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paradisushq · 2 years

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NAME: Jackson Cassidy

PRONOUNS: He/Him

FACECLAIM: Joseph Quinn

AGE: 150

SPECIES: Shifter (Wolf)

OCCUPATION: Bouncer at Lost Spirits Speakeasy

BIOGRAPHY: (TW: Substance Abuse, Depression, Death)

No matter how hard Jackson Cassidy tries, trouble follows him wherever he goes. Born originally in London in 1872, Jackson came from a long line of shifters whom by the 1800s had started to fall on hard times. In and attempt to get a new start the family moved across the ocean to create a better life for themselves in America. They had bought into the dream that everything would be different for them over there; unfortunately things didn’t worked out in their favor. By the late 1890s; Jackson’s parents had died in a brutal accident with the people in their small town believing the family were monsters and attacked in a frenzy. In the ensuing chaos, Jackson managed to rescue his little sister Marnie and save himself in the process.

The pair set out west and Jackson realized that the further out he went the more lawless the world seemed. You either had to harden yourself or get lost in a wild world. And so Jackson did. He started to learn a lot of survival tricks and tools in order to keep him and Marnie safe. Things were good for a while with the pair living in New Mexico until Marnie grew restless and wanted to go out on her own. They were all one another had but Jackson knew there was no way he could force his sister to stay and the pair said their goodbyes; vowing to stay in touch when they could.

Unfortunately, Marnie proved to be Jackson’s moral compass and once she was gone, the shifter let the devil on his shoulder take control. He started to live a more hedonistic lifestyle that consisted of drinking, drugs and stealing. Over time he became great at being what was considered an outlaw and by the economic collapse of the 1920s leading to the Great Depression, Jackson was already more than equipped to survive. He knew how to live with very little, but he also knew how to survive and steal from the rich. Being a thief was all he knew how to be and while the world had their eyes on bigger names, Jackson was able to slip in and take what he could while their back had been turned.

The life Jackson had created for himself could only sustain him for so long though and as time wore on; the shifter became more of a vagabond, moving from town to town until he would inevitably wear out his welcome; and he always did. Being alone for so long also started to wear on him as well and he began to withdraw from society. It left him starved for a connection and irritable as more time wore on. He couldn’t just walk into a place and steal like he used to do. He couldn’t live so recklessly, because now that he was past his first hundred years, it all started to wear thin. Having fun stopped being fun for him. It was when he needed someone the most is when help came in the form of Marnie

The pair had lost contact due to Jackson’s self imposed hiding and she had managed to get her older brother back together as much as he could be. There was just one problem though, Marnie wasn’t the only person looking for Jackson and when the shifter started to make his presence known, people began to look for him again. Old habits die hard and Jackson would go back into stealing and hedonistic and at times criminal behavior, making Marnie realize that something had changed for the worse in her older brother. The pair had got into a fight at the wrong time when someone was looking for Jackson and Marnie would end up in the crossfire. His recklessness finally had a breaking point and the cost had been his sister; the only family he believed he had left.

Jackson had become a wreck and realized a prolonged life meant nothing if you had nothing to show for it. Feeling like there was nowhere for him to go made the shifter go harder into self loathing behavior, but he also tried to clean up his act publicly. He knew his outside behavior had caused pain and he didn’t want to do that anymore. He needed a new start and the perfect location had finally presented itself.

The island seemed like it had everything to help Jackson move on and find a new life for himself like his parents had done so many years ago. He had to try so that the loss of his family wasn’t in vain. Jackson filled a backpack and moved, only to find out once he got there that he might not be as alone as he thought he was. Marnie has a daughter and Jackson is on the hunt to use the island's resources to find out where she is and if he can try to fix things. He is still struggling to keep his vices in check and will try to take anything that isn’t nailed down, but he knows deep down this is his last shot and doing the right thing and he won’t go down without a fight.

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#joseph quinn #jackson cassidy #men #character #shifter

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bestworstcase · 3 years

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on ‘villainy’ and varian’s and cassandra’s moral codes

for all that varian’s and cassandra’s villain arcs get compared to death they’re really more different than they are similar, and i think one of the more interesting distinctions is the characters’ moral perspectives on their own actions--namely that varian recognizes his own choices as villainous and consciously self-identifies as a ‘bad guy’ and cassandra not only…doesn’t do that but appears legitimately taken aback when varian says she’s ‘become the villain.’ from this we can infer that varian is transgressing his own personal sense of right and wrong while cassandra isn’t.

and… well with varian i think it’s pretty straightforward: he’s a kid who desperately wants to make the world a better place and make his father proud, but his impulsivity and recklessness and general disregard for lab safety foil his plans and get him into trouble. then one of his accidents puts his dad into what is essentially a magical coma and varian becomes singularly focused on reviving him--and, when he realizes that the king is more invested in covering up the problem than fixing it and his only hope lies with a zealously guarded relic belonging to the kingdom, he decides that the only way to achieve this goal is to start breaking the rules.

so he asks rapunzel--his friend who promised to help him--to retrieve some information the king is trying to steal from him, and then persuades her to help him access the sundrop vault; then when she balks at stealing it he makes it clear that he no longer trusts her and escapes with the flower. at this point he’s in the morally dubious zone; being strategic about what he tells rapunzel to make sure she helps him, spiking cookies with truth serum to sow chaos and get information he needs, and doing things that are crimes on paper but also largely victimless. i think these were things varian could probably rationalize as okay--not exactly good, but no one got hurt and he got what he needed.

except the flower’s magic is gone. he drugged the palace, manipulated rapunzel and broke her trust in him, and committed treason all for something useless because the actual magic of the sundrop is in rapunzel herself. now he’s in trouble, because he needs rapunzel’s help but his desperate measures guaranteed she won’t be willing to help him again. and this is when varian realizes that his only options are 1. give up on saving his dad and turn himself in and hope rapunzel takes pity on him, or 2. accept that no one is going to help him now and do whatever it takes to free quirin himself.

so--mutating ruddiger, attacking the city, kidnapping arianna and threatening her with encasement in amber, building an automaton army to defend him while he works--these are all things that varian feels are wrong, but chooses to do anyway because he doesn’t trust that anyone else will even try to save his father. despite his anger and his rationalizations, at the end of the day varian sees himself as doing bad things for good reasons. (“Believe me, I know/I’ve sunk pretty low” & “I’m the bad guy, that’s fine”)

and when his reasons fall through--when he fails to free his dad--he falls quickly into guilt and despair over having hurt people for nothing. he stews for a year in how unforgivable and ashamed he feels, and even when he teams up with the separatists, he’s doing it in, basically, pursuit of a reset button: he wants to take back what he did. and when rapunzel shows him that he can be forgiven, he can have a second chance, he does have people who are willing to help him and trust him again, he drops the memory-wiping idea and his alliance with the separatists without a second thought--because what rapunzel actually does is give him a way to pursue his goals without sacrificing his conscience, which is what he really needed the whole time.

now, cassandra, on the other hand…

cass is an interesting character in this regard because, while she does want to be a hero, she’s not at all altruistic. she’s consumed by her lack of autonomy and she craves not only control over her own life but also respect from the people around her--her desire to be a hero is very self-interested, at its core. and moreover she has a somewhat fatalistic view of the world wherein some people (not her) matter and some… just don’t.

moreover cassandra, despite her ambitions of becoming a guard, doesn’t so much as blink at eugene’s or the pub thugs’ criminal pasts--she is suspicious of lance at first, but on the grounds that he’s an unrepentant thief who showed up out of the blue under suspicious circumstances to ‘reconnect’ with his old partner in crime; eugene is also distrustful of lance, for the exact same reasons--and of course she doesn’t think twice about breaking the law herself. literally one of the very first things we see cassandra do is commit treason to make her friend happy. cass doesn’t care about the law, and she only wants to be a guard because she associates getting the job with having her dad’s approval and it’s also her ticket out of lifelong servitude.

on the other hand, cass does seem have a strong sense of right and wrong where people she cares about are concerned. she is constantly putting the desires and well-being of her friends ahead of not just her ambitions (e.g. in beginnings for rapunzel, or great expotations for varian) but also her own safety (e.g. risking her livelihood and home to sneak rapunzel out for the night in bea, or setting aside her misgivings about the sketchy bird people in freebird).

which is all to say--cass isn’t exactly amoral but the moral framework through which she sees the world is… more complicated than varian’s. she doesn’t seem particularly motivated to help strangers but she’ll move mountains to help people she cares about; she doesn’t care much about rules or laws except insofar as she doesn’t want to get caught breaking them, and she has this hierarchical mindset that some people matter--meaning, they get to make decisions for themselves and have people care about what they need and want--and some don’t, and that she herself is stuck in the latter category despite her best efforts to climb out of it.

which brings us to the subject of the moonstone, and cassandra’s villain arc, and why cass, unlike varian, doesn’t consider herself a bad person.

i think what it comes down to most is this: taking the moonstone is an act of defiance against not only rapunzel but also fate itself. waiting in the wings sets up cassandra’s resigned acceptance of this hierarchical order and her own cosmic insignificance, and then in crossing the line she REJECTS that same order. she’s raging against rapunzel but also against the cultural and legal and destined systems that put rapunzel on top and forced cass into subservience. she is very literally fighting for her freedom against the universe itself.

and when cass was not an altruistic or heavily morally motivated or even particularly law-abiding person before, and when her conscience has always been predominantly oriented around taking care of her friends first and herself second, and when the thing that drove her to this breaking point was her friends spitting that back in her face… well.

it’s easy to say “cass literally tried to murder rapunzel a bunch of times, how can she possibly believe she’s the good guy?”--but rapunzel maimed cass, blamed her for it, and consistently prioritized her destiny over cassandra’s wellbeing; and rapunzel represents the cosmic order that cass is fighting to liberate herself from. and while i know that the -popular- take on be very afraid is “cass is terrified of hurting rapunzel,” i submit it’s actually “cass is terrified of having to fight rapunzel, because she still believes that fate is literally tilted in rapunzel’s favor and she can’t win a direct fight with rapunzel.” that’s why she’s so scared; that’s why rapunzel seemingly deleting the red rocks hardens her resolve; that’s why she marches into corona with maximum drama and bluster and builds a fortress and tries so hard to mess with rapunzel’s head before the battle begins. she’s trying to even the odds. and that’s why, when rapunzel stomps her into the curb, cassandra’s immediate response is “i need an army.”

cassandra isn’t scared for rapunzel. she is scared OF rapunzel.

we do also see cass trying not to harm people she considers to be innocent bystanders; she uses the truth serum on varian bc she needs the incantation, but afterwards she doesn’t even bother to restrain him until after he starts pestering her, she says flat out that she doesn’t want him to get hurt when she fights rapunzel; similarly she is willing to hurt calliope to force rapunzel to comply, but--despite her deep personal dislike of calliope--uses a minimum amount of force and again verbally expresses that she doesn’t particularly want to hurt her, that it’s a means to an end and nothing more. attacking rapunzel? that’s fine, rapunzel is her enemy. attacking eugene? of course, he’s rapunzel’s closest ally. mind controlling the brotherhood? that kills two birds with one stone--eliminating powerful enemies with a vested interest in taking the moonstone away from her and turning them into allies who can level the playing field between her and rapunzel. and when she does finally snap and raze corona to the ground? the people of corona attacked her first. i think cass ABSOLUTELY sees herself as fighting a purely defensive war against people who have or will hurt her.

and this is, of course, ultimately why varian failed to get through to her during ‘nothing left to lose’--he appealed to her sense of morality and her sense of morality shrugged.

as for the thing that snaps her out of it? the moment that forces her to question whether she’s really as right as she thinks she is? it’s learning who her new friend really is. it’s the shock of finding out that she’s been allied with, confiding in, taking advice from a legendary villain, from a monster she likely grew up hearing stories about. cass takes it as a given that zhan tiri is evil--and if she’s friends with zhan tiri, what does that make her? and even then, cass is resistant to the idea that she might be a villain--“No, no, I’m nothing like you. Just because I’m pursuing my destiny doesn’t make me a bad person!”--which is, ultimately, very telling of her whole mindset. she’s not a bad guy, she’s fighting for her freedom. she’s not a bad guy, she’s protecting herself against people who want to exploit her. she’s not a bad guy, she’s just putting herself first for once.

and OAH generally, i’d argue, is not actually about cassandra trying to reconcile with rapunzel or redeem herself or be a better person, it’s… literally cass trying frantically to prove she’s NOT the bad guy. it’s “oh yeah? you think i’m a bad person? well could a bad guy do THIS? *lies and impersonates a former coworker and gets up on a stage to justify her own actions in front of a crowd*” it’s “a bad guy wouldn’t apologize, rapunzel never apologized for anything, and to prove i’m a better person I’M going to apologize! see? SEE!?”--and then everyone in corona attacks her and she goes “FINE, i’m the bad guy, fuck you all” and wrecks the place.

only then--only in plus est en vous--does cassandra get into a mindset similar to varian’s, of “i am the bad guy but if i can pull this off it will be worth it.” she’s not sorry. she still sees rapunzel as an enemy trying to get her under control again, and the only thing that’s really changed is cassandra acknowledging that she has in fact done bad things too.

and… i would argue that by the end of plus est cassandra… feels some guilt but isn’t sorry. “i’ve failed” and “i’ve done terrible things” and “i tried to prove i was more than everyone thought but they were right”--her anguish is not like varian’s anguish in RR, where he was consumed with despair because no one could possibly forgive him for the things he did. cassandra is upset because she did awful things and failed and she perceives that failure as proof of her own worthlessness. she’s right back to feeling how she felt in waiting in the wings but with a hefty new helping of self-disgust and shame for having been stupid enough to believe she could change anything for herself.

she’s not sorry. she’s not pleading for forgiveness. she just wants rapunzel to give up and leave her alone--& then, after rapunzel convinces her that she’s wrong, and she does have worth as a person, and she does have a destiny of her own, cass does what’s necessary to clean up the crisis she created and then… just bounces. she gets the freedom she wanted and leaves without a backward glance.

(which. good for her.)

tl;dr: varian’s villain arc explores his moral scruples and what it takes for him to be willing to ignore them, whereas cassandra’s villain arc explores her incendiary reaction to a lifetime of injustices; she isn’t amoral but her sense of right and wrong is, unlike varian’s, very contextual and personal. varian is a pragmatic idealist who wants to be lawful good but is capable of setting his own morals aside in pursuit of a goal he considers to be important enough, and cassandra is one radicalizing incident away from realizing that her grievances are not a unique personal failing but a systemic problem and then leading a class uprising.

#tts

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raeynbowboi · 3 years

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Disney Villains in DnD

With the Disney Princesses and Princes, I put them into parties, but for the villains, I’m going to start by listing the ones powerful enough to be a Warlock Patron in descending order of power (by their base form). The rest are ordered by the release date of their film. I’m not going to cover all of the Disney villains in this one post, as there’s just too many, and not all of them map easily onto DnD.

CHERNABOG THE DARK MASTER

AS BIG BAD: Archfield Patron Warlock (Asmodeus)

As Playable Character:

Race: Asmodeus Tiefling Background: Courtier Class: Divine Soul Sorcerer (Evil) Skills: Insight, Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion

The Devil on Bald Mountain, Chernabog stands as Satan and Lucifer incarnate, the Disney-Canon equivalent to the Prince of Darkness, and the ruler of Hell. Like with Maleficent and Hades, Chernabog lacks a stat block, being a Greater Deity, and King of the Archfiends, Ruler of the Nine Hells. As a playable character, Chernabog doesn’t lend out his hellish powers or get them from an outside source. Instead he is a Tiefling with the infernal bloodline of Asmodeus (Lawful Evil) running through his veins. When he was an angel, Lucifer would have been a courtier, standing in the shining Court of Heaven before he was banished to Hell. His skills make him adept at lying to and manipulating people, as Insight lets him learn a person’s desires, and then use lies and honeyed words to lead them astray in his service. Consider this a free “how to play as satan” build.

MALEFICENT THE WICKED FAIRY

As Big Bad: The Raven Queen

As Playable Character:

Race: Hexblood Background: Noble (History, Persuasion Intimidation) Class: Wildfire Druid Skills: Arcana, History, Intimidation, Perception

Lore-wise, Maleficent uses “All the Powers of Hell”, but in terms of Dungeons and Dragons, the Wildfire Druid gives Maleficent the best parallels to her powers, as she’s able to grow a wall of thorns, call a bolt of lightning, Polymorph into a fire-breathing dragon, and spread fire. It also works lore-wise as the Wildfire Druid destroys the very forest they swore to protect. As a Hexblood, Maleficent becomes a fey hag, able to curse princesses and disguise herself as a racial ability. As the Big Bad, Maleficent maps perfectly onto the Raven Queen, ruling over the shadowfell, summoning the Heartless to do her biding, and loaning Diablo to those who worship or swear fealty to the Raven Queen.

HADES GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD

As Big Bad: Hades/Death God

As Playable Character:

Race: Mephistopheles Tiefling/Reborn Background: Charlatan Class: Death Cleric Skills: Deception, Insight, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand

For Hades, the God of the Dead, making him into a Cleric was a no-brainer. But Clerics have very limited options for fire magic. Sacred flame and Flame Strike both deal radiant damage, and their only other fire spell is Searing Smite which they got in the spell list expansion. But as a Mephistopheles Tiefling, Hades can also gain temporary access to Burning Hands and Flame Blade, along with Mage Hand. Mephistopheles is also the demon best known for making a deal with Faust, a trait shared by the deal-making Hades. If you’re not feeling the fire theme, or your DM doesn’t like the tiefling subraces, Hades can also work as a Reborn.

THE HORNED KING MASTER OF THE CAULDRON BORN

As Big Bad: Undead/Undying Warlock Patron (Lich)

As Playable Character:

Race: Reborn Background: Noble (History, Persuasion Intimidation) Class: Necromancy Wizard Skills: Arcana, History, Intimidation, Investigation

Ironically, there is a new magic item that maps perfectly onto the Black Cauldron, the Cauldron of Rebirth. But oddly, it can only be attuned by a Druid or Warlock, and the Necromancy Wizard creates the strongest undead thralls, as he adds his Proficiency Bonus to their attack and damage rolls. But if you’d rather have the Horned King be able to use the Cauldron of Rebirth, then make him a Spores Druid. If you absolutely must go warlock, make him an Undead Warlock. As a Warlock Patron, he would be a Lich. In the Chronicles of Prydain books, he served Arawn, God of Death. But the Horned King serves no such master in the Disney film.

JAFAR THE GRAND VIZIER

As Big Bad: Genie Warlock Patron (Efreeti)

Race: Human/Fire Genasi Background: Courtier (Insight, Persuasion) Class: Genie Warlock (Djinni)/Wild Magic Sorcerer Skills: Arcana, Deception, Insight, Persuasion

Jafar is the only one of the patron villains who themselves is a warlock to another patron. In his human form, Jafar has little to no powers. Everything Jafar is able to do is through either his magic snake staff or Genie’s magic. It’s only once he becomes a genie himself that Jafar has his own powers. So, Jafar here is split between two builds. As a human, he’s a warlock relying on a djinni. As a genie himself, he’s a wild magic sorcerer. Technically, he could be both. Play Jafar however you want. As a big bad, Jafar is stuck as one of the most subserviant types of warlock patron, which isn’t so surprising why he’s this low on the patron scale. Only Ursula is technically weaker than him, but that’s only true when she’s in her base form. Once she wields the trident, Ursula is even more powerful than The Horned King.

URSULA THE SEA WITCH

As Big Bad: Fathomless Warlock Patron (Sea Hag/Kraken)

As Playable Character:

Race: Triton Background: Courtier (Insight, Persuasion) Class: Glamour Bard Skills: Arcana, Deception, Insight, Performance, Persuasion Items: Circlet of Human Perfection (reskin as seashell necklace)

I built Ariel as a Fathomless Warlock because in order for her to be on land, she had to make a deal with Ursula. So, with Ursula on land, she can masquerade as Vanessa, using Ariel’s voice to charm and manipulate people. We even see Ursula do this when she charms Eric, so we know that as Vanessa, Ursula could easily run a successful criminal empire using Ariel’s voice to hypnotize and manipulate people into obeying her orders. The Circlet of Human Perfection allows Ursula to maintain a perfect beautiful human disguise without having to eat up spell slots. As a Fathomless Patron, Ursula in her base form is a simple Sea Hag, being much weaker. But once she gets a hold of Dekella, the Bident of Thassa from King Triton, she can grow in both size and power to rival the might of a Kraken. And with Thassa’s divine bident, Ursula can command the tides and all the beasts and monstrosities within it, puting her nearly on par with the powers of a goddess of the sea. But unlike Hades, Maleficent, and Chernabog, even at her near godlike power, Ursula still has a stat block, her bident can still be taken from her, and she can still be slain and defeated.

QUEEN GRIMHILDE THE EVIL QUEEN

Race: Human Background: Noble (History, Persuasion Intimidation) Class: Alchemist Artificer Skills: Arcana, History, Intimidation, Investigation

I really did consider the Transmutation Wizard for Grimhilde, as it has the power to cast polymorph for all of your Frog Prince needs, and a master transmuter can even Restore Youth. But then, the alchemist can brew a potion of transformation, and the chemistry set is clearly how we see Grimhilde using magic. The only magic she performs without the chemistry set is when she creates a gust of wind in front of her magic mirror. She doesn’t even create the lightning bolt for her transformation spell, it just happens to be storming outside, so she’s not controlling the weather either. Plus, the most powerful spell she has is the poisoned apple and she has to summon a bolt of lightning to cast Alter Self, a 2nd level spell. By DnD standards, Grimhilde’s not really that powerful. She doesn’t even fight the player herself in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. If you want Grimhilde to be more magical, then go with Transmutation Wizard, but if you want to be more accurate, the Alchemist is how Grimhilde does her magic. Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove shares a nearly identical build.

CAPTAIN HOOK THE GENTLEMAN THIEF

Race: Human Background: Pirate (Athletics, Perception) Class: Swashbuckler Rogue Skills: Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Persuasion

While Hook’s still a putrid coward, he holds himself quite well, and is the epitome of Lawful Evil, maintaining a strict personal moral code to clash with Peter’s frankly Chaotic Neutral “heroism”. Hook’s not really good at the normal rogue skills like hiding or thieving, but he shines as a manipulative double-talking liar. Long John Silver from Treasure Planet has a similar build.

GASTON LEGUME THE HANSOME HUNTER

Race: Human Background: Folk Hero (Animal Handling Persuasion, Survival) Class: Monster Slayer Ranger Skills: Athletics, Perception, Persuasion Stealth, Survival

As the strapping hero of Belle’s Village, Gaston has the favor of his entire community, keeping them safe from any and all beasties that lurk beyond the city. Too bad he’s as rotten as they come. Likely one of the weakest villains in terms of pure power scale as little more than a local hero, he’s still an iconic enough villain I couldn’t resist adding him. Clayton from Tarzan shares a similar build.

SCAR THE USURPER OF PRIDE ROCK

Race: Leonin Background: Noble (History, Persuasion) Class: Oath of Treachery Paladin Fighting Style: Unarmed Skills: History, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion

Simba was a druid because he was a wise king who could call upon his people to stand beside him. Scar is a paladin because he has devoted himself to a single goal: his own personal power. Scar shows little wisdom, but has a strong character and savvy charms about him that make him better suited as a CHA caster.

JUDGE CLAUDE FROLLO THE JUDGE OF PARIS

Race: Human Background: Investigator Class: Light Cleric Skills: Insight, Investigation, Persuasion, Religion

This was an easy villain to build. As a religious man worshipping God (who would def fall under Life, Light, and maybe Knowledge) Frollo would go for the one that lets him keep witches warm. His background was chosen as an investigator because he’s responsible for keeping the peace in Paris, and there wasn’t a background option for lawmaker. Noble or Courtier might have worked, but didn’t seem quite like the right fit as they deal more with aristocratic authority and royal court politics.

RIKU THE HEARTLESS KEYBLADE MASTER

Race: Human Background: Soldier (Athletics, Intimidation) Class: Raven Queen Warlock/Hexblade Warlock, Shadow Sorcerer Pact Boon: Blade Skills: Arcana, Athletics, Deception, Intimidation

In the first Kingdom Hearts game, Riku spends most of the game being manipulated by Maleficent. His DnD counterpart would surely be a warlock to her. But Maleficent oddly has not one but three possible warlock patron options. As the Raven Queen, she obviously has the Raven Queen Warlock, but the Raven Queen also created the Hexblade, which come from the Shadowfell, which she rules over. The third is unique to Maleficent, as she is a fairy, and a powerful one at that. Making her a valid choice for an Archfey Warlock. Archfey doesn’t quite fit Riku, but the other two do, and as a Sorcerer, Riku draws power from the Shadowfell which his patron rules over.

DR. FACILIER THE SHADOW MAN

Race: Human Background: Charlatan (Deception, Sleight of Hand) Class: Fiend Warlock Skills: Arcana, Deception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand

It’s kind of hard to deny that Dr. Facilier is obviously a warlock, though his patron options don’t really come close to a neat fit. Among his choices though, fiend comes the closest to selling his soul to the Other Siders or Shadow Folk. It’s possible he could have sold his soul to the Raven Queen and his shadowy friends are the emissaries of the shadowfell, but as he has no raven or crow familiar, that’s a somewhat weak comparison.

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penajavier · 3 years

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though you are no god - Frankie Morales x f!reader

This idea had been brewing for a while and hanging out in my drafts for a longer while, but I’ve finally found the inspiration to clean it up and share it! I am clearly a beginner at this and feedback/critique is always welcome.

Title: though you are no god (credit)

Pairing: Francisco Morales x f!reader. One use of the word “girl”.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3.3k

Content/warnings: brief mentions of nightmares and trauma recovery, angst, smut, still somehow the sappiest shit I’ve ever written. frankie likes to be praised. strictly 18+

ao3

••••••••

The first time you get to witness Francisco Morales fall to his knees in front of you, you almost don't remember it happening.

His mouth presses hot and wet and urgent against your skin where he is bunching up your shirt to expose it. You are nearly as drunk as him, blindly pulling it off and throwing it somewhere behind him. The wall behind you is cool but does absolutely fuck-all to clear your head because oh god his hands are big and warm and his tongue is incessant and oh god this is Frankie, your goofy, kind, awkward, hot as fuck friend-of-a-friend. He pulls you forward a fraction just to tug on your pants and underwear, letting them gather around your feet without giving you the leg room to step out of them. He lifts your left leg over his shoulder with ease, and then his hands are bracing him against you and his tongue is working as if it has a mind of its own, circling your clit and sliding up your lips and you don't remember his fingers being that thick but somehow they are and you are close to going insane.

Maybe tomorrow you'll wonder how you ended up here, in a hallway in his apartment where he barely bothered to turn the lights on before pressing himself into you, effectively shutting off any sane connection you might have still retained to the world after however-many drinks you two had got in you. The night was supposed to be about Santi, you vaguely recall, but right now you honest to god cannot even remember what promotion he got that you were supposed to be celebrating. You might have made a mental note to apologize to him for leaving his party early, but Frankie adds another finger to your wet cunt and moans like it's pleasuring him more than you, and it's a real effort not to kick him in the chest or collapse on him then and there.

The fucker laughs as if he knows exactly what he's doing to you, and somehow increases his efforts to a degree you hadn't thought possible. It doesn't take much after that for you to feel that knot tightening in your belly, the electricity of it making your limbs shake. Only when he’s satisfied making you cum thoroughly on his tongue and his hand does he stand up, and for the first time since you got here, he speaks. "Hi," he says, the loopiest grin on his face, before leaning forward to kiss you without waiting for you to answer.

Your last remaining brain cell thinks to itself, this is going to be one hell of a night.

••••

The second time Frankie Morales falls to his knees in front of you, you can barely bring yourself to look at him.

It's been weeks (months?) since he practically fell off the grid, following your childhood best friend and designated bad-idea-haver Santiago Garcia into the guts of South America. You had reached the point where a part of you was bracing itself for the worst kind of news, of never getting to see your boys again or hell, not even knowing what the fuck happened to them down there. The rest of you was still holding on to your anger in a misplaced effort to stay hopeful, refusing to let you feel anything other than the need to wring their necks as soon as one of them walked back in the door. And that was it, the majority of your days spent getting on edge every time your phone rang or you felt you saw a familiar set of messy curls pass you by on the street, until you walked home one day to find him standing outside your door, hand poised to knock but hesitant.

"What the fuck?" the words escape you before you can help it, and he nearly jumps out of his skin. When he turns to look at you coming up behind him, you almost stop in shock at how absolutely shit he looks. "What the fuck?" you say again, seeming to have lost all your vocabulary at the sight of this stupid infuriating beautiful man finally standing in front of you in one piece, messy curls and all.

An eternity passes with the two of you simply staring at each other, your grocery bags forgotten in your hands and his fingers twitching in an effort to keep them to himself. The smell of fresh bread wafting from your grocery bag does little to alleviate any tension, and the silence is almost painful. You want to do something, say something of all the rage and hurt you've nursed in you at being left alone. How dare you, you want to bark at him, want to hold him by the collar and smack him or kiss his face raw.

You must take too long in your own head because he carefully extends a hand toward you, but you are so over-stimulated at the mere sight of him that you flinch.

That's what breaks him, you realize later when the storms have passed and the proverbial rivers have calmed. Not the pain and loss and grief of the mission - things he'll whisper into your chest when you let him - and not the physical battering he must have taken through it all. What breaks him is you flinching away from him, as if you'd forgotten who he was. It’s only me, it's your Frankie, he wants to scream; wants to gather you in his arms and breathe into your ribs. But all he can do is fall to the ground and plead with his eyes.

I'm sorry, mi alma he seems to be saying, and the sight of this glorious man breaking down in front of your doorstep makes you ache in the depths of your bones. You rush forward, all your anger evaporating away from you in the instant it takes to wrap your arms around him and let him rest his head on your stomach. The position is awkward at best. His touch feels almost alien and his hair doesn't smell like you're used to, but you let him cry, let him ruin the clothes you hadn’t given much thought to anyway, and it doesn't occur to either of you that the shirt is one of his that he'd left at your place.

You choke back the ocean rising in your throat, not knowing how to navigate everything you're feeling at the same time. Will we ever be okay? you wonder, your entire body feeling numb as he holds you just the tiniest bit more tightly.

You don't know then if you'll ever forgive him, and he doesn't know if he'll ever be the same man again, but right there in that moment none of it matters. What matters is that he is here, and you are holding him like you'd wished and prayed for in all those lonely nights. Maybe you'll never be okay like you used to be, but you have him for now, and you're too exhausted to think beyond that.

••••

The third time, it's fucking magical.

You and your Frankie have finally settled into a somewhat stable routine. After he left you with the promise to get his shit together, he made good on his word. It seemed as if the mission that must not be named put things into perspective for him - and for you, for that matter - and the two of you decided to give up on the delicate dance you kept orchestrating around each other. You had realized that you needed him much more than you could ever resent him for leaving, and he had realized he never wanted to feel the paralysing fear of thinking he'd never make it back to you again. You two had decided to sit down like adults and talk about it, and Frankie’s regular visits to his therapist had certainly helped.

Now, in the early morning light in your shared bedroom, he looks the very picture of calm. The birds chirp softly outside the window, blending in with the music of the traffic that you two have begrudgingly come to love. The nightmares haven't left him completely, but they're less frequent and far less incapacitating for him. You feel a rush of pride for how far he's come, how much effort he put into building himself back up piece by piece after being shattered to his bare bones. You’ve seen him curl into you out of fear and into himself during the moments of self loathing when he feels he doesn't deserve your kindness, but now he sleeps with his head tilted slightly upward, exposing the beautiful planes of his neck to you. He is beautiful, you've known it for as long as you've known him, but something about the soft sunlight turning his curls golden and the way you can tell he's truly at peace in this moment, brings tears to your eyes and makes your throat clench.

You lean up on your elbow and touch his face. His skin is soft, and he smells faintly of your body wash. Thief, you think fondly, brushing his unruly hair away from his forehead. he had stopped cutting it as frequently as he used to because he noticed you liked running your hands through it, and you realize with a jolt that that had been years ago, long before you two had any conversation about the future, even before he had his world turned upside down in the depths of an unnamed jungle. That is when you realize that Francisco Morales told you he loved you long before you had the sense to understand it, and this time you do cry.

He stirs in his sleep. You briefly worry that you woke him, but he simply turns his head and nuzzles into the crook of your neck, breathing deeply at your shoulder before falling back asleep. The feeling of his soft breaths against your skin makes you smile, and you feel yourself falling more in love with every one of them.

He wakes you up hours later with gentle kisses and the promise of pancakes, making you giggle with the way his moustache tickles your chin. When you find him in the kitchen later he seems more chipper than usual, smelling like a bakery and humming softly while setting the table for two. He greets you with a sweet kiss and pulls out your chair for you before sitting down in his own.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” you ask playfully, and he smiles wide behind his glasses that you’d finally convinced him he needed. Beautiful man, you can't help but think.

"Just wanted to do something nice for my girl," he answers with his mouth full and you flick a berry at him, which he expertly catches. "Oh so that's how it's gonna be," he puts down his fork and you start to run away, but he is far too quick. He catches you by your waist and pulls you into his chest, licking your cheek obscenely.

"Frankie, you dog!" you giggle, still fighting his grip.

"Dogs are cute," he shrugs, seemingly unfazed against you using all your force. He is gentle as anything with you, but he sure likes to show off his strength every once in a while. He lifts you effortlessly off the floor and sets you on the counter. "You think I'm cute?" he wiggles his eyebrows.

You almost playfully call him insufferable on autopilot, the way you've always bantered since you've known him. But you're aware now how he relies on verbal affirmations, and you've been making a conscious effort of supplying them whenever you can. So instead you hold his face in your palms and tell him that you think he's the most wonderful man in the world, and that you love him more than anything.

"Baby," he drops his head to your shoulder and sighs. You do this to him, making his heart swell and threaten to burst out of his ribs. He doesn't have the words, doesn't know how to tell you he feels like the luckiest man in the world every morning when he wakes up next to you, every time he hears your voice or feels your palm in his. He doesn't know how to tell you you've been his anchor and his best friend, or how he can't believe he gets to have this kind of domestic bliss at all. "Baby," he repeats, "I love you."

You try to deepen the kiss he initiates, but he pulls back and tells you he has plans for the day, telling you to get dressed for something outdoors. You feel a rush of happiness at the thought of him feeling more and more like himself with every day that passes, picking up old habits and finding joy in them. You kiss his cheek and run off to get dressed, beyond excited to see what he had planned.

The ride to the field is longer than you expected. Frankie has turned the radio on and it plays softly in the background as you two talk occasionally. It’s a calm morning, with the perfect weather that's neither too cold nor too warm. He lifts your hand to his lips and kisses it softly once he's parked, and then he hops out and opens your door for you.

"Such a gentleman," you tease.

"Yeah," is all he says before he's kissing you breathless against the truck. It takes you by surprise, but it's far from unwelcome.

Your hands come to rest on his shoulders, and you can tell it takes a special amount of effort for him to pull away from you, his hands still holding you close as he pulls on yours and leads you deeper into the field. The grass is high enough to tickle your ankles, and the whisper of it against your skin feels wonderful. He slows down, the pace leisurely enough for you to appreciate the wildflowers growing around you. He’s careful not to step on any, and you're struck once again by the multitudes that exist within this one man. The same man who has confessed to sins you could never have thought him capable of, now so careful with a thing as gentle as a dandelion. You think about his hand that is so gentle in yours, and the memory of it firmly wrapping around your throat as he does unspeakable things to you makes you blush, and you will yourself to come back to the present.

Frankie has led you to a tree, and you notice a tree house resting on the sturdier branches. It’s new, you realize, and look at him quizzically.

"Remember how I was supposed to pick up new hobbies?" he says sheepishly, gently leading you around to the other side where you see wooden footrests leading up. He urges you to climb up, and you are still so surprised that you can only obey.

"I thought you'd like this," he's saying. "It can be our secret place, we come here whenever we want. Not that we don't already have a home and privacy but I thought this could be nice to have. Like a little getaway close to home." He's rambling now, as you notice all the fine details he has paid attention to in the construction of it.

"Honey? Do you like it?" he asks when you've been too quiet.

"Do I like it?" you ask incredulously. "Francisco Morales, this is amazing!"

He immediately breaks into a wide grin, and you can see that he is proud of himself. He looks almost like an eager child, and you love the way his eyes shine in that moment.

"There's one more thing," he leads you to a small opening in the wall that serves as a window. You can see the clear sky and the field stretching out under you, and the cool breeze feels like a gentle caress. It's a beautiful view, and you lose yourself in the sights and smells for a moment.

"So am I looking at something specific?" you ask, wondering what it was he wanted to show you.

He doesn't answer, though, and you turn around to repeat the question. The sight that meets you nearly knocks you off your feet, and you cover your gasp with your hand.

Frankie is on one knee, hat resting by his feet and hand extended, holding the most gorgeous ring you have ever laid eyes on. You might be biased, but you couldn't care less.

"Darling, I-" he starts, but you don't have the self control that he apparently does, and you throw your arms around him.

He wraps tightly around you, only letting you have enough room to look up and kiss him. And god do you kiss him. You kiss him like he has never been kissed before, like you could pour every ounce of affection you have for him into that one moment, needing him as close to you as possible.

You don't realise you're crying until he kisses the tears off your cheeks, and then he lifts your hand and slides the ring on.

••••

The fourth time comes that night, after you've spent your day in the field, holding on to each other and bursting with mutual joy.

He sits you down on the bed, and kneels in front of you, kissing your shoulders gently. "Hey, Mrs. Morales," he smiles as he says it, even as he's biting the soft skin at your clavicle.

You laugh, telling him that’s not how engagement rings work. He only grins against your skin and bites harder.

You scratch his head and he purrs, lifting his head briefly to give you a sweet kiss before he's pushing you to lie down. Let me take care of you, honey, he whispers. Then his hands are on your waist and his mouth is on your chest, making you writhe in place. He kisses and sucks and bites, making sure to give every part of you equal attention. So beautiful, he's talking almost to himself as he leaves a wet trail of kisses down to your tummy.

His hands meanwhile touch and grab and smooth over any part they can reach, moving as if of their own volition. He knows your body so well that he can map it with his eyes closed, can recognize it with his last breaths. He reaches your cunt and pulls you closer, closer, inhaling deeply and groaning like he's hardly staying in control.

With the same patience he had displayed earlier in the day he teases you mercilessly, kissing around where you need him most. You pull on his hair and he tuts and bites your thigh. What did I say, baby - a flick of his tongue against you - let me take care of you. You whine petulantly, and he tells you to be a good girl for him. He even says please, the asshole.

The first lick against your clit comes at the same time as his finger pushes into you, and it takes everything you have not to lift off the bed. So wet for me, he moans against you, the vibration making your pleasure amplify. You fist the sheets around you, telling him how fucking good he's making you feel, how good he always makes you feel. The praise fuels him on and he pushes two more fingers into you at the same time.

You are so full and so stimulated with his tongue incessant against your clit, and he has no plans of letting up. You feel your orgasm hit you quick and hard, and you can barely warn him before you're gushing, soaking his face and trying to pull away from the overstimulation.

He looks up at you, grinning like the Cheshire cat. He licks you clean until you're begging him to stop, and then he patiently kisses his way back up your body.

"That was... that was amazing," you're out of breath as you say it, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him in to taste yourself.

"Oh honey," he coos. "I've barely started."

•••

fin.

Tagging some lovely mutuals whom I love and who are amazing writers: @disgruntledspacedad @pedropascaldice @frannyzooey. Please let me know if you don’t want to be tagged in the future (if there is a future) ❤️

#triple frontier fic #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales smut #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x reader #not rpf #yes im on hiatus yes i wrote a fic #we exist #and did i mention i've never seen the movie 🙂

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beckhcm · 3 years

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rudy pankow, cis-man, he/him */ have you seen BECKHAM “ BECK ” CARLYLE lately ? yeah, i heard they're TWENTY-THREE years old and a WAITER now in charleston city. i mean, i don’t know if it’s their CAPRICORN vibes or that they’re -IRRESPONSIBLE and -MANIPULATIVE but also +SOCIABLE and +RESOURCEFUL but they remind me of THIS LIFE I HAVE by THE WRECKS. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble around here.

hello ! i’m dani and this is my emotional support dumbass beck- pls be nice to him he’s trying his best. if you’d like to plot give this post a like, hmu on discord ( 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐢 👻 *𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘬𝘦#5701) or tumblr ims. xoxo gossip girl .

BASICS !!

full name: beckham “beck” francis carlyle

birthday: january 16th, 1998

hometown: manhattan, ny.

sexuality: bisexual

positive traits: charismatic, sociable, intelligent & resourceful.

negative traits: irresponsible, selfish, aloof, & evasive

moral alignment: chaotic neutral

songs that remind me of him: scumbag by goody grace, hotblack by oceanship, decided to break it by marianas trench, to be so lonely by harry styles & bad habits by fidlar

BIOGRAPHY !!

once upon a time he used to wear his name with pride. his parents, sebastian and lilith carlyle were two of the most powerful people in new york. his father was a powerful business man with political influence while his mother worked for the AHRQ. they used to say the kid was spoiled rotten, being their only child he got everything he ever wanted, from the latest toys to a heard of nannies ready to meet all of his demands. his mother tried to make a good boy out of him, however, due to her packed schedule, she was hardly ever home. it didn’t affect him though - or so he says- he understood that his parents were important people, it was okay for them to miss birthdays, christmases, and piano recitals as long as he got to keep his lavish lifestyle.

like every other rich kid he went to private school, he was smart enough to get decent grades and rich enough to pay off teachers when it was needed. he never cared for people outside of his social circle, he wouldn’t spare you a second glance if you didn’t have money or connections. charismatic to those with power and an arrogant prick to those he deemed to be beneath him.

march 27th 2020 he woke up to someone banging on the door, beck went down to the kitchen only to find his father in handcuffs. his mom held him and told him not to panic, that it was a mistake and it would be over soon. a day later their name was plastered all over the news. his father was nothing but a thief in a nice suit, he'd been stealing millions of dollars from charities and other government agencies to various bank accounts overseas. most, if not all of their fortune was acquired by screwing over regular hard-working people. overnight they became the most hated family in america, reporters blinded him with camera flashes whenever he dared to leave the house. a month later all of their accounts were frozen, and not too long after that they lost everything.

the fall from grace was humbling, he went from having everything to not knowing whether he'd be able to afford food for the rest of the week. tired of living in a city where everyone knew about his dirty laundry, he sold whatever he could and used the money to move to charleston. now he has to live with a roommate (wink wink wanted connection) and work at a shitty restaurant just to make ends meet.

PERSONALITY !!!

right now beck is angry; at his dad, at the world, and at himself. now that he’s living outside of his bubble he’s realizing what a fucking tool he used to be. that being said, he’s nowhere close to being a saint, there’s still a sense of superiority he can’t quite shake off.

🎶 arrogant son of a bitch who can’t admit when he’s sorry 🎶

he’s fun to hang out with but hard to be friends with. he expects people to love him without doing much to deserve it. no one ever taught him how to love properly so this is all a learning curve. he’s very codependent which is why people tend to rotate in and out of his life every few years.

if you were to meet him at a party you would think he’s an open book, he’s very good at conversing and making you feel like you’ve been best friends for years, however that’s all bullshit. he’s reserved about things that actually matter, he doesn’t like to talk about himself or his family or what happened in new york.

big dummy energy when it comes to basic life things. he grew up with people doing everything for him so now he’s learning how to be on his own. this boy can’t cook, clean, do laundry, or even shop for groceries. it’s definitely getting better but he’s still the type to set the kitchen on fire while making ramen. ( picture paris and nicole in a simple life )

as far as relationships goes, he likes to fuck around without committing to anything. there’s a lot of self hatred going on right so how can he trust someone to love him when he can’t even love himself ?

btw full name him and he might punch you in the face js

W A N T E D C O N N E C T I O N S !!! ( link here )

P I N T E R E S T !!! ( link here )

#charleston:intro #introduction.#if you see any typos no you dont i dont have my glasses rn

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Part 6: Terror of the Transvaal! “But You... You Just Made Me Mean.”

Hello you happy people. And welcome back to my look at The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck! And with this one i’ve reached the halfway point of this epic and couldn’t be prouder and have no plans to slow down. In fact while June and July will have one chapter each as is my usual for storylines I do on my own time, August and September will have DOUBLE the chapters to help me reach the finsih line. This dosen’t mean i’m done mind, i’ll probably get into the side chapters next year, possibly sooner. But my main goal when setting out to do this was to cover the main story, one of my favorite comics of all time and easily the best scrooge comic ever. But the point is it’s been a helluva ride so far and i’m not even to the second half yet.

This chapter is also one of my favorites along with “The Last of Clan McDuck”, “THe Raider of the Copper HIll” and “The Invader of Fort Duckburg”. It’s a compelling and tragic turning point in our heroes life and has THE most badass moment in Scrooge’s history, only rivaled by another moment in this very series, which if you’ve read it you know EXACTLY what i’m talking about for both. This is also a lucky one for me as I scheduled this a while back before me and Kev had settled on doing the season 2 arcs, so I ended up scheduling this one the same week as my coverage of Glomgold’s other origin story in “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!”, a story that take some small cues from this one. So if all of that has peaked your interest, please join me under the cut as Scrooge becomes “The Terror of the Transvaal!”

As for why Rosa set the chapter here there’s two simple reasons: it was one of two gold rushes mentioned in Barks work, meaning Scrooge could get in some more experience before making his fourtune in the Klondike, and Rosa understandably couldn’t resist having Scrooge and his greatest rival meet in their youth. He WAS careful to not have Scrooge learn Flinty’s name, as Scrooge dosen’t recognize him in Flintheart’s first apperance in “The Second Richest Duck”.. but Rosa noticed Flinty seemed familiar with SCROOGE, and simply ran with it, still having his first encounter with the bastard deeply effect Scrooge but leaving Scrooge unaware that the thief and betrayer he met in the Transavaal was the same heartless Scoundrel he’s fated to keep fighting till one or both of them keels over.

So starting the chapter proper Scrooge has come to the Transvaal to prospect for gold, following his hunch from last chapter, trying to make his way to the rand, a large natural area in south Africa. The Transvaal itself was a large expanse that was cut up in the 90′s after the fall of apartheid.

Scrooge passes a massive Diamond Mine, large with tons of miners on small claims, but wisely passes it up: there’s too many people, too much fuss and likely too much risk of getting stolen or finding nothing.

And to prove that point we meet Flinty who is trying to steal a guy’s diamonds for the second time today. Now the other miners reaction IS FAIR: they send him up in a bucket thing their using to transport the diamonds as a thief and announce him as such and the people on the surface’s reaction makes it very clear this isn’t new behavior. Him being punished is fine... their punishment though....

Seriously, theft is not worth doing a murder.. and yes he COULD escape and their trying to frame it like that’s not what htier doing.. but their sending someone with clearly low self preservation skills into the desert, with no suplies, tightlyt ied to an angry and clearly wild animal. While Flinty DOES deserve jail for his shit, he doesn’t deserve to DIE for attempted theft. He didn’t ruin anyone’s lives or actually succeed and he’s clearly harmless if eveyrone in the mine knows he’s a criminal. You can’t just murder all your problems away... I mean the blood alone is just not worth the clean up.

Naturally Scrooge crosses paths with Glomgold and assumes he’s simply gotten himself trapped somehow and being an openly kind soul at this point in his life, gladly helps the guy free. Scrooge mentions he’s headed to Johannesburg and GLomgold offers to come along and do all the work as his guide. Scrooge being Scrooge refuses the “do all the work part” but gladly accepts a guide and a new friend and introduces himself as from Scotland. And as a result we get... something resembling a joke...

Look I’m not against a good pun... but that was not a good pun. It wasn’t even a passable pun. It also feels like a bit of a stretch given Scrooge is well traveled by now. you’d THINK he’d get that he was probably talking about something local and not insulting himself.

So Scrooge talks about all he’s learned with Flintheart bored and kind of a dick.. and offering a lesson of his own despite being the same age as Scrooge.. specifically he takes first watch and gives a smug speech.

Scrooge wonders around the wilderness and finds a lion.. then an elephant and soon has the entire savannah after him as he bemoans the betrayal, having never felt like this. We’ll get more into the why in a bit. The point is he’s backed against a wall..but as we all know a cornered animal, human , duck , humanoid duck no matter the species is often at it’s most dangerous.

Especially if that animal is a McDuck. So here we get that badassery I mentioned: faced with an angry horde of some of the most dangerous and awe inspiring critters in Africa Scrooge uses EVERYTHING he’s learned roping cattle and what not to best them. He uses tricks from besting Long Horns to get the Elephants tangled up in a tree, then uses a log to beat a Rhino, before lassoing himself a motherfucking giraffe:

And if THAT weren’t already cool as all hell he tops himself: Since he dosen’t consider a Zebra a proper mount.. he decides to go for something bigger.

So to recap just so it all sinks in for you: Scrooge, abandoned with no suplies, defeats two elephants and a rhino, rides a Giraffe, then TAMES a fucking lion with nothing more than an improvised lasso and PURE RAGE. Then RIDES that majestic creature across the planes like a GODDAMN HORSE, before riding iti into town casual as all hell. I MEANT IT and he’s STILL not done. I mean it doesn’t’t top riding a motherfucking lion, what could, but what he does for an encore is still utterly badass and is a nice coda to riding a motherfucking lion.

So at the local abr Glomgold lies about everything and makes himself the hero of the story, Yes Flintheart Big Dick Glomgold. Purest soul there ever was. This lasts all of a minute as while Flinty brushes off the fact a cowboy is looking for him, he doesn’t even know what that is... he’s soon rightfully shitting himself when Scrooge comes for his vengeance.

The art here is as always impeccable. The shading alone. But seriously I’m terrified and I know he can’t harm me... in theory. In practice if ANYONE could reach out of the page and throttle me, it’d be the guy who rode a motherfucking lion. And no i’m never letting that go. Fucker rode a lion. That’s the kind of thing you never forget about a character for damn good reason. We also get one of my favorite lines in the story, and it has tons of greats.. but this is an easy contender for my favorite:

It’s a chilling line and panel, with it made clear Scrooge’s cynsim, his biggest weakness and often what makes him the most unlikable came from this.. the moment where a villain with no scruples, no care and no code or morals of any kind utterly betrayed him and tried to leave him for dead that took any scrap of hope in mankind he had and destroyed it. From now on he likes nobody and nobody likes him. Other mentors helped Scrooge grow as a person, taught him skills and taught him to survive, to enjoy the road getting to fortune as much as the fortune himself, and to make his way square. Flinty. just made him mean.

But Scrooge isn’t going to kill him.. for one thing he doesn’t’t like shooting people or animals. For another.. he has something far more satisfying in mind: Old West Justice, Tar and Feathearing style, covering the guy and humiliating him by making him do a bullet dance Marty McFly style.

Flinty TRIES to simply escape and steal Scrooge’s shotgun.. but it fails as he runs into the lion and Scrooge takes the beaten flinty over to the jail to press charges. Flinty is jailed.. and makes his own vow.

So with that Scrooge has made a foe for life, and this is another thing the 2017 Cartoon took.. it’s just where as this Flinty was merely angry at his rightful compuance and humilation, the cartoon one was a small child who swore vengance for an honest mistake. But either way you slice it he won’t make Scrooge’s life any easier.

So with that we get our epilogue: Scrooge never made his forutune her, naturally, as the ore was too low quality for him to process alone so only the already rich could afford to set up shop here. Scrooge packs it in determined to still make his fortune and we get an awesome closing panel.

Final Thoughts: As you could probably tell, I fucking love this one. It’s utterly amazing. Barks himself has said he felt the best chapters took place over a short time span and it shows: by having to cover less time, only having a time passing bit at the very end, it allows this vital story to take place over less than a day and allows it to move at a hell of a pace. It’s got action, great character work as we see Scrooge’s last bit of trust in his fellow man shatter, and THE best climax of the series. And the others have some whoppers. This one is just so damn awesome, taking most of the issue but using EVERY page of it to tell one epic finale, from Scrooge’s easy mastery of the beasts, to his taming a motherfucking lion, to Flinty’s UTTERLY satstifying humilation conga...this is just a masterpiece and a huge reminder why I love this comic

Next Time: Scrooge sadly dosen’t keep the lion but does head to Australia where he faces what he is in the dark, meets a new mentor, and gets pointed to his destiny. See you next month for that.

If you liked this review share it, and if you’d like to help me make more join my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. WIth only 10 days left till the new pay period nows the time to jump in so you can pick a short for my Donald Duck birthday specail next month or help me reach a stretch goal so I can get it on the board. Time’s a wastin. And if you can’t, tha’ts fine, thanks for reading.

#the life and times of scrooge mcduck #scrooge mcduck #don rosa #the terror of the transvaal #flintheart glomgold #south africa #comics #disney #vengance

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ayeshintheclouds · 3 years

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I don’t really have a platform or any sort of public voice, I know. But there’s something that I want to talk about anyways because it’s really important to me and if even one person understands it or even sees it and keeps it at the back of their mind, it would make a difference in my opinion.

I want to talk about one of my best friends’ dads, Dr Hasan Gokal. You may have seen him all over the news, labeled “thief” by our lovely sensationalist media. I was really hesitant if I want to include him being my friend’s dad because I know it adds an element of bias to my argument. But I think it adds another perspective, another angle that the media can’t cover- I’m far enough that I have no obligation or pressure to go out of my way to support his cause. I’m close enough that I truly do see his side of it- the whole story unfold from before it ever hit the media: the struggle, the confusion, the misunderstanding and the pain that family is going through. My point is- I wouldn’t be writing this unless I truly believed him to be innocent.

Dr Hasan Gokal is accused of stealing vaccines. But he didn’t. Not really. He used up the remaining doses that were about to expire because he was ordered from higher ups to simply ‘find arms’ and use them all up because there was a shortage and we couldn’t afford to waste any. He filed all the appropriate paperwork, he asked permission from the highest higher-up available at the time. The word stealing implies the worst image: someone breaking in and stashing them in their bag and running. Which I know, is a technicality and it might technically be ‘stealing’ legally- but the way the media took that phrase and ran with it is extremely harmful to someone’s career. It is slander and deceitful, fueled by the media’s obsession with sensationalizing and demonizing people of color, especially Muslims. Especially someone who did something heroic and brave where he absolutely didn’t have to.

Dr Gokal was looking at the bigger picture, what truly mattered at that time, which was saving as many lives as possible as fast as possible. Each of those vials in his hands could have been someone’s life. Every arm out there was another person who could have caused another chain of infection. How could he bear to toss them in the trash? And I know- I know very well that protocol is important. The government, the healthcare system, they claim to take care of the bigger picture, “just do what we tell you, don’t think too much, too hard”

And I also know if everyone applied their own morals and ethics and ignored the system in place, there would be chaos. But in healthcare, you have to admit that there is a clear, clear grey area for unexpected situations such as these. These are unprecedented times, times with barely any frame of reference to look back on. All the protocol, all the rules, seem hastily made and vague and self contradicting. There’s orders from superiors to “find arms, waste nothing” And there’s orders from superiors saying to waste nine out of ten vaccines. Which are you supposed to follow? Dr Gokal was in an extremely grey area, and he made the best judgement call he possibly could have, given his time limit and his situation. He literally called and reported it to his superiors and filed all the necessary paperwork the next day. A ‘thief’ or anyone who believed what they did was wrong would not have done that.

Legality should not determine morality- wildly inhumane things were once determined legal by our country such as literal slavery.

This is not to say abandon all sense of propriety and do what your heart says- but I think Dr Gokal did an excellent job of balancing legality and morality. He did what he believed was right despite it being unconventional AND he followed all protocol- asking permission first as well as filing it in immediately after.

Admittedly, it may have been not the smartest thing to remove the vaccines from the site and administer them at people’s houses. Even so, it’s something that could have been cleared up with a fine or strict warnings. A court case and firing is very extreme for someone who was only going above and beyond to only do what the government and the hospitals were encouraging in the first place, to not waste.

Some aspect of racism definitely applies here, especially with the comment about “too many Indian names” brought up in court. The only reason he vaccinated many people from his cultural community was simply because they were the first ones he could reach. He called as many people as possible, his only goal was to just find arms. This would not have been brought up at all if the doctor were white and he vaccinated his friends Debby and Charles and Linda and Bob. No one would’ve raised an eyebrow and said “wow an awful lot of white people you vaccinated there.”

Well obviously? Maybe he was white and he knew many white people or lived in a white area? The sad truth is, that if it were a white man, he would be celebrated as a hero, not a criminal.

The racist comments I’ve seen are literally insane. I’ve seen people say Dr Gokal must be mailing vaccines to middle eastern terrorists- Please what?? I believe all logic goes out the window when some Americans see someone a few shades darker than themselves.

The biggest argument I’ve seen by far is- it’s not fair. But. How? These vaccines were being trashed. Wasted. They were not going to someone who could’ve deserved them more. They were being crushed when they were most needed, most precious. And most importantly- every person who got that vaccine was one hundred percent eligible. As in, if Dr Gokal hadn’t given his friends and family the about-to-be-trashed vaccines, they’d be in line within that next week anyways, consuming another entire set of vials. He could’ve gotten his people fresh new ones, but he didn’t because he felt it would be a waste of resources when there was already such short supply. This man prioritized you all’s health over his own family and community’s. He gave his people, his ‘inDiaN nAmEs’ the almost expired ones so there would be enough for the rest of the city. For all of you.

For every person he vaccinated that night, there opened up an empty spot in line the next day. A spot for your grandmother maybe, for your sick child maybe.

Someone could be alive today from his actions.

Dr Gokal helped conserve vaccines and he’s being labeled a thief. This is how our country rewards heroes. This is what our healthcare system prioritizes- petty legal formalities above human life. In a time when people are dying left and right, this is what they chose to focus their attention on. Hunting down a man who went above and beyond with zero regard for himself or his own gain and blasting him on social media and news as a criminal.

I’ve seen what it’s been doing to their family. They are so so tired of the stress, of the pressure. They don’t deserve this.

He is not a vaccine stealer. He is not some strange man from another country. He is American, just like all of you out there. He texts his daughter to please study and he plays hide-and-seek with Mikey the cat and he fixes our bikes when they break. He did the right thing and our blasted system is making him pay for it because we are so caught up in the details we hardly know right from wrong anymore. We are willing to let people die- as long as all the precious paperwork is filed, as long as our maze of systems remain perfectly in place.

Justice for Dr Hasan Gokal because he did what no one else could- care for his people. And maybe if our country cared half as much as he did, billions of people wouldn’t be dead today.

Please please sign this to help his cause

https://www.change.org/p/harris-county-district-attorney-kim-ogg-the-prosecution-of-dr-gokal-is-unjust-and-da-kim-ogg-should-stop-his-prosecution?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_27323511_en-US%3A4&recruiter=826836508&recruited_by_id=6d273550-c08c-11e7-8bf0-510c1cf8213e&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial

For the full story of what actually happened that night in detail:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html

Thank you for reading it means a lot🤍

#vaccine #news #social media #houston #localheroes

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gambitgazette · 4 years

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The X-Perts: Gambit

The following is a repost of an article about Gambit that was posted to the Marvel site in 2011. We’re reposting it here at Gambit Gazette for two reasons; 1) it’s no longer on Marvel’s site (as far as we can tell), and 2) it exhibits insight and respect for Gambit’s character far deeper than what’s displayed on the comic book page the vast majority of the time (sadly). Gambit Gazette has taken the liberty of highlighting passages we find especially noteworthy.

The X-Perts: Gambit Kieron Gillen, Mike Carey, Marjorie Liu and Victor Gischler determine where this wild card will fall Posted Jul 12, 2011 1:31 pm Updated Aug 4, 2011 1:58 pm

By Ben Morse

This July, X-MEN: SCHISM kicks off a startling metamorphosis in the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe that will split the Children of the Atom and lead to ReGenesis in the fall along with two new ongoing series, each featuring it’s own distinctive team: UNCANNY X-MEN and WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN.

With change in the air, here on Marvel.com we’ll be regularly gathering the creators and editors responsible for guiding the X-Men’s destiny to dissect each of their charges to examine what makes them tick and perhaps lend some insight into where they will find themselves once the Schism ends and the ReGenesis gets underway.

This week, we take a look at Gambit, the thief-turned-X-Man who currently serves on the mission squad led by his on-again, off-again love, Rogue, while also mentoring the unpredictable X-23.

Marvel.com: How would you describe the core of who Gambit is and what is most important to him?

Victor Gischler (writer of X-MEN): Self-reliance.

Mike Carey (writer of X-MEN LEGACY): Gambit’s a guy with a core skill that he glories and excels in, and his sense of himself has formed around that, to some extent. He’s not just a thief, in the sense of having earned his living by stealing—he’s a Thief in a self-defining sense that’s halfway between family and ethnicity. [He was] raised by thieves, in a city where thieves were a clan with clan loyalties. So I think that’s his core, and his instincts and identity and an X-Man were grafted onto that.

Kieron Gillen (writer of UNCANNY X-MEN): Gambit's just one of those classic conflicted characters, torn between a fundamental selfishness—or, at best, self-interest—and the realization that [this] isn't right. His shows of genuine compassion are all the more striking now because of where he's come from. I mean, put aside his recent interactions with Rogue. Look at his interactions with X-23. A man of experience who is man enough to realize that not all experience is worthwhile. He'd roll his eyes at anyone who takes the Sinatra-ian "Regrets? I've had a few, etc" line.

Marjorie Liu (writer of X-23): At his heart, Gambit is a good man who believes in taking care of his friends, and his friends are what's most important to him. People are his home. He will do anything for those who matter to him.

Marvel.com: What is Gambit’s view of how the mutant race should conduct itself moving forward?

Kieron Gillen: Any future of the X-Men that involves having a future and keeps him out of long, boring meetings is probably good with him.

Mike Carey: Arising out of his childhood experiences, I think Gambit is fairly tribal in his gut instincts. Protecting his own, and keeping faith with his own, are core values for him. He’s also perfectly comfortable with a sort of under-the-radar lifestyle, and he knows first-hand that it’s possible to live invisibly among others who don’t share your values or your lifestyle. I’d say Gambit would be comfortable with a strategy that saw mutantkind dropping right out of the rifle sights of the various nut jobs out there and going underground until its numbers are up again and it can confront the world on its own terms.

Victor Gischler: I think he knows that difficult things need to be done, but he wants to see the mutant race finally push through those times so things will be better for the next generation.

Marjorie Liu: The thing about Gambit is that he's a man who knows how to adapt to survive. He plays things by ear, depending on the situation, and never feels obligated to follow the rules, because the only rules that matter are his own sense of honor. Ultimately, that sense of honor includes 'doing no harm'—at least, not to the innocent.

Because of that, however, I don't think he has a firm idea of how the mutant race should move forward. There's no overarching philosophy, no set of rules. Again, he adapts, he plays by ear. I think he would be more likely to say that the mutant race is filled with individuals, and each situation needs to be taken on an individual basis, without imposing some master plan.

Again, though, he's a survivor, and if the world turned on mutants as a whole, his approach would change, as well. He'd fight. He'd protect.

Marvel.com: Does Gambit like being a member of the X-Men? What keeps him affiliated with them?

Mike Carey: He likes the excitement. He likes the company—or some of it. He likes the sense of family. I think those would be the most important things for him. Having said that, he’s definitely someone who would be able to step into another life if the X-Men folded. He’d miss it, but he wouldn’t mourn it. He’d survive perfectly well.

Kieron Gillen: Honestly, I could spin out an enormous answer about how he sees himself in relation to mutants—though it suddenly strikes me that I see Gambit as one of the mutants who least self-identifies as "mutant"—but about 85% of it boils down to the following: One word, five letters.

Marjorie Liu: I don't know if he likes being a member of the X-Men, so much as he likes some of the people there, and feels obligated to stick by them, and guard their backs. It's a 'people' thing that has him sticking around, and not philosophical.

Victor Gischler: There is kind of a lone wolf aspect to Gambit, but I think deep down all lone wolves really want to be part of the pack. They just don't want to get burned or have their trust betrayed. Gambit has been an X-Man too long not to be a team member in his heart.

Marvel.com: What are Gambit’s most honorable qualities? His least honorable qualities?

Mike Carey: His chimerical gallantry. His insane courage. His anarchic shrewdness.

When he first joined the X-Men, Gambit served as a cynical and occasionally ruthless counterpoint to their stern virtue. They’ve met him more than halfway now—in fact, in some ways, they’ve surpassed him: the X-Men’s moral mainstream has changed so much that Gambit now seems more like a Robin Hood among them, a principled thief with a paradoxically strong code of ethics. He’s still got that ruthless streak, and he can be dishonest both in concealing information and in lying outright. And he has a weakness for going it alone when he ought to trust the people around him. That was what got him sucked into Apocalypse’s wake.

Victor Gischler: He's honest about who he is, warts and all.

Marjorie Liu: Most honorable qualities? Least honorable? Sometimes I think those are one and the same. He'll take care of his friends, no matter what. That's great. But what's not so great for everyone else is that he'll take care of his friends -- no matter what. Even if it means an act of betrayal.

Marvel.com: Do you think the rest of the X-Men really trust Gambit?

Kieron Gillen: Dark, tortured past. Propensity for playing on the other side. Will make out with your other half behind your back. A big part of me thinks they trust Gambit more than they probably should.

Or maybe they don't. The Utopia-era Cyclops-condoned Wolverine-lead X-Force—Gambit wasn't on that team.

Marjorie Liu: No, not really. I don't think they know him, that's the problem. The individuals who do—Storm, Jubilee, X-23—would trust him with their lives, without question. Everyone else? Not so much. To them, he's a wild card, so to speak. They see his reputation first, before they see the man.

Mike Carey: I think they didn’t, and then they did, and now they don’t again. He’s got a lot of lost ground to make up after the Limbo debacle. His past as a thief doesn’t count against him any more, but his past as a Horseman and his past as a Marauder during Messiah Complex do.

Victor Gischler: As long as they keep one hand on their wallets at all times.

Marvel.com: Could Gambit ever be leader of the X-Men again?

Victor Gischler: I don't see it. But that's mostly because I don't think he’d ever really want the job.

Marjorie Liu: My first instinct was to say yes, but the more I think about it, issues of trust and reliability would undermine his position. I'm not sure all the X-Men would feel secure with him in charge, or be willing to follow him to hell and back—and that's a huge component of successful leadership.

That said, I do think he can lead, just on a smaller scale, with a team that would fit his highly adaptable nature.

Mike Carey: He’d never want that job. It’s too public and too constricting. He wouldn’t be afraid of the responsibility, although he wouldn’t exactly relish it, either—he would be afraid of having his hands tied in a fight by having to co-ordinate what everybody else was doing.

Kieron Gillen: It doesn't seem a natural fit, but I'd never say never. I wouldn't say he could lead the X-Men as they are now. But a hypothetical X-Men team of the future? Yeah, I can see him pulling that off. As long as it doesn't involve all too many of the aforementioned long, boring meetings.

Marvel.com: How does Gambit’s relationship with Rogue color his place among the X-Men?

Marjorie Liu: I wish it didn't! If this was real life, that relationship would be one of those bad running jokes that people tell each other around dinner, or when there's nothing else to talk about and so you go to the one topic that's only less boring than dull silence. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a fan of Gambit and Rogue, but the relationship doesn't do either of them any favors.

Mike Carey: It’s the main reason why the X-Men feel like home to him. If she left, his attachment to them would be significantly weakened.

Kieron Gillen: What can I say? Heavily.

I know I've been laboring it, but more than almost anyone else, his ties with the X-men are personal. He's happy to exist in a world with the X-Men. He's happy to do the X-Men's work. But he's an outsider, and I think that's a real core of who he is. He needs shadows to step out of.

Mike Carey: Who among the X-Men does Gambit trust? Who does he feel should lead the team?

Victor Gischler: I think he'd trust Storm under almost any circumstances.

Kieron Gillen: Rogue. That's about it. And I don't think he has particularly strong feelings about who should lead the team—but he is interested in the institution of the X-Men. I wouldn't say he's a "Doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in" cynic, but as long as there's an institution which exists to do the job the X-Men have been doing, he's happy. If a leader appeared who changed that role entirely, it's only then Gambit would raise an eyebrow.

Marjorie Liu: I'm biased, but I feel he trusts X-23 and Jubilee, along with Storm. I'm not sure he trusts Rogue, even though he loves her—and I'm sure he's comfortable with Wolverine leading.

Mike Carey: I think he trusts Cyclops and is comfortable with his leadership. Certainly there’d be more tension for him if, say, Magneto had a leadership role. But the question of who leads isn’t a compelling one for Gambit, because he doesn’t see himself as being a follower. He follows his own conscience: sometimes that takes him outside the X-Men’s big tent. When he’s there, he toes the line, but his allegiance isn’t easily given or given without provisos.

#gambit #marvel #gambit gazette articles

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movedyoakkemae · 3 years

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ignore me, i’m archiving this thread bc... i love it. DO NOT REBLOG.

kid ( @kaivoleur ) & conan.

kid:

“ Have we talked about the moral implications and-or ramifications of putting infants in consistent, casual proximity with criminals and corpses yet? ”

conan:

conan tilts his head, almost birdlike, to the side upon that remark, briefly uncertain whether or not kid is making a joke about his stature and the rate of which he sees homicide cases or if he’s talking about the shōnentantei-dan and their current propensity to witness murders even WITHOUT conan in the direct vicinity.

deciding to take it as the latter, he remarks with much self-recrimination, ‘ the kids are pretty good at bouncing back now – better than they did even a few months ago, but, yeah, i do wish they weren’t quite getting so used to it. dad used to take me to crime scenes when i was their age, but i definitely didn’t see the variety and intensity of crimes at the same frequency they did at their age. ’

a wry grin touches his lips as he states, ‘ – y’know, they’ve even taken to talking about murder cases they’ve witnessed over lunch now ? nothing’s quite like hearing those three talk about the best ways they’ve seen a body being dumped – either through hydrochloric acid, chopping the body to pieces, or even just dumping a body into a river – while the other kids and our teacher are hanging onto their every word. those kids are going to be scary once they’re our age. ’

( he’s also continuously widely surprised that their parents would still let them go onto trips with him and agasa-hakase. conan’s pretty sure most parents would have IMMEDIATELY told the kids never to talk to conan again. he’s glad they didn’t because as much as the kids annoy him, he does genuinely like them, but… still. it probably would have been better for them to have been cut off from conan earlier on when witnessing one crime would have been in a once in a blue moon experience instead of literally every time they went on one of their weekly outings. )

kid:

KID hadn’t expected a serious reply, but that isn’t to say he’s not prepared for it. He quirks a brow at ‘ our age ’ and debates the merits of correcting the detective — on one hand, quipping about Conan’s current state is never not funny, but on the other, he’d really prefer to try and complete the night without getting a soccer ball power-kicked to his face, so.

“ Detectiveness must be infectious, ” he says instead, because he’s not in a particularly dodgy mood. First officers, then teens, and now children; he’s never going to be free of them, huh? The thought brings a smile to his face — he wouldn’t have it any other way, of course. The chase is pointless if it doesn’t attract attention, and ( even worse ) boring if some do-gooder isn’t trying to get in his way. “ I’m not going to have to deal with them on a regular basis, am I? I think even one tiny detective is grating enough on Nakamori-keibu’s nerves. ”

The thief doesn’t even want to think of what a group of five infuriatingly sharp children would do to the old man. ( Wait. Five? He pauses for a split instant, turning the detective’s words over in his head — he’d definitely said three, and three-plus-one… is one short. Hm. A thought for later, then. )

“ Hopefully, by the time they reach my age, we’ll both have everything… figured out, ” KID muses, a hint of a grin reaching his eyes. “ Not that I don’t enjoy all you young detectives making valiant attempts to slow me down, of course, but you know how it is. ” Probably not, but KID makes no further effort to explain.

conan:

‘ a “regular” basis ? probably not. your heists usually run too late at night, and their parents tend to be pretty good at setting a bedtime for them. ’ he’s pretty sure ran’s given up on setting him a bedtime considering all of the cases he takes and how some of them may last into the middle of the night. ‘ and i think nakamori-keibu is getting used to me. ’

he hadn’t been at first – in fact, nakamori-keibu had been downright hostile to the occasional addition of conan to the ranks, but, well, one can’t deny constant results. he’s pretty sure nakamori-keibu likes conan better than shinichi, at any rate, but, to be fair, shinichi only appeared once and immediately assumed control of the officers. conan’s only just come the closest to catching kid and getting jewels back as quickly as possible.

conan rolls his eyes at kid’s unsubtle emphasis of separating their ages ( and, as such, picking fun of conan’s current predicament. if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s pretty sure kid doesn’t know the full story, he’d get a lot more pissed than he does ). ‘ just for that, i’m making sure the others get new watches, belts, and shoes, ’ he threatens.

but, after a pause and the amused look crossing his face, it’s clear that conan has realised what an interesting and entertaining idea it would probably make. after all, the shōnentantei-dan were getting better at traps all the time, and, well, their soccer skills have also gotten better too just by playing with conan all of the time. hm… he might owe haibara a purse or something, but it might be worth it just to see kid having to dodge five high speed soccer balls.

kid:

“ I’m surprised you haven’t taught them your curfew-eschewing ways yet, ” KID remarks blandly, tucking his hands into his pockets. He’s been tempted multiple times to push the heist back further into the night — mostly because a sleepy Task Force is an easier to handle Task Force — but he really needs the crowds of an accessible hour to pull off some of his best tricks. ( Besides, much as he declines to admit it, he does need sleep too. Sometimes. When he doesn’t have anything else to do. So never, basically. )

Maybe if he got more sleep, he wouldn’t be accidentally inspiring his critics with awful, no-good, very bad ideas. One tantei-kun is enough, thank you very much, he doesn’t need an entire entourage of children power-kicking soccer balls at him. KID manages to suppress a shudder at the thought, merely letting his grin ice over a mere degree.

“ Don’t even think about it, ” he says with just a hint of dourness, although it’s obviously a little too late for that. “ Holding heists at reasonable hours is not worth getting pelted by a hail of weaponized sports equipment. Don’t make me push heists back to 3 AM and cheerfully let Nakamori-keibu know it’s your fault he’s not getting his much-needed beauty sleep. Hakuba would probably actively attempt to murder me, too, ” he adds as an afterthought. Especially if he did it during finals week — ooh, but now that thought’s tempting. Kaito doesn’t particularly need to excel, he just needs to pass, and he could do that in his sleep; Hakuba, however… Well. He can’t imagine the detective settling for anything less than his own best work. “ Hey, if I ever get murdered at my own heist, would you still investigate it? ”

It’s a question he voices with the light-hearted tone of a joke, but something in his expression — shifts, his gaze sharpening. As though halfway through the question, he’d realized what had actually come out of his mouth, and for an instant it’s not Hakuba on mind but Snake and a sniper’s scope. But the words weigh too heavily for his liking, so he pushes on with somewhat less-than-natural joviality, “ Or does being a criminal excuse me from your jurisdiction or whatever? I don’t know how you detectives work. ” ( A lie, for the most part. )

conan:

conan waves a hand as if to wipe the idea from both of their brains. ‘ you already know about it, so it wouldn’t make for such a good trap anymore anyway, and you’d be careful to look out for new watches, belts, and shoes for the kids. ’ now, the task force, on the other hand… that was definitely an idea to save for later.

( he also notes the slight familiarity of kid calling him “hakuba”. nakamori-keibu gets, well, “nakamori-keibu”, and conan gets “tantei-kun” and, on occasion, “meitantei”, so why does hakuba get called by his last name ? it may be nothing, but he notes it either way. ).

“hey, if i ever get murdered at my own heist, would you still investigate it?” the question seems light-hearted, coming from kid’s lips, a laugh at his own morality perhaps, but there’s something in his expression that shifts. conan’s eyes immediately narrow at the clue – it’s genuine, that shift of expression, judging from how kid tries to falsely lighten the air with, “or does being a criminal excuse me from your jurisdiction or whatever? i don’t know how you detectives work.”

he had heard rumours of unidentified criminals moving around at kid heists, but he hadn’t personally seen any sign of them, so he had just dismissed them as rumours. now, conan wonders if he shouldn’t have. something to look into, definitely. if someone was trying to kill kid, in a way that he apparently thinks is possible given the question, conan needs to put a stop to it yesterday.

‘ idiot, ’ he deadpans, affecting an annoyed appearance, as if insulted by the question. ‘ if someone – however unlikely – managed to kill you, i’d hunt them down and make sure they’d get arrested. it doesn’t matter to me if you’re a thief or not – murder takes precedence over thieves any day, and criminals don’t deserve to die, no matter what th – anyone – might think. ’

the slip comes from remembering asō seiji… they had murdered so many people, and still… conan had tried so hard ( and failed ) to save them.

( he has to close his eyes against the sudden memory of heat, and the same haunting tune playing in his ears. it’s a failure that still tastes bitter in his mouth, ash and smoke from the fire choking his lungs. shinichi thinks, for however long he’ll be alive, he’d never listen to moonlight sonata in the same way ever again ).

kid:

A laugh bubbles up to KID’s lips but doesn’t quite make it out of his mouth ( he could not say why, himself; relief? exasperation? he doesn’t know from where the laughter rises but he refuses to let it breach the surface ), and he wonders for a moment what the detective had been about to say before ‘ anyone ’ — but he lets him have his secrets, in the end. The thief lets only an amused breath escape, rocking his weight slightly, as though to leave, because this is already too much exposed in a single confrontation and he should leave before he lets himself slip too far. Or farther; maybe this is already too much.

But when the little detective closes his eyes, the thief holds himself still, because all of the sudden it is not the hilarity of his own possible doom that lingers over his thoughts. Rather, abject horror sours his amusement because if Conan goes after the crows at his heists, if he tips the balance so carefully maintained in the heists and manages to corner them…

Snake may be incompetent, but he’s still got BITE, and wild things are always most vicious with their backs to a wall.

( Meitantei is brilliant. But so was Toichi, before he burned. )

“ Mm, good to know. But don’t hold your breath, ” KID says breezily, tearing his mind away from the old, old memory. “ I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. Try not to jump at shadows too much in the meantime, tantei-kun ~ ” He waits and makes sure to meet the detective’s gaze as he speaks, trying to convey the unspoken warning; just because he’d nudged a bit of confirmation about the… dangers associated with his moonlighting, doesn’t mean he wants Conan diving headfirst into it.

This is KID’s territory, and he’s got first dibs, so to speak. His way is a bit of a balancing act, trying to slowly key his critics in on what’s going on without alarming them or alarming Them, but maybe with this step, he can get a little closer to that end goal.

With a flick of the wrist, he reveals a grey marble in the palm of his hand. He lets it slip from his fingers, and when it hits the ground, it erupts in a cloud of smoke — and by the time that clears, KID’s gone.

#tbt.#i... miss star :pensive:#god this thread was SO GOOD why isn't my writing like this now LKJALSKDJFLA

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abundantchewtoys · 4 years

Text

Homestuck^2 re: Chapter 9: “How Goes The Eulogizing, Dear?”

So yeah. The family tree is officially a mess now.

What's more, poor Yiffy falls completely off the shipping grid in the new foursome. She's Vrissy's adoptive sister, Harry's niece/cousin, and Tavros' niece!

I've been thinking what roles, if any, they could all play in a Sburb session. Cause I don't know what, but I'm sure these kids are going to play an important part in the future of Earth C, and an Sburb session is one of the possibilities.

So...

Vrissy the Rogue of Light Tavros the Page of Time Harry the Prince of Breath Yiffy the Maid of Space

Is one of the things I came up with, combining a B2 role with a B1 aspect. Yes? No? Tavros has definitely been having to bide his time, and so has Yiffy. And both roles seem like a good fit for them. And Harry's breath was positively destroyed last chapter while running. :P

The reasoning with Vrissy should be more obvious. She's a wannabe Thief and through Rose and Vriska closely aligned with Light, and through Rose with Rogueness.

Anyway, on to the chapter, which I have no idea who it'd focus on now.

Maybe Dirk? Seems like a Rose thing to say.

---

Page 236

Ah. It's what Jake's going to say to Jane.

Anyway, good news! We'll see more of Yiffy. Maybe just in silhouette.

She seems to be wondering a lot about Tavros. Potentially more now than ever before in the boy's life. :(

---

Page 237

...

Gog.

She was wondering about GAMZEE'S FRICKIN' CORPSE. Orrrrrrr, maybe, she's preparing a speech to rile the masses to her side. Since she kind of broke things of with Gamzee.

---

Page 238

Yyyyeah, Jane's sanity and morality has really been slipping so much. She's just playing on the emotions of her followers now, and convinced herself it's for the greater good.

---

Page 239

Why.

Why did Jake's butt now become an actual thing in the art, too.

---

Page 240

Brain Ghost Dirk continues to be a voice of reason in Jake's backmind. In this way, I like seeing more of him.

"could I get that once more, sans the racism" pffffffff, smooth, Jake, real smooth. But really, for him, he's really playing the part of idiot manservant/manslave very good!

Jane just considers Yiffy a prisoner, even though she's her grandchild. As for Jake... Yiffy is in a real sense his grandchild, and the grandpup of his alt self's fateful dog, so I hope he can bond with her and help her get to safety in the end.

Blaperile had a good point - Jane misunderstood the concept of kismessitude entirely. And Gamzee actually seemed invested into the relationship, since he genuinely tried to make her improve.

What a difference with Game Over Gamzee and Terezi's relationship.

---

Page 241

... Wow.

I thought she'd look very different! Almost polar opposite.

She looks like a Lalonde, dresses snappy like a Strider... Her tail is black like Bec Noir would have had if he had one... Her associated colour is even pink! And she doesn't appear to be wearing glasses either!

... Jane's "seen to her". Please, no. She didn't put a tiara on her, did she... Eesh.

And yeah, her leg's chained down like with the cherubs. :( Please don't have her escape the same way as Caliborn.

---

Page 242

Good to see Jake is of two minds about this whole ordeal. It's the only sane way to be. And through Brain Ghost Dirk, he's actually managed to infiltrate the enemy base unnoticed. So really, props to him.

I wonder when we'll get the first reaction out of Yiffany.

---

Page 243

Pfff, the material cup on Jane's desk includes a spork next to the stapler.

---

Page 244

Ah, there we go.

So Yiffy & Jane are going to have a real Handmaid - Scratch-like chemistry for the time they're together.

---

Page 245

WOOOOOOOOW.

Black dog hair, white human hair.

A piercing. Shorts. Jade's eyes.

She looks amazing.

That collar though, it spells trouble.

Red text colour! Oh wow. So her tie & shoes just appeared to be red due to the hue on Jane's ship.

Hmm, according to the source code the text colour is #D00009, that seems to be different from Dave's.

---

Page 248

Oh. It's not mind control, it'll just shock her. D:

---

Page 249

Ugh. Jane. How low did you even sink.

---

Page 252

... Wow. So that's how Jane knew. She enrolled Yiffy in some prestiguous boarding school for Jade & Rose. So I guess that's why she's associated with the colour red, and where the classy tie and upper piece may have come from.

I wonder if Yiffy's faking being knocked out?

---

Page 253

... What ceremony? Are they going to parade her around during Gamzee's funerary proceedings?

---

Page 255

Tsssh.

... Huh, she's going to get a command already. So did she or did she not get knocked out?

---

Page 256

Woooooooow.

The theme changed!

So, we're going to be seeing something in her dreams. Now, let's see whether it'd be a Sburban dreamself!

Blaperile points out that Space players usually wake up sooner than the rest, so yeah, this could really happen. Or it's all wishful thinking.

But if she wakes up on Derse, it'd still be dark outside. It'd also be the first Derse-dreaming Space player!

---

Page 257

Wow. So yeah, seems like Harry and Tavros share a bunk bed now, besides sharing a romantic partner (in different quadrants). Pfff.

The big question about this page is, of course, who Vrissy's moirail is, then. :P Also, Tavros' handle confirmed to be GG! :D Well, I'll be. Well, okay, it's the same as Jane's initials.

So I wonder if Yiffy's chumhandle would contain a C, or be AT/TA to complete the set of AG/GG/TG? ... Blaperile proposes TT, because then all their handles would contain the same initials as their mothers'! That's actually a very good proposal!

---

Page 258

Ooooh, glutinousGymnast! So he likes working out and eating! Very special combination. Well, he IS the child of a baketress and a wrestler, so yeah.

So it appears he was wide awake. Maybe he doesn't need a lot of sleep.

And he actually sounded a bit more peppy here than he did before. Maybe he's more of a night owl!

---

Page 259

So, yeah, it seems Vrissy actually enjoyed seeing Harry and John bond there.

And I suppose John doesn't like being called cute because... I dunno, maybe Terezi called him that at one point. The "strange and funny" man turn-of-phrase there seems is a reference to her, so I think that's why he dislikes being called "cute".

... The thing Harry picked up on might be related to Dave. If he saw his father's demeanour change over dinner.

---

Page 260

Hah, so she actually does talk it over with Tavros. See, here? I wonder if they're not better suited as moirails than kismeses.

And there Tavros goes again, he's quite perceptive.

---

Page 261

Hmmm, I wonder if Harry was really talking to Vrissy now. It seems like it was more of a Vriska-tone there. Did she hack Vrissy's account?

So Harry saw John being consoled by Rose & Jade over the news about Dave.

---

Page 262

Hah, okay, so it was really Vrissy. But she was just on the verge of falling asleep, hahaah. So both Harry and Tavros got keysmashes.

Now Harry and Tavros are going to have a talk regarding knowing people that died. It's a first for Harry, but with Gamzee, Tavros has a form of precedence over him.

HOLY SHIT.

WE CAUGHT UP!!!!!

WE FUCKING CAUGHT UP!!!!!

I THOUGHT FOR SURE IT WAS GOING TO BE ANOTHER COUPLE HUNDRED OF PAGES!!!!!

Hopy shit.

HOPY SHIT.

Now soon, we'll go on to explore the rest of the site and seeing what's what on the Omegaupdate forums! :D :D :D00009

So yeah, I'm definitely invested in the new Homestuck generation. They're plenty of different yet similar enough to be interesting, I want to see how they subvert and resolve certain expectations I have developped.

#homestuck #homestuck^2 #reaction #yiffy lalonde harley #harry egbert #tavros crocker #jane crocker #jake english #liveblogging homestuck #upd8 #brain ghost dirk #vrissy ml

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nitholites · 4 years

Text

Day 3- Actual Phantom Thief AU

It took weeks of preparation for this moment. Sure, they were always thorough, but never so much.

Joker supposed it just went with having such an important target. Was he bitter about the man's involvement in his ruined life? Sometimes. But without that false charge, without that initial push, he'd never had met his friends and formed their little group.

Joker had always been a bit of a kleptomaniac. He always returned home with just a few more yen than usual, or a new watch or pouch. He usually didn't remember who he took from, or how, but his hands acted on their own.

Even still, he was a good person. He had a set of values he kept to, and he never bended his morals. He tried to focus on the obviously wealthy scumbags, tried to give back to those in need when he could. He stepped in when people got hurt, and he knew his way around a fight.

Except he didn't even lift a finger when the obviously drunk man tried attacking him, stumbling on his feet so bad he tripped and scraped his forehead. He knows that, had he known what would happen... He'd still do it. He'd still step in, except he'd actually punch the bastard in the face after he tripped, careful not to leave a mark just in case. He'd still claim self-defense, and he'd still offer his help to the woman in the future, but he'd actually do something worth his charge if he knew the outcome.

Joker shook his head, silencing his thoughts and focusing on the laser grid in front of him, angry and red. One touch would lead to the alarms blaring and his capture, but he was prepared for this. The lasers were the one thing Oracle couldn't disable or put on loop, so he was alone for this one.

He smirked, easily shrugging off his black trenchcoat to reveal bare arms, lightly scarred, and the gray, stripped turtle neck underneath, hugging his frame like a second skin and just as flexible. His bright red gloves stood out from his otherwise monochrome outfit- even his mask wasn't quite as flamboyant. But what his outfit lacked in flashiness, he more than made up for in his actions. He tugged open the nearby vent- too small for his body, but enough for his coat- and pushed the cloth down, hearing the slight sliding sound made as the downhill vent took his coat to the main vent- and his escape route. He had worn his tighter, black pants for this heist instead of his usual bagginess, and let his arms stretch above his head until Oracle's voice sounded in his ear. "Ready."

He nodded, knowing she could see him from the camera, who's actual footage was sent to the young teen while a loop of the previous night played. He let his right foot slide back, mentally preparing his route before he shot forward, internally grateful of his gymnastics training at his old school and with Kasumi. Within a few seconds, he was on the other side, already running silently to his target.

Tonight, the Phantom Thieves weren't searching for a treasure. Tonight, they were looking for information and a way to rattle the political power, knowing his Treasure in the Metaverse wouldn't appear until he had something in reality stolen from him.

The Phantom Thieves weren't just a group of teens and a cat; they could go into the depths of someone's heart and steal their desires. But, for the Treasure to appear, two things had to happen in reality. First, the Calling Card, which informed the target of the danger their Treasure was in. Second, an actual burglary from the target, signifying the Thieves were real, and indeed targeting the scumbag. This applied to everyone with a Palace, luckily, so simply the Calling Card was enough for their smaller targets in Mementos.

Hence why Akira Kurusu was infiltrating not Shido's Palace, but his office. His team was working in Shido's Palace, except himself and Oracle, since this one was a one-man job. The others respected his wish, and knew he was the most equipped of them all. Should things go south, however, they'd be ready to exit the Palace and come to his aide.

He'd make sure they wouldn't need to.

Without pausing, he picked the lock on Shido's door, pushing it open within two seconds. He had a lot of practice in the Metaverse. He stalked in the room, blending into the shadows by experience and Arsene's slight affect on him. Every Persona affected the wielder somehow- Ryuji accidentally shocked people more often, Ann was always hot, Morgana could sneak away like the wind, Haru was amazing at reading people, Oracle was nearly psychic with her information gathering, Makoto let her personality shine more often, Yusuke was always cold to the touch, Akechi figuratively glowed so much some swore they could see rays coming from him, and Akira blended into shadows and was much more sneaky.

Even in reality.

The Shadows Akira had in his arsenal didn't affect him as much as Arsene did, being his first and true Persona, but he still felt the affects from whatever mask he had equipped. At least, that's what he, Morgana, and Makoto came up with when the symptoms first started showing, stronger in the Metaverse, but still present in reality.

Joker shook his head once more, silently wondering why his thoughts were wandering so far tonight. He was usually focused on heists, both in the Metaverse and reality. He powered Shido's computer when he slid behind the desk, slipping Oracle's flashdrive into the correct slot as soon as the screen brightened. "I'm in," she said in her best attempt at a hacker voice.

"How much time?"

"Plenty. Take what you can," she easily responded, saying something to the group in the Palace right after. He didn't waste any time, rifling through the desk and looking around the room for something easy to take and obvious.

After a moment, a small glint caught his eye, drawing them to a small, black, expensive-looking pen. Engraved in gold was Masayoshi Shido, and opening the cap showed a traditional tip. He looked through the entire office, but couldn't find a pen like it. Joker nodded, slipping the utensil into his pocket. "Done. Get out of there, Joker," Oracle lowly said, causing the Phantom Thief to take back the flashdrive and turn off the computer, easily setting the room to the way it was and exiting. Usually, this is where he'd leave the Calling Card, but he and his team already filmed it inside Shido's Palace. Just as he made his way to the vent opening, the sound of soft footsteps reached his ears.

Joker didn't waste another second, slipping through the open vent and placing the grate back in a fluid motion just as the steps rounded the corner. Once he was sure he wasn't spotted, he smirked and made his way to the main vent system, using his grappling hook when he had to go completely vertical. He emerged on the roof, coat back on and victorious smirk plastered on his face. He took a moment to turn off his earpiece and breathe, letting his eyes sweep the sleeping city.

Japan was already beautiful, but it'd be much more so when Shido was out of power.

Soon, he reminded himself, quickly running off the roof, only to catch himself with his grappling hook. He gracefully flipped onto roofs and buildings as he parkoured his way to his supplies, pausing when a shadow moved beside him. It was only be reflex that he recovered, rolling to his feet, but chosing to remain kneeled and poised to move. The shadow moved, revealing itself.

"Crow," Joker greeted, forcing himself to keep his guard up. Crow had betrayed the Thieves before, and was a wild card at the moment- no matter how much Joker wished he could trust the other teen. He stood anyway, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Joker. Last I checked, you were dead."

He couldn't help himself. He really couldn't. "I lived, bitch," he deadpanned, causing a snort from the teen in front of him.

"I see," Crow stated. "If you're here, that means you've already prepared the route. You must be the reason he started acting paranoid all of a sudden. Can't say I didn't expect it- you make a habit of surprising me. How did you escape death that day?"

Joker shrugged. "Don't remember. Their so-called 'truth serums' don't leave much in the head."

For some reason, that caused Crow to wince. "I didn't know they drugged you."

"They wanted a confession, no matter what," he stated casually, like he was talking about a lackluster game instead of his torture and time in custody. He still had the scars- wasn't sure they'd ever fade from his wrists. He walked to the edge of the roof before pausing, turning to face Crow. "You can come back," he said, leaning against the edge of the roof. He didn't miss the way Crow's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

"After everything... You're still so naive?"

"I've never been naive," Joker refuted easily. "Only stubborn." With that, he let himself fall back, grappling hook swinging him back on his path as he gained distance.

He hoped the detective would take up his offer. Especially since he could almost feel a tougher fight than what Shido would no doubt prove to be on the horizon.

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abalonetea · 4 years

Note

Heyo! So I'm like suuuuuuuuper lost on like all of your WoW posts lol. Would you mind giving me a basic run down of your characters pretty please?

hey! of course! i’ll be honest, i’m still making and fleshing out a lot of the character, but this is a pretty quick and basic run-down of what I've got so far! thank you for the lovely ask!

this is missing a few of the characters that aren’t super fleshed out yet, and yes, this is my largest cast out of the CHP series!

_-_-_

Wings of War is set during the early 1970′s, in an alternate history that allows for some advanced technology, the inclusion of Intent, and the addition of wings being a natural part of some human’s forms.

it follows four teams (fluctuating numbers between five and eight members at various points) who have been hired by the Guiding Star Corporation. their job is to “develop advancements in technology, human endurance, and product testing” which, as it turns out, means that they fight to the death in endless matches, brought back to life using what’s known as a Respawn Machine.

the teams (north, south, east, and west) are shipped between ten different bases, scattered across several different countries. this represents the ability to pick different maps in most fighting, pvp, or 1st person shooter games.

on each teams, there are specific roles that the GSC are looking to have filled. each team has a “building” class, for example, which creates the titles of Builder, Maker, Techie, and Engineer. the “sneak” class consists of Assassin, Spy, Rouge, and Thief. each class can only be filled by someone with a specific set of traits, which results in, essentially, total reliance on GSC.

two teams have wings, and two teams don’t. i’m still working on filling out all the roles and creating all the characters, but here’s a basic run-down of what I have so far!

_-_-_

Adele Adler - the handler, the woman in charge. She runs relay between all four teams, doling out missions, handling issues that arrive on and off base, and acting as go between for the Teams and the Council. she’s supposed to keep her distance between them, and had managed that for all the teams before now, but...the men are growing on her! she has a surprising soft spot for most of them, and finds herself more and more willing to turn blind eyes on their shenanigans.

Jeremy - West Team’s “fast class”, this boy is a Speedster through and through. he has a short temper, a severe anger problem, and briefly made a living running drugs out in Boston. his weapon of choice is a chunk of wood with some sharp nails in it, and he can hit harder than you would think. runs his mouth a lot but is the only person on his team with any ability to understand the words take care of yourself.

Joshua - West Team’s Sharpshooter, and originally from New Zealand. lives in a camper just inside of the perimeters of the base. anti-social and with no interest in changing that, he took on the job because there’s a very large bounty on his head that Adele promised to get rid of.

Feliciano - the Rouge of the West team, he tries very hard to make himself look proper and put together but usually fails. had a bad reputation going when he first started, because he was pretty sick and just Not Feeling Socializing, but it’s easy enough to see that he’s a good guy these days. a former bodyguard.

Lucas - the Techie, and originally from Sao Paulo. he loves sugar sweet coffee, and has a prosthetic leg that’s fueled by Intent and a rare mineral. a technical engineer, meaning he uses Intent to make new technological advances. can talk for hours if you hit a subject that he likes.

Deiter - the Doctor of West team. he’s a good man, though he tends to have extremely manic episodes that are not helped by the incredible amount of upper’s he can often be seen taking. lost everything when the city he lived in was blown up during WW2. fiercely protective of his team-mates.

James - known as the General of the team. fought in WW2. suffered a severe head injury that still affects him today. a kind man with a lot of personality, and a love for animals. if you tell him something, he will likely forget it. don’t hold it against him, because he’s already doing that himself.

Tony - the Runner and local loudmouth of North team. you cannot pay this boy to be quiet, and he’s both stupid as a bag of bricks and also incredibly intelligent. from New York, where he had a lovely stint robbing the Italian mafia blind with his husband, Rizzo, until they were both shot up and picked up by Adele.

Rizzo - the Demolitions Expert of North team, and actually pretty adorable if you can get past the fact that he’s incredibly crass and has no filter between mind and mouth. Hopelessly in love with his husband, even if no one else realizes they’re married. he will burn water if you let him cook, so maybe best if you don’t.

Werner - the North team’s Medic. he’s absolutely batshit, but has a good heart. was running a black market ring in the country side when Adele found him, though he was originally from Oslo. couldn’t speak anything but German and Norwegian before coming to work for the GSC. has two pet rats.

Francois - served as a spy in WW2, and currently the North team’s Assassin. has a HEART based injury with a lot of the same symptoms as tuberculosis. was picked up by the GSC with an offer of as-of-unheard of medication. sardonic, and prone to cracking jokes that most of his team don’t pick up on.

Loto - the Archer, and a member of North team. from the Louisiana bayous, and great with a cross bow. has an old coonhound that sleeps in bed with him, but who Loto claims to hate. often forgets that he needs to actually go to the kitchen and get food, and that the food he needs is easily available.

Braeburn - the Mechanic, and the longest running member of any of the active teams. has a prosthetic arm. really fond of sweet tea, and more idea of what’s going on than he’s willing to let on. bound up in so many contracts, it’s literally woven into his Intent.

Elias - the OG title, Soldier, and a member of South team. fought in WW2, where he briefly met Francois before being shipped to Poland. was discharged after being severely injured, and lived homeless on the streets for a while with BJ. originally from Canada but ended up in America during his discharge due to an error on his papers. suffers from brain tumors caused by extended exposure to Iradium in the war.

BJ - the Hurricane (class title will change, I just needed a placer, oops) of South team. left an abusive home at fifteen and has been on the streets since. took a contract with GSC to get Elias medical treatment. dyslexic, and often described by his team as “being a lot”. uses a steel pipe for his preferred weapon. loves talking and telling stories.

Olek - the Firepower of the team, literally. can probably punch you hard enough to get a KO, but fights with an Iradium powered flare-gun that does serious damage. from Russia, with a strict I won’t tell you anything about my past policy, and a bizarre fondness for bears. great at giving hugs when you’re down.

Jakob - the Maker of the team. has a highly advanced prosthetic eye. losing the vision in his other eye. the guy who picked up BJ and Elias. has a real morality struggle between the job he does, and his own views on Mercy. probably needs a hug more than he lets on.

Scout - the Scout of East team, and yes, he does think that’s funny. grew up the oldest of six kids, with a single mother. started doing deals behind the schoolhouse to bring in some extra cash, and it got out of hand when he got older. has severe ADHD. can and will count cards if you play poker with him. no common sense.

Jane - the Guard of East team. unofficially fought in WW2. a big softy, under all that gruffness. suffering from major hearing loss, and with the habit of virtually never taking off his helmet. a pretty shy guy, and any kindness sent his way will catch him off guard.

Christophe - the Spy of the team, he was drafted into the Korean War, where he served a grueling eight months before being attacked by military trained dog-horses and sent home. a chronic insomniac who never settled back into civilian life, and has an abysmally childish sense of humor.

Ollie - the Arsonist of the team, he was living homeless in Daytona before Seamus found him. has horrible decision making skills and a pretty rough past, and considers the base home near instantly. his self-care skills could use some boosting, and he tries really hard to not mess things up.

Seamus - technically the Gunner of the group, but he would rather just make a lot of bombs and use them instead. missing an eye, and has a lot of self-worth issues and a pretty heavy accent that his speech impediment doesn’t help. a drunk, but having Ollie around’s been proving to be good for him.

#wip wow #wow characters #wow chatter #bookish tag #I had so much fun writing this up

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antialiasis · 5 years

Text

The Neverending Story

(Speaking of dark children's books...)

A couple of months ago, we watched the 1984 film adaptation of The Neverending Story, and it was bad and just made me desperately want to reread the book, so I did.

I first read the book when I was about eight years old, at the recommendation of my best friend; it was her favorite book. I can't even begin to describe how this book made me feel back then. It was the only time I remember where I stopped reading a book for a while (it was probably only a couple of days, but it felt longer) because I was genuinely afraid to see what would happen next. It's incredibly intense and bleak and terrifying and tackles mindscrewy existential themes, including humanity and losing one's humanity; there's a sense of imaginative whimsy to it too - arrays of quirky fantasy creatures and reality working by whimsical, arbitrary rules - but the atmosphere is one of looming, oppressive dread throughout.

The book opens with our protagonist, Bastian Balthazar Bux, about ten or twelve years old, fat and pasty-looking, running into a second-hand bookstore to hide from the kids who bully him at school. After a conversation with the store's proprietor, who hates kids and tells him frankly that he's a weakling and a coward for not standing up to his bullies, and a "failure all along the line" because he got held back at school last year, Bastian steals a book he's strangely captivated by, titled 'The Neverending Story'; he beats himself up about it, feels like he can never go back home now that he's a thief, and ends up taking the book to the school attic alone and starting to read it there.

We spend the first half of the book reading, along with Bastian, about the adventures of a 'Greenskin' boy named Atreyu, who is sent on a great quest to find a cure for the illness of the Childlike Empress, ruler of Fantastica, the world where the book takes place. Because of the Childlike Empress's illness, this beautiful land of fantasy and whimsy is slowly being consumed by an ever-expanding threat called 'the Nothing' - chunks of land simply vanish, leaving nothing behind but an emptiness that makes you feel as if you're blind, and creatures who get too close to large expanses of Nothing feel an uncontrollable compulsion to jump in and destroy themselves as well. Atreyu travels through a swamp that makes his horse depressed and causes him to stop and let himself sink and die; he speaks to a giant turtle, so ancient that she's completely indifferent to the fate of the world; he learns that he can only find his answers at the Southern Oracle, which is much too far away for him to ever get there in time; he lets a horrible bug hivemind monstrosity poison him because while having this poison pumping through your veins you can wish yourself somewhere else, and in his desperation he figures there's no other way to get there than to hope it’s telling the truth. He gets to know a gnome scientist studying the Southern Oracle, which is guarded by magical gates; the first either lets you through or freezes you on the spot to contemplate every riddle in the world until you die, depending on the whim of two statuesque sphinxes who seem to act entirely randomly, no more likely to let you through if you're a good person, or have a good reason to be there, than if you aren't and don't. There's a running theme of... let's call it a world that doesn't care. The Childlike Empress is explicitly without moral judgement: she loves all creatures of her domain equally, no matter how horrible. Atreyu is protected by her emblem (respected even by the cruelest of monsters specifically because the Empress respects them back) - but that doesn't protect his horse, or make Morla the Ancient One any more helpful, and the sphinxes just don't give a damn. Things in Fantastica are big and incomprehensible and cold and uncaring.

When Atreyu does make it through to the Southern Oracle, he learns that the Empress is dying because a human child from outside of Fantastica must give her a new name - and the Oracle is dying too, about to be lost to the Nothing, rendering all the scientist's tireless research pointless. With the help of Falkor the luckdragon (who was about to be eaten by the hivemind monstrosity, and no amount of pleading from Atreyu would stop it, except that Falkor then just happened to overhear the bit about the poison allowing him to wish himself somewhere else), Atreyu tries to find the borders of Fantastica; the four winds tell him there are no borders. He falls into the ocean and washes up on the shores of a city full of ghouls and monsters that's about to be swallowed up by the Nothing, the inhabitants forming a mad, suicidal procession to throw themselves into it, that Atreyu only barely resists. He finds a dying werewolf chained in a backyard, who tells him that the only way to the human world is to jump into the Nothing - where the inhabitants of Fantastica will be fuel for human lies and deceit. As the Nothing closes in, Atreyu is saved from its deadly pull only by the fact the werewolf clamped his jaws onto his foot as he choked and died, so that he's unable to jump into the void before Falkor finds him and saves him.

They return to the Childlike Empress crushed and defeated, and Atreyu reports that he failed on his quest - only for the Empress to explain that he has in fact brought a human child with him, who has been with him this whole time, and all he needs to do is give her a new name and say it out loud.

Bastian realizes in disbelief that they're talking about him! But he's afraid and embarrassed - if he were to show up there, being who he is, surely they'd think he's pathetic and a disappointment, no kind of hero. There's an extremely meta bit where, when Bastian doesn't say the name, the Childlike Empress sets out to find the Old Man of Wandering Mountain, who continually writes everything that happens in Fantastica - into a book called The Neverending Story, of course - and makes him read it out from the beginning, at which it of course turns out he's reading the actual Neverending Story book as it starts with Bastian bursting into that store, and they go through the whole book until again they reach the part where she tells the old man to read out the book, and he starts all over again in an endless vicious cycle... all the way until Bastian finally blurts out the name Moon Child, and suddenly he's in a soft, dark void with the Childlike Empress. She gives him AURYN, her emblem, which in addition to protecting him like it did Atreyu will also grant his wishes, and tells him to "Do what you wish".

...And from there, we move into a hair-raising deconstruction of wish-fulfillment fantasy. Bastian recreates Fantastica according to his own imagination - and also transforms himself into a handsome, athletic prince, and in the process forgets about ever having been ugly and weak. We follow him childishly wishing to be the best, strongest and most admired, meeting his heroes Atreyu and Falkor and hanging out with them - and then realizing Atreyu is a bit less impressed by his feats when he learns Bastian can wish for whatever he likes. He increasingly becomes preoccupied with being perceived as awesome and mighty, especially by Atreyu and Falkor, and his self-serving, ill-thought-out wishes begin to have less than pleasant consequences: he makes up a backstory for a city that immediately turns out to be true, involving the ugliest creatures in Fantastica, Acharis, who spend all their days crying but create beautiful delicate silver filigree structures... but later he meets them, and feels sorry for them in their constant misery and wants to be seen as their great kind benefactor, so he wishes for them to turn into lighthearted, ever-laughing butterflies... which they do, only the butterflies are horrifically obnoxious, casually destroy the Acharis' silver creations, and in the end are left bored and unhappy. In a grand tournament he wipes the floor with a knight who had been head over heels in love with a princess who doesn't want him now that it's clear he was only second best, leaving Bastian sort of responsible for his misery... so in order to solve the problem he wishes into existence a horrific dragon who kidnaps the princess, so that the knight can go and rescue her, and as they walk on they see signs of all the destruction and horror caused by this dragon (who, once he wishes it, has always existed).

Meanwhile, Atreyu and Falkor start to grow concerned, especially when it becomes clear that Bastian loses some of his human memories every time that he makes a wish, slowly shaving off pieces of himself - and those tend to be exactly the pieces that made him who he was, human and sympathetic and kind. But when they bring it up with Bastian, he becomes angry and upset - he's so caught up in his power fantasy that the idea of giving up AURYN and the power of wishes feels like an attack on him. He wishes into existence an evil sorceress who kidnaps and tortures some of his friends, just so that he can rescue them and singlehandedly take down her army of hollow suits of armor; she theatrically repents and offers to be his slave, and because she flatters his ego he lets her join him, and snaps at Atreyu for pointing out the obvious signs that she's manipulating him and he's walked right into it, because he can't let Atreyu win, he needs to prove that he's right and no one will stand against him and even this sorceress fears and bows down to him.

Eventually Bastian stops wanting to ever go home at all, Atreyu and Falkor try to steal AURYN as a last resort and Bastian banishes them, and Bastian tries to crown himself the new Emperor of Fantastica, stopped only by Atreyu leading a literal army against him and a bloody battle where at the end he rides away swearing to take revenge on Atreyu and Falkor...

...and that's when he happens upon the City of Old Emperors, full of humans just like him, who had once come to Fantastica, gone on their own power-fantasy wish-fulfillment sprees, and crowned themselves emperors, or tried to. In the process, they had lost the last shreds of their human memories and become completely self-absorbed, uncommunicative, unmotivated husks, reduced to performing pointless repetitive actions or mindlessly playing the monkeys-with-typewriters game for centuries or millennia. (And this does shock him out of it, and his remaining wishes go into grasping to heal and recover his humanity with the little he has left.)

When I was a kid I didn't fully get it. Today, rereading it, it's achingly clear to me how Bastian's wishes are self-absorbed from the start, stemming from a bullied child with a poor self-esteem's desperate desire to be someone, be able to do anything and be respected and admired and even feared by everyone, immune not only to jeers and taunts but to all criticism. But when I was a kid it didn't feel that way. Bastian was established throughout the first half as really normal and sympathetic and I rooted for him, and him getting to be cool and handsome and the best at everything was awesome and satisfying. Only then it just started to go wrong, in some horrible, insidious way, and watching this character I'd cared about and identified with slowly turn into a monster was more unsettling than any of what Atreyu had encountered in the first half. I think the point where I had to stop reading for a bit was when he shouted at Atreyu and Falkor for questioning his decision to bring the sorceress into the fold, and the chapter ends with saying that was when he forgot about ever being a child in the human world. I wasn't afraid of the sorceress, I was afraid of what was happening to Bastian and where this horrible evolution was headed. At eight, I sure hadn't read anything like it, and even now at almost thirty, I still can't really think of any other fiction that makes me feel quite the same way. (Though maybe one day I'll reread and ramble about Momo, Ende's other long famous serious children's book, which I actually considered my favorite over The Neverending Story as a child.)

(Today, I do notice amusedly that oh, hey, my more recent favorite work of fiction also involves an initially sympathetic main character slowly transforming into a monster.)

The 1984 movie very obviously only gets the book on the most shallow level: it's apparent that they liked the meta twist and thought it was clever, but the rest of the main themes just clearly went way over the heads of everyone involved. It essentially takes just the first half of the book, the Atreyu-centered portion, and tries to make a fun fantasy adventure out of it, playing up the quirky whimsy with big puppets and significantly toning down the soulcrushing atmosphere that actually defines the book. Artax the horse dies, sure (though they made him nonverbal so he just kind of stops and stands there as he slowly sinks), and Gmork the wolf is there, and there's an actually fairly emotional added scene about the messengers from the opening of the book - but meanwhile Morla is comically sneezing constantly, there's triumphant heroic music, the Nothing is just some roiling clouds, and of course we spend some time on look how fun it is to fly on Falkor. None of the elements that are there are actually very interesting or unique the way they're presented in the film; it just feels pretty generic and kludgy. Leaving out the second half misses that Bastian isn't just a cool meta framing device for Atreyu's adventures; he really is the main character, and his journey is the more important one. And then the end... Bastian wishing to fly Falkor over to the real world and chase his bullies down into the garbage is presented as a happy triumphant ending, and this is just the very antithesis of the book's central thesis.

All in all, I really cringe to think that this is all most international audiences know of this story: a kind of generic, clumsy 80s fantasy except the kid reading the book is the one who saves the world in the story. There is so much more to the book than that, but based on the film I never would've given the book a chance. If that's you, please reconsider. It's a really good book and the film is a travesty of an adaptation. I rather hope that now in the golden age of TV somebody will eventually do it justice in some kind of miniseries - I doubt you could fit both halves into a movie without making one or the other come out rushed, but the story really deserves to be introduced to a wider audience in its proper form.

#the neverending story #review #ramble #adaptations #children's fiction #bastian balthazar bux #character analysis #okay that's one down from the post backlog

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hexiva · 4 years

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Book Reviews

I’m getting back into reading fantasy, getting a bunch of random books out of the library if they look good. I thought I’d post my thoughts on them.

The Tiger at Midnight, by Swati Teerdhala Inspired by the culture of ancient India and Hindu mythology, The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala features a cat-and-mouse game of deception and thrills between a rebel assassin and the reluctant young soldier tasked to bring her to justice.

Just finished this one. There were definitely times when I thought I was just going to stop and take it back to the library unread. It’s by no means a terrible book, but in many ways it feels too much like every other YA book I’ve read. I really like the concept of the central romance: it’s an enemy romance, which I love, the characters have a pretty equal power dynamic, and there’s no gross abuse stuff to put me off. It also felt like a gender-reversal of the typical YA dynamics - Esha is like the dark, handsome, conflicted romance hero, and Kunal is like the sweet, repressed heroine. I liked that, and I really liked Esha as a character. Kunal was by no means unsympathetic either. But the relationship between the two of them, which was central to the book, felt really under developed. The narrative informs us that they feel something for each other very early on, when they’ve barely spoken, and continues informing us of their feelings, but I kept wondering . . . why? There were a couple of points where there was a line like “It’s strange that I feel so strongly for him given we barely know each other!” and I feel like, when you find yourself writing a line like that, you should sit back and think a bit about why you felt the need to point this out. It felt like there were opportunities for them to be pushed together and bond, and the book didn’t really capitalize on them - or, rather, acted as if they’d already been pushed together. It felt like it was missing a key moment early on in the book where they bond. There’s a reveal halfway through the book (pg 300 out of 500) that they knew each other as children, but it’s too little too late.

5/10. I’m thinking of picking up her next book because I feel like there’s a lot of potential here and I’d like to read a more polished version of this book.

Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor A year ago, Sunny Nwazue, an American-born girl Nigerian girl, was inducted into the secret Leopard Society. As she began to develop her magical powers, Sunny learned that she had been chosen to lead a dangerous mission to avert an apocalypse, brought about by the terrifying masquerade, Ekwensu. Now, stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny is studying with her mentor Sugar Cream and struggling to unlock the secrets in her strange Nsibidi book.

Awhile back, I was at SDCC, and I walked by a publisher’s booth, and they handed me the first book in this series, for free! They just gave me a whole book for free! I’ve had this happen before at cons, but it’s usually self-published stuff, or spin-off books of dubious quality. But this is a book that’s perfectly relevant to my interests, a YA fantasy novel with an exciting new setting, and they just gave it to me! What a wonderful thing to have happen.

Anyway, I was hooked, and I got the next book in the series out of the library. I loved it. The woman at the publisher’s booth told me this was “Nigerian Harry Potter,” and I definitely got Harry Potter vibes from it. It honestly took me back to my days reading the original HP books in a way none of JK Rowling’s subsequent books (or the movies) have been able to do. That’s not to say it’s a copy, or anything - this series is way more eager to dig into the big, magical mythical stuff that HP mostly only hinted at, and is conversely much more willing to spend time in the real world and discuss real-world issues. It’s . . . really really good.

Also, as a personal bonus for me, there are multiple cool magical creatures which are arthropods - mythical spiders, cool magic wasps, I just love it.

9/10. My mom stopped reading it halfway through saying “As I get older, I’ve had less patience for books that aren’t very good.” But then again, she never liked Harry Potter as much as I did either, so maybe she just doesn’t get our generation.

Click more for reviews of We Hunt the Flame, Bloodwitch, and The Throne of the Crescent Moon

We Hunt the Flame, by Hafsah Faizal Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

I really wanted to like this book. I’ve been reading a lot of Middle-Eastern history and the thought of a fantasy inspired by that is 100% my jam. But this book is just . . . not that good. It’s not offensively bad, it just feels like the first draft of another, better book. I actually did not finish this book. I gave up and took it back to the library.

The main romance feels very predictable, and honestly, it was giving me big Reylo fanfic vibes. The exposition, of which there is massive amounts, is clumsily delivered. It feels like it ought to be the second book in a series, because there are so many past events being explained all the time.

The one thing I kinda liked was the bits of Arabic in the book, and the choice to not exposit the Arabic bits on top of the fantasy bits. And I learned a new Arabic word from this book! That’s a positive.

3/10. Wish they’d spent more time on the editing.

Bloodwitch, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (and its sequel, Bloodkin) Vance Ehecatl was raised with every luxury he could imagine in a beautiful greenhouse within the powerful empire of Midnight. Vampires are the only guardians Vance has ever known since he was abandoned by his shapeshifter family as a baby quetzal, and he is grateful to them for generously providing for all of his needs. When an act of violence forces Vance from his sheltered home, he is startled to meet Malachi Obsidian, a fellow shapeshifter with conflicting ideas about Midnight and its leader, Mistress Jeshickah.

This is a new book from an author I loved as a child. Atwater-Rhodes published her first book at 14, when I was four, and I came across her books when I was 11ish and first learning to write. Her book Hawksong was the first romance story I really enjoyed, and its sequel Wolfcry was one of the first times I ever encountered a queer romance in a fantasy novel, at a time I was starting to wonder whether I was queer.

This book still caught the same interest I had in her books all those years ago. Bloodwitch is set in the same world as Hawksong, but centuries later. Personally, I would have preferred a book set in the same timeline, but it was still great to return to this world and its conflicts and magic.

With that said, it wasn’t perfect, and this wasn’t one of those times where I returned to an old favorite author and was like “Oh my god, I never appreciated what a genius she was when I was a stupid kid!” I was particularly struck by Vance’s character arc in the first book, which felt uneven. Vance is raised by the villains, and believes they’re the good guys initially. And then, early in the book, one of them kills his friend in cold blood, shouts at him, tries to kill him, and chases him out of their stronghold. And then . . . he goes back to them, and there’s ANOTHER, separate moment where he suddenly realizes they don’t care about him and turns on them. I really didn’t understand why that first moment didn’t shake his loyalty, but the second one did.

I was also kind of disappointed by the lack of queer characters. A lot of my favorite straight authors, when I checked back in on their work in 2019, have included queer representation, and because I knew that Atwater-Rhodes is herself queer, I was really hoping for some of That Gay Shit.

7/10. Give me that gay shit, Atwater-Rhodes, I know you’re holding out on me.

The Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, home to djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, are at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings.

This, this was the book I wanted when I picked up We Hunt the Flame. This is the quality content I want in my fantasy novel. I fell in love with the main character, Adoulla, almost immediately, and I was terrified he was going to die. I just love this prissy, hedonistic, idealistic, middle-aged, fat hero so much, and I will RIOT if Ahmed kills him off.

I liked the other older characters in this book a lot too. Ahmed clearly has a knack for making cool characters. Dawoud and Litaz are cranky old ex-adventurers. Adoulla’s love interest is a middle-aged sex worker who really wants him to commit and marry her or fuck off, and I am so rooting for them, I want them to live happily ever after, they deserve that.

The treatment of sex work and sex worker characters in this book is also a major plus. There’s a lot of moral ambiguity in this book, where I’m not sure which character we’re supposed to believe, but the one issue the book takes a firm stance on is DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE TO SEX WORKERS, THEY ARE PEOPLE TOO. This book is written by a man and is not the kind of feminist fantasy I read a lot of (like We Hunt the Flame and The Tiger at Midnight are) so I was pleasantly surprised by this strong pro-sex worker’s rights message.

On the downside, I did feel like the younger characters were less interesting than the older characters. They still felt like colorful, detailed characters drawn with a skillful hand, but they also felt much closer to the kind of characters you usually see front and center in a fantasy novel. What I loved about Adoulla and company is that you don’t often see fantasy heroes who are fat and old and tired. The romance between the two younger heroes is competently drawn and believable but I did find myself wishing the camera would pan away from them and go back to the cool characters.

Other notes:

I found out that Saladin Ahmed is a Marvel Comics writer and is writing a comic about my favorite superhero, Ms Marvel, and I couldn’t be happier with that news.

I was certain, reading this book, that Ahmed plays D&D and that this book was inspired by D&D, and HA, CALLED IT. My nerd-dar is ON POINT.

9/10. Adoulla is my dad now, no take-backsies.

#throne of the crescent moon #saladin ahmed #akata witch #nnedi okorafor #book reviews #hmu if ur a fan of Throne of the Crescent Moon too #@mr ahmed I NEED THE NEXT BOOK #I kno ur busy writing Ms Marvel but PLS

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

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Black Cat #1 Thoughts

Mixed feelings

Black Cat is a character near and dear to me, so much so that when my family got a kitten queen (a female cat) who was the black variety, I insisted we name her Felicia. My fondness for Felicia stems primarily from the 1994 Spidey cartoon in which Felicia was a notable supporting character for 3/5 seasons and became Black Cat, the secondary protagonist (to all intents and purposes) in the fourth, and a recurring ally in the fifth. When I began reading the comics proper Black Cat was on the side of the angels, another recurring ally to Spidey

For me Black Cat on the side of the angels is my preference.

This doesn’t mean her time in the 70s and 80s as an antagonist were bad or uninteresting, but what made her arc compelling was that she transitioned from being a villainess who had a sense of style and flair, whilst not being a truly horrible person (like say Electro or Doc Ock) into someone who was more morally grey.

She wasn’t a bad guy but she wasn’t exactly a good guy either.

She could be violent, she was open to taking life, she was a thrill seeker, she moved in seedy criminals circles, she could and would steal.

But...she wouldn’t use excessive force as a matter of course like the Punisher. She wouldn’t take life if she really didn’t have to. She didn’t seek thrills to the point of endangering anyone (except maybe herself). She might’ve moved in criminal circles but she had clear cut boundaries she wasn’t going to cross and made that clear to the people she worked with. Even her tendency to steal evolved from anyone and everyone she could get away with into people who at best deserved it at worst could afford it

At the same time she became one of Spider-Man’s closest friends, confidants and allies. Someone he knew 100% had his back and could help him by crossing a few lines he wasn’t willing to cross himself. Their relationship was beautifully complicated as Peter knew Felicia still broke the law and was willing to maim and kill, but he also trusted her to maintain her limits and her loyalty and friendship enabled him to turn a blind eye to some of her shadier character traits.

When Brand New Day rolled around and it became Felicia’s turn for the character assassination roulette that was that era, a lot of things changed, noticeably she went back to just stealing in general. And Spidey knew about it. And did nothing about it.

This was reductive for both characters and their relationship.

Of course then Slott crucified her character yet further making her into an outright unrepentant murderer and wannabe gang leader.

Nick Spencer in his Heist and Hunted arcs (specifically ASM #16.HU) has done a lot to heal the damage to Felicia’s character and it was my hope that her ongoing series would continue this and finally give Felicia the respect she has long deserved.

The opening status quo of this book thus comes as a huge disappointment to me.

Felicia is still a thief, she’s stealing from people who as far as we know aren’t bad people, she’s still very much and out and out criminal.

This doesn’t quite jive with her most recent characterization in Hunted sans her care for her henchmen.

It also raises the question of whether Spidey knows what she’s up to (she certainly wasn’t subtle about hiding her activities) and if so why he’s turning a blind eye to it.

Now I said my feelings were mixed and that is because I’m hoping this issue is merely the set up to eventually course correct Black Cat rather than ‘this is what this series will mostly be sort of thing.

My feelings are also mixed because if one accepts the thieving nature of Black Cat as the perennial status quo for her going forward this issue did a solid enough job of executing that.

My main problems would be the following:

a) I felt the art started strong then got a little bit less refined towards the end of the story and

b) It seems inconsistent that after the Heist arc Felicia is so determined to not share her spoils with the Thieves Guild. Not only is she a card carrying member but she knows all too well what they are capable of. If they can steal Cap’s shield and Thor’s hammer what hope does she have?

c) Her bad luck powers. They essentially enable her to autowin in every situation so there is no tension or conflict

These are problems but easily corrected ones, I hope the series will address these going forward.

Her characterization within the context of ‘thief mode’ is pretty decent.

As a cat owner myself I think the issue did a good job of capturing Felicia’s cat like tendencies within this context.

I also loved the use of deepcut continuity, specifically reviving Korpse and Bruno from waaaaaaay back in ASM #194, Felicia’s debut issue.

And the fact that Black Fox, another classic character who’s been hardly seen in recent years, is now canonically Walter Hardy’s teacher? It’s an idea so obvious I’m shocked no one thought of it before.

Other than that the action was pedestrian but the use of the Thieves Guild was a nice way to give Felicia some immediate antagonists suited to her.

So the main story was...okay for what it is trying to be, problematic for what it should be at this point, but it might address those problems as the arc unfolds. Because it does very much feel like a stage setter moreso than a self-contained story.

The other stories in the issue I enjoyed a little bit more.

The second story had arguably better art (definitely more consistent at that) and a story you will dislike to feel indifferent to or love depending upon how much you care for cats.

So on that basis it’d be an A++++++++++++ from me.

The third story was mostly okay, a nice simple little background story shining a light on a very unexplored character. My only issue with it is....why would Dracula care about money?

Playing cards, the competition of that, sure...but he seemed to care about the money itself.

I’m not Dracula expert so maybe I’m missing something but that was at minimum eyebrow raising.

In spite of my complaints I’d still recommend picking this book up just to show Felicia some support though.

#Black Cat #Felicia Hardy #Peter Parker #the Black Cat #Black Fox #Spider-Man #Nick Spencer

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