#general spoilers ahead in the tags for the direction of both plots

[halfmoonism]

Where Wrath's Edge is Sharp (wwes)

hi sorry I am subjecting you to the Horrors (my terrible awful p5 longfic au that I will. eventually? post once I've finished arc 1 (crossing my fingers. we're at 150ish-k at the time of writing and they're still going through the first palace.))

initial post | wwes tag

major p5r spoilers immediately ahead:

short ver: not-quite-roleswap AU where an Akechi who is persona-less until 17 runs into Morgana instead and unwittingly becomes the leader of the “phantom thieves” w/ Morgana, Makoto, Futaba and Sumire, going against sort-of-Black-Mask Joker w/ Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, and Haru.

long ver: takes a deep breath.

the layout of the iyr/rtg masterpost is so pretty, I'm citing it as inspiration :) I'll start w/ general notes then go into more concise sets of info

misc

no romance! this is an entirely gen found family fic w/ mild alternative chara interpretation (due to differing circumstances) but otherwise sort of follows canon, though the timeline starts abt 8 months before p5r canon (sept 2015)

I'm most likely keeping second and third awakenings, confidant links just take ten million years to progress bc Akechi is. Akechi

new personas: Akechi (Robin Hood -> Skadi, now 2nd persona), Sumire (Cendrillon -> Antigone)

Robin Hood just didn’t make sense for the direction Akechi's chara took (after still feeling helpless, all hope he had that he could be a hero of justice that avenged his mother died); Cendrillon made no sense for Sumire (she never became Kasumi, so the "clock strikes 12/become a different person" theme doesn't fit)

I'm so insane over his 2nd persona being Skadi btw like in mythology Loki killed her dad so. yknow. definitely no parallels there abt being both the victim and the perpetrator or anything

since there's only 5 party members, there is no set nav! Futaba fights w/ a scythe :) this also means everyone else helps teach sumire how to analyze weaknesses after she joins the team :) whoever's nav comments on showtimes as well!

element specializing:

Akechi - curse/psy/gun (Loki), bless/ice/phys (Skadi) Morgana - wind (main healer/buffer + I was not giving him gun sorry lmao) Makoto - nuke/lightning Futaba - psy/fire Sumire - bless/phys

new teams (+ arcanas)

notes: - new arcanas don't reflect the canon storyline, like Akechi being the Tower doesn't mean he has Shinya's canon storyline. it's more about reflections of their personalities and circumstances :) - Ninth Circle links (besides Joker) all break after certain points in the story and reform in third sem

the Espy Division (name courtesy of Futaba)

Futaba initially wanted to name them the Neo Justice Squad V but she was vehemently shut down by Akechi and Makoto lol

Akechi — the Tower

Morgana — Judgment

Makoto — the Chariot

Futaba — the Hanged Man

Sumire — the Fool

the Ninth Circle (name courtesy of mostly Ryuji)

Joker/Ren — Justice

Ryuji — Strength

Ann — the Magician

Yusuke — the High Priestess

Haru — Death

non-team confidants (in order of appearance; might be changed but these are pretty set)

Kiyoko Hagoromo (literally the only OC; goes to Akechi's school) — the Lovers

Lala Escargot — Temperance

Jose — the World

Trader Sakai — Wheel of Fortune

Muhen — the Hierophant

Sojiro Sakura — the Star

Shinya Oda — the Sun

Eiko Takao — the Moon

Shinichi Yoshizawa — the Empress

Hifumi Togo — the Hermit

Mika (Yamanaka) — the Devil

Sae Niijima — the Emperor (only established after interrogation room)

major plot changes

on principle, the Espy Division do not steal hearts. they fight the shadows to metaphorically break through to ppl and go from there. Futaba and Sumire do not steal their own hearts, for example. they go to therapy

Akechi does not awaken when he is 15. he continues to get passed around between foster homes until he lands the internship at the prosecution's office at 17 and immediately moves out to his own apartment

Akechi's very grand plan to take Shido down this time is to gain so much fame and credibility that ppl will actually listen to him when he publicly accuses Shido of all of his crimes. he does this by using the Metaverse to solve cases fast, which naturally makes Makoto suspicious of him

Shido and Sae's palaces are discovered early but not explored until around the time they are in canon. instead Futaba's palace is done first, then Sumire's, then the canon palaces are done in order

Sumire does not become Kasumi! her parents try to send her to therapy but she's so utterly convinced that she doesn't deserve it that she completely avoids Maruki and develops a palace instead (the palace of Acedia; forms as an arena in scramble crossing)

the canon palaces are done but for different reasons (Kaneshiro's is done as the conclusion to a long series of cases Akechi and Makoto were looking into since Dec; Okumura's is done bc Haru insists that they do it; Sae's is done bc she outright threatens to take Akechi and Makoto into custody if they don't turn themselves in)

Joker joins them for Sae's palace. they're all fully aware he's the leader of the enemy team but they reluctantly need his assistance to get past one of the cognitive doors

Joker's confidants (minus the Espy Division members/Shinya/Lavenza/Sae) are still happening in the bg so that's. so very fun for Sojiro when interrogation room comes around

Yaldabaoth declares Joker as the winner immediately after Shido confesses and claims his “prize” by possessing him to terrorize Tokyo. yes this is how I incorporate satanael into the plot

Maruki's reality still comes to pass, but everyone's wishes are appropriately updated. Akechi is not the only person in his apartment. Sumire's not the only sister alive. Joker... Nothing Bad Happens at all to him :)

[antique-symbolism]

been thinking about this a lot the last couple days but I feel like Psychonauts 2 is the equal and opposite of A Series of Unfortunate Events

they’re equal in that they’re both about a highly insular covert organization full of adults with PTSD who, even in their most genuine efforts to do right by the next generation, are thwarted by their own unpacked trauma. Because of this, it falls unfairly to the children to survive the mistakes of their elders and break the cycle

they’re opposite in that ASOUE shows the most tragic potential ending of the story, whereas Psychonauts 2 shows the most hopeful one.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 10 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Meta)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Unclean Realm

Lan Wangji has a Louis Henry Sullivan moment on seeing the Nie family home, becoming enraptured by its overwrought monumental architecture after a lifetime of restrained good taste and single-story buildings.

He approaches the fortress with the expression of delighted wonder that he usually reserves for when he’s looking at the moon or at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian is like, yep that’s a building, all right, but he supports Lan Wangji’s kinks.  

Meng Yao tells them about the Wen Clan directive, and has what appears to be a moment of genuine, affectionate amusement at Nie Huaisang’s reaction.

Jiang Cheng kinda blames the Lans for inventing the whole “indoctrination” thing and for encouraging his brother’s disaster bi tendencies. Wei Wuxian responds by complimenting the Lan Clan, almost like someone who met his true love got some real value out of the instruction he received there.  

(more after the cut)

One of the great ironies of this story is that Wei Wuxian sort of becomes a rogue Lan disciple because of his relationship with Lan Wangji. He relies on Lan temperament techniques, uses music as a primary cultivation method, has committed all of the Lan rules to his supposedly terrible memory and cites them on multiple occasions, and is an important mentor for the younger generation Lan disciples. Because Hanguang-Jun is just that good in bed.

Xue Yang in the background of this conversation is channeling OP’s church-enduring, school-enduring inner 10-year-old.

Nie Mingjue, Chifeng-Zun, appears, and couldn’t be more different than his brother. On first watching this episode, I saw him as a grumpy, sexy, very emotional leather daddy man who is quick to anger. Rewatching, I see someone who’s struggling with a growing illness...the resentful energy kind.

Nie Mingjue’s handling of resentful energy is very different from Wei Wuxian’s straightforward interest and acceptance. NMJ has a traditional cultivator’s view of it, regarding it as evil and as something to resist, while he is literally carrying it on his back. He’s like a secret alcoholic who is preaching temperence, and can’t find a way to be reconciled with himself.  

At this point of the story, Nie Mingjue is keeping it together, but is under a hell of a lot of stress, and Baxia’s blood thirst is already maybe a problem.

The Yunmeng bros think that Nie Huaisang’s fear of his brother is hilarious, because they don’t understand the situation. They think he’s just living in a hideously toxic family dynamic like theirs, when actually he’s in a loving, sorta healthy, if parentless, family that is being crushed under a generational curse.

Compliments for the Yunmeng Bros

I’m not the first meta poster to notice how happy Jiang Cheng is to be praised by Nie Mingjue.

He never gets this at home. Jiang Yanli praises him, but in that watery “you tried your best” way that doesn’t really stick.  Nie Mingjue’s praise really means something, because he is a fearsome warrior and stern authority figure. And this is a double compliment, because Nie Mingjue says he heard it from Lan Xichen, and agrees with it.

Let’s Make Terrible Decisions

Keep Xue Yang alive, says Wei Wuxian, and Meng Yao immediately agrees, although I’m pretty sure he would have proposed that even if WWX hadn’t.

So they do, not realizing that “kill him later” is never a good plan for someone who 1. super needs killing 2. has a whole lot of death-dealing skills.

Future clan leader Jiang Cheng notices how smart and talented Meng Yao is.  Xue Yang finds it hilarious when the trio praises Meng Yao, possibly because their evil team up is already underway.

Boss’ Bed Warmer Son of a Ho

The constant insults toward Meng Yao are about his mom, but there’s another level of leering implication, that Meng Yao seems to encourage in his conversation with the soon-to-be-murdered guard captain.

Nie Mingjue elevated him way above his expectations, and he is ridiculously pretty, which has to create rumors. In the Nightless City scenes when he’s fondling Baxia and telling Nie Mingjue’s family secrets there’s definitely a sense of intimacy that’s not just “loyal retainer.”

I feel like maybe this whole exchange is a bit of theater designed to show Xue Yang something without showing it to anyone else. Meng Yao didn’t need to have this conversation in front of his prisoner.

Let’s Do Exactly What We Said We Wouldn’t

Once the younger quartet are alone with Nie Mingjue, Wei Wuxian crosses the room away from his friends and practically into Lan Wangji’s pocket, if Lan Wangji had pockets.

He has no pockets and also has no personal bubble any more, when it comes to Wei Wuxian.

We could make a weapon out of Yin Iron, Wei Wuxian says, completely forgetting his entire conversation with Lan Yi, apparently. Lan Wangji doesn’t argue with this idea.

Nie Mingjue warns Wei Wuxian not to try it.

I stabbed a man in Qinghe just to watch him die

Nie Mingjue is like the Johnny Cash of the cultivation world, carrying the weight of his poor choices and trying to steer the young folk to the path of righteousness. But--like Johnny Cash--his bad choices have made him really fucking cool, so he isn’t very good at deterring anybody.

Meng Yao Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends

Immediately after Meng Yao’s fellow Nie clan people call him “son of a whore” again, Wei Wuxian meets him, is nice to him, addresses him by his military title, bows to him, asks why he’s away from the party, and thanks him for his service.

But Meng Yao has already decided to make friends with Xue Yang, so Wei Wuxian goes onto his list of people that he doesn’t give a crap about except if they can be useful to him.  Then Meng Yao goes to make out hatch a plot with Xue Yang.

I’ll Sleep On Your Roof

Meeting SongXiao seems to have done away with the last of Lan Wangji’s resistance to his connection with Wei Wuxian.

He hears a noise on the roof and, when realizing it’s Wei Wuxian, he smiles one of his tiny reserved smiles before heading outside.

When he sees Wei Wuxian drunkenly sprawled on the roof, limbs akimbo, wine on his chin and neck, mouth full of poetry about the open road, Lan Wangji gives him the most fond look imaginable.

Then he reluctantly leaves, with his signature “say goodbye, but only when he can’t hear you” thing.

They’ve both come a really long way since their first meeting. Wei Wuxian is openly and vocally attaching himself to Lan Wangji...but is not actually entering his space or asking for anything from him; he just wants to be near him, and wants to let him know that. “I’ll sleep on your roof tonight.”

And Lan Wangji just...loves him. Wei Wuxian is drunk, embarrassing, demonstrative, eager to make a hell weapon out of yin iron, touchy feely, and absurdly sexy. And Lan Wangji is pretty okay with all of that.

I Might Have Been Drunk

Wei Wuxian carefully avoids telling Jiang Cheng where he was last night.

Even if he did get blackout drunk, he would have woken up on Lan Wangji’s roof. And I don’t think he was as drunk as that. He just knows Jiang Cheng wouldn’t like the truth.

Wen Fucking Chao, Again

Wen Chao shows up to be annoying and boring.  This leads to a pretty good fight between Nie Mingjue and Wen Zhuliu. Note that when the chips are down, Nie Huaisang stands with his Gege without any cowering. Almost as if he had hidden reserves of bravery, and is not as helpless as he lets on.

Wen Zhuliu isn’t styled to be super hot, although he’s certainly compelling, and in Dance of the Phoenix he looks good with sensitive-guy hair wispies. I wonder what actor Feng Mingjing looks like out of character?

BRB, adding a tag to my follow list

Battle Bros

When the fighting breaks out, the Yunmeng brothers are decisive and united, with Wei Wuxian giving orders to Jiang Cheng and JC following without hesitation.

I feel like if these two could have gone through a few big battles together, instead of being separated during most of the Sunshot campaign, their whole relationship would have improved. On the battlefield, they respect, trust, and understand each other.  

The Pointy End

Nie Mingjue is holding his own against Wen Zhuliu, but he gets distracted by Meng Yao hollering “Xue Yang has escaped” and then shanking the guard captain right in front of him.

Wen Zhuliu takes advantage of the distraction to aim a very slow stab at Nie Huasang, and Meng Yao jumps in front to get stabbed on his behalf.

When the Yunmeng bros show up to help NMJ, Wen Zhuliu immeiately yanks Wen Chao back behind him and points his sword at Wei Wuxian. He absolutely sees these two as a serious threat.  Considering that eventually WWX is going to kill Wen Chao while JC kills Wen Zhuliu, this concern is not misplaced.

Wei Wuxian tells Wen Chao to stop being such a jerk, and Wen Chao menaces Wei Wuxian and gloats about the burning of cloud recesses. The burning, that is, of some part of cloud recesses that doesn’t include the library, the Jingshi, the main cultivation chamber, the rabbit warren, or Lan Qiren’s house, unless the Lan Clan is really really good at rebuilding things to very exact specifications.

In a rare moment of seeing Meng Yao’s internal thoughts, he is worried about Lan Xichen when he hears about cloud recesses.

The Yelling Part

Now we have the particularly nasty breakup between Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao. It’s...got some layers. Meng Yao is cowering on the floor, but is not apologizing.

He never apologizes throughout this encounter.

孟瑤無悔  - Meng Yao (has) no regrets

This scene is amazing and excruciating to watch, even more when you know what’s ahead.

What the Fuck is Meng Yao’s Plan

On one level this is Meng Yao, manipulative sociopath, setting up a cover story for his aiding and alliance with Xue Yang.  On another, this is Meng Yao, loving subordinate, being tossed aside by his lord because he dared to stand up for himself.

He uses the same “scout’s honor” gesture we’ve seen Wei Wuxian use to swear he’s telling the truth. Wei Wuxian is always lying when he uses this gesture.

I’m...not sure exactly what Meng Yao’s plan is, with all these chess moves? By stabbing the captain in front of NHS, he created an opportunity to plant a cover story about Xue Yang’s escape. He might be hoping that Nie Mingjue will forgive him and keep him on, while Xue Yang can stay in his back pocket to be used later.

Dry eyes? Try Visene

Or he might be intending to get kicked out, given his non-apology. In any case, Nie Mingjue is weeping during this encounter, and Meng Yao...isn’t. He is signaling distress in his voice, expression, and body language, but his eyes are dry up until the last moment, and even then they just glisten a bit. In a show where every actor is an expert at crying on cue, that’s got to be a deliberate choice.

Which isn’t to say that Meng Yao is faking being full of emotion in this scene. It’s just that the emotion isn’t necessarily sorrow.

What Does Nie Mingjue’s Head Think

Flip the view and this is about Nie Mingjue being betrayed by a subordinate, who has turned out to be a self-serving murderer. And on another level it’s Nie Mingjue being betrayed by his lover, who was just using him for advancement.

I rewatched the later episode where we get the scene as Nie Mingjue’s head perceived it, and he’s particularly brokenhearted and disillusioned from his head’s POV.  In that version there is a telling addition to the conversation.

Nie Mingjue asks about the guys who were roasting Meng Yao behind his back. He asks, if I hadn’t come, would you have murdered all of them?

Um. No, dude. Of course fucking not. That’s what a patriarchal authority does. That’s the way an angry Nie Mingjue/Baxia team might solve a problem.

Meng Yao has to use subterfuge to kill his enemies. And while he super hates being called “son of a whore” it’s absolutely not enough to make him kill someone, with the risk murder brings. Likewise, being treated well isn’t enough to make him spare someone. Nie Mingjue totally doesn’t get this, because he’s been the patriarch of this clan his entire adult life.

And Here’s the Actual Problem

There is a betrayal here, but Nie Mingjue is not simply a victim.  Whether it’s a sexual relationship or a non-sexual bond of affection, there can be nothing solid in Nie Mingjue and Meng Yao’s relationship within a feudal society, because it is fundamentally unequal. Even if they love each other deeply - which I’m not convinced either of them does - every encounter they have is tainted with power dynamics.

Meng Yao has been elevated by Nie Mingjue and quite probably taken into his bed, as well as being told many family secrets, but has not been given a new surname (like, for example, Wen Zhuliu was) or independent power. More importantly, Nie Mingjue has not used his authority to remove or punish the many people who disrespect his subordinate.  Lan Qiren would have had all of those gossipy fuckers kneeling in the snow, and Wen Ruohan would feed them to his mosh pit zombies.

Meng Yao is a murderous little snake, but he is right to be angry with Nie Mingjue about some things, and his pursuit of his own agenda is understandable.

Well, That Was a Slice

Meng Yao leaves, hurt, with a dignified bow; just as he did that one time when his dad kicked him down the Carp Tower steps.

Take note, both patriarchal authorities: that is his way of saying “I’m going to murder you one day.”

Nie Mingjue sits with his broken heart, as we realize that we’ve only spent 20 minutes with this guy and we’ve gone on an entire emotional journey with him. This episode packed in a LOT.

Soundtrack: Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues

[doodleybugg]

Potentially Problematic, part 1

 This is part one to my Encanto Fanfiction. This fanfiction puts Leah, my OC, with Camilo. They are both 15, so smut is not happening. That being said, dirty jokes and sexual-ish references might be made because they are quite literally teenagers, and you all know Camilo (if not, this includes spoilers to Encanto, so if you haven’t seen that please don’t read ahead :D) This fanfiction will (mostly) follow the plot of the movie, despite some minor changes and little headcanons of mine. Any words in spanish will have their english translations beside them for anyone who doesn’t speak spanish.

^ Leah in chapters 1-4

Tags: mostly just setting up the story in this chapter, 

“MAMá! she’s touCHING ME AGAIN” Arlo yelled, shoving his foot against his older sister’s chest to push her away.

“It’s called a hug, you GOBLIN” Leah said sharply, hitting his shoulder, crossing her arms and looking away to the side.

“Leave your brother alone, Leah. This is the third time this car ride he’s yelled for my help” Their mom, Jezebel sighed, tiredly steering into the next lane over, turn signal beeping as Arlo stuck his pink tongue out at Leah.

“You’re lucky mom's here, or you’d be forced to love me” She muttered, staring daggers into his narrowed eyes, his mouth turned down into a scowl.

~

“STOP THE CAR” Leah shouted abruptly, and Jezebel slammed the brakes given they were the only ones to be seen for miles. Before her mom could get an explanation, Leah jumped out of the car, earning a sigh from Arlo as she bent down on the side of the road, distracted completely by something as her mom called her back. She came skipping back into her seat, hands clasped over that little something as she closed the car door, letting her mother start back again.

“ANOTHER ‘pretty’ rock?” Arlo looked over her shoulder curiously, making her smile and open her hands, a small, circular shape.

“Nope. A frog!” Leah said excitedly, presenting the figure to her little brother. He visibly shuddered, scooching as far away as his seatbelt would let him and pushing Leah’s hands away, the frog squeaking in his general direction. Leah smiled, her white hair fluffy from the wind outside.

“Mamá, Leah’s got a-”

“She’s got something that’ll keep her from hugging you again, honey. Take the break” 

“Mamá!” Leah exclaimed.

~

“Yes, a large coffee please? double double.” Jezebel spoke into the drive-in speaker. “Kids, anything you want? This’ll be the last stop untill we get to Julieta’s” She added at the end, eyes mostly on Arlo, considering Leah’s had three sugary sweet drinks already, any more would ensure she spends tonight sleepless. Leah took Arlo’s “no” as a cue for more begging.

“Do they have something for frogs? Or maybe another lemonade? Please mamá, Gerard looks sad, maybe he’s hungry. A cookie, at least?” Question after another falling out of her mouth, and Jezebel pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Make that extra large” She added before pulling up to the window to pay, leaving Arlo laughing at his sister’s failed attempt.

“Don’t make me shove this frog up your nose” Leah threatened, rolling her eyes and petting Gerard’s back, letting him settle on her thigh.

~

“Julieta” Jezebel sighed in relief as she climbed out of  the black van she’s been stuck in for 13 hours with her kids. “Anything for a headache?” She joked.

The older woman, Julieta, ran giggling from the house to hug her friend as Leah and Arlo hopped out of the car. The three were led inside and surrounded by people of all ages, some dressed in orange and some in blue coming to inspect their guests. Leah trailed in last, bag slung on her shoulder and her hand curled protectively over Gerard. She saw a yellow blur run upstairs and heard a door close before sounds crowded her senses.

Jezebel took most of the attention, as both Leah and Arlo shyed away. Questions were asked and answered, left and right, and people stared. 

~

For sleeping arrangements, Arlo was put in the room of a five year old Antonio, much to his discontent, but that feeling died down apparently when he saw the interior to the room. Leah was put in the nursery with a nice girl named Mirabel, who wore green glasses and embroidered cute decals on her deep blue skirt. She was estatic to have someone her own age in the room with her, someone she could possibly be friends with. Leah understood this desperation, but couldn’t see where Mirabel learned it. For all she knew, Mirabel was in a magical and loving home, with two older siblings and three cousins. Their house was so full, you’d think nobody could ever be lonely. 

Mirabel took the time to explain everyone’s magical powers, a concept Leah was having trouble grasping to. Tía Pepa, Mirabel’s aunt, could control the weather with her mood. When she was upset, or confused, it would rain. Happy, sunshine. Excited, rainbow. Angry, or scared, hurricane. Tío Bruno didn’t get an explanation, only Pepa kicking down the door yelling “We don’t taLK ABOUT BRUNO”, leaving Gerard speaking and stamping his foot on the dresser he was on. Mirabel loved explaining her mother, it seemed. She spoke with such love and admiration when she talked about how she could heal you with a meal. Leah had heard mostly about this from her mom, but wanted desperatley to keep everyone in check, so took the information gladly. Next were the kids, Mirabel explained them with a slight rythym, drumming a pencil on her knee as both girls were sat in their respective beds. Mirabel’s cousin, Dolores, could hear a pin drop, Camilo could shapeshift, and Antonio got his gift, communicating with animals, only yesterday, and his ceremony resulted in a lot of feelings according to Mirabel. Next were her siblings. She explained one, Luisa, with great fondness, and the other, Isabella, with... Well, she spat her name like it tasted bad on her tongue. Isabella could spawn nature and flowers at will, and Luisa had great strength, though Leah could easily tell that by the brawn on that girl. 

Dinner played out later, and Leah got to meet everyone. Augustín, Julieta’s husband, was pretty clumsy, kept dropping his fork and falling out of his chair. Maybe it was just nerves, Leah thought, as she was feeling pretty much the same way in her head. Félix, Pepa’s husband, was maybe the nicest man you could meet. She could see where his kids got their manners from. Pepa had a small cloud over her head the entire meal, glancing nervously over to an empty chair next to Isabela’s and running her fingers through her hair, muttering under her breath. Only two of her kids were at the table, Julieta cleared that up with a “where’s Camilo?” directed to the general area. Everybody shrugged, and Dolores looked pointedly to his room, but the dinner went on. Julieta’s patatas bravas (spicy potatoes) were amazing, Leah ate them without giving time to cool, though that wasn’t a problem as they soothed the burns that trailed down her throat only moments later. After everyone finished eating, she helped Julieta wash the dishes, despite the woman telling her she was okay doing it herself.

Dishes washed and put away, sun down, everyone was put to bed at around 10 o'clock. Leah got dressed into a grey t-shirt and some light pink pajama shorts, letting her hair down from the high ponytail it's been in all day, and passed out when her head hit the pillow.

yES ik this is already posted on AO3 but I thought I should post it here too lol anyways

[ashesarrows]

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente- FULL REVIEW

This review is the complete version of its counterpart on GoodReads.

This book really disappointed me. The roughest thing is that it’s right in the middle of the series, so you have to read it if you want to continue. There are bright spots (Ell! Saturday!), and I can sense the incredible book Valente was trying to write, but overall, this was a flop. Would’ve been a DNF if I hadn’t promised myself I’d finish the series. 

So, firstly: I’m a longtime fan of Fairyland, and I commonly list the first book and Valente herself as my favorite book and author. I had no negative preconceptions about the book going in. In fact, I know I have an irrational fear of series, and at first I thought my struggles with this book could be chalked up to that. 

But I loved the second book. It was entertaining, a good follow-up, and a unique new story to explore. When I picked up the third book and only got a chapter in before forgetting about it, I had a lot of excuses—I was burned out. I didn’t like the Blue Wind, and I didn’t want to read about her. I was busy with school.

As it turns out, having picked the book up three years later and finished it this time, none of that was true. This time, I was yearning for more of Fairyland, I quite liked the Blue Wind, and I had ample time to read in. 

It just wasn’t a good book.

I talk about planning/pantsing a lot, and that’s once again relevant. I’ll excerpt from my review of another book:

There are two types of NaNoWriMo writers: the planners, & the pantsers. Planners have an outline ready before they write, and pantsers go "by the seat of their pants"—very few, or even no, plans. Both have pros/cons; here I'll focus on a common pitfall for pantsers.

Almost every Western narrative… follows something akin to the 3-act structure. There is a main conflict which builds to a climax and is then resolved (think Star Wars’s Death Star.) For any good narrative, you need MOTIVATION-GOAL-CONFLICT—and occasionally stakes[.]

This book does not have a conflict.

So where do you find 300+ pages of writing? Just have something happen & see what comes next as a response!

The problem is that this makes an unworkable first draft. Things Happening =/= Satisfying Plot Arc. In editing, you have to take everything you've written and organize it into a plot shape, often cutting things that don't fit. (Planning is the opposite; tons of work upfront/you usually end up UNDERwriting.)

...The most common method of writing on Wattpad is pantsing. 99% of the time, writers write & then post chapters on a set schedule. Can't edit plot structure when you upload one chapter a week.

Now, I knew that Valente was a pantser before I read this book, and that she originally uploaded Fairyland one chapter a week. I was very impressed when I first found out; I don’t recall sensing any of these pitfalls in the two previous books. It is hard to write a book with no editing—it is damn well near impossible. Whether I liked this book or not, the first two are a triumph just for that. Valente has been writing this entire series with both hands tied behind her back and her eyes taped shut, and I have to commend her. Even my feelings of frustration are almost overshadowed by how impressed I am that it took three books for her to fail.

Valente herself acknowledged editing concerns in multiple / interviews. From the latter link:

I remember being at a convention right after it really hit, and somebody in the audience asked, “Well, you realize you can’t go back and change anything, because you’ve already posted it online.” And I said, “Oh, shit.” It had never occurred to me that that was gonna be a problem. I kept a couple weeks ahead of the posting schedule, but again, much like writing The Labyrinth in ten days instead of thirty, I just ran ahead with something without knowing that I couldn’t do it and it worked out incredibly well.

Did it? I feel differently, and this review aims to explain why.

This book lacks plot. Valente is attempting a 3-act structure, which relies heavily on a central conflict. There has to be some big mission; some big goal. First book example: September has to beat the Marquess (goal and conflict) OR ELSE everyone in Fairyland suffers (stakes/motivation). Every moment of the book ties back to this larger goal.

The central conflict of this book appears about halfway through. You know the moon, and the yeti, and splitting things? This comes up over a hundred pages in. September, and the audience, has no idea about any of that for a hundred or so pages, and so for that amount of time, the book is unconscionably boring. 

The beginning of the book sees September afraid she’s too old to go back to Fairyland, which is a great central conflict idea for the one chapter in which it exists. Aha! A book about growing up and the associated trials and tribulations. That’s a fantastic theme, and yet I forgot about it entirely until the end, where it briefly awakens again, after an entire book of Not That At All. More on this later.

For now, the book takes September back to Fairyland, which should be wonderful, but Fairyland seems to have become all exposition and no action. A whole chapter of The Blue Wind lecturing September, for example. This is a character we don’t know, have no reason to be attached to, and are being actively hindered by as she relentlessly slows the plot down. And then September gets talked at by an alligator or something, and then another something something… I don’t remember any of this, because it was not relevant.

This isn’t like Fairyland #1, where September might need to befriend someone to gain access to magic which would help her on her quest. In fact, for this first half of the book, September doesn’t even have agency! Someone hands her a MacGuffin (I refuse to recall its name) in the form of a box, and she Must carry it to some city or other on the moon. Why? Who knows. She just must. And she does. And you’re thinking to yourself, why isn’t September making her own ship and leading revels? We know, as an audience, that she’s more than capable. What on Earth has got her seeming so meek? She even sasses characters, but somehow always ends up doing as they ask.

The book also takes all this time to reach any characters we know and love. The readers want Ell and Saturday! We do not care about a horde of lecturing adults with no connection to a central plot or September! Looking back, I can see how Valente may have been hoping to pull off something similar to Alice in Wonderland, but in Alice nobody speaks for a full page. This is just one example:

direct link

I’m hard pressed to even call this exposition, because it tells us nothing about the world we’re in. It’s just a sermon Valente wants us to hear. And worse, because I’ve read the last two books, I know she can pull this off. It doesn’t have to be this way. Many people said many things in Fairyland #1, and it worked because there was a plot that the speeches were part of. 

(If you just look at the quotes page for this book, you can see how many there are—and how repetitive they get. X is a Y, okay, alright…)

But this sort of thing reached its peak when it almost ruined Saturday. Don’t worry, he’s generally well-written, but when September meets him and he starts lecturing? It’s just awful to read. Suddenly it’s not Saturday talking but Valente speaking through his mouth, giving those sermons again, and it just makes you want to scream.

This made me recall an old writing rule—“never remind me of the author’s existence.” I want to feel as though real people are really saying these things, and when all of them speak identically, it’s really difficult to believe that. I won’t deny Saturday his right to say poignant things, obviously, but in this case due to the volume of lectures, and the proximity of his to the others, and the obvious preachiness of all of them, it really got in the way of my even enjoying the scenes with Saturday. And come on; that is unforgivable.

But there is a plot. There is an, ahem… other MacGuffin. A paw? A yeti’s paw. Something about time. Look, at this point I just wanted to finish the book. The original MacGuffin had become a new one, which would lead them to the third, and all this because at 100 pages in someone said “hey there’s this yeti we really hate around here,” and September went “sounds awful I’ll go hunt him right now.” And of course she can, because she has been DOING NOTHING FOR THE LAST HUNDRED PAGES. What is she going to do, something else? There IS nothing else to do in Fairyland apparently. Again, what this book does to the world & inhabitants of Fairyland is near criminal.

So the plot starts here, and it’s not great—September takes it up because there’s nothing else to do, and of course her friends come along, but (at least to me) it seems obvious that Valente invented the moon’s political situation and the Yeti just to come up with SOMETHING for this book. It never felt convincing that this had really been happening behind the scenes in the other books. On top of that, since we get very little context (despite the lectures!), it feels less like a vital quest and more like September (again) doing something because someone else told her to. We really don’t get any other perspective on the issue until the very end.

But talking about the end will require a spoiler tag, so I’ll avoid it for now. Let’s take a break to talk about how confusing the book was overall. I often didn’t know where the characters were heading or why, or what role a new character played, or even if they were there or not.

After seeing a GR query about this particular issue, I went back and researched it. The character Candlestick allegedly leaves the party on page 189:

Candlestick had not come with them after all, turning up her peacock tail and refusing to speak further with any of the lot of them.

But then shows up in not one but two lines in the next chapter anyway:

The Tyguerrotype, the thirteen bouncing Glasshobs, the quivering houses—and September and Saturday, A-Through-L and Candlestick—had a little thickness, but no more than a thick sheet of paper. (201)

“Did we see what?” called Candlestick. (204)

I understand why Valente wouldn’t want to make major plot edits to the books after posting them, but why didn’t an editor read through this even once? It would have been easy to fix—delete one line, or even just a word. It seems clear through surrounding context, looking back, that Valente intended to leave Candlestick out of these chapters, so why didn’t anyone confirm that for readers?

It’s just not fair to your audience to leave things like this in. It’s not professional. It makes me look down on the publisher, to be quite honest, because they apparently couldn’t take the few months necessary to re-read the draft and offer Valente edits on these bare minimum issues.

So you can understand why I wasn’t sure what was going on most of the time. Especially in the beginning, when multiple characters existed just to lecture, it was hard to get attached to any one addition to the party because I could expect them to be gone without incident or importance within two chapters. 

For example, the Periwig (whose name I refuse to look up) who works with Ell in the library says she has cursed him to stop him from flaming around the books. Yes, Ell is having uncontrollable flaming issues now. As a reader pummeled by random lectures, watching September ferry around MacGuffins, this just felt like an “oh shit we have to come up with a NEW conflict for these characters” ploy, without much thought or logic. And I had no idea what the curse was for over fifty pages, until on page 173 there’s a specific reference to Ell getting smaller after he shoots flame. I’m sure there were more earlier on, but I missed them, and who can blame me after a hundred pages of content that was not relevant to the story.

This plot point is never satisfyingly wrapped up, either. Why did the Periwig think this was a good idea? Could she have undone it? Why did nobody address her about it? And why was it solved the way it was? Nothing made sense.

What’s really frustrating is what could have been. Near the end of the book, I turned to the back cover just to avoid continuing to read, and I looked once again in total bafflement at the two starred reviews of the book pictured there. Booklist’s back cover quote reads as follows:

As usual, Valente enlightens readers with pearly gleams of wisdom about honesty, identity, free will, and growing up. September often worries who she should be and what path she should follow, but the lovely truth, tenderly told, is that it's all up to her.

And, despite having read roughly two hundred pages of this book, it was only once I saw this quote that I understood what Valente was trying to do.

This is a great idea. And there are ELEMENTS of it here, and even elements I quite like. Occasionally, the lectures September hears do in fact correspond to some aspect of this theme (“you become what you are called” is one example of a line I could tell meant something, but needed to be expanded to accomplish anything.) It’s hard, as a reader, to differentiate between lectures addressing a vital theme in the story and lectures that are just talking.

Returning to Ell’s curse, it turns out that [SPOILER] Ell was just flaming for what is essentially dragon puberty, which is a GREAT opportunity to build on this theme! Somehow, though, we don’t get that.. I would have loved to see Ell have to deal with, essentially, a sexual awakening, and that did not happen, and it feels like the cure scene is random and therefore wasted. [END SPOILER]

It doesn’t help that Valente also wastes a scene with FANTASTIC potential where September literally destroys her fate by giving it no prior context, no weight in the plot, no relevance to the conflict, and fifteen tons worth of expositional lecturing to drown in. I want to love these scenes; some of these scenes utilize my favorite tropes! I just can’t get around all the ways Valente is leaving her story out to dry.

Then there’s the clothing September wears, her new designation, Aroostook the car, the attempted blossoming romance between September and Saturday: so many elements which could have made that theme great. It’s like a broken puzzle.

This brings us to the Yeti. I’m just going to go full spoiler, because I’m mad.

[SPOILER]

The Yeti is a reverse twist villain?? Can we stop with this? It’s not interesting & not an engaging surprise & also feels like going “ha ha I fooled you.”

From the moment September set off to beat him, I was wondering—are we really doing this? Based on one random person’s complaint? September has made it very clear that she doesn’t understand the politics of the world she’s inhabiting, and yet: this. Unlike in the first book, where the Marquess’s evil is confirmed by every person she comes across and September ends up fighting her out of personal connection, this just seems like meddling. September has no skin in the game; it’s almost a white savior trope—especially when the history of the Moon parallels colonization!

And then The Gang sees future-Saturday helping the yeti, and instead of thinking “maybe we got this wrong based on one person’s lecture” they think “ah FUCK maybe Saturday is going to be evil” and manufacture totally unnecessary conflict.

But it’s not even that they misunderstood, or that their source was biased; the end result is that the Yeti was seen as evil because he DIDN’T CARE THAT HE WAS. He gives this “none of their business” answer that is fundamentally unsatisfying (and makes no sense—had he explained, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE BOTHERED HIM) because at the end of the day, it means none of September’s actions in Fairyland were necessary. She just showed up and left. Nobody, not even the story, needed her. I guess September and Saturday have now kissed (twice!) which is great for them but not something that makes the whole book worthwhile.

[END SPOILER]

And on top of this, there are typos. I already covered the issue with Candlestick, so here are the others quickly:

 “All of us,” September said gently, and held out her hands. “I know what you said, Miss Candlestick, but however you count it, our fates are stuck together and stitched up good.” She paused for a moment, looking down at her flowing black silks and her own small hands. “Closer than shadows, she finished.” (170)

“If you’re not to tired after your cannonades.” (179)

The full moon rose passed the high barn windows, spilling in like milk. (248)

(First sentence ought to have put the end quotation mark after the word “shadows,” but accidentally places it after September’s dialogue tag. The second sentence should use “too” instead of “to”. The final sentence needs to either say that the moon “rose past the high barn windows” or “passed the high barn windows”, likely the former.)

What gets me is that this last sentence is on the last page. Even if Valente and her editors never flipped through most of the book, surely someone would’ve noticed this? It just drives home how little anyone cared. About Fairyland, of all things!

And then Valente, who DID NOT EDIT THIS BOOK, has the audacity to include lines like these.

September reached inside and took out the red book. It was heavy. A girl’s face graced the cover, finely embossed, but it was turned away, gazing at some unseen thing. Perhaps it was her own face, perhaps not. A miniature version of herself, after all. Was it an answer? Was it everything already written?  “You can’t argue with something that’s written down,” she said, stroking the red locks of hair on the cover. “If the heart of my fate is a book, there’s nothing for it. Once it’s written, it’s done. All those ancient books always say ‘so it is written’ and that means it’s finished and tidied and you can’t say a thing against it.”  Oh, but September, it isn’t so. I ought to know, better than anyone. I have been objective and even-tempered until now, but I cannot let that stand, I simply cannot. Listen, my girl. Just this once I will whisper from far off, like a sigh, like a wind, like a little breeze. So it is written—but so, too, it is crossed out. You can write over it again. You can make notes in the margins. You can cut out the whole page. You can, and you must, edit and rewrite and reshape and pull out the wrong parts like bones and find just the thing and you can forever, forever, write more and more and more, thicker and longer and clearer. Living is a paragraph, constantly rewritten. It is Grown-Up Magic. Children are heartless; their parents hold them still, squirming and shouting, until a heart can get going in their little lawless wilderness. Teenagers crash their hearts into every hard and thrilling thing to see what will give and what will hold. And Grown-Ups, when they are very good, when they are very lucky, and very brave, and their wishes are sharp as scissors, when they are in the fullness of their strength, use their hearts to start their story over again.

(page 184).

Like... all of that, and then she didn’t edit September’s story? I’m appalled.

At this point, you might well say I’m being far too harsh. I understand that. These next five paragraphs are for you.

For the first few months of (re)reading this book, I genuinely felt like I must be a bad reader, or my attention span was gone, or I just didn’t like Valente or her work enough. Looking at all the incredible reviews here, I felt jealous—and frustrated. Why couldn’t I just enjoy this book the way everyone else did? 

Obviously, I never want to dislike a book, but this was one that I almost feel betrayed me. I know there’s a significant amount of entitlement there; Valente doesn’t owe me any stories, let alone good ones. 

At the same time, I made every effort. I owned all the books, was working hard to read a series despite my long-time struggles with them, and, well, I LOVE Valente! I constantly talk about her work! And even someone like me—someone who’s usually a pretty fast reader, loves the series/author in question, and was determined to finish this book—struggled throughout. 

So I’m frustrated that the book made me feel like an idiot. I’m frustrated that, for the apparent crime of being devoted to Valente’s work, I was put through this. This book would be one star if not for the world of Fairyland and the returning cast—if this had not been a Fairyland book, I would not have finished reading it. For that first half, I was bribing myself (with better books) to read one or two pages at a time. Really.

Like I said, it didn’t have to be this way. I know damn well that Valente can do better than this. If Valente had been given the opportunity to edit this draft into a polished book, she could have done it. It’s only because of these restraints that she chose—and she is a grown woman who may choose what she likes—that the book came out this way. It’s genuinely hard to review, because I understand why she wrote the book this way, and I understand why she did not later edit the majority of the text, and I also have the perspective of a disappointed reader. It’s hard to balance all of that.

So two stars it is. I’m a little sad it took so long to review this book, because I was REALLY pumped to review it when I first finished, but I hope that on the contrary letting it sit has allowed me to be more objective and less emotionally upset by it. 

I hope to pick up the fourth book soon, but with the combination of it being unrelated to the main cast and the letdown that this book was, it’ll be a while before I feel up to it. Don’t worry, though, because I will come back to update you as to whether the series overall is worth continuing. I have every hope that it will be.

[thedevilinherself]

Somewhere In Mexico Ch. 1

So this is me breaking down and posting my stories here again. I have quite a few followers here who don’t use Ao3 and I want to make sure everyone who follows me is able to get to my work. Also, Tumblr seems to have fixed their tag system, at least made it less broken then it was. So here you go. I am full force in the Red Dead fandom and loving writing for these cowboys so you can expect more in the future. Hope ya’ll like it! (Oh, and small Spoilers for chapter three. But it’s nothing big and or seriously plot related.)

Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.3 / Ch.4

The rides back to camp always felt like they took too long. Especially after a bad heist. The stage coach that had been rumored to be transporting treasure had been nothing but a woman their informant had a grudge against. All that trouble for a few dollars and some jewelry had the boys in a sour mood.

The only consolation was the good company. Javier enjoyed Arthur and Charles’ banter. They were good men. Well, bad men, but good friends. He trusted them to have his back. And besides that, they were generally pleasant to be around.

“It just feels like everyone is getting restless. I reckon we need to make some good money. And quick. Then head west before the law gets wise.” Arthur grumbled, rocking with his horse’s movements as they meandered down the dirt path, the small but persistent hope lingering that a good heist would just cross their path.

“You don’t have to convince me. But Dutch thinks there’s money to be had with these two families. And he’s dead set on finding it.” Charles agreed, gaze lulling in the other two’s direction.

“Just going to get us in deeper.”

“Hey.” Pulling back on the reins, Charles nodded towards a clearing just off to the right. Among the flowers and tall grass stood a group of deer. Three or four of them. “We should at least bring back some food. Pearson has been on me about needing meat.” With a nod, Arthur and Javier reached for their rifles. “Not the guns. I ran into O'Driscolls around these parts the other day. A lot of them. Think they have a camp around here. Arthur, you still have that bow.”

Not needing further instruction, the blond took out the bow, readying a few arrows as he encouraged his horse forward enough to shoot around the others. With slow movements, he pulled back the string, taking aim before letting an arrow loose.

The cry of the deer would have been alarming if it wasn’t his millionth time hearing it. With it, one deer fell the ground, thrashing for a moment before stilling. The others wasted no time dashing off, running across the path ahead in their escape towards the woods. Feeling confident, Arthur again drew the bow, loosing another arrow in the direction of the fleeing dear. Again they heard the cry, the last deer falling to the ground. But this one managed back to its feet, disappearing down the path ahead and out of sight.

“Nice. I see you’ve improved.” Charles smiled, pleased with his friend’s shots. “You go get the fallen one. I’ll track the injured one. It can’t get too far.”

“Shoah.” Turning his horse in the direction of the field, Arthur seemed pleased with this turn of events.

“I’ll help. You have no room on the back of your horse anyway.” Javier offered, following his friend.

With that the men went their separate ways. The shot had been clean and the deer a nice catch. It was easy enough to load onto the back of Javier’s horse. Quickly lashed down and ready for the road.

“Alright, let’s meet up with Charles. If this area is as full of O'Driscolls as he says, we better not leave him alone too long.” Javier nodded, following the other as they started back down the road.

It didn’t take them long to find their companion. As they crested the hill, they saw him just down the road, deer already lashed to the back of his horse. Sitting tall on his horse, the man’s attention was taken by two figures that stood on the side of the road. Even from the distance, it was clear that it was a woman and a small child.

“Leave him alone for five minutes and he starts chatting up some woman. And here I thought you were the smooth talking one.” Arthur chuckled, giving his dark skinned friend a good natured smirk.

“We’ll see if he can keep her attention. Just make sure you don’t scare her off.”

With a laugh, Arthur rode ahead, followed behind by the other as they went to rejoin their friend. As they neared, they were able to pick up what was being said.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not safe out here. There are dangerous men out. And don’t take offense, but you don’t look prepared for a fight.”

“We don’t have much of a choice.”

“My companions are just over the hill a ways. We could give you a ride to the nearest town if you need.”

“Really? Bless you, sir. Bless you.”

“What seems to be the trouble?” Coming on the scene, Arthur came to a halt behind Charles, lazily sizing up the situation.

“This woman’s horse just got caught in a trap. She had to shoot it and was needing help finding the nearest town. I think it’d be best if we took them there. We have the time anyway and we could pick up supplies.” Charles expounded on the situation, looking between the two men who nodded before returning his gaze to the travelers.

But he was lost to you. The whole world fell away, lungs emptied, and heart clenched as your eyes locked on Javier. And as his eyes met your gaze, his expression fell, lips parting for the words that failed him. Your face, your hair, your eyes. Those eyes that saw through him, leaving him hollow.

“y/n” He breathed your name. The only thing he could bring utterance to as a thousand thoughts flashed through his head in a jumble of indecipherable emotion.

“Javier.” You answered on instinct, mind blank.

“What are you doing here?” He managed, the only thought he could work out enough to be cohesive.

Your hand tightened around your son’s causing him to jump before addressing you.

“Mamá?” Your son’s voice seemed the push you needed to get your wits about you. Pulling him close, you wrapped your arm around him, pinning the boy to your leg.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” You asserted deffensively, gaze as cold as your heart.

“It’s not safe here.” Javier asserted, numb to your sharp tone. “At least let us help you-“

“Not from the likes of you.” Spitting venom, you pushed your son behind you, “We’ll find the way ourselves.” Turning, you hurried your son away, shushing his questioning as you quickly put distance between you and the men.

“What? Are you serious?” he exclaimed, stunned at your toxic response.

“Espero que un pollo te pique la polla!” You called back to him, never looking back as you rushed over the next hill and out of sight.

“What the hell was that about?” Baffled, Arthur looked from Javier to Charles, hoping the other had some clue as to what was going on.

“You know her?” Charles asked.

Face glowing red, the Mexican’s breathing was reduced to short, forced intakes of air, face contorted in rage. Both men were startled at the sight, the pure murderous fury that burned in his eyes unmatched by any experience they had with the man.

“We can’t let them go.” He growled, eyes still trained on the spot you had last been. “Arthur. Grab the boy.”

“What?” Alarmed, Arthur barely managed out the question as Javier began to spur his horse on.

“Just do it!” Racing off, there was no arguing with the man as he charged after you.

“Who the hell is she?” Arthur called after him, kicking into his horse’s side in an attempt to keep up.

“My fucking wife.” The men weren’t sure they heard him right as he shouted back to them. But there wasn’t time for questions.

As they overcame the hill, the two men were just in time to see Javier leaning off the side of his horse, scooping you up in his arm as you were wrenched away from your son. In any other circumstance, they would have been impressed just how gracefully the man scooped you up onto his horse. But in light of the impromptu kidnapping, the skill was secondary to the issue.

“Mamá!” The boy cried, suddenly alone in the street.

“Put me down you hijo de puta!” Claws and fist flying, Javier struggled to keep his horse straight on the path as you assaulted him.

Not brave enough to try the same stunt, Arthur slowed to a trot, grabbing a fist full of the boy’s collar to haul him onto his horse. Afraid to fall, the boy clung to Arthur, wailing hysterically as they raced off after you and your captor.

“It’s ok, boy. We’re just taking you somewhere safe.” He reassured, spurring his horse on till he was close on Javier’s tail. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Don’t touch my son!” You screamed, shoving at Javier’s face as you attempted to grab at the reins.

With one hand, Javier was able to secure your wrists, pinning you to his chest as he did his best to ignore the stream of Spanish curses you hurled at him.

“Keep it down. With all this noise we’re bound to attract some unwanted attention.”

As if hearing their cue, the sound of hooves rolled in like thunder, from all sides.

“Get ‘em, boys!” The first two shots whizzed over your heads, but the third was too close for Arthur’s comfort.

“Shit! You done it now!”

“Split up! We’ll meet back at the camp. Arthur, I’ll help you guard the kid. Javier, see if you can give them the slip.” With no time to confirm as the numbers overwhelmed them, the men split off, disappearing into the woods as Javier continued down the dirt path, horse panting as if possessed.

“My son! Where are they taking my boy?” You flailed wildly in Javier’s arms, neck craning to try to catch sight of your son as a handful of men followed them into the trees.

“He’ll be fine. Arthur won’t let anything happen to him.” He reassured, ducking off the trail as bullets rained down on the two of you.

“Take me back. Take me to my son.”

“We have more pressing matters!” He asserted, leaning you forward as his horse jumped a fence. “You could help you know!” Releasing your hands to take a firm grip on the reins, Javier wasn’t sure giving you a gun was the best idea, but between you and the O'Driscolls, he trusted you a little bit more.

Pulling his gun from its leather, he could see the momentary flash in your eyes as the thought crossed your mind. But as another bullet came dangerously close, you thought better of it. Pressing against Javier, your arms wrapped around his neck, face pressed against his ear as you aimed the weapon at the closest man in pursuit.

A shot rang out, the gun bucking up in your hand from the recoil. The man ducked away, but was unharmed. Pulling the hammer back, you fired off again. And again. And again. You managed to pick off three of the men, whether fatally or just wounded you weren’t sure. But it was good enough at the moment.

“How many are there?”

“Five. I need to reload.”

“My satchel!” He called back, leaning into you as he took a sharp right turn to avoid a rock.

“Four.” You called out as one of the men crashed their horse into the rock Javier had dodged. Reaching into his satchel, you pulled out the box you needed quickly picking out six bullets before securing the box in the front of your shirt. Hugging against him to steady your hands, you hurriedly slipped the bullets into their slots.

“The boy. Is he…” Javier let his sentence trail off as a rider came up to his side, pointing a gun at the two of you. With a jerk of the reins, he rammed into the man, fist flying out to land a solid blow on the O'Driscolls’ face. The man tumbled off to be dragged by his horse as it veered away.

“He’s not yours, if that’s what you’re asking!” You shouted back, bitterness heavy in your voice.

Two more shots rang out and another man was down.

“You didn’t wait long.” Javier shot back, arm wrapped around you to secure you as he took another sharp turn.

“Longer than you deserved.” Another shot and another man. Now there was only one, slow and lagging behind. “Go faster, we’ve almost lost him.”

A few more sharp turns and the man was out of sight. Yet still, Javier did not slow. Through fields and forests and trails he rode on, maneuvering as if still under a barrage of bullets.

“Hey, stop. Stop!” Grabbing at the reins, you pulled back hard, almost causing the horse to rear back as it came to a sudden stop. “They’re gone. What the hell are you doing?”

“I had to make sure we weren’t being followed.”

“Well we’re not. Now take me back to my son.” Pointing the gun at his chest, your eyes filled his heart with ice and sent fire through his veins. In one quick move, he wrenched the gun from you, free hand grabbing a fist full of your hair to yank your head back. A small mewl of pain escaped you as Javier glared at you from under heavy lids.

“Point a gun at me again and I’ll break your hand.” Your breathing was heavy with anger, but you did not protest. Releasing you, the outlaw returned his gun to its holster before fixing you with a stony stare. You glared back, unwilling to give ground as you leaned as far from the man as your position would allow.

“Where is my son?”

“Back at camp. He’ll be safe there.”

“Take me to him. Now.”

“Fine.” His tone was gruff, but he obliged nonetheless. Pulling the reins, he started up a steady pace as the two of you made your way back to camp.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two of you. Neither willing to say any of the things that flooded your minds. The landscape was unfamiliar as he carried you on, but you did you best to remember it, not wanting to be left at the mercy of his compassion once you were reunited with your son. After a long stretch of road had been traveled, Javier broke the silence.

“What are you doing this far north? I thought you said you’d never leave Mexico.”

“I already told you, it’s none of your business.”

“Did you come here with the boy’s father?”

“None of you-“

“Who my wife sleeps with is my damn business.” He retorted, voice a warning as his hands clenched around the leather and his handsome visage was shaped by his furrowing brow.

“Well I’m hardly your wife anymore.” You snorted averting your eyes.

“How come when we were together you always told me you didn’t want kids. Didn’t want to raise them in a world like this. But as soon as I’m gone you get knocked up by whatever man will warm your bed.” You startled a few birds with the loud sound of your hand on his cheek, holding back none of your strength as you expressed your displeasure.

Javier was stunned for a moment, his face stinging as you glared daggers at him, cheeks red and expression indignant. You knew he would retaliate, but you hadn’t expected his tongue to force its way down your throat, nor his hand at the back of your neck, forcing the kiss deeper still.

With a strong shove you had him off you, spitting and cursing as you wiped at your mouth, cheeks furiously red. You couldn’t read his expression, or his eyes. Something so familiar yet so foreign in the way his eyes lingered on you.

“It’s getting dark.” He finally spoke, as if nothing had happened. “We better get back to camp.” Eyes returning to the road, he didn’t speak another word, stoically silent as he wound his way through the growing darkness.

Wandering into another lining of trees, you were startled when a voice called out in the dark.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s me, Karen.” Javier answered back, never slowing his horse.

“Javier? Is everything alright? Arthur said y’all ran into trouble.”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Well good.” As the voice again replied, the lights of a fire caught your eye, the trees thinning to reveal a clearing on the water’s edge.

When Javier had said camp, you had pictured a small cluster of tents the three men occupied. But this was a whole operation. Everywhere you looked there were people and horses and tents. It might as well have been a small town. Leading his horse up to a hitching post, Javier was quick to dismount, offering you a hand that you shrewdly refused.

“Javier. My boy. You’ve returned safe at last.” A deep voice boomed over the camp, a well dressed man approaching the two of you with open arms. “And you’ve brought a guest. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dutch Van Der Linde. Welcome Madam.” Taking your hand, the man lay a kiss to soft flesh, making you flush as he spared you a devilish grin. So distracted were you with the man’s greeting, that you missed the way Javier watched you from the corner of his eyes as he unloaded the deer from the back of his horse.

“Mamá!” Your heart leapt into your throat as you heard your son’s squeal. Looking over in the direction of a large campfire, you saw your boy sprinting towards you, lips split into a huge smile as his arms reached for you.

“Mi hijo!” Rushing to him, you scooped him up in your arms, his joyous giggling putting your heart at ease. “Are you well? Did they hurt you?”

“No, Mamá. We played games. They have a dog. And I made a friend.”

“Did you now? And here I’ve been worrying about you. And you’re off playing games.” You smiled, kissing his forehead as you did.

“It was fun, Mamá.”

“He’s a good kid.” A large, dark skinned man stepped forward. You recognized him as one of the men who had accompanied Javier. You spared him a nod, grateful that they had kept your son safe, but still distrustful.

“Thank you. But we must be going now.” With a grunt, Javier shouldered the deer, carrying it past Dutch as he leaned in close to mutter.

“Don’t let her leave.”

“Madam. I know your means of arrival were less than hospitable. But please, let us make it up to you. Stay. At least for the night.” Dutch again interjected, motioning towards the fire.

“We really should be going. I’d like to make it to the next town before morning.”

“Now, I’m sure you’re a capable young woman. But it’s a dangerous country out there. Full of delinquents and thugs. And with it being dark, well, I just wouldn’t feel right letting a pretty young thing and her son go out alone. Please, stay the night. We can prepare you a tent and I’m sure you need a warm meal.”

“Mamá, I’m hungry.” Your son chimed in, clearly enjoying his time here and wanting to stay.

“I’m not so sure.” Your eyes tracked Javier as he placed the deer at the butcher’s table. Dutch observed this, stepping in closer to steal back your attention.

“Madam. I give you my word, ALL my associates will be on their best behavior while you are here.”

“Please, Mamá. Please.” Your son chimed in. You couldn’t deny, you were hungry and tired. And the thought of the long walk to whatever town was near put an ache in your feet. Reluctantly, you agreed, assuring yourself that the camp was big enough for you to avoid Javier.

“Wonderful.” Dutch exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Mrs. Grimshaw! Please, help our guest get settled in. And see to it that she gets a warm meal.”

An older looking woman fussed over, barking orders at two of the other women to prepare a tent for you before leading you to the fire. You soon had a warm bowl of stew in hand. The flavor was lacking, but as hungry as you were, food was food. It didn’t take long for your son to scarf down his meal, fleeing to run around the camp with another small child that appeared a bit younger than him.

Every now and again your eyes would wander to Javier, comforted by the fact that he occupied a table on the other side of camp. As a few of the women joined you around the fire, you soon slipped into conversation with them, enjoying the company of other females. Something you had been lacking for the last few month.

Javier sipped on his beer, stewing in the emotions he hid beneath his indifferent facade as he watched you titter with the women. Too many memories and questions occupied his thoughts. And the beer wasn’t nearly strong enough to drown them.

“I’ve never seen a man sulking about, pining over his own wife before.” Javier spared his friend an unamused glance as Arthur sat down at the table, a pleased smile on the cowboys' lips.

“I’m not pining.”

“But you are sulking.” Arthur pointed out, leaning heavily on the table, beer in hand. “What even happened between the two of you? I’ve never heard you mention you’re married. Let alone had a son.”

“I’d rather not talk about it. And he’s not mine.” Despite his usual cool demeanor, Arthur could see that your appearance had shaken up something in the man.

“Oh, so it’s like that.”

“It’s not ‘like’ anything. Just leave it alone.” He shot his friend a warning look, but Arthur just smirked back.

“You can’t tell me that. I was there. I saw how you lost your head over her. That stunt you pulled I would have expected from Marston, but you?”

“Mr. Arthur! Mr. Arthur! Can I draw some more in your journal?” The men were interrupted as your son ran up, tugging on Arthur’s arm to gain his attention.

Both men turned to regard the child, Javier’s lips pursing as he studied the boy’s tan skin and dark hair. Feeling his gaze, the boy looked up at the other man and started. Ducking behind Arthur, he peered out at Javier from under the cowboy’s arm.

“You’re that bad man that took Mamá.” Javier raised a brow at the boy’s statement, finding himself in no mood to deal with the child.

“Now, boy. He ain’t a bad man. Just an- an old friend of your mother's.” Arthur assured.

“Really?”

“Shoah. Ain’t ya, Javier.” The darker man shot the cowboy a annoyed glare, but couldn’t refuse Arthur’s expectant gaze.

“Yeah. Old friend.”

“Mamá never told me about you.”

“Well, your Mamá never told me about you either.”

“You must not be a good friend then.” Arthur didn’t even try to hold back his laughter, fist banging the table as he howled. Javier found his patience wearing thin, just wanting to shoo the kid off so he didn’t have to stare into those large eyes that were so much like yours.

“Do you have a name kid?” He asked, preparing some scolding to chase the kid off.

“Carlos,” he answered, “Carlos Escuella.”

Arthur's laughter stopped, his face falling as he looked down at the boy who had answered so honestly. Javier’s eyes were wide. For the second time that day, words failed him. But Arthur spoke up for him.

“Escuella? Tell me, kid. Where’d you get a name like that?”

“My dad. Mamá says it’s all he left me.”

[unusual-ly]

BG Zombies Usage Rules

The BG zombies are available for other fic writers to borrow! This post outlines the rules/guidelines for anyone who wants some zombies to fill in the gaps in their stories~

There are 4 “levels” of appearances of the BGZ that you could use: namedrops, cameos, plot-relevant and protagonist. The higher the level, the more input I would like to have. Check under the cut for the breakdown of each level and how to credit. You can always message me or send an ask if you have any questions!

@fist-it-out @kokinu09 @keepswingin​ and anyone else who may someday want to borrow the BGZ

CREDIT: if you can, please actually list the BGZ by name when you credit me for them. If there’s a lot of them showing up, you can use the group name (BFZ, the Terrible Trio etc) or name one or two and then say “and everyone connected to them” or something. I just have a concern that people who aren’t reading Limelight/don’t follow my Tumblr won’t know who you mean when you say “BG zombies” and won’t realise which characters are mine

If you post your fic to Tumblr, you can credit by tagging me. If you post on FFN or Wattpad, my username on both is CallMeLy. I don’t have AO3 so please either refer to my Tumblr or my FFN on there

Level 1: Namedrops

Absolutely no permission or even credit is needed if all you want to do is mention a BGZ by their first name. It would be appreciated, but it’s not really necessary  When you just need a random zombie name to fill a space or you want to give an example of another zom besides the canon ones, go ahead and drop in, let’s say, Paizley if that’s what you want! You’ll know you mean Paizley Reilig, I’ll know you mean Paizley Reilig, but if there’s nothing else mentioned that’s specifically about Paizley Reilig, you could theoretically have plucked that name from thin air! Who knows! So namedrop. That’s fine~

Level 2: Cameos

Cameos need credit, and I’d appreciate at least mentioning to me that they’ll be there, maybe roughly what they’re doing, but you don’t exactly need to give details or ask for permission. I just want to be aware (unless you have fair reason for it to be a surprise or something) By “cameos” I mean they have a speaking role, do something as part of the story without having a real impact on it or are just generally distinguishable as one of my BGZ, as opposed to a simple namedrop that could be anyone. A good example is BFZ appearing in @fist-it-out‘s Always Had A Feeling. Ask me questions about technicalities e.g. specifics about a character, how they would react in a certain situation or what relationship dynamic characters have. If you ask me this kind of question, I’ll assume it’s for a fic and whatever I tell you is meant for you to use~

Level 3: Plot relevant

Give credit and ask permission if any BGZ are going to do something that has an impact on the plot Don’t go making decisions about a BG’s personality, relationships or actions that’ll have any relevance to the plot without checking in with me first. Again, if you ask me about how someone might react to something or who would be most likely to do something or whatever I’ll assume it’s for a fic and you can take my answer as permission. Or just ask me directly if you can do something. I want to make sure anyone reading is getting the right image of my characters

Level 4: Protagonist

Give credit, ask permission, and tell me at least some details if a BGZ is going to be at the centre of a story If you really don’t want to spoil things, that’s fair, but you can give me an idea of how you’re using the character without giving me all the context. Same rules about taking my answers to questions as permission to write about those things. Probably expect more of a discussion about what’s going on in this case, so I’d advise direct messaging me rather than sending asks

Extra notes:

The BGZ’s parents and siblings are not BG zombies. They’re not in the background of the movie, apart from Zia and Zion. They’re 100% original characters. They can be included in fics, but please don’t refer to them as BGZ and I’d like to have a little more input on what happens with them

I have also come up with first names for Eliza’s mother (Zinnia) and Mr Zeck (Ebenezer “Ben”) While you can obviously do as you wish with those characters, if you want to borrow my names, please do give credit

The first zombie, Z, is what I’d consider a Word Of God canon character - the production designer Mark Hofeling mentions Z on his website. Again, you can do what you want with both the character and the name, but please credit me if you use the specific backstory I came up with for him (found in the Zombie History Lesson fic)

If you ask for any details that I consider to be a spoiler for my own fics, I’ll just answer privately~! So please make sure to send asks off anon, thanks!

[luthienliveblogslately-blog]

Milestone write-up!

Since the story seems to be closing one story-arc and moving on to another, I feel this is a good place to take stock, summarize what we know and make some more or less educated guesses at what might happen in future. It got a bit away from me (”a bit” lol), so here’s a read more for your convenience. 

Players on the board

Last we left off, shit had decidedly hit the fan. We got painful confirmation that the elves successfully assassinated King Harrow, but they in turn had a painful price to pay. From what we can tell, Runaan is the only survivor, and he has been captured by Soren and Claudia. Claudia thinks he might come in “useful”, whatever that may mean. Might be they’ll interrogate him for information about Xadia, might be that Claudia has some more nefarious, magical things planned. She might ask him about Rayla and the egg, but it’s not like he can tell her anything that she doesn’t already know, aka Rayla and the boys have the egg and they plan to return it and use it to restore peace. Maybe, if they keep talking for long enough, he might actually get her to see that the egg really is just a yet to hatch baby dragon and therefore a sentient being in need of protection, and not just a powerful magical weapon to be used by whoever sees fit. If Runaan manages to escape or communicate with other elves, our heroes will have some real problems. He clearly sees Rayla as a traitor and seeks to punish her for the perceived crimes she committed, and there’s still that pesky magical bounty on Ezrans’s head… 

It’s hard to say what Claudia and Soren will do next. I think it depends very much on if Viren is sticking around the castle or not, and what his plans are. As to what his plans might be… god knows. Just how much does he want the egg back? Is he willing to go after it himself, or will he maybe send Soren? How much does Soren know about all this anyway? Five bucks says he had no idea about anything tbh. You know what still hasn’t been opened yet btw? The fucking letter. It’s still in Viren’s study. If it really has a contingency plan like “Callum becomes prince regent until Ezran is old enough to rule” I get the feeling Viren might pull some GoT-style shenanigans and try to put himself on the throne. At this point there isn’t really anything I wouldn’t put past him. In any case though the kingdom might be thrown into serious chaos for a while. After all: the King is Dead, long live the…. wait, who now? The crown prince is missing? The step-prince is missing, too? Well, guess it’s time for some good old-fashioned power grabbing! 

And then there’s our three four protagonists. We don’t know where the kingdom of Katolis is exactly, but in any case they have a long journey ahead. They will have to stick to the woods for most of it and avoid towns I think. Rayla can’t be seen by humans, the egg can’t be seen either, and Viren might try and put a bounty on all of them anyway, so the boys might not be save either. I trust Rayla will be able to get the foods from the woods though, so that should be alright. And then eventually they’ll reach the Breach and have to make their away across it and around however many standing armies manning the border from both sides. Yikes. Though we have no idea how far they’ll go in three remaining episodes. There are after all at least 5 more potential seasons in store for us, so there’s a good chance they won’t even remotely come close to the Breach in this one.  What I’m really worried about is Rayla keeping the truth about Harrow from the boys.  While it breaks my heart just thinking about them having to mourn their dad, I’m worried about Callum lashing out at Rayla in his grief. We already had a scene when he found out about the assassination plot and subsequently flipped out at Ez out of fear, and Ez hadn’t even really done anything. How much worse will that reaction be if she’s been lying to them for several days, even if it was just to spare them the pain? It might damage his trust in her, Callum might even try and make them split up and continue without her. Sounds like a really bad idea, but people do stupid things when they’re angry and sad. 

Other unresolved plot points

WHAT DOES THE FUCKING LETTER SAY

What’s up with the Mirror? For that matter, why is the mirror fishy enough to be covered up but not fishy enough to be hidden in the Lair of Dead Things? 

What’s with the picture Harrow looked at last time we saw him alive? It’s gotta be something, right? Why would they make the camera zoom in on it lying face down on the bed otherwise? Just have Harrow put it away and then forget it exists, don’t give it an extra shot!

Pip! Is he still alive? D: 

Callum still has the Storm Stone, but he might have to get his hands on a book or find himself a teacher to learn some new spells probably? 

WHAT DO THE BLACK EYES DO? DO THEY EVEN DO ANYTHING OR ARE THEY JUST FOR CREEPY EFFECT? 

Viren’s staff! Just cool historical artifact or actually relevant to the plot? 

Shameless Tin-hatting aka Foreshadowing Fucking Everywhere aka Miscellaneous Shit I Noticed While re-watching ep 1-3

Callum’s drawing of a Dragon roasting a Marshmallow Monster -> this show’s version of the Cookie Cat jingle? Possibly depicting Viren’s inevitable demise? 

Not foreshadowing, but I realized when the Narrator says “on the eve of last Winter’s Turn” in the opening what is meant with “last” is just most recent, as in “last month” or “last Christmas”. So it probably was some solstice type date after all. Makes sense with it now being spring. 

People keep pointing out how shit Bait is at hiding. I’m afraid at some point they’ll have to hide from something REALLY BAD and Bait will get them found. :/ Really, Bait being called Bait just seems super unfortunate in general. 

You know how Rayla says “My Heart for Xadia” during the ritual? Yeah, I’m getting the feeling Rayla will be instrumental in getting Ezran out of the magical contract, possibly in a super heroic way by just doing what her heart tells her to and saving the day, or possibly just… by dying in his stead. Oh god I feel like I jinxed her. :( 

You know how Callum was like “You’re so lucky, you get to learn magic!” and Claudia was like “You get to learn sword fighting!” and then Callum was like “I’d switch places in a second!”? Well, he’s doing magic now, so…. the little disaster bi that is myself is praying for Claudia in armor with a big-ass sword being a BAMF. ´

Anybody else who really wants to know what is under that OTHER, BIGGER tarp in the Lair of Dead Things? Because I really wanna know. I bet Ezran knows already. 

Harrow said about the letter that “[Callum will] understand in time.” What makes me think there’s more in there than just his last will, possibly it’s also his last confession. What terrible shit has he done over the years of his reign, how much of it did Viren have his fingers in and how much of it can Viren use against him post-mortem? And how will the boys react when they get confronted with their dad’s uglier side, possibly via what the elves or even some direct victims have to say about him? 

I’d really like to have a look at that book Callum is carrying everywhere. I figure it’s his sketch book and not relevant to anything, but it might still be fun to get to see some pages anyway. 

Stuff that I got spoilered on because there’s too many tags to block :( 

I saw some pics of the Dragon Prince after hatching! D: I’m sorry, it feels like I robbed myself of an awesome surprise and you of a genuine reaction. :( I didn’t look very closely, I just saw that he was adorable and had roughly the same color scheme as his dad. Which leads me to some more tin hatting: What with Thunder being called that and also breathing lightning, I’d like to propose that the Storm Stone still has a big role to play after all, other than just providing Callum with a magical source he can carry around. 

I saw General Amaya of the Standing Battalion being name dropped in a text post. I scrolled too fast to see any context, but considering who she is I guess we’ll get her as an upcoming character in some capacity.

I know that the elf making the MAGIC TREES amulets gets another ending slide at some point, and that people are theorizing he and Runaan are a Thing.  I’m not a super big fan of Runaan at this moment in time so I couldn’t give less of a shit about his love life tbh, and as much as I like to ship things I usually need a bit more than literally two pictures to get me going, so. I dunno, don’t expect much from me on that front until more material comes out in later seasons I guess. Like… if there isn’t enough for people to make emotional gif sets out of, can you even really call it a ship?

Netflix tried to push Chapter 4 on me when I went to re-watch the others. I got it shut down quickly enough, but I still saw the title. I think it was… Bloodthirsty? Bloodlust? Either way I think either Runaan is gonna have a REALLY bad time very soonish or our protagonists will have to run REALLY fast from people trying to catch them.  Maybe both. 

[shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl]

Phantom Confidants AU

In an alternate universe, I actually write about a P5 AU where the non-party social links are the phantom thieves of that universe. So Mishima, Hifumi, Shinya, Sojiro, Toranosuke, Iwai, Takemi, Ohya, Chihaya, Kawakami and even Sae. Honestly I would have loved to have an animal in the group but Morgana is the only animal social link and he's an original member. But hey it's still a pretty diverse group considering it's a mix of mostly adults, some teens, and a kid. They've got a pretty badass lineup to be honest so here's how I think it'll go. 

Full plot, codenames, and Mementos chats under the cut: 

(SPOILERS AHEAD) 

Plot Your Heart Out!

So first up, who would be the new protagonist? At first I figured Mishima because he's got that work-in-progress good guy vibes. But then I checked the list and realized that most of the group are adults and not really sure if Mishima can handle the leadership role. So who else? Then it hit me. Best dad Sojiro. Think about it. He had a direct connection with Wakaba who started this whole metaverse discovery. It's the perfect setup! He helped Wakaba with her research from time to time and during one of the experiments, they had discovered the metaverse. Maybe. I'm making this up as I go. Anyways! 

The general premise is that Sojiro was the first Phantom Thief in his youth and became an urban legend later on when he retired. When he took in Futaba, he promised he'd devote himself full time into raising her so he quit the calling card business. Except fast forward many years later, he was forced to wear/rip off his mask again. 

In this AU, Sojiro already changed Futaba's heart early on so Futaba was able to enroll at Shuujin Academy. It's all fine at first until she comes home and brings up Kamoshida and how no one not even adults can lay a hand on him. Her concerns bring out his instinct protect his child from such monster. When conventional methods failed and the rumors of sexual assault is less farfetched from the truth, he didn't hesitate to start stealing hearts again. 

During the infiltration he'll most likely be able to recruit Mishima and Kawakami (both obviously carry good reasons to get back at Kamoshida). Mishima has average stats which makes him a good support member. He gets stronger with baton pass! Someone give this child a confidence booster and he will plow you. Kawakami has the best buffs which makes life so much easier. They succeed and the school becomes safe so he thought his comeback was just a one time thing. Oh he was sorely mistaken. 

At this point, gossip about the Phantom Thieves have spread and such news have even reached our local back alley doctor. During the weeks before Kamoshida's confession, Sojiro had been striking up unethical deals for medicine from her and so she connects the dots. She confronts him at the cafe during a slow night. She doesn't plan on ratting him out however she wants in. She wants him to change the heart of this one doctor and gives him a deadline (she doesn't say at first that it's because of that one girl patient although they find out anyway during the confrontation in the palace). She somehow ends up joining them during infiltration, awakens and joins the team. She is probably the closest friend/acquaintance that Sojiro had among the group before they were phantom thieves. 

Then comes my favorite arc temporary title Guns Ablaze. They're somehow managing in the metaverse but medicine can only go so far. They need good equipment and when they realized that model guns were effective in the metaverse (courtesy of Mishima experimentally bringing one with him once because real guns are illegal), they decide to shop at Untouchable. Only to somehow get roped into his yakuza blackmail drama. 

Sojiro develops a camaraderie with Iwai because they're both single parents trying hard to raise their adopted child. Definitely share the father of the year award. He joins them at the first day of infiltration because this is his fight and he will settle this with them. Hell, he doesn't even hesitate to bring a real gun with him and shoot a shadow even without a persona. Turns out the shadow yakuza is stronger than a few bullets but he faces him head on and awakens. He is Sojiro's best bro and they talk about parenting a lot. 

Halfway through though they get stuck because the shadows are surprisingly agile. Gun attacks are effective but they keep missing their shots. And you guessed it. They're going to have a kid teach them how to shoot a gun. It's embarrassing really at first, especially for the adults, but they respect Shinya for his sharpshooting skills. They hang out with Shinya a couple of times and the kid grew on to them. One time though they decided to head to the palace after training/hanging out with him but they didn't know that Shinya followed them due to some undecided plot device. He wouldn't awaken in the palace tho but he's still in awe. Some time later, the mother issue happens and he asks for their help. He asks to join them when they decide to change her heart and that's how he awakens. He is best boy. They dote on him a lot. 

Meanwhile the Phantom Thieves are gaining popularity, hence a greater demand in media. Ohya being one of those journalists assigned to write about them, accidentally discovers more than just your average article. However, good journalism is confirming facts before publishing half-truths and so she investigates further regarding Sojiro's group. She ends up frequenting either the cafe or the clinic (she tried the airsoft shop but that was too obvious). She ends up being a regular of Sojiro's curry and of Takemi's medicine (altho she just goes there to flirt err fish info). It takes a while, weeks even, but at some point, someone slips. She gets her evidence on them being Phantom Thieves but she has no plans on outing them just yet. She asks them to change the heart of her boss and they do, with her help even. She insists on tagging along and they couldn't shake her off so she comes with them. She awakens when she confronts her boss' shadow. From there on, she's been helping the team with selecting their targets because who better than a journalist? 

Recruiting Hifumi was probably the most obscure accident, mostly because I honestly can't think of a good connection just yet. There's the fact that she goes to church and Wakaba's grave is near there but even that is grasping straws. Maybe Hifumi put in a mementos request? Somehow got dragged by proximity when they went to mementos and she was just on her way to catch the late train home? I don't know. Someone help me. Chihaya too. I was thinking that Chihaya gets involved with Ohya's arc. Maybe they're friends since they both frequent the red light district. Yeah let's go with that. Chihaya is obviously the navigator of the group so she's a must have party member and Hifumi is the strategist also a must have. They work hard okay. 

Moving on! At some point they try to target the politician from Toranosuke's social link. But it becomes their shortest case ever. Tora had somehow figured that his old acquaintance could be targeted by the phantom thieves and he wants to stop the, but he has no way of contacting them. One day he went to visit that guy's place but coincidentally it was his place of distortion. Coincidentally, the phantom thieves were there and unaware of Tora's proximity. He gets pulled in with them. They never did manage to beat the Palace ruler. Instead Tora just talks it put with the shadow and the palace crumbles after negotiations succeed. Everyone's confused as to what just happened but they're not against it. Tora awakens on his own the next time he joins them, probably in Mementos. He refuses to fight but he always steps up to talk with shadows willing to negotiate. 

At this point, the phantom thieves reputation is skyrocketing. The hype is so strong that Sojiro gets a warrant of arrest. Sae hadn't confirmed it yet but she has made enough connections to point Sojiro as a suspect phantom thief. They do their own research to find out the best way to get out of this. During their investigation, they find out that there's been a suspicious pressure to have the phantom thieves arrested, abnormally so. They deduce that although Sae was an immediate threat, she was just being pulled by the strings. 

They needed to see the bigger picture and to so that, perhaps Sae was the key. They need her cooperation and to have that, they need her to have a change of heart except without the excessive guilt to render her incapacitated. They tried talking it out with her but when that failed they had no choice but had her face the facts, or rather face her shadow self. Sae awakens in her own palace, realizing how twisted her desires had become. When they escape, she asks if she could join their cause and they gladly welcome her. 

Shido is the last palace not just because of him being a corrupt prime minister but also considering the motherfucker had Wakaba murdered which makes this personal for Sojiro. After all, not only did Sojiro love Wakaba (romantically or not) but she was also the reason he was able to become a Phantom Thief in the first place. That fucking dildo Shido is long overdue to be brought down by Sojiro so that Wakaba can have some semblance of justice. Oh and Japan gets saved too I guess. (Yaldabaoth who?) 

>>Oh yeah, although Futaba isn't a thief here, it's not because she doesn't know. It's only because Sojiro forbade her and his word is law so she's still mad about that. She still helps as Alibaba though. Honestly best non-party member confidant of Sojiro and that's not just father bias talking. Okay maybe a little father bias but he's a proud dad okay. 

>>Also Morgana is a social link of Sojiro's. Except it's really just Sojiro being a softie with the cat. He has no idea what Morgana's meows mean (does he even talk/transform in this au?) but he is a good landlord and sometimes he feeds the cat better than he does Akira. 

>>Originally I didn't want Sojiro to be a Wild Card but due to Persona Tradition, in order to be a protagonist one must be a special snowflake with lots of facades inside. So I guess his velvet room would look like a cafe only without the coffee because Caroline and Justine (or just Lavenza) are kids and coffee is bad for them. Sojiro feels so uncomfortable with Igor behind the counter because for a barista to not touch them coffee beans at all, that's pretty suspicious. 

—

Codenames 'subject to change' 

Sojiro Sakura - Solo (single shot of espresso) 

Yuuki Mishima - Wolf (talk about wolf in sheep's clothing or is it the other way around?) 

Hifumi Togo - Jade or General (because shogi) 

Shinya Oda - Trigger (guns guns guns)

 Munehisa Iwai - Gecko (his tattoo) 

Tae Takemi - Witchdoctor or Plague (she protec but she also attac) 

Ichiko Ohya - Rebel (fight the power!) 

Sadayo Kawakami - Burnout (teachers have no chill) 

Chihaya Mifune - Tarot (fortune telling duh) 

Toranosuke Yoshida - Tiger (his name) 

Sae Niijima - Empress or Judge (her personality)

—

Mementos Chats: 

Ohya: No matter how much I drink every night, my body still gets hangovers sometimes. Hey, Takemi. You're a doctor, right? Know any good medicine for this? 

Takemi: I can actually prescribe you with the best medicine. Prevention. "Drink moderately" is an effectively proven motto to live by. 

—

Toranosuke: I tried checking this "phansite" and I keep seeing the "pound sign heart stolen", could you explain to me what that means? 

Mishima: ...Did you mean hashtag? I think I'll be explaining to you more than just that. 

—

Shinya: Are all adults like this? Stressed? I've been thinking about how I'm not growing up fast enough but now I think I just want to be a kid forever. 

Iwai: Smart move, kid. But don't let us get to you. Us adults are fun too, heh, when we're not too buried in bills and taxes.

— 

Iwai: Hey, know any good places to bring your kid? 

Sojiro: Depends on what he likes and the occasion. From what I heard, your kid already likes you enough so just go out and have fun with the kid. 

—

Mishima: Between studying and phantom thieving, I think I just might be better with the latter. 

Kawakami: Why? Last time I checked, your grades seem pretty okay. Are you having difficulties with any of your subjects recently? You know you can always ask me to teach you. 

—

Kawakami: I know I signed up for this but this is too exhausting! I don't even have the energy to check papers after. When I get home, I just collapse on my bed! 

Ohya: I know what you mean. I can't even make a pit stop at my favorite bar! 

—

Chihaya: I've seen shadows in my fortune tellings but to think that I'll be using it against literal shadows. The city sure is amazing ain't it. 

Hifumi: I'm not sure if it is exclusive to the city. Nevertheless, it is always fascinating to watch you work, Chihaya-san. 

—

Hifumi: Despite this group being composed mostly of adults, I find myself strangely at ease... 

Sae: Even as an adult, I agree with that sentiment. This is... a wonderful group to belong to.

—

Sae: I've been meaning to ask this but how do you juggle Phantom Thief work with your real world jobs? I honestly didn't think you had any free time to spare. As a case example, I myself only get by with four hours of sleep on slow days.

Takemi: We seriously need to reevaluate your working schedule... That or quit your job. Can't have you dying from exhaustion on us. 

—

Takemi: I may be a doctor but you all need to look after yourselves better. If any of you collapse, I'm not footing your hospital bills. 

Sojiro: What's this? Free medical advice? You've gotten soft. 

—

Sojiro: So you've been hanging out with Akira and Futaba lately? Those two can't be good influences on you. 

Shinya: They're cool, I guess. Heh, so what if they're bad influences? I hang out enough with you guys at night so that should balance it out, right?

—

Some other trivia: 

Since most of the group are adults with full time jobs, they do most of the phantom thief stuff at night 

They also work out a schedule because they have a lot of responsibilities outside phan stuff 

Still, since Sojiro is a veterinarian at this, they usually accomplish a lot in an hour or two so that helps 

Mishima and Hifumi are forbidden to do any phantom thief activities during exams week 

Meanwhile Kawakami excuses herself for the week after finals week (checking papers is exhausting okay) 

Kawakami is at the forefront of "long weekends do not touch" and "holidays touch them and you die" because teachers need those okay 

Kawakami volunteers to clean the dirty armor they find but on the condition that she gets first dibs on good armor 

Mishima still manages the phansite and he's super proud about the work they do 

Mishima visits the cafe a lot and eventually befriends Akira and Futaba 

Hifumi still speaks dramatically when giving orders or planning strategies in the metaverse 

Hifumi is actually very extra but they just let her be 

Toranosuke can't really fight much but damn he's good at them shadow negotiations 

Toranosuke can't join much because he campaigns at night but he makes it a point to be present at least once a week and during important meetings 

Shinya can't stay too late either so they either go in earlier sometimes or make up an excuse in unexpected cases 

You'd think Shinya would get teased a lot but he's actually doted upon 

Gee Shinya, how come you get to have three dads? 

Iwai and Sojiro are best dad friends and you can't tell me otherwise 

Iwai only cancels on them for father-son bonding and he usually gives them prior notice 

Ohya is the type who cancels at the last minute or arrives late 

Ohya is also the one who invites the adults out for drinks after 

Sojiro offers coffee as an alternative for those who want or may need it 

Takemi is the strict mom friend who doesn't let anyone get sick on her watch 

Takemi forbids anyone to do anything further the moment the first signs of exhaustion show 

Takemi has a special skill that makes her immune to status ailments (unlockable with social link rank up) 

Chihaya does their fortunes upon request with or without persona (she still uses her tarot cards either way) 

Chihaya still slips in her accent sometimes especially when they get ambushed 

Sae is super conscious about used to having a palace (and the only one in the team who had one) but the squad is understanding and she feels happy to be accepted even still 

Sae actually gets along pretty well with them despite their previous conflicts, which are all water under the bridge 

Sae is probably the most OP out of all of them, maybe it's because she had to face her own shadow, hmmm 

The women of the group do hang, sometimes even go out for drinks 

Hifumi joins mostly on weekends because those are in the mornings and Takemi forbids alcohol as long as the sun is out so they just window shop mostly or eat out 

More often than not, those hang outs extend into evenings so Hifumi excuses herself and Ohya now drags the rest to Crossroads 

Meanwhile the guys just chill at Cafe Leblanc, sometimes Iwai even brings his son 

They do have outings with the whole squad (sometimes plus Futaba!) 

They are a good squad, and god I love this AU

—

I uhhhh wanted to write down everything, like codename, outfit, persona, awakening scene, skills, mementos chats with each other, and all but I didn't have the time. Maybe I'll do them in another post? Maybe. Just know that I love them confidants and this au stole my heart. 

If anyone wants to add, draw, write for the Phantom Confidants AU then feel free to do so! Have fun with this idea and enjoy!!

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/technology/entertainment/avengers-endgame-the-screenwriters-answer-every-question-you-might-have/

‘Avengers: Endgame’: The Screenwriters Answer Every Question You Might Have

This article contains spoilers for “Avengers: Endgame.”

It’s over.

With “Avengers: Endgame,” the two-movie story line that started with “Avengers: Infinity War” is finished, along with the 22-film cycle that represents the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. And some of the heroes we’ve followed on this decade-long adventure are gone, too.

In the three-hour span of “Endgame,” the Avengers confront and kill Thanos (Josh Brolin), who had used the Infinity Gauntlet to snap away half of all life in the universe. When the story resumes five years later, the Avengers are still left with their grief and remorse — until the unexpected return of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) kicks off a race back through time to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos could obtain them in the first place. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrifices her life; a colossal battle ensues; Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) dies; and Captain America (Chris Evans) finds a way to live the life he’d always wanted, reappearing as an old man to entrust his shield to the Falcon (Anthony Mackie).

These and many other head-spinning developments in “Endgame” emerged from the imaginations of its screenwriters, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who also wrote “Infinity War.” (Both films were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.) Markus and McFeely have been friends and collaborators since the 1990s and also wrote all three “Captain America” movies as well as “Thor: The Dark World” (with Christopher L. Yost) and created the Marvel TV series “Agent Carter.”

In a recent interview in their offices in Los Angeles, Markus and McFeely discussed the many choices and possibilities of “Endgame,” the roads not taken and the decisions behind who lived and who died. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Deciding the Plot Points

How did you decide where the major events of “Infinity War” and “Endgame” would fall? CHRISTOPHER MARKUS The biggest point was probably the Snap. And we realized fairly early on that if we didn’t do it at the end of the first movie, the first movie wasn’t going to have an end. And if we did it too early in the first movie, it would be a bit of an anticlimax after you’ve killed half the universe to have them stumbling around for half an hour. STEPHEN McFEELY Another big plot point is when everyone comes back. So the question is, is it early in the second movie? Late in the second movie? You notice the players left on the board are the O.G. Avengers [Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye], and let’s give them their due. It meant that we were likely going to bring people back late. So that if you were a big fan of Doctor Strange or Black Panther or Bucky [the Winter Soldier] or Sam [the Falcon], you’re only going to get a little brief window on them. It can’t be all things to all people.

How did you choose which characters would survive for “Endgame”?

MARKUS We knew we wanted to see Cap and Tony dealing with the aftermath so that you could really see them suffer, quite frankly. And that’s why Cap and Natasha are relatively minimal in the first movie, because all they’d be doing is punching. We knew that they had a lot of story in the second movie, and there were other people who would have much more story in the first movie, like the Guardians. McFEELY Thor is strangely the one that gets two movies’ worth of story. MARKUS For a guy people once thought of as boring, he’s become very useful.

“Endgame” sort of tricks you by having the heroes kill Thanos almost immediately, only to discover it doesn’t solve anything. Why was that important? McFEELY We always had this problem. The guy has the ultimate weapon. He can see it coming. It’s ridiculous. We were just banging our heads for weeks, and at some point, [the executive producer] Trinh Tran went, “Can’t we just kill him?” And we all went, “What happens if you just kill him? Why would you kill him? Why would he let you kill him?” MARKUS It reinforced Thanos’s agenda. He was done. Not to make him too Christ-like, but it was like, “If I’ve got to die, I can die now.”

There’s a lot of bleakness and despair for roughly the first hour of the movie. Did that feel like a risk for a big-event picture? MARKUS It felt less risky once I saw the reaction to “Infinity War.” You never know how you’re going to hit people, emotionally. We’ve been sitting with these events for years. We no longer have an emotional reaction. And then you see people crying in the theater. We’ve got to honor that or it’s going to feel like we’re just jerking them around. McFEELY It was the part in test screenings where people were most uncomfortable. Because you are wallowing to a degree. There doesn’t seem to be any hope. In the end of Act II for most superhero movies, maybe they lose for five minutes. Here it’s for five years. That seemed important.

And that theme of loss is continued when Scott Lang visits a memorial to the dead in San Francisco. McFEELY We used to have beats in the script where there are those in every city. Millions of names. MARKUS It’s that sense of collective trauma and the fact that if you weren’t killed, you wake up the next day — the trauma happened and I’m still here. How do we deal with this? That was the Stan Lee trick. Where’s the anxiety coming from? Now that they have Power X.

Character Arcs

How did you start to determine the trajectories for the heroes in “Endgame”? McFEELY Chris and I wrote a master document while we were shooting “Civil War,” and one of the things we were interested in exploring is, remember the What If comics? Well, this is our what if. If you lost, Thor becomes fat. Natasha becomes a shut-in. Steve becomes depressed. Tony gets on with his life. Hulk is a superhero. MARKUS Clint becomes a murdering maniac. When we were spitballing for “Endgame,” we started with, Thor’s on a mission of vengeance. And then we were like, he was on a mission of vengeance in the last movie. This is all this guy ever does! And fails, all the time. Let’s drive him into a wall and see what happens. McFEELY He just got drunk and fat.

At least the Hulk is in a better place. MARKUS There was a time when Banner became Smart Hulk in the first movie. It was a lot of fun, but it came at the wrong moment. It was an up, right when everyone else was down. McFEELY It happened in Wakanda. His arc was designed like, I’m not getting along with the Hulk, the Hulk won’t come out. And then they compromise and become Smart Hulk. MARKUS We were like, but he’s Smart Hulk in the next movie. So that diner scene [in “Endgame”], was like, O.K., how do we smash right into that without scenes of him in a lab, gene-splicing? McFEELY Oh, I wrote scenes in a lab. Now it’s just him eating pancakes and I think it generally works. MARKUS The whole thing rides on Rudd going, “I’m so confused.”

Though Ant-Man didn’t participate in “Infinity War,” we saw how the Snap affected him in the tag for “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” How did you decide to pay this off in “Endgame”? McFEELY In late 2015 they say, you’re writing the 19th movie [“Infinity War”] and the 22nd movie. So we chose to make lemonade. And that was a big moment — we figured out we can withhold Ant-Man because he’s in his own movie. And their movie is not affected until the tag, and that just gives us a place to go [in “Endgame”]. You can do this when you’re planning ahead this much. The tone is all weird, right? Because that’s a light, fun movie and then we just kill everybody in the tag.

Hawkeye took arguably the darkest turn of any hero in this series.

McFEELY He’s a good example of people who had much stronger stories after the Snap. What was the story to tell with Hawkeye in the first movie that was different than anybody else’s? Leaving his family to go fight again? Yeah, he did that in “Civil War.” The hope is that he’s killing bad people. MARKUS There was a time where we contemplated having that archery scene in the first movie, after the Snap. You snap, and then you pop up in Clint’s farm — what are we watching? — and that’s the first indication it had a wider effect. But he literally had not been in the movie prior to that point. It’s cool, but it’s going to blunt the brutality of what [Thanos] did. McFEELY Joe [Russo] said we’ll put that up front in the second one.

Once you’d seen how successful “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel” were, did you try to find more opportunities for the characters from those films? McFEELY There wasn’t a lot of time to adjust. It’s not like we could say, “Hurry, put Shuri in there.” We started [filming “Infinity War” and “Endgame”], and then “Black Panther” started, we’re still going. They finish. We’re still going. MARKUS “Panther” comes out. McFEELY When we’re doing the tests [before “Black Panther” opened], and Cap goes, “I know somewhere,” and then you cut to Wakanda, the audience goes, “Oh, that’s interesting.” But when you do those tests after the movie comes out, all you have to do is [makes drumming noises] and people freak out. Same issue with “Captain Marvel.” We shot [Brie Larson] before she shot her movie. She’s saying lines for a character 20 years after her origin story, which no one’s written yet. It’s just nuts.

MARKUS She’s been in space nearly half her life. She has obligations. McFEELY Certainly, Captain Marvel is in [“Endgame”] a little less than you would have thought. But that’s not the story we’re trying to tell — it’s the original Avengers dealing with loss and coming to a conclusion, and she’s the new, fresh blood.

Were there any Marvel characters you wanted for these movies that you couldn’t have? MARKUS We did try to put the Living Tribunal in the first movie. We wrote a scene in which he appeared during the Titan fight. And everyone was like, what? McFEELY Whoa. He’s got three heads. It would indicate a whole different level of architecture to the universe and I think that was too much to just throw in. MARKUS The idea’s still in [Marvel Studios President] Kevin [Feige]’s court. McFEELY Oh sure, we probably just spoiled it. MARKUS The Living Tribunal has his own streaming show. McFEELY It’s like “Judge Judy.”

Adventures in Time Travel

Early in “Endgame,” the movie jumps ahead five years. Was that inspired by some TV series that have also used this device? MARKUS That was what we bought ourselves by ending the last movie the way we did. We wanted it to be real and for a long time — both in movie time and in chronological time for the characters. You couldn’t end Natasha, Tony and Steve the way we do without knowing that they’ve done their time and this is taking them to the brink. McFEELY We talked about “Fargo” from the first season, where it just jumps a year. And you go, “Whaaaaat?” We hopefully get a similar reaction. MARKUS And when “Lost” had their flash forwards, you were like, how’d that happen?

Where did the idea for the time-travel story line come from? McFEELY Kevin [Feige] at one point said, I would like to use the Time Stone, or use time as an element. It let us spend a few weeks seeing what’s the kookiest thing we could do with time and not break the movie. MARKUS We all sat there going, really? We’re going to do time travel? It was only when we were looking at who we had available, character-wise; we hadn’t used Ant-Man yet. And there really is, in people’s theory of the Quantum Realm, a time thing in the M.C.U., right now, available to us, with a character we haven’t used yet. We have a loophole that’s not cheating.

It’s crucial to your film that in your formulation of time travel, changes to the past don’t alter our present. How did you decide this? MARKUS We looked at a lot of time-travel stories and went, it doesn’t work that way. McFEELY It was by necessity. If you have six MacGuffins and every time you go back it changes something, you’ve got Biff’s casino, exponentially. So we just couldn’t do that. We had physicists come in — more than one — who said, basically, “Back to the Future” is . MARKUS Basically said what the Hulk says in that scene, which is, if you go to the past, then the present becomes your past and the past becomes your future. So there’s absolutely no reason it would change.

Did you try any other approaches to the time-travel story? McFEELY In the first draft, we didn’t go back to the [original]“Avengers” movie. We went back to Asgard. But there’s a moment in the M.C.U., if you’re paying very close attention, where the Aether is there and the Tesseract is in the vault. In that iteration, we were interested in Tony going to Asgard. He had a stealth suit, so he was invisible, and he fought Heimdall, who could see him. MARKUS Thor had long scenes with Natalie Portman. And Morag [the planet where Peter Quill finds the Orb] was hugely complicated. McFEELY It was underwater! That was clever but it was just too big a set piece. What that didn’t do is allow for Thanos and his daughters to get on the trail at the right moment. So we went back to when Peter Quill was there. And we realized that when you can punch Quill in the face, it’s hilarious. I still think it’s hilarious. MARKUS There were entirely other trips taken. They went to the Triskelion at one point to get the [Tesseract], and then somebody was going to get into a car and drive to Doctor Strange’s house. McFEELY Just saying it out loud, it’s like, what are we doing? MARKUS It was when we were trying to avoid going to “Avengers” because it seemed pander-y. McFEELY We’re not always right. MARKUS The obvious ones seemed so obvious that it’s too obvious. McFEELY Eventually, Joe Russo went, why are we going to this movie when we can go to “Avengers?” Let’s make it work.

Thor recovers his hammer, Mjolnir, by taking it from an earlier timeline. So that raises the question — McFEELY Does that screw that other Thor? MARKUS Is he killed by Dark Elves? McFEELY I think we’re leaning on, when you just take a baseball mitt, you didn’t ruin that kid’s life. When you took Mjolnir, we accept that that movie happened. Because time is irrefutable. MARKUS You can make any number of what ifs. The Dark Elves would have arrived, intending to get the Aether. It’s what they came for and it was no longer there. McFEELY So they build a paradise together. MARKUS They all got married. [laughter]

There’s a surprise cameo, in the “Avengers” scene, from Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. Did you prepare for other scenarios if Redford wasn’t available? McFEELY That was one where we thought, should it be Nick Fury? We also wrote a version for Maria Hill. That whole time, they’re announcing “Old Man With a Gun” as Redford’s last appearance on film. It’s the last time you’re going to see Robert Redford. And we’re going — [shoots conspiratorial look at Markus] [Laughter]

The Final Battle

How did Marvel feel when you told them you envisioned a massive battle royal with nearly every character from the franchise? MARKUS I think they knew it was coming. McFEELY It’s why it took so long. We shot for 200 days for two movies. MARKUS We wrote and shot an even much longer battle, with its own three-act structure.

Were there scenes you wrote for this sequence that didn’t make it into the film? McFEELY It didn’t play well, but we had a scene in a trench where, for reasons, the battle got paused for about three minutes and now there’s 18 people all going, “What are we going to do?” “I’m going to do this.” “I’m going to do this.” Just bouncing around this completely fake, fraudulent scene. When you have that many people, it invariably is, one line, one line, one line. And that’s not a natural conversation. MARKUS It also required them to find enough shelter to have a conversation in the middle of the biggest battle. It wasn’t a polite World War I battle where you have a moment.

How did you coordinate the moment where all the female Marvel heroes come together? McFEELY There was much conversation. Is that delightful or is it pandering? We went around and around on that. Ultimately we went, we like it too much. MARKUS Part of the fun of the “Avengers” movies has always been team-ups. Marvel has been amassing this huge roster of characters. You’ve got crazy aliens. You’ve got that many badass women. You’ve got three or four people in Iron Man suits.

Were there other characters you could’ve had but didn’t use? MARKUS There were moments, as they brought everybody back, where we’re like, technically, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer have [Ant-Man] suits. Do we bring them back? It became impossible to track the people we did bring back, but also, it’s just going to be an orgy. McFEELY Do you put Luke Cage in there?

Did you consider using the heroes from the Netflix TV shows, like Daredevil or Jessica Jones? McFEELY We would have to introduce these five characters — or whatever many. We already are assuming people have seen a lot of the movies. Are we really going to assume they have bought a subscription to Netflix and watched those shows enough so that when they see them, they’re going to go “yay?” MARKUS It also screws up the timelines. You would have to assume that they all got snapped away, or otherwise they might have shown up earlier. I think the only character who has come from TV to the movies is Jarvis, James D’Arcy [from “Agent Carter”].

Could you have used any of the characters that Disney obtained from the Fox acquisition, like the X-Men or Fantastic Four? McFEELY Legally, not allowed to. MARKUS I guess it’s done now but it wasn’t done then. They still have an “X-Men” movie [“Dark Phoenix,” due in June]. You can’t reboot them before they’re done. “Sorry to completely screw you.”

“Endgame” shares some unexpected parallels with “Game of Thrones,” which also recently ran episodes about its heroes preparing for a significant battle and then the battle itself. Why do you think these narratives are similar? Did you ever look at “Game of Thrones” for inspiration? MARKUS We’re in a high-stakes time and a jarring time in history, where you have to contemplate what you’re willing to do to improve the situation. Whether or not everyone’s speaking to that, or just good old-fashioned storytelling, I don’t know. McFEELY Marvel has been accused of being the most expensive television show there is, and there’s some truth to that. The genres are different, the tones are different, but it’s serialized storytelling. MARKUS We occasionally wonder, did we just make the world’s most expensive inside-baseball fan service? But then we go, the fans are actually the majority of people who come to this. It’s inside baseball, but everyone is following the baseball. That’s also why the Marvel characters have lasted this long. They’re weird. They have strange quirks. McFEELY The bland ones don’t last. MARKUS I remember “Game of Thrones” being a reference for the first movie. How far apart can you keep these strands, and for how long, and still feel like you’re telling a single narrative? “Game of Thrones” has people who are just meeting now! As much as people think the culture’s going down the drain, there seems to be an elevating of people’s estimating of the kind of narrative that will succeed in popular culture. McFEELY Whatever you think of this movie, it’s complicated. It is not another sequel. MARKUS And a lot of popular TV is complicated. “This Is Us” is complicated. “Simon & Simon” was not that complicated. Great as it was. But it does seem like there is an acceptance of more complicated forms of storytelling.

Was the three-hour running time of “Endgame” ever in question? MARKUS There was an agreement within the whole group that we’re going to take our time; we’re not going to cut a half-hour of it so we can get one more screening in per day. McFEELY We couldn’t! Where are you going to cut a half-hour? There was not a sequence you could cut. MARKUS Look at some of the most popular movies of all time. They’re long as hell. When people want to see something, it doesn’t seem to get in their way. There’s some short, totally unsuccessful movies, too.

Journey’s End

Why does Natasha Romanoff have to die? McFEELY Her journey, in our minds, had come to an end if she could get the Avengers back. She comes from such an abusive, terrible, mind-control background, so when she gets to Vormir and she has a chance to get the family back, that’s a thing she would trade for. The toughest thing for us was we were always worried that people weren’t going to have time to be sad enough. The stakes are still out there and they haven’t solved the problem. But we lost a big character — a female character — how do we honor it? We have this male lens and it’s a lot of guys being sad that a woman died. MARKUS Tony gets a funeral. Natasha doesn’t. That’s partly because Tony’s this massive public figure and she’s been a cipher the whole time. It wasn’t necessarily honest to the character to give her a funeral. The biggest question about it is what Thor raises there on the dock. “We have the Infinity Stones. Why don’t we just bring her back?” McFEELY But that’s the everlasting exchange. You bring her back, you lose the stone.

Was there a possible outcome where Clint Barton sacrifices himself instead of her? McFEELY There was, for sure. Jen Underdahl, our visual effects producer, read an outline or draft where Hawkeye goes over. And she goes, “Don’t you take this away from her.” I actually get emotional thinking about it. MARKUS And it was true, it was him taking the hit for her. It was melodramatic to have him die and not get his family back. And it is only right and proper that she’s done.

And Tony Stark has to die as well? McFEELY Everyone knew this was going to be the end of Tony Stark. MARKUS I don’t think there were any mandates. If we had a good reason to not do it, certainly people would have entertained it. McFEELY The watchword was, end this chapter, and he started the chapter. MARKUS In a way, he has been the mirror of Steve Rogers the entire time. Steve is moving toward some sort of enlightened self-interest, and Tony’s moving to selflessness. They both get to their endpoints.

Were there any other outcomes you considered for Tony? MARKUS No. Because we had the opportunity to give him the perfect retirement life, within the movie. McFEELY He got that already. MARKUS That’s the life he’s been striving for. Are he and Pepper going to get together? Yes. They got married, they had a kid, it was great. It’s a good death. It doesn’t feel like a tragedy. It feels like a heroic, finished life.

And Cap was always going to be allowed his happy ending with Peggy Carter? McFEELY From the very first outline, we knew he was going to get his dance. On a separate subject, I started to lose my barometer on what was just fan service and what was good for the character. Because I think it’s good for the characters. But we also just gave you what you wanted. Is that good? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you, it’s satisfying. He’s postponed a life in order to fulfill his duty. That’s why I didn’t think we were ever going to kill him. Because that’s not the arc. The arc is, I finally get to put my shield down because I’ve earned that. MARKUS A hero without sacrifice, you’re not going to get the miles out of that person that you need to for these movies. That’s what makes them a hero, it’s not the powers.

“Endgame” sets up Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. Is that a future Marvel film? Would you write that? MARKUS We really do just know what you know. They’re doing “The Eternals,” which is a property I know next to nothing about. We’ve been here, trying to set this contraption running. Were we to take another one on, you can’t increase the scope or the stakes from where we are at the moment. We’d have to shrink it back down, do an origin story. There are deep-bench characters where I’m like, if you roll that guy out, I couldn’t resist. There is a great Moon Knight movie to be made, but I don’t know what is.

You’ve been writing these films and characters for more than a decade, and you never got bored of them — McFEELY Or fired. For sure. MARKUS We’ve come close to both. It’s a testament to the concept but also the people we’re working with. We’re not bumping up against this dictatorial level where it’s like, “I have some notes. I really want to see him fly a dragon — put the dragon in. I’m going to lunch.” McFEELY If we have an idea, people take it really seriously. They valued “Winter Soldier” and they saw how “Civil War” was coming together. They’d seen our process and us working with the [Russo] brothers, and they said, if Joss [Whedon] is not coming back — I don’t know that decision — it was clear that, unless they hated us, it was going to be this team. MARKUS But there also was a possibility, because “[Avengers: Age of Ultron”] made a little bit less than “Avengers” 1 — that we were taking on “Superman” 3 and 4. Maybe people were done with it. McFEELY The goal was not to advance it to the stratosphere. It was to just not screw it up.

Is this your Marvel finale as well? MARKUS I don’t know how to follow it up, that’s the problem. I’m not quite old enough to retire.

If “Endgame” has taught us anything, it’s that you should never retire. McFEELY Then they drag you out and kill you.

[biofunmy]

‘Avengers: Endgame’: The Screenwriters Answer Every Question You Might Have

This article contains spoilers for “Avengers: Endgame.”

It’s over.

With “Avengers: Endgame,” the two-movie story line that started with “Avengers: Infinity War” is finished, along with the 22-film cycle that represents the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. And some of the heroes we’ve followed on this decade-long adventure are gone, too.

In the three-hour span of “Endgame,” the Avengers confront and kill Thanos (Josh Brolin), who had used the Infinity Gauntlet to snap away half of all life in the universe. When the story resumes five years later, the Avengers are still left with their grief and remorse — until the unexpected return of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) kicks off a race back through time to retrieve the Infinity Stones before Thanos could obtain them in the first place. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sacrifices her life; a colossal battle ensues; Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) dies; and Captain America (Chris Evans) finds a way to live the life he’d always wanted, reappearing as an old man to entrust his shield to the Falcon (Anthony Mackie).

These and many other head-spinning developments in “Endgame” emerged from the imaginations of its screenwriters, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who also wrote “Infinity War.” (Both films were directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.) Markus and McFeely have been friends and collaborators since the 1990s and also wrote all three “Captain America” movies as well as “Thor: The Dark World” (with Christopher L. Yost) and created the Marvel TV series “Agent Carter.”

In a recent interview in their offices in Los Angeles, Markus and McFeely discussed the many choices and possibilities of “Endgame,” the roads not taken and the decisions behind who lived and who died. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Deciding the Plot Points

How did you decide where the major events of “Infinity War” and “Endgame” would fall? CHRISTOPHER MARKUS The biggest point was probably the Snap. And we realized fairly early on that if we didn’t do it at the end of the first movie, the first movie wasn’t going to have an end. And if we did it too early in the first movie, it would be a bit of an anticlimax after you’ve killed half the universe to have them stumbling around for half an hour. STEPHEN McFEELY Another big plot point is when everyone comes back. So the question is, is it early in the second movie? Late in the second movie? You notice the players left on the board are the O.G. Avengers [Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye], and let’s give them their due. It meant that we were likely going to bring people back late. So that if you were a big fan of Doctor Strange or Black Panther or Bucky [the Winter Soldier] or Sam [the Falcon], you’re only going to get a little brief window on them. It can’t be all things to all people.

How did you choose which characters would survive for “Endgame”?

MARKUS We knew we wanted to see Cap and Tony dealing with the aftermath so that you could really see them suffer, quite frankly. And that’s why Cap and Natasha are relatively minimal in the first movie, because all they’d be doing is punching. We knew that they had a lot of story in the second movie, and there were other people who would have much more story in the first movie, like the Guardians. McFEELY Thor is strangely the one that gets two movies’ worth of story. MARKUS For a guy people once thought of as boring, he’s become very useful.

“Endgame” sort of tricks you by having the heroes kill Thanos almost immediately, only to discover it doesn’t solve anything. Why was that important? McFEELY We always had this problem. The guy has the ultimate weapon. He can see it coming. It’s ridiculous. We were just banging our heads for weeks, and at some point, [the executive producer] Trinh Tran went, “Can’t we just kill him?” And we all went, “What happens if you just kill him? Why would you kill him? Why would he let you kill him?” MARKUS It reinforced Thanos’s agenda. He was done. Not to make him too Christ-like, but it was like, “If I’ve got to die, I can die now.”

There’s a lot of bleakness and despair for roughly the first hour of the movie. Did that feel like a risk for a big-event picture? MARKUS It felt less risky once I saw the reaction to “Infinity War.” You never know how you’re going to hit people, emotionally. We’ve been sitting with these events for years. We no longer have an emotional reaction. And then you see people crying in the theater. We’ve got to honor that or it’s going to feel like we’re just jerking them around. McFEELY It was the part in test screenings where people were most uncomfortable. Because you are wallowing to a degree. There doesn’t seem to be any hope. In the end of Act II for most superhero movies, maybe they lose for five minutes. Here it’s for five years. That seemed important.

And that theme of loss is continued when Scott Lang visits a memorial to the dead in San Francisco. McFEELY We used to have beats in the script where there are those in every city. Millions of names. MARKUS It’s that sense of collective trauma and the fact that if you weren’t killed, you wake up the next day — the trauma happened and I’m still here. How do we deal with this? That was the Stan Lee trick. Where’s the anxiety coming from? Now that they have Power X.

Character Arcs

How did you start to determine the trajectories for the heroes in “Endgame”? McFEELY Chris and I wrote a master document while we were shooting “Civil War,” and one of the things we were interested in exploring is, remember the What If comics? Well, this is our what if. If you lost, Thor becomes fat. Natasha becomes a shut-in. Steve becomes depressed. Tony gets on with his life. Hulk is a superhero. MARKUS Clint becomes a murdering maniac. When we were spitballing for “Endgame,” we started with, Thor’s on a mission of vengeance. And then we were like, he was on a mission of vengeance in the last movie. This is all this guy ever does! And fails, all the time. Let’s drive him into a wall and see what happens. McFEELY He just got drunk and fat.

At least the Hulk is in a better place. MARKUS There was a time when Banner became Smart Hulk in the first movie. It was a lot of fun, but it came at the wrong moment. It was an up, right when everyone else was down. McFEELY It happened in Wakanda. His arc was designed like, I’m not getting along with the Hulk, the Hulk won’t come out. And then they compromise and become Smart Hulk. MARKUS We were like, but he’s Smart Hulk in the next movie. So that diner scene [in “Endgame”], was like, O.K., how do we smash right into that without scenes of him in a lab, gene-splicing? McFEELY Oh, I wrote scenes in a lab. Now it’s just him eating pancakes and I think it generally works. MARKUS The whole thing rides on Rudd going, “I’m so confused.”

Though Ant-Man didn’t participate in “Infinity War,” we saw how the Snap affected him in the tag for “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” How did you decide to pay this off in “Endgame”? McFEELY In late 2015 they say, you’re writing the 19th movie [“Infinity War”] and the 22nd movie. So we chose to make lemonade. And that was a big moment — we figured out we can withhold Ant-Man because he’s in his own movie. And their movie is not affected until the tag, and that just gives us a place to go [in “Endgame”]. You can do this when you’re planning ahead this much. The tone is all weird, right? Because that’s a light, fun movie and then we just kill everybody in the tag.

Hawkeye took arguably the darkest turn of any hero in this series.

McFEELY He’s a good example of people who had much stronger stories after the Snap. What was the story to tell with Hawkeye in the first movie that was different than anybody else’s? Leaving his family to go fight again? Yeah, he did that in “Civil War.” The hope is that he’s killing bad people. MARKUS There was a time where we contemplated having that archery scene in the first movie, after the Snap. You snap, and then you pop up in Clint’s farm — what are we watching? — and that’s the first indication it had a wider effect. But he literally had not been in the movie prior to that point. It’s cool, but it’s going to blunt the brutality of what [Thanos] did. McFEELY Joe [Russo] said we’ll put that up front in the second one.

Once you’d seen how successful “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel” were, did you try to find more opportunities for the characters from those films? McFEELY There wasn’t a lot of time to adjust. It’s not like we could say, “Hurry, put Shuri in there.” We started [filming “Infinity War” and “Endgame”], and then “Black Panther” started, we’re still going. They finish. We’re still going. MARKUS “Panther” comes out. McFEELY When we’re doing the tests [before “Black Panther” opened], and Cap goes, “I know somewhere,” and then you cut to Wakanda, the audience goes, “Oh, that’s interesting.” But when you do those tests after the movie comes out, all you have to do is [makes drumming noises] and people freak out. Same issue with “Captain Marvel.” We shot [Brie Larson] before she shot her movie. She’s saying lines for a character 20 years after her origin story, which no one’s written yet. It’s just nuts.

MARKUS She’s been in space nearly half her life. She has obligations. McFEELY Certainly, Captain Marvel is in [“Endgame”] a little less than you would have thought. But that’s not the story we’re trying to tell — it’s the original Avengers dealing with loss and coming to a conclusion, and she’s the new, fresh blood.

Were there any Marvel characters you wanted for these movies that you couldn’t have? MARKUS We did try to put the Living Tribunal in the first movie. We wrote a scene in which he appeared during the Titan fight. And everyone was like, what? McFEELY Whoa. He’s got three heads. It would indicate a whole different level of architecture to the universe and I think that was too much to just throw in. MARKUS The idea’s still in [Marvel Studios President] Kevin [Feige]’s court. McFEELY Oh sure, we probably just spoiled it. MARKUS The Living Tribunal has his own streaming show. McFEELY It’s like “Judge Judy.”

Adventures in Time Travel

Early in “Endgame,” the movie jumps ahead five years. Was that inspired by some TV series that have also used this device? MARKUS That was what we bought ourselves by ending the last movie the way we did. We wanted it to be real and for a long time — both in movie time and in chronological time for the characters. You couldn’t end Natasha, Tony and Steve the way we do without knowing that they’ve done their time and this is taking them to the brink. McFEELY We talked about “Fargo” from the first season, where it just jumps a year. And you go, “Whaaaaat?” We hopefully get a similar reaction. MARKUS And when “Lost” had their flash forwards, you were like, how’d that happen?

Where did the idea for the time-travel story line come from? McFEELY Kevin [Feige] at one point said, I would like to use the Time Stone, or use time as an element. It let us spend a few weeks seeing what’s the kookiest thing we could do with time and not break the movie. MARKUS We all sat there going, really? We’re going to do time travel? It was only when we were looking at who we had available, character-wise; we hadn’t used Ant-Man yet. And there really is, in people’s theory of the Quantum Realm, a time thing in the M.C.U., right now, available to us, with a character we haven’t used yet. We have a loophole that’s not cheating.

It’s crucial to your film that in your formulation of time travel, changes to the past don’t alter our present. How did you decide this? MARKUS We looked at a lot of time-travel stories and went, it doesn’t work that way. McFEELY It was by necessity. If you have six MacGuffins and every time you go back it changes something, you’ve got Biff’s casino, exponentially. So we just couldn’t do that. We had physicists come in — more than one — who said, basically, “Back to the Future” is [wrong]. MARKUS Basically said what the Hulk says in that scene, which is, if you go to the past, then the present becomes your past and the past becomes your future. So there’s absolutely no reason it would change.

Did you try any other approaches to the time-travel story? McFEELY In the first draft, we didn’t go back to the [original]“Avengers” movie. We went back to Asgard. But there’s a moment in the M.C.U., if you’re paying very close attention, where the Aether is there and the Tesseract is in the vault. In that iteration, we were interested in Tony going to Asgard. He had a stealth suit, so he was invisible, and he fought Heimdall, who could see him. MARKUS Thor had long scenes with Natalie Portman. And Morag [the planet where Peter Quill finds the Orb] was hugely complicated. McFEELY It was underwater! That was clever but it was just too big a set piece. What that didn’t do is allow for Thanos and his daughters to get on the trail at the right moment. So we went back to when Peter Quill was there. And we realized that when you can punch Quill in the face, it’s hilarious. I still think it’s hilarious. MARKUS There were entirely other trips taken. They went to the Triskelion at one point to get the [Tesseract], and then somebody was going to get into a car and drive to Doctor Strange’s house. McFEELY Just saying it out loud, it’s like, what are we doing? MARKUS It was when we were trying to avoid going to “Avengers” because it seemed pander-y. McFEELY We’re not always right. MARKUS The obvious ones seemed so obvious that it’s too obvious. McFEELY Eventually, Joe Russo went, why are we going to this movie when we can go to “Avengers?” Let’s make it work.

Thor recovers his hammer, Mjolnir, by taking it from an earlier timeline. So that raises the question — McFEELY Does that screw that other Thor? MARKUS Is he killed by Dark Elves? McFEELY I think we’re leaning on, when you just take a baseball mitt, you didn’t ruin that kid’s life. When you took Mjolnir, we accept that that movie happened. Because time is irrefutable. MARKUS You can make any number of what ifs. The Dark Elves would have arrived, intending to get the Aether. It’s what they came for and it was no longer there. McFEELY So they build a paradise together. MARKUS They all got married. [laughter]

There’s a surprise cameo, in the “Avengers” scene, from Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. Did you prepare for other scenarios if Redford wasn’t available? McFEELY That was one where we thought, should it be Nick Fury? We also wrote a version for Maria Hill. That whole time, they’re announcing “Old Man With a Gun” as Redford’s last appearance on film. It’s the last time you’re going to see Robert Redford. And we’re going — [shoots conspiratorial look at Markus] [Laughter]

The Final Battle

How did Marvel feel when you told them you envisioned a massive battle royal with nearly every character from the franchise? MARKUS I think they knew it was coming. McFEELY It’s why it took so long. We shot for 200 days for two movies. MARKUS We wrote and shot an even much longer battle, with its own three-act structure.

Were there scenes you wrote for this sequence that didn’t make it into the film? McFEELY It didn’t play well, but we had a scene in a trench where, for reasons, the battle got paused for about three minutes and now there’s 18 people all going, “What are we going to do?” “I’m going to do this.” “I’m going to do this.” Just bouncing around this completely fake, fraudulent scene. When you have that many people, it invariably is, one line, one line, one line. And that’s not a natural conversation. MARKUS It also required them to find enough shelter to have a conversation in the middle of the biggest battle. It wasn’t a polite World War I battle where you have a moment.

How did you coordinate the moment where all the female Marvel heroes come together? McFEELY There was much conversation. Is that delightful or is it pandering? We went around and around on that. Ultimately we went, we like it too much. MARKUS Part of the fun of the “Avengers” movies has always been team-ups. Marvel has been amassing this huge roster of characters. You’ve got crazy aliens. You’ve got that many badass women. You’ve got three or four people in Iron Man suits.

Were there other characters you could’ve had but didn’t use? MARKUS There were moments, as they brought everybody back, where we’re like, technically, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer have [Ant-Man] suits. Do we bring them back? It became impossible to track the people we did bring back, but also, it’s just going to be an orgy. McFEELY Do you put Luke Cage in there?

Did you consider using the heroes from the Netflix TV shows, like Daredevil or Jessica Jones? McFEELY We would have to introduce these five characters — or whatever many. We already are assuming people have seen a lot of the movies. Are we really going to assume they have bought a subscription to Netflix and watched those shows enough so that when they see them, they’re going to go “yay?” MARKUS It also screws up the timelines. You would have to assume that they all got snapped away, or otherwise they might have shown up earlier. I think the only character who has come from TV to the movies is Jarvis, James D’Arcy [from “Agent Carter”].

Could you have used any of the characters that Disney obtained from the Fox acquisition, like the X-Men or Fantastic Four? McFEELY Legally, not allowed to. MARKUS I guess it’s done now but it wasn’t done then. They still have an “X-Men” movie [“Dark Phoenix,” due in June]. You can’t reboot them before they’re done. “Sorry to completely screw you.”

“Endgame” shares some unexpected parallels with “Game of Thrones,” which also recently ran episodes about its heroes preparing for a significant battle and then the battle itself. Why do you think these narratives are similar? Did you ever look at “Game of Thrones” for inspiration? MARKUS We’re in a high-stakes time and a jarring time in history, where you have to contemplate what you’re willing to do to improve the situation. Whether or not everyone’s speaking to that, or just good old-fashioned storytelling, I don’t know. McFEELY Marvel has been accused of being the most expensive television show there is, and there’s some truth to that. The genres are different, the tones are different, but it’s serialized storytelling. MARKUS We occasionally wonder, did we just make the world’s most expensive inside-baseball fan service? But then we go, the fans are actually the majority of people who come to this. It’s inside baseball, but everyone is following the baseball. That’s also why the Marvel characters have lasted this long. They’re weird. They have strange quirks. McFEELY The bland ones don’t last. MARKUS I remember “Game of Thrones” being a reference for the first movie. How far apart can you keep these strands, and for how long, and still feel like you’re telling a single narrative? “Game of Thrones” has people who are just meeting now! As much as people think the culture’s going down the drain, there seems to be an elevating of people’s estimating of the kind of narrative that will succeed in popular culture. McFEELY Whatever you think of this movie, it’s complicated. It is not another sequel. MARKUS And a lot of popular TV is complicated. “This Is Us” is complicated. “Simon & Simon” was not that complicated. Great as it was. But it does seem like there is an acceptance of more complicated forms of storytelling.

Was the three-hour running time of “Endgame” ever in question? MARKUS There was an agreement within the whole group that we’re going to take our time; we’re not going to cut a half-hour of it so we can get one more screening in per day. McFEELY We couldn’t! Where are you going to cut a half-hour? There was not a sequence you could cut. MARKUS Look at some of the most popular movies of all time. They’re long as hell. When people want to see something, it doesn’t seem to get in their way. There’s some short, totally unsuccessful movies, too.

Journey’s End

Why does Natasha Romanoff have to die? McFEELY Her journey, in our minds, had come to an end if she could get the Avengers back. She comes from such an abusive, terrible, mind-control background, so when she gets to Vormir and she has a chance to get the family back, that’s a thing she would trade for. The toughest thing for us was we were always worried that people weren’t going to have time to be sad enough. The stakes are still out there and they haven’t solved the problem. But we lost a big character — a female character — how do we honor it? We have this male lens and it’s a lot of guys being sad that a woman died. MARKUS Tony gets a funeral. Natasha doesn’t. That’s partly because Tony’s this massive public figure and she’s been a cipher the whole time. It wasn’t necessarily honest to the character to give her a funeral. The biggest question about it is what Thor raises there on the dock. “We have the Infinity Stones. Why don’t we just bring her back?” McFEELY But that’s the everlasting exchange. You bring her back, you lose the stone.

Was there a possible outcome where Clint Barton sacrifices himself instead of her? McFEELY There was, for sure. Jen Underdahl, our visual effects producer, read an outline or draft where Hawkeye goes over. And she goes, “Don’t you take this away from her.” I actually get emotional thinking about it. MARKUS And it was true, it was him taking the hit for her. It was melodramatic to have him die and not get his family back. And it is only right and proper that she’s done.

And Tony Stark has to die as well? McFEELY Everyone knew this was going to be the end of Tony Stark. MARKUS I don’t think there were any mandates. If we had a good reason to not do it, certainly people would have entertained it. McFEELY The watchword was, end this chapter, and he started the chapter. MARKUS In a way, he has been the mirror of Steve Rogers the entire time. Steve is moving toward some sort of enlightened self-interest, and Tony’s moving to selflessness. They both get to their endpoints.

Were there any other outcomes you considered for Tony? MARKUS No. Because we had the opportunity to give him the perfect retirement life, within the movie. McFEELY He got that already. MARKUS That’s the life he’s been striving for. Are he and Pepper going to get together? Yes. They got married, they had a kid, it was great. It’s a good death. It doesn’t feel like a tragedy. It feels like a heroic, finished life.

And Cap was always going to be allowed his happy ending with Peggy Carter? McFEELY From the very first outline, we knew he was going to get his dance. On a separate subject, I started to lose my barometer on what was just fan service and what was good for the character. Because I think it’s good for the characters. But we also just gave you what you wanted. Is that good? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you, it’s satisfying. He’s postponed a life in order to fulfill his duty. That’s why I didn’t think we were ever going to kill him. Because that’s not the arc. The arc is, I finally get to put my shield down because I’ve earned that. MARKUS A hero without sacrifice, you’re not going to get the miles out of that person that you need to for these movies. That’s what makes them a hero, it’s not the powers.

“Endgame” sets up Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. Is that a future Marvel film? Would you write that? MARKUS We really do just know what you know. They’re doing “The Eternals,” which is a property I know next to nothing about. We’ve been here, trying to set this contraption running. Were we to take another one on, you can’t increase the scope or the stakes from where we are at the moment. We’d have to shrink it back down, do an origin story. There are deep-bench characters where I’m like, if you roll that guy out, I couldn’t resist. There is a great Moon Knight movie to be made, but I don’t know what is.

You’ve been writing these films and characters for more than a decade, and you never got bored of them — McFEELY Or fired. For sure. MARKUS We’ve come close to both. It’s a testament to the concept but also the people we’re working with. We’re not bumping up against this dictatorial level where it’s like, “I have some notes. I really want to see him fly a dragon — put the dragon in. I’m going to lunch.” McFEELY If we have an idea, people take it really seriously. They valued “Winter Soldier” and they saw how “Civil War” was coming together. They’d seen our process and us working with the [Russo] brothers, and they said, if Joss [Whedon] is not coming back — I don’t know that decision — it was clear that, unless they hated us, it was going to be this team. MARKUS But there also was a possibility, because “[Avengers: Age of Ultron”] made a little bit less than “Avengers” 1 — that we were taking on “Superman” 3 and 4. Maybe people were done with it. McFEELY The goal was not to advance it to the stratosphere. It was to just not screw it up.

Is this your Marvel finale as well? MARKUS I don’t know how to follow it up, that’s the problem. I’m not quite old enough to retire.

If “Endgame” has taught us anything, it’s that you should never retire. McFEELY Then they drag you out and kill you.

Sahred From Source link Arts

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2V4zjzG via IFTTT