#this man's standards: 1. not killing him 2. saying you will maybe kill his rival or maybe not actually you can tell him to go to hell

[yoakesan]

Durge: I killed Orin

Gortash: You are so precious & perfect, lethal, ferocious etc... your father must be proud of u, my dear vicious murderer 💖💖💖

Durge: Actually I refused my father and now I am free of his influence

Gortash: *Without missing a beat* Wow you are literally so powerful, good 4 u babe, we can still rule side by side, & with me you won't need to bow down to any master 💘💘💘 also kiss me on the mouth maybe?

[amphtaminedreams]

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too. 

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange. 

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic. 

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year. 

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this)  reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on! 

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so. 

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying. 

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned. 

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

[furubabes]

Okay. Somebody Asked. @shoujobell and @cryptidaicat, y’all encouraged this. I’m gonna tag this #long post if you wanna filter.

So here. I got the urge to write and so I ranked the Fruits Basket couples from my favorite to least favorite. These aren’t my complete thoughts because I could honestly do multiple full meta posts on each pairing, but I tried to justify and explain all my choices. Standard disclaimer, this is subjective and we can agree to disagree.

Part 1: Just the reasonably popular ones

1. Kyoru: Someone’s gonna call me unoriginal for this but it’s fine. Kyoru is the main romance of Fruits Basket! They bring out the best in each other and build each other up as characters. Kyoru is basically my gold standard take on Sunshine Girl x Grouchy Dude, and I’m not even usually into that trope otherwise. Their romance is one of the few that feels so genuinely necessary to the story. They love each other and like each other. Kyo understands Tohru in a way no one else in the narrative does, and vice versa. They’re in love like soulmates and also like awkward teenagers. Kyoru invented romance. If it’s boring to like healthy romances with realistic development, I’ll be boring.

2. Tohrin: If Tohru didn’t end up with Kyo I would only want her to be with Rin. I guess they have some of the same appeal as Kyoru for me - Rin reads Tohru in a way a lot of people don’t. I also like how honest and raw they are with each other. They yell! They fight! Rin is down to just straight up knock Tohru over to keep her from rushing off. Also, they’re both absolute fashion icons. Goth x Prep rights. I firmly believe Tohru Honda is bisexual.

3. Yukeru: This is my favorite Yuki pairing. I followed @yunsoh way back when the reboot first started and her blog has got me absolutely hooked on Yukeru. I think Yuki’s arc would have just made a ridiculous amount of sense if he was gay. It screams comphet. Kakeru is an excellent complement to Yuki, and their bond feels incredibly natural. Honestly I feel like it’s the most organic romantic development outside of Kyoru. I think realistically they wouldn’t have gotten together until post-canon and frankly Yuki shines in his friendships much more than romances, so I’m not absolutely dying for them to be together, but if Yuki’s going to date anyone Kakeru is my pick.

4. Arisaki: Man... I just like them. They strike me as less of an epic love and more of a comfortable partnership. I also read them both as lesbians anyway lol. Honestly I think they both had feelings for Tohru at one point and bonded over it. The way I picture them happening is honestly just Arisa at 25 frantically googling “is it gay to hold hands with my girl roommate who I spend all my time with and also we never date men“ because Saki bought them rings that look like wedding bands but they could just be super close friendship rings and oh god she’s in too deep. They’re dating for four years before they notice.

5. AyaMine: But Jessie! You literally never post about this pairing! Yeah, you’re right. I never think about them actively. But when ranking the canon ships I realized that I like the two of them together because they’re chill and understated. They’re huge loud personalities on their own but as a couple, they just feel like two people who are happy together and like spending time with one another. No drama, no mess, very understated. No plot contrivances driving their relationship. Good for them.

6. YukiKyo: Okay, so I can be convinced to put on my YukiKyo goggles more often than not. It feels iffy because there’s debate about how closely related all the Sohmas are and these two are called “cousins” a lot in school, but since half of the Sohmas are dating each other anyway, I err on the side of them being more of a clan than a proper blood family. Anyway, YukiKyo is my designated angst fuel. I think it would realistically be pretty one-sided from Yuki’s side, since we see him wanting Kyo’s approval from a very young age, but I like exploring the what-ifs of their lives if they’d been friends instead of rivals. In canon, I like to think that after high school they’re not best friends in the traditional sense, but either one could show up with a dead body and the other would help them bury it, no questions asked.

7. Yuchi: Really? Yuki’s wife is my third favorite pairing for him? Look, I adore Machi, and I still like Yuchi. But as I’ve been watching the reboot and reading others’ metas, I think I agree that their relationship could have been very powerful as a platonic one, sort of running parallel to Yuki and Tohru. I like them together but I think there wasn’t quite time for a complete character arc for Machi and her growth sort of begins and ends with Yuki. I don’t object to them being a couple in canon and I think they’re genuinely very sweet, but once again, I think Yuki stands out in his friendships more than anything. I would have liked to see Machi strike out on her own a little more.

8. Haru x Yuki: I don’t have any particular feelings towards them but I love their dynamic already and I think as a couple they’d both be really easygoing and comfortable with each other. I think a childhood crush turned close friendship is honestly the narrative that works best for them so I have no need for the two to date canonically, but every time they interact in the anime it gets a laugh out of me. They’re cool. They’d make a very pretty pair.

9. Mayutori: I’m Mayutori-neutral. I think they suffer from Fruits Basket’s pair the spare syndrome, but out of the side pairings that don’t have too much impact, they’re one I enjoy. Mayu’s fun as a character, and painfully relatable, and I like that Hatori’s eventual romance isn’t with someone who reminds him of Kana or something like that. I also want good things for Hatori. Mayutori has serious heterosexual energy though. I’m not saying this as a pro or con, they’re just very straight.

10. Hatsuzu: Okay, Haru and Rin aren’t this far down because I hate them. I’m perfectly fine with them being together in canon. But I think their romance almost... functions better as individual motivation for their character arcs than it does as an actual relationship, if that makes sense? Rin’s backstory episode is heartbreaking and her motivation to protect Haru is compelling and sympathetic, but their actual scenes together just don’t move me that much. Their romance is the least interesting part of either character for me.

11. Hiro x Kisa: Yeah I never got into it that much. It’s cute, it’s a sweet depiction of childhood crushes, but I’m not a fan of the idea of them ending up together. Kisa’s a cutie and Hiro is entertaining but the two of them together don’t actually do much for me. The dynamic between them is almost like if someone did Kyoru with none of the nuance. Ultimately though, they’re kids. I don’t expect them to have a deep and complex romance.

12. Yukiru: I think it would be a disservice to their characters if they were a couple. People far more eloquent than me have already written plenty of meta on why Yuki and Tohru aren’t what the other needs romantically, so I won’t get into it, but basically I just think their canon friendship is so beautiful and meaningful that I wouldn’t want to change it. Yuki and Tohru support my thesis that not all soulmates are romantic.

13. Tohru x Momiji: Welcome to the subjective dislike corner! This pairing is reasonably popular among people theorizing who Tohru would be with if not Kyo, but for some reason it just sits poorly with me. I can’t rank it any lower because there’s nothing evil or morally wrong about it! I just really don’t like it. I’ve quit a few fics because this pairing came up and I just can’t enjoy it.

14. Kakeru x Komaki: Idk, I just think Kakeru latching onto the one girl who was nice to him and put up with his bullshit and then being with her forever isn’t compelling. Komaki’s also probably his beard. She’s likable as an individual though.

15. Akigure: There’s plenty to say about the age gap, Shigure being in love with Akito since she was a fetus because of The Dream, the implications of a 15-18 year old knowing he’d one day want to be with a then-10-year-old... yeah, you get it. But even if I was able to put all that aside because Soulmate Destiny Logic, I still don’t think I’d like Akigure. I think they’re interesting as bitter, codependent exes, but I don’t like the idea of Akito ending up with anyone who she abused or who abused her. I think she has so much growing to do as a character and staying in a relationship within the Sohma family to do it can’t be healthy for her. I can’t see them living happily ever after, nor do I really want to.

16. Kurisa: I think what frustrates me the most here is that I want to like Kureno and everything about this romance is written to dull his most interesting traits. First of all, the age gap. Yeah, it’s gross, I don’t like it. But even past that, the love at first sight, instant fixation with each other, and lack of actual chemistry just kills me. Arisa’s stated reason to like Kureno is that he reminds her of Tohru, basically piggybacking off the chemistry she and Tohru already have, and his total lack of agency means the plot just sort of carries him along. It frustrates me that Takaya could have done something pretty cool by making them simply friends who have a chance encounter and then build a friendship from there that parallels Kureno’s abusive dynamic with Akito. It would be neat if a stranger’s kindness was the push Kureno needed to get himself out of the Sohmas’ grasp, without all the nonsensical drama about them being in love. It would also be less of a disservice to Arisa, who basically just spends the whole series pining for Kureno after they meet and I hate it. I could write a whole post about this. Maybe I will sometime.

17. Kyoko x Katsuya: I don’t think their story is romantic. I think it’s tragic for Kyoko, and if it were framed that way within the narrative, I wouldn’t object so much to its existence. But... Takaya just really likes age gaps with a younger woman and an older man, so the narrative romanticizes this man marrying his student. Katsuya can be depicted as well-meaning as you want, but he’s still got a ridiculous amount of power over Kyoko. She was also still pretty young when she had Tohru, which doesn’t make things any better because it’s clear that the relationship turned physical when Kyoko was a teen, thus dashing the idea of Katsuya legally marrying her to save her but not actually doing anything creepy. I wish Fruits Basket framed this as a story of Kyoko escaping one dangerous situation by entering a relationship with a huge power imbalance, because that happens to girls all the time and it’s tragic and compelling. The events of the story could stay the exact same and if the framing changed I would be fine with it. But this is not that. This is just a really romanticized teacher/student age gap. I’m not into it.

Part 2: Rarepairs, weird shit, and others (oh my!)

1. Yuki x Kakeru x Kimi: OT3. I’m enamored with the idea of this hot mess polycule.

2. Momiji x Kimi: Chaos meets chaos. This couple would say uwu without any irony and also steal your car keys. They’re both perceptive and smart hidden under a layer of cute and I’d wanna watch them play 4D chess with each other.

3. Kazuma x Kunimitsu: Idk how old Kunimitsu is so if he’s like 20, strike this one from the record. But I saw one post once that was like Kyo slowly realizing Kazuma and Kunimitsu were gay and had been dating for years and it was funny as hell.

4. AyaTori: It’s cute. Opposites attract, black and white hair, and Aya only listens to Hatori anyway. It’s just fun to think about.

5. Megumi x Hiro: They don’t interact in canon I just think Goth x Punk-Ass Bitch is a great concept.

6. Motoko x Nao: They’re both loud as hell and Nao having a gf that towers over him is funny. Maybe Yuki would finally get some peace.

7. Machi x Kimi: I don’t see them actually being compatible in canon but I think they could have a really homoerotic college friendship.

8. Hajime x Mutsuki: This is just YukiKyo, the non angst version.

9. Akito x Hanajima: I’m so wary of shipping Akito with anyone but this is kind of fun. The two are friends in canon and Hana isn’t remotely afraid of Akito. Plus Akito never abused Hana. I can sort of see it.

10. Hiroshi x Yusuke: Makes no sense, wouldn’t be relevant, but if those two just never spent any time apart and continued being a pair for life it would be a really good bit.

11. Akitohru: I don’t think it’s healthy to date anyone who’s previously stabbed you.

12. Kazuma x Hanajima: Stop. Go to jail. Hana’s one-sided crush is funny though.

[coinofstone]

3x12 The Coming of Arthur pt 1

The title is such low hanging fruit I feel bad cracking a joke about it.

It's a quest episode! I love a quest episode. Srsly feel free to send me any and all Merthur quest fics. I can't get enough 😂

This is the episode responsible for the lovely Leon fanon headcanon that he's immortal. Always handy in an Arthur Returns fic.

Uther: you must go on this mission alone

Arthur: *brings Merlin*

I do love Merlin being being a smart alec and nagging Arthur while packing. Excellent banter.

Arthur said

Arthur threatening a young boy like this is such an ugly and uncharacteristic action it makes me angry.

Merlin tending to Arthur while he's sick and injured 🥺

Also I'm sorry but Merlin shows fuckin Gilli his magic but he's hiding it from fuckin Gwaine while Arthur is suffering? Silly.

Cenred's massive army makes me wonder if it's a result of his tolerance of magic or lower standards than the knights of Camelot, or some combination of both.

Poor Leon, though. He's just got back from near death in that forest and Uther sends him right fuckin back in 😂

Looks like they snuck in to Camelot via the dragon's cave. I doubt that was the intention but I still approve 😂

Knowing he's on a suicide mission, Arthur gives Merlin an out, knowing he'll never take it, knowing he doesn't even want him to: he still presents him with the choice.

How come literally everyone else gets a crown that fits them but Arthur walks around looking like he's wearing hand-me-downs?

Morgana might be evil but she looks damn good on a throne.

3x13 The Coming of Arthur pt 2

There's a post going around Twitter about ppl who nitpick at TV shows... this comment falls into exactly that category 100% but I'm sorry, I cannot just ignore the fact that Morgana's got these massive banners and an entire army's worth of uniforms, I mean look:

Every guard with the sigil on his uniform and half a dozen banners in the council chambers alone. That's to say nothing of the ones outside. I mean look at the sheer fuckin size of these things:

Look how tiny the ppl are next to em! They've gotta be at least 15 feet long, at least. Where did they come from? Were they all magicked into existence? Who designed that sigil? What does it represent? Is it Gorlois' banner? I HAVE QUESTIONS.

Leon isn't someone I've ever been particularly attracted to, personally, but his defiant shout of "Long Live the King" in the face of Morgana's threats, is sexy as hell.

Depressed Arthur is such a mood.

So. Gwen. Originally in 3x12 when Morgana essentially invited Gwen into the fold (insofar as a Queen's servant can be), it seems to be a set up, because Morgana has been treating Gwen like shit for ages, why would she suddenly want her friend back? Especially since Morgana knows something is going on between Gwen and Arthur - there's no way she believes that they were actually under the spell of some random sorcerer, that just doesn't make any sense. So you kind of assume - or at least I did - that Morgana is keeping Gwen close knowing that she'll be useful as bait or a hostage, just essentially as a person of value to Arthur. She's known Gwen for too long to actually believe she'd cross Arthur, there's just no way someone as machiavellian as Morgana doesn't see Gwen's 'loyalty' as a simple survival tactic. All of this is to say, when Morgana and Morgause eavesdrop on Gwen's conversation with Sir Leon, Morgana is just like, 'welp, she's betrayed me. Guess I'll kill her in the morning.' as though she was actually expecting Gwen to do anything else?!?! Like, why? It would've made so much more sense to just cut that line entirely and go straight to something like

Morgana: it's as we suspected, she's betrayed me

Morgause: yes, now she can lead us straight to Arthur

And it would've made so much more sense than the weird sort of purgatory they've implied where Morgana changed her mind about Gwen very suddenly the night before she took the throne. It's not a super important detail in the overarching story but it's another example of how carelessly their story has been handled.

Me rn:

I do love that they made Freya the Lady of the Lake, and that she kept her promise by telling Merlin how to defeat the army of the dead.

How Merlin really sees Kilgharrah:

Gwen really is the smartest of all of them.

I do love that Merlin's first undead kill with excalibur is entirely an accident lol

The subtext between Morgana and Morgause is really gross. I haven't said anything before because I generally don't approve of ship shaming but the not so subtle subtext gives me the heebies.

This is such a great shot

Everything about it, his woman at his left and his man at his right, his romantic rival opposite him on his wife's side, as directly opposite her as possible at a round table with an uneven number of placements. It's a really beautiful shot, fitting for an equally beautiful scene. It's a very moving scene, the music really adds the exact emotion you'd expect for this moment we all recognize... and I feel like the knights' oaths are very well matched. The snarky part of me wanted to make a 'call me maybe' joke about Percival, but he's so sincere I just can't do it. The moment of levity added by Merlin's banter with Arthur is really, really well paced. Honestly I think it's probably the next perfect, iconic scene since Gwen and Arthur's first kiss. Hats off to this crew.

(Don't worry dear reader, I'm sure I'll get back to complaining shortly)

Santiago is so dreamy. I'd share his bedroll any day.

I like that despite all the talk of equality and doing the thing Uther wouldn't approve of, Gwen still worries about the company seeing her and Arthur kiss. Like, he's planning an insurrection with a bunch of commoners and two dudes who've been officially banished from Camelot, but she's internalized the classism and the rules of royalty so deeply that even amongst friends she instinctively keeps their relationship hidden. I'm not sure how intentional that was but it's brilliant.

The fight big fight scene with Merlin just barely missing the cup while the knights are cornered, and Gaius showing up like the brilliant deus ex machina that he is, honestly makes the previous budget-slashed episodes more bearable. Because this really is great, even knowing it's great at the expense of those others.

Morgana's screeching is eerily similar to Aithusa's.

I wonder if they knew they were getting renewed for a fourth season when they wrote this. Because you know, it really could've worked as a series finale as well. An open-ended series finale, but a series finale all the same.

As a Queens kid, I cannot explain to you the joy it gives me to watch Arthur and Merlin just chillin on the steps to the castle as tho it were a stoop, which I suppose, in a sense... it kind of is. Ahhh youthful days.

Commentary is Jeremy Webb and Julian Murphy.

And this kids, is why we're watching with commentary! They've just explained that Morgana's sigil is supposed to symbolize the Rowan tree that's supposed to be at the heart of the Isle of the Blessed. That suggests she designed it herself, so there's at least one of my earlier questions answered.

They talk a lot about how Emila Fox was very pregnant when they were filming her in this season, and they shot entirely around it - and I can't help but feel anger toward Joss Whedon and his 'handling' of Charisma Carpenter's pregnancy during S4 of Angel.

One of them called the round table scene 'curiously moving' and I think that is really fitting. They'd had this in mind for about two years, which is probably why it's so extraordinary. That's a great gestation period for a scene as iconic as this.

One final tidbit: the sword in the stone was filmed in France, and made it back to Wales intact. I guess nobody wanted to take it out. That's kind of an interesting thought, like a little set superstition or something. It's kind of cute.

The DVD extras/special features will get a separate post if I feel I have comments worth sharing.

[localinferiorgood]

BNHA Modern Gang AU

*I got bored on a car ride and kind of got overexcited imagining and planning out this AU inside my head so uh, yeah. I should also note that I ultimately decided they would not have quirks in this AU*

General Stuff: - I’ll be referring to the gang as Gang X for now - The kids would go to school and everything like normal kids but after school would have gang training (physical and in weapon use (instead of having quirks)  - I want all of the major events of the show to still be incorporated in the AU, in some way - And I want all the kids to have the same personalities and relationships, because its not a BNHA AU if all the characters have different personalities (also I love my babies so) - Everyones “Hero Names” in the show are now their gang names - Instead of striving to become the #1 hero, they’re striving to eventually take over and become the head boss of the gang (at least Bakugo, Deku, and Todoroki are)

School: - So I was imagining the kids would go to a nice private school paid for by the gang - Also a major sports school - It would have mostly normal kids but have 2 classes (in each grade level) filled specifically with the gang kids (like the hero course; the normal kids would be based off the general track in UA) - There are rumors that the school may have gang ties, but no ones ever really been able to prove it - The school nurse (they call her Recovery Girl because it seems like she can take any injury in 15 minutes flat; she even takes care of broken bones and major injuries) and the principal (Nezu; not sure what would be unique about him yet, as he obviously can’t be a mouse in this one) and the gang-class teachers are all aware of the ties to the gang and are in it  - So to properly encompass and justify Class 1-A and Class 1-B’s relationship, I was thinking both classes could also be in sports(maybe volleyball,baseball or basketball(require a lot of  teamwork) but anything would probably work)?(it would be mandatory as physical training and to strengthen their bonds) - I can’t decide whether I would have Class 1-A be varsity and class 1-b be JV of the same sport or both varsity of different sports. 

Support Course/items: - So.... this wouldn’t be an extra class physically in school, but the kids training to work on support items would go to the same private school - Hatsume is still the prodigy - Support tailors weapons and sometimes clothing/other stuff to fit specific people  - Like they can tailor a specific gun to fit your hand, and can lower how much the gun kicks. They can do the same for knives, tailoring them to be the perfect length and weight for the user, as well as fitting perfectly in their hands. This goes for all weapons as well

“Gang Training”: - This is basically training to be able to be a competent gang member (most kids that get into the private school end up being higher ups) - They do basic physical training (I mean in hand-to-hand combat it helps to be strong, but also to handle the kick from any gun) but also with basic weaponry - The guns they use for training look, feel and have the actual kick of the gun they’re using but only actually shoot paintballs (Mr. Aizawa is a tough teacher but it’s not very rational to kill off all of your students lmao) - They train with all kinds of guns and ammunition, to get a feel for what each one is like and what they like. Aizawa requires them to train with all anyway though, as he believes you should be able to pick any random gun off the ground and shoot it with perfect efficiency and aim.  - There’s safety measures for swords and knives too, but I haven’t trained with those so idk what those would be lol 

All Might: - I was imagining he would be the boss, or head of the organization, since he’s #1 hero (at least in the beginning) - Like in the beginning of the show, he is secretly sick from an old injury and can only fight for so long before he starts coughing up blood.  - He’s still revered as not only the best gang leader ever but also one of the most amazing fighters the underworld has ever seen - But, as he gets older he still needs to find a worthy successor, as he’s definitely not immortal - Believes the boss should still be actively involved in the gang, fighting alongside his men and while some people think it’s foolish, everyone respects and likes him more for it 

All Might & Deku: - Obviously, Deku is still his secret chosen successor (or the one he wants to succeed him anyway but it will, in the end, go to the best candidate no matter what) - Deku was (distantly), probably through his father who’s in America, related to Gang X. His grandpa told him about it before he died, and all about All Might, the most impressive man in all the underworld, and has wanted to be just like him ever since - Soooo......I’m not entirely sure about how this part should play out, but I’m thinking maybe Deku was sick? And just couldn’t afford the really expensive procedure? (I’m pretty sure in the show Deku is middle class? So we’d keep it that way) - He by chance meets All Might and asks if he could ever be like him, even with his sickness, and All Might says no - Not sure what would go on to change his mind, but something happens, and All Might decides to pay for Deku’s hospital bills, heal whatever was going on, and personally start physically training him. Probably would make him clean up the whole ass beach still lmao - After the “entrance exam” (the physical part which happens after the standard school written at a secret location), Deku gets in by the skin of his teeth

Endeavor&Todofam: - uhhhhhhhhhhh........ - So he’s always wanted to be gang leader, but has always been behind All Might - He’s even tried duking it out with the boss a couple times but never wins - Not sure if I would make him head of the second most powerful branch of the gang or second in command - Either way he still not-so-secretly hates All Might, although he does grudgingly respect him - Wanted to become better than All Might, not get the top spot from All Might weakening, so he’s still pissed when All Might has to retire and he’s technically the boss now  - So, I haven’t been able to decide what Rei had that Endeavor wanted(since no quirks) but I still want it to be a fucked arranged marriage. Maybe she came from “good bloodlines” (like notoriously strong and smart /or people, whether her family was arranged in gang stuff or not) or maybe she was just very pretty and when she refused him, he literally bought off her parents? - Still raised Touya and Shouto specifically to be All Might’s successor - Touya still wasn’t good enough for some reason and something happened to him (weak bones maybe?) and he’s still dead in this AU (or is Dabi whatever the truth really is) - Rei still had a psychotic break and burned Shouto’s eye with boiling water and is in a hospital

Top 10 Heroes:  - So I want the top 10 heroes to either be the leaders of the 10 branches of the gang, or the top 10 members of the gang (they have a council or something)

Work Studies: - So in my old high school we were allowed to have a work study class, where we left campus for that hour and worked somewhere of our choosing, - Work studies were a big part of character development in the show so I’d like to keep those if possible - To make things less suspicious, work studies are required for all students (I mean let’s face it of entire classes all had work studies and others didn’t it would be weird). Also, since it’s a nice private school, I can totally see where they’d want the kids to go out and have “real world experience” before leaving high school - I would probably keep the fact that first years typically don’t have work studies (our school didn’t let freshman have them) but they’re trying something different this year - Of course the gang classes would be sent to various gang members (I think they’d still get to choose who, but idk maybe it would be more interesting if the teachers chose for them? - The general classes would go to whatever work study of their choosing, probably based on the careers they want to go into

Sports Festival:  - Literal school sports festival  - Limited only to those school students, i think - Gang members interested in work studies would come watch and scout - Would it be as internationally famous as the UA sports festival? i dont know tbh

Summer Camp & The Wild Wild Pussycats: - Not sure if here they would be purely working on physical ability and maybe martial arts or on weapons and stuff too - It would depend whether or not the Pussycats knew about the whole gang thing(or if they were involved in it) or were just regular physical trainers with no connection or idea about the gang thing - Kota......I think I would have his parents die in a gang-related accident and, obviously, hate anything to do with gang activity (which is normal anyway). If the Pussycats were not gang-related I’m not sure how the whole Deku-saving-him thing would go down but oh well - The League of Villains would be attacking still, to kidnap Bakugo (for whatever reason)

League of Villains (Gang Y) & All for One: - In a world where there are no “heroes” and “villians”, they obviously can’t go by that name (I mean I guess they can but I feel like that would be kind of stupid and odd) so we’ll go with Gang Y, for now - All for One can’t be immortal in this one, so maybe the gang name just keeps getting passed on from successor to successor? Or he’s just stupidly old(like 100 years old and still kicking ass)? - So, in the underworld, obviously no one is really “good” so to speak, I assume Gang X would still be involved in basic drug deals and stuff like that, but think Gang Y would be involved in some really fucked up shit. Like slave trade stuff maybe? Blood money? - Gang X and Gang Y have been top rivals since both of them started (around the same time) - Gang startup story would be the same as the beginning of the AFO and OFA rivalry in the show (2 brothers with different ideals) - AFO still ends up in jail after the legendary battle in Kamino Ward  - So......I’m having trouble with Shigaraki’s backstory since quirks aren’t a thing. Like obviously it would still be a horrific accident but.....yeah you get the point (haha it sucks trying not to spill manga spoilers) - Toga’s backstory would pretty much be the same I think - Spinner would have some deformity or something (since he can’t be a lizard) justifying his backstory - Twice is hard for the backstory thing.....but I would still have some traumatic event that caused him to do the contradicting voices thing - Nomu’s would maybe be like, brainless humans? Still look like flesh and blood humans but essentially be brain dead and only do what AFO tells them to do? Not sure but I’d still like them to be the result of human experimentation. - In Kurogiri’s case.........not sure tbh we’ll work on it  - Speaking of Kurogiri, he is like, get away driver/escape artist of the millennia. It’s like him and the rest of Gang Y just disappear into thin air. Even the police have tried to track him but? he’s just....gone? He’s still team mom, by the way, and really the only reason the Gang Y survives tbh (Credit to @tears-of-an-otaku )

Stain:  - Goes after and kills gang members (especially higher-ups) that he deems “corrupt” (ones that sit back and make underlings do all the work; rapers; betrayers; ones that are only really in it for the money; etc) - Puts chemicals on his weapons that immobilize his victims; The blood-type thing is still the same (works longer/better on specific blood-types) - Iida still goes after him for disabling his brother, and Deku finds and follows him, and Todoroki ends up coming as back up. - They still don’t get the credit for defeating him “for safety reasons”

Chisaki & Eri: - From a rivaling gang - Not sure how they find out whats going on but they do - Eri, at the very least, is still severely abused, but it would be cool to be able to incorporate using her blood to make some kind of drug  - Not really sure about much in this story arc tbh it’s so quirk-based it’s kind of hard to incorporate without them :/

The Licensing Exam: - Another sports festival, but this time with other major sports schools - Gang members come to scout as well  - In this one though, the other kids are just competing in a sports festival, but the teachers of the “gang classes” are also watching to determine whether or not their kids are ready to take on more “hardcore”/serious work studies (or even internships), where they would be able to experience what it’s actually like to be in a gang a little more in depth and practice real world fighting (and of course their special skills) - Special thanks to @tears-of-an-otaku for helping me figure this one out!

The Kids: - Like I said I want all the kids personalities and relationships to be the same - Jiro is still super into music and can still play (at least a little bit) a bunch of instruments; She has unnaturally good hearing too.  - Bakugo obviously can’t explode things with his hands anymore but has a dangerous interest in explosives (he was actually recommended to join the Support team but he rudely declined); still tells everyone to die on the (way too) regular; also still has the best reflexes in the class - Deku is super strong. Our sweet boy doesn’t look it but is strong af - Koda, still quiet as ever, is super good with animals (but afraid of bugs) - Momo is super good at designing and creating stuff and is very inventive(can always find a solution to a problem); She was also recommended to help in support but she (politely) declined; Still team mom - Iida’s a great runner (probably best at long distance but good at jump about anything)! Back in middle school, he was an absolute track star, but now-a-days with school, his class sports, and gang training, he doesn’t have time for track as well :( ;Still class president and team dad - Kaminari is still our lovable dumbass but is really good with electronics and wiring anything.  - Shinsou obviously can’t actually mind control, but he’s a super smooth talker and can convince almost anybody to do anything for him, so it can kind of seem like he controls people.  - Kirishima is an icon when it comes to defense training, he can block almost anything. He also never seems to get bruises. The rest of the class lowkey hates him for it because while, at the end of the day, they’re covered in bruises, Kirishima’s got maybe one (but usually not even that). He dyed his hair because he thought it made him took tougher and less boring - Aoyama is still into the ridiculously shiny, which is horrible for stealth practice, but he has this trick where he (maybe with a bracelet or something? Or a belt bc of his iconic belt in the show) can blind his opponent with the light reflecting off the metal and go in for an attack in that moment. It’s surprisingly effective.  - Oijiro may not have a tail, but he still excels at martial arts.He even rivals Bakugo (he might be able to win if Bakugo played by the actual martial arts rules that Oijiro was taught but he won’t) - Sugar makes Sato really energetic really quickly! (and for some reason makes him focus better). He’s still a super good cook and baker - Shouji still wears a mask all the time (he has a medical condition with his mouth that’s kind of gross and tends to scare people). He “talks with his hands” using sign language! He’s been teaching the rest of the class, as Aizawa said it was a very useful skill to have, especially in a situation where they need to be quiet but still communicate. - Hagakure, for whatever reason, is amazing a stealth missions! She’s somehow really good at blending into the background and even Jiro can’t hear her when she walks (unless she’s really focusing on it). Top of her class in it, actually.  - Mineta still isn’t that good in actual battle but is really good at simple immobilization (sorry the only thing I could think of for him even a little bit related to his quirk). - Ururaka (while not as strong as Deku), is surprisingly, incredibly strong. She can pick almost anything up and make it seem like the thing’s totally weightless (even when she’s actually struggling, something Deku can’t do) - Sero is the master of Duck tape really good at fixing stuff! It seems like he can fix almost anything; Him and Momo team up a lot when something breaks (which, in Class 1-A, is surprisingly often *cough* Bakugo *cough*); (Sorry, couldn’t really think of anything for him either but tape=fixing things? maybe?) - Mina is really into chemistry, specifically corrosives and hazardous mixtures. Her and Bakugo once teamed up after school and tried to make something - Aizawa said if they ever teamed up to do anything in the chemistry lab again they were going to be banned from it; Mina still has pink hair - Tokoyami has a pet raven that follows him everywhere-literally everywhere. It was a problem at first, but the school eventually decided to let Tokoyami keep it as long as it wasn’t making a mess anywhere and not attacking students (everyone else is lowkey mad about it like why does he get to keep a pet? Nezu tries to pass it off as an “emotional support bird” but everyone knows that’s bullshit); The bird (whom Tokoyami’s emo ass named Dark Shadow for some reason) can actually attack on cue! Actually, he kind of constantly has to be watched otherwise he might attack someone on the random (it’s happened; he seems to pick up on Tokoyami’s emotions somehow and if Tokoyami gets mad well.....; He has in particular had trouble Aoyama and all his sparkly things); The bird can actually send messages too! Tokoyami refuses to say how or why he trained his bird to do this but since no one expects such an old fashioned way of sending a message, it’s extremely useful for high secrecy messages (and packages; actually the actual gang has used it a time or two, a fact Tokoyami is secretly proud of). (Credit to @agaxso) - Todoroki is, not quite an expert, but has a weird amount of knowledge on arson and burning things (not sure why a gang would really need a skill like this except to burn bodies beyond recognition but Endeavor specializes in it so it must be useful somewhere); He also has an extensive knowledge of using  polyoxacyclobutane mixtures(liquid nitrogen definitely and maybe some other things?) to freeze things at whatever temperature (I think he’d probably shoot bullet-like things out of a modified gun; Freezing the target when it hits. Here’s a link explaining basically how polyoxacyclobutane works); He has practice with the modified gun from training with his father, but his mom was the one that originally taught him how to make and use the bullets properly.(Credit to @agaxso) - Monoma can do anything almost perfectly after watching someone else do it once. Unfortunately, he has a really horrible memory so he only retains the information for like an hour then has to watch them do it again. Still an annoying asshole - Kendo is tough as hell! Specifically has really tough hands/knuckles. The One Punch Man of class 1-B, she is literally known for being able to knock people out in only a punch or two. She once smacked Monoma and he had a wicked bruise on his cheek for 2 weeks. She still maintains that she “didn’t even hit him that hard” - Awase is an amazing welder! He was another candidate for the support team, but after some consideration he declined - Tetsutetsu, like Kirishima, has ridiculously tough skin that never bruises, and has amazing defense - I don’t really know enough about class 1-B to finish this unfortunately - Aizawa and Vlad actually put special time aside for the kids to practice and hone their specific skills and learn how to put them to use in battle. After all, you should use everything you have in your arsenal in real battle, and unique/special “skills” can be extremely useful in battle and often pack the element of surprise and can easily but you above whoever your fighting, (especially if they don’t have any special attacks)

Soooo......if anybody would like to write out this AU for me and help fill in the blanks I would love you forever and also probably owe you my life because I have absolutely fallen in love with this AU. Also let me know if I missed anything or you have ideas for the stuff I couldn’t fill in and I’ll put it in (and credit you of course lol) @todorokitops I know you’re a pretty well known Tumblr fanfic writer so......know anybody who might be up for the challenge?

[radudracula]

Radu’s Story

Note: This is the “Hollywood” version of the story including many popular myths about Radu cel Frumos. How true some of these myths are will be further explored in later posts on this blog.

Do you want to hear a story?

It’s about Dracula.

No, not that Dracula, the real one.

No, not Vlad “the Impaler” Dracula. The other one. Radu “the Beautiful” Dracula.

There’s two Draculas! you say.

Well, actually there were three, (not including all the illegitimate Draculas) but I’m here to tell you about the youngest; Radu III cel Frumos.

A quick google search will tell you lots about this obscure Romanian noble – he was the Sultan’s “homosexual obsession”, “the man who killed Dracula”, the man who actually inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a Muslim, a Christian, a weak-pushover and a strong military leader. In fact it will tell you so many things that you may ended up knowing nothing about him. In any case, let me try to give you an overview of the Hollywood highlights of the other Dracula’s life.

The 15th century Balkans

Radu was born sometime between 1437-1439, the third legitimate son of Vlad II Dracul. His father was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia – barely. Despite being declared Voivode of Wallachia in 1431 Vlad Dracul hadn’t actually obtained the throne until 1436 because 15th century Balkan politics were a messTM.

Now, Vlad Dracul hadn’t been born with the name Dracul but had taken it after being indicted into the Order of the Dragon (Dracul=Dragon in Romanian). The Order of the Dragon was a Holy order of nobles founded to fight the enemies of Christendom - particularly the Ottoman Empire - and by taking the name Dracul Vlad proudly proclaimed himself as a member of this order. His sons, Radu and his two older brothers Vlad (later to be remembered as Vlad the Impaler) and Mircea, were consequently called Dracula meaning ‘Son of the Dragon’.

So, Radu’s early years were spent as a young Christian prince of a rather volatile country. However, Radu did not spend long in his Romanian homeland as by 1444 he, and his older brother Vlad, had been sent to the Ottoman court of Sultan Murad II as hostages.

The ruins of the Fortress of Eğrigöz in north-western Anatolia where Radu and Vlad spent their first few years as hostages before being relocated to the Ottoman capital at Edirne.

As hostages, the brothers were meant to ensure the loyalty of their father to the Ottoman Sultan and stop him from teaming up with Hungary in anti-Ottoman crusades under the threat that Sultan Murad would execute the boys. However, this did not stop Dracul from quickly betraying the Ottomans and assuming his sons dead (after all he still had his eldest son, Mircea, so Vlad and Radu weren’t that important).[1]

But luckily for Vlad and Radu, Murad had other reasons for keeping the boys alive. Through education and indoctrination he planned to raise the boys as good, loyal - and legitimate - future rulers of Wallachia.[2]

As a result the boys were well treated and educated by the finest tutors available, in logic, the Qu’ran, languages, horse riding, battle – all the necessary skills for great future rulers.

How Radu experienced these years in the Ottoman court is unclear. The general consensus is that whilst Vlad was just straight up not having a good time (often being whipped or beaten for being a bad student), Radu was more adaptive - but the consensus stops there. Depending on who you ask you might be told that he “was a compromiser, consumed by the pleasures of the palace” [3], a victim of Stockholm syndrome and “a weakling and a voluptuary, famous for his beauty” [4]. But others will say that he was an intelligent young man with both military and political promise.

However, a key part of his story that is often repeated, is that he was very good looking hence his nickname “cel Frumos” meaning “the beautiful” in Romanian. He attracted many admirers both male and female. Among them was Murad’s son, the future Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Although they had a rough start (their first kiss involved Radu stabbing Mehmed and then hiding up a tree) the two became very close and thanks to this relationship Radu gained much power at the court.[5]

Meanwhile, his relationship with his brother deteriorated and the two developed an intense hatred.[6]

At the end of 1447 the news reached the brothers that their father, Dracul, had been killed and their older brother, Mircea, had been buried alive by the Hungarians.[7] It was now time for Vlad, as the eldest, to take the Wallachian throne under the support of the Ottoman Sultan.

As Vlad left the palace of Edirne for Wallachia it would be more than a decade before he saw his younger brother again. And then it would be on the battlefield…

During this time Murad died and Mehmed took the Ottoman throne in 1451. Radu became a prominent figure in the Ottoman court, converted to Islam and played an important role in Mehmed’s conquest of Constantinople (maybe).[8]

However, his life at the Ottoman court ended in 1461 when Vlad (now Voivode of Wallachia) began actively rebelling against the Ottomans. Mehmed, who was busy trying to become the next Alexander the Great, did not have time for this. What he did have, was a perfect replacement for Vlad in the loyal Radu.

So, in Summer 1462 Radu and Mehmed crossed the Danube with 35,000 Ottoman soldiers against Vlad’s meagre 7-8,000.[9] Despite Vlad’s vicious scorched earth tactics and daring night attacks he stood no chance against the superior Ottoman forces and was forced to flee north. When Radu and Mehmed reached the Wallachian capital of Tărgovişte Vlad was long gone but had left a grisly gift that would earn him his nickname Ţepeş – the Impaler. Along the road to Tărgovişte he had planted a forest of impaled Ottoman soldiers that stretched for kilometres…[10]

A Saxon woodcut (c.1499) of Vlad enjoying a meal with some new garden ornaments. Despite the fact he definitely did impale people it’s worth remembering that a lot of the Saxon publications about him were essentially propaganda so take the image with a grain of salt. 

Despite this horror, Radu took his place on the throne as Voivode Radu III. He ruled Wallachia for eleven years and by 15th century Balkans standards it was almost peaceful.  Although he was supported by the Ottomans he managed to win the respect of the local Wallachian boyars (nobles) and maintain peace with Hungary (the other big regional power). However, his real trouble was with the third Romanian state – Moldavia - where Stephen the Great had come to the throne and was wanting to assert his dominance over the region. Stephen did not like Radu, mostly because of his pro-Turkish stance. In 1465 Stephen took control of the previously Wallachian port city of Chilia. There was a period of relative peace but then from 1470 onwards Radu and Stephen became engaged in a serious of border wars that ended with Stephen defeating Radu on November 18-20th 1473. Stephen marched into the Wallachia capital ready to place his own guy, Basarab Laoită, on the throne and Radu, like his brother before him (minus the forest of impaled people), was forced to flee the city leaving all his treasure, effects, clothing, wife and daughter behind.

Three weeks later Radu returned with Ottoman reinforcements and retook his throne (also his wife and daughter). Over the next year the throne continued to alternate between Basarab backed by Stepehn and Radu backed by the Ottomans until January 1475 when Radu was dethroned for the final time, presumably dying sometime soon after.[11]

The details are unknown but there are three main theories as to what caused his death and sudden absence from the historical record:

a)       He was executed by Stephen the Great who was sick of having to dethrone him.[12]

b)      He died of syphilis, “unloved and unmourned”[13]

c)       He became a vampire[14]

My bets are on c)

-

The story of Radu is a good one. However, it’s also built on a lot of assumptions and blatant falsities that have been spread by academic and popular writers alike. Finding “The Truth” of Radu’s life necessitates a return to primary sources. But, how much of person can we really construct from a smattering of 15th century writings? And how much will we never know?

For answers to these questions and more keep an eye on this page...

 References

[1] Davin Nicolle, Cross & Crescent in the Balkans: The Ottoman Conquest of Southeastern Europe. (Great Britain: Pen & Sword Military, 2010), 153.

[2] M. J. Trow, Vlad the Impaler: In Search of the Real Dracula. (United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2003), 140.

[3] Romano, Will. ‘Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks’. Military History; Herndon, October 2003.

[4] Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978), 207.

[5] Ibid.; Will Romano, “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks,” Military History, October 2003.; James Waterson, Dracula’s Wars: Vlad the Impaler and His Rivals. (Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2016) 111.; Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula: Prince of Many Faces. (Boston, United States: Little, Brown and Company, 1989), 56.; Masson, Gemma Masson, “Dracula and the Ottomans,” Womenareboring, 15 March 2018. https://womenareboring.wordpress.com/2018/03/15/4286/.; Shibli Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.” Worldbulletin, 31 July 2013, https://www.worldbulletin.net/historical-events/how-the-muslims-killed-dracula-h114250.html.

[6] Dion Overtoun, “Radu Cel Frumos: The Queer Brother Nobody Cares Dracula Had,” Frightful/Filthy: The Writing of Dion Overtoun, 28 June 2017, https://dionovertoun.com/2017/06/28/radu-the-queer-brother-nobody-cares-dracula-had/.; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; Florescu and McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, 59.

[7] Waterson, Dracula’s Wars, 111.; Florescu and McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, 56. ; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; “Radu Cel Frumos,” Project Gutenberg, Acessed 30 September 2019, http://www.self.gutenberg.org/articles/Radu_cel_Frumos.

[8] Matei Cazacu, Dracula. (Boston: Brill, 2011), 51.

[9] Kent, Jasper. The Last Rite: (The Danilov Quintet 5). Random House, 2014.; Zaman, “How the Muslims killed Dracula.”; Masson, “Dracula and the Ottomans.”; Trow, Vlad the Impaler, 139.; “Radu Cel Frumos,” Wikipedia, Accessed 8 October 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Radu_cel_Frumos&oldid=920222947. ; Philippe Lemaire, “Recherches sur le vampire,” Site de Philippe Lemaire, auteur de fantastique, Accessed 30 September 2019, https://sites.google.com/site/philip63lemaire/recherches-sur-le-vampire.; “Radu Cel Frumos.”  ; Elest Ali, “Is “Dracula Untold” An Islamophobic Movie?” The New Republic, 25 October 2014, https://newrepublic.com/article/119991/dracula-untold-islamophobic.; Beyaz Arif Akbas, “Kim Bu Güzel Radu?” Milliyet Blog, Accessed 9 October 2019, http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/kim-bu-guzel-radu-/Blog/?BlogNo=402166.

[10] For a detailed explanation of the numbers involved in this campaign see - Adrian Gheorghe, “Understanding the Ottoman Campaign in Wallachia in the Summer of 1462. Numbers, Limits, Manoeuvres and Meanings,” in Vlad Der Pfähler – Dracula Tyrann Oder Volkstribun?, ed. Thomas Bohn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2017), 11.

[11] Ibid, 30.;

[12] Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978), 339.; Tasin Gemil, Romanians and Ottomans in the XIVth to the XVIth Centuries, (Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedicã, 2009), 203.; Jonathan Eagles, “The Reign, Culture and Legacy of Ştefan Cel Mare, Voivode of Moldova: A Case Study of Ethnosymbolism in the Romanian Societies,” (University College London, 2011), 13.; Liviu Pilat and Ovidiu Cristea, The Ottoman Threat and Crusading on the Eastern Border of Christendom During the 15th Century. (Boston, United States: Brill, 2017), 143 – 145.

[13] Kurt W. Treptow, Vlad III Dracula The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula, (Oxford: The Center for Romanian Studies, 2000), 159.

[14] Trow, Vlad the Impaler, 208.; Waterson Dracula’s Wars, 184.

[15] Lemaire, “Recherches sur le Vampire.”

[sabraeal]

The Great Chain, Chapter 4

The Hierarchy of Beings | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

ANS Week, Day 3: Wind forceful | lively | unsettled | playful

In Wati, no man is allowed to look upon the Emperor’s concubines -- at least, no intact one. It has been centuries since any man was fool enough to try, but all the stories agree: should one gaze upon the forbidden garden of delights, his eyes will be burned for the shame of it, and his tongue cut out to quiet him.

At least, that is what is said. In practice, all things are different.

The eunuchs serve them of course, but so do the young boys of the kitchens, and should any woman be granted leave from the harem, a simple veil is enough to satisfy propriety. Plenty of her brother’s favorites had been allowed at court; seated behind a screen where only their shadows were glimpsed is where a great many of them made their plots. Women had been made and unmade by what they learned shielded by silk.

She, of course, was held to a different standard. The sacred feminine, she could not be spoken to by any man save His Most High, and none were allowed to look upon her.

Save the alchemist.

A screen sat between them at every one of their meetings, with a daughter of Visoth to speak for her, should the need arise. Which it often did; so much that her own brother had called it unseemly. It had not weighed well against the alchemist when his brethren finally brought him forward for his heresies.

But until then, Samay had been hers. A man eager to impart to her the life she might lead in the heathen lands, should this fool contract of her brother’s go though.

A helpful account, to be sure. But still, that had not been the information she most wanted to hear.

“Her Most High wishes to hear of the concubine,” a daughter would say, making the words ring against stone. “You must tell her again what vile tricks she might face.”

“None, none,” Samay was all-too eager to reply, shaking his head. “She is so very honest. So brave! There is nothing on this earth that gives her fear.”

She had, like a child, thought it was a warning. But now, as the concubine turns to her, unheeding of the danger when she leaves her back to that beast --

She understands.

“Guards!” she screams, so loud the walls must shake with it. The door flies open, Prak’s men piling into the room, followed swiftly by the Clarinese.

Her hands clench tight on the silk of her gown. They are men, a half-dozen all told, and here she sits, her sacred person indecently bared, but -- but --

It cannot matter, not when the beast stands in this very room, it’s talons aimed at Shirayuki’s back.

“It’s there!” She flings out an arm, finger shaking as she points. “It’s come to kill us!”

The unclean stares at Prak’s men, who only stare back, both at a loss. The Clarinese --

What did she say? asked one, head swiveling towards the Watese guards. I didn’t catch a lick of that.

I said, she grits out, shoulders curling in, that it has come to kill us.

This only seems to cause more confusion. Sir Obi?

She fixes her gaze on Prak’s head guard. “Do something!”

That, finally, moves them. The beast is quick, but he realizes their intentions too late --

Ah, it says, its vile mouth pressed to the floor. The concubine approaches with a level of gravity most royals born to the position spend their lives striving to achieve, crouching down with no hint of fear on her features. Looks like I should knock next time.

Shirayuki shakes her head, mouth lifting slyly at a corner. It looks like you should use a door next time.

She had not believed Samay when he spoke of the concubine’s strength, of her courage, but -- never has she seen someone talk to the unclean as she does. Her hands are steady against her thighs, gaze clear and fixed, mouth bent into a scolding smile. There is no fear in her, no derision.

All right. Shirayuki stands, brushing off her lap, humor drained from her expression. I am conducting an exam in here. It’s time for you all to leave.

But-- one of Prak’s men send her a worried glance-- Her Most High--

Was surprised, she decides firmly. Bora, it’s only Obi. You lost fifty dill to him just last week.

Oh, Miss, the unclean sighs, entirely too at ease with a knee at its back. What’s to say this isn’t revenge?

The guard peers down at it with a frown, then nods, helping the beast to its feet. I’ll win that money back, you know.

That’s what they all say, it drawls, insufferably smug, with a coy flutter of its eyelashes. It isn’t fair how very long they are. Nimol still owes me seventy.

Down from one-twenty, another guard protests.

The concubine hooks her hands over her hips, braced like a woman used to being heard. If you might all see yourselves out?

Even me? The unclean sashays nearer, hand pressed earnestly to its chest. It gives her the sort of looks hounds do when they know there is jerky in their master’s pockets.

Despite her forbidding expression, the concubine’s lips twitch. Especially you.

After such an honest mistake? it protests, pouting as she scoots it across the floor, encouraging it toward the window. Miss...

I know just how honest you are, Obi, the concubine informs it wryly. And in any case, you can’t stay.

My heart, it tells her, turning one last time on the sill, it’s broken--

You can ask Zen to kiss it better, she replies, whip fast. I’m sure he’s heard all about this by now.

The beast grimaces. But, Miss--

With a hand firmly planted on -- well, a place a concubine would be well acquainted with, save that this this was not the prince -- she helped it straight out the window, shutting it on its surprised yelp.

Now then, she says, mouth stretching wide in a smile. Where were we?

The concubine picks up her notes, skimming over them with a preternatural calm. Right, the exam. Do you still feel safe taking off your robe?

She wants to say no, to say how could I when my naked body was nearly a spectacle, but --

But the concubine sits there with an encouraging smile, gaze steady and unworried, and...it feels silly to not, even so.

The gown slips from her shoulders, each inch a further humiliation. It is good she is allowed the veil; no matter how kindly the concubine smiles, she would die rather than show her the tears that sting her eyes, that threaten to run red tracks down her cheeks. No gaze has ever fallen upon her sacred form, not in whole; even she herself has avoided laying eyes upon her own flesh.

But now she bares it for this woman, a rival --

Huh, the concubine breathes, brow furrowed. Is it all right if I touch you?

She recoils, every inch of her skin crawling at the very thought. The concubine throws up her hands, eyes wide, shaking her head. I don’t mean to offend you. I just need to see if it hurts.

She nods. It is a small concession to make, when she is already so exposed.

The girl reaches out, slender fingers grasping just behind her calf. It startles her; she had expected the difference between then to be stark: the concubine, born common, would have ruddy, work-roughened skin, with the same cast as their famed veined cheeses. She would be pleasingly bronzed, smooth to the touch, neither too dark nor too pale --

But in practice, Shirayuki is nearly as sun-kissed as she is -- which is to say, not at all. The only difference between them is the hint of rose or gold.

Do you go outside often? the concubine asks, fingers running clinically over the slight rise of her muscle. The daughters of Visoth had told her that she was the peak of feminine softness, but there is no such praise from Shirayuki’s lips, only something fretfully close to a frown. Or exercise?

No, she answers, blinking, not at all. I am meant to sit in contemplation and maintain purity of thought.

The frown deepens into a scowl. You don’t go for walks?

Where would I go? The girl’s hands press into a blister, and she hisses, Ah, perhaps I have...some. Since I have arrived. It seems to be expected of me.

Shirayuki takes a long breath through her teeth. Yes. We do expect people to stand on their own legs in Clarines.

She can hear the cut, but it is not aimed at her, but rather, farther away. Perhaps even her brother might feel it, so keen is the concubine’s tone.

Does this hurt? she asks, right before her finger press behind her heel, and by all the faces of the god, it is blinding.

Here? she asks at the knee. Here? she inquires at the shoulder. Could you roll onto your side? Do you feel it here?

The hip nearly sends her soul to the god, she could swear it. You are torturing me! she snaps, grabbing at her robe. You wish to punish me!

The concubine sits back, face stony. It wasn’t me who wanted to punish you, she murmurs. Louder, she says, It’s hard to tell the exact problem, but...you’ll need to start walking, at least.

More? she asks, agog. They already make her walk to all her own appointments, and when she is invited to dinner, it is clear she is expected to arrive under her own power. It is almost too much to be borne.

Yes. Much more. The concubine eyes her, concerned. Maybe you could walk around the gardens? They’re lovely this time of year.

She stares. Alone?

The girl blinks, sitting back in her hips as if the idea surprises her. It should; in Wati, she would go nowhere without a cloud of attendants, but here -- well, there are no daughters of Visoth here to keep her company, and she is not sure what caste of noble women would be a fitting replacement.

The concubine’s mouth takes a wry twist as she suggests, You might take Zen with you.

A man? Surely she cannot be shocked further. No. That would not be appropriate.

Shirayuki’s mouth parts in a smile. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. After all, you should get to know each other.

Yes, of course, but surely all of that can be done with a screen between them. They don’t need to be next to one another, talking.

I can prescribe you a tea as well, for the pain, the concubine continues, and if it continues after you’ve started walking, we can look into something else to help you.

Yes, of course. She grimaces, pulling on her robe. After I start walking.

The concubine hesitates. Munkhtsesteg.

She looks up, straight into a gaze far too earnest to be seen in any harem.

If you don’t want to go alone, Shirayuki says, so delicately, as if she might break, I’m happy to walk with you too.

Her hands shake on her buttons. Thank you. I will...consider it.

[doubleddenden]

I never noticed how advanced the Unova link is. Like in BW 2 you can battle Cheren and Bianca with teams more like their originals, but I always thought it was starter locked like Hugh's team (because last time I played I used Samurott in both, this time I used Samurott and Serperior)

No, they legit had the same starters as before, even the same monkeys. This turned Bianca into the rival rival because she had Emboar like Hugh!

Not just that, but Bianca wanting to walk together with you into Route 1 to recreate her first day with the prior protagonist and Cheren taling a brief team up with you through Pinwheel forest, also Bianca riding the Ferris Wheel and Cheren challenging you to a fight where you guys met Alder.

It was so advanced, man.

Then to finish off the game, challenge your rival one more time. He gives it everything he has, and says that he's glad to be our friend.

Also the whole end game sequence with N, bequeathing you with his dragon to pick up his mantle where he couldn't. Catching Zekrom and him telling you to make the world a better place before he searches for his friend that set off to search for him.

I'll admit, I was afraid I lost my love for Unova, but sitting here now? Maybe I'm just very stressed, depressed and tired from real life stuff but I really have trouble holding back nostalgic tears. BW1 IS HOW YOU DO MULTIPLE RIVALS! BW2 IS HOW YOU DO BEST FRIEND RIVALS! BOTH ARE HOW YOU MAKE COOL AND INTERESTING GYM LEADERS AND CHARACTERS!

Christ, these games had so much love put into them that I feel mad at people that dismiss it as a whole because of Vanilluxe or Garbodor or how terribly the anime handled it or other stupid reasons. The story feels closed but I can't help but wish the first protagonist had the same closure Red got down the road of eventually leaving Mt Silver.

Know what? We still don't know what the original dragon looks like! We don't know where Ghetsis ran off to after his mental breakdown at being beaten by- not just a chosen hero, but also A RANDOM ASS TRAINER capable of beating a FUZED pokemon without a legendary dragon. We'll never know if N and Hilbert/Hilda found each other again. Not unless there's a Black and White 3 in like... 5 or 8 years from now.

I know people are tired of stories, especially after Sun and Moon, but if we get a skip option can we PLEASE try something like this again? I'd love another stab at something as ambitious as this again without piracy to kill sales. Gen 2 is not the standard and neither are the remakes. Gen 5 is the standard to beat for best games of all time.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll be crying because the journey is over. I might try Y again or try seeing if I can get Alpha Sapphire for cheap but man. Man it's hard to walk away from my favorite region and characters.

Galar? Please be this good. Don't half ass it like X and Y or LGPE, don't pander to gen 1 like all of the 3ds era, don't give us a cakewalk we're going to forget. Please.

[nothing-personal-my-dear]

Spartacus : Vengeance Rewatch - Episode 7: Sacramentum

Sex Scene: there’s like 4 whole scenes in a whorehouse, all the sex is happening here.

“Cock”: 5

“Cunt”: 1

“Kill Them All”:  

“Fucking Gaul”: 1

Slow motion Face Punch: 2

Episode Name Dropped by: Glaber

Memorable Death:  MARCIA (for my heart), Sedullus (because brains).

Favourite Line:  “I rival any fucking man, in all things.”

 -  I have basically one clear memory of this episode. AGRON IN THAT HOODED CLOAK IN THE RAIN SMIRKING FOR ALL HE’S WORTH! Hot damn, I am excited for that scene!

-  Holy shit, Agron is even hotter in this scene than I remembered!!!

-  Ahh! Donar helping to free the Germans! I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, you can pry German Donar from my cold dead hands!

-   I love me some silent killing.

-  GERMAN SPEAKING AGRON GIVES ME SO MANY DAMN FEELS!!!! Seriously, when was the last time he spoke his native language? Does he do it with Donar? Was the last time with Duro? According to history slaves weren’t allowed to speak their native language, so maybe it’s been longer than his captivity. SO MANY FEELS.

-  The way Sedullus looks when telling Agron the other guard also speaks German, it almost looks like a test, like he wants Agron to prove himself first.

-  SAXA BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Lucius kills someone, I’m oddly proud!

-  That face slice though.

- Sedullus is just …. He’s the reason Germans are given a bad name, you can see it already.

- LUGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH DAMN, HES SO PRECIOUS! I forgot he spoke English (though really, I’m assuming their speaking latin) in Vengeance, I thought he was mainly all German until WotD.

-  “Cock” in German, still counts!

-  AGRON’S SMILE! CALLING THE GERMAN’S BROTHER! HE IS SO HAPPY! FUCK!

-  OH THIS, THIS I REMEMEBR, AND I FUCKING HATE IT! By “this” I mean Sparty and his jealous suspicions of Agron. Sparty has such a double standard with Crixus and Agron. Crixus is allowed to be the leader of the Gauls with Sparty having basically no say in the matter, but the second Agron wants the same fucking treatment Sparty throws a hissy fit! I’m not trying to be biased, I can see there could be legitimate concers for Sparty with the Germans, as in Agron might separate from the cause and do his own thing with the Germans. BUT, the reason I have such an issue with this whole thing is that Crixus gets to do the same fucking thing BUT HE STILL GETS SPARTACUS’ RESPECT AND LOYALTY! Agron gets none of that, ever. I could write a fucking essay on this subject. To sum up, fuck you Sparty.

-   That Eagle is fucking majestic!

-   Okay, I have always liked Gallienus, he’s kinda adorable.

-   I wonder if Ashur feels a little sorry for what happened to Seppius when he sees Seppia crying. I mean she’s basically still a kid and she has no one, it’s hard not to feel for that.

-  Does Gannicus believe Glaber’s speech or does he recognise the propaganda for what it is? In other words, a load of shit.

-  Love how all the women around Glaber look empty, depressed, absolutely crushed.

- Poor Thessela, you can see the betrayal in her eyes when Ilithyia lies. Poor baby.

-  That crucifixion is pretty intense.

-  Okay I’ve been doing a hell of a lot of research on Spartacus (and Ancient Rome in general) but I now know the names of some background characters. Hey there Lydon patrolling the wall ;)

-   Crixus looks so damn attractive when sparring with Naevia, I think it’s because he doesn’t look angry when he’s fighting her. He looks calm and focused, it’s very sexy.

- LOOK AT THAT LITTLE SMILE!!!!! CRIXUS IS SO PROUD OF NAEVIA!!!!!

-  NASIR AND MIRA FRIENDSHIP!!!! We were robbed!!

-  Oh, you can see Mira’s heart breaking. She’s not a fool, she knows Spartacus doesn’t love her.

-  Oenomaus and Nasir shaking hands……..WHEN THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO ACTUALLY MET?!?!?!

-  Oenomaus should smile more though, it’s so damn beautiful.

-  I wanna cry!!!!! Every one is so happy to see Oenomaus, and he’s looking all proud of his children!!!! I NEED SOME TISSUES!

- I seriously cannot get over the amount of love I have for Agron kissing Nasir in front of his kin without any hesitation!!! All the feels man.

-  I like that Mira keeps on smiling genuinely when the Germans are brought in. She doesn’t care that she can’t understand them, there is no suspicion in her eyes, she accepts them. Unlike Crixus and Oenomaus.

- Nemetes (you fuck) looks at Sedullus with heart eyes.

-  Agron introducing Nasir to the Germans, Nasir smiling and shaking hands with all of them!!! MY HEART CANNOT TAKE THIS! Nasir feeling more comfortable with the Germans for the simple fact that they are Agron’s kin, it’s fucking beautiful. I just wanna stay in this happy little family without all the drama.

- LUGO PICKS UP NASIR IN A HUGE BEAR HUG WITH SAXA SMILING AT THEM BOTH!!!!! THIS IS THE DAMN FRIENDSHIP I ALWAYS WANTED!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!! There was like a split second hint of this threesome in WotD, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW WE GOT IT RIGHT AWAY!!!!!!

-   “Who will they follow?” SERIOUSLY CRIXUS ALL THE GAULS FOLLOW YOU NOT SPARTY AND YOU KNOW IT. fuck this whole jealously shit.

-  “Yes Dominus.” Oh fuck. Oh fuck. That is the most heart breaking, soul shattering thing Lucretia could ever say. fuck. Ashur needs to die all the time.

- Talking about yourself in third person isn’t a sign of sanity Ashur (I will vehemently ignore Lugo’s desire to refer to himself as such, he’s my baby).

- Oh the wig, poor Lucretia. But the red colour had nothing to do with Quintus, it was all about Gaia right?

-  How deluded is Ashur, how can he think Lucretia is falling for him, how can he think this is real? He is raping her.

-  Holy crap, Ilithyia is actually lying on that chair!! We hardly ever see the Roman’s lying on the chairs in the way they are historically supposed to!

-  I may not really like Seppia, but hot damn she is so SO attractive and especially in black. She should always wear her hair down, she’s gorgeous.

-  Does Ilithyia at least suspect that Glaber had a hand in Seppius’ murder?

-  Glaber has wanted Seppius’ men for fucking ages, but they don’t look like much….

-  I killed your leader, I forced you to come here, I conscripted you, I basically fucking own you….now swear your loyalty. -___- Do Romans not understand how to earn loyalty?

-   I really love it when Ilithyia isn’t playing games with Lucretia, like she genuinely really cares for her. That little smile, her soft voice. Shipper heart is sailing. (I just wish that Lucretia felt the same dammit)

-  Is Lucretia wearing the same dress she wore last episode? Or does she suddenly have 2 navy blue dresses when she’s never worn that colour ever before.

- Seppia’s body slave is an older woman, I really like this idea.

- “I seek vengeance.” –Get in line Seppia.

-  The Seppia / Glaber stuff is gross.

-  “I now gaze into his eyes and tremble at lurks behind them.”

-   Oh gods, Ilithyia and Lucretia talking about the cliff….yikes! But also, I mean it’s basically canon that these two are together right? They basically confess their love every chance they get (in their own fucked up way).

-   No one should look that happy with their hand inside an animal carcass pulling out organs. That’s just weird Agron.

-  OMG I WANNA CRY HE IS SO HAPPY TO BE SURROUNDED BY KIN!

-  Oh fuck shit. You can see the moment Agron gets it, when he realises that Crixus will always be above him in Spartacus’ eyes. He could offer Spartacus Glaber’s head and Sparty would find fault with it. This is the moment when I feel so much for Agron. All he’s ever wanted was for Sparty to trust and respect him, as he trusts and respects Spartacus, but it’s never going to happen.

-   “I give you my word.” –THE LOOK ON SPARTACUS’ FACE WHEN AGRON SAYS THIS. FUCK YOU SPARTY!

-   Dude I really ship Gannicus and Marcia!

-  OMG GANNI ASKED MARCIA TO JOIN HIM!!!!!!!!!!AHH!!!

- Fucking Ashur.

-   OMG look at how they clutch at each other, I SHIP IT SO DAMN MUCH! Actually might be the only woman I ship Ganni with!

-  Ganni insulting Ashur is a beautiful thing.

-   “Gannicus has always been a man of few words.” LUCRETIA LOOKS SO FUCKING AMUSED, I LOVE IT.

-  Comparing Ganni to a Phoenix, I can dig it.

-  Can I just say that Craig Parker is a phenomenal actor. His voice and his movements are so much darker and slower than they were in s1, it’s like his whole body has switched with Glaber’s darkness. It’s truly amazing. Kudos!

-  “Ashur’s talents are of the shadows.”

-  Ganni don’t lie, you never stop craving the roar of the crowd.

-  Mummy and Daddy talking about the kids, it’s so sweet.

-  I’m confused though, now suddenly Sparty is on Agron’s side?!

- “Absent choice,” –those words get to me every time.

- Please stop talking about hypothetical Agron death!

-   Seriously Ilithyia totally thought Lucretia was talking about double suicide, AND SHE WAS ALL FOR IT. shit man.

-   Also, I super don’t find Lucretia slitting her wrist at all traumatic. Is that what all the blood and gore in this show does to you? I don’t actually mind.

-  FUCK. YOU. ASHUR!

-  I actually don’t like Oenomaus and Sparty being buddy buddy…and like, just beucase his wife cheated on him suddenly Oenomaus is all for Sparty’s cause?!?! I just feel like there were some conversations missing.

-  Oh look how quickly Agron loses his smile when Sparty comes around!

-  “I’m glad I risked my life for this lot,” – I love salty Lucius.

-   “I tire of hiding like frightened rabbits.” –why is it always the rabbits?

-  CRIXUS CALLING AGRON PUP HURTS MY FUCKING SOUL BECAUSE HE USED TO CALL DURO PUP!!!!!!!HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!! AND THEN HE TALKS ABOUT WILD DOGS, WHEN THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE CALL NASIR!!!!!! FUUUUUUCCKKKK!!!! This brings a whole new meaning to hitting below the belt.

-  You can really see how hurt Agron is by all this, and I know the leaving early was on purpose and he was being petty but shit man, after all he’s put up with he deserves a moment to act like an idiot. the thing is, is that no one seems to see that he’s grown. He’s not the angry boy he was when he was GRIEVING HIS FUCKING BROTHER WHO WAS HIS FUCKING HEART. He’s healing and growing and genuinely wants to see their people safe and free, but everyone is stuck on him being angry and impulsive when drowning in grief. Give the boy a fucking break.

-  Seriously the amount of shit I can spew about Agron is endless.

-  MARCIA BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-   “What would you have me do? Take up offer and turn on those I once called brother?”

-  “The whole world has slipped from reason.” –and it just keeps slipping and slipping.

-   I love that Lucretia’s plan give all the info for Ganni’s own plan.

-   LUGO TAKING ON SEDULLUS! I LOVE IT!

-    Fuck me, every time Agron looks so happy at his Germans I get all warm and fuzzy. LET AGRON BE HAPPY!

- OMG NASIR IS SO HAPPY TO SEE AGRON HAPPY! I LOVE IT!

-  The wrestling is fucking beautiful, and everyone happy and smiling is beautiful.

-  Seriously what is going on with Crixus? He’s super fucking depressed and not even Naevia’s smile is helping. He has his heart back and she is fighting to regain herself, but he had more life in him when she was gone. What gives?

- Lugo is fucking tragic. I love him.

-  Lugo making friends with Oenomaus, it’s precious.

- WHY CAN’T THESE PEOPLE JUST GIVE THE GERMANS A FUCKING CHANCE!

- “Would that we were never parted.” – my heart is fluttering.

-  Oh my scheming wives.

-  It’s like, for one second you actually like Sedullus and it seems like he just wants everyone to get along, BUT THEN THE FUCKER TOUCHES NAEVIA! YOU DEAD BOY!

- Naevia’s fighting face is beautiful.

-  I FUCKING LOVE THAT AGRON IS THE ONE TO RUN UP THE SECOND HE NOTICES NAEVIA IS IN TROUBLE!!!!!!

-  “Now I fuck the other side of you pretty little face.” –I dunno if I’m just being dumb, but I don’t understand this….like she one has one face, and there’s only one hole of someone’s face you can fuck……I’m so confused.

-   Fuck you Crixus for finding it funny that Agron is getting beat up.

-  Also, can no one tell that this isn’t a fight for fun??

- I’m sorry but everytime Lugo is on screen I shout “LUGO” in my mind.

- OH WHAT, Nasir has on this super intense (and fucking gorgeous) face when Lugo starts fighting.

-  HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ACTUALLY SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE GOT A FUCKING HISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Okay but in all this tumbling and fighting, what the fuck happened to Agron. One minute he was on the ground under Sedullus, now he disappeared?!

-  I love this huge brawl more than anything. BUT I have issue with pairing Mira and Saxa together. They do it because they are both females and it’s a huge feminist thing right? (I ain’t hating on feminism at all here) but Saxa is a fighter with immense skill and Mira is not, at all. She is just learning how to fight, she’s nowhere near the level that Saxa is. It seems stupid to pair them together just because they are both girls. It’s almost an insult to Saxa, she should be fighting someone as skilled as she is.

- Sparty and Oenomaus taking shit down with one hit is everything!

-  Despite everything I said about Saxa and Mira fighting, seeing Mira kicking ass is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! QUEEN MIRA!

- Agron has suddenly materialized from nowhere to fight Sedullus again, okay sure.

-  Oh shit, dude right over the fire.

-   There is the briefest of seconds were I’m worried for Agron’s life, and clearly so is he!

-   Seriously, I get so annoyed with the editing sometimes. One clip, Agron is on his back, next clip he’s on all fours, clip after that he’s on his back again. C’mon people!

-  Where is Nasir though? Who did he end up fighting? Did he win? Did he aggravate his wounds?

-  That face slicing though is fucking brutal. Holy shit. I remember when I first saw it I had a few moments of “oh that’s gross”, then it was “shit that’s kinds cool”, to “super fake but I appreciate the shot”. Now all I can think is that it’s so fucking extra. SERIOUSLY, Spartacus has no idea why the fight broke out, he honestly has no reason to kill Sedullus but he does it anyways……. I don’t think that’s a good leader, even if it does work in Sparty’s favour.

-  Also that brain is a little stupid.

-  OH I SEE NASIR, I have no idea who he was fighting though.

-  I fucking hate the look Sparty gives Agron. He’s so clearly telling Agron that he is not in charge of the Germans….WHY DON’T YOU FUCKING DO THIS TO CRIXUS TOO!!!!

-   Aww, Nasir’s all bloody. I’m weirdly proud!

- Also, Sparty’s speech about animals and being brothers ….. the rebels were fighting the German’s too, so is he calling the rebels animals too?

-   Fuck, Agron’s speech. I’m not ready for the feels…. THE LOOK OF UTTER SURPIRISE ON SPARTACUS’ FACE WHEN AGRON DECLARES HIS LOYALTY MAKES ME KINDA MAD, Agron has never not been loyal to Sparty, fuck you Sparty.

-   Agron basically renouncing his kin for Sparty….it honestly breaks my heart, and not in the good way. CAN’T AGRON JUST HAVE SOME HAPPINESS FOR ONCE!

- Ooohhh I love the way Lugo says “Sedullus”.

-  “Lugo follow.” –guys, I seriously love Lugo.

-  OH OH IT’S THE BEATING OF WEAPONS THING!!!!! SHIT MAN THE BROTHERHOOD DID THIS TO DURO WHEN HE PROVED HIMSELF AGAINST CRIXUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS EPISODE IS GIVING ME SO MANY DURO FEELS! WTF!!!!! I’M SO EMOTIONAL!

- Agron beating his chest, what a sweetie.

-  Oooohhhhhh I see you Nemetes! Shit, I never saw him being so hesitant and wary and not actually giving a shit about Spartacus and his cause….i thought this whole Nemetes being a dick was a WotD thing, BUT IT STARTS FROM THE FUCKIGN BEGINNING. Shit man, I feel like there’s so much of this show that I missed.

- Why is Ganni always at a whorehouse.

-  Seriously what is with all these blue dresses lately?! BUT LUCRETIA IS A FUCKING GODDESS WALKING THE HALLS WITH THE FLOWY DRESS!

-  I don’t even have words for Seppia and Glaber sex.

-  I’m smiling so much at how brutal everything is, and seeing Ganni fight always makes me smile.

-  “Gannicus has made his decision.” –and in such a beautiful way. I love how he killed Ashur’s guy, it was beautiful and him giving up the Rudis is also beautiful and in this one moment in time I really like Ganni.

- I have the urge to watch GotA now.

-  Lucretia should stop scheming with anyone but Ilithyia. All these men she tries to persuade do the exact opposite of what she wants.

[athicfa]

Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 #27 Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #1 Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #201 Spider-Man Vol 1 #35 Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #379 Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #202 Spider-Man Vol 1 #36 Web of Spider-Man Vol 1 #102 Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #380 Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #2

The 90′s Maximum Carnage event!

Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 #27

Felicia’s story has her stealing back a painting that was stolen from an art museum. Another good use for her talents.

Solo shows up and kills a bunch of people, to which she is RIGHTFULLY MORTIFIED WHAT THE FUCK SOLO

She gets the painting and leaves. That’s pretty much it.

Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #1

CARNAGE

HARRY’S DEAD RIP MY DUDE

So...is Shriek gonna be Felicia’s rival while Peter deals with Carnage?

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #201

Feel like I’m missing an issue somewhere because we start with Eddie and Felicia both in a bad state because of Carnage. I’ll figure it out later I guess.

Felicia talking mad shit to Venom when she knows he could rip her apart is such vibe for her character istg

Now she’s mad at Peter for saving her instead of taking out carnage because, and I quote, “my life doesn’t mean a thing when you weigh it against the slaughter that could be going on out there right now.” and OUCHHHHHHH

Peter refuses to work with Venom and Felicia’s upset because she says they all need to work together. Venom leaves and Felicia goes with him. OOF OOF OOF OOF

Fe and Venom meet up with Cloak, who’s still having issues since Dagger died but wants to help.

“NO MORE MERCY FROM SPIDER-MAN!!!!” uhhhh Peter you okay my dude???? obviously not but Peter????? please??????? we need at least one person to NOT be having a breakdown right now

Spider-Man Vol 1 #35

I feel like this was supposed to come before Spectacular Spider-Man #201 because Eddie just showed up to tell Peter that Carnage is back and Peter goes to Felicia for advice. And her advice is that they should work with Venom.

Peter hates the idea but Felicia goes to find Venom anyway. So he reluctantly follows her to join up too.

Ah there’s Cloak too

Yeah they get wrecked. Building’s on fire and falling apart. Felicia’s unconscious and so is Venom so Peter stops chasing Carnage to save them, hence the argument at the beginning of Spectacular Spider-Man #201.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #379

Look the whole “tied storylines” gimmick was okay when it was just the Amazing Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man series that you have to go back and forth between, but now there’s like four or five that you have to keep up with for this Maximum Carnage event and it’s just too much tbh.

They’ve all grouped up again (did I miss an issue again or time skip idk at this point). They’re diving into Carnage’s past to uncover his weaknesses.

Venom suggests getting Reed Richard’s sonic gun and Felicia suggests they recruit Johnny to torch carnage. But unfortunately the FF are out of town according to Peter. So they tease me with the idea of recruiting Firestar and THEY BETTER DELIVER

a tease that maybe Dagger ISN’T dead after all since Cloak can still teleport

MORBIUS YOU GLORIOUS BASTARD

Peter stops a carjacking in the middle of a bunch of mob violence and almost gets shot, but Felicia kicks the gun. She chides him for getting distracted but tbh not sure if I like this scene. Better ways for them to get the point across that Peter’s torn between tracking Carnage and dealing with the rioting.

There’s more than mob mentality driving everyone to chaos obviously

Aunt May almost got mugged but Richard Parker said “not today motherfucker”

“Lighten up Venom. You’re gonna get ulcers.” I love my smart ass cat girl.

FIRESTAR!!!!! I LOVE THE COSTUME CHANGE TOO!!!!!

Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 #202

dude honestly I gotta agree with Felicia here, the more they all sit and argue about morality, the more time they waste and more people die. It’s not as big of an issue in the other concurrent series so why Spectacular Spider-Man continuously repeats the same morality crisis every two pages is baffling to me. Also feels weirdly ooc for Peter because they treat him like his attitude is “I don’t care if more innocent people are dying I can’t get my hands dirty no matter what” which is NOT IT CHIEF and conflicts with his characterization in the past and in the concurrent series. And now they’ve pulled in Firestar to the argument for an excuse to drag it out more which is headache-inducing. I love a good morality conflict within a hero but this is not the right way to communicate that. Amazing Spider-Man is actually handling this better than Spectacular Spider-Man, but tbh the standards aren’t that high.

These panels are literally on the next page and communicate Peter’s moral dilemma MUCH better than all of the ridiculous arguing up to this point. They could have left it at this and it would have been fine.

Venom’s pissed because Firestar stopped in the middle of killing Carnage and he regenerated, so the team’s falling apart again.

“...the way would make itself known” CUE EPIC CAPTAIN AMERICA INTRO

Spider-Man Vol 1 #36

Team got their shit together I guess and now they’re harassing Jameson for some reason

WHERE’S CAP THEY PROMISED ME CAP

Iron Fist!?

I feel like some of the previous issues were out of order again but I’m not sure. I think it’s just the inconsistency between the concurrent runs.

They ripped the symbiote off of Cletus and since he’s not a threat anymore Peter stops Venom from killing him. K. Good. Morality resolution.

nevermind the symbiote has permanently bonded with his bloodstream

Web of Spider-Man Vol 1 #102

This one’s out of order too I’m so done with this event I’m just gonna breeze through this. Felicia’s not doing much anyway except fighting, getting hurt, or trying to talk Peter through his morality crisis (or argue with him about it).

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #380

They’ve got Venom captive after the last Spectacular Spider-man issue. Now they better give me the Cap team-up they promised me or I’ll riot.

OH FUCK IS THAT SPAWN??? WHAT????

all these people just see Captain America and realize they’re being foolish I FUCKING CAN’T WITH THIS SERIES LMAOOO

Felicia’s been side-lined apparently??? Issues must be out of order AGAIN.

so done with all this switching around istg

this is the exact opposite of what her attitude has been for this entire event so looks like they’re back butchering her characterization again.

Spider-Man Unlimited Vol 1 #2

THAT’S BETTER

she’ caves and goes to help Peter of course

Eddie saves them all and then slinks away before anyone can figure out if he’s alive or dead

the Avengers are here! A little too late but the post-crisis pep talk is appreciated.

“you need to have a little faith, pretty lady!” oh Peter

THANK GOD IT’S OVER OMFG

[stuffandsundry]

Arc 1: The Beat Riders

Premise

Most of the early episodes don't need to change all that much, compared to later--

Ah. Shit. I forgot to address my beef with Kaito. ok gimme a sec uhh. Ok. Okokok so here we go. I'm not gonna do this for all the characters because mostly, character introductions are fffffairly okay. Some are better than others but like, they're all at least workable… except. HIM. Kaito, the most out of all the gaim characters, makes zero sense so im gonna throw EVERYTHING out and try to extrapolate something based off of backstory given from Gaiden and canon and a little bit of real riders. Hope it makes sense. So, recap of backstory: Kaito's family used to be decently middle class and he played near the shrine tree, until Yggdrasil came in and bought them out. Kaito's dad didn't really know what to do after losing his purpose in life and turns to drinking/gambling, and they rapidly lose whatever money they had gotten from the corporation, dad becomes abusive, parents kill themselves and Kaito is left at an orphanage and grows up bitter and vaguely traumatized. Gets into a lot of fights at school, is a history nerd, etc. Cool, that's workable. Extrapolation from that for this scenario (oh yeah also, I did say girl now, it's Keiko now)

Keiko rreally hates Yggdrasil. If they had never moved in, maybe her family could have stayed together.

She's always looking for something to challenge her- she saw her family "give up" early on, and she doesn't want to end up like them. Struggle as proof that she's alive? No sympathy for people who've given up fighting, in her eyes.

Related to Point 2. Believes in a fair fight. There's no use in beating down someone clearly weaker than you, and anyone who does that is a coward and a bully. And if you need to lie to someone to beat them, then that doesn’t count as an actual victory. Wants to be acknowledged as the best by her own power.

A lot of pride. Doesn't like accepting help or depending on others/seeming weak. Talks big but also has a lot of like. Self-worth issues, thinks that people have to be "worth" something to be allowed to live, which comes from being abandoned by family so young.

Listen I know that this is a Very Standard anime rival lone wolf archetype but it didn't get to be a standard because it /Didn't/ Work, also I got really attached to Keiko halfway through typing this just let me have this please, I rarely if ever see it applied to girls,

Actually, the soccer episode also gave me the idea that Keiko would be the type of person that just. Rolls with things, no matter how vaguely ludicrous they are. Re: canon soccer episode. What are you gonna do when you get punched in the gut, sending you to an alternate dimension where the city wasn't destroyed and everyone uses the power of the drivers to play soccer? Clearly, become the best damn armored soccer player ever. That's such a funny trait I'm keeping it. It would be such a good source of deadpan comedy. Example: in high school Keiko was a delinquent who got into fights, how did she end up captain of a dance team? Nobody knows. (Most likely: somebody tried to insult her by saying that she couldn't dance for shit and she decided that the best way to rise to this challenge was to… take over a dance team and make them teach her.) Simultaneously zero chill and weirdly chill. Chill about all the wrong things.

Okay, back to plot. Only minor changes for the first 14 episodes, which I'm collecting into an arc--

Instead of Micchy becoming Ryugen, I wanna say that Micchy shows the rest of the Beat Riders the driver he got from Sid ahead of time and Mai sees her chance and asks him to give it to her. Because on one hand, Mai's grateful that Kouta's staying behind because Yuuya's gone missing and Mai isn't sure that she can handle being the final word of authority in Gaim, but on the other, Mai's kinda annoyed that Kouta stayed behind because it's like he doesn't trust her to be able to protect the team. Just because she's doubting herself doesn't mean that he should! She wants to stand on equal level with Kouta, so the driver. Micchy does give Mai the driver, because he cares a lot about Mai.  However, subconsciously or not, he was looking forwards to being the one of the people that the team relied on, so a seed of resentment is also planted here. This colors his decisions in favor of keeping things secret from the rest of the team moving forwards as well.

Within the team, Mai and Micchy more-or-less switch roles, except that Micchy is also finding out a lot of Yggdrasil's-- and his sister's-- secrets in the meantime, so he's still extremely relevant. This way, there's a character arc set up for both Mai and Micchy-- Mai needs to learn that Gaim will follow her (like they did when Yuuya was around) not for her fighting ability or anything, but because she cared about people and wanted to make them happy. Mai realizes that she didn't need to change in order to become a strong leader, because she was already a strong leader and she just needed to trust in herself. On the other hand, Micchy's going to eventually realize that staying quiet about things that upset him is actively working to make his life worse because his friends and family aren't mind readers and they can't tell if they did something to upset him if he doesn't verbalize it. And if his friends and family really, truly care about him, then they'd be upset at THEMSELVES about hurting him, not at him. His secretive martyrdom is a ticking time bomb for everyone.

Ah yeah, one plot change I have to mention here: Keiko doesn't want the other teams to be her vassals because what's the fucking point, Team Baron is the best anyways. (That entire thing was a little. Hm. Idk how much sense it made, man. And it only lasted like two episodes so there was no point to it except to show that Kaito was an asshole even???) So in this 'verse, the reason that she gives Hase and Jo more powerful lockseeds in the first place is because. Gaim is the only real challenger to Baron, which means that theres only one person that she can fight meaningfully and that’s boring as shit. Raid Wild and Invitto still want to fight, they're just lacking the means. The only real surprise is that they come after her with drivers, which she didn't know they had. She has mixed feelings about the sneak attack. On one hand, maybe Hase and Jo are stronger than she thought they were! On the other, those motherfucking SNAKES,

Oh wow I just realized that having Keiko instead of Kaito makes that scene where Mai goes into the forest alone and Baron finds her… really gay. Mai bandaging Keiko's arm and they talk about their childhoods together… Mai remembers that Keiko would always watch her dance and Keiko tells her she was too shy to go up and say hi… Mai's deal wanting to protect those that she holds dear and all that jazz, while Keiko's a cynical SOB. ( By the by, Kouta's not super concerned with Mai being in there until he remembers ah. Mai doesn't have a Lock Vehicle so she can't get out, and the white armored rider is in there, which is when he rushes in like a fool. Except he's on his own while Mai is with Keiko, so it ends up being Kouta who has to get rescued, etc, etc. a lot of early stuff goes this way tbh. Small changes, but overall plot stays same so im not gonna outline it all.)

Takako's thing is a lot more. Okay. Bear with me here. I feel she'd def be far more defensive than Takatora was, because she's got a lot more to prove, and she's pretty isolated-- again, handing out the drivers wasn't her idea, and she's not getting the respect someone else might get at her job level, it's really stressful but Takako's kept going because the people around her-- Ryumi and the other scientists-- say that this is all going to work. Enter Akira. (YEAH. YOU HEARD ME. KAZURABA AKIRA DESERVES A BIGGER ROLE FUCK YALL)

Akira works for Yggdrasil-- she used to be part of a subsidiary, but her last project just got wrapped up, and she was reassigned to Takako's division as junior project manag-- what the fuck. Oh my god?? Is THIS what Yggdrasil's doing? WAIT THAT'S HER LITTLE BROTHER, SHE RECOGNIZES THAT SUIT. If you have Akira and Takako working together I feel that a lot more is viable here, you could compare and contrast Akira's ideals and Takako's. You can def. challenge Takako's ideology that a little risk and loss now is worth the gains that studying Helheim will grant in the future. Akira can act as audience substitute, basically. She's here to yell "SUPERVISOR KURESHIMA, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, WHAT THE HELL" as takako eventually realizes that… possibly… maybe Akira has a point. She's spent so long chasing the company's bottom line she forgot things like, you know, empathy. The problem is, does she realize this too slowly to do any good? Also, what does Ryumi think about Takako's convictions wavering?

So while we're getting introduced to the main players of the Yggdrasil corporation through Akira, the Beat Rider side asks the questions: Who made these drivers, and why give them out to us? And whats with the strange forest? Which eventually leads us into the Christmas game, and the Yggdrasil base camp incident. Kouta learns considerably less than he did (seriously, how did those scientists not get suspicious) but he does learn: this forest is called Helheim, the scientists here work for yggdrasil, and that the Sengoku is the scientist in charge of this project. And then they realize that kouta isn't a yggdrasil employee and raise the alarm except oh no, that’s the moment that the inves attack and suddenly they have more to worry about. Again, minor changes. Kouta sees his sister at the Yggdrasil base but doesn't get the chance to talk to her, everything else can basically go as it did… incluuuding Hase.

Okay. Hase.

Here's how this works. His driver gets broken, okay, fine. Jo doesn't abandon him right away. Even if he's kind of an aggressive musclehead, they've still been working together for a while. But she's not enough to fight alone, and Hase can see that it's really only a matter of time before Jo's goodwill runs out. So he eats the fruit! And does not turn into a monster right away. Instead, it gives him the power that he was looking for this entire time-- he is able to fight on even level as the rest of the armored riders, even though his belt is broken, and it looks like everything is okay. With this, some of the other Beat Riders are considering eating the fruit too. Why's everyone so worried anyways? Besides, they look delicious… however, Micchy points out that Yggdrasil handles the fruits with the utmost caution, and that just because there are no visible harmful effects doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous, etc.

Kouta and Akira also sit down to have a talk about the driver over dinner one night-- they've both been kind of keeping secrets from each other. Akira tries to convince Kouta to stop using the driver because she knows that it's dangerous but isn't sure if Kouta knows that (remember, last time she saw Kouta using the driver in person was Episode 2 shenanigans) -> Kouta shows his sister that yeah, he knows that this isn't a joke, but he wants to help people like she raised him to do. Right now, they need the drivers to fight. Akira relents because he's right, but promises him that after the immediate crisis is over, they're going to have to have another talk about this. Kouta plans to bring his sister to the Gaim garage so that she can brief everyone on everything she's overheard in her the short time she's been working as Takako's assistant, but that'll have to wait until the weekend when she's free. Meanwhile, important stuff is going on in the rest of the city. Show that the beat riders have been losing their audience because of a sudden string of disappearances in Zawame (caused by ppl eating the fruits), and the police are encouraging most people to stay home. Not a lot of people are willing to go outside anymore-- they're scared, and rightfully so. Inves attacks are growing more frequent.

This is pretty frustrating for most of the Beat Riders, especially because people are telling them to break it up and just go home too. More and more Inves are showing up, too… And then some official or something shows up one day and says that until ZPD solves the mystery of the disappearances, the stages are going to be closed. And this is when Hase snaps. See, Hase has been using the belt for a while, so he's built up some immunity to the Helheim fruit's effects. (He doesn't lose it immediately like Yuuya did) But it's still not enough. He'd been acting erratically. More aggressive, recently. And today's the last straw. Hase gets into an argument with the official, it starts getting ugly, Jo steps in between them and…. Hase transforms into an Inves. People are taking pictures of it and everything-- even though the Beat Riders Hotline shuts down the live camera feed quickly, its not fast enough. And Hase goes after Jo. Kouta and Mai run over to pull him off of her and he runs off and everyones going???????

Hase holes up in a warehouse somewhere and mostly transforms back except for hand and he's terrified, he doesn't know what's going on. Jo finds him first and yells at him HEY WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, DUDE which, while totally understandable, does nothing for Hase's stress levels. He transforms into an Inves and runs out onto the street, where the others, still searching for Hase, stumble onto him. They end up fighting near Charmant and Oren comes out to see what the fuss was all about, he ends up joining the fight. Hase's lashing out in fear and pain but also he's putting civilians at risk, so the Beat Riders are forced to fight him even though they're well-aware that they can't just like, do a murder. Meanwhile, Keiko gets cornered in Helheim by Youko and Takako, and she is captured. Takako leaves halfway into the battle because she gets word that they've tracked down a Beat Rider that became an Inves and she has to take care of it ASAP. Kouta, Mai, and Jo are still fighting Hase (and also Oren, who doesn't really know what's going on and is trying to kill the inves) without actually trying to fight Hase when Takako shows up. She tells them that that Inves is no longer human and tries to put an arrow right through him, with intent to kill. When the smoke clears…

Jo falls to her knees, because she protected Hase. In the shocked silence afterwards, Jo tells Hase to run. She doesn't know whats going on! And maybe Hase can be kind of a jerk sometimes, and really annoying, he's still her friend, and she doesn't want to see him die. Hase regains some degree of control over his transformation and he backs away, runs off. Takako tries to go after him but is blocked by Kouta, who tells them to get Jo out of there and he'll handle the white armored rider. Spoiler alert: he can't handle the white armored rider, but he bought enough time for the rest of them to get out. Kouta is taken in by Yggdrasil.

I think this is a good place to stop for now, so I'll do more later. Okay, see you around!

[notarelationship]

Clinging to This Hating Game 2/?

For the @prompt-a-klainefic blog’s 2017 Reverse Bang

Link to the art by @datshitrandom

the prompt:

Kurt and Blaine couldn’t stand each other in high school, maybe one was a jock/cheerleader and the other a nerd/glee clubber. Or they were bitter rivals for competition solos if they were both in glee club. Now they both live in NY and their friends set them up on a blind date, not knowing they went to the same high school.

High School AU, Cheerio!Kurt, Jock!Blaine Rating: Explicit Warnings:  some bullying and homophobic language, teenage sex Word Count: ~4500 (this chapter)

Happy Birthday!! and thanks to my superbeta @mshoneysucklepink. I think I rewrote this chapter 3 times so she had her work cut out for her.

Everything wonky is my fault.

AO3 link chapter 2

tumblr chapter 1

-

Chapter 2

Kurt almost didn’t think about it at all.

Senior year started in less than a week, and Cheerios practice had started the week before and he had plenty of things to think about instead. He did. He didn’t have time to waste on thoughts of fumbling hands and pretty eyes and orgasms shared with anyone. He didn’t.

--

“Ready for your final year of academic domination?” Quinn asked slipping her arm through his as they walked through the parking lot, Santana and Brittany stepped right in line with them. Kurt grinned.

“As long as Harriet Gomez doesn’t pull off enough extra credit to make up for tanking her Chemistry final last year, I think I’ve got it nailed down.”

“Just so you don’t forget -”

“That I wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t blown your sophomore year. Of course Quinn, you’d never let me.”

That first morning went more or less as usual, with syllabi and class behavior requirements handed out and gone over with little attention paid by the students. By the time Kurt’s lunch period arrived his book bag was weighed down by an advanced Calculus textbook, a copy of The Invisible Man, an exam schedule for AP World History and a request to bring a box of tissues from each teacher.

Kurt loaded his tray with the few healthy items he could find and then sat at his regular table in the cafeteria, where Quinn, Santana and Brittany were already seated.

“Anyone see the new kid yet?”

“There’s a new kid?” Kurt wasn’t really that interested in new students at this point. No one was going to challenge his status in the Cheerios, not this year, and it was highly doubtful that someone could transfer in now and upset his run at valedictorian. In a year he’d be out of McKinley and out of Ohio and wouldn’t have to think about any of these people ever again.

“Yeah, apparently some brainy rich-kid.”

“New guy?” Quinn looked interested.

“Focus Quinn.” Kurt pointed his spoon at her. “You are better than all of these losers.” Kurt held up a curled pinky finger and Quinn hooked her own around it in solidarity. He pulled the top off his yogurt and turned back to Santana. “How brainy?”

Santana clicked her tongue. “Valedictorian-level brainy, Elf-Lord.”

“I thought transfer students couldn’t qualify for valedictorian at this point?”

“Britt says that she heard Coach Sylvester fighting about it with Figgins and Coach Beiste in the office. Apparently he used to be at some snooty private school and his parents are insisting he be given consideration for the top spot or they are going to send him somewhere else, so they’re considering it.”

“And he’s a football star,” Brittany said. “They think college scouts will come to see him play and maybe some of the other boys will get offered spots too.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “That explains it.”

“I don’t see anyone new.” Kurt looked around the cafeteria, landing on the football table. “Do we know what his name is?”

“Blaine something.” Brittany said. They all looked at her. “What? I was filing student arrest reports in the office when they were talking about him.”

Kurt looked at his yogurt. It wasn’t possible, was it? He steadied himself and turned to look at Brittany. “Blaine?”

“Someone you know?” Quinn asked.

“No.” Kurt schooled his face back into his everyday indifference and shrugged. It was a coincidence. It had to be. Party-Blaine had said he was an OSU sophomore. And he was way too small to be a football player, if the goons at McKinley were an accurate example of the type. He popped a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. “I thought Blaine was a girls name.”

--

Apparently the new kid’s parents got what they wanted from the school administration, because when Kurt walked into glee club for his final period of the day there was a new kid standing at the front of the class listening to Rachel Berry suggest that there was no possible way he could keep up with her on Broadway standards and proposition him for duets in nearly the same breath.

Kurt did a double take, then looked deliberately at his regular seat at the back of the risers and marched there. His hair was curlier, and he was wearing loose jeans, a McKinley high football t-shirt that still had the fold lines running down the sides, and worn sneakers - but Kurt was sure. It was the same Blaine from the summer. Blaine who was apparently not an OSU sophomore. Blaine who had seen him with his pants down. Blaine who had jerked him off until he came. The first, and only, boy to ever touch him like that.

They couldn’t know each other, and Kurt definitely did not want to have to explain to anyone how they did. Maybe Blaine wouldn’t recognize him and he wouldn’t even have to acknowledge it. Kurt calmly took his seat near the back with Quinn and the girls as everyone got ready to watch the new recruits, but his stomach was twisting into knots.

There were a half dozen new kids there to audition, including Blaine, and Mr. Schuester had them all sitting in the front row. They went down the line, and the first three weren’t bad. Kurt wouldn’t throw too much of a fit if they were added to the group. Clearly none of them were going to challenge him for competition solos. He knew he wouldn’t be the main soloist, Mr. Schuester would probably pick Finn for that, but now that he was a senior he was definitely going to get more opportunities to sing in competition.

Then Blaine got up in front of the class. Kurt had to admit that in the light of day he was still cute. He had a sweet, enthusiastic smile, and while Kurt thought the more gelled look he’d sported over the summer gave off a more sophisticated image, his short hair was neat enough.

Then Blaine opened his mouth.

His audition song was “Put on a Happy Face,” and he killed it. The minute he started singing he was fully into the song, performing, flirting, charming everyone in the room, even Brad - their piano player, and he hated everyone. He even pulled a very willing Rachel out of her seat and danced around her as he finished the song.

Kurt deflated. There was no way he could compete with that, even with his unique vocal talents. Blaine was exactly the lead male vocal they never quite had. Finn and Puck could hold their own, and his own vocals always turned heads and ears in competition, but even in the tiny McKinley High choir room Kurt could tell. Blaine was an expert showman.

“Blaine that was fantastic!” Mr. Schuester gushed as everyone applauded. “I think your addition will really open up a lot of possibilities for the group this year.”

Blaine smiled at Mr. Schuester, clearly soaking up the praise from the teacher as well as the other members of the glee club, who were all gathered around him slapping him on the back and touching him. Kurt sat back in his chair and scowled, Quinn and Santana flanking him on either side.

“No love for the new kid, Hummel?” Santana asked.

“He’s a showboat. And he’s going to steal all my parts.”

--

The next day Kurt arrived late to calculus to find Blaine already filling one of the extra seats - thankfully across the room from where Kurt sat. Blaine was also in his English class and his gym class, and in his afternoon biology class as well as glee club. He never so much as glanced at Kurt, so maybe Blaine really didn’t recognize him. Kurt supposed he did look different; he wore his Cheerios uniform and his hair was styled differently.

That was probably a good thing. Kurt really didn’t want anyone to know what had happened. He hadn’t even told Quinn.

Later, in the locker room after Cheerios practice, any hope that Blaine hadn’t recognized him disappeared.

“So I guess you meant you’re going to be at NYU next year?”

Kurt grimaced and turned to look at Blaine.

“This isn’t exactly your sophomore year at OSU,” Kurt snapped. “We both lied. So? It’s not like it matters to anyone.” Blaine nodded once, but looked at the lockers instead of Kurt’s face. Kurt could only imagine one thing Blaine would be worried about. He went back to dressing himself. “Don’t worry, I won’t out you.”

Blaine shrugged and looked surprised. “My teammates know I’m gay. It’s not a secret.”

Kurt turned to look at Blaine, who was looking at him too, now. “The football team knows you’re gay?”

“Sure.”

“And they didn’t beat the crap out of you and throw you in a dumpster?”

Blaine’s face darkened, but he shook his head. “No, should they have?”

“Well lucky you.” Kurt said sourly, and turned back to his locker. He really didn’t feel like having to explain to Blaine how things were at McKinley. He’d figure out what neanderthals he was playing with soon enough. Blaine stood there, not really watching as Kurt pulled on his shirt - post practice he could wear his own clothes - but he didn’t say anything. “Did you need something else?” Kurt asked. He wanted out of this conversation.

Blaine looked like he was about to say something, but the rest of the football team started to stagger in from practice, and he snapped his mouth shut. Kurt grabbed his assortment of hair product out of his locker.

“Excuse me, I have places to be.” Blaine stepped aside so Kurt could get to the communal mirrors. As he did his hair he watched Blaine’s interactions with the rest of the team. They didn’t flinch, didn’t call him names, didn’t insist he leave the locker room before they would get into the shower.

Instead they joked around, talked about football and what they were doing on the weekend. Kurt wasn’t trying to listen.

“So I bet gay dudes get a lot of dick in an all boys school, huh?” It was Puck. Kurt rushed out of the locker room without waiting to hear the answer to that question.

--

“I don’t know, I think he’s kinda cute,” Quinn said a few days later at lunch.

“Keep it in your pants Quincy, word on the street is that he’d prefer Little Miss Hummel here,” Santana answered.

“Really? Kurt you should get to know him,” Quinn suggested. “Maybe he can help you with your goal of actually having sex before you leave high school.”

Kurt’s insides chilled. If only she knew. Somehow he managed to convince his outsides to make a disgusted face. “Absolutely not. Not my type.”

“Don't be ridiculous Hummel, given your options in this high school hell pit your type should be gay and breathing,” Santana said. “Beggars can’t be picky assholes.”

“I don’t think that’s how it goes, Santana,” Brittany whispered.

“No, I think it is, sweetie,” Santana squeezed Brittany’s arm and smiled.

Kurt glared at Santana. “You're disgusting.”

“I'm just saying Kurt. Even I can tell that's a fine piece of man ass.” Santana turned her body around as if trying to catch a glimpse of said ass. “Well, boy ass.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “I'll stick with no thanks.”

“This is why unicorns are extinct,” Brittany observed.

--

For the next week Kurt managed to avoid most interactions with Blaine. He went about his day without having to speak to him, despite their numerous shared classes, and Mr. Schuester hadn’t managed to pair them up for any insane weekly lesson yet (of course the fact that Rachel would barely let Blaine out of her sight probably helped Kurt in this area). They were occasionally in the locker room at the same time, but since most of the guys tolerated rather than accepted Kurt in that space he easily avoided any interaction there.

They even managed to avoid each other after the first football game, since it was at Lima Central and the Cheerios traveled separate from the football team - Coach Sue preferred as little fraternization between the two groups as possible. Luckily the novelty of dating football players seemed to wear off for most Cheerios after only a couple of months of knowing them. Kurt didn’t exactly have first hand experience in that area.

But their second game was at McKinley, and Kurt couldn't avoid being in the locker room with the football team entirely.

Sue had kept them on the sideline after the game to chew them out about a mistake no one could have noticed, so Kurt was late getting into the shower and was just getting out, a towel wrapped around his waist, when the football team came in.

“What are you doing here princess? You're supposed to be dressed by the time we get in here.” It was Dave Karofsky.

“Hoping you’ll get a peek?” Kurt drawled and walked away in the direction of his locker.

“You wish.”

“Is that really the best you can do?” Kurt taunted. He went about his usual routine, but dressing quickly and keeping one ear open for trouble anyway. “Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought tonight.”

“Shut up, fruitcake.” It was Karofsky’s lackey, Azimio.

“What did you say?” Blaine had come from around the other side of the bank of lockers opposite where Kurt was standing. He was obviously talking to Azimio.

Kurt frowned. He didn’t need Blaine to get involved.

“Whatever,” Kurt said, turning back to his locker. He just wanted Blaine to go away. “Between the two of them they're about as clever as a post-it note and about as dangerous.” Kurt shouldered his bag and shut his locker.

“Apologize.” Blaine was still talking to Azimio, but a few guys had come over to see what the noise was about.

Now Kurt was annoyed. “I don't need your help,” he said to Blaine. Blaine just stared at him, his mouth a tight line. “I've been dealing with this for years. You just have to ignore them. They’re like gnats.”

“No one should have to deal with it.” Blaine looked pained. Kurt felt a flash of sympathy for the boy, but he let it pass.

“I'm sure your fancy prep school had all sorts of progressive policies,” Kurt said with disdain. “None of that applies here.” They were starting to draw a crowd and Kurt wanted to get out of there before he said something he’d regret.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Blaine turned and was facing Kurt now, the other boys’ insults apparently forgotten.

Kurt tried not to let his eyes wander. Blaine still had on his pads and pants, but was offensively shirtless. There was more hair on his chest than Kurt remembered.

“It means that out here no one is going to be nice to you just because some school administrator told them they have to - and, newsflash, no administrator in this school is even going to go that far. And that Azimio is an animal.” Kurt started to walk away, but turned back to Blaine. “And I've been dealing with this forever,” he added. “I don't need your help.” Kurt stormed out of the locker room, leaving Blaine standing with his mouth open, gawking with the rest of the football team.

--

After their near-altercation in the locker room Blaine seemed to be taking just as much care to avoid Kurt as Kurt did avoiding Blaine. They didn’t have to interact at all outside of glee club and they didn’t. Even football games provided enough other distractions that they could simply avoid talking to each other.

Kurt did notice that Blaine had become friends with Tina Cohen-Chang from glee club and her boyfriend Mike Chang. They were nice enough people, Kurt supposed, but he didn’t really know them outside of glee. They were kind of nerdy.

They all spent time with another kid named Beckham Lee, another senior Kurt had in a few classes over the years. Kurt didn’t know Beckham that well though, since he wasn’t in glee club or a Cheerio, or on the football team, but Kurt had always had a sneaking suspicion he might be gay too. The fact that Beckham was hanging out with Blaine so much just confirmed it in Kurt’s mind. And that was fine, if he wanted to put up with Blaine he was welcome to him. Kurt did have to give Beckham’s parent’s props though for being bold enough to name their son after a Spice Girl.

One afternoon in glee Mr. Schuester tried to pair everyone up by pulling names out of a bag, Project Runway style. Kurt was not at all shocked that his name was pulled to pair with Blaine, that was just how his year was going. He could be a team player, though. He needed as many things on his transcript as possible if he wanted to get into NYADA and move to New York, and the more they all worked together the better they would be and the better chance they’d have to move past Regionals.. . But he didn’t need to make it easy on Blaine, so he didn’t hide his irritation at the announcement.

“Mr. Schue can I sing with someone else?” It was Blaine.

Mr. Schue looked around at the class. “Everyone’s already paired up Blaine. Is there some reason you don’t want to sing with Kurt?” Blaine hadn’t turned around from his seat in the front to look at Kurt, but Kurt had frozen in his spot on the riser.

“I really don’t think our voices work that well together,” Blaine answered. Kurt knew that was a lie, the few times they’d had to sing together in group numbers they had sounded great. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared daggers at the back of Blaine’s head.

“I can sing with anyone, Mr. Schue,” Kurt said. Blaine ignored him.

“I would be happy to work with Blaine, Mr. Schue,” Rachel piped up, raising her hand as she spoke. “After all, it’s very likely we’ll be paired together at Sectionals which is just a month away, so we should take some extra time and learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” She threw on a perky grin almost as an afterthought and Kurt shook his head.

“Mr. Schue, I can sing with Kurt.” Mercedes had been paired with Rachel, and Kurt knew she could barely tolerate Rachel’s drama on a good day. “We sound great together.” She turned and winked at Kurt.

Kurt always liked Mercedes, even though they didn’t spend much time together outside of glee club. He was too busy with the Cheerios and keeping his grade point above a 4.1 for much extra socializing. But Mercedes could bring the vocal skills.

Mr. Schuester looked at the class with his usual vaguely confused expression, and clapped his hands together. “Okay great! Now that’s settled everyone get with your partner and we’ll start in ten minutes.”

--

Along with preparing for Sectionals, October brought on homecoming activities for the school, and the pending announcement for the school musical.

Somehow, the addition of Blaine to the football team had actually made the team better, which lead to them winning more games than they lost for the first time in years. Everyone in the school and most of the residents of Lima were all of a sudden excited about the homecoming festivities. That meant more football practice, more cheerleading practice, every club and team making floats for the parade, and generally excited mayhem throughout the school. Kurt had to admit that every once in awhile he even felt a little something that might have been fondness for his school. And maybe his classmates. Maybe.

In the middle of this fresh wave of school spirit, Kurt was eagerly awaiting Mr. Schuester’s announcement of which musical they were going to put on this year. Auditions were open to the entire school, but Kurt was sure that this year - being a senior, he would finally have a decent chance at a lead part.

It was the Monday of homecoming week and they were all gathered in the choir room waiting for Mr. Schuester to come in and break the news.

“Maybe it will be Funny Girl,” Rachel sighed.

“You always think it’s going to be Funny Girl, Rachel,” Tina reminded her.

“You never know Tina. It always pays to have a positive outlook.” Rachel wiggled primly in her seat.

“Little Shop of Horrors could be fun,” Mike suggested. “Or Anything Goes?”

Finn looked uncomfortable. “Isn’t there a lot of dancing in that?”

“Everybody ready?” Mr. Schuester came into the class, rubbing his hands together. Everyone was ready. “I had a bunch of great suggestions for the musical this year, and as you know we have to get the selection approved by the school board now.”

“Really? Why?” Blaine asked from his spot in the front row. The whole class moaned.

“Four words,” said Puck. He raised his hands in front of him, punctuating every word. “Rocky. Horror. Picture. Show.”

“Again I ask, really? You guys did Rocky Horror in a high school? In this high school?” Blaine’s mouth hung open just a bit in astonishment.

“All right, all right, enough of that everyone.” Mr. Schuester interrupted. “I would actually like to thank Blaine for suggesting this year’s musical.”

Kurt held his breath. He may have no time for the boy, but he had to grudgingly admit that he had decent taste in music, at least from what Kurt had seen in school.

“You all remember that Blaine auditioned with a song from Bye Bye Birdie, and I thought that would be a great one for us to try, so I put it on the short list that was submitted to the board, and they approved it! Isn’t that great?”

Everyone murmured, more or less happy with the selection. Kurt could feel his stomach tense up as he counted the members of the glee club against the list in his head of the major parts in the musical. There weren’t enough parts.

“Mr. Schue, if I may?” Kurt raised his hand, getting his teacher’s attention. “There aren’t enough parts in that for all of us.” He swallowed hard. There were probably enough girls parts, but not nearly enough guy parts. And only one Kurt thought he could shine in.

“I think we can make it work. Maybe we’ll double up if it makes sense.” No one liked that idea, if the rumble of random complaints that bubbled through the room meant anything.

Kurt didn’t want to double up, he wanted to play Albert. He glared at the back of Blaine’s head, hoping he might break a leg at the homecoming game.

--

The rest of the week was a blur. Between Cheerios practice (which had been doubled for Homecoming) and picking and rehearsing a song for his Bye Bye Birdie audition Kurt was exhausted almost to hallucination. To top it off two of his teachers insisted on assigning homework projects, and Kurt was not giving up his shot at Valedictorian for anything.

So he gave up sleep instead. He took all his meals in his room, which his dad wasn’t happy about, although between Kurt’s and Finn’s various obligations Burt had adjusted to the erratic nature of meal times so he left Kurt alone. Kurt contemplated giving up eating altogether, but between all the various things he had going on he didn’t want to collapse on the field on Friday. So he grudgingly stuck to his meal plan.

--

Blaine ran for seven touchdowns and caught another three in the end zone in the kind of blowout that only ever happened in high school football games in the Midwest.

“Fuck yeah Anderson!”

“WOOO MCKINLEY!”

“TI-TANS! TI-TANS! TI-TANS”

The locker room after the game was an orgy of sweaty football players and bubbly contraband. Tragically, as far as Kurt was concerned, that did not mean champagne - not even the cheap bubbles from the Rite-Aid that were really only good for pouring over your teammate’s head. Coach Beiste had let them have a case of beer so long as they promised to spray it all over each other and not drink it. Kurt often wondered if he were the only sane person in Ohio.

“Hey man, I couldn't have done it without the great blocks,” Blaine protested through the congratulations of his teammates. “And Finn!” Blaine slapped Finn on the arm as everyone tried to crowd into Blaine's space to congratulate him and themselves. “Great play-calling man.”

Kurt rolled his eyes at his locker, rows away from the celebration. The jerk scored 60 points and he wouldn't even take credit for it. Kurt didn't understand that at all. He'd kill for that kind of recognition from anyone, even his peers.

Mike’s parents were conveniently out of town visiting relatives for a week, so the afterparty was going to be at his house. Kurt showered quickly and dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. He’d brought a change of clothes with him for the party, and was meeting Quinn, Santana and Brittany in the girls bathroom outside of the choir room so they could all get ready together.

He had nearly escaped the boy’s locker room when Finn stopped him with a large paw on his shoulder.

“You coming to the party little brother?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “I am not your little brother Finn. And of course I’ll be at the party. Just going to get ready.”

“You can’t get ready in the locker room like the rest of us?” Blaine snarked as he walked past them both.

“Is this any of your business?” Kurt clapped back.

Blaine held his hands up in front of him and backed away without answering. He was really starting to get on Kurt’s nerves.

“Are you going to need a ride home later?” Kurt turned and asked Finn. “I’m the designated driver tonight so I don’t want to leave without you if you need a lift.”

“Yeah thanks bro, don’t leave without me.” Kurt nodded and left the locker room.

Standing in the half darkened hallway, leaning against the wall of lockers was Beckham Lee, the kid who’d been hanging out with Blaine. He was staring at his phone and startled when the locker room door slammed behind Kurt.

“Hi Beck,” Kurt said. He tried not to smirk.

“Hey Kurt. Are you going to the party?”

Kurt nodded. He had a pretty good idea what Beckham was doing there. “Are you waiting for someone?”

Beckham blushed. “Yeah, um, Blaine said I could get a lift with him.”

“Closet getting a little stifling?” It was out of Kurt’s mouth before he could stop it.

Beckham turned even redder, but he didn’t say anything.

Kurt looked at the other boy for a long moment, and a wave of sympathy rushed through him forcing him to bite back the next snarky thing that wanted to escape.

“Well I hope he’s worth it,” he said instead, then turned to walk away.

Kurt went off to find his girls, regretting volunteering to stay sober tonight. All of a sudden he could really use a drink.

[worstmissionever]

similarities/parallels between bates motel and lost because everything happens for a reason

and i’m a huge lost nerd with too much free time and too much feelings for both tv shows. this post is a mess and it’s just a list of things. there are topics but the single points don’t appear in any order. I WILL SPOILER YOU BOTH SHOWS COMPLETELY, like, the fucking end. 

i do this for fun. carlton cuse both worked on lost and bates motel as a show runner and that’s my only connection. if i see too much, well, that’s me then but it’s FUN.

even if you don’t care about lost or haven’t seen it, it might be interesting...? you could at least read THE RULES until the lost part begins if you want to avoid spoilers.

index: 1. The Rules (BM & Lost part) 2. Dylan Thomas and Romero 3. Mental Institution/Hurley’s and Norman’s Question 4. books and poems 5. alpert vs. romero 6. shapeshifter 7. moving on 8. mother/jacob/men in black vs. norma/norman/mother

1. The Rules + games between certain people

in both shows an important reaccuring theme is the set of rules. rules between people or in certain places, in science... some people play games with each other and have to follow the rules. i start with bates motel.

BATES MOTEL

a) in bates motel you have norman and norma playing their relationship as a game (according to norman in 2x08), to love each other unconditionally. that is the goal. then there were rules which norma changed because the loss of trust between them.

example, 2x08:

norma: Nothing has changed.

norman: Everything has changed. You changed the rules.

norma: What rules? What are you talking about? 

norman: I don't trust you anymore, and that changes everything. Okay, it's all up for grabs now. You no longer know who I am either, because we're different.

norma: What? Stop it. Stop. Stop it, Norman.

norman: It was all just a game. The game was that we were devoted to each other, and no one could ever come between us, that we loved each other more than anyone could ever love another person.

norma: But we do love each other.

norman: Do we? Do we really, mother?

a powerful example of how the rules have changed or maybe what has been part of the rules all along is in 2x10:

norman: How can you ask me to live with this? 

norma: Because I will die if you leave. I will, I'll die, Norman. We're like the same person. If you kill yourself, I'll be there one step after. We have to be together. We're supposed to be together. No matter what, I will be with you every step. I will be right by your side, and we will face this together. Please.

norman: All right, mother. You win.

norma brought up the rule ‘if you die, i will die’ and norman says ‘you win’ when he decides not to kill himself. for her. off-topic: these two situations have been such a turning point for the show, everything changed after that, especially after norman says norma had won. like...another game starts and both of them don’t know the rules yet; if some of the old rules even apply anymore. i loooove that.

b) norman and mother have a similar game ongoing but it’s more vague and the first rule and also goal that stands out is mother’s need to protect norman. norman starts with not wanting to know the truth, with oblivion to what is happening/has happened, then he changes somehow the rules because he wants to know the truth, because their relationship doesn’t work that way anymore.

5x06:

mother: Like Adam wanting all the knowledge and eating the apple in the Garden of Eden, you get the truth, but you also see the pain. We are partners now, Norman. You have no choice. We are on even footing.

their ‘game’ ends when norman knows everything and mother doesn’t need to protect him anymore. somehow they both win in a....tragic way...lol not lol.

5x10:

mother: You know everything now, and there's nothing for me to protect you from.

c) everyone who is involved with the drug business, so basically the whole town. it only works (somehow) because people follow the rules they made up, especially in the beginning it’s ‘an eye for an eye’.

one example in 1x02:

shelby: The people in this town, they deal with things in a different way, but it gets dealt with.

norma: And what about the guy who was burned?

shelby: It'll be dealt with. An eye for an eye. It'll get handled.

you also have sheriff alex romero whose job seems to be to make up cover stories for situations like this.

d) chick mentions the rules in 3x02 when he meets dylan and caleb after they shot his dog.

chick: You know, there's rules, right? We respect the rules. That's how we respect each other, right? If we all understand the rules, then we can coexist. Isn't that right, Dylan? Yeah.

dylan: Yeah, I guess.

e) other rules. of course there are other rules. rules in the police station, ‘standard procedures’. rules in the mental institution, you can see the rules printed there on the wall. 

LOST

a) i will keep it short, lol. ben linus and charles widmore are rivals. charles wants to find the island (again) and ben wants to stop him. when one of widmore’s people threaten to kill ben’s daugther, ben believes that she won’t be harmed because of the ruuuuuules they seem to follow up to this point (4x09)

ben: So if you want to kill her, go ahead and do it—  [long story short, she gets killed] He changed the rules.

i love ben linus and i love norman bates and they say the same, gosh. later in that episode ben finds widmore and confronts him.

widmore: Have you come here to kill me, Benjamin?

ben: We both know I can't do that.

well that is one big rule. he stands right in front of the guy that killed is daugther and is bound by rules. i won’t go into lost-lore to give explanations, lol, that’s not the point right now.

ben: I'm here, Charles, to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it? And once she's gone... once she's dead... then you'll understand how I feel. And you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules.

that sounds a lot like an eye for an eye to me, right? 

widmore: That island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.

ben: But you'll never find it.

widmore: Then I suppose the hunt is on for both of us.

and that’s another example of a game that two characters play.

b) *heavy sigh* okay, another set of rules is brought to you by...MOTHER. yes, you’re still reading the lost part and it’s part of the biggest lost/bates motel parallel EVER, i tell you, i almost CHOKED ON MY EXISTENCE when i noticed it, but more later. first of all:

mother set up rules between her two surrogate children in 6x15:

mother: If they [other people] found you, they would hurt you.

jacob: Why would they hurt us?

mother: Because they're people, Jacob, and that's what people do.

boy in black: But we're people. Does that mean that we can hurt each other?

mother: I've made it so you can never hurt each other.

another imporant things mother says is that they can’t ever leave this island and that both of them ‘don’t have to worry’ about death, meaning they won’t be able to die (that easily, cough). rules.

the boy in black aka the man in black aka the smoke monster’s goal is to leave the island, desperately trying to find a loophole.

which brings us to 

c) the game between jacob and the man in black when they were LITTLE. they played an ancient senet game (imagine old chess or blackgammon). jacob moves a stone on the board, also 6x15.

boy in black: You can’t do that, Jacob.

jacob: Why not?

boy in black: Because it's against the rules.

jacob: You made the rules.

boy in black: I found it. One day, you can make up your own game and everyone else will have to follow your rules.

which brings us to

d) the game between jacob and the man in black when they were OLDER. like i said the man in black wants to find a loophole to leave this island. also, he really wants to kill jacob.

man in black: Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you? 

jacob: Yes. 

man in black: One of these days, sooner or later... I'm going to find a loophole, my friend. 

jacob: Well, when you do, I'll be right here.

there’s more about the three of them in the very end because it’s...a long one. and a messy one.

2. DYLAN THOMAS and Romero

i admit it, it’s...probably made up out of thin air but i love it, okay, it’s my little precious secret lost reference in the end of bates motel and i’m still laughing about it.

5x10. you remember the woman with her two children checking in after norman nearly died in the woods? one son was called dylan. NO, wait for it and hear me out.

norman: His name's Dylan? I have a brother named Dylan.

woman: Yeah? We named him after Dylan Thomas. The poet.

dylan thomas. so i googled that guy. he wrote a poem called ‘and death shall have no dominion’. WAIT FOR IT. 

I will quote wikipedia on you.

In the Season 6 soundtrack of Lost the piece which shares its name with the poem is played while detailing Richard Alpert's life.

Richard Alpert is played by Nestor Carbonell.

HAHA. THIS IS DELIGHTFUL.

Anyway.

3. Mental Institution / Hurley’s and Norman’s question

in both tv shows a character get’s treated in a mental institution and said character sees people that don’t exist but heavily influence their behavior. you got hurley in lost and of course norman in bates motel

but the funnier parallel is in a question both characters ask:

hurley: Did either of you see a guy run through here... in a bathrobe... with a coconut?

norman: When when she was in here, was she with anyone? Or maybe a man, very dark hair, eyes, 6', maybe with the look of an escaped convict?

in both situations, the questioned person somehow doubts if the other one is doing quite well. ok i think it’s funny...

4. book and poem references

in lost and bates motel you will find a lot references to mentioned books and poems, i already wrote three posts about examples in bates motel. (great expectations, fire and ice, the titanic one.)

in lost you have books like mice of men, carrie....and so much more, seriously, it’s lost.

5. Romero in Lost vs. Alpert in Bates Motel, ah shit, the other way 

as you might now, nestor carbonell plays sheriff romero on bates motel and richard alpert on lost and yes, there are similarities.

i want to mention a certain scene in 2x10 bates motel.

romero: I think you're smart enough to understand how things work around here. What you can do, what you can't do. And right now right now, there's a vacuum. Somebody's gonna fill that vacuum. That's as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning.

dylan: I'm not your guy. I didn't sign on for any of this.

romero: Well, somebody's going to, and I want to be sure that person who fills that vacuum, Dylan, understands the rules, because the rules are what make it possible for all of us to live here together in a peaceful manner.

So once again you have the rules here. but also romero who wants to recruit dylan to fill an important role. romero can’t take this job for himself so he needs to find someone who can do the job, someone who knows the rules and keep the balance. 

in lost richard alpert is an advisor to the leader of the island. he can’t ever be leader himself but he helps choosing one. he’s the person between jacob, basically his boss, and the people who come to the island. the scene of romero and dylan in bates motel very much reminded me of his role in lost. and romero is always in the middle between the drug business and the law/the town.

6. shapeshifter

the man in black appears in the shape of different people for the crashed people on the island, to manipulate them. i REALLY need a fanfic where norman lands on the lost island and sees the smoke monster as his mother. that’s just...i have so many feels about that.

7. Moving On

Oh, that’s a nice one, too. in the end of lost, it’s all about moving on. the losties meet in this flash sideways world, get together because they shared such an important part of their lives together, and together they move on. 

that’s pretty much what norman does in the end. when he sees himself in the woods, running towards norma. that’s his moving on. like the losties, norman and norma were always meant to be together and now, joined in the after life, they can move on together.

8. Jacob, the Man in Black, Mother vs. Norman, Mother and Norman

that’s my last one and it’s a tricky one and i won’t be able to give a proper conclusion because you can see it in a lot of different but very interesting ways. it’s long and messy and basically just a mind game so if you’re not into lost and that topic....no shame if you skip it.

6x15 lost plot:

a lonely island. claudia, pregnant, arrives on the island. she gives birth to jacob and another son, we call him the boy in black/man in black. a woman called simply mother (for realz) kills claudia and raises the boys. jacob is blonde, more innocent, does what mother says, wants to be good, in some way. the boy in black is dark haired, the opposite, asks questions, wants more autonomy. one day he learns that mother killed their real mother claudia and wants to join other people on the island. mother doesn’t like that because other people are BAD and forbids it but he goes anyway. he desperately wants to leave the island. meanwhile jacob and mother live their life. jacob sometimes chats and plays board games with the man in black. then mother learns that the man in black almost has found a way to leave the island so she kills every other person he was living with (my guess she’s a smoke monster btw). the man in black then kills mother. jacob is angry at him, throws him into a certain cave that turn people into something “worse than dead”. the man in black becomes a smoke monster, now is REALLY unable to leave the island. the dead body though still exists and jacob puts the man in black’s body next to mother’s body in a cave.

jacob and the man in black (he can take his old form) then live in a game-like world. the man in black tries to find a loophole to escape. meanwhile jacob brings people to the island to prove that they’re not mean. the man in black says everyone’s mean. lol  i put it very simple. 

let’s just start with one option.

jacob - norman

the man in black - mother

mother - norma

if you’re really into lost, bates motel and that topic, you can try to start playing with the idea. switch between characters. who could be who. 

or:

jacob - norman and mother - mother. then mother’s (lost) sentence ‘now you and i are the same’ would be a great reference to 5x06 bates motel right before norman kills sam. or you can say man in black - norman and mother - norma. so the man in black runs away because mother lied to him. and then he kills her.

or:

claudia is norma, mother is mother and both jacob and the man in black are parts of norman.

i know, i know, it’s messy, like i said. but i love to think about it.

-----------

ANYWAY. that’s it, i am done!

i can’t believe i wrote this post, lol.

if you have any suggestions or comments, let me know.

[apsbicepstraining]

Andy Murray too good for Juan Martin del Potro in fine French Open battle

Andy Murray had to excavate late to win the first two adjusts before running out a 7-6, 7-5, 6-0 win against Argentinas Juan Martn del Potro

Andy Murray experiences few ordeals more than proving people wrong and so the most tenacious gentleman in tennis goes into the second week of the French Open for the eighth time in 10 inspects with a echoing endorsement from the rival he trounced to get there, Juan Martn del Potro.

There were plenty of parties at the start of the week who horror the Scots form and fitness are currently in such a low ebb he had no chance of reaching the final for a second year in a row, and decreased prospects of going past the quarter-finals. He is not quite there yet, but he is in the fourth round again, and deservedly so after beating the occasionally inspired Argentinian by the misleading rating of 7-6( 10 -8 ), 7-5, 6-0 in precisely under 3 hour on a mild and agreeable afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier , not long before the rainwater arrived.

Del Potro, becoming his first appearance here in five years old after the most wretched meter with hurt, said of their 10 th meeting, and exclusively the second to finish in straight organizes: It was another good battle. The first two starts[ took] two hours and a half, actually long sets.

Andy, hes very smart on courtroom. He has all the films, but also is great mentally. Thats why hes No1 in the world and I know how important this tournament is for him. I bid him all the best and, hopefully, he can go far.

A few players on the Tour would not annoyance with such compliments. But Del Potro is a man apart, encouraging sincere excitement in the crowd as he campaigned with tigerish intent to draw best available out of Murray. Del Potro should have won the first move but a scald forehand in the tie-break was out by so tiny a margin that the chair umpire conferred with the line judge before awarding the degree and set to Murray.

The second chassis was just as intense but Murray gradually got the upper hand over Del Potro, who was supposed to take drugs for a groin strain he picked up in his coincide against Nicols Almagro two days before. He did not exploit that as an excuse and told you he played sting free, but it was clear he was not moving as well as he might have wished.

Partly that was down to what he identified as Murrays court intelligence. There were so many artful exchanges between these two fabulou actors that it was difficult to picking when the win kill would arrive. Murray concentrated on impeding as numerous dances away from his resists lethal forehand as he could, then, having peppered him on the other side, employed the open court to tease him with drop shots.

Del Potro was just surprised by the strategy and, when not slicing backhand returns to keep the phase going, ran around those fires to unleash his forehand. He struck 16 clean winners with the fire, but only one in the final situate, which came and travelled in 28 hours. Fighting to the end, however, he made Murray save three break-dance items before completing the bagel.

Murray was in understandably good spirits although little has unsettled his feeling for some time, prevail or forget. The self-absorption of his youth is long gone, even if there is the odd on-court explosion still. He said after got a couple of such outbursts in his second pair, against Martin Klizan on Thursday, that he sometimes conflicts to contain those emotions.

Perhaps it is no bad situation, though. If he were to go totally against his true nature he might generate confusion that would further erode the commonwealth of his recreation leader. He had it on here, with simply a fleeting cus or admonishment for his container, where Ivan Lendl sat in his customary position of expressionless concentration.

By the standards of a year ago, when he propelled the most extraordinary assault on Novak Djokovics No 1 macrocosm grading around this time, he has under-performed. He arrived here having lost early in tournaments to excellent but lower-rated rivals in Dominic Thiem( Barcelona ), Albert Ramos Violas( Monte Carlo ), Borna Coric( Madrid ) and the dangerous and unpredictable Fabio Fognini( Rome ).

Del Potro seems dejected at the net after the notes that cost him the first situated. Image: Christophe Ena/ AP

But Murrays clay game is improving by the coincide. He agreed that this might have been his best 2017 testifying. I played some good parallels beginning of the year, he said, but emphatically, in the clay courtroom season, those second and third defines were the best I have played, for sure.

He might have paid scant attention to the pessimists, but his climate is hoisted. He is ready to raise his height another notch, as all the really good participates do when it matters. He expects to get better, because he has done it so many times before.

Last year here, he reached the final after coming close to suffer in his first two accords, each of which went to five primeds. This time, he took four locateds to overcome Andrey Kuznetsov and Klizan before affecting an foreboding trounce against Del Potro.

To be playing him this early on in the smash is not easy, but it can be a very positive happening, Murray said. You play person that good, perhaps youre a little more switched on. Your focus is maybe a little bit higher.

There was one moment of minor discomfort when he was asked why he was shushing himself.

He arced his eyebrows and responded, I dont know who you are I was doing it. Why does it stuff? Whats the big cheese? I dont get it. If I say something and you guys ask me what I was saying, if I say nothing, “youre asking me” why I dont say anything. What do you want me to do? What do you are willing to to say? Its irrelevant. Whats relevant is what happens during the points.

Hes not wrong.

Kyle Edmund falls short but glad with progress

The last-place experience two British participates drew it to the fourth round of the French Open, the Beatles were No1 in the charts and Harold Macmillan was serving out his closing months in ten Downing Street. Kyle Edmund, 22, might not have listened to From Me to You or know who Supermac was, but the 22 -year-old with the booming forehand would dearly have loved to equal that 1963 achievement alongside Andy Murray at this tournament.

For long elongates of his third-round equal against Kevin Anderson, Edmund looked like being part of a little bit of tennis history, but he found the resilience of the towering, strong South African too much after practically four hours of grinding tennis on the compact Court 2.

Anderson, seven situates behind Edmund in the world standings at 56, outlasted him to triumph 6-7( 6-8 ), 7-6( 7-4 ), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 and book a neighbourhood in the last 16 against the former US Open champion Marin Cilic, who did short work of the Spaniard Feliciano Lpez, to triumph 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

Edmund was simultaneously disappointed and satisfied, pointing out that another five-setter was a helpful part of his tennis education, especially as he hold back well physically. Now, he says, he is looking forward to Wimbledon, with preparation at Queens and Eastbourne defying the suggestion that it was a surface on which he did not detect comfortable.

I dont fairly remember me ever saying that I dont like grass, he said in his ultra-polite practice. I exactly experience playing on clay and hard much more. Well, I play on them a lot more. So I have more hour on them.

There was little in this match for nearly three hours, as they sold big cheese from behind or near the baseline. Each of them loaded up with full-force groundstrokes, averaging only three shots a rallying until near the end of the equal. As Edmund said after his quick-fire win over Renzo Olivo in the second round: Theres not much place having artilleries if you dont use them.

Jim Courier said after that performance that Edmund given the opportunity to be a top-1 0 player. Apart from a plunge during the fourth set on Saturday, he examined worthy of the assessment.

Anderson came to life down the extend to apply the pressure back on Britains No2, although shatters were hard to come by for each of them. Edmund harboured from love-4 0 for 3-3 in the fifth but had not been able sustain his stage all the way to the end.

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