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ifwallscouldtalkkkk · 3 years

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"Look, I'm not gonna kidnap you" - Michael Clifford Oneshot (COLLEGE)

Female reader × Michael Clifford

Mentions of alcohol, slightly tipsy (consensual) interactions, swearing, SMUT.

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You miss your bus home after a night partying with friends. Luckily, you meet a guy willing to give you a ride home, and his playful pinky promise to not kidnap you somehow convinces you to accept.

The smut in this story is fairly short. This was my first ever attempt at writing fanfic back in 2018, and I was a bit scared of sounding stupid

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Your shoes clacked as you ran on the cobblestones. You were so close to the bus station that you could see the bus driver flicking a cigarette butt onto the ground and leaving the embers glowing on the dark cobblestones, before taking his seat behind the wheel. You picked up your pace even more and frantically waved a hand in the air, hoping that you could cut ahead as the bus made its turn around the station back and onto the road. You cursed under your breath, mentally labeling yourself an idiot for staying at the party a couple of extra minutes to say your goodbyes to a friend who was too preoccupied with shouting random answers to the ongoing pictionary game to even hear you.

You skipped every other step on the small set of stairs to reach the platform, and when you reached the corner where the bus would turn, you started jumping up and down and waving in a feeble attempt to get the driver to stop and pick you up even though you weren't technically in the pick up zone. You could see him seeing you, it was a clear summer night and thus barely even dark! But the near empty bus didn't stop. The driver probably saw you as an entitled child who was too drunk to be on time, and maybe he was at least 25% right.

”Fucking bastard” you squeezed out through clenched teeth as you stomped around in a little circle with your head thrown back in frustration. Calling your parents to drive an hour in the middle of the night to come pick you up and let you off at your dorm was not ideal. You knew that they would do it for you, not wanting you to walk the 6 miles home. No, this was definitely not your plan, but maybe it was a bit irresponsible to plan to take the very last bus for the night. You stomped one last time and breathed out deeply.

”What the fuck are you doing, girl?”, someone called out in a humored undertone.

You swiveled around and your eyes landed on a car parked a short distance away, at the designated pick up- drop off parking area. The boy whom the voice belonged to leaned out the open window of the driver’s seat, with his arms folded and propped up on the edge of the window. His smug smirk felt hurtful in your frustrated state, but it brought you back to reality somewhat. You could admit that you probably looked like a child who didn't get a pony for christmas – and to be honest, you felt the same amount of betrayal.

”What a fucking jerk!”, the guy in the car yelled when you didn't answer. ”Where ya heading to?”

You donned a tortured expression, brushed out your skirt, picked your bag off the ground, and started walking home.

You heard the lone car start and you put a bit more speed in your step. It soon pulled up mere inches from you anyways.

”Come on, you're not seriously walking home? You obviously live a ways away since you were supposed to take the bus��, he said with the same amused tone in his voice.

”I'll be ok, and you're probably wanting to get home yourself”, you said, trying to politely reinforce the idea of him leaving you alone

”Look, I’m not gonna kidnap you, I pinky promise”, he chuckled at his own words but continued when you kept your eyes locked straight ahead. ”Girl, I’m guessing that you live on campus, and that's like a billion miles away. I’ll drop you off all gentlemanly at your doorstep and tip my imaginary top hat at you as I drive away, never to be seen again.” You stopped walking and he had to jerk his car to a stop along with you.

”The fact that you know that I live on campus is not very reassuring”, you replied.

He rolled his eyes and let out a little laugh. ”That bus-” he pointed down the road that your planned ride home had disappeared along a few minutes earlier ”-goes straight to campus. I just dropped my pal off here to avoid driving him all the way to the uni, but looks like I’ll have to go there now anyways.” You looked him in the eyes. The way he spoke elicited a strange amount of trust, and although a couple of piercings and a questionable hair color for an adult could be spotted under his beanie, he didn't seem like bad news. ”Look, the door doesn't even lock properly, I wouldn't even be able to kidnap you!” he demonstrated the faulty lock on the passenger door. You had to smile at the enthusiastic way he presented it.

”You promise you won't leave serial killer notes in my mailbox?” He lit up even more at your reply.

”Promise”, he said. You swung your bag up on your shoulder and reached for the door. This was in no way the wisest thing to do in the situation, but you were already overwon by his goofy charm.

You climbed in and kept your gaze forward, feeling the boy's eyes on you, and you caught yourself subconsciously holding your breath. You caved and looked at him when it became clear he wasn't going to drive forward before you gave in.

”Seatbelt.” he said with a parental tone. ”Can't have such a pretty girl making unsafe choices!” It wasn't as funny of a comment as his facial expression suggested, but he really knew how to lighten the mood. ”Michael.” He stretched his hand out to shake yours formally. You replied with your name and a firm handshake. ”Oh girl, with that grip, no one could even dream of succeeding in kidnapping you" he said, laughing at your overly stern behavior.

”I just hate limp handshakes", you smiled, rummaging around in your bag after a snack. ”Damn it I left my granola bar at home”, you muttered under your breath.

”Oh uh, I've got a bag of peanuts somewhere…” Michael trailed off, reaching over to the glove department to rummage through his own stuff. His warm hand grazed your bare knee while reaching and you tensed up at his accidental touch.

”Dude, eyes on the road!” you exclaimed and he chuckled in response.

”I thought risk taking was a theme tonight – oh wait, here they are!” He plopped a bag of salted peanuts in your lap.

”Wait, you're not allergic, are you?” he asked. ”Some risks are not worth taking.”

”No, I love peanuts, no worries”, you poured a handful out and put a few in your mouth. After a night consisting mostly of liquor and dancing around, something to eat felt heavenly.

Michael asked you a couple of standard questions about your studies, and you gave all the standard answers.

”I kinda miss studying. Never thought I'd say that." Michael smiled. His hand dipped down into the bag in your lap to get some peanuts, getting dangerously close to between your thighs. You stumbled for a few seconds.

”Um oh, ok really?” His behavior was so unlike anyone else you knew. He was so daring and sure of himself, but he felt so warm and fuzzy in contrast. Maybe the previously ingested alcohol skewed your judgement, but you couldn't help but find this stranger utterly charming.

”Yeah… I'm on the road a lot nowadays for work", came his reply.

”Oh, what do you do? Uber driver for college girls who can't keep track of time?” You saw one corner of his mouth pulling smugly upwards at your joke.

”Uh no, I'm in the music producing business.”

”Huh, that's fun. I wasn-" you didn't finish your sentence as a deer jumped out onto the otherwise vacant road from between a few bushes on the side of the long stretch of asphalt nearing the campus grounds.

”Oh shit", you heard Michael exclaim while swerving a bit and stepping hard on the brakes. The deer stared confused at the headlights before scurrying off towards the other side of the road. ”You ok?!” the boy asked between quick breaths. Your breath was labored too, but your eyes and mind were mostly focused on the male hand that had instinctively been placed protectively on your thigh while braking. Michael unfastened his seatbelt and leaned closer when he didn't get an answer.

”Uh, yeah…” your eyes now focused on his light, green, worried eyes.

You just stared. You didn't mean to, but you didn't make an effort to look away either. He had gotten so close. His left hand was on your upper arm in a protective manner, and his face was just inches away from yours. You didn't mean to stare, and you most definitely didn't mean for your eyes to briefly flicker down to look at his lips. He noticed. He must have noticed given the way you were both so focused on each other.

”Wa-", you began, but didn't finish the sentence. To be honest, you couldn't even remember what you were about to say. Your eyes flickered down again, when your vocal cords failed you.

‘Shit!’ Your mind blasted out inside your own head, but Michael didn’t pull away, or look alarmed. If anything, his brow furrowed deeper, all the while he was trying to calm his own breath. After a couple more sharp exhales his grip on your arm tightened, and he pressed his lips to yours quickly, as if he was taking a running start. You kissed back automatically before you even registered what was happening. You tensed up and felt Michael’s grip loosen as if to retreat. 'No no no', you were not gonna lose this moment. No way. To signal that you were on board with what was happening you brought your hand up to his neck. ‘He can't stop now’, you were aching for him to continue touching you.

He got more involved in the kiss in response, and your other hand found its way up to the back of his neck too. The hand that had previously resided firmly on your arm now fell to your thigh and snaked its way to the back of your knees, pulling you closer still. Your voice had given up any sort of attempt of self control, and a short moan escaped your lips. The man reacted to your premature excitement and his right hand fumbled to find your seat belt button. In a surprisingly smooth motion for the situation being, he simultaneously pushed his own seat back from the steering wheel, and pulled you onto his lap as soon as the belt let go of you. Both your hands braced against Michael's chest, while his own hands pressed into your sides. Your fingers curled to grip his shirt, and his fingers mimicked yours by curling too, his nails digging into you. You could feel your pulse going crazy. Michael's heartbeat was probably also going off the rails, because he lifted you off of him a couple of inches so that he could grow more comfortably in his pants. He looked you deep in your eyes the entire time and let out a lengthy exhale.

“Girl, I don't even know what to do with you.”

He grabbed your ass to grind you into him. You let yourself angle your head back in reaction to your core finally being stimulated, and Michael straightened up his upper body to nibble at your neck. You helped him by moving your own hips along with the rhythm, but his hands still stayed firmly on your ass. When you couldn't take it anymore, you reached down to unclasp his belt, but your fingers fumbled more than you intended. You hadn't noticed how much you were shaking in excitement before now.

The stranger turned lover stared into your eyes patiently while you unbuttoned his jeans, but as soon as you managed to slide them down his thighs he pressed you hard against him, almost as hard as he pressed your lips together. Your underwear starting to become soaked from the thought of what was to come. Michael shifted his underwear down to meet his jeans. His hands couldn't decide where to rest, alternating between your hips, your chest, and your neck.

When focusing on your hips, his fingers on one hand slid up ever so slightly underneath the hem of your underwear, and his touch left you grinding harder into his thigh. You could tell that Michael knew how wet you were, your panties practically gliding around. His fingers found your hemline once more, and he slowly let his fingers follow the leg seam downwards. He let two fingers slip between you and the fabric to rest right outside your entrance for what felt like several minutes, but then inserted them forcefully when your whimpers became more desperate. He groaned too, from getting to feel you from the inside and knowing what pleasures it gave you. As if this didn't feel explosive enough already, his thumb joined his other fingers and circled your clit carefully.

You felt your cheeks turn red from the blood rushing fast through your body. Feeling sparks in your lower stomach already was not something you anticipated. Michael seemed to understand though, because he stilled you from assisting his fingers’ movement. He had stopped his movements too to make sure you would focus on his face. The look of his eyes as he kept them locked on yours was piercing and the icy-ness of it felt amazing on your hot cheeks. He held one hand deep inside of you, and the other on his own throbbing organ. He slowly replaced his two fingers with his cock, letting you get used to him gradually. You sank down, and the pain of stretching was miniscule compared to all the pleasure in the air. Once Michael was sure that you were comfortable with him, he elevated his hips just enough to push your limits. He finally let out a well kept-in moan. The subtle hip movements turned more and more intense until the point where you could tell you would end up with leg cramps in a few hours. The car wasn’t gigantic by any means, but you found ways to make do. With your hands behind your back, you could hold onto the steering wheel for support, with the added benefit of letting Michael’s hands roam over your torso freely.

Eyes watering, heart pumping, and legs trembling, you could feel your orgasm coming closer. Both your moans blended together into an audible mess as the electric pulses took over your body. After your release, your body relaxed heavy against the steering wheel.

A long, loud honk sounded out before you could get the chance to lift yourself off in horror. ‘Oh shit.’ The motion of lifting yourself off and plopping down in the passenger seat again wasn’t graceful, but it was at least fairly quick. You sat paralyzed holding onto your seat as a dog barked loudly at the sudden interruption of the usual peace and quiet. A lamp lit up in a house a few hundred yards away. It took a minute, but Michael finally chuckled - his hands rubbing his face. You cracked a smile too, but your stiffened posture would take a few minutes to get rid of. Michael clearly had a more easily relaxed personality than you.

The back of his head lay on the head rest, and he let it fall to one side to turn towards you. The same all-too-humored look that he had when you missed the bus was painted over his face. He didn't say anything, and neither did you. Words didn't really help in this predicament. He just pulled his pants up to waist level again and turned the car keys. You two drove in silence the few minutes left to reach campus grounds.

He crawled to a stop outside of the main dorms, and turned his head lazily again. You had quickly gathered your stuff in your hands as he pulled in, and you got out the second the car stopped.

“Well, uh… Thanks for the ride”, you said politely.

“You’re welcome”, he replied just as politely, and with a rare sincerity.

You raised your palm up in a subdued goodbye as you took a few steps backwards, and then turned around to walk away. Your shoes on the asphalt click-clacked loudly in the silent summer night. You reached for the door handle, the cool metal feeling sobering in your grip.

“HEY!” a word sliced through the silence.

You spun around on your toes quickly.

“Hey girl!” Michael continued when he knew he had your attention. He was leaning out the rolled down window again.

“I know where you live!” The grin on his face almost bursting by the seams.

A huge smile immediately spread across your face too.

ifwallscouldtalkkkk MASTERLIST

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miserablesme · 3 years

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The Les Miserables Changelog Part 1: Barbican Previews

Hello everyone! I'm starting out a blog which will look at my favorite musical, Les Miserables, and will discuss the various changes it has gone through over time (musically and lyrically). As it turns out, a LOT of edits have been made over the years so this will doubtless be a series with several parts.

This first part may well be the most difficult and will almost certainly be the most incomplete, as previews can be a time of extensive editing and experimentation. At least for the first few weeks or so, it's perfectly possible any one day of previews will be slightly different than any other day. However, I only have access to two audios from the Barbican Theatre previews of Les Miserables, meaning it's likely that lyrical variants exist which I have no way of hearing.

I am aware of the existence of a third audio which is fairly early in the run of previews, as the tape's master has told me that Gavroche's death scene is in its original form (I'll clarify that later). However, that tape has never been traded, and has sadly only been listened to by its master. I am also aware of a video proshot of the Barbican era that exists in the Royal Shakespeare Company library, but currently have no access to it. I plan to inquire about whether I can look at it sometime (though I'm not sure a blog like this is "official" enough to warrant it for research purposes). As such, this comparison only entails the two widely circulated audios from the Barbican run.

Now that we've gotten that cleared up, let's get started!

First, let's look at the opening "Work Song". In the earlier recording I have (let's call it R1), the beginning music (the same tune used, for instance, at the opening of "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More" and for Marius and Cosette's meeting in "The Robbery") stops. Then, a few moments later, the more familiar opening that leads directly into the prologue begins. By the time of the later recording I have (let's call it R2), the scores have been combined so that the first tune directly transitions into the second one.

Meanwhile, in R1 there is a sequence of lines that goes as follows:

I've done no wrong

Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer

Look down, look down

Sweet Jesus doesn't care

I killed a man

He tried to steal my wife

Look down, look down

She wasn't worth your life

I know she'll wait

I know that she'll be true

Look down, look down

She's long forgotten you

Most fans of the musical recognize the middle sequence of lines ("I killed a man" through "She wasn't worth your life") as no longer being lines in the show (for good reason, as we'll get into in a later edition of this blog). However, R2 keeps the lines. Instead, it deletes the third sequence ("I know she'll wait" through "She's long forgotten you"). I have no idea if this lasted only a few performances or made it all the way to the end of the Barbican run, or somewhere in between.

During "On Parole", specifically after Valjean is underpaid for his labor and sings about his frustration, R1 uses a variation of the "Work Song" theme which, to my recollection, is heard nowhere else in the musical. It can be heard here. By R2, it was switched to an in-tune version of the number with a unique opening. The musical retains that version to this day, but in case you can't recall it you can hear it here.

Minus an unintentional line flub in "At the End of the Day" in R2, the two Barbican recordings seem to use the same libretto and score from this point until "The Runaway Cart". At this point, R1 has a rather extensive scene leading up to Valjean saving Fauchelevent, which goes approximately as follows (the dialog is difficult to make out):

(VALJEAN)

Is there anyone here who will rescue the man?

Who will help me to shoulder the weight of the cart?

I will pay any man thirty louis d’or more

I will do it myself if there’s no one who will

We can’t let him die like that down in the street

Can you all watch him die and do nothing at all?

(FAUCHELEVENT)

Don’t approach me, Monsieur Mayor

The cart’s not gonna be holding

Not my poor mother would care if I should die

(TOWNSPEOPLE)

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

There's nothing at all you can do

The old man's a goner for sure

Leave him alone

Most of that dialog is deleted in R2, so that it goes directly from "Who will help me to shoulder the weight of the cart" to "Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor". I really like the idea of the original version; it seems reasonable that Valjean, having become a more trusted man, would expect the townspeople to help him. It's more meaningful that Valjean is good enough to do what's right when there's more time to establish that no one else is. Having said that, the original version did take quite a while and didn't really contain any relevant information that wasn't in the final version. I think the cut version as heard in R2 is a good compromise and retains the general mood and pacing to make Valjean's ultimate action satisfying (something that can't be said of later cuts, as will be discussed in a future edition of this blog).

Additionally, at the end of the number Javert refers to "the mark upon his skin" in R1 and "the brand upon his skin in R2 (as well as literally every subsequent performance since then to my knowledge). I have no idea if the "mark" line was a minor flub or was actually the original lyric.

"Who Am I?" is an interesting one. The musical content is identical in R1 and R2, but in R1 after his high note, Valjean shouts "You know where to find me!" with emotion so dramatic it sits right on the border between awesome and campy. By contrast, Valjean is totally silent after his high note in R2. Neither version would see its final day just yet, although the latter certainly has become more traditional over time. More on that in future editions.

From this point until "Master of the House" everything is the same between the two recordings. Roger Allam even comes in slightly late in both "Confrontation" scenes (making his line "-jean, at last...")! However, in the opening to "Master of the House" the following lines occur in R1:

(THENARDIER)

My band of soaks, my den of dissolutes

My dirty jokes, my always pissed as newts

My sons of whores

Spend their lives in my inn

Homing pigeons flying in

They fly through my doors

And their money's good as yours

(CUSTOMERS)

Ain't got a clue what he put into his stew

Must've scraped it off the street

Hell, what a wine

Châteauneuf de Turpentine

Must've pressed it with his feet

Landlord over here

Where's the bloody man

One more for the road

One more slug of gin

Just one more or my old man is gonna do me in

All of those lines would be scrapped in R2. Personally I prefer this shortened variant than the one that would occur much later. Sure, some fun moments get lost, but nothing that actually adds any substance or characterization to the musical (unlike the later cut, which I'll discuss in a later edition of this blog). Some have speculated that this is simply lost dialog due to a tape flip of degrading, given that future performances would retain those lines. However, there is firsthand confirmation that the cuts were in fact part of the performance. To quote Trevor Nunn on page 87 of 1990's The Complete Book of Les Miserables (a page which elaborates that "the cost of overtime incurred after three hours could be crippling at a time when Les Miserables was still trying to find an audience"):

"Cameron wanted major cuts, which would have reduced its length to two and a half hours. I resisted, refusing to discuss things on those terms... Some of the other proposed cuts - like the removal of the "Master of the House" scene-setting preamble - were tried out in previews and then restored as the scenes would not work without them."

From a historical perspective that quote is invaluable. As will be brought up in a later blog post (notice a pattern today?) the musical would in fact be cut much later to avoid overtime charges. When people like myself have expressed the opinion that these cuts come at the expense of artistic integrity, I've seen others defend them by claiming that the overtime costs never were relevant to Cameron and the gang until Broadway sales began to go down, and that if they were taken into account the musical may well be in its shortened form from the beginning. However, this quote proves that argument to be false. Right from day one, the crew was aware that retaining a >3 hour runtime would come with severe financial costs, but this was deemed a worthy sacrifice in order to tell the story they wanted told. Indeed, it sounds like Cameron Mackintosh was waiting quite some time to enact his infamous cuts! (Cameron Mackintosh valuing profit above art?! Crazy, right??)

But I digress. Going back to the musical, the "Waltz of Treachery" number is mostly the same. However, after Valjean's "It won't take you too long to forget" line, R1 has over a minute of wordless vamping which leads right into the rather awkwardly-placed "Stars" song. By contrast, in R2 this vamping (which is still a minute long, mind you) leads into a humming duet between Little Cosette and Valjean, similar to the duet right before the number. A nice little bookend that makes the scene feel all the more resolved. (Much later this duet reprise would ironically be scrapped again, though!) The remaining segment of R1's vamping now plays after this sequence in R2.

Minus some unintentional missed lines at the beginning of "Stars" in R1, the recordings seem to follow the same libretto right up until "One Day More". Here, R1 uses the following lines:

(EPONINE)

One more day with him not caring

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

Was there ever love so true?

(EPONINE)

What a life I might have known

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

I was born to be with you

However, by R2 this scene is in its current form:

(EPONINE)

One more day with him not caring

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

I was born to be with you

(EPONINE)

What a life I might have known

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

And I swear I will be true

And that closes act one! Going on to the second act, the opening barricade scene has a few changes. First off, following the opening notes, R1 features a rather odd tune bearing resemblance to "Do You Hear the People Sing" (which can be heard here) before transitioning to a more true-to-form instrumental reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" By contrast, R2 goes straight from the opening notes to the true-to-form reprise.

Next, Enjolras proclaims "Have faith in yourself and do not be afraid" in R1, while in R2 he instead states "Every man to his duty and don't be afraid". It's unknown if this was an intentional libretto change or if it simply reflects a flub during R1. A later sequence uses the "Have faith in yourself" line, meaning he may have just sung the wrong line for that particular scene.

Finally, R1 includes the following sequence (at least I think this is how it goes, since the lyrics are a little hard to hear):

(PROUVAIRE)

And the people will fight

(GRANTAIRE)

And join with you

Who gives a speech in the square

Fortunately, R2 uses a much less clunky (though still somewhat so) sequence:

(PROUVAIRE)

And the people will fight

(GRANTAIRE)

And so they might

Some will bark, some will bite

This isn't quite its current form ("dogs" and "fleas" will soon respectively replace the two usages of "some"), but it's pretty darn close.

I've heard that the very first Barbican preview(s?) didn't have a finalized opening to "On My Own". Sadly there is no known audio record of this, so I cannot comment on what exactly it began as. As such, the next major change takes place during Gavroche's death scene. This honestly is probably the biggest of all the changes between the two recordings. R1 uses the following death scene (in the tune of "Look Down" right up until the "So never kick a dog" verse, which is in the tune of "Little People"):

How do you do, my name’s Gavroche

These are my people, here’s my patch

Not much to look at, nothing posh

Nothing that you’d call up to scratch

Some fool, I bet, whose brains are made of fat

Picks up a gun and shoots me down

Nobody told him who he’s shooting at

He doesn’t know who runs this town

Life’s like that

There’s some folk

Missed the joke

That’s three, that’s three

That one has done for me

Too fast, too fast

They’ve got Gavroche at last

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

You better run for cover when the pup grows...

By contrast, R2 uses a much shorter variant which is set entirely to the tune of "Little People":

And little people know

When little people fight

We may look easy picking but we've got some bite

So never kick a dog

Because he's just a pup

You'd better run for cover when the pup grows up

And we'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give...

This is much closer to its current form, although the last two lines are inverted (we'll get to that in a later edition).

We now fast-forward to "Dog Eats Dog", which while recognizable is very different from the number we know today. The chorus of R1 claims that "It's a dirty great sewer that's crawling with rats", which R2 changes it to "stinking great sewer" instead. I'd definitely say the revised lyric better captures Thenardier's and the sewer's grossness.

Additionally, regarding Marius' ring, Thenardier originally exclaims that he "didn't mean to waste it, that would really be a crime". By R2, the line changes to "wouldn't want to waste it", which I'd say makes a lot more sense.

"Javert's Suicide" has changed a lot. R1 features the following remarks following "Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life":

Damned if I live in this caper of grace

Damned if I live in the debt of Valjean

I'll spit his pity right back in his face

Is this the law or has sanity gone?

(I'm a little unsure as to how accurate the final line is.)

By R2, the lines have been replaced with the current ones:

Damned if I live in the debt of a thief

Damned if I yield at the end of the chase

I am the law and the law is not mocked

I'll spit his pity right back in his face

In R1, the "Where's the new world, now the fighting's done" line is absent, and there is nothing but instrumentals in the segment where it is usually sung. By contrast, it is sung as usual in R2. My guess is that an actress simply forgot her line in R1 and it was always supposed to be there, though I can't say for sure.

The final change occurs at the wedding scene. The singing which opens the number is repeated in R1. By contrast, R2 has it sung once and then done with, as it currently is (and as it should be in my opinion, since the music isn't particularly pretty and contributes nothing to the plot).

Later in the same scene, R1 includes approximately this exchange (again, it's quite hard to make out the exact lyrics):

(THENARDIER)

I was there

Never fear

Even got me this fine souvenir

He was there

Her old dad

*indecipherable* and fleecing this lad

Robbed the dead

That's his way

(MME. THENARDIER)

That's worth five hundred any old day

(MARIUS)

I know this...

By R2, everything between "He was there" and "Any old day" were removed, which makes sense given that they essentially just rehash what was already said.

Finally, there's a subtle difference in the epilogue, specifically during the "Do You Hear the People Sing?" reprise. In R1, the ensemble sings "They will live again in glory in the garden of the Lord". R2 replaces the word "glory" with "freedom", and that word remains the one used to this day. I suppose "freedom" is more appropriate for the context of peace and prosperity. To many, I'd guess that "glory" conjures imagery of knights, battles, and the like; just the kind of violence that the characters wish to move away from! I have no idea if this was why the writers changed the lyric, but it's my hypothesis.

Towards the end of the show, the chorus in R1 sings "Even the darkest moon will end and the sun will rise". By R2, this is changed to "the darkest night". Makes more sense to me, since moons aren't known for being particularly dark!

And that just about sums this part up! If I missed anything feel free to let me know, as my goal is to create a changelog as thorough and complete as possible. I plan on making more parts in the near future covering all the changes that have been made in the show up until this day (discounting concerts). Any feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what's commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, I'd love it if you DMed me!

Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye...

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ahoney--girl · 3 years

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Chapter 1

An NCT private school Au with Johnny and Jaehyun. Not really slow burn but no smut in this chapter

“It’s not going to be that.” Rissa rolled her eyes as she brushed a green eyeshadow color on her dark brown skin. “A private boarding school with some of the hottest, children of the richest families, sounds like a setup to one of those novels we read all the time.” Huffing I button up the dark blue school shirt. “Yeah, it’s all fun and games until they find out I’m not one of them.” Turning as I search my packed up room for the dark brown jacket of the uniform. “I’m sure they will be so dazzled by your beauty they will forget all about your nonexistence trust fund.” Pulling my jacket from its position, it crumbled on the floor beside boxes labeled “sneakers' '. Slipping it on moving back into the camera. “Plus the uniform is pretty decent. Your new summer curves look great in it sis.” “Really?” turning my body appeared on the screen. My new weight bunching up as I grabbed my butt then thighs playfully slapping them so they jiggled. “Gonna have those prep boys drooling.” She laughed as I moved my body in awkward positions posting. “As if.” I turned to face the mirror my phone was leaning against. Gathering my black and grey box braids into a high ponytail in one motion, “After last summer I just know none of these goody-two-shoes will be what I need.” My eyes shifted to her winking as she nodded in understanding. She moved to put more mascara on as I unclipped my lipstick, smearing it on my pink fluffy lips. Taking in my dark melanated skin for a moment the colors of the uniform contrasted nicely with my thighs peeking out of the plaid skirt. My phone buzzed the 8:30 am buzzer blinking brightly. “Ugh girl it looks like I got to get on the road.” She smiled. “kk call me later I want all the dirty details." “Of course.” With a kiss, the line goes dead. “Mom I’m gone,” I yell grabbing the keys heading for the door. “Call me when you get there and settled in, I should be able to mail the last of your stuff later this week.” She turns from the stove smiling softly as I snag an apple and my coffee from their usual waiting spots. “I love you and I’m so proud of you.” Her eyes took me in her eyes watering. “Right back at you” I wink biting into my apple heading out.

“Neo preparatory is the highest-ranked private school and so expects nothing less of its students." The older white-haired woman demanded as she stared me down in my seat. “It's not every day that we accept someone on such...... interesting terms.” She gritted out looking me over the rim of her black glasses. “So that being said, understand you are no exception to these rules.” “Of course not...I understand.” “Good..your student ambassador is outside to help you get the lay of the land. I do hope to never see you again in this close proximity.” Standing quickly I turn to hustle out of the small office. A short petite blond girl stands leaning against the opposite wall of the office. She pushed off walking me. She looks like a doll in her uniform like a “Barbie goes to private school.” collectible. “Hi I’m Hannah I’ll be your guide for the week!” Her voice bubbles out as she flips her hair over her shoulder. Turning to start down the hallway I shuffle beside her, my basic height several inches above hers. “I took it upon myself to download your schedule already. So your first class is English 103 which is very impressive I must say. With you coming in as a sophomore but already having a late junior English, history, and science class.” “Uh thank you..I-” “Your hair is sooo cute did you buy it yourself?” My eyebrows scrunch together looking at her as she continues walking. Her head straight forward, face smirking at a joke unknown to me. “Uh, what doe-” “Here we are.... I’ll see you after class,” She points to the closed wooden door smiling before she bounced off down the hall the same way we came.

“Ah, you must be a new student.” The man motioned for me to come closer as he pulled a thick folder from inside his desk. Handing the brick to me. “Pick any open seat.” Nodding he turns back to the chalkboard writing. The chairs are arranged into a semi circle two rows back, quickly I choose to slide into the empty seat on the second row towards the corner of the room. Placing my backpack beside my desk turning to focus on the paperclipped stack of papers in the envelope. “Syllables” printed on the first page, flipping through common authors' names, themes, paper ideas. Smirking I've already read most of these so these papers should be easy. Satisfied I place the packet down looking up to come in direct eye contact with a boy from across the semi-circle. Black hair pulled up in a man bun, pouty lips, straight nose, slightly tinted skin, and intense cutting eyes stare at me. As his head cocked to the side. He looks gorgeous, his eyes taking me in slowly. I don't look away but neither does he continue his descent down my body. Slipping me like he's an x-ray. I feel vulnerable under his eyes causing the edges of my brain to start becoming fuzzy. The longer I watch him the more my brain demands to fully be in its most vulnerable state. Not now, not here. Swallowing hard I turn quickly looking at the front as the teacher turns around, clapping his hands. “So today I thought we would start easy since it's the first day so.. thoughts on Catcher and the Rye?”

Hannah's not outside the room, looking down the hall where she should be coming from brings no results. The hallways fill up with faces of students I don't know. “Need some help?” A deep voice cuts into my personal space as a body presses lightly to my back. “Uh.” Quickly stepping forward to turn I see the boy from earlier staring at me. Slightly looking down at his height he smirks at my clear flustered state. “Oh yeah, my guide seems to have forgotten about me,” I mumble out looking away from his face. “Her loss, my gain.” He shrugs adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. His button-up was undone with several at the top, the uniform tie completely missing, the jacket rolled up to his elbows. “Uh my next class is...biology.” I rush out looking away from his toned body. “Perfect, I'm heading that way.” He starts down the hallway. “So where are you from?” “Here.” “Really?” “What..is it hard to believe?” I question turning to look at him. His eyes were already staring intensely at me. Jumping slightly at his gaze my head turns to face the front as we continue to walk. He chuckles “Not hard to believe.... I just thought I knew everyone who was going to be going to Neo for the next few years..small community and all..we all pretty much went to the same school since birth.” “Well, nothing wrong with a new face.” “I absolutely agree..especially if that face is yours.” Smiling as my body grows hotter at his compliment I adjust my backpack looking at the floor as we walk. “lookup.” He demands softly, my body on instinct snaps up eyes turning to look at a smiling boy next to me. “Good.” He nods, my body washes in the small praise. Stopping his walking my body jerks slightly. “Well, this is your stop.” He points to the glass door to the green lab. “I’m Johnny by the way.” Nodding quickly I move to open the door wanting space quickly. His hand wraps around mine softly, smoothly but veiny in contrast. “I think you should sit with me at lunch.” “Uh yeah, guess,” I mumble, not looking up from his slightly tan hand contrasting with my darker one, engulfing it. “What was that? Speak clearly.” My pussy clenches at his tone. “I said sure.” I rush out clearer he squeezes my hand in approval. “See you then.” He slips his hand from mine leaving. What the fuck is up with prep school boys.

#your boys fanfic #nct fanfic #nct johnny #nct au #nct johnny au #kpop fanfiction #kpop fanfic #johnny fic #nct poly #nct jaehyun #jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun fic #nct x blak reader #kpop x black reader #kpop x black! reader #ambw scenarios #johnny x black reader

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sinceileftyoublog · 3 years

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Indigo De Souza Interview: Compassion for Different Modalities

Photo by Charlie Boss

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Calling from her home near Asheville, North Carolina earlier this month, singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza is getting ready to go on tour behind her terrific sophomore album Any Shape You Take (Saddle Creek). Like everyone, she’s anxious about navigating the current COVID-19 landscape, but how she and her band adapt to a live performance and play the multi-dimensional songs that make up the record seems to be of little concern. I guess if I was as talented as De Souza, I wouldn’t be worried, either. Released last month, Any Shape You Take is a stunning series of ruminations on love and relationships, platonic and romantic, that span a number of years in De Souza’s life. Raised in a conservative small town in North Carolina by a mom who was an artist, De Souza doesn’t shy away from the fact that her family did not fit in. At the encouragement of her mother, she leaned into her artistic visions, making music as early as 9 years old, releasing her first EP in 2016.

After self-releasing her (very appropriately titled) first album I Love My Mom in 2018, De Souza signed to indie stalwarts Saddle Creek, who rereleased her debut and supplied her with the means to craft a much larger-sounding follow-up. Working with prolific secret weapon co-producer Brad Cook, her first proper label release occupies an incredible amount of genre territory. “This is the way I’m going to bend,” announces De Souza on auto-tuned synth pop opener “17″ before, well, bending in a number of different directions. “Darker Than Death” and “Die/Cry”, nervous songs that were written years ago, sport fitting build-ups, the former’s slow hi hats and cymbals giving way to jolts of guitar noise, the latter’s jangly rock taking a back seat to yelped harmonies. Songs like “Pretty Pictures” and “Hold U” reenter the dance world, the latter an especially catchy neo soul and funk highlight, a simple earworm of a love song. In the end, whether playing scraped, slow-burning guitar or rubbery keyboard, De Souza’s thoughtful and honest meditations center the emotionally charged album, one of the very best of the year.

De Souza takes her live show to the Beat Kitchen tonight and tomorrow night (both sold out) with Dan Wriggins of Friendship opening. Read our interview with De Souza about the making of Any Shape You Take and her songwriting process.

Since I Left You: On Any Shape You Take, there seems to be a good mix of folks you’ve worked with before and folks you’re working with for the first time. What did each group bring to the table?

Indigo De Souza: Brad Cook was co-producing. It was my first time working with a producer on something. That was crazy. He was very supportive of everything and very encouraging. It was nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of who wanted to encourage my vision. I also worked with Alex [Farrar] and Adam [McDaniel] from drop of sun studios in Asheville. They’re both just so sweet and talented. They were engineering but also helped with production as well. I ended up getting really close with Alex, and me and Alex finished out the album together doing vocal overdubs and random overdubs. It feels like he did a lot of production on the album and was a star for me in the process. They were all great to work with. It was interesting to me to have so many people working on the album.

What I realized after the fact, [though], was that it was kind of distracting for me to have so many brains working on it. It taught me I actually feel very confidently about my vision for songs, and I can trust myself to have ideas for my own songs. I think I was scared going in that I was going to come up blank in that scenario because it was such a high-pressure thing, getting on a label and making a high-production album. But I definitely thrived in the space. It was really fun.

SILY: It shows in the finished product. There are so many different styles and subgenres within the record. Do you listen to all the types of music that show up on this record?

IDS: Yeah, for sure. Mostly, I listen to pop music and dance music. That’s probably my most daily genre. I don’t listen to a lot of music daily, though. I listen to music probably a couple times a week when I’m in the car, but it’s so random, and the genres I listen to are pretty random. It depends on my mood. I think when I’m writing, it’s the same way, whether I’m writing a poppier or rock-based song. They’re different moods for me.

SILY: How do you generally approach juxtaposing lyrics with instrumentation?

IDS: With writing, it’s different every time the way they fall into place together. I do notice that one of the more common ways it happens is I’ll be going about my day and hear a melody in my head and start humming it and realize I’m making it up, that I have no record of it before. I’ll start attaching feeling to the melody, depending on what I’m feeling, and at first I’ll be singing gibberish with the melody, but I’ll usually get some headphones on and plug into the computer so I can sing into a microphone. I’ll mess around with the melody and sing random words until something true to me kind of sticks. That’s usually how it goes. Sometimes, I [do] sit down and it comes out in one breath, like the song is already written in my mind.

Honestly, it’s so normalized how songwriting is. It’s such a strange, magical thing that people can write songs that have never been written before. [laughs]

SILY: Thematically, there are a lot of songs on Any Shape You Take where you’re feeling doubts about a relationship, like on “Darker Than Death”. Someone’s feeling bad, and you’re wondering whether it’s you making them feel bad. And on “Die, Cry”, you sing, “I’d rather die than see you cry.” On the other hand, there are some songs like “Pretty Pictures” where you know your place more within the relationship, and you know what’s eventually gonna happen to it. How do you balance those feelings of doubt with knowing what’s gonna happen?

IDS: It’s funny, because the first two songs you mention were written a very long time ago when I was in the only very long-term relationship I’ve ever been in. I was very confused in that time and was having a hard time in general with my mental health. “Pretty Pictures” is the newest song on the album, a last minute addition because another song we had on there didn’t really fit. We looked through my demos folder and chose “Pretty Pictures”, the most recent song I had written at the time, and recorded it for the album. They’re totally different times in my life, and how you said it is definitely how I was. There’s a time I was more confused, and now, love is more simple in my life, and I can process things and see how they are, have compassion for different modalities.

SILY: I love the line on “Way Out”, “There are no monsters underneath your bed, and I’ll never be the only thing you love.” It’s a very logical statement in the face of unbridled emotion that can make you think illogically. Is that contrast something you think shows up throughout the record?

IDS: Within love, over time, I’ve realized that there’s not one person for anybody. There’s a lot of fluidity in the ways people can feel towards other people. That line is definitely a nod to allowing people to love many other people and not taking it personally.

SILY: From a singing perspective, you have a lot of different vocal stylings on the record. I found it interesting you led it off with a track where you’re super auto-tuned. Can you tell me about that decision?

IDS: “17” originally was this demo I made in 2016 or 2017. It was a very old demo. In 2018 or so, I brought the demo to my band at the time, and we created a live version of that song that was nothing like the recording that you hear. The recording was so weird and had a lot of auto-tune and higher-pitched and lower-pitched vocals. We had a live version we played for a while that’s on Audiotree. Whenever we were recording Any Shape You Take, we started to record it the live way and realized it wasn’t feeling right. We listened to the old demo, and it gave this wake up kick to everyone. We got excited by how the demo sounded because we hadn’t heard it in so long. We realized we wanted to record it based on the demo. So that song sounds very similar to the way the demo originally sounded.

SILY: What’s the story behind the album title?

IDS: There are so many layers to the album title. [laughs] It came to me mostly because the album takes so many musical shapes but also so many emotional shapes. It feels like a lot of the themes in the album are about change and acceptance of change and acceptance of a full spectrum of feelings of pain and grief and allowing people to take many forms. It was mainly inspired by the fact that I’ve taken so many forms in my life and am witness to the way changing forms yourself can either push people away or pull them in closer. I’ve always been so appreciative of the people in my life who allow me to take so many different forms and are still there to witness and care about me, whether we’re close to each other or far away. That’s the main reason I wanted to call the album Any Shape You Take. The most beautiful kind of love you can have is allowing someone to be themselves and shift in and out of things freely.

SILY: Is your live show faithful to the studio versions of the songs, or did you have to learn how to adapt the songs to the stage?

IDS: A lot of them sound very similar to the recording. We’ve been having so much fun practicing them and playing them live.

SILY: Is there one in particular you’re most looking forward to playing?

IDS: I love playing “Bad Dream”. That’s just a crazy song to play live because it’s so loud and rowdy. [laughs]

SILY: You have that falsetto in the middle of it, too.

IDS: Yeah. It’s so fun.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, reading, or watching lately that’s caught your attention?

IDS: I’m excited that one of my favorite authors, Tao Lin, just put out a book I haven’t been able to get fully into. It’s called Leave Society. I just got it in the mail last week. Other than that, I’ve just been so, so busy with interviews and work on the computer and with my manager, staying on top of this crazy shift happening on top of my life. I haven’t taken in a lot of media. I was just watching Love Island recently because I wanted to shut my brain down. Somebody was telling me about Sexy Beasts last night, which sounds insane. I’m excited to watch that.

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paraluwoman · 4 years

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All right then :)) how about a scenario of going on a road trip with Natsuya Kirishima (if ur not comfortable writing about him then Rin Matsuoka)

thank you for this request!! i absolutely adore natsuya uwu (and of course my number 1 sharky rin HAHAHA)

i’m so sorry if this took quite a while : (( i was in the middle of a writing event and i tried my best to do it at the same time, but unfortunately, my 2 brain cells couldn’t do it JSKJSKJS (coincidentally my other story’s theme was also road trip!!)

here it is and i hope you enjoy it! (hopefully natsuya isn’t too ooc)

Natsuya Kirishima X Reader

To say you were looking forward to this trip with Natsuya, would be the understatement of the decade. It has been a while since you’ve gone on a vacation, most of them due to Natsuya’s constant moving. But this time, he was back in your arms, by your side, and you couldn’t be happier.

All packed up and ready to go, your road trip began, with the sun just about to rise.

Feet propped up the dashboard, hands up in the air, and songs blaring from the speakers, you were having the time of your life. You looked at Natsuya with flushed cheeks and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Chuckles left his lips, and joined in with your loud singing.

When hunger struck you both, you decided to get takeaway from a fast food chain along the way. You contemplated between stopping to eat or to just continue driving, only for Natsuya to say,

“Why can’t we do both? That way we’ll get there earlier.”

Well, you couldn’t argue that.

And that was how you ended up feeding Natsuya fries and almost spilling your drink on the seats.

After long hours of driving, you finally arrived at your destination. Continuous running water from a rocky ledge, a contrast to the clear, calm water beneath the falls. Very few people were around, but it was perfect.

The inner child couldn’t help but kick off your flip flops, eager to feel the water. Natsuya’s chuckles were heard, only fueling your excitement. While walking around the water, you felt your foot step on slippery rock, but before you could fall, a hand gripped your arm, pulling you into their chest. You looked up to see amber eyes gazing at you with concern.

“You okay?,” he asked, letting you go gently.

“Y-Yup, don’t worry. Just got a bit too excited I guess,” you assured him, pecking his cheek. “Thanks for saving me, knight in swimming trunks.”

That earned you a tickle on the waist and a quick peck on the lips.

All dressed up, you and Natsuya hurried to water. After dipping your head in the cool water, you were caught by surprise when Natsuya splashed you. Not letting him get the upper hand, you splashed him back. Both of you were playing back and forth when he suddenly stopped.

“Natsuya?,” you looked around, not seeing his unruly brown locks anywhere. Honestly, how can a man that big disappear so suddenly?

You were about to move from your spot to look for him when someone wrapped their arms around your waist carried you, causing you to shriek. You were just about to knock the person on the head, when you recognize their messy brown hair.

“What the hell Natsuya?,” you said to him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

His only response was a sinister laugh. You were confused but instantly realized what he was doing. Your feet no longer touched the rocky surface.

“N-Natsuya, whatever you’re planning on doing, don’t,” you warned him, trying to pry his strong arms around you.

“Where’s the fun in that?,” he replied, a sly smirk plastered on his face.

“You know I’m not that good of a swimmer as you,” you reasoned, “If I drown, I’m holding you responsible.”

“Really admire your trust in me babe,” he rolled his eyes.

“I’m s-serious Natsuya,” you replied.

“Who said I’m not?”

“Let me go,”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“It’ll be fun for you, not me,”

“Just a little bit further.”

“Natsuyaaa,” you droned.

His grin only widened in return.

You were about to try and stop him when you felt his arms loosened around your waist. You let out a loud shriek and tightened your arms around his neck, your legs fastened at his waist.

Loud chortles of laughter were heard, Natsuya’s head thrown back. You punched him on his shoulder, your heart beating too quickly for your liking.

“Asshole,” you said.

“You love me,” he replied, pecking you on the lips.

“You’re lucky I do.”

“I really am,” he said. That caused your cheeks to go dark, caught off guard from his remark.

When the sun was about to set, you and Natsuya decided to drive back, not wanting to travel late at night. You insisted on being the one to drive back, as Natsuya was the one driving earlier. He tried to convince you that it was okay but, in the end, you got your way and was now the one behind the wheels.

In the middle of the ride back home, Natsuya began to feel drowsy, exhausted from the events earlier. You noticed his eyes, droopier than usual.

“Try to get some sleep Natsuya,” you told him.

He shook his head and said,” I’m not tired, besides, who’s gonna guide you. Who knows where you’ll lead us.”

“I’m not stupid you know,” you glared at him.

“Still, I don’t want to leave you alone,” he argued.

“You won’t leave me alone, you’re just going to sleep,” you said back at him.

“I’m not tired.”

“Okay, suit yourself.”

And just a few minutes later, he was out like a rock.

After an hour, you were finally home. You shook Natsuya gently, his eyes slowly opening.

“We’re home Natsuya,” you said.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” he yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

“It’s okay, you doof,” you said, stepping out of the car to grab your things.

Once you two were settled, Natsuya pulled you in bed, hugging you to his chest. You wrapped your arms around his back, your cheek pressed against his toned body.

“Natsuya,” he hummed in reply, “Thank you for today. I know you don’t have much time because of your job, but I’m really happy we got to do this.”

He tightened his grip around you and leaned his forehead on yours.

“I should be thanking you. Thank you for always being there for me. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

You pulled back your head from his and stared at his brilliant amber eyes. You leaned in and pressed your lips against his. You felt him sigh, and deepened the kiss.

“I love you,” you said as you separated.

“I love you,” he replied back.

It was safe to say that, your love for each other would not run out, for a very long time. That night, you and Natsuya both slept soundly, warmth enveloping you both.

- hope you enjoyed it and tysm for reading!! mwa

#Free!#free x reader #free! x reader #x reader #natsuya kirishima x reader #kirishima natsuya x reader #natsuya x reader #fluff #free! scenario #natsuya scenario #road trip scenario #i love natsuya kirishima #you should too #hopefully you enjoyed it #mwa

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penniesforthestorm · 3 years

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“Release the hounds”: Thoughts On Justified, Season One, Episode Thirteen

As promised, this installment will follow a more familiar ‘review’ style-- if I were doing this for money, I’d write an article for each episode, but I am trying to keep this fun for myself (plus, there’s way more of a chance I’ll actually follow through). I may adjust the format somewhat for the next season. My thoughts on the pilot, episodes 2-5, episodes 6-9, and episodes 10-12 are linked-- drop me a line if you’ve been reading and/or watching along!

The first season of Justified presents two fairly different paths the show could have taken: The first, which might be called The Adventures of Raylan Givens and Friends*, is a classic procedural along the lines of Law & Order, NYPD Blue, or CSI, with serialized elements taking a back burner-- episodes like “Fixer” or “Long in the Tooth” function more or less as standalone entries, and with their witty dialogue and colorful characters, they have a light touch (nefarious drug cartels notwithstanding). The second option is a far more novelistic approach, with the episodes coalescing around the story of Raylan Givens And His Nemesis Boyd Crowder**. It’s a natural expansion of the arc of “Fire in the Hole”, and it’s not hard to see why the show takes that direction, reaching its initial peak in the season finale, “Bulletville”.

Several times in the episode, the phrase “you know me” passes between a set of characters. This theme has popped up throughout the preceding episodes, perhaps most sharply in the case of Raylan’s ex-wife, Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea). Winona and Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) were married for six years, and it’s telling that, after Raylan shoots his former friend Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) in the pilot, she’s the person he runs to see. Winona and Raylan met as adults-- of course, she would know some things about his past, but one gets the sense that, for Raylan, Winona represented the future. Her comment about her current husband Gary representing ‘hope’ is especially cutting, because we’ve come to understand that Raylan hoped (and possibly still hopes) to be the kind of man Winona could respect. For her part, Winona moved on from Raylan because she saw how much of a captive to his past he still was.

As to the past, consider the case of Raylan’s father, Arlo Givens (Raymond J. Barry). In “Bulletville”, Arlo sits down with crime patriarch Bo Crowder (M.C. Gainey), to try and settle the bad blood between them. He offers to play double agent, tying up the various federal agencies pursuing Bo with useless information, while enabling Bo to stay ahead of their inquiries. “You’ve known me for fifty years,” Arlo wheedles. “I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make me trust you more, or less,” Bo retorts. Nevertheless, there is common ground between them: both of them are old men with sons who have failed them, deliberately or otherwise. (The fact that Bo transferred the majority of responsibility for his enterprise to Arlo and not his son Bowman is an interesting detail-- Bowman may not have outright defied his father the way his brother Boyd did, but I can’t help thinking of the similarly hotheaded Sonny Corleone.) Later, when Arlo attempts to set Raylan up, as Bo’s peace offering to the Miami cartel, he starts gently reminiscing about Raylan’s mother, and about his own shortcomings as a parent, which instantly ignites Raylan’s suspicions. Raylan, after all, spent the first twenty years of his life attuning himself to Arlo’s moods. Once Arlo is subdued, however, Raylan still tends to his wounds.

Contrast that with the earlier confrontation between Papa Bo and Boyd, at Boyd’s “church” in the woods. Bo, furious that Boyd has blown up the shipment of ephedrine from Miami, has shown up with an armed posse, including Boyd’s Cousin Johnny (David Meunier). “I can’t hurt my own son,” Bo says, smiling. “Johnny, hurt my son.” Johnny is pissed at Boyd for a different reason-- he tipped Boyd off about the truck’s arrival, hoping that Boyd would kill the drivers, and the two of them would convince Miami that Bo was responsible for the sabotage. Still, after the first few punches, Johnny’s reluctance grows, and when he asks Bo, “You want me to kill him?”, there’s a genuine note of fear in his voice. (I’ll have more to say about Meunier’s performance in future installments-- over the next few seasons, he quietly creates one of the show’s most fascinating characters.) Bo does something much, much worse-- he lets Boyd walk away, and then he and his posse slaughter Boyd’s “flock”.

This act of unfiltered evil sends Boyd into crisis-- upon seeing the corpses of his followers dangling in the trees, Goggins falls to the ground and lets out an anguished roar. That night, after burying the men, he prays in desperation, asking for a sign. As the silence of the dark trees presses on him, he murmurs, “Maybe I’ve just been talking to myself the whole time.” It’s a fine irony that this is the first time we truly understand the depth and sincerity of his former conversion. He shows up at Raylan’s motel room, stammering, “I am lost.” Without his followers, without whatever impulse was guiding him before, Boyd is compelled to find someone who knows him.

So he and Raylan ride off together to confront Bo, who has, in the intervening hours, kidnapped Ava and shot Johnny. They converge on Bo’s hunting cabin, where Bo hoped to draw Raylan in order to hand him off to Miami. Boyd discovers Ava, bound but unharmed, while Raylan parlays with Bo. The Miami contingent has other ideas-- a sniper takes out Bo, and Ernesto and Pilar, who drove the ephedrine truck, open fire. There’s some great banter as Raylan, Boyd, and Ava take cover in the cabin-- Raylan asks Boyd if he’s brought his rocket launcher, and Boyd ruefully responds, “I didn’t think to pack one.” Pilar calls for Raylan, and he answers, only to have Boyd shout, “No, I’m Raylan Givens!” (Raylan: “Are you trying to be funny?” Boyd: “A little.”) The standoff ends with Ava free, Ernesto dead, and Boyd in pursuit of Pilar. Boyd asks if Raylan will shoot to stop him, saying he’s pretty sure Raylan’s pistol is empty. “You gonna bet your life on that?” Raylan asks. “No, Raylan,” Boyd answers, “I’m gonna bet my life on you being the only friend I have left in this world.” They know each other, having faced death together several times and walked away alive.

* I know this is a horrendous title. I’m sorry. ** why yes, I did just re-watch The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford; why do you ask?

#tv #recap #tv review #justified #long post #did you miss my heart on purpose

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voldemorthatesnose96 · 4 years

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ABRUPT

My second “first meet” AU of SOBBE. Please enjoy❤️❤️❤️

“Happy birthday to me... happy birthday to me... happy birthday dear Robbe... happy birthday to me...”

A lonely brunette hair guy blows the candle on his birthday cake—well, it’s not actually a cake but a single chocolate cupcake he bought earlier after walking from the morning shift at the mini market. Today is his 20th birthday and Robbe IJzermans is celebrating alone, again. His friends back home and his parents are congratulating him, of course, but it doesn’t feel the same when they’re all together.

Robbe is an exchanged student from Belgium and been studying at University of Central Florida (UCF) for two years now. Time goes too fast, and there isn’t a single moment passed without him missing home and everything.

It’s only eight in the morning. Even though, his body is tired but his mind is restless. Robbe’s already know this kind of situation. There won’t be any use if he’s trying to get some sleep. So instead, after eating his cupcake, he grabs the jacket, backpack and leave his humble flat—suddenly have this idea of going to the theme park and treat himself there.

———————————

It takes more than two hours by train from his flat to Universal Studios, and when he’s finally get there, he whispers to the air, “home!” and smiles to himself as his feet enters the theme park.

Robbe ALWAYS love the theme park, any kind of it; probably the second favorite place in the world besides the local caffe near the college. His inner child screams in utter joy whenever he sees rides such as roller coaster, haunted house—basically, everything.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the place where he can NEVER EVER get bored. So many things to do, too many things to buy, but he always saves the rides for later. For now, he just needs to take a walk for a bit to clears his mind. Not many people comes at this hour, so it’s a good thing.

After buying a cold butterbeer, Robbe’s first plan is to see the castle and takes a selfie (if he brave enough).

“Ah, what a beauty!” Robbe says while admiring the Hogwarts Castle from afar. He knows he’s a Hufflepuff through and through but would it be so much more amazing if this school actually exists in real life? A guy can dream.

When he’s satisfy enough looking at the magical castle, Robbe continue his walking to the ice cream parlour. When he’s almost there, for the tenth time since he got there, Robbe stumbles over his own feet and.... he accidentally trips his drink over someone’s t-shirt and also knocks down theirs.

“SHIT SHIT SHIT! I AM SO SORRY! SO SORRY!” He panicks without looking at the person. “I DON’T HAVE TISSUE! SO SO SO SORRY! I STUMBLED OVER MY FEET! YOUR DRINK IS FELL TOO! I’M SO STUPID! SORRY SORRY SORRY! I WILL—“

“Dude, stop!”

Robbe’s body freeze for couple seconds after he looks up and sees a guy around his age, wearing black everything but his bleached hair is making a beautiful contrast to the appearance. This guy’s looking... handsome? Devilishly handsome? In a way; and he’s looking rather pissed.

I’m dead, Robbe thought.

“I’m so sorry. I accidentally—“

“Yeah yeah, I heard you before. You accidentally stumbled over your feet, I know. I’m not deaf. But now what’re you gonna do to fix this? This clothes is expensive. Can you buy me another one?”

Robbe is super embarrassed right now. Cursed his feet and his too-clumsy nature!

“Look, I can make everything’s right again, okay?” He finally manage to find his voice and courage. “I can wash your t-shirt, even your jeans and buy you another drink. But please, forgive me! I’m sorry!”

Not long after, the bleached hair guy snorts and laughs loud; he’s too loud, almost everyone looking at them now.

“OH MY GOD, YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE! YOU LOOK TERRIFIED. SMILE A LITTLE, DUDE! IT WAS JUST A JOKE!”

“W-what?” Robbe asks, genuinely confused.

“This fucking t-shirt isn’t expensive,” the bleached hair guy says after he finally manages to calm himself from laughter. “In fact, I wanted to burn it.”

“But why? It’s nice.”

“Nope, you should buy me a cup of stracciatella ice cream then I’ll talk.”

Robbe can’t believe this weird guy; a total stranger, a little bit bossy but also exciting at the same time can stunned him easily. Feels like there’s an invisible sign above his head that speaks “DANGER!” but to hell with this—it’s still his birthday and no danger will be happened at the theme park, as far as he knows.

“Yeah, okay.” Robbe says as he follows the handsome stranger to the ice cream parlour.

Robbe almost trips when the bleached guy abruptly dead-stop in front of him.

“What is it?”

“Almost forgot,” he says, as he turns around and offers his hand. “Sander, 22, Juilliard student.”

Robbe takes Sander’s hand. It feels warm and strong in his, “Robbe, 20, exchanged student at University of Central Florida.”

Sander smirks, letting go the handshake, “cool. Come on, then!”

After they buy some ice creams and eat them on the spot, both agree to ride a Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey after this.

While they walking side by side, Robbe says, “now that I’m finally bought you an ice cream, mind to tell why you wanted to burn your clothes?”

Sander doesn’t answer for a minute or two. But when they walking pass the souvenir shop and Robbe’s being a little distracted by the wizard hat in the window, Sander says.

“Because my girlfriend gave it to me,” then he adds. “Well, an ex now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be,” Sander shakes his head. His voice is surprisingly calm and playful still. “She was cheating on me. Here, at this very park.”

“ARE YOU FOR REAL?!” Robbe absentmindedly yell but quickly compose himself. “I mean, what? Here? That’s not possible!”

“But it IS possible, Robbe.”

“I’m sorry...”

“Stop saying that!” Sander giggles. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad I could finally get rid of her!”

“Can we... can we just sit somewhere and talk?”

Robbe doesn’t know where he gets the idea but one thing for sure, he also have the need to pour his heart out too to this guy. They may just know each other less than 2 hours, but... don’t know, but Robbe’s already trust Sander; something that never happen with anybody else, ever. And mostly, he feels that Sander need someone to talk to, even though his exterior speak otherwise.

“Because it’s you, I’ll do it.”

Wait, what? What does it mean because it’s me? Robbe thought, feeling bewildered but doesn’t mind.

“Before I continue,” Sander says after they finally sit at the cafetaria. It’s so crowded now, that they have to wait for almost 15 minutes to get a seat. “Do you think I’m a bad person for saying those things?”

“About?”

“That I’m happy for getting rid of her.”

Robbe shakes his head and smiling softly, “not at all. I swear.”

“Okay, then,” Sander sighs in relief. “We’ve been together for nearly a year now. Ups and downs, of course. But never in my life, even for a second that I thought she’d cheated on me,” he sips his iced-tea before continuing. “Like I said before, I’m a Juilliard student, that’s in New York and she’s in USF, which means we had a long distance relationship. You can still keep up, right?”

Robbe nods, not saying anything.

“Long story short, I just got here yesterday and we’re supposed to have fun today blablabla... then when I came back from the restroom, she was supposed to wait for me near the giant globe but she was nowhere to be seen. Was looking for her for nearly half an hour when I accidentally saw her french-kissed this asshole near the haunted house. Well, I took a pic of them, sent her that and said ‘wow! A public porn!’. She still had the audacity to sent “I CAN EXPLAIN, OK?!” but I blocked her number after that. The end. Happily ever after.”

“Wow...”

Sander gives him a mocking snorts, “that’s it? Just wow? What’s wow about that?”

“Um, sorry. No, of course it’s not a wow. Not that kind of wow. It’s just,” Robbe takes a deep breath to calm himself. Damn this nervousness! “I can’t believe someone actually did that. Cheating and everything.”

Sander lets a huff and rolls his eyes, “but some people could. But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”

Robbe is a bit perplexed by the sudden change of topic, “me?”

Sander smirks while pierce his stares at him, “only you.”

Why does everything he said does something weird to my heart and stomach??? Robbe thought with annoyance.

“What do you wanna know, then? Ask away!”

“Why are you here alone?”

“Because I want to.”

“Give me a better answer, Robbe.” Sander mocks.

Robbe gulps. He plays his thumbs as self-assurance that what he’s going to say next isn’t that embarrassing.

“Well, today’s actually my birthday and I’m celebrating alone for 2 years now. I’m from Belgium, by the way. I always miss it and my friends.”

Looks like there’s only single information that Sander catch because he says “happy birthday” without making any comment about other things.

After saying that, he smiles as his hand ruffling Robbe’s hair. This gesture make Robbe’s heart beats even faster than before. But it’s only a friendly gesture, right? Like what big brother usually do to his little brother? Or as a friend. Right? No matter what is, he likes it too much to care.

“Thanks.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Robbe laughs at this, “no.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No but I’d love to.”

Sander’s green eyes widen, “so, you’re a...”

“Gay, yep!”

“Good for you,” Sander grins. “But did you realise that you just come out to a stranger?”

“You’re not a stranger anymore,” Robbe mumbles shyly as he holds his glass tighter. “I trust you, Sander.”

Both are silent for few minutes before Sander taking off a necklace around his neck and place in Robbe’s palm. It’s a gold necklace with a mini violin as the pendant.

“Yes?” Robbe asks, utterly confused. His brain’s momentarily has stopped working when their hands touch once again, but this time they linger.

“This is your present.”

“For what?”

“For your birthday, dummy!” Sander says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“No, Sander. I can’t! This is too expensive!” Robbe yelps but the bleached hair guy holds his hand even tighter.

“I need you to keep it!” He demands, “my mom gave it to me for my 4th birthday. It’s for a good luck and now it’s yours.”

“But—”

“I gave it to you, okay? Keep it,” Sander cuts him. “Or if you still insist, give it back to me when we meet again next time.”

“What?”

“I’m having a solo concert at Juilliard in two months. Would you be there?”

At this point, Robbe can never say no to him. Probably ever. He doesn’t know the reason why, but he’s certain that this sudden friendship will turn into something more. Hopefully. God, is he already whipped for someone he just met today?

“Are you gonna play a violin?”

“Yes,” Sander beams. “So? Would you?”

“I’d love to.”

“You promise?”

It’s true that they just met, it’s true that both doesn’t know each other that well yet, it’s true that this is quite abrupt but who would’ve thought, behind Sander’s devil-may-cry attitude, there’s an innocent and child-like insecurity? And Robbe is more than happy to get to know more about this special person.

This time, Robbe place his hand on top of Sander’s hand and whisper gently, “I promise.”

He isn’t sure how it’s gonna be, where it’s gonna lead but just them being like this—it’s more than enough. It left unsaid, but both already understand.

And that’s all that really matters.

#wtfock #wtfam #my edit #fanfic

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hansols-yoda-boxers · 4 years

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This might be boring but... thoughts on the seventeen comeback?

Not boring at all, Imma go ham so this might be boring for y’all lmao

Songs

Fearless - I love the opening with the pattern in vocables I think it sounds so cool. I really love the rock influence, especially into the chorus I think it’s great when they do that. The contrast of that with Wonwoo’s voice into the second verse is so good. That call back to Fear is amazing I am such a massive Slut for that. The ad libs at the end are amazing as always

Left and Right - cool right from the start. I really love that they pulled for early 2000s influences. The prechorus and then the horns in the in the chorus feel like a reference to that as well as call back to their earlier music, in particular mansae and very nice. Seungkwan’s part in the second verse is heavenly. Also it has a fade out at the end and that’s like, I commend Mr.Lee Jihoon on attention to detail with that.

I Wish - From the start, this one goes the hardest with the nostalgic sounds. It’s a little jazzy in the way early 2000s ballads did. And the use of synthy instruments for that accents to the melody like I just love it it’s rally like a whole blast from the past. Oh and the rap towards the end with the vocal under it, perfection.

My My - I am this song’s bitch. It’s very much the cute song that’s in line with their other sounds like Snap Shoot and so much Oh My and that whole mini. The prechorus bit that Jihoon does the first time and Seungkwan the second time is one of my favourite melodies Lee Jihoon has ever written and it perfectly captures the whole idea of this mini album.

Kidult - Oh a whole ass song. I love love love the chorus that’s what hooked me for this song like it feels nostalgic and like long car rides or sitting around the fire and just being caught between kid and adult with your friends it’s just perfect. Also catch me learning the ad libs at the end.

Together - Just yes, from the first note yes. Again the rock influence that they always do so well. The prechorus bit done in unison oh I’m such a sucker for that shit. It juts, oh it hits me right in the heart. I love that the lyrics will change up their cadence but there’s this continuous drum beat underneath drives the song forward which is fitting when the translation of the title is more like “Come with me” to “Let’s go together.” Also that bit in the bride that ascending line with the affect on the voice oh god i love that. And ending on that high violin note just yes.

Overall, I think they really manage to capture the feeling and idea of youth that they were going for in sound and content. The only thing I’m sad about is not having unit songs.

MVs

My My - I know a lot of people didn’t like it but I think it’s cute. I like the overall look and the styling a lot. I know it’s visually busy but I don’t mind and tbh are we really gonna complain about that when Clap exists? Like I love Clap but there’s so much happening visually. I think the dark colouring works with the time of day they were going for. I think it’s really whimsical. I think Jihoon sitting on the trailer is just the best thing ever. Jun piloting the ship and Chan’s smile is so precious. Oh MY GOD Seungkwan?? He looks so good it’s ridiculous. I hate when the jam sings that’s cursed. I think the pool scene is cute but I wish we got to see more of the dance. Cheol’s pink hair yes i loved it.

Left and Right - LOVE the styling and makeup I think it’s so so cool. Cheol’s part, yes it’s so good and he looks so good I’m so glad my husband is back. Lmao when they let Seungkwan run and everyone else just starts dancing, also dancing over Jihoon while he lies on the ground, throwing Soonie in the hair (thoush my coworker said that has to do with henggarae so that’s fair) and Cheol blasting off in the car, pure crack. Omg Soonie’s care suit is so cute I love it. I love Hansol’s into Chan’s into Seungkwan’s parts so much that whole sequence is amazing. omg Joshua turning the signs like it’s some big thing. But then Seokmin’s lie just after that is perfection. Oh and Jihoon’s leather pants fuck me up.

Comeback Show

Left and Right - Really tied the theme together for me seeing the opening like it’s so clear and I just love it. I love the choreo as always but the styling takes the cake on this one. I also really love the little hip wiggle. And Seungkwan is ending me. And Joshua is too cocky.

Mansae - The styling is too much fun and the changes are fresh. I like that it helps bring out the contrast and the call backs in Left and Right. Seokmin looks like he’s right out the turn of the millennium. Joshua forgot not to be sexy. There choreo has also come so far.

My My - Seungkwan in those shorts and knee highs will forever be my fav thing. Also the choreo is so cute. I love starting on the floor. I love Jihoon’s steering wheel. I love the waves. I love the Minghao, Wonwoo, Hansol bit. I love teh carrying Seungkwan. I love Jun reaching for the camera, And when I tell you I LOVE the campfire!!

Hit - The styling on this was so cool. Lmao Jun’s one arm out. I forgot how much I love Seungkwan’s part with Jeonghan and then Chan in the dance. Also lord this must have been a long day for them

Fearless - The most grandiose thing they’ve done thus far It gives me Dionysus by BTS vibes (which if you haven’t seen the stages for that go watch them). I love the opening and the spiral in and Hansol’s whole everything. I love that the styling calls back to fear. Jeonghan’s dancing is amazing he is such an underrated dancer. Wonwoo up in the air like a king oh boy. The chorus choreo is just amazing. The first flyer was cool but when I tell you I almost screamed at Jeonghan running up their backs and trust falling good lord. Seungkwan and Seokmin’s mirror is inspired. It’s some of the best choreography they have ever done.

#mercy's thoughts #random #anon #ask game

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ramblingguy54 · 4 years

Text

Amphibia’s Season 1 Finale: An Emotionally Charged Climax Of Brilliance

For those who haven’t watched Amphibia yet, or are only halfway through the series, I’d highly recommend not reading this post on the events of Season 1′s finale. This is an episode that should be experienced blind, rather than having it spoiled for yourself, unless you really don’t mind at all whatsoever.

No matter how many times I’ve re-watched Amphibia Season 1 on Disney+, I gotta say its finale was easily up on my list of top moments from animation back in the 2010′s. Amphibia starts off with some pretty simple straightforward slice of life stuff throwing in a nice mix of drama and comedy. Although, as the series has progressed, Amphibia’s storytelling makes it clear we’re in for a bigger shift with dramatic writing once Season 2 rolls around in the future. This last episode of Season 1, Reunion, gives me the impression it could very likely be transitioning into heavier stuff, like Gravity Falls did, when it’s second outing steps up to the plate eventually. Season 1′s finale has seriously impressed me with what it managed to accomplish in its themes that were set up as early as its first episode. We finally get more insight into what Anne’s daily routine with Sasha must’ve been like before she was suddenly dropped into this crazy lovable world of anthropomorphic frogs. What I really appreciate about this backstory is it reels us in just enough with seeing Anne and Sasha’s chemistry. It doesn’t do a big exposition dump about what good friends they are, rather Amphibia just simply shows us first hand. From the get go it’s made crystal clear that Anne and Sasha are very close, seeing how Sasha stands up for Anne when someone tries to steal her food on a special day no less.

Or else you can forget about coming to my awesome house party next week.

Happy Birthday, girl!

Like, extremely close given how happy these two are to see each other. Anne & Sasha’s interaction here is safe to say they go way back before their current school year. Almost as if, they’ve known each other since they were younger.

“Sasha’s been my friend since Kindergarten. If she says it’s fine. It’s fine.”

Anne’s piece of dialogue here makes it evident how much she cares/trusts about Sasha as an individual. Even enough to allow her in doing morally questionable stuff highlighted with this brief montage spotlighting Anne’s passive behavior towards Sasha’s dangerously impulsive attitude. Time and time again Anne willingly goes along with Sasha’s mentality of, “Do whatever we want.”, because in her eyes that’s what being best friends is all about. Giving the other what they want regardless of the moral implications around whatever their actions are. Not to mention, when you take that into account that Anne has been around Sasha since preschool, it’s equivalent to putting your foot down on a family member. Anne doesn’t want to hurt Sasha, considering she’s like the sister Anne never had, being an only child and all. That further establishes emotional weight for something Anne fears to lose out on, which Sasha takes advantage of greatly.

Anne, this isn’t cute anymore. We’re meeting up with Marcy right now! End of discussion...

“Heh! She’s persuasive, right?”

Look, if a friend likes a pencil case, you get it for them. If your friend likes your new shoes, you give them to her. And if her friend wants you to steal a crazy music box from a thrift store, even if you really don’t want to, you do it okay? Because if you don’t, they might not want to be your friend anymore...

Sasha’s serious verbal abuse has made Anne completely twist around the very concept of what a healthy friendship basically is, overall. For whatever the reason at some point, be it the very school environment they both grew up in or personal family issues, Sasha has become an extremely toxic influence on Anne’s important decision making and it painfully shows here in her self-esteem. This kid has made it second nature for herself to never be honest when a friend is doing something that she internally deems highly questionable in moral terms, since she’s so afraid of permanently losing those who claim to care about her own well being. Anne believes it to be a “golden rule” that if you’re openly honest with your close friends, it will only lead to failure in a nutshell. This is honestly one of the strongest elements of Amphibia’s storytelling on how it explores the human condition of real friendship. It’s not sunshine and rainbows, but an honest reflection of who you are as a person. Those you choose to let into your life for better influencing yourself, also reveal your true nature as an individual. These particular lines from the episode, Flood, Sweat, and Tears, sets the mood into motion that vital theme its story centers itself around.

Sharing a room doesn’t make you best friends. Being honest with each other does!

In fact, if you ask me, you’re better friends now than you were before.

Seeing how greatly Amphibia explored this statement means a lot to me, since I myself have struggled with passive aggressive behavior plenty with my own friends. There were social experiences I went through in my childhood that made me bottle up how I genuinely feel a lot, so being honest with my own circle of close friends was a serious challenge for me. While I have come a long way in the improvements of being more honest with my pals whenever something is bothering me, it’s still a never ending struggle I deal with on a daily basis, considering it’s much like second nature to me. This significant moment hit all the right chords for me in showing that beauty of human connections, by taking the good and bad people can experience in dealing with their own differences. Anne’s journey to better understand what real friends are and stand up for herself is a very empowering one to see occur, as she continues to come out of her shell, while putting her foot down when more immoral shit starts to hit the fan. Another giant step forward for her own independence comes to light in the tenth episode, Toad Tax, when Anne wanted nothing more than to be respected by the towns folk, instead of being openly called a monster and getting severely alienated for it, too. Which, again, it really shows just how much Sasha’s manipulation has had a grip on Anne, given she first thought that by joining the Toad force that she’d garner their respect. However, that idea was nothing more than a deeply shallow belief, which would’ve made the town more afraid of her rather than love and accept her.

All I wanted was this town’s respect, but just because these people treated me crumby, doesn’t mean I’m gonna do the same to them. I’m done with this. I don’t care if they’ve broken the law, you can’t treat people like this!

In a very jarring contrast to Anne, Sasha is a more two faced individual with her own motive for getting herself, Anne, and Marcy back home by any means necessary. To put it bluntly and harshly, Sasha is a real bitch hilariously to the point where she is the sole reason why Grimes minions become more competent, due to throwing out fake compliments to help their lack of motivation, since his intensity as their ruthless leader was backfiring greatly. It’s priceless to see a villain’s cold blooded behavior ironically be a big detriment to their rule of power, as other works of fiction have shown it to a “positive” influence on their minions, where a teenage cheerleader blonde archetype has to patch things up.

You lot are without a doubt the most useless group of toads I have ever seen!

Just try saying nice things for a change. Get them to love you and they’ll do anything for you.

That actually works?

Ooooh, it works alright. Trust me.

Sasha’s already cold and calculating manipulation is influenced in return by Grimes heartless nature. Sasha & Grimes combined make for a deadly combination for one Hell of antagonistic duo, but that’s not to say this series doesn’t add layers to this complicated girl. While she is a very toxic verbally abusive person, Sasha isn’t without her own humanity either. Besides lying about being the only human in the world of Amphibia, Sasha genuinely is concerned about reuniting with each of her friends and not just for keeping them underneath her thumb in a controlling fashion. The voice acting here from Sasha’s VA really helps elevate that idea there’s more to her than how she acts.

Hold on for a little longer girls. I’m coming for you and when I find you we’re gonna get home, but first I think we’re gonna have some fun with this place.

By the time Anne and Sasha reunite by the finale, both have changed. Anne for the better and Sasha for much worse. Anne has become more selfless and free to make her own choices that she feels morally comfortable with doing, while Sasha is out to kill Hop Pop, due to his vital actions in earlier episodes, for encouraging more Frogs to rebel against the Toad’s rule of power through fear and violence. Sasha doesn’t view Hop Pop as as an equal living thing, but another obstacle that’s keeping herself, Anne, and Marcy from their one way ticket home. She strongly believes that killing Hop Pop, to keep the other Frogs back in line from having a voice of their own, will allow them a better chance to get back home with help from Grimes. Sasha knows to an extent the terrible thing she’s trying to help Grimes commit, however she still only views Hop Pop as not an equivalent human being, but an already figurative dead frog for them to dissect in their biology class.

So you’ve probably already noticed the Toads in this valley have one job. To rule over the Frogs. And lately those Frogs have been stepping out of line.

Sasha is a serious fucking jerk, but a well intent extremist on wanting to get everyone back home, who doesn’t fully grasp the full context of what horrible atrocities she’s helping Grimes commit through doing this attempted murder.

Anne, what are you doing? Are you really gonna risk your life for these...talking frogs? We don’t even belong here. Don’t you wanna get back home? See your family?

Yeah, but...

Then put your sword down, now!

END OF DISCUSSION...

There we go, that’s my girl.

There that wasn’t so hard was i-

WHAT THE HECK!?

For someone who’s Anne’s best friend, you sure don’t know her very well! She brave, she’s smart, and most of all she’s not gonna be pushed around by a bully like you!

I think I’ve had enough of you, squeaky toy.

Anne, what are you doing!?

Something I should’ve done a long time ago. Standing up to you!

Thanks for believing in me, Sprig.

Can I just say that I love how they don’t try to pin blame on Anne for being consistently manipulated by Sasha? While Anne most certainly needs to stand up and not allow Sasha to abuse her like this anymore, Sasha is the sole person responsible for making Anne feel so insecure, who needed to be put in her place. It was very important for them to make that clear who is at fault here in this situation more than anyone and Sprig was perfect for telling off Anne’s abusive friend. Can’t begin to describe how cathartic it was for seeing that bitch get hit in the face for trying to once again pull on Anne’s emotional baggage. That highly noteworthy moment aside, there is a really interesting exchange between Sasha and Grimes showing how warped Sasha’s definition of friendship has become over the years she’s grown up with Anne in school.

You’ve given me plenty of advice, now let me give you some. Stamp this out. Make her yield. Fail and nothing will ever be the same.

Not gonna happen...

So, taking into account everything that I’ve covered at this point, this makes for a wonderful climatic finale to a slow burn where previous episodes have emotionally prepared Anne for facing down the very person who’s been hurting her most of all. One of her closest friends, who’s been like a symbolic sister in the past to Anne, but has turned into this very hurtful person with a seriously warped idea of an “affectionate” friendship based on similar ideas of control as seen with Grimes. While Amphibia has plenty of comedic shenanigans in its storytelling, there’s always been this dramatic undertone centered around Anne and Sasha’s views of what relationships are all about for what each one has based their ideals on. This Disney series is centered around gaining new bonds, while looking at old ones in a much different perspective, as seen with Anne and Sasha’s falling out.

Anne, you don’t have to do this.

Yes I do...

Anne vs Sasha is an important key moment that the finale nails on every possible level, given each side here has something lose, if the other one wins this duel. These are old friends, or rather family in a sense, standing up for what they think is the right moral thing to do and you can feel this high stakes tension every second as its building up to their swords finally clashing again against one another. Reminds me a lot of the Star Wars battles where it’s not necessarily remembered so much for the fights themselves, but the emotional weight that is carried in every moment which is happening between its characters and I applaud Amphibia for taking inspiration in utilizing that trope of writing.

Much like how DuckTales (2017) handled its amazing Season 1 finale, Amphibia’s writers know the most crucial element to focus more than anything are the characters themselves and what they’re feeling, rather than making it a big flashy battle of epic proportions. Granted, that’s a nice icing on the cake and all, but the real meat should always be in how you’re executing the important themes you’ve introduced from the start. In Amphibia’s case, it’s the tragedy of friendship turning into something nasty with Sasha treating Anne poorly and breaking apart their once stable lives, due to that very nature which dropped them into this world where they have to now fend for themselves.

There’s so much powerful heartbreak emitting from this one pic here and hoo boi we haven’t even gotten to best part, yet. It’s delightfully angsty and shocked the Hell outta me when first watching this episode. Fuck, it still does quite frankly knowing the people behind this show had the guts to go that far dramatically.

They’re just slimy little frogs, Anne.

They don’t matter!

They’re not just Frogs. They’re my friends!

After Anne finally beats Sasha the entire castle starts exploding, due to Wally misinterpreting her on not blowing up Grimes base. Here’s where the most heart wrenching scene comes in as the cherry on top of this intense finale to Amphibia’s first season. As the castle is falling to pieces, Sasha almost falls to her death but Anne catches her in time, despite just fighting her tooth and nail seconds ago to save the family she was trying to kill for her selfish reasons. There’s a crap ton of symbolism here in this poignant moment of characterization for Anne & Sasha’s current state of friendship now. All of this is topped off by the music piece, Lean On Me, being poetically woven into it.

The Plantar family is doing everything in their power to hold Anne up equivalent to how they’ve made her into a better individual than she ever was around Sasha. While Sasha is putting all of them in danger as a figurative ball and chain that, besides holding them back from staying alive, is also keeping Anne from becoming the best version of herself she can be. In these last moments, I’d like to believe Sasha finally put it together in her mind just how much she’s royally screwed everything up. Not just what she attempted to do with Hop Pop and most likely the rest of his family, but how seriously disrespectful she was to Anne for who knows how many years of their friendship when Sasha started abusing her. Sasha was most likely feeling a ton of self-loathing and terrible guilt before making this shocking pivotal decision next in saving Anne and the Plantars’.

Hey Anne...

Maybe you’re better off without me...

Like, on one hand it can be simply viewed as Sasha simply saving these people from dying, too. However, I’d prefer to make it darker for the sake of heavy angst and say she was committing suicide, as well. Sasha realized in these last moments, before thinking that she was going to die a painful death, how shitty she was to Anne. Sasha’s abusive behavior is what started this whole story in the first place. If it wasn’t for Sasha, none of them would of ended up in the world Amphibia to begin with, but it needed to happen for Anne to become better about who her real friends are and maybe this rough experience would even help Sasha, too. We’ll just have to see what awaits for Sasha’s character arc in Season 2′s future. As it stands now, Anne may have a lost a dear friend, who was basically like a sister to her years back, but gained something even better.

A family and terrific friends who care deeply for her.

Hop Pop, you three are my family. I’d never let anyone hurt you.

Thanks for taking the time read this very lengthy post of me gushing about this powerfully bittersweet finale. Can’t wait for Season 2!

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #sprig plantar #sasha #amphibia season 1 #this finale hurt me REAL good #amphibia spoilers #amphibia season 1 finale #ampihiba reunion #amphibia episode 20 #polly plantar #hop pop plantar

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lets-talk-appella · 5 years

Text

They’re Us

Ch 3/5

Summary: When the enemy looks like your friends, how do you know who to trust? For PP Horror Week 2019 - Doppelgangers.

Word Count: 3k

Rating: M for horror themes and some violence.

AO3 and FFN

Chloe’s heart rate doesn’t slow until they’re all safely inside the Bella house and the deadbolt is firmly in place.

She knows that, realistically, a locked door can only buy them so much time. Besides, there’s every possibility that their clones—or whatever they are—have the keys to the house. If they can call her from Aubrey’s number and steal Jesse’s car, she’s pretty sure they can do what they want.

She isn’t so worried about that right now, though. No, right now, she’s mostly worried about how pale Beca looks.

She watches as Beca perches on the far edge of the couch with Amy and Stacie, her eyes fixed on Jesse as he crosses the room to peer out the nearest window. Chloe can’t imagine what Beca must have gone through, what she must have thought when Jesse’s clone turned on her. If Aubrey’s clone had done anything like that…

“What do we do?” Cynthia Rose asks, joining Jesse in looking out of windows.

“Get ready?” Amy suggests. “Yeah, I’m gonna need more cars, though, if you want me to keep running them over.”

“Don’t you touch my car,” Stacie mumbles, her head in her hands and elbows resting on her knees. “That’s another of my goodies.”

“But… is everyone a clone? Like everyone in Barden?” Jesse asks, turning from the window and looking to Chloe. “Or just us? Because if it’s everyone...”

Stacie groans quietly. Chloe privately agrees, though she isn’t sure if it would be more or less terrifying if they were the only ones with lookalikes.

“What do they want?” Beca interrupts, her voice more raspy than usual, which Chloe assumes is from fear. Which is a shame, because she likes how it sounds.

“Well, okay,” she manages, trying to at least answer Jesse’s question. “There can’t be more, because it’d be on the news, right? Everyone would be freaking out.”

“I’m freaking out,” Cynthia Rose volunteers, testing a window to make sure it’s locked securely. “This is freaky shit.”

“Why would there be clones of just us?” Stacie asks, lifting her head from her hands. Her cheeks, in contrast to Beca’s paleness, are blotchy.

Jesse has started pacing, now looking out every single window he passes. His nervous energy raises goosebumps on Chloe’s arms, making her shiver.

“What do you think they want?” Beca interjects again, this time more loudly. Her hands fidget nervously in her lap, fingers twisting together.

“I…” she tries to come up with something—anything—to stop Beca looking so scared, but draws a blank. She has no idea what the clones want.

“I say we just run, the six of us,” Jesse says tersely. “We can pile into one car, or—or take a couple cars. As long as we get the hell out of Barden, we’ll be safe.”

“We can’t do that,” Chloe objects quickly. “We can’t leave the other Bellas.”

Jesse blinks at her, as if that hadn’t even occurred to him. Beca, though, is nodding slowly. Chloe knew she’d understand; they’re co-captains, and they have to protect the others.

“Would you guys have sex with your clones?” Stacie asks suddenly, tilting her head to the side.

Chloe hesitates, completely derailed. Beca’s face whips around to look at Stacie so quickly that Chloe wouldn’t be surprised if she’d hurt her neck.

“Like, I think it could be fun,” Stacie elaborates with a shrug. “Maybe they’re not all evil clones and we should give it a try.”

“I guess... it would be like masturbating, right?” Chloe points out slowly.

Beca’s cheeks turn pink at that, but maybe that’s good; it’s much better than her earlier pallor.

“Aca-lesbians,” Amy stage-whispers.

Cynthia Rose glares at her. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Focus!” Jesse interrupts, sounding impatient. “They could be coming any minute.”

“So could I,” Stacie mutters, examining her nails.

Cynthia Rose coughs.

“Look, I…” Chloe starts, trying to regain her senses. “I don’t know why the Aubrey clone just wanted to talk, and why the Jesse one didn’t…” she trails off, unwillingly glancing at Beca.

Beca shifts on the couch, staring down into her lap. “He could have just… I mean, I was in the car. He could have just… driven away.”

Chloe’s stomach pangs at the thought.

After a prolonged silence, Jesse clears his throat. “Can we call the cops?” he asks. “If they’re trying to hurt us, I mean.”

“What good would that do?” Cynthia Rose snorts. “They’d think we’re crazy.”

“Maybe we are,” Amy muses. “Anyone accidentally drug our water supply with hallucinogens again?”

“Okay, no!” Chloe cuts in. “We’re not crazy. So, um, they’re just… it’s just doubles of us, and for some reason they’re… do you think this is a DSM stunt?” she asks, knowing she’s grasping at straws. “You know, throw us off?”

Beca snorts a little hysterically. “Are you serious right now?”

“I don’t know!” Chloe throws her hands into the air, frustrated. “The clones are just after us for some reason!”

The front door opens quickly and suddenly; Stacie lets out a shriek of surprise and Chloe whirls, startled. Ashley, Jessica, and Emily walk into the house, closing the door behind them.

“Why was the door locked?” Emily asks, frowning. “We never lock the door. Oh, and Chloe? We got your text to come home. What’s happening?”

Her question is greeted by silence. Chloe stares hard at the three of them, trying to spot any sign they might be their clones. Jesse moves to stand beside her, maybe trying to act as some kind of backup.

Emily’s eyes flick to him, then back to Chloe. “Guys? What …”

“Are you… you?” Beca asks, her tone guarded.

Emily looks utterly bewildered.

Stacie claps hand to her forehead. “Oh my God, we’re so stupid. Everyone, take out your contacts, now.”

Chloe lets her eyes slide closed. Of course. It’s so obvious. The clones have to wear color contacts, so all they have to do is check for those.

“Um, how are we supposed to see?” Emily asks, confused.

“Yeah, I want to know when I’m being attacked, not just see a giant blur,” Cynthia Rose quips.

“Attacked?” Jessica’s eyebrows draw together.

“Oh my God, here,” Stacie sighs, reaching up to her own face. She holds an eyelid open with one hand and delicately uses the index finger of her other hand to pluck out her contact lens.

Beca makes a noise of protest. “That’s not proper hygiene—”

“See?” Stacie blinks a few times, one lens balanced on the end of her finger. Both her eyes remain their usual color. “No weird eyes.”

Chloe steps closer, peering into Stacie’s eyes. In one eye, she can clearly see the border of a contact lens around Stacie’s iris, but not in the eye Stacie had just pulled the lens from. “You’re good.”

Emily tries again. “Does someone want to explain—”

“Contacts first,” Cynthia Rose says sharply, looking at her suspiciously.

Emily looks bewildered but does what she’s told. Mimicking Stacie, she pulls out one contact and then stands blinking at them, both her eyes their typical color.

“Ashley and Jessica?” Beca asks.

“We don’t need contacts,” Ashley says. “We’ve got 20/20.”

“Chloe?” Amy asks.

“Yep,” Chloe replies, anticipating Amy’s question and already moving toward Ashley and Jessica. Jesse stays close behind her, which she appreciates, but a quick look into both Ashley and Jessica’s eyes confirms that neither of them is wearing any kind of contact lens. “They’re good.”

“Awesome,” Emily says, sounding grumpy. “Now would you guys—”

This time, the sound of the lock scraping in the door gives them some warning; Chloe’s ready when Flo comes stumbling through the doorway, slamming it behind her and breathing hard. “I got here as fast as I—” she cuts off, staring with wide eyes in Beca’s direction.

“Take out your contacts!” Amy barks.

“I—what?” Flo asks, glancing at her. “No time, you guys, there’s some weird mojo, I saw… weren’t you just outside?” she asks Beca with a frown.

Beca blinks. “Uh, no?”

Chloe’s blood runs cold.

Flo stares at Beca, nonplussed. “But… I just saw—”

“Flo, contacts, everyone else, contacts, and then we’ll explain,” Chloe interrupts. If Flo’s right and Beca’s clone is nearby, the rest could arrive any second. They need to be ready.

It doesn’t take long to confirm everyone’s identity; Flo, Jesse, and Cynthia Rose remove their contacts to reveal their normal eyes underneath, and Beca, Amy, and Chloe don’t wear contacts. Still, Chloe checks everyone’s eyes carefully to confirm. Beca volunteers to check Chloe’s eyes, and Chloe has to hold her breath when Beca’s face gets close to hers.

“She’s good,” Beca eventually says.

“We’re all good, then,” Stacie sighs, sounding relieved.

Emily clicks her tongue impatiently.

“Clones, Legacy, try to keep up,” Amy says before Chloe can speak. “Of all of us have clones. Except Jesse, ‘cuz I hit his with Bumper’s car.”

Emily’s eyes go so wide that Chloe’s surprised they don’t fall from her face.

Flo, however, only nods and crosses herself. “I knew this day would come. Back in my country—”

“What do you mean?” Jessica asks, looking between Amy and Chloe. “Clones? What?”

“Look,” Chloe says, trying to be both quick and gentle with her explanation. “There are freaky replicas of all of us, we think, and they’re watching us. And they’re trying to get us. We don’t know why.”

“And they have color contacts but yellow eyes,” Stacie supplies helpfully.

“Right,” Ashley says, her voice faint.

“So, what, we have to keep taking our contacts out all the time so we know who’s who?” Flo asks a little desperately.

Chloe pauses, exchanging a look with Stacie.

Beca leans forward suddenly. “No, just... everyone, take a—a piece of string or something and wrap it around your wrist. Like a bracelet so we know we’re us.”

“Oh!” Emily exclaims, digging in her bag. “I know I have… we were just crafting, I have it…” she mutters before pulling out a ball of blue yarn with a victorious smile. “Bracelet, anyone?” she asks a little too brightly for the situation. She makes the rounds, tying a piece of string around each of their wrists and cutting it with scissors she also finds in her bag.

“The clones won’t have these,” Chloe says with satisfaction, examining her new yarn bracelet.

From the bottom of the stairwell, Lilly whispers, “They can take them off our dead bodies.”

Everyone jumps, heads whipping in her direction to stare.

“When did she get here?” Amy mutters out of the corner of her mouth, pointedly moving away to create space between herself and Lilly.

Beca recovers first. “Lilly, contacts?”

Lilly shakes her head.

“I’m not checking her eyes,” Stacie declares. Beside her, both Cynthia Rose and Beca cringe at the thought.

“Oh my God, I’ll just do it,” Jessica volunteers bravely, stepping close to Lilly and peering into her face. Chloe finds herself holding her breath; even regularly, she’s not sure she’d want to invade Lilly’s space like that.

Finally, Jessica steps back with a sigh. “She’s good. And you guys are cowards.”

Lilly looks down at her feet and starts humming a tune that Chloe can’t identify.

“Uh—”

“Look,” Jesse says abruptly. “I’m worried about the Trebles. I think I should go over there and make sure they’re okay.”

Beca frowns. “But you’re safer here.”

“And we could use some help,” Emily says.

Chloe immediately prickles; they don’t need Jesse. He hadn’t really done anything to stop his own clone. “I mean, we can probably just—”

“The Treble house is right next door,” Jesse interrupts her, looking at Beca as he speaks. “If anything happens or you guys need help, I can be right back. I just—I have to make sure they’re okay over there.”

Beca hesitates, running her tongue over her front teeth. “Well…”

“My clone’s dead, anyway,” Jesse reminds her softly. “I’ll be okay, Bec.”

It’s the use of the nickname that tips Chloe over the edge. “Jesse’s right,” she says, trying not to sound dismissive. “He should make sure the Trebles are okay. We can always call for help later.”

She’s looking at Beca, but out of the corner of her eye she catches a glimpse of Cynthia Rose smirking at Stacie. She ignores them.

“I… okay,” Beca agrees finally, her eyes flicking between Chloe and Jesse. “Just be careful.”

“I will. Promise,” Jesse says.

Chloe feels faintly ill at the fragility in his tone.

“Also, if you could maybe not tell Bumper about his car just yet, that’d be, uh, awesome,” Amy suggests.

Something occurs to Chloe then. “Yeah, how exactly did you get his car?”

Amy’s face goes blank, the way it always does when Bumper is mentioned. “Ummm.”

“Okay, great, I’m gonna go then,” Jesse says, crossing the room to get to the front door. He pauses just before leaving to look back. “You be careful, too, okay? Let me know if anything’s…”

“Got it,” Beca says, and then Jesse opens the door and is gone.

A ringing silence follows the closing door. Chloe tries not to focus on how concerned Beca still looks for Jesse.

“Well… he’s dead,” Amy says with a shrug.

Around her, Stacie and Cynthia Rose nod solemnly. “It’s how the movies go,” Stacie agrees.

Beca makes some annoyed noise of protest, but Chloe’s distracted by how Flo still looks at Beca uncomfortably. Her chest tightens.

“Flo?” she asks. “You said you saw Beca outside?”

Flo nods, and the mood in the room darkens immediately.

“How—how close to the house?” Chloe asks timidly, not sure she really wants to know.

Flo purses her lips before answering. “About halfway between here and campus. I talked to her, and she said… she was waiting for the others first. I didn’t know…” Flo trails off, looking uncomfortable.

“They’re close,” Cynthia Rose breathes.

“What?” Emily asks sharply.

Chloe swallows. Cynthia Rose is right; if Flo had seen Beca’s clone that close almost five minutes ago, they’re running out of time. “We have to start getting ready.”

“What?” Beca asks, looking around at them all. “Why don’t we just—we’re all here now, let’s just run and get in a car and—”

“Too late,” Ashley breathes, staring out the front window.

Chloe’s heart lurches; she moves so quickly to the window that it’s a miracle no furniture is sent flying. She stares out into the driveway, her throat tight, fighting against the scream threatening to burst from her chest.

It’s the clones.

All of them. Walking up the driveway and toward the house. It’s Stacie and Amy and Cynthia Rose and Aubrey. It’s Emily with her backpack and Lilly with her bangs and Flo with her earrings.

When Chloe sees herself, her brain short-circuits. It’s like looking in a mirror but with deliberate mistakes; a mirror is a reflection and even photographs aren’t the same as seeing her own face like this. There’s no doubt in her mind that this—this clone of her had been the one watching her on campus. It makes her head hurt too much to stare at her own face out the window, so her eyes slide to the person walking next to her.

Behind her, the Bellas gasp or cry out or make noises of surprise, but Chloe tunes them out; all she can see is Beca. The Beca outside. The Beca that looks so much like her Beca that it’s Chloe’s first instinct to run to her and pull her close. It isn’t Beca, though, because there’s no way Beca would ever look at her like that, all cold and calculating.

“What are they doing?” the Beca behind Chloe asks, her voice quivering. “What the fuck are they doing?”

Chloe can’t answer.

She watches as the clones walk toward the house at a leisurely pace, staring up at the second floor, looking around the yard. They start to split away from one another, going around the sides of the house. Clone Beca, Aubrey, and Stacie go to the right, disappearing from view, even as Clone Cynthia Rose, Emily, Lilly, and Flo move left. Clone Amy and Chloe’s own double, though, stay where they are at the front of the house, staring into the window.

The Chloe outside smiles at the Chloe inside, tilting her head almost curiously.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Cynthia Rose chants. “Shit, you guys, we have to do something.”

“They’re… us,” Stacie breathes.

“Not all of us,” Ashley mutters, and Chloe tears her gaze from her clone to look back into the sitting room. She realizes that Ashley’s right; neither her nor Jessica had clones.

“Of course not,” Jessica shrugs.

For some reason, that snaps Chloe out of it. “Okay, Bellas!” she cries out, relieved her voice sounds strong and steady. “They’re here. We need to get ready.”

“Are you crazy?” Emily asks, even as Stacie digs frantically for her pepper spray and Lilly pulls a knife out of nowhere. Amy disappears into the kitchen, and Chloe’s fairly sure she’s going for the booze.

“We might have to fight,” Chloe says bracingly, looking at each of the Bellas in turn. Cynthia Rose looks terrified but determined. Emily looks nauseated. Ashley and Jessica seem bored. “I hope you all have been keeping up with cardio, because we’re going to need it,” Chloe finishes, catching Beca’s eye last.

Beca doesn’t look scared. She stares back at Chloe grimly, her lips set in a hard line. A silent message passes between them: it isn’t enough. This is going to end badly, and they both know it.

Somewhere upstairs, a window breaks, the sound of shattering glass more deafening than gunfire.

#pitch perfect horror week #bechloe #my writing #beca mitchell #chloe beale #and all their clones too #pitch perfect fanfiction

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dkronpa · 5 years

Text

Chapter 3: Journey to Despair, Grave Secrets, Grave Lies ~Daily Life Part 1~

THE LONG AWAITED CHAPTER 3 BEGINS

My bad for it taking so long I had a bad case of writers block half-way through but I have the whole plot for this chapter totally ironed out now. I’ll write as often as possible and hopefully I won’t leave you guys hanging like that again

Enjoy~

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Dream Sequence-

It’s cold. Really cold. Winter, I think. No snow but the wind is biting at my skin. I’m staring at a car.

No, I’m staring at what’s under the car. The blood coming from underneath and the hand stretching from underneath. There’s someone crying nearby. Where am I again? What am I doing?

Why didn’t I do anything? Why? Why?

Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy-

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Ryuu’s Room-

“Ugh!” I jolted up in a cold sweat. What was that? A dream? No…a memory? But surely something like that would be easy to recall, but I don’t remember that kind of event at all…it must have been a dream. “Y-yeah, a dream.”

I let out a shaky sigh and grabbed my E-Handbook. It was close to Monokuma’s morning announcement, so I may as well get ready.

…but should I even bother? After what happened yesterday…we could all be out of the killing game by now if I hadn’t spoken like that. It’s my fault we’re all still in the killing game…Hachi-san killed Irunami-san so we could all escape and I made both of their deaths in vain.

Even so…I should try my best to show face, shouldn’t I? Come on Ryuu. Pull yourself together.

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Short numbered-

By the time I got to the cafeteria, I expected everybody else to be already eating breakfast though when I entered the room, there were a few people missing from the group. “Huh…? Is this everyone that showed up?” I asked everyone present.

“Shinko and Yokozawa said the same thing, they don’t feel like they can trust anybody here. So, they’ve locked themselves in their rooms and are refusing to leave. They’ll probably leave later to get food; they can’t stay in there forever.” Sly-san answered.

“Hmm? You went to check on them?” Asano-san inquired.

“We need to keep track of the group in this situation. Don’t read into it when it’s nothing deep.” Sly-san said.

“Graves-san isn’t here either…” Ram-san noted.

“I met her in the hallway earlier. She said she was going to keep her distance for a while. Doesn’t know who to trust anymore.” Kurohiko-san answered. This group really broke up after last night. And with those three not present right now…it really feels empty in here than how it used to be…

“Oi, Nagata. Did you sleep alright? You look exhausted.” Okanaya-san looked at me with worry. I instinctively touched the dark circles under my eyes. Ram-san looked over with concern as well.

“It’s nothing. Bad dream is all, woke me up early.” I murmured.

“One bad dream is not such a terrible thing, Nagata-sama. After all, it is better to get your bad dreams out of the way so that your eternal dream will be an enjoyable one.” Ishikawa-san smiled.

“Jesus, do you ever talk about something less terrifying? You realise what situation we’re in, right? We don’t wanna hear you talk about death all the fuckin’ time.” Okanaya-san snarled.

“I was not attempting to make anyone uncomfortable.” Ishikawa-san replied.

“Well you are, so shut up already.”

“Okanaya, that’s enough.” Sly-san said. Okanaya-san grumbled under his breath but dropped it. This group is starting to show cracks. Today it may only be three people that don’t show up, but what about tomorrow? What about the day after that? Will I even live long enough to see the day after tomorrow? What am I supposed to do-

“N-Nagata-kun…” Ram-san put her hand on mine.

“Sorry. I’m fine.” I lied with my best fake smile. I’m not sure if she believed it or not but Ram-san nodded slowly not letting her concern disappear from her expression. I wonder if anyone’s stealing glances at me? Do they hate me?

“Geez, what’s with the tension in here? So gloomy, it’s like you guys lost your chance at something suuuuper important.” Monokuma said, doing his stupid sudden appearance shtick. I’m over it. “…not even a yell from the pansy? Alright then. I was gonna wait until everyone gathered to tell you, but it seems like this is about as good as it’ll get.”

“Let me guess. Another building has opened up?” Sly-san said.

“W…wow, you aren’t just gonna let me have my moment, huh…?” Monokuma looked down with a sad expression. “Yeah…you got a new building. Feel free to explore it at your own discretion. Or don’t. Doubt you’ll find anything useful there anyway.” Monokuma shrugged before disappearing again.

“Eh? Why did he say that? About not finding anything useful there…?” Kurohiko-san asked.

“Probably because we won’t find anything useful.” Sly-san said.

“Or he is using reverse psychology in order to compel us all to investigate the new building. I feel as though that is a much more plausible answer. What shall we do?” Ishikawa-san said.

“It’s probably for the best that we investigate. The more we learn about this place, the better. Shall we all head over?” Kurosaki-san asked.

“Will you be included in that group? If so, I’ll pass.” Sly-san folded his arms and leaned back into his seat.

“I suppose it’s just the rest of us then! Have fun, Herr Knives!” Kurosaki-san smiled and gave Sly-san’s back a firm slap as he walked past him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get so angry that quickly.

“Don’t touch me so damn casually!” Sly-san yelled. There was a moment of shock seeing as he’d never lost his cool before. Though he regained his composure just as quickly as he lost it. “…if you start pushing everybody’s buttons then you’ll just end up dead.”

“O-oi, Sly! No need to say stuff like that! I get your pissed, but…” Okanaya-san said warily. Sly-san crossed his arms and looked around the room.

“If you all want to be around that then be my guest. Just don’t cause any trouble for me.” Sly-san stood up and made his way for the door.

“Sly-sama, please wait-“ Ishikawa-san attempted to call out to him but he was already out the door by the time she found her voice. Even Sly-san is distancing himself from the group. Even though we said we’d all work together at the start of all this!

“Ah…that’s a shame.” Kurosaki-san murmured. “Shall we? We should investigate the building now.” He made his way for the door. There was this lost look in his eyes as if a difficult thought was stuck in his mind.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to understand what goes on in his head.” I said to nobody in particular. Ram-san gave me a look of concern, though she understood what I mean. I’m sure of it.

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: History has its eyes on you-

I walked to the building next to the Leisure building with Ram-san and Okanaya-san. To say the building exteriors differed would be an understatement. In contrast to the leisure building which appeared more like a fancy gym, this building was designed to appear like a medieval castle with four spires at each corner of the building and iron bars on the windows instead of glass and curtains.

The only part of the building that seemed out of place with the rest of it was the front door. A card reader was attached to the wall next to a glass sliding door that had no handle for us to open it with. “A card reader to get into the building? How come the other buildings don’t have this?” Okanaya-san asked.

“Are you wondering about my design choices?” Monokuma suddenly appeared next to us, me and Ram-san jumping slightly. “It’s a card reader, just use your E-handbook on it already!”

“But why is it only on this building?” Okanaya-san asked again.

“I like to give a unique thing to each of my buildings! The dorms are underground, the leisure building had the massive ventilation system…and this! The history building has a card reader to get in and out of it!”

“History building?” Ram-san repeated.

“Yep yep! This building has got all kinds of good stuff! There’s an archive filled to the brim with cool books to read! There are many exhibits throughout the floors for you to check out too! I’m sure nerds like Nagata will enjoy it!”

“H-hey!” I protested.

“Anyway, you guys get the gist, right? You gotta use your E-handbook to get in and out of the building! So…I’ll see ya later!” And with that, he was gone.

Okanaya-san sighed and pulled out his E-Handbook. “What a pain in the ass. This is so unnecessary.” He held his E-Handbook up to the card reader. The LED light above the reader went from blue to green and the door slid open.

The three of us walked in to be greeted by the discomforting atmosphere. The hallways were dimly lit by the fires of torches decorating the walls. I know Monokuma likes his themes, but this is way too much.

“Should we look for those exhibits that Monokuma mentioned?” Okanaya-san asked. Ram-san and I silently agreed and began making our way through the hallway of the building. I stuck close to Okanaya-san, as did Ram-san, though she was holding onto his sleeve and looking around nervously at the walls. There were odd red stains here and there decorating the stone…I didn’t want to think about it.

We entered the room at the very end of the hallway to find it decorated with displays of different weapons across the walls and in glass cases. It reminded me of a museum with how it was laid out. The head of Graves-san popped out from behind one of the displays and grinned widely at us.

“Yo, dudes! Can you believe this place?! How cool is all this?!” She cheered brightly. “I dunno how Monokuma managed to do all this. Some of these weapons are can’t get acquired by the public and some I’ve only seen drawings of. I never thought I’d get to see these kinds of old weapons for myself!”

“If that’s all true then I really worry about Monokuma’s sources.” I murmured.

“Ah…like whoever’s running this killing game? Someone rich, for sure. They’d need billions if they wanted to set something like this up. Not to mention actually constructing this area for us to play in…”

“Play?” Okanaya-san repeated.

“Well, duh! You ‘play’ a game, right? Even if it’s a killing game, it’s a game, nonetheless. So, we’re the players and we’re playing…right?” Graves-san spoke so casually about it that it actually threw me off a little. I suppose she’s in the same boat as Sly-san and Kurosaki-san. They all seem to have been through a lot to get to this point, so I shouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t so easily phased by the situation.

“Either way, the real problem is knowing who had the ability to set it up.” I jumped a little when Yokozawa-san spoke. How long had he been there?! He clearly noticed my surprise and formed a look of irritation. “Pay attention to your surroundings. I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Oh yeah! I totally forgot I followed you here!” Graves-san said.

“I don’t blame you. I don’t stand out, so it’s not like I’m worth remembering.” Yokozawa-san threw his arms up as if he were joking though I’m pretty sure he was being serious…

“Yokozawa-kun, we heard you weren’t going to be leaving your room anymore. Why are you out here? In fact, we heard you were going to keep your distance from us too, Graves-san!” Ram-san asked.

“It’s a new area. Even if I don’t wanna get involved with all of you, I should still investigate as new areas open up to us. Never know when we might find a hint about our situation. Unfortunately, I got spotted by Graves-san and now I can’t seem to shake her off.”

“Hey now! I know you appreciate the company! It can’t be too fun being alone all the time. Plus I have the same reasons for being here as Junpei, so I thought it made sense to go about with him.” Graves-san said.

“Speak for yourself. I don’t mind being by myself, in this situation, it’ll probably be better for my health if I keep my distance.” Yokozawa-san replied. “You’re all trouble for me…keep out of my way, alright? I don’t wanna end up like the others.” The blogger shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and strolled out of the room.

“Hmm…he’s definitely lonely.” Graves-san nodded slowly.

“You can tell?” Ram-san asked.

Graves-san seem to take her time deciding her reply, “I guess…I used to be pretty lonely.” She muttered.

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Fields of Knowledge-

We made our way up to the second floor and made our ways to the room marked with a book on the ElectroID maps. It was easy to predict that when we entered that the room in question was going to be a library, tall walls filled to the bring with books almost like an archive that was started as far back as the stone ages.

“Th-this is incredible…! Did Monokuma prepare this for us?” Ram-san asked, taking in the view.

“So many books…I guess we at least have something to occupy our time with. Though I’d rather find a clue to a way out of here.” I said. It was an impressive collection though; I couldn’t deny it.

“These are all most likely history books if this is the history building…even so, I want to have a look around and see if we can find anything useful.” Ram-san said.

“Good idea! Alright, Nagata, you take the centre part, I’ll take the left! Ram, we’ll trust you with the right side of the room!” Okanaya-san ordered out his instructions and without waiting for a response, ran off into the shelves of books.

“At least he’s always prepared to work.” Ram-san said before walking to the other side. I walked down the centre aisle of books. They were categorised by subject. Middle Ages. Roman Empire. Medical Studies. Even some 20th century crime novels. Even if Monokuma placed these here to give us ideas for murder, I still might read them at some point.

As I was nearing the end of the line of bookshelves, I felt myself step on something. Moving my foot out of the way revealed a polaroid photo laying on the middle of the floor.

“Wh…what the heck…?” I murmured as I picked it up. The photo showed Kibe-san, Hachi-san and Irunami-san all sat in a line together holding up peace signs to the camera, a large window with the sun shining in was in the background and in the corner of shot I could make out what seemed to be a classroom desk.

What the hell is this…? Did those three know each other before we came here? No, I’m sure Irunami-san would have mentioned knowing those two before coming here.

“Whoops!” Monokuma suddenly dropped down from atop the shelves. “Can’t believe I left this lying around, silly me!”

“E-eh? This belongs to you?”

“Umm…in a sense! A-anyway, give it back!” Monokuma quickly snatched the photo away. “Memories are important, you know! I wanna keep this one, so stop being so selfish!” Without making any sense, he jumped atop the shelves once more, most likely disappearing as he always does.

What was with that photo? The way Monokuma talked about it…is it a real photo? Not faked? A memory…

“Oi, Nagata!” I snapped back up and saw Okanaya-san waving at me from the end of the line of bookshelves. “What’re you standing around for?! Come on!” Whatever that was…I have a bad feeling about its implications…

-Chapter 3 Daily Life: Report back!-

We all sat down in the cafeteria. Or…all those that were still coming here. “Ah…we’re really short on people now…” Kurohiko-san commented.

“It can’t be helped. Plus without Tomoe-chan, we don’t have anybody here to give us maps to visualise our new locations…it sucks.” Amaterasu-san said.

“If it sucks so much, try to show it, will you?” Kurohiko-san sighed.

“If I may take the lead for our reports, please?” Asano-san waited to hear if there were any objections. “N…no? G-good. Shall we discuss our findings on the history building…? Myself, Kurohiko-kun, and Amaterasu-san all worked together when investigating however we could not find any such clue as to how we can escape.”

“So, the usual.” Okanaya-san sighed.

“That doesn’t mean there wasn’t cool stuff to see! On the first floor this had this amazing display of different weapons from across the ages! I’ve never seen anything like it! I love the history of weaponry!” Graves-san said cheerfully.

“E-even though that was all put together so it would be easier for us to kill each other…?” Ram-san said.

“Weapons can still be interesting, even if they aren’t being used.” Graves-san replied.

“It’s definitely less jarring than the torture room on the third floor. Filled with different kinds of instruments of torture. Iron maidens, stretchers, pliers, saws…it’s nasty.” Amaterasu-san said in her usual monotonous voice.

“T-torture stuff…?” Graves-san gasped. “I can’t believe I never went to check it out! I’ll need to rectify this mistake as soon as possible! The stretcher is one of my favourite torture devices, it should have been used in a Saw movie, for sure! I’ll take Junpei to see it!”

“Something tells me Yokozawa-sama would most likely decline that offer.” Ishikawa-san said with a giggle. “It is clear Monokuma-sama is far more direct now about wanting us to kill each other if he’s put all of that together. He also gave us supplies to make murder easier to commit.”

“What do you mean? There’s more?” Kurohiko-san paled a little. “G-geez…isn’t there already enough…”

“A room also on the third floor contains things such as special poisons, common things people are allergic, trip wires, chemicals, and far more.” Ishikawa-san explained. She was silent for a moment before pursing her lips, “I…feel as though we should steer clear of that building at all costs. It is far too dangerous to go near…”

“Oh…? I’m afraid I can’t agree to that. After all, that library is far too important to stay away from.” Kurosaki-san said. He was being unusually quiet this whole time, it was a little unnerving. “That library has a lot of valuable information if you know where to look. I plan on studying the contents there further afterwards…but I feel as though a clue to our situation is hiding in there. Somewhere in those books.”

The photo Monokuma snatched away from me came to mind. I could say something right now, but if I do…would that have good consequences? People might suspect the people in the photo are suspicious. But we all saw their bodies…

Kurosaki-san’s eyes flicked towards me. Does he know what I’m thinking? Do I look suspicious? How does he always seem like he knows what’s going on…?

“Very well, the library may be okay…but perhaps we can board up the other rooms? We should at least take some defensive procedures.” Ishikawa-san said.

“You think Monokuma would allow something like that? Don’t be an idiot. He’d change the rules in a heartbeat so that we aren’t allowed to block the entrances to the rooms in any of the buildings.” Kurosaki-san argued.

“He has a point. Monokuma’s goal is to kill all of us. No way he’d let us block our own access to the weapons.” Amaterasu-san said. Ishikawa-san fiddled with the sleeve of her dress and silently conceded defeat.

“If that’s all, are we done here? I plan on heading back into the library and continuing my studies…” Kurosaki-san stood up and made his way for the door. His hand resting on the door-handle, he looked back at the group, giving me a once over in particular. “We all have things we’re hiding…I wonder who’s hiding the fact that they’re the reason we’re here.” And with that, he left.

“What a prick. It would so much easier if he was one of the ones who died.” Okanaya-san cursed.

“Okanaya-kun, you can’t say something like that!” Ram-san puffed her cheeks out and glared at Okanaya-san. The tour guide took a moment staring at Ram-san’s face before letting out a sigh. Something about that expression seemed to stop him from arguing. “…ah, sorry, I just yelled at you like that!”

“No, it’s fine. You’re right…my bad.”

“…can I ask you guys something?” Kurohiko-san spoke.

“Is something wrong?” Ishikawa-san said.

“…if I’m honest, a lot is wrong. We’re falling apart as a group. Four of us are keeping their distance…Kurosaki-san…he just gives me a bad energy…I don’t know what to think anymore…”

“Kurohiko-kun, that is not the attitude to have.” Asano-san said. “I will concede that our position as a group is less than ideal but if we act like that then our situation will never improve. For now, we should give those people space to collect their thoughts before we try to ask them to re-join us in our routine.”

“…if you say so…” Kurohiko-san nodded.

“You guys are something else.”- Graves-san folded her arms –“I only came here to see what everyone had to report…but now I just don’t understand you all even more. So frustrating…”

“Graves-san?” I said cautiously.

“…oh well. Nothing I can do about it.” She shrugged, making her way for the exit. Guess it was going to take more to get her to come back into the group properly.

“She has a darkness inside her, do you not think? Right now, I would say Graves-sama is our biggest worry.” Ishikawa-san said.

“She’s a secret agent. Other than Sly-chan, Karma-chan is the one who’ll have the easiest time killing someone. Scary.” Amaterasu-san added. Yeah…scary.

-Chapter 3 Daily Life, The Cards in your deck-

The usual. We stood in the gymnasium after Monokuma made his announcement. Even those who were keeping their distance had turned up, though clearly not happy about the situation. Shinko-san was angrily tapping a rhythm with his shoe.

“That motherfucker barely even waits before giving us a motive. I’m sick a’ this shit!” He growled.

“Shinko-sama, do not give into those emotions of yours. Us 12 have been able to resist the past two motives. I am sure we will all be able to do it again. If we have faith in each other and work together, we will prevail.” Ishikawa-san reassured.

“God, that way you talk pisses me off. You can spout the same fuckin’ speech all you want, but if there’s a motive, someone will give into it. It’s just how it goes.” Shinko-san replied. Ishikawa-san pursed her lips and glared at Shinko-san. An unusual thing for Ishikawa-san to do but I suppose Shinko-san and Ishikawa-san have always been like oil and water…

“Yikes! Such a thick juicy tension! Can I get a bite?” Monokuma laughed into his paws. “I’m kidding of course! Tension is way too full of calories for a bear of my size!”

“Can you just quit with the jokes? They don’t even make sense now.” Amaterasu-san said.

“Not my fault you stoic chicks don’t get humour.” Monokuma shrugged. “Anyway, guess what time it is, kids! Motive time! And for todays motive…” Monokuma produced a set of cards. Each with the name of one of us written on the front.

“Ah…didn’t we already do something like this?” Graves-san asked.

“No! This is different! Just take it!” Monokuma handed out the cards to the corresponding student. I opened mine up to find a list of names…a list of familiar names. The names of my parents, my siblings, and one or two of my close friends.

“Oh…? It’s laid out like a polling card.” Ishikawa-san pointed out.

“It sure is! Because this motive is a game of choice! You each have a list of the people who are closest to you on the outside world, your job is tick one of those names as a sacrifice!”

“…sacrifice?” Sly-san’s expression clouded over in an instant. “That better be a joke.”

“Huh? Why would I joke? In 48 hours, you gotta have a name ticked on that card! If you don’t pick somebody…everybody on that card is gonna be sacrificed instead! And, well…you know the method in which you can prevent it from happening, right? It’s pretty obvious how to save everyone on that list.”

“E-everyone…?” I felt my hands begin to tremble. My family…? My friends…? One of them…or all of them…?

“Hey. I said that you better be joking.” Sly-san stepped forward.

“H-hey, Sly-kun…” Yokozawa-san warily.

“What.” Sly-san spun around, glaring at Yokozawa-san who stepped back from Sly-san’s glare. “Monokuma-“ He turned back to find the bear gone. “…dammit.” He clicked his tongue.

“H…how the hell am I supposed to pick…? H-how can I pick…?” Kurohiko-san whimpered.

“If you don’t know who you’re gonna pick, don’t pick. Simple as that.” Graves-san said. “I dunno if I’ll pick. Would I be fair to pick one person over the other…?”

“I can’t allow that…I can’t allow her to get hurt…” Sly-san murmured. “I won’t let her die. I’ll do what it takes…”

“Oh-ho? Herr Knives is getting so riled up! How unlike you!” Kurosaki-san smirked.

“If you’re gonna kill, try and kill me! I’ll give you a real good fight!” Graves-san said.

“D-don’t just say stuff like that, no way Sly-san would kill, r-r-right?!” Kurohiko-san panicked.

“I’ll kill anyone if I need to. I have no issues with killing any of you-“

“Enough!” A hush fell across the room, Asano-san held her arm in the air to grab everyone’s attention. Her arm was trembling a little with everybody’s eyes on her. “…w…we cannot fight like this. It is exactly what Monokuma-kun wants us to do. I’m sure there is a way out of this without killing anyone…we have 48 hours to figure something out so please do not be so irrational…please. I am sorry.”

“Haven’t you learned yet? There isn’t an alternative. Unless someone dies every single person on these lists is in danger.” Shinko-san said.

“I choose to believe otherwise.”

“Then you’re an idiot. Faith like that will get you killed.” Shinko-san shook his head. “…I don’t need this. I’m going back to my room.”

“Shinko-kun, wait!” Ram-san tried but he ignored her call for him and left the gymnasium, Sly-san and Yokozawa-san leaving silently afterwards.

Ram-san forced a small smile, “U-um…maybe we should cool off for the day…h-how about we all go to the pool or have tea-“

“No!” Ishikawa-san suddenly yelled, “I…no! I won’t…” She mumbled to herself before shaking her head and powerwalking of the room.

“E-even Ishikawa-san…I am sorry, I thought maybe I could help…” Asano-san sighed. “It seems my decisions are not helpful-“

“H-hey now, don’t say that. Even if things don’t work out the way you thought they would, doesn’t mean it’s your fault. Those guys are all really scared…I am too, b-but hearing you trying to be optimistic helped me a little…s-so, um…wh-what’s my point again? I can’t even remember…heh…” Kurohiko-san rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yeah. Good work, Mami-chan.” Amaterasu-san added.

“O-oh…th-thank you, both of you.” She bowed slightly. I noticed in the corner on my eye that Ram-san was staring at Asano-san with awe.

“Asano-san…is really impressive, isn’t she? Even though she was taught to do what others said…she had the courage to speak up like that when someone needed to say something. Hey, Nagata-kun, isn’t Asano-san cool?” She smiled up at me.

“…yeah, she is.” I nodded. I think I wanted to be able to do what Asano-san just did.

#DKronpa #chapters #danganronpa #fanganronpa #fangan ronpa

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comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

May 9th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on May 9th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT. The chat focused on Lodestar by SasstastiKim.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Lodestar by SasstastiKim~! (http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Darkhalo4321

My favorite scene has to be... the coffee shop book place thingy. With taylor! Sarcasm max.

Letter Bee

Elliot being told to trust his new friends by his mother.

SpazztastiKim

Author note: chapter one is getting "remodeled" so any suggestions are welcome

Kabocha

My favorite scene? Probably be this one: http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2597078/ch2-pg-17/ ...It's so atmospheric, and that is a very good and creepy looking heart. I'm into the atmosphere. Under @SpazztastiKim's cute artwork lies something deceptively dark...

Darkhalo4321

I looooooovethe backgrounds in that sequence

L O V E

Yes, very dark. >:3c

RebelVampire

yeah i got second that as my favorite scene. cause the atmosphere is to die for. and i love how contrasted it is from the previous scenes cause you go into it and immediately go "oh no a spooky dream"

Kabocha

Also, Kim -- if you are interested in critique, etc, I can throw you thoughts in private, but I didnt' like, make any notes or anything. It's your comic and I figured that you were doin' errything to have fun! (And get some good creepiness in there too)

SpazztastiKim

You are welcome to!

Kabocha

Okay. I'll do that offline and another day, then. But I do think you've got a good story here, so please don't feel obliged to open yourself up to such feedback!

SpazztastiKim

Thank you

Darkhalo4321

Let us gush over how superb becky's optimism is

SpazztastiKim

Lol

RebelVampire

im busy gushing over the dialogue on this page http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2749604/ch3-pg10/

Kabocha

Honestly I just really like the magic effects, not gonna lie

RebelVampire

like its so silly and yet reminds me of youth

Kabocha

I'm looking forward to more magic and ghost stuff

RebelVampire

cause these are random convos i would have as a youth with ppl

Kabocha

YEAH

Darkhalo4321

Same here!

Kabocha

It's so dramatic, and... man,... I remember being like that when I was younger

I don't recall if it's stated in-comic, but how old is everyone?

SpazztastiKim

Not stated yet. You can guess tho XD

RebelVampire

elliot was a 30 year old man this entire time

SpazztastiKim

Oof XDD

Kabocha

Ahahaha. I was guessing 14~15

Darkhalo4321

Im not allowed to guess because i kinda know XD

SpazztastiKim

Lol

Kabocha

Either way, I'm guessing high school for all of them, but nobody's a senior XD

Darkhalo4321

Except for ally

Shes like younger, like idk maybe hr high ish?

I actually dont know for sure her age

RebelVampire

i wouldve guessed middle school personally. but its hard to tell cause i need to see more adults

Kabocha

Maybe? She throws me a little bit? XD She's probably 13ish?

Darkhalo4321

Shes a precious cinnamonroll and needs protected at all costs

RebelVampire

yeah id peg 13ish for ally personally too.

idk if she need the protecting. she is not the one who got tackled to the ground

Kabocha

I would not fight her

Darkhalo4321

She will tackle you to the ground in l o v e

Kabocha

I do also really like how everyone's designs are unique

So it's really easy to distinguish who's who (and I'm pretty sure if it was a greyscale comic, it'd still be very easy... Which is really good)

....ALSO WHAT WAS WITH THE POINTY EARS

Darkhalo4321

Yeah kim

S'plain

X'D

Kabocha

I'm getting the feeling that there are spoilers in that answer

SpazztastiKim

OP... someone noticed

Kabocha

but

I can't help but feel like there are some alternate world or reincarnation shenanigans afoot

RebelVampire

elliot was an elf in a past life and the birth he witnessed was from back then

ya know what scratch that

he was the elf prince

Kabocha

Okay so I'm not the only one that thought that though

RebelVampire

just make everyone a prince

SpazztastiKim

Pfft yes

Kabocha

What's with the lanterns though... hahaha

But I really do have to wonder what all is going on there. The wolf skeleton was warning him about a thing he... sealed away.

SpazztastiKim

Was it sealed tho?

Kabocha

.... Maybe not

Darkhalo4321

Kabocha

but, I mean, it's hella vague I feel like the wolf is protecting Elliot tho

Darkhalo4321

I get that vibe too, wasnt nice atthe end tho >:T

Kabocha

No, but this probably has happened before

Darkhalo4321

Ya think?

RebelVampire

when you say this are you talking about the dream itself or like the sealed away creature thing?

Kabocha

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2612346/ch2-pg18/ Well, the wolf says that Elliot's been dragged away before

so the thing that's hunting Elliot in his dream proooooooooooooooooooooooooobably has gone after him before

unless the "Birth" in question means it manifested in physical form

Darkhalo4321

Kabocha

KIM IS THIS NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, AND ALL THESE KIDS ARE GONNA GET KILLED BY FREDDY

Darkhalo4321

Maybe

MAYBE

SpazztastiKim

Pffft

RebelVampire

that theory did occur to me

cause of the dream themes

that this is basically monster in the dreams

rip everyone

Darkhalo4321

I mean, I know kim loves horror movies SO

Kabocha

Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Warriors II

RebelVampire

so the thing about the pointy ears that actually interests me the most is that elliot didnt seem to notice all that much or care. and like i know there was a bloody skeleton wolf scaring the crap outta him, but i feel like hed have at least been a little like "hey i am an elf boy now"

also the fact that the dream did not start off with pointy ears

they only showed up with wolf dude

Kabocha

It might be a sign of magic or something. Or maybe he and his ghost are just used to the pointed ears showing up

Darkhalo4321

Ooohh

I didn't notice tyhat!

Kabocha

I did have to re-read that part when I looked at this earlier this week -- it was like "waaaaaaaaaaait a minute"

SpazztastiKim

Hmm WHEN did the change happen again?

Darkhalo4321

Hm indeed

Kabocha

It seems to be a slow transition to be honest

Darkhalo4321

you know who we haven't mentioned yet- TOM my favorite character.

Kabocha

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2456424/ch2-pg11/ On this page, they start to look slightly pointed http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2505393/ch2-pg12/ AND THEN He starts to hear things and cough... And magic shows up in the next page

mathtans

Here for the moment, the little one is being very fussy this evening. I think my favourite scene was in the night terror in chapter 2, where we just had the glowing eyes - and then Mandy's glowing hand. Creepy and atmospheric.

Scrolling back to read, I liked how Elliot was thankful not to be a hobbit when he woke.

Darkhalo4321

Right?

Imagine if he woke up and HAD POINTY EARS

the rest of the cast would have been howling

Kabocha

Also, he's focusing on the important things: Not being a dream zombie

RebelVampire

i will be surprised if that doesnt happen one day. that he wakes up with elf ears and has to explain to everyone that surprise, hes an elf now

QUESTION 2. Dreams seem to be central to the story at hand. How do you interpret Elliot’s latest dream? Was it a dream, or was it something more? Whose birth did Elliot supposedly witness, and what exactly is it hungering for? Who is the black wolf that delivers the warnings to Elliot, and why is Elliot the one tasked with helping to defeat whatever the wolf is warning him about? Additionally, if this is no simple dream, why doesn’t Elliot remember this supposed event? Last but not least, what do you make of Elliot’s appearance change within the dream, and what do you think the meaning of the lantern is?

mathtans

I don't think it's a nightmare on elm street kind of thing, because Crystal Lake was dropped as a reference, so these sorts of things already exist in the characters' universe.

Chapter 4, Elliot joins an elf help group.

RebelVampire

but see thats the genius of it. drop the refs, nobody thinks anything of it and is like "ah just a red herring"

and then boom

dream murderer

Kabocha

THE DREAM WAS A WARNING I don't know if the "Starve it" Though... well. Maybe it wants to eat his dreams. Dream eater. OH MY GOD ELLIOT'S BEING HUNTED BY A DROWZEE

Darkhalo4321

THAT PUN WAS GOLD

That would be sneaky!

mathtans

It can't be a simple dream either way. Mandy joined him. That can't be a normal thing for ghosts. Can it?

RebelVampire

yeah starve it really interesting. cause what do you have to deprive the creature or whatever it is of to starve it? is elliot just not supposed to get eaten? is it dreams? is it ghosts?

although maybe its the lantern

nah

no way that was just a dream

Kabocha

Maybe. The lantern did come out as danger started to come near

RebelVampire

that was a vision

Kabocha

what is Mandy anyway

didn't he say that she was never alive to begin with? Or was he speaking generally

....What if Mandy was a victim of the thing?

RebelVampire

or even worse

mandy is the thing

SpazztastiKim

Scary

Darkhalo4321

Mandi is an imaginary friend taken form because of El? Maybe? Like, Can El manifest things?

Without knowing it-

RebelVampire

that could also be true

but im now sticking to the she is the thing one

cause it would explain why the wolf kicked her out

and said "no dream warnings for you"

Darkhalo4321

I know she's not like... real but she HAS FEELINGS DREAM WOLF

OH, but aside from just El having that one nightmare, apparently it's a prevalent problem going on- so it's not just isolated.

RebelVampire

ya know, i just want to point out if the dream wolf is going around warning ppl, the strategy is not very effective. fear is not the answer wolf.

Kabocha

Based on the comic description... We'll have to see more about that though

I dunno, if you scare someone enough, they'll stay away

Darkhalo4321

maybe el gets royal treatment of being warned

Kabocha

maybe the wolf is protecting the place where "it" is

Darkhalo4321

while everyone else just gets stalked with EYES

Kabocha

it's because he's acutally Frodo Baggins

Darkhalo4321

YES

HE IS SHORT

Kabocha

and the thing after them is Melkor. Or Sauron.

SpazztastiKim

obviously its voldemort

Darkhalo4321

!!!

you mean, he who should not be named!

Kabocha

GASP!

What about the Babadook

SpazztastiKim

my bad

OOF

RebelVampire

where elliot lives the dream wolf is just how the letters are delivered

Darkhalo4321

Baba Yaga

RebelVampire

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2597078/ch2-pg-17/ so i wonder who all the creepy ppl are in the bg

mathtans

Maybe it's like regular dreams, you don't really remember them unless you're woken up in the middle. So the wolf is waking everyone up with love bites.

RebelVampire

like was the creature born cause ppl were like "yaay sacrifice"

Kabocha

Oh, great, the wolf is my cat

SpazztastiKim

pfft

Darkhalo4321

if that's what you call a LOVE bite...>>

RebelVampire

the wolf is reading the wrong book of how to talk to humans

SpazztastiKim

lol

mathtans

There were five witnesses to the birth maybe, Rebel. They were summoned to the place in dreams.

Superjustinbros

HELLO

Kabocha

I'mma go out on a limb and say the people in the BG were part of the creation. THE COUNCIL OF CREATION A bunch of high elves that decided one day, "hey, let's just do this whole thing and nothing can go wrong" And Elliot was like, "NOPE" And died and went into another world where it was nearly unleashed upon them.

Justin, what are your thoughts on the Wolf and the Five people on Chapter 2, Page 17?

mathtans

They're looking at a heart.

Superjustinbros

Can I bring it home and call it Maniac?

SpazztastiKim

good name for it

Superjustinbros

Anyways hey there, sorry I'm a bit late

Room's getting redesigned but to stray from going offtopic I wanted to drop in and hand out and see what we're all talknig about tonight

RebelVampire

they are looking at a heart. Elliot was the mage who betrayed the council and realized his magic was for healing not the dark arts

Kabocha

Yep. We're talking about this week's comic -- Lodestar. As is the usual thing on the Thursday Bookclub~

Superjustinbros

Oh yea

Kabocha

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2597078/ch2-pg-17/ But really, I wonder what "it" is. .... Maybe there was a ritual.

Superjustinbros

Is that white line it's eye

Kabocha

Also -- did Eliot's magical scratch appear when the lantern showed up I'm just noticing this Does magic have a price?

RebelVampire

i assum eyes, the white line is its eye

that page did have the atmosphere of ritual

mostly cause of the heart

you dont hold beating hearts unless youre doing a ritual

idk i couldnt figure out when the scratch showed up. id have to look again super close

Darkhalo4321

It's def. Skooky

Kabocha

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2547332/ch2-pg14/ It's this page, Rebel

Superjustinbros

I ruined the feel of this image

SpazztastiKim

pfft(edited)

meme material

Darkhalo4321

I mean- MAYBE the wolf thing, wants to be empathetci?

Kabocha

"The woods cried out: FEED ME pls can i haz yer dinner hoomin"

Darkhalo4321

also likes hoomin heartz

SpazztastiKim

GOOD LORD XDD

mathtans

The whole glowing eyes thing is pretty cool. Not sure how the effect is done, but nice.

Darkhalo4321

It's not like I LIKE you or anything! B-BAKA!

SpazztastiKim

TSUNDERE DEMON

Darkhalo4321

kiss kiss fall in the lake!

Kabocha

Also likes hoomin necks They are like beef, but more gamey

mathtans

Maybe the demon is actually that aunt, the one who made the tea.

SpazztastiKim

Nom nom

Darkhalo4321

Taylor?!

Kabocha

... I mean, dreams can be representational

so you got a Mama Wolf protectin' her youngins

Darkhalo4321

maybe- el is part dream wolf?

SpazztastiKim

i'm dead

mathtans

Yis. Summoned Elliot into town so the ghost Mandy could help.

"My other form is also a wolf."

RebelVampire

elliot wasnt real all along

he was summon

Kabocha

Oh no

Darkhalo4321

MAYBE- el is the creation woooooo

Kabocha

This isn't Final Fantasy 10, Rebel

unless we're getting meta, and we need El's father to be the wolf -- a summon from a dream becomes a dreaming summoned beast...

Darkhalo4321

I mean like-

We haven't SEEN el's dad yet so

Superjustinbros

"Hey, you OK?" "Does this look "Okay" to you?!"

_okay I'm done

Back to the comic

RebelVampire

yeah i was just about to say this is really gonna mess up the archives if it continues since i cant include images XD

Superjustinbros

Yeah lol

I feel like the joke has run it's course anyways

SpazztastiKim

I'm crying

Superjustinbros

You can only hammer in a joke edit so many times before it stops being entertaining

RebelVampire

onto the scratch. i get more the impression that the scratch was gonna happen anyway and the lantern showed up saying "hey stop scratching my boy"

Kabocha

image: [Elliot: don't make me Tidus- I wanna be Cloud]

SpazztastiKim

asdfghjkl!!!!

Superjustinbros

you wanna be a Cloud?

Darkhalo4321

giant SWORD

Superjustinbros

Oh that Cloud

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Early on, we learn that Elliot is supposedly psychic or an empath. Do you think Elliot is telling the truth about mostly just seeing ghosts, or does he really have other psychic powers as the others accuse him of? Who exactly do you think Mandy is, and what do you make of her closeness with Elliot? In other words, how do you think the two met? Do you think Elliot was born with whatever powers he has, or does it somehow tie into the creature he was warned about in the dream? Overall, how do you think Elliot’s abilities will help or hinder him in his task? What about in general for his newfound life in the town?

Kabocha

Elliot would not be a good Cloud, honestly. He's got too much personality, and too little damage from experimentation

Superjustinbros

Well we've seen a demon and a ghost so...

Kabocha

I THINK Mandy is his sister from another life. Or his best friend. And she couldn't be reincarnated with him, so she stuck around.

RebelVampire

was gonna go with his stillborn sister who never was

Darkhalo4321

But she was stated as never having BEEN alive?

That she wasn't real?

Kabocha

She's real for sure

She could also be a magic spirit, so she was never alive in the sense that humans would comprehend

Darkhalo4321

Real blue

SpazztastiKim

Har

mathtans

Elliot is all digital. He's in the Cloud.

RebelVampire

Elliot: I'm sorry Mandy but you're not real. Mandy: I'm...I'm floating right here and we're talking. Elliot: No, still not real.

Darkhalo4321

Maybe- El got the magic powers? ? From his last enounter that almost took him? And maybe mandi is some form of like... side kick from that?

Superjustinbros

Cloud saves? @mathtans

mathtans

I do think Elliot probably has other powers, but I don't think he actually knows about them. As to Mandy, I like Rebel's theory.(edited)

Kabocha

El goes on Dr. Phil, gets told "Perception is reality" Mandy laughs because... well

RebelVampire

so basically mandy is his familiar?

Superjustinbros

>Dr Phil I haven't heard that in a long time

Seems like it

Darkhalo4321

honestly, El would just sass his way out of dr. phil's show. they'd be like plz leave

Maybe?

RebelVampire

thats when they send him to jerry springer

mathtans

How did Mandy get her name? She must have existed at some point. Elliot doesn't seem like the type to just come up with that name, he's too introverted.

Kabocha

Maybe she has some sort of secret magic name

Darkhalo4321

Maybe Mandi named herself?

or came with a name?

Kabocha

and "Mandy" is just short for like Almandiasoriginamyeriath

mathtans

Bless you.

Darkhalo4321

cough kabo that's... I'm dying XD

Kabocha

HEY I know what "Bless you" means in some places!

Darkhalo4321

Salude

SpazztastiKim

ME TOO

Superjustinbros

Gesundheit.

RebelVampire

if we go with reincarnation being in this, maybe mandy isnt real cause she hasnt moved on in this life, has no memories of her past, and is basically just an empty shell floating around

Darkhalo4321

Oooh?

That's an interesting theory

Superjustinbros

I've seen stories with spirits like this

Kabocha

I'm curious to see what Mandy is later in the story, though. Like, if she's not real, then what is she. I'm pretty sure if she got kicked out of the dream, she's got some substance to her.

Superjustinbros

Yeah..

RebelVampire

well i guess it largely depends on what elliot's definition of real is

Darkhalo4321

RebelVampire

i could also argue elliot is just deluding himself as to whether shes real or not because its how he protects his sanity

cause elliot doesnt seem fond of the idea that he has powers

so if he pretends none of its real its fine

Darkhalo4321

Yeah considering that he got REAL dark real fast when Becky kind of prodded him about the idea of it being... odd-

but thank god for Mandi she reeled that back in fast.

Kabocha

Elliot's been through some crap, hasn't he

Darkhalo4321

I FEEL like it- He's been through something- :/ but what? WHO knows-

RebelVampire

Elliot remembers the great elf war

Darkhalo4321

maybe el is actually an elf from another world, and this is an isekai story and we have no idea

Kabocha

"Remembers" only in his dreams

I AM DOWN FOR THIS

Darkhalo4321

reverse isekai?

RebelVampire

i am ok with this

Kabocha

YEP.

SpazztastiKim

Y'all would be great at DnD

Darkhalo4321

I'm going to get yelled at aren't I?

Superjustinbros

is not a DnD player(edited)

Kabocha

I'm also cool with it being a reincarnation story, or just that El gets to see all sorts of monstrous things because he's got some sort of magic shenanigans going on

Darkhalo4321

poor unfortunate soooooul

RebelVampire

im ok as long as elliot lives to tell the story cause the world would be a lesser place without his snark

Darkhalo4321

I would cry

SpazztastiKim

X'D

Darkhalo4321

I would actually FLY TO KIM'S AND we'd have a long talk

>:T

#teamelliotlives

SpazztastiKim

-tosses the idea pretending I never planned it-

mathtans

Maybe Mandy will start possessing people. Suddenly Becky gets real mellow. Suspicious.

SpazztastiKim

pfft

Superjustinbros

Oh good just what we need

Ghosts doing ghost stuff

RebelVampire

wait maybe mandy is just the manifestation of elliot's lantern hence why she was never alive and isnt real

Kabocha

WAIT, Is there a risk of people actually dying in this story ... ...Kim are you going to kill off Elliot

SpazztastiKim

Darkhalo4321

I feel like Becky would out.... do a ghost?

SpazztastiKim

Darkhalo4321

SHE IS JUST TOO MUICH spirit for them XD

RebelVampire

Tom though is probably doomed for possession

SpazztastiKim

Poor Tom

Kabocha

.... Oh god you're probably right Rebel

Darkhalo4321

Becky is the one that would go " NO YOU DONT! " and unpossess herself with will power

Kabocha

Tom gets possessed and he seese EVERY HORRIBLE THING he's forced to do to feed the hunger

Darkhalo4321

NOT TOM

Kabocha

turns out the hunger is just really into chocolates

SpazztastiKim

PFFT

Darkhalo4321

NOOOO

Kabocha

They break into a Godiva shop with Tom's body

Superjustinbros

Did someone say chocolates?

Darkhalo4321

CHOCOLATE?!

Superjustinbros

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2771909/ch3-pg14/ I wonder what flavor everyone's getting then

Kabocha

The Wolf isn't super keen on the whole Chocolates thing though, because, y'know, theobromine poisoning...

SpazztastiKim

hehe

Darkhalo4321

so that's why the wolf says STARVE it

Superjustinbros

Tsundre wolf cannot consume ice cream

RebelVampire

well at least a chocolate quest would be more pleasant than alternatives XD

Darkhalo4321

TRUE

Superjustinbros

Chocolate Ice Cream? :3

RebelVampire

thats going too far in the sweets department questing O_O

Kabocha

Hey, at least Tom won't have to gorge himself on other things. But they do find out their local big box store was robbed of all its chocolate rabbits around easter...

SpazztastiKim

Truly the worst that could happen to this town(edited)

RebelVampire

but after Tom is freed hed never want to eat chocolate ever again

Kabocha

That's a tragedy.

Superjustinbros

RIP Chocolate rabbits.

RebelVampire

i want to see more tom though. i appreciate his calm demeanor in the face of the girls rampant amounts of energy

Darkhalo4321

Yes

Tom seems like the, solid rock founddation of the group type

mathtans

I like that idea that Mandy is just the manifestation of some object. Maybe something Elliot carries with him. A watch? He was good at pegging tea time.

RebelVampire

also cause tom is the useful one. cause becky is like "FARM FESTIVAL" and Ally is like "SWIMMING AND ICE CREAM" meanwhile tom is being a good boy and researching stuff for elliot

mathtans

Tom is a good counterpoint. He understands all the characters too.

Darkhalo4321

Like Hey let's do the job our club is suppose to do, shall we?

RebelVampire

Elliot is a time lord

mathtans

Oh yeah, the Farm Festival is sure to be a plot point. It's a metaphor for something.

RebelVampire

mystery solved(edited)

Darkhalo4321

I mean, if this were ouran host club, he's kyouya ... the only one that keeps the club on TASK

mathtans

Elliot's consciousness is trapped in a pocketwatch. With Mandy.

RebelVampire

ya know i could dig time lord elliot tho for reals. cause it explains why hes an elf or something. he just time travels and forgets he time travels. but why he knows how to save ppl from falling stuff

Kabocha

The farm festival will be... full of lore. About how they had the festival to appease a hungry beast.

Superjustinbros

oh boy

Darkhalo4321

Maybe

They farm

hearts

SpazztastiKim

gross

Kabocha

Hey, the heart could have been a Deer Heart

Darkhalo4321

was it though?

Kabocha

Coulda been.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. As the comic opens up, we meet a slew of characters and learn some notable things in regards to dream. What do you make of the fact another person is supposedly having intense dreams similar to Elliot’s? Does this have anything to do with the creature, or is it simply a red herring? If it does have something to do with it, what do you think Elliot will have to do about it to help the victim? In general, how do you think the dream club Elliot joined will help him in his overall task? Moving on from Elliot, which of Elliot’s friends are you looking forward to learning more about? In what ways do you think these friends might help Elliot deal with his problems and his quest?

Superjustinbros

How intense we talking? Like, Math Test insane?

Darkhalo4321

WELL Becky has every intention of making sure el has a social life, some what-

Tom will probably ensure no one dies- or he'll die trying.

RebelVampire

dark no

dont even suggest tom dies

Darkhalo4321

What if

he does die tho

RebelVampire

protect that child

Darkhalo4321

RebelVampire

no protect that child

Darkhalo4321

Ally tho

RebelVampire

or dont and be optimistic and assume him becoming a ghost will make him the most powerful being

Darkhalo4321

Ghost Tom

mathtans

Elliot's the replacement Chosen One. The current one in town is having trouble.

Darkhalo4321

current one?

Superjustinbros

SpazztastiKim

esplain Mathans

Kabocha

So, if we were to categorize these characters as horror characters...

Darkhalo4321

NOOOO

like horror movie horror, or like scary movie parody horror?

SpazztastiKim

Yes

Superjustinbros

Oh dear, this is gonna be fun >:3

Kabocha

.... Elliot's our Canary, though sometimes the canary lives Tom's dead. I'm sorry. Becky will be scarred for life, but probably will be the one carrying the plot and making sure everyone survives. Allison... She will not be in the horror parts. She'll be the character that calls the cops at the end.

Superjustinbros

rip Tom.

RebelVampire

no all of you need to stop killing off tom

SpazztastiKim

Just straight up kill off Tom

RebelVampire

the next page of the comic is literally just a dagger flying through the window and stabbing tom in the heart

Darkhalo4321

I'm pretty sure I saw the next page, can confirm

Superjustinbros

oof

Darkhalo4321

tom actually falls backwards out of his chair and LANDS on a dagger. effectively killing him off. Then the comic ends. Tom was the danger ALL ALONG(edited)

Superjustinbros

Dear god

That's cold

SpazztastiKim

A twist to make m night shyamalan proud

Kabocha

Lol Justin if you believe that you obviously haven't read through this comic

RebelVampire

no no the comic continues. the wolf comes back and is like "bro i told you to starve it not kill it. youre under arrest. this is a sting operation"

Darkhalo4321

SpazztastiKim

-wheeze-

Darkhalo4321

Elliot gets hauled off to DREAM JAIL

Mandi is denied visitation rights

Becky becomes his laywer

RebelVampire

then elliot becomes a dream defense attorney and has to prove his own innocence

becky would be a scary lawyer

i could just see her taking the floor and talking for hours

and her client is found innocent just cause the jury wants to go home

Darkhalo4321

She'd probably make a good case though-

Superjustinbros

@Kabocha Even if I did that's still pretty cold lol

Darkhalo4321

Jury: She talked for 5 hours, but... she wasn't wrong innocent!

Wolf thing : damn it!

SpazztastiKim

Ghost Tom: Language...

Darkhalo4321

Elliot: @#$% the establishment! throws a chair

Everyone just has the surprised pikachu face, after that!

SpazztastiKim

Superjustinbros

That face is glorious

RebelVampire

at this point i think were just all drunk and have gone mad with power

SpazztastiKim

lol probably

RebelVampire

im really curious to see what happens at the farm festival tho. mostly just cause maybe nothing bad will happen and theyll just have fun. like go on a nice hay ride

that will not trigger unpleasant memories and not start a fire to the whole festival

SpazztastiKim

hay rides are included tho

Kabocha

Maybe we'll find out that they have a sleep study at the contest

erm

festival

Darkhalo4321

And then after it's been ALL good- and it's all fun and stuff-

Kabocha

why am I thinking contest

Darkhalo4321

THEN

Superjustinbros

Oh god what's happennig here now

Darkhalo4321

then it will go downhill

Kabocha

Yep. It'll be a hot mess. AND FREDDY RETUR--- wrong series

RebelVampire

id really want to see elliot in a sleep study now tho

just imagine the scientists face afterwards

as theyre like wtf are these readings

Superjustinbros

oh boy

Kabocha

"This boy never enters REM sleep!?"

RebelVampire

what is life

Kabocha

"How is he alive?!"

Darkhalo4321

Right?

my question exactly ^^^ lol(edited)

RebelVampire

elliot was the one to have never been alive to begin with. the whole mandy thing is him projecting

Darkhalo4321

it would explain why some scenes have her split off of him?

Kabocha

oh that would be a twist.

Two souls one body?

Darkhalo4321

THAT IS MY JAM

RebelVampire

i had considered that as a realistic possibility. or more that mandy is just an aspect of elliot's soul

SpazztastiKim

-watches with entertained glee-

Darkhalo4321

Oh maybe?

RebelVampire

http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/comics/2704817/ch3-pg4/ off topic but i just noticed that computer has a pear on it and that makes me laugh

Darkhalo4321

Like the NICE version of who El is, and all the snark remained in the actual body

El is just Snark

that's it

TOM HOW CAN YOU

Superjustinbros

Shoutouts to Pear Products

mathtans

Sorry, called to crib. Have we talked about the title yet? With "lode"star? Is that like a metaphor for Elliot's powers, or something else?

RebelVampire

we have not talked about it.

mathtans

(As to explaining about the chosen one thing, the person with night terrors in town wasn't responding properly, so that's how Elliot ended up in town too.)

Darkhalo4321

We havent'

RebelVampire

i assumed it was a play on a lodestone

Darkhalo4321

I don't actually know about the title so much

PROBABLY

What is a lodestone?

RebelVampire

“A lodestone is a naturally magnetized piece of the mineral magnetite. They are naturally occurring magnets, which can attract iron. The property of magnetism was first discovered in antiquity through lodestones.”

Darkhalo4321

RebelVampire

elliot is the attracter of evil

Darkhalo4321

PROBABLY

el is an unlucky person

Kabocha

MAGNETIC SOUL

SpazztastiKim

poor kid

mathtans

Mandy being part of his soul is interesting. It reminds me, I liked in the first chapter how there were hints of her at times, and eventually it became clear.

Oh yeah, and I loved the Pear Computer, Rebel. Glad you remembered to mention it.

Yeah, I thought it was like lodestone, but being a star, maybe it's good somehow even though there's a burden involved.

RebelVampire

i liked the small hints but at the same time i was confused and wondered if he was communicating telepathically with becky XD

Kabocha

I'm curious to see where this all goes. There's not enough information to really like, get super crazy with fandom yet

mathtans

I did wonder where the thoughts were coming from.

Also, before the end, gotta mention the Becky and Ally ship. Those two can feed off each others' energy, it's sweet.

Darkhalo4321

they can power the entire town with their energy

RebelVampire

i will support the elliot/tom ship

Superjustinbros

Since the CTP is ending in a bit, thanks for the CTR, and thanks for the cool comic as well @SpazztastiKim, it was fun checking it out

mathtans

There you go. Can't ship Tom with his sister, after all.

Darkhalo4321

El == shippable with everyone honestly

mathtans

El is shippable with the wolf?

Darkhalo4321

...

SpazztastiKim

asdfghjkl

Kabocha

...yes

RebelVampire

yes

Darkhalo4321

I MEAN, as Friends?

Kabocha

BFFS

Darkhalo4321

El seems like he needs more FRIENDS

Kabocha

Anyway! Thank you Kim! I look forward to seeing where this comic goes~

Darkhalo4321

and boy and his aggressive wolf friend

mathtans

Wolf's name is probably Lodestar. Got it from a book.

Best with it, Kim!

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to SasstastiKim, as well, for making Lodestar. If you liked the comic, make sure to support SasstastiKim’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://lodestar.smackjeeves.com/

SasstastiKim’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SpazztastiKim

SasstastiKim’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpazztastiKim

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #lodestar #sasstastikim

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recentanimenews · 6 years

Text

Composer Kevin Penkin on Symphonic Metal and Flamenco Music Influences in The Rising of the Shield Hero, and More!

At Crunchyroll Expo, we were excited to premiere the first episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero, and what a premiere it was! If you didn’t get a chance to see the first episode, fear not, because the show will be coming out soon in January 2019, so there’s plenty of time to get ready for this unique take on isekai fantasy action!

The Rising of the Shield Hero follows Naofumi Iwatani as he gets summoned into a parallel world, but things don’t go quite as planned for this “hero:” he’s not very easy to get along with, a bit uncharismatic, and to top it off, his only piece of “legendary” equipment is a shield. Stuck in a new world filled with danger and intrigue, is there anyone that Naofumi can trust, and just what can he do without any means of attacking his enemies?

Following the premiere, we were honored to get a chance to sit down and talk to Junichiro Tamura, the head of production for the 1st anime division at Kadokawa, who has overseen series like Bungo Stray Dogs, Chio’s School Road, and Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion, and Kevin Penkin, a composer whose works include anime like Under the Dog and Norn9, video games like Defenders Quest and the upcoming Necrobarista, and last year won the Crunchyroll Anime Award for his work on Made in Abyss. Let’s see what they had to say!

Hello! Thank you for speaking with us today. Could you tell us a bit about yourselves first?Junichiro Tamura: I’m the head of the 1st anime division, and I work mostly on KADOKAWA IP titles, like novels and manga.Kevin Penkin: I just walked in off the street. I don’t go here! (everyone laughs) I am an Australian living in London, and I do music for anime and games. I did some titles like Made in Abyss and Under the Dog, and now The Rising of the Shield Hero. Also did work on a game called Florence, which came out earlier this year, and I’m also doing other games like Necrobarista, which is coming out next year. So yeah, I do music for things, and occasionally get paid for it.JT: Occasionally?KP: Occasionally. Well, actually, no, no, more than occasionally, you know, FINALLY! (laughs)

We're looking forward to The Rising of the Shield Hero! What has it been like to work on this series?JT: This project mostly came out of trying to get more fans from overseas. Crunchyroll producer, Sae Ho Song, was the one to tip us off about Shield Hero, so that’s what prompted us to make it; he told us it was popular overseas. That’s also another reason why Kevin is part of this project, so we can get more overseas fans.KP: For me, this is my first Crunchyroll title, and it’s also the first big title I’ve been doing since Made in Abyss finished airing. Originally, there was a bit of pressure, cause trying to find a way to do another project and not in the same way, but try and find a new and unique voice for Shield Hero. At the start, it was a bit of a challenge, but as the project started to pick up steam, we started writing more music, I found that it was actually quite natural to switch gears from one style, from one approach to another, because it was a completely different anime to what I’ve been used to writing before. And especially when it came to writing for battle music, trying to think of interesting ways to create tension in a battle track, for example, that would not be a typical approach was quite fun! So yeah, it’s been an interesting experience getting into Shield Hero, and it’s been really fun, and very very challenging, but very very enjoyable as well!

Yeah, you mentioned something back at the Shield Hero premiere: symphonic metal and flamenco music? I bet that was part of the challenge!KP: Yeah, that was interesting meeting to have when they gave me that idea! (laughs) It’s not necessarily about how do you blend one instrument with another; you can always find a way, but it’s about how to convince them that you know what you’re doing. Trying to figure out a way where every instrument would be pretty well balanced with one another was sort of the challenge for when it comes to that type of writing. For example, there was the main theme that was shown in the first episode and also in the PV, which is a classic example of what the soundtrack will be in terms of variation. It’s gonna jump sometimes between in-your-face symphonic rock and then it’ll have a sort of more sensitive guitar sounds at times. I’m trying to create almost a bit of an emotional whiplash between these two set of contrasting styles that will yield interesting emotional results with the audience. It’s still too early to tell exactly how it’ll play out, but I’m very much looking forward to seeing how people react to the full soundtrack in due course.

You two have worked together before. Can you explain a bit about how your relationship developed?JT: We haven’t met face-to-face until just a few days ago for Crunchyroll Expo! (laughs) We’ve done quite a few Skype calls to just talk about music, though! KP: I’ve got my story all wrong…! (everyone laughs) But I thought in January we had met, but I was too jet lagged at the time to remember who exactly was there and wasn’t there! (everyone laughs) Because I’ve been talking with Tamura-san multiple times on Skype, I’m already quite familiar, even though we haven’t apparently met in person before just now. (laughs) We’ve had some pretty cool detailed discussions involving the direction of the music and where to go, and how we should develop whatever themes we may have composed for Shield Hero so far. We do have a really cool working relationship. So cool that I thought we had already met! (laughs) But nevertheless, Tamura-san’s really good to work with, because Tamura-san has a very clear vision for Shield Hero, so he knows what he wants and when he wants it. However, he’s also very respectful if he thinks that we just want to try writing music away from thinking about too many specific things, and just sort of trying to get almost like an imageboard of the music and then try to focus it down from there. We have a very good back and forth!JT: The meeting he thought that we were having in January, I wanted to come, but I couldn’t because I had another obligation at the time.KP: I just forgot! Your presence was just so strong! (everyone laughs)

Kevin, how did you get interested in working in music?KP: It helps that I have literally no skill in any other set of field. (laughs) If you’re only good at one thing, you might as well make it a good one! I decided very early on that I wanted to get into music, and by the age of 10, I knew that I wanted to do soundtracks. It started with games like Metroid Prime; I really wanted to work at Nintendo when I was a kid, so that led me to studying Japanese and immersing myself in the culture, going there multiple times, which sort of broke open the door to start working in companies in Japan. It’s always been a passion of mine to do music for games and anime, because I definitely feel like I’m able to create the music that I want to create the best when I’m working with a team on a project for multimedia. Let it be interactive or linear, it doesn’t matter, what matters is working with a team on a creative vision that can inspire me and allow me to do a good job.

You've worked on other anime, such as Made in Abyss, which won a Crunchyroll Anime Award last year. You've also worked on video games like Norn9 and with Nobuo Uematsu. Are you a big anime and game fan yourself?KP: For sure! Since I was a kid, I’ve been playing games, and even though I might not have enough time now, for good reasons, I still do play. I started out playing games like Metroid Prime and Smash Bros. I was really into the GameCube; that was my console! That solidified my passion for wanting to do this. Anime was a slightly different beast, in the sense that when I started watching anime, I didn’t realize what it was, and then slowly started getting into not just the production of anime, but the culture around it. I find the anime consumer culture really interesting and really fun and incredibly passionate as well. I think Crunchyroll Expo is a perfect example of that! You see everyone dressing up as whoever they want to dress up as and cosplaying, and it’s really gratifying, almost give you a bit more extra energy to do your job, and even better, if you can! I know that I came into anime, not just because I really like the production aspect of it, but I really like everything that comes with the culture of anime.

Tamura-san, your show Chio's School Road recently finished airing. That show has a lot of references to video games and a unique sense of humor. Were there any challenges adapting that series to an anime?JT: It really wasn’t too much trouble. What I was worried about was that first person shooters and shooters in general aren’t really popular in Japan. My concern with that when we adapted those scenes, that we would get it corrected. That way, people who are actually into FPS games, when they would watch it didn’t feel like “Oh, they don’t know about FPS at all”.

Your other show, Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion has also finished airing this past season. What challenges did that series present between adapting the manga and real historical events behind it?JT: We tried really hard to make it as historic as possible. Even though they’re all samurai, their armor and weapons change throughout the era, so we tried to keep it as historically accurate as possible.

Kevin, as a composer for anime, when creating music for these series what do you draw on for inspiration? Do you learn the source material first?KP: What I have discovered now doing a few more projects, is that it can vary from project to project how I try and achieve what I need to for the music. Sometimes reading the source material is the best way, and then sometimes taking the reference from other things, such as background art, or from other characteristics of the show, those might sometimes be a fresh wave of inspiration in terms of how you approach writing music. For example, sometimes I get very stuck on the color palette of background art and try to derive some textures or musical ideas from that. A lot of times, the source material comes into play; it’s important that you are accurately representing what happens on the screen. But then also, looking at other things to do with anime, like anime has a lot of interesting movement and style, with the way that characters move and how they’re animated, which is quite unique! So, sometimes looking at how characters move on-screen can actually be quite interesting to derive tempo from, for example. Looking at how characters are moving on-screen, and especially with such a unique approach to animation that I believe a lot of Japanese animation tends to have, that can be really fun and an interesting challenge in terms of trying to find something interesting to say with the music that is still very much connected with whatever show I might be working on.

Kevin, you work on both anime and games. What do you find is different between them? Or perhaps, similarities?KP: From a practical standpoint, one is linear and one is non-linear, so how the music is written, at some point, is gonna have to factor that in. For example, when we were doing a game called Florence last year, we recorded the music in very short sections at a time, so it could be stitched together and sometimes in any other order it could be triggered in different ways depending on the player’s movement. When it comes to anime, or by extension, any other sort of linear content, you can pick your spots as to where you want have these emotional apexes. Anime is slightly different, because you employ what is called the “menu approach”, which is where you’re writing a lot of music that isn’t synchronized to picture first off, but then you’re synchronizing it to multiple spots in the series at a later date. Anime is almost like an interesting hybrid of non-linear and linear approaches to writing music, and it’s very cool to see how it comes together, because it actually becomes almost like a team effort. And I think it’s actually to the credit of anime, because I do feel that sometimes, especially if you’re starting out or a young composer, having the objectivity that you need to know where exactly music should start and stop, even though it’s an essential skill, does take awhile to develop, so working with a fantastic team like Shield Hero, or any other project, has been not only inspiration, but a wonderful learning moment as well!

Tamura-san, what is your process when producing a show based on a novel series, like Shield Hero?JT: When I’m specifically working with novels, since most of it is not illustrated, we have to make and design everything from scratch, from all the small things like props to background characters. That’s probably the most difficult thing for me when working from novels.

Thank you so much again to Tamura-san and Kevin for taking the time to speak with us and talk a bit about their processes in producing anime and music, as well as how they’ve worked together. We can’t wait to see how the rest of The Rising of the Shield Hero pans out for our unfortunate hero Naofumi, and hope you’re excited to watch it next year right here on Crunchyroll!

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Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

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