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fucknathanieljacobs · 2 years

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Nate Jacobs, Little Boy Lost.

An overwhelming calm crept over the shadows of Nate Jacob’s bedroom, slithering into every corner, every crevice, blanketing the air like a heavy, crippling weight as he lay upon his back, fixating his gaze to a particular swatch of peeling paint that had somehow become painfully obvious to his keen eye despite the surrounding darkness.

There was nothing comforting about this calmness, this stillness that seemed to stop the flow of time between the four walls of this generic bedroom of a high school quarterback, the only decor being trophies of past victories that seemed to blur together, insignificant and nearly meaningless in the hindsight of it all. No, this was an ominous tranquility, as if a soft, uneasy whisper was rising up from beneath the silence to hint that it was all just beginning.

"Nathaniel, your whole fucking life's a secret. A mystery."

His father’s targeted words shouted so pointedly amidst the slurred speech of his drunken bender as his brawny frame swayed upon the perfectly manicured stairwell of the Jacobs household a mere hour before scraped continuously at the back of Nate’s mind like a dulling knife, looping, clawing against the confines of his sanity. As his thoughts began to spiral, his calloused hands tugged upon the fabric of the sheet beneath him, balling his knuckles into tight, tense fists.

"Who knows about you? I have lived with you. I have raised you, I am your father. I know nothing about you. That's not true, I know that you're angry."

How dare his father not see that this emptiness, this vacancy of youth, of substance, had been bred and perpetuated by his own doing. How dare he speak of freedom from a life he felt so burdened by without taking ownership of ruining his son. He had raised a little boy lost; so devoid of affection and true guidance that the only remainder of humanity in his pivotal transition into manhood was too far cloaked in layers of trauma and ever present anger to truly surface. In his isolated quiet, Nate tried to source his memories for before the numbness set in, before the day to day auto piloting and emotional emulation became his normal behavior, perhaps a time of innocence that hadn’t been filled with faux laughter and forced smiles. Did those moments ever truly exist for him or were they only displayed in media he consumed, this unattainable idea of a healthy, doting family dedicated to the wellbeing of their children. His father had even managed to rob him of the potential concept of family trauma bonding; a moment that could have perhaps mended any possibility of a family environment finally without the presence of his father, an aspect of mutual affection that could be shared in the wake of his emotional destruction but, no. Nate had already known his father’s secret, a secret he had kept locked tight for seven years that wreaked such havoc and developmental destruction upon his adolescence that he had dissociated from forming any concrete personality just to keep, his sacrifice amounting to absolutely nothing now that his paternal figure was so carelessly choosing to scream about his closeted queerness in the foyer, hardly scratching the surface of the loaded layers behind his confession. Within his ramblings, his drunken narcissistic father failed to mention his graphic collection of homemade, male centric, violent pornography with predominately underage teens Nate found as a mere eleven year old child, but no, why would he focus on how he threatened his own son into silent submission, leaving behind a vacant shell of a blooming boy, when he could instead victimize himself in his self inflicted chaos and once again inform Nate that it was his son’s fault for not allowing him in.

Interlacing between the echo of his father’s slurred speech was the voice of his ex-girlfriend, his Maddy, the words bouncing off a moonlit memory from the night before as she asked in earnest if he’d ever felt loved by her, the whites of her puppy dog eyes searching his stoic demeanor for any ounce of true emotion to cling onto. “I don’t know” he remembered responding, his gaze fluttering closed momentarily, tearing away from the peeling paint as his gut wrenched upon the most honest moment he allowed himself to have in recent memory. How could he possibly know love? There had been no love within his father’s insatiable desire for violence or the distance his mother put between her and the bouncing baby sociopath she knew they’d inevitably bring into the world their second time around. He searched so desperately to know even the smallest aspect that breathed hope into the sensation of love. He could almost see the brightness of love dancing upon the golden strands of Cassie Howard’s hair when sunlight trickled delicately through the blinds in the early hours of morning. He could almost feel the heavy pang of heartache attempting to break through when Maddy’s tough exterior had cracked before him in utter desperation to save any remainder of their relationship. There were seconds where his heart began to beat faster and slower all at once but as quickly as the sensation came on, it seemed to be ripped away.

A muffled buzzing abruptly vibrated upon the wood of Nate’s bed-side table marking the first sign of life for hours that penetrated the darkness of his bedroom. Almost in a reflex, Nate’s right hand immediately shot up, clutching the vibrating device, swiftly throwing it across the room where he lay, a loud huf accompanying his violence, his body jolting upward and forward, as he watched it land safely in one piece near the doorway. He couldn’t even destroy a Goddamn phone when his father had so effortlessly destroyed an entire family.

In a sudden burst of aggression, Nate allowed his lips to part in a scream, a piercing yell that came from the depth of his belly and rose the veins of his neck to the surface, his flesh immediately turning rosy with his rage. A large breath to catch his anger followed as he threw his muscular frame back upon the mattress, another full body scream piercing the air as he rocked his figure forward and backward continuously slamming himself upon his queen sized bed. Feel something, you fucking asshole. His subconscious screamed. Feel fucking anything.

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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A Quick Love Letter To One Piece On Its 23rd Anniversary

Today is the 23rd anniversary of One Piece's debut in Weekly Shonen Jump. Back on July 22, 1997, the world was pretty different, pop culture-wise. The number one song on the top 40 was about to be the Backstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," and the United States box office was about to be dominated by Air Force One, a movie where Harrison Ford plays the President and not only strangles a terrorist with a parachute strap but rescues everyone aboard and then flies his plane to safety. Yeah, pretty different.

1997 also gave us stuff like Batman & Robin, the Star Wars Special Editions, and three different Spice Girls singles in the Top 10 chart. And while all of these things are usually looked back on with a mix of nostalgia and "What was that all about?" 23 years later, One Piece has stayed constant. I can think of very few franchises that haven't completely overhauled themselves since then, changing to keep with the times and escape extinction.

Four different people have played (or are about to play) Batman in live-action movies since 1997, each one altering the tone of their performance in an attempt to be more culturally relevant. Meanwhile, though the scale has gotten larger and the stakes have gotten higher, One Piece has stayed singularly devoted to a group of goofy pirates trying to accomplish their dreams. No dark and gritty reboots there.

Of course, this is mostly due to One Piece being the magnum opus of creator Eiichiro Oda, whose vision has steered it in a specific direction of his choosing. But even in similar long-running franchises, shifts usually occur. The gag-filled early days of Dragon Ball are a far cry from the world-ending consequences of the same story a few hundred chapters later. Naruto ended and Boruto was born, a new main character in the same universe. Yu-Gi-Oh! began as a horror-centric manga with Yugi dooming various jerks to ironic punishments and became a story about how rad this one particular card game is. But Luffy grinning and punching his way through life? That's apparently forever.

And in the 12 years that I've been a fan of it, another constant has been the friends that I've made because of One Piece. My roommate in college introduced me to it, showing me the Davy Back Fight arc as he was rewatching the series. It's a weird arc to start with, but I was hooked. And though I lost touch with him for a few years, we recently reconnected to chat, reminisce and then, inevitably, gush about how great One Piece is.

The friends that I've made online due to One Piece have all been supremely pleasant, too. I don't know if y'all have been reading Grant's Twitter thread, but the community that springs around it whenever a new chapter comes out is maybe my favorite thing on that whole dang social media site. People like Simply Scarlet and Bareerah are always delightful to talk to and have been major forces in getting me to look deeper into why I love the series. I met Steve Yurko, the twelve-foot-tall artist, at a convention after he complimented a One Piece article of mine, and he's one of the most swell human beings alive. So is Maddie, who draws incredible One Piece fan art at a rate that makes me wonder if she's actually human, or possibly a robot invented to make fandoms better.

There's many more, but my point is that maybe it's for the best that One Piece has stayed so strong in its core mission. Because when I talk to my friends about who the best Batman is, they'll probably say Christian Bale and I, the correct person, will say Michael Keaton. But with One Piece, its unwavering commitment to being, well, One Piece means that we're all kinda on this journey together.

Obviously, it has its flaws and stuff that I'd change or reconsider, just like I would with all series that I care about. And obviously, not everyone sees eye to eye about every aspect of it. It would be a pretty boring group of friends if we all liked the same stuff the same amount. But I can't think of another series in my life that has invited so much constant passion, so much togetherness. Every One Piece fan that I'm buds with has a story about how they found the series, a story that inevitably becomes about how their One Piece friends turned into their One Piece family. There's something undeniably great about that.

Since One Piece began, I've seen a different Uncle Ben die in a different Peter Parker's arms twice on the big screen. I've seen entire comic book universes be destroyed and rebooted. I've watched franchises and stories pivot and evolve themselves, just to ensure their survival. And I've watched One Piece thrive by ... just being One Piece. For 23 years. That's really something.

Have you made any friends through One Piece? When did you first get into the series? Let me know in the comments!

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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doctorwhonews · 7 years

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The Diary of River Song - Vol 2

Latest Review: Stars: Alex Kingston (River Song), Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor), Anna Maxwell Martin (Maddie Bower), Gemma Saunders (Ellen Byrne), Justin Avoth (Robert Murphy), Salome Haertel (Rachel), Jessie Buckley (Sarah Dean), Ann Bell (Lisa Burrows), Robert Pugh (Emmett Burrows), Dan Starkey (Computer), Aaron Neil (Steven Godbold), Sara Powell (The PA), Sam Alexander (Todd the Pod), Barnaby Edwards (Autocorrect), Paul Keating (Isaac George), Robert Hands (Daniel Defoe), Alan Cox (Robert Harley) Written by Guy Adams, John Dorney, James Goss, Matt Fitton Directed by Ken Bentley Produced by David Richardson Big Finish Productions, 2016 “Some days I dreamed of having two of you to play with – but not you two! You really shouldn’t have met!” River Song to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors Volume 1 of The Diary of River Song in 2016 was a good, if not brilliant, start to River Song’s adventures on audio. As this writer remarked in his review of that boxset, Alex Kingston could certainly hold her own in a River-centric series and the stories, as diverse as they were in terms of style and settings, showed there was great potential for ongoing adventures with the Doctor’s archaeologist wife. Whereas Vol 1 contained two very good episodes and two very ‘so-so’ instalments, The Diary of River Song Vol 2 has three very strong scripts and one ‘so-so’ tale. This is already a significant improvement, you might say, on the first volume. Only two of the contributors from the first box set write for Vol 2 – James Goss and Matt Fitton while Guy Adams and John Dorney take up the writing duties from Jenny T Colgan and Justin Richards. Like Vol 1 (and also the recent adventures of Big Finish’s other resident archaeologist Professor Bernice Summerfield), the four tales, while distinct from each other in storytelling styles, form part of an overarching, epic narrative of quite ‘earthshattering’ dimensions (spoilers!). In Vol 1, there was a pay-off for the listener in the final instalment, as River encountered an earlier incarnation of her husband – the Eighth Doctor. In Vol 2, however, BF pulls out all the stops and pits River not only against temporal paradoxes, temporal zombies, and a horde of quantum squids and their malevolent queen, but two even earlier incarnations of her husband. While the linked storyline of Vol 2 is stronger than the ‘Rulers of the Universe’ sub-plot in Vol 1, it is debatable whether the inclusion of multiple Doctors is a strength or a weakness. The Unknown, by Guy Adams, opens the box set in dramatic style. The Saturnius, an experimental starship, is despatched from Earth to investigate the arrival of a mysterious planet on the edge of the solar system. River is, without any real explanation given in the narrative, amongst the tiny four-person crew to investigate the phenomenon. In the bargain, a pint-sized stranger with a Scots accent is also apprehended and detained in the brig. He seems to know what is happening to the structural integrity of the ship as it nears the planet and although River doesn’t automatically recognise him, he seems oddly familiar … The Unknown is almost a virtual retelling of the Doctor Who TV episode Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, complete with its own variation of temporal zombies and the ‘get out of jail’ card at the conclusion (which is a pet hate of this writer!). However, the story’s strongest influences seem to be from Star Trek’s past incarnations – from the Federation-style starship to the captain’s Picard-like order for black coffee to the Irish-accented, testy chief engineer to the smug computer (voiced by BF regular Dan Starkey) to the staple temporal quandary that plagues the starship, and its inevitable reset at the conclusion (again a pet hate!), you’d be forgiven for thinking River and the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) had stepped into a generic Star Trek episode. It’s difficult to know if Adams is homaging or lampooning Trek (possibly the latter more than the former), although there’s scarcely a red shirt in sight … That’s not to say the serial itself isn’t entertaining in parts (there is some very clever dialogue) or that the performers don’t do first class jobs (especially as they all play characters suffering from amnesia induced by the starship’s temporal distortions). However, given this style of tale has been done in Doctor Who before (fortunately on TV just the once, but a couple of times now by Big Finish) – and indeed was often done to death in Trek – it comes across as clichéd, tedious and ordinary. This makes The Unknown (itself a feeble title) the weakest of the four episodes. John Dorney’s Five Twenty-Nine is a very different change of pace from the temporal hi-jinks of The Unknown and of the subsequent tales, and the highlight of the set. Having established the identity of the planet that the Saturnius was investigating, River travels back to the source of the time/space fluctuations that have engulfed it. The ensuing story is very much, in Dorney’s own words, a ‘quiet apocalypse’ piece, bearing some resemblance to another fan favourite telefantasy program in Survivors. It is also a reflective, personal story, as River meets an elderly couple and their android ‘daughter’ Rachel (played by Alex Kingston’s own daughter Salome Haertel). Dorney shows why he is one of the best contributors to the BF range – he knows how to write stories that, while a little slow-moving in pace, are intimate, moving, persuasive and emotional. His characters are also very three-dimensional and sympathetic; both Emmett and Lisa Burrows (Robert Pugh and Ann Bell respectively) are very salt of the earth characters, practical and unpretentious while Steven Goldbold (Aaron Neil) is full of the controlled bravado which doubles for intensity and anxiety deep under the skin. They are all bewildered by the ‘event’ that consumes their world but they, along with the synthetic Rachel, are prepared to meet their fates with dignity and courage rather than abject terror. World Enough and Time is, by comparison to Five Twenty-Nine, high farce. Indeed, writer James Goss takes many cues from the late Douglas Adams (not terribly surprising given Goss has in recent years novelised two of Adams’s classic Doctor Who serials The Pirate Planet and City of Death). River ends up working as a temp for an intergalactic corporation called Golden Futures, which trades off the back of dreamers in suspended animation. It’s no real surprise that with a 'too good to be true' name like Golden Futures, the company is a front for something incredibly nasty and ghastly. However, not only does River stumble upon a grand plan to replace the Earth with an imperfect copy (a feat of pan-dimensional engineering that no doubt Adams’ Slartibartfast would be incredibly proud of!) but is startled to learn that the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) is the CEO of Golden Futures by default after he bought a 51 per cent stake in the company. The problem is River cannot decide if the Doctor has been duped – thanks to the monotonous office politics, staff bureaucracy and human resources nonsense that seems to have swamped his new executive role (office life is very well satirised in the serial) – or if he is indeed truly aware of what is going on and simply doesn’t care … The Eye of the Storm concludes the set as River and the the Sixth and the Seventh Doctors all come together – working at cross-purposes to the other in 18th century London. Matt Fitton’s script also throws in alien monsters, novelist Daniel Dafoe (of Robinson Cruesoe and Moll Flanders fame), the infamous Newgate Prison, the UK’s Great Storm of November 1703 and two star-crossed lovers. Remarkably it all coalesces beautifully, with River playing a substantial role in the denouement which is intimate and tragic. Like Dorney, Fitton also has a talent for showing the impact that grand events can have on a small-scale – in this instance, that a modest, innocent romance can influence the future direction of an entire world. The chemistry between Alex Kingston and Colin Baker in the final two instalments is wonderfully cheeky and mischievous, as the Sixth Doctor encounters a character that is intellectually his equal and just as brash and impulsive as he is. Anyone who still hasn’t got over the original kiss between the Doctor and his companion more than two decades ago in the 1996 TV movie will be equally bamboozled to learn that perhaps it didn’t all start with the Eighth Doctor’s Byronic demeanour after all. It may in fact have been the much maligned Sixth Doctor, with a little prompting from River, who started that ball rolling … River’s flirtation with the even more unfashionable Seventh Doctor is also memorable in the closing moments of the final episode. Both Kingston and McCoy are flawless in their execution of a scene in which River seeks to outflank the crafty, manipulative Seventh Doctor. It is both amusing and compelling – as the two Time Lords flirtatiously engage in a battle of wills. “Oh, you frustrating, gorgeous little man!” River exclaims before knocking him unconscious with a Ming vase! Although the two Doctors are generally kept separate for much of the duration of Eye of the Storm (and indeed for three-quarters of the box set as a whole), when they do come together, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy are excellent. Their witty and disrespectful repartee is highly reminiscent of Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee’s double act in The Three Doctors, and it’s clear Baker and McCoy inject a little bit of the faux rivalry they demonstrate at conventions into their Doctors’ characterisations (in the CD extras, McCoy even recalls how Baker continually teases that none of the actors that came after him are truly the Doctor because he never had a regeneration scene on TV!). “It’s always about the grand futile gestures with you, isn’t it?” the Seventh Doctor contemptuously shouts at the Sixth Doctor, disapproving of the latter’s compassion, selflessness and even heroism in dangerous situations, while the Sixth Doctor informs the “big bad” of the final instalment of the futility of feasting on his successor – “You don’t want to bother with him – rather stringy and very bitter, I imagine!” As much as the interaction between River and the two Doctors is a highlight and strength of this box set, my biggest criticism is that it is also a weakness. With the exception of one story, River has to share the action with not just one, but two Doctors. While her husbands’ presence doesn’t diminish River’s feisty qualities and leadership characteristics or affect Alex Kingston’s magnificent performance, I really question the value of River having her own series when it seems nearly every second story will be gatecrashed in some fashion by one (or more) of the Doctor’s incarnations. Instead, what we mostly get from this set is the usual style of storytelling faire that you’d expect from Big Finish’s regular Doctor Who releases or The Doom Coalition saga, in which River Song also appears. The Husbands of River Song strongly hinted that River was a con artist, rogue archaeologist and adventurer – a female Han Solo/Indiana Jones cross, if you will. Sadly, none of that characterisation is utilised in this box set, and therefore a fantastic opportunity to differentiate River’s solo adventures from the Doctor’s goes wasted. The only real point of difference, in fact, that we have between River and the Doctor in this set is that (a) she is more prepared to use a weapon to kill, if necessary (much to the Seventh Doctor’s extreme disapproval), (b) that she can be ruthless in her management of antagonists, particularly if the Doctor’s life is at risk (as demonstrated in the climactic moments of World Enough and Time) and (c) she will act as the Doctor’s conscience in the event that he cannot (as occurs in The Eye of the Storm). The Diary of River Song Vol 2 is, from a writing and production standpoint, a better box set than Vol 1. As usual, Big Finish’s sound quality and production values are excellent, and even with larger than life figures like Kingston, Baker and McCoy dominating proceedings, there are some excellent performances from the supporting actors such as the aforementioned Haertel, Bell and Pugh, Sara Powell as Golden Futures’ villainous personal assistant to the managing director (or MDPA), and Jessie Buckley and Paul Keating as star-crossed lovers Sarah and Isaac. Nevertheless, like Vol 1, there is great potential for ongoing adventures but it would be ideal if the next volume is more, dare I say it, 'adventurous' and leaves the Doctor out of the proceedings. Now that Alex Kingston has worked with Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker, surely it must be tempting for the BF crew to try to extend that company to Tom Baker and Peter Davison. I would prefer that temptation is ignored and the third box is full of more refreshing, innovative and original ideas. Perhaps there’s even scope for the android Rachel to become a companion to River – based on Salome Haertel's encouraging performance. And even if the next couple of volumes insist on still drawing on Doctor Who’s rich history, there are plenty of other characters and concepts that could be explored without directly involving the Doctor. After all, what did River do to the Daleks at some point that had one begging her for mercy back in The Big Bang? http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2017/05/the_diary_of_river_song_vol_2.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

#Big Finish #Audio #{s{BFDiaryofRiverSong02}}

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