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misswildfire · 5 years

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Imagine if you got injured defending your crush

This one stemmed from the idea of Reader is hanging out with their turtle crush and gets injured trying to defend them. What will be the boys reactions? Lemme know what you think!

You couldn’t help the big smile that had been on your face for the last 10 minutes. Your favourite turtle had dropped by your apartment after patrol, wanting to hang out. While you loved hanging out with all the boys, it wasn’t often you got to hang out with your crush one on one. Since the weather was nice for once, you decided to hang out on your roof. Despite their protests of it being late, you didn’t mind, you were a night owl anyway, and what’s a little lost sleep if it meant you got uninterrupted time with your crush? It was one you were never likely to act upon, valuing their friendship too much to risk making things awkward if they didn’t return your affections in the same way. So you kept it to yourself, looking forward to those brief moments you could spend time with them. It didn’t matter, tonight was perfect anyway.

You shouldn’t have tempted fate. Or the universe. Or was it luck? You thought to yourself as you watched your favourite turtle take a defensive position in front of you. Several purple dragons had dropped down onto your roof weapons out. Apparently it had been too much to ask to have some alone time with your favourite guy.

You watched as he moved with ease and grace, quickly dealing with any Purple Dragon who was stupid enough to get too close. His attention was split between the enemy and defending you, so he didn’t notice a Purple Dragon sliding onto the roof, having climbed up the side of the building and approaching from the turtles blind spot behind him. The blood in your veins turning ice cold, you realize what would happen if you didn’t do anything. Not wanting to shout and risk distracting him and giving the Purple Dragons an opening to do further damage or injury, you did the only thing that made sense at the time. You charged the offending Purple Dragon hoping to distract him enough or shove him off the roof or something. You weren’t really sure what your plan was, all you knew is that the idea of your turtle getting hurt because of you was not acceptable in your books.

Your plan, or lack there of, quickly backfired on you when the Purple Dragon, having some martial arts training where you had none, repelled your advanced, shoving you to the ground harshly. Your lack of training really became evident when you landed badly on your wrist, not being able to stop the scream of pain that ripped free.

Leo

A quick glance your way showed him that you weren’t bleeding, and didn’t need immediate attention. His grip on his katanas tightening, his awareness focused down to his enemies, taking them out swiftly with ice cold efficiency. He always practiced the belief of trying to use non lethal means, to check his strength as to not cause injuries more than strictly necessary. All that went out the window though the moment they laid hands on you.

A small part of him felt exhilarated at not having to hold back his strength with the humans and he relished it for a brief moment as he took the rest of the Purple Dragons out. When the last one fell to the ground, the light fading from his eyes, Leo sheathed his swords, quickly making his way over to you. Not wanting to remain in case more enemies came, he scooped you up and quickly moved out of the area. He wouldn’t risk you getting hurt again. Once he felt that you were both a safe enough distance away, he put you down on your feet and began examining your arm. It wasn’t until he heard you call his name softly that he realized he had been silent the entire time. He only had one question on his mind. “Why?”

“Because I couldn’t stand the idea of you getting hurt, especially because of me,” you reply softly. The blue banded turtle shakes his head. His scales and shell provided him with protection that you did not have, and he has years of training to know how to handle situations like this. You however, had been reckless and had been hurt because of it. “It looks like neither of us like seeing the other hurt.” His heart soared at the idea, did she return his affections with the same fervour? There was only one way to find out. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to yours, smiling when you shyly returned his kiss. Perhaps he should be thanking the Purple Dragons for tonight. They had given him a quite wonderful gift.

Raph

Looking back on it later, Raph supposes he’s never felt as much anger as he did in that moment. It exploded out of him, forcing him into a punishing pace. Forget checking his strength, he was trying to hit them with as much force as he could. How dare they hurt you. They would pay for their sins. If the Purple Dragons had any sort of medical coverage, it would quickly be maxed out by the end of the night with all the injuries he was leaving...if they were even alive. He wasn’t checking and nor did he care at this point, his anger forcing his attention to one thing: eradicate the enemy.

His breath coming in harsh pants, he stood there for a moment surveying the area as the last visible Purple Dragon dropped at his feet. Making sure there were no others, he turned, sheathing his weapons in his belt. Dropping down beside you, he quickly gathered you in his arms, mindful of the arm you had fallen on. “Are you alright?” his eyes quickly roam your body, needing to make sure you hadn’t been injured anywhere else.

“I’m fine,” you reply, trying to smile through the pain. You didn’t think anything was broken, to which Don would later confirm. He nods before standing up and making a hasty retreat. He didn’t want to take any chances that more Purple Dragons would show up. He kept moving until they were in the sewers, away from prying eyes before he allowed you to stand on your own. He stayed close, his hand hovering nearby, his desire to make sure that you were okay strongly warring with his fear of ever accidentally hurting you with his strength. You were so small and fragile compared to him.

“What were you thinking out there?” He demanded, anger and fear bleeding into his words, giving them a bite he didn’t really mean. You had been reckless and had been lucky you hadn’t been hurt worse. “You could have been killed! What would I have done then?”

You try not to let the anger in his voice affect you, you know he’s acting this way because he’s scared and angry. At the same time, you aren’t going to back down either. You had made the right choice and would do it again in a heart beat. “And what do you think I’d do if you were killed or hurt, huh? Did you think of that?”

It was as time stood still, both of you silently looking at the other, the only noise that could be heard was both of your breaths, ragged and harsh. The moment shattered as Raph roughly pulled you do him, his lips crashing down on yours, claiming your lips in brutal kiss. Maybe this injury had been more worth it than you had originally thought. Winding your arms around his neck, you try and pull yourself closer, never wanting his lips to leave yours.

Don

His mind has always been a chaotic place, many different thoughts going at the same time, working on a project, or developing a new theory. Rarely is it ever silent or focused on one thing. Seeing you injured brings his mind to a screeching halt, all of his mental processes focused now on one thing: Take out the enemy as quickly as possible so he could get to you and make sure you were safe. With the last Purple Dragon hitting the ground in front of him, it takes a moment for his brain to remember that you were injured. Once it does, he switches immediately into Doctor mode, running to your side. Deeming you safe to move, he picks you up and starts to bring you back to the lair so he can examine you more thoroughly in his lab.

“Don, Donnie, I’m fine!” you protest squeaking as he picked you up bridal style.

“How could you be so foolish?” he admonishes gently, careful to keep any anger out of his tone. “I have training and armor and my scales make my skin tougher, so I don’t get injured as easily.” You smile up at him as he continues to walk, knowing that he was going to start rambling soon unless you did something to stop him. Wrapping one arm around his neck, you pulled yourself up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. The blush on his cheeks when you pulled back was well worth all of the pain that you had experienced tonight.

Mikey

The moment he heard you scream in pain, his playful banter that he loved to use to distract his enemies stopped. His brothers may accuse him of being a goofball, of not having the greatest focus (okay, so meditation and him didn’t get along to well, it was just so boring, okay?) but what most people failed to realize is when Michelangelo wanted something, like truly wanted something, he could pursue it with enough focus and dedication that rivaled Leo’s. He wasted no time when the last Purple Dragon fell to race to your side, his nunchuks clattering to the floor as he dropped to his knees beside you.

“Are you okay?” tumbling from his lips, his hands hovering just over your body, wanting to check to see if you were okay, but scared to touch you and hurt you further. You could see the panic setting into his eyes, fear that there was some injury he couldn’t see. You squeak in surprise as he scoops you up and begins running back to the lair, only to have to turn around after only a few steps after realizing he had left his weapons (don’t tell Leo or he’ll be stuck doing kata’s in the dojo for the next century). His brain scattered, his only thoughts of getting you to Don to make sure that you were okay, your pleas and reassurances that you were fine falling on deaf ears. Rolling your eyes, you could see that you were going to take drastic action. Pulling yourself up by winding your arms around his neck, you kiss him on the lips, nipping at the bottom lip before pulling back. Your unexpected action caused him to stumble before quickly regaining his balance and stride.

“Now that I have your attention, I am fine okay? It’s just a sprain, it’s really not that bad,” you tell him firmly, trying to ease the fear you could see in his eyes. His pace slowed, coming to a halt. He put you down gentle, and went to back away, but you wouldn’t let him. Wrapping your arms around his neck once more, you pull him down for a hug, trying to reassure with actions and touch since words weren’t working. “I am fine I promise, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll go see Dr. Don when we get back to the lair, okay?” You feel him nod from where he had buried his face in your neck after returning your embrace. It would probably take time for Mikey to be okay after this, knowing that a human is fragile in comparison to himself and his brothers was very different from having that reality shoved in your face, but you were determined to be with him every step of the way.

#teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt imagines #tmnt leo x reader #tmnt raph x reader #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt mikey x reader #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 2003

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real-jaune-isms · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 3 Review & Rundown

Oh boy oh boy, this sure was a heck of a time wasn’t it? Not quite as panic inducing and chaotic as last week with the Hound playing fetch with Oscar’s body, but I still felt a great deal of dread and unease as things took a turn for the negative. Hopefully I can properly explain how.

We begin on a black screen as Ruby pants and groans in a way that made me worry I had put on the wrong video. But no, she’s just winded from riding the tube up to Atlas, and we see her stagger out to see the rest of the group awaiting her. Nora is being painfully held by the ear for what she did to Weiss last episode, but she defends herself by saying it was the kind of thing you only get to do once in a lifetime so she should be happy about it. Blake is the last one to pop out of the tube, and she seems to have had a real bad time coming up. Hair a mess, a little of balance, out of breath, she has good reason to want to NEVER do this again. May asks Penny for directions through the base, though she calls her “robo-girl” when she does it which isn’t the greatest nickname. Penny does a 3D scan of the base and pulls up a map for reference, or something cool and digital to that effect, its more of a visual thing than something you can explain. She gives a rapid series of perfect directions, much to everyone but Ruby’s wide eyed amazement. Ruby is just smugly impressed that her gal pal can do this sort of cool thing. Penny also takes this chance to assert that she would much prefer being called by her actual name. Ruby gives a smug “heh” that May is getting told off, to which May scoffs. Kdin herself has commented that this was meant to only be indignation at being chided for the nickname, not any annoyance at Penny being insistent on what she is called. Personal identity is something May understands well, and she does call her Penny from that point on. So it’s nothing to go insulting or slandering May over.

May puts up her invisibility bubble, and they head off. We see them standing around in an elevator waiting to reach their floor, a very relatable bit of comedy, before taking a few hesitant steps back as it stops on an early floor and two soldiers get in. These two are outside the bubble so they can’t see our girls, but it’s still a tense situation. They get to their floor and sneak around the soldiers while they’re busy talking about how creepy Salem’s horde waiting in the air is, and Nora plays a little prank by hitting every elevator button on the way out. The soldiers are so confused and annoyed! Reaching a door with a security checkpoint, Penny pops one of her fingertips off to reveal a USB insert that she plugs into the terminal to use Pietro’s credentials without his hand print. Ruby is quite impressed by this cool new tool, as would be expected of the weapons buff. May asks which way to turn, and Penny informs them that next they will need to go directly through the central command room. There are a lot of people crowded together and walking around, and May’s Semblance is not equipped for that kind of navigation. Fortunately, we get an answer in the form of what I’d like to call the Pennydex. She explains, with a fun cartoony visual, that Ruby’s Semblance allows her to do much more than just move fast, she actually breaks down to a molecular level so her mass can be negated and she can move faster. So, as we saw briefly in episode 1 of Volumes 4 and 6 with Nora and Weiss respectively, she can do the same to other people and transport a group since the mass of a whole group wouldn’t matter if they’re all just flying molecules. TLDR: We were misinterpreting Ruby’s Semblance the whole time and she can use it to get them through the crowded room easily. And judging from Ruby’s look of shock and confusion, she’s been misinterpreting her Semblance too. Harriet did say that her power is unlike anything she’s ever seen before back in V7... Blake continues to be the funniest member of the group by pointing out how Penny knew this was possible before Ruby did, and all Ruby can do is remind her (and us) that Penny also figured out Blake’s faunus identity before Ruby had. Not exactly painting yourself in the brightest light if your only rebuttal is further proof you’re not that perceptive...

With the opening of a door we shift scenes to Ironwood explaining himself for being tardy to... whatever it is he’s doing, and blaming it on how busy today has been. Meaning he’s probably killed someone else offscreen. The only thing that pisses me off more than that idea is whom he’s talking to: Watts, working for Ironwood to try and hack Penny under threat of execution from two armed guards. Point all the guns you want, Jimbo, this WILL backfire on you in a tremendous way. As quickly illustrated in a podcast about this episode by an IT professional, it is VERY bad business to hire a malicious hacker who has made no efforts to prove his stance with your security or what he will do with his skills has changed. If you can’t understand the jargon on his screen, he will use your ignorance to stab you in the back and turn this in his favor. But it is at least fortunate for Ironwood that Watts is here, because he points out that Pietro’s credentials are in use within the compound and it’s a little uncertain if the general would have noticed that without someone there checking the system. Naturally, as the paranoid man he is, Ironwood declares a security breach and a code red lockdown, authorization to use lethal force granted. Hey, I said this was fortunate for Ironwood, not for our heroes! The girls are of course panicked and worried, Penny checking the systems to see the tubes have been sealed too so they can’t leave how they came in. May is ready to swipe an airship for them so they can bail immediately, but Penny is resolute that the mission can still be achieved. Nora gets a good idea on how to make this work, and we see May sneak into the control room while cloaked to trip a guy walking by with a cup of coffee. His mug, labeled #1 Dad Dud, flies through the air and the hot coffee spills on a coworker’s computer and lap. This poor guy Bill who just wanted to drink some good bean juice, gets screamed at by another employee while the victim of the spill runs screaming out of the room to change pants. Bill is apparently notorious for not heeding the sign they have pinned up to say no food or drinks in the control room, and while the angry guy lists off his misdemeanors Ruby swoops up the rest of her friends and zooms through the room towards their destination while everyone is occupied with Bill. There’s a theory Bill is actually Velvet’s father Will Scarletina, since according to Before the Dawn he does work in Atlas, but considering the kind of guy Bill seems to be I would kinda hope otherwise. He microwaved salmon, for Christ’s sake! Unforgiveable!

The girls, minus May who went elsewhere to get a ship for their departure, emerge from Ruby’s petal blur safe and sound... except Blake. Penny, Weiss, and Nora have all been carried by Ruby before and are used to it, but this is Blake’s first time traveling Air Rose. So while the others look very proud of a triumphant Ruby, Blake is panicked and trying to steady herself. We next see them walking along an ominous looking bridgeway to a door with an electrified field in front of it. Penny does her USB insert thing to take down the electric barrier and unlock the door, and the others ready themselves to fight whoever might be on the other side. Instead, they find an empty room with several terminal pillars, a couple chairs, and one central interface computer that Penny will be using. After the door closes, Nora notes that the electricity started up again. Penny sits down at the terminal, and after taking a moment to breath and prepare herself notifies Pietro over whatever comms they use that she’s ready to start. It’s cute that she calls him dad, reminds me that yeah they are a family. What’s much less cute is that Pietro then remotely takes control of Penny from all the way at Amity so he can use her to perform the complicated process they need to make the launch plan work. The size of her irises and pupils changes, as does the color of her irises from green to yellow. Makes me very wary of the fact that her eyes were briefly red in the intro... especially since Watts is on the job to try and hack into her. Knowing her being remotely controlled is already possible in how she is programmed is TERRIFYING. Ruby is understandably a bit confused and taken aback by Pietro’s voice coming from Penny. “Penny” starts the complicated task as Ruby watches and probably has no idea what she’s looking at, and we cut over to Nora as she looks around the room. She passes by Weiss and Blake, and Blake is the one to voice her concern for Yang’s group. Makes sense she’s so concerned, she’s an only child worried by the fact that Ruby and Yang butted heads like that. Weiss is a sister so she knows what it’s like for siblings to fight like this, she knows it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other less or are on opposite sides. They just have different ideas about what’s right. Clearly she’s drawing from her own feelings on going against Winter at the end of Volume 7. Nora also tries to reassure Blake by talking about how strong and talented Jaune and Yang are and how much Oscar has grown as a fighter. Blake and Yang both seem impressed and reassured by this appraisal, while we the audience know this is very far from the current truth, since Oscar has been stolen away and Yang was unable to protect him. But what is also noteworthy is that she said nothing about Ren. She notices her own gap in information and tries to offer something but... she has no idea what Ren is right now. She hates feeling like she’s losing him, like she has less and less of an understanding who he is than ever before despite the years they’ve spent together, and she’s unsure if she should blame him or herself for this. This time Blake is the one with sage advice pulled from her own bittersweet experiences. When you’ve been at someone’s side for as long as they have, your identities become intertwined and you can lose track of what is really you vs what is a part of them mixed in. It’s important to keep a firm grip on who you are, to be your own person outside of that other person. Clearly, this is a warning to not make the mistakes she did with Adam, for Nora to not blind herself with obsession and attachment to this partner she trusts so much. They don’t say this flat out, but we can read between the lines. It’s a very nice moment from Blake, but it only worries Nora more. She’s had Ren in her life for so long, she really doesn’t know who she is as an individual. That’s a bit sad to think about, but Weiss tries to look on the bright side and says this can be an opportunity for Nora to do some self discovery and find who Nora Valkyrie truly is on her own. All Nora can think of to define herself though... is the value of her strength and her destructive capability. That’s all people expect of her, and she is finally getting a chance to prove herself beyond that.

Before Blake or Weiss have a chance to reassure her, they hear some promising beeps from the computer and rejoin Ruby and Penny. Pietro explains through Penny that he’s cloned the imprint of Ironwood’s computer signature onto Penny, so when they run the launch sequence for Amity the system will connect to her to get clearance instead of going all the way to this terminal to get it from the General. She finally returns to being herself, and says she’ll be sure to rejoin her friends once the launch is done so she can help finish the evacuations, buuuut Pietro has a different idea. He wants her to stay on the tower with him and Maria, but Penny wants to be here and help her friends who need her. Ruby does her best to be diplomatic about this, but she has to agree with Pietro. If Ironwood was right about the tower being unreachable by Salem’s forces then it will be the safest place for the Winter Maiden powers until Salem is beaten or leaves. So maybe Penny should stay there, at least for now? Weiss agrees, while Blake tries to change the subject and say they should head to the hangar and GTFO. Penny unlocks the door while lamenting how often folks are having to do things they would rather not. Appropriately enough, the Ace Ops are waiting on the other side looking for a fight our girls would probably rather not be having. With all the authority of a neighbor at your door to ask for their vacuum back, Harriet insists they’ll be bringing Penny “home” now. RNBW are quick to draw their weapons in defense, and it becomes a verbal spar instead. Surprisingly, it’s Vine who steps up with the speech to convince Penny. And just like the General, its full of negging and gaslighting to make her think she only thought she’s been doing what’s right but really she needs to do what Ironwood says. That she’s not protecting people unless she’s getting the relic for Ironwood. Which is, of course, bullshit because 60% of the people are in Mantle and the General has expressly stated he wants to abandon them to die in favor of keeping his already well fortified 40% up in Atlas safe. Penny tries to defend herself and her position on things with Mantle, but Hare and Elm have a pretty damn backwards way of remembering the end of Volume 7 because they call Penny ungrateful and blame her for Winter being in critical condition. Let’s try to imagine how that dramatic climax would have gone without Penny being there, hm? Winter wouldn’t have been able to get through the arctic vortex Fria was creating without dying of sheer cold, Cinder would have burned through with rage or spite or just been closer when Fria finally collapsed and died. Penny saved Winter’s life twofold and delayed Cinder long enough for Ruby to come in and make the Fall Maiden panic and leave. Get bent, bootlickers...

Marrow and Harriet try to rapidfire good cop bad cop Penny into backing down and surrendering her access of the vault to them, but Ruby uses actual logic and says boosting Atlas into the sky won’t stop Salem, it will only harm more people and delay the inevitable. Or at least, she tries to but hot tempered Hare yaps at her to shut up or she’ll get arrested just like Qrow. Threatening Ruby is more than Penny is willing to allow, and she takes the clear bait to step out of the server room only for Harriet to close the door behind her and leave the other girls trapped behind solid steel and deadly electric current. Penny uses her Maiden powers and her sword array to put up a good fight, but it’s still 4 vs 1 and their teamwork starts to overwhelm her, especially when Marrow uses his trump card Semblance to immobilize her for Vine to put cuffs on her. Meanwhile Weiss tries to use her Summon Knight to break down the door and even the odds, but the electric field is too much. She and Ruby lament how unfair this is and hope Penny can last a little while, but we are seeing how poorly that goes. Nora decides she has to step up for the clutch play, repeating the only 2 things she thinks she can do. “Be strong, and hit stuff...” So she jabs Magnhild into the power source on one side of the door and starts absorbing all the electricity into her body, screaming like Goku going Super Saiyan 3. And the analogy fits, because lightning runs across her skin in cool jagged bolts of pink and her hair stands on end. With a swing and a scream, she bashes the doors in and knocks the Ace Ops back a bit before they can cuff Penny. But all things must come with a cost, and this blows through all her Aura and she passes out with a momentary glassly look in her eyes. Not only that, the pink faded but the lightning patterns are still on her skin as an extensive set of scars consistent with the Lichtenberg figure observed on people actually struck by lightning. In terms of predictions for future consequences, serious electrocution like this has been documented to result in paralysis to some limbs, brain damage or memory loss, and sometimes even blindness. I worry those last two could be possible, since she was already having a hard time determining who she was without Ren so now she might completely forget who she is altogether, or she might lose her sight completely. I don’t know if RT would dare to do that, but we do have Yang’s arm as an example of their willingness for consequences... Regardless, the heroes are now down a woman but they’re still ready to fight for their friend.

Ironwood bitches and moans about losing the chance for the odds to be stacked in his favor since he can’t win this encounter otherwise, but Watts has a new plan for the Ace Ops. Harriet doesn’t like the new orders, but Marrow is ready and willing to obey. Elm quickly swipes RWB over the edge of the walkway before they can do much to fight back against the already winded Atlesians, and by the time Ruby can scoop up her teammates with her Semblance (thank goodness she learned to do that today), the damage is done. Harriet maneuvers behind Penny and yanks one of her swords out of her back with a heart wrenching pluck of the connecting string. Like pulling off a butterfly’s wing... especially since in this world weapons are supposed to be like an extension of your soul. With the sword yoinked their job is done here and they all bail, though Marrow has a remorseful look back at the teens as if he knows he’s trapped on the wrong side. Guess we know why he agreed to this plan so quickly, it was a grab and go rather than a total takedown of their former friends. Blake is the first to point out how incredibly sus this behavior was, but they don’t have time to fully ruminate on the situation because they’ve also done what they came to do and they need to GTFO. Carrying Nora, they meet May in the hangar where her jaunty greeting is cut short by the sight of the ginger girl’s injuries. They need to get her somewhere safe, so they violently bust out through the doors. While in the open air, Penny says her goodbyes and they reveal the ship can be a convertible so she can fly away. Ruby and Penny share a tender but deep hug, and Ruby promises they’ll see each other soon. I just worry when they do it will be on opposite sides of the battlefield, and this worry is not helped by the final scene. The Ace Ops deliver Penny’s sword to a satisfied Ironwood, though Harriet would have been happier taking all of those meddling kids down. Watts cryptically implies that with a piece of Penny’s tech they can make her join them, and anyone who doesn’t trust him immediately knows by “them” he means Salem. And that’s the worrisome note we end on this week. Will next week be better? With the element of future knowledge/ the curse of this review being a week or so late I can say NOPE.

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wetalkinboutbooks · 5 years

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My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Summary: When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:

→ Geena: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️🌗

→ Kae: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️🌗

Overall:

My Sister, the Serial Killer is a thriller that delivers 😤 Oyinkan Braithwaite does an amazing job delving into the psyche of our main character even though there’s only a few hundred pages to this book. In addition, we also get a sense of every other character’s personalities (with some bias since it is first person). There’s wild plot twists and an ending that leaves your brain reeling! We highly recommend this book, it’s a quick read and pretty entertaining.

~ Spoiler-full discussion below ~

The Good:

→ The story

Kae: So, we start off with Korede receiving a call from her sister, Ayoola. She has killed another man and has class her big sister to help clean up her mess. Korede, as tired of her sisters shit as she is, drives to her sisters now DEAD boyfriends house to help dispose of the body. Her sister is always claiming self-defense, but Korede isn’t so sure. She’s a bit of an obsessive cleaner, so she scrubs his house clean, they throw his body in the river and continue on about their lives. Korede, not as easily as her sister. Korede is a nurse who has a crush on one of the doctors, Tade, who is just GOD’S FINEST MAN, according to Korede. Not in those words, but you get what I’m sayin’.

Geena: SHE DESCRIBED HIM LIKE THE MAN OF EVERY GIRL’S DREAM

Kae: Boom! This is true. She’s madly in love with him. He can sing, is tall dark and handsome, and has a smile that outshines the sun. BUT, Korede is not conveniently attractive and is often overlooked by her beautiful sister, Ayoola. Though Korede doesn’t mind, it still irked me that everyone assumed she was jealous of Ayoola. They also treated Korede like the ugly duckling and I DID NOT like that shit AT ALL.

Geena: Kae really hit all the main points, and I agree… I HATED how Korede was treated and looked at. Everyone around her seemed to look down on her (even her own mother???). Regardless of how she’s been treated due to her comparison to Ayoola, Korede loves her sister (like why else would she help hide 3 of her murders lmao) and would do ANYTHING (obviously) for her. Though that takes a hit when Ayoola waltzes into her hospital and the doctor she had a crush on falls head over heels for her. It’s just a wild ride from there as the doctor Korede thought was so perfect… just…. Rots??? LIKE HOW DO WE DESCRIBE THAT… His perfect man façade just fades as the story progresses. I really liked how the story progressed and we got to see how Korede’s opinions and thoughts change over the course of the novel like yaaas girl men ain’t shit!

Kae: Basically, yes men ain't shit and I love how his character just deteriorates in front of our eyes. That’s good writing because at first, I too was like “yaaaas, a perfect man!” then I was like “Ew, it stinks in here. Smell like funky ass Tade.” with that funky ass personality.

→ Muhtar and Femi

Geena: DESPITE MY EARLIER POINT ABOUT MEN AIN’T SHIT, two men in this story were okay. Given that one was in a coma for half the book, and the other dead. Femi is the man that Ayoola murders at the start of the book, we learn about him as Korede keeps track of his family and how they react to his “disappearance.” Femi was a Soft Boy™ that wrote poetry and was lowkey jacked (according to Korede as she helped wrap his corpse). Femi essentially haunts Korede’s conscious, like the first man that Ayoola has murdered that wasn’t an absolute bag of shit (once again… according to Korede). I also liked how Femi’s voice in Korede’s head was the loudest when she was the most anxious about Ayoola murdering Tade… but as the novel progresses we hear less from ‘Femi’. AND LIKE…. OYINKAN IS SUCH A GOOD AUTHOR… all these subtleties that I didn’t even notice till now..

Kae: GEENA, YOUR MIND. I didn’t even peep that until you said it. But yes, to all of it! And now, we have Muhtar. Muhtar is a patient that’s been a coma for a few months that Korede has been caring for. She also talks to him about the murders her sister commits and how she helps clean the mess. You’d think this is alright because Muhtar has been in a coma for months, so he won’t tell anyone. WELL DING DONG, YOU ARE WRONG…. Kind of. Because my boy wakes up and he remembers damn there everything. Korede is shook (but I saw it coming hehehehe) so she then begins to avoid him. But, he requests her. He thinks her voice is what saved him and kept him alive while he was in a deep, comatose sleep. She begins to learn that he is a professor and that his wife was MAYBE TOTALLY POSSIBLY (absolutely) having an affair with his brother while he was knocked tf out. Korede is nervous because Muhtar remembers everything, but he assures her that he will not tell her secret. But he DOES tell her that continuing to aid her sister is going to destroy her little by little. He’s kind of right. But he, along with Femi, is a voice of reason for her. Muhtar is also one of the few people that treats Korede like a decent human being. He never mentions her appearance or if he thinks of her as a bad person. In his eyes, she is his angel that saved him from completely drowning in the sea of darkness that was his coma. We stan Muhtar! He even wanted to stay in touch with Korede after he recovered, but Korede reluctantly, burned his number. She wanted to leave him in the past, like all the murders she helped clean up.

Geena: Ugh yes, I was thinking that maybe Korede saw Muhtar as an uncle/father figure, because their own father was absolutely garbage like…. TW for reading this book because their father is honest to god the WORST. I feel like if she had kept his number and talked to him she would’ve been able to break out of the toxic cycle of helping her sister get away with murder but I guess it wasn’t in her fate :(

The Bad :

→ Korede

Geena: Our heroine is UNFORTUNATELY the bad of the book. We sympathized with her a lot, she was the eldest sibling that always got the short end of the stick both at home and work, but she was expected to be perfect nonetheless. Yet, as the story progresses and the solutions to her problems become glaringly obvious (pls turn in ur sister… even though at this point your complicit) Korede turns a blind eye and continues to fall under the influence of Ayoola. We had hoped that by the end of the series Korede would have realized that blood isn’t thicker than water…. But :// I MEAN I understand why narrative wise but IT STILL WAS FRUSTRATING like….

Fate: *presents the perfect chance for Korede to be free of Ayoola*

Korede: *slips on sunglasses* suddenly… I can’t read

Kae: Yeah, I sympathized with Korede a lot. Like, she was always overlooked, talked down to, and treated like she was less than. But she’s honestly the true definition of “ride or die” *ba doom tiinnngg*. I do wish that even if she didn’t turn in her sister, she would’ve at least moved out of her toxic home away from her murderous and toxic ass sister. Like Geena said, she had the perfect opportunity to solve her probbies, but she just kept up with the shits. THOUGHHHHH. Her sister DID attempted to kill Tade and failed and that kind of backfired. Ayoola claims Tade was beginning to think Korede killed Femi and Ayoola was like “oh shit…” then stabby stabby, missed him, BOOM. He stabs her instead. It’s a whole thing but they get out of it. Blame it on Tade. Self defense and all that jazz. But YES, I’ve gone off topic. Korede got stuck like chuck.

Geena: LMAO YES KAE WORDED IT PERFECTLY! And now that you mention it… I’m like…. What did Ayoola say that led Tade to believe that Korede killed Femi 👀 Ayoola was fr gaslighting our poor girl the whole time like… OKAY I KINDA WANNA TALK ABOUT AYOOLA BC HOLY SHIT THAT GIRL…. HOW U GONNA CASUALLY LICK ICE CREAM WHILE LOOKING THE SISTER OF THE MAN U KILLED IN HER FACE AND BE LIKE “OMG IS THERE ANY NEWS?” LIKE……. WHERE IS HER OSCAR? AND HER JAIL SENTENCE… My mind was REELING… Also, I GUESS Korede’s choice makes sense, she chose to protect Ayoola since they were kids (from their shitty ass dad) and I guess that trauma just forced her to follow the same path.

The Ugly:

→ Tade

Kae: Geena was so right about everything she said about Ayoola. HONESTLY. TRULY. Now, Tade… Tade, Tade, Tade. Not gonna lie, I was swooning right along with all the other ladies at the beginning of the book. He was described as the perfect gentleman. He is basically what every girl (or boy or anything in between or not) would want. Then, as the story progresses, we see Tade as well… a fuck boy. Like, backtracking a bit, Ayoola mentioned that Tade was just like the rest. He saw a pretty face and nothing else. And well, Ayoola was right. He didn’t know shit about Ayoola, her little quirks, or even what she liked. He just thought she was pretty and was ready to put a ring on it. He began to ignore Korede, only talk to her if it was about Ayoola, and eventually came to speculate that Korede was the one to kill Femi. He thought like this because he grouped pretty faces with lovely things, and well… ugly faces with ugly things… Like murder and jealousy. We slowly began to see that Tade was just like the rest of them and that was ANNOYING AS SHIT. ESPECIALLY when he starts getting up Korede’s ass, saying she’s a bad sister and jealous and bitter. Korede was nothing but nice to his STANK ASSSSSS and in the end, he couldn’t even be nice in return. MIND YOU. He’d only known Ayoola for like a month or two, but had known Korede for like a year or so. Annoying.

Geena: HARD AGREE ON EVERYTHING KAE SAID, because holy shit Tade deteriorated faster than Femi’s corpse. He really saw Ayoola once and forgot about Korede. Our girl out here used to COOK for his dumbass… She used to listen to him talk about everything, and Korede was ready to give him the world. The funniest part in the whole book was when Tade is going batshit crazy because he finds out that Ayoola cheated on him and Korede sees his condition and was like pathetic.jpeg… But they share a moment there??? And Korede tries to tell him that Ayoola is a serial killer and Tade is like “I KNEW YOU WERE A BACKSTABBING BITCH!!” while Korede was like… the only stabbing bitch here is Ayoola but alright. Not to mention when he brings out the ring for Ayoola and he’s talking like a crackhead about how much he loves Ayoola and Korede asks “Oh, so what do you like about her.” *CUE SILENCE* Tade is like “OH you know she’s super pretty and I wanna be with her.”......... like……… if that ain’t the most fuckboi shit……… I guess that was the point Korede was like “men ain’t shit!!!!” making it easier for her to just turn him over to the cops when he stabs Ayoola. GOD he was fucking annoying, kinda disappointed that Ayoola didn’t kill him :/// hoo boy thinkin bout that man gives me a headache… the absolute stupidity……………. Korede was wearing them heavy rose-coloured glasses at the start of the book and we got to read them shatter so that was a good touch!

→ Ayoola

Kae: AYOOLA. The perfect, pretty little sociopath. This girl is honestly something else. Sometimes I would have to scoff at the gall of this girls ability to not give a single fuck. Ayoola really murdered Femi, called Korede, then was just chillin on her phone or whatever while Korede cleaned up the mess. She has to have this like, impulse feeling where she hears Kill Bill sirens and sees red, then just straight up STABS OL’ DUDE and then she’s back to normal like “oops, I did it again.” and this bitch just be like WELP GOTTA CALL BIG SISSY TO HELP ME la dee daaa. She even participated in Femi’s hashtag on Insta. Home girl was DANCING IN HER ROOM after killing him. This would honestly make a great movie, ngl.

Geena: YOU’RE SO RIGHT IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE, I’d pay to see this made. God.. Ayoola was actually psycho just after a week she murders her bf she decides to go on to the next one? Like girl wasted NO time moving on, even though the whole time she was with Tade she was, like Kae said, participating in Femi’s Insta hashtag like “omg where is my man :(((“. ALSO the way she expects Korede to not question her after she kills a man? Korede will simply insinuate that Ayoola murdered someone and this girl would be like “YOU SEE ME AS A MONSTER????? IS THAT HOW IT IS?” Making Korede feel bad and backtrack. ALSO, like Kae mentioned…. AYOOLA WAS NEVER STRESSED??? Even when the cops rolled through to question her and Korede, Ayoola was like ~sips drink~ “I’m sure Korede has this figured out.” Going to project for a second and be like.. That’s such a younger sibling thing to do? Like never stressing about anything because they’re sure their older sibling will make up for them.

Kae: And we do. We totally make up for them. Because if they’re not going to do it, it falls on you ANYWAY and I honestly don’t like seeing my little sister get in trouble so, I get it. She only deserves to get in trouble if I think she deserves it. Mostly because we totally raise our younger sibs. We lowkey “momma bear” them.

Conclusion

Geena: This book was pretty short, only a few hundred pages, but it was fucking JAM PACKED!! It was a thriller, every chapter you were like “Ok this is where Ayoola snaps!!” or “This is where the cops catch them!” but NAH! I really enjoyed the writing even though the ending made me wanna SCREAM, Oyinkan Braithwaite does a really good job at foreshadowing and so on. For example, foreshadowing Muhtar waking up (which I should’ve seen but I was drinking that dumb bitch juice). Rated it 3.5/5 because I think there was room for Korede to grow past what she has known but sometimes we just fall back into what we’ve always done :/

Kae: I agree. It was a short book but it was jam packed with entertainment and I never knew what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed reading it and I loved how modern it was with it’s mentions of Insta and Snapchat. I liked that Korede dealt with all of her trauma by excessive cleaning. I liked that it showed a real coping mechanism, even if it was under horrible circumstances. I liked all of the characters and the way Oyinkan wrote them. I loved going deeper into these characters personalities. The ending did piss me off, but IT’S A THRILLER BOOK. So I should’ve seen incoming *small violin*. I too, give it a 3.5/5.

Geena: BUT YA I’D SAY THIS IS A GOOD BOOK REGARDLESS OF THE ENDING RIGHT? I really liked everything UP to the end skfjns… PLEASE READ IT!!

Kae: YES. READ IT. IT’S SOOO WORTH IT. IT’S A WILD RIDE BAYBEEEE.

#My Sister the Serial Killer #Oyinkan Braithwaite #book review #diverse books #booklr #wetalkinboutbooks #bookblr #book blogging #book blogger

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iwritethat · 6 years

Text

UnreQUITed - Part 3

Request: UnreQUITed 3?

A/n: Sorry for the wait! Please say if you want a Part 4 or if you don’t.

Warning: Strong language.

>>>>——————————>

~ Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~

Word had spread, as had Deathstrokes' influence. He was already a feared assassin with his own men if need be but there were very few he actually trusted - you were not one of them but automatically gained a high position despite your unwilling dedication. All of the attention from Gotham's underworld was bound to draw the Bats to you eventually but for now your priority was protecting the ones you cared about.

"So, how does it feel (Y/n)? Being back where you belong little Renegade."

You were leaning against his desk, neck deep in your flooding thoughts when Slade disrupted you, the mocking nickname the very definition of traitor. He meant it as an insult or wind up, you weren't quite sure but you knew you disliked it.

"Don't call me that, and I'm fine. Not that you give a shit anyway." Your words spit like venom, and you hoped it poisoned him like he had you many moons ago.

"You know (Y/n), when you disappeared he got reckless. He seemed angry, lost even. It was amusing, I've never seen your bird so off his game than without his love by his side or at the very least in his life."

"That's bullshit, he didn't love me. You know full well he had a thing for Batgirl." You hissed, glaring daggers at the bemused but skeptical Deathstroke.

"You didn't see how he always watched out for you in a battle? He was the first to defend you and looked at you like the light of his life - and you thought he was into Batgirl - he was but that was after you. Do you really think he'd infiltrate my organisation, alone, to fight only one member in particular. Damn that man tried so hard to win you over but I never thought you'd fall for it."

"C'mon, that's just who he is."

"Alright deny it. Tell me, what's this thing with his 'brother' then?"

"Stay outta my life, we are not friends and I don't look up to you anymore Slade."

Despite storming out of his office with a foul attitude, Deathstroke's words struck a cord in your train of thought. Why would he bring Jason up? You were friends and it had no connection to romantic involvement. The big bad vigilante wound you up something dreadful, it was like he enjoyed pissing you off but in contrast he was there whenever you needed it and when you didn't - like his mind went blank and Jason would nearly always help you after making a mini protest. Almost like you were with... Oh.

Of course, you could be overthinking, Jason would do anything for his friends and you were lucky enough to be classed as one.

————————

It wasn't long until the organisation was infiltrated, you strolled into the main area swinging your sword to rhythm of the blaring alarm siren but fell into a paralytic trance once locking gazed with a witty Nightwing. Internally, you were forever thankful for the armour and mask, it acted as a facade to be someone else - someone who hadn't been in love with him. Slade was the one to pull you back to reality, your head tilted slightly, twin swords drawn at the ready.

"Well? What are you waiting for little Renegade?!" At his unorthodox command, a frustrated groan was sent to Deathstroke before you tackled the interference.

Escrimina sticks consistently clashed with your blades and you found yourselves moving the battle to the rooftops in order to rid Slade of distractions.

"Are you Ravager Junior? Because you didn't seem to like that name he called you earlier."

"Sorry pretty bird, that's none of your business." You responded, knocking him off of his feet again.

"It means traitor right? Did you do something to piss him off because if that's the case I'm surprised you're still alive." Nightwing was forever chatty, you were glad that hadn't changed.

"Oh y'know, I did it for a boy." You laughed bitterly, almost as if it was a joke.

It was a combination of your voice and the way you moved that prompted his memories of your past rival fights to resurface, how you didn't aim for any lethal blows - if anything you were herding him away with no intention of hurting him which was abnormal for a criminal.

As of that point, you noted a change in the way he fought also, his sole focus was on removing your mask and you didn't notice until it was too late. A well placed kick to his chest sent him skidding away from you but when the soft chill breeze brushed your cheeks and strands of (h/c) flew into your face you knew your secret had been ripped from you.

"(Y-y/n)... I knew it, how are you - where were you - shit, I can't believe it’s you. I don't know what to say, I just really freaking missed you!" The moment you dreaded had finally arrived, his voice radiated relief and happiness at the mere sight of you even if you were glaring at him.

Nightwing didn't care, you were back and that's all that mattered to him and it caused your hard expression to falter. However, you remembered who you were and it wasn't his so when he moved to hug you instantly refused - the first time you had ever done so with the tip of your katana resting millimetres from his heart which forced him to stay back.

The action received a quizzical expression, a contrast to the broken one that soon followed but what you were about to say was probably so much worse. A split second lie that you’d hoped would make him leave.

Your eyes were darkening, brow raised in skepticism. "Do I know you?"

You could practically hear the crack of his heart, feel the utter wave of loss that pulsated from his body as every vein filled itself with regret. Did you really mean that much to him? You'd thought it would be better this way, that he believed you couldn't remember even though you did. Maybe he’d hate you? Start fighting you again? It’d be a welcome alternative than acknowledging your own longing waging a war in your system.

"Wha-what? No. No this can't be happening - (Y/n) it's me, Nightwing, Dick Grayson, your best friend... anything? Look, I'm not gonna hurt you, I can't, so do whatever you need to." The ravenette ran a hand through his windswept locks, tone holding a mixture of pain and melancholy, and in the end he just shrugged, offering you one of your katanas that'd been disarmed previously and dropped his escrima sticks to the ground in defeat.

He had to do this, no doubt he was blaming himself for your apparent betrayal and brainwashing but you couldn't kill him despite how easily he’d allow such a thing. Instead, you ended up pinning him to the windy rooftop with a blade to his throat and he didn't even attempt to fight back. It was both pitiful and honourable.

"What was it you wanted me to remember? You love me, I wish you would've told me (Y/n) - heck I wish I would've told you in the first place..." His words made you feel sick, anger burned deep in your heart and you wanted to rip him to shreds after he’d said it. Where was this attitude 6 months ago? Where was it when you needed to hear it?

"Ohhhh no. You don't get to do this to me, not now Dick!" You viciously muttered, looking away from him with furrowed brows haphazardly removing the blade. Your plan miserably backfired.

"Ah so you do remember! You need to stop this (Y/n), come back to me please." The pure sincerity in his voice had your knees trembling, to the point where the weight of your body and your guilty conscience was too heavy to hold and soon you collapsed.

The cold night winds whipped through your hair as you hid your face from view, thanks to your muscles weakness you were straddling your friend and on the verge of tears.

A surprised gasp escaped your lips, a feeling of comforting and gentle warmth spread through your body, originating from the toned arms encircling your waist. One reached up to gentle tug your wrist to be met with soft vibrant blues and a charming smile.

"Hey (Y/n)."

In that brief moment of happiness you returned the gesture, wrapping your arms around him to narrow as much distance as possible, your fingers entangling themselves in his mess of strands just as he did to you. The closeness allowed access to his familiar scent of cologne, his calming breathes all the more apparent once Nightwing nuzzled into the nape of your neck with a deep chuckle. All of the confusion and anger dispersed, despite everything your friendship remained and you belonged on his side.

"I'm glad you're back..." Your past best friend told you meanwhile carefully wiping the tears from your face.

"How can you say that?! Dick, have you seen who I'm working with - you're supposed to hate me!" Emphasis was forced on your words, it’s what was expected of him.

"I could never hate you, you are and always will be my best friend. Besides, I won you over once and I know you've got your reasons, I trust you (Y/n)." Intimacy seemed to rise, the way his nose gently brushed yours in a soft manner, the way his words flowed so effortlessly with truth and emotion. It was no surprise when you felt his lips lightly press against yours as if asking permission.

The smallest of touches from him could send your heart racing but this had you on edge, had the butterflies in your stomach dancing with the stars and you wanted more. But you knew better than that, friendship came before self indulgence.

"Mm-no - Barbara. You have Barbara, you can't." Your voice was a soft pained whisper, gazing to down to prevent his lips from meeting your own once again. His breath hitched at your accusation, pulling away and fingertips brushing your cheekbones in hopes of regaining your full attention.

"I can, me and Barbara... we're not, I mean we're um..." He took a deep sigh, contemplating how to deliver the information.

"After you left - things between us changed and it was harder to keep a relationship going because I realised that I relied on you, relied on being with you more than I ever wanted to admit. I spent most of my time looking for you, to bring you back so I could talk to you - I mean you can't just disappear with only a note (Y/n). I missed you and Babs noticed, I think she knew deep down it was more than that but chose not to say anything. We drifted apart, then decided it was best we remain friends so we aren't dating anymore." By the time he’d finished his much needed explanation he could barely look you in the eye, most likely due to regret and the following developments only worsened it for him.

"How long have you two...?"

"3 weeks after you left, so it must've been a few months. We laugh about it now actually."

It was silent for a moment, a period to process the information you'd been given that provided a fill in for what you'd missed whilst you were absent.

"I never meant to hurt you, I'm so sorry Dick." You got to your feet and offered him your hand as you spoke, no longer avoiding eye contact.

"So am I (Y/n)."

You both released short sheepish but content breathy laughs, as if getting to grips with each other again as you stood opposite. His fingers brushed through your stands again almost tenderly, he was nervous with the way he closed the distance between you two. His shaky breath hit your skin and you suddenly became hyper aware of his every movement, practically anticipating what was to come. You smiled slightly, kissing his bottom lip teasingly but you barely had the time to pull away before he connected them again, all hint of nervousness evaporated with your touch. Dick didn't have to hold back anymore, there was no fear of rejection, no Barbara, he wouldn't lose you - all of this was demonstrated and the passion alone soon had you backed up against the wall with your hands lost in his raven hair. He'd jokingly scold you for ruining it, you knew that but with him smiling against your skin and whispering sweet nothings it seemed worth it. It was the only way you could think of to express how you’d truly felt about seeing one another again, being on the same side once again - a kiss seemed more fitting than words could ever describe. The both you were able to enjoy the others presence after sharing the intimate moment, basking in the closeness of one another’s energies and simply being able to communicate without the shadow of awkwardness lingering.

However revitalising as being lost in everything Dick Grayson was, you were blinded by a vibrant flash of ruby skimming your vision.

Aiming.

You didn’t have the time, neither of you did before you heard it.

Bang.

<——————————<<<<

Tagging: @palmtopliion

#dick grayson #nightwing #dick grayson imagine #nightwing imagine #dick grayson x reader #nightwing x reader #dc #dc imagine #batfam #UnreQUITed

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trinuviel · 6 years

Text

Winterfell’s Daughter. On Sansa Stark (part 7)

I’ve previously written a series of metas on Sansa Stark’s narrative arc during season 1 of Game of Thrones (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6). In this post I’m taking a look at her story in season 2. Sansa Stark is one of my favorite characters and in this respect season 2 is hard to watch because so much mental, physical and sexual abuse is heaped upon the poor girl. Yet despite her hardships, Sansa also shows that she’s both courageous, compassionate and kind. She shows us that she is strong - a strength that is mental rather than physical since she is not trained to fight like her sister. Sansa’s resilience lies in the strength of character.

Sansa refuses to be broken by the malice of the Lannisters. She fights back in her own way. Her resistance is a passive one but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a form of resistance. She doesn’t physically or verbally attack her captors. Instead she deploys her courtesy as an armour and she also employs a subtle and snarky wit as well as a strategic form of flattery to manipulate Joffrey. Those who are clever can see through her ploys yet cannot really reproach her since her statements seem flattering on the surface. She shows the audience that she is more clever than people initially assume.

COURAGEOUS AND KIND

Season 2 of Game of Thrones opens with a tourney in King’s Landing in honour of King Joffrey’s nameday. However, this tourney is a far cry from the chivalric pageantry that characterized the Hand’s Tourney in the previous season. In fact, Joffrey’s nameday tourney looks more like gladitorial combat, an exhibition of lethal bloodsport for the king’s amusement. Joffrey revels in the fact that people are killed for his personal entertainment - people getting injured and killed is amusing to him. Indeed, any kind of abuse is amusing to him but he particularly enjoys causing Sansa pain, whether it is physical or emotional pain.

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After a particularly lethal fight where a man dies, Joffrey goads Sansa for a response to the violence. Here we see Sansa tonelessly “parroting” Joffrey’s words back at him – a subtle form of passive resistance. She outwardly complies but refuses to express any kind of emotion. From Joffrey’s face it is clear that he finds Sansa’s icy politesse frustrating. He wants to revel in her fear but she doesn’t allows herself to show any feelings and neither does she talk back at him, which would give him an opportunity to have her punished.

However, things come to a head when on of the contestants, Ser Dontos, arrives late and drunk. Joffrey pounces on the opportunity to have another person abused for his personal entertainment by having his Kingsguard force wine down Donto’s throat. Sansa’s reaction is immediate and purely instinctive as she blurts out “You can’t!”.

This kind of instinctual outburst is dangerous for her. The last time she impulsively contradicted Joffrey, she earned herself a beating. Joffrey reacts angrily to her outburst – as he doesn’t like to be told no.

Joffrey: What did you say? Did you say I can’t?

She quickly realizes her danger and tries to salvage the situation.

Sansa: I only meant it would be bad luck to kill a man on your nameday.

Joffrey: What kind of stupid peasant’s superstition…

Sandor Clegane: The girl is right. What a man sows on his nameday, he reaps all year.

Sansa’s attempt to appease Joffrey may not be particularly inventive and you could argue that it is only the Hound’s intervention that saves her from a beating. However, she does manage to stop the abuse of Dontos.

Joffrey: Take him away. I’ll have him killed tomorrow, the fool.

Sansa: He is a fool! You’re so clever to see it. He’ll make a much better fool than a knight. He doesn’t deserve the mercy of a quick death.

This is the most important part of this entire scene. At this point, Sansa has managed to save her own skin (with some help from the Hound). Most people would have kept silent (as does the rest of the courtiers). Yet Sansa does not avert her eyes or keep silent. Indeed, keeping silent would probably have been the less risky option for her at this point.

Instead, Sansa decides to try saving the life of Ser Dontos. She notices Joffrey calling Dontos a fool and she then proceeds to plant the notion in Joffrey’s head that making a knight a fool is a much more humiliating punishment than death. This is an impressive piece of quick thinking and subtle manipulation. Sansa strokes Joffrey’s ego and gets her way. She saves a life – and she does so at a certain risk to her own person because she could easily earned herself a beating if Joffrey had reacted aversely to her suggestion. Sansa is actually very brave here. Many people confuse bravery with fearlessness but that is not the case! You can only be truly brave when you’re doing something despite your fear! Sansa is sticking her neck out for a stranger, knowing full well that her intervention may backfire, which could end up with her getting hurt once again. Yet she still intervenes on behalf of Dontos.

Sansa is brave here and she is compassionate, which is a testament to her fundamentally kind nature – even in adversity.

Tyrion arrives. He extends his condolences to Sansa on the death of her father. We get a profile shot of Joffrey and Sansa; she opens her mouth in order to answer Tyrion. However, before Sansa gets to speak, Joffrey reacts badly once again and throws a strop.

Joffrey: Her loss? Her father was a confessed traitor.

Tyrion: But still her father. Surely, having so recently lost your own beloved father, you can sympathize.

Joffrey turns to Sansa to gauge her reaction to Tyrion’s words. She sits with her shoulders slightly hunched, which indicates her fear. Her response will most definitely influence her treatment by Joffrey so she calibrates her answer carefully.

Sansa: My father was a traitor. My mother and brother are traitors, too. I am loyal to my beloved Joffrey.

This particular line becomes a sort of litany for her during her time in King’s Landing, always delivered in a toneless voice. Anyone with half a brain can see that she is being disingenuous but Joffrey is both stupid and vicious. I would argue that this kind of performance constitutes a form of passive resistance on Sansa’s part. She knows she cannot speak her mind openly. It will only earn her a beating. However, whilst she is outwardly complying, her wooden “performance” makes it clear that she isn’t honest. She is speaking under duress and anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see that. She makes a performance out of the duress she’s under and this is part of how she authors her resistance with the very means that she has at her disposal.

SCAPEGOAT

Sadly, Sansa is not always able to save herself from physical abuse. However, that doesn’t mean that she’s weak or stupid. Sometimes she is just helpless in a certain situation, like when Joffrey decides to use her as a scapegoat for Robb Stark’s military victories.

The crossbow scene in ep04 is just such a situation. Sansa’s brother Robb has won yet another victory over the Lannisters and Joffrey decides to vent his anger on his helpless hostage. Once again, Joffrey’s sadistic nature is on full display, only this time it is not disguised by a socially acceptable scenario such as the nameday tourney in ep01.

The scenes begins with low-angle close-up of Joffrey aiming the crossbow directly at the camera. In cinema and television, the camera acts as the eye of the audience so in this shot we, the audience, are directly confronted with Joffrey’s threat of violence. We are, so to speak, on the receiving end of Joffrey’s malice here.

However, this shot is followed by a point-of-view shot from Joffrey’s position, showing the audience what he’s looking at: a blurry outline that quickly is resolved into the figure of a kneeling Sansa Stark. These two shots sets the stage for the following confrontation.

These kind of shots create a POV structure where the audience is invited to inhabit both positions. It is a bit unnerving in this particular instance since we are not only invited to step into Sansa’s shoes with the first, establishing shot but also into Joffrey’s shoes with the second POV shot. However, the first shot establishes the primary POV: that of Sansa Stark - under the threat of lethal violence and it most certainly her POV that we are expected to empathize with (especially since Joffrey is such a sadistic piece of shit).

Enraged by the Lannister losses on the battlefield, Joffrey has created a mockery of a “trial”, complete with Lancel Lannister spouting an absurd accusation of sorcery and cannibalism on the part of the Northern army. All of this is accompanied by the horrified gasps of the surrounding courtiers.

Joffrey: You are here to answer for your brother’s lastest treasons.

[...]

Joffrey: Ser Lancel, tell her of this outrage.

Lancel Lannister: Using some vile sorcery, your brother fell on Stafford Lannister with an army of wolves. Thousands of good men were butchered. After the slaughter, the Northmen feasted on the flesh of the slain.

Then Joffrey quite literally threatens to kill Sansa as a “message” to Robb Stark. Fortunately, Cersei still has some influence over him so instead he decides to “punish” Sansa by having his Kingsguard beat her up.

Joffrey: Killing you would send your brother a message. But my mother insists on keeping you alive. Stand. So we’ll have to send your brother a message some other way.

Joffrey: Meryn. Leave her face. I like her pretty.

This is where things get really nasty. Sansa is literally being beaten up by a grown man wearing armour. She is punched in the stomach by a man wearing steel gauntlets and then beaten with the flat of a sword! Even that is not enough since Joffrey orders her stripped in public.

Joffrey: If you want Robb Stark to hear us, we’re going to have to speak louder.

This scene makes me recall a conversation between Eddard Stark and Jaime Lannister in season 1 where Jaime tells Ned that 500 hundred people stood silently by and watched Rickard and Brandon Stark die on the orders of King Aerys II. The present situation is not nearly as dire but the circumstances are rather similar: an audience stands silently by whilst a king has one of his knights abuse a teenage girl. Lancel Lannister can’t even bring himself to face the abuse that he himself has played a part in, as you can see in the picture below.

I’m also reminded of another scene from season 1 where Sansa raises the subject of the deaths of her grandfather and uncle to Septa Mordane, who doesn’t want to discuss such “unpleasant” subjects with her young charge.

Septa M: They were killed on the orders of King Aerys, commonly known as the Mad King.

Now another innocent Stark is tortured on the orders of a mad king in the very place where her close relatives were killed on the orders of a mad king. The spectre of Mad King Aerys is indeed invoked in this scene when Tyrion remonstrates with Joffrey.

Joffrey: You can’t talk to me like that. The king can do as he likes!

Tyrion: The Mad King did as he liked. Has your Uncle Jaime ever told you what happened to him?

Sansa is very fortunate that Tyrion intervened when he did because Ser Meryn Trant was about to use his sword on her again and it looks as though he was about to do her serious harm.

Many people often fail to realize exactly how dangerous Sansa’s situation really is in King’s Landing. Joffrey is both vicious and stupid. He detests Sansa and he is dangerously unpredictable. He could very easily have her killed in a fit of rage before anyone would be able to intervene. At present, he still listens to his mother on this particular subject but he might not continue to do so because he has such a volatile temper. Furthermore, a situation like this could very quickly spiral completely out of hand and Sansa might get seriously hurt or even killed.

Neither should we minimize the severity if the physical abuse that Sansa suffers here. A grown man is beating up a teenage girl and he’s not pulling his punches. The book makes this abundantly clear:

Boros slammed a fist into Sansa's belly, driving the air out of her. When she doubled over, the knight grabbed her hair and drew his sword, and for one hideous instant she was certain he meant to open her throat. As he laid the flat of the blade across her thighs, she thought her legs might break from the force of the blow. Sansa screamed. Tears welled in her eyes. It will be over soon. She soon lost count of the blows. (ACoK, Sansa III)

When Tyrion escorts Sansa out of the throne room, she is both terrified and very likely in a lot of pain. Yet she schools her countenance so that she reveals neither pain nor fear. It might not be much but it IS a small act of passive resistance. They might abuse her body but she won’t let them kill her soul.

She uses her ladylike manners as her armour. Standing tall, she squares her shoulders and lifts her chin and leaves the place of her abuse and humiliation with all the grace and dignity of a queen. She cannot stop her abusers but neither can they deprive her of her dignity.

Joffrey absolutely hates that about her - he enjoys her pain and he wants to revel in her fear. Tyrion, on the other hand, seems rather impressed with her.

To be continued...

(GIFs not mine)

#game of thrones #sansa stark #character analysis #winterfell's daughter

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dangkinronpa · 6 years

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♫ headcanons for shsl archer nanami ( @fates-kin ) who survived the tragedy, joined future foundation, and went into the neo world program posing as shsl gamer

heres ur headcanons nanami! i hope u like them, and if u want me to make any changes just let me know! ur headcanons are under the cut

♪ mod kaede

- thinking back on all the good times she had at hopes peak academy was something that nanami always found enjoyable. no matter what she was going to be doing with her class, everyday had something fun to look forward to. never, in all her time at hopes peak academy, did nanami think that all her happy times would start turning sour

- the first time that nanami noticed that something was off would have had to been when she noticed that tsumiki seemed a little off one day. she pushed it to the back of her mind back then, but slowly all of her other classmates seemed to be developing strange behaviors. she didnt say it back then, but she was really worried for everyones well being

- with the strange yet subtle behavioral shifts that she noticed in her classmates, nanami started working even harder on her archery skills. just thinking about the situation left a strange pit in her stomach, and practicing her archery helped her feel a little bit more secure. she didnt realize it at the time, but her training would keep her safe quite a bit

- her skills as an archer became something that nanami considered very important once the tragedy hit the world full force. though she would never use her talent to injure anyone lethally, if she ever needed to run away from someone that would cause her harm, shooting them in the foot with an arrow usually distracted them enough for her to run away

- after a bit of time trying to survive the tragedy on her own, eventually nanami found members of the future foundation and decided to join them. even if she didnt always agree with everything that went on in the future foundation, it was a relief to know that she didnt have to wander around all alone in the midst of all the chaos that the tragedy caused

- nanami had been working with the future foundation for a long while before naegi informed her that he had found a whole group of people who were shsl despair and that he had saved them. seeing them was all it took for nanami to realize that the people naegi had found were her classmates. at that point, she wanted nothing more than to save them all

- it took a bit of convincing, but nanami eventually persuaded naegi that letting her into the neo world program as the shsl gamer was a good idea. this was her chance to help fill her classmates with hope and reverse the effects of shsl despair; even if it was risky, nanami knew that the risk was more than worth it. thus, she was secretly sent into the program

- inside the neo world program, seeing all of her classmates acting like the people they were before the tragedy struck the world warmed nanamis heart. it wasnt long before naegis plan for a hope filled program started to backfire with a killing game, but the short moments of peace left nanamis heart feeling warm, even if she was lying about her talent

- despite the fact that the original plans for the neo world program didnt seem to be working out, nanami was sure that there was still some sort of way to show her classmates a sense of hope that could help them battle the despair that theyd dealt with for so long. even when her role in the program ended, she held hope that everything would start getting better

- when she woke up, nanami was glad to see that the effects of the tragedy were starting to wear off and that everything seemed to be slowly getting better. although she couldnt believe that she had made it through everything, she couldnt say that she wasnt grateful. there was no doubt in her mind that she and her classmates could have a positive influence now

#chiaki nanami kin #nanami chiaki kin #sdr2 kin #super dangan ronpa 2 kin #super dangan ronpa 2 goodbye despair kin #dangan ronpa kin #headcanons #mod kaede #long post

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dfroza · 3 years

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Today’s reading from the ancient book of Proverbs and book of Psalms

for August 7 of 2021 with Proverbs 7 and Psalm 7, accompanied by Psalm 49 for the 49th day of Astronomical Summer and Psalm 69 for day 219 of the year (now with the consummate book of 150 Psalms in its 2nd revolution this year)

[Proverbs 7]

[Wisdom, Your True Love]

Stick close to my instruction, my son,

and follow all my advice.

If you do what I say you will live well.

Guard your life with my revelation-truth,

for my teaching is as precious as your eyesight.

Treasure my instructions, and cherish them within your heart.

Say to wisdom, “I love you,”

and to understanding, “You’re my sweetheart.”

“May the two of you protect me, and may we never be apart!”

For they will keep you from the adulteress,

with her smooth words meant to seduce your heart.

Looking out the window of my house one day

I noticed among the mindless crowd

a simple, naïve young man who was about to go astray.

There he was, walking down the street.

Then he turned the corner,

going on his way hurrying to the house of the harlot—

the woman he had planned to meet.

There he was in the twilight as darkness fell,

convinced no one was watching

as he entered the black shadows of hell.

That’s when their rendezvous began.

A woman of the night appeared,

dressed to kill the strength of any man.

She was decked out as a harlot, pursuing her amorous plan.

Her voice was seductive, rebellious, and boisterous

as she wandered far from what’s right.

Her type can be found soliciting on street corners

on just about any night.

She wrapped her arms around the senseless young man

and held him tight—

she enticed him with kisses that seemed so right.

Then, with insolence, she whispered in his ear,

“Come with me. It’ll be all right.

I’ve got everything we need for a feast.

I’ll cook you a wonderful dinner.

So here I am—I’m all yours!

You’re the very one I’ve looked for,

the one I knew I wanted from the moment I saw you.

That’s why I’ve come out here tonight,

so I could meet a man just like you.

I’ve spread my canopy bed with coverings,

lovely multicolored Egyptian linens

ready for you to lie down on.

I’ve sprinkled the sheets with intoxicating perfume

made from myrrh, aloes, and sweet cinnamon.

Come, let’s get comfortable and take pleasure in each other

and make love all night!

There’s no one home, for my husband’s away on business.

He left home loaded with money to spend,

so don’t worry.

He won’t be back until another month ends.”

He was swayed by her sophistication,

enticed by her longing embrace.

She led him down the wayward path right into sin and disgrace.

Quickly he went astray, with no clue

where he was truly headed,

taken like a dumb ox alongside the butcher.

She was like a venomous snake coiled to strike,

so she set her fangs into him!

He’s like a man about to be executed with an arrow

right through his heart—

like a bird that flies into the net,

unaware of what’s about to happen.

So listen to me, you young men.

You’d better take my words seriously!

Control your sexual urges and guard your hearts against lust.

Don’t let your passions get out of hand

and don’t lock your eyes onto a beautiful woman.

Why would you want to even get close

to temptation and seduction,

to have an affair with her?

She has pierced the souls of multitudes of men—

many mighty ones have fallen

and have been brought down by her.

If you’re looking for the road to hell,

just go looking for her house!

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 7 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 7]

God! God! I am running to you for dear life;

the chase is wild.

If they catch me, I’m finished:

ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,

dragged into the forest and left

unlooked for, unremembered.

God, if I’ve done what they say—

betrayed my friends,

ripped off my enemies—

If my hands are really that dirty,

let them get me, walk all over me,

leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

Stand up, God; pit your holy fury

against my furious enemies.

Wake up, God. My accusers have packed

the courtroom; it’s judgment time.

Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,

throw out the false charges against me.

I’m ready, confident in your verdict:

“Innocent.”

Close the book on Evil, God,

but publish your mandate for us.

You get us ready for life:

you probe for our soft spots,

you knock off our rough edges.

And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:

made right, kept right.

God in solemn honor does things right,

but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

Nobody gets by with anything.

God is already in action—

Sword honed on his whetstone,

bow strung, arrow on the string,

Lethal weapons in hand,

each arrow a flaming missile.

Look at that guy!

He had sex with sin,

he’s pregnant with evil.

Oh, look! He’s having

the baby—a Lie-Baby!

See that man shoveling day after day,

digging, then concealing, his man-trap

down that lonely stretch of road?

Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,

legs waving in the breeze.

That’s what happens:

mischief backfires;

violence boomerangs.

I’m thanking God, who makes things right.

I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 7 (The Message)

[Psalm 49]

For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.

Listen up, everyone!

All you who reside in this world, give an ear!

Everyone—rich and poor,

young and old, wise and foolish, humble and mighty—

My mouth will overflow with wisdom;

the reflections of my heart will guide you to understand the nature of life.

I will tune my ear to the words of a proverb;

to the sounds of a harp, I will reveal my riddle.

Why should I be afraid when dark evils swirl about me,

when I am walking among the sin of evildoers—

Those who depend on their own fortunes,

who boast about their earthly riches?

One person can’t grant salvation to another

or make a payment to the True God for another.

Redeeming a life is costly;

no premium is enough, ever enough,

That one’s body might live on forever

and never fear the grave’s decay.

Everyone knows that even the wisest ones die,

perishing together with the foolish and the stupid.

For all die—beggars and kings, fools and wise men.

Their wealth remains behind for others.

Although they wish to dwell in fine houses forever,

their graves are their real resting places.

Their homes are for all future generations,

yet for a while they have named lands after themselves.

[No one, regardless of how rich or important, can live forever;

he is] just like the animals that perish and decay.

This is the destiny of those foolish souls who have faith only in themselves;

this will be the end of those happy to follow in their ways.

[pause]

The fate of fools is the grave, and just like sheep,

death will feast on them.

The righteous will rule over them at dawn,

their bodies, their outward forms, rotting in the grave

far away from their great mansions.

But God will reach into the grave and save my life from its power.

He will fetch me and take me into His eternal house.

[pause]

Do not be afraid of the rich and powerful

as their prestige and honor grow,

For they cannot take anything with them when they die.

Their fame and glory will not follow them into the grave.

During their lives, they seek every blessing and advantage

because others praise you when you’ve done well.

But they will soon join their ancestors, for all of time,

among the tombs of the faithless—a place of no light.

Anyone who is rich or important without understanding

is just like the animals that perish and decay.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 49 (The Voice)

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pottergerms · 7 years

Text

Ouch, my heart: an analysis of the Sectumsempra

Well, well well…. look who’s back from the dead (me, if you couldn’t guess).

First of all, I want to apologise for not doing these for so long. Things got a little insane in my life. I haven’t had time to blink these days, but here I am, because I love you all.

First of all: thank you and sorry it took me over a year to do this. And second of all: of course I can!

I think this is the post everyone was waiting for and I have no idea if I'm ready for it. Wait. I know I'm not.

But since I'm either a masochist or already too numb from all the pain this ship causes me, I'll try anyway. Fuck the police.

I'll open this discussion with Harry's last thought about Draco before the horrible tragedy that we call Sectumsempra:

Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that greyish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, or excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort … there could be only one conclusion, in Harry’s opinion: the mission, whatever it was, was going badly.

Ok, let's start by the fact Harry says Draco has a "swagger". Not my words!

And also: Yer a stupid wizard, Harry.

The boy is falling behind in classes, he's sad and lonely, he looks sick, you know he's terrified he's not pleasing Voldemort. So instead of trying to help him, you go and use a spell for enemies on him. A boy genius.

I don't even know why I'll point this out again, but it's not normal to keep noticing those things about people you don't care about, ok? It's just not done. You're fooling yourself!

Meanwhile, Harry is getting desperate here. If it's because Draco looks sick or because he couldn't find out what his mission was, we'll never know. But he knows he's running out of time, and he has other personal problems to deal with, like the horcruxes and his huge crush *sarcasm* on Ginny.

And coincidentally his crush on her seems to grow, suddenly. Almost like it's a distraction... hm. She's exactly like the opposite of his true crush, I mean, obsession, I mean... Malfoy. She makes him forget, instead of making him feel like everything is falling apart; she doesn't have any problems besides boys and Quidditch, while Draco's buried in shit.

But still, he thinks about her far less than he thinks about *someone else*. Because a constant in this book is that nothing is more pressing than Draco Malfoy. Not the Prince himself, not the horcruxes, not girls or Quidditch. Nothing.

In the midst of all his preoccupations Harry had not forgotten his other ambition: finding out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. He was still checking the Marauder’s Map and, as he was often unable to locate Malfoy on it, deduced that Malfoy was still spending plenty of time within the Room.

Oh yeah, in the midst of his problems, one being he didn't know if Ginny was worth upsetting Ron (and if that's not an indicative that she's not your one true love, Harry, I don't know what is), he still has plenty of time to obsess over Draco Malfoy.

Just healthy, really.

And now, because I didn't forget the real issue here, let's read what brilliant thoughts Harry Potter has about the Sectumsempra:

...he saw the Sectumsempra spell, captioned ‘For Enemies’, that he had marked a few weeks previously. He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Hermione, but he was considering trying it out on McLaggen next time he came up behind him unawares.

Oh yeah! He was considering trying the Sectumsempra on Cormac! That's how much of a genius he is. Harry, go study some latin before you use a fucking spell, will ya?

I mean, you would think that a boy who lost both parents to a curse and studied Charms for 6 years would think to at least check the etymology of a spell before using it on another human being. Or not, if you're stupid as fuck!

Ok, so are you ready for the heartbreak? *takes deep breath*

Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder’s Map as he went. For a moment he could not find Malfoy anywhere, and assumed he must indeed be inside the Room of Requirement again, but then he saw Malfoy’s tiny, labelled dot standing in a boys’ bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe or Goyle, but by Moaning Myrtle.

First of all, Harry, why??? What kind of dodgy business could he be planning with the ghost of a muggleborn girl murdered by Voldemort? If anything, that shows he's really not who you think he is.

It took me years after reading this book to realise Draco was confessing to a mudblood, and a victim of Voldemort. To me, that's a symbol of how his views were changing and how, in the end, he was a victim, not a villain. He was like her in a way.

Also, how fucking lonely he was. *sobbing*

God, that makes me so mad! This is the only time Harry really disappointed me and I think he fucking knows it. He disappointed himself too.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

‘Don’t,’ crooned Moaning Myrtle’s voice from one of the cubicles. ‘Don’t … tell me what’s wrong… I can help you …’

‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’

And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin.

To be honest, I can't choose what's worse about this whole thing. Draco confessing to a ghost, because he has no one (and not just any ghost, but the one everyone can't stand)? The fact he is crying because he's so scared?

Or maybe the fact that Harry is just so stupid he can't use simple logic and understand that, whatever this is, Draco doesn't have a choice???

Ouch, my heart just broke real quick.

Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Malfoy wheeled round, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another –

(...)

There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’

I can't imagine how humiliated he feels, and how terrified he is, because not only was he crying because of Voldemort, but now Harry Potter knows too much. And Harry won't help him, he's sure of that.

You know what breaks me? They start do duel with childish hexes and curses, and it escalates so quickly, before any of them can take a moment to realise the seriousness of it.

And I wish Draco was going to say "Crucifix nail nipples!", but we know he was not. But do you wanna know what I believe? If he had time to finish saying the word, nothing would happen, and Harry would be able to see he's not evil. He obviously didn't mean the Crucio.

But before he has that chance, Harry goes and fucks up royally:

‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.

Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backwards and collapsed on to the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.

‘No –’ gasped Harry.

Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged towards Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.

‘No – I didn’t –’

Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood.

To be honest, Harry never in a million years thought that would be a lethal curse. Never. He wanted to test it on McLaggen!

I can't stand this moment, I can't. I makes me tear up every time.

Because there is Draco's physical pain, which was probably horrible, then there's his emotional pain, because he's at his most vulnerable moment and it's such a betrayal! Harry is one of the good guys. He was afraid Voldemort would do something like that to him, not Harry. And that is so so so sad.

And there's Harry's pain as well, because he's fucking terrified. He knows Draco is dying, he knows he did something unthinkable, he knows he fucked up. Sometimes I can't believe Draco actually saved Harry after that, because this probably haunted him for a long time.

Just imagine seeing someone surrounded by their own blood, with deep cuts and shaking in pain. I don't think you can forget it that easily. Especially if you were responsible for it.

And you know what makes me angry? That Harry compartmentalises what he's feeling so well that it's like two different people: one when he's alone, looking at what he did, and one once he finds his friends. It's maddening.

But there's a reason for that, and we'll get into it soon.

“Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wailing overhead. When Snape had performed his counter-curse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.

‘You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that … come …’

He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turning at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, ‘And you, Potter … you wait here for me.’

It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstains floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.”

I love the way JKR describes how Harry sees it, how vivid are the consequences of what happened. And I obviously love how Snape tells Draco it might scar, possibly more for Harry to hear than for him. Snape knows him well, he knows the guilt trip he could go into and is trying to push him into it. And Harry deserves it.

It doesn't happen, though, because immediately after, he goes to find his friends (and Ginny), who make him forget about his feelings.

But before we get into that, I'd like to talk about the symbolism of Harry finding the room of hidden things when he's trying to hide the book. It's the room he's been trying to get in all year, and it's almost like a physical representation of Draco at this point.

It's very interesting how he can suddenly get in, almost like the barriers are all down, almost like Draco stopped caring about hiding it from him. Almost like he's so sad and hopeless he stops trying. Thinking about the wave of disappointment he must be feeling, it's very possible that Draco's feelings were an influence in the door showing up for Harry.

Anyway, then Harry tells his friends about what just happened and they respond exactly like you would expect them too, almost to a stereotypical extreme.

“I won’t say “I told you so”,’ said Hermione, an hour later in the common room. ‘Leave it, Hermione,’ said Ron angrily.”

Isn't it interesting how none of them we just horrified by the whole thing? How Hermione just focuses on the book, not on the teenager almost bleeding to death?

“(...) Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide...”

I just love this sentence. First of all, with all her flaws, I love Pansy. She's just the best friend Draco could have in that moment, because she takes no bullshit. And to be fair, Harry deserved to be vilified. And you can sense his opinions on what he's done are changing because his friends just excuse what he did, especially Ginny:

“Give it a rest, Hermione!’ said Ginny, and Harry was so amazed, so grateful, he looked up. ‘By the sound of it Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!”

I hated her so much in that moment. What Harry did it's inexcusable, and he knows it. So it hurts my eyes to see her say something so dismissive. Draco would not be able to actually Crucio him and, deep down, Harry knows it. He doesn't even try to convince himself he's faultless, that it was self-defense.

Ok, so let's expand on Ginny's rare presence being right in this chapter.

It's no coincidence this is the same chapter where Harry kisses Ginny for the first time. Remember what I mentioned in the beginning of this post? The whole of Half-Blood Prince is built using a parallel between Harry's relationship with Draco and his relationship with Ginny to move the plot in the right direction.

“Hermione and Ginny, who had always got on together very well, were now sitting with their arms folded, glaring in opposite directions. Ron looked nervously at Harry, then snatched up a book at random and hid behind it. Harry, however, though he knew he little deserved it, felt unbelievably cheerful all of a sudden, even though none of them spoke again for the rest of the evening.”

I mean, come on. He literally buries his guilt in giddiness because Ginny is defending him. Defending him against something he knows is his fault. She's helping him forget Malfoy. Again.

And this chapter is so cleverly written it splits his feelings with the places and situations he's in: when he's with Snape, in the dungeons, he can feel the guilt as a physical presence. Snape makes sure he understands that the detention is about making him feel guilty:

“Mr Filch has been looking for someone to clear out these old files,’ said Snape softly. ‘They are the records of other Hogwarts wrongdoers and their punishments. Where the ink has grown faint, or the cards have suffered damage from mice, we would like you to copy out the crimes and punishments afresh and, making sure that they are in alphabetical order, replace them in the boxes. You will not use magic.”

When he thinks about Gryffindor and Ginny, he forgets about any negative thing happening with him:

“And while he copied out all their various offences and punishments, he wondered what was going on outside, where the match would have just started … Ginny playing Seeker against Cho …”

To be honest, that is one of the things that always bothered me with this ship being canon. Ginny never sees the Harry we see, she always sees someone who's always right, someone who's the hero. And Harry only sees Ginny as a ladder to a life he wants so desperately. A life with no complications, with a family, with giddiness and lightness. He holds onto her because she makes him forget all the horrible things he has gone through, and that's one reason why he never tells her anything: he wants her in a bell jar, untouched by his traumas.

And we all know that's not who he really is. The final proof is how this chapter ends:

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

(...)

The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.”

This moment is like a completely different book. It's a fantasy. Something Harry knew couldn't last. It was escapism.

This chapter is also the last before Malfoy finally figures out how to fix the cabinet and Harry goes with Dumbledore to retrieve the horcrux. It's almost like a tragic farewell to the relationship the two of them had prior to thing getting fucking serious. It all changes after that.

The Sectumsempra in itself changes everything. Harry, someone who we know as heroic and honourable, commits an act that shifts what we know about him, and at the same time Draco, who up until then we see as a bidimensional character, comes alive and gets layers on top of layers. It's the only possible introduction to what happens in Deathly Hallows. Tragic and horrible, but beautiful to watch.

I mean, I could go on and on. If I had the time, I would probably debate every single sentence in this book that, to me, is the most symbolic and crucial of them all.

But I do have a job, so this will do. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

#draco malfoy #harry potter #drarry #my work #my post #half-blood prince

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journeysintowebcomics · 7 years

Text

Worm Liveblog #52

UPDATE 52: Slaughterhouse Nine

Last time the Undersiders were getting ready to leave! But the reinforcements arrived – it’s Dragon with her speed armor. She came aaaaaall the way from Canada to Brockton Bay in, what, a few minutes? Since it’s an armor specifically designed for speedy travel, there’s a chance she won’t be able to hit as hard as she would otherwise, but I’m not going to think that means the Undersiders will have a clean victory. This will be tough!

Dragon’s first move is to fill everything with containment foam, spraying the lobby as if she’s wielding four firehoses and the place is on fire. Say, are the defeated heroes and agents still lying around? Guess they’re going to be even deeper in foam. Parts of the foam gets attached to the Undersiders and swell, making it harder to move.

Hm, Weld is being more like an...a side character in this fight now that Dragon is here. He’s having trouble fighting Shadow Stalker and one of Heckpuppy’s dogs, he doesn’t want to risk injuring his teammate.

The way Regent was having Shadow Stalker fight, there was no self preservation or defense, which worked out to being a more effective combat style than anything else, in its own way.

I’d like to remind you, dear reader, that Shadow Stalker is conscious and seeing what Regent is making her body do. Can you imagine how horrible it must be to feel your own body diving onto Weld and trying to attack him with everything she has? Getting battered and not being able to do anything to stop it? Not knowing just how painful the next blow is going to be? This is some bonafide nightmare fuel, that’s for sure. I’d feel sympathy for Shadow Stalker if it wasn’t for, uh, everything she has done and been during these ten arcs. That kind of got rid of any sympathy I may have.

Skitter is as resourceful as always, trying to use her bugs to fight back against the foam, but a bunch of bugs aren’t very good against something with the strength of a firehose. She had intended to cover bugs in foam and drop them onto Dragon, to hinder her movement. Ah...even if the bugs could carry foam, I don’t think that would do much. I’d be very, very surprised if Dragon didn’t make her armor immune to the foam. That just seems like the right thing to do when you’re shooting containment foam around like you’re shooting confetti at a kids’ party.

The bugs can carry glass, at least!

With this glass, I did my best to catch and block the outlying flecks and drips of spray as it flew through the air, at the periphery of the streams.

Ah, I think I get it, yes. She’s not using the bugs to block the streams – task that already proved to be impossible – she’s just trying to diminish how much foam will be sprayed around out of the hose’s stream. It still seems rather, uh, inefficient even though I understand the purpose, but better this than doing nothing, and also, credit where credit is due: that’s more than I’d have been able to plan in a moment of crisis.

“She’s got a disadvantage,” Tattletale spoke, her voice low, “This suit is meant to fly to serious crises at a moment’s notice, deal with dangerous foes. She’s packing too many lethal weapons.”

Oh, that’s good! Heroes don’t aim to kill criminals, yeah. Even Shadow Stalker and Armsmaster had the decency of trying to hide their attempts to kill villains – at least the minor ones. The Undersiders are waaaay below the level of threat lethal weapons would be required for.

Skitter tries to use the foam she has gathered to impede the armor from moving and seeing, but it’s not working. Hm. What now? Part of the reason why this may not be working is Tattletale’s theory that Dragon is controlling the armor remotely. Makes sense to me.

“There’s someone in there, I tried using my power on her, experimenting, and I felt some kind of nervous system. Too much material between me and it for me to do anything with it, and I wouldn’t really try it while I’m controlling Shadow Stalker anyways. I’d probably backfire.”

Oh, Dragon may be here, after all. Or...at least someone is in there. It’s not confirmed it’s Dragon, but who else could it be? Does Dragon have assistants or something? Will it turn out Dragon is some kind of...I don’t know, team of people working under one name, since apparently Dragon likes to do things remotely?

Then again, she is the best tinker in the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has an ace up her sleeve.

Skitter continues directing her bugs to cover the armor with glass, but she’s not placing her hopes on this strategy. It’s not going to stop Dragon and she knows it.

The real issue was that this was too slow, and we were on a tight time limit. Less than a minute, and the Protectorate would arrive.

Tattletale already said it, didn’t she? She said they had no odds of getting out of there before the Protectorate arrived. Heck, even if they did get out of that place, I’m pretty sure Dragon and the Protectorate wouldn’t stand around in the lobby doing nothing, surely they’d pursue the Undersiders. As I see it, it’s impossible there won’t be a confrontation. Maybe it’ll be for the better to get ready for that.

I bet this chapter will end before this ‘less than a minute’ passes. Time sure has a funny way to dilate when things are tense!

Looking for a way to gain time and, you know, not get captured in three seconds flat, the Undersiders get into the gift shop, gaining some reprieve that doesn’t last very long.

Sensing this, Dragon started to advance further into the lobby. Her broad, mechanical feet began hissing with vapor, and the goo my ground-borne bugs were hauling towards her began to run, losing its consistency and stickiness. She set one foot down directly on a pile of foam, and lifted it up again with no difficulty. It was clear: the foam wouldn’t hamper her.

Hah! I knew it! Apparently it’s moot if the armor itself is immune to the foam or not, dissolving the foam with vapor is something that can be done.

It seems Imp wants to fight, and wonders if Dragon can see her. Hm. Given that stuff like security cameras and those watching them can see Imp, I’d say Dragon can, too. My guess is that electronic monitoring kind of...bypasses Imp’s power. She’s not as invincible as it sounded at first – at least in terms of stealth. In middle of a fight she still can be rather effective, in my opinion. Imp doesn’t listen to the warnings and tries to get to Dragon, apparently. It won’t go well, will it?

Dragon’s mouth had opened wide, and she was spewing something like an ignited accelerant into the lobby. With this fluid, she drew a three-foot wide line of flame onto the lobby floor, stretching from just below her to the stairwell door by the front desk. She’d cut off our escape route.

...hm. Completely unrelated thought: where is Grue? Covering him in foam to ensure he won’t get away once he can move again would be wise. I don’t think he was in the lobby, so I don’t think Dragon may have seen him, but if he was frozen there then by now he must be under a bunch of foam, right? Sorry, it’s just that the mention of escapes reminded me of that.

Weld attacks Imp without actually managing to hit her, thanks to Dragon relaying instructions to him – through the earpiece the Wards use, I’d say. Just like I had guessed, Dragon can see Imp. I suppose she’s out of combat, then. With Dragon tattling on her, she won’t be able to do much.

There’s a lot of property damage in this gift shop, what with the foam, the fire, the broken glass, and everything else that surely will happen from now on. Dragon will be willing to pay for all damages – her data is the priority. Makes sense to me! She did show getting her work stolen is a sore spot. Stopping them is far more important than the physical integrity of that shop.

Grue is back again! Just in time, pal, things have gotten a lot more troublesome while you were frozen. He coats Dragon and Weld in darkness. Do Dragon’s sensors work in Grue’s darkness? Maybe not, since his darkness is unlike normal darkness.

“Dragon’s here!?” he shouted, aghast.

Okay, he wasn’t in the lobby. Now that I think about it...do the people frozen in time stay conscious about everything around them? Or to them it’s like fainting and then waking up – like everything around them changed instantaneously, from their perspective. Maybe it’s the second one, or else the Wards wouldn’t be so horrified about Shadow Stalker being conscious while Regent controls her.

Now that Grue is here, they finally can try to get out, and the way they choose is to cross the gift shop and get through the window that leads to the street. Heckpuppy’s remaining monstrous dog leaps through the glass, opening the escape route into the gift shop. My bad, it seems they were in front of the gift shop windows back then, they hadn’t gone in yet.

The electric gun Tattletale uses to try to melt the bars covering the window to the street starts to malfunction, but at least it finished the job. Once she made sure the trigger would stay pressed, and tried to dissuade Dragon from following by aiming the electrical arch at her, she escaped through the window, Dragon right behind her.

Dragon heaved herself over and beyond the electrical surge the gun was still pumping out, chasing Tattletale, swiping with one mechanical claw. I got the sense she was pulling her punches to avoid murdering my teammate, because the attack was slow. Tattletale slipped past, stepping onto the bookshelf to clear the window. Or maybe it had something to do with the bugs I had gathered on her sensors.

Frankly I find more likely it’s the first one. It’s unlikely bugs will be able to cover up enough of the sensors to hinder Dragon. It’s good to see Dragon showing restraint, though. Even though Tattletale is on the brink of getting away with all the data she gathered, she’s still careful about not harming her. In this world where some heroes have showed less then desirable traits, it’s still nice to see some that don’t let the situation stray them from their rules and principles.

Regent and Imp escape shortly after that, even though Dragon’s armor becomes electrified. Only Heckpuppy, her dogs and Skitter are left inside the gift shop, with Dragon trying to block the window to the outside with her armor. Since the spider silk she used gives her some insulation against electricity, she uses Dragon’s foot as leverage, making sure to make as little contact as possible. It was a...it was ‘something risky and borderline stupid’, in Skitter’s own words, but hey, if she escapes and is unharmed, then it’d have been worth it. Fortune favors the bold!

The gamble and assumption I was working with was that electricity followed the path of least resistance. Insulated costume vs. vapor in the air? It would travel through the vapor. Insulated costume vs. metal leg? It would travel down the leg.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think Skitter is right in this assumption. Electricity needs a conduit to pass through, and Skitter simply isn’t very good of a conduit thanks to her costume. This should be fine.

Unfortunately, during her jump she was thrown off balance by something large brushed against her, making her fall towards a side, towards foam. She doesn’t fall face first, thankfully, but her entire arm gets submerged into it, up to her shoulder. It doesn’t matter how much of her body gets covered, what matters is that, well...the foam caught part of her. She’s not getting free from that.

I tried to raise myself to see Dragon looming above, but the foam offered only a rubbery resistance. It had set with the contact, bonded to my costume. I was pinned face down on the ground.

What I did see, as I raised my head as high as I was able? Bitch was astride Bentley, who’d grown large enough to ride, and they were standing near the window leading into the street. I could only see her eyes behind the plastic of her mask, and everything else was communicated through her bearing, her posture, the angle of her head. I’d seen something similar when I’d first met her.

It hadn’t been Dragon that knocked me into the foam.

...

...oh. Well...

...I should...have guessed something like this could happen sooner or later. Heckpuppy was furious and really didn’t want Skitter back. I should have guessed she’d try to get rid of Skitter sooner or later, and here was the best chance for that. The rest of the team had gone ahead, there was a very good way to trap Skitter, and if the rest asked something, she could lie and say Skitter stepped wrongly or something like that. Tattletale may find out what truly happened, but would that matter? The Undersiders aren’t going to risk getting all of them captured just to rescue Skitter.

In terms of getting rid of a traitorous teammate, that was decently shrewd of Heckpuppy, especially for the short window of time that’d be Skitter jumping in the air.

Dragon turned her upper body to strike at Bitch. As she moved, her back leg was close enough that some of the vapor was getting on me, slowly liquefying the foam. It was too slow to matter. Dragon had me.

Hm. Maybe not everything is lost! Most of Skitter’s body is free, if enough vapor gets on her before the Protectorate arrived, then maybe she can get free?

Not lucky enough for that. Dragon can ask Skitter questions, trying to get her to say where the Undersiders are taking the information. I had noticed before that it seemed the Wards weren’t aware the Undersiders worked for Coil, this confirms it further. Would they be able to deduce the Undersiders are working for someone, or would they think they’d make use of that information by themselves? With some luck, it’ll be the latter.

“If they aren’t going to be loyal to you, why protect them?”

Because someone else was depending on it. But I wasn’t going to say that out loud.

Hoh! I don’t mean to demean Skitter or anything like that, but in my opinion, Dinah’s freedom is depending on Skitter herself. If Skitter dies or gets captured, I’m pretty sure nobody in the Undersiders would keep trying to get Dinah out of Coil’s clutches. It just...yeah, Skitter’s the one that whole thing is relying on.

The questions stop when the lightning gun starts whining louder. Is it about to explode?

“Move the insects away from my suit, now,” Dragon ordered me.

...okay, uh, looks like, hm, I was wrong. Skitter’s insects really were hampering her sensors in some way. Alright. When will I ever stop doubting the effectivity of Skitter’s bugs? Because almost every time I doubt it, I get proven wrong.

Since the gun is about to explode and undoubtedly cause a lot of damage, Dragon hurries to cover the gun in a dome, spraying with foam, trying to contain most of whatever will happen. You’re kind of wasting your time trying to convince Skitter to abandon the Undersiders – even Heckpuppy, I bet, despite what Heckpuppy just did.

When the gun explodes a large portion of Dragon’s suit is destroyed. Worried and hoping Dragon survived, Skitter approaches and finds that, yes, Regent was right. Something was inside.

It looked like a fetus, the features were crude, barely humanoid in any sense of the word. The eyes were half-formed, and it had no nose, only a beak-like mouth. The head was half-again as large as the body below the neck. Wires wove in and out of orifices.

Three words: what the hell?

But this means both Regent and Tattletale were right: there was something inside the armor, and Dragon was controlling this remotely. I’m not sure what this...thing...inside the armor was, but it’s impossible it was Dragon. I’m clueless as to how any of this works, though. I suppose the best tinker in the world has methods that are far beyond my comprehension, haha...

To avoid what happened with mercenaries taking parts of Dragon’s armor, it self-destructs, melting the metal and charring whatever that thing was. Say, now that this fight is ending...

...has ‘less than a minute’ passed yet? Because I feel like two or three minutes have passed, what with everything that was said and everything that happened. Did the Protectorate stop for snacks and a bathroom break along the way or something?

Skitter leaves the place, confused as to what she had just seen. Precisely what I’m wondering, Skitter, what the hell.

Had that been someone who was physically affected by their powers? I wasn’t even sure if it was human.

I had a growing, uneasy feeling that this wasn’t related to powers and trigger events in the conventional sense.

I’m not sure if I should be excited to find out someday, or if I should feel dread. I’m both nervous and eager to find out more.

Ah, there’s the Protectorate! They’re already fighting the rest. Right! And they’re already losing. Well that sure was an inconsequential arrival. Skitter doesn’t care right now, she’s striding straight towards Heckpuppy. This won’t be pretty, will it?

Hm...I could stop right now, but...I don’t know, I think I’ll continue ahead a bit more. Just one chapter more. It’ll mean I’ll have to post this update tomorrow instead of today, it’ll be worth it to have more content.

O-kay, priorities, Skitter: bludgeoning a teammate in the middle of a fight with the Protectorate would be a stupid thing to do. Tattletale barely can do something to stop her, trying to get her to listen, but she can’t get not even two words out before smoke billows around them. It’s not bug spray, at least!

The smoke came from grenades Miss Militia is throwing, surely it’s a way to counter anything Skitter can do. By now they must have ways to deal with the insects before Skitter manages to do some crazy move to get the upper hand, yep.

The bees I had in the smoke were acting funny. I was surprised to find out why. I’d known that beekeepers used smoke to pacify the bees before collecting the honey. My assumption had been that it acted as a tranquilizer, putting them to sleep. In reality, it was forcing them to revert to instinctual behavior. It made them want to eat and feed and to flee. For those near enclosed spaces or even the corners of walls or the foundations of buildings, it made them adjust their wingbeats to divert the flows of oxygen.

If she’d been intending to use the smoke to screw with my insects, she’d underestimated my power. I canceled out the instincts and sent the bugs through the smoke, blind, feeling out for her.

Huh. Really? That’s why beekeepers use smoke? I thought the smoke knocked out the bees, not that it made them use only instinctual behavior. You learn something new every day!

When Skitter alerts the others that Miss Militia was charging towards them, she also alerted her of her position, leaving her vulnerable to shots from a shotgun. Ouch! Even if it’s nonlethal ammunition, that must sting! As payback, she directs the remaining capsaicin-loaded bugs she has, so Miss Militia is the one who feels the sting now. Hah! Get it? Because the bugs have stingers and—sorry, this isn’t time for stupid puns. At least the capsaicin is effective against Miss Militia.

Darkness covers the area. Things go much easier when Grue is around, eh?

Tattletale helps Skitter stand up and guides her out of the darkness, where Grue is waiting. Apparently the smoke makes it troublesome for Grue to see. Pretty smart of Miss Militia, to make Grue unable to see! Good strategy! Speaking of strategies, what the Undersiders want to do now is run away, to achieve that, Skitter tells Grue where the rest of the team is at in middle of the darkness, and limps away.

Protip: if you get shot with nonlethal ammunition, it’d be swell if you told the ‘nonlethal’ part in the first sentence. Grue must have been rather startled for a moment!

The place to hide while everything calms down is in the lobby of an apartment building, three blocks away from the PRT building. Tattletale makes sure to send a message to Grue, most likely telling him where they’re hiding, and to Coil, surely telling him the mission was a success. Once another day of successful villainy!

Tattletale starts apologizing for what happened with the gun, saying she had deduced Dragon would deal with that above anything else – and she was right, yeah – so Skitter rightfully tells her she has nothing to apologize about. She doesn’t say what Heckpuppy did, though. That’s to be dealt with once the rest of the team arrives.

They’re still taking Shadow Stalker around, huh. For how much longer will they keep her? Do they intend to keep her captured or something?

Heckpuppy is surprised to see Skitter and tries to ask how she managed to get away, but Skitter is too furious to say even a word. She strikes her with the baton on the thigh, then backhands her.

It hurt. Damn it, I’d never really hit someone with my hands before. I wondered if I’d managed to break something.

It’s not so easy to break anything with a backhand. I can’t say with certainty, but maybe you’d be at bigger risk of breaking a bone or two in your hand?

Everyone moves to try to stop Skitter, she avoids Grue and Imp’s attempts, and warns Shadow Stalker/Regent from interfering. Not having any other option, Grue demands an explanation. “Ask her”, Skitter says right before shoving her baton into Heckpuppy’s mouth. Well she’s not going to answer any question now, is she, Skitter. Not that she would have.

Once Heckpuppy is shoved down with the baton in her mouth, and Shadow Stalker is away enough and unable to hear anything, Skitter explains what happened. Wow, Skitter is using swears and all! She’s truly furious. Heckpuppy tries to fight back, forcing Skitter to move in a way that’d ensure she wouldn’t get hit in any place where it hurt.

“You’re a coward, Rachel,” I spoke, “You just did the very same thing you hate me for almost doing. You stabbed me in the back. You fucked over your own teammate.”

...uh...well she’s not wrong! Heckpuppy did what they thought Skitter would end doing – betraying a teammate. In terms of actions, Heckpuppy’s sins are heavier, so to say. Can there really be no retaliation for this from Heckpuppy later? Skitter’s trying to force her to not do anything else, telling her to just accept Skitter is back and to just...chew on that resentment and do nothing because Skitter’s not going to tolerate any further backstabbing.

I’m not sure if I approve how clear Skitter is making this be, or if I repudiate her methods. I feel a weird combination of both feelings. I mean, I know Heckpuppy can take the punishment with no problem, so...yeah, maybe if she was doing this to a civilian, I’d be disapproving this much more.

When I spoke next, I bent low and whispered the words for her and her alone, “When you’re tossing and turning and trying to sleep, remembering what I did and said here and getting pissed off about it? Remember that you were the weak one. You embarrassed yourself, fucked up, you were the weakling, the wuss who couldn’t even confront me face to face. And knowing you like I do? I’m betting it’s going to gnaw at you. That’s as much a punishment as I could inflict, I think. That’s on you, not me.

Wow. Just...wow. That’s savage. Savage and most likely effective. She finishes with a threat to break Heckpuppy’s jaw for real if she tries to backstab her again and is unsuccessful at that. Well this isn’t going to cause bad blood at all, nope, no sir! I’m not sure if she’d take this as an invitation to try again or not...

Now that she made very clear what the situation is, Skitter lets Heckpuppy stand up. She’s not immediately attacked by Heckpuppy, I’ll take that as a good sign, although if looks could kill, well, Skitter would be six feet under right now. Sensing she has control over the situation, she extends the olive branch, making clear this isn’t a sign of weakness, of course.

“I fucked up, you fucked up, whatever. Insult for insult, blow for blow, I’d like to think we’re even. So now I’m going to trust you to have my back. I’m going to put myself in more situations where you have a prime chance at fucking me over, backstabbing me, catching me at my most vulnerable. Because we can’t function as a team any other way.

“I’m going to treat you like a damned teammate, Rachel, but I’ll go one step further. You think you can put this behind you and satisfy yourself with what you tried to pull earlier tonight? Cool. Because if you’re willing, I’ll come with you to help take care of your dogs. I’ll bring fucking lunch, if you want it. That’s the deal I’m offering you, pissed as I am right now. I’ll be your damn friend.”

She’s right again, a team can’t work together if they have to watch out for backstabbing all the time. Either they bury the hatchet, or this simply won’t work at all. I don’t think Heckpuppy will ever think of her as a friend ever again, but yeah...continuing the feud isn’t a viable option. I wouldn’t count on Heckpuppy letting you come close of her or her dogs ever again, Skitter. I hope you’re not getting your hopes up on that regard.

But hey, at least she’s trying to defuse the situation, and that’s what matters. Even if it doesn’t work, she tried and that’s what’s important, and everyone else in the team will see she did try. If anything further happens, it’ll be clear Skitter won’t have any of the blame in it.

Surprise surprise, Heckpuppy’s not going to take the deal. Thought so. The matter is closed, though, so...yeah, what’s next? Right, deciding what to do with Shadow Stalker. Imp wants to keep her around, as if this was some random pet picked up from the streets but everyone else wants to let Shadow Stalker go – including Regent, he can’t control anyone while he’s sleeping.

“This kind of mind control is pretty high up there on the scale of fucked upness. People are going to respond to that. It might be the nudge they need to start responding to us with lethal force. Think of how different tonight would have played out if Dragon and Miss Militia hadn’t held back”

Skitter’s making a lot of good points tonight! Truly, it’s in their best interests to keep a relatively low profile in the scale of danger. Is there someone in Brockton Bay who warrants being fought with lethal force? I think the global threats like the Endbringers and the Slaughterhouse Nine would be the only ones who would be a target for such measures, or those capes with powers that’d mean it’d be too dangerous to leave alive – dangerous as in ‘everything will be destroyed’ or ‘a lot of people will die’. I don’t think any villain from Brockton Bay would receive lethal force. Heck, Bakuda planted bombs all over the city, detonated them, killed and injured a couple hundred people, surely caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, and yet she was captured and sent to the Birdcage.

Now that it was decided what would be done with Shadow Stalker, Regent makes her stand in front of him, and liberates her from his control. She drops to the floor, grunts, and stands up again with a bolt ready to shoot. Speed truly is her forte, eh? Not that she gets any time to shoot, Regent stops her rather easily.

“There’s a catch,” he spoke. “My power? Once I’ve figured someone out? It’s a lot easier to control them, after. Any time you come near me, I can do this. I can use my power and retake control in the blink of an eye.”

Oh, yikes. That just right there? She was turned into a liability. Nobody can count on Shadow Stalker to fight the Undersiders from now on, unless some way to stop her from being controlled is invented in the near future. That sure must be frustrating for her, because if there’s something Shadow Stalker loves, is to fight. Physical violence is another thing she’s good at, and now she can’t approach the group she’ll hold a grudge on. That’s going to gnaw at her forever!

Besides, uh, how near is ‘near me’? What’s Regent’s ratio? I wouldn’t be surprised if he controlled Shadow Stalker for kicks and giggles just because she’s nearby, even if she’s fighting someone else, or just hanging around as a civilian. Regent pretty much has Shadow Stalker under his thumb.

Ah, there he goes, he does outright mention Shadow Stalker is now a liability.

“Unless you leave. Skip town. Join another team.”

So...yep, Regent and the rest just obliterated Shadow Stalker’s life. She now has to leave everything behind to go somewhere else, to a place where Regent can’t reach her. I feel a fuzzy feeling of satisfaction, although...this would mean Shadow Stalker wouldn’t appear anymore in Worm, then. I may dislike her a lot, but it can’t be denied that of the three bullies, she’s the one I can say I tolerate the most. She’s the one with the depth and with the ‘heroic’ role, after all. She has a purpose and a reason to be an antagonist to the main characters, the story would change a lot if she didn’t exist. The other two bullies are much less important. Emma is a small fry in every way possible, now that Skitter won’t return to the school anymore, and...and...uh, whatever the third one was called matters even less. Madison, was it? I can’t even remember.

The bright side is that I can’t say with certainty Shadow Stalker won’t appear anymore. Mr. Wildbow has showed he isn’t afraid of messing around with characters, showing some that seem minor but appear again...yeah, despite how this looks, I’m not 100% thinking this is Shadow Stalker’s swan song.

It’s decided Shadow Stalker will be freed once she’s on the other side of the city, to avoid she following them. They still have to meet Coil and give him the information, yep. They’re not going to his hideout, they’ll meet him somewhere else, where he and a lot of mercenaries are waiting.

I’m absolutely unsurprised to hear Dragon has this information encrypted. Coil’s workers are the very best, though, with a whole team working on this they should be able to break the encryption and fill in the blanks the interrupted download caused. That’s a lot of talent! But that’s not what’s important right now, Coil has priorities: files about the Slaughterhouse Nine. Oh, please tell more about them! I’m curious. I have heard the Slaughterhouse Nine are rather popular villains among the Worm fandom, I wonder what kind of villains they are?

I felt a chill, but didn’t say anything. Was he intending to hire them? It would be a huge mistake in my book, if he was.

I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think the Slaughterhouse Nine are the kind of people you can hire. They sound a lot like loose cannons – in a way – and Coil doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that’d be willing to hire people who could turn dangerous in a moment’s notice. Dangerous towards him, I mean.

It’s known the Slaughterhouse Nine have been going around, preying on civilians and disrupting recovery efforts. Preying...hm. I have to wonder if that’s literal. I mean, I don’t mean in a cannibalism sort of way, it’s more like if their powers require killing people, or something like that. In this world such thing would be possible, right?

When Coil asks Dinah how likely it’s for one of his teams to encounter the Slaughterhouse Nine, Dinah asks who they are. Time to reveal one by one what kind of capes the Undersiders will unavoidably deal with in the future!

“Bonesaw.” he spoke. The girl on the screen looked barely older than Dinah, maybe the same age as Aisha. The image showed her wide-eyed, a spray of dried blood painted her face at a diagonal.

That tells me absolutely nothing about her power, unfortunately. ‘Bonesaw’ is quite the ominous name, though. Whatever she can do definitely won’t be pretty.

“Shatterbird.” A dark-haired, brown-skinned woman with a helmet covering the upper half of her face, in a beak shape. I was reminded of Iron Falcon, the boy I’d tried to help, who’d died in the Endbringer attack. From what I’d read, Shatterbird usually used her power as the Nine arrived in a city, to maximize panic and terror. I supposed they were flying under the radar for now. Fuck, I’d have to do something about my costume, just in case.

What power is it, though? Some kind of psychological influence in the population, perhaps? I don’t think ‘Shatterbird’ is a real word, and I’m wary about looking in Google if it really is a word. I don’t want to stumble into spoilers, after all.

It’s strange Skitter is worried about her costume, though...I can’t seem to figure out why.

“Crawler.” No portrait, this time. It was a still from a surveillance camera, a misshapen silhouette, not even humanoid, in a shadowy area. I’d come across stories about him when I’d been researching possible superhero names for myself. Not pretty.

You can’t say something like that and not go into detail, Skitter, welp. Crawler sounds dreadful, just from the fact there’s not even a clear image of him.

“Mannequin.” Another long-distance shot. The figure was standing by Bonesaw in the photograph, with other hulking figures within the shadows of the background. He stood almost twice her height, and he looked artificial. His body was in pieces, each section wrapped in a hard shell of ceramic or plastic or white-painted metal – I couldn’t be sure. His joints were a mix of loose chains and ball joints. A Tinker with a body-modification fetish. I couldn’t say how much of the transformation was his own power and how much was Bonesaw’s work.

Well, it looks like Mannequin was responsible for one of the bodies the Wards found, then. I can already guess what kind of power he has. Body modification, huh.

“The Siberian.” A woman, naked from head to toe, her body painted in alternating stripes of jet black and snow white. She had gone up against the Triumvirate – Legend, Alexandria and Eidolon – on a dozen occasions, and she was still around to talk about it. Or around, at least. From what I’d read, she didn’t talk.

There’s an inherent irony on someone called ‘The Siberian’ going around completely naked. Siberia isn’t really a temperate place, you know. No clue about her power. I wonder if the stripes on her body are something she paints on herself, if it’s related to her power, or if her skin turned like that when she gained her powers?

“Burnscar.” Younger, maybe an older teenager or a young-looking twenty-something. She looked almost normal, with her dark hair badly cut, but then I saw the vertical row of cigarette burns marking each of her cheeks, and a faint glow to her eyes.

Descriptive. I’d be rather surprised if her power has no relation at all to fire.

“Hatchet Face.” This was one I hadn’t even heard of. The man didn’t wear a mask, and his head was shaved. He looked like he had been beaten, burned and just plain abused so often that his face was as much scar tissue than flesh, and he didn’t look like he’d been handsome to begin with.

Kind of an insensitive question that immediately crossed my mind: did the Hatchet Face moniker come before, or after his face was like that? Then I realized that was kind of a messed up thing to think. My bad.

“Jack Slash.” Jack looked like someone on the attractive side of average, his dark hair cut short and styled with gel. His beard and moustache were immaculately trimmed so that each had a serrated edge, and his shirt was wrinkled, only half buttoned so his hairless upper chest showed. He had kind of a Johnny Depp look to him, though he had more of a widow’s peak, a longer face and lighter eyes. Good looking, if you looked past the fact that he was a mass murderer. He held a small kitchen knife in the photo.

Pffft, you just had to namedrop Johnny Depp, Mr. Wildbow, didn’t you. You thought that’d be fun, didn’t you. Now every time Jack Slash is mentioned or he appears in the story I’ll forever picture him as Johnny Depp. Thanks a lot, buddy.

The Slaughterhouse Nine are people that were already pretty messed up before acquiring powers. I wonder what kind of situations were the trigger for them? It sounds like Jack Slash is the leader and Bonesaw is...I’m not sure...a recruiter, kind of, given what it says about Jack being able to keep the group more or less intact and Bonesaw attracts psychos. There are also eight members and they may be looking for a replacement for the ninth member, since the members change quite often.

Okay, uh, what comes is a bit long of a copy-paste, but it needs context, so...

“Mmm,” Dinah said.

“What is it, pet?” Coil murmured.

“It’s him.”

“Who?”

She pointed at the screen, at Jack Slash. “Him.”

“You’re going to have to explain it to us, pet. What about him?”

“He’s the one who makes everyone die.”

I shivered. What?

“Everyone here?”

Dinah shook her head, her hair flying out to either side. “Everyone. I don’t understand. Can’t explain.”

If there were any feeble doubts about the main characters getting in the way of the Slaughterhouse Nine, all those doubts are now gone. It is unavoidable they will. Jack Slash is already being built to be a major antagonist in this story, just from Dinah’s prediction he’s going to kill everyone. ‘Everyone’ and ‘kill’ are not words you want to hear together, after all.

“Sometimes it’s in two years. Sometimes it’s in eight. Sometimes in between. But if he’s alive, something happens, and everyone on Earth starts to die. Not that everyone doesn’t die anyways but they die really fast when that something happens, all one after another, and in a year almost everyone is dead. So I said everyone, if that makes sense and a few live but they die pretty soon after anyways and-“

Global apocalypse, then? And Jack Slash is the one who causes it? No, her wording is a bit odd. If he’s alive something happens. She doesn’t say he’s going to kill everyone. Maybe Jack Slash will trigger something, accidentally or intentionally, that will lead to the end of the world. Maybe his mere existence causes it. Heck, maybe some inconsequential action from him snowballs into something big and bad. All that matters is that something will happen and it involves him.

“His power isn’t all that, I don’t think,” Grue spoke, slowly, as if considering the words as he spoke. “Space warping effect, so any blades he’s holding have an edge that extends a horrendously long distance, all with the optimal force behind the swing. Swings his knife, cuts through an entire crowd. Doesn’t make sense that he’d be able to murder everyone on Earth.”

Well that sure is a fitting power for a superpowered killer. The edge must be rather sharpened, too, if it’s capable of cutting through an entire crowd like that.

“Unless he somehow cuts the planet in half,” Tattletale mused.

Sounds like the natural progression of his power. Who knows, maybe the more time passes, the more powerful he becomes, and in a few years his power is strong enough to be able to cut through kilometers of Earth crust all the way down to the core of the planet. Hey, this is Worm, something like that is theoretically possible.

The odds he destroys everyone are disquietingly high. Eighty-three percent? That’s...way too high! And the odds of successfully killing him soon are not very high. Thirty-one percent of someone killing him. The end of the world still happens, though. Hm. In that case, it sounds more like Jack Slash hastens whatever’s going to happen, it’s not his existence causing it. Welp. Everyone’s hella doomed, then!

If Coil sends one of his teams to kill Jack Slash, well, it’s more likely the team dies. The Travelers only have twenty-two percent odds, the Undersiders have even less. No sending any team, then. There’s no way he’s going to risk the deaths of his teams senselessly.

Oh, there we go! Sixty percent chance the Undersiders encounter some of the Slaughterhouse Nine. Only sixty percent? More like one hundred percent, Mr. Wildbow, you’re not fooling me. They’re so encountering them, and it won’t be pretty at all. There’s no way they won’t encounter them, not after everything you have written and done. At least Coil has the good sense to order the Undersiders to have staying alive as their priority, even if it involves abandoning a job. Hm. Now I have to wonder which ones of the Slaughterhouse Nine they will meet.

Coil may actually contact the heroes to let them know about what will happen. Would he actually do that? Well, most likely, if it’s beneficial to him, and I think the world existing would be mighty beneficial for him.

What follows is reorganization, giving to members of the Undersiders locations to be stations for them. They’re also expected to recruit people. Fantastic, the Undersiders have gone from an inconsequential team to full-fledged villains, now that they’re expected to recruit people! That’s bound to be fun. Everyone receives a territory, Heckpuppy and Tattletale even will have henchmen working for them already. This is going to be really fun, seriously!

Everyone will receive an email at their new location...I’m not sure why, but that sounds kind of sketchy, like they each will receive an order the rest can’t find out about. The Undersiders are dismissed, Skitter requests to talk to Coil in private.

I wasn’t sure I liked that our group was being split up like this. The timing seemed bad. I’d sort of been hoping I could repair the divide, and that would be hard if we were each in our own territories, doing our own things.

I don’t know, I think it may be for the better. The city is pretty much falling apart, making sure it won’t may be more important than mending bridges with the rest of the team. Besides, even if they’re separated, they still can talk to each other. Something could be done.

The reason why Skitter wanted to talk to Coil alone is because she’s now prepared to ask for her reward for helping him, like he had offered in the limousine.

“I asked you to fix the city, you told me you planned on doing that anyways, that I should ask for something else.”

“And you’ve decided.”

“Yeah,” I took a deep breath. “Dinah. Your… pet.”

That’s not going to work. Coil is too attached to Dinah’s power to just let her go because Skitter asks that. No, this won’t stand. And indeed, he won’t. Skitter hurries to clarify, saying that once Coil has succeeded in taking over the city, he should let Dinah go. That sounds a tad more reasonable, I guess...not perfect, definitely not good for Dinah, but eh. It’s more reasonable to Coil than if she outright demands Dinah to be freed right now.

The problem is just how long it’ll take for Coil to take over the city. Months? A year or two? It’s not like there’s infinite time, I mean, the deaths of everyone on Earth is in the near future.

It’s a deal. Skitter now has an incentive to perform really well and help Coil. She goes downstairs, where Grue and Imp are unpacking their supplies for their new center of operations, and goes outside.

I took a deep breath, to calm my nerves. I could do this. Whatever I had to do, I was going to help that girl.

She’s making progress, at least. It’s not a definite solution, and Coil still has complete control over the situation, but it’s a start. I bet Dinah’s freedom will be a big turning point in Worm, like the Endbringer attack was. Given how the Slaughterhouse Nine’s presence seem to be the current focus of the story, I’d say that’s what will bring the most change for now, and once that plotline is done with, the Dinah plotline will be continued and finished.

I think I should end this here. The next chapter is the Interlude, so that means this was the end of Arc 10. Once another arc masterfully executed! I especially liked Dragon intervening, that I never saw coming. This chapter gave her more time to show her personality and convictions, and I liked what I saw. It also sets up plotlines, and shows more stuff is going to change in the Undersiders’ lives. The story continues, the pacing is good, I’m content. I like this.

I would add more points to the plot-o-meter for Worm, but it’s already full.

Thank you for reading!

Next update: in two updates

#worm #worm liveblog #serial novel #liveblog #book liveblog

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samprestonbigbadabruce · 7 years

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Serbuan Maut (The Raid: Redemption)

Written & Directed by Gareth Evans

Cast includes Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Ray Sahetapy, Yayan Ruhuan.

Released in 2011, an Indonesian Action film with a running time of 101 minutes and an 18 rating.

I have to admit, this will not be a normal review. I can't conduct this review normally, my language will be different, my style will be unusual, but I can't think of any other way to write this review. Enjoy.

This movie, is insanely awesome. I loved it, from beginning to end, I felt like I was watching the by-product of Ong-Bak having rough sex with the violence & realism of Saving Private Ryan This was not your normal martial arts film, this was the ability of Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak , with a war movie thrown in during the first half, guns exploding like it's going out of style, and more blood flying at the screen then a Saw movie. You weren't just seeing slight blood slashes and broken arms, you saw people getting killed, violently, and bloody. This offered a sense of realism in a martial arts movie I haven't seen since the days of Bruce Lee.

But apart from that, what elevates this above Ong-Bak, and quite frankly, most martial arts films I have ever seen, is the crafted story. A lot of martial arts/action films, have terrible plots. I love Ong-Bak, but the main character is a village representative sent to the city, who gets involved with drug kingpins and such...it feels forced and unnatural, you ignore the faults because of the awesome action. Here, like the best Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee films, the plot is simple: a crime lord runs a derelict apartment building housing the worst criminals and murderers possible. A SWAT team is sent in to arrest the crime lord. It backfires, and the remaining SWAT members are stuck inside the building, with everyone attempting to kill them. Simple, an easy set-up for the action, and with a motive for the characters, surviving and escaping.

The simplicity of the story is coupled with a easy set-up of the main character, Rama. The first ten minutes of the movie is devoted to showing him waking up, training, where you get a chance to see how lethal he is, and seeing him saying goodbye to his pregnant wife, promising to return. There, a character motivation and a reason for me to invest, this guy is someone who just wants to be a cop, do the right thing, and then go home to his family. I'm already on board, and wanting him to succeed.

The inclusion of a large SWAT team is a clever move to allow the villains to be built up, whenever the villains attack them, and a SWAT member is killed, whilst you may not be as emotionally involved, you realize that these murderers are the real deal, and it means when Rama faces them, you are worried for him, as you can see he isn't safe. The violence of the villains gives the film an authentic edge, the fight scenes are between multiple people wanting to kill each other, the blood that flies and bones that break make sense, they are fighting for their lives!

And the action? Has to be said, fucking amazing, it blew me away, the fight scenes utilize the surroundings, akin to Jackie Chan, with the speed and ferocity of Bruce Lee, with machetes and guns also being used as weapons. The speed and strength within the action draws you in, and leaves you reacting to the physical destruction. In one scene, a villain is thrown off a stairway floor and lands back first on a wall, you hear the crack of his spine, and you jolt in response, because you realize, this is not a film taking prisoners!

And how is the direction? Absolutely fine, unlike some films nowadays, it mixes its style, sometimes getting in close to make you feel disorientated, other times backing up a few feet so you can see both competitors, allowing you to get a better idea of the movements and attempts of the characters in the fight. The fact that it seems NO CGI was utilized is also awesome, as it again, offers a realistic depiction of two or more people capable in 'pencak silat', astounding the audience.

And what about the lead actor, Iko Uwais? He reminds me of a young Bruce Lee in that not only is he physically capable and astounding, he is extremely fast, at times a blur as he throws kicks & punches, but more than that, he is a good performer. He has a natural charisma, as well as a strong camera presence, that makes you notice him even in a group. He makes an easily likable and interesting protagonist, his ability unquestionable.

Whilst the rest of the cast are mostly unknown in Western audiences, they are also capable performers. Rada's superior, played by Joe Taslim, is not only a capable fighter, but he is able to create an emotional connection with the audience with very little, which makes me feel he has as good a future as Uwais. In fact, he shall be appearing in the Fast Six movie.

The best villain is Yayan Ruhian, playing 'Mad Dog', a terrifying monster who is capable of defeating multiple characters solo, he represents the Final Boss, the one who offers the biggest challenge, and unlike other action films, where you are just 'told' of his ability, here he demonstrates it, very successively.

If you love action films, or martial arts films, you will worship this movie, it takes the best elements of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Tony Jaa, and others, to create a refreshingly new concept that blows you away. I've heard there are upcoming sequels planned, and I for one, am left in great anticipation.

Thumbs Up, 10 out of 10

#Sam #Preston #BigBadaBruce #FilmReviews #Gareth #Evans #Iko #Uwais #Joe #Taslim #Donny #Alamsyah #Ray #Saheyapy #Yayan #Ruhuan

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tinnefoil · 7 years

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My take on the 2x13 Karamel fight

Since this was being debated again, I decided to rewatch 2x13 (the Myxy episode), to offer my take on the argument(s) Kara and Mon-El are having in that episode.

I think on a metalevel the episode is structured as such: Kara and Mon-El are about to act on their feelings, when they get interrupted. Both are frustrated by this. Myxy gets under Mon-El’s skin. Kara and Mon-El argue, things get heated and both claim not to be interested in each other anymore, which imo both totally don’t mean/immediately regret saying. They both focus on taking Myxy out their own way, Kara’s is successful in the end. Mon-El confesses that he was jealous, Kara admits that she’s still interested. Kissing happens.

I think the episode is supposed to also represent the frustration as they were thisclose to getting together and then arguments prop up, but in the end, they both very much still want this.

On a character level I think Myxy gets to Mon-El because he’s hitting all the insecurities, that Mon-El is not good enough for Kara. And Mon-El is helpless in the face of this, also because Kara forbids him to act with violence. Did he really learn his lesson? (my take: not all of them at the same time, it takes some more episodes to reinforce things, Distant Sun is about the pros and cons of the non-violent approach, Homecoming has stuff Mon-El’s need to be useful to Kara and there are other ways can do that)

The Argument

I see their core argument mostly as partners/co-workers. And I do think that Mon-El was acting unprofessionally. I also think that that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’m pretty vocal in saying that I think Mon-El still has a way to go to be a true hero, but that’s okay because that means that there is still story left, things to discover, lessons to teach and learn.

So, the advice he gives is crap (”kill the imp”) and it gets rejected by Kara who wants the non-lethal approach. Kara’s attitude in this regard in reinforced once more by the scene where Kara protects some robbers from Myxy. Message: Yes, Kara protects even the lives of criminals.

While the is no doubt that Myxy is a real threat (after all, he tried to kill the robbers for funsies, he endangered people with the fake Parasite attack), at this point I don’t think he has definitively killed anybody. Also: neither the stories of J’onn (some imp moved a mountain range on Mars) and Mon-El imply that the imps are in general straight up killers/violent in general.

- On Daxam we had a zero tolerance policy for those creatures.

- You had them on Daxam?

- Yeah. And those guys knew how to party, but they're dangerous.

It’s not unrealistic that whatever troubles the Daxamites had with the imps was accidental or some more abstract threat to the order of society.

So, Mon-El suggests something, Kara rejects it because it goes against her values. Mon-El, probably because he is jealous/angry/not seeing clearly, refuses to consider that the other options could be successful too.

Because of this, he doesn’t give Kara the information, that in the end helps defeat Myxy till later. I don’t think that it was out of mean spiritness, after all he blurts it out by accident, I do think that it’s credible that he thought it wasn’t relevant.

Still, he had actually useful information on the imps, and he didn’t bring it up when they were first talking about the imps and going through Winn’s research on it. Kara definitely noticed (”You should have told me”) => So, unprofessional behavior, again, probably because blinded by jealousy/rage/whatever.

When everybody goes on about the scene where Kara and Mon-El argue at the DEO, I think the more questionable scene is when Mon-El starts arguing with Kara in front of the badguy/Myxy and she sends him away (which he eventually relents to, at least in front of Myxy).

He later steals an artifact from the DEO and goes after Myxy himself, getting the artifact destroyed in the process.

So all in all, not really a very successful day of being a superhero.

IMO at this point Kara is still his mentor/his boss/whatever you want to call it. Yes they want to work towards being partners, but they are not there yet. And that is imo fair because he still has some ways to go. After all it wasn’t the first time that he had trouble taking orders when personal feelings were involved.

So, he suggests something, Kara makes the executive decision to shoot it down, she then makes the executive decision to send him away. Mon-El reacts with whining (”You are so hard on me, Kara!”), he then goes off on his own attempt to take down Myxy and it backfires, after cooling his head for a bit he admits that he was jealous. At this point Kara has decided to go about this her own way, in a way that excludes Mon-El.

I think an interesting debate can be had about whether that was cruel, to make him think the rejection was real, to not tell or signal him somehow that this is a trick. I think Mon-El had spent enough time this episode being unreasonable and too emotionally involved into this issue that Kara would be justified in thinking that he couldn’t just stand back and be professional on this plan either. (and really, I’m pretty sure that Mon-El would have fought her on that whole “I’m gonna risk blowing up the fortress and killing myself to get Myxy to spell his name backward” plan and would have thought it was crazy)

And there’s also the chance that since Myxy can watch her from the 5th dimension, that she couldn’t risk Myxy finding out that it’s a trick.

So yeah, all in all, I do think that Mon-El was acting unprofessionally and that Kara was right to bench him. I also think that all things considering she has been a pretty forgiving mentor who gives him a lot of time to learn. Maybe she is hard on him sometimes, but in this episode, he clearly did fuck up.

And he also showed lack of understanding in regards to Kara’s morals/heroism in regards to killing. But like I said, I think the pros and cons of the non-lethal approach come up in other episodes. At this point Kara is still his “team lead” and if she wants to pursue the non-lethal approach, he has to follow that, even when he thinks it is stupid. He can debate it with her, but at this point it is still on her to make the call and take the risk.

As for macho/male-ego behavior, I do think him telling Myxy Kara was with him at the beginning of the episode rather than waiting for Kara to say it (especially considering that they aren’t really together-together at this point yet) was kinda that. But on the flip side, he does get called out of it.

I don’t think that it should be that contentious to think that Mon-El still screws up quite a bit in his heroism attempts in a variety of ways. He’s still learning. That’s the story.

Yes it is possible that sometimes Mon-El’s more pessimistic approach will prove to be correct, but Kara is the hero, that is her risk to take. She will deal with it when it gets to that point.

On a relationship level there’s also the argument that he also show lack of understanding of Kara’s character by feeling threatened by Myxy at all/by even falling for the ruse, that he would ever think Kara would go for Myxy (again, it can be argued by insecurity and by Homecoming which can be together with this one read at Mon-El think that Kara needs her boyfriend to be useful and that she would consider Myxy because he can be the better, more powerful partner in achieving good for the world; which again, shows lack of understanding of how Kara really ticks)

#karamel

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seihou-writes · 7 years

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[Mafia] Kimchi and Luna's Escape

Kimchi ran through the factory, dodging his way out of the children who were slaving away with machinery that, with one small mistake, could end up eating a kid’s finger off. Trying to get past the slave and worker quarters, Kimchi ran past cells that contained a thin cot, a moldy sink, a foul stench toilet, and a small and pitiful window lined with metal bars. Getting to the last one on the left row, laying on the cot, was his unconscious albino older sister who was beginning to stir. “A-Aiden?” Luna called out weakly as she gained consciousness. Kimchi bit his lip and closed the cell door behind him, holding a bucket of water. “Don’t move Sis, please…” He pleaded. Luna grunted and buried her face in the pillow. “It hurts!” She cried, feeling several thin deep gashes burning her back with a fiery sting. Kimchi’s brown eyes filled with sorrow as he huffed his dark brown hair out of his face, walking towards Luna. “H-Hey… Wh-What… Wh-What happened..? H-How did I get like this..?” Luna asked, her pain getting numb as Kimchi healed her wounded back. He learned how to cure wounds from watching Luna heal the other kids that worked with them in the factory. He began to recall how one of the stubborn kids would try to rebel against their “keepers”. Many of them were punished by whiplashes. Luna was one of them, but in a more unusual way. Kimchi sighed, getting back to Luna’s question. “You spoke out of term…” He replied. “Gil was having a heat stroke during assembly, and you ran to help him. One of the keepers told you to get back to your spot and you…” Kimchi then noticed that he was getting excited over this, despite the outcome of it.

After the pause, Luna glanced over.

“Kimchi…?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I lost my train of thought. You said, “I’m going to help him, whether you like it or not.” Then you stormed off, carrying Gil in your arms.“ Kimchi explained, then looked over her wounds and flinched.

"After that… They gave you-”

“50 whiplashes… I remember now.”

Kimchi placed a few bandages on Luna’s back, a bit sad.

“Sis… We need to do something about this…” Kimchi began. “Sooner or later-”

“Don’t worry about my wounds, they’re not infected.” Luna replied, causing Kimchi to sigh. “That’s not what I meant…”

“I know, Kimchi.” Luna sighed as well. She painfully sat up, and looked at him hard. “You know we can’t rebel against them. They’re an entire mafia, and we’re just a couple of kids. We could escape, but how? We would need a fool-proof plan, and someone to make sure that everyone knows about the plan. And what if it backfires? We would all be executed!!” Luna’s eyes widened and she became silent as a guard passed by them, checked on them, then walked off. “We can’t do anything right now,” Luna whispered. “Not now, but later we will have a chance.” Kimchi frowned. “But Sis… What if we don’t ever get the chance..?” He asked quietly. “What if-” “I know our chances right now look very small. But even so, things will change over time and things will surely get better.” Luna said with a small smile. “We’ll get there, we just need to be strong.” Kimchi stayed silent, and nodded after a while. “Yeah… You’re right. Let’s go to sleep. I’m tired.” Luna nodded and laid down on her stomach as Kimchi sat next to her.

“Night Kimchi…”

“… Night Sis…”

Kimchi thought instead of falling asleep. He needed to save his sister before they execute her the next day. He knew he should’ve told her this, but he didn’t know how she would react. She could try to go on and make an escape plan for her and the other kids, but there wasn’t much time left. Or she would accept her fate, and say a sorrowful goodbye to the group of kids who’ve been raised by her… Kimchi pondered over this for an hour or so, trying to figure out how to solve the problem. Kimchi quietly got out of the cell, unlocking the door using a small pin that he always had under his bed. Locking the door behind him as quietly as he could, he started to head towards the others’ cells. Once he did, he looked in one of the cells and began to make a bird call. A few minutes later, several bird calls were returned. Kimchi sighed silently, and headed towards one of the cells where he was sure that everyone was in there. He unlocked the door with the pin and entered, before being greeted by several kids from ages 5 to 16. “Aiden! What are you doing here??” All 13 kids asked quietly at different times, all excited and curious. “Guys, I need to tell you something…” Kimchi said with a soft tone, getting a pillow and sat on the cold stone floor as the others followed.

Explaining the whole situation to them wasn’t easy. He knew it was for the best for all of them, but he couldn’t bear to think about leaving his friends behind. “Guys, I swear I’m going to come back for you. We just really need to get out of here and-” “We want to save Luna, that’s a very good reason!” Gil exclaimed. “Do what you gotta do, Kimchi. We’ll wait as long as you need. Right guys?” The rest of the group nodded silently. “Do us a favor,” Ansoni, one of the younger kids, requested. “Don’t lose the polaroid picture, okay?” Kimchi’s eyes widened. He choked back his tears that were starting to creep up his throat. “O-Of course not! I-I’ll keep it safe…” He replied to the young 6-year-old. “A-Alright. I should go now… I’m g-gonna miss you guys…” Aiden began to get teary eyed. These kids weren’t just his friends. They were his family, just like Luna. They’ve been through everything together, all good and bad. Just the thought of leaving them… In the factory, with the keepers?! Remembering back, Luna had stolen the mafia’s seal just so they can survive… She cared so much that she risked her life in order to make sure they got food. At first, they didn’t understand and they doubted her for a while when they were captured by the keepers, Luna being the one who offered their help. But later, Luna had explained that she was the one who stole the seal, and she did it so they would capture them. Sure, they now worked without pay, but they had food. Luna didn’t want to tell them her plan, so she is risking being killed. So far they hadn’t found out yet, but it didn’t matter now with Luna being executed the next day. Kimchi pulled everyone into a tight and sad group hug. Some of the kids began to cry and it made him even more sad. “I’m coming back… I-I promise I will, if it’s the last thing I do!” Sobbing, the group of kids stayed in the hug for a very long time. Sooner or later, Kimchi finally let go. He said goodbye to every single one and walked out of their cell quietly, taking one last good look at them with tears in his eyes. Sneaking past a couple of hallways, Kimchi quickly pulled down his long sleeves once he got to a locked door. Looking over the doorknob, Kimchi grunted under his breath. “Key card…” He groaned, giving himself a facepalm. Quickly looking right, then left, he sneaked past another hall to the right of him and found the soldier’s quarters. Kimchi hid in the shadows, looking out for any nearby cadets or officers. He sprinted inside one of the offices, and pulled his sleeve all the way over his hand, took the lanyard and keys from a nearby hook. His hands shaking slightly, Kimchi ran behind the desk and rummaged through the cabinets with both hands covered in his sleeves. “Gloves… Gloves… Gloves… Glo-” Kimchi murmured before finding a pair of rubber, surgical gloves. “Yes!” Donning them on while looking around, he quickly left like he came in. Kimchi walked back to the locked door after putting the keys in his pocket. Swiping the key card through the slot, the door quietly clicked and the light shone green. He took the key card back and cautiously entered, the room was filled with guns, large incubators and ice boxes. Racks filled with test tubes were filling up the shelves that lined the wall. Kimchi walked over to them, carefully inspecting each and everyone of the test tubes before coming across the needle sections. “Hm… It should be right around here…” He whispered to himself as he walked. He then stopped to a needle that read “Pigment Transfer”. He swiftly took the needle out of its spot and placed it in his cargo pockets carefully, despite the needle having a safety cap. He looked around once more and walked deeper into the room, going to the more lethal equipment. Taking a gas mask and strapping it inside his jacket, he quickly skimmed through the gases in pressured cans. Finding the one that said “Amnesia-Sleep Gas”, he takes it and stuffed it inside his jacket. Kimchi shakily checked his pockets, trying to keep calm and not forget anything. Stepping back a few steps, he accidentally stumbled over a table and grazed his arm on the sharp edge, knocking a test tube to the floor and caused it to break. The liquid slowly seeped out and it began to release a gas. Kimchi’s eyes widened and without a second thought, covered his mouth and nose and fled, as the alarm sounded, telling everyone of the small incident. It wasn’t until he arrived at the quarters did he realize that he had left his mark there. Kimchi’s face began to pale as he hastily fumbled over the locked door their cell. Luna was woken up by the jingling and clacking of the keys and door, and the faint siren. She looked at Kimchi tiredly before realizing what he was doing. “K-Kimchi?? What are you-” “I’ll explain later, just please get up and come with me!” Kimchi whispered loudly as he stepped inside and began to warily help Luna out of bed. “But Kimchi…. What are we doing??” Luna asked again, more alert now. “Where’s the others?? Are they okay??” Kimchi stayed silent for a few minutes, biting his lip, trying to pull Luna along by the hand to a nearby exit. “Th-They’ll be fine…” He replied after a while. Luna frowned, noticing the nervousness in his voice. “Kimchi, what’s going on?” She asked sternly, a tone that Kimchi didn’t like to hear from her. His instinct was to flinch, and he slowly looked at her. “Sis… J-Just trust me… I-I know what I’m doing…” He requested with pleading eyes, before hearing the footsteps of soldiers. Luna’s eyes widened. Kimchi looked up at the ceiling and pointed to an air vent. “Sis, boost me up!” “What?? Kimchi, why-” “Trust me on this! I’ll pull you up Sis! We gotta hurry!!” Luna bit her lip, but got on position with Kimchi getting up on her linked hands. With a fast grunt and push upwards, Kimchi got up the vent and began to help Luna up as fast as he could. Being in the safety of the vents, Kimchi let out a sigh of relief and began to crawl on his hands and knees. “This way, Sis. I’m pretty sure I can figure out my way from here…” Luna took a deep breath. “Kimchi… This is an escape attempt…. isn’t it?” Kimchi continued to crawl. “Y-Yes… You.. I mean… I… We didn’t have a choice!” He whimpered. Luna looked down, then gently ruffled his hair. “Thanks Aiden.” Kimchi stiffened up a bit, then slightly blushed and kept crawling. After a few turns, Kimchi slowly stopped in front of a hatch. “Th-This is as far as we can go…” He explained. “If we go even further, we might either burn ourselves or fall in a hole of some sort…” Luna nodded and went next to Kimchi. “So, down we go then?” Kimchi nodded, then opened up the hatch and jumped down, with Luna following close.

~ Sneaking past the hall, a giant door stood before them. Luna and Kimchi both pushed the door open and silently gasped at what they saw. The entire frontline army of the mafia, all surrounding them with guns and angry glares, running to them. “Stay where you are!” One of the commanders ordered. Kimchi swiftly took one of the pigment needles and stabbed himself, taking away his own color pigment. He took Luna’s arm and injected the pigment into her, his hair progressively growing silver. Luna gasped in pain as she saw her hair turn brown, feeling a sting in her eyes. As Kimchi threw the needle and shattered it, he quickly took out the can of gas. Luna’s eyes were tearing up slightly, and she looked over at Kimchi. “K-Kimchi?!” She called out as her vision began to clear up and the sound of footsteps grew closer and louder. Kimchi had already put on the gas mask, taking the can and a pocket knife from the inside of his boot. “See you later, Sis.” With that, Kimchi punctured the can with the knife and the gas escaped, spreading like a virus. Luna began to gasp for air, inhaling the gas and coughed. Soon, the rest of the soldiers began to do the same, some even falling to their knees and held on to their throats. Eventually, all of them, including Luna, passed out on the floor. Kimchi watched it all in disbelief, his hands shaking as he attempted to cover his face with them. “I-I did that…” He whispered, then ran over to Luna and began to pick her up. So many scattered thoughts and feelings were going through his head, though his only priority was to get away from there as quickly as possible without leaving any evidence. Struggling a bit, he managed to carry Luna onto his back, and slowly but surely, sneaked his way out of the base, being wary of the fallen soldiers. ~ Luna slowly opened her eyes to a bright and colorful atmosphere. She blinked, and saw that she was underneath a huge apple tree, the light seeping through the leaves and branches. Getting aware of her surroundings, Luna immediately jerked herself up, getting on the defensive. Just as quickly, her now brown colored hair flipped over her face, which made her pause. Very carefully, she took a lock of her hair and examined it closely. As soon as she did, she noticed the sting in her eyes. She winced and rubbed her eyes before hearing a tired, familiar voice. “You’re awake now?" Luna gasped, and turned to Kimchi, her eyes wide. Kimchi was still in the same clothes as before, but his hair was silver, and his eyes were deep blue. He was eating an apple, looking at her with a mature look. "I look different, but you should look at yourself too, Sis.” Kimchi took her hand and helped her up, taking her to a nearby pond. He motioned her to look at the reflection, and hesitantly, she did. The first thing Luna noticed was her hair color. Then slowly, her eyes fell to her rich brown eyes, which was Kimchi’s original eye color. She looked at her pale skin, which was beginning to get darker, but only slightly. Seeing that Luna was silent, Kimchi spoke. “It’s not the best hair and eye color… But it’ll help us stay hidden, somewhat. You don’t have to be albino anymore, but… yeah… I’m gonna be albino so.. switched appearances, yeah?” Luna stared at her reflection for a while before looking at Kimchi, who began to mess with his hair, getting a lock of it and looked at it. “Kimchi…” Kimchi paused his motions and glanced over at her. “Hm?” “You… are the coolest kid I know.” Luna said with a small smile. Kimchi returned the smile and hugged her. “We should keep going, Sis. They might track us down or something…” He advised, letting go of her. “I walked around a bit, and I found a place where we can get food. Come on, let’s check it out, yeah?”

Luna nodded, then slowly stood up, following Kimchi.

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