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mauesartetc · 10 months

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Thoughts on Helluva Boss 205 ("Unhappy Campers")

Wow, this... This one may actually be worse than Murder Family. That's impressive.

Is anyone else noticing a pattern of Helluva Boss episodes going absolutely nowhere? Each one ends without affecting the larger plot in any meaningful way. Season 1's structure was fairly episodic as well, but at least back then there was some sense of progression.

I usually include separate lists of pros and cons in these critiques, but in this case, I have so few compliments to give this thing it's not worth it. I tried my best to find more to like about this episode, but it gave me bupkis to work with. So I'll just present all my notes in chronological order.

Let's get this over with.

-Looks like the rehab facility where Barb used to live is located in Sloth (on account of the floating islands and all the pink in the environment), just like the hospital in this season's previous episode. We've never seen care centers in any other ring, so... Does Hell society's opinion of sick people dictate that they're just lazy? Some clarification on that might be nice.

-"She's got a job now. A life. Don't fuck it up by findin' her." Holy shit, the nurse is the most mature, sympathetic character in this entire episode. Tasing Blitzo in the butthole earns her bonus points in my book. Nurse Pussyface, you are way too good for this show.

-Why is Blitzo even trying to visit his sister if he's been kicked out of the facility several times and knows she hates him? What's the impetus? "Look, I know you hate my guts, but Dad's dead, and he named you in the will." Or maybe he had an experience that reminded him of her and figured he'd drop by to see how she was? Y'know, something.

-By the way, Helluva's animation is usually a highlight, but here there's not much to say about it. It wasn't especially memorable or ambitious; just kinda... passable. Even the climactic fight scene (which I'll get to later) didn't have much to write home about.

-How the hell didn't the client notice the holes in his boat before he rowed it out into deep water? Because I'm pretty sure it would leak when it was still in the shallow end of the lake, unless this is a unique real-life boating phenomenon I'm not aware of. Also, you'd think this guy was a bit too gung-ho to get out on the lake for someone who can't swim. Did someone have a gun to your head, dude?

Fun fact: Did y'all know I was on staff at a summer camp once? We had a pond, canoes, and a boathouse just like the camp in this episode. One thing we had that this camp apparently doesn't, however, is this important rule: No one gets in a canoe without a life jacket. EVER. But, well... We see later that the adults at this camp don't care much about safety, so I guess that's fair enough. (Though I'm curious how they manage to stay open, or what the client's loved ones have to say about his mysterious disappearance.)

-What did the client do to get sent to Hell after he died? Mrs. Mayberry murdered someone, so that's why she's here, but this kid seems pretty chill-? (And don't even try to explain this on Twitter, writers. If it's not in the story itself, it ain't canon.) I also can't help but notice that his design reflects the way he died, but every other sinner's appearance is just random. Consistency? Who needs it!

-Some unintentional hilarity for ya: Here's Millie's face after the client recounted his death.

And she holds this pose for the remainder of the scene. Was there NO direction on how to animate Millie here?! This is a grim situation and she's smiling?! I get that she's a demon, but damn that is cold. It's never been clearer that half her role in this story is just smiling and looking cute, to the point the animators don't know what else to do with her.

-Richard Horvitz's valley girl voice was kinda funny. I dug it. Not sure why Moxxie and Millie had to dress in drag for anything other than cheap laughs, though.

-I know Millie's hurtin' for more development, but this story's conflict would have made SO much more sense from a character standpoint if Moxxie were getting all the praise from the campers. Think about it: He's the one Blitzo always shits on and doesn't believe in. He's the one whose father doesn't love him. He's the one who never gets positive attention from anyone except his wife. Suddenly the conflict is much more compelling: Now that he has approval from these humans, maybe he doesn't need it from Blitzo anymore (not sure why he needed his approval in the first place, but whatever). Maybe he'd realize what he's been missing, and how shitty Blitzo's treatment has been in comparison. Could this be the breaking point that finally gets him to muster some self-respect and quit IMP? We'll never know, because the episode has miscalculated where the most interesting dilemma actually lies.

As far as we can tell, Millie's had zero reason to doubt herself, and we never see her being mistreated like Moxxie has.

Take these lines of dialogue: "And for once I feel like... Like I'm important! Like I'm somebody to be proud of!"

Wouldn't they fit so much better if they came out of Moxxie's mouth?

-I kinda liked how the lyrics of Millie's song were humble while Moxxie's lyrics were egotistical, showing that being down to earth will win you friends while being self-centered will turn people off. But is that really the kind of message we need in an adult show? It's a useful lesson for children, but after you hit the age of this series' target demographic, most people will have the social skills to know better than to pull what Moxxie did at the campfire.

-Speaking of Moxxie being super immature, why does he weep when a bunch of preteens ignores him? They're...They're kids, Mox. They aren't your peers. Literally who cares. This behavior makes no sense outside of (once again) cheap humor. I could understand being bummed out that you're not good with kids if you wanted to have your own someday, but even that doesn't warrant actual tears. And this makes him look like a massive hypocrite later on when he asks Millie why it matters what "these yokels" feel about her. I mean... You seemed to care a lot about how they saw you, Moxxie...

-Moxxie's excuse for why it's so hard for him to get information on the case is that everyone's too busy "swooning over" Millie. Here's a thought: Why doesn't Millie get the info? She's the one everyone likes, so it should be a snap, right? Well, once again, the characters get railroaded because the writers can't entertain any other plot ideas. And of course Moxxie ends up getting blamed for everything as if he's the only one who fucked up here.

-Why the hell would a summer camp show so much favoritism toward a single camper that they set up a friggin' concert for this camper and this camper only? Yeah yeah, "viral sensation" and everything, but 1) The news crew can wait another day or so for camp to end in order to conduct an interview (y'know, something that wouldn't require a huge-ass stage and pyrotechnics that'd cost the camp boatloads of money), and 2) The camp staff thinks Millie is a child. How fucking irresponsible can you get to lavish this much attention on a kid? Think it'll go to her head or something? Psssh nah. Also, you're telling me none of the other campers are the tiniest bit jealous? How do you think they feel, seeing this one kid get treated like a god while they're left in the dust?

Okay, plot-wise, the writers decided they wanted Millie to sing a song so she's occupied during the final showdown with the killer. Easy solution: Camp talent show. That way, the adults treat all the campers equally, and Millie gets her (more believable) moment in the spotlight.

-Oh hey, we finally see Asmodean crystals in action. And of course the first one we see is a butt plug.

SuCh a MAturE shOw, GUys! (Sorry, I'm still laughing my head off at that.)

So, a bit of backstory for those who aren't familiar: We first learned of Asmodean crystals in the Season 2 premiere, when Stolas opened the grimoire to reveal Norse runes on its pages. Someone on the internet was kind enough to translate:

Now here's the deal: Blitzo tells the lust demon to open the portal with his crystal (even threatening him at gunpoint), leading me to believe only non-imps could use Asmodean crystals and that's why he needed the grimoire to get to the human world.

But guess what happens later:

Blitzo's sister Barb, another imp, uses a crystal on her bracelet to open a portal back to Hell. So what exactly was the point of stealing the grimoire from Stolas??

BLITZO. YOU. DENSE. MOTHERFUCKER.

Okay, maybe I'll be generous and acknowledge that there might be another explanation, like Blitzo getting banned from using Asmodean crystals because he's misused them in the past. (Maybe there's a spell that causes the crystals to burn him every time he tries to hold one. Something of that nature.) But at this point I don't trust these writers to fill in their plot holes. Or plot portals, as the case may be.

-The portals themselves are kinda pretty, though. I can appreciate that they look different from the portals created by the grimoire.

-Moxxie calls Blitzo "sir" in this episode despite Blitzo telling him to use his first name in Truth Seekers. Moxxie then uses it in "Ozzie's" (if I remember correctly), but now he's back to "sir" for unexplained reasons-? Coupled with how their relationship has reverted back to square one with Blitzo learning nothing (as well as no one bringing up the agents or what they can do to stop them leaking the proof that demons exist), do the writers just want us to forget that episode or what?

-Blitzo chastises Moxxie for dragging the case out for a week, but it took him a week to track down Barb. This hypocrisy is never addressed.

-At the boathouse, Blitzo tells Moxxie he's looking for his sister, then kicks down the door, revealing Barb inside. Moxxie asks, "Do you know her?" "Do I know her? That's my sister, fuckface!" That's... oddly repetitive, writers. I get that Moxxie wouldn't immediately make the connection since Barb's disguised as a human, but there's a more graceful way to handle that in the dialogue. Something like, "Is this her?" "Oh, now you're on the ball!"

-In an earlier post I expressed concern that these writers wouldn't handle Barb's addiction well, and I'm somewhat relieved they didn't go into it. But I also predicted she'd amount to a genderbent Blitzo instead of having her own personality, and... well...

Overindulges in addictive substances? Check. Runs a business that requires travel to the human world? Check. Pottymouth? Check. Uses sexuality as leverage? Check.

It would've been nice to at least get a hint about what Blitzo did to make her hate him so much (and perhaps confronting that would make him rethink how he treats Moxxie-?), but I guess we'll have to find out when she comes back in seven episodes or so. Yaaaaay.

-Barb says she picked this particular human as her supplier because teenagers are easy to manipulate, but she really had no way to accomplish that other than flashing her panties at him? Assuming Barb and Blitzo are the same age, she's in her 30s, and... it's just a tad creepy and uncalled for, even if this kid's legal. That's a pretty big age (and power) gap regardless. This is one of those times when it looks a lot more predatory when you switch the genders, but, importantly, women can be predators too. Bad optics, y'all.

-The climactic fight scenes in prior episodes were snappy and exciting, but this one's pacing felt really sluggish. I get that the song in the background had a slower tempo than we're used to in these action scenes, but would it have been so hard to double-time the animation? Also, previous fight scenes were notable for their creative choreography, but Barb wrapped her tail around Moxxie twice in a row. Having trouble coming up with new fight moves, guys? Like damn, she's an acrobat. She could do so much more.

-In another edition of "characters being idiots because plot", Moxxie and Millie make out in front of everyone who thinks they're related. They couldn't have run off to somewhere more private?? Apparently no; this needed to happen so Millie's internet fame would be dashed... or, here's another option: Show how the internet popularity cycle is so damn short that everyone's already moved on to the next sensation. You could have made that funny if you actually put in some effort. Like... The faux-incest was just so unnecessary.

-Much like Murder Family, another unfunny ending where Moxxie's dreams are crushed. Blitzo gets his hopes up only to call him a "fuckin' disgrace". But remember, guys: He'S HArd oN hiM BEcauSE hE CAreS! (Fuck it, I think I'll just edit a supercut of every time Blitzo has berated Moxxie, pre- and post-Truth Seekers.)

Oh and look, Millie's glaring at Blitzo, which is totally the same as opening her mouth to tell him off like he deserves, right?

She'll take on a whole gang of mobsters out of love for Moxxie, but standing up to Blitzo? Whoa, that's a step too far. Y'know, because he's the writers' favorite and he shouldn't have to experience any complications from his behavior. Same old story as it's been for a season and a half.

This ending would've been a million times better if it left off on a cliffhanger. Maybe this could have been Moxxie's final breaking point. After Blitzo calls him a disgrace, Moxxie could take a deep breath and...

MOXXIE: (flatly) I quit.

Then he walks out of the room. Everyone looks after him, stunned. When he closes the door, the screen cuts to black and the credits roll.

Oh shit, what's going to happen next? How will Blitzo deal with this? How will it affect Moxxie and Millie's home life? What kind of new job will Moxxie find to keep food on the table? Will he ever come back to IMP, or will Blitzo find a replacement? I know these writers aren't too interested in serialization or any sense of continuity outside of the stupid romance subplot (or hell, inside it), but good god, it would give viewers some exciting possibilities to look forward to.

This episode had so much potential and followed through on none of it. "Unhappy Campers" turned out to be a more fitting title than expected, as that's exactly what I was while watching this.

(Also this show needs a continuity coordinator like yesterday.)

#helluva boss #helluva critical #critique #criticism #review #writing #long post

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defectivehero · 2 years

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I love it when the villain is hurt over the fact that the hero could even think for a minute that villain would actually kill them. Villain getting mad or hurt is funny to me as what else is HERO SUPPOSED TO THINK 😭😭

Anyways would be great if you wrote smth on this trope later. Where the villain is obliviously in love and shit and hero thinks villain is waiting to finally kill them. You could make it mlm if you wanted ;))

i love that too! and omg i let out the most evil cackle after i reading this. mlm? y'all know me so well. mwAHAHAH.... also!! Kit is the hero.

“Well, I guess this is it,” Kit murmurs, trying to push the villain away in a rather pathetic attempt at increasing the distance between them. The villain just raises an eyebrow, his grip tightening on the hero’s collar.

“Excuse me?” His enemy’s touch burns and itches, sending a wave of fear, hurt, confusion, annoyance at Kit. The hero pauses to take a breath, feeling suddenly robbed of oxygen.

“Final words...” Kit continues, readjusting slightly from where he’s pushed up against the wall. “I never got the chance to think about this. You’ll be sorry? No, that’s cliché.” He’s about to nosedive straight into nervous rambling when a voice interrupts him.

“What?” his enemy repeats, squinting at the hero. He almost looks confused, Kit notices. In fact, he’s certain the villain has never been this inarticulate before. The villain’s fingers move from Kit’s collar to dig into his shoulder blades, a strange juxtaposition to the frown on his face.

“My final words,” the hero remembers to respond. “Speaking of- why is this taking so long?” Kit looks over at the villain, wondering where he’s concealing his weapon. Dagger in the boot? That’s a classic. Maybe a knife in his pant leg?

“Why is what taking so long?” the villain bites out. His gaze sears into the hero’s skin. Kit tries to push him away again, but it doesn’t work. His enemy shakes him by the shoulders briefly, as if emphasizing the need for an answer.

“You know, the killing part,” Kit replies snappily, starting to lose some of his patience. His enemy raises an eyebrow, as if questioning the statement. “Killing me.” He hadn’t thought clarification to be necessary, but apparently it is. After all, the villain is particularly slow on the uptake today.

“You think I’m going to kill you.” A tense silence settles in the air, pushing Kit’s shoulders down and his back to the wall. Everything seems sharp and blurred all at once. He’s not sure he wants to dissect the look on his enemy’s face.

“Just hurry up,” Kit hisses instead, grabbing the dagger he had entirely forgotten about from his belt. He holds it out to the villain, who simply stares at him. Rolling his eyes, Kit grabs his enemy’s fist, forcing it open and placing the dagger in his hand. “This is what you want, right?”

“No.” Kit squints at the villain. Is this some sort of test? If it is, he has a feeling that he’s failing miserably. His heartbeat is pulsing in his ears and thrumming under his skin. Even so, his mind is filled with a startling clarity. Before he can quite think about what he’s doing, Kit’s hand is guiding his enemy’s hand and, subsequently, the dagger, to rest against his own neck. His fingers tremble against his enemy’s hand.

For a long moment, the hero and villain are still. The hero remains against the wall, his own dagger in his enemy’s hand. The villain’s hand is pointed at the hero’s neck, but not of his own volition.

“I don’t want to kill you,” his enemy eventually murmurs, with eyes that look so unbearably conflicted that it makes Kit nauseous. His enemy tugs at their joined hands and the dagger clatters to the floor, sending a hollow yet loud sound through the hero’s ears. Kit stares at the discarded weapon. For a moment, it glints at him mockingly. Questions sit heavily on the tip of his tongue, yet somehow he can’t ask them. His enemy must sense his confusion anyways, because he gestures in annoyance.

“I tire of this,” the villain states, taking a step backwards and folding his hands behind his back. He has hesitance and resistance painted all over him- in the uncertain look in his eyes, the downward pull to his lips. Irritation seeps into the villain’s frame soon after, turning his folded hands to shaking, clutched fists. Every hint of reluctance is washed over by tight defensiveness. “Leave.”

“But, you’re the one that called me here-”

“Go.”

The villain’s eyes glow crimson for the briefest of moments. Kit desperately wants to argue, but his enemy clearly isn’t up for conversation or explanation. The hero bites his lip, staring at the villain for one long moment, before turning on his heel and walking away.

part two

I like how confusing the villain is. Confusing villains are the best. Also, I know getting backed up against a wall is such a stereotypical trope but it’s just too good for me to pass up. [I HAD TO.]

[Also, Kit... Any Kit Herondale stans...? Sobs. I love Kit Herondale. I didn’t name the hero after him or anything, but they share the same name, so... Yuh.]

Thank you for reading!

#defectivehero #writing #writeblr #hero x villain #hero and villain #short fic #snippet #whump #emotional whump #ig #idk #mlm #gay #the gayest

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rat-fern · 2 years

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Think y'all are just gonna accept that these vent posts are a new thing and will be happening frequently

I feel like I'm pushing the person I've been dating away further and further cause I've been SO sad lately and all I feel like I do is just vent, and complain, and vent some more. And I just haven't shut up. I know that they have reassured me in the past that they have no intentions of leaving when the going gets tough but I've only known them for a handful of months now and they have yet to see me like.....THIS bad and at my most extreme hypo-mania. But it's like....I can observe it happening where I'm being a handful but I can't get my brain to just.....stop. I need to just.....stop!!! I need to shut up or be able to have a thought come through, observe it but then not immediately go straight to texting them all about it. Like I just need to shut up fr

Aside from my coworkers, I literally don't really have any other friends aside from online friends but unfortunately they're not people who can be here for me at the drop of a hat so to speak like they've got their own lives but I have no one else to really......fully.....talk to about what i'm going thru right now and I hate that it feels like I'm putting all of this onto them.... :/ I tried to reach out to one of my older friends and they replied but then never responded back to a clarification I made and honestly like.....kindaaaaaa....stings. I'm still upset about it. I feel like too I'm also majorly trauma dumping on other ppl too when they've sent me kind messages and I think are ALSO getting annoyed I just.... Idk I guess I really really need to just work on trying to get these thought about somewhere that isn't an actual human. And this is kind of the best method I've got right now. I guess I need to start keeping a phone diary to myself or something

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lolosrollercoaster · 6 months

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so - back on an I need to write this out to process it and I guess im sharing it mood.

So ... been looking for a job since April, took a bit of a break in May but was supposed to be back in it by now but I'm just. exhausted. the depression has come back full force and I'm now lk desperate and financially stressed af.

So anyways, all of these months I kept just mass applying when I could get myself to with the full resume I had - no changes. no tailoring it to an application etc. and then I decided to apply again to this one place in sept - even though last year when I applied I hadn't had much luck, but this time around there was a position very similar to my last one - and I was lk fuck it I gotta do it.

in the mean time I've kinda been going to a psychiatrist since lk august to be evaluated bc I think I might also have ADHD. But anyways she thinks that I need to leave my house, see ppl and rejoin life in order to see if my problems are from lack of doing anything and so my mental health is fucked bc im lk stuck at home feeling useless or if its because of something else - lk idk something is inherently wrong with me lol. I think she'd shit on me if I said that out loud to her. she's kinda cool - lk intimidating cool but not in a bad way. she's just such a no nonsense person and she'll read you lk you're an open book you cant get much past her.

my mom had to go in to share what she'd seen happening with me (aka lk the outsiders perspective of what changes can be seen in me since Ive been mentally fucked) and she was so nervous ahahaha and then in the end she was lk wait do I want an appointment with her for myself? my mom is a whole character. if only y'all knew.

anyways back to the job thing, so she told me to apply to anything, I just needed to get a routine going again. so I applied to a bunch of things. and then I got a message about a grocery store job on indeed and tried to reply but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad bc I thought man I finally got a grown up job and now I'm back to my OG job roots, back to the grocery store life. And honestly I think a lot of my extended family has fucked me up on that bc they're so snobbish about these jobs. ANYWAYS so I didnt hear anything back after I answered them 🤷🏻‍♀️ so I thought ok . and around that time I had stopped applying.

fast forward to the past 2 weeks - my dog got sick, I got sick - we had the worst flu, I've had the worst period of the last few years, ive been out of it, my mom has been out of it, my dog has been out of it - also right - my grandmas death etc. (truly Oct is kinda dead to me now. so yay on that 😭 one less thing to look forward to which is sad when you didn't have much left) but yeah so then I see this email late Friday evening - which shit I usually check my email daily but this time I had forgotten bc id been sick - it was an email from Wednesday from that job I'd applied in sept that was a lot lk the one I'd left earlier in the year. and they wanted to interview me this week - Wednesday or Thursday. I managed to reply as soon as I saw it. and then I got a confirmation that Monday for it - it was an in person interview today.

I tried to prep for it as best as I could while physically dying a bit - bc lk I said been experiencing the period from hell. And yknow what that means? I'm so fucking emotionally wrecked atm- so anyways my dad drove me I somehow managed to be there, I was early, dressed professionally and everything - had even practiced some answers ... and then idk man - I think I fucked it up. They asked follow ups or clarifications of my answers but by the end I wasn't sure how to feel except man definitely didn't get that. they told me they'd make a decision by next week and let me know either way.

and the worse or weirdest part is I've spent the past few days since I found out about it trying to downplay it - lk its fine, you don't need this, if it's for you then it will be for you and if it isn't then it isn't. but I felt so sad walking out - lk idk I just got that feeling that they didn't like me. so now I'm all sad - even if all I've felt recently is that idgaf anymore and I'm ok with just dying - bc yup I got that passive suic*dal ideation down to a routine now. anyways - if anyone has any words of encouragement I'll take them but yeah I am sad .... and I have little to nothing left to give. it's been draining to say the least. and the worst part is I know my parents are just going to be encouraging and even my psychiatrist -she told me that I would get a job and it wouldn't matter who and if for some reason I didn't get something I should just think of it "well they weren't capable of seeing how great you are and what an asset you'd be to their team and that's fine because that just means it is not the job for you" but it still makes me sad know? I have trouble letting go of things and I'm way too hard on myself so it's just - A LOT.

anyways thats my life update.

#unemployment #sad thoughts

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2-point-5 · 2 years

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bro if you say "depressed people really need to try to look on the bright side sometimes" you don't "really get it". Depressed people don't talk about their depression a lot because it's like their favorite pastime. They do it because depression is a disability that makes it Literally Impossible to have the bright side be your state of mind. Your brain is constantly pulling you into a dark hole, and trying to look on the bright side becomes a raging war against your thoughts and feelings. You begin to feel guilty that, no matter how you try, your bright side just stays darker than everyone else's. People who complain about being sad complain because they want to be happy. They try to make themselves happy. But their brains try to literally kill them!!!! They are literally fighting against their depression just to stay alive!!!

a.) i appreciate you reaching out and pointing out things that you disliked about the post, or you think i could have handled better. even if you were a bit harsh, the detail in your several asks was really helpful to see what needed clarification!

b.) i do actually understand what it's like to- to quote one of your other asks- "fight every single day just to stay alive while your brain is telling you to hurt and kill yourself", thank you! as i mentioned in the post, i have been diagnosed with severe bipolar depression, anxiety, ptsd, and possible schizophrenia! i have been struggling with all of these- and especially the depression and ptsd- for years now, and have attempted suicide four times, and contemplated many many more! i'm only a teen, but i've been raped and beat and homeless and i've starved myself and hurt myself and suffered through illness and watched several people i loved die.

c.) some of the first words of the post were "some of y'all". i never said that anyone who has ever dealt with mental illness can be saved with strawberry tea. only that, oftentimes, the fact that people revel in sad movies and music and shows, and never take time for good things that make them happy, actually will make their depression and anxiety worse! like how, if you have a headache, you take medicine and a nap. you don't slam your head against a wall. does that make sense?

d.) talking about your depression is fine. naturally, as someone who is disabled, i love to bring up my disabilities! i make jokes about my hearing aides or hyperactivity or anything else that i can think of, as a way to make light of it. however, if i were to make that my whole personality, and only ever go around saying how depressed or deaf or adhd i am, that just makes other people uncomfortable and makes me more miserable.

e.) it really is just a post about optimism. if you refuse to see the bright side of life, there's really no reason to keep living, is there? the fact that you're still here means you've found something beautiful, something to keep living for, even if you don't think of it. i live for strawberry tea and hot showers and pretty clothes. maybe you don't. maybe you live for sunrises or good music or the smell of rain. that's up to you.

f.) next time, i would appreciate you reaching out for clarification, instead of spamming my notes, but i understand being upset, my post did seem a bit insensitive. thank you, have a really nice day, and i hope you do find something that makes you happy, even if that demon of depression tries to stop you! :-)

#long post #if you have any questions please feel free to ask! :-)#if i see anyone being mean to this person on my behalf i will block. heads up

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fanimesenseiwrites · 3 years

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Kidnapped to Hell (pt. 12)

TW: violence

When it was time for bed later that night, Hoshiko did their bedtime routine in their own room before heading up to the twins' room.

Lucifer was walking out of the library at the same time Hoshiko was passing by.

"Ah, Hoshiko. May I speak to you for a quick moment please?" Lucifer asked, he seemed more sober than he had earlier.

Hoshiko looked at him. "Yeah, I guess."

"I just wanted to give you an update on everything."

Hoshiko nodded. "Okay."

"Did I ever tell you that we apprehended two demons who matched your description?"

Hoshiko's eyes widened. "No, when did y'all do that?"

"That's not important, but we've interrogated them and they insisted that their masters commanded them to abduct you."

"Commanded as in used their pact to force them to?" Hoshiko asked for clarification.

Lucifer nodded. "Yes."

Hoshiko gave him a skeptical look.

"Yes, I know. I'm not convinced either. Lord Diavolo isn't taking any chances though, so he's sent Solomon and Barbatos to the human realm to investigate this possibility."

Hoshiko nodded. "Well, thanks for letting me know." They started to walk off.

Lucifer grabbed their arm and stopped them. "I wasn't finished."

Hoshiko glared down at the hand that had stopped them.

Lucifer moved his hand away.

Hoshiko looked back up at his face. "... What else do you have to tell me?"

"As much as I'm sure my brothers are enjoying not going to school, we don't know how long the investigation will last and they can't miss school for the duration of it."

"So y'all are going back to school tomorrow?" Hoshiko guessed.

"My brothers will, Diavolo still doesn't want you to be left alone so he's asked me to stay here with you."

Hoshiko felt a little uneasy at the thought of being left alone with Lucifer, they tried to play it off though.

"You're staying? But you're always busy with paperwork and student council stuff, couldn't one of your brothers stay so you don't get behind?"

"It will be fine, your safety and the investigation supercedes any student council work," Lucifer assured.

"Are you sure? I'm sure any of your brothers would be happy to stay," Hoshiko tried to convince him.

"None of my brothers need to miss anymore school."

"I mean, Satan could probably afford to," Hoshiko continued to argue.

"Hoshiko," Lucifer's tone was harsh. "Diavolo asked me to stay so I will do what he has asked and I will stay home and send my brothers to school."

Hoshiko scowled. "Fine." They walked past Lucifer to go upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Lucifer asked.

"To sleep in the twins' room." Hoshiko stopped and looked back at him. "Belphie offered to do a little dream weaving to keep the nightmares away."

Lucifer nodded. "Okay, well I hope you actually get some sleep."

"You and me both," Hoshiko told him as they walked off.

Lucifer let them get some distance before following them upstairs and going to his own room.

Hoshiko walked straight over to Beel when they got to the twins' room.

Beel looked at them. "Hey Hoshiko."

Hoshiko held out their arms. "I want a hug."

Beel immediately wrapped his arms around Hoshiko and held them tightly.

Hoshiko buried their face in his chest. "Mm..."

"That's okay, I'm not here," Belphie commented sarcastically from where he sat on his bed.

Hoshiko turned their head just enough to see him. "You can join in on the hug."

Belphie grimaced. "Then I gotta move."

Hoshiko looked up at Beel. "Let's go to Belphie."

Beel picked up Hoshiko, letting their feet dangle above the ground.

Hoshiko giggled.

Beel smiled slightly and walked them over to Belphie's bed.

Belphie watched them, amused.

Beel laid down on Belphie's bed with Hoshiko then pulled Belphie close so they could all snuggle.

Belphie smiled and wrapped an arm around Hoshiko. "Ready to actually sleep tonight?"

"Oh god yes," Hoshiko replied enthusiastically.

Beel and Belphie made a sort of disgusted face.

"Oh sorry, I mean... hell yes?"

"That's better," Belphie told them.

Beel kissed the top of their head.

Hoshiko chuckled. "Okay, good night."

"Good night," Beel spoke before he reached over and turned off Belphie's lamp.

Belphie yawned. "Night."

The three of them fell asleep snuggling each other.

It wasn't long before all three of them woke back up due to Hoshiko's nightmares.

Hoshiko, Beel, and Belphie all woke up at the exact same time as Hoshiko started to actually choke.

Belphie was slow to truly wake though.

"Belphie!" Beel shook his twin when he realized what was going on.

"Huh?" He frowned when he noticed Hoshiko choking, and gasped when he noticed his hands around Hoshiko's neck.

He quickly let go and pulled his hands away. "Hoshiko I'm so sorry... I didn't mean..." he stared at his own hands, horrified by what he'd done.

Hoshiko inhaled suddenly and then started coughing.

Beel sat up and helped Hoshiko sit up at the same time.

Belphie sat up and tried to comfort Hoshiko. "I don't know why that happened, I'm sorry... I would never hurt you."

Hoshiko gave him an incredulous look.

"Never again," Belphie amended.

Hoshiko sighed and looked down at the bed.

"What exactly happened?" Beel asked.

"Belphie was choking me in my dream, and then when I woke up it was really happening..." Hoshiko explained, not looking at either of them and trying not to cry.

"I didn't do that on purpose," Belphie quickly explained. "As soon as I tried to change the dream it was like something took control of me... I became the nightmare."

Beel frowned.

Hoshiko crawled out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Belphie asked pitifully.

"I think I'm just going to go to my room," Hoshiko told them, barely looking at them as they did.

"Hoshiko, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen, I won't let it happen again," Belphie insisted, hoping that they'd catch that he didn't want them to leave.

Hoshiko sighed and turned to really look at him. "I believe you, but I just can't be in here right now."

Beel and Belphie both frowned.

"Okay," Belphie conceded.

Hoshiko nodded and left, finally allowing their tears to fall when they did.

They headed down to their room, but ran into Levi on the stairs.

"Hoshiko! There you- why are you crying?" Levi started to panic.

Hoshiko sniffed and wiped their eyes. "C-could I... request an audience with the Lord of Shadows...?"

Levi blushed a little. "Of course. I was actually... looking for you."

Hoshiko looked up at him. "Why?"

"I was still awake watching 'I Thought My Boyfriend Was Just Goth But It Turns Out He's Actually A Thousand Year Old Vampire' when I got really anxious and nauseous like the last couple times you were in distress, so I wanted to check on you..." Levi looked away out of embarrassment.

Hoshiko smiled slightly. "That's sweet, but I'm okay now."

Levi nodded. "So... you're going to go to bed now?" That wasn't really the question, Levi wanted to ask.

"I was going to go to my room, but I don't think I'll be able to actually asleep," Hoshiko explained.

Levi nodded again. "Right... so... would you maybe want to come watch anime with me then?"

"I would actually really like that," Hoshiko told him with a soft smile.

Levi grinned. "Okay!" He led Hoshiko back to his room.

Hoshiko held his hand on the way there.

Levi blushed, but gladly gripped Hoshiko's hand as well.

When they got to Levi's room, they both climbed into the tub and snuggled while they watched anime together.

Hoshiko paid more attention to Levi's reactions than they did to the show itself.

When they noticed him starting to nod off, they coaxed him to sleep with sweet words and a soft lullaby, knowing that he would try and fight sleep otherwise.

Once Levi was asleep, Hoshiko paused the show and closed his laptop.

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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wwall-archive · 3 years

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*claps* good day folks I am following up on my post from last night so gather around to hear me infodump about my super basic p.ercy j.ackson s/i because I have simply decided to embrace fifth grade me's interests to cheer myself up and y'all have to deal with the consequences of that /lh

So. Her name is Adeline K.ane!! And she's P.ercy's younger half sister (by one month), the daughter of Poseidon, and she's the older sister of C.arter and S.adie K.ane (from the K.ane C.hronicles) because her mom is their mother, Ruby K.ane! So that automatically makes her a big player in two different sectors.

She ends up at C.amp H.alf B.lood for the first time on the same night as Percy, so they're on like exactly equal footing in terms of experience. They've always been pretty close since they first entered this entire situation together, they were confused together, and they're generally pretty ride or for each other. Adeline is typically the more responsible one, she and A.nnabeth are BEST friends, and she usually gives more than she takes in ALL of her relationships, but that's just kind of the person she is, and those that care for her definitely never take her for granted.

She applied herself to weapons training super intensely as soon as they got to camp, and she's INCREDIBLE with a sword, arguably better than P.ercy. She gets very attached to Luke, she learned a lot of her sword training from him, so his betrayal hits her REALLY hard, and remains difficult for her throughout... the rest of her life, really, I don't think it's ever really left her.

I obviously can't recount the entire series + addie but. The jist is that she's always there and is the most responsible and helpful person is the room at any given time abjabaibsjs wherever P.ercy goes, she's not far behind. After the big battle in The L.ast O.lympian, she's offered immortality like P.ercy, but similarly turns it down because she wants a shot at being normal (spoilers - this does not become the case)

When Percy disappears before The L.ost H.ero, she doesn't, which is weird (she'd find out later that it was because H.era thought they'd be too powerful together/would trigger each other's memories to come right back instead of letting the amnesia that her whole plan rested on be) so, she winds up helping Jason, Piper, and Leo, instead, because you've got a new adventuring team heading out? Wait, someone get Addie to babysit them. She got particularly close to Leo, Jason took over as the dumbass ride or die brother figure.

And then!! They track down Percy!!! And the dynamic sibling duo is reunited once more. H.o.O insues. She takes Leo's "disappearance" at the end very hard as well, and takes it even harder when he shows back up later with Calypso in tow, so she kind of tries to separate herself from their friendship.

So after H.o.O she just wants to be normal, right? She's reached a god-like status along with the rest of her friends, but she doesn't particularly care, she just wants to find like. A normal routine. Teach at CHB or something. Move to C.amp J.upiter. Whatever comes up. But then!! Here comes her uncle Amos, who she never really got along with, asking for her help to get back into contact with her younger siblings, C.arter and S.adie! Because he needs all three K.ane siblings for what's about to ensue, but they've been separated for YEARS, and Addie hasn't gotten to even see them since she was like 11. But she hesitantly agrees, because she loves her siblings a lot, and she'd love to see them. And then here comes the plot of the K.ane C.hronicles with Addie as a figurehead guiding everyone since she's the oldest K.ane sibling and has experience in this sort of stuff! But!! In the final battle of that series!! She actually gets knocked out halfway through, for the first time like ever, and in the process she gains a scar very similar to Luke's (!!!) which freaks her out but C.arter and S.adie are there to support her regardless.

And so!! That is much of the important events of her story that I have figured out from when I was super into p.j.o abahbsjssn I don't know if this got her out of my system? I might keep talking about her/this because. I actually still love this a lot I'm finding!! I am so sorry for the length of this I tried to keep it down and did not succeed. If you even skimmed it you have my heart forever ❤️ /p feel free to. Idk ask questions? Anajsnsjsns I'm so bad at sharing stuff but if you would like to know more/want clarification on anything I am happy to oblige!!

#this took me AGES ansusnsjsnsi #and it is ABSURDLY long #was it worth it? yeah kind of :)#i fully dont expect anyone to read all this but if you do ilu and owe you my life /p /lh #I'm also a little nervous to post this bc. feels cringe. but i must do my part in assassinating cringe culture so here you go #also this whole post largely hinges on the fact that the reader know the entire plot of p.j.o im so sorry avjgaiabis #musings with wallace #have a little faith in me // addie 🌊#gushing with wallace #long post

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zirkkun · 3 years

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Yo you have every right to be upset about things! You're still a person with your own feelings and deserve to be treated kindly. No one should come at you for making things you enjoy or for misunderstandings. I hope things get better for you even if I wasn't here for when all the drama happened (or maybe I was and just wasn't aware of it? I tend to avoid drama as much as possible tbh)

I didn't really post about it much. I think I answered about 4 asks about it (three of them in the same post because i was sure it was the same anon due to the similar string of seemingly continued messages) and the rest I just deleted as soon as they came in, but I got... A lot. A lot of mean things said too. Kinda hurts when you wanted to make something because you knew this work was highly criticized and wanted to let people give it a second chance only to be shot down by the people you were hoping to defend lol

In short, and a lot of it I missed because I was blocked by a lot of people so my friend sent me screencaps; someone took I believe only the old ask box post I had for ULR, which at the time was called "Underlust Rewrite," and was disgusted at the fact that everything was revamped and "made for kids" (because it's not 18+ explicit content, but as I've said before, it's just cause I'm too scared to be horny on main, and I've literally made a whole different biological system for ULR so I can write the necessary story ""sex scenes"" without it being human-like sex or otherwise uncomfortable or too explicit for me to draw, but I still consider it a mature story overall), so they blocked me instantly here and on twitter and then made a callout post on twitter itself. People were telling me originally to stop calling the AU Underlust, and I didn't really get it at first, because like, what's the difference between my spinoff and, say, Underlust Gold, Swapfell Indigo, TS!Underswap, you know, names that have add-ons from the original title to differentiate it but still connect it to the source. So that's what I said, as well as if I removed the Underlust name, it would be considered stealing to me, because I'd be disconnecting it from the source. But apparently, instead, what had been the concern was that it was just being called "Underlust" and the "Rewrite" aspect was implying I was replacing the original story, which like, had never been my intention and I've made a bunch of things with both the ULR and UL cast together and love the idea of Lust and Ace meeting up and just being a disaster duo of not working together at all. I just adore Underlust like it's in my pinned FAQ, Lust's been in my banner for months now, and he's practically my staple pfp character on every account but here atm.

It took like 3 days for it to actually click what was going on, because once I finally got the chance to have a conversation with someone where they weren't telling me I was the scum of the Earth -- which, honestly, bless the three people I talked to, they were so sweet (which actually included someone from the Japanese side of the fandom whose art I loved too... yeah it got pretty far. Once I sent them a message though it was cleared up quickly and they did post a clarification post about ULR and me, so that was nice to see.) -- I finally got the chance to realize that this was a misunderstanding from the beginning, from both sides, where people coming at me were saying I was doing all of the stuff above and probably more but those stuck the most, while I was confused as to where this information and accusations were coming from and what they were referring to in the first place. They probably never explained it in the anon asks because, well, they probably assumed I knew what I was doing, but when they came at me about something I didn't do with vague context of something I did do, I was very confused, and got really defensive really quickly, and really honestly snapped pretty hard. After my first initial explanation post and people were still trying to tell me to stop ULR/don't call it Underlust/whatever else there was, I just got tired and told people to block me if they didn't like it. But that didn't really stop anyone and honestly made it worse because that's when I started getting really nasty messages. I like... Specifically remember one where someone called me a lowlife and a thief, and that one stuck the most, but I tended to not read through them before deleting them for my own sanity. I actually did this to one of the people who'd later talked to me calmly about it at first too, because I had just woken up, and really didn't want to read an essay lecture on everything everyone's been telling me at the crack of 7am when I was borderline ready to delete my account and start over lol

Some people I do remember were accusing me of trying to censor nsfw content or erase it as well because ULR isn't 18+, and I'm out here on my horny ass like "wh. What are they talking about, where did you get that idea, have you SEEN my ao3 recommended list," /j but in all seriousness I really didn't understand that accusation at all because I've never been against nsfw content in the slightest and lowkey? This is very dumb -- but like, you know how they say when you get hate mail, you know you've made it? Well, for me, my thought has always been, "When there's 18+ fancontent of my OC's, I'll have finally made it." This is... Not a joke, some of my friends think its very weird LMAO oh well. I've been on the internet for far too long at this point -- like, definitely since I was far too young, probably, and being with a family of the next youngest being 12 years older than me, I really dove into stuff pretty quickly I definitely shouldn't have, but hey that's life -- I'm really unfazed by mostly anything now. Hell, me making ULR was honestly half motivated by me wanting to make others more comfortable with this kind of media, discussing sexuality and otherwise sexual-considered topics, without really being embarrassed or bothered by it. Because, people talk about death and killing and whatever other gorey stuff just fine, but the moment sex comes up, people just gasp in awe, y'know? I kind of grew up that way myself but like... ironically, in being more comfortable with my asexuality, I realized that it's honestly not that big of a deal. Sure, we don't need to hear the details of everything. We don't need to hear the details of a murder either. But I will never understand how murder is always the lowest on the "morally wrong list of things to not to" to so many people and that it's fine to mention, but even consider bringing up anything else and it's like, a sin and you're a bad person. Even racism is like, higher up on there for a lot of people, which it's like... this is an issue that needs to be discussed, or it can never be solved. You can't just kick that away and hope it goes away on its own, that's never how it works.

Ah, well, now I've gone off tangent lol. Sorry to make you read a blob of text lmao but having things in a cohesive format of what I've been thinking does feel a bit better. Thank you for the support regardless, and I do want to keep making what I really enjoy, because frankly, I really want to make things that make people take a step back and think for a moment, y'know? Things that invoke like a realization in yourself about something you didn't even know. That's how fiction's always been for me, so I want to give back by making it that way too. ... maybe my horny content is exempt from this however. That's just. Self indulgence LMAO.

Probably helps that I'm actually talking this all out for once, too, since before any of this I tried to keep as much of the situation contained to myself as possible in hopes I could clean it up before it got too bad. That was, in hindsight, probably a terrible idea lol. But I didn't want to be a source of stress for anyone following me or become the new creator-to-defend that like, 50% of people hate and 50% of people love and that you're either on one side or the other and there's no where in between. (I feel like Arin Hanson comes to mind for me every time I think of someone like this.) I know I can't please everyone and I knew internet hate would come eventually, but like, didn't expect it to be over a name or tag choice. I thought that would be a simple enough DM or clearable thing but apparently not, especially since I saw someone a few weeks ago delete their blog over a similar thing (though, the opposite, in a way: posting nsfw in a sfw tag by mistake). It wasn't in the UT fandom so y'all probably weren't following them (tbf I wasn't either, I just witnessed it happen from start to finish), but it was still disheartening.

Anyway, thank you, and sorry to make ya read all of that (if you actually did vahdbs don't blame you if you don't it's a lot of thought dump lmao)💕💕

#zircon answers #anonymous #all this happened like the DAY i got accepted onto the bhc team to and i was like #alright guys am i being kicked out day one lol #like i was expecting the worst from this whole thing #but im still kind of happy with how i worked it out #i really wish more people were like #willing to talk things out rather than just spit in a general direction and hope youll listen #because like even the people i talked to calmly some of them were pretty rude at first! but!#theyre not bad people #they were just scared for their favorite thing #i cant blame them for that and honestly i do consider the hatred justified under the circumstances that they knew #but they were all really nice after we talked things out #and were like 'i hope your series does well' and that really meant a lot honestly #death mention tw//

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submissivedjberry · 4 years

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Clarifications || Jolia

Tagging: DJ Berry & Jo Fabray ( @jofabray )

Date: August 23

Location: Jo’’s Suite

Summary: The aftermath of the threesome with Tina.

The night with Jo and Tina had been a series of ups and downs. But for the most part, DJ had enjoyed the time that they had spent with the other submissive. And she felt like if given the opportunity she could become even more confident and comfortable in situations like that. She felt, despite some lingering tension, like she had done well the night before. And she hoped that Jo had felt the same way. Even if she wasn't certain. And that was something that she needed to go over with the blonde that day. Because she had some worries and things that had bugged her that she wanted to be honest with Jo about and hopefully get some clarity on. Tina had left not too long before and DJ had busied herself with cleaning some things up, even if they weren't things that truly needed to be cleaned. It was more to keep her mind and body occupied until she felt the confidence to talk with Jo. Eventually though, she made her way to the living room and claimed her spot on her knees. She let out a slow breath and glanced down at her thighs, waiting for the Domme.

The experience of having two submissives under orders at the same time was a different one for Jo. It had been complicated, and she knew that not every part of it had gone smoothly, but she hoped that when it was said and done DJ and Tina both felt like they'd been given a fair share of attention and treated as equally as Jo could manage. She knew that her lack of experience meant that mistakes could be made, and while it would hurt if she'd done so at least the experience would be better for all of them the next time. Stretched out on the couch with a book as Jo cleaned, she looked up with a smile as her girl came to kneel before her. "Hello, darlin' girl. All finished up out there?"

She offered a small smile and nodded her head. "Yes, Miss, I managed to clean everything up." She assured her, biting down on her bottom lip and then clearing her throat slightly. "Do you think that we could talk for a minute, please, Miss?" DJ questioned, head tilting to the side as she glanced up at the Domme. She felt anxious and unsure, but she promised that she would be honest about the way that she was feeling and she wanted to do that, even if it was very difficult to speak up. She chewed on the inside of her cheek waiting for the Domme to respond.

"Such a good girl," Jo praised, wanting DJ to know - as always - that what she did was never unappreciated and would never go without reward. The question, and particularly how nervous DJ looked, made Jo a little nervous in return, but she didn't hesitate. Communication was one of the things that was most important to any potential claim. "Of course we can, darlin'. Would y'all like to stay where you are for this, or would you like to join me on the couch?"

The praise, as always, caused a warmth to spread within her and she sighed contently. She let it soothe her for just a few moments, and also let Jo's willingness to speak with her sooth her a bit as well. "I'd like to stay here, please." The submissive expressed, feeling more centered with her place on the floor, taking a few moments to breathe and gain control of herself. She rubbed the back of her neck and then cleared her throat. "Did I do something wrong last night while we were with Tina, Miss?"

"Of course, darlin' girl." Jo straightened up a little, though, making sure her book was tucked away and that DJ had her full and complete attention. The wait felt long but she didn't wriggle or fidget, because DJ deserved focus. "Did you..." she started to repeat, shaking her head. "No, Dalia, not at all. Y'all didn't do a thing wrong. Why do you ask?" That was the part that worried her. If something had happened to make her feel bad, then that was on Jo's head.

"I just..." She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I feel a bit dumb for asking. But Tina got to make you and I cum..." She paused and chewed on her bottom lip. "And then you got to make Tina cum but I didn't get to make anyone cum. And I wasn't sure if that was because I had done something wrong." She paused and rubbed the back of her neck. "But I guess I'm really just being selfish because you should have gotten to make her cum if you want to. I'm sorry, Miss." DJ said quietly, looking back down at her lap.

Jo paused, looking down at her fingers for a moment as she tried to remember the sequence of events. Tina had made DJ cum. Then Jo had sat on her face as DJ had...had started getting her off before Tina asked her to stop. And then when they'd restarted, Jo had taken her place. She immediately felt like an idiot for not realizing before, and her face fell a little. "You're not selfish, darlin' girl. And you're not dumb for askin'. But it was absolutely not because y'all did anythin' wrong. It's because I wasn't thinkin'." Jo ran a hand through her hair, frustrated and upset with herself. "When we stopped, I guess I lost track of who'd been where. Stupid of me," she shook her head, scuffing her sock against the floor with a sigh. "You did nothin' wrong, my girl. Not one single thing. Your Domme just...needs to learn to plan better. My fault, and definitely not yours."

Watching Jo's face fall had caused a sharp pain in her chest. She almost felt like she could have kept the question to herself because nothing was worth watching Jo's face fall like that. She hated that she had been the cause of that look on her Domme's face. She shuffled closer to her Domme as Jo began to speak. She wasn't sure if Jo was right about her not being selfish, but she was glad that the blonde didn't think that she was dumb for asking the question. She felt a bit better that she hadn't done anything wrong, but she still hated that she had caused the Domme to look so bad. "No...you're not stupid, Miss. Please don't think that way. I just....I just wanted to make sure." She paused for a moment. "Can I come sit on you?"

"Y'all can always, always ask me," Jo promised, trying to shake off her frustration at such an easy mistake. All she'd had to do was keep better track of things and DJ wouldn't have had to worry about it. But should a night with the three of them ever happen again she'd be better at planning things out. "Of course, darlin'. Come on up." Jo patted her lap, waiting for DJ to join her and wrapping her gently in her arms. "I'm sorry y'all felt left out. It won't happen again, I swear."

She eased off of her knees and moved to claim her spot on her Domme's lap. She slipped her arms around Jo's neck and then pressed her lips against Jo's cheek. "Thank you for the apology, Domina. And you're forgiven. I really just wanted to make sure that I hadn't disappointed you somehow. But I should have known that you would have been clear that I was being punished." DJ expressed with a shrug and then nuzzled against her Dominant's neck, breathing in her familiar scent. "I am so happy to be yours. I want you to know that." She felt like the blonde could use a bit of a reminder.

The kiss against her cheek went a long way toward easing the disappointment that Jo felt in what she'd done. The apology did the rest, and she rested her head gently against DJ's with a hint of a smile. "I would have. But I so, so appreciate that y'all asked me to clear things up. If I'm gonna be good for you, I need ya to help me out that way. To ask questions, let me know when y'all feel like somethin' happened that you don't understand. So that I can figure it all out with you." Her smile grew wider at the soft statement, and she pulled DJ more tightly against her. "I am so happy that you're mine, darlin'. Happier than I've ever known."

"You told me you wanted me to be open and honest and it's not easy but I'm trying my best. Because I want to make you proud of me. And I want to make it easier on you that I'm yours." She grinned as Jo said that she was happier than anything else to know that DJ was hers. It was so special to know that that knowledge could bring such happiness out of the Domme. Because being Jo's made her so incredibly happy as well. More than she could even begin to describe. Resting against her, she gently kissed her neck. "May I ask something else please, Miss?"

"That is exactly what I told you," Jo agreed with a smile. "Because I don't think a claim can happen without honesty, and that's what I've promised y'all in return." She did shake her head, though, at the next sentence. "Being mine doesn't have to be easy, darlin', it just has to feel right to us both. Good things rarely come easy." DJ's kiss on her neck felt entirely too good, but rather than get distracted she was quick to take in the question. "Of course, darlin'. Ask away."

"I know you're right, Miss. And I want you to be honest with me about everything too. It will make us a more solid relationship and claim moving forward." She said gently. "I know it doesn't have to be easy but I don't want to be something that makes your life more challenging. Does that make sense?" DJ expressed, wanting her thoughts to be easy to understand. "Did you really enjoy the time with two submissives? And do you think it was because you were with two subs in general or because of who you were with?" DJ questioned, curled tightly into her Domme as her eyes closed. It felt like an important question and her tummy churned slightly as she was waiting for the answer.

"I can always promise honesty," Jo assured her. "Above all, and no matter what." There was no way she'd enter a claim with anyone that she couldn't be totally honest with at all times. She'd seen the sort of ugliness that lived in her parents' claim, and she would never subject herself to that. "It does," she promised. "But that doesn't mean that y'all should ever hold back, either, because makin' my life easier doesn't mean not bein' true to yourself, all the time." The question wasn't unexpected, but Jo didn't rush out an answer. This was an important conversation, and DJ deserved a well thought out reply. "I did," she nodded. "It's a challenge, for sure, but I think everyone had a good time and that's all I really wanted. As for the why...I thought Tina was a nice fit with both of us, sure. But it's really, really important to remember, darlin' - all we did was play video games and have sex. It was nice doin' that with Tina, and with y'all. But you're my choice to be here all the time. To be domestic, to live the quiet moments with. If Tina becomes someone we could both share that with one day, then we'll talk about it then. But you're my priority, okay? You're going to be my claim. Anythin' else that might happen is a long way down the road."

She was a little anxious about the question that she had asked but she knew it was a necessary to ask. She knew that Jo wanted her, but she also knew that Jo could want another submissive and she was glad she had taken the class to prepare for that possibly reality. When Jo began to speak, she nodded her head. Beyond wondering if she had done something wrong, it had been a very enjoyable time. "Tina is a very fun person. I had a very good time with her. And...she did pay attention to me." DJ expressed with a smile. When Jo said that there was something important that she needed to remember, she sat up and glanced at her. She nodded when she said that they had only played video games and had sex. She felt her cheeks flush and she smiled when Jo said that she was the one that she had chosen for now and that they would talk if things became more serious. She paused and rubbed her forehead slightly. "So...me first? And then you'll think about a second claim? What if you get a really strong connection with someone else?" She paused. "I don't want you to miss out. Even if I do love being your priority."

Jo smiled, running her fingers through DJ's dark hair. "She did, and I was very glad to see that. And I'm really happy that y'all had fun with her, because I wanted that more than anything else for the night." She felt really good about the conversation they were having, knowing that she could both ease DJ's fears and work through some of her own. "You first," she nodded. "And then we'll see what happens. But a second claim isn't a necessity for me. You are. Anything else can be figured out later on." She didn't want her girl thinking that she'd be somehow lacking without another claim. "And if I have a connection with someone, I'll expect them to be able to wait for us. Our claim is what I want. It's my goal. And then we'll see."

The feeling of fingers running through her hair was always a beautiful thing. It helped relax her and ease her fears. "Thank you, Miss. Our claim is my goal too. I am very excited to be yours wholly and completely. I wouldn't want to be anyone else's. And if someone else comes around that you feel really connected with I want you to go for it. As long as I have time with you...as long as I'm not forgotten...I can deal with it." She promised. "I just...as long as you're mine, I can handle anything."

Jo was grateful to hear it - she knew that the idea of someone else added to a claim would always be a challenge. Both parties would have to be assured of their equality and made to feel special, and neither of them could ever feel lesser than. But it meant the world to her that DJ would be willing to try something like for her if the time came. "You are so wonderful, darlin' girl. So completely wonderful," she smiled, pressing a soft kiss to DJ's forehead. "Whether that day ever comes or not, y'all will never be forgotten. You're mine. Always." She hesitated for a second before going on. "I had a thought...about our trial. I promise it's nothing bad, at all. But I really, really want y'all to give me your honest opinion on it."

"I might get jealous. Especially if they don't want me too. But I promise to do my best to be good." DJ assured the Domme with a shrug of her shoulders. "I will be good for you though. Promise. I know you won't forget me. Just...yeah." She froze when Jo mentioned having a thought about their trial claim, feeling like her breath was caught in her throat. When Jo said that it wasn't bad, her body relaxed and she sighed. "Okay, Miss. What's on your mind?"

"If they don't want you too, my girl, then they're not part of our future. Our claim comes first, and no one gets to come in and not be into you. Because y'all are important to me, and you'd need to be important to them as well. And you will never, ever be forgotten." DJ's quick breath reminded Jo that she needed to be more gentle with her questions. "So, I've been reading some of the old trial approvals that are on file, and I noticed something. A collar is an option for a trial, but so is a set of cuffs. And I wondered if that might be something fun - to do a set of cuffs for the trial and then a collar for our permanent claim. But I want to know how that'd make y'all feel. Would you rather a collar? Honest answers, please, don't tell me what ya think I want to hear."

She smiled softly at the Domme's words. "It's really nice to hear you say that, Miss." She bit down on her bottom lip as Jo stated the question that she wanted to ask. Her hand lifted to her neck and rubbed and the space where a collar would one day rest. "I'm...really looking forward to wearing your collar. But if you think it would be better to wear cuffs instead, I can do that, Miss." DJ expressed, dropping her hand from her neck and shrugging slightly. "I understand if you want to wait until it's real to get me a collar."

"It's just the honest truth, my girl. Simple as that." Jo nodded. "That was why I wanted to ask, darlin' girl. A trial doesn't mean it's not real to me, and I want it to feel real to you too. So we're gonna get a collar for the trial and another one for our permanent claim. Actually, I have the one for our permanent one already, but that's neither here nor there. That's the way we'll go." She pulled DJ a little closer to kiss her. "I can't wait to see you wear my collar."

"But you clearly thought about me wearing cuffs for you, My Miss. If that's something you want then I would be willing to do it for you. I will have forever with your collar around my neck. So I can wear a cuff for you if you want that." She perked up when Jo said that she had her collar already. "You already picked it out for me? That's...I have to wait until you claim me to see it right?" She paused, moaning as lips pressed against her own. When Jo pulled back, she felt like like she was high on it. "I'm so excited. But I love that you already want it."

Reaching up, Jo cupped DJ's cheeks with her hands and smiled. "I thought about it, yes. But I wanted to know what y'all thought before I made any plans. What I want is for you to tell me what you'd rather wear, and you did. If I find a pair of cuffs that really speaks to me or something, then maybe ya can have both. But otherwise we'll go with the collar." The way that Dalia's expression picked up at finding out about her permanent collar made Jo smile in return. "Y'all do have to wait, yes. That's a special thing that doesn't come out until the day I put it on ya." Her own smile felt so big that she didn't know how her face could contain it. "There isn't a single doubt in my head, darlin'. You're my girl, and there's nothin' we could find out in a trial that's goin' to change my mind."

As Jo cupped her cheeks, her eyes fell shut and she let out a soft breath. "But I want to please you. And if that will please you, I will do it." She smiled when Jo spoke again. "Okay, Miss. That sounds like a very good idea." She pouted when the Domme said she had to wait. "Will you let me look at it for a while before you put it on me? Just because like...I really want to see it." DJ expressed, biting down on her bottom lip. "When did you find it? Did you have it already or did you find it for me?" She grinned and nuzzled into Jo's shoulder again. "Your girl. No one else's. Ever."

"Y'all did please me, darlin'. You told me what would make you feel good. That's all I'd ever ask." Her little pout was so adorable that Jo had to kiss it away before she went on. "You'll have a nice long look, I promise. It's in a little display box, and on the night I give it to you we're going to sit at the table and have dinner with it waiting there. Then I'm goin' to ask you if y'all want it, and then I'll put it on. So I promise you'll get a good look." Jo shook her head. "I found it for ya. I ordered it a while back, but it just came in a week or two ago." She was beyond excited, but for her own sake she couldn't bear to take it out of the box until the time came. It would hurt too much to put it back. "Not ever," she agreed. "My perfect, amazin', darlin' girl."

She hummed when Jo said that she had pleased her by being honest and she toyed with her Domme's shirt gently. DJ let the sound of Jo's voice wash over her as she explained what the night she got her collar would be like. She painted a beautiful, perfect, picture. Her heart swelled again when Jo said that she had found the collar for her. There was something so profound about knowing that Jo had spent time finding her forever collar for her. She felt tears well up and she rubbed at her forehead slightly in response, a wet chuckle falling from her lips. Emotions were weird things sometimes. "I can't wait to see it." It would be a while until she got the chance so she was trying not to feel too excited by it, but it was virtually impossible to do so.

"Oh, darlin', come here," Jo murmured softly, pulling her close and resting DJ's head in the crook of her neck. "I've got you. Right here with me." She knew the exact emotions that her girl was going through, because they were the same ones she'd felt looking through the catalogue of collars to find one that screamed DJ's name at her. "Soon enough, darlin'. But first you'll get to see your trial collar, and that one will hold a place for it. That one I don't have yet, but I'll have the perfect one here before we send our application in."

She didn't fight as she was pulled against the Domme, blinking slowly and nodding her head. "Here with you." She repeated quietly. "I'm sure whatever you pick will be perfect." She sighed softly and continued to toy with Jo's shirt. "I'm just so anxious for it to get here. I know I'm yours. But..." She trailed off with a shrug as she closed her eyes again, letting Jo's closeness relax and calm her.

Jo knew all too well what was on DJ's mind. It was the same twisty, painful thought that sometimes haunted her own - that the longer the day took to come, the more chance there was that someone else would take her away. "But until the day comes, it'll always feel like it might not," she nodded. "I understand, my girl. I wish I could make it come faster, take this wait away, and make sure ya never have to be with anyone but me. But we'll get through it. We'll keep our schedule regular, make sure y'all are here as often as we can swing, and before you know we'll be ready to send in our application."

Her bottom lip trembled and she nodded her head when Jo finished her thought. It was a nasty one. A terrifying one. One that could sometimes eat away at her in the middle of the night when she was sure that Jo was sleeping and she didn't want to bother her. The thought of Jo being taken away from her in any way was a difficult one to swallow, and it was nice to know that Jo understood. Even if she didn't want Jo to ever think that she would leave. "No matter who I'm with, there's so many parts of me that they don't get. My heart. My soul. My future."

Shutting her eyes tightly, Jo breathed against DJ for a moment as she drank those words in. It was everything to her, to know that there were parts of her girl that no one else got to see. Got to experience or know or touch. "You know me in a way that no one else does, darlin' girl. Y'all know the past, you know about Bay and the thing my sisters don't know. Y'all are my future. My heart. And my soul." She deliberately echoed DJ's choice of words. "And no one can ever take that away. Not ever."

Knowing that she knew things about Jo that no one else knew was beautiful. She knew that if Jo found another submissive, she would have to tell her those things. But for now, she felt very protective of that knowledge. DJ felt those three words forming on the tip of her tongue. But she was still afraid to speak them into existence. She should have felt safe enough to say them, but she didn't know if she could handle Jo not saying them back. And so she would wait. After all...the words that they had spoken were just as much, if not more, a promise than those three words. "Thank you. For always saying and being exactly what I need. Thank you for doing your best and for always helping me do better." She mused softly.

Jo's grip tightened, just a little. "You're so welcome, my girl. And y'all have all of my thanks in return. For being a submissive who helped me remember how to Domme. Helped me remember who I was - and that's not an exaggeration. Thank you for bein' the person I need, for tryin' your utmost at everything you do, and for makin' me not just a better Domme but a better person."

#post: para #para: jo fabray #para: jo fabray 13

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thoughtfulpaperback · 4 years

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Charmed 02x08 Review SPOILERS!!!!

Sorry this took so long y'all. Family stuff just blew up in my face this month has been just terrible it's been terrible since the end of november to be honest, so I just wasnt in the mood to review. But I shall starts. In general i liked the episode 8/10 for me. I like the pacing, the general plot advancing. I liked it, but I have some complaints though. So let's just get those out of the way. So I'll do pros and cons by subject since there were things I both disliked and liked about each thing.

1. Hacy

Let's just get this big guy out of the way. So abby and Harry kiss was a big no for me, although it was hot for sure.

Now there has been a lot of back and forth about this so I actually wanted to compare to the things that bugged me about Macyx galvin and where I thought one does better than the other.

Communication

So like Harry and Macy do not communicate well with each other right now. I feel that thier communication issues though are better (or at least make more sense to me) than Macy x Galvin.

Macy while communicating with Galvin, as far as arranging things, was bad, but with her kiss on halloween she did make her interest in Galvin known. They both had an understanding that they were interested. So I thought the whole Summer ordeal was worse in that sense because, while the follow through was poorly done, Macy's interest was stated.

With Harry and Macy, it appears that neither of them have stated any interest to one another (neither has told the other thier feelings) and neither is aware. So harry kissing some one else isnt as bad to me as the Galvin x Summer situation because of that (speaking about this area soley).

The passive aggressiveness of Harry and Galvin in certain situation isnt comparable because Harry is doing it more.I felt Harry's reactions are more justified (we will get to the hypocritical portion later) in that he is going through the wringer, is hurting and confused, and self-deprecating and many of us agreed that the thought of Macy preferring Jimmy would be bad and hurtful to Harry and logically make no sense. But harry has more scenes than Galvin did in season one so he feel more passive aggressive than Galvin, but I attribute that to screen time and proximity to the Macy (he always there so more time and chances to interact). But also, for me, Galvin wasnt as passive agressive and his sometimes aggressive or snideness wasnt because of Macy. Outside stuff (problems with summer) would make him snap or his trauma also caused him to snap so the situations are comparable there but, again Harry has more screen time so his snapping feels worse to me because it happens multiple time in one episode versus one or twice in a whole season. Since the situation ( and right now I am speaking soley on the summer x Galvin situation) was different. I am up in the air I as to which was "worse" i think both situations are sucky and i think i am more bothered by Galvin x Summer because again Macy had actually expressed her interest (communication wise) but the hacy situation feels more full of that passive aggressiveness and that will turn it into something I really cant get behind. Right now I feel Harry is in a bad place and probably shouldnt be with anyone until he get himself settled personally.

Love triangle/square or whatever

So like with summer x Galvin it wasnt really a love triangle I mean kind of but not really. Galvin didnt pursue Macy while with summer and was generally nice during that time. Summer wasnt necessarily the jealous girlfriend stereotype she was nice, but did call out suspect behavior.

The abby xharryx Macy x jimmy thing is like aweful. It is the love triangle that I hate most at least where the abbyxharryxmacy part is concerned.

I mentioned it before but I hate when one or two people use another person as a means of getting release/relief when they are actually interested in someone else. I think it is cruel to both the used character and the main LI. Worse when both are using others because twice the cruelty. IDK what was going on in Harry's head. But I have never like that type of love triangle, and worse so because it is possibly the other type of triangle I hate which is (usually guy) caught between two ladies and one is clearly the villian (I thank novelas for this gem *sarcasm*) and it is mostly a lust thing.

Especially given that James Westwell was a serial cheater, apparently, this idea of "I love one person but am in lust with the other despite thier character" is like the worst to me. Abby is straight up an ambitious murder, and like I guess that maybe Harry's default type because Charity had similar qualities, but again for a guy who supposedly has strong feelings for Macy and was so confused and hurt by her attraction to Jimmy (which apparently wasnt attraction at all) the ease of him doing the very thing he was mad about , and the ease of being able to push aside his feeling for Macy and give in to that abby kiss was gross.

Sorry but although they werent together, for me, guys who can do that easily should be on our cheater radar. Knowing that James was a serial cheater just makes it worse imo.

While the summer x Galvin situation felt worse on the communication front (expressed feelings) it was better done than here because there is a lot more grossness in the dynamics of the love shape thing right now.

Overall, I get Harry isnt in a place to be with anyone and it's all confusing and he is lashing out. He has not told Macy his interest and neither has she so he shouldnt be held to the boyfriend standards. But still the writers are toeing the line here. What happens next will actually help me define whether this turns into a Galvin situation where I end up not liking the two characters together. If Harry tries to continue the passive aggressiveness about Macy and Jimmy. I'll be done. I mean if he does have feelings for abby and trying to move on, but still tries to pull that with Macy it will just be straight up manipulative. Right now I am like okay he was lashing out and I get it and the abby kiss is probably a big mistake. He can continue the mistake path if the writers wasnt to go there, but if he doesnt recognize that he did something hypocritical and still comes for Macy about Jimmy it will be very very wrong.

I think they for sure need to clear the air but if the writers wait to long or do too much damage I wont be satisfied with the clearing of the air.

I am not necessarily mad right now over the abbyx Harry thing because I am waiting to see how they will handle and present it, but I mean it is on that line and writers need to watch out. I dont think Harry was trying to be manipulative and the lashing out happened before abby kiss. As long as the lashing out (at Macy) doesnt continue I will watch and support the development and exploration of thier relationship and dynamic with the others.

2. Maggie

So like Maggie shows her naivety here and I am not that mad. Like she isn't pulling a "I am so in love and blind to the world" thing she makes her decision based on what she thinks will do the most good for the most people. It is still naive, but she is still maturing and you can see that. Her wanting her sisters to trust her judgment and not feel like they have to baby her is reasonable although again those insecurities clouded the main issues here. She is growing and I shall see how she continues to mature.

3. Mel

I think they tried to fit some personal development for mel here and it both worked and didnt work. I thought it wasnt done badly but at some points I was like....okay could this have been saved for another episode or done beforehand. I wanted to see it, just didn't think it felt in place, especially after leaving the wedding. She just had some development and then was like welp guess I am gonna stumble upon this amber. Like mel could have gotten her new powers before, I mean I felt they could have made the stumble upon the amber scene and new powers at any point before and it could have been more relevant and interesting placed somewhere else than this episode.

4. Abby/overlord/parker storyline

Abby was probably the best thing in this episode. I love her as a villian. I am here for it and I want it.

Parker got dark real quick and while I think he and Maggie shouldnt be together, I am glad he didnt die. Also glad abby clarified that his actions weren't caused by the apple. Because at least OG with Cole the tragedy (the first storyline) was that he made a choice to protect the person he loved but he ended up becoming the source and actually being taken over by the source so his actions were tinted by his OG love but corrupted by that force that possessed him. Where as abby tells him, that that jealousy and want for blood was all him. Maybe the apple and that power made him more likely to act on it than of he hadnt, but it wasnt the apples fault necessarily so. I am glad for the clarification, makes me not want Maggie and him together, but I like that exploration of power and choice. Even with Macy while the power amplified those insecurities she still was making choice which also made her choice to give up that power extra meaningful. Power is corrupting but you can still choose to fight that corruption or give in to it. I like that.

5. Jordan

I love this character to be honest. I am still figuring him out, but like dude is cursed and has been basically touched, punched, and robbed by these guys. He can't catch a break and like nobody even checks on him. Like he so far is a pretty decent although suspicious (like he doesnt trust others easily not like he himself is suspect) guy and I like him but he is getting some serious Darryl treatment right now. I dont like that, but I like him and want to see more of him. Plus, what the heck happened? Did they leave him passed out in the gym? Did they wipe his memory? What is going on?

Episode highlights

Jordan trying to defend maggie and get parker to leave

The power of Four looking fine as heck for a wedding

Mel as a fly talking to herself

Macy walking in on that kiss

#charmed remake #charmed reboot #charmed cw #the cw charmed #charmed #charmed 2018 #hacy #macy x harry #harry x macy #macy vaughn #harry greenwood #abigael caine #mel vera #maggie vera #jordan chase #paker caine

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minaminokyoko · 5 years

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Spider-Man: Far from Home--A Spoilertastic Review

Oh, my baby boy is back and it feels good.

Like many of you, I was looking forward to FFH due to the trauma left behind by our final film with all the Avengers present, and I needed to see my sweet Spider Son to try to dry my tears. I'm happy to say Far from Home is just the popcorn flick we need this summer: light, enjoyable, fun. I do admit to a bias right off the bat, before I begin the review: I am one of the hugest fans of the Iron Dad and Spider Son dynamic, and so I knew by default that I wasn't going to like this movie as much as the first one. Sorry. I am a skank for adopted family tropes, and I think Iron Dad and Spider Son was one of the strongest relationships developed in the MCU period. Losing Tony is just...agonizing. I've sectioned it off in my brain as Did Not Happen just to get by, honestly, and so keep that in mind as we proceed.

Spoilers ahead.

Overall Grade: B

Pros:

-Lemme get this out of the way: MY SONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN MY SPIDER SON OH MY GOSH PETER PARKER IS SUCH A GOOD BOI AND A SWEET SMOL BEAN AND I HAVE NO MATERNAL INSTINCTS EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO MCU PETER PARKER AND I LOVE THIS CHILD MORE THAN ANYTHING AND I JUST WANT TO PROTECT HIM AND HUG HIM AND BRUSH HIS HAIR AND COOK HIM DINNER I LOVE MY LITTLE BOY Y'ALL.

-Ahem. Tom Holland still shines in this role. I really, solidly care about Peter Parker. He's a great kid and he's very realistic in the way that he's written and acted. He's just a shy, awkward little nerd with a heart of gold who unfortunately has been forced into the worst situations that he's not ready for. I wanted to punch "Nick" in the face for how much goddamn pressure he put on a kid who is literally still in the goddamn mourning process just like everyone else. Peter has so much to deal with and he's only had these powers for a short amount of time, so it's natural that he's so frustrated and anxious and he wants time to go after things that are important to him. I found that very understandable and sympathetic, even if the "I just want to be normal" trope has been done to death in superhero media. MCU Peter has so much heart and I'm proud of this baby for what he's able to accomplish.

-The allusions to Tony and the void left behind hit home quite hard. Especially that fucking gravestone part of the Mysterio sequence. That was just...cruel. Tony taught Peter so much, and he genuinely loved that kid. He grew to love him and trust him and worry about him, and it's so awful that Tony won't get to see him grow up to be his own man. I'm grateful for the time they had together, and I really love Tony leaving Peter the glasses and the A.I., knowing that while he might still make a mistake, he would do the right thing in the end. (Side note: EDITH is as funny as it is fucked up, "Even Dead, I'm the Hero." God fucking damn you, Tony, that is so in-character and it hurts my soul.) "Nick" shoving all that pressure onto Peter made me want to kick his ass, especially since he talks down to him and tries to blame him for not being ready when he only just got into the game relatively speaking. But I also loved the sequence of him in the plane doing exactly what Tony used to do in his lab. It's such a great parallel, showing that Peter is his own person but he's also a chip off the old block, and that is very sweet to see. (I also squealed at the Led Zeppelin comment, oh my son, such a cutie.)

-I was extremely hesitant about them choosing Gyllenhaal for the role of Mysterio (not because of his skill as an actor, just because he looks like a giant puppy, sorry) but now I see why. He's an unstable narcissist and it fits him. What a jerkoff. I was furious with how callous he was and how he shifted blame everywhere like it's just SO necessary to kill all these people for fame, fortune, and money. Ugh, what a shitbird. So kudos to him. I didn't think he could pull it off, but he sure as hell did.

-The effects were fantastic. I really do think the illusion sequence will go down in MCU history as one of the most visually creative, disorienting, heartbreaking things we've seen so far in the saga. It was harrowing, especially the Iron Man suit crawling out of the grave. What a kick in the fucking nuts for Peter, and for us.

-Peter and MJ, while it did get a little overwhelming, were cute as shit. And I'm glad that the modern films are removing the stigma of the "I can't let my family and friends know I'm the hero" thing. It was definitely heavily done in the 80's, 90's, and early to mid 2000's and I'm fine to see it being phased out at least in terms of the MCU. It's a little more realistic that most of your family or friends would be able to handle your secret, and not only that, help you out on occasion. I'm glad she knows and their kisses were freaking adorable. Sweet babies.

-That. First. End. Credits. Scene. What a fucking killer. First off, God bless whoever at Marvel Studios listened to the thousands of fans begging them to cast J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson again, continuity be damned. The man IS the embodiment of the character, and I absolutely fucking ADORE that they gave us the nod and the wink we all wanted even back when Spidey was Andrew Garfield. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Next, oh my God, my sweet baby boy, my smol bean, got called out and branded as a murderer. Fuck, this is gonna be a serious problem, and considering the fact that we don't have the next MCU film lined up yet (at the time this was posted, and mind you, San Diego Comic Con is in two weeks, so maybe they'll clarify) the consequences could definitely be crazy. Poor Peter. He's gonna have a lot of work to do in order to undo this mess and prove that he's not Spidey, but this could also mean they're adapting some part of the Civil War story, maybe. We'll see, but that was a big ass bomb to drop.

-The Skrulls second credit scene was a genuine surprise, and it made sense. I thought Nick felt a little off the whole movie, and that really does explain why--it's someone else doing an impression of him and trying their best. Nick would've been smart enough to know probably right off the bat that Beck wasn't who he said he was. His story was way too noble and convenient. Nick would've probably have run facial recognition and then it would ping for a former Stark Industries employee, and that would've been a wrap. I like that it being a Skrull justifies what would be a plothole. Neat idea.

-I appreciated the Spidey's eye view of the action. Those were some cool shots and they were centered well, so you didn't feel nauseous or anything. It kept you in the action and was very engrossing and cool.

Cons:

-The bystander syndrome that everyone got this time around is a little irksome. It's the same reason that while I really, really love Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, I default don't like it as much as the first one since everyone got put into the bystander spot except for basically Peter in the very end. While it was nice to have them defend themselves, I'd have liked it more of MJ and Ned and the others figured their own way out of escaping the drones. Why? Because it would show Peter that it's not always on just his shoulders. His friends are competent and they can help, and I think that would've been a better way to go rather than him doing it himself.

-Some of the humor was flat. JB Smooth and the other teacher are the worst offenders, I'd say. They were given too much screentime and they're not that funny.

-The May and Happy subplot goes almost nowhere and isn't fully explored, and I kind of would've been fine if it hadn't been in the movie at all. It doesn't add much.

-The ending was kind of unclear? Did Beck actually get shot and die from his wounds? If so, then what was the official story about the drones and his body and whatnot? It's all pretty damn vague. If Beck is dead, that's disappointing. I kinda wish Marvel would stop killing the villains at the end of almost all the films. Longest running recurring villains are Loki and Thanos, I think. Vulture lived, and I'd like him to return in the future if possible. You can use actors more than once, Marvel, they're not tissue paper.

-Nitpick: It did almost feel like we missed a movie where Peter likes MJ. She was more a cameo in the first one than a full lead, so it almost felt like there's a short film somewhere of them getting closer and him getting over Liz and liking MJ instead.

-Nitpick: Same with the whole "other guy also likes MJ" subplot. Eh, I could leave it out and not miss it.

-Nitpick: I still can't with how they expect anyone to buy that Night Monkey story. I mean, it's black suited Spidey no matter which way you look at it. And yes, people should immediately notice he's at the very least one of the students at Peter's high school, and then it can't be too hard after that. I mean, Peter doesn't even change his voice while he's in the suit.

-Nitpick: I was kind of hoping for more clues or reactions to half of everyone, you know, being fucking murdered by Thanos for five years and returning to their lives. But I guess that was just pushed aside because it could become a whole rabbit hole issue. Still, though, I was hoping someone would tell us if the Snapped just don't remember being dead or if there is some kind of afterlife they experienced. (Side note: wow, holy shit, the teacher's mini story about it was dark and awful but I did laugh out of shock. I mean, damn. Low blow, wifey. Low fucking blow.)

-They mention spidey sense but I'd have liked it if they explicitly explain why he has it sometimes but other times he doesn't? It seems to fluctuate, but why and how? Is it more like anxiety or an extra sense? Is it based on his emotional health? I want clarification.

All in all, I had a good time and I'd put this in the middlegrade MCU films. I still really enjoy Holland in the role and I want nothing but good things for him and this franchise.

#spider-man #spider-man far from home #far from home #movie review #film review #spoilers #spoiler alert #iron dad #spider son

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sorayahigashikata · 6 years

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Chapter 48: "My head hurts."

#Paula reads SBR #Chapter 48 #EVERYBODY PLEASE STOP BEING CRYPTIC #at this rate Johnny will never keep another corpse part #KONO DIO DA #please tell me the First Lady isn't into teenagers #Steel Ball Run spoilers #Part 7 spoilers

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ahiddenpath · 6 years

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Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

Guys, this is not an analysis: this is my feels and obnoxious comments while viewing the stage play. My initial goal was to use these notes to make an analysis, but they’re too funny/stupid/wow to hide from the world. I typed these notes in real time, stopping the play whenever I had a thought. It’s the closest I can get to having you watch me watch the stage play without using videos. I will write an actual meaningful post soon, but for now, have a confused and jumpy/unpolished blob of feels.

The other thing I want to say is that I didn’t edit this after I wrote it, except for surface editing (grammar, spelling) and clarifications (mostly adding more names). So if I formed an impression at some point, that’s what I really thought in that moment; I didn’t go back and change it.

That said: this will completely and totally spoil the stage play. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS! Read on below the cut (if you dare; it’s almost 4K words long and full of images).

Hidden’s Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

I am immediately not buying that Mimi wouldn't want to camp in the bungalow. Isn't this the kid that went to Tokyo Tower instead of patrolling Tokyo because the tower has AC? I guarantee she'd whine an hour in about wanting the bungalow, but wouldn't allow Koushiro to point out that she made this choice for all of them x__x

Did Mimi just... just throw the laptop? How bratty can you get? I... wow, I really hope they don’t treat my Mimi so poorly the whole play.

From Sora's speech, I can see that nostalgia will be a major theme here, which, to be fair, is appropriate, lol! Nostalgia is pretty much why we’re here.

TAICHI! It’s so good to see you get your big bro on again, lol??? Hikari: "I'm not a kid who needs to wait for you to walk home with me."

Taichi: "What? Why not? WHAT'S WRONG?! CONFIDE IN ME!" He’s so aggressive and clumsy about it, lol??

Taichi: "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A STUBBORN BLOCKHEAD."

Jyou, amiably: "You, of course! Wait-" I'm like 15 minutes in and I have already decided that Jyou is my favorite (not surprising lol).

Jyou: "YOU ARE IN DANGER, TAICHI. I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU STUDY." Oh lord, Jyou is bashing Taichi with the stone of foreboding. Is Jyou okay? Is he quite sane? He isn't, is he. Do you see that gleam in his eye? No, no. He is gone and gone indeed. Jyou’s actor is A+++

Annnnnnd oh hey, it's Yamyams doin' jamjams! I can dig that bass, is he actually playing? Oh hey, he's gonna sing for real, he's- Oh my god, stop! ABORT! He's terrible, hahahaha?!?!?! IT BURRRRNSSS!!!

OH MY GOD HIS BAND HATES THE BAND NAME AND THEY'RE SPEAKING TO HIM IN FRENCH WHAT IS THIS

Wait wow what is this weird ass vibe between the bros? Teeks is accusing Yams of not visiting... Did Yamato have that habit to start with? Hmm...

So Takeru says, "I don't want to see us go our different ways." I've mentioned it over and over, but this feeling is so important to me. It's something I want to write an entire fic around. On the one hand, it's such an easy topic, given the subject material. On the other, it's where my brain keeps going. So... Let's see what happens!

Also: Takeru: "Stay hidden, Patamon!" *puts Patamon on his head and skips offstage* Takeru, sigh...

OH SHIT IT'S ETEMON, saying Taichiiiiihehehehe like a creep ass creeper. He done got beef, too.

Annnnd we cut to everyone reacting because Mimi has no supplies (did you all not bring any?). What I like here, though, is that Jyou can at least talk to her without getting shut down. Poor Kou-chan -__-

Koushiro: "We're amateurs, is there anything we should watch out for?" OH I DUNNO, MAYBE ETEMON IN A HAT AND A VEST god damn I know this is supposed to be funny, but they all look like idiots-

Koushiro: "That old man had a feminine way of speaking" Says the dude being portrayed by a male actor FOR THE FIRST TIME-

Koushiro: "Taichi-san, you're the closest thing to a caveman we have-" Ah, bless.

(At this point, my husband is pointing out while playing Destiny that the puppeteers do really good digimon voices, and I'm explaining that the digimon voices are pre-recorded, lol).

ANNNNND Mimi is whining for supplies that she forbade people to bring. I am shocked.

Jyou is talking about how he wants to help digimon by being a doctor, by saving and protecting, and my heart is growing three sizes. Best Chosen, y'all.

But oof, the atmosphere got so heavy... Why do these kids refuse to talk about what they want to do??? Jyou remains refreshing. Also, I'm just noticing how Koushiro turns his entire body around every single time towards whoever is talking? He leans in, too. It's both cute and unexpected (I would expect much more reserved body language, but I get that this is a play and that's what you do).

HAH! Only Jyou can see the shooting star because he's the only one with his shit together! I love that, lol! (Also, is that really Tailmon's voice actress? Hmm...)

NO, ETEMON HAS KOU-CHAN, BAD TOUCH, BAD TOUCH although really it's painful that we're still pretending they can't recognize Etemon.

Koushiro can't read the room... Well, at least that's familiar, lol!

(At this point, my husband is asking what I think, and I'm stuttering over how annoyed I am at the ‘not-recognizing-Etemon’ gag. My husband is laughing at me and saying I'm at a loss for words. Thanks, love.)

HOLY SHIT did Hikari and Mimi just use the tired "scary stories" trope to bring up the Dark Ocean? I'll give 'em points for that. I AM INTRIGUED, let's go!!! Oh. Oh, they broke it off. They're not doing anything with it. That's... sigh. Thanks, guys. (Caterpillar Sleeping Bag Mimi is cute AF tho).

Hmm, right now I'm thinking that Mimi's actress is so lovely and so lively and really feels like Mimi, but... I also can't stand how they wrote her so far. Throwing Koushiro's computer, talking over him, not allowing him to point out when she's contradicting herself, immediately requesting the supplies she forbade people to bring... This stuff annoyed me in Adventure, but she was 10 and in a situation I would have strongly struggled to handle. But now she's literally... Making problems for everyone... For nostalgia's sake... At age 16? I'm so torn, lol, because the acting is so good but ahhhhh... Let's see how this develops...

Hmm hmm, I'm listening to Sora talk about how she doesn't wanna grow up, either... Darling, you're already quite grown up, lol! Lovely lady. I love how the digimon puppeteers echo their puppets, I can't get enough of watching Agumon's puppet and performer while Sora speaks. They really did a great job!

I think I'm about an hour into this, maybe a little less? 45 minutes? So far all that's really happened is that we've established that the characters want to be together as Chosen Children, and that with the exception of Jyou, they aren't emotionally or mentally prepared to seriously think of a future beyond that. I'll be the first to say that this a compelling and interesting topic, and it's something I've wondered about for them, but... Shouldn't... more things... have happened by now? Hmm... I understood that this would be an issue from Sora's very first bit of dialogue. No one in the audience needs this much expansion and repetition, particularly with so few new ideas and so little momentum so far. Tri is intended as a love letter for fans of Adventure, yes? Mostly adult fans? We don’t need this much repetition to understand, we truly don’t...

Ah! Now Yamato is talking about Jyou and how to become an adult, finally dropping some new ideas in. Love ya, Yams. And ahh, man, Taichi is just... screaming all of his lines? The actor is so sweet and cute, but the delivery... I'm pretty sure it's supposed to reflect that Taichi is putting up fronts like nobody's bidness, though. Yamato ain't buyin' it (Yamato is Almost Best). I really want him to grunt, "Tell the truth or shut up." XD XD GRUNT GRUNT.

Augh, god, I can't take this tho? Literally EVERY TIME someone tries to say something that will move the plot forward or inject some vulnerability into this play (except for Papa Jyou), they change the subject. I'm about halfway through now and this has to be at least the 10th time we've been blocked from useful information and deeper thoughts with this method. Tri suffers from this same issue, though... Their plot is such that they can’t sustain tension if issues are faced in a natural way, so they CHANGE THE SUBJECT or DROP A LEAD or IGNORE A LEAD, etc, etc. Here it's mostly saying, "Well what about you?" or screaming someone else's name, which... Subtle??? Ah, Taichi's latest method of not saying anything is to ask Yamato to play his harmonica... Oh my god, he's playing Walk on the Edge! Okay, okay, you got me, stage play. Hahaha, I remember Yams being better at playing a harmonica, tho!!!! (I keep picking on this poor dude who is asked to do all of the awesome shit Yams can do, sorry my dude).

Taichi: Should we sleep?

Yamato: Let's talk some more.

Taichi: (shit! fuck! He remembered I'm dodging-) YES BECAUSE HE ISN'T AN IDIOT EXCEPT WHEN ETEMON IS ONSTAGE OMG SOMEONE HELP ME-

Ahhh, and they fade out... With no forward movement. THANKS. I mean we established mood, touched on Taichi/Yamato’s relationship, and set up the problems that will be address later (I assume), but... It’s so drawn out...

And now Koushiro is drawing on the ground with a stick, bless you, are you trying to compute something? Sigh... Ah, bless, Tentomon is intervening, haha!

But... As right as Ten-chan is, he's also... Wrong? XD DON'T TELL YOUR FORWARD MOVEMENT MACHINE TO POWER DOWN!!! Annnnd yes! We're an hour in and SOMETHING IS HAPPENING! I am so ready for something to happen. (Tony: "Can we handle the stimulation, though?")

Oh god, the kids freaking out over their partners acting weird, Gabumon's stage hand collapsing... God, right in the feels, I'm almost mad about how easy it is to get an emotional response this way, lol! We just love our babies too much, lol!

Wow, Yamato lost it at Kou-chan... You know, we think of Taichi as carrying a lot of pressure (and rightfully so), but Koushiro carries just as much, as we saw in Kokuhaku. He's not magic, Yams, he needs his tools, and he doesn't have 'em. Related: Although I don't much care for how it happened, I definitely would love to read/write/see a story where Koushiro has no computer and has to adapt, though. I'd also love to see one where a new tech wizard appears and he questions his role, but that's a whole' nother thing.

EWW OH MY GOD DON'T UNDRESS ETEMON MIMI WHAT THE HELL, bleeeeehhhhhhh... Oh god, he thought his outfit was obvious... Well, you see Etemon, somewhere in the last 6 years, the kids completely lost their ability to read situations x__x (I get that this is a joke, I really do? But???)

Oh huh, so they're claiming Etemon wandered the Dark Ocean for 100 years? Didn't he... Come back in Adventure as MetalEtemon? Is he referencing his second defeat? ?????

OH GOD POWER RANGER ETEMON WHAT IS HAPPENING. Haha it's kind of cute that he's like, "Eh I don't know these two (Hikari and Tailmon). I don't think Metaletemon saw them? But honestly I don't remember. I think he was around Jyou and Mimi mostly?

Wait shit are we seriously doing the actual conflict part WITHOUT JYOU AND GOMAMON? I am so mad right now. I kind of feel like they'll burst in at some point??? I hope...

...Etemon has a song and dance number. I am rolling on the floor in pain with the Chosen. I'm doing it, guruguru mawaru- No, NO, YOU PUT TAICHI DOWN- Goddamit how many bad touch jokes do I have to make-

OH THANK GOD, is Jyou coming back? THANK YOU DIGI JESUS! (Tony: "Wait is your favorite back? Did he leave? It sounded like he wandered off and now he's wandering back in again."

Gomamon: "YOU'RE BEING GROSS JYOU" honey, oh child, you ain't seen nothing yet. Oh bless him, he's so happy, can we just watch Jyou bounce around in joy please and no more singing power ranger monkeys? I take back my complaints about nothing happening, haaaaaaaaaaaalp me Senpaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii

Oh lord Etemon's back WHELP. Oh shit, oh shit that Obon joke, THAT'S THE BEST JOKE IN THIS PLAY, isn’t it? We can't beat that. Should I... leave?

Taichi, in Etemon's gross ass digital Wonder Land: "What's wrong, Hikari?" WHAT'S WRONG?! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE-

(My husband has informed me that I'm growling. He tells me that, when we were watching Gravity Falls and Mabel tries to tempt Dipper and the others to stay in the perfect imaginary world Bill made for her, I said, "What is she, Satan? Tempting them to stay here in comfort instead of facing danger to save everyone?" This is a similar scenario, and it's one of the few things I didn't like about Gravity Falls and OH NO, TAICHI IS THE MABEL OF THIS SITUATION, HELP!!!! Oh thank goodness, Taichi's done with this too, whew, okay, okay, breathe, stop growling).

Oh God, the Agumon puppet looks dead without the puppeteer, that's actually really awful? These puppets are amazing, guys. I cannot say enough good stuff about the execution with these puppets.

Hmm, Taichi just begged for mercy, and Etemon is unimpressed... Reminds me of the fandom after Saikai. I wonder where they'll take this...

HOLY SHIT Taichi is losing his shit! I won't say that all of that stammering and dodging earlier is accounted for here, since most of the characters did it to some degree, but it's nice to see the payoff within the same piece (instead of waiting months for the next Tri film and forming your own conclusions in that time period). I'm actually happy to see a screaming breakdown like this...

Man Koushiro speaks SO QUICKLY, dude, slow it down!!! Ahhh, he says that we're granted whatever we want here, so Etemon is probably trying to trick us by having us hear Jyou. SOMEONE IS THINKING USING THEIR BRAINSSS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!

JYOU IS HEREEEE TO SAVE THE DAAAAAAYYY THE NEW DIGI JESUS, JYOUUUUUU!!! (And while I 100% agree that you should be cautious, Kou-chan, c'mon, he arrived saying that you made his phone go off on the train and it made him feel awkward, that's pretty much proof that it's Jyou, lol!). OH AND NOW KOU AND YAMS ARE ROASTING JYOU, classic.

Koushiro finally takes a stab directly at the heart of this... It's not even about being children and avoiding adulthood; it's about not wanting to leave August 1st. I realize exposition is Kou's job, but I didn't expect him to be the one to lay it out after all of this dodging. I’ll be honest, I’m so pleased with Koushiro in this stage play so far? I love how he moves, I love how quickly he speaks, I love that he’s able to come out and say this. I wasn’t into the way the play used him spouting off numbers to indicate intelligence, but that’s a nitpick compared to the ground they gave Koushiro here.

JYOU. JYOU. EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, KOUSHIRO, I BELIEVE IN YOU. He continues to be THE BEST, I am in awe, I bow before Jyou.

OH MAN is Jyou gonna work his awkward magic on Yams? Where's my freakin' popcorn. Oh, well, hell. Yama said he... doesn't wanna talk. *rubs forehead* Great. Entertaining. THIS IS FUN I AM HAVING FUN *curls up and cries*

Okay so now Taichi is freaking out and Koushiro is trying to talk to him (roughly 70% of this stage play is someone trying and failing to talk to someone else). But I really like what Taichi says here- "I have nothing to hesitate about." We all know this isn't true; Taichi is hesitating all over the place right now. Let's see where this goes! (Please let it go somewhere this time, lord above). WAIT- WAIT- ARE YOU SHOWING ME KOUSHIRO POINTING FINGERS AT TAICHI'S BULLSHIT AND SAYING "I'VE BEEN BY YOUR SIDE FOR SIX YEARS!!" AND THEN CUTTING AWAY?!?!??!?!?!?!? RAAAAAAAHHHH is this an aneurysm? I think this is what an aneurysm feels like. You can't drop lines that good and then CUT AWAY FROM IT GOOD LORD IN HEAVEN-

Sigh, tsk, groan. Hikari, Teeks. Whacho got for me? Whoa, I swear Takeru has been a second away from sobbing ever since Etemon revealed himself. You... you okay, buddy? Can I, uh, get you anything? I love how much Hikari has her shit together in contrast. Oh, and Takeru is about to say something usefu- ohhh, another cut. God, I have a headache.

Hmm, Sora and Meems are cracking, too... Sora says, "It was simpler when I was everyone's mom. It's not like me to decide on someone or something." I really need to hear Mulan's Reflections in the background right now...

Mimi saying "I want to do SO many things!" is refreshing my soul. I know she's one of the most shippable Chosen, but honestly, if not for the fact that she has a kid that is clearly biologically hers, I would assume that she's too busy doing EVERYTHING to have a family. My headache recedes just a touch.

Hmm... I actually really like what Sulky (Yams) is trying to say here. "I don't want to be with everyone because I'm Chosen. I want to be with Gabumon because he's my friend," basically. Part of me sides with Jyou- dude we all get that, it's not a shameful secret- but another part of me... Deeply appreciates that Yams can separate his duty as a Chosen from his bond with his digimon. Gabumon is his best friend, his number one. It doesn't matter if Gabumon can't fight, if Yamato can never digivolve him again. It doesn't even matter that he's a digimon. It just matters that they're friends, and that they be together somehow, which may seem a more tenuous position by the day. ...Now I'm sad. Well played, stage play. This moment is wonderful.

...Annnnnnd now Yamato is overacting to hell, and I'm laughing instead of thinking and feeling, was that supposed to happen? Sigh. I still don't understand why he has to be SO SECRETIVE about it, but I mean... That's our Yams???

And now we're back to Kou and Taichi, and they're pulling at each other's throats, as they will, and honestly this is the only "NOW KISS" moment for me, but where was I-

In all seriousness, I really like that the person to finally, FINALLY get the truth from Taichi is Koushiro. That's how it often was in Adventure too, yes? But I almost feel like Taichi's breakdown here is a reflection of what fans said in Saikai. Taichi in Adventure always took action (although he grew so much during Adventure, I'd argue the version of himself he's referencing now wasn't there by the end of Adventure?). He can't fight in Saikai because he's concerned about hurting people/property/the tenuous relationship between humans and digimon. He can't take action... But the ability to see that is an indication of growth, not regression. Will he understand that here?

Ok god, Agu-chan is dropping some truth bombs... And the way he and his puppeteer crawl... I swear these goddamm puppets will be the death of me.

Agu-chan, can you do me a solid and STAMP THIS ALL OVER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE KIDS PLEASE AND THANK YOU?!

HOLY SHIT IS THAT A METALGRAYMON PUPPET?! THEY HAD THAT SHIT ALL ALONG AND THEY BRING IT OUT WITH 20 MINUTES LEFT?! WHAT WOT WOOOOT?!??! I cannot believe I'm seeing this. And I love how heavy and cumbersome the huge puppet feels. Like, I always felt like Metalgreymon would be huge and slow, right?

Etemon, I was done with your shit a LONG time ago...

WAIT he is admitting that he was Metaletemon previously. So... when... exactly did he fall into the Dark Ocean? Sigh. This is one of those "Let it go, Hidden" things, isn't it. Uh, wow, I am totally unfamiliar with Kingetemon. That's... a... thing.

The use of screens and images in the stage play are really fun! It must have been awesome to see this show in person O__o;;

OH SHIT, Yamato arrives in a cloud of smoke, that's how you KNOW shit is gonna go down!

OH MY GOD OMEGAMON ONLY GETS A HEAD OH MY GOD I'M DYING (Tony: "HEY do you know how big that thing's supposed to be?!)

KOUSHIRO IS WEARING THE GOGGLES I'm down. HIDDEN IS DOWN! REVIEWER DOWN!!!!

HOLY SHIT JYOU'S "A" ON HIS MOCK TEST WASN'T REAL okay this is also a Good Joke, I applaud. Also I am LOVING sassy Koushiro in this? His way of being sassy is to do it in a way where you're not quite sure if he is trying to be a butt or not, which is 10000000% yes lol (In contrast, Izzy is intentionally awful usually lol).

Annnnd I was right from the start; Jyou is carrying this entire thing, lol. Oh my god, the delivery on this?!?!??! AMAZING.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. LAUGHTER. THEME SONG. DRAMATIC POSE. I THINK THIS IS THE END SHOT YOU GUYS.

Now the actors are coming out to speak!

THIS. LITTLE. SHIT. I love him? I... I love him. The snark is strong in this one. I... he is so... so beautiful. I... I think I might be in love? (This at least indicates that I wasn’t alone in thinking the computer toss was too much???).

YAMATO’S ACTOR JUST SAID "DON'T SAY GOODBYE," Well played, son. I like the cut of your jib.

AHHHHH OKAY OKAY I have no idea how I’m going to analyze this. My surface thought is that this play features a lot of the emotions and inner thoughts of individual characters that can’t fit into Tri, and that (I personally think) Tri suffers from a lack of. Because there isn’t really ship bait and maneuvering around a new character and plot, we’re able to see relationships that feel much more familiar to Adventure than we often see in Tri (ie, Taichi worried about Hikari, Koushiro worried about Taichi, etc). As you noticed, I’m very unhappy with the way the play pushes the payoff back as far as possible, cramming it into an AMAZING twenty minutes or so... But I loved those twenty minutes.

Also, Koushiro feels waaaay more like Koushiro than he does in Tri, except for Kokuhaku. As your local insane Koushiro fan girl, I am standing and applauding and screaming and crying. NO PERVY KOUSHIRO. NO FASHION DISASTERS. Just Koushiro being supportive and apt and sweet and trying so hard. I am refreshed. I am younger.

And the passion and love and energy that went into us, so visibly in human form... I can’t describe how wonderful the actors and the puppeteers were. And even though I kind of hated Etemon, his actor was incredible.

So the stage play has amazing points and really irritating points, but on the whole, it’s my second favorite thing Tri has given us (following Kokuhaku). I will try to write about it more smart-like soon! If you got this far... I’m in awe, lol! High five, my friend!

#digimon stage play #digimon adventure tri stage plat #digimon adventure tri stageplay #digimon stageplay #trispoilers #tri spoilers #tri reactions

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heavyscottishaccent · 7 years

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Friends on the Other Side

The Isle had many quirks that most would find pretty disturbing if not outright disgusting. The way the sun never seemed to shine through the dense fog or the fact that the air always tasted slightly of iron; may it be from the exposed pipes or from the "questionable" dark stains that sometimes covered the walls in the small island. On good days, it reeked slightly of sweat and hot garbage. On the bad, well, there's really no point on wasting time talk about literal waste, is there?

All these little details made the Isle an endearing home for those who lived there. Like the fungus that grew on almost every surface, it grew on its inhabitants. Forcefully. With a sledge hammer. Or a wand if you want to be technical.

In the twenty-some years that the Isle had first come to be, no one had managed to escape. Not even the toughest or the scariest of the lot could find a way to stick a single toe across the barrier that kept them trapped inside. It wasn't until six months ago when the new king of the United States of Auradon proclaimed a new "project" of sorts to integrate the children of villains into their high society of pampered poodles. Only after the first four, no word had come back about taking in any more kids. Figures.

Most grew angry, bitter at the small speck of hope they offered before brutally crushing the dreams of the few handful of kids who wanted nothing more than to be chosen next. It was all they showed on tv or played on the radio stations in the Isle. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos getting everything; all the food and clothes they could want and even a damned education that didn't involve a basic how to on spiking a stranger's drink. They were supposedly the worst of the new generation of villains yet they were the first to be rewarded refuge?

The hate and resentment that laid dormant for so long within the children festered. Gangs regrouped and violence resurfaced tenfold. At first it was a ploy to get attention from the other side to remind them there were still kids here, waiting. But still nothing came out of it. Even after a short outbreak of a terrible illness that swept through the Isle did nothing to hurry them along. But even then, it was the people in the Isle who were called cold hearted and vicious.

And yet, seeing three of the four traitors did nothing but bring a cold smile on Frank's face.

"Well I'll be damned," Frank laughed. The teen leaned against the wall, relishing as the four turned their heads every which way searching for her. Besides the slight tan and a little weight gain, the three seemed to have gained, they looked just about the same as before they left.

They looked good. "Out of all the fun surprises I expected today, this was not one of them! And Carlos, my boy! Did you grow an inch?"

"I'm not your anything," Carlos called out on reflex.

"Show yourself," Jay said at the same time. Frank laughed but did as he asked anyways. She smiled when the four turned in her direction, looking perplexed as the shadows seemed to move with her.

"Frankie," Evie greeted with a hesitant nod.

"Oh none of that sugar, we old friends aren't we?" Frank extended her arms, an invitation for a hug but soon dropped them when no one moved to embrace her. "Well, that's a bit rude. Woulda thought them Auradonians or whatever would have taught you all a speck of kindness."

"Frank," Jay said with an irritated sigh. The teen cocked her head to the side, wondering what has got them so wound up before her attention settled on the one boy she did not completely recognize. His clothing screamed Isle but his stance said something entirely different. At first Frank waved him off as one of Uma's quieter lackys. She seemed to gain a new one every minute so Frank gave up on trying to remember who's with who. It wasn't until the bra shifted closer into the light that it hit Frank why he looked so familiar.

"Hold the phone, boo," Frank said, her tone dropping from her almost warm tilt to an icier one. "This whole time I've been thinking the King would take us little folk to his side of town, not the otha' way around."

"Not by choice, I assure you—" the King tried to say before Frankie lifted one hand to stop him.

"It be nobodies choice to come here, I assure you," she mocked. "What, here to handpick the next little ones for your project? If so, I can point my finger at any direction for you to start looking."

"U-um no, that won't be needed, thank you. We are actually here for—"

"My mistake then, however, if I may ask, when exactly will the next group be chosen. Forgive me but some people have grown… impatient as you could imagine." The King looked pained at her question. The tension between the five thickened as the other four shifted uncomfortably. A moment of silence passed before Frankie nodded in understanding. "I see."

"No, no! I swear I was planning on crossing more kids over! It's just—"

"Your majesty," Frankie sneered, effectively cutting off the boy once again. The other three Isle kids looked about ready to jump to his defense but a quick look from Frank had them backing off. "I knew I shouldn't 'ave gotten excited about yous new decree but I did. Same with plenty a other children down here on this island. You know we got about six working telly and radio channels here and all of them is about you. About yous and Mal going on dates, fining and dining the most luxurious of meals with them heroes we youngins have somehow wronged just by being born. Even planning a fabulous party with every last one of them; we heard all about that too. Well, you can imagine we have grown a little sour at being forgotten."

Frankie relished in the shame that crossed on each of their faces. She had grown with the idea of revenge tasting as sweet as the southern tea her father told her about once. Though as quick as that feeling came, it didn't last long. This particular flavor of tea turned out more bitter than sweet. She shook her head and stepped back away from the King. She didn't even notice herself advance towards him in the first place.

"You should go," Frankie whispered. "Before Uma or one of hers figures out y'all are here."

"We can't leave without Mal," the King bravely said, though Frankie did catch a slight quiver in his voice. Good, he got the message.

"Mal is here too, huh," Frankie mused. "Figures all that commotion would be her."

"What do you mean? Did you see where she went?" Evie asked. Frankie sighed and crossed her arms. She definitely saw where Mal went. She hadn't known or cared much on who the devil on the purple steed was before and she couldn't care less now. She gave them an unimpressed stare before rolling her eyes and turning her back.

"That information is something I cannot give."

"Cannot or will not?" Carlos asked for clarification.

"Either? Both? Take your pick." Frank knew she was being petty but the last thing she wanted to do was help them. The more she heard their voices the more she wanted to shout and scream, however, she wasn't inclined to have the sort of attention that usually attracted after making too much noise.

"That's fine," the King said quickly before calling the former three Isle kids back. "That's fine. Thank you, Frankie." The sincerity in the King's voice made Frank pause. That kind of kindness is something you could not fake plus, Frankie had never had anyone thank her before. Frank inwardly groaned as she turned to the four as the made their way down the alley, carefully sidestepping anything that would make a sound. It's been months since Evie, Carlos, and Jay were on the Isle. They definitely wouldn't know about the new traps that laid around these parts.

On one hand, if they were caught, Frankie knew they wouldn't blab on her for not alerting anyone of their arrival. Which would be bad. They would be out of her hair and none of her concern but even Frankie wasn't mean enough to let a stray puppy get itself killed, especially one with such a sweet face. That and if they, more so the King, left the Isle soon and went back to Auradon, her chances of being chosen may raise if the King owed her a favor or two.

"Wait," she called, her face pulled as though in pain. The four turned to her in confusion and, to Frank's displeasure, slight smugness. Those turds. "Don't go that way."

"Frankie?" The King asked unsurely.

"Yall havent seen the type of things hidden in the darker corners of this rat trap. They built some fancy new do dabs that almost ripped off my pa's leg once. Some bastardized contraptions built from things found in De Vil's tree home." Carlos winced noticeably at that to which Frankie nodded. She gestured towards the opposite direction before walking away. Frank didn't have to turn around to know the others were following her.

Despite the King never living on the Isle like the rest of them, he did a rather good job in staying as incognito as any other thug in training. Though there were a couple of times Frank or Jay had to push and pull him in the right direction. Nonetheless, the King would had made a fine henchman given the chance. That's to say, if he worked a little on his arms. Damn noodles seemed sway in every direction when he moved.

"Your purple demon was lucky," Frankie finally whispered.

"Mal? What do you mean?"

"She sped past here so fast, nothing had a chance to even nip at her ankles. That bike of hers sure is something."

As they made their way towards the center of the Isle, Frank couldn't help but notice how the four other teens moved together in sync. She was impressed with how the King was able to fit in with them as flawlessly as if he were Mal herself. It was no wonder why these guys were quick to warm up to him. Again Frankie stamped down the jealousy that arose in her. She never was one to accept or be accepted quickly. Even on the Isle where friends was a no-no there was still some type of camaraderie within the masses. Frankie, however, didn't have that. Even Dizzy, the friendliest kid in the Isle acted weird around her.

She only had herself and her shadows for company and that was fine with her. Sorta.

"So Frankie," Evie huffed as she hurried over to run beside her. "Anything new happen while we were gone?" Frankie considered the question for a moment. There was a lot she could say. She just didn't know how to say it.

"You bet it did," Frankie muttered. "You three changed the game."

"What do you mean?" Jay asked. Frankie scowled back at him; she hadn't noticed him approach.

"I mean what I say. After yous four gave up the wand, people back home got antsy. Saying they was gonna be the next ones to go and do your jobs. Pa told me if I got picked and did what you four did, he'd find a way to cross that barrier just to throttle me one last time before he got our friends to finish the job." Frankie shuddered. She had no doubt that her pa would figure something out given the chance. "It's a free for all now, people joining any gang just to stay alive."

"That's terrible," the King muttered, horrified. The change of rhythm their feet made as they criss crossed around the dark alleys quickened. No doubt the others, including Frankie herself, wanting to put as much distance from others as fast as possible.

"I heard talk of Yen Sid getting worried too," Frankie said thoughtfully. "He be sending messages every week now instead of once a month. Don't think he be getting any replies either though." Frankie didn't expect for the King to reply to that. Which was the point of mentioning that last bit as the boy had the horrible knack of fraying her nerves. Just because he was cute and nice meant that Frankie was going to forgive the fool so quickly. Or at all for that matter.

"What about our parents?" Carlos hastily asked. That question made Jay and Evie stop in their place, causing the King to run straight into their backs. Frank looked back at the sudden noise and quickly shushed them all before pulling them into a dark corner when she thought she heard someone walk towards them. Frank bit her lip once the coast was officially cleared. She didn't know how to answer that question either.

"Well," Frankie started awkwardly. "With the big bad dragon gone, her goons just kinda linger around, not knowing what to do. I don't see much of Miss De Vil but I heard from others that she doesn't leave Hell Hall much but when she does… well, you could say mister Hook needed a new hook."

"As for Jafar, he and my pa were on not good terms before because Jafar been taking things from his shop and vice versa. A few days after the wand fiasco Jafar comes over like his ass was on fire and destroyed my pa's shop thinkin we took some of his. No one bothers him much nows."

"And the Queen," here Frankie paused for a moment. She glanced at the four kids staring at her intently before looking down at the ground. She hated playing messenger. "She don't do nothing."

"My mom? What do you mean she 'doesn't do anything'?" Evie pressed.

"She don't do nothing," Frankie stressed out. "She won't come out or even talk no more. Like a ghost. No one mess with her either. No fun when there's no fight I hear."

Evie looked close to tears as Jay pulled her into a tight hug. Even Carlos looked upset which was more than a bit shocking as Frank heard stories of Cruella treating her boy like nothing more than a slave. The girl looked away from the three teens. Showing this much emotion was another no no on the Isle but she figured they needed a little time to get a hold of themselves without a judging eye. Instead she looked at the King who merely appeared shocked at the news. Seeing as he wasn't going to say anything to lighten up the frustration, Frankie quickly suggested they move again less they be caught by someone who held a grudge; which, honestly, was pretty much everyone on the island.

"That's why we're going through the back streets," Jay concluded angrily. "So you don't get caught with us. Or maybe you're just leading us straight into the thick of the mob, huh?" Frankie's eyes flashed with vindication. This is what she gets for helping? She snarled and moved to slam her fist in Jay's stupid face but a someone pulled her back.

"Stop," the King yelped. "I'm sure that's not true, Jay."

"You don't know her like we do, Ben," Jay hissed. "She's Facilier's kid. I thought it was weird she'd help us out without making some sort of deal. We shouldn't have trusted her in the first place. She's jealous we made it out and she didn't. She's nothing more than a con with a plan. Just. Like. Her. Dad."

"Fuck you, man," Frankie spat. She jerked her arm out of the King's grip before shoving Jay as hard as she could. Jay didn't look affected as he swung out his arm to catch Frank on the side of her head but the girl merely ducked and body tackled the taller teen onto the ground. Frankie heard the other three yelp and move out of their way as they rolled around the cobblestone ground, landing as many hits as they could before Frankie felt herself being lifted off the thief, or former thief now, entirely.

"That's enough," the King growled at them both. Frankie tried to pull herself out of his hold but the other teen kept a tight grip against her arms. It took both the effort of Evie and Carlos to hold back Jay. Frankie growled but eventually stopped struggling. This wasn't worth the effort. Ben held her for another minute, making sure she was calm enough before letting go. He kept his hands hovered over the smaller teen for a moment just to be sure before stepping back completely.

"This was a mistake," Frankie spat before turning her heel and walking away.

"Yeah," Jay responded just as viciously. "It was."

Frankie shook her head angrily. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she stopped. She wasn't going to let Jay have the last words. She had genuinely tried, but even then it wasn't enough. What made it worse was that Jay, someone who had been in her exact position for the last six months couldn't put past his own prejudices.

"The way you four was heading was directly in the path of Jafar's shop. His regulars hang out around that alley and no doubt would have told your pa for a quick buck. There's also Uma's gang you need to worry about. Her gang has grown, about a quarter of Shan Yu's old troop, all armed with swords. The traps are real and are about the size of the palm of my hand. Tiny things can blow your arm off, I told you. That and not to mention nearly everyone on this island would love to get back at you all for the wand fiasco couple months back," Frankie cast one last angry look at the four before pointing at a dented sign hanging above them. "We're here by the way. I'm sure you remember how to use it."

"Frankie!" The teen stopped mid step and turned her head towards the King, a deep frown still on her face. "Thanks."

A few hours had passed since Frankie had seen the King and the three Isle traitors. Frank could feel bruises blossoming across her body. Luckily most could be hidden under her clothes however she still had to come up with an excuse for the one on her cheek bone. That is, if her father even cared to ask.

The teen huffed as she expertly shuffled a deck of cards in her hands. She glanced around the not too busy street for someone to play a game of cards with. There weren't too many people on the Isle who chose to play with her. Everyone claimed she cheated; which was completely true but so did they, not as good as her obviously but they still did.

Frankie frowned down at her cards. Her deck of fifty-two were compiled from three different decks. She merely covered the backs with a thin layer of duct tape to hide their differences. The edges were frayed and the ink was faint but for the life of her, Frankie could not find good enough replacements. Looking at her shabby cards now and thinking about the group she had helped earlier left a acidic taste in her mouth. Life sucked.

"Hello, Frankie," A voice drawled above her. Frankie glanced up with her eyes before looking back down at her deck. She shuffled the cards before dealing them out; two face up, two face down.

"Harry," she greeted disinterestedly before looking up at the boy with a slight smirk. "Up for a game?" Harry shrugged before lifting the cards slightly with his hook.

"Hit." Frankie placed a card face up. Harry smirked down at the cards before looking straight into Frankie's eyes. "Twenty."

"Natural," Frankie replied immediately as she flipped all the cards face up to show the other the game.

"Cheater."

"Always," she dralwed. "What brings you over to my casino, Hook?"

"Uma want's to see you," Harry replied. He crouched down so he was face to face with the girl, a devilish smirk still playing on his lips. "And I'm afraid this time she won't take no for an answer."

"I ain't interested in joining her crew, Hook."

"We know. This is different and I'm sure you'd love to hear about it. We gained a new friend today. A royal friend." Frankie's mouth twitched into a frown before she could stop herself. Inwardly she screamed at herself for the tell as she saw Hook's smirk grow into a wide grin. She shrugged, hoping for Harry to catch on that she didn't care. If they really had the King and he squealed to them about her, she'd kill him herself. Though she didn't worry too much, the King looked like a smart boy. He'd know better than to talk.

"Harry," Frankie finally said. "You seem to be under the impression that I care."

"Oh, of course not," He practically sang. "Except that you should."

Shit.

"See, we know Mal is back on the island. We also know her crew is here too and guess who Gil saw leaving them in front of Maleficent's old home?"

Double shit. Frankie huffed as Harry used his hook to trace the dark bruise on her cheek, the metal cold against the throbbing heat on her face. The fight must have been loud enough for someone to find them and of all people it had to be Gil to see it. The little shit would do anything to get on Uma and Harry's good side.

"Let's go," Harry ordered as he pulled Frankie up from the old crate she used as a seat, the cards in her hand clattered on the floor. He held her arm at a vice grip as he dragged her down to the wharf, not caring if his hand left a mark or if Frankie was literally tripping over things and people to follow him. Luckily the trip wasn't too far. They had used the main streets to get there after all. Frankie glared at everyone who looked at them; she should have stayed inside the shop today.

The crew laughed and cheered as they climbed onto the deck of the ship, Uma standing proudly in front of them all with her arms crossed against her chest. Frankie rolled her eyes at the power display before quickly glancing around for the King. Seeing him tied up on the ship's mast did little to ease Frankie's anxiety. He would be no help whatsoever in his current predicament.

"Frankie," Uma called, her lips turned down into a little pout. "I thought we were friends."

"Uhh, no," Frankie said playing innocent. "I don't got any of those. Fresh out."

"Obviously, I mean look at you," Uma said with a laugh. "Though to be fair I did offer you a spot on my crew."

"You sure did. I also remember saying no," Frankie leaned her top half towards Uma as though telling her a secret. "To tell you the truth, I get sea sick."

"Well if we are telling each other the truth, how about you tell us another," Uma shouted, hyping up the rest of her crew. The gang laughed and started to tap their swords on the deck. The ominous sound made Frankie inwardly cringe. This was bad. "You can trust us. Do you know him?"

Uma pointed at the King and Frankie begrudgedly turned to look at the teen tied to the mast. The crew were still stabbing their swords against the deck, taunting her to speak but Frankie kept her mouth shut. The King didn't seem to know who to look at; her, Uma, or Harry's hook that rested against her neck.

"Ok," Uma finally said with an understanding nod. "I see you're a shy one. I'll just ask… King Ben." the King looked startled at being named outright and jerked to attention. His eyes were blown wide as he frantically looked back and forth between the two girls.

"Ben, do you know this girl?" Uma asked kindly. "It's ok to tell us. Making friends is a good thing, right?"

"No," Ben finally said, his voice full of determination. "I don't know her." Uma nodded thoughtfully before looking back at Frankie. She stepped forward and gently twirled a piece of Frank's curly hair in her finger.

"Well that wasn't so hard, was it? I heard telling the truth to a group of friends made you feel good," Uma said she yanked her hand away roughly and sneering at Frankie. "And since you don't know her, then you wouldn't be bothered if she went for a little swim! Harry!"

Harry sighed contently before he bellowed out a loud laugh. The hook against her neck was removed but before Frankie could so much move, a pair of arms hugged her from her middle, trapping her own arms against her sides.

"Aye, Aye Captain!"

Frankie's eyes widened, her heart leapt to her chest as she fought against the other's hold. She kicked her legs out and beat her arms against Harry's chest but mourned internally as nothing seemed to affect him. The crew cheered them on, stepping aside as Harry walked towards the plank with her still captive in his arms. The teen grunted in pain as she was unceremoniously dropped on top of the plank, the bruises on her knees throbbing from the sudden collision. She shakily stood on her two feet and carefully turned towards the crew and Uma.

"Uma!" Ben shouted over the noise. "Don't do this!"

"I don't understand, your majesty," Uma responded innocently as she inspected her nails uncaringly. "I thought you said you didn't know her. Why do you care?"

"I do care! She's still a person!"

"She's from the Isle," Uma said, finally looking at the King. Ben turned his focus on Frankie and watched as tears gathered in her eyes however she held them back as she glared hatefully at every one of the crew members jabbing their swords toward her. "People from Auradon don't care about people from the Isle."

"I do! I do care! I messed up! Forget this and I'll fix everything!" Ben shouted. Harry jumped onto the railing of the ship expertly. The sudden movement making the plank and consequently Frankie wobble precariously He pointed his sword at Frank, forcing the girl to take a hesitant step back. "UMA!"

"Can't hear you," Uma sang.

"I know her!" Ben finally shouted. "I know Frankie!" Uma smirked down at her hand before loudly snapping her fingers once. Immediately all the noise the crew was making died down, well all except one.

"Gil!"

"Sorry!"

Harry growled as he sheathed his sword and roughly pulled Frankie off the plank. The girl couldn't catch herself in time from the sudden movement and fell onto the deck with a loud thud. She gave a shuddering breath as she looked back at the King, her face contorted in pain.

"Now was that so hard?" Uma cooed as she looked down at Frankie's falled form. She stared down at her for a moment, ignoring the downright murderous expression the other girl sent her before snapping her fingers twice and pointing at the mast. There was no hesitation in following her silent order as three kids managed to roughly tie Frankie to the mast besides the boy King. Frank didn't bother trying to squirm away this time.

"I'm so sorry," the King whispered to her. Frankie didn't look at him and stared at the barely visible barrier that flickered occasionally in the horizon. "Frankie."

"Stop," she whispered back harshly. "Just stop."

"I didn't mean for this to happen," the King forcefully continued. He leaned his head back, exposing his neck for everyone around him. He didn't try to speak much after that. The two watched as the crew walked around the deck, most impatient for some reason or another. It wasn't until the King had enough of waiting when he finally brought Uma's attention back on himself. Frankie let the two of them speak; She had nothing to say to the sea witch's daughter. The King, however, was a different story.

"She's right, you know," Frankie finally said after Uma had turned her back. "Uma. She has the right to be mad."

"I know," the King replied hoarsely.

"They're all mad. Me too. I didn't think I could hate someone as much as I hate you and everyone else on the other side." Frankie gave a shuddering laugh and shook her head slightly. "I wanted to leave this place so bad. I wanted what Mal and the others had. I was so… excited— for such a long time. Waiting for my invitation. Or for anyones invitation for that matter but nothing ever came. I told myself that I didn't care no more. That I never cared, but who was I kiddin'? You tried to play Pan's shadow and let me tell you, boo, I left my window wide open and nothing came out of it! For all the bad they teach us down here, I don't think anyone here would be able to pull off something as vicious as what you did."

"I-I'm sorry," the King repeated, this time with more emotion. Frankie paused for a moment before finally looking up at the King beside her.

"Ain't no apology gon' fix this, your majesty." The two fell silent once more. Neither wanting to be the first to speak after something like that. Frankie even dozed off for a while but was rudely awakened when the ropes around her began to shift. Her head snapped up and quickly turned toward the King but Harry was already pulling him away. The ropes tightened around her once again, causing her to groan slightly from the force put behind it.

Frankie tried to ignore the crew's boisterous shouts as she looked around for whatever was causing all the commotion. She finally found it at the bridge to the ship in the form of the once all powerful, or at least the daughter of the "all powerful", standing toe to toe with Uma. The two squared off, Mal only sparing a single glance in the King's and, too Frankie's surprise, her direction. Frankie leaned forward as far as the ropes allowed in order to see what Mal was holding in her grasp. She couldn't make out what it was exactly but Frankie couldn't help but feel ridiculous knowing they were squaring off over a fancy stick.

"The wand," Uma said in lieu of greeting.

"Give me Ben first," Mal said. "And Frankie."

"What?" Frankie whispered in shock. No one heard her but no one needed to as almost every head swiveled towards her in surprise.

"That wasn't part of the deal," Uma laughed. "The wand for the King."

"Huh," Mal laughed, though there was no humor behind it. "You know me. I always want more."

"Ain't that the truth," Uma snarled. "Hand over the wand."

"Ben and Frankie first." Uma sighed in annoyance before snapping her fingers. Harry was quick to drag the King over to the two but Gil seemed to have a little trouble figuring out the ropes holding Frankie down.

"Watch it," Frankie yelped when the other teen's blade got too close to her arm.

"Whoops." Once free from the mast, Frankie was dragged forward, the squeaking from her boots as they dragged across the wooden floorboards awkwardly filling the silence that fell upon the whole group. Mal nodded contently once both teens were in her reach. Frankie felt Gil's hands slowly let go of her arms before a sudden shout from Uma made him pull her back once more.

"Wait!" the captain shouted. "Test it first."

"Always was one for dramatics," Mal muttered.

"And nothing big or Ben here gets to swim with the sharks," she warned. Mal didn't look at all worried as she quickly glanced behind her to her gang. Frankie was pleased to note she brought Jay, Evie, and Carlos with her; along with another girl she didn't recognize. However, the spell of relief shattered when she realized Uma's crew still outnumbered them nearly two to one. Frankie caught Jay's gaze and held it for a moment before subtly nodding in his direction. If there was going to be a fight, which she could feel that there was, their current bad blood would not help them in anyway. Luckily, Jay seemed to catch on and returned the gesture. Frankie then turned to Mal and watched as she toyed with the wand in her hand. The purplette turned and leaned on the railing, her eyes trained on some random mutt watching them from the ramp above. Frankie watched in bated breath as the other girl considered him for a second before pointing the wand at the pup.

"I know this sounds absurd, but turn this bark into a word," Mal chanted before flicking the wand in some fancy pattern. Frankie actually recognized her father doing a few times before when he was deep in thought. It must have been a reflex because she was sure he didn't even realize he was doing it. She never dared to ask him about it though. It was better to have some things unspoken in their household. Frankie and the rest of the teen's present watched, simultaneously holding their breaths as they waited for something to happen. After a few seconds of silence, Mal seemed to get agitated as she regarded the dog once more. "Talk, dog."

"Does this vest make me look fat?" Frankie blinked in shock, taken aback by the very human like voice that came out of the dogs mouth, er, muzzle. "Does anyone have any bacon?"

"Ha!" Uma laughed joyously before turning to Mal with a determined look on her face. "Give me the wand!" she demanded.

"Give me Ben!" Mal shouted back immediately afterwards.

"And Frankie!" the King was quick to add. Frankie couldn't hold back a snort at that. It was pretty awkward being involved in so much drama. It would have been funnier too if she hadn't almost been forced to walk the plank earlier; which was why she felt so awkward honestly.

"Cut him lose," Uma ordered, not once looking away from the wand still in Mal's hand.

"I never get to have any fun," Harry muttered as he did what he was told. Frankie held her breath for the second it took for them all to figure out how the trade was going down. Just as Mal thrusted her hand holding the wand forward towards Uma, Frankie felt Gil pushing her from behind her. The teen nearly tripped forward but managed to catch herself on the railing with a little help from Evie's steadying hand.

"Are you alright," she muttered as she quickly pulled Frankie off the ship's ramp.

"Never better," she gasped out. Evie nodded before pulling her towards the stairs quickly. Frankie followed without hesitation and only sped up when she heard Uma's shout of frustration behind her.

"Run now, Ben!" She heard Mal cry out. Unfortunately The teens didn't get too far before Uma's crew managed to escape the bright smoke that erupted in front of them before they were swinging their swords in their faces. Frankie yelped as on pirate swung their blade inches from her face. She would have been killed if not for the sudden instinct to duck her head at the last second.

"Frank!" The girl kicked her attacker in the chest before whipping around to face Jay. A short warning followed by a saber being thrown to her was all she got before she was suddenly stuck in a parry with one of Uma's mates. The teen growled in her face, causing Frankie to lean back in disgust when a bit of spit flew out of his mouth. The teen huffed in agitation as she then ducked under the boy, using his weight to throw him over her shoulder and over the docks railing.

Frankie had no chance to recover from the short fight before another one of Uma's goons was right on top of her. She quirked a quick smirk at the raging teenager, tossing her saber up before catching it in her left hand. Not one to be baited so casually, the new component rushed Frank with her sword extended to the sky. Frankie stood still, her saber posed upwards in front of her, right until the other girl reached her and swung down at Frankie's head. Frank spun around the other girl, landing behind her, before kicking the back of her knees. She didn't waste second after the other girl fell to the ground and slammed the hilt of her sabor on her attackers neck, knocking her out instantly.

"Hey! We gotta go!" Someone shouted from behind her. Frankie spun and gave the girl who came with Mal and the others a thoughtful look. The teen nodded and grabbed her extended hand, gasping in surprise as the other girl easily pulled her up to the next platform. Frank considered asking the girl her name but even she knew it probably wasn't the best time for introductions. Just as the two girls were about to leave the warp via industrial pipe, another mini pirate in training jumped out right in front of them. He growled at the two girls as he pointed a sword at each of them. In return, the girl and Frankie shared a bored look. Sure wielding two swords looked cool but even someone without any experience using them could tell that the weight was seriously throwing the other teen off.

"I got this," the girl muttered to Frankie. Frank only shrugged and took a step back, content with watching the new girl play with the pirate teen. She had to hand it to the princess, though. The way she moved and baited the guy was hilarious. The girl didn't bother using her saber besides blocking once or twice. Instead she stayed an inch out of the pirates swings, easily dodging every move he threw at her.

"Impressive," Frankie laughed.

"Thanks!" the girl said without missing a beat. "I'm Lonnie, by the way!"

"Frankie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Frankie."

"...Same to you, I guess." It didn't take very much conversation for the pirate to listen to before he grew agitated by the seemingly uncaring way Lonnie fought him. He finally abandoned one of his swords in favor of dealing heavier attacks. Now Frankie could see the fight was finally a fair one. Too bad no one cared about "fairness" on the Isle. With the guy's back turned toward her, Frankie used the opportunity to slink behind him and land a surprise blow to the side of his head. The teen dropped like a heavy sack of potatoes, garnering a surprised huff from Lonnie.

"Frankie!" Lonnie gasped in surprise.

"What?" she muttered. "You were taking too long." The two stared at eachother for a moment before laughter broke out between the two. Stepping over the unconscious male, Lonnie pulled Frankie into a side hug before walking stepping into the pipe side by side. Frank had stiffened under the sudden contact but didn't pull away from the embrace. Once they made it to the other end of the tunnel, the two broke away and made quick work with the tarp covering the limo. It wasn't long before the other teens made their way to them and began to move around the car.

"Let's go," Mal shouted at everyone. Frankie stood near the end of the tunnel entrance, her hands fisted in the tarp she helped pulled off, with a frown on her face. She knew the others expected her to go with them. It would have been the smart thing to do but Frankie's gut told her otherwise. A few hours ago she would have done anything to stow away in this car but now Frankie knew this wasn't the right time for her to leave. She had to make things right first.

"Frankie we have to go," the King said. Only instead of moving, the girl shook her head.

"I can't," she said. "Not yet."

"We don't have time for this," Evie cried.

"I'll be fine," Frankie said. The others looked dubious, no one besides the dog moving to get inside the car. Frankie smiled before turning to the King with a slight incline to her head. "Let's make a deal. I'll go when I get a real invitation but only after you take the kids who really deserve to go as well."

"Come with us and make sure it happens!" the Lonnie pleaded.

"No," Frankie shook her head with a miserable laugh. "I don't deserve to go. Not yet, at least. Take the kids who deserve it first then I'll consider it. Until then, I'll do my best around here to help get them ready. And Ben? Don't make us wait too long."

"...I won't," he swore. "I promise."

"Good," Frankie nodded. "Now go! It won't be much longer before Uma and her crew get's here!"

Frankie smiled at the group, waving off their concerned looks with a determined one of her own. Things were going to change around here and she was damned sure she was going to help it along herself; Even if it meant braving a pirate crew on her own. Though thinking about it, Frankie did know a few people who would be more than willing to help her cause if it meant getting off the Isle. Some persuasion would be needed but she was sure she could do it.

"Be careful out there, Frankie," Evie told her from inside the car. "And don't get into too much trouble!"

"No promises."

I’m pretty new to Tumblr but I’m hoping on taking on some requests! (This is cross-posted on fanfiction.net)

#cross posted on fanfiction #descendants 2 #disney descendants #Disney #one shot #descendants imagine #taking requests #mal descendants #evie descendants #ben descendants #jay descendants #carlos de vil #harry hook #uma descendants #gil descendants #lonnie descendants

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bobby-singers-library · 7 years

Text

A Whirlwind Romance chapter 13

Previous Chapter; Chapter1 Chapter 12

Also you can read on my AO3

Jo pulled up in front of the Roadhouse, it was 5:30PM and her Mom didn't start work until 8. So she should have plenty of time to pull her Dad outside for a talk. She strode into the dim bar and grill and made her way toward the kitchens. She waved at Ash who looked surprised to see her, but he gave a wave anyway. Jo looked into the kitchen, scanning for her father. She saw him flipping some steaks on the grill while telling a sous chef what else needed to be done. Jo felt bad for interrupting right when the dinner crowd was going to start showing up, but this was important. Jo waved her hand to catch her fathers attention, he looked shocked when he finally saw her, she could see the question in his eyes, she nodded towards the back door and headed that way to wait for him.

It was a relief to get out of the hot kitchen she had only been there for a few moments and she was already hot, the air outside was like a cool blast as she went into the back ally behind the bar. When she had worked at the Roadhouse she and her father had often came back here for breaks to enjoy each others company without anyone else present. She didn't realize how much she missed it, and how little she had spoke to her father since she stopped working here. She heard the door bang shut and turned around to see her father standing on the steps. She smiled at him and gestured to the old chairs that had been placed out there for smoke breaks.

She flopped into the old chair just like she always had, she was tired, and she wished she was home. But she needed to talk to Bill. He slowly made his way over and sat down gently in the chair next to her. He wasn't sure what to make of her sudden appearance.

“Well, I suppose you know what happened last night.” Started Jo.

“No, not really, I know your Mom got a text from you, then she went running out the door. She came back later with a bottle of Jack and spent the night locked in the guest room. She was still there when I left. I figured y'all fought again. Figured it was bad this time.” he spoke in his usual slow and steady way. Not rushing when he didn't need to.

“Fuck, I'm sorry about that Dad. But I went home messed up as well. I don't think I've cried that much since Buster died when I was 12. I didn't know she could still hurt me that much, to be honest.” Jo looked at him with tired eyes.

Bill closed his eyes tight for a moment. He knew Ellen was going to end up saying something worse then she already had, her temper had been set on simmer for weeks, he had just been waiting for her to boil over. “Sometimes, your Mama ain't got a fools sense, Jo Jo. What nonsense was she spewing this time?” he asked reluctantly. For his daughter to cry, it must have been bad.

“She just...she told me how disappointed she was with basically every decision I've ever made. I thought we had gotten over a lot of that crap, but she's still stewing I guess. She mentioned me not staying in school.” Jo took a deep breath, “Daddy she mentioned Martin. Told me I should have said yes. I just, can't believe she said that to me, especially when I've been so happy. How could she do that, Dad?”

Bill ran a hand over his face in shock, how indeed, he wondered. It's like his wife had no idea who their daughter was, even though she claimed to be closer to her than anyone.”I'm not even going to apologize for her, I can't anymore. How did it get to this point?” he asked sadly.

“I think you know that already. She just won't stop pushing, and when I finally give in, it's not enough. As soon as I break down and share anything with her she just makes all these wild accusations and assumptions without any questions or clarification.” Jo sighed. “I didn't really get to tell her anything at all because she freaked out when she found out Crowley had bought me a purse. Which by the way was the least of it, she didn't even hear any of that. Also she accused him of being a drug dealer or worse, because he has money. She didn't ask any questions she just flew off in a rant.”

Bill looked confused, “Why would she be mad over a purse?” he asked confused. And a drug dealer, what was his wife thinking he wondered. They had raised a smart capable daughter. He wondered when his wife had forgotten that.

Jo sighed and lifted the purse up, “It's a designer bag. Cost a freaking fortune. I was going to explain his family to her but I didn't get a chance.”

Bill peered at the bag, it seemed like just a purse to him, but what did he know, “Maybe you better explain it to me, cause don't he have that car? Took you to London as well, that ain't cheap.” Bill thought out loud.

“No I don't think it was seeing as we went first class.” Jo rolled her eyes, while Bill widened his. Jo put the bag back down next to the chair. “He doesn't see money like we do, dad. He's always had it. It means nothing to him.”

“Must be nice for him. Where did he get all this money? You said his family?” he asked

Jo nodded, “This is gonna sound crazy, Dad. But, I'm not making it up.” she looked at him intently.

“Ok, shoot...” said Bill, he leaned closer to her in his chair. He had been wondering about this man his daughter was dating, but he was patient. He knew she needed space after the last time she brought a man around, that was partially his fault as well, but he knew when to back off. Something his wife couldn't seem to do. He already figured the guy was older, his daughter had a type after all.

Jo took in a deep breath. “I met his family over the weekend....at their Manor house outside of London.” Jo looked at her dad who just raised an eyebrow, “I met his Grandfather, or should I say His Grace, The Duke of Skye, Chief of the clan of Macleod.”

Bill barked out a laugh then realized his daughter was serious,”No fuckin' way.”

“Yes, fucking way. Crowley is technically the Marquess of Powis, but when Grandfather passes away, Crowley will be Duke of Skye. They have not only the family holdings from their long line of nobility but they also have the family businesses. Which is why Crowley is here in the first place, he owns HellHound, the computer place with the huge office building downtown. It was one of his personal investments, so when it was having problems he came here to fix them. Whatever that means.” Jo threw up her hands and leaned back in the chair.

Bill leaned back in his chair as well and tried to wrap his head around what his daughter was saying, “So, you're dating some kind of Lord then?” he asked confused.

“No, from what Grandfather has told me, it's way more then a lord. I mean someone of a lesser standing then Crowley would call him My Lord, but there is a whole hierarchy I still haven't got down. I've been doing a bit of research but I've had a lot going on.” Jo shrugged, then took a deep breath, “And we're not just dating.” Jo held up her left hand for her father to see the engagement ring, “He asked me to marry him.”

Bill reached out and took her hand to bring it closer, “Jeezus, I guess this thing is real then?” he asked dazed.

“Yeah, it's an heirloom too. I am just terrified I'm going to loose it, but when I told Crowley that he just told me it was insured, and not worry so much. I can't bring myself to even ask how much it's insured for, I don't think I'd be able to wear it! As it is I have this mild paranoia about getting robbed or loosing the other things he got me.” Jo gave a strained laugh and leaned back against the chair again.

Bill nodded, “Yeah, I don't blame you. I think I'll worry about it along side you.” he shook his head. “What else did he get you?” he asked sounding concerned.

Jo sighed, she gestured to the pearl earrings she was wearing as well as the boots on her feet. He looked closer at the earrings, then squinted down at her boots. They just looked like shoes to him so he shrugged at her. She laughed, “The earrings are from freaking Tiffany&Co. And the boots are by the same designer place as my bag.”

“Tiffany's, really?” Bill leaned in closer to look, “Well, the just look like earrings to me.”

Jo laughed, “I know right! But suddenly I know where they came from and I'm like freaking out.” Jo sighed, “I guess I'll get over it. I mean once we get married I'll be The Marchioness, and I really don't know what to do with that.” Jo said in a scared voice.

Bill nodded gravely, “Didn't you say he would have his Grandfathers position after he passed?”

“Crap, yeah that's true...then I'll be the Duchess...oh my god Dad, how am I gonna be a Duchess?” asked Jo with a panicked tone.

“Well, I suppose you learn your way. You would have to do that with any man you married, figure out how to live with his work, just like he would have to learn to live with yours. Give and take.” he replied.

Jo took a deep breath and tried to calm down, “You're right. Of course you're right. If anything I should be worried about is being Mom to a three year old.”

“Wait, what?” said her Father with a jolt.

“Oh...yeah. Will, his son. He's only three, he's wonderful, Dad. I already love him, of course that wasn't hard, he's so much like Crowley I don't think there was any way I wouldn't love that little boy. It was so hard leaving him yesterday.” Jo sighed, “But he's never had a Mother, what if I'm terrible at it?” Jo asked in earnest.

Bill swallowed and rubbed a hand across his face, “You never do anything easy, do you baby girl?” he said with a groan.

“Sorry, Dad.” whispered Jo, looking down.

“Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have said it that way, Jo. Some of the the best things in life, usually end up being the hardest ones. I was so scared when I first held you, I didn't know if I was going be good enough to be your Father. It was hard, and sometimes it still is, but you are the greatest thing that ever happened in my life. So, you love this man, and you love his child, then you just be ready to work hard and do your best. I know you'll do great, because you've done what's right all of your life, even when you had no support, you've done what was best for you, and I'm so proud of you for that.” Bill stood from his chair and squatted in front of Jo's chair, he took her hand in his and smiled. “You are going to be a great Mother, and he's lucky to have you. You just make sure you let him hang out with his new favorite Grandpa, ok?”

Joy choked back a sob and threw her arms around her Father, he almost tipped over but he held firm, hugging her back and kissing her head. “Thank you, Dad.” she whispered. She pulled away from him so he could stand back up, his legs weren't what they used to be and crouching was killing his knee. Jo stood up as well and grabbed her purse. “I want you to meet him. Crowley, I mean. Will won't be here for another month, we wanted him to finish his last month in nursery school.”

Bill nodded, “I want to meet him. Just tell me one thing, how old is he?”

Jo pressed her lips together, “He's 45.” she gave her Dad a small smile and a hopeful look.

“Jo,” he said frustrated, but he took a breath, “Honey, I'm 49.” he said with a frown.

“Yeah, I know....he's still younger then you Dad.”

“He's 20 years older then you.”

“Yup, and I love him more than anything.”

“I always thought you would end up with some tattooed musician, I was sure you would get over this older man thing.” Bill joked half heartedly.

Jo snorted, then laughed, then laughed until she had to sit down. It was like all the stress of telling someone what was going on in her life released and she just sat until the giggles died down and she realized she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her.

Bill just watched in confusion until she seemed done, “What was that about?” he asked.

“Oh nothing, just that Crowley used to be in a punk band.” Jo grinned. “In his wild days....hes a drummer, Dad.”

“Oh lord, I should have known,” he gave his own laugh.

Jo reached into her pocket and took out her phone, she brought up her screen with the background of her Crowley and little Will. She turned it to show her father, “That's Crowley with his tattoos, and in between us is Will.”

Bill looked at the pictures and just had to roll his eyes with a smile, “Of course, you found a drummer with tattoos and he's gonna be a Duke....Only you Jo.”

“Yeah, I'm lucky right?” she smiled back.

Bill waited up for Ellen in their house that night. She had the later shift, so she wasn't home until after midnight. He was tired, but this was more important, he needed to talk with her. When she finally came through the door she seemed surprised to see him still sitting there, usually on these nights he was already in bed asleep.

“You're up late.” she said in a tired voice.

“Yeah, I needed to talk to you about what happened with Jo.” he said seriously.

Ellen frowned, “Why?”

“I think you know why. She came to see me today.” he replied.

“Of course she did. It seems she'll talk to anyone but me.” Ellen grumbled as she sat down on the soft next to Bill with a sigh.

Bill snorted.

Ellen turned to look at him with a glare, “What is that suppose to mean?”

“It means she always tries to talk to you, but you don't listen. Then when she gets rightfully mad at you, you stomp around and act like the victim. She's not childish, she's smart and strong and so responsible. She's a grown woman.”

Ellen looked at him with a glare, “Of course you're taking her side.”

“NO, there is no side! Dammit, Ellen, will you listen to yourself? When you were 25, you were already a wife and Mother, if your Mother or mine had come to you and spoke to you the way you talk to Jo, you would have have told them to shove it. I don't know why you think Jo should be any different?”

Ellen looked down, “Yes, I was a wife, and Mother, but those things made me grow up! Jo doesn't have that, she just makes so many mistakes, I just want her to learn from them.”

“So did you. We both made mistakes, and think of how much harder it would have been if your Mother took every chance she could to throw those mistakes in your face? How about how you got pregnant before we were married? How about how we ran off to the courthouse and got married instead of having the big wedding your mama and mine always wanted? How about how we were too damn young to be playing house and everyone was sure we wouldn't last a year, but no one ever said it to our faces.”

Ellen's lip trembled, “I would have told anyone who said that to me to fuck off. You're right. I just wanted better for her.” she choked out.

“So did I, and I think she got it. She's happy, Ellen. Shes going to be a wife and a Mother, you have to stop putting all your dreams on her. She has her own, she can't live yours.” he reached out and took his wife's hand.

“A wife and Mother.” mumbled Ellen, “is she really ready for that..?”

“Were you? Is anyone? But she loves him, and shes gonna marry him, and I can guarantee they are gonna have the wedding we never did, and shes never going to want for anything.”

“How do you know? We know nothing about him. What if he's not good enough? What if he's just using her, maybe this all just Jo being hopeful, it's not like he's proposed!”

Bill cleared his throat awkwardly, “He proposed the night before they left London. Jo thinks he's good enough, I think it's time we started to trust her judgment in her own life.”

“Oh...she didn't say anything when I saw her.”

“Did you give her a chance? She told me she planned on telling you about Crowley, instead you flew off the handle at her.” Bill raised his eyebrows at her.

“No, I didn't. I saw that purse and just couldn't believe she was letting some man spend that kind of money on her. I said a lot of things I shouldn't have.” Ellen said worriedly.

“Yeah, but he's not just some man, hes the man shes going to marry. If he wants to blow some of his rich families money on Jo, well, more power to him. I know I would have done the same for you if I had his kind of money to spend.”

“His families money?”

“Yeah, apparently he comes from a rich family in England. When I say rich, I mean they have a castle.”

“A castle?” Ellen just starred at him in confusion, “I think maybe you should tell me about this guy.”

@gettinjoyful @wholita @roxy-davenport

#Crowley #jo harvelle #Supernatual #fanfiction #fan fiction #romance

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