#or are white people like? weird and incapable of recognizing mixed people?

[saintjasper]

are white people crazy? like are white people fucking blind? because i’ll see the most indigenous looking person on the planet and some white mf will be like “you’re literally white” like ???? what ???????? are you talking about ????

[foursideharmony]

Mana-Shock

Everybody—well, @today-only-happens-once and many of her followers—has been shipping Virgil with magical exhaustion lately; what choice did I have? Only I figured I'd up the ante: life-threatening magical exhaustion! And then the whole thing got away from me. Whoops!

Genre: Fantasy AU, drama

Word Count: 2,395

Summary: Sorcerer!Virgil overdoes it while fighting a demon. Like, way overdoes it.

Ship: Platonic LAMP (Roman-centric)

Warnings: Exhaustion of various kinds and degrees. Risk of death/mention of dying. Very minor blood. Food. I think that's it.

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At last, it was almost over. That much was definite. But it still remained to be seen which way it would end.

Dark energy rippled across the battlefield in waves, each one striking the demon with nigh-cataclysmic force. It was a wonder, Roman thought, that Virgil was still holding himself upright, even with Patton bolstering him. Humans weren't meant to channel that much energy of any type at once, let alone Dark energy...but then again, Virgil wasn't entirely human, was he? Roman couldn't remember how far back the demon ancestor was—five or six generations, something like that, it didn't really matter, he was human enough, he had a soul, they'd proven it—but Virgil was certainly drawing on every scrap of that heritage, turning the demon's own power back on it. It was Logan who had figured out the key to defeating it, and Roman who had chiseled way at its physical form until it was vulnerable to sorcery, but only Virgil could properly handle the energy infusing its lair, having soaked in just from the dread being's presence over a period of time.

Virgil was hammering the demon with its own leftover energy...and it was costing him. Oh, was it costing him. They had known it would, that a demon this size would never go down easy, even if they had discovered how to destroy it, but Virgil hadn't hesitated to volunteer. It had to be done, so he would do it.

Roman was starting to think he had never grasped the true meaning of courage until now. It was easy to be “brave” when you had inherited the Sovereign Sword (against which no evil can stand!) and an Achilles Amulet—when your own survival was all but assured and your personal victory was more than likely. Virgil was stepping up even in the absence of such guarantees, and Roman felt a little ashamed to have considered himself a hero by comparison.

The demon roared—an oddly metallic sound—and flinched back a few paces. Virgil continued to press the attack. Shorn of its physical form, the demon was incapable of striking back as long as Virgil's assault continued, which meant the entire venture hung upon his stamina. If he held out long enough to destroy the demon, they would win. If not, it would recover and they would fail. And probably all die. So far, so good...but then it happened.

Patton's spell—the twin gold-white auras as he funneled his own spare mana to Virgil, to help him keep going under the onslaught of the tremendous power he was manipulating—flickered and went out. Patton staggered against a tree, panting, his face ghostly white and slick with sweat. “I—I'm spent!” he gasped. “No more left!”

Now Virgil was on his own, energy-wise. So he planted his feet ever more firmly and, with a faint growl, doubled his channeling rate.

The entire space of the forest glade seemed to warp and twist as the Dark energy was sucked from the environment and beamed back at its original source. The demon let out a wheedling whine; Virgil answered with a wordless roar. And Roman felt like a moron for thinking the young sorcerer had been tapping fully into his demonic heritage before, because now his teeth were lengthening and sharpening before all of their eyes, and his fingers were extending into claws, and there was a faint purplish glow coming from his eyes that seemed to somehow infuse certain things in the glade, causing the sorrel blossoms and the white mushrooms and Roman's own jacket to glow in response.

“This is insane!” Logan wailed. “He can't possibly—”

And then two things happened at more-or-less the same moment.

The demon exploded...well, no, exploded was the wrong word. It blew away, like the ashes of burning paper in a stiff wind, but the wind seemed to come from within it, blowing outward in all directions. Either way, it dissipated, hopefully destroyed but if not, then at least banished back to the Nether Realm of its origin.

And Virgil collapsed.

There was no dignity to it—he simply folded up, one second wobbling on his feet and the next sprawled on the moss, motionless. The other three let out shouts of horror and scrambled to his side. Patton, stiff with fatigue, fumbled in his pouch for his Heart's Eye while Logan checked Virgil's vital signs on the mundane level.

“How bad is it?” Roman asked.

“Bad,” Logan said flatly. Virgil's skin was so drained of color that it appeared almost gray, and his breath came in shallow, rattling gasps. Patton found the crystal he was looking for and peered through it at the fallen sorcerer.

“No...” he murmured, “...no, no, please! Virgil!”

“What?” Roman begged.

“His aura...it's gone!”

“Mana-shock,” Logan nearly whispered. “He completely drained himself. He's dying.”

“No—he can't—we have to do something!” Roman protested. “A mana transfer can save him, can't it?”

“Transfer from where?” Patton said mournfully. “I'm all tapped out, and you and Logan aren't mages. All we can do now is try to keep him comfortable.” He shrugged off his sky-blue cloak and laid it over Virgil like a blanket.

“We still have mana,” Roman pointed out. “We just don't know how to access it at will.”

“And therefore, we cannot offer it for transfer,” Logan said.

“Well, I don't accept that!” Roman barked, springing to his feet. “I'll—we—I...how much time does he have?”

Patton shrugged. “An hour, two hours at most. His power has already started feeding on his base life-force. Once that's gone...so is he.”

“Time enough,” Roman said. “I will figure out how to access my mana and save him! I swear it!”

He strode away from the somber group, his mind racing. Gaining conscious access to one's mana wasn't exactly easy—otherwise everyone would be a mage—but it wasn't exactly hard either. What it was, was unique to each person, to the point of near-randomness—some people found their technique in desperate circumstances (such as this, he thought glumly), while others stumbled across theirs while letting their minds wander. And every mage described their mana differently. Patton compared his to the reservoir of water underneath a kitchen and himself to the pump, while Virgil (oh gods, Virgil) had always said that using his was more like stepping backward into a shadow and letting it flow into and through him. Roman's sword instructor, Mr. Leo, said that for a battle-mage like himself, mana was just one more weapon in the arsenal, with its own associated fighting stances and moves, there to be taken out when needed and put away afterward.

A sudden thought struck Roman. He drew the Sovereign Sword and stared at it. Its light was subdued, without a nearby force of evil to contend with, but he could still feel its power humming, rattling him right down to the marrow of his bones. His eyes widened with realization.

He rushed back to the others, waving the Sword recklessly in his excitement. “I've got it! Sword! Mana!”

“Slow down,” said Logan.

Roman took a moment to get his words in order, giving him more than enough opportunity to take in the scene—as he had left it, more or less, except that Virgil's breaths had gotten weaker and his discoloration more pronounced. Even an hour was looking like a long shot.

“The Sovereign Sword uses the wielder's mana to trigger its powers,” Roman explained. “I can't tap my mana on purpose, but the Sword can! Can we use that somehow?”

Patton blinked. Then he blinked again, furrowing his brow. “Maybe I can...” he said in a voice that barely dared to hope. “Bring it here.”

Roman offered the Sword to Patton, but the healer only lightly grasped the blade, positioning his thumb on the edge so that it barely nicked the skin. He closed his eyes as a bead of blood welled up around the steel, and Roman recognized in his posture and breathing the signs of the slightest degree of meditative trance. After a moment, Roman felt a minute nudge at the core of his being, and Patton's eyes flew open again.

“Yes! I might be able to use it as a conduit! Oh! Quick! Roman, here, hold it so the tip rests just over his heart, like so! Logan, more trail mix please!”

Logan pulled a small muslin bag out of his pack and tossed it to Patton, who poured nuts and dried fruit from it directly into his mouth, hastily chewing and swallowing. Then he shifted position, taking hold of the Sovereign Sword again and wincing as the sharp edge settled back into the cut on his thumb.

“Okay, Roman,” he said. “This won't hurt. But your mana's not used to being tapped in this way and it might resist. If you feel a sudden urge to pull back, you need to..,to not do it, okay?”

“Okay,” Roman said, his voice cracking slightly.

“Logan? Please watch Roman for signs of exhaustion. It shouldn't take much of his mana to give Virgil a chance, but if it fights too hard, he could still be at risk, and I won't have the instinctive sense of when to stop like I would transferring my own mana. If Roman looks like he's in danger of passing out or anything, make us stop. I won't risk anyone else.”

“Of course,” said Logan.

Patton paused, using his free hand to stroke Virgil's bangs away from his ashen face. “Hang in there just a bit longer, kiddo,” he said. “We've got a plan to save you after all.”

They began. Roman hadn't known what to expect, but he was startled anyway at the sensation of something grabbing at his core, exactly where the nudge had been earlier. He started to flinch away from it, but stopped himself just in time. Still, it felt weird, like ghostly fingers fidgeting around inside his soul and flicking away bits of it. The remaining portion throbbed in protest and tried to push the fingers away, and it took all of Roman's will power to overrule the urge. He felt a whimper escape his lips.

“Patton, this is hurting him,” came Logan's voice, distant and fuzzy, as if coming through layers of wool.

“No!” he gasped. “Keep going! I'm all right!”

“His mana is fighting harder than I expected,” Patton said wearily. His voice, oddly, was as clear as a bell. “I don't know if...”

“Keep going!” Roman said again, even though he was starting to feel light-headed. “We can't fail!”

And with that, it was as if a window opened up before him, and beyond the window was a table, and on the table was an ornate oil lamp, its flame burning bright and strong. A breeze, somehow visible, was flitting in and out of the window, plucking at the flame, which flickered evasively. Roman understood at once, and he reached through the window, scooped up half the flame, and handed it to the breeze, which fluttered off somewhere. The window slammed shut.

Roman opened his eyes just long enough to see Virgil suddenly draw in a deep, desperate breath. Then the trees of the glade closed in and everything faded to black.

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Roman awoke, and there was a window. But this time it was his bedroom window, and the light coming through it was morning sunlight. He felt heavy and slow, and it took some more waking up for him to realize that it was because someone had left three or four extra blankets on top of him.

A tidal wave of memory engulfed him and he sat bolt upright, flinging the blankets away. His head spun but he ignored the sensation. “Virgil!”

“Roman?” came Patton's muffled voice from the other side of the door. “Was that you I heard?”

“Yes...?” Roman replied. “You can come in if you want.”

Patton opened the door and entered, carrying a tray of some kind of pastry. Roman's stomach growled, but the vertigo chose that moment to reassert itself and he dropped back onto the pillows. “How are you feeling?” Patton asked.

“Pretty wiped out,” Roman confessed. “But forget about me. What about—?”

“—Virgil?” Patton beamed. “He's going to be all right. We saved him—you saved him. I don't know how, but you gave me more than enough mana to transfer without killing yourself. Now here—eat up, build back what you lost. I brought you some cheese-and-berry tarts. They're loaded with calories and nutrients, just like my trail mix.”

“Not sure I'm up to eating just yet,” Roman muttered. “If Virgil is all right...can I see him?”

“If you like,” said Patton, “but he won't have anything to say. He'll probably sleep for a couple more days yet.” Roman made a noncommittal grunt and Patton hastily continued, “Aw, don't look so crestfallen, kiddo! You accomplished something amazing yesterday! How did you do it, anyway?”

Roman opened his mouth to reply, but found the memory of how he had accessed his mana flowing away from him. Something about a window and...a candle? “I...don't remember,” he admitted. “I guess I'm still not a mage.”

“Well, that's okay. Mage or not, you're the best swordfighter I've ever known. And you're also a hero. We still have our dear friend because you wouldn't give up even when it seemed hopeless, and because you put yourself at risk for him.”

“I thought you'd be mad at me about that, actually,” Roman said. “You didn't want me to take that risk; I remember that much.”

“Wellllllll...it all worked out for the best, so I can't be too upset,” said Patton. “I might feel differently later, but we can cross that bridge when we get there. Now eat up; get your strength back. I've got the kettle on and I'll bring you some tea as soon as it's ready.”

“Actually,” Roman said with a yawn, “I think I need some more rest first.”

“Suit yourself. I'll leave the tarts here for you; promise me you'll eat something when you wake up again?”

“Sure thing, Pat,” Roman said. His eyelids drooped.

He had drifted off again before Patton was fully out of the room, a flame burning resolutely in the darkness.

[bewarethewolfarmy]

(Soooo

Despite my laptop dying on Wednesday and trying to take my whole novel for NaNoWriMo with it

It didn’t succeed

Because I have a smart phone, a Notepad app, the ability to get music from Amazon Music, and the kind of writing spirit that is incapable of being destroyed by anything less than my actual physical death (and let’s face it; I’ll probably write as a ghost too, come on)

So I wrote

My NaNo entries

For Three Fucking Days

On My three by five inch touch screen

And I wrote

Over 5570 words all together

@xshenanigansx a present for you but for everyone else too who wants to see what madness and pure undying determination (and apparently a destiny to be a writer) can do; the full manuscript of three days

"Who are you people?" The guard asked with a serious expression looking at the trio.

"What a rude man he is," Cheshy half purred and dismounted from his horse, confusing Tsuki; she furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak, to make a comment about it but before the words could even start to leave her Luka had done the same and both stood now stood before her. Between her and the guard whose eyes simply widened and stared at them.

She wasn't sure if it was this weird world or if it was a case of something else, if they were being affected negatively or changed in some way but there was something strange in the way they stood, straighter than she thought normal for them, looked more serious than she ever remembered seeing them be. Cheshy was grinning but it wasn't his normal grin, it wasn't playful, mischevious, anything of the like.

"Very rude," Luka said and for his part he wasn't exactly giving off the friendliest vibes either, emerald eyes half glowing as magic danced at his fingertips, sparks of light that her eyes caught but the man before them, he seemed completely unaware of.

"You stand before Her Royal Majesty Queen Tsukkuyomi Alexia Kokuryuu of the kingdom of Lucinia," the cat knight continued and stepped towards the guard, "It would be in your best interest to show her respect and allow us to pass."

"H-how do I know you're telling the truth?" He asked and though he shook now, obviously intimidated, he tried to stand his ground and not let either man scare him too much.

"I can vouch for them." A fourth voice rang out and she looked towards where she believes it to have come from.

She recognized him but just barely. The boy, man, wasn't wearing the Fujiwara Academy uniform and somehow he looked even more grim and unfriendly than when she'd met him before the dive into this new world but Twili's eyes and general face hadn't changed. It was still him; now though he wore a long red robe, his hair tidy, pulled back into a ponytail behind him. The guard looked at him and froze up, looking somehow more terrified of the newcomer Twili than even either Cheshy or Luka; Tsuki would have laughed if she honestly found any of this anywhere near funny.

"Grand Master Twilis," the guard said and turned from the knights who looked just a bit annoyed and to Tsuki and finally back to him, "I-I..."

"Leave," Twili said harshly and the guard seemed to not be able to run fast enough; the four found themselves alone quickly and he was quiet for a moment before turning to them with a frown, "What took you so long to get here you idiots?"

"Lucinia is supposed to be a day's ride from here; I like to believe we got here pretty fast actually," Luka said with a mild snort and tilted his head, "So what are you, the jester?"

"I am King Aleidas' most trusted advisor and you three should show more respect; you are in Cord'e Rever now, you should at least try to act like you didn't come from another world."

"Except we did," Tsuki said raising an eyebrow.

"Another world from another world actually," Cheshy piped put not actually trying to help either.

Twili rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Come on you three; Aleidas and that female friend of yours have been waiting."

"Natsume's here then?" That news certainly made Tsuki feel better, knowing her friend was safe though there were still questions and part of her felt bad, not for annoying Twili, but for making Natsume and Aleidas wait for her like this.

He simply nodded and walked off, going towards what looked to be a secondary way in. Luka and Cheshy led their horses and Tsuki's inside, the queen taking a moment to look around again. The gates of Kings' Rest were massive but what interested her the most at the moment was the humming. Namely that it had stopped; she wasn't sure why or how but it had and she was left curious; she said nothing about it though, keeping what might just have been madness to herself.

Twili spoke not a single word more to them and perhaps out of a need for conversation Cheshy spoke to Luka, "You know how I knew you were Norse?"

"Because I act really low key?" Answered the silver haired knight smirking.

Tsuki bit her lip to keep back laughter in response. Luka took his chance, "You know that joke feels a bit catty."

Cheshy grinned wide and walked through a small gate with Gabriel and Mimir, Tsuki making sure to duck her head. "Really? Felines to me."

"Guys," she said though not nearly loud enough to stop either of them.

"You know I like this role," Cheshy purred head held high, "I've always thought of myself of more of a knight than a day after all."

"That was quite puncredible," Luka said shaking head, "But have you heard this one. Why was King Arthur's army so tired?"

"Because they had too many sleepless knights." Tsuki groaned and the cat went on, "What do you call a knight who doesn't like to fight?"

"Sir Render. Do you hear about the thunder god; he refuses to get up out of bed."

"Why's that?"

"Says he's too Thor."

"So I fell down the other day and this clown came by and helped me up."

"Oh what a kind jester."

"What did Theodore Roosevelt call his dog?"

"A ruff rider."

"Hey whats black and white and red as well?"

"Tsuki in a wedding dress?"

"Stop that," she said simply shaking her head at that one. From her perch on Minor she could practically see Twili silently vibrating and she was fairly certainly if she didn't stop the two soon they would end up dead; she knew very little about him but based on his serious demeanor it struck her that he likely didn't take much light out of the madness the two seemed so interested in involving themselves in. Luka looked at her and pouted some but Cheshy mimed zipping his lips though his eyes still blinkered mischeviously.

The city within the walls seemed similar enough to Hyperion, an energetic and warm sort of place. The people of course didn't recognize her or her knights, only knowing her apparent importance by the fact that she was riding a horse led by two young men. And that with her was Twili; their reaction was interesting because it was a mix. There was a sense that he was liked but while they didn't seem to hate him the merchants and common folk seemed to avoid getting close to him; as he passed by they stepped back, looks of reverence and of fear etched on their faces. Luka too seemed to notice and turned to look at Tsuki with a raised eyebrow but said nothing else.

In some ways it made the trek to the castle itself rather uncomfortable and Tsuki felt like fidgeting, feeling Mimir grow restless under her. When finally they got inside and the stablehands appeared to take the horses away Cheshy helped her down and she wiggled more than a little. The Cheshire Cat chuckled but continued to stay quiet though once she was back on solid ground he patted her head with not so much a sense of condescending but congrats. Like "Good job going nuts having to not only ride a horse all this distance but being led around by the two of us while we tried to annoy Twili into madness" or something along those lines.

"So where are Natsume and Aleidas?" She asked dusting herself and looking to said grand minister.

"In the throne room," he answered stiffly then looked at her, looking offended honestly, "I would recommend that you change clothes though before going before His Majesty-"

"Recommendation duly rejected," she said and picked up the front of her dress, starting towards the huge double wooden doors that led inside, "Simply take me to my friend and yours, we've wasted way too much time and I want to get this investigation underway before I get distracted more by this strange world."

"Somehow I'm struck with a wish to show you Underland," Cheshy mused quickly but both he and Luka followed after Tsuki as quickly as they could. Twili's frown grew and he half growled but rushed to get in front of the trio and take them to the place they so wished to go.

Aleidas' throne room was massive and Tsuki wondered suddenly what her own looked like; large crimson banners hung from the ways, embroidered with what looked to be a silver bird in flight above a tree branch. Tall stained glass windows filtered in light and Tsuki realized day was fading again here too. And at the end of the elegant room, long and echoing with two voices, sat Aleidas upon a throne and Natsume standing before him.

Tsuki thought at least. It was strange; Natsume's hair had been set with a French braid, tied behind her with a silken ribbon, a black feather and a silver one stuck under the rim of her own crown. She wore royal garb, silver and light blues sewn into deep red fabric, a beautiful dress that just brought attention to the fact that the leader of the Aucht was actually quite a beautiful young lady. Aleidas in his expensive clothes, fur, set upon his throne; there was something strange there too yet it was Natsume who had Tsuki's attention more and not him.

"Tsuki oh god!" Aleidas exclaimed and the fire Resini girl turned her head to look at Tsuki as well, eyes widening as he stood and rushed over to her, "what took so long? This isn't good!"

"I woke up in my own kingdom, it took some time to get here," she answered frowning as he put his hands on her shoulders, freezing up at the tight grip, "I'm here now though so its okay right?"

"Aleidas forgot to mention one really annoying thing," Natsume said arms crossed as she glared at him.

Tsuki furrowed her brow and turned her attention to him as well, watching as he shifted under their gazes.

"There's a time limit isn't there?" Cheshy chirped and she turned to him; he shrugged, "I assume at least. I mean there has to be right? Can't stay in a dream forever after all. Well you guys can't; my entire world is practically contained within dreams, I'm fine."

"Is that true, Aleidas?" Tsuki asked and fidgeted more, "Aleidas."

"Its necessary," Twili answered instead, hands folded behind his back, "We're not Zero; we don't want to trap you in the dreaming. We don't want to trap ourselves."

"It can be awfully tempting not to go back once you're here," Aleidas piped up, causing Tsuki to frown now too, "Its far too easy, when things are rough, to want to hide in the dreams, to forget everything else."

"You said that before too," she said and crossed her arms, "What exactly happened to you when you were young, when you tried to escape to here?"

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter, it was a foolish act by a foolish child. Its just important that you understand that its for the best if we enforce a limit to how long any of us are here in in this world. Its not like us not being consciously will change much but it is fortuitous that this world Temere exists on an opposite axis to Kagerou."

"I'm assuming you are talking about how it was night when we went to sleep in the school but day when I woke up here," she tried to translate; he nodded and Tsuki thought she might have it, "So basically we have until night fully falls here because that would mean in Kagerou it is day and we need to return then."

"Smart girl," Cheshy said and it would have seemed condescending if she didn't know him; he meant it but it meant little right now to her. As she turned her head to glance out the windows again she could see it visibly getting darker, close to night; because of ride over, something she felt no need to apologize to do so considering she hadn't been warned before about the time limit, they only had a short time left. This was far from ideal but she figured there was nothing to do but accept and work with what she had.

"Okay lets get to work then," Tsuki said, "tell me everything you know about this world, about your friend's roles, quickly."

Aleidas nodded again and smiled some. "Of course, my dear.

"This world is called Temere; it has three primary continents which we are on the largest Frei. Your kingdom Lucinia and this kingdom of Cord'e Rever are two of four kingdoms on Frei and yours is the smallest I believe. There is active magic here and its pretty much a stereotypical medieval fantasy sort of world with dragons and knights and wizards; my friend Rupert is a sorcerer who lives in town and I believe I told you how Jamie is... was a page to another friend of mine my kings knight Ignus. He currently has a different page and as I mentioned he doesn't remember Jamie... none of them remember Jamie," there was a moment of sadness, Aleidas hesitating before shaking his head and speaking again, "There are seven members of my group who are currently trapped: Rupert, Ignus, a blacksmith named Yates, Karas who lives in Sicoria one of the other Frei kingdom as one of their nobleman, a Lucianian citizen named Raven and Reika a witch from the Highlands. Plus Jamie of course but no one else remembers her and I can't find her anywhere and its really worrying me. What if the others disappear too?"

"Do you have any clues whatsoever to what might have happened?" Tsuki asked frowning as he shook his head, "What can you remember of the dive before Jamie got stuck?"

"It was routine; we met in our usual place in the school library, there's a hidden study room that if you're careful you can sneak into at night while Mrs. Helena isn't looking, and went in. There were the usual things, a sighting of someone we've been looking for-"

"And who would that be?" Natsume asked and Tsuki nearly jumped, having nearly forgotten the girl was even there; the young woman had come closer, head tilted some.

Aleidas looked to her. "A man named Daniel; he's a Dream Weaver too we suspect but whenever we've tried to talk to him he always disappears. He's older than any of us, probably in his twenties or thirties, long grey hair, one brown eye; his other one is gone I think, he wears an eyepatch. One of my scouts apparently came across him near the Highlands, that's a section of mountainous land just beyond out borders; its supposed to belong to the Granrie Empire but its nearly impossible to traverse and its filled with dangerous animals and individuals."

"Like your friend Reika," Tsuki mused, causing him to smile.

"Reika is really more an occasional ally than truly a friend; even at Fujiwara she's always been standoffish and more than a little cruel by nature. She's lived in the Highlands a long time and on occasion she's been known to agree to come to Cord'e Rever to help us with some serious issue. And she greatly dislikes the Granrie Empire but most do; they're the largest and most pompous of all of the four kingdoms, they pretty much epitomize the Evil Empire trope. They constantly try to take over Sicoria, Cord'e Rever and Lucinia but between Sicoria's Dragon King and Kings' Rest's immense defenses and your kingdom's uniquely powerful magic, plus the Highlands and Black Feather Forest, they have been for the most part kept at bay. Reika loves to mess with them; as he once turned a squadron of their forces into chickens and made a big thing out of trying to eat them. We were thirteen at the time, drove them back for a while though they have recently tried to come over here again."

Tsuki nodded some. "Got it. So you were looking for Daniel; anything else?"

"As I said the usual; there was really nothing different, nothing to point towards more of our number becoming stuck and then just disappearing all together."

"And with the others? Was there anything to tie between the dives that resulted in your friend's getting locked in?"

Aleidas looked to Twili, perhaps in no small part trying to get some backup in trying to remember. The more serious boy had his arms folded again and he growled lightly. "Hmm... there was one thing now that you mention. Though it's small, just something I remember Ignus saying before he became stuck too."

"Nothing is too small believe me," Tsuki said and stepped closer to him, gaze intense, "You never know what kind of detail came become something very important." Zero's handwriting, the suicide of a seemingly unrelated student, the smell on a deformed god's clothes, a fire from years ago or the way one person spoke about something; how many times had the tiny things led to the answer to the grand mystery on her hands? How many times had she followed a lead based on gut instinct and the thinnest of lines? If any of them would understand the importance of the small details it would be her, it would be the young detective who in the end always seemed to be solving everything by the grace of the little things.

Twili sighed and unfolded his arms. "He said.... he said that he thought he heard a bell ringing."

Tsuki awoke with a start. Every nerve in her body, every single cell, seemed alert, awake, and uncertain; her heart felt honestly like it was trying to tear through her chest, escape her form and leap onto the ground. Her wide eyes stared blankly at the ceiling of the crumbling school and it took her more than a few minutes to realize that sunlight was filtering through the cracks in the walls and through the windows.

And that Luka was laying on top of her in his human form, awakening seconds or maybe millennia after her; it was hard to tell, her body felt so electrified and heavy and it would seem at some point she'd laid down.

Luka jumped up, looking around wildly once more and his magic sparked around them. A gasp soon sounded, then a loud rather annoyed sounding mewl and she turned her attention to where cat form Cheshy was sprawled on the ground, stretching and checking his paws as if expecting them to be gone. Natsume was sitting up, reminding Tsuki to do the same, and on her head twitched two small black cat ears.

The Aucht leader narrowed her eyes, looking around. "Oh I am going to kill those two."

"A newborn kitten could have done a far smoother reentry," howled Cheshy and he shook his body vigorously, slowly transforming into his human form; long sharp claws clung to his now slender fingers and he huffed, "I mean really."

Luka rolled his head on his neck. "I'll admit I expected far better; considering all their practice they had to be able to handle bringing us back without causing us so much discomfort."

"Where are they anyway?" Tsuki asked far more concerned with that than the way she could feel the blood pumping through her fingers and toes. Well that and the thing Twili had mentioned of course.

"I have no idea," Cheshy said and stood up, flexing his limbs, "But assuming your assumption was correct we can't be sitting around here and worrying about them right now."

"And why is that, Lucianius?" Luka asked raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"Because its daylight, we have classes to get to and if any of us, least of all Tsuki or Natsume, are caught late or skipping or even tardy, we'll have more trouble on our hands than on Elizaveta's first birthday and Julianna decided the best party would be a beheading one."

Part of Tsuki wanted to try to unpack that one, if only because of the first mental image that came to mind, but she choose instead to focus on Natsume, going slightly pale, grabbing her arm and practically dragging Tsuki out of the room and out of the building as possible. Out of the corner of her eyes the swordsgirl noted the way that small sparks flew about, threatening fire but never actually catching such; she heard a few curse words as well and was struck with a thought of how Kazuya might have been interested in a few, ones she didn't recognize but guessed at being rude words based solely on Natsume's tone.

Not that she could fault her her frustration and once initial pain and shock subsided she moved to quickly pick up pace and follow quite willingly. Tsuki didn't bother turning to see if the boys followed, not because she didn't care but because she was fairly certain that neither Luka or Cheshy were going to pass up following after the two girls. Plus they all had classes.

Cheshy had been right of course; as things were in the school, as things were for not only both Natsume who was facing potentially losing the status she'd had most of her life at this point, and Tsuki who had sparked a full blown civil war within the halls and walls of Fujiwara Academy's high school division, but for all their friends and truly the whole school, they couldn't afford to be late. They couldn't afford to mess up; they rushed to the entryway that led into the Courtyard and would now allow them back into the school buildings proper.

"Its just barely past seven," Luka spoke, coming up beside them but primarily looking at Tsuki, "If you want me and Cheshy can teleport you back to your rooms so you can change; might shave a few minutes off the mad dash."

"Plus you can then save your energy for the rest of the day; god knows its sure to be a great one after yesterday," Cheshy said, running on the other side of Natsume.

"That would be good," Tsuki said and looked at Natsume, waiting to hear her thoughts.

The girl didn't answer at first but soon stopped, almost abruptly and she huffed. "Do it then; I don't need people looking at me looking disheveled and have them think badly of my boys or Professor Kichigai."

Her concern for the other Aucht over herself brought a small smile to Tsuki's face and the two boys crossed sides; Luka grabbed Natsume's shoulder and in a blink they were both fine, as if never there. Tsuki blinked, feeling Cheshy wrapping his arms around her, and then suddenly she was in her arm. Another blink, then a third; she heard Cheshy purring and nuzzle her hair a bit. That tore her from her shock and having recovered from the annoying return to Fujiwara she pulled away from him.

"What is that about?"

"The purr of a cat can better facilitate healing ," he said and chuckled, "Your body was still suffering ill effects and I wanted to help."

She wasn't really sure she believed him on that but choosing instead of trying to get into that with the Wonderlandian Tsuki shook her head and set about getting ready for the school day. She wasn't half surprised by the fact that Cheshy seemed intent on staying, taking a seat on the bed and continuing to grin as he watched Tsuki go to the dresser, pull out a spare uniform and go towards the bathroom in order to change in private. The detective didn't even bother telling him to leave, instead closing the door behind her and turning on the shower; she definitely needed one right now.

The events though came back and Tsuki allowed her mind to wander. The fact Zero was causing more trouble was no new information; the fact there was a group of students who could walk through dreams and who apparently taught him about that same ability, inadvertently causing the Hyrius incident, that was more surprising but she choose not to dwell. It was after all not Aleidas' fault what Zero did with the power and she doubted he knew what kind of person he was truly dealing with when he'd helped him; the boy struck her as a good person, someone who cared for others, and she from experience how easy it could be to be tricked by Zero's good nature and sweet smile. He knew what he was doing and he knew it well.

That of course led into other things though and as Tsuki got into the shower, shuddering at the feel of the hot water hitting her skin, she thought about the more odd points. She was a queen in the world of Temere, Luka and Cheshy were her knights, Natsume it seemed had been royalty too; there was one missing member of the Dream Weavers group, a young woman named Jamie who seemed to have been erased from the minds of others, and seven more members who had become stuck in the other world, leaving only Aleidas and the perhaps far too serious Twili as the only people from them who she could talk to in Kagerou. The fact that there was a group of kids using their powers, in a school which Tsuki knew to have the highly secretive and rather harsh Oboros around to collect up magic wielders, and more importantly that they had had close contact with Zero and what she knew of his current plans, these stuck out and made her think more. But then there was what Twili said Ignus the knight had said; she hummed and started washing her hair, closing her eyes.

The ringing of a bell; she knew it could mean anything, they lived in a medieval setting after all and bells had to be all over the place. Yet still, still her mind couldn't resist bit remember her own ringing problem, think about the Hyriusian Bell. In the cacophony of noise and chaos of battle and trying to stop Zero the bell, which had led her to the cathedral, started up when she'd been at her lowest and pulled her towards the vampire attacks that would end up reviving her spirit, and towards the devious and evil Samuel Saint Claire, it had been forgotten. Almost. It was hard for Tsuki to really forget and she thought of the noises in the forest, the humming she'd heard; she thought of the unsolved mystery of the bell that no longer should have been able to, and the fact that she suspected that it had a connection to the Memoriam, that ever mysterious library vault of knowledge and artifacts, ancient magicks that were all that remained of a dead and gone world. Zero's great goal; some shampoo got in her eyes and she yelped, quickly washing it out. It stung but part of her thought of how that was absolutely nothing compared to what that boy might get up to if he succeeded in getting in there. She had to stop him, she had no choice; the school didn't know Zero was out and about, they had already erased all traces of him anyway, and even if she did tell them she was certain with the fact the teachers distrusted her and the students were revolting against each other, it would amount to the same as if she told them nothing. No, Tsuki would have to deal with Zero herself, her and those around her who knew as well, and if Aleidas was right, if her instincts were right and Zero really was incolved, then she had no doubt even this played some bigger role in his plots than perhaps any of them could have imagined.

Tsuki finished up cleaning up and after drying her hair and changing clothes she walked out of the bathroom. Cheshy was still on her bed though he had a photograph in his hands. She knew which of course, she recognized the frame, the backing, and she frowned slightly before walking to him. "Little rude touching other peoples stuff like that without asking don't ya think?"

He looked up at her, still grinning. "Perhaps but I was curious and you know about cats and curiosity. I must say you have a lot of your fathers features but you really do resemble your mother; its so hard to believe with how perceptive you are that you never noticed the similarities between your features and Alastair's."

Tsuki had forgotten about that; the revelation that not only did her father's family come from Kagerou but so did her mother's, that Alastair the medical Aucht was her cousin, had slipped her mind in everything else going on. She had to make a mental note to talk to him about it, to find out what he knew and why he hadn't mentioned it in all the times she'd been in his lab or seen him in the school in general. But she had to remind herself class had to come first and she took the picture from Cheshy, resisting the urge to look at the smiling happy faces of her family and getting sucked back into that particular whirlpool of pain and suffering.

She set it back on the night stand and looked at him again, his bushy tail swishing back and forth patiently. "How much time until classes start, Cheshy?"

"About twenty minutes," he mused and tilted his head as he offered his hand, "Shall I escort you then, Your Majesty?"

"We're not in Lucinia or Temere anymore," she told him placing her hand in his, "You don't have to call me that right now."

"Oh Tsuki, I already told you," the cat answered, his grin growing, "You've always been royalty to me~"

Maybe it was fate or good luck, but during Tsuki's third class of the day, Alastair joined the class. She had never thought much about the fact that the Aucht never were in the classes she had, it had been just an unconscious thought that they had special classes, special allowances that with the things going no longer were in place; they had normal classes and apparently they thought it appropriate to put the medical Aucht in a mid level Biology class. She felt like this was maybe a joke at his expense and the semi-sour he wore walking in and placing his school bag on a table in the far back, sinking into one of two chairs, told her that he felt the same.

Tsuki made her way from her seat in the front to the back, ignoring the looks she got from curious students as she sat down beside him. He looked up, appearing ready to say something perhaps unkind, but stopped when he saw who it was; confusion crossed his face then a light smile and he chuckled lightly.

"You're in this class too Tsuki?" He asked, "I would have bet you'd be in something far more advanced."

"I'm content at this level," she told him and he shrugged; she bit her lip, hesitating for a moment, "Alastair, I have to ask you something."

He blinked and pushed up his glasses, looking concerned; likely he expected something terrible and maybe it was if he had never told her before. "You know you can ask me anything, Tsuki."

"Why didn't you tell me we were related?" She made sure to talk low enough so only he could hear; Tsuki absolutely did not want the rest of the class to know, for far too many reasons for her to want to try to categorize. But mainly it was that she was sure it would only add fuel to the madness of the school.

He froze up and stared at her; Tsuki would have thought he didn't hear her or perhaps had actually died hearing her ask that. But as he was still breathing and she was fairly certain he had indeed heard her, she figured that just left shock. And hesitation; after a moment his brow furrowed and he sat back in his chair, answering her in an equally low voice, almost a whisper, "Who told you?"

"Luka," she told him not wishing to lie, "I asked him about my family and he told me about my mom, that she and your dad were siblings, that we're cousins."

"By blood yes that's true."

"I was raised by my uncle Zephie; I always was told he was my mom's only living relative."

"Uncle Zephlaphandrian was the third son of our grandfather; he choose to leave Hyrius to go raise you and Akito when Aunt Alex died," Alastair told her, a rueful smile setting on his face, "My father found it amusing honestly; your mother and Uncle Zephie hated each other, the1111 were constantly fighting one another over just about everything. But when your mother died the family argued over what to do about you two."

"Because my mom was disowned?"

[sheminecrafts]

‘SmartLens’ app created by a high schooler is a step towards all-purpose visual search

A couple of years ago I was eagerly expectant of an app that would identify anything you pointed it at. Turns out the problem was much harder than anyone expected — but that didn’t stop high school senior Michael Royzen from trying. His app, SmartLens, attempts to solve the problem of seeing something and wanting to identify and learn more about it — with mixed success, to be sure, but it’s something I don’t mind having in my pocket.

Royzen reached out to me a while back and I was curious — as well as skeptical — about the idea that where the likes of Google and Apple have so far failed (or at least failed to release anything good), a high schooler working in his spare time would succeed. I met him at a coffee shop to see the app in action and was pleasantly surprised, but a little baffled.

The idea is simple, of course: You point your phone’s camera at something and the app attempts to identify it using an enormous but highly optimized classification agent trained on tens of millions of images. It connects to Wikipedia and Amazon to let you immediately learn more about what you’ve ID’ed, or buy it.

It recognizes more than 17,000 objects — things like different species of fruit and flower, landmarks, tools and so on. The app had little trouble telling an apple from a (weird-looking) mango, a banana from a plantain and even identified the pistachios I���d ordered as a snack. Later, in my own testing, I found it quite useful for identifying the plants springing up in my neighborhood: periwinkles, anemones, wood sorrel, it got them all, though not without the occasional hesitation.

The kicker is that this all happens offline — it’s not sending an image over the cell network or Wi-Fi to a server somewhere to be analyzed. It all happens on-device and within a second or two. Royzen scraped his own image database from various sources and trained up multiple convolutional neural networks using days of AWS EC2 compute time.

Then there are far more than that number in products that it recognizes by reading the text of the item and querying the Amazon database. It ID’ed books, a bottle of pills and other packaged goods almost instantly, providing links to buy them. Wikipedia links pop up if you’re online as well, though a considerable amount of basic descriptions are kept on the device.

On that note, it must be said that SmartLens is a more than 500-megabyte download. Royzen’s model is huge, since it must keep all the recognition data and offline content right there on the phone. This is a much different approach to the problem than Amazon’s own product recognition engine on the Fire Phone (RIP) or Google Goggles (RIP) or the scan feature in Google Photos (which was pretty useless for things SmartLens reliably did in half a second).

“With the several past generations of smartphones containing desktop-class processors and the advent of native machine learning APIs that can harness them (and GPUs), the hardware exists for a blazing-fast visual search engine,” Royzen wrote in an email. But none of the large companies you would expect to create one has done so. Why?

The app size and toll on the processor is one thing, for sure, but the edge and on-device processing is where all this stuff will go eventually — Royzen is just getting an early start. The likely truth is twofold: it’s hard to make money and the quality of the search isn’t high enough.

It must be said at this point that SmartLens, while smart, is far from infallible. Its suggestions for what an item might be are almost always hilariously wrong for a moment before arriving at, as it often does, the correct answer.

It identified one book I had as “White Whale,” and no, it wasn’t Moby Dick. An actual whale paperweight it decided was a trowel. Many items briefly flashed guesses of “Human being” or “Product design” before getting to a guess with higher confidence. One flowering bush it identified as four or five different plants — including, of course, Human Being. My monitor was a “computer display,” “liquid crystal display,” “computer monitor,” “computer,” “computer screen,” “display device” and more. Game controllers were all “control.” A spatula was a wooden spoon (close enough), with the inexplicable subheading “booby prize.” What?!

This level of performance (and weirdness in general, however entertaining) wouldn’t be tolerated in a standalone product released by Google or Apple. Google Lens was slow and bad, but it’s just an optional feature in a working, useful app. If it put out a visual search app that identified flowers as people, the company would never hear the end of it.

And the other side of it is the monetization aspect. Although it’s theoretically convenient to be able to snap a picture of a book your friend has and instantly order it, it isn’t so much more convenient than taking a picture and searching for it later, or just typing the first few words into Google or Amazon, which will do the rest for you.

Meanwhile for the user there is still confusion. What can it identify? What can’t it identify? What do I need it to identify? It’s meant to ID many things, from dog breeds and storefronts, but it likely won’t identify, for example, a cool Bluetooth speaker or mechanical watch your friend has, or the creator of a painting at a local gallery (some paintings are recognized, though). As I used it I felt like I was only ever going to use it for a handful of tasks in which it had proven itself, like identifying flowers, but would be hesitant to try it on many other things when I might just be frustrated by some unknown incapability or unreliability.

And yet the idea that in the very near future there will not be something just like SmartLens is ridiculous to me. It seems so clearly something we will all take for granted in a few years. And it’ll be on-device, no need to upload your image to a server somewhere to be analyzed on your behalf.

Royzen’s app has its issues, but it works very well in many circumstances and has obvious utility. The idea that you could point your phone at the restaurant you’re across the street from and see Yelp reviews two seconds later — no need to open up a map or type in an address or name — is an extremely natural expansion of existing search paradigms.

“Visual search is still a niche, but my goal is to give people the taste of a future where one app can deliver useful information about anything around them — today,” wrote Royzen. “Still, it’s inevitable that big companies will launch their competing offerings eventually. My strategy is to beat them to market as the first universal visual search app and amass as many users as possible so I can stay ahead (or be acquired).”

My biggest gripe of all, however, is not the functionality of the app, but in how Royzen has decided to monetize it. Users can download it for free but upon opening it are immediately prompted to sign up for a $2/month subscription — before they can even see whether the app works or not. If I didn’t already know what the app did and didn’t do, I would delete it without a second thought upon seeing that dialog, and even knowing what I do, I’m not likely to pay in perpetuity for it.

A one-time fee to activate the app would be more than reasonable, and there’s always the option of referral codes for those Amazon purchases. But demanding rent from users who haven’t even tested the product is a non-starter. I’ve told Royzen my concerns and I hope he reconsiders.

It would also be nice to scan images you’ve already taken, or save images associated with searches. UI improvements like a confidence indicator or some kind of feedback to let you know it’s still working on identification would be nice as well — features that are at least theoretically on the way.

In the end I’m impressed with Royzen’s efforts — when I take a step back it’s amazing to me that it’s possible for a single person, let alone one in high school, to put together an app capable of completing such sophisticated computer vision tasks. It’s the kind of (over-) ambitious app-building one expects to come out of a big, playful company like the Google of a decade ago. This may be more of a curiosity than a tool right now, but so were the first text-based search engines.

SmartLens is in the App Store now — give it a shot.

from iraidajzsmmwtv https://ift.tt/2HEBgvL via IFTTT

[downinfront]

The DC Extended Universe is in rebuild mode, and “Justice League” is the first step

In all of sports, there are few terms more loaded than “rebuild.” That’s the euphemism given when a team finds itself mired in mediocrity and decides to pivot away from a win-now mentality, dumping its resources instead into the prospect of winning later. To do that, they’ll usually dump a lot of their tenured veterans in order to free up money, then draft and develop young talent that can provide the core of a contender in a few seasons’ time. The Houston Astros just did it; the Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of it; the New York Giants are about to do it and the Cleveland Browns have been attempting to do it for what seems like 20 years now. It’s a unique combination of white flag and hopeful eye towards the horizon: We suck now, but we’ll be back in the saddle a couple years down the line.

That’s the DC Extended Universe, and truth be told it has been for a while. The comic-book giant boasts two of the mightiest IPs in the world — Batman and Superman — but its attempt to build a counterpart to Marvel’s bulletproof Cinematic Universe has been a creaky, accursed enterprise since it launched in 2013 with Man of Steel. Under the creative auspices of Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), DC attempted to shy away from Marvel’s zippy, quippy, made-for-mass consumption franchise machine by grinding out lengthy, humorless epics about gods and men. It wasn’t the worst idea int he world at the time — coming off of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the market was still ripe for “gritty” superheroes — but returns on these modern-day tomes have been increasingly diminishing, from the thunderous nonsense of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to the bullet-ridden vomitorium of Suicide Squad. (There was, as we know, one glorious exception, which we’ll get to momentarily.) Justice League, the long-awaited culmination of DC’s first wave of movies, doesn’t exactly reverse the trend — it’s fun, both because of and despite how much of a mess it is — but it does contain some long-awaited signs of hope that the franchise is finally willing to throw its original plan out the window and start from scratch.

For one, there’s not a lot of Zack Snyder to be found in this movie, even though he’s technically credited as director. A gifted adapter with a near-unparalleled visual palette, Snyder’s singular vision for the DC Universe certainly provided a viable-on-paper alternative to Marvel’s product, but his two movies — 2013’s Man of Steel and 2016’s Batman v Superman — simply weren’t good enough to pass muster. That his fingerprints have been all but excised from this one is due to some truly horrifying circumstances: The death of Snyder’s daughter forced him to step away from Justice League, and Joss Whedon (The Avengers) took over for writing and directing the reshoots. And this wasn’t some second-unit formality, either: Whedon did enough to get the second script credit after Chris Terrio, and even though Snyder is the only credited director, Justice League feels very much like Whedon’s film. This is occasionally for the worse — he lacks Snyder’s gift for sumptuous visuals and his attempts to replicate them are middling — but even as the stitches show on the movie, Whedon brings out a lighter, funnier side of the characters that Snyder seemed genetically incapable of delivering. He does so by moving the majority of the film away from its hoo-ha of a plot and its two biggest anchors, focusing instead on the four backups who all prove to be infinitely more interesting.

Whether this finally means the end of the great Batfleck experiment remains to be seen — the top-billed star still seems somewhat disinterested here, but he fares better than Batman v Superman because he’s given a bit more to play — but the shift in focus does provide ample opportunity for Gal Gadot to continue on her star turn from Wonder Woman. A utility player brought in from the Fast & Furious franchise to play sixth man in Batman v Superman, Patty Jenkins’ megahit from the summer turned Gadot into a megastar and a feminist icon. Less than two years from starring in B-rate action comedies, Gadot now has the kind of box office pull and cultural cache that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Whedon, who made his name in part on Strong Female Characters, knows he’s got the biggest one in decades on his hands, so it’s surely no accident that Wonder Woman gets most of the best scenes here. One minute she’s slicing and dicing through a horde of malevolent bug men, the next she’s slugging a dickish Master Wayne in the sternum so hard he goes flying across the room. It’s to Affleck’s credit that he seems to be having fun even as his minutes decrease, but it’s the movie that reaps the benefits of the change under center.

Flanking Gadot are a trio of greenhorns who give the movie a jolt of energy each time the plot starts to sag, which, given that this movie has a terrible plot, is often. As The Flash, Ezra Miller is wide-eyed, scared shitless (the bit about how he’s never fought anyone is great) and ultimately thrilled to be there. He’s a caffeinated mix of earnestness and annoyance, and if he were ten years younger Marvel would have scooped him up to be Spider-Man. Jason Momoa reimagines the oft-maligned Aquaman as a hard-drinking swingin’ dick with mommy issues; he’s not around to do much besides slug back whiskey and make fun of Batman’s getup, but you get the sense that the Game of Thrones veteran might have finally found a role worthy of his online reputation. And, as Cyborg, Ray Fisher gets an intriguing, Frankenstinian backstory — he’s a prodigy reborn as a machine with a tenuous grip on his humanity— which he plays with a muted resignation that occasionally spills over into outright panic each time his transformation leaps forward. 

Either Whedon recognizes what he has here or realizes he’s got a lot of makeup work to do to give the team the same care he afforded to the Avengers. Either way, he cannily works in a series of scenes with each of these characters that don’t do much to advance the story, but give the actors something to play, the audience something to connect with, and the movie to boast in the way of genuine enjoyment. The most affecting of these is a heart-to-heart between The Flash and Cyborg as they exhume Superman (Henry Cavill) from his grave; the funniest is a scene when Aquaman accidentally sits on Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth and tells his new teammates what he really thinks about all of them.

Between those charming non-sequiteurs and his low-key Twitter shade to the movie’s villain, you get the sense Whedon couldn’t give a shit less about Justice League’s plot. But as a previous franchise steward, he knows that no matter his misgivings, he’s got to both deliver a decent movie and right the ship as best he can. There have been way too many missteps on DC’s part for one movie to correct, but it helps that Whedon has a good sense of where to patch the holes. So, he wisely builds upon what worked in the previous films while minimizing what didn’t (Jeremy Irons’ Alfred gets more scenes; Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor gets less) and even manages to offer some much-needed rehabilitation to their original leading man once Superman is inevitably resurrected.

The question of what to do with the white-bread Man of Steel has been bugging the movies for a while, and while Snyder’s gritty approach was certainly a novel concept, it seems now like the wrong idea at the right time. Cavill cut an imposing presence, but his Kal-El was a morose, occasionally misanthropic demigod who wasn’t afforded the slightest bit of levity even as the adorkable Clark Kent. The man playing him has as much matinee-idol charm as you could want in an actor — The Man From U.N.C.L.E. isn’t quite as good as people online think, but Cavill is a Movie Star in it — but he wasn’t allowed to be half as charming as Christopher Reeve or even Brandon Routh. (Who, as a side note,  rebuilt himself as an MVP of DC’s TV universe playing The Atom on Legends of Tomorrow — it’s a fun show and he’s great in it.) Justice League fixes that, giving the Last Son of Krypton a complete personality change once the team brings him back from the dead. It’s not enough to entirely rehabilitate the character, and Cavill is still oddly humorless in the role, but as the fun mid-credits scene with The Flash shows, even a little bit of awkward goofiness goes a long way.

There are more signs of a rebuild outside the movie as well, all of which are harbingers of positive change down the line. Affleck was brought in as a top-flight star to anchor the franchise, but rumors have swirled for a while now that he wants out. Matt Reeves, who’ll write and direct the upcoming The Batman, supposedly has his eye on a replacement already. The upcoming Flash solo movie will reportedly adapt the reality-meddling Flashpoint arc, potentially giving DC the opportunity to make a trade. Coming out of Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is rumored to be returning in a movie about Gotham City’s villainesses, while the horror/action stylist James Wan (The Conjuring, Furious 7) will tackle the Aquaman solo movie for next year. There’s also the rumors of a set of movies outside the Justice League continuity, both giving DC a chance to adapt its entire Multiverse and start fresh with the characters its already bungled in the runup to Justice League. Jared Leto’s much-maligned Joker might already be getting subbed out for Leonardo DiCaprio in just such a movie.

Of course, there is the lingering doubt that all these efforts may be too little, too late. Generally speaking, rebuild is an exercise in hope, but it’s also a test of fans’ faith in the franchise. Despite a weird Rotten Tomatoes embargo that held off mass consensus for an extra day or two, Justice League was still subjected to a drubbing that muted enthusiasm to a disheartening degree. Box office returns for the first weekend topped out at around $94 million, which is almost unthinkable for a tentpole featuring the two biggest superheroes of all time and a glass-ceiling smashing movie star. Any staying power this movie has will be on word of mouth alone, and while it’s certainly entertaining in a disheveled kind of way, there simply might not be enough there there to warrant two hours and $20 at the multiplex.

It’ll probably do well on cable and Blu-Ray, which feels appropriate and, to a degree, necessary. The DCEU experiment has been steadily building to at least one outright failure, which is always the catalyst for any rebuild. Watching Justice League, it’s hard not to get the sense everybody saw the L coming and decided to shore up the ranks for next season. That’s sort of optimistic in and of itself, and while saying the movie delivers on the meagerest of promises is damning praise, it’s praise nonetheless and a positive notion of things to come. The night has been dark, but the dawn might finally be on the horizon.