#again I'm not going to include EVERYTHING from the other pirate films

[thegempage]

hi hello i'm full of feelings about poll for initiative so have some ramblings about my cassandra fic <3 spoilers for both pfi and for my cassandra fic! it is also very long so be warned

i mostly just want to pick a few lines to ramble about fjkdsalfdfs so this is that!

You didn’t see much, not with the other bodies in the room and the man gently ushering you out the door, cursing to himself in a language you do not understand, but you think you recognize your mother’s skin, red like your own, shining with a glint that reminds you of the ocean, even amongst the bodies, even with her eyes rolled back in her head.

i did not realize, until this moment, how goddamn long this sentence is jfkdlsaf i'm keeping it bcus i think it fits the situation, but man. thinking about quinn trying to keep cassandra from seeing the people he definitely just killed

this isn't also super canon -- checking my notes, she did mention seeing bodies and that quinn was beat to shit, but not that she saw her parents' bodies -- but i felt like it would be an interesting moment to include bcus, as far as we know, cass's parents were also tieflings, so depending on the people who attacked them they might stand out. also the "red like your own, shining with a glint that reminds you of the ocean" bcus blood is red and she lived on the docks? the line hit me and i had to

Quinn stays for a few days. When he leaves, he hands you a spyglass, and tells you it will keep you safe. J promises that you’ll see him again.

man. man she does see him again! she really does see him again! but ah.

Your name is Cassandra Veer, and you are going to be a sailor one day. Or a pirate. They're basically the same skill set, with a little disregard for the law in the second one. You know J is a pirate. They seem a lot cooler.

this is an entire entry but i just. i wrote it to bridge two larger pieces, and i'm imagining this is probably a preteen cassandra, maybe 11 or 12, getting her sea legs from working with J and J's sons and deciding that she's gonna be a pirate like her cool mom! and considering in the ep i'm listening to rn she literally talks about how J taught her everything she knows, i just.... man. thinking about cassandra losing her birth family and being given to the world's best pirate mom

Gil tells you every time you dock somewhere new that you can’t be Cassandra Veer in this line of work, not if you want a life outside of it, not if you want to survive it. You don’t know the real names of most of the people you work with, and some of them you think have long since shed those names anyway. Nicknames have a funny way of doing that.

this is both really the point at which this fic starts to take its shape around the concept of names and what they mean but Also makes me cry bcus "not if you want a life outside of it" just. the fact that she starts her life anew and becomes a hero as cassandra after meeting lys! fuck!!!!

It’s a thought that’s soap in your hands. You can’t get a solid grasp on it but you feel the film it leaves on you, washing away what thoughts you had otherwise.

ngl this line is partially inspried by the fact that my family started using bar soap a few months ago, and the brand we have for hand-washing always makes my hands feel simultaneously soapy and sticky bcus it washes off all of the oils. but it's also i feel like just a good description of what cassandra was feeling at the time, bcus in the episode so keeps denying the idea that he could be dead over and over until it finally sets in and kinda fucks her up

Lys introduces herself back. Something in you gets caught on the way she says her own name with confidence and pride. Lys De’Forrest is a name that feels picked, feels warmed, feels owned.

i wrote this line not quite remembering whether "De'Forrest" was lys's dad's last name or not but it IS and that plus the fact that i was reminded that lys has like, a full elven name that she does not use just makes this really hit home. cassandra being given a nickname that's become a shield for her most vulnerable self vs lys picking a name to light shit up as an act of defiance

Your face feels hot and you aren’t sure whether that’s from the fire or from the thrill that runs down your spine. You think Lys could burn this forest down if she wanted to. You're afraid she will. That time it's definitely a thrill down your spine.

cassandra is gay and this line is basically canon <3

You’ve never been religious, you didn’t have the time. But even you know blasphemy when you see it. And it wants to kill you.

being fully transparent? this line just makes me laugh fjdsaklf i don't even know if it quite flows the same way and i might tweak it a little bit but the concept continues to be funny

Your name is Cassandra Veer, and as you so often find yourself, you are equally confused by and head over heels for Lys.  Corpses litter Lockjaw's ship. Lockjaw is dead. The Siren's Song is gone. And your girlfriend just made friends with a kraken.

this is it! this is lys and cass broken down into their bare essentials!

and that's all for tonight fjkdlsaf anyway very welcome to any thoughts y'all have on this, and i'll finish this fic eventually so keep an eye out for it and go listen to poll for initiative

#little rock.txt #ciaran does the art #poll for initiative

[carewyncromwell]

Left you all on a cliffhanger last time, so let’s just jump right in! Previous part of the POTC AU here, the whole tag is here, and Jules Farrier is @cursebreakerfarrier’s! Let’s go! <3

x~x~x~x

It took a moment for Orion to recover from Carewyn’s “confession.” It took a little longer still before he felt brave enough to make any movement toward her, though he still found himself oddly uncertain of how to proceed. For, believe it or not, the dashing pirate Orion Amari had never been in love with anyone else, nor did he have much instinct of how best to express affection. He’d encountered plenty of pirates who were “ladies’ men” in Tortuga and the like, of course -- but not only did Orion find they often gave off unpleasant vibes, but he knew for a fact that not one of them could have ever caught the eye of someone like Carewyn Cromwell.

And so Orion found himself hesitating, his hand resting just over Carewyn’s shoulder just shy of her cheek, as he watched her face for her reaction. Carewyn fortunately picked up on Orion’s shyness immediately, and she inclined her head in a muted, encouraging nod as she brought her own hand up to lightly trail over his cheek. The gentleness of the gesture made a shudder ripple through Orion’s shoulders, and he soon found himself mirroring her, smoothing a piece of her bangs from her eyes with his pointer and middle fingers. Her lips spread into a smile as she leaned in, her hand securing itself on his jawline, and placed a chaste kiss to his lips.

That kiss lasted three seconds.

The warmth of her lips on top of his seemed to fill Orion with a wonderful lightness, as if he were coming up off the ground -- and when it ended, there was a strange feeling of withdrawal. It felt like he’d gotten only a small taste of some sugary sweet, and it just wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

And so, almost as soon as she’d pulled away, Orion found himself bringing both hands up to her cheeks, cradling it as he slowly leaned in and kissed her again.

That kiss lasted fifteen seconds.

When they broke apart again, both of them were smiling. Carewyn leaned her forehead against his, and for a moment, all they could do was hold each other, reveling in this bizarre new feeling of closeness. It was so warm and fulfilling, and yet peaceful and soothing at the same time. Orion was more off-balance than ever and yet...all seemed right with the world.

As happy as the moment was, however, they both knew it couldn’t last. Carewyn was the one who woke up from the dream first.

“...What do we do now?” she murmured.

Orion’s face became much more somber seeing the sad glint in Carewyn’s gaze as it fell away. He considered her carefully, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.

“...I don’t know,” he said at last, very softly.

His eyes trailed over her face even though she still couldn’t look up at him.

“...I know I cannot ask you to come with me. You could never be a pirate, Carewyn Cromwell. Your spirit’s free as one, but your heart is too noble. Too heroic and selfless...”

His gaze softened sadly.

“And as long as your family -- your found family as well as your brother -- is out on the high seas...I know you would never abandon the position that gives you the power to protect them. ...Nor could I ever ask that of you.”

Carewyn met Orion’s eyes again. Her blue eyes were rippling to the brim with emotion, raging and turbulent as the sea itself.

“And I can’t ask you to stay with me,” she said. “As long as the East India Trading Company is obsessed with hunting down and killing all pirates...it would never be safe for you in Port Royal...or near me.”

She leaned her forehead against his again, closing her eyes.

Orion wished he knew how best to comfort her. Tentatively he secured his arms around her and brought up a hand to cradle the back of her head, the way he’d seen a woman hold her beau’s head while kissing him goodbye at the dock, when he was a boy.

“The world does indeed seem to be against us,” he said softly, “but the world in itself is not meant to be static. It, and fate, is constantly moving. Fate brought us together once, long ago...and it also demanded we separate. It brought us back together, and then we had to separate once more. Like the sun chases the moon...they do see each other every morning at dawn and every night at dusk...even if they must be apart so much of the time.”

Orion adjusted slightly so that he could look Carewyn in the face more easily.

“...Even if we must do that pattern several more times over,” he whispered, “I would cherish every time we met in the sky again, even if it’s only fleetingly.”

Carewyn looked up at him, her eyes full of pain. The movement made their lips suddenly only a hair’s width apart.

“You’d be all right with just that?” she asked.

He could feel her breath against his lips. It was enough to make his heart rate spike, and he had to take a stabilizing breath before answering. 

“It seems to me that this...is something that most people could go their whole life never knowing for a moment. With that perspective...those precious moments where we could cross paths would be a gift, not an injustice.”

Carewyn frowned. “I understand, but...in this world we’re in, we should not want to collide at all. I’d have to arrest you, and we’d have to fight. There’s only so much we can pretend...so much I can pretend.”

She closed her eyes again, but this time, she didn’t just look sad -- she looked focused. When she opened her eyes again, it was full of a new kind of fire.

“If the world is meant to change...then I’ll make sure it does,” she said firmly. “I’ll fight for a world where you don’t have to run, and I don’t have to lie -- where Bill, Charlie, and Jules don’t have to be criminals just because they were determined to save my life. Where the Navy protects its citizens more than the East India Trading Company’s bottom line. ...Where people aren’t automatically branded criminals with no chance of reprieve or proper justice.”

Orion considered Carewyn for a moment, his expression rather unreadable. Carewyn’s confidence flickered ever-so-slightly.

“...You don’t believe me?”

Orion’s lips spread into a full, soft smile.

“I learned when I was still a boy trying to argue against eating and staying the night in a stranger’s house never to doubt the convictions of Carewyn Cromwell.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened as her lips also spread into a very small, warm smile. Then she leaned in to close the gap between their mouths once more.

That kiss lasted only a second, but there were about five more of them in rapid succession, a little longer and deeper each time.

The following day, the Artemis found a deserted island on one of the rum runners’ routes where they could drop Carewyn off. The crew was a bit disappointed to see her go -- sure, she was a bit too paragon to be a pirate, but she was a capable sailor and her singing voice was pleasant to listen to. Most importantly of all, they could all sense how much their Captain had taken to her and hated the thought of him being unhappy without her.

Carewyn and Skye exchanged a respectful handshake and farewells. McNully shook Carewyn’s hand too, but both she and he ended up using both hands in the end -- Carewyn lamented that she wouldn’t be able to work with such a talented tactician back with the Navy. Then Orion escorted Carewyn ashore on his own, the crew staying behind so that they could exchange their proper farewells.

Both of them stayed very stoic for most of the hand-off. Orion could only give Carewyn a jug of water and a pistol with one shot, as per the rules of marooning, as much as he’d also wished he could give her a bottle of rum and some food for the next few days she’d no doubt be on the island, waiting for someone to pick her up. But as Carewyn pointed out, she wouldn’t die of thirst in that time, and she honestly shouldn’t look in great shape when she was recovered anyway. And so, reluctantly, Orion turned to go.

He’d made it about twenty paces when he paused, looking back at Carewyn on the beach. She was standing in true Commodore fashion, with her arms behind her back and her posture perfectly straight, and yet despite her brave expression, he could see the sadness in her eyes she tried so desperately to hide.

It was in that moment that Orion did something completely off-balance and impulsive. In an instant, he’d barreled back across the beach at the run and, when he reached Carewyn, he threw an arm around her, pulled her in, and kissed her. It was deeper than any of their other kisses had been, with both of them holding onto each other’s back and head and touching each other’s faces as they tried desperately to communicate the depth of their feelings in that tragically short time they were allowed.

That kiss felt like it went on for days...and yet it still wasn’t long enough.

Part of Carewyn wanted to just grab Orion and never let go of him again -- to shield him from anyone and anything who tried to harm him...but she knew she couldn’t hope to protect him from the entire world. And so, very reluctantly, she and Orion separated, and Orion returned to the Artemis. Carewyn watched the pirate ship sail out of sight, her heart full of every prayer she could think of to ensure his safety.

Within two days, Carewyn had been found by a merchant ship, and within the week, she was back in Port Royal. Percy had been beyond relieved to hear of her safe return, though it broke Carewyn’s heart to lie about what had gone down with Bill, Charlie, and Jules. McNully had decided it’d be best if Carewyn claimed that she and the two eldest Weasleys had had a huge falling-out when she’d heard what they’d done (rather like Percy had) and that they’d been the ones to maroon her, rather than Orion. It would give a good explanation about why she was in such good shape, since even if Bill and Charlie were now criminals, they were still “his brothers,” but it would also make them seem rather heartless, to maroon their own brother on some barren island supposedly with no chance of rescue. When Carewyn met Governor Farrier again, however, she refused to say that Bill was holding Jules prisoner, as he’d originally presumed. 

“She took the Revenge and rechristened it as her own flagship,” said Carewyn solemnly. “I’m afraid Miss Farrier -- pardon, Juliette Weasley is as much a pirate as my brothers are.”

What she did not add was that she believed that was “not at all.”

In the time Carewyn was gone, Percy had been promoted to Captain of his own ship, the Clearwater. He was incredibly proud of it -- as happy as Carewyn was for Percy, it proved difficult at points for her not to get a little irritated about how much he was puffing his chest out in the new fancier blue and white uniform he’d been given. He also couldn’t stop talking about the man who had “suggested” he be promoted, after meeting him.

“Lord Beckett really has his finger on the pulse of things,” said Percy one day as he walked with Carewyn around the newly repaired wall of the fort together. “He was thoroughly dismayed when he’d heard you’d been captured -- he’d actually wanted to meet you when you first got promoted, he’s heard all about you...”

‘Lucky me,’ Carewyn couldn’t help but think. The memory of Orion telling her about his time on Beckett’s slave ship rippled over her mind again, and it made her feel a bit ill.

“...Said your ingenuity would be a valuable asset. Lord Beckett is a businessman first and foremost, you see, so he tends to see people in regards to how useful they are...”

“‘Useful?’” Carewyn couldn’t help but repeat, raising her eyebrows primly. “Seems like a harsh way to judge people -- I reckon everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.”

“Well, yes,” acknowledged Percy, “but again, he is a businessman. One has to make calculated risks, in that kind of a position. And his judgements seem rather sound -- he even mentioned having a woman on his payroll, helping him track down pirates.”

He shot Carewyn a rather meaningful look. She could surmise what he was thinking -- if Cutler Beckett allowed women to work for him, perhaps Carewyn could too and not have to hide her gender anymore. Being sure to hide her disgust at the thought of working for the man who had branded Orion a pirate, she gave a light shake of the head.

“As much as I respect the man for his inclusivity...I am a Navy officer, and I take pride in fighting for the crown.”

‘More than I ever would fighting for a private citizen whose moral code seems to be distinctly self-aggrandizing.’

She placed a gentle hand on Percy’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

“...And really...what I want first and foremost is to look after my home and my family -- namely, you. I feel a soldier is better equipped to do that than a pirate hunter.”

Percy smiled slightly, clearly touched by her caring, but he tried to stay serious.

“...Well, that’s a noble thought, Carey,” he mumbled, “but I daresay Lord Beckett would be a bit disappointed.”

“Most assuredly.”

Carewyn turned around, startled.

A man only about two inches taller than her had arrived up on the wall of the fort. He wore a white powdered wig under a black velvet tricorn hat and a gold-embroidered vest with his suit, and his face on first glance gave Carewyn the distinct impression that this was a tiny man who fancied himself to be a lot bigger than he actually was. Carewyn herself had always been on the small side, but she made up for it with her confidence, strong moral code, and work ethic -- this man seemed to be the sort to puff himself up through very different means.

“Lord Beckett!” said Percy, startled.

“Captain Percy Weasley, good to see you,” said Beckett in a breezy tone that indicated to Carewyn he didn’t truly believe the sentiment at all. His eyes had fallen on Carewyn, narrowing slightly as he gave a rather stony smile. “Commodore Carey Weasley -- we meet at last.”

#potc au #au #pirates of the caribbean #orion amari #carewyn cromwell #my art #percy weasley #my writing #my fanfiction #looks like it's time for some dead man's chest plottage! #again I'm not going to include EVERYTHING from the other pirate films #I'll mostly just steal some ideas from the second and third and sew them together into a second story arc #basically think of this part as the end of act one #drawing kisses is hard #and now I've done three of them in a row! #first bill/jules then duncan/jacob and now carewyn/orion #how oh how will you ever be together my sweet carion...? #first things first let's feed cutler beckett to the kraken #then we can deal with rakepick and that whole deal with davy-jones!finn >>; #also yeah I see all of the other officers wearing gentlemanly shoes and hose with their breeches like norrington and such do in the films #carey however wears black boots not unlike the pirates do #in universe it's because carewyn has very narrow feet that are hard to fit and it's easier to stuff boots than it is gentleman shoes #but meta-wise is this visual short-hand? totally #also tall boots are awesome

[lola-andheruniverse]

Okay, so taking in consideration all the following facts/spoilers/speculations...

1. Carol dreaming of domestic bliss with Daryl + "what you want" convo with inner Alpha and Eugene + the "man of honor" on season 2 finale + Daryl's pirate book and "man of armor" comics;

2. Speculation of a party on ASZ with flowers after the one year time jump (wedding?) + the return of dead/missing characters for season 11 finale;

3. Norman and Melissa driving that Commenwealth jeep on a BTS footage + Norman alone riding his bike on another BTS footage;

4. "Get out of my dreams, get into my car" song on the prop department's Playlist (along with other romantic songs like "I wanna know what love is" that could be related to all the caryl scenes filming spoilers say we will get on 11C).

...m a y b e 🤞🏾 we can be gifted to a Daryl's dream to counterpart Carol's where is made clear to us, the audience, that he's in love with her?

And what better way to do that than to marry them on the dream? Just imagine Carol wearing a pink dress and holding a Cherokee Rose bouquet my heart

We could have all the meaningful characters to Caryl attending the ceremony, including the missing/dead ones. I would love to see the full cast, but I think it's more safe to bet on Rick, Michonne, Carl, Beth, Glenn, Merle, Sophia and Henry appearing. And it wouldn't matter that Sophia is an adult now because the dream world is a perfect world where she never died so she got to grow up.

We all know TWD loves dream/hallucinations sequences so yeah I feel this is a strong possibility. Also the dream could be the final inspiration Daryl needs to go after Carol and give us ✨ canon ✨.

Wondering how about the final events can occur:

After the revolution and the disposal of the Miltons/Lance, Daryl will go back to ASZ to help finish the reconstruction while Carol stays on the Commenwealth to assist on establishing a new democratic government.

Time jump, one year later, Alexandria is vibrant again. Everyone's celebrating the beginning of a new era with a renewed alliance to the Commonwealth now ruled by Mercer and Ezekiel, elected by the people. That's the party we know will happen based on filming spoilers and BTS photos.

The Grimes kids are older and safely returned to ASZ where they can be taken care of by Rosita/Aaron/Gabriel/Lydia. Eugene and Connie's group stay living on the Commenwealth. On some point knowledge about The Militia/CRM/Rick's whereabouts will serve as reason to Maggie and Negan leave to NY (and their spin off).

Everything is fixed, everyone is finally happy. Judith will say to her Uncle Daryl is time for him to pursue his happy ending, freeing him from his duty of care.

Daryl leaves ASZ on his bike (BTS of Norman riding alone) to go to the Commonwealth so he can meet her.

And finally, FINALLY, he declares his love. And Daryl just puts everything on the open, while Carol hears him baffled. He says something like I don't have anything to offer you besides myself, my love, and if you want me, if you accept me, I'll stay forever with you, until the day I die. Carol crying/smiling says that's sound like a marriage proposal, you know? Daryl gets all emotional too because she's teasing him and maybe that means she feels the same way and he asks it can be if you want.. do you...? And Carol answers I do. And HEY that's Carol finally aswering what she wants! And just like that, just the two of them alone, on a very caryl way, they get married. 🥺🥰

They kiss and kiss and kiss and we get just a tease of sexy times because TWD is prude as fuck.

And then it's time to say goodbye to everyone and ride into the sunset with the jeep (BTS NR and MMB on the jeep). Last dialogue (wishful thinking all the way):

Hey, this means I'm a Dixon now?

I dunno. You don't have to be.

Why not? Carol Dixon? Best name ever!

Yeah?

Yeah! We are the Dixons now!

Stahp...sounds good to me.

Into the sunset they go.

Credits up.

"The Dixons come back on 2023 with "The Walking Dead: Till Death Do Us Part" ❤

#caryl #twd speculation #wow #can you imagine guys #what do you think? #caryl is endgame #caryl positivity #twd #twd spoilers #carol peletier #daryl dixon

[scottishoctopus]

Day 1: favourite ship (pairing).

Okay! Let's get started because I've been so excited for this week to come and now it's finally here and I get to share all the stuff I love about this awesome franchise.

My favourite ship/pairing?

That would be Captain Jack Sparrow with the jar of dirt, and Captain Barbossa with an apple.

There. I'm done.

Okay so obviously not! Though that ship is one of my favourites, but my all time loved one would be Davy Jones and Calypso/Tia Dalma.

You probably saw that one coming because after all, I am a Davy Jones fan account! And I love everything about that character. But I'm not here to talk about how great he is, that speech will come on another day.

Why do I love this couple? Well lemme just type out all the reasons why this ship is my OTP in the POTC franchise!

Firstly, it's such a tragic mythical love story, kind of like Romeo and Juliet but just 100x more sadder and it also rips your heart out your chest and stabs it afterwards. I mean seriously, I love this god damn fictional couple to death!

A pirate falls in love with a goddess of the sea, and that's ironic because he loves the sea and it turns out that the sea loves him back. And because that goddess loves him so much, she gives him the task to help the people who died at sea and aid them to the afterlife. It does come with a cost and that is he can only see her once for a day after ten years.

And then on one particular day that the two would never forget, she does not show up to see him, and we get that explanation in the future when they meet again. "It's my nature." And the pirate feels betrayed, tricked into becoming a servant for her, and that snaps his heart into two (not literally but you get my point).

And he wants revenge...by betraying her in return.

The pirate decides to tell the Brethren Court of her secrets, of how they can control the sea by binding the goddess to a human form. And he persuades them to do just that. And the goddess becomes stranded on the shores, stripped of her power and disconnected from the sea.

The pirate thinks it was the right thing to do, but he still has that agonising pain in his chest, radiating from his heart. And he could not cope with the pain after what she had done, and after what he did in return.

"The pain that cause him was too much to live with, but not enough to cause him to die."

He removed the pain, by removing his heart from his chest.

And that turned him into a monster. The pirate never aided the lost souls to the afterlife anymore. Instead, he collected them. Forcing them to serve on his ship for the rest of their life, their humanity vanishing as time passed.

Eventually the pirate and goddess meet once again, one final time. Both are separated from eachother by iron bars that contained the goddess bound to a human form. And on the other side, the pirate who transformed into a monster. He wants to express hatred for that betrayal that had happened so many years ago, the pain in his chest was still there next to the empty space where his heart should be. But he still loves her, and so does she.

"And what of your fate, Davy Jones?"

~ ~ ~

Sorry for the long paragraph of sadness and heartache. I love how it started with me saying that's ironic that he loved the sea and it loves him back, and then it all turns into that crying mess. I loved including all the little quotes too. I would of made gifs, but it turns out that I am actually crappy at making them! I literally tried making that scene from At World's End but it ended up being too dark and pixelated.

Um, anyway back to why I love this couple.

The two only interact in one scene, and it's that scene in At World's End. And it is such perfect ness! Even though, I would of liked it if there were flashbacks to a younger Davy Jones without the tentacles, the movie is pretty long and it gets much hate for being that.

(Disney please make a prequel movie that's about Davy Jones and Calypso I am begging you)

The scene starts with Davy Jones expressing his hatred of her betrayal, and it ends with him telling Calypso/Tia Dalma that his heart belonged to her. And honestly, I wanna scream so much everytime that scene comes on. HE STILL LOVES HER AND SHE LOVES HIM AND THEY WERE GONNA BE TOGETHER WHEN ALL THIS BECKETT SHENANIGANS WAS OVER BUT NOPE, HE HAD TO BE KILLED OFF.

But at least they could finally be together, right? Even though I really didn't want him to die, and he just goes and does it anyway.

Hopefully Disney does make another POTC movie, I think they definitely will be because they are wanting Johnny Depp back as Jack. (And they also need to send a damn apology to him while they're at it too.)

And it turns out that Davy Jones might of been resurrected judging by that post credit scene in DMTNT! I mean come on, Calypso/Tia Dalma resurrected Captain Barbossa so she definitely could of done the same to Davy boy too! Yes, I'm calling Davy Jones by that name now. Maybe she did that for a reason as well. Maybe there's gonna be some over powerful god and Captain Jack Sparrow is gonna have to team up with Davy Jones to take down said god! I think Davy Jones will also be wanting his ship back, Will.

I mean the Flying Dutchman by that. Not an OTP. I don't know what couple he would ship.

I'm getting curious now...

Okay. I think I've ranted on long enough now. Because this is just turning into a Film Theory at this point. I hope this was enough to make you guys happy! My fingers are hurting so much for typing all this down on my phone. Hope you guys enjoy #pirates of the quarantinean , and I am really excited to start this week off! I'm going off to look at everyone else's OTPs now, hopefully somebody ships Barbossa with an apple too.

Stay safe you guys, and see you on the next day which will be about your favourite actual pirate ship!

Edit: So I've tried posting this a hundred times and it never comes up on my profile. It started off with GIFS and it wouldn't work, then I tried posting off my laptop and it still wouldn't work. I'm trying to post off my phone again, this time without the GIFS.

Edit 2: Okay it successfully posted finally! Sorry for getting all annoyed!

#pirates #pirates of the caribbean #davy jones #davy jones pirate #bill nighy #tia dalma #calypso #potc1 #potc2 #potc3 #pirates of the quarantinean

[dukereviewsxtra]

Duke's Monsterween: Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Xtra Where We Continue Duke's Monsterween...

By Looking At The Sequel To Scooby Doo The Movie, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed...

Written By James Gunn, Before He Made...

This Film Sees Mystery Inc Donating Some Of The Costumes From Their Famous Capers To The Coolsonian Museum In Their Hometown Of Coolsville..

But When A Mystery Man In A Costume, Brings The Pterodactyl Ghost To Life And Steals All The Costumes, It's Up To Mystery Inc To Find Out Who He Is And Stop Him Before He Brings The Other Costumes To Life...

Will They Do It Before An Unscrupulous Reporter Ruins Their Reputation As Mystery Solvers?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed...

The Film Starts With Mystery Inc Arriving At The New Coolsonian Museum Where They're Holding An Exhibit On Mystery Inc's Greatest Foes...

Hey, Look, Pat O'Brien Is There To Tell Daphne Not To Tell The Press About What He Said On Her Answering Machine...

Meeting Their Fans As They Enter The Museum (2 Of Them Being Smallville's Toyman And The Red SPD Ranger) Fred Is Briefly Interviewed By One Of The Film's Antagonists, Heather Jasper Howe (Played By Batgirl) Before They Go In..,

After They Give The Press A Tour Of The Museum, We Meet The Curator Of The Coolsonian Museum, Named Patrick (Played By Seth Green)

Who Only Took The Role So He Could Do This On Robot Chicken...

Also He'll Be Velma's Love Interest For This Movie...

With Velma Playing Hard To Get With Patrick, We Get A Bit Of A Spooky Atmosphere As Daphne Discovers That The Pterodactyl Ghost Costume Is Alive...

(End At 2:20)

After The Attack, Velma Discovers A Secret Hatch Where The Pterodactyl Ghost Was Along With A Scale From The Ghost Himself...

Fred Talks With Jasper-Howe About The Case Only For Her To Make Mystery Inc And Shaggy And Scooby Look Bad During Her Report....

With The Gang Blaming Themselves For Not Making Sure That Shaggy And Scooby Don't Get Everything Wrong, The 2 Friends Overhear And Blame Themselves For Being Screw-ups...

This Leads Them To Decide To Become As Good Of Detectives As Their Friends And...Failing At The First Try...

But As Shaggy And Scooby Attempt To Act Like Good Detectives In Front Of The Others, Fred, Velma And Daphne Discover That That The Scale From The Museum Is A Real Pterodactyl Scale...

Which Leaves The Only Question Being Who Could Create A Real Pterodactyl Ghost, This Leads Daphne To Bring Up The Original Pterodactyl Ghost, Jonathan Jacobo, Who Wrecked Havoc As The Pterodactyl Ghost Because He Wanted To Create Real Monsters...

But After He Attempted A Prison Break Which Lead To His Untimely Demise...

However, Jacobo's Cellmate, Jerimiah Wickles (The Black Knight Ghost) Was Released 2 Months Ago, Also The Black Knight Ghost Was One Of The Costumes Stolen...

So, They Go To Wickle's Mansion (Which Looks Like The Mansion From The Opening From The Series) Only To Fall Into A Trap When They Ring The Doorbell...

But Luckily Daphne Very Cleverly Uses Make-Up Items To Open The Lock...

Splitting Up To Search For Clues, Fred, Daphne And Velma Discover Glowing Footprints And A Book By Jonathan Jacobo On How To Create Your Own Carbon Based Monsters...

While Shaggy And Scooby (After Having A Sinatra Moment)...

Discover A Clue With The Words "Faux Ghost Tonight" Before Running Into A Very Real Black Knight Ghost..

(End At 3:04)

Returning To Their HQ, Shaggy And Scooby Don't Stay Long Faking Scooby Having Rabies So They Can Go To The Faux Ghost While Velma Discovers That The Pterodactyl Scale Contains Randamonium (Which Is One Of The Ingredients On How To Create Monsters)...

And With Randamonium Being Located At Silver Mines, They're About To Go Check Out The Old Abandoned Mining Town In Old Coolsville Until Patrick Shows Up Causing Velma To Become As Scared As A Bunny Rabbit As She Crawls Away Like A Baby...

With Daphne Giving Velma Advice, She Then Does A Quck Makeover...

(Start At 1:31, End At 1:39)

If She Wore That On Her First Date With Hawkeye, I Can See Why He Married Her...

Meanwhile, At The Faux Ghost, Scooby And Shaggy Discover That Tonight Some Of Their Former Enemies Are Throwing A Party There, So They Decide To Go Undercover So They Can Find Wickles...

Going Through The Crowd They Eventually Find Wickles And Have An Inkling He May Be The Bad Guy But They're Not Certain.,,

After A Dance Scene, Their Covers Are Blown And They're Chased Out Of The Faux Ghost...

Meanwhile, Fred, Velma, Daphne And Patrick Arrive At The Coolsonian Only To Discover That The 10,000 Volt Ghost And The Black Knight Ghost Have Stolen The Rest Of The Costumes...

As Patrick Decides To Go Off To Figure Things Out On His Own, Fred Gets Misquoted Again By Jasper Howe, Which Leads Daphne To Tell Her To Back The Hell Off...

But Howe Fires Back At Daphne Saying That While Everyone Has A Reason To Be In The Gang, What Good Is She Except For Being Just A Pretty Face...

Eventually She Says Something That Makes Daphne Believe That Howe Is The Mystery Bad Guy But Just As They're Talking The Bad Guy Shows Up, Meaning Howe Is Not The Bad Guy

And To People Who Knew Who The Bad Guy Was From The Very Beginning Of This Movie And Are Saying Who The Bad Guy Is In The Comments , Kiss My Ass And Don't Spoil It For The People Who Actually Like This Movie...

As Jasper Howe Leaves Bummed At The Fact She Got No Footage Of That...

Patrick Runs Into Shaggy And Scooby Who After Seeing Him Interrogate A Customer At The Faux Ghost, Have Suspicions That Patrick's The Mystery Guy But Again Aren't Sure...

Afterwards, Shaggy And Scooby Follow Wickles To The Old Abandoned Mining Town Where They Run Into The Skeleton Men But They Eventually Lose Them When The 2 Friends Discover A Secret Elevator...

As Fred, Velma And Daphne Arrive At The Mining Town, They Talk For A Bit About What Jasper Howe Said To Daphne And About Patrick Before Going To Talk To Wickles Who...Isn't Up To Anything Sinister...

Yes, Apparently They Interrupted A Pitch Meeting That Wickles Was Giving To A Couple Of Investors About Turning The Old Mining Town Into A Summer Camp...

As Long As It's Not Run By Peter McNichol And Christine Baranski, Then I'll Consider Sending My Kids There...

Asking Wickles About The Monster Attacks And Jacobo, He Has No Idea About The Monster Attacks And While He Was In Jail, Jacobo And Him Weren't Pals, So, Yeah, He's No Longer A Suspect...

Going Down In The Secret Elevator, Shaggy And Scooby Discover A Secret Laboratory But While They're Looking For Clues, Scooby Accidentally Drinks One Of The Formulas Inside Of The Fridge...

(Start At 0:14, End At 1:55)

Smart Scooby Attempts To Create A Formula To Change Them Back But Muscle Bod Shaggy Throws The Formula And Causes An Explosion, Which The Others Hear. Still Having A Little Bit Of The Formula Left, Shaggy And Scooby Are Reverted Back To Normal...

With Fred Disappointed At Shaggy And Scooby's Actions, Velma Tells Him To Shut Up So They Can Look Inside Of The Villain's Lair...

Once Inside, The Team Find The Monster Making Machine That Is Turning Costumes Into Real Life Monsters, Meaning That He Not Only Needs The Costumes To Make The Monsters But That He Already Had A Pterodactyl Ghost Costume...

This Leads Velma To Believe That Patrick Is The Bad Guy And That He Only Was Interested In Her To See What They Knew, Shaggy Somewhat Confirms This With How Patrick Was Acting At The Faux Ghost...

As The Others Go Off To Find A Way To Shut The Machine Down, Shaggy And Scooby Play With It And End Up Bringing More Monsters To Life, Including The Zombie, Captain Cutler's Ghost, Miner 49er, And The Tar Monster

No Creeper?!? That's It! From Now On This Movie And I Are Enemies...

I'm Kidding, Of Course, But Still I Wish They Got Rid Of Either The 10,000 Volt Ghost Or The Skeleton Men So They Could Have Added The Creeper Because They're Basically Useless...

With The Other Members Finding That The Monsters Are Alive, Fred Disconnects The Control Panel (Which Looks Like The Transmooker From Spy Kids 2) So Him And The Team Can Race Toward The Elevator...

However, They're Soon Confronted By The 10,000 Volt Ghost Who Follows Them Up As The Skeleton Men Appear Right Behind Them...

After Fred, Velma And Daphne Escape In The Mystery Machine, We Get A Trashboard Sequence With Shaggy And Scooby Who Are Being Chased By The Skeleton Men, But They Eventually Land In The Mystery Machine And Escape...

Meanwhile In Coolsville, A Ghost Pirate Ship Hovers Over The City As The Mystery Guy Demanding That Mystery Inc Turn Themselves In Or He'll Destroy The City...

First Off, How Are You Sailing On A Pirate Ship When Redbeard's Ghost Wasn't One Of The Monsters You Brought Back...

I Mean It Makes Even Less Sense Than The Titanic Magically Appearing At The Dock...

(Start At 0:14, End At 0:26)

That...Was Not Funny,.,

With Their Headquarters Being Dominated By Idiots Who Won't Wear A Mask Because "Their Rights Are Being Violated"...

They Head Back To Their Old Treehouse Headquarters, Where After A Flashback Velma Remembers Randamonium Has An Algorithmic Cross Currency Of -4.1 To One And If She Uses Her Old Multiple Resonance Imaging Device, She May Be Able To Reverse The Monster Making Process...

Managing To Fix The Device, They Get The Control Panel Ready To Reverse The Monster Making Process When On The Monster Machine, Mystery Inc Find That They Soon Have Company When Shaggy And Scooby See Captain Cutler's Ghost Rising From The Swamp By Their Treehouse...

After Losing Captain Cutler's Ghost, They're Soon Followed By The Pterodactyl Ghost, Who They Lose Just As Quickly...

Arriving At The Mining Town, They're Confronted By The Black Knight Ghost Who Fred Decides To Deal With, While The Others Go To Place The Device On The Monster Machine....

But On Their Way, The Team Dwindles When Daphne Goes To Deal With The 10,000 Volt Ghost And Velma Goes To Distract The Skeleton Men, But Not Before Telling Shaggy And Scooby That They're Not Screw-Ups And That She Always Wanted To Be As Carefree As They Are...

Fred And Daphne Manage To Defeat Both The 10,000 Volt Ghost And The Black Knight Ghost As Shaggy And Scooby Are Stopped By Miner 49er Before They Can Reach The Monster Machine...

But Eventually They Manage To Defeat Miner 49er With The Power Of Flaming Farts As Velma Escapes The Skeleton Men By Going Down A Vent...

Landing On The Ground, Velma Discovers That Whomever's Behind This Has A Shrine To Jonathan Jacobo. Patrick Enters And Tries To Help Velma But She Runs Away To A Metal Bridge Which She Falls Through..,

Patrick Catches Her And Tries To Help Her Up, But She's Afraid To Trust Him Because He May Be The Bad Guy But When He Says Something Romantic, Velma Let's Him Pull Him Up...

Only For Him To Be Carried Off By The Pterodactyl Ghost (Who I Thought Was Already Beaten)..

But Back To Shaggy And Scooby Who Are Having A Ghostly Encounter With A Rather Delicious Ghost...

(Start At 0:13, End At 0:59)

The Team Enters The Monster Hive Where The Monster Machine Is Only To Be Confronted By The Monsters And The Mystery Man..

Each Member Of The Team Except Scooby Is Being Held By The Tar Monster But Luckily Scooby Frees Them With The Help Of A Fire Hydrant..

(Start At 0:51, End At 2:27)

(In Scooby's Voice) Motherrucker!

With The Monsters Turned Back Into Costumes, The Mystery Guy Is Captured And Is Revealed To Be Heather Jasper Howe, Who Used Her Cameraman, Ned To Take Her Place As The Mystery Man When Daphne Figured Everything Out...

And The Reason Is Because Heather Jasper Howe Is Actually Jonathan Jacobo, Who Was Revealed To Be Alive When Velma Found A Newspaper Clipping Of Jacobo In Front Of The Coolsonian When It Was Under Construction...

Now What Better Way To End This Movie Than With American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard (Why Not? We Got Clay Aiken On The Soundtrack So Why Not Get His Competitor?) And A Game Code For The GBA Game That Doesn't Work...

Believe Me I've Tried It...

This Movie Is About As Good As The First One...

The Story Is Well Written, The Characters Are Better Than They Were In The First And The Monsters Are Very Well Designed, All In All, I Say See It...

Tune In On Friday As We Look At The Real Reason I'm Reviewing Scooby Doo During This First Week Of Monsterween...

But Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#scooby doo 2 monsters unleashed #Freddie Prinze Jr #sarah michelle gellar #linda cardellini #Matthew Lilllard #alicia silverstone #seth green #Peter Boyle #tim blake nelson #Ruben Studdard

[notasapleasure]

For the film asks, @jimtheviking gave me 3, 9 and 11. Thanks Jim!

3. An actor/actress you’ve seen in more than 8 movies? Name the movies.

*cracks knuckles* letsdothis. James Purefoy, I can say without a doubt, is someone I have seen in more than 8 movies. And you know they're going to be _quality_ films. I don't even need to include TV movies in this list to make up the numbers :D

Let's start with the good, shall we?

1. A Knight's Tale: the fluffiest Black Prince who only speaks in innuendos (christ even before the line about 'withdrawing early' I'm collapsed in fits of hysterical laughter on the floor) with a big old smirk. He just wants jousting! And justice for jousting! Not v historically accurate tbh but he wears that weird split leather floor length coat and a white shirt so I will forgive him everything.

2. Solomon Kane: wait, you thought I meant *good* good movies? Heh. Evillest of pirates promises never to kill again to prevent his soul being dragged straight to hell, is forced to go on murderous rampage to save Pete Postlethwaite's daughter. Also there's plague? Witches? He... Pulls himself off a crucifix?? So much black leather. Bonus west country accent. Excellent stuff.

3. Ironclad: the most accurate bit of this movie about the siege of Rochester Castle is where King John blows up one of its towers using pigs. But James Purefoy has a Very Large Sword and seems to be playing some weird Templar fanfic version of William Marshall? He has a band of merry men, he cleaves some people in twain (no, literally, it's a Very Large Sword), Kate Mara is unsurprisingly into that. The guy from the 13th Warrior is a blue-painted pagan mercenary from Denmark who John somehow has some leverage over? Oh yes and King John is played by Paul Giamatti. Delightful. Did I mention that Brian Cox gets fired from a trebuchet at his own castle while shouting 'no surrender!'?

Now the bad...

4. Resident Evil: what's there to say? He's quite pretty in that grey t shirt but zombies are boring and he ends up deservedly getting his face eaten off. I feel there may be some sort of undead interlude but I wasn't paying attention by that point. At least Mila Jovovitch is great.

5. Vanity Fair: idk maybe I need to read it, but I felt this movie wanted us to like its characters too much for something that was meant to be a satire. He's tragically dumb and comes to a tragically dumb end, and I shouldn't have been sad about it because damn I wanted to root for Becky but... Somehow... No?

6. Maybe Baby: I WATCHED A BEN ELTON MOVIE ABOUT MAKING BABIES FOR YOU JAMES PUREFOY. I DID NOT ENJOY IT.

The ugly:

7. Mansfield Park: not really 'ugly' for the film per se, I have enjoyed both adaptations I've seen and it's not an Austen I've read so haven't formed any strong opinions. Anyway, he's Tom Bertram the son of the slave owner and I think he just lies about being feverish a bit so Fanny can discover his drawings of the atrocities on the plantation.

8. The Wedding Tackle: lolololol I remember next to nothing about this. It's very 90s. The Lads don't want to be Tied Down (unless it's in that way you know what I mean hurrrrr) and her from the later series of Ballykissangel is in it. Mark it down for a rewatch. I was lucky ("") to find it on VHS in my local library before.

9. George and the Dragon: I have seen this more than once. There's a dragon poop joke. I think it's one of those where the dragon isn't evil? The dragon upstage all the other cast, who cannot act because Patrick Swayze is demolishing the scenery and it's too distracting. Our noble hero plays the innocent ingenue. It does not suit him.

10. John Carter: fuck I almost forgot! I want to love this movie, I want to so much. But it drags. on. so. long. James's finest moment is getting a piggy back from John Carter as he leaps through the Martian landscape: his little face is so happy! It singlehandedly makes up for Ciaran Hinds' grimace of continual confusion because his hair and his epaulettes match so closely. And sadly I rarely get to that point of the movie because I have given up from boredom long before. Oh yes, and James wears a skirt and crop top armour, with very fetching swirly red tattoos. V pretty.

So tbf his better stuff is from TV: really good things are The Mayor of Casterbridge (though dodgy Scottish accent alert!), Beau Brummel: This Charming Man, and obviously Rome. Hap and Leonard is his only current project I'm keeping up with, and season 2 was fantastic.

9. The most aesthetically pleasing movie you’ve ever watched?

Oh, tough! Recently I think it has to be Blade Runner 2049. The colours! The composition! But particularly the soundtrack and the use of everyday sound in combination with each other.

I think aesthetically I'm quite easily pleased with movies. I find it easier to pick out animation that really stands out: Song of the Sea and Princess Mononoke are my favourites there, and Persepolis of course.

11. Your favourite movie genre?

So I think this is a really hard question, I am both very picky and very not picky. I won't see something *because* it's a particular genre, but I may avoid something if it's marketed as a rom-com (look my 'not like other girls'-ness is very ingrained and this is a part of it I have not felt the need to re-evaluate, partly because I don't like the cynicism of the marketing or the tropes of the stories. I'm thinking of very specific things here, you know: white background, red or pink title writing, two or three white people looking adorkable). Can I cop out and say 'action'? That covers everything from superheroes to Con Air to shite medieval stories right? Or 'drama' because that covers everything else? Anyway down with arbitrary genre distinctions, boo, Jim, booo!

#film asks #ask meme #thanks jim! #enthusing not complaining

[ariannaj99]

Drag Race Season 12 Episode 1 and 2 Review

Episode 1: I’m That Bitch

Werk Room Entrances

Brita Filter was the first queen to walk out in a pink and cheetah print number. Miss Brita is a seasoned queen from New York whose big mouth was a standout. Although she's Polynesian, I thought she was black. Brita cleared the air saying that she knows she looks like a "big black lady," and all I can say is points were made. Next was Nicky Doll: a fashionable look queen whose combo of red and stripes didn’t disappoint. Nicky moved over to New York from Paris about 2 yrs prior to filming. In the words of Pop Smoke (R.I.P.) "My B**** a foreigner." Big personality Widow Von’Du was next and she is the first black queen of the season (yay). Her all black ensemble is quite possibly a nod to a black widow. Jackie Cox came after. Cox sported a cute little Minnie Mouse number with her name written in her native language of Persian on the shirt. A lot of people gagged, but I wasn't too impressed.

Mayhem Mi- I mean Heidi ‘N Closet came after. No, but seriously, she gives me very much drag race season 11 alum, Mayhem Miller vibes. Although her pink zebra print ensemble fell short for me, Heidi is another Black queen. However, mother Ru makes it very clear that she is not feeling the name. At all. GiGi Goode, another look queen, came out dressed as a sexy pirate. I was living for the entire fantasy. Last entered Crystal Methyd, and yes you read that correctly. Crystal's outrageous and gawdy clown-esque makeup and fashion style will soon show to not be a favorite of the judges, specifically Miss Michelle Visage.

Yes,we were only introduced to 6 queens in this episode. In walks Ru letting us know that the premier is split into 2 episodes.

Challenges

The first mini challenge of the season was a spring/fall runway were girls had to bring 2 looks matching the seasons and they did not disappoint. The maxi challenge was to write a rap verse detailing who they were, and they were to put on an entire production which was fabulous from start to finish. The runway category for the night was Sparkle, meaning everything glitter, sequence, and shine.

Nicki Minaj was the guest judge (I had a mini freakout), and she looked absolutely gorge in her monochromatic red look. Since there were only 6 queens, no one went home meaning no one lip-synced for their life. However, GiGi and Widow lip-synced to “Starships” by Miss Minaj for the win, and Widow came out on top.

Episode 2: You Don’t Know Me

Werk Room Entrances

Rock M. Sakura came out first. The second Asian queen of the season was wearing an anime/manga inspired look. Dahlia Sin came next, emphasizing that she was apart of the House of Aja. Aja was a queen on season 9 and the resemblance in the way they paint is uncanny. Her distressed denim on denim look was probably my favorite of the night, so kudos for that.

If you weren’t aware, drag queens often have drag parents and belong to “houses” which take the place of blood families who oftentimes disown queens. Some legendary houses include the House of Extravaganza, the House of Davenport, and the house that belongs to my favorite queen, Alyssa Edwards (straight out of Mesquite, TX), the House of Edwards.

Sherry Pie, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Camp” waltzed in next. Her outfit lived up to her title; she showed up looking like a literal 1st place state fair cherry pie. Yet again another NY queen by the simple name of Jan came next. It’s clear she has a bubbly, sweet personality. However, her sequined jersey outfit was lackluster and was outshines by the other girls’ looks. Jaida Essence Hall, the third and final black queen of the season, entered the werk room directly after. She intimidated the girls with her confidence, and in the words of the other queens, “big shiny gold shoulders." Last to enter is amateur queen Aiden Zhane, sporting a short bowl cut. I can tell her storyline will mainly center around her being from a small town in GA and not having as much experience as the other girls. I hope she doesn’t use that as a crutch.

Challenges

The girls had the same mini challenge as the 1st group: to give a spring/fall runway. Again, majority of the looks were noteworthy. After de-dragging in the werk room, Ru entered to tell the girls that their main stage challenge was to do a musical theater, Fosse inspired number called “You Don’t Know Me,” which is a parody of “Cell Block Tango” from the musical “Chicago." The theme for the main stage was tulle, and just as you suspected, the girls came out in big, brightly colored tulle.

Again, no one was eliminated this episode, but the two top girls, Jaida and Sherry, lip synced to “Call Your Girlfriend” by guest judge Robyn .Jaida ultimately ended up winning. After the lip sync, the girls went into the werk room and were met with the 7 previous queens. Evil glares and shade was quickly thrown.

My Final Thoughts

My final verdict? For the first time ever, I don’t have a clear favorite after the first episode, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing! Of course, I’m going to root for the black queens until I find one. All in all, I’m excited to see what the next episodes have in store.

[thehappiestandunluckiest]

Cut Throat And All That Jazz

Having a somewhat large scar across your neck is just asking for attention.

I have a sizeable scar halfway down my neck and I get asked about it - often.

Usually, I say “oh this *rubbing my fingers over the sensitive raised skin* ha! funny story, I was held hostage by some pirates and they held a knife to my throat - left a scar,” people tend to step back and gasp. (i wonder why?) then I proceed to say “no I'm kidding - I had cancer.” They have the same reaction again. I find this very amusing.

So at 20 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer. it's an odd thing to say and even odder to live through. But first, let me just say I AM A-OKAY!!! Don’t worry, the C-word brings a lot of terrible connotations (for good reason) but I am fine, doing great!

I was operated on twice and had radiotherapy once. The whole story of radiotherapy is more than worthy of its own post because of the absolute complexity and peculiarness to the whole experience. But let me just tell you about my operations.

I was told I needed my thyroid out around March time, it was scary but back then I didn’t have as many things scaring me.

My operation got postponed twice - my user name doesn’t include unlucky fir nothing...

I eventually had my operation on August 23rd, an exact month after my brother's accident. Thank god my aunt had come to visit she was such a good help- she has a healing spirit.

Before my operation, was slightly nervous but I had gone through and was going through so much that I just wanted it over and done with. My mum brought me to the hospital - private, thank god for work insurance! I'm escorted to my room, that was almost like a hotel room and definitely nicer than the IBIS hotel room my mother and I had to stay in one time in Lisbon.

A young nurse comes in, smiling, very warm and she looks at my chart.

“Emma Wilson, is your dad called David?” Not exactly what I was expecting but ok, “umm.. yes?” “That’s funny a year ago when he was here for a couple of nights this was the bed he stayed in and I was his nurse!” Now, when a hospital knows you so personally that you're welcomed like an old friend you know that your family has a lot of medical issues.

Let’s skip over the boring parts. I get those tights on, I put on the robe, hair in a net, she tries to put my IV in (to any vampires out there - don’t even bother with me I’m useless my veins are so deep) I have a fear of needles so being prodded various times is not good for the nerves. I settle in, all set, my boss, co-workers and family members have all wished me luck, and so have a hand full of friends. I would like to mention that those who were there for me weren’t all people I had expected to be, but I am so grateful for them and their warmth.

I was wheeled into the operation block.

My mum warned me to close my eyes, she had been operated on a few times in her life, people don’t know that about her but she’s been through a lot, all through her life and yet she’s ever sweet, caring and helpful to everyone (even when I tell her not to be to certain people who use her and hurt her-karma will get to you buddy).

So, true to my very nature, I ignored my mothers' advice - but who was actually expecting me to obey orders (ha! you obviously don't know me). So I am trying to take in everything I can, it’s very exciting to me. I wanted to study to be a doctor so I love all the details and procedures. I meet my surgeon and anesthesiologist there.

Side story -  my anesthesiologist is one of a kind. Now I’m not into ladies. But this woman glowed. She radiated this innocent, warm caring aura and I mean this (I wasn’t on any drugs yet so these are all conscious thoughts) she was an angel. And if you ever need a great anesthesiologist contact me because the whole team and her were top notch.

So I get onto the metal bed, bright lights, not what greys anatomy looks like but not too far off. There are quite a few doctors and nurses, but I guess slicing through someone's throat is a pretty big deal, don’t want to slip and cut my carotid artery.

So I'm allergic to some anaesthetics - and this is scary. If you want to research how easy it is to kill someone by anaesthesia you’ll understand why they get paid quite nicely. I was super scared that I’d have a reaction and die. Let’s not sugar coat things, I could, and I was scared. Not of dying, that's far too mediocre of a fear for me. I was genuinely scared of leaving my family when they were already so fragile. And when I got the news that my tumour was malicious and problematic as it actually was latched onto my artery I was so mad at myself, like Jesus, give your parents a break!

So they used the oldest form of anaesthesia which wouldn’t cause my body to log off for good - I was happy they were taking extra measures to calm me down. “This is very safe, but one side effect that modern medicine doesn’t have is that - it burns”. Now I was pretty overwhelmed and was like honey please, I feel no pain. But on my second operation, I felt it a lot more so I can really explain this to you.

The IV is in my hand, dripping saline fluid through my body. This new fluid though feels like battery acid. And I’m a sucker for pain (sorry mum you raised a freak - sue me!) But the fact that you can really feel it, going through the capillaries in your hand, to your fingers, coursing up your arm, finally to your shoulder, it feels thick, like your blood is setting into a thick custard. Then, after your shoulder, you're out, like a light. It works, and that's what matters, but it’s very weird. It's like it happens in slow motion but super fast all at once.

I wake up in the after surgery unit care *insert proper fancy name here*. The nurse is so warm, in fact,I can't fault any doctor or nurse ever throughout this experience. I guess because I was so vulnerable, unable to talk, move, communicate, its like a mother and baby like experience. It was reminiscent of a mother and her newborn (ok let's calm down that's too much ewey gewy for me).

I had read some articles others had written about their thyroid surgeries, a bunch of babies. Ok,I don't want to put people down that’s mean. But, if anyone is going to have this surgery and are scared, here’s how I calmed myself down the day of, the week before and the month before.

“Emma, it has to be done. You know this. It will only get worse. You’re young, you haven’t even turned 20 yet and you have your whole life ahead of you. Get it done. Jack got through what he got through, you can get through this. They wouldn’t put you through things you couldn’t handle - things have a way of working out - they always do.”

Now I know that’s super-specific advice and maybe - probably - didn’t help at all. But you can actually get through anything. Humans are quite the resistant bunch.

So I get back to my ward, there's a girl who’s just had her capillary on her nose burnt off or whatever that’s called. She’s my age and making so much fuss. I’m laying peacefully. I had the remote to the tv so I offered it to her (I’m for sure going to heaven I know).

Now,what did she choose to watch on tv? Guess.

The Fault In Our Stars. Cute right? NO,IT’S NOT CUTE! The girl in the film. What’s she dying of? THYROID CANCER. So yeah that’s what we watched to fall asleep to - lovely. God is playing some sick jokes on me.

I got home, I ate a lot of ice cream, soup and was pampered by my auntie. Everything was smooth after this. Apart from getting the results of the biopsy and having to go through it again 2 months later but it went well. All-in-all having a badass scar across your neck makes you look hardcore and it’s my ‘battle scar’ even if that’s super cheesy.

E. L. Wilson

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Captain America: The Winter Solider

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

By Looking At The Second Outing For The Star Spangled Man With A Plan, Captain America In Captain America: The Winter Solider...

This Film Sees Captain America Teaming Up With Black Widow And A New Ally Called The Falcon (Played By Anthony Mackie) To Uncover A Conspiracy Within S.H.I.E.L.D. While Also Facing A Mysterious Assassin Who Calls Himself The Winter Solider, Will Steve Uncover This Mystery And Stop The Winter Solider?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Captain America: The Winter Solider...

The Film Opens At Sunrise With With Steve Rogers Running Circles Around Sam Wilson, A Former Pararescue Solider Who Now Works At The VA Who Steve Befriends And Talks With Briefly Before Being Picked Up By Natasha Romanoff Who Takes Him To His Next Assignment...

As Cap And His Strike Team, Led By Brock Rumlow Are Headed Toward A Boat Called The Leumarian Star Which Has Been Taken Over By Pirates, Led By Georges Batroc (Otherwise Known As Batroc The Leaper)

So In Other Words, (Impersonating Bad Guy From Captain Phillips) He's The Captain Now...

Who Are Demanding A Billion And A Half For The Safe Return Of The Ship And It's Crew (Which Includes Agent Jasper Sitwell) So, Cap Decides To Sweep The Deck To Find Batroc While Widow Kills The Engines And Rumlow And His Crew Sweep The Aft Of The Ship, Find The Hostages And Get Them To The Life Pods...

Jumping Off Of The Jet Without A Parachute, Cap Boards The Ship And Fights Off Enough Of Batroc's Boys So, Widow, Rumlow And His Boys Can Board The Ship...

However As Both Rogers And Rumlow Do Their Jobs In Fighting Batroc And Saving The Passengers, Widow Shuts Down The Engines But Also Gets Info From The Ship's Computer. Caught By Cap, Who Believes She Is Endangering The Mission, Cap Decides To Talk To Fury About This At The Triskellion

There, Fury Tells Cap That He Didn't Want To Do Anything He Wasn't Comfortable With Despite Cap Believing That A Team Should Trust One Another Which Leads Fury To Tell Him That The Last Time He Trusted Someone He Lost His Eye...

You Lost It To A Damn Flerkin, Fury! Stop Lying To Everyone And Tell Them The Truth!

But Wanting Cap To Trust Him, Fury Shows Cap What S.H.I.E.L.D. Is Up To By Showing Him Project Insight, Which Is 3 Next Generation Helicarriers Synched To A Network Of Targeting Satellites, Once In The Air They Never Come Down Thanks To Repulsor Engines Created By Tony Stark...

With Long Range Guns That Can Eliminate 1,000 Hostiles A Minute, They Plan To Stop Threats Before They Happen, But While This Sounds Good Especially With The World We Live In Now, Cap Doesn't See This As A Great Idea As He Doesn't Think That It Spells Freedom But Instead Spells Fear...

Telling Cap That S.H.I.E.L.D. Sees The World As It Is And To Get With The Times, Cap Tells Fury Not To Hold His Breath As He Walks Off And Goes To The Smithsonian Where An Exhibition On Captain America Is Going On...

There, They Have Information, Costumes, Videos Including One With Peggy And A Thing On Bucky All Being Narrated By Lieutenant Dan...

In A Sad Scene, We See Steve Visit An Old Peggy Who He Notices Has Lived A Good Life Without Him Even Though She Is Losing A Battle She Cannot Win With Alzheimer's...

Meanwhile In Fury's Office, Fury Goes Over The Files From The Leumarian Star That Black Widow Stole, But Unfortunately The Files Are Sealed Under His Orders....

Going To See Senior Secretary Alexander Pierce (Played By Robert Redford)...

That's Right, Ladies Let It Out!

Fury Asks Him For A Favor, To Call For A Vote To Delay Project Insight, Saying That What He's Looking Into Could Be Nothing But He Has To Be Sure, So, Pierce Says Yes On The Condition That Iron Man Stops By His Niece's Birthday Party...

Oh, I'm Sure That'll Go Over Great With Tony...

We Get A Little Bit Of Character Development As Steve Visits Sam At The VA Where He Tells Steve About His Partner Riley, Who Died Getting Hit By An RPG During A Mission Before We Cut To Fury In His Car As He Contacts Maria Hill Before Coming Under Attack By People Disguised As Police...

(End 3:50)

Going To Steve's Apartment After The Incident, Fury Acts Low Key As He Tells Steve That S.H.I.E.L.D. Has Been Compromised And There Are People Listening To Their Conversation Before Fury Is Shot By An Unknown Shooter, Before He Goes Unconscious, Fury Gives Steve A USB Drive And Tells Him Not To Trust Anyone...

With His Neighbor Emily Thorne Bursting In Revealing Herself To Be An Agent Assigned To Protect Steve, She Stays With Fury While Cap Goes After The Shooter Only To Not Catch Him...

With Black Widow And Maria Hill By His Side, Steve Watches As Fury Dies In The Hospital, Telling Them About The Shooter, Hill Takes Fury's Body For Burial As Widow Asks Cap About Why Fury Was In His Apartment But Before He Can Answer, Rumlow Tells Cap That They Need Him Back At S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q. For Questioning...

So, As Widow Leaves, Cap Places The Drive Fury Gave Him Inside Of A Vending Machine That's Being Filled Before He Leaves...

Talking With Alexander Pierce, He Asks Steve Why Fury Was In His Apartment But Saying He Doesn't Know, Pierce Tries To Make Steve Believe That Fury Not Only Bugged His Apartment But Was Also Behind The Attack On The Leumarian Star Saying That The Hijacking Was A Cover For The Acquisition Of Classified Intelligence...

But Not Buying Pierce's Story, He Tells Cap Why He Took A Seat On The Council Of Morons And That's Because Nick Asked Him To Because They Were Both Realists Knowing That In Despite Everything The Only Way To Build A Better World Is Sometimes Tearing Down The Old One Down...

Asking Steve Again Why Fury Was In His Apartment, All He Tells Pierce Is That Fury Told Him To Trust No One, Not Liking That Answer Pierce Swears To Cap As He Leaves That He Will Find Out Why Fury Was Murdered And Anyone Who Gets In His Way Will Regret It...

Entering An Elevator, Cap Talks To Rumlow And His Team...

(Start At 1:51)

Revisiting The Hospital To Get Fury's Drive From The Vending Machine, Steve Finds It Gone But Soon Confronted By Black Widow, Steve Asks Natasha Where It Is?, She Tells Him It's Safe Before Telling Him That The Person Who Killed Fury Is Called The Winter Solider Who Has Done 2 Dozen Assassinations In The Last 50 Years And That Going After Him Is A Dead End As She's Tried And Failed...

Still Not Sure Whether To Trust Widow, Steve Still Accepts Her Help As The Council Of Idiots Brands Fury A Traitor When Pierce Tells Them That He Was Behind The Leumarian Star Attack And Demand The Immediate Relaunch Of Project Insight...

Going To A Mall, Steve And Natasha Go To An Apple Store Where They Borrow One Of The Computers To Discover What's On The Drive But With The Drive Being Heavily Encrypted They Decide Instead To Figure Out Where It Came From Before S.H.I.E.L.D Agents Pop In For Tea...

With The Trace Leading To New Jersey, Steve And Natasha Disappear And Drive To The Location In New Jersey Where They Arrive At A Familiar Sight, Steve's Old Training Grounds Before He Became Captain America...

With A Bunch Of Memories Flooding Back To Steve, They Come Across A Building That's Not Supposed To Be Where It Is Due To Army Regulations, So Being Suspicious, They Enter The Old 1940's HQ Of S.H.I.E.L.D Where They Come Across An Old Elevator That In It's Age And Condition Would Most Likely Send Them To The Twilight Zone If Anything

That They Take To A Lower Floor Where They Discover An Old Supercomputer...

Activating It, They Discover The Computer To Contain The Memory Of Arnim Zola, The Red Skull's Leading Scientist...

(Start At 0:48)

Steve Manages To Get Out With An Unconscious Natasha As Agents Led By Rumlow Scour The Area For Them...

As The Winter Solider Visits Pierce Who Tells Him That The Timetable Has Moved Up And Their Window Is Limited As He Orders Him To Kill Cap And Widow And He Wants Them Confirmed Dead In 10 Hours...

Going To Sam's House To Lay Low, Steve Talks With Widow Who Feels Betrayed Feeling That She Gave Up Being KGB To Be A Hydra Agent And Says That She Owes Him Which Gains His Trust...

With Cap Knowing Pierce Is Behind Everything And That He Could Launch A Domestic Missile Strike Need Be, Also The Fact That Zola's Algorithm Was On The Leumarian Star Along With Agent Sitwell So The Question Lies How Do 2 Of The Most Wanted People By S.H.I.E.L.D. Kidnap A S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent In Broad Daylight? This Leads Sam To Offer His Services...

Sam Kidnaps Sitwell As He's Guarding Senator Larry Sanders From Iron Man 2, Who Happens To Be A Hydra Agent...

Taking Sitwell To A Roof, They Question Him About Zola's Algorithm But Not Answering Them, Widow Throws Sitwell Off The Roof Only To Be Caught By Sam In A Exo-7 Falcon Suit They Got From The Military, Who Drops Him Mid Air...

Asking Him Again, Sitwell Tells Cap That Zola's Algorithm Is A Program For Choosing Insight's Targets Which Is Basically Anyone Who Could Be A Threat To Hydra Now Or In The Future...

Taking Sitwell In A Car With Only 16 Hours Left Till Insight's Launch Team Cap Decides To Use Sitwell To Bypass The DNA Scanners And Access The Helicarriers Directly But Before They Can Get There The Winter Solider Kills Sitwell And Causes Team Cap's Car To Crash..

This Leads To A Gun Fight Between Team Cap And Hydra On Not Just The Freeway But The Road Below...

Eventually The Winter Solider Goes After Widow Only To Fight Cap Who Discovers The Winter Soldier's Identity To Be His Friend He Believed To Be Dead Bucky Barnes...

Search Your Feelings, Steve, You Know It To Be True!

Surrounded By Rumlow's Hydra Forces, They Arrest Team Cap Only For Them To Be Saved By Maria Hill Who Takes Them To See Nick Fury...

Let Me Explain...Turns Out Fury Used Developed By Bruce Banner That Slows The Heart To 1 Beat Per Minute But While It Didn't Work Great On Banner It Works Great With S.H.I.E.L.D. So, Fury Used It To Fake His Death As He Didn't Know Who To Trust...

Meanwhile, Pierce Visits Bucky In An Undisclosed Place To Ask Him For A Mission Report But Before He Can Get It Bucky Starts To Remember Steve So They Say Screw It And Decide To Wipe Bucky's Memory Of The Entire Thing...

Back At Fury's HQ, Fury Tells Team Cap About Their Plan To Breach All 3 Helicarriers And Replace Their Targeting Blades With Their Own To Stop Them And Try To Salvage What's Left Of S.H.I.E.L.D. But Not Willing To Do That Steve Tells Fury He's Not Only Taking Down Hydra But S.H.I.E.L.D. With It As Hydra Grew Under Fury's Nose And No One Noticed...

With Hill Backing Cap Up On This, Fury Decides To Let Cap Take Charge Of The Mission..,

Going Outside, Steve Thinks About A Time After His Mother Died And He Was With Bucky Which Leads To Probably The Best Line Of The Movie That Defined Bucky And Steve's Friendship From There On In The MCU Till Endgame...

Warning Steve That Bucky May Not Be Redeemable, Steve Tells Sam That He Doesn't Know If He Can Fight Bucky But He Hopes It Ends Differently, Going To The Captain America Exhibit At The Smithsonian, We Get Our Stan Lee Cameo...

Stan Lee Cameo!

As Security Guard Stan Notices Captain America's Suit Is Missing From The Exhibit As Cap (In The Suit), Maria Hill And Sam (Now Calling Himself The Falcon) Head Toward A Security Room Where They Run Into Abed From Community...

However, As Pierce Is In The Middle With An Actual Face To Face Meeting With The Council Of Morons, Cap Comes On The Speakers Revealing Everything, Not Just To Everyone Who Isn't Hydra But To The World Security Council...

With An Employee And Steve's Neighbor Refusing To Do Rumlow's Orders To Launch The Helicarriers, It Turns Into Agent Against Agent While Rumlow Launches The Helicarriers Which Forces Cap And Falcon To Stop Them...

In The Aftermath, Steve Is Taken To The Hospital And Survives With Sam By His Side, Steve's Neighbor Becomes A CIA Operative, Hill Gets Hired By Our Friend Tony Stark, Senator Larry Sanders Gets Arrested To Tony's Possible Delight, Rumlow Survives The Destruction Of The Triskellion Only To Return To Make A Bigger Bang In Civil War...

Widow Deals With The Senators On Capitol Hill Who Should Be More Concerned About Bigger Problems In Washington and Fury Decides To Disappear In The States To Deal With Leftover Hydra Agents Overseas, Asking Steve And Sam If They Want In They Tell Fury That There's Something They Have To Do First As Widow Arrives Telling Cap That She's Going Off To Make A New Life For Herself Outside Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Before Giving Steve A File On Bucky As The Film Ends...

We Get A Mid Credits Scene With Baron Von Strucker Who Not Only Has Loki's Staff But 2 Weapons In The Form Of Quicksilver (Played By Aaron Taylor-Johnson) And Scarlet Witch (Played By Elizabeth Olsen)...

After The Credits We Go Back To The Smithsonian's Captain America Exhibit As We See Bucky Starting To Get His Memory Back As He Looks At His Memorial There...

And That's Captain America: The Winter Solider And....I Don't Think It's One Of The Great MCU Movies...Hear Me Out...

I Think The Action Scenes Are Good And There's Not Only Great Character Development In The Story But The Characters Are Very Well Written However, I Don't Think It Was A Good Idea To Destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. In This Movie Because Of A Few Reasons...

1. I Think Something This Big As Destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. Would Have Been More Suited For An Avengers Movie Instead Of A Captain America Movie...

2. This Event Completely Ruined The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV Series Which Was Just Starting And Had Barely Anytime Before "Bam! S.H.I.E.L.D's Gone What Do We Do Now?!" And No Offense That Was Not What I Wanted To See From An Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series I Wanted To See S.H.I.E.L.D Doing S.H.I.E.L.D Assignments With S.H.I.E.L.D. Gadgets...

3. They Ruined The Character Of Jasper Sitwell Who They Could Have Done More With Than Just Make Him A Hydra Stooge, This Guy Was Coulson's Partner Till His Death In The Avengers, After Coulson's Death And Demotion To Television They Could've Made Him The New Coulson. Or Here's An Idea, Instead Of Having Him Just Be Another Hydra Stooge, They Should Have Let Him Be An Undercover Double Agent That Gives Maria Hill Information On What's Going On Inside When They Discover What's Going On...

And Finally 4. While I Enjoyed Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce I Kinda Would Have Liked It If He Was Actually One Of Cap's More Well Known Enemies...

For This I'm Leaving Out Red Skull (As Hugo Weaving Wouldn't Come Back If Both Marvel And Disney Begged Him)Arnim Zola (Baron Strucker (Who Ends Up Becoming Ultron Fodder In Age Of Ultron) And Baron Zemo (Who They'll Screw Up In Civil War Only To Try To Make It Up To Us In The Captain America Less The Falcon And The Winter Solider On Disney + Airing Next Year)...

But I Do Suggest Maybe Madame Hydra Or The Daughter Or Granddaughter Of Red Skull Who Wants To Finish What He Started Years Ago...

For Those Who Like This Movie, I Understand Your Reasons But For Me This Is One I'm Skipping...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#Captain America The Winter Solider #Chris Evans #samuel l jackson #Scarlett Johannsson #sebastian stan #robert redford #emily vancamp #frank grillo #Marvel #marvel cinematic universe #captain america