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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 1 year

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“The women leaders in our study were considered too young or too old. They were too short or too tall, too pretty or too unattractive or too heavy. They had too much education or not enough or their degrees were not from the “right” schools. They suffered from disrespect and misperceptions due to race, color, or ethnicity. Whether they had children or were childless, the women were expected to work harder than men to prove their worth. Women were held back from leadership opportunities due to being single, married, or divorced. There was no personality trait sweet spot, as introverted women were not seen as leaders and extraverted women were viewed as aggressive. The effect, then, means women leaders are “never quite right.””

Full text under cut

https://www.fastcompany.com/90889985/new-research-reveals-critiques-holding-women-back-from-leadership-that-most-men-will-never-hear

A recent study of the 33 biggest multilateral institutions found that of 382 leaders in their history only 47 have been women. And the percentage of women running Fortune 500 companies has only just recently crested a meager 10%.

As researchers we wondered why institutions consistently fail to promote women to top jobs. Our recent study of 913 women leaders from four female-dominated industries in the U.S. (higher education, faith-based nonprofits, law, and healthcare) sheds light on this pernicious problem. As we found, there’s always a reason why women are “never quite right” for leadership roles.

Women are criticized so often and on so many things that they are acculturated to receiving such disparagement, taking it seriously, and working to make improvements. And any individual woman may take it personally, believing the criticism directed at her to be warranted.

But our research reveals that the problem lies elsewhere. Virtually any characteristic can be leveraged against a woman in a discriminatory fashion. Such criticisms often relate to facets of women’s identity in an overt or subtle way, such as race, age, parental status, attractiveness, and physical ability.

Effectively, the surface-level critique functions as a “red herring,” distracting from the inherent gender bias driving the encounter. This type of treatment is so common that we have called it “we want what you aren’t” discrimination.

More specifically, our research revealed 30 different characteristics and qualities of a woman’s identity that emerged as points of criticism creating barriers to women’s success. The clear message to women is that—whatever they are—they are “never quite right.”

Age was a consistent challenge for women leaders in our study. Some of our respondents reported being considered too young to lead, while others indicated being too old hindered them from advancing.

However, being middle-aged didn’t help women’s career prospects either. A physician shared: “I am middle-aged, and men my age are seen as mature leaders and women my age as old.”

Parental status—having children or being childless—emerged as another point of criticism. A higher-education leader described how people assume she “can’t take on a bigger role ‘because of the kids,’” which made her feel that she needed “to work extra hard” to show that she could be both a dedicated mother and a leader.

On the other hand, a childless physician was expected to “work harder/more, accomplish more” than other female colleagues. Mothers were also bypassed for career opportunities, as happened to a single divorced lawyer who was the mother of preschoolers, “due to a perception by my male bosses that I cannot or should not handle [larger matters].”

Likewise, pregnancy was problematic, particularly for lawyers in our study. There was doubt that women would come back to work after maternity leave. Some were no longer given good assignments, while others were forced to quit private practice or work part time. One lawyer described the loss of confidence from bosses:

“Once you are pregnant or trying to have kids, the way management views you deteriorates. The opposite thing happens for male coworkers. I’ve seen it in so many law firms it’s impossible to argue it was just coincidence or based on merit.”

Simply planning on having kids was enough to invoke bias. A woman in higher education reported being denied promotion because she would need maternity leave for hypothetical future children.

Women of color were targets of subtle bias. An African American faith-based leader described being “invisible” and regularly “talked over” by white men. A Native American higher-education executive described being misperceived as weak, “when in fact we are practicing ‘respect’ for ourselves and others.” And a Filipina physician described facing role incredulity, as people assumed that she was “a nurse, and not a doctor and a division chief at that.”

Even physical ability and health played into the women’s experiences. Physical disabilities led to assumptions of not being capable. One higher-education leader who uses a crutch was questioned by men about the way she walks and has been told “to hide my cane, especially for photographs,” as she said.

Regarding health, there were double standards around the way men and women with illnesses were treated. A physician developed ovarian cancer while serving as an officer in the public health service. She explained, “The plan was to discharge me . . . even though men with prostate cancer didn’t have to go through that.”

The women leaders in our study were considered too young or too old. They were too short or too tall, too pretty or too unattractive or too heavy. They had too much education or not enough or their degrees were not from the “right” schools. They suffered from disrespect and misperceptions due to race, color, or ethnicity. Whether they had children or were childless, the women were expected to work harder than men to prove their worth. Women were held back from leadership opportunities due to being single, married, or divorced. There was no personality trait sweet spot, as introverted women were not seen as leaders and extraverted women were viewed as aggressive. The effect, then, means women leaders are “never quite right.”

Organizations that fail to promote and support women in their top roles miss out on performance gains. Fortunately, there are concrete steps that organizational leaders, allies, and individual women can take to mitigate this “never quite right” bias, aiding women’s workplace advancement.

“Flip it to test it”

Leaders can be particularly effective in thwarting sexist criticisms toward women. It’s not about changing the behavior of women—who are the recipients of the unfair treatment—but it is about changing the behaviors of those who justify their actions as somehow merited. Many criticisms fail the “flip it to test it” method miserably. Ask yourself, would the following statements ever be said about a man?

He needs to smile more.

Men are going to have kids and not want to work.

Since Larry has prostate cancer, he can no longer fulfill his job duties.

The clear answer is no. Leaders can infuse awareness of this simple, yet effective, tool to reduce such bias-laden criticisms. And workplace allies can help stop unfair criticism of women by calling it out.

Constructive career-enhancing feedback

Women are almost one and a half times more likely to receive negative feedback that is subjective rather than constructive and objective feedback. Men are often given a clearer idea of where they excel and opportunities for improvement whereas women are given vague feedback that often focuses on qualities like communication style. Even when using formal performance evaluation rubrics, a disparity remains.

Developmental feedback to women focuses on operational tasks, coping with politics, developing resilience, being cooperative, and building confidence. Developmental feedback to men focuses on setting a vision, leveraging power and politics, being assertive, and displaying confidence. Leaders can reduce the gender-biased framing by encouraging all employees to develop both sets of skills.

Do not take it personally

For individual women, hear us when we say, “It’s not you.” We women are conditioned to accept feedback and internalize it as something to “fix” about ourselves. If you are criticized, consider whether it is objective, constructive, and warranted. Disregard identity-based criticisms that are part of a larger pattern of bias against women.

Our research demonstrates that practically any characteristic can be proclaimed problematic for a woman leader to question her competence and suitability for leadership. It takes deliberate effort, but we can turn the message to women from “We want what you aren’t” into “We want what you are.” Doing so will advance women in the workplace and profit the entire organization.

Amy Diehl, PhD, is chief information officer at Wilson College and a gender equity researcher, speaker, and consultant. She is coauthor of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work.

Leanne M. Dzubinski, PhD, is acting dean of the Cook School of Intercultural Studies and associate professor of intercultural education at Biola University, and a prominent researcher on women in leadership. She is coauthor of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work.

Amber L. Stephenson, PhD, is an associate professor of management and director of healthcare management programs in the David D. Reh School of Business at Clarkson University. Her research focuses on how professional identity influences attitudes and behaviors and how women leaders experience gender bias.

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firesnap · 2 months

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i have a genuine question. i promise i am not at all trying to defend him. ive dropped him entirely, literally deleted everything i had of him and unliked his songs.

ive just been wondering like considering that he has been in therapy, and also considering how if he does take a year off and then comes back, why cant it be redeemable? like cant people change? cant we give them second chances? he is 27. is he just doomed to be an abuser forever?

its just scary and im asking as like a younger person who is in my very early 20s. i know ive made mistakes. i know ive not been a good partner or friend sometimes. (and yes i was also abusive to a past partner...im not proud of it and ive learned from it. i have never ever touched anyone in that way after that. it took awhile but my current relationship isnt toxic and i would never hurt anyone or hit them again yknow?) and it scares me that people keep insinuating that he is irredeemable. like cant abusers change and become better? dont they get second chances? if shelby has grown and healed in 10 months wouldn't it be fair to say the same for wilbur?

im just genuinely asking because based on everything i believe you are older than me and im looking for guidance and just...idk im scared. growing up on the internet has made me so scared of making mistakes and doing anything wrong because when it happens to others i look up to, its always treated as something they'll never be able to change or improve. makes me feel like imma just be a horrible person forever because i made mistakes in the past.

This is a really complicated question that multiple answers can validly fit.

I don't think, personally, that anyone is irredeemable. I think everyone is on a journey of forgiveness and some of us may need more grace than others.

This is tw// abuse even more than the current topic, but my mom was incredibly abusive. We lived in a very rural area and she had a lot of undiagnosed problems and trauma of her own that created a pressure pot of issues. After I was born, she suffered through full on post-partum psychosis that nearly ended about as well as that sentence implies it could have. She was incredibly violent, controlling, and cruel for years. My sister went no-contact with her the second she turned 18. A significant event occurred that eventually spurned her into seeking real treatment that lasted for years. It's still ongoing.

My sister is also still no contact and I support her decision 100%. Those are her wounds and what she needed to do to get peace should be respected. I decided I wanted a relationship with the person who came out of all that work and, even then, it's been hard. I don't know if she's redeemed herself, and my god do we still have bumps in the road, but I support her for trying.

With Wilbur, how he responds to this is going to really impact a lot of things. I mean, I know no matter how he responds I won't be going on whatever journey of redemption and healing he has to go through. I'm tired and I feel hurt enough. I would think, if he wanted to show he was sincere, admitting what happened would be a great sense of closure for a lot of people who put time and energy and faith into this guy for years.

Not every person that causes harm is inherently evil, but there has to be some kind of knowledge that you're aware of the harm you've caused. No one is stuck as anything forever, life is constantly moving, and most people aren't saying his life is just over. You can work on yourself. You can change. And I'm saying that specifically to you, anonymous.

(Saying this, actually, there ARE people who would argue once you've done x you're beyond redemption based entirely on their life experiences as a victim, personal histories and many other factors. Kinda like my sister, that's their choice. And you have to accept that sometimes you fuck up so badly that you will permanently lose some people from your life. But your life isn't over.)

But I do think, regardless of what he says or does about this, his time of controlling a large platform is at an end. He can still do a lot of things in his life after he works on himself -- editing, song producing, directing, writing or whatever -- but being in charge of a large impressionable audience that could enable more destructive behaviors is just not it.

#the current state of things

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outsideratheart · 1 year

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Unstoppable (Leah Williamson x reader)

Based off this request.

A/N: I really wasn’t in the writing mood but then i got this request and I wanted to celebrate today’s win. I hope you guys like it.

You had never doubted yourself more than you had in the past few weeks. You came back from an serious ankle injury the same game Beth tore her ACL and then Viv injured hers too. It lead to you been put back into the starting 11 ahead of plan and the pressure that the both you and the fans put on you was incredibly high.

The international break was when things changed. The Arnold cup was a place to have fun and try new things. Sarina gave you the freedom to play how you liked and it payed off. You won top goal scorer and player of the tournament. You were proud of your performances and awards but it failed in comparison to the proudness your girlfriend felt.

When Arsenal played Chelsea in the FA cup you felt like you were the only attacker that showed up, still you tried everything but AKB managed to save every single one of your shots. You left that game back to your old self doubting ways and it left only one option, brutal honesty. The next day you spent hours reviewing game tape and ignoring your girlfriend so when you arrived at Coloney the following morning Leah was not only in a mood with you but the rest of the forwards too because you gave them all your attention instead of her. After you explained what you’d learned from the tapes you worked with Stina, Caitlyn and a few of the coaching staff on ways you need to improve if you stand a chance against Chelsea in the Conti cup final.

“You ready baby” Leah stood in between your legs after the team had emptied the locker room.

“What if I can’t do it? You’ve seen the way I’ve been playing. What if I’ll never be the same as I was before the injury”

The lack in confidence wasn’t something Leah could prepare herself for. You oozed the stuff when you played and it why you were the WSL’s top goal scorer. Lately she had seen the way you let people’s opinions get in your head whether it was from the media or reading fan comments on social media. Your head, which was once like Fort Knox, had become free entry for anyone who pleased.

“Look at me” Leah uses her index finger to tilt your chin upwards. The forced movement meaning that you were now looking directly into the blue eyes you loved so much “I need you to go out there and have the same amount of faith in you as I do. We know how to beat Chelsea, you obsessed over the footage for hours, nobody knows more about this team than you. You are going to go out there and be unstoppable”

Leah bends down slightly and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. An act which until this point never happen on game day but Leah knew you needed the reassurance which comes with the act of affection.

“Unstoppable” you mumble to yourself.

“That’s right baby and whilst you’re at it try to score a goal for me” She pulls you to your feet and together you enter the tunnel. As you walk out onto the pitch you have extra motivation to perform. Besides when your girlfriend asks for a goal you never disappoint and you wasn’t go to start today.

When Chelsea score within the first two minutes you feel the doubt and insecurities begin to rise but you ignore them and move on. It works because within ten minutes the ball finds its way into the back of the Chelsea net after you sent a rocket from outside the box. The goal itself was beautiful and your confident side is on full display. Leah is somehow the first one to you, whether that is because she was the closest or because your team mates knew how much this moment meant to you and Leah would be the person you wanted to celebrate with most.

The final whistle blows and you cannot believe you did it. Most of the world had written you and your team off for this game but you all proved them wrong and the look of the Chelsea player’s faces was the icing on the cake. You had a brief moment with Leah on the pitch but you knew better than to get to handsy with this many eyes watching. Jen passes you and Katie a small bottle of champagne, you being the responsible adult you are refused the drink but the Scottish defender tells you it was alcohol free. It passes the smell test so the three of the of you down most of the bottle then you read the label, you should have known better.

“We’re champions” Leah jumps on your back causes you to stumble a little “Are you drunk?”

You never stumbled, not this much, so it was a giveaway that you had started the celebrations without her.

“I thought it was alcohol free” you reminded her of an innocent child and it was adorable.

“Come on, we’ve got media to do with Alex” Leah grabbed your hand and together you walked towards the BBC stand.

The spotlight never came easy to you and once the final whistle was blown it didn’t take long for you to go back to your shy self. It was naive of you to think Alex and Farrah would only ask Leah questions seen as through you scored and won player of the match. After the first question, Katie comes out of nowhere and hands you another bottle of champagne, the two of your cheers and you drink more of it. The buzz you felt led to your first stage of intoxication, touchy. Leah answers her set of questions the best she could but you were out to make things more difficult. Your hand, which started by your side, found its way to the small of her back then ventured lower and lower until it rested comfortably on her bum. Alex chuckles when she catches you but you only raise your eyebrows in response, she had seen this side of you before and knew there was no stopping you.

You prove this point by pulling Leah to the locker room as soon as the interview is finished.

“Whoah, what’s the rush?” Leah giggles as you quickly shut the locker room door.

“I don’t know how long i’ll have” you grab her hips her pull her close to you.

“For what?”

“This” you crash your lips in Leah’s with passion. The way your body reacted when her lips were on yours amazed you. She had so much power over you and she didn’t even realise it. Your lips move in sync and with every kiss Leah take one step forward towards your locker. The back of you knees hit the seat making you sit down and Leah wastes no time in sitting on your lap with her legs either side of you. You hadn’t kissed her like this in weeks and your girlfriend was savouring every second. For a brief moment you forget about where you are. You let your hands roam her body before pulling her shirt over her head, she in suit does the same thing. She moves her attention to your neck, more specifically the spot she knows drives you wild.

“Eww” Beth says as she enters the locker room.

“This is a family event girls, we have kids present” Jen jokingly covers Gio’s eyes.

Leah, who is clearly more embarrassed than you, quickly gets up off your lap and makes herself presentable. You meanwhile sit back in frustration, only getting dressed when Leah throws a shirt at you.

With the two of you dressed the celebrations begin in the locker room. Jen passes you another bottle of champagne honestly stating that this one has alcohol in but given your new found frustrations down a few mouthfuls.

Even though you won you still have notes on your performance and how you could have been better so you begin talking with a member of the coaching staff, diagrams are drawn on the board and the conversation gains the attention of Jonas who is intrigued by your strategies. He agrees to work on them when the team returns to training in two days time.

“This is great Y/N and today you proved everybody wrong” he hugged you and the praise was like music to your ears.

“Thanks gaffa”

“Nice touch. Let me guess, it was Leah’s idea? she wanted the player of the matches shirt”

In a rush it seems Leah put your shirt on, leaving you to wear hers.

“Oh this” you pull at the shirt “Yes, you know how big of a fan she is”

“Sure” It was clear he didn’t believe you but you didn’t care.

You had waited 4 years for this moment. It had been a long silverware drought for Arsenal and you hoped that this win gave the team the confidence it needs to return to league football and challenge for the top spot. You were certainly ready for it and even though you were missing your injured team mates you know the team has what it takes to win.

“You two look good together”

Leah takes a quick photo of you with the trophy before taking a photo with both of you. She sends it to her mum followed by a message saying you’ll meet up with them soon.

The closeness in which Leah is sitting gives you the perfect opportunity to continue your mission from earlier. You pepper kisses on the back and side of her neck, smiling smugly when her head dips back in pleasure.

“I can’t wait till we are back in at the hotel” Leah turns and kiss you quickly.

“I don’t plan of waiting that long. You better tell your mum we will be late”

#woso x reader #woso imagine #woso one shot #leah williamson x reader #leah williamson one shot #leah williamson imagine #awfc x reader #awfc one shot #awfc imagine #engwnt x reader #engwnt one shot #engwnt imagine

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johnny-depplyloveyou · 1 month

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Gale's data mined info from Idle Champions

source: [X]

(He's only 35? And his alignment is Neutral, not Neutral Good to begin with? I know it can be changed into Neutral Good in this game, but... I'll pretend I did not see it)

Item descriptions

Fond Memories: Even at my lowest, playing with Tara lifted my spirits...

Ball of Retrieval: ...though the ball's purpose eluded her. I was always the one fetching it...

Cat Flap of Displacement: Tara comes and goes as she pleases. But she's always pleased to help me.

Ring of Evasion: A ring as evasive as Tara, when I asked how she obtained it...

These Old Things: Comfortable, practical, and relatively unsinged.

Wizarding Robes: Not as flashy as Elminster's, but at least they've plenty of pockets.

Robes of Increased Potency: I could get used to these. Elegant, but powerful - just like Tara.

Archmage's Accoutrements: Incredible! Every stitch is infused with Weave. Like wearing magic itself...

Nothing Much: I'd have preferred something with a library...

Camping Tent: ...but it will do. For now.

Crystal Ball: Handy for glimpsing the future. And also shaving.

Celestial Spyglass: I like gazing at the heavens. To remember. And to forget...

Crumpled Chapbooks: At least they're written in full sentences.

Well-thumbed Tomes: I've lost count of how many times I've read these. Still just as magical.

Magical Miscellany: A spell for all situations. And my improvements in the margins.

The Annals of Karsus: You can trust me with this - you have my word.

Boots of Ambiguous Enchantment: A little pick-me-up, for when any Weave will do...

Lonely Boot of Elvenkind: A snack-sized shoe for the wizard who travels light.

Boots of Very Fast Blinking: Blink and you'll miss me. But I'll always hit you.

Mystra's Grace: These were a gift from... well, never mind.

Cramped Jotter: Magical musings and mullings. Not my best handwriting.

Waterdhavian Quill: This was... well, it was expensive, let's leave it at that.

The Chosen's Earring: A symbol of Mystra's faith in me. Former faith, I suppose...

Wizard's Pouch: All manner of wizarding sundries. Pungent but powerful.

Feat descriptions

Selflessness (Gale): If it’s me or the realms - I’ll save the realms every time.

Inspiring Leader (Gale): Their magic is strong, but our will is stronger!

Long Studies (Gale): It’s not as easy for me as a sorcerer or warlock. No offense, Wyll.

Arcane Experience (Gale): I’ve had experiences that other wizards can only dream of.

Arcane Threads (Gale): You can’t manipulate the entire Weave, merely a small piece of it.

Spools of Magic (Gale): Maybe I was wrong, as rare of an event as that is. This power is strong!

Mage of Waterdeep (Gale): It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Gale of Waterdeep!

Sword Coast Sage (Gale): One day, my name will be known up and down the Sword Coast!

Netherese Teachings (Gale): These are certainly things Elminster wouldn’t have taught me…

Netherese Knowledge (Gale): The risk is worth the reward. This could be just what we need to save everyone!

Neutral Good (Gale): My mind can be changed. …Sometimes.

Immolation (Gale): Magic can be elegant, but sometimes, a good fireball is the answer.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #idle champions #idle champions of the forgotten realms #idle champions spoilers #tara the tressym #those bits about Tara warm my heart QwQ #the one about Boots of Very Fast Blinking is a missed opportunity #not sure about how canon is this tho

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our-happygirl500-fan · 1 year

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Draxum needs to apologise to a lot of people for the things he did before his redemption, & he gave Splinter a small apology in the episode in the episode Hidden City’s Most Wanted but there are still two people Draxum needs to apologise to specifically

Draxum: I’m sorry for, you know, trying to turn you into a weapon, and a bunch of other stuff

Obviously he owes an apology to Leo for throwing him off a roof but there’s another person Draxum really owes an apology to & that’s Cassandra Jones.

Draxum: I have accomplished with one assistant what you couldn’t accomplish with an entire clan!

Casey: Assistant? But I thought we... were partners?

The moment Draxum thought he had secured leadership of the Foot he kind of betrayed Casey & tossed her to the side which is actually kind of sad when you think about how Casey spent most of the episode ‘How to Make Enemies and Bend People to Your Will’ looking up to Draxum.

Casey: I have been doing this all wrong!

Draxum: Indeed, waiting is for fools

Casey: This must be a trap but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you is that we get nothing from waiting!

Through the episode Casey is practically looking at Draxum with stars in her eyes & takes the things he says to heart as things that she should be doing & Casey looking up to Draxum throughout the episode isn’t just that Casey decided that Draxum was cool, throughout the episode Draxum uses language that would make Casey believe he viewed them as equals.

Casey: Lookout support duty? We’re the lookouts for the lookouts?

Draxum: This is beneath us both

Draxum: If we want to improve our rank we must handle this ourselves

Draxum: Trust me, our rank is about to skyrocket

Throughout the episode Draxum uses words like ‘us’, ‘we’ & ‘our’ to make Casey feel like they’re equals, that they’re working together & Draxum must have known how much being treated as an equal must mean to Casey because from the very start of the episode it’s shown that Casey isn’t treated with much respect with the Foot Clan.

Casey: I can’t believe they promoted Jocelyn over me! I know her parents are big donors but come on!

Casey: We’re here to get coffee for the entire Foot Clan, and a vegan coconut scone for the boss

Draxum: Draxum is no errand boy

Casey: To become a full member of the Foot one must show commitment and patience, I have been in training since I was seven!

Even though Casey shows constant loyalty & dedication to the Foot Clan they don’t really treat her with respect, she’s been training since she was seven & considering that JJ Conway said that Casey is supposed to be the same age as April (around 16-17) that means she’s been training with the Foot for most of her life & yet she still has to watch countless others be promoted before her & has been stuck running errands for years.

Draxum: Would you like to do the honours?

The Foot have been making Casey run errands for years, making her be the one to get everyone coffee or assigning her as the lookout for the lookouts so when Draxum comes along & lets her be the one to retrieve a piece of the Dark Armour, something important, you can see how much it means to her.

Her eyes are practically shining at someone trusting & respecting her enough, to do a task that actually means something.

And then Draxum calls her an assistant & shows her that he never thought of them as equals, he was just using her to get what he wanted which is why I think Draxum owes Casey an apology because he made her feel like she had finally found someone who she could trust, finally found someone who trusted her as well & he basically threw it in her face once he didn’t need her anymore.

And when they properly interact again in the episode Battle Nexus New York he’s so mean to her for no reason

Draxum: Who even likes Foot Recruit?

Casey: Huh?

Casey: Leap of faith! [Crash]

Draxum: Oh look, a ladder

Casey & Draxum are the two redeemed villains of the Hamato clan & I need to see some form of resolution between these two because the closest we’ve got to that is Draxum & Casey being next to each other during the final attack against the Shredder

If Rise ever gets a season 3 Draxum better give Casey an apology for how he betrayed her trust when they were both working together in the Foot Clan

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles #cassandra jones #casey jones #baron draxum #rottmnt #tmnt

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fuwushiguro · 9 months

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I. NEW ME!

CHAPTER SUMMARY : after a year out of the spotlight following a traumatic event, you’re about to take your first step back into it on a popular talk show. your whole team is counting on you to be perfect; but nobody is seeking perfection more than you.

WARNINGS : 18+ only, past trauma, mental health struggles, alcohol.

WORDS : 2.3k.

notes: loosely based off ‘The Idol’ which we all know is trash but I wanted to make my own (and hopefully more entertaining) version!

MASTERLIST ┊ NEXT CHAPTER

“Are you sure about this? I know you feel like you’re gonna let everyone down if you don’t start putting yourself out there again, but—”

“Yuuji.” you interrupt him, grabbing his hand and smiling at him. There’s not a single ounce of sincerity in it. And if there’s anyone who’s going to notice, it’s Yuuji. He knows you better than you know yourself. “It’s fine, really.” you do your best to assure him.

The crushing weight of disappointing your entire team is heavy on your shoulders. As much as you’d like to run away, to hide, to cry… you stand firm.

“Alright…” he sighs, returning your insincere smile right back to you. He’s worried, of course he’s worried. But Lord knows you don’t need him putting any doubts in your mind, not now. You’re doing that enough for yourself. What you need now is positivity. Faith and belief that despite what you’ve been through, you can do this.

“Okay, two minutes to go, are you ready?” your manager, Taylor, asks you quickly. Before you can answer, there are more words spilling from her lips like it’s out of her control. “We love you, but please do not fuck this up.” she reminds you before walking away to tend to something else.

Your eyes turn glossy as your cheeks fill with air. You quickly exhale as you fan yourself, doing all you can to make sure the sudden appearance of some tears won’t roll over your lashline and ruin your makeup.

Just then, Yuuji grabs you by the shoulders, forcing you to face him.

“Listen to me.” he starts. “You’ve got this.”

You’ve been locked in your bedroom with a bottle of champagne since the interview. It went well, apparently, according to your team. And yet… for some reason, you feel dead inside. The sounds of cheers and celebrations can be heard throughout the house, and all you can do is drink your champagne directly from the bottle.

“Hey… can I come in?” you hear Yuuji ask sweetly from the other side of the door. You get up, walking to unlock the door and let him in. Your smile finally finds its way back to your face when you see him holding a pizza box. “Getting a pizza through here in one piece with a house full of drunk people shoulder be a new Olympic sport.” he grins and laughs a little.

“Very impressive, Yuuji.” you agree with him, you wait for him to enter and then quickly lock the door behind him. “I don’t actually remember agreeing to a party?” you confess.

“Taylor mentioned it. And… well, you know Taylor.” he reminds you. “Everyone thought it would look good for some reason… not sure if I agree with that but they never listen to me anyway.”

“Or me.” you chuckle, taking a slice as you sit beside him on top of the bed. “I’ve been watching the interview on repeat…” you go to grab the remote, but he takes it first.

He presses play, settling comfortably against the headboard as he pulls a slice for himself. You get close to him, he’s always so warm. And when you’re always so cold, it’s nice to be with him, despite the fact it always ends up in sibling-like fights when you press your freezing feet against him to make him jump. Though it isn’t on your mind right now. You’re worn out, defeated, and you can’t believe he actually wants to watch this.

You weren’t embarrassed to watch yourself when you were alone. It was more like analysis. Seeing what you did right and what you could improve on. The pressure of being perfect is enough to drive anyone insane. But after this, after everything, you know you have no choice but to be perfect.

The sound of your voice carries through the room as you laugh with the host as you talk. Yuuji is smiling softly as he observes, like he’s proud of you.

“You’ve got a new movie coming up, right?”

“Uh… yeah! Kinda, we’re starting filming in two weeks.” you smiled, and it was genuine. You were lapping up the way that the audience cheered at each and every word you said. Whether it be sincere or out of pity, it didn’t matter. You felt truly adored after worrying no one would remember you.

“You’re working alongside some big names, I’m sure you’re excited! Tell me a little about the movie.”

“Yeah, right! I’m the lead but I’m working with Megumi Fushiguro…” you pause perfectly to allow the audience to cheer at the name drop. There are a few wolf whistles too. “We’ve worked together before; I love working with him because he’s so talented and nice. He’s always super serious on set but between takes he’s a total sweetheart.” you giggled as you reminisce on the last film you worked on together.

“I love Megumi too we’ve had him on the show a few times.” the host smiled, agreeing. “Now I do recall dating rumours for you two…” they announced and looked to the audience, earning a slew of ‘oooh’s’ and laughter. You rolled your eyes and shook your head.

“No comment.” you wink, “No, but seriously, I’m focused on my career right now and I know Megumi is too. We’re professionals!” you laughed.

“Alright, alright.” The host laughed too. “The movie’s called ‘Assemble’, leaves a lot to the imagination, wanna tell me more about it?”

“Sure! It’s a horror, which is new for me. I know a lot of people don’t take horrors seriously, but I’ve always wanted to be a scream queen and I’m really excited to sink my teeth into a role like this. I don’t wanna say too much; I don’t think I’m allowed.” you laughed a little more awkwardly to try and placate the host and the audience.

“A horror, wow! I wouldn’t have expected that after what you went through last year.” the host spoke so casually. And at that moment, you think everyone watching could feel the way the air knocked out of your lungs. You began to fiddle with your fingers and look down at your lap as you considered what you should say.

You had never felt so small.

Not since it happened.

“Um… y-yeah. I mean… Like I said I’ve— I’ve wanted to do a horror for a long time. And things lined up well.” you nodded. “We have a great director and script. An amazing cast who I can’t wait to work with… It’s gonna be something special. I can feel it.” you told them, and the silence lasted a beat longer than you wanted it to, you couldn’t help but continue to speak. “I don’t want what happened to define me… It’s hard to talk about even though it was a year ago. But I’m more than what happened to me. I’m not the same person anymore, but I’m looking forward to learning who the new me is.”

You sniffle, hearing yourself say that. Really hearing it. You’ve played the clip so many times but that is the first time you’ve really heard yourself. It sounds so much more gallant than it really is. Because in truth, you’d go back to the old you in a heartbeat. You’d love the option to rewind to last year and change everything that happened.

Of course Yuuji noticed you starting to cry instantly, pausing the TV and putting an arm around you.

“I know you’re still struggling… maybe you should try therapy again.” he suggests.

“Maybe,” you sniff. “I just think it’s like… survivors’ guilt?” you tell him. “And I miss my dad so much. If I could trade places—”

“Don’t do that.” he chastises you. “I wish none of it happened, b-but… it did. And you’re doing great and I’m proud of you. And I know you don’t think so, but you crushed that interview.” he assures you. You smile at him, melting into his arms.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Yuuji.”

“Yeah, you’d never find another assistant as hard-working and good looking as me. You’d be doomed.” he grins, laughing a little as he speaks. You join in, finally deciding to wipe your tears and pull yourself together. “Let’s watch something else. Something… fun.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

You wake up the next morning, alone in the bed. Yuuji has tidied the room already and he’s opening your curtains for you. He laughs as you groan, the light burning your retinas. You sit up as you rub the sleep out of your eyes.

“Morning…” you grumble.

“Hey, I slept in my room by the way, don’t worry.” he tells you. “Everyone’s downstairs.”

“I’ve been off for a year and it wasn’t enough rest to prepare me for these hectic days again.” you sigh. “I didn’t know I had stuff to do today…”

“Uh… yeah, we’re doing a photoshoot here this afternoon. Makeup is coming in… an hour. Same with wardrobe, I think.” he tries to remember. “I left my phone in my room but I’ll go get it, Taylor wants you downstairs, like, now.” he reminds you.

You manage to pull yourself out of bed and put on a robe over the mismatched bra and panties you fell asleep wearing. The sight of you hungover and imperfect makes Taylor sigh as you come down the stairs. “You look gorgeous. Come sit.” she speaks, though you know she thinks otherwise. You slowly approach and she guides you outside to sit on the patio with her and the rest of your team.

“We want you to know how happy we are with your interview yesterday. It was perfect, really perfect.” your publicist tells you, making sure to butter you up as much as he can before moving on. “This is just the start though so we need to make sure it’s full steam ahead from now on.”

“You’re doing a shoot for Elle here this afternoon. You’ll get to show off the new place, talk a little about your recovery blah blah you know the deal.” Taylor speaks rapidly. “We just want you to know we’re all here for you for whatever you need to get through this transition back into the spotlight. It’s gonna be tough but we know you can do it.” she assures you.

“Thanks.”

“We all know perfection isn’t real, but, as close as you can get to it would be… well, perfect.” she adds. “So we’ll go over what you can and can’t discuss before the interview and—”

“Anyone order a big ass bouquet of flowers?” Yuuji shouts from inside, his voice booming through the house and out to the patio. Everyone stares as he signs for them and brings them from the front door all the way to you. He puts them down in front of you so that you can read the card.

Welcome back — love M x

You smirk as you keep the card close to your chest. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear who they’re from so the conversation can be over and they can get back to preparing you for this afternoon.

“I need to use the bathroom… don’t stop on my account.” you smile as you stand up. You pick up the flowers and hurry inside before anyone can object.

“Who were they from, Yuuji?” Taylor asks, which only earns him a shrug in return.

The house is full of liars on days like this. Taylor lied about you looking gorgeous just as easily as you lied about needing the bathroom. But neither of you are as good at lying as Yuuji. He knew damn well the flowers were from Megumi.

He just thinks you deserve a little time for yourself.

You don’t care that everyone can see you inside leaning against the bar in your lounge as the FaceTime dial rings and rings. There’s a real smile on your face that you cannot seem to wipe off your face as you gush over the fact he sent you flowers. The biggest bunch of flowers you’ve ever seen.

“Hey you.” he smiles, shirtless in his bed as he answers. The sharpness of his jaw and his pronounced collarbones remind you just how handsome he really is. “It’s been a little while, you okay?”

“I just got your flowers…” you tell him as you show him. “They’re stunning, thank you.”

“No problem, I saw your interview. How are you feeling?” he asks.

“I’m good, yeah. Getting lots of praise so I can’t complain.” you nod, leaning on the bar again. “I didn’t get you in any trouble for what I said, did I?” you wonder, he shakes his head which is a huge relief.

“It was just a joke so, no, no trouble at all. I was in London for a week, but I’m back now. I’m in a hotel.”

“Oh, really? Why aren’t you at your place?” you ask, curiously.

“I was gonna go home but I got warned there was paparazzi waiting for me, so I came here.” he explains. “I was thinking you could come over and run lines with me later.” he smirks as he gets out of bed. He’s walking, and you realise when he switches on a light he’s in the bathroom.

You can’t help but smirk, too, knowing what running lines will likely lead to.

“Um… I’m pretty busy today.”

“That’s a shame. I’m sure you can make the time since we’re both professionals.” he tells you as he turns on the shower. He always finds a way to make you smile. And knowing he really watched your interview is making you grin from ear to ear.

“Well, I guess I can make some time tonight.” you reply, giggling as you see his cheeks flush a little red at your answer.

“Good. Good girl, then I’ll see you tonight.”

#toji fushiguro #fushiguro toji #toji fushiguro smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #jjk smut #jjk fanfic #toji x reader #toji x you #toji x y/n #fushiguro toji smut #toji fushiguro x reader #toji fushiguro x you #tw alcohol consumption #megumi fushiguro #megumi fushiguro x reader #megumi fushiguro smut

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praetorqueenreyna · 4 months

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My last ACOTAR gift exchange fic is for @copypastus, my favorite degenerate villain lover! She started the Hytam revolution, so it's only fair of me to continue my Hytam fic for her.

Click here to read on AO3 or continue reading below:

The king of Hybern picked his way through the remains of Rosehall. The once proud manor was now dilapidated and overgrown with weeds. The front doors had been ripped off their hinges, and part of the ceiling in the foyer had caved in and allowed debris from the outside to invade and pile up on the floor. He made his way unerringly to the throne room. An enormous beast lay prone in front of the dais. Its wolf-like jaw rested on its paws, green eyes staring vacantly at the wall. One of the antlers that adorned its head had snapped off.

“Look what they’ve done to you,” he murmured. The beast didn’t move. “You fought me, every step of the way, out of some misplaced sense of honor. And what do you have to show for it?”

Slowly, painfully, the beast raised its head to look at him. The king fought back a smile. The situation was delicate, and the High Lord was still powerful. He continued speaking, his voice a soothing melody. “They’ve all betrayed you, haven’t they? For hundreds of years, they’ve used your loyalty against you and then left. The Lord of Night slaughtered your family and then waged war on your land. That human woman lied to you in order to destabilize your rule and steal your secrets. Even your faithful emissary has left you.”

The beast's eyes blazed at the mention of the Autumn Court brat. A matching surge of fury swelled in the king’s breast, and he fought it down. This was no time for petty emotions like jealousy. He was so close to success.

“Don’t you tire of these outdated notions of good and evil?” the king crooned. “Nobody else in this wretched kingdom adheres to them. You’ve fought for them long enough. Isn’t it time to fight for yourself? To seek vengeance against those who have deceived you?”

The king held his breath. This was the vital moment, where he found out if he had gone too far and ruined his entire plan before it had even begun. The beast unfolded its legs and rose to its feet. It approached the king, its mouth full of sharp teeth perfectly level with his throat. The metallic tang of magic filled the air, and the beasts form puddled and shifted into a bowed blonde man dressed in rags. The High Lord of Spring turned his gaunt face up to the king.

“Yes,” he said, voice hoarse from disuse. “Tell me how.”

Finally, the king allowed himself to grin. He tenderly cupped Tamlin’s cheek in his hand, thumb brushing against the perfect golden skin. “I already have.”

These things take time, Cesare reminded himself. Impatience was the enemy. He could wait. He had waited for five centuries for his chance to conquer Prythian once again. Still, he grew exasperated with Tamlin. The Spring lord vacillated between his desire for revenge and his stubbornly persistent sense of morality. Cesare coaxed Tamlin out of his depression, as one would cajole an injured animal into a trap. Tamlin stopped shifting into a beast to punish himself. He cleaned himself up and changed his clothes. Slowly, the manor around him began to repair itself, matching the lord’s improving mood.

It wasn’t enough. The king of Hybern didn’t want Tamlin content. He wanted Tamlin to fight. He reminded Tamlin of the wrongs committed against him, how those he had carefully cultivated relationships with turned their backs on him. Unfortunately, Tamlin was far more inclined towards self-flagellation than righteous anger. He blamed himself, over and over again, for his current state of being. Cesare began to despair that Tamlin would never rouse himself enough to participate in his plan. That Tamlin would never be his.

Then they found the assassin.

Cesare had carefully negotiated allowing a bare bones contingent of his soldiers into Spring. They wouldn’t attack or harm anybody, they were simply there to protect Tamlin’s unguarded borders. One of them sprinted into the manor, panting. They had apprehended an intruder, he explained, several miles from the border. If the Hybern soldiers hadn’t been patrolling, he would have made it to Rosehall completely unnoticed. At Cesare’s command, they brought their captive to the throne room, which still lay in ruins. Tamlin sat at the pile of rubble that used to be his throne. Cesare stood to his right, slightly in front of him.

The intruder was a pixie dressed in plain black clothing. He had midnight blue skin and pitch black eyes that glistened like wet tar. His fingers were long and narrow, tipped with wickedly sharp claws. His transparent veiny wings were hidden away under a beetle-like carapace. Cesare recognized the type immediately. These lesser fae crawled through the underground tunnels of the Night Court, infesting and reproducing like cockroaches. One on its own wasn’t particularly dangerous, but when they swarmed they could easily overwhelm much more powerful fae.

“We found this on him.” one of Cesare’s soldiers tossed a small vial through the air. Cesare caught it and opened it, his upper lip curling at the distinctive scent. It was hydrophid, a toxin about a thousand times more powerful than faebane. Even the fumes from the miniscule amount in the vial were enough to make Cesare lightheaded, and he quickly capped the container. He passed it to Tamlin, who also sniffed the vial’s contents. His brow furrowed; he knew as well as Cesare did that hydrophid came from a reptile that only inhabited the mountains of the Night Court.

“What’s your name, pixie?” a gentle voice behind Cesare caught him by surprise. Tamlin was leaning forward, staring intently at the pixie.

“Nehp,” he answered sullenly. “No use asking me nothing. I’m not gonna talk.”

“I think you will.” Tamlin rose from his seat until he stood in front of Nehp. A few weeks of taking care of himself had made a marked difference. No longer did his joints creak from disuse, no longer did he sway from malnutrition. He was strong and muscular, moving with the feral grace of a leopard. Cesare couldn’t take his eyes off him. He watched, discreetly signaling for his soldiers not to interfere.

“Who sent you?” Tamlin towered over Nehp, an implicit threat in his tone. The pixie gulped but didn’t answer. Tamlin cocked his head to one side and waited. Without warning, Nehp began to scream.

Cesare started, instinctively rising to his feet. Tamlin hadn’t touched the pixie, hadn’t so much as moved. But Nehp was shrieking as if he had been caught on fire. He lifted up his hands, and for a second it appeared that he was now wearing a pair of red gloves. Cesare’s vision focused and he realized that the skin on Nehp’s hands had peeled back, revealing muscle and tendons and bone. The screams changed pitch as Nehp’s head began to bubble with grotesque boils. Each boil exploded outward to reveal a bloodshot eye. All of a sudden Nehp gagged. A brief glimpse through his open mouth revealed that an eyeball had grown on the tip of his tongue.

“I can do this all day,” Tamlin said coldly. He was doing this, Cesare finally realized. He had known about the High Lord’s shapeshifting ability, and that he was able to change other beings with it. Up until now, the skill had been so underutilized that Cesare had forgotten about it. He hadn’t understood the full potential of the power that Tamlin contained. He wondered if Tamlin refrained from using his power because he feared what he could truly accomplish with it. There wasn’t a drop of sweat on Tamlin, no indication that he was exerting himself as he contorted the pixie’s form.

“I’ll talk,” Nehp choked out. “Please…stop.”

In a flash, he reverted back to normal. He collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down his face from his two remaining eyes. Coughing, he glared hatefully at Tamlin.

“Who sent you to kill me?”

“The Shadowsinger.” The pixie didn’t even try to deny what his goal had been. “On the Night Lord’s orders.”

Something in Tamlin cracked. In front of Cesare’s eyes he wilted, shoulders drooping and head hung low. He walked out of the throne room past Nehp, who cringed away from the High Lord. With a flick of his hand, Cesare indicated to his soldiers that they could take care of the pixie once and for all. One of them pulled out his sword and ran Nehp through. He died without another sound.

Cesare found Tamlin standing on the manor’s front steps. Tamlin was staring across his land with unseeing eyes.

“I haven’t done anything.” Tamlin’s voice was hoarse, as if he had been shouting. “I’ve stayed here, even when they disrespect my borders and have secret meetings on my land. I risked my life in your camp and exposed myself to save them. I even brought him back to life.” Cesare was silent, letting the full weight of the Night Court’s crimes against Tamlin sink in. Although his primary interest in the Spring Lord was power, even he was insulted on Tamlin’s behalf. The Lords of Prythian had taken advantage of Tamlin’s kindness long enough. They didn’t deserve it.

“He tried to kill me.” Tamlin spoke the words softly, as if he couldn’t quite believe them.

“He underestimated you.” Cesare stepped up beside Tamlin. “You’ve let them walk all over you. Let them believe you are weak.”

“I am weak.”

“No.” Cesare roughly grabbed Tamlin’s chin in his hand, forcing the other male to look at him. “You’ve only made yourself think you’re weak. You’ve held yourself back out of some archaic sense of morality. What I saw of you today was incredible. You hold more power in your little finger than the rest of the High Lord’s have in their whole bodies. Including Rhysand. That’s why he needs to get rid of you. He knows how much you threaten him.” Cesare practically burned with desire, both for Tamlin himself and the potential he represented.

“That wasn’t me.”

“It can be.” He pulled Tamlin in for a rough kiss. He expected the High Lord to struggle and pull away; instead, clawed hands wrapped around his neck, slicing through the collar of his tunic. Cesare didn’t care. The pure strength radiating off of Tamlin, the cruelty he had shown, made him dizzy with lust. Tamlin could reach into his chest and rip out his heart, and the king of Hybern would thank him.

“We’re going to kill them all,” Cesare murmured when he had to pull back for a breath.

Tamlin smiled against his lips. “Good.”

#acotar #a court of thorns and roses #hytam #tamlin/king of hybern #tamlin #king of hybern #HERE U GO COPY #MORE HYTAM FOR U #THIS TIME THEY KITH

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ghostflowerdreams · 8 months

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The Lost Boys (1987) Novel

Ever wonder what extra details or differences about the characters, scenes or what was left out when it comes to its novelization and the film? If not, I hope I made you curious enough to find out.

The Lost Boys by Craig Shaw Gardner, is a novelization of the 1987 American supernatural horror film directed by Joel Schumacher.

A mother and her two sons move to a small coast town in California. The town is plagued by bikers and some mysterious deaths. The younger boy, Sam, makes friends with two other boys, the Frogg brothers, who claim to be vampire hunters. Meanwhile the older boy, Michael, is drawn into the gang of bikers by a beautiful girl named Star. Michael starts sleeping days and staying out all night while Sam starts getting into trouble because of his friends' obsession.

This book has been out of print for over two decades and is a rare, highly sought-after item within this film's massive cult following. At the time I write this the prices for the physical book ranges from $300-$500. Even a previously used one can run up to $100 or more. You're best best is to stick to a digital format, which I heard there's a free PDF version somewhere online.

It's only 220 pages long and despite being so short it's a novelization that's pretty faithful to what was on screen. It even includes several scenes that were later dropped from the film, such as Michael working at the beach as a trash collector. The roles of the opposing gang, the Surf Nazis, who were seen as nameless victims of the vampires was actually expanded upon. It also included several tidbits of vampire lore, such as not being able to cross running water and salt sticking to their forms.

Anyway, here are my notes and thoughts about it, along with what I've learned from the novelization about the characters, their fictional world and whatnot.

Why did the Lucy, Michael and Sam Emerson move to Santa Carla, California?

"His mother had explained it to him [Michael] until he had practically memorized the words. Even after their little scandal his father was still a pretty important person in their part of town. There was no way they could stay in Phoenix [Arizona] without running into him. He didn’t want the kids, and Mom didn’t want him. So Michael and Mom were on their way to Santa Carla, along with brother Sam, dog Nanook, and all their worldly goods.

Their grandfather lived in Santa Carla. From now on they would stay with him."

It's never outright mention, but strongly implied that the scandal is that his dad was having an affair. Well, that's what I think because an affair would indicate premeditation or deliberate intent over a period of time, while cheating is usually a one-time event.

This would probably explain why Lucy's financial situation wasn't improved after the divorce. There was no repairing the relationship, especially if it's an affair. She just wanted the divorce to be done with as quickly as possible and have full custody of her sons, even if it meant she wouldn't get a fair amount for child support.

Fun Fact: Santa Carla is a fictional quintessential beach town, located in California. It was actually based on and filmed at Santa Cruz, however the name, Santa Carla is actually an anagram of Santa Clara.

Fun Fact 2: Santa Cruz also earned the moniker "Murder Capital of the World," because of the town's real life history with serial killers in the '70s. The film borrows that aspect from Santa Cruz as well.

Director Joel Schumacher thought the location fits so well for the fictional world of the Lost Boys' vampires.

"The movie didn't come together until I saw it [Santa Cruz]," he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel. "At the time, there was an enormous amount of transient kids moving through Santa Cruz. This is exactly where I would come if I was a teenage vampire." [x]

Fun Fact 3: In real life, a trip by car from Phoenix to Santa Cruz takes about 11 hours. I was curious about how long it would've taken for Lucy, Michael and Sam Emerson to drive all the way to Santa Carla. So I imagine it'll be about the same amount of time in the fictional world too. This is also good to know if you want to be super accurate or better plot out your Lost Boys fanfiction. XD

Also, in 1987 the average retail price of gas was $0.90 cents per gallon. [x]

Fun Fact 4: The most iconic part of the Santa Cruz boardwalk is the wooden red-and-white tracks of the Giant Dipper, which was feature in The Lost Boys and among other medias.

The Giant Dipper was built in just 47 days at a cost of $50,000. Today, labor and materials for merely painting the Giant Dipper are estimated around $300,000. It also now costs a little more to ride the classic coaster compared to May 17, 1924, when the Giant Dipper opened to the public. The fare then was 15 cents; today (as of 2023) it’s $8.00 per ride.

On February 27, 1987, the Giant Dipper and the Looff Carousel (which was also in the film) was designated a National Historic Landmark. I tried to find the fare during that time period, but the closest I could get was an old article from Los Angeles Times which mention that the fare for the Giant Dipper was $2.00 in August 12, 1990. [x]

What is the name of Michael and Sam's father?

We don't know in the film, but the readers find out that his name is Lance.

Did you know that the Lost Boys entrance scene in the novelization differs from the film?

And then the Lost Boys walked in. Another gang, a lot better dressed than the Surf Nazis, but still a gang. Their leader, a tall, blond fellow named David, walked up and got right on the slowly moving carousel. The ride was almost over. The other Lost Boys followed him on. And as they spun around, Shelly managed to smile in David’s direction. David smiled back and nodded his head slightly in greeting, a polite gesture, the sort of friendly nod you might see a hundred times in the course of a day. Greg didn’t think so. He scowled at his girlfriend and jumped up from his seat. He took a couple steps in the Boys’ direction, but the other gang was moving too. No, not to face Greg. He realized they were going to go by him as if he weren’t even there. Greg stood up and said something that wasn’t exactly flattering. He shoved the Lost Boy out of the way. But now David was there. The calliope played on. Waltzing Matilda. The Surf Nazis joined Greg. Waltzing Matilda. The Lost Boys closed ranks as well. If the Surf Nazis wanted a fight, they were ready. Won’t you go a-waltzing, Matilda, with me. Greg stared at David. David took a half step forward. He found a nightstick pressed against his Adam’s apple. David let his eyes follow the nightstick down to a beefy hand, attached to the body of Big Ed. All three hundred pounds of Big Ed, a security guard with no love for Surf Nazis or Lost Boys. The carousel ground to a halt. The music stopped. The ride was over. Big Ed’s mouth was small for his head. When he opened it, his voice was soft after the calliope’s “Waltzing Matilda.” “I told you to stay off the Boardwalk.” David stared at the guard, not moving for a long moment. Big Ed’s eyes were small, too, but the anger there made up for what they lacked in size. David smiled and turned his head toward the Lost Boys. “Come on,” he said to the others, “let’s pull.”

That was the novelization and in the film there's a noticeable difference...

Shelly spots David coming up from her left and their eyes meet for a brief second, catching his attention. She turns and he stops behind her, cupping her cheek to look deeply into her eyes.

He walks off and she continues staring after him. Greg who was sitting right beside her on the ride, realizes they were having a moment. In his jealously he puts his hand on her face to push her away and to take his anger out on Dwayne as he was the closest.

She snaps out of it, but is stuck in her seat trying not to get caught up in the scuffle. David see Greg trying to grab at Dwayne and he joins in by planting his hand on his face to keep him away.

They get interrupted by the security guard, who puts his nightstick against David's throat and drags him away. With all their attention on him he tells them all, "I told you to stay off the boardwalk."

With a short chuckle David grips at the nightstick and says, "okay, boys, lets go."

The guard releases him and before leaving David throws in a quick wink at the other gang.

What did Sam and Michael do when fighting about who would get the room that was closest to the stairs and the bathroom, and it had a great view of the backyard?

Michael nodded. There was also only one way to handle younger brothers. “Okay,” he said calmly. “I’ll flip you for it.” Sam glared back at Michael, but he didn’t speak. He knew as well as Michael that older brothers usually win out in the end. But Sam also knew that Michael’s offer was his only chance. “Okay,” Sam said slowly, as if he had to drag the two syllables from his lungs. Michael laughed, grabbed Sam, and flipped him upside down. This will show the little bugger! Thinking of Sam as a bugger made him laugh even harder. Michael gasped as white-hot pain shot through his body. He looked down to see Sam biting his thigh. “Owww!” Michael pushed Sam away with what energy he had left. “You little shit!”

This is one of the deleted scenes from the film. It instead jumps to Michael chasing Sam down the stairs. Lucy telling them to not run inside the house. Sam opens the sliding doors to one of the rooms to hide in, only to stop in shock of what he sees inside of it. Michael catches up to him, but also stares in surprise. It's their grandpa's taxidermy room.

What did the Emerson family do in the afternoon they arrived?

They spent it unpacking and having dinner (probably a pizza) when they were finished. Michael helped his mother with the dishes by drying them, while Sam was in the other room looking for some music to put on.

He’d made another decision this afternoon too. He put the platter down at the back of the dish rack. There’d be no better time to tell her than now. “Mom,” Michael began. “I think I’d like to get a job.” His mother looked up from the sink, a question in her eyes. She didn’t ask it. “School’s only a few weeks away,” she mentioned. He took another plate from her hands. He dried it for a moment before he spoke again. “I was thinking of not going back to school.” The stereo kicked to life in the other room. His mother frowned at Michael.

Before she can say anything about it Sam and Nanook rushed in. Sam grabs her hand and pulled her away from the sink to dance with him.

Mom and Sam boogied all over the kitchen, while Nanook barked for emphasis. The two of them danced in his direction, reaching out to drag him in. Michael shook his head and backed away. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do. But he really didn’t feel much like dancing.

This is another deleted scene from the film. The difference however, between the novelization and the film's deleted scene is that Michael doesn't pull away and lets himself get dragged into dancing with them.

In the actual film, however, it jumps straight to the Emerson family (not including grandpa) exploring the boardwalk. Michael and Sam stick together to check out the live concert while their mother tries to get a head start on job hunting.

Fun Fact: In general, most public schools in California start the school year in mid to late August or early September.

If we're sticking to Santa Cruz as the basis for Santa Carla, that would mean the first day of school is in August. So the events of The Lost Boy film and novelization takes place on the last month of summer -- July. As that would certainly match with school being "only a few weeks away."

How did Lucy get a job at Max’s Video?

She was looking for 'help wanted' signs at the boardwalk when she noticed a little boy crying near a restaurant sign. He was all alone and looking very lost. Next to the restaurant was a well-lit store with a bright neon sign that read Max’s Video. She guessed that the boy might've wandered out of from there and took him inside it.

“This boy seems to be lost,” she began. She glanced around the store. Besides the youths, there were four other customers. “I thought maybe his parents might be in here?”

It wasn't long before a young woman rushed in and headed straight towards the little boy. After that Lucy talked to Max and he offered to interview her for a job at his store.

In the film Lucy walks pass a woman putting the security guard's picture up on a bullet board with other missing people posters. She awkwardly makes eye contact with her and continues on. She notices a 'help wanted' sign, but her attention gets draw away when she hears a little boy calling for his mother and that he can't find her.

Max watches in interest as the little boy and Lucy interact outside his store. The Lost Boys walk in and he's immediately frowning at them, but his attention gets pulled back to Lucy as she walks in and tells him that the little boy lost his mother.

Everything after that is basically the same in the novelization.

Fun Fact: Lucy Emerson's name was chosen as a reference to the fictional character Lucy Westenra from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Fun Fact 2: Max is inspired by Peter Pan, as he is the leader of The Lost Boys and immortal. Just like Peter with Wendy, Max also wants Lucy to be the mother to his boys.

Who else worked at Max's Video store?

Maria, the cashier is an attractive young black woman. She shows Lucy the ropes and reveals that...

“You know, I’d be out on the street if it wasn’t for Max.” Maria laughed softly and shook her perfectly coiffed head. “Nobody would have given me a job the way I looked when I walked in here.”

It was Lucy's first day at work and she noticed that Max still hasn't shown up. What excuse was she given for his absent?

“Didn’t he tell you?” Maria frowned as she studied her perfect nails. Whatever she found wrong with them was completely beyond Lucy. “He only comes in here nights. He’s busy opening another store in Los Gatos. It’s going to be much bigger than this one.”

Maria also told her that...

Max usually showed up an hour or two before the store closed to do a little financial business back in the office. Besides that, she never heard from him, either.

Fun Fact: The town of Los Gatos, California does exist. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The drive to Los Gatos from Santa Cruz takes about 30-48 minutes, depending on traffic.

Los Gatos is Spanish for "The Cats". The name derives from the 1839 Alta California land grant that encompassed the area, which was called La Rinconada de Los Gatos ("The Corner of the Cats"), where the cats refers to the cougars (mountain lions) and bobcats that are indigenous to the foothills in which the town is located.

Sounds like it'll be a perfect place for a vampire to set up a second location (or make it into another possible hunting ground) as any deaths can be blamed on cougars, bobcats and hiking accidents.

It's a smart plan and we know that Max is the careful type (seeing as only the Lost boys knew his true identity and not a half-vampire like Star). He has lived long enough in Santa Carla to know it's better to keep a low profile and plan accordingly, especially for a more secure future.

What job did Michael get?

He had seen the notice the night before, tacked to a telephone pole along the Boardwalk: “Dayworkers wanted. $4.00/hour.” The notice had said to show up for work on the beach at seven a.m. From the crowd around him it looked like about thirty other people had read the notice too.

He was one of the lucky few who got picked to collect the trash on the beach. This was another deleted scene from the film.

Fun Fact: In 1987 California, the state's minimum wage had been $3.35 an hour since 1981. But it was raise to $4.25 an hour on July 1, 1988. [x] [x]

What motorcycle does Michael have?

Honda XL 250

What did Michael do with the money he earned from collecting the trash on the beach?

When dropping off Sam with their mother, he attempted to give it to her (along with the money he had leftover from Christmas). She thanked him, but said it was unnecessary and gave it back to him. She wanted him to save it for school and focus on being a teenager, not adult things like their financial situation.

Michael smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. This was all right. He was glad his mother made him keep the money, after all. He squared his shoulders and frowned at his reflection, tugging the battered black leather sleeves until they were just right. This jacket made him look years older. Michael smiled and shoved his hands in the jacket pockets. With this jacket on, he belonged on a motorcycle. Those teenagers last night had nothing on him anymore. He told the shop girl with the spiky pink hair that he’d take it.

This was another deleted scene from the film. Instead it jumps to Michael on the boardwalk already wearing the leather jacket and checking out a small booth in which a girl was getting her ears pierced for $10.

Fun Fact: A thick, long-lasting leather biker-jacket is expensive, especially a brand new one. It would've cost around $300-$600. However, an affordable and good leather can still be found thrifted.

It sounds like Michael did just that because he found a used leather jacket, indicated by the "battered" sleeves for a decent price. It makes sense because I doubt he had worked or saved enough money to get himself a brand new one. He must've thrifted one for less than $90.

“What’s this?” Lucy opened the envelope to find a folded Christmas card with a half dozen folded five- and ten-dollar bills inside.

He might've had enough leftover to also get his ears pierced for $10, but before he can check Star popped up from behind him. She told him it was a rip-off and offered to do it for him for free.

Star and Michael introduced themselves to each other and learned that both their parents were once hippies. But before Star could go with him to get something to eat David interrupts them. He calls Star over and tells Michael to follow them and surprisingly Michael never once question how David already knew his name.

At Frog's Comics book store, what did Sam say to impress the Frog Brothers?

“If you’re looking for the diet frozen yogurt bar,” the first one added, “it went out of business last summer.” So this was it. His first real challenge in Santa Carla. Sam had to cool these guys out fast. “Actually,” he admitted, the slightest touch of boredom in his voice, “I was looking for a particular Batman, j Series E, Volume 26, Issue 14?” The two commandos looked at each other. “That’s a very serious book, man,” the first one said. “Very serious,” the other agreed. “Only five in existence.” “Four, actually,” Sam replied with the slightest hint of a smile. “And I’m always on the lookout for the other three.”

Fun Fact: The names of the Frog brothers, Edgar and Alan, are a reference to the classic writer of horror fiction, Edgar Allan Poe.

Fun Fact 2: The original comic book store, Atlantis Fantasyworld used in the film was actually located in downtown Santa Cruz—not on the boardwalk, as it appears to be in the film. It was also destroyed in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 and has changed locations twice since then.

The shop's owner Joe Ferrara II even appeared as an extra in the film. He still carries the original #1 issue of 'Vampires Everywhere' that Sam reads in the film. The comic was created only for the film, and its opening page is signed by all of the cast members from the movie. I've heard that it's still on display at the shop for everyone to see and to take pictures with.

Fun Fact 3: In the film Sam doesn't say all that, just that he's "looking for Batman #14". It does exist and its status as an early Batman comic makes it valuable in its own right, but it’s not “only five in existence” type of rare. However, a 9.8 graded copy apparently goes for around $54,000.

What type of motorcycle did David have?

The Lost Boy gunned his bike. It was a Triumph, a machine big enough to make Michael’s Honda look like a toy. He eased up, letting the engine rev back down.

Fun Fact: Kiefer Sutherland, who played David broke his wrist in three places. They weren't filming at the time so he popped a wheelie on his bike, but hit one of the trolley car tracks and injured himself when he fell. He had to wear gloves the entire time to conceal the cast. They also modified his bike so that it was easier for him to used with one hand.

At The Lost Boys panel at FanExpo Dallas he recount this story and reveals that he wasn't just having fun on the bike, but he was showing off. This is because there was a cute girl on the boardwalk that he liked and wanted to impressed her.

Fun Fact 2: At the time of filming Kiefer (David) was 19 years old, Jami (Star) was 20 years old, Jason (Michael) was 19 years old, Alex (Marko) was 19 years old, Brooke (Paul) was 21 years old, Billy (Dwayne) was 22 years old and Chance (Laddie) was 10 years old.

This, however, doesn't mean that their characters were the same ages too. In the novelization we know for sure that Michael's 18 years old and once summer ends he'll be starting his final year of high school. Sam is 13-14 years old and would to be entering it. The Frog brothers are about the same age, but might be a year or two older than him. As for the vampire boys...we don't actually know.

In the fandom it varies, but the general consensus is that Dwayne is the oldest in the group (as in their bodies' physical age) and guessed to be 20-21 years old, David is 20-19, Paul is 18, and Marko is the youngest at 16-17.

As for who's been a vampire the longest it would be David as he's the leader of the group for a reason. The second oldest is usually a toss up between Dwayne and Marko though. But most usually go with Dwayne as the second in command. From the novelization we definitely know that Paul was the last one to joined the group before Star and Laddie.

We know this because Star mention how she was able to connect with him better than the others. She believed the reason for that was because he hadn't been a vampire as long as the others and still remembered what it was like as a human to be lonely and lost.

Anyway, I bring this up because the film was originally set to be directed by Richard Donner with Fischer and Jeremias' screenplay which was modelled on Donner's recent hit The Goonies (1985). They envisioned it as more of a juvenile vampire adventure with 13 or 14 year old vampires, while the Frog brothers were "chubby 8 year-old Cub Scouts" and the character of Star was a young boy.

When Donner committed to other projects, Joel Schumacher was approached to direct the film. He came up with the idea of making the film sexier and more adult, bringing on screenwriter Jeffrey Boam to retool the script and raise the ages of the characters.

Fun Fact 3: In the film and novelization we only know the Lost Boys' first names. And Dwayne's name was never said out loud in the entire film and was only known in the end credits.

Also, there's a bit of confusion within the fandom as some believed David's surname is Powers. It's not. In The Lost Boys: The Tribe (which is technically non-canonical) Shane Powers (who's actor, Angus Sutherland is actually Kiefer Sutherland's real life half-brother) meant it in a ‘blood brothers’ way.

Shane was a member of the Surf Nazi and while at a bonfire party (the very same one the boys took Michael to), the Lost Boys attacked the group. He survived their feeding frenzy, but got unintentionally turned into a vampire by David.

Why did Michael drink the "wine"?

It's a combination of being high on marijuana, peer pressure (mostly from vampire mind manipulation/compulsion nudging him) and he didn't actually understand what was really going on. He thought this was all a part of an initiation. That the final step was to drink the wine, and that Star was in on it too.

He smiled at David. He knew what they were doing. First the maggots, then the worms, now this. How much of a fool did they think he was? The wine really was as dark as blood. It was the best joke of all. He lifted the cup to his lips. He’d show David and the others that he wasn’t afraid of anything. “Good joke,” he said. “Blood.” They all watched him drink it. It was salty and sour for wine. Michael wondered where David had found it. It probably had been down in this cave ever since the earthquake.

Fun Fact: When they're eating Chinese food, David leaves his chopsticks sticking straight out of his and Michael's food. In many Asian cultures, including but not limited to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, share standard rules of table manners across the board.

One of the biggest taboos is placing your chopsticks vertically in your bowl, especially with rice. This is because it is not only brings bad luck but it is a sign of death. The act of sticking your chopsticks upright can be seen as an invitation for spirits to come to dine with you. In Vietnamese culture, it can also resemble a funerary incense bowl, which is often associated with the commemoration of the dead.

What happens after Michael drinks the "wine"?

He passes out and somehow gets home and into his bed. I'm guessing the Lost Boys helped him as they already knew where he lived. As for how they got that information they followed him because they originally planned for him to be Star's first victim, which she revealed to him.

“What did you do last night?’’ Sam asked. “You look totally wasted.” Michael shook his head. “I can’t remember much after the Chinese food that looked like maggots.”

And for some odd reason...

"The bottoms of your feet are covered with salt,” his brother replied. This was just too much to deal with. Michael stood up with a groan and began to shuffle out of the room. "I told you it was pretty weird Chinese food,” Michael culled to his brother as he walked out the door.

Fun Fact: I was curious about why would salt be sticking to the bottom of his feet so I looked it up.

Salt is known for having purifying properties that can ward off evil. Since vampires are often considered creatures of evil, it would make sense that salt can ward them off too.

For example, in many folklores the best way to stop a vampire (or most evil spirits, creatures, etc.) is to carry a small bag of salt with you. If you are being chased, you need only to spill the salt on the ground behind you, at which point the vampire is obligated to stop and count each and every grain before continuing the pursuit. If you don't have salt handy, some say that any small granules will do, including birdseed and sand. Another example is to simply toss salt over your shoulder. This is so you can blind any creature trying to sneak up on you.

However, salt wasn't used like that here so I did some more digging around and apparently it can also be used as a tracking device. It would be dumped on the bedroom floor of a vampire victim. The idea was that the vampire would step in the salt and the salt would stick to their bare feet, which would then allow the Buffys, Van Helsings, and Winchester Brothers of the world to follow the saline path back to the vampire's grave.

That brings me to my next question, where would the salt come from and why? The only possible explanation I could think of is that maybe Grandpa Emerson (being aware of vampires) could've put some salt around Michael's bedroom floor, especially after noticing he shows signs of vampirism. It could be a way to know if Michael is being targeted as the vampire's next victim or if he is one now, than Grandpa Emerson would know better in what direction to look for the main vampires' lair.

I'm probably overthinking it, but we don't really know all that much about him. Just that he's a retired businessman, has a small marijuana bush growing outside his kitchen's window, has taxidermy as a hobby, keeps his root beer and double-thick Mint Oreo cookies on the second shelf and he visits Widow Johnson a lot.

He could simply be a hermit and scarcely ever ventures out to town or is secretly an experienced vampire hunter that knows how to keep a low-profile. Of course, I find out that in the The Lost Boys Vol. #1 comic (which is a miniseries that picks up after the 1987 film) it's apparently the latter and there's a bit more to him than I thought.

But the more likely possibility is that maybe the vampires in The Lost Boys' universe all have salty feet (well, more like salt sticks, collects and/or coats their skin -- if that's the case it's probably unavoidable when they're living so close to the ocean) as a trait. It sounds like it was made up for the film to help people like the Frog brothers to identified vampires. Or maybe this only applies to Santa Carla's vampires?

What else did we learn about the vampires' weakness?

He [Michael] realized that he had turned the hot water off. It didn’t make any difference. The water still burned. He pulled his arm from the shower. What was the matter with the shower? He looked at the angry red welts running down his arm. The cold water had burned him.

Fun Fact: Water is also known as the source of life and so naturally works against the undead. On a practical level, it can also deter predatory creatures that hunt by smell, as water can misdirect or damp scent trails. But running water in particular is a traditional weakness in many vampire mythos. Vampires are thought to be helpless when submerge in it and can be destroyed to many variations of death (such as drowning) because of it.

This myth comes from the Church (in ancient times) trying to feel protected because it was believed that nothing evil could swim or cross running water.

The origin of this may be that Jesus was baptized in a river (washing away evil and sin), but undoubtedly helping the folklore is that running water is much cleaner and safer to live near than stagnant water. Stagnant water doesn't wash away harmful content, is more inviting to mosquitoes and other vermin, promotes mold, and so on.

Vampires are thought to be wretched and disease ridden abominations. Because of that the purity of the running water repels them. However, in some folklore vampires are known to be territorial creatures and don't cross running water, such as rivers and streams because it often serve as natural marker boundaries in the region for hunting territory.

So, if they really wanted to they can cross running water just fine, but they choose not to. It's an unspoken rule that all vampires follow in order to keep the peace with other vampires in the same area.

From this we can accurately deduced that the Lost Boys can't take showers, but can still take bathes. As for if they can cross bridges, or take boats I don't know. Some vampires can't cross running water under their own power or by their own will. Others can as long as they use a human under their control to carried them across, maybe they can still [transform and] fly or jump over it themselves?

I think it's more the latter than former, as we don't actually see it or read it, but it's implied that the Lost Boys jumped off [or hovered above] the Hudson's Bluff, which overlooks the ocean, with their bikes while they were messing with Michael. It's hard to tell what they were actually doing because of the thick fog.

What did Michael tried to eat or drink?

Besides, his brother was right. He should put something in his stomach. He opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk. Pain shot through his stomach and chest. He doubled over, dropping the milk.

The room was also spinning and pulsing, he could even feel his own blood surging through his arteries and veins...

Michael forced his head back down. He had to stop this somehow. He saw a mouse in the comer. A large mouse in a trap, its neck slashed and broken, but not quite dead. It struggled feebly in the comer. And it bled. Bright red droplets fell to the kitchen floor. The mouse pulsed and expanded, just like everything else around Michael. He didn’t care. All he could see was the blood. The mouse stiffened, eyes wide open, dead at last. Michael dragged himself over toward the dead rodent, heedless of the pain in his stomach and chest. He reached out his fingers to the pantry floor. He had to touch the blood.

Michael calmed down a bit after tasting some blood and the pain went away too, but he needed more. At that point he was falling into feral vampire mode and wasn't fully himself. He followed the loudest heartbeat in the house, which was his brother.

In the film this scene is slightly different. Michael picks up a carton of milk to drink it only to drop it and collapse in pain. Then it cuts to him with his face and body hidden in shadow as he climbs the stairs menacingly towards his brother.

What song was Sam singing to in the bathtub?

Sam sang along with the tape on his boom box. Clarence “Frogman” Henry croaked “I Ain’t Got No Home.” Sam croaked along. He might not have a home, but this bathtub was the next best thing.

What kind of dog is Nanook?

Nanook is an Alaskan Malamute (which look similar to Huskies) which are known for their peak at the top of their head, which resembles Bela Lugosi's classic Dracula hairstyle.

Fun Fact: To keep up with the Peter Pan theme, the name Nanook was inspired by the Darlings family pet dog, Nana.

Fun Fact 2: When Michael was giving into his hunger Nanook protected Sam by biting Michael's hand. In Peter Pan the crocodile is known to have eaten Hook’s hand and this scene was a little nod to it.

Fun Fact 3: Completely unrelated, but if you're curious about what the name Nanook means-- In the language of the Inuit people, “nanook” or “nanuq” means “polar bear.”

In Inuit mythology, Nanook was the master of bears, meaning he decided if hunters deserved success in finding and hunting bears and punished violations of taboos.

How does Star describe each of the the Lost Boys like?

All the Lost Boys were so different. Marco was always mysterious; Dwayne a little awkward. Paul was the comedian of the group. He’d do anything to get her to laugh. From the time she had first gotten to know them, David had fascinated her, but Paul had always been the one she could talk to. She sometimes wondered just why that was.

Which of the Lost Boys was recruited before Star and Laddie?

Before she and Laddie had come here, Paul had been the newest member of the gang. She thought that perhaps, more than the others, Paul still remembered what it meant to be lonely.

Readers also learn that Star ran away from home. The why is still unknown but we can correctly assume that it was from an unsafe or toxic environment. As for Laddie we still don't know his story, only that in the film his photo is on the back of milk cartons (such as the one Michael tried to drink from) saying he's missing. Oh, and that his last name is Thompson.

I originally thought he was just a random kid that the Lost Boys snatch in order to keep Star from leaving them. They knew she has a soft spot for children and they, in particularly, David (or Max, as nothing happens without his say so) exploited it.

However, the novelization implies that Laddie was with Star before ever meeting the Lost Boys. That while on the streets she came across Laddie and because he's so young, she couldn't resist the need to help him. Soon after they got lured in by the Lost Boys and tricked or forced into drinking the blood.

Maybe they turned Laddie first so that she wouldn't hesitant to follow him? Or they both drank it without realizing it and she continued to stayed for Laddie because he still needed someone who genuinely cared for his well-being. To not only protect him, but try and save him from a damned life.

In the film, the Lost Boys interaction with him show that they cared for him in their own way, but there's probably a good reason why we don't often see vampire kids.

Laddie's presence certainly helped to keep her grounded to her humanity too. Maybe that's why we never saw her vampire face? It takes a lot of inner strength to not give in. Readers get a better understanding of that from Michael's perspective because he couldn't snapped out of it, and would have done something reprehensible if it wasn't for Nanook protecting his brother.

Fun Fact: Well, more like it's an interesting fact...In the mid-1980s, the nonprofit National Child Safety Council began a nationwide program called the Missing Children Milk Carton Program by putting photos of missing children on the back of milk cartons. By March 1985, almost half of America’s independent dairies had adopted similar milk carton initiatives.

However, the milk carton campaign faded out in the late 1980s and was abandoned altogether when the AMBER Alert system was created in 1996. The replacement of paper milk cartons with plastic jugs also contributed to its demise.

How long was Star with the Lost Boys?

They were killing the Lost Boys. In a way they had been her family. She had been with them for a couple weeks, ever since she had run away to Santa Carla. But she had never seen them as vampires. For some reason they had hidden it from her. She realized she had never known their true selves, only their human remains.

“A couple of weeks” generally means a time period that is more than one week but too short to be measured in months. For that reason many people considered it to mean 14 days; two weeks.

A lot happens in such a short amount of time, especially in the film, but in the novelization it has better pacing.

What happens after Grandpa Emerson saves them from Max?

He reveals that he always knew about the vampires living in Santa Carla and in the novelization, in particularly, the epilogue he's the one who's been narrating it...

After that things pretty much returned to normal. We fixed up the house, Lucy got a new job, Michael went back to school. Star did, too, after she found a place to stay at the Widow Johnson’s. Laddie remembered where his parents lived. And Sam decided he wanted to learn to stuff animals.

What's special about the Lost Boys’ cave?

Grandpa Emerson continues the epilogue and hints...

That place where all the Lost Boys slept is only the beginnings of the cave. Those tunnels seem to go on forever, maybe even all the way back into Santa Carla. And the noises that come out of there? My daughter insists it’s just gotta be the wind. Sam says it’s probably some sort of animal. But nobody knows for sure. So you’ll excuse us if we only visit the hotel during the daylight. And we haven’t quite gotten the gumption to go back there and check those noises out.

Fun Fact: The filming location for the entrance of the Lost Boys' lair, is the Hudson's Bluff Sea Cave at Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County, California. It's at the foot of a rock 'spur' jutting into the sea by Terranea Beach. The rest of their lair was built on Stage 12 of the Warner Bros. lot.

Fun Fact 2: The hotel was based on the Valencia Street Hotel in San Francisco.

Fun Fact 3: In early drafts of The Lost Boys scripts, there was suppose be an end credit scene. It would've been one of the few 80s movies to do so, but it didn't happen.

The film's final ending was so punchy that filming the tag was never a priority, according to the film's production designer Bo Welch. Once Warner Bros. cut the film's budget by 35% before shooting, the tag was the first to go. "It never got beyond the discussion stage," Welch said.

In the book, The Lost Boys: Lost In The Shadows by Paul Davis you find out what it is they had in mind.

The camera would've panned back to the Lost Boys' lair, focusing on an old weathered mural on the hotel wall, which would show a smiling Max in the early 1900s boardwalk, talking to a group of young men.

You don't see their faces as it was left to the viewers' imagination. It could've been David and his gang or another set of Lost Boys before them. But it's clear that Max and his Lost Boys (not just the current ones) have been terrorizing Santa Carla for that long.

Fun Fact 4: There were plans to make a sequel named The Lost Girls just two years after with David returning as the main villain. This is why David's body doesn't turn to dust like the others. He didn't die, even after being impaled on a pair of antlers. It can be assumed it missed his heart or it needed to be made of wood to be proper "stakes".

Scripts for the film circulated in the early '90s, but the film was never made. However, the plot point would eventually turn up in the comic book Lost Boys: The Reign of Frogs.

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imthepunchlord · 6 months

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Marinette's Elemental and Miraculous Matches (Wu Xing)

Bagua, Zodiac

After much debate and going back and forth, as she's one of the harder ones to pinpoint cause I find a bit of everything to her, I'm suspecting Marinette's core elements are Wood and Metal, with Wood as her primary element and Metal as her secondary.

Wood plays off her leaping between being level headed and reasonable to her imagination just running wild. Wood works off her creativity and her means to think out of the box. It can play off her being curious and nosy, seeking to expand her knowledge of what's around her. It works off her being quick to support and help others, and her being a social butterfly. It works off her being open to learn and grow and seeks self-improvement.

Metal works off her desire for perfection. That she must put forth the best that she can create (one example being in Mr Pigeon where she drew a lot of good hat designs, but they weren't up to her standards), and for things to go as smoothly as possible. Metal also works off her as a thinker, working off logic, facts, and making quick evaluations. Metal also really works off her strong sense of self-righteousness and her dislike of dishonesty (as Metal does like things to be clear cut).

Wood and Metal plays off her being ambitious and aiming high for herself, her capability as a leader, and her tendency to meddle as Wood can be nosy and Metal has a desire for things to work out a certain way. These two elements work off her being very independent and self-sufficient. Wood and Metal also works off Marinette being her own worst enemy, as these two are elemental opposites, but it can also work off her great potential with Miraculous as she is tied to a yin-yang pair.

Of the Wu Xing, that makes Butterfly and Cat as her best matches, and Nooroo and Plagg are the most ideal kwamis to work off of her.

Butterfly's powers are something Marinette will be able to use well. She has the means to connect with others and knows what to say to work with them and offer the support. She also knows to let people thrive and do what they're good at, having faith in their capability. She'd be clever with making minor changes, and astral projection could work off her nosiness and allow her to move about stealthily.

Cat's powers are also quite promising for Marinette. She has the analytical mind that's able to evaluate how to use her destructive power, and be able to expand it's use than just straight forward destruction and malfunction. She naturally goes for stealth so traveling through shadows she would thrive with, and seeing through shadows can play off her nosy nature and wanting to unravel the world before her. And summoning shades to work with her works off her being a leader but able to work with others, listen to their wisdom and ideas.

Kwami wise, Nooroo and Plagg both have the big appeal of being a rock in the storm Marinette typically whips up. If she overthinks/lets her emotions run wild, they're able to bring her back with their calmness and logic.

Nooroo would work with her without taking over and telling her what she must do, work with her to figure out the best course of action. Through his influence, Marinette will gradually be calmer and more grounded, and would work off her strengths without turning it into a full blown Atlas complex as he helps implants the fact that she can rely on others, she just needs to branch out more than try to solve everything herself.

Plagg meanwhile rolls with the chaos, with Marinette probably one of the funniest humans he's be paired with (honestly these two would be delightful to watch). Plagg would have the additional perk to act as a foil to Marinette being a lazy and selfish kwami, countering her need to prioritize selflessness and to always be productive and busy. Through his influence, Marinette would find the fine line between productivity and breaks, and prioritizing herself and her needs to the needs of others.

By elemental placement, Peafowl, Ladybug, and Fox are viable Miraculous for her to wield. She wouldn't be the best matches, but she can pull them off and utilize them well, but there would be some sort of issue be it kwami or a struggle with powers. Power wise, she can become better with them, but there would be a learning curve. Kwami wise, something would need to be addressed. As Wood and Metal are next to the other 3 elements, there are no subpar matches for Marinette.

Peafowl Marinette can utilize well. As a time manipulator, this Miraculous requires strategy, resourcefulness, and being opportunistic. All things Marinette is covered for. She'd be clever in selectively rewinding time, would best utilize pausing time, and would work off resetting time to secure the best results or work off what would be the best route. The last power though could be the one she struggles with most as she would want the most "perfect" outcome, but I do see it as a quick lesson to learn.

Duusu is a kwami I do see getting along with Marinette and would bring something to the table in terms of growth. Duusu would work off her strengths like her skill in observation and quick thinking, and she can be bubbly, energetic, and just as animated as Marinette, so they can click and work off each other right away. The only thing I see as a major issue is that Duusu and Marientte could feed into each other's overreactions and both could spiral into a panic that will only end when they fizzle out. Now if this duo can learn to take turns in their overreactions so one can be the calmer one, or both learn to tone down their overreactions, this pair will thrive. Otherwise they're a ticking time bomb of spiraling panic.

Ladybug Marinette is set with power wise. She has the resourcefulness and creativity to work off Ladybug's two creation powers, able to utilize the generated item and secure she can have a complex and efficient Worker. She also can use the light generation and all it's possibilities well.

As backed by canon, Tikki at the core is the biggest issue with Marinette having Ladybug, as Tikki is set to work off personalities that are a lot more "fiery" and at times "problematic" than Marinette is. Marinette does thrive between Tikki support and affectionate, and doesn't mind Tikki's opinions when shared with her. The issue comes from Tikki insisting on prioritizing others and dedicating her humans to their duties, which is good for Fire personalities that can be easily distracted or selfish, but for Marinette who already is very dedicated and considerate, it just leads to an Atlas complex. Unless Tikki can learn to ease and realize she's piling too much pressure on Marinette, this could wind up quite destructive for Marinette.

Fox Marinette may struggle a little with, though the potential and promise is there. Power wise, Fox does work off Marinette preferring stealth, to dance around her opponents than actually fight them, being a meddler, her creativity, observation, and quick thinking. It can also play into her tendency to disguise herself, and with a power tied to it, should be a true master of disguise. Only issue is that Marinette is not a good liar, and most of the time she gets very lucky. I also can't speak for how good of an actor she is, so may give herself away when disguising herself as another. But over all, everything should be pretty solid.

With Trixx, I do see this as another fascinating kwami-holder match up as they both work off intellect and both can be meddling and know how to work off others and their strengths, and how to sway things their way. Trixx most likely would toe the line between Nooroo and Plagg, rolling with the chaos and enjoying the shenanigans, but also keeping up with duty and opening up her mind to work off others more, to have faith, and to help teach the means to secure things can go your way. Honestly, they'd probably be the ultimate scheming buddies. Trixx is probably the only kwami of the doable trio I don't see being an issue paired with Marinette, it just comes down to powers and how good of a deceiver Marinette actually is.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #marinette character analysis #kwami swap #marinette kwami swap #long post #wu xing miraculous #butterfly miraculous #moth miraculous #ladybug miraculous #cat miraculous #peafowl miraculous #peacock miraculous

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writercole · 2 years

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T-Minus Three Weeks

Summary: Jake's still cocky, but with a good reason.

Words: 1848

Warnings: Smut. 18+, vaginal intercourse, safe sex, semi-public sex, dirty talk, Jake's a cocky asshole.

A/N: I had to.

Tag list is done. Please follow @coleslibrary and turn on notifications for story updates.

The arrangement that Hangman and Valkyrie had proved beneficial almost immediately. Both of them had improved concentration, less tension, and faster reflexes in the skies the next day of training. Maverick was coaching them through the route they would be taking if they were chosen for the mission. It was full of twists and turns in a cavern at a hard deck of three hundred feet.

Hangman and Valkyrie had the two best times out of the dozen pilots that were flying but they both had their own issues. Hangman left his team behind, being the fastest didn’t equal the best and his attitude got Fanboy and Payback ‘killed’ earning Jake another two hundred push-ups.

He took the punishment like a man. His face was red and his jaw set as he completed the exercises out on the tarmac under the supervision of Hondo.

Valkyrie and her team, Phoenix, and Bob, completed the course but were a minute late to target. Though the only team to reach the target without incident, their slower pace gave the enemy time to scramble their own fighters and the F-18’s didn’t stand a chance against fifth gen jets in a dogfight no matter how much Maverick prepared them.

The mood in the rec room that evening was subdued, everyone lost in their own thoughts and trying to figure out how they could be faster, better, more prepared. Valkyrie had heard enough and left without a word, heading towards the hangar loft where the view of the setting sun was breathtaking.

Jake watched her stalk out of the room with her shoulders tense and her jaw set. He glanced around and saw that no one had reacted to her leaving so he decided, as her best friend, that he needed to go after her.

He checked her room and found it empty, only to remember that she had a thing about watching the sunset when she was upset. The best place on base to watch the sunset was from a loft in the hanger.

Jake hustled back over to the hangar and slipped in quietly, seeing a silhouette standing in the windows. He climbed the metal stairs, his boots echoing across the cavernous space. She didn’t shift in her position at the sound, just continued to watch the light fade.

“Now, didn’t we agree on honesty? So why is it, even as your best friend, I have to track you down to ask what’s troubling you?” he teased as he approached.

She chuckled quietly, shaking her head but keeping her gaze on the sky outside. “This is a suicide mission, Jake,” she whispered.

“I know,” he agreed with a sigh, joining her in watching the last rays of the sun dip behind the horizon. “For anyone else, it would be suicide. But we’re the best pilots in the country, Val. We can do this.”

“I don’t know, three weeks to get this down? And then pulling over 9 G’s on the way out? It’s insane.” Her voice remained quiet as her posture relaxed slightly, the tension dispelled from keeping all of those thoughts inside her head.

“Look at me,” Jake demanded, turning to face her and waiting until she was looking at him. “They wouldn’t have planned this mission if it weren’t possible. And they wouldn’t have pulled the twelve best aviators they have, if they didn’t have faith in us. And they definitely would not have had Captain Mitchell back as an instructor if they thought he couldn’t teach us.”

She nodded slowly, letting the words register into her brain. Taking several deep breaths, she released the tension that she had left in her body. She felt better just voicing her fears but knowing that Jake knew they could pull it off was the thing that relaxed her.

She stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. His arms engulfed her, his chin resting atop her head as they stood there.

He placed a kiss to the top of her head and released his hold. “Let’s get back before they start asking questions,” he suggested.

She nodded and followed him down the stairs, tugging his wrist before he could open the door. “Thanks, Jake,” she smiled, “you’re the only one who can get me out of my head like that.”

“I’m also the only one who made you see stars, if I remember your words right,” he smirked.

She slapped his chest and scoffed, making him laugh. “Don’t be cocky, Jake.”

“Oh but darlin’, it’s not cocky if it’s true. It’s just a fact,” he retorted, his voice an octave lower, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Don’t be a tease, Seresin,” she warned as she looked up into his eyes.

His hands gripped her hips and pulled her flush to him as he dipped his head next to her ear.

“It’s only teasing if I don’t intend on doing anything about it,” he whispered, nipping her ear when he finished speaking.

“And what do you intend to do about it?” she asked breathlessly, her heart pounding in her chest as she rested her hands on his shoulders. She hoped that the fabric was thick enough that he didn’t feel the moisture that had accrued on her palms.

“I plan on helping you relax,” he mumbled as he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers.

“And where,” she mumbled between kisses, “do you -” kiss. “propose -” kiss. “this happens?”

He pulled back a half inch and smirked. “I have just the place.”

Jake glanced around, making sure they were alone before he pushed her backwards, under the wing of the nearest jet. He climbed into the cockpit, gesturing for her to follow.

“What? Jake, we can’t,” she said, her eyes darting around the empty hangar.

“Why not?”

“What if the person who flies this jet -”

“Darlin’, this is my jet,” he told her, “and there’s no one else here. So stop talking and climb that ladder.”

She rolled her eyes but obliged, stopping at the top of the ladder and looking at the small space with a raised brow.

“Stop overthinking everything and get in here,” he ordered.

“You aren’t the superior officer here,” she spat.

He leveled a glare at her and stood, wrapping his arm around her waist and lifting her into the cockpit.

The display of dominance had her clenching her thighs as he set her down. He pressed his lips to hers again. The possessiveness in it made her whimper and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands dropped down to the button on her pants, swiftly removing them and her panties.

He broke the kiss and spun her around, bending her over the edge of the control panel as he opened his pants with one hand while his free hand slid up the back of her blouse. He felt a shiver travel down her spine, goosebumps erupting on her skin and her back arching under his touch.

He dropped to his knees and spread her thighs gently, his lips leading the way for his hands to slide up her legs, her moans reverberating in the hangar.

“You think you can be quiet? Hmm?” asked Jake as his nose nudged her folds.

“I’ll try,” she panted, “Jake, please.”

He rose to his feet and pulled a condom from his pocket, rolling it down his thick length before nudging the tip through her folds. He pushed in slowly, allowing her to adjust to the stretch with every inch. He paused when he was fully sheathed in her warm cunt, savoring the way her walls felt wrapped around his cock.

“You ready, darlin’?” he questioned, leaning forward to place soft kisses on the back of her neck.

“Yes,” she replied breathlessly, wiggling her hips for emphasis.

“Jesus, you are one impatient little slut,” he chuckled. He heard her whimper and his eyebrow rose, his fingers digging into her hip bones as he tried to restrain himself.

Jake set a steady pace, his hands wandering as he thrust in and out of her tight pussy. He felt her walls tightening around him and he slid his hand up her back, gripping her hair and pulling her up until she was flush with his chest.

“Did you like hearing how much of a slut you are?” he growled in her ear. She moaned in response and his hips snapped up, hitting a new angle that made her clench around him. “You do. Little slut is taking my cock so well. We’ve only been fucking a couple of days and you’re already addicted.”

The sounds echoing around them were obscene - skin slapping, pornographic moans, the soft squelch of his cock dragging in and out of her. Jake clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling her head back to his shoulder while his other arm wrapped around her waist.

Her lips moved against his hand and he felt her tense up. A smirk crossed his face as he slowed down, his thrusts becoming more powerful as he nudged her cervix. “You’re close. I can feel it,” he declared, “it’s okay. Let go. Cum on my cock, darlin’. Show me how big of a slut you are for me.”

Her eyes rolled back in her head and a high pitched shout attempted to leave her covered mouth as her release rippled through her. Jake fucked her through it, aftershocks rolling through her sensitive cunt as he chased his own high.

She felt Jake’s hips stutter and his cock twitch, his mouth gasping her name as he filled the condom with his seed. He pulled out slowly, tying off the condom and tossing it on the floor of the jet. He collapsed backwards, pulling her down onto his lap as they calmed.

The hangar around them was getting darker, the last rays of the sun streaming through the windows at the top of the building.

“We should get back inside,” he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.

“Yeah we’ve probably been gone long enough,” she agreed as she stood, scooping her pants up from the floor.

Before she could slip them on, Jake snatched her panties out of her hand and tucked them into his pocket with a smirk. “Just in case I need them later,” he teased, winking at her devilishly.

“You asshole!” she exclaimed.

Jake chuckled while she sighed, putting her pants back on and righting herself as he did the same. He climbed out of the jet before her, using the time to look around and double check that they were still alone.

“Hop on,” he instructed as soon as her boots hit the concrete floor.

“Huh?”

“Get on,” repeated Jake as he squatted down, “I’ll carry you back. I’m sure your knees are just too weak to walk halfway across base anyway.”

“I hate you sometimes, Seresin,” she grumbled as she climbed on his back. She felt a laugh bubble from her chest as he stood and soon, she was giggling into Jake’s shoulder, feeling lighter than she had in months.

Everything: @thelastpyle @deangirl93 @evergreencowboy @katelyn--renee @fictional-affairs @paintlavillered @buckys-zomdoll @polireader @b3autyfuldisast3r @welcometothefandommultiverse @mlovesstories @supraveng @xoxabs88xox

Top Gun: @princessmisery666 @evansrogerskitten @bradshaw-fanclub @saiyanprincessswanie @luckyladycreator2 @princessphilly @ahockeywrites @clints-lucky-arrow @wildbornsiren 2 @shanimallina87 @fuckyeahhangman @blue-aconite @hope-love-equality2 @peachiicherries @marvelousmermaid @therebeccaw @green-socks @imjess-themess @jostystyles @mayhem24-7forever @callsignaries @a-reader-and-a-writer @ahopelessromanticwritersworld

#writercole #jake 'hangman' seresin #jake seresin x reader #hangman seresin #the best benefits #top gun maverick #part 6

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beevean · 8 months

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Comparing CV and NFCV designs

I was having thoughts about how game designs were translated to the show. While I'm not a character design expert, I ended up having a fair bit to say, because most of the changes are fascinating, for better or for worse :P

1) Sypha

She's the only character I would say that was improved over the game version.

While Sypha never starred in any game post-CV3, and wasn't redesigned by Ayami Kojima like Trevor and Alucard were (excluding a cameo in PtR), we know what she looks like by her ending sprite of CV3 and the Fake Sypha of SoTN:

Yet another long-blonde-haired woman. Like pretty much every other woman in CV with few exceptions. She's carried by her mage outfit and her big hood that give her a mystique air, but I don't blame the showrunners for redesigning her.

Giving her short, reddish hair was a great choice IMO. It's a very cute haircut that doesn't fall into the "Stronk Female Character" stereotype (think Zafir essentially lol). Too bad they didn't even attempt the whole "secretly a man" plot point because it would have worked pretty well. Her clothes are simple, and I wish she hid herself in the hood more, but they work for her character. Full thumbs up!

2) Dracula

I'll use the Dracula from SoTN and CoD as reference, since those are the designs that inspired the one from the show.

His SoTN design is iconic, a true classy villain that inspires awe, and surprisingly faithful to the description in Bram Stoker's book. His CoD design isn't bad, very similar in features to the previous one, but with clothes more inspired to his "Classic" style, which makes sense. (the spiked wings are particularly cool)

... but I must confess that I prefer Dracula with black hair rather than white:

I know that LoI didn't happen in NFCV, but it would make more sense for the original Dracula. He could have looked like an older Mathias by the time of CV3... then the grief of losing Lisa would turn his hair white, as we see in CoD and after. Also it's just aesthetically more pleasing lol.

I like the outfit as well. The top is inspired from the CoD outfit, where he looked like a sorcerer, and the bottom is inspired from the SoTN outfit, where he looked like a noble (he wears boots, hidden here). Not particularly elegant, but then again this Dracula is neither of those things, so it works well enough.

It's ranked below Sypha simply because, well, it's just Dracula with a dye job, not much effort went into here. Hell, Kojima herself considered the idea first:

But it's a small change that works wonders and I like him a lot!

3) St. Germain

In CoD, St. Germain was meant to look very out of place:

He wears anachronistic clothes, and even his body build is unusual for the style. You can tell before he opens his mouth that something's up with him.

In the show, having a different background, he had to be redesigned:

He looks more time appropriate and stockier, but still recognizeable as the original character in physical traits. They even kept the hourglass!

I have little to add. The two characters serve different purposes, so they have to look different, and both work. I don't prefer one over the other, which is good enough. It was also a cute easter egg that N!St. Germain at one point wore the original outfit.

4) Trevor

Now we're getting into "obvious downgrades compared to the original" territory, but Trevor still looks fine for what he is:

Handsome in a scruffy way, combat ready (especially after ditching the cape), and with noble heritage. Nothing near as iconic as his CoD design, which looks both elegant and as combat ready as a veteran vampire hunter should be...

... but again, it's fine for the kind of character this Trevor is, and he's still aesthetically pleasing.

I do question, however, why Trevor starts out with his scar. In CoD, he got the scars on his eye and chest after the fight with Dracula, to mark him as a survivor of the Dark Lord at the peak of his strength. Giving it to Trevor simply because he got in trouble with humans is cheapening it.

5) Hector

Hector has the dubious honor of being one of the few characters who looks nearly identical to his game counterpart. As you can tell by the placing of the designs, I don't like this choice (Dracula notwithstanding because the black hair really is an improvement IMO), because they end up looking like discount versions of the beautiful Kojima designs.

Still, what more or less saves Hector is that his design had to be simplified, because man there is a lot going on here:

Hector's design conveys two important factors: he's a knight, and he's proficient in combat. The outfit's not elegant, but it's protective - look at the armor on his chest, his boots, and the guard on his left arm. His clothes overall look sturdy and comfortable enough to run and fight. He also has a ton of details that would be a nightmare to animate, such as the holes in his sleeves and pants, the chains, the skewed belt...

The simplification here was done with the right amount of care. The holes have become a motif, and the sleeves are no longer asymmetrical in color; same for the holes in the pants. The armor and boots still share the same motif, even without the detail that made them look protective (in fact, the armor is more visibly made of metal here, while in Kojima's style it's hard to tell if it's metal or leather). The belt has become a singular object, and most importantly they removed the black ribbon wrapped around the sash - it was most likely an accidental choice, but since that is Rosaly's ribbon, and ofc Hector wouldn't have it in this version, it was the right call.

There are, however, some problems with this. All these compromises make for a weird design in the context of the show: no other character has this extravagant design, even with all the simplifications. I'll explain later that he's especially jarring contrasted with Isaac. Also, it simply doesn't fit the character: this version of Hector is infamously completely ineffectual in battle, spends most of his screentime being used and tortured, and never once swings a weapon at an opponent (perhaps this is why he looks like he lost all muscle mass lol). Just look at the glove on his right hand: the reason the real Hector wears it is as protection when he uses his sword. Hector from the show doesn't even have a sword! That glove is completely useless for a blacksmith like he's supposed to be!

As a plus, this is what Hector is supposed to wear when employed under Dracula:

They gave Isaac the correct uniform (and I will have words about it). Hector started to wear his CoD clothes after he decided to run all over Wallachia to chase Isaac. Again, the outfit is not for work, it's for combat.

But it's not just the clothing that changed. On a positive note, I like his darker skin: Hector here is canonically Greek, and I appreciate it. I would like to see this bronze skin tone with game Hector's silver hair. On a negative note, however, this Hector's hair is very bad: not only it's a dull grey and not shiny silver, but the haircut is simply unflattering - why did they cut off the tips like that? It falls very badly around his face, it looks like a cheap, static wig.

(i'm not even going to deign words for how they drew child hector. that thing has suffered enough)

Overall, I don't know why they bothered to recreate the same design when it simply doesn't fit the character, and the character in general just looks like a downgrade, but I can accept the compromises in a vacuum. It helps that Hector's original design is just that good.

6) Lisa

Lisa also looks identical to her game counterpart, perhaps because there was no need to waste time for a minor character.

She's female Alucard with a typical mom ponytail. Nothing much to say.

And I will only say one thing about Lisa in the show.

Man is the style so damn unflattering for her.

She can look better depending on the artist...

But I'm not giving points for literally copying Kojima's design and doing it poorly.

7) Alucard

Alucard's design by Kojima is one of the most iconic in videogame history.

Look at him. Pure, effortless elegance. An absolute prince, graceful and deadly. The sheer amount of detail in his clothing are a fashion designer's dream. You cannot top this. Which is why I imagine the show didn't even attempt to.

... but what the actual fuck am I looking at here.

Again. Simplification was in order, I get it, I understand. But... really? Really. You did this to Alucard. You gave him the shittiest V-neck shirt and pants I could buy at the thrift store? Where is the elegance? Where is the nobility? Just having a long coat isn't enough to recreate the same style!

I also resent the scar on his chest, given to him by Dracula (unlike Trevor). That is the true reason he wears the shitty V-neck shirt. His S4 design all but proves it:

Now this is just nonsensical. What's the point of wearing a cape and a coat, but still going around with your whole chest out? I mean. We all know why. But it's ridiculous.

This is why Alucard ranks far lower than Hector and Lisa: his design has cheap fanservice as its priority, and I find that disrespectful towards the character and the audience. Plus, much like Lisa, the style is very unflattering to him.

I don't know what to tell you, guys. I just find him ugly, even in the best shots.

8) Carmilla

Comparing the two Carmillas isn't even worth it, but then again I could say the same about Isaac, and I don't want to be unfair :P

This is the most famous design for Carmilla in the games:

A giant, masked, naked woman riding a skull crying bloody tears. Nothing like any other foe in the series, and absolutely raw.

We also have "Camilla" from CotM:

Aww, she's cute. She's so pink and frilly! She has fins in her hair! Hard to imagine her as a villain. But don't worry, she also turns into a giant naked demon lady riding a skull:

So the showrunners had some good ideas to transport into the show.

... And they went for the most generic "sexy female villain" design they could.

She's not ugly, but... she's just boring. This design fits her to a T because her whole character is boring. They didn't even give her a mask, or a skull motif. Nothing. It's just a forgettable sexy #girlboss. Disappointing. Even the dress is boring - does this thing even have shading?

I guess they recycled the idea of a cute vampire villain for Lenore, but she's outside the scope of this list, so.

9) Isaac

And finally we get to the worst downgrade in the whole show :)

Where do I even begin with this guy. He's unlike any other character designed by Kojima, but not to the point of looking like he doesn't belong. What matters is that you can tell everything you need to know about him at first glance, and first and foremost: he's the peak of flamboyancy and insanity. You are not going to forget Isaac very soon lol.

But it's all the details that make the picture. He's red and black, marking him as a foil to Hector who is blue and silver. His outfit is obviously similar to Hector's, but fallen off of him and rotten (the "armor" on his chest resembles Hector's own, just stripped down). He has long forgotten anything resembling "sturdy and comfortable", but the bloodied spear tells us he's still a formidable fighter. The hair is anachronistic to say the least, but the way the bangs cover a side of his face contrasts Hector's billowing hair and draws attention to the tattoo on his face. He is covered head to toe with intricate tattoos, that must have been painful to get: a show of strength, loyalty, or masochism, you decide. Among these, he proudly displays a tattoo in the shape of the Devil Forgemaster crest on his back: this, along with the collar, tell us that he's slavishly devoted to his master.

This is Isaac's character, and the design does a fantastic job at telling us everything we need to know without even needing him to move or speak. I would say that his main characteristics are the color red (the hair, mostly) and the tattoos.

Yeah, good job not keeping a damn thing that made him recognizeable.

This is a dude. This is a completely average dude who rolled into the set and stole a costume for the role. No, giving him red eyes and a few dots on his face is not enough to give him an unique, memorable design. He's bland... neutered. And they absolutely did it on purpose, because this design is the complete opposite of the controversial original above - this Isaac is serious and "deep", not a gay clown, duhhh.

They don't even deserve credit for the uniform:

And may I say that Kojima, being an artist on a whole different level, was able to make the cossacks look elegant and dynamic, while N!Isaac above looks flat and boring.

Also, in PtR, Hector and Isaac match:

Because they're wearing a uniform. They have the same job and the same role, so they are wearing the same clothes. It's common sense. (it also makes more satisfying when at the end they diverge, displaying more of their personalities)

In the show, they do not:

Why is Hector, the ineffectual non-fighter, wearing combat clothes, while Isaac, the sharp and strong fighter, is wearing a full vest? Why is Hector wearing blue and Isaac is wearing black? Why do they have different crests on their armor???? IT'S A UNIFORM!

This is what happens when you browse the wiki without actually doing research on what the elements you're referencing mean.

Also, blue and black? Nowhere near as striking as blue and red. Isaac has something of a red motif in the show, only in his magic, but his personality doesn't match it. Even worse, Isaac wears blue in S4. Because he's not a foil to Hector, he is Hector but worse.

As for the tattoos, obviously I would never expect all those intricate tattoos in an animated show, but it would have been cool if he had at least the Devil Forgemaster one (even the extremely simplified version on this Hector's back), since even this Isaac starts out as being blindly loyal to Dracula. Instead, they thought that Isaac has a fetish for pain, and they gave show Isaac the habit of flagellating himself... which then got attributed to religion, and then was dropped lol. His actual tattoos are... weird? And overall they hardly matter, since they're concealed most of the time. Unlike game Isaac's tattoos, they don't convey anything about his character.

As you can guess, the reason Isaac is my least favorite design is that he's not just a downgrade: he's a downgrade that pretends, and is accepted, to be an upgrade. You can feel the contempt against the real Isaac, by showrunners who didn't bother to understand the character and hastly rewrote him to "fix" him. Isaac was deliberately neutered because the show thought itself too superior... although in retrospect it's funny, since they allowed a pink haired BDSM vampire in Nocturne...

#anti netflixvania #just in case #mostly anti by the second half #i was very charitable in the first one lol #dunno i need to share my thoughts sometimes

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alun1r · 10 months

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Hogwarts Legacy Boys React 01.

Hi! I’ve never really done one of these before but I had a weird dream that inspired this idea. This is just a small collection of short one shots basically ( less than 500 words). All in good fun and to help me improve my writing :)

Prompt:

F!MC makes a bet with the character and wins. Now the character must pay up. SFW FLUFF🌸

Ominis Gaunt x MC

The quidditch game truly was neck and neck. Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. Students were all on their feet. It was a truly exciting game. Some of the professors seem to even be excited and cheering on the house they wanted to win.

You cheered for Slytherin along with Ominis. Earlier in the common room you playfully bet Ominis that Imelda would score the most points. Meanwhile he put his money on Sebastian. The two had been competing nonstop all season to score the most. So it was a fun little wager.

And right now, they were tied.

She leaned over to Ominis. “ You’re about to owe me, Ominis.” She teased in a playful manner.

He huffed. “ It’s not over yet. Just you wait. I have faith in, Sallow.” He said proudly.

And right on Que, Imelda made another score adding to Slytherin. The game was coming to a close and sure enough, Sebastian couldn’t get one last score in.

She had won the bet.

“ Yes! Imelda! I have you to thank for this win!” Mc said victoriously. Honestly part of her had already forgotten what the pair had betted. She just wanted the victory over Ominis, because it was cute to see him pout.

She turned over to him as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “ Why on earth do I always put faith in Sebastian. I am always disappointed.” He groaned.

She giggled. “ It’s not that you didn’t have faith. Just face it. Imelda is an amazing player. And Sebastian’s only begun.” She shrugged.

He sighed. “ Ah well this was still fun to attend non the less.” He said with a kind smile. “ A bet is a bet.”

He suddenly reached out feeling for the young girl’s arm. His hand trailed up sending small shivers through her.

His hand gently traced over her shoulder, and up her neck as he tried to feel for her face. He cupped her cheek tenderly and smiled.

“ This isn’t the worst bet to lose.” He said before leaning into her and placing a gentle soft kiss against her cheek.

“ Perhaps we should make bets more often. I enjoy the extra random reason to kiss you. “ he whispered against her ear.

Sebastian Sallow x MC

“ Oh come on I know you can do better than that!!” Sebastian shouted leaning over the ledge of the stands. Any further and he very well could fall off, but he was passionate and absolutely determined to win his bet against MC.

But it was very obviously going to be in her favor. Her favorite player was far ahead in scoring more points than Sebastian’s.

“ I told you this game was as good as mine!” She shouted.

“ It’s not over yet, darling.” He said with a wink. “ We’ve got time! I have faith.” He said full of determination and hope.

Suddenly the crowd began to roar even louder. MC and Sebastian looked on confused, trying to see what happened.

All she could hear was the announcer say “ …. CAIGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! Game over! Ravenclaw wins!”

“ HAH!” She laughed and jumped around with joy. “ Woo!! I told you they’d score more points!!!” She boasted as Sebastian hung over the side of the rail absolutely defeated.

He slowly straightened up and sighed as the crowds began to die down and file out.

“ You did. And the loss truly hurts.” He said almost sarcastically.

Sebastian suddenly moved towards the excited girl and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her close, and pressing himself against her. He held her face briefly before trailing his finger tips down to the tip of her chin, gently guiding her to look at him.

“ Good thing this is the kind of bet where I win either way” he grinned before leaning down and gently placing his lips against hers.

Giving her a kiss well worth their little wager.

Garreth Weasley x MC

MC shouted at the teams excitedly! The player she had bet on against the red headed Gryffindor, was scoring more points than his bet.

“ I don’t understand! The last game they were doing so well!!” He shouted. “ Come on!!!” He whined desperately.

She giggled. “ Garrath you chose a person at complete random!!” She accused. “ How on earth did you think they would score more points?”

He rolled his eyes. “ I like an underdog. What’s wrong with that??” He chuckled.

The crowd suddenly roared as the winner was announced with the catch of the Golden snitch. “ Slytherin wins!!” The announcer shouted.

MC jumped and cheered. Taking great pride in having won the bet.

Garrath hung his head as his face turned a bright red.

He turned towards the girl. Seeing her jump in excitement gave him a sort of confidence. Thinking her excitement could be for both the win, and her reward of a kiss. From him.

He smiled and took her hand.

He leaned down towards her to give her a gentle kiss on her rose colored cheek.

She turned at the precise moment for him to miss her cheek.

His lips instead collided with hers.

She stood surprised for a moment.

He suddenly pulled back. “ Oh I’m sorry… I missed completely I SWEAR…”

She shook her head. “ No no. You were right on point actyally.” She said with a smile.

He smiled bashfully. “ Oh yeah?” He said before moving back down, his lips now hovering against hers. “ Pardon the disruption of your reward then.” He whispered before kissing her once again.

#art #harry potter #hogwarts legacy #magic #sebastian sallow #fanfic #fanfiction #character reacts #Hogwarts #Slytherin #ravenclaw #Hufflepuff #gryffindor #garreth x mc #sebastian sallow x mc #ominis x mc #fluff #wholesome #writing

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recurring-polynya · 1 year

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If you could pick just six Bleach characters for the story to focus on, who would they be?

Not sure how anyone could ask me this and think the answer was not going to be the Six Hearts crew, but the answer is, in fact, the Six Hearts crew.

For the most part, I really like Bleach the way it is. I am not a beefer with canon. At least for the first half to two-thirds of it, I find that Bleach has just about an optimal mix of main character focus to interesting side character ratio. I like that it sprawls. I like that a lot of side characters have really rich and interesting back stories that the main narrative gives you little bites of, but leaves the rest to the imagination and/or filler materials. I like stories that give you a lot of space to write fanfiction.

Now, the back half of the Winter War and nearly all of the TYBW did, in my opinion, sprawl too much. The Fake Karakura Town arc used up all my patience with the pillar fights and I spent the rest of it going "get back to Hueco Mundo, already." I definitely would have liked the TYBW to focus more on the core group of characters.

On the whole, though, I like that core the way it is. To be honest, it wouldn't be Bleach in any other way.

Ichigo is the heart of Bleach. His struggles are the themes of the narrative. He is not an everyman character. He is someone who cares so much about the world that he wants to save everyone, but at the same time, he understands and fears the weight of that obligation. His ability to empathize with his enemies-- his inability not to-- is what sets him apart from every other shounen protagonist.

Sometimes I see fanfic where someone else gets stabbed and given shinigami powers other than Ichigo and it's always worse. The only character I accept being swapped in for him is Orihime, and, frankly, that only works in a fanfiction, meta-narrative context, primarily because you need a much better depth of character to be a really good love interest, and I don't think Ichigo has what it takes. Orihime does, though! All of the forces in Bleach pull Ichigo toward the path of battle, but Orihime's stalwart pacifism and unwavering belief in him are the strings that tie him to the world, that keep him human.

I suppose you could swap out one of Ichigo's other school friends for some other member of the Six Hearts crew and probably have it still be okay, but I wouldn't, because their existing dynamic is perfect to me. Uryuu is Ichigo's Classic Shounen foil, but he legitimately challenges him constantly and forces him to think critically about what he's doing. Chad is so full of love and heart and birds land on him like a Disney princess. He is there to balance everyone else's manic energy, except that he's only marginally more thoughtful than the rest of them, so he does not interfere with the general air of stupidity. A lot of people wish Tatsuki had gotten powers. While I don't love the way she is sort of left hanging, I am not sure that she would improve the dynamic. Perhaps it's because she isn't given powers, but she always seems to represent fear to me, the sort of bad-side of attachments that prevents the sorts of leaps of faith the other characters are so inclined towards. The Six Hearts crew being made up of objectively smart people who make absolutely idiotic decisions based on their hearts is the crux of Bleach, and I think Tatsuki brings sort of a rational energy that really dampens the mood.

Rukia is Rukia. Rukia is The Character of All Time. Rukia is the catalyst that sets all else in motion. The other reason that I don't really like Bleach main character swaps is because the decision to illegally give all her powers to some kid she just met, using a maneuver that she probably read in the appendix of a textbook somewhere and involves stabbing him is not a thing most people would do. It is a thing Rukia would do. The way Rukia trains Ichigo and the things she expects from him and the things she expects from herself and from Soul Society are fundamental to the narrative. Rukia stays.

There are many people that would argue for swapping Renji out of the core cast, but I think, for the sake of Rukia's character, it is absolutely essential that there's another shinigami character along for the ride. Rukia is friends with the Karakura kids, but she is not one of them. She is not a teen. She is an undead adult who has deep ties to Soul Society and the Gotei. The culmination of her character arc all ties to Soul Society: becoming vice-captain and then captain, making bankai, earning her brother's acceptance, reconciling with her childhood friend/love interest. Several of the anime filler arcs have her living in Ichigo's closet again and hanging out with the kids, and I think her character suffers for that.

Anyway, thinking over other shinigami characters, there's no one I would pick over Renji. He fits right into the rest of the crew, both powers and personality-wise. He's cool and strong and good-looking, but he's also a simp for Rukia, and Rukia deserves that. Also, he's a high-ranking Gotei officer, which is often convenient for plot purposes. Most importantly, he is my chief blorbo and I love him, the end.

#six hearts beat as one

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fanfoolishness · 10 months

Text

striving (Jedi: Fallen Order)

Cere and Cal have a heart to heart after Cal's mission on Ilum. Perhaps there is a way for both of them to move forward. ~2500 words, Mantis found family feels, Cal gets taken care of, Cere has mentor feels.

---

Cere watched Cal go, his poncho a single spot of color whipping in the blinding blizzard. He and BD-1 soon vanished, their small silhouette swallowed up by the howling winds and the lashing snow. This wasn’t safe. But what other choice did they have? Ilum would not remain open to them forever. She closed the door to the Mantis, shivering at the brief blast of wind.

“You’re not going with him,” Greez said. It wasn’t a question, just a statement. He’d seen her give her crystal-less lightsaber to Cal; he knew she hadn’t dared to find a new one in all this time.

Cere drew herself up to her full height, steeling herself. “No. It’s not my path, Greez. Not yet.”

Maybe not ever.

He gave her a curious look. She knew he didn’t understand the Force, didn’t understand the struggle between light and dark, the energy that she had worked so hard to blind herself to these past years. But he didn’t question her here. He just nodded, giving her a smile that said You know what’s best. Faithful Greez. He believed in her, no matter what, no matter how helpless she felt sometimes.

Did she really know what was best?

Cere could feel the Force calling to her here. It was amplified a thousand-fold in such a sacred place, a song and a presence pressing against the walls she had thrown up around her mind and heart. It begged her to return, to open herself to it as she once had.

Cere wondered if perhaps she should have followed Cal into the caves. She could imagine, if she dared close her eyes, that precious, holy sound of a kyber crystal, her crystal, singing her name.

She could search for it, face the trials of the caves, and maybe it would be there, ready and waiting for her to claim it. But maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe the kyber within the caves would sense what she’d done, how she’d fallen. Maybe she would enter the caves and find them still and dark and silent.

She was not strong enough for that.

Not now. Maybe not ever.

Instead she tracked Cal’s progress through his comms, her hopes carried by him the way he carried his little droid, and she knew that if she couldn’t do it, he could.

---

Cal shambled out from the engine room, a bleary-eyed wreck wrapped in half a dozen layers of poncho. He had topped them off with Greez’s great-grandma’s best quilt haphazardly strewn over his shoulders. His hair was rumpled in about twelve different directions, and from what she could see of his top poncho, it was on inside out. But his cheeks looked pink instead of blue, which was a noticeable improvement.

“Morning,” Cal yawned in Cere’s general direction. “Where’s Greez?”

“He’s up front navigating. If you remember, there’s a few different jumps between Ilum and Dathomir, but he’s got it covered.”

“Good old Greez.”

“How are you doing? How did you sleep?” Cere asked. She set down a hot cup of blueleaf tea at the table, made when she had first heard him stirring in the engine room. She picked up her own, blowing on it.

He slid awkwardly into the seat across from her, wrapping his hands around his mug. For a moment he closed his eyes, perhaps soaking up the warmth. After a moment he stirred and came back to himself.

“Better than I have been,” Cal admitted. He gave her a small, sleepy smile. There were still hollows under his eyes, but he did look better. Certainly he looked nowhere near as frozen and exhausted as he had yesterday upon his hasty return from the caves.

“Everything all right? No signs of frostbite? I’ve never heard of Padawans being taken there in such a blizzard, and there were still cautionary tales about Padawans losing toes during my time,” Cere said, casting a keen eye at his fingertips.

Cal shook his head. “I remember those stories,” he said, taking a gulp of his scalding tea. He winced, but went back for another drink. “I checked before I went to sleep, and again this morning. All my body parts seem to still be attached, so hey, that’s something!”

“Ah, Cal. You don’t lack for tenacity, that’s for sure,” Cere said warmly.

Cal didn’t react the way she’d expected. She’d meant it as a compliment, but instead he flushed pink, looking away. “Yeah, sometimes.” He drew the blanket closer around his shoulders, and went quiet for a minute, as if deciding whether or not to speak. At last he said, “Actually… I almost gave up.”

Cere sat back, giving him space. “Do you want to talk about it?” She knew him well enough by now to know that sometimes he wanted to talk, and sometimes he needed it but refused himself the release. A conundrum she was well familiar with. She wasn’t sure which was the case here.

He lowered his gaze to his cup of tea. “No, I don’t really want to talk about it. But… I think I probably should.”

Good, Cal. You can do this.

She took a sip of her own cup of tea, waiting.

“I know we talked a little on the comms when I was in there,” he said. “But I couldn’t tell you how it really felt. There were so many ghosts.” He looked away, tapping his leg under the table. “Not just memories from other Padawans. My memories, I guess.” His leg jittered harder. “I never expected to go back. Remembering how it was -- all that hope, and excitement, and -- and joy -- Knowing what they took from us --” He took another drink, and the teacup clattered when he set it back down.

She ached for him. There was no other way he could have rebuilt his lightsaber. But imagining him there in those cold, soaring caves, surrounded by the memories of the past…. She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat. “It must have been hard.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah. It was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s not… all of it.” He let out a long breath. “I fell. Into the coldest water I’ve ever felt, so cold it hurt. I couldn’t breathe even with my breather. Honestly, I think I almost died.” He sank lower in his chair, huddled beneath his layers. “Then I saw me -- the way I was, the day they gave the order. He, or me, he pulled me up. Told me to trust him. And I did, Cere. I was so cold, and so weak, but I believed in him.”

“You trusted in the Force.”

“Yeah. I guess I did,” he said. “And when he pulled me up, I could see it shining. My crystal. I thought it was all going to be worth it.”

She leaned in, concerned. He had hung his head, just when it seemed his tale was leading to success. “What happened, Cal?”

He raised his head up, his eyes bright. “It broke. In my hands.”

“Your crystal broke?” She had never heard of such a thing. It was unthinkable. To be so close, to lose everything --

“I thought it was all over,” he said miserably. “I thought I’d failed forever.” He sighed. “I was so happy for a minute. I thought maybe I’d finally fought back against the Empire. I’d taken something back from them. But then I felt my crystal break in my hands --”

He shivered. “It was hard.”

“You tried, though,” Cere said quietly. “You got up. And you kept trying. What made you try to remake your lightsaber even after the crystal broke?”

He smiled crookedly. “Beedee. He showed me that Cordova had encrypted his whole memory - and it would only come back after he found someone he could trust with Cordova’s mission. He believed in me. So I had to try.”

BD-1, charging over on the bench, let out a happy trill and a giddy boop. Cere had never been so grateful for Master Cordova’s little droid.

“That’s right,” said Cal. “He got me to try, and it worked.” He crossed his arms, thinking. “I think now that the crystal somehow wanted me to have two of itself. So I could split the saber if I needed. But I didn’t understand that at the time, and it just felt like… more failure. Failure like Dathomir. Like with Master Tapal. Or Prauf.” His eyes looked red.

“That must have been so difficult,” she acknowledged. She saw the shadows on his face, the puffiness to his eyelids. It had been more than difficult. She might have lost him, right then and there, if it hadn’t been for BD-1. “But you persevered, Cal. You believed in yourself. And you succeeded.”

Cal shrugged sheepishly. “Master Yoda always said that we would be tested. I was hoping it would be different this time. But there’s always a test, isn’t there?”

This was his. What is yours?

Cere breathed deeply. Her own test was coming, she could feel it; she did not know when or what form it would take, but it felt more and more imminent as the days went on. Until then, she knew she had to do what she could for Cal, to help guide him and keep him safe as much as she could. Perhaps that was part of her test, too.

“Always,” she echoed. She thought back to something he had said earlier. “Wait a minute. You said you split your saber?”

Cal reached beneath his layers and brought out his lightsaber hilt, the double-bladed staff components looking restored and refreshed. Seeing her own lightsaber’s hilt incorporated into his… her eyes stung, and she blinked the emotion away. She hadn’t realized she would feel so honored to see it there.

He snaked his other hand up to the blade and gave it a precise twist. The long, well-balanced hilt split cleanly in two. “I didn’t know I was going to do it until I did it,” he admitted. “I thought I was going to make a double-bladed saber like Master Tapal’s, but when the crystal split, it gave me an idea. Both sides work. Try it.”

Cere took his direction, hefting one saber in each hand. With a simple click of the switches, twin yellow blades roared to life, their hum beautiful and familiar.

“Hey! Hey! Watch the lightsaber!” Greez hollered, turning around from the cockpit. His mouth dropped. “Two of them? Oh, come on, Cal! Enough is enough!”

Cere chuckled, turning the lightsabers off and twisting them back together into one whole. She handed it back to Cal, closing her hands over his for just a moment.

“Cal, this is truly impressive,” she said honestly. “It was the rare Jedi who could wield a dual-blade lightsaber in my time, and it was even rarer to be able to make a functional split model. This is fine work.”

Cal’s face lit up, a flower opening to sunlight, and the praise made him beam despite his clear exhaustion. It made her heart ache. She remembered, long ago, how Trilla had similarly blossomed with well-earned praise; how the reflection of that emotion from her eager, trusting Padawan had warmed her own heart. Seeing Cal so open, so honest with his feelings felt like a wound -- but one that cauterized itself, healing even as it hurt.

The trust he places in me… I cannot misplace it again. She vowed it to herself, as fiercely as she had ever believed anything.

“Thanks, Cere,” he managed, his cheeks pink.

“You’re ready for Dathomir,” she said firmly. “There is nothing you can see there that holds any power over you. I know you’ll succeed.”

He looked at her with wide green eyes. He nodded, just a little, and she relaxed in her seat. He believes me. He’s starting to believe in himself. It was a good thought.

“I -- I think you’re right,” Cal said. He finished his tea, looking heartened.

“Need another cup?” Cere asked, finishing her own. “I can put on the kettle again.”

He yawned. “No, thanks. I should probably clean up.”

She chuckled. “You do look… weathered.”

“Was that a joke?” Cal asked in disbelief. “Oh, man, I’ll have to tell Greez about that later.”

“I make jokes!” Cere said defensively. “On occasion.”

Cal waved a hand at her. “Uh-huh.” He got to his feet, shrugging back into his pile of ponchos and quilts. He ran a hand through his hair to try and smooth it, only succeeding in having half of it stick out to one side and the other side break into loose waves. Cere held back a smile at the result. “I’ll be back. And uh, thanks. Again.”

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”

She got to her feet once he had left, readying another kettle of water. Cal might not have needed any more tea, but another cup of Kashyyyk blueleaf tea sounded divine to her. Besides, she had a feeling she wouldn’t be alone much longer.

Greez turned up just as the water was ready, joining her at the table. She poured them both a cup wordlessly, and slid his over to him.

“Ahhh, thanks, Cere. This’ll really hit the spot.”

“How’s our trajectory, Captain?”

“Looking good. Got the last of the tricky jumps out of the way. Navicomputer can get the rest,” said Greez, waving one of his four hands back to the cockpit. He settled back in his chair. “Kid’s doing all right?”

“I think he’s doing more than all right. He’s ready for what comes next, Greez. I have faith in him,” said Cere.

Greez took a cautious sip of his steaming tea. “I didn’t hear everything you both were talking about, but uh… things are sounding pretty okay with you two. Am I right?”

Cere breathed in the scent of steeping blueleaf. “Yes. I think we understand each other now.”

“He’s not still blaming you about, you know?” Greez asked carefully.

Cere pursed her lips. “I think he understands now what it means to fail, and to want to make amends. I know he pictured himself in Trilla’s place -- but I think now he remembers how one can try and still fail. I saw how he blamed himself for his master’s death when there was nothing else he could have done.”

“That was hard to see,” said Greez, shaking his head. “My heart went out to the kid.”

“I know. We both have struggled with guilt. But I think now he can see a path forward.” She closed her eyes, trying to block out the memory of Trilla’s cold, cruel face. “I only wish I had trusted him enough to be honest from the beginning.”

Greez reached out and patted her on the shoulder. She blinked, surprised.

“Hey. Maybe he wouldn’t have been ready then, not like he is now.” He considered. “Maybe you’re ready too, Cere.”

“One step at a time, Greez,” she said.

But right now, in this moment, it sounded possible for the first time in years. Cal had found a way to move forward, to keep striving past the struggle and the doubt. She took a sip of tea, picturing Trilla’s face bright and open; picturing Cal’s face, hopeful and proud.

Maybe there was a way forward for her, too.

#jedi: fallen order #jedi fallen order #jedi fallen order fanfiction #cere junda #cal kestis #greez dritus #my jedi fic #mantis found family

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