#and sometimes people act like the second part never happens. mother mother made a sequel to their song. and its not that good like its fine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

meg-moira · 3 years

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The Witch Who Spoke to the Wind

Sequel to Eindred and the Witch

In which Severin, the golden eyed witch, learns that his greatest enemy and truest love is fated to kill him.

Dealing in prophecies is a dubious work. Anyone who knows anything will tell you as much.

“Think of all of time as a grand tapestry,” his great-grandmother had said, elbow deep in scalding water. Her hands were tomato red, and Severin watched with wide golden eyes as she kneaded and stretched pale curds in the basin. “You might be so privileged to understand a single weave, but unless you go following all surrounding threads, and the threads around those threads, and so on - which, mind you, no human can do - you’ll never understand the picture.”

Severin, who was ten years old and had never seen a grand tapestry, looked at the cheese in the basin and asked if his great-grandmother could make the analogy about that instead.

“No,” she replied. “Time is a tapestry. Cheese is just cheese.”

And that was that.

By fifteen, Severin who was all arms, legs, and untamable black hair, decided he hated prophecies more than anything in the world. He occupied himself instead with long walks atop the white bluffs well beyond his family’s home. Outside, he could look at birds, and talk to the wind, and not think about the terrible prophecy which followed him like a shadow.

His second eldest sister had revealed it - accidentally, of course. Severin lived in a warm and bustling house with his great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, two aunts, and three sisters. All of whom were generously gifted in the art of foretelling (a messy business, each would say if asked), and every one of them had seen Severin’s same bleak thread.

He would die. Willingly stabbed through the heart by his greatest enemy and truest love.

Willingly. That was the worst part, he thought.

Severin, who had no talent in the way of prophecies, but plenty of talent in the realm of wind and sky, marched along the well-worn trail, static sparking around his fingertips as the brackish sea breeze nipped consolingly at his face and hair.

I will protect you if you ask me to, it blustered, and Severin was comforted.

He didn’t care who this foretold stranger was. When this enemy-lover appeared, Severin would ask the wind to pick them up and take them far, far away. Far enough that they could never harm him. The wind whistled in agreement. And so it was settled.

At seventeen, he was still all arms and legs, though his eldest sister had managed to tame his hair with a respectably sharp pair of shears. The wind, who had delighted in playing with his wild, tangled locks, did not thank her for it. Severin did thank her; in fact, he’d asked her to do it. He was of the opinion that his newly shorn hair made him look older - more sophisticated. And he left his family home with a new cloak draping his shoulders and a knotted wooden walking stick in hand, thinking himself very nearly a man. He was far from it, of course. But there was no telling him that.

He set out on a clear, cool morning to find his own way in the world, and was prepared to thoroughly deal with anyone who so much as dared to act ever so slightly in the manner of enemy or lover.

He discovered, soon enough, that this was not a practical attitude to take when venturing into the world. Severin spent his first months away from home making little in the way of friends and plenty in the way of thoroughly baffled enemies.

When you meet his gaze, you’ll know, the wind chided as it whisked in and out of his hood.

“His?” Severin said aloud, lifting a single dark brow. “Do you know something I don’t?”

The wind whistled noncommittally in answer.

The wind did know something, as it turned out. At twenty, Severin stood on the warm, sun-loved planks of a dock. As gulls cried overhead, he pressed his fingers to his lips. The young sailor had touched his lips to Severin’s in a swift, carefree kiss before departing on the sea. And though the feeling was pleasant enough, Severin knew that his enemy-lover was not on the great ship cleaving a path through the cerulean waves.

“When I meet his gaze, I’ll know,” Severin said, golden eyes sweeping the horizon. The seaward breeze blustered in such agreement that the gulls overhead cried out in alarm.

What will you do? The wind asked, delighting in whipping the gulls into a proper frenzy.

“Get rid of him, of course,” Severin replied.

What if you don’t want to?

Severin thought that was the stupidest question he’d ever heard. “He’s going to stab me through the heart. Why in the world wouldn’t I want to get rid of him?”

People are foolish, the wind answered, shrugging the nearby sails.

“Not me.” Severin leaned on his stick and looked out at the sea. “I won’t let anyone get away with stabbing my heart.”

When he was twenty-two, Severin knelt at the bedside of a withered, wilting woman. She was a stranger, but the town’s herb witch was away, and Severin happened to be passing through. Though his true strength would always remain with the wind and the sky, the youngest of Severin’s two aunts had a special way with plants, and she’d taught him a fair bit about the many healing properties of the region’s hardy, windblown flora.

He boiled water, adding the few herbs he carried to make a rejuvenating tea. He helped the woman drink, his hand supporting her head and fingers tangling in her sweat drenched hair. After, he pressed a cool cloth to her head, and in the half dark room, she murmured, sharing delirious fears that she would accidentally speak cruel dying words and lay a curse upon him.

Kindly stroking her forehead, Severin assured her that he was not afraid of curses. Even uttered by the dying, a true curse was rarer than the superstitious soldier’s and barbarians liked to believe. Besides, she wasn’t going to die. Severin, who’d seen just enough of the world to have a taste of wisdom, was certain he could save her.

She died within the day.

Whether her condition had been beyond help, or Severin lacked the skills to twist the herbs to his bidding, he would never know. The wind rustled reassurances through the sparsely-leaved trees, but Severin was beyond consolation. Clouds gathered on the horizon, and by nightfall, great branches of lightning crackled across the sky.

He spent the next year and a half in the wilds. Beneath the jubilant light of the sun, he collected plants, acquainting himself with the earth. And beneath the soft, watchful light of the moon, he whispered to the wind and dared to wonder at the shape of his enemy-lover’s face. He could never seem to summon the slightest picture in his mind. Though it really didn’t matter, he supposed. Their eyes would meet, and Severin would know. And then he’d use all of the power at his disposal to send his enemy-lover away.

During this time, Severin sometimes saw bands of barbaric warriors crossing the plains. He kept his distance, but he doubted any of them were interested in either recruiting or killing a scrawny young man in a worn woolen cloak. Few he encountered ever suspected he had any great abilities, and Severin certainly didn’t go out of his way to advertise the fact that he could command the wind and sky when he wished. The barbaric companies had their eyes on more obviously lucrative targets, anyway. A handful of city states which spread across the great peninsula were openly at war with the barbaric tribes from the north.

It was when Severin was returning from his self-imposed isolation that he had his first real encounter with war. He held his sturdy walking stick in hand and carried a bursting bag of herbs, poultices, and leather-bound journals over his shoulder. Severin was so surprised by the sudden, brutal clash of metal and the primal cries that erupted nearby that he halted where he stood. His curiosity both outweighed and outlasted his fear, and after a minute or two of tense consideration, he pressed cautiously onward in the direction of the noise.

By the time he arrived, the battle was done.

It had surely been an ugly, bloody affair, if the splayed out bodies of the city soldiers and barbaric warriors were anything to judge it by. Holding a hand over his mouth, Severin gingerly navigated the carnage and valiantly resisted the impulse to be sick right there in the field. He was nearly on the other side of it when movement caught his eye. Squinting, almost afraid to look, he glanced from the corners of his eyes, sure that it was some grotesque remnant of warfare which awaited him.

Instead, it was a man.

Just a man.

The movement Severin had spotted was the rise and fall of his chest.

Only after turning a careful look around the terrible and silent battlefield did Severin approach the fallen man.

The barbarian’s eyes were closed and his pale brows drew together, as if reflecting pain. His face would probably have been handsome in a rough, simple sort of way if it weren’t smeared in dirt and blood. His light hair, braided and pulled away from his face, was bloodied as well, and Severin frowned at the sorry state of him. After a second wary look around, he knelt with a sigh.

The barbarian’s leather vest was cut, and his thick, scarred arms had earned several new slices as well. Severin, who had more than enough herbs and poultices on hand, reluctantly tore his only spare shirt into bandages. Within the hour the stranger was fully bandaged and muttering in fever addled sleep.

“Don’t worry,” Severin murmured, knotting the last makeshift bandage. “I’ve learned enough from the plants and trees to save you from both fever and infection.”

Behind closed lids, the barbarian’s eyes flitted anxiously to and fro and he mumbled something that sounded like no. Nose wrinkling, Severin leaned in. He heard the sleeping barbarian say, his voice low and cracking, “The curses will take me.”

Severin frowned down at him, unimpressed. “No they won’t,” he snapped, and yanked the bandage tighter.

The barbarian silenced then, and Severin stared at him a moment longer, pursing his lips in consternation. It wasn’t that he minded using his supplies to heal a stranger. But a part of him worried that healing a warrior made Severin responsible for whatever slaughter he resumed when he rose.

Severin abhorred warfare. It was such a terrible waste. But he supposed there was no helping what he’d already done. The barbarian was already on his way to recovery, and Severin certainly wasn’t going to murder him in his sleep. He reached out, intending to test the temperature at the man’s temple, but no sooner had Severin’s fingers touched his overheated skin than the world bled around him. In its place: a vision.

Shock echoed through him, because he was not like the women in his family, able to see phantoms in time. He’d always simply played with the air. The vision dancing before his gaze, however, didn’t seem to care.

Like droplets of ink spreading in water, a prism of colors twisted, threading together into nearly tangible shapes. From the chaos, rose a blond child holding a knit sheep. He was ruddy cheeked and pouting up at his mother. Then ink and water swirled and the images collapsed and shifted. Hulking shadows loomed over the child. The mother wailed her grief. The formless ink shivered, morphing from one scene to the next, nearly too quickly to follow, and Severin was swallowed up in it, overrun and overwhelmed by violence, blood, and pain. Beneath his fingers, Severin felt the movement of shifting, slipping thread.

Just as abruptly as it had started, the vision ceased. Severin’s knees ached where they pressed against the dirt and the barbarian’s skin beneath his hand was no longer overheated. How long had he been within the vision’s grasp, he wondered?

As Severin shifted back, the barbarian groaned. Severin watched as the man’s eyelids fluttered - and at once, the air turned heavy, as if the wind had drawn and held an anticipatory breath.

Dread flooded Severin and he rushed to stand. The barbarian had not yet opened his eyes, and Severin knew with a terrible nameless certainty that he must not be here when this man awoke. Severin could still feel those elusive, unknowable threads beneath his fingers, and his hands shook as he rose. Awakened by his urgency, the wind roared, lending him speed as he fled the clearing.

By the time the barbarian cracked open a single, world weary eye, Severin was long gone, heart still safely beating in his chest.

Severin endeavored to forget about the barbarian. He convinced himself that the vision had been the hallucination of an overexerted body, and that the sensation of inexorably moving threads beneath his fingers was nothing more than a flight of fancy. Severin did not think about how the threads had felt - certain and unyielding - beneath his fragile, very mortal hands. If he did, he feared he might ask the wind to whisk him away from the world altogether, and that, surely, was no way to live.

In a deep, secret place, however, Severin suspected the reason he was granted such a vision was because the stranger’s thread was woven perilously close to his own. Because of this, he set upon an easterly road, endeavoring to put a healthy distance between himself and the pale barbarian.

After nearly a month of travel, he arrived in a small village which sat nestled in foothills, tucked beneath the shadows of great mountains which stood like sentinels above. Severin hadn’t intended to stay, but when it was discovered he had some skill with plants and medicine, the villagers eagerly led him to a hut some distance from the village. It was empty, they explained, and had been for some years. A healing woman had occupied it, some years back, before she’d passed on. The villagers had been saving it, hoping the space would be enough to entice a new healer to make their isolated village a home.

Severin had nowhere else to go, and he supposed a distant, mountain village was as good a place as any to avoid a blade to the heart.

Two years passed, and Severin settled into his little hut. He spent his mornings taking long walks around the surrounding lands, collecting herbs and specimens. Returning home, he’d throw open the windows to allow his friend the wind a brief but wild rampage through the hut. With the air freshened, Severin spread plants across his square dining table and sorted them into jars to be sealed, dried, or preserved in vinegar. His neighbors in the village visited frequently, just as often for his company as for his medicines, and Severin delighted in visiting the town on market days and making the streamers dance in the wind for the children. Evenings were spent in his rocking chair, with a book in his lap and his feet pressed near to the low fire in the hearth.

He was happy, and hardly thought of the barbarian he’d found bleeding in the dirt. That is, until fate caught up with him.

One day, when he was foraging for moss on the hillside behind his hut, Severin felt the whisper-soft touch of thread against his palm. He sat upright at once, and turning and craning his neck, he absently rubbed his palms against his robes.

A company marched into the village. From up on Severin’s hill, they appeared a swarm of ants overtaking the miniature thatched roof homes. The slipping, shivering feeling beneath Severin’s palm intensified, and he stood. His heart drummed a frantic beat against his ribs, and Severin felt with a terrible certainty that fate, like a hunting hound on the scent, had sniffed him out at last.

When Severin called out, begging the wind’s help, it rushed to him, howling atop the hill.

I am here. I am here.

Cradled in the gale, he begged the wind to take him and hide him away, so that the tapestry’s relentless threads might cease dragging him toward the one he never wished to meet.

So be it, the wind said. If that is truly what you wish, I will take you and hide you away forever.

In that moment, nearly caught as he was, Severin was willing to do anything to avoid meeting this man who would kill him - until the screams rose from the pastures in the valley beneath his hut. Severin’s heartbeat was in his throat, on his very tongue, as he held up a hand to stay the wind.

“Just a moment,” he murmured, and turned bright, pained eyes toward the village. The terrified screams of his neighbors pierced him as surely as any blade, and with a mournful twist of his fingers, he bade the wind disperse.

By the time he reached in the pastures, the shepherd, the blacksmith, and Helvia’s two sons lay dead. At the sight of his friend’s bodies, grief and rage stirred within Severin, and the wind, always nearby to him, trembled in sympathy. Gaze sweeping the warriors, he marked the five whose weapons were stained red. Severin was not violent by nature, but if he was to die this day, he resolved to remove from the earth at least these five men, who with bloodied blades, uncaringly spoke of feasting upon the village’s few precious sheep.

When the warriors turned and finally noticed Severin, he lifted his chin and prayed his voice did not betray his fear. “These are simple people. They have little in way of money or goods. It wasn’t for nothing that the shepherd, blacksmith, and teenagers died. They need these sheep. And I cannot allow you to take them.”

The men glanced at one another, eyes filling with a cruel sort of mirth. They laughed at him, and Severin steeled himself for what must come next. He was friends with the wind, but to call down the heavens was an entirely more serious matter. And he’d never done it. At least, not like this.

Severin turned his palms up and glared at the heavens, daring them to refuse him now when he needed them most.

For a long, terrible moment, nothing happened.

And then, the skies erupted.

He had never felt pure, visceral power in such a way, and as it whined and crackled, Severin, with splayed fingers, used all of his strength to tear the lightning from its home in the sky. It rained upon the warriors, screaming in wild, untamable fury. Severin watched the men cry out in agony, and he felt horror and satisfaction in equal measure.

When a single figure broke from the group, agile enough to evade the lightning and charge across the field, Severin could only look on in exhausted realization. It was the pale barbarian. The man from the battlefield. The child in the vision.

The barbarian charged like a beast, his thickly braided hair bouncing. His brows were drawn down in focus and his lips poised on the precipice of a snarl. It was with a hopeless sense of finality that Severin met the stranger’s gaze.

He met eyes of icy gray, the color of hazy, snow capped mountains in winter, and Severin knew, he knew with a certainty that was sunken into his bones and twisted in his marrow, that this barbarian was the shadow which had haunted him. And he knew, more than anything, the crude blade in the man’s scarred-knuckle hand was fate’s exclamation point at the end of Severin’s ephemeral existence.

Watching as the barbarian pivoted, drawing back his blade, Severin only wished he understood why the women in his family had persisted in calling this man Severin’s truest love. If this was love, the man had a spectacularly terrible way of showing it.

Time slowed to a crawl, and sunlight flashed, reflecting off the blade. As the jagged edge touched the fabric of Severin’s robe, the wind whispered at his ear. Let me show you a piece of the picture.

The wind around him froze, and so too did the world.

Look up, said the wind, a rustle within his ear.

Severin did.

The complexly woven image was shaped by currents in the air - all but invisible to any whose eyes are untrained to look for them. But Severin had a born understanding of the wind and sky, and when he looked up, he saw bits and pieces of an impossibly complex tapestry.

He saw scarred knuckles gently shaping wood. A small child that sat upon broad shoulders. Rocking chairs placed side by side before a glowing fire. Warm hands enveloping his own. Safety. Home.

It was...everything, and Severin’s heart ached with a strange and complex longing for a future that surely could never be.

It’s not impossible, the wind whispered. But the threads will have to tangle and untangle just perfectly so.

“How?” Severin asked, and wondered if he was a fool to feel so desperate a pull towards this life glimpsed in impressions and half images.

The warrior must weep and repent. And a curse must come to fruition.

“And if these things do not happen?”

Then your soul will fade from the earth.

Severin felt torn in two.

The blade has not yet struck your heart, the wind murmured, kind and conspiratorial. There is time still for me to secret you away. I could pull your thread from the tapestry altogether.

“But there would be no hope for that life,” Severin said with a last wistful glance at the scattered mosaic above.

No, none, the wind agreed.

“Okay,” Severin whispered, “okay.” And it felt terrifyingly like surrender.

The wind stirred, and a breeze like a kiss tousled his dark hair.

The blade struck.

It was an intense pressure and then swift, vibrantly blooming pain. Severin wavered on his feet, and looked up. For the second time, he met the warrior’s gaze. And Severin saw and understood that there was no malice in those wintry eyes. Not even frustration or anger. But, instead, an exhaustion deeper than Severin could conceive.

When Severin toppled backward, it was concerning to realize he could no longer feel the grass beneath his body. The man knelt down, and Severin blinked tiredly up at him.

It seemed as though the man were waiting for something. Severin’s slipping mind struggled to think of what - until he recalled the dying woman and her talk of curses. And hadn’t the barbarian said something about curses when he was fever addled and hurt? What had the wind said? Severin was struggling to remember. As his life trickled away in red rivulets which stained the grass and soil, he thought of the boy in the vision - lost and afraid. And he thought of the man he’d become, kneeling stonily over him.

And Severin knew exactly which words should be his last.

Swallowing, he mustered the strength to whisper, “-my hut…it’s just past…the next hill over. In it, I keep medicines and herbs. For the villagers. And travelers who pass.”

For the barbarian would have to stay if he were ever to show remorse. He couldn’t very well continue going about fighting and murdering his way across the peninsula. Which brought Severin to his final words. It took all of his remaining strength to lift his hand. When he reached out, the barbarian startled, as though he expected more lightning to spring forth from Severin’s fingers. But Severin merely tapped his chest and smiled. “May you live a life of safety and peace.”

It was a fitting curse, he thought, feeling particularly clever. And there, on the field, surrounded by sheep, Severin’s heart stuttered and stopped.

It was an abrupt, slipping sensation, like losing your footing on iced over earth. Raw existence rushed around Severin, and he was battered and blown about, like a banner torn loose in the storm. This continued for a dizzying moment, or perhaps a dizzying eternity - Severin really had no way of knowing which. But it stopped when a familiar presence surged around him, blowing and blustering until the wild chaos of existence was forced to let him be.

The wind could not protect him forever, Severin knew, and so he focused his energies until, like a wind sprite, he swirled about the hillside. Below him, he saw the barbarian, his great head bent. Severin, as incorporeal as a breeze, could not resist blustering over the barbarian’s shoulder and observing himself, limp and pitiful in death. Whipping around, he beheld the barbarian - because surely this sight would bring him at least to the verge of tears.

The barbarian frowned down at Severin’s body and rubbed a scarred hand over the patches of stubble on his chin. And then he rose with a great sigh and set off down the hillside, away from Severin and the village.

Severin, who was nothing more than wind and spirit, watched him and despaired. He could do nothing more than whip and howl through the hills as his murderer left him without a backward glance.

Months passed.

Severin did not follow after the barbarian. What good would it do? In this form, it wasn’t as though Severin could speak to him. And if he was doomed to fade and dissolve from existence, he would much rather do so here in the hills he loved than in some strange land trailing after an even stranger man. The wind kept him company, at least, and Severin spent his days whistling through the black, porous stones at the base of the mountains and blowing bits of dandelions across wild tufts of grass.

One day, long after Severin had begun to feel more spread out and thin than was entirely comfortable, the wind rushed to him, carrying with it the scent of dust and dirt and faraway lands.

The barbarian had returned.

Severin was an icy breeze that whipped around the edges of town, and he watched with cool distrust as the man trudged through the streets. His shoulders were slumped and his blond head was turned down. He looked utterly defeated, and any sympathy Severin might have felt was eclipsed by petty spite. He didn’t hold any of the pettiness against himself, though. He was dead, and therefore felt he’d earned at least a little pettiness.

When the barbarian crossed the field, stopping to stand before the place where Severin had fallen, Severin swirled around him, newly curious. The man didn’t look grief stricken, but his face was difficult to read. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and lines of exhaustion around his mouth. Mostly, Severin thought he just looked tired.

When the man approached Severin’s home after having ignored the invitation for months, Severin had a second moment of pettiness and whipped the wind up on the other side of the door, sealing it closed as the barbarian tried to open it. Only when the man shoved it with his great, muscled shoulder did Severin retreat, allowing the door to swing open.

It was with a strange sort of melancholy that he watched the barbarian’s silver gaze sweep over the room. The man looked first at the damp, unkempt hearth before slowly making his way across the room. He glanced from Severin’s well-loved walking stick to the bookshelf built into the wall. He fumblingly ran the backs of his fingers along the spines of the books, as if he was unlearned in the ways of a gentle touch.

Severin was still very much put out about the whole being dead business, but as he watched the barbarian’s almost reverent inspection, he unthinkingly twisted the air in the room, drawing out the cold and pulling in a bit of sun warmed breeze.

By the second day, the man was sitting in Severin’s chair. Severin stewed, swatting at floating dust by the window as his killer rocked to and fro in Severin’s favorite seat. Later, the barbarian stood, stretching his strong arms overhead and twisted his back experimentally. Brows lifting in pleasant surprise, he gave the chair an appreciative pat.

By the third day, Severin had no more dust to swat about. The barbarian had rolled up his ragged sleeves and set about scrubbing every inch of Severin’s little hut. When the hulking man worked open the stiff windows, the wind rushed in, delighting in whipping about the space once more.

He’s done a better job of cleaning than you ever did, the wind sang, slipping once more outside.

He was dead and that meant the wind had to be nice, and Severin told it as much. It’s reply was a soft rustling of chimes that hung from the house’s eaves, and the sound was almost like laughter.

Days passed, and the man began reading Severin’s books. This was probably the most surprising development yet, in Severin’s opinion. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought the large, scarred warrior capable of reading, just - well, he hadn’t thought the large, scarred warrior capable of reading particularly well. But the man seemed to be doing just fine, and sat in Severin’s rocking chair, putting a far greater strain on the sturdy wood than Severin ever had, as he thumbed carefully through the book’s smooth pages.

When little Mykela took ill, Severin knew it well before anyone else. He’d taken a spin through town and as he rode the wintry wind past where she played in the yard, he’d felt the rattle of air in her lungs. But at this point, Severin was little more than a memory on the breeze, and though his worry was agony, he could do absolutely nothing. He spent the rest of the day roaring about the mountain peaks, sending snow flurries spilling down the far side of the cliffs.

Two days later, Severin was idly observing the barbarian, watching the crease between his brows twitch as he slept, when a great pounding broke out against the door. The barbarian rose at once, and Severin watched him cast a brief glance at the walking stick before turning instead to the candle on a nearby shelf. With warm light cupped in his palm, the barbarian approached the door.

When Dormund, Mykela’s father, entered the hut, carrying a limp mound of blankets, Severin felt a spike of icy terror. As the barbarian poked and prodded the fire, Severin carefully stirred the wind to better feed the flames. Severin would have shouted instructions, had he lungs to shout, but the barbarian already had two jars in hand. He held them up, looking a little lost, before he hurried to the bookshelf and selected a thick book. Muttering under his breath, he flipped hurriedly through pages until he found what he was looking for. And then he was kneeling before the pot of water he’d set over the fire, and Severin watched as he scooped careful measurements of Severin’s dried herbs into the roiling water.

Mykela was saved, and as the barbarian sent the girl and her father off with a bag of herbs, it occurred to Severin that he wished to know the barbarian’s name. He wouldn’t learn it until two days later, when Old Cara arrived at the hut, seeking the barbarian’s help for her arthritic knee. After supplying her with the appropriate poultice, the barbarian helped her to the door, and looking up, she patted his shoulder and asked him his name.

Eindred, was his answer.

Eindred.

Severin wished he had lips to test the shape of the name.

Months passed, and was easier now to watch Eindred move about Severin’s hut. In fact, Severin had even begun to enjoy riding the soft breeze from the windows as it wafted around Eindred’s shoulders, curiously observing whatever small thing he happened to, at any given time, be doing with his hands. One day, Severin was surprised to find Eindred’s hands at work, deliberately whittling the curved back of a rocking chair. When the chair was done, Eindred set it carefully, almost reverently beside the first. At the sight, Severin had a bright, nearly overwhelming flash of recognition, and he thought of the image the wind had shown him - of the rocking chairs before a warm, crackling fire.

Severin was fading, he could feel it. To hope was to court a greater disappointment than Severin could rightly comprehend, and yet - he watched Eindred set out with Severin’s walking stick to join the festival, and saw when Mykela took his hand. The barbarian’s stony expression softened, then melted as the girl tugged him after her.

It was the strangest of sensations, because while Severin didn’t strictly have a heart these days, watching the great Eindred meekly follow little Mykela made something in Severin’s incorporeal being ache with unexpected warmth.

Whatsmore, Eindred had been reading Severin’s journals and he would sometimes stop and stare about the hut, as if trying to picture the ghost of Severin’s life there. Once, Eindred draped a thick blanket over the back of one of the rocking chairs and ran his rough hands over it as he frowned contemplatively into the fire.

Summer had come and gone and Severin feared that parts of his soul had already begun to slip into that other-place. And so, with a tender sort of weariness, he drifted on the sunbeams cutting through the clean window glass, and watched with only mild annoyance as Eindred carefully tore a blank page from one of Severin’s journals.

Lips pressing together in focus, Eindred wrote in with small, precise letters, what appeared to be a list.

Confused, Severin drifted closer.

May your every loved one die screaming in pain.

I hope you die with your eyes stabbed out and your heart in your hands.

You will never know happiness.

Your existence will be suffering.

It was a list of curses, Severin realized. Morbid curses, by the looks of it. The last two, however, caught his attention.

May your greatest enemy rise from the grave and never leave you alone.

And,

May you live a life of safety and peace.

And Severin understood.

When Eindred set out from the hut, looking drawn but resolved, Severin began at once to gather his energy. It had been nearly a year since his death, and he feared that there might not be enough of him left to make a return. The second to last curse would help things along, but Severin knew it would be a mistake to rely on it.

And so, as Eindred entered the village, Severin stretched upward and out, calling wind and storm clouds with reckless, hopeful abandon. For his entire life, Severin had lived, certain in the knowledge that love and happiness were not meant for one such as he. How could they be? When a blade was foretold to make a home in his heart?

But Eindred had changed. And the patchwork pieces of tapestry were there, a life Severin had never dared to dream of, right there - if he could only summon the strength to reach out and grasp it.

Below, Eindred bowed his head before the townsfolk, confessing his part in the tragedy which played out on their soil. Above, Severin swallowed the skies and became the storm.

Severin felt it, distantly below, when the people in the village forgave Eindred. And he felt when Eindred’s bittersweet tears tickled the earth. He felt Eindred return to the hut, and then after pacing restlessly about, return at last to the pastures where it had all begun.

And then came Eindred’s pained voice, calling out from the fields below. “Severin!”

Eindred had never said his name before, and Severin, who was the clouds and the wind and the rain and the sky, rumbled his joy at the sound of it.

“It was my hand which ended your life,” Eindred continued. His deep voice was shaking. “And with your dying breath you gifted what I thought was a nightmare. Did you know that it would turn out to be a dream? I think you did.”

Just wait, Severin wanted to tell him, because he’d seen a future better still. The only question that remained was whether he had strength enough to reach it.

Rugged face upturned, Eindred called to Severin and the sky, which were one and the same. “Though it’s a dream, I’ll never know peace. How can I? When I live in the home of the one I so coldly murdered? I would leave, but the villagers have my heart - as they had yours. In this state, I don’t think I’ll ever truly know true rest or true peace - despite the great power of your curse.”

You will, Severin said, and lightning streaked across the sky. I will.

“Even now,” Eindred said, through wind and rain, “I’m not sure if you are my greatest enemy or ally.”

There it was.

His greatest enemy.

Severin, with every ounce of power he possessed, claimed the title. For he was the greatest enemy the old Eindred, warrior and killer, had faced. With his parting curse, Severin had forced the old Eindred to do the one thing he’d feared most of all: to live and face all he’d done.

Severin felt a rushing, coursing energy thrumming within and without and he knew that he must catch it and hold it, though he wasn’t sure how.

The tapestry threads, the wind whispered. Severin had spread so thin, his old friend was nearly a part of him now.

Severin listened, and felt for that thread which had teased and tickled his palm. And when he was sure he felt it, he wrapped himself around it and pulled. The sky around him screamed as he dragged himself forward toward something - something -

White light was all around him, and then it wasn’t. The air was cool and damp, and the evening sang with the wind’s gleeful gusts and the soft patter of rain on grass. Severin lifted a hand, and looked it over in tentatively blooming relief. Pressing the hand over his heart which beat with a strong, steady rhythm, Severin breathed a relieved, ragged sigh.

Eindred stood in the field, turned away from him. Drawing in a breath, Severin delighted in the sound of his own voice. “May your greatest enemy rise from the grave, Eindred, and never leave you alone.” He smiled as he spoke, and very nearly pressed his fingers to his lips to feel the shape they took when saying Eindred’s name.

Eindred turned. “So you are my greatest enemy then?” He sounded wary.

“I don’t think it’s so simple as that. Do you?”

Eindred’s expression shifted and he shook his head. When he next spoke, it was soft and fumbling, as if he still hadn’t fully adjusted to a world which was kind. “I made a chair,” he blurted out. “A few actually,” he added, rubbing a hand over the back of his head.

Severin wanted to say, I know. I saw. But that would require more explanation than he cared to give at the moment, so instead, he replied, “Do I get the new rocking chair or my old one?”

“Any,” Eindred stammered, “Either. Both?” He looked at Severin, and the earnest weight of his gaze held the promise of all the chairs Severin could want and anything else Eindred could possibly make with his scarred hands.

The fondness that bubbled up within Severin was so abrupt and filled him so thoroughly that he wanted to laugh with it. “Lucky for you, I only need one chair. You can keep the old one if you like it. I trust your craftsmanship.”

Severin turned then, because it was cold and every part of him felt so entirely bright and buoyant that he thought he might die if he didn’t move. However, when he realized Eindred was not following, he stopped. “Well? Are you coming?”

Eindred looked up, as if he’d been startled. “Where?” he called.

Standing there, sodden in the field, Eindred looked after Severin, as if he was afraid to hope - as Severin once had been afraid to do. And it occurred to Severin that Eindred would need to hear it said aloud.

“Home, of course. Where else?”

“Home,” Eindred repeated, as if confirming it to himself.

And when Severin turned again towards home, Eindred followed.

By the time they reached the hut, both were shivering from the cold, and as they crossed the threshold into the warm space, Severin swayed on his feet. He’d almost forgotten the immense power he’d used, and now the harsh ringing in his ears was a stark reminder. Warm, rough hands steadied him and when Severin tilted his head up, he saw that Eindred wore an expression of poorly concealed terror.

“I’m not going to die all over again,” Severin assured him. “I just used a lot of magic.” As he said it, he swayed once more, this time falling forward.

Eindred caught Severin again, one arm wrapped around his back and his other hand braced against his chest. Beneath where Eindred’s palm pressed, Severin’s heart thrummed. And Severin watched, curious, as Eindred’s expression twisted. He no longer claimed the title of warrior, Severin knew, but it was nonetheless with a warrior’s gravity that Eindred met Severin’s gaze.

“These hands will never again harm you. I swear it.”

“I know,” Severin replied, and pressed a hand over the back of Eindred’s rough knuckles. “Help me to a chair?”

Eindred did, and helped to remove Severin’s thick outer robe before Severin sank gratefully in front of the fire. Eindred left him a moment, and Severin closed his eyes.

He intended to just rest them for a second - maybe two, but when Severin next opened his eyes, the room was darker and he was draped and bundled in blankets, softer and thicker than any he recalled owning. The fire was still crackling, and the warm light made soothing shadows dance across the hut’s wooden floor. The other chair was occupied, Severin realized, and he watched as the hearth’s orange light played across Eindred’s sleeping features. Compared to Severin’s mountain of blankets, he had just one draped over his lap, though he didn’t seem cold. Nonetheless, Severin shifted a bit, and peeled a soft fleece blanket off his own pile to toss it onto him. The blanket fell short, and with a quick whispered word, the wind slipped under the door and flipped the offending blanket up onto Eindred’s chest.

“That’s better,” Severin said.

The wind played a little with the fire before tousling Severin’s hair and departing with a sibilant, save your strength foolish human. You’re still recovering, and slipped out the way it had come.

When Severin turned back to Eindred, he saw the large man was sitting up and his eyes were now open. Blinking, Eindred rubbed a hand over his face and then, stiffening in sudden shock, he whipped to look at Severin. Heaving a great sigh, he rocked back in the chair. “Still breathing,” he said.

“I don’t plan on stopping.”

Something almost like a smile twitched at Eindred’s lips and Severin was enchanted by it.

“You were dead and now you’re alive. Forgive me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“You’re the one who believes in silly curses.”

Eindred’s brows rose. “Silly? Says the one who was brought back from the dead by one.”

Severin waved a dismissive hand. “The curse might have set the stage, but I was director, crew, and cast.”

And there was another smile, like a glimpse of sun between clouds. Severin was beginning to fear there might be no practical limit to the lengths he’d be willing to go to see another smile.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Eindred replied. “I get the feeling you know a great deal more about the world and magics than I.”

“Well Eindred,” Severin said, scooting his chair a little closer to both Eindred and the fire. “What do you know of grand tapestries?”

Eindred, looking more than a little lost, shook his head. “Nothing. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one.”

“Well,” Severin said, and grinned. “What do you know of cheese?”

EDIT: A novel based on Eindred and the Witch and The Witch Who Spoke to the Wind is in progress! I will post news about it on my Tumblr and my Patreon as news becomes available :)

#my writing #original writing #my story #Eindred and the Witch #original story #fantasy #fantasy story #love story #eindred the warrior #severin the witch #writing #writeblr #short story #long short story #7000+ words #fantasy short story #amwriting #story

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Ducktales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp Movie Reviewcap! (Patreon Stretch Goal)

Hello all you happy people! And we have a special review today for two reasons. The first is that this is my second patreon stretch goal review, having hit the 15 dollar goal back in march thanks to my wonderful friend Emma, the same patreon whose responsible for the Green Eggs and Ham Reviews, who helped me hit the 15 dollar goal. As a result you fine people are getting three movie reviews each based on a Disney Afternoon Movie with Treasure of the Lost Lamp today, a goofy movie at the end of the motnh for a weeklong tribute to my favorite dogmandadguy. Extremley was going to be part of it but the length of this review convinced me otherwise, but I will be doing it this summer so keep an ear out. If you want to help me hit my next stretch goals do yourselve a favor and zip on over to my patreon YOU CAN FIND MY PATREON HERE. My next stretch goal at “OH Look 20 Dollars” would give everyone patreon and not, a monthly review of Darkwing Duck as decided by my patrons, reviews of BOTH season 2 mini series from Ducktales 87, introducing Fenton to the world and blighting it with Bubba before the 2017 series fixed him, and as a brucey bonus added last month a review of Danny Phantom the Ultimate Enemy. And if that wasn’t enough if you help me get to the goal after that at 25 unlocks another trilogy of disney film reviews, this time for the proud family and recess movie and the best kim possible movie, and dcom period, so the drama as well as Bryan Lee O’ Malley’s two stand alone graphic novels, lost at sea and seconds for you Scottaholics in the audience.

The other reason now the shilling’s done. is that the plan WAS to review this back to back with Treasure of The Found Lamp, to the point the orginal review had a whole thing about that, why it was delayed etc... but now that review’s been scrapped all together as something sudden and wonderful happened. After just kinda giving up someone came through with a translation of Della’s first apperance so presumibly i’ll be doing that as part of the build up to mother’s day, and since I still want ot do maternal instincts too, and already had to let the Floyd Gottfredson birthday special slide away as well... it had to go as I want to leave the only open space on the schedule for the lovely person who found the story for me. But this review is still done, i’m very proud of it so join me under the cut won’t you?

Behind The Scenes: Before I get into it i’d just like to note this article from SyFy Wire. It , along with articles I found via wikipedia citations, was an invaluable resource.

The film was an experiment: It was an experiment to see if one of their tv properties could bring in theatrical money, to see if a movie made on a cheaper budget and still rake in decent money, to see if a film could be made being outsourced to several diffrent places, and to see what one of those places, their recently aquiried french stuido, could handle this kind of work.

The film, if succesful would be the first of Disney’s MovieToons line, a series of films based on their shows. As you can tell by the fact only this movie and Goof Troop happened and the Movie Toons label wasn’t applied to that one it very much failed. While the film was warmly recevied by people who liked the show general audiences didn’t turn out for it. As a result the MovieToons label was scrapped, future projects with it were canceled.. but the stellar work put in by the french stuidio lead to it perserviering for several more decades and lead to them working on the Goofy Movie, which we’ll get to later this month but needless to say was a MUCH bigger hit with a much bigger budget.

As for why the film failed... I have two theories. THe first is that parents were stupid back then and didn’t want to pay to see something on the big screen they could see on tv’s. This is a stupid mentality to me as generally a movie of a tv show puts in a ton of extra effort and usually goes bigger and dosen’t go home. It’s a likely theory given most liscened films of the era didn’t do quite well, with all three hasbro films tanking. And look I get Transformers the Movie is cheesy and killed a lot of people’s childhood toys, but damn if it ain’t aweosme.. and also something I need to cover at some point. Thankfully this died out by later in the 90′s with Rugrats getting a hugely succesful if flawed film, a better sequel and a third one that was also a crossover with the wild thornberries.

And even now in 2020 we’re getting the Loud House and Rise of the TMNT movies sometimes this summer, we were SUPPOSED to have gotten the bobs burgers movie this summer but arne’t because Disney is being a dick about it.

And we got a phineas and ferb movie last year. With this trend hopefully thsi means we’ll get a Ducktales 2017 movie at some point since season 4 left a huge sequel hook laying right there to grab for a feature film. One final note: The film was conceptually thought up as a 5 part serial like “Treasure of the Golden Suns”, “Catch as Cash Can”, “SuperDucktales” and “Time is Money, something that DOES show as the movie weirdly has act breaks. In a feature film. Yup.

The Guest Cast:

I won’t go into the full cast since I’ve sung Alan Young and Russi Taylor’s praises PLENTY on this blog before, and I plan to go into Beakly and Launchpad’s actors when they show up in the pilot movie. But i’d be remiss if i didn’t talk about our three guest actors for our three new parts.

First up is Merlock voiced by legend and if I had a hall of fame, hall of famer Christopher Lloyd.. I need to get me one of those. Lloyd is of course known for playing Doc Brown in back to the future but has done countless other films, voicework, and other good stuff. Among his MASSIVE filmography includes The Back to the Future Trilogy (Already mentioned it but it bears repeating), Star Trek III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the pants destroyingly terrifying Judge Doom, The Addams Family duology as fester, a role rip torn would ironcially play for the animated series made to captalize on said movie, Hey Arnold! The Movie, The Oogieloves in The Big Ballon Adventure (Look everybody needs money sometimes okay?), and Art of the Deal: The Movie, which was not, thankfully an ego filating nightmare made by trump himself but a film made by funny or die parodying his terrible book and having Llloyd return as Doc Brown. TV Wise he’s known for Taxi, Back to the Future the Animated Series, Cyberchase and he most recently popped up on Big City Greens. How I missed that ep I.. do know as I haven’t watched season 2. Gonna fix that later this month. Lloyd is utterly awesome, a great guy and thankfully still alive at the time of this writing, so I was happy to have him here.

Less familiar to me but still known is Rip Taylor, a comedian known for his flamboyant unique way of speech and his marvelous mustache. He showed up in things occasionally and always seemed like the nicest guy and his passing in late 2019 truly is sad. He does a terrific job here but more on that in a moment.

Finally we have Richard Libertini, a comedian I never really saw in anything besides this who according to IMDB was most famous for his ablility to do a foreign accent. I REALLY hope all of them aren’t as horribly racist as this one. We’ll.. get to that in a sec as it’s time for the plot!

A Treasure Uncovered:

We open our film gorgeously. The animation is great in the film, having some rough edges I chalk up to the film’s hectic production, the studio being new at working at disney properties, and the film not being meant for HD. That being said a few rough spots here and there aside.. the film looks ungodly gorgeous. Like most theatrical films based on a cartoon it takes an already great style and makes it look great. It feels like a more fluid evolution of the cartoons look and it’s a shame we didn’t get more movies in this style for both this show and others, ESPECIALLY Darkwing Duck. Can you imagine a Darkwing Duck movie with this lush animation? Hopefully we’ll get one eventually.

So our heroes are going to somewhere in the Middle East. That’s.. that’s all wikipedia gives me and all the film gives me. As usual Scrooge is after treasure in this case the Treasure of Collie Baba, the greatest thief there ever was based obviously off Ali Baba from 1001 nights and that one Beastie Boys song.

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It’s here we find the WORST thing about the film, the thing that makes this a hard one to watch depsite otherwise being pretty good, and that makes my skin crawl knowing i’m a white man and a BUNCH of white guys, Ducktales series creator who did the voice casting for this character, the writers who wrote him, the direector disney them fucking selves who thought this was okay.

The film has some horrible steroytping. It starts with a bunch of backgorund guys surronding Scrooge, with crooked teeth and steotypical voices. This on it’s own is odious.

It somehow gets worse. Then we meet one of our antagonists. We meet Dijon.

This Fucking Guy

Djon is horribly offensive reminding me of other such luminaries in being ungodly offensive yet somehow getting put to film as Jar Jar Binks (With all respeect to his poor actor Ahmed Best, this is not his fault), Rob Schinder as a Sterotypically asian preist, Skids and Mudflap, Rob Schinder as a sterotypically mexican bandit, The Whitewashed cast of The Last Airbender, and Rob Schinder as a stereotypically asian preist. What i’m saying is Djon is an AWFUL, horribly offensive character.. and that Rob Schinder should be shot up into space, not to watch cheesy movies, he’s not funny enough for that, but instead to be sent to a satlitie that’s liveable, but also filled to the brim with spring loaded boxing gloves. Just tons of boxing gloves that feel like getting punched by a heavewight boxer all hidden... they could hit his legs, his face, his nuts, his face and his nuts, the point is he’s in constnat pain unless he moves carefully.

And lest you think i’m exaggerating for starters this is his design.

It just screams “vaugely but sterotpyically middle eastern” along with cowardly. The fact he’s also a literal rat is just the icing on the cake made of broken glass, shrapnel and broken DVD’s of Transformers; Revenge of the Fallen. They say if you eat a reveng eof the fallen dvd John Tutoro appears at the foot of your bed and watches you while you sleep.. and by they I mean me. It was a bad bet. I got rid of him with some insese and a bribe of five dollars.

Oh but that’s just design.. when he talks it’s MUCH worse. His voice is like if they took Apu from the simpsons and said “This but MORE offensive”, and his perosnality is WORSE. He’s a thief.. and not in the endearing loveable rogue way but he’s a pick pocket and a running “Gag’ is that he’ll often grab eveyrthing within reahc. As the deisgn shows he’s a coward running at every opportunity. Oh and to top it all off he’s the willing servant of the white coded, given all ducks in this series are white coded and voiced bby white actors, big bad. And the actor is naturally VERY white to make this cocktail of offensivness so complete that if Disney ever got rid of this film I GUARANTEE the republcian party would be running in with accusations of cancel culture gone amok and never shutting up about this like they did the muppets. Which for the record THEY DIDN’T CANCEL THEM, YOUR POINT IS ILLEGITMATE, THEY JUST WANTED TO BE SENSTIVE YOU GHOULS.

I do have a reason for bringing up Disney’s content warnings... most damming of all given just how DEEPLY uncomfortbale this character is.. there isn’t one for this movie. I double checked: There isn’t even wanring notes on the website. It’s just.. on there. And given just how ghastly a sterotype Djon is.. that’s not right. Seriously they DID put them on certain episodes of the show, theyk now this sort of thing is wrong and they done wrong.. but for NO reason they haven’t done so for a film released 31 years ago. Around the same time as the series and just offensive as that show at it’s worst if not more so. This is flatly inexcusable.. par for the course for Disney’s incompetence but still horribly furstrating, disgusting and shameful.. which has been the theme of the last three days really. I expect better because when it comes to putting that warning label on this stuff, they usually are better. First the scheduling mixup and now this. You already do a handful of things wrong Disney why add this to the list?!

It’s just draining not only to run into another Disney Fuckup after a weekend of dealing with one of their worst in recent memory, but just to watch Djon. To see this horrible caractrure saunter onto the screen and go on with his harmful schtick, to see that THIS is what Ducktales 87 reduced non white people to more often than not. It’s remarkable just how throughly and awesomely Frank and Matt completely and totally reversed this. Instead of horrible sterotypes in the reboot, we got TONS of loveable people of color, an endearing latino hero, a smart african american buisness woman who takes no shit but is still a consumate professional, and an egyptian HERO with an intresting story and a strong moral code instead of this horrible reminder that racisim in media was such an afterthought not ONE person brought this up during the scyfy wire stuff or in any inteview i’ve seen. No one cared. Djon was POPULAR enough that he got three episode sin the series. THREE FUCKING EPISODES. This film could be GOOD.. but it’s just so bogged down EVERY FUCKING TIME this artists interpreitation of what Tucker Carlson sees when he looks at a middle eastern person I had to pause to compose myself and had to take a break writing this review to avoid tyiping this in all caps and using the phrase YOU RACIST MOTHERFUCKERS every other sentence. And again i’m white, I get this is second hand offensiveness.. I do... but it dosen’t mean I can’t be offended other white people were so callous about other cultures behaviors this happened.

And what makes me feel worse.. is that I just sorta... never thought about white people voicing non white characters. Things like this I noticed sure, I realize now part of the reason I didn’t like this movie the first time I saw it was this alex jones version of a looney tune, but I do feel shame for not noticing or caring long before this. Sure I loved it when a character of color got played by a person of color.. but I didn’t realize just how deep that problem was and how LONG it went on for before the outcry post george floyd and the call to action lead to most shows still going course correcting. It’s why stuff like this extra botehrs me: because THIS was just as okay at the time. No one blinked twice about this and odds are the creators involved still haven’t. And that.. that’s just terrible and it hurts to think about and I still have most of the movie to go.

The Pyramid of Peril:

So we do get a gorgeous unvewling scene of a box Scrooge found out about from Collie Baba’s horde that should lead them to the treasure. This scene reminds me of Indina Jones.. and I bring this up because the poster was specifically made to mimick an indinia jones poster, to the point of getting drew struzan to do it. THe creator of Ducktales objected..l but I do not get WHY. While I”m not sure if he had yet, Speilberg flat out admits the Carl Barks comics were an inspiration for Indina Jones, with the iconic bolder chase coming from a similar scene in one of Barks Stories. Gotta cover that too. So yeah I don’t get not wanting an indina jones style poster when both were inspiried by the same work and it’s just simple logic and it looks so neat. Thank you.

Scrooge finds seemingly just clothes.. and a map. Jeff Dunham’s Most Racist Puppet reports to his master, Merlock. Merlock is a.. meh villian. Christopher Lloyd does try.. but Lock is your standard evil overlord wants to take over the world type. He dosen’t have much depth, or personality and only his style saves him from dragging the film down along with Dana Carvey’s most racist disguise in master of disguise. He does have a deent shape shifting gimick and being played by Christopher Lloyd means he’s acted TREMENDOUSLY. Alan Young was apparently in awe watching him work and that’s wonderful to hear. The guy did his best. Weirdly Merlock would show up in tons of other works, mostly video games.. but even weirder he NEVER showed up in ducktales 2017. Both Djon and Gene would, Djon thankfully renamed we’ll get to all of that tommorow thank god. I need it after this. But Frank has outright said they didn’t use Merlock because there simply wasn’t anything they could do with him they couldn’t dow ith magica. My likely guess is the might of found a way to revamp him EVENTUALLY, it’s not like radical revamps weren’t there thing come on, they just had way more stories with Magica and didnd’t get around to it before the show was canceled. Just make him some sort of evil god or something. it’s what I might do. There’s a lot of angles with him. Though I would’ve still gotten christopher lloyd back. I mean most of the recasting is good but he’s still alive and deserved a better shot at things.

So Merlock sends Djonn to go with scrooge as his guide to find the treasure, as there’s something of imense power within it. And I gotta ask WHY does Merlock need a minon. No really. This isn’t a situation like reboot magica where he’s trapped in another realm. He can shapeshift into any animal. We only see him use falcon, rat, cockroach and bear but theoritically he can become anything and bear alone is still a LOT. Why does he need this sterotype even other sterytopes ar eashamed of? The film dosen’t NEED Djonn. Just let Christopher Lloyd monologue and leave this post 911 propogranda cartoon at home.

So our heroes nad rejected jar jar prototype head into the desert, and seemingly find nothing before finding a small pyramid all while Merlock follows desecretley as a mighty hawk.

Scrooge makes the boys and Djon dig... because they clearly forgot the “work hard” part of his ethos.

Our heroes unveil the pyramid... and while Merlock SAYS he searched the desert and I get it’s hard to see thourgh all of that.. the dude is immortal, had decades to search and had Mickey Rooney there on standby to force him to go comb the desert. I have an artist rendering of that hang on

So our heroes enter the pyramid and it goes.. really how you’d expect: there’s a bunch of traps our brave explorers have to pass, the boys minintpret a juinor woodchuck saying about loosing your marbles to mean using the ones they actually have which geninely comes in handy as they trip the traps and Rob SChinder as a carrot stumbles into one. Also launchpad is wearing a hawaiin shirt and shades. This has no baring on the plot, but it does bring the movie up a notch in my book and I question why the reboot never used this outfit. Then again they also never properly used Donald’s Quack Pack Outfit (Which bad show or not, is objectively awesome), or his Quack Shot Indiana Jones Riff Outfit, so it’s not like there isn’t a presdecnt for not giving a character a cool costume change from a previous medium. I really should do a top 12 missed opportunities list for the 2017 cartoon.. the ideas for stuff are really piling up.

OUr heroes eventually find the treasure which has insidiously clever security the more I think about it: at first I thought it had none, just a pit with some... scorpions? I mean their supposed to be but they look like they crawled out of the same stygian hole in the sky Doofus crawled out of. And if your asking me “wait which Doofus” the answer is both. Both these abominations crawled out of a stygian hole in the sky.

But the treasure is on a platform surrounded by scoprions with the only way out being the trap filled way they came in. Unless someone comes in with a full team and a bunch of lootin sacks, they aren’t getting out with EVERYTHING. They can steal SOME of the treasure but there’s no way to get any signifigant portion... and the team thing itself is an issue, something Collie defintely predicted being a thief himself: while some thieves can work well as a team, hence why we have four oceans movies 3/4 damn good, and for the record 12 is the bad one, 8 is how you do a soft reboot and a female led reboot right, a good chunk of professional crooks will turn on each other or try and swinldle... and tha’ts dangerous in a trap filled temple but hey some criminals ain’t so smart. If they all were Rudy Gulliani wouldn’t have two razzies for preparing to pull his pants down, and have waved his phone around on tv like a dare for future adminstrations to arrest the shit out of him would he?

But Scrooge has his family so they get loading. But not before Webby finds the lamp. Not knowing about it Scrooge has no intrest in it, but Webby does. We also get a really simple but hilarious gag where SCrooge dickers over the idea for a second.. before Webby picks up a Jeweled tiara to possibly take instead. The best gags to me are often the ones that just let the character’s perosnalities take the lead and bounce off each other. It’s why when I reviewed the four lilo and stitch crossovers recently I harped on character interaction as their biggest weakness: it’s what MAKES a good work for me. It’s why my faviorite comics and shows often follow a loveable group of disfunctional misfits. I like a group of big personalities who despite in theory should NOT be able to work making it work anyway. And it’s honeslty what’s made Scrooge last so long: Scrooge on his OWN is awesome.. but iwth the boys, donald, and in the case of this series and the reivival Webby and Launchpad, with people to bounce off of who he contrasts heavily with, from Launchapd’s buffonery to Webby’s inehrent sweetness in both versions, to the boys genuine honesty and sense of adventure.... it makes him truly stand out. He’s a great character on his own, don’t get me wrong.. but it’s the people around him that give him chances to show WHY. A good character on it’s own is fine and dandy.. a good character with other good characters around them is where it gets truly special.

Merlock naturally bursts in and in a VERY Black Heron move needlesly outs what micheal bay sees when he closes his eyes as a bad guy... no really he grabs the guy with his talons as he captures the treasure and reveals he’s a bad guy. I don’t even get why keep Djonn alive. He’s done all Merlock possibly could’ve needed and Merlock is ruthless... this makes no sense and only happens because they need Djonn for later in the plot.

Our heroes barely escape, rafting out on the platform itself in a thrilling sequence.. but it’s the one right after that catches my attention. Scrooge utterly defeated, having searched for this treasure for forty years and unresponsive to everyone else. The anmation, coupled with the incomprable Alan young’s acting makes this the highlight of the film for me. Beneath the armor of wealth and skill.. is only a poor old man who just lost something he’s been chasing after most of his life. Scrooge tries his hardest not to be vunerable and both shows and the original comics all use that so when he truly is devistated like this, and i’ts belivible since this treasure is a personal goal of his and as someone who has had things that they seek out specifically, loosing them always hurts. It hurts to ALMOST reach a goal only to have it crumble out under you

But while this alone is good.. what’s next makes it great. Webby sweetly offers up the lamp. Scrooge turns it down, and her genuine gesture reinvgorates him and reminds us of who he is “I’ll find it if it takes another 40 years”> Scrooge may be bitter, mean and selfish a lot of the time.. but deep down, he’s a good man and one who will not give up, and a momentary setback can only stop him so long as long as he has his family to remind him of who he truly is.. and what’s truly important. It’s genuinely sweet and to me is also a reminder of why 87 Webby is a good character: Shes’ not perfect, her main personality trait is often Girl Sterotype”.. but she’s a genuinely sweet small child with a huge heart. It’s telling that while 17′ Webby is almost completely diffren,t and far better, that heart remains her biggest strength. Sure her reboot self could kill a man nad no one would ever find the body, but it’s her heart and empathy that makes that possible and makes her Webby. That inherent loving nature is what makes Webby webby wether she’s a toddler having a tea party or a tween getting ready to intergoate a guy with a meat tenderizer while saying ‘Cute girl stuff”.

Gene Genie Let’s Himself Go:

It’s a few days later and this is the point where it REALLY becomes obvious this was written as a bunch of episodes. Though to the film’s credit while it does ake this feel like a compliation movie as a result... it dosen’t hamper the film’s quality, condiment from Rush Limbaghs’ hot dog stand does that just fine, but once you notice it it’s impossible to unotice it. Weirdly though it seems chunked up into four episodes rather than the usual five, likely cutting down an episode, though I can’t see where they cut out material frankly if they did and i’ts just as likely they woudl’ve had to make one to fill in the space.

So Scrooge is in a mood, being grumpy with his secretary Mrs. Featherly, quackfaster in all but name, and having to be sent home. So while Duckworth goes to fetch him Webby polishes her treasure at long last readying for a tea party, something the boys roundly reject because their sexist little twits and swo were the writers or executies who assumed all little boys act the same. It’s easily my biggest pet peeve with the series as a whole: anytime this crops up with the boys it turns them into the worst dicks imaginable. It’s telling this, being mean about her wantin ga tea party with her surrogate brothersi s TAME. Normally they’ll say she can’t do things because she’s a girl or mock her hobies outright instead of just be mildly dickish. And while she dosen’t look much younger Webby is VERY CLEARLY, in this series anyway, supposed to be say 5 or 6 to the boys 8-10. 7 at most. SHe’s a small child and while it is realistic for older kids to bully younger ones, it’s not fun to watch. It’s why I get annoyed at all the big sibling bully characters.. some work, but most aren’t fun to watch because there’s nothing funny or intresting about it. It’s the same deal here.

Thankfully that quickly goes away as the lamp moves when Webby rubs it and does so again to prove it did move. Huey finishes it and we’re introduced to Gene, the best part of the film. Gene is a Genie and he takes a second to dart around before messing with the appliances in the kitchen, as he was last around during the time 1001 Nights Came About. Cleverly though, and so we thankfully don’t have 80 dozen fishout of water jokes that have already been done before. As you can probably guess i’m not a huge fan of time travel fish out of water stuff. Now from another dimensoin or planet, i’m on board with with Star Vs, Steven Universe and Sym-Bionic Titan being great examples of this, as is the comic resident alien. (Despite having the wonderous Alan Tuduk the show sounds way more mean spirited and misses the entire point of the comic as given by the author in the credits, i.e. that the alien is supposed to NOT be a threat and just be gently waiting for a ride) The inverse is also good with Amphbia and owl house, taking a human and plopping them into our world. But time travel stuff just usually runs the same beats of “look at the shiny thing” and what not. The only time i’ve sene something SIMILAR work is with thor where their society is SIMILAR to vikings time but still it’s own thing.. it also gave us a classic gag in..

So yeah i’m glad they dropped this and instead had a clever way around it: Gene reads the encylopedia at the mansion. Granted it’s Scrooge so I don’t know how current it is and given this came out in 1990 thus HOW racist it is. It’s not a questoin of IF it was, but how much.

But having caught up the kids confront him with the fact he has to grant wishes. This lamp runs on what I now realize are Aladdin rules: Whoever currently holds the Lamp is the Genie’s master, they only get three wishes, and that dosen’t reset if it changes hands. The only big diffrence from the usual is Gene dosen’t have to TELL them about the wishes like Genie did, and Gene very begrudginly agrees to it. He also seem’s phsyically pained when doing so.

So since all 12 know about him, each of the kids gets a wish though it seems unfair with HDL. Their one person, they shoudln’t get 9 wishes just because their brain is spread out over three bodies.

This film continues the weird simliarties to Aladdin by attaching rules though they instead come up as a result of our heroes talking rather than the Genie just flat out tleling them: both share the “you can’t wish for more wishes” thing, a common rule in these stories and usually only broken nowadays as a clever twist as the rule is SO common place, not having it is a twist. But it is there for a reason: to limit the sheer power of a reality warping wish. The wishes can also only go so far. In a nice line, when Huey, Dewey or Louie suggests wishing for peace one earth, Gene says “No pipe dreams’ He can’t bend people or reality on THAT scale. He can bend reality as we find out, but it’s smaller scales like turning someone’s possesions over ot someone else, warping the bin into a castle, or bringing inanitamte objects to limited life. Still HUGE feats worth of a genie, so Gene’s power isn’t so nerfed it’s unusuable, but it does explain why his evil pervious ownder Merlock, more ont hat in a bit too, didn’t just wish to have eternal dominon over the earth or something. Gene can do just about anything but he can’t change the world on a fundemental level.

And I do LIKE having rules in wished based stories like this, I chalk it up to growing up with Fairly Odd Parents... though they eventually went too far in the oppsoitie direction, pulling rules out of their ass to suit the episode, instead of simply having some very standard, very understandable rules that still pose challenges but don’t outright cheat so the episode can happen.

So Webby does her first wish.. and wishes for a Baby Elephant, something Gene is against as he prefers they keep the wishes small: otherwise he gets found out, and the fight over him begins. So one of the boys wishes him away. Or Webby does. Point is it’s gone though not before Beakly sees it and Scrooge smells something is up. Our heroes try to hide gene, but gene thankfully simply dresses up like a modern kid and thus is able to pass as a friend of there staying for the night.

So with the rules established and what not the kids find a clever solution: they simply go a ways away from the mansion into the woods, far enough from town to avoid any suspcion, and same iwth the mansion and just wish for all kinds of stuff: a giant bunch of ice cream toys, standard kid wish fufillment but it’s nice... in part because the kids treat Gene like one of them. Wihle they STARTED asking him about the wishes, this starts the bonding process. Soon he will be part of the hive mind.. SOON.

Until then though after using another wish to make scrooge not mad at them for coming home late and missing dinner, that night we find out Gene’s backstory.... and it’s an utter tearjerker. As it turns out Merlock wants him back because he’s Gene’s former master and as you’d guess.. it was NOT a happy existnace, used contstnatly to do horrible things with no power to stop himself. Pompeii and Atlantis were both directly Merlock’s fault and it was only Collie Baba stealing the lamp that put an end to his hell. He also answers the two obvious questions botht he audeiince and the boys have: How the hell is Merlock still alive and shoudln’t he be out of wishes then? The first is simple. Unlike pretty much every DBZ Villian whose WANTED to do so, Merlock wished for immortality first chance he got, taking the Zamasu route instead and thus leaving him free.

As for the wishes thing it turns out his amulet, in adition to shapeshifting, also gives him extra wishes becuase fuck it.

But the boys sweetly offer to protect him.

The next day, Apu’s Cousin let’s Merlock know the maps in the mansion and Merlock has him help sneak in with Merlock taking rat form. This backfires as Mrs. Beakley notices the form and chases after him with a broom

Meanwhile Webby has her tea party with Gene after he and the boys played cops and robbers earlier, and he’s bored.. though nicely not because it’s a girly thing, but because the stuffed animals aren’t alive and she naively has him fix that. This leads to

Which sadly is jsut scrooge vs a duck toy but admit it, you want that movie for Disney Plus yesterday. Call Charles Band Disney. CALL CHARLES BAND!

Whelp Scrooge Still Sucks:

Scrooge takes for a turn for the obnoxious in the next part, but i’ts fine by me as it’s part of the plot. Naturally this reinactment of Cult of Chucky has lead to Scrooge finding out about the Genie. To his credit, Scrooge is tactical about his wishes. As said by the Duck himself “I could wish for a diamond, no the world’s biggest dimaond, no ten world’s biggest diamond, no a diamond mind, no the MINING INDUSTRY!”

The sheer power this gives him is TERRIFYING, both because of his status.. and because unlike the kids who all wished for simple kid stuff and used up their wishes quickly, he both gets how much he can do with this and could conquer the world economy if he truly wanted to.

The obnoxious part comes in as he treats Gene as not a person, figuring he’s just there and forces him into the lamp despite the kids protests after Gene grants his first wish: Collie Baba’s treasure. It also dosen’t feel like the wishing nor him using the lamp to get the tresure back goes against his hard work ethos: for the former while he is getting all this magically, he’s still having ot use his wits to get the most out of it, and he did earn the lamp itself square. For the latter, he already earned the treasure square too and had it stolen. He’s onlyg etting back what’s by all rights HIS. Granted he plans on giving most of it up for a tax break but still it’s his by right.

However the reason his assholery works is twofold: first it’s Scrooge. While he’s not a TERRIBLE person, in the comcis and this cartoon he isn’t a GOOD person either. He DOES have a good heart and will usually do the right thing, but his first instnct is always to get more money and to be a cantakerous old bastard to eveyrone and everything. While he’s subtly grew out of “I hate eveyrone and everyone hates me” as his guiding principal, it’s still his defualt reaction to most situations. But he first relents by letting Gene attend the party, part of why the Collie Baba thing stung so bad was that he’s told the historical society he’d get the treasure for years only to come back empty handed, if shrunken. But he still manages to have a good time while Asok and Merlock infiltrate.. well I’mRunningOutofINsultingNIcknamesCanYouTell steals the silverware. Yes... that.. that really happens.

Look we’re almost done, i’m almost free of this racist mummies curse. Let’s continue. Gene sees melock and freaks and drags SCrooge with him and while at First Scrooge is cranky...

No but now I want a Donkey Kong Country crossover too dammmit. And to talk about those games. Another thing for the list. But Scrooge is righ tot be a bit surly...

Okay now your just pushing it. As Gene whisked him away without telling him anything other than vauge worries... but then he gets a full idea of why Gene’s so terrified when Merlock shapeshifts into a bear and starts breaking the door down. Eh, could be worse.

Gene shrinks them to escape and Merlock leaves thinking they fled but leaves Skids Minus Mudflap to go look for them. Scrooge sneaks out but bumps into a cart running from the photo you see when you look up stereotype on google. I mean I assume.. let’s try it.

Huh you know I HOPED but I never expected...

So Google Proving My Point plans to give his lamp to the master because of his weird Torgo-Esque obession with helping a man who clearly wants to murder him but takes his sweet time doing so because plot, and Gene figuring this COULDN’T POSSIBLY go as bad as Melock getting him urges the dummy to keep him and make his own wishes.

This goes about as well as you’d expect....

Wiped Out With A Wish:

Scrooge returns home to find Watto has wished to take his poessions, fortune, everything and Scrooge gets thrown in jail for breaking into his own house. We get two great moments back to back. The first is Scrooge lamenting loosing his fortune in jail, and realizing the sheer power and risk of the lamp, especially since he worked hard to earn it, every bit of it.. and Sam Wilson’s 70′s Backstory came in and took it all in an instant.

The second is Scrooge’s family coming for him, including Launchpad , Beakly and Webby obviously and bailing him out. Though Beakly is UNGOLDLY annoying in this scene, sobbing hysterically and adding nothing and it’s not nearly as funny as the film thinks. Turns out Goliath getting buried wrapped in chains threw them out.

Scrooge takes a bit to rebound from all this.. but eventually realizes something: he knows the security of the bin inside and out. He had it put in after all. So it’d be easy enough to break in. So they gotta break in to break out the lamp, undo this nightmare, and END THIS MOVIE. Seriously this review has taken two days as is I do NOT want to miss my invincible review.

So they break into the bin, and it’s a tightly paced Scene, scrooge going in one way while the kids go the other and we even get a nice callback as the marbels come in handy to get past one of the traps. It’s just a good scene. it’s only real flaw is that Launchapd just sorta disappears as does Duckworth despite the fact their in a plane, and the bin later gets turned into a floating castle. Kinda a plot hole to not have Launchpad crash in to save htem just saying.

Scrooge eventually does get to Djonn, whose been ignoring the imminent threat of Merlock while Gene sweats it out... and this backfires horribly as Merlock hitched a ride as a roach (Though there was a hilarious scene of him getting fried constnatly by lasers when Louie went through a laser hallway, as while Louie had the directions, it dind’t take into account passengers on your head.

So Merlock remanifests in full gets the Lamp and unleashes his wrath on Tin Tin in the Congo and turns him into a wild pig.

Not you sweetie. He then forces Gene to turn the castle into a fortress and float it back to his home in parts unknown. It’s a DAMN cool scene with impressive and horrifiing animation as the bin melts and crumbles into thte castle and the kids barely make it up the stares as they shift and disolve. Really top notch stuff.

Scrooge stands up to Merlock... and this naturally goes poorlyw ith Gene begging Merlock not to respond.. and Merlock having him blow scrooge off the top of the forgtess storm eagle style, though scrooge understands. And this is the true reason why scrooge being a dick didn’t bother me so much. Because it helps create a great contrast between him and Merlock. Both thought of Gene as a tool rather than a person.. but Scrooge grew to realize he was wrong and what he was dealing with wasn’t some magical goodies creator.. but a child forced to constantly grant wishes, in sheer agony to do so no less, likely so sick of it because again and again and again people used him as a slave to get what they wanted and to hell with what Gene wanted. He realized he was terrible for making this poor boy into his slave simply because that’s his job. In contrast Merlock could give no shits and is a malevolent monster who glefully uses Gene despite the pain the wishes put him through and his protests. It’s why Gene is the best part.. he’s athroughly likeable, throughly inncoent character with tons of personality and a truly tragic and horrifying backstory and Rip Taylor acts the hell out of every scene with the guy.

Thankfully the marbles come in handy one last time and Huey, Dewey or Louie snipes the lamp away and a struggle for it insues between Scrooge and Merloc mid air. it’s fucking awesome.. and it get sbetter in how scroogewins. He simply gets rid of Merlock’s amulet, taking it then throwing it. Grante dhe COULD’EVE used it for unimited wishes.. but it was too risky to do that and as we’ll see in the ending , Scrooge realized the Lamp was too powerful to keep around for much longer and too much of a tempting target for his rogues.. not that we see them this movie as the crew wanted it to bea ccesaible and thus kept hte cast to the main cast from season 1 and just made new vilians and a new supporting character, but still.

He does use his second wish though to undue the damage Merlock had done and the bin and clan mcduck are returned to duckburg in good condition.

Time for our ending, which is genuinely and wholly touching. With the lamp too dangerous to use Scrooge considers just sending it to the earth’s core, which horrifies the kids as it’d mean Gene would be trapped there forever... if the molten lava iddn’t just outright destory the lamp and probably kill him. But Scrooge.. isn’t the bastard he likes to potray himself as. Instead he makes Gene into a real boy. He gives the poor kid HIS wish, which designrates the lamp and undoes all the spells... so Merlock is PROBABLY dead but he does return for some games so maybe not?

And so we end on two things: Gene happily playing cops and robbers with the boys finally free.. and Birth of A Nation grabbing all the loot he can in his patns and running off. Ha ha ha thank god i’m done with this prick. And no I will not be looking at his ducktales episodes unless I have to.

Final Thoughts:

This movie is OKAY. It has a solid plot, gene is a wonderful chacter, the animatoin is pretty prettay pretty good, and the voice acting as usual is excellent, with Rip Taylor being the standout.

But as my paragraphs of rage shoud’ve made Clear Djonn is just BAD. Easily the worst character i’ve encountered in my year of reviewing and some of the worst writing i’ve ran into. And that writing includes a goblin man voyerstically forcing two teenagers to make out, making jokes about santa renaming himself Clem the sceneafter he tearfully confessed to letting the elves and ms. claus die, accidental transphobia via the u-men, and Bryan Lee O malley thinking we needed more than one volume of Julie Powers being around. This was disgusting, even by 1990 standards and especially by 2021 standards and it drags the film down considerably. Without it the film is okay.. with it the film is just VERY hard to watch any time he pops up. He made getting through the movie a nightmare and while I pause a lot becaue it’s a bad habbit I did so more simply because as I said earlier in the review I could not stand him.

It makes it a hard film to recommend. If you can stomach the racisim, then it might be worth it, but be aware of what your putting up with going in. But if you can’t.. there’s no shame in that, it’s carbombya levels of bad. Which yes was a real fictoinal country. It was so bad Casey Casem quit transformers over it. True story. So yeah, it’s an okay film, on par with the series at it’s best for the most part.. but Djonn just spoils it for me.

If you liked this review, like it, share it around that sort of thing and if you want MORE disney movie reviews, in addiiton to the goofy movie one later this month, if you help me hit my 25 dollar stretch goal on patroen.com/popculturebuffet, i’ll do reviews of the Recess, Proud Family and Kim Possible MOvies (Well so the drama anyway), so help me out would you and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

#ducktales #ducktales treasure of the lost lamp #ducktales 87 #scrooge mcduck #rip taylor #christopher lloyd #launchpad mcquack #webby vanderquack #huey duck #louie duck #dewey duck #duckworth #bentina beakley #merlock #djon #faris djinn #movies #disney plus #disney

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magicrowiswritingstuff · 4 years

Text

“Not so good News” - Gabriel x pregnant!reader (2/3)

Part 1 | Part 2 (you’re here) | Part 3

Summary: Part 2 of "Not so good News"! Read the first part HERE. After you had received the news of your pregnancy you feel rather conflicted. On one hand you want this child to live but on the other hand this also means you will die giving birth. Your only option is to enjoy the time you have left with the people you love, forcing your dark thoughts to the back of your head. (F/N) means friend’s name.

Warning: dark thoughts/themes, suggestive themes, heavy angst, swear words, death

Category: angst and fluff, even more angst

Words: about 10.000

Note 1: So it’s finally done… however, because the sequel got so long I decided to split this series into three parts. So this is the second and the last one will be up next weekend (hopefully). Note 2: Also… I finished season 13 (SPOILERS! ahead). Sooo, I guess he’s alive… or at least was. I normally try to avoid spoilers of any kind but after the last episode of season 13 I had to look if he pranked us yet again so I looked up if he would return in any future episodes. NO. Okay, I guess. Doesn’t bother me, not at all. Naaaahh. I’m juts gonna go and … cry in my room now… so yeah. Enjoy my piece of writing.

_________________________________

"Not so good News" Gabriel x pregnant!reader

Pregnancy Week 4: "You really shouldn't do so much physical labor, sugar" Gabriel commented as he leaned against the side of your car with his arms crossed before his chest. You only huffed, rolled your eyes and continued getting rid of all the blood on the driver's seat of your car. Of course it wasn't easy work, it was hard even because the blood stains were already a day old and dry. But it was your blood and your car and you wanted to clean it. You wanted to do something after receiving the ... news. You needed to occupy your mind. Groaning you grabbed the dishwashing detergent-water mixture and dipped the sponge in it rather aggressively. Muttering under your breath you got back to work. All of this pissed you off. The blood stains, your condition ...this pregnancy. This wasn't how you imagined your life to go or end even. You knew the life of a hunter was dangerous but you always thought that if you wouldn't grow old you would be killed on a hunt ... not after being trapped in the bunker for nine months. This just didn't seem real, it wasn't fair. You scrubbed the car seat over and over again even though the blood was long gone on this spot. This wasn't fair. "(Y/N)." "What?!" you snapped and turned around to face the archangel, steaming with fury and anger. But the moment you met his worried eyes the rage inside of you vanished and was replaced by guilt. By guilt and by anger directed at yourself. Your mood swings were ... you were hurting others again. The sponge fell from your hands and to the ground just like you did too. With your face buried in your hands you sank down, leaning against the car and sobbed. Tears were streaming down your face as sharp cries tore through your throat. This was too much, it was all too much. You didn't want this, not like that. You didn't want to hurt him just because you had no idea what you were supposed to do with your anger. This wasn't fair to him. This wasn’t fair. You felt him beside you, hugging you but you couldn't react. You were horrible. You weren’t fair to him. "Baby ... honey, please. It's alright, you're alright" he whispered into your ear as he pulled you on his lap. Immediately you buried your face into his chest, clawed at his shirt and pressed yourself against him. No. This was all wrong. Wasn't it supposed to be magical? Wasn't it supposed to be great news?! You should cry tears of joy not sadness and anger. This was all wrong. "No" you hiccupped and shook your head. "I'm not alright." You would die. Your days were numbered and you would only live to count them every day. This is not fair. Gabriel grabbed your shoulders and carefully pushed you away so he could look at your face. Whipping away your tears you looked to your side, unable to meet his eyes. But he cupped your cheeks lovingly and directed your gaze back at him. He searched your face for something, a hint. He seemed so worried. It broke your heart. You bit back another sob. "What do you mean?" he asked and pushed back a hair strand that had fallen in your face. "I know this won't end well" you admitted. "I know I will die." The eyes of the archangel widen in shook. Didn't he know? Was he surprised at the news? Maybe it wasn't true? Maybe you wouldn't have to die?

"How do you know this?" You gulped, all the hope you had dared to feel vanished in an instance as you pried off his hands from your face. Slipping off of his lap you curled up with your knees pressed against your chest. "I researched everything about angels, I questioned Cas about everything even before I met you" you said and looked up again, locked eyes with him again. His honey-colored orbs were filled with worry, he was looking at you like this ever since he had found you in your car, almost bleeding to death. You hurt him. Him seeing you so beaten had hurt him. Grabbing his hand you squeezed it out of instinct. "I always knew about the risks of sleeping with you, of unwantedly getting pregnant" you started. "I just never thought it would happen." Immediately you were trapped in another tight hug.

"I'm sorry."

"No!" you yelped and wrapped your arms tightly around him, too. "Don't be sorry! It's not your fault. Sometimes just shit happens." You pressed yourself against him, hugged him so tightly like a baby koala its mother. This wasn't his fault. It wasn't yours either. It was just bad luck, unfortunate, maybe not fair but you would have to live with it. And you wouldn't let that child feel the consequences of this unlucky situation. This child would live and be happy … without you.

____________________

Pregnancy Week 5: Whenever someone would ask you how you were, how you felt you always lied. You always answered with "fine" like it was expected of you. But if you were to be honest you would said you were unhappy, sad, discouraged and miserable even. You felt awful. And your pregnancy symptoms didn't help that either. When you were alone, when you would retreat into your room, your safe zone, you could never hold back the tears. Gabriel wasn't in your room that often since he was an archangel and didn't really need to sleep. He still lied beside you at night and hold you but you would cry more during the day and then pass out at night in his arms. So you lied on your bed all day and just cried until you had no tears left. No one seemed to notice the red in your eyes or the rings under them, the tiredness in every muscle or the emptiness in your facial expressions. Or if they did they didn't dare to address it.

You felt nauseous almost all day, too. You smelled Dean's unholy food and you were ready to throw up again. You smelled your half cup of coffee and you were ready to throw up again. But you needed that coffee. You had reduced it but without it you were unable to wake up. Not that you were very active anyway but it helped a little. You felt ill, like an empty shell of your former self.

"(Y/N)?"

You slowly rolled over so you could look at the door to your room. The worried, honey eyes of Gabriel met your tired ones. Hastily you wiped away the last tears still clinging to your skin and sat up, your blanket still tightly wrapped around you.

"What's up?" you asked, trying to sound happy and energetic even if it made you cringe internally.

"You don't have to pretend" he said and walked towards the bed. You didn't even try to come up with a lie or continue with the act and just flopped back down on the mattress, while pulling the blanket over your head, hiding your teary face from him. You felt the bed dip beside you.

"(Y/N). Please talk to me, sugar" he begged as you felt his hand on your shoulder. Slowly he pushed the blanket from your face, revealing fresh tears that had escaped from your eyes as you helplessly looked at him. A bagging glance, bagging for him to do something you didn’t even know about. Bagging for help of any sort.

"I can't, Gabe" you hiccupped. "I don't know- what am I supposed to tell you? That I'm a mess? That I can't handle this? That I don't even have enough energy to leave the bed at all?" Pressing the palms of your hands against your eyes you forcefully tried to bite back your sobs.

"What do you want to hear, Gabe?" you cried and rolled over so you wouldn't have to face the archangel no more. But before you knew it you felt his arms wrapped around you as he pressed your back against him. The warmth radiating from him soothed you instantly so your sobs were slowly reduced to the occasional hiccup.

"Just tell me that you're hurting. Tell me that you aren't fine. Tell me how I can help you" Gabriel said, pressing his face in your hair. With a sigh you turned around to face him again, not bothering to wipe away the tears this time.

"I don't know, Gabriel" you began. "I don't even know what I can do."

"There has to be something that can help you, even if it's just for a little while."

You closed your eyes and buried your face in his neck. "Just hold me for now."

The next time you opened your eyes the room was dark and the bed cold. At first you just stayed put, with your eyes open and darting around. You wouldn't fall asleep for a while you knew so much. So you sat up, rubbed your eyes and looked around but Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. With a silent groan you wrapped your blanket around you and stood up. Opening the door you listened for any sounds but the bunker stayed silent. Nevertheless you decided to sneak until you had reached the library which was also abandoned and dark. Sitting down on a chair you turned on one of the lamps on the desk and grabbed your laptop. You had this idea in your head for some days now but still you hesitated for a second before eventually pressing the record button. Your empty eyes blinked at you and for a while you just stared right back.

"Hey, baby" you finally said with the tiniest smile on your lips. Pushing back some of your hair you fumbled with your next words. "You probably don't know who I am" you glanced to your side before directing your eyes back to the screen.

"I'm your mother."

You stayed silent for a solid minute after that, just blinking at your reflection.

"I wished I knew what you look like" you began without thinking. "I bet you have Gabe's warm eyes." Shaking your head you put your face into your hands. "What am I doing?" you whispered.

Looking up again you forced a smile on your lips even though you felt your eyes water.

"I love you, baby." You stopped the recording after that and closed your laptop. Hugging your knees against your chest you stared at the desk in front of you.

You heard his steps approach you before you heard his voice.

"(Y/N)?"

Slowly turning around you spotted Sam in the doorway. "Are you alright?"

You considered to lie, to tell him that you were fine and just couldn't sleep anymore. But instead you shook your head. "No-o" you croaked out and stretched out your arms towards him. Sam scooped you up into his arms, hugging you tightly. You couldn't pretend any longer.

____________________

Pregnancy Week 6: Your mood was slowly improving ever since you had decided to stop lying about your feelings. Sometimes you still felt overwhelmed and down however you tried to change that. You didn't have much time and that was a fact so you should enjoy your last months as far as possible. However, this didn't mean you would magically forget every dark and worrying thought.

Your mood swings were slowly decreasing but you still felt nauseous or dizzy from time to time and by now your stomach also felt a little hard and if you squinted you imagined you had already gained a little volume. That didn't really bother you though since it was to be expected. But what annoyed you was that your breasts had begun to hurtfully span. It was an unpleasant continuous ache that drove you nuts. Why did nobody warn you about this? You groaned as you lied in bed and pressed them down a little, trying to release some of the pain.

"If you want to be touched you just have to say so."

Startled you jumped a little as you looked at Gabriel entering your room, a sly grin on his lips as he slowly approached you. You snorted and slapped his hands away when he sat down beside you.

"That's not it, you featherbrain. They just hurt like hell" you explained and crossed your arms before your chest. The archangel huffed with a sulky expression before his grin returned. Before you could react he was already leaning over you, pinning you to the bed.

"I can help you with pain relief, too."

Snorting you decided to play along.

"Oh and how would you do that, Doctor Gabe?" His grin only grew at your response.

"At first I would ask you were exactly you are hurting" he said while snuggling his face into your neck, leaving behind feather-light kisses. You giggled and pressed your hands against his chest, lifting him from you.

"I can tell you: It's definitely not there."

The archangel hummed and nodded. "Maybe there then?" He began to kiss up your neck to your ear, making you giggle even more. "Sto-op, that tickles. An-and you have to go lower anyway."

"Lower, you say?" he asked and looked down at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. You nodded with your face growing hot.

"For now, I need you right there." You wrapped your arms around his neck and brought him down to meet your lips. It neither was a demanding kiss nor really a kiss that had to lead to more but it still was a heated one, a passionate one. You realized that since you had got the news about your pregnancy you hadn't kissed him. You subconscious had begun to avoid physical affection apart from the occasional hug. Immediately you felt tears spring into your eyes and a soft sob left your lips which led Gabriel to interrupt the kiss. Worried he glanced down at you and cupped your cheeks.

"What's wrong? Did I overdo it? Do you need something?" he sounded paranoid. With tears still streaming down your face you shook your head while laughing.

"No, it's just those stupid pregnancy hormones" you said between sobs and giggles. A relieved sigh left Gabriel's lips as he wiped away your tears.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry" you laughed, covering your mouth with your hands. "But I can't control it."

The archangel shook his head before lying down beside you. With a small smile he heaved you onto his chest, drawing small circles on your back while you tried to calm down again.

"Sorry for destroying the mood" you whispered after a while.

"We can always pick back up where we left off" Gabriel suggested and wiggled his eyebrows. You let out a small laugh again and slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Maybe later."

Gabriel shrugged as far as possible while lying on the bed. After that no one spoke up again and as you slowly drifted off you realized that you hadn't felt so relaxed in weeks.

____________________

Pregnancy week 7: "What?!" Your angry voice echoed through the bunker as you slammed your hands down on the table in front of you. With twitchy eyes you stared at the four men who were set to go on another hunt. Nothing unusual, nothing to be angry about however the news they just gave you were a completely different story.

"I'm not staying in the bunker while you go out hunting!" you declared and crossed your arms before your chest, furiously glaring at them.

"It's too risky" Sam began.

"We won't have a discussion about this" Dean continued while Castiel only nodded, not daring to also speak up with your heated temper. Your eyes narrowed as they wandered towards Gabriel. Raising one eyebrow you waited for his response.

"(Y/N), they're right."

Your mouth fell open. You at least had expected for him to have your back.

"I'm pregnant, not useless!" you finally spat back.

"It's not about being useless!" the archangel raged back, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's about keeping you and the baby safe. Can't you see that?"

The sudden energy you had felt because of the anger suddenly vanished and you slumped back onto the chair. You looked away to the side with your arms still crossed before you, searching for the right words.

"I understand that" you began with your voice flat, still not looking at anyone. The bunker was the safest place on earth and since every other angel wanted you dead you knew you shouldn't leave. "But I can't stay here for the rest of my life."

You only had about eight months left and you wouldn't spend them locked away where it was 'safer' for you. You wanted to live as long as you were still able to.

"For the rest of your life?" Dean asked baffled and when you turned around to look at them you also saw Sam's confused look. You only had to share one glance with Gabriel and Castiel to understand that the Winchesters didn't know it yet. You gulped and directed your gaze back at the two brothers.

"I'm dying."

Maybe you should have found better words for it but there was no use in sugarcoating it anyway. Immediately after those words had left your mouth you saw utter horror fill the eyes of Sam and Dean.

"You what?!" the older brother yelped while Sam stayed quiet. You could see the battle in his mind though. Nodding you sighed and let your arms dangle down. Out of instinct they found their place on your stomach which had grown a little over the week.

"If a human gets pregnant with an angel's child... they die while giving birth to the Nephilim" you explained with your gaze stubbornly directed to the ground. Biting your lip you clenched your eyes shut.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!'

you silently begged.

"Since when did you know?" You looked up again to meet Sam's sad and terrified eyes. You slumped back down and shrugged.

"Pretty much since... ever? Castiel told me a lot about heaven and angels early on" you explained. Dean glanced at Castiel for clarification.

"It's true, Dean" the angel sadly confirmed. The older brother's eyes wandered back to you and then to Gabriel. Even from your seat you could almost feel the furious heat in Dean's eyes.

"You knew it too, didn't you?" he asked the archangel who opened his mouth to answer but Dean wasn't finished yet. "You knew she would die if she ever got pregnant and you still decided to have sex with her?!"

You flinched by Dean's sharp tone and then immediately jumped up from your seat to run around the table and stand between the archangel and the angry Winchester with your arms stretched out to uphold some distance.

"Stop" you ordered with your gaze fixed on Dean. Taken a back he took one step back. "I knew about it too, Dean and I made the conscious decision to have sex anyway. If you want to blame him” you turned around to face him fully and put your hands over each other on your chest, pointing at yourself. “Then you have to blame me, too."

Sam put one hand on Dean's shoulder who shook his head in disappointment. "You're both fucking stupid." He freed himself from Sam and walked out of the library without another word. Defeated you let your arms fall down to your sides.

Sam, Dean and Cas left the bunker the next day, leaving you and Gabriel behind even though they would have been grateful for the archangels help but Dean couldn't look either of you in the eyes. Sam and Cas at least had said good bye even though you knew that Sam felt betrayed, too.

You sat on the sofa in the library, again with your blanket wrapped around you and a bucket on your lap. You had woken up with severe morning sickness and even though you doubted you could really throw up -only dry heaves tore through your throat from time to time- you didn't dare to go anywhere without the bucket today. You were just too exhausted to clean it up later if something should happen.

"Are you feeling alright?"

You turned your head around to look at Gabriel leaning against the back of the coach. You shook your head and let yourself fall back against the cushions. "No, I hate this. I need hugs."

Demandingly you stretched out your arms without another word. Gabriel chuckled and walked around the couch. He put the bucket on the floor beside the sofa and lied down. You flopped down onto him and wrapped your arms around him.

"You got pretty clingy since you're pregnant" the archangel stated.

"Shut up, it's the hormones."

You felt his laughter vibrate against your chest as he began to play with your hair. You didn't tell him that you feared your end and the future of your child. A future you wouldn't be a part of. This was never how you imagined it to go when you were little. You had dreamed of the perfect little family like everyone else. You had never imagined to end up with an archangel either so ... maybe you were doomed from the very beginning. You knew you would die so you wanted to spend as much time as you could with Gabe, Cas, Sam and Dean when you couldn’t spend time with your child. Sighing you closed your eyes. You hoped Dean wouldn't stay mad at you for long.

You slightly sat up, holding your upper body upright with your arms which were placed to either side of Gabriel so you could look him in the eyes. He raised one eyebrow at you in question and for a few moments you just stared right back at him until you felt your cheeks growing hot under his gaze.

"I love you" you mumbled with a faint smile on your lips which he immediately returned.

"I love you too, sweetcheeks."

____________________

Pregnancy week 8: You sat before your laptop again, staring at you through the screen. With a huff you pressed record before you could retreat again.

"Hello, baby" you started with a tired smile. The night before you hadn't slept well and in the morning you always felt rather sick nowadays. Nevertheless you didn't want to delay it again.

"I would love to know what you did today. Tell me if Dean didn't want to teach you how to fight and I will haunt him." You chuckled. Even though you wouldn't be there for your child you kind of guessed they would want to be a hunter. How could you not want to if you knew about everything that was lurking outside? Especially when you were living with the Winchesters on top of that. And you also knew that Dean probably would strive against teaching them at first. You shook your head and continued to talk to the screen for a few minutes more. You didn't even really know about what. What were you supposed to tell them? You would never get to know them. You would never know what they liked.

"Mom loves you, baby" you finished before your eyes could get teary again, waved into the camera before stopping the recording.

With a sigh you stood up and left your room. You had to find Dean and at best with Sam. They had returned from the hunt a few days ago in which Dean hadn't talked to you at all. Sam did talk to you after your reveal however you noticed that he too grew a little distant. You walked through the many corridors of the bunker and finally found the two brothers in the kitchen, sitting on the table. You froze in the doorway when Dean's eyes met yours before he quickly looked away again. He was still angry. Sam kept looking at you and even threw you a little smile though you could tell it was rather forced.

"Hey, Sam" you said quietly, sat down beside him and directed your gaze to the older brother. "Hey, Dean."

He didn't respond and kept staring at something over your shoulder.

"Dean, please" you began. "Please stop ignoring me." You felt tears swelling in your eyes and a sob tearing through your throat. "I don't want to die knowing you hate me."

Dean stood up so sudden that you flinched. Looking up you met his furious stare. "I don't hate you" he said. "But I can't believe you were so stupid. Are so stupid!"

"Dean" Sam warned with a serious glare.

"You knew you could get pregnant and die. And still!" he didn't finish his thoughts but he didn't have to.

"I knew the risks" you defended yourself and wrapped your arms around you in a protective manner.

"But we didn't! Maybe you had prepared yourself for this case but Sam and I..." Dean faltered. "We just now have to come to terms with the fact that we will lose you soon."

You bit your lip and turned away. Squeezing your eyes shut you tried to force back the tears but you were unsuccessful. Sobbing violently you buried your face in your hands.

"I'm afraid, Dean. I don't want to die" you confessed.

"But I especially don't want to leave this world when you two are still mad at me. This child" you put one hand on your stomach. "My child will need you two when I can't be there."

Suddenly you felt two arms wrapped around you and at first you thought they were Sam's but when you looked up slightly you saw that it was Dean hugging you. He mumbled something you weren't able to hear properly, so you just returned the hug, clinging onto him.

"You're so stupid" Dean now properly said but not in an accusing manner. You laughed shallow, whipping away your tears.

"Thanks."

____________________

Pregnancy week 12: You looked at yourself in the mirror with your hands placed on your stomach which already had a small but still quite obvious bump. The baby should have the size of a plum now however you already gained about two pounds of weight. Slowly you stroke over your bump. You weren't able to feel any movement yet but somehow you couldn't stop hugging your unborn child. Maybe because this was the closest you would ever be with them.

You looked up from your reflection to see Gabriel leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed before his chest. You turned your head to meet his gaze and raised one eyebrow in question. "What's up?"

He only shook his head with a smile and walked towards you, wrapping his arms around your middle to rest his hands on the small bump. With a smile you leaned against him and placed your hands on top of yours.

"Nothing, sugar" the archangel whispered in your ear before leaving a feather-light kiss on your neck. You giggled and placed you head on his shoulder so you were able to glance at him from the corner of your eye. He continued to caress the soft, sensible skin while slowly stroking over your belly. You closed your eyes and just enjoy the contact, making quiet humming noises until his hands slowly wandered lower with yours still on top of his hands. Your eyes shot open to meet Gabriel's mischievous ones. He had put his head right beside yours.

"What are you doing?" you asked and wrapped your arms around his neck.

"Enjoying some alone time with my beautiful girl" he answered with a smirk. His hands had found their place on the inner side of your thighs. You couldn't hold back the snort.

"I'm pregnant" you stated. "I have pregnancy acne, raging hormones, morning sickness and I constantly have to urinate!"

"Still beautiful."

You turned around in his arms with one raised eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

The archangel straightened up, looking down at you with warm, sparkling eyes.

"I'm always serious, (Y/N)."

"Biggest lie of the century" you stated bluntly. With your hands against his chest you pressed him a few inches away from you so you could look properly at his face. His eyes never seemed warmer when they traveled over the features of your face. Slowly he wrapped his arms around your middle, sneaking around to the small of your back, tipping you off balance. With little choice given you clung to his chest to safe yourself from falling. You blinked at him expectantly with your fingers curled into his shirt. His mouth hovered only a few inches over yours as the corners of his eyes crinkled up in a smile. He let his eyes wander for a little more until they stopped at your lips. You felt his breath hot on them. Everything you had been worrying about was long forgotten. In this exact moment there were only you and Gabriel, no greater threat, no angels who wanted to kill you, no set date for your untimely end, nothing to worry about. Just you and the archangel you loved. You felt Gabe's arms tightening around you, pressing you even further into him so your feet were uselessly dangling over the floor, only the tips of your toes touching the ground without giving any real support at all. You had never yearned for him, for his touch so strongly before.

His lips brushed over yours in a teasing manner before he quickly pulled away, out of reach even as you moved your head towards him. Groaning quietly to vent out your frustration and annoyance you also furrowed your brows at him.

"Patience, sugar" he breathed with half-lidded eyes. You growled annoyed and shot him a furious glare which only earned you a chuckle from the archangel. One of his hands slowly wandered from your back to one of your legs, slightly lifting it and pushing it against his side. Another groan left your lips as you tried to pull him down to you.

"Hmm, someone's eager" he smirked.

"Oh, shut up already and kiss me!" you demanded while unsuccessfully pressing yourself further into him. It only took him a fraction of a second to close the almost not existing gap between you two. Sighing you let your body relax, you melted into his touch as his lips moved over yours. The kiss didn't start slow, oh no. A kiss with Gabriel always felt hot and needy and this time it also demanded more. You tasted the faintest hint of chocolate still lingering on his lips, sending your senses spiraling out of control. Opening your mouth with a low moan you felt your one leg giving away under you. Not that it was very helpful in keeping you upright anyway. Still rather startled you tightened your grip on Gabriel's shirt, deepening the kiss in the process. Your body felt like it was on fire.

And then the next thing you knew was that you were lying on your bed with Gabriel's body pinning you down into the cushions, his lips never leaving yours. He directed your leg that he still held against him to his waist. Immediately you wrapped it around him, pressing him down to you with another moan.

Your lips parted, allowing you to finally take in some air again. Gabriel pulled back a bit to look down at you with lustful eyes so full of love as his other hand slowly moved over your stomach, caressing the small bump. Then his lips met your neck, gliding over the skin until he had found your weak spot. You closed your eyes and bit your bottom lip but the mix of a moan and a sigh still escaped your mouth as you curled your fingers at his nape. Squirming under him you tried to suppress all the sounds spilling over your lips. Emphasis on tried because you failed miserably.

"Gabe" you panted, clinging onto him as if he was the last piece of wood to save you from drowning. You were in a complete daze, not witnessing anything that could have happened around you, the only thing you noticed was Gabriel and his touches. He let go of your neck, definitely leaving a hickey behind but you didn't care. You would just have to remember to leave one on his neck too. Opening your eyes again you stared at him, your chest raising and falling as you gasped for air. You still felt his hand softly moving over your stomach while your grip around his nape slowly loosened. Gabriel smirked, definitely pleased with his result. Suddenly very self-conscious, you already felt your cheeks getting hot, you looked away. But Gabriel wouldn't let that happen, not on his watch. Cupping your cheek with one hand -the other one had settle on your waist- he directed your gaze back to him as he leaned in closer.

"I love you, (Y/N)" he whispered before capturing your lips in another kiss.

You could only moan into the kiss in response as you continued to enjoy his touches which grew more heated and daring. Not that they had ever been modest to begin with.

Gabriel definitely showed you how beautiful you were to him.

____________________

Pregnancy week 16: You had gained four more pounds, six in total now. The bump was even more noticeable. In fact it grew so much, that you found anything other than leggings unbearable to wear. So that is what you did: Wearing comfortable leggings while wrapped in a blanket on the sofa in the library with a cup of tea in your hands. Since you weren't able to drink much coffee nowadays but still wanted something warm to drink you switched to tea.

You directed the cup to your face when you felt the sofa dip and two arms wrapped themselves around you. With a squeak you tried not to spill anything on yourself and then turned towards the person next to you with sullen looks.

"Gabriel" you warned but he didn't react. Instead he grabbed the cup out of your hands to put it down on the table in front of him.

"What are we both doing today, sugar?" he asked with a wide grin.

"I was just enjoying my tea befo- huh!" you began before you were suddenly pinned underneath the archangel, his face dangerously close to yours. But from so near you saw the worry and sadness in his eyes. Perplexed you blinked at him. "Gabe? Are you alright?"

He shook his head before burying his face in your neck. "Everything is well, (Y/N). You don't have to worry about me."

In that moment it hit you. He is still...

"But you're still worrying about me, aren't you?"

At first the archangel on top of you didn't move. But then you heard him sigh before he finally sat up.

"(Y/N) ... How can I not?"

You huffed and tried to sit up to but since Gabriel had his legs still to either side of you, you weren't really able to straighten up properly.

"Gabriel ... Gabe, listen. I know all this isn't" you paused and shoved him of you so you could sit in front of him and face him properly. "ideal. But I stopped worrying so you should, too."

You hoped he would buy your lie so you immediately continued. You didn't want to think about all this now. You had enough weeks to come to worry about it.

"There are far more fun things to do today anyway."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose as he eyed you expectantly with a wide grin. He leaned forward but was stopped by your hands pressed against his chest.

"Not that kind of fun, Gabe!" you laughed but got pressed into the cushions anyway. Your face got peppered with kisses while you giggled profusely. "Gabriel, sto-" you started but got silenced by his lips on top of yours. You hummed into the kiss, any resistance was immediately forgotten as you melted in his arms. Your arms wrapped themselves around Gabe's neck almost automatically while he held himself upright with one arm and caressed your side with the other.

"Guys, really? Don't you have a room?"

You flinched, knocking heads with Gabriel when you tried to sit up. Groaning you let yourself fall back down. However, the archangel straightened up to face the older Winchester who had just entered the room.

"Come on, I know you enjoy a good show, Dean."

You gasped in shock and pushed Gabriel off of you with your foot. "Gabe!" you yelped and threw a pillow in his face when you saw the pleased grin on his face. Sitting up you looked apologetically at Dean who had one eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, Dean. I was actually waiting for someone to arrive at the bunker before featherbrains distracted me" you explained. "Do you know if they arrived yet?"

"Who?" Gabriel asked, looking up at you since he was still lying on the sofa. You pushed another pillow in his face to silence him and turned around to look at your phone that was lying on the table next to your half empty cup of tea.

"I think a car parked in front of the bunker... I actually wanted to ask you if one of you knew who it was" Dean said.

You jumped up, ran your fingers through your hair to clean it up a little and jogged up the staircase to the entrance door without answering Dean. When you opened the door you saw them in front of you, one hand raised and about to knock at the door.

"(F/N)!" you said excited and hugged them immediately.

"Hey, (Y/N)" they responded with an equally tight hug.

"Thanks, for coming by. I'm unable to leave this place because of safety reasons" you explained after letting go of them and leading them inside.

"No problem, I have everything we need" they said and pointed to the suitcase in their hand. Nodding you walked back down to meet the very confused faces of Dean and Gabe.

"Hey, I'm (F/N)" your friend introduced themselves. "I was (Y/N)'s former partner for hunts.”

“Before she decided to pursue her dreams of being active in the medical field” you added and bumped playfully into her side.

The two men nodded.

"So, what are you doing here?" Dean asked.

You placed your hands on the noticeable bump: "For check-ups. Also, if the baby is lying right we can detect which gender they have."

Gabriel immediately beamed with excitement as he jumped up from the sofa, following you and your friend to your room.

After about twenty minutes your friend had set everything up and you were lying expectantly in your bed with Gabe sitting beside you.

"What do you think it will be?" he asked. You grinned at him.

"I don't know, but they will challenge you nevertheless." He huffed.

"I'm great with children."

"Since when? Have you even seen one?" you laughed which only earned you a slight nudge against your shoulder.

"Are you two ready?" (F/N) asked with a smile. You nodded but flinched as they covered your bare stomach with the cold substance. Looking at the monitor you tried to make out any shapes.

"Look, there is the head" your friend said and traced it with their finger. That was the moment you saw your baby for the first time. Blindly you searched for Gabriel's hand as tears sprang into your eyes. The archangel squeezed your hand reassuringly.

"Can you see what it is?" he asked.

Your friend hummed and moved the scanner around a bit.

"Yup!"

You squeezed Gabriel's hand even more. Your heart beat frantically.

"It's a girl."

You couldn't hold back the sob and immediately turned to Gabriel for a hug.

"We have to come up with a name soon, sugar" he whispered in your ear while drawing circles on your back until you had calmed down again. Damn, you were a wreck today ... any day.

Let's just say: agreeing to one name was a hassle.

Whenever you found a name you liked Gabriel would have some kind of personal conflict with the name.

"What about ... Nidia? This one sounds cute" you said and looked up from your phone to meet Gabriel's eyes. He sat on the other side of the sofa also looking onto his phone.

"I once knew a Nidia. She was very flex-hey!" Gabriel blinked perplexed at you and then at the pillow that you had thrown at him and was now lying in his lap.

"I once told you that I don't care about all your past affairs" you began with a huff. "But are you kidding me? Every name I suggest? Really?!"

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "No one can resist my charm, sug-" he got cut off again by another pillow to his face. He threw you a sulky look.

"Is there one name you haven't moaned?" you asked bluntly and crossed your arms before your chest. He shrugged his shoulders again with a grin which earned him his third pillow.

____________________

Pregnancy week 17: Everything seemed to slowly settle itself in. Your pregnancy acne was gone, your belly was growing profusely and you were motivated to continue the recordings for your baby girl. You had made one every single day for the past week, talking about your life, the pregnancy, your wishes for your baby.

You were also motivated to find a name that had no previous history for Gabriel. Let's just say ... you would have more options if the baby was a boy.

The only thing that calmed your nerves when you had to cross out another name was food. Something you craved right now was hot Cheetos dipped into yogurt. Normally disgusting but at the moment the best thing you could eat. These pregnancy cravings were weird.

However, currently you were lying in bed scrolling through your phone for names again. The archangel was next to you, pressing you against his chest as he looked over your shoulder. You opened your moth to speak but before you could you were interrupted.

"Before you say anything: I knew a Rayna, too."

You turned towards him with a scowl. Pushing him off of you, you rolled over so he could no longer look at the screen. "You are getting on my nerves, Gabriel."

"Sorry, sugar. But-" he started but you snapped.

"When you say something about your charm again I will beat you up with a pillow."

It stayed silent after that for a while but not distant. Gabriel's hand found your stomach almost immediately. You sighed and nuzzled into him.

"Is there no name that comes to your mind?" you asked defeated, looking up from your phone. Gabriel's warm eyes looked apologetically at you as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, sweetcheeks. The only name on my mind right now is yours" he said and winked at you.

You snorted and slid over to let yourself be wrapped in Gabe's arms. Inhaling his scent you let yourself be lulled into his warmth.

"You are such a smooth talker" you huffed.

"But it works every time" he smirked. You shook your head and punched him lightly in the chest.

"You never shut your mouth, too."

"You know" the archangel began. "I could say the same thing about you."

Perplexed you pressed yourself away from him to look at his face again.

"What?" Gabriel chuckled.

"You recently began to snore while sleeping." Your eyes widen and your cheeks grew hot as you stared at him. Stammering something uncoherent before you shook your head to clear your thoughts.

"I do not!"

Gabriel laughed and hugged you tightly against him again. "Yes, you do."

"I refuse to believe that” you mumbled into his chest before freeing yourself from his hug, still very embarrassed. The archangel shrugged and lied back onto his back. With a sigh you grabbed your phone again and mindlessly scrolled down for a while before randomly stopping. You read all the names listed on that part until you found yourself stuck on one. You sat up, pushing your hair behind your ear.

"What do you think about Liora? I really like its meaning: 'My Light'."

Gabriel thought about it for a moment but you didn't see recognition on his face. Did you do it? Did you find a name he didn't have a connection to? Then he shook his head. "I don't recall knowing anyone with that name. Liora ... yes, that sounds beautiful." You were more than relieved as you slumped back into the pillows.

____________________

Pregnancy week 18: It was all a hoax. Nothing was better. You felt miserable. You were unable to sleep properly again like before you knew about the pregnancy. Your mind just couldn't find rest. Your thoughts were racing every time at night when everything got quiet.

On top of that did the sides of your belly hurt like hell. You had asked your friend about it and they said that it was probably because of your womb expanding. So now you were unable to sleep because of mental and physical stuff. And being pregnant with no sleep meant you were cranky all the time. And when you were cranky you got headaches. And when you had headaches you couldn't fall asleep. It was a vicious cycle.

What you needed right now was your archangel boyfriend. However, that wasn't possible since he was on a hunt with Sam and Dean. Castiel was still in the bunker with you but he would be joining them shortly. He stayed behind to help you with the last parts of research before he would teleport to the location. He was browsing through several books he had displayed on the table while you were leaning over one single book. You were sitting on the opposite side of the table, rereading the last paragraph for the fifth time now and slowly you lost your patience with yourself. Growling you pressed the palms of your hands against your eyes, trying to sooth the throbbing headache that was pounding against your skull.

"Is everything alright?" asked a voice and suddenly you felt a hand on your shoulder. Flinching you turned around to look at Castiel. With a sigh you waved him off and looked back down at the book.

"Yes, everything is just peachy."

"I can heal you symptoms if you want?" Castiel continued. You glanced back at him from over your shoulder.

"You can do that?"

The angel nodded. "But it won't last forever since I can't remove the source of your pain."

"Doesn't matter, I just want to have a few minutes without any pain" you explained, turning around in the chair eagerly to fully look at him.

"Can I?" he asked, his hand hovering over your stomach. You looked down at the ever growing bump and nodded. "Of course."

The moment Castiel had placed his hand over it you felt a warmth run through your entire body. A sigh left your lips. And when Cas withdrew his hand you couldn’t believe that you felt nothing other than good. "Thank you, Cas" you said with a smile, stood up and hugged the angel. Rather stiffly he returned it. "Your welcome, (Y/N)."

Cas called Dean after the two of you finished the research and teleported away which meant that you were completely alone right now and had enough time to record something for your baby girl again. You hadn't shown or told anything that you did that. When you were finished you wanted to safe it on a USB stick and tell Gabe to give it to her when she needed it. Because this was something personal between you and your baby.

You sat everything up and pressed the record button.

"Hey sweetie" you waved with a wide smile. Now that Cas had healed your symptoms for a while you felt really good and energetic. You felt motivated.

"You know, I really wished I could spoil you rotten" you confessed and pushed some strains of your hair back with a chuckle.

"But knowing Gabe I guess he is probably spoiling you enough for the both of us."

You fell silent for a few moments as seriousness washed over you. You had no idea how the life of your girl would be but if wouldn't be easy. You were sure that Gabriel and Cas would help her with her angel side and Dean and Sam with her human one. But there were still many dangers out there. She would still be a target for other angels. You shook your head and continued to speak about more cheerful things.

"I wonder what your favorite color is... I guess nothing to girly since you will be surrounded by a lot of guys in your life. However, that could also mean you could lean towards more feminine colors to define yourself and distance yourself from the boys." You huffed, placed your chin on your palm and thought for a moment.

"I'm just gonna follow my intuition and say it's purple. Let me know if I'm right" you winked.

"I should stop. Oh, but before I go: Your Dad and I finally decided on a name for you!" you grinned and took a deep breath.

"Mom loves you, Liora."

And with that you stopped the recording.

____________________

Pregnancy week 19: You were in need of new clothes. Not like wanting to buy new stuff but really, really needing something to wear because of your growing belly and no matter how embarrassing it was... because of your enlarged breasts, too. You needed new bras, okay! Nothing to be distressed about. But damn was it unusual. And okay, you felt really embarrassed by it. It didn't help that Gabriel was obviously staring at them, too. Not that you could blame him…

"Stop it, Gabe!" you yelped and crossed your arms before your chest, pinning the blanket against you to cover your breasts. "That's inappropriate."

The archangel snorted and walked towards your sitting form on the bed.

"I saw you in far more revealing clothes" he explained, now standing directly in front of you. You eyed his hand that slowly creeped closer to your arms. He slowly pushed them down which lead to the blanket falling to your lap, revealing your -by a normal shirt covered- breasts.

"I also saw you naked more than once, sweetchecks."

Looking away you already felt your face heat up.

"It makes me self-conscious" you mumbled.

"Oh, sugar" Gabriel said and hoisted you up on your feet. He intertwined both of your hands and pulled you against him. "There is no need to feel embarrassed. You're always beautiful."

You chuckled and wrapped your arms around his torso, pressing your face against his chest.

"It's still embarrassing. Or at least, I mean ... I don't know! It's just different" you tried to explain. "Everything's so different."

Gabriel hummed, stroking your hair while wrapping his other arm also around you.

"I try to be positive, Gabe" you take a deep breath and buried your nails into his shirt. "But it's hard when you know you will die."

"You know that they are searching for a solution, right?"

You pushed yourself slightly away so you could see his face. "Solution?"

He nodded: "Sam and Dean are looking for something that can safe you. Something maybe not even we angels know about."

"What? They can't!" you yelled shocked which earned you a confused face from the archangel. You shook your head.

"Stuff like that, plans like that never end well" you stopped and took a deep breath. "It always ends with someone else sacrificing themselves and I won't let them do that for me."

Gabriel tightened the hug again, pressing you against him again.

"I'm sure they won't do anything stupid" he tried to reassure you.

"Okay, now that is the biggest lie of the century" you said with a snort.

"Oh, can you help me with something, Gabe?" you asked, pushing away again to look at his warm eyes.

"Anything you want, sugar" he said and wiggled his eyebrows. Rolling your eyes you freed yourself from his arms. "Not that kind of problem, Gabriel. I need new clothes" you pointed down at you. "And since I can't leave I need you to work your magic and produce me a new wardrobe that will fit." The archangel snapped his fingers immediately and then gestured to your closet.

"Done."

You opened the closet door and nodded before turning around to face him again with a smile.

"That reminds me: We need to get a few more things."

It was now a few hours later and you were currently looking for Sam and Dean. You desperately needed to talk to them about their probably very stupid plan. And low and behold where did you find them? The library, researching some way to safe you.

"There is no way" you said, leaning against the door frame. Immediately the heads of the two men turned to you. "What do you mean?" Sam asked and desperately tried to cover up the book he was reading. Dean instantly stood up, walking towards you.

"Are you alright?" he asked which made you sigh and roll your eyes.

"Yes, Dean. Don't try to distract me, though" you warned and sat down in front of Sam. "I know what you two are doing and I won't allow it."

Sam rose an eyebrow in uestion while Dean sat back down.

"You two are trying to find a way to safe me."

"And?" Dean huffed. "We just ... Don't want you to die."

"Dean, you-" you stopped and took a deep breath. "Do you realize to what this always leads? How it always ends?" The two Winchesters watched you silently.

"It always leads to someone else sacrificing themselves and I won't let you do that for me. I forbid it!" you slammed your hands on the table and stood up, trying to fight back the tears.

"Why (Y/N)? We can decide that for ourselves" Dean challenged you, also standing up.

"No, you can't because I am the one who would have to live with the sacrifice!" you screamed. After that everything seemed to stand still. You blinked unmoving and then slowly straightened up, crossing your arms before your chest. You took a deep breath.

"I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew about the risks. It's my decision to let this baby live and to bear the consequences" you clarified. Shaking your head you turned away from the two brothers who hadn't dared to speak up again and walked towards the door. When you were standing in the frame you turned to face them again.

"Come with me. I want to show you two something."

You led them in front of your room. With your hand on the handle you turned to look at them again. Then you opened the door energetically. Coming to light was your newly decorated room. You entered with the Winchesters in tow and sat down on the bed.

"Gabriel and I decided to make my room baby proof" you explained and then let them see for themselves. The complete left side of the room was now decorated like a kid’s room. Next to your bed stood a crib with a fitting mobile attached to it. On the wall next to it was a diaper-changing unit and a few shelves with books and toys inside of it. A soft fuzzy carpet was draped on the floor and some star and moon stickers were on the left wall now. You sighed and grabbed the romper which laid next to you on the bed while Sam and Dean's eyes were still fixated on the new furniture.

"You will have a lot to do in a few weeks" you said with a grin, your eyes glued to the onesie in your hands. Then you turned it around so you could show them the print on it. On the front it read "Princess".

"Because it will be a little girl." You hadn't told them this before now. Somehow you didn't know how you should do it but you couldn't delay it anymore.

Sam immediately had a huge smile on his face as he took a step forward, reaching a hand out, asking you to hold the romper. You gave it to him with a small smile. In the mean time you focused on Dean who was still frozen, staring at the wall.

"Dean?" Your voice seemed to snap him out of it. But when he turned towards you, something you weren't prepared for were tears. "No, don't" you said, already feeling your own tears wetting your eyes. "You will make me cry, too."

You stood up and wrapped your arms around the older Winchester. "I don't want to cry today."

It stayed quiet for a few moments before you felt Dean's grip tighten. "(Y/N)" he started. "How do you expect of me to not search for another solution?" You didn't answer since he wasn't expecting one anyway. "You're family, (Y/N). I can't just let you die."

You sobbed, pressing even further into his chest.

"You know I don't want to die, Dean" you said. "But what I want even less is one of you dying because of me." It got silent after that again, neither spoke up.

"My baby girl will need you, Dean. Please stop searching for a solution that will cost more than I'm willing to give. For me, as my last wish."

"… okay, (Y/N)."

To be continued: Part 3 is here.

____________________

#supernatural #supernatural gabriel #supernatural gabriel x reader #gabriel x reader #gabriel image #supernatural image #supernatural dean #supernatural sam #supernatural castiel #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #castiel #supernatural characters #image #x reader #female reader #pregnant reader

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legendarypizzaalpaga · 4 years

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Here are my thoughts on Frozen II

(and it’s going to be terribly long, I’m sorry)

Actually I don’t think anybody reads my articles (well, I might have written 3 in the past 5/ 6 years with like 4 years of inactivity so ahem) but I really need to share what I think about this movie.

I am a Hans fan AND a Helsa shipper. Or course I was disappointed by him not being in the movie, by knowing his useless appearance or all the punch in the face from the writers to Hans and Hans’ fans (that seem both to be hated by them for some reason? Even if we are part of Frozen fandom too?). Of course, I can’t totally enjoy it because of that, because it feels that there is something “missing”, because it really feels that we, Hans’ fans, are being made fun off by wanting him being redeemed. Disappointed, but not surprised, actually.

BUT you know what? I accepted it. I can deal with it. I can find all the Hans and Helsa content I want here, so even if I am genuinely sad that Hans doesn’t appear in the movie, I thought that I might be able to like the movie like everyone else. I was not waiting for it regarding all the spoilers I read, but after reading a lot of positive comments, even from other disappointed Hans’ fans, I changed my mind.

Believe it or not, I am not a hater, I wanted to like this movie. I wanted so badly to like this movie, I swear. But I didn’t, not only the end, but from the beginning to the end. I dislike it to a point I envy people who liked it because I felt so bad during the entire movie when I wanted to like it like the first one.

Long story short, I didn’t like Frozen I neither the first time I watched it. The only thing I liked was Hans, because he was handsome and a ginger (true story). I thought him turning a villain was stupid and terribly written. But after that, I was still thinking about it. I re watched it, started to like Elsa, Anna, started to ship Hanna and finally Helsa. I even started to like Hans being the villain, because his back story with him bullying by all his brothers was really interesting. Shipping Helsa made sense and after six years I’m still in. Frozen is a beautiful movie with very likable characters in their own ways.

But I still think Frozen I is not amazingly written. It has a lot of flaws, but every movie has, so I didn’t make a big deal of it. I waited six years for Frozen II, which can probably explain why I don’t like it to that point. I spent six years discussing Frozen and realizing that the writers’ idea of it is totally different of mine is quite weird, even if its is not their fault. Disney owe Frozen, not the fans, they can do anything they want with it. I hope in the future I’ll start to like Frozen II like I did for Frozen I, seeing its quality. I am not a negative person and I don’t want to hate or roast anything.

But I can’t help but think that Frozen II has a pretty terrible writing and a lot, A LOT of flaws, plot holes and things that made me wonder if the writers even watched their own first movie. Even fans have different points of views, but really, I just don’t get what the movie was trying to say.

Still, I want to start with all the things I appreciate in it, because a lot of persons worked on this movie and sometimes did a pretty amazing job.

The songs are amazing. I want to put this one first because, as someone who don’t like Disney’s songs (even as a kid), me liking the songs is pretty rare. All the lyrics are beautiful, “Show Yourself” is now my favorite Disney song of all time and I’m going to listen to it over and over for the next six years. Unpopular opinion but I liked Kristoff's song too, being very kitschy, but I think that was the point. And Panic at the Disco’s “Into the unknown” is the best, really.

The movie is beautiful. Do I need to say anything more than that? I like the autumn theme of the all movie, with a lot of beautiful images. Frozen I was already really beautiful but, whoa, this one is amazing.

The new characters are enjoyable. Especially the lieutenant Destin Mattias (I had to google his name...). I regret they don’t have a lot of importance in this sequel because they had a lot of potential. Elsamaren shippers, you know what I mean.

Some scenes are really emotional. Elsa and Anna’s separation, Elsa being about to cry in “Show Yourself” when she sees her mother, Olaf’s die, Anna’s “The Next Right Thing” and everything about her in the end of the movie.

Anna being the amazing person she is. I am a Helsa shipper but did I ever say how much I love Anna? Anna who saves the day, as she always does, Anna being so strong and doing the right thing, Anna’s becoming queen (again I know it’s not a really popular opinion but I love Anna being queen and I would DIE to see her having powers too). She was a way more relatable character in the all movie than Elsa in my opinion, unfortunately. The only time I get a little emotional in the movie was for her, and even before, I always thought that Anna was the true heroine of all the Frozen franchise.

Elsa’s being super powerful. I have to say I didn’t like it, for a lot of reason I’ll discuss later, but I understand why a lot of persons like it. In six years, Elsa became a symbol, of what can be seen as a weakness could actually be your strength. In that sense, the fact that she is so powerful, so sure about herself, can be a fantastic message, especially for young audience, and having Elsa (or Anna) as role model seems really positive to me.

Kristoff’s positive masculinity. The line “My love is not fragile”, just that. You’re a cool guy, Kristoff, I like you. You deserve a happy marriage. That being said, I had to continue with what I didn’t like. I have to say first that I watched this movie only once, not in my mother tongue, and I didn’t watch Frozen I since a long time go. So it might containes mistakes or things I simply forgot. I am sorry for that. Again I don’t want to roast this movie, and I am really happy if you liked it, I wish I had too, I don’t like to be that negative but I have to take this out of my mind. (I’m not going to discuss Hans’ not being in the movie, as I said I accepted it)

I’ll start with “minor problems” really subjective and finish with my biggest issues about this movie.

Olaf was never funny to me. Unpopular opinion again, I don’t appreciate Olaf, I barely think him being a bit funny in the first movie, but in this one... I didn’t even smile once, except maybe with him explaining Frozen I’s Plot, but that was an easy one. His song is the only one I totally dislike and all his “I’ll understand when I grow up” well... I didn’t get it. When he admits he is angry at Elsa is the moment that made me him like him a little more. But, yeah, no, Olaf is not my cup of tea.

It’s the first time in my life I think animated characters are bad at acting. I am sorry but some lines where... like... I don’t know. The one I have in mind is especially when Kristoff is trying to propose once again and talks about “being crazy” and Anna responds with “Do you think I’m crazy??” with crazy eyes like... she NEVER acts like that! It seems like the animators wanted so badly to show how many facial expression the were capable of that they wrote those weird lines where the character changes their expression in a couple of seconds. The same goes with all the times the characters talk to themselves so the audience can understand what’s happening (ok it’s a kid’s movie but they’re not stupid...). Sometimes it made sense but sometimes it was just like a Korean drama, really (I love Korean drama but that’s not a compliment). I think it’s more a problem of writing, but sometimes it just made me feels that I was watching bad actors, that was so weird.

All the “water has memory” stuff. I am sorry but it doesn’t make sense, even a little. I know it’s a movie and I shouldn’t care, but the boat scene just killed me. Elsa has ICE powers, not WATER (I know ice is from water but if it’s the same, why is there a water spirit while Elsa is the fifth one?), so HOW DOES THAT WORK? HOW? EXPLAIN, MOVIE, PLEASE. Elsa can take water in everything (wind, earth, boat) and can create “memory” because it’s made of ice? Is that her special ability that nobody else has? But the water spirit also have a form of an horse so you can create things with water too? I don’t get it, not at all, sorry, I just don’t. It’s just lazy writing, in my opinion. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but that fact that it is used at EVERY single moment of the movie made me cringe, especially because of the next problem I have:

The characters understand everything too fast. All the “water has memory” bullshit is an easy way to allows that. The fact that the sisters immediately recognized their young father is a thing, but just by seeing a scarf they immediately understand that their mother is from here? Ok, why not. But Anna, just by seeing a sculpture of her grandfather trying to kill someone, she immediately understands that the dam was a trap???? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET THAT? It could have been BILLIONS of reasons to her grandfather to kill the chef of the tribute, like conquer their forest, stealing their stuff or whatever. How does she know that the dam was a trap when it could have been a real sign of peace but then their grandfather becoming a douche after that? Again, it’s so lazy writing. Just by the tribe explaining to her that the dam was bad for them, but Anna continue to believe her grandfather was good, before understanding by the statue he was not could have been ENOUGH. And again, HOW does she know that breaking the dam is going to solve everything? Because the tribe lives with the nature, so what’s again the tribe is against the nature, so the spirits are mad, so they blocked the forest, but still what does that have to do with the damn fifth spirit? I don’t get this movie.

Elsa’s earning spirit’s friendship by fighting them. This one really made me wondering if I was watching the same movie as everybody. The spirits seem to be positive figure, because they represent nature. They don’t want intruders, so they attacked the group... why did they suddenly started to like and help Elsa when all she does is fighting them? Because they understand that she is like them? Because she is too powerfull, they finally decide to help her? What made them change their mind? If the writers tried to do something like Moana, well... that was better done in Moana, because she failed when she tried to attack but succeed when she decides not to, because you can’t fight nature, that’s the message. Again, I don’t get what this movie is trying to do. (oh and I especially hate the scene with the water horse, just by jumping on a horse doesn’t mean it suddenly loves you being there...)

The fifth spirit. Do I need to say anything else? All the fifth spirit stuff didn’t make sense and was totally useless in a movie that could have worked without. Honeymaren saying to Elsa that she belongs to the forest was... like... you BARELY know her, how do you know that? It was like they needed to have a reason to make her stay in the forest and “be free”? When she could just have given the crown to Anna that deserves it and being free... with her family? (her REAL family she needs not her mother’s tribe...)

Elsa and Anna abandoning their kingdom for the second time in two movies. Ok you did it to save Arendelle but, still. And after that people still complain about Hans not being a good leader? Again, not a big deal, but my girls... don’t do that often please.

Elsa’s journey. That’s a big no no for me. Did the writers of this movie watched the first one? Because she just seemed like a totally different character to me. I understand she grew up, and I could have accept that she wanted to be free, that it was her journey. But, again, it was not brightly written. In like the five first minutes of the movie, we are introduced to Elsa hearing voices and... that’s it. She hears voice. If it was supposed to be symbolic or her wanting to go for an adventure instead of having a boring like in Arendelle, well, that was absolutely not necessary. Why didn’t they show her not enjoying her life? Like doing queen’s tasks she doesn’t enjoy, talking to people that continue to judge her for her powers, showing that Anna is naturally a better leader than her. It could have been very interesting that even being that powerful, she still has flaws, visible flaws. The only thing we see is her life with her family, but if the message of the movie was that the sisters have to learn how to live separately, again it wasn’t clear AT ALL. And thinking that the message of the first movie was that love from your family can save you, it’s a quite weird message for a sequel in my opinion.

At the end of the movie she is supposed to be free... free from what? By not accepting herself? While we see her being so confident about herself during the ENTIRE movie (yeah she “died” at one moment but it just made her realize that Anna is strong enough to help her to, which is totally different from accepting her own flaws). She finally found the place she belongs... again... a forest? Because her mother come from here? ??? I don’t get this movie.

And finally... my biggest problem... the HUGE issue I have with this movie. The only thing I just can’t ignore. The thing that made me cringe to HARD during the ENTIRE MOVIE.

Why is nobody discussing Elsa’s parents attitude during the first movie?

DID THE WRITERS WATCH THEIR OWN DAWN FIRST MOVIE??? DID THEY?

Don’t get me wrong, I do think Elsa’s parents loved her. I do think they thought they were doing the right things for her and their other daughter. I do think they had the best intentions. I do things parents with good intentions can f*ck up their kids so badly it will follow them forever (well, not forever in the case of Elsa, because she is perfectly fine now as if the first movie never existed... mental health, not a big issue).

BUT WHAT THEY DID TO HER WAS WRONG.

To be honest I would have LOVED if Elsa’s arc was about understand and finally forgive her parents about what they did to her. It would even have made sense with her grandfather being a douch, convincing his son that magic is dangerous. It’s normal that Elsa and Anna love their parents, I mean, just because your parents did something wrong doesn’t mean that you won’t love them anymore. But all the “Let it go” song was about not listening to her restrictive parents anymore!! They erase her from her beloved sister’s memory and caused her terrible anxious issue that was basically THE PLOT OF THE FIRST MOVIE.

Elsa’s parents f*cked up EVERYTHING and you can’t change my mind. The fact that this is NEVER, not A SINGLE TIME, discussed in the entire movie was unbearable for me. And worst, the fact that they are shown as heroes really disturbed me. Again, I would not mind if this was the consequence of an all “redemption” arc for them, by Elsa finally understand her parents, why they wanted to restrict her true self (the f*cking thing she is singing about in “Show Yourself” with her MOTHER, yeah movie, that makes totally sense), why they thought it was the right thing to do when it wasn’t. Iduna’s being the voice Elsa hears could have been her wanting her daughter’s forgiveness and encouraging her to be 100% herself after years saying her not to be. But no.

The worst for me was the boat scene. So Elsa’s parents are the true heroes of the story, for some reason, AND they died because they wanted to help Elsa ? I swear, when Elsa started to feel guilty of their death I wanted to leave the theater so bad. AGAIN, if she had discovered that after an all movie being mad at them for restraining her true self for so long, it would have made sense. It could have help her understand that they did love her too, that they did wrong but wanted to help her in the end. Elsa could have grown from the bitterness of the past, and her thinking that she is so powerful she could do everything could have been her way of emancipation from her parents, when she finally learns that she still needs her sister's help.

This is all I see with Frozen II: a lost opportunity. A lost opportunity to have a better journey for Elsa, than just... being powerful, always powerful, being saved by her sister again and becoming a god-like powerful after that. A lost opportunity to show that good parents can be wrong thinking they are doing what’s right for their children. A lost of opportunity to show a character who wants to break free, not from something not even explicitly shown in the movie, but from the regrets of the past that we can all understand (because it was IN THE FIRST DAMN MOVIE).

A lost opportunity of a good sequel. Maybe Frozen II is a good movie, I don’t know, but it’s a really weird sequel in my opinion. The story makes no sense, the characters have really strange evolution, and some message are questionable. Again, I am really happy for you if you like it, and I even envy you for that. Waiting six years for a movie you almost wanted to leave the theater at, that’s harsh. I thought I was only going to be disappointed at Hans’ missing, but with all the plot holes and the weirdness of the story, I’m not even sure it would have been better with him anyway. Maybe you did dodge a bullet here, Hans...

So... fandom team. Whenever you liked the movie or not, like me, please let’s create some cool content. That’s what fandoms are made for and made off. I don’t want to leave the Frozen fandom, because I still like a lot of things about it. I am just sad this sequel was not worth the patience for me. I hope I didn’t make any Frozen II fans feel bad because of this post. I just wanted to share my thoughts. It took me hours but I needed to.

Now all I can say is: disappointed, but not surprised.

#frozen #frozen 2 #frozen 2 spoilers #helsa #helsa fandom #iduna #frozen iduna #queen iduna #agnaar #frozen agnaar #king agnaar

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charmmycolour · 4 years

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Lilo & Stitch: The Two Timelines

Infodump time!

Do you know that L&S have several canons going on? Although people tends to try to compromise all of them together, the true is they are pretty defined. Sure, you can headcanon them whatever you please (and please do, that’s fun and creative!), but for the creators, it will always be several timelines.

Today we are going to talk about two of them of the at least four. I am excluding the animes from this analysis, both the japanese one Stitch! (created by Madhouse and Shin-Ei Animation) and the chinese one Stitch & Ai (created by Anhui Xinhua Media). I don’t know enough of them, nor I have any interest on these particular spin-offs to talk about them here.

So let’s start at the beginning!

Lilo & Stitch was released in 2002, and it was made by Walt Disney Pictures, AKA the Big Movies Team. This is the material all the other ones will use, and it’s canon in all the timelines. From there on, however, it will split.

In 2003, Walt Disney Television Animation releases Stitch! The Movie, a pilot for a tv series. This itineration it’s based on the first movie, and it also tries to include other material with lore that had been done at the time, such the video game Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626. Most focused on the space aspect and what happened to the other 625 experiments, it had less budget for animation and plot, but it was received warmly. The same team will later create Lilo & Stitch: The Series and the movie Leroy & Stitch (2006), making a consistent timeline through them all.

When Leroy & Stitch was in production, another team know as Walt Disney Home Entertainment was given permission for making their own L&S movie. The result was Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Have a Glitch, released in 2005. WDHE didn’t like what WDTA did with the franchise, and so they decided to tell their own story as a sequel from the first movie, ignoring anything WDTA or any other media had done before, creating a second, distintive timeline.

WDHE will also go the extra step to say their movie was the actual sequel, pointing it happened before all the other ones on the timeline instead of just saying it was a different one (and making a pretty poor attempt to tie them with a sweet but full of contradictions short). Disney never gave an oficial answer, but Chris Sanders is know to consider them separate canons.

The differences are not huge for the most part, but some of them are notorious. Here I collected all the ones I noticed. For the sake of brevity, the timeline of Stitch! The Movie and the consequent works will be referred as ST, while the timeline on Stitch Have a Glitch will be referred as GT.

As stated, ST was made to be consistet with other material released at the time. It works with the PS2 video Game Experiment 626, that follows Stitch breaking havoc on the galaxy before his arrest (which in itself is based on a deleted scene of the original movie where he was going to have a trial about that). It also works with a story releases on the Disney Adventures Magazine that stated Reuben had helped Jumba to create Stitch. GT deliberately ignores all prior material of the franchise.

Reuben is mentioned to have been an assistant to Jumba in ST, which ties with his possibly implication with Stitch’s creation. Other experiments, like Ace, are mentioned to have been active around the laboratory while Jumba worked. In GT, Jumba created Stitch alone, and if any other experiment exist at all on the timeline, they are not around during his arrest.

Similarly, if Hämsterviel (the main antagonist in ST) has ever existed on GT, it’s never mentioned. Same for the fact Jumba had married and divorced at some point.

Pleakley seems to be closer to his mother in GT. He adresses her as “mom” and voluntary calls her to chat at several points, seemingly with a better relationship than the one they had on the first movie. ST goes a completely different path, with Pleakley trying to distance himself from his famiy as soon as he’s able to and avoiding her calls. He adresses her with a more formal “mother” half the time and have clear family issues. ST also gives Pleakley two siblings that are never mentioned in GT.

Pleakley is a full-time crossdresser in ST. He wears dresses around the house and chooses femenine clothes, wigs and even undergarments for himself even when he’s alone. Although Pleakley also crossdresses on GT, it’s always only as a means of disguise, and Pleakley wears male clothes when he’s not pretending to be human. This is emphasized by the fact Pleakley chooses female attire to dance hula on ST, but male attire to do the same on GT.

Jumba’s English is much more broken in ST than on GT.

In ST, Stitch talks mostly Tantalog and behaves more like a dog. In GT, Stitch pretty much talks fluent English and acts more human.

Lilo acts more eccentric and weird in ST in general, but her agressive behavior has almost dissapeared completely. In GT, she still have violent outburst, but she’s also less extravagant.

Lilo is the only characters on the cast with a different voice actor. In ST she’s voiced by Daveigh Chase (same VA than the first movie), and in GT she’s voiced by Dakota Fanning.

In ST, Nani was the one that was a gifted dancer of hula as a child, and the reason Lilo wants to be good at hula herself. In GT, it’s her late mother instead.

David and Nani have a sort of on-off relationship in ST, sometimes stating they are casually dating and others being just friends. In GT, they had been formally dating fot three weeks.

In ST, Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley struggle to understand and adapt to their life on Earth (Stitch with belonging to the community, Pleakley comprehending human culture and Jumba not quite feeling part of the family). In GT, they are mostly adapted to their new life and their struggles during the movie don’t have anything to do with the fact they are aliens.

The Pelekai house it’s different after the rebuild. In ST, the house is painted blue and the attic room (Lilo and Stitch’s bedroom) resembles a dome with several windows. In GT, the house is green and the attic resembles a sphere with a single windows and a little antennae at the top. Compared with ST, it’s also taller.

The bedroom itself it’s also different. In ST, it have very minimalistic and sci-fi’s furniture, with metal floor and a futuristic look. Lilo have her own bed and Stitch sleeps on a hanging cot. The center of the roof can be opened to show the skylight. In GT, the room is more traditional and made of wood like the rest of the house, and both Lilo and Stitch sleep on a bunk bed. Half of the entire room is retractable to show the skylight.

In ST, said room is accessed through a vacuum elevator. In GT, through spiral stairs instead.

Mertle’s dad ran away from his family in ST, but it’s still living with them during GT.

One od the girls in Mertle’s posse changes names. She’s know as Teresa on ST and Aleka on GT.

What timeline do you like best? I personally like to mix and match a little bit of both on my stories, although I mostly prefer the ST canon.

#lilo and stitch #stitch! the movie #Lilo and Stitch series #leroy and stitch #lilo and stitch 2: stitch have a glitch #stitch have a glitch #stitch!#stitch and ai #timelines #canon #disney #thoughts #movie analysis

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ranger-report · 4 years

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Review: SPELUNKY 2 (2020)

Few things in the Year of the Apocalypse have brought us joy; once upon a time back in February, there was something about a Sonic the Hedgehog movie that people actually liked, and then we went full-on deep into madness. From there it was disappointment after disappointment; even an unstoppable giant with hype, The Last of Us: Part II fell apart under fan scrutiny despite huge critical success.

But then, there was light: Fall Guys, a true underdog of a game, released and swept the internet and gaming as a whole with excitement. Joyous, colorful, wild, aggravating, Fall Guys single-handed brought catharsis to a series of unfortunate events, followed by a masterpiece of deception, Among Us. Also capturing colorful characters in the most unlikely of situations, Among Us is the game of Secret Hitler that nobody knew they wanted, ruining friendships along the way -- a game I plan to do a write-up on soon. And yet, we still have another gem to consider now, one which is seven years in the making, and against all odds is just as good -- if not better -- than it’s predecessor: Spelunky 2.

Once upon a time, a developer named Derek Yu released a pixellated exploration game that was a love letter to Pitfall and Indiana Jones. Dubbed Spelunky, it followed the trials and tribulations of the Spelunky Guy as he dove headfirst into a series of ever-changing caverns as he explored mines, jungles, icy caves, and Egyptian ruins to discover the City of Gold. It was released free online, and was well-received enough for Yu to work on an upgraded version, Spelunky HD. Gone were the retro pixels, replaced with detailed cartoon art and vibrant atmosphere. Telling the same story with the same levels, only now realized in higher quality and deeper secrets, Spelunky HD helped create the roguelike genre, in which players start at the beginning of a game with nothing, slowly make their way through the game amassing items and weapons to assist them, but death takes them all the way back to the beginning pockets empty. Then, the game randomly generates a new series of levels for the player to try again, ensuring no two runs are ever the same. For some this is frustrating, for others an endearing challenge. Many have spent hours diving deep into the game, searching over and over for its most hidden secrets, discovering hidden paths and endings only achieved through insanely difficult methods. With that game cemented as a bona fide masterpiece, it seemed daunting to even consider a follow up, but Yu and development team Mossmouth have done it once more with Spelunky 2, a game that feels tighter, plays looser, and somehow holds even more secrets than the first game, partially due in part to the sequel having actual lore to follow and a story that literally is out of this world. Here the protagonist is Ana Spelunky, daughter of Guy Spelunky (the titular Spelunky Guy....the game is full of dad jokes like these), as she followers her adventurous father and mother to the moon as they have disappeared there. Turns out the Olmec guardian defeated in the first game also has a presence on Earth’s satellite, and the Spelunkys have vanished in their quest to research this. So Ana, full of spunk and vigor and dog Monty in tow, steps into the spotlight on a completely new adventure, along with completely new friends.

Where the first game gave players options to discover and unlock new characters during the course of the game, Spelunky 2 treats these side characters as actual companions. A base camp at the start shows life and livelihood where everyone beds down and preps for the next expedition, where shortcuts to different stages can be traversed (once properly unlocked) and dialogue can be had. There’s a simple joy just to stand around and see everyone you’ve unlocked hanging out, walking around, as more and more beds occupy the camp. It’s a very subtle way of showing player progress that is both incredibly rewarding and relieving. And for the most part, it’s the same essence of gameplay. Explore levels filled with creatures out to kill you, while collecting gold and rescuing animals. Gold can buy resources from the shops located in the levels, animals give you a kiss for extra health, but only if they make it to the end alive. Meanwhile, the areas are loaded with traps, bombs, hidden monsters, jars filled with any number of surprises, and bonus areas that can be unlocked with the proper use of a rope or a bomb. But tarry too long and the ghost that haunts this world will reveal itself, slowly stalking you until either you reach the end of the level or there’s nowhere else to run.

Differences with the new game come in gentle shocks: for starters, where the first game had a linear progression this one has multiple pathways that can be taken to get to the end. And minibosses! Journeying through the opening caves, divided into four sections, leads to a confrontation against a giant caveman named Quillback in World 1-4, which leads to a pair of doors, one on either side of the level. First time playing through might lead to discovering one of the doors due to the way they’re split apart, but casual exploration to the opposite side reveals the truth: a whole new world. One door leads to Volcana, the underground mining operation in a volcano, the other leads to the Jungle, which has received deadly upgrades from it’s previous life. Spelunky 2 is littered with these gentle shocks as I mentioned above: golden idols still set off traps when picked up, but the traps now vary from falling pillars to explosive lava to spiked walls. Beyond the Jungle and Volcana lies a boss fight with Olmec, making a surprise appearance early in the game. And from here the game moves ever onward, revealing new areas, new characters to unlock, new surprises. And the surprises are telegraphed even better than they were in the first game. For example: unlock a special box with a golden key in the Caves to gather the Eye of Udjat, which lets you see through the floor. But the Eye can also be used to start up the Drill in Volcana, the only way to power it. What happens when you use the drill? Gentle shocks, indeed. New ideas also include mounts to ride (once tamed, which can leave you vulnerable for a moment while you wait for the ride to settle), each one having a different attack or special ability, and brand new shops which can let you into their back rooms to loot...unless you have a skeleton key and you want to risk pissing them off by breaking and entering. But pissing off a shopkeeper usually results in guns blazing your direction, and the imminent threat of death.

Death is in abundance. The game knows it, you know it, the characters know it. With a premise around the idea that death is impermanent while inside the tunnels of the moon, it becomes eventual that the characters get in on the act. Turning the page in Ana’s journal on the game over screen reveals little thoughts of hers on this leg of the journey: from base facts such as when she first took damage, to giggly details like “I was vegan” (referring to the fact that she didn’t eat any turkeys or -- god help us -- cavemen for extra health), the game brims over with character aplenty. Even certain guardians refer to Ana as “Reborn” nodding to the endless cycle. And, in fact, it is endless: it keeps going and going and going until eventually there is the final level and the escape from the moon. But how long will it take to get there? What sacrifices must be made to make it that far? How many loops, deaths, rebirths? As always with Spelunky, there is gold both figurative and literal to be mined from the ruthless exploration. Secrets are deep and wide, surprises await around every corner (was that a LEPRECHAUN and did it drop a FOUR LEAF CLOVER??? And did that ghost just sPLIT into FOUr???), and all of it is rewarding.

It can be difficult to review a game that I haven’t finished. A lot of Spelunky players have never finished the game. There’s a certain finesse to it, watching speedrunners bounce through levels undaunted, gathering miracle items to assist them. Then there’s players like me, that bumble and stumble their way into lucky runs and slowly earn shortcuts to different worlds. It’s a gamble every single time, and sometimes I wonder why I do it, but the charm and the fun and the fist-pumping feeling of success against all odds is what makes this game so much fun. And to think that Mossmouth not only captured the feeling of the first game, the majesty of it, and renewed all of that magic with the second. Someone made a blood sacrifice to craft this game, that much is for sure. As of this writing, the Playstation 4 version has been out for a few weeks, and the PC version for only a few days. After playing both I can confirm that they are precise, concise, and play exactly the same, although I do feel I had slightly better control response times on the PC. That said, online co-op is not yet available for PC, as Mossmouth is going over that aspect with a fine toothed comb. Having playing online day one for the PS4, I can say that the hiccups experienced then will be best served through Mossmouth’s attention first. Online play has become much smoother since, but players deserve the best experience off the jump.

Spelunky 2 is mana from heaven in these trying times, and I’m gobbling as much of it as I can. And when a game like this is is this deep and wide, there’s a lot to gobble...and all of it is tasty.

Final Score: 9/10

#spelunky #spelunky 2 #pc #ps4 #mossmouth #derek yu #pc gaming #console gaming #review #ruby ranger #ranger report #ck burch

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gundamgamer · 4 years

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The Last of Us Part II: "There Was This Sequel... Wasn't As Good."

After seven years of what felt like forever, The Last of Us Part II has finally arrived on PS4. And…well, after the leaks were released in late April of this year, it has left the fanbase, and the Gaming Community polarizing, to say the least. Some cancelled their pre-orders, others gave the game the benefit of the doubt, and see for themselves, and then there were those who had no choice because they were getting paid to play and review the game…Only to have mixed feelings of the story. But what do I personally think of the game, overall? Well, after playing through it for a week, and processing the entirety of the main story, I don’t think it’s “the WORST thing ever”…But it’s definitely not masterpiece worthy. Let’s begin with the simple, NON-SPOILER aspects of the game:

GAMEPLAY:

At first, I thought there was a lot of changes made with the gameplay, since the first game. I wouldn’t say the Combat Mechanics, in TLOU1 were perfect by any means. But, for a 2013 game, they were pretty solid. Though there are times where things can get glitchy and finicky, the controls felt fine…In THIS entry, however, it just feels the same. There’s little to no changes with the controls and, at times, they felt stiff to the point where I would freeze in the middle of picking items up or performing a “T pose” while getting shot at by nearby enemies (Yes, this actually happened to me during my playthrough). Granted, I do like that they gave players the Aim Assist feature, seen in the Uncharted games, which can SOMETIMES make combat a little easier, but that’s not saying much when you’re trying to aim at enemies that have the advantage. And I do feel like the jumping action was pointless, since all you had to do was run off an edge and hope to God you made it to the other side of wherever you were jumping to. Since most of the actions require you to press the Triangle (△) button, this action felt needless. The weaponry has somewhat improved, since the last game, with some familiar returns (such as the Flamethrower and Shotgun) and newer weapons (Semi-Auto Rifle, Hunting Pistol and Crossbow), the variety, on how you choose to kill your enemies, is literally at your fingertips. Finally, there’s a neat guitar mechanic where you use the pad on your DUALSHOCK 4 controller to strum the chords and play tunes on a guitar. A small but neat feature. GAMEPLAY: 3.5

VISUALS & MUSIC:

There’s no doubt the Visuals have vastly improved since the first game; from the far horizons of Jackson to the deep overgrown forests in the Seattle area, the environments and locations look phenomenal…For the most part. Some areas, however, look so bland that they all look the same just for the purpose of Gameplay. Now, I know that sounds absurd, but hear me out: Using the same environment, for the purpose of Gameplay Mechanics is FINE. However, you need to use a different variety of location designs and settings. Otherwise, the gameplay will feel repetitive at best, and lazy at worst. But I digress. Overall, the Visuals are gorgeous to look at, especially in different season settings. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Last of Us game without the Music. Composer Gustavo Santaolalla returns to give the game life with his score, which (and I know it’s gonna sound crazy) isn’t as memorable as the first game, but is still remarkable to say the least. I also do like that they made him a character, in the game.

VISUALS: 4

MUSIC: 4

AND NOW, WE COME TO THE MEAT OF THIS REVIEW: THE SPOILERS! SO, IF YOU HAVE YET TO PLAY THE GAME, I SUGGEST YOU STOP READING, FROM HERE ON OUT…YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

I’d also like to point out that NO, I have absolutely NO PROBLEM with LGBT+ representation in any form of media (Gaming, TV, Film etc), as there is a character, Lev, who’s LGBT+, and that is FINE. But…it’s the story that needs to get a beating in all of this. Let’s begin:

So, let’s talk about the Story, because I have a feeling that a good number of us will agree with me when I say…IT’S ABSOLUTE DOGSHIT!! …I really have no idea where to begin.

This game’s writing is all over the place, and it’s backwards at best and atrocious at worst. Everything from feeling sympathy for the main antagonist, Abby; because it’s revealed that Joel murdered her dad while he was about to operate on Ellie at the climax of the first game (as if we were suppose to know that), to PLAYING AS ABBY FOR A GOOD TEN PLUS HOURS, A CHARACTER THAT HAD SHITTY DEVELOPMENT TO THE POINT THAT NO ONE GIVES A FLYING FUCK ABOUT HER OR ANYONE ELSE AROUND HER! Not to mention that, between Ellie and Abby, you play through flashbacks in flashbacks. This is not creative writing, this is fan fiction bullshit, and it fails FAST. Seriously, I wanted Abby’s playthrough to be done because I did not give a shit about her and wanted to go back to playing as Ellie. Can’t also forget how little to no point these characters serve in the story, from Abby’s side or Ellie’s, they all range from forgettable to needless, in the end. Aside from Dina and her ex-boyfriend, Jesse (yea, he’s pretty forgettable too, but at least he gets shot later on, by Abby), these characters serve little to no purpose to the story besides Story Progression that COULD’VE been done better. But nothing, AND I DO MEAN NOTHING, can compare to the atrocity that is the ending of this game:

Ellie finds out where Abby is heading, months after the what happened in Seattle. I’ll also mention that, for a bit you’re playing as Abby again, however it’s…somewhat forgivable as it’s only for a short period of time. Afterwards, you’re playing as Ellie throughout the Climax of the game. You come across a group of Rattlers who hunt down and take prisoner to lost travelers, when you [as Ellie] learn where Abby is kept prisoner. Once you find her, and her friend Lev (who TL;DR, identifies as a boy, but was born a girl, and his mother wanted to marry a guy but he refused so her mother went nuts and he killed her…yay?), she follows them to some nearby boats. But Ellie isn’t done with Abby yet. As the two fight it out, Ellie finally has her in the water and makes her drown. But then, for a LITERAL SECOND, she has a flashback of Joel sitting on his porch with his guitar…and feels guilt…So much so, that she lets Abby, the one person who she; wanted revenge on, set out on a mission that killed multiple people, even someone who nobody really gave a shit about (Jesse), risks just about everything to get to this point…And for what? A moral epiphany…Oh god…Ellie then returns home for Dina and their child JJ, only to find that they’re not home. She learns that they both left Ellie, for Dina could not take the chance of losing her. And so, with her ring and pinky finger, on her left hand, bitten off by Abby, she tries to play guitar and has yet another flashback with Joel. This seems to be the last time they encounter each other before he gets axed. It, for the most part, is a nice little moment between the two, as they discuss some issues that need to be resolved. But mostly that Ellie wants to forgive Joel because he lied to her about what happened in the hospital. Afterwards, she sets out on what could be an unforeseeable future…

As you can see, the story isn’t necessarily the greatest…In fact, it doesn’t even come close to the first game’s story (which by the way, won Best Storytelling and GAME OF THE YEAR. Yea, let that sink in). The reason why the first game was so successful is because it focused on the development and bond between Joel and Ellie. How they grew as characters and learned to endure and survive in a chaotic, post-apocalyptic world setting. And we, the fans, WANTED to see that again in this game. But instead, got bamboozled by false advertising. Oh yea, that scene in the trailer where Joel pulls Ellie back and asks “You think I’d let you do this on your own?” NEVER. FUCKING. HAPPENS!! Instead, it’s Jesse in that position. Seriously? WHO THE FUCK CARES ABOUT THIS GUY?! NOBODY, THAT’S WHO!! We don’t care about any of these characters. We just wanna see the ones we cared about grow and learn more from each other. We actually wanted to see if anything changed from these two, over the years. The closest we get to ANY of that, in this game, are the flashbacks with them; from the museum setting (which makes some not-so-subtle nods to Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park), to the only good scene in this ENTIRE game, in my opinion: Ellie heading out to the hospital, from the first game, finding out Joel lied but having Joel confess and tell the truth…That was such a powerful scene, and the acting from both Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson was superb. It shows the emotion between the two, from guilt to betrayal, how both Ellie and Joel lost so many people within their lives, only to go their separate ways after a crucial and impactful reveal…But none of that matters to Neil Druckmann and the crew at Naughty Dog. They just wanted to push ideas that nobody really cares about, especially for a game that’s set in a post-apocalyptic setting. We play games to escape reality and venture into worlds that could NEVER be real for the sake of entertainment and fantastic storytelling. These types of media are slowly fading away, and being replaced by writers who really don’t even give little to no shit about constructive writing, internal consistency, and above all else, THE FANS!! (even if they claim to do so…Looking at YOU, Rian Johnson)

In the midst of it all, the reason I didn’t cancel my pre-order was that I was one of the few that gave this game the benefit of the doubt. Despite only vaguely knowing what those leaks had and how they could’ve affected me, I still played it through beginning to end…Only to be disappointed by an entry I – and MILLIONS more -- had waited seven years for, only for Druckmann to say “You see this? THIS ISN’T WHAT YOU WANTED! THIS IS MY STORY!! AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, YOU’RE A BIGOT!!”…However, to be fair, I’ll say this: don’t take my word for it. Maybe there CAN be something to your liking, in this game. Maybe there’s a little something for everyone…just don’t expect me to play through – scratch that – suffer through this mediocre attempt of a sequel ever again. There are ways this game COULD’VE been as fantastic – if not, MORE – than its predecessor. I might have to do that in another essay, sometime. Til then, this the last of my playthrough of this gigantic disappointment.

STORY: 1.5

CHARACTERS: 2.5

THE LAST OF US PART II: 3.5/10

#the last of us part II review #the last of us part II #the last of us part 2 #the last of us #naughty dog #playstation #PlayStation 4 #PS4 #gaming #gamer #gamers #gaming review #gamer review #game review #game reviews #gamer reviews #gaming reviews

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canumoveurseatup-no · 5 years

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Bex's Masterlist!

Hi, I’m Bexie! A masterlist was highly requested so here it is! I will add more along as we go! Hope you enjoy and remember, Feedback is appreciated on my works <3

Updated: july 27, 2021

NOTE: All my stories will have a black reader! Some of my smuts are not for the faint of heart so beware!! and please DO NOT REPOST MY WORK

Angst (A) Smut (S) Fluff (F) Trigger Warning (TW) Author’s Fav (AF)

Stucky:

Masking (A, cg/l dynamics 18+)

-sharon is and always will be a bully especially in your little state. it takes a while for Steve and Bucky to catch on. who knew trained agents could be so oblivious?

Fallen Flower Petals (A, F, AF)

-the one where Sharon comes back and reconnects with Steve while Nat and Bucky reconnect and you’re left sullen

Hymns to Heal a Broken Heart (A, F)

-Civil war tore you apart. You missed Bucky and Steve, what happens when they come back and there’s a major change?

Steve:

Myself�� (A, AF)

-You loved Steve more than you loved yourself. But was that enough?

Rot (Myself Part 2) w/ Doctor Strange (A, F)

-It’s easy to say you’re over someone if you aren’t seeing them. The real challenge is to look them in the eyes and see their smile and hear their voice and still be able to say “this is not what I want anymore”

Tell Me (Myself Part 3 18+) w/ Doctor Strange (A, S, F)

-Ever since that night at the party where you ran into Steve, your mind has been elsewhere and you’ve fallen back into the same uncomplacent tendencies from when you were with him. You just need Stephen to tell you on thing.

Lush 18+ (S)

-The team gives Steve some options to help blow off some steam. Little did he know he’d come face to face with you in one of those chat rooms.

Lush pt.2 18+ (S)

-You and Steve have now set the rules for your new relationship and things are going extremely well. With an influx of college work and trying to do well with your internship, you get too deep into your own head and Steve is there to help you release that stress.

Lush 3 (w/ Bucky) 18+ (S)

-it’s time for another show and this time you have a new toy

Lush 4 (S, A, F)

-you and steve have some alone time. no cameras, no bucky. just you, steve and vulnerability.

In the Dark (Myself pt.4) w/ Doctor Strange (A)

-You and Stephen were now going strong and you couldn’t be happier. Stephen meets up with Steve and they exchange a few words.

Save Me (Myself pt.5) w/ Doctor Strange (A)

-Will Stephen save you in enough time before Steve takes you somewhere completely off the grid? Before Steve’s mind gets the best of him and he goes over the edge?

Voir Dire (Myself Finale) w Doctor Strange (A)

-the end is getting near and you’re getting scared. Will you be saved? And will the truth of Steve’s actions be revealed?

Voir Dire (alternate ending #1) (A)

Voir Dire (alternate ending #2) (A)

Nothing More (A, F)

-headcanon where Steve gets insecure due to your friendship with Sam.

Belonging (A)

-life was wonderful for you and steve but when the opportunity to go back arises… does he take it?

Oh Lord (18+) (part 1 to the Halo Boy and Horn Girl series) (S)

-cast the devil away

Witching Hour (18+) (S)

-(part 2 to the Halo Boy and Horn Girl series) Steve struggles adjusting to life without his wings. You share his pain.

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Tony

Footsteps (A, F)

-You being Tony Stark’s only child, you though you’d be his prize possession but no...

"Protocol" My Ass! (A)

- Tony realized silence in situations of injustice is acceptance of injustice. So he’s using his place in society to speak the hell up and stand up for what is right.

Little Girls Like You 18+ (S)

-It’s little girls like you that don’t know how to keep their mouth shut unless it’s stuffed.

Little Girls Like You pt.2 (18+) (A, S)

-Your mother starts working from home for a while and that leaves less time for you and Tony to continue your rendezvous. One night you hear your mother and Tony going at it and it sparks something in you to get back at him.

Baby Boy 18+ (S)

-Tony always takes care of everyone and it takes a toll on him. You take matters into your own hands and show him he doesn’t always have to be the big guy.

Baby Boy pt.2 (18+) (S)

-After you too control in the bedroom, Tony can’t help but want more so he purposely sets you up in a situation that he knows will make you explode

Baby Boy pt. 3 (18+) (S)

-tony just needs a release and so do you

Ready (18+ because of trigger warning) (A, TW)

-You’re going through some personal battles and don’t want to talk about it. Tony realizes something is wrong when it’s too late.

I Wasn’t Ready (EG spoiler, loose sequel to Ready) (A)

-parent’s teach you a lot of things, prepare you for a lot of things to face in life... but what they don’t prepare you for is to be ready when it’s their time.

Pop-pop’s Babysitting Chronicles (pt. 3 to the Honeybee Series) (F)

-You and Bucky took some time for yourselves and went on a vacation. Annalise wants pop-pop to babysit and this is just a peak into the babysitting chronicles.

Teddy Bear (18+) (F)

-It was hard trying to hide your secret as a Little. Until it wasn’t a secret to a certain someone anymore.

Luxury of Loving You (18+) (F, S)

- Dating Tony is a full package. Sure he has the cars and the money. But it’s the late study sessions that turn into more, the date nights and university adventures that you value most.

Luxury of Loving You (ii) (A)

-it’s all okay until it’s not

Luxury of Loving You (iii) (A)

-as you and tony’s relationship continues to grow, it’s only a matter of time before you meet each other’s parents. tony isn’t sure that’s such a good idea.

Luxury of Loving You (iv) (A)

-you and Pepper get close under unexpected circumstances and it leaves Tony confused and concerned.

The Art of Intimacy (18+) (S)

-nights alone with tony where there’s no evil to fight always bring the best events.

Survive- prologue (A)

-tony has to risk his life to save yours. you may be the secret to saving all human from the worsening zombie apocalypse.

Survive- Where it all Started (A)

-no one knows how it began, all they know is that it’s here.

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Bucky

Puffballs (A, F)

-You and Bucky’s daughter starts to have some self identity and self-image issues at a young age. Bucky lets his daughter know there is nothing wrong with that she was given

Subdue (A, S)

-Reader kind of has a hulk of her own. Despite her and Bucky’s no secrets rule, she kept this from him until one day he finds out in a way she didn’t want him to.

Shadow and Shade (Part 1) (A)

-You, the Goddess of Night, oldest Goddess in Greek mythology, find yourself on the team with Earths’s mightiest heroes. The brooding man seems to be the only comforting thing during your transition.

Shadow and Shade pt.2 (A, F)

-You let the team know that your son, Thanatos, is soon to come and though you don’t know what he plans on doing, you recruit all the help you can get. Bucky and the team meets your kids and in the midst of all the trouble, he wants to get used to you and your life.

Shadow and Shade Casting Lists: Part 1- Part 2 - Part 3

Shadow and Shade pt.3 (A)

-Training has begun, bonds are being made, but you can’t shake the feeling of knowing that they’ll be broken because things might not work out 100% like you want

The Mission (Pt 2 of Puffballs. The second installment to the Honeybee series) (A, F)

-You went on a mission and while tying to save everyone you could, it wasn’t enough. You go home and the dynamic of your family changes because of it.

Nerves (part 4/ prequel to the Honeybee Series) (A, F)

-prequel to the Honeybee series where Bucky finds out you’re pregnant and everything that ensues after.

The Gift Of Life (part 5 to the Honeybee Series) (A, F)

-father’s day is coming up and bucky tells you want he wants for his gift.

Coloring Book Adventures (18+) (S, AF)

-As a way to stay abstinent, you color in coloring books to distract you when you feel sexual urges. That’s until your father’s gardener comes to play

Coloring Book Adventures pt.2 (18+) (S, F)

- Though Bucky has finished the garden, he still visits you during the day tp help you color more pretty pictures. He takes you on adventures outside of your garden and you experience so much more of life and feelings you don’t know

Coloring Book Adventures pt.3 (18+) (A, F)

-You and Bucky tell your parents that you have been seeing each other. Once the truth comes out, it’s all a domino effect

Knots (18+) (S)

-You tell Bucky you want to be dominated in the bedroom and he pulls all the strings to make it wonderful for you... or should you say ropes?

Lush 3 (w/ Steve) 18+ (S)

Behind Closed Doors (A, F)

-It’s the 40s and you find yourself falling for a certain Sergeant. You know it’s hard for you in a time like this but the love you two have for one another in insurmountable.

Not You (A)

-bucky wasn’t supposed to be the one to hurt you. not like this.

Not You pt.2 (A)

-you’re still getting used to the idea that bucky and winter soldier are two different people

Say ‘I love you” Before You Leave (A)

-you and bucky are going through a rough patch in your marriage

The Fear of Starting Over Pt. 2 (A, TW)

-sometimes staying in a toxic situation sounds safer than starting over.

Act Four: Lucky Hand (part 6 of Listening party) (S)

-you love to see the glimmer of silver, now you get to see it up close and personal

Colors (A, TW)

-a series of describing colors without using its name.

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Natasha

Underestimated Butterfly (A)

-One thing you hate is being underestimated and you’re put to the test when your dead past comes back to life.

Ant Farm (F)

-davina wants an ant farm… but why?

Humanity (A, F)

-you’ve flipped the switch to your humanity and there’s only one person who can bring you back

Just a Minute (A)

-a minute turned into never

Act Two: Rock, Paper... (pt. 4 of Listening Party) (S)

-time to stick your hand back in the blind bag and the next one is revealed

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Clint

Call of the Void (18+ and w/Pietro) playlist (S, F)

-you’re the rock star heartbreaker but Clint wants to change that and it took him a long time to do so, he finally introduces you to the team and come to find a certain speedster can’t help but head of heels for you.

Forget Me Not (18+ due to cg/l dynamic) (A, F)

-clint is your caregiver but it doesn’t feel like it when nat goes into little space and bucky is away so he’s second in command to take care of her.

Act One: Sensory Deprivation (pt. 3 to Listening Party) (S)

-the solo fun begins and clint is the first to play

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Wanda

Phantom (A)

-Reader’s powers get a bit out of control and sort of instills fear in the others. Some hurtful words are said, hearts are broken.

Aches of the Heart (A)

-friends with benefits never ended well, did they?

WIsh I Could Tell You (AotH pt.2) (A)

-you and wanda try to move on from each other

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Pietro

Call of the Void (18+ and with Clint) (S, F)

Easter Egg Hunts (18+ because of CG/L dynamics) (F)

-who doesn’t love Easter? And Easter egg hunts?!

Peter

99 Cent Store (A)

-He could have built you a whole 99 cent store with all the cheap lies he sold you. But were they really cheap?

Tie Me Down 18+ (S)

-Peter was never the kind to be dominant. He had trouble asserting himself when it came to everyday tasks. So it didn’t surprise you when he finally admitted he likes to be controlled in the bedroom.

Fortress (A)

-he doesn’t get in your brain, he doesn’t fill up the spaces. you don’t whisper his name now that you’ve built a fortress.

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Thor

Blue Push Pops (A, F)

-Everyone has their own way of coping with anxiety, Thor knows that. But he gets confused whenever he sees his girlfriend pull out a blue push pop. But his confusion grows when he finds her bedside table drawer full of them

Ruin Me 18+ (S)

-teasing Thor was always fun. Especially when you worked him up so much he has no choice but to ravish you for all you’re worth.

I’m Leaving Soon (A)

-sometimes there’s only one way to handle things, it may suck but you feel it in your gut that it has to be this way

Act Three: What’s a king to a God? (pt. 5 of Listening Party) (S)

-who knew the sweetest of them all could be so disgusting in a way that had you drooling and wanting more?

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Bruce

Date Night (18+) (A, S)

-Bruce keeps missing date night and he feels bad about it so he does his best to try and make it up to the reader.

Bruce discovering her has a daddy kink (Headcanon) (18+) (S)

Dr. Daddy (18+) (F)

-You’ve come down with the flu and there’s only one person who can make it better

Listening Party (18+) (S)

-he can’t get enough of you and the others like to hear it.

Front Row Seats (18+ w/ the team) (S)

-why listen when they can just watch? and maybe even… participate?

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Sam

Authentic Intelligence (S)

-F.R.I.DA.Y becomes personified as a beautiful black woman and has her eyes on Sam. Though it’s weird for him, he reciprocates the attraction.

Shin Kicks and Wall Sits (18+ because of CG/L dynamics) (F)

-you’re a brat through and through and can’t help it. Sam sets you straight.

Dark Room (A, TW)

-grow through what you go through.

Shadows Dance (dark room pt. 2) (A, TW)

-your pain is their dance floor.

-----------

Doctor Strange

Rot (Myself pt. 2) (A)

Tell Me (Myself pt.3 18+) (A, S)

In the Dark (Myself pt.4) (A)

Save Me (Myself pt.5) (A)

Voir Dire (Myself finale) (A)

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Loki

Outlaws 18+ (A)

-It’s easy for a good girl to go bad. But once they’re gone, best believe they’re gone forever.

Outlaws pt.2 (A)

-While wreaking havoc around the nation, it became a little lonely with just you and Loki, so you bring some friends along for the ride

---------

All Avengers

Shy/Innocent Black!Reader Roasting the Team (headcannon) (F)

Avengers as Vines (F)

Avengers as Weird Shit I’ve Said (F)

Avengers as Youtubers (F)

Avengers as Different Water Brands (F)

------

Random Works

You and Chris bet on the Super Bowl and he wins (headcanon) 18+ (S)

Headcanon: Pietro walks in on your dance session

Ascension (Chase Collins) (A, F)

-When Chase was on his power hungry rampage, you helped him push through. Now you’re about to ascend and the boys find out. You find yourself in the same shoes as Caleb when one of your sisters come after your power

Not Some Ken Doll (Thanos smut)

-the fate of the world falls on you, or better yet, what’s in your pants.

More coming soon <3

6K notes · View notes

ick25 · 4 years

Text

What I think about Inuyasha’s writing.

I used to be a huge Inuyasha fan because I watched it in my teen years (The Latin Spanish dub, not the English dub where I find their voices to be pretty annoying). I would stay awake until eleven o’ clock just to watch a new episode on Cartoon Network and sing along with the translated versions of the intros. My early submissions on Deviantart were fanarts of Inuyasha, I used to draw him like crazy, and the show is even one of my original comic’s main inspirations. So what happened?

I love Inuyasha’s character, but as I grew older, I started hating or not caring about the other characters of the show (Except for Sesshomaru, of course) and grew tired of the story because I felt it wasn’t going anywhere. Inuyasha has good writing, but the pacing and how sometimes you can’t really take it seriously ruins it for me.

I want to talk about this now since I just heard about the sequel that is gonna happen soon with Inuyasha’s Lina Inverse of a daughter and Sesshomaru’s very confused twin daughters, and I’m thinking to myself: “How is Rumiko gonna ruin this story even more”. Don’t get me wrong, the creator, Rumiko Takahashii, is a very talented manga artist and writer, and I respect her, at one point I even saw her as my heroine, but now I want to surpass her.

How can Inuyasha, a story about a half demon, who falls in love with the reincarnation of his ex-girlfriend who can travel through time whenever she feels like it, has a hot demon brother that tried to kill him several times, wields a powerful magical sword forged from the fang of his deceased yet very famous demon father who I want to know more about, a dead human mother who may or may not have been a princess... Where was I going with this? o_o

As an aspiring storyteller/ animator, I want to talk about the problems with Inuyasha’s story, the things I love about it, as well as the bad things in it, and see why Inuyasha isn’t the writing masterpiece everyone likes to believe it is. And by the end, talking about what I would do to improve the story.

This is how I analyze Inuyasha. I never read the manga, so I’m gonna focus on the anime.

1. Inuyasha is a romantic comedy?

Rumiko Takashii is a successful manga artist and considered “The queen of anime”, because her art Style and humor have inspired many of the anime cliches we know today such as the nose bleeds shots, the beach episodes with fan service, and good o’l scenes where the girl calls a boy a pervert before comically sending them flying. She is the creator of another famous work called Ranma 1/2, an anime I used to love as a kid, but now...

I studied how to draw and create mangas and I have learned how to make a good story. After returning to Ranma recently, I have figured out the problem with Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashii’s style is repetitive. Rumiko is capable of writing a good plot and creating very good characters from time to time, but now many of her main characters feel very cliche. In her stories there is always gonna be a pervert, there is always gonna be a bad parent, a rivalry, crazy and or exaggerated situations, goofy looking characters, wise old men or women, beautiful female characters, Japanese or Chinese folklore, fighting, but most importantly, a girl with a love/hate relationship with a dumb, rowdy tsundere boy, where they argue so much that the girl ends up physically abusing the boy and the show passes it for something funny; and those are the ingredients for making a Rumiko Takahashii styled manga/anime.

Rumiko’s forte is in Romantic comedy, sometimes mixing different genres makes a story good and very realistic... If done right, which brings me to my next point.

2. Time travel just for fun.

What is Inuyasha about? It is about a half-demon teenage boy that has to partner with a teenage girl from the modern times, who accidentally travels through time via a magical well that has been in her family’s shinto shrine for generations, to find the shards of a powerful magical jewel that said girl accidentally shatters and scatters all over feudal Japan. This idea alone makes it a very interesting series, either for a book or a TV show.

What went wrong then? I believe the problem started around the third episode were it was shown that Kagome can easily go back to the present, have dinner with her family, take a bath, gather provisions, and even take her god damn bike with her to the past every time she wants without caring about creating a time paradox.

This is played for laughs because of the romantic comedy element, but if you do this in an show with action, deaths, and evil spirits wanting to take over the world, then that fact alone makes the entire story lose credibility, I mean, what is stopping Naraku or any other demon from finding a way to travel to the future through the well to take over a world where demons and magical powers are basically extinct? The fact that only Kagome AND Inuyasha are the only ones who can go through the well? How convenient!

If the time travel well was taken more seriously it could’ve lead to a much more interesting story, but apparently nobody cares about time travel and the effects it could have in the history of Japan. I think there were two instances that I recall from the anime (Before Inuyasha Second Act, because I already stopped caring about the show when it came out) where time travel was or could’ve been relevant; the episode about the man eating mask that had a Shikon shard for hundreds of years, and the second movie of Inuyasha where the whole group was immune to a time stopping spell because Kagome’s medical kit and necklace from the future created some kind of time barrier around them.

And nobody cared about any of those things afterwards! Not the fact that there could’ve been one extra shard, or that Naraku was present during the time barrier incident and never wondered about it. Both the episode and movie scene were just ways to have Inuyasha being the only one who can come to Kagome’s rescue because their love is the main focus. Speaking of love...

3. Frustrating love drama.

Part of Inuyasha’s tsundere personality comes from the fact that he had his heart broken by everyone’s favorite b***, Kikyo.

Kikyo was the young priestess who sealed Inuyasha in a tree for 50 years, at first it looked like the typical holy person trying to protect her village from a dangerous demon, but in reality, she was in a relationship with him and thought that Inuyasha tricked her so he could steal the Shikon jewel from her. This was because everyone’s favorite a**h*** , Naraku, shape-shifted into both of them to trick them into killing each other.

It’s easy to blame Naraku for this, but that actually shows how they didn’t really “love” each other because of how quickly they turned against the other.

I take this as a cautionary tale for first love. Inuyasha was just infatuated with Kikyo because of her beauty and kindness towards him, and when someone falls in love for the first time they don’t think straight, they don’t know what a real relationship entails, and not knowing that is exactly what happened to these two.

There was a special episode in the anime where we see how Inuyasha and Kikyo met and fell in love, in it we get a scene where Kikyo told Inuyasha that she was gonna give him a gift, which was gonna be the subduing necklace that Kagome tends to abuse a lot, however, Inuyasha decided to give her a gift as well, his mother’s lip balm she left him after dying. A very sweet gesture, right? How does Kikyo react to this?

That’s not a look of love, that’s a look of pity. RECIPROCATE, WOMAN! HE OPENED HIS HEART TO YOU AND YOU JUST FEEL SORRY FOR HIM?!

She does end up changing her mind about the subduing charm, but before this, she didn’t saw him as a person, and she was considered a saint by everyone in the village, but I guess that feeding the poor, nursing people, and playing with children is alright as long as they are humans, that’s almost racist. I hate Shippo, but I bet she wouldn’t be so caring about him or his dad if she saw them.

Kikyo absolutely sucks as a romantic partner! She doesn’t express anything, she doesn’t talk about her feelings, she doesn’t show any emotion apart from anger and slight contentment, and based on what we saw after Naraku set them up, I believe she never told him ANYTHING about herself. Unlike Kagome who he got to know very well as a person, Inuyasha didn’t even questioned her motives for attacking him, he automatically assumed that she manipulated him the whole time, and ran to the village to get the Shikon Jewel.

Rumiko wanted to make Kikyo more relatable so we could feel sorry for her and pass Naraku as an evil monster who destroyed what could’ve been a beautiful relationship, by having Kikyo wanting to live life as a normal girl, but can’t because she is the only one who can keep the Shikon jewel from being corrupted, and ultimately falling in love with Inuyasha because he saw her as a normal person (Unlike her with him). Well, it didn’t work, at least not for me.

I did feel sympathy for Kikyo... When she was alive! The series had a witch bring her back to life in a body made out of clay and using part of Kagome’s soul because she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. Why do this? To create drama by adding a love triangle into this romantic comedy of a show.

Feels like Rumiko doesn’t understand how reincarnation works because I think Kagome would’ve died during that ritual, and I really doubt Kikyo would’ve become such a B just out of jealousy; she wanted to take Inuyasha to hell with her, and he was not even dead yet! If this Kikyo really loved him, she would’ve let him go on with his life instead of roaming Japan feeling sorry for herself, taking advantage of a situation to keep Kagome away from Inuyasha, and barely doing anything to stop Naraku which was supposed to be her main goal. All of this made Kikyo unlikable instead of a relatable character trying to fix her past mistakes before going back to the grave.

4. Inuyasha’s background.

Something I absolutely love from Inuyasha’s story is the fact that it is set during a historical time period in Japan but with magical elements incorporated since many of the Japanese myths and folklore originated during those dark times. I love the fact that since everything was so dark back then, people would often see things that weren’t really there and made up stories to explain certain phenomena or just to keep children from misbehaving.

Inuyasha is full of Japanese folktales and magical creatures, and it clearly took inspiration from “Journey to the west”, a classic Chinese novel that’s one of the best adventure/ fantasy stories of all time, and that’s also been the main inspiration for many mangas and animes; it’s one of my favorites too.

Inuyasha’s background is one of the most interesting ones I’ve ever seen, it’s something common in fairy tales and myths where a human falls in love with a being from a magical race, like fairies, mermaids, gods, or in Asian folklore’s case, spirits or demons. In Inuyasha’s case, his mother was a human named Izayoi who fell in love with a powerful dog demon named Toga who was known as Inu no taisho (Dog general), animal spirits or demons can take human form, and the dog spirits are very common in Japanese folklore.

The third movie of Inuyasha shows us what Toga looked like before and how he died, and I’m actually more interested in how Inuyasha’s parents met more than his love triangle drama. In fact, Toga’s story sounds much more interesting because he was built up as this great demon lord who fought countless enemies, he was a gigantic dog monster that stopped a demon invasion from China, he could destroy multiple armies with one swing of a sword he forged from one of his fangs, he had disciples and loyal subjects, but he ultimately lost his status, he let his reputation be destroyed because he fell in love with a woman from a race that was considered inferior, and had a half demon child with her.

One of Inuyasha’s motivation’s (the main one being killing Naraku) is proving that he is stronger than his father who was a full demon, while Inuyasha himself is considered a weak half human who is unworthy of the tittle of being a descendant of Inu no taisho. Every time Inuyasha hears about a demon that his father couldn’t defeat in the past, he gets excited because, with the powerful sword his dad left him, he now has a chance to prove to everyone that he is not weak and that he is stronger than his father was.

Inuyasha never met his father because Toga died the very day he was born, so he was raised by his mother who died when he was still a child. His older brother, Sesshomaru, is a full demon that never really forgave his father for throwing his reputation away because of a human woman, and leaving him a magical sword that can also resurrect the dead instead of the one that can destroy numerous souls in one blow.

I’m not really sure, but I think the Sesshomaru from the beginning of the third movie looked like he was around Inuyasha’s age when Toga died.

Before:

After:

I like to think that’s the case.

Inuyasha’s background alone can hold up the entire series, as well as his tense relationship with his only living relative, however, the main focus is something else, something that I personally find very repetitive, boring, and even lame.

5. Is Naraku really worth it?

Note that I am not defending Naraku, he is unlikable, mainly because of all the bad things he’s done to the main characters, but the truth is that I don’t really hate him as much as I should, granted, he is a manipulative b*st**d and I don’t like him, but he is just evil for the sake of being evil in the story. If anything, I see him as pathetic.

Let’s see his main crimes: He cursed Miroku’s family, for some reason, killed Sango’s entire family by using her inexperience demon slayer little brother as a puppet, he basically conned Sesshomaru in hopes of killing Inuyasha, but most importantly, he is the reason Inuyasha and Kikyo broke up! :0

To me, Naraku is just a coward that likes to manipulate others for his own personal gain, he was born from a bandit named Onigumo who was burned in a fire after betraying the leader of his group of thieves so he could take his place, and allowed his bodied to be consumed by demons in order to get... Kikyo! The gross part is that Kikyo was like 15 at the time while he could easily be in his 20′s or 30′s. Kikyo, being a “saint”, found Onigumo’s burned body and nursed him in a cave, this ultimately made the bandit fall in love with her and allowed his body to be devoured by evil spirits in exchange for power, he was then reborn as Naraku who is basically a half demon like Inuyasha.

I heard that the manga didn’t really mentioned Naraku’s past life, but I think that’s for the best. Naraku became Inuyasha’s group’s ( and other characters’s) main target, but every single time they find him and think they got him cornered, he manages to escape in some way because of how much of a coward he really is. Because this happens over and over and over and over again in every season, it get’s tiresome and frustrating, to the point where I even ask myself: “Is this MF even worth it?!” Anyone would’ve just given up a long time ago. I liked it when they focused on fighting other demons and enemies with different motives, but after a while it was just Naraku, Naraku, Naraku!

At some point I even forgot what started this adventure in the first place, the Shikon Jewel shards that were accidentally shattered and scattered through out Japan! One shard alone can power up a demon, this idea alone makes it an interesting story, collect the shards before Japan is destroyed by overpowered demons and evil spirits, but no, turns out Naraku is collecting the shards too to the point that he already has a nearly complete jewel, well, that saves a lot of time!

I know, killing Naraku will get rid of Miroku’s wind tunnel curse, free Sango’s undead brother from his control, and Sesshomaru and other demons wanting revenge because he tried to use them, but what’s really Inuyasha’s beef with Naraku? Is he just mad because Naraku showed him just how totally incompatible he was with Kikyo? That’s what pisses me the most, to be honest.

As for Kagome, she definitely has no reason to be there, Naraku is the main antagonist and yet, he is kinda indifferent to Kagome. I don’t remember seeing Naraku doing anything bad to her or her family living in modern times that can be accessed through a magical well where he could easily... You know what? I’m done here.

Conclusion.

Inuyasha’s story has so much potential and yet it doesn’t take itself too serious. As I mentioned before, Inuyasha is treated more as a romantic comedy than a fantastical adventure kind of story. there is so much dept to the world building, but when focusing only on Inuyasha and Kagome falling in love, nothing else seem to matter. This could’ve worked if it had better writing. A simple or silly premise for a story can work if it has clever writing, something that Inuyasha really needed at times.

I liked to be surprised with clever writing in movies and shows, but if it was up to me, I’d definitely change a few things.

1. If you want a serious story, make Kagome be stuck in feudal Japan until the shards of the Shikon Jewel are recovered, or if this has to stay, don’t make the the stakes in the adventure so dire, either its a fantastical journey with two teenagers falling in love as the main focus, or a very serious adventure where their love is the only thing that can save the day.

2. Make Inuyasha and kikyo just friends, the love drama is unnecessary, specially since kikyo has almost no personality what so ever, unless you re-write her entire character. Or make Inuyasha fall in love with Kikyo, but Kikyo doesn’t feel the same and just sees him as a good friend, that at least would create some drama instead of the jealous ex-girlfriend that wants to kill everyone because she lost her chance in life.

3. Get rid of Naraku, the ultimate villain troupe gets tired very quickly, specially in a very long show that takes like 8 seasons to end. Or at least write him better and not turn the show into an endless chase for just one guy, specially since the main goal is to collect the shards of the Shikon jewel to destroy it once and for all.

This is just my opinion of course, and if you like the show just the way it is, then that’s alright, but seeing things you like with a critical eye, makes you appreciate them even more.

#Inuyasha #anime #my review #ick25

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spaceskam · 4 years

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when you’re good to mama

day 4 of my 12 (actually 13) days of gifts! This time we have a sequel to my fic can I give you what you need for @chamblerstara who’s ao3 and tumblr I stalked to make sure I had to correct one, so hi I’m super familiar with all your titles and I hope you like this!

ao3

“Is Michael in?”

The woman at the door eyed Alex up and down. It made him keenly aware that he probably should’ve gotten out of his uniform before he traveled this way. The problem was that he’d had Michael on his mind for two days and he couldn’t think straight without him. He didn’t want to think about anything but him. War was boring. Boys with calloused fingers and soft stomachs were decidedly not.

“You’re the soldier?” she asked. He didn’t really know how to respond, so she just stepped outside completely. She was an older woman, hair gone white and pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck. Alex’s first thought was that this was the aforementioned Mama.

“Um, yes, ma’am,” he said. She raised her chin, making Alex feel small under her gaze even though she was much shorter. He supposed that had everything to do with her running a whore house by herself. She needed to be threatening to keep everyone safe. He could respect that.

“Is there a reason you’re looking for my boy?” she asked. Alex licked his lips.

“I, uh,” he paused, trying to think of something better than ’I miss him’. That would just be embarrassing. “We agreed to meet again. So… I came to meet him.”

Mama looked him up and down, cocking her head to the side as she stared him down. Alex shifted under her gaze.

“My boy is very special, very bright,” she said, crossing her arms, “I know he might do somethings that aren’t entirely up to what you might consider proper, but he earns an honest living. He’s going to be someone someday. I think you hanging around here will only make that harder for him. Do you understand?”

Alex gulped, “Yes, Ma’am.” Part of him wanted to argue and explain that he didn’t really care about any of that. He just wanted to see him again. However, that sounded like a bad idea.

“So off you go,” she said, not really giving him any other options.

Alex nodded and she very quickly went inside without saying goodbye. He sighed and considered knocking again. He knew Michael didn’t believe that they were going to see each other again, so it felt even extra wrong to just leave without a fight. But he didn’t want to piss Mama off either. He was stuck.

“Alex?”

Alex turned around to see Michael in boys’ clothing. It was a whole new sight to see and he would be lying if he didn’t say he was in love with it. He had dirt smudges on his face and his hands and sweat-soaked hair. Alex remembered that he said he was a farmhand. He surely looked the part.

“Hello,” Alex said, gulping softly as he took in the sight. Michael grinned.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, stepping closer.

“Coming to see you,” Alex said, “I met Mama.”

Michael’s face dropped for a second. “She didn’t like you, did she?”

“I’m in uniform, of course, she didn’t,” Alex laughed softly. Michael nodded, looking around before grabbing Alex’s collar and pulling him inside. It was the best thing to happen all day.

Alex was tugged up the stairs and into the same bedroom he’d reluctantly left two days prior. It felt like a lifetime ago. Michael pulled him in close, dirty hands caressing him over the uniform. Alex liked to think this is what life was meant to be.

“Just, you know, don’t tell Mama,” Michael whispered, a little smile on his lips as he moved in for a kiss.

“Wait, you’re not gonna question me? Make me work for it?” Alex asked, though he was already letting his hands roam. Michael chuckled softly and held up his hands.

“I already did.”

“Is Michael in?”

“What did I tell you about comin’ ‘round here?”

Alex blinked hard and smiled as nicely as he could. He was in his civvies, he looked casual enough to not be suspicious, and he was just really trying his damnedest to look presentable so she would like him for Michael. He wanted to be good enough.

“I-I was hoping that, since I’m not obviously a soldier, I wouldn’t draw attention and I could come see him,” Alex said. Mama sighed, stepping outside completely again.

“Do you understand that you coming here, dressed up in your uniform or not, you draw attention? Not by the people who live beside us, but by your soldier friends and boss. Do you know what they’ll do if they find out what goes on here? Do you know that you will ruin my boy’s life if they find out what you do with him? It’ll ruin yours too,” she explained, not giving him any space to deny. Mainly because he couldn’t. “Maybe if you were someone who wouldn’t be missed it wouldn’t be as hard. But your absence is noticed.”

“I told them I was seeing a woman,” Alex relayed truthfully, “They think I’m at her place.”

Mama shook her head, reaching up to pat him on the cheek. It felt demeaning, but he also assumed he deserved it.

“Son, let’s think of it this way, a way you might understand,” she began, “How long are you staying here in this town?”

“Another year,” he answered truthfully. She pursed her lips and nodded.

“And then what?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“And where do you think that leaves my boy?” she asked. Alex’s shoulders sunk. “Listen, I understand that you think you can hide him, but if you can’t he gets hurt. And if you can, he gets hurt. My job is to protect him. And protect him I will.”

“I really care about him. Maybe after I leave I can still come back and see him. Or something. I’m not sure, I just really like him,” Alex tried. Mama took a deep breath and shook her head at him.

“I know you do. He’s impossible not to like. But that doesn’t mean you need to be around him,” she said. Alex gulped and nodded. She had a point. A point he didn’t quite like, but a point nonetheless.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, go on,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Alex watched as she disappeared inside. And then he did nothing as he was tugged around to the side of the house. He was shoved against the wall of the dark alley. Michael stood in front of him, all dolled up and grinning. He’d probably returned from one of his rich old women.

“You came back,” he whispered.

“I’ll always come back,” Alex assured him.

Michael kissed him until he couldn’t breathe.

“Oh, you are asking for trouble.”

“If you’re the one punishing, absolutely.”

Alex had stayed overnight. He knew it was stupid, but it was his day off and he wanted to wake up next to Michael. He was tired of sneaking around Mama. He just wanted to pretend he had a real relationship and that he and Michael could just be. He knew that wasn’t possible, but he liked to pretend.

Michael slowly propped himself up on his elbow in the tiny bed, leaning over Alex and giving him the best kiss he’d ever woken up to. Maybe it was the only one, but still. He hummed against Michael’s lips, pulling his nude body closer, closer, closer because it was never close enough. He just wanted to be fused into him sometimes. Again, that wasn’t allowed.

“Please,” Alex whispered, begging for nothing in particular. Michael seemed to act nonetheless and pressed harder, squishing Alex between his body and the bed and leaving absolutely no room for anything unpleasant.

And then the door opened and they were forced to make room for all things unpleasant.

“You’re quite persistent when you want something, aren’t you?” Mama asked as she stood there, not at all seeming phased by what she was seeing. She clearly expected it. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was just stared at them.

Michael had sat up whenever she walked in, staring up at her with big, childish eyes. Alex didn’t know what to say. It felt worse than being caught by his father. At least he could expect the consequences with him.

“I really like him, Mama,” Michael said, his voice softer than Alex had ever heard it, “I wanna keep seeing him.”

“I know you do, and clearly he wants that as well,” she sighed. Alex gulped softly.

“I do.”

She raised her head and stared Alex down for a moment. He held eye contact. His father always made him hold eye contact.

“Stay for dinner tonight, if you can, Soldier. Clearly, you’re going to be around and I don’t like things happening in my house without me knowing,” she explained. He nodded. “And I don’t like that you felt the need to keep it a secret, even if you’re shit at keeping secrets.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Michael said, nodding. He smiled at her and she seemed helpless not to smile back.

Charming indeed.

When she left them alone again, Michael turned to him with a grin that was even wider.

“She likes you,” he said. Alex looked at him incredulously.

“What? Where did you get that from?”

“She didn’t threaten to shoot you, she asked you to stay for dinner,” Michael pointed out. Alex let out a breathy laugh, suddenly very thankful he was staring down the barrel of a gun. Instead, he was being touched by a man who was his. Sort of, at least.

“Sounds good.”

“Soldier, come here for a moment.”

Alex waded through the sea of women that all seemed to find it all too adorable that Michael had a boy over for dinner. They were poking and prodding at him, cooing and praising all the way. It was overwhelming to him, but Michael seemed more than used to it. It reminded him of what Michael had said about them all mothering him.

He entered the kitchen where Mama had called him, watching as she prepared a large dinner for her large family. He found that endlessly charming though he could never voice it. Mama looked up at him.

“I want you to know that I am doing this as a favor to my boy,” she said. He nodded curtly. “He hasn’t had much of his own in this life and you seem to want him. I think it’ll be good to know that he is wanted and loved, even if it’s temporary. But you need to do good by him.”

“Oh, I will, I promise,” Alex said. He was honest. He wanted nothing but to be good to him.

“I mean it. If I hear one little thing, I will have your ass, I don’t care if you’re a soldier,” Mama threatened. Alex nodded.

“All I want is for him to be happy,” Alex said. She nodded.

“Then we have something in common.”

Alex let her eye him once again, let her stare him down and stared right back with nothing but respect. Then she nodded and waved him back to the living room where he was welcomed back beside Michael. He didn’t ask what they spoke about; Alex was sure he already knew.

“I’m glad that you’re here,” Michael whispered, kissing his cheek. Alex ignored the chorus of women ‘aw’ing at him.

“Me too.”

#my 12 days #malex #malex fic #michael guerin #michael guerin fic #alex manes #alex manes fic #roswell new mexico #roswell new mexico fic #rnm #rnm fic #my fic

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kuiperblog · 4 years

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Awards that the Academy missed

Now that the Oscars are over, I thought I’d put out my own picks for several categories that didn’t receive proper recognition from the academy:

Best emotional scene where Scarlett Johansson ties someone’s shoes

Jojo Rabbit is an incredibly kind, sincere, and deeply funny movie. It’s hard to be a single mother. It’s even harder to be a single mother in Nazi Germany, especially when your son is enthusiastically pledging loyalty to the Party. Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) hates the Nazi Party, but she loves her son, and we see that no more clearly than in the scene where she squats down to tie Jojo’s shoes and explains the meaning of love. “You’ll know it when it happens. You’ll feel it. A pain. In your tummy. And in your heart.” It is a reminder of just how dependent and inexperienced and naive young Jojo is. In the lands of a lesser performer, this little speech about the meaning of love would have felt a bit too on the nose, but Scarlett Johansson delivers it in a way that makes you forget that she’s not a German mother in the year 1945.

It’s one of the best scenes of the year, almost as good as the Scarlett Johansson shoe-tying scene in Noah Baumbach’s movie about divorce. Winner: Marriage Story

Best movie where Adam Driver plays a character who loses his temper and shares a fraught romantic relationship with a woman who accuses him of being a villain

I don’t think that Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker is a good film. The sequel trilogy is fraught, and watching episode VIII followed by IX felt like watching two different writer/directors wrestle over the direction they wanted the series to take, kicking sand in the face of the audience in the process. In Episode IX, the plot is barely coherent, the pacing is bizarre, and so many of the creative choices are baffling. Yet, the sequel trilogy has one through-line that constantly works, and continues to work in Episode IX: the relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey. By episode IX, it feels like Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley are carrying the whole weight of this franchise on their shoulders, and their relationship is one of the few things that gets better and more interesting over the course of the trilogy. Is it love? Is it hate? It’s difficult to articulate, and yet they share a connection, bound by some tether of fate or compatibility or chemistry that makes a romance between the two of them seem both impossible and inevitable. Yes, Kylo Ren is a villain, but he also may be the man that Rey loves.

Adam Driver brings a truly excellent performance in Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker. It’s the kind of performance that makes you wish he could be in a better film, with better material to work with. Fortunately, he got exactly that in one of 2019′s most dramatic scenes, in Noah Baumbach’s divorce movie where Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) screams at Charlie (Adam Driver), “You gaslighted me! You’re a fucking villain!” Winner: Marriage Story

Best movie about the culture of Hollywood and Los Angeles

Tarantino loves making movies that are about movies. He pays homage to so many classic film genres, and every bit of his love for cinema comes across in his movies. Inglorious Basterds was a film about the power of cinema, with a powerful scene coming at the film’s climax that literally takes place in a theater, as film itself is used by a Jewish filmmaker as a weapon against Nazis.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is more deeply concerned with the filmmaking process and the people who participate in it, and I really think that Trudi Fraser (Julia Butters) steals the show with her portrayal of a child actress who, in her own way, reacquaints our protagonist Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) with his love for acting. And the parts involving Sharon Tate are purely about the love of cinema, a throwback to a more innocent time as we watch someone who loved making movies get to see firsthand the joy that her performance has brought to an audience of moviegoers.

Of course, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t just about Hollywood; it’s about the city of Los Angeles. There’s a scene when night falls and all of the signs across the city light up, and I’m left with the feeling that Tarantino really just enjoys giving us a retrospective tour of Los Angeles. It’s a joy to behold, and the movie constantly reminds you of where you are and why it’s special. It’s a lot like the scenes in another movie from the same year, where a man of New York (Adam Driver) gradually becomes acquainted with the city of Los Angeles, a place where people spend their days in their cars instead of on their feet and people constantly feel the need to remark about how much space there is. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) discovers that beyond her talents as an actress, she takes quite naturally to the director’s chair, as Los Angeles offers her opportunities that she never could have had in New York City. Winner: Marriage Story

Best movie where the “villain” is portrayed as German, but actually the real villain is the system

1917 is a movie about the brutality of war. It is also a hauntingly beautiful film.

There is a particular shot in the movie, the first scene that takes place after nightfall, where we see flares lighting up the night as a church burns. We see shadows dance across the ground, and the score swells in just the right way, and the scene was just so nightmarish yet so striking that I couldn’t help but have a physical reaction to it. It feels like we’ve stepped into hell on earth, and yet...

So many shots in this movie are simultaneously terrifying yet magnificent in a way that doesn’t undercut the terror of war, but rather, underscores it: these characters inhabit a beautiful world that is tainted by the scars of battle.

There is a moment about halfway through the movie when the main character is confronted with the grim reality of human mortality, and from that moment forward, the specter of death looms over him. Every gunshot he hears -- and that we hear -- is a reminder of his mortality. Every step that he takes, he is surrounded by death, often in the most literal way possible as he finds himself in various settings surrounded by the remains of the fallen.

As we gaze upon fields and rivers and earth littered with death, we are left with the impression that God has given us a beautiful world, and the things that make it ugly -- the machine guns and barbed wire, the crashed planes and mortar craters, the sound of gunfire and the agonized screams of injured soldiers -- are a pox upon that natural beauty, a sort of corruption that could only be wrought by the hands of men.

War is an ugly, wretched, terrible thing, not only because of what it is, but also because of what it robs us of. 1917′s hauntingly beautiful moments give us fleeting glimpses of that.

1917′s plot is fairly minimal, but its basic construction facilitates the anti-war message: the climax of this movie is not about a soldier attempting to win a battle or kill enemy combatants, but to call off an attack in order to prevent soldiers from marching into the maw of death. German soldiers stand in the way of our protagonist’s progress, and he must defeat them in order to carry out his mission, but the Germans are not the real villains here: the true villain of this movie is war itself.

I had similar thoughts watching Laura Dern’s performance in Noah Baumbach’s movie about divorce: true, she is an opportunistic divorce lawyer. She exploits Nicole and Charlie’s pain for her own benefit, and in the end we’re left to think that despite all her claims to feel compassion for Nicole, she was really in it to win to satisfy her own ego. And yet, can we really begrudge her for what she’s doing? She’s a divorce lawyer, and she’s good at her job. It’s hard not to admire her for her sheer competence and work ethic. She is responding to the incentives that the court system has put in place. The messiness of divorce court is not the fault of any single individual; it’s a system that forces good people to do bad things, including the divorce lawyer played by actress Laura Dern, whose German ancestry makes this movie a valid candidate for this category. Winner: Marriage Story

Best movie about human parasites

Bong Joon-ho makes films in a genre that I sometimes have difficulty describing, but maybe if I do a poor job of articulating it you’ll still get the idea of what I’m gesturing at: he makes movies that are about ideas. (As opposed to, say, movies that are about things, or people, or events, or places.) There were some movies -- good movies, even -- that, when you leave the theater, make you say, “well, that sure was a bunch of stuff that just happened.” I don’t think Bong has ever made a film like that: his movies stay with you.

Every movie is informed by the worldviews of the people who created it, but it feels like Bong creates movies that are intended to specifically communicate a certain worldview -- and yet it never feels preachy, because the stories that he tells seem so real and genuine. Maybe it’s the performances that he’s able to get out of the actors he works with, maybe it’s the way he always seems to let the camera linger just a second longer than other filmmakers would in order to really let a specific emotion hit you.

It feels reductive to describe Parasite as a film about class. It certainly doesn’t seem like we’re meant to agree with the characterization of these members of the “underclass” as mere parasites: they’re clever. They exhibit wit, ingenuity, and if they behave dishonestly and selfishly, it’s only because they’re part of a system that has forced them to be this way. It’s similar to the dynamic presented in Noah Baumbach’s divorce movie, where Baumbach portrays divorce lawyers as parasites who are nonetheless human in a story that feels incredibly true-to-life without being vindictive. Winner: Marriage Story

Best scene (that has also become an internet meme) where a character explains who is winning

Uncut Gems had me glued to my seat in the theater, and it feels like an incredible cinematic achievement. I felt thoroughly sucked into the world of this movie -- a pretty unpleasant sensation, all things considered. Many shots give an incredible sense of claustrophobia. The camera work gives off a constant sense of frenetic energy that just makes you feel tense. The characters are all incredibly abrasive, and the actors all deliver world-class performances that completely sell that abrasiveness, all while talking over each other: no piece of dialog feels like it has room to breathe. Everything about this movie feels incredibly and unpleasantly crowded. It’s kind of amazing. It’s artfully done and incredibly immersive, but the world that it immerses you in is so unpleasant that I’m not surprised it got a relatively poor Cinemascore: this movie does not scratch the itch that typical moviegoers are used to having scratched, and in fact the main level it operates on is by making you itchy and refusing to scratch that itch. The ending of this movie is perfect, but it’s definitely not a crowd-pleaser that is going to leave you with a grin on your face as you leave the theater. I want to make it clear: these are all things that I love about this movie.

Adding to the visceral sense of unpleasantness is the fact that the film not only immerses you in a specific place (the diamond district of New York), but the perspective of a character who is pretty twisted, and lives an adrenaline-fueled life where every hour day is spent performing the incredible balancing act of borrowing money from one party to pay off his debts to another: it’s enough to give you second-hand anxiety as he weaves his way through a mess of loan sharks, trying not to lose his skin in the process. It’s like watching someone sprinting on a tightrope while juggling knives.

Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is a deeply flawed man with practically zero admirable or redeeming qualities, and yet he’s rendered in such incredible fidelity that everything about him feels believable -- and being thoroughly immersed in his perspective makes him deeply fascinating. Throughout the movie, I felt myself wanting to understand this character and what made him tick, and the movie delivers that in its third act with a scene of the variety that I like to call “the scene in the movie where the main character explains what the movie’s themes are.” If that description sounds reductive and dismissive, it’s not because I mean it to be that way: I love this scene. Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) explains to Kevin Garnett (Kevin Garnett) what it is that makes him tick in a language that Garnett (and we, the audience) can understand: this anxiety-riddled thrill ride? This isn’t just the cost of doing business for him; he lives for this. “This is my fucking way. This is how I win.”

It’s a scene that’s almost as memorable as the line from Marriage Story where, in the midst of a fight between two people who are divorcing each other, Charlie (Adam Driver) punches the wall and screams, “you’re fucking insane! And you’re fucking winning!” It’s such a memorable moment that it’s no wonder that scene has become such an internet meme. Winner: Marriage Story

Best film of the year

It’s hard to overstate my love for Marriage Story. It’s one of those movies that just oozes competence from every pore, the kind of movie that makes me lean back in my chair and say, “This. This is how movies are supposed to be.” It’s so uniformly excellent that I hesitate to get specific with my praise, because while I can clearly put my finger on things that are great about it, the thing that I really love about it is all the things. I wouldn’t want to focus too hard on any one facet for fear of failing to recognize everything else about it that’s positively superb.

The set design is phenomenal. The film’s use of color is gorgeous. Noah Baumbach handles dialog in a way that makes you think “every movie should be like this.” Randy Newman’s score fits the film’s aesthetic to a T. And of course, the performances. Nearly every actor we see on screen delivers a performance that is Oscar-worthy: the array of character actors bat 1.000, and they’re not even the main event! Adam Driver gives the performance of a lifetime, and probably the only reason I’m not also saying the same thing about Scarlett Johansson is that she has to spend so much time sharing the screen with Laura Dern, who steals every scene that she’s in (based on Dern’s Best Supporting Actress award, it seems the Academy agrees).

Noah Baumbach gets great performances out of his actors, and he’s willing to frame the shot in a way that emphasizes the actor. There are so many shots that left me in awe of just how much confidence Baumbach has in his actors, his sheer willingness to just frame them in the middle of a shot and put the entire weight of a scene on their shoulders, only for them to deliver everything that’s expected of them and more. This film is beautiful from top to bottom, it has so much respect for its characters and it communicates all of that in a way that is just sublime.

Marriage Story is a movie about divorce. It has many incredibly emotional and contentious moments. If you have seen any part of this movie clipped or screenshotted on Twitter, it’s probably the scene of two characters shouting at each other, which really does feel like the performance of the year. I love everything about that scene. Two characters have reached a breaking point, and every bit of animus that has been stewing for the entire duration of their decade-long relationship comes to the surface all at once. It’s enough to make you terrified of what’s going to happen.

I like movies that make me uncomfortable. I like movies that are unsettling and sometimes almost anxiety-inducing, that have fully realized characters, even if those characters are abrasive. I love movies that are deeply immersive and pull me into their world, even if that world isn’t a place that is pleasant. For all of these reasons, if you’ve read this post this far, I think my pick for film of the year should be obvious. Winner: Uncut Gems

#movies #uncut gems #marriage story #star wars #Bong Joon-ho #1917 #all joking aside everything in this post is 100% my sincere and honest opinions about these movies

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moviegroovies · 4 years

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y’all i saw terminator: dark fate!!!!!!!!!

GOD i loved it. i think i’ve admitted before that the only way i really rank exciting plot points in movies is by how much i anticipated them/wanted them to happen, and terminator: dark fate did NOT disappoint. fuck every writer or director who makes weird shit happen in their stories just to give the audience a story they couldn’t possibly have anticipated. (cough avengers endgame cough.) sometimes the best ending is one you can see from ten miles away, because that means it’s been set up EFFICIENTLY.

obviously, i think the new terminator did that. there were a few things i wanted to happen that didn’t (mostly regarding the life of one or two key characters), and a few things i legitimately didn’t see coming that i really liked, but ultimately the story was solid, awesome to watch, and very faithful to the original. i haven’t seen any of the sequels past judgement day, and i have no plans to change that anytime soon (lmao), but i’ve heard that it discounts all continuity past the second one, and that’s completely fine by me. the actors were great. LINDA HAMILTON was great. and i am sexually attracted to old soft arnold schwarzenneger. 😔

i was debating on whether or not i should make a separate post to talk about the time travel in the terminator franchise or if i should just go crazy go stupid and lump it in with my review and ultimately i think it can just go here, because i have some things to say re: the way it ties back to the originals.

personally i think the neatest example of time shenanigans in the franchise comes from the very first movie. that one sets up time travel in their universe as very “you already changed the past,” insofar as, without the time travel elements, there is the very real sense that the future the terminator came from would never have existed. kyle reese, from the future, becomes the father of his superior officer john connor. without the time travel, there would be no human resistance for skynet to fear. not only that, when the terminator’s arm is left behind intact, even after sarah destroys the machine, they set out the idea that skynet itself was DEVELOPED FROM THE TERMINATOR’S TECHNOLOGY, so if there was no time travel, there was no skynet, and no apocalypse... etc. at the end of the movie, the picture of sarah that kyle comes back with is taken by a child at a gas station, and it seems like a clue that everything is happening on track. sarah will give birth to john connor, the machines will rise up, the resistance will rally, time travel will ensue. the events of the first movie are a closed time loop, and ultimately, i find that really satisfying.

However.

from a narrative perspective, i think the changes in those time travel mechanics are super interesting.

basically, in judgement day, there’s still some implications that the timeline is a closed loop--the terminator’s hand is actually shown to be the basis of what will become the skynet computer, which is being built right then and there. the apocalypse could indeed be on, and everything seems fixed. then, though, they find the creator of the computer, and miles bennett helps them to destroy his work in horror at what he will create. skynet never happens. they change the future.

by dark fate, that ability to change what is “written” becomes not only a plot point, but a sort of rallying cry. the skynet apocalypse is officially off--now the dark future is controlled by a very similar breed of computer known as legion. sarah’s efforts changed the future, permanently. there’s the feeling perhaps that the future can only be changed to an extent (the skynet apocalypse being canceled, but replaced by a very similar robo-hell, for example--almost like the timeline is trying to set itself right), but that feeling is tested and challenged as the movie progresses. in that sense, dark fate is the full culmination of the trendline that their “trilogy” represents: sarah’s fate was sealed in dark fate, but with john’s influence in judgement day, things were officially set off course. dark fate represented dani’s turn, and she took everything into her own hands--she personally stood up and refused to run, refused to let the bad future win out, refused to take things lying down. sarah felt a kinship to her, based on the position that she found her in, but it’s like she realizes--dani is not sarah. sarah’s realization is that “she’s john,” which is closer--she’s the leader of the resistance, humanity’s only hope, but i think the message is pretty clearly telling us that she’s not john connor either--she’s dani ramos.

and she fucking OWNS.

one thing that i was a little iffy about at the start of the movie was the “white savior” thing. i don’t think that was an unfounded reservation to have--based on the formula from the first movie, a terminator is sent back to kill, and a hero is sent back to protect. this time, the “hero” is a white girl cyborg named grace, while the character in danger, who the movie clearly wants you to think is in the same boat as sarah connor, ie the mother mary role, literally important not for her own self but for her womb, is a mexican woman. that could have reached unfortunate implication levels like hella fast, but honestly (and i will disclaim this by adding that i’m white, so if you felt differently about it i would appreciate hearing why), i think the rest of the movie subverted that pretty beautifully. for one thing, grace being fundamentally human underneath her augmentation meant that she wasn’t an unstoppable machine ready to continue on until her metal frame was torn to shreds. she was a BADASS, obviously, and in the first fight, grace did prove herself a worthy successor to the “uncle bob” terminator in t2 with her kickass skillz (sorry kyle reese you’re just not that cool), but soon after that we got to see grace’s limits. if it hadn’t been for sarah connor, grace’s plan on the bridge finally boiled down to “when the terminator starts to kill me, run.” soon after that, grace’s power is shown to be fallible even more thoroughly when she hits her limit and starts to convulse, a byproduct of her augmentation. grace can do more than what a human can do, but she can’t do it forever like a machine could. very quickly in the movie, the tables were flipped, and even though grace came back through time to protect dani, dani was the one who had to take over the driver’s seat (despite never having driven before), and the one responsible for getting grace to medicine so that she could be resuscitated. and all that was BEFORE the big reveal.

a note: there were two scenes in pretty quick succession in this sequence that made me sob. the first of these was the death of dani’s brother diego, because in his last act, he was reassuring his sister that he was okay, despite being impaled by a metal pole. that line gave his character some depths that i hadn’t expected, and it really made dani’s pain after the car went up feel palpable. diego didn’t get a lot of screentime, but we saw him flirt lamely with a neighbor, we saw him dream of internet fame, we saw him joke at the factory even as his job was being replaced. we saw how much dani cared about him when she told him to take her job while she sorted out his replacement by machine parts. their relationship was a solid brick in the movie’s foundation, and his loss felt a lot more real than many comparable losses in movies. you know that whole “show, don’t tell” adage? they didn’t have to tell me that losing diego (and her father) was like a knife in dani. i saw that for myself. the second scene was at the pharmacy, when the employees and the other customers reached out to help grace even after she and dani had both lashed out and threatened them with the gun in fear of what was happening. y’all ever get emotional over the way that people are essentially good and will help each other when they can? god i fucking love that.

anyway, the reveal. the reveal was awesome.

i started suspecting that dani wasn’t the mother of humanity’s last hope, but rather, humanity’s last hope herself, during the conversation on the train telling us exactly the opposite. sarah makes some assumptions and projects her experience onto dani, telling her flat out that she’s pretty much a walking incubator for humanity’s last hope. there’s a sense that sarah might be bitter about having that role handed to her, and perhaps even more so because it was then taken away--she lost the son that she risked everything for, fought two terminators for, and for nothing: for some machines in a future that no longer existed. in that scene though, crucially, grace never says anything to confirm sarah’s assumptions. the one character with knowledge of the future doesn’t impart it, and it shows. sarah knows things that dani doesn’t simply because it’s not her first rodeo, but she’s also wrong sometimes, too. again in the kitchen later, the “carl” terminator asks about grace’s mission, but she doesn’t share it or give any information on who dani is going to turn out to be. the absence of information can often be an answer all in itself, and the reveal had some EXCELLENT groundwork throughout the movie--both in grace’s actions and in the brave and heroic actions of dani herself.

dani’s nature and grace’s past being revealed in the plane was one of the best scenes in perhaps the entire franchise. i said i sobbed at those scenes i outlines before, right? yeah, that was nothing to how hard i was crying and also cringey stimming during the reveal. we got to see a peek of dani ramos some twenty years in the future, and she’s incredible. she’s fearless, she’s tough, but crucially, she’s still kind. she takes no shit, but she not only saves a child’s life, but she offers a new one to the thugs who were chasing her. in just one scene, the way that dani bands a resistance together is obvious: she’s the best of us, and she uses that for good.

god, i love dani ramos.

the way that ultimately, dani takes the “hero” role over for herself (much like sarah did, honestly) and the way that we get to see grace’s weaknesses make them a very balanced pair. they’re both badass women in their own right (hell, sarah is, too), and they counter each other excellently. grace is augmented, and has physical capabilities that dani can’t match. at the same time, though, dani is willing to make risks that grace isn’t, because while grace’s concern rests on the fate of one woman, dani wants to find the best outcome for everyone--including herself, but not ending there. grace is willing to drop dani at the bottom of a mineshaft, if that’s what it takes to keep her safe. dani is willing to sacrifice her safety to face the confrontation that’s looming, because that’s what it takes to move forward.

i think one of the coolest things about the movie is that both grace and sarah come into the action with more experience in combat than dani, and more knowledge about the situation than dani, but ultimately the movie shows that they aren’t infallible, and there’s never a moment when dani is punished for naivety or made to feel stupid because she wasn’t as informed as them. both grace and sarah, in fact, are openly shown to be wrong about dani in different ways--grace knows who she’s going to become, intimately, but that closeness makes her too reluctant to put dani near the front lines, choosing to run indefinitely from the terminator rather than face it head on and use every advantage they can get to beat it. sarah, meanwhile, respects dani’s agency more, but in a way she sees past her at the start of the movie, dismissing her importance in a way that reads as sarah dismissing her own--she’s attacking herself and using dani as a proxy, but sarah’s wrong, because dani isn’t her. i love how both grace and sarah are good characters, and they’re both doing what they think is necessary and right, but they’re allowed to be wrong and misguided. ultimately, if it wasn’t for dani’s own agency and choices, the terminator would not have been defeated, and there would be no hope for subverting the bad future everyone is waiting for.

fate, believe it or not, is a very present theme in dark fate. obviously, i talked earlier about how this movie is the culmination of the “you can’t change the future” -> “you can change the future?” -> “you can change the future.” chain of events represented in the good terminator movies that i will acknowledge, but it’s more than just that. through the character of the “carl” terminator, we also get to see the blatant subversion of one’s nature for the better, and that was just. really epic. ngl.

in terminator 2, i enjoyed how john connor was protected by the reprogrammed terminator “uncle bob,” but i was a little disappointed by the execution. having uncle bob be a protector to john was exactly what i wanted, but the explanation that he had been programmed to do so rubbed me a little the wrong way. what i didn’t realize until i watched dark fate was that this pinged as wrong because dark fate gave me what i wanted: a terminator that didn’t change sides because he was taken down and forced to change, but rather, a terminator that actually made a conscious decision to be better because of what he observed in humanity. carl saw a familial dynamic and realized that he had taken that from sarah, and reached out to her, giving her a purpose like his family had given him a purpose, because he chose to. and that was the sexiest thing he could have done.

can you tell i LOVE what they did with the terminator. his arc and sarah’s were such awesome continuations for sarah’s general history and the progression of terminators played by arnold schwarzenneger. part of me was hoping for an ending where we saw sarah and carl drive off together, waving to dani and preparing to live out the rest of their years saving the future. yeah, well, we didn’t get that, but there were several scenes that hinted at forgiveness from sarah (an almost impossible feat given how she felt and what she lost) and trust between the two of them, and i loved that too.

dark fate was a good movie, y’all. it was so good.

there’s probably a million other things that i could talk about going down this vein, but this post is already a monster. i’ll just sign out by saying: one last thing i thought was epic and cool was how the protagonists cross the border from mexico into the us and at no point is such an action demonized; in fact, it’s necessary for them to reach essential aid in the form of carl, and the man who facilitates the action, dani’s uncle, is never treated amorally or like a criminal. i know, i know, the bar is on the fucking floor, but in the political climate we’ve got, for a blockbuster to take that stance felt like a pretty solid statement to me.

also, i liked the terminator’s line about texas. watching that in a theater in texas, i must report that it got the biggest audience reaction out of any line in the whole movie. folks, there were wolf whistles. ciao.

#terminator #terminator: dark fate #sarah connor #dani ramos #carl terminator #grace terminator #i feel like i like the movie more now than i did when i started typing this #don't get me wrong it's always been epic and sexy but while i was ruminating on it i realized things i didn't even know i felt #terminator dark fate is the gift that keeps on giving i must see it again

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hollenka99 · 5 years

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The Hero

Summary: Jackie was made to be the hero. He's proud to fulfill that role. Then one fight goes wrong and it takes everything from him.

Warnings: Torture, gore, implied mouth gore, starvation, dehydration, aftermath of torture, aftermath of violence, dehumanisation, poisoning. If there’s anything else I’m overlooking or accidentally didn’t include, please tell me.

@egopocalypse you said you wanted to be tagged in this so here it is.

Jackie isn't sure how he ended up standing on an unfamiliar doorstep. He knows he was trying to find his way to a red room a few minutes ago. And wasn't he attacked by an intruder at one point? Wait, no, there was a woman getting her leg mauled by a dog too. He decides it's best to ask the occupants of this house if they could help him. Directions to the nearest danger that required his intervention would be great also. The one who answers the door is a man that suspiciously looks a lot like himself, albeit older.

"Hi, I'm Jackieboy Man. Need any help?"

His cheeriest smile and inviting hand don't change the man's reaction to him. Instead, the confusion only grows on the homeowner's features. Jackie is told he isn't what the guy had expected. That doesn't sting in the slightest. At least he'd been expected.

Upon being ushered inside, the man introduces himself as Jack. He offers him a can of Dr Pepper and a plate containing several custard cremes that 'honestly need to be finished already because they are going soft and he would've probably had them for breakfast tomorrow for the sake of it'. Jack takes the time to explain the situation. They were technically characters and there was a man called Sean who had given them life. Jackie was already vaguely aware of all this.

While Jack wasn't entirely sure it was true, he was beginning to believe the previously inexplicable changes the house had made earlier that day were in fact it adapting to Jackie's imminent arrival. That was cool. So was the entire room that belonged purely to him. There wasn't much yet, only the bed and wardrobe, but soon enough he would make it his own.

He hasn't been alive for 24 hours when he is introduced to Sean. The older identical duo discuss superheroes like Batman and Spider-Man with him. Despite what he'd expected his creator to be like, he doesn't mind the guy. Possibly because he hasn't had the chance to know them properly, the two men don't seem to be too different from each other. An off-hand comment to Jack regarding this causes him to laugh. Jackie can't say he appreciates the weird vibes it gives off.

The other two speak privately in another room about editing videos, not far enough that their voices can't travel through walls. They discuss giving the teen an education as well as somebody called Angus. He doesn't like the way they talk about this stranger. Just who was this Angus? He can only assume he is a villain Sean is designing to be Jackie's rival.

On the night Jackie is due to be introduced to what Jack claims to be 'the greatest pizza topping ever', he gets his answer. Angus was certainly no villain. The guy who stumbles with his arm around his friend's shoulders takes the young hero by surprise.

Everything about him radiates a man who had only woken minutes earlier. Once he gets to know Angus better, this doesn't seem as unusual. The Australian hunter sounds displeased while mumbling about someone called Jake disturbing him for the sake of pizza. It takes Jackie a shamefully long minute to realise there was no Jake, only Jack.

For the majority of the evening, Jack's attention is focused on his best friend. They chat and attempt to share inside jokes that mostly fall flat. While they do include him occasionally, Jackie is simply left to observe the strained relationship. He's been alive for less than a week but he can tell it should not be this uncomfortable to see two friends interacting. It isn't right for the so-called 'wildlife expert' to need Jack to complete his stories either.

When Angus returns to his bedroom, Jackie offers to help with the dishes. He convinces himself that's what a true hero would do, help around the house. He cautiously questions whether Jack is okay. The answer worries him somewhat.

"It's fine. He just happened to have a bad day. I'm sure you'll get to see him when he's not so forgetful."

There is something about the way Jack smiles after that answer that makes Jackie ill at ease. It's different from the way the young hero does. Jackie was all wide and beaming, the sort that made your cheeks ache if you maintained it for too long. The one Jack was providing him, on the other hand, had barely an ounce of life in it. Even in the past few days since they'd met, Jackie had witnessed the eye-crinkling grin he was sure had to be Jack's natural smile.

The boy chooses to forget about it. It was probably something that should be properly addressed at some point but, for now, it was best to leave it. Jack decides otherwise.

He explains how it has been two years since Angus began declining. He's tried everything he could think of to help. He's watched all 10 videos of the series countless times, sometimes playing them on multiple tabs to increase efficiency. Once he realised it didn't count unless he was in Sean's world, he transferred the method to a new location.

Jackie questions whether he will end up lethargic and forgetful as well. The adamance, almost anger at the mere idea, that no, of course he won't is shockingly swift. Jack insists he isn't saying this for the sake of scaremongering or choosing sides. This was about providing him with an informed opinion. He deserves to know, his friend reasons.

The following weeks pass with little incidence. He and Jack marathon all 12 Marvel DVDs they own. Having misunderstood his friend, Jackie trains all night which leads to him dozing off as Tony Stark celebrates his birthday in the sequel. He is also introduced to Batman. He's more interested in Marvel but Jack is trying to give him something to relate to. He humours him in appreciation. Plus, it leads to a competition to see who could make their voice go the lowest. He can't fault him on that.

During the day, he is either seen increasing his agility and reflexes or in front of a computer, determined to fight back against hackers. Jack tries to dissuade him from his morally questionable hobby. Jackie only argues it is part of his job. Part of him wishes the older ego would leave him be. If he could stop meeting him in the hallway a second after he walks in from evening patrol, that'd be nice too. He's not been hurt so there's no need to worry so much.

The Gregory Brothers, what he first mistakenly hears as 'Gregory's brother', write a song for the channel. It takes quotes from various videos, predominantly Happy Wheels with some Papers, Please thrown in. Quite clever when Jackie thinks about it. Annoyingly catchy too. The best part is watching Jack become nostalgic when he recalls recording the episode featured in the second verse. Jackie chooses to tease him about the Mother Ape Ass line. Jack takes in good humour. Nevertheless, Happy Wheels is a good series to sink his teeth into, especially seeing as it was currently three videos shy of hitting triple digits.

Jack the Magnificent's entrance into their lives introduces magic with it. He has the genius idea of referring to the new guy as Magnificent to avoid confusion. It is quickly made redundant when Jack names him Marvin. Whatever the new ego's name is, Jackie has to admit it's nice to have someone else around. As much as he likes Jack, having only three people to talk to was wearing on him. The majority of the time it was only one option anyway.

Never mind Marvin being a new person to talk to. Even more exciting was his magic. With one simple click, he could conjure a flame in his hands. They are mesmerising. Jackie forgets himself at one point, reaching to touch the fire before its abrupt extinction snaps him out of it. He begs to know how he does it. This leads to the magician letting him hang around in his room with half-hearted reluctance while he taught himself spells.

Jack has an argument with Sean. Jackie doesn't understand what it's about, other than it appears to be super petty. He doesn't understand why Jack won't distance himself from Sean. He's seems so fed up after an argument and Jackie can't do anything. Not once does Jack forget to check he's okay with being vented to. Jackie never says no. How could he? Jack's his friend and it's not like he's got anyone else who is vaguely aware of the situation. Except maybe Angus. Then again, it might be more cathartic for Jack to rant to someone he can see is listening. Jackie's sure Jack isn't close enough to Marvin to confide in him as well. So even when he's tired, even when he would rather switch his mind off for an hour, Jackie says yes. As the weeks progress, the young hero convinces himself taking a very long hour for himself couldn't hurt.

Marvin tests his card tricks on him too. No matter how much he tries, the magician can never get it exactly right. There is always something he gets wrong, whether it be the suit or number. Taking a leaf out of Jack's book, he encourages him to keep trying. Card tricks didn't have to be his strong point. He didn't have to give it up entirely either.

When Marvin's patience wears thin from the failed attempts, he sneakily introduces Jackie to a card game. When Jack catches them playing, he's too honest for his own good. The head of the household disapproves immediately, although he seems more annoyed with Marvin than Jackie. After some persuading, Jack relents and allows the practise to continue so long as new rules were implemented. Jackie could only act as dealer for the time being and watch to ensure they weren't cheating. Prize money was to be avoided, as was magic. Despite the sidelining, it's not a bad time. There is friendly banter accompanied by dramatic reactions to being bested. It's the first time the three of them have hung out together and it is clear they should do so more often. The only bad thing about it is that Jackie had nearly two years left before Jack would let him be any other role.

Not long afterwards, Jackie spots a sketchy individual sprinting away while hanging outside a shop, wishing for Marvin to hurry up. His friend will not be impressed with him but what does Marvin expect? Thwarting criminals is his job. Jackie is duty bound to pursue the thief. The chase grants him the adrenaline boost necessary to convince himself this will be an easy fight.

It is not an easy fight.

It's not that his game is off or that his opponent is larger than him but... he may have miscalculated. It will be fine, he's sure. It's just a couple stab wounds to the chest. A superhero like him should walk stuff like that off. And he will, as soon as he gets this blood under control. Maybe his suit could do with being washed too. Jack and Marvin would already be annoyed enough that he'd gotten himself hurt.

Marvin is initially unimpressed. He asks if the fight was worth getting injured. He complains of how he'd probably get stuck listening to Jackie's whining about the bruises. Then comes the realisation. In the fraction of a second, his demeanour changes as he rushes to help the hero to his feet. The journey home feels a lot longer than it should.

The next few days blur. He catches shreds of conversations. At first, it is Jack and Marvin whose chatter mixes into one incoherent mess. After that, he finds himself in a hospital bed with medical professionals recapping events he is sure are partially fabricated. Once he's able to focus better on what is being said, Jack tells him there is a chance Sean is working on bringing them a live-in doctor.

Previously, he had half listened to his friends when they warned him to be careful. His attitude towards the subject had been irresponsible. Who were they to stop him from fulfilling his role as the guy who saves the day? It takes his reflection having a black eye and slightly misshapen nose in a hospital bathroom for him to finally open his ears. This wasn't just a case of him collecting bruises and cuts anymore. He's unsure whether if it ever had been.

Within a week of returning home, Jackie happens across a path he hasn't seen before. Following it, he allows it to lead him to a house. He spots a boy playing with his two little sisters. The others needed to know about this. Who knew what this could mean. Jackie can only hope it's not anything serious.

He assaults Jack and Marvin's ears as soon as he races past the front door. The stranger sitting across from them is startled. He has glasses and his hello has a foreign sound to it. Beside him is a blood stained lab coat. Not the best first impression, if he's going to be honest. But he supposes neither is a loud teenager. Jack speaks up.

"Jackie, this is Dr Schneeplestein. He'll be helping to keep us all in one piece. He's just come out of a rough surgery. Maybe tone it down a little, alright?"

The doctor mostly spends time with his family or at work. Their interactions primarily consist of ensuring Jackie's injuries are kept in check. He is gentle enough when treating wounds and Jackie is yet to let him know how much he appreciates that. They have no other common ground. Dr Schneeplestein is practically twice his age and a married father of three. Jackie, on the other hand, is technically a minor and hasn't really paid much attention to anyone other than his housemates and Sean.

He has the craziest dream one night in the middle of October. It involves covering himself in cheeses, meats and peanut butter, blowing up Mars and punching camels. The song accompanying it gets stuck in his head for the entire day too. He wakes with an inexplicable need to lift something heavy or hop off the first floor. Instead of listening to his impulses, he lifts his slim dresser and jumps on his bed. To the young hero's astonishment, the dresser is much lighter than expected and he stays suspended in the air for at least a minute.

Jackie's first instinct when planning to demonstrate his findings to his friends is to arm wrestle. Jack takes him up on the challenge. The newly strong hero goes easy on him, which makes the big reveal all the better. He's glad he can impress the others like Marvin's magic impressed him.

His new powers give him and Marvin reason to fight again. The magician is still getting the hang of manipulating plants. When leaves try to wrap around Jackie's legs, he dodges them more efficiently with each session. Jack supervised their training, the doctor usually present or nearby.

In the last week of October, Jackie gets one of the dumbest idea he's had so far. He finds string and ties it around his ankle. Marvin is busy reading up on some spells. His near facepalm solidifies the fact that this is indeed stupid. The smirk as he reluctantly takes the string and rolls his eyes makes it worth it. It is worth it even more when Jack laughs and Dr Schneeplestein decides he wants nothing to do with them,

On Halloween, he and Marvin mess around with air manipulation. Nobody will notice if the household mop and broom are missing for an hour or two. While they joke about riding broomsticks through the night, Henrik is probably with his children and Jack is filming this year's pumpkin video. He's unassuming when his phone vibrates as a notification pops up. It doesn't last long.

Jackie becomes very worried when the panic button system he'd designed is activated for the first time. It's Jack. What could put him in danger? He was carving a pumpkin. There was obviously the risk of accidentally cutting yourself, it was a sharp knife after all, but it shouldn't be serious enough to declare it an emergency. Unless his hand slipped and hit his wrist.

It's not Jack's wrist that's been cut. He would have loved for it to have just been a bleeding wrist. Anything would have been better than what he finds.

The second he lays eyes on the body, he freezes. Oh God. That was Jack, blank eyes open and streams of blood staining the pumpkin and table. He wastes precious time just staring. Then he sprints. He sprints, yelling through tears the entire time. The doctor can't get to work fast enough.

Marvin talks at him as they wait for a miracle. He's probably trying to calm him down but it's useless. He's not really listening. Marvin's lucky he didn't have to see Jack. There was so much blood on the table and his eyes weren't closed and holy shit, someone murdered Jack while they were in a different part of the building. Someone just broke in and killed a member of their household without them knowing anything was wrong. He was supposed to be the hero and he'd let this happen through carelessness. All because he'd been messing around with his flight. He could have prevented this.

"Earth to Jackie, hey." Marvin's fingers snap. "Shut up. This is not your fault so stop saying it is." "But-" "No. And he's going to pull through, just watch."

Jackie debates whether to let him stay in denial or use common sense to convince him of the truth. He chooses to stay silent but makes sure Marvin knows what he thinks of his misplaced hope. Dr Schneeplestein had diverse skills but none were bringing people back from the dead.

Apparently, there is always a first time for everything. It doesn't even register when he hears the news. Jack, alive and just unconscious for a while? That made absolutely zero sense. He hovers around the infirmary until he is granted permission to visit. The bandages surrounding Jack's neck are unnerving because he knows what's underneath. But at least his chest is rhythmically rising and falling. He tells Angus what's happened too. The longest occupant of this house wastes no time in joining him.

Jack regains consciousness and is soon talking. Jackie doesn't have the heart to admit he was the one who found him. He can tell from their behaviour anyway. Jack explains his side of the story. It was Antisepticeye, the parasitic glitch Sean had chosen to unleash the previous night. No wonder nobody was aware anything bad was occurring. It's kind of hard to see someone break in if they aren't fully corporeal.

He's going to update security as soon as Jack is discharged. If he can work out how to include a glitch detector, that should keep them safer. While he's at it, he should buy the doctor something too. Reviving Jack must have taken a massive toll on him. He deserves a gift for his efforts and for keeping Jackie safe in his own way.

Sean finally has the decency to show up the day after Jack wakes up. Surprise, surprise, there's raised voices. He is sick of the fighting. There's always some underlying issue between Jack and Sean. Jack will be the one to start arguments but Sean's at fault for triggering the resentments. He is so tired of them squabbling. You can't go a month, sometimes even a week, without something putting them at odds. He knows there's probably no way to stop it.

It's descended into quieter, but by no means less harsh, words. Marvin can't really hear it. Jackie sure as hell can. As much as he tries to wait it out, he can't take it anymore. He has to get out of the house for a bit. Although, not before calling them out.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Jackie screams. "Sean, in case you haven't noticed, we're alive and we'd like to stay that way if possible. Don't make anything else at our expense like an asshole. And Jack, you know I have your back buddy, but you kinda provoke him half the time. It really doesn't help. So let's agree you're both as bad as each other and that Sean is at fault this time."

He leaves them with that. His mistake is going on patrol while disgruntled. Finding himself aimlessly marching around the streets of Athlone, his senses are go haywire. Because of course he can't catch a break tonight. Usually, he's hyper aware of every person near him. It is a good way of keeping him alert in the presence of danger. It's far easier to win fights if he can tell a perpetrator is about to attack him from behind.

At least, that was how it was meant to work in theory. It had acted in his favour in the past. Unfortunately, it had to fail him at some point. He blames the demon's insistence on disorienting him. It's not a difficult feat. Antisepticeye only has to glitch to a new position several times. Constantly being plagued by white noise and taste of metal in the air doesn't aid him either.

Jackie begins the fight at a disadvantage. He struggles to make up for it. Attacks fail to land. He thinks he breaks Anti's jaw but it glitches back into position so quickly that he can't tell. It's over when a jolting touch throws his body in a fit of pins and needles. He should have taken a moment to admire the sun earlier that day. He's not going to see it again for a while.

His new room is far removed from the one at home. With nothing but four walls and a door, it is devoid of light. The only source of it comes from a ceiling lamp. There's no furniture, not even a crude excuse for a bed. Time doesn't exist when he's here alone. It is measured in Anti's company and the absence of it.

Jackie's a fairly quick learner. When the lamp is lit, he is being paid a visit. Sometimes Anti won't bother with the light at all. There are still ways of detecting his presence. Food and drink will come whenever Anti feels like providing him with it. Once the demon takes advantage of his age, there are more rules. He is to be referred to as 'Sir' and Jackie is simply a boy. If he pretends to genuinely follow through with it, he can bide his time.

He spots an opportunity to escape when Anti leaves him be for a while. All it takes is a well placed blow to the door for his strength to free him from the room. His legs are in serious need of regaining their previous skill. He makes a dash for it, nothing to lose. It's only a matter of working out where the exit is. Regardless of left or right, static is everywhere he turns. It grows louder to a disorientating degree. It deafens. His hood is the thing to doom him. One grab and he's being hauled back to square one.

"You call that an escape? Pathetic."

The violent crack of his left leg leaves it undoubtedly fractured. The damage is duplicated on his right for good measure. He's questioned on which bone has been targeted, formal name necessary. Oh, how is he supposed to know? Radius? That was a major limb bone. Anti promises that's the next one to go if he remains this ignorant.

His lack of medical expertise is what truly ruins his legs in the end. Being forced to set the bones himself is bad enough. Not having any doctor present makes it worse. Having been allowed a chance to inspect the injury, he finds it's worse than his shin. It's his knees that are beginning to swell.

To his arm's fortune, Anti generously dedicates himself to providing Jackie with an education. His lessons begin with Biology but that is swiftly rectified to involve more Science and History. Soon, it will be any subject Anti finds relevant.

As often as he can, Jackie talks back, mocking Anti's efforts to hurt him. He can take away everything he's known, isolate him in darkness and make him silently dream of freedom. Jackie can handle that. All he has to do is survive until his friends come or he feels capable of making another escape attempt. Jack, Marvin and Schneeplestein must be searching for him, right? They probably have little to go on but he knows they care enough to try whatever method available. So he fights back however he can.

Then he takes it too far. Then he uncovers Anti's bad side. The demon is naturally cruel but he's patient. You do not want to see him furious. Jackie regrets learning that the hard way. The first few apologizes that leave his lips as his head is pinned to the floor aren't entirely sincere. He's not sorry for what he said. He's just sorry he triggered action. His sincerity increases when the needle's first piercing of his lips is felt. It is only a matter of minutes before he stops speaking altogether. For good measure, he temporarily loses the privilege of free movement around the room.

Anti visits an eternity later, acting resentful that Jackie needs water to stay alive. His blinks are dazed when a knife frees him. His captor comments on how pathetic he looks as he gulps the contents of the bottle provided. He probably does but who cares. He's been dying for a drink for who knows how long. Presumably literally, when his mind focuses enough to reflect on it.

This may be the first time but it won't be the last. He certainly makes an effort to reduce the frequency from then on.

December is ushered in with chocolate. Jackie doesn't care about the tradition of advent calendars. They're for children, which he isn't, and he doesn't appreciate the way Anti explains them like they haven't been lurking in shops since before Halloween either. If he can predict the demon's way of thinking like he hopes he can, he believes he knows where this is going.

He's correct in his predictions. It is a month of stomach cramps, helplessly being revisited by the little he ate and fevers. He refuses as many meals as he can get away with. Other times, he gives in and eats for the sake of having something in his stomach. Maybe his mind is working overtime to be suspicious of everything but he swears Anti increases the dosage for days Jackie's stomach speaks for him.

Anti introduces him to a seasonally appropriate song. It's gentle enough to lull an exhausted person to sleep if they let their guard down. He doesn't fall for the trap. He should have, it probably would have been the only time the song would have positive connotations. All is not calm when it plays. Out of spite, he remains silent as the night.

Anti hands him a present on what he claims is Christmas Day. It's a cake filled with berries and decorated with seeds wrapped in leaves. No matter how much he wants to tell the demon where he could put the 'gift', he can't escape the truth. Jackie hasn't eaten in days, which is exactly what the manipulative bastard must have planned. Survival is survival, even if the negative consequences outweigh the positive. Food that will upset his stomach is better than no food.

He doesn't realise how counterproductive that is until the symptoms hit him. His heart needs to chill out already and it would be great if he had better control of his muscles too. He swears he'll catch his breath any minute now. Just as soon as his chest stops hurting. Something at the back of his mind is uncomfortable with the plan to sleep it off but he wants a break. This has been a particularly rough round. He deserves to allow himself a rest, right?

When he wakes, his muscles feel stiffer. His body feels more drained that he's used to in general. He learns about yew trees, of how pretty much everything but the flesh of its berries is toxic. How, if left untreated, it tended to prove fatal within hours. Things fall into place. He wonders how long Anti just left him there. He promises himself he'll toss the next meal he's given to the other side of the room. Maybe shove a few yew seeds into the demon's mouth and see how he likes it.

His friends are coming soon. It's been nearly two months but they must still be trying to work things out. If they took a break from searching for the holidays, he doesn't mind. He hopes the four of them enjoyed themselves. With any luck, he'll be witnessing what a proper Christmas is supposed to look like next year. He pictures it. It's better than dwelling on the truth of last few days. That would just drive him crazy. One thing's for sure, they are never learning of what his first experience of the holiday was like.

The second Anti realises he can exploit Jackie's naturally heightened senses, the hero is sent to another room. He despises the way his ears uselessly strain to hear anything. It's darker than what he's gotten used to as well. Left long enough, his head begins working against him. It's not real, what he sees, of course it isn't. He is once forgotten about for so long that he swears Marvin bursts the door open so Jack can tell him it's going to be okay as Dr Schneeplestein checks him over. He's so tempted to leave with them but it can't be reality. Anti wouldn't let them get that far.

It is unbearably satisfying to win a victory against his captor when he stumbles upon a loophole. He sings the song he and Jack had made inside jokes out of. It annoys Anti enough for him to deliver consequences. He may be robbed of his ability to see and to have anything to listen to but it's impossible to steal his sense of touch. There was always the option of destroying all neural connections but what use would the boy be then? None. He can feel the strings attached to his mouth and he can still feel pain. It's not a good victory in regular terms but any victory against Anti is a good one is Jackie's eyes.

He learns Spring is approaching when Anti mentions Easter. That was always in Spring, right? Christmas was always in December and that had passed. It must be after New Year's Day now, in the very least. The demon began speaking of how religious the Irish were and briefly explains Lent.

Jackie doesn't like the sound of fasting.

The Wednesday associated with ashes deprives him of any necessity. Then, to his absolute shock, the demon hands him a glass of water. It's a regular sized glass too. He is far from trusting of it at first. Given everything that's happened to him, he has every right to be wary. He only drinks it to get this bout of poisoning over. Perhaps he can power through it long enough this time to deny Anti the satisfaction of watching him suffer. However, hours pass and nothing happens. Nothing continues to happen as he accepts the single daily glass of fresh water offered to him throughout the week.

There is a catch, of course. The privilege of routinely quenching his thirst comes at the price of food. He is fasting after all, Anti reasons. Fasting was about endurance. Jackie couldn't be a hero if he was unable to endure, especially in challenging situations.

If he's going to be honest, the starvation wouldn't be too much of a problem. He's gone days without food before. Once the actual sensation of hunger disappears, it's manageable. He could do this. Water must keep people going in famines. Who's to say it wouldn't sustain him too?

Two more conditions are established. Being charitable, better known as giving alms, would manifest itself in utter obedience. After all, it was about time Jackie learned defiance was completely pointless. Additionally, while Anti didn't expect him to pray, he did assure him certain outbursts were even more encouraged than usual. Should Jackie wish to beg, call for the others to save him or confess his transgressions against his captor, Anti was welcome to hear it all.

Even if there was a way to observe the passage of time here, he would have rapidly lost count of the days. He can however measure the decline into chronic fatigue. His lessons carried on as normal, including Physical Education. One missed punch soon turns into several failed attempts until it was general lack of co-ordination. Every hit Anti lands becomes more successful in sending him to the ground. No matter how many times it happens, no matter how much effort it takes to do so, Jackie returns to his feet.

There comes a day when he experiences sudden dizziness, despite laying on the ground. Anti's nearby, his senses are sure of it. For that moment, he continued to rest on his back. If he was being allowed the luxury, he wasn't going to squander it. Even if that meant he risked further repercussions. Besides, his chest didn't feel right. Without warning, he blacks out.

Jackie wakes to Anti closer, practically seated next to him. The unbearable weariness of resurrection informs him of the unfortunate nature of his spontaneous 'nap'. The boy shifts the slightest amount. His captor immediately looms over him.

"32 days." The glitching demon looks thoughtful for all of half a second. His cruel grin takes pride in his next words. "Pathetic. Most can make it to 50 days. There are some who can reach over 70. But here you are, pretending to be a hero, unable to survive even 5 weeks. A real hero would last long enough to break the record of 116 days. You barely achieved a quarter of that. What kind of hero are you?"

The following two weeks proceed the same as the previous five. Living in anticipation of water, fainting unexpectedly and being revived. He doesn't understand what makes the Friday so good when it steals his hydration benefits. Two glasses of water later, Anti is proud of him.

Upon being congratulated, Jackie comes to the realisation it was over. Had he done it? He had! Oh, thank God. He was doubtful of how much longer he could endure the cycle. The praise disorientates him.

Even more confusing is the glitch presenting him with his prize. A small creature is placed on his lap. The fur is nice to touch, steady breaths are felt when he holds a hand in front of what he can only assume is its face and the ears are longer than he was anticipating. A rabbit, it was a rabbit. Sure, he was vaguely aware the animal was associated with the holiday but... he hadn't been prepared for a rabbit.

Against the boy's better judgement, he succumbs to the temptation of making the most of his reward. He had to admit, Anti didn't have to supply the water or gift him the animal. Part of him reasons it would be rude to ignore his captor's attempts to be civil. He cherishes the soft fur, desperately staying awake for as long as he can with it. He's not stupid enough to believe this is permanent. He fights the pulls of drowsiness, rabbit clutched to his chest. Ultimately, despite his best efforts, he is too weak to oppose his body. He wakes to his comfort gone.

Anti returns it by unceremoniously tossing it before him, sticky and unnaturally stiff. It's eventually removed when he refuses to interact with the corpse. The boy is not surprised when he is given food with an unspecified meat. He's not stupid. Of course it's what he thinks it is. Why should he eat anything with meat? In fact, why should he eat anything Anti provides him in future? All this fasting had taught him was he could live without food. Of course, he'd be constantly tired and unable to really put up much of a fight. The point was he could die and wake up, over and over, until Anti got bored. The demon takes notice.

"You're so smart, aren't you? A clever little boy." Anti stops stroking his hair to grasp it. His smile fades as abruptly. "But no-one likes a know-it-all."

He gets his comeuppance. He supposes he deserves it for trying to outsmart Anti.

The boy doesn't understand what he's watching when shown footage of the house. It's Jack and Marvin with an ego he doesn't recognise. They're all just... sitting there, watching something on TV and being friendly with each other. Which is fine. He's not expecting them to spend every second of the day looking for him. Come on, he's not selfish. For all he knows, they're just taking their mind off what they hope isn't happening to their friend. It's probably fake anyway. That's what Anti does, he gets a kick out of screwing with his head.

The new guy's name is Chase Brody. Good for him. What does he care? It isn't like Sean had to deliberately choose to make Chase. While the boy has been here. For at least five months. Possibly six. Possibly so much longer.

He calls Anti a glitchy bastard to his face. Screw him for trying to convince him he's been forgotten about. It throws him for a loop when nothing happens. Perhaps the satisfaction of his student's reaction is enough of a reward. Well, congratulations, he got what he wanted. But the others are coming. They'll work out how to find him eventually. They have to. The boy can't exactly make a run for it himself, thanks to his knees. That was the whole goddamn point of ruining them. Maybe they're close to cracking it. Maybe Chase has some expertise that can help them. Chase, who is definitely not his replacement. Why on earth would he think that?

His birthday comes, bursting with celebratory activities. Seventeen to be exact. Anything he's dealt with since arriving is eligible to be repeated. He is presented with an exam to acknowledge the academic year drawing to a close. If he got a question wrong, there was an appropriate penalty. The cake is no prize for completing the test and neither is a trip to his 'favourite' room. He'd like to insist Anti really didn't have to reverse the treatment so the boy was bombarded.

Amongst other things, he is bestowed the privilege of a hot shower. He doesn't dare admit he prefers shivering until he feels queasy. Why should he complain? Anti was acting nice for his birthday. So what if his shoulders and arms turned pink? He probably deserved it for being ungrateful enough to desire heat those previous times.

There comes a period where Anti is gone for far longer than usual. He wants to believe it's been days but time is a strange concept by now. So much so that he could either be told it had only been an hour or it was nearly December again and he'd believe both statements. Regardless of how long Anti had been gone, the boy was alone.

As usual, being left in silence is hell on his senses. He would kill for an incessantly ticking clock, just to have some relief. The only thing he can pick up is someone else's voice. It's deeper than his so it couldn't be Anti's. Much to his ears' annoyance, he strains them further to solve the mystery of who the voice belonged to. His mouth goes dry when he catches a German accent.

Now he knew Dr Schneeplestein was here, he couldn't let him stay as long as he had. With only himself to save, he'd become a little complacent. However, Anti had to rest at some point. He decides to take advantage of that time. He gets as far as reaching for the sleeping doctor's shoulders before the sound of static causes him to flinch.

"I thought you were a clever boy. But it looks I can't trust you to behave."

Anti drags him back to the room he hates the most. His captor's sigh is the worst sound he could hear in this context. If the boy couldn't do as he was told, there was no choice but to take better precautions to ensure this was an isolated event. Whatever he's expecting, it's not slit ankles. When Anti leaves, he tests his legs. Neither foot can push off the ground to perform even the simplest step. None of his bones are broken. That said, he could sense a certain disconnect in the joint.

The boy is promised he can be redeemed if he participates in some birthday celebrations. The next ego to appear after him was... Marvin. Shit, what was Anti doing with Marvin? Were he and the doctor not enough? He asks if the other person will be harmed. At confirmation they won't, he accepts the offer. It turns out to be a standard Biology lesson. Anti apologizes for not preparing properly. While it was customary to use say, a frog, one wasn't available. Time was too short to rectify the oversight. He had been planning to use a cadaver so they would have to do without other now-necessary equipment. The shrug is casual but the scalpel begs to differ.

Anti takes his time. It takes everything not to give him a response. Focus on believing in Steve and maybe it will stop soon. Breathe slower and maybe it will become slow enough so he won't have to for a while. Ignore everything Anti shows him and maybe he'll give up. He's never been so thankful for the off switch being flicked. Once conscious again, he is positioned in a way that suggests he was thrown and abandoned. His torso aches from incisions. His insides feel wrong and misaligned somehow.

It's the final straw. The boy can't let Anti keep abusing him like this. Somehow he's got to escape without the demon being alerted. The best time to evade detection is when he's occupied with someone else. Which means he has to sacrifice either Marvin or Schneeplestein. He'll be back for them, he swears.

It happens to be the doctor he has to use as the distraction. As soon as he lasers a hole in the door, he searches for Marvin while he has the opportunity. The magician cannot be found. Regrettably, he has to postpone Marvin's salvation too. He's so sorry. He's not a hero, however much he liked to play the part before all this. The consequences of waiting any longer aren't worth it. Anti would probably resort to amputation or something similar if he didn't leave right now.

The first breath of fresh air he takes in months mocks him. So does the realisation that the sun isn't a theoretical concept. He's never seen a sunrise so insultingly gorgeous. Never mind all the things the boy took for granted. He has to get home. He has to save Marvin and Schneeplestein, even if it means exchanging himself for their guaranteed safe return.

The boy goes against his purpose when he deliberately breaks into a Next. All he needs is a fresh top and a pair of trousers. He doesn't want to show up in the tattered mess that was his suit. Besides, he recognises this shopping center. He's visited the coffee shop here multiple times. Even better, it was near the River Shannon. He's missed admiring her on the bridge. All he needs to do is cross it and keep following the road until he reaches home. He's so close.

Hope comes from Sean's Bar. If he's reached it then home is only down the street. Please, oh please. If he can just be granted permission to sit on Sean's sofa for a few minutes, he'll be beyond grateful. He usually sided with Jack but Sean shouldn't turn him away, right? He wasn't a completely bad guy as far as the boy's memory serves. Five minutes and he'll be out of his hair.

Hope vanishes when a voice that is clearly not Sean's answers the buzzer. He panics momentarily, wondering if he's hit the wrong button and disturbed a stranger unnecessarily. But no, he definitely rang Flat 12. A woman chastises him for bothering her this late. He learns Sean hasn't lived at this address in months. She doesn't know where he is now.

He spots a house with no cars parked beside it. He knows he shouldn't but he takes his chances. The boy gets lucky. With nobody home, he accesses a laptop. It takes longer than it should, no thanks to his lack of practise, but he eventually gets into the account. And oh, isn't the internet a wonderful thing. Within an hour, he's discovered he has to travel to Brighton, England and what the fastest way there is. Athlone to Dublin, Cherbourg, Portsmouth then finally Brighton. It will involve two ferries and an overwhelming amount of walking. However, it's better than other options. God knows stowing away on a ferry is safer than on a plane.

He doesn't know what he's doing, breaking into someone's home, hacking their devices then planning to be a stowaway. Yet, he would have otherwise stayed lost forever. Besides, it's roughly 26 hours to reach Dublin's port from here then another 15 hours by foot from Portsmouth to find Brighton. If he sleeps with one eye open, he may be able to get a few hours in before heading out.

Somewhere between Rochfortbridge and Milltownpass, his flight gives out. He finds branches and utilises them as he endures on until he reaches the bog. The boy refuses to rest on the second night of his journey. It's not long before dawn by the time he reaches Dublin. The branches are swapped for crutches before departing for France. He collapses and stays on the ground for the entire cruise. There isn't as much time to do so when destined for England.

Survive, just survive. He's already made it this far. What's 15 hours of 'walking' compared to the rest of what he's gone through? The sun passes the baton to the moon and then takes it back. He suspects it's during the hottest hours of the day when he spots a beach. Brighton, he had finally made it to Brighton. He considers messaging Sean to make things easier for himself. Then again, this was the guy who replaced him with another ego and moved out of Ireland while he was still missing. He ultimately decides against it. How large could one seaside town be? Sean's home could be found eventually, with it access to his own home.

He stumbles upon the gateway to his world accidentally. The house is different from how he remembers it. It's grown, likely to accommodate his replacement and any others he's not aware of. But it's hopefully still similar to the home he left behind. He couldn't bear to return to somewhere unrecognisable. He stands there, palm weakly banging on the door. An ego wearing a cap answers. The boy's pretty sure they've never met before. This must be him.

"Yeah?" Cap Guy is surprised by his appearance. He doesn't blame him. God knows what shape he's in. "Whoa, you look like you had a rough time in your video." Video, what video? Does he not know one of his own had been missing? "Please let me in. I can't remember the last time I... the last time I, uh..." Ate. He's forgotten when the last time he ate was. Or drank something, for that matter. And dear God, he would be grateful for a chance to crash on their floor for a minute. "Who is it, Chase? Is it Sean? Tell him he can turn around and never come back." He vaguely recalls that voice. But it's only just in earshot and he's so exhausted. "I don't know. I think he might be a new one." Chase notices the unsteadiness. The boy's arm is guided around the unfamiliar ego's shoulder. "It's okay, dude, I've got you." "He better not be making new egos. If he fucking thinks he can do that after everything he's pulled, Sean's got another thing coming. The zombie was bad enough." "Marv, I could use your help."

He barely manages to catch a glimpse of Marvin before his legs buckle and his mind switches off.

Memories of what a bed feels like flood in. There's something in his arm and another thing wrapped around his hand. What had he done to impress Anti enough for him to bestow him the luxury of a bed? He had gone crazy enough to dream of an arduous journey to England. It had been so vivid, almost as if it had actually happened. But that would have meant leaving. As if he was capable of that.

"Hey Jackie, you waking up there? I'd love it if you could open your eyes for me."

He obeys the soft-spoken voice's coaxing. It's a fake Marvin in what pretends to be the infirmary back home. He's probably been dumped in the deprivation room again. That would explain it. He likes this illusion though. It's nice to imagine he's back to his old life.

"Oh, thank God. At least you're okay." Not-Marvin's smile is gentle. He hates it. "So... long time, no see, huh?" "Uh huh. You know where the real Marvin and Schneeplestein are? I need to get them out." "What? No, this is real. I'm real. Jackie, come on, look at me. You're home." "Jackie?"

Jackie. It doesn't feel right. He hasn't been Jackie since, well, the start of November. Except, his name was Jackie. It's always been Jackie. All that he's experiencing couldn't be falsified. Even the most realistic visions didn't use his name. They'd always called him things like 'buddy' and 'dude'.

Marvin states it's September 22nd 2017. Ten months and three weeks. He's been gone for ten months and three weeks. How many days even was that? So many more than the three and a half months he had here before disappearing. Who knows how much he's missed since then. At least Marvin was here. He hopes Angus is doing alright. Man, he's really looking forward to seeing Jack again too. He's probably recording a video at the moment.

The two friends chat for a while. Jackie lets the magician lead. No point risking aggravating him unintentionally. They had looked for him. There had simply been too many dead ends and they were gradually losing hope of ever getting a result. Marvin tells him about Bastet the cat and the rabbit whose full name was Tim the Enchanter. Jackie wouldn't mind meeting Bastet. Tim, he'd have to work his way up to.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. Jackie makes a innocent comment about how Jack must be busy on a video if he hasn't come to visit yet. He is apologetic for causing Marvin's face to fall. With a heavy sigh, the magician admits he was wondering when the subject would be brought up. All he can tell Jackie is that Jack was unavailable. He'd show him exactly what happened as soon as he recovers a little.

As promised, he's allowed out of bed later that week. It's not close in the slightest to what he'd theorised. Jack is connected to all these wires. He's breathing through a mask. A coma? A freaking coma?! Sure, the last time they had seen each other it had also been here. But he'd been conscious. Jack had been perfectly awake and pissed off at Sean.

Where even was Sean in all this? Jackie hadn't seen him around either.

"Is Sean like this too?" "No. I'm not saying I wish he was the one in that position. That would be a shitty thing to want. But it would be easier to get on with life if he wasn't able to ruin it by pulling his usual crap." Marvin must notice the instinctively suppressed flinch. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. But just look at him. How can you not be mad?" "I- How? When?" "August 3rd. He was about to record a video but apparently wasn't feeling great. Went to Henrik to see if he could help then... Schneep hit the panic button. The door was locked and trust me, I tried every spell I could think of to get to them. Chase was there too. Nothing worked. Nothing. It opened on its own. And there he was. We can't do much else other than keep him comfortable. We update his drip with Henrik's back up supply but that's running out. I'd ask Sean for a way to get more but it's not like he's ever really done anything helpful for us." "Schneep's missing." "Yeah. Mr Glitch Bitch himself took him while he tried to save Jack's life. You... haven't seen him, have you? I've been wondering whether he kept you in the same place."

Yes, Jackie's seen their doctor. Seen him and betrayed him. He used him to escape. Who knows what he was being put through at that very moment? Knowing Anti, he was likely taking his frustrations of losing Jackie out on Schneeplestein. The plan was to get home, regain strength and then attempt a rescue. It seemed the doctor would have to wait. Whatever it takes, he is not going to be at Anti's disposal for nearly 11 months. Jackie is going to earn his role.

That's going to take a long time if Marvin directing him to a chair and asking him to breathe becomes a common occurrence.

Angus drops by the infirmary briefly and Jackie's glad to see him. It means a lot to know he's made the effort. However, Jackie cuts the visit short. All he can concentrate on is the memories of when it was just the three of them. That month before Marvin entered the picture. The hunter wasn't always invested in the socialisation and it could lead to awkward evenings but on his best days, Jackie had begun to really warm to him. But, of course, it never been Jackie and Angus. There was Jack and Angus, Jack and Jackie or the trio. Jack was the missing link and it showed. So he lies about how tired he is. He can always make up for it later.

He's soon permitted to sleep in his old bedroom. Everything in the house has changed. There's new egos, Marvin has pets and Jack is comatose. The doors to their rooms have personal symbols painted on them. Jackie's is left blank. The room itself is pretty much how he left it. They've basically preserved it like some dumb time capsule. The only new things are the presents and envelopes that he suspects contain cards. 'Happy birthday, Jackie! We miss you.' in what is undeniably Jack's handwriting? No, the tag gets ripped off the wrapping paper immediately. The gifts and cards are hastily removed from the bedside table they were lying on.

Jackie questions whether he should visit Jack's room. He knows the guy had a habit of keeping photographs. He's curious to know who was in the current occupant of the frame he owned. He wouldn't mind lying on his bed too, give it a purpose for once. On second thought, the bedroom would be as devoid of life as his own. Plus, the bed would be cold.

Jackie instead finds the video posted on July 10th 2016. The thumbnail is so fake, simply Sean posing heroically for the image. Jackie clicks regardless. His creator recites his introduction before welcoming the audience to the game. The first glitch appears. The boy pathetically clamps his eyes shut in response. Device beside him, he simply listens as the audio runs.

"-this time, I was getting all freaked out the last time, I was getting all scared, and I was acting like a little cry baby. So this time, I've got a special solution: I'm not going to be scared anymore because I am going to morph into a superhero!"

He peeks at the dramatic montage of him changing into his costume for the first time. This was it, the beginning of the superhero made to be fearless, made to face danger head on with little consideration for the consequences. He was supposed to be someone whose confidence was something to admire. People should look to him for inspiration in conquering the things holding them back. He wasn't meant to act like a little cry baby.

And yet, laying on his bedroom floor with hands covering his face, Jackie can do nothing but sob.

17 notes · View notes

parkkate · 6 years

Text

Hold on to the memories

OMG HI HELLO wonderful person, who sent me one of my first prompts ever!!! :D 💖💖💖 Man, I feel like that was aaaages ago :D Thank you so much for this ask! I would NEVER ignore this!! :D Although, I have to admit I rarely write sequels, well in this case prequel, to any of my ficlets. BUT a few other people have messaged me about a sequel, too. And you guys were all so sweet about it! So, @potterlocked16, once again, thank you so much! 💖 :)

This time, it’s from Draco’s pov.

It’s on AO3 as well, if you prefer to read it there :)

And you can find part 1 here or also here on AO3 :)

“What are you smiling about?”

Making sure he wouldn’t spill his coffee, Draco slowly leaned back in his chair. Without breaking eye contact with his boyfriend, he placed his feet on the table and crossed them at the ankles.

“Nothing,” he said, his smile widening.

“You’re wearing the socks,” Harry remarked.

“I know.” It didn’t even occur to Draco to give Harry some snarky or witty retort. His mind was preoccupied with other things. Happiness, for the most part.

They had come a long way since they had first moved in together over two years ago. What a roller coaster ride it had been! For almost a year, they had just been flatmates. Sure, they had spent a lot of time together, but it had taken quite some time before things had changed. It had all started with their mutual desire to spend their evenings at home, rather than going out. They’d just eat dinner and sometimes watch television together. Draco had become quite fond of spending their evenings like this.

At first, he had been wary of this weird Muggle device that had suddenly replaced one of their shelves in the living room. Harry had assured him, he’d like it. And he did. This television thing was quite entertaining. But that wasn’t the part Draco liked most.

At that point, there wasn’t much they didn’t share. Except for Draco’s shampoo. But Harry knew not to touch it. Just like Harry knew Draco would be cold on the sofa. He distinctly remembered that one night, when Harry had gotten the ball rolling…

Draco felt his lips stretch into a smile as he watched his flatmate approach, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a blanket in the other. They were so in sync by now, they barely needed any words to know what the other needed. Draco took the bowl from Harry while he draped the blanket over the both of them.

“What are we watching tonight?” Draco asked. Not that he really cared. Rather than watching the movie, he usually watched Harry. His face and his reactions to the plot twists were so captivating. Tonight was no exception. Harry’s eyes were wide and he absentmindedly shoved popcorn into his mouth every now and then, while the bloke in the weird black suit with pointy ears (apparently he had a thing for bats or something?) speeded into the night on his motorcycle.

As much fun as it was to watch Harry like this, Draco realised he had been sitting in the same position far too long. His left leg felt numb and his neck was beginning to hurt. He started shifting, causing the blanket to fall on the floor.

“Sorry,” Draco mumbled. “My leg has gone dead.”

“Hold on,” Harry said, changing his position and putting the popcorn aside. “Here, give me your feet.”

Draco frowned.

“What?” “Give me your feet,” Harry repeated. He patted his lap and gave Draco an expectant look. Slowly, Draco stretched out his feet. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. He didn’t like people touching his feet. Not many had done so, but he just knew he didn’t like it. As soon as his heels touched Harry’s thighs, Harry put the blanket over them again, slipping his hands underneath. He started rubbing Draco’s ankles, much to Draco’s surprise. Huh. That didn’t feel so bad. Actually…

Draco let out a contented sigh. Who would have thought having Harry Potter as a flatmate would have such benefits?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at said flatmate. It had been a long time since he had thought of him as ‘Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived’. To him, he was just Harry now. No more ‘Golden Boy’ or ‘The Chosen One’. Just Harry. The potential love of your life. Oh, Merlin! Not that again! Draco inwardly groaned. His mind was such a traitor sometimes. Actually, lately, it was all the time.

It didn’t matter if Harry was cooking dinner, coming out of the shower, or reading in one of the armchairs, Draco always stopped in his tracks and just watched him. He couldn’t not do it. It was like a reflex. Speaking of reflexes… Draco’s right knee suddenly jerked when he felt Harry’s fingers on his bare skin.

What was he doing? Harry’s fingers were brushing his shin. Draco had been so preoccupied in thought, he hadn’t realised how Harry’s hand had slowly found its way up his trousers leg. Was Harry even aware of what he was doing? He seemed to be completely absorbed in the movie.

“I need something to drink. You want something?” Harry asked, not taking his eyes off the television.

Draco just shook his head and watched Harry as he went into the kitchen. He could still feel Harry’s touch on his skin and it utterly confused him. He desperately wanted him to touch him again, but would that even happen? Had that just been an accident?

When Harry returned with a glass of water, Draco tried to act as normal as possible. Which wasn’t that easy to do, because holy shit, what was Harry doing? He hadn’t been sitting this close to Draco before! Now, Draco’s thighs were on Harry’s lap and Harry was almost touching his bum. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!!

The following twenty minutes were the most uncomfortable in Draco’s life. Okay, maybe not the most uncomfortable, but uncomfortable enough. Because he didn’t dare move a muscle in his body. He stayed completely rigid, afraid of making Harry realise Draco was basically sitting in his lap. But he had to move sometime.

Not wanting to end this but feeling curious at the same time, Draco slowly leaned forward. He acted as if he was just stretching a little bit, but instead of leaning back to his original position, he rested his head on the back of the sofa, right next to Harry’s shoulder. Now, he’d just have to move his head down a few inches and he’d basically be snuggling with Harry. Sweet Merlin! Okay, stay calm. Act natural. Do it gradually.

When his cheek made the first contact with Harry’s jumper, Draco almost made a strangled sound. Almost there! It seemed almost too good to be true when he was finally nestled on Harry’s shoulder. Draco couldn’t resist reclining his head. As a result, his nose was pressing against Harry’s throat. Oh dear God! He smelled so, so good!

When Harry suddenly started moving, Draco thought he was about to be pushed away. Instead, Harry draped one arm around Draco, pulling him even closer to him. He placed his free hand on Draco’s forearm and then Draco felt Harry’s cheek on top of his head. Merlin’s pants! Now he was really sitting in Harry’s lap and there was no denying that this was full-on snuggling!

It wasn’t like they hadn’t had physical contact before, but not like this. Draco had often imagined what it would be like, having Harry’s arms around him, but he had never dared to hope it would actually come true. It was a curious feeling. He felt warm, giddy and secure.

Being held like this was a completely new experience for Draco. Sometimes, especially as a child, his mother had hugged him or patted his back… But it had always been because Draco had been crying, because he had a nightmare or had scraped his knee while playing in the garden. There had always been a reason. She had comforted him because he had been upset.

For the longest time, Draco hadn’t thought he needed anything more than that. From anyone. Being hugged for no reason at all seemed like such a strange concept. Until Draco discovered there was always a reason, wasn’t there?

He desperately wished he could look into Harry’s head right now. What was his reason for doing this? Did he feel the same things Draco felt right now? It wasn’t likely. Then again…

Draco peeked at Harry from under his lashes. How many times had he been hugged as a child? As an adult? Draco still didn’t know everything about Harry’s past, but the things he had told him, still appalled him. Looking back, Draco hadn’t had the best childhood either, but, at least, he had been happy then.

The urge to take Harry’s pain away often clouded his judgement, resulting in soppy little presents or biting his tongue when they were about to fight. It was so unlike him and he wasn’t even sure if Harry had noticed any of it. It wasn’t like Draco was trying to woo him or anything. He just… couldn’t help it. But maybe, judging from their current snuggling situation, Harry wanted to be wooed? Maybe he even wanted to woo Draco?

Well, there was only one way to find out…

Heart beating wildly, Draco decided to push his luck. He started drawing circles with his thumb on Harry’s hand. His mind was so firmly programmed on being rejected, he couldn’t believe it when Harry started to do the same.

Sitting so close to him, suddenly made Draco extremely nervous. And because of his traitorous body, Harry would know exactly how nervous he was. Draco’s whole body shook with every violent heartbeat. There was no way this was going unnoticed. And surely, Harry had noticed Draco was breathing heavily, too.

But as embarrassing as this was, Harry hadn’t pulled away. That was a good sign, right? Well, he was still watching the movie intently. But he couldn’t be so distracted, he didn’t realise what was going on, right? Right? Well, Draco would have to get his attention to find out…

Slowly, he leaned his head back further and started caressing Harry’s jaw with the tip of his nose. If Harry just turned his head a little bit… Come on, look at me! It would probably knock all the breath out of Draco’s lung, but he already felt breathless. All he could think about was the fact that he might be kissing Harry Potter in the next few seconds. If he would just turn his head and look at me!

Draco continued caressing his jaw with his nose, but Harry was either too fixated on the movie or he didn’t care. Well, that was a disappointment! But his heart still jumped when Harry slowly intertwined their fingers or pulled him closer every now and then. It was so confusing. Harry obviously wasn’t opposed to them being close, but it was also very obvious he didn’t want it to go any further than that. So for the time being, Draco decided to just enjoy these moments. And they kept happening. A lot. And it was fantastic. Only, the more it happened, the more Draco realised, snuggling on the sofa wasn’t enough anymore. His heart sank every time Harry turned off the television and they each retreated to their respective bedrooms. For weeks, he was lying in his bed, unable to sleep because he missed Harry’s warmth. Was Harry experiencing the same thing or was Draco the only one? What if they were both miserable?

One night, he couldn’t take it anymore. He just couldn’t watch Harry go into his room and close the door.

“Harry,” he carefully began while they were still on the sofa.

“Hmm?”

“Would you mind if I…” Merlin, just ask him already! “... if I slept in your room tonight?” Draco put his tongue between his teeth, fighting the urge to bite down on it. Hard. He could already feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “You see, my room is-”

“Sure,” Harry said with a smile. Wow, he hadn’t even given Draco the chance to give him some lame excuse.

“Okay. Great.”

Draco was so excited, he stayed silent for the rest of the night. He insisted on going to the bathroom first, so he would already be in bed when Harry came in. It still did nothing to calm his excitement. And apparently, his body was very, very excited about this. As soon as Harry slipped into bed and opened his arms for Draco, his mind went completely blank. He didn’t hesitate to press his body against Harry’s, wondering what he had done to get so lucky.

Feeling Harry’s fingers on his skin, listening to the sound of Harry’s heartbeat, breathing in his smell… it all felt like a dream. Only, it was arousing some very real and very alarming sensations in the pit of his stomach. The fact that one of his legs was trapped between Harry’s thighs didn’t exactly help either.

Careful not to be too forward, he let his finger slide down Harry’s side, stopping at his hips. He didn’t dare to go down any further. Not without knowing Harry was okay with this. Draco never found out if he was. Harry simply pulled him closer, cradling the back of his head and pressing it against his chest. Well, I guess we’re not going to kiss then. Again. Huh. Maybe that was his answer after all.

Maybe Harry just liked to snuggle. Draco knew he was… inexperienced. Maybe he wanted to take things slow. Or maybe he didn’t like to be too physical in general. Merlin, this was so confusing! Especially, when his body was still hoping for more!

And Draco couldn’t help wondering what that would be like… letting his fingers slip underneath Harry’s shirt, caressing his stomach… moving his hand to his back, sliding his fingers up and down his spine. At that point, he’d probably take off Harry’s shirt. What noises would Harry make if Draco started kissing his chest? He’d have one hand buried in Harry’s hair and move his mouth up to his neck from time to time, before slowly moving down again.

How would Harry react if Draco teased his nipple? Would he scream if Draco started sucking it into his mouth? Or would he silently squirm under him? Maybe he wouldn’t like it at all. Oh, but in Draco’s mind he did. He kept begging for more. And Draco would happily comply.

What if he left a trail down Harry’s chest with his tongue, down to his stomach? Would Harry tremble with anticipation? Would he whisper Draco’s name when his tongue caressed his abdomen, right above the waistband of his pants? Would he arch his back and press himself closer to Draco? Would Draco be able to feel how much Harry wanted him?

Oh, sweet Merlin!

Draco had to stop these thoughts. Now! Because he was pretty sure Harry could feel how much Draco wanted him right now. Damn it, cool it down! Well, that was easier said than done. Harry kept moving, ever so slightly, and basically rubbed himself against Draco. Oh God, this was not good! Harry was basically feeding the beast. But without giving it what it wanted.

Draco mentally swore. What should he do now? Harry seemed to be asleep, but what if he woke up, just to find the manifestation of Draco’s excitement poking his hip? Fuck, that would be so embarrassing! He had to turn over. It would mean not lying in Harry’s arms anymore, but if that was the price he had to pay…

Careful not to wake Harry, Draco tried to detangle himself from him. It proved to be nearly impossible. His leg was still trapped between Harry’s thighs. Ugh! Well, okay, there was no way Harry wouldn’t wake up. But if Draco was already facing the other way, maybe he wouldn’t notice anything.

Alright then…

Without being careful this time, Draco yanked his leg free and basically threw himself on the other side of the bed. His body was already screaming at him to go back. It craved Harry’s touch. As if Harry could hear the protests of Draco’s body, he had his arms around him again only a few seconds later, hugging him from behind.

Oh God, this was even worse! Now, his bum was nestled in Harry’s lap! And the only thing separating his bum from Harry’s lap were two very thin layers of fabric.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

Okay, stay calm. Well, as calm as you can. Okay. The thing is, you can’t just get up now to take care of this… problem. Harry might think you don’t like sleeping with him after all. Shit. Ugh. Okay, try to wait a little bit and then you can sneak out. And then you’ll come back and things will be fine…

And they were. After Draco had gotten up three times that night. And the night after that. And the night after that. And- Well, you get the idea. But Draco was determined to make it work. He would rather suffer through this than not having Harry near him. But he also had to admit, it kind of stung that Harry didn’t seem to have the same problem. At all. Well, yes, in the morning, but that wasn’t necessarily because of Draco. It kept being the most confusing thing ever. And it took months for Draco to get enough sleep. His body still got excited, but it was almost like falling into a routine. And if Harry didn’t want to be more physical with him, Draco certainly wouldn’t push him.

The way they interacted with each other now was so comfortable and sweet (minus the occasional fighting), Draco was genuinely happy with how things were. It almost felt like they were a couple. A couple nobody knew about…

“So, how’s work?” Weasley asked one night when he and his wife were over for dinner.

“Oh, same old, same old,” Harry said with a shrug. “It would be much more fun if you were still around.” Weasley chuckled as he shoved another spoonful of crème brûlée into his mouth.

“Well, sometimes I wish I could just go back. Especially when Rose is being difficult. But I like to be a stay-at-home dad.”

“Who would have thought,” Hermione grinned while she patted her husband’s shoulder. “You guys should come over sometime. Rose misses you.”

“We will,” Harry assured her. Draco had to admit, if only to himself, he had become fond of the little monster, so he had no objection to that at all.

“Is she still insisting on being a dragon tamer?” Draco asked, a smile forming on his lips.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Weasley laughed.

“Yes, I’ve been meaning to have a word with Uncle Charlie about that,” Hermione said, looking less stern than she sounded.

“Good luck with that,” Weasley mumbled.

“Have you heard from him lately?” Harry asked, reaching for his wine glass. Only, it wasn’t his wine glass he was grabbing right now.

Draco stared at his hand that was suddenly covered by Harry’s. What was he doing? They usually only did this when they were alone! Were they really ready to make it official? Seriously? They hadn’t even talked about it!

Draco was on the verge of panicking. They had been living in their secure little bubble. He wasn’t ready to face reality just yet.

The weird thing was, their friends didn’t even bat an eyelash at their joined hands. They were just talking and laughing as if nothing unusual was going on. Did that mean they were fine with it? Draco had no idea what to make of this…

Draco was still smiling while the memories played out in his head. Harry hadn’t let go of his hand the whole evening. Weasley had commented on that at one point, but that had been it.

As confusing as this whole thing with Harry had been, that had been the moment Draco had been sure. If Harry was comfortable enough to be affectionate towards him in front of their friends, they had made it. They were officially a couple. Draco would never forget that day. June 1st.

As he took a sip of his coffee, he watched his boyfriend prepare breakfast. Boyfriend. After six months of officially dating, he still wasn’t tired of that word. And now that he finally got to, he definitely wasn’t becoming tired of kissing his boyfriend.

“You better let me take care of that pancakes, otherwise you’ll have to starve to death,” Harry mumbled against his mouth.

“I don’t care,” Draco whispered, closing the gap between their lips again. Harry made a pleased humming sound while his hands wandered to the small of Draco’s back.

“Ron and Hermione will be here any second.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that. I’ll take a quick shower then.” He placed a quick kiss on the tip of Harry’s nose and started taking off his clothes as he walked. When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw his boyfriend watching him, his cheeks flaming up. Draco gave him a dramatic wink before he hurried into the bathroom.

As much as he wished he and Harry could have taken a shower together, Harry wasn’t there yet. They had done lots of stuff, though, and it wasn’t like Draco was complaining. Sure, it was frustrating sometimes, but he wanted Harry to feel comfortable with what they were doing. He’d never want Harry to do something just because he thought Draco was impatient. Draco would wait. It would be worth it.

Casting a quick cleansing charm on the socks, Draco put them on again, along with some fresh clothes and made his way back to the kitchen. Just as he was about to enter, however, he heard a squeal that made him stop.

“Harry, mate, you’re joking, right?” Ron said incredulously.

“I wish I was,” Harry mumbled.

There was a brief silence after that and Draco wondered what they were talking about.

“How can you not know you’re dating someone?”

What?

“He never said anything! We never discussed it! I really had no idea!”

Wait, what?

“But… you guys… mate, come on, you must have realised-”

“I didn’t! How was I supposed to know?”

“Harry,” Hermione interjected. “Have you never thought about all the things you did together?”

“Well, yeah, but… I thought lots of people hold hands or snuggle… and… sleep in the same bed?”

“Oh, Harry!”

“I know, I know. And when Draco congratulated me on our anniversary, he looked so happy! And I was happy, so I saw no reason to tell him then.”

“But… you have told him, right?”

“Not exactly.”

“Harry!”

“I was waiting for the right moment. I didn’t want to-”

“Err… Harry-”

“No, Ron, I know, but-”

“No, Harry, you might want to stop talking.”

Draco had stepped into the doorway, his hands balled into fists. He watched as Harry slowly turned around.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!”

“Oh, God! Oh no!” Harry’s face was pale and he looked like he was about to be sick on the kitchen floor.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!”

Weasley and his wife exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“I think we should go,” Hermione muttered, tugging at her husband’s sleeve.

“No, please don’t go,” Harry said in pleading tone. “He’s going to kill me,” he hissed under his breath.

“Damn right I am,” Draco fumed. “Are you seriously telling me, I was only under the impression we’ve been dating for the last six months? Are you seriously telling me, you had no idea what was going on?” He took a deep breath, which didn’t calm him in the least. “ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TELLING ME YOU’RE THAT STUPID?”

“Draco-”

“I’m leaving you.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Harry a murderous look.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t,” Harry said, his voice shaking. “You love me. And I love you. That’s all that matters, right?”

“No, it’s not!” Draco threw his hands in the air and walked over to the kitchen table. “For the past six month I have been happier than ever before. AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT WAS ALL A LIE?” He picked up the plate full of pancakes and began chucking them at his boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Never-really-had-been-his-boyfriend. Ugh, whatever! “I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!”

“Draco!” Trying to shield himself from the pancakes, Harry was covering his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry!”

“That’s it? You’re sorry?”

“Draco, what do you want me to say?”

“Nothing! I don’t want you to say anything, because everything is a lie!”

“Hey, I wasn’t lying when I told you I love you.”

Draco considered throwing the plate at Harry when he ran out of pancakes. Instead, he put it back on the table and gritted his teeth.

“Look,” Harry continued, slowly lowering his hands. “I really am sorry that I hurt you. But I didn’t do it in purpose. I really had no idea.”

“You are unbelievable!”

“I know. I’m not good with stuff like that. But… I mean, we were happy, right? We’re still happy.”

“Speak for yourself,” Draco growled.

“Draco.” Harry walked over to him, placing his hands on Draco’s shoulders. Draco shrugged them off, only for Harry to grab his hands.

“Let go of me.”

“No.”

“I said-”

“No! Draco, I love you. It took me long enough to realise it. I’m pretty sure I was in love with you long before you were in love with me, so-”

“I highly doubt that,” Draco muttered. “And that’s not the point.”

“Draco, I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot. But… you do know I’m happy with you, right? I mean, I was completely overwhelmed when you told me we had been dating for the last six months, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. And I realised it’s what I wanted all along.”

“Now you’re just saying things so I won’t kill you.”

“No, Draco, I mean it. I love you. I want to be with you. Ever since you came back into my life, I’ve had these feelings I’ve never had before. You changed everything. For the better. And I hope you will do so in the future. And I hope you’ll let me try to do the same for you.”

As much as Draco wanted to stay mad at him, these words found their way right into Draco’s heart. Damn Harry Potter and his soppiness!

“I won’t forgive you just yet,” Draco muttered darkly. “But I’ll let you try to make it up to me.”

“Okay,” Harry whispered, moving his hands to Draco’s hips. “I love you,” he breathed before brushing his lips softly against Draco’s.

“I know,” Draco murmured, trying hard not to let it show how much the kiss affected him.

“Are you still mad?” Harry asked, kissing him again. His tongue traced the curve of Draco’s lower lip. Draco couldn’t help but shiver.

“Yes,” he practically moaned, before his own tongue met Harry’s. He buried his hands in the thick black locks, pulling him closer to him.

“How long are you going to be mad?” Harry asked, breathlessly.

“For a very, very long time,” Draco responded, relishing the deep sound Harry made when Draco slipped his fingers underneath his shirt.

“Err… guys? We’re still here.”

“I don’t think they can hear you right now, Ron.”

“Can we make them stop?”

“They’ll just scream at each other again, if we do that.”

“I’d rather watch them scream at each other than watching… this.”

“That’s exactly why we should give them some privacy now. Come on, Ron.”

“But what about breakfast?”

“I’ll buy you some on the way home.”

“On the way home? What, you want to grab some poor wizard’s scone while we floo past him?”

“Don’t get smart with me. Come on.”

“Hermione… They’re going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, I firmly believe they’re going to be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re Harry and Draco.”

#drarry #drarry squad #draco malfoy #harry potter #writing #ficlet #fluff #yaay that was fun :)#thank you so much for that ask #and thanks to everyone who messaged me and left a comment on the first part #you guys are so so sweet #💙💙💙#thank you for reading :) :)

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