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dotshiiki · 6 years

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more of the GA AU

You know what sucks? Being sick while on holiday. But this AU must thrive on cold meds or something. So the blatant rip-off of Grey's Anatomy continues … For something that started out as a shapeless piece of I don't even know what, this is actually starting to have some semblance of a plot.

Have some more intern!Annabeth x patient!Percy. And bonus Leo, Nico, Thalia, Rachel, Octavian, and Travis Stoll to join the cast now!

Half the dialogue and narrative is ripped from Grey's, though I kinda picked and chose from a variety of episodes this time.

(Still no title. I have no idea what to call this.)

Parts I and II [here] and [here].

Surgery is like a dance: a precise, carefully-choreographed dance where every member of the team moves in perfect synchrony. It's the first time Annabeth has been part of the steps, and it's breathtaking.

She forgets that it's Dr Castellan leading; she forgets that she's an intern fresh from med school; she even almost forgets that it's Percy on the table (one glance at his unconscious face reminds her of it—tubed and under anaesthesia, he still manages to look like an innocent sleeping child. He might even be drooling a little, good heavens).

Sure, she's practised on cadavers and observed and imagined what it'd be like to stand over the operating table, but nothing really prepared her for this moment.

The moment she steps forward and takes the scalpel from the surgical nurse, this is more than just a game. All those reasons she should quit—the stress, the competition, the crazy hours and long, seven-year slog ahead of her—fly out of her head. It's just her and the body open on the table—this beautiful man who doesn't stand a chance without them��and they get to save his life. She gets to save his life.

Who needs drugs when you have this sort of high?

She could quit. But here's the thing. She's fallen in love with surgery.

Piper's waiting for her when she comes out of the OR, still riding the high of the surgery. She's sitting in one of the plastic chairs that line the walls.

'Hey.'

Annabeth takes a seat next to her. 'Hey.'

'Good surgery.'

'Yeah.'

Piper takes a deep breath, and for a moment, Annabeth's scared she's going to do that thing where she spills her feelings, and Annabeth will have to explain herself, and then there'll be a long discussion that inevitably involves the complicated relationship with Luke/Dr Castellan, which she really doesn't want to get into.

But Piper surprises her. 'Look, we're not gonna do that thing where you say something, and I say something, and somebody cries, and there's a moment—'

Annabeth's breath escapes her in a throaty laugh. 'God, no. I mean, unless you—'

'Nah.' Piper cocks her head to the side. 'Can't believe you can burst an aneurysm surfing. Kinda makes me think twice about it.'

'You surf?'

'You got a problem with that?'

Annabeth holds her hands up. 'No. Surfing's cool. Surfers are cool.' Although cool is too inadequate a word to describe Percy Jackson, not after she's heard him talk—funny, and kind, and so incredibly sweet, maybe—

'Damn straight we are. You should try it some time. Nothing like riding a good wave. And the dudes out there are hot.'

'Oh?' Annabeth keeps her tone carefully neutral.

'Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't notice. I know you're sleeping with McHottie, but it doesn't mean you can't look.'

'I'm not sleeping with Mc—Castellan,' Annabeth mutters. Piper raises her eyebrows. 'Not any more. That's gotta stop.'

'Okay.' They're silent for a moment. Then Piper says, 'So, surfer dude. Kinda hot, if you like the bad boy type.'

'He's not the bad boy type,' Annabeth says automatically.

'No?'

'No.' She thinks of his eyes, serious and so deep when he told her she deserved better. In that moment, she could almost believe that she deserved more than a screwed up relationship with a guy closer to her mom's age than hers, who keeps her around for the off-hour booty calls and the hero worship she flatters him with (because why would anyone else get involved in the mess that is Annabeth Chase's life?)

'Oh my god, you like him.'

She immediately wipes off the goofy smile that's spread across her face without her noticing. 'No I don't!'

'You so do. I know that look.'

'No I don't.'

'Uh huh.'

'He's a patient.'

'For now.'

'Shut up.'

Piper laughs and gets up, stretching. 'You should get some sleep. You look like crap.'

'I look better than you,' Annabeth throws back.

'Not possible.' Piper's still laughing as she walks away.

+++

She leaves Percy Jackson till the last on her evening rounds. He's finally coming up off the anaesthesia and he smiles groggily at her as she does her post-op checks.

'Everything's checking out,' she tells him. 'Looks like you're gonna be just fine.'

'You fixed me?'

'We fixed you.' She pats his hand. 'You'll be out on your surfboard again in no time.'

His fingers curl around hers, give a little squeeze, and let go. 'That's good. Though I think I lost my shot at Nationals this year.'

'There's always the next.'

'Mmm.' Percy closes his eyes momentarily. 'You were in my surgery after all?'

'I was.'

'Good. I'm glad you didn't let Dr Douchebag ruin your chance for you.'

There's something in his stare that makes her heart skip a beat. In spite of her best intentions, she finds herself leaning closer, as if those Carribean-green eyes have their own gravitational field tugging her in.

It's probably a good thing Percy's mom and Callie show up then, this time with a short, spiky-haired dude in tow, because Annabeth isn't sure what might have happened otherwise. She jerks away and starts scribbling quickly on Percy's chart as he tears his eyes away from her to greet them.

'Leo, buddy!'

'Up top!' says Leo, holding out his hand for a high-five. They go into some complicated fist-bump routine that Callie rolls her eyes fondly at. Annabeth forces a smile on her face and nods politely to all of them before she leaves the room.

Nurse Hazel is deep in an argument with another intern when Annabeth goes to return her charts, so she leans over the nurses' station to file them away herself, listening absently to the argument as she does.

'Are you sure that's the right diagnosis?'

'Well, I don't know, I'm only an intern. Here's an idea, why don't you go spend four years in med school and let me know if it's the right diagnosis. She's short of breath, she's got fever, she's post-op. Start the antibiotics.'

Annabeth isn't sure who this intern is—his name's Stoll, she thinks? There are way too many guys in the intern programme to keep track of them all—but he's definitely an idiot. Annabeth didn't need Dr Ramírez-Arellano's warning to know that you keep the nurses happy, period. From the look on Hazel's face, the next explosive diarrhoea case is going to have Dr Stoll's name on it.

Well, better him than her.

Stoll chucks his chart at Hazel, who takes it and marches away, muttering under her breath about arrogant interns and incompetent doctors.

Silena Beauregard, Annabeth's fellow intern, is charting behind the counter. Stoll leans over it and flashes a grin at her.

'God, I hate nurses. I'm Travis Stoll. I'm with La Rue. Who're you with?'

Silena has obviously been following Stoll's argument with Hazel. 'She may not have pneumonia, you know. She could be splinting, or have a PE.' She delivers this admonishment with a toss of her pretty ponytail. Annabeth isn't really sure what to think of Silena yet. She's blonde, too, but unlike Annabeth, Silena has the kind of statuesque figure you'd expect to see on a supermodel runway, not wandering about a hospital in scrubs. Case in point: they're both well into a twenty-hour shift, but the tiredness that makes Annabeth look like a wreck actually hangs attractively from Silena's curvy frame.

Stoll has clearly noticed this, too, from the way his eyebrows shoot up. But he's evidently one of the race of egotistical male doctors, because he says, 'Like I said, I hate nurses.'

Silena glares at him like he's a disgusting glob of bodily fluid that has landed on her shoes. She slams her chart shut and flounces off without another word.

Stoll whistles under his breath. He sees Annabeth watching, and winks. 'She's hot. She seeing anybody?'

Annabeth gives him a withering look, but there's not time to deliver a scathing comeback. Her pager has just gone off.

+++

Piper must have just started a new shift—she has that fresh, put-together look that disintegrates within an hour of being in the hospital (less if you're working in the pit). She and Will Solace are following the gurney rolling into the ER from the ambulance bay. It's one of several; half a dozen burly women in biker jackets are being wheeled in simultaneously, all in various states of injury.

'I don't know what happened!' one yells.

'I heard a crash, checked my rearview,' snarls another.

'Half the club is eating asphalt, banging around like tenpins.'

Annabeth rolls up her sleeves. She's only got two hours of her shift left, but if there's any chance she can get in on a surgery …

It's not like she's in a rush to go home, anyway.

'Donor cycle crash?' she asks.

'Bowling for bikers,' Piper says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano directs them into the nearest exam room. 'What've we got?'

'Nico di Angelo, 24,' says the paramedic. 'Multiple contusions, pelvis stabilised in transport. Alert before we pushed five of morphine. For a left arm degloving injury.'

Will winces at the state of the crushed bones in di Angelo's hand. 'He must have been thrown out of his car!'

'He was on one of the bikes.'

'Seriously, this guy?' Aside from the fact that the rest of the bikers are all women, their patient is thin and wiry, with a face that looks a lot younger than his twenty-four years. Hell, he barely looks like he's out of high school.

'I know, right?' The paramedic shrugs and leaves di Angelo in their hands.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano makes a quick decision. 'Okay, trauma one, and page ortho. Two of you, stay with him.'

Five hands go up immediately. Dr Ramírez-Arellano purses her lips for a second. 'McLean and Solace.'

Piper and Will exchange high fives through their eyes and disappear into the exam room.

'What about us?' Silena says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano checks her pager and groans. 'Page from—hey, what do you think you're doing?'

The abrupt question is directed at a spiky-haired whirlwind of a woman, who is limping down the ER floor, flanked by two cronies, both wearing the same thick leather jacket and biker jeans. She's a lot skinnier than the other women, with lean, ropy muscles, but from the way she's issuing her orders, there's no question that she's in charge.

'You two make the rounds.' Biker Chick clutches at a bloody wound in her side. 'I want status reports on all the injured. And find out what happened out there.'

'Oh no, you two aren't going anywhere except the waiting room.' Dr Ramírez-Arellano steps in front of the bikers. 'And you, ma'am, need to let us have a look at that injury.'

'Don't call me "ma'am,"' snaps Biker Chick. 'And you don't want to get in the way of club business. You screw with one of us, and we will all screw with you.'

Dr Ramírez-Arellano doesn't flinch. Annabeth is impressed. Her attending must have nerves of steel.

'Look around.' She points at the beds full of injured bikers. 'You want your girls taken care of? That's all my guys are trying to do. And that wound needs attention. So I'll make a deal with you. I'll let these ladies conduct their investigation, as long as they do not bother any of my patients. And you will settle down and let Dr Zhang here take care of you.'

Biker Chick scowls, but evidently finds this an acceptable compromise, because she lets Frank help her to a bed.

'What's your name, ma—um, you prefer sir?' he stammers when Biker Chick shoots him another death glare.

Annabeth hears her laugh harshly as Dr Ramírez-Arellano pulls the curtains shut on them.

'Call me Thalia,' she says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano purses her lips and checks her pager again. 'You two—' she nods to Annabeth and Silena, 'get up to the neuro floor. Psych's just sent down a patient, they're paging for a consult.'

'Psych?' Annabeth barely bites back her groan. 'Dr Ramírez-Arellano, I was hoping I could scrub in on—'

Her resident's dark eyes flash dangerously. 'Every intern wants to scrub in. That's not your job. Do you know what your job is? Keeping the labs delivered. Keeping the code team staffed. And making sure the damned pages are answered so I can do my job.'

She flings back the curtain on Frank and Thalia and starts to harangue Thalia, who's resisting Frank's attempt to palpate her abdomen, into sitting still.

Silena sighs. 'Come on.'

The consult turns out to be for a freckled redhead with frizzy curls that fan out in a halo around her head. Silena scans her X-rays—all clean—while Annabeth runs through the chart.

'She belongs in psych,' Silena complains to the psychiatrist. He's skinny and blond, with an upturned nose like there's a perpetual bad smell under it. His name tag reads A. Octavian. 'What are you doing turfing her here?'

Octavian shrugs. 'She's my gift to you. Had a seizure this morning, and another an hour ago.'

'What are you talking about?' Annabeth points to the chart. 'Says right here, "She talks to dead people, her family had her committed." That's psych, not neuro.'

'Well, I don't know what correspondence school you attended, but they obviously didn't teach you not to jump to conclusions,' Octavian sniffs.

Silena's face reddens. 'Why, you—'

'Sorry, ladies.' Octavian's tone clearly says he isn't at all. 'We can't take her back until she's cleared.'

'So you're dumping her on us.'

'She thinks her seizures are visions.' Octavian wrinkles his nose.

'Hello,' says their patient. 'They're not seizures. I'm psychic.'

Annabeth and Silena exchange a look.

'Sure you are,' Silena says. 'And I'm Heidi Klum.'

'You could've been,' their patient says solemnly. 'Why'd you give it up?'

Silena makes an impatient noise in the back of her throat. 'Don't you start. I get enough of that shit from the guys.'

Octavian takes this chance to walk away. 'Hey!' Annabeth calls after him, but he's already halfway down the hall, leaving them to their psych(ic) case. Annabeth sighs and checks the chart again.

'Miss Dare. We're gonna start our workup now.'

The redhead shudders. 'Rachel, please. And it's a waste of time. I'm telling you—'

'Humour us,' Silena says. 'Can you grip my fingers, please?'

Rachel stares blankly at them. Her eyes shift out of focus, turning inwards. Annabeth nudges Silena.

'Miss Dare? Are you okay?'

'Someone …' Rachel whispers.

'Someone what?'

'Someone's gonna check out.'

Silena groans. 'Oh man, she is nuts.'

'I'm dizzy, not deaf,' Rachel snaps. 'And I'm telling you, someone on the fourth floor is gonna die.'

At that moment, a code blue comes blaring over the PA system. Rachel raises her eyebrows at them as the code team charges past on their way to the fourth floor.

'ICU's on the fourth floor,' Silena says crossly. 'People are always dying there.'

Rachel shrugs. 'Believe me or not. I'm just saying, I know things.'

'We're gonna get a CT anyway,' Annabeth says.

+++

'Look.' Annabeth points to the scans. 'Spikes in the temporal lobe. It is seizures. Epilepsy.'

'Huh, so neuro after all,' Silena says. 'I'll page—'

'You think I'm epileptic?' Rachel crosses her arms. 'No—that's wrong.'

Annabeth shows Rachel the scans. 'That's your brain activity. See these spikes here? That's abnormal activity—consistent with epilepsy. Not visions. We should get an MRI, get a better look at what's going on in your brain.'

'There's no way …' Rachel trails off. Her eyes close.

'Is she having another seizure?' Silena asks.

'Rachel? Miss Dare?' Annabeth waves her hand in front of their patient's eyes. 'Can you see me? Can you hear me?'

Rachel's eyes snap open. Her fingers close around Annabeth's wrist. 'When your dad left,' she says, 'it wasn't because he didn't love you.'

Annabeth steps back, stunned.

'I told you I know things,' Rachel says simply.

Silena rolls her eyes. 'You keep telling yourself that.' She steers Annabeth out of the room. 'You okay?'

'Yeah. She just—' Annabeth shakes her head, as if that will clear it of Rachel's words. He didn't love you.

'Did your dad die, or—?'

'No. He didn't.' Annabeth rubs her hands up and down her arms. Is it just her, or is the thermostat in the hallway malfunctioning?'

Silena gives her a sympathetic smile. 'Look, I know the type,' she says, jerking her head towards the room where Rachel is now gesturing to an invisible audience. 'These people just want everybody to think they're a sideshow. They're really good at reading people, telling them what they want to hear—I can handle the case, if you want.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah. Your shift's almost over anyway, isn't it? I'll take her to MRI.'

Annabeth lets her. She'd fight harder for it, but chances are, if the scans turn up anything, it'll be Dr Castellan's case.

There's less than ten minutes left to her shift. She could go straight to the locker room and change out, go home. That's what any sane person would do. She doesn't need to run a last check on any of her patients. They're already settled in for the night.

Her feet carry her to the post-op floor anyway.

She expects him to be sleeping—it's nearly midnight, after all, and his visitors are long gone—so it makes her jump when he speaks up.

'God, they really keep your noses to the grindstone around here, don't they? Do you ever get to clock out?'

'Actually, my shift ends in five minutes.'

'Ah, and I'm your final hurdle before freedom.'

Percy grins when she cracks a smile. 'I knew it,' he says.

'Knew what?'

'You can't leave without saying goodbye to me.'

'I'm just doing my job.'

'Uh huh.'

He has his arm around a round, black-and-white object—a panda pillow pet that his friends or his mom must have brought for him. 'Well, I can't think of a better way to end the day than by saying good night to someone cute.'

Annabeth raises her chart to hide her face. 'You flatter yourself, Mr Jackson.'

Percy blanches. 'Seriously, you gotta call me Percy. Mr Jackson makes me feel like I'm fifty. Anyway, who said I was talking about me? I meant I get to say goodnight to a cute girl.'

'You say that to all the girls, or just the ones that have to put up with you?'

'Only the ones who are hot doctors?'

Her face is definitely flaming now. 'You obviously haven't seen Dr Beauregard.'

'The supermodel chick?' he asks.

There's a sharp stab in her chest that feels somewhat like the one that hit her the first time she laid eyes on Percy's not-girlfriend Callie. Of course he's noticed Silena. Who doesn't notice Silena?

When she doesn't reply, he continues, 'All of you come in during rounds, you know. It's like this whole entourage. But the five of you are interns, right? You and your friend Piper, and Dr Beauregard, Dr Solace, and Dr Zhang.'

Annabeth stares at him, her embarrassment giving way to surprise. 'You know all our names?'

'Shouldn't I?'

'Well, most people don't bother. I mean, we're just interns. Dr Castellan and Dr Ramírez-Arellano are the ones in charge.'

'That's dumb,' Percy says with a frown. 'You're all my doctors. Hell, doctor or not, you're all people. You deserve for me to remember your names.'

People. She thinks of the doctors who refuse to learn their interns' names—or their patients', for that matter.

'My mom would say "personal feelings cloud the medicine."' If you want to be one of the greats, you have to learn to detach yourself, Annabeth. Yeah, that's the great Dr Athena Chase all over. Sometimes Annabeth wonders if her mother is so distant because she's a surgeon, or if she became a surgeon because she was already so detached. 'A lot of surgeons don't bother learning their patients' names. They just see them as case files.'

'But not you. You don't believe that.'

She slings her stethoscope over her shoulders and rests her hands on its ends. 'How do you know?'

'Well, for starters, I don't think I'm just a case file to you.'

I'm not going to blush. I'm not going to blush. 'And what makes you say that?'

'Because your shift ended five minutes ago now, and you're still here.'

And when Percy Jackson gives her that roguish, lopsided grin, Annabeth loses her battle against blushing.

#percy jackson fanfic #grey's anatomy au #grey's/pjo crossover #intern!annabeth #patient!percy #still a blatant rip-off of grey's #these two so want to hook up at some point but how to get them there #the backstory is seriously f-ed up #this is my brain on medication #percabeth

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broxklynn · 3 years

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The End Of My Candy Love

Warning!

Alright, so. This post will contain a lot. First of all, it's gonna be really sloppy. I'm very emotional person and I easily get attached to games, movies and stuff. I know it's a bit weird, but yeah, I'm a weird person. Anyway, that's why there's a warning: there's gonna be a lot of sloppiness, grammar mistakes (at least I think so, specially since english isn't my native languange) and it's probably going to be long. So, if you're intrested in reading my thoughts about everything - good luck.

First Adventure

I first heard about "My Candy Love" in 2015, six years ago. So, I was basically a baby (I'm pretty young). And I started playing a year after, I got totally obssesed with Lysander and I fell in love, seriously, haha. I was into writing back then, but I couldn't find any ideas on "what to write?" and MCL gave me just that - inspiration (that's most likely why I'm just a romance freak).

My Story

You know, I was a child so I couldn't really pay for AP, but I always found some kind of way to get them. But then I got my phone I just used money from that, geez, I was nuts. The old AP system was so iconic, looking for Nathaniel, finding Kiki, I'm gonna miss it.

Anyway, I got along with Castiel pretty well (which suprises me 'cause I found about walkthroughs in 2017, like year after, so maybe it was because I was a brat?), but I adored Lysander. Oh, I also loved Ken (I was so sad when he went away) and Nathaniel. After I met Armin, I liked him too.

Again, being a child and playing a game like this I came across all diffrent kinds of emotions. I was laughing, crying, dying from embaressment (this thing with Nath and locker room, aaa) and getting seriously mad (Deborah's arc, Priya, Charlotte). I remember impatiently waiting for new episode to come out or crying my eyes out during Lysander's amnesia plot. Jesus. I loved the way Castiel was teasing Candy, I loved this cute-clumsy Kentin, I loved the old Nathaniel, I loved Armin and most of all - I loved my precious Lysander. I adored the interactions between characters, how funny or cringy they were and how much fun I had. I even like this secret-dating plot even when it got on my nerves. I still remember staying up late to watch videos like "lysander illustrations" and stuff. I also really enjoyed reading MCL manga and I spent hours trying to translate it from Spanish to English or my native languange (funfact: I still haven't finished it! I don't know where to find those mangas) or trying to draw something from the game up ending up terribly failing. Anyway, I was crying during the prom thing, my Candy was so grown-up, I got emotional, haha. So, 40 episode came in. I was pretty excited 'because, me, being extremely naive (I got to say, I've never had a problem with Beemoov before, I started playing MCL in 2016 and Eldarya in 2017, so there were no major issues with them, only the price of PA, I think) thought that my Lysander is going to propose (I was a child, ok?) and maybe, there's going to be a second season with us living together. Haha, how naive I was. Whole episode 40, really got me tearing up, I was a wreck, seriously (When Kentin couldn't take Candy's bra off I lost it or this whole ananas thing in Castiel's route, omg). But I finished it feeling happy. I truly enjoyed spending my time on this game. But, then this whole university thing came out. And the fact, that Lysander, Armin and Kentin won't be with us foe the next season. I spent entire vacation crying (I was a kiddo, ok?) and being mad at everyone. I felt like I got robbed. It was horrible.

"A New Chapter"

I was one of these people who just couldn't accept the change. Not in the world. Never. They stole my Lysander, Kentin and Armin from me and changed AP system to some kind of bullshit. God, I was mad. Really mad. Seeing Castiel was quite nice, but I didn't fill the void of my baby. But, oh, my, God. When I saw Nathaniel I just couldn't believe. I said I was mad? Then I was furious. I really liked the old Nathaniel, he had his own vibe, his backstory, his character and it was just, damn, amazing. But they changed him completely, for what? They wanted the second Castiel? Yeah, they got it. Priya as a love interest was quite a good move, tho. I even though I didn't like her (in highschool or in university) I liked the idea of adding a female interest. But the thing that hurted me, was the fact that Lysander was taking care of the farm. Like, no! He didn't want that. He didn't like the countryside. He had such a potential to become a author and Beemoov didn't let him. God, that broke my heart. Anyway, I didn't spent a single penny on MCLUL, but I have to say - I kinda enjoyed it. You know, it was the guily-pleasure kind of thing. I didn't like it as much as I liked highschool, but there were some good or funny moments. I loved Rayan's kiss scene. I adored Chani. Or Hyun making us watch "Toy Story". Nathaniel's ulgy green hair or all these crazy threesomes. I liked it. Kinda. I hated Nath tho. The ending, hm, it was okay, I guess? I do feel sort of nostalgic thinking about it 'cause I got some nice memories from it, in the end. But yeah, going on.

Love Life

Oh. My. Lord. I was so sceptical about it. Like, I was sure that, at this point they're going to do "My Candy Love Mid-Life Crises" next or some other shit. But in the end, I "kinda" like it. It wasn't good like highschool or fresh like university, but I was nice to see new chapters with our annoying-cringy Candy, that I love (btw, I started playing other otome games and I realized that Candy wasn't that bad). Meeting Eric was nice, even tho, this whole cheating plot really got me ragging. Like, damn, Beemoov, seriously? And if you going this, why not with old LIs? Just kidding. Anyway, I truly enjoyed meeting Dan and Eric, the two of them were quite a characters. I won't forget them, hah. I was happy with single ending, 'cause I think about it as a "open ending" when my Candy can go back to my baby and everything's going to be alright.

Regrets & Complaints

Now, now. Where do I start? AP system was a freaking nightmare. Replacing old Nathaniel with some kind of weird Castiel was a nightmare. Removing Lysander, Nathaniel, Armin and Kentin was a nightmare. Not finishing plots was a nightmare. And why in the whole Love Life I haven't seen Amber once? Why Alexy never mentioned Evan like they're not brothers? Why Castiel doesn't care that I was dating his bestfriend? And why, in the world, after changing the system finding Kiki is so damn easy? Why AP is so expensive? So many questions!

All The Good Times

But, I got to say. I will never forget this bitchy Castiel, cookie-monster Ken following us around. Or cute Nathaniel. Castiel buying Candy some kind of weird McDonald's. Or Lysander's parents exposing him having crush on Candy. Or seeing Kentin kissing Amber (ew). This super akward-funny sex ed lesson. Deborah's arc and losing my shit over it. Or Thomas (this weird child) stalking my Candy and her LI in the park. And Lysander asking us how to hide a body, aaa. Or Armin telling us he loves us. Or Kentin. And Cookie ripping this huge teddybear apart. Or the water fight in Kentin’s spin off. And crushing on Alexy and later on finding out he’s gay. Or spin-the-bottle game and Lysander getting jealous. Or Dake, being a creep for entire game straight. Or guessing what was guy's surnames. And for sure, I will never forget this demonic Kiki dog.

What it worth it?

In the end, yes. Have I ever told you that I want to become a professional writer? Silly dream, I know, but writing is a huge passion of mine, and well, my first story was based off My Candy Love (it is cringy as hell, but I feel kinda nostalgic thinking about it). All these years spending on playing game that I wasn't supposed to be playing was amazing. It was one of the best experiences I had in life and I will never, ever forget that.

What now?

Well, Beemoov is working on a new game and I'm kinda optimistic. I know, it's really naive of me, but I want to believe that they won't f*ck this up, this time. And going back to Sweet Amoris, well, I truly missed this place! And the teachers... And Kiki. I wonder, when it will be released and will Beemoov finally open up about telling us surnames and ages of love interests. Anyway, I want to believe they learnt from their mistakes.

In the end. Thank you, My Candy Love, for creating so many memories. I will be forever grateful.

(I just re-read this post and it seems like I have really love-hate relationship with this game)

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noperopesaredope · 3 years

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An Anime That I’d Love to Watch

I hate sports.

But you know what I love?

Sports anime.

I don’t know why, I just think they’re cool.

You know what else I love? (You probably don’t know)

Dance.

Specifically contemporary and modern dance. It’s the one “sport” I’ve felt like I’m actually good at and really enjoy. I’m a member of my school’s dance team (non-competitive), and we recently had a performance, and I realized something; dance teams, or at least my dance team, is like a team for a sports anime. Maybe not all dance communities (some different genres can have really toxic cultures), but at least the one I’ve always been a part of.

Which is part of why I want to see a contemporary (non-competitive) dance high school sports anime. It can work.

In my experience, everything feels like a part of a sports anime, despite not being competitive (I imagine the two have different cultures, though a competitive dance anime could have a lot of drama). There are real life tropes which I have witnessed, and room for some.

- The seniors (I’m American, ignore me) act really serious about everything and like they’re gonna die because it’s their last year;basically the same as 3rd years in sports anime

- The character growth is the same. I had a fucking character arc. I had that cool moment where I could finally do the thing, and it felt the exact fucking same

- While my dance crew tries to not take everything too seriously, we can get a bit worked up about our shows and take them seriously because we take ourselves seriously and want to show what we can do

- Nevertheless, the stakes can be a bit high

- We have had a few small darkest hour(s), nothing to big, but some stress has been caused

- There is always a big inspirational speech. You don’t even know how many motivational speeches I have heard over the years like holy shit. It’s not a show without a speech

- We scream and cheer backstage after a really good show/final show of the season

- You can have solos in dance, but a lot of them are team efforts, and if they aren’t dramatic, dance teams can be really close knit and kind of familial. We take care of each other and support each other. We are like the anime sports teams who talk about the power of friendship

- Cheering on your teammates during a moment of truth

- We’re slightly melodramatic at times

- Dance isn’t considered a sport by many, so we’re in a kind weird place as the school dance team. Kind of ignored a lot and sometimes underappreciated. The underdogs

- We’ve had training montages

- No one gives a shit about the sophmores and juniors (well, okay, juniors are taking over after the seniors graduate and they have to learn responsibility about being captains and stuff. Dance teams have captains btw)

- Probably some more stuff

While I haven’t seen these that much in real life, I don’t think anyone acts like how characters do in sports anime, but these tropes can still work in a (performative) dance setting:

- Flashbacks bitch (I think I actually had a dramatic flashback about my tragic dance backstory, because everyone has one)

- Big dramatic moments at the climax of the dance

- The world slows down dramatically

- Angst. Scream at the sky. Cry a bit. Team hugs of encouragement

- The old champ comes back to teach the team some stuff, but they’re also really sad because they can’t do dance anymore (rings true for some people actually. Like, I know girls who had to quit because their legs/ankles got really f-ed up)

- Everything has stakes and drama

- Dance prodigy bitch

- If it’s competitive, you can have all that stuff between the two teams. Dancers take shit seriously. They don’t fuck around

- We don’t panic about exams, but we definitely bitch about them. Some people come to practice looking like they’re dead inside

- Explaining dance techniques and the art itself (which I’d actually love to see, since it’s pretty complicated sometimes and technique is important)

- Half of the other tropes I need to remember

- The important thing is that dance can be just as over-the-top, dramatic, angsty, and slightly dumb as any other sport thing.

- (Not to mention how dance is a full group effort in the fact that we also have to work with the backstage crew, who should also have their own anime)

Basically, there should be a contemporary dance sports anime. I might make a second post on this subject, but this is what I have so far.

Might even make some ideas for it, mainly as examples of how many tropes my dance community shares with sports anime.

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dukereviewsxtra · 4 years

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Duke Reviews Xtra: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Another Duke Reviews Xtra Where We Continue Our Look At Disney...

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Last Sunday On Duke Reviews, I Reviewed Disney's Fantasia Which Features Mickey As The Sorcerer's Apprentice Well, Today We're Going To Switch Mickey With The Voice Of Hiccup From How To Train Your Dragon In Jerry Bruckheimer's Version Of The Sorcerer's Apprentice...

This Film Stars Nicholas Cage As Balthazar Blake, Who Is A Sorcerer In Modern Day Manhattan That Fights Against The Forces Of Evil In Particular, His Arch Nemesis And Former Partner, Maxim Horvath (Played By Doc Ock) While Searching For The Prime Merlinean, The Person Who Will Inherit Merlin's Powers...

This Turns Out To Be Dave Stutler (Played By Jay Baruchel) A Physics Student Who Balthazar Takes As His Apprentice, Giving Dave A Crash Course In The Art And Science Of Magic And Sorcery So They Can Stop Horvath And Morgana Le Fay From Raising The Souls Of Her Evil Dead Servants So They Can Take Over The World...

Will Dave And Balthazar Stop Them?

Let's Find Out As We Watch The Sorcerer's Apprentice...

The Movie Starts With An Intro By Ian McShane...

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Balthazar Spends The Ages Trying To Find The Prime Merlinean With No Child Being Successful Until The Year 2000...

When A 10 Year Old Named Dave Stutler (Played By Ben Stiller's Son From Night At The Museum) Encounters Balthazar In His Antique Store, After Straying Away From His Class Field Trip. Giving Dave The Dragon Figurine, It Comes To Life And Forms A Ring On Dave's Finger, Revealing Dave To Be The Prime Merlinean...

But When Balthazar Goes To Get A Book Of Spells For Dave, Dave Accidentally Knocks Over The Grimhold, Releasing Horvath From His Prison...

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(Start At 2:34)

Found By His Classmates And Teacher, Dave Is Ridiculed By His Classmates When He Tells Them What He Saw Only For The Shop To Be Completely Empty, But Either Way Dave Keeps The Ring...

Fast Forwarding 20 Years Later, Dave Is Now A Physics Student At NYU Where He Meets His Childhood Crush, Becky Barnes (Played By Teresa Palmer)...

No, Not Bucky Barnes, Becky Barnes Though The Possibility Of Relation Can Be Questioned...

With His Feelings For Her Quickly Coming Back, He Repairs The Transmitting Mast Of The Radio Station She Works At After It Is Struck By Lightning. Released From The Urn After 10 Years, Horvath And Balthazar Escape To Continue Their Missions With Horvath Being The First To Get To Dave..

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(Start At 0:38)

Landing On Top Of The Chrysler Building, Dave Refuses To Help Balthazar As He's Been Under Psychiatric Care Since They First Met But Saying That Once They Get The Grimhold, He'll Leave, Dave Decides To Help By Taking Balthazar To Chinatown Where It Has Been Located While Giving Dave Sorcery 101...

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But When They Get There They Discover That Horvath Has The Grimhold And He Has Unleashed One Of The Evil Sorcerers That Was Inside Of It With This One Being A Chinese Warlock Named Sun-Lok, Who Fights Balthazar Until It Ends Up On The Streets Of Chinatown...

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(End At 2:47)

Changing His Mind After Defeating Sun-Lok, Dave Becomes Balthazar's Apprentice, Giving Him A Book That Holds The History Of Sorcery As Dave Agrees To Take On The Responsibility Of Being His Apprentice...

Meanwhile, Horvath Goes To Visit A Current Evil Sorcerer Named Drake Stone, Who Is A Criss Angel Type Magician (Played By Doctor Doom From Fan4stic) To Ask For His Help Against Balthazar And Dave...

Taking A Break On A Bench, Balthazar And Dave On A Bench Across From Becky's Radio Station. Figuring Out That Dave Likes Her, Balthazar Is Somewhat Negative On The Relationship Stating That Love Is Not Good For A Sorcerer...

But Dave Follows Her To A Subway Station Where A Mugger Robs Them At Gunpoint, Stealing Becky's Grandmother's Bracelet But Chasing After The Mugger, Dave Uses His Magic To Knock Him Out And Return Becky's Stuff, Impressing Her...

The Next Day, Horvath Plans To Use The Satellite Dishes In The Financial District When The Spell Is Cast By Morgana, While Balthazar Continues Training Dave Only To Be Interrupted By Becky Who Comes Over For Dave To Tutor Her In Physics. Despite Trying To Put A Dampener On Their Relationship, Balthazar Leaves..

Showing Off His Tesla Coils, Dave Uses Them To Make Musical Sounds From Stevie Wonder's Superstition...

To OneRepublic...

So He Can Impress Becky...

It's Not Quite Can You Feel The Love Tonight But...It Works...

But As Becky And Dave Start Somewhat Of A Relationship, Dave Gets Encountered In The Bathroom By Stone And Horvath, Who Ask Dave Where The Grimhold Is After Telling Him The Truth That Veronica Is Inside Of The Grimhold...

Saved By Balthazar, Who Traps Horvath Inside Of A Mirror Temporarily And Knocks Out Stone, Dave Tells Him That He's Tired Of The Lies And Wants To Know The Truth Which Leads Balthazar To Tell Dave The Entire Backstory Again So That Dave Will Know Everything..

Getting Ready For His Date, Dave Attempts To Clean Up The Lab But Frustrated At The Mess, Dave Brings A Broom To Life Which Leads To A Recreation Of The Sorcerer's Apprentice Scene From Fantasia...

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(Start At 0:25)

And Yes, I Know That Some People Complained That "They F-ed This Up This Is In No Way As Good As Fantasia!" And While That's True I Still Like This Scene For What It Is, The Actual Sorcerer's Apprentice Scene With Hiccup From How To Train Your Dragon...

Chastising Dave For Using Magic As A Shortcut, Dave And Balthazar Get Into A Big Fight Which Leads Dave To Storm Out In Anger...

Seeing Becky With Her Friends, Dave Leaves In Defeat Feeling Like He Doesn't Belong But Following Him To The Rooftop Where Balthazar Had Taken Him, Dave Is About To Throw Away The Ring, But She Stops Him, Saying That Nothing Is Ruined And That She Really Cares About Him...

Disguised As Dave, Drake Traps Balthazar So Horvath Can Search The Lab To Find The Grimhold As Horvath Reveals That The Reason He Turned Evil Was Because He Was Jealous Of Veronica Choosing Balthazar Over Him...

But Freeing Himself Balthazar Fights Horvath And Almost Loses Until The Real Dave Arrives To Save Him But Unfortunately Drake And Horvath Manage To Find The Grimhold And Leave With It...

Following Them In Balthazar's Car In A Chase That Ends Up In The Mirror Dimension From Doctor Strange, Horvath And Drake Still Get Away By Turning A Person Into A Veronica Look Alike...

Knowing That Balthazar Let Horvath Go For That Reason, Balthazar Finally Comes Clean That Veronica Was His One True Love Which Leads Dave To Decide That They Are Going To Get Veronica Out Of The Grimhold And Destroy Morgana Forever...

Back At Drake's Apartment, Drake Wonders How They're Going To Open The Last 2 Shells Of The Grimhold Only For Horvath To Use A Parasite Spell To Steal Drake's Powers And Life Force...

So He Can Open The Next Shell Which Releases Abigail Williams, A Witch From The Salem Witch Trials Who Kidnaps Becky At The Radio Station But Unfortunately After That, Horvath Uses The Parasite Spell On Her So He Can Eventually Free Morgana...

I Guess It Just Comes Down To...

Arriving At Drake's Apartment For The Grimhold, Balthazar Gets Caught In A Persian Rug Quick Sand Trap While Dave Gets The Grimhold Only For Horvath To Enter With Becky With His Cane On Her Throat Stating To Give Him The Ring And The Grimhold Or Becky Dies...

Realizing He Has No Other Option, Dave Does Just That Only For Horvath To Fire A Energy Bolt At Becky And Dave Which They Dodge And Flee As Balthazar Escapes The Quick Sand Trap...

Apologizing To Balthazar For Failing, He Accepts Saying That He Would Have Done The Same Thing Before Flying Away On A Giant Metal Eagle To Becky's Shock...

Dave Tries Dropping Off Becky But She Won't Have It As She's Involved Now So They Come Up With A Plan To Use Dave's Tesla Coils Strapped To Balthazar's Car To Defeat Morgana As Horvath Unleashes Morgana From The Grimhold In Battery Park...

Finding Them, Balthazar Fights Horvath Off As He Raises The Bull Market Bull Statue To Life So It Can Chase Balthazar. Believing Himself To Be Victorious, Dave Arrives To Halt Horvath's Celebration By Using Tesla Coils To Destroy His Cane, Defeating Him And The Bull..

But As That Happens, Becky Disrupts The Spell By Moving One Of The Satellites Which Leaves Balthazar To Suck Morgana's Soul Into His Body, Freeing Veronica...

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With Balthazar Not Breathing, Dave Uses His Magic To Resuscitate Him So He'll Live Happily Ever After With Veronica As Becky Arrives For Her And Dave To Live Happily Ever After By Taking The Giant Eagle To Paris...

We Get An End Credits Scene Which Reveals That Horvath Will Return In A Sequel That Will Never Happen Thanks To Everyone, Who Didn't Like This Film...

And That's The Sorcerer's Apprentice And How Could Anyone Not Like This Movie?

The Story Is Great, The Action Scenes Are Amazing, The Cast Was Good, I Just Honestly Enjoyed It As Much As I Enjoyed The National Treasurer Movies Who's Director Jon Turtletaub Directed This..

You Know Some People Consider This As One Of The Disney Reboots But I Seriously Don't And The People That Do Are Idiots Only Question I Have Is Why Did This Movie Not Do Great?, Is It Because There Wasn't A Nicholas Cage Freak Out In It?

Newsflash! We Do Not Need A Nicholas Cage Freak Out In Every Movie He's In!

The First National Treasurer Movie Didn't Have A Nicholas Cage Freak Out And Look How Well That Did At The Box Office Where The Second One Did And Look How Bad That One Ended Up, I Still Like The Second National Treasurer Movie And I'll See The Thrid One When And If It Comes Out But Still...

Either Way I Say Don't Listen To The Haters And See This Movie...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off

#the sorcerer's apprentice #nicholas cage #jay baruchel #teresa palmer #Alfred Molina #Disney #Fantasia Disney #disney live action #disney +#disnerd

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readersguidetotheuniverse · 4 years

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The Guest List, by Lucy Folley

More P.O.V.’s = more reliable narrator(s)?

Alicia: For me, part of the appeal of a thriller or crime novel lies in having an unreliable narrator. The less the reader knows about the characters the better, especially to create suspense and have them wondering who could be the killer until the very end. In this novel, we receive too much information right from the get go. That almost makes this novel a drama more than a thriller per se, cause there is very little room for thrill or surprise with that many points of view. And there's a reason why thrillers don't usually have many narrators: it doesn't work.

Marina: What I usually enjoy most about suspense/mystery novels is actually not knowing anything about the different characters that come into play when there’s a murder. I think by giving the reader different points of view throughout the novel Folley changes the theme: it is no longer a mystery it’s become a family drama. I admit it still got me with the different secrets (see below) but it didn’t feel like a mystery, which is what I was expecting when we picked this book.

Ari: I agree with Marina here, it was exactly what I was thinking for the first half of the book: ‘This is a family drama’. I don’t like how Foley jumps from character to character: it is messy and some chapters don’t even move the plot forward at all. Besides, it felt the narrative was too much on Jules’ side (bride, bridesmaid, and wife of her best friend), even though in the end it isn’t, and all the feminine characters sound so much the same I even kept confusing Hannah and Olivia’s chapters. Metaphorically speaking, reading this book felt like watching an Alexander Calder sculpture, different shapes and colors spinning without much of a sense until you look at the big picture.

Stereotypes

Alicia: I don't mind a stereotype here and there but this book has maybe one too many. The whole haunted castle/mansion thing is a bit overdone but okay, I'll take it. Then there's a graveyard. And a mysterious dangerous cave. Lore about death. Fog. A storm. A power cut. Even a 'ghost' at some point! I thought it was too much and too shoehorned and even a tad too obvious. If the story is good and it's well written, you don't need to add so many extra elements of suspense. The actual plot should be enough.

Marina: Oh my God! So many stereotypes! To be honest it got boring by page… I don’t know 20? Same thing as before, I enjoy discovering the little secrets on my own as I read the novel so having the symbology be described by the different narrators felt forced. “Oh, look, a cormoran! Those forebond murder you know!” Like, no s*** Sherlock. Or the whole spiel with the churches being haunted, it just wasn’t for me.

Ari: I have almost twenty notes (kid you not) marking things I found way too straightforward for a novel of this genre. The birds, the graveyard, the church in which they marry being in ruins... Even characters thinking ‘This place has made me think of death” a day before the wedding even happens. Come on, are you kidding me? Are readers of thrillers so dull and narrowminded that the writer needs to make these “mysterious hints” so bloody obvious? Even the style in writing was too obvious and direct that it felt there was almost no real mystery whatsoever, being everything so unambiguous.

Secrets/motives

Alicia: While it does make sense that you need many different motives for the 'everyone wanted to kill him but who did it' concept to work, these seem incredibly forced. There are just so many coincidences I am willing to accept. There's Johnno who discovers he basically fucked him over, which is an acceptable excuse. Charlie had a traumatic experience because of him, alright. Then it starts to get messy when you find out he's the guy that Olivia had a 'relationship' with for a while before he disappeared once she told him she got pregnant. I mean, dating and marrying Jules after dating her sister is sketchy enough already. Then turns out that he's also the one responsible for the suicide of Hannah's sister? And the boy that died because of him is Aoife's brother? It got to a point where these motives were too random and too exact at the same time that it got almost too ridiculous to be taken seriously and I lost all interest I had left.

Marina: I have to admit I didn’t really think about who was going to be murdered because I kept expecting the “past” scenes to be over and thought there would be a longer “now” narrative (spoiler: there wasn’t). That being said, Wouldn’t it have been way more dramatic if there had been, i don’t know, clues or something more tangible to tie everything up together? I guess I always imagine a detective character figuring everything out, I really like to follow their train of thought and how they get to the final suspects/motives. In the end, the reveal of the murderess wasn’t even that shocking, we all knew who had killed him, we all wanted Will dead, big f***ing deal. I usually really enjoy being surprised by the different plot twists but, even though I didn’t expect them, I looked forward to them because otherwise it was a bit boring.

Ari: It was clear to me who was going to be murdered from the first chapters. It was not until the second half of the book that the secrets and motives came to light (once you detangled one, the others came rather easily) and they seemed far too “coincidentally” aligned to be believable. The one I did not expect, though, was the most crucial, that I have to give to the book. But it kind of annoyed me that, having had all the drama develop so slowly and erratically during the first half of the book, this particular secret motive wasn’t even explained at all, like a Deus-ex-machina-ed subplot to catch the reader by surprise (pst, not worth it!).

Plotholes

Alicia: I try to overlook plot holes in every book I read, especially if they're details that are kind of insignificant to the story. I understand that it's not easy to create a complex story out of thin air and many novels have plot holes, it's okay, I can look the other way. This book is no exception. The difference is there are too many plot holes for me to ignore all of them. Did seriously no one recognize Freddy? What happens after Will's body is found? It's literally his wedding, his family and friends are there but we barely see a reaction. What's the point of the seaweed in the bed? Charlie, Hannah, Olivia and Jules don't really get closure, we don't get to see much of them after the wedding or what we see is pointless. Does Johnno come forward about what he has and hasn't done? What about the rest of the guests? There are many questions I don't get answers to and it kind of annoys me.

Marina: My biggest concern with the whole plot is that it kept going back and forward to explain the connection between the characters and at times it felt very forced. In the end, this turned out to be some petty revenge novel to kill someone who was indeed very cruel and self-centered. But if you want me to read it tell me that on the first place, I would rather read a book about a would-be-murderess and how she’s going to kill a guy that has ruined so many people’s lives than what I actually read.

Ari: How the hell did Will not realise who Olivia was? Even though she didn’t introduce him to Jules at the party, they must have been there long enough to at least see Jules from afar. And he may have realised at some early point that Jules’ flat was where he met ‘Belle’... And how come the Trevellyan gang did not recognise Fatfuck? Not even the headmaster!

The ‘disappointing’ end

Alicia: The biggest issue for me with the end is that the build-up until the murder is enormous, the actual murder is not interesting or elaborate enough and then the conclusion is very short and insufficient. 300 pages for the different backstories, 5 pages for the murder and 10 pages for a resolution. If you give us 5 or 6 characters' backstories with complex issues and then completely ignore these characters once the murder has happened, this is just not enough and not okay. The climax happens too late and it's barely a climax and the aftermath is almost nonexistent. Feels rushed and poorly executed. I was seriously underwhelmed.

Marina: Look I’m going to give Folley a little bit of a leeway. If what she wrote as the “murder” (I’m sorry I can’t even call it murder) was, say, in the middle of the action, the reader would have gotten the experience of at least going through a bit of the aftermath of that death. Instead we get a rushed 10-15 pages about the different characters which, to be completely honest, was underwhelming to say the least.

Ari: As I said before, I didn’t much like the unexpected ending, as it seemed pulled out of thin air, and all the building up of the previous 300 or so pages was somehow worthless in the solving of the mystery. Therefore, all of the sub-plots regarding other characters were left unresolved, but not in a good “let the reader reflect on them” manner, but as in “I have to finish the book and I don’t have enough pages”. What about Olivia’s abortion? Jules doesn’t even know about it. How is Jules going to react to the murder, the night of her wedding? What happens between Hannah and Charlie? It surely has put Hanna’s life upside down, to have discovered the why’s of her sister’s death. Does Johnno get blamed for everything, without any defence, as a pay-up for the death of Loner? And more important, what about Frank and Aoife, did they marry just because of their past? Did Aoife bargain the wedding just as a way to get revenge? Too many plot holes in this fast-paced wrap-up.

Unmet expectations

Alicia: I had very high expectations about this book, I was truly really excited about it. It has good ratings, an apparently really interesting plot, it has been listed in some great book clubs... It looked very promising. Until I started reading. There are many reasons why this book was disappointing, explained in the different topics above. For me it's simple. It's almost inconceivable that a book that's marketed as a crime novel about a murder in a wedding won't actually tell you that there has been a murder and who has died until almost 300 pages in, with close to no real resolution afterwards. It's bordering false advertising.

Marina: I kept expecting for the murder to happen and every time I thought “here we go!” it was just another scene from the wedding, which to be honest wasn’t even that interesting. If you think about this book being a wedding retelling it might be a bit more accurate than actually saying it’s a mystery. I wanted to be kept at the edge of my seat by what was going to happen next! I just don’t get how this book got so hyped up for the mystery part!

Ari: We chose this book from the June releases because all of us thought a good thriller would spice up our readings, and it was chosen as the book of the month in Reese’s book club, which made me think it had to be especially good. I read reviews comparing Foley’s writing to Agatha Christie’s and, as much as I can see the parallels between The Guest List and Christie’s novels like The Orient Express (many characters having motive to kill ONE other very-mean character) or And then there were none (character murdering many for their offences to them… on a deserted island), I don’t think it is even slightly fair to compare the writing of the two. And here speaking someone who was disappointed by The Orient Express’ way too much ‘divine intervention’ solving.

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 4 years

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Uchitama 7 - 8 | Eizouken 8 - 9 | ID: INVADED 8 - 11 | Iruma-kun 22 - 23 (FINAL) | BnHA 82 - 83

Uchitama 7

Lemme guess…this is the ve-Yep.

The name of this segment is Ottamake. The ke means fur/hair, but it does seem like it’s referring to Tama otherwise.

For some reason, Bull’s really into cats…

LOL, you can see the cat food right there is a real brand. I dunno how they got away with that.

Hmm, this show has something to say about idol business…and it does it better than some of the human idol shows! That says something.

It even comments on the “graduation” system. Whaddaya know.

Welp, I never thought an anime could pull off this with a commentary on gender presentation, to boot. (It’s not as pervasive as Stars Align’s, but it’s still one of the better ones. I guess I shouldn’t expect it as a norm though.) I thought Kai was a dude though and so Bull’s interactions came off to me as massively gay. I’ve been thinking, maybe he’s pan? Can dogs be pansexual???

Why do I get the feeling Kai is going to be introduced into 3-chome? Update: Doesn’t happen.

This song sounds very idol-like.

Uchitama 8

Aww…I feel like we’re going to learn Nora’s backstory soon. I think it’s going to be real sad.

…Yup, there goes my kokoro. Smol Nora is cute~!

Genki can mean “healthy” as well as “energetic” – the latter is why it’s translated as “spunky”.

Why do I get the feeling Nora’s owner died…?

Oh, smol Nora has a bandaid on his leg.

Let me ask the essential furry question – they hav human ears and animal ears. Which of those sets of ears do they hear with?

Yuuki Kaji does a good job as Nora.

This song’s so sad, it almost got me crying…

Eizouken 8

This anime is like something from Studio Trigger!

The magic of Eizouken is that you get sucked into the anime they make and never look back.

Tomodachi vs. nakama, I think it is.

Id: Invaded 8

Lately, I’ve been thinking about practical cosplay (everyday wear that also doubles as a cosplay outfit). So basically, I’ve been thinking about Sakaido and El-Melloi II’s outfits a lot, since they’re rather practical while still looking cool. All I’m missing for El-Melloi’s outfit with the red jacket is a black button-up shirt, for El-Melloi’s outfit with the black jacket I’m missing a red scarf and I’m missing a brown button-up shirt for Sakaido’s (although the yellow scarf I got today to get one step closer to two of those isn’t the right mustard colour, it’s more of a lighter yellow).

Also, I noticed it’s (according to the katakana) meant to be “Id: Invaded”, but heck, it’s been ID: Invaded for so long for me, I don’t care either way.

Kiki was born in Fukui.

I always thought Mister Fixer sounded sad and now I think I know why…the bit I remember the most (the line that goes “Mister Fixer” and the bit around it) sounds like the singer is lamenting their life. Now that I see the visuals again after a few weeks (I’d get fatigued if I watched all that Fate/ and still managed to keep up with simulcasts, so I’ve been taking the simulcasts in a few eps at one time), Mister Fixer does quite sound like a crime drama song, but not as much as Thought I Knew (from Stand My Heroes).

I’ve seen images of Anaido and Sakaido in the same well for a few weeks now, so this cooperation bit is no surprise at all.

I believe Fukuda is asking why Narihisago is a –san to her even though they’ve worked together a while.

The words “data profile” are in one corner of the titlecard.

Does Anaido remember who he is in the ID Well? I presume not, but it’s hard to tell since we haven’t had as much time with him as we have Sakaido (not to mention I’ve been regularly filling my head with Fate/ and other things as well lately…so it’s hard to remember).

It’s interesting. Fukuda has the same piercings as Anaido (and even a ring on one pointer finger that matches them!), so he must’ve tried experimenting with…more legal holes, to put it one way…before getting his most iconic one.

Kaeru’s nails are chipped. Hmm.

In #Brake-Broken, which I read the first chapter of earlier (there’s a sample on the Young Ace website), Sakaido notices he doesn’t have a phone with him to call anyone or a licence (because in that manga, he wakes up in a car). It’s likely this will work the same way and Anaido won’t have any possessions on him, aside from the clothes on his back, accessories and the item that was stolen from his wrist/s.

Rings on both fingers…so I should be talking about them in plural. Update: I like how Anaido’s off-the-wall thought processes break up the inherent seriousness of Sakaido’s deductions and utilitarian way of doing things.

Anaido, you grimdark f***er. Update: For trying to eat a dead girl.

Okay, so for the sake of my practical cosplay, I knew I’d need this episode. Sakaido wears a long-sleeve brown shirt with some kind of shirt under that (either brown or black), plus a mustard-coloured scarf. (Note El-Melloi II wears a black shirt under his black button-up shirt, so I went with black as well.) In Brake Broken, I also noticed he wears dark socks (or that could be the leggings) and runners with a lightning bolt on them (I had to make do with generic black runners with a white stripe on the bottom), plus the iconic brown shorts over those (with a triangle pattern)…Why does Sakaido have a scarf anyway, versus Anaido and Miyo who don’t? As much as I like scarves, especially where colder weather is involved, getting a specific colour scarf was a bit of a headache to be honest, since I took 3 trips before deciding on the one I was going to buy (and even then, someone got it before me! The scarf I have now was my 2nd choice). Update: The shorts, leggings and undershirt are black, but I don’t know if Sakaido is wearing any socks or if they’re black too.

Just to note what Anaido has as well (although a coat like that, with the red detailing and flaps, would be hard to find…), he has a blue coat, suspenders, a white button-up top, a string tie (had to google what that was called, although its name is pretty obvious now that I know), black pants (which kinda look like leggings, but they’re not) and leather boots.

Now Sakaido can go into the loony bin…he’s talking to Kaeru.

Is Anaido going in circles? Sakaido caught up real fast…

Um, hey, protip: When stuck in quicksand, try to “float” on it. If you move, you’ll sink into it more. I don’t know how I know that, but I did stick it into my mind for times like this.

Notably, Anaido is about a head taller than Sakaido. Either Sakaido is unnaturally short and Anaido is average…or Anaido is just tall in that way some men are.

Did the bird get to this dude…?

There appears to be a man with a bun facing Hondomachi in the ED, although you can’t tell who it is from silhouette alone…Maybe he hasn’t appeared in the show yet. (Can’t be Matsuoka though. Might be the old guy who’s the head of Kura, actually.)

Update: Is the dead guy Momoki…?

Id: Invaded 9

It’s the familiar ceiling scene from Evangelion! (Okay, I’m kidding, but it’s a similar deal.)

I think the rules of Fate/ are “do it all, until you can no longer do it” (i.e. Everything is the same, until it’s different). It seems it’s the same here too.

Huh? Momoki?

“It doesn’t seem friendly.” – Yeah, and people die whe they are killed…in murder mysteries like this, usually speaking.

I noticed Narihisago’s tie is the same colour as his Sakaido jacket, if not the shirt under that.

Where did the Challenger’s clothes go after he took them off??? Hyperspace??? He wasn’t shown tossing them.

So Kaeru was Asukai all along, huh?

“Look at this.”

“It makes me think about him.” Subbers, that’s two mistakes in less than 1 minute…

I saw a fanart where Narihisago had his arm broken. I didn’t know why, but now I do. Also, TV Tropes is bad if you want to avoid spoilers…I know that already, but I go there anyway sometimes...

“It makes me wanna puke.”

Iruma-kun 22

The anime’s final episode is next week…but there’s already a season 2 in store for next year, so hopefully I survive the coronavirus and sort out all my issues this year in time for it.

Dat OP though. I’ve grown used to it and it’s actually endeared itself to me…which is odd, since I didn’t think I’d like it at first.

Demdol = akudol. Obviously, from “demon”.

Was that…Clara’s mother??? Kuromu’s older bro doesn’t look too bad, either.

Ohmygosh, this is fabulousssssssssss (and hilarious)! I’ve been waiting for this moment for many episodes, as you can tell if you’ve been following along, and I finally got the payoff!

Clara ends her sentence with –akuma (devil), hence the translation is matching it the same way.

Oh my gosh, Ryouhei Kimura (Azz-kun) sucks at being feminine, but that’s exactly what the role requires for this!

If you just pretend Azz-kun isn’t dressed in such an outlandish outfit, he looks really good…! Ayumu Murase does a pretty good falsetto, although you can tell there’s one point where Kimura’s voice gets really manly-sounding for a lady.

“Little imp” – Koakuma.

Oh! The Keroli family is all cute.

Ooh, Kuromu’s nails are blue. Never noticed that before.

Eizouken 9

Chojugiga are ancient pictures normally depicting animals. As for sepak takraw…

I wonder if Eizouken will tackle the Manabi Line one day…?

That’s a parallel for Comiket, LOL.

“A colossus that no one can see!” – Gridman, is that you?

When did Kanamori meet Asakusa again…?

Kanamori with a bun is cool.

“There is nothing fun about social media!” – Well, social media is fun for me because it’s where I escape reality, but sometimes you gotta be like Kanamori and use it for publicity’s sake.

LOL, the username for the Eizouken is @eizoukenn.

I just realised Mizusaki’s hairstyle is irregular…it’s much longer on on side than the other.

“Mizusaki bump” – I think this references the Colbert bump. (TV Tropes link)

Kanamori – she with the word “gold”…or “money”…in her name – struggles with maths? Wow, that was something to hear. (I guess it’s kinda like me and IT (cybersecurity) – I suck at it because I suck at modulos…or division in short…and even though I can be found on my computer a lot, that’s why I don’t pursue it any longer. I was decent at accounting, but man, I’d be bored out of my brain if you made me do business IT and I have zero skills in games and multimedia.)

“Was it thuggery?” – What’s thuggery? That word sounds funny.

Did you see how Asakusa fell off the tank?

I did CR’s Eizouken quiz sometime in the past and it gave me Asakusa. That’s true, basically. I like thinking up ideas and how cool they are, but because I can’t stop from elaborating on them, they get out of hand and that’s why I have a tonne of dropped projects. (Then again, with how freely I can imagine motion, I could’ve gotten Mizusaki too.) Update: Tried again and I actually did get Mizusaki…whaddaya know.

Id: Invaded 10

People have been comparing this to Minority Report…now I see why.

I almost feel like this is a discussion of euthanasia and suicide as much as it is memory and the consciousness.

Ohh…she remembers! Hondomachi!

You can’t see Muku’s face! Ohh, scary!

Aww, the music really sold this montage. By the way, that sign didn’t say “entrance ceremony”, it said nyuugaku omedetou, “Congratulations on your entry [into school]”.

It…this singer almost sounds like Bruno Mars, but that would be basically impossible, no?

Oh my gosh…when the song swelled, I absolutely cried. That’s rare, man – that’s rare.

BnHA 82

I think the leftmost figure might be Miruko, the rabbit lady. I’ve never read anything about her outside of wiki pages ad other small spoilers, but I roughly know what she looks like.

What does Gentle mean by “Anglaise”? Surely it wouldn’t refer to cream…(crème anglaise)

LOL, Disneyland parades…

Whew…that was dangerous. I almost agreed with Mineta there (to get the festival over and done with).

I swear Midoriya gets together with All Might, just like this, at the end or start of a climactic arc. He did it in the last season of BnHA, remember?

BnHA 83

Hmm…It’s interesting that the author likes to point out who has and hasn’t met Eri. Then again, it’s good for consistency.

LOL, Amajiki my boy…you’re so relatable.

Hmm…amidst the coronavirus concerns…this cancellation business seems quite timely.

Oh! It’s a drone.

For some reason, I thought Sero was drinking vegetable juice…? Eh, no matter. They have vegetable juice in Japan – I remember seeing some on my trip.

Hmm? Gentle is like a phantom thief, I just realised. Mostly harmless, but bound to cause a big stir if he gets his way.

What is Gentle’s Quirk, anyway…?

Work Son…LOL(…?)

Who bets their moustache on this stuff, anyway…? (LOL)

Iruma 23 (FINAL)

I don’t get to see Iruma become evil this season…but he will next season! That visual I’ve been seeing by the original mangaka confirms it!

Marathon - the demon puns are back.

Demonicon =Oricon chart.

Demon Star Platinum…was that…a Jojo’s reference?! *scare chord*

Oh! Maguro (tuna).

Azz-kun being afraid of fish? That’s news to me.

Okay, subbers. Whose idea was it to translate Iruma’s words as “My feels…”…?

There’s a post-credits segment. Keep watching.

Yay! Evil Iruma-kun!...In spring 2021. (I’ve never once been so excited for a character to turn evil than this! I also like how evil Iruma said it’s the “buttcrack” of dawn…but that’s just my immature side showing.)

Id: Invaded 11

“…being taken for a ride!” – Well, you’re in a car, so you’re getting a ride nonetheless. (LOL) I hadn’t heard of the term “being taken for a ride” until…what? 2016, I think? When I was still doing language anaylsis.

Sakaido used Headbutt! It’s…kind of effective? (Writing up these pseudo-Pokémon battles is fun. I should write more.)

“…put a drill to your head…”

“The victims of John Walker’s serial killers…”

I noticed Hondomachi is touching the side of her head which had the hole in it…if I remembered it right.

Is it “the Kura”? Or just Kura?

August 15th is a popular date for anime, huh? It’s in the middle of summer. (Refers to Kagerou Project.)

That ‘who knew you needed to lose something to be complete’ thing…I think I get it, but for some reason I only ever seem to get that feeling when it’s me trying to read asexuality into things (since that’s how I learnt to interpret asexuality), so…yeah, way to go, me.

Wait…Togo visited Momoki’s bedroom?!

Yep, so I was right about that being the side with Hondomachi’s hole.

#simulcast commentary #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #welcome to demon school iruma kun #mairimashita! iruma kun #id: invaded #uchi tama?! uchi no tama shirimasen ka?#uchitama?! have you seen my tama?#Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu Na!#keep your hands off eizouken!#Chesarka watches BnHA #chesarka watches mi-k #Chesarka watches Eizouken #Chesarka watches Uchitama #chesarka watches id: invaded

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otto-von-stirlitz · 6 years

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You know what’s better than HP?

(A lot of things, but whatever) This has been inspired by my little sister watching Deathly Hallows on TV, particularly by the talk about splitting the soul.

So you know what’s better? Fullmetal Alchemist. (okay, now I admit that this is also inspired by the fact that I am reading the manga rn) It’s better than HP on every possible field.

Seriously - first the worldbuilding, which is way more logical and strict in FMA world, the overarching plot, the characters - especially the supporting cast and their arcs and the character developments. Also the fact that Ed’s backstory is rooted in his actions, not in being The Chosen One! Also handling of themes such as atonement and redemption! That’s like the central theme of FMA, am i right? And since I want to be petty, FMA excels at creating believable f/m pairs you root for, crafting a satisfying ending and not continuing beating the dead horse with new trivia or material. Also, Hiromu Arakawa is the best and most adorable cow.

And if you haven’t seen/read it, pick up the Brotherhood anime or the manga. It’s worth it.

#hp #harry potter #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #yavien rambles #this is my Hottest Take ever

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phirephox666 · 6 years

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Weekly Fic Recs - FMA

After doing these recs for a couple weeks I figure I have enough recs to do that I can do these bi-weekly for a bit, so! Bi-weekly fic recs commence! This Wednesday’s fics are FMA, a whole bunch of Ed/Roy, mostly. Enjoy y’all.

Weekly Rec Lists

i'm giving you a nightcall by clairedearing

Edward/Roy, Alphonse/Winry, Reincarnation Au, Modern Au, Superhero Au, Complete, 124k

Edward Elric (the second) has always had to balance the two sides of his life; on one proper flesh and blood hand, he's a genius working as a crime scene investigator, putting his younger brother through university. On the other not-actually-flesh-and-blood hand, he's also the red-hooded vigilante Fullmetal, protecting Central City from criminals and assholes like 'the Dragon'. But mutilated bodies have stared showing up, and now he has to deal with his estranged sorta-maybe-ex-boyfriend (who's in charge of hunting down Ed's alternate persona), keeping the public from various levels of hysteria, and stopping a mysterious group who seem to be echoing the one his mother used to belong to...

the catwoman to your batman by clairedearing

Edward/Roy, Vigilante Au, Complete, 6k

Ed had his mission - to escort the Ishvallan refugees to the camps. Then he could get back to his research. Except, a mysterious masked man keeps screwing everything up.

Diplomatic Excursions and Other Ways to Die by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Complete, 53k

Conceptually, attending Emperor Ling's coronation celebration is simple enough. In practice, it involves far too much trekking, yearning, bleeding, burning, hoping, running, and dodging of diplomatic catastrophes for Roy's tastes.

Catalysis by aventria, iluxia

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Maes, Edward & Alphonse, Trisha Lives Au, Fix It, Friendship/Gen, Families of Choice, Backstory, Worldbuilding, WIP, 210k

Work in progress. "Search for the value of that which you seek, for alchemy already knows." Alchemy knew what Edward wanted when his fingertips touched that circle, but Edward did not yet understand how value differs from price, how equivalent differs from equal. The Gate calculates with one small difference, and Trisha Elric lives - but the cost may be too high for Edward to afford.

[ In which Edward Elric becomes Roy Mustang's ward in a different context; Trisha Elric is alive but is as good as dead to her sons; Alphonse Elric grows in a human body under Izumi's tutelage, struggling to understand just what it is they have done right; Hohenheim's past is more complicated and intertwined with the tapestry of Amestrian history; Envy dances a very fine line between his loyalty to Father and a growing obsession/addiction; and Amestris is so not ready for this bloody revolution. ]

Part 1 of Catalysis 'verse

Button Up Your Overcoat by Skinner (psiten)

Edward/Roy, Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Team Mustang, Fix It, Friendship/Gen, Bamf Riza, Complete, 140k

Ed could untie knots in the fifth and sixth dimensions -- blindfolded. He could convince the military he fell through a rabbit-hole, and he could even shut down a Drachman invasion (with a little help), but he can't seem to avoid dating Roy Mustang (and maybe is kind of okay with that). But here's hoping they can collar a General trying to trigger a three-way war, and that they can stop him before he destroys the world.

Making himself walk instead of run took every ounce of composure he had, especially when he got far enough to see the city blanketed in a strange layer of dust and dark thunderclouds. The weather had been clear for miles around. Those clouds had the smack of weather alchemy about them.

He had to find his brother.

The Universe Just Doesn't Know What the Hell to Make of Edward Elric by queerstang (rosethomass)

Edward/Roy, Soulmate Au, Soulmate Marks, Complete, 5k

Everyone Edward's age gets their tattoos, gets to know who their soulmate is, and it's just one more thing to remind Edward of all the things he's lost and never got to have.

Major spoilers for Brotherhood.

Two Months and Counting by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Harry Potter Au, Magical Au, Worldbuilding, Complete, 4.4k

Given that Ed is past words and beyond belief, surely it's fair to break the rules right in half.

[Vague situational spoilers for '03/CoS.]

Part 1 of Bending the Rules

The Maestros of Misuse by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Harry Potter Au, Magical Au, Fluff, Complete, 6.7k

Ed spends a day with the Improper Use of Magic Office, and no one loses their mind more than a little.

[Vague situational spoilers for '03/CoS.]

Part 2 of Bending the Rules

The Twelfth Cup of Coffee by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Coffee Shop Au, Modern Au, Mundane Au, Complete, 44k

The thing with Roy is founded on coffee snobbery and stupid text messages and seriously awesome makeout sessions in the car. Oh, and the love of a lifetime, or whatever.

From the Worst of Times by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Team Mustang, Roy & Team Mustang, Bamf Roy, Bamf Ed, Complete, 38k

"From the worst of times," someone had once told a young Roy Mustang, "always come the greatest of gifts." There were times in his life that was all he had to cling to, but it always seemed to hold true, one way or the other.

This Lion is in the Garden by Xyriath

Edward/Ling, Xerxian Ed, Royalty Au, Arranged Marriage, Complete, 26k

Ed’s duties as a prince of Xerxes right now really aren’t that complicated. Establish favorable relations with the nation of Xing. Learn to get along with his betrothed. Don’t offend anyone. Especially don’t offend anyone. What he didn’t predict was getting along with his fiancé perhaps a little too well.

Son of the Desert by ShanaStoryteller

Edward/Roy, Edward & Alphonse,Trisha/Hohenheim, Ishvalan Ed, Ishvalan Al, Friendship/Gen, Bamf Ed, Backstory, Worldbuilding, Complete, 10k

Every time Edward sees the circle on the back Mustang's hand, he wants to scream, wants to reach across the desk and shake him, wants to wrap his hands around the older man's throat and ask if it was worth it, if this desk and his rank is worth the screaming, crying, writhing, burning bodies of his people -

"Something to say, Fullmetal?" Mustang drawls.

Edward snaps the file shut, "Nope."

Part 1 of Ishvalan AU

Sins of the Father by ShanaStoryteller

Trisha/Hohenheim, Hohenheim & Edward, Hohenheim & Alphonse, Edward/Roy, Ishvalan Ed, Ishvalan Al, Friendship Gen, Worldbuilding, Feelings, Complete, 8k

Hohenheim has been gone for fifteen years. It's time for him to go home - his wife is waiting for him.

Dreaming in Red and Gold by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Complete, 96k

When Drachma agrees to meet for peace talks at Briggs Fortress, General Roy Mustang is the one sent to represent Amestris. It just so happens that the Drachmans have their own Amestrisan, who is far too skilled at turning the most tedious of discussions into an exciting time.

But Not Buried This Time by Tierfal

Edward/Roy, Post Canon Au, Bamf Ed, Complete, 95k

Once Ed decides that he is categorically not going to rot on the Drachman tundra, dragging his ass out of the jaws of death is actually pretty easy. ...except when it's not. At all. Which is most of the time.

(AU from end of Brotherhood.)

Come What May by Batsutousai

Darius/Heinkel/Edward, Edward & Roy, Edward/Roy, Friendship/Gen, Families of Choice, Post Canon Au, Bamf Ed, Military Au, Complete,

After the Promised Day, with his alchemy still intact thanks to Hohenheim's sacrifice, Ed finds himself and his chimera team getting dragged into the shadowy world of military secrets in an attempt to keep Bradley's legacy from causing a civil war.

Part 1 of Our Sinner's Redemption

Reverti Ad Praeteritum by Batsutousai

Edward/Roy, Edward & Roy, Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Maes, Friendship/Gen, Mute Edward, Bamf Ed, Bamf Al, Time Travel, Fix It, Complete, 289k

Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.

a terrifying clamour of trumpets by ShanaStoryteller

Edward & Alphonse, Edward/Roy, Edward & Izumi, Bamf Ed, Fix It, Complete, 12k

Edward grabs Marcoh’s arm and says, “That stone – what can it heal, exactly?”

The old man’s eyebrows rise to his forehead, and he looks like he already knows the answer when he goes, “Why do you ask, Edward?”

There's no metallic footsteps so there’s no way Al’s close enough to hear them. “I’m sick,” he admits after another moment of deliberation.

Accidents Happen by metisket

Edward & Alphonse, Edward & Harry Dresden, Alphonse & Harry Dresden, Crossover, Crack, Friendship/Gen, Complete, 14k

It’s not so much the strange children falling from the sky that are worrying Harry. It’s more that the children don’t seem to think the situation is all that weird.

“No matter where I go,” Ed said thoughtfully, “there’s a goddamn pyromaniac there waiting for me.”

Repaire du Diable by Batsutousai

Darius/Heinkel/Edward, Edward & Alphonse, Post Canon Au, Complete, 9k

Ed and Al weren't the sort to settle down, despite their best intentions, so they travel, eventually finding Noah again, this time working with a circus that has its share of familiar faces, but also some new ones. Can the Elrics finally find people to settle down with?

#fma #fullmetal alchemist #fma fic #edward elric #roy mustang #alphonse elric #maes hughes #roy/ed #fic rec #weekly rec lists #rec lists

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mrmallardsmobileposts · 4 years

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2 Fast 2 Furious and the nature of sequels

Preface: I'll be calling the movie Fast 2 because 2 Fast is stupid. Also, I've covered spoilers with strike marks, like so, and the movies I spoil are Smokey and the Bandit II and Mission Impossible 2. The MI2 spoilers are miniscule, but the Smokey II spoilers are substantial - but for the record, that movie sucks ass and imo you're probably better off not seeing it. Regardless, consider this a spoiler warning for those movies.

To sum up my opinion of 2 Fast 2 Furious - while it's emblematic of the nature of forced sequels, in good and bad aspects, I would say that ultimately it is one of the better examples of a shoehorned sequel that I've ever seen.

I saw The Fast and the Furious 1 last week, and while I thought it was corny and dated - the f-slur gets used twice, there's a mesh tank top on a dude considered to be the height of badassitude, the dialogue is pretty dumb and the acting isn't great - I was very entertained. I've seen Fast Five, so I know how corny and over the top the series gets, and I'm approaching this series from an emotional standpoint - are the characters compelling, is the action good, how much am I invested in the stakes. The first movie was pretty good - I felt like it was kind of reserved, even, though that's because the budget was low and because I have unrealistic standards due to my knowledge of the franchise as a whole.

So going into Fast 2, I knew to keep my expectations level. It's a sequel that lacks a major star of the first one, it's set in an entirely new environment with an entirely new supporting cast, it's dripping in excess since the first movie did so well, and all of this is going to affect the story's plot in a way that will significantly deviate from what fans liked about the first movie.

But for a movie with those elements, Fast 2 actually managed to keep the essence of what makes this franchise so enjoyable. It's still fast - though the CGI and other car effects have aged like milk - there's still a focus on community and "family" in a way - Brian reconnects with Roman, he's made connections with Ludacris' character and he gets in good with the wider racing community in Miami - and while the villain is cartoonishly evil and the last act of the movie is basically a giant cartoon with the s***ty villain and the stunts, the series as a whole has steered towards crazy cartoony s*** ever since. And also, you can see the stupid cartoony s*** in the first movie - using grapple guns to hijack trucks, for example.

Of course, two of those are retroactive connections to the franchise. That last one applies to the franchise going forward, as it became a franchise zombie. So it's totally understandable that for its day, Fast 2 was controversial. I still maintain that for a sequel that could be characterised as an unneeded cash-grab and potential reboot, Fast 2 has actually aged pretty decently.

There are two unnecessary sequels I want to compare Fast 2 to - Smokey and the Bandit II, and Mission Impossible II.

Smokey and the Bandit II is bloated and full of itself. The first movie was a straightforward caper movie - bootleg a truck full of Coors across state lines and evade the police. There's a little bit of backstory and character development, but it's a lean, functional movie at the end of the day.

Yet despite sharing the exact same cast as the last movie, sans one additional character, the characters feel outlandish and full of themselves - which reflects in the entire product. The Bandit has drunk himself into a pit over Frog, so Cledus has to give him a pep talk and push him through a training montage to lose his beer weight - it's padding, and it's trying to build a greater emotional arc based on a character who feels more like an archetype who works well in the moment. There's an unnecessary target shooting scene with Buford T. Justice that feels like padding, the Dom DeLuise character is grating, and the cargo of a baby elephant - along with its accompanying ethical dilemma, seeing Bandit take a more altruistic, heroic position rather than being the lovable scoundrel of the first movie - is such a self-serving cop-out. And that finale of all those truck drivers coming to the rescue - while awesome in concept - comes in after a majority of the movie has been a stinking turd and is the biggest example of unnecessary excess and bloat in the entire movie.

Smokey and the Bandit II took itself so seriously that it lost sight of what made the first movie so good. The Bandit has a heart of gold, but the movie doesn't have to give him an ethical dilemma to make him an objectively decent person. While the idea of the team losing the bet in the end is an alright ending, they didn't need a moral victory on the level of preventing an elephant from a life of circus work/misery to paint them in such a good light. And worst of all, the caper sucks. It's so up its own ass that it doesn't know how to emulate the first movie's appeal at all.

Quick note: I spoilered plot details, but I genuinely think this movie is one of the biggest pieces of dogs*** I've ever seen and you're really not missing out on much by not seeing it. People seem to hate the third one, but even that was a fun watch compared to the second one imo. If you're never gonna watch Smokey and the Bandit II, by all means, disregard the spoiler tags.

Then you have Mission Impossible II, which I saw for the first time less than a month ago. And while the first movie was a goofy, self-indulgent romp, the second movie is filled to the brim with unnecessary excess, bloat and unearned emotional weight. It feels longer than it actually is, the cinematography is all style and no substance, the acting is grating and full of itself, the acting sucks and it feels so dated and out of place on almost every level.

Like Smokey and the Bandit II, it feels much longer than it really is. Sequences like Tom Cruise flirting with the main girl for the first half hour of the movie really make the movie drag, especially after the punchy and functional approach to the first movie. It's overly convoluted, even for Mission Impossible - at one point the bad guy basically nails Tom Cruise's plan down to the T, and the heist focuses more on his deduction than it does on the heist itself. Then the last act, with the main girl being infected with the supervirus, has some of the most self-indulgent and needlessly stylised action in the series to date, and it jams the forced love story into the forefront even more. Mission Impossible II is a rough watch, even today - it's a wanky mess.

What these movies share is that they're entirely detached from the movies that came before them in tone, plot and/or stakes. Smokey II has a dogs*** tone, the plot is needlessly padded and the stakes suck. MI2 has an over-stylized and melodramatic tone, the plot is poorly acted despite having the building blocks of a decent MI plot, and the stakes are kinda f***ed due to the forced romance being directly connected to the mega-threat of the movie. Smokey II bastardises previously established characters, while MI2 brings in a mostly new cast to ruin specifically for that movie - though the variable team has stuck around in the franchise at large.

Here's what Fast 2 does to stand out.

The plot - another caper involving the feds, with a new character and locale in place of a returning one. The stakes are less personal than the first movie, but they're bigger and they're supplemented by Brian and Roman reconnecting over the course of the movie. Brian and Roman's relationship reflects the values established in the first movie - community, or family if that's your bag. Ride or die.

The tone - gratuitous driving, gaudy colours, a bit more ambitious with the bad guy compared to the first movie - true to the first movie, and reflective of the later sequels. Arguably less actiony in some aspects. A bit sillier than the first movie.

The stakes - Brian and Roman's freedom, the safety of Brian's love interest and eliminating a violent criminal. More dramatic than the first movie - that movie was character-driven from beginning to end, while Fast 2 is more of a standard action movie with an unambiguous villain - but reminiscent of the first movie's values.

Smokey and the Bandit II extended a great movie past the point it needed to exist, and MI2 was a stumbling point in a widely celebrated action franchise that no-one likes to bring up. Fast 2 - while undoubtedly dated, corny and a deviation from the first movie's focus - reiterates values that the first movie shared, and which became more prominent as the series continued. It also, bizarrely, aligns with the crazy action s*** that later movies spiral into - just on a lower scale. In comparison to the first movie, the wilder, dumber action is a departure, but it's almost restrained in comparison to what the franchise becomes.

Roman isn't the best character for most of the movie - he might be my second least favorite next to the Miami cop - but I found his relationship arc with Brian over the course of the movie to be pretty solid, and it paid off near the end in a really great, personal way. And while it's not the same as Brian and Dom, it is still a strong "friends to enemies to friends" arc in the end. Complement that with some gratuitous racing action, and you have the basic formula for a good Fast and Furious movie.

And the thing about Fast 2 is that it reminds me directly of Smokey II and MI2. Near the end, there's a scene where the good guys intervene with the bad guys with a bunch of cars to help the good guys escape - the whole cavalry idea reminded me a lot of the ending of Smokey and the Bandit II, with the fleet of trucks that face off with the police force. And much like MI2, the main character has a fling with a woman on the inside of the villain's lair, and endeavours to save her life near the end of the movie. The former felt bloated in Smokey II after an absolute s***pile of a movie, while it appealed to the series' sense of style and whimsy in Fast 2. The latter felt shoehorned in MI2, with the character basically being a damsel and macguffin with entirely too much screentime dedicated to getting together with Tom Cruise, while the character in Fast 2 is a character who is intriguing and who feels essential, whose functions as a character aren't overshadowed by Paul Walker's massive boner for her.

Ultimately, the Fast and the Furious franchise is a flashy, speedy spectacle franchise. The worst thing you could do is botching the driving and making it feel slow and inessential. Ultimately, while Fast 2 isn't as good as the first one - and may or may not still go down as the worst movie in the franchise - it still feels like a Fast and Furious movie. And it's retroactively made better by basically being The Incredible Hulk to Fast Five's Avengers - the Fast and Furious movies are basically a cinematic universe unto themselves, and even the bad ones gain some entertainment points by factoring into the wider narrative. By the sheer nature of the Fast and Furious movies being pandering schlock at the end of the day, Fast 2 really isn't that bad. It feels congruent with the past and future of the franchise, even if it isn't necessarily as entertaining as the rest of the franchise. Other unnecessary cash-grab sequels gut the characters, skimp on their development and make stories that really don't need to exist - Fast 2 has main characters who gel well with each other (even if one of them kinda sucks), gives them a solid arc that plays into the wider theme of the franchise and introduces characters and plot elements which further movies build on.

Fast 2 is not a bad sequel. It's not amazing, and it might still be the worst movie in the franchise for all I know, but my genuine opinion is that as far as sequels go, it does hold up in several key aspects that make it an entertaining spectacle on par with the broader franchise. As far as unnecessary cash-grab sequels go, this is actually a pretty good one.

#the fast and the furious #fast and furious #the fast saga

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anotheruserwithnoname · 7 years

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Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery after 5 episodes

(Spoilers for Discovery S01E05 and Orville S01E06)

Episode 5 of Star Trek Discovery aired last night in Canada (up here the network Space airs it, so we don’t need to rely on streaming to view it). “Choose Your Pain” was its title and it’s ironic that it aired a few days after The Orville’s surprisingly hard-hitting “Krill” because it actually allows for something very close to an apples-to-apples comparison.

I’m going to go into spoilers, plus this will be a very long post (apologies; this is Exhibit A to show why I’m not on Twitter), so I’ll put a break here. The tl;dr is that, although I’m still willing to give it a chance, I’m still not “feeling” Discovery, which after 5 episodes is a concern; whereas, I find The Orville not only captures the classic spirit of Trek better, it managed in one single episode to make its Klingon analogue more interesting than the real Klingons in their current incarnation.

Before I begin, I wanted to set the scene to explain where I’m coming from. There is a lot of Discovery-bashing going on, and I don’t support that and this essay isn’t intended to be a bash. Although I am very critical of the show and not 100% certain that I’m going to stick with it much longer (though I’ll probably stick with it till its midseason break, at least), it’s not my intent to become a basher because then I’d be a hypocrite. I was a defender of Star Trek Enterprise throughout its entire run, and was upset to see it bashed mercilessly, to the point where I divorced myself from Star Trek and Star Trek fandom after it ended in 2005. Fortunately, Doctor Who had just come back on TV so I switched my allegiances to Who (which I’d been a fan of since the early 80s, but it became more intense). Fast-forward to 2017, and due to a mix of disappointment over what the series has delivered since Christmas 2015, combined with decisions regarding the show moving forward, I'm now divorcing from Doctor Who (as anyone who follows my blog knows). So with Star Trek back on TV the opportunity to move my allegiances back to Trek exists ... but Discovery isn’t doing it for me. Not yet. Instead, The Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s underrated (in more ways than one) homage is the show that is earning my affection. I know I’m not alone in that.

But here’s the thing, and why I don’t really see the need to “bash” Discovery: because The Orville is so much like “proper” Star Trek - the optimism, the crew-as-family dynamic, the introspective and “ripped from the headlines”-inspired stories, and general sense of fun - this actually allows Discovery to seek its own path (even if that means delivering “improper” Trek), allowing both shows to co-exist (which they could regardless - it’s not as if they’re in direct competition).

But Discovery has problems. Before I get into that, though, some positive thoughts.

This week’s episode introduced Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd, a character immortalized by Roger C. Carmel in the original series. And I thought he did a good job. I don’t have the same issues with recasting characters as some others do (I liked the guy they had playing Sarek earlier, too). My only complaint is they made him darker than Carmel’s version, which felt a bit inconsistent. But then again this is 10 years before Kirk encountered him and people change (it could be argued that Carmel’s version is more insane than Wilson’s, and maybe we’re seeing why in Discovery). I loved the reference to Stella, his wife, which was a great call-forward to the TOS episode “I, Mudd”. Trivia: Carmel was supposed to reprise Mudd for an episode of TNG, but the actor died before it was filmed; I believe some aspects of what was planned for Mudd - including a scene where he was supposed to actually pay tribute to his frenemy, Captain Kirk - were later reused when they brought Scotty forward into the TNG era in “Relics”. So having Mudd appear in a modern-day Trek is an idea that’s been kicking around for 30 years.

Obviously, Mudd will be back and I’m looking forward to it. I’d rather he be the recurring baddie than the new Klingons. More on that in a moment.

I also liked the on-screen reference to Jonathan Archer, Christopher Pike and Robert April early in the episode. Robert April was established in the animated series as the very first captain of the Enterprise, predating Pike. Since TAS is not considered canon (or at least it wasn’t considered canon during the pre-2005 era; it might have changed since), this is the first “canonical” acknowledgement of April in live action. I appreciated that.

I also liked Capt. Lorca in this episode. After two weeks of being just “there”, Lorca came into his own with this episode. And his backstory is interesting.

But I have criticisms of this episode, and of the show itself as we hit week 5. Starting with a minor point, after four weeks of keeping a lid on language, the swearing in this episode was awkward and clearly put in there “because we can” - there was nothing charming or cool about the first use of the F-word (twice in the same scene, yet) in the Trek franchise. I’m not one to go “oooh, swearing, bad” (The Thick of It is one of my favourite TV shows, for god’s sake), but there’s a time and place, and it just didn’t work - it came across as vulgar and awkward. If they’re going to have people swear in Discovery, fine, but don’t make it feel like “hey, we can swear now!” Torchwood ran into this same issue - and the swearing during Series 1 felt unnatural as a result. If they want Lorca and his crew to turn the air blue, they should get Armando Iannucci in to show them how it’s done.

What will be the deal-breaker for me is if this show continues to be populated with characters I don’t give a damn about. I like Michael (who was for the first time not the focus of an episode) and Lorca has potential - all the characters have potential - but 5 weeks in they should be further along than they are in terms of establishing them, even taking into account the two-episode prologue and the fact a core character only debuted this week.

Five weeks in, and without cheating online, I still don't remember the names of most of the main characters because they’ve made so little impression on me. Michael is fine, Lorca is fine, and I know the new guy is named Tyler (mainly because I’m curious as to whether he’s related to Jose Tyler of Christopher Pike’s Enterprise in “The Cage”), but the rest - by now they should have made enough of an impression for me to at least remember their names, not just call them “Michael’s roommate”, “the jerk who runs the spore drive and who might or might not be the chief engineer but we can’t tell”, “Odo 2.0”, “the doctor who lives with the spore drive guy and who I thought was the ship’s doctor until he mentioned that he answers to a chief medical officer who we’ve yet to see”, “the incompetent who got herself killed by the spore monster last week in a scene Seth MacFarlane would have rejected as too silly”, “the roboty woman on the bridge who kinda looks like Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “the woman whose head is half shaved”. In fact I think this was the first episode in which those last two individuals were actually identified by names on screen.

By comparison, I had not just the Orville character names but their functions nailed down by Episode 2 of that show. And I had much more invested in them as characters, even early on (and by “Krill” I find I want to know more about what’s happening with Borus and Klyden and their child, Alara’s love life, and whether Ed and Kelly are going to get back together or not). With Discovery it’s almost as if they’re all being set up to be redshirts. (As it is, I really don’t expect to Michael’s roommate - I looked it up; her name is Tilly - to survive the season. Too much telegraphing about her being naive and having dreams for the future.) Maybe they are if the show is taking the Game of Thrones “anyone can die” approach and if there is a reason why we’ve never heard of Spock having an adopted human sister before now.

When I started writing this very long (sorry!) blog entry, I mentioned an apples-to-apples comparison between Discovery and Orville. This week, “Choose Your Pain” and “Krill” both involved captains boarding enemy vessels and learning more about the bad guys. And it really drove home the fact that the new Klingons are rather boring. Never mind the different make-up and all that - I’m sure they’ll come up with a workaround to explain that the same way Enterprise did back in 2005 with the Augments story arc (and I didn’t miss the fact they name-dropped eugenics this week) - they just don’t have the spark of the Klingons of old, or even the Abramsverse versions. Not saying there aren‘t promising signs - I kind of like the fact the show is shipping cult leader Voq with the female officer L’Rell. Every episode so far has included focus on the Klingons. But in only one episode, The Orville managed to develop a very well-rounded picture of the Krill, making them relevant, interesting, sympathetic, and “villains” we want to see more of. The Klingons on Discovery? I want more Harry Mudd, fewer Klingons. Of course, a big difference between Orville and Discovery is the use of humour. Discovery pretty much has none, while Orville is a dramedy. Which was driven home during the climax of the Discovery episode when we were actually treated to an unexpected piece of Orville-like comedy when the female Klingon captain, who has the hots for Tyler. Encountering him trying to escape, she let off with something like “After all we mean to each other, you’re leaving?” (not an exact quote). It was a funny moment, but poorly timed. Seriously, we’re supposed to see her as a threat (and an ongoing one seeing as Lorca doesn’t finish her off as opposed to every other Klingon he encounters), and she spouts dialogue more appropriate for a spoof? Compare to The Orville, which usually knows when to be funny and when not to be. Having Ed Mercer and Gordon Molloy facing the possibility of having to kill a bunch of Krill children in order to save a human colony, and Mercer saying “If we kill those kids ... we have no souls” was a far more hard-hitting and dramatic moment than anything “Choose Your Pain” offered. And once things got serious, they got serious. The ending of “Krill” was chilling as Mercer realized that instead of saving a bunch of kids, he created a bunch of future enemies instead, instantly giving the series a long-term aspect as the potential is there for it to revisit this fact years from now, if it survives that long. The Avis rent-a-car jokes were funny, and the opening sequence where Bortus does his best Matter-Eater Lad impersonation (Google it) was cute, and I loved the gag where Ed starts talking before Alara can open a channel, but it was the serious moments that made “Krill” stand out. The next episode looks serious as well as it casts a long-overdue spotlight on Lt. LaMarr.So to sum up: I’m not ready yet to say “Discovery sucks” as some have. I don’t think it does, despite all I’ve written here. It has issues, yes, but every Trek series has issues and teething pains. I am concerned that the characters aren’t gelling for me and that’s what’s going to make me decide to keep watching in the long term. On the other hand, The Orville is proving to be a great show that also has had its rough patches and its teething pains, but it managed to hit the ground running a lot faster in terms of establishing characters and stories and tone. I am in the market for a sci-fi show to replace Doctor Who, and so far The Orville is winning the battle against Star Trek Discovery. But I’m not willing to write Discovery off ... yet.

#star trek discovery #the orville #calling it as i see it

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