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jokertrap-ran · 3 years

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(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Osborn’s 5✩ Inspiration: Black VS Black [黑色对峙] Date Translation (END 6: Heart-throb)

“Do you really think that I think there’s no helping you?”

*Light and Night Master-list | Osborn’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *This 5✩ Inspiration has 6 Endings!! *Osborn’s tag will be #For Night, For Freedom *Requested by anon! You can check my on-going requests and more here!

✥ Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★

The cat caused an incident! What should I do?

⊹ Check the fallen model ⊹

I didn’t think too much about it, instead, hurrying over to where the car model had fallen.

I picked it up and inspected the damages.

There was a long crack in the middle and several parts had broken off, scattering compartments all over the floor.

MC: Can this… still be saved…?

Just as I was thinking of how to break this bad news to Osborn, his low voice sounded from behind.

Osborn: What a big commotion.

Osborn: What? Did Mitt get into an accident?

I steeled myself and stopped covering the scene of the “car accident” that had occurred. I got up and handed him the car model that I held.

MC: The “culprit” knocked this car model down and fled.

Osborn frowned, reaching me in a couple of long strides.

He took the model and turned it around a couple of times, observing it with an indifferent look on his face.

MC: Is it too damaged to fix?

Osborn: I can just send it for repairs over the next few days. Let's go look for the cat first.

He calmly placed the broken car model back onto the shelf, taking a “let’s talk about this later” stance.

This model had been placed together with many other car models that looked new, pristine, and without a scratch. Not to mention, the glistening trophy that had been right next to it. A wild guess entered my mind.

MC: Do all the car models here hold some sort of commemorative meaning?

Osborn: Hm? Why do you ask?

MC: I mean, if they are some sort of special memento to you, then they should have been subjected to routine maintenance, right?

MC: If so, then you should also have the tools for it along with any part replacements, yes?

Thoughtfulness slipped into his eyes.

Osborn: You want to help me fix it?

MC: Yeah! That cat was just spooked real bad, and it wouldn’t do us any good if it got a bigger fright the next time and reacted even worse to it if we continued chasing after it.

MC: So, why don’t we leave the cat hunt for later and fix the car model back up first?

MC: Plus, I’m pretty dexterous with my hands. Wanna give me a chance to show you my prowess?

He raised an eyebrow, his pale green eyes glinting.

Osborn: Okay. Here's your time to shine.

Osborn stretched his arms over my head. For a while, all I could see was his broad chest. I felt my breath hitch.

Then, he suddenly lowered his head. His face was incredibly close to mine.

The scent of black cedar assaulted my nose. I blinked. My brain was lagging.

MC: Oh, okay.

Osborn: Take it.

My gaze slid to his hand. Turns out that he’d just been fetching the toolbox that had been in the cabinet above the display shelves.

Osborn: I'm waiting.

I took the toolbox from him and opened it.

I was greeted by a multitude of components in all shapes and sizes. Some of the tools in it were similar to the ones I used when making my designs, but there were also some that I’d never seen before.

I picked up a tool that looked like a cross between a pen and a knife, looking to Osborn for advice.

MC: What's this?

Osborn: An exacto knife. It’s used to cut off excess parts of the joints when required.

MC: Mmhm, okay. I've remembered it.

Osborn: This is a cutting plier, screw sanders, tweezers...

Osborn picked out a couple more tools from within the box and introduced them to me.

Osborn: Anything else you can't recognize?

MC: Not for now.

Osborn: Okay. Then let's remove the damaged compartments first.

MC: Okay.

First, we used a screwdriver to remove the damaged compartments. Then, we replaced them with brand-new spare parts.

This race car model was really different from those being sold out in the market. It was made with exquisite craftsmanship, and its internal makings were far more complicated than I'd initially thought.

When it was time to add colours to it, Osborn prepared the required paints and set them out in measured portions onto the palette with ease and finesse. He smoothly handed me a brush.

Osborn: Do you know how to touch up the paintwork?

I hesitated.

MC: I've painted outfit designs before for design needs, but I'm sure it's completely different from actually painting a model.

MC: I don't know if it works the same…

Osborn: See my demonstration first then.

He dipped his brush into the red paint, carefully painting it onto the model. It came out very uniform and smoothly layered.

I'd stared at him, watching him do it a couple more times. But, no matter how much I watched the same process, I couldn't quite grasp it. Even if I tried mimicking his actions, my paintwork always turned out patchy and uneven.

Osborn laughed, placing his hand over mine and directing the brush I held.

He directed my brush, guiding me on how I should be painting the compartment with a focused look on his face.

It was all serious and business, except… My focus was inevitably drawn towards his movements and breaths.

Osborn: Get it?

MC: Mmhm...

I tried my hardest to remember the way he did it and followed suit. The end result was much smoother than what I'd been accomplishing before.

After the finishing touches were in place, I raised the model and showed it to him.

MC: Like… this? This should be done now, right?

Osborn: Not bad. You've got standard.

My spirits soared at having received such direct praise from him.

MC: Since I'm such an apt learner, how about enlisting my help again the next time you make another model of a race car?

Osborn slightly raised a brow as he contemplated my paint-stained hands.

Osborn: I'll think about it.

MC: Does this even need to be considered?

MC: I'm pretty quick to pick up hands-on skills, not just fixing up models of racing cars! So I'm a fast learner no matter what it is!

MC: You can test me again if you don't believe me!

Just as I was boasting about my assets in an attempt to make myself appeal to him, Osborn's calloused fingers suddenly brushed against my cheek.

The rough texture of the pads of his fingers made my heart skip a beat.

MC: What's wrong?

Osborn: You got something on your face.

I doubtfully touched my face. Suddenly, I pulled my hand away to find my fingers stained with red paint.

Astonished, I look at Osborn's hands, only to find even more red paint on them…

MC: Don't tell me you drew something on it!!

Osborn: What gives?

MC: Hey! You're biting the hand that feeds!

Osborn: Whatever do you mean by that?

Osborn: I'm just adding some blush and colour to your face. Makes you prettier.

I was taken aback, nonetheless.

MC: Okay. Then, I'll add some colour to your cheeks for you!

Osborn: Whoa, hey! Easy!

MC: Nothing you say now is gonna stop me!

I swiftly picked up the brush and dipped it into the paint set out onto the palette, rushing straight for his face.

Osborn quickly reared back, but I subconsciously followed right after his retreat.

And this was how I toppled him down to the ground with him doing nothing to defend himself.

Osborn was astonished. He'd attempted to get back up, only for my other hand to immediately dart out to pin him down by the shoulder.

MC: No moving!

Surprise flashed through his eyes, as his usual impish smile crawled its way back up his face.

Osborn: Wow, what an aggressor.

MC: That's right. Now's my time to retaliate!

MC: No use trying to escape!

I circled the air with the brush, purposefully observing his face to make my mark.

MC: Hmm, what do you want me to draw on you?

Osborn seemingly accepted the fact that he was going to be an inevitable victim of mine since I already had him "pinned" down. He folded his arms behind his head, giving my question some serious thought.

Osborn: An air drawing?

MC: Dream on!

Osborn: Mercy, please. I beg you.

MC: It's too late to be begging me for mercy.

MC: Hmph. Just watch me improvise on the spot~

Just as I was rummaging through my brain for a glimmer of inspiration, a light bulb suddenly lit in my head.

I had an image now: Mitt as it was fleeing.

❖☆———————————★❖

I leaned down, supporting myself on Osborn's shoulder.

Following the curve of his jaw, I applied colour to his skin, drawing a colourful cat.

Osborn had his guard down, seemingly content to watch me work my "artistic talents" with him as the canvas.

The surroundings lapsed into silence.

I was drawing it on with such rapt concentration, yet I was still able to notice his long black lashes and hear his familiar steady breathing ever so clearly. I could somewhat feel the slight rise and fall of his chest.

I vaguely registered our close proximity to each other. My heart seemed unable to settle with the fact that we were so close to each other that our breaths intermingled, clamouring loudly within my chest.

I blinked twice, finishing off the last stroke before getting up and putting some distance between us.

❖☆———————————★❖

Osborn: Done?

I nodded.

Osborn: What do you think of your work of art?

Huh? Is he asking me to rate my own work?

I quickly gave him a once over, only to realize that I'd been distracted at the end, so it'd turned out a little funky. I nearly laughed at it right then and there.

MC: Ahem. I think it's not bad! You've got a big kitty on you now!

He waggled his brows, lazily raising his body halfway back up. His features were suddenly enlarged before my eyes once more as he leaned closer.

Osborn: Happy now?

MC: Mmhm… Pretty happy.

Osborn: Then let me tell you something that'll make you even happier.

He moved even closer, his words gently flowing with the air, wrapping themselves around my ears.

I shuddered as a scalding heat started creeping up my neck.

MC: ...What is it?

Osborn: The other kitty's right behind you.

Mitt: Meow~ Meow~

The last of his words were drowned out by the sudden meowing that sounded.

I snapped out of the trance of the moment, much to my embarrassment. Mitt had actually slinked behind me somehow without my knowing!

MC: Right, we should hurry and catch it before it gets up to no good again!

I quickly climbed off Osborn, flushing red as I fled.

A light chuckle sounded behind me in response.

❖☆———————————★❖

By the time we found Mitt, it was already sprawled out beside the TV cabinet with its paws stuck underneath, fiddling with something in the gap.

Recalling the layout of his living room, I quietly tip-toed and whispered my idea into Osborn’s ear.

MC: I’ll take left, you take right. We’ll pincer it.

Osborn: It’s already here, so there’s no need to go through so much trouble.

MC: Huh?

Osborn: Just wait and see.

Osborn took a couple of long strides forwards in the direction of the cat.

I followed after him, quietly approaching the black cat. However, my attention was suddenly caught by the photo frame that the cat had just been playing with.

Picking up the frame, I carefully observed it…

In the picture were Osborn and a couple of familiar-looking teammates. They’d all had an arm around each other’s shoulder, beaming as they held the same trophy.

Their faces all look much younger… Is this a photo from years ago?

The race car in the background had a red and white body with an orange rear spoiler, similar to the car model that Mitt had batted off its perch earlier.

MC: Don’t tell me… Was that car model made based on this race car?

I was lost in thought when a sudden meow broke my train of thought.

Osborn: Still wanna run?

❖☆———————————★❖

I raised my head to see Osborn with both arms raised, gently holding up the cat in question.

The bright and warm sunlight shone in through the window, carefully outlining his chiselled side-profile and the contours of his muscles.

Although Mitt had already been caught, it still glared daggers at Osborn. It was as if a cat and a human were engaged in a silent battle with each other.

After a while, Mitt seemed to register the fact that it’d lost, meowing pitifully in that soft cry once more.

❖☆———————————★❖

Osborn: Oh? You know how to beg for mercy now, don’t you?

Osborn carried Mitt to the little corner we’d set up for it. Mitt seemingly gave up on the game of chase, lowering its head to eat the cat food that we’d prepared for it since the very beginning.

Watching it eat its food so obediently, I couldn’t help but kneel down and stroke its round head.

Mitt cast a doubtful glance at me, but turned its head, indulging nuzzling itself into my palm.

MC: !

MC: I touched it! How cute…

Osborn: You’re that excited from just being able to touch it?

MC: Yeah. It looked so naughty that I thought I wouldn’t be able to touch it today.

Osborn: It’ll come running up to you for a lick or two so long as you have food.

MC: Then I MUST let it try the wet cat food! Maybe it’ll get closer to me!

I sped towards the sofa and picked up the packet of wet cat food, purposely waving it before its nose.

It couldn’t resist the offered temptation after all. Its soft fluffy paws batted at my wrist as it opened its mouth and cried its pleas.

MC: Okay, okay. Any more and you’ll end up a piggy.

I recalled something after putting away the remaining food. I picked up the photo frame that I’d set down earlier and handed it to Osborn.

MC: Oh, yeah. By the way, this was the photo frame that Mitt was batting with under the TV cabinet earlier. I don’t know where you normally display it.

He took the photo frame from me and glanced at it.

MC: And on that note, I realized that the car in the background looks very similar to the model we just pieced back together. Are they the same?

Osborn: Oh. The model was made according to this race car.

Suddenly, I recalled having seen the highlights of all his races before.

The year and month in which he’d won his first racing championship seemingly coincided with the time that this photo was taken.

My guess had tumbled out of my lips before I could stop it.

MC: Is this the car you drove when you won your first championship?

He quirked a brow.

Osborn: Why, you know me so well.

MC: Then… Is that car model something of a memento from that race?

Osborn: You can say that.

MC: I heard somewhere before that that car’s engine had to be changed out every two races. It shouldn’t be in use anymore, right?

Osborn: The engine exploded on me during that race, so it was only my companion once.

Osborn spoke lightly of it, but thinking of how exciting and terrifying it must have been back then, I couldn’t help but feel my heart sink a little.

MC: I’m glad the car model’s alright. Otherwise, it’d be such a pity for such a meaningful memento to get damaged like that.

Osborn: So I should thank you properly. Is that it?

MC: Huh? Thank me?

He chuckled lightly, his eyes sliding from the photo to my face. He had a slightly flippant look on his face.

Osborn: Weren’t you the one who made that car model more meaningful?

MC: ……

I was taken aback for a bit. I looked at him in surprise, only to find his gaze calm and gentle. There was a smile glimmering within his eyes.

Osborn: You were pretty clever when fixing the model. Why so stupefied now?

As his words sank in, I felt my heart flutter as I realized what he’d meant by having made it more “meaningful”. Something seemed to have filled my heart. It was a little flustering, yet also a little sweet.

I worried my lip and gathered my courage together before looking up to meet his eyes.

MC: Then, that makes me happier now…

MC: Although I didn’t get the chance to sit in on the race of your first championship and cheer you on…

MC: I was still able to piece the model back together and play a part in that precious moment of memory.

Inexplicable emotions surfaced in Osborn’s eyes, and in the next second, his big hand ruffled my hair with a vengeance.

Osborn: There’s really no helping you, is there?

I shyly ducked my head, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from rising.

At this moment, the sun had enveloped us both within its warmth.

The cat quietly ate by our feet, letting out a purr of satisfaction every once in a while.

Slowly but surely, unspeakable feelings started to bloom and spread within the confines of my heart.

I hope, from the deepest points of my heart, that time would always be eternally frozen in this beautiful moment.

⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹

✥ Choose your Ending:

END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]

END 2 +3 + 4 | Choice: Call Out [呼唤] ⊹Speak⊹

END 5 | Choice: Listen [倾听] ❖ASMR

END 6 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★

❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Freedom⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Prologue)

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #萧逸 #Osborn #For Night For Freedom #黑色对峙 #Black VS Black

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hit-me-with-a-ladle · 3 years

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Ch.10 Creepypasta x Fem! Reader

Before even realising, the week had ended once more, perpetuating the endless cycle experienced day after day. Though not as severe as the previous, it was still very tiring in its own way. As the first day passed, Ben wanted to perceive her potential, making her brew something after every lesson and making sure the notes taken were comprehensive and correct. But what he failed to inform her was that the slightest miscalculation could end up in an explosion. The combining of two opposing substances ended up in a chain reaction that gave the girl burns and potential scars, their severity somewhat dulled by the elixir Ben would create after, but still very painful.

That week was strange, as Ben was inept at any social interaction. Struggling with reading the room and understanding others thoughts and feelings. Though he hated silence and many-a-time attempted to end it with a random ramble about a certain topic that would last hours at a time, tiering the poor girl forced to listen. His tendency for not understanding physical boundaries had begun to become a problem too, invading the girl's personal space at very unwanted times and always flashing that creepy smile whenever he saw her, making her tense up.

Though the perpetual cycle had begun to have a toll on her. Her body was on autopilot most of the day. Walking around and doing the same things as a robot. And the last day of the week hadn't been any different. She'd fallen asleep the previous night at exactly ten pm after launch and woke up the morning at around five-fifty six am, before her alarm. Getting up taking a shower, bandaging her wounds, getting dressed, and heading towards the stairs for a nutritious breakfast before she'd have to meet the new person sent there to train her. Toby had presumed.

Right as she was about to take her first step down the narrow wooden staircase she stopped in her tracks, looking back towards her bedroom door. Stepping back she walked towards it and walked in, looking around quickly before spotting the thing she was looking for. The necklace Ben gave her, she took it off the previous night and forgot to put it on. Quickly snatching it and clasping it around her neck and putting it under her jumpsuit she hurriedly ran downstairs, not wanting to be off schedule. She wasn't sure why she'd gone back to grab it, but something was telling her that it was special.

Looking at the clock she sighed, twenty minutes left before her training starts. Her thoughts were in shambles as she imagined what the new man was going to be like. A sadistic narcissist like Jack? An aggressive control freak like Masky? Or maybe, a blabbering creep like Ben? She wasn't ready to find out. But it was inevitable, no matter how much she wished she could leave, to get an end to this madness. But she didn't have to wonder for long as she heard light footsteps on the hard floor approaching her. Usually, she wouldn't have noticed something as minute as that but recently her senses have heightened significantly with the constant rushes of adrenaline her body had been going through to stay alive.

Gazing in its direction she finally saw the man, he looked to be around twenties years of age. He was of average height, around five-foot-seven or about hundred-and-seventy-three meters, a bit bigger than Ben. His mouth, covered with a black striped mask and a pair of orange-tinted goggles over his eyes. Bushy dark brown hair peeking out from the blue hood of his stained zip-up. The only feature visible was his pale almost grey skin that seemed cold as ice. Below the waist, he had two old hatchets harnessed on either side of his long baggy jeans, with his gloved hands firmly gripping both whiles staring at the girl. As he stood he would occasionally jerk or twitch to the side without warning. She gazed at him, confused by the sudden motions of his body.

Suddenly the man coughed, grabbing her attention and snapping her out of the daze that she was in. Shaking her head and apologizing immediately. He approached, now right in front of her.

" He-llo. I'm To-toby."

He stuttered as he stretched out his right hand at her. Swiftly grabbing his hand to shake it. The leather that collided with her skin was worn out and patchy.

" Hi." She retorted, trying to pull her hand away but he would let do. She could feel his flesh twitch underneath his thick glove. " So when are we going to begin training?"

She awkwardly addressed trying to soften the ever-growing tension. The man only nodded his head and softly huffed, finally letting go.

Glancing behind her shoulder, staring at the back door with a blank stare he pushed her aside and walked towards it. She was perplexed by him, not expecting such an act as a frown formed on her face. 'Who does he think he is? He didn't even answer my question. Jerk.' She thought, her eyebrows scrunching in irritation while going back to making herself breakfast.

"I'll wait for you to fin-finish outside. Be quic-k."

He said quietly as he stepped outside.

Sighing dramatically she began to eat, starting at the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds with dread. Eating had become a choir, her mouth always feeling dry. The food itself was bland too, devoid of odour and taste made the texture unbearable at times. But she didn't have much of a choice. It sometimes felt like eating sandpaper but she couldn't complain as it would only stir up a problem. Most of the food was meant to strengthen her body and make her more durable. Forcing down the last bite she got up but the dishes in the sink and went towards the back door with a black expression on her face.

Opening it up it made a loud creak, annoying the girl as she slammed it behind her, searching for the googled man. She assumed that he was in the armoured area of the forest. Remembering passing it while doing Maskys test, grumbling at the memory. Picking up her speed and running towards it she got there in about ten minutes. Abruptly stopping when she saw the back of his head, a sense of accomplishment washing over her when she realised that her judgment was right. As she was about to inform him of her arrival he swiftly turned around. His orange stained goggles reflect the sun's rays making them shine.

" Si-since you arrived, w-we should begin." He softly said as he reached for his hatchet and pointed to the middle of the small clearing. It was perfect for close-range combat, especially if what they were using were close-range weapons. It was specifically designed for the people training in them to be wary of their surroundings and to focus their movements. Small bumps and rocks were scattered to make it more of a challenge. Battered practise dummies were also present on the sides, some had throwing stars and objects logged on their body. A small shed was tucked in between two trees, made to store some of the weapons they practise with.

As he stood in the middle Toby walked up to the shed, shoving his hand in his pocket searching for something, suddenly pulling out a set of rusty keys and looking for the one that matched the shed's lock. Going inside he searched for something, the girl wasn't sure what as she wasn't able to even see him. After a minute, he finally walked out holding something in his hand. Approaching her he extended his gloved hand letting her see it, a small hunting knife. The blade sharpened to perfection as the thick mettle it was made out of shine in the light, encased in a large worn wooden handle, finger-like dents could be seen from previous use.

Taking it in her hands it fits almost perfectly, holding firmly she studied the mettle further. Just like Maskys pocket watch, there was a crossed-out circle on it; her face was now showed intrigue by the particular design.

" The b-blade you're hol-ding in your hand is o-one of the most impor-tant things you need to sur-survive. Not only is it used fo-for self-defence it's also used for ever-everyday tasks. For ex-example, cutting down vines and or carving th-ings into wooden sur-surfaces."

As he spoke he would occasionally twitch and jerk but he didn't seem distracted by it, already used to the constant random unwanted motions his body made.

The girl nodded her head, thoroughly listening to his every word said, she'd come to terms that if she expected to escape she had to use everything that they thought her to good use. Toby had started to show her different techniques of cutting and use of the knife, explaining the proper stance and movements. But the girl seemed to struggle, shuffling her feet trying to get the stance right. Toby rolled his eyes and went behind her, starting to fix her mistakes and instructing her while doing so. The girl could faintly feel his uneven breaths on her neck. He was noticeably rough with the way he grabbed her hands, fixing them in place. When he was satisfied he let go and went to the side to watch her work.

The silver blade shined as the light hit its clear surface, the girl quickly jabbing and slashing the tree she was told to work on, creating noticeable scratches as she did. At first, her movements were quite slow and sloppy, not being able to get the hang of the small weapon, but eventually, she got the hang of it, quickly gliding around the tree with pretty much no effort and slashing it with remarkable precision. Toby watched her every step, pleased by her sudden improvement.

"I th-think that should b-be enough." He said loudly, disturbing the girl from her trance. Making her quickly straighten up and look at him.

" I-i think yo-you learned the bas-basic, now le-lets see how you will do it hand-to-hand."

The girl nodded, approaching him without saying a word, blade in hand ready to use. Toby also didn't bother to say a word, only pulling out one of his hatchets and getting into a fighting stance, she quickly followed. Neither of them tried to attack at first, only scanning their opponent, anticipating their every move. A cold sweat started to form on the girl's back as panic slowly arose in her mind, the tension was unbearable, and she feared that it showed on her face, but even still she had to muster up the courage and finally strike first.

She leapt at the googled boy, attempting to slash him with her blade but he avoided it in the nick of time. He was quick to react as he soon tried to sweep her off her feet but she blocked his blow and sprang a bit away creating a small distance. He was the one to attack next, facking a strike with his hatchet to her head, quickly using his other hand to punch her in the jaw, making her stumble and slip. Going to her lever and attempting to strike her again, she was quick to block, using all the possible strength she had in her arms to protect herself. She managed to somehow push him off as she quickly tried to get up, but made one fatal mistake by averting her gaze from his, giving him the Milly-second of a chance to slash her upper thigh.

Screaming in agony she fell to her knees, quickly feeling her weight turned on her back and crashed on the ground, the impact causing the necklace around her neck to come out from the jumpsuit, catching Toby's attention. The bottle shined in the light and wasn't hard to spot, he approached her aching for, carefully kneeling to her lever. Her face was in a mix of emotions, ready to defend herself again at any moment, but as he extended his gloved hands what she didn't expect was for him to reach for the necklace.

He held the small thing in his hands, twisting it around to get a better look at what was contained inside of it.

"A-a protection ch-charm." He murmured, but the girl still managed to somewhat hear it.

Her face showed a mixture of confusion and distress. Moments ago he was trying to slice her throat and how she was softly gripping her necklace, not saying another word.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, the tension in the air occasionally being broken by the googled man ticks.

" Did Ben gi-give you this?" He asked sternly, twisting the tiny bottle between his thumb and pointer finger as he held it in front of her face.

" Yeah" She only said, averting from his gaze. He scoffed harshly letting go of it and firmly standing up, taking a few steps away from her.

Shooting pain ran up her leg to her back as she tried to stand, quickly holding the wound on the back of her thigh, adding as much pressure as she could so the blood would stop pouring out. Toby did say a word only looking in her direction. The girl's thoughts were racing, anger and fear swirling all in the bat of rage. She has enough of this, recollecting her strength slowly she took a long breath in, subtly looking in her peripherals to spot where Toby was standing. And the moment she felt the adrenaline kick in like all those times before she leapt.

The pain didn't concern her anymore; she only wanted him to feel the same she felt. Tackling his feet, he let out a low yelp as he fell on his lower back, she then quickly acted by pulling out the second hatched holstered to his person and putting it to his neck. Heavy jagged breaths escaped her chapped lips as she stared at him with a wide eyes gaze, sweat coming out of every pour.

Shaking uncontrollably while firmly holding the hatchet to his neck. She whispered, "I win."

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trashpandaorigins · 5 years

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89P13: Ch. 10

You have studied your entire life, sacrificed friendships, lovers, family for this-the message now on your tablet. Holding your breath, you tap the message and your heart jitters, you’ve been accepted. There it is plain as day. Accepted to The Halfworld Bioweaponry Laboratories. You start Tuesday.

My take on Rocket’s origins.

WARNING: Animal abuse, PTSD, Graphic descriptions of violence and gore

You get the message on your beeper at 03:43:21. “RED ALERT.” You blot out of bed, grabbing your electrical prongs and your coat dashing from your dormitory to the lab. You hear the gunfire before anything else and curse to yourself as you burst through the doors into chaos.

“Alert, alert, alert!” The alarms sound, spinning red lights through the dark halls. A guard runs past you, frantically cursing.

“What’s going on…” You stumble as something sharp hits you in the back of your knee and you fall. You hear a yowl and a scream and try to pull yourself up, limping through the shadowy halls towards P13’s cage. What is happening? Your mind spins as you drag yourself to the doors and slam your ID badge on the scanner. It beeps red and spits sparks making you stumble back, grunting in pain. “System override.” You curse, peering through the thin windows in at the cages and your breath catches. 89P13’s cage is empty. You turn around and scream as another bolt of burning pain hits you in your left leg. Your knees give and you crash to the ground. A technician runs past you pressing a weeping bandage to their face. “Alert, alert, alert.” The red lights glare making your head spin and you try desperately to orient yourself. You will make for the main corridor of the building and you slowly claw at the wall, inching along. Why are the halls so long? You stumble over something and look down, your stomach revolting. A handler is slumped against the wall, its mouth gaping. They have no eyes, just bloody dark holes. Scratch marks on their neck. You swallow your vomit and continue though everything around you pitches and tilts.

You turn the corner, the alert system blaring in your ears making your brain rattle in your skull. You blink and can just make out four guards and two drones at the other end of the corridor, they turn the corner and are lost. You teeter, stumbling farther and slowly descend to the ground. There’s a boom sound that sends you vomiting and a flash of orange light and hot air that breezes past you. Smoke fills the hall, itching your eyes as you cough and try to clear it away.

Your legs. You cannot feel your legs anymore. Something sticky and deep maroonish red is spreading out around you, slow and taunting. You sweat, you shake. The floor is cold. You look around the wide hallway and the lights above flicker, sparking and going out. But you can still see the others. They are dead. A bullet in Breva’s neck. A few more in Utal. Several feet away Quarn is still moaning. Your head is heavy, it hurts to blink. Your arms tremble trying to hold you up though your legs…your legs are useless. You try to cover your ears over the sound of gunfire, but you fall flat on your face into the unforgiving floor. The bullets are so loud, so pounding they shake your brain in your skull. You hear the echos of screaming the carnivorous snarl of something some creature. You will yourself to look up once more, checking both ends of this hallway that is so, so long. To the right, you see the feet of a dead orderly. To the left you can make out the scraping of claws against metal and the smell of gunpowder. You try to crawl forward towards the double doors, but hot rods of pain spike up your legs and into your hips like lightening and you pant, hanging your head to stare dizzy at the ground. That smell, that metallic smell of blood, you know it well. Only now does it terrify you. The pitter patter gets louder, interrupted every so often by more gun fire. The sound of flesh being torn, ripped and broken, screaming, crying. Begging. More snarling. Your brain tells you to get away, make it through the double doors. Your body cannot comply. It is to hurt, too tired. Still you drag yourself further, so close…so close to the doors. You can see through the crack underneath, you swallow mouth dry. So close, your heart bounds with each agonizing movement. So close so….

Click click.

You blink slowly, and your breath shudders. This time it is not from the fiery throbbing in your legs or the hammering in your head.

“W….where….r….roo…ket?” 89P13’s graveling voice asks. It stands before you, those eyes. Red and large and yet filled with nothing. It holds its stolen gun with one paw, aimed squarely at your head. It’s whiskers twitch, it’s tail lashes. “W….w…were roo ketts?”

It’s eyes narrow, as you struggle to make out what it is saying. The fur covering its body is thin and patchy. Looking at its neck you can see the flesh pulse, moving with every inflection of its words. It snarls, pointed white teeth painted pink with blood. You close your eyes, trying to focus but your brain feels too tight in your skull and you are spinning even though you know you are staying still. Your right leg twitches and you curse with the flash of white pain. 89P13 holds its gun steady, swallowing, looking at you with those eyes. Those pupil-less eyes. Soulless. “Rookts!” It barks, then winces as though the speaking has caused it pain. You can see it, under the grey and brown fur, the bulbous scared flesh of its body. Pus and dried blood crust around the implants in its collar bones. The cybernetics under its temple, the skin stretched tightly over it so that you can see the protrusion. It’s chest heaves in and out…in in in…out. In…in…in…out…out….ouuuut. It shakes as it stands, swaying. You can see the augmentations in its hips, it’s chest. And still it is not complete, 89P13 snarls once more foaming at the mouth even as it’s body wavers. It is a half-formed thing. Incomplete. “Wheres…rckts?” You look from gun to where the double doors are still shut. “Weapons Bay 753210” reads the sign above. Missiles, ships, rockets and the like.

“Aaaarrrghhh,” Quarn groans, though it has less breath behind it than before. 89P13 keeps looking at you with those red eyes, keeps the gun pointed at you but reaches with its other paw for its sidearm and points without looking. There’s an ear-splitting bang and Quarn goes silent. You glance at your bloodied wrist, the armband that can control the cybernetics from within P13. Of course! You move to push a small blue button and curse as P13’s claws wrack down your tender skin. Its pointed teeth latch on to the wristband no matter how hard to try to pry it off. But you are so tired you can barely move. The band comes loose with a snap and P13 steps backward, gun aimed once more. This time it clutches the wristband between its teeth. The lights flicker again in uneven succession, and you feel the throbbing in your lower body get worse. The initial numbness that comes with adrenaline after being wounded now receding. Giving way to agony. P13 bites down, the metal crunching under its enhanced jaws. You watch its body shudder as the cybernetics within send electric shocks through the nervous system, stretch the metal rods in its limbs. But P13 only looks at you, snarling as it shreds the wristband, withstanding the agony as best it can, one eye twitching as the socket behind it malfunctions. You watch in horror as P13 spits the band out, a crumpled piece of metal.

“Ro..ckts!” 89P13 clicks its gun, bloody foam dripping from its muzzle. It’s flesh twinges and it takes a labored breath. A piece of flesh is stuck in the top right of its teeth. You wonder who it came from. “Ro….roccckts! Where?” It is then you understand, and you point with one trembling finger at the doors behind the animal. 89P13 cocks its head like a canine in confusion, those eyes widen, ears perking upward. It drops it’s sidearm and raises its enhanced arm to its chest, pointing with one clawed finger to itself. “Rookett?” It asks. Its voice is small and low and soft and…hopeful? “Rookt?” it repeats almost to itself. The light above the two of you sparks, sending streams of light downward illuminating the battered little experiment. 89P13 is still pointing at itself. It is a child. A child who does not understand the nature of its existence. “Roccct!” It growls hiccuping in pain and the moment is shattered. You jab your finger to indicate behind him once more and blink. Why is your vision going fuzzy at the edges? You feel warm and cold all at once. The moment is shattered, 89P13 looks over its thin shoulder at the doors and then back to you. Its eyes are so red, pools of blood. It’s pulverized body stumbles but it catches itself, hacking in its own pain. It presses the cold barrel to your skull, but you can hardly feel it. It looks at you, those eyes you first saw the day you cut open it’s sow and brought it into the world. The scabs on its left implant break and red blood trickles from its clavicle. It bares its teeth, snarling at you and you feel it’s hatred. It’s malice, it’s agony. It wants to kill you. It will kill you, you realize this slowly. Your body is too exhausted to care. It says something you cannot understand and for a moment you think you can see tears in its eyes as its body tenses and pulls the trigger backward. It shakes, it’s tail now still. Every hair on end. Its gaunt flesh is inflamed, and you can smell the chemicals, the blood, the infection on it. 89P13 lets out an agonized shriek and you close your eyes, knowing what is coming. There is a bang, but it does not hit you.

You open your eyes, though your lids feel so, so heavy. You are still alive. For now, you think as you see what you realize has been your own blood all along expanding outward from your legs. You try to focus, you see the double doors swinging and a ringed tail flickers before disappearing behind the doors.

#89P13 #gotg #Guardians of the Galaxy #my writing #rocket raccoon #rocket origins

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kadobeclothing · 4 years

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5 Beard Styles You Need To Know In 2020

For ancient Egyptians, it was a sign of wealth and status. Romans would cultivate theirs to signify mourning, while Gauls equated the loss of one with castration. To the 21st-century man, though, the humble beard is more a sartorial statement of intent than a status symbol.In the past few years facial hair has morphed from money-saving ruse (it’s no coincidence that the rise of the beard ran parallel with the global economic recession) into the ultimate style accessory — and one that’s not just an adjunct to your overall look but an expression of the inner you, too.Cheap, versatile and adaptable, facial hair can change the shape of a man’s face and completely alter how he looks in jeans and a T-shirt or a suit. A few whiskers here and there can make a baby face look older, draw attention away from a thinning thatch and hide a multitude of sins (or chins). In short, it allows a man to be the ultimate chameleon.What’s more, despite the ‘peak beard’ protestations of clean-shaven style pundits and the wishful thinking big bucks razor manufacturers, the beard is very much here to stay.In fact, a recent YouGov survey showed the popularity of beards has only increased since 2011, with over 40 per cent of British men now sporting some kind of facial fuzz, with a full beard remaining the most popular option.What makes things different from the last time facial hair was in fashion back in the seventies isn’t just the sheer variety of styles men are now experimenting with or the number of products available to help them achieve them, but women’s attitude towards them.Ten years ago a beard, goatee or jazz spot almost acted as a contraceptive, but the same YouGov survey showed that only a third of young women prefer men without some form of fuzz.The fact that so many celebrities are also sporting facial furniture has helped, too. Try imagining the likes of Drake, Idris Elba or David Beckham without their signature beards and you’ll see how much it’s embedded itself into the public consciousness.Which Style?The only question a man has to ask about facial hair these days is which style to have. And that’s where this guide — covering everything from how to rock a smattering of stubble to how to tame a full on grizzly beard — comes in.Whether you’re a facial hair aficionado who fancies a change of style or are currently clean-shaven and need a beard-growing battle plan, here’s are the best beard styles to suit both your face and your personality.1. StubbleBack in the 1930s, stubble wasn’t quite the uber-cool style statement it is today. Back then it was a sign that a man was lazy or down on his luck (‘five o’clock shadow’ was a term concocted by a razor company to encourage men to shave twice a day so as not to appear slovenly).Nowadays, it’s a widely accepted halfway house between being clean-shaven and rocking a full-on Seasick Steve.Of all the facial hair styles available to man, stubble is the easiest to cultivate (you just have to stop shaving for a few days). It’s also the simplest to maintain and the one that suits most face shapes.Given that a study by Northumbria University found women prefer men with stubble and with research from grooming brand Remington showing that one in five men actually feel sexier with a few days growth, it might just be your secret weapon come that hot date, too.Who It SuitsPerfect for guys with baby faces, a sprinkling of stubble instantly adds maturity and a sense of ruggedness, making it the ideal option for those who struggle to grow thick, full beards.Stubble also tends to make weak jaws look stronger and provides good camouflage for imperfections like acne scars and uneven pigmentation.Kept neat and trimmed, it’s a style that looks as good in the boardroom as it does in a bar. Keep an eye on the length, though: too short and it’ll look like you simply overslept; too long and you’ll just look scruffy. As a rule of thumb, three to four days’ worth of growth is optimum for most guys. At this length, the hairs will lay a little flatter against the face and will be less likely to cause ‘pash rash’ too.How To MaintainStubble might be low maintenance, but that doesn’t mean it’s no-maintenance. To keep it on point requires regular trimming and conditioning.To keep stubble at the optimum length, use a beard trimmer on a 3-4 mm setting. Remove the guard or use a precision attachment to remove any hair from the cheeks or below the Adam’s apple.The pattern of your stubble may be unique to your face, but you can change the shape of that face by contouring the stubble. Known as ‘beardtouring’ (beard contouring) it’s the perfect way to play around with proportions. To elongate a round face, take a tip from Drake and shave away the stubble in the lower cheek area, so the beard line appears lower. Graduate the length of the stubble below the jawline to soften the look and strengthen the jaw.Minimise the risk of painful ingrown hairs by exfoliating skin with a face scrub twice a week, paying particular attention to the area around the neck. This is especially important for guys with afro or naturally curly hair, which often grows back upon itself in the early stages.Expert Tip“To keep stubble and skin soft and conditioned (also to reduce the risk of inflicting ‘pash rash’ on a partner when kissing) ensure you start with a clean surface,” says Sam Norsworthy, store manager at Ruffians barbers in London’s Marylebone.“Exfoliate dead skin away with a facial scrub, leaving the skin underneath fresh and ready to absorb a daily moisturiser designed to soften skin and condition hair.”2. The GoateeShort on effort, big on style, the goatee has long been the facial hair choice for rockstars, intellectuals and those with a wayward, rebellious streak.Essentially, this refers to any style featuring hair above the lip and on the chin only, sometimes connected to create a frame for the mouth. In short, it’s the artistic, slightly villainous brother of the beard.Who It SuitsThe bad boy’s facial hair of choice, goatees are great for adding a little edge to your style, or to affect an air of the alternative. They’re also perfect if you struggle to grow a full beard or find that when you do it’s patchy and uneven.Goatees look especially good on slim, angular faces (but don’t let them grow too long or they’ll make your face look too lean) and can make a round face look slightly slimmer – a trick used by goatee guru George Michael.They’re great on guys with short hair but come into their own when worn with long, slightly dishevelled hair.How To MaintainYou’d be forgiven for thinking that, at a fraction of the size of a full beard, a goatee would be easier to look after, but you’d be wrong. Good goatees require precision management, not to mention a steady hand.Allow your facial hair to grow to a length you feel comfortable with and maintain this with a beard trimmer. Use the trimmer’s edging blade to trim whiskers so they sit on or just above the edge of the upper lip and to trim down the sides.Use your jawline as a guide as to where to end your goatee. The best place is often just beneath the jawbone. Otherwise, you end up looking like a Billy goat.Use a razor and a shave gel or an oil to keep skin clean-shaven around your goatee. Transparent products like these allow you to see where you’re going with the razor so you can create even, better-defined lines.Goatees are a bit like pizza toppings – there are endless variations, and you won’t know what you like best until you try a few. Experiment by removing the sidebars to leave a ‘stache and a jazz spot for a Mustakeery ‘Dartanian’ look, or lose the lip furniture altogether to recreate Robert Pattinson’s goatee style of choice.Expert Tip“Take your time, you can always take more off,” says Norsworthy. “Shape your goatee when bone dry — hair expands and relaxes when wet, contracting to its original length when dry.“If you shape it when wet and you may find you’ve cut too much off.”3. The BeardstacheFalling somewhere between stubble and a full beard, the beardstache is a hybrid where the moustache is kept longer and fuller than the surrounding hair.It’s a polarising style that has been called everything from the hot new thing to the facial hair equivalent of a mullet, but when done right it oozes masculinity.Those who have experimented with the style include everyone from designer Patrick Grant to actor Jamie Dornan and model-turned-DJ Chris Camplin.Like the standalone ’stache, there’s something inescapably 1970s porno about the style, but it’s fun, shows you have an experimental side, and there’s a practical aspect too since it’s the perfect lightweight alternative to a full beard come summer.Who It SuitsIn the same way it straddles two facial hair styles, the beardstache looks just as good on a lumberjack as a suited city slicker, instantly adding a hyper-masculine ruggedness to any face.It works well on most face shapes but requires thick facial hair and looks best on guys with a wider philtrum (the stretch of skin between the top lip and nose) and a prominent chin due to it drawing attention higher up the face.How To MaintainMaintaining a beardstache is like looking after two very different kids — just adjust your maintenance strategy to accommodate both.The look can be created from the starting point of a full beard or by simply allowing the stubble around your upper lip to grow longer from scratch.Use a beard trimmer to keep the hair around the chin and cheeks at an extended stubble length while growing the moustache so that the sides finish just lower than the bottom lip, but not beyond the jawline, otherwise you’ll look like Yosemite Sam.Keep the ‘stache part tangle-free with the help of a decent moustache comb and shape with a touch of moustache wax, distributing the wax evenly with the comb.Expert Tip“Beardstaches tend to look better when the difference between the two parts isn’t too great,” says Norsworthy.“If you go too short with your stubble you can run the risk of starting back at square one. Use the guard on your clippers to guide you, usually a difference of just two settings is a good starting point.”4. The Short BeardA dialed-down, neater and altogether less lumberjacky version of the full beard, the short beard is a more versatile, understated and office-friendly alternative — perfect if you’re fending off a boss who’s phobic of facial hair.Guys like Ryan Reynolds, Jon Hamm and George Clooney have all used this style to add gravitas and insulation to their faces in recent years (and look what it’s done for them).The ideal hirsute middle ground — kept tidy, but not overly preened — a short beard sits just as comfortably alongside a suit during the nine-to-five as it does down the pub at the weekend (where everyone will definitely have #BeardEnvy).Who It SuitsA neatly trimmed beard will suit most face shapes, though you may need to tailor the angles to emphasise your best features and downplay your worst.If you’ve a round face, for example, you might want to reduce the length at the sides slightly to elongate the face. Similarly, leaving the sides slightly longer can help add width to a thin, narrow face. Blessed with a double chin? Try taking the beard down all the way to the Adam’s Apple to disguise it.If in doubt, ask a barber to tend to your beard with your next trim, then keep up the shape at home.How To MaintainUnlike the big, bushy hipster beard, the short style is minimal and precise. With neatness key, a decent beard trimmer is essential. A wet razor will come in handy, too.Allow the beard to grow until around 1-2cm, keeping hair neat with the help of a beard trimmer. Opt for one with an edging blade or built-in laser guide for pinpoint accuracy. Always trim just outside the line of your beard — that will leave you room to tidy it up properly with a razor.Use a wet razor to remove any stray hairs on the cheeks and to keep the lower neck area smooth.Instead of ending the beard exactly on the jawline (which can be unflattering, especially for guys with a couple of surplus chins), remove it just after the natural line of the jaw, or adjust the length of your trimmer by small increments as you work down towards the Adam’s Apple for a graduated effect.To keep your beard looking and feeling its best, apply a good beard oil and distribute throughout your beard with a natural bristle brush.Expert Tip“If you’re bald or are sporting a short military crop, prevent the jarring ‘beard line’ towards the top of the ears by tapering the cutting length to give a more gradual transition,” says Norsworthy.“Also continue this on the underside through the neck – this will create a stronger jawline and keep you looking smart at work.”5. Full BeardGrowing a full beard is a rite of passage up there with learning to drive, drinking your first pint (not at the same time, mind) and buying your first ‘grown-up’ watch.But like skiing, losing weight or shooting hoops, it’s one of those things that’s decidedly harder than it looks. The fuller the beard, the more maintenance it requires and the more problems you’re likely to encounter.Take time to look after it, though, and you’ll always have something to stroke when the dog’s not around.Who It SuitsOf all the beard styles, the full beard is the hardest to rock, partly because it’s such a statement. Guys with oval faces will have no problem making it work, but if you’ve any other face shape, you may need some creative trimming to ensure it flatters.Slim, angular jaws and narrow faces can be softened and rounded out by keeping the sides slightly longer, while round faces can be elongated by growing the hair at the chin longer and keeping the sides shorter. You can also make a rounder face look thinner by growing the hair on the front of your face slightly longer than the stuff around the sides. Think of this crafty contouring as whisker magic.How To MaintainMore than any other beard style, you get out what you put in with a fuller growth. Society finally accepts this shape as something that’s acceptable for more than just shopping mall Santas, so don’t ruin it for the rest of us by heading out with a wiry, matted mess hanging off your face.Grow your beard to your own personal peak beard length (you’ll know when you’ve hit it).Use a beard trimmer on a long setting to maintain the length, combing through with a beard brush first, and always trim when dry.Be patient if your beard appears patchy at first. Gaps often fill in naturally as hair grows to cover them.Keep your beard glossy and conditioned with the help of a beard oil. Since facial hair draws up moisture, the skin itself beneath can become particularly dry and flaky (hence the dreaded beard dandruff) so use your fingers to ensure the oil gets right beneath the hair, too.Use a beard comb or brush daily to minimise the risk of tangles and evenly distribute your beard oil.To increase the bushiness, try blow-drying your beard using a hair dryer on a cool setting. Take a small comb or beard brush and gently tease out and downwards as you dry.Have your beard professionally shaped by a barber every once in a while to give it a shape you can follow at home.Expert Tip“The larger the beard, the higher the risk of you looking like you’ve just returned from a long trip at sea,” says Norsworthy.“Regularly nip away at the odd rogue hair and keep it smooth with an oil or balm. If you’re an older guy concerned about random grey patches, touch up the offending areas with a special dye designed for the tougher hair found on faces.” Source link

source https://www.kadobeclothing.store/5-beard-styles-you-need-to-know-in-2020/

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darinb · 6 years

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Me in the Mirror 1- What Image in the Mirror Do You See?

When you look into the mirror, what Image in the Mirror do you see looking back at you? Is that person the real you, or do you somehow distort or even enhance that person? What I would like to do in this series is look at perception, at the way you see yourself and ask the big question…

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Do I like what I see? Do I see myself in a true light? What or who am I reflecting, and what is the Image in the Mirror?

1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV Strong's) For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. Ok, we cannot truly see what the Lord wants us to see in ourselves, and we will not know fully until we get to heaven, but we can by faith begin to see things in our lives the way God see, and begin to reflect Him in our lives, not our selfish, self centred, self glorifying selves! So as I share this message, I want you to imagine you are holding a clock up to a mirror... In other words, it’s time for reflection!

Image in the Mirror- WHAT YOU SEE ISN’T WHAT YOU GET

As a Behavioural Optometrist, I specialise in visual perception. The thing is, having 20/20 vision really means very little. Sure, you need to see, but just because you physically have the capacity to see something doesn’t mean you understand what you see. Many things in life actually distort or affect what we perceive, especially when I comes to ourselves. Lenses or glasses can shape your view of the world, but mirrors can likewise distort your view of yourself. The devil does not want you to see yourself properly, he doesn’t want you to see yourself how God sees you. He also doesn’t want you to reflect the image of Jesus Christ, so he does his best to mess up how you see yourself, and who it is your life reflects! What Image in the Mirror Do You See? The purpose of this series is to gain a true reflection of ourselves, undistorted by anything that is not of God! Let’s let His Spirit guide us into truth. That’s why God’s Word says, John 16:13 (ESV Strong’s) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, So what things distort our reflection in the mirror? What changes how we see ourselves?

1. DISTORTED BY DIRT AND GRIME

If a mirror is dirty, you cannot clearly see the image in the surface. It does not mean that the mirror doesn’t work, but rather that the mirror is covered in a substance that is not reflective. Going through your life, you can pick up dirt and grime, which we call sin. Sin separates you from God, covers up the true reflection of yourself, and covers any chance you have of reflecting Jesus to the world. If you constantly live in sin, the dirt and grime builds up until you cannot see God, you are not close to Him and you cannot be the person God wants you to be… Isaiah 59:2 (ESV Strong's) but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. The Hebrew word for hidden is satar, which literally means covered or concealed. A layer of grime or sin conceals the true reflection, and if it is thick enough or deep enough you cannot see anything! 1 John 1:5-7 (ESV Strong's) God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. God is light, and if you are disobedient and wilfully sinning, or tolerate sin in your life, you are misting the mirror, and the light cannot reflect properly off the surface. The Greek word for cleanses is katharizo, which means to purify, wash, to scrub clean. 1 John 1:9 (ESV Strong's) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Harbouring sin in your life, even a hidden sin, tolerating it instead of confessing it covers over the true image you should be. If you are tolerating sin, it’s time to confess it, and allow the blood of Jesus to wash your life clean!

2. DISTORTED BY THE PAST

If a mirror gets old, the inner surface of silver nitrate often breaks down, and gets scratchy, and this distorts the image on the front. This is not dirt on the outside, the inner layer is breaking down! So many people including Christians allow their past to distort what they reflect in the present. It might have been words spoken to you, situations you have been through, your upbringing, your fears, your pain. But God says this… Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV-WS) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The Lord is saying, “Stop dwelling on past failures! Don’t you get it… I’m doing a new thing!”it’s time to make the past past at last. When the past quarrels with the present, there can be no future. We all need to learn from our past. But we must also stop living in the past, or letting past failures control us, and move on to God’s new assignments and goals. Spiritual renewal involves letting go of the past so that we can take hold of what is in the present and redirect our course toward a new life for the future. What Image in the Mirror Do You See? If you had a difficult upbringing, a troubled relationship with your mum or dad, then today is the day you give that to the Lord and let Him carry that burden, not you. If you have something in your past you’re ashamed of, something you still feel guilty for, it’s is time to hand it over to Jesus, not carry the load yourself. So if you have had a divorce or separation, if you’ve been abused or controlled, if you’ve done something you just hate yourself for doing, today is the day to hand it over to Jesus, and let it stop affecting how you see yourself.

3. DISTORTED BY BEING SHATTERED

If you drop a hand mirror, any mirror, they don’t bounce too well. They shatter, and you allegedly get 7 years bad luck and a distorted, fractured image. In the same way, hurt and pain that has affected your life, that has damaged or even shattered your life, destroys the image in your mirror. Pain affects how you see yourself, so whether it’s physical pain from sickness or disease, or emotional pain from someone betraying you or letting you down, pain affects how you see and value yourself, and how you reflect God. It also affects people around you, because hurt people hurt people. You don’t mean to be like this, but that hurt inside you causes you to lash out and hurt the ones you love. What Image in the Mirror Do You See? But the Bible says this… Psalms 34:18 (ESV Strong's) The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Are you crushed today, are you shattered today? How long have you carried that pain deep inside you? God loves you, God can heal that pain and today, He is willing if you will trust Him. Don’t let bitterness ruin how you see yourself or how you reflect Christ. What Image in the Mirror Do You See? Hebrews 12:15 (ESV Strong's) See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled If you have been hurt and you haven’t given it over to God, which involves forgiving other people, then it is like drinking poison hoping the other guys dies! Holding onto hurt shatters the image of God in you, and distorts how you see yourself. Today is the day to forgive and give your hurt to God. Forgiving someone who hurt you dies not legitimise or condone what they did, it simply releases the hold they have on you, and set you free to see yourself as God sees you!

4. DISTORTED BY SURROUNDING REFLECTIONS

The image in the mirror can be affected by external things surrounding the mirror, such as reflections, lights or other images. In the same way your imagein the mirror of yourself can be affected, even destroyed but the opinions of others. “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me!” Is not true. James 3:8-9 (ESV Strong's) but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone else’s inability to see your worth. What Image in the Mirror Do You See, not them? If you have had someone speaking negative words over your life, whether now or sometime in the past, you need to recognise that someone else’s opinion is just that. Opinions are like noses… everybody has one, and most of them smell! Don’t let your Image in the Mirror of who you truly are be distorted or sometimes even destroyed by the word of others. Their words only have power if you let them, if you give them permission to affect your life. Proverbs 15:4 (NIV-WS) The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. In the Message Bible it says this… Proverbs 15:4 (MSG) Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim. If someone has or is speaking negatives over your life, today is the day we break those curses and they fall to the ground dead, lifeless and powerless. Some of you will need prayer to break this power, but it can and indeed must be done for you to begin to see the image of yourself correctly. What Image in the Mirror Do You See? Proverbs 26:2 (ESV Strong's) Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.

5. DISTORTED BY UNEVEN LAYERING

If a mirror has uneven layers of silver nitrate, thin spots appear and these are not as reflective. This can cause distortions or warping in the image. In the same way if our relationship with God is patchy, if we only connect with Him once a week at church, if we skip services or skip quiet times, we will not reflect the Lord the way we should, and this will affect even how we view ourselves. James 4:8 (ESV Strong's) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. God longs to be close to you, and all it takes is your saying yes, I want to spend time with you, Lord. Spending time every day with the Lord, reading His Word and praying, causes layer upon layer to be painted on the glass, and this makes you more and more reflective, more and more like Jesus! What Image in the Mirror Do You See?

WHOSE IMAGE DO YOU REFLECT?

The thing is, mirrors do not create images, they reflect them. They can be distorted by sin, pain, your past, the words of others and stepping away from God. When you look in the mirror, do you see the real you? Do you see the person you are destined to be? Do you see Jesus reflected in your life. Romans 8:29 (ESV Strong's) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. God has a plan for your life, and His plan is that you reflect His Son! As you read His Word , as you pray, as you surrender your life to His will, and His care, as you give Him your burdens, you will reflect Jesus, and your life will move into His destiny for you! What Image in the Mirror Do You See? A mirror differs from a pane of glass in that it is painted by several layers of silver nitrate. But where does refined silver come from? It is not mined as pure silver, but dug out of the ground… Psalms 66:10 (ESV Strong's) For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Let me finish by taking you through the ancient process of refining silver, and in this is a great lesson for all of us who want to be true mirrors, seeing ourselves as a reflection of Christ… As people, we want a great life, we want to be success, we want a great family, people who love us, we want health, wealth, wisdom and blessing. That’s what we want from God, isn’t it? It’s what we pray for, work for and believe for. But the fact is, many of us face tests, trials and hardship. So instead of blaming God for not giving you what you ordered Him to bless you with, why not step back and see things from His point of view, His Holy perspective? God tests every believer, both to reveal the character of his or her heart and to lead him or her into a deeper relationship with Himself. We tend to learn more in the valley than on the mountaintop. Isaiah 48:10 (ESV Strong's) Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. God refines us with the trials, tests and hardships of life, because He wants us to be refined and pure. So what was the process of refining silver in Biblical times? Stage I: The Breaking —The refiner breaks up the natural ore. In biblical times, a refiner began by breaking up rough ore—hardened rock encased with common minerals such as tin, copper, and zinc. But sometimes, somewhere in that rock was precious metals like silver. He has to break the rock to expose the metals to heat. Jeremiah 23:29 (ESV Strong's) Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Perhaps you feel broken today, maybe shattered by a family breakup or a business collapse. If you have been broken you are ready for the next step in refinement… Stage II: The Crucible —The refiner places unrefined silver into a crucible. The crucible is a special metal pot able to withstand extreme heat. The refiner then places the crucible into the furnace at the precise temperature which separates the metals. Proverbs 17:3 (ESV Strong's) The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. Stage III: The Dross —The refiner places the crucible in the heated furnace to remove dross. As the ore melts in the crucible under the watchful eye of the refiner, a layer of impurities called “dross” eventually bubbles to the top and forms on the surface. Proverbs 25:4 (ESV Strong's) Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; For us individually, dross represents any sin mixed into our life—any wrong motive, wrong attitude, wrong action, and unforgiveness, unrepentance, or disobedience—anything that keeps us from being all that God wants us to be. Stage IV: The Heat —The refiner raises the temperature again and again. The refiner painstakingly skims off the dross or impurities. Then he then turns up the heat and places the crucible back into the furnace, skimming off more dross each time. Ancient literature tells us he does this up to 7 times. He knows that only certain impurities are released at certain temperatures. Psalms 12:6 (ESV Strong's) The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. This process continues and each time the silver is more and more refined. In your life you may find yourself facing trial after trial, pain after pain, and wonder why your testing seems endless. Yet each time a little more dross, a little more impurity is removed. Multiple trials are often necessary to clean out the dross. So when does the refiner know that the process is complete? Stage V: The Reflection —The refiner sees a clear image of himself. The refiner knows the process is complete, and you need to get this, when he looks into the crucible as sees his reflection clearly. When He looks at you, What Image in the Mirror does He See? Isaiah 48:10 (ESV Strong's) Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. When the refiner looks at your life, does He see His own image reflected back? When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you see the Master reflected in your image? Today is the day we start refining your life. Today is the day we clean out those words spoken over you, the times you were told you’re useless and will amount to nothing. Today is the day we begin to break their power, we forget the things past and we press on towards the future God has for you. If you’ve had something in your past that you are ashamed of, or have had negative or hurtful words spoken over your life, even if they were said in jest, let’s start freeing you right now. Let’s stop this distortion of your image in the mirror, and let’s start reflecting Jesus. Some years ago I was told by another pastor still on the Coast that I would never be a leader, never be a pastor and never have an impact for God. I knew immediately when said that he was wrong, so Fiona and I took that to the Lord, prayed it through and committed ourselves to follow Him into our destinies. I still meet this guy at pastor’s meetings. He doesn’t talk to me, and I don’t care… his words have no power over me! I don’t have to fight him, because God has vindicated me! If words have been spoken over you in the past, distorting the image of the refiner in your life, stand up. Proverbs 26:2 (ESV Strong's) Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight. Also, if you have resented the tests that have allowed the Lord to refine your life, it is time to repent and rejoice in the character He is building as He makes you into the image of His Son. What Image in the Mirror Do You See?

https://ignitechurch.org.au/me-in-the-mirror-1-what-image-in-the-mirror-do-you-see/

#imageformationinthemirror #imageformedbythemirroris #imageinamirror #imageinamirroris #imageinmirrorrealorvirtual #imageinthemirror #imagemirroreffect #imageofmirrorframe #imageofmirrorreflection #imagetransfermirror #imageweseeinthemirror #imagewithmirror #mirror

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eridianshores-blog · 7 years

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The MCU vs the DCEU

Warning: There be spoilers ahead! The films Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad are discussed at length! Many of the films in the MCU are discussed in more general ways as well. Continue at your own risk!

Which do you like better?

I want to like what DC is doing better, but it’s pretty obvious that Marvel is doing the better job with its characters. Honestly I wish Marvel had chosen a different set of characters to follow rather than the Avengers. I get that there’s a lot of legal shit tangled up with all that, but it doesn’t change that I don’t see heroes like Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, etc. as superstar heroes. I think the X-Men would’ve been the strongest starting point - and for the record I’m not the biggest fan of the existing X-Men movies or the mega-focus on Wolverine. However, I think the modern MCU approach towards the X-Men might’ve worked out alright.

Before we really get into it I guess I should clue you in as to my level of “experience.” Throughout this entry I am talking purely about films - those that are official a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. I realize that Marvel’s TV shows take place in the same universe, but I haven’t seriously watched any of them so they’re excluded. DC’s TV shows take place in an entirely separate universe (do they all even exist in the same one?) so obviously they’ll be left out of these talks as well.

I’ve seen all 3 DCEU films and I’ve seen them multiple times; I’d say I know them pretty well. When it comes to the MCU though, I’m a little more in the dark. I’ve seen Avengers 1 & 2 several times along with Civil War. I’ve also watched all 3 Iron Man’s, Hulk, the first Thor, and Guardians of the Galaxy. I know, I’ve missed a lot, but I do feel like I’ve seen enough of the earlier films to say what I want to say here. Feel free to disagree or tell me where a movie directly contradicts something I’ve said, I’m cool with it. Honestly I wouldn’t mind seeing the rest of the MCU movies just to see them, but most of them are still $20 and I’m not ready to shell out a couple hundred bucks for movies that I know I probably won’t love.

I would safely say that it’s difficult to discuss this “Golden Age” of superhero movies without at least acknowledging what came before. I’m familiar with a lot of the older stuff, such as the first 4 Batman films, the first 4 Superman films, and Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, plus other random oddities like Spawn, Steel, Blade, and probably others I can’t remember. My knowledge is patchy when it comes to those early years of superhero movies where all kinds of shit was cranked out: Daredevil, Elektra, those couple of Punisher flicks, Hellboy, Raimi’s Spider-Man’s, Sony’s Spider-Man’s, all those damn X-Men and Wolverine movies, Green Lantern, Green Hornet, the Fantastic Four movies, Catwoman, the Ghost Rider movies, and what might’ve been the best of all of them, Superman Returns. I’ve actually seen a fair number of these in passing, and truthfully, it kind of turned me off to superhero movies by the time Marvel started figuring out what went right and what went wrong and started something new.

When it comes to the DC guys, I like a lot of the heroes they’ve chose to focus on better. I mean you’ve got Batman and Superman, heroes who Marvel is hard-pressed to compete with. I also like the idea of getting into Wonder Woman’s story. Beyond that we’ve got a rich Bat-family which, if handled correctly, could be great to see onscreen: characters like Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, Red Robin, the Outsiders, etc. When it comes to potential, I think DC has a slight edge. Now when it comes to actual execution, well, DC could learn a thing or two or three or four from the MCU.

A big reason why the MCU is so successful is because it started out slow, making easily digestible, standalone movies that basically anyone could sit down and follow from start to finish. They didn’t rely on the viewer’s extant knowledge of the source material, they didn’t over-extend themselves with complicated plot lines, and they weren’t too heavy-handed with placing references to future films. Most of them are also fairly light-hearted and don’t take themselves too seriously, further increasing their appeal across multiple demographics.

The plots of these early movies have never been anything stunning; instead, the focus of the films has been largely on characterization. I will admit that, for the most part, the various writers and directors have done a pretty good job at achieving this goal. By the time the first ensemble film rolls around we’ve developed a decent rapport with most of the characters...there’s some unevenness that’s not beyond criticism, but the intent is clear and by the time everyone is on screen together it feels more or less natural.

Moving back over to the DCEU for a minute, they haven’t done anything close to the MCU’s approach, except for possibly Man of Steel, although it was tonally different than the standalone(ish) MCU movies (we’ll get to that soon). In defense of the DCEU, I’ve heard some say, “well they don’t have to do it like Marvel does!” Obviously they don’t have to, but the problem is that DC is so blatantly and desperately trying to get themselves where the MCU already is minus a dozen or so films.

Let’s break it down real quick: Man of Steel was a pretty good flick in my opinion. I’d probably say it’s the best Superman film so far. Say what you want about the old Donner films, but they’ve become quite dated over the years and the bar for superhero movies has risen well above spandex and Hackman’s cartoonish version of Lex Luthor. The movie is a little too long and structured oddly, but it’s one of those things that makes a lot more sense the second time around. Unfortunately, as the beginning of the DCEU, it shouldn’t take repeated viewings to “get it.”

Already Man of Steel is a) not easily digestible, b) over-extending itself, and c) not light-hearted at all. Personally I think some of the “Clark Kent wanders the earth” scenes should’ve been cut, and the rest of them should’ve been put in order to give us a more linear experience. As it is, apart from the spectacular intro sequence, the first half of the movie jumps between present day and some random point in Superman’s past as a child / teen / young adult on earth. I think it’s actually a pretty good origin story, it’s just too jumpy to get into and the non-linear format is going to be a huge turn off to most moviegoers. Normally I don’t give a shit about what appeals to “most moviegoers,” but the problem is that this format doesn’t seem to be done for any real reason. I think it would be more interesting to watch Superman grow into his powers over the years and go through these changes with him rather than the scattershot backstory we’re given.

It’s not all bad though. MoS differs from the MCU in one important way: the darker tone. I said that the MCU could attribute part of its success to the lighter flavor of their films and I still believe that, but for me personally, I like the darker and more serious feel of Man of Steel. Call me crazy, but if it was up to me, all this shit would be straight up R-rated, no holds barred, balls-to-the-wall crazy shit. I know it would destroy the commercial viability of the films, this is just what I’d prefer from a purely artistic standpoint. Anyway, the DCEU has caught criticism for not being as “fun” as the MCU, but I see this as a good thing. I just don’t care for all the wisecracks and one-liners from Tony Stark or the fish-out-of-water giggles courtesy of Captain America, or the Sam Jackson-ization of Nick Fury...I know a lot of folks eat this shit up but it isn’t for me. I don’t mind some subtle humor or the insertion of an honest to God good joke, but lightening the mood just to, well, lighten the mood, feels like pandering to all the wrong fans.

Man of Steel is a somber film. Superman is genuinely confused about his place in the world. He watches his adoptive father die. He deals with surviving Kryptonians who attempt to embrace him only to find that he doesn’t share their ideals, yet earth isn’t ready to accept him either. We get a lot of inner conflict from this guy who’s basically invincible. If you can forgive or at least look past the missteps in pacing and structure, there’s a very human story at the movie’s core about acceptance and identity. And this is where the serious tone makes all the difference. When the film takes itself seriously, I take it seriously. In the MCU, it’s hard for me to truly accept that the end of the world is on the way when we’re being treated to sarcastic quips and sight gags involving Iron Man’s armor.

Until now, I’ve only addressed the first half of MoS. The second half is well worth the wait and one of the most worthy climaxes of any superhero film to date. I love that Superman is up against a real threat - Zod turns out to be Superman’s equal; his inexperience with earth’s environment is compensated by his tremendous combat skills and military training. Some have criticized the battle as overly long, but I think it’s awesome. I also think it’s clearer and less muddled than some of the big MCU fights, namely those in Avengers and Avengers 2. The way these 2 titans decimate Metropolis is spectacular.

A lot of people criticize Superman’s killing of General Zod, saying stuff like, “why didn’t he just cover Zod’s eyes,” or a number of other things. I hopped on this bandwagon for a while, but then I got to thinking, and I think the point of the gesture was to show that nothing short of death was going to stop the General. Whether it was today or tomorrow or in 200 years, Zod was a zealot who would never, ever stop. Maybe Superman didn’t have to kill Zod right that second, but I think that in that moment, Superman realized there was no other way for this to end, especially after the already monumental loss of life. Alternatively, maybe the DCEU Superman is OK with killing in some circumstances...I don’t know that we’re ever treated to a scene where Superman vows never to take a life. Batman’s behavior in BvS lends some possible credence to this theory, as he very plainly takes the lives of some of the thugs in the car chase.

Besides the increased seriousness over the MCU, another plus in the Man of Steel column is the presence of a strong villain who drives the plot. General Zod was a fantastic villain precisely because he didn’t see himself as a “bad guy.” He saw himself as a visionary, a pioneer, the savior of an extinct race, the one avenue of possibility that his people had of living on. And can we really blame him? Would the last (or one of the last) humans simply shrug their shoulders in resignation about the death of their species, culture, society, everything? If there was any possibility, wouldn’t they at least entertain the thought? What if the last human landed on a planet full of ants and could potentially bring back the human race at the cost of all the ants’ lives? What if it was a planet full of dogs? Gorillas? Homo erectus? Where do you draw the line?

In some ways Zod’s arc was one of tragedy, aside from what could be considered treason back on Krypton. (Although sometimes there is a very fine line between sedition and patriotism.) General Zod didn’t fight for himself, or for power, or for material gain, he fought for the rebirth of his people. Sure, he didn’t mind killing all of earth’s population to do so, but this was just a side-effect of terraforming; I don’t think it’s necessarily a case of Zod being hellbent on destroying humanity just for the hell of it.

Now Man of Steel doesn’t exactly go out of its way to portray General Zod as a sympathetic character, and I guess that’s OK...I think the most important thing to take away from the film is that the writers actually spent some time on General Zod. They took the time to develop him and give him some depth. Movies in the MCU have very deliberately chosen to not focus on the villains except as a means to an end. Loki is the closest thing we’ve ever really had to a well-developed antagonist. If you look at the other bad guys - Whiplash, Ultron, Ronan, Abomination, Mandarin (ugh) - they’re as flimsy as a wet noodle and twice as forgettable. I’m not saying we necessarily have to care about the villains, but the core conflict between hero and villain should be adequately explored. Instead, the MCU seems more content to use bad guys as a way to tell us more about the good guys. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just that it seems like that’s all the villains are good for.

I even remember reading a statement from one of the directors or producers or some big-wig over at Marvel Studios where they said that these films weren’t about the villains, but that they were about the heroes. Is this really the right way to go? Could this be why the MCU films feel a little less than awesome to me? I don’t need a film specifically about Whiplash or Ultron or whoever, but I do want the film to center on the conflict between hero and villain, and not on some other situation whereby the villain basically ends up being a consequence of whatever else is going on. Marvel should know as well as anyone that heroes and villains do a lot to define each other, and I think they’re making a huge mistake by giving such unequal focus to the 2 parties.

This may also have something to do with Marvel’s picks not having the most memorable of villains. One of their biggest cards - Thanos - has been teased for the last 8 years or so and everyone else has been sort of bleh. (Though that’s not really an excuse; the MCU could make them not-bleh if they tried.) Iron Man doesn’t have a Joker to go up against, Captain America doesn’t have an Apocalypse, etc. I’d really like to see MCU change this as time goes on. Sure, maybe we don’t know as much about these bad guys, but that’s precisely why Marvel should spend some time introducing these villains and fleshing them out.

Let’s shift back to DCEU’s shortcomings as we get into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I don’t really know where to start with this one. I appreciate the film’s ambition and scope, but the story is so choppy and muddled plus DC made a really weird decision to adapt this particular story/stories this early in their timeline.

Marvel quietly did its thing with the standalone flicks and established not only its characters but also the world in which they live. The DCEU barely got started on this with MoS. BvS picks up 18 months later and throws us smack into a whirlwind of plot threads where the only thing capable of keeping the viewer afloat is previous knowledge of the comics. One thing I found 100% bizarre was that the entire film was predicated on the loss of life resulting from the battle between Superman and Zod. What I don’t understand is how anyone can hold Superman responsible. Yes, a shit ton of people died, but if Superman hadn’t done anything, it’s highly probable that everyone on the fucking planet would’ve died. Even if some other random heroes came out of left field to stop Zod, he’d probably at least level Metropolis before they made any progress. How can anyone even begin to blame Superman for the loss of life? If Superman hadn’t done anything, all those same people would’ve died any damn way as Zod’s World Engine thoroughly raped the shit out of Metropolis. Why the fuck does this point seem to be lost on every fucking person in BvS, especially Senator Finch and damn Batman!!??

Aside from the aforementioned stupidity, I can understand Batman’s trepidation about Superman. He’s super powerful, we don’t really know much about him, and even though he basically saved the world, it’s still difficult to predict his future intentions or actions. The film had some interesting subject matter to work with, but it’s really hard to put together a coherent story out of what’s going on. We’re always jumping from one setting to another, maybe with different characters, we’ve got no clue how much time is passing, and we don’t really get any quality time with any of our characters. It’s extremely hard to make an emotional connection with anyone in this film.

This next point hits at the DCEU on a deeper level, but it’s a point worth making. Excuse my French, but quite frankly, DC blew its load way way way too damn early. I guess I can understand DC’s decision not to want to produce the second Batman origin story inside of 10 or 11 years, but they didn’t have to jump forward 20 years into Batman’s career. We’ve got 2 huge DC events wrapped into one here: The Dark Knight Returns / Batman vs. Superman, and the Death of Superman.

Of all things, Ben Affleck as an older, hardened, more weathered Batman / Bruce Wayne actually works fairly well. The problem is that he spends a lot more time as Bruce Wayne and we don’t get to know much about his whole Batman side. Hell, we don’t even really spend any time in the Batman mythos - we’re fully steeped in Superman mythos and Batman is just sort of a “guest.” The actual fight between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel is viscerally satisfying, but the problem is that we don’t have any emotional investment in either of the characters. Yeah, we’ve sortta bonded with Cavill’s version of Superman, and yeah, the film works very hard to make sure we understand Batman’s perception of Superman (even though we know he’s not the problem) so there’s some emotional resonance there, but it doesn’t achieve nearly what it could 4 or 5 years down the road and with a little more DCEU context to draw from. Think about it: the stakes would be so much higher if we were 10 or 20 films deep and the possibility of Batman or Superman dying was more real. But the death of such a giant so soon? Not even.

Furthermore, we know that neither Batman or Superman is going to die (nor is one going to be responsible for the death of the other) this early in the DCEU, so in many ways the fight is predictable. I mean I love Batman’s preparation and I love his ingenuity and I really dig that he basically won the fight, it just bugs me that there was so much more potential that’s ultimately been squandered forever. However, we did get one amazing quote out of the whole thing and Affleck actually delivered it perfectly: “Breathe in. That’s fear. You’re not brave. Men are brave. I bet your parents taught you that you mean something, that you’re here for a reason. My parents taught me a different lesson, dying in the gutter, for no reason at all. They taught me the world only makes sense if you force it to. You were never a god. You were never even a man.”

Then of course we have the big battle with Doomsday (who’s never quite named, Luthor simply introduces it to Superman as “your doomsday”), the stuff with Wonder Woman, the kryptonite spear blah blah blah and Superman apparently dies. We all know damn well Superman isn’t dead (especially with the announcement of a Justice League film for God’s sake) so what the fuck is the point? Why have him “die” when we know it isn’t real? There’s no emotional impact. It feels like nothing more than setup for another movie. I mean seriously, the death of Superman could’ve been a big deal. It could’ve been a major turning point in the DCEU...but instead, it’s just a wasted gesture. The first time I saw BvS I sat there and thought why are they even including this!? It’s not even like we think he’s not dead, or he’s probably not dead, or maybe he’ll come back one day...we straight up know that he’s not dead! C’mon DCEU. Seriously.

We’ve also glossed over a good deal of Batman’s backstory, which is why we really should’ve had some sort of DCEU Batman film to introduce him. We know that the Joker has come and gone and we also know that Batman has become a little less idyllic and a little more disillusioned and less principled than the version we typically think of. It’s very obvious that he’s already spent a long time fighting crime and that what he’s seen and done has had a profound effect on him. This is not Batman in his prime. This is Batman in his golden years. Nothing wrong with that, but it just seems like a really strange way to introduce a character. Of course the films can play with time and we can certainly have movies that take place earlier, but this could potentially make for a very messy shared universe.

The relationship between Batman and Alfred was also pretty lousy. Batman was too old and Alfred was too young; there was no father-son chemistry between the two, it was more like Alfred was Batman’s hacker-sidekick. Batman at his best is a lone wolf, and it’s through Alfred that we often learn a lot about who “Bruce Wayne” / Batman truly is. The relationship here was poorly, poorly handled.

Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was the casting travesty that we all thought Affleck as Batman was going to be. He’s squirrely, twitchy, nervous and neurotic...nothing like the charismatic business man that Luthor was. Luthor was always a super-nerd underneath, but on the exterior he was smooth and debonair...this version is unlikeable to the core and worst of all, way too young. The role itself was interesting enough and fit into the film appropriately; the problem is that the role just wasn’t Lex Luthor.

Forever ago I said that the early MCU films were good about not dropping too many setups and whatnot for future films. Well in their desperation, DC filled BvS with this crap. We get the whole Wonder Woman / Flash / Aquaman / Cyborg montage which was basically pointless. we get Wayne’s dream-sequence with Flash (durr huh?) and most egregious of all, every single scene with Wonder Woman. I appreciate seeing Wonder Woman on screen as much as anyone, and I think she has great potential as the focus of a movie, but there is just no reason in the world for her to be involved in the events of BvS. It’d be nice if we at least had some kind of bullshit reason why she got involved, but we don’t. She’s just there for the audience to get familiar with and to do 99% of the Doomsday asskicking. I mean she looked great and I enjoyed watching her hold her own against Doomsday, but that doesn’t change that she just didn’t really belong in the film.

The movie is better with repeated viewings, but it’s not as good as Man of Steel. I still want to know why why why DC chose to inject some of its biggest moments into the DCEU so early. Let’s get on to number 3...

DC chose to go in a really weird direction for its third outing. Forget Batman and Superman, let’s take a bunch of third and fourth rate villains and make them the protagonists of the movie! Why oh why was this a starting point for...anything!? We could’ve had a Batman movie dealing with the Joker and Harley; instead we have Harley’s introduction, but since Harley can’t really exist without the Joker, we have the Joker and Harley’s backstory sortta forcefully wedged into all this Suicide Squad stuff....even though the Joker has nothing to do with the Suicide Squad. Had this been done correctly, we’d already know who Harley was, have no need for the Joker, and more time could’ve been spent on Suicide Squad’s simultaneously confusing and inept plot - maybe we could’ve even delved into the romance between Harley and Deadshot...?

It’s hard to give a shit about most of these people. Captain Boomerang (I feel goofy just typing that) could’ve been introduced in a Flash movie. Maybe we could’ve gotten a sort of “Bat-family” movie where we see Katana as a member of the outsiders and another Bat-villain like Deadshot or Killer Croc. I feel like we should’ve been somewhat familiar with at least half the squad, and very familiar with at least 2 of ‘em. Trying to mix origin stories and “team: assemble” plots is too much for a typical movie to handle.

The good news is that Suicide Squad starts off as something different and quirky. We have the goofy intros, Amanda Waller’s ball-busting dialog, and an overall interesting perspective on the average superhero movie. Oooh a watching a bunch of bad guys is gonna be fun but how are they gonna make us care about them? Turns out that the movie has a hard time answering this question. We had a pretty good movie on our hands up until the (first) helicopter crash and we spend 15 minutes watching everyone walk down 37 alleyways and talk to everyone else.

Once the real fighting starts things become a little formulaic. Deadshot and Flagg form some kinda insta-bond over God-knows-what with Deadshot saying shit like, “I gotcha back!” Katana sides with the criminals despite professing that she isn’t one. Harley, believing that the Joker is dead, decides the best place for her is the squad, despite being 100% free to go (since Joker disabled her neck explosive nanite thingy). Croc says something that could almost be considered selfless and heroic when it’s time to plant the underwater bomb. Seriously, we have all these hardened criminals who suddenly begin talking utter nonsense and copious amounts of cheese. This total shit is laughably epitomized when Diablo, seconds before his self-sacrifice, says, “I already lost one family, I ain’t losin’ another!” BWAHAHAHAHA what?

The movie skips straight from “expendable thugs” to “mildly heroic individuals, all capable of redemption” and skips the middle. Suicide Squad really needed to break with convention to stay true to itself, and although it held for a while, unfortunately it slipped straight into the conventions that make this type of movie unsuccessful. I can understand having one character capable of or in search of redemption - El Diablo - and one totally bad seed who just doesn’t get it - seems to be Boomerang judging by the ending - but this little mission doesn’t cure Harley of crazy, or diminish Deadshot’s capacity for killing strangers for money, or undo the lifetime of mistreatment that turned Croc to “Killer.” It’s not just hokey, it’s bad writing. And it’s made even worse after what was a largely successful first act.

Even if you push all that aside, we’re still left with DC’s penchant for crafting nonsensical plots. Do we ever really get any explanation for all this shit with the Enchantress? Waller keeps her heart in a box to control her but it doesn’t control her but she still needs it to destroy the world even though she’s already summoned her “brother” who seems perfectly capable of destroying the world himself. Huh? And why was what’s-his-name included? Slipknot, that’s right...just to prove the nanite bombs work? Just to prove that Waller and Flagg are basically just as sick, twisted, and cold-hearted as their team full of criminals?

And then there’s that scene when they “complete” their first mission, just to find Waller in a room surveilling...something. What the hell did any of that even mean? And then Waller just executes like 4 or 5 government employees for what reason? I mean I just don’t understand any of that shit. It doesn’t really bode well for the squad either, as it basically just pushes them all away - well, until Flagg somehow inspires them to be a team and get shit done - or what the fuck ever.

The showdown with Enchantress and her bro isn’t as dazzling as it should be. First of all, from what we’ve seen of the pair and what they’re capable of, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t have been able to wipe the floor with at least half of the Suicide Squad before they even blinked. Diablo’s Aztec-God Kotal Khan form was pretty damn convincing as a worthy adversary for the duo, but Harley and her baseball bat...? Boomerang and some boomerangs? Flagg and a gun? What the fuck are they even doing here? The Suicide Squad really should’ve gone up against something a little more human for their first outing. Most of them are basically normal - crazy, but physiologically normal. Croc has his strength, Katana has no inherent powers but she does have a somewhat mystic sword, Diablo of course has “real powers,” but the rest of them are just highly skilled at whatever. And we’re supposed to buy that they went up against this 6,000 year old witch and prevailed with a few dead government red shirts and a couple of scratches?

I’m also not sure how much I agree with how the whole “Suicide Squad” concept is handled. The whole point was that a bunch of ho-hum villains were thrown together to pull off crazy jobs for the government and that it didn’t really matter if they died because a) they’re bad guys, and b) they’re fairly insignificant bad guys. We don’t really get a “real” death in the movie, at least not one that’s caused by the “dangerous mission” at hand. Slipknot dies, but it’s just because he’s an idiot and because climbing / grappling is a stupid “power.” Diablo also bites the dust, but it’s an act of self-sacrifice. This goes back to what I just said in the previous paragraph, but couldn’t the Enchantress take a least one of them out in the heat of battle? A quick blade through the chest? Maybe one of those weird molten-metal-Matrix-tree-branch appendages from her brother? Deadshot and Harley have too much star power to go down - I’ll accept that. Boomerang is perhaps too worthless to matter, but what about Croc? Isn’t he sort of a pained, tragic character? Or what about Katana, crying at her sword-imprisoned-husband before battle? Oooh ooh or how about Flagg? Then we could have another stupid moment where we find out how much the team respected him or some shit. Really, I just wish someone had gotten the axe because right then, right there, on that day, Enchantress (or her bro) got the better of them.

Suicide Squad is full of logic holes and blatantly pathetic writing. It’s one of those films where I want it to be better than it is, but if I’m honest with myself I know it just can’t get there. This might be one of the coolest concepts so far in either the MCU or DCEU, and it’s a shame it couldn’t be any more fun and original than it was. This is a movie that really needs a foundation to build off of, and the DCEU hasn’t yet laid any of the necessary groundwork. And like BvS, we get odd little clues to a universe as-yet-to-be-revealed to us, such as during Harley’s intro where we’re flat out told that Robin has been murdered, presumably by the Joker, with Harley as an accomplice. DC! Why you do this!? You could make a fantastic, poignant, widely discussed film where Robin freakin’ dies!!! Will we get that? Who the hell knows. But even if we do, the surprise is already ruined, because we know that at some point, in this universe, at least one iteration of Robin dies. See what I mean about DC blowing their load too early?

I think - assuming DC was just hell-fucking-bent on an ensemble “assemble” flick - they should’ve given us the Teen Titans. I know the Titans have some unfamiliar faces, but not any worse than the Suicide Squad I would think. Anyway, a Teen Titans movie would've been a great intro to Robin (wherever the hell he fits in...), and since the other members are a little more unfamiliar, the movie could’ve simply introduced them without the audience feeling like complicated backstories full of exposition via flashbacks were necessary. It would also introduce us to Cyborg, which can only be a good thing going into the upcoming Justice League film without much information on anyone. With a Teen Titans film in place, maybe DC would push the Justice League film back a couple of years (to keep from being repetitive) and in the meantime we could get proper standalone films for Batman, Flash, and Aquaman, as well as perhaps a proper follow-up to BvS (all in addition to the upcoming scheduled Wonder Woman movie). These films could’ve also introduced - at the very least - Deadshot, Harley (and Mr. J), and Captain Boomerang (and at the most Katana and Croc as well), which would then provide an appropriate segue into a Suicide Squad film! Ta-da! Ain’t that plan grand?

Ahh...now we get to this part. I think most Batman fans and cinephiles alike were just holding their breath until the inevitable next Joker. Ok, maybe it wasn’t as urgent as actual breath-holding, but damn near everyone was blown away by Ledger’s performance and they knew that one day, sooner or later, someone else would don the white face paint. Whether you creamed your pants over Ledger’s version of the Joker is pretty much irrelevant at this point - the point is that Ledger’s Joker has become the de facto standard for the character, almost instantaneously influencing the Joker’s portrayal in video games, comics, cartoons / animated features, and beyond. Ledger took the character from “weird clown guy” to a dark and dirty place, filled with chaos and mystery. And whether or not the next Joker would be “better” or “worse” than Ledger, one thing was for sure: it was going to be different.

And lo, Jared Leto, who you might remember from Requiem for a Dream or My So-Called Life or maybe even the crazy-ass Mr. Nobody (or the band 30 Seconds to Mars), ended up with the green hair and purple suit. [Sighs] I don’t know what I think of this version, and I’ll tell you why. First of all, it’s difficult to label him as an essential piece of Suicide Squad, and a big character like this hanging around on the outskirts leaves the audience feeling one of two ways: a) we should be seeing a lot more of him, or b) why the hell is here in the first place? More often than not I find myself leaning towards Option B. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the performance; rather, it has to do with his scenes feeling forced into a movie just so the movie can say, “look, it’s the Joker!” On some level I get that we “needed” Harley’s backstory, but on the other hand, we weren’t treated to the same level of backstory when it came to Deadshot or K.C. or Captain fucking Boomerang.

The other fundamental with Leto’s Joker as he exists right this moment is that he has virtually no connection with Batman. The whole point of the Joker is to act as the antithesis to Batman - Batman is the hero who looks like a villain, Joker is the villain who looks, at the very least, like an innocent clown (I know, not really, but if we weren’t so heavily inundated with Joker’s appearance, the connection between “clown” and “innocence” would be more obvious) - Batman is meticulous and methodical and exacting, the Joker is reckless, wild, and impulsive - and then what really worries Batman is that part of him likes beating the shit out of bad guys, and part of him knows that “Bruce Wayne” is the real mask, and he sees those aspects of himself in the Joker, and it’s immensely threatening for him to think of himself as so close to a line that he considers the Joker to have already crossed. Alright that was long-winded and poorly structured but the point is that Batman and Joker are peas in a pod, and it’s difficult to enjoy / understand the Joker without viewing it through his conflict with Batman. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I am saying that we need to be properly introduced to the Joker via Batman before we start trying to follow Joker sans Batman.

And last but not least we move on to Leto’s actual portrayal and interpretation of the Joker. From what I’ve seen so far, I have some really mixed feelings about it. Remember the conversation in Tropic Thunder about “going full retard?” If not, go YouTube it and watch the scene - it’s a quick scene where one actor explains to another that he’s never going to win an Oscar by “going full retard” and then uses examples from actual cinema, his advice ultimately being that, even when playing a “retarded person,” you can’t go “full retard.” My explanation is not a substitute; go watch the scene! Replace “retard” with “crazy” and you’re approaching what I think about Leto’s Joker. So far, it feels like Leto is going “full crazy” which just ain’t gonna work. We’ve got to have something to latch onto besides all out batshit crazy (pun intended). For instance Ledger’s Joker was devious and, whether he was completely conscious of it or not, he had an excellent understanding of human emotion and behavior. Need proof? How about his manipulation of others with his ever-changing and equally disturbing “origin” stories? Or forcing Batman to choose between Rachel and Dent? Or switching the detonators on the boats? Or his little pep-talk with Dent where Two-Face was basically birthed? In some ways he’s got that whole “insane-genius” thing going on...but I’m really, really not seeing that spark of “genius,” however heinous and depraved as it may be, in Leto’s iteration of the character.

I will reserve full judgement until we’re able to see more of the character, but so far it just seems like we’re getting Leto’s personal version of “weird” and while distinctive and memorable, I’m not sure if it’s enough to carry this version of the character to greatness. Another point of contention is the new Joker’s apparent penchant for stereotypically gang-like activities. I mean he’s hanging out in the club, all blinged out, driving the (alleged) Lambo...for all intents and purposes he’s a street thug. Maybe a totally bizarre street thug, but still a street thug. Maybe this approach could’ve worked prior to Ledger’s Joker but now...well now I think the audience expects more, much more. Having a materialistic and vain Joker just doesn’t feel right nowadays. Granted Suicide Squad doesn’t show us much and there could be several other explanations behind the club scene besides the Joker acting as some sort of Godfather (which is kinda what it looks like), but it’s still hard to imagine our current Joker looking like part of a hip-hop entourage while our previous Joker burns gigantic piles of money.

Man, ok, I know I flew the hell off topic there with Suicide Squad...I guess I had more to say about it than I thought. Like I said though, I want so badly for it to be a better movie than it really is.

I guess by pointing out all these issues with Suicide Squad I’ve by default discussed why and how the DCEU is so far behind the MCU. To sort of start wrapping things up here, I think DCEU is in a lot of trouble. While I can 100% appreciate the ambition behind all 3 of their in-universe films, they’re full of systemic issues that Marvel has gotten around by simply taking their time and building something from the ground up. DC seems to be doing too much from the top down, and I fear that the upcoming Justice League movie will be just as problematic; sure, we’ll know Wonder Woman better by then, but we still won’t know much more about Batman or Superman and we’ll have at least 3 other characters to juggle for the first time (Cyborg, Aquaman, Flash) if not more.

If you’ve read this far, then I’m positive you’re aware that both Marvel and DC have a lot of TV shows on the air as well as many others planned. Marvel has smartly decided that their TV shows will also take place in the MCU. This is great - it leaves the door wide open...if each and everything little thing doesn’t connect, that’s ok, because that’s how universes work. However, if the situation permits, they’ve got an assload of material to work with should they choose to do something epic and massively rewarding for fans. DC, well, DC is just being a dumbass about it all. They’ve got lots of shows - Gotham, Supergirl, Arrow, Flash, probably more on the way (something based around the “Birds of Prey” I think? or is that already a thing...?). DC has a perfect, golden opportunity to play catch-up within this medium, but what do the do? Drop the fucking ball. They’ve said conclusively that the TV shows do not take place in the same universe as the films; furthermore, they seem to be on the fence or downright confused as to whether or not all of the TV shows are happening in the same universe. If I remember correctly, there was some sort of Flash / Supergirl crossover but instead of treating it as a full-fledged crossover, the pulled some comic book trickery and said some shit about one show existing within “Earth-2,” implying that the visiting show was outside the “normal” continuity of the home show. How fucked up is that? And why? Wouldn’t it actually be easier to sit down and work out the connections from the beginning rather than doing what the fuck ever year after year and completely destroying what could be a built in fan base for all DC-related / inspired media...?

As painful as it is to watch DC dig this hole, I’m equally interested in how the MCU is going to grow and evolve in the next couple of years, particularly as this “first generation” of heroes gives way to a new group. Now in a comic book the writers can keep on cranking out Iron Man stories one after the other for years on end, but somehow I don’t think the MCU will work out this way. The simple fact is that we’re not going to be following Iron Man and Cap and Thor and Hulk and whoever else indefinitely. Maybe one of these days these sorts of franchises will become so incredibly lucrative that these companies will “breed” and groom actors to play a certain role indefinitely, but I think I can comfortably assert that reasonably well known actors like Downey Jr. and Evans and Hemsworth and Jackson don’t want to be associated with these characters for the rest of their careers. I’m sure the paycheck is nice, but from an artistic perspective, these guys and gals are going to want to move on at some point, whether it’s 3 or 9 or 16 movies down the road.

I sincerely hope the MCU can keep the momentum going but I do have some doubts...after all, our A-team (both actors and heroes) of Iron Man, Thor, Cap, and Hulk got knocked back a few notches between Age of Ultron and Civil War - compare the previous cast the the “new” team of Avengers: Cap, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon.

I guess you can count Hawkeye and Black Widow in there somewhere, but honestly, I’ve got 3 words for those 2 characters: dead fucking weight. And really, Johansson is way too damn hot to be thrown in the background set on “dual-wield” while Hulk runs up buildings and Thor obliterates giant bio-organic floating skeleton creatures with a hammer and Stark whizzes around popping off plasma bolts and Cap sets his shield to physics = null. C’mon Marvel, she’s freakin' gorgeous and all you can do is put her in dumb scenes with the Hulk, who is easily the least interesting Avenger outside of battle.

I digress. For the record Margot Robbie was insanely hot in Suicide Squad - 50% of that is just ‘cause she’s a good looking chick, but the other 50% that really sets my loins aflame is the whole kinderwhore-inspired look. (For the record, she also played Jordan Belford’s (Leo DiCaprio) wife in Wolf of Wall Street and she was pretty damn hot there as well (I didn’t know that was her until I specifically looked up what else she’d been in)...but the kinderwhore-ish look just pushed her into a whole other realm of fucking sexy.) But then of course you get into that whole “2-kinds-of-hot” thing...Robbie, Suicide Squad version, is hot in that, “agh I want to fuck that right now” sort of way, whereas Johansson - although most absolutely definitely fuckable - also has that sort of classic beauty about her. In addition to being very sexually attractive, she’s just pleasant to look at. A chick can definitely be of the former variety without possessing qualities of the latter, but I’m not sure I can think of any time where the latter doesn’t also possess the sex appeal aspect...it may not be as urgent or immediate, but it’s still there.

Still digressing. Most of this post is one big digression. I apologize and applaud anyone who’s made it this far.

Let’s finish this up, shall we? I’ve been writing this for days upon days and I got other cool toy shit I want to hurry up and write about before I forget it.

In summation, I will continue to keep faith in the DCEU, at least for another couple years worth of movies. I like what Marvel is doing and I think they’ve landed on a workable formula, the problem is that I’m just not tripping over myself to see films about Ant-Man or Doctor Strange or even guys like Iron Man and Thor, simply because I’ve never really been that interested in them. I mean I guess it depends on who you are and what you were exposed to, but as a kid I was interested in other heroes and really, even the big shots like Iron Man, were more or less just characters I knew of in passing. Perhaps the MCU isn’t doing enough to make these characters interesting - perhaps these characters just don’t have the same built-in appeal as Spider-Man or Batman, etc.

When these MCU films start dropping in price and I can start loading up on 3 - 5 movies for $7.50 - $12 at Walmart, I'll be glad to give them a fair shake in the comfort of my living room, but as long as we’re at $20 a pop I’m sorry, I just don’t have $20 worth of give-a-damn when it comes to the Winter Soldier (holy shit a metal arm (I know, I know, everyone says it’s a great friggin’ movie)) or damn Ant-Man (I know I know, everyone says it’s a great friggin’ movie). And in my defense, there were lots of really, really crappy superhero movies that came beforehand.

Bottom line: DC, I love your characters, but you need to get your shit together. Take it slow. You don’t have to one-up the MCU just yet, and you’re on the road to potentially ruining what may be the greatest hero of our times, Batman. And please, do something about your godawful TV situation. To Marvel: I think you’ve got a lot of stuff figured out, but I think your entire universe would benefit from injecting a little more dirt and grime into your films. They’re a little too light and a little too popcorn friendly. Don’t go down DC’s road and make incomprehensible crap that masquerades as complexity - don’t do that shit - but man, let’s get a film with some gravitas, with some balls.

So, what in the hell do you think about the quality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe versus the DC Extended Universe? Lay it on me! Did I nail it down pretty good or am I way off base? Should I keep my mouth shut until I’ve dredged through the whole of the MCU...? Is Ant-Man really that fucking good? Was the tie in with Winter Soldier and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. really as brilliant as the rest of the internet seems to believe? And while we’re at it, is anything in the DC TV-verse (what the fuck do we call it?) worth watching, or am I in the clear by being as dismissive as everyone else? Tell me tell me tell me!

#dc extended universe #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #dceu #marvel #dc #dc comics #batman v superman #batman versus superman #batman vs superman #dawn of justice #man of steel #man of steel film #suicide squad #suicide squad film

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hit-me-with-a-ladle · 3 years

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Ch.10 of Creepypasta x Fem! Reader