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hibisha · 4 years

Note

Hello, a friend of yours said you might be able to recommend some radiodust fanfics, and it can be anything im not picky

RadioDust fanfics you say? Alright *cracks knuckles* here we go.

1.) The Charismatic Cannibal’s Guide to Self Care

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor chuckled around a hand. Angel would never get over how shark-like he could look. Fangs were the norm here, but Alastor’s had a certain animal quality that fit strangely in a humanoid face. Too big and too many. And right now they were tinged with a hint of red from his choice of drink.

“So what,” he said, “would liven up the place for you, sport?”

You might assume that Angel Dust is the bad influence in every situation. You would be wrong.

The Radio Demon has plans for Hell, and plans for Angel. And they aren't pretty.

Will contain gore/cannibalism/murder and plenty of fun, bad people. Please read the tags and content warning. Plot now, smut to follow.

Personal thoughts: It only one chapter so far but I really like the premise.

2.) Their Arrangement

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust have come to an agreement after Angel pushes the Radio Demon's buttons a little too far and inadvertently awakens the long forgotten urges buried under decades of bloodlust.

Personal thoughts: One of my literal favorites. Alastor and Angel’s evolving relationship from sex friends to ‘oh shit I have feelings’ *chef’s kiss*.

3.) Absolute Territory

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust is an absolute terror for Absolute Territory.

Alastor never knew he had a thing for stockings until Angel decides to flaunt a pair, matched with a pleated skirt and an oversized sweatshirt.

Personal thoughts: Have some good ol’ smut.

4.) Heart Between His Teeth

Rating: E

Summary: So maybe there are better things to life than being drugged and fucked so hard you can't even think for yourself.

Personal thoughts: OMFG. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS FIC.

5.) Angel Dust’s Not So Illustrious Life

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor isn’t sure why he’s become Angel’s primary target, but the more he attempts to dissuade Angel’s advances, the more fervent they seem to become.

And maybe Alastor likes that...maybe...Yet it seems there’s more to Angel than innuendos and a quick romp.

Personal thoughts: I kinda love this fic a lot where Angel and Alastor respect each other’s boundaries.

6.) Caught In His Own Web

Rated:E

Summary: "So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never. Because the dance with the devil might last you forever."

Redemption is hard when you don't want to do it. Redemption is even harder when a certain Radio Demon keeps enabling your sinful behavior.

Personal thoughts: My favourite trope, bad people being worse together.

7.) I Thought I Knew You

Rated: M

Summary: Angel Dust can't ruin the hotel's reputation if he can't go outside. Or, at least, that's what Alastor says. Of course, it's all a ploy to torture Alastor's least favorite spider demon, but maybe he doesn't know Angel Dust as well as he thinks he does.

Personal thoughts: I really like this one especially since it feeds into my “Alastor is a dick in all AUs.”

8.) Sex, drugs and radio host

Rating: E

Summary: For some ungodly reason, Alastor decides to keep Angel safe and sound - meaning no sex, prostitution and certainly no drugs. Of course, this wild idea is met with more than a little resistance. But... no one ever cared if Angel was safe. And sometimes, all he would like is a hug. Sex sure is nice, but he is more than willing to explore the possibilities.

The trouble is, it doesn't seem like Alastor is offering anything specific. Keeping things strange and vague is not helping, especially when a new guest catches Alastor's attention.

Personal thoughts: Its cute and theres feelings involved is all I’m saying.

9.) Gentleman's Wager

Rating: None

Summary: Sick of listening to Angel Dust's crass and vulgar language, Alastor makes a bet with him. If Angel Dust can remain absolutely silent for one whole week, he'll give in and kiss him.

Personal thoughts: *inhales* JVKJGCHJCHJCVJHVJHGCJHCJHCGFD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH PLEASE READ IT.

10.) Triggered

Rating: None

Summary: Angel Dust had never really thought too much about the static hum surrounding Alastor wherever he went... until now anyway.

Personal thoughts: It's a very good fic about ANgel dealing with PTSD. Def check it out.

11.) Dinner and Drinks

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust can barely tolerate each other and Charlie seeks to fix that.

Personal thoughts: Again, a slow development of Angel and Alastor’s relationship.

12.) You Do Something to Me

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor's radio signals go both ways, and for the past few decades he's tuned into the most beautiful voice. What a surprise to find the source in the Happy Hotel right under his nose.

A relationship that grows through music.

Personal thoughts: AGAIN, PLEASE READ THIS IT IS CUTE HECK AND WILL CLEAR YOUR SKIN. Also, its part 2: No One Knows Anything But Us

13.) 1932

Rating: M

Summary: The 1930s are the for perfect time to nurture any up-and-coming radio host or serial killer alike. Alastor is no exception.

Set in New Orleans in 1932, Alastor is living his best life. Broadcaster by day and home chef by night, he's learned that Jumbalaya is best served with a side of human liver and a still beating heart. That is until he brings the wrong meal to his table, a member of the Italian mafia, and ends up biting off more than he can chew.

With his latest meal escaping the table and his identity running the risk of being found out, Alastor faces his biggest hunt yet. The streets of New Orleans are his forest and this time, it's his head on the platter.

AKA Alastor screws up and now has to fix his mess in Dixieland while balancing his day job, cannibalistic hunger, and learn how to be a decent human being for once along the way. Should be fun.

Personal thoughts: I absolutely adore this fic. Please give it a shot.

14.) Contracts and Deals Series

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust, Hell's number one porn actor.

Alastor, Hell's most renowned overlord.

The two cross paths.

Angel makes a deal with Alastor to get out of his contract with Valentino. One thing leads to another.

Personal thoughts: It’s a good series that eventually gets really fluffy.

15.) Good Management

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor thought he had Angel Dust filed away into his niche box in the Hotel. He was wrong. But he's a good enough manager to fix his responsibilities.

Personal thoughts: Its AngeliaDark. You know it’s good.

16.) Anything for you

Rating: M

Summary: Valentino faces the consequences of hurting someone that Alastor deeply favors

i.e. Val fucking dies

Personal thoughts: Any fic where Val dies is a good fic.

17.) Predator and Prey

Rating: M

Summary: Every couple of years, Angel Dust goes through a change that makes him a lot less tolerable to be around, for many more reasons than one. The staff of the Hotel are about to learn that the hard way, none more so than Alastor.

Personal thoughts: Okay so, slight dubcon, would recommend checking the tags before going into it. Though I love how it tackles on the story of Alastor being a deer which is technically a prey animal and Angel being the predator for once. Absolutely love it.

18.) Good Tidings

Rating: T

Summary: A Christmas party in Hell isn't the big selling point for the Happy Hotel (For Hazbins), but Charlie feels that the holiday season is just what her friends need to open up to and help one another.

So what better way to do it than with a Secret Santa?

When Angel Dust draws none other than his crush, the Radio Demon, he knows he has one shot to not eff it up.

Personal thoughts: Really fluffy, a good read. Highly recommend it.

19.) Vanilla Bean

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor decides to try his hand at pet names and inadvertently offends Angel Dust. Rated T for swearing and there's suggestive content if you close one eye, tilt your head, and squint.

Personal thoughts: Okay so i loved this one because of how badly these two handle communication.

20.) For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor's solitude is interrupted by Angel Dust who has just escaped a rough client and the two spend the last moments of 2019 together.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. I just love Angel and Alastor dancing together okay.

21.) I Like It Better When I'm With You

Rating: M

Summary: Angel deals with feelings. Alastor deals with feelings. Just a whole lot of pining.

Personal thoughts: Summary says it all.

22.) Technical Difficulties

Rating: M

Summary: The hotel is running relatively well. Relationships between Alastor and the rest of the staff are budding surprisingly smoothly. And then the rainfall starts up, threatening all of it.

Alastor's out of tune.

Personal thoughts: I love how this is written. Slowburn but worth it.

23.) Lurking in the Shadows

Rated M

Summary: 5 instances where a curious and head-over-heels shadow follows Angel Dust around and 1 time where Angel decides to follow it instead.

Personal thoughts: It’s very cute how Alastor’s shadow pines after Angel.

24.) Crossroads

Rating: M

Summary: A mafioso’s and a murderous radio star’s paths collide in New Orleans in the winter of 1933.

Personal thoughts: OKAY SO I REALLY LOVE THIS BECAUSE HUMAN AUS ARE MY JAM AND THEN ALASTOR AND ANGEL BEING TERRIBLE HUMANS TOGETHER IS EVEN BETTER.

25.) Needle Through a Bug

Rating: E

Summary: Angel wakes up in a hospital after a party. His doctor is very strange, worryingly so. Still, he can't help but be intrigued.

Personal thoughts: Doctor AU. Alastor is insane. I love it because Alastor manages to be as creepy as possible while saving lives.

26.) My Roommate's a Demonic Deer

Rating: M

Summary: Don't you hate it when you "accidentally" summon a demon to fix a problem within your home, only to find out that they don't do that, so now you're stuck with a cannibalistic demon that constantly tracks blood onto the floor, brings other unholy beings into your apartment, and makes amazing jambalaya? It's amazing insanity!

Personal thoughts: Lmao I love demon summoning gone wrong so this was really an amazing read. Angel being a true himbo is always the best.

27.) Human Hazbin Roommates AU series

Rating: E, M

Summary: A series of porny RadioDust one-shots depicting modern human AU roommate life.

Notes:

Glimpses into the human lives of insufferable roommates.

(AKA This was supposed to be a practice at writing present tense smut and it devolved into sex and feelings)

Personal thoughts: Dive in for the smut, come out with the feels.

28: Darker Side of Hell series

Rating: E

Summary: Follow Charlie and later Alastor as part of my Story for the Hazbin hotel... It ain't pretty, so enjoy!

Personal thoughts: Not everyone’s cup of tea so i suggest reading the tags but I really love this series a lot. Angel being awkward and in love is the best shit ever. Its an amazing series.

29.) Scorched, Uninhabited, Rejected

Rating: M

Summary: When Hell suddenly loses all working functions, and angels start dropping from their overhead perches to attack the underworlds population, Charlie has no idea what to do before she's suddenly face to face with a Archangel. Though something, clearly, isn't right about the air the angel assures her to keep those who are dear tucked tightly by her side as the disaster struggles to fix itself.

But nothing is as it seems, Overlords' powers are dwindling and even her own is becoming strained as she struggles to protect her beloved hotel and friends from the Exterminators outside.

Personal thoughts: *vibrates* Can’t say much without spoilers so I’m just gonna beg ya all to read this.

30.) The Thin Line

Rating: None

Summary: Studies say it takes fifty hours of interaction before you consider someone a casual friend and two hundred to be a close friend. Alastor and Angel Dust manage to skip right past close friends to something more without either even noticing they've crossed the line.

31.) La Vie En Rose

Rating: G

Summary: Alastor learns that Angel is afraid of thunderstorms, and Angel in turn learns about the Radio Demon.

32.) falling

Rating: M

Summary: "You're hot as fuck, be my boyfriend."

That was perhaps the worst thing he could've possibly said from that standpoint.

A college setting where Angel gets suddenly awful at flirting when it comes to the face of his crush, a cute library assistant that goes by Alastor.

Personal thoughts: COLLEGE AU COLLEGE AU.

33.) Old Habits Die Hard

Rating: G

Summary: Angel decides to bring back a little habit of his after having a rough time.

Personal thoughts: Hella soft, please read.

34.) Handwritten

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor imagines Angel must be lonely in heaven, he writes to keep him company.

A series of letters addressed to Angel.

Personal thoughts: Hi, do you like crying into your pillow at 2 AM? You do? The look no further, this is the fic for you! Now, with extra heart wrenching feels!

35.) Relapse and Recovery

Rating: T

Summary: Going clean was never going to be easy, but easy was something Angel Dust never expected going into this anyway. At least he has a good support system to help him along the way.

Personal thoughts: I just really like AngeliaDark’s fics okay.

36.) Catalyst

Rating: T

Summary: All couples have their downfalls, and an event that should have been celebrated only drives Alastor and Angel Dust apart.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. It’s very well written, reads easy and you’ll feel fluffy for days.

37.) Dinner Date: A RadioDust Tale

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust finally finds a way to get Alastor to agree to a 'date'. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Sometimes literally.

Personal thoughts: One of my favourite stories about RadioDust.

38.) This One's Dedicated to [static interruption]

Rating: M

Summary: A couple of years since the hotel's opening, the residents have settled down into a fairly tolerable routine. Recently, some of them have begun experiencing peculiar symptoms which become more noticeable as time passes. To his dismay, the Radio Demon finds that he is not immune.

A chance encounter with Angel Dust propels the two demons together as they attempt to answer what's behind the unusual phenomena, while rediscovering all the things they thought dead and buried along the way.

Personal thoughts: Slowburn but definitely worth it. I love the story and how it’s progressing with a certain mystery surrounding the whole plot.

Also slight self plug I guess:

39.) 14 ways to say “I Love You”

Rating: T

Summary: Just a collection of small drabbles I’m writing on based on single word prompts.

Please check it out if you’re a fan of odd AUs.

Wowee, that’s a lot. I’m gonna call it a night and say that’s all for today. I hope you enjoy these!

#hazbin hotel #radiodust #alastor #angel dust #fic rec #ask

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lilacandladybugs · 4 years

Note

What’s your current relationship with god? I’m very curious lmao

I’m sorry if this sounds incomprehensible and rambly and disjointed or pretentious. I care a lot more about this than almost anything else in the world and I wish I could do a better job of explaining myself. But I feel like why I believe in God or what my relationship with him is like is like trying to explain who I am. And I’m just the accumulation of everything I’ve ever experienced or that I think and I feel like it’s really important that I communicate it correctly so here is my attempt.

Here’s a video that’s really good that I think will give some good background information. If you don’t want to read all of this, the video is probably enough to explain.

youtube

TLDR: This isn’t the way things are supposed to be. Death isn’t supposed to happen, it isn’t a part of the natural order of things. God loved us so much he died to fix it, and rose again to defeat death. God loves me and I love him, and I’ve never found peace or fulfillment like that in anything else.

I hope this makes sense anon let me know if you have any questions or if I misinterpreted your question.

TW suicide // grief // abuse // rape mention (not v bad or graphic or anything)

Long version:

I think I've always thought that there's something naturally (for lack of a better word) poetic about existing. Not really meaning that it's good, but kind of that everything feels really purposeful it seems to flow together like an old epic. Everything seems intensely meaningful to me.

I've always thought that life was tragic. That death is a fracture in the way things are, like we live in the ancient ruins of a long lost civilization.

And I've always thought that life seems like an incomprehensibly wonderful gift, because how can there be tragedy if there isn't anything worth losing? But somehow it seems like peace is the basic way things are, that normalcy isn't normal at all but like this status quo of goodness which makes bad things happening not only heart breaking but surprising.

Reconciling all of those ideas is really confusing.

I'm a strong proponent of thinking analytically about what you believe since the answer we choose to the question of whether or not God exists is like quite literally something we bet our lives on. We bet our life that God exists or that he doesn't, that things have meaning anchored in an external source or that they don't.

So while I grew up a Christian I've never felt really dead in it. I want to be uncomfortable. I want to be stubborn in asking questions and I don't have a problem with questioning authorities on why they believe what they believe—especially if they really confidently assert it. I want to be able to know things and understand them.

My junior year of high school three of my closest childhood friends died, and several others almost died. I remember sitting up at like two am listening to twenty one pilots self titled album just like seething and exhausted asking lord why would you abandon me like that?

Some other really horrible things happened to people that I cared about, I felt abandoned and rejected by Christians just for being broken, some of them caused it or contributed to the trauma and abuse. How could people who claimed the name of God do that?

My debate partner's best friend killed himself the same year that my friends died, and he became an atheist and I stayed a Christian. We fought about it a lot. I really seriously considered becoming an atheist.

The thing that I couldn't accept was the lack of eternality.

Really ironically I think I stayed a Christian for the same reason that my friend became an atheist. We were both asking why all of the living world is crying out in anguish. We both wanted to die. We both were angry. We both were horrified.

My friend thought that the question of “where is God?” was harder to answer than “why is there meaning to death?”

I'm a Christian because I'm horrified. He's an atheist for the same reason.

If you don’t feel like reading it, here’s the TLDR: there is no reason for someone to do something or not do something if God isn’t there to tell them to. There isn’t a moral grounding for law.

Arthur Leff was an atheist law professor at Yale in the eighties, and he wrote about the moral grounding for laws in his essay, Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural Law. The question he was asking was what can we do to ground morality? What can we do to prove objectively that there are things one ought to do and things one ought not do?

I am unwilling to accept that. There is something evil about abuse, neglect, rape, torture. There is something about these things that violates human rights, human dignity. There's something about them that goes against objective moral law.

But without God there is no moral law. So I wouldn't be able to say, "you should never rape someone, because rape is wrong." And everything that I had experienced flew in the face of that.

Dr. Leff wrote this about that question;

“All I can say is this: it looks as if we are all we have. Given what we know about ourselves and each other, this is an extraordinarily unappetizing prospect; looking around the world, it appears that if all men are brothers, the ruling model is Cain and Abel. Neither reason, nor love, nor even terror, seems to have worked to make us "good," and worse than that, there is no reason why anything should. Only if ethics were something unspeakable by us, could law be unnatural, and therefore unchallengeable. As things now stand, everything is up for grabs.

Nevertheless:

Napalming babies is bad.

Starving the poor is wicked.

Buying and selling each other is depraved.

Those who stood up to and died resisting Hitler, Stalin, Amin, and Pol Pot-and General Custer too-have earned salvation.

Those who acquiesced deserve to be damned.

There is in the world such a thing as evil.

[All together now:] Sez who?

God help us.”

In the end, it comes down to this; Do I believe that the complexity of the universe is because there was someone intelligent actively involved in its design, do I believe that information, reason, logic, emotion, and morality exist and are reliable because they have grounding in God’s identity? Do I believe that God is who he says he is?

And I guess the answer to those questions was yes.

I saw God. He was there in the stillness - in the sunrise and sunset and at 2 am after I couldn't cry anymore. I felt him. And I know part of his goodness that I wish I never had to know. I felt like I was lying breathless bleeding out in a gutter watching the stars. Almost like a pause - just a moment in time where I was hurt enough, still enough to hear his voice.

One of the most important things I learned is that life is not hopeless. If life is a story, then the last chapter of the book has already been written. This is the premise of the song It is Well with My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford.

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, God has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul”

The powers of evil and darkness can take away my friends, my sanity, my family, and even my life, but God has already saved me, and I can find peace in spite of my circumstances. Three of my friends died, but God has already conquered death. I feel powerless, but God is powerful. I feel abandoned, but God loves me so much that he died a horrible torturous death for me. Living in light of that is peace.

Whenever I felt like I couldn’t keep going there would be something to stop me. I heard his voice in music, and in my friends that held me when I cried, and in morning glories on my morning walk. I kept lists of all of the times this happened, every time that someone encouraged me to keep going, every time that someone would quote a Bible verse when I was crying out for God to answer me, every time that the world paused. Everything asked me the same question, do you think it means nothing? Do you think that there is a direction that we’re going? Are we coming from nothing and going toward nowhere?

I had friends who heard him too. He was so gentle to us. I wasn’t able to go to church, I wasn’t able to listen to worship music but the LGBTQ+ community took care of me, they were isolated from church as well. There was enough for me in that God promised he would take care of me, and he did. He died for me. He talked to my trans friend and said, “listen, your parents have rejected you and said you’ll never be your son, but I am a good father. I love you. Be my son instead.”

God mourned with me. He saw everything and he was angry. I was able to breathe because I knew that in the end there will be justice for abuse victims, because God said that he is the holder of justice, and vengeance will be his.

When one of my friends was hospitalized I stood outside during the beginning of a thunderstorm and watched the clouds and the sky darken and lightning flash across the sky.

Even the wind and the sea obey him. He asked me if I trust him.

I guess my answer was yes.

In spite of everything that I went through, I was more thoroughly convinced that I ever was before that things matter. I was convinced that abuse is evil. I was convinced that death is an abomination. I was convinced that these laws of morality are woven into the fabric of the universe. I was convinced that God died to save us from that reality. I was convinced he loved me.

I still am

#asks #about #eslyea #religion tw #religion #christianity #christianity tw #suicide tw #grief tw #suicide #grief #rape #rape tw #just mentioned but still #thanks for asking #c:#hope this is coherent

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in-the-whisper · 4 years

Text

Here’s a video that’s really good that I think will give some good background information. If you don’t want to read all of this, the video is probably enough to explain.

youtube

I hope this makes sense anon let me know if you have any questions or if I misinterpreted your question.

TW suicide // grief // abuse // rape mention (not v bad or graphic or anything)

Long version:

I've always thought that life was tragic. That death is a fracture in the way things are, like we live in the ancient ruins of a long lost civilization.

Reconciling all of those ideas is really confusing.

The thing that I couldn't accept was the lack of eternality.

My friend thought that the question of “where is God?” was harder to answer than “why is there meaning to death?”

I'm a Christian because I'm horrified. He's an atheist for the same reason.

But without God there is no moral law. So I wouldn't be able to say, "you should never rape someone, because rape is wrong." And everything that I had experienced flew in the face of that.

Dr. Leff wrote this about that question;

Nevertheless:

Napalming babies is bad.

Starving the poor is wicked.

Buying and selling each other is depraved.

Those who stood up to and died resisting Hitler, Stalin, Amin, and Pol Pot-and General Custer too-have earned salvation.

Those who acquiesced deserve to be damned.

There is in the world such a thing as evil.

[All together now:] Sez who?

God help us.”

And I guess the answer to those questions was yes.

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, God has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul”

When one of my friends was hospitalized I stood outside during the beginning of a thunderstorm and watched the clouds and the sky darken and lightning flash across the sky.

Even the wind and the sea obey him. He asked me if I trust him.

I guess my answer was yes.

I still am

#ask #what's your current relationship with god? i'm very curious lmao

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aion-rsa · 4 years

Text

13 Best Blumhouse Horror Movies Ranked

https://ift.tt/3pr9EwE

Has any single person had a greater impact on horror this century than Jason Blum? The one-time Miramax executive struck out on his own in the 2000s when he founded Blumhouse Productions, a company where he remains the CEO. And in the ensuing years, Blum’s production label would define, and redefine again, the trends of horror movies and thrillers.

Operating on the philosophy that a horror film with a micro-budget will almost always turn a profit, Blum frequently allows directors broad freedom to make what they want within the genre, and in the process has kept multiplexes perpetually spooky. In 2009 Blumhouse helped reinvent the found footage horror aesthetic, and in the 2010s, the modern phenomenon of talent-focused horror gems began with Blumhouse’s gambles.

Working with filmmakers like James Wan, Scott Derrickson, Ethan Hawke, and Jordan Peele, Blumhouse Productions’ title card is now a promise of something different, if still eminently commercial and entertaining. It even paved the way for the controversial modern discourse around “elevated” horror, with Peele’s Get Out being the first chiller to win an Oscar for screenwriting since The Silence of the Lambs.

So with a new Blumhouse horror movie in theaters this Friday the 13th, we thought it a good time to count down the 13 best Blumhouse efforts that paid off with a bloody good time.

13. Hush

At the bottom of our top 13 is this taut thriller from Mike Flanagan, director The Haunting of series and Doctor Sleep fame. Flanagan and his co-writer and star (and also wife), Kate Siegel, wanted to make a horror movie with little to no dialogue. So they came up with this concept of a deaf-mute woman (Siegel) in a remote house, who is stalked by a killer with a crossbow. Hush is at its peak in the first 20 minutes as the masked man (10 Cloverfield Lane’s John Gallagher Jr.) realizes his quarry can’t actually hear him and begins to play games.

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The pair’s relationship with sound makes an interesting dynamic in this tense home invasion movie, though the cat and mouse chase does grow somewhat repetitive and generic as the film progresses. Still, a fine performance from Siegel and an indication of what Flanagan could do on a small budget make this very much worth checking out. – Rosie Fletcher

12. Happy Death Day

The Groundhog Day formula where an odious person is doomed to relive the same day countless times has proven remarkably flexible. And Happy Death Day is no exception with its horror-comedy blend of Punxsutawney hijinks and ‘80s slasher movie clichés. Starring a ridiculously game Jessica Rothe as Tree, the sorority girl who is constantly waking up with the hangover from hell, Happy Death Day follows the typical “Queen Bee” slasher archetype, and forces her to relive the same horror movie again and again. Until she can figure out who her masked killer is, and maybe how to be a better person, she’s condemned to die in increasingly preposterous ways. Worse still, she must also wake up in a dormitory afterward.

It’s derivative in a million different ways, but delightful in many more thanks to a cheeky atmosphere from director Christopher Landon and a very savvy, self-aware script by Scott Lobdell. Most of all though, it benefits from Rothe’s comedic talents on full display, as she backflips between initial verbal bitchiness and constant physical comedy. She even manages to find a little pathos, one stab wound at a time. – David Crow

11. The Visit

The Sixth Sense may remain M. Night Shyamalan’s masterpiece, but it was an oft-referenced moment from a different film that became key to Blumhouse pulling him back from the brink of irrelevance.

Having made four objectively terrible movies in a row, including the notoriously bad wind-smeller The Happening, Shyamalan seemingly decided to use what he’d learned from a very effective part of 2002’s Signs, where Joaquin Phoenix reacts to a tense home movie of an alien sighting, and took the next logical step: What if the director put together 90 minutes of unsettling home movie moments just like that?

Your mileage may vary with the handheld, mockumentary style of The Visit, but it’s hard to argue that this brisk, low-budget tale of two young siblings staying with some very, very odd grandparents they’ve never met before could play out more wildly than it does here. And Shyamalan certainly doesn’t pull many punches when it comes to putting those poor kids in peril during the film’s climax. – Kirsten Howard

10. Creep

No, not the one set on the subway, this Creep, directed by Patrick Brice, written by Brice and Mark Duplass, and also starring them both in a tense two-hander, is an altogether more unsettling affair. Brice plays Aaron, a videographer who answers an ad posted by Josef (Duplass), the latter saying he’s dying and wants a video diary made to leave to his son. But Josef’s behavior is weird – exactly how weird is too weird is the challenge faced by Aaron.

At just 77 mins long, this is a compact, unusual, often funny movie which picks at male relationships in the modern day, and how far kindness and politeness can override instinct. Duplass and Brice are incredibly natural in a film that’s extremely unusual, steeped in unease but not really like a traditional horror, with laughter and tension relief keeping you on your toes throughout. There’s a sequel which is good too, though if you can watch the first without spoilers it delivers a particular kind of dread that’s hard to replicate. – RF

9. Upgrade

A couple of decades ago, there were plenty of films around like Upgrade. You didn’t even have to move for fun sci-fi action movies, really! But the glory days of never having to wait for the next Equilibrium, Gattaca, Cypher, or even Jet Li’s The One are long behind us. It’s pretty tough to get a slick little concept movie made when you’re expected to compete with huge action tentpoles at the box office—unless you’re Leigh Whannell, one of Blumhouse’s integral puzzle pieces.

Whannell paid his dues at the production house for 15 years as both a writer and helmer before unleashing his sophomore directorial effort, Upgrade. The film, which follows ludicrously named technophobe Grey Trace after he loses his beloved wife in a violent mugging, sees a paralyzed hero get implanted with a chatty chip that allows him to regain the use of his whole body. Soon Trace become virtually superhuman—imagine an internal K.I.T.T.—but all is not as it seems.

It shouldn’t be as delightful as it is. Admittedly, the whole thing isn’t too far removed from an elevated episode of The Outer Limits. But if you miss old school sci-fi nonsense and feel nostalgic for a time when smart sci-fi projects didn’t end up as eight drawn out episodes on a major streaming service instead, Upgrade really scratches an itch.

Of course now might be a bad time to mention that an Upgrade TV series is in the works… – KH

8. Halloween

In resurrecting one of horror’s most enduring—yet stubbornly uneven—franchises, director David Gordon Green (working with screenwriters Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley) made the smartest move he could: He stripped away the ridiculously convoluted and nonsensical mythology the franchise had built up over decades. Instead he simply made a direct sequel to Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece.

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Best Modern Horror Movies

By Don Kaye

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Halloween: A Legacy Unmasked

By David Crow

The result was easily the best Halloween movie since the original itself, bringing the characters and the story into the present while reverting Michael Myers back to the enigmatic, unstoppable, unknowable force that was so terrifying in the first film. Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak as three generations of Strode women bring healthy feminine empowerment to the proceedings while the intense violence and uneasy psychological underpinnings give this Halloween a resonance that has been lacking for so long. – Don Kaye

7. Split

As the movie that suggested M. Night Shyamalan’s renaissance was real, Split is still a surprising box office win for the eclectic filmmaker. With a grizzly premise about a man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as split personality) kidnapping teen girls to hold in a zoo, this could be the stuff of ‘70s grindhouse sleaze. While there is a touch of that to Split, more critically the movie acts as a buoyant showcase for James McAvoy at his most unbound.

Playing a character with 24 different personalities, a shaved and beefy McAvoy is visibly giddy bouncing between multiple alters that include a deceptively sweet little boy, an OCD fashion designer, and a bestial final form. The commitment he shows to each also becomes its own special effect, causing you to swear his physical shape is changing with his expressions.

Similarly, scenes with theater legend Betty Buckley as his psychiatrist also rivet with the energy of a stage play, and suggest a sincere sympathy for mental illness. A rarity in horror. Nevertheless, the movie still comes down to his alters’ obsessions with their kidnapped prize (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman who hides demons of her own. When these true selves finally cross paths in a genuinely tense finale, Split is maniacally thrilling. – DC

6. Sinister

An unsettling entry in the horror subgenre of writers who destroy their families, Sinister marked director/co-writer Scott Derrickson’s (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) return to horror after he detoured with an ill-fated remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Thus Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill concocted a unique, if somewhat scattershot, mythology about a pagan deity that murders entire families in the ghastliest ways imaginable.

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True crime writer Ethan Hawke discovers the extent of those murders in a box of 8mm films left in the attic of his new home (where the last killings took place), and it’s the unspooling of those films—along with long sequences of Hawke moving through the shadows and silence of the house—that provide Sinister with its sickening core and palpable dread. Derrickson sustains the film’s foreboding mood for the entire running time, making the movie an authentically frightening experience. – DK

5. Oculus

The film that brought much of the world’s attention to Mike Flanagan, Oculus turned out to be a preview for the horror filmmaker’s interests. It also remains a truly unnerving ghost story. Not since the days of Dead of Night has a film so successfully made you scared of looking in a mirror.

Officially titled the Lasser Glass, the mirror in question is the apparent supernatural cause of hundreds of deaths, including the parents of Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) and her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites). When they were children, their mother starved and mutilated herself before their father killed her. But now as an adult, Kaylie is convinced she can prove the antique glass is the true culprit, and she’ll document its evil power before destroying it. But the funny thing about evil mirrors is they have ways of protecting themselves, and wreaking havoc on a sense of time, place, and certainly self-image.

The Haunting of Bly Manor: Mike Flanagan Discusses Standout Eighth Episode

By Alec Bojalad

The Haunting of Bly Manor: The Poignant Tale of Hannah Grose

By Louisa Mellor

With the movie’s near masterful blending of events occurring 11 years ago and in the present, Flanagan revealed a knack for dreamlike structure, and stories about the past damning the future. These are ideas he’s gone on to explore in richer detail with The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, but Flanagan’s ability to juxtapose childhood trauma with a nightmarish present was never more potent, or tragic, than in Oculus’ refracted gaze. – DC

4. Paranormal Activity

It may take some mental gymnastics, but if you can take a step back and ignore all the sequels that followed in the wake of this surprise 2009 blockbuster, then you’d remember Paranormal Activity is a stone cold classic. It is also the movie that put Blumhouse on the map. Already mostly finished when Jason Blum saw a DVD screener of Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity, this $15,000-budgeted terror is arguably the most evocative use of found footage in all of horror.

While Peli is obviously influenced by 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, that earlier movie is as famous for its shaky disorientation as it is its scares. By contrast what occurs in Paranormal Activity is excruciatingly clear. Seriously, the camera barely moves! Instead we’re asked to sit back and watch in near slow motion as an unwise couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) meddle with forces that were better off left undisturbed.

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The Best Horror Movies to Stream

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It begins when Micah brings a home video camera into their house to track apparent ghosts in the dark; it ends in a demonic rush of violence. Everything in between is tracked by a disinterested lens, which usually sits statically in a corner or on a tripod, capturing the tedium of everyday life in its everyday natural lighting. Only occasionally does the horned shadow on the wall manifest. But then Paranormal Activity is chilling in its isolation. – DC

3. Insidious

As the fourth feature film directed by Australian filmmaker James Wan, Insidious follows a couple named Josh and Renai Lambert (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne), whose son inexplicably falls into a coma and becomes a vessel for malevolent entities from a dimension called the Further. The family enlists a psychic named Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) in a battle involving astral projection and demonic possession.

Following an era of horror films that were more torture porn or police procedural (including Wan’s own Saw), Insidious was a return to the kind of horror filmmaking that was dependent on atmosphere, suspense, and what you don’t see lurking in the shadows. And Wan seemed to imbue that creepiness around the edges of every shot. Using actual adult characters and developing them (as opposed to the hipster teens that infested nearly every horror movie for at least 10 years previously) also set the film apart as a serious attempt at a genre that had been too often exploited in a tossed-off fashion.

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Blumhouse Horror Movies Update: Halloween Kills, Insidious 5 and More

By Don Kaye

The world-building of Insidious left the door open for sequels, of course, and while the three produced so far have had their moments, none has matched the sheer invention and terrifying fun of the original. – DK

2. The Invisible Man

Leigh Whannell’s reimagining of the classic Universal Monster, the Invisible Man, was as much of a surprise when it hit screens earlier this year as the titular villain himself. As a smart social commentary on domestic abuse and gaslighting, while also being enormously effective as a straight up horror, this was a highly fresh take on an old standard.

At the core was the terrific performance of Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia, a woman stuck with her controlling boyfriend Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) in their high-tech, high security fortress of a home. When Cece finally manages to escape and Adrian appears to take his own life, she hopes her ordeal can finally be over. But in fact it’s just beginning.

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How Leigh Whannell Made The Invisible Man Scary Again

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How The Invisible Man Channels the Original Tale

By Don Kaye

Playing on the true horror of not being believed, Whannell’s Invisible Man is as harrowing at times as it is thrilling. Yes, there are some extraordinarily shocking set pieces – the restaurant scene of course stands out – but it’s the increasing desperation of Cece, whose world is falling apart at the manipulative hands of a man who won’t let her go, which stays with you.

The Invisible Man is a thrilling horror, for sure, with a feel good ending (if you want to read it that way…), but it’s something altogether more exciting than that too: a fresh, relevant take on a classic, expertly directed and boasting star power delivered on a moderate budget, which flexes exactly what horror can do. – RF

1. Get Out

More impressive than any awards it won, Jordan Peele’s Get Out encapsulates the essential draw of horror: through entertaining “scares,” it unmasks truths folks might find too horrifying or uncomfortable to acknowledge. In the case of Get Out, it is the despair of Blackness and Black bodies still being commodified by a predatory American culture.

Wearing influences like Rosemary’s Baby and Stepford Wives on his sleeve, Peele pulls from classic horror conventions for his directorial debut, but gives them a startling 21st century sheen. His movie’s insidious conspiracy is neither an obvious coven of witches or the openly racist heavies of a period piece. Rather Peele sets his story about a Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) coming to meet his white girlfriend’s parents in a liberal conclave of wealthy suburbia. Written during the final days of the Obama years, Peele casts these parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) as genial and welcoming, shielding cries of racism behind fashionable political correctness.

Yet once Peele moves past that trendy veneer, he finds a potent allegory in which the ghosts of slavery are still alive and well, even in Upstate New York. Peele also packs anxieties about interracial relationships, culture clash, and childhood trauma into a film that is nevertheless gregariously funny. Ultimately though, its final effect is triggering in the best way. Get Out offers an opportunity to confront real dread, one uneasy laugh, and then sudden jump scare, at a time. – DC

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fiction-in-my-blood · 4 years

Text

Switching Sides: Part 9 (HLITF)

if anyone possibly wants to get on a tag list I’d be happy to make one

👉 @theshove 👈

If you wanna catch up, Part 8 is right here! Happy reading :)

Premise: Growing up in a life of crime in a Japanese mafia, Atsuko Motomori has seen enough injustice to last her a lifetime. To try and give back to the universe her family has taken so much from, she dreams of being a detective from a young age. Her twin, sharing her disgust for her father and many uncles, just wants an ordinary life away from the crime, paing and suffering. Instead, she wants to be in the spotlight with the soft notes she makes with her cello. In their escape of 2015, on their coming of age birthday, they must split ways, never to be together ever again. If one was found, they didn’t want the other dragged down with them. Atsuko, having changed her name and appearance as best she can without a scalpel, sets off to start her life of car chases and arrests.

Four years in a seemingly dead-end police station in the middle of nowhere, being passed over time after time for promotion, Atsuko finally gets a shot at her dream, having been sent to an academy for the best candidates in the country by her boss who had always kept an eye out for her. After discovering her boss may have made her bite off more than she could chew, Atsuko must become the slave of a dominating instructor!? Who so just happens to be the captain of the most famous police unit in Japan? Not to mention a total knockout! Will Atsuko finally achieve her dream? Or will her new instructor put her through the wringer?

Warnings: Language, Reference to sexual activity, Forceful nature.

~~~~~~

In what my sister said was a safe house, I flopped on a couch of extraordinary quality, my mind racing with thoughts. Was Kaga okay? Would everyone think I was dead? Hopefully, there weren't any security cameras in that alleyway, otherwise, I would’ve gotten caught out.

"That was a close call." Juna sighed out a laugh, handing me a bottle of water for my dried throat. I didn't want to go to the hospital, too nervous the academy would be notified if I was seen or identified. The gorse the paramedic stuck to my head was still there and the bleeding in my mouth had stopped. Although, I could feel my jaw start to swell up. My chest was burning a little from the limited amount of smoke I inhaled, but I would be fine. Hopefully...

I was unresponsive to her comment, nervously rubbing the cloudy plastic in my hand. "You should take a shower. You stink." Noticing I wasn’t really in the mood to talk, Juna showed me an encouraging smile, nudging my arm to kick me out of my own world.

Looking around the apartment as I walked to the door she pointed at, I noticed many picture frames and trinkets from around the world. There were miniature figures of monuments, postcards and handmade jewelry, all presented on the bookshelves. I remembered the sheets of music she used to store in our room as kids and noticed that there were books of scores tucked closely together.

"You really got around, huh?" I commented, crouching in front of the bookcase to see a group photo of her old orchestra. She had a bright smile on her face and looked especially close with the man standing next to her with a horn type of instrument. I was somewhat jealous. I had no memories like this. No friends. No outings. Too scared to let anyone close. Too scared to show people the real me in case they got scared and left me broken. Hell, I didn't even own any sort of camera, not even on my phone. All I had were the memories I held onto. And those were few and far between.

Juna walked up beside me, peering at it. "Yeah." She showed a said smile and her voice croaked. It's hard to leave behind the people in your life after lying to them for so long. I could tell she felt guilty for disappearing out of the blue, but I was just trying to forget all about it.

"It's for their protection, Juna. If they knew..." I led off, not knowing to the full extent what could happen. However, I did know it wouldn't be good.

"I'll get you a change of close." She got up, turning away from the memory before she let her feelings get the better of her.

~~~~~~

After my shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and dried my hair with another.

"Hey, Juna, do you have a toothbrush I can borrow?" I called through the door, settling back into the sisterly comfort we had years ago.

When she didn't respond, however, I furrowed my brows, expecting her to be just outside. Suspicious thoughts flooded my brain and I grabbed the clay soap dish in case I needed to pound someone’s head concave. It wasn't much, but all I had. Her interior design was surprisingly minimalistic.

Slowly, I opened the door, peering into her living room. In the middle of the room, I spotted Juna hugging a man, tears flowing down her face. I sighed at her closed eyes, clutching the man like she might fall off a 60 story building if she even loosened her grip. ‘She knew not to call anyone. What was she thinking?’

"Juna," I growled, lowering my makeshift weapon when I knew there are no threats. She spun around quickly, not expecting me to be there. The man looked just as shocked, looking from my face to hers.

"Katsu, I can explain!" She panicked as I eyed him suspiciously. It was the man from the photo. I crossed my arms.

"You the guy that called me?" I nodded towards the handsome man. He had fluffy, wavy hair and dressed rather lavishly in his white dress shirt and black pants. His long beige coat, although it was still kind of warm out, made his shoulders look quite broad. Despite my trepidation, he looked kind.

"You're the woman from the payphone?" He gasped. I assumed he didn't know Juna had a twin sister.

"Does he know?" I turned my gaze back to Juna, wondering if he knew about our past. The look on her face told me he did. Enough to understand her disappearance, that is.

"U-Um, Katsumi, this is Kanto. She's my twin sister." Juna was uneasy as she introduced us, but I was wary to step forward and shake his hand while he was too shocked to move.

"And, um, Kanto is my b-boyfriend..." She led off, as if this was a shock to me. I raised an eyebrow. I could tell she was going to add to his title when she took in another deep breath. "And... well... he's also the father of my baby." She smiled brightly at me, but I could tell she was nervous about what I would say.

The words made me freeze and my breathing stopped. I looked down at her belly and I guessed there could be a bit of a bump, but nothing to cause suspicion.

"I'm... gonna go change." I quickly grabbed the clothes left for me on the back of the couch and charged back into the bathroom.

~~~~~~

"Mikara... Your sister's a twin?" The father-to-be turned to the woman he loved, shocked he had just seen two of her, not used to calling her by her birth name. She had told him all about the past she had escaped from on a drunken night when she was missing her sister the most. She told him all about the older sister who had shielded her from so much hurt and abuse. She told him how her father had killed her mother. About the crimes she had witnessed. Juna had forgotten to mention when that sister had the identical features.

"I-I wasn't even supposed to tell you in the first place!" She teared up, worried what thoughts were going on in her sister's head.

"You didn't tell her about me?" Kanto pouted, something Juna wouldn't usually be able to resist.

"I didn't exactly have time." She frowned in response, sitting on the couch to wait for her sister to emerge again.

~~~~~~

Once I’d taken a breather to process the information I'd just taken in, I walked out of the bathroom and into the tense atmosphere of the living room. Kanto was standing on one side while I saw Juna stressing out on the couch. When I walked through their silent contemplation, my sister jumped up, expecting me to speak. I looked at both of them, trying to get the image of my sister fooling around out of my mind and I grimaced. Rubbing my temples, I went to the fridge, looking for food to cook something with. Neither of them had said anything yet and I was sure Juna felt like she was going to get lectured.

"Sit," I ordered, pointing to the counter that had stools. They both ran over, sitting down as I got ingredients out. I needed to keep my hands full in case I fekt like strangling her.

"Katsu-." I cut off Juna by lifting my knife in a shushing motion. I started chopping onions strictly, making them jump every time the blade hit the chopping board.

"So, let me just ask." I suddenly looked up, finally knowing what I was going to say. "While I was working my ass off trying to become a detective so I can make both of us safe, you're off getting knocked up and spreading your secret like it's the New Testament?" I started chopping more vegetables more violently, throwing them into the pot I was heating up for some sort of stew.

"H-Hey! You make me sound like a slut!" Juna argued back, face flushing darkly. I sighed, rubbing the area between my eyebrows to somehow get the information into my brain. There was still a pounding pain in my head from the smoke and the head injury, so the added stress of thinking was not welcomed.

As the sizzling of vegetable oils sounded in the silent room, I casted my gaze to her. "How far along?" One hand on my hip and one holding my face, I couldn't turn my whole body to look at her, too worried I'd pounce on the man that got my sister pregnant without knowing the whole situation.

"A-About six weeks. It was shortly before dad kidnapped me." She shied away, looking at her lap as she reported. This Kanto guy was too scared to even look me in the eye.

"Have you had a check-up since the shooting?" The question made the man's gaze shoot up, worry painted on his face.

"Y-You were in a shooting?" He shrieked, jumping up and grabbing her shoulders to force her to look at him. In a way, his overreactions reminded me a little of Naruko.

"I didn't want to say anything to him. I was too scared of what he'd do..." She continued talking to me, avoiding her partner's intense gaze. I could tell she was talking about our father. Who knew what he would do if he found out she was pregnant. What he would do the with baby...

Biting the tip of my thumb, I sighed. "I'll see what I can do about an appointment. We might have to go a little out of the city. I just..." I led off, a little disappointed in my sister. With the way we grew up, why would she want to put another human being into this world?

"...We barely had a childhood. Just about made it out alive. How do you think you're going to protect that child? What if they find us again? What if they kidnap the kid?" I pestered whatever plan she had and the man stood up to me.

"I'm going to protect her! I don't know you, but I know Mikara is the strongest woman I've ever met!" He yelled, his expression was enraged.

"You don't even know her real name. I'm trying to be realistic. If you're going to have this baby, it's going to have the same enclosed life we did. They're not going to stop looking for us. Not after seeing me at the scene. Not after I..." I led off, praying and hoping that I had killed my father in that fire. With the head of the snake gone, it would take the gang some time to regroup and decide on their next course of action. Maybe it would even scare them off?

"They won't have the same childhood as us, Katsumi. Because we will love them with all our hearts. We will cherish and raise them the way we were meant to be raised. Because that's what they deserve..." Juna grabbed Kanto's hand, smiling brightly at him. It was an expression full of love and hope. Nothing I had ever seen on either of my parents' faces. "...And we'll do it together. Please, Katsumi, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they didn't know their Auntie Katsu!" She turned to me with a look that almost broke my heart.

"Why do you have to be so damn optimistic all the time?" I frowned, turning away from the loving couple and towards the burning food.

"Does that mean you accept us?" Juna pleaded and her voice sounded frail.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, I'm not going to disown you. But, I'm still not happy about this." I didn't need to turn around to know that she was ecstatic. I even heard the stool slide back as she jumped to hold her lover.

~~~~~~

Once dinner was served up, I began to ask Juna if she knew anyone that could get us new identities.

"Why would you need that?" Kanto asked, obviously out of his depth.

"I'm probably going to be presumed dead if they can't find me at the scene. I'll need a new license to be able to get a job. You should be fine as long as you stay out of the spotlight." I explained, knowing this wasn't at all common knowledge. The first guy I used to get me a new persona went missing shortly after we made our escape. He was likely dead.

"Can't you use your original passport? It shouldn't be too risky, seeing as you..." Juna led off, not wanting to bring the possible murder of our father into the conversation over our meal. I had filled her in before we got here.

"That's all in my old dorm. I wouldn't be able to get in there without being spotted." I scratched my head trying to think of a way to get by in this modern society without any means of identifying myself.

"It's an open-campus, right? I could go there to collect your belongings. Even Kanto can say he's your cousin." Pretending like he wasn't even here, Juna and I started to plan a break-in into the academy.

"I had a friend who knows I have a twin sister... But my instructors are trained in interrogation, I wouldn't want to put you through that. Could I go myself?" I questioned the liability of using my sister's ID as my own in order to infiltrate without putting her in harm's way.

"You have the same face." Kanto tried to put his limited input, which I didn't appreciate. He didn't seem like a bad guy, but I wasn’t very trusting when it came to the people around my sister.

"Yeah, but can you act like you just lost your sister?" Juna laughed, however morbid that may seem.

"I've gotten good at lying. Surprisingly." I smiled slyly, both of us knowing how ironic it was for a cop to get good at deceiving other cops.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention." I sighed. When I remembered what was in the box under my bed, I remembered the letter of evidence I wasn't able to give to the detectives. I explained this to them both and Juna looked anxious.

"They have no chance of catching them without it." She mumbled, pinching her chin as she thought about a way to get the evidence to them anonymously.

"We might have to wait for things to die down before I make a move on the police department. There's no way they won't have some sort of software on their security cameras..."

"That reminds me. We need to get some hair dye." With a mouth full of food, Juna spoke up.

"Why does this feel so much more complicated than last time?" I dropped my head into my hand, adding every task to my todo list.

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, in a hospital near where the bombing took place, a team of doctors were working hard to save a certain crack detective. His coworkers were pacing back and forth, making calls and planning their next steps, having sent every student they had back to the academy.

"There's no cameras in that alley. The closest thing we have is a street cam down Main Street and we don't even know if they went that way." Shinonone raked an hand through his hair, laptop in hand, squinting at the map with pinpoints on it showing all the cameras they had access to in the city.

"And you saw nothing about their faces. No hair colour, eye colour? What about their clothes?" The Chief, finally getting involved once one of his men was in the ER, pointed out, making some of the men that were already irritated, far more so than before.

"They were both wearing black. The one in the suit may have had black hair, but what good will that do? They both had their helmets on before we turned the corner." Ayumu complained, the one that had seen the most of the women on the motorcycle before they made their quick escape.

"Kurosawa is out making the rounds, but it's unlikely he'll find anything with everyone's attention on the building." Soma sighed to himself, pinching his chin in deep thought.

"Has anyone heard from Motomori yet?" Goto finally spoke up, wording everyone's suspicions they didn't want to be having. She had gone through those huge hotel doors and never came out. She didn't respond to her ear-piece; her only female friend had found it on the floor shortly after she ran in.

The room went quiet and cold. The group of six had been allowed a private conference room in the hospital so they could work and be the first to hear of any changes in Captain Kaga's condition, so the only sounds that could be heard were small, distance noises of shuffling hallways and a squeaking from a trolley being pushed just outside the door.

"She wouldn't have left without finding him..." Soma was the first to speak, further exclaiming everyone's collective thoughts. Shortly after Kaga was found, the entire building collapsed, even if the young officer was still in there, there was little to no chance she'd still be alive. Between all that fire taking oxygen out of the air and the crumbling structure of the building trapping her in the one room that might have been saved from the blasts and the likelihood of being crushed to death by rubble, there was no way. They knew of her persistence by now, but she wasn't a god. She couldn't tire out death.

Suddenly, a light knock rapped the door, sounding like a thundering clap in the still air. Everyone turned when a nurse poked her head through and, for a moment, everyone was reminded of that same girl that they had all been thinking about. But, alas, the black-haired young woman explained that Captain Kaga was asking to speak to someone who knew about the situation, and they needed to hurry.

With a heavy sigh, Ishigami put himself forward to speak. Then Chief Namba. Then even Shinonome stood up.

"Sit down, all of you." The Chief exclaimed and everyone stepped back, knowing now was not the time to act strong. With that command, the subordinates got back to work and Namba followed the nurse to Kaga's hospital room.

~~~~~~

Several days later, I was out grocery shopping in Juna's neighbourhood, on my way to collect my belongings from the academy, under the assumed identity of my twin sister. You know, the one Shinonome found a missing report on. I wouldn't lie, my knees were weak and my palms were sweaty. I was so nervous I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn't know if Instructor Kaga made it to the hospital, or out of it, and I didn't know how Naruko was feeling. I didn't know if my father's body was found or if the uncle with the device was caught. I had so many loose ends to tie up, I felt like my whole life was going to unravel the second I stepped through those gates.

"Katsumi." A man's voice spoke up and I turned to see Kanto, my sister's boyfriend. Juna had gone to a job interview and sent him with me so I didn't get overwhelmed.

"Don't go calling me that in the academy." I frowned at his forgetfulness and turned back to the array of snacks in front of me.

Juna had... interesting cravings. And, since she was the pregnant one, I had to go out and find the rare candy she wanted. "I didn't even know they made pickle-flavoured pop rocks." I felt like I was going to crumble under the pressure of the rage of a pregnant woman. I had been looking for days, but apparently they only sell them in small stocks.

"We should get going or we'll be late to pick up Mika... Juna." Still not used to using my sister's birth name in public, Kanto took the basket hanging on my arm.

"I'm perfectly fine carrying this myself." I snatched it back, narrowing my eyes at him before heading to the checkout point.

"How long is it going to take you to trust me? I'm trying really hard here!" Once we get out of the shop, Kanto followed me down the street, begging.

"We'll see how well you do and then I'll decide. For all I know, you're a flight risk." I explained, truly believing he could leave at any time if he wanted. I was sure that didn't make him feel good, to not be trusted by your lover's family, but I couldn't afford to be friendly. "It was just us for so long. I can't just go around handing out friendship tickets to anyone. It's my job to keep her safe." I glanced at his defeated stature beside me.

"...But, I'll be willing to give you a chance... After this, of course." I softened at the puppy dog eyes he showed me and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"I won't let you down, Katsumi!" He cheered, showing me a cartoonish salute. "I-I mean, Mikara." He stuttered out my fake name and my sister's former name once he saw the serious glare on my face.

~~~~~~

In front of the looming school gates of the Public Safety Academy, I took a deep brreath, sighing it out while trying to calm my racing heart. This would be the biggest, most important undercover operation I would ever be on, and I didn't know if I was ready for it yet.

"Are you nervous?" Kanto peered into my face and I opened my eyes from concentrating on my breathing.

"I was meant to start my life here. So, yeah, I'm a little depressed about it." I frowned and started walking to the administration office.

~~~~~~~

"Excuse me, I'm here to collect my sister's belongings," I announced at the desk, pulling a saddened expression when I gave my fake name, handing over the identification she asked for.

"You're not on any emergency contacts. How did you find out?" The woman, after looking at my details, looked up suspiciously.

"Her old boss called me and told me what happened... We... We weren't that close..." I looked away guiltily, secretly annoyed I hadn't planned for any of this. I should have at least bought another phone and registered that as an emergency contact.

When the receptionist noticed the similarities between my face now and the one on their system, she quickly made a call to get me and Kanto a guide.

We waited for a little while before I heard a familiar voice, shrieking, behind me. "Atsuko?"

Both of us turned, me unbelievably stressed and nervous, to see my closest ally wide eyed and ready to cry. Too uncomfortable to keep eye contact, I looked at Kanto in an effort to distract myself.

"M-Miss Harada, I'm so sorry for your loss."

Naruko, red-eyed and looking withered, smiled at me to pretend nothing was wrong. My heart shattered as I saw her expression, but I forced myself to look back. Naruko took us to the dorm, where she left us to look through my stuff.

Once I knew the door was closed, I darted to the box under my bed.

"This is a pretty sweet gig." Kanto looked around at the nicely styled room.

"Good, it's still here." I sighed in relief, sliding my old passport into my jacket pocket, along with all the childhood memories. Then, I noticed my mother's ring rocking around in the bottom.

"What's that?" Kanto seemed to share the interruptive nature Naruko couldn't seem help.

"My mother's. I think. She left it on my pillow the night she left." I sighed, not wanting to look at it anymore. "You take it. Juna always wanted it more than me." I closed my eyes and forced it into Kanto's hands.

Moving on, I started to pack the clothes I had left hanging on the wardrobe. I found the uniform we were given when we arrived and my fingers grazed them, having left them here when we went undercover in the hotel. My brows furrowed as I looked at it, knowing I would never be able to wear my badge again. Before I knew it, I was crying.

"Do you want me to finish for you?" Kanto spoke up and I bit my lip, trying not to let my voice sound frail.

"I'll leave it here. It's too painful to bring it with me." I turned away from the closet, just like I had with that life.

~~~~~~

Before long, I had packed up anything I needed for my new life. I took a deep sigh, not expecting to be so emotional about the whole fiasco.

"We should get going, Juna will be finished soon." I looked up at the clock on my wall for the very last time. As I packed, I had been ingraining the room into my memory, not wanting to leave this stage of my life behind. I had worked so hard, only for it to result in nothing. I broke down at my thoughts, turning to hide my face in Kanto's chest.

"Shut up," I whispered before he could make a comment on how I was already warming up to him.

~~~~~~

After I cried myself to where I thought I would be able to leave without looking a mess, I stepped back from the man.

"Thank you for coming with me... I know I'm difficult." I mumbled, embarrassed with how rude I had been to such a great guy.

"Don't apologise with tears in your eyes! You're gonna make me feel guilty." Kanto laughed and I glared at him.

"That's not an apology. It's a thank you for never talking about this again." I threatened, finding myself less of a mess than before. It was easy to communicate with him, I could see why Juna fell for him.

Taking a step out of my dorm for the very last time, I saw Naruko crying in the corner and being consoled by one of our classmates.

"I-I just miss her so much. We were supposed to graduate together!" She wailed and I had to look away to stop myself from crying again. Pulling out the picture she had picked up that night when we were new friends from my jacket pocket, I reminisced on all the memories we had here. We weren't together for a long time, but she made life under Kaga's rule bearable.

Then, I remembered the one picture we took together was pinned to my fridge. Running back into my room, I ripped it from the magnet.

"Can you give this to the girl? I don't think I'll be able to keep my cool." I handed it to Kanto once I walked back out of the apartment and he looked a little stunned by my request but did it without another word to me.

When he approached the two, Naruko looked up in fear of an instructor reprimanding her for being so emotional in the hallway. His voice was rather deep. I was honestly surprised she wasn’t fawning over him. He gave her the picture, saying he was sure I would want her to have it, and her gaze darted to me. With tears in her eyes, she ran up and gave me a big hug. For a moment, I was worried she had noticed it was really me.

"Your sister was a great friend and an even better cop. She would have made an amazing detective!" She tried to calm herself down as she pulled back, gripping my shoulders like a vice. My eyes widened a little and I could tell she really believed that.

"Thank you... You don't know what that means to hear you say that." I tried to keep my distance, not wanting to trigger something in her memory that would make her realise that it was me for a second time.

"U-Um, before I forget, the instructors that taught Atsuko want to talk to you." She straightened up, realising how uncomfortable I was with the close contact.

Now I was seriously nervous. I gulped, nodding and calling Kanto back over from his conversation with the classmate and we made our way to the Instructor's Staff Room.

~~~~~~

Naruko knocked, announcing both herself and us. She invited us in with a smile and I spotted Instructor Ishigami, Soma and Shinonome standing up from the table in the centre of the room. I was stunned silent, too afraid I might admit everything to them right there and then. I could tell Kanto straightened his back as well, likely intimidated by the handsome men in front of us.

"Miss Motomori, we're very sorry for your loss." Soma stepped forward and grabbed my hand to give me a gentle handshake. I curtly bowed my head, not wanting to stutter if I spoke.

"It's Harada." Kanto, seemingly overtaken by some sort of confident spirit, snaked and arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. Too shocked to hide how thrown off I was, I furrowed my brows at him. He was smiling, although it was a little strained, so I could tell he' was just as uncomfortable about this as I was.

When I turned back to Soma, his expression quickly changed from something surprisingly stern to his usual smile. "If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them." He showed me a kind but sad smile and I instantly panicked.

‘Was it normal for loved ones to have questions? I guess if they hadn't found a body, I should be wondering if I had really died.’

I turned to look up at Kanto, trying to see if he had any ideas. He asked whether they had, in fact, found a body and the tension in the room skyrocketed.

"Shortly after Officer Atsuko went into the building, a bomb went off, destroying a part of the hotel. We haven't been able to search the rubble yet." Ayumu answered as Soma guided me to a seat and I hesitantly complied. From here, I could see inside Kaga's office, and he was nowhere to be seen. I grew anxious and couldn't help but speak up.

"I heard she went in after another detective? Did...Did he make it out alive?" I peered at Ishigami, knowing he would be the only one to give me a straight answer. His brows furrowed for a moment, maybe taken aback by my similarities to the girl he knew. I grabbed Kanto's hand for support when he took a considerably time to respond.

"He was sent to the hospital shortly after he was found outside of the building." His response was vague and I felt my heartbreak.

‘He's dead. I went through all that trouble to save him, and he died.’ I could feel tears collect in my eyes again.

"Mrs Harada, there is one more thing." Soma, who had been standing by my chair, put a hand on my shoulder. I looked into his other hand to see a long, flat box. I could memorise that black box from anywhere. "This is her officer's badge. It was found in her room after the incident." I hadn't worn my badge to the hotel because we were supposed to inconspicuously round up the criminals, a badge would completely defy the point of wearing casual clothes. I took great care of it and put it in that box whenever I wasn't wearing it. It showed how, even when I hit a rocky road, I could accomplish my dreams. It was my most cherished possession.

Looking at the metal glinting in the sunlight when he opened the lid, I was so mesmerised I didn't even realise it when tears started falling down my face. I had completely forgotten to look for it in my dorm. Slowly, I reached up and took the box, swiping my thumb over the badge number I had grown to ingrain in my memory.

"Thank you," I whispered, my voice frail with pain. “It was all she ever wanted; to be cop. Thank you.”

~~~~~~

Once we had collected everything we needed, we had to leave to pick Juna up from her job interview. As we walked to the door, Ayumu called out my fake name.

"How long has it been since you've seen your sister?" He asked and I took a moment to respond, trying to think of something that wouldn't make him question me further. It was obvious he remembered the name from the missing person's file, I was honestly astounded he didn't ask about it until now. I guess he thought it would be a good time to bring it up.

"It's been a few years. I wish I could have made up with her sooner..." I sighed, pretending to think back to an argument that might have made us distant. Watching Ayumu's reaction, I could tell he was somewhat annoyed. Had he expected me to say something else? Had he wanted me to say we had talked more recently?

When he didn't respond at all, I turned back to the door Kanto had already escaped through, as, I’m sure, he was as scared as I was when trying to lie.

Suddenly, the door flew open. There, I saw a man practically walking around with a storm cloud above his head, but I was overjoyed.

‘H-He's alive!’ My eyes widened at Instructor Kaga, breathing right in front of me. It took me a moment to register that I shouldn't be staring so noticeably and I redirected my gaze to the open door, walking away for good.

#HLITF #hlitf ayumu #hlitf kaga #hlitf goto #hlitf ishigami #hlitf soma #hlitf shinonome #hlitf fanfic #voltage games #voltage fanfic #oc #ooc #her love in the force #crime #mafia #mob #police #detectives

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blandacheadcanons · 4 years

Text

Let’s talk about AC: Odyssey

Overall, the game was a 7/10. I liked it, primarily because it’s shiny new content and because i get to play as a woman for the whole game (and Kassandra hnngggnng) but there were some issues which, for me, undercut the emotion of the whole thing, especially the ending.

spoilers and bitching below, proceed at your own risk

An ADHD dream and nightmare

in general, the way i played Black Flag, Origins, and Odyssey was tantamount to “Okay, gotta go to - squirrel!”

Now, that problem (not really much of a problem but y’know) starts with me. I have ADHD, so I’m already prone to being unfocused in my game play. But it doesn’t help that the map is littered with side missions, collectibles, and shiny things.

That, on it’s own, is not much of an issue. So it’s a bloated game; that just means there’s more to love. and I do love this game. however, the overwhelming amount of side missions and the fact that you’re practically required to play them in order to level up enough, means that the game loses its focus.

in Black Flag, this was somewhat remedied by the fact you’re never really under-leveled, so much as under-prepared. In Origins, it was offset by the intensely emotional story and clear motivations. In Odyssey, neither of those things were present.

Breaking the game

Throughout its life as a series, Assassin’s Creed has done something few other games have done: justified the fact that it’s a video game. We, the player, play as Desmond/Layla/whomever, who is playing through the memories of the historical character. The Animus can essentially take a puzzle and build the edges and group the pieces by color, but it still needs a human to put the pieces in place. the puzzle - the memory - itself cannot be changed.

Now, in Odyssey, there is no more justification. Yes, I’m talking about the choice mechanic.

This aspect of the game just... breaks everything we know about the series. the way the animus works. the way we play the game. the lore went from decently put together to flat out incoherent.

I love Kassandra. and I love that she’s the canon character. but if female leads for some reason come at the cost of consistent story-telling, i’ll take the consistent lore.

Way too big

traveling takes for-fucking-ever. Look, Ubisoft, I know people loved the naval portions of your games. but that’s not an excuse to make everything fucking HUGE and spread out over a dozen islands. If you must have such a huge game, give us fast travel to an island right away. restrict it however else you like, but for FUCKS SAKE.

Clash of the Titans (and the original premise for this series)

from AC1 to AC: Black Flag, each game has been defined by its historical setting. It was the Crusade Game, the Renaissance Game, the Victorian Game...

Origins began to lay the framework for a more mythology-based portion of the series.

Well, Origins walked so that Odyssey could fly by it on a motorcycle. Throughout the game, i wasn’t about the historical figures i would meet. I was wondering where and how the mythology would be making an appearance.

On its own, this is not a bad thing. It also makes sense, given that Ubisoft seems to be shifting to the Isu for plot in the wake of Juno’s death.

It is, however, still rather jarring. It also doesn’t look like we’ll be getting more of the historical thing because AC: Ragnorak is looking like the next game.

I love mythology as much as the next person, but...I don’t even know what to say.

The Ending

the aforementioned lack of focus and emotional intensity led to a...lackluster ending. I went for the best ending where Kassandra saves Alexios and the family is reunited.

Alexios’s heel-face turn seemed so sudden. Like he’s furious up until he touches Leonidas’s spear, and he suddenly sees the light? I’m not saying that it can’t happen, but in a game brimming with mythology and magic, this was the thing that strained my suspension of disbelief.

And this was right after Kleon shot him in the back, too. but is it ever brought up? is his faith in the cult shaken by the fact that one of his “family” just tried to kill him? does Kassandra use it as evidence that the cult is using him?

nope. not once. not even a little bit.

And these are just some nitpicks, but for me, both Alexios’s subpar voice acting and Kassandra’s quiver disappearing (idk if that was a common thing or just my game) undercut the emotion of the scene.

cutscenes are not the time for errors like this, people!

too short

As much as I complain about a bloated game, the main storyline was way too short. If you play only the main story line, you’ll probably have uncovered about half the map. maybe less. Why do i care about the map? I don’t. But i do care about an underdeveloped story.

Maybe there was more plot that ended up on the cutting room floor, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether the game was slashed to ribbons or wasn’t there in the first place. We got a game that was too short.

The lack of length also exacerbates the tone problem. Had we had a longer story with more Deimos/PC interaction where cracks appear in Deimos’s armor, and he maybe even does something uncharacteristically charitable (out of more than pure shock), i could then buy his behavior on Taygetos as a last-ditch effort to maintain his self image in the face of his shifting world view.

If we’d had cutscenes like Syndicate where we could see a few moments from Alexios’s perspective, I could understand how that world view shifts and how the cult treats him.

but instead, we get an exponential graph of Alexios’s development. and it’s a damn shame.

Loss of Identity

for every AC game, there’s a million video essays laying out the problems with it. And in every one of those essays, there’s a line to the effect of “this game doesn’t feel like an Assassin’s Creed game.”

Previously, i was always of the school of thought that were was no “feel” of an AC game. the nature of the games is to change, in big ways and small ways, between games. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

But now, if you had me play this game and then AC1 and told me they were in the same series, i would never fucking believe you. The already thin common threads between games has been completely broken, even more so by going back in time. Origins had a similar problem, but it at least referenced the rest of the series with the hidden blade and the establishment of the Assassin Order. the only things “Assassin’s Creed” about Odyssey are the Isu and the title.

Other Nitpicks

Layla does not get out of the Animus nearly enough. I know most people hate the modern day line, but i like the break from all the historical action.

not calling Deimos Alexios/Kassandra in the subtitles. I know it was probably easier on the devs but just imagine the feels if the name changed when Deimos was being more vulnerable/letting his compassion show.

Kassandra can full-on see Atlantis and a Sphinx and still be amazed by every mythological creature that crosses her path.

people move way too much in dialogue cutscenes

animation and cgi are becoming so real that it’s creepy again

i appreciate the move to Actual Eagle’s Vision, but leave it in these games. I don’t want to get to the middle ages and be seeing out of a raven within a century of Atair’s Color Coding Eagle Vision. That’s not how evolution works.

While cool, the introduction of literally magical armor and weapons further proves that this isn’t a historical series anymore.

There is barely a stealth mechanic in this game, and when it’s used, it’s just used to pick people off before we’re noticed, not to avoid being noticed.

in a world where there are mercenaries and those mercenaries have to kill each other either for money or just to move up in rankings, mercenaries killing each other should not be illegal. if i try to fight one more mercenary and end up getting killed by the swarm of soldiers that just pony up out of no where, i swear to God...

why are soldiers acting as cops anyway doesn’t Athens have real, actual cops or equivalent

I think Ubisoft finally remembered they were rated M in Origins and Odyssey but it honestly just makes it harder to play around my parents

That’s as much as i can think of off the top of my head if i can think of more i’ll add it

#ac odyssey #kassandra #alexios #rant #deimos

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tisthenightofthewitch · 5 years

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GHOST ON HOW THEIR SATANIC CATHEDRAL TURNED INTO A FAMILY AFFAIR

Inside the extremely fun and incredibly satanic world of the pop-metal darlings.

Ghost have created something so special, you would almost think they struck a deal with the devil. Since their 2006 formation, the Swedish metal outfit have turned lyrics about defecating the holy eucharist into quaint singalongs, sold marital aids sculpted in the shape of their frontman’s head, performed on late-night TV to an audience of the demonically possessed and are currently playing stadium shows with Metallica—and all the while, they’ve only been giving it about 20-30%.

“This sounds like a joke, and I’m saying it sort of smiling, but it’s true—everything you’ve ever seen us do has always been a lesser version of what I had in mind. Always. 100%. So my original vision for everything is always twice as ambitious and goes through so many changes that we usually end up with 20 or 30% of it,” Tobias Forge says, also currently known as Cardinal Copia.

Forge, 38, is the Walt Disney figure “band boss” who conducts the decadent dark magic and weird whimsy that are Ghost—a band as humorous as they are blasphemous; as Beach Boys as they are Black Sabbath. They’re arguably the only group who can make an ABBA cover feel like it belongs on a record that contains a track about the conception of the Antichrist.

For those still uninitiated in the theatricality of the band’s iconography and public persona, Ghost are a band of nameless ghouls adorned in uniform black clerical garb and chrome-plated devil masks that are blank-eyed and devoid of mouths and any distinctive facial features. Forge has portrayed a different persona for each of the band’s records, always the demonic leader of the group. He’s been four versions of the satanic antipope, Papa Emeritus, over the course of their first three records and currently assumes the role of Cardinal Copia for their latest release, 2018’s Prequelle. Copia is a loose-skinned, expressionless creature of the Id decked out in a lavish tuxedo and inverted crosses galore, but regardless of the persona, the man behind the unholy imp strives to fully embody his role.

“What I like, especially when you’re stepping into a character, is never to be forced to step out of that character, which you have to do at times,” Forge says. “You allow yourself to become that weirdo onstage that dances ridiculously and does those things, and it just comes naturally. That gives me a kick because I personally transform into someone that I’m not really myself, at least when I’m sober. I’m not very much like that guy onstage in real life, but I can invoke that person by getting all that shit on, getting into character and going up onstage and that thing just happens. All of a sudden, I think differently, I say almost whatever comes into mind…it’s allowing yourself to just go on every impulse, and that’s what makes that character funny as well—he’s obnoxious.”

Throughout the history heavy music, there have been many theatrical bands, but Ghost are not only theatrical, they are theater. The band members are fully committed to their parts. The Nameless Ghouls are truly that—Nameless Ghouls; when onstage, Forge is absolved of himself and exists solely as Cardinal Copia. Forge’s full commitment to concept and character requires him to not only assume the roles of songwriter and frontman, but he also serves as the band’s chief playwright and director. Regardless of role or job description, Forge is, more than anything, an artist possessed by one thing: the idea of finding an unpremeditated flow.

“There is a narrative for every album cycle, and I do envision every show as a play, slightly more than your traditional rock ’n’ roll show even though we are a rock ’n’ roll band,” he explains. “It’s also, to the point, theatrical improvisation, in the vein of Bruce Springsteenwhere he asks the crowd, ‘What do you want to hear?’ That would not work with Ghost. It would disrupt the flow. It’s just not orchestrated that way. It’s not written that way. The setlists would crumble as soon as someone would yell out ‘Monstrance Clock,’ which is our last number. If we played that second, it would fuck up the whole thing. Whereas other bands and other artists, like Bruce Springsteen, have such a massive [catalog] of songs. He has so many ballads and so many uptempo songs that he knows that ‘I can play seven of them in the beginning, and it doesn’t matter because I still have 14 of them in the end.’ So he get away with doing four hours of that.

“As I said, I’m a stickler for flow,” he continues. “I really want it to flow like a Karate kata. I really want it to be like The Matrix when everything just slows down, and he just stands there. It just flows right through me. That’s what I want to achieve every night. So therefore, I regard it as a little bit more of a theater play where there’s a script, and my goal is to do it as fluently as I can without thinking. I don’t want to overthink things at all, and once I step into the character, I preferably want to stop thinking, because if I start thinking, then I start going through the moves, and I start faking it, and that’s what I want to avoid. By having a rigid setlist and a plan, I’m able to get myself and everyone else to do that.”

To many, the early allure of Ghost was how fully devoted the group’s players were to their parts, predicated on the clandestine charm of no one knowing the identities of the band’s members. The faces and names of Papa Emeritus and his Nameless Ghouls were completely shrouded in a secrecy that helped ease their fans into fully suspending disbelief and treating the presentation of the music with as much gravitas as a satanic clergy would command. In deep pockets of the sect, the name “Tobias Forge” had been whispered and attached to the Papa Emeritus character for most of their career, but it wasn’t until 2017 that Forge’s identity would be publicly confirmed as the ringleader of the group.

“I had come to a point in my life and in my career where not doing certain things was not doing me any favors,” he reveals. “It was making life hard, harder than I felt was necessary, and I just felt like now, almost 10 years into my career, the time and effort that I’m putting into the visual presentation should be so strong and so overshadowing whatever I do as a person on the side. So far, I’ve gotten the impression that that’s still the case. As long as I don’t overcompensate that, I don’t think that I will ever do anything that will overshadow the real focus of what I want Ghost to be.”

The 2019 Grammys provided Forge an opportunity to further challenge the public’s perception of Ghost. For the first time, Forge appeared in public as himself—stripped of all elements of pagan pageantry and accompanied by his wife. The couple walked the red carpet, posed for photos together and Forge conducted interviews without any trace of his Cardinal Copia alter ego.

“A lot of fans seem to embrace a lot of things that are mine, like my personal traits, and I’ve tried not to bring that into my presentation,” he shares. “But if they hold on to those and want to include it in their perception, there’s really nothing I can do about that. As long as they find that enriching or interesting, then…fine. The only thing would be those fans, who liked Ghost on the premise that it was something that they knew nothing about, and seeing my face on the red carpet may have destroyed all that and they don’t listen to Ghost anymore…OK. Too bad. These are the turmoils and tribulations that you stand in front of as an artist, you know? [Laughs.] You can’t let that dictate your life just because you’re aware of it.”

The meteoric rise of the band’s notoriety is nothing short of stunning. Throughout their career, the throughline of their material is the one thing they’ve never attempted to keep secret—this band make music about worshipping the devil. There’s nothing discreet or hidden. There is no veil of metaphor to pull aside, no subtlety. They write songs about Lucifer, and they perform on a stage that’s designed to give their audience the experience of attending a satanic church service. Throughout their catalog, they have songs that romanticize plagues, call for the coming of the Antichrist and very literally glorify the dark lord Lucifer, yet their latest release was sold in Target stores with two exclusive bonus tracks and a collectible lenticular album cover.

They’re the rare band who can fully embrace controversial and culturally taboo subject matter without listeners having to play their records backward to find it, yet they write such inherently catchy pop hooks that songs such as “Dance Macabre” are the perfect soundtrack for both your occult worship ritual after-party and something you could probably play if you were driving your mom to the grocery store. They’ve found a way to stay true to the Black Mass and still speak to the masses, and with that unique platform comes an extremely diverse audience and a fanbase who has grown out of the traditional heavy-metal demographic.

“When we’re playing bigger places for some reason, it’s a little more of a family event, to a certain extent,” Forge says. “The people are more in tune with the level that what we want to have it because we’ve been trying to get the point across that we want people to be excited. We want people to stand. We want general admission, big floor in front of the stage. I don’t like seeing frowns. I don’t like seeing feet, but you can’t start moshing. You can’t start hitting people. You can’t stage dive because there are kids everywhere, and there are small girls everywhere, and there are teenage boys and girls that cannot lift you because, you know, you’re a 40-year-old hardcore dude with a lot of muscle. You can’t jump on them.

“I think there’s often a clash sometimes—we are a metal band, originally,” he continues. “Sometimes there have been these clashes where you have the die-hard fans who’ve been with the band ever since [the beginning] who are used to going to metal shows only, and they want to claim Ghost as ‘this,’ and at a metal show, you do ‘this,’ and then you have this 15-year-old daughter of a dad, and they did not go to see Mayhem last week, and they were not at Slayer three weeks ago.”

In support of Prequelle, Ghost have been playing two-and-a-half hour sets with the ultimate goal of having their audience “come in overexcited and leave completely euphoric.” Currently, they’re touring as direct support for Metallica. The tour is further indication of the band’s rising celebrity, having earned the opportunity to play a one-hour set every night, but the gig has also posed a challenge to Forge’s ever-persistent pursuit of “flow.”

“It’s very different from the tours we’ve done so far in this cycle, because it’s supporting again,” he explains. “It’s stadiums. We’re playing for one hour, which is nothing for us. But the stage is four times bigger than an arena stage or a theater stage, so there’s a lot of real estate to cover, and it’s daytime. More often than not, it’s going to be maybe sunset, at best, but it’s going to be an afternoon or evening sun, straight in your face and also, not our crowd. It’ll be a Metallica crowd. They’re waiting for Metallica to play, so it’s a different vibe.”

Although touring in the Metallica support slot, Ghost have been afforded their full stage production setup, transforming the nightly stadium into a cathedral dedicated to Copia’s depraved church—giving the performers a fitting stage and the audience a fully immersive experience. Yet, despite the garish stage pieces and meticulously ornate sets that become more and more elaborate with his band’s growth, Forge heeds to the idea that with everything he does, what the audience sees is a compromised version of his initial vision. Whatever you see Ghost do is about 20-30% of what Forge wants it to be. Currently, Forge is fixated on the potential he sees in using the intermission during their two-hour set to elevate the show to the next level of theatricality.

“The idea with the intermission, originally, was for the stage to change so when we open up again, it would be a different stage. Things like that are what I’m aiming to do in the future if we can stay on an arena level, where we can bring our own stage. Then I would like to do that—whatever we started with ends up being something completely different. I want it to evolve. I want it to change, the same as when you go to see Phantom Of The Opera. They change the themes, and it takes you from A to F, and that’s what I’m hoping to achieve in the end. I think we’re doing a good job of getting people happy and euphoric, but I definitely think we could probably shift gears even more to get people completely euphoric when they leave. But it takes time, and there’s a lot of stars that need to align, and there’s a lot of things you need to work your way up to in order to have that consistency.”

So far, the stars have aligned for Ghost in ways that often never manifest themselves past the point of prayer. Their unlikely amalgam of occult phantasmagoria and radio-ready mass appeal is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime deal—but while it’s happening, Forge is fully devoted to serving Ghost’s congregation.

“I have no problem playing the same songs all the time as long as you have a crowd, as long as you have people there to do it with you,” he asserts.. “So that’s the one thing I’m always hoping for…happiness.”

The band’s latest Prequelle is available now here. Ghost are hitting a handful of U.S. festival weekends and returning in September for a full run. You can check out a full list of dates and tickets here.

ALL RIGHTS OWNED BY ALTPRESS.COM

#Tobias Forge #Tobias Interview #The Band Ghost #Ghost Band #Cardinal Copia

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tessatechaitea · 5 years

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Review of The Twilight Zone, Season 1, Episode 19: "War Sucks"

When I write a review of a The Twilight Zone episode, I always change the title. Some of you may have noticed that because you're perceptive lads and laddies (are "laddies" women or just small lads? I guess I should have said "lads and ladies" but then I couldn't have made a parenthetical reference (which are my favorite kinds of references)). My title might be a little bit on the nose although I could have made it more on the noserer by calling it "Death Sucks." But the original title was "The Purple Testament" and if you're wondering what the fuck that has to do with anything, keep fucking wondering because I'm not going to be able to explain it. I mean, sure, Rod Serling explains it in his narration although that dumb ass says it's a quote from William Shakespeare's Richard III when it's actually from Richard II. The quote is "He is come to open the purple testament of bleeding war." So you can see why Rod Serling uses the phrase "The Purple Testament" as his title. Because the story is about war. But why the fuck did William Shakespeare use it?! How should I know? Do I look like a Shakespeare scholar? The one thing anybody would rationally think after reading just a few of my comic book or The Twilight Zone reviews is, "This idiot definitely isn't a Shakespeare scholar." What I know about Shakespeare could fit in a small book of dick jokes. Because that's what he was famous for, right? Dick jokes? I used to be able to quote the entire end speech by Othello where he's talking about not loving not enough but too much but I've gotten old enough to realize some things aren't important enough to keep taking up brain space. Now the only quote I remember from Shakespeare is "Out vile jelly!" from King Lear. It's my favorite quote to use when some other smart ass person at the party starts going on and on with things like "Life is like a box of chocolates, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" or "What is this dagger I see perchance sleeping before me" or "Alas, Poor Yorick! I knew him. Notice how I didn't say 'well' at the end of the quote because that's not actually part of the quote and also did you know the next part of this quote is where David Foster Wallace got his title for the book Infinite Jest?" So after they're looking smug and smart showing off their Shakespeare knowledge, I'll say, "Out vile jelly!" Then I make a grinding motion with my foot like I'm putting out Gloucester's eyes! Then I like to follow it up with "Did you know King Lear's daughters were all named after sexually transmitted diseases?" They weren't but a good percentage of the time, I can convince some of the people I'm talking to that Cordelia was actually named Chlamydia. So the story is a war story and Serling calls it "The Purple Testament" because that's a phrase that's used in a Shakespeare quote that mentions "bleeding war." That's as good as an explanation as you're going to get because I doubt there's anybody in the entire academic world that can tell me what the fuck opening a purple testament has to do with war. The best I can come up with (as an amateur Shakespeare scholar which I suppose I can call myself. You can call yourself anything you want if you just stick "amateur" in front of it!) is that it's either a meta-purple prose comment about Bolingbroke declaring war or it's a dick joke. Either way, it's King Richard saying Bolingbroke has a huge erection for bloody war. The good thing is that you don't need to know anything about Shakespeare to understand this The Twilight Zone episode. Serling only mentions it because he knows everybody is going to be thinking, "What the fuck does a purple testament have to do with this fucking story?!" The premise of the episode is that a soldier suddenly develops the power to predict which soldiers are about to die. It doesn't help to save them so it's not a power that really matters. At all. Which is kind of both the point and besides the point. See, this guy is fighting a war. Everybody around him could die at any moment. So seeing death in the faces of your fellow soldiers is just a thing you begin to live with. Actually having the power to see the light of death in their faces is just a metaphor for how much war sucks and a bunch of y'all are going to die. At one point, one of the characters actually says, "War sucks." And that's pretty much the only part of the script that matters. War fucking sucks, dude. Which one of these guys is going to die today? It's a mystery but you know it's going to be some of them! Does knowing which ones help? Nope! They're still going to die! So just suck it up and cross your fingers it's not you, even though it probably will be! War sucks! From the moment the soldier reveals his power to Darrin Stephens, the astute The Twilight Zone viewer knows that he's eventually going to look in a mirror and see his own death. It's the only twist available to the story at that point. The question becomes, "How will the soldier react?" Will he rage against the dying of the light which isn't Shakespeare at all? Unless that Dylan guy stole it from a Shakespeare play (which Shakespeare would have stolen from some other now unknown play anyway!). Or will he just take it in stride and go to his death like a man was supposed to in 1959. Quietly, staunchly, and without tears or complaints. Well, this guy just takes it. Just sucks it up like never you mind. He sees the light in his face. He sees the light in the face of the man driving the Jeep taking him away from battle. And he hears about how there are loads and loads of landmines on the road ahead. And he just sits down, shuts the fuck up, and acts like a 1959 man. What a fucking fool. It might not be dignified but I would have raised a bit of a fuss. I would have screamed, "I'm not going down that road! We're going to blow up! This guy driving is going to die! I'm going to die! I don't want to die!" But then I'd think, "What if not getting away from the front lines is why I die? Maybe forcing this guy to stay in camp with me is how we both die!? How can I be sure?!" Which is probably what the soldier in the episode already thought in his head. That whole mental struggle about how he's probably powerless to stop his own death symbolically took place when he smashed the mirror after seeing the death light on his face. That was the only time he allowed himself to not act like a 1959 man. Smashing the mirror was a bit hysterical and womanly of him and he quickly composes himself and goes off to die like a fucking idiot. I mean a fucking man. That bit where I called him "hysterical and womanly" wasn't me believing that, you stupid fucking people who can't comprehend anything you read because you just want to be angry at other people. It was satire about the way people thought in the mid-20th century about gender roles. Try to keep up, asshole. The most poignant part of the episode is when we learn Darrin Stephens believes the soldier when he leaves behind his family pictures and wedding ring as he goes off to die. He, too, takes all this shit in manly stride. I'm so glad I was raised in the 70s, the only decade when we all believed a human was a human was a human, no matter their gender, race, sexual identity, or ethnicity. Some younger generations today might not believe me when I say that decade existed but that's because they live in a world post-Reagan. He and his conservative asshat brigade were the huge pendulum shift away from a path where we were all beginning to get along with each other and into a world where we were all told to hate each other because everybody else was taking our jobs or giving us AIDS or stealing our VCRs or complaining to HR about how often we touch their bottoms in the workplace. Did I say a more on the noserer title than "War Sucks" would have been "Death Sucks"? Because I just came up with the on the nosiest title of all: "Life Sucks."

#The Twilight Zone #Rod Serling #The Purple Testament

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 5 years

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2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 2

Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and welcome to the final week of Deviant-cember! It's been fun ride, but it's time to wrap up 2017. And I'm doing by going over all the major animated series/animation related news that came out this year, ranking the shows from best to worse, and deciding which animation network "won" the year. If you haven't seen part one yet I suggest you check it out before continuing this part, 2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 1 But for those of you who have seen the first part, let's just jump back into things. Teen Titans Go! had another miniseries this year as a follow up to Island Adventures. This time, based off the episode "40% 40% 20%." one of the most popular episodes of the series. And to celebrate this event Cartoon Network decided to have a marathon airing nothing but Teen Titans Go! and the newly premiered O.K. For an entire week! I'm starting to feel numb to this. This is the "Night Begins To Shine" Miniseries, how was it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIe8d9w8O4

Now before I get into this, I do feel like I need to briefly go over my opinion on the episode "40% 40% 20%" since that's the episode that this miniseries is directly based on. And my opinion on it is pretty much the same as everybody else's. The episode is great, and shows that Teen Titans Go! can be genuinely good when it wants to be. The episode featured a stylish art style, a story that focused on abstract visual storytelling, and a really catchy song. The episode isn't without it's faults, but it is one of the best Teen Titans Go! episodes, in my opinion. So how did this sequel do? Well let's start with the positives. The visuals in the music word are still really good, capturing the 80's aesthetic perfectly. It honestly reminds me a lot of Moonbeam City. Anybody remember Moonbeam City? No, oh. Okay... The covers of the song "Night Begins to Shine" by Fall Out Boys, CeeLo Green, and Puffy Ami Yumi were also neat to hear. Especially Puffy Ami Yumi, it was a nice throw back to the old show having them preform. However, I do wish that more time where devoted to these covers. However, the special does have it's fault. One problem, surprisingly, is that the special focuses too much on story. Complex stories are not Teen Titans Go's! strong suit. Part of the reason why "40% 40% 20%" worked so well was because of it's simplicity. It focused less on story and more on visuals and atmosphere. But by trying to stretch the story out to an hour, and giving the music world this whole backstory it takes away that simplicity. Also we spend a lot of time in the real world, away from the psychedelic visuals that we all came for. And while "Night Begin's To Shine," plus the new song they make are both extremely catchy, they aren't enough to fill up an entire hour. And since all the covers are all shoved in at the end, the song kinda get's old after a while. And visually they don't really do much new with the music world that wasn't done in the first episode. However, I don't want to be to hard on the episode, because unlike a lot of other episodes, you can really feel the passion that went into it. It feels like the people behind TTG were really trying to make something epic. And while I don't think it entirely works one hundred percent of the time, I do give them an A for effort. The special is better than Island Adventure from a technical standpoint, but it doesn't have the "so bad it's good" element that Island Adventure had. So it's kinda up to you're own personal preference to figure out which mini-series is more enjoyable. But that's not all CN did, as like I said before, It wasn't just a Teen Titans Go! marathon, but also a marathon for there new show "OK KO: Let's Be Heroes."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWyHZQARrnM

OK KO: Let's Be Heroes, created by Ian Jones-Quartey, follows the adventures of KO, a young optimistic kid who work's at a mall plaza. The twist however being that it's set in a world with the rules and logic of a shonen anime or a beat-em-up video game, and by working at the plaza he'll be able to fulfill his dream of becoming a hero. Already the show has a lot of promise with it's premise alone, but how does it succeed in terms of execution? Let's start with the characters. They're all pretty good for the most part. KO is a very likable character very reminiscent of the young hot blooded shonen protagonist that he is inspired by. Enid works well as the straight woman- But not to straight, ammiright!? Up top!

Oh man, we got ourselves a sad lonely lesbian up in in this hiz-ous! Quick, Somebody give this show an Emmy! Also I'd like to give special mention to Lord Boxman and his robot children, who are my personal favorite characters. Imagine Megaman's Dr. Willy and his robot masters crossed with Team Rocket from the Pokemon anime. The only character who I'm not super crazy about is Rad. He's not awful or anything, but his obnoxious personality can definitely become overbearing at points. Also his entire character arc is pretty much just Lars' character arc from Steven Universe, only not as well done. But he doesn't ruin the show for me or anything. The animation for the show is kinda hit or miss. The show has a very sketchy art style that people seem to either love or hate. Personally, it's not really something I gravitate to. Though I do admire that it has an art style that looks different from the traditional "CN" art style that we've seen so much of the last couple of years and also do like how it has a kinda "middle school doodle" aesthetic to it. It's not a bad art style, just not really my thing. However, what is a bigger problem is the consistency of the characters designs. And thus we enter the online debate that's been haunting the animation community have been having since Ren and Stimpy came out in the nineties. Is off model animation ugly or expressive? I feel like it can work in some cases, but I don't think it works here. Characters look off model so much that it just comes off as sloppy. Which is a shame because if we're talking just about the actual movement this has some of the most fluid animation that I've seen in any Cartoon Network series. I also have a bit of the problem with the writing. I don't know what tone this show is trying to go for. Half the time it seems like it's trying to be this super silly cartoon while the other half of the time it tries to be a serious lore show and it doesn't gel well. The comedic elements mix well with the lore, like having the big season one mystery revolve around a falling sandwich. I just couldn't find myself caring about it all. Also the shows main evil shadowy figure pulling the strings name is Shadowy Figure. I'm sorry I can't take this villain seriously. Coupled with some episodes with some really hammered in morals and a odd amount of gimmicky episodes, the show ends up feeling like a jumble of interesting yet disconnected ideas without any clear cohesion. But is the show bad? No. What I think saves the show is the characters. They are genuinely likable and I like just seeing how they interact with each other. It's defiantly an improvement over there last couple of shows (Ben 10, Mighty Magiswords, Powerpuff Girls,) but I don't think it lives up to some of there other modern classics (Like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, or We Bare Bears.) OK KO is Okay...KO. The unwatch button is down there. I completely understand. Meanwhile Disney decided to get into the reboot game with Ducktales 2017. And can i just say that I genuinely think that if they didn't use the old theme song everybody would hate this show. Like they could keep everything else the exact same, but if they cut the theme song down to say thirty seconds like most cartoons now of days people would hate this as much as they hate the Powerpuff Girls reboot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKSU82afy1w

Well the show doesn't have any of the original voice actor and the creator's different, so the show must be awful right guys? Okay cool, done. Next show- No, obviously I'm kidding. Let's talk about Ducktales 2017. No need to spend to much time on the plot, cause it's Ducktales. You all know the story. Three trouble making young ducks move in with there rich adventure loving Uncle Scrooge, and shenanigans ensue. They solve mysteries, rewrite histories ect. Disney hyped this show to hell, and even aired the hour long series premiere TWENTY FOUR TIMES IN A ROW! I really wanna know, was there anybody who watched ALL twenty four showings back to back to back? I mean someone must of, right? Now I don't know much about Ducktales. It was WAY before my time, though from what I can gather this is a pretty good series in terms of it being a reboot. It isn't just adapting the old show. It's combining elements of the old show, the comics, and new ideas and that's honestly the best way to go about a reboot in my personal opinion. I'm glad they just make it a rehash with all the still living cast members returning, and a ton of wink and nod references to the old show that new fans won't understand. I give the show a lot of props for that. I also want to praise the shows beautiful art style. I love how it looks like a comic book, not only calling back the series roots, but also giving it a unique visual identity. The show is also really funny, having a very clever wit mixed with a very comically exaggerated world. The world feels very comic book-y and has a real sense of fun to it. It's cool seeing all the creative shrines and temples that exist in this world, just waiting to be explored. The characters range in quality, though that may not be the shows fault as episodes are being aired out of order, and as such the amount of attention given to each cast member is not equal. But I won't hold that against the show. However, the show is far from perfect. It suffers a bit from what I call Milo's Murphy's Law syndrome. As in, the show is great on it's own but is so similar to what came before that it takes away some of the enjoyment. "But JoyofCrimeArt" I hear you saying "I thought you said that this show wasn't rehashing the original Ducktales cartoon." And it's not. It's rehashing Gravity Falls. Okay, maybe "rehash" is a strong word, but It's hard to not notice the similarities. I don't know if this show is borrowing from Gravity Falls or if Gravity Falls was actually just a ripping off the original Ducktales and it just took me five years to realize it, but just take a look at the similarities.

We got a group of tween age twins/triplets-

-who move in with there miserly jerk with a heart of gold great uncle.

And a socially awkward spunky girl with a grappling hook-

-Who are trying to solve a mystery involving a missing personal. All without letting the miserly uncle know what's going on.

With the miserly uncles dim witted older assistant-

-and a cool "older sister" like role model along for the ride.

With an antagonist who is a rival businessmen to the miserly uncle. Seriously, it's pretty blatant. And to be fair it's not an exact rip-off or anything. Some things are executed differently. The world and comedy of Ducktales is definitely a lot more cartoon-y and over the top than Gravity Falls. And there are elements in one but not the other for sure. But there are definite parallels, and judging by the marketing Disney is doing for this show it seems pretty clear that they want this to be their "new Gravity Falls." It's not that the show is bad per say, but it's hard for me to not compare it to Gravity Falls, and I'm sorry but Gravity Falls is definitely the better of the two series. In fact you could say that this show is basically...

Also can I just say that I don't give a crap about this shows lore. Like, at all. They try to do the big overarching mystery thing and I am just not invested at all. I like shows with lore, I really do, but this is far from a new concept at this point and if you're going to do it now you got to add something new to it But this is just the same beats. And I could be wrong, but I feel like I know exactly where it's going. Without going into to many specifics there's a character who mysteriously disappeared, and it looks like they did something really bad before disappearing. But I know their's going to be some explanation given to make their actions justifiable because I know they wouldn't make this character a bad guy. Their's another character who their playing up as working for the villain, but I know their going to give this character a redemption arc because that's what all lore shows like this do. Their doing that thing where they're solving this mystery but they don't want anybody to know about it, without any real reason why other than just the "we can't trust anybody" crap. Character's keep secrets from each other just so there can be more mystery. These tropes were new and innovated when shows like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe came out.. but that was a while ago and we've had a lot of mystery shows since then we've seen all these story beats in those shows, and nothing new is brought to the table. So yeah, I can't say that I love this show as much as most people. But that doesn't mean I hate it. Their are things I do really like about it. Like the humor, the cartoon-y atmosphere and the art style. But it is a shame when the mystery, the thing that's suppose to be the most enticing, ends up being the shows weakest element. I think if this show came out a couple years ago. before so may cartoons followed this kind of formula, I would of liked it a lot better. But hey, at least it's better than Marvel's Spider-Man. Ha-ha! Segway!

Yeah...this show doesn't really have a theme song... Now it's hard to talk about Marvel's Spider-Man without talking about the previous Disney XD Spider-Man series, Ultimate Spider-Man. I only watched a little over one season of USM before I dropped the series because honestly, it wasn't very good in my opinion. The whole show felt like it was made by a committee featuring dumbed down writing, obvious cross promotion to other Marvel properties, and a Spider-Man who came across less like a nerdy genius and more like an arrogant buffoon. So when this series was announced, with official press statements referring to it to a "back to basics" approach to the franchise, I was hopeful. How did the show turn out? Well...it's better than Ultimate. I think.... Honestly it seems odd that they cancelled Ultimate Spider-Man for this because the series feels like it has most of the problems that Ultimate Spider-Man had. Just slightly less so. The writing still feels dumbed down, but slightly less dumbed down. The series is less focused on cross promotion and mostly features Spider-Man characters, which is a plus as I though that Ultimate Spider-Man was a bit too "Marvel Universe Centrict." But that still hasn't stopped the show from already having an episode where Spider-Man meets Iron Man, and another episode where he meets the Hulk. IN THE FIRST FOURTEEN EPISODES. This version of Spider-Man is more of a nerd which is good, but they messed it up by going in the opposite direction by making him TOO MUCH of a nerd, with him constantly talking about how awesome science is at every possible opportunity. Also the animation of this show is really bad. Nothing is shaded properly, and it's very distracting. The only thing that I really like about this show is Norman Osborn. He's voiced by Josh Keaton, who played Spider-Man in the Spectacular Spider-Man and I was shocked to see how well is was able to pull off such an opposite character. He's just as petty and cartoonishly conniving as Norman Osborn should be. But other than that, the show doesn't have much to offer. It's clearly made for really little kids, and their isn't really much for adults. It's that bland kind of bad, where it feels like there just wasn't much passion put into this. I'm sure that's not true but that's how it feels. Speaking of reboots of 80's properties, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 aired it's final episode after five seasons and over one hundred episodes. Now like I said in part one, I've only seen the first two seasons of this show, so I don't know how good the last three seasons where, but I'm glad that the show got a good run. From what I saw, it was a pretty great show. However what does annoy me is that Nickelodeon moved it to Nicktoons with only TEN EPISODES LEFT! Like really Nick? You couldn't just air the last ten? Meanwhile at Netflix, not satisfied with just one anime-esq cartoon project they decided to make another. This is...(sigh) This is Neo Yokio. Or, another installment in my side series series, (Oh, the Cringe!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLNRZ_1WyzM

Neo Yokio, created by Ezra Koenig and starring Jaden Smith was a show that was originally pitched to the Fox ADHD block, but ended up in a state of development limbo after said block got canned. But someone at Netflix decided that this show was something that the world desperately needed and decided to pick it up themselves. The series stars Kaz Kaan, the most popular bachelor in the entire city of Neo Yokio. He's you're average millionaire celebrity dealing with all the first world problems that a millionaire celebrity have to deal with. But he's also a demon hunter...and..and...and... Jaden Smith is younger than I am. How come he has his own anime?! I want my own anime! Come on Netflix, pick up "Average Spirit Warrior" please! This show is odd. Not just odd, it's an odd kind of odd that's hard to explain. I don't know what this show wants to be, and so I don't know how to judge it. Sometimes it seems like it's trying to be an action show. Other times it seems like it's trying to be a straight forward comedy. OTHER other times it seems like it's trying to be parody of anime. And other other OTHER times it feels like it's trying to be a serious show about social issues like the wealth gap and the gender spectrum?! Is there just some rule in the Netflix contracts that says that every Netflix show has to tackle gender identity, regardless of it it fits the series or not? Is that why Bill Nye's show had a rap about a vagina? Is that why? It has a real adult swim vibe, like they bought the rights to some obscure early 2000's anime and decided to make there own dub. The animation even has the quality to it to, with lots of really bad lip syncing. The show's art is also not that great, looking like it's ten years older than it actually is. The show varies in quality from so bad it's good, to actually pretty dull. Unlike other over the top weird anime Neo Yokio has a very slow pace, which makes everything feel at lot more mundane. Also Kaz is a very hard character to relate to because he is so rich and so oblivious to the world around him. Though the show does definitely have it's stand out moments. The show is so bizarre that there are plenty of funny "WTF" style moments, like the running gag with the Big Toblerone bar and some of Jaden Smiths bizarre spiritual-isms. Jaden Smith, while pretty monotone as a voice actor, did surprise me a couple of times with some okay comedic timing believe it or not. The show also has some interesting world building that I wished they elaborated more on. There's sort of this alternate history element to this world's history that result in a lot of creative idea. It's a world with no 9/11, the Soviets are still around, Japan and Italy are somehow one nation... You know I bet if your reading this without watching the show first I sound like a raving lunatic. WHY IS EZRA KOENIG MAKING AN ANIME? He's primarily a INDIE GUITARIST! Do I recommend watching it? Ehh, I can say that I have never seen a show quite like it...I'd say watch the trailer. It's a good representation of the show, and if you find that trailer "funny bad" then you'll probably get a kick out of this show. If not, then you can skip it. Overall, to me at least, the show just didn't have much synergy... But hey, don't say you love the anime if you haven't read the manga...

And Teen Titans Go! is getting a movie and wait...what? NEXT JULY!? Shouldn't there be like a...trailer or something out then?! I mean Spider-Verse has a trailer and that's not coming out till December! But hey..."In general, if a traditionally animated film comes out in theaters I'll see it just to support the medium." Right? I mean that's what I said in the last part...rIgHt?1 Now all the stuff that I've previously mentioned we're all fine, but none of it was grabbing the cartoon community attention to much. Ducktales came the closest, but with Rick and Morty Season three about to end there needed to be another show to be the new big thing. Then...Big Mouth Happened. Or...another installment in my newly booming side series (Oh, the Cringe!) REAL WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK! For Real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DlpO5UOnI

Now when I decided to watch this show in preparation for this review, I thought that I was going to be the only person in the cartoon community to really talk about it. I thought that this show would like "Legend of Chamberlain Heights" or "TripTank." An awful show, but a show that would fly under the radar just because of how "generically awful" it would be. That's why I was suprised when this show became the biggest hot topic in our community,and a widely debated topic at that. For real, I haven't seen a show this polarizing in a long time. People like Mr. Enter and I Hate Everything say that the show is awful, and one of the first cartoons ever, bordering child porn in terms of the content that the series shows. Other's like PhantomStrider on the other hand found the series to be a smart and deep dive into the lives of prepubescent adolescents and tackling the topic well. Which side do I land on? Ehh, somewhere in the middle I guess. I'll start with the pros of the show first. The show's biggest strength it's relatability. Being a show that tackles puberty it is almost impossible for you to not relate to this show on some level. This does help ground the world and get you into the characters easier because you see yourself in their shoes. The characters are fairly good for the most part, with Andrew being the most stand out character out of the main four kids. This I think was what surprised me the most, as most of these shows tend to make the characters assholes for the sake of being assholes but they stay mostly likable. Though the best character overall to me personally is The Ghost of Duke Ellington played by Jordan Peele. His performance is just so over the top and it's just such a random idea for a character that I can't help but kinda like it. Also there's this one gym coach character who I feel like I should be more annoyed by, but I kinda end up really liking. Though that might be just because he reminds me of Coach Z from Homestar Runner.

I show also covers a lot of topics that aren't covered in a lot of other shows, and covers them well. There is actual thought put into it. Honestly I think this show would be a good one to show somebody who is in puberty, as it gives a lot of informative info out in a much more personal way then most sex ed videos do. The internal continuity of the world is very hey wire. Sometimes people can see the hormone monsters, sometimes they can't. Sometimes they have the ability to effect the world around them, while other times it's kept ambiguous to weather or not they even are real, or just figments of the characters imagination. But I also don't think that it's really the point of the show. I think it's just whatever is funnier in the moment. There's a fluidness to the reality. However, there are definitely some problems with the show. Whenever the humor is trying to be crass or offensive the jokes tend to land a lot less. The show can end up becomes genuinely uncomfortable, and there were a lot of moments where I did end up changing tabs while watching. Being on Netflix they are able to get away with a lot, including showing full uncensored penis, vagina's, semen, and more. Often times involving the kids, and there is a real creep factor to it. I know the shows about puberty and that's the subject matter, but I feel like this is a rare case where "show don't tell" doesn't apply to storytelling. This is the shows biggest issue, and it's hard to ignore cause it's in almost every episode. The shows art style also isn't the best. It has this "Family Guy meets Klasky Csupo" look to it. And those are to properties that aren't most well regarded for there animation. Overall I can say that I did enjoy the show more than I was expecting to. Though keep in mind my expectations were "Brickleberry." I think the show is more good than bad though, with the comedy and the likable characters being the saving grace. But if you don't like ugly animation or gross out, then just pull out now. Meanwhile in the real world McDonalds released the "Mulan Schezwan Sauce" to the public for one day only. All in honor of a Rick and Mortyjoke from the first episode of season three. Fan's rioted as there was not enough supply to meet demand, leading to the story getting national coverage from major news outlets. Honestly, I have nothing to add to this, I just think it's funny. But forget about joy, it's time to become suddenly all serious and depressing! As the #MeToo movement happened several animators where accused of sexual misconduct. Some of the names of those accused include Loud House creator Chris Savino and Head of Pixar and Disney animation John Lassenter. I do want you to keep in mind though that these are just accusations. It seems like lately when a celebrity is accused of something like this people always decide that their guilty until proven innocent. Because they don't want to come off as victim shaming. However that doesn't mean they didn't do it either...yeah I have nothing else to really say here. Chris Savino was fired and John Lassenter was put on a six month leave, with rumors saying he'll be fired afterwards. Um...there's no non awkward way to segway out of this topic is there? Crap. Um, anyway Teen Titans Go! had there 200th episode. And guess how they celebrated. Go ahead, just make an educated guess. Well if you said an almost four day Teen Titans Go! marathon over Thanksgiving weekend, then you'd be right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7MWNWJReqU

Okay well, at least this one was actually celebrating something! So there's that at least!

Meanwhile the same night Nickelodeon premiered "Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie." The finale thirteen years in the making.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfSPjRoQjCk

He's got a journal and a long lost relative. Y'know what that means, it's time for some LORE! Now, I've never really watched Hey Arnold before, outside of a few episodes- JESUS CHRIST! WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN?! -But despite that, I did find myself enjoying this movie more than I thought I would. The movie is fairly stand alone, and for the most part can be enjoyed without prior knowledge of the show. The biggest strength of the film is the cast, who are genuinely likable, and the comedy which is genuinely funny. I also like how the movie does have a bit of a darker approach to it. It's not Samurai Jack dark or anything, but the villain is genuinely threatening and there are some actual onscreen deaths. It's not bloody or anything, but it's pretty intense for Nickelodeon. This really gives the movie a since of stakes and danger that I really enjoyed. It earns the PG rating. There are some problems though in terms of the story telling. There are some forced conflicts that seem like they're just there to be there. Also the movie is actually pretty confusing in terms of what is magic and what isn't to the point where I'm still not one hundred percent sure if the ancient prophecy was true or not. Maybe I missed something, but it seems kinda muddled. Also the villain, while threatening, isn't very interesting. He's just the cliche "want's money" villain, with nothing making him really stand out. But most of these problems aren't TOO glaring and I was able to enjoy the film regardless. And if I enjoyed it then I'm sure people who actually watched Hey! Arnold probably loved it. And I'm glad that the fans finally got a proper ending after all this time. Unfortunately, despite trending on twitter the movies actual ratings were not very good, getting a 1.7 million across three networks. That might sound okay, but it only barely beat out The Loud House episode that aired right before and that only aired on one network. Even Teen Titans Go! 200th episode, which airs on a much less popular network, was only a couple thousand views less than it. I'm torn, because on one hand I liked the movie and wished it did better, knowing how long the creator and fans were waiting for it. On the other hand, I'm hoping that this might help Nickelodeon get out of their "90's kids phase" that they seem to be in. i mean there's Hey! Arnold, Invader Zim, Rocko. All these announced revivals really makes it feels like there kinda having a mid life crisis. And while there nineties shows where great, I think they need to acknowledge that it wasn't there only good period. If there's something to take away from this, it's that as much as you hear people talk about how much better things were better in the nineties, these people are the minority. Most of the people who watch these channels are kids, and kids don't care about old nineties and two thousands shows they've never heard of. They care about what's on now. Also, while this news effects much more than just animation, Disney bought most of Fox's entertainments rights for fifty two billion dollars. Which is an amount of money that I cannot even begin the fathom. That's enough money to buy everybody in the world five large McDonald's Soda. And that includes like new born babies and stuff. (Alternatively, that might be enough for about three Schezwan Sauce packets.) In terms of animation, that means Disney now owns The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Archer, All the Ice Age and Rio movies, Allen Frickin' Gregory. I'm honestly a bit worried about this. Disney is become more and more powerful, and I feel it's only a matter of time till they monopolize entertainment. I'm also worried how this will effect other TV channels. For example, if Disney wanted could they pull all the Fox shows off of adult swim, or TBS? Only time will tell, as this deal will take about a year to really go into effect, but hopefully our new mouse overlord will be merciful. And to cap of f the year, Cartoon Network decided to celebrate Christmas by having an EIGHT DAY LONG TEEN TITANS GO! MARATHON! (with two episodes of Steven Universe sprinkled in.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc7hwNB4Cv4

Now I know what you're probably thinking. "Wait, if they just passed two hundred episodes, then doesn't that mean they only have enough episodes for about two days?' Well normally yes, but even though there's only enough episodes that last two days, through a miracle it was able to last for eight nights. And that's why we celebrate Hanukkah. For real though, I try to defend Cartoon Network, but this is just too far! We had JUST gotten a multi-day Teen Titans Go! marathon literally a month ago! While annoying, at least I understand that one. It was for there two hundredth episode. It's a big milestone that should be celebrated. But this is just Christmas! Cause who wants to watch Christmas specials on Christmas right?! And it's not just Teen Titans Go!, I'd be upset regardless of the show. As of the time of this being posted it's still going on. And it's not just CN. Nickelodeon had a last minute schedule change replacing several of there Christmas specials with Spongebob and Loud House reruns. Not all there specials though, and it was only for one day, so it's far less egregious. But it shows that when one channel falls they can all be effected. Ugh! Yeah, I hate to end on that note, but honestly I'm just happy that I didn't end on sexual harassment, which was a real concern at one point. 2017 was a wild ride for the animation community, and I'm glad you came along with me on this look back through it all. Now, it's time to rank the shows. Keep in mind though that this is just my personal opinion. Also I'm not very good at these list things, and my opinion tends to change all the time. This is more of just a "for fun" thing. Let's do this. 9. Bunsen is a Beast 8. Castlevania 7. Marvel's Spider-Man 6. Ben 10 5. Neo Yokio 4. Big Mouth 3. (TIE) OK KO: Let's Be Heroes and Ducktales 2017 2. Hanizuki: Full of Treasures 1. Samurai Jack Season Five Though that's just my opinions now. Who knows how they might change in the future. And keep in mind that there were a lot of shows that I didn't see or talk about that came out this year. Like these... (Apollo Gauntlet, Big Hero 6: the Series, Billy Dilly's Super Duper Subterranean Summer, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Danger and Egg, Dorthy and the Wizard of Oz, Hotel Transylvania: The Series, Legend Quest, Mysticons, Niko and the Sword of Light, Sex Swings, Strech Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Tangled the Series, Tarantula, Tarzan and Jane, Tender Touches, The Jellies, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, Unikitty, Vampirina, Wacky Races 2017, Welcome to the Wayne, Wishfart) As for the grade, last year got a B-. Good, but could use improvement. This year...honestly I have to give a C. Just...average. Even not counting the shows I talked about this year there were several shows that I watched, intending to put into this review, that I ended up cutting cause I had nothing to really say on them. And honestly, even shows like Ducktales and OK KO, which are pretty high on my list have their problems. But I acknowledge that every year's quality won't be exactly even, so I'm not going to panic just yet. I still have high hopes for 2018. Now for the network that "won" this year. BTW since this is a new segment, I'll announce the winner for 2016 too. Last year I would say that Nickelodeon "won" the year for their success with The Loud House and for getting Spongebob out of it's seasonal rot. I've never seen the public opinion of a network to change so quickly. As for this year, I will say that the winner was Netflix, for really proving that their committing to animation. In addition to having the most shows I talked about this year (3/10) they also had other series that I didn't mention like Strech Armstrong Magic School Bus. Not to mention new seasons of Bojack, F is for Family, Voltron, Trollhunters and more. Sure not every show they had was great, but it shows initiative, and shows that they are a worthy contender in landscape of animation. So that was 2017 year in review. While not the best year, it did have it's some very memorable series and moments. And I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for the world of animation. What did you think of any of the shows or stories that I talked about today? Are there any that I missed? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment down bellow. I'd love to hear them. Please fav, follow, and comment and have a great year. See ya in 2018! (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2017-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-2-722602821 DA Link

#Ducktales #Neo Yokio #OK KO #review #ok ko let's be heroes

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plutomeetsgenius · 7 years

Text

Girl Meets Magic Part 1 (Revised)

Hi Liz! It’s me Luna Rose. You are a tough critic but I appreciate that. Here is my new version of Girl Meets Magic (Part 1). I’d still love feedback as it’s my first fanfic ever, and it can be as negative or positive as you wish as long as it’s constructive. Also there will be a lot more magic, POC characters and gay stuff coming up

Premise: Riley and Maya’s brush with a magical device sends them to 1920’s New York where Riley and Maya find themselves trapped in the bodies of Lenora Matchinski and Summer Hart respectively. Lenora is a journalist documenting the rising tensions between Wizards and No Majes and Summer is a Jazz Singer who loves to attend wild parties. Will Riley and Maya be able to find a way home or will they lose themselves to the conflicts of the past?

Word Count: 1921 Words

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When she closes her eyes she feels an orchestra of noises wash over her. To her left the grating sounds of screeching wheels, and car horns. To her right the thud of footsteps on the pavement, and hurried chattering. When she opens her eyes all she can see are tall buildings, flashing billboards and streams of people and cars rushing by. It was easy to get lost here among the music of the city. Luckily she had her best friend to keep her focused.

“Riley, you’re doing it again,” Maya nudges her gently.

“Am I?” “Seriously, why are you smiling?” Maya asks.

“How can I not? I love today. Today is even better than yesterday. And yesterday was the best day ever!”

Maya shakes her head and smiles. Her friend truly is a ray of sunshine. Maya and Riley continue walking until Maya stops in front of a storefront. The storefront is a dark mossy green color, and there is barely any light coming from the interior. It reminds Riley of a haunted house.

“Is that-” Riley can’t finish her sentence.

“Yes,” Maya cuts her off. “But is it-” Riley begins again.

“Yup.”

“Noo, I’m not going over there. It’s dark and scary over there. Lots can go wrong over there. The only thing that can go wrong over here is if I go over there.”

“Oooh, I’m the haunted storefront and I want to eat you alive ooooh” Maya moans, doing her best ghost impression as she tickles Riley. Riley laughs but she’s still unsure about the storefront. The door creaks open on rusted hinges, and Maya swiftly pulls Riley through. It takes Riley a second to get adjusted to her new surroundings. Riley is startled by how still everything around her seems to be. She walks among the antiques, a rusted sewing machine, a broken lamp, and a dusty cloche and she wonders if they have been sitting there for a hundred years. In the dull glow of the amber overhead lamps, everything loses its color.

“Isn’t this great?” Maya smiles, running her fingers around the mouth of a gramophone. Riley nods, although the musty smell of the shop is making her sick. She slumps down on a velvet ottoman, and looks listlessly at the floor. Beneath her feet a strange necklace twinkles. At the center of the necklace is an hourglass filled with crushed amethyst dust. Around the hourglass is a series of gold rings. A golden chain is attached to the outermost ring. Everything around her is so worn, so lived in, but the necklace looks like it was made that very day. Riley reaches over to touch it, and promptly receives a painful shock.

“MAYA!” Riley screams. “WHAT?” Maya mimics Riley’s tone.

“This necklace just shocked me.” Maya looks at the necklace, her blue eyes lighting up in anticipation.

“It’s so pretty though. I think you should take it home,” retorts Maya, picking up the necklace. “It matches the overalls you are wearing perfectly. Besides,” Maya smiles knowing Riley’s weakness “Isn’t purple your favorite color?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Riley replies firmly crossing her arms in defiance.

“Try it on,” urges Maya.

“NO.” Riley pushes Maya back and she tumbles into a rack of dusty books. The purple hourglass shatters on the floor between them. Riley and Maya are blinded by a bright light.

“Are you alright?” Riley looks up to find herself on a crowded subway train. She is surrounded by men and women dressed in heavy overcoats and hats. She finds the source of the voice to be a similarly disheveled young woman with wild blonde curls and a mink overcoat. On the floor between them is the necklace. The hourglass center is shattered and amethyst dust is leaking out over the train floor. Riley feels her heart racing, the words barely escape her throat.

“What happened?” she asks.

“Riley, it’s me Maya,” The woman whispers in Riley’s ear. “It seems we have traveled back to the 1920’s. I found this paper in my purse.” Maya open the newspaper. “March 27, 1926,” Maya reads the front cover, since Riley can barely speak. “Violence Against Wizards and Witches on the Rise, an article by Lenora Matchinski.” Next to the name is a photo of a young woman, probably in her early twenties. Her dark hair is tied back into a low bun, and she stares at the camera defiantly. “That’s you,” whispers Maya. Riley shakes her head. It can’t be her. This whole situation is impossible. “No, that’s literally who you are right now. You’ve occupied her body.” Riley feels herself starting to collapse but the woman who claims she is really Maya holds her steady. “Hey don’t worry,” Maya smiles “It’s going to be fun. It’s like playing a role in a play. Remember when you played Juliet in our seventh grade production of Romeo and Juliet?” Riley nods. “Well it will be just like that, minus Farkle’s sloppy kissing of course.” This elicits a giggle from Riley. “Just try to become Lenora Matchinski, the greatest reporter the world has ever seen.” Maya lowers her voice “Don’t worry it’ll be temporary. We’re going to find a way to fix that necklace.”

“I don’t want to touch that thing ever again,” Riley whispers.

“You won’t have to, just keep it in your bag okay.” Maya picks up the necklace and slips it into the handbag Riley is holding. Riley can’t help but smile again. Even in the strangest of situations, her best friend exudes a confidence that Riley can’t help but admire.

“So where are we going next?”

“You’ll see,” Maya smiles mysteriously.

“I need to know.”

“Maybe this headline will give you a clue?”

“Summer Hart to perform at the Bradbury Speakeasy,” Riley reads aloud. Next to the interview is a picture of a young woman with wild blonde curls wearing a black beaded sheath. Riley looks back and forth from the picture to the woman next to her, sure enough they are identical.

“Approaching Prince Street,” announces the conductor.

“This is my stop!” exclaims Summer.

“How do you know?” asks Riley skeptically.

“I can access Summer’s memories. Her memories are telling me the Bradbury Speakeasy is a block away and she has to perform tonight. What do you say, Lenora, are you coming or staying?”

Half an hour later Riley is sitting at one of the bar stools of the Bradbury Speakeasy. Once again Riley is surrounded by a symphony of noises. The tinkling of champagne glasses, the click of dance shoes, the shuffle of stools, the burst of a saxophone, and of course the dulcet tones of Summer Hart. “Remember you’re the best reporter the city has ever seen,” she whispers to herself.

“Excuse me, Ma’am” says a young man seated to her right “Are ya talkin tuh yourself?” comes a male voice saturated in southern twang. The owner of the voice is handsome, with tan skin and bright green eyes. A large brown overcoat is draped over his shoulders, and a cowboy boots adorn his feet.

“Hi-Hi,” she stutters her face breaking into a giant grin. “I’m Ri- I mean Lenora. I’m Lenora Matchinski.”

“Ma name’s uh Lewis Fyre. It’s uh plea-suh to meet ya, Miss Lenora,” the man kisses her hand. Riley can feel a blush creeping into her cheeks. “Ya know Miss Lenora, dis is my first time in New York City. I’m headin’ off tuh veterinary school in uh few days.” Riley nods but can’t trust herself to say anything. “ah’ve only been he-ah for uh few days, but ah already miss ma pets back at home.”

“Pets?” muses Riley, hypnotized by Lewis’s beautiful green eyes.

“Ah have 24 horses. One day af-tuh school, Sofia was foalin.”

“That means giving birth?” Riley asks, leaning in.

“Not bad, city girl,” he grins, pulling her and her handbag closer. “And dere wuz no one dere, so ah called up the local doc-tuh, Dr. Galendo and he talked me through it. So ah delivered dis beautiful palomino, and the doc-tuh heard ‘bout it, and he said ah should go tuh veterinary school when ah get olda. So dat’s what I’m gonna do.”

“It’s amazing that you’re following your dreams,” smiles Riley.

“Ya know it’d also be ma dream to give ya a kiss. Whad’ya think ‘bout that, Miss Lenora?”

“I-I,” Riley stammers.

“Dey say in New York City any-thang is possible,” he cajoles her. He has a boyish sweetness in his eyes that Riley can’t resist

“Okay!“ Riley grins.

“Close ya eyes Lenora,” Lewis practically sings. Riley puckers up. She can practically feel his breath on her face. However, instead of feeling the pressure of his lips, she feels a sharp yank on her bag. Riley opens her eyes to see Lewis running away, handbag in hand. Without thinking, Riley charges after him. She doesn’t know much about her surroundings but she knows that fixing the necklace in the handbag is her only way home. She rushes out the door of the speakeasy and into the busy streets. “Give me back my bag!” she screams at Lewis Fyre, but he only increases his pace. The cold rain obscures her view, but doesn’t dampen her determination. She feels her feet pounding on the cobblestone street, the warmth of the amber lamps illuminating her path. Everyone else blurs into the surroundings. Lewis ducks into an alleyway and Riley follows close behind. The alleyway reeks of damp sewage and is littered with obstacles. It doesn’t matter to Riley: she can feel herself closing in. She keeps sprinting, she can practically touch the tails of his brown overcoat. The puddles mask the unevenness of the cobblestones and before she knows it, Riley feels herself falling to the ground. The impact shakes her to her very core. She can taste the blood in her mouth and her brain is going foggy. Before she blacks out she hears the words “Stupefy.” She feels herself waking up slowly. Riley can start to hear a conversation.

“Do you think she’ll remember anything?” asks a male voice that Riley could only describe as sounding like a river, deep and thoughtful.

“Of course not. Did you see how long it took for us to heal that head wound?” came an older male voice that sounded gruff like a crackling fire.

“Why do you think she had a time turner in her bag?”

“Fabian,” The older man chastises “I told you to retrieve the bag, not examine all the contents.”

“I was curious,” Fabian sighs dejectedly. “You always are, Fabian. Let’s drop her off here, at the Bradbury Speakeasy. She’s regaining consciousness and we don’t want to be around when she wakes up.”

“But she’s Lenora Matchinski, always says she’s on the wizards’ side!” Fabian retorts.

“She does, Fabian, but many people she fraternizes with don’t feel that way. Let’s go.”

Riley wakes up outside the doors of the Bradbury Speakeasy. To her left is a very anxious Summer Hart.

“What happened to you, Lenora? One second I saw you flirting with a cowboy and the next you were running out into the rain!”

“He stole the bag with the necklace in it,” Riley answers plainly.

“Well did you get it back?” Riley nods, showing Summer the bag. “Good. We’ll fix the necklace in the morning. I promise,” Summer gives Riley a hug.

“C’mon Lenora, I’ve accessed that Summer’s apartment is only a short walk from here, we should get some rest.”

“You have got to teach me how to access memories,” demands Riley.

“Tomorrow, Lenora, Tomorrow.”

_________________________________

Ok, first thing’s first, the prose in the beginning is much improved, and the details that you added (dialogue, scenery, characterization) make this much more convincing.

I’m not quite sure where you’re going with this, so I don’t know how to critique your plot, because to me, it seems like there are a lot of places to go with that.

The only big issue that I can see is the logical gap where Maya can magically access the memories of the person she’s inhabiting, but Riley can’t. It would be one thing if the moment the station was called out Maya got a flash of the familiar station and said that it was their stop and when asked why couldn’t come up with an answer, but she knows that she’s accessing memories very easily, and if Maya really is a muggle with no training, that seems very unlikely.

Other than that, the only thing I worry about is the names. If Maya is occupying a contemporary ancestor, is Riley doing the same? Also, I see what you were trying to do with Lewis Fyre, but I think you can tone it down a little bit with the Lucas allusions. Maybe just make him faintly like Lucas, enough to draw Riley in, but not nearly enough to be that glaring. And most people don’t go around with last names like ‘Fyre’. People can have normal sounding names and it won’t do anything to hurt your story, while having outlandishly fantastic names might.

Other than that, keep up with the writing and let me know how it goes!

To anyone else: I do beta and feel free to send me anything you’d like me to look at.

#luna rose #submission #fanfic submission #rilaya #riley matthews #maya hart #lucas friar #fantastic beasts and where to find them au #fantastic beasts and where to find them #Girl meets world #gmw #gmw au

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