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artxyra · 4 years

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Wake Me When It’s Over

Note: I must really like you guys enough to create a sequel for something that was never supposed to get one. Also, I kind of lost my train of thought as to where this story will end towards the end, sorry about that.

The miraculous magic flies through the streets of Paris, France. Those that were turned into stone now gasping for air and looking around very confused. On a rooftop, a certain model stands naked hoping that no one would see him searching for clothes and a way home. Back at the venue where the dance took place, Alya whoops at the defeat of the Empress of Mean. She holds Nino closes to her before realizing that something had happened to Lila. Her attention immediately goes to her phone messaging the one person that started this all.

No one knew what to say about the latest akuma victim. It was Marinette, the one person they never thought would fall into the hands of Hawkmoth. Was it really due to her jealousy of Lila? When was she akumatized? So many questions ran to through the student’s minds, that faithful night.

It wasn’t until Monday morning when everything came undone.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, the LadyBlog was receiving various comments about the Empress of Mean. Some comments were harsher than others. Alya couldn’t find it in her to make a new blog post regarding the aftermath or of the lack of thereof to her viewers. She wasn’t able to reach Lila at all and neither could rest of her classmates.

Entering the classroom, Alya could see that majority of the class was there expect for Adrien, Lila, and Marinette. She quickly managed to get the class huddled together.

“It isn’t like Marinette to be akumatized, especially about something so trivial as the dance.” Rose pipes up with a pout resting in her lips. “She handles stress better than any of us.” She then adds on causing everyone to turn to her.

“She was jealous, and that’s final,” Alya states, slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her. Everyone could see the twitching in the blogger’s eyes and a slight shaking of her body. Nino wraps his arms around her. “There’s no other explanation.”

“It was rumored that she and Adrien were secretly dating.” It was Nathanial who speaks up next. Soon all eyes were on him.

“You lie…” Everyone suddenly begins to shout.

“No, I’m serious. Marinette hangs out with Marc every now and then and he tells me that they were probably dating. I may an artist, but a broken heart can cause anyone to be akumatized if done correctly.” He continues before pulling out his sketchbook and begins drawing as if he didn’t just pull a fast one on his peers.

The classroom is met with silence aside from the sounds of a pencil against paper.

The classroom’s door opens revealing a frustrated yet silent Adrien Agreste with the one and only Lila Rossi standing behind him. Expecting cheers and concerns, they were meet with the opposite.

“Adrien, did you ever date Marinette?” Juleka asks with her voice dangerously low for all that can hear her. Her response came with an awkward neck rub and wondering eyes from the man in question. Juleka turns to Lila as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. Years of listening and believing the two people in front of her, denying everything her brother has ever said to her. Juleka didn’t know what to do at the moment. Emotions were not her strong suit even after all these years of being around the same people for years.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” Adrien finally speaks up before walking over to his desk and pretend that last weekend did not just happen.

The room grows cold. No one knew how to respond.

“Oh my gosh guys, I’m so sorry for not responding to any of your text. After what Marinette had done to me, I really needed therapy. My mother was able to find someone at the last minute and I had no cell service.” Lila gushes about her latest problem hoping to grab some sympathy. Immediately it was meet by her “loyal” peers, all asking if she’s alright.

Those who weren’t as fooled by the Italian’s response, stood there wondering if she was lying or just pretending. Anyone with text receipts on knew that the girl had read their message and just didn’t respond.

“But you were dating Marinette?” Nathanial speaks setting his pencil down to give Adrien his full attention.

Adrien turns to the artist like a deer caught in the headlights. He could feel Lila’s glare on his back despite not looking at her. “Uh…We were never official. She knew that we were friends.”

“How long?” Juleka’s voice got softer.

“About a couple of months, why?”

With that, breathing became harder for those that knew Marinette well enough to know that the designer practically holds her heart on her sleeves. If Adrien thought they weren’t dating and Marinette did, that changes a whole lot of things.

Before anyone could tear Adrien a new one, Max mentions that class was about to start, and they should get into their seats. Only one seat stood noticeably out to everyone, and they knew she would be in much later.

Mild chatter about Lila’s therapy session broke the silence while everyone else waits nervously as more time past by. Their teacher has yet to enter the classroom nor has the class representative.

When Marinette finally did enter the classroom, everything goes silent. The loyalist of Lila’s group glares at the designer while the others couldn’t find the words to start something with Marinette without fearing the worst-case scenario.

Marinette had just sat in her chair when Mlle. Bustier entered the classroom in a panicking mess. Apparently, after the dance, a lot of parents were chewing out the school officials asking what caused the young designer to attack the school first and for the school not calling the parents. It was later found out that Marinette had no problems with the rest of school just her classmates and the partygoers were just so happened to be affected like everyone else which ends up causing more problems than less.

Caline couldn’t handle all this backlash. The school board officials decided that since Bustier’s class had the most akumatized victims out of all Dupont, Caline’s teaching habits must be reevaluated. They were sending someone in to review her class and teaching methods. All this being planned last minute which means that Caline was struggling to find the proper lesson plans and attitude before the official comes in.

“Today, we will be having a guest staying with us for the week. When this person enters please be on your best behaviors.” Mlle. Bustier stress to the class as she finally pulls out the last of her files from her briefcase.

Everyone, aside from Marinette, wonders who the guest will be. They receive their answer when the door opens once again to show an older-looking woman in a business suit with hair similar to Marinette’s overlooking the class before taking an empty desk in the back. The perfect view to oversee everything. Caline was seconds away from sweating bullets as she struggles to find the right word to begin the class period.

Lila, finding a new problem with this, tries to make Marinette look bad at every attempt she could get. However, all her attempts just made Caline’s teaching habits appear worse than what the school board could imagine. It was only a matter of time for Caline could kiss her job goodbye.

When the class finished, those that had a wake-up call rushed to meet with Marinette. Juleka was unsure how to feel when she saw her brother, Luka, and that fencer that was once an enemy talking to Marinette huddle close together.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to transfer?”

Juleka turns to Nathanial and Rose hoping that she heard wrong. Marinette could not transfer, it just felt so wrong.

“Luka?” The trio turns to the guitarist’s younger sister. They could see the fake smile placed upon Marinette’s face.

“I’m so, so sorry, Marinette.” Juleka followed by Nathanial and Rose immediately apologizes. Marinette stares at them with somewhat blank stares.

A moment past before Marinette whispers, “I forgive you. You’re not at fault here.”

The recently forgiven three runs to embrace Marinette. Tears of joys escape from their eyes.

Only a day later would the class of Mlle. Bustier finds out that their teacher has been suspended and will no longer be teaching the class. Their new teacher was strict and took no bullshit from the class. It was either hard facts or detention for the day.

Lila tried to lie her way out with the new teacher but was constantly shut down the moment she opened her mouth. As her web began to dwindle, she knew that it was only time before her super loyalist realizes the truth of their “best friend”.

It was a hard-felt battle to the end of the school year. Lila had tried everything to maintain her loyalist to her side. She even went so far to bully Marinette out of the classroom only to be defeated by a wave of Marinette protection squad from another classroom.

Alya still blogged about Lila’s so-called adventure with Ladybug, her following begin to dwindle with the announcement of a Ladybug sponsored blog called Miraculous Out. Alya had a hissing fit and tried everything in her power to control the damage.

For Nino, he was feeling the pressure to getting his big break. Lila had promised him so many opportunities and as the school went along realization began to sit. He tried his hardest to shake Alya out of her Lila induced daze as the time went by, but he had no luck. He wanted to apologize to Marinette for everything that he had done, but the fear of being unforgiven hold him back.

When the school year returned everything was different. Caline Bustier was no longer their teacher. Marinette had transferred out of the class and to a new school all together. Everyone that had a wake-up call suddenly felt sick to their stomach from believing in Lila’s lies and seeing the Italian native. Nothing would ever be the same for them, not after all of this.

Specific Tag List: @traveling-with-thedoctor | @nexitye | @blueberrinette | @seraphichana |

#queen of mean au #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug #the empress of mean aftermath #slight class salt #eh I'd tried

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darkestwolfx · 4 years

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Long Haul - Re-Review #48

Okay, I think I managed to reply to most people yesterday, but I had over a hundred odd notifications to scroll through - so if I missed your comment, I’m really sorry! So, moving on to today’s review.

It’s all nice and steady, business as usual, and there’s even some lovely peaceful music until we get to the ‘duh-dun’ part and in comes trouble.

“All ships divert from bay 2:1 and await further instructions.”

“Bravo Two Four, I gave an order to divert.”

“Sorry control, missed that.”

Okay, it wasn’t their fault, as such, there’s very little you can do about radio interference, but these things will happen and cause chaos. At least it wasn’t deliberate for once!

“We hit something! How bad is it?”

“We’re going into meltdown!”

That bad is your answer, mate.

“Space Hub One, come in. This is International Rescue. Do you need assistance?”

“This is Controller Conrad. Our core is ruptured, the coolant unit is leaking, and we’re going into meltdown. Apart from that, everything is fine.”

Yes, that makes everything sound just peachy! I wouldn’t cool that everything is fine. Apart from what? Everything is dying on you basically. Meltdown is pretty... finite?

“Do you have an EVAC in progress?”

“Yes, I’m riding the power controls to buy time until everyone is out. But I’m only delaying the meltdown. I can’t stop it.”

“Alan, you reading this? You need to get up there.”

“FAB John, I’m on my way.”

Hooray for Thunderbird Three! Although, did Alan leave with any plan other than to get Conrad who was going to evacuate anyway? It seems like John was predicting a rescue would be needed here, which isn’t a bad thing, I just wasn’t entirely clear on the reasoning. On the one hand, you’ve got predicting something before it happens which is great; but on the other, you’ve got acting too soon, which then dragged Thunderbird Two up, when maybe Virgil could have just gone with Alan? I know it’s all for the sake of story, so I’m not going to dwell here for long.

“Conrad, time to get out of there.”

“Okay, I’m heading out.”

Apparently, according to the writers with their hands of God, you are not!

“Alan, Conrad was still on board when the comms went down. He was about to evac, but I don’t know if he made it.”

“If he’s there, I’ll find him. I got him! But he’s not moving, and life signs are very weak. One wrong more and the whole thing will break apart.”

Just to my penny’s worth in here, very cheery start to the episode! No, really, it was nice to see an episode which did just get straight down to business and save the humour for later, really heightened the tension. I do love episodes where we just get to dive right into the deep, there’s something rewarding in them me thinks.

“This is the duty log of Space Controller Conrad, Space Hub One. I’m running out of air and time. I don’t know if anyone will hear this... I hope everyone else made it out. This is all my fault, I should have spotted that cruiser. I’m sorry.”

I really liked this guest character! They gave us so much backstory for him too and the music! I just loved it all. I will be honest, teared a bit at that speech. It’s like he was leaving a message on the log, expecting it to be his last, expecting to die there, and still thinking of others regardless.

“Brains, how do I get into this thing?”

The music behind this conversation was also awesome!

“You can’t cut through. That chute is designed to withstand meteor hits and collisions with space debris. And I’ve got worst news.”

“Of course you do.”

“Oxygen levels have reached critical. Conrad is running out of air.”

Skipping a bit here and keeping the focus on these two, all alone in space - I really felt for Alan and Conrad here. They were so close an yet so far.

“Alan, I don’t want anyone else to be put in danger because of me.”

“Hey, we’re International Rescue. It’s what we do! And I’m gonna stay right here until we open the door.”

Alan really has grown. If this mission had been put on him in Series 1, I don’t think he would have been able to cope, what with his focus then on being able to go on missions, and being allowed to spread his wings. Series 2 for Alan is really an example of how he begins to balance his love and excitement for what he does, with a practical working attitude like his brothers. and actually, he is really good at in this episode.

“So, Conrad, how do you become a Space Controller?”

“You’re making conversation to try and take my mind of the meltdown, aren’t you?”

“Nooooo....”

He so is!

“It’s okay, I haven’t got anything better to do. I always wanted to see the world. I mean, really see it.”

Uh, perfect description of how John feels?

“Now all I want is to see my home again.”

“And where is that?”

“Slough. My family still live there. And they’re all heroes. My brother’s a firefighter, the other’s a paramedic, and my sister’s a police officer. Do you have any idea how much pressure that is?”

Uh, perfect description of Alan? Of course he knows what that feels like.

“I can try to imagine.”

“I just wanted to make them proud of me. I mean, space! That’s a pretty big deal right? And I blew it. I didn’t react fast enough.”

“It was an emergency situation. You responded as fast as you could and you got everyone out safely.”

“Everyone but me.”

One of the most emotional discussions in TAG? i think so. And it didn’t matter that it was involving a guest character, because they said everything which needed to be said. The Tracy boys may be our heroes, and they may battle with much higher levels to live up to, but there are families out there who have the same struggles. I really think this will have resonated with people out there. It’s hard to not resent elder siblings when you feel like they are constantly above you and we sort of saw Alan going through that in Series 1. Conrad was a good person for him to meet - this scene was thought-provoking, powerful, and reflective. Everything it should have been.

Now back to the whole Tracy Island interlude.

Personally, I love the silent moments we had which begun this scene. Virgil and Scott silently walking into the room, and the looks whilst they wait to find out whether they’re too late... I really felt that. Sometimes we don’t need words in a scene to convey emotions. I mean, did you see the way Alan’s shoulders dropped when he thought there wasn’t going to be an answer, and the way the boys looked at Brains? Said it all.

“Then we need a plan fast. The temperature is still rising and we’re running out of time before the whole thing blows!”

“Ok, Brains, give us a run down of our options.”

“I admire your optimism in thinking we have more than one.”

Brains, please try not to pessimistic for one episode? It’s hard, I know, and it’s ironic of me to ask him that, because I am also a pessimist so would probably be doing the exact same! Ironic, I know, but really, that got me.

“Without a working coolant unit, the power core will keep overheating until meltdown. But it’s too damaged for repairs. we need to replace it.”

“Ok, where do we get a replacement?”

“Right here. We use the same cooling system for the power system on Tracy Island. And I have a back-up.”

Of course he does, this is Brains we’re talking about! Always ready, like a Scout right? I wasn’t a Scout, so I might be wrong on that one.

“Great! Problem solved.”

I love how Scott was turning to leave, striding away all purposefully to go and get everything!

“It’s not that simple. That coolant unit is massive. The one at the space hub was transported bit by bit. It took weeks.”

“And we don’t have weeks. Is there a vehicle that could take it in one piece?”

“Thunderbird Three, but-”

And we all know what’s coming next!

“But disconnecting it from the hub means no life support for Conrad.”

Thank you, Scott.

“You said we had one option?”

Yes. Yes he did. Shall we find out what it was?

“Thunderbird Two could carry it.”

“Uh.. I think you’re forgetting the whole ‘in space’ part of the mission. Thunderbird Two is not a space ship.”

Listen to Scott, ever the obvious! No, really I love how ‘eldest brother’ he acted in this episode.

“I think it could break free of Earth’s gravity and make it to the space hub.”

“You think? We need to be sure.”

See, big brother! I really love it when he acts like that.

“I don’t know about this, Virgil, what do you think?”

“Well, Scott, I think Thunderbird two is going into space!”

Space, Space, Space! I feel like it’s a new catch phrase! Let’s see how many times I can fit the word into this next section of the Review.

“Hey Brains, when you’re done here, can you make Thunderbird Four into a spaceship too?”

*Watch as Brains’ face literally lights up, and then Scott proceeds to crush his dreams. Payback for Gordon and the Panda?*

“Uh, let’s not get carried away here guys! Besides we need Thunderbird Four standing by as a submarine!”

“FAB. But could you blame a guy for asking?”

“Right!”

Look at those faces! Scott is sick of it already.

New version of the countdown? Love it.

“Thunderbird Two is go-ing into space! Woo-hoo! Going into space! Going into space! Going into space! Going into space!”

Virgil has been to space before, this is nothing new for him... except it’s in Thunderbird Two and that must be like his absolute dream! It’s one thing to go in Thunderbird Three with Alan as a co-pilot, it’s another thing entirely to take your own ship up, and on a maiden voyage of sorts. I love the excitement in this scene - and I’m a little surprised Scott didn’t admonish the whooping over the radio!

“Ok, but keep monitoring. Closely.”

Oh, wait, that’s why, he’s too busy worrying his every last nerve! Fairly so though, I think I would have done the same.

“Come on, old friend, you can do this.”

And the faith here? I don’t think I could ever have as much faith in technology and machinery as these boys do and I think that is a testament to them, what they do, and their equipment. Connections really do mean everything, and I know we had this discussion in one of the comment sections, but I think it really is possible that these 2060 epic works of machinery are sentient.

“Only a few thousand metres to go.”

“We made it!

And we have lift off! The dream is a reality.

“You have pizza?”

“No, I was joking.”

Meanie. Alan took you seriously. Although why I don’t know!

And the rescue is pulled off with success! Back to Earth we go, after another ‘Thunderbird; debate;

“This way, I get to ride in Thunderbird Two. I mean, it is the coolest Thunderbird.”

“Right?”

New catchphrase for Virgil?

“I’m choosing to ignore that.”

“Virgil, it’s your heat shields! They took took much damage on launch. Thunderbird two is going to burn up on re-entry!”

“Virgil, I’m coming for ya’!”

“It’s too late, Alan. Thunderbird Two is caught in Earth’s gravity.”

Yes, Scott, just shove Brains out of the way! I must admit I love that scene.

“Virgil, you guys have to bail out in the pod.”

“Negative, Scott. Can’t do it.”

“We can build another Thunderbird Two. We can’t rebuild you!”

That line still gets me. It’s so poignant.

“Eject, now!”

Virgil won’t do that. He’s a go down with your ship kinda guy.

“He’s right.”

And that is Brains’ way of saying that he should have thought of that! Really, Conrad is actually very, very smart. I think he should have been offered a job on the spot. I mean, that’s a pretty good interview performance, right?

“Conrad’s plan just might work.”

“Might?”

“It might definitely work!”

“I hope so.”

So do we all, Scott.

“Come on Thunderbird Two...”

And Thunderbird Two does. Hooray! The underwater landing was quite entertaining as well.

Now for a happpy shot.

“I should have reacted quicker.”

Stop being so hard on yourself! I think he’s one of the good ones.

“Hey, your quick thinking up there saved us. And Thunderbird Two.”

“So Conrad...”

Little shoulder bump! Love it.

“What’s next?”

“I’ll drop in and see my family in Slough and then it’s back to the Hub.”

He’ll have one heck of a story to tell.

“Hey Brains, how long would it take to re-fit Thunderbird Two to take Conrad back up to the Hub?”

“Thanks, but this time I’ll get a ride designed to go into space. Alan?”

“And which Thunderbird is the coolest?”

“Thunderbird Three is the coolest.”

“Yes, it is.”

He deserved a visit to the Island after saving Virgil’s (and his own of course) life like that. He seems like a really smart, switched on kid who just got stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time in a tough situation. I love episodes like this one because it reminds us that everyone on this show is human - even those in the Tracy family.

P.S. Shall we have the coolest Thunderbird debate? Now seems like a good time since the boys have instigated it. Stick your thoughts below if you want to!

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so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site · 6 years

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Every 7th question as well as 23 and 19.

Note: From these fanfiction asks. Long post ahoy! (and hopefully tagging someone under the read more still tags them)

7. List your NOTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Alright, so I’ve been in more fandoms than I can remember. In terms of shipping, I tend to review things on a case by case basis. There have been times I’ve disliked the way a pairing or particular fic was written, but the only time I tend to say “absolutely not” is with incest pairings. The only other specific that comes to mind at the moment is Xehanort/Anyone from Kingdom Hearts. That dude is just too gross in body and mind, plus, given that he sort of IS half the characters in that series at this point, it borderline falls under the “no incest” rule anyways.

14. Who are your BroTPs?

Ok, so going by my mostly current fandoms alone:

The Beatles–all four Beatles together, pretty much, or in any combination among them

Fall Out Boy–all the band members, basically like the Beatles answer above

Final Fantasy 15– the main party members in any combination, plus Luna+Cindy+Aranea+Iris in an AU where they actually got to meet and have their own adventures

Kingdom Hearts– The series runs on the goddamn power of friendship, so friend fics about basically any of the heroes are awesome, but since I probably need to be more specific I’d say (in no particular order) Sora+Riku, Riku+Kairi, Riku + Mickey, and Sora+Donald+Goofy

19. Is there any ship you wish you could get behind, but just don’t feel them?

Hm, this is a tough question. There are a lot of pairings I just “don’t feel” but I don’t necessarily wish I could get behind them either. I guess Petekey and any shipping between the FF15 party members counts here. They’re popular ships and I get why people like them, but don’t feel anything for them myself.

21. First fanfic you ever wrote?

I actually don’t know. The oldest fanfic I’ve found of mine was a Disney one scrawled on like, construction paper that was from when I was in Kindergarten. Apparently as soon as I learned to write, I started writing my own stories about my favorite characters.

Eventually that turned into the citrus-flavored fic I tend to turn out today. I feel like my ability to write probably went downhill somewhere.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of and why.

This is a tough one! There’s actually a couple of different answers. In terms of fic I’ll currently own up to, I’m super proud of both “It Happened Once In a Dream” and “Tastes Like You, Only Sweeter”. The former because it’s probably the hottest thing I’ve ever written, really straight to the point and intense with the imagery. The latter because it’s one of the longest fics I’ve ever written, it has an actual plot (!), and it manages to blend humor and sexy content in a way I’m genuinely proud of.

HOWEVER, there is one more fic I am really, truly, UNFAIRLY proud of. It was a 20k words, elaborately plotted, characterization-on-point action-adventure that managed to perfectly balance a crossover between FOUR different series. I even researched the canon of each series to make sure it fit with all the canons. When I posted it, it got great reviews and even accompanying art! That being said, unfortunately, the crossover in question would be considered exceptionally “cringe” today, so I’m left in the frustrating position of being super proud of a fic but absolutely unable to claim credit. Oddly enough, this fic was also pretty much the only non-smut fic I’d ever posted. Weird how that worked out.

28. If someone were to draw fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I’d LOVE to have art done of any of my fics, but, uh, yeah I post like 99% lemon fic (and boy, is it weird seeing that term come back!) so I understand why nobody’s really drawn it. That being said, if anyone wants to draw Patrick licking his fingers from “It Happened Once in a Dream” or him eating that pastry in “Tastes Like You Only Sweeter”… it would be a dream come true.

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what are they normally about?

I almost always write drabbles; long fics are the rare exception for me. The ones I post are usually smut, since that’s the easiest thing to do well in one self-contained scene.

42. List and link to 5 7 fanfiction authors who are amazing.

@soulpunkpatrickstump @secretstudentdragonblog @serenityspiral @sn1tchesandtalkers @ascensiontree @blindedstarlight @louisvuittontrashbags Are just a FEW of the great authors whose work I’ve stumbled across on Tumblr alone (note: these are mostly for the FOB and FF15 fandoms. If I started getting into all my fandoms I’d be tagging literally everyone I follow at this point)

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why?

YES. PLEASE COMMENT ON MY WRITING. I absolutely THRIVE on feedback. Like, genuine feedback, not just “plz update”. Hearing that people like a story, and what parts worked or didn’t work for them, absolutely drives me to continue writing and also gives me ideas on how I can keep improving.

Also tagging @laudanumcafe and @allkindsofplatinumandpercocet because I know you guys read my writing, even though I haven’t read yours yet (whoops)

#writing stuff #my writing #asks answers #asks #ask game

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itsclydebitches · 6 years

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RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 “Welcome to Haven”

This is a re-posting from Oct. 14th, 2017 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

The day has arrived! After nearly eight months we finally have a new RWBY episode and I am fully prepared to dive into reviewing it (alongside my recaps of the earlier material). Obvious spoilers ahead for those behind on the series or who don't have a Rooster Teeth account for first access.

To start, I should mention that we also have a Yang short that aired pretty much alongside the new episode, in which Yang is helping Ruby to train in hand-to-hand before she leaves for Beacon. I've heard a lot of complaints about this short already--that Rooster Teeth waited too long to post it, that by focusing on a flashback they're ignoring present!Yang's disability and PTSD--but for all that the short still provides an excellent little glimpse into the sisters' pre-Beacon lives, along with the expected, kick-ass fight scene. This short does raise a number of questions though, or plot holes if we're being uncharitable. Chronologically we know that Ruby is already incredibly strong at this point and has excellent control over her semblance, yet a simple tumble into the grass knocks her out for a number of minutes? I also find it highly suspect that Ruby is that dependent on Crescent Rose to fight--she says herself she's useless against the Grimm without it--yet over the course of the following years she does nothing to better herself in hand-to-hand. Seeing Yang in the jaws of a Grimm should have been a wake up call...but it wasn't. I honestly hope this comes back to haunt Ruby at some point. That she'll get a "You can't rely on Crescent Rose" talking to in the same way Yang got a "You can't rely on your semblance" talk from Tai. Otherwise this short does little to further either sisters' characterization.

Regardless, onto the episode itself. I watched it in my local Starbucks (too impatient to wait until I got home) and just five minutes in a stranger interrupted, apologizing, but asking if this was the new Volume because he was so excited for its premiere. Shockingly, I didn't entirely share his enthusiasm, if only because ever since Volume Three I've feared that RWBY will become too dark for my taste, losing that adorable, humorous spark that initially drew me to it.

I shouldn't have doubted Rooster Teeth. Just as Volume Four opens with happy bickering among the new team RNJR (or is it JNRR?), Volume Five opens with Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Qrow making light of their dangerous trip to Haven. "We were fine," Ruby insists, "Only one of us almost died"--with a sly look at Qrow. For me these moments are crucial to the series, as they not only read as authentic (humor is a powerful tool in the face of trauma), but they keep the series from becoming overburdened with angst.

The team's walk through the "scenic route" gives everyone time to recap the basic plot of Volume 4 and then Qrow heaves open doors to reveal our first good look at Haven.

It certainly seems to live up to its name. Interestingly (or simply due to financial/time constraints) Rooster Teeth opted to paint still images of the city's inhabitants with the 'camera' moving across them, rather than actually animating everyone. It works though, giving viewers the feeling that we're looking upon an intricate painting.

Ruby exclaims that "This is amazing!," drools over the weaponry--alright, so not everything has changed--and says that they'll be going "up," literally to Professor Lionheart's office and metaphorically in luck. The narrative uses that moment though to pull up until we reach Weiss' airship, still in the process of escaping her father. Though Weiss isn't given much time in the premiere, this short scene showcases her rapid character development. Where once she might have snubbed her nose at being stuck with an 'underling,' now Weiss speaks openly and respectfully to her pilot, admitting that she doesn't want to be a burden to anyone.

It's during this admission that they pick up a distress signal from another ship, one being attacked by Grimm. Weiss of course wants to stop and help, but the pilot reminds her that they're trying to keep a low profile and if they picked up the call, someone else will have too. They keep going and I'm left a little on the fence about this decision. The pilot's logic is sound, but there's also the issue of the bystander effect--we don't actually know if Weiss left those people to die or not. It's a moment that emphasizes that there are no good choices in war.

Then again, for all we know Episode Two might pick up on the airship, with Weiss demanding that they turn back. We'll have to see.

Back in Haven, Ruby wipes a tear away upon reaching their destination. Jokes aside, they've been through so much to get there and it's nice to see some genuine emotion. There's then a rapid change of mood as the group notices just how empty the school is and, with weapons drawn, they kick in Professor Lionheart's door expecting the worst.

...instead all they do is give poor Lionheart a heart attack. He just lost track of time and forgot to meet them out front. Whoops.

Qrow still calls him out on the lack of security and though Lionheart explains it away with a lot of discussion regarding James, the council, and the distribution of Huntsmen/Huntresses in a time of war, his excuses ring a little false. Indeed, by the end of the scene we'll see him speaking to a holographic 'W' on his desk, presumably Arthur Watts, who was briefly in contact with Lionheart in "No Safe Haven." Looks like he's gone full dark side, or at the very least is being blackmailed.

Before that though we learn a LOT about these relics we keep hearing about. Apparently the chamber each relic resides in can only be accessed by their corresponding Maiden--which seems to put a damper on the "Ozpin's cane is a relic" theory. Why have this security measure and then not make use of it? Did Ozpin (as the presumed Wizard) simply think that he was powerful enough to protect it on his own? Despite losing to Cinder? I'm inclined to think not, especially given the cavalier way the cane is handled between Qrow and Oscar. There's no doubt importance to Ozpin's weapon, but I'm no longer 100% convinced that it's a relic. (Even if I’m still headcanoning as such.)

We also learn each of the Maiden's... themes? Powers? For lack of a better word. Winter is the Maiden of creation, Summer the Maiden of destruction (an uncommon reversal there), Spring is knowledge, and Fall is choice. This puts a whole new dimension on Pyrrha's almost ascension as the Fall Maiden, given the complicated choices involved. Though Ozpin told her firmly not to fight and offered as much free will as a rock and a hard place would allow, a background as both a celebrity and a Huntress ensured that Pyrrha experienced the most pressure to conform and do what's (supposedly) best for others--even at the expense of herself.

Cinder is our latest Fall Maiden. Winter and Summer are still unknown, but Spring apparently skipped out on her duties a decade past...and is now in Raven's hands. What does a bunch of bandits want with a Maiden? We're not sure yet, but Qrow is eager to mount a full attack to get her back. Only Lionheart's (evil and biased) logic keeps him from rushing off. No doubt our team will take things into their own hands once they realize whose thumb Lionheart is under. The essence behind "Damn the council, we'll do it ourselves!" is common in most fantasy/action series. From Harry Potter to Korra we always have that moment when the rag-tag team has to step outside of the bureaucracy and actually get shit done. The trick is continually making sure that the council--or whatever else we’re dealing with--is actually corrupt/in the wrong.

Elsewhere Blake is dealing with the fallout of her own character short. Things are kept a little murky: Who exactly are these people beyond White Fang members? Who's side is Ilia on? It doesn't seem to matter much. The important bit is that Ilia tells Blake to leave now and she responds with a curt, "You're going to have to make me." So unless Ilia succeeds, it sounds like Blake won't be catching up with the rest of the team anytime soon. A pity.

Yang is also off on her own. I must admit that Rooster Teeth had me fooled. Based on last Volume's conversation with Tai and the fact that Yang's short focuses on how she'll "Always have [Ruby's] back," cutting to her determined expression as she continues driving her motorcycle in the present day, I fully expected Yang to be meeting up with Team RNJR. Instead she's looking for her mom. No doubt though everyone will come together if Qrow and the kids go after Raven themselves. Until then Yang is poised to get info from a sleazy asshole who likes to hit on underage girls.

The episode's climax though is in Oscar's return. We jump "back" to a scene we got at the end of Volume 4, wherein the chronology smooths out to show us when exactly Oscar found Qrow in that bar. "It's good to see you again, Oz" was appropriately heartfelt--and raises more questions about why Qrow of all the inner circle knows so much about Ozpin's power. (A shipper heart can't get too hopeful, can it?) After a cut Oscar shows up on the kids' doorstep, asking for Ruby Rose... and we get more emotional whiplash as that line is reframed not as an, "I know everything" moment but an, "I brought your drunk as a skunk uncle back" moment. Qrow is adorable in this scene, happily wasted as he mutters about how he finally found Ozpin. Ruby's anger that her comic reading time was interrupted dissipates as Oscar freely admits, "You know me as Professor Ozpin."

I'm very glad he came right out and said it. I wasn't looking forward to a whole Volume of wondering when the gang will find out the truth. Perhaps the most fascinating moment though is when Oscar, seemingly instinctually, says to Ruby,

"You have silver eyes."

There are three ways of explaining this line, far as I can tell:

Ozpin tells Oscar to say that. Unlikely. We don't see Oscar pausing or talking to himself, and why be cryptic when they're going to admit who they are two seconds later?

Oscar himself recognizes silver eyes. Possible, even if he is just a farm boy. Perhaps he's heard stories?

Ozpin's knowledge/personality is beginning to become accessible to Oscar. This has been my theory from the start. As I'll discuss more in-depth in my Volume 4 recaps, Ozpin as an entity still exists and presumably this isn't the first time he's changed bodies, implying that the headmaster we know has survived for who knows how many decades. The implication of this is he either somewhat merges with or entirely overwrites the personality of his host. I’m not hoping for the latter--a rather dark side to his semblance--but if so it might already be starting. Oscar's "You have silver eyes" might be a bit of Ozpin creeping into his reactions.

We'll have to wait to find out. This premiere was, for the most part, surprisingly joyful, but we can't expect that to last for long. Our new intro says it straight out: "Things looking bleak and they're bound to get worse."

Best to fasten your seat belts.

Other Details of Note

The pilot's "Sorry, kid" to Weiss. Yes, please remind the audience that these are still children. People tend to forget that.

Qrow's constantly hunched back. I don't recall this from previous Volumes. This might be something Rooster Teeth is only now capable of with the new animation style, but regardless it's a wonderful little detail.

"That poor girl ripped to pieces" and Ruby's tiny gasp. Glad to see everyone hasn't completely forgotten about Penny. I'm also interested in whether the rest of the world didn't notice that Penny was a robot or if they're just that accepting of machines with souls as "real girls."

Qrow--"I quit teaching for a reason." Did a good job training Ruby though!

Using the Maidens' titles in place of their names is both good for the show's mystery and appropriately dehumanizing.

I'm surprised that no one responded to Ren's hope that they can reclaim the Spring Maiden in a more peaceful manner. In fact, he's not in the rest of that scene's shots, to the extent that I wondered if he was using his semblance for some reason. I hope that they'll return to this. We've had very little exploration of fighting-obsessed Huntsmen/Huntresses finding non-violent solutions to their problems and it might add some actual conflict to the group. They get along incredibly well for four teenagers traveling the world together.

Qrow tells Lionheart to keep in touch, as if we all don't know how terrible he is at contacting the rest of his super-secret team. Way to be a hypocrite, Qrow.

Sun and Blake's dad can finally agree on something! Drinks all around.

Yang's hand briefly shaking after her first "fight" since she lost her arm as well as the call-back joke to her times in Junior's bar. Most characters had little call-back moments and it was wonderful to see in a premiere.

#rwby #mymetas #RWBY Recaps

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theragamuffininitiative · 6 years

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Last Days of Summer @KCRep

Well this has been long in coming

Guys.

I saw Last Days of Summer with Corey Cott and Emily Padgett and it was amazing and now I’m here a week and a day late to talk your ear off about it. ;)

I went with my favorite cousin (shhh don’t tell the other cousins) to see the show because she likes theatre too but her family doesn’t care so they never see things.

She knew I was a fan of one of the cast, and I did my level best not to fangirl too hard and I think it was an all around success. :D

This was yet another exercise in the “how far will Rags drive across the country to see a show if it is at all a possibility to do so” which I think is going to drive my parents insane.

When we got there, I did what I forgot to do at The Lion King and asked if it was ok to take pictures of the curtain call. Unfortunately, because of copyright reasons with Jason Sherwood’s set design, pictures were not allowed. :P But now at least I think I’ll remember to ask the ushers at shows, because curtain calls are my favorite thing and someday I will get pictures at them.

I’m not going to spoil the story for anyone who may want to read the book the musical is based off of, or just in case it gets produced again. (please please please) But if you’re curious, there’s this.

We went the last night because I couldn’t get away sooner. I would have loved to see the first show and then seen the closing show because I know they did a lot of changes, but I’m really happy with the version we saw.

It opened with a radio suspended on a wire, and the crackling voice of a baseball announcer set the narrative into motion. The radio was one of my favorite parts of the production, it was a great storytelling technique.

Robbie Berson as young Joey Margolis was amazing. All the kids in the cast were, but as the main protagonist....antagonist? hm, anyways, the main character, he carried the story the whole time in a great way, always believable as an incorrigible kid and strong enough to dig into the deeper parts of the story.

Jim Kaplan as Craig Nakamura was also amazing, and I love the character of sweet but feisty Craig so much.

These two boys, honestly, they were such pros.

And what can I say about Corey and Emily? They are stars, obviously, and I loved every second they were on stage, together or separate.

The end of Act One features a pretty big blow up between Joey and Corey’s Charlie, where Joey allows his emotions to get the better of him and turns on Craig. Charlie scolds him and tells him he has no choice about growing up and gives him a thing or two about being a man. Honestly, that act one closer was pretty great, but it also gave two of my favorite moments of the show:

1) When Charlie gets fed up with Joey’s selfish behavior, Corey bellowed “sit down!” and one older audience member audibly went “whoa” XD XD XD.

2) in the song that follows (”Says Who? Says I”), there was a moment where - for lack of a better description and realizing it’s a pun considering what team Charlie Banks plays on - Corey became a giant on that stage. For most of the production, all the players were equals. Kids and adults and ensemble members alike, they complimented each other and no one outshone anyone else. But near the end of the song, and probably on purpose for the story, Charlie/Corey towered above everything else as he belted out lines that were equally self-deprecating and proud about who Charley and Joey should be. I was in awe. It was a great moment.

Emily’s disguised yet still noticeable baby bump made for some fourth-wall-breaking humorous moments for the audience, considering her starlet character and lead romantic interest persona. But it was all good. XD

I. am. seriously. in. love. with. that. staging. I could talk about the sets all day.

Jeff Calhoun’s directing. Can I get an amen.

Jim/Craig’s performance of “We Always Had a Garden” is honestly the part I got the most emotional over, and he sang it like an angel, I was very wow.

I need the album.

Chris Dwan as Stuke was great. I started to get worried about Stuke’s mortality when he went from “occasional comic relief” to “goofy tag-along friend” and, well, I was right. But he was great and he had this fantastic little random dance number (”This Time It’s For Real”) while singing about his latest crush. It was precious. XD

There was, as the review I linked to said, a lot crammed into this little show. Like, a lot of a lot. The first act balanced everything pretty well, the second act was a little stuffed.

One of the big climactic moments in act two felt very rushed, and one of those “we’re just going to assume the audience gets what we mean” and the audience gets it but isn’t allowed any time to appreciate it. I’d like to see that done a little differently, but I completely chalk it up to there just being such a wealth of plot to deal with in those final scenes and numbers.

Speaking of numbers, if you want a taste of some of the music aside from that one clip with Robbie and Jim, Corey performed some of the songs with some cast members at his concert that week:

“You Never Have to Say Goodbye” - cue tears

“No One Else For Me” - sweeeeet

I love Big Band music so much. Jason Howland for the win.

“That’ll Be You and Me” is sort of a bonding moment for Joey and Charlie and it reminded me a lot of the character dynamic between Zach and Henry in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, one of my favorite movies.

The wedding scene was hysterical. You’re just gonna have to take my word for it, but the blocking on it was perfect and the characters played tug-of-war across the stage trying to get Charlie to board his train on time and keep the rabbi from passing out as he flew through the “ceremony.” XD The Rabbi was a good character. Give Gary Neal Johnson a hand.

I did not cry. There were moments. But I didn’t. XD

Everybody kept swearing and then the boys would make “can we say that word” jokes, like in the middle of a song, when you knew what they were going to say because it rhymed, and I’m old fashioned but it was also great. XD

There’s an earlier scene where the baseball team is helping Joey memorize his answers for his Bar Mitzvah (”The Only Way to Score”) and it was both funny and precious as everyone except Joey learns all the Hebrew answers.

“Just Like Us” and its reprises kept the show solidly focused on Joey, and his buddy Craig.

I wanted to give both Joey and Charlie all the hugs.

I whooped for the orchestra at bows. I’m always like the only person who does that at a show, but I appreciate the orchestras so much, it’s just my thing now: I whoop loudly in support of the pit musicians, deal with it everybody.

My cousin enjoyed it :D :D :D

Standing ovation, btw, of course.

Okay, so, after the show:

We stuck around with a group of peeps to stagedoor. Folks, this is the first time I successfully stagedoored something lol.

Corey was the first person to come out, and... - poor guy. XD He was booking it, making a very determined beeline for the exit. If I was left to my own, I would have let him go, but the guy in front of me stopped him so I got up my courage. He was polite and kind to us, but you could tell he just wanted to go home. (and afterward he ended up apparently getting delayed like seven hours trying to get back home to the city, so I don’t blame him at all) So he signed a couple posters and playbills, and then as he was walking away I stepped forward and asked if I could get his autograph. He was like “yeah, ok” and then, rather than giving him the playbill, I pulled out my Bandstand album jacket. :D :D :D Guys, he lit up, it was the cutest and happiest thing. He went from “ok sure” to “awwww yeaaaaah!” and signed it like six times because my marker wasn’t working properly lol, and then was like “um that’s gonna have to be good enough” even though I told him the first time was ok. XD

So then everyone else started to come out, and I got a lot of the cast to sign my playbill, including all the main kids, Emily, and most of the baseball players - who were the coolest about doing autographs so bless you dudes. Young Jim somehow has the neatest signature.

And then we went home! XD

As usual, I am certain I am forgetting all the things, but there we are. I only wish I could have gone twice. I would love to have gone earlier so I could tell everyone to go see it. But I’m reasonably sure it will get more productions, so be on the look out for it! :D

#rags sees a show #ragamusings #last days of summer #stagedoor stories

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coldflasher · 6 years

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Fic Writer’s Year In Review

I was mentioned by @silas-lehnsherr and @sophiainspace - thank you! this is such a nice way to look back on the year :D

General Fic Stats for 2018:

Word Count: 172,163

Number of fics: 7

Most Popular by Kudos:

aftermath

this fic is my baby and ate 2-3 years of my life - i entirely blame this fic for the reduced amount of things i’ve posted for this fandom, because it’s uh... long.

summary: this fic is a rewrite of season 1 of the flash, but with barry and len dating from the onset. unsurprisingly, this causes complications. technically the third in a series but can also be read as a standalone.

the fic is finished but i’m posting one chapter at a time - we’re currently on episode six and it’s uh. over 100k. that tells you everything you need to know about this fic probably

My Favorite Fic To Write:

i already mentioned aftermath, which i adored, so im gonna talk about sticks and stones - a constangreen angst-fest. this was my first time writing constangreen and i had a blast with constantine as a character; dialogue is my fave, and i heard his voice so clearly, it was so fun mimicking his speech patterns. also gary is a cutie.

summary: the last time john constantine got involved with a guy named gary, it didn’t go so well. keeping gary at arm’s length seems like the best way to save his soul - too bad john’s drunk self has other ideas.

Funniest Fic:

i don’t know that i write many funny fics, per se, although i do like to include funny moments. but i guess the best fit would be take me out tonight. the idea was probably funnier than the execution, but i had a good time writing it haha.

summary: barry and len are having a nice, quiet date. unfortunately, central city’s metahuman population has other ideas.

Fluffiest Fic:

the promise

this is a coldray fic that grabbed me and basically forced me to write it. also lowkey angsty cos i’m a monster whoops BUT THE ENDING IS FLUFFY I SWEAR.

summary: leo is returning to earth x to propose to the love of his life, and mick has the perfect ring. aka mick is finally ready to move on and figures his partner’s ring will do more good on ray terril’s finger than it will in his pocket.

Saddest Fic:

faces to the moonlight

this one was for the coldflash valentines day event. somehow i took a nice prompt like slow-dancing and made it sad because, as mentioned, i suck.

summary: this year barry allen’s valentine is a memory he can’t seem to let go of. aka barry spends the night dancing with a ghost in ferris airfield and mourning missed opportunites. and leonard. who is dead. happy valentines day!!!

Most Challanging Fic To Write:

wow, can i say aftermath again. im gonna say aftermath again. the final draft is OVER 300k SO I THINK THIS IS JUSTIFIED

Fic I’m Proudest of Writing:

aftermath, hands down. i don’t have a huge pool of fics to choose from this year, but The Fic That Ate Three Years Of My Life will always be one of my proudest achievements.

Least Popular Fic:

faces to the moonlight again! this is fair, it’s pretty sad. i don’t blame y’all for not wanting to do that to yourselves.

Honourable Mentions:

shoutout to all the fics that i haven’t finished yet!! none of these have titles cos titles are my kryptonite. hoping to finish and post these in 2019, fingers crossed.

1. the coldflash vegas fic.

i have a horrible first draft of this and intend to rewrite it when i have the time! this was based off something we talked about in my old dctv discord chat, flashtrash, which i left basically because i got super busy and forgot to talk and then got too anxious to ever speak again so i just kind of. disappeared. oops.

anyway this fic was fun but i was depressed and burnt out when i wrote it and it deserves better. barry and len get whammied during a metahuman altercation and suddenly decide that getting married is the best idea ever. funnily enough, team flash disagrees. the fic is basically about barry and leonard running away to vegas to get married and team flash frantically trying to catch up to them before they make A Mistake. i really do love this fic and i wanna finish it but my creative writing degree is eating all my time rn... sigh

2. the dark!iris/killer frost fic

this one is slowly coming along and i reckon i’ll finish it soon...ish? when i have time?

after her brief stint as the flash, iris becomes obsessed with becoming a speedster for real. the solution is to steal barry’s powers, obviously. when killer frost finds out, iris thinks it’s game over - but as it turns out, they make a pretty good team.

basically, it’s about villain!iris and killer frost falling in love and stabbing everyone else in the back. it’s terrible, i’m obsessed with it.

General Writing Impressions:

I haven’t had as much time to dedicate to fic this year because I’ve been devoting myself more to original projects. I’m doing a creative writing degree and so a lot of my energy has gone towards that. however, I do miss writing fic - it’s so nice to write just for fun, you know? no goals of publication, no impending grade that will, inevitably, make me feel bad about something i loved and was proud of... just writing for the love of it. i do miss that.

in 2019 i’d like to strike a balance. of course my degree comes first, but i want to make time to write some (shorter) fics this year - it reminds me of why i love writing and why i want to do this. overall i’m never going to be a prolific fic writer who writes like, 100 short fics because i find them very hard, but i’d like to write more short fics and explore more pairings and just have fun, let loose and enjoy the process of writing fics whenever i get the chance.

Writers You Should Read:

again I haven’t dedicated enough time to reading fics recently :( (i read over 130 books instead because apparently i always lean massively one way or the other. it’s either all fics or all books?? wild.) but here are some writers who wrote fics i enjoyed very much!

@sophiainspace , sandrineshaw (sandrine), crimsondomingo (of course!), harleygirl2648, katyakora, barrylen and more!

(i don’t tend to tag people because uhhh anxiety, but feel free do this and say i tagged you!)

#personal

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skeletonscribbles · 6 years

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Wishes - Chapter 9

ayy here it is in full! I know it’s 10:36pm EST but we’re gonna do this anyway I don’t care

Title: “I Will Go Sailing No More” (Mike) Rating: T for general sadness Word Count: 3500 or so Warnings: Bill hasn’t had sensitivity training SO some pretty iffy discussion around mental health, religion, et al

Read on Ao3

Tag List: @roobarrtrashmouth @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @tozier-club@aizeninlefox@stanheartsbill@latinxrichie@softeds@pretzelstoday@melancholypurple@wheezygreens@ayyyymichele @loser-marsh

MIKE HANLON TRANSFERRING TO SOMEWHERE IN ATTRACTIONS Currently: AT THE HOOP-DE-DOO REVIEW WITH HIS BOYFRIENDS FEBRUARY 14th 6:00 p.m.

“Round em up pardners,” the frontier themed (cowboy) cast member called out from the front podium of Pioneer Hall at the Fort Wilderness Resort. “Showtime in 30 minutes! Those in the front, come on down and let’s get you seated. Don’t want the fun to start without anybody!”

Mike sighed and shuffled forwards. Behind him, he heard Bill and Stan do the same.

‘Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!” the CM called out as an afterthought, and Mike’s stomach dropped down all the way to his feet.

This was gonna be an experience, and not in the fun, life-changing way.

“How romantic,” Stan said acridly. Mike winced as he heard him kick a rock. He wished to God he’d cancelled this reservation - and he almost had, about a week ago, after Bill had made a particularly unfortunate comment that he hadn’t realized was anti-Semetic until Stan was halfway out the door. Mike had opened the My Disney Experience app as Bill stomped around in the kitchen of Mike and Ben’s apartment, and had hovered his thumb over the ‘cancel reservation’ button, but had ultimately decided to keep it until everything had cooled off. After all, after that kind of blowout, it was usually safe to assume that things could only get better.

This relationship was really doing a number on Mike’s optimism.

“It’ll be fun,” Bill tried half-heartedly, speeding up so that he was walking next to Mike. “You haven’t been, right, Mike? It’s fun.”

Someone gave a whooping yell from inside Pioneer Hall, and someone else yodeled in response. Mike was pretty sure that based on those two things alone, he could deduce that the things that Bill found fun were a pretty far cry from what he himself was interested in. If Stan’s loud sigh and exaggerated shuffling was anything to go on, he was feeling the same way.

(Dating a white boy was a little different, it turned out, if said white boy was Jewish. There was a little more camaraderie, a little more of a shared understanding in that.

Christian white boys from the Illinois suburbs? Well...that was a different story.)

At last, they reached the podium. Mike took a deep breath, and proceeded.

“Hanlon, party of 3,” he told the cowboy guy.

“Three…” the CM ran his finger down the list of names on his iPad until he found the one he was looking for. “Righty-o. Three cowpokes? Lonely Valentine's Day for you?”

Yes, Mike thought, as his mouth said, “No.”

The CM blinked, shrugged, and gestured for them to follow another Little House on the Prairie-type female employee into Pioneer Hall. “All right, then. Have a nice night!”

“Do you think he thinks it’s weird?” Bill asked, looking back at Cowboy CM with concern.

“He’s definitely seen weirder.” Stan had moved up to walk next to Mike and Bill. His mouth was pulled into a tight line, and Mike couldn’t help but feel guilty that Stan had been dragged out when he very clearly didn’t want to be there. “Don’t worry about it. I’m wondering, though - do we have to participate in this show? Are people going to touch me?”

“No one’s going to touch you,” Mike promised, sliding a hand over the small of Stan’s back and rubbing his thumb in reassuring circles.

“Probably not,” Bill amended, and Mike shot him an exasperated glare.

“Dude.”

“Just saying,” Bill muttered.

They were seated about three rows back from the stage, and their drink orders were taken immediately. Mike had been planning on staying sober so that they wouldn’t have to pay for an Uber on their way back, but all of that was out the window in the face of the tension in the air. All three of them ordered sangria, and when the waiter informed them that it was bottomless, Stan audibly muttered “Good” under his breath.

When the waiter walked away, the only noise for five solid minutes was the hum of the tourists at the surrounding tables.

You should have known this would happen, a voice in the back of Mike’s head whispered. Jumping into things without getting to know them at all…?

“We should talk,” Mike finally blurted, if only to silence that horrible, horrible voice. “Right?”

“We did talk,” Bill pointed out, eyes burning little laser holes into Mike’s forehead. The waiter came back with their sangrias (Stan’s white and Bill and Mike’s red), and silently, they each brought their glasses to their mouths and drank more than what was probably acceptable for a first swallow.

“Mike’s right,” Stan acquiesced, pulling back from his drink and wincing at its acrid aftertaste. “It’s not enough to have had one after-Christmas tell-all, especially given that nothing’s changed.”

The Christmas conversation had been a veritable shitshow. Mike had been talking with his father a lot in and around the holidays, which had gotten him thinking about his relationship (where it was going, how he was handling it, etc.), so he was admittedly a little distant in working some of that out through late November and early December, but Bill had made it sound like he was completely checked out. Stan had tried his best to mediate, but Bill wasn’t very interested in mediating, and as such, they’d come out worse from that than they’d been before.

Fate and the cosmos apparently had an expiration date. Real life had 100% kicked in, and Mike absolutely did not care for it.

Still, he was a good person, and he did still care for Bill and Stan (especially Stan, wholeheartedly Stan), so he figured he needed to keep trying for at least a little bit longer.

“So,” he began, twisting his napkin in his lap nervously, “I think…”

“HOOP DE DOO!” The band revved up, and the ensemble ran in from the back. Mike rolled his eyes and took another long drink of his sangria. Of COURSE the timing was going to work out like that.

Bill, for his part, had relief written all over his face. He clapped along with the tourists, smiling and sipping his drink, and Mike felt anger - God, how long had it been since he’d felt anger - simmering at the base of his chest. Why didn't Bill want to hear what he and Stan had to say? There was an entitlement in it that made Mike’s blood run hot.

Stan had obviously seen the flash of negativity that had swept over Mike’s face. He immediately slid a hand out and over, ignoring Bill’s glee entirely in favor of bringing Mike to a more agreeable emotional place.

“Just think,” he said, looking Mike in the eyes, “this could be you at the Country Bears when you transfer to MK attractions.”

That got Bill’s attention. He snapped his gaze from the stage to his boyfriends. “Transfer?”

“Oh.” Mike shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I put in to transfer to attractions. I wanted DAK but apparently they can move me faster if I agree to go to MK, so I’m pretty sure that I’m gonna agree to to to MK. I thought I told you?”

(He knew he hadn’t told Bill about that. He had a gut feeling that Bill wouldn’t respond well.)

True to form, Bill was frowning, looking every inch the exasperated tour guide as he considered Mike’s words.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” he asked finally, shooting a glare over to one of the entertainers when it looked like they were going to come interact with their table.

“I don’t follow,” Mike said, mirroring Bill’s frown.

“It’s just--” Bill was struggling to find the words for what he wanted to say, which made Mike extremely suspicious. “Dating someone you work with? Is that wise?”

A waiter slid a slab of cornbread on to their table. It fell with a loud clatter, and Mike winced. He finished his glass of sangria, and wordlessly, the waiter took the glass away.

“Technically, we all work together,” Stan pointed out, clutching his drink and pointedly ignoring the cornbread.

“Yeah, but like,’ Bill gestured vaguely with his hands. “Same park is different than park-park-hotel, you know?”

“Richie and Eddie make it work,” Mike said, angrier than he intended to.

Stan winced. “Sort of. What a mess.”

“I thought they were making it work, anyway,” Mike amended. They okay?”

“Oh--” Stan rolled his eyes and waved his hands. “They’re actually fine, but there’s always something. I don’t know what Eddie’s freaking out about right now, but Richie’s current big thing is that he wants to have sex, but doesn’t know how to ask. It’s like his hiatus from sex turned him back into a virgin again or something. He wasn’t like this in undergrad.”

“Maybe he just really cares,” Mike suggested, feeling heavy at the thought of his friend still being nervous about communicating with Eddie after all this time. It had been months, now, and the two of them were still kind of behaving like middle-schoolers.

“Maybe he should be on medication,” Bill countered. “How long has he been this jittery-anxious? And Stan, didn’t you say he was depressed? Has he been auditioning or anything?”

“I said I was worried,” Stan shot back. “Where the hell are you getting the rest of that? You barely even know him.”

“I’ve known him for three years,” Bill said incredulously, staring at Stan like Stan had just admitted to murder. “Just because you’ve known him the longest--”

“You two didn’t spend time together until this past November,” Stan said, acid in his voice. “You have no right to insinuate that stuff about him.”

Bill rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his sangria. “You guys are offended by everything. You remind me of this creative writing professor I had in college--”

The waitress came back with drink refills before Bill could finish his story, and Mike could have kissed him for it. He really hadn’t wanted to hear about the rest of Bill’s college experience.

“Not offended,” Mike said, summoning what little patience he had left. “Just concerned, is all, and wishing you would maybe think before you speak sometimes. Your experiences aren’t all universal.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bill said shortly, turning his body so that he was facing the stage. Mike met Stan’s eyes and could tell that they were on the same exasperated page. Of course Bill wasn’t interested in hearing out their concerns. Of course.

“I think you don’t want Mike to transfer to MK because it makes you feel special to be the only one that knows how things work there,” Stan called, loud enough to get Bill’s attention (as well as the attention of the two families of guests on either side of them). “I know it’s not because you don’t want to share space for the sake of the relationship. You would never run into each other in the Magic Kingdom. Trillions of people work there. No.” Stan paused, and Bill’s face twitched like he was thinking about turning away again. To his credit, he didn’t. “We’ve seen how much you love giving tours and being in charge. MK is your turf. Why don’t you just say so instead of making things up?”

There was a tense silence in which Mike and Stan stared at Bill, and Bill stared at the floor. In the background, one of the performers was doing a solo number, but Mike was beyond caring about what was happening on stage, except that they were totally wasting money by not watching. Bill’s eyes kept edging up, like he was thinking the same thing about how much dinner and a show had cost, but he resisted for a good two minutes. Finally, he seemed to make a decision, and rolled his shoulders back, looking first at Stan and then slowly over to Mike.

“Okay, fine,” Bill said quietly. “I like having MK to myself. It’s selfish. That’s why I didn’t say it.”

The soloist on stage finished, and a parade of waiters waltzed through the audience area, dropping off chicken, biscuits, corn, and beans as they passed by. Mike noted without interest that they hadn’t even eaten their cornbread yet. He really should have cancelled this reservation.

“I’m still gonna work at MK,” Mike told Bill, “whether you want me to or not.”

(Truthfully, Mike had been on the fence about moving to MK immediately versus waiting a little bit for a DAK position to open up, but Bill had pissed him off badly enough that his mind was now made up. Mike figured it was a good thing that he didn’t get mad that often, because he was learning quickly that the probability of his making snap decisions increased by at least 3000% when he was upset.)

Bill stared back at him, eyes empty. “Well, I can’t stop you, can I?”

That was the wrong thing to say. Stan’s expression was twisting sour again, and before Mike could reach out to keep him from speaking, he was addressing Bill pointedly. “Why not ‘I’m happy for you’, Bill? Why not just ‘okay’? Mike’s wanted to transfer for a really long time! You could at least pretend to be happy!”

“But I’m not happy,” Bill said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “and I don’t want to lie.”

Mike thought about his parents and the lie he could have lived, and felt his stomach burn as his next words came out of his mouth. “Sometimes it’s better to be kind than it is to be honest.”

“Everything okay over here?” Their waiter came back through, and Mike watched, detached, as Bill downed his sangria again so that he could get yet another refill. “Food all right?”

“It’s great,” Stan lied, jerking forward and beginning to spoon beans on to his plate. “I think some drink refills are in order, though.” He put down the spoon and drank heavily from his sangria for emphasis.

“If you’re sure,” the waiter said warily.

“We’re sure,” Stan said, firm and direct. After the waiter was gone, he turned back to Bill. “See? A little lie. Didn’t hurt him, no one was put on the spot, we’re getting more sangria. Easy.”

Bill huffed and adjusted his shoulders again. “It’s not that easy for me. I’m surprised - we’ve been together for what, four months? Five? And I thought--”

“You didn’t think wrong, Bill,” Mike assured him. “We know you don’t like to lie or break promises. We know that you’re an action guy and like to jump into things. We know you like to be in control...and we like those things. We do. It’s just...it’s tough, you know? Because sometimes all of your - I don’t know, Red Ranger personality things make it kind of hard to talk to you.”

For the first time all night, the corners of Bill’s mouth twitched up. “Red Ranger?”

“Sure.” Mike smiled back, trying to keep with the positivity. “I’m Blue Ranger, Stan’s Green Ranger.”

“Eddie’s the Pink Ranger,” Stan mumbled to himself, giggling into his sangria.

“The point is,” Mike continued, “we kind of feel like you’re not hearing us when we talk to you. That’s all.”

The show was resuming, and Bill’s eyes flickered up to the stage again. Mike felt his own smile slip away. Hadn’t they just talked about Bill not listening? He could practically feel Bill’s attention drifting off.

“Bill,” Mike said again, trying very hard to be gentle. “What do you think?”

Bill’s eyes flickered hesitantly back towards Mike. “I...don’t know.”

And there it was.

“You don’t know?” Stan asked, punctuating the question with a piercing stare. Mike didn’t blame Bill for flinching away from that particular Stan look.

“I’ve had a lot to drink,” Bill admitted. “I feel okay right now, but I have a feeling when I go to use the bathroom…”

“That’s when you know,” Mike agreed.

“Okay.” Stan nodded, brow furrowed in thought. “Okay, we’ll sleep on it, but Bill - I know you’re set in your ways, but if you really don’t think you can compromise…”

“Don’t,” Bill said softly. Mike averted his eyes out of habit. He never knew what to do when people got emotional in front of him. He loved his parents very much, but he hadn’t had very much practice in feelings response with his ex-military father and strong, solemn mother. “I don’t want to think about that yet.”

Mike looked hard at Stan, who was examining Bill’s face. From the intensity in his eyes, Mike knew that Stan’s mind was made up, and not the way that Bill was leaning. It was going to be up to Mike to make the final decision.

He didn’t want that kind of responsibility, especially tonight. He’d had a lot to drink, too.

“You have to know it’s a possibility,” Stan urged. “We can’t just keep ignoring things, Bill. That’s how we ended up here.”

“You’re one to talk about ignoring things,” Bill shot back, obviously sensing what Stan was getting at. “I could say the same stuff about you as I did earlier about Richie. If we weren’t around, would you even take--”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Stan said, voice like the edge of a knife. Mike leaned back in his chair, wanting to put physical space between himself and whatever was about to go down. He’d never heard Stan use that tone before. “Do you hear yourself when you talk? Do you hear yourself?”

“I’m just trying to be fair,” Bill said, splaying out his arms. “I don’t know why you guys are attacking me specifically, but it’s messed up, and I’m not--”

“It’s called constructive criticism,” Stan snarled, “ever heard of it? Has anyone ever criticized you before, Bill? Or did you just storm out on everyone that has, like whatever professor you mentioned earlier? That’s not how life works. You can’t just leave-- ”

“Actually, I think I can,” Bill said abruptly, pushing his chair back and standing up. He wobbled for a moment (the sangria was obviously taking effect) and then righted himself, glaring down at Mike and Stan. The kids in the family behind him yelled at him to get out of the way of their view, and he took several steps off to the side. “I’m gonna call Bev and see if she can pick me up. Goodbye.”

Mike watched him walk away, feeling like he should call out but not knowing how. Stan’s eyes were fixed on the stage for the first time all evening.

“This show is garbage,” he said after several long, heavy seconds. “Do you want to go buy a beef brisket sandwich at the Chuck Wagon Food Truck?

Mike looked despondently down at the chicken in front of him.

“Is that what you want, sweetheart?” he asked carefully.

Stan took a deep breath and held out his hand to Mike, palm up. Mike looked at it for a moment, a quiet smile threatening to cross his face.

“I want what you want,” Stan said, expression sad, but firm.

Mike took his hand, and felt a weight lift off of his chest.

“Let’s go eat a sandwich,” Mike said, turning around to see if their waiter was nearby. “Check, please!”

#stenbroughlon #mike hanlon #bill denbrough #stanley uris #reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #disney au #wishes #feel free to yell at me for the relative lack of reddie in this fic i know no one actually cares about anything else #which makes me a little sad bit...ok

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krixwell-liveblogs · 6 years

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Arc Thoughts: Infestation

(Mid-Arc Thoughts)

So! That’s all the members of the Slaughterhouse Nine accounted for!

Let’s take a look at the second half of Infestation, as well as Infestation as a whole!

A jumble of recap (part 2) and predictions, whoops

Part 2 of Infestation has been significantly less continuous than part 1, consisting of eight largely separate chapters following roughly the same format - a POV character is approached by a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine, the Fellowship member in most cases wanting the POV character to join the team.

Besides the introductions of upcoming antagonists, the most important chapters for the main perspective of the story outside the Interludes are definitely 11a and 11g. Because of the events of these chapters - or rather, the nominations leading to them - Rachel and Alec will both be targeted by the Slaughterhouse Nine in upcoming chapters, something that will likely cause all of the Undersiders to get involved even though they’ve been divided into their own territories. Notably, Rachel is willing to “see what this test is all about”, and is probably the Undersider most fit to actually succeed without help, so there is genuinely a risk that she might end up joining the enemy.

The only other nominees we saw who accepted the offer of becoming Slaughterhouse members were Oni Lee and Hookwolf. Oni didn’t work out, but I could see Hookwolf actually successfully becoming a member and then backstabbing the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, however, the Slaughterhouse Nine apparently don’t give a shit about whether you want to join them, even though they have a habit of showing enough courtesy to ask/warn the nominees. If you’ve been nominated, they’ll test you, no matter what, so Colin, Amy and Noelle (and by extension Coil) need to watch out as well.

Judgment

I think I was right to do Mid-Arc Thoughts. Part 2 of Infestation, the Interludes, could very easily have been a separate Arc. Sentinel and Parasite are more interconnected than Infestation proper and its Interludes. As a result, Arc 11 as a whole feels quite bisected, and it’s hard for me to think of it as a whole at all.

Part 1 was a pretty decent Taylor story about bystanderism and dealing with the infestation that was the Merchants, with the looming threat of the Slaughterhouse Nine being very much in the background. It had solid throughlines, bookends (Taylor waking up from a nightmare at the beginning, feeling optimistic about the same things at the end), and worldbuilding re: the Dandelions and Cauldron, and generally works excellently as a standalone Arc.

Part 2 was more formulaic, in a sense, but in a good way. It let me loosely know what to expect but still left room for each Interlude to do its own thing, and what they did was usually pretty good. There were some fantastic chapters in there, most notably Interlude 11h.

And while the Interludes were largely separate from each other, the formula and the minor pieces of continuity connecting the chapters - from small details like Coil acknowledging Leah’s death to bigger things like 11a and 11h taking place at the same time, or the mystery of the Newbie and what happened to Hatchet Face, or Oni Lee being taken in 11b and showing up again as part of Hack Job in 11h - made the sequence of Interludes feel like a whole rather than just... a set of events.

Overall, Arc 11 is very good, but I do feel it works better seen as two stories, two Arcs.

The Arc title

I don’t think this has changed much since the Mid-Arc Thoughts. Infestation still refers primarily to the Merchants. You could argue that it also covers the Slaughterhouse Nine, but I don’t think that fits anywhere near as well.

Prediction review

From Arc Thoughts: Parasite:

So what do we have coming up?

As mentioned earlier in the post, this Arc ended with Dragon finding out Taylor’s identity and starting a search for her. I don’t think that’s a plot that’s going to be left dormant for too long, so there’s a good chance Dragon will play a role in Arc 11, or maybe Arc 12.

She did appear, but not for this particular plotline.

Meanwhile, the Undersiders will need to try to stay away from the Slaughterhouse Nine. They will fail, that much I’m certain of, but whether they’ll fail in the next Arc or later remains to be seen.

Two of them were specifically sought out by Slaughterhouse Nine members, and the rest are coming after those Undersiders to test them.

So yeah. They absolutely failed to stay away from the Slaughterhouse Nine, and it’s gonna get worse. :P

When it happens, though… well, there’s little reason to hold back against Jack Slash in particular. But even if someone does try to kill him, I think they’ll fail. I could see the story’s climax happening in two years, but I highly doubt we’ll be skipping ahead enough for it to happen in fifteen.

We didn’t quite get to this point yet. This prediction’s gonna have to carry over to Arc 12.

We might also learn more about Imp/Aisha (though with the reveal that Imp was Aisha, that’s become less of pressing matter since we’ve had a chapter getting to know Aisha as a civilian before) and how she ended up on the team… I wish I could see Brian’s face the moment Aisha probably told him straight that she has powers now and she knows about the Undersiders. :P

No luck there. Aisha is the one Undersider we didn’t see in this Arc at some point or other - almost like Wildbow forgot to include her... ;)

And now, predictions from the Mid-Arc Thoughts:

Given the number of Interludes, my main prediction is that these Interludes are for the Slaughterhouse Nine, starting or more likely ending with Jack Slash. Eight members, eight Interludes.

Correct, besides the part about Jack Slash. Though he did show up in the first one to start after the gimmick of the Interludes had been confirmed.

Knowing that the Interludes were done for the purpose of celebrating the anniversary of Gestation 1.1, the number might just be the result of 1 regular Interlude plus 7 bonus Interludes for the week of celebration, but that seems too perfect for Wildbow not to use that for the Fellowship even if that was the case. (If this is how it shook out, I do feel like that slightly increases the chances of Jack Slash going first, though that depends on when Wildbow got the idea for the week-long marathon of Interludes.)

I don’t know if this was the case - though the lack of “(Anniversary Bonus)” on Interlude 11a suggests it might’ve been, that tag was also missing from 11d and 11h. (I don’t know if that was by accident or to indicate that he would’ve done them even if he hadn’t decided to do an Interlude marathon to celebrate the anniversary. If it’s the latter, then why 11h rather than 11g?)

But if it was that way, it still makes a lot of sense that Siberian went first, with 11a being one of the two most important Interludes in the Arc. The parenthetical comment was caused by the assumption that Jack Slash’s Interlude would be most important, so while I was wrong about which one it’d be, I was correct about the underlying idea - that one of the most important Interludes would come first.

That said, I could still be wrong. If the Interludes aren’t for the Slaughterhouse Nine, I don’t have a clue who they’d be for. Maybe some of the other villains in town? Maybe one of the Wards or Protectorate members as they learn of the Merchants’ collapse? Perhaps even a short check-in on Dragon’s progress in finding Taylor?

Nope.

Also, given the marathon, I suspect these Interludes might each be a bit shorter than the average recent chapter.

I don’t know. They didn’t feel any shorter, at least. Maybe he wrote them in advance?

So yeah, whatever Wildbow has in store for me, I’m sure it’ll be good. If perhaps brutal. :)

That it was!

Predictions for Arc 12

I’ve kind of accidentally covered just about everything already, but let’s summarize:

We know that Bitch, Armmaster, Hookwolf, Noelle, Regent and Panacea are all now targets for Slaughterhouse testing. This might be lethal for some of them, as I doubt the Slaughterhouse members will hold back. However, I doubt we’re losing Bitch, Hookwolf or Regent - Bitch and Regent because plot armor and Hookwolf because he’s probably the most competent fighter out of all of them, besides maybe Armmaster, and better equipped defensively than anyone except maybe Noelle. Besides plot armor, it would be more interesting to have Bitch actually join the Slaughterhouse Nine and become an antagonist - at least temporarily - than to have her just die.

Other than that, a couple predictions from the end of Arc 10 remain active:

Dragon’s attempts to locate Taylor and communicate with her may come back in Arc 12. However, it might end up being a bit much to have that on top of the Slaughterhouse plot (though that didn’t stop us from learning about Dandelions in the middle of a Merchant brawl), so it’s possible that gets pushed back to Arc 13.

And, if someone attempts to kill Jack Slash, they will either fail, or do it too late.

But yeah, if I were to describe what I think Arc 12 will be like in one word, it’d have to be intense.

I am pretty curious to see how the Arc deals with the fact that there are other characters we care about who are going through the same thing as two of the Undersiders. Maybe we’ll have some Interludes to help out with that? Though it is worth noting that Wildbow seems to have a rule against using the same POV character for two Interludes (which is probably part of why Alec wasn’t the POV in 11g, besides Cherish’s power and personality being better illustrated from within her own head), so he’d have to show us the perspective of someone else close to the action. Perhaps even one of the attacking Slaughterhouse members, though that might be a tad redundant.

Primarily, though, I think we’ll be focusing on Taylor and the other Undersiders doing what they can to protect Alec, and maybe Rachel if she does eventually decide to tell the others anything.

So yeah. See you soon, as I dive into Arc 12!

#Worm #krixwell liveblogs #Arc 11 #Chapter i11h #Parahumans #i11h between #arc thoughts

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jolieburnsinfandomhell · 7 years

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Series: How to Train Your Dragon / Brave crossover Rating: M Genre: Adventure/Family/Romance

Summary: After Dagur sacrificed himself to save Hiccup and the Riders from Viggo’s trap, he washed up on the shore of a strange island that appeared on no map he’d ever seen. He became fast friends with Merida, Princess of Dunbroch, and lived peacefully in Scotland for three years before Viggo’s appearance with a hoard of dragons at his beck and call turned it all upside down. Hopelessly outmatched, Dagur and Merida realize their only hope for salvation lies with Hiccup and the Riders of Berk.

AN: Whoops! Had a three day weekend and it threw me off, sorry for the delay on this chapter! Blame the easter bunny, lol. Enjoy the chapter, and please make sure to drop a review if you enjoy! I really do need them to help inspire me to keep going! It only takes a moment for you to do, but they totally make my entire day ;w;

Heart of a Scot, Soul of a Dragon Chapter Eleven: Turnabout’s Fair Play

The clouds that had been gathering over Dunbroch since that afternoon unleashed their mighty downpour shortly after sunset as the dragons flew in from over the water. The sudden decrease in visibility panicked the already frightened men, and it took Fergus and Dagur both shouting themselves hoarse to rally them to fight in earnest. Dunbroch's own fighters rejoined the fight almost immediately, having had two nights of dragon fighting already under their belts, but the Macintosh forces took a little more. Only a deep seated fear of looking a coward in front of so many men who were already fighting kept most of them on the walls.

Aodhan, shaken though he was by the sudden, irrefutable proof of the existence of dragons, was the first of his clan to rally and take up arms. He quickly leant his voice to his king and Dagur, putting aside his rivalry with the viking for the sake of all their survival. Between them, they mounted a defense that the dragons could not begin to penetrate.

Just as they were beginning to feel comfortable, though, Viggo showed his hand.

Continue Reading on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9767603/chapters/23648325

Continue Reading on FF.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12367308/11/Heart-of-a-Scot-Soul-of-a-Dragon

((sorry for the non-clickable links, guys, but apparently Tumblr has this new, stupid feature where posts that have links off-site won’t show up in tags anymore. So, yeah, blame the staff >__> ))

#Heart of a Scot Soul of a Dragon #merricup #httyd/brave crossover #how to train your dragon #brave #jolie writes

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sparda3g · 5 years

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Kingdom Chapter 615 Review

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It’s not Kingdom until hell breaks loose. This chapter is a clear example. Just when Qin thought their victory is at their hands, Zhao is snatching away with an assault that changed the tide instantly. The war is heating up; soon, absolute carnage will emerge. This chapter was designed to hype up the war to be more thrilling, intense, and exciting, and it did a hell of a job at it.

For those who believed Bananji has inherited the mythical power known as teleportation, brought to you by Riboku, well good (or maybe bad) news is, there’s a reasonable explanation. The flashback shows how Bananji pulled off the ambush. Dansa Army was responsible to provide defense, preventing Bananji to back-up Riboku. He was ready for action, ready to form a formation, and ready to honor Ousen; just not ready to pay 10 gold to Akakain though. All of the preparations went to waste once Bananji Army detoured elsewhere. Whoops.

Rather than go for a simple clash, Bananji charged towards the south, bypassing Dansa Army like they’re flanking or running away. They crossed through the forest, only Zhao would know vividly, and at last, unleashed the pincer attack that we saw last time. The explanation was convincing and neat. I like the fact it shows how to utilize the environmental advantage, instead of continuously straightforward clash in a plain field. It mixed things up in terms of strategy. Sad that Bananji don’t have teleportation, but this will do. Besides, the man is a beast.

The war is deemed to be an equal battle. Ousen Army was in denial as if they don’t want to share a trophy. The truth is, they are in a similar predicament. Denrimi and Sou Ou know well enough that this is the case, but maybe Ousen HQ is in bigger trouble. Even though less men went after it, its defense is low on men as well. The primary objective is to aim for the Supreme Commander alas race to the target. No other tactic; just go for the goal. It’s practically a race now.

There’s an interesting update on Qin Left Wing versus Zhao Right Wing. Apparently, Kisui sends Batei and his Unit off to provide backup for Riboku Centre. Mouten takes notice and charges after him. This is a possible slow burn for him to join in the climactic battleground. Right now, it only has Shin, so why not another generation tagging along. It would be good for him to avenge his grandfather figure. Not to say he should fight Houken, but you’ll never know. Sad that Ouhon couldn’t join in. Right?

The moment with two Qin men charge at Riboku gives me a tensed feeling. They may be taken out by guards quickly, but the atmosphere of war slowly closing the gap to victory decision making is what sets up a chilling mood. Rather than waiting to get closer, we are slowly seeing serious progress. Riboku may be fine, but he worries if the commander like Sou Ou gets through instead. It reminds me of a strategy game. You can have pawns chase after the base, but they will die quickly. If you have tanks or armored trained men, they can wipe it out. In short, it’s one big board game.

It looks like Shiryou versus Kaine is out of the book; at least for now. Instead, it’s Shiryou versus Earl Kou that will happen next, unless Houken decides to intervene that as well. This should be good to say the least. I don’t know how good Kou is, but I do know Bananji is a bona fide beast with the massacre in progress.

Bananji is an absolute mad man once he gets into action. The man is sweeping the defense with excitement. It is pure blood bath and limbs flying galore just by him alone. It got Futei intimidated by his raging aura. It’s no wonder Riboku trusted him for this task. In fact, Bananji can be seen as a trump card; one that denies Ousen’s expectation. No Houken required. Talk about a terrifying demonstration of a “demon.” There’s another reference to the North. It continues to raise expectation for those who fought there, including Shunsuiju. Based on this act, I can believe the hype.

It’s now Ousen’s turn to be invaded by Zhao’s men aiming for his head. It’s Ousen’s first action and although it’s against fodders, it’s pretty cool how it sets up. He asks for his weapon and then strikes them down like whatever. Granted, he had other men to kill as well, but it is how it was illustrated that made him cool. It’s a good contrast to how one Supreme Commander had men defended him while another defended himself. The big difference however is Zhao’s men are barging through frequently in which Ousen decides to move out.

I know my own sarcasms, but it appears that Futei versus Ousen is really going to happen. I’m actually shocked. Futei seems very confidence that he will take his head. I’ll eat my own face if that happens. So, yeah, it’s happening. Are you excited? I am actually. We’ll see where this goes. Mixed feelings aside, Riboku’s confidence is rising back up once more, declaring victory belongs to Zhao. Last time that was said, Mountain Tribes saved the day; don’t jinx it.

Before the chapter closes on a downer or maybe a strange hype, there’s one more development on the horizon or great progression ensue. Just when I thought Ouhon is out of the picture, he resurface here with Kanjou and others, standing and watching hell breaking down. It goes into an intriguing back-and-forth argument between Ouhon and Kanjou about their next action.

Ouhon wants to go out there and provide back-up for Ousen, but Kanjou thinks it’s suicidal with barely 20 men. If anything, they won’t make any difference besides losing Gyoku Hou Unit in a sweep. What I like about this is how Ouhon is slowly showing his true color/intention on why he is very persistent. Yes, this is Supreme Commander’s life in jeopardy they’re talking about, but there’s a different tone from Ouhon’s words. Even when Kanjou agrees to go and help Ousen, Ouhon wants to be there, which is insane. He’s barely holding on. So why? Because he must go to save his father.

The context is well-received. Ouhon wasn’t speaking out of mission, rather a family matter. It’s personal and that struck Banyou and Kanjou emotionally. Keep in mind, the family dilemma has been building up for a while. Ouhon should not be thinking Ousen as his father, especially when the rumor is likely to be true. However, he still calls him as such. He has shown his true color more often here than any other arcs. He is willing to sacrifice his life for a man who may not like him at all. Ouhon deserves great respect to go through this length. Clearly, this arc has served him really well.

This was an exciting hype build chapter. We are approaching to the endgame that will raise the war to catastrophic tier. The explanation behind Bananji Army’s ambush was understandable and refreshing take on environmental advantage. The signs of victory left me tensed; the end is near. Couple of developments were interesting. Still can’t believe Futei versus Ousen is happening. Ouhon continues to shine with impacting progress to his character. Soon, all three guys (Shin, Mouten, and Ouhon) will join in the mayhem together. What a war to behold.

#kingdom #chapter 615 #review #spoilers

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lifeasarandomdudeknowsit-blog · 8 years

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Entry #331 - Switch On

I realize I'm writing this entry a bit later than has been the norm over the past week or two. Chalk that up to having to wake up ridiculously early for a dental appointment and passing out after having lunch in the form of my breakfast leftovers from the meal after said dental appointment. I ended up sleeping for three hours, so not only did most of my afternoon disappear, it will likely throw off my sleep cycle completely. So it's going to be interesting to see how my body reacts tomorrow.

Actually, one of the events I thought I was going to miss because of the dental appointment turned out to be happening in...oh, about a half hour. I thought the big Nintendo Switch reveal/presentation was going to take place at 8 AM today. Turns out it's happening at 8 PM. That's what I get for not reading everything clearly. So I'm going to attempt to finish this entry before that presentation begins, because I'm very interested in what the Switch will have to offer once it is released.

I will admit that a big part of the appeal of the Switch to me will be the inclusion of a Virtual Console, one that hopefully will include the back catalog of at least the Wii U. I've been watching a lot of videos by one Jim Sterling recently, and one of the videos I recently saw had to do with emulation and the scarcity of old games. It really got me thinking a lot about why I've been so fervent in my desire not to use emulators or ROMs of old games, why I would rather legitimately own a copy of a 20 or 30 year old game. I'm not saying I'm going to start pirating everything. But he brought up a lot of good points about how companies like Nintendo and Sony try to bilk us consumers out of every penny they can by appealing to our nostalgia. His argument (which, in all honest, I disagree with, but that's okay because it's completely fine to have differences of opinion) is that many of these old games, particularly the old NES games, are not even worth the $5 or so price tag Nintendo is slapping on them for use with the Virtual Console. I would argue that certain NES titles are easily worth that much, not only because they could provide hours of entertainment and simple joy, but because some of them are true classics of the industry as a whole, and no matter how many times developers attempt to imitate them or outright rip them off, nothing will substitute for the classics. But hey, that's my opinion. I actually respect a lot of Sterling's opinions and arguments in regards to the current video game industry, and I enjoy his work. But this is one point we disagree on.

Not that I'm anywhere near the same realm as him. He's a popular video game reviewer with tact, wit, and class, and I'm some guy who writes about whatever topics he can pull out of his ass when pressed for time.

Anyway, there is a part of me that agrees with his argument that it is certainly far easier (and cheaper) to just download the games, play them, and delete them rather than jump through all the hoops that Nintendo has set up in order to pay them even more money for games that went out of print decades ago. Certainly the biggest factor in keeping me from picking up a Wii U and many of the Virtual Console titles there was the price. And now that the Switch is coming out soon, it seems almost pointless to bother with a Wii U. There are some non-Virtual Console Wii U titles that I am still very much interested in playing, but most of them are also available on the 3DS now (titles like Hyrule Warriors, Super Mario Maker (though that one does apparently forgo the level creation aspect, so that's a pretty huge loss) and Super Smash Bros.). So it's difficult to justify purchasing a Wii U at this point, especially with the Switch's impending release.

Then again, if the Switch does not offer any kind of Virtual Console support, that's a pretty major hit to its appeal for me. Even if it does contain a Virtual Console store, if it does not contain the Wii U's library, I would have a hard time justifying a purchase of a Switch. Even if there are some decent games coming out for the console, my gaming roots lie in old games, and even though I will freely admit that I am terrible at old games (to be fair, I'm pretty terrible at games from all generations), they still were the titles I grew up with. It's difficult for me to get excited about a new Zelda or Metroid game when the old ones were so spectacular. Then again, I was never a really big fan of either series (despite my enjoyment of exploration-based games), so it stands to reason that even IF there were new games in those series, I may not be all that interested. That's actually one of the reasons Hyrule Warriors appealed to me so much: they took all of the assets from the Zelda series and gave the fans a hugely entertaining action experience with tons of depth and plenty of replayability. That's still one of the titles I very much want to play one of these days. And if it somehow manages to come out on the Switch, then you will certainly be hearing me saying, “Wii What Now?”

Okay, that's enough yakking from me for one evening. Tomorrow will be a new day, and I'm looking forward to tackling it with reckless abandon. Actually, I probably shouldn't do that. I might end up with a concussion. There's no need for that.

What an awkward way to end an entry. I should probably try to think of a better one, but I've reached my word goal for the day. Whoops.

#one thousand words every day #writing #video games #nintendo switch

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