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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

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Henry Stickmin Headcanons Part 2, to "celebrate" the finale of the Toppat!Charles AU(Press F to pay respects). I'll be going in and oit of the AU as well, but that will be seperate from the other headcanons

In Triple Threat, and in order, the tallest is Ellie, standing at 5'9" and Henry is the shortest at 5'4". Charles sits comfortably between them at 5'7". Neither use their powers for evil, even though it's tempting to literally something over his head sometimes.

Each member of Triple Threat has their reactions toward horror in general.

Charles is pretty unfazed by games like FNAF or anything with heavy jumpscares. He will not watch a movie with bad jumpscares(jumpscares used poorly.) He was a baby watching Sinister, The VVitch, and Lighthouse.

Ellie gets scared by just about anything, but breaks whenever she sees evil clowns specifically.

Nothing really scares Henry. Or at least he tells himself that. He's less open by getting scared, but don't tell Ellie or Charles.

Ellie and Heney, because they were in a mischief mood, tried scaring Charles. He punched Henry in the face on accident.

Charles sings really well, but only when he thinks there's no one around.

Ellie is the smartest of the trio. That doesn't mean Charles and Henry are idiots, even though they've done things that have warranted them a spot in the dumbass hall of fame.

When Rupert first joined, he'd literally never been more annoyed than when he met Charles, who, in his opinion, talked too much and didn't take anything seriously. It didn't really help that Galeforce always partnered the two, as to keep Charles safe on the ground when he couldn't directly see him. Rupert was mad at the fact he'd gone through a lot of training and was promoted to government babysitter, and it boiled out of him when Charles asked if he was okay. Rupert snapped at him, shouting at the pilot to just shut up for five minutes and actually do his part in missions, which was have Rupert's back or keep him informed of anything around them. He also yelled that Charles is incompetent and shouldn't even be in the military, as all he does is talk. He had brought this up with Galeforce, when the two got back and Charles excused himself to allow Rupert to give the report on their mission, but got a very proper scolding. He apologized to Charles when the YOUNGEST PILOT EVER got them both out of a sticky situation using some incredibly evasive maneuvers that Rupert was sure would get them killed.

After the deaths and funeral of Mr. And Mrs. Calvin, Galeforce adopted Charles, something that was in the couple's will. Charles did not talk to him for a long time, not until a rainy day that prevented any work that needed to be done. Galeforce noticed Charles sitting near either a patio door or by a window staring up at the clouds. He carefully sat next to him and admitted that he missed Charles's parents, too, saying they were very good friends of his and were always good to turn to for a smile or just to take a breather. He couldn't imagine how Charles felt, but he still missed them and was sorry all the same. That's when Galeforce noticed a card Charles was holding to his chest; a birthday card, one that read, "Charlie, if you're reading this, know that your father and I love you very much. No matter what, always remember that. We couldn't have asked for a better son, one as silly, smart, and ambitious as you. We will always love you. I'm sorry. Love, Mom," from Charles's mother and, "Hey, hawk. If you're reading this, it means something really bad happened to us both. Sorry we won't make it back for your birthday, more specifically that I broke my promise to you. You deserve to be happy, and I hope you can do that again someday. Charles, you can miss us, you can be sad, you can cry, it's more than okay to. I just hope one day you can smile and be happy again for us. I'm sorry. Your mother loves you, Charlie. I love you so much, son. Love, Dad," from Charles's father. There smugdes on some parts of the card, some old and some new, and it especially struck Galeforce that the two extremely sad messages shouldn't have been on a nine year old's birthday card. Galeforce apologized for not being Charles's parents, though told him that he'd try to be what they were, maybe more. He didn't talk, but Charles did huddle closer to his side and Galeforce put an arm around him as they continued watching the rain.

Do not challenge Charles to a foot race. He will outrun you.

Do not challenge Ellie to an arm wrestling match. She will always win.

Do not challenge Henry to an underwater how-long-can-I-hold-my-breathe challenge. You will most likely drown.

Triple Threat beat each other in their respective challenges/contests by cheating/sabotaging each other; Henry will try tackling Charles while Ellie will try to trip him, Charles will try kicking Ellie's chair to push it away while Henry teams up with him to try and push her arm down, and Ellie will throw little pool torpedoes at Henry, which is more passive than Charles shouting, "This is the greatest PLAAAAAAN!" and cannonballing in before wrestling Henry back above water.

Charles wakes up Ellie and Henry in various methods, since he's usually up first: He'll usually use an alarm, but sometimes, when he's really energetic, he bangs pots and pans together, gets a teakettle singing, uses and airhorn, and, the most extreme he's ever gone, taped a brown lunch bag to a leaf blower and brought a really bright light into both their rooms, rigging the devices to a light switch. With a snicker, he began to play that army/military wake up song on a trumpet with a megaphone taped to it and flipped the switch.

Both of them were ready to kill him.

Henry was initially left at an orphanage, but he was adopted at the age of seven. He was brought up well enough, until one of his parents started noticing that he was acting "weird," as in his 'ability' to see his choices and fails. This parent started ignoring him and told him to start acting normal or he'd be sent back to the orphanage. The other parent, the one that also noticed but didn't want to talk about it, still loved him, though started to get a little irritated when their partner left out of spite; "Either I go or the crazy brat goes." The other parent re-married and this new step-parent was nicer, but happened to wirk as a janitor for the CCC, and warned Henry to be careful with his 'powers' because the people the step-parent worked for weren't nice and would do bad things to him. The step-parent meant well, but Henry, having the memories of the parent that left fresh in his mind, took it as a threat to behave, which made him a very anxious kid. Anxious enough to become a kleptomaniac and pickpocket to relieve stress.

Ellie had the most normal life, having two parents and a brother, but turned to a life of thieving because the pressure of being a good person and her family's view of a black and white world drove her crazy.

You would have to be crazy to try and take on all three members of Triple Threat at once.

The trio sometimes share a room and bed, because of nightmares and they don't want to be alone.

Yeah. Triple Threat is basically a found family.

Ellie is the father and Henry and Charles are her two, wonderful, dumbass children, even though there are times the two take turns being the mother.

Now, ONTO SOME POST TOPPAT!CHARLES AU STUFF! This is kind of like an Epilogue, so buckle in.

Triple Threat gets two weeks off to fully recover. (Thank goodness)

They return to their apartment and go straight to bed, though they actually just camp out in the living room.

They still sleep like the dead; they wake up LATE the next day, at 4 in the afternoon.

Breakfast for dinner.

Even when they know they should go back to sleep around 10 pm, they stay up and watch movies. They let Charles pick, and he chooses a collection of Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, and even the Looney Tunes Show.

Henry and Ellie notice him giggling whenever Daffy's on screen, and can't help but wonder why, though they don't ask when he also gets tears in his eyes. He explains later that he used to watch the old version of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies with his parents and even Galeforce, sometimes, even though it was something that happened less frequently as Charles grew and became a more solid part of the military.

They stay up all night, taking turns watching movies, making small talk, and just enjoying each other's company.

Charles does have an episode when they're making lunch the next day when he accidentally drops a glass and has a flashback of Right killing the pilot of a destroyer sent to rescue him. It is a nerve wracking memory and it leads him to breaking down on the floor. Henry and Ellie do help him out of it, but he refuses to share what he saw with them. They don't push it and tell him to feel free to share whenever he's ready.

They keep an eye on him when he takes his ADD medicine, just to be safe.

They often go outside to do workouts, because they don't want to break anything in the apartment. Charles keeps up with them, and they simply enjoy the breeze and the outside when they're done.

Henry and Ellie do talk about what she told Henry back in Part 6, and she apologizes for not telling Henry sooner, also admitting that she was scared he would abandon her, if she told him. Needless to say, Henry's just glad the three of them are together.

Charles is welcomed back much more warmly when they return from their break.

First daybback and it's out of the frying pan and into the flame, because they have another group of thieves to deal with, smaller than the Toppat Clan, but still noticable: a biker gang that's here to steal stuff by any means necessary and be an insane headache for police and people on the road.

They don't know much now, but they will when the gang is followed in the air.

Galeforce offers Charles to fly and get some possible intell, though says that if he isn't comfortable with it he can back out.

Charles agrees, and says with an excited, nervous smile that he's missed being in the air.

Galeforce makes sure Henry and Ellie keep an eye on him, which they promise to do, before everyone sets out, Charles taking a seat in his fixed up helicopter with Henry and Ellie behind him.

With a deep breath, they head out, ready to do some government recon, which they're successful in.

At The Wall, Dmitri is grumbly and still a little pissed at how Henry got away AGAIN, but has to admit it's good to not have to worry about the Toppat Clan anymore, most of whom being in maximum security cells.

Right is bored as hell, but is glad that his cellmate is Reginald; Right's missing his cybernetic arm from the elbow down, his legs have been downgraded to be normal legs, and he is no longer OP.

Reg apologizes for letting this happen to the clan, but Right assures him it's not his fault, self deprecatingly admitting that he may have been stupid for MAYBE crossing the line. Reg can't help but softly chide him for it.

Right promises that they'll get out, though Reginald only snuggles into him more, saying it can happen in good time, but right now he just wants to be close to Right a little longer.

The CCC hasn't gotten a single major chaos reading since the orbital station was destroyed and the clan was arrested. Bill Bullet chuckles a simple, "Not bad, kid," as he leaves his readers to their work.

Terrence is kicking back in his new room, lying in a bed as he reads a book. He's enjoyed having regular, warm showers, access to a razor to shave, and, mostly, a sky that didn't have the orbital station in it; it leaves a bad taste in his mouth that Reginald actually outdid him, sending the clan in space for a short time.

He chuckles at the fact that Henry would've been a damned good leader, mostly because he could see overthrowing HIM to be easy. "Too bad he joined the government instead," Terrence sighs with a shrug before he burts into laughter, mad, hysterical laughter. It really would've been fun to see Henry as the leader of the Toppat Clan.😉

Back with Triple Threat, after their mission as they sit on a hill that would've held Charles grave, if this was Valiant Hero. They're quiet, enjoying the sunset and the sound of the waves below, not ready to go home yet.

Even though they're all quiet, Charles tips his head back and takes a deep breath, taking in the sun, the air, everything, before returning his gaze to the sunset.

"Man," he breathes, "I've... really missed this."

Ellie replies that she has as well, Henry nodding in agreement.

They all watch the remainder of the sunset, though, quite nicely, all three are holding each other's hands and smiling to themselves

#henry stickmin #completing the mission au #completing the mission #charles calvin #headcanons #ellie rose #stickvin #copperright #sad stuff #death of a parent tw #not nice parent tw #implied poor self medication tw #ptsd tw #fluff #angst

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bubbashawn · 4 years

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Honey

author: Here’s my first completed request!! Also this is day 7 or 8 of me posting in a row so I’m patting myself on the back. Hope y’all like it and yes it mentions the “pr” stunt w/ Camila so don’t attack me

synopsis: You overhear something you should’ve known all along. But why does Shawn care? He’s the one who threw 5 years away. Throw in a New Year’s Eve Party and everything is bound to go haywire.

warning: requested by anon. Forgive me I swore lol but really it falls in my brand so 2k of angst to fluff :)

“Baby, I love you.”

“Yeah well maybe you should’ve thought about that before Miami!”

“It’s all a PR stunt, Y/N. I don’t get it! Why is this such a big deal to you? That all means shit to me! You know that!”

“Because you didn’t tell me, Shawn,” your eyes started watering but you ignored them, “because I had to explain to my family why your tongue was down some other girls throat and I didn’t know how to because you didn’t tell me!”

Shawn knew a fake relationship would go haywire, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to love you right if he was pretending to love some other girl. Shawn knew what would happen and yet here he was. Standing, begging, in front of you to stay with him because he didn’t think he could ever lose you.

“Honey, you know I love you.”

“Saying I love you isn’t going to fucking fix anything!”

It was true. He loved you so much that he didn’t consider that you’d end things, not when you were so in love with each other. His stupid ego was causing havoc while you cried in his kitchen with your key resting on his counter.

You loved him too much. This hurt too much.

You had that key since he first bought his condo, he remembered the two of you moving him out of his family home. You also used to have a key for there. The two of you had met back in Pickering before Handwritten, before Vine even and your relationship had guided the two of you through your rising fame. You were the one constant in his life, his love for you the only thing keeping him grounded through it all.

“I’m done. I won’t be made a fool and the paparazzi probably will be here soon, so I’m just going to leave.”

“Y/N…”

“Bye Shawn, have a nice life.”

You felt arms shift around your waist and your eyes snapped open. It was just a dream. Except it wasn’t because it wasn’t Shawn’s arms wrapped around you or his cologne covered pillow your head rested on. It was your boyfriend’s.

Not Shawn’s.

Collin must have noticed you shift in his bed because his crystal eyes were staring down at you. He had the sharpest blue eyes you had ever seen, a stark contrast to the familiar hazel.

Collin Bradford had been perfect.

He was what any girl like you could dream of. He wasn’t famous which was foremost the best because you didn’t have to deal with a rivalry about who’s better. He understood your strange hours and never complained about the red carpets or photographers. He was happy to let you take the spotlight. ENews was obsessed with him, not that you blamed them, Collin was by far the most attractive man you had been with since Shawn.

Collin Bradford had been perfect, until he wasn’t.

Once he got comfortable in the relationship he started letting all the new attention get to his head. He became flirty and arrogant. He was the golden boy of Hollywood and he always claimed to love you, so you let him stay in your life. When the cheating scandal happened you let him back in. And the 2 after that. Funny how you let him make you seem like a fool when you’d broken Shawn’s heart for the same reason.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. What time is it?”

“Almost 6. Do you need to get up?”

“Mmm,” you hummed in agreement, “I’ve got that interview with Spanish Vogue in three hours.”

Carol, your stylist, would kill you if you weren’t sitting in front of her within the next hour. You rose to your feet ignoring the ache that Shawn always massaged out of your back.

“Want an espresso?”

“No, don’t bother,” you smiled back at him, “let at least one of you enjoy a morning in bed.”

“Want to get me one?”

“Sure thing.”

“You’re the best Baby,” his face was hidden in his phone before you could say another word. That was his way of saying he’s done with this conversation.

You walked out of the bedroom and hurried to make your boyfriend his drink before scurrying back to place it by his head. He didn’t acknowledge you.

“We have Hailey Bieber’s New Year’s Eve Party tonight. You still want to come?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.”

You were out the door by 6:10, accustomed to the tight schedule. It was two and a half hours when you noticed a 6’2” frame with curly hair towering over you. You didn’t dare look up until you saw his swallow tattoo emitting an unwanted gasp from your throat. Carol looked at you weirdly but your eyes were trained on pointed Chelsea boots that were hesitantly shuffling towards your seated figure.

“Y/N,” he sounded the same, honey smooth like the rest of him, “Y/N?”

Your gaze lifted from the ground where he stood, up his body and past the undone buttons of his shirt until you stopped on the hazel eyes from your distant memories.

“Hey.”

“Wow, Hi,” he was staring, “it’s been what, 2 years?”

“Just about. 2 years at the end of next month.”

Shawn didn’t pay attention to the nervous quake in your voice and if he did he didn’t make any moves to soothe your mind. He just remained mere feet away and looking down at you.

You hated that you could see the love behind his irises. He had put you through so much even after you left. Shawn hadn’t broken up with Camila for another 8 months after yours. That’s why you didn’t run back to him.

“Wha-what’re you doing here?”

“Oh, um I have an interview about my new work.”

“I heard about that. Congratulations by the way.”

“Thanks.”

He was still staring and watched you shift off the chair to stand before him. Shawn wasn’t paying mind to how close you two actually were until the air between you was mixing. You took his breath away, literally.

“Are you still with that asshole, Charles?”

“Charles? You mean Collin?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Then yes, yes I am.”

“Why? Didn’t he cheat on you?”

“Keeping tabs on me?”

He was growing frustrated with your stubbornness.

“Believe it or not, I still love you, Y/N. And I hate seeing you get hurt, especially by some guy who doesn’t deserve you!”

“And who deserves me? You? Shawn, the whole reason I was in this relationship to start was to get you out of my head,” your eyes were tearing up just like that night years ago, “because believe it or not, you hurt me first.”

Carol, bless her soul, gave an apologetic smile towards Shawn for interrupting your conversation and began walking you towards your interview.

“Honey, you okay?”

You nodded your head trying to piece your mind together before some poor interviewer talked to you.

“It was hard not to listen in,” she smiled softly, “but if you want my thoughts, I think he was telling the truth.”

You looked into her eyes searching for answers that you already knew.

“He loves you, Y/N, and I think you love him too.”

With one final look to make sure her observations got through to you, Carol opened the door and guided you towards your manager.

The interview went fine and before you know it, it was over. You spaced out one too many times, you were sure, but it was over and done with. A photo shoot followed so you would have a cover image on Spanish Vogue and before you knew it the sun was setting.

After a long day filled with too many people and the run-in with Shawn, the last thing on your mind was New Years. You had honestly forgotten about it until you got a slew of texts all talking about the plans for the evening. Everyone was going to show up around 10 and the night would progress from there.

You, however, wouldn’t leave the Vogue building until 11:20.

“Your dress is in the car so you’ll have to change in the back which is why I made sure the car would have a partition. And Collin can help you, okay?”

Collin would not be helping if you had a say in anything.

“Thank you, Carol, enjoy the holiday!”

“You too.”

You slipped into the Bentley waiting by the glass doors ignoring the flashes of cameras. And quickly pulled your dress from the door before turning to your boyfriend expectantly.

“Go up to the passenger seat.”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen you strip before,” he chuckled, eyeing the silky minidress in your hand, “is that even a full dress? Like I’m actually going to let you walk out of here in that.”

“Go to the fucking front and you haven’t had a worthy opinion about anything in the last 8 months because you cheated on me so get out.”

He glared at you but didn’t have any excuse. What could he say to you? Sorry? Collin hopped out ignoring the questions and the shouts about his scandals and sat in the front next to your driver. He glowered even more, if that’s possible, when the divider screen went up.

The party was in full blast by the time you had arrived. With only ten minutes until midnight everyone was bustling to reach their lover or any stranger with a decent pair of lips. Everyone was drunk, and if not absolutely hammered then tipsy. Not one person was standing without leaning on something for support.

“Collin, I’m ge-”

Your boyfriend who was minutes ago standing behind you was now leaning against the kitchen counter between some pretty girl’s thighs. His lips sipping from her solo cup before latching on her neck. Shocker.

Shawn was surely the only person aware of his surroundings and though no one else paid mind to you slipping into the party looking absolutely gorgeous except him. No one noticed the asshole behind you sneaking off to fuck some model. No one noticed your unsurprised yet hurt expression.

No one noticed except him.

He’d be lying to say he hadn’t been watching the front door since he arrived, looking for your familiar face. He was elated when you walked through the door because despite the fact that every time you two spoke it resulted in a fight, he still missed you. Had Shawn been a man with any common sense he would’ve shut down the whole pr relationship concept before it even became a possibility. But he hadn’t and then he lost the most important person in his life.

He made his way through the crowd offering friendly greetings to the drunk party goers before he was standing feet away from you again.

This time however your eyes didn’t shy away like they had earlier that day. No, they watched his gaze flicker across your entire being drinking you in.

“Hi,” your voice was breathless.

“Hey,” his hands found your waist.

“Are you drunk?”

“No,” he smiled before repeating your question back at you, already knowing the answer.

“Are you drunk?”

“No.”

“Good.”

Shawn’s lips were pressed against your own and he tasted the same as when he was 16. It was like his eyes, pure honey, just so undeniably sweet. You wondered how you didn’t wander back to him like an addict during your 2 years of deprivation.

“Happy New Years, Baby.”

His mouth latched to yours again not wanting to pull apart longer than he had to.

“We still,” you whimpered when your lips separated again as he looked down at you, “we still have to talk about this. About us.”

“As long as there is an us, I’ll talk to you forever. And you have to break things off with that asshole.”

“Mmhmm,” you hummed against his lips.

“You’re my honey. You’re my sweet, sweet honey.”

“You sure you aren’t drunk?”

“Not drunk,” he couldn’t help but smile against your lips, “just happy. Really fucking happy.”

permanent tag list: @wholesomemendes @fallinallincurls @ashwarren32 @mendesficsxbombay @haute-shawn @turtoix @prncsnee @http-isabela

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thatiranianphantom · 4 years

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I've read your take on the new season. I do believe that Betty and Jughead will eventually be back together, but it seems it will take a while. B*rchie will be explored and Jughead will apparently date Tabitha. Do you think the writers could wait until the end of the season to reunite Bughead?

Thank you for sending me this! I purposely left it till the end because this may get long.

I made that post awhile ago, and I am still basically sticking to it, but some small things have changed. First of all, when did we hear that Jughead will date Tabitha? You may be right but I’d also be skeptical. Jughead’s romantic plate is a bit full. Actually, his plate, in general, is quite full with the season’s mystery and both Betty and Jessica. We know Riverdale doesn’t delegate well, and it doesn’t stop to take a breath in between plotlines. This has been accused of being the Jughead Jones show, but the reality is we can’t spend the entire time on Jughead and he's already quite busy.

As to where the season will go, my guess is the following, accompanied by gifs from Dr. Horrible:

☞ The first episode, it has been said, is not bughead-heavy. The bed scene isn’t in this episode and it features very little prom. Likely, what happens here is Veronica sings Archie’s song and she finds out about the kiss.

☞ In 5x02 and 5x03, they reveal the (*deep sigh*) auteur. It’s likely Charles and/or Chic, because Wyatt Nash’s last filmed episodes were these two. Likely, Jughead finds out here, and it is where the bed scene occurs. This is also when Bret comes back and I am hype. I literally cannot wait to see him stare longingly at Jughead again. I want to see the shrine to Jughead we all know Bret has, or the lock of Jughead’s hair that Bret strokes lovingly every night. Sean Depner, the love of my life, would agree with this. FP leaves in this episode, and what I’m getting is that he has carte blanche to come back, and he and Alice will probably not break up. Best for everyone. Can’t imagine Skeet’s phone is ringing off the hook. My money, frankly, is on Varchie breaking up here, but Bughead staying together. They will time jump at the end after graduation, so you’ll likely see a few minutes at the end of 5x03 that take place after the time jump. Long-ponytail Betty is likely from here, and we will see Jughead with someone who is *gasp* not Betty.

☞ I would guess that 5x04 is all setup. They will introduce us to where the Core 4 are seven years later. Jughead’s (ex?) girlfriend, Veronica’s husband, Archie in the army, Betty working for the FBI. Exposition all over the place. TBF, I am oddly excited for this episode. I want to see adult Core 4. I think, despite how fast Riverdale moves through things, setup is needed here. They’re putting the show in a completely different place. That needs some time. Jughead is apparently an alcoholic now? Awesome. I am sure they’ll handle that with all the sensitivity they do everything with.

They’d be called back to Riverdale (maybe Jughead and Toni are still there?) at the end of this episode. I swear to god Riverdale, if you tell me that any of these kids didn’t graduate, I will finally take this shitshow out of your hands. We may see the Core 4 reunite at the end of this episode. We’ll also see that Toni is pregnant now. My bet’s on surrogacy. You guys ever watched Hamilton? Remember “...and Peggy?” Well, “...and Kevin!”

☞ Actual reunions start in 5x05. It’ll likely be super awkward. I’ve said it before, I hope there’s not actual anger. It’s been seven years. I get being hurt, I get it being awkward, but it’s been nigh on a decade, so I hope there’s not active anger, since that’s childish as hell. If speculation is right, though, Betty will spend time with both Jughead (case) and Archie (we’ll get there.) We can expect pining. I love pining. Longing looks? Bring it on. We got so few scenes before Bughead got together, and I thrive off the auto shop scene in 5x06. It’s so angsty. I die. Anyway, this is when we introduce the new Biggie Baddie. Mothmen, apparently. This is our first villain that is not an organic Riverdale villain. I miss villains like Buffy wrote them, but god, I sat through some S2 Evil-Hiram plotline and it made me long for stupid shit like mothmen because that plot was boring.

☞ Look, I ain’t going to lie to you. I have no idea how they’ll tie in the mothmen plotline since like, mothmen don’t murder? But we all know that’s just secondary to the romantic stuff. I’m going to reiterate that regardless of how this shakes out, I could not be less interested in a full season of drama. However, in 5x06/5x07, we’ll likely see some Barchie. If there is sad!Dating, it’ll likely happen here, paired with some Bughead angst. Spoilers also tell us that Chad comes to Riverdale and is jealous of Varchie’s “friendship?” That requires at least a few scenes of them together, so we’ll likely see Varchie pining too.

☞ I’m going to go out on a limb and say they’d probably currently be filming episodes 8 and 9. Chad is already there, as is Tabitha. The recent casting spoilers that came out will probably be in this episode, up to episode 10. I am going to say it’s likely that this’ll be about mid-season, which means the explosive action for the couples will probably happen here. Most indications of people I’ve spoken to say the couples will likely be back by mid-season(ish). So by the time the casting spoilers role is in the show, Barchie will be on its way out. This seems very mid-seasony to me. It’s usually right before a break and it entices people to come back for the back 9. So around episodes 8-10, expect rising action.

☞ I very much doubt that Barchie will last past episode 12. The back 9 of the season will be pretty standard Riverdale fare - mystery and couple drama, but likely nothing as dramatic as the end of S4 or beginning of S5. As I said, Riverdale doesn’t delegate well. They do not breathe between plotlines. They grab the bit between their teeth and run.

☞ Few stray observations: Veronica is married, and still tied to her family. That’s not as easy to leave behind as a short-term relationship. I would say I wonder how they’re going to get her out of that, but like, it’s Riverdale. Do also wonder if they’re going to forget about the alcoholism plotline. I would like to link the writer’s to the TVTropes page on Chekhov’s Gun. If it’s not essential, Riverdale, don’t include it. Also a bit curious to see how Choni reunite, since they inevitably will. And how they’ll write the baby out.

(this is a wonderful interpretation of my relationship with this show. The show is Captain Hammer. I am Dr. Horrible.)

#Answered #Riverdale #Anonymous #Varchie #Choni #This is LONG #And did I even answer the question?#I have my doubts #WHY WON'T THIS GO IN THE TAG #BUGHEAD #The tags hate me I am gonna fling myself off a cliff

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grailfinders · 4 years

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Fate and Phantasms #43: Charles-Henri Sanson

Welcome back to Fate and Phantasms, today we’re building French Royalty’s leading cause of death, Charles-Henri Sanson! Sanson is and Inquisitive Rogue with just a dash of Grave Cleric added in for a bit of healing. He also technically holds the record for having the most powerful single attack of any build so far, being able to drop every servant made so far in one hit, or even outright a majority of them through raw damage.

You can check out his spreadsheet over here, or read the level-by-level breakdown below the cut.

Race and Background

Sanson’s a human like most servants, giving him +1 to all stats. He’s also had to deal with the aftermath of his own profession, making him a Haunted One. This gives him proficiency in Arcana and Investigation, as well as giving him the feature Heart of Darkness. This makes commoners more polite to you (probably on account of your profession) and they may even take up arms in your defense.

Stats

You’re a doctor, so your Wisdom and Intelligence are naturally high. Your Dexterity is next, followed by your Constitution and Strength. Being an executioner doesn’t require you to be that physically fit, so these scores aren’t the highest or that low. We need dexterity the most and strength the least, hence the order. Finally, dump Charisma. You can’t help being French, after all.

Class Levels

1. Cleric 1: At first level, clerics get proficiency in Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as two cleric skills, yours are Medicine and History. You’re a doctor, and a list of your clientele reads like a history book. You also get Spellcasting at this level using your wisdom for its ability, as well as the features Circle of Mortality and Eyes of the Grave.

Your Circle of Mortality causes you to always maximize healing done on creatures at 0 HP, and you know Spare the Dying, which for you has a 30′ range and can be cast as a bonus action. This is great for you; it will maximize the small bit of healing you get for those who need it most.

The Eyes of the Grave lets you spend an action to detect any undead within 60′ of you a couple of times per long rest. You’re already pretty uncomfortable that a lot of your clients are walking around as servants-zombies would just be too much for you.

Finally, first level clerics gain three cantrips and the ability to prepare first level spells. You’ll get Toll the Dead for thematic purposes, Light to help your pitiful human eyes in most circumstances, and Mending to patch up any tears in your sweet jacket. You also get Bane and False Life as domain spells. You’re a doctor, so healing isn’t out of the ordinary for you, and you also know exactly how to hit a creature to weaken it, rather than kill.

2. Cleric 2: Second level clerics get two options for their Channel Divinity that replenishes every short rest: the standard Turn Undead that forces zombies away from you on a failed wisdom save, and the grave cleric’s Path to the Grave. This is an action you can use to curse a creature until the end of your next turn. The first time they take damage from you or an ally, they have vulnerability to that attack’s damage, effectively doubling its power. You don’t have too much attack power of your own right now, so it’s more of a support tool than anything.

3. Cleric 3: Third level clerics gain second level spells, including Gentle Repose and Ray of Enfeeblement. Like before, you know how to hamper a body as well as destroy it, and letting the dead find rest is the least you can do. Overall, I’d recommend preparing healing spells each day, your future levels will more than make up for damage.

4. Rogue 1: Switching into the rogue class, you gain one skill proficiency. Insight powers most of your features, so it’ll be smart to grab that. You also gain Expertise in Medicine and Insight. They’re both the same number now, so maybe you can talk your DM into letting you use medicine where your features say insight for the sake of flavor. Your knowledge of the human body also earns you a Sneak Attack, extra damage when you have advantage over another creature. We’re using a short sword for this build, since we need a finesse weapon to perform sneak attacks. I’m disappointed that we can’t give him a proper sword too, but honestly it’s going to be a very small part of your damage.

You also learn your Thieves’ Cant, which for you is your Doctor’s Script. Those things are impossible to read.

5. Rogue 2: At second level, you get a Cunning Action each turn: you can use your bonus action to dash, disengage, or hide. Sometimes being a doctor means you have to be in a lot of places at once, and this is as close as you’re going to get.

6. Rogue 3: Your sneak attack increases to 2d6, and you enter your roguish archetype, the Inquisitive. You get a lot of goodies when you first join: Ear for Deceit means your Insight check against people lying to you is always at least a roll of 8. Eye for Detail lets you use a bonus action to make perception checks to spot hidden things or uncover clues with an Investigation check. (You may have noticed that’s literally what those checks do anyway, but at least you can do it during combat now.) Those two aren’t that useful to this build, though you could flavor the Ear for Deceit as you knowing the physical signs of lying through your training as a doctor, if you really want to stretch it.

The real reason we’re here is your last feature at third level, Insightful Fighting. This lets you use a bonus action to make a Medicine (or Insight, if your DM’s a stickler) check vs a creature’s Deception check to uncover the exact points to strike them. On a success, you can use your sneak attack against them so long as you don’t have disadvantage. This lasts for a minute, or until you start focusing on another creature.

7. Rogue 4: For your first ASI, become a Healer. This means when you stabilize a creature with a healing kit, you’ll also heal them for one HP. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the difference between stabbing and not stabbing, so your fighter better appreciate it. You can also use a healing kit for (shocker) healing, which surprisingly you couldn’t before. Now you can heal somebody for 1d6+4 HP, plus their maximum number of hit dice. It’s not much more breathing room than the stabilizing feature, but every little bit helps. You can also only use that last part once per short rest per creature.

8. Rogue 5: Your sneak attack increases to 3d6, and you learn how to Uncanny Dodge, reacting to halve damage from a single attack. This is great for you, because rogues are not known for their copious amounts of health, and you’re probably already using your healing to keep your party alive.

9. Rogue 6: Another level, another round of Expertise. Most of your important skills are already taken care of, so let’s buff your History and Investigation for the heck of it.

10. Rogue 7: Your sneak attack increases again, and you get some Evasion. Now fireballs don’t really matter to you, so you can ignore enemy spellcasters and focus on preemptively healing your party by killing anything that would harm them.

11. Rogue 8: Your next ASI is going towards your Dexterity for better stabbing and better AC. Yeah, I know I gave him pretty low dexterity to start with, but do you really think we’re gonna keep him there?

12. Rogue 9: Another Sneak Attack buff! Now you can slap 5d6 onto a stab. You also learn how to keep a Steady Eye, giving you advantage on perception and investigation checks as long as you’re moving at half speed. You can also just move half your speed, make the check, and then keep on trucking. What’s the DM going to do, retroactively make you fail?

13. Rogue 10: One last ASI into Dexterity. It’s not maxed out, but we have other things to focus on. Honestly I’m not sure how dexterity and using a guillotine are related, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

14. Rogue 11: Your sneak attack grows once more, and you gain some Reliable Talent. Now any skill check you’re proficient in will always use a roll of at least 10, making your Ear for Deceit utterly worthless! You’re literally made of Arcana, Medicine, and History, so it all checks out.

15. Rogue 12: Now we’re spending your ASIs on Wisdom, for better spells, more prep, and a stronger Insightful Fighting style.

16. Rogue 13: Another sneak attack buff brings you up to 7d6, and you gain an Unerring Eye. You can use this as an action a number of times equal to your wisdom modifier to sense shapechangers and illusions around you. If you want to flavor it, only use it to check if people are real. You’ve spent so much time with bodies, you can notice fake ones right away.

17. Rogue 14: At 14th level, you gain Blindsense, allowing you to sense any hidden or invisible creatures within 10′ of you. Just handwave it with some nonsense about how you’ve “ended so many heartbeats, you’re more in tune with them” or something.

18. Rogue 15: At 15th level your sneak attack is adding 8d6 to your attacks, and you gain a Slippery Mind, which... gives you proficiency with wisdom saves. Whoops. Since we have nothing else to talk about at this level, let’s go over how you can do obscene amounts of burst damage. Insightful fighting frees you up to use sneak attacks a lot more frequently, so you can pile on the damage. Scoring a crit can effectively double your damage, and Path to the Grave, which we got all the way back at level 2, can double your damage again. So at this level, if you get very, very lucky (or hang out with someone like Merlin or [REDACTED]), you can get quadruple the damage on an already large sneak attack.

The fun thing about death mechanics in DnD is that when a PC is dropped to 0 hp, if there’s enough damage left over to drop them down to zero from full HP a second time, they just die instantly, no saves. At this point, one sneak attack deals 9d6+4 damage, so you can theoretically get 232 damage in one attack, or, you can flat out kill anything with 116 HP or less with no saves.

The downside to this is you have to call your shot ahead of time. Path to the Grave only lasts one turn, and for one attack. Also, setting all this up needs two actions, so you’ll either need someone to cast haste on you to get it done in one turn or a very understanding party.

19. Rogue 16: Max out your Wisdom with your final ASI. Your perception is absolute, every errant twitch of an enemy’s face on display like a neon billboard. You’re good at seeing things, is the point I’m trying to make. And also really good at medicine, but we’ve already got multiple ways for you to ignore most of the medicine checks you’ll have to make.

20. Rogue 17: At your capstone level, your sneak attack reaches 9d6, and you gain an Eye for Weakness. While you’re using your Insightful Fighting, you can add an extra 3d6 to your sneak attacks at will. You’re now dealing a frankly silly 13d6 per turn, a very thematic amount of damage for a guillotine.

Pros: You can do truly ridiculous amounts of damage with the right support or if the stars align, with enough cutting power behind your guillotine to kill a significant portion of the servants we’ve built so far in a single blow. Even if you don’t hit it out of the park with your Path to the Grave, you’re still doing 13d6 per round. Your super high wisdom also makes you very well suited to fighting creatures that rely on illusions. Finally, you have a small cache of healing abilities that can keep your party on the right side of the afterlife if your main healer’s busy.

Cons: All that damage is really tempting, but also really impractical. You require two turns and a crit to pull off that damage, and odds are an entire level 20 party can do more in that round than you’ll do off one attack. Also, you have emergency healing for your party, but you shouldn’t rely on that to keep them healthy in the first place. Finally, if you’re playing to be canon compliant, you don’t have much in the way of ranged or magical attacks, so unless you get lucky with weapon drops you’ll have to put up with a lot of resistance at high levels.

Next up: The guy JP just realized is actually kind of hot.

#Fate Grand Order #fgo #dnd 5e #Charles-Henri Sanson #Fate and Phantasms

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raymondebidochonlifechoices · 4 years

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I hope I'm not being too awkward when I ask (and feel free to ignore this): if you had full creative control of the show, how would you run season 5? You can pick and choose whatever leaks you want to include.

Not awkward at all! Thank you for the ask, @arsenicpanda! This was quite unexpected in the best of ways!

It took me a while to come up with an answer, because as much as I like to speculate, my experience of Riverdale has always been that of the passive viewer: I consume the show as is. I watch. I applaud or I whine. There’s usually quite a bit of eye rolling. I also read A LOT of fanfiction. The latter experience serves different purposes than watching the show and none of those purposes are a canon fix-it. In terms of TV-watching, the product is what it is and I watch it purely for entertainment and relaxation. I do not engage creatively with Riverdale, although I’m both critical of the show and VERY appreciative of the incredible creators in our fandom. So what would I do in season 5?? I’ll try to combine some of the things I’d like to see with some of the things I think we’ll get. Here goes nothing!

1. Wouldn’t it be nice if, for once, a member of the Coopers weren’t after Betty? Yes, I’m talking to you Chick 2.0 Charles. However, I absolutely love @sullypants’ hypnotism theory, which explains all the unpleasantness of 4x17-4x18, while being bonkers enough to be perfectly plausible for Riverdale. Canon accepted!

2. My head canon is that Jughead and Betty do not break up before, during or after college. Even if actual long distance (not the 15’ Stonewall Express variety one) puts a strain on their relationship, seven years is a long time not to work through their issues, especially if bughead is supposed to be endgame (the same, incidentally, applies to post-time barchie). However, I’ll go with the break up for this one.

3. Jughead publishes his book. It’s about Stonewall and it’s called Stone-cold. That’s peak canon!writer!Jughead right there. Bret reads Jughead’s book and writes explicit fanfiction about it in prison.

4. Jughead does have writer’s block but he is not an alcoholic. WTF, Riverdale? He’s also in debt because he has to pay student loans and has used the advance money for his second book to foot JB’s college tuition. Realistically, Betty should be in greater debt (4 years in Yale cost like 300k?!), but for some reason she’s not.

5. Polly and the twin tweens move in casa Cooper-Jones. Jellybean moves out the next day. I’m afraid we won’t hear of her again, because Trinity Likins is too young. WTF: I googled her and she’s 18?! Revision: JB never moves out and has a lot of scenes with Jughead and Betty. We never hear of FP again. He’s probably gone to the place Sierra McCoy is.

6. Hiram has one of the main storylines. Veronica guest stars. Hermione has had enough and joins FP and Sierra.

7. Betty goes back to Riverdale when Alice calls with news of Polly’s disappearance, then asks the FBI to create a post for her there. Archie, also back in Riverdale, wants to helpTM Betty. He goes behind her back and convinces Betty’s supervisor to be her partner while in Riverdale. For some reason, they have to fake date. Betty is furious. While on a “date” at Pop’s, Jughead comes in. He’s investigating Pop Tate’s disappearance. Archie is all about selling the fake dating. Betty is not. Jughead is … not sure about things. Veronica and her s1xep1 black cape make an appearance. Core four engage in 10 minutes of uninterrupted cringe.

8. Archie’s earnestTM interventions distract Betty from figuring out things or put her in danger. Betty Cooper seethes at the mere mention of Archie’s name. Archie is oblivious to the bughead UST and tries to interact as much as possible with his old pall Jughead. Jughead does not appreciate. Veronica catches up with what’s really going on one episode in. B and V become best friends again because the show is already juggling 10 different plots at once and ain’t nobody has time for characterisation and shit. Ronnie sees Archie’s glistening abs and charity work and remembers that Chad hasn’t hit the gym for 6 months and is also a very shifty businessman who works with daddykins.

9. At this point I would greatly appreciate it if feminist!icon!Veronica gets a storyline that passes the Bechdel test even for 1 episode. Unfortunately I doubt it. Her vendetta with Hiram has lasted so long, that I literally have no idea what would constitute a good storyline for her?

10. Betty gets shot (we’re overdue one of the girls having a near-death moment). Preferably trying to protect Jughead. Preferably Archie is there too but she doesn’t give a shit, as Jughead is always her only choice. Preferably it’s Archie’s fault they’re in this situation in the first place. But it’s ok, because his heart was in the right place (i.e. on the left side of his sternum). Give me the killer telling Betty she has to decide whom to save. Give me slow motion Betty tackling Jughead. I’d like Archie to chase the killer (who escapes) while Jughead tries to tend to Betty’s wound while calling an ambulance. Director’s note: bloody hands are slippery on the i-phone screen. Preferably nervous over-talkative Archie vs mute Jughead in the hospital. Veronica consoles Archie, because her independent storyline was wrapped up in the previous episode. Give me Jughead crying while hugging Betty Cooper’s clothes in her closet. Archie finally admits he and Betty are not dating and that she can’t stand him.

11. Betty gets a scar but otherwise heals admirably. In fact she’s out of bed chasing the Mothman down the Lonely Highway by the next episode.

12. Other things happen, involving other characters. I don’t know. I’d really like to see Reggie in an odd friendship/partnership with Jughead (unfortunately doubtful). Also: if Cheryl isn’t Dr Curdle Jr’s successor what is even the point?

Note: Ever since reading this incredible fic by @darknessaroundus, I desperately want bughead’s final scene in the show to be Betty and Jughead breaking and entering with their baby in a sling.

#asks #arsenicpanda #what a great question!#head canons for season 5

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simptasia · 4 years

Text

neurodivergence in abc’s lost

i’m gonna be listing off and talking about the canon neurodivergent characters in lost. i won’t be adding characters that i personally headcanon as neurodivergent in some way, what i’m writing here is elaboration upon what has been given to me by the show. please note that none of these people’s conditions or disorders were named in the show, so such diagnoses being named here are me taking that extra step based upon their symptoms

first of all i wanna point out that based on what i’ve seen the show, that the island’s healing powers applies to conditions inflicted upon the mind, not ones inherent to the mind. thats why daniel’s brain damage heals, but people like hurley and locke will always continue to have depression

hugo “hurley” reyes

schizophrenia and depression

our most prominently featured mentally ill character. it might seem bold to label him with schizophrenia when it’s never said that that’s what he has. but during his time on lost, he displays many of the symptoms: paranoia, pathological self loathing, delusions and hallucinations. now, it’s a fictionalized depiction of schizophrenia and that’s probably not even what the writers had in mind but it’s none the less a really, really good and respectful portrayal of it

it would take too long to list off all the times when hurley displays paranoia (heck, it’s easy not to notice how much its a part of his character) and self loathing. delusions? the situations regarding the numbers and his bad luck (canon never ever Proves what hurley believes to be true regarding that stuff)

they did an episode dedicated to hurley having hallucinations. a man named dave who drives him to self destructive behaviour, self hatred and attempted suicide. fun fact: when people with schizophrenia in real life have hallucinations, they tend towards just auditory. hurley gets visual as well as per Rule Of Drama. this is not a bad thing, just a narrative tool

(steering slightly into headcanon for a bit here but i personally ignore the dharma made Hurley Bird they revealed in the epilogue and just take hurley hearing that bird say his name as an auditory hallucination. for two reasons: one, hurley hearing/seeing things that don’t exist is already consistent with his mental state. and two, that bird literally, genuinely did not fucking say hurley)

extra notes

to be clear, in case there's confusion, hurley really does have magical powers. he can talk to dead people. that isn’t a delusion or hallucination. you can understand how confusing and distressing this must be for hurley

he's had a compulsive eating disorder since he was ten due to the pain of his father abandoning him. his struggle with this is well documented

at several points during the show he’s shown to have trouble spelling. he especially confuses his “y(s)” and “ies”. it’s not clear if this is due to poor education or a learning issue. or both, really. it’s safe to assume with him being poor, mexican and mentally ill, that school wasn’t easy for hurley

hurley has unjustifiably lived at mental health institutions on at least two occasions (the first time was against his will, second was volunteer)

john locke

depression

locke suffers from severe self esteem issues, and i know most lost characters do, but i mean to the point of irrational and destructive behaviour. he has an obsession with being deemed special in order to justify his existence. he also suffers jarring mood swings. (he can switch from calm and jovial to angry and defensive at the drop of a hat). when he was wheelchair bound, this threw him into a depression. when he failed to convince anybody to come back to the island, he attempted suicide. he would have gone thru with it too. he will go to extremes to make sure things stay the way he wants them to (killing an innocent woman so they can stay on the island, tying up and drugging boone so he won’t tell anybody about the hatch), and will fall into despair if he fails

also note that the things im saying about locke are not a comment on people with depression. i don’t think all depressed people kill and drug people. those were statements on locke’s character that i believe are a part of his mental state. my point is: he’s emotionally unstable and he tried to kill himself. and i think his extreme need for validation (from people and the universe in general) is especially concerning

to me, this all says to me that locke has clinical depression

locke isn’t as easy as the other people on this list to classify as Canon Neurodivergent but at least to me, i think it’s very obvious. like i feel bad being so vague but like, basically, watch any locke episode

daniel faraday

acquired brain damage, severe memory degradation as well as other neurodivergent behaviours (i’ll go into it)

he’s played by jeremy davies. enough said

okay, jokes aside. at some point in the past daniel and his assistant theresa were involved in some vaguely referred to time based experiments. while she was catatonicized, the accident left daniel severely brain damaged (also daniel spent years doing radioactive experiments without head protection, which would not have helped and indeed that is foreshadowing of this whole debacle)

apparently this left him in a state where he can no longer take care of himself, having been assigned a carer. his most outstanding symptom is that his ability to process short AND long term memory has been impaired

short term: he’s shown to have issues retaining memories from day to day. he wasn’t sure if he had met charles widmore already (he hadn’t). charles lays some exposition on him and when daniel asks why he’s telling him this, charles says, with sureness, that “because by tomorrow you won’t remember this”. counting on that to be an absolute fact seems silly to me but that does seem to the case. again, Rule Of Drama is in play here

long term: he can no longer access memories he formed many years ago, famously the memories he formed with desmond in 1996. all in all, this condition is highly plot convenient. can’t argue with results, really

no, i can keep going, i got more, this is daniel fucking faraday we’re talking about: his ability to remember 3 playing cards has been impaired (note that this is a skill most 4 year olds master), he forgot the secret code the science team were all taught and when he introduces himself to jack there is a long pause, in hindsight implying that daniel forgot his own name

like real life memory conditions, theres varying level to how much he does and doesn’t remember. he’s thankfully not in a 50 first dates situation and doesn’t forget everything day to day. clearly he remembers people if they’re around enough, like during his time on the boat. charlotte, miles, frank, naomi...

upon landing on the island, his memory slowly gets better (considering his condition beforehand, the fact that nobody comments on this is staggering)

when dan is fully healed? i could not say, i could theorize, but such things are nebulous. but still, the times we see dan without his brain damage, he still behaves like a neurodivergent person. just not like he was when he was brain damaged. he stims near constantly, has a tendency to repeat names and words (echolalia) and it’s shown that dan compulsively counts in his head. he counted up to 864 beats, if i remember correctly, which is about 10 minutes of counting in his head. by no stretch of the imagination is that neurotypical behaviour

(im not trying to sound defensive. and i don’t think anybody, anywhere, is arguing that daniel faraday is a neurotypical. unfathomable)

going into headcanon territory again, his ND traits, when not brain damaged, say to me that he’s autistic and/or has OCD and possibly anxiety. thats all theorizing on my part tho. but the fact of the matter is, damage or no, he’s neurodivergent

notes

his apparent need for tactile sensory input is legendary in the lost fandom. in layman’s terms: him pet pet. not just people but objects too. humans, overall, tend to touch things to process input better. many ND people do it more, and it seems daniel is a case of that (i am not making a solid statement on jeremy davies’ neuro state. that’s his business)

he shows an inability to properly process grief

he also shows shocking indifference to his own safety, resulting in reckless behaviour. how much of this is a result of his mental state or his upbringing is up for debate. i think it’s a combo of both

without his brain damage, he appears to have an eidetic memory

danielle rousseau

trauma induced mental illness

pretty self explanatory. the loss of her expedition, husband and daughter, as well as 16 years of loneliness (on THIS island) has resulted in emotional instability for danielle. she’s prone to paranoia, trust issues, irrational behaviour

she’s just not well. she’s right most of the time but she’s not well

libby smith

indeterminate mental state

libby was institutionalized (the same place hurley was sent to) and placed on medication (which seemed like sedatives to me, based on her expressions). in the show it’s not what clear what put her there, but having just done some research, i’ve discovered that Word Of God says that libby became mentally unstable after the death of her husband dave smith. so this is probably another case of trauma induced mental illness. she must have had a pretty extreme episode to cause her to be sent to a place like that. something to think about

but alas, it’s libby, so not much info. moving on

benjamin linus

anti social behaviour disorder (is my best guess)

oof. depictions of mental illness with characters who are immoral are depictions of mental illness nonetheless. i feel almost silly saying this but: ben is not... okay

ben displays issues (at best) with empathy, compassion and morality. how much he cares about other people is highly debatable but one thing that's certain is that he does genuinely love his daughter. everybody else is ????

but the loving alex thing rules out him being a sociopath or having narcissistic personality disorder. and it is genuine because when he loses it with grief, it’s not a performance, because the only audience is us...

he’s a compulsive liar, lying even when it doesn’t benefit him. lying just because. ben is highly unpredictable, which isn’t inherently a neurodivergent thing, but when a person goes from a calm discussion to strangling somebody, all roads point to Uh Oh (i don’t know the technical terms for Uh Oh). many of his outward emotions are performed (the difference between his fake smiles and few real smiles is noticeable). he’s manipulative, he treats people like objects for his benefit/plans, he’s self absorbed, he has zero issues with murder unless it’s a child. he does have some moral standards. but overall, uh, [just gestures at ben]

also ben is repeatedly offended when other people don’t trust him, which is HILARIOUS, but also shows a cognitive dissonance on his part

hmm i need more here, im gonna break out the big guns

that’s some basic info there and doesn’t that line up with ben?

the article goes on to say that people with this can put on superficial charm. that is, behave friendly and “normal” when they have to. which ben is shown to be able to do

and this

“Serious problems with interpersonal relationships are often seen in those with the disorder. Attachments and emotional bonds are weak, and interpersonal relationships often revolve around the manipulation, exploitation, and abuse of others.”

reminds me of his situation with juliet. and locke. and his “friendships” in general

i snipped the wikipedia article for this because unlike the rest i felt,,, underequipped to talk about this sort of thing

ben being mentally unwell is clear enough in canon and i think this disorder is what lines up best with it. please note that ben is capable of change and growth (like people in real life who have such issues) and like the show i’m not gonna paint him 100% evil or irredeemable. i’m just saying what’s true

notes

ben says at one point that he doesn’t dream anymore. it’s highly probably that this is a lie, but if it isn’t, well that's not good. it’d mean his brain isn’t entering into REM sleep properly, which can lead to emotional problems

ben doesn’t blink as much as most people do, something michael emerson did on purpose. this can apply to some neurodivergent people

it’s shown that he was quite nonverbal as a kid. in the flashbacks in “man behind the curtain” little ben barely speaks

honourable mentions

pretty much all the survivors suffer from PTSD due the trauma of the crash

a great deal of the characters suffer from PTSD from trauma in general due to their awful lifes. like, abusive parents, war, loss of loved ones, etc

and i must note that ben, daniel and locke suffering from parental abuse, ranging from emotional to physical, is something to factor into their cases

claire, similar to danielle, also suffered trauma induced mental illness due to the loss of her baby and feeling like she was abandoned

sayid is depicted as dead inside during season 6 due to The Sickness, so thats like a magical form of depression. and one could argue that he already had regular depression beforehand

boone joked about shannon having bulimia. (whether or not it’s true, boone is an asshole) if it’s true, shannon has an eating disorder, which is considered a form of mental illness. espech one so self image based

self harm

self harm is not an inherent part of mental illness but such concepts are often linked so i felt i should mention some of these, it’ll be quick

hurley’s aforementioned eating disorder

charlie takes heroin as a form of self harm (that isn’t a theory on my part, it’s clear as day that charlie started taking it because his sense of self worth was so low that the drugs felt like the only option)

locke, hurley, (both as mentioned above), jack, desmond, michael and richard have all attempted/nearly commited suicide

so what can we conclude from this? well that's up to you, really. that i love lost a fuck ton? that the actors and writing in lost is amazing? that all the neurodivergent based depth got saved for the boys? yeah

but i wanna conclude with this: a part of what makes lost really special to me is that these people i’ve talked out here? they’ve suffered, and oh boy it was tasty suffering, but all of them, yes even libby, were more than suffering

these people have nuance. one way or another, these people (to varying degrees) were happy at times. silly. funny. angry. opinionated. they loved. they were loved. they lived and breathed as human beings. that means a lot to me

lost is a story of broken people given a second chance. take that as you will

thank you for your time

#lost #charthann #missinglost #(i don't wanna lose this so i tagged you guys)#i've made a list like this before but i wanna go into detail #and before i knew it i made an incredible essay #lost headcanons #most of this is based on canon but as i said there is extrapolation at play #and i mention some headcanons along the way when i felt it was needed #gosh this became a whole Thing #i hope y'all enjoy it!#and this isn't counting ppl i headcanon as ND #like jack being autistic or charlie having HPD #i could go into that too

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dietgaymags · 4 years

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A definitive ranking of DWTS Season 29′s celebrities thus far

So I'm obsessed with Dancing with the Stars as much as the next guy. I’ve seen every season since number 11, when I was like 9 years old. But I dropped off a few seasons ago, disappointed that they really had the nerve to put the legend Lindsey Stirling on the same season as the other legend Jordan Fisher. That was not fair to anyone, because Lindsey would have wiped the floor in literally any other season.

But Season 29′s cast was released and I got excited again. About 80% of these names I was not only familiar with, but were people I enjoyed for some reason or another. Skai Jackson, Nelly, Johnny Weir, AJ McLean, Nev Schulman, Carole Baskin, Justina Machado, Monica Aldama, and the list just goes on. They really said “we need to get young people back into the show.” And they did. I was hooked. And though Len is gone and Carrie Ann is going some sort of which way with her votes (we don’t talk about it), I’ve watched every episode with bright eyes and so much excitement. We have some good dancers this season. And some bad ones. But mostly good. So here’s my definitive ranking of this season’s stars (and, by extension, pros). And if you don’t agree, that’s fine. I am simply a nineteen-year-old girl who likes to watch ballroom dancing.

NUMBER 15: CAROLE MF BASKIN AND PASHA PASHKOV

Besides the moral obligations to not allow a murderer to appear on the show, I think DWTS did a good job trying to rope people in by bringing her on. When the cast list was released, my jaw dropped because I knew she was going home first and I wanted to be there to see it.

And somehow, she did not... go home first? She made it another episode? While I’m sure it was a ploy to keep people interested in the show so they didn’t watch the premiere and drop off, Carole Baskin is sure to go down in DWTS history as one of the worst competitors. Her highest score was a 16, sure, but her lowest was an 11. We’re treading Master P territory. And I had a full traumatic episode watching her in a lion-esque unitard. Fuck, I needed to bleach every orifice on my body. (Overall Rating: 1 dead husband/10)

NUMBER 14: CHARLES OAKLEY & EMMA SLATER

You cannot tell me this man isn’t having the most fun he’s had in a minute. He was another easy-to-spot early elimination, but I actually enjoyed watching him to some degree. Emma danced circles around him, but you could really tell he was trying his damnedest and I appreciate it. And his performances didn’t strike cold, dead fear into my heart like other people.

He also got the same average score as Carole over the first two episodes, but one of those was NOT an 11. Slightly better, imo, just a little less improvement than Carole---which is why Derek booted him in the first place. (Overall rating: 1.5 left feet/10)

NUMBER 13: JESSE METCALFE AND SHARNA BURGESS

Did they---did they ever dance? I literally don’t remember anything other than that Newsies dance, which I have to say I particularly enjoyed. It might be because I like Newsies. It might be because Sharna’s hair is gorgeous this season. I don’t know, but it probably wasn’t because of Jesse’s dancing.

That’s literally all I have to say. (Overall rating: 2 confused braincells/10)

NUMBER 12: CHRISHELL STAUSE AND GLEB SAVCHENKO

WOAH, she’s coming in with the hot takes! Chrishell hasn’t even been eliminated yet! And look, it’s not even Chrishell’s fault that she’s so low on the list. It really isn’t. She’s been performing, well, okay thus far. Not great, considering her highest score was a 26 on a Paso double where she literally did not even dance (look, I’m not a judge, but I would’ve given it a 21 MAYBE). She’s trying, and she seems to be really enjoying it; I absolutely adore her energy. But most of the issue here is attributed to her partner, Gleb.

His choreography is just... I don’t know... lazy. He throws himself around like a god among men and Chrishell is just there. I don’t really appreciate the pros who prefer to dance over their partners instead of with them. I don’t understand why he thinks this method will get him a mirrorball, but it’s just not gonna happen. (Overall rating: 2 measures of actual dancing/10)

NUMBER 11: ANNE HECHE AND KEO MOTSEPE

Look how happy they look! No, but seriously, they didn’t do that bad. They just had a bad week. Week 2, they had a higher average score than SIX other couples on the show, and they left with a score of 21. I legitimately think that their Disney night dance was underscored. Sure, it wasn’t wonderful, but it didn’t deserve a fifteen.

I know they had no chance to win the mirrorball, but Keo has a history of being stuck with less-than-stellar partners. Anne was not a bad match; they just had bad luck and better competition. I did love watching them, though. And Keo is beautiful, but need I say more? (Overall rating: 3.5 early elims/10)

NUMBER 10: VERNON DAVIS AND PETA MURGATROYD CHMERKOVSKIY

I honestly haven’t enjoyed Peta’s choreography since Season 22, when she and Nyle DiMarco ate up the dance floor and left not a single crumb. She and Peta were another pair where I was like, “Wait, who got eliminated? They’re still here?” The judges were right in saying Vernon had a lot of energy on stage, and look at him here. He’s big cheesin’.

They kind of existed for me is all I have to say. The only reason they’re ranked higher than Anne and Keo is because their average score was just overall better. They never scored extremely well, with their highest score being a 22, but they never did too horribly either. They were meh. (Overall rating: 4 touchdowns/10)

NUMBER 9: NELLY AND DANIELLA KARAGACH

Another hot take? Yes. I can never tell whether or not Nelly enjoys being here until he actually dances. During rehearsal, confessionals, critiques, he always looks a little embarrassed or nervous? I’m not sure. But just like Vernon and Peta, all of their dances have been kind of meh.

That’s not to put Daniella down in any sense. It’s her first season as a pro, and her abilities definitely shine through in her performance. But like I said about Gleb earlier, she has a tendency to dance over Nelly at times (see: the Freddy Krueger dance from last week). I don’t see Nelly living up to the standards the judges say he’s lived up to thus far, but that might just be my personal opinion. (Overall rating: 5 heeled sneakers/10)

NUMBER 8: MONICA ALDAMA AND VALENTIN CHMERKOVSKIY

Another surprisingly hot take. I actually really enjoyed each of Monica’s dances this season, especially since she’s someone with essentially zero dance experience. I’m still very pissy that the Ratched dance sent her home---it was one of my favorite dances of the night, and I have no clue why she only got a 22 for it (especially when Chrishell and Gleb got a 26).

Val has always been someone on the show who can take a non-dancer and genuinely make them better. This is the case with Monica. We saw so much improvement with her over the weeks. We’re getting to the part of the list where I love all of the dancers. Still, Monica and Jeannie should not have been the bottom 2 last week, but in the case between the two, it’s right that Monica was eliminated. Still, I would have loved to see her next week. (Overall rating: 6 cheer pyramids/10)

NUMBER 7: SKAI JACKSON AND ALAN BERSTEN

Sure, she got the first 10 of the season. Sure, the Chucky dance was kind of spectacular. But she’s also had the lowest score for two out of seven weeks so far. She has yet to be in the bottom, but I’m sure that’s the fans working for her. I can’t deny her talent on the dance floor, but I would argue that objectively, Skai has made the most mistakes out of everyone this season.

She’s been remarkably inconsistent over the course of the season, but when she’s good, she’s really, really good. She was my pick to win when the cast was released, but now I don’t see that happening unless the fans really come to vote on her, which I think they will. But there is no excuse for an 18 on Week 6. She can do better. I know she can. But until then, she stays in the middle of my list. (Overall rating: 6 Ms. Kiplings/10)

NUMBER 6: JEANNIE MAI AND BRANDON ARMSTRONG

To be completely honest, I had Jeannie Mai pegged as an early elimination from Week 1. But she and Brandon continue to astound me as a team. I love every single one of their dances, sad that they’ve been consistently underscored. That Hannibal Lecter paso was stunning, and the Up dance on Disney night made me tear up a little.

They’re not higher for the sole reason that others are just better. Not because I don’t love what they put out on the stage every week, but Jeannie just isn’t the strongest technically. Until they get eliminated, though, I’ll be watching with bated breath. (Overall rating: 7 hole-in-ones/10)

NUMBER 5: KAITLYN BRISTOWE AND ARTEM CHIGVENTSEV

Do I just not see what everyone else is seeing when they’re obsessing over Kaitlyn Bristowe? I mean, everything she’s done so far has been wonderful, but she’s not my favorite. Technically, it’s on point 85% of the time. and she has the second-highest point total so far in the competition, but she has yet to do a dance where I step back and think, “Wow.” That’s what puts her behind the top four.

I did not like the Cruella DeVille paso doble at all last week, but I think that was attributed to the song choice more than anything else. I have yet to be taken aback by Kaitlyn and Artem, but their work is undeniably, objectively some of the best on the show. (Overall rating: 7 roses/10)

NUMBER 4: AJ MCLEAN AND CHERYL BURKE

Now we’re at the spot on the list where if any of these guys win the mirrorball, I will be satisfied. Something about AJ is simply magnetic. He has such a kind disposition and wonderful talent on the dance floor, it’s so hard not to love him. His samba is one of my favorite dances on this season so far, and I’m genuinely concerned that he’s been underscored this whole time.

Cheryl is a mf VETERAN at this, too. She knows how to teach this man to destroy a dance floor. The energy he brings, the life he brings, the nasty footwork that he DEMOLISHES. I did not expect to love AJ as much as I do. In my opinion, the most improvement we’ve seen in a star this season. (Overall: 8.5 backstreets/10)

NUMBER 3: JUSTINA MACHADO AND SASHA FARBER

Justina is living proof that you don’t have to be as big around as my pinky finger to do ballroom dancing well. She’s easily the best female star this season, and Sasha has accentuated her talents on the dance floor without overpowering her, which I enjoy. On top of that, she looks so happy to be here, which translates heavily into her dancing.

I will say, not every dance from her has been my favorite, but there hasn’t been a single dance out of her that I haven’t liked. Her presence is so powerful and destructive that everyone needs to watch their backs. Remember, this is a sitcom mom, not a professional dancer. (Overall rating: 8.5 days at a time/10)

NUMBER 2: JOHNNY WEIR AND BRITT STEWART

I am a firm believer that Johnny and Britt should have gotten a perfect 30 on their contemporary back in Week 5. I am also a firm believer that they should have gotten a perfect 30 on their Viennese waltz last week. I am consistently blown away by Britt’s choreography every single week, and their chemistry as a pair is unlike anyone I’ve seen in the show’s history.

What I like about them so much is how much of a team they are. That really makes so much difference out on the dance floor. Their grace and style is completely unmatched, and as a first season pro, Britt is destroying some of the pros who have been here for years... Gleb. I can’t wait to see their performances every single week, and I hope they continue to dance together somehow even after the show is over. (Overall rating: 9.9 triple axels/10)

NUMBER 1: NEV SCHULMAN AND JENNA JOHNSON CHMERKOVSKIY

Hey, quick question: did you expect this? Because I definitely didn’t. Catfish has always been my guilty pleasure show to watch when I’m bored and lonely, and Nev has always been this super dorky guy, so when they announced the cast list, I was like “Oh, this is gonna be funny as hell.” Because it could only go one of two ways: 1) Nev fumbles around like a dork and goes home pretty early, or 2) he wins the mirrorball.

APPARENTLY it’s the latter. Nev surprised me, and I think everyone, with his natural talent, and Jenna is heavily playing off that in her choreography. She’s been giving him very difficult, technical work and he’s has continued to astound. With the first 30 of the season rightfully deserved, Nev is a force to be reckoned with. Like I’ve said earlier, some of the pros like to dance over their partners to hide their weaknesses. I would go so far as to argue Jenna lets him dance over her. Together, they’re an absolute wildfire, and if they continue at this pace, consider the competition already won. (Overall rating: 10 chest hairs/10)

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anika-ann · 4 years

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Heart Too Cold, but Friends of Gold - Pt.10

Alone Is What I Have

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader Word count: 2200

Summary: Avenger!reader AU. Part 2 of Melting Hearts series. Part 1 HERE.

Snowflake is hiding. And she’s good at it. Also, reportes suck (at least in this story and chapter)

Warnings: swearing, light angst,… eh

Story Masterlist

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Alone is what I have, alone protects me. (BBC’s Sherlock Holmes) …And what more, alone protects the people I care about the most.

Prague was an interesting city. You supposed it was not too much different from other European cities, the old buildings and a breath of history on every other corner meeting the modern steel and technology of today, but there was just some kind of an aura that got to you. The system of public transportation had been a bit confusing at first, but allowed countless different ways of getting where you needed, which also meant many different escape routes – you still were a pragmatic. And you liked it here.

What you not necessarily liked, but definitely appreciated for its convenience, was the anonymity and the nature of Czech people – it took them a lot of time to warm up to someone, no matter how warm-hearted they could become once they let someone in.

In the streets of Prague, you could easily recognize Praguer from a foreigner; unlike the foreigners, the habitants of Czech capital had developed an amazing ability of looking around and not seeing. They would meet the same person for the fourth time in the past hours and they simply wouldn’t notice. They were having their eyes for nothing; it always reminded you of Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen who was the exact opposite.

Matt, despite not being able to use his eyes anymore, saw more than anyone. You had thought of contacting him many times, just to have some familiarity in your new world where friendship or any kind of a relationship was a luxury you couldn’t afford, but you always backed out. You were too scared of him getting in touch with the Avengers’ team. Not to mention his lawyer persona seemed busy enough even without your load of crap – you had looked him up few times, rather rarely and always within walking distance from the faculty of law of Charles University of Prague, so you wouldn’t raise suspicion about yourself. After all, a random person connected to public wi-fi taking interest in a very specific lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen could be much of a hint; if the random person was a law student though… you thought it was relatively safe.

So you only had acquaintances, people you met from time to time, but never for their friendship – they were more of business partners, really. You headed to a meeting to a café which one of ‘your’ people, Eva, frequented rather often and liked to hang out in.

You found a boot in the back. You pulled out your laptop and started it, automatically checking on your surrounding once more; it was a terrible and necessary habit of a person who was on the run. Since you were almost 15 minutes early, you decided to catch up with the world (read the Avengers) on free wi-fi.

The apartment you lived in had no internet connection and once again, you needed the anonymity; if people connecting in a café checked the news site and paid a lot of attention to news of New York City and the Avengers, no one could question it – and it wouldn’t pop out at Tony’s radar, because no one could tell the search was coming from one particular person repeatedly.

When you opened the news site, your heart stopped. Your breath froze on your lips, your throat getting impossibly tight, your vision immediately blurring. You squinted at the screen so you could re-read the headline.

‘Did our Captain die for nothing?’

You could feel the optical mouse crying under your palm as the frost covered it, but you couldn’t make yourself to care.

Your eyes were roaming around the article, desperately finding a prove of you being wrong.

Luckily, you were.

Seventy years ago, Steven Grant Rogers, a man we know as Captain America, laid down his life to save countless others. The serum-powered soldier’s mission was to take down HYDRA, Nazi’s science division, and all history books claim that he and his Howling Commandos achieved that. Yet, the events of past days are telling us a different story. Captain America and other S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives were fighting the very same organization everyone believed to be defeated. While in reality, HYDRA had been growing in their own rows.

The reporter went on, uncovering an enormous intel leak from S.H.I.E.L.D. following the discovery of HYDRA moles inside of the government agency, but there was no other word on Steve. You choose to believe he was alive – because they would sure as hell ‘mention’ if he wasn’t –, finally allowing yourself to breathe in.

You decided you hated reporters and their shocking headlines that were supposed to bait more readers. You almost had a fucking heart-attack.

Now, you had to believe Steve was alright. In addition, you learned he had found a new ally known as Falcon – a man with advanced technology in a form of fucking wings. Also, Natasha had been by his side.

Reading into details of the article – and multiple others – you were stressing over your parents again. Fury had told you there was no record of their current position in S.H.I.E.L.D. files, something he had taken care of when finding out there had been the leak about your identity in the first place. In theory, they should be safe – but all you had was hope.

There was a tiny voice in the back of your head, luring you back to US, back to the Avengers, back to Steve. Once again, the theory was he should be safer now – you believed now that Michaels was part of HYDRA, the organization he had been talking about to scare you off being nothing else but the group finding its origins in the thirties – yet, you were too scared to take that risk. If HYDRA had handled to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and figure out your identity, where was the insurance of some other terrorist group not being able to do the same? As convenient as it would be, Michaels hadn’t had to be part of HYDRA at all.

You couldn’t go back.

Not to mention you didn’t believe your family of choice would want you back and you didn’t think you could handle the rejection. Your heart ached at the image of Steve’s cold eyes, pushing you away. You dreamed of it sometimes, of you returning and him greeting you flatly, advising you to come back where you had come from; sometimes, he welcomed you with the warmest smile and ‘I missed you so much’ on his lips before letting them get familiar with yours again.

But in the cold reality, you knew your return was way too risky – for Steve and for your heart as well.

You focused on the lines in front of you, letting each of them get carved into your brain. You learned about Steve being in a hospital, fortunately with his life no longer hanging on a thread. You learned that S.H.I.E.LD. stopped existing, leaving a whole lot of uncovered secrets behind, including the last possible trace of you in Provence – you had left the area months ago after you couldn’t resist and had saved a little girl from getting hit by a car, sadly in a way that draw too many prying eyes. You had had to change the settings of your mask and run after that stunt.

That was how you had found yourself in Prague, building a completely new life once again. You were an English teacher now, a private one, individuals or little groups seeking you out for improving their conversation skills. It was ridiculous how much money people were willing to pay for it – luckily for you. It meant a very flexible schedule and not necessarily meeting the same people regularly, which was relatively safe.

“Brigit!” a voice called out and you jumped in your seat, realizing the woman was addressing you. Damn the fake names!

You looked up with a hasty smile, meeting Eva’s amused expression.

“Spaced a little, aren’t you?”

“Spaced out,” you corrected her automatically and she gave you a look that told you she was hundred percent done with you. You grinned in return. “Sorry. Just… interesting article. Let’s order some caffeine before we start?”

“Yes, please. I was working on my thesis for like… well, very long. I barely slept. I need caffeine.”

Your smile turned sympathetic. Late nights you knew too well despite never being a college student. Eva was majoring in biology on top of that, trying to improve her English so she could apply for her dream job, so you couldn’t even imagine the pain.

“You know what? I’m paying today.”

The woman honestly looked as if she wanted to kiss you on spot. Which was kinda ironic, considering how much money she paid you and how little the coffee cost in comparison, but you weren’t about to mention that.

“I’m choosing the most expensive one.”

“I’m sure you are.”

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Life went on. Days seemed too long, so you had been adding new students to your flock to keep yourself busy with no time for gloomy thoughts. But the truth was, you were just terribly lonely.

You missed your parents.

You missed your team.

You missed Steve.

And as crazy as it sounded, you missed the insane world of avenging, because the people whose absence was killing you had been a part of that world. Not even starting on the rewarding feeling that would come when managing to save a life.

It was one of those days when you were drowning in loneliness when you learned about yet another adventure the team had been through – maybe it was why the news of Sokovia hit you so hard.

An artificial intelligence trying to take on the world with an army of super-bots under his command and starting with… sending a part of the country literally flying in the air. It ended with that, only thanks to the Avengers and the word was that three more enhanced individuals were seen on the scene, one of them laying down his life.

Three more enhanced. Had the world gone completely crazy? And the one who had died….

The urge to come back, maybe be forgiven, maybe even not being afraid for Steve’s life with what could be new faces on the team… it was stronger than ever. Your heart ached, the homesickness squeezing your lungs and not allowing you to breathe in properly.

You left yet another café in hurry, shooting Petr, the student you were supposed to meet, a quick apology that you were feeling very sick. You apologized for the extremely short notice. He was almost too understanding, but you were grateful that you could just curl up in a ball on your bed and cry for an hour. It cost you all of your strength not to give in to the calling of your powers and start a snowstorm. It would make you weak and you would be found. You kinda wanted to be weak and found, hopefully by your friends.

You didn’t take the risk.

The next day, you woke up with new determination to pick up as many new students as you could to wear yourself down to a bone. For the two following weeks, you were desperate to search for some new faces.

With Murphy’s luck, it seemed like too many of yours no longer needed your services and no newbies popped up. It was one of the reasons why you jumped after the opportunity; when Eva mentioned she had this Russian friend who had moved to Prague very recently and seemed so excited about the lessons Eva was still attending, you immediately said yes to a meeting set in an only three days’ notice.

You should have known better.

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The woman – Inna, as you learned from Eva’s narration – came to the café with her friend; you had said it would be easier for her to be accompanied instead of Eva taking a picture of you and letting her find you on her own. The true reason behind your actions had been simple – you didn’t want anyone to have your picture, even when wearing the S.H.I.E.L.D. mask.

So Eva entered the Starbucks of your choice with a pretty blonde by her side and gave you a cheerful wave as she spotted you by the stairs; you waited for the blonde to order, while Eva disappeared again to run some errands since she was in the centre of the town.

You guided Inna to a table in a less busy corner of the otherwise crowded room upstairs and you both set your drinks down before shaking hands.

“I’m Brigit. It’s very nice to meet you!” you tried out, previously learning from Eva that Inna’s level of English was pretty good.

The woman, who had seemed rather nervous before, relaxed as she accepted your hand, her shoulders losing the tension in them.

“The pleasure is all mine. I heard a lot about you.”

You were almost taken aback by her voice, heavy with eastern accent; despite the fact you knew where she came from, you expected the accent being less thick. But maybe you were just oversensitive.

“Really? Good things I hope?”

The blonde laughed shortly, her face getting younger. It was easier to see how she and Eva could be friends now. “Oh yes, Eva wouldn’t shut up about you! Shall we start?”

“Sure,” you agreed, gesturing towards the chair. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself and then what would you like our sessions to look like?”

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Part 11

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Tags: @mermaidxatxheart, @murdermornings, @elisaa-shelby @ask-hellbent-tweek @cxptain, @kallafrench, @smilexcaptainx @scentedsongrebel, @orions-nebula

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*Very discreetly shoves Czechia into another fic and smiles innocently* I need to use my knowledge, okay? :D

Also, BBC’s Sherlock is full of amazing quotes and I feel like re-watching it when I have the time.

And I’m aware this was a bit of a filler chapter. I’m preparing the ground for the next one, which hopefully will be more eventful ;) (I wonder who that new student might be :D )

#marvel #fanfiction #heart too cold but friends of gold #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x you #captain america x reader #captain america x you #avengers #avenger reader #captain america #steve rogers #captain america imagine #anika ann

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fortunatelyhauntedblackcherry · 4 years

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Walking the tightrope - A "The Greatest Showman" Fanfiction 2

- Who am I kidding, she won't even come. - stated Constantine as he paced up and down in his room, constantly tugging on his shirt's sleevecuffs and twiddling with his rings. Lentini grunted dramatically and layed back on Constantine's bed with a thud. He facepalmed.

- Constantiiiiine stop iiiiittttt! - he sighed and removed his hands from his face. He lifted his head slightly to see his friend. - I'll tell you, again, for the fifth time: she👏invited👏YOU👏out👏on👏a👏date👏. - he sat up, pulled his third leg up to his side and opened up his arms in a questioning way. - Why would she ask you out if she didn't want to go out with you in the first place? - he put his elbow on his third knee and placed his chin in his palm. Constantine stopped in his tracks and pointed at his friend.

- Because... - he started deliberating but couldn't think of a possible explanation. So he just waved Frank off. - You know what, just shut up. - and with that, continued pacing up and down. Frank rolled his eyes.

- Okay, let's approach it from an another perspective. - Constantine stopped and looked at his friend with hands placed on his hips. - Why did you dress up so nicely... - Constantine looked down on himself, slightly adjusting his suit. He wore a red pair of pants, a red frock jacket, a burgundy waistcoat, a white shirt with an embroidered bird skull on each collar, a pair of black, embroidered suspenders and burgundy scotch tie shoes. He didn't wear a caravat, nor a tie; he didn't like the feeling of being tied up... That way. He cleared his throat. He really put on his best suit... - ...painted your eyes with kajal... - he looked sideways. That was true too... - ...fixed your mustache and hair with pomade... - Lentini stood up, grabbed him by the shoulders and twirled him around to face his bodysized mirror. Constantine touched his handlebar mustache. Frank pinched his face jokingly with a small laugh. - ...and poured at least half a bottle of cologne on your body if you don't belive that she'll come? - Constantine clicked his tongue annoyingly.

- I hate you so much. - Lentini shrugged with his hands held up.

- I am literally your best friend! You don't. - Constantine looked into his eyes in the mirror.

- But she's late! - Frank grunted.

- BY 10 GODDAMN MINUTES YOU IDIOT! - the tattoed greek almost shouted something back but was stopped by knocking. They both looked at his door as it opened. Charles was holding the door handle, still dressed in his costume. They didn't change between shows. He had a waggish little smile on his face.

- Knock knock Romeo. Someone's here to see you. - Constantine looked behind the small man's back but saw noone. Charles threw his head back. - Not here here, stupid, she's waiting for you by the backdoor. - he let go of the door and walked up to Constantine who started sweating profusely and bit his lips anxiously. Charles punched his knee jokingly. - Don't make her wait Casanova, or I'll steal her from you, 'cause let me tell ya... That girl is something else. - he immediately looked down at his colleague in terror. God he was nervous about this rendezvous.

- What do you mean?! - Charles shrugged with a shiteating grin in response.

- Oh you'll see. I won't spoil her fun. - Frank crossed his arms before his chest.

- Told you she would come. - Constantine closed his eyes for a second and breathed out to calm himself down.

- Phew. - when he opened his eyes, he looked at his best friend. - Frank, I'm having second thoughts.

- Calm down. Everything's going to be alright. - Constantine huffed, took a huge step, then spinned around to face his friends again.

- Okay... - he adjusted the collar of his shirt. - How do I look?

- Like a prince. - said Frank.

- Woo her, your majesty. - cheered Charles.

- And ask her if she has a sister or not! - said Frank with a laugh. Constantine nodded with a smile, turned around, put his wallet and keys in his pockets and ran off. Lentini just patted Charles's shoulders when he spotted something on Constantine's bedside table. He let out a huge sigh. - He's going to lose his head one day without me. - he grabbed the bouquet up and ran out to the hallway. - CONSTANTINE YOU DUMB FUCK YOU FORGOT HER FLOWERS! - he shouted. Fortunately, it did occur to the tattoed man that he forgot something so he was already on his way back to his room. Lentini gave him the flowers while shaking his head and saying: - Break a leg, brother. - Constantine flashed a mean little smile.

- Can I borrow one from you? - Lentini crossed his arms before his chest and looked angrily at his friend.

- I swear to the Holy Heavens that I'll slap the tattoes off your face. - Constantine shooed him off with a wave of the hand and ran off.

He didn't even reach the backdoor yet when he started hearing the sweet voice that lured him down to the circus ring just a day prior. And now that sweet voice was singing. As Constantine stepped closer and closer to the backdoor, his heart pounded faster and faster. Hazel was humming a lovely song he was sure he already heard somewhere, he just didn't know where. He closed his eyes for a second. Be brave, Constantine, he's just a young lady. He opened his eyes, gripped the flowers tighter and opened the door. You already met her, so you don't have to worry about first impressions. He stepped out into the streets of Manhattan. It was a rather warm evening, and the perfume of flowers filled the air. Wait, flowers? Here? Why would Manhattan smell like...

That was the moment he spotted her. Miss Hazel Munroe stood beside a huge Friesian black horse, petting its neck with a small smile on her face, still humming that lovely tune. Constantine couldn't help but let out a nearly inaudible "wow". But Hazel heard it. When she turned around, Constantine almost dropped the flowers he bought for her. She wore a red dress made from rich indian silk, with hundreds and hundreds of little black arabic style flowers painted on it. The dress twirled around her as she moved, revealing the 4 layers of petticoats she wore beneath her dress. Her tiny waist was hugged around by a pretty, embroidered black belt. The pleated design of her bodice made her cleavage really pop, and her shoulders were left barren as well. Her kind of puffy sleeves went all the way down to her wrists, with sleevecuffs that hugged her tiny wrists tightly. She wore 2 wide and tight golden bracelets wrapped around her sleevecuffs, a couple rings on her hands, all resembling either animals or stars, a beautiful black velvet choker with a golden star medallion on it, and earrings that were made in the shapes of stars and moons. Her long, luscious black locks of naturally wavy hair were half up half down and into the upper part of her hair she braided jasmine flowers. Wow. Constantine gulped. The girl giggled by the awe of her date. The tattooed man felt that this started getting awkward, but he couldn't help but stare. The young lady bit her lower lip and twirled around.

- Do you like it? - she asked in a voice that Constantine could only describe as angelic. It was so delicate and sweet. He couldn't help himself. Screw social norms.

- Do I like it? - he asked in a low voice. He walked up to his date and stopped right before her. He brushed the back of his hand against her caramel skin. Her red lips curled into a naughty little smile as the man stroked her face and inspected every little part of it with a light, loving smile. He smiled even harder when he realised that Hazel also put a good amount of kajal on her eyes, just like him. Thank god she's not that "natural is always better" type. He was way too close to her but Hazel didn't mind at all. Screw social norms. - My eyes never did behold such beauty! - he said, then looked deep into her hazel eyes and brushed his hand over to her chin. He playfully held it between his thumb and index finger. - I am sure you will be the last thing I see before I pass one day, because they say that people see angels before their deaths. And I'm pretty sure I'm standing right before one. - Hazel blushed and looked down at the ground to cover her red cheeks. Constantine let go of her face and pulled the bouquet from behind his back. - Oh, I bought this for you. - Hazel looked up and gasped.

- Dahlias! - her eyes twinkled and she smelled the flowers. - One of my favourites! - she took the flowers from Constantine with a wide smile. - Thank you! - the tattoed man flashed a naughty smile at his date.

- I'd love to spoil my date as much as I can. - Hazel batted her eyelashes innocently. But her gaze was everything but innocent.

- Many might say that's not a good idea, for I'll only meet you for the sake of receiving gifts. - Constantine rolled his eyes with a smoulder.

- Screw them, I will spoil you anyways. - Hazel giggled. She looked down at her flowers.

- So I suppose you're not a fan of societal norms? - she asked in a tiny voice while putting her weight from one leg to another.

- Not at all. Does that bother you? - he asked, anxiously waiting for the answer. Hazel smiled lightly, still not looking into Constantine's eyes.

- I wanted to ask the same thing. - she sighed and started twiddling with her flowers. - You see, I'm not exactly a proper lady in the manners of courtship, one might even say that I'm... profligate. - she looked up, but still didn't look straight into the Prince's eyes. She looked so troubled. - Look, Constantine, I'll be honest with you, I despise etiquette books, courtship and beauty standards. I am loud and obnoxious. So if you find yourself being uncomfortable around me, or I make you feel ashamed, or I make you think I'm a fallen woman...

Constantine couldn't hold it any longer and he started laughing. Loudly. Hazel looked at him, puzzled.

- What are you laughing about? - Constantine turned around, still laughing. He pushed his hair back with a smiley, relieved sigh.

- Do you have any idea about how happy I am... - he said as he turned back to Hazel with glistening eyes. - ...that you are not a prudish young lady that stays 6 feet away from her date? I mean, staying distant is just unromantic for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to rush anything, I just... - he looked down to the girl's hands and quickly grabbed them, as gentle as he could. - ...don't understand why couldn't I hold your hand or brush your hair away from your face or marvel at how absolutely gorgeous you are? - he let go of the woman's hand, who had a huge smile spread across her face, mixed with a look of surprise. - Hazel... - all of a sudden Constantine grabbed her waist and twirled her around in the air. Hazel let out a heartfelt little giggle as the tattoed Prince lifted her up in the air. - ...I cherish the fact that you are not like well-mannered women of your age. - he gently put her down, still keeping his palms wrapped around her waist. - And trust me, being with someone who acts unusually, just like me, will be a pleasure. - Hazel batted her eyelashes.

- Are you sure? - So she still won't believe me. Constantine stepped back and pointed at his date.

- Tell you what. Going out with the Tattoed Prince of Greece will be a relief for you, because of 3 reasons mainly. - he said while he bowed before Hazel theatrically. He held a finger up, which had a big seal-ring on it. It was shaped as a siren between the ocean's waves. - One, people will stare at me, not at your nonpowdered cheeks. - first he pointed at himself, then his date. - Which I really like, I have to say. - he gestured 👌 with a wink. - Seriously though, I just don't understand why women want to look like corpses. - he held up a second finger, which had no 3-dimensional ring on it, but had one tattoed on. - Two, I don't care if someone acts unusually because I've always been categorized as weird and unmannered myself. - he held up a third finger, his little one, which had a little ruby ring on it. - Three, people say I'm good company and I'll try my best to make you feel wonderful. - he straightened himself up fully and tilted his head sideways a bit, searching for his date's gaze, who were biting down on her lips. - Does that calm your anxious heart? - Hazel looked up at him, with lips curled into a cute little smile.

- Absolutely. I just hope you'll feel the same way by the end of the night. - Constantine booped her nose.

- I'm sure about that. - he said, then looked around. - So, shall we get going? - Hazel patted the black horse's large neck.

- Just a second, he didn't finish his treat yet. - Constantine raised an eyebrow.

- And that stops you from riding it because... - Hazel tilted her head and looked up to Constantine from below. Her gaze was so critical.

- Would you be happy if somebody made you run while chewing? - Constantine snapped his fingers and squinted.

- Touché. - Hazel smiled as a reply, completely making that critical little gaze disappear. The horse did a big gulp, which in response made the woman run her fingers through the horse's black, wavy mane.

- Okay, you're done. - the young woman stepped away from the horse and dramatically bowed towards her date. - Prince Constantine, let me introduce you to my most loyal friend, my stallion, Cosmos. - Constantine giggled. Hazel looked at the black horse. - Say hiiii! - but the horse just huffed and groaned. Hazel stood up and put her fists on her hips in a truly teacherly manner. - Oh come on you already swallowed the last bite, I saw it, don't be mean! - the stallion let out a little sigh, and rolled his eyes. Hazel cleaned her throat. The horse folded one of his front legs under him, kept his head down, and basically bowed. Constantine clapped and shouted a little "woo-hoo", which made the girl smile again. She looked back at her horse, who already got back up from the bow. - See, what was so hard about that? - she stepped next to the stallion and ruffled his mane. - You melodramatic baby. - she looked back at Constantine and tilted her head. - Come, pet him! He loves little neck scratches.

Constantine stepped next to the horse and stratched his neck. He looked at Hazel eagerly.

- No saddle? - the woman just shrugged her shoulders.

- No, that's not necessary for such a short ride. - and with that, she grabbed Cosmos's bridle and pulled herself up to the horse's back with a little jump... And sat down on his bareback pad in an astride position. To cover his surprise and slight shock, Constantine looked around, searching for something.

- Alright, and where's the horse I should ride? - Hazel looked down at the horse's neck. She started blushing a bit.

- I only have one horse and I didn't want to rent a carriage for the night. - she turned her gaze to the bewildered man's tattoed face. Hazel jotted with her head behind herself. - So, hop on behind me.

Constantine shook his head disbelievingly, looking more perplexed than he ever was. He blinked fast.

- We... - he stuttered. Hazel giggled with a closed mouth. Constantine pointed at her and him by turns, agily. - We're riding on the same horse? - Hazel shrugged.

- Another thing that's not so well-mannered. - she offered Constantine her hand with a courteous look on her face. The Prince scratched his neck. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe she's doing this. Even more people will stare at me than normally, Jesus. He sighed and shrugged a little. Eh, what the heck. Screw what people think. With still a dubious look on his face, she grabbed the woman's tiny hand and hopped behind her. An astonished look crossed his face for a second; he got rather surprised by his date's upper body strength. She helped him up so easily... That's strange. She turned her head sideways to see him. - Would you like me to ride sidesaddled, like a lady? - Constantine shook his head.

- Not necessarily... - the girl was still looking at him sideways. Was his bewilderment so obvious? He laughed anxiously. - Pardon my unsettled look, this whole thing is just...

- Unusal? - cut in Hazel. Constantine let out a smiley sigh.

- Exactly.

- I thought you liked all things odd and unusual. - asked the lady, then puckered her lips. Constantine giggled anxiously. Wow she has a wonderful figure, he thought as he took a look at his date's body from the back. Her waist is so tiny, oh my God in Heavens. And she's so beautiful. With such delicate features. And those lips... Man I bet they're really soft... Fuck I have to calm myself down if I don't want an inconvenient moment while riding with this beauty...

- Okay... - he said, voice shaking a bit from the woman's closeness. He glanced down for a nanosecond at his crotch area. Calm. DOWN. GODDAMNIT. - And what should I do with my arms? - Hazel shrugged with a devilish little smile.

- I don't know, maybe you could put them round my waist... - Constantine gawped with a smile.

- You little vixen! - Hazel laughed.

- You know, just so you won't fall off. No other reason. - Constantine shook his head. Well, so much for avoiding inconvenient moments! God I have to learn how to behave myself already. He gently put his hands round the woman's waist. He was pretty sure he heard a little moan, but bundled the thought off quickly. Hazel stroked his hand with her thumb before gently squeezing Cosmos' sides with her legs, making him start walking.

After a short ride, they arrived at a nice restaurant. Constantine got off of the horseback, then reached for Hazel who already turned sideways on the bareback pad. The tattoed man, ignoring the strange looks from people passing by, gently held Hazel by the waist and lifted her off. She tenderly placed her hands on his shoulders, while taking really good care not to damage the bouquet she got from her sweetheart.

- Do I weigh anything to you? - she asked while Constantine was holding her in the air.

- Not really. - he said, placing her down on the ground. They both adjusted their clothes. - It's like holding a cluster of grapes. - he said in a sweet tone, watching the woman's every move while she tied her horse's bridle securely. She patted Cosmos' neck and turned back to her date.

- You are such a charmer. - the tattooed prince stepped aside so Hazel could lead the way with an adoring look on his face.

- Only in the company of effervescent young ladies such as your lovely self, Miss Munroe. - Hazel went ahead with a small awkward laugh.

- Oh my god please never use that name ever again! My kids call me Miss Munroe, please call me Hazel. - as soon as they reached the entrance of the restaurant, Constantine hopped ahead and opened the door before his date. He winked at her with a playful smile when she passed him.

- Alright, be as you wish, my dear. - Hazel stopped for a second, alluring little sparks glistening in her eyes. She stroked the man's beard with her thumb. Which was a near-swooning experience for him again.

- Hmm, I like that name, too.

The restaurant was undoubtedly lovely. Hazel booked a romantic little table in the corner, with a vase for flowers and candles. She explained that she insisted on booking that table, since she wanted to make The Tattoed Prince of Greece feel as relaxed as she could, and she thought being away from most watchful eyes would do the trick. Constantine cherished her for her compassion. After a couple minutes of pleasant chatting and ordering food, the waiter asked what kind of drink he could bring. Constantine found the whole situation rather humorous, since the waiter couldn't look in his eyes and was constantly checking out his tattooes, especially the naughty ones on his neck. He didn't mind these kind of looks anymore... Other kinds, well... Let's not even think about that. He shooed the thought away with a throat cleaning.

- Champagne? - offered the Prince but Hazel shook her head. Her gaze wandered off from the menu straight into the man's eyes in a pensive way.

- I'm not a fan of bubbly drinks, they make my head hurt. - she put the menu down, and crossed her fingers under her chin. The young woman tilted her head a bit, and changed her gaze into a rather seductive look. - Would you like to surprise me with something exotic, my dear foreign prince? - Constantine thought about it for a second, then bit his lower lip with a smile as an idea popped into his head. He whispered something to the waiter. As soon as he left, Hazel let one of her arms down and rested it on the table next to Constantine. She was still sitting on the edge of her seat. - So, what are we drinking? - Constantine smiled passionately. There was a certain glow of mischief in his eyes that just made Hazel get goosebumps. Oh little missy, you shouldn't toy with the devil if you don't want to get burnt, he thought. But the woman walked her fingers closer to the Prince, playfully brushing her index finger against his hand. So she really is the screw social norms kinda gal. And it looks like she really does like me... Well then. Time to grow a pair and start turning this little vanilla, Constantine. He reached down for her hand and held it up gently.

- Easy, darling. - he stroked her fingers with his thumb. His touch was delicate but his skin was rather rough. Like a sailor's. - Where's the surprise if I tell you now what I ordered? - he asked in a flirty tone, just before blowing a kiss on her fingers. - Where's the fun in that? - she gulped. That last sentence was said in such an arousing way that Hazel started thinking about how his whispering would sound... During the night... Right in her ear... After some heavy breathing. She bit her lower lip as the next kiss landed on her fingers. God she had a thing for husky voices like his.

- Did anyone ever tell you how pleasant it is to listen to your voice? - Constantine chuckled and put Hazel's hand back on the table.

- No, never, as far as I can recall. - Hazel put her hands back under her chin.

- Well, I could listen to it for hours. I bet that if you read poetry out loud, it's like listening to the gods of Greece. - Constantine rolled his eyes jokingly, trying to cover up the fact that he started blushing. He was good at flirting, but actually receiving something back, without paying for it, was rather new. The woman sat back on her chair. - Echo and Aoede truly blessed you. - the Prince gasped.

- You know the greek gods! - the young lady chuckled.

- I'm a history teacher, of course I do! Plus, what can I say, I read a lot. - the tattooed man put his elbow on the table and rested his head in his palm. A totally enamored look found its way to his face.

- More radiant than Hebe, more charming than Aphrodite, wiser than Athene... - he sighed. - I'm truly blessed by your company.

The flirtatious chat got stopped by the waiter, who arrived with a tray, on which there were 2 stemmed wine glasses, both containing a small amount of green liquid; on top of them, some kind of flat spoon with a cube of sugar; and a carafe of ice cold water. He placed the things down on the table, and reached for the carafe. Constantine held up his hand, stopping him in his movement.

- Thank you, I'll take it from here. - as soon as the waiter left, Hazel moved her chair closer, stooping in the tattooed man's direction.

- What's this? - inquired the woman, inquisitive by the limegreen liquid that sat in front of her. Constantine smirked and reached for the carafe.

- Absinthe. Have you never heard of it? - Hazel shook her head. Constantine adjusted the sugarcubes on the slotted spoons. - Many say it's an aphrodisiac. - he reached for the carafe. The bottle perspired tiny little drops of water, it was so cold. - Others say it's an addictive poison. - he poured the ice cold water over the sugarcube rested on Hazel's glass. She watched his fingers move with admiration. As water diluted the spirit, the green substance quickly turned cloudy, then changed into a light mint green colored, milky opalescent liquid. - But there is one thing that is certain, and one thing that everybody knows. - he did the same thing with his drink too, then put the carafe and the slotted spoons away. He held up his drink, ready to clink glasses with Hazel, who looked at him as adoringly as she was looking at a perfect painting. - The green fairy who lives in the absinthe, wants your soul. - Hazel held her drink up as well, and they clanked glasses. The Tattoed Prince's gaze was irresistibly alluring. She couldn't look away from it. Those dark brown eyes captivated her and didn't let her go. - But fear not, I will protect you from her. - he moved the glass to his lips. To those perfectly shaped, luscious lips, framed by that magnificent mustache and beard... Hazel moved the glass to her lips as well, and before taking a sip, in the sweetest tone Constantine ever heard she said:

- I've never felt more safe.

As she took a sip, a cacophony of tastes filled her mouth. It felt like anise and other herbs were blooming on her tongue. It was rather scrumptious. When she put her glass down, she was faced with that seductive gaze that made her weak in the knees. Her Tattooed Prince wiggled his eyebrows in a mischievous, playful manner. Covering her invoking blushing, she looked sideways with a smile. As she did so, she noticed that an elderly couple, wo were sitting at the next table, was practically staring at them, without a single sign of shame. So Hazel looked the staring man straight in his eyes, flashed an adorable smile, and waved. He got so frustrated that he immediately looked away and dropped his fork. Constantine laughed out loud and shook his head with a wide smile.

- You really are something else, my darling. - he said when his date turned back to him. She reached across the table and stroked his hand with her thumb, while having a sweet yet flirtatious smile spread out on her cherry lips.

- Fear not, I will protect you.

#fanfic #fanfiction #the greatest showman #prince constantine #The tattoo man #tattoed man #musical #The Greatest Showman OC #pt barnum #phineas taylor barnum #circus #Frank Lentini #Charles Stratton #General Tom Thumb

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

Text

Toppat!Charles Part 13(Final)

This is it. The big 13.

What a ride.

I'm not holding back on this.

Dramatic recap: Triple Threat has spent time reunited, though Charles has some trouble relaxing before their mission. Speaking of which, all goes well at firs, but Charles is recaptured by Right and Ellie is found by Toppats and Reginald, leaving Henry alone in the vents.

To catch up before this finale, here are all the previous parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 2 Deleted/Extended Scene

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8 Preview

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

I just really want to say thank you all for enjoying this series since it started. It means a lot to me. I never knew how 'big' this would get and I'm honestly really glad you all liked this. And for putting up with my nonsense 😅😂

Anyway, onto the finale!!!

If this was a tv special, the camera would do a glidey thing from the side of a vent to an open path, which Henry crawls through.

He's hot, very uncomfortable, and really hopes that Charles gets back to him and Ellie.

It probably doesn't help that he can't hear Ellie anymore. At all.

Alone, Henry sighs as he is left to follow a humming sound that he KNOWS has to be the core.

He's ditched a lot of his space gear and tied his hoodue around his hips, but he presses on, because he's really starting to hate the Toppat Clan right now.

CUT TO CHARLES!!!

Charles panics as he tries to break free from his binds, in a cell very much like the one Henry was locked in in the Free Man Ending. He's in pure panic mode and only knows that Right is leaning against the wall and he needs to get the hell out.

Charles is trying as much as he can, kicking up, trying to throw off the balance, even trying to go for the remote, which is where Right intervenes, taking it just as Charles is about to kick it.

After a few more minutes of kicking and flailing, Charles lets out a very loud scream.

"Are you done, kid?"

Charles breaks down and stops his struggling, keeping his gaze on the floor as he asks, "Why are you doing this? You already have your friend back."

"You're the one who came back, not me. Let me guess: the government didn't want you back?"

Charles keeps his head down, even as Right stops leaning on the wall and approaches him.

"Why're you really here?"

With a rush of adrenaline, Charles kicks Right, smirking at the fact that he'd managed to send him into the wall.

Right scowls and punches him in the face.

"Don't get cocky, or I'll send out into space," Right snarls as he points to a button on the remote. He keeps his thumb on this button, making sure Charles doesn't get any ideas. "Tell me why you're here, kid. What're you up to?"

Charles gulps and opens his mouth to explain, but is cut off by either Burt or Sven or any other toppat clan member.

"Sir, we've found someone in the ventilation system. He's heading to the core, now."

Charles freezes and Right turns to him, a 'gotcha' smile growing on his face.

CUT TO HENRY!

Henry has found the core and climbs out of the vent, bomb in hand; it has enough power to cause critical damage to the core and should give him and Ellie enough time to get back to Charles, and give the toppats time to evacuate and return to Earth, where they'll be arrested.

He walks along a ramp and gets ready to toss the bomb onto the core, near the middle where a lot of the power is.

His aim is heavily disrupted when he hears footsteps racing toward him.

As toppats approach, Henry runs to the other side of the core, tapping Morse into his earpiece to alert Ellie and Charles that he's been spotted.

He stops dead in his tracks when he sees two toppats holding Ellie back by her arms as she struggles, a little bruised and beaten, and sees Right holding Charles, who has his hands bound behind his back, by his hair.

"'Ello. 'Ere for something?"

Henry, after a quick glance to both Ellie and Charles, lowers the bomb and quickly draws his gun.

Which is shot out of his hand by from behind Reginald, who gives him a dainty wave.

Henry sneers at him before turning to Right.

"Seem familiar to you, 'Enry? One friend injured by toppats and the otjerneeding you to rescue 'im?"

The memory itself is like salt on a wound. Almost a year ago, they'd been trying to stop the rocket feom getting into orbit.

Now they're trying to blow the station to high Heaven, high water, Hell and back again.

"Don't listen to him," Charles hisses out, but Right slams his head on the railing and holds him on the other side of the railing by his neck.

Henry panics and sets down the bomb, much to the objection of Ellie, and holds his hands up.

Right merely scoffs at this. "You're good at making history repeat itself."

Charles is conscious enough to see this and feels his stomach drop, as Henry is possibly breaking his promise.

That's until he sees Henry sort of making a slight scissor motion with his middle and index fingers as subtly as he can, Morsing the following messages to Charles and Ellie:

'Bite their wrists. Kick someone's ahin and they're useless for a few minutes.

'Kick him. Kick him. Kick him. Kick him. Kick him.'

With a deep breath, Henry quickly drops for his gun as Ellie sort of reverse axe kicks one the toppat guard's shins and bites the other, making both let go of her.

Henry shoots Reginald in the foot, which gets Right to instinctively take a step forward and pull Charles closer, which leads to him getting in a really good kick to Right's jaw before he falls onto the platform.

Ellie headbutts one guard and punches the other before running to the bomb.

Charles covers himself as Right kicks him before the cyborg charges to Henry, who shoots him in the shoulder and goes to do it again, but is tackled by Reginald.

There's a lot of kicking and punching, but Ellie eventually knocks out one guard, only to be slammed into the wall by her hair and thrown down.

Before he can get any other hits in, he is shot and falls to the platform, clutching between his neck and shoulder.

Ellie looks to see Charles holdimg Henry's gun before he turns it on Henry, Reginald, and Right, using a couple shots to scare away Reginald.

Right, mad as all hell, beats the ever loving heebie jeebies out of Henry, smashing him into the platforming and daring, "You think you're some kind of hero, kid? You think just by taking us out, you're helping yourself!? All over some damned pilot and a rat you found!?"

Henry, very much offended and sick of all the salt, strikes Right with Reginald's gun, hitting the metal side of his head and even getting in an uppercut before Charles delivers a phenomenal kick that shatters Right's cybernetic eye.

Right falls back, knocked out cold from the hit.

Charles holds a hand out for Henry, who takes it with a clap and lets himself get picked up by Charles, though he does help.

"Good shot," Charles sighs. "And... thanks."

Henry hugs him, and Charles tenses before hugging back, crying as relief floods him. Relief that his friend actually kept his promise, which he totally knew he'd do, 100% without a doubt.

"Um, guys?" Ellie asks. "Shouldn't we...?"

Henry pats Charles and the two pull away, ready to blow this pop stand.

Without the detonator, they'll have to do this the risky-but-badass-if-this-works way.

Ellie throws the bomb onto the core and both Henry and Charles shoot it, making the bomb go off.

It knocks all three of them down, but don't worry they all come to.

They decide to take Right and Reginald, who got knocked out by the blast, and race to the escape pods, with guidance from Charles.

Henry fights a flashback of Valiant Hero before realizing Charles isn't leading them to the normal escape pods.

"You guys might not believe this, but this isn't just the room for the clan leader," Charles admits ehen they get to what used to be his room, which became Reginald's for a short time.

They load in and lock Right and Reginald in handcuffs, but Charles decides to pull one more card out of his sleeve: an 'override' feature that guides the escape pods to a certain location.

"Where dhould they go? The base or...?"

Henry and Ellie trade glances before Henry smirks and nods.

"The Wall," Ellie replies.

"You sure?"

'They gave us enough trouble, and they'll keep Dmitri off my back,' Henry signs as quickly as he can.

Charles sets the location and they leave just as the orbital station explodes.

All three take a sigh of relief, especially Charles.

"It's... It's over. We did it."

Ellie nods and puts a hand on his shoulder as Henry holds his hand on his other side and gives him a smile.

'It's all over.'

Charles rests his head on Henry's shoulder as Ellie moves to hold his hand as well, and lean on him as he lets himself cry.

CUT TO EARTH!!!!!

Galeforce paces back and forth at the base, waiting to hear a word from Henry, Ellie, and Charles.

Rupert has informed him that they have lost contact with the destroyer, which has been destroyed with the Toppat station.

Escape pods have been landing in The Wall, but there hasn't been a single report on Triple Threat.

Terrence sits in a chair with one leg folded over and doing that foot shake thing, because he's stressed.

Bill Bullet is also waiting, though he's keeping his eyes on the ground, and he's not talking about anything because Galeforce will kill him.

All three jump when they hear the sound of some sort of space craft landing near the base and rush to investigate with a lot of the soldiers.

They have to fight their way through as the door opens and Reginald and Right are thrown out.

Henry, Charles, and Ellie stumble out, their injuries having caught up to them, leaving them tired and needing some medical attention.

The soldiers are literally elated to see these three, even though Henry's shady, Ellie's also shady, and Charles is the youngest and best pilot. Some take Right and Reginald away to a cell before they're sent to The Wall, but the rest somewhat dogpile the trio, patting their backs, ruffling their hair, shaking their hands, and just celebrating the fact that they're all back on Earth and alright.

They make way for Galeforce, Terrence, and Bill, the corporal standing back as Terrence reunites with Henry and Ellie and Galeforce throws his arms around Charles.

After so much excitement, Charles passes out and is carried to the infirmary.

Through the crowd, Henry spots Bill, who gestures for him to follow, which he does.

Ellie sees this and also starts following, but Terrence stops her.

"Let's leave them be. Corporal kept saying he needed to talk to him alone."

Henry and Bill walk until they're a really good distance away and just stand in a clearing, watching the now clear sky that is missing the orbital station.

"Looks kinda empty without it, doesn't it?" Bill asks.

Henry shrugs, but nods all the same. 'When do I leave?' he signs instead.

Bill fights an eye roll and he pockets his sunglasses. "You know, I've seen a lot of crminals, but never ones that were selfish enough to do the right thing. Hell, I think I know a couple that would take over that orbital station instead of destroy it for someone they care about."

'They had it coming, after what happened.'

"If you say so." Bill passes the chaos readings to Henry, who reads them over as much as he can because he doesn't get a lot of it.

"You'd be surprised how much numbers matter. They go up when you're on your own, but they go down when you're surrounded by people to keep you in check, whether you know it or not. Call it whatever you want, strange, lucky, interesting."

Henry takes one more look at the readings before turning back to Bill, a smile growing on his face. 'You changed your mind?'

"As much of a good study you'd really be, yes, I have," Bill sighs. "Just do me a favor and don't make a habit of losing your friends, okay?"

Henry nods and returns the readings as he sprints bak to the base, almost running into Ellie.

"What'd he say?"

Henry smiles her and the message is clear:

He's not going anywhere.

The two hug and highfive, though they stop because they're sore and still a little injured.

They walk to the infirmary and are put in beds next to Charles, who's resting a little easier than they've seen him in a while.

"Fine work you three," Galeforce says as he joins them. "Just about every member of the Toppat Clan was sent to The Wall." He notices Charles stirring a little before resting again and gives a small smlie. "You three rest up now. You've earned it."

Galeforce leaves and both lie down, Charles opening his eyes and staring up at the ceiling.

"They're... really gone. We did it."

Neither speak as he continues.

"In my cell and when they made me the leader, I used to imagine destroying it myself. Just shooting it as much as I could before it all went up into smoke. I never thought we'd actually do it. I can't believe we did it."

From where they all lay, the three hold hands and fall asleep, the endeavor of the past year slipping away.

Henry in particular lets out a sigh as he drifts off, glad that all three of his friends are back and safe.

Outside the base, Terrence leans against the hood of a car and watches the sunset, and Reginald and a one armed Right be loaded into a van headed toward The Wall.

The two toppat leaders are not looking forward to their incarceration, but Reginald holds Right's human hand, which seems to at least simmer his temper a little bit.

"They make a cute couple, don't you think?"

"I'd say," Bill sighs as he types on a laptop on the ground; just an email to his workers and to Dmitri. "I'd be surprised if I heard there was a Wall wedding for the two of them."

"A wedding? WITHOUT me? And you call my son a criminal," Terrence gasps as he holds a hand on his chest.

Bill snickers and finishes up those emails. "Come on. We need to head back."

Terrence rolls his eye as Bill sets his laptop in the backseat.

"Do I have to stay in that same room all the time? Or can I have Henry's?"

Bill scowls at him.

"I like the idea of having a window, watching some sitcoms, and just keeping up a good appearance, sue me."

"Depends on how well we get along on the ride back."

Terrence watches Bill get in his seat and start the car and takes one last look at the base before he climbs into the passenger seat. "Hope you like country."

"Don't touch my damn car, Suave."

Terrence laughs as Bill fights a smirk, driving back to the CCC headquarters and leaving Triple Threat to rest and heal for future shenanigans and missions for the government.

#henry stickmin #charles calvin #toppat!charles #ellie rose #stickvin #finale #last part #right hand man #reginald copperbottom #terrence suave #gun tw #bomb tw #i don't know how to write action scenes that well

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liskantope · 4 years

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Some not-so-brief reactions to major Disney films 1968-1988

A little while ago I wrote another collection of quick commentaries on major Disney films (which I’m watching one by one through Disney+) from their inception with Snow White in 1937 to The Jungle Book in 1967. I was planning to round off my next collection at another 30-year mark, but the little mini-reviews I’ve been writing are beginning to look so long-winded in aggregate that tonight I decided maybe I should stop at this point. Also, last time, without fully being aware of it, I stopped at the end of what is considered Disney’s Silver Age (coming after Disney’s Golden Age, also included in the last set of commentaries), and apparently 1968 to 1988 is considered Disney’s (Bronze and/or) Dark Age (the Disney Renaissance kicking off with The Little Mermaid in 1989), so there’s another reason it makes sense to cut it off here.

I’ll keep watching the major Disney features, one a day, through the 90′s works, but whether I’ll find time to keep writing about my impressions of each film I watch, I can’t guarantee anything.

The Aristocats, 1970

This is a beloved favorite of mine. I got the video in later childhood, having previously admired the main number “Everybody Wants To Be a Cat” (still the highlight of the movie, from my adult point of view) and having read the story in a Disney book. After seeing it many times in childhood, I rewatched it only a few years ago when it showed up on Netflix. Around that time (or maybe just afterwards), I noticed that my favorite cartoon/Disney reviewer YouTuber Phantom Strider occasionally mentions that he dislikes The Aristocats -- he doesn’t put it on his top 10 worst Disney movie list or anything, but he’s made some disparaging remarks without going into detail. Watching it once again this month on Disney+, my verdict is that, yeah, it’s subpar in quite a few ways, but my more critical adult sensibilities will never override the fond feelings I have for this movie.

Since this is the next movie on the list after The Jungle Book, I couldn’t help constantly comparing the two, and I did see some parallels. In both cases, the story is pretty weak: this time, a family of cats gets kidnapped and stranded far from home by the greedy butler villain and have to pass through several adventures to get back to their owner. In both cases, the plot is a very linear one involving small adventures and minor characters having little bearing on the overall arc (this is perhaps slightly less the case with The Aristocats, where the new acquaintance Thomas O’Malley stays with them the whole time, and at least Scat Cat’s gang makes a return at the end -- minus the unfortunate and entirely unnecessary character of the Chinese cat -- to fight for the protagonists). In both cases, the voice acting is great and includes Phil Harris and Sterling Holloway. In both cases, the villain’s motives are rather flimsily stated -- the butler villain is more comical and slightly more rounded out, and the fact that his motive doesn’t make a lot of sense is perhaps meant to be part of the comedy. The Aristocats has far more filler material, including a useless but somewhat amusing and ultra-cartoonish sideplot about our butler villain losing his hat and umbrella and having to return to the countryside to get them (it’s more amusing than it sounds, trust me).

The Aristocats is simply weaker in almost every way than The Jungle Book. Although I like all the music, including “Scales and Arpeggios” which I only just learned was written by the Sherman Brothers and I appreciated a lot as a kid who practiced the piano every day, the only truly memorable song was “Everybody Wants To Be a Cat” (not written by the Sherman Brothers), whereas in The Jungle Book there are multiple numbers of that caliber written by the Sherman Brothers at nearly the top of their form. This film can also be compared to One Hundred and One Dalmatians and again comes out looking worse -- Dalmations sort of perfected the whole “animals coordinating a rescue” type plot, and The Aristocats only seems to make a feeble attempt at it.

One interesting thing about the pacing of the film that as an adult I’m a bit taken aback by is how quickly the ending of the movie runs. I was shocked when I rewatched this for the first time as an adult on Netflix, got to the ending of “Everybody Wants To Be a Cat”, and saw that there were only 15 minutes of running time left: that includes the late-night discussion between the romantic leads, the arrival at their home, Edgar re-kidnapping them, Roquefort going for help and nearly getting himself killed by Scat Cat’s gang, the whole action sequence of the actual rescue, a final scene with Madame welcoming O’Malley and rewriting the will, and the final song. We don’t even get to see Madame’s reaction at seeing her beloved cats alive and well, which is one of the ways this movie compares unfavorably with Dalmatians. There is some real artistry in The Aristocats, but the amount of effort put in is clearly not up to the standard of Disney’s finest.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1971

I mainly knew this movie through the song “Beautiful Briny Sea” growing up. Eventually I did watch the film one time; I also read the book it was based on (I can’t remember which came first). I remembered very little outside of that one song, the fact that the characters travel in a bed, and David Tomlinson (who I knew well as Mr. Banks) being in it as an jarringly un-Banks-like character. I had entirely forgotten the fact that the story takes place during World War II and that this is crucial to the plot. I knew this as the Disney movie that tried to be Mary Poppins and failed to be anywhere near as exciting or resonant. However, I was still very curious to rediscover, two decades later, what the movie was really all about.

The story is really quite good on a level that appeals to grownups as well as children -- not as deeply as Mary Poppins, mind you, but distinctive and captivating. (I think this has something to do with the story being as much to do with the adult characters as with the children.) The acting is also solid. It only increased my respect for David Tomlinson’s versatility as an actor, in fact, and it was fun to see the likeness of the dignified and proper George Banks display so much awkward vulnerability and eventually get himself into so many slapstick situations. Unfortunately, the only memorable song is “Beautiful Briny Sea” -- I mean that quite literally, as sitting down to write this a couple of weeks after watching, I’m finding it hard to remember much about any of the other songs.

Also unfortunately, the song “Beautiful Briny Sea” is sort of a beacon in a murky area as, halfway through the film when we switch to the animated portion, the movie suddenly gets... quite bad. The live-animation hybrid is consistently done to weak effect, first of all. For some reason, only Mary Poppins made this effect believable, ahead of its time. Secondly, I understand that we have to suspend our disbelief to enjoy a children’s fantasy film, but having the group plunged into water without themselves or their book appearing wet or having any issue breathing is pushing this a bit far. Thirdly, the writing gets rather silly. As soon as they come across an animated codfish who welcomes them to the area, the oldest kid Charles (always the skeptic) says, “Now I’m hearing things! Fish don’t talk.” Nor do fish “walk” along the bottom of the sea with a cane while fully clothed and smoking a cigar, Charlie, so what was your first clue that you’re in a story where things you thought impossible are happening?

The whole crew later gets up onto the animated island of Naboombu, where Mr. Banks Professor Browne is forced to referee a soccer game between teams of anthropomorphic animals as part of his efforts (somehow) to get his hands on the lanyard of the island’s arrogant monarch (who rather resembles Prince John from the next film on this list) which winds up evaporating as soon as they get back to their own world anyway. The ensuing soccer match is by far the most bizarre part of the film, or of any of these films really -- it feels much more like some wacky Saturday morning cartoon than Disney animation. Browne the referee winds up getting (literally) dragged into the game; the live/animation hybrid is done especially poorly here. Once the characters get back to the “real” world, however, the movie becomes good again, with a fantastic climactic conclusion that left me smiling at the overall effect of the film despite its weaknesses.

Robin Hood, 1973

This was a Disney classic that we owned from the time I was fairly small, and that I watched more times than almost any other one, with Alice in Wonderland being the only possible rival I can think of. I went what was probably close to a twenty-year period without seeing it or missing it until a couple of years ago, on a transatlantic flight when it was one of the movie options on the plane. I was taken aback on that rewatching by the fact that... Robin Hood just isn’t that good. When I later saw my parents (I think this was on the way to visiting them), I told them of this revelation, and they told me, “We never thought it was that good either, but you seemed to like it.” I guess I can see some of the appeal to my much younger self, but less easily than I can see the appeal of the some of the other so-so films like The Aristocats -- there is something about Robin Hood that is eye-catching on the superficial level but ultimately shallow. At the same time, I’ll always have to feel a bit sentimental about this one because of the role it played in an early period of my life, introducing me to words like outlaw and in-law and taxes (I vividly remember thinking in early watchings that Taxes was just the name of the unpleasant wolf character), helping to develop my understanding of what poverty looks like, and also introducing me to the concept of political satire (under an anti-free-speech monarchy no less. The scene shown in the video just linked is my favorite scene of the movie, by the way.)

I think my main criticism of Disney’s Robin Hood could be summarized by saying it oversimplifies what could have been a nuanced story, way more than it needs to. This shows most starkly in its clearly-marked division between good characters and evil characters. Naive Good-vs.-Evil plots are very much part of the Disney brand, but I can’t think of any of their other films which takes that aspect to this much of an extreme in developing the characters, so that the entire cast is very openly divided between the white caps and the black caps and (this is the most important part) to the detriment of individuation between the characters. The personalities of all the characters on the Good Side seem pretty much interchangeable throughout the film. Oh sure, Robin Hood has Plucky Hero stamped on him with Designated Sidekick Little John, and Maid Marian has Love Interest stamped on her, and so on. They get into different situations because they all play different roles in the community. But there are no deeper differences between them. Friar Tuck, for instance, is the local religious leader, and you think he might present a more thoughtful, pacifistic, and spiritual point of view to his comrades and enemies. But no, he shouts at the Sheriff and chest-bumps him out of the church and engages him in physical combat just like all the other characters do. All of the people on the Good Side are in complete lockstep throughout, and this makes their part of the story deeply uninteresting.

King Richard is never developed as a character; he is a faraway abstract entity throughout the film, which makes his sudden appearance at the end (which is what really saves Nottingham and finishes the story) very ineffective. (Let’s not get into the fact that he’s described as heroic for going off to participate in the Crusades -- “While bonny good King Richard leads the great crusade he’s on” -- talk about sugarcoating history!) This is part of what I mean about oversimplifying: they could have injected some complexity into the political story beyond “usurper taxes all the money out of the people because of his personal greed until the real king returns and makes everything lovely again”. I strongly believe it is possible to present real issues in a way that is both mature and engaging to children and that it has been done even in other Disney features. Disney didn’t try very hard to do it here.

I’ll give the writers credit in that the three main bad guys, Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff of Nottingham, are somewhat individuated, partly I think out of necessity because the Bad Side of any story has to consist of people who quarrel amongst themselves. Prince John is actually well enough developed as an insecure, petulant child with no idea what it means to lead a country that I enjoy watching him even as an adult. The parallels between him and President Trump are unmistakable, and I’m surprised that I haven’t seen more memes about this. Still, by the end of the film, even he was starting to wear on me.

Another aspect of the movie that bypassed my attention as a child but bothers me as an adult is its blatant American-ness in retelling a very old, extremely British story. As in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, all of the accents, except for those of two of the main bad guys, are American. The rooster narrator of the story sounds particularly American and plays folk music throughout of a style that strikes me as the epitome of American.

The way the script and animation deal with bodies and obesity is particularly interesting in this one. Four of the characters I can think of are portrayed as fat, including one of the main bad guys (the Sheriff “Old Bushel-Britches” of Nottingham) but also three of the good guys. Minor quips are made about this by some of the characters, but overall it could arguably be considered a rather positive, good-natured treatment of this issue for its time. It is the source of some physical humor, and some of the body-related physical humor in general slightly raises my eyebrows as an adult -- there is a boob grab, for instance (well, fake boobs as part of a disguise, but still).

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, 1977

I had avoided watching any Disney rendition of Pooh for a long time before watching this one last week. I got to see a lot of Pooh in earlier childhood because of videos given as gifts by other kids’ parents, which my mom (who loves the original books by Milne and hates Disney’s interpretation of them) let me watch only with great reluctance. I soured to the Disney Pooh franchise as I got older and remember in high school getting sick of how many things were decorated with animated Pooh characters, and how few people knew the original books.

Starting to watch this film, I had no idea which of the Pooh stories would be included or whether I would remember seeing them before. As it turned out, I remembered almost none of it: I knew the theme song well and was slightly familiar with the early song about Pooh climbing the honey tree (it must have been on one of the Disney Sing-Along videos) but didn’t remember anything else until vaguely recalling some of the later Tigger stuff (I remembered, before it happened, that Tigger escapes from the tree by sliding down a paragraph of text in the book, one of many instances of extreme fourth-wall-breaking that runs as a theme throughout). As it happens, although The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh seems to go along pretty smoothly given that it makes no pretense of having a unified story arc -- something I give it credit for -- it is actually composed of four short films produced throughout the decade beforehand. This explains why I only remembered the Tigger stuff near the end: we must have had the quarter-length film Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too at my house for a while, but not the other three. (What I actually watched the most, I think, was a video of TV episodes called “Newfound Friends”, which I’ll look up on Disney+ out of curiosity but probably won’t include in this list.)

I remain anti-Pooh[Disney_version], but this anthology film wasn’t as bad as I had thought it might be. The first story about Pooh and the honey tree was actually pretty good. I am not opposed to Sterling Hollaway’s portrayal of the title character. Eeyore’s voice is way too flat, but otherwise most of the characters are portrayed okay. I distinctly remember reading Rabbit as a female character as a kid, and on hearing his voice again I suppose I can understand why. Tigger is the most offensively adapted: he is one-dimensional in a very obnoxious, not-so-amusing slapstick way. His portrayal would have come off better if they had given him more of a child’s voice, which is more appropriate to the book version of his character anyway. The gopher character is pretty annoying as well; he’s rather useless and unnecessary given that he’s not in the books (he even has a fourth-wall-breaking line about not being in the book). Some of the stories from the book are meshed together in a way that does a disservice to each of them, and the movie might have been better if it had committed to adapting fewer of Milne’s chapters. The story about Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit’s front door is done in a distasteful way, with Rabbit turning the back half of his body into part of the upholstery (an idea that Walt Disney had himself when he first read the book!). The songs weren’t great, and I wish that some of Pooh’s poetry from the books had been adapted to song instead.

Leaving those details aside, this is an earnest attempt at turning Pooh into an animated feature which turned out to be not too terrible given my low expectations.

The Rescuers, 1977

I remember watching this once as a kid and almost nothing sticking with me apart from the fact that the main villain (who I remembered nothing about, not even really the gender) had two pet crocodiles. I watched it a second time on Netflix a few years ago, I think within the same week of watching The Aristocats on Netflix.

I have one word for this Disney animated classic: weak. The story is not all that interesting. Having watched Dalmatians and The Aristocats in the few weeks before hand, coordinated animal rescue plots were starting to wear on me. There is no music except for a few forgettable songs not sung by the characters. Eva Gabor makes Ms. Bianca a beguiling character, but the rest of the characters are completely forgettable. The main male character, Bernard, has the blandest voice ever. Even the little girl being rescued, while sympathetic, is not very unique or interesting. (There is something subtly heavy and haunting about having her teddy bear as her best friend through most of the film, though.) At the time of writing, I’ve already halfway forgotten what the villain’s sidekick was like. There are a bunch of other animals who are fun to watch in animation but don’t stick in my mind, apart from Pat Buttram’s drunken rat character (because it wouldn’t be a Disney film of the 40′s-80′s without some alcoholism in it).

The villain, Medusa, is a particular fail here. She is basically a lame Cruella de Vil 2.0: modern, non-fairy-tale-ish, greedy and materialistic, drives like a lunatic, etc. After watching, I found out that the story writers initially thought of simply bringing Cruella back as the villain in this movie, but decided against the idea of it being in any way a sequel to Dalmatians (remember that at this point no Disney sequel had ever been done -- the 1990 sequel to this film was the very first!). I think they should have gone with that idea: bring back one of the most celebrated Disney villains, rather than come up with a new one who is a lot like her but with subtly less pizazz.

Random observation: this has to be one of the only classic Disney stories where the animals can talk to exactly one sympathetic human (the girl) but no other human. If I remember right, I don’t think even Cinderella can understand the words of her mouse friends.

Anyway. Some people say the sequel is much better than the original here. I haven’t seen The Rescuers Down Under yet, but I hope it’s true.

Pete’s Dragon, 1977

This is the first movie on this whole journey that is so obscure that I don’t think I’d even heard of before, let alone seen, and that’s despite the fact that there was a remake in 2016. (The one thing that rang a bell for me while watching was the idea of a dragon playing tic-tac-toe on its belly, an image I possibly saw in an isolated context.) I questioned whether I should watch yet another 1977 Disney film at all, when it would be mostly live-action and was obviously so obscure. In the end, I’m glad I watched this, partly because the story did grip me on some level, but mostly because this film is so very entertaining in how badly done it is.

Pete’s Dragon, in almost every way, is bad -- hilariously bad -- the sweet spot of Bad: the kind of bad that’s actually interesting to examine and yet also shallow enough to make for good Bad Movie Night watching. It’s hard to know where even to begin. The consistently terrible acting of almost everyone, especially in every single line of the boy protagonist (I hate to trash a child actor like this, and part of it was probably bad direction: for instance, someone should have taught him to go easy on the pointy finger). Almost none of the right emotional notes are hit at the right time in what is a very heartfelt story. Only Helen Reddy as the female lead and Jim Dale as the charlatan doctor strike me as good actors doing the best they can with a terrible script and bad acting around them. Then there are the cheesy, poorly-written, often poorly-sung songs. (Did I mention that in one song, each of Pete’s main abusive guardians continue to sing, each in an unperturbed, full-throated voice while being flung in the air by an invisible dragon and plunged into the water?) The awkward choreography. The weak visual effects (as with Bedknobs and Broomsticks, they really didn’t know how to pull of hybrid animation well. I’d go easier on them for this if Mary Poppins hadn’t nailed it 13 years earlier.) I could go on and on.

It made a lot of sense to me when I read afterwards that Pete’s Dragon was originally written as a stage musical, because there is something unusually stage-musical-ish about how the songs are written (for instance, having subsets of the ensemble throw out response lines in unison) and the way the choreography is done. I’ll say as someone who has been in stage musicals that these elements can feel a bit awkward even on the stage; they look to me more awkward in the medium of film; and they’re especially awkward when the songs, choreography, etc. is as poorly written as it is in this film -- someone who hates musicals wanting to teach a friend to hate them too might well choose to show their friend this movie and pretend that it’s a representative example.

Even through all this, I was able to appreciate that the story is pretty good, and I came to care for the sympathetic characters, however badly acted they were. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of a small coastal village in northeast US (called Passammaquoddy, apparently a real bay in Maine). So, by the time I was partly through watching this (fairly long) movie, I felt very committed to continuing, enjoying it as I was just as much for its entertaining badness as for anything else.

I want to end by mentioning one musical scene in the movie that took me by surprise because it was actually good, and funny and catchy and overall entertaining. It’s our introduction to the charlatan Dr. Terminus, and so it’s self-contained. If you want a taste of a part of the movie that I think is head and shoulders better than the rest while reflecting exactly what I mean by a stage-musical-style musical number (not making any claims about how good in absolute terms this scene is, though), here is a YouTube video of it (the song “Passammaquoddy”) (warning: mildly off-color taste on body type and disability stuff). I would actually enjoy leading a song like this in a musical.

The Fox and the Hound, 1981

These more obscure Disney films are getting more and more interesting. I distinctly remember knowing about this one as a kid, seeing VHS boxes of it at friends’ houses, etc., but I never had much interest in actually seeing it. I watched it for the first time on Disney+ with great curiosity, coming in knowing literally nothing about what the story would be about except “a fox and a hound are friends”. I was pleasantly taken aback by the new setting of backwoods American farmland and by unusually quiet, low-key tone.

The main thing I can say about this movie is that it’s far and away the least Disney-ish of the animated ones I’ve seen so far. If nobody had told me which company made this movie, it would never even occur to me that it was done by Disney, except for the presence of Disney icon Pat Buttram’s very recognizable twangy voice (perfect for this movie, not really appropriate for the setting of Robin Hood). It’s hard to explain just why I feel this way. Maybe it’s something to do with the pacing and the sort of quiet story. Or maybe it’s the fact that none of the animals seem to be drawn in the traditional Disney fashion (that is, we’ve seen fox and owl characters before in Disney, and for some reason their counterparts in The Fox and the Hound aren’t recognizable to me.) Or maybe it was the almost complete lack of songs. Honestly, trying to write this, I can’t quite pin down what made this a slightly offputting Disney-watching experience.

Despite feeling affection for the characters from the get-go, I actually found myself rather bored throughout the first half of the slowly-progressing movie. Then I perked up in the middle, actually thinking there might be a death, and of a rather morally ambiguous character too (this didn’t feel like a Disney film, so it might break the rules?). After that I felt enthralled to the point of breaking down and finishing it after having previously decided to leave a bit left over for the next day. I’m really not used to not having any idea how stories will end when going through Disney movies, and I guess I couldn’t handle even that small bit of suspense.

In the end, I thought the story, and how the story was rendered, was pretty good -- not stellar, but genuine. I don’t know about how overly-neatly everything was wrapped up with the main antagonist Amos Slade doing a complete 180 at the end, but after all this is Disney even if it doesn’t particularly feel like it and I shouldn’t be surprised at a happy ending.

Random side note: I wonder if Big Mama (the owl character) could be criticized as sort of an African-American stereotype and thus what Disney+ would call an “outdated cultural depiction”, or if it will be in another ten years.

The Black Cauldron, 1985

We continue with our sequence of more obscure Disney flicks. I guess this era is called the Dark Age of Disney for a reason, and one could say that this movie epitomizes such an era both in its role in the evolution of Disney and in its actual content. I don’t recall even hearing about this one as a child. I’ve heard it referred to as an adult only in the context of its successor being advertised as fun to provide a contrast with the overly-dark box office failure that had just come out, so I came in expecting a not-very-worthwhile movie that would be uncharacteristically dark and un-fun.

All I can say is, wow! The Black Cauldron, while indeed uncharacteristically dark (in ambiance at least, less so in subject matter), is genuinely, seriously good!

Within literally the first two seconds of the film, I knew that I was in a Medieval setting (not having known anything whatsoever about the story prior to watching) both from the music and from the backdrop. This remained the case throughout the movie. Everything in its style is boldly, wholeheartedly Medieval, not like some other Disney movies where the Medieval setting is watered-down and phony *cough*swordinthestone*cough*robinhood*hack. The only other movie on this list so far which comes close to succeeding at this was Sleeping Beauty, but that is such a different type of film, with such a different animation style, that comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges. Honestly, I don’t think that the flavor is so thick even in Sleeping Beauty. The art of The Black Cauldron actually feels closer to that of Magic the Gathering than anything else I can think of from Disney. The effects of the animation are absolutely gorgeous -- in a rather dark way, mind you, not bright and colorful like what is usually associated with Disney.

The story is complex by Disney standards and I had zero familiarity with it beforehand, so for the first time I actually had to check myself to make sure I was paying attention. The characters are reasonably developed with engaging dialog (though slightly hesitant and sparse, with unusually little humor). It was a little jarring to hear “the Forbidden Forest” mentioned by one of the characters and remember that Harry Potter wouldn’t be around for over a decade. The main villain is one of the scariest ones of Disney and I would imagine may have been somewhat influenced by Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor, who had made his debut only a couple of years earlier.

I said that the last film on this list seemed distinctly un-Disney-ish, and I can say the same about this one in its own way -- maybe this was an experimental trend at Disney studios during the first half of the 80′s. The Black Cauldron has even less music in it than The Fox and the Hound and may be the only animated feature I’ve seen here with nothing resembling a song at all. One strong impression I got throughout, especially when the dungeon sequence started and the princess was introduced -- and this isn’t exactly a compliment -- is that something about the pacing, dialog, body movements, etc. seriously makes this movie feel like I’m watching a video game. (For personal context, I’ve never been a gamer, and most of my exposure to video games comes from watching college roommates play during the late 00′s.) I can’t justify exactly where I get this feeling. Also, the princess is strangely voiced and feels particularly like a non-player (video game) character somehow. I’m now curious as to whether there have ever been any games based on this movie or whether it had faded too much into oblivion by the time gaming reached the right level of progress.

Anyway, The Black Cauldron may not be especially fun or enjoyable to kids, but for an older person in the mood for some spooky Medieval fantasy animated entertainment, I recommend it as a fine movie.

(Fun trivia: I had believed that the successor on this list was the first animated feature to use computers to assist in animation, in the clock/gear sequence, but apparently this one actually was. Also, to date it was the most expensive animated film created.)

The Great Mouse Detective, 1986

Now for a classic that I had been greatly looking forward to. We didn’t have The Great Mouse Detective at my home growing up, but I know I saw it a number of times and later remembered liking it so much that on a whim in college, around the time I revisited Mary Poppins, I borrowed it from the local Blockbuster. I distinctly remembering feeling a little sheepish checking it out, but the young guy at the register actually said something like, “Yeah, that’s one of the best ones.” Years later, one of my best friends during graduate school was hanging out at my place and the conversation went to us agreeing on how excellent The Great Mouse Detective is and musing over the fact that nobody ever seems to talk about it, and we decided to watch it together as it was on Netflix at the time. We didn’t bother to log out of my roommate’s Netflix account to watch it, and he was later very irritated at me about the fact that Netflix was now constantly offering him children’s animated features. Anyway, it seems I’m far from the only one who has often viewed this one as perhaps the most underrated Disney classic of all time. (Further evidence: it comes second in WatchMojo’s list, with their winner being its predecessor!)

The Great Mouse Detective was billed as “All new! All fun!” to assure audiences that it would be a departure from the heavy seriousness of its predecessor, and in this it generously delivers all the way through. It’s based on the just-silly-enough-to-be-delightful premise that in late Victorian London there was a mouse version of Queen Victoria living in Buckingham Palace and a mouse version of Sherlock Holmes (our title character) living under the human Holmes’ flat in Baker Street. Our villain, the dastardly Ratigan, is hatching a plan to take over all of Mousedom via a plot which is incredibly silly, but the movie, which is consistent in its unpretentiousness, is able to pull this off just fine. All of the characters are nicely fleshed out (there’s a case to be made about Fidget’s character reflecting ableism but let’s leave that aside). Ratigan is the juiciest villain we’ve seen since Cruella de Vil. The plot is actually pretty complex, not at all like the predictable fairy tale / fantasy type plots we’ve often seen, yet not so complicated that it would lose the audience (or if it loses some kids, they will still be entertained by the great voicing, music, and animation). The action is, bar none, the very best I’ve seen so far on the animated movies of this list, and the movie is somehow packed with action -- every single sequence of it is superb, and the climactic scene inside of Big Ben is a revolutionary masterpiece of animation (by the standards that existed at the time). The abrupt transition to that scene, beginning in near-silence, is one of the more delightfully, deliciously chilling Disney moments for me.

This is not one of the great Disney musicals, but all three of its three musical numbers are still very enjoyable. I remember learning in college that the same person wrote “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind” and “Goodbye So Soon”, but I only just now internalized that the composer was Henry Mancini who I love from The Pink Panther and Victor Victoria. There is a certain type of wit and humor in the lyrics of both of those songs which I don’t know how to characterize in words except to say that it’s sprinkled with phrases either containing self-contradictons (“You’re the best of the worst around”, “You’re more evil than even you”) or redundancy (“No one can doubt what we know you can do”) or just plain wordplay (“Even meaner? You mean it?”, “With time so short I’ll say so long”). None of it makes a pretense of being extremely witty or anything; it’s just mildly dry. I don’t know what to call this kind of humor and can’t think of another example of it, but it consciously (though subtly) influenced the vibe I was going for with the section headings in certain of my earlier Wordpress essays.

Perhaps Lady and the Tramp can make a case for winning the Most Underrated Disney Animated Feature prize, as it seems more mature and elegant, but I’m not ashamed to say that I find The Great Mouse Detective every bit as enjoyable and that I still have enough inner child in me that I can rewatch the movie in my early 30′s and come out of it smiling broadly.

Oliver and Company, 1988

The first major Disney feature that came out in my lifetime! As with The Fox and the Hound, I always knew about this one growing up but was never really interested enough to watch it (even despite the fact that it was somehow loosely based on Oliver Twist, whose musical adaptation I was raised on pretty heavily) -- at least, I don’t think I ever saw any of it until one day in my young adulthood cable days when I caught it on TV. By “caught it on TV”, of course I mean that I probably didn’t see all of it, and it was interrupted by commercials and I was probably doing something else at the same time and not paying much attention. Literally the only thing I could remember was the line “Don’t want to mix with the riffraff?”

It’s just as well because in the grander progression of Disney creations, Oliver and Company turns out to be pretty skipable. Now I will say that I appreciate the variety of locations and cultural backdrops in Disney films and the amount of effort the creators put into carrying them out (something that was mostly lost on me as a kid). In this case, we are transported for the first time to contemporary New York, and it’s clear that the writers, voice actors, and animators went full throttle on making everything seem as in-your-face New-York-ish as possible. I don’t fault them for doing this, but it’s all done in a slightly brash way that doesn’t at all attract me to late-80′s New York culture.

I was struck in the first few minutes by a change I don’t quite know how to describe in words, except to say that the animation and even more the music feel palpably distinctly more modern than anything I’ve visited so far. The animation is simpler and more generic (luckily I have a fondness for kittens and they do succeed in making Oliver look adorable, but otherwise the visuals left me cold), and the music is a sharp reminder of the blander forms of pop music I remember growing up hearing. “Why Should I Worry?” triggered a recognition of the song that I had long forgotten -- apparently I used to know it very well but I’m not entirely sure how. The other songs are forgettable enough that I’ve already forgotten them. Interesting to find out that the principal voices were done mainly by Billy Joel and Bette Midler, marking another step on Disney’s road towards featuring more big-time celebrities in their voice acting (culminating in Robin Williams’ role in Aladdin several years later).

The story is very watered down compared to either the book or the musical version of Oliver -- understandable, I suppose, but I didn’t find it very interesting. The characters were lackluster, and the main villain Sykes managed to be even more forgettable than What’s-her-name from The Rescuers. This movie normalizes hitting on women by making catcalling noises, as done by two of the non-evil characters -- I wonder if this was put in because it’s considered a distinctive feature of New York culture, but either way I found its presence in the film obnoxious. I will say that the character of Georgette (played by Midler) stood out as very funny, and I enjoyed all of her scenes, but I don’t have much else positively positive to say about this one.

#disney films #the aristocats #bedknobs and broomsticks #robin hood #body issues #winnie the pooh #the rescuers #the black cauldron #Harry Potter #episode vi #the great mouse detective #ableism #oliver twist #catcalling #Our Current president #alcoholism

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wasalwaysagreatpickle · 4 years

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Thursday 4 February 1830

8 35/..

Fahrenheit 11˚ at 8 3/4 – read a few pp. Captain Hall’s America – Madame Contart’s woman came about black Chantilly veils for Mrs James Dalton – breakfast at 10 1/2 in 25 minutes – wrote civil little note to Miss Poore Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 35 ‘to ask her to lend me one of her silver earrings for a couple of hours that I might get a pair like them for Isabella Norcliffe hoped to hear better accounts of Miss Poore –

Off at 11 1/2 – left fan to be mended at Privat’s got to Captain Basil Hall’s about 11 3/4 – sent away the carriage ordered it to be back in 1 1/4 hour – Captain Hall immediately arranged the camera lucida – at 1st seemed as if I could manage tolerably but afterwards could never once see both object and pencil at the same time, and could do nothing – it was a difficulty Captain Hall had never met with before and therefore could not help me –

I repented having sent away the carriage I saw they wanted to write etc. I looked at the pendule said I expected the carriage soon oh said Mr Hall you are very welcome to stay here in fact I am glad enough to get anything out of them I find them rather too second rate for me they all gaping after getting into society and I doubt whether they can succeed as they wish – I will not go to the ball with them

On leaving the Halls about 1 1/2 (while there George took my note to Miss Poore – see line 2 of today) found in the carriage very civil note that George had brought back from Lady Poore to say that as Miss Poore was out she Lady Poore had opened my note that Miss Poore was quite well – it was she Lady Poore who was the invalid, ‘but I should have been most happy to see you yesterday but the servants are so tiresome and I cannot get them to discriminate between a lady friend and a young Dandy – I have no doubt but Nora will call on you between 2 and 3’ ……

On this drive to the Poore’s – at home – all very civil – Sir Edward and Lady Poore and a young man, apparently very intimate with them all – found Miss Poore just sending off a very nice note which I brought away to say she was sorry she could not call today having appointed to take a young French girl home at that hour to the other side of the water rue Vaugirard, but had sent me the earring – It seems she called on me last tuesday ‘and we really see no more of each other, than if you were not in Paris’ –

Had the veils brought up – we all agreed to like the plain one best, but that the one ouvragé at 192/. would be best to send Mrs James Dalton – Mrs Ashton (and Miss Ashton?) who spoke to me last Thursday at the embassy came in – not introduced – sat about 20 minutes and then (about 2 10/60) called on Mrs Hamilton – at home – confined to the house with a bad cold – sat talking very cozily – not to be a bal costumé or masqué – and not a thing de [rigeur] to go –

Lady Stuart de Rothesay had nothing to do with it as having nothing to do with the English – would have me go in in white but yes! I might go in black – if I did not dress handsomely, no! but I wore so much handsome blonde which made it dress – had a very pretty gown – made it out it must be my mock blonde ball dress – said I always wore black – had done so for many many years – the royal family to be there – and the kings and the duke of Orleans’s servants to wait – said I should give myself no further trouble – if anybody found fault with my black, I should say I had high authority for it – had the veils brought up, and agreed to send the ouvragé one – then speaking of the great fuss about getting invited to the embassy as a passport to French society which few get into after all – a Mrs Fitzwilliam received the most French (she had nothing very attractive about her) but she was one of those who had determined upon it, and somehow these people succeeded – did I know the Halls? they too had got into a good deal of French society, but he was one of those determined people –

and let nothing stop him and was sometimes troublesome asked people to introduce him to others who were present and had no means of refusing this was bad taste asked if they knew much of Lord Lady Stuart she said he had know the latter before when on his return from loochoo he was a sort of lion

Speaking of Captain Hall’s America, Mrs Hamilton was a year in Canada – many of Captain Hall’s opinions very good – but a pity he had let there be so many trivialities in his book – but he was vain – though certainly clever, he did not shew it by putting many of the little things in his book which appeared there –

It seems he is too pushing –

Spoke of the camera lucida – Mrs Hamilton wanted to see the principle of it – held it up – promised to give her all the instructions I got myself – sat about an hour with Mrs Hamilton and then drove to the embassy – never dreamt of being admitted – found the 2 Misses Bury there on their lesson – going away – stood some time talking to 1st one then the other of them – till came Madame de Noailles, and we all stood till the Misses Bury went and I offered to go too, but Lady Stuart would not let me – by and by made another attempt but Lady Stuart said she had not seen me of a long time and I must not go – so staid, though at last uncomfortably enough for Madame de Noailles whispered and had evidently something to say she did not wish me to hear – however [stayed] her out and Lady Stuart uncomfortably civil and kind and literally kept me talking till my visit lasted just 2 hours – talked over old Lady Stuart the charity ball Madame de Flahaut, reclamations i.e. fuss about getting invited to the embassy parties – on receiving Lady Buckinghamshire etc. etc.

Mentioned my fear at Brussels of Lady Stuart’s head having an apoplectic her eating too much the strong cordials drams doctor maton gave her I said she was evidently breaking now I knew she wished Lady Stuart de Rothesay to receive Lady Buckinghamshire Lady Stuart de Rothesay’s reasons against it I said I quite agreed with her but knew Lady Stuart’s wish agreed with Lady Stuart de Rothesay there was no parallel between her and Lady Rancliffe the latter had always kept the support of some good female society and was now supported by her husbands family Madame de Polignac etc. this was not so with the other whom Lady Stuart de Rothesay must bring out as it were entirely I agreed to all Lady Stuart de Rothesay said complimented her and Lord Stuart delicately on the manner in which all was conducted on their popularity etc. etc. all which seemed to go down well –

Some hint at a ball for the English poor – said I really wished to ask Lady Stuart de Rothesay what she had done – I had done nothing as yet, and should be happy to be called on by her in any way she liked – had she had any tickets to get rid of for this French charity ball should certainly have had my name on her list etc. etc. at last, talking of invitations made a civil speech about being invited so often – hearing that there are about 300 people connected with the diplomacy and about 200 the Stuarts wish to invite and then come all the rest who must be ménagés as well as they can – complimented Lady Stuart on her management – just hinted about sending the invitations per petite poste – good reasons against this for the only invitation lately some sent had failed (been missent)? and mistakes seldom really occurred at present, but there might be instances where it might be convenient for mistakes to be supposed – then a few words on Mrs Lisle Follet (who was first Lisle Pawlet)

But Follet was not the man for whom she left her husband Pawlet and then said but Lady Aldcorough was the person the French wondered most to see received yes but said Lady Stuart de Rothesay she was never touched by the law and she had wordly wisdom never asked to be introduced to anyone I alluded to her folly in being so unguarded in conversation what about her grand daughter no that was natural it was about as to never having had her wishes satisfied and what might probably do it explained no further said some husbands were more communicative at home than others and some ladies said much to their particular friends or I could not have heard what was much too bad to repeat but said I had named it too Lady Stuart it was now five and a quarter and I came away

Left Lady Stuart de Rothesay at about 5 1/4 – knew Mrs Hamilton was expecting her – the carriage was at the door – yet she had certainly kept me – why? surely she did not find me very disagreeable – then to Michel’s for biscuits – then to the Palais Royal ordered 4 dozen large buttons and 2 ditto small chez Maurisset – bought silver earrings for Isabella Norcliffe chez Chauffert no. 65 Palais Royal – then went to Madame Contart’s – left the carton of black lace veils – bought one chosen and got ho[me] at 6 1/4 –

Dressed – dinner at 7 1/4 – came to my room at 8 1/4 – wrote another note to ‘Miss Poore’ with her earrings and the pair I bought for Isabella Norcliffe for Miss Poore to look at – read my letter from Mariana London, Friday 29 January – the 2 first pp. filled by Mrs Miller ([cidevent] Eliza Raine written at Leamington 19 ultimo) really very proper good letter – better than I expected from Eliza – I smiled at the following ‘I will add that I think matrimony a very comfortable sort of state, not withstanding that there are so many queer things attending it’ !!!

Mariana wrote the last page and the ends and under the seal, and crosses the 1st page and 6 lines of crossing on the 2nd – went to town in an open carriage to the cold and hurry laid her up in a bilious attack, then she had toothache – then Charles had a bilious attack, and she had to nurse him – had called but not seen Miss Maclean who goes out at 12 and does not return till 5 – a pretty fair spell with Mr Long and his doctoring –

‘The letters amuse, instruct, and interest my best feelings, I know not what I should do without them – they seem all now that connects me with the world, for even at Leamington I see little more than I do at Lawton’ - …. I often think upon and anticipate with no common feeling the hope of being able to visit Paris for 2 or 3 months some of these days – if Charles could get to move about pretty comfortably I might manage this, but though the thought pleases and keeps me alive, yet it is too much of a chance to be allowed to interfere for an instant with your plans in fact were Charles well enough for me to go, the time could easily be made to suit you, for to me all times and seasons are alike, and even were it otherwise I should be well prepared for any disappointment on my part which was balanced by a gain on yours therefore never let me cross your thoughts to interfere with your wishes let me be a comfort to you when I can, when this ceases think of me no more. You do indeed seem gay, and it appears you [need] lack acquaintances if so it pleases you to make them Miss Prevost would not have suited you at all. She is too ‘little worldly’ - ‘I knew not that this was Miss Maclean’s failing, it amuses me to read you can think anybody too little so, Fred, there was a time when you thought some people too much so, but I still contend this was never the case’ –

Coffee at 9 1/4 – came to my room at 10 1/2 – talked to my aunt of Mariana’s letter – thought it might answer and perhaps be probable to have Miss McKenzie next winter – Fine, hard frosty very cold day – Fahrenheit 11˚ at 8 3/4 a.m. - 16˚ at 11 1/2 a.m. 16˚ at 9 1/4 p.m. and 15˚ at midnight –

Came to my room at 10 1/2 and wrote all the above of today which with hair curling took me till 12 1/2 – By the way George brought back the earrings (sent at 8 3/4 to Miss Poore) with a little note to say she admired them very much – ditto Sir Edward who seems to be thought a first rate judge – wrote 2 pp. to Mariana till 2 –

#anne lister #anne lister code breaker #mariana lawton #1830

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masaru2042 · 5 years

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King of the Monsters is the Best Season of Game of Thrones Ever!

When I came out of the theater, I hadn't had warm and fuzzies about a movie in...I can't tell you how long. And this movie gave me warm and fuzzies. And this is despite the nay-sayers and the idiot critics who are slamming this movie. Just a little FYI here, Godzilla beat out Aladdin for the #1 spot. Godzilla pimp-slapped the Mouse into second place opening weekend. And I approve of this.

But despite all the critics REEEEING over Godzilla and calling it garbage, I'm gonna tell you this movie is awesome and is worth your money. And if you have a $5 dollar Tuesday like me because you have a Cinemark Cinema in your town...and you're worried about shelling out too much money for something you think you might not like...go see it on Tuesday, pay the 5 bucks, and then see why I said it's worth every cent. And then go back and see it again full price if you want to.

So like any review I've done, usually I review a movie that I found bad and wanna shit all over it. It is my thing, after all. I mean see what all I've said about Godzilla Final Wars and everyone got pissy at me for hating on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 1991 and why I said I like GMK so much better...

And of course me shitting on Minya every time I mention Godzilla, because I hate that shit stain...I'm gonna actually give a positive review.

I mean the last movie review I did was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and...well...

It’s safe to say I really hated that movie.

But this one, I didn’t.

Just remember, this movie is worth every cent of your money. You did it! You did it, Hollywood! You finally made a REAL GODZILLA MOVIE! COMPLETE WITH THE ACTUAL GODZILLA THEME SONG! And the Blue Oyster's Go, Go, Godzilla at the end. And yes, there's even Mothra's theme song. And I was singing it during the movie. To anyone out there who said it couldn't be done...Cough-Steven Spielberg-Cough...we did it! America has finally made a real Godzilla movie! You also made the first Godzilla movie that actually gave a proper jump scare...and Godzilla was the one who did it, and I actually jumped! 10/10! You made me jump at a jump scare and I don't usually jump at jump scares. And yes, there was one, and it's at the beginning but...it's good. First Godzilla movie to have a genuine jump scare that actually made me jump. Thank you, movie! So, how does it start out. Well, it starts out in 2014 and we're following a family called the Russel Family. No sign of the Brody family, but that's probably because they finally got eaten by sharks because...JAWS, damn it! And also the Brody family was dull, save for Brian Cranston, and why the fuck didn't G2014 keep Brian Cranston in there? Anyway, we have Mark Russel, Emma Russel, and their daughter Madison Russel...who is played by the actress from Stranger Things...Millie Bobby Brown. I'm gonna refer to her as Eleven from here on out because that's who I know her the most as. And yes, next month, Stranger Things is coming back to Netflix, and I'm gonna be watching that. There's also Eleven's little brother, but he only appears in photographs because he ended up getting squashed by Godzilla's foot in San Francisco...so...I'm not gonna bother to learn his name. Interesting to note, the actor who plays Mark...played Bruce Baxter from King Kong 2005. But I barely recognize him...so, he doesn't get a quirky name. We do have Ken Watanabe returning as Ishiro Serizawa. Who I suspect is actually the sun of Daisuke Serizawa...though Daisuke is a completely different kind of person in the MonsterVerse than what he was in the original Gojira.

Okay, so, we cut to about 5 years later, so 2019 and we meet up with Eleven and her mom and El is contacting her dad who is not with them. He's studying wolves. And they have a little email convo, Dad's worried about his wife, El is worried about Dad, and so on. And I like how they build things up here because we don't realize that Eleven and her mom are in China studying Mothra's egg. Until we hear Mothra's call, and yes it is very recognizable. I suspect that there weren't veteran Godzilla fans like myself in the theater with me, so, pretty much every fan moment in this movie was something I would recognize but would mostly fall flat on most viewers. The monster calls and the music. Except for King Ghidorah's call...they were trying to do his call but...to be honest, it sounded like a bad mix of Heisei Ghidorah and the version they used in Final Wars. With a little Showa in there. The most perfect Ghidorah call was done in GMK. It made him sound powerful, big, and kept the iconic call. However, King Ghidorah's design looks rather interesting. It's more of an updated version of Heisei Ghidorah than any of the other Ghidorahs. Even more interesting is that the three heads all have their own separate personalities. How can I explain them? This fan art done by Michael J Larson just might help.

I present to you, Moe, Larry, and Curly. Legendary turned King Ghidorah into the Three Stooges. And here's the funny bit, Moe is the middle head, while Curly is the one on the right, and Larry is the one on the left. And just like in Three Stooges fashion, Moe hates Curly a lot. He even bops Curly a few times to pretty much make a point on just who these thee heads represent.

Rodan's call didn't sound much like Rodan's call either, but, I'm not a big Rodan fan, so I forgave it.

So, Eleven and Mom here goes down into a cave where Mothra's egg is so they can witness Mothra being born. And of course call the giant moth-like creature...Mothra. Because yeah. We need to state that. Complete with Mothra's theme!

Well Mom's got a gadget that seems to be able to create a signal that makes the monster docile, and lo and behold it works! And then Tywin Lannister shows up!

This is Charles Dance's character Alan Jonah...you know, like the whale...however, I'm gonna stick with Tywin Lannister. Because that's who he is! Well, Tywin kidnaps mom and Eleven. Tywin actually is trying to be a little nice to Eleven, even making a silly face at her. Which I thought was cute. Until she flipped Tywin off...because yes, Eleven can do that to Tywin! She's probably the only person who can flip Tywin Lannister the bird! Anyone else would have been beheaded.

Apparently Tywin now runs an eco-terrorist group who are a bunch of nihilists. And they wanna release King Ghidorah for the purpose of ending the suffering that man has caused the planet. So...Anime Godzilla Xaliens? Really, Tywin? The Dragon has three heads, but apparently you merely wanted to end the Targaryan dynasty just to set up the new Ghidorah dynasty. Well, to tell you the truth, King Ghidorah would make a better ruler than Bran the Broken, so he has my vote on that. Honestly, this whole movie is like the best Game of Thrones climax ever! With a little Stranger Things mixed in for good measure.

And King Ghidorah...or rather Ghidorah as they call him in the movie...is actually located in Antarctica. Because of course he is. How did he get there? We don't know. He is a space monster just like he usually is, and he also wants to fuck over everything on planet Earth, like usual. But this time...it's him doing it, and not someone controlling him...or rather...that device they call Orca sends out a call at first controls him, but the he's like "Naw, man, I'm my own boss." And really fucks over Tywin's plans. Because King Ghidorah at least listened to Olena Tyrell's suggestion of "Be a Dragon." And he pretty much shows how much he is a dragon, rather than what Danaerys did until the very last minute. Yes, I won't stop the Game of Thrones comparisons, shut up! So, apparently, Ghidorah has the Queen of Thorns on his side and she's been talking into his ear more than Mamma Russel's Orca's machine has. And to show Olena how much of a dragon he is, King Ghidorah eats a few humans as he is freed.

No, I'm serious, King Ghidorah eats people! Olena would be proud.

He also doesn't listen to Tywin Lannister. And neither did Aerys, but that's only because Aerys didn't want Cercei to marry Rhaegar. So, Tywin pretty much gave that dragon a middle finger and decided to get with another three headed dragon...a literal three headed dragon, and they're gonna fuck up the planet, yo! Until Olena Tyrell started talking to King Ghidorah about playing the Game of Thrones, and now King Ghidorah uses his magic monster call to literally "Call the Banners!" I'm fucking serious! There is a reason why the Game of Thrones references will not stop! King Ghidorah pulls a Rob Stark and turns to Maester Lewin.

King Ghidorah: "Maester Lewin..."

Lewin: "Yes, your Grace."

King Ghidorah: "Call the banners."

Lewin: "All of them?"

King Ghidorah: "All of them."

And the ravens fly!

Meanwhile, Daddy Russel got wind of his wife and daughter being kidnapped, as well as Orca being used to summon King Ghidorah and well, he seems to have a big beef with the monsters in general. Apparently, he has a bone to pick with Godzilla for the death of his son. And he wants to Inigo Montoya Godzilla's ass. The problem is, he's about the size of Godzilla's talon, so I don't think that duel is gonna work very well. However, it's here where we get to the jump scare that works and why I loved it. You see, in this scene, we're in an underwater Monarch base where they discuss what they want to do with Godzilla. Russel is on the "let's kill the bastard" boat along with the American military, and Serizawa is more on the boat of...we becoming Godzilla's adopted children in which he protects from other threats out there. Or rather...his pets. Which of course doesn't go very well over with the Americans. Because...

youtube

You honestly think we're gonna be Godzilla's little pet humans, Serizawa? HELL NO!

But I chock that up to poor translation since English isn't Serizawa's first language. And maybe that came out wrong. Anyhoo...yeah, Godzilla's pets. No. I like you, big guy, but I ain't gonna be your cat.

So, while we're in this underwater base, Godzilla decides to show up! And they start pointing their guns at him...which kinda pisses him off. While Russel here hates Godzilla, even he knows it's not wise to go and pick a fight with him without a plan, so he even tells the guys to stand down, which they do. And then we have a moment where Godzilla slowly inches close to the glass and Russel and the King of the Monsters have some kind of moment. And to tell you the truth, it's a better moment than what we had with Brody and Godzilla. Well, Godzilla at first slinks back into the darkness...and everything seems fine. And this is where the jump scare happens. They don't draw it out to where you expect a jump scare to happen, like...most jump scares do. That's how you know it's a bad jump scare, they draw it out for so long that you know it's gonna jump out and get you. You're just waiting for it to happen. Here? Nope, the moment you think everything is okay, Godzilla jump scares you by just suddenly swimming by the glass.

And that's it.

And I did not expect it at all!

That's how you jump scare people! Again, this shows why Godzilla is King of the Jump Scares! There is no lingering shot, there is no "he's still there, he's still there, he's still there...he's still there..." It just comes right out of nowhere like a jump scare does. And I did jump. So again, good work, movie.

And I will say I like Russel as well. Yeah, he's in the "I hate Godzilla and I wanna see him dead" boat, but it's not taken to ridiculous extremes like you'd think it would be. He's smart, he knows when to fold them if he has to, which in Godzilla movies...is a good thing. You see, Godzilla movies tend to have characters like Russel be so over the top moronic in their hatred...you just wanna skip right over them and get to the monster fight. Russel is not one of these characters. His wife on the other hand...is an idiot, and I might as well address her.

She's flawed, and I'm glad we have for once a flawed female character in a world of female protagonists have to be perfect awesome people so that the feminazis can relate to them.

Apparently, the SJWs didn't really affect this movie much, and I'm grateful for that. Yeah, I had one guy tell me how he hated that Ghidorah wasn't called King and that he wasn't really a he...but an it. But I had to remind him that pretty much that's all the monsters. Including Godzilla. And Ghidorah's first movie was Ghidorah the Three-headed Monster in which this movie is a bit of a remake of. But not quite. In fact, I went into this movie thinking it was going to be a remake of that movie. Right down to Eleven being maybe a person possessed by some supernatural being who wanted to warn everyone about King Ghidorah's coming. She wasn't at all. I half expected Tywin to be some guy trying to assassinate her and he wasn't. And I thought Rodan would team up with Mothra and Godzilla against King Ghidorah after Mothra smacked their asses around and talked about friendship and the heart of the cards and shit, but he didn't and neither did Mothra. Mothra was on Godzilla's side, but not Rodan. Rodan was on King Ghidorah's side! He was one of the banners Ghidorah had Maester Lewin send a raven to. And another one of those ravens went to Nevada of all places and to...and I'm shocked to say this...Kumonga! Yes, our giant spider from the 60's Showa era has returned in the American reboot! And much like his Final Wars counterpart, he decided to be in the American Southwest. Maybe he liked Cowboys or something. We also had a giant mammoth creature rising out of Wyoming. And another MUTO. Why, Legendary? Why another MUTO? I guess we needed to reuse an asset or something. Well, it wouldn't be a Godzilla movie if we didn't. So...you're checking off the marks here, Legendary. We even have stock footage in the form of clips! They are checking off all the Showa marks!

So, while King Ghidorah is flying around in a hurricane he created (totally awesome) and telling Lewin to call his Banners, we suddenly find out that Mamma Russel was actually the mastermind behind this whole "the Dragon has Three Heads" thing. Yeah, Tywin Lannister wasn't the guy in charge, it was Ma Russel. And she managed to convince Eleven that this is for the well being of mankind. You see, she wants the monsters to basically cull the humans and our evil technology, and return the world to a more peaceful time where we were subsistence farmers worshiping giant monsters as gods? Because that was a more peaceful time?

And this is why she's an idiot. And her ideas is batshit crazy! The world has never been more at peace now than any other era. I'm not kidding about that. Yeah, we're polluting the planet, and we need to cut back our carbon footprint, but to be honest here...the planet was much warmer during the time of the Dinosaurs than it is currently NOW. And while I've touted about the lessons of the P-T Extinction Event, aka the Great Dying, in which a flood basalt in Siberia started an out of control greenhouse that resulted in nearly 90% of all life on the planet dying, including the life in the oceans, and set our planet in a biological to be resetted in a way...and that was caused by just the temperature rising on top of all the nasty gasses put into the atmosphere by said flood basalt...I don't think that just going back to subsistence farming is gonna solve the problem, lady. In fact, it's stated even if we just stop all the polluting now, the damage has already been done. There is no stopping it. And NO! Suddenly causing the entire planet to just become more radioactive is not gonna solve your problem either. She honestly believed that radiation is some miracle grow fertilizer. When, no it isn't. And Carl Sagan can tell you why! Did you not listen to Threads? Did you not watch that movie, lady? I feel like I need to sit you and Final Wars Godzilla down and you both watch that movie together to see why just pumping a bunch of radiation into the atmosphere is not gonna help things. Final Wars Godzilla needs to learn that we understand the message of nuclear war. Threads has told us that. And you, you moronic bitch, need to learn the lesson of radiation will make farming HARDER!

And apparently for a scientist, she's never heard of the Red Forest of Chernobyl.

If you want to know what it looks like to an entire ecosystem when it's been bombarded by radiation...just radiation alone...

See those red trees? That is caused by massive amounts of radiation being released upon a forest.

Again, I prove why I know more about radiation than anyone who makes a Godzilla movie. But this time, I will forgive it because this lady is actually stupid and everyone else is far more intelligent in regards to dealing with radiation. Seriously, how did this woman get a doctorate in which she ended up working for an organization built to study monsters from a time when the Earth was "more radioactive" as it's was stated in this universe's past? And unless you wanna die from cancer or bleeding out your ass, you need to sit your ass down and shut the fuck up. But thank god this woman is basically the villain and a stupid one at that. Even Tywin Lannister got tired of her shit. And Eleven just figured out her mother is a loon.

Basically, Tywin Lannister makes more sense than crazy lady, because well, he at least just wants to release the monsters and wipe out humanity as a whole. In which the radiation will certainly do that. So, he's pretty much on the bar on the consequences of what will actually happen more than the idiot bitch. He just wants to make it happen because he's seen enough evidence of what humans are like, and he's tired of it. Which I can respect. Not the whole genocide thing, but the whole...I'm not doing this to "save humanity from itself thing" like crazy moron had pretty much talked herself into...to the point of stupidity and forgetting what radiation actually will do to humans and the ecosystem. Sure, maybe the ecosystem was actually more hardy against radiation in this universe than in our own...but still...that doesn't resolve the issue that TODAY'S plants and animals are not hardy against it! Well our Monarch heroes show up to where Rodan was popping out of that volcano like in the trailer, and we finally get to the first fight. Monarch leads Rodan to the storm and King Ghidorah, hoping to just have the two fight...but they don't. Because Rodan is on Ghidorah's side. So, it's up to Godzilla to take this false king down. And he does! He literally pulls a Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 1991 and decapitates Ghidorah's head!

Well...the United States has a plan to finally put all three monsters down and it's....

The Oxygen Destroyer

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Okay, this is where I'm gonna have to gripe. Because this thing is the single most stupid idea ever! But at least it does have a pay off in the stinger at the end when everyone basically states that the Gulf of Mexico is now devoid of fish. However, the existence of this weapon in this movie is uncalled for. But I suppose it's meant to set up the scene where Serizawa decides to sacrifice himself to bring Godzilla back onto the field. And to be honest, it's not needed. King Ghidorah could just be enough to knock Godzilla out for a few rounds while he goes on his little mayhem run and Serizawa can still sacrifice his life to revive Godzilla from that horrid beating. You don't need this thing in this movie, guys! You don't! You put it in there because you had that little teaser a few years back showing the Oxygen Destroyer in an old Monarch location and people were speculating it. So, you had to give us something.

And people wonder why my Game of Thrones references are happening in this review...because...this is Clegane Bowl, people. This is Clegane Bowl and how stupid Dumb and Dumber made it. It comes out of nowhere because the fans were expecting it, and you didn't even bother to set it in the Dragon pits and fill it to the brim with chickens. We are disappointed with you!

However, I did get a laugh out of it. Military guy: "We have this weapon we've been developing. It's called the Oxygen Destroyer! We're gonna use it on these monsters."

Thanks, America, you just killed all the fish in the Gulf. You morons!

And it didn't work on King Ghidorah because he's an alien. Tell Kiryuu Knight that! He managed to stick his Oxygen Destroyer into King Ghidorah and it worked like magic.

However, I will say that you're not the only ones who did something stupid with the Oxygen Destroyer, Legendary. Kiryuu did to in Halo 3 Different. He had the thing with him, took it to High Charity, and then forgot that he had it. Yeah, I'm capable of my idiot moments in writing as well. But I noticed that no reader really noticed the Oxygen Destroyer was even mentioned in that story...so, can't complain.

Well the Oxygen Destroyer also didn't really kill Godzilla, however it did wound him enough that he retreated to the bowels of the Earth to recover. Basically Hollow Earth theory. Or rather, not really. They call it Hollow Earth Theory, but it really isn't. I know Hollow Earth Theory because I love poking fun at morons who claim stupid shit. Hollow Earth Theory looks like this.

See that? That's a sun instead of a molten core. This is the theory touted by racists like Hitler and Lewis Farakhan. The thing the MonsterVerse came up with is more like...the crust is made out of Swiss cheese. Rather than the Earth being hollow. Basically, the Earth is Tennessee. Tennessee's crust is made out of Swiss cheese, and now these guys applied that to the entire planet. But no, the Earth isn't really hollow in the MonsterVerse, not the way the actual Hollow Earth Theory states. And that has been my biggest problem with the nomenclature they use for this theory in this universe. but I guess Swiss cheese Earth didn't really catch on as good as Hollow Earth. So Godzilla falls through one of these Swiss cheese holes and King Ghidorah regrows his head. Holy shit! However, I noticed, to regrow his head, he had to be sitting on a volcano with his storm raging over him. So...he's drawing power from somewhere to regrow that head, which is why he probably can't regrow his entire body from a single severed head in the totally not gonna make Mecha-King Ghidorah with Tywin Lannister as the pilot stinger. And he's calling his banners.

So this is where we have our Serizawa sacrifice scene. They go into one of the Swiss cheese holes after Mothra in her full glory appears and starts raining down her prettiness on top of the water to guide them to where Godzilla is...complete with her theme of course...and the guys find out some very ancient ruins of a civilization long gone. These ruins appear to be a hodgepodge of Egyptian, Mesoamerican, Mesopotamian, Eutruscan, Celtic creation. Why are they down there, why haven't we seen these things before, and is this the Lost City of Atlantis...I'm banking it's Atlantis. And the Atlantians worshiped Godzilla...before they all moved to Georgia and built the greatest airport mankind has ever seen.

It's all connected, I tell you!

LAX has nothing on Atlanta!

And the closer to where Godzilla is sleeping, the more radioactive it becomes. They decide to deliver a nuke to him to wake him up because nukes feed Godzilla. But the battle with Rodan and King Ghidorah damaged the sub's launching bay and they have to deliver it manually. So Serizawa draws the short straw, gives Papa Russel his notes on Godzilla, and decides to go in and give Godzilla the pick me up he needs. But not before Serizawa boops the Goji snoot. Which is cute. And going back to think on it. At least Serizawa gave Godzilla much deserved pats. Because he's a good boi, damn it! Unlike Jon who...only gave Ghost pats at the last second!

Why you so mean, Jon?!

It seems Godzilla is very much aware of our existence. As he's shown even in the 2014 film to notice those tiny ants under his feet. He is very much aware of the humans, and even after he awakens...to the sound of this...

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Since when did we import Akira Ifukube into this thing?

Okay, are you trying to show how awesome you are to us G-fans, movie, because we get it! We get it! You are awesome. Thank you for that.

Alright, so Goji theme going on and Godzilla starts heading to where King Ghidorah is.

Meanwhile, Tywin Lannister and his eco-lions along with crazy bitch and Eleven are in Boston of all places. While King Ghidorah is making a mess out of Washington DC.

But he is making a mess out of the place and according to the scientists, he's also trying to reformat the planet to suit his needs. In Boston, Eleven decides to steal the Orca and head into Red Sox Stadium. She hooks it up to the massive broadcaster speakers to signal to King Ghidorah to come to Boston. And it works. Unfortunately. Godzilla also gets that signal and he heads for it too. Papa Russel then gets the idea of rather than letting the Gods duke it out in the Red Sox stadium, it's probably time for the humans to show Godzilla that they are on his team. And so...by the power of Akira Ifukue...Godzilla and Monarch charge into battle. And no, not kidding about that either. They charge in with Godzilla's theme song playing in the background. And yes, Godzilla knows they are on his team. You can tell. You can seriously tell. Godzilla is surrounded by military planes and he's like "These guys are with me!"

I'm literally getting Godzilla vs. Hedorah vibes from this because Godzilla and the military actually did team up to defeat Hedorah. And not only that, but Godzilla acknowledged humans several times in that movie. And yes, this movie is actually dedicated to Banno, who was the director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah. So, I approve. And so would he. And it's explained in the movie why Godzilla recognizes the humans as his allies. The Orca's signal is not only mixed with the call of an alpha "titan" as the kaiju are called in the movie, but also the voice of humans. Because we're the alpha predators of this planet! So, Godzilla, obviously hearing not only that sound, but also seeing human dominance all over the place has pretty much recognized humanity as a partner species. And apparently he also recognizes Mothra as a fellow partner species that helps him keep the order, so he now has "imprinted" that status onto humans as well. We're not his pets, Serizawa, we're his partner. I knew the Serizawa's English was off on that. But it reaches the coexistence he is trying to achieve. Mothra also joins the fight, but a bit later when Rodan starts fucking Godzilla's shit over. Meanwhile, Godzilla is building up for a finishing move on Ghidorah...and because of that, there's a timer. Papa Russel wants to go in and save Eleven before that timer runs out. And I'm suspecting Godzilla knows this because he's actually holding back a bit. It's severely hinted that Godzilla knows this. At least to me it is. Like Russel shot Godzilla a message or something.

Russel: "Can you keep that thing busy, Godzilla? I gotta save my daughter!"

Godzilla: "Sure, but not for long. I'll give you 10 minutes, tops! But after that, I gotta unleash this nuclear pulse, or else I might blow myself up if I don't."

Russel: "Ten minutes! Got it!"

Again, not that I mind, but Eleven has Arya Stark plot armor, so...she'll be fine. However, the plot armor is a staple of Godzilla. So, not that gripey about it either. Honestly, when dealing with Godzilla, no character, not even the main ones, should have plot armor. Unless they are so far away from the fight it wouldn't matter.

That rule goes for you as well, Toho! Especially with that whole 24 week long half life thing you had in Shin-Godzilla! Plot armor was the only thing keeping those boring characters alive, because it sure wasn't their hazmat suits. Those things looked like they were made out of tissue paper. Which wouldn't help in dealing with rads that high. Even my mother would know that!

So, if 24 week long half life could get a pass on not killing characters in that shit of a movie, this much better one can get a pass on Eleven not dying.

Meanwhile, crazy bitch Russel finally decides to do something of actual merit and go after her daughter. And Tywin lets her. Because that's not his problem. Just as long as she doesn't take his men with her...he doesn't give a shit.

He really doesn't give a shit.

So that's it for Tywin, we don't see him again until the Stinger, but I've revealed that already. So crazy bitch goes after her daughter, Papa goes after his daughter, and they end up finding the Orca all smashed up. And Godzilla is not doing very well in the fight. He is obviously holding that nuclear pulse in. And yes, it is a nuclear pulse. He's like: "Russel, hurry up! I can't hold this fart in!"

Mothra punctures Rodan in the chest with her stinger. And honestly, she's GMK Mothra. Which is cool. However, she does end up dying during this fight in the attempt to help Godzilla get back on his feet. But like always, she is basically a phoenix and will rise from the ashes through another egg. King Ghidorah is kicking Godzilla's ass all over the place. And when the Russels finally reunite and fix the damned Orca, they turned it on and lead King Ghidorah away from Godzilla long enough for Godzilla to unleash his secret weapon that I spoiled. The nuclear pulse! And it is glorious! He goes red like Burning Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Destroyah, but...it's so much cooler. This red burning look isn't because he's gonna die, it's him charging up his new weapon. And that nuclear pulse is...basically like an atomic blast! Right down to the shearing of flesh from bones! Unfortunately, crazy bitch basically dies in the fire, leaving Russel and Eleven to watch from a distance as Godzilla incinerates King Ghidorah.

And for good measure to make sure Ghidorah doesn't come back...GODZILLA EATS KING GHIDORAH! That has never happened in any Godzilla movie. EVER. Clap! This Godzilla is just the most brutal of any Godzilla. I think GMK Goji might have to bow to this king since he EATS his foes!

And Godzilla stands over a demolished Boston, roars in triumphant. And as the other kaiju show up, he pretty much pulls a Robert Baratheon.

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As if the Game of Thrones references couldn't stop there. So, Godzilla reveals himself to be King Robert Baratheon, which works out because Tywin Lannister is wanting to take him down. So, I'll describe the stinger at the end of the movie. We show Tywin Lannister and his eco-lions walking into a bunker and the guy is explaining that after the Oxygen Destroyer, the fishing in the Gulf is shit now. Because yeah. It would be. It's the Oxygen Destroyer. Well, as he walks into a large room, we see King Ghidorah's only remaining head with flies buzzing around it. And it looks exactly like the scene from Godzilla vs. Mecahgodzilla 1993 when General Aso and a team of scientists come into a room with Mecha-King Ghidorah's head in it...saying "We have it now, a robot to kill Godzilla."

And this is why I think Tywin Lannister is gonna build himself Mecha-King Ghidorah...and take over Westeros.

So all in all, I really look forward to Game of Thrones season 10. It really is shaping up to probably the best season we're ever gonna get. And Season 9 of Game of Thrones ended with a huge bang. I was really satisfied with what they did. Tywin's back! And he's backing the real Dragon...with the Three Heads. I don't think Maester Aemon thought the dragon having three heads meant King Ghidorah, but as George RR Martin stated...prophesies do end up biting your prick off.

So, what do you all think Season 10 of Game of Thrones is gonna be like?

All joking aside, I loved this movie. I really did.

And continuing the Game of Thrones comparisons, the night fight shots in this film...10 times better than The Long Night of Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Why? BECAUSE YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE FIGHT! But if I have one true gripe to say about it...aside from the Oxygen Destroyer...it's that this movie happened BEFORE Godzilla vs. Kong.

No, I'm serious on this. This movie sounds like it should have been done after Godzilla vs. Kong. And I did kinda hated that King Ghidorah had to die in this movie, rather than return as an actual threat again later.

But who knows....we do have that head left over, so anything can happen.

#Godzilla King of the Monsters #legendary pictures #Godzilla #Game of Thrones #GoT Season 8 #Tywin Lannister #Charles Dance #stranger things #Eleven #King Ghidorah #Rodan #Mothra #Ghidorah #kaiju #American kaiju #Titan #spoiler review #movie review

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