#these two have freakin world-shattering powers and we love them

[we-write-fics-here-sir]

Due to my insatiable hunger for Fawful content we are now writing fic for him and his hopefully speedy recovery from being the dumbest bean alive.

Title: Beans and how to soothe them

Characters: Fawful, Popple, Bowser (for like 3 frames)

Chapters: intro and chapter 1 (more to come)

Summary: Fawful's final moments in a great battle, Popple has an asthma attack in the woods

The dark power, as it turns out, is not feeling as wonderful composing his body as it did coursing through it.

●

●

●

Fawful is finding breathing very difficult right now.

In simple terms, Fawful's body is on fire!

The world around him glows and pulsates, many colors swirling and changing as two little pests red and green smash into him with hammers that hurt so much worse than the last time he faced their brunt end.

The floor breathes. His legs are shaking. The air is so hot. His glasses are shattered and broken, and his legs are following their lead in this play of pain and fracturing. He may be having the panic attack, but he will choke that down to continue his fight!

And yet

He is having the dish of victory torn away from him, and loss served on a dirty platter rusted with sadness- he can feel the power of the dark star connected to his being finally shudder and die. It feels like his heart is gone. His body has never felt such chill.

Everything is moving with such swiftness- he...lost? The dark star, it is gone? Just like that? After he put in so much work, after he slaved away for so many of the hours?

Fawful needs revenge.

Fawful gathers the last of his strength for one final attack. An explosion of goodbye and suffering! To finally kill the foul fink-rats who have been a pain for so long! To finally- avenge her! Cack--

Fawful detonated into an abysmal swirl of black energy, instantly wracking Bowser's body with pain as the once-beanish, now undefined, wrecked havok in the king's body. In one quick motion, Bowser coughed up the dark poison in his body- along with all of his other unexpected visitors.

The swirl of darkness ascended high above the castle, abandoning the scene of man-meets-koopa, and instead being swept out by the southern wind.

What a pleasant breeze.

....

.....

Today is not Popple's day.

That bein' said, most days aint. First off, hes been havin a less than ideal time pullin' in a haul. Money is scarce. This 'smiling crisis' over to the east and the blorbs pandemic to the west make gettin money of any sort- legitimate or stolen- a real hassle. Everyone's just hidin' indoors n' sick, or theyve got swirly-eyed glasses and an intent to kill. Either way, Popple doesnt want a thing to do with any of em.

Hes been scraping by- with everyone shut in or downright nutty, not many palookas can stop him from stealin' in broad daylight, which brings us to today's haul: a car battery.

A pretty nice one too- one of those fancy new-age batteries for them carts that go upside-down and whatnot. It glows a faint rainbow hue with the unknowable power contained within... eh its probably actually pretty knowable and anyone with a hooniversity degree in star power engineering could understand it, but to a thief with a two-bit education? Magic, baby. Might as well be a miracle of technology. So why is this haul so troubling? Well as it turns out, this loot is surprisingly heavy. If Popple were a wimp he mighta even called it agonizingly heavy, but its fine, the intense pain in his spine means hes gettin a real workout and NOT that hes making his scoliosis ten times worse.

And heres the cherry on top of this pain of a situation- hes haulin this junk through Dimble Wood. Dimble freakin Wood.

Popple's sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders. Sure he loved his shadow thief getup (it was really the only clothes he owned) but boy oh boy if he wouldnt KILL for somethin just a little more airy. The woods are humid with the unwinding heat of the evening sun, drawing out Dimble Wood bugs that found comfortable perches on Popple's ankles, making the walk all the more unbearable.

At least the wind wasnt howling like it was earlier. A sudden hurricane with freaky purple winds was ripping through the mushroom kingdom earlier in the day, and as suddenly as it had appeared, it dispersed. Popple aint complaining that its gone though- it was just....weird. Plus, though he loathes to admit it- pretty scary. It felt like the wind wasnt just howling through the branches, but *screaming* with hatred at every living thing around him. The pure evil coming off of that storm had shook Popple to his core. He honestly needed an hour or two after the whole thing to regain his composure. Hes only managed to keep on movin by convincing himself he had some kinda heatstroke vision. Those are real, yea?

....ugh. hes really gotta focus. If he wants to not be out here after dark, hes really gotta step up the...pace...?

Popple glanced up, a familiar, dark wind rushing through the branches of the woods. The screaming sound of that wind- it makes his chlorophyll run cold with a terror thats almost instinctual.

It was not a heatstroke vision. It definitely was not.

Popple set the battery down, his spine practically yowling a silent thank-you to the stars above, as the shadow thief quickly glanced around, trying to locate the source of the uncanny storm.

The odd thing was, there *wasnt* a storm this time. No overwhelming, disasterous hurricane, just one, solitary gust of-

AGH- BLEGH- GODDAMMIT-

As if the gust of visibly purple air had some sort of personal vendetta against the bean, it took a sudden turn (can wind even DO that?!) and blew across Popple- and rather suddenly into his lungs.

A bitter taste covered Popple's tongue as his lungs immediately burn with a discomfort unlike anything hes felt in his (admittedly short) life. Instantly, unwillingly, Popple started coughing, and in the process inhaled *more* of the foul air now hanging around him, as if *waiting* to be inhaled by the man wheezing on the forest floor.

Its a painful affair- Popple is sure he can taste chloraphyll in the back of his throat. With tears in the corners of his eyes by the time the pain in his chest finally feels somewhat tolerable, he lets out a last shuddering wheeze. He doesnt know when he fell to his knees during that, but he eases himself into a sitting position instead, trying to catch his breath.

The purple breeze is gone now, only a faint, dark mist hanging in the air around Popple- which he unwittingly breathes in, to his immediate regret. At the very least, it doesnt hurt him- his chest just feels....real bad.

He should get home.

In an unfamiliar place, Fawful tries his hardest to cling onto life. He tries to breathe in time with the breathing around him, as ragged as it may be. A heartbeat that isnt Fawful's own begins lulling him into a quiet, dreamless sleep, as scared as he is that if he shuts his eyes, he'll never open them again.

This is what happens when you stay out late, see?

●●●●

Though, what does he have to be losing if he doesnt open them? After such waiting, he can finally be by her side again. He can finally...say sorry to her.

For letting her down yet again.

#mario and luigi bowser's inside story #fawful #popple #popple m&l #mario and luigi superstar saga #*does a kickflip* i havent written a m&l fic in a billion years! #do provide feedback and comments! id love to hear from any readers #fawful be like 'i miss my surrogate mom so much its unreal' *explodes* #beans and how to soothe them

[jamalgripperton46290]

The Wall Around Our Love (Donald Trump x Elmo)

Jamal Gripperton's Masterlist

A/N (if you haven't already read it go read it now then come back)

•••

**News Report To Alla dem Sesame Street Citizens**

"Breaking news! This just in, Trump has allegedly claimed to build a wall all through Sesame Street, including some border laws. Anyone who objects against it, will be deported. This is Big Bird, and you're watching: BBC" (iykyk)

Elmo was absolutely heart broken. He felt as if his heart had shattered in two. Sesame Street was his home he couldn't be separated from his friends, they were like family to him, a family he didn't have. He wouldn't let this happen he HAD to do something about it. Trump couldn't do that, he had no right to, especially for no reason other than the fact he just wanted to. No matter how much power trump had, he just couldn't do that.  Elmo was gonna stand up for Sesame Street, his home, his life, his world. He had to do something, he just had to, and he was, even if it meant he had to get deported.

**Fast forward 2 days later**

Trump had just arrived to sesame street after a grueling, tedious and exhausting plane ride to Sesame Street. He just couldn't believe he had to work beside freakin puppets, and his overly high ego thought he was way above them (Dude thought wrong). About 15 minutes later, he got a message from his manager, AKA, his good ol friend John.

Johnny <3 : Hey Donny there's some red puffball dude from sesame street and he wants to do a live interview if u want i can cancel it.

Donald Duck: Naw dawg its fine, ill do it only cuz i wanna delay actually buildin the wall with these air heads as much as possible.

Johnny <3 : Sure dude i'll tell em to make it for 3 that ok w u?

Donald Duck: Ya ya dats cool.

Johnny <3: Kk baii  man see ya @ da bar later

Donald Duck: You know it ma man

**Fast Forward 3 PM**

Elmo was impatiently waiting until the clock FINALLY striked 3 as he stood outside of the BBC news building. 

"2:40, ugh, when will it be 3?!" he couldn't bear the thought of waiting even more. 2:45, he swore that it had been about 20 minutes since he last checked the time. After about a million times of turning his teletubbie phone on and off and leaning against the wall, the clock finally struck 3. In the blink of an eye, he was ushered inside and sent to hair and makeup before he had got to see the news set in person and it was weirdly intimidating.

He was snatched out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. "Hey there Elmo! I think you already know who I am, but just so you know, were gonna start filming in 2 minutes so you should probably get on the set." Big bird proclaimed with a friendly smile. "Wow, I can't believe it... it's actually you!" Elmo beamed in pure disbelief.

"You bet it's me lil chickadee! Well, I'll talk to ya later, were about to start." Big Bird reminded the fuzzy red headed fellow as he started to walk off in the distance. Elmo rushed to his seat but stopped dead in his tracks. Blue ocean-like orbs struck him speechless. How could one evil man look so... godly? He didn't even notice he was staring at him star-gazed until...

"Oy! You! Yes you! Red ball of yarn! Get your ass here so we can just get this over with" Trump barked angrily. And holy pancakes dude, this expired 2-year-old couch cheeto had a goddamn temper. 

A couple minutes passed and the cameras started rolling. He was now on live TV for all of Sesame Street to see.

"Good afternoon Sesame Street, this is the daily 3 o'clock news, and today we're here with Donald Trump and our city representative, Elmo. How are you doing Elmo?" Big Bird announced with a pearly smile. Oh no, Elmo couldn't talk in front of probably all of Sesame Street, it was way too nerve-wracking, but he had too for his home.

"Thanks for asking Big Bird, and I'm doing great..." Elmo managed to speak. "That's great! What about you Trump?" Big Bird pried. "I'm doing fine" Trump muttered. "Okaaayyyy... well enough dilly-dallying! So, Trump, why'd you decide to build a wall through our town?" Big Bird asked with slight annoyance. 

"Well, because I believe having a wall separating the town in two, would improve the economical growth, as you won't have your family as close so, you wouldn't have as many distractions to your everyday life." Trump explained "The amount of days off per average here is outrageous and is why your podunk of a town is so broke. But remember, I'm only doing this because I care about the citizens of Sesame Street and don't want to see your town crumble down, which I bet you don't either." Trump finished with a grin. What was this overcooked orange biscuit going on about? It would only make things worse, clearly.

"With all due respect Trump, I think that would only make things worse, I mean, taking away their motivation? Sounds pretty idiotic if you ask me." Elmo defended; he wouldn't let him win. "I have to go with Elmo on that one Trump" Big Bird agreed. "You're only saying that because he's your friend, one day you'll see the benefit of this and regret your opinion." Trump declared and motioned for the cameras to stop.

After one last glance around the room, Trump left. Even if what Trump had said offended Elmo, he still had a burning feeling to go after him, and so he did.

"Trump! Wait up!" Elmo called, hoping he could hear him. "What do you want midget?" Trump asked, irritated, wanting to walk away but... why didn't he? "Well, I walked here, and since you said you cared about the citizens of Sesame Street, I was wondering if you could drive me home?" Elmo cooed. "Can't you just walk home again?" Trump replied. In response Elmo looked up at him with puppy eyes "Please?" Elmo begged. "Ugh FINE get in" Trump finally budged, annoyed as hell.

Throughout the car ride, Elmo saw Don-don- 

No, TRUMP

Adjusting his pants. The suddenly, the car stopped.

"I can't keep driving this car with you here-" Trump said as he moved closer to where Elmo was sitting "And not being able to fuck the brains outta you" Trump finished his sentence by smashing his lips against Elmo's fuzzy ones. Elmo was dumbfounded, this wasn't really happening... was it? Nevertheless, this was dream worthy. Trump's tongue was exploring Elmo's mouth making sure not to miss anything.

Elmo had stripped Don-don bare to the cheeks. He had looked away for a split second, when he felt a wrinkly hand on his poofy yarn stick. Don-don's mouth was on him, and it was simply otherworldly, his experienced tongue wrapped around his dong, sucking and licking all around his length took his breath away - literally. Multiple more times of licking and sucking Elmo's special sauce squirted out. 

"Hop on me Elmy" Don-don implied with a growing smirk on his face. Elmo obviously did and rode Trumpy like a cowboy, jumpin up and down, soon enough, the black interior of the car was snowy white. Trumpy and Elmo were breathless after what seemed like hours of slamming into each other with full force, moans and squeaking the only things you could hear in that poor car.

"Trumpyy?" Elmo cooed "Yes Elmy?" Trump softly replied, "Its probably past my bedtime, can you drive me home now?" Elmo asked with a yawn, "Sure thing Elmy, anything for you my precious red-dongled baby. Heck, I'll even stop the wall project for you, anything to make you happy Elmy" Trump responded pulling him in for a hug.

Trump dropped off Elmy at his house and blew him a kiss "I'll see you soon sugar"

"Elmo will be waiting for you Trumpy!"

"I know you will!"

And with that, Trump drove away with the rising sun.

Who knew a project meant to separate just brought them closer?

•••

A/N

This was one weird idea ma bros, it's Jamal here, and I wrote alla this one, but it wouldn't have been readable without Beezy, cuz she edited this one, and like, all of the others, so it's always a team effort. Hope all of u guys r still here and waitin for more chapters to come.

-Jamal Gripperton and BeezyBee <3

#donald trump #elmo sesame street #elmo #big bird

[agathaarts]

Storm and Jean

Amidst all the stuff I was doing, I revisited my X-Men setting and I always love revisiting that. The first two true Omega-Level Mutants known and quantified.

Ororo Munroe’s control over weather is greater than most suspect, and when she truly uses the full extent of her abilities she can *change coastlines* permanently within’ hours. She does not do this often. And she does not do it lightly. I also have my own take on her appearance, as I always do, but my personal idea for her eyes is that her eyes are blue- when the sky is clear. And they are grey when it rains. And flaming red or soft violet at dawn or dusk. Black, speckled with stars, in the middle of the night. And when lightening flashes, so do her eyes. She *is* the sky and the weather.

Jean Grey should be a powerful psychic. That should be it. She should be capable of incredible feats beyond human capacity, yes, but that should have been all- were it not for the paracausal nature of the Phoenix. Death, Life, Birth, Jean is the source and the victim of the Phoenix, as it tears through reality again and again in a loop through time, space, and Jean’s mind. If she is lucky, she will learn to reign this energy in, control it, channel it, become it’s master. If she falters, it will burn her out and use what’s left for it’s own devices.

wait jean where are your pants

#x-men #x men #ororo munroe #jean grey #storm #storm x-men #phoenix #phoenix x-men #lil bit o nudies oops #these two have freakin world-shattering powers and we love them #x-men au

[ragingbookdragon]

And I Will Still Be Here Stargazing

Batsis x Batfamily Story

Word Count: 1.6K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: I shouldn't be allowed to make new stories when I've already got WIP's to do. Oh well, HERE'S ANOTHER STORY! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

She glanced through the telescope once more, scanning the expanse of the night sky before her. Giddiness ran through her at the thought of seeing the supposed comet coming back around. Apparently, it was one that hadn’t been seen in two hundred years. It’d taken almost two whole days to convince her dad to let her go out on her own in the field three miles out of town.

Of course, that convincing came with a massive surprise—not—of taking a tracker with her just in case—being the only non-vigilante in her family did make her vulnerable to trouble, but most of their enemies wanted nothing to do with her, so she figured she was alright.

Pulling away from the scope, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and she sighed as she answered it, putting it to her ear. “Dad, I already told you, I’m fine.”

You weren’t answering your brothers’ texts. They were worried.

“Oh, for the love of—dad, I’m twenty-one. I shouldn’t have to check in every five freakin’ minutes.”

We worry about you, (Y/N).

“I know,” she griped. “C’mon, one night where I can actually be treated like I have a functioning brain inside my skull. Let me have it.” She glanced up again, seeing something streak across the sky. “Oh, there it is!” (Y/N) grinned. “I gotta go dad! I love you!”

Wait, (Y/N)—

Hanging up, she stowed the phone in her pocket before looking into the glass. “Oh wow,” she breathed. “It’s so beautiful…and big.” (Y/N) hummed and pulled back slightly. “Really, really big. Almost like it’s…coming to earth.”

She took a step back when she realized that was exactly what was happening. The comet, or whatever it was, was barreling towards the field near her and she gasped, taking another step back. Her foot slipped in the mud, and she fell, but the thought of being obliterated made her scramble to her feet and run as fast as she could away from it and while she wasn’t sure she’d outrun the devastation, she was going to try.

That being said, whatever it was, hit the ground with a thundering explosion, sending dirt and gravel flying, along with her and she screamed as she was thrown to the ground. (Y/N) covered her head, crying in pain as debris scraped her arms and legs, but she stayed still until the world calmed around her.

When it did, she peeked through her arms and gaped at the destruction around her. Trees had been blown from their roots and in the middle of where her telescope had once been, was something smoking inside a hollowed dip in the ground, dirt and rocks thrown away.

(Y/N) shakily got to her feet and crept closer, terrified that she was going to find some horror movie come alive. Alien and Predator stuck in the back of her mind and part of her wanted to flee. The other part—and curse her Wayne curiosity—wanted to know what it was.

“Hello?” she whispered as she neared the rim of the crater, peering in. A groan sounded and she gasped, pulling away before she took another glance and she saw a woman. At least it looked like a woman.

Her body was unlike anything familiar to (Y/N), in the form of an average woman, but she had no skin. Instead, her body looked like the night sky, swirling pools of stars and dark matter, and her hair was long and white, shimmering like glitter. Her hips and wrists were plated with some type of metal, gold and inlaid with what looked like diamonds.

(Y/N) slid down the side of the crater against her better judgement, nearing the woman carefully. “Hello?” she called again. “Are you alright?” The woman groaned and rolled onto her back, eyes opening at her. She gasped at the white eyes, like stars.

“Help,” she weakly moaned.

Hurrying over, she knelt beside the woman. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” She reached out to touch the woman but stilled when she felt the warmth radiating off her body.

“Please…help me,” she begged. “They’re…coming.”

(Y/N) shook her head and took the woman’s hand; it made her skin tingle. “Who’s coming?”

“The Insentients,” the woman said. “They’re coming in a years’ time.”

“I…I don’t understand,” she replied. “What are Insentients?”

“Terrible creatures that destroy life.” The woman grasped her hand. “I am Astra, Queen of the Stars. And you must help me.” (Y/N) couldn’t believe a thing she was hearing, simply gaping at her. “I have battled the Insentients for billions of years, but I am at my end.” She squeezed tightly, reaching up to cup (Y/N)’s cheek, white eyes widening. “You must take my place as queen and protect the life of this galaxy.”

She couldn’t even form words, mouth opening and closing like a fish and all she could muster was, “I’m sorry? What?”

Astra coughed and something splattered on (Y/N)’s clothes before fading from sight. “Please, you must do this or life as you know it will cease in one year. Take my place.”

“But I’m—I’m not some alien queen! I’m a human!” She spluttered. “What do I even do?!”

The queen sighed tiredly. “Child, nothing will stop the Insentients unless you help. They will destroy all in their path.”

(Y/N) shook her head and happened to glance towards the sky. “The stars,” she breathed. “They’re so…dull.”

“My life is fading…so they are too.” Astra whispered. “They will die.”

“What?!” she shouted. “But the sun?! It’ll go out!”

“Yes.” The queen murmured.

Bewildered, she asked, “What can I do?”

Astra gazed at her. “Take my power. Be reborn as the Queen of the Stars.”

“How do I?” She questioned and Astra took (Y/N)’s hands, placing them on her chest.

“Grasp my heart.”

“Grasp your what?” she repeated.

“My heart.” The woman’s chest opened, and she stared in surprise as a small, but brilliant light came into view. “Bring it to your own.”

“I better not die,” (Y/N) deadpanned as she cupped the light carefully. Her fingers tingled like she was being shocked, and she swallowed thickly as she brought it up to her chest, just above her heart. “What now?” she asked, and Astra’s form began to fade, starting at her feet.

“Your body will absorb all that I am…all that I…have been.” She smiled. “Place it within your chest.”

“That’s not possible.” (Y/N) retorted, though she moved her hands against her chest. “My body can’t just absorb—holy shit it’s working,” she blurted, and she went still as her something jolted her spine, all the way up her spinal cord to her brain.

Her jaw went slack as he eyes widened, head tipping back to stare at the sky above her. Memories flashed across her vision, faster than she could keep track of and then her mind felt like it was imploding. She let out a strangled gasp and tipped backwards, fatigue overcoming her. The last thing she remembered was Astra’s eyes and her smile before she disappeared from sight and (Y/N) descended into darkness.

***

When she came to, all she could think about was the pounding headache in her skull and the lack of memory the night before. (Y/N) sat up and looked around. The sun was high in the sky and her telescope was sitting neatly where it had been. She blinked, feeling as though she’d forgotten something important. When she couldn’t remember, she shrugged and got to her feet, beginning to take the scope apart and put it away.

(Y/N) rolled the sleeping bag up and put it in the tote, carrying both back towards the side of the road. Her butler should’ve been around to pick her up but when she didn’t see him, she frowned. Huh…I thought Alfie was coming to pick me up? Blinking in confusion, she patted her pocket for her phone and pulled it out, though her eyes went wide when she saw the shattered screen and burnt phone.

“What the hell?” she questioned. “What happened to my phone?” It looked like it’d been blown up. Now she was really confused. What the hell happened last night? (Y/N) sighed heavily and shoved the phone in her pocket. “I guess I’m walking then.” She grunted and heaved the telescope and sleeping bag over her shoulders, starting back towards the city in the distance.

***

GCPD was the first important building she came upon and as tired as she was, she knew they’d let her use one of their phones to call home. (Y/N) lethargically wandered into the department, stopping near the counter.

“Excuse me, can I use your phone?”

The man at the counter looked up and suddenly shot to his feet. “(Y/N) Wayne!” he shouted, and she blinked.

“Uh…yeah, that’s me?”

He rubbed his eyes. “Holy shit, you’re here.” Gesturing to her, he added “Wait right there! Don’t move!”

“Wait, but I—” the man sprinted off and she sighed. “Great. Probably going to get everyone so we can do pictures.”

Next thing she knew, Commissioner Gordon was running into the entry way. “Miss Wayne!”

(Y/N) looked at him. “Yes sir. That’s me.” She pointed to the phone at the desk. “I was wondering if I could use the phone to call home? Mine’s…busted.”

He reached out, grasping her arms. “Are you hurt? We should get you checked out immediately.”

“I’m fine?” she answered confusedly. “What’s going on? Why is everyone panicking?”

Gordon gaped at her. “You don’t know what’s going on?” she shook her head. “(Y/N), you’ve been missing for an entire week.”

#batfamily x reader #batfamily x reader imagines #batfamily x reader imagine #batfamily imagines #batfamily imagine #batfamily #batfamily x batsis #batfamily x batsis imagines #batfamily x batsis imagine #batsis x batfam #batsis x batfamily #batsis x batfamily imagines #batsis x batfamily imagine #batsis imagines #batsis imagine #batsis #bruce wayne #batman #dc comics #dc imagines #dc imagine #dc

[crispyjenkins]

B U I R, continuation of the last fic? Padawan Obi and master Dooku are freakin great. Would like to see more of jango being a disaster & a himbo for one (1) man

(my kid enabled me and i’ve been writing this between packing/moving the last week and i don’t know when i’ll be able to start something new (tonight? tomorrow? next week? lord knows), so i’m very sorry to the quinobi anon, yours is next, i promise!!

imagine that one Stiles/Malia cuddle that literally will not stop looping through my brain even though i haven’t watched teen wolf

warning for minor blood and injury, minor descriptions/implications of torture. takes place maybe three years after the last!) 

  It’s a little uncomfortable, trying to sleep against a wall while also trying to keep your sort-of-love-interest's headwound elevated on your own lap, and whatever remains of Obi-Wan’s internal clock protests to the surely late hour should they have been on Coruscant.

  Which they’re not, of course, because Obi-Wan has apparently run out of brownie points with the Force, and all his bad luck is catching up to him all at once: getting kidnapped by the Daan for ransom is one thing, getting his shuttle knocked clean out of the sky over Odos and barely managing to protect his fellow passengers in the crash is another entirely. A concussion and a Force-suppression collar later, Obi-Wan had been thrown in a clinically-plain but entirely-dark cell with a barely-conscious Mand'alor that he hasn't seen outside of holocomms since Concord Dawn.

  And some part of Obi-Wan is thankful for the excuse to see the real Jango again, not just the fuzzy holos that barely passed recognition and had to be viewed in private, but most of Obi-Wan is livid that this had only been made possible by the both of them getting snatched by the beginnings of a separatist alliance in the mid rim. 

  Livid that Jango has been here days longer than him, the passage of time marked in fist-shaped bruises and a bleeding lip — and Obi-Wan can't do anything about it, not cut off from the Force as he is.

  The single door on the other side of the durasteel bars slides open, spilling harsh white light into the room and sending a nauseating pulse of pain through Obi-Wan's head. The Rattataki nightsister that had dragged him out of the wreckage of the shuttle all but bounces up to the bars, smile cruel in its delight. Force, but she can't be more than twenty-four standard, and already she has two red 'sabers at her hips. 

  “Well, isn’t that sweet,” Ventress purrs, and Obi-Wan is far too tired to deal with her posturing. He elects to ignore her, letting his head sag into the corner all while giving Jango's wrist a harsh squeeze to surreptitiously wake him, careful to keep his free hand curled around the back of Jango's neck to let him know they're not in immediate danger, but to be wary. 

  The Mand'alor stirs, and he had been raised a soldier, he knows better than to give himself away immediately. Instead, he keeps his muscles slack even as he takes in the situation, the breathing of a third person in the room, the slow, steady brush of Obi-Wan's thumb over his pulse. 

  "You can ignore me all you like, Jedi," Ventress says, certainly sounding at ease in her upper hand. "When my master arrives, your tongue will quickly loosen."

  Obi-Wan simply grunts, glaring at her for all the good that will do. "I do hope he's not quite so young as yourself," he drawls, as Jango carefully shifts and tests his aches and pains. "You'll have to forgive me for finding it difficult to fear one younger than some padawans."

  Ventress hisses, one hand grabbing the bars to pull herself closer. "Not all can be so perfect as you, young Master Kenobi." Jango twitches against him, and Obi-Wan doesn't need the Force to feel his rage. "I do look forward to my master showing you what real power is."

  "Well, then I hope he arrives soon, before you manage to bore us to death."

  "Obi-Wan," Jango murmurs in warning, stupidly alerting Ventress to his wakefulness. 

  To his credit, Ventress doesn’t even look like she notices, lips curling back as she waves her hand and the barred door slams to the side. It’s a careless use of the Force, Obi-Wan thinks, which is a shame because she certainly isn’t lacking in skill, though perhaps this isn’t what he should be focussing on.

  Slinking into the cell followed quickly by two magnaguards from the hall, Ventress uses that skill to effortlessly grab Jango with the Force and drag him off of Obi-Wan, flinging him across the room into the arms of one of the magnaguards. The other shoves its electrostaff into Obi-Wan’s face to stop him from scrambling up to follow, Ventress leering over Obi-Wan with her fingers gliding over her ‘saber hilts.

  “My master warned me of your wayward words, Master Kenobi, you are foolish to think you can use your powers against me," she hisses.

  Maker, at least she's earnest. "I didn't think you'd be so quick to forget, darling," Obi-Wan says with a disarming smile, "that you've already made sure I have no powers to speak of."

  Over Ventress’ shoulder, Jango jerks in the droid’s arms with a desperately angry frown aimed right at Obi-Wan, and he’s probably right: Obi-Wan really should stop antagonising their captors. It’s difficult, though, when the bleary half-light through the open door frames the fresh split at the corner of Jango’s lip, that Obi-Wan is helpless to remedy.

  Ventress snarls at him and grabs the suppression collar underneath his chin, pulling just enough to make him grunt in pain as she forces his head up to look at her; Jango doesn’t make a sound, but yanks against the magnaguard’s grip with enough force that both he and the droid stumble. Ventress pays them absolutely no mind as she leans right into Obi-Wan’s face.

  “You will learn to fear us,” she whispers, sibilance bouncing around his mind like the spots that start to dance at the edges of his vision. “We have some more questions for his honor, but you get to sit here in the dark and reflect, perhaps you should meditate, Jedi, on the fate that awaits you at my master’s hands.”

  Obi-Wan has just enough leeway to suck in a breath, and uses it to murmur back, “I’m starting to wonder if you even have a master, with the way you hide behind his ‘power’.”

  With a ferocious snarl, Ventress yanks him clean off the floor and into the air by the collar, his surprised gasp cutting off into a wheeze as his head snaps back. Jango barks something at Ventess, though Obi-Wan can’t hear exactly what over the roar in his ears.

  He scrambles at Ventress' wrist in an attempt to pull himself up enough to just kriffing breathe, to take some of his weight off his neck, but it's been days since he's eaten, and his toes barely brush the floor, and Ventress knows exactly how to manipulate his body to make it hurt. Force, he can hear Jango's voice, low, dangerous, edged in panic, and he can't make out a single word. Instead, Obi-Wan curses his height that he normally doesn't mind, for the way someone at least five years his junior can hold him so powerless so easily. 

  And then after an eternity, after the world starts to grey and Obi-Wan almost feels like his neck will break, she drops him, oozing smugness as he crumples to the floor and barely manages not to smack his head against the durasteel; he lacks the strength to save his knees from the same fate. He chokes and coughs on the frigid, fake air, nearly retching at his lungs' attempt to suck in all his missing oxygen at once, and he's vaguely aware of Ventress saying something to him, probably gloating. He focuses on just keeping his head off the floor.

  Endlessly gentle hands brace his ribs and the back of his neck as they maneuver Obi-Wan up from his stomach to the closest wall, and Obi-Wan knows to trust these hands, that the hurried murmur cutting through the din is not Ventress, that he should probably listen to the owner of those hands. 

  Jango presses two fingers under Obi-Wan's jaw and checks his pulse, his holo-fuzzy face only coming into focus when the bars slam back into place and the door glides closed on the other side of the room. 

  "You with me, ner ca'tra?" Jango asks, tilting Obi-Wan's chin up until he nods. 

  Chest still jerking but forcing himself to calm, Obi-Wan looks around Jango's shoulder to the door, finding with relief that both Ventress and the magnaguards have left them in the dark once again. "Ar-Ar you alright?" he coughs, voice sounding as rough as it feels.

  Jango sighs sharply and drags his hand up to push Obi-Wan's loose hair back from his face. "Force preserve me from jetiise suicidal selflessness. I'm fine, kih'jetii, I'll pretend you asked because you've gone stupid from oxygen loss."

  Obi-Wan laughs, though it still sounds like a gasp, and lets the Mand'alor pull him gently into his shoulder. 

-

  "Padawan," Yan says softly, side stepping in front of the Neimoidian senator that had been talking his ear off for the past hour. Obi-Wan relaxes immediately as his master blocks out the rest of the room, the sounds and the light and the people, and he's never so thankful for Yan's height than he is when chill creeps over the back of his mind and digs its claws into his temples.

  It's easier now that he's older, he has more control, has a better understanding of the Unifying Force, and under Yan's tutelage, his shields certainly aren't lacking. Visions are rare, Obi-Wan mostly gets jabs and encouragement from the Force these days, and even in dreams, events are rarely clear enough to preemptively act upon. 

  But sometimes it's like this, ice starting just where his spine meets his skull, swiftly growing under bone and frosting over gray matter, crystalising his mental shields until they're brittle enough to shatter. He's been under Yan's care for more than half his life now, his master can feel a vision coming on almost before Obi-Wan does, and if it weren't for the crowded ballroom around them, Obi-Wan would sob in relief when his master gently settles two fingers on his temple and supports his mind from below. 

  Obi-Wan chases the flashes of colour and pictures, the vague senses of warmth and rain and contentment, before rock explodes and durasteel rends. Amorphous screams slam against the inside of his skull, and he leans harder into Yan's hand to combat it, to prop himself up until he can reach out and try and catch those will-o-the-wisps of answers, of hints of where or when these flashes will matter. 

  "Soon," he mumbles, feeling Yan move slowly and methodically over the cracks in his mind, patching them with care. "I don't... A terrorist attack, Master Yan, I don't—"

  "Easy, padawan," Yan soothes back and sets his free hand on the other side of Obi-Wan's face, like he used to before Obi-Wan had learned enough control. "The details matter not."

  He lets out a harsh breath. "The details matter not. The details... Desert. Refugees. Claw marks, master, and..." Obi-Wan frowns, pinching his brows together in confusion. "The... the stolen armour. From before."

  Yan rumbles unhappily. "Are you sure, Obi-Wan?"

  "I'm sure," he whispers. "I would know that armour anywhere."

Mand'alor —  “Sole ruler”, contended ruler of Mandalore. ner ca'tra — “my night sky”, intimate term of endearment  jetiise —  “Jedi” pl., sing. jetii kih'jetii —  “Little Jedi”, usually offensive but the relationship between Mandalorians and Jedi are better in this ‘verse so

#jangobi #theclonewarsbrokeme #prompt fill #dooku's padawan au #jango fett/obi-wan kenobi #jango fett #obi wan kenobi #yan dooku #asajj ventress #kidnapping #long distance relationship #they in lov and making it work #'sort of love interests' and all that #mando'a #mand'alor jango #some time jumping there at the end #crispy writes #prompt #ask #ask box is always open!

[atamascolily]

One of the exercises in Julia Cameron’s The Vein of Gold is to compile a list of favorite movies--or ones with images that resonate with you--and note any patterns that arise. Here are some of mine, with observations below.

(For the purposes of this exercise, I’m sticking with live-action films, but there’s no reason why there couldn’t be animated films.)

1. Star Wars Original Trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)

(Yes, I know this is technically three films, with three different directors and independent histories, but I didn’t feel like listing them all separately.)

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Ironically, I love the first Peter Jackson movie, but not any of the subsequent ones. Which is not to say they’re necessarily bad movies, but they’re not the ones I’d want on endless loop. (Part of this is because The Two Towers and The Return of the King are essentially war movies, and also because I have to watch Faramir act OOC, which hurts my soul.)

3. The Secret Garden

4. The Matrix

I actually don’t have strong feelings about Reloaded and Revolutions--like, the actual plot is weird, but I am so not watching these films for plot.

5. Return to Oz

6. Inception

7. Labyrinth

8. The Terminator

Don’t get me wrong, Terminator 2 has a lot going for it, but it’s not the one that I can’t stop thinking about (except for that one deleted scene with Michael Biehn, which is a totally different story).

Thoughts and Themes:

So at first glance, it seems like I have two separate categories: ‘80s and ‘90s-’00s films. Or maybe it’s sci-fi and fantasy? The Secret Garden is the only one that even approaches some kind of realism, and even that is a pastoral kind of world that would not be out of place in the more peaceful parts of, say, Middle-Earth (especially Fourth Age). How about high-tech vs. low-tech, or cyberpunk vs. fairy tale? Or, even better, what about reality vs. illusion (or story vs. truth if you prefer)--which is also a major tension within every film on this list?

I’ll also note that most of these films have an epic color palette, with memorable landscapes that either serve as characters in and of themselves, or symbolize the mental states of various characters. These films are beautiful works of art, reveling in The Aesthetic, whether that’s the idyllic peacefulness of the Shire or the grimy back alleys of 1980s Los Angeles.

The thing that really got me when I laid it out like this--the thing I hadn’t noticed before--was that all of these involve a (sometimes literal) rebirth, transition, or journey from darkness to light (or light to darkness to light again, depending on the work). You could also substitute life and death here, and not change much.

This is, again, often quite literal: Sarah moves underground in Labyrinth, the Fellowship descends into the Mines of Moria, the secret garden comes to life with the spring, Dorothy confronts the Nome King in his underground lair. Neo wakes up to find himself naked and soaked to the skin, and flushed down the tubes like garbage, in a literal hellscape where the machines destroyed the sun (a motif that also appears in Terminator’s dystopian future), then literally dies and is resurrected at the end of the film. Luke goes underground to confront his own double--another recurring theme!--on Dagobah.

Duality and the exploration of one’s soul through another world is HUGE  big theme--or, to put it another way, The internal mirrors the external. This is a huge motif of Inception, which is a literal inward journey into a character’s psyche; and you could also make the argument that both Return to Oz and Labyrinth cover similar territory. Is Oz real, or is it in Dorothy’s head? Is Ozma a part of her, or is Ozma a separate entity? Is Jareth a real foe or is he the embodiment of Sarah’s fears and desires, a fantasy she concocts based on a story in a book?  And Frodo realizes he’s not so different from Gollum, that the sad shriveled creature is what he could become if he fails at his task--and, ironically, his kindness to Gollum is what allows the quest to succeed when Frodo finally succumbs to temptation.

Frodo in the The Fellowship of the Ring sees the world differently when he wears the One Ring, and it’s terrifying. Sarah Connor realizes that she’s left her ordinary world behind and crossed into Kyle and the Terminator’s reality in a moving speech, and The Matrix doesn’t even try to be subtle. Even The Secret Garden uses the eponymous garden as a metaphor for the blossoming of Mary’s own soul, and the souls of those around her (especially her uncle and cousin, but also Ben Weatherstaff).

These stories are also concerned with ecology, though it’s usually a background motif, since the main focus is on saving the world (or what’s left of it, i.e, humans). The Shire is paradise; Mordor is a desolate hellscape, dominated by a giant volcano. Kyle Reese breaks down over the beauty of the world, and Mary Lennox seeks to bring the lost garden back to life. Dorothy retreats elsewhere after the grey grimness of Kansas/the mental hospital.

There’s also a real tension concerning humans’ relationship to technology in these films. The Matrix is an illusion, and machines control the earth. Or the machines don’t even bother farming humans and aim to kill ‘em all. Saruman literally transforms Isengard from a tree-lined field to an industrial hellscape. The mental institution uses that freaky electrical machine on Dorothy. Star Wars is more accepting of droids and technology, but even there, there’s tension: Obi-wan calls Darth Vader “more machine than man,” and it’s not a compliment; the Death Star is built to obliterate entire planets and must be stopped twice.

I’d argue this theme goes deeper than human/tech--it’s really human/other, with technology providing one kind of other. There’s human-alien interactions in Star Wars and Labyrinth, not to mention Mary’s relationship with the robin in The Secret Garden, Dorothy’s friendship with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump. On a less friendly note, Frodo’s relationship with Gollum is the emotional crux of the Lord of the Rings.

These films also feature the classic hero’s journey, but often through a female lens. The protagonist usually has no special skills other than their strong moral character and determination--or even if they do have skills (like Ariadne*), they still serve as an audience surrogate or substitute, a stranger to the new worlds they visit. The protagonist has at least one faithful friend/companion/love interest to help them (sometimes even a team/found family), and often a mentor as well (who may or may not be a crusty eccentric). In the end, the characters must take control of their own destiny--Frodo chooses to leave the Fellowship, Luke throws away his lightsaber rather than kill his father, Sarah declares to Jareth “You have no power over me”. Sarah Connor yells, “On your feet, soldier!” and keeps going to the bitter end, and Mary Lennox is unafraid of her bratty cousin’s wrath and puts a stop to it when everyone else enables him.

*(As an aside, I know Ariadne’s not the main character in Inception, but I find the actual main character way less interesting, so she’s the one I focus on, just like I find Trinity far more compelling than Neo.)

Characters often have Meaningful Names: Morpheus, Trinity, Neo; Ariadne; Luke Skywalker, Han Solo. These films also feature a question of fate and inevitability - Luke has precognitive visions, Neo consults the Oracle, Sarah is told “there is no fate but what we make for ourselves,” with Kyle serving as an oracle of sorts with messages from the future to come. The Mirror of Galadriel shows possible futures for the Shire, too.

Another theme is that the protagonist must suffer and/or work hard for their transformation. Mary has to do the actual work of gardening; Luke has to sweat and do handstands (beautifully, I might add); Frodo has to walk to Mount Doom; Sarah has to walk the labyrinth, and Sarah Connor has to survive a fucking nightmare. Dorothy has to rescue the royal family of Ev and free Ozma; Ariadne has to design a dream-puzzle for the heist to work. Even Neo has to train with Morpheus--though he’s able to use cheat codes to download martial arts directly into his brain without having to sweat for it; his real journey is in self-confidence. 

In keeping with the stunning visuals, impossible feats are regularly featured, and excellent, cutting-edge-for-their-time special effects are prominent. Many also feature stunning fight scenes--the classic Luke vs. Vader duel on Cloud City; the “I know Kung fu” sequence in The Matrix; the clashes in The Fellowship of the Ring. Jareth has some excellent moves in Labyrinth, too, although he’s more inclined to dance than traditional battles.

I couldn’t resist contrasting my favorite moment in Return to Oz--rescuing Ozma from the mirror prison--with Ariadne shattering her own reflection in Inception, because that is such a moment for me, encapsulating all of the reality/illusion, internal/external, self/other dichotomies I mentioned above. (See also the Mirror of Galadriel above.) Inception and Labyrinth also share the motif of impossible Escher staircases, which I freakin’ adore.

It will probably come as no surprise to note that I also enjoyed films like The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story,  and What Dreams May Come, which tap into similar themes and imagery. You’ll probably be able to guess that The Sword in the Stone is my favorite animated Disney film, too.

I also love a number of Asian films like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, all of which feature beautiful landscapes and color palettes, stunning fight scenes and special effects, along with a healthy dose of the fantastic, and a focus on story vs. reality (often with a plot twist or surprise reveal at the end). This is unsurprising when you consider the strong debt both Star Wars and The Matrix owe to Asian cinema in terms of style, plot, and aesthetic. In those films, the tension is more society vs. self, but duality is still very strongly present.

If you notice any other patterns or recurring themes, let me know; I’d love to hear them! Also, if you can think of any other movies I might enjoy based on this, let me know.

#writing exercises #personal writing meta #favorite gifs #vein of gold

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT Rewatch 4X11 - Heroes and Villains

Wow, now that the Frozen Arc’s complete, all I can say is...HAT’S ALL FOLKS!

Don’t leave, Belle! There’s a lovely review just under it! XD

Main Takeaways

Past

I’m of a mixed mind about this flashback. On one hand, it provides some nice setup for the Queens of Darkness and provides a good plot reason for Belle to find the real dagger in the present line. In short, it connects to Belle’s character. Not only, that, but narratively, it works, it’s as long as it needs to be, and it sets up the counterpoint of Belle feeling betrayed well enough. It’s a solid as hell segment.

That said, given what happens in the present, I’m not sure this flashback is what the episode necessarily needed. And I feel bad about this because Belle gets so few episodes that focus on her and the ones she’s had haven’t really worked for me, so I don’t want to put down another one (especially when it’s pretty freakin’ solid as far as episodes go).

But, my mind goes back to (or rather forward to) the scene at the town line and the emotions we’re supposed to be feeling. And I just can’t help but feel like for that scene to be complete, something akin to seeing Rumple suffer under the dagger’s power would’ve been so much more appropriate here because it really paints how Rumple could’ve fallen so quickly from his Season 3 heroism without forcing the audience to bend over backwards to create theories to explain the change. Hell, given that Zelena comes back in the next half, having a Zelena flashback would’ve worked as foreshadowing for her return AND an establishment of just why Rumple’s so gung ho about his plan and the lengths he goes to to achieve it. And because of that, I can’t help but have a twinge of resentment towards this flashback because of that. We get a good enough introduction for the Queens of Darkness in the next episode and Belle surely could’ve found out about the dagger situation  through other means (Maybe when Henry knocks stuff down, it destroys the fake dagger and Belle then breaks into Rumple’s safe to find the real one?), but this was really Rumple’s last chance to flesh his motivations out in a way that narratively struck a chord. While I’ve pointed out glimpses of these motivations before, that’s just it: they were only glimpses. For a character like Rumple and for something that drives his character’s motivation for half a season in such a sharp twist to his character’s moral trajectory just a half season before, they really needed to do more than just glimpses here and there. And in this episode, the one where it should have the most focus, we only get a sentence discussing it. That’s not good enough.

Present

Like in “Family Business,’ the most interesting part of this episode can really be boiled down to a single moment, and that’s Belle banishing Rumple from Storybrooke with the dagger. It’s the most memorable part of the episode and if you’re reading this review, this is what you want me to get into. So here goes nothing!

Before I get into my feelings about Belle’s decision itself, I want to touch briefly on the moment from a storytelling perspective. But before that, because i’m gonna be a little negative here, I want to say that I do like this scene in a lot of ways. This is some of Emiliee de Ravin’s best acting on the show and the scene nails its tone, Additionally, as someone who likes Killian, this scene has one hell of a catharsis value after seeing him pushed around by Rumple for these past few episodes.

That said, I think that this scene is kind of messy.

It is framed as one that is tragic for Rumple and a tough, but necessary choice for Belle to make, and while the element of tragedy is present, the two parts lack potency. First, let’s go into Rumple’s share of the scene. Simply put, with everything Rumple has done and the real lack of focus on his motivations for going as dark as he did during this half season, I don’t feel sorry for him in the way the episode wants me to. This is something Rumple deserves for eleven episodes of lying, manipulation, kidnapping, and attempted murder and no amount of Robert Carlyle blubbering (Despite how good he is at it) is gonna make me change my mind about that. Additionally, Rumple’s lines are just not sympathetic. If they didn’t want to make this a sympathetic moment for Rumple, that would be one thing, but the music paints this as something tragic, even after Belle is out of Rumple’s sight. They want us to feel for Rumple to some extent, but he’s not talking about his weakness after losing Bae and his freedom for a year. He’s talking about how he wants his power and how they can have it all, and it doesn’t make this a complicated situation, but instead pushes the morality in this scene overwhelmingly in Belle’s favor.

And speaking of Belle, I wish that instead of going for a twist where Belle surprisingly stopped Rumple, that she had a bit of time to process the lie. I say this because Belle is very dramatic at the town line and while the buildup is good enough, Belle should get more focus beforehand as she discovers what Rumple’s really been up to as to really emphasize just how much he’s hurt her by lying to her so much. Her words in this scene are so powerful and speak of this moment as one of culmination as she realizes all of his sins, but the lack of focus on her in the present doesn’t set up the gravitas that’s needed to give birth to these words. He told a few big lies and the audience feels the weight of these lies because we spent eleven episodes seeing him lie, but Belle has seen that Rumple gave her a fake dagger and that Rumple was about to kill Killian. The first bit -- the most important one by the way the text is written -- happens off screen and the latter is presented as a twist, but is otherwise basically ignored by the scene, and that’s not even counting Rumple’s other lies. Do you see what I mean here? The heart of this banishing scene happened off screen and because of that, for all this scene’s gravitas, it feels a little narratively hollow.

Okay, now how do I feel about the banishing itself?

I think you’ve gleamed it by now, but I do agree with Belle’s decision. Granted, her scope of information is small unless in the intervening time, she learned about Rumple’s inaction during the casting of The Shattered Sight curse, but Belle does know Rumple is a threat. He lied about giving her the real dagger, nearly killed a man, and literally tried to take over the world (I’m gonna say she was able to piece that together). And not only that, but when given the chance to explain himself, he defaults to excuses. Belle was protecting everyone through this decision and herself too, and I can’t find fault in it.

Stream of Consciousness

-Okay, so is the king of the Southern Isles really okay with all of his thirteen children running off to go face a Snow Queen? Like, send a few, but ALL of them?! Like, isn’t he afraid of losing all of his heirs to a woman that his son most likely described as dangerous and mad?

-”I wanted to see how the mouse would play while the cat was away, so I lied.” Rumple is such a douche in this segment and I’m all here for it! XD

-”It’s time for you to see the world.” Welllllll, not just yet.

-Robin, your wife just came out of basically a coma. BE HAPPY ABOUT THAT. Seriously, CRACK A SMILE. Love who you love, but seriously, Robin acts like he HATES Marian in this scene. And it really sucks! Marian -- whether you love her or not, Robin, is the mother of your child. How can you not even be a little happy that she’s alive? It really does a disgusting job of painting Robin.

-I know the actress didn’t know she was actually Zelena at the time, but Christie Lang does such a job playing this scene with Regina at Granny’s so sympathetically and I just can’t help but imagine Zelena internally holding back laughter because of how she’s going to twist the knife when she fakes her side effects so that she and Robin have to leave town! XD

-”I want to be chosen.” Wow, Rumple’s right: When you can see the future, there’s really irony everywhere.

-”In the next life, things won’t be so pleasant for you.” ...Wow, Rumple’s right: When you can see the future, there’s really irony everywhere. XD Like SERIOUSLY! HOW DID THEY KNOW?!

-”He [Merlin] brought the Snow Queen from Arendelle to this world, which means his magic is strong enough to move between that world and ours.” It’s interesting how Merlin (And possibly The Apprentice) can move between realms and a reason why I understand why Merlin needed to ultimately die (Basically, he’s OP, but we’ll touch on that in Season 5).

-”So, I figured it out, why you collect so many magical objects. It’s because you have a hole in your heart.” ABC, I’m in this line and I don’t like it! XD

-I really like that we get a Belle and Henry scene! When this episode first aired, I was so surprised by its presence and I just adored the scene simply for having a dynamic like this. And together, they’re charming and cute! Honestly, given how Henry becomes the author later on, I’d have loved to see the two of them interact more as an author and a book fanatic! That said, this scene also goes to show how fucking pointless it was for Henry to work at Gold’s. Not only is his part in saving Killian only accidental (Something that was possibly implied by Gold seeing the hat and saying not to go into the back room), but in terms of his original goal of finding the Author, he’s not even snooping or working in this scene: He just blatantly asks about the Author. And it’s not like Henry and Rumple bonded at all in between these two scenes so why he’s not still snooping is weird. So why make Henry work here in the first place as opposed to Rumple just being a last option? Like, Rumple tells Regina he knows Henry was snooping, but they could’ve just had Regina bring up the Author instead or had Henry be more direct. I know it’s a small thing to get riled up about it, but yeah, it was kind of pointless.

-You know, I really FEEL for the writers. They build up these honestly pretty great twists, but the marketing exposed them prematurely.

-”Having Marian back in his life means so much to Roland.” Look, why can’t you smile like THAT for a fucking second when Marian came back?

-”If I went back to Marian, I’d be living a lie.” And setting Roland up for a life of his parents resenting each other, which wouldn’t be healthy.

-I really like Rumple and Regina’s conversation in the car. Rumple very clearly cares for Regina and wants her to be happy. As you can see by the harsh and honest way he gives her advice. He knows it sounds villain-y and kind of disturbing, but he’s sure it would be the way he could be happy.

-XD I kind of forgot that Mal could form herself via birds!

-I love Ursula’s tentacles! They’re slimy, scaly, and still malleable, giving them this gross yet cool sense to them.

-I love how Cruella has the most understated entrance, but is the most dangerous of all three of them! XD

-”Shall I get you a stepstool so you can look in my eyes when you threaten me?” Fucking iconic, Cruella.

-You know, we never did find out what the Queens of Darkness even want! XD

-I kind of wish we got more out of Emma and Elsa’s goodbye. Elsa says a lot, but Emma really doesn’t get the chance.

-Damn, the Sorcerer’s Hat is BEAUTIFUL when it goes off! I love the use of stars and the shades of purple! It’s just lovely!

-I know this is a super emotional moment, but I am curious. Given that humans are...well, humans, what would happen if we unknowingly built a town over the clearing that cloaks Storybrooke? Like, ordinary people can’t pass through the town line into Storybrooke, but what happens if they just build a town in the free space they enter when they do so?

-”Two.” Tow what? I know they’re getting shots, but what kind of stuff do you want to get drunk off of? If I were the bartender, I’d charge you for top shelf shots for such vagueness!

-I’m very glad that Regina and Emma didn’t drink before driving! XD

-Why are all these fairytale creatures moving to New York? I live in New York and it’s expensive as hell!

-”Demanding a ransom from the Dark One is not a deal. It’s a deathwish.” That is such a Rumple line and I love it!

Favorite Dynamic

Rumple and Killian. These two drive the tension of this episode flawlessly. This is the dynamic we worry about. The past is a foregone conclusion and the Queens of Darkness are at least a little distant. But Rumple having control over Killian’s life is what we worry about and serves as the ticking clock that makes this episode as exciting to watch as it is. It’s with Rumple and Killian that we get a good balance of plot and story. Rumple gives a lot of exposition about the Sorcerer and because he’s about to kill Killian, he can tell him anything he wants with no fear, allowing for this really intriguing honesty which we rarely see with Rumple. And Killian’s biting back at every chance he can, really showing off that hot headed personality of his. And let’s talk about Killian’s scene with Emma at Granny’s because EVERYTHING with them works and I would be remiss to not talk about it. The scene shows just how powerless Killian really is and builds the tension of how much control Rumple has. It’s where this dynamic shines the brightest and it brought to new heights by the terrifying music and the editing cuts between Rumple and Killian. It also shows just how both well and horribly Rumple knows Killian. While he can impersonate Killian’s speech patterns well enough, it’s the more down-to-earth mannerisms and subtleties that make it clear before we even first cut to Rumple that this is a facade and make it clear to Emma that something’s up. And once it’s revealed that this is indeed a facade, the scene grows so much creepier as we see Rumple literally putting words in Killian’s mouth. It’s an actual masterpiece of a scene.

Writer

Adam and Eddy conclude our half season. It’s definitely not their best episode, that’s for sure, but not at all their worst. Just maybe to this point. Anyway, I’ve been throwing around the word “gravitas” like a tennis ball to a puppy lately and that trend continues here. If emphasis is put onto something being set up or paid off, it at least needs an emotional backing that is reasonably strong. When characters make big and sharp decisions, there needs to be a good deal of substance to those decisions.

Culture

So, how about that Frozen Arc?

I went into this rewatch knowing that despite keeping an open mind, I would most likely dislike two episodes (The present segments of “The Apprentice” and “Breaking Glass”), but otherwise love the hell out of the arc as a whole. I left it...basically feeling the same way. While I didn’t adore “Family Business” in the way I used to, I still like it and the same goes for this episode too. Overall, the Frozen Arc succeeds more than it fails for me. It features two interesting villains with interesting schemes, more of a reminder that whoever runs OUAT’s casting is a god amongst us puny mortals, interesting uses of those characters, and boobs.

Now, let’s talk about the Frozen characters and balance. This is an incredibly unpopular opinion, but I think that the Frozen cast had fuck all to do with the balancing issues of this arc. Apart from the flashbacks in “The Tale of Two Sisters, “Rocky Road,” “Smash the Mirror,” and “Fall” (all of which were setup for the events in the main storyline), each flashback either didn’t involve them at all or had their characters act as support or a counterpoint to one of our mainstays. And these served as overall good moments of development for the characters they worked off of. Rumple got the most sympathy in his brief moment bemoaning his defeat at Anna’s hands then he did for basically the entire half season and David’s past with Anna not only was a great character episode for him, but unknowingly led to an entire arc for him later on. And in the present, it’s pretty noticeable to me that Elsa and Ingrid’s troubles are what give way to Emma, Regina, Belle, and everyone else working out their own shit with her as an excuse to be together. Some may say that makes them a plot device, but they’re given enough character and contributions to the story to not become that.

Anna, Elsa, and Ingrid’s stories were not at fault for the lackluster storytelling in some cases (Rumple’s motivation, Robin’s...just everything, Killian’s entire character in “The Apprentice,” Emma and Regina’s fight). Throughout my reviews, I’ve been posing small changes that didn’t need to even touch the Frozen segments to be enacted that would have better aided the storytelling for the characters and arcs as a whole. Now, that’s not to say they didn’t impose at all. I think when it came to Ingrid’s defeat, Emma and her magic should have played more of a part, even if it was just as someone who could protect Anna. But it was the minority of cases. Overall, the Frozen cast acted as support and led to interesting character moments. We see Emma learn to accept and love her magic as a part of her through Elsa, a different aspect of her magic that hadn’t been taught to her at this point. We see David grow into the hero he is through his lessons with Anna and struggles overcoming her grief. We see Rumple and Ingrid play a cat and mouse game with all of Storybrooke as their arena. We see Belle grow as a more selfless person through her friendship and somewhat betrayal of Anna. These are all interesting character moments that I don’t know could’ve been done without either the Frozen cast themselves or some other side characters and I’m glad it was the former. Not only did they make the arc more cohesive through having a more intimate cast of secondaries, but it ended up creating something visually striking from the rest of the series because of all of the ice imagery.

To sum it up, the Frozen saga’s pretty tight.

Rating

8/10. ...I feel like sometimes, these reviews don’t do my feelings justice. I feel like I do a bad part communicating during episodes where I have a lot to say negatively that most of the time, I am enjoying myself and the only reason I make it a point to elaborate on my rating for any given episode is so that I can discuss more positive elements. Because I did have a fun time watching this episode. While my criticisms were what they were, I was grinning like a dope for the entire thing. I liked the extra bit of focus on Belle, Rumple being Rumple, Rumple and Killian’s full on dynamic, and basically the entire flashback.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Rumbelle - Rumple waking Belle was cute as fuck! I love how he not only prepares breakfast for her, but basically tickles her nose until she wakes up. Also, I love Rumple and Belle banter in the beginning of the episode, too!

Captain Swan - Killian Jones can fight his heart being stolen so he can communicate for a second to Emma that something’s up and I LOVE IT! Like, it’s not even a second, it’s closer to three, and this is with the freakin’ DARK ONE in control of him! Also, THE NOSE SQUISHES!!!! That’s my fucking JAM!

Outlaw Queen - I definitely haven’t been the biggest fan of this relationship lately, but their goodbye at the town line really did get me. I felt so sorry for both of these two because they were so close to making things work and the circumstances that tore them apart were tragic, but (seemingly) necessary and the scene with them prior to this showed that they were going to handle their relationship the right way. Because of that (and the stellar and emotional background music), the scene really worked. I really felt bad seeing them have to separate and teared up a bit seeing Regina rip apart page 23.

Swan Queen - I love how supportive Emma was of Regina here! It feels really organic to them and the relationship they have to chill out over shots. And I love Emma’s enthusiasm to join Operation Mongoose! That was just too fucking cute!

-----

Another episode has come and gone and now finally, i can move onto the Queens of Darkness arc!!!

Thank you for reading and to both @watchingfairytales and @daensarah! See you guys next time!

Season 4 Total (95/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (24/60) Jane Espenson: (20/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (30/50) Andrew Chambliss: (14/50) Dana Horgan: (6/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (14/40) Scott Nimerfro: (14/30) Tze Chun (8/20)

Tags: ouat, once upon a time, watching fairytales, ouat episode code, ouat rewatch, jenna watches ouat, ships mentioned, triggers mentioned

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 4x12 #darkness on the edge of town #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat

[reztheripper-blog]

Rise of The Demon Huntress Part 3

 The front lines were in the city of Divitiae. Really nice place if you can ignore the raging demons killing every man, woman, and child in sight. We knew when we were getting close not because of the screams of those being slaughtered nor from the sight of fires spreading throughout the city, but from the scent of blood. Look, if anyone ever tells you blood isn't creepy, they're fucking insane (Or They're Alice. She actually enjoys the smell, then again, she's not the sanest person I know). It hit us like a wave, the metallic stench of death. As we got closer, the sounds we thought were sirens turned into the screams of the citizens and regular combat magicians (For reference, combat magicians are citizens who decide to defend a city if the need arises. They tend to do this until the military can arrive.) who were trying to hold off the demon onslaught.       "This is worse than the reports ever made it."  Alice said       Nero simply shook his head in sadness. "These people weren't meant to hold off such a large attack. They wouldn't have stood a chance."       "Well there may still be survivors. At worst, it overrun with demons and we all get brutally devoured. At best, we come across a fighting force and the douche who decided to cause this mess."       We wandered through the city encountering mainly dead people and demons. It was kind of a silver lining to say that it was an equal number of human and demon corpses, but at the quantity we were seeing, it was pretty bad. At one point there was a roving group of demons combing the streets looking for survivors. We had to avoid them as I didn't want to try and fight while getting Nero to the front lines. There was one strange occurrence that had all of us confused. There were several human corpses in a street and upon closer examination, they all had magical burns and weapon scratches (Demons leave a more ragged tear while weapons give a cleaner cut).         "Did they... kill each other?" I asked       Nero gave the bodies a long examination while me and Alice kept watch. "Whatever killed them was human. In fact most of them were killed with a combination of knife wounds and electrocution."       "Great. So one of our own decided to go rouge and start killing civilians? This just gets better and better." Alice said with a sigh. She turned to me and asked, "Do you think we should find them?"       "No. Hopefully whoever it is has moved far, far along."       I probably should've never said anything because the second I said that I felt a knife tip press against the back of my neck.       "Who are you?" A woman's voice asked from behind me.       "I think the better question is who are you? You kinda just came up from behind us and took me hostage."       "Nope, she got us all as hostages." Alice said as she slowly turned around to face me.       I had to do a double take, because last I remember, she was already facing me and was much farther away. Then it clicked instantly "That's not her." The shadow that was Alice dripped away and the real Alice came from behind our mysterious attacker and started to attack her instead.       "Stop fighting me or your healer gets it!!"         "Alice, stop!"       "Yes, please stop. I'd rather not die just yet." Nero said while being held hostage by a male attacker.       Alice stopped, but never sheathed her short sword. She grumbled something and came back to us.       "Now answer me: Who are you?" This strange woman asked us.       I guess it couldn't do any harm to tell her. Worst case scenario, we kill her. "I'm Melina Angelo," I pointed to Alice "the one who so kindly tried to murder you is Alice. That passive guy you have your goon pointing a knife at is Nero. And it's only courteous if you do the same and tell us your name."       The mysterious woman sighed and sheathed her knife. "I'm Natasha. Part of the actual group who is trying to stop the demon horde called the House of Knives."       This little statement piqued my interest as it would kind of explain the weird dead bodies we found. "So there's another group?"       "Yes, they're trying to help the demons invade our world. We don't know why, but we do know that these people all seem to reference meeting someone with strange eyes (Note: Strange eyes in the world of Favent means you have some really strange eyes. Like one neon green eye with a white spiral in it and another dull silver eye with purple rim around it) and the person offered them a well-paying job. We call them the "Controlled". You can tell them from other people because they're eyes are completely whited out. However, some still have normal eyes and will still religiously follow any order their leader gives."       "Well, shit. A cult basically?" I said       "In essence. Except they want the end of all humanity. Not enlightenment."       "We'll help you if you help us."       "It depends on what exactly it is you want."       "We want to find out who opened the Obice."       "Good. 'Cause the guy who did it is the leader. Kill him and you break the spell on the Controlled. Win-Win! I'll help you of course, because I remember the layout of the facility. I used to work there actually."       "Where is it?"       "You're not gonna like it. The weapon's facility 'Divitiae's Finest' is where their going and producing all of their equipment."       "Um... could you please call off your guy here? This knife is really digging into my throat." Nero complained       "Oh yeah, Marcus you can let him go. Head back to base and tell them I'm going to be doing a raid on the Controllers and to not worry."       Marcus let Nero go and proceeded to leave, but there was a more pressing concern here: What exactly was controlling these people? If it were a demon, that meant someone managed to do a controlled summon and did it basically across dimensions. They would be a powerful magician and a decent threat.       We were approaching the weapon facility, when that large group of demons decided now would be the perfect time to appear in front of us. And this time there was no hiding from them.       "Hey Alice, mind doing me a favor and getting it dark for them?" I glanced at Nero, "Please stay as far back from the combat as possible. But not so far we can't help you."       "I'll be back about one block." Nero said as he hurried along       I looked at Natasha, "I guess you do what you do best."       "Kill shit?"       "Oh yes!!" And we all ran at the horde of demons.       It was freakin' awesome! Alice had all of the demons near blinded by her Shadow Sorcery and Natasha was like a deadly dancer on the battlefield! She whirled her knives and always found her mark. Around her, graceful splashes of blackened blood sprayed from dead demons as they dropped like flies. Me? I just went and had fun (If you're gonna die, at least have your last moments having a blast). I changed my weapon into a scythe and started to spin it through demons. I really loved this blade! I could hear the bone shattering in the demons, but it left the cleanest cuts I'd ever seen. I swept through the demons like they were butter. At one point I changed it into a sword and it was unreal. I could cleave off entire limbs in a single, effortless swing and pierce the thick demon plating surrounding a demon's chest like it wasn't even there. Alice was like a ghost in the battle, appearing in one spot then killing another enemy elsewhere or making two enemies kill each other as they lunged their claws at her shadow image.        As epic as we were, however, we weren't invincible. I got dangerously close to dying as a demon faked a lunge and bit my arm. There aren't too many things in this world that hurt blindingly, but that is a whole new level of pain. I probably would have died because I couldn't get to my sword (It clattered out of my hand when I fell) and he was gnawing on my better (-ish) arm (I'm ambidextrous). He stopped biting my arm to attack my face, but I grabbed him by the throat and began to bash his brain matter on the concrete.         I had to save Alice from getting mauled to death. Even though she's a talented fighter, it's not her style to head-on fight someone. She tends to pick enemies off and use mass confusion. So when she got surrounded by five of the more vicious looking demons (Bloodier scales, sharper teeth, actually had horns, smelled really bad), I kinda jumped in to save her. She gave me the "Thank you" nod as a response.       Natasha saved my ass twice. Once when a strange demon that looked like a chicken (Writer's Note: Picture a velociraptor and you have a perfect idea. Act 2 will explain why this term doesn't exist) with arms knocked me over and tried to gut me with its claws. She simply jumped over it and slit its throat with both of her knives, then helped me up. Another time, it was more of a mutual assistance. We ended up back to back and began to just murder everything in sight. When she ducked I would back swing over her and kill all demons that were in front of her. When I did a side dodge, she would reach her knife out and impale whatever was in front of me (Luckily she never nicked me. I think her knives were poisoned.). It was glorious in-tandem killing!!       After maybe 30 minutes or so, we killed them all. About 75 demons slain because they chose the wrong corner to turn on.       "NEEERRROOOO!!!!!!" I called out "IT'S SAAAAFEEE!!!"       He came peeking around a corner and walked out, but he didn't walk like he normally did. Once I noticed the blood on his hands, demon blood, I rushed over to help, trying to remember any healing spells (Look! You try and remember thousands of incantations, spell circles, concoctions, and other stuff! Shit's hard! Then Healing classes only meet during the winter for 2 weeks. It's total bullshit, but I digress in my digression).         He had heavy, labored breathing which meant he was either losing a lot of blood or about to die. I was kinda hoping for the former. "Nero, where are you hurt?" I said in my professional voice       "My... my back. Snuck... away and....." He trailed off       I flipped him over and saw the four long scars going across his back. "Uhhh......"       Natasha came over and immediately saw what was wrong. "Sana" she whispered. Suddenly Nero was encased in a dim white light for a few seconds and once it dimmed everything on him was repaired, even his clothing. Some of his hair had even reversed from graying!!       "What spell is that?!!" I asked, incredulous at the results I just saw       "It's a Grandmaster level spell of healing. Don't ask how I know it and no, I'm not an ex-Grandmaster."       Alice suddenly warped in front of us carrying one beat-up, wimpy demon. "While you two were here chatting away, burning time away, I found us a demon to interrogate. He should know what to expect around here." She started to slowly strangle the demon, "IN PERFECT FUCKING DETAIL!!!!!"       I told you she was a bit psycho. We set up something resembling a camp and looted nearby stores (Yeah, I know it's a crime. Fucking hang me. Oh, wait you already are planning to kill me!) for supplies. We still had some way to go before we reached to weapons facility and a lot more to learn about this threat of the "Controllers".                                                  [End Part 3]

#fantasy #RiseOfTheDemonHuntress #magic #writing #violence #action #story

[purplekimberly]

what we could have been (is everything we don't deserve)

Words: 1362

Warnings: Depression mention, minor PTSD mention.

Summary: In another universe, you are still Kimberly Hart, but less put together and more of a broken bird.

You were always a girl with the sun in her eyes, the world on her shoulders. Born into a broken but loving home gave you the ability to love more than you know what to do with. You wear your heart on your sleeve and your smile always on your lips. Your laughter is disastrously contagious; the sound of it will make so many fall in love with your pure heart.

Your place is on the cheer squad, briefly, and the balance beam. When you move, everything else falls away, and there's nothing but you and your routine. It's not perfect, but it's close. You're not perfect, but nobody is. (You are, though, close.) How does that saying go? You're beauty, you're grace, you're Kimberly freakin' Hart.

That name will mean nothing to an average person, but in Ranger history, you are one of the best. One of the first.

You save the world for the first time, and nothing ever feels the same again.

(In another universe, you fall from grace and struggle to pick yourself back up. Becoming a Ranger is your salvation, your redemption. You suppose that, without your powers, your life would never go anywhere. You probably would've died feeling empty.)

In fact, you get to feel that emptiness so soon.

Giving up your powers seems like the right decision, but nothing could've prepared you for the crippling loneliness of it all. You love a boy who doesn't understand what it's like for you, you without powers, you miles away from him, sometimes even planets away from him. You're hurting and alone, but you know that if you told him, he would drop everything for you, and that wouldn't fix anything.

So, you lie. You tell him that there's someone else, and it rips you up on the inside to think of how much you're breaking his heart.

He falls in love with another girl, and you tell yourself that it's fine, even though your heart aches for both of them. It's not right - you being in either of their lives. You'd just mess things up.

You find another boy to love, the one who left you before you left everyone else. He's quiet, strong, like Tommy, but not. Your common ground is how much you miss being a Ranger - how much you both didn't expect it to feel like a punch in the gut. But, of course, Jason got to experience it again, and for that, you envy him. He's always looked stunning in red and just as good in black and gold.

The two of you are captured. Sacrificed to Maligore's lava pit and reborn as children of evil. It wasn't your fault, the other Rangers say when it's all over, but you and Jason look at each other because you know the truth. Jason's hands around Tommy's throat had been real. The way you looked at Kat like you wanted to rip her to shreds... that had been real, too.

The guilt burns you up from the inside, and the only thing that keeps you alive for a few more months is holding onto Jason and knowing that, if anything else, the two of you understand what it's like to be afraid of yourself.

But it isn't enough. (God, nothing is ever enough for you. When will you settle down? When will you stop wanting so much?)

You leave Jason or Jason leaves you. It's hard to tell; you two just drift apart and, one day, it's over. You say goodbye to him, and red never feels the same on you again.

You throw yourself into your training and put college on hold for a short time. This is your dream, your lifeblood, your comfort when nothing else works.

You're reckless and stupid, and an injury shatters your career forever.

(It's most likely less dramatic than that, but you still sob about it to your mom over the phone for hours.)

No powers, no career, no anything. Well, shit.

You go back to college, finish up your degree. Those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach... well, they write about what could have been. It's a good stress relief for you, possibly a little unhealthy because you wallow in your self-pity and guilt more than most people should, but. It's not like there's anyone around to tell you to stop. You drift away from your former teammates. Make excuses to not have lunch with them. Say that you're out of town when they call you and say that they're in the neighborhood.

It all comes crashing down when Trini dies.

You regret it all immediately. Nothing else matters. Nothing else could ever matter except the fact that you had pushed her and everyone else away. Being a Ranger doesn't mean you can't die. You just didn't think it would be so soon. She was still young.

You beg for the universe to take you instead. Your life is aimless, your dream is over, and you're green with envy for powers that you won't have again, for a door that's been closed behind you. Trini had her whole life ahead of her. You hardly have scraps to chase after.

Retreating back into your shell is easy because, this time, Jason and Zack do it, too. Everyone else is more focused on comforting them because Zack and Trini were together, and you take the advantage of being invisible to slip away from the morbid crowd.

Surprisingly, it's Kat who seeks you out, Kat with sunshine in her hair and a sad smile that still makes you weak in the knees. Kat who didn't know Trini but came because you're all family, all Zordon's brave warriors.

You don't feel so brave anymore, but Katherine's hand on your shoulder keeps you standing, for now.

In the aftermath, you roam around without knowing what you're doing. You travel. You try being a gymnastics coach, but it makes you envious more than anything else. You write about your feelings in angsty poetry. You simply... exist.

Kat checks up on you from time to time. Eventually, it turns into all the time, and then, you're jokingly pretending to be her girlfriend during a night out and there's a creep at the bar who won't stop hitting on the both of you.

And, then, she's looking at you like you're the sun, and you're seeing her for the first time, for real.

It doesn't last, as nothing ever does for your touch that ruins everything, but you love her and you think she might love you, too, maybe.

You go back to your life and try to pick up the pieces. Sometimes, you think about Tommy and what Tommy's doing right now. Jason had told you some time back about Tommy mentoring some kids and taking up the mantle again, and you'd listened with a quiet resentment in your heart that terrified you.

Sometimes, you think about Jason. Or Adam or Aisha or Katherine.

But it comes back to Tommy.

(In another universe, you marry him, and everything feels perfectly right.)

(In another universe, you find six kids who remind you of a time long ago, a fight you fought and the demons you're still trying to kill now. There's a girl who looks like you, is lost like you, is broken like you. From her weakness, you find your strength, and you lift her up.)

(You look at her armor and envy her. She looks at you and Tommy and wants that - a future, a direction, and a love that never gives up on you.)

It always comes back to him in every world, every timeline, every universe.

Infinite worlds. Infinite lives. Endless first meetings, dates, and nicknames. He's your flyboy, your knight in shining white armor.

It comes back to him.

Until it doesn't, until it doesn't, until it doesn't.

And, in this universe, you choose yourself.

#what we could have been #selfpara

[brokenandbeautiful]

I have so many thoughts this morning, so much inspiration. I love late mornings where I get the space to just be and think and reflect on life. But first, I have to tell you about this video.

https://youtu.be/W-HHiCy_tlo

You guys know I love worship music. I basically wish I was Kari Jobe and I never feel more at home or more me than when I’m singing to Jesus. My dad has been the worship pastor at my church my whole life so I’ve heard a ton of what’s out there. My brother and I love to analyze all the new worship albums that comes, I like to think that not a lot gets past us!

So this video, it may look a little pretentious at first, with these trendy looking musicians and all the closeups of them singing (that's just what I thought watching the video the first time) but I have probably listened through it  20 times in the past six months, with the first time being through my speakers in my car, on one of my desperate drives home from Visalia. I felt like my whole world was coming crashing down around me and I couldn’t understand what God was doing in my life. I just needed something that could tell me the truth.

This video absolutely wrecked me (basically meaning I broke down and ugly cried for awhile while listening to it), it brought me to a place of seeing God for who He is despite my circumstances. God has spoken so much to me through it. I’ve wanted to share it with everyone I know since hearing it and with that feeling growing over the past three days, I  just decided that I should come as close as I can to that by sharing it here on Facebook.  

Listening through it again (twice now) this morning, it just revealed some truths I’d like to put out there for my own sake and maybe for somebody else who needs to hear them:

— I  underestimate the goodness of God and just what that means. I use good so frequently that it has lost its power. I can’t even really imagine how many times I’ve sung the statement God is good. And honestly, it felt like a weaker thing to say about God and who He is. Like, duh, of course he’s good. Today my eyes were opened to the reality of what that means. GOD IS GOOD! In a world where there is so much evil, even evil parading itself in a “good” costume, to say God is good means that He is pure, true goodness without any bit of evil (the opposite of what is good). This is actually a really powerful truth. God is good. GOOD. fully, wholly, beyond our understanding, good. Better than us, better than the best person we know or the “goodest” thing we have witnessed in our own understanding. He always is, always will be. And that pure, unadulterated goodness is ours to partake in. Even though we ourselves don’t come filled with that same pure goodness He gives it to us freely and we get the opportunity to be transformed by it. 

—Even the best people that I’ve know in my life have let me down. And I have believed that God has let me down before. I probably am still holding onto some things in that arena because the statement “God has never let me down” still feels really vulnerable to say out loud.  I know I was believing God had let me down, was letting me down, when I first heard this video in my car. I felt like I was losing my whole life, that everything I’d built up over the past 8-10 years of my life was disintegrating before my eyes. It felt torturous, it felt like I’d totally misplaced my faith and trust. I felt betrayed.

I just want to say this very gently and very lovingly, because I know there’s a lot of people out there who’ve experienced dark dark things,  but something I’ve learned this year is that if you’re believing God has let you down you probably just haven’t lived through enough life to see past/beyond what you’re going through. Keep fighting and keep your eyes open to what God is doing around you! I know for me I had to let myself live in the lie for awhile before I saw the truth. That’s okay.

And I’m saying this for people like me, wanting to believe that God would never let you down, but not quite there yet. The minute we look past our own circumstances and connect with the truth of who God is, everything we’ve ever gone through just shrinks in comparison. And God has this amazing way of speaking into those awful moments where you felt alone and desperate, revealing himself and His truth in a way only made for you to fully understand. He can shatter brokenness in just a moment of His presence. And that moment doesn’t dissapoint! Seek God and He WILL be faithful to show up in your life! He will NOT let you down.

— All of who God is is available to you. There’s not one bit that He wants to keep hidden from you. I’ve talked about two aspects of who God is: He is good and He will not let you down. There is so much more to know about God and to discover than this! A lifetime’s worth of truths to revel in and experience for yourself.

I know we live in a world where truth is up for interpretation and people want to keep an open mind. To say something like there’s only one way to God or one God is one of the most controversial statements someone can make in the world we live in. I understand that.

But the truth is this: God showed his love for us in that while we were still living as sinners, far away from God and all that is truth,  His son, Jesus,  died on a cross to make every wrong thing right, to give us full access to Himself and who He is. To make us no longer slaves to the things that hold us back and keep us dead and separated from the things of God. He bridged the gap between our imperfect selves and a perfect God so that we could have life and relationship with him.  Not only that, but Jesus didn’t stay dead! He came back to life after 3 days, conquering death so that death and hell didn’t have to be the end of our story. Instead, to those who believe in their hearts and confess with their lips that this radically loving and life-transforming thing happened, He gave the right to be called children of God, opening the door to His house (heaven) so that we could make our home there and live forever with Him.

That reality doesn’t start when you die, it starts the minute you say yes to God, through this cool guy the Holy Spirit who moves into your heart and reminds you of this truth and many others, prompting you sometimes to share it.

Every day, every moment, every second we have the opportunity to affirm this and say yes to it. It’s not just something you say yes to once. It’s an everyday thing, and that yes is easy to say sometimes and really hard to say sometimes, but it’s always worth it. It’s always true. And I’d just say if you’ve made it this far with what I’m saying, (and if you have, gold star to you I’m writing a freakin BOOK here) if there’s any bit of this that’s ringing true in your heart and it hasn’t rung true before, please don’t dismiss it. 

Please, reach out to God in the way you know how and start talking to Him about all this. Heck, if you’re past all that and just want to say Yes to it just say yes!! It’ll be the best yes you’ve ever said in your life. I know that’s definitely the case for me.

Feeling so much love in my heart and so much peace right now! Thankful for Facebook, my computer and some fingers to type so I can shout this from the mountaintops today.

God is making something beautiful out of this life I’ve been given and He wants to do the same with yours. So so cool. So so good. Have a great day everybody! <3