearing for his life, as Chronus arrives and Huey rightly wonders how he’s here. The kids all defer to Scrooge while Della continues to just be the best. Seriously for the entire episode her only throught is her kids, and their emotional well being and had this crisis not popped up she probably would’ve stabbed scrooge then yelled him out for hurting her babies. She’s graduated from trying to be a mom but having issues with it due to mentally still being in her 20′s, to genuinely being GREAT at the job. Good on her. Daisy is naturally horrified to arrive to find Donald being eaten while Storkules is overjoyed. I WOULD say his stupidity’s overplayed this episode.. but he’s never displayed good judgement before why start now? It fits his character and his joy turns to distress when Chronus eats donald.. and has a cage in his tummy. with glass walls. I dunno, it’s a cool design. Daisy is understandably pissed and yells at it for eating her boyfriend, which gets an adorable oh boy oh boy from donald> Again love is rough, but one jackass screwing with you does not equate to every man or woman or person you date being a jackass. Daisy has realized this. Storkules is overjoyed, but soon finds himself and his sister fihgting Chronus and honestly both are damn impressive doing so. Seriously when the justice ducks form.. give htem a call. I mean She has moon beams and he’s a greek god.. plus Drake and Launchpad could use a third.. I mean he fits better there and Drake is already dating one manchild, and is one to a smaller extent, another won’t hurt. Just consider it shippers.. or foursies with Morgana because as this episode shows Storkules is bi as he is mighty. he’s Bighty. But the god squad fails, and gets eaten and Zeus’ time to shine predictably ends with an “I’ve failed immediately”, to no one’s suprise.

Scrooge starts working on a plan as he and Della, naturally scale the colossus. We then get the scene that’s been boiling all episode: When Scrooge wonders where the kids are, Della calls him out pointing out they’ve been plauged with doubts about him replacing them.. because he literally was replacing them, and when Scrooge is earnestly suprised by that Della points out the obvious: Their children, as I said their fragile and as Della puts it, Scrooge puts a LOT of pressure on them, something she likely knows from experince. And this is what i’ve been leading up to and putting a pin in all episode: Scrooge himself. It’s something I thought of days ago but this episode hammers in heavily: Scrooge really dosen’t have a ton of personal social skills. Sure he can work a board room pitch, lead a team of adventuerers, and run a vast empire while never forgetting the human element, for a lack of a better term, he’s not lacking in empathy or the ablility to talk to people, but when it comes to reading them it’s just surface level. He’s genuinely been show to struggle with empathy, with feeling someone elses emotions or realizing them till they’ve already been hurt. He spent a good ten years desperatley trying to bring Della back, avoding his pain and guilt instead of talking to Donald and making amends with him. His relationship with Goldie took decades to get anywhere healthy as he just put his walls up and assumed she’d never change when, as we’ve seen now, she always could she just needed a push. And when confronted by the kids he lashed out and then pushed them away instead of mending the wounds he created. Even on a much smaller level, when Lena and Violet ended up along next week he’s utterly lost when Adventure isn’t on the menu and only picks up from being baffled by two normal ish (One’s a parnaomal expert the other is the paranormal) joining him once it’s clear at least one of them fits right in with his intrests. He can deal with people on a problem by problem basis, but he’s just not good at dealing with their emotional needs or opening up. It’s why this works so well: his oblviousness fits. To him and the way his brain works, the crown is just a problem to solve and he just needs diffrent tools to fix it, not realizing replacing the kids for a mission would bother them or they’d ever think they were replaceable. Until now I hadn’t seen much similarity to Huey but both.. are just not great with PEOPLE. They put them in boxes, try to solve problems that way.. it’s just their specific issues that way are diffrent. Scrooge can anticapte the unknown and how people he’s fighting act.. but can’t anticipate personal hurt and pain well because he bottles all his up. When checking off a problem.. i’ts just something he dosen’t consider and thus his biggest blindspot, the thing he has to overcome time and time again: How his family feels and how he can deal with it. Here however he deals admirably.. now he KNOWS there’s a problem, and in a genuine show of character development over the past three seasons, he apologizes fully, saying their the best team he could ask for, better than zeus and don’t need his powers and they can get the helm together. Instead of putting up walls.. he’s letting his in and showing humility, which given Scrooge’s ego.. is a tall order. But for those kids, for his strength, it’s no small feet. Of course said speech gets Him and Della eaten, but the kids, now reinegized, ahve time to plan, with Daisy further stalling by roaring at Chronus to stop. Because she’s fucking awesome and Storkules finally gets that. The kids however take the leaves and breifly retake their powers, Dewey’s is for dance naturally, and use them together to take down Chronus, freeing everyone else, defeating the titan and throwing him back into the pits. Donald and Daisy reunite and get a RELLY sweet moment, blushing and looking lovingly at one another, getting lava on each other, before kissing. STORKULES, DOSEN’T GET THEY DON’T WANT A THIRD PARTNER OF MYTH, of course interrupts and hugs them hostage for the remaider of the episode. I’m assuming Beakly , when she got home, pried htem out and explained them not wanting a third int heir relationship to him, and it’s a weak end to the plot as Storkules learned nothing and one of the weaker parts of this episode. The rest is stronger as the kids and Scrooge plan to make another run at the helmet and Selene wonders off to “use your shower” and then order pizza.. so she basically just asked Della out. And has used her shower before.

I mean again, she can have two partners. This episode alone has earned that and they seem like they’d mesh. Penny would just have to learn some lessons about sharing and godly vagina’s is all. Nothing wrong with that. And what about Zeus.. no one asked but he gets his wreath back only to fall in the pit, with Hades naturally laughing his ass off.. and likely also taking Zeus’ laurel back. So Zeus is trapped in hell with a goth mocking him. HORAY! HAPPY END. Final Thoughts; This was a pretty good one. It does have it’s weak spots: Storkules learned nothing, the kids stories endings were easy to see coming and there wasn’t enough Dellene. But really despite that. .it’s still a solid episode mostly because it’s REALLY damn funny. The comedic timing is just pitch perfect and while like most of the plots I could see the rhythm of the donsy plot, the reasons for it were all funny and fresh and the scene with Daisy in her car was a nice bit of character building/clear setup for the future. And showing off Della’s own character developement and history with scrooge, the latter without ever having to mention it, really brought the episode up, as did the guest cast’s game voice acting and timing. This episode is far from perfect, but it’s still a fun episode that felt needed despite not being tied into the main plot: Bringing back some old friends, and having an intresting story to tell. Plus we got more Donsy so there’s that. Overall while not the BEST episode of the series, it was a funny, enjoyable half hour of television and sometimes, that’s enough. If you liked this review follow me or more, and if there’s an episode of Ducktales from seasons 1 or 2 you’d like me to cover, you can comission it for 5 bucks, 5 bucks an episode, 5 dollars off your order when you comission more than one, via my personal messages. You can also follow me on patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet if you want. NEXT WEEK: FLASHBACK EPISODE! BABY DONALD AND DELLA! BRADFORD ORIGIN STORY! POSSIBLE HORTENSE AFTER SO LONG! MY BODY IS READY!

#ducktales #donald duck #daisy duck #donsy #delumbra #delene #della duck #selene #storkules #scrooge mcduck #dewey duck #huey duck #louie duck #hades #chronus #chronos #new gods on the block!#new gods on the block #ducktales spoilers

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l-wannabe-l · 4 years ago

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#the contrast between the t-800 immediately being called perfect while the t-1000 is just some guy. very funny to me

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Do you think John would do the whole "my dad/mom could beat up your dad/mom" argument

I think he would because he knows he'd win

T-800/Uncle bob: What is the purpose of this?

Sarah: John needs to win a bet.

John: Uncle Bob stop smiling!

36 notes • Posted 2021-04-17 22:01:10 GMT

Javelin Headcanons

For @the-schizotypal-cryptid. This was fun to do. I'm gonna work on my Polkadot Man stuff next.

An absolute flirt

This man looks good and he knows it

Definitely has spent time in front of a mirror. Just admiring himself.

Impeccably well groomed.

You think he doesn't take care of himself. Lies.

You all saw his lovely golden locks.

That is the result of the best kind of product.

How he managed to get them into Belle Reve no one's really sure.

Even though he's German, his accent is not 100% authentic.

If anything he exaggerates it most of the time.

He tends to use it just to keep up his image.

He thinks people's reactions are funny when he drops it.

In the comics Javelin had a variety of javelins each different and engineered by him.

But because he only has one in the movie and the fact that it managed to pierce Starro when little else could.

I'm going to say it's magic.

The javelin is magic and no one can convince me otherwise.

Most definitely acquired through sheer dumb luck.

58 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 06:17:34 GMT

So I watched suicide squad yesterday, which was great btw, and now I just have a lot of feelings.

Anyway I'm going on a bender (writing fanfiction) I'm gonna make some Polkadot man stuff, anyone want anything?

234 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 04:42:52 GMT

Polkadot Man Headcanons

A request from @loonylunalovegood77 I love this man with all my heart.

Was likely the oldest and most successful of his mother’s experiments.

Unfortunately most didn’t survive.

He does still have living siblings, living being a generous term.

He killed his mom when she was planning to start experimentations on his youngest sibling who was a teenager at the time

It's what landed him in Belle Reve.

Favorite treats are dippin' dots and nerds.

Basically anything round and colorful.

Spots go out spots go in.

He thinks it's hilarious in an ironic, morbid sort of way.

Has tried his hand at poetry.

It's not very good.

He just has a lot of emotion to get out.

If not poetry, then just a basic journal/diary.

Probably some sketches strewn in.

He seems like a doodler.

They're hopefully not all of his mom.

Once he learns Harley is a licensed psychologist he makes sure to not be left alone in the same room with her.

He knows he's got issues.

But he'll be damned if he has to learn exactly how many there are.

This man said fiddlesticks in an R rated movie.

You cannot convince me he doesn't have more family friendly swears in his arsenal.

When emotions run high though all bets are off.

He will throw "fuck" around like it's just more of his dots.

237 notes • Posted 2021-08-09 06:12:50 GMT

Homeward Bound.

Requested by @loonylunalovegood77 had to rewrite this one cause the first came out more angst then fluff.

The ride was silent. Everyone felt exhausted, physically and mentally, after the fights at Jotunheim and against Starro. Leaning against Abner, hands entwined, you let your head fall against his shoulder. The others all melted into their seats as the events of the day settled onto their bodies. No one had any energy left to make small talk, Cleo is just dozing off while using Nanaue as a pillow. Abner’s hand was the only thing reminding you that he’s still alive. Thinking back it was nothing but pure fear and adrenaline that pushed you towards Abner and it was luck that you reached him before Starro’s limb did, pure stupid amazing luck that for the first time in your life your intangibilty spread to another living being. If Abner had died you’d hate to think where that would have left you.

“Thank you.” Abner says to you, breaking you out of your musings, his voice a whisper. These are words for only you to hear.

“Even superhero’s need help from their sidekicks.” You say back with a smile. A slight tease but after what happened seemed to be an abt description.

“... you want to be my sidekick?” He asked, hope and disbelief could be heard in his voice in equal measures. You both know what he was really asking about. You don’t answer him right away just letting out a low hum as you think about it. It wouldn't be easy, the slightest slip up would have Waller after the both of you, but a life together...

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

Abner’s head falls down to rest against yours. You can tell by his deep even breathing that he’d fallen asleep. Smiling softly you nuzzled into his shoulder and let yourself drift off until the helicopter made land.

379 notes • Posted 2021-08-17 04:33:56 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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tsukihoshino · 5 years ago

Text

Super long Sasori post

I’m going to begin this by saying everyone is entitled to their view on Sasori and how to characterize him within the parameters set up by canon or whatever AU/Bent Timeline a person has inserted him into but I do believe there are certain things about him that remain the same no matter what situation you put him in-- otherwise he’s just no longer Sasori (IMO.) So much of his character is about hyper analyzing his words and actions, and what others have said about him through a microscope because the fact of the matter is for such an interesting character he really had such little time.

I was originally not going to bring shipping into this but as I was writing Sasosaku kinda slipped in there, mostly because it felt like it provided a good contrast to what we get of Sasori in canon and how it can translate into fanon.

(All of these opinions are based on the Manga and the Akatsuki formation because OP cannot be assed with novels and filler for the most part...Making an exception for Komushi.)

1. He’s highly manipulative. He’s a puppet master and he has a spy ring. He gathers information so he can use it against people, he manipulates the corpses of what used to be people--or things that LOOK, very often like people. That says a lot about who he is as a person.

And when you first see his real face, when he reveals himself to Chiyo this is the face you get;

I don’t get the impression that he’s actually happy to see her given the events that follow, its largely about trying to put his grandmother off center and BOTHER her. Sasori is perfectly capable of acting to get to a desired result--which makes a lot of sense to me because while Bunraku is largely about the Narrator's words there is also the performance element to it via the puppets.

2. He’s all about control. Control of himself, of others, of events. It's really an offshoot of manipulation but I don’t think Sasori blinks without putting thought into the action. ( I mean technically, lmao given his unique anatomy in canon that might be 100% accurate.)

3. He’s not only an artist. The guy is the very definition of being a mad scientist. He sits at a place where Art and Science meet and become something more. It's not one or the other when it comes to Sasori, there is something almost Frankenstein like in the way that he creates his human puppets, the 3rd and himself. Think about the knowledge that had to go into that from basic human anatomy to the chakra system as a whole. I mean we never get a play by play on HOW he did it but we know he’s the only one who ever did and then repeated a similar, much more complicated process on himself.

Then there is his poison, we know he’s primarily relied on the infamous one because it was sooo effective (until it wasn’t, thanks Sakura.) But we have to assume given how he is Sasori makes ART out of deadly concoctions and methods of murder.

To him synthesizing that poison was probably no different than an artist trying to get that perfect shade of red.

The weird thing about Sasori ( and I guess it's just ONE of the many weird things) Is that for an Artist he is very...clinical. When we think about people in the arts we often imagine passionate people like Deidara--bombastic and flamboyant free spirits.

4. Logical and likely to the extreme.

He’s not a sore loser. When he loses and it's fair he accepts it. He's not bitter about the end of his fight with Sakura and Chiyo, he’s not pissy with Konan--he respects it because to Sasori the weak die and the strong survive, losers don’t have a right to complain when they shoulda got gud to begin with.

I don’t doubt that in Sasori’s logical mind he came to the conclusion that his parents died because they were weak. Ergo unlike Chiyo he’s just completely unaffected by seeing Kakashi, the world just followed its natural order in the death of his parents.

He’s got a reptile brain and he just sort of views people as animals because it's probably simpler--except for himself. He thinks he’s above that, to himself he is a god.

The thing with Komushi...I perceive it as largely an accident but in Sasori’s “perfectly” logical mind he was just like well: it’s sort of Komushi’s own fault and never let a tragedy go to waste because again, hyper logical. Not only that but he was BEGGED to do something for Komushi and there really was nothing to be done for him at that point other than make something useful out of his death.

The problem with being TOO logical is that it is just as detrimental as being too emotional. If we all just went around doing what was logical we’d be no different than animals or machines. Logic dictates we do whatever it takes to survive and come out on top even at the expense of others but because we are balanced by emotion most people don’t live like that.

On the flipside because he’s logical he can be convinced by compelling arguments without ego getting in the way. In this same vein he finds it very difficult to feel sorry about things he’s done in the past but when able to recognize it was wrong he can accept it and simply resolve not to do it in the future--he doesn’t have the capacity to agonize over feelings of guilt.

5. He hates being lied to and he’s impatient. Sasori will lie to everyone around him and even to himself if he can manage it but if he finds out He’s the one being lied to? Intense hate. See points 1&2.

6. He’s blunt and often rude when acting as his natural self. I don’t find the need to explain this one much.

7. Sasori is largely self-focused. He thinks he has a perfect handle on himself and understands exactly why he is the way he is--but it couldn’t be further from the truth. He really doesn’t understand his own feelings much less those of others and what he does understand he often doesn’t care about. This can be changed if a person is able to get through to him.

This is the guy who thought that by removing his concious from a human body and sticking it into what's basically a decorative vase all his problems would MAGICALLY vanish. Because as smart as he is, he was also desperate to escape his own feelings not realizing that when you pour the water in one glass into another glass the contents remain the same.

No matter how hard he tries he cannot escape the problem plaguing him; himself.

8. Sasori does not value life, not his own and certainly not others. Unless you are like that ONE person who is able to get through to him. He has what I would call a “Very narrow heart.�� which simply does not have a lot of space for people. To him it's probably Sasori and “That Person” VS the world.

9. He likes things that last, sculptures and paintings, classical music and literature, things that have been around for ages and withstood the trials of time.

10. He does not do well on his own. He thinks he does but he really doesn’t, when he is by himself he is destructive. When he feels alone he is at his most dangerous. Sasori is very much a person who NEEDS someone to essentially be his emotional center otherwise we get him turning himself into a puppet in what amounted to a one longass theatrical suicide.

11. Sasori was probably always a little...different even as a kid but environment and events certainly played a role. His parents died at an early age and he was essentially lied to and given false hope. (hence the impatience and hatred of lies.) Throw into that an intellect seldom seen in a time of war where child soldiers are the norm. He killed his first person at 8, he earned himself a title denoting that he was so good at killing he soaked the sands in blood. Imagine what that's like at 8, getting a pat on the head everytime you kill someone?

Of course you would become conditioned to believe that killing is right and good when you’re being congratulated and rewarded for being proficient at it.

Its assumption on my part but I do believe Sasori lays somewhere on the Antisocial Personality Disorder spectrum.

12. He’s vain AF. Look at him. He made sure to replicate himself in his prime to perfect detail in the places that were most visible, his face and his hands. He could have made himself look like anything but in the end he still chose that form.

13. When he wants something he makes a plan and gets it done. Doesn’t matter how long or what he has to do to get to point A to point B he’s going to do it.

14. He has three main expressions; blank, smug and insane.

15: His power levels are again, insane. He is a master of multiple trades. The guy ganked a Kage at 15 the strongest one Sand ever had by that point, ( Orochimaru was waay older and came out way more damaged as far as we know when he fought Sarutobi.) toppled a nation, made himself a new body with mysterious methods.

It's time for the Sasosaku bit:

Part of the reason why I think the two of them fit so well together is that they are opposites and yet complimentary. Sakura is an antidote and Sasori is the poison, but sometimes a medicine can become a poison and a poison can be used as medicine. Sakura is a close range combatant and Sasori is long but they have this odd intersection of skill sets and interest. They both deal in the human body and the manipulation of it, Sakura’s focus is to maintain it as it is and improve its condition if needed and Sasori’s is to both destroy and create it anew all at once.

If they weren’t trying to kill one another in canon they would have had tons to talk about.

Ultimately Sakura gets gut stabbed not because he was aiming for her but because she got LITERALLY in the way of a family feud. He was going for Chiyo and you can assume that's because he thought his grandma was the bigger threat or because he was still bitter about the past on some subconscious level and was gunning for her--i mean he goes in for Chiyo a second time after he disconnects from the arm Sakura was death gripping. But Sakura’s selfless action is something that viscerally shocks him:

And it only gets worse when Chiyo starts feeding her life force into Sakura--a second selfless act on the part of someone he hates and feels wronged by.

Sakura values life and Sasori doesn’t because he doesn’t understand it. He was raised his whole life to think that people like them--Shinobi had no value other than to kill or to be killed. He’s visibly shocked when she starts yelling after socking him in the face about Human lives and family bonds. Like no one had ever mentioned that to him before and forget about risking your life to save someone else's, that goes against his logical lizard brain.

At that point he’s already beaten, he’s already impressed with her. It’s right after her punching him that Sasori gives what amounts to an odd marriage proposal IMO. It was completely pointless of him to even bring it up but you can tell by the “Glint” in his eye that he meant it.

Sasori: Want to become like me? You’ll get what I mean. An undecaying body, Unfettered by a mortal lifespan, capable of being rebuilt over and over again. ( if you were immortal would you offer immortality to someone you had no interest in? Not me. I wouldn’t want to have them around for virtually “forever” in any shape or form. And Sasori is not talking about making Sakura into just some controllable puppet, he’s talking about being JUST like him, sentient thought and movement.)

Sasori: I can make as many people as I want out of puppets….-Looks dead at Sakura- If I want them...but my collection isn’t just about quantity. Quality is important too.

That whole conversation is like A CREEPY FLIRTATION from him because we know what he considers “True beauty” to be. Eternal.

And then it comes to a head where he gives her a “sentimental reward” in the information she wanted. Now I’m not saying Sakura was interested or anything but it seems like he was in some shape or form.

In my opinion when you put someone like Sakura--who is brilliant and logical but also heavily swayed by her emotions with someone like Sasori, brilliant, logical and emotionally repressed. A person who values life with someone who neither values their own life or others what you get is agitation.

Agitation is not a bad thing, it breaks stagnation--which is what, imo drives Sasori to his death. It is the lack of change, he’s made it so he cannot feel physically and he has tried his hardest and for the most part succeeded in numbing his inner feelings.

Part of me is convinced that what ultimately kills him is complacency. He gets so used to being at the top that when he is confronted with someone who neutralizes his life’s work and destroys his collection and keeps confronting and beating him with all the qualities he deems useless and pointless it just drives home the point that everything he has ever done or thought was in vain and on some level wrong. There is no point in winning against them because everything is already destroyed. There is no going back to what he was before, therefore death is preferable.

Through Sakura, in Au’s or alt timelines, or w/e she is able to reach him through their similarities but change him due to the fundamental differences in their nature.

As to what Sakura gets from Sasori; Someone who clearly respects her skills and understands her interests because his own align--and therefore would be supportive and present. The two of them actually have things in common and therefore shit to talk about.

In that same vein Sasori seems like the type of person who if he were to fall in love it is to the point of obsession, for someone who was repressed and held themselves apart from others I see him in a lot of ways as almost touch, and certainly affection starved. It becomes addictive to him. (Which is probably why when I write him he’s handsy.)

We know how Sakura likes to take care of people--we see it with Naruto, Sasuke and Sai. In some of these cases it is often to the detriment of her own well being and Sasori, the selfish person that he is, can reign that in and pull it back so that it isn’t so all consuming. (mostly because the only person she should be worried about is herself and him.)

In the end, If Sasori is the logic and Sakura is the emotion, what you end up with is something more balanced. In the same way that if you were to mix a Poison with an Antidote you would end up with a neutralization.

These are just my personal opinions and thoughts on the matter.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also I headcanon that Sasori is basically Sakura-sexual so -cough- there. I guess that's a topic for another time...

Look at all these conceited Sasori faces:

#Sasori #Sasosaku #Its long

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penniesforthestorm · 4 years ago

Text

“Release the hounds”: Thoughts On Justified, Season One, Episode Thirteen

As promised, this installment will follow a more familiar ‘review’ style-- if I were doing this for money, I’d write an article for each episode, but I am trying to keep this fun for myself (plus, there’s way more of a chance I’ll actually follow through). I may adjust the format somewhat for the next season. My thoughts on the pilot, episodes 2-5, episodes 6-9, and episodes 10-12 are linked-- drop me a line if you’ve been reading and/or watching along!

The first season of Justified presents two fairly different paths the show could have taken: The first, which might be called The Adventures of Raylan Givens and Friends*, is a classic procedural along the lines of Law & Order, NYPD Blue, or CSI, with serialized elements taking a back burner-- episodes like “Fixer” or “Long in the Tooth” function more or less as standalone entries, and with their witty dialogue and colorful characters, they have a light touch (nefarious drug cartels notwithstanding). The second option is a far more novelistic approach, with the episodes coalescing around the story of Raylan Givens And His Nemesis Boyd Crowder**. It’s a natural expansion of the arc of “Fire in the Hole”, and it’s not hard to see why the show takes that direction, reaching its initial peak in the season finale, “Bulletville”.

Several times in the episode, the phrase “you know me” passes between a set of characters. This theme has popped up throughout the preceding episodes, perhaps most sharply in the case of Raylan’s ex-wife, Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea). Winona and Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) were married for six years, and it’s telling that, after Raylan shoots his former friend Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) in the pilot, she’s the person he runs to see. Winona and Raylan met as adults-- of course, she would know some things about his past, but one gets the sense that, for Raylan, Winona represented the future. Her comment about her current husband Gary representing ‘hope’ is especially cutting, because we’ve come to understand that Raylan hoped (and possibly still hopes) to be the kind of man Winona could respect. For her part, Winona moved on from Raylan because she saw how much of a captive to his past he still was.

As to the past, consider the case of Raylan’s father, Arlo Givens (Raymond J. Barry). In “Bulletville”, Arlo sits down with crime patriarch Bo Crowder (M.C. Gainey), to try and settle the bad blood between them. He offers to play double agent, tying up the various federal agencies pursuing Bo with useless information, while enabling Bo to stay ahead of their inquiries. “You’ve known me for fifty years,” Arlo wheedles. “I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me trust you more, or less,” Bo retorts. Nevertheless, there is common ground between them: both of them are old men with sons who have failed them, deliberately or otherwise. (The fact that Bo transferred the majority of responsibility for his enterprise to Arlo and not his son Bowman is an interesting detail-- Bowman may not have outright defied his father the way his brother Boyd did, but I can’t help thinking of the similarly hotheaded Sonny Corleone.) Later, when Arlo attempts to set Raylan up, as Bo’s peace offering to the Miami cartel, he starts gently reminiscing about Raylan’s mother, and about his own shortcomings as a parent, which instantly ignites Raylan’s suspicions. Raylan, after all, spent the first twenty years of his life attuning himself to Arlo’s moods. Once Arlo is subdued, however, Raylan still tends to his wounds.

Contrast that with the earlier confrontation between Papa Bo and Boyd, at Boyd’s “church” in the woods. Bo, furious that Boyd has blown up the shipment of ephedrine from Miami, has shown up with an armed posse, including Boyd’s Cousin Johnny (David Meunier). “I can’t hurt my own son,” Bo says, smiling. “Johnny, hurt my son.” Johnny is pissed at Boyd for a different reason-- he tipped Boyd off about the truck’s arrival, hoping that Boyd would kill the drivers, and the two of them would convince Miami that Bo was responsible for the sabotage. Still, after the first few punches, Johnny’s reluctance grows, and when he asks Bo, “You want me to kill him?”, there’s a genuine note of fear in his voice. (I’ll have more to say about Meunier’s performance in future installments-- over the next few seasons, he quietly creates one of the show’s most fascinating characters.) Bo does something much, much worse-- he lets Boyd walk away, and then he and his posse slaughter Boyd’s “flock”.

This act of unfiltered evil sends Boyd into crisis-- upon seeing the corpses of his followers dangling in the trees, Goggins falls to the ground and lets out an anguished roar. That night, after burying the men, he prays in desperation, asking for a sign. As the silence of the dark trees presses on him, he murmurs, “Maybe I’ve just been talking to myself the whole time.” It’s a fine irony that this is the first time we truly understand the depth and sincerity of his former conversion. He shows up at Raylan’s motel room, stammering, “I am lost.” Without his followers, without whatever impulse was guiding him before, Boyd is compelled to find someone who knows him.

So he and Raylan ride off together to confront Bo, who has, in the intervening hours, kidnapped Ava and shot Johnny. They converge on Bo’s hunting cabin, where Bo hoped to draw Raylan in order to hand him off to Miami. Boyd discovers Ava, bound but unharmed, while Raylan parlays with Bo. The Miami contingent has other ideas-- a sniper takes out Bo, and Ernesto and Pilar, who drove the ephedrine truck, open fire. There’s some great banter as Raylan, Boyd, and Ava take cover in the cabin-- Raylan asks Boyd if he’s brought his rocket launcher, and Boyd ruefully responds, “I didn’t think to pack one.” Pilar calls for Raylan, and he answers, only to have Boyd shout, “No, I’m Raylan Givens!” (Raylan: “Are you trying to be funny?” Boyd: “A little.”) The standoff ends with Ava free, Ernesto dead, and Boyd in pursuit of Pilar. Boyd asks if Raylan will shoot to stop him, saying he’s pretty sure Raylan’s pistol is empty. “You gonna bet your life on that?” Raylan asks. “No, Raylan,” Boyd answers, “I’m gonna bet my life on you being the only friend I have left in this world.” They know each other, having faced death together several times and walked away alive.

* I know this is a horrendous title. I’m sorry. ** why yes, I did just re-watch The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford; why do you ask?

#tv #recap #tv review #justified #long post #did you miss my heart on purpose

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imagineredwood · 6 years ago

Text

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Pairing: EZ Reyes x Camila (OC)

Warnings: Minimal Implied/alluded sexual content

Word count: 2.2k

***EZ likes being babied, try to convince me otherwise. Also, why is KJ so messy? What will Cam wear to Marcus’s vow renewal? How many cups of coffee do Camila and the Reyes family drink per day? Tune in next week to find out lmao***

“How are you doing, sweetheart?”

Camila smiled as she heard Mr. Salvatore’s voice speaking behind her. She turned away from the shelf she was stocking and took hold of the hand he was holding out to her.

“I’m great, Mr. Salvatore. How’ve you been? How did this last appointment go?”

The old man smiled against softly, leading her to the front desk by the hand. He released it when they got the and pointed to the seat beside the one he took a seat on. Camila sat with furrowed brows as she wondered what he was going to say.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about, dear. My heart is getting worse the doctor says. He doesn’t think I should be working as much as I do, which I know you and Sandra are telling me all the time.”

He held his hands up as she gave a soft chuckle, Camila nodding so as to tell him I told you so.

“Anyway, I think I ought to listen. I decided that I’ll be cutting back some. Maybe come in a couple days out of the week. Most likely weekends. I don’t do much on the weekends anyhow, but I know you young kids like to go out and have fun on your weekends. I’ve spoken with Sandra and she agrees that you’ve been a tremendous help around here and we both trust you. The customers love you, you always make sure things are running smoothly even when it’s not your job. So, Sandra and I have decided that so long as you are ok with it and would enjoy the promotion, we think it would be a good choice to have you be the manager. We’ve never really had a manager before, me doing the main bulk of the managing and Sandra helping where needed. It’s always been more of a shared thing but now with me stepping back, Sandra and I agree that letting you step in would be in the best interest of all of us.”

Camila stared at her boss with wide eyes, both shocked and honored at the proposition. She shook her head, unable to find words and Mr. Salvatore grinned, reaching over to rest a hand on her shoulder.

“Take the next couple of days and think about it. I know you’ve gotten settled here so I think it’s safe to say that you’ll be sticking around. It’ll bring in some more money for you, help you save up for the future. Think about it and then let me know. No worries if you’d rather stay with things as they are.”

Camila took hold of the old man’s hands in hers, looking down at the contrast between the smooth, supple skin of hers and the wrinkled, thin skin of his. He was getting older and it was only fair for him to start taking it easy. She nodded and squeezed his hands gratefully, him returning the squeeze.

“I’ll think it over and get back to you.”

“We’ll be waiting, sweetheart.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Angel swallowed his mouthful of coffee, and tilted his head side to side, lips pursed.

“I think you should do it. It sounds like a good thing. Get you some extra cash, you get to move up the ladder. You’re smart, good at making decisions. I say you should do it.”

Camila nodded as she listened to Angel, him suddenly holding his hands up in defense.

“But if it turns out that you fuckin’ hate it, it’s not my fault. I’m just saying.”

Camila laughed and shook her head, Angel smiling himself as he watched some of the tension melt away from her shoulders. He knew she was nervous, apprehensive of what the change would mean, and he just wanted to help. She nodded softly, more to herself than to him and then leaned back in her chair, the air lighter now.

“So, how’ve you been? You cooking more now?”

Angel nodded and leaned forward on the table, arms crossed and elbows resting as he smiled.

“Yeah, I have. I made dinner a couple of times. I use EZ and Coco as the guinea pigs.”

They both laughed together and then a silence fell over them, both lost in their thoughts. The information Kevin had told Camila was weighing on her mind. She had recognized the woman whose name she now knew was Emily. First from the restaurant and then the bookstore. The time at the restaurant she knew that EZ had recognized her, remembered her, knew her. She had been able to see it in his eyes. Now finding out that she was his ex, it made sense why he had lied. Why would you want to bring up your ex on a date with a girl you were trying to get with? She wasn’t upset at EZ, she didn’t feel angry or betrayed. She felt confused. Emily simply being an ex of EZ’s wasn’t important to her, she was aware that there were women before her. Her issue stemmed from the fact that she couldn’t help but feel that Emily was more important than just an ex. Why would Kevin have bothered to give that shred of truth? It did nothing for Camila. He’d simply showed her the picture, told her that she used to be with EZ as high school sweethearts and wanted to know what Camila knew about her. She had ended it quickly, telling him that she knew nothing about the woman and to leave her alone. He had seemed a bit frustrated but left it at that, telling her to have a good day before he stalked off back to his truck and drove off.

Now she was thinking about telling Angel to see if he could shed some light on Kevin and exactly what he was trying to achieve. She could remember EZ telling her to keep it between them though and she stayed quiet, sparking the conversation back up on another topic.

“So EZ said to stop by the clubhouse tonight.”

Angel looked back up at Camila and smiled, nodding.

“Yeah. Nothing crazy, just some music, drinking, talking shit. The usual. You should definitely come.”

Camila agreed and smiled taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. Then EZ can stop sulking around like a little puppy because he misses you.”

The two laughed, Camila giving a bashful smile.

“I miss him when he’s not around too.”

Angel made a show of fake gagging making Camila laugh, her landing a swat to his arm.

“Oh, fuck off.”

“It’s true. You two make me sick. I’m still waiting on that nephew though.”

Felipe’s shop was filled with their laughter and he smiled as he sliced some meat, simply listening to their banter. It was nice seeing Angel interact with her, having a friend that was a good influence, getting him to open up. He had retreated within himself some as a teenager, closing up even more after Marisol’s death. Felipe was happy that he had a female figure around now that he felt he could trust, almost like a big sister even though she was a good handful of years younger than him. Felipe was thankful for Camila and the difference she had made in their lives so far. He just hoped that it would last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“Kevin stopped me again today.”

EZ’s hand that was resting on her thigh squeezed at her words, his jaw immediately tensing. Camila shook her head and rested her hand atop his.

“It’s ok. I didn’t tell you so you could get mad. I just know you said to always tell you when I see him.”

EZ nodded and tried to relax, his eyes locked on hers.

“What did he say? What did he want?”

She rubbed her hand on the back of his.

“He showed me a picture of Emily Thomas. He wanted to know what I knew about her.”

Whatever tension had left from EZ’s body came back full force and Camila winced.

“He told me that she was your ex. I told him that I didn’t even know that. I didn’t tell him anything, I told him to go away.”

EZ relaxed some and gave a heavy sigh, but she could still feel the anger and apprehension coming off on him and she squeezed his hand, drawing his attention toward her.

“I’m not mad. I just…want to know what’s going on. Why does Kevin care what I know? Why does he want me to know who your ex is?”

EZ could feel the tips of his ears getting red, pissed of beyond belief that KJ was once again, getting involved in his business and bringing Camila into something she shouldn’t be worried about. His father’s words rang in his ears and he while he had wanted to hold off for as long as possible, he was starting to see that, as always, Felipe had been right. If he didn’t start sharing more of the truth with her, it was going to push her away. That was the last thing he wanted.

“I…”

EZ trailed off, not sure how much he should tell her, Camila’s furrowed brows and worried eyes weren’t making him feel any better.

“I have some bad shit that has happened in my past, something that I’ve done…things that I’m not proud of. I didn’t mean to, but KJ is using that against me to make me…”

He huffed out a shaky breath and Camila hushed him, taking his head in her hands and bringing him to rest against her chest, EZ’s eyes clipping closed at the contact. He relaxed into her, arms wrapping around her waist as she held him to her, running her hand along the back of his head.

“It’s ok, baby. I understand. It’s ok.”

Camila could feel the tension slowly releasing from EZ’s body as he relaxed into her, her hands so warm as they held his head. EZ’s face was squished against her breast and he found himself both shocked and confused at how understanding she was being, how patient she was being and how she was trusting him. Sure, he hadn’t given the full details, about accidentally shooting the cop or that he had taken a deal, but Camila understood the basics anyway. That he had made a huge mistake and now that mistake was being used against him to use him for something greater. The new bit in information made Camila angry, knowing that someone as sweet as EZ was being used by a system that was put in place to try and protect people. She understood then why EZ was so secretive, why Kevin was trying in vain to make EZ look bad, in hopes that she would turn. It wasn’t going to work though, Camila’s loyalty to EZ and his family grew day by day.

Camila leaned back on EZ’s couch some, still holding him to her and went with her, his body resting atop hers. She pulled at the leather of his kutte and she arched his arms back, letting her pull it from his frame and toss it onto the tabletop. Her hands made their way back to him, one on the back of his head again, the other on his back, running up and down. He groaned as she scratched every now and then through his white tee, his head comfortable on her breasts as he held her. There was nothing sexual, nothing raunchy running through his head as it had so many times before when he was this close to her. Now all he felt was comfort. He felt safe and relaxed like there was a weight lifted when she was holding him like this. It wasn’t often that he let people look after him, so used to doing it for others. Between the years he was down and then now being a prospect, being dotted on wasn’t something he was used to, and he’d have been lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it. He closed his eyes and snuggled into her chest further.

“You have what you’re wearing to El Padrino’s event?”

He felt Camila nod, her nurturing hands still holding him.

“I have three outfits picked out, I figured I’d let you decide for me.”

EZ nodded against her and lifted his head up some, locking eyes with her.

“I’ll pick one of them tomorrow.”

Camila smiled and EZ did too, loving to see how her face lit up whenever she did. He sat up some and pressed his lips to hers, that soft laugh that he had come to love sounding from her. His eyes bore into hers and slowly her smile slipped away as she saw the intensity of his gaze.

“Te amo, Camila.”

Her smile came back almost instantly then, and she leaned forward to rub the tip of her nose against his.

“Te amo, Ezekiel.”

He shuddered softly and gave a breathless laugh.

“It’s embarrassing how it makes me feel when you say my name like that.”

Camila shook her head and tapped his chest with her finger.

“It’s not embarrassing to be loved.”

EZ kept his eyes trained on hers and then sat up, standing from the couch and holding his hand out to her.

“Let’s get you home.”

Tag list: @caramara3 @lostgirl219 @mrsjaxtellerfan @actuallyazriel @vannabanana1995 @unnecessarypineapplesstuff @thegreat-annamaria

#Mayans MC #ez reyes #angel reyes #Kevin Jimenez #el destino #mayans imagine #ezekiel reyes #Felipe Reyes #mayans fx

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blackjack-15 · 5 years ago

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Puttering Around — Thoughts on: Secret of the Old Clock (CLK)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: CLK, CUR.

The Intro:

In our next Jetsetting game, Nancy travels back from Modern-Day England and straight into 1930s Titusville (aka River Heights 70+ years ago) to help an acquaintance who’s in the middle of two unrelated plots to turn Titusville upside down.

A game famously reviewed as “pleasant but inconsequential”, Secret of the Old Clock tends to be passed over for both praise and censure, famous for two minigames (the sewing minigame and the mini-golf) but otherwise overlooked. It’s a shame, really, that it’s sandwiched in between two much flashier games, as CLK is a wonderfully solid entry into the Nancy Drew series. It pioneers the two-culprit variation on the standard Nancy Drew plot, tackles a new time period, and includes dozens of in-jokes towards the Nancy Drew books.

It’s also the first introduction of Carson Drew as a phone character, which is a lot of fun, and makes sense that he’d show up in the game that includes nods to all things canon. He doesn’t show up again until much later in the series, so it’s nice to introduce him here after hearing about him for 12 games.

As opposed to CUR right before it, CLK takes care to ground itself in a linear plotline, handling its story with relative ease and taking care not to reach too far out of the box. This is one of its greatest strengths, and provides a much better game overall because of it. It’s a simple story, pretty well told.

Though it doesn’t stand up to other more “simple” games before it such as CAR or DDI, it never reaches any of the lows of SCK, FIN, or CUR, and allows the player to be sucked in to its fantastic facsimile of life in the 1930s for teen sleuth Nancy Drew — blue roadster and all.

The Title:

As CLK is a mixture of the first four Nancy Drew books, it retains the title of the first book. As a nod to the history of Nancy Drew, it’s a great choice for the title.

Unfortunately, though the Old Clock does appear and hold secrets, it’s just not prominent enough to deserve the title that it holds. The other three books — The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn — are other options, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn would have been the most appropriate title. It doesn’t have the immediate name recognition, which is why they didn’t pick it, but it really is much better and encapsulates the game much better, as the game revolves around the Mysteries that are tied to the Inn.

That’s all I really have to say about that, so onto the mystery!

The Mystery:

Nancy Drew is summoned to the Lilac Inn to help Emily Crandall, the friend of Nancy’s friend Helen Corning, who needs to put her recently deceased mother’s jewelry into a safe, and figures that Nancy’s father would have one.

If it sounds to you like a simple, if slightly contrived premise, then you’d be right.

Once Nancy gets there, however, she finds out that Emily is cracking under the pressure of running an Inn, that her guardian Jane Willoughby isn’t as much help as she should be, and that Emily and her mother were depending on money from Josiah Crowley’s will, which mysteriously only included his recent ESP teacher, Richard Topham, rather than the Crandalls and the local banker.

From there, things go from bad to worse as the inn’s kitchen catches fire, Emily’s jewels are stolen (and partially returned), and voices in the walls start manifesting — not to mention the fetch quests around Titusville that Nancy is sent on and the ridiculous Richard Topham hiding everything about himself other than how pompous he really is.

Nancy soon figures out that this mystery is two-headed, with one side revolving around the Inn itself and the other around Josiah Crowley’s real — and missing — will. Our villains catch on too, however, and Nancy has to race against their suspicion to expose the frauds, discover hidden secrets and identities, and solve the Secret of the Old Clock.

As a mystery, this one really is quite good for its time. Dual villains, each unconcerned with the other, hidden inheritance, Shakespeare references — it’s got it all. Though Jim Archer lets it down a bit in his sheer nothingness, and it functions as a howdunnit with a weird whodunnit beginning, CLK is solid ground after the incredibly shaky mystery in CUR, and it’s a lot of fun to play through.

The Suspects:

Emily Crandall is our protagonist and resident watering pot of CLK who spends the game moping and being Generally Unhelpful. Her mom’s death notwithstanding, Emily’s stressors are the Inn, her lack of money, and her fake-guardian making her think that she’s crazy.

So maybe her total lack of common sense in wanting to call in Nancy because Nancy’s bound to have a safe at home is a result of copious amounts of mental stress. One can only hope so, as by her next birthday she’s the legal owner of the Inn.

Emily actually would have been interesting as a villain, but she, like Jim, just isn’t enough of a presence in the game — which stands out since she’s the closest we’ve got to a main character! She cries a lot, she sits a lot, and that’s about it. She would have had to be a misguided villain, convinced that her guardian (who would have had to actually be Jane Willoughby) is after her fortune…but HER still isn’t up to that level yet, and it’s probably better that they went with a story they can tell wholly and mostly convincingly.

Honestly speaking, Emily, being as she is, is a more successful Linda Penvellyn, which I don’t actually think is unintentional. She’s being harassed and abused by someone who’s basically a family member but is still largely unfamiliar to her, the tie to her remaining family is gone (though Emily’s mother is dead, unlike Hugh Penvellyn), and she is being gaslighted to believe that she’s crazy.

Emily was allowed more agency, more screen time, and more pity by the writers and creators, and because of that, her situation with her Evil Jane is far more obvious to the average player, and she’s treated with far more sympathy than Linda historically has been by the fandom (though recent fan discussion has begun trending in Linda’s favor, which I think is wonderful and fantastic).

Jane Willoughby is, of course, not Jane Willoughby after all, but actually Marion Aborn, proving that identity theft in the 30s was as easy as…well, saying that your name was someone else’s name.

An acquaintance of the actual Jane Willoughby and a petty thief, Marion intercepted the letter about Gloria’s death and Jane’s status as Emily’s guardian and decided to try to cash in on potential cash by tormenting Emily until she signed over the Inn. Exploding the kitchen, stealing Emily’s jewels, and attempting to make the girl think that she was crazy to make her sell the Inn before her 18th birthday (after which Marion would receive no profits).

As one of two culprits, Marion is the more “subtle” culprit and has the more complicated background, but is also the one you have to deal with the most, and thus suffers slightly from being in the spotlight (and thus showing the obviously evil side of her) a little too much. As this game isn’t really concerned with its culprits as a centerpiece, however, Marion’s antics fit right in.

Marion also gets points for being a much more intelligent abusive culprit (contrasting Jane), working hard to make Emily think she’s crazy with a clear goal in mind and even going as far as stealing, then partially replacing, Emily’s jewels to really hammer home the idea that the girl wasn’t mentally well to others — and to Emily herself.

Richard Topham is a self-proclaimed ESP expert and everyone-else-proclaimed dick who ended up somehow being the beneficiary of Josiah Crowley’s will, despite his spoken intentions to leave it to the Crandalls and Jim Archer. He also has a very obnoxious cat named Uri, voiced by a lovely cat named Carl (though I bet you were expecting me to say Jonah Von Spreecken — never fear, he shows up as the Tubby Telegram guy!)

Richard is our other culprit, guilty of falsifying Josiah Crowley’s will when no one could find the original, leaving most everything to himself rather than to the Crandalls or Jim Archer as Josiah wanted. A slight throwback to the 1920s obsession with spiritualism that itself was a post-war reaction to massive death, Richard is as sleazy as they come, testing Nancy for an “inferior mind” and taking advantage of every situation in order to come out on top.

As a culprit, Richard’s technically the one with the bigger crime, but is overshadowed by the plotline with Emily and Marion and is thus a little forgettable, even though it was his actions that started this whole mess in the first place.

Finally, Jim Archer is the local banker who’s not having too good of a time during, well, the Great Depression, where hundreds of banks (and dozens of bankers’ hearts) failed. Promised a boon by Josiah Crowley, he, like Emily, is left in the lurch after the false will was presented. Jim was also a fellow student with Carson Drew at law school, but turned to banking as a career instead.

Despite his office being the location where Nancy finally figures out the mystery of the titular Old Clock and where she discovers that “Jane” is actually Marion, Jim really doesn’t have much to do in this game. He gives Nancy the dreaded sewing minigame and reminds the player that the stock market crash was a recent event, but other than that has very little impact.

Jim would have been a poor choice for a villain — he just doesn’t have the personality or impact necessary — as the only storyline readily available would have been him doing Dirty Deeds to keep his bank afloat…except for the fact that if he were a villain, his bank would have been doing fine, with no need for the will anyway.

The Favorite:

My favorite moment in the game, odd as it might seem, is the CB radio conversation-slash-puzzle. It’s so rare in these pre-Nik games that we actually get to see the lives of those not really related to the case/mystery and get a sense for the world spinning on despite the incident, and this is a great example of that done right.

Like the “freezer moment” mentioned in my Danger on Deception Island meta, this moment where Nancy can see how Josiah Crowley’s life has impacted people for the better, rather than the main game where so far his death has made everything worse. It’s a wonderful moment, and honestly the game is worth replaying on the merit of that alone (though there are many wonderful things about it).

My favorite puzzle is getting down into the secret passage (and all of the puzzles within the passage). It’s a ton of fun to find hidden passages that aren’t full of Deadly Traps or human remains, and the whole Creepy’s Corner puzzle is delightfully campy and awesome.

The best location in the game by far is the carriage house, where the aforementioned conversation takes place. Beautifully lit, nicely hidden away in stages, and the only place that doesn’t feel like a 1960s set of a 30s period piece.

I love this game as homage to the original Nancy Drew titles; though they’re changed somewhat to suit both a video game style and the take on the original canon that the video game universe took (such as making Nancy’s mother’s death at 10 as it was originally, which was the smartest move they’ve ever done).

Video-Game-Style Nancy’s far more like her original 30s version than the sanitized, “fashion-ized” version in the 60’s rewrites — a fact that becomes more and more clear as the series goes on — and it really does show here, as cowboy-cop Nancy wrangles not one but two crooks.

Speaking of, the last thing that I’ll mention in this section is the fact that there are two different culprits, each uncaring of the other. In a game series that was originally only supposed to be 12 games long (meaning CLK would be the last one), this is a delightfully fresh take and it makes untangling who did what a lot of fun and makes CLK different from most games before it.

I’ll talk more about this in later Nancy metas, but the shift from “one crime, one culprit” to a more “spread the guilt” approach really makes the games go up a level or two in enjoyability and in complexity, and CLK is a great example of how just having two culprits really makes the game much more fun to play around with.

The Un-Favorite:

All of that being said, there are some things in CLK that I really don’t love.

The sewing puzzle is honestly the worst; it’s hard with a mouse and nearly impossible with a trackpad, it’s tedious, and it doesn’t matter for the rest of the game, which is probably the worst part given how much effort it takes. It’s a puzzle for a puzzles’ sake, and doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know (we know Jim’s not doing well; we know it’s the Great Depression, etc.), not to mention not rewarding the player nor Nancy for the effort.

My least favorite moment in the game would have to be Nancy’s first encounter with Richard Topham. Nancy’s autonomy is usually respected in both the 30s original drafts (less so in the 60s re-writes) and in the games, and Richard’s comments about lesser minds and his little test are, even with Nancy’s snarky comment about him in her diary, frankly out of place.

They don’t serve as a “relic of the times”, they don’t make us hate Richard more than we would have for stealing money from people who are literally drowning in bills and debt…and as much as the Nancy Drew books and character are feminist rather than Feminist, it’s honestly not great to have both his ‘clients’ during the course of the game be women that he treats the way he does.

It wasn’t necessary to have him behave the way he does, it contradicts the Spiritualist movement (which was most popular among women to a startling degree, and male Spiritualists tended to treat their female clients very well because that was the bulk of their clientele), and it doesn’t tell us anything new about him, because Nancy and the players already know he’s a fake and a blowhard.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Secret of the Old Clock?

The first and biggest fix I’d make is to include a strong storyline about Spiritualism. As noted several times above, Spiritualism was a huge force in the 1920s, and a period piece set in the year 1930 should necessarily reflect that. Quite frankly, all the nonsense about Jim Archer’s wife should just be cut and replaced with a big Spiritualism puzzle of some sorts.

I’m not saying a séance — no need to retread MHM — but an actual nod to Spiritualism (and through it, the first World War, which given Nancy’s age of 18, would have happened when she was a child) more than just “and this character is a psychic of sorts, don’t really think about it” would improve the game and ground it in its time period. Other than the references to money troubles and the ease of identity theft, there’s not much to ground CLK in its period, and I really think a Spiritualism storyline would aid that.

And if Spiritualism is involved, Richard becomes a more present, more serious character — and a more serious threat. It also opens the opportunity for the two plotlines to intersect — is Emily being driven crazy by stress, an enemy, or a malevolent spirit (which could even be supposed to be her mom, should they want a slightly darker turn)? Richard might visit the house to ensure there are no ‘malevolent presences’ around — and ensure that Crowley didn’t hide his will there.

It wouldn’t become a ‘haunting’ game; it would instead work on the aesthetic of familiar spirits — something that would be explored more fully in the next game.

I know this has been said, but I can’t emphasize enough that the sewing puzzle should be cut, even if there’s nothing to take its place. It’s a perfect example of the wrong puzzle, the wrong controls, and the wrong side-quest at the wrong time. I’m also not sure why they made Jim Archer a middle-aged banker rather than Helen Corning’s fiancée, but that’s too small a change to really bother with.

The other important change I would make is to change CLK from a weak whodunit — our culprits are already clearly the culprits — to a strong howdunit, which is what it really wants to be.

The beginning can stay the same — Nancy’s journey, Emily’s mother’s death, Richard’s faking of the will, Josiah Crowley’s death and promises, etc. — but introducing Richard Topham at the Inn, there to ‘visit’ and offer condolences and because he sensed Heavy Psychic Energy and wondered if it was coming from the house or from Emily. Have Emily tell Nancy in confidence that the other reason she called her in was because she’s either going crazy or being attacked on all sides, and the game can proceed on from that point.

Because the villains aren’t secret or even quasi-hidden in plain sight — save for Marion’s identity theft — it’s a much more natural shift to a howdunit than other games. Emily’s living in fear of Marion, running the Inn, and the possible Malevolent Spirit that may or may not be her mother haunting her through the Secret, Secret Passageway in the Inn, and Nancy’s suspicious of Richard Topham who inherited all of Crowley’s wealth, of the ‘hauntings’ of the Inn, and of the missing will and the gifts Josiah left behind.

Those two plotlines alone are enough to carry the game, especially including the Edutainment section on Spiritualism that would tie in with Richard Topham (and possibly include Emily’s mother having an interest due to her husband dying in the war), and so Jim Archer just isn’t needed as much. Whether he stays in the game in an even more reduced role or whether he’s replaced by a ninth-hour character in the form of Emily’s actual guardian, the real Jane Willoughby, is up to personal preference (though I personally like the second option).

Like all the Jetsetting games, CLK begins with a small problem that snowballs into larger and larger consequences. By emphasizing a Spiritualist plotline (culminating with the technology-based ‘encounters’ Josiah had with his CB radio friends), trimming down the fat with Jim Archer, and selling CLK from the beginning as more of a howdunit than a whodunit, CLK would improve enough to be more than just a good game, and become a standout of its era — as befitting the start of the titular teen detective.

#nancy drew #clue crew #secret of the old clock #nancy drew games #CLK #nancy drew meta #long post #my meta #video games

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smkkbert · 5 years ago

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We ended as Lovers (2/12)

Summary: Three years ago, Felicity’s life was perfect. She was offered a job at two great companies. Her boyfriend just started his own fashion label, and they picked a perfect apartment to live in together. The more heartbroken she was when Oliver got cold feet and it all ended. Now, Felicity is coming back to Starling City, well aware that she is destined to run into her ex-boyfriend there. While old feelings revive quickly, the pain still goes deep. Besides, for some reason Oliver seems to be angry with her.

Previous Chapters: 1 or read on Ao3

* * *

Chapter 2: Sweetheart Neckline

“It’s just so good to see you again.”

Felicity’s chuckle sounded more like a choking sound as Sara hugged her so firmly that she could barely breathe. Sara might be almost as short as Felicity, but she had a lot of strength in every single inch of her. If the firmness of her hug was anything to judge. Felicity guessed that she wasn’t the only one who had missed her friend.

“I am so happy that you are here,” Sara said eventually, pulling back a little to look Felicity up and down quickly. “You look good. Still cute actually.”

Still cute. Felicity couldn’t help but smile at Sara’s words. They reminded her of the good, old times when they had liked to fool around, saying that maybe one day they would be together. They had always been perfectly in tune as friends and roommates which would have probably made it easy to be romantically involved with each other. Felicity even considered herself open to any kind of love that would come her way. It had just never clicked between Sara and her, not even during that awkward kiss while they had been spinning the bottle.

“You look great too.” Felicity tugged at a strand of Sara’s blonde hair. “I guess you are glowing like every bride does. Or is it blushing?”

“If you don’t know, how am I supposed to know?” Sara chuckled. “Anyway, not every bride might actually glow or blush. I am very sure that Nyssa is none of that, and nobody would even dare to claim anything else.”

Perking up her eyebrows, Felicity turned her head to where Nyssa was standing in the frame of the door. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her body posture was tense, and her lips were pinched slightly. Smiling, Felicity realized that Sara was right. Nobody would ever dare to call Nyssa a glowing or blushing wife, not if they were somewhat sane.

“It’s not like I am not looking forward to the wedding,” Nyssa said a little grumpily. “I am just happy on the inside.”

Nyssa looked at Sara intensely. Though she almost seemed angry or annoyed about her fiancée’s words, the moment Sara flashed her a smile, the corner of Nyssa’s lips started twitching too. Nyssa might not be the most talkative person, but she was a good soul, and she was completely in love with Sara.

“As long as you two are happy, that is all that really counts.” Felicity let go of Felicity and hugged Nyssa. “I’m happy that you are happy.”

After a brief moment, Felicity let go of Nyssa and took a step back. She knew that Nyssa wasn’t really comfortable with too much physical affection other than the one was shown by Sara. Felicity respected that.

Looking Felicity up and down, Nyssa frowned. Her eyes narrowed down on Felicity, and her lips puckered even more.

“Sara is right,” she said. “You do look a lot better than you did when we visited you in Hub City six months ago and way better than you do on the tiny displays of our phones.”

Although there was a bit of a compliment in there that she didn’t doubt was actually meant honestly, Felicity knew that there was a little bit of a reproach in Nyssa’s words too. It was her work at Helix Dynamics and her refusion to come to Starling City that was to blame for the six months they hadn’t seen each other in person.

Sara cleared her throat and quickly stepped towards Nyssa, wrapping an arm around her waist. “What Nyssa is trying to say is that we are very happy that you came here to celebrate our wedding with us. Right?”

Nyssa pressed her lips together for a moment before she put on a smile. “Right.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have missed your wedding for anything.”

“Good because I would have killed you otherwise.” Sara nodded towards the inside of the apartment. “Now come in, or I’ll start feeling like you are on the run.”

Felicity followed her friends into the open living space where kitchen, dining room and living room were joint into one large area. The walls were at least five-meter-high, and the wall toward the terrace and garden was covered with large muntin windows that reached from the floor up to the ceiling. The dark hardwood floor was a contrast to the light walls and furniture. Everything looked incredibly elegant and expensive.

“Wow,” Felicity said. “I knew that OJQ isn’t paying badly, but I never thought that they would pay you enough to afford something like this.”

“They don’t,” Sara admitted honestly. “Moira promised that, once OJQ is really running with the big dogs on the fashion market, we will be paid more. So far, we earn a little less than most models do.”

“But you don’t mind,” Felicity said, not having to ask.

“Of course not. The Queens have been my family since dad died, so…”

Sara shrugged her shoulders. Felicity could see the glance of sadness in her eyes. Through the years it had become less, but it was still always there when she talked about her father. She really missed him since they had been very close and so very similar.

“So, how do you afford this?” Felicity asked. “The rent doesn’t pay itself, right?”

“Actually, it does.” Sara shrugged her shoulders once more. “It’s property of the Queen Family. Robert suggested that we would live here without paying rent. We should take that as a bonus for being the face of OJQ.”

“Which doesn’t mean that OJQ pays that badly that we wouldn’t be able to afford a place of our own,” Nyssa explained, dropping into the cushions of the couch. “It’s just that we could have never found something this beautiful.”

Felicity shot Nyssa a brief smile, nodding her head. She was sure that an apartment like this was a rare treasure to find here. She remembered how hard it had been when she had tried to find a place to live here in Starling.

Quickly, Felicity pushed the thought aside. It was too painful as searching for a place to live had been the beginning to the end. Maybe she would still call Starling City her home if it hadn’t been for that.

“So, how are things going with Ray?” Sara asked, letting herself fall onto the couch over the backrest. “Is everything still good?”

“We broke up.”

Sara’s smile dropped. “Oh.”

Smiling, Felicity shrugged it off. She seemed to have much less problems with the break-up than most other people did. Maybe it was just the fact that she had had some more time to think about it. Robert, Sara and Nyssa had heard about it the first time now here.

“It’s not that bad,” Felicity explained. “There was no big fight and no heartbreak. We just realized that we didn’t work as a couple. I mean we could tell each other everything about work, and we could work together constructively, but it wasn’t what a relationship should be like. We are better off being friends.”

“It’s good you realized that now before it’s too late.”

When Sara shot Nyssa a glare, she rolled her eyes. Felicity bit down on her tongue. She didn’t want to get into this little conversation between the soon-to-be weds. It was amusing to see them so in tune with each other though. Sara and Nyssa had always been the kind of couple everyone else was looking up to.

“So, what else are you doing?” Sara asked. “I mean what do you do all day in Hub City?”

“Work.” Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I guess.”

“Exciting.”

Nyssa’s voice left no doubt that she was being sarcastic. While Sara shot her another glare, Felicity couldn’t be angry with Nyssa. She was right. Her life sounded incredibly boring. It probably would be if she didn’t love her job as much as she did.

Clearing her throat, Felicity changed the subject. “So, tell me everything there is to know about the wedding. I want to know everything.”

Sara and Nyssa exchanged a look that left no doubt how deeply they were in love with each other. Sara scooted a little closer to Nyssa on the couch and put her hand on Nyssa’s knee.

“Robert’s paying for the wedding.”

Felicity faltered briefly. She had expected a lot of first information to get about this wedding, but she hadn’t necessarily expected this to be the first thing Sara would tell her. She guessed most people would have talked about the location, the food or maybe the dress.

“Well, you did grow to be family to the Queens after your dad died,” Felicity said. “I am sure you made him very happy when you agree to let him pay for the wedding.”

“Yes, he offered again and again, and eventually, we just agreed,” Sara replied, nodding her head. “I wouldn’t have needed him to pay for the wedding, but it was a good feeling to know that he wanted to do so because he felt like he was my father, at least a little bit.”

Felicity smiled, knowing exactly what Sara meant. Robert Queen was the most generous person she knew, and he gladly invited everyone who was interested to become a part of his family. He had done so with Sara after her dad head died and she had had nobody else. He had done so with Nyssa when she had been abandoned by her father after he had found out that she was into girls. Once she had started dating Oliver, he had welcomed her with open arms too, and he would have still considered her family even if she had worked for his concurrent.

“Well, of course that means that they can also control the media,” Nyssa added, “but I think we found a good compromise on that.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows. “There will be press attending?”

“No, we could convince Moira that we didn’t want that,” Sara replied. “We hired two of our usual fashion photographers though, and some selected photos as well as a joint interview will be printed in the next issue of the Vogue.”

Felicity whistled out a breath of impression. “That’s a big thing.”

“A lesbian and a bi that work as the faces of the same fashion label getting married in an extraordinary ceremony,” Nyssa said. “That is a big thing.”

“True.” Felicity nodded her head. “The media wouldn’t be interested if you weren’t this good at your jobs.”

Nyssa couldn’t hide the proud smile on her lips. Becoming a model hadn’t been easy for her as she had had no support of her family. She often seemed like she didn’t care about a lot of things, but Felicity knew better. Nyssa cared deeply.

“So, is anyone of your family attending the wedding?” Felicity asked Sara. “Like your mom or Laurel at least?”

Nyssa put her hand over Sara’s at the question, offering silent comfort. It was a rare occasion when Nyssa was the one pushing for the touch. She knew that Sara needed it, so she offered it gladly.

Felicity didn’t know what exactly had happened between Sara, her mother and her sister. All she knew was that their relationship had broken apart when Sara’s parents had gotten divorced. Laurel had moved to Central City with her mother. Sara had stayed in Starling with her father. It had been a difficult situation, and they had never really recovered from it. When Quentin had died on duty, the split through the Lance Family had only deepened.

“Laurel and my mom will come for the rehearsal dinner and for the wedding,” she replied a little tensely, and not even her smile could cover that she wasn’t comfortable talking about it. “I only found the courage to call them up and invite them after you agreed to be my maid of honor. That way I could have a reason why I didn’t ask Laurel to be my maid of honor. It made things easier.”

“You still don’t want her to take over the task?”

“No,” Sara hurried to say and shook her head firmly. “It’s going to be a challenge to have my mom and Laurel there for the wedding as it is. The less time I spent with them alone, the better.”

Felicity smiled at her encouragingly. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”

“I know you do.” Sara released a sigh of relief, her fingers tightening around Nyssa’s hand. “And I already have Thea.”

“I guess she still loves organizing parties?”

“That and celebrating them,” Nyssa replied. “The little Queen is full of energy.”

Felicity smiled, thinking about how much she had missed Thea too. She didn’t have any siblings. While she and Oliver had been together, she had loved to see Thea as her sister though. They had been incredibly close, the way good sisters were, and Felicity had felt more than relieved that Thea had stayed in touch with her even after she had moved to Hub City.

“She is full of energy,” Felicity agreed, nodding her head, “but she usually manages to leads her energy onto the right paths. I am sure she got a lot of great ideas when it came to the wedding.”

“Yes, she did.” Sara nodded her head firmly. “It was her idea to use the Queens’ garden for the wedding ceremony, and she drew sketches of how to set up the tents and everything.”

That sounded a lot like Thea, Felicity thought to herself. Oliver’s younger sister never did anything half-heartedly. She loved to throw herself into new tasks headfirst. If she did, she always made the best of it. She never gave up easily, and she had the power to convince people of her ideas.

“She once mentioned that she always imagined planning your wedding with Oliver that way.”

Felicity’s heart stood still for a second. It didn’t go unnoticed by Sara, who threw her fiancé another angry glare. Felicity lowered her gaze, trying to ignore it. She didn’t want to think about what could have been between her and Oliver. Maybe in a couple of years she could laugh about it, but she wasn’t ready to do so yet.

Clearing her throat, Felicity lifted her gaze. She put on a smile that she knew didn’t reach her eyes. She could see it in Sara’s eyes. Her friend was looking at her with worry, wordlessly asking if everything was okay. Everything that had even remotely referred to her past relationship with Oliver had been a big taboo these last years.

“I am sure that Thea and I will make a good team.”

“That’s good to hear.” Sara smiled. “Maybe you could call her up and ask her if she needs help for our masquerade ball tomorrow.”

“A masquerade ball?”

“It’s ridiculous,” Nyssa mumbled, “but it was two against one.”

Sara pushed her elbow into Nyssa’s ribs playfully, and she dropped her head back on the top of the backrest with a groan. Felicity could still see the smile on her lips. As grumpy as Nyssa seemed, she was exciting for her wedding and whatever that masquerade ball was.

“Nyssa and I decided to share our bachelorette party because we have the same friends, and it would have been stupid to make them choose which party to go to,” Sara explained. “You know I was never a fan of those games or running around and selling kisses or anything. At first, we considered inviting everyone to dinner and going into a club after that.”

“I guess Thea had different plans?”

The corners of Felicity’s lips twitched. She couldn’t imagine that Thea would ever accept a bachelorette party like that. The youngest Queen had an extraordinary taste, and she knew exactly what was needed for an unforgettable party.

“She said we should pep it up a little.” Sara chuckled, knowing as well as Felicity did that it had to be an underestimation. “She organized everything at the Queen Mansion, and she designed dresses for Nyssa and me. Speaking of dresses, your dress for the wedding has to be fitted.”

Felicity nodded her head. “I know. I have that covered.”

Sara perked up her eyebrows. “Is Thea going to-?”

“No, Oliver will do it,” Felicity replied and hurried to continue, so there wouldn’t be any awkward pause. “I met Oliver at Queen Consolidated yesterday, and he invited or rather ordered me to his atelier tonight.”

“Maybe if I ask Thea-“

“Oliver would never let anyone touch his designs,” Felicity interrupted Sara, shaking her head. “Don’t worry. If Oliver has ever been professional, it has been during work. It will take fifteen, maybe thirty minutes. I can handle that.”

Sara looked at her intensely, and Felicity had to lowered her eyes. She couldn’t deny that her stomach tightened whenever she thought about this dress fitting tonight. Knowing how thorough Oliver was with his work, he was going to get very close to her. Felicity didn’t know if she would be able to handle that. She had only managed to find her freedom at some point in the last three years because she had known that Oliver was thousands of miles away.

With Oliver back in her reach, she felt her old anger embracing her, and she had never liked what that anger had turned her into. Still, the anger was easier to focus on than it was to focus on the heartbreak.

“Felicity, what happened between you and Oliver?”

Looking at Sara, Felicity put on a sad smile and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a long story.”

* * *

“This loft is one of my favorite realties. I don’t get the chance to show it to clients often. The happier I am about the opportunities to show it to you.”

The realtor – Felicity had tried without success to remember her name in the last thirty minutes, and she didn’t care enough to keep trying – pushed open the door. A brief glance inside proved to Felicity what she had suspected long before already. This was in no way in their budget, at least not the budget she and Oliver had agreed on.

Puckering her lips, Felicity shot Oliver a glare. Unimpressed by her anger, Oliver grinned. He laced his fingers through hers and lifted her hand to his lips. Taking the first step into the loft and pulling her inside with him, he kissed the back of her hand.

“The house was built in the 1920s by a local company that used it to provide living space to their industrial workers. Later, it was a normal apartment complex for the middle class. Last year, it was bought by one of Starling’s own property tycoons. He renovated the entire building, going as far as demolishing almost the entire inside to create fewer apartments with more space and luxurious appointments. The penthouse loft is the best example for that.”

Felicity looked around the spacious area. Kitchen, dining room and living room were combined to one. Over two metal stairs you could reach the gallery upstairs. Five doors led away from it to separate rooms, while there were open areas at the sides, so you could look down from upstairs. Through the windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling and covered three of the four walls, allowing her an extraordinary view. She could even see the harbor in the west of the city.

Squeezing Oliver’s hand, she let go of it to turn around herself and take in every inch of the loft. The dark flooring alone looked expensive. Combined with the brick walls and metal pillars, there was an industrial touch to it. It looked modern and old at the same time.

To Felicity’s surprise, she actually liked the loft, and that didn’t sit well with her.

“There are nearly 3100 square feet for you to spread yourself out,” the realtor added. The loft features soaring ceilings that allow the open construction over two floors with the spectacular gallery. The wide-plan hardwood floors are luxurious and work nicely into the industrial style that reminds of the old times of the building.”

Felicity flashed Oliver a brief glance. When he caught it, Felicity could see that he was biting back an amused grin. Neither of them was particularly fond of any kind of sales conversation which was why they had rejected the idea of hiring a realtor in the first place. Since their apartment hunting had been without success these last couple of weeks, they had figured that a realtor was their best choice of finding an apartment. Their first home together.

“You have a large fireplace in the living area and a luxurious designer kitchen over there. Are you interested in cooking?”

“Hell, no.” Felicity groaned at the idea of cooking and pointed back over her shoulder to where Oliver was already heading towards the kitchen. “He’s the cook in our relationship.”

“A man that can cook.” The realtor smiled at Oliver. “That’s impressive.”

“It’s just a hobby,” Oliver replied, shrugging his shoulders. “But I do need a good kitchen nonetheless.”

While Oliver and the realtor took in the kitchen, Felicity headed over to the living area. The fireplace looked indeed beautiful. She could imagine sitting in front of it during cold winter nights, working on her laptop while Oliver was drawing new sketches for his designs. Their feet would touch

Realizing that she could actually see herself living here, Felicity scrunched up her nose. The loft was nice. She couldn’t deny it even if she tried. Living here would be a dream come true – not necessarily her dream, but maybe the dream of eight-year-old her and definitely Oliver’s dream – if it wasn’t for the fact that she knew that they could never afford this.

Well, she could never afford this as she didn’t have millions of dollars in her account that was transferred to it from her escrow account when she had turned 21 years old. She hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her parents weren’t billionaires.

She saw the exposé of the loft on the small table next to the fireplace where glasses and some water were prepared for the clients. Sitting down on the edge of the table, she brushed through the magazine.

In addition to the data and facts they had gotten from the realtor, exposé informed her that there were six apartments in the building. The loft was the most luxurious one, but the other lofts got the same opportunity of using the 24-hour house staff, the fitness room and courtyard in the back of the building.

That alone was scary, so Felicity was afraid of reading more. This life of luxury was nothing she thought she would ever get used to. She barely understood how people could live like that.

Continuing to read, she learned that there were four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master bathroom even featured spa-like elements like a rain shower and a whirlpool, the master bedroom had a separate area that was already furnished with custom closets and parts of its ceiling consisted of glass. The office was constructed by an icon in the tech-field, so it was designed for the work with several computers and monitors. The balcony led from the northern over the eastern to the southern side, catching some sunlight all day and offering enough space for small parties.

Long story short, the entire loft was like the modern version of a castle. It was beautiful, extraordinary, and it matched both of their demands for a good living and work space. It might be more Oliver’s style, but Oliver had quite a good style.

That still didn’t solve the problem that it was nothing she could afford. Glancing at the last side, Felicity almost fainted at the prize as well as the fact that this wasn’t a loft to rent. It should be sold for a cool 2,250,000 dollars.

“So, what do you think?” the realtor asked. “Should we go upstairs and take a look at the rest of the rooms?”

“Actually,” Felicity said before Oliver could answer, “I’d like to talk to Oliver for a second.”

“Of course.” The realtor’s smile widened although Felicity could see a little bit of frustration behind the smile. Felicity guessed that she had realized within a couple of minutes that Oliver was the one she had impressed more easily and Felicity was the one who needed more convincing. “I will wait outside.”

As soon as the door had closed behind the realtor, Felicity lifted the exposé.

“For sale for more than two million dollars?”

Oliver rolled his lips into his mouth and cocked his head, admitting defeat. With a sigh, Felicity dropped the exposé to the table. They were short on time when it came to finding a new home as it was. Now they had lost some more time and-

“Okay, listen,” Oliver interrupted her thoughts and hurried towards her, grabbing her hands. “I know we decided to rent something, but we haven’t found anything we liked. I figured that maybe we should try something else.”

“This is definitely something else.” Felicity chuckled dryly. “Oliver, this is a modern palace, and it is beautiful in all different ways, but it’s too expensive.”

“Two million dollars are peanuts.”

“For you.”

Oliver already opened his mouth and took in a deep breath to reply when he realized that he didn’t know what to say. Sighing, he puckered his lips and brushed the knuckles of his fingers over her cheek.

“Is that still important?” he asked eventually, frowning slightly. “What’s mine and what’s yours? We want to live here together, and this place could make us both very happy. Can’t things just be ours from now on?”

Felicity felt her heart warming at the suggestion. For Oliver, it would really be that easy. He would just buy the apartment and make her feel like it was theirs every time of the day. He would never mention the money again, not even when they were fighting which they rarely ever did anyway.

For her, it just wasn’t that easy.

Moving in together with her boyfriend was a big thing as it was. Moving in when your boyfriend payed the apartment felt too big of a step. She knew that she wouldn’t really depend on him as she was still earning her own money, but it still felt like she was making herself a little dependable of Oliver and his lifestyle. She wasn’t sure if she could do that.

“Okay, come here.” Oliver tugged at her hand, pulling her against him, so her back was resting against his chest. Turning her towards the living space, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on her shoulder. “We could place a fluffy carpet in front of the fireplace, so we can make love in front of the fire in cold winter nights. We could place a long wooden table over there where we have dinner together every night and tell each other about our days. Maybe that area upstairs could be used as my space to work from home, and you use the office. The loft is the perfect place to work, to live and to love.”

With resentment, Felicity realized that she could indeed see all of that. She could see where the furniture was placed, and she could see Oliver working in the open area upstairs. She could even hear the heels of her shoes on the metal stairs when she was running towards the door, late for work after Oliver had kept her in the shower for a little longer than her schedule would have allowed.

And still it didn’t believe the unwell feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought about the costs of the loft. She didn’t want people to think that she was a gold digger. They thought that already, and they would certainly consider it proven if she moved into a loft that she could only live in because Oliver payed for it.

With a facial expression that she was sure showed how much she was caught in a dilemma, Felicity turned around to Oliver. He perked up his eyebrows, wordlessly prompting her to say what she was thinking. When Felicity bit down on her bottom lip instead, he chuckled softly.

“Let’s head home and discuss this,” Oliver suggested, freeing her bottom lip from the maltreatment of her front teeth by brushing his thumb over it. “We will find an agreement, I am sure.”

No sooner said than done, Oliver and Felicity left the loft. They told the realtor, who looked anything but happy, that they would call her and stepped outside on the sidewalk. Hand in hand, they headed back to Oliver’s apartment where they were staying most of the time.

“So, is the money the only reason you are against buying that loft?” Oliver asked eventually. “Or is there anything else?”

“I just never expected to live in something like that.” Felicity gestured back to the building. “Eight-year-old me who lived in an one-room apartment over a Turkish fast food restaurant would have loved that, but that version of me was just too much influenced by the fact that my dad left and pushed my mom and me into that kind of life.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath. She didn’t like talking about her dad and being left by him. More than a decade had passed since then, but the pain was still deep.

Oliver squeezed her hand, offering silent support. Felicity smiled softly and leaned against Oliver’s arm even more. She knew that she could always tell him what was on her heart. He always listened, and he always caught her when she fell. It was one of the many reasons why she felt so safe with him.

“I always imagined something smaller and cozier,” she added eventually, “like a townhouse.”

“It’s still the townhouse that was shown to us by the owner last week, right?” Oliver asked, squeezing her hand. “That is why you can’t say yes to the loft.”

Smiling, Felicity rested her head against Oliver’s shoulder and sighed. It still amazed her how well he knew her. He had the talent to voice what she was thinking because she had found the right words to say it. She was feeling as understood as she had never felt before, and what was even more surprising was that Oliver still loved her.

The thought made Felicity’s smile widened, and her stomach started prickling. They had been together for two years now. While their love for each other had certainly grown stronger with time, she still had a giant crush for this big, grumpy man, who turned into a teddy bear when they were alone.

“If I am allowed to think ahead, I think the townhouse might make sense.” When Felicity shot him a glance, he added, “A home with a garden will be useful if we have a dog or maybe a kid one day.”

“I still have great plans for my career,” Felicity reminded him, but she couldn’t help her heart to beat twice as quickly as before at the thought of spending the rest of her life with Oliver. “There is no time for a dog or a kid right now. I still have a hundred things to do before I can even think about taking on tasks that have nothing to do with work. I mean I want to have a name like my name at the façade of some building like your father has with Queen Consolidated before I have a baby. If you want to have a baby and-”

Felicity hadn’t realized how quickly she had spoken until Oliver had suddenly stopped walking, framed her face with his hands and made her shut up by kissing her lips gently. It took her a moment before she let the feeling of his soft lips against hers and the tickling of his stubble around her mouth relaxed her. With a sigh, she melted against Oliver’s broad body and answered to the kiss.

When they broke the kiss, Felicity moved her tongue over her lips, chasing the last bit of Oliver’s taste on them. Opening her eyes, she found Oliver’s gaze already on her. He was smiling softly, soothingly even.

“I know that,” he told her with a gentle voice. “I meant one day far down the line, not now. We both have plans where for our careers, and we should follow them before we follow other plans, especially having a baby.”

Felicity nodded. “A dog would be nice though.”

“No way!” Chuckling, Oliver put his arm around her shoulders as they continued their way home. “A dog is only going to mess up with my designs.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She doubted that there was a lot to mess up given the way Oliver worked. He loved to create chaos all around him while he was working. He claimed that there was some structure to his chaos, but Felicity doubted it. She kept her thoughts for herself though.

“Now, as for our new home, I guess that someone has to give in.”

Felicity nodded her head. They had seen uncountable apartments, and they could take a look at another hundred ones. They would never fully agree on anything. They came from two completely different lifestyles, and they had very contrary tastes. They needed to decide.

“Either the townhouse or loft,” Felicity thought out loud, nodding her head. “It will be one of those two, but someone has to give in.”

“And I guess we both know who it will be.”

Felicity nodded her head, repeating, “We both know who it will be.”

They just had to share a look for them to know that they didn’t have to say it out loud. They already knew who was going to give in. In those two years they had been together, Felicity had been the one to give in for the sake of freedom most of the time. Besides, she could see them living in the loft more than Oliver could probably see them living in the townhouse.

Felicity didn’t mind giving in though. A lot of things had changed for her in the last years, and there had been a lot of things she had never thought were good for her had turned into something great for her nonetheless. Having a boyfriend for one was not half as distracting from her career as she had thought it would be. Oliver supported her in everything he did, and he was wonderful in a million different ways. After eighteen months of doing a long-distance relationship, moving in together was the right move for both of them.

Their gazes met. They were both smiling happily that the first step to moving in together had finally been made. There was finally getting movement into the whole thing. Finally, finally, finally.

When Oliver suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and scooped her up from the floor, swirling her around, Felicity chuckled. She put her arms as tightly around his neck as possible, holding onto him for dear life. While she was soon feeling dizzy from the swirling, she couldn’t stop laughing from joy.

Oliver kept his arms wrapped her around her tightly when he set her back to the floor, making sure that she wouldn’t lose her balance. He looked at her for a moment before he captured her lips in a hungry kiss. It told her all Felicity had to know although she knew it already. Oliver was looking forward to living with her just as much as she looked forward to it.

“We should sign the contract as quickly as possible.”

Felicity nodded her head. “Absolutely, but only after the first of April. I have-“

“-some other things to take care of, so you can start your new job at Merlyn Global in May.” Oliver pecked her lips. “I know.”

“The third of April would be perfect,” Felicity explained, remembering that it was a Monday. “At around eight.”

“Okay.” Oliver cocked his head. “I guess the loser can also make an appointment.”

Felicity hummed in agreement. It was better if she made that appointment anyway. Oliver might actually forget. He would never do so on purpose, but he just wasn’t that organized. There was a good reason his mother was the CEO of his company and not he himself.

“I am really happy we are moving in together,” Oliver whispered, moving his hand from the crown of her head back to her ponytail and wrapping it around his fingers as he loved to do. “Finally.”

Felicity smiled. “Finally.”

Oliver laced his fingers through hers as they continued their way home. Felicity rested her head back against his shoulder and put her free hand onto his bicep. She loved how her hand was just big enough to cup the muscle.

“We should celebrate our decision tonight.”

“I can’t. I’m going out with Sara and Nyssa for some drinks.”

Oliver groaned, reaching into the pocket of his leatherjacket to pull out his cigarettes. “I should have gotten involved with someone who wasn’t that beloved. Maybe that way my girlfriend would have time to- hey!”

Frowning, Oliver watched Felicity steal the cigarette from his lips before he could light it up. She trashed the cigarette in the first trashcan they walked past and quickly snatched the rest of the cigarettes from him too. With a triumphant smile on her lips, Felicity looked at Oliver, who was still frowning.

“You promised me that you’d stop smoking if I moved in with you,” Felicity reminded him. “That was the deal, Honey.”

When Oliver just grumbled again, Felicity chuckled. She was sure that she was going to suffer as much as he would these next few weeks until he had gotten used to the lack of nicotine. She was the one who would have to endure his moodiness that would probably come with the deprivation.

She didn’t mind. Oliver was worth it. What they had with each other was worth whatever struggle they might have to face to move in together as Felicity had never been this happy. For the first time, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. For the first time, she had a real home.

* * *

With a shake of her head, Felicity pushed those memories away. It wasn’t like she had forgotten all the good times she had ever had with Oliver. She knew that they had had a great time together. Otherwise, he would have never been able to hurt her the way that he had. The way he had ended things between them should just overweight whatever nostalgic warmth embraced her heart at the memory of good times.

Standing in front of OJQ, Felicity felt the mix of anger and sadness playing inside of her that had taken control of her the moment the plane had landed in Starling yesterday. She was sure if she didn’t get a hold of it soon, she would probably grow an ulcer in theses few days that she stayed here. She couldn’t have that.

Felicity shook her head once more. After three years, one might think that you got over the anger of a break-up. She had never been a resentful person, but she was resentful when it came to this she guessed. The betrayal coming from the person you had trusted the most was always the first after all.

Taking in a deep breath, Felicity tried to distract herself from her anger. She hated the idea that she was the angry girlfriend, and the last thing she wanted was to cause a scene. She was an adult and a successful business woman, so she would behave like one.

From what she could see of OJQ so far, Felicity guessed she wasn’t the only one who had become quite successful in the last three years. Back when she and Oliver had still been together, he had just started his own fashion label, and he worked in a tiny shop. By now, the administration of OJQ had moved into a modern office building, while the creative department was working in an annex.

Felicity knew that Oliver liked to have noises and movement around him. He could never work all alone in a wide room. He did, however, hate to be annoyed by people from the administration while he was doing his job. He wanted to focus solely on his designs.

With a glance at her watch, Felicity decided to go in. The longer she would wait, the harder it would be. The sooner she started, the sooner it was finished though.

The front desk wasn’t staffed, so Felicity just strolled through the annex. The industrial style reminded her a lot of the loft they had planned to rent. The thought made her heart tighten painfully for a second, but she pushed the thought away quickly.

“Oliver?” Felicity called out. “Oliver, I’m here. Come on, let’s get this over with quickly, so we can all go back to-“

Felicity stopped when a hulk of a man with arms like the trunk of a tree approached her. He could easily be frightening if it wasn’t for the warm smile on his face.

“Ms. Felicity Megan Smoak,” he said and spread his arms. “It’s great to see you again.”

Chuckling, Felicity stepped into John Diggle’s arms and let him hug her. When his arms wrapped around her small body, she thought about how easily he could crush her. She knew that he would never do that. John Diggle was a gentle giant and a person you could trust blindly.

“You look great, John,” Felicity told him when she pulled back. “Really great.”

“So do you.” John squeezed her fingers. “Are you here for the wedding?”

Felicity nodded her head. “Yes, I just arrived yesterday, and now I gotta fit my dress. He is lucky that Sara convinced me that I had to wear one of his designs. I would have definitely fought him on that, but I don’t fight with the brides. It’s their day, so I do whatever they need me to do, even if I have to be here for that.”

John hummed vaguely. In his eyes, she could see that he knew exactly that these next thirty minutes wasn’t going to be easy for her. Maybe Oliver had already told him about it.

“I was just about to leave, but now I wonder if I should stay in case you go at each other’s throats. Sara’s and Nyssa’s dresses aren’t through the last fitting yet either, and I am sure the sudden death of the designer and the maid of honor that short before the wedding would overshadow the occasion.”

“I hope it won’t be that bad.”

Felicity mumbled the words. She couldn’t deny that there was a real chance that that might actually happen. Three years of bottled up anger could easily lead her to claw out Oliver’s eyes. She wasn’t proud about it, but it was the truth.

“Do you-?”

Before John could ask his question, Oliver came from one of the rooms. He only shot Felicity a brief glance before he looked away. His facial expression darkened, and his muscles tensed.

“You’re here.” His voice sounded as tense as his body looked. “Hurry up and put on the dress. I don’t have much time.”

With that, he disappeared behind a curtain. Felicity shot John a glance and saw that he sighed. She guessed that he had been on the receiving end of Oliver’s mood most days. If John hadn’t the patience of a saint, he would have probably quit his job years ago.

“I will leave you two to it.”

Felicity nodded and hugged John once more, whispering into his ear, “If they find his dead body tomorrow, I hope you testify in my favor because it will have been out of self-defense.”

John chuckled and kissed her temple. “See you soon, Felicity.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Turning her head back over her shoulder, Felicity watched John leave. She took in a deep breath before she followed Oliver to the area behind the curtain.

The area was separated to only one side, so there was a clear view to the workplaces of the dressmakers that weren’t occupied right now. A giant table made of wood was placed in the middle of Oliver’s working area. Bales and shreds of cloth as well as papers with half-finished designs were lying around on the table and the floor, creating the usual chaos Oliver loved to work in.

“You can change in there.” Oliver nodded his head towards a curtained area in the back of his atelier without looking at her. “The dress is already there.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” Felicity mumbled to herself. “Your wish is my command.”

Rolling her eyes, she hurried towards the changing room, put away her purse and opened the clothes bag where her dress was kept. Felicity took a step back and puckered her lips, taking the dress in.

The long dress had a delicately lavender color. The skirt was made of several layers of flowing fabric. The top was made of a half-transparent fabric. Thanks to the embroidery with sparkling pearls, it still covered most of the skin. It formed a sweetheart neckline, so the cleavage, shoulders and arms were just covered by the transparent fabric. A small belt accentuated the waist.

Felicity liked the dress which angered her more than she had thought. Oliver shouldn’t be able to meet her taste that easily after three years.

Swallowing down her anger or annoyance or whatever it was, Felicity changed into the dress and looked herself up and down in the mirror. The dress looked even better on her body than it had looked on the hanger. It suited her figure, making her look a little slimmer than she was. It didn’t scratch her at all like she had feared it would. It was actually kind of comfortable.

“Are you getting ready today?” Oliver asked from outside. “Or don’t you know how to put on Haute Couture?”

Felicity rolled her eyes, pushing the curtain aside. She had a snide answer on the tip of her tongue, she didn’t get to voice it. The way Oliver looked at her, his pupils blown wide and his lips slightly opened, made every word die on her lips. She knew that expression, knew what it meant, and she couldn’t prevent it to cause a prickling in her center. Nobody had ever looked at her with so much desire like Oliver.

She glanced at his lips. They looked heavenly kissable, and kissing they could. That was what she remembered. She didn’t remember what had been their last kiss. She didn’t remember exactly what it felt like to kiss them. All she remembered that she had loved to kiss them.

Taken aback and even overwhelmed by her reaction to the way he looked at her, Felicity quickly lowered her gaze. She sucked in a deep breath, doing her best to push away whatever she had thought and felt a second ago. She had come to Starling for Sara and Nyssa, and she was using her trip to the forbidden city as she liked to call Starling for work. Those were the only reasons she had come here, just as it should be. After everything that had happened between her and Oliver, she had to focus on her anger if that was her only chance at withstanding him.

Only chance at withstanding him. The words echoed in her head. Oliver was handsome, hot even. He wasn’t irresistible. She had just underestimated her reaction to seeing him again which had made her weak for a second. It had confused her. If she just focused on his many bad traits, that little bit of weakness she still had for him would soon be forgotten.

“Get on the pedestal.”

His moodiness was certainly a good starting point. Oliver could look at her like he wanted to devour her in one moment and order her around coldly the next. She guessed the expression in his eyes had been directed at his latest design rather than the person in it.

Not surprisingly, the thought relaxed her a little.

Sucking in another deep breath, Felicity stepped onto the pedestal and let Oliver walk around her, to take in the dress. His face was completely focused. When he was at work, he was always completely focused because Oliver loved his job as much as she loved hers.

When his eyes met hers briefly, Felicity hurried to look away. She just focused on the dressmakers’ work stations. Some of them were arranged neatly. Every reel and every pincushion had its place. Others were just as untidy as Oliver’s atelier. Felicity was sure that those were the people Oliver preferred working with.

Getting closer to her, Oliver started working on the seams. He pinned it at her hips, at her waist and some other parts. Like it usually was when he was working on his designs, he was very thorough and absolutely focused. He ordered her around, making sure he got the access to the dress he needed.

Felicity just followed his orders, distracting herself by going through some reports mentally. Oliver wasn’t the only one who could focus on work after all.

It wasn’t until Oliver had worked his way to the front of the dress and started working on the neckline of it, Felicity felt her focus waver. Oliver’s face was so close that she had trouble not staring at him, no matter how hard she tried looking away. Oliver’s hands were brushing against her cleavage as he pinned the neckline. His breath was ghosting over her skin, causing goosebumps to spread there.

Felicity pressed her lips together, taking deep breaths. She tried not to let Oliver notice how much his close presence affected her. She wished she herself hadn’t noticed it.

Why did he have to smell so good? Under the biting scent of nicotine on his skin, Felicity could smell the scent that was truly Oliver’s. It was indescribable, but it made a flood of warmth go through her. His smell brought back the feelings of the good times, but Felicity couldn’t have that.

When she had finally agreed to come to Starling, she had thought that she could finally make a real cut. She had imagined running into Oliver, swallowing down her anger and finding the strength to forgive him. She had thought that would be the final step to making peace with what had happened between them.

Obviously, she had been wrong.

Oliver’s fingertips grazed against her skin purposefully now, following her goosebumps. A blush spread across her skin wherever he touched her.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Felicity met Oliver’s eyes. Just like when she had stepped out of the changing room, his pupils were blown wide and his lips were slightly parted. The sight made her breathing falter until it got stuck in her throat.

Felicity told herself not to do it. These last three years, she had found her peace. There had still been uncountable unanswered questions, but she had almost accepted that she would never get the answers. She had learned to live with it. If she drew a line here, maybe she could still go back to Hub City without feeling like she had to start all over before she had allowed her anger to cover the pain.

If she crossed this line, she possibly risked all steps of recovery she had already managed to take. Crossing this line was going to be a mistake.

It didn’t matter how many times Felicity told herself that. She repeated the words in her head again and again and again. Yet, she started moving at the same time Oliver did like some invisible power was drawing them towards one another. One moment they were still looking at each other intensely. The next, their lips were already clashing together.

That was what it had always felt like to kiss Oliver Felicity thought to herself when she felt like a thousand little fires were lightened up inside of her. They spread through her veins like wildfire, consuming every part of her. She was almost that embraced by the feeling that she could barely enjoy the feeling of his soft lips moving against hers, his tongue dancing with hers and his stubble tickling the skin around her lips.

All thoughts and all other emotions washed away as desire flooded through her.

Oliver’s arms wrapped around Felicity’s body. Strong as he was, he embraced her so tightly that she could feel his body oh so well. His biceps pressed against her sides. His hands roamed over her back. His abs pressed against her stomach. His hips urged towards her.

With a deep sigh, Felicity moved her fingers into Oliver’s hair. She pressed herself closer to him and stroked her tongue deeper into his mouth. Oliver moaned into the kiss in response. His fingers dug into her skin slightly like he was trying to hold onto her for dear life.

The little voice that had warned her of this before tried fight itself to Felicity’s consciousness, but all her sensations distracted her too much. The feeling of Oliver’s lips against her, the taste of his tongue, the vibration that went through his chest when he moaned against her lips. All that distracted her way too much to listen to any doubt. She was caught in the moment, unable to think about what had been or might be.

Soon, Oliver’s fingers were taking hold of the zipper at the waist of her dress. Without breaking the kiss, he lowered the zipper and brushed his fingers against her skin. The touch was featherlight at first. When Felicity arched her back, pressing her chest even stronger against him, he seemed to become braver. His hand moved into the small slit of fabric until it rested against the small of her back.

Felicity sighed into Oliver’s mouth. His hand was wonderfully warm, and that warmth spread across her skin now. Oliver’s fingers moved along her spine, making her melt into him even more. She could feel how calloused his fingertips were, especially against her soft skin.

More was all Felicity could think. She wanted more. She needed more. Everything inside of he was aching, demanding to fill the void those last three years had left with her. Her imagination or maybe her memory or even both had been sparked by, and she knew there was no going back now.

Quickly, Felicity grabbed the hem of Oliver’s shirt and pulled it up his body. It took a moment before Oliver pulled back and lifted his arms over his head, so she could take it off. Before she even got the chance to just drop the piece of clothing to the floor, Oliver’s lips were already on hers again, ravishing her.

Felicity put her hands to his shoulders. His skin was soft compared to the tight muscle it embraced. Felicity couldn’t withstand the desire to dig her short fingernails into his skin gently and scratch them down his back. Oliver growled against her lips in response, and Felicity couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Just you wait.”

Oliver mumbled the words against her lips, and Felicity already considered pulling back to tease him, but Oliver was quicker to react. He grabbed the skirt of her dress and pulled it over her head. Felicity could feel the pinups scratching over her skin, but to her surprise, neither of it pricked her too badly.

With a carelessness that Felicity had never seen when it came to how Oliver treated his designs, he threw the dress across the room to the floor. For the break of a second, she wondered if they had to pin it again now.

Oliver pushed his hands behind her knees and lifted her against him, making her focus switch back to him and only him. It was easy to focus on him because her naked chest was pressing to his chest now, her nipples rubbing against his heated skin. That fact that with her legs wrapped around his hips, she could feel his hardened member pressing against her panties only made her focus on him more.

Her hips started moving against him, rubbing her aroused sex against the zipper of his jeans to get the friction she needed so much. It offered some release, but not nearly enough. Her movements quickened, trying to get even more. Oliver groaned in response. His front teeth grazed against her bottom lip.

There was something raw to the way they moved together on instinct, following their need for release and nothing else. The rawness of the moment made them only drive forward even more purposefully. They were tearing at each other’s clothes, trying to get the last barriers away from between them.

While Oliver pulled his pants and boxer briefs down in one go, Felicity got up on her knees and got rid of her panties. As soon as Oliver had rolled the condom onto his cock, Felicity crawled to hover over him. Oliver positioned his cock at her entrance. Their eyes locked. Slowly, she sank down on him.

Her lips fell open at the feeling of how he eased into her. His cock stretched the slick walls of her channel, already fluttering around him. As much as she needed him to fill her immediately, she enjoyed the slow penetration too much to hurry up, especially given how tense Oliver’s jaw was. He was just as torn between the need of a quick relief and the enjoyment of slowing things down as she was.

Once his cock was buried deep inside of her, Felicity stilled. They looked at each other intensely, breathing the same air as they were panting from the arousal that was already taking hold of them. Desire and need were written all over Oliver’s face.

He was the one to move first. He shifted his hips, thrusting shallowly. The movement was all Felicity needed to have her need for more overweighting the enjoyment of slowing things down. It didn’t seem to be different for Oliver.

They moved together in perfect synch like it hadn’t been years that they had had sex the last time. When Oliver’s hips lifted off the floor slightly, Felicity pressed hers down onto him, making him go particularly deep. Their movements were quick and fast. Skin slapped against skin and filled the room, mixing with their heavy panting and low moans.

When Oliver leaned his head forward, Felicity wanted to meet him halfway, but Oliver had different plans. He avoided her lips and brushed his lips against the side of her neck instead. He kissed, licked and nibbled her skin, making Felicity bite down on her bottom lip to strangle her moans.

Soon, Oliver’s lips traveled further down. He kissed a long path from the side of her neck over her cleavage towards her breast. His lips were so close to her nipple that they brushed against it whenever Felicity took in a deep breath. Teasing her, he stayed just out of reach until Felicity couldn’t wait any longer. She moved her fingers into his hair and pulled his head towards her breast.

“Oh god.”

The choked moan escaped her lips at the rough feeling of his tongue moving against her nipple relentlessly. Her breathing became shorter, and a jolt of pleasure drove through her core. Her hips moved down onto Oliver’s even harder.

It felt good having him surround her and inside of her, so incredibly good. His strong arms kept the coolness of the room away from her. His chest helped her balancing her movements. His cock was filling and stretching her just the right way, hitting all the sensitive spots that increased her pleasure quickly.

Indeed, it didn’t take long for her pleasure to rise to a height. She could feel it in the way her lower stomach tingled and her inner walls fluttered even more around Oliver’s cock. She was sure that Oliver could feel it because he suddenly angled his head back and looked at her, his iris darkened and his pupils dilated.

With a long moan, Felicity came. The pleasure spread through her, causing her muscles to spasm from the energy running through her. Even in her haze, she could see the way Oliver looked at her. The expression on his face was intense.

Just when the last waves of pleasure ran through her, Oliver’s hips stuttered. He came with a deep groan, resting his head forward against her chest. His warm breath ghosted over her breast, causing her nipples to harden even more.

They continued moving together lazily, riding out the last waved of their pleasure while they were trying to catch their breaths. Felicity was still holding onto Oliver’s shoulders that were covered with a thin layer of sweat now.

Wrapping his arms around Felicity’s back tightly, Oliver leaned back until his back rested against the floor and Felicity was sprawled out on his chest. Her head was resting against his shoulder, her right leg was lying between both of his.

Carefully, Felicity shifted her hips until Oliver’s cock slid out of her. They both moaned lowly at the feeling of being separated. Oliver’s arms only wrapped around her more tightly.

They lay together quietly. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them moved. Felicity didn’t even dare to look at Oliver’s face. All she would have to do was angling her head back to look at him, but she didn’t dare to do so. Instead, she kept her eyes on her hand that was resting against Oliver’s lower stomach were a thin line of hair ran from his belly button down to his lap.

Now that the haziness of desire and pleasure started to slowly fade away, that little voice that had already told her that she would regret this reported itself back to her. The doubts that had been washed away by her desire before came back with force and caused her heart was still pounding in her chest from her orgasm, was racing even faster now.

This had been a mistake, a terrible mistake even. Oliver had been her first great love, the person who had made her believe in love, but she had been burnt so terribly by being with him. She knew that she couldn’t have that happen to her again, especially since she had proven to fall for him so easily. He was like a drug that she couldn’t resist if it was rubbed in her face.

“So,” Felicity said carefully, and the tremble in her voice gave away how tense and nervous she was, “that happened.”

At her words, Oliver’s muscles tensed. Hesitatingly, Felicity angled her head back to see that his face showed the same tension she felt in his body. His eyes were darkened, but it was a different kind of darkness there than before. It didn’t come from passion or arousal. It came from anger and regret.

At least they could agree that this had been a mistake that should never happen again.

“I will make sure the dress is ready for the wedding,” he said, straightening up. “I will bring the dress to my parents’ house, so you don’t have to take care of anything.”

“Thanks.”

Oliver grabbed a large piece of clothing that he handed to her. Quickly, Felicity wrapped it around her breast to cover herself, watching Oliver gathering his clothes and getting to his feet. He stood in the middle of his atelier, obviously unsure what exactly he should do now.

Since the situation was already more awkward than Felicity could endure easily, she cleared her throat and whispered, “I’ll get dressed and find my way out.”

She could see Oliver biting down on his tongue. He looked uncomfortable, but she couldn’t and wouldn’t take that away from him. Sucking in a deep breath, she got to her feet and disappeared behind the curtain where her clothes were waiting for her.

Holding her breath, she listened to what was happening in the atelier. There was a long moment of silence. She couldn’t even hear Oliver breathe, and she wondered if he was holding his breath the way she did.

“Fuck,” he whispered eventually, his voice so low that she could barely hear him, and released a long breath. “Just fuck.”

A couple seconds more passed in silence before she heard footsteps and knew that Oliver was leaving. At least that way she hopefully didn’t have to see him again when she left.

“Terrible mistake,” Felicity whispered, hurrying to put on her clothes. “Stupid me.”

* * *

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles @addictiontelly @queens-of-arrows @memcjo @hysterical-for-joshifer-blog @oswinelevenforever @olicitylovemaking @bandanab310 @mymusiclove101 @lynslogic @scarletqueen23 @olicityshipper19 @alex-wesley @arrows-4ever @unabashedlynerdypatrol @louehmysoul @ligiapimenta @chattyyana @charlie-leau @coal000 @samcrowleys @ishippolivia @julianegomesqueen @malafle @miriam1779 @charlinert @melaux @ontheolicityship @myshipperlife @wrightainsley @lexi9515 @ladygreenwood @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl @morinamel @mje-thomas @kebarry @canadianheartgirl @nannett2307 @almondblossomme @kathrynelizabeth89 @imdfabulous @mrt2501 @arsipaci14 @salasvia @brandis91 @cainc3 @morganmiguess @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl @iamisalima @nessafrancis-blog @jonhdiggle @niki-is-amazing @universed-posts @hopeful-warrior @senoritaswiftie @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel @iheartarrow @olicityovereverything @oliverfel4 @olicity-in-the-heart @fullychippedcreation @geemarie @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld @tjmartinez @pleasantfanandstudent @j69confessional2 @scentedcolorpirate @icanica74 @tjmartinez98 @certainmentalityface @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin @missafairy @letsplaymurde-r @lipizette @positivepiper @nuttymilkshakehologram @laksagirl @turnupthemusicandscream @pumpernickle93 @onceuponanolicity @1106angel @jaspertown @fadinglands @morganashimi83 @mochababychristy @omglovechrissie @mariejr88-blog @thetaufactor @onceuponanolicity @speakandseethetruth @bri206 @aglasgo @geemarie @pineprincess @nerdgirljen @eternal-olicity14 @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay @lovelycssefan @tsseract @flowerandsunshine @dcnmarvelgamergeek @blondeeoneexox @monetsmark @bb-olicity @mashamarty @rulerofsilence @erika-amber @nothingmorethanmyotps @kayleenyc @tonto16 @olicityfluv @olicitea1990 @haahaaa2408 @pattid1 @faegal04 @24karatgem @wrldtravler @readerkas @olicity-beliver @greencoffeecups @snorlaxishere

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#arrow #olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfic #we ended as lovers

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atopearth · 5 years ago

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Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 - The “Death” of Avalanche (Ch 12-14)

Seeing an extended version of the Avalanche members’ dying is going to be terrible. I think the fact that Wedge calls Cloud “aniki” is so cute, so it’ll be sad that this is the last time we’ll hear it. My heart kinda broke for Biggs tbh. Seeing him entrust the future to Cloud, and for him to think about the Leaf House orphanage kids even during his dying moments was saddening. I remember being so surprised at Ms Folia (the orphanage teacher + Honeybee dancer) saying that the one who taught her everything and inspired her to be who she is was Biggs. I knew he had a big heart and cared for everyone, but it was nice that they added in all these other little things about him. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle Jessie’s death tbh. It’s going to be heartbreaking!!

Aerith going to save Marlene is something I looked forward to seeing, and I think it showed really well how gentle of a heart Aerith has, and how self sacrificing she is. Especially when she encouraged Wedge to not give up and allow himself to have regrets for not doing more. I like that the Shinra soldier Wedge passionately convinced into opening the gates to leave Sector 7 for everyone to escape was the newbie soldier that was kinda in training and couldn’t be mean to anyone (when you talked to him before this). It’s understandable that he would be the one to go against orders. Nice to see Tseng! He looks pretty good. On the other hand, Rude interfering with Reno so that his gun would miss Tifa was hilarious. I love that they kept the idea that Rude likes Tifa, I guess they’ll be keeping the idea that Tseng likes Aerith too then! Elena liking Tseng is something expected though since it’s a big part of her character imo haha. Btw, I’m glad that Reno recognised how tasteless it was to have to do the pretend act that this whole destroying Sector 7 thing was done by Avalanche. Anyway, Aerith convincing Marlene to come out and leave with her was adorable~

It was hard to see Jessie go again, especially when she talked about how she kinda “deserved” it considering the amount of people she killed with her bombs, which was something that always stuck with me in the dialogue of the original. Despite Jessie’s hopes for the future and everything, she knew what what she was doing involved the deaths of a lot of people, innocent and guilty alike, she always felt terrible about it, but she wasn’t as soft as Tifa to think about giving up on it. She took those burdens with her to achieve what she needed to, so it’s heartbreaking that she had to die thinking that. It was saddening yet cute when Cloud said Jessie owed him a pizza, so she can’t die haha. It’s too bad that it’ll never happen. Sometimes I wonder if the reason they all like pizza is because of how Barret refers to the plates above them as a “pizza”, so they like to eat them up hahahaha, nah just kidding, pizza is good, everyone loves pizza.Seeing Reno and Rude tag team fight was so cool! I loved how Reno still had that skill that puts you into the triangle barrier to kinda immobilise you. Otherwise, Reno is so difficult for me to handle lolll, I suck fighting against him. And Rude hits Tifa when you control her!! Although he kinda just does a light chop to her, not sure if it’s specific to her but it was kinda cute lol because it honestly seemed like he was taking it easy against her compared to other battles when we faced him. Seriously though, I think it’s so annoying how those “ghosts” always interfere at crucial moments, it’s like, it wasn’t in the original game and it’s honestly unneeded here. The truth is that Cloud and them were unable to stop the plate from falling regardless of whether those ghosts were there or not, it’s annoying to make it seem like they could have stopped Rude if they weren’t there, when in reality, it shows (in the original) a much crueller way of looking at things when you try your best but you’re still too late. We don’t need no supernatural phenomenon to make it seem like it’s at fault and that’s why Cloud and them failed! Yes, I rolled my eyes when they appeared because at this point, I’ll admit that I’m sick of them. It’s like how they ruined Aerith and Cloud’s first meeting with them! I only wanted sweetness and curiosity towards a flower girl, not mystery with these supernatural things I don’t care about! Sigh!

Anyway, seeing Tifa and Barret broken over not being able to save their home and its people was saddening. Maybe it’s nostalgia or whatever, but I think it hit me harder in the original though. Btw, it’s kinda funny but understandable that instead of Tseng flying near the explosion to kinda show that they’ve captured Aerith etc, Tseng tells them through the screen haha. Gotta protect the Ancient! Oh, and Sephiroth honestly appears way too much, I honestly don’t remember him being so apparent, I know they’re really just the numbered black robe guys, but I feel like back then it was mostly just Cloud feeling the effects of something, but not being very clear on what it is. Now we’re just stuck with an overbearing Sephiroth zzz, yes there’s such a thing as too much Sephiroth. I guess it’s nice that it kinda explicitly tells you through them that Sephiroth thinks/believes/insists he’s got Ancients’ blood running through him, so he’s the rightful ruler of the planet though. Really though, with the plate falling, you can really understand the helplessness and fear of the people under the plates (through the NPCs talking in the background), it’s like, wow, they can actually fall and destroy everyone?! It kinda shows that regardless of how great Shinra is in giving people “better lives”, Shinra is also essentially in control of their lives. Oh yeah!! And Cait Sith!! Did not expect to see him! It felt weird without his white doll (since I used to think the white doll was him until I realised there was a cat on top lmao), but it was nice to see how *spoilers* Reeve tried to do something about Sector 7 in both forms. Seeing Cait Sith devastated at the sight was pretty saddening. But I have to admit, imagining Reeve controlling it and making it fall to the ground is funny yet interesting loll.

Omg, how old is Tseng?! Aerith is like this little kid and he’s an adult already?! I never realised there was such a big age difference.. Anyway, kid Aerith is adorable. Elmyra’s story is always saddening to hear, but I think the original showed it a bit better, mainly the train station part. I remember in the original, you could really feel the sadness of Elmyra through the contrasted happiness of the people beside her at the train station who were overjoyed at seeing the people they were waiting for come home to them. And it slowly shows how nearly everyone who was waiting there was able to reunite with their loved ones, everyone except her who waited every day there. I feel like she even asked the train station attendant if there were any more trains or people too. Her taking in Aerith healed her and herself, so honestly, I’ve always been happy that they both had each other to lean on for so many years. But yeah, otherwise, seeing Ifalna (HD) and everything was nice. It’s interesting that Aerith needs to be willing to go to them in order to help with their quest in finding the Promised Land, because how exactly do you make her willing?? Hahaha. I mean, she just did it for Marlene so she’s not exactly “willing”. It’s so weird that they didn’t bother adding the line where Barret asks Elmyra to take care of Marlene for him. It’s like, you can’t make him a “caring dad” and not even say something like that before he leaves lol! It’s important!

Okay, I’m glad Wedge is alive, but at the same time, I have mixed feelings towards it haha. It’s nice though, gives Cloud and them more hope I guess. We should all thank cats, they save lives apparently~ On the other hand, Aerith appearing in Cloud’s dream was…very interesting. Like, it was nice, but at the same time weird loll. Especially when she told him that if they seemed like they were attracted to each other romantically, it probably wasn’t real. I honestly didn’t need that, especially when I feel like the Tifa fanservice coupling is everywhere and more apparent than with Aerith imo. I felt like the romance with Tifa was more vague in the beginning for the original. Anyway, Cloud was right, Aerith can’t just one-sidedly say all that and just leave, he should have his say too, especially since these are his feelings! And tbh, although Tifa and Cloud are super comfortable with each other and rely on each other, I feel like a lot of the times, they feel like trustworthy friends more in the remake imo. I think what solidifies (for me) how much Cloud cherishes Aerith was when he said he’d take her home again (lmao) after she showed him the way to Sector 7, enough concern over her safety with Don Corneo that he would cross dress, and his reaction when Aerith shows up with the extravagant red dress. He was so stunned at how beautiful she was! To be fair though, I was pretty stunned too, until I realised I better take screenshots lmao. Overall though, Cloud is constantly saving and taking care of all the girls, it’s kinda crazy. Like, I know he may be Prince Charming but c'mon! Only Tifa gets to be cool whereas the other girls get saved wayyyy too much whether it be from random falls or whatever. I also feel like Elmyra stopping them from going to save Aerith felt more like an unnecessary plot delay to squish in the Wedge part, but oh well lol, time for Shinra building time! Can’t wait to see Red XIII!

Or not, I’m stuck doing side quests lmao. Those pull ups were more annoying than squats zzzz, but they were okay I guess. Didn’t take that long to win the pro. The most annoying thing was that letting the pull up timer go on (when I obviously failed) was faster than the stupid loading screen when I press give up lol. Mireille being the Angel of the Slums was expected I guess, although I was never curious anyway haha. Kyrie is kinda cute but annoying lol. Kinda sad that I don’t actually get to ride on a Chocobo though….like I found all those lost chocobo and yet I don’t actually get to ride them? T_T Wow, I can’t believe the behemoth horn was used for medicine!! What kind of medicine are they making??! It was a hassle to kill that guy! Lmao tonberry is as cute and deadly as it usually is! Kept stabbing me lol! I know I could have probably thrown magic at it, but I thought it was hilarious to see it stab me lmao. The Colosseum battles were pretty easy, I was kinda worried but all good! Whack-a-box was super easy for the hard mode btw! I was like ohh noo when I saw hard mode thinking it’ll take me a while like the pull ups but dang, third time was the charm! Smashed it!🥰 Hmm, pedometer materia was interesting…lol, super easy to get the 5000 steps since I had to look for those annoying chocobos, but yeah I guess it was worth it! AP Up would be useful. I’m glad the side quests didn’t take too long because I really started considering just dropping them lol.

I’m glad they delved more into Leslie’s backstory, but I guess it was expected since he was the only pretty boy out of all the lackeys lmao. I found Leslie really endearing though, mainly because of his looks and how kind he was to keep warning Cloud and Aerith that they shouldn’t go to the audition haha. It’s saddening that his fiancee was chosen by Corneo and now she has disappeared. I kinda liked how his story interlinked with Cloud and Aerith though. Tifa told Leslie that the flower pendant his fiancee gave back to him before she left meant “we’ll meet again” in flower language, and that’s the flower Aerith gave Cloud, so it’s nice to see how Cloud linked that, and sorta renewed his resolve into finding her asap. It’s nice to know that rather than focusing on finding Corneo to exact his revenge, Leslie is now instead looking for the girl. Good that he’s got his priorities straight. She’s much more important than revenge! Hope we get to see him actually find her in the later parts or something~

Overall, not much to say about these few chapters. I think the running up the stairs/pillar part to save Sector 7 + Wedge, Biggs and Jessie were pretty faithfully done, and it was done pretty nicely too. It felt just as annoying with the monsters/soldiers, whilst being just as saddening with seeing the death of the Avalanche members lol. My only gripe with it was the Whispers popping up ruining the whole mood of the event, it really made it seem like Cloud and them could have changed the outcome that ended up happening but was stopped for “reasons” beyond their control, so they shouldn’t feel too bad about it kinda thing, it just changes the whole “feel” of it. Anyway, the changes with Wedge being alive and the “dream” with Aerith are things I have mixed feelings about. Wedge being alive really, as I kinda said before with the pillar, it changes the mood and atmosphere of everything. Like, it’s not terrible, but what solidified a lot of my feelings towards Avalanche and the dropping of the plate in the original was done with the impact of the deaths of our Avalanche members because they’re the main people we’re familiar with. Anyway, gotta love how (aside from Biggs and Jessie) a lot of the people we’ve seen are alive and well, and lol even the item shop etc people have good stock! Kinda miss the days in the original or in other older JRPGs where shops would follow the story and be lacking in supplies or whatever during times of disaster etc. Anyway, that’s just me being picky as usual lol. And yes, I’m starting to see how A LOT of the scenes involve Cloud and the others saving each other, mainly Cloud saving all the girls, and it’s nice but honestly overdone considering the amount of scenes where it happens. This time around, the changes (from the original) are half half to me, not better, but not exactly terrible I guess. Anyway, now that I’m going through this and reading my thoughts again, this was probably the point when I started thinking about whether I liked the remake for what it is or was I really just banking in on the hype and nostalgia of a favourite game? Honestly, it’s mainly the latter (sadly).

#final fantasy vii remake #ffvii remake #ffvii

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morlock-holmes · 6 years ago

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This anonymous article from the Washingtonian, (Which is apparently... a magazine? Of some sort?) “What Happened After My 13-Year-Old Son Joined the Alt-Right “ was being reblogged on my dash a few times and looking at some of the notes a lot of people were calling it propaganda without saying which side they thought it was propaganda for.

I think a LOT of people were so swayed by the “One Concerned Mom Speaks Out!” tone of the thing that they kind of missed the actual narrative.

I mean... If anything it’s kind of propaganda in favor of the alt-right, isn’t it?

Here’s how the author of the piece sums up the inciting incident in the story:

One morning during first period, a male friend of Sam’s [The author’s son] mentioned a meme whose suggestive name was an inside joke between the two of them. Sam laughed. A girl at the table overheard their private conversation, misconstrued it as a sexual reference, and reported it as sexual harassment. Sam’s guidance counselor pulled him out of his next class and accused him of “breaking the law.” Before long, he was in the office of a male administrator who informed him that the exchange was “illegal,” hinted that the police were coming, and delivered him into the custody of the school’s resource officer. At the administrator’s instruction, that man ushered Sam into an empty room, handed him a blank sheet of paper, and instructed him to write a “statement of guilt.”

No one called me as this unfolded, even though Sam cried for about six hours straight as staff members parked him in vacant offices to keep him away from other students. When he stepped off the bus that afternoon and I asked why his eyes were so swollen, he informed me that he would probably be suspended, but possibly also expelled and arrested.

Later there’s more, but basically the school authorities double down, Sam’s parents decided that if the authorities were that cruel and insane Sam needed to be in another school, and so they transferred him. Sam then starts getting into 4chan and reddit alt-right communities, who explain that what happened to him happened because of feminism gone crazy.

So, as a slight aside I have always thought since I was in high school myself that this kind of zero-tolerance, authoritarian crap is particularly cruel to inflict on growing children. A boy Sam’s age is trying to differentiate himself, see himself as an individual, and the authorities come in and go, “It doesn’t matter what you think, it doesn’t matter why you did what you did, we will never care about that, we see you as a type and there is nothing you can do to convince us otherwise.”

This message would be incredibly dispiriting to anybody, but particularly to children.

Contrast, meanwhile, his experience on Reddit:

Soon Sam stopped trying to convince me to join his brave new world. He was so active on his favorite subreddit that the other group leaders, unaware that he was 13, appointed him a moderator. Among his new online besties, this was a huge honor and a boost to his cratered self-esteem. He loved Reddit and its unceasing conversations about the nuances of memes—he seemed in love with the whole enterprise, as if it were an adolescent crush.

...

Eventually, Sam had to give up moderating for the most practical of reasons: Eighth grade ended and he was packing for sleep-away camp. He would be offline for a month and would need other mods to cover for him. To ask for help, he had to out himself as a kid.

Sam and I both laughed about the absurdity of the situation, though he admitted he was nervous he’d be exiled from moderating. I asked him to read me the responses to his message. They were all of the “Dude, you’ve got to be kidding me” variety—one of their most sophisticated and reliable colleagues was a middle-schooler heading off to Jewish summer camp!

Later, it was my turn to be surprised: They all contributed to a going-away gift for Sam and mailed an emoji-themed fidget-spinner to his bunk address.

Faced with new information that Sam has broken the rules, his school imediately brands him a predator, threatens to arrest and expel him, and responds with undisguised hate.

Faced with new information about who Sam is, his alt-right buddies are shocked, but then reiterate that they still care about him and value the contributions he has made to their community, and get together to express that to Sam.

I’d like to make a little list of what Sam gets from the alt-right in the narrative:

A group of people who have shown that they will support and value him, even if they find out new things about him.

People who listen and care about what he has to say

An explanation of what, exactly, happened to him and why.

Ideas about how he can protect himself and others from having that happen again in the future.

Allies and support for enacting those ideas.

His parents, by his Mother’s own admission in the article, were only able to provide fumbling efforts to provide protection from that particular school’s administration. His parents and their politics were totally ready to say that taking all that stuff about cucks seriously was pretty weird and dumb, his mother is totally ready to counter any statistics his alt-right buddies might have, but is completely and utterly unequipped to provide any of the other stuff I listed up there. There’s a moment where Sam explains to her what he and his friends think happened:

Sam pledged fealty to the idea of men’s rights because, as he said, his former administrator had privileged girls’ words and experiences over boys’, and that’s how all of his troubles had started in the first place. I’d never in my life backed the “masculinist” cause or imagined that men needed protecting—yet I couldn’t help but agree with Sam’s analysis.

The mother’s politics didn’t actually equip her with an alternate explanation of what happened; rather, she has to concede that his explanation makes sense, and having conceded that has no idea what to do with herself.

In fact, as the article ends she is only vaguely starting to come to grips with the fact that Sam needed the kinds of support I listed above:

“All I wanted was for people to take me seriously,” [Sam] repeated matter-of-factly. “They treated me like a rational human being, and they never laughed at me. I saw the way you and Dad looked at each other and tried not to smile when I said something. I could hear you both in your room at night, laughing at me.”

I struggled for a moment because I wanted to tell him that wasn’t true. But I couldn’t deny his accusation. Behind closed doors, when my husband and I thought our children were asleep, we had often vented to each other about Sam’s off-the-wall proclamations and the bizarre situation we found ourselves in.

So I told Sam simply that I was sorry for making him feel bad.

I still think about his words a lot, especially when alt-right figures headline the news. But mostly, I wonder how I could have tried so hard to parent Sam through this crisis and yet tripped up on something as basic as not making my own kid feel small.

By the end of the article Sam is disenchanted with the Alt-right through, well, it’s not totally clear. The author of the article, by the end, seems to understand that Sam needed at least some of the things I outlined up there, but it’s not clear to me if she views the fact that her own politics were completely unable to provide them as an actual problem.

In fact, it’s not clear to me what she believes her politics are actually for. I know, I know, it’s not a philosophical article, but the question of “How much power do public school administrators have over their charges and what can parents do to counter them” is a nakedly, inarguably political question; after all, it’s about how a state-run institution should be run. And rather then turning to her own left-wing beliefs to contextualize and fight this decision, her solution is that her family has enough money to put Sam in another school.

Now, I’m not criticizing this decision, I think it was probably difficult, even brave. But it’s noticeable that her left-wing, non-culty politics don’t seem to have much to offer the next Sam, a Sam whose parents might not have private school tuition sitting around in their bank accounts.

In fact, she seems to regard the fact that Sam’s alt-right buddies were able to offer up compelling narratives and give him hope of implementing a solution and reasserting his self-worth as, well, cheating. Isn’t that cult-like behavior? Politics aren’t actually supposed to help the Sams of the world contextualize the things that happen in their lives, and when they do, it’s awfully sinister.

This seems to be part of something that has heavily infected the American left. It’s a kind of unspoken philosophy that says, “Politics is for solving major problems, the rest should be handled elsewhere.”

Even when a question overtly connected to Mom’s politics crops up in their life, her politics have literally nothing practical to offer any of them. Her left-wing politics are correct it doesn’t matter if they’re helpful.

This is what I keep trying to get at when I say people are missing the point with Jordan Peterson. Yeah, a lot of what he says sounds factually rickety to me as well, but, well, when I spend every day wondering why I can’t seem to get my life together, simultaneously dreading it AND feeling like there’s no point in trying to change, how does having a more correct view of lobster biology help me out with that?

I mean, I’m not saying it can’t, I’m saying people won’t even connect the two. Look at the reviews of 12 rules and people will usually grudgingly admit that his self-help advice might be useful, but really, it will tend to rile up exactly the wrong kind of person, and anyway, what does any of this have to do with politics?

This is what I keep trying to get at about effective altruism, as well. It’s not that it’s wrong, it’s that by its very nature it will never be about providing me, personally, with any help, because it’s focused on stopping rogue AIs and mailing out malaria nets, fine causes but notice that, while Rationalists see “How can I stop a super-intelligent AI from destroying us” as a solvable problem “How do I make the kind of friends who will spontaneously check on me if I sound like I’m sick?” is completely insolvable.

To the extent that my existing faculties haven’t already made it happen, unfortunately there are no clarifying frameworks or advice better than, “Well, it’s hard.”

Rationalists are better about this than generic leftists but I also feel like that’s a low bar. Answers to the question “What can I do to concretely improve my life, and, for that matter, why should I even bother, what’s the point?” are becoming ever more disconnected from left-wing thought, and most of the concrete attempts to answer these questions are coming from the right.

I actually don’t think this is good, incidentally.

#politics #rationalism

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

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March 23rd-March 29th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 23rd, 2020 to March 29th, 2020. The chat focused on Puppeteer by Eightfish.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Puppeteer by Eightfish~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 29th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

eli [a winged tale]

Ooh exciting! I’ll try and get to this soon!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yes yes, I had started reading this last week, want to continue and get in on this convo!!

Joichi / Sarah

Oh I'll take a look at reading Puppeteer!

shadowhood

Ditto. Time for another art binge

eli [a winged tale]

1) I love the colours and lighting! As for the story, the banter really drew me in and when J offered freedom, that was my hook 2) My favourite moment was when J tore Eli out of his body! That was a very striking moment. 3) I really like J and Sam They’re both characters with a strong voice and motivation. 4) I enjoy the friendship chat between Sam and Eli. They really ground the whole college experience and the comic world for me. 5) Let me find it! 6) I think the themes of feeling lost in life or directionless after regimented high school are very relatable. It’s one thing to know where you wanna go and want to be but often we feel we’re just floating in reality. 7) I love the aesthetics! Very unique style yet also clear in storytelling! 8) I would say the strengths tie into the fast pace and great characters. I’m not sure where we’re headed in the comic but I’m sure we will get to know why beings like J and the Ocean lady exist and what roles Eli/Sam would play in the story great work Eightfish!

Love this shot! Great paneling!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

The artwork is so beautiful!

shadowhood

Yeah, the flow of motion is amazing here that's really good gesture drawing

Feather J. Fern

I have to say I love the way you do the limited palette for the first few pages, it's really cool!

mathtans

Oh! From setup to where some f/f romance is implied. I shall read more. (Nice when the ships are verging on canon, if not there...)

Wonder if J is going to set things up such that Eli has to possess one of them.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Aaa, thank you all for the compliments about my art, eli, sssfrs, shadow, feather. I'm really trying to make this thing look good and I'm glad you guys like it.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

It looks really good!!

eli [a winged tale]

Love it Eightfish! Can’t wait for more!

RebelVampire

What I liked about the beginning is just kind of how jarring it is (in a good way). You get thrown right into a semi-tense/suspicious interaction, and it really kind of sets that tone for the rest of the comic. Which is actually what I like about the story all together. There's always this kind of laid back atmosphere to it where you're never really sure if you should be concerned or not. So it's got this right beat where you aren't always screaming but also aren't ever able to fully relax cause it feels like danger is around the corner. Coincidentally, the beginning is also probably my favorite moment in the comic as well, just cause again, I really love the tone here. My favorite character at the moment is probably J cause I can't figure J out and would like to know more about J. Cause J is just like this chaotic entity who I can't decide is good or evil and it's a complicated mess that I love. As for favorite interactions, definitely Eli and J. I like they're kind of friends, kind or enemies, kind of maybe sort of abusive relationship, maybe kind of sort of cut from the same fabric. There's a lot of levels to their relationship, so I do like seeing where it's going to go.

What I like about the art is just the overall style combined with the color experimentation. I think this in of itself really helps with the tone I keep mentioning, because it'll go from normal colors to suddenly very jarring, dark contrasts. So again, there's always this hint that something just isn't ever right in the world. I also think these features are the comic's strength, since it's a very interesting style that draws the eye.

Lastly for today, themes. I really like that the comic kind of explores ambition vs. lack of ambition. As someone who is more similar to Eli and would be kind of happy to just be people watching mush sometimes, I really relate. However, there are deep questions about whether this is good, whether ambition is better or whether ambition can go too far. So it's kind of good to see this explored and just kind of show that inevitably, people are different and not everyone has the same sorts of drives (or drives at all).

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh my god, you have no idea how happy I am to read that. Everything you said was exactly what I was going for and this is very validating

(also, can we just appreciate Rebel for a moment. They take the time to write these in depth analyses of every comic here and I always enjoy reading them. Even if I knew rebel was going to be the only one in this book club I would still be jumping to sign up.) (Not that I don't appreciate everyone else, those comments were lovely as well haha. So interesting to to read eli's thoughts on the characters and what will happen next)(edited)

BriDanann

Also!! Eightfish!! Your comic is so freaking gorgeous! I absolutely love the color scheme and the surrealist feel the art gives off. It really feels like it's otherworldly, but also familiar. Kind of how old Noir movies felt! I've only read the beginning so far and I am loving the tone.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Will Eli actually be satisfied with his decision to just float around away from responsibility in the long term, or do you think that will change? Additionally, what do you think caused Eli to run away from life so much?

10. Do you think Sam will ever come to accept Eli’s decisions, and how will the situation change the two’s relationship? What will Eli teach Sam about trying to fix everything, and how will the two change each other through their interactions?

11. What do you think J ultimately wants in life, and what does that have to do with giving Eli powers? Why is Sam so convinced that J is a demon? In general, do you think Eli, Sam, and Lily can put a stop to J’s mayhem?

12. How do you interpret the story’s title in terms of its significance to the events of the comic? Also, what significance do you think it has towards the theme of beliefs and how beliefs go stronger the more people believe in them?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

(This week is kinda kicking my ass but I have finished the read and will find time for some comments in the next day or two. Just putting that out there.)

Okay, just a couple quick thoughts in case anyone else wants to react to them... I think Eli felt like there wasn't much of anything left to him. Didn't seem like he had family checking up on him, and major events like breaking your arm are the sorts of times you learn who's rallying around you. Sam distancing herself was probably the last straw.

I wonder a bit whether Vanessa (the one massively possessed by J, only name dropped in the author notes if memory serves) had a similar path. Or whether she's just off the deep end (maybe she pushed J into the arm breaking on some level).

Also think that Lily's pleased to have someone who can finally do something about the visions she's presumably been having all her life (unless it's a puberty awakening thing), though it does seem like her romance with Sam goes deeper than that. I wonder about her romantic history (but then I wonder about that with all f/f ships). And could Sam be bi? Or is she not straight, and part of that is what pulled her from Eli?

As I say, couple quick thoughts.

RebelVampire

@mathtans Those are some good points about Eli's family. I have to say I did kind of where they were at, cause at the very least I do get the impression Eli doesn't feel like they can be relied on. But I do think isolation is playing a big role in Eli's decision making right now.

Do I think Eli will actually be satisfied with his decision? Yes and no. I kind of feel like Eli would be fine with it overall but that inevitably extenuating circumstances will ruin the whole thing. Otherwise I honestly think Eli might be content if people around would accept it. As for why Eli is causing to run away from life, probably social pressure and isolation. It's hard to deal with life if you have no one around you, and also hard to deal with society when you really just don't have ambitions, cause society is very much about ambition. As for Sam, I think this is also a yes and a no. I think Sam will blame herself for Eli's choices as she comes to understand them more, but at the same time learn to let Eli live as Eli sees fit. I do think Sam will learn a valuable lesson though that not everything she thinks is broken is, and even if it is, sometimes people have to learn for themselves. So I think it'll bring Eli and Sam closer.

As for what J wants, I think it's probably friends. I think J fell in with Eli because they're both just kind of lonely souls. And while Eli expresses this in further isolation, J acts out and does everything possible to get attention. I do think the group will put a stop to J's shenanigans though, but I'm also feeling that it won't be a defeating of the villain (but this may be wishful thinking cause I do sympathize with J). I kind of get the feeling the title is meant to reflect both literally that J is turning people into puppets but also the complicated relationship people have with the concept of control. Like Sam for example. Sam clearly wants to fix and "control" things to suit them to how she wants. Also, in the Eli/J relationship, there's a question of who controls who to a degree. As for its connection to belief, I think I'd argue the strong our beliefs are in something, the more those beliefs have control of our lives. And I think that's something we once again see with J a lot in that J is literally controlling people while people seem convinced they control themselves.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh Rebel, mathtans, your comments make me just want to just spoil the entire story and blurt out everything right here. It's been so good seeing that so much of my intent was coming through.

@mathtans Sam is indeed not straight. I wonder what made you see her as bisexual specifically?(edited)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I don’t think Sam had any malicious intent in keeping her distance from Eli, nor was it a case of “I’ve got a girlfriend now so I don’t need to talk to my other friends”. To me, Sam very much sees herself as the only one with the power to protect people, and because of that she feels it’s her duty to control what people get involved, where everyone goes, etc. Sam can keep this city under control, and thus she must. And, yeah, I agree with @RebelVampire that control is one of the main themes of the comic in general. Like J is constantly egging Eli on to control others, and one of their main points is that ordinary people often are looking to delegate control to someone else. And this current segment is the perfect lesson on how it doesn’t have to be one person in control - Eli and Sam can both be in control at once.(edited)

One thing I feel like should be mentioned though - the factor of Eli potentially being nb factoring into his decision? Like, when he first becomes a puppetmaster, one of the first things Eli says is “how come I still look like me” (i.e., rather than androgynous like J?), and one of the things Eli does to practice out shape shifting is try on dresses.

mathtans

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh, nothing specifically made me see Sam as bisexual, but nothing made me see her as exclusively lesbian either. I've learned not to take that stuff for granted and wait for it be be spelled out (I'm also not the most observant though). In fact I have a f/f relationship in my writing where one of them is stated bisexual.

Also, good point snuffy on the androgynous aspect, never occurred to me there.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

Okay, let's address some questions to the best of my abilities. ^.^ Regarding the start, as was mentioned, the muted colours and dark character seemed to fit the tone. I thought the cutaway was a time skip but it made sense when we came back later.

My favourite moment was actually when Sam and Lily spent the night in Eli's apartment. Aside from helping to confirm the f/f relation (a personal taste), it was subtle (like, just a friend wouldn't necessarily go along with things for that time) versus making out or something (which wouldn't fit the tone). And at the same time, it showed that Eli was separating himself from his past life, not even going back to check in... Sam honestly seems to be his only tie. (And I kinda wonder where his original body is, if it even exists?)

Favourite character is tough. Honestly, maybe Lily because she seems so innocent, having been drawn into things... and I wonder if J ever approached her to get to Sam? Or has the focus always been on Eli? It's not that I dislike the other characters, it's more that one of their flaws seems to be a lack of communication. The sort of thing that makes me sigh, even though it fits with what we've seen and is helping motivate the plot.

That said, yeah the Sam and Eli interactions are really good, right from the moment of "don't touch me" and Sam totally respected that as they got caught up. They obviously do care for each other in the friend way. (I wonder if Eli wanted more? Could that be why he shifted female, to be closer to Sam?)

I'm not good with art or themes. -.- The way the being in the harbour was drawn was good though from what I recall, helped to show the scope of the supernatural too. I guess a theme of belonging? Or friendship?

I haven't said much about J yet, but I think that is a something I like and a strength, the plotting... trying to guess the next move. And maybe they want to become as popular as the larger demon? Definitely drives the other characters forwards. And reminds me of Rebel's comment about ambition being a theme... makes sense in retrospect. (And yes, much appreciation to Rebel. ^.- )

9. I think Eli will eventually be satisfied, though I think he's realizing that he's becoming a bit of a pawn in a larger game, not having considered the scope of his transformation. And I already mentioned about his family. And Rebel made good points there too.

I think Sam's starting to accept the change, though not necessarily the reason for it (and I'm not sure she or we truly know what that is). What with her trusting him to possess. In fact, another reason why Eli might have done this was to be of more use to Sam, though that may not have been a conscious decision. The dynamic will be interesting.

Here I'm diverging from Rebel in that I think J wants to be recognized as a more important demon (though that's similar to having friends, it doesn't need to be). Maybe others have tried to take over beings like Sam without success? Or like Ocean Lady are so far above that they don't care? Maybe there's a clue somewhere in why Vanessa isn't enough for J lately.

That's a really interesting point in terms of the title... at first I figured it was the idea of Eli jumping into bodies. But of course, he's not really into that, and it's more J... who is perhaps puppeteering even beyond that, pulling the strings of people that aren't possessed. (There was mention of squid too, I wonder if the tentacles of a squid could be like the strings on a puppet?) Anyhue.

Will be interesting to see Lily's reaction to what's going on, as I have a suspicion that she'll show up... and perhaps blame herself for not being there when Eli was (even though Eli was brought in later). Or she could misinterpret the situation and think Eli's gone evil! Who knows. (How long has she been going out with Lily again?)

I think that's all for now. Best with it!

shadowhood

Yoooo sorry for the late response. Alright I'll try to answer the prompts as succinctly as I can. 1. The art style is very aesthetically pleasing! I love how you use mainly black against a lot of other bright colours like tan/light blue/gold; it gives it almost a Grecian vase vibe!

2. I have two actually!

The first one because it hit a really close hit to home. I loved seeing a real, down to earth conversation between friends and it felt...real. Seeing concerned friends talking about an abusive relationship and not....exploding is very refreshing.

The second one because I absolutely love that last panel, where J plays around with her words and follows through with a similar action. It felt like she was toying with Sam and it reminded me of the scene in Aladdin, where Jafar was toying with Aladdin with his words. Probably my favourite villain scene of J.

3. Funnily enough, I really like Sam. She's that one friend who's shown to be concerned for Eli, but she knows that she can't force him out of the abusive relationship. She respects his boundaries and is overall a good friend. That's rare and usually underappreciated in real life.

4. The interactions between Sam and Eli were the best for me, because they were very heartwarming and the care they show for each other resonates with me

5. The two moments I mentioned were my top favourites, actually!

6. The idea that you can't save everyone is one I really like. Sometimes you have to let the person you love make difficult and maybe even foolhardy decisions in life, but that's to let them grow up and mature.

7. Like I said earlier, it reminded me of Grecian vase paintings, which I love! Another thing I love about it is how free the gesture drawings are; drawings such as the hand drawings are testament to that

8. I think the strongest part of Puppeteer is its use of motion; my eye is always drawn to the line of action and it almost felt like a film at some parts. The story is heavily action oriented, which I like

shadowhood

9. Honestly, I don't know. Like @mathtans said, he doesn't seem to have family who check up on him, but he DOES have friends who do! Maybe someday he'll want to change, he'll see that he stayed stagnant while his friends keep on progressing in life. Either he'll go deeper into his isolation or he ultimately decides that this isn't for him. 10. I think it's a sad case where she's going to have to learn to let Eli make his mistakes and grow up. If she's constantly there to fix or solve everything for him, both characters suffer in that no one will learn everything. But hopefully, like other people have said, it brings them closer. 11. From what she's said, I think she wants control and power. But if you want a more indepth answer, I think she wants absolute control and worship from individuals. She wants to be put on a pedestal (wanting to be higher than other people?) and she wants that rush of feeling, that feeling of being dedicated to. But seeing @RebelVampire 's answer, maybe it's a twisted form of trying to keep people from leaving her, similar to how abusers try to keep their victims close. Heck, she could even develop a form of Lima syndrome and sympathize with the victim. I think Sam's and co. can put a stop to it, but ultimately, it's up to ELI himself to do so. 12. I agree with @RebelVampire on this one; Puppeteer can be a reference to how much we let others and their beliefs control us, and how the characters each covet control in some shape or form. Maybe Eli feels like he's lost control of his life and is trying to escape responsibility in a desperate effort to regain it?

13. I'm really looking forward to how this whole Eli/J relationship will affect Eli and his relationship with his friends. I'm also wondering what J's character development would be, if any; would she start sympathizing more with Eli? Learn something new from Eli? Or even become increasingly antagonistic towards Eli? 14. @Eightfish (Puppeteer) I really look forward to reading more from your webcomic, your art and conversation exchanges between your characters are top notch! Keep up the good work

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to in regards to the comic is finding out more about J I think. I'm interested to learn more about the driving force behind J's actions and how those might cause the characters to rethink what J is. As for final words, I really just still enjoyed the atmosphere. So few comics can nail it, but this one really managed to capture that feeling of dread that really keeps you reading. So I can wait to see that be used more throughout the comic.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Thanks @mathtans , @shadowhood , @snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) for the recent long comments you've posted! It was wonderful reading what you thought about character motivations and themes. And I'm glad so many people said they were looking forward to learning more about J, because that's what I'm most looking forward to writing as well.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Puppeteer this week! Please also give a special thank you to Eightfish for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Puppeteer, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/puppeteer/list?title_no=290620

Eightfish’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/eightfish

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #puppeteer #eightfish

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zetalial · 6 years ago

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FMA 03: Fathers

Okay, I thought I’d do a post about Father’s in FMA 03 like I did with Mother’s in this post and...

Ha, Ha, Ha. Fathers are terrible in FMA, aren’t they? There’s like one bright spot. I will be speaking mainly about fathers in regards to the Elric brothers.

Regardless...

I’ll start with episode 1. We’re introduced to someone called Father Cornello. Of course, it’s a title to indicate that he’s a holy man rather than seriously meaning a paternal figure. If it is in any way an intentional theme (given he does want to present himself as a caring man who can take care of Liore) well soon enough his true nature as a fraud who’s really interested in power is revealed.

His falseness can be contrasted with Rose who is later given the title Holy Mother - she didn’t seek the title herself and her care for Liore and its people is genuine. Where Cornello makes great speeches full of lies, Rose is mute and yet honest in her intentions. But I digress.

Moving on, Ed and Al do not have a father. Their father abandoned them at a young age and all they remember of him is his absence. Likewise, both of Winry’s parent’s are dead and they grow up without any sort of father figure. I like the phrasing of the dub here. “I wouldn’t say I hate him, I don’t remember him enough.”

With the death of their mother this morphs into a firmer dislike from Edward (Alphonse still wants to know their absent father). Despite their father’s absence they take after him, learning alchemy from his books including the forbidden stuff. Their attitude can be contrasted with the Tringham brothers in episode 11-12 where their father is dead and they’re learning alchemy in honour of his memory and to be like him. It’s why they’re so motivated to save Xenotime such that they’re convinced to use insidious methods. Ed meanwhile hates to be compared to his absent father.

The one exception to the absent or terrible fathers is, of course, Maes Hughes who seems to genuinely care for the brothers. He helps them for no other reason than that he cares for them. He is great. He throws Edward a little birthday party, sits and talks with him at meals, gives him help and advice, sends Armstrong to tail them as protection. They have a great relationship.

In the above scene, Hughes decides to tell Ed that Scar was responsible for Nina’s death rather than deciding to keep the information from him. Even when Maria Ross suggests its too dangerous for the Elrics to continue searching for the stone, Hughes continues to enable them while giving them protection as he knows that otherwise the boys would just strike out on their own. Edward in turn opens up to Hughes, deciding to tell him about the homunculi behind Lab 5. Obviously, he is not just fatherly towards the Elrics but dotes on his own daughter and loves his wife. So of course the homunculi kill him.

Hughes great family can be contrasted with Shou Tucker and his daughter. Tucker welcomes the Elrics into his home and soon becomes sort of like a father to them, providing them support and a home while they prepare to join the military. He’s kind and offers them advice where he can, even recommending they stay away from the military. He seems to love his daughter Nina too. But just like with Father Cornello, it’s all a facade. Just as Cornello made chimeras that sounded like real people to maintain his illusion of power and respect, Tucker turns people into chimeras in order to keep hold of his life as a respected State Alchemist.

Tucker turns Nina into a monstrous chimera in some misguided attempt to retain his old lifestyle showing that at his core he is awful and selfish. Just like that, Ed and Al’s replacement home has been destroyed as thoroughly as their initial home. And it was a home for them. That’s partly why the reveal shakes them so much. Their worst fears confirmed in the worst possible way.

I guess they do still have Sig Curtis. I mean, they’ve been avoiding him and Izumi for years but when they are with him its okay. He’s nice and cares for the boys though he’s ultimately a pretty quiet person who tends to follow his wife, Izumi’s lead. Maybe he could be a good father but we never see any moments of the Elrics bonding and looking to him for advice unlike Hughes or Tucker. We never see him show any care towards Wrath in the series either. Mostly he’s just there for Izumi.

I haven’t mentioned Mustang, have I? That’s because he an absolutely terrible father figure as well. He does care for the Elrics but that’s really not enough. Upon seeing an unconscious crippled 11 year old Edward, he... recommends they join the military. Yeah. Become a child soldier and leave what’s left of your childhood behind.

His amazing ability to show he cares continues when he tells a crying Edward to just get over Nina’s horrific death and move on with his life. Upon learning about Liore he decides not to tell Edward in order to protect their innocence - this just ends up backfiring, He also keeps Ed in the dark about Hughes’ death. Edward ends up furious that these were kept secret from him. Seeing Ed is in a bad mood after his fight with Scar and he’s missing his arm while Al’s armour is wrecked, Roy decides to make fun of him in an effort to get a rise out of him. Truly it should come as no surprise that Edward does not trust Mustang. Ed is surprised to learn Roy cares at all when Mustang finally opens up in episode 43. Yeah, Mustang could be an alright friend to the Elrics - they do have a fun, teasing dynamic - but he makes a terrible father to the Elrics.

And finally, Hohenheim. He is absent for most of the story. When he finally does show up, he doesn’t offer any excuses for his behaviour, doesn’t really offer them anything at all. When Al is interested in getting to know him, he does spend a bit of time with him, only to leave once more in the middle of night.

Hohenheim is pretty aware of his failings and does attempt to do the right thing in confronting Dante. It goes badly. We do learn that he’s been equally terrible towards Envy, creating the homunculi and then abandoning him to Dante presumably because he saw Envy as a pale imitation of his long dead son.

At the end of the series, Ed is with Hohenheim and he’s forgiven him, it seems. He’s been pacified with the revelation that Hohenheim did love Trisha and is saddened by her death as well so Ed’s let go of some of his hate that was the result of blaming him for Trisha’s death. They’re an odd pair but Hohenheim is trying to at least give Ed the needed support in the new world. I doubt they’re truly close, it’s more that circumstances have pushed them together. Still we do see him giving Ed some advice and encouragement while letting him go seek out his own answers.

And that’s basically all the Fatherly figures in the series barring, like, the innkeeper from Yousewell who was an alright guy, I suppose. And there’s Pride who I guess is a bit of a fatherly figure to his soldiers. Very friendly and personable with that sort of Grandfatherly persona. Yet again, it’s all fake though. He has cultivated this image with a perfect-looking family but he won’t hesitate to strangle his son and start wars.

Er, maybe Armstrong could be read as fatherly? He is kind to the Elrics, taking care of them and worrying over them. I always struggle with Armstrong, I’ll be honest.

Yeah and that concludes this post. We’ve got absent fathers and people who pretend to be fatherly and people who fail at it. And we’ve got Hughes who is wonderful. And dead.

Maybe I should’ve done this post for Brotherhood instead? Mustang and Hohenheim are more fatherly and there’s a villain called Father. Eh, but then they do less with Hughes and Tucker. I don’t think anyone would want to hear me talk about Brotherhood anyway.

#fma #fma 2003 #edward elric #my posts are always about ed in some way #this is mainly about figures who are fatherly towards him #or not rather #thats why every picture has ed in it #i did not expect to talk about cornello of all people #never really thought to compare him directly with rose #or tucker #i was going to say fathers were presented worse in fma than mothers #and like show the image of Pride strangling his son #then i remembered that Izumi strangles her son at one point #and so its more like yeah the shows made up of terrible and damaged people #and ed and al grow up in the cold military instead of a loving family #good job roy #hes so manipulative #i dint even mention the fact that hes basically blackmailing ed and al #threatening to reveal that als a hollow suit of armour if they dont listen and obey his commands #he probably would not actually do it #but the brothers believed him #that al would be sent to be experimented on as a lab rat #top notch father figure #mustang is truly a friend not a mentor #despite the age difference #meta #myposts

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bananashemmo · 6 years ago

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Committed The Robbery (Part 12)

Pairing: Y/N/Gangmember!Ashton

Rating: NC-17

Request: Yes

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Summary: On a scale from 1 to shit, how fucked would Ashton be if he ended up banging the other gang member Luke’s little sister Y/N?

Read Committed The Robbery on Wattpad

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea." You mumbled carefully, looking up at Michael unsure. But he had a way different expression on his face, a wide grin.

"I know this is not a fucking good idea," Luke exclaimed from your behind, his arms crossed and his ass pressed against the navy blue chair he was sitting on.

Michael looked into the large mirror in front of you to glance over at Luke. He knew it was pissing him off and it only encouraged Michael even more to laugh and smile. It was almost as if he was enjoying it.

"This is going to be brilliant," Michael whispered to himself and let the strand of hair he had just curled fall to your shoulders.

You had a gutted feeling in your stomach.

You were sitting in front of a large closet that had a mirror on the door. The hotel room you were placed in was large, but still not enough to be a suite. This hotel was way fancier than what you could afford, but the boys had insisted when you had checked in.

You had no idea how you had suddenly gotten into this mess. But here you were, suddenly thrown into a mission.

To be honest, eavesdropping again wasn't really your type of thing. But when you heard a new plan from the boys that may or may not have you included, you just couldn't help yourself.

You knew the boys were planning onto something big and that included breaking into Walker's mansion. You knew, that they did not want to include you in any way but that was when Michael came up with the most brilliant idea ever.

"Can we go through the plan again, please?" You looked up at Michael almost insecure, "I'm not sure if I'm able to do this."

"Of course you are." Michael responded and Calum agreed, "You have Hemmings in your blood. You were born to be sneaky."

"I couldn't even hide a Snickers from Luke if I had stolen it from him." You almost wanted to whimper, not really sounding that convincing but it was, in fact, the truth.

"Let me explain." Calum folded his hands together and stood up from sitting on the bed. Luke was still sitting with crosses arms and not to mention Ashton who stood by the balcony, smoking. He didn't want to be a part of it, he agreed with Luke.

That usually didn't happen.

"For as long as we can remember, Marc Walker has gotten a security system and bodyguards in front of his mansion since he took over from his mother's death back in 2012. And we're not just talking about a little security system, we're talking a massive one. Cameras all over the place along with a code system you need a card to get in through. I don't know if it's harder than that, but last time we tried to break in we couldn't because we needed a security card. Which all the bodyguards wear dearly. Don't underestimate them."

You were trying your best to keep up but the explanation was long. Calum had just begun.

"At first we brainstormed. Tried to come up with something to get that security card because that is our first step in getting Marc Walker on a plate. At first, the ideas were simple. But then Michael came up with a brilliant idea."

You looked at Michael by the mention and he wiggled down at you with his eyebrows. He was still holding your hair and curling it. You wondered where he taught that skill because it wasn't really something most boys did.

"Every Friday this guy named Christian Bell is hanging out at the local casino at this hotel. It is not a coincidence we know it because we've seen him a couple of times. This is literally the hotel of all drug addicts and sellers. He's one of Mark's closest security cards and he would recognize us if we approached him. Instantly. So Michael came up with the idea that an unfamiliar lady face with a sweet personality will distract him upon being unaware of his security card."

"And that's me?" You widened your eyes. When they said you were going to be a part of a mission, you had not expected it to be this. And definitely not where you needed to impress someone and get their attention.

You looked over at Ashton who was blowing out smoke from his mouth. He wasn't saying a thing but his hazel eyes were saying thousands of words.

"We all knew that Michael was going to do your makeup and hair, and we've also picked out a dress. A black cocktail dress, and don't worry. It's long sleeved but short, so there's not cleavage. Luke's orders."

You looked over by the mention of Luke, who looked even angrier than Ashton. He was probably just happy that he decided to have a few words said in this.

"But what if he notices I'm Luke's sister?" You questioned with wide eyes.

"He won't." Calum quickly answered and watched Michael let the last curl fall.

You were almost done, you just needed to change your clothes.

"But what if he does?"

"I'll shoot him." Ashton quickly answered and let the last bit of smoke out from his lungs.

You looked over at him with confused eyes but decided not to say anything. Michael poked on your shoulder and. That was your queue to stand up and get changed in the bathroom.

Ashton didn't want to say anything as the boys started to talk about what was going to happen. To be honest he barely wanted to watch. He didn't have the nerves to know that you were probably at risk.

He couldn't forgive himself if something happened with you and he had the chance to say something against it.

"Perfect." Calum clapped his hands together when you walked out of the bathroom.

The dress was short, yes but still a bit loose. It was actually nice to wear because it was long sleeved and soft. You also wore white shoes, it looked a bit outstanding but you decided just to go with it. Michael's decision after all.

"You need to remember to wear your hair down." Calum reminded and Michael walked over to stand in front of you.

"I've sown a microphone into your dress. It's right above your chest so it won't be noticed. This is a little thing you're going to have in your ear. If he sees, lie and say you're wearing a hearing aid. Otherwise, than that, try to hide it." Michael explained and you nodded understanding.

You felt as if there was some sort of pressure on you. If you fucked up, it could ruin everything.

"Are you going to be there?" You looked over at Luke with soft eyes.

You didn't just want him to be there. You needed him to. It was what made you feel most safe and you needed Luke's support. Even if he disagreed that you were the one being the 'target'.

"Of course." He answered just as softly and moved away from standing against the wall.

Ashton threw the cigarette over the balcony and headed towards the others to pack their things. They had also dressed nicely for the evening, all wearing some sort of dress shirt.

Kind of a contrast to the normal attire.

You breathed in heavily and felt your fingers shake. This was going to be one hell of a ride and you were nervous to step into it.

When you walked into a casino you were distracted by the many lights flashing. It was actually crazy how somebody could stand here without getting some sort of distraction.

It was practically a scene out from a movie.

You looked over your shoulder just to see where the boys would be heading. They needed to be somewhere they wouldn't get noticed by Christian but also close enough so they could tell what was going on.

You knew you weren't supposed to look over your shoulder so you kept your eyes ahead and continued to walk into the room. With direction towards the bar.

"Play a little hard to get. I'm sure he's into that." Michael said into the microphone he was wearing and you pressed against the ear speaker to hear him clearly.

"Okay then." You mumbled, more to yourself than then but they were able to hear.

"Eyes on the target. He's the one in the navy blue blazer."

Your eyes scanned the crowd of people, trying to find the one Michael was talking about. Your eyes stopped by the middle of the bar where a black-haired male was wearing a navy blazer.

You tried to scan where the boys were just in confirm but you couldn't see them. Hopefully, they could see you.

Shaking your head carefully and taking a deep breath, you moved your feet and headed towards the empty stool next to him. If it wasn't him, Michael would probably say something into the microphone.

You could feel your fingers shake when you took a seat next to him and folded your hands together.

If he was just a little bit smart, he could tell that you were nervous just from how your attitude was.

You glanced shortly over at him and focused back on the menu card in front of you. If you had to seem confident, you needed to pretend like you already had control of everything and knew what you were doing.

"I'll have a Balkan with Sprite, please." You said casually to the waiting teacher and he nodded his head impressed.

You could sense the male next to you staring but you decided just to look forward as you didn't mind anything. You could hear weird noises coming from the microphone and you tried not to furrow your eyebrows by being distracted.

"Balkan! Is she crazy? That's one of the strongest vodkas at the bar!"

She could hear Luke faintly but Michael was probably the one holding the microphone so it only sounded like whispers. You could tell from his tone that he was upset.

You looked up at the sign again where you had read the vodka and felt how your mouth was about to drop.

You could barely take a normal shot of a Jack Daniels. How in the world were you going to drink vodka with over 50% alcohol?

When the drink was served you looked at it as if it was poison. It looked like a normal Sprite, no wonder since the vodka was transparent.

The male was gazing over at you again, moving his body to the side and that was when you noticed the small badge hanging in his pocket.

It was Christian Bell.

You held in your breath and looked back at the bartender just to look at something else. You could feel your heart beat faster, you thought it was easier just not knowing that it was him.

"Well, cheers." You decided to give in and said it out loud to get Christian's attention.

He looked over at your small hand holding the large drink and he decided to grab his own as well. You assumed it was Coca Cola with some sort of liquid into it. Probably a good Bacardi.

"Cheers, love." He said, strong British accent instantly filling your ears.

You widened your eyes, totally taken aback. You didn't expect that he was British, it wasn't often you heard an accent apart from the Australian ones at the bar.

You took a very small sip of the drink but even by that, you just wanted to spit out already. That little droplet of drink on your tongue was enough to feel your throat was on fire. Literally.

You just wanted to exclaim 'oh my god' but you played it cool and placed it down on the table.

"Some sort of hard breakup?" Christian asked and nodded down at the drink, "I mean, I don't believe you would drink household detergent on free will."

You looked down at the drink as well and couldn't help but laugh at his comment.

You decided just to play along.

"Does it look that bad?" You asked, leaning your cheek against your hand.

Christian shrugged his shoulder and moved so his chest was facing you instead of just sitting by the side. He was wearing a black dress shirt inside.

"No, you don't look bad." He smiled and took a sip of his drink.

"That's not what I meant." You answered and he was quick to comment, "I know."

You looked at him a bit taken back but regardless you actually had a large smile on your face. Your cheeks were starting to become red and you tried a small sip of your drink.

"This is so brilliant." You heard Michael mumble in your ear but it was soon replaced by Ashton's angry voice.

"He's obviously flirting with her and they are barely into the conversation yet!"

You looked back at Christian and ignored the sounds coming from your ear. It was hard trying to listen to them but still continue to look like you weren't hearing voices.

Christian both seemed and felt like a smart guy. He could probably sense your different behavior by one click.

"There's this guy that I like and no matter how hard I try... I just don't think he's into me the same way I'm into him."

You tried to sound as casual as you probably could and it worked. You caught his attention and he scratched his freshly shaved face.

"Oh really? Normally it's the roles reversed." He answered and sipped on his drink, "I mean, not trying to put you into a box or anything. I'm just saying that usually, it's us boys' trying to chase the girl."

"Well, I don't think this guy knows that I want to be chased." You mumbled and fiddled with your fingers, trying to look a bit nervous.

"Why don't you just run?" He asked and by the question, you furrowed your eyebrows.

You didn't know to answer because honestly, he was tempting. He was very interested in the conversation and observed your facial expressions. You felt as if he was reading right through you. Maybe he was.

I don't want to run because there's an end to every tunnel. I just need to stop running against the walls."

He seemed impressed by your words and lifted his glass in cheers.

You wanted to be polite so you lifted the glass again and took a small sip. You had barely touched it, to be honest, and you wished you had picked something else. At least something that wasn't so strong your stomach was also burning.

He chuckled lightly by your action and you furrowed your eyebrows.

"I mean, come on." He looked at you and you felt your heart skip a beat.

"Can we please get a Strawberry Daiquiri for the lady." He asked towards the bartender and he nodded his in agreement. "Coming right up."

You looked at Christian stunned, not really knowing what to say. He smiled back at you and laughed quietly by your reaction.

"As I said, come on." He nodded his head down towards the drink, "You're not a great lier. Instead of drinking Balkan trying to convince yourself that you like it how about drinking something you actually enjoy?"

You didn't know what to say and you tried to listen if the boys were saying anything you could respond. But nothing and you ended up chuckling as well.

You wanted to play along on his game.

"Who says I like a Strawberry Daiquiri?" You crossed your arms and leaned back in your chair.

He looked challenged by your question and scratched his chin.

"The cocktail dress, the curly hair, the makeup. I don't want to put you into a type but I'm sure you like a Daiquiri. Along with you don't drink beer unless it's the cheapest thing on the menu, you walk home at 2 A.M but not without a conversation from a friend to make sure you're walked home safe. You sleep until 11 and you don't like cheese."

What an analyzing type. You looked at him with raised eyebrows. You didn't want to turn down his ego and tell him that he was wrong, so you decided just to smile at him and nod your head impressed.

You wished the boys could say anything. You needed to know what you were doing was correct.

"See. I'm a people reader." He raised his hands and you giggled fakely.

"You don't say." You smiled at the bartender when he placed the drink in front of you. No matter if Christian's ego was bigger than Greenland, you still liked the Strawberry Daiquiri better than the Balkan Sprite.

"People reader my ass."

You suddenly heard voices in your ear again, you almost thought they had forgotten about you.

You smiled at Christian and tried to focus on hearing what they had to say while looking down at your drink.

"Ask him where he works for a-," Before Michael could finish his question Christian looked back at you with furrowed eyebrows.

He looked mad but it was also with a hint of concentration. You felt as if your heart was skipping a beat or two and just by the way he was looking at you, you wanted to scream at Luke for help.

"Now I know where I've seen you before." He suddenly said and you opened your mouth but no words came out.

"Oh my god, Y/N you have to walk away!" Luke said into the microphone but he was replaced by Calum's voice.

"She can't leave, are you an idiot! If she starts to run, that is when he realizes she is on a mission!"

"Quit it both! We don't know what he has to say yet." Michael interrupted them both and held his head high.

You couldn't hear Ashton in the discussion but you assumed he was sitting tight and watching your every move. He would never allow something to happen to you on his watch.

"We've never met before." You swallowed quickly and took a large drink of the Daiquiri. You didn't know what else to do but you also had to deny his words.

It was, in fact, true what you were saying. You had never met before if he felt he had seen you before it would be on a picture.

"I'm so sure." He nodded his head but didn't look at angry as before.

He reached down to grab his phone and opened it. You watched him carefully scroll through his pictures until he showed you a picture of someone in a football uniform.

It was James.

"You know this guy?" He asked and you quickly looked him in the eyes.

"Who is it?" Michael asked in your ear but you couldn't answer.

"I think I've seen him around campus. Maybe we have a class together or something. He seems familiar." You shrugged and swung your leg over the other.

Christian nodded his head impressed and looked down at the phone. "I'm a friend of the family. I've been to the place a few times. It doesn't really have the best rumors but you know, that probably isn't something that's ruining your experiences."

"Yeah, I mostly spent times with my friends." You replied and tried to scan the place for Luke or the others.

"That's good. Whatever they say, you need to stay away from that Hemmings' guy. I'm not sure if he's still there but that boy speaks trouble."

You widened your eyes and no words came out of your mouth.

"I'll keep that in mind." You said through gritted teeth and felt something needed to happen.

You could see that the card you needed was in his wallet. It was placed on the bar table so all you had to do was reach forward and take it. Easier said than done.

"We need to distract him." You heard Michael said and you nodded your head in agreement, assuming they could see your face.

"Now." You mumbled almost in a whisper, not wanting Christian to hear.

You didn't know what they had planned but it was quickly shown when you heard the sound of someone dropping at least 50 small coins. You looked towards two males standing in front of each other and faintly you noticed Calum's shadow disappear.

It was like a fire had started between the guys and they were starting to discuss.

"Woah, what's going on here?" Christian stood up from his chair quickly and headed towards the males.

"He literally just knocked into me!" One said and the other disagreed with, "I didn't, someone fucking pushed me!"

You felt your heart was about to break out of your chest. But this was your moment and there was no time wasting, it had to be done now otherwise you wouldn't make it.

Grabbing his wallet quickly you didn't care if someone were watching. You just had to get over with this and after grabbing the card from his wallet, you placed it back as nothing happened and stood up from your chair.

You felt as if you were about to throw up and you sprinted towards the exit where you came from in the first place.

You didn't dare to look over your shoulder but while exiting you could hear Christian still talking with the males.

When you walked outside the hotel just to get some air you were met by the boys showing up in one big circle. You hadn't noticed that you were trying to catch your breath but you smiled through it.

"You fucking did it." Michael cheered loudly and you quickly gave the card to him. You didn't want to hold it anymore, you felt bad luck would hit you if you had it.

"Yeah, I guess I did." You breathed in through your nose and enjoyed the feeling of freedom.

"I'm proud of you." Luke smiled as well and gave you a squeeze on your shoulder.

You grinned up at him and ran fingers through your hair.

"You saw the drink I ordered? I totally panicked." You tried not to laugh but they all did. Expect Ashton, he was keeping a bit distance and stayed quiet.

You looked over at him shortly but your attention went back on Luke.

"We're heading back to the hotel rooms to celebrate. If you want to join, you can do so."

"I think I just need a little bit of fresh air." You nodded your head towards the water fountains there were placed in front of the hotel entrance. They were also colored because of lamps, it looked beautiful and cool at the same time.

You heard them mumble goodbye and you headed towards the fountains. You could sense that Ashton was still there, you could see his curls in the corner of your eye.

You placed your hands on the white rack and watched the water rise and fall.

"You know, I was a complete nerve-wrack back there." He nervously placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and sighed carefully.

You glanced towards him with your hands still on the white rack, watching him shortly before your eyes adverted back to the water fountains.

"I'd lie if I said I wasn't just a bit scared myself." You mumbled under your breath, loud enough for him to hear and he nodded.

He sighed carefully and water the waterfall as well. He looked back at you to see the colors in your face change. Right now the water fountains lights were a mix of purple and blue.

You looked at him as well and smiled carefully.

"Why was it a problem he was flirting? I don't think it was anything real." You questioned out loud carefully.

Ashton sighed again and looked down at the waves of water, "I was afraid that it was going to escalate quickly."

"Escalate how?"

Ashton bit down on his lip and looked over at you almost embarrassed.

"That he was going to end up kissing you or something."

You looked down at the ground in thought by his words. He didn't need to explain himself to let you understand why he was reacting like this.

"I'd never want to kiss him..." You paused quickly and looked over at him to grab his attention. You already had it and his hazel eyes stared at yours.

I want to kiss you."

He had to blink twice just to make sure what he heard was correct. You could feel your heart beat, much faster than it had all night.

You looked at Ashton not sure if he had heard you but he did.

Reaching forward to caress your cheek carefully he used his fingers to move your chin and pressed his lips against yours.

It was a short kiss, but warmth and passionate at the same time, making your knees going weak.

You had to bite your lip and you almost didn't want to open your eyes when he pulled away, his lips were lingering on yours and you could feel how you were already craving for more.

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geejaysmith · 6 years ago

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Wolf 359: A running list of things I have a heightened appreciation on second listen, pt. 2

Part one here.

SEASON 3:

Pan-Pan: Still a little miffed they didn't explicitly do the "we have to huddle to conserve body heat" trope. Yes, it's corny, but also shut up, let my touch-starved space disasters cuddle.

So Eiffel stopped Hera and Minkowski arguing in season 1 to address an emergency, and now with Eiffel absent, the team starts arguing again. The fact he doesn't exactly have much Pride In His Own Self-Sufficiency to get in the way of "hey! Guys! Remember, imminent death? More important priorities happening?" tends to defuse situations like this aaaaaand now he's absent.

"Cutter will send a squad of psychos to come up here and kill us faster!" ...she's not wrong.

"Pick a corner and relax! Hop to it!" I just like this line delivery.

"The entire station is a SPACE YUKON and this thing is overheating!" I know, it's like it's symbolic or something.

Episode 29: "we all feel responsible for losing Eiffel and are lashing out because we're scared and sad and grieving and fear getting backlash while we're vulnerable if we admit we need help, and we don't know what to do but keep going because the alternative is breaking down and possibly never getting back up again." Alternatively: "It's Metaphors All the Way Down."

Mayday: Eiffel's frustrated screaming.

Brain Ghost Minkowski showing up like "Yeah, we know I'm a hallucination, or Weird Alien Shit, or maybe just a clever metaphor representing the abstract process of thought, but who gives a crap, this is more interesting than listening to you talk to yourself for an entire episode."

BGM: Hi, I'm your thought processes externalized using a face and personality that you subconsciously think you need to hear from in this situation, possibly because you think so little of yourself you need to hear it from somebody else first. Eiffel: Oh hey cool, this is just like this one web comic I kept up with sometimes back on Earth- BGM: Not another word.

Eiffel getting slapped by Brain Ghost Lovelace, who is a projection of his thoughts.

What is that whispering in his head that reminds him of the Hermes' name supposed to be anyway? Score one for my Weird Alien Brain Shit theory. Having Lovelace's alien juice in your system comes with such fun side effects.

"I dunno, I only know what you know." "Shut up, don't go meta on me." / "Hilbert wouldn't know that word! He's never even heard of Empire!" Yeah, toldja: it's Brain Ghosts.

Brain Ghost Hilbert may represent the realist in Eiffel and the brutal, calculating reality he doesn't want to confront, but Brain Ghosts Minkowski and Lovelace are his cooler head and ingenuity, working him through staying calm and devising a way to survive, and Brain Ghost Hera, who appears when Hilbert tells him it's hopeless, telling him that against all the odds he will be okay, is his stubborn determination to never, ever quit. They're all his determination to live when Doug might want to just stop trying. They're the better parts of himself, reflected in the voices of his friends.

And Hilbert. But I digress- HOLY FUCK, I just realized the brilliance in the one-two punch of the Brain Ghost Brigade contrasted with the previous episode's Stress Fracture Argue Crew, it's The Sound And The Fury all over again.

Paging the Wolf 359 incorrect quote blogs: "Save my friends! And Zoidberg Hilbert!"

Sécurité thru Don’t Poke the Bear: Maxwell! I've missed you! (':

"And I build pretty awesome battle drones on the weekends." ...Does Maxwell have her own souped-up version of one Jamie Hyneman's Blendo?

Eiffel, realizing he's starting to sound like Minkowski: My god, what have I become.

Eiffel mumbling to himself in general. "This is hell and I'm in it."

Is it just me or is Kepler's pig story not as agonizingly drawn out to listen to the second time around?

A Matter of Perspective: Funzo: 12 different board games, three of them TCGs and maybe at least one TTRPG, all tossed in a blender, because Pryce and Cutter are psychopaths.

The Funzo manual is the size of the actual Bible and don't try to convince me otherwise.

How into the game the girls all get.

Headcanon: Minkowski and Lovelace are both the types to get stupidly competitive over any kind of game regardless of their initial level of investment.

Eiffel keeps a photo of (it's implied) him and his daughter taped to the underside of his console...

"He looks so... happy." shUT UP

"I had no idea Eiffel had a-" daughter. Was it "daughter" you were going to say Minkowski. Well, no one else knew you were married til you brought it up, so turnabout's fair play.

"You think you know me? You know the artist formerly known as Warren Kepler, you've met my job. Aside from that, there's no one left for you to know." In light of the series finale, I, uh... I don't if I like this, Scoob. Also, stop reminding me all these people are human persons underneath all the desensitization to horror and violence.

"Happy birthday, Eiffel." They remembered! Hope this one is less traumatizing than the last, Doug.

"Happy Kwanzaa!" "Lovelace."

"Long Story Short, that's the last time I saw Maxwell's feet" wh. What. What happened involving Maxwell's feet. What's. why-

And to make a long story short, that's where my "Maxwell has hands for feet" headcanon came from.

Need to Know: Minkowski's dreams, apparently, include both creating musicals and commanding a deep space mission. She's gotten the latter way the hell off the bucket list, somebody with actual songwriting skills want to get in and write the former with me?

Lovelace overindulging on painkillers for her broken arm after losing Officer Fisher... "It was a difficult time." ):

Aaaand serious implications of the above are immediately headed off by Lovelace quacking aggressively at Jacobi.

Fire and Brimstone: where is my fanfiction about Lovelace overseeing Minkowski during her solitary confinement?

The Backstory Episodes: Zach Valenti wrote all the backstory episodes! I just find that kind of sweet.

Once in a Lifetime: Small detail I only noticed on my second listen, after a fanfic put the thought in my head: Minkowski's parents are only referred to in the past tense. Oof.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice. We had a hiccup in staffing for this upcoming quarter." So... according to the wiki's timeline, the launch for the second Hephaestus mission was some time in late March 2013. The beginning of this episode (and Eiffel's) states it takes place in 2013, with 3 months of training, meaning they were probably brought on board in January and the whole thing moved *ridiculously* fast. Everything points to them wanting to get people up in space as quickly and with as little fuss as possible, giving the newcomers no time to think it over or do additional research. Once they start the training program, they're probably too busy to look further into Goddard's deep space missions, and are likely in an environment where Goddard Futuristics can cut them off from other information sources. The people they select are relatively isolated (Minkowski and her husband being an exception) - the easier to make them disappear. Even Lovelace has been stationed at "a lot of very isolated, very quiet outposts", the implication being her superiors wanted her somewhere out of the way. Kind of makes me wonder about the rest of the Hephaestus 1.0 crew...

Greensboro: Nice ominous foreshadowing you've got there vis a vis Captain Lovelace and "are you an alien?"

Decommissioned: "We're not about to force anyone to do something they don't want to do!" ...Marcus Cutter deserves to have his trousers ablaze constantly.

All Things Considered is still a bit confusing (because I somehow keep listening to it while doing something else) and I'll need another listen to figure out what probably actually happened, but it is also hilarious.

"Eiffel had engaged the machine, but that's why I build in extra safeguards. My mistake, clearly, was to assume that would be enough to stop the slapstick routine."

“All Things Considered”: Did you have fun with this over-the-top romp of hilarity and and hijinks, dear audience? Good! Because that was us burning off our comedy quota for the rest of the season. Get ready for six whole episodes of nonstop emotional gut-punches!

MEMORIA.

Just... Memoria.

Putting this quote here because of Reasons: "Three years... Three and a half years... I've had this thing in my head breaking me, and making me think it was all my fault, that there was something wrong with *me!*"

So Memoria is still one of the best episodes and the last five minutes fuck me up in a special little way.

Time to Kill: "Or the one outside is the real Jacobi... and the alien is already in here with us." The funny thing, Maxwell, is that you were half-right and didn't even realize it, and you *were* just speaking to Lovelace.

So... do alien duplicates only get reloaded from the singular "snapshot" of the person, or does getting flare-scanned once give them a continually updated source of info? What I'm getting at is: if another Jacobi shows up post-finale, would he need to be filled in on events between his horrible, terrible death and the present?

Persuasion: Maxwell switching to First Name Basis to get Jacobi to be honest with her.

I always forget until the scene after that Hilbert is totally setting up the Space Telephone to manipulate her, but of all the ways he could've gotten Minkowski around to "we are disposable and need to act *now* before these people decide they're done with us", it still kinda touching that this is the method he chose.

Desperate Times/Desperate Measures are just a blur of "oh god oh god oh god" and it's just as nailbiting the second time around. One thing I love about this podcast is how comfortable it is with (for its medium) long stretches of silence, which can feel a LOT longer when you have no other forms of feedback except dialogue to know the first gunshot was just a warning.

So you really *do* feel Minkowski breaking out into laughter when Eiffel tries to invoke Air Force code is a release of the tension that's been building for multiple episodes. Like he's finally gotten through to them just how far this has all gone and how much further it could still go. I keep saying this: when the situation starts to threaten violence, he's got an amazing gift for keeping the rest of the crew in touch with their common humanity when the rest get far too used to a world that runs on self-interest and subterfuge. Hell, he even gets Hilbert and *Kepler* opening up over the course of the story (presuming Kepler is being honest when he talks about being a shell of himself, but even though he was trying to manipulate Eiffel, that doesn't exclude there being a kernel of truth in those words).

Speaking of Kepler: he's definitely riding the adrenaline high of the situation and it turns him into a monster with a manic streak. It makes Jacobi's and Maxwell's relative calm all the eerier by contrast. Those two really do make you forget that all of this is... pretty horribly routine for them.

Until they meet their match, that is, when the women of the Hephaestus refuse to stand down, and each of them is unspeakably badass in their own way. What Kepler didn't account for is that they're ready and willing to die together rather than sacrifice one another for their own survival.

Although again, the irony of the situation is that just dropping the station into the star could have let them avoid, /gestures at season 4. BUT I'm not gonna rain on the Badass parade here.

Bolero, aka "The podcast kicking me in the feelings while I'm down."

The way Minkowski orders everyone else out of the room before Brain Ghost Lovelace conversates with her. ...did she pop up in the middle of that conversation, I wonder? And all this when psi-wave radiation is spiking, apparently. Coincidence?

Oh come on Hera, war is no reason to end a friendship- Look, I came here from Metal Gear. I see folks dunking on Hilbert and I'm just over here like "he's still not as revolting as Huey Emmerich."

Listen I've seen enough of Warren Kepler and Marcus Cutter in this fandom to know y'all aren't above liking a bad guy, you just prefer the ones who're having fun with it.

"You're gonna come to my funeral! And you're gonna like it! ...I mean you're gonna feel really sad! And cry! And stuff! GOT IT??" Ah, good ol' Eiffel.

THE COMPUTER ALSO HAS BRAIN GHOSTS

"If I'm not your doctor, then what are we?" "We're... complicated?" Listen, Eiffel, if you're not careful, I'm going to start shipping you and Hilbert ironically For The Lulz, and we all know where shipping things ironically always leads.

Errybody gets brain ghosts this episode. Again: I accept that this is a device that's more interesting than an alternative method of expressing these same ideas, but the ambiguity of a Watsonian explanation (is it all in their heads? Do they really see an apparition of some kind?) lets me do my Weird. Look, I once wrote in a joke in a fic about Death from Discworld complimenting a Quirky Miniboss Squad member from Metal Gear Solid 3 on his taste in interior decorating arena design, and that spawned entire subplots in projects for two different fandoms, and eventually roped in a third fandom to elaborate further on their now-intertwined cosmology. Do not underestimate how much I can give myself to work with.

The last ten minutes of Bolero also fuck me up in a special way, partly because We Are Dealing With the Hard and Unavoidable Fact of Death but also the aliens are about to throw a curve ball that'll... alter that last part a little.

Like, words cannot describe the "Dead Man's Curve in the wet" hard right turn of going from being in mourning for several beloved characters (including my favorite) to SURPRISE, SHE'S BACK! I love it.

I'd have to check the scripts to be sure exactly because some words got lost in Lovelace's respiratory spasms but I do like to imagine the her head wound closing up in front of a horrified Eiffel and Minkowski, with a side order of glow-y shit. I've drawn too many Homestuck god tier revivals I guess.

Update: I DID check the recording script's stage directions to see just how disgustingly physical the whole event is and okay, so no weird glowing shit (I reserve my right to depict it that way anyway) but I'm delighted to report that the gross anatomical-ness I was picturing? It's worse! It is so much worse!

The goddamn AGONY that is the Special Episode being TWO HOURS LONG when it comes right after the BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER IN THE SERIES.

You have NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF TEMPTATION IT WAS TO SKIP THIS AND COME BACK TO IT LATER

LOVELACE 1.0 I LOVE YOU BUT ALSO I WANNA TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING TO FUTURE-YOU RIGHT NOW

Change of Mind: love the framing device placing this episode as within Lovelace's mind during her successful cranial reconstruction saving throw.

"Buncha nerds, gonna crash my-"

Just how familiar she is in this place, with these people... Hera was installed in her sister's grave (as another post put it), but Lovelace lives in the gutted cadaver of her home.

Zach Valenti's Lambert voice *does* sound like a bad Minkowski impression.

"I have a physicist to put the fear of *me* into." That's my girl. She kind of was more of an ass pre-Total Party Kill, though? Like come on, Isabel, how necessary *is* all this arguing with Lambert?

Fourier's voice is very nice, also. Very soft, very easy on the ears.

I'm now appreciating how it sounds like Fisher is the older and calmer mediator among the crew.

Also the image of Isabel just floating out in space and listening to some chill tunes is sooooo good.

Hey Doc, did it turn out Fisher was too perceptive to live. Was getting caught outside in that meteor shower really an accident. Hey. Hey Hilbert. Answer me.

Also goddamnit, has EVERY character in this series has read Harry Potter?

Did the Fishers always differentiate each other by audio channel? I had to rewind the scene when I realized Lovelace's questions in my right ear weren't getting an answer.

"Say you're a big pink elephant!"

*gunshot* *gross biological dissolving noises* WHY

"Just because somebody made you something doesn't mean that's all you're going to be - you can be more!" I wrote this line down prior to the end of the episode's confirmation that it's a Big Thematic Point.

Aaaand we're back to the framing device, and with that, season 3 wraps. Or maybe season 4 kicks off? Either way, hell of a way to kick it off.

Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs had a hand in writing this episode? Aw... that's sweet...

So, yeah, headcanon: Alien resurrection does the weird glowy thing to close any obviously fatal maladies, then the gross biological viscera part kicks in, hence Lovelace sounding like she's trying to hack up her lungs as soon as she starts using them again.

Listen, sometimes the gross biological viscera parts are my favorite parts, okay? Okay.

#wolf 359 #wolf 359 spoilers #long post #i underestimated how detailed these posts would get as the plot ramped up lmao

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