#we at least get childe’s battle music but if his then WHY NOT THE OTHERS

[lordsardine]

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[redlittlefoxari]

To The Ends Of Faêrun: Chapter Sixteen: Something in the Air

This series is book two of a fanfic I have already written called Astarion Epilogue: An Adventure in Making Life

Master List Here for Books One, and Two

*List includes a prequel that is essentially one-shots of their adventures over the fifty years after the battle at the end of the game*

Warnings: Blood, Sex, Violence, NSFW 18+, Smut

Summary: Tav gets wrapped up in the Midwinter festival, Shadowhearts and Gale are drinking. While Astarion is hunting for dinner. But something is in the air.

Tav stood in the square just over the bridge leading to Moonrise towers. The distillery that once housed one of the most disgusting creatures she had ever seen in her life was now cleaned, polished, and in total working order again. Dozens of people poured in and out, looking for more than just the hot cider and mulled wine that lay on tables all over the square. They looked for spirits and conversation as the music from a traveling bard played and made casual conversation almost impossible. It’s not that they were terrible by any means; it was just that the volume at which they played their violin was a little grating on the ears. 

Everyone had forgone their armor in lieu of some more casual clothes. Gale was inside the distillery giving an impromptu lecture to a few drunk bystanders dressed in a wool sweater and jacket. Shadowheart parked herself next to the cauldron of mulled wine and wore a long, fur-lined winter dress with an equally long jacket. Tav decided to go with something that allowed her to move freely just in case she needed to spring into action. She wore a long-sleeved red blouse and a pair of tight-fitting pants, her hair tied up in a ponytail to stay out of her eyes. 

A gaggle of children ran by, Apple being among them as she ran with her new friends. Tav kept a watchful eye on her child as too much sugar had led Apple in the past to get overly excited, and that usually led her to bite. Halsin had made it a point to introduce Tav and Astarion to all of the parents and villagers he could, which helped alleviate some of the anxiety of letting her around strangers. They had found that what Halsin had said was true; everyone in the settlement was, as far as she could tell, of a sound mind. The only problem was a few angsty teenagers who weren’t even at the party at the moment. So the only thing Tav was worried about at the moment was Apple getting too excited on candied Apples or the dozens of other sugary drinks and food items and biting someone. 

She looked around for Astarion, who was notably absent. He had told her that he was going to get something to eat, and that was almost an hour ago. Tav just chalked it up to animals being hard to come by because most were in hibernation. Or that he had to go further away from the settlement where people wouldn’t see him feed. Either way, Tav was starting to wonder where he was and if she needed to go out and look for him. 

“How are you enjoying the party?” Halsin’s voice came from behind Tav, causing her to jump. “I’m sorry.” He grimaced. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” 

“It’s okay.” Tav placed her hand over her heart. “It’s hard to hear anything over that violin.” 

“I’ve asked him to play softer a few times now, and it has fallen on deaf ears.” Halsin shook his head. 

“Maybe that’s why he plays so loud.” Tav smiled. “They made themselves deaf.” 

Halsin laughed, which caught the attention of a few people who were around, including the bard who shot the two of them a dirty look. “I think  he knows we are talking about him.” 

“At least people are talking  about it.” Tav shrugged. “That’s all bards care about anyways.” 

“Very true.” Halsin looked around. “Where is Astarion? Is he not with you?”

“He’s getting something to eat.” Tav touched her neck with two fingers. 

“Ah, I should have guessed.” Halsin nodded. “I’ve noticed you haven’t left this spot all night.” He gave her an assessing stare. “Are you not enjoying the party?”

“No, I am…Well, as much as I can from here.” Tav’s eyes trailed after Apple. “I’m watching her.” 

Halsin followed Tav’s line of sight to her daughter. “I told you everyone here will not harm her; they are good people; you even saw that yourself earlier.” 

“It’s not them I’m worried about.” Tav watched Apple grab a sweet roll. “Apple! Put that back!”

Apple dropped the roll and looked around to find Tav. “Sorry, mom!” She licked her fingers before running off with her friends again. 

Tav blew out a sigh as she returned some of her attention back to Halsin. Leaving one eye on the dessert table. Halsin looked at her with sympathy as he started to understand why Tav needed to abstain from the night's events. 

“When she has too much sugar, she gets excited; when she gets excited, she bites.” Tav said matter-of-factly. “You wouldn’t believe all the times we had to apologize and explain away why she bites.” Tav deflated. “But we found that if we limit her sugar intake, she doesn’t bite.” 

“I see…” Halsin trailed off. 

The two stood and watched everything that happened around them. People started to come out of the distillery and dance. Now, having enough liquor in their systems, the loud music didn’t bother them. Tav could only guess how many children were going to be born nine months from now due to their parent's drunken reverie, and it brought a sad smile to her lips. Tendrils of sorrow spread through her chest at the thought. She thought about it briefly and then pushed it away altogether. Not wanting to be put in a sour mood by her own mind. 

Halsin assessed her before speaking. “Why don’t I keep an eye on little Apple for you the rest of the night?” 

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Tav gave him her full attention. “I wouldn’t want to take you away from your people.” 

“You wouldn’t.” He placed his hands on her shoulders as he stepped in front of her. “I have already spoken to everyone I care to, and before I saw you, I was already on my way to play with the children in my bear form.” 

“Are you sure?” Tav looked at him, trying to gauge if he was telling the truth. 

“I’m sure!” Halsin turned Tav around and pushed her towards one of the many cauldrons of hot cider and mulled wine. “Now go! I will make sure Apple is taken care of and in bed at a reasonable hour.” 

Tav turned her head slightly. “Just be sure she doesn’t eat too much! Oh, wait, I need to tell her to stop and drink some water; she's been running a lot.” Tav looked around for her daughter.

“I will let her know!” Halsin used his archdruid voice. “Now go!”

Tav moved towards where Shadowheart was seated and grabbed a cup. She looked at the two cauldrons filled with the available piping-hot liquids. Shdowheart was enjoying the mulled wine that was spiced with cinnamon, orange peels, and cranberries already deep in her cups as Tav noted the red glow of her cheeks. Tav decided that she should still have her wits about her and grabbed the ladle that belonged to the non-alcoholic apple cider. 

“You’re not going to get drunk off of that one.” Shadowheart spoke just before taking a drink from her glass. 

“I know.” Tav drank her cider and felt the heat course through her body. “I don’t want to get drunk in front of my child.” 

“Oh right… For some reason, I keep forgetting you’re a mother.” Shadowheart looked around for Apple. “I need to come see her more… She is my favorite niece.”

“She’s your only niece,” Tav replied, rolling her eyes.

“Right, and that’s why she’s my favorite.” Shadowheart gave Tav a playful smile. “She is great; you know the two of you got lucky.”

“In more ways than I can count.” Tav looked at the crowd forming around the bard. 

Drunken men and women tried their best to sing as the bard played, and none of them hitting the right notes. Tav took a long drink from her cider, warming her further as she hummed along to the song. The song was called The Beauty of Baldur’s Gate and told of the beautiful maiden who slew the absolute along with her righteous friends and saved all of Faerun from the Mind Flayer invasion. As far as songs about her went, it was one of Tav’s favorites. 

Shadowheart looked at Tav. “Didn’t you and Astarion once enter a bard competition?” 

“UGH!” Tav growned at the question. “No, he entered me in the contest to catch a man who was killing the local bards.” Tav turned her attention back to Shadowheart. “It turns out a bard slept with his wife and took it upon himself to eliminate all bards from the town.” 

Tav remembered the day Astarion had burst through their room at the local inn they were staying at and proclaimed that she would be participating. After a long argument, Tav conceded to participating. They had planned to have Tav not actually sing but instead get access Backstage in hopes that the killer would strike. But one thing had led to another, and Tav had found herself on stage with the crowd calling for her to sing. Then another local bard started to play the flute, and something in her called for her to sing. All the while, Astarion took down the murderer from backstage, and Tav took first place. 

“Didn’t you win?” Shadowheart raised an eyebrow in question. 

“Only because the murderer had already killed all the best bards in town.” Tav downed the remains of her cup and turned to fill it again.

“Why don’t you go up and try your hat at getting the notes right.” Shadowheart gave Tav her best puppy dog eyes. “I’ve never heard you sing, and I would love to.” 

Tav avoided her gaze and instead turned her attention back to the crowd surrounding the bard. They had moved on to another song, and the crowd had swelled to almost double what it had been only a few moments ago. Tav could barely see him as he continued to play host to the drunks around him. They still were having trouble finding the correct notes. 

Just as Tav was about to head inside to find Gale, the bard stopped playing and shouted over the crowd. “Is there anyone out there who is not drunk and can carry a tune?” He jammed his finger in his ear. “I fear I will contract tone deafness if someone does not aid me soon.” 

Tav started walking away past Shadowheart when she stood abruptly and grabbed Tav’s hand. Raising it high in the air. “My friend can offer you some aid!” She shouted. 

Tav pulled her hand from Shadowheart's grip and got in her friend's face. “What are you doing?”

“Making you have a bit of fun.” Shadowheart swayed. “It’s Midwinter! Come on, live a little!”

 The crowd parted as cheers started erupting from all around Tav. If she walked away now, it would look as if she was scared, which she wasn’t, nor was she afraid to stand in front of this crowd. She blew out a long, calming breath and walked up to the bard, who was looking at her expectantly. 

“Hello, my lady; my name is Samuel Crestwind.” Samuel bowed. “And what name does a woman as fair as you go by?”

“Tav.” She looked around at the crowd, waiting patiently for the next song. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be the same Tav that liberated this place of the shadow curse and save Baldur’s Gate?” Samuel asked in awe. 

“The very same.” Tav looked away and blushed. 

“Everyone!” Samuel addressed the crowd. “We don’t have any ordinary person before us! This is Tav, liberator of shadows and the legendary hero of Baldur’s Gate!”

The crowd cheered as Samuel made his announcement, and Tav’s blush deepened. She could feel a strange power surge from the crowd as they cheered. It felt almost as if she was gaining something from them. A strange form of magic, but just as she felt the strange tug, it was gone before could identify it.

“What songs do you know, Tav?” He gave her a flirtatious smile. 

“Pretty much all the popular ones.” She gave him her best polite smile. “Just start playing, and if I don’t know it, I’ll make something up.” 

“As you wish.” Samuel lifted his violin so that it rested on his left shoulder. “Let us see what you can do. 

Tav swallowed, and Samuel started the first few notes of The Green Eyes of Mallistari. The song was about a human woodsman who had fallen in love with an elven woman, and they met under the full moon to state their love for one another. Tav rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her mouth to serenade the crowd. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had taken Astarion far too long to find something to eat. As he crested the hill that bordered the settlement, the Midwinter party was already in full swing. The hunt wasn’t a complete bust, as he was able to find two squirrels and a raccoon. Not as good as other things he could be dining on, but they would do for the meantime. 

A crowd of people surrounded a bard and his partner as the two danced and entertained the growing crowd. Concern gripped him as he continued into the square where he had left Tav two hours ago as he couldn’t find her anywhere. 

Astarion looked over to see Shadowheart clapping. Her body turned around on the bench to watch the crowd better. He approached her to see if she knew where Tav went as he clocked Apple playing with a bear that he hoped was Halsin. As he approached Shadowheart, her face broke out into a wide smile. It made him uneasy as it gave him the aura that she knew something that he didn’t. 

“There you are!” Shadowheart stayed seated. “Where have you been? You have missed one hell of a party.” 

“I was getting something to eat.” Astarion continued to look around. “Have you seen Tav!?”  He shouted over the noise of the bards and the crowd. 

“I have seen her.” Shadowheart smiled into her cup as she took a drink. 

“And where is she exactly?” Astarion didn’t have time to play games with her, not when Tav could be alone somewhere. 

“Behind you.” Shadowheart leaned back against the table. 

Astarion looked behind him and just found the crowd. “Are you saying she’s in that crowd?” 

“More like the crowd is around her.” Shadowheart slurred as she spoke. 

He turned back around and really listened to the voices that were going on around him. Beyond the sounds of the drunks cheering, there was a high, sweet voice he hadn’t heard in a long time. Not since the days when Apple needed to be sung to sleep, and although Astarion did his best, he was never able to hold a candle to the voice that Apple always asked for. He looked back at Shadowheart to confirm what he was thinking. All she did was nod; she didn’t need him to ask his question to know what he needed to know. 

Astarion started to make his way through the crowd, pushing his way past dozens of men and women. All of them were not putting up a fight, as many of them were too drunk to know what was happening before he had passed them. As he got closer to the front of the crowd, Tav’s voice became clear and it was harder to deny that it was really her. It had taken Astarion hours to convince her to do the bard competition over fifty years ago, and she still fought tooth and nail to get out of it any way she could. The only logical explanation as to why she was doing it willingly now was that she must be shit-faced. 

As he broke into the front of the crowd, he was shocked at what he saw. Tav’s curls cascaded over her shoulders in a waterfall of brown silk. She was glowing in the moonlight but not from any magic but her own sweat that glistened on her forehead and the parts of her chest he could see. A large smile accented her face as she sang and danced to the tune that some man playing the violin was fiddling away. Her face was red, and she was panting, which told Astarion that she had been doing this for quite some time. 

The song ended, and she locked eyes with him. “Astarion!” She ran over to him, and as she did, she tried to catch her breath. “Did you find something to eat?”

“Yes…” Astarion looked into her eyes. “Tav, how much have you had to drink?” 

“None.” Tav panted. “Shadowheart volunteered me to come up and sing.” She grabbed his hands and smiled. “And then the crowd started cheering, then the next thing I knew, I had sung six songs.” 

She was positively glowing. The smile on her face beamed at him, and Astarion found himself staring back at her in awe, gravitating towards her like she had cast a spell on him. Tav was stunning, a vision of pure beauty as she looked into his eyes, and it felt as if she was the answer to everything he had ever asked for. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Tav giggled before fear took over. “Is Apple okay?” She squeezed his hands. “Halsin said he was watching her! Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Halsin is doing a fine job entertaining her; it’s just…” Astarion trailed off as he released one of her hands and cupped her cheek with his now free hand. “You look radiant, my Darling.” 

Tav leaned into his touch. “I’m sweaty, that’s probably why.” 

“No.” Astarion stepped towards her, not caring that a horde of people surrounded them. “You put all the goddesses to shame with your beauty.” 

Astarion leaned down and placed his lips to Tav’s. Her lips parted to give him full access to her mouth. She tasted like spiced Apples baked with cinnamon and cloves, whereas he tasted the iron of the animals he had just consumed. The crowd around them cheered, and some grumbled about how it wasn’t fair that pretty boys always got the bards. A different hunger grew in Astarion as he broke the kiss and saw the same hunger in Tav’s eyes. 

“Come with me.” Astarion pulled Tav through the crowd. 

Tav waved goodbye to Samuel, who shouted his dissatisfaction at Tav's departure. “Where are we going?”

“To feed each other mind, body, and soul.” Astarion started to make his way to the inn, Tav following not far behind as she held onto his hand. 

Tag list:

@ofmyth-andmagicart @lunaredgrave @littlekidsteve @omnia--mea-mecum-porto @ayselluna @myreadingmanga123 @kismet-of-the-divine @nicalysm @justlilpeaches21 @five-salty-bitters @lenarosic88 @caydevakarian @supervrgnsokay-blog @ravenswritingroom @kalypsoox @foxiecelery @wisteriaofthegraves

[unintentional-edgelord]

I finally, finally got my hands on the Zero/ZX Legacy Collection after long last, and have a lot of thoughts on the transition between Girouettes' death and the iconic Double Megamerge scene in the original ZX. It's a pretty well done sequence, hammered home by how cleaned up the cutscene was for the Legacy Collection.

I was originally going to write about the specifics of this scene, namely how it's a powerful reversal of X sacrificing himself/dying during the Omega battle in Z3 with Girouette giving his life and his Biometal to save Vent and Aile, and the emotional implications, but instead I got carried away exploring Girouettes' perspective of how everything plays out.

Ergo, there'll eventually be a companion post to this exploring Vent/Aile's feelings on everything, the contrast between this Double Megamerge and the one in Advent, and how the music mirrors that.

But TL,DR; Even if it was expected for Girouette to die, the lore and concept art of ZX lets you infer that his backstory had to have been similar to Vent and Aile's. Alongside what we see in the game, the emotional implication of the scene and the music really hammer home what a pivotal moment the Double Megamerge is, and how Girouettes' massive sacrifice drives the story forward. He knows that he'll die, but he'd much rather they live. And not not only that - he knows full well the pain, the sorrow and grief caused by his death will give them the fuel and determination to carry on and become "a hero who can protect everyone."

And this is exactly why he goes through with it.

From Girouettes' perspective, with a healthy dose of headcanon thrown in:

You were fairly young when you experienced loss. Your town was devastated by a maverick raid, and your younger siblings perished. Grief and trauma were hard to work through, but you got there, began to establish a life for yourself After. Started working, joined an organisation to prevent others from experiencing this same loss. Made something of yourself.

And not long after, you were given this immense power to wield that seemingly no-one else could - and you don't know why you were chosen for it. There's the borrowed power of an ancient hero singing in your veins and whispering encouragement in your head, teaching you how to use this strength for good. With his guidance as your partner, you slowly become a seasoned, veteran fighter - learn to balance your role as a defender, investigator, protector with that of a fledgling businessman.

A veteran fighter who rescues a traumatised kid in the aftermath of a raid, so very similar to the one you experienced years ago.

This child has no-one left except you, their rescuer.

And so you make the decision.

The decision to stay out of action and care for this traumatised kid.

You hide the fact that you've been a fighter to keep them safe; to keep them from losing family ever again. Your partner is proud of you and - though he misses the action - does what he can to guide you through this, as well.

Together, you do everything in your power to be the best father figure you can to this kid, to help them through the trauma; they slowly become both an employee and like your own child. Despite the war waging on somewhere in the background, it seems like your days of fighting are over.

And then through a series of unfortunate events, you watch as your adopted kid is able to wield the same power as you; bonds with and borrows the power of another of these ancient heroes. Horrified, you realise that no no no, they're about to get dragged into this war, as well, despite how long you've spent hiding that you're part of it from them.

But you think, at least I can be there to protect them. At least I don't have to hide this part of myself anymore. I can guide them like I was guided so they won't have to do this alone.

You watch your adopted kiddo run headfirst into danger in the name of saving people, so no-one loses family the way they once did, the way you did, too. So you think, I'll clear a path for them. I'll go ahead, go keep you safe.

And then you get ambushed.

There's three of them and one of you - your body isn't as strong as it used to be, crippled by an old injury, and through your shock and fighting for your life you dimly register that one of these men is the president of the company that saved our country? He's been lying to us the whole time!

You try your best, you get several good hits in but you simply can't win, no matter how hard you try, and they overpower you.

That's when your employee, your child, arrives; horror and fear twist and stab into your gut like a knife, and you're screaming for them to RUN! but your voice won't respond to your body.

But something else is responding and it's not the ancient hero; his voice has gone quiet, too. Instead it's this horrible, whispering force that takes over your body, and just barely you manage to tell your child, shoot me! before you're locked into your own head. Your feelings of fear, anguish and agony are mirrored on your child's face; you're unable to stop yourself from trying to murder your own child in cold blood, and use whatever little power you have left to restrain yourself from a killing blow.

They manage - miraculously, somehow, they manage to fight you to a standstill, begging you to stop the same way you're begging yourself to do so. Your heart is breaking, shattered into pieces at the tears streaming down their face - barely, just barely, you feel that terrible whisperings' influence ease away.

Moments later you're both struck down - and you know the only thing keeping you alive is the armour encasing your body, the power of that ancient hero on loan flowing through your veins. Said ancient hero's voice is once again echoing in your ears, in your head, telling you to stay put, that you're close to death, that I can't lose my Chosen, you're my partner in crime, Girouette, we'll make it through this. The thing that sets a Zero apart is our inability to stay dead. We're going to make it.

But outside of your head - there they are.

Your child.

Barely clinging to life, the loaned power of an ancient hero flowing through their veins is not enough. They're not strong enough yet, their breathing growing more pained by the second and tears forming in the corner of their eyes.

You can't leave them to die.

And so you make the decision.

To give them your strength - your partner knows what you're asking, why you're asking it.

Makes certain that you're sure.

You know you're going to die; you didn't want to go yet. But it's worth it, to see your child survive, live on, thrive.

The last of your life, the power flowing through your veins to them; the very last gift you'll ever give them.

The power to protect.

And as you slip into the nothingness, your partner whispering his goodbyes to you and your child's screams of anguish echoing in your heart, the very last thing you think is, I'm so very proud of you.

I love you.

And on this mortal plane, you are no more.

[kendrixtermina]

Reaction to The Devil’s Chord

Ok, seems like this will be a silly episode, which has rarely been my favorite, but at least they’re clearly having fun with it & commited to the bit, which must be respected. And they’re doing something based on a little legend.

Speaking of respect, my respect for Ruby just went up a notch, cause, if the Doctor asked me for where to go for my first TARDIS trip, my answer would have been to go see a Nirvana concert.

Plus I think we’re still in the ‚getting to know Ruby‘ arc so maybe we’re exploring her as a musician today.

...and oh, for a moment you thought the Doctor was gonna raise an eyebrow but he loves it! I feel loved.

Aww he’s such a nerd, and they’re so excited to be doing fun stuff together.

And oooh they’re having so much fun with the outfits!

They’re having so much fun with the clothes & the infiltration! They’re such besties already

(And here’s another way that you organically show that two people are friends without just having them say they like each other while acting like distant coworkers at best, Chibnall.)

That bit with the Doctor getting all nostalgic for when he was hiding out in the 60s… :(

Ruby’s song is pretty good actually, kudos to the composers.

Interesting that what she choses for this is something she made to cheer up a friend. It speaks about what she values. & it’s paired with a different friend of hers looking melancholy.

In ‚An Unearthly Child‘, we see that Susan being into the music from the 60s, so, maybe Ruby isn’t the only one who has some treasured memories involving the beatles.

I love the whiplash from the Doctor finding it odd that he would be scared of a beast in the last episode to panicking when one of the toymaker’s goons appears, just underlining how they’re a totally different, out-of-this-world threat level. That’s the exact expression that 14 had in the toymaker’s endless labyrinth.

They are putting a lot of effort into the little aesthetic touches.

Just a few seconds earlier Ruby was talking about how music can’t be stolen. Hahaha. So much for „there is no such thing as the bogeyman“.

For once the Doctor uses the sonic screwriver to actually do something sound-related (probably emiting soundwaves to cancel out the existing noises)

It’s kinda weird how time has passed. Like, in 2004 Rose is, just a short time before we met her, Clara is 14 with her mom still alive, and Ruby is a baby.

Notice how, at this point we know that the destroyed version of 2024 isn’t going to stick, but the ruined landscape lands, because the characters are reacting & emoting.

Like that was so fucking missing from Chibnall’s dry exposition.

Child of the toymaker? Of course. They wouldn’t be a pantheon if they didn’t have a fucked up family tree that is also a metaphor. Music being a result of play makes sense cause creativity is chaotic.

They’re really hamming it up & it makes all the sense for a metaphorical ‚god‘. I think if you’re doing gods right they must be metaphor, like, that take gets it. Aaand of course, everything is vibrations, friggin quantum & stuff.

I like the idea that just like the Doctor (in a way the ultimate trickster) set free the toymaker, that music genius guy set free the music devil.

So instead of alons-y, 15 says it in turkish? Why not xD

Of course they short out the sonic the second time… by singing.

And of course the one they want is Ruby, because she’s the one who played the piano.

Oh. OH. So here’s some mystery. Poor Ruby. Is she a demigoddess of some kind? A changeling? We’ll see I gues.

Also this is reminding me of the song battle of Sauron vs Finrod in the silmarillion. I love that they did a duett.

And oooh, Ncuti getting his first epic speech~

Even if it comes to nothing, it’s a nice touch that the Doctor told Ruby to get try getting to the piano, like having the faith that she might fix it.

Though it’s fitting to have a little eucatastrophe & have John & Paul be the ones who finish saving the day.

The dance number was kina over the top for my taste, but I guess it fits the nature of the beast.

And maybe, like with the toymaker, the ‚magic‘ always lingers a little bit after its deity was banished.

Still, it’s a fun idea to have the Doctor having to save the day with his musical skills rather than his scientific ones for once, since he’s spent a long time playing the recorder, spoons, e-guitar and whatnot.

Similar to how he’s adapted his knowledge of linguistics to the magic.

Like I wasn't wowed by this ep but in this age of irony poisoning you gotta appreciate when something commits to the bit.

[mio-nika]

I was rewatching a Lindsay Ellis videos about movie adaptations of musicals and why they usually don't work. Diegetic and Non-Diegetic narratives.

And it organically started this line of thought about Legion and how hard is to recommend it. So I wrote a giant post.

Like, yes. It's a very lose adaptation of marvel comic. The forgotten spin-off of X-Men universe about a powerful but insane mutant. But, let's just say, it took me three seasons to understand that it was a marvel property. I'm quite slow and only when I heard the last name Xavier I started thinking that I heard it somewhere else. It works great as a stand alone story where some characters just has this paranormal abilities and government are kinda not having it. So I don't think that marvel fans would be very interested in watching. Daredevil is not a good show, but at least Daredevil has Daredevil in it (sorry for fans of dardevil, I also like whump but let's be real here).

And for other people... It's extremely weird show? When I was talking about it with my friends and acquaintances I usually compared it to Voices, a 2014 thriller/black comedy film staring Ryan Reynolds who kills women and talks with his cat. But I also don't think that it's a good comparison? Voices is a black comedy and even if it takes some of the parts of living with schizophrenia realistic it downplays it for comedic purposes.

Fuck. I should have started from explaining that Legion is. As I already wrote, Legion is a TV series loosely based on the series of marvel comics by the same name.

It starts with David, our main protagonist, who is living in a mental hospital, because he's a menace of society, hears voices and let's just say. A little unstable. In the course of the first episode he finds himself a GF and finds that the reason why he hears voices is not because he's sick, but because he's a powerful mutant, a telepath, who hears other people and gets tangled in their minds. And he's a god's child and saviour that that will defend mutants from oppressive politics of humans.

So it's a story about telepaths. And showing epic battles between telepaths are kinda hard? I mean, they can throw big blocks of concrete, cars, control other people minds but it's all are happening outside of their minds. To show things inside their heads, you need to go deeper, you need to be creative. And weird. The magical and terrifying world of human psyche.

In the exact first episode we are granted with a complicated choreographic scene of all of the mental patients in the clinic... How else would we understand that the main character is in love with a girl of his dreams?

And it's only the starting point. The show blurres the boundaries between reality and unreality, where every event is both real and theatrical because in the mind of the main character. It is.

And this is the problem. For example. I have a friend. And they told me, that they don't like musicals because it's hard to them to take seriously the moment where everyone just starts singing all of the sudden. And like. Valid. So let's imagine that the people in the show, not only start singing for no reason, they start a complex dance-off to show their mind power? And you don't even know if they're really dancing, or they just. Doing something else, that for the audience looks like a dance? Anyway, yeah, the second season starts with a dramatic dance-off between three powerful mutants and you just. Sitting there. And I refuse to tell you about rap battle. There was a rap battle. I'm an old wizard who lives in the shoe...

Every episode of Legion starts with a retelling of a previous one. And where all the other shows says "previously" Legion says "ostensibly". Ostensibly in Legion. Who knows that is happening? Not me.

So let's get back to the Voices. Why I'm so torn up when I'm comparing Legion to Voices. Because, well. I think that Legion tells a story about mental illness and it impact much more seriously. Yes, it's a quirky show, with dance and songs, but... "может ли бог быть сошедшим с ума?"

Have you ever watched "They Look Like People"? It's an indie horror film from 2014 about a guy who hears voice of God telling him about incoming apocalypse and alien monsters who are taking people's bodies. I don't like horror movies where mental illnesses is a main story point. They are usually tacky and mean. "This person is ill, so he's scary and dangerous!" And all that. But at the same time, illness is dangerous. Not only for people around sick person, but to the person themselves. Main character in They Look Like People is not evil, he's sick and he needs help. He's suffering much more than the suffering that he inflicts. But where the main character in They Look Like People has a way out, the Legion does not. So what will you do? What you could ever do, if you have an insane god in your hands who are untreatable. And even if he was, he would refuse help because of the years of medical abuse. Both he and people around him have no way out. No happy ending.

So. It's hard to recommend Legion. But I would ask you to try. It's a salad of beautiful horror hiding in colourful clothes of the fairy tale.

Милый, имя тебе легион...

[zanyana626]

Alright, so here's my thoughts on the new Helluva Boss episode! 😈🤠❄️

Everything’s tagged as #hb spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet!

Stolas & Stella confronting each other be like:

Ice King Andrealphus being the third fucking wheel, questioning why he even showed up, but staying for the literal tea

Stolas & Stella obviously hated each other from the get go, so yeah, he didn't betray no one (except maybe his daughter's trust)

COWBOY DADDY STRIKER STRIKES BACK!!! Still sad that Norman Reedus didn't return to voice him, but I kinda already had a feeling that he wouldn't return cuz 1) We didn't get to hear Striker in the S2 Trailer & I think it was confirmed that most of the cast had finished recording their lines for this season over a year ago and 2) It's understandable bc he's a busy man in the acting industry!

And besides, Ed's an awesome VA (especially with all the characters he's voiced so far in the Hellaverse), so I didn't really mind the recast!

"Um... sexy?" Yep, Stolas & the I.M.P crew know what's up! 😉

Wonder what other kinds of Blessed items/weapons exist! I want more lore content!!!

Not bad for an M&M themed episode!

Mixed thoughts on the Blitzø & Loona B-plot of the episode! The Sloth Ring making these two wait 5 years for a rabies shot appointment & the dumbass staff not getting "Bingo & Tuna's" names right was funny tho!

Also, fuck off Fish Karen! It's Hell, no one gives a shit and yet, you're fine with your illegitimate son insulting Blitzø to his face!

"How does one get their own theme song?" Striker unwillingly getting his own theme song was gold! It gave me "Gaston's Song" vibes and I love it!!! 👏🏼

Moxxie finally fighting his own battles (even if it's for something as simple as a hat), good for him!

So there are tinier Imps in Hell, now? Again, lore content pls!!!!

Striker's little bat-cave: "I'm just impressed you seem to want to suck your own dick so badly", 'nuff said! 🤣

The parallels of Stolas "messing around" with Striker while being held hostage, to the time Blitzø & Moxxie fucked with the government agents in "Truth Seekers" was good too! 👌🏼

Hope we get to see a Striker backstory cuz he reeeeally has some sort of grudge towards the Goetia family or any of the higher ranked demons! Wonder if Paimon had anything to do with that?

"Prepare for trouble & make it double!" Stella & Andrealphus's dynamic was funny, but slightly creepy (mostly on Andre's side towards his sister)

LEAVE MAH CHILD VIA OUTTA THIS!!!! Like she hasn't had enough shit to deal with already!

M&M HUNGRY FOR A LI'L PAYBACK!!!!

They said, no Country music for a battle theme, only Pop music!

The fight scene mixed with Loona fighting back at her shot appointment was funny!

Angel Dust vs. Sir Pentious callback?? Moxxie's definitely been taking notes from the spider boi!

We still haven't seen the last of Cowboy Daddy Striker!

Poor Loony, getting a "cone of shame". At least she got a lollipop for being a "good patient"? 🤷🏻‍♀️

HOW TF DID THE MEDIA FIND OUT ABOUT STOLAS GETTING ATTACKED & NEARLY KILLED???

"...He can get hurt?" Yes, Blitzø! He may be a royal demon w/phenomenal cosmic powers, but he's just as fragile and hurting on the inside, just like me & you bud (and holy weapons don't help with that fact either)!

Had to pause to look at the Stolitz texts: so they have brought up the Ozzie's incident, but apparently haven't ACTUALLY talked about it face-to-face! At least Stolas is trying to work something out & give Blitzø some space!

BLITZØ, YOU BETTER GO VISIT YOUR MAN IN THE HOSPITAL, OR SO HELP ME…!!!!!

One thing that bugged me the most is Loona not getting any lines in this episode, yet Erica still got credited?

The last episode was understandable bc Loona appeared for a few seconds in the beggining & end. But they could've at least given Loona a few lines this time around, especially given the fact that she was freaking out & didn't wanna get the shot!

Overall not exactly the best episode, but it was still alright (I just mostly missed my cowboy daddy, ok?) Hopefully, the next episode does better!!!

[writemarcus]

In Conversation: Keelay Gipson with Marcus Scott

Keelay Gipson, an award-winning multi-disciplinary Afro-surrealist dramatist, activist, and teaching artist, knows what it means to battle your inner demons and come out the other side.

In June 2020, during the pandemic, Gipson’s mother, Gwendolyn, passed away. From the pangs of grief, Gipson began excavating and examining his life and journey as a storyteller. Born in Oklahoma City to a young, unwed mother, the prolific writer was adopted by a Black married couple from the Deep South who relocated and raised him in the idyllic suburbs of Tulsa. It was his mother that nourished his love of theater and the performing arts. Studying acting at Pace, and after a period of being relegated to roles of drug dealers, gang bangers, and sex workers, Gipson turned his focus to writing for the stage and advocating for Black people and Black lives through his work. This would eventually lead to a passionate drive as an activist, with Gipson eventually becoming a member of “We See You, White American Theater,” an anonymously-led coalition of artists that circulated a widely read set of demands for change during a cultural reckoning that saw seismic shifts in and out of the entertainment world.

Now, the award-winning scribe is on the verge of making his off-Broadway debut with the kitchen-sink drama demons., a poetic meditation on loss and legacy. The play, produced by The Bushwick Starr in association with JAG Productions, revolves around the Daimon family who have come together to bury their patriarch and exorcise the trauma passed down to them—but is it too late?

While speaking via FaceTime from his apartment in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, Gipson was in the midst of rehearsals for DOT DOT DOT, a TheaterworksUSA musical commission based on the Creatrilogy trio of picture books by New York Times bestselling author Peter H. Reynolds, adapted with composer Sam Salmond. Below is our conversation about the glass ceiling, gatekeeping, and demons.

Marcus Scott (Rail): Can you describe the journey of going from actor to playwright?

Keelay Gipson: The journey from actor to playwright was really just me following the path of least resistance. I was a student in the Musical Theater program at Pace University (class of 2010) and didn’t find much success in booking roles in my time there. This was way before we were having these kinds of nuanced conversations surrounding race and representation in theater. So I began writing roles for myself to act. I would get folks together in an empty studio and we’d read my plays. Soon I stopped acting in them and would just listen to them. I found my voice while trying to give me and the other brown and Black folks an opportunity to be full artists during a time and in a program where that wasn’t happening.

Rail: How many plays have you written and where does demons. stand among them?

Gipson: I’ve written seven full length plays. demons. is the most recent. I began working on it in the summer of 2019 as part of a joint residency with New York Stage and Film and the Dramatist Guild Foundation.

Rail: While I have my theories—why is the name of your show called demons.?

Gipson: I grew up in a Southern Baptist household. The idea of demons. is something that has always been a part of my consciousness. As a child, I remember my dad telling stories about seeing exorcisms, and it always fascinated me. This idea that something other could be the cause of our afflictions, both mentally and physically. I wanted to toy with that idea. Honor the faith that I grew up with while reclaiming it on some level.

Rail: In a 2020 interview with JAGFest, you said “demons. was a play I wasn’t supposed to write, so I listened to the muse; I sat down and it came out of me.” Can you explain this?

Gipson: As I said, I was in residence with NYSAF and DGF at Vassar in the summer of 2019. I was there to work on another play of mine, The Red and the Black—which is a play about the rise of New Black Conservatism. I often have multiple projects going at one time. A play I’m “supposed to” be writing and a “procrastination play” [laughs]. demons. was the latter. Honestly, it was a thought experiment. I was moving squarely into my mid-thirties and I had seen friends lose parents, and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for what that might feel like. Little did I know, the play would be the precursor for my own experience with the death of a parent during the pandemic. I say, “it wasn’t the play I was supposed to write” but it was the play I needed to write.

Rail: So, what’s it about? What was the inspiration for your play demons.? I assume the loss of your mother.

Gipson: Yeah. So, the story follows a Black family after the death of their patriarch. And what I noticed in dealing with the aftermath of a death is that a lot of stuff comes up, right? So, demons. is an exploration through an Afro-surrealist lens of what comes up after the death of a family member, mainly of a parent. The things that you have to reckon with, things that maybe aren’t yours, but that you inherit. So, there’s this idea of inherited trauma, and especially with Black folks in America, what we pass down to our family members and what we leave behind when we’re no longer here. So, demons. is an exploration of all of those good things that death sort of unearths.

Rail: I followed your journey throughout the pandemic with regards to the loss. Once again, I'm very sorry for your loss, man.

Gipson: Thank you. I appreciate it.

Rail: What was your relation like to your mother?

Gipson: My mother was my biggest cheerleader. In high school, she was the president of the parent association for the drama program. She got the pass to come do a photo-call during the dress rehearsal; she would be there with her camera in the front row taking pictures, not for promotional use but for the scrapbook. Like, my mom was the one who was like, “Go to New York.” I went to New York a couple times in high school with my drama program and my mom came as a chaperone. We went and saw the shows that we saw with the theater department and then we went and saw our own shows. My mom, she loved theater and she was the one that—when we didn’t have the money and I didn’t know if I could come to New York to go to school—she pulled me aside and was like, “I’m gonna make this happen for you.” She was… she was everything.

Rail: So, you’re working on this play about Black conservatives—I think it’s hilarious cause both of us have written about Black conservatives during the pandemic, by the way—and you’ve got so many other things going on; you’re an advocate, or an “artivist” as you call yourself, being one of the figureheads behind We See You, White American Theater and the issues revolving around that, in tandem with the multiple projects you’re cultivating. So before we get into that aspect of your life, was it hard for you to kind of mentally go from one place to another place? Are you one of those writers where you have to be working on multiple projects or are you one of those writers where you can only work on one project at a time?

Gipson: I have never worked on just one project at a time. I think for me, I need something that’s completely opposite of the thing that I’m supposed to be doing. Like, if I have a commission that’s about a historical moment, then I’m gonna write something that’s wild and fanciful over here to like, break out of that—not monotony—but break out of the sort of structure that one wouldn't give me. So yeah, I’m often working on multiple things just to keep my brain limber.

Rail: That’s interesting. I see the link between The Red and the Black in your artivism, but what about this particular play with regards to it?

Gipson: This play kind of feels like a new era of my artistry. You know, I’ve written several plays that are about race, that are about Black folks dealing with race and racism, and not like, being beat down by it, but finding a way through; and I try to be honest in all of those works, but this play feels very much not a part of that pantheon. It feels like, to quote Toni Morrison, I’m taking the white person off of my shoulder. It’s not about race. It’s about Black folks. I wanna write about Blackness and all its complexity and not in relationship to whiteness or to racism. This feels like a new era of work for me, where it’s just about these Black folks in a room trying to figure out how they move forward after this thing devastates them. In the opening of the play, it says “a Black family and extremists.” Like, that’s what the play’s about. How do we relate to each other? The world sort of doesn’t come inside of the space in this play. It’s about Black folks in a space together figuring it out and not in relationship to society or the political landscape or 2022, 2023… it’s timeless in a way because death will always be true.

Rail: Let’s talk politics. Let’s get into it. There were many incidents over the last three years and many of those incidents in the industry in some way involved We See You, White American Theater. This collective has attracted the likes of Tony Award winners, the Academy Award winners, the Broadway Elite and those on the rise… What was the intention behind that? Was there a litmus for that?

Gipson: I think that during the pandemic, we had a lot of time, right? I’ll say that a lot of people had things in the pipeline and the industry was chugging along. There was no reason for it to change. It was working. Then everything stopped and we had time to look at the way that things are going. Look at our industry for real, holistically, and I think a lot of us brown and Black folks saw that it's not working, not for us, and it hasn't been for a long time. We’ve been tokenized. So, in working alongside those organizations and those movements, I was trying to galvanize other brown and Black folks who felt similarly that the industry wasn’t working for us and we could do better. Like, especially in the theater.

The theater is different than film and television because it’s people in a room breathing the same air, there are people sharing space, right? And I’ve always wondered how we can do better at sharing spaces with one another; and I’m all about community. The theater for me has always been a community-driven space. So, I wanted this community to mean what it says! I do think that it's business as usual a little bit again, which is not concerning because I think that the theater is working the way that it was designed to work. Much like a lot of things in our society. Yes, we can push back on it, but if we don’t imagine new models—like completely new models—then the old models that we’re trying to reform are always going to try to revert back to the way they were working. Cause that’s how they were built to work. So, the momentum of some of these things, like We See You… there are several organizations, I don’t want to just point to that one… but I wonder what their role is now because things kind of feel like they’re back to normal. I mean, the seven Broadway shows that were Black-led that came right out of the pandemic, that’s a great thing. But they all closed pretty early. Even with Ain't No Mo… it’s not working. So what?

It’s not us, it’s not the Black creatives. Right? It's because we know these things that we’re trying to make it better and it’s not getting better. So, it feels like it’s the model. I don't know, I think we need to imagine bigger than we are even doing now. I think we need to think magically, we’re theatremakers, right? We deal in magical thinking. I think we need to do that more when it comes to the theater because right now we’re just trying to polish a turd a little bit, it feels like. [Laughs] Like, we know it doesn’t work. And we had all of this time to try to make it work and it’s still not working. I think of the Cleveland Play House incident that just happened. And I’m like, “How, after all of this time of listening and learning, did we come to this moment?” So, we have to think magically. We need to think bigger than I think we even know.

Rail: For our readers, what are some things that we need to really look at? You mentioned the seven shows that opened on Broadway in the fall of 2021: Pass Over by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Chicken & Biscuits by Douglas Lyons, Thoughts of a Colored Man by Keenan Scott II, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage, and Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau. Since that time, shows like Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo’, the Broadway transfer of the Asian-led musical K-Pop, MJ: The Musical (also penned by Nottage) and Adrienne Kennedy’s Ohio State Murders opened and closed on Broadway. Not to mention, Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop.

Gipson: And it won every single award it could possibly win; you know what I mean?

Rail: What are some things that we can look at in general for the field? Because this is a global issue affecting Black, Brown and BIPOC people on both sides of the pond. Using a bit of magical thinking, what are some concepts, machinations or ideas that could work?

Gipson: I think it starts with audience cultivation. Honestly. I think outreach is a huge thing that theaters don’t know how to do because they rely on their subscriber base. That's the truth. The subscriber base we know is mostly older white folks who have disposable income. Millennials don’t have disposable income. And like, I'm sorry, but to get a package at one of these off-Broadway theaters, or to go to a night at the theater and get a good seat, it’s expensive. Right? So there needs to be outreach to people who can't spend a hundred dollars or five hundred dollars or a thousand dollars on a package for a season. And we need to make it cool. Honestly, theater is not cool. It’s only cool when it’s like the hottest ticket in town, right? Right? We need to figure out a way to make theater accessible to people younger than the Boomers and to Millennials that don’t have disposable income. And it’s not gonna happen with one or two nights of Affinity Nights. It’s gonna happen by putting people on late night shows! I don't know. I’m not like a marketing person but to me, it feels like there’s a disconnect between what the theater is talking about. Because once people come see these plays and get talking, that’s where the change will happen. But you gotta get people into the theater and from what I’ve seen, it’s the same people. And yes, there’s Affinity Nights, and so you can go to a Black Theater Night or an LGBTQ Theater Night and see your community. But the truth of the matter is we’re either seeing it for the second time, or it’s because it's your community, you’re finally seeing those people, but they were gonna come to the show anyway.

Rail: Ain’t that the truth. So, you are trying to appeal to a particular audience. How would you market demons.?

Gipson: I don't know. That's interesting because I couldn’t go to churches, I don't think, and market this show in the same way that like Ain’t No Mo’ might be able to. I’m a professor, so I���m going to try and get young people to see this show. Young Black people because this show’s kind of weird. I like weird stuff. Weird Black shows can be successful too. Shows that are weird and Black… there's a place for them. A Strange Loop is weird to me. I’m like, that's cool. Passing Strange, things like that. How can we take Black surrealism, things that are a little left of center, but talk about being Black in a way that is just as valid as something that’s a little more straightforward.

Rail: You’ve grown exponentially as an artist, mostly because of just the nature of the beast. Where do you think the next stage of Keelay Gipson is going?

Gipson: I hope it is still in the theater. Actually, I know it is. I think I'm working on some musicals. I know I’m working on some musicals. I’m working on a new history play about Tulsa (because I’m from Tulsa and I haven’t written about being from Tulsa and being Black from Tulsa, and I think I should do that). So musicals, a play about Tulsa and hopefully, a film or a TV show.

Rail: And if you could bring any family member to see this show, who would you bring?

Gipson: I would bring my mother. Yeah, I would bring my mother. I kind of regret—I’ve told her to wait so many times to, you know, just wait until it’s the real thing. “Don’t come to the reading, just wait till it’s the real thing.” So, I would want her to see the real thing.

Rail: Pleasure to finally meet you, Keelay.

Gipson: No, this was lovely. Thank you. Thank you.

The Bushwick Starr and The Connolly Theater demons. May 20–June 10, 2023 Brooklyn

Contributor

Marcus Scott

Marcus Scott is a New York City-based playwright, musical writer, opera librettist, and journalist. He has contributed to Time Out New York, American Theatre Magazine, Architectural Digest, The Brooklyn Rail, Elle, Essence, Out, Uptown, Trace, Hello Beautiful, Madame Noire and Playbill, among other publications. Follow Marcus on Instagram.

[lynxbatics]

Ok so I saw Thor: Love & Thunder for the third time and I have some thoughts.

Here's a few things I wish had been done differently:

Get rid of the jokes in the opening scene. They completely ruined the vibe. It felt like Gorr and Rapu were acting in completely different films.

In general, the film could have done with a lot less "joking during a serious moment." I have no complaints about jokes in Marvel films, but it really bothers me when the jokes get in the way of emotional moments.

I know I sound like every other Marvel fan, but I think that with Gorr being the villain, it would have been a lot better for the film to be more serious.

The tone of the film varied so much between scenes it was a bit jarring.

I didn't really mind that the Guardians were written out so early. It's not their film + it would have felt too crowded.

Mighty Thor introduction was super cool though.

I also really liked the music used in the film!

A common complaint about the film that I've seen is that no one ever disproved Gorr's point that "all gods must die." In fact, the film is basically on Gorr's side, since it shows most of the gods acting like assholes.

So what I think would solve this problem would be to show the gods actually care about their worshipers.

One way this could be shown would be during Korg's "death." Instead of him surviving because "the only part of a Kronan that's alive is its mouth" (which ????), he survives because he is secretly saved by Ninny of the Nonny (who's right there! Plus, this would make one of the jokes have actual plot importance)

Maybe some of the gods in Omnipotence City could be shown as actually caring about stopping Gorr but too afraid to act in defiance of Zeus?

Don't have Korg interrupt Thor and Jane's moment on the ship!! It was so, so, unnecessary and it really ruined the mood.

The whole Gorr fight scene on that gray moon (?) was amazing. The VFX artists outdid themselves with the lighting. (rip Marvel VFX artists)

I've seen several people here on tumblr mention that they hated how Valkyrie was nerfed in the end. And yes, I agree that her excuse about not going to fight Gorr because she "would probably die" is totally out of character for her.

She's mentioned several times that she longs to die in battle and reach Valhalla, (she even goes as far as to say "if you're a viking you basically have to die in battle" at one point which both Sif AND Thor reinforce) and this is the perfect moment for that!

So I propose this: during the aftermath of the kid's kidnapping, have all of the Asgardians look to her for help. Have her realize how much she means to these people. And then instead of deciding to not go fight Gorr because she would probably die, have her choose not to go because even though she wants to reach Valhalla, she realizes that she has a duty to her people.

A lot of people had a problem with the child army but ??? Thor gave them the power to face their fears and fight! I think that's great. Would you rather have had them just stand there? Thor's awesome, but I don't think he could have handled fighting Gorr AND protecting the children from the shadow monsters.

Before we get to the ending I'd like to point out how GORGEOUS Eternity looks. One of the best parts of the film.

Ok, now my least favorite part: Gorr's wish.

It just made no sense to me at ALL to have him wish for his daughter back. He knew he was dying (he even said so himself!) and why dump her on Thor?? Poor kid would have to see her father die in front of her.

I didn't like how Gorr went from "destroy all gods" to "raise daughter from the dead" in one (1) Thor speech. Yes, I liked that he was redeemed, but that was not the way to go!!

I've been thinking about how I would have liked the film to end but I honestly can't think of anything, so here are my half baked ideas:

1. Gorr hears Thor's speech (which was nice btw - I liked the part of choosing to be with Jane in his final moments) and decides NOT to kill the gods, does nothing, and promptly dies. Who know what they do with their wish. (I'd rather not have them undo Jane's death because that was actually really well done).

2. Gorr realizes that there are some gods that do care for their people. (after Thor's speech he remembers all the gods that he killed - maybe some of them died protecting their people?) and decides that Eternity is too big a temptation for anyone, so he wishes for Eternity's gate to never open again.

3. Gorr realizes he is dying and decides that he wants to see his daughter one last time (NOT bring her to life). He wishes to see her again, and as soon as he dies, Love disappears as well.

Really liked the tribute to Jane at the end (the statue), as well as the two post credit scenes.

And those are some of the things I would have liked to see in the movie without changing too much.

Now! As a bonus here are some things that I think would have been a good idea, but would totally change the entire thing!

Have the film focus on how Thor closed off his heart because everyone who loves him dies. He doesn't let anyone get too close to him, something that's very apparent when he's with the Guardians. Once he has a re-encounter with Jane she helps him open up again, echoing her words at the end of the film. "Keep your heart open." And so Thor gets some character development!

And thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

[disney-forever-and-evermore]

How I imagine an in-universe The Avengers musical

based on the comments from this pin

He starts the musical with the song "The Avengers Initiative" sung by the narrator Nick Fury featuring his speech

Loki has a ballad called "Kneel Before Me" during the scene where Tony and Steve catch him. This includes his theme from past movies (does he have one?) and his speech from the films, making this song one of the most dramatic solo songs from the musical. We get (hopefully) multiple reprises, each one getting more depressing and honest. (thanks @maddy_clough on Pinterest for the idea, I just expanded on it). Also, Loki dances quite gracefully and shows off a lot of his magic.

Nat is a mezzo and her solo/theme is the softest-sounding song (also @maddy_clough's idea). I honestly want it to be based on some sort of American children's rhyme (itsy bitsy spider?) to show how she is created by the red room since she was a child and was forced to watch many old (prob golden ages/wartime Walt Disney animation studios) Disney movies to learn American culture. Her fighting style is based on ballet and is the most graceful of them all. In her solo, she performs actual ballet, and fun fact, Nat is always played by an actor professionally trained in ballet.

The Chitauri has the most chaotic, hopefully unhinged dance ensemble, during the battle of new york. I just want it to be the craziest shit ever. But not disrespectful to the people lost in the battle of new york.

Steve actually doesn't have his own song/theme, it's the chorus girl song from the 40s. Fury did it to annoy tf out of Steve (and to please fanboy Coulson), but it is actually there to show you that since Steve became Captain America, Steve himself is just secondary. Most people don't want to know him because he's Steve but because he's Captain America. You'll think that Steve dances most with his shield but he's still Steve. He just punches every Chitauri he comes across using the shield as a surprise attack.

Look no one knows why the choreographer decided this but Clint never lets go of his bow & arrow when dancing. Like no one knows why, he just does. Hopefully, he does flips and cool moves, and he'll still be holding his fuckin bow & arrow. Oh and after the battle of new york, we get a bit where he lost his hearing aid so Nat & Clint sign to each other, and behind them, there's a little screen projection of each sign and what they mean. Considering how he isn't in any other MCU movies other than the avengers, I doubt that he has his own solo. like I wished he had a solo and confirmed that he does in fact spend most of his time in the vents but no one appreciates him in the mcu so...

Hulk has an actually good costume. Idk how they'll show the transformation but the Hulk costume is actually good. Bruce's solo is chaotic in a different sense cause Bruce and Hulk are fighting for the solo and their themes crash together. So the fight for control is also represented in the dance cause Bruce dances very small and it's controlled. Hulk is not as unhinged as the Chitauri but is out of control.

Thor's dance is based on Asgardian fighting techniques and how he fights in battle with his hammer. Unlike everyone else, he has an accent and in the script, the director used a whole different font like the comics to show that difference in accent and customs. I'm not sure how but I want Thor's solo and Loki's solo to be parallel in a sense, how you can see that they grew up together but there's a difference in outside respect that changes what they want.

Now Tony is very genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist throughout the musical but when he fights? He's the least graceful. Not only is he wearing his Iron Man costume (which is also very good and realistic) but he and Bruce are the only ones without actual training so he's very... chaotic. He has a solo where he introduces himself to the Avengers in "Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist" which shows Tony as what the in-universe during 2012 portrays him as but in the reprise, it's from Tony's actual perspective which is heartbreaking as always but the catch is the narrator changes from fury to Peggy for this reprise to shows the connection between him and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Does Coulson die, yes sadly. I'm sorry I can't change that even in the musical

Sadly Maria Hills was removed from the musical because according to Secret Invasion, Marvel and the MCU doesn't appreciate her enough to keep to alive.

The musical concludes with now the Avengers singing "The Avengers Initiative" with everyone doing their superhero pose cause why tf not.

[slyfire]

FE: Engage - Chapter 16

maybe a secret fates remake all along.

Woah, A bond supports seem to be longer then a single line each. or at least this Amber/Houses!Lords one is.

Why was Lyn like 'idk if that's a complement, but thanks' like girl c'mon. SHE'S SAYING YOU'RE PRETTY & FIERCE.

Alfred & Timerra C

Amber & Seadall C kid named Greg: 🦙 I saw this support a bit before, as it was Seadall's preview conversation. Gotta say, I love Amber taking gregarious as a name.

Timerra & Diamant C

I LOVE YOUU Diamant she would beat your ass.

Fogado & Clanne C Hh please don't bring up pickles. Actually yeah, their internal ages are only 1 year apart (but you really can't trust them for engage, so idk)

Amber & Zelkov C

Alfred & Diamant B I'm obsessed with how Alfred says 'Nice' Alfred scared me for sec ngl.

Just got my first non S++ rating in strength training. I will never recover.

Alear & Seadall C

Although I think Seadall's outfit leans into orientalism...he himself is quite pretty.

Alear & Yunaka B

Onto the corrin map. looks like it's the chapter 6 map after you choose your route. smh why isn't it snow shovelling 🙄 /j

lmao I love the units on the bottom corners representing the siblings,

[BATTLE START]

Awww

The map itself was pretty easy.

[POST BATTLE]

Honestly Alear & Corrin are quite alike in character set up.

Alear & Amber B more weird sounds from Amber 💛💛

Alcryst & Céline A Céline gets it. Alcryst I promise you're strong. A lovely support, even if in a way bittersweet.

Alear & Fogado C I love that you're a rascal too, Fogado.

Fogado & Timerra C Sibby

Timerra & Merrin B

You're telling me she was thinking of her as 'my princess' before she knew?? I was already shipping them so woah. I kinda like the lack of music here. Just lovely campfire sounds.

Man Fogado got real close waking Alear there.

Toooo the chapter map.

LEAVE ÉVE ALONE

Mauvier is really bringing down the hounds rn.

Marni spittin' facts.

[BATTLE START]

So I have tiki on Amber, and his Tiki lines are killing me. his "I'm getting sleepy" is so goofy compared to when I had it on Alear.

While Marni was pretty easy (Fogado + Magic bow), Mauvier was a bit of a problem...he's really bulky. I had to use great aether + twin strike + all for one, since it was almost just engage skills that could deal damage to him.

[POST BATTLE]

Yeah yeah, we know Alear is 100% the sibling. I'm still on my assumption that there's different mothers though.

...Survived? are we getting some nohr sibling lore action here?

Thinking time! If Sombron had many kids, then i really do think that Alear is Lumera's only child, but somehow had Alear with Sombron. His kids are also different ages, if Veyle was 'too young'. Maybe Lumera had Alear, then kept them separate? Maybe even keeping them away from everything. Then when Alear was older, they acted out, got involved with their father somehow, then oops Redded! Before engage dropped, i had ideas that maybe Lumera wasn't as good a person as we thought, and maybe she kept Veyle imprisoned. I'm not so confident on that now, but I think Lumera is hiding something. Other than Alear's father, ofc.

We're really getting into the story now!

[thequeenwechoose]

My Thoughts on House of the Dragon 1x03

Spoiler ahead. Book Spoiler.

Rhaenyra: As i predicted in the last rewiew she is even more isolated now. Of course part of this is her own doing but i understand her fear of being replaced after alicent had aegon and her father got the son he always wanted. It doesn’t help that the entire realm thinks he would prefer aegon simply because he is a boy. That boar killing scene was sure a good way to let her frustration out. And walking through the camp coverd in blood, she definitly has self esteem (she will need it).

Daemon: Oh my. He continues to amaze me more every week. I hoped for a huge battle simply because i wanted a bit of action but i did not expect a one man show out of spite. The music, the close ups, the fight simply amazing. The openig scene with caraxes fantastic. There seems to be a real connection between him and his dragon. He is the one character that made me start watching the show because of the book and he does not dissapoint.

Viserys: He got better this episode. Him actually talking to rhaenyra and explaining to her why she must marry is very reasonable. He will not live forever (his hand rotting away is a clear sign of it). My problem with him is the thing he has with prophecies. He believes absolutly that what he dreames will become true and values dreams over the very real power of dragons. So far i remember only Daenys and Daenerys had dreams that became true. Not sure where this will lead. Turning a blind eye to the war on the stepstones for three years because he thinks it’s not his buisness is hard to stomach. What did he do in the least three years other then getting three children on his teenage wife? Bonus points for rhaenyra calling him out on it.

Alicent: She seems to realize thst she can influence viserys good for her bad for everyone else (in the future). Otherwise she sits just around and touches her belly. Or lets her father lecture her again. Also is that hairnet supposed to make her look older? I doesn’t.

Otto: Why is he still here should he not be exiled by now? Does he never get tired of sheming? Marry your daughter to her two year old brother, i can’t hear it anymore. His only misson seems to be bring aegon on the throne.

Laenor Valeryon: He seems pretty smart and likes dragonriding. Rhaenyra should have no problem with him. He also seems to value daemon.

Christon Chole: A decent fellow so far but i can’t see anything romantic between him and rhaenyra. So i wonder what will make him turn on her.

I must confess i did not like this episode except of the beginning and the ending. The trip to the kings wood seemed endless to me. Pretty sure GRR insisted on it after they screwed up robert baratheons hunting scene. After all he said this was the one thing he would change if he could.

In the inside the episode they said this was the end of childhood for rhaenyra, alicent and daemon (not sure what makes them think daemon is a child). So i guess we can expect a change in the next episode from all three.

Some predictions on episode four since everyone does it,

I don’t understand why some people think that daemon would have something with alicent. I mean why would he and why should she. Just because aemond resembles daemon a bit. Just no.

It seems we will be robbed of one of the most badass entrances ever since there is no tourney in sight and that scene obviously will happen in the throneroom. I feel robbed already.

Something will happen between daemon and rhaenyra what i m not sure. I can see him smuggeling her in a brothel on her wish. She knows nothing about sex at this point and has no one to ask either. So why not ask her beloved uncle?

Daemon being dragged in the throneroom and threatend by viserys will be hard to watch. Wonder if we hear the give the girl to me for wife who else would take her now? Can’t see it with that version of daemon yet.

[translationandbetrayals]

Pokémon Red: an ode to childhood

Back in the day, when I was 7/8 years old, I discovered videogames through emulators. We had a computer for me and my siblings, and I would always watch my sister playing Darkstalkers. As a child, I loved using the computer for playing games, so when my sister taught me how to play Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros 3, I really thought I had discovered one of the most important treasures of my life. The SNES emulator showed me new worlds, very different from the games intended for children that were on the internet. Then one day I found a Pokémon Red ROM on my computer, with a Gameboy emulator: I remember thinking that the anime was so succesful that the Pokémon creators made a game (such as with other franchises), but this was the opposite case. 

What makes Pokémon a classic?What does it make it so appealing to a large mass of people?. Now that I am an adult and I still play this game, I think that this phenomenon is due to a very unique game experience. The creator of these videogames said he thought of his childhood hobby of collecting insects: so we start in, again, a new world filled with creatures that resemble animals and objects. He didn't rely on the classic formula of showing blood and deaths: instead, he went for adding fights among the pokémons, without the unnecessary violence that we see in other games. The fact that every pokémon has its own design and different stats made it different from the games that were popular at the time: this is why Pokémon Red is such a classic, along with its secrets, glitches, curiosities, merchandise, Anime and everything that came after it.

I choose Pokémon Red because it's the first game. Of course, we have a lot of versions that come after, and a lot of pokémons, but for some reason I feel like this one screams nostalgia for the 90s kids or babies. The music was made specially for the Gameboy experience, having songs that are really bubbly and happy, and then passing to songs that are kind of creepy, and even inspire creepypastas (Lavender Town still scares me, because it's just... weird). One of these songs was taken as the theme for the Anime: it's just a perfect soundtrack for a perfect game. The project was considered ambitious as first, because all of the features, but I personally think that all of the effort was worth it.

The Pokémon Red experience is not only based in fighting: you have to take care of your pokémons, travel through the Kanto region and complete different tasks, such as defeating Team Rocket, going to their Casino, or even waking up a sleeping Snorlax. You have to unlock new cities and battle gym leaders, which will drive you to the Pokémon League, to show your habilities as a Pokémon Trainer. You can use a Bike, buy different items and go to attractions such as the Safari Zone: all of these features are in the following games, but at least for me, nothing defeats the original 151 pokémon from Kanto.

The same thing that I described before happens in my mind with the first seasons: I really miss watching Ash, Misty and Brock having adventures together, and the "To be continued..." message on each episode, that got you hanging on what was going to happen next chapter. Jigglypuff was a strong character, along with the cuteness from Pikachu, the Psyduck clumsiness, the laziness of Slowpoke and Meowth's dialogue and stories. I think that a lot of people feel the same: mainly because Pokémon was really big when we were children (back in the early 2000s), it was everywhere and it just takes you back to simpler times. When my generation gets old, I feel like a lot of us, ancient beings, will hold the Pokémon memory in our hearts.

Camila Iglesias

[grahamstoney]

My Worst Therapy Session Ever

New Post has been published on https://grahamstoney.com/therapy/my-worst-therapy-session-ever

My Worst Therapy Session Ever

I’ve had a lot of therapy in my time visiting counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, life coaches and emotional healing gurus. Most of them were helpful to some degree. If I were to have my time over again, I’d get help sooner like when I was a child and the other kids at school were bullying me or when parent’s arguments were frightening me and keeping me up at night.

I’m currently studying music performance full-time at a local secondary college and the environment feels a lot like going back to school; albeit one where the subjects are a lot more fun.

Last year I found myself getting into conflict with one of the other mature-age male students. He seemed like a decent enough guy but we started butting heads over some of his behaviour that I was finding triggering. He had some personal challenges that he complained about loudly and frequently in class which I didn’t want in my face all the time as we were there to study music. “Write songs about it and use it creatively”, I thought, “But don’t just keep coming in whining about it all the time”. I also didn’t like the way he interrupted and dominated conversations I was having with other people, or the way he back-slapped and touched me.

For me it felt like my boundaries were being violated. I pulled him aside for a man-to-man chat, asked what was going on for him, explained to him what was going on for me and asked if he would be willing to behave a little differently, at least around me. It was all very NVC and the initial conversation appeared to go fairly well. Then over time things between us started to go downhill.

At lunch one day I was having a light-hearted conversation with my other college friends when he came up and said “Why don’t you stop being such a cunt, Graham?”, then walked off.

I was rather stunned at the time and didn’t know how to respond. It didn’t feel friendly and light-hearted, it felt like an aggressive take-down and when I thought about it later I felt angry.

When talking the situation over with a good female friend of mine from college, she said:

“It looks like we’ve got an alpha-male battle going on here.”

The next day I asked him before class if we could talk. I felt myself starting to shake as my old fear of conflict came up. Nevertheless, I was there to resolve my issues and wanted to assert my boundaries so I told him “I didn’t like it yesterday when you came up to the conversation we were having and called me a cunt. I would appreciate it if you kept that sort of thing to yourself.”

He said “OK” nonchalantly and went into class.

Then it was his turn to ask me for a conversation, where he said something I don’t remember that I suspect boiled down to him not liking being told what to do. I was very nervous and getting increasingly angry sensing that he wasn’t respecting my boundaries. As my anger rose I felt myself becoming unable to think straight. Being aware that I didn’t want to say anything I would regret later, I raised my voice and just said: “Look, back off all right?”

“I don’t want to have to deal with your aggression”, he replied as he walked off.

I was happy with the outcome, although the process felt uncomfortable since I haven’t always been assertive with challenging people. That’s what it’s like whenever we’re practising a new skill: it feels uncomfortable at first. However, remaining passive around people who treat me in ways that I don’t like has never worked well for me. The situation was quite triggering for me as it tapped into some long-standing trauma around conflict and bullying, so I was experiencing a lot of anxiety.

Thinking back to my experience feeling frightened and unsupported around parental conflict and schoolyard bullying, I decided to do things differently this time around. So I booked a session with one of the counsellors in the student services unit of the college to get some empathy and support.

The counsellor I was allocated was a middle-aged female psychologist. I can’t exactly remember how our session began, but I imagine she would have asked why I was there and I would have said something like: “I’m here at college studying music performance and I find myself getting into conflict with another mature-age male student so I’d like some empathy and support please.”

She Just Kept Talking At Me

What I remember most about her response was the psychologist talking at me. I didn’t feel at all connected to her. It felt like I’d just walked into a lecture. I was clear in my mind about why I was there as I have a pretty good understanding of how traumatic childhood bullying can be, how unresolved childhood trauma gets triggered in adult life, and how to heal it when it comes up.

It is possible that I wasn’t as clear in what I said about what I was seeking as I’ve just described; but I would have thought that a psychologist would be fairly skilled at working out what a client was needing and how best to get that need met.

Instead, she just kept talking at me. I honestly can’t even remember what she said, probably because it didn’t seem relevant. I kept waiting for a chance to get a word in edge-wise. When I did speak, there wasn’t any of that Rogerian “Sounds like you feel …” reflective listening stuff coming back my way and I subsequently didn’t feel heard.

Her tone even felt critical towards me. At one point she said: “You’re not giving me very much”

To which I replied: “That’s because you keep on talking”

I proceeded to try and explain what was going on between me and the other student and why it was important to me given my past experiences to get the empathy and support I was seeking.

“He’s entitled to behave however he wants”, she said, “You can’t dictate how someone else behaves.”

I was gob-smacked. While I may not be able to demand that another person change their behaviour just to suit me, I certainly can request that they back off when I feel they are over-stepping my boundaries. If they fail to comply with my request, I can remove myself from the situation. This is basic assertiveness.

I felt like I was receiving judgment and condemnation rather than empathy and support. So much for unconditional positive regard.

“Really?”, I replied, “Let’s say I was a woman and this guy was touching me in ways that I didn’t like. Are you seriously saying that it would be OK with you?”

At this point the psychologist’s allegiance appeared to switch entirely. “He’s got no right to touch you”, she said, “You should tell him to ‘fuck off!’”

I was stunned at what I was hearing. Telling someone to “fuck off” isn’t assertive, it’s aggressive. Perhaps it would work with this guy and there certainly are some people in my life who I would like to tell to “fuck off”, but I’m pretty sure it’s not something [intlink id=”1748″ type=”post”]Marshall Rosenberg[/intlink] would have recommended if I wanted to avoid the situation escalating into violence.

By this time we were almost at the end of the session and I was feeling very frustrated. I think she was too.

“What is it that you want from me?”, the psychologist asked

“I want empathy and reassurance!”, I replied exasperated

“I don’t do empathy”, she replied blankly.

Given what I know about trauma and the universal importance of empathy in the process of any effective therapy, I was completely floored.

Perhaps she saw my mouth hanging open as she continued: “… but I have a colleague who does and I’m happy to refer you to her. It’s fine with me if you see her instead.”, as if she wanted me to be clear that switching psychologists wasn’t going to hurt her feelings. Perhaps she didn’t have any.

“What the hell are you doing working as a psychologist if you don’t do empathy?”, I thought to myself. In hindsight I wish I had said it out loud.

Empathy is the most important ingredient in any effective therapy. End of story.

[chicagofanfictionfan]

Lil' Sis | Part 16

Warning contains spanking

"Yes, sir, all clear sir!" Abby spoke with a military salute.

"Don't be a smartass Abs." Gibbs said as he gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, cranked the car and left.

Just as soon as Gibbs taillights were gone, Abby walked back into the house, thinking to herself ' OK, one smart, tech savvy forensic extraordinare vs. one older man, getting around this grounding should be a jif.'

Only Abby counted out one thing, this was no ordinary old man, this was Jackson Gibbs, father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"So Grandpa, what do we do? I mean I am here and available to help as needed." Abby spouted cheerfully. She had every intention of getting on Jack's good side and hopefully start wearing down the old man so that she could have a little leeway.

"Well, Abigail, I need to head back into town and finish inventory of my store. How does that sound?"

"Well, it sounds better than sitting here all by myself, with nothing to do, so bored and alone?" Abby finished with an exaggerated SIGH. " Abby was hoping that a little self pity would really pull on Jackson's heart string. "Of course, I would not have to be bored if I something to do or listen to." Abby was laying the pout on thick now, maybe just maybe this would work.

Jackson smiled that crooked Gibbs like smile and said," Well the best thing one can do to avoid being bored is to get busy, so let's go into to town and get to work." The look of shock on Abby's face when Jackson did not give in to her little ploy was priceless. "Those little pouts will not work here sweetheart, how do you think Jethro learned his ways? Huh?"

Abby realized a losing battle, so she gladly jumped into the car and went into town. During the short ride an idea popped into Abby's mind. 'Well, maybe I can find some computer hookups here, or at least some music, this will be a good chance to explore my options.' Abby thought to herself. "Grandpa, while we are in town, do you mind if I go look around, I would like to learn a little of how Jethro grew into the man he is today?"

"Yeah sure Abby, just help me unload the heavier boxes and then you can take a break. Just be careful, and don't do anything stupid. You know what I mean?"

"Yes, sir." Abby smiled and answered.

After unloading the boxes, Abby started to look around town, hoping to find a little internet café or some semblance of civilization, but to her shock all she found was a little pizzeria and a larger drugstore. So after chatting up with the pizzeria owner she started across road back to Grandpa's store.

"Hello, you are new around here aren't you?"

The voice caught Abby off guard, she had so wrapped up in her thoughts she had failed to see the person behind her. "Un. Yeah, just visiting my granddad for a week." Abby answered and started to notice that the girl was about the same age as her, and maybe she would know some connections. "My name is Abby, I am here visiting Jackson Gibbs, who are you?"

"My name is Eliza, and wait a minute, I thought that Jackson only had one son, Leroy. I thought Leroy's only child was killed in an accident years ago?"

"Well, yeah that is all true, but I have worked with Gibbs since I was younger and he has taken on the roll of a father figure in not only mine, but my colleagues lives. And since I am the youngest, I have always been the baby of the group, but they always seem to forget that I actually am an adult." AS Abby was explaining her situation to Eliza, she realized just how childish and unfairly she was being treated. As she started thinking about this she was more and more determined to do as she pleased, to hell with what the others thought.

"So if you work in D.C., then why are you here, are you on vacation?" Eliza asked innocently.

Seeing that she may have a found a ally, Abby started the whole story again.

"You mean he actually spanked you? Oh, my I would have thought you were too old to be taken over some ones knees. And then to ground you on top of all of that, that is .able. I would not do it. I mean you are an adult, so just do as you want to, what is stopping you? Eliza added.

"Well the main thing stopping me is that Jackson threatened to spank me if I break the rules and then to add insult to an already sore problem, Gibbs promised to reinforce the lesson. SO I WILL HAVE DOUBLE THE PUNISHMENT! And believe you me, you do not want one so two is unthinkable." Abby frowned as she thought that all her hopes were now gone, she really did not want to feel the Gibbs wrath times two.

Eliza grabbed her arm and started back across the street, "Well, I just we just won't get caught will we?"

"Yeah, I mean how hard can it be to outsmart and old man. I mean, I am a forensic extraordinaire, I should be able to outwit one person, right? So tell me what do you have?" Abby was now getting excited again.

"Well, back at my house I have internet, and TV and phones so just ask Grandpa if you can come over tomorrow, and if he asks anything, just tell him that you met Eliza and are going to help me finish the design and setup of his new loft."

"Ok, well I will meet you here around 10am tomorrow." Abby skipped back into the store just as Jackson was getting ready to close up.

"Oh, there you are girl, I was just getting ready to come find you and make sure you had stayed out of trouble." Jackson said with a grin.

"Believe you me, I am still feeling the lingering effects of Jethro's talk this morning, so I am in no hurry for any repeat." Abby said as she sat into the car. "Grandpa, I met someone my age and was wondering if I could go help her finish her project. Her name is Eliza and "

"Eliza, yeah, I know here, smart girl, brilliant future as an architect if she could ever get out of here and into a good school. Are y'all going to finish my loft?" Jackson inquired.

"Got it in one , yep we are. I told her about some new ideas for safety and alarms for protection and she thought she could work them into her design. So can I, can I please…?"

"OK, only one condition, I trust you Abigail," Jackson looked her straight into the eyes and held her attention as he spoke quietly but with authority. "I expect you to follow the same rules as always, if I so much as catch a drift you are breaking your grounding, then I will not hesitate to apply some lessons to your backside. AM I clear?"

GULP!" Um, yeah, grandpa, of course . Loud and clear." Abby just had to make sure she was not caught for sure now!

[e1-bi]

SPOILERS FOR FNAF SECURITY BREACH!!

and yes, I'm aware this blog is Jojo but I just needed to share this...

Yeah, FNAF Security Breach is amazing but why is nobody talking about Gregory looking like that? I'm concerned about why Freddy thought it was a good idea to let the 12-year-old sassy gremlin child even drive the car. He looks like he's going to murder your entire family... and he will if he wanted to.

Gregory with an actual gun, though? Yeah, the first thing he'll probably do is shoot the Map S.T.A.F.F Bot. As mentioned before, he said,

"Ugh! I hate that thing!" (or as my "amazing" memory says so)

Gregory does not like it. Especially when he ran into the Map S.T.A.F.F Bot and whipped it off. Making the creepy, chaotic face we see above.

Second, I think it'd be Chica. Counting how many times you see her around. She's all over the place and the first enemy you encounter and interact with. Chica already got folded by Gregory. But I don't think it'll really stop her, she got crushed by the trash compacter. Voicebox taken. Got her beak crushed by Gregory. And she still stands. But after he messes her up, I think the gun will come in handy by that period. She's immune to a ton of things. But if it was the originals then they will immediately get broken.

Third, it'll be little Music Man. Or at least Gregory tries. It's not possible. It moves in a zig-zag when outside the vents. And inside the vents, it goes in a circle. And it moves rapidly. He'll only waste ammo. But it's worth the shot.

Fourth(or third), Roxanne. You see her more than Montgomery, or Monty. Because of her speed, I think it'd be a little harder when you're running from her and you have to reload, that takes time. But it's definitely possible, far from impossible. Because of her narcissism and the way she thinks, she'll underestimate Gregory. Gregory is a clever, chaotic child. And when he's devoted to something he'll do it. He's not a pussy. But once you shoot her, she'll have a mental breakdown. Again, narcissism. At the start of the game, you see Roxanne talking to herself. Hyping herself up. Basically, being a narcissist. And, one of her quotes is,

"I bet I'm your favourite?"

Obviously, it's not true. But when you hear her talking to the mirror, she says,

"Everybody loves you."

She's hyping herself up. Basically saying how everything about her IS perfect. And you hear Roxanne crying when you get far enough in the game. Everything about her has to be perfect. It's a narcissistic thought but it's clear that she thinks that way.

Fifth, Monty. Monty is strong and clearly has anger issues. So I don't think it'll be possible. He'll hurt Gregory, and I'm pretty sure that's his intention throughout the game when he gets more pissed off. In the Boss Battle, I think Monty will harm Gregory. Again, anger issues. But he's not ALLOWED to. So at first, he restrains himself when he doesn't catch Gregory. Going around the middle, I bet it's harder to restrain himself. And at the end, he just snaps, I'm assuming. Again, anger issues.

But if it's Gregory we're talking about, yes, he will shoot Monty. Because he's a more recent animatronic, his body and endoskeleton will be stronger. Bonnie broke down and they replaced him with Monty. You don't see him in parts & services but I think they threw him out. In the messages, they talk about replacing Bonnie with Monty because of the fame and money their receiving BECAUSE they did that. Meaning, they quickly fixed another animatronic up but more beefed up than the others. And replaced Bonnie. So it'll take multiple shots to take him out.

Sixth, probably Vanny. But because of her glitchiness and such, it's impossible. Like, seriously impossible. Your vision glitches out when she's near you. You could barely see her. Yes, you can shoot her when she's far away. But with her glitchiness, the bullet would probably glitch out. Which will be very cool for detail yet very frustrating for the player.

And the people he took mercy on...

First, it's Freddy. Everyone knows this by now. Freddy is the himbo father, of course not! Gregory will never.

Second, Vanessa. Because she's human. It's illegal and that'll be a homicide. But, I'm a 50/50 with this one. All of this happened because Vanessa is chasing him. If Gregory shoots Vanessa, I don't think he'll give two shits. Either way, if she dies or not. Gregory probably doesn't want to get arrested and hunted down by the police. If it was legal then he will shoot Vanessa. Plus, Vanessa was kind of a dick to Freddy so Gregory will probably get mad.

Third, huge Music Man. No words. But for the people who say he will, no he won't. Music Man is huge and nothing will barely happen to him. Gregory can't hit a weak spot if he has multiple hands and legs. It'll just add a hole and Music Man will get furious and just unalive Gregory. Plus Music Man's place as HOLES in it. He can just crawl into one and be fine.

Fourth, Sundrop. Why would you ever want to shoot Sundrop? He's harmless! You monster! He only bans you for breaking his ONE rule. That's respectable. He lets you do anything, just don't break his ONE rule. Plus, he just wants to have fun with you. He's so gentle with you too. Why would you ever want to hurt him? But because of Moondrop, it's understandable. But if you hurt Moondrop, you hurt Sundrop. So Gregory can't shoot Moondrop. But he will if he could've.

The moral of the story is, don't fuck with Gregory. Just don't. He can and will fold you. Even if he looks innocent. But there's nothing innocent about the picture above. Looks like he came from hell, more powerful than the lord of hell itself.

[hoodoobarbie]

The mythology of the Siren, Mermaid, Water Spirits & Mami Wata and it’s origins within black feminity.

Today I had to listen to other another black woman rant about how mermaids/sirens/mami wata are evil low key. So this educational post was born in response. 

Did you really think the divine essence of the black feminine wouldn’t protect itself ? That energy exists for a reason.  Suddenly it’s evil, to have teeth and protect yourself from predators. Water is a precious resource. You will be tested to see if you are deserving of it or not. Also these spirits will defend natural resources so they don’t get fucked up by human greed. 

It’s common for some places in Africa for people to offer the Sirens/Mami Wata/Water spirits or make an offerings/contracts with them in order to use the resources on their land. It also keeps the white ppl away too because they cause so much trouble.

Sirens are also associated with being the killers of children and men, but often this is completely misrepresented intentionally.

Men fear the power of the siren because she can override the patriarchy at core and can completely unravel them. The orgins of many water spirits lie in matriachal societies, temples divine feminine and motherhood. This is why temples and sacred magikal knowledge was intentionally destroyed and stolen, especially to empower the white patriarch.

Sirens are also described as thiefs of children and child killers. Sirens have been known to kidnap kids who were being abused or have were murdered near water and take them to their kingdom to restore them.

Sometimes the child returns, sometimes they are not. However in general they are big on kidnapping people, mostly women and giving them powers, if they decide to return. The idea of them eating and killing children, was a lie perpetuated by Greeks to cover up some truly horrific acts. Unfortunate these false accusations have been allowed to continue to perpetuate.

If a siren is acting in a predatory way, there is a reason why as their energy as been disturbed. Sirens are natural guardians. 

So the real question is . . . what did you do ? Did you destroy their habitat ? Abuse a child or a person ? Commit an egregious act against a woman ie rape/murder etc ? Disrespect a sacred place, the land, the seas or rivers ? Steal precious resources that weren’t yours to take ?

These sacred traditions are more than just deities, spirits and our ancestors. All forms of ATR are access to our spiritual mind state as an entire community. When you move in Vodou, you can sense the whole of black consciousness and all of our problem spots, specifically  areas that need healing. 

Oxum-Oshun, Olokun, Yemaya, the Mami Wata, La Baliene, La Siren, Met Agwe, The Simbi - these are all spirits with a connection to waters. Water is life and has always been inherently associated feminine energy. I’m not going into detail about all these cross connections but let’s chat about La Sirene, specifically.

La Sirene, Queen of all Mermaids is more than just a powerful sorceress and queen of song/music and dreams, she is also a keeper of secrets an a guardian of sacred memories & knowledge.

Many of the souls of slaves, from the Transatlantic slave trade that were thrown off the boats into the ocean are her children, citizens and warriors now. She comforts them eternally & they live in paradise. That doesn’t mean all of these souls are at rest, plenty continuously ask their mother if they will be avenged, especially the young children. She also has a close connection with the Indigenous Taino. The isle of Hispaniola also known as Haiti (Ayiti) & the Dominican Republic is her most known domain. 

Let’s not act like slavery and colonization was a cake walk. Rape was common place and mermaids, water spirits offered African and Indigenous women protection and power over men. They became demonized overtime for their hypnotic powers and killing men, who often overstepped their boundaries. Women could leave offerings to these spirits, work or commune with them and be quickly avenged or gain great power and wealth. All of this was threatening to the white patriarchal standard.

La Sirene’s presence in Haiti and other merfolk tales that float around the Caribbean/West Indies, is not without purpose. She has ties to many people and many different cultures. Her sacred symbols are global. This is why I speculate she is much older than people think. La Sirene, is a fairly young evolution. She clearly has ties to much older things. Her older names might have been lost but she has evolved, to save her self and also document other forgotten elements of history in the process. There are those who speculate that La Sirene is the embodiment of a cross mixed culture, the evolution of Indigenous & African water spirits combined, due to the excess trauma of colonization and so the Mermaid Queen was born. Others will argue that she is the Orisha Yemaya but a newer avatar of her.  I hate to argue semantics but I will say this, she exists and her presence is felt to this day, all around the world. 

La Sirene is often depicted as a mulatto woman with eyes like the sea but if you have been blessed to see her in dream state, she does appear sometimes as a brown or dark skinned skinned woman of possibly mixed Indigenous/African ancestry with glowing hypnotic eyes.  Alot of her older depictions, deal with colorism and slavery, but as things have grown in the modern world this imagery has begun to change. However mermaids, are known for their shapeshifting powers - to truly behold her true form, is a gift reserved for the rare few. 

As a keeper of the mysteries, La Sirene also access to many forgotten things in the black subconscious. The element of water is an intensely psychic sign.  Water is her domain, and what is the human body 80% of? WATER! The truth does not hide from her hypnotic eyes. This sacred connection to water and her essence, also means you can  track forgotten elements black history and connect to other deities/cultures who’ve had contact with her & her whole court or other black water spirits as a whole. So let’s take a short historical trip down memory lane.

The Greeks & Black women. Sirens, Aphrodite, Sibyls and other Children of Water 🧜🏾‍♀️

The deity Aphrodite/Venus is of Grecian and Roman legend.  

A little known magikal fact is that Aphrodite/Venus is half siren. She is a child of the water, she was literally birthed this way after Uranus got his balls cut off & thrown into the sea. Much of her Venusian influence and powers of love and beauty come from this element. Now my Mambo doesn’t like mentioning it but Aphrodite, is tolerated by the oceanic court of sirens/mermaids. Any child of water, falls under the domain of the queen. La Sirene has a sort of strange fondness for her and so does Aphrodite for her. However this doesn’t mean they are best friends.  It’s tentative friendship at best and comes with some perks. Aphrodite works quickly for children of water sirens and often will send mermaids to her devotees who misbehave. She has deliberately placed me around her people have pissed her off, to cause mischief. She’s quite petty but also  very generous. I won’t go as far to dare and say she is in the queen’s court, but she does curry favor with the queen. Being born of water, her half siren/mermaid influence has definitely attributed to legends of her beauty in myth but also her treachery with men 🧜🏾‍♀️😂. She clearly also has some sort of homesickness for the world underneath the water, because many of her offerings are gifts of pearls, kisses, sea shells, beauty products etc. Anyone who serves the Mermaid Queen knows the meaning behind those gifts. If you’re a black gyal with water or siren energy and decide to work with Aphrodite, do it!  If you ever irritate her, the least she’ll do is give you pimples and fuck up your skin, she won’t have the full power to completely fuck up your love life like she does with the white girls.  And let me tell you, she has completely ruined some white girls lives by giving them terrible lovers or men.  

The trident 🔱 is known for its connection in Greek and Hindu cultures.  However La Sirene or other African water spirits are depicted carrying it, which is largely ignored in the occult world.

You can track the trident in Hinduism, with the serpent spirits, the nagas or Lord Shiva but let’s focus on it’s Grecian connection. The usage of the trident and Poseidon, even in mainstream society today is associated with him.  This lets us know there is a connection between the mermaids, merfolk and La Sirene/African water spirits. Poseidon’s trident was rumored to made in Athens by the Cyclops - this is the city of Athena. So now we can track an element of black history all the way to Poseidon & Athena. Keep that in your thoughts we’ll come back to that later.

Tridents were also used ceremonially in Africa & India as well, as scepters, tribal weapons and religious symbols.

They were also associated with the sea faring people and fishing. It’s highly likely the origins of the trident are cross mixed between these two societies. Indo-African relations, go back to the Bronze age and the Indus Valley civilization. Which means traveling over by sea to reach each other was necessary. There is historical evidence of African millet being found in a Indian city Chanhudaro, including a cemetary or burial ground for African women.  Maritime relations between these two groups existed before Grecian & the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasties.

Now of course there are some deranged historians that will try to whitewash history and say the trident has its origins from the labyrs but the Ancient Greeks & Africans/Indians interacted regularly. The trident also looks nothing like a labyrs, which is quite literally a double sided axe.  This is one of the more painful obvious pieces of white washing and historical revisionism. 

Regardless, the trident is associated with water, ceremonial/religious purposes, fishing, battling in the coliseum and the symbol of power for a few African,  Black diasporian an Hindu deities.

🧜🏾‍♀️ Oracles & Sibyls

Some sibyls/oracles were known to be African prophetesses/Mamissi to the Mami Wata/Sirens in Africa, some were stolen or captured by Greeks or Romans, sold into slavery and made to be oracles, some of whom became quite famous in legend. Their connection to these water spirits, is what gave them their gift of prophecy. Not every sibyl or oracle was African but SOME were.  This lead to the sharing and theft of sacred knowledge. It’s likely these women shared this sacred information, with their colleagues, some whom may or may not have been enslaved or kept in these temple and likely this information was traded, for their freedom, power or money etc. This gave way to the usage of sacred spirits and magick being used by men. A great example of this is the snake spirits of the genii, genius spirits (not to be mistaken with genies) and which then evolved into a diluted lesser energy in Greek society being known as daemons (not to be confused with goetic demons) Instead of a woman commanding these specific energies/spirits, the patriarchs decided that these specifics powers were only worthy of being used by men. These spirits were whitewashed, adopted into their religious practices and said to only be given to men at birth. No woman was allowed to possess them anymore.

🧜🏾‍♀️ The whitewashing of Medusa & Lamia. 

In mainstream society these two women stories have been white washed but also to hide a very shameful history and narrative. These two were beautiful women, in older stories of black black mythology were known to be black and they were children of water & daughters of the powerful water spirit/snake/siren divine mother/feminine goddess. 

Medusa was raped by the GREECIAN GOD OF THE SEA, POSEIDON  and Athena covered it up, refused to avenge her and punished her by making her ugly to everyone. It’s speculated in several magikal circles that the snakes in her hair were actually dreads, due to their lack of understanding of black hair and also allegorically might have been a reference to her devotion to the fish or water snake, great mother goddess. A child of the divine feminine, mother goddess was assaulted in a temple by a man and a woman covered it up & celebrated it.

Let’s start there ... cuz this story says a lot! It’s one of the first historical cases  in myth that really documents the issues that surround the black feminine specifically and it was intentionally whitewashed. Then to add insult to injury, Athena made her hideous to all men and her chopped off her head and used as a symbol of protection but also a subtle sign of disrespect to the fullest. This still goes on to this day.

In fact ALGOL, the demon star, which is considered to be strongest protective magick talisman in the occult world today is the HEAD OF MEDUSA. The child of water! BITCH! This energy is invoked constantly and the spirit of medusa is never allowed to rest.

However these egregious acts did not come without a price. Athena at time was a goddess of fertility. However desecrating a child of water or the sirens, is seen as an attack by the divine feminine and can will cause people to be afflicted with fertility and other mental health issues as well. This is speculative but it’s also likely that after this they were constantly visited by droughts, floods or repeating issues with water sanitation & purity after this. Lowered fertility rates and miscarriages might be more prominent, for Athenians and Athena devotees & likely continues to this day.

Devotees of Athena may also develop severe issues when it to their mental health because of this connection. They completely lose touch with their feminine energy and become extremely misogynistic after continued work with her.

Not only did Athena, cause Medusa to be seen as hideous throughout the land but she celebrated when she was murdered and proudly wore Medusa’s decapitated head on her shield. From the feminist eye this virgin deity/woman was extremely male identified and adhered to the patriarchal standard. She was tested by the divine feminine and failed.

Even more strange, Athena’s birth allegorically proclaims her essential character: her wisdom is drawn from the head of a male god; the bond of affection between father and daughter; her championship of heroes and male causes, born as she was from the male, and not from a mother’s womb. A dreaded goddess of war, she remained a virgin and a servant of the patriarchal society and remains so to this day. She is the misogynistic cool girl and very asexual at the core. In fact if you explore more of her mythos, it becomes very clear she hates women. I’m bewildered at how she has become associated with lesbians and the feminine at large, when it’s been very clear that she was intent on transcending her gender from the very beginning, but never managed to escape it.  

To top it off, I’ll leave you with this quote from Aeschylus’ Oresteia by Athena:

“There is no mother anywhere who gave me birth, and, but for marriage, I am always for the male with all my heart, and strongly on my father’s side. So, in a case where the wife has killed her husband, lord of the house, her death shall not mean most to me.”

Queen Lamia was a said to incredible beauty who seduced Zeus, (a literal man whore) which as made Hera jealous. Hera cursed Lamia with infertility and insomnia. She went insane and is said to have killed her own children and ate them. Zeus is said to be the one who gifted her prophecy and gave her the ability to take out her eyes, so she would not be irritated at the site of other happy mothers.

She became associated with a child eating monster who was half woman and half snake, which ties into the Libyan snake cults. She was associated with phantoms, the shapshifting laimai or empusai and the daemon spirits.

Medusa and Lamia were Libyan by heritage and came from a place in Africa where temples to the water snake mother goddess & divine feminine were common before they were destroyed by invaders intentionally. These women likely had extreme gifts of seduction, mind control and other abilities etc. It’s highly likely that Queen Lamia used her powers of seduction, at the behest of her people to save them from colonization and was demonized for it. Zeus’s temple was in Cyrene in Lybia, so this is far more than an allegorical story. This may be a real life story that was disguised in mythos. Unfortunately deeper research into this subject has turned up many dead ends for me. It’s highly likely Medusa was a priestess of the the matriarchal Mami Watas or water goddess/snake spirits and was likely raped intentionally in Athena’s temple, as a show loyalty to the rising patriarchy by descrating the symbolism of the great mother and the divine feminine. This was likely an attempt to lessen power and status of the matriachal societies that existed at the time. Rape was common war tactic amongst colonizers and news of such disgrace would likely spread like wildfire. This also solidified Athena’s place amongst the male gods and gaining her their respect. Athena and her devotees went a step further to show their allegiance to the patriarchy, by stripping Medusa of her beauty supposedly and exiling her, then parading her decapitated head on shields, when going into battle likely with Libyan enemies.

This is just a brief explanation of a few horrific acts in history, which were whitewashed & explain why the essence of the black feminine has evolved to become more protective, predatory and fierce. She learned to defend herself. Now she kills those who threaten her. 

Fun history tip: Usually anytime you see a snake in Grecian mythology, just know something got whitewashed, because the truth was really fucked up, made them look really bad & a black woman was there.

🧜🏾‍♀️ The black feminine is capable of more than you know.

Yes, mermaids/sirens/snakes & the mami watas can be scary at times but that’s what stepping into mysticism of deep waters is like. Water is capable of many things, it is one of the most powerful elements on earth. It can nourish you and kill you, and that’s the beauty of it really.

We should all be grateful the black feminine is so beautiful, fierce & scares the living daylights out of everyone.

You would be dead if it wasn’t.