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mediocre--writing · 4 years

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Imagine: Billy's twin sister who is the only one he doesn't act like a asshole with. Hers behavior is pretty much like her brother's one, she is bossy and often an asshole but it's a cover because she goes through the same shit of Billy

Bonus: she help Billy and Steve to become a thing, with Robin's help

Bonus 2: she fell in love with Robin

oh god thank you for bringing up billy with a bio sister. it’s one of my favorite things and i could ramble on for like years about it

anyway...

my hc is that if billy had a twin her name would be beatrice and they’d either call her bee or trix

even if she is very very similar to billy, i see her as a wall between max and billy. she understands that billy takes things to far but she also sees why he takes them as far as he does

she has an air of cool around her but she doesn’t try quite as hard as billy

she looks exactly like their mother: same curly hair that falls beautifully down her back, same glimmering blue eyes, same build and posture, same kind soul and same spitfire attitude.

bee and billy are both athletic. i see her as maybe doing track or soccer, so she as a kind of lean build but is still equally as muscular.

they both HATEEEE neil.

i see her as being a daddy’s girl when she was young. like he loved giving her cute toys and buying her sweet outfits and he’s a great dad to her.

but once they get older, bee notices that neil is so much harsher on billy and her mom so she starts rejecting his affection, which then makes him reject her.

bee adapts to a personality more like billy’s because she’s sick of neil.

the first time neil hit bee was a week after their mom left and she asked where she was.

she was no longer a daddy’s girl after that day

when they move to hawkins, bee and billy are equally pissed at max

(also i think the reason they left cali was because max saw billy with a boy and accidentally/maybe on purpose told neil about it, hence the resentment between max and billy)

but while billy was openly mean to max, bee was more subtle about it

(ex: knowing that max only drinks orange juice in the morning and taking the last of it and drinking it as she walks into the kitchen)

bee doesn’t like to drive. she has a drivers license but she just doesn’t care to drive much, so they just drive with billy.

it’s also a tactic so that billy doesn’t drive AS recklessly as usual because he wouldn’t want to crash with her in the car.

billy is the only person allowed to call her trix. her mom used to call her that and she can’t handle anyone else but billy doing it.

max doesn’t like either twin, but she prefers bee over billy.

bee is also one of the only people who isn’t scared of billy, even on his worst days, because she gets it.

she’s gotten into a multitude of fights and arguments before and can hold her own but she understands billy’s actions

both of them cannot stand when people are behind them. they always sit in the back of the classroom and have their backs to the wall so there’s no surprises. the only time they relax that rule is at parties, and even then, they’re still cautious

they always look out for each other in an aggressive way.

(ex: billy saying “wow you look sad and desperate” before cuddling next to her on the couch when nobody’s around)

after the halloween situation, with billy teasing steve, bee makes sure to tease him about his very not-subtle crush on the brunette

and on the day that max disappears and billy has to go look for her, bee hears his body hit the wall before he leaves, since their walls meet each other.

when billy comes back, without max, sluggish and bruised, neil lays into him for about half an hour before there’s a knock at the door.

bees been hiding in her room, peaking out every once and a while. (her and billy have made the agreement that if one of them is in trouble, the other should stay out of it, because they’ve learned from experience that if one of them jumps in to help the other, it only gets worse)

but max is at the door with the police chief, for some reason.

the chief explains that his daughter and max had been hanging out together and lost track of time.

neil smiled nicely and let max in before shutting the door on the chief.

but hopper saw the teenager slumped against the wall, much bloodier than the kids had said he was after the fight was steve, and the teenage girl sheepishly peaking through her door.

billy and bee argue after she finds out what happened. even if he was mad, he shouldn’t have attacked a middle schooler. that was just fucked up.

they got over it quick because billy apologized to steve and lucas, neither really accepted the apology but it was there.

over the rest of the year, billy and steve grow into friends (ish) and bee makes the girls varsity soccer team and makes some of the best friends she’s had in a while.

including one of her favorite teammates, robin buckley

bee and robin start secretly dating after a night of smoking weed at robins house. (her dad is super chill and pretended that it was nothing out of the ordinary. or maybe robin did this pretty often)

but they’re happy and the only person who knows is billy. robin was reluctant to let him know, but they gave a secret for a secret and they were just a little group ‘o gays.

robin ended up really liking billy after a day spent getting to know each other at a diner.

as robin sat across from the twins, she learned that they were basically the same person and were both excruciatingly annoying. but they were fun

when the twins got jobs at the pool and robin started working with steve at scoops ahoy, there was a lot of trading and flirting.

a free day at the pool in exchange for free ice cream (and an excuse for either twin to make eyes at either sailor)

after the starcourt thing, bee takes it really hard when she thinks billy’s dead, but he’s alive (because i said so) and her and max (and sometimes robin and steve) spend a whole lot of time in the hospital with him.

he gets discharged after like two or three months and his body is stable enough to walk on his own.

bee and billy, now 18 as of july 25, have moved out of the hargrove/mayfield house and are staying in steve’s too big house that his parents visit less and less each year.

robin is the person to give steve a push into admitting he’s bisexual and has feelings for billy hargrove

robin tells him about her and bee.

(steve makes a stupid joke about birds and bees which makes robin hit him)

but steve makes a move on billy one day when steve’s driving him home from physical therapy and they stopped for lunch (because billy lost a ton of weight from months in the hospital and his appetite is larger than before)

but they share a milkshake in a corner booth and are all blushing and sweet smiles and once they tell the girls, robin starts grumbling and hands a haughty looking bee $20.

i could write more so if you want it just ask, i have so many more ideas for this

#stranger things #billy hargrove #harringrove #steve harrington #robin buckley #robin buckley x of #pre relationship harringrove #steve x billy #billy x steve #mediocre—writing #mw harringrove #billy and bee

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Mortal Kombat (2021) vs. Mortal Kombat (1995): Which is Better?

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This article contains Mortal Kombat (2021) spoilers.

“Test your might.” These are the words of a minigame in the original Mortal Kombat arcade fighter from 1992. They were meant to signal an interlude between the simple pleasures of digitized sprites spilling buckets of blood. Yet they’ve also become synonymous with a franchise that’s arguably the most popular video game fighter of all-time. The phrase is also a pretty apt description for the various filmmakers who’ve attempted the challenge of taming this crazy dragon on screen.

More than any other video game series, Mortal Kombat has seen a plethora of live-action adaptations, from Hollywood movies to syndicated television. This weekend marks another milestone in that history, too, with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s hotly anticipated Mortal Kombat reboot opening in theaters and premiering on HBO Max. It’s the third Mortal Kombat movie released under the New Line banner, but let’s just call it the second serious attempt at putting this universe on screen after the 1995 cult classic directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.

That ’95 movie holds the dubious honor of being generally considered the best video game movie adaptation of all-time, thanks to a tongue-in-cheek tone perfect for its mid-‘90s moment and maybe the greatest use of techno music in film. Genuinely, how many other pictures have the soundtrack scream the title of the movie over and over again, and it seems like a good idea?

The new movie took a different approach to the material, and certainly a bloodier one. While both adaptations share the same basic premise of chosen “Earthrealm” guardians protecting our dimension from an invading force via martial arts fights, the executions diverge radically. Here’s how.

The Story

The starkly different approach to storytelling in director Simon McQuoid’s 2021 Mortal Kombat is evident during the film’s opening scene. Beginning in 1600s Japan with a gnarly, brutal fight sequence between Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), this version of Mortal Kombat relies heavily on lore and world-building. If you know the video game backstory of Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, and how he was kidnapped as a child by the Lin Kuei cult so they could brainwash him into the magical ninja we now see slaughtering Scorpion’s family, the scene has a sense of fateful tragedy.

If you don’t, well Taslim and Sanada are such gifted martial artists that it still looks really cool. By contrast, Mortal Kombat of the ’95 vintage is pretty straightforward and to the point. This is basically an interdimensional version of the Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon (1973), only with magical powers and the fate of the world at stake.

We’re introduced to three fighters in ‘95, Liu Kang (Robin Shou), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), who all get on a boat to the tournament for different reasons. And while Liu Kang was raised by his Shaolin monk upbringing to know what this tournament is, the other two act as our eyes and ears into this strange world of mysticism and Outworld menace. By the time they reach the island, they understand they need to compete with superpowered foes to save Earth in a structured tournament.

Conversely, Mortal Kombat (2021) is curiously both more secretive and open about its bizarre universe. For a much larger chunk of its running time, the new movie’s point-of-view character Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is completely mystified by the superpowered horrors happening around him while the viewer is keyed in early by scenes set in the evil dimension of Outworld. There we see the dastardly sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) scheme from a throne about killing Cole in order to prevent a prophecy vaguely connected with the movie’s prologue scene in the 1600s. So he sends Sub-Zero to kill Cole in his day-to-day life as an MMA fighter, slaughtering him before he understands he’s been chosen to participate in the sacred Mortal Kombat tournament, which is held in secret every generation.

In fact, there is no actual tournament in the new film. Rather the plot eventually becomes Shang Tsung’s chosen band of evil warriors attempting to cheat ahead of the conflict by attacking Earthrealm’s depleted champions before they even discover they have superpowers (or “arcanas”) and know what Mortal Kombat is. The film thus becomes a quest movie with Cole joining forces with other “chosen ones” (or chosen one-aspirants) to find the Temple of Raiden, a lightning god (played by Tadanobu Asano) who represents the interests of Earthrealm in the tournaments. From there the heroes must learn their powers and evade preemptive, cheating attacks from Outworld’s thuggish baddies.

Side by side, the approaches appear to be the differences between a traditional (if derivative) martial arts flick and a modern studio blockbuster that is trying to cram as much fan service and world-building lore into a two-hour movie as possible in the hopes of making fanboys happy. I hesitate to say the 2021 film is fully following the Marvel Studios template given its copious amounts of blood and (seeming) lack of interest in building a shared universe of interconnected franchises. However, the 2021 film was certainly released in a post-Marvel world where the focus in studio committee rooms is less on telling a single story and more on building a whole convoluted mythology filled with fan favorite characters who are begging to be explored endlessly by future movies. It’s less story-driven than it is content-driven.

As a result, it leaves the narrative lacking. Viewers know long before Cole or 2021’s Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) what’s going on, and all the anticipation for a tournament that never materializes feels anti-climactic. With its simple structure, the Anderson-directed movie in the ‘90s plays out much more satisfyingly with three heroes (plus poor dead meat like “Art Lean”) entering a tournament by choice or trickery and then trying to survive it while learning vanilla, if tangible, life lessons. Liu Kang needs to accept his destiny; Johnny Cage must look before he leaps; and Sonya has to accept she’ll be the film’s damsel in distress even though she kicks ass. It’s an Enter the Dragon knockoff but it still has more kick than fan service.

Round One goes to 1995.

The Tone

The tone and aesthetics are also jarringly different between the two movies. Released in 1995, the same year Pierce Brosnan became James Bond, and two years before Arnold Schwarzenegger chilled out as Mr. Freeze, Mortal Kombat (1995) is an unmistakably campy movie and it leans into that fact.

Working with a low budget for a Hollywood spectacle even before New Line Cinema cut his funds by another $2 million right before cameras rolled, Anderson directed a B-movie that accepted its limitations and had fun with it. Apparently stars Ashby and Christopher Lambert, who played Lord Raiden in the ’95 movie, improvised dialogue throughout the shoot and rewrote entire scenes. As a consequence, Lambert’s lightning god was more of a jovial trickster in temperament, reminiscent of Loki instead of Odin. Johnny Cage, meanwhile, was essentially the film’s Han Solo: a cocksure wiseacre next to the stoic hero (Liu Kang) and a no-nonsense woman who doesn’t like to be called princess (Sonya).

As again signaled by the almost funereal opening sequence of Mortal Kombat (2021), where Sub-Zero murders Scorpion’s young family, the 2021 film is going for a differing sensibility. There is actually quite a bit of humor still present, with the real reason the Johnny Cage character got cut becoming apparent the moment we meet Kano (Josh Lawson), a loudmouth smartass who takes on the comic relief role but with an added slice of thuggery. Hence his dialogue has a lot more F-bombs than it does cracks about $500 sunglasses.

Other than moments where Kano is allowed to steal scenes, however, Mortal Kombat (2021) plays it pretty straight. Asano’s Raiden is imperious and his fighters stoic. However, it’s also worth noting Raiden is played by a Japanese actor, as opposed to a white American-born Frenchman who was raised in Switzerland (Lambert has quite the international background). Indeed, one of the more admirable qualities of the 2021 film is the focus on a diverse cast that includes more roles for Asian actors and people of color, whereas the 1995 film whitewashed Raiden and left out the Black American character Jax for little more than a cameo.

The 2021 film also upped the gore quotient considerably. While the martial arts of the 1995 film were decidedly PG-13, the tone of the movie was only a few steps removed from Power Rangers in some respects, including its introduction of a horrible CGI creation known as Reptile. The Reptile in the 2021 film appears more convincingly, like the latest monstrosity out of a Jurassic World lab, and the violence he commits is visually gruesome (more on that later).

Honestly, preferences over the aesthetic differences between the two films comes down to a matter of taste. I prefer the tongue-in-cheek eye rolls of the 1995 film given how nonsensical this universe is, and how at the end of the day its target audience remains children. Yet I imagine many adult fans of the video games will prefer the blood-soaked earnestness found in 2021.

Round Two is a draw.

Chosen Players

Anyone who’s picked up a fighting game will tell you it’s all about finding a character or two you like and then training up with them. In 1995, Anderson had the advantage of primarily adapting the original 1992 arcade game with its limited collection of playable characters. Ergo, his film’s lineup easily focused on the three aforementioned heroes of Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade, plus the ambiguous Princess Kitana (Talisa Soto), and Lord Raiden. Meanwhile he divided his villain screen time between the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Shang Tsung’s minions, who were essentially glorified Bond henchmen with individual gimmicks.

Fan favorites Sub-Zero and Scorpion are present in the ’95 movie—with much more colorful, game-accurate costumes—yet they’re relatively low-hanging fruit in the tournament’s brackets. Their rivalry is given lip-service but they are dispatched by heroes Liu Kang and Johnny Cage relatively easily. Meanwhile Trevor Goddard’s Kano is more a hapless comic relief baddie who Wilson-Sampras’ Sonya kills with a great laugh line. “Give me a break,” Kano pleads with his head pinned between her thighs. “Okay,” she shoots back before snapping his neck.

Still, the movie largely belongs to Tagawa who makes a meal out of the scenery as the big bad. The guttural pleasure he has in so naturally turning all the over-the-top commands in the video game into his dialogue—“Finish Him!;” “Fatality;” “Test Your Might”—is infectious.

The 2021 film relies on a much larger cast of characters and, unlike the 1995 movie, attempts to give them each a moment to shine in the way Kitana and the original Kano could only dream. This surprisingly begins with the introduction of a totally new character in Cole Young as our point-of-view protagonist. While fan favorite Liu Kang was the hero in ’95, the character is now a supporting player played by Ludi Lin in 2021. And he’s not alone. The new Liu Kang’s cousin, Kung Lao (Max Huang), also gets enough screen time to show off his character’s beloved razor-rimmed hat, which he dispatches one of the movie’s villains with.

There is also the new Sonya, who may have the most complete arc as she strives to be accepted as a champion for Earthrealm, and Jax (Mechad Brooks), who is Sonya’s partner with the chosen one birthmark and who gets a new nasty origin story for his metal arms. And then the new Kano spends as much time working with the good guys as he does becoming a villain in an entirely rushed and unconvincing third act plot twist.

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There are even more villains, most of whom amount to glorified cameos, including Mileena (Sisi Stringer), Nitara (Mel Jarnson), and Kabal (Daniel Nelson). However, they’re all even more perfunctory than Sub-Zero and Scorpion were in 1995. At least the ‘90s ninjas each got a few minutes to show off before being dispatched. Even the ostensible main villain of 2021, the new Shang Tsung, is fairly underserved, left to state banal dialogue from a throne without a throne room, and he’s never allowed to dominate scenes the way Tagawa did so gleefully back in the day.

Unfortunately, this is because the 2021 film has so many characters that it lacks any sense of narrative focus or cohesion. Tan’s arc of wanting to learn his power/arcana to defend his family is as broad and serviceable a hook as Shou’s 1995 Liu Kang wanting to avenge the murder of his brother. But Tan’s Cole Young gets lost in the shuffle after the first act and until the movie’s ending. Character turns like Kano betraying the other heroes similarly feels hackneyed because there is too much noise on screen to really care about who’s making it. Even Kang Lao’s death falls flat. It’s admirable that it’s a good guy fans theoretically should care about (unlike 1995’s token Black character created by the filmmakers to die), but the 2021 movie fails to make the uninitiated be concerned.

Of course there are exceptions. Namely Sub-Zero and Scorpion. Even though Scorpion ill-advisedly disappears for nearly all of the movie’s running time after the film’s terrific opening 10 minutes, Sanada has such presence, and such strong chemistry with Taslim’s Sub-Zero, that their opening salvo leaves you waiting the rest of the movie for Scorpion’s revenge. Taslim is also able to give Sub-Zero some surprisingly tangible, if only hinted at, pathos even after he kills a kid in his first scene and is then forced to act behind a mask thereafter. He’s the real villain of the piece you want to see go down, and his death scene is incredibly satisfying as a result.

It’s probably enough for fans of the games to favor this kitchen sink approach. But overall, less is more.

Round Three goes to 1995.

Fight Scenes

If there is one realm where the 2021 movie truly excels in over the previous film, this is it. And yes, a big part of that is the gore quotient. Whereas the 1995 flick was produced with a PG-13 rating in mind (my elementary school thanks New Line for that), the 2021 movie was able to embrace the gross out charm that made the original game stand out at the arcade all those decades ago. Street Fighter might’ve been first, but only Mortal Kombat let you pull the other player’s spine out.

While that effect doesn’t quite happen in the 2021 movie, almost everything else does. Nitara goes face first into a Kung Lao’s buzzsaw hat, which cuts her cleanly in half; Sub-Zero freezing Jax’s arms and then shattering them in a stomach-churning effect; and instead of going off a cliff, Prince Goro is disemboweled by Cole Young—which almost makes up for the fact that Goro is reduced to a mindless mute this time.

It’s like a highlight reel of fatalities from the video game. But the reason why this film’s fight scenes really stand above the 1995 film isn’t the bloodletting; it’s the action leading up to it. With brutal fight choreography, the new Mortal Kombat shines whenever it lets actors who can actually do the stunts take the arena. That includes Lewis Tan, whose Cole Young mostly fights other MMA types or CG monsters. But it’s especially true for Joe Taslim of The Raid fame. As the villainous Sub-Zero, his moves are lightning quick, even if his powers leave opponents frozen stiff. So when he shares the screen with Tan or Sanada, the action reveals an auhentic flair.

In comparison, the 1995 film suffers a bit from the sin Johnny Cage is trying to dodge within the story: it relies on stunt doubles and tight editing to make the fights exciting. It’s a shame too since Shou is an excellent martial artist, and the one scene he got to choreograph—Liu Kang versus Reptile—has an edge. But much of the time, Shou’s constrained by the direction and editing. Ashby and Wilson-Sampras, conversely, are not actual martial artists, though credit must be given to Wilson-Sampras for doing all her own stunts when getting the role of Sonya at the last minute.

Still, the fights stand taller in 2021. It’s a bit of a shame though that the movie is so heavily edited that it too often hides this fact. Unlike the 1995 ensemble, most of the cast has the moves in 2021, but the editing still feels stuck in the past with its reliance on confounding quick cuts and coverage. During our current era of John Wick and Atomic Blonde this is both a bizarre and disappointing choice. Nevertheless, this is an easy call.

Round Four goes to 2021.

Ending

The final fight was relatively satisfying in 1995. Tagawa is a preening villain, and when the Immortals’ techno “Mortal Kombat” theme plays, it’s a pleasure to watch Liu Kang wipe that smug smile off Shang Tsung’s face. However, the ending keeps going with a Star Wars-esque sendoff to Liu Kang’s force ghost brother, and then the movie undermines its catharsis by immediately setting up a sequel.

In the picture’s final moments, our three heroes, plus Kitana, return to the real-life Thai temple that’s supposed to be Liu Kang’s home. Lord Raiden waits for them there, getting some final sideways cracks in before Outworld’s evil emperor Shao Khan appears like a giant specter in the clouds. He immediately threatens an Earthrealm invasion, despite losing the tournament.

I can attest that in 1995, this was a stunning cliffhanger for eight-year-olds everywhere. But then… Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), one of the worst films of the late ‘90s, happened.

Meanwhile in the 2021 film, we have a much more satisfying death for its villain when Scorpion returns from hell to send Sub-Zero to the hot place. Their fight is much more technically satisfying, and the cliffhanger setup is a lot more subtle. After defeating Shang Tsung’s warriors, if not Shang Tsung himself, the heroes of Earthrealm saved us all without an actual tournament ever occurring. And instead of Outworld cheating in this moment by invading anyway, they retreat. It’s an odd choice since they’ve been cheating the whole film, so why start playing by the rules now?

Even so, it leaves a destination for a second movie to actually head toward. And to tease that fact further, it’s implied Cole Young will now travel to Hollywood to recruit movie star Johnny Cage for a sequel. It’s pure fan service, but the kind that leaves the possibility open for better things to come. Considering we know where the 1995 movie’s cliffhanger leads—to pits of cinematic hell worse than any faced by Scorpion in the last 400 years—this is a victory for 2021 by default.

Round Five goes to 2021.

Final Victor

Ultimately, neither of these films are high art nor do they aspire to be. In some ways, it’s a case of picking your poison between schlock or schlock. Each has advantages over the other, as laid out above, and each is a long way from a flawless victory. Nonetheless, due simply to narrative and tonal cohesiveness, and just more memorable lead characters, I’ll go with the one that actually gets to the tournament this whole damn thing’s designed around.

Game over.

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madameinsomnia · 5 years

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Why Jordan Peele is One of the Most Important Directors of our Generation

Intro:

Before the horror-comedy sensation Get Out was released in 2017, I’d never heard the name Jordan Peele before. Now, after seeing his most recent success, Us, I can’t see myself not perking up at reading his name in the credits.

Peele didn’t just appear magically out of thin air as a gift from the filmmaking gods, even though it seems like so. His career actually kickstarted in 2003 when he joined the cast of Mad TV in its ninth season. I’m not here to give you an entire biography of Jordan Peele’s life, but this does give some insight to just how long he’s been working in the industry.

Get Out was Peele’s first job as a solo director, but with the amount of professionalism and mastery put into it, you’d never know it was his debut. Might I also add he was the sole writer as well?

Thrilling, with a premise as outlandish as The Stepford Wives, but with so many silly and satirical moments, Get Out feels very much like real life because of this perfect mix. As a screenwriter (wannabe), I must gush a bit about how well his characters are written and how natural their behavior feels given the situation. The protagonist of Get Out, Chris (played wonderfully by Daniel Kaluuya) feels like someone you could meet at a bus stop or in line at the coffee shop, point being he’s an everyman. Not every lead character has to overtly stand out to be noticable; we just have to be able to fit in their shoes.

But what really made Get Out work is how Peele wrote it as a horror movie, without the need of all those cliche horror tropes that our generation is so accustomed to. About to go off topic for a bit, but I assure you, it’ll all make sense as to why I made this article about Jordan Peele.

What is Horror and What WAS Horror?

Horror is, perhaps, one of the most enigmatic genres there is because what can be defined as scary or unsettling is entirely subjective. There are very few things that people are universally afraid of. Things that only seem more common today but really have always been around... what makes today different from then is that everyone talks about it.

Imagine it’s the 1960s, you live in a cookie-cutter neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. Everywhere you look is a friendly face. Then suddenly, down the road, there is a break-in. The parents left the baby with a sitter and she was brutally attacked. Well, the only way you’re bound to know is through the newspaper or word-of-mouth, but after a while, is anyone going to talk about it or want to? Not a chance. You’ll always hear: These things just don’t happen around here. Not in our town. When really, they do. They happen everywhere. Then of course this is how urban legends start. The Hook Killer on Lover’s Lane, the Boogeyman that creeps at night.

A documentary that goes more in depth on this idea is Joshua Zeman’s Killer Legends. He explains how the real-life stories that inspire these legends are far more scarier than the films they create... and that’s how it all started.

Let me explain: the ‘Horror’ genre was meant to showcase just what people didn’t want to talk about what was happening down the road or across town. There’s a man that lures people into his hotel to kill them? Our neighbor killed his wife in cold blood and is trying to hide it? My upstairs neighbors might be psycho Satan worshippers?! Nah. Let’s just ignore it and hope it goes away.

A lot of people think if we don’t talk about it, these issues will vanish. But Horror films reminded us that such terrors exist in the real world, and can only be stopped if we acknowledge that they’re there. That’s why such films like Psycho or Rosemary’s Baby were so revolutionary--the idea that the scariest things are not even supernatural (Peele understands this greatly, but I’m getting there).

Horror worked well as a unique genre for the creative minds of Alfred Hitchcock, Wes Craven, and Tobe Hooper. Then this happened:

The Slasher Era:

HOLD UP. I’m NOT undermining the effect that these films have. Halloween is a classic, and there are plenty of other ‘semi-modern’ thrillers that work like this, but...

They unintentionally got the ball rolling for marketing genius and filmmaking disaster. Halloween was far more effective in 1978, when it was released, than it probably would be had it been made today (No, we’re not talking about 2018′s Halloween. Now stop distracting me). With horror, timing is everything... as in, ‘what’s going on in the world’ timing. Babysitting late nights was far more common then than it was now, and teenagers didn’t have modern conveniences they do now should anything happen. Back then, they actually had to WATCH the children, ensure their safety as well as their own, not give them an iPad and watch TV for an hour or two.

On top of this, as much as we take it for granted, 911 wasn’t always around. Until 1968, US citizens had no way of getting in immediate contact with the police until they got the operator on the phone to connect you to them. So Halloween recreates that idea of what if the babysitter got into a terrible situation with no way of getting immediate help? But they also decided to make things a little edgier... better said, bloodier. Cue Friday the 13th.

Teenagers go to sleepaway camp all the time (No, we’re not talking about that movie either, so hush), so what would parents be like seeing this film about kids going to a sleepaway camp where there’s a murderer hanging around? A brilliant idea that sold tickets back in 1980 to young adults and grown-ups alike. That’s because these ideas were new and horrifyingly relevant and real. They’re reminded of the threats that are out there.

But here’s the catch that ruined everything: it sold tickets. Sure, it scared some people for a good while, but they didn’t always leave with the idea lingering in their heads. But the producers and writers don’t always care about the latter, once they realized how easily money can be made by movie-goers wanting a good scare and a ‘fun time,’ the Slasher genre skyrocketed, and the brilliance of horror got dumbed down... and down... and down over the years with few exceptions. Let’s not mention, marketing blew up with Slasher films. Did anyone ask for four Halloween sequels or seventeen more Jason films? Nope. Did it make money anyway? Yup. It’s all in the name, not in the art...

Come On In, Get Out!

(See what I did there?)

Repeating myself at the intro, for those who forgot that this is really about Jordan Peele, I’d never heard of him before I saw Get Out. Even then, I only really knew about the movie through everyone talking about its 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. I went into the movie blind, a little confused to what made it considered a ‘horror’ when it looked like perhaps a Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? type film.

When I saw it for the first time, I was sinking back into my seat whenever I felt Chris’ (the lead’s) discomfort. Again, it’s because we all fit into his situation seamlessly, being somewhere you’re not sure you’re welcome (hence the clever title). The audience was cheering by the end, eager that our in-movie buddy had made it out safe (Spoilers, I guess, but c’mon. If you haven’t seen it yet, get out :D).

But what made Get Out stand out from other modern-day thriller films is that when I went back, I caught things I’d missed my first time through; small hints and cues that clue you into what’s really going on. Did they have to be there to make it more enjoyable, probably not... but Jordan Peele wrote them in anyway, combining it with his perfect set-ups and shots so that the more cerebral movie-goers can have those ‘ah-ha’ moments! It’s a horror film where, for once, you feel like a genius for getting those little hints and figuring out what’s going to happen next (We are all Rod, who pretty much kept a running commentary of the movie-watcher’s thoughts).

Again, all not required, but very necessary if your film is going to be effective. While Peele deservedly won Best Original Screenplay, I say he was next up for Best Director from the perfect pauses in dialogue, to the little awkward looks in the camera by the hypnotized victims.

Why was it so successful among audiences everywhere, of all nationalities and ages?

Intelligent Horror:

Jordan Peele himself stated that Get Out was from ‘an effort to master fear.’ Us, I think, is an extension of that idea. What made these two films so effective wasn’t that they were filled with scary moments now and then and called itself ‘horror.’

They were smart films.

Get Out has very real fears we as people have; being out of place, uncomfortably watched by people, being abducted and never heard from again which horrifyingly happens far too often here in the States.

Us offers similar real-life horrors. A home invasion, being separated from your kids (and in return, kids being separated from their parents, their source of protection since day one). There always seems to be something supernatural or paranormal at play here, but there’s nothing of such going on. In Peele’s writing, it’s all real-life. After all, is the real world not a scary place?

The only difference I noticed in Us is that Peele maintains his effective dialogue with subtle clues of what’s going on, while visually he kept some of his trademarks (the wide shot of a figure walking towards the camera, looking right into it with wide, terrified eyes) but with a lot less visual hints than Get Out (to me, at least, but I’ve only seen Us once and will definitely be watching again).

While Get Out’s message leaned more towards the race issues in the US (and the world by proxy), Us is more muddled in what the audience is meant to take from it... and that’s perfectly fine. Jordan Peele’s horror is that you might not necessarily leave the theater scared to turn your light off at night, but you’re up late thinking about it and what it all means. And those are the kinds of films that stay on Hollywood’s radar for generations to come and not just as Halloween-time fun. Heck, Get Out came out in February, 2017. Us came out in March, 2019. Normally we expect cheesy rom-coms this time of year; so when a movie claiming to be a thriller shows up on the ‘coming soon’ list, you bet people are going to raise their brows and see what’s going on.

Peele understands how to entice people, to make them feel comfortable with his characters and then worry for their safety, while at the same time being far too fascinated by what’s going to happen to even think about taking their eyes off the screen to check their phones while waiting for the next jump scare.

He knows how to bring out the actors’ most unsettling parts of themselves, actors we may be familiar with and are used to seeing them as friendly faces (Lupita Nyong’o managed to creep me out while being an amazing spectacle on camera)! Daniel Kaluuya became an Oscar Nominee from his performance as a man being held captive going into full survival mode.

Don’t we all worry about what we’d do if we were in the situations those people were in? Wouldn’t we hope to have the smarts or guts to fight our way out just as they did? That’s the idea of what horror really is meant to be. Not be that one idiot character that goes into the scary house that’s known to be haunted while your friends tell you no (or film you for snapchat, I dunno).

No, in Peele’s movie, you’re going somewhere that’s supposed to be safe, where something unexpected that you were unprepared for happens... and that’s scarier than any ghost story I’ve seen.

#Jordan Peele #Modern Horror #Filmmaking #Get Out

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irelise · 5 years

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the yew tree - part ii

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Sebastian Shaw/Charles Xavier Additional Tags: Secrets, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Canon-typical references to human experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Plot Twists, Referenced anti-semitism, Seduction, Possessive Erik, Jealousy, Suicide, Suicide ideation, Depression, Child Abuse, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Master/Servant

Summary:

Erik has worked with Sebastian Shaw, mutant revolutionary, ever since Shaw rescued him from human experimentation when he was a boy. He is reluctantly enlisted to assist in Shaw’s newest scheme: seducing the wealthy and enigmatic Lord Xavier and claiming his vast fortune. With Shaw posing as Xavier’s doctor, Erik goes undercover as Xavier’s personal manservant to convince him to fall in love with Shaw.

But Xavier has secrets of his own, and it isn’t long before Erik starts having second thoughts about the whole thing…

(the handmaiden inspired au - no canon knowledge required)

Notes: remember when i said the yew tree was on hiatus? I LIED, writing bug suddenly bit, thank you lovely commenters! Next update might be a bit late in coming since I might start working on XMDP fic instead but we’ll see how it goes!

The full chapter is linked above, but for the people reading along on Tumblr as I update, this post includes part 2.8-2.9 and wraps up part ii, bringing us to the present day where we left off in part i!

Warnings for this part: suicide ideation, sexual exploitation, depression, referenced human experimentation Rating: M Word count: 3814

8. Leather straps around his wrists, holding him down. Something is being forced into his mouth, prying his lips apart; he tries to bite down, but he can’t, he’s trapped, he can’t do anything – One of the whitecoats looms over him, steel glinting in its hands; he paws clumsily at the metal, but it won’t respond, why isn’t it responding? Go away, he wants to shout, but he can’t form words. All he can do is shout in pain and fear and anger–

–A cry shatters the silence. His own cry, jolting himself awake. Charles sits up and rubs the back of his hand down his face.

He’s in his bedroom. It was only a dream-memory.

…But it did not belong wholly to him. There’s another mind nearby, fumbling and cursing in the dark, startled awake by Charles’ cry.

Erik.

The memory was his. And yet – it’s so familiar, Charles’ memories and Erik’s memories mingling, overlapping, the same pain, the same fear. I understand you, Charles says silently, although he doesn’t dare reach out. I’ve felt what you’ve felt. You’re not alone.

Charles takes a slow breath, smoothing away the sudden welling of emotion into quiet serenity, his gaze drifting to the window. He has a role to play. Not much time now; first impressions are everything, and he’s more determined than ever before to charm Erik over to his side. Wryly, Charles thinks he may be more of a romantic than he had realized. His foray into Erik’s dreams had been brief and unintentional, but it had sparked something, a feeling of connection…

No time now. Focus.

Right on cue, the door slams open. Charles’ breath catches silently in his throat.

None of Shaw’s memories had prepared him for the way Erik’s mind blazes.

***

The thing is, Charles has lived his entire life playing different roles: the bright young scholar, the pliant test subject, the enigmatic reader soft-voiced and alluring. He knows how to charm and flatter and entice. Sometimes he even enjoys it.

Being with Erik should be no different. Even setting aside his telepathy, Charles has eyes; he’s seen the way Erik’s gaze lingers on him when he thinks Charles isn’t looking. Erik is attracted to him and Charles subtly encourages it, using all the tricks Uncle had taught him, paired with the things he had picked up on his own through the books. He takes every opportunity he can to bite his lips red and flush, to let his tongue dart teasingly out, and from beneath his lashes he watches as Erik’s pupils dilate.

Yet Erik never takes advantage. Erik is always so very proper, so careful. His mind is a steel fortress lined with razor barbs of pain and anger, but underneath it all is a brightness Charles is irresistibly drawn to. Can he be blamed? He’s never met anyone who burns with such intensity as Erik does. He’s never met anyone with such a fierce desire to protect. Never again, Erik’s thoughts rumble. He will never allow another mutant to suffer as he had.

Sometimes Charles loves him for it. Sometimes he imagines Erik as his protector, fearsome and implacable.

Sometimes Charles is bitter, resentful, ashamed. Erik had gone through so much, but he’s not broken like Charles is.

No depth to him at all, Shaw says of Erik, and Charles wonders how he could be so wrong when he had practically raised Erik. But Charles bites his tongue. He needs to pick his battles wisely; he can’t let Shaw suspect that he sees Erik as anything more than a stepping stone to his freedom.

Neither can he let Erik suspect that he’s working with Shaw, or the fate Shaw has planned for him. Erik is a good man – Charles believes that with all his heart. He is a better man than Charles is. But he is also such an uncompromising man, the planes of his mind beautifully harsh and stark. He believes in fairness. Justice.

Vengeance.

If Erik learns the truth, it’ll be the end of Charles’ plans to quietly disappear, and Charles is selfish enough that he won’t risk it.

Hence his current efforts to temper Erik’s fire. Erik is determined to see him as a spoiled, selfish noble, so Charles does his best to be the opposite of that, freely offering the only things about him that have any value: his books, his knowledge, his body. Erik wants to pick a fight, so Charles meets his anger with serenity instead, willingly exposing his weaknesses – some of his weaknesses – in hopes of cultivating trust.

It works. He thinks. Erik thaws to him, quicker than he had anticipated, and for a few guilty days Charles wonders if he has been influencing Erik unintentionally, the noxious, uncontrollable poison of his telepathy rooting around Erik’s skull to destroy the brilliant spark of individuality inside. But when he reaches out, ever so carefully – because Charles can never leave things well enough alone – he finds the architecture of Erik’s mind unchanged. He thinks.

(The terrifying thing about his power is that it’s so insidious, he can never be entirely sure. Charles spends most of that day laid up in bed with a migraine, heartsick, wishing he could just make his telepathy – stop. If he tries hard enough, can he control his own mind? Can he shut down his own physiological systems, one by one?

Or perhaps that’s a philosophical question. After all, every human has control over their own mind. He wonders what Erik would think.)

“I didn’t think it was possible, but your migraines seem to be growing more frequent, even with my medication,” Shaw observes during one of their sessions. He pushes a cup of hibiscus tea at Charles, dark and red.

“It’s not so surprising. They’re exacerbated by strong emotions. Stress.”

Shaw chuckles. “Stress? What do you have to be stressed about? All you have to do is make doe eyes at me while Erik is watching and I’ll take care of the rest. Unless he’s starting to suspect?”

“No, you did an excellent job picking him. He really is quite honest. Too honest for suspicion.”

And Charles really should shut his mouth and leave it there, but he holds the belief that everyone, including Erik, including Shaw, including himself, everyone is capable of making the right choices. Of choosing the better path. It’s a belief he had cultivated with grim determination through the years, although perhaps it’s less a belief and more a survival mechanism. After all, as he had told Erik, if he can’t have hope then what else does he have left?

So he says: “I’m surprised you’re willing to use him like this. His power is remarkable, and he’s completely devoted to your cause. You’re sure you want to go through with this?”

Shaw’s eyes narrow, pinning him in place, and Charles instantly knows he’s mis-stepped. “Sounds like you’re the one having second thoughts.” Shaw’s tone is deceptively pleasant. “Don’t forget why Erik’s here. He thinks he’s helping me con you out of your fortune, and after that, he’s happy to look the other way while I snap your neck. You think he’s a good man? You want to spare him?”

Charles flinches as Shaw forces a barrage of images at him, each bloodier than the last. The vivid splash of red against concrete. Steel, groaning, screaming. The humans have been subdued already, they could easily take the mutant captives and escape, but the Erik in Shaw’s memories is raising one hand high up, holding It aloft. Don’t do this! Charles shouts instinctively, but the past cannot be changed; Erik’s hand closes into a fist, white-knuckled, and metal crumples everywhere. Shaw’s memories linger especially lovingly over the sounds that echo through the compound, the noises of agony, the quiet pleas for help, for mercy.

The silence.

It’s tempting to slam up his mental walls, but Charles forces himself to watch every single memory Shaw is throwing at him. He needs to learn all of Erik, the darkness and the light both.

“Still think he deserves your pity?” Shaw sneers. He tosses one last image at Charles, of a bloodied, twitching hand, a human still alive under a pile of rubble, desperately reaching out. The Erik in his memory strides past without a backwards glance. “He’d do the same thing to you right now if I ask him to, because he thinks you’re a worthless human. He’ll never value you for anything except your mutation.”

Only because that’s what you’ve taught him, but that isn’t entirely fair. Erik is an adult who knows his own mind. Some part of him genuinely agrees with Shaw’s philosophy.

But Charles doesn’t intend to give up. He’s seen so much good in Erik, so much light. He’s seen his longing for a family and he’s personally witnessed evidence of a nurturing spark in Erik. Erik’s calloused hands have always been careful and gentle as they tend to Charles, even though according to Shaw he’s nothing but a worthless human. He thinks about Erik fussing over him after one of his migraines in his gruff, understated way, and Charles feels his chest constrict.

Some part of Erik wants peace, he knows it. He’ll do anything to give it to Erik.

He meets Shaw’s contemptuous gaze. “It’s no worse than what you and I are planning to do to him,” Charles says evenly.

“You calling this whole thing off?”

“No. I wish – no.” He’s shown too much of his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m just not very good with violence.”

Shaw watches him with open suspicion. Charles hesitates, but only for a second. Then he reaches out.

Forget.

***

Another day, the curtains drawn, lying in bed, trying not to move or even breathe, pain stabbing dully through his skull. So bloody useless, laid up in bed all the time, his thoughts snarl, and Charles tries to bury the wave of self-loathing that sweeps through him, knowing that any emotion will only worsen the migraine.

In times like these, he allows his telepathy to drift, leaving his body a mindless, insensate mass on the bed. Today, however, he’s trapped in his own head, thoughts chasing each other around in endless circles.

You’ll need to tell him the truth soon.

He’ll hate me.

It’s what you deserve.

That’s hardly fair; he’s lying to me too. We’re both lying to each other.

Not to the same degree! He’s an honest man by nature. You, you’ve never once shown him your true face.

But that’s not entirely right. He had been playing a role in the beginning, yes, trying to lure Erik in, but even then… It hadn’t entirely been a lie. And it certainly isn’t one now, when Charles has only been acting in the ways that come to him most naturally instead of tailoring every action to draw Erik deeper into his web. There’s nothing at all false about their light banter over breakfast and dinner. He certainly isn’t holding back during their nightly debates. If anything, Charles has been more honest than he means to be, unable to stop himself from slipping little hints that things in the mansion – things about himself – are not quite right. He feels like he’s simultaneously torn between pleading for Erik to notice something is wrong and covering Erik’s eyes with his hands so Erik can leave the mansion never, ever realizing the truth behind all that time he spends with Uncle.

The only lies he’s telling now are ones of omission.

But they’re still lies.

It won’t make a difference to him. He’s been hurt by so many people already, why should he forgive you?

As if summoned by his thoughts (please, God, no, he doesn’t want to tarnish Erik’s beautiful mind), there’s a light rap on his bedroom door, and Erik lets himself in quietly.

One of the things Charles loves most about Erik is that he doesn’t hover. He can feel concern radiating from Erik’s mind, but Erik knows noise and movement make the migraine worse, so he’s quiet and self-contained as he leaves more water by Charles’ bedside along with a small plate of nuts and crackers, foods which help with Charles’ nausea – he wonders where Erik had learnt that.

“You need anything?” Erik asks, very softly.

Charles musters a wan smile, even though the small movement of turning his head to look at Erik sends pain stabbing through his temples. “No, thank you.”

And that’s it. Erik doesn’t fret over Charles, allowing him to keep what little dignity he has left. He leaves as quietly as he had come, and Charles closes his eyes again.

How can Shaw be so wrong about Erik? Erik is so loyal to him, so determined to repay his perceived debt, yet Shaw’s only thoughts are of how best to use Erik and how best to dispose of him now that Erik is starting to become a threat to his power.

Charles wants so badly to save Erik.

And he can do it right now if he really wanted to. Erik can save himself. All he has to do is tell Erik the truth.

The thought of confessing makes his heart clench, pulse skyrocketing. Pain flares, so bad that Charles almost clutches his head, but he forces himself to stay motionless.

He’s too weak; he can’t do it. Erik will be furious. He’ll be a force of nature unleashed on the mansion, trampling all of Charles’ plans into rubble. Charles has only just started thinking about what life outside the mansion might be like. How it would feel to meet other mutants, to have Erik introducing him to other mutants. Erik had brought him hope, but Charles can see it all fading away before his eyes, the dark branches of the yew tree caging him in once more.

No. Erik had brought him hope. Charles is not ready to let go of it yet. There must be some way they can stay together.

***

The problem, as Charles sees it, is that even though they’re growing closer by the day, they’re still not quite close enough. Erik doesn’t trust him with the truth, and in a way, neither does Charles. They need more time to learn each other.

Or, maybe they need a catalyst to break down some of the walls between them.

It’s Shaw who ends up providing that push. The man had been demanding they do more and more to convince Erik they’re falling in love and ready to elope, and finally Charles – desperate for something to change – acquiesces to unbuttoning his shirt and clambering onto the table as he feels Erik’s mind approach. Shaw stoops over him, and Charles can’t control the panicked spike of his pulse, the awareness of his vulnerability as Shaw’s hand glides over his bared chest. His skin crawls.

He has never been more relieved when Erik interrupts.

And that relief turns to joy, to wonder, when Erik finally, finally trusts him with his mutation. Even hours later, Charles’ eyes grow wet with emotion when he remembers that moment. The spark of hope he’s been nursing grows, still fragile, but the possibility of peace seems less remote than before.

With that first barrier down, more follow swiftly. Charles longs to ask Erik endless questions about his power, but he’s spent so much time being poked and prodded at by Uncle and his associates that he’d never do the same to another person. Each time Erik trusts him enough to demonstrate his powers is a precious gift, and Charles tucks each and every instance away as a cherished moment.

Gradually, Erik grows more at ease. He never spends much time discussing his own mutation, but sometimes he slips in little comments: No need to keep looking for your pen, I can sense it rolled behind your desk there or All this picking up after you almost makes me wish I had telekinesis instead, I know a girl with that power.

One night, Charles’ caution slips for just a second and he asks: “Do you know many other mutants, Erik?”

Erik instantly freezes, but then he jerks his head in a nod. “I worked with an all-mutant group. We had all sorts there.”

Charles smiles. Gently now, mustn’t make Erik clam up again. “You must miss them terribly. I can’t imagine this mansion has much to offer in comparison.”

He’s been dropping openings here and there lately, giving Erik opportunities to admit to the true purpose behind his presence at the mansion. But Erik’s loyalty to Shaw – or perhaps his distrust of humans – holds too strong. Charles takes it as a sign that they aren’t ready for the whole truth yet.

Erik crosses his long legs, still cautious, but not entirely unwilling to talk. “They’re getting along fine without me.”

“That has nothing at all to do with the question of whether or not you miss them,” Charles says, gently chiding.

“We weren’t exactly friends.”

“But you must still care for them.”

“…I do.” Erik looks a little surprised at his own admission, his mouth quirking. “You’d enjoy meeting them.”

It’s not the first time Erik has raised the subject of life outside the mansion. And, like every time before that, Charles bites his lip and tries to calm the nervous jump of his pulse. “If they’re anything like you, I certainly will.”

“Some of them are. But we’ve got a few kids with us too. You’d get along, you could hold story time with them with all that poetry of yours.”

Erik’s eyes bore into his. He’s not the only one probing for answers here. Charles meets his eyes levelly, not hiding the quiet sorrow he feels.

Someday soon, all their secrets will come spilling out into the open and perhaps that will be the end of everything. But for now, he’ll cherish the time they have left to them.

“Tell me more about the children?”

Erik’s expression softens. “They’re wonderful. Strong, tough. There’s a little girl we rescued, right before I had to leave…”

The pictures Erik paints for him are vivid: mutant children, just coming into their powers, getting into scraps and mischief like any other children do. It’s clear that Erik loves them, but there’s a bittersweet flavour to his thoughts, a resigned belief that these children will grow up to be soldiers.

Charles would happily listen to Erik talking all night, but Erik is ever mindful of the time, and before long he’s chivvying him to bed. “Get some sleep, Charles, you know you get migraines if you stay up too late.”

“I wouldn’t mind, it seems like a fair trade. I quite enjoy listening to you talk.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Erik’s mind sparks with fondness. Charles firmly shoves down the urge to step closer and kiss the teasing smirk off his face.

“Maybe just a little. Help me get ready for bed?”

“Yes, sir.”

Erik helps him with his clothes as he always does. Charles stands still under his hands as Erik’s clever fingers undo button after button, brisk but gentle as he strips Charles of the layers that cover him. He’s nothing like Uncle. The thrum of his mind is all business with just a touch of appreciation, his desire buried deep.

Charles draws in a shallow breath. He knows the dangers of his powers, but Erik…

He loves watching Erik move. He loves watching the play of expressions across Erik’s face, from the dry little smiles to the looks of intense focus. He loves watching the motions of Erik’s long, deft fingers, whether they’re busy undressing him or motioning some metal implement over to his side, flexing his power as easily as breathing.

Erik’s love of his own mutation and his high regard for his fellow mutants is infectious. Inspiring.

For the first time, Charles allows himself to want.

***

The next day he wakes with his heart in his throat and the panicked realization they’re fast running out of time.

***

The corset is constricting, but it’s not the worst thing he’s ever worn, and it’s certainly no worse than the attention of the men battering down on him as he sits there and reads with the painted red smile on his face and his heart racing in fear.

What’s wrong with him tonight? His telepathy – he can’t maintain the distance he needs tonight, can’t maintain his focus.

My body is not my own.

Uncle is watching.

My body is not my own. He sees himself being shoved down onto his knees, a hand fisting in his hair, his breeches yanked down. Charles blinks. No, he’s still at the lectern – that was just, just someone’s fantasies, someone in the fourth row, there…

Uncle is watching. His heavy brow is drawn together in a frown. Charles has paused on his current line for a beat too long.

My body is not my own. He shouldn’t care about any of this. He’s been subject to so much worse before.

God. What would Erik think?

Uncle watches. Charles fights to keep the tremble from his voice.

Hands groping at his chest. A heavy body on top of his. His own voice, wailing like a child, crying and pleading, until someone draws a knife across his throat in a gush of red.

He keeps reading.

Eventually, he manages to drift away, and it becomes easier after that.

***

Afterwards, Uncle says: “We’ll talk after I return from my business trip.”

Charles bows his head. Uncle doesn’t know. There will be no after. He’ll be gone by then, one way or the other.

The guests had dispersed already. All that’s left is for Charles to make his way back to his rooms, back to where Erik and their tangle of secrets and fragile hopes wait.

Instead, his feet carry him towards the yew tree. He lifts his head to face the sky, the wind ruffling through his hair. Overhead the moon is large and bright, beckoning to him through the gaps in the yew’s branches, whispering sweetly of freedom.

Tonight was the last time he had to read for Uncle. One way or the other.

9. “I have something to tell you.” In the warmth of their shared bed, Erik’s expression is both pained and grimly resolved. “Shaw and I, Dr. Schmidt and I, we’ve been working together all along. He’s planning to kill you.”

Charles’ heart soars, whether in perfect joy or perfect fear, he doesn’t know. This is it. Erik has given him the truth.

“We–” Erik begins, but Charles cradles his face, pulling him in for a swift kiss. It may be their last. He focuses on the feeling of Erik’s lips, his skin, the brightness of his mind, searing it all into his memory. Whatever happens, he will cherish this.

“I know,” Charles says. “There’s also something I have to tell you.”

#cherik #xmfc #my writing

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sutekiyomitsu · 7 years

Text

Unchosen: An Analysis of Erabarenu Mono

One of the reasons I love the song “Erabarenu Mono” so much is that it is a perfect distillation of the relationships between the characters portrayed and consequently, the main tensions in Bakumatsu Tenrouden.

This group song is sung right after Yamatonokami Yasusada announces his intention to join the Shinsengumi and is a culmination of the tensions in the relationships that have been building up to that point, especially between Okitagumi and the Kotetsu Brothers. Their clash in ideals is heard in the piano instrumental introduction, where what should be a C major chord is disrupted by the addition of an extra ‘B’ note, thus creating a feeling of tension.

(Over 4000 words of me just talking about a 5min 27s song under the cut)

The Kotetsu Brothers

The most obviously tense relationship in Bakumatsu Tenrouden would be the Kotetsu Brothers. Right off the bat, Hachisuka is shown to hate Nagasone in their introduction, asking the saniwa why he is being forced to work with a fake Kotetsu. The verses sung by the Kotetsu Brothers parallel each other in structure and in tune, serving as direct contrasts to each other.

This song begins (and ends) with a single spotlight on Hachisuka, singling him out as the outsider among the tightly bonded Shinsengumi swords. He doesn’t understand the same attachment that the Shinsengumi swords, especially Yasusada and Nagasone, have to their respective former masters. As Horikawa points out in “Riyuu no Arika”, the reason why the Shinsengumi swords were particularly fond of their former masters, maybe more so than other swords, is because the Shinsengumi were the last of the people who used swords for battle. However, Hachisuka, who has never been used in battle in this way, cannot understand this, and this puts a distance between him and the rest of the Shinsengumi swords. This is especially true of Nagasone, who bases his worth not on the authenticity of his Kotetsu name but on the fact that he was used by the commander of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isami. In contrast, Hachisuka places his worth on the authenticity of his Kotetsu name because he has been appraised and examined so harshly by critics (People always assume that Kotetsu blades are fake until proven authentic) and perhaps even falsely labelled as fake, just because of the number of fake Kotetsu swords. It is because of this that he is willing to do anything to uphold the name of Kotetsu.

Hachisuka resents Nagasone for being a fake because it was the fake Kotetsu swords like him that resulted in the name of the Kotetsu into being less associated with the original swordsmith, but with the fakes that were spawned from it.

However, this is not the only reason for his distaste for Nagasone. At this point in the musical, Hachisuka also cannot come to terms with why his fate was to be a decorative sword while the fake Kotetsu, Nagasone, was used in battle. To be a sword is to be made for battle, and in being a decoration, he was unable to be fulfil his true purpose as a sword – to kill. Hachisuka feels resentment for Nagasone because even though Hachisuka was the genuine Kotetsu, he was merely used as a decorative ornament since he was too precious, thus never fully living up to his potential. He had no choice in the matter as it was up to the masters who owned him, which is shown through the passive form used in “飾られる to be displayed”, “与えられた to be bestowed” and the use of “しかなかった”, meaning, “I could do nothing but [accept it]”. Despite knowing this, he struggles with accepting this fact as seen in “I had no choice/I could do nothing but accept it” which implies a sense of frustration and a longing to be used in battle. As with many of the swords that were used as decorative swords, he harbours a sense of ‘not being loved enough’ by his former master to be used in battle, since it is the ultimate pride of a sword to be used well by his master. What he doesn’t recognise yet is that being chosen as a decorative sword is also a form of love. At this point of the musical, he is just fixated on the fact that he wasn’t chosen for battle despite being a genuine Kotetsu sword, which was made for battle. In short: He’s jealous of Nagasone, yet admires him. He feels some kind of inferiority in comparison to the Shinsengumi swords because he feels that he hasn’t been used in battle as much.

Observing how the Shinsengumi swords treasure their former masters who used them and loved them so dearly, he struggles to empathise with their shared sentiment of loyalty to their former masters. As he is the captain of the squad, he wants to understand them, asking Horikawa what their former masters are to them in “Riyuu no Arika”, and then later admitting that it is something that he can never understand.

The tension arises from the fact that Nagasone is the opposite. He defines his identity not by the authenticity of the Kotetsu blade as Hachisuka does, but by his connection and strong loyalty to his former master, Kondo Isami. It is not important to him that he is not a genuine Kotetsu, but what matters to him is that Kondo called him Kotetsu, therefore he is a Kotetsu. This insistence on using the Kotetsu name for this reason is thus something Hachisuka cannot understand.

Nagasone has long accepted this sense of “not having a choice”, as a sword must follow the will of their master, which is reflected in his line “That is the unshakeable/undeniable truth.” His firm resolution is seen in the line “俺の果たすべき役割 My role that I must carry out” with the high modality of “must”. This is in direct contrast with lines 5-6 of Hachisuka’s verse (“To be displayed, that was the fate bestowed onto this Kotetsu.”). Rather than resentment then, he instead displays a strong conviction to do what must is required of him from his master, taking the burden of this responsibility upon himself, hence becoming strong out of necessity. His actions help to emphasise Nagasone’s role as a battle sword as he draws his sword and slashes downwards, while Hachisuka never even touches his sword throughout the song, perhaps paralleling the way he was never touched for battle. Nagasone’s line is also accompanied by the introduction of an electric guitar bass and a drum beat. This may be used to reflect the rougher, bloodier experience of Nagasone as compared to Hachisuka, being used by Kondo Isami to cut down the Bakufu’s numerous enemies.

Their inability to understand each other, or more accurately, Hachisuka’s inability to understand Nagasone (since he’s the one initiating it), is seen in the blocking of the scene. When Nagasone begins to sing, Hachisuka instantly turns away and moves to downstage left while Nagasone appears upstage right and comes down the stairs to downstage right.

After their verse, they then both turn away and move in opposite directions. Their physical distance from each other and their refusal to look at each other shows their inability to understand each other at this point. This is even in present in their performance at Itsukushima Shrine. Even though they do meet each other’s gaze, Hachisuka turns his back as Nagasone begins to sing, underscoring their lack of a common understanding.

Both swords end their verses with the chorus, “We cannot choose to be chosen” which highlights that despite the wide rift in understanding between the two, they both recognise the thing that they have in common with each other, along with any of the other Touken Danshi: as a sword, they were unable to go against the will of their master who wielded them.

However, even as they sing the same words, the way they sing it is different. Nagasone sings the melody line – a tune that has a rather low and small range of notes – with a sense of steadiness, like he has already accepted this fact. In contrast, Hachisuka’s harmony line which is higher and results in something that sounds more emotional, revealing a kind of yearning to be able to understand the other swords, especially Nagasone, which is eventually resolved in their duet “Miageta Takai Kabe no Saki”, where unlike Erabarenu Mono, they look at each other, and despite the distance between them, come to an understanding. In addition, in that song, Hachisuka is standing downstage right while Nagasone stands downstage left, the opposite sides from in Erabarenu Mono, signalling them beginning to see things from each other’s perspective, to be able to sympathise with each other.

Okitagumi

Unlike the Kotetsu Brothers’ obvious animosity, Okitagumi’s relationship is less straightforward. Being the swords of the same master, Kashuu Kiyomitsu and Yamatonokami Yasusada share a sense of close companionship and camaraderie, and they are obviously close. At the same time, they are rivals to each other – they had to fight for Okita’s affection, to be ‘chosen’ by him to be used.

This dual nature of being both best friends and rivals is manifested in Kiyomitsu’s ‘tsundere’ attitude towards Yasusada, a kind of playful banter between them – when Yasusada’s name is announced for the team formation, he smiles and exclaims, “Oh~!”, yet when Yasusada actually appears, he pretends to be upset, saying, “Why do I have to work with you?” while turning away, but he is still smiling, showing that he is very happy to be working with him, not to mention that he also specifically requested to work with Yasusada in the previous musical, Atsukashiyama Ibun.

From what he has learnt about the difficulties of having a human heart in Atsukashiyama Ibun, Kiyomitsu is better able to deal with and understand the conflict that Yasusada feels upon seeing their former master, and at first, he very gently rejects Yasusada’s suggestion to join the Shinsengumi. However, he realises that he has underestimated how strong Yasusada’s desire is when Yasusada tries to leave in the middle of the night. Of course, Kiyomitsu is frustrated by this, which results in their altercation before this Erabarenu Mono, which wakes up the rest of the Touken Danshi. The argument finally builds up to Yasusada’s exclamation:

Yasusada: Weren’t you chosen? Kiyomitsu: Huh? Yasusada: That time, didn’t he choose to bring you? And I? I wasn’t there when Okita-kun was in trouble/needed me!

This burst of emotion is the first sign of the cracks in their relationship and an outright admission of the underlying tensions between them that exist because of the Ikedaya Incident, where Okita collapsed and also where Kiyomitsu broke but Bakumatsu Tenrouden does not really deal with this issue that much. It is Yasusada’s exclamation that then prompts the song.

Okitagumi are the only Touken Danshi in this song to have spoken lines which emphasises the conflict between them at this point as it shows what they want to (but can’t) say to each other. Kiyomitsu starts his verse with the angst-filled line:「…勝手なこと言いやがって」Don’t try and tell me that!

It is a response to what Yasusada said about Kiyomitsu being chosen by Okita for Ikedaya, which though Yasusada sees it as a ‘privilege’, has left him with deep (literally, because he broke) scars. But this line is not said to Yasusada, because he is unable to verbalise this to Yasusada directly. However, the real reason for his frustration with Yasusada is revealed in the next few lines. It is not that he doesn’t understand how Yasusada feels upon seeing their former master, but because of his growth in Atsukashiyama Ibun he is able to deal with these feelings better than Yasusada can right now. The reason for his frustration then is that, having witnessed Imanotsurugi’s pain at seeing his master suffer and having been there when Okita had collapsed at Ikedaya in the past, he hoped to spare Yasusada the trauma that he had suffered from watching Okita suffer. The repetition of “今でも Even now” in his first two (sung) lines shows how deep the trauma from the Ikedaya Incident is, so deeply etched that he can’t forget exactly how it felt, as seen by the specific sensory reference to the “warmth of his gushing blood”, showing just how vividly he remembers the exact details of the incident. His line “こんな思いは　俺だけで十分だ It’s enough that only I have this memory” highlights that he does not wish this anguish onto anyone after having experienced it himself and wants to shoulder this burden of having to remember such a thing by himself.

Yasusada and Kiyomitsu’s subsequent parts are immediately after each other, with nearly no pause between at all, as if they are talking over or interrupting each other. Much like how they are ‘mirror images’ (as they say in their sparring interactions), their lines also have similarities, but unlike the Kotetsu Brothers’ structural similarities in their verses, the way their lines almost overlap gives a sense of continuity, and at some points it is as if one person is saying it rather than two, highlighting their similarities even in their current conflict.

Okitagumi’s conflict does not arise out of a lack of understanding. In fact, they both understand each other very well, maybe even too well, but at this point they are both focussed on different things – Yasusada continues to be fixated on the past, while Kiyomitsu, having already moved on, is concerned about the present implications of this.

Yasusada begins his line with, “それでも Even so” which mirrors Kiyomitsu’s “今でも Even now” reveals that Yasusada is actually aware that his plan to join the Shinsengumi is a desperate and dangerous one, and that he understands the team’s concerns, but his yearning to be with Okita is overpowering his logic at this point. This is later brought out strongly through the repeated declaration “I know!”, which shows that he does understand the reason why he shouldn’t go to Okita but this doesn’t stop him from wanting to go. His desire to go stems from the regret he feels for not being able to be there when Okita needed him most, which is seen in the past tense he uses in “wanted to fight/wanted to be”, showing how he is still stuck in the past. This is contrasted against the present tense used in Kiyomitsu’s next line, “I don’t want him to feel this way” which shows their difference in focus. Yasusada then repeats, “それでも Even so” twice, expressing his longing to be with Okita.

When Yasusada’s “Even so” is read together with Kiyomitsu’s line, a different interpretation also surfaces: Kiyomitsu doesn’t want Yasusada to feel this way and disagrees with his putting the mission at risk but even so he understands that this is something that Yasusada must got through in order to grow. This then materialises when Kiyomitsu asks Hachisuka to let Yasusada go.

This divide between the head and the heart is evident in his actions. Kiyomitsu enters upstage, and first begins moving towards to stage left, staring offstage like he is looking at Yasusada, who will enter from that side of the stage, implying that he sees where Yasusada is coming from, and understands him wanting to go to Okita.

But he turns and faces stage right, away from Yasusada, as if he is unable to face him when saying, “I don’t want him to feel this way” because despite his deep care for his partner, he cannot admit it directly to Yasusada.

Even though Kiyomitsu understands Yasusada, he cannot bring himself to say it to Yasusada because he’s too tsundere. When Hachisuka says that Yasusada would be happy to hear what Kiyomitsu had said to him – that he is able to understand Yasusada’s feelings and would like Hachisuka to let him go – Kiyomitsu exclaims, “ぜーーーたいいやだ！ABSOLUTELY NOT!” because he is really way too tsundere to admit that he cares for Yasusada.

When Yasusada enters, he faces the audience, an action that is used in the musical when the Touken Danshi are thinking about their former masters, showing how his mind is still fixed on Okita and on the past. He also does this when he sings his last two lines as he decides to follow his heart and join the Shinsengumi – yet another indication of how deeply connected he still feels to Okita.

In terms of blocking, the pair don’t look at each other throughout the song, since they are unable to convey their feelings to each other. In the later parts of the song when they come down the steps slightly, they are never on the same step, showing how they cannot see eye-to-eye on the current conflict. When Nagasone sings “選ばれなかったのは To not have a choice” and Yasusada responds, “I know!”, Kiyomitsu lifts his sheathed sword as if contemplating how he too did not have a choice in going to Ikedaya with Okita and had to suffer as a result of being there, as in his response before the start of the song (“That idiot, it’s not like I had a choice!”).

Okitagumi’s resolution does not come in the form of a song like the Kotetsu Brother’s duet. Instead they resolve it without a proper, two-way conversation. From his experiences of watching Okita in Ikedaya, Yasusada realises the truth behind Kiyomitsu’s hesitance to let him go, and is finally able to overcome the conflict within himself. When he meets Kiyomitsu again, he cuts off Kiyomitsu’s tentative confession before he gets to say it (Kiyomitsu manages to work up the courage to say something to Yasusada at last, which shows a progression on his part as well). Having finally worked through his feelings for Okita, he is finally able to accept and move on from the past, reconciling with Kiyomitsu. When they fight against youkai-influenced Okita at Itabashi, they do so together, united as a pair once again.

Hijikatagumi

Of all the pairs in the musical, Hijikatagumi is the only pair that don’t go through a significant change as they do not really experience conflict. Instead, they are there to mediate the conflict in the team and are also used symbolically to extend the meaning of the song beyond the immediate story.

Izuminokami Kanesada is used as a contrast to Yamatonokami Yasusada. Both of them were very dedicated to their respective former masters, have a strong connection to them and even try to imitate them, as seen from how they both wear the Shinsengumi haori long after the Shinsengumi have faded away. Also, they both have some kind of regrets regarding being there for their former master – Yasusada was unable to be with Okita when he collapsed at Ikedaya, and Izuminokami was sent away before Hijikata’s death at Hakodate, as in “俺だって最後まで一緒にいられたわけじゃねえ I wasn’t able to be with him until the end”. Much like Yasusada, Izuminokami also sings his verse while staring out into the audience, which may be interpreted as him thinking about Hijikata like Yasusada thinks of Okita. However, Izuminokami takes this in stride, accepting it as history and choosing to focus on respecting the legacy of Hijikata, using him as an inspiration to spur himself on in the present. He notes that nothing can be done about the tragic fates of their masters (“仕方ない it can’t be helped”), hence he hates talk of what might have been because there is no point in feeling anguished about it when they cannot do anything to change it. The repetition of “だけど but” highlights the key difference between Izuminokami and Yasusada: while Yasusada might view this inevitability of their tragic fates as something to despair about, Izuminokami revels in the good times that he did spend with Hijikata. This is emphasised through how he says he feels “しか nothing but” pride. No regrets, no sadness, only pride for having been Hijikata’s sword. This line can be read as being directed towards Yasusada, as Yasusada responds to his declaration of pride with, “I know.” Izuminokami’s attitude towards the past is what Yasusada sees as the attitude he should take, but Yasusada is still unable to overcome the sadness in his heart. This is particularly evident in their performance in Itsukushima Shrine, as the two of them look directly at each other while delivering these two lines.

Horikawa Kunihiro’s verse is different from the rest of the Touken Danshi as it extends the meaning of the song from the Touken Danshi to the Shinsengumi. This is first indicated through the change in music, which suddenly becomes quiet, to accompany Horikawa’s quiet contemplation about the Shinsengumi, saying that “僕たちだけじゃない It’s not just us, it was the same for them”, revealing that even though throughout the song they’ve been singing about being bound to the will of their former master, their masters were in turn bound by their unalterable fates, fates that they didn’t choose but were imposed upon them by the circumstances they lived in. In this way, even their former masters shared something in common with them. While he sings this, Horikawa holds his hands out towards the audience, as if he is reaching for the masters, and then brings them together again.

As he does, the lights, which appear fragmented before, converge towards the centre of the stage. Following the lights, the other Touken Danshi also move towards the centre, drawn together by some invisible connection. This represents how even with their differences and difficulties in understanding one another, they all share a truth that brings everyone, even their masters, together: they can’t choose what happens to them. The line “時代に選ばれずに死んでいった Without being chosen by their era/age, they died” points out that the ultimate fault of the Shinsengumi was that they were on the wrong side of history. As samurai dedicated to keeping the order in the capital they should have been a celebrated force, but it just so happened that the era that they were born into was one where the power of the bakufu was crumbling and the era of samurai was drawing to a close. Because of that, when they died, they were not regarded as loyal samurai but as rebels against the Emperor, and thus were “not chosen by the era”. Much like Hachisuka wasn’t chosen for battle, or like Yasusada wasn’t chosen for Ikedaya. This sentiment is reflected in “みんな同じだよ We are all the same”, where the collective “みんな we/everyone” is used to refer to both the Touken Danshi and their former masters, showing the one thing that they all have in common is the lack of control over their own fates.

The blocking in the chorus that follows may also be seen as reflecting the current group dynamics.

The two pairs at conflict stand apart from each other: Nagasone and Hachisuka at the sides of the stage, and Kiyomitsu and Yasusada at the ends of the steps. Yasusada in particular has his body turned away from the audience at first while everyone else faces the audience, perhaps suggesting that he wishes to separate from the group, though he ‘rejoins’ the other Touken Danshi in the next chorus line: “でも今は　意思を持ち　身体を持つ But now, we have our own mind and body” which highlights the newfound freedom of choice that the saniwa has given all of them by granting them human bodies. Hijikatagumi stand near the centre of the stage, as if holding the team together. Izuminokami stands on the steps with Okitagumi, an indication of how he’s trying to keep them together, as seen in him going after Yasusada in the previous scene to talk Yasusada out of abandoning the theme (and presumably succeeding considering he appears with them later). Horikawa stands downstage with Nagasone and Hachisuka, showing his role in trying to bring the Kotetsu brothers together through numerous attempts (though none have been successful so far).

The attention is drawn to Yasusada who declares that he wants to use his own newfound will to decide what he wants to do by himself, with the running piano notes perhaps reflecting his thoughts running wild, or the sense of palpitation that he feels, as he feels compelled to abandon the group and join the Shinsengumi.

The spotlight then falls once again on Hachisuka, now alone on stage, who once again contemplates that he was not used as a weapon but as a decoration, and that his real purpose disappeared when the age of swords came to an end with the death of the Shinsengumi.

His question, “Why did you choose me for this mission” suggests that he does not feel up to task to be the captain. This is resolved in the reprise, where decides to stop focussing on the negatives of his past, and instead take pride in it and do his best to do the right thing since he’s already been chosen to lead this mission.

In conclusion, the music, lyrics, blocking and lighting in this scene all come together to make this scene one of the most impactful ones in Bakumatsu Tenrouden. The song shows the conflicts in the relationships between the Touken Danshi yet it also highlights the similarity that they all share in spite of their differences. It explores the main themes of the musical, some of which are also recurring themes in Toumyu itself – the emotional conflict that having a heart creates within the Touken Danshi, as well as the lack of control that one has over their fate that affect not just the Touken Danshi, but normal humans, like their former masters, as well.

#esther analyses #touken ranbu #musical touken ranbu #bakumatsu tenrouden #hachisuka kotetsu #nagasone kotetsu #kashuu kiyomitsu #yamatonokami yasusada #izuminokami kanesada #horikawa kunihiro #sato ryuji #torigoe yuuki #ogoe yuuki #arisawa shoutarou #takahashi kensuke #imari yuu

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insanescriptist · 7 years

Note

If Xanxus died and was reborn as Uzumaki Naruto, who would he assemble as his new guardians?

Oh wow, if you were expecting cheer and good manners then you’d be disappointed. Because Xanxus growing up in Naruto’s childhood… where child soldiers are the norm, the government is a tyrannical lie, history is subject and genocide happened in the middle of town.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, looking at the young ninja of the leaf. Per usual, there was a permanent scowl, a sense of impatient hostility and restrained violence. The feathers and beads in his hair really weren’t worth noticing other than the fact that he wore them and made him look wild, especially in conjunction with the whiskers. It would be more intimidating a look if the whiskered cheeks were less round with childhood still clinging to his face.

Uzumaki Naruto took after his father in looks and intelligence and his mother in terms of chakra capacity and had her drive in face of adversity.

His temper and general personality however seemed to been shaped by the less than ideal treatment of the villagers. Naruto had a suspicious, nasty mind that didn’t trust easily, if at all. Hiruzen had jonin that trusted more easily. More to the point, his personality was blunt, coarse and unforgiving in general. The less said about how short a fuse his temper had the better; he could control it, but training grounds afterward had needed remodeled when he finally let it loose. Some property of his chakra could cause immense destruction; the sort that seemingly removed trees and training equipment from existence and not by turning it to ash.

The young ninja had graduated early and proved himself well enough to have earned a vest. Currently just a chunin vest, but Hiruzen didn’t want the young ninja to be so distant from his age-cohort in rank for all that they were recent graduates. Most of those that Naruto spent time with were the more specialized tokujo.

Part of his reluctance might be from the fact that the last time he had promoted and trusted someone so much at such an early age had gone on to kill all his clan. And the others that had been promoted so early while capable ninja were not the most whole human beings.

“What’cha got old man?” The blond drawled. He sounded bored. Obviously he was looking for a mission and was impatient for one.

“What are you in the mood for?” Hiruzen asked, curious.

There’s a pause and consideration; Naruto would take any assigned, but had an affinity for the bloodier, more clandestine missions than his general temperament would suggest.

“Escort, if I can have my pick of people preferably.” In other words, he wanted to be out of the village and around people he wanted to be around for at least a week. Choosing Genma was a good sign, Raido meant that someone was probably going to die, Anko would be a sign to expect moderate property damage and there were worse signs.

“Asuma-sensei, when are we going to take a C-rank? Sasuke-kun’s team would have if their third member hadn’t come down with the flu. I want to prove my worth as a kunoichi!”

“Them.”

And that was the worst sign. Playfulness.

“Hey! I know you! I’ve seen you around my dad sometimes!”

“Uzumaki Naruto. Chunin of three years. Your team and your sensei will be with me on a C-rank of the Hokage’s choice.”

“How troublesome.” The young Nara groused.

Hiruzen mentally agreed with the young ninja; Uzumaki Naruto was angling for something and the best that Hiruzen could figure that to be was Hokage. Few other chunin had rotated through all of the village’s various departments such as the barrier squad, the police force that was instituted after the death of all but two Uchiha, the code-breakers and included a small stint in the academy as a teacher’s aide while one of the chunin was out for maternity leave.

That sort of rotation and dedication gave Uzumaki Naruto a basic understanding of most of the village. The best thing that came from that was a lot of connections around the village who thought well of his dedication and skills and the fact that Naruto actually had a friend his own age: Kurama Yakumo. Who was Team 7′s third member that had been laid out with the flu.

Yakumo had a prodigious genjutsu talent but had a frail body. She had been given to Kakashi as a student in light of Kurenai’s earlier failure with Yakumo as a student -the failure that Uzumaki Naruto knew of because he had been a friendly acquaintance of Kurenai’s back when she was teaching at the academy as a chunin. They even had nicknames for each other, although the meaning of the names was lost on Hiruzen and all observers.

Kakashi had been for failing this team as well but Sasuke’s decision to feed his teammate bound to the log had given Kakashi the sign that his team would care and fight for each other with all the strength the will of fire could give. It showed that Uchiha Sasuke still had empathy for others and a disregard for stupid orders. The sort of stupid orders that would be killing all your relatives.

Seeing no harm in humoring this decision, Hiruzen agreed with Naruto’s not-request.

“C-rank to Wave. Escorting Tazuna back home and protecting the bridge until it’s finished.”

Izzy accidentally fic’d.

Storm: Tenten or Neji

Sun: Lee? This is where lack of characters strikes. Because not many shown strike me as Suns. Hana? Genma?

Lightning: Ino

Rain: Genma or Raido

Mist: Yakumo

Cloud: Anko

Generally speaking, I’d prefer Xanxus/Naruto not to bond with peers aka Naruto’s age-mates. Because Xanxus/Naruto is mentally older/more experienced. Also a lot more damaged in some ways. But that’s where Naruto’s limited cast of characters acts up. Hence Yakumo the Mist, Yakumo being from an anime filler.

Storms are all about aggressive attack: Neji and Tenten both are like that.

Suns are considered ‘flashy’ but well, Anko is eccentric. Not flashy like Lee and Gai. Hana is understated flashy but three hounds compared to the usual one… Also Genma is pretty and does flashy things with senbon sometime.

Ino is the exception to the ‘not age-mates’ rule if only because the nature of her Clan techniques means a lot more mental exp from a lot of people. Later anyway. At the moment, teasing her is like teasing the shark and is fun.

Rains are supposed to be a calming influence. Genma is one because on a team between Gai and high-strung Ebisu someone had to be the calm one. Raido because I like Raido and he has a sword and specializes in assassination.

Mist is Yakumo. Where obviously the Kurama Clan has Mist Flames as their ‘kekkai genkai.’

Clouds don’t really care about social convention, so much as getting what they want. Which is Anko all over.

Xanxus/Naruto can still use Wrath Flames but anyone that asks gets ‘special chakra’ or ‘a twist to yin release’ as an answer. Which is true in a fashion.

Xanxus/Naruto is rather sympathetic to fox; points out it could be worse. Fox could be frozen. Not exactly best buds but moderately friendly.

Other things aka plot in case someone wants to adopt. Because I’m not going to have time to write this or thing about doing so any time soon.

Wave Mission is coached to Team 10 as ‘part of my eval to special-jonin’ and ‘revised some of the qualifications needed to promote in light of past events.’

One of the Demon bros get captured by Team 10, the other by Xanxus/Naruto. In the fight against Zabuza, Zabuza’s sword suffers a malfunction against Wrath Flames. Poor sword. Zabuza switches it to a ninjutsu fight. Against a shinobi who can just obliterate techniques with Wrath. It doesn’t go well. Haku intervenes. Asuma is third-wheeling like a pro.

Gato catches a case of death before Zabuza on the bridge. Gato’s minions then catch a case of death; it spreads fast. It even gets Zabuza because Asuma’s previously wounded him.

Haku isn’t happy. Haku is then given the choice to watch over Wave or come to the Leaf and join. Otherwise Xanxus/Naruto is happy to kidnap him, since Xanxus/Naruto’s keeping the sword so some shithead doesn’t steal it and put it to dishonorable use or something.

Xanxus gains Haku as a minion. Haku is a Rain, but lack of killer instinct puts him out of running of being Xanxus’ Rain, okay?

Ends up as a security peon in 2nd task. Clash with Orochimaru. Part of the Forest of Death ends up gone. Ends up getting bitten but well, Wrath Flames. Cursed Seal gets burned up. Doing so later to Anko has them bonding; it’s not a tight one but still enough.

Jiraiya shows up in Konoha but Xanxus is Not Amused. Jiraiya Earns Grudge. Hence why Jiraiya is not Sun-candidate.

Don’t care for the genin match-ups at the moment. Just know that Yakumo becomes chunin with Shika and Ino actually manages to progress to the finals by luck.

Gaara and Shukaku start acting up and well, not much stands up to Wrath. And well, demon in forest means no holding back. Xanxus mentally scars Shukaku into behaving and somehow Gaara finds sanity. Xanxus reveals that he plans to be Hokage one day. Is odd conversation.

(Xanxus is only a little miffed that Gaara’s the Kazekage at like fourteen. A little. Actually a lot pissed.)

Anyway, Jiraiya takes Xanxus to find Tsunade because strong shinobi needs to protect Kyuubi-container that can vaporize just about everything. Yay. Logic. Grudge grows stronger.

Also not impressed with Tsunade’s pity party of like twenty years. Because what would she do with the position? Rack up her debts more and send Konoha to bankruptcy?

Let’s just leave it as Xanxus has Plans. He just can’t do any of them because he’s twelve, freshly a special jonin and will be promoted to jonin for his 14th birthday.

Basically manipulates her into accepting the position. Because a ninja that can mentally scar a bijuu is good like that. Not sure how Tsunade’s fear of blood is dealt with but it is because that’s bullshit and Xanxus calls her out on it.

Anyway, due to Grudge, Xanxus is not letting Jiraiya take him off for two years doing fuck knows what. Ends up as Tsunade’s chosen successor from almost the get-go of Tsunade’s reign; which means dealing with lots of politics, renovating systems and diplomacy etc. Because benevolent tyrant position of power or not, you still have minions with power to keep content so they’ll do what you say willingly.

Chosen antagonist of these two years is going to be Danzo. Because no creepy seal on Sasuke but that doesn’t make Sasuke less of a person of interest. Because fancy eyes. Oh and somehow Sakura becomes less of a waste of space. Probably better than her part 2 canon self because ‘let’s send Sasuke away for his safety’ and Xanxus is nearby to keep her head on straight.

Although I should point out that Gaara puts up more of a fight against Akatsuki with Shukaku’s cooperation. It’s amazing what a little mental scarring to do. Or a lot. Deidara’s dick move is still dick move.

But anyway. Sasori’s puppets against Wrath. Wrath wins and then goes after Deidara. Because guess who has guns now bitch?

Deidara loses arm. Then he loses head. Gaara is revived.

The whole business with Orochimaru, Sai and Kabuto doesn’t happen because it’s not Sakura who kills Sasori and so gets ‘rewarded’ with the info. Sai is busy learning how to be human again because fuck Danzo that’s why. He dead, dead, dead. Dead.

Anyway, Sasuke gets back with Jiraiya because Jiraiya follows no schedule. Is the only genin of his year now because that’s hilarious.

Anyway, things progress. Zombie brothers get taken down, jinchuriki get their bijuu extracted, Sasuke kills Itachi and doesn’t end up in Madara’s hands. Jiraiya still dies but there’s no successor to the toad contract. Whoops. Kisame gets to hold off Xanxus and Yakumo and Lee, so is terrible match-up. Because Mist Flames aren’t chakra.

Zetsu ends up in a ranged illusion and then ends up shot. Black Zetsu somehow escapes.

Pain happens to Konoha. Wrath happens to Pain. Because it is hard to regenerate and control puppets if the chakra receivers aren’t conducting because they’re not there. Vaporized. Grudge against Jiraiya is validated, Konan lives, Nagato almost dies but well, Xanxus says fuck that. You’re going to atone properly and not suicide your way out of your mess.

Someone attempts at the eight-tails and so the kage meeting happens. Sasuke has no reason to cause a scene as he’s chilling in Konoha but Tobito has reason and attacks with the white Zetsu sparking off the 4th Shinobi War.

Xanxus takes advantage of Kyuubi’s cooperation and Sky property of Harmony to pick out Zetsu and vaporize them.

Orochimaru decides to defect over to the Shinobi side over the Akatsuki side and Xanxus gets a lecture in Sage Mode and how to use. Kabuto has been convinced to go to the Akatsuki side somehow, so is now enemy who has no problem with edo tensai-ing every fucking one. Tobito might have broke his mind or something.

Anyway Madara’s the big bad bitch until Nagato makes him dead again. Nagato’s got Rinnegan exp over his ass. Tobito is pretty much down for the count and then comes Zetsu.

And after comes Wrath, preventing bunny goddess from being reborn or revived because Zetsu is obliterated properly this time.

People go home, rebuild and Xanxus puts his plans into action so Konoha will remain strong long after he passes on.

And in the afterlife, he hunts down Byakuran and punches him. In the face. Repeatedly.

#Izzy answers #shroudthecursedone #this is a bit late but probably worth it #and by a bit late Izzy means like a month or so #Izzy did fic

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thousandeyesand-one · 6 years

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🚫TARGARYEN BOWL (Dance of Dragons 2.0)🚫

The entire North already knows "who" dany is. According to them, she is mad king's daughter, Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, Aegon the Conqueror come' again! They know she's a Targaryen who has come to reclaim her family's former dynasty, they know her name & her designation, they know "who" she is.. Cersei's predisposed hate mongering about daenerys has lead people of Westeros to believe the fake picture that she painted of "what" daenerys is, which Jon learned by the end of the season is not the case!

SO, what the Northerners don't know is "What" she is. Just like Jon didn't know when they met for the first time. Which he however learned over the time that she is a Compassionate, Truthful, Staunch & a Brave Queen who inspired former slaves & savages into her command. When she rode her dragons beyond the wall Jon saw Dany come to help him..

All these years no one could reach out to that part of her like Jon did with his "Trust in a stranger.. " speech. Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, who birthed her dragons & started her journey alone, walking through the red waste to one day reach Dragonstone, learned to never trust a stranger. But Dany did. Every woman grows up to hide that young girl in herself pretty well, daenerys did too until Jon happened. Jon Snow, the King in the North & Daenerys Targaryen, the Dragon Queen understand each other as rulers pretty well. But the moment when Dany saw Jon's scars she saw him for what he is & When Jon saw Dany came to his rescue, he saw her for what she is.

*Sigh!* I really wish you could understand the beauty of various jonerys gestures deeply but everyone's not gifted are they?!

Also grammar isn't why I wrote this, it's the claim of several Nonsa's that Dance of Dragons 2.0 is coming so here goes..

▪Dance of Dragons

•Viserys I Targaryen didn't have male heirs through his first wife Aemma Arryn, only a daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen whom the king named his heir & successor. But later for unknown reasons he married Alicent Hightower who gave him three sons & one daughter. Upon Viserys I Targaryen's death Alicent Hightower conspired with her green council, named so for the color of the dress she wore, to crown her son Aegon II, giving preference to male heirs over female heirs. While Rhaenyra heard of her fathers death at dragonstone & of the conspiracy against her she formed her own Black Council, also named so for the color of the dress she wore.

•After the death of Lucerys Velaryon, son of Rhaenyra & revenge death of Jahaerys Targaryen, son of Aegon II the Dance of Dragons grew bloodier & bloodier with no stop to it whatsoever. To the point that House Targaryen was robbed of 16 dragons out of the 18 they commanded. The leftover two were too weak. At the end the Dance claimed the Lives of both Rhaenyra & Aegon II & only ended when Rhaenyra's son Aegon III married Aegon II's daughter, Jaehaera Targaryen.

•But I don't think the Dance of Dragons ever truly ended. The Dance of Dragons was named so because Reptilian winged dragons fought Reptilian winged dragons, Figuratively. But those creatures aren't the only ones called dragons, people with the blood of old Valyria flowing in them are also called dragons. So any Targaryen who has the blood of dragon in them can be referred to as a dragon as well like Rhaegar Targaryen the Last Dragon.. Daenerys as the Dragon's daughter.

•Dragons literally fought other dragons in Five Blackfyre Rebellions. The fifth Blackfyre Rebellion also known as war of ninepenny kings ended during the reign of Jahaerys II, when deadly Kingsguard Ser Barristan selmy slayed Maelys Blackfyre. Blackfyre's were legitimized bastards of Aegon the Unworthy with Daena Targaryen, both of the blood of Old Valyria. So the Blackfyre's were dragons born out of a wedlock. So, hence the Dragons vs Dragons continued!

•Jahaerys II's successor was Aerys II Targaryen, famously known as the Mad King. During his reign, there were no known Blackfyres left in Westeros to continue the blackfyre rebellion. Yet there were Baratheons, not true dragons of blood of old Valyria but they had Rhaelle Targaryen, daughter of Aegon the V, marry Robert Baratheon's Grand Father making Robert, Stannis & Renly part dragons. Some argue that Baratheons carry the blood of Orys Baratheon who himself was a Targaryen Bastard, so Robert can be a whole dragon too. But that's a discussion for another time.

•Robert's Rebellion happened & the dragons fought dragons, family fought family once again. Baratheons & Targaryens are distant relatives. This rebellion unlike the blackfyre rebellions actually successfully uprooted the Targaryen Dynasty exiling Viserys & Daenerys to essos.

•But even yet the dance of dragons didn't end. As secret Targaryen loyalists in Westeros favored viserys over robert & robert actively pursued both viserys & daenerys. Sure there wasn't an all out war between them, but there was a Cold War.

The Dance of Dragons never ended for it to start again.

•The stories & family positions of Daenerys & Jon in the Targaryen Dynasty leads some people to think there will be a Dance of Dragons 2.0 between them. That Daenerys is Rhaenyra & Jon (Aegon) is Aegon II. As in Rhaenyra being the female heir of Viserys I, like dany is to her brother Viserys & Aegon II being the legitimate male heir of the dynasty, like Jon is being the true born son of the Crown Prince. But thats the only similarity between Rhaenyra, Aegon II & Daenerys, Aegon VI.

•Rhaenyra has far more similarities with Cersei than dany.

Rhaenyra grew up learning the ways of monarchy & rule from her father Viserys. He allowed her to attend the small council meetings & she herself enjoyed rule.Cersei also grew up learning from Tywin, not necessarily about right ways of rule but more of the Lannister cunning intelligence, that she used very well in S07.

Rhaenyra married Laenor Velaryon upon her father's word for it.Cersei married Robert Baratheon upon Tywin's word for it.

Rhaenyra had 3 children with Laenor just like cersei had with Robert.Rhaenyra's children looked nothing like her or her husband to which people suspected they were actually Ser Harwin Strong's Bastard children. Just like cersei's children were known to be Ser Jaime Lannister's bastard children.

Both Rhaenyra & cersei's first husbands died pretty embarrassingly, robert by a boar attack & Laenor in a petty squabble. Then both of the women married sinisterly powerful men, Rhaenyra married her Uncle Daemon Targaryen, who was known to be most dangerous man in Westeros & Cersei didn't marry yet but intends to marry Euron Greyjoy (in the show atleast) who is the most dangerous captain on the seas!

Both Rhaenyra & Cersei along with their sinister second husband/partners captured the enemy duo of a mother & daughter. Rhaenyra captured Alicent Hightower & Halaena Targaryen & Cersei captured Ellaria Sand & Tyene Sand.

Rhaenyra named her council Black council for the color of her dress. Cersei didn't name anything black but her entire entourage Qyburn, Euron, handmaidens & her Queensguard are dressed in black.

There are many more parallels between them if you want to read more go here.

For the Brief Hour that Cregan Stark ruled as Hand of King can be similar to Ned Stark ruling as Hand of King only two Stark Lords to have attained that position. They have a couple of parallels as well.

▪Aegon the Conqueror with teats!

"She is the widow of a Dothraki Khal, a mother of dragons & sacker of cities, Aegon the Conqueror with teats."

-Tyrion Lannister ADWD

•There are parallels of Daenerys's conquest of Westeros being similar to that of Aegon the Conqueror's conquest. I don't need to write another account to describe it we all saw this parallel come to life in S07. Dany claimed the seat of Dragonstone & from there launched her assault on the Iron Throne. Field of fire 2.0, & Jon Snow, King in the North bending the knee to Daenerys Targaryen similar to Torrhen Stark, King in the North bending the knee to Aegon Targaryen.

•But perhaps its worth pointing that The Conquest of Seven Kingdoms was ultimately a Conquest of Absolute Power. Throughout the Targaryen rule their power was always contested by some or the other force. From the coronation of Aegon I Targaryen to the Fall of Aerys II Targaryen, the Targaryen dynasty never really held absolute power. Dorne, Dance of Dragons, Blackfyre Rebellions upto Roberts Rebellion their power was easily challenged or divided. Which means the conquest was never fulfilled & they never had Absolute Power. So, daenerys coming to Westeros isn't her restarting the already ongoing conquest. Daenerys wants the iron throne so she can restore her family to power, the power her family never fully achieved.

Hence, the Conquest never ended either for it to begin again.

▪The First Long Night & Coming of the Others..

And then on top everything Long Night along with the others has returned after 8,000 years to get god knows what, due to unknown reasons! No one alive in Westeros knows how the First Long Night ended, whether it even ended or just subsided for the meanwhile under a Promise/Pact of a sort, that was violated triggering the return of the others after thousands of years. If it is to believe there is a deeper cause behind this invasion than just mass destruction then mayhaps the Long Night never ended either. It Just laid dormant with the others on the northern side of the wall under a parley!?

"Truths the First Men knew, forgotten now in Winterfell ... but not in the wet wild."

-Jojen Reed ADWD Bran III

Season 7 was a mixture of Dance of Dragons (Cersei heavily paralleling Rhaenyra), Aegon's conquest (Dany's Storyline) & Long Night (Both Jon & Bran's Storylines). Hence this quote by our in house enigmatic..

".. Every possible series of events is happening all at once. Live that way and nothing will surprise you. Everything that happens will be something that you’ve seen before."

-Lord Petyr Baelish (GOTS07E03)

This quote by little finger is perhaps the most grimm philosophical natured words he has ever spewed. Also this was a nod by D&D to the nature of the story. Little Finger isn't a POV character in the books much of his character has been written by D&D for the show & they've always written his character being miraculously aware of how the world works. It's hard to say whether Little Finger himself knew how impactful his words were to the overall story..

"Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a Ladder."

-Lord Petyr Baelish S03E06

"People die at their dinner tables. They die in their beds. They die squatting over their chamber pots. Everybody dies sooner or later. And don't worry about your death. Worry about your life. Take charge of your life for as long as it lasts."

-Lord Petyr Baelish S04E08

"In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you've planned for them. Mark that well, Alayne. It's a lesson that Cersei Lannister still has yet to learn"

-Lord Petyr Baelish AFFC

As Baelish said, every possible series of events is happening all at once then perhaps DOD, Conquest & Long Night were happening all the time we watched GOT or read the books. Which means..

Cersei's storyline from the first time we are introduced to her in the books till the the last scene of hers in S07 has been heavily paralleling DOD.

Daenerys's storyline since she rose from the ashes as the unburnt, mother of dragons has been Paralleling the Conquest.

Jon's storyline has always lead him towards the wall, the others & Long Night.

If indeed History repeats itself, it has been repeating itself for quite a while now. Since all these three storylines have converged in S07, all is indeed happening at the same time & it makes zero sense that Dance of Dragons 2.0 will begin again between two characters (jon & dany), whose own storylines hasn't been culminated yet while DOD has been ongoing with cersei. The convergence of these storylines before the endgame only means that these storylines are gonna culminate not begin again in any other form.

Need more proof as to why DOD 2.0 has nothing to do with daenerys.. then lets see how DOD ended. With a deathmatch of winged Dragons, deaths of Rhaenyra & of Aegon II, who was Rhaenyra's half brother, who also was the one who killed his sister. Doesn't this Remind you of something? Oh yeah..

Oh almost forgot the main reason that kept House Targaryen from falling apart after the destruction in DOD, the marriage of Aegon III & Jaehaera Targaryen. Ahem!

How do you think the conquest will end?

"The only way to gain power in a world that is moving too fast is to learn to slow down."

-Marianne Williamson, the gift of change

The only way to end the Conquest is to leave the conquest. To break the wheel.

"We both want to help people, we can only do it from a position of strength, sometimes strength is terrible"

The fact that jon asked "So what now?" as if they are in this together. As he initially proposed in the cave. That her mission to avenge her family is his as well, & his mission to defend the North, the realm against the threat of the white walkers is hers. This scene is a subtle nod to how their alliance is true & deeper than just a military alliance.

So when two people who don't want strength for the sake of strength or power for the sake of power, but for the sake of a Greater Good, are working together towards their same goals. But gets hit by a hurdle in the shape of a truth from the past (R+L=J), which will be a bombshell revelation for everyone not just J&D. They might even for the time being drift away from each other.. While the Night King is dropping by to say hello along with his entire army, dragon & giants combined. When the very embodiment of death will be on their doorstep how much do you think will a throne or its power matter to anyone?! Daenerys can't win this without Jon & Jon can't win this without daenerys. They will have to come together against a common enemy.

"He Loved Her. & She Loved Him.. "

All this 👆 is exclusive of the prediction that Daenerys is most likely going to get pregnant, which will strengthen their bond even more.. So neither is Jon going to be a Betrayer or Dany the Villain/Foolish victim of the story..

"I know that she spent her childhood in exile, impoverished, living on dreams & schemes, running from one city to the next, always fearful, never safe, friendless but for a brother who was by all accounts half-mad .... a brother who sold her maidenhood to the Dothraki for the promise of an army. I know that somewhere out upon the grass her dragons hatched, & so did she. I know she is proud. How not? What else was left her but pride? I know she is strong. How not? The Dothraki despise weakness. If daenerys had been weak, she would've perished with Viserys. I know she is fierce. Astapor, Yunkai, & meereen are proof enough of that. She has crossed the grasslands & the red waste, survived assassins & conspiracies & fell sorceries, grieved for a brother & a husband & a son, trod the cities of the slaves to dust beneath her dainty sandaled feet.

You are the last of her line, & this Mother of Dragons, this Breaker of Chains, is above all a rescuer."

-Tyrion Lannister ADWD

".. She walked as close to Jon Snow as she dared, close enough to feel the mistrust pouring off him like a black fog. He does not love me, will never love me, but he will make use of me. Well & good. Melisandre had danced the same dance with Stannis Baratheon, back in the beginning. In truth, the young Lord Commander & her king had more in common than either one would be willing to admit. Stannis had been a younger son living in the shadow of his elder brother, just as Jon Snow, bastard-born, always eclipsed by his true born sibling, the fallen hero men had called the Young Wolf. Both men were unbelievers by nature, mistrustful, suspicious. The only gods they truly worshipped were Honor and Duty.

-Melisandre (thoughts) ADWD

"Love is the bane of honor, the death of duty. What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms ... Or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind & words. Wind & words. We are only human, & the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, & our great tragedy."

-Maester Aemon AGOT

If daenerys indeed ends up with a child, jon's child then Maester Aemon was effing Socrates of the seven kingdoms. His wise words predicted his Great-great- grand nephew's future in the very first book itself! 👆

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

#anti political jon #anti mad queen daenerys #anti character assassination #pro jon snow #pro daenerys #s8 prediction #endgame prediction #anti targ!bowl #anti dance of dragons 2.0 #aegon x daenerys #jonerys #jon x dany #anti cracksa #targaryen restoration #jon x daenerys

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sureuncertainty · 8 years

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You are the actual greatest, did you know that? Long post alert ahead!!

- Antony D loves classical music and orchestral stuff but would never admit it - Angel has freckles but they’re not visible usually bc she hides them under her makeup - Gene is the youngest of three (a brother and sister) and Emma is an only child - Roma A’s favorite band is Fall Out Boy - Antony A enjoys headbanging to rock music when he’s home alone

- Idk why I’m going with a music theme here, but the Johnston sisters are huge fans of Taylor Swift and have total dance parties in their room late at night and stuff - Gene’s mother was Chinese and his father was Italian hence his looks, and their surname - Antony A plays guitar - Angel is the shortest of my characters, at around 5’2”, and wears heels all the time to make herself taller - Emma tends to drive recklessly

- Roma D and Randy break up before they graduate high school - How to Train Your Dragon is Roma and Antony A’s favorite movie - Roma A and Angel bond over their love for horror movies, the bloodier the better (because they’re weird) - Roma D is afraid of the dark and loud noises, always has been and always will be - Emma and Gail are good friends

- Emma loves Disney, grew up on the classics, and takes the whole fam to Disneyland eventually. She basically goes back to her happy self whenever she’s at Disney or watching Disney movies - Roma A’s favorite Disney movie when she was younger was Peter Pan, and her favorite princess is Mulan - Gene is afraid of dogs- Roma D gets carsick ridiculously easy - The Romas have hazel/brown eyes, the Antonys and Emma have blue eyes, Addie has brown, Lucy grey, Angel blue, Gene dark brown, and Leigh green

- Angel’s natural hair color is light blonde but she bleaches it to make it even lighter - All of my characters were bullied at some point in their lives - Emma cuts her hair short soon after the events of my book (I just always draw her with the hair bun ‘cause it’s what I’m used to haha) - Antony and Lucy totally get married. Not sure about Antony and Addie - Roma A does manage to graduate high school only a year late

- Lucy and Addie’s favorite Disney movie ever is Frozen, it’s their comfort movie, and their go-to for movie nights - Roma D is also ace, but she’s biromantic - In fact, perhaps it would be easier to list the straight characters in my book, that is, the Antonys, Gene, and the Johnston sisters - Emma is taller than Gene - I know I’ve been hardcore shipping Roma A and Angel but I have decided that while Angel def has a huge crush on her friend, they don’t actually end up together because the feeling is not entirely mutual.

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zoradabbs7347-blog · 7 years

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Asia Company Ethics

LONDON (News Agency) - Solar system's icy moon Enceladus could contain watery below ground caves, forming a possible home for alien life, researchers said on Wednesday. If this were a real concern, however, the noticeable quick solution will be actually the moon. The Moon could certainly not think comfy along with the large volume from freedom the Uranus individual needs to have. If you don't accept that the moon is acting in a quantum manner, that is actually a bit like claiming that red blood cells absorb oxygen but the body all at once does not. That is about each year as well as a fifty percent that the moon goes through free throw line that goes from the earth to the sunshine, according to the video recording The Sunlight, portion of time 1 of the Universe set. A Blue Moon may possess a going along with drama affixed to this yet how much astrology importance does it have in itself is up for discussion. Chinese New Year 2014 begins on the time from the brand-new moon which is the 1st time of the 1st month from the year inning accordance with the Chinese calendar and ends on the full moon 15 times eventually culminating in a. traditional Lantern Event. The moon influences our feelings since the moon determines water; just like the moon results in the tides, that uses a pull on the watered-down elements from our body system, and also our experts feel this Http://Amyblog-Slimbody.Info/Attention-Choisissez-Vous-Aussi-A-Un/ as feelings. If you overeat once in a blue moon: carry out n`t sweat this. One lapse is n`t heading to undo every little thing you have actually worked for. This suggests the Earth deals with ONLY 2 ° from the skies from the Moon (the Moon is 1/2 ° in our skies). Following their meeting, Moon declared that North Korea possessed one final chance to take part in conversation with the outdoors prior to it was actually entirely trimmed. Difficulty is actually, Moon is actually a financial conservativist that does not as if Obama's income tax planning as well as a pro-choice secular voter who does not as if McCain's social ranks or even his vice governmental running mate, Alaskan Gov. You'll be able to see these differences in the sunshine as well as moon tattoo design designs in this particular write-up. They had significant airfoils and around, hideous skins; their tongues were constantly mingling, and also they possessed sizable, tusk-like pearly whites. This implies both the Planet as well as the Moon are comprised from the very same material, and also hence Theia and also Planet's make-up were effectively blended. This lunar pattern goes as follows: brand new moon very first quarter full moon final fourth brand new moon. The Fountain Pub as well as Dining establishment is the nearby food items quit coming from heaven Gap and also uses a wide array of activities, featuring horseback riding, swimming, dance as well as, of course, good food items. Astronomy brings in no try to associate the stars, earths, or even moon along with results upon human behavior. The strength from the colour of a blood-red moon baseds on the volume of particle matter overhead; the much more, the bloodier. Bob: So our team are actually visiting arrive on the moon someplace around right here close to where the Apollo space probe landed at the celestial equator.

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drjacquescoulardeau · 7 years

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QUENTIN TARANTINO – OLIVER STONE – NATURAL BORN KILLERS – 1994

This film is both cultish and scandalous, if not horrifying. A standard viewer in a standard audience would react along three main lines according to their belief whether the film is a true story or not. Imagine two young people who in three weeks killed fifty-two people. And it all ends in a prison riot and a prison break that leaves dozens of people dead in the prison. I will stick to the director’s cut and its official ending, not the alternative ending. In this official ending the couple survives after their prison break by getting underground and lives a long happy life with something like three children, the whole family living in a mobile-home moving from mobile-home camp to mobile-home camp and you can imagine if they moved often they would not attract too much attention and could easily blend into the American landscape, social or not.

The first reactive line would be: “It is a true story and it is a frightening fact that such people do exist in our society and they get to killing dozens of people if they can on a very regular basis.” The feeling then is a feeling of fear, the simple fear that one day you may find yourself in a public place where such a mass killer would turn up and start shooting. But let me be clear: that is NOT terrorism. That is pure mass killing and the causes are not some political or even social objective. It is the result of a mentally deranged psyche and that deranged person has been through various causes evoked in the film: disrupted family, unemployment, family violence from the father, alcoholism, very often abuse from one parent onto the children, boys or girls indifferently, father or mother indifferently too, and at times the monetization of this abuse onto the children with outside grown-ups paying for the opportunity. And you have to keep in mind in such a situation a child who needs contact, physical contact and love will accept anything that will provide him or her with that contact and that love, even if it is more rape and exploitation than love. How can he or she know?

The second reactive line would be: “It’s a true story and our police is ineffective to stop such criminals, when they are white at least, and the people I work with or I meet in the street or who just go along in the street might be such sick killers ready to start again anytime.” Here fear is amplified by the obvious ineffectiveness of the police to protect me, you, us all against such sick people who find pleasure in killing other people including children. This is paranoia for such viewers of such films, but this paranoia is quite justified in real life, even if such crimes are marginal, even if we take into account terrorism which is nothing but mass killing with a political, religious or ideological dressing. Mass killers, particularly terrorist mass killers do not survive nowadays: they explode themselves or kill themselves after doing their “business”; they are killed on the spot during the attack by some security force; or they are killed in the manhunt that follows their escape. In such situation the police seem to generalize the attitude of theirs towards Black offenders: Kill first, even with five bullets like in Saint Louis in 2011, and ask questions later, if you have any time to waste. So you can imagine the fear of viewers who know some of these mass criminals or mass murderers do survive and get underground.

Watching such movies for people who are slightly paranoid on the subject of mass murderers, serial killers, or mass criminals is like people who are prone to experiencing vertigo in some situations and who cross the Grand Canyon on a flimsy pedestrian rope bridge, if possible on a windy day and looking down over the ropes, or between their legs to the river a few hundred yards lower. But it takes all sorts of fearful people to feed the paranoia of our consumer society.

The third line is to know this film is fictional and then the fear is only short lived and the end of the film will give a tremendous relief with a big sigh: “That sure was a good film. I nearly wet myself. But let’s get an ice cream cone to push the film down.” That’s why fiction is so useful: to provide people with fears and other emotions that they might never experience for real in humdrum everyday life.

But, surprise, surprise! The film was an obvious fictional story based on a real couple of mass murderers. “The horrific murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his fourteen-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate ended much like bank-robbing folk heroes Bonnie and Clyde—in a hail of bullets. The only difference was that both Fugate and Starkweather survived and were finally apprehended after leaving eleven people dead in their wake—including Fugate’s parents and her two-year-old sister who Starkweather stabbed to death.” (http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_real_mickey_and_mallory_candid_pics_of_mass-murderer)

So enjoy the film, wet your panties and survive the experience. Do not compensate with eating too much popcorn. Keep some appetite for the T bone steak of tonight after the film. You will imagine it is a T bone steak cut out of Charles Starkweather’s side, and that will be a really good experience: subliminal cannibalism.

Technically the film is great because we never know if it is a real film or if it is some kind of collection of TV shows, news programs, documentaries, in situ reports, oscillating between the black and white of old archive documents and the colors of modern coverage, but after all at times it looks as if the black and white sequences were the color-blind vision of one of the two murderers who could not see the world the way it was but only the way they like it: as a shooting target alternating black and white circles.

Have a good trip!

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

Older Review, AMAZON.xxx, JANUARY 16, 2007 WHY NOT KILL THEM AT BIRTH, OR EVEN BEFORE? (Amazon.com) THE DEMONSTRATION IS SIMPLISTIC, NAIVE, CRUEL AND CONSERVATIVE (Amazon.co.uk) KILLING IS A SOCIAL TRAINED FATALITY AND CURSE (IMDb)

This is Apocalypto in the all-American modern version. Our society produces, be they born or not born, a whole fringe of killers that absolutely know what is wrong or right, good or bad, but who do not care a fig about it, even if at times they do not find any pleasure in murdering.

The film explores the destiny of a couple of two young people who meet by accident but find in themselves so many common alienations and frustrations based on about the same social, cultural and personal environment : sexual abuse and violence from parents, rejection from society, total lack of care and help in education that is inexistant or social counselling that is just impotent.

They end up taking what they want by force since it is not provided to them free. But the film goes a lot further. It analyzes the role of the media that systematically sell paper and prime time advertising with this showing of violence and with fake or unfake interviews of murderers and other criminals. The lower, the better. The nastier, the more profitable. The bloodier, the tastier.

Then the film also shows that the prison system is a system of incarceration and containment, in no way of reform, education and improvement. These prisoners are there to survive because no one dares execute them all. They are the sacrificial victims of society that needs them to regenerate its lost virginity, purity and morality. They are the sacrificial victims of a god that has nothing to envy the Maya gods. This god is the god of selfish greedy consumerism.

Till it explodes. And the official end of the film shows that such criminals can disappear in society forever, and they are then living among us unknown and unseen. The alternative ending shows that you need the intervention of an angel to execute these criminals. The film preaches and advocates that these criminals are natural born killers, hence that they will never be anything else, hence that they have to be purely and simply executed as soon as they are noticed and as fast as possible to avoid as many victims as possible, why not at birth ?

This vision of crime in our society is criminal in itself because it produces the criminals concerned by considering there is no other way, it is their fate and ours.

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

#mass murder #violence #molestation #rape #guns #prison riot #prison break

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