#knightfall to me says a lot about how that was not supposed to be the status quo at all

[roobylavender]

do you believe Bruce is emotionally abusive? ik fans prioritise physical abuse and ultimately ignore emotional abuse tactics like parentification etc because it’s not “that bad”. I don’t believe Dick ever resents Bruce for letting him be robin (he’s grateful for it) , but in ntt he mostly resents him for being emotionally closed off, and rejecting him as a partner. Bruce worries for his kids safety so he pushes the whole “if you’re not perfect you’re dead” mentality onto Dick which ultimately is harmful to him. He’ll never regret being a hero but the rift between the two isn’t just a “we want different things” scenario but more that they’re incapable of giving the other what they want.

bruce being emotionally closed off from dick is what’s revisionist about that version of canon though. i think bruce can be bad at communicating sometimes esp when he’s deeply pained (like in knightfall, for example) but for the most part he and dick are shown to have great communication for decades before new teen titans and the adjacent post crisis starlin canon starts to rewrite that dynamic into something else entirely. per that version of canon i do believe he’s emotionally abusive but it’s not a version of canon i particularly appreciate bc it requires overriding the dynamic they had previously where they could certainly be prone to disagree at times but bruce was nonetheless willing to have an open and understanding conversation with dick about whatever the disagreement was. even the whole idea that bruce is responsible for dick believing that he has to be perfect or he has to be dead is one that new teen titans cements (or that issue of batman where bruce makes dick quit and jason is introduced thereafter)

i get that it’s easy to take new teen titans as gospel bc it is in essence the textbook source for dick but i think there should be some awareness too of how it twists that relationship between them and not necessarily for the better. i’m not opposed to bruce having faults he has to answer for. i absolutely agree he’s not cognizant enough of the complexes dick develops as a result of wanting to be seen as an equal, and thereby can’t realize the effect it has on dick for him to still be protective and fearful even if it’s ultimately out of goodwill and love. and there’s also the fact that even if he gives dick the space he desires to lead his own life it doesn’t mean he should be hesitant to reach out bc he’s afraid he’ll overstep by doing so, as a parent he should reaffirm his love for dick regularly regardless of knowing he might get some pushback bc dick is growing into his own (again, knightfall is a really superb example of this). but i also think those are tensions you can wholeheartedly explore without rendering bruce into a controlling and abusive figure, and i’m not sure who it benefits to write bruce as such in the long run

some of dick’s problems have to be his own, and he’ll never escape bruce’s shadow if the only source point of issues in his life is his relationship with bruce. that’s something i would actually apply to the robins at large. hardly any of them are allowed to explore problems entirely unique to themselves and i think that’s in large part bc writers simultaneously portray a mildly to explicitly abusive bruce at their leisure while refusing to ever actually address the elephant in the room that is literally of their own creation. a lot of people believe the bruce shouldn’t be an abuser argument is framed entirely as a resistance to bruce’s character assassination and for me i can admit that’s part of it, but a more pertinent part of it should also be the fact that bruce being written as an abuser is what truly chains his children to him forever to the point that they can never grow beyond that abuse bc writers refuse to allow them to. imagine the problems the robins could be addressing individually in their lives if not everything came down to them being fucked up bc that’s the way bruce raised them or failed to thereby. there’s a lot about the robins as individuals that’s deeply interesting and i think it’s not just a disservice to bruce but to them as well to write the relationships this way bc it obscures their own agency and ability to be explored for more than a haunted legacy narrative

#sry this is so very long. please know it is not me venting at you i simply have many thoughts 😭 #but yeah like i think something that gets lost in translation is like. i absolutely do think those portrayals of bruce are abusive #i simply don’t think he should have been portrayed as such to begin with #starlin era bruce is very bewildering for me in all honesty i dislike it deeply #the issue where dick meets jason is one of my least favorite for the way it portrays bruce it feels so out of character for me #considering bruce was more than happy for dick to go off to college or to find his own place with the titans #and even with that famous issue where dick meets bruce after learning jason has died the writing is quite odd to me #i think bruce is very much someone who directs blame and frustration inward as opposed to outward #he’ll let himself get dog walked if he thinks he deserves it. which i think knightfall illustrates fabulously #the beginning of no man’s land as well #what i don’t think he would ever do is lash out at others when he knows the blame lies with himself. bruce is very self critical #so honestly that whole scene in the cave with him and dick. doesn’t exist to me i would literally rewrite it 😭 #and i think it is very significant that wolfman chose to recreate that slap three times if memory serves while every other write in bat #editorial at the time straight up ignored it and acted like it never happened. like idk that plus the way bruce was characterized during #knightfall to me says a lot about how that was not supposed to be the status quo at all #anyway. sorry this has devolved into a whole other rant please do not mind me 😔 #outbox

[onewomancitadel]

I know that this is very unusual to the average moron who advances their own thesis based on determination and entitlement, but I want to make it very clear that I have never been definitive about Knightfall and most of my analysis. I currently think it's a gamble on whether it does or doesn't eventuate (and even so, I still don't like the Jaune/Weiss 'shipbaiting' if it is that) even if at this point I think Cinder's redemption is very likely. Arguably the lattermost of these is more concrete, which of course makes me scratch my head because of the limitations put on getting her there.

As much as I don't think being a shipper or a fangirl should come with weighted assumptions, I equally don't enjoy the assumption that I am saying Knightfall will definitely be a thing because I want it to be a thing. I'm not reading into friendly hugs (Jaune/Ruby, Ruby/Penny) or characters fucking looking at each other or going to the movies with Oscar.

But I suppose I am once again reminded that in the R/WBY fandom and fandoms at large, shipping is a) largely casual, b) largely independent of the text and/or based off of facile interpretation of superficiality, and c) mostly about what assumptions you come to the text with. Romance predicated upon extreme seriousness, textual dependency, and trying to meet a story halfway is actually pretty unusual. I have to keep reminding myself of this because I keep forgetting, and because the norm is so far from my own experience. (Even with the obsession regarding canonicity amongst casual shippers... which is a whole other thing. Just let your fanon be fanon).

I get that people want certainty, whether they ship Knightfall or whether they don't ship Knightfall or whether - as some anons have remarked to me - they're afraid of Knightfall and they don't like its possibility - or whether you, Reader, are reading into the meaning of my posts. I like writing and I like testing my own interpretation. I usually say what I mean to say. I think the beauty of Knightfall is partly how unlikely it is and I think it is very weird that it's something that keeps making me question my interpretation. I'm not sitting here saying that it's deffo going to be canon u guise because of a super secret sexual metaphor or because they looked at each other. The Juane/Weiss developments of Volume 9 have made me question a more superficial interpretation, which is less interesting to me, but I am willing to accept when I'm wrong.

It's annoying that engaging in a communicative exercise (this is partly why I think the 'author is dead' bullshit is bullshit) is characterised as ~reading into shit~. I actually think it's embarrassing not to take something seriously and sincerely and try to see what it's saying. I actually think it's embarrassing to genuinely read into shit of the most superficial, countertextual bullshit and act like your own self-insert is the most objective reading. I want to believe that it's projection, because ultimately other peoples' failure to engage with a text isn't my problem, but they seem to want to make it my problem.

If you ship Jaune/Cinder in a serious canon way, I can't tell you what to do and I hope you don't feel like I'm letting you down. I've never made false promises about my own interpretation and I've always considered it to be a pretty rocky (even if fun) position. I do enjoy the position of advancing a polemic and I do enjoy stress-testing my own interpretation on my own terms but not everybody does. A lot of people want a relaxing shipping experience and I imagine my position conflicts with a lot of other peoples' positions (especially casual Jaune team bicycle ships).

I'm not 'quitting Knightfall' in case someone gets that idea. I am reiterating the same position I've always held and I'll probably need to do so, over and over, and when someone wilfully ignores this and accuses me of being a biased shipper - I'll simply emphasise it again. I don't need to send anonymous asks to people because I'm insecure about my interpretation.

Nothing I say is threatening if you can so outright dismiss it. Right?

#seraphina ruminates over V9 #rwby9 #knightfall #had to repost because of a very silly typo

[thehollowprince]

Something just realized, Third Sister/Reva kinda reminds me of Anakin in a way. High risk and high reward plans/gambles, flare for the dramatic, etc. It amusing to think about really.

Oh, totally!

That parallel between the two, I'm pretty sure, was 100% intentional. She's supposed to give us a face for Vadar, since he's entirely encased in the Suit now. She's Anakin if he hadn't been burned. That whole speech she gave on Tatooine in the first episode, her views on the Jedi Order, that's something that I could see coming out of Vadar's voice box.

This hasn't been confirmed (... yet), but I'm sold on the idea that one of the younglings that we saw in the first episode during Order 66 was a young Reva.

Her.

Which, if that's the case, makes her and Anakin even more alike. Reva isn't like the Grand Inquisitor, or the Fifth Brother or the Seventh Sister, she wasn't higher up in the hierarchy of the Order, she was a youngling, not even a padawan. She's lashing out, grieving the child that she was, the Jedi she could have been, because she feels like she was let down, abandoned by those who were supposed to protect and guide her. It may be the case that she even fell for the propaganda that the Jedi betrayed the Republic.

Sound familiar?

That's exactly how Anakin feels as Vadar. And it may even be in both cases that the reason they're (Vadar and Reva) so "reckless" and violent toward ordinary citizens is that sense of betrayal. How dare these people, these citizens of the Empire, those betrayed by the Jedi, offer them sage harbor and aid?!

Hell, the reason they double down on their violence may have to do with the mindset that they're so far in that they can't back out now. They've come too far to second guess themselves.

But this is just my opinion on her motivations. Like I said above, it has not been confirmed that Reva was one of the younglings that survived Order 66 and Operation Knightfall.

I will say, however, that Vadar/Anakin was in mind when Lucasfilm came up with Reva. She's getting a lot of the Vadar treatment, a more in depth and emotional outlook that any of the other Inquisitors have received since the Disney switch.

And I'm enjoying every second of it. Reva is one of the most interesting characters that Star Wars has put out in a long while.

#moses ingram #inquisitor reva #third sister #kenobi spoilers #star wars #star wars: obi-wan kenobi

[dyketectivecomics]

Okay, with KnightsEnd and the second huntress mini under my belt, let's recap on 90s Gotham so far! (also absolutely FLOORED that i'm already up to '94 at this point ;-; the 90s are flyin by)

Jean-Paul

I know i mentioned it rlly briefly, but it really rubbed me the wrong way how Jean-Paul clearly having DID was being... handled not well in terms of the narrative. There was KIND of a last minute turnaround with the last issue for the KnightsEnd arc (that i guess was supposed to absolve Jean in Bruce/the narrative's eyes? Kind of?) it just... left me feeling very hollow ig

again, mostly I stuck to Knightfall and KnightsEnd, not a whole lot of Bat!Jean in btwn except for the ones that already crossed over with some of the other characters. I dont think I'll be revisiting this period of time for Jean and I've heard it gets better for him in his upcoming solo. i was rlly endeared to his character earlier on, so im holding out hope that this was.... just an odd phase for DC editorial (which seems to be mostly the case from what I've gathered)

Renee & Steph

just stepping in very briefly here to say that Renee is getting pretty regular page time right alongside Bullock. after knightfall its made especially clear and that she's def on Team Batman™, so thats a fun seed to see planted

steph had a very very short team-up again with tim, still spurred by her dad breaking out of prison briefly. dixon is def planting those timsteph seeds and im not super thrilled by how he's choosing to go about it. but i did know that this was going to happen in advance so

clearly i am boo boo the fool *clown emoji*

Helena

uhh, she cameo'd rlly briefly in knightfall! which was cool to see!

team-up with Black Canary was nice to see, but the plot was *screams internally* (yikes). general content warning for a blatantly racist portrayal of arabian people/culture. (considering this was post-desert storm tho, i cant even say that im surprised. just tired and disappointed)

the Huntress mini was a pretty quick read, and i did kind of vibe with the art. it was mostly lineless, had a lot of style, and the shading/shadows for a lot of the scenes were really dynamic and added quite a bit to the overall tone. a nitpick that i have for it tho, is that its pretty clear that dixon didnt do his homework bc the man from helena's past who assaulted her was killed by the same man who helped train her initially. it was major point in the first solo like fjdakl;fld

otherwise, it also... feels pretty obvious to me that dixon isnt comfortable with writing for the character. her emotional state feels a little all over the place/turns on a dime, and i'll give him a LITTLE benefit of the doubt that maybe it could be the limited time that he had for the run... but something about this just... didn't quite feel like Helena to me. idk, isn't gonna be one that i see myself ever revisiting

Tim

Starting off Tim's Robin run right in the middle of the fallout of Knightfall was... an interesting choice. but one that i wont begrudge them too much.

finishing up to issue 9, tho, it feels like a pretty solid start for an on-going. Tim's voice is certainly starting to come clearer & what I def think is helping with that is having one writer mostly focused on him now.

whether or not he'll grow on me tho, remains to be seen, but I can still see why others latch onto him. he's very much still finding his footing with Bruce & with the Robin role. and ultimately, he's wish-fulfillment for the 90s comic nerd teen at this point in his character. he's trying to have it all, being the hero and getting the girl, and so far he's def falling behind in one of those regards (it seems pretty definitive that he and Ariana broke up oof), and scraping by in the other (but after the month/year he's had, i can hardly blame him on that front)

it'll be interesting to see where Tim & Jean's relationship goes now that Jean will be going back to Azrael, and while im sure there will be plenty more bumps in my reading to come, it's nice to have a slightly clearer path now that so many solos will be comprising the majority of my reading

#randy reads #90s gotham #there's like no kids here this morning fjdkals; so have my Catch-Up Thots on the readings so far

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

The Journals Of Derek Grady Part 1

This is a story set within my Bioshock Rebirth AU. A reimaging/reboot of the Bioshock franchise. https://geekgemsspookyblog.tumblr.com/post/626141727587270656/bioshock-rebirth-timeline-this-is-a-timeline-of-an Just as a heads up if anyone is wondering about the context. I’ve had some stories in my drafts for a long time now and I’m finally publicly sharing them.

I made a post talking about this. There is this character named Derek that was in one of my pilot stories for this AU. But I felt strangely ashamed of how I wrote him. But I’d feel it’s best to use him in better context. In something very intriguing. Mainly the point of view of the Rapture Civil War from someone who fought in it. 

There is this silly theme of certain characters being named Derek in some AU’s of mine. Usual they are men that seem well intentioned, but their mind isn’t always in the best place. I’m just gonna make this because this is something I wanna make.

This was first started/made on December 23rd 2020. I’m not gonna have this beta read. It’s time I just upload this shit. I got the two tags done with. But I would like to mention I was heavily or so inspired by the Star Wars Battlefront 2 Classic story. Especially with the first journal from this character being inspired by the, “Knightfall” level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lgG2ENW5Ac Spoilers ahead.

12/31/2001. The attack on the Kashmir restuarant.

I was a young kid when I first arrived in Rapture. I was na��ve like many others. Many of used to believe in Andrew Ryan’s so called, “Great Chain”, until things started to fall apart. Especially after the death of scumbag Frank Fontaine. I find it funny he tried to put on a nice guy act whenever he met someone new or when he was in public, but I’ve heard the stories. The stories of the type of man he was.

But after Ryan nationalized Fontaine Futuristics in January 1999, a lot of people weren’t happy. It was surprising how long it took something to happen. So much dividing of social classes, so much shit that had happened during those years. What was gonna happen tonight would change everything forever...

I’ve been on Atlas’s crew of bandits since July. I felt joining Atlas was the best decision I made in my entire life. Because I felt I fighting for the right thing, a good cause. But what Atlas had planned sounded to me almost like terrorism. 

Yet when I thought about it, I really thought hard to myself. After everything we’ve suffered, how Ryan started to push everyone away, how he tried keep himself in power. Even though Rapture was supposed to be the perfect paradise...Andrew Ryan, Brigid Tenenbaum, Augustus Sinclair, Sander Cohen, Yi Suchong, Sofia Lamb, and so many others...how they treated us.

First it was just riots, but now it was time for Ryan and everyone who supported him knew what we were. What we stood for. They were gonna find out we weren’t some bandits who kidnapped some rich assholes to get payback or robin hood archetypes helping poor folks. 

There was no more talk for peace. Because Ryan never gave a damn...he never did.

1/31/2002. The Civil War starting. Apollo Square. Atlas and crew.

It’s been a month since we launched an attack on Kashmir. Things started to really change because the war for this city finally had truly begun. I have never been in war, but with the skills I’ve learned from Atlas and Daisy. I’d felt I was ready, because I needed to be. Not many of us were actual soldiers. But that didn’t matter to us. We knew what had to be done.

But we didn’t knew that Ryan would try to make Apollo Square a prison camp. Yet that didn’t matter, when those so called security officers first started to set people ablaze when they tried escaping. We shot any who would tried to do such things again. When they were hanging people, we fought back because we got tired of their bullshit. We didn’t fuck around. I felt proud when I shot one of those damn officers in the head. 

Apollo Square was practically our paradise. Sure Ryan’s army kept trying to get in, yet we always defended it. Yet even without Ryan, we still had others to worry about.

I feel pretty damn grateful a lot of our weapons were smuggled from the surface. We kept some of the weapons Ryan’s men had as well. 

But I think what I felt more grateful was our leaders. Daisy Fitzroy was practically Atlas’s 2nd in command. She was a tough woman, she didn’t take shit. Considering she worked for that weird kinky lady known as Ava Tate, I can’t blame her becoming that. She’s one of the bravest and smartest women I’ve fought with. I’m surprised she didn’t form our rebellion first.

Bill was lucky enough to be convinced by Atlas to join us after he resigned from the council. But Bill was like us. Even though he believed in Rapture, he was just an old man who wanted the best for people. I found that admirable of him. I also think he’s grateful we hid his ass after he left Ryan. Considering how Ryan gets upset with whoever betrays him, he’d rather want them dead...yet that might of been different considering he was best friends with Ryan himself. 

Diane was new, she was a hostage once with Julie Langford. But when Ryan never paid her ransom and practically didn’t care for her. But I do think she noticed those Jasmine Jolene posters throughout the city, making Ryan’s betrayal seemingly more worse. She originally came to Apollo Square to yell at us of how we possibly ruined her life. But when she saw the shit we were going through, she soon understood even more of the situation. Especially when we heard it wasn’t made better when hearing Ryan’s thoughts on people like us.

She joined us rather quickly, she was like Bill in a way. Diane was honestly a kind woman, it always felt nice to have more supporters. I do find it surprising from what I’ve seen that her and Daisy seemed to have developed a thing. Yet I found it surprisingly adorable...mainly because it was so strange to see Daisy seem soft to another person. But I think it gave the ladies more of a reason to keep fighting on.

But Atlas...he was something else. There was a reason people followed him. I followed him for plenty of good reasons. He seemed like a action hero you see out of those films from Hollywood. But I have never met a man so kind, yet so humble. He was the best of us...or that’s what I thought. You can have a good laugh with him too while having a drink. The man had a family, but he didn’t spoke of them much to keep them safe. I also remember hearing he was a captain in the Irish army. Which gave us an advantage in some ways over Ryan’s men.

He was the perfect anti-thesis to Andrew Ryan. Atlas was someone many genuinely respected and loved. Men wanted to be him, women loved him. To me and others. He wasn’t just a friend. Atlas was sometimes like a brother, or even a father.

Sure he wasn’t perfect and did some questionable things. But we knew it was for the best. Atlas is our best shot at winning this war. And I’m proud to fighting side by side with him, no matter what. 

2/1/2002. Johnny Topside.

I never met the man, but Atlas knew him only for a year. The way he talked about Johnny. I’ve heard stories of him, well that’s because Atlas didn’t want his memory to die. Atlas said Johnny Topside was a diver who had discovered Rapture years ago and for sometime was forced to live in Rapture until he finally had enough. 

Johnny Topside was the start of our rebellion. He was the one that planted the seeds. Johnny was the first to stand up to Ryan, but it resulted in tragedy. No one knows fully what happened to him. But Atlas said Ryan had tried to erase Johnny’s memory from history, and that it was very likely he may of been turned into...a Big Daddy...the idea of that horrifies me.

When Atlas spoke of him, he spoke of him so highly. Saying that Johnny was like a younger brother to him. You could of even seen at times Atlas nearly choked up when talking about him. I can’t blame him, losing someone that was like a brother to him. I’ve would of been nearly tearing up.

The story of Johnny Topside was something that kept us going, it inspired us. Hell, it even inspired me. Atlas didn’t want his memory to die, because what he was doing wasn’t just for everyone. But it was also justice for Johnny...justice for everyone that had enough of Ryan.

My only disappointment is that I never got to meet Johnny...because when Atlas says he’d would rather had him lead us...that says a helluva lot about Topside.

2/3/2002. Booker Dewitt and Ryan’s personal guard.

I’ve heard the stories of Dewitt...he merely sounded like a ghost. But he wasn’t. This was the man that shot down Fontaine, and most likely helped captured Johnny Topside.

Captain Dewitt was known to the citizens as, “The Grim Reaper Of Rapture” and he damn well earned it. But he was also Ryan’s new best friend after Bill left. Dewitt kept Ryan’s enemies in check. Whether by killing them when no one was looking, or capturing them. 

Security was fine, but Ryan’s personal guard and when Dewitt was leading them...that was scary. I think what scared us rebels was whenever he showed up. He always wore that mask...which gave him more of a reason to call him a grim reaper...because he damn sure was.

Ryan’s personal guard weren’t just police officers enforcing Ryan’s rule, they were literal soldiers. They were formed when Johnny Topside had discovered Rapture. The guard was basically a better version of security.

They were made up of men who either genuinely believed in the, “Great Chain” or just were looking to be paid by Ryan. Some of them were ex soldiers, mercenaries, and they were all just horrible people. 

The guard weren’t pushovers, they had years of experience or training by Dewitt. They were merciless, brutal, and effective. The fact Ryan had now decided to use them even more now showcased he truly wasn’t fucking around anymore. He wanted to win this war. But we weren’t gonna let that happen.

I think we were just thankful they didn’t really use Plasmids...if they did...then I felt this war may be over already. But it also gives us a easier chance to kill them all.

2/15/2002. Splicers.

Over the years since ADAM was discovered. Splicers became thing. Poor folks who used too spliced too much...they were once people...but they were sadly monsters now. I think what surprised us is how some of them were on our side...but not many. Unless they controlled themselves.

The Splicers of many types were a pain in the ass for Ryan and Atlas. Killing the rebels or Ryan’s personal guard. They had no allegiance...all they wanted was ADAM...they were basically drug addicts. I remember seeing one time a woman shanking a man for his ADAM, we had to put her down.

I didn’t really use Plasmids much, or some of the others like Atlas, Daisy, Diane, and Bill. It seemed good for Atlas that some of the rebels didn’t try to splice up. Which meant we can deal with less people turning into those...things.

There was one time I had to put down one of them. The man was just 21, but he had spliced up so much that he had gone insane. He tried attacking Daisy and Diane, but me and Daisy took him down shot him in the chest. But he was still breathing.

...I shot him in the head...I hesitated at first for about five seconds...he was younger than me. I wanted to make his death as quick and painless...it gave me a haunting reminder of why we were still fighting. All this pain and suffering...it started with the discover of that damn thing called ADAM...

I’m surprised I haven’t spoken about Tenenbaum yet...I feel like she was 2nd in place for me to kill after Ryan.

3/15/2002. Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and Brigid Tenenbaum.

I think the other thing that haunts me a lot and so many others is these two...I’ve seen them countless times and I have fought them when I joined Atlas.

Big Daddies are practically these...monsters that used to be people...slaves to protect what were once literal children...

These monsters looked like literal giant diving suits at times...some had drills, some had guns. They were tough sons of bitches. These things could kill a man easily, or even a group of a men if you weren’t careful. 

But it’s the Little Sisters that horrify me and other rebels...not because they are dangerous or that they are killers. It’s the fact of what they are. They were children...or possibly still are...forced to collect ADAM because they were implanted with some...damn sea slug Tenenbaum discovered...

There is no known cure for them. I think many of us want a cure. But the only way to help these girls is something horrific...harvesting them. Atlas said it was to put them out of their misery. They had ADAM in them.

From what I’ve seen, some rebels harvested them, some didn’t. Daisy didn’t do it. Neither did Diane or Bill. I remember seeing Atlas making the most sickened face after harvesting one, he didn’t enjoy it at all.

I think it may of bothered Atlas some didn’t harvest them...but it’s understandable why some wouldn’t. Because I remember seeing one 37 year old man, after he had harvested just one Little Sister. The man about 5 minutes later literally put a pistol under his jaw and killed himself.

We all understood why he even did that. Because after you witness a child being horrified by you about to harvest them...it’s a sight you’re never going to forget.

I can still hear those girls screaming. Daisy and Diane do too...it’s in our nightmares. For some reason...the harvesting of a Little Sister scars me than seeing a Splicer or whatever else...I don’t know why...I think it’s because all that innocence was lost...or actually taken. Because there was no other way to help them.

It was all because of one woman, Brigid Tenenbaum. I heard she worked with Frank Fontaine to help make those girls into what they are. I’ve heard she’s had a hard life, but that doesn’t excuse what I find one of the most horrific crimes I’ve ever seen. She’s been in hiding for 4 years after being exposed for what she did.

If we ever find Tenenbaum...I want to put my foot on her throat...whatever what we want to do to her. To be honest, I think I want to kill her more than Ryan...because I don’t know how you can be forgiven for doing that to a child.

God forgives, and whenever I have to put down a fellow rebel because they spliced up too much, I make it quick and painless as possible...but Tenenbaum...quick and painless is not gonna mean anything if we ever find her. 

6/3/2002. SOS and Archie Wynand.

After six months of war with Ryan’s personal guard and the Splicers. Whether some were controlled or not...things were going south for us. We fought hard, we planned as best as we could. But nothing was working, because Ryan was nearly winning.

There was panic among us, we were fearing that all of this could be for nothing. But Atlas revealed something, which he said was a risk in case. He somehow gave an SOS message to the surface to whoever would get it. Because he knew we weren’t gonna win this on our own anymore. We needed help, we needed the surface to discover Rapture. But also, we needed someone to help us take down Ryan. It was on Sunday Atlas gave out the message for help. We prayed someone would answer it. Luckily for us, someone did answer it.

Despite his aircraft was shot down by Ryan, and being the only survivor of his squad. Someone had arrived. That someone was a young man named Sergeant Archie Wynand. An Army Ranger sent by the US Government to discover where the SOS came from. 

To be honest, I was worried by the fact only one man had survived. I’d feared we still didn’t stand a chance. But after I saw that man enter combat and killed so many Splicers, I have never seen a man fought hard like that. He was still young like me, but he was like a commando in his way. It was as if someone like Atlas again had come to save us. 

Me and him never really talked, but from what I’ve seen. That man is the bravest soul I’ve ever seen. He’s loyal to a fault and unbreakable, it was like seeing a warrior unlike any other. I will admit, I felt a bit jealous when Atlas has giving him a lot more attention than me. 

But Archie was important. Atlas sent him commands and he followed through. But I think what confused me the most was something Atlas had revealed earlier. Which resulted in ordering Archie to go to a certain building, a tower in the middle of Rapture. 

6/4/2002. Elizabeth.

A day before Archie had arrived. There was this strange new information Atlas had discovered. That there was some girl in this tower in Rapture. Her name was Elizabeth. Atlas had discovered it when raiding a building near that tower. 

We were so confused on why Ryan had a girl in this tower. In fact? Why was she there? Who was she really? Even Atlas was confused, but she seemed important.

But I feel our questions were answered when Archie saved her. I didn’t get to talk to her personally, but I have seen her in action with my own eyes. Along with some footage. 

Somehow, this young girl had some powers of an unknown source. She was able to summon old sentries, and other things. It felt unnatural. Sure the Plasmids and other discoveries in Rapture were very special...but what this girl could do...it made us question even more who the hell she was and why Ryan had her locked away.

Gonna admit though, she was honestly adorable.

6/5/2002. Elizabeth’s purpose, and what the Hell is Archie? What the Hell is going on?

I think it horrified me and the rebels of what Elizabeth was supposed to be. Why she was kept secret from Rapture. What Atlas had discovered more is that she was secretly a weapon Ryan would use in case against someone like us. A sleeper agent that would of slipped through our ranks or anyone else...almost like a female fatale Ryan wanted to make personally...it confused me because from what I’ve seen, she’s nothing like that.

But I think we surprised us more is that she had been in Rapture since 1983. For about 19 years, Ryan had her in there, with hardly anyone knowing. I think it sickened me a bit more hearing Ryan was gonna use a young woman as a secret weapon in case someone like Atlas came along. It was almost like what happened with the Little Sisters.

Yet the other thing that’s been on my mind is Archie. I’ve talked about how much of a warrior he was. Ever since he rescued Elizabeth, she’s been by his side ever since. I haven’t seen such a effective team. It was like they were perfect for each other.

But again, it’s Archie that has me thinking. Sure he’s a soldier...but compared to any of us...and even compared to Ryan’s personal guard. I have never seen a man be so efficient in what he does. This was a young man, yet he fought like he was like some sort of super soldier. Hell, I don’t even think Atlas and Daisy are that efficient. He’s fast and strong.

He was also using so many Plasmids without mutating. I couldn’t get it? He wasn’t becoming spliced up. I couldn’t believe it? I had lost count of how many times he injected a Eve Hypo into his wrists.

I think the scary part is how many Big Daddies he’s killed...how can one man kill so many. I didn’t understand it? But from what I’ve seen from footage is...him curing the Little Sisters...I couldn’t believe it.

Where were he and Elizabeth staying at? I heard Atlas yesterday say they were at Tenenbaum’s...I couldn’t understand...I’m confused...

6/5/2002 A bigger Big Daddy.

I didn’t understand nor could I comprehend what I had witnessed. Ever since Archie arrived...things were changing. What made me think this way was when I saw...something I didn’t think was possible.

Out of all the Big Daddies we’ve killed. I had never seen one so big. He was about 12 feet tell...he looked older than any of the Big Daddies. He looked similar to the Alpha series Big Daddies...I couldn’t understand. I was lucky to have lived, but I witness it killed so many rebels, Splicers, and Ryan’s army. This Big Daddy was vicious. It seemed like he was on a mission. As if he was tracking down Elizabeth.

I’m just in disbelief...I don’t understand.

I was a witness also to see Elizabeth teleport it somewhere...I think it’s dead...I’m not sure.

6/6/2002. The war soon coming to an end.

To be honest, I was fearing we may never win. But somehow we made it. Captain Dewitt was beaten yesterday, and now Ryan is soon to be dealt with. 

I’ve learned from Atlas that Tenenbaum had created a cure for the Little Sisters...I couldn’t believe it when I heard it. I asked him again if he was telling the truth, and he was. That’s why Archie and Elizabeth were staying with Tenenbaum somewhere. 

It still sounded so crazy. But the next piece of news is that these three would be coming to Atlas’s headquarters, our base of operations. I couldn’t believe I was seeing Tenenbaum...I had...weird feelings.

The plans were while Archie and others went to Ryan’s office to finally take him down. There was hardly anyone left to defend him. While Elizabeth and Dr. Tenenbaum stayed at Atlas’s headquarters. It...an experience meeting this young girl...even after everything she’d been through, but so kind. 

But I wasn’t gonna be staying for long either like Archie. Atlas sent me and some men to take over Fort Folic considering Archie and Elizabeth’s recent visit there. As if the freak that was Sander Cohen had finally left somewhere. It was no longer locked up.

I felt genuine hope for the first time. As if this whole nightmare will finally end. But I will admit, I wanted to kill Ryan as much as anybody else. I had my orders, and I listened. Besides, taking back Fort Folic was a huge win

I do recall Ryan playing golf at times. Hopefully when Archie gets to his office, he’ll beat the Walt Disney lookalike of a fuckhead with his own golf club. It’s what Ryan deserved...it’s what many of us wanted.

6/7/2002. Atlas...and the end...

...I don’t even know what to say...the war is over...it’s actually over...

But it didn’t end with Ryan dying or getting captured...

Atlas...our leader...my hero...my best friend...the anti-thesis to Ryan...was Frank Fontaine.

He’s dead...he was brutally hung...by Archie...his corpse is hanging for everyone to see...he...looks like half of a monster.

Everything we’ve done...everything we stood for...I feel betrayed, but I feel relived. I think others are feeling a similar way...I need no I want answers...

6/8/2002. The birth of the Vox Populi. Tenenbaum discovering these journals.

I think what happened on Thursday and Friday...changed so many of us...even myself...I thank Daisy and Diane for explaining it to me.

There was a huge meeting with the remaining rebels. Archie, Elizabeth, and Dr. Tenenbaum joined in as well. So many discussions were had. Rapture was finally ours...

While Splicers were still a thing, and some rich assholes were still around. Considering half of the city was still going, but we came together to formulate a plan. 

There won’t be another Andrew Ryan, or even another Frank Fontaine. The end of the Rapture Civil War was only the beginning of something much better. 

We weren’t just called rebels anymore, we were officially given a name now. The Vox Populi. It was Daisy’s idea for the name. We were basically the reformed version of Atlas’s rebellion. But now, we had genuine people who actually gave a damn. Who wouldn’t use us as puppets. That we will strive for a better tomorrow. 

For peace, a better community. So we can help out every Little Sister we can find out there, and help whoever else is in Rapture. We’re gonna make this shithole of a city a better living place. No more tyrants, no more conmen, no more rulers, just people wanting to make this place a better place for everyone.

Justice, peace, and all that...I think many of us are still getting over what happened with Atlas...I’m still getting used to it...I’m just grateful it’s over.

But before this the huge meeting, Dr. Tenenbaum discovered my journals...she read what I wrote about her...our struggles. I apologized to her, but she said it’s okay. She said she doesn’t blame me for being angry. I think what surprised me more was the one person that her the most was herself...

For some odd reason, I forgave her...she just stared at me with surprise. She gave me a small smile...and then I said I think I could forgive her after everything she’s tried doing to fix her mistakes. Because I told her trying to fix your mistakes is better than doing nothing.

#bioshock rebirth #derek grady

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Terry Pratchett: "There's a lot of Terry Pratchett in there," David Tennant said. You can find Pratchett's scarf and signature fedora hanging on a coat-and-hat rack in Aziraphale's bookshop.

"We never focus on it," said cinematographer Gavin Finney. "It's just there, and the camera goes past the hat and scarf. It was cool not to foreground it, but just to have it in the background."

An eagle eye might also spot a display of Pratchett's books as well. And a careful listener might hear a voice that sounds suspiciously like Pratchett's, although it's actually actor Paul Kaye. Kaye had previously played Pratchett in a documentary for the BBC, and so Gaiman and Mackinnon recruited Kaye to portray the author once again for a little voiceover work in Episode 4.

"There's a tiny scene where there is a radio conversation, and a guy who is supposed to be the PR guy for the nuclear power station is talking," Mackinnon told SYFY WIRE. They thought the voice should be Pratchett's, "because Terry used to be that very man," Mackinnon said, referring to the author's former career as a press office for the Central Electricity Governing Board in an area that covered four nuclear power stations.

Neil Gaiman: Pratchett and Gaiman had planned to do cameo roles together, appearing in the background while Aziraphale ate sushi in a restaurant (and Gabriel interrupted him) in Episode 1. "We would be eating all the sushi we wanted," Gaiman said. Without Pratchett to join him, Gaiman didn't feel quite right to appear in the sushi scene, so he asked Mackinnon to find him another part.

When they were talking about the movie theater scene in Episode 4, Mackinnon asked what sort of extras they should have in the background. "I said, 'We should have a couple making out in the back corner, and probably a drunk asleep,'" Gaiman recalled. "And an expression of pure joy grew on Douglas' face. And he said, 'I think we found your part.'"

"I said, 'An asleep drunk might just measure up to your acting ability,'" Mackinnon said with a laugh. (You can find Gaiman slouched in the front of the cinema.) The director cast the showrunner in another part — as the voices of the bunnies in the animation being screened at the cinema — so essentially Gaiman (as the drunk) is watching Gaiman (as the bunnies).

"All the noises of the bunnies are me," Gaiman said. "And I'm also the frog. When the animated head frog makes a weird little noise, that's me." Gaiman gets one more nod in the show. When unexpected visitors arrive at the U.S. airbase in Episode 5, the soldier at guard duty is reading American Gods.

Doctor Who: This might be one of the biggest areas of easter eggs, especially if you count the fact that Crowley is played by the Tenth Doctor, Aziraphale is played by House (from Gaiman's episode "The Doctor's Wife"), and the Metatron is played by the Master.

Beyond that, the rest are "all factored into the texture" of Good Omens, Tennant said. Adam's father Mr. Young drives a car with a license plate that reads "SID RAT" (TARDIS backwards). Mr. Young first addresses Crowley — again, the Tenth Doctor — as "Doctor" when he encounters the demon at the Satanic nuns' hospital, mistaking him for an OB/GYN in Episode 1. A child named Brian says "Exterminate!" when hanging with friends in Episode 4.

In that same episode, Crowley wonders where in the universe he might go, and one of the papers circulating around his head reads "Gallifrey." And an awkward character named Newton Pulsifer wears the Fourth Doctor's scarf as a necktie on his first day to work in Episode 2. "It's something a grown-up man might not do," costume designer Claire Anderson said. "But they thought the character would rather like Doctor Who."

Sherlock: Mackinnon, who had worked on Sherlock, was also eager to plant some easter eggs relating to the books and the show, although they might be the hard to spot (other than Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss, who appears during a World War II flashback, and Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, who provides the voice of Satan).

In Episode 1, Crowley meets Aziraphale in a park, and then they walk out to Crowley's Bentley, parked in the street. In the background of the shot is the Diogenes Club, where Mycroft Holmes likes to hang. They then go to eat crepes at the Ritz (where they will return in Episode 6), but it's not quite the Ritz — it's actually the Criterion, which is famed in both Sherlock lore (as the place where Sherlock and Watson meet for the first time, in the books) and in behind-the-scenes Sherlock history.

"When Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, and Stephen Thompson signed up to do Sherlock, they went to the Criterion to celebrate," Mackinnon said. "But they never got to film there. We did. And so on the day we were filming there, I was texting them going, 'Guess where I'm filming!'"

Random bits: Richmal Crompton's Just William book series -- which inspired Good Omens -- appear in Aziraphale's bookshop. As a nod to Terry Gilliam, who once tried to do a movie version of Good Omens, Gaiman and Mackinnon threw in a little reference to Gilliam's origins doing animation for Monty Python.

"The license plate of Crowley's Bentley is 'Curtain' backwards," Gaiman said, because of the writing on the mausoleum in the suicidal leaves section of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. "Curtain backwards, like it's the final curtain," Mackinnon explained. The part of the Internal Express delivery man is played by Simon Merrells, who worked with Mackinnon on Knightfall, playing the character Tancrede. And so in the end credits, his character's name here is listed as Lesley Tancrede.

The Isle of Skye: Mackinnon is very proud of being from Scotland's Isle of Skye, and inserted references to his home area wherever he could. An Isle of Skye shop is near Aziraphale's Soho bookshop, called Skye Suits. Crowley's drink of choice to drown his sorrows in Episode 5 is the Isle of Skye's most famous brand, Talisker Whisky. When turning on the radio in his Bentley, Crowley hears the "Just a Minute" host present an upcoming topic, the Isle of Skye, before a demon hijacks the broadcast. And so on.

"There are so many more easter eggs that I don't think we could just casually list them all," Gaiman said. "But the lovely thing about all of these things is that you can miss them, and you won't mind.

Big thanks to @lavellington for showing me the link to the article. You have no idea how happy I am about knowing the explanation for Crowley’s Bentley plate!

#good omens #terry pratchett #neil gaiman #doctor who #sherlock #bentley #isle of skye #interview #bts #fun fact #NIAT RUC

[astargatelover]

Watching The da Vinci Code for the first time - A documentation

-  About to watch The da Vinci Code for the first time. It’s about 3AM. Back of the DVD says the movie’s almost 2h30 long. Will approximately be going to bed at about 6AM. I gotta be crazy.

- Back of the DVD also says (translated from German): In the middle of the night the (…) is (…) Langdon (TOM HANKS) in the (…) director was murdered. His (?) (…) that of the Vitruvian Man (…) is the first horrible clue (…) and symbols. At the risk of his life (something something) Langdon – and from then on it’s a normal description, it’s just that that part is obscured by the library stamp. So I can confidently say I totally know what’s going on in this movie! *serious nod*

- Third highlight of the back of the DVD: Ian McKellen, grumpy-looking monk dude and a guy looking like Palpatine. And the Louvre.

- Also in the movie: Some German I don’t know (but yay!) and Paul Bettany. He’s cool; I really liked him in A Knight’s Tale.

- Let’s get this show on the road!

- …gotta update my media player. One sec!

- There we go. …where’s the always-on-top button? Ah, found it! Light’s off in my room; cinema time.

- Music’s already nice in the menu.

- Audio: English. (More nice music.) Subtitles: (Hey, they have Turkish on offer!) Off.

- (They even have subtitles for the trailers. But no extras. Am miffed. What kind of bare-bones DVD is this?!)

- 20 minutes after the first “about” up there: Play movie.

- Fancy title cards.

- Dude running. He’s gonna die; I know that much.

- Paul!

- *sigh*

- Oooooh, it’s Robert. That’s a lot of applause.

- (Btw, in case you didn’t know: I have watched Angels & Demons because I love Ernesto Olivetti a crazy amount.)

- I like Robert. Awesome presentation.

- Also like Tom Hanks. He’s great.

- Accents, y’all.

- Latin? Latin. Italian? No, definitely Latin.

- Ouch. Self-flagellation. Ooooooouch. Some religious people are crazy.

- Dude, you can barely stand. I’m a sadist and I don’t want you doing that to you.

- We’re only 10 minutes in, my goodness.

- Claustrophobia! I relate to that.

- Just let the dude take the stairs.

- Wow.

- Priests.

- Have I mentioned I’m not a big fan of catholics? Nothing personal.

- Also: Autistic Langdon, symbology special interest.

- French.

- Sophie! Heard of her.

- Strange happenings.

- Oooooooooh.

- French lady. I don’t speak French.

- *window jump scare*

- We don’t trust the police guy.

- Conspiracies!

- Fuck.

- “Once he starts, he doesn’t stop.” He’s like Javert.

- Climb out the window?

- More French.

- Oooooooh! They’re so tricking them, aren’t they? They’re not dumb.

- Bye bye!

- I’m sorry for Sophie.

- (I saw that part where her grandfather got shot years ago.)

- Here we go with the anagrams.

- Eidetic memory (pretty much) - firms up my autism headcanon.

- Can you even get that close to the Mona Lisa irl?

- Tom Hanks has a really nice nose. xD

- Langdon’s so good with anagrams.

- It’s like a scavenger hunt.

- Ooh, Musketeer symbol.

- Chase music!

- Flashback with crazy meetings.

- A smart! I get to bop someone now.

- Ooh, Les Mis.

- Backwards! That’s impressive.

- She’s so gonna make it.

- She made it!

- Bye bye, mirror.

- Paul’s looking angry.

- Someone got stabbed. I sense guilt.

- More dead people.

- Holy water.

- A nun.

- A rose line.

- Is he gonna kill her? She seems nervous.

- MORE FRENCH.

- Red light zone.

- (It’s raining outside. Kinda sets the mood.)

- You stay away from that dude, nun.

- Saving a junkie?

- (Sophie’s a really nice name, btw.)

- He rambles when he gets the chance so much. Really reminds me of special interests. (And in case anyone takes issue with that, I should know. I’m autistic. I have them.)

- My parents just watched Knightfall. Now I know some about the templars’ fall.

- Sophie didn’t know they were supposed to protect the Holy Grail? Really? Huh.

- Moooooore French.

- Please don’t die, nun.

- That’s some scar under his eye.

- Those look like some anger issues.

- It’s the grumpy-looking monk dude.

- Seriously, I understand more Latin than French.

-  “Blood is being spilled” as he’s spilling wine, that’s great.

- Freeeeeeeeeench.

- “I don’t think he liked me very much. He once made a joke at my expense.” I relate to this guy so hard on the autism level.

- It’s the German dude.

- That’s some system they’ve got at that bank.

- You call that a rose?

- I’m with Langdon here. Safe passage?

- Aww, poor guy. I’ve got claustrophobia, too, and I haven’t even got a traumatizing event behind me. (I read that somewhere.)

- I like the driver.

- A lot. Nice one with the watch.

- Langdon, you look sick. Please don’t die, y’all.

- JESUS CHRIST.

- Poor Sophie. </3 Woah.

- How tf did that truck get there?

- That bullet. Smaaart move. *thumbs up*

- Ouch.

- Bye bye again.

- Do I like the police captain? I don’t know.

- The tea convo. xD

- Is Langdon like this in the books? I hope he is.

- How old is Sophie? *googles Audrey Tatou* (Ooh, Amélie!) *checks when movie was made* ‘bout 30.

- Yaaaaaas, Ian.

- Also please don’t die.

- (Both my faves in Angels & Demons die. I’m vorbelastet and can’t find a good English word for that.)

- Jesus was cool.

- Those helmets. Feathers!

- “Not even his nephew twice removed.” xDDD

- Is that paisley? *googles* It is. Nice!

- Just in case you’re wondering, I am typing this as I watch the movie. I’m not saying I’m not missing anything, but I like multitasking.

- *googles The last Supper* Wow, no cup.

- Genital symbols.

- Wombs open towards the ground, though. People with them aren’t constantly doing handstands.

- Have I mentioned one of my favorite movies is Dogma, which postulates that Jesus had siblings? I’m liking this conversation.

- “Companion meant spouse.” My gay ass likes this.

- If that is Mary Magdalene, though, which apostle is missing? Been wondering this for years.

- Scions. I like this.

- I’m all for sex positivity.

- Your time’s kinda running out, guys.

- Almost halfway through, now.

- Do you seriously believe they’re murderers?

- Why do you wear your police thingies like a blind man’s band?

- Was overall expecting a bit more running in this movie, I guess.

- Poor Sophie. This is a lot to take in.

- Beating someone up with crutches! Yas!

- Like, ouch.

- Do you happen to have a secret passage under your house? Would come in real handy.

- Oh, Zürich! Man, accents. Barely understood that.

- Frehehench.

- In my personal experience claustrophobic people aren’t generally fans of planes. That might just be me, though.

- Still don’t know Paul’s character’s name.

- We are leaving the country.

- That haircut. On the dude with the grumpy-looking monk.

- Does Jesus having a family beside his parents somehow make him less holy? *shrug*

- FRENCH.

- Police brutality?

- “Please”? Seriously? I understood that much and you’re a dick.

- This is, like, some Order of the White Lotus stuff.

- You need a mirror? You can’t read it otherwise? Huh. Well, I guess it’s just easier.

- I really like Lee.

- How many more ways can I angrily write French? (I don’t have anything against the language per se. I just don’t understand what they’re saying and that irks me. There aren’t even subtitles for that. I feel like there are supposed to be subtitles.)

- (It is nice, however, that they’re sticking to the languages they’d actually be speaking. I wonder if it’s all German in German.)

- Yo, police. Be more subtle. You could have laid a trap.

- “You can start with him.” Hm! xD

- “I could run them over.” !! Man, this is great.

- This is like a fucking magic trick.

- You know what, I wanna watch that again.

- The DVD did not like that, so now I get to look at the “pick scene” menu. At least there’s more nice music.

- Just out of curiosity… *checks* There are 24 chapters and I’m at the 16th.

- I can understand more French when I concentrate on it, but I’ve been too annoyed about it so far.

- Never had French at school, btw. But have a bit of a talent for languages. When it comes to those I can sometimes cobble meaning together from context and existing knowledge.

- “The French cannot be trusted”, sounds so ominous.

- As a fan of Angels & Demons, I am very interested in what the Vatican has to say about all this.

- Told ya we don’t like planes.

- Naww, Sophie. Arm pat, yas.

- How do you accidentally fall into a well feet first? Hmm…

- Saved by pigeons, wow.

- Paul’s eyes are super blue.

- Is he gonna get killed?

- What an old-ass phone.

- I’m worried about that newspaper.

- How they’re keeping the identity of the teacher secret is A+, shooting-wise.

- “Your identity shall go with me to the grave.” Did he know he was gonna die?

- Nice one!

- Is the second movie this long? *checks* Not quite.

- Seriously. Unnaturally blue eyes.

- Shoot-out.

- I can kinda see where Lee’s coming from. Don’t agree with the method, but…

- Did a shoulder-shot really kill him?

- See? Nope.

- I think I do kinda like the police captain.

- Have I mentioned my attraction to side characters?

- Oh, that tiny wound on her neck. I like the attention to detail.

- And those stained glass windows! Pretty.

- His mind! Wow.

- I wanna see this scene without music and special effects, though, to see what Sophie and Lee see. Must be pretty weird. xD

- Dramatic musiiiiic.

- Police captain coming through! Yas.

- Robert’s like “What is happening?”

- Man, those poor policemen with the screaming dude in the back of the car.

- Can’t resist a challenge, can you?

- It’s hecking dark behind that doorway.

- Can they get away with getting rid of all the villains half an hour before the movie’s over?

- Now she’s all Ghost Whisperer-like.

- I like the way it sounds when she calls him Robert.

- (Doing some more googling. Ah, it’s Leigh. I see.)

- Who are these guys? Something bad’s happening.

- Flashbacks and MORE FRENCH.

- Wonder if Robert and Sophie use the formal you in German. It wouldn’t fit.

- Sophie’s world is kinda falling apart.

- (She’s like Bethany in Dogma. Don’t know if anyone here even knows Dogma, but I love it.)

- Family reunion! Who put those onions here?

- See? Robert and I agree. Why should a family make Jesus less holy?

- I really like this friendship. I hope they’ll meet again.

- Checking if she can walk on water. xD

- Hey, it’s the Eiffel tower! And it’s playing light house.

- Blood.

- What? What is it?

- Wow.

- This music is real nice.

- 7 minutes of credits.

- Again, though: The music is nice.

#the da vinci code #robert langdon #dan brown #tom hanks #sophie neveu #long post is long

[inqorporeal]

WIP Wednesday

I don’t do these a lot because I don’t like to spoiler my stuff. But here’s the opening chunk of that still-untitled Post-66 Pirate AU idea I tossed out there a while ago. 

If anyone had asked Hondo what he had thought when news of the Jedi purge reached his ears, he would have laughed and denied interest.

“There are so many more interesting things to worry about, after all, and I have only rarely had dealings with the Order.”

Behind closed doors, where he could scour the shredded, fragmented remains of the HoloNet -- mostly pirate (ha!) datanodes run by independent operators, who had protected their investments from the new Empire's grasp -- for the lists of confirmed dead, it was quite a different story.

Knightfall, they were calling it. Hondo had been familiar enough with certain Jedi to know the double-meaning held real truth; the war might be declared over, but the galaxy felt darker. Colder.

Hondo Ohnaka was not one to openly mourn -- as with his crew, he preferred to celebrate the memories than weep over the loss -- but seeing young Katooni's name on the list had left him feeling speared through the chest. Granted, he had only lured the children back in hopes of ransoming little Ahsoka for the kyber crystals, but Katooni had surprised him with her ingenuity. Ah, she would have made such a fine scoundrel! If he'd had more to drink than usual that night, no one had dared to comment on it.

It was a guilty relief to not find Ahsoka's name also on the list. She was a smart girl; she would be fine.

He kept telling himself that, anyway.

The day he found Skywalker's name on the list was the same day they abandoned the base on Florrum. Some Imperial twit had decided they couldn't tolerate the presence of honorable pirates and had chosen to flatten the base with an orbital bombardment rather than engaging in a proper fight. Too many of Hondo's crew failed to make it past the blockade to hyperspace; they had been forced to scatter and regroup at an old deadspace outpost nobody used anymore.

Because the Empire had shot it to pieces.

Hondo stared out the viewscreen at the broken station -- its hull deeply rent with charred gashes, surrounded by a haze of wreckage and void-frozen corpses -- and for the first time wondered if a future was even possible anymore.

From then, they were forced to remain mobile, never overstaying in a particular area. Pickings were growing slim, now: too many refugees with nothing worth taking, too many Imperial operations groups lurking the major exchange points. The wealthy increasingly remained in well-policed sectors like the Tion Hegemony and the Corporate Sector -- their private security forces blessed by the stinking Emperor in exchange for slavish loyalty.

Hondo was in his cabin running through the navigation charts -- painstakingly created over years, with new routes that bypassed the trade lanes -- about two months after Knightfall, when his comms specialist poked her head in the open door.

“Got a signal, Captain. It's a weird code, dunno where it's coming from.”

“Ho?” Hondo hopped up from his desk -- anything for a distraction from the increasingly depressing prospects of finding a sector in which they weren't (yet) known -- and followed her to the bridge. “Let us see what we have here.”

It took some time -- and some costly flying, breaking the remains of his fleet into smaller groups -- to triangulate the signal's source: a beacon dropped in an asteroid field on the outer reaches of an uninhabitable system. The code, however… oh, Hondo knew that code. He was one of perhaps only a handful of sentients entrusted with it, and assembling a response took the better part of a day. Their patience was rewarded when a small ship, barely more than a shuttle, emerged from its hiding place on one of the larger asteroids and made its cautious way out.

As hiding places went, it was a surprisingly effective one. One would have to be quite the pilot to make it through. Hondo commanded the hangar bay be opened and rushed down in time to see the battered craft settle in the tiny space between the other ships.

When the ramp finally opened, Hondo could have wept with relief. He restrained himself from running to the man who emerged warily, instead walking forward with his arms outstretched in welcome.

“My friend! It relieves me greatly to see you alive!”

General Kenobi -- oh, who was Hondo kidding, he had long since landed on more familiar terms with the Jedi -- cast nervous eyes around the hangar. “Hondo. I… had hoped that was your ship I'd spotted.”

Pressing a hand to his chest, Hondo gasped, “You truly hoped it was me? Obi-Wan, I'm touched!” Now in range, he reached out and grasped the human's shoulders. “You look dreadful, my friend. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but you smell dreadful as well. Does that tiny craft have only sonics? You must have been hiding there for some time! Come, come, we will find you something less, eh, aromatic to wear--”

Obi-Wan was protesting and finally raised his voice over Hondo's relieved babble. “Please! I need to talk to you first.” He pulled Hondo up the ramp into the shuttle, which was most definitely going to be stripped for parts and tossed back among the asteroids before they left this system.

Given the events of the past few months, Hondo could forgive his friend's paranoia. “What is it, Obi-Wan? How did you end up out here?”

The Jedi sagged into one of the few seats in the cramped lounge/galley. “I was trying to reach Tatooine, but there was an unexpected Imperial presence in the system. I got as far away as I could, but I'm almost out of fuel. And supplies.” He gave an exhausted laugh and scrubbed his hands over his unshaven face. “It's been a very long week.”

“So I imagine!” There was an additional smell in the air that Hondo couldn't quite place; he glanced around without being too obvious about it. “But why would you want to go to Tatooine, of all the dustballs? There are many more pleasant worlds to choose from.”

The Jedi ceased his fidgeting long enough to give the pirate a measuring look. “I was… on a mission, I suppose. But the Star Destroyers made me reconsider. You're not being pursued, are you?”

Hondo had to laugh; it came out sounding more cracked and fragile than he liked. “Us? No, no more than any other pirates now. We cannot stay in one place too long, you see.”

Obi-Wan was nodding as he spoke. “It might be for the best,” he murmured, more to himself, but Hondo tilted his head in curiosity. The Jedi shook himself and offered a small, half-hearted grin that didn't quite reach his exhaustion-bruised eyes. “Do you remember all those times you invited me to join your crew?”

Hondo’s heart leaped at the question, but he could play the cagey game, if that would set Obi-Wan at ease. “Of course! Your skills would be an invaluable asset -- and if I may say, you are every bit as conniving as a pirate should be, my friend. The life would suit you.”

The other man's mouth twitched with actual humor. “If your offer was in earnest, then consider me speculating. However, I have a… complication.”

“There are always complications.”

“Indeed.” Obi-Wan gestured for Hondo to wait as he went into the closet-sized cabin; he emerged a moment later with a blanket-wrapped bundle cradled in his arms. “This is my complication.”

Hondo stared at the sleeping… infant? He had never before seen a human so young or tiny. Carefully, he tugged part of the blanket back so he could see the chubby pink face. Something about the way Obi-Wan held the child suggested much more than simple protectiveness.

“Obi-Wan,” he said softly, “who is this?”

“One of the last Jedi younglings, rescued from the purge of the Temple.” It wasn't entirely true, from the way Obi-Wan's eyes shifted, but Hondo would let him keep the story. No wonder he clutched the bundle like it was priceless. “He must be kept safe from the Emperor. We had thought Tatooine would be beyond his notice, but it seems not. But it is very difficult to locate a ship in space….” He trailed off, glancing up at Hondo with cautious hope, even as Hondo filed the mysterious ‘we’ away for later questioning. “Staying with you might be safer.”

Hondo genuinely liked younglings. Oh, he would play the role of gruff disapproval, as expected, but in truth, he loved children. The thought of raising a Jedi child on his own ship was rather daunting, true, but…

He remembered little Katooni's youthful energy, her pride at her success in assembling that precious lightsaber. Her determination to absolutely show Hondo up. Having another determined little one, to teach, to nurture in these dark days after Knightfall… it sparked a little warmth in his chest. Or perhaps that was the result of the miniscule hand with its impossibly small fingers which had fumbled to grip Hondo's index finger. “He is as welcome here as you are, my friend. Does he have a name yet?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “It's Luke. His name is Luke.”

#wip wednesday #star wars #post-66 pirate au

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #389

Top Ten Things I Want from The Batman

So last week I celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of Tim Burton’s Batman by listing the things I thought he got “right” about the character (“right” being, I acknowledge, arbitrary). This time around, sticking with a similar theme, I’m going to flip the switch and look to the future. Matt Reeves’ long-gestating Bat-pic The Batman is finally gearing up, having recently cast its Dark Knight in the shape of erstwhile vampire Robert Pattinson. The saga of The Batman, its Affleck-ness and its connectedness with the DCEU as-was, is almost worth a movie on its own (I really hope there’s a book written about it at some point, or at least a long-form essay; the ins and outs of what became of the DCEU and the de-Snyder-fication of their film slate is potentially fascinating). At any rate, we’re going to get another Batman film and that’s quite exciting. Especially as it is – potentially – a chance to course-correct issues that I had over the previous incarnation of the Caped Crusader. Ben Affleck was very good, but he looked a bit sad and hefty in the suit (the silly cowl essentially removed his neck), and he killed a lot of people. Like, tons. What’s up with that?

So with all that in mind, and given everything that’s come before, here’s a list of places where I hope Reeves and Pattinson go with their Bat-epic. Or even don’t go! You’ll see what I mean, as we get into a list of things I want from the new Batman, The Batman.

No Guns, No Killing: this is a big one for me. The Batman I love in the comics – most of the incarnations, anyway – is very strict about this. For him, murder is the worst crime, and his whole deal is being Anti-Crime. Therefore he would never, ever kill. Also he views guns as, literally, the “weapon of the enemy”. Even Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy – which is probably the closest to the comics in terms of his “one rule” – had him bedecking his equipment with guns and “not saving” people. Here, I’d like a very strict code.

White Eyes: okay, I’m not asking for an MCU Spider-Man here; I know comics characters have whited-out eyes in costume and that doesn’t usually translate to live-action. But Batman would/could/should wear some kind of eye-piece. Even if it’s goggles that he removes/retract into his cowl. What I want to avoid is the blacked-out “panda eyes” look of seeing his real eyes within his cowl. I just find it a bit daft for Batman.

A Working Batsuit: whilst I’m on the subject of Batman’s Bat-duds, one thing that I loved about the Nolan-verse was that his outfit was sensible. Obviously not too sensible, as he’s, y’know, dressed as a bat, but it looked like a suit designed to fight crime in. The Burton/Schumacher suits looked like sculpted pieces of rubber, no good for movement; the Snyder suit looked like fancy dress with “cosmetic damage” and rubbery wrinkles. The MCU, on the other hand, is great at making superhero suits that look iconic and super-y but also workable; Captain America wears some kind of oversuit with, presumably, armour on the inside, and also a cowl of sorts, but one which allows him to move his head and which looks functional despite also having a dirty great “A” on it.

Sweet Wheels: similarly, I’d like a Batmobile that’s more “car” than “tank”. The Burton/Schumacher films, as was their want, gave Bats a car that was more form than function; going the other way, Nolan and Snyder had heavily-armoured war machines that owed a big debt to The Dark Knight Returns. I’d rather lean towards the former, but really, can’t he just have some souped-up Knight Rider thing that’s fast and stealthy? He’s more Black Widow than War Machine don’t forget.

Heh: Batman has, by his own admission, “a sense of humour that nobody gets”. I don’t want a relentlessly dour grimdark Batman. Give me a Batman who can crack a wry smile or a sardonic one-liner, even if he’s being bitterly ironic. To be fair most screen incarnations of Batman have had some sense of humour, but Batman v Superman in particular was almost relentless in its miserableness so I’m hoping The Batman has a funny bone, pitch black as it may be.

A Real Gotham: although I praised to the heavens last week the Anton Furst-ified Gotham of Batman and Batman Returns, I’d like it if the new film hewed closer to Nolan’s vision of the city as a “real” place. Sure, give it stylised embellishments; make it “New York at night” or some twisted version of New Jersey or Chicago or whatever. But I don’t think we need the ridiculous mile-high statues of the Schumacher films, and the less said about the frankly terrible CGI cityscape from the opening minutes of Justice League the better. Shoot on location, or use really good CGI. Make it 10% weirder than normal and I think we’re onto a winner.

Make Batman John Wick: I love how John Wick fights. He’s all business. Boom, boom, the guy’s down, blam, blam, he’s dead. It’s all about minimalising risk, fighting as efficiently as possible. He gets the guys down because, well, the longer they’re up the more chance that they’ll kill him. Batman should fight like that. As few moves as possible, but target them precisely; nothing flashy or extravagant, just get the guys down. Obviously he doesn’t kill or use a gun (see point number 1) but I want a Batman who looks cool when fighting, looks like he trained with monks and ninjas and assassins and wizards. Basically, let’s have some genuinely impressive-looking fight scenes for once.

Make Batman Sherlock: I have high hopes for this one, as the word round the internet campfire is The Batman will be much more detective-focused than previous films (to this date, the two Batmen who are the most sleuth-y are Adam West and Kevin Conroy). But Batman is supposed to be the World’s Greatest Detective so, y’know, let’s see him detect. Greatly. Er, around the world. Make it a proper crime film, a whodunnit. That’d be good.

Make Batman Weird: not necessarily “Tim Burton weird”, but just give us a sense that this is a Batman who has a sci-fi closet. A Batman who, maybe, has fought Monster Men, Killer Crocs, sentient mud and murderous flora. Nolan’s Batman was super-serious and Snyder’s Batman was super-miserable so whilst I applaud a more street-level focus and a noir-ish tone, I hope the possibility exists for a world full of Man-Bats, immortal warlords, dollotrons, and more.

A Wider World: I really hope this one is viable. The plan was for the Justice League-centred movies to form a spine, telling a story arc over multiple films, with the stand-alone tales functioning as spin-offs. As it turned out, the “spin-offs” were the successful ones, and with Batman being rebooted from Batfleck to Battinson, it looks like the “Extended” part of “DC Extended Universe” is up in the air (so is the “Universe” part too, I guess). I don’t know if Justice League or the preceding films are still in continuity even, or if continuity is still a thing, but all the same what I want from a DC Comics adaptation is a shared universe. I’m not a big fan of Zack Snyder’s incarnation of that universe (too dark, miserable, and po-faced), but I still want to see Bruce hanging out with Clark, teaming up with Diana, arguing with Arthur… I want that feeling you get from the MCU (and the comics, for that matter), that Wakanda going public or SHIELD being disbanded or Tony Stark dying is going to have repercussions in other films. I think The Batman is going to be pretty much self-contained in the same way as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam, but all the same, I hope the potential is still there. In much the same way as I’m very happy for the film to be a street-level noir with the potential to one day have a sequel featuring Batman and Robin fighting off Mister Freeze in a Bat-UFO, I hope it focuses on Bruce and Gotham with the potential to segue into a Justice League movie or have a sequel set in Themyscira or something. Don’t close off the universe, is what I’m saying.

So there we are. I’m aware that this is, essentially, a fanboy wishlist of My Ideal Batman, coming from a straight white bloke in his thirties who graduated from Year One through Knightfall then “New Gotham” and found his Batman apogee in the works of Grant Morrison. Matt Reeves has his vision and it’s good that he sticks to that (for better or worse, I still would have liked to have seen how Snyder’s proposed Justice League arc had played out – although I am emphatically not a “Snyder Cut” devotee). But I feel there’s a sweet spot between stylised and realistic, between comics-accurate and designed-for-film, that hasn’t quite been reached with Batman yet (The Animated Series came closest). Nolan’s films are obviously the best, but I do think that the more realistic you make Batman’s world, the less realistic he himself becomes, and you make the central conceit (trust fund orphan did a lot of push-ups then dressed as a Dracula to Fight Crime) all the more silly. I’m still a bit sad that we lost Affleck, but I’m very excited by where we’re going to go. I just hope it doesn’t preclude a World’s Finest, Justice League Unlimited, or – heck – even a Robin movie somewhere down the line.

#top ten #batman #dc comics #the batman #matt reeves #robert pattinson #dceu #movies #comics

[marvelousmaam]

Daily DC positivity #6

Let’s talk about ART!

Have you ever opened your latest acquirement and just stared for a very long time at this one page or one panel thinking ‘DAMN! This is why I read comics!’ ?

You probably have because you’re here, you’re reading this and right now you’re remembering one specific time that you were in awe just like that. Isn’t it true? 

Of course we’re not only talking DC here this applies to most comic publishers (if not all), seeing that many artists work for more than one company that’s pretty obvious… But here’s the thing: I don’t care much for any other publishers - even Marvel has never held the same magic as DC and then there’s the fact that I barely read any comics other than Bat-related.  This is nothing but a personal choice and opinion, I’m not saying that one company or character is better than others, okay?

But let’s get on and talk about some of my favorite artists (in no specific order):

Matt Wagner

He’s got a very distinguishable style. It isn’t perfect by no means but it’s beautiful in its very own way and very clean.

His Batman poses are striking, the Bat looks like a real powerhouse AND he excels at transferring his characters movements on paper. His panels don’t look stiff or crowded but the storyline unfolds just like watching a movie. Also, and this is important to me, the combatant moves are pretty realistic. He does beautiful cover art too. 

For me his work is like a perfect combination of a Batman we usually only get to see in animated form, the 1960’s Batman tv-series and modern Bats.

Paul Gulacy

Old-school yes but have you see the fuckin detail? It’s like each character comes alive. There’s real people looking at you right from those pages. Do I really need to say more? His 90s LOTDK comics are iconic. We’re talking “Prey” and “Terror” dear people. These are essentials when reading Modern Age Batman. (Also his Gordon looks like my late stepdad and that’s pretty cool…)

Klaus Janson

Another old-school artist. He’s best known for his work with Frank Miller and he’s worked on the Knightfall saga and much more. In my eyes  his most interesting work up to this day is “Gothic”. The detail is pretty amazing but what really makes him interesting is his take on Gotham’s architecture. He sets the scene like no one else I can think of right now.

Jim Lee

You knew this was coming, didn’t you fellow comic book lover? Jim Lee is like a really big name by now. Take one look at the Hush saga and you know why he’s hit it big. THIS is what Batman is supposed to look like. Grim, dark, powerhouse-build, dangerous, animalistic and still somehow there’s something very human about Jim Lee’s Bats. His works are detailed where detail is needed but draw not too much attention to anything remotely less important even though there’s a lot going on in the backgrounds. What I’ve been disappointed in though was his generic body formula for all females… too bad really.

Greg Capullo

Currently that is one VERY big name when it’s DC talk, just think Metal, the whole New 52 era and then you should have an idea why he’s on this list. His art is just like his style suggests: gritty, dark - metal. It’s hard and brash and bold and sometimes crazy but always A+ style. I don’t think I’ve seen him do art that falls far from this concept. But it works.

Lee Bermejo

Beware friends, you might get the shock of your lives. Because Lee Bermejo just so happens to be able to capture a character’s soul. You will probably not have seen much more realistic art, if ever. His covers are a highlight and he’s also the guy who gave us a frontal view of Bruce’s dick. Yes… his penis… not his adoptive son. And again: Lee Bermejo’s art is realistic, so if you were hoping for a horse’s schlong you will be disappointed.  :)

Joelle Jones

I am sad to say that she’s the only woman to have made my list, seeing that Yasmine Putri as cover artist didn’t really qualify. But Joelle Jones has done some beautiful work and her Catwoman is a highlight.

Her art reminds me of a feminine take of old-school artists and I DO like me some pretty girls to look at just like handsome guys. Her Selina is beautiful, catlike, seductive, fierce and strong. Joelle Jones does facial expressions like she’s never done anything else and you know what a character is thinking or feeling just by looking at them. I can’t think of many artists who manage to portray expressions like that.

Dexter Soy

Last but definitely NOT least. You probably knew this was coming. I’m a fangirl. Not only a bitch for Jason Todd but I’m a real sucker for Dexter Soy’s art. I love his take on many a character. Just look at Artemis in all her glory. She’s magnificent. A real amazon. Look at her body. That’s how I want my superhero girls portrayed. That’s IT, okay? She’s allowed to have female attributes (no question there) but why aren’t there more artists unafraid to give us physically strong women who look their part? 

And then there’s Soy’s Red Hood. I fell in love with Jason all over again. He’s broody, sad, hurt, loveable, sort of shy and self conscious, a true friend (to people who deserve it). All of this is conveyed in Dexter Soy’s Jason. And I’ve come to adopt this version of Jay as MY Jay. Seriously, have you seen him in casual sportswear? Good lord have mercy on my single ass...

Well, these are MY absolute favorites. There are MANY more fabulous artists out there but these were the people I actually thought of first. That being said. Don’t hold back! ;)

#dailyDCpositivity #dcdailypositivity #comics #dc comics #dc #dcu #batman #comic book artists #comic art #dexter soy #Joelle jones #Jim lee #greg capullo #lee bermejo #klaus janson #paul gulacy #matt wagner #jason todd #Artemis grace #red hood #Selina kyle #catwoman #bruce wayne #batman damned #batman's dick #Gotham #gordon

[justanoutlawfic]

The Journey Home: A KnightRook Ficlet

Summary: Killian has freed Alice from the tower, with his heart in tact. That doesn't mean that Gothel hasn't found a way to poison the father and daughter against one another.

So, tonight I was rewatching Knightfall and I couldn't stop thinking about the scene when Alice finds out that Killian dueled. It's such a tiny moment of betrayal and anger, that's quickly masked because then they are separated. So, I began to think...what if they weren't separated? What if Killian had to face the consequences of his action in a different light?

Then somehow, it turned it over 3,000 words and a lot of angst.

Much thanks to @killianmesmalls for her encouragement and help with this fic. The scene on the deck of the Jolly Roger was their idea, so much kudos to them.

There are mentions of Gothel here and what she did, but they're not talked about in detail as I'm still not sure that Alice knew who Gothel was at the time or that she was her mother. So, just a head's up there.

Also on AO3

She was mad at him and he couldn’t blame her.

 Gothel had shown up before he could destroy the tower and he drew his sword, ready to give his life if it meant Alice’s freedom. To his surprise, Gothel was okay to let them go.

 “I’ll always be able to find you, Captain,” she had taunted, a smirk tugging on her lips. “Your daughter, too. I don’t need this tower to keep an eye on you.”

“You’ll never lay a hand on her.”

“No, but perhaps one day she’ll come to me. After all, her father is nothing but a fool.”

“Don’t talk about him like that!” Alice interjected, puffing out her chest in pride. “He’s a good man.”

“Not good enough.” She looked from him to back at Alice. “Your father went on a little detour because there's more important things to him than his daughter.” Alice’s head whipped around to take in her father’s guilty face. “He fought a duel for his precious honor.”

 Killian had seen Alice upset before, but never like that. There were tears building up in her eyes and she looked so betrayed. He knew she had every right to be angry with him. That duel could’ve stolen him from her, it could’ve left her locked up in the tower, alone.”

 “You didn’t come right back,” she said, softly, her voice shaking. “You promised me.”

Killian took a step forward. “I only stopped for a moment, I swear.” He reached for her hand, but she yanked away from him. He bit down on his lip, feeling a pang of guilt take over his heart.

“You stopped because you’re weak and your pride mattered more,” Gothel said. “But go ahead, break her out of here. I can find another way of making sure that you two are separated.”

 With a flourish of her hand, the witch was gone again. Alice stared at her father in disbelief for a moment, before turning to her bedroom area to pack up her things. She didn’t say a word to him as he tried to talk to her, she kept her back turned. He let out a sigh and packed up his own bag, making sure they had enough provisions to make the trip. He had arranged with Smee to get passage to a new kingdom. Apparently it was run by a fair and kind ruler, Queen Eudora. They’d be able to have a fresh start.

 He had to hold her as he broke down the tower, but she was limp in his arms as he did so. Once it was destroyed, she wiggled free from him and stood there for a moment. In a flash, she was taking off her shoes, followed by her stockings. It took him a minute to realize what she was doing.

 She was feeling the grass beneath her toes.

 She looked around the area, taking in the woods and the fresh air that touched her skin. Looking up in the sky, she could see the moon and the stars, they seemed so much further away. He could’ve stood there for hours, watching her take in what she should’ve already known. However, there was a schedule to keep and he could show her everything in time.

“Starfish,” he said, softly. “We have to start walking.”

She was quiet for a moment and when she spoke, her voice was at a level he had never heard before. It wasn’t exactly yelling, but it was almost as if she had some sort of attitude. “Where are we supposed to go? This was our home.”

“I’ve made arrangements for us to go to a nearby kingdom. We have to be at the docks by morning so your uncle Smee can give us a ride there.” He smiled a bit at the thought of his best friend. “You can finally meet him.”

“Whatever.” Alice thrust her feet back into her shoes, stuffing the stockings into her bag. “Which way?”

Killian blinked a few times, knowing perhaps he should lecture her about how she was speaking to him, but he figured he could let it slide for the moment. “Follow me, love.”

 They spent most of the walk in silence, with Alice stopping every now and again to marvel at something or another. Killian realized that as much as he had described things to her or brought leaves, dirt and the like into the tower, there was nothing like experiencing it firsthand. He’d never understand how it felt to really experience all of it for the first time, most people were babies as they grew accustomed to it. Alice was 11 years old and had missed out on so much.

 They took a break when they were at the halfway mark to get some rest. Killian had made a friend in his travels to and from the village, who had always said their door was open. They set up the spare room and Killian of course let Alice take the bed, while he would be settled on the ground with his sleeping bag. He watched as she walked back into the room after changing, wearing her nightgown. She slid underneath the covers and he walked over to tuck her in, only to have her pull away. A frown fell across his face.

 “You don’t want me to tuck you in?”

“That’s for babies, I’m not a baby anymore.”

 He tried to tell himself that she was just angry, that the hostility would go away. Still, the words pierced his heart. Knowing better than to kiss her forehead, he instead kissed his palm before setting it on the top of her head.

 “I love you, Starfish.”

 Silence.

They woke up the next morning as soon as the sun peaked in the sky. After a quick breakfast, they were off on the trail again. Alice still didn’t say anything, she kept her eyes forward and kept adjusting her pack.

 “I could carry that for you,” Killian offered.

“I’m fine.”

“Love…”

“I said I’m fine.”

 He sighed and she stopped to get a drink of water. He looked around and found some wildflowers nearby. He plucked a few and held them out to her.

 “Peace offering.”

Alice looked at the flowers, then back up at him. “Did that work on all the girls you dated? My mother, maybe?”

 The snide remark about her mother was enough to make his stomach turn. She still didn’t know the truth, about Gothel or how she was conceived, any of it. If he had it his way, she’d never know. All he told her was that her mother wasn’t the best person and was part of the reason why she was locked away. Still, it was enough for him to retreat the flowers.

 “You know, I know you’re angry with me, but I’m still your father.”

“You didn’t seem to remember that when you dueled to show your honor.”

“Alice, you don’t understand. I was weak, I needed to prove myself…”

“Well, what about me needing a father? If you had died, I never would’ve known. I would’ve been trapped in that tower for the rest of my life, not knowing what happened to my papa.” She shook her head. “You can’t just make that go away with some flowers.”

“Love…”

“Let’s get going. You said Smee’s leaving by midday.”

 Another hour and they reached the beach. Alice took off her shoes once again to feel the sand in between her toes, smelling the ocean. She had spent all her life hearing stories of it, but getting a first glance and smell, seemed to brighten her mood, even if it was just a little bit. Killian went off to talk to Smee, letting her enjoy it.

 “She looks happy, Captain,” Smee said.

“Yes, if only she were with me.”

Smee tilted his head. “You two are fighting? You and Alice never fight.”

“I wouldn’t call it a fight. More so, she found out about my duel. I broke my promise, I nearly died and for what?”

“You wanted to prove yourself.”

“And it just might have cost me my daughter.”

 As he finished loading up, Alice walked over, introducing herself to Smee, who wrapped her in a big hug. The rest of the crew was excited to meet her, having heard countless tales about the daughter of their dearest friend.

 Being on the Jolly again almost took Killian’s mind off everything. He knew that Alice was well taken care of by Smee as he showed her around and he was able to relax on the top deck, doing some long overdue sailing. Being back at the helm of his ship, the wind in his hair and the sea salt swirling in his nose brought him back to his youth. He wouldn’t trade the life he had, not for all the journeys he could have on the Jolly. It was time to make new journeys, with Alice.

 As soon as she actually heard him out, that was.

 Eventually, the rest of the crew came up to the deck and they took turns sailing. It was interesting to see just how little had changed over the years, while some had. Smee had taken over as the leader and he was a natural at it, the men respected him and he spoke of a lady friend in Eudora’s kingdom. Killian was quite proud of the life his friend had built for himself.

 At the same time, the crew also seemed to hold him in high esteem. While they went to Smee for orders, they looked to him for help too. It was beginning to boost his ego, in all the worst ways. He knew he needed to keep a level head about himself, his pride was what caused the current predicament that he was in.

 Alice stood by the edge of the ship, looking out at the waves as they crashed in the sea. Killian walked up behind her and placed a hand on her back.

 “Would you like something to eat?”

Alice pulled away from him, rolling her eyes. “So, now you care about me.”

 Her snark was loud enough for some of the crew-including Smee-to hear and they all gave him a look. The Captain Hook they knew would’ve never stood for such sass on his ship, he was the leader, he demanded respect.

 Maybe he wasn’t the leader anymore, but he felt like he had to prove something. He was still Alice’s father and he did deserve a level of respect, even if she didn’t like him very much at the moment.

 “Alice.” His voice came out firm, much firmer than it had ever been. Some of the anger vanished from her face and her eyes widened a little bit, though she tried to shake it off quickly. “I don’t care if you’re mad at me, you will treat me with respect.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Killian’s muscles tightened. “No, not whatever. You know what? I know that Smee set aside a bunk for you below deck. I suggest you go down there. Now.”

 Alice looked up at him for a moment, almost wondering how serious he was. Sure, she had always tested limits and there were times when he had to be stern, but it had never been this serious. He hated how serious he sounded.

 He hated how much he sounded like his father.

 Still, he stayed firm and Alice finally turned on her heel, storming down the steps to the bunks below.

Instead of heading to the bunk that had been assigned to her, Alice went inside her father’s. She had barely looked around when Smee stopped to show her, not really caring much about her father’s former life. She could now see it, in all its glory. After hearing about it for years, she got a firsthand look and it was just how she pictured it.

 She noticed the bed in the corner, which made her frown just a bit. She thought about the fact that her father had spent nearly a dozen years sleeping on a tiny hammock with little complaint. There were times when he’d get out of it and crack his back, causing her to be concerned. However, he’d just smile and wink at her.

 “Your papa’s getting old, Starfish. Don’t worry, I’ve slept in worse.”

 He had a bed on the Jolly, an actual bed. Around the rest of the bunk were some of things, more things than she had ever seen him own in a lifetime. When she asked about his treasure, he claimed to have sold most of it, saying the only treasure he needed was her. Back in the tower, she never lacked for anything. She had toys, books, a chess set and art supplies. Sure, he had a few books to read and he enjoyed chess as much as she did, along with painting, but he had really left a lot behind.

 Alice plopped down onto the bed and saw a leather journal poking out from the shelf next to it. She knew she should respect her papa’s privacy, but she also had a feeling she was going to be down there for a while. He was upset with her and as much as she wanted to claim that was unfair, she knew she had pushed a limit.

 Flipping open the journal, she read all about his adventures through the different lands. She had heard most of the stories before, but these were a tad more explicit. He bragged about the different things he stole and the women he fancied, though mostly he spoke of all the beauty he got to see.

 She tried to think if she had ever seen him writing in a journal back in the tower, only to realize that he probably didn’t have to. There were no adventures. For 11 years, his life had revolved around her. The tower seemed to be enchanted to provide them with enough to get by, but he’d leave it every so often to get more things. That was the only time he had outside human interaction. Alice always envied her father for being able to leave, but now she realized that he wasn’t much less a prisoner than she.

 He had given up his entire life for her and never once complained.

 Maybe he had been selfish and stupid, but it was the first time he had gotten a chance to be in a very long time.

 Alice’s anger was still there a bit and she still found him foolish, but she suddenly felt guilty for feeling that way.

 Sticking the journal back in its place, Alice hopped off the bed and padded to her bunk. She needed some time to think.

They docked in Queen Eudora’s kingdom a few days later and Killian was surprised by Alice’s change in attitude. She still wouldn’t speak to him much, but she’d answer his questions without bite. He tried to talk to her about what had happened on the upper deck, not that it did much good. All she did was promise to be respectful.

 Once they bid farewell to Smee and the rest of the crew, they made their way to the cottage that he had secured. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it had two bedrooms and was close to the village. Alice would be able to start school soon, actual school. Killian taught her all he knew, even if it meant teaching himself a few things, but it would be good for her to get a proper education.

 He stood in the doorway, watching her unpack. It had been interesting to see what she had chosen to bring along. Most of her toys had stayed in the tower, only a select few stuffed animals and dolls had come along. It dawned on him that she hadn’t touched most of them in over a year. She was growing up, her childhood slowly coming to an end.

 Her art supplies were set up in one corner and she hesitated as she pulled out the chess set.

 “We can put it in the living room, if you like.”

“I’m not used to having so much space,” she muttered. The tower had only been one room and while Killian had put up curtains to give it a homelier vibe, it still was nothing like the cottage.

“You’ll adjust.”

Alice nodded a bit. “Papa?”

“Yes, Starfish?”

“I’m sorry.”

He blinked a few times, unsure if he had heard her right. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry. I…I’ve been unfair to you.”

 Killian let out a deep breath and walked into the room.

 “No, you haven’t. I was selfish and stupid.”

“You were, but…you didn’t get to be for a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

“You had a whole life before me and you gave it all up. You spent most of your time in that stupid tower, never once complaining about having to take care of me.”

“And I never will.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Al. I will never regret having you or resent taking care of you.”

“I saw and heard about the life you had before I came…you gave up everything for me.” Tears clouded Alice’s eyes. “Why?”

“Because that’s what a parent does for their child.”

 He pulled her into his arms and she hugged him tightly for the first time in days. He rest his chin atop her head and shut his eyes, relishing in the warm embrace.

 “I’m sorry, Starfish,” he whispered. “I never should’ve gotten into that duel. I guess I felt like I had to prove something.”

“To them?”

“To myself…and to you.”

“To me?”

“I wanted to prove that I could protect you.” He sighed, stroking her cheek. “I spent so long trying to break you out, but I couldn’t, not for 11 years. I felt like I had failed you, like maybe if I had been the man I once was, you could’ve had your freedom sooner.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You did all you could.”

“If I had gone for Maui’s hook sooner…”

“We can’t think like that. It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? We’re together, we’re free.”

Killian softly smiled. “Aye, Starfish. You always see the world in such a unique way.”

She smiled a bit herself. “I love you, Papa.”

“I love you too, Starfish.”

#knightrook #knightrook au #knight rook #knight rook au #alice jones #alice from wonderland and other places #tilly #wish hook #wish killian jones #whook #wish captain hook #detective rogers

[kivrin]

Julian Ovenden talks NIGHTFALL and playing RFK in THE CROWN

Parade, December 13, 2017

Text below the cut

Julian Ovenden has starred on several American series, Related, Cashmere Mafia and Smash, to name a few. But he is probably best known in the States for his role as Charles Blake, unsuccessful suitor to Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), on Downton Abbey ­ — until now.

This December, the talented Brit launches two memorable roles. The first is William De Nogaret on History’s Knightfall  and the second is Robert Kennedy on the second season of Netflix’s The Crown.

Knightfall, which reunited Ovenden with his Downton co-star Tom Cullen, is an in-depth look inside the medieval politics and warfare of the Knights Templar, the most powerful and mysterious military order of the Middle Ages, who were entrusted with protecting Christianity’s most precious relics. The ten episode season unfolds in a combination of elements, including faith, politics, and action.

While Cullen is a Knights Templar, Ovenden’s character William De Nogaret is not. Rather, he is the King of France’s right-hand man, who is driven by a passion to destroy the power of organized religion, and is not above chicanery to achieve his goals. The two men come to be at odds.

Parade.com had the chance to talk to Ovenden about how Machiavellian his character is on Knightfall, what it’s like to play an agnostic when he grew up in the church, how historically accurate the story is, his second time playing a member of the Kennedy family, and more.

In your opinion, is Knightfall a story about faith since the knights are in charge of the Holy Grail, is it a political story because there’s so much going on at France at that time, or is it an action story?

I think one of the interesting and appealing things about the show is that it has texture and it has layers, so you’re right in pointing out the religious aspect because obviously that’s a major one. The knights were protectors of the Christian faith and of the pilgrims who went to the Holy Land. Then the knights were driven out of the Holy Land and disbanded or separated into different temples.

The show concentrates on the temple in Paris, where they’re struggling. They’ve lost their sense of identity. And in terms of the religious side of things, they struggle with toeing the line religiously. They are often put in difficult positions and they don’t know what their role is.

And also in terms of the religious side of things, when religion comes into contact with power and corruption, it’s interesting to see how that affects the characters, the King of France for example, the Pope, my character. The character that I play is the atheist, I suppose, in the show. So there’s a whole range of attitudes towards religion.

And the politics?

Politics was very important at the time. France was changing into quite a modern country and had to deal with this renegade bunch of soldiers who were a very rich order and very powerful and how they fit into France’s political landscape.

And then there’s a whole load of action in the show, so it’s a sort of a medieval adventure/politics/religious investigation. It’s got quite a few elements to it which, I think, make it quite interesting.

So how Machiavellian is your character William De Nogaret because he appears to be the bad guy?

Well, it depends on your point of view I suppose. I didn’t try to play him as a bad guy, I tried to play him as a sort of anti-hero, the polar opposite to Tom Cullen’s character of Landry. His main motivation is to France, to attain as much power and money as possible and to be as successful as possible, whereas Landry’s motive is to keep the Holy Grail, to keep the brotherhood intact. And De Nogaret goes to the nth degree to try and keep France in power and as strong as possible.

He does some pretty terrible things, it has to be said. But I wanted to make him a believable character rather than a stock villain, I suppose, in a similar way to Francis Underwood in House of Cards.

Perhaps not now after all this stuff that’s going on, but there’s a sense that he does garner some sympathy from the audience. There’s a certain delight in watching someone who is very politically astute and able to read people. There’s a delight in watching those people at work. But he does have a vulnerability, I think, and he’s a humanist. He stands apart from most of the other characters in the show who are driven by religious zeal.

You did mention he was an atheist and in real life your father, Canon John Ovenden, was a chaplain to the Queen of England, so are you comfortable playing against the family business?

That’s the wonderful thing about acting, you know? You get to taste lots of different things. Yeah, I’ve spent quite a lot of my time in churches, I was a singer in choirs when I was a kid and, obviously, with my father being a priest, so I’ve seen that side of it. It is then rather interesting to come at it from the other perspective. But drawing a parallel with what’s happening at the moment in terms of religious fundamentalism that is the cause of such strife in our world today and the way that religion, although it does a lot of good in the world, can do a fair amount of bad, I think that’s the same in our show, really. In the wrong hands it’s corrupting.

There was a historian on the set. So how accurate is this because the story of the knights has been shrouded in mystery?  

I find it surprising that this part of history hasn’t been treated in this way before because I think it’s quite a rich time period. There are certain films like Kingdom of Heaven that I think was one that focused on this period, and there’s various stuff about the Holy Grail, but in terms of the knights, I think you struggle to find much drama about them and there’s lots to tell.

It’s a really fascinating group. They were such a powerful order and there’s a fair amount that we know about them. But you’re right, there is a lot of mystery. There’s a lot of secrecy that they’re shrouded in.

I think doing a show on History, in particular, one is trying to toe the line as much as possible in terms of being true to the established facts. But also because it’s not a documentary or even a docudrama, you’ve still got to make it entertaining. I didn’t know much about them. I have to say I learned an awful lot over the ten episodes that we worked on, stuff that was really, really fascinating. And, of course, there’s supposition, there’s the stuff that we either pushed together or we conflate dates sometimes to make things run more seamlessly for an audience.

But I think the bare bones of it certainly are true. For example in the first episode, the Jews being ordered out of Paris, that happened.

Thanks to your character.

Yeah, right. Pretty horrible. And I had no idea about that. We had a really great historian working with us, a guy called Dan Jones, he’s an expert on this particular period in history. So I think it’s a fun task to try and strike that balance of being entertaining but also being as true as possible to the facts.

The costumes, for example, are really great and the sets are really great. An audience can tell because we live in a world in which television really is very authentic now. If you watch high-budget television, which this is, it has to look right, otherwise it won’t survive, and there is great attention to detail for the most part in this show.

You have another historical role coming up in The Crown. You’re a Brit playing Bobby Kennedy, is that revenge for Season 1 where John Lithgow played Churchill?

Well, he obviously had a much bigger part than I have. I have a very small part in this, but it was a joy to do, it was lovely. I’d worked with [executive producer] Stephen Daldry once before and I was a big fan of the show, so I took the opportunity to taste the atmosphere and the experience really because, as with every show really that’s on at the moment, I think it’s the most deluxe in terms of its setting and its cast. It’s got a lustre about it that’s really appealing so it was just wonderful to be involved. Also to play an American politician was fun. I played JFK about two or three years ago on…

Smash.

Remember that? I’m working my way through the Kennedy family. It was great. It’s nice as an actor to stretch and, obviously, doing something in a different accent and it’s a difficult accent to do. I had Michael C. Hall, who plays JFK, keeping me on the straight and narrow with the Boston accent.

But also comparing the two projects, when you’re playing real-life characters, obviously on Bobby Kennedy there was absolutely masses and masses of research material and he’s a very well-known chap, so you really have to be quite strict with yourself in terms of what you’ve put out there. But with Knightfall, obviously, there’s much less so you can use your imagination a bit more which was fun.

So Charles Blake didn’t get the girl on Downton Abbey, but was Downton responsible for you getting a lot of other roles? You had a career before it but was Downton Abbey special, was it a career builder?

I think it helps to be on a show that’s very successful. It encourages people to make offers rather than having to go through the longer audition process for some jobs. Because I didn’t worked on it from the start, it didn’t change my world like it did for some of the actors on that show like Michelle [Dockery] and Dan [Stevens], who it made their career in a way. So I didn’t have that experience. I’d been an actor for 15 years before it happened and been proud of what I’d achieved. I’d been working most of the time really. But it was lovely to be in something that everyone was watching, particularly in the States. So it did help but it wasn’t like a massive windfall in that way.

Do you have a dream role? You mentioned you started singing in church, so maybe a musical on Broadway or  something like La La Land?

I don’t know. I really enjoy and I’ve done a fair amount of musicals. But it’d be nice to do a musical film. I’ve done a little bit of music on camera. I did a live version of The Sound of Music, for example, which was the same kind of deal that you had making a Christmas special [in the U.S.], which was quite fun.

But I don’t know, maybe a biopic of a famous musician would be really, really interesting. A composer or something like that where I could marry the two passions — drama and music — together.

But really to be honest with you, I’m just happy working in collaboration with brilliant people and trying to keep doing better and bigger work. My career has been sort of one small step up the ladder every so often. I feel like I’m getting better and improving my craft, which is really satisfying. I’m still learning and still hungry for new experiences, which is really great. So we’ll see what happens after the show and see what people think of it and whether it’s a success, and then, hopefully, it’ll lead to something else afterwards.

#julian ovenden #the crown #knightfall

[onewomancitadel]

on your thoughts on knightfall becoming canon ( how high do you believe thats possible like if this was gambling how much stock would you put into it)

I think it's worth emphasising that I constantly make note of my own personal cautiousness about the matter, mostly because I think that's just part-and-parcel of the analytic procedure. Lol.

By nature with works-in-progress you can absolutely never account for authorial whimsy, even if at a minimum you accept that there needs to be canonical intelligibility to any given fan theory - and authorial whimsy can be anything from realising a better idea actually works to draw out your original intentions (this is why the appeal to the 'original pure idea' is usually wrong, because it's not really one-way like that) to actual handovers or conflict of creators/creative vision to it simply being revealed they had very different ideas than what were originally conveyed because it took time for that to come through to simply being kind of stupid.

What's frustrating to me is that a lot of naysayers think that the conversation begins and ends with, 'It's not that deep,' or 'it's not that smart'; it's an easy position to argue from because people assume it's an argument which doesn't necessitate evidence. You don't need to think that hard. What you actually need to do is demonstrate where it isn't thoughtful, and where I would generally agree that, say, the White Fang has poor execution, in terms of its thematic ideas (which in part contribute to some of its tone-deafness), it is actually totally thematically consistent. But most of the fandom doesn't think that a nonviolent solution to the conflict with Salem is possible or even on the cards, so they're never going to be reading these broader ideas into an earlier plotline in the show, and they're never going to connect the redemption and reformation of the White Fang to the redemption and reformation of the bad guys in the story who are all deeply hurting in their own ways (no, Adam was not set up for a redemption arc and is a corrupting force), and I think most people would tell you that the reunion between the Faunus and humans comes off tone-deaf to a lot of modern social justice movements - but it's describing individual psychological harmony - and to be totally fair, I do think that they misused the allegory in a serious way. It's the danger of allegory. Once you introduce magical animal people, I don't think a social justice allegory works, but I think this is a case of where they prioritised the ideas they had (nonviolence, psychological harmony) over the execution proper, and then in addition to that were clumsy and yes, perpetuating racist - and everything else - ideas about the way people are supposed to fight for their freedom.

But I also wouldn't say that the Faunus storyline runs counter to the ideas of the story in any way. Not at all. I think that's where you can identify the fallout.

So the question isn't even necessarily grounded in, 'Is this story stupid?' but, 'Is this story coherent?' which don't always mean the same thing and don't always speak to the same sort of quality. Because I find the friendship is magic stuff bullshit, and at first I thought it was just stupid, but with Cinder and Ruby's respective development, I am basically led to believe it is stupid. It is stupid, and that's coherent - the overemphasis of it has led to a refusal to confront and accept the necessity and transformation of pain, and the beauty which grows from that. This is why I don't really think Pyrrha is the stickling point for the pairing, since her and the Fall of Beacon - which makes the abstract personal for Jaune - basically sets the romance up.

But the point I was working towards is that it needs to be demonstrated where the story is not thoughtful. The difference with RWBY is that most of it is thoughtful. Character arcs are basically connected, basic narrative events are foreshadowed, the romances have thematic- and plot-work to do in the story, the allusions have meaningful employment most of the time. All of it's beholden to Ozlem. It's actually working towards some greater idea and it has specific goals in mind about resolving Salem and Ozma's conflict and about situating Ruby in the story (particularly across this volume). Why her? What's the point of all the little heroes in the story? Of course, what you're fighting uphill against in this fandom is that a lot of angry people online don't appreciate basic storytelling tools. They have a severe case of the narrative cynicisms and literalism, and frankly, this is an ideology which gains traction in the world of outrage and easy clicks and contrarianism just for the pure sake of it. This is more extreme than just, 'Why does the good guy always win?', like asking fundamental and interesting questions, but more like a complete rejection of character transformation. A lot of people view static character as being logical, and especially power fantasy as being logical, which means a total rejection of most events in the show. Or then you've got simple tonal mismatch where people think it's the bestfriendsforever show.

I'm making this case here because it's not actually a simple question. Jaune/Cinder is a serious polemic. It's not a twee power fantasy romance, it's not guy gets the girl as a reward, it's not hero/villain for the sake of it because it's hot, it's actually much more than that and if you came to the ship through that reasoning, that's fine, but that's not the angle I'm arguing from and it's not the angle that I think it's being argued through in the show either.

The case you have to make for Jaune/Cinder is both a thematic one and a character one, because even amongst people who believe in Cinder's redemption, most of them would tell you that job belongs to Emerald, and others might say Ruby. Why would romance be relevant here? Why would Jaune not just end up with Weiss or whichever female character gets relegated to narrative obscurity? It's a positive case which has to be made because what you're relying on is RWBY having some sense of intelligible, consistent (consistent) storytelling, which is thematically motivated, with specific ideas it needs answered - why is the power of friendship the one to fail, why can no one reach Cinder? - which doesn't lean into puerile self-insert power fantasy or the easy, lazy answer, or just the guy waiting patiently until the pretty princess notices him now he's a good boy with almost zero narrative consequences. The much more radical idea to me is that Jaune's character development actually has serious narrative consequences in respect to Cinder's character arc and redemption. You've tied the romance to a major turn-the-tide event and now you've got justification. It's not there for shits and giggles or because it would make a handful of Redditors happy.

(Yes, I do think the interactions Cinder has with the Maidens are calculated, and they have done work to tease out Cinder's specific growth over the past few volumes. But I do think it can be said that every redemption arc so far and yes, every romance has had specific people involved for specific reasons).

But the problem here is that I think the average naysayer would say RWBY isn't that smart (or that Jaune/Cinder is problematic, but you're watching the wrong show if so). Of course, that's why I refer to the canon romances so, and especially the prominence of Ozlem in the story. No other romance best realises Ozlem in such literal reversal. It is curious that Jaune/Cinder mirrors Ruby/Oscar interactions. It is curious that Jaune/Weiss mirrors Blake/Sun in the time of a Volume 4 reprisal-ish when V5 followed on with a serious volume-finisher indicating Blake/Yang and oh yeah, that very one also had the best interaction of all time in the show with Jaune and Cinder. It is curious that the canon romances all in some way line up in ways that Jaune/Weiss doesn't, and even curiouser that Jaune/Cinder does. The romances in RWBY are embedded in the plot. They realise specific ideas. This is foreign to a lot of people who think romance is when people blush at each other and make funny jokes and kiss. Good, interesting, justified, passionate, transformational, heart-moving, soul-touching romance is more than that, and it's part of what I like about RWBY's execution of the romances, because it speaks to a sensibility I appreciate. This isn't radical stuff necessarily, it's just radical to paint-by-numbers understandings of storytelling.

I'm not saying that Jaune/Cinder will be canon. I'm not a gambler. It's really hard to make predictions based off of a work in progress because you have an incomplete synthesis of ideas which can recontextualise everything that's been said.

It's kind of like how most people didn't twig that Cinder is sympathetic up until they made it really obviously textual until Volume 8 to most people (in my opinion it was the end of V7, but in terms of reaction that's when it was). It changes all her previous characterisation because now you understand there's an intended complexity there. Ironwood's fall casts his previous characterisation in a different light in addition to casting more ambiguity over Ozma himself and what Ozma had to handle with Lionheart - it makes Lionheart's loss more profound. I can say that right now Jaune/Weiss doesn't and didn't mirror the canon romance developments, and across this volume it hasn't, but the only point that seriously makes me question it is her casting him into the abyss. Whilst I can identify that as a parallel with Raven-Cinder (Vault fight) and Oscar-Ironwood (Vault fight) where it takes place in a magical place which can reach back into the normal world (a reverse of the Vaults), on the other hand it's the only thing that's given the pairing any remote complexity/drama which is a necessity for all of the pairings (think Blake leaving Yang and the Adam problem, Ren/Nora's backstories and Mantle/Atlas, Ruby and Oscar with the Ozma curse and lying to Ironwood, and then for Emerald/Mercury - well, need I say?). On the other hand, I was really weirded out that Weiss was never personally made uncomfortable with the Penny situation, and at present it seems more like something to inject complexity into Ruby's partnership with Weiss and further influence Ruby's disillusionment. Then once you get into Ruby-Cinder parallels, right now, Jaune being able to help Ruby who is remarkably paralleled with a certain Fall Maiden... does set him up for something else.

But the point I'm trying to make is that even if I could say to you, oh, Jaune/Weiss has almost no development and no paralleled development to the other canon romances crossvolumes, if the present development with Weiss hurling him into the abyss by accident actually addresses that, then you can mark up the Jaune/Weiss development to inconsistency and/or an about turn. Authorial whimsy. They might've changed their mind, or they might've not have wanted to draw scrutiny to the relationship at all until Jaune aged up and was more 'mature' for the pairing, or they might've considered the barren interaction of the awakening of his Semblance sufficient development until then... which it was not, especially because we never got anything between them and Weiss' development with her family in Atlas. Jaune's familial struggles should've come up in respect to that. That is so obvious it hurts! The Arc and Schnee inheritances should be central to the pairing. They've not abandoned either idea with them - in fact who Jaune is 'supposed' to be is one of his central character wounds, which hurts him, in respect to the way Weiss actually wants to reform her family name. Jaune wants to get away from it, Weiss doesn't. So why isn't and hasn't there been any development there whatsoever? Why is his initial crush on her actually tied up in something which hurt him, especially as this volume revisits this idea of the made-up hero he can't be? (Of course, that he's a real yet imperfect hero is the point).

They might've even just thought it'd be funny to put Jaune and Weiss together.

Because Jaune/Cinder hinges on narrative relevance for both Jaune and Cinder. It's giving Cinder a romance when most people don't think about that in respect to her except as a fetish thing which squarely puts her in a position of redeeming Ozlem and addressing her own character wounds (the truth is that nobody's ever loved you). It means that Jaune's presence in the story is completely justified by virtue of being the one to reach out to Cinder when it seemed impossible and seemed absolutely absurd and heretical (yeah I'm pulling the Joan of Arc allusion out here). He's not just here for the laugh of it; there's a quiet little love story between them against the backdrop of the epic spectacle. Ever since Volume 1 people have speculated over their narrative connections. I remember people predicting Cinder was going to be the one to kill Jaune, and I remember shock at the fact that it was Pyrrha and not him.

So I find it beautiful that such a curiosity was warranted, but it's actually contextually realised differently. It's because they'll fall in love. It's a positive subversion.

Is their romance and their respective character arcs actually that relevant to be in question since Volume 1? I think you can make the case for Cinder more because of her redemption and because of the Maiden power, and honestly with this volume, yes, I do think it's easier to make the case for Jaune now than it ever was before, especially as they didn't dismiss the aftermath of Penny but actually broke him even harder than I thought they would. Critically, their romance involves the Crown of Choice (a confrontation over this is near-inevitable, they're the last two survivors of the Beacon Vault), which seems maybe the only certain prediction I can make if their romance is canon.

If you weren't thinking that hard about his character? You would write Jaune/Weiss. If you weren't thinking that hard about Cinder's redemption, and you just finangle its evolution at the last minute? You wouldn't write Jaune/Cinder. Jaune/Cinder by necessity involves carefulness. It doesn't necessarily speak to a perfect execution, but it does speak to coherency, and it does speak to the fundamental ideas to the story, and yes, it does speak to idealism being valued in the story. Resolving Cinder's wounded idealism and prioritising nonviolence and seeing and not just looking and getting the missing side of the story even when she is someone who has broken you (and has the capacity to build you back up) is a tall order, but it's also magical and it does rest on validating fairytales in the story, but in a complicated way, because the dragon and the maiden are one. Why does there have to be a bad guy? Why is Cinder the bad guy? Can they meet in the middle? Jaune and Cinder is about meeting in the middle, even when it's deeply questionable to both sides and would potentially compromise them both.

The question of Jaune/Cinder isn't simply about my dollies kissing - it is about that, to be fair, and I'm not ashamed of it - but to my eyes, it is also what I find valuable about RWBY. It reaffirms RWBY's best ideas. It affirms its ideas, its playful storytelling, its particular intentions with the romances, its sense of transformational redemption. So I think Jaune/Cinder has the possibility to be canon insofar as it follows through on what's it set up and it's coherent and its character development is purposeful and actually, everything about it is purposeful. Jaune has hijinks this volume with team RWBY, sure, but it's also the Old Man and the Four Maidens. It's hard to read his interactions with the Winter Maiden as romantic, especially as she's the first to get through to him, so he can finally go find the Fall Maiden who's run away. But then why make Jaune so obviously and painfully Ozma-coded? Is it because there's a certain, other, actual Fall Maiden, not analogue, who herself has a Grimm curse much alike to Salem? Is it purposeful? Am I supposed to be thinking?

I don't pay much attention to Jaune/Cinder naysayers (and there are a lot of them) because I like RWBY. I like what it's got going for it and I think it's fun and joyful, and I like its sense of spectacle, and most of all I think it's sincere. I don't think Jaune/Weiss or any other Jaune ship is sincere and it would mean that I probably really had no reason to trust in any of Jaune's development or even really the other romances, because what's the point? Once you break what makes them all special, I don't see why I should be invested. Because you can only make a coherent argument for Blake/Yang throughout the show on a basis which conflicts with Jaune/Weiss or indeed even Jaune/Pyrrha.

I also think it has the potential to be the greatest, most thrilling, unexpected yet totally sensical romance of all time. So sue me. I think it's fucking clever, and if that cleverness isn't there, then I don't know if I have any specific reason to care about RWBY.

I couldn't tell you whether I'd gamble on it. I tentatively hope. But deep down I'm a cynic and I've been burnt before and my trust in something so good happening just isn't there - and this is why I hate people telling me this, because I already think it.

But then there's that terrible part of me which can't help but wonder, and I guess that's why I keep writing posts even when it's a controversial ship... I want characters like Jaune and Cinder to see their hopes reaffirmed. I'd like a hopeful story. I'd like a story which gives a shit. I'd like my own hopes to be affirmed, I suppose, even when it seems impossible.

#seraphina's asks #user: megashadowdragon #knightfall #seraphina ruminates over V9 #rwby9 #and yes I wrote this post with the full knowledge you've repeatedly messaged me about blake/sun; please don't message me about it again #if you want to argue for blake/sun then I think you should get used to the idea of jaune/weiss #long post

[tessatechaitea]

Dark Nights: Batman, The Red Death #1

These metal covers don't scan well. Also, I'm now blind.

According to what I just learned about the birth of Dark Multiverse Worlds, regular non-dark Batman has contemplated killing The Flash and stealing his powers.

As you can see, Batman has murdered all of Flash's enemies and stolen their weapons. Also he's decided to wear Captain Cold's glasses because they're cool. That pun was seriously unintended. Also, is "pun intended" a pun on "unintended"? One of the reasons I stopped reading Joshua Williamson's Flash comic book was because he doesn't understand how to write a character with The Flash's ability. Case in point:

This is the kind of portrayal of superspeed that refuse to make excuses for, unlike most comic book fans who will bend over backwards to explain how this happened. I'm not saying I can't think up reasons for how Batman got the jump on The Flash here. I'm saying I refuse to because they're all stupid.

Batman straps The Flash to the hood of his Cosmic Battreadmill and they race off into the Speed Force so Batman can steal it. Apparently the chains holding The Flash to the hood of the Battreadmill are made from Unvibratanium so The Flash can't phase out of them. Dammit! There I go making stupid excuses for Josh's inability to write The Flash! I hate myself. Batman and The Flash ride into the Speed Force and become one. Exactly like couples on their honeymoons do! I'm assuming. Also I don't know what couples do on their honeymoon. I'm assuming it's either sex or Settlers of Catan. Now that the prelude is over and we've learned how Batman, The Red Death, came to be (basically he and Flash fucked while time traveling through the Speed Force thus merging themselves into one grotesque Batflash), the story shifts to Gotham City on Earth-Main-Earth (that's the Earth that is the main Earth and not Earth Negative Main Negative Earth!). Joshy Williamson makes sure to throw in a bunch of speech bubbles from the media declaring this the worst moment ever in Gotham City's entire history. That must mean things are really bad because they've been super bad before! Remember Knightfall? And No Man's Land? And every time The Joker reappears? And the Night of the Talons? And last Thursday? Oh wait. I was wrong. The scene takes place in Earth-Negative-Fifty-Two's Gotham City. I was confused even though I shouldn't have been confused because when I saw the page declaring "Gotham City," my first thought was, "Shouldn't they have said 'Gotham City. Earth-Main-Earth'?" But they didn't because it's Earth-Negative-Fifty-Two. Which, using logic and rationality, I should have realized by my first thought! I wish I were better at logic and rational thinking. Instead I'm only good at hiding M&Ms and screaming at the futility of existence. Batman, The Red Death, kills all of the Gotham villains but that doesn't help save the world. I think there's a message there about violence! Or maybe not since comic books always solve all of their problems with violence. Anyway, Earth-Negative-Fifty-Two is about to die when Batjoker arrives to offer Batman, The Red Death, a way out. He accepts and they're off on a multiversal road trip to clean up Scott Snyder's poor plot points in his New 52 Batman run.

Earth-Negative-Zero? That doesn't make any sense! EDITORIAL!

Batman, The Red Death, arrives in Central City of Earth-Main-Earth and turns Iris and New 52 Wally West into old people. Barry tries to save them but is kidnapped by Doctor Fate before the big Flash vs. Bad Flash fight takes place. I should thank Doctor Fate because I'm sick of The Flash constantly battling other speedsters. Remember that thing about Joshua not being able to write The Flash? It seems the only way he can think to challenge The Flash is by having him fight other speedsters (who are usually from the future). When two speedsters fight, it isn't as exciting as you'd think. It's basically just like when two drunks begin brawling at a bar. If both combatants are fast, where's the comic book excitement? It just comes down to which one knows the better martial arts. Batman The Red Death #1 Rating: Five stars! Don't get too excited. That's out of fifty! The Red Death's moral to this story is that one bad day can break a person and thus a world. That's his coffee shop philosophy on the topic of life. We all go about having a great time but then one bad day kicks the shit out of us and we all give up, throw in the towel, and become total monsters. The only problem with having this character espouse this philosophy is that this character — even the Dark Multiverse version — is based on Batman. And Batman is the epitome of showing how one truly terribly horrible bad day doesn't break a person at all. I mean, okay, mentally maybe it does because Batman is clearly insane! But it didn't break him to the point of giving up on the world or becoming a monster. It turned him into a beacon of hope and change and justice! I suppose the point is that Batman hasn't truly experienced a really bad day yet. That day will come when all of his beloved sons, as well as Jason Todd, are killed and/or Batman chooses to shove a bag of M&Ms up his asshole.

#Batman #The Red Death #Dark Nights #Metal #DC Comics #Joshua Williamson #Carmine Di Giandomenico #Fco Plascencia

[nightshadehoney]

Can we talk about how mainstream cape comics push this “no killing” thing despite it being at odds with what most people actually believe. And by “mainstream cape comics”….I’m pretty much talking about DC. I’ve seen people who hate Jason Todd (my sweet baby) and think he’s completely evil and irredeemable because he *gasp* kills people. So like…just the average protag of most action-based media? Only in the context of DC “no killing ever!” land is he the type of character who the audience is meant to find reprehensible. I believe most people think not killing someone is a good and virtuous things to do, but on the other hand, they’re not really going to hold it against a character if they kill the bad guy. In fact, sometimes they prefer that they do. I think it’s telling that the two big Batman film series both depict Bats killing the villain in the first installment—(and yeah, leaving a dude to die in fiery inferno is clearly murder in comic!Batman’s book. He actually does a very similar thing in A Death in the Family and he’s not shy about his bloodlust in that one). It’s because that’s sort of what the audience wants to see.

This is for Batman, mind. I was always under the impression that Batman and Superman are really the only big superheroes that really care about the whole “zero murder” policy and everyone else just sort of goes along with it because it’s easier not to fight them on it. Superman is a god-mode Boy Scout, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t’ kill his enemies. That’s why Superman straight up breaking a dude’s neck in Man of Steel rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. But from our Dark Knight? It’s kind of what the people want. That’s why Man of Murder earned ire that I’ve not seen directed at Batman 1989 and Batman Begins. It’s not “I am kindness and understanding. I am the night”   Superman might be our model of what’s morally correct, but Batman represents our ideal of justice—and to a lot people, most people, that’s retributive.  

So there’s this weird thing I come across in when I’m reading Batman comics (and sometimes other DC stories) where there’s a story where someone kills a villain and we’re all supposed to think it’s bad, but the story still makes the issue about something other than murder. Like during Knightfall, Azbats lets Abattoir (google him; freaky dude) fall into a vat of molten metal to his death. Like he didn’t even actively do anything to him; he just thought too long about whether he should save him or not and the dude fell. In any other story, Azrael would probably be the hero. Abattoir is weird gross serial killer who people are not sorry to see go. But in order to make what Azrael did unambiguously wrong, they have to add the part where Abattoir’s death results in one of his victims dying a slow, horrible death because the police had no way to find his secret torture chamber. If even the text can’t make the case for its own moral stance, it’s ridiculous to expect the audience to buy into it unquestionably.

As a dedicated Jason Todd wife, I spend a fair amount of time wondering whether Jim Starlin’s portrayal of Jason as “unlikeable” being unintentionally sympathetic was an intentional attempt at nuance or just shitty writing. Like did Starlin honestly think having Jason maybe push an unrepentant serial rapist off the roof would make people dislike him? Did it actually work!?  This storyline ends when Felipe Garzona’s father coming to Gotham and kidnapping Commissioner Gordon and he wanted to kill Batman and Robin or something. Blah blah blah, guy gets crushed under some cars, Batman explains to Robin that his actions have Consequences (title drop), and Jason learns his lesson.  But what was the lesson? The lesson wasn’t “killing people is wrong” The lesson was “next time you push a guy off a roof, prepare ahead of time for the person who is going to come after you for it”. If Felipe Garzonas had been some dude nobody cared about instead of a diplomat’s son, everything would’ve been fine I guess.

I’ve seen people claim that Batman doesn’t kill because he has some fundamental philosophical objection to taking a life. Some writers try to write him that way. But that is BS. He works with the cops and they kill people all the time. He’s subservient to a criminal justice system that executes people and a government that kills people through military operations. He seems pretty okay with all that. Batman doesn’t kill criminals because he sees it as the point of no return re: fascism. Because if he makes a mistake he can’t undo it and he doesn’t think he should have that level of authority. That’s fine. But the whole issue is often framed like it’s something that it’s not.

And there is a character in the universe that is actually anti-killing: Cassandra Cain. Anyone else remember the Batgirl issue where Cassandra Cain kidnaps a murderer about to be executed because she just that dedicated to the principles of not killing people? And then the mother of the killer’s victim tells her that the fact that people can change doesn’t un-murder her child. And that’s somehow a convincing argument against not wanting to kill people? I’m not saying I dislike this issue. It’s much more about Cassandra’s personal relationship to her past than it is about capital punishment. All I’m saying is if there was somehow a plot where Cassandra says “Batman, why are supporting systems that murder people? Shouldn’t we be trying to save lives?” I would be 110% on-board. Because Cassandra actually is what we’re supposed to pretend all the other superheroes are. She doesn’t kill because she has an actual moral objection to taking a human life. It’s not because you can’t question a dead person, or because the dead person’s family will be sad, or because she might make a mistake and kill an undercover cop.  It’s because she has seen and felt the fear and suffering of a dying person and it is wrong. It’s on argument based entirely on empathy, which---imo—is all you need.

Now does it bother me that Batman doesn’t practice Cassandra Cain’s radical empathy? Not at all. But as someone who actually is a bleeding heart anti-death penalty pacifist liberal pansy, I take exception to a comic pretending it’s making a moral argument that it isn’t in the same way I object to “I don’t not like capital punishment—but I don’t mind it happening to [insert specific reprehensible person here]” (protip: then you are pro death penalty). This is especially true in a world where I’m feeling increasingly like I’m being vilified for not wanting X despicable person to be dead and I see people consistently have to justify the position with some retributive justice nonsense like “I want them to suffer in prison instead.” But enough with my semi-related pet peeves…

Look comics, we all know that it’s actually because you don’t want to constantly be killing off recurring a villain characters. That’s why comic adaptations get away with it all the time.  You don’t have to cynically have writers preach a message they don’t really believe in to an audience that also doesn’t really believe in it. Just be real, dawgs. Not that I’m reading many comics these days…I’m just saying.

#batman meta #batman #cassandra cain #jason todd #dc comics #comics meta

[nellie-elizabeth]

Once Upon a Time: Knightfall (7x13)

I really like Alice and Hook's dynamics, and it was fun to explore it more here. Poor Tilly!

Cons:

Some of the flashback stuff with Hook was a little bit convoluted and strange to me. I suppose part of it is that we kind of know where it's all going, and there are some things I don't really need an origin story for. We knew that there was a curse separating Hook and Alice, and we figured that this was Gothel's doing. Did I need to see a subplot with Ahab vs. Hook, with Rumple meddling in the background and twirling his hands around? Despite the fact that this was all new information, it somehow still felt like I'd already seen it.

Also, while I sometimes find all of the Disney Easter Eggs to be delightful, something about Maui's fishhook just made me roll my eyes. Like, it was fun for half a second, but then I just started thinking about it and it kind of annoyed me. Are we going to get Moana or Maui or any character from that movie actually in this show? Seems doubtful.

Pros:

On the flip side of that, I do rather like Rogers and Weaver working together. I think it's an intriguing partnership, and showing Rumple and Hook in the other reality reminded me of why this pairing is so interesting. Rumple's only goal is finding a way to reunite with Belle, and Hook just wants to find his daughter. Or, Rogers just wants to solve the puzzle. He doesn't know exactly what it is he's longing for, but it's interesting to watch him struggle for it all the same.

And the stuff with poor Tilly is just so intriguing to me. Of all the post-wake-up reactions, I think the one I'm looking forward to the most is the moment when Hook and Alice get to remember each other and be reunited as father and daughter. Things are not looking good at the moment, but I love the fact that Weaver and Rogers both believe Tilly to be innocent. They just have to set about proving it.

I loved Ivy in this episode. There's something so perfectly tragic about losing a parental figure with whom you had a complicated relationship. I was annoyed with the way they portrayed Victoria's sudden change of heart as she died, but I enjoyed the fall-out for Ivy/Drizella's character here. Being drawn to Henry makes sense, and I'm glad they didn't try and go down the "misunderstanding" love triangle plot thread here. Henry has feelings for Jacinda, and he's a good enough person not to take advantage of someone who's grieving. And seeing Ivy and Jacinda hug and have that moment of connection was really special as well. I don't know what Ivy's plans are moving forward. I almost wish she could have just told Jacinda about the curse, but I'm not sure how well that would have played out. In any case, I'd look forward eagerly to the idea of a sisterly bond forming between these two women before the show closes out.

Regina tells Lucy that she's awake! Yay! This is seriously all I wanted. It's such a nice, unexpected inversion from Regina's earlier years as the Evil Queen. She was awake then too, but she allowed her son to go through everything alone for her own selfish reasons. Here, she decides to let Lucy in on the truth, and the two of them are going to set about saving the day together. Lucy gets to meet her grandmother for real, and it's such a sweet direction for the story to go.

I'm also intrigued about how the relationship between Jacinda and Lucy is going to change moving forward. Obviously Jacinda and Henry both picked up on Lucy's weird change of heart at the game night, and now Henry is nervous that Lucy doesn't think he's good enough for her mom, while Jacinda is curious about her daughter's strange behavior. Even with Regina's help, it's going to be difficult to navigate these shifting plans and priorities, and I could see it being really interesting.

So... yeah. I'm a broken record, but I do want to say once again that while I'm enjoying lots of things about this season of Once Upon a Time, I do agree that it's time to say goodbye to the show for good. Hopefully we can go out on a high note!

7.5/10

#review #once upon a time #once upon a time review #ouat