Now that’s what I call a fun and entertaining action film. Novacain was giving “realistic Deadpool” energy and I loved every second of it.
Like I’ve said before, I’m not picky when it comes to films, and this one hit just right. It was genuinely funny, from the dialogue to the actual action, just a blast to watch. I’m not usually into gore, so yeah… had to look away a couple of times 😅 but it wasn’t constant enough to ruin anything.
The plot? Actually solid! Nice little plot twist, and the characters were surprisingly good too. And okay, the final blow? Using his own bone (if you’ve seen it, you know)… absolutely wild. It was the perfect mix of funny, brutal, and just the right amount of “ew” to make you wince and laugh at the same time.
Definitely something I’d rewatch in a few years when I’m in the mood for that kind of chaotic action energy. Just overall a great time if you’re into slightly insane action films that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Rating: 8/10
Would I recommend it? Yes! If you like Deadpool-style humour and action, this one’s for you.
There isn't much to say about Novocaine that the trailers haven't said already. With the likes of Nobody and the John Wick films making an impact on the action genre, Novocaine arrives with its own unlikely hero with a unique ability and tries to run away with it and just have a good time. To be fair, I had a good time with Novocaine overall but I can't bring myself to say it's great.
Jack Quaid plays him with a great degree of charm and likeability but there's also a relatability in the introverted loneliness that living with his condition has created. I like how the opening scenes set out the hindrances of living with the condition and why his blossoming relationship with Amber Midthunder's Sherry is so important. Enough is done in the early stages to somewhat justify the implausible and unlikely scenario about to unfold, plus there's an interesting little twist in the set up that the trailers haven't spoiled and I won't spoil here.
it has a black sense of humour and I laughed out loud multiple times throughout but at the same time, I felt the humour did compensate for action choreography that didn't feel hard hitting in the ways I wanted it to. Quaid's Novocaine takes many comedic hits and sustains gruesome injuries which amuse to no end, but I did feel that the offensive action by the hero himself to be notably lacking. This was especially felt in the final third of the film when the laughs dried up in favour of the serious stakes of the story. But when the end credits rolled, I did find myself feeling satisfied by nearly two hours of solid entertainment.
VERDICT
I do think it could've been better with its action choreography, however Jack Quaid is perfectly charming as Novocaine and the film entertains for most of its run.
Summary: A lucky chance affords Lyse and Conrad another opening to escape - at the cost of Fordola’s life. Lyse comes up with a different idea instead.
(Been wanting to write this scene for a while, and this seemed like the right prompt for it! This takes place after my entry for prompt #12, and basically sets up the plot for the rest of the AU.)
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“Pretty neat, huh?” After unlocking Conrad’s cell, Lyse returned to her own, and nodded to the blissfully dreaming imperial commander within. Fordola had made the mistake of letting her guard down around Lyse, and this was the prompt result. “Doesn’t seem she’ll be waking up any time soon, so we’ve got time to plan our escape!”
The grizzled old apothecary frowned and knelt down to examine Lyse’s handiwork. “Aye, you can say that again. She won’t be waking up at all, after this.”
“What?!” Lyse’s eyes widened. “But she can’t be dead! I didn’t hit her that hard!”
“Oh, it’s none of your doing, lass. It’s the poison what’ll do her in.” Conrad shifted to the side, allowing Lyse to take a closer look. “I’ve seen cases like this before. Folks poking around Bittermill, and they hit something rancid buried in the soil. Everything inside them slows down, and soon enough, even the heart stops.”
And indeed, on further inspection, Lyse could make out the sheen of sweat on the imperial’s brow and the pained rasp of her irregular breathing. “Bittermill… that’s where the Skulls were fighting…” From the conversation Lyse had overheard, one of their thaumaturge’s blasts had exposed a rusty canister in the ground that had quickly poisoned the air.
Unlike most high-ranking Garlean troops, Fordola lacked the intimidating gas-filtering mask. And she was the type of commander who fought right in the thick of battle alongside her men, too.
No wonder Lyse had been able to get the jump on her.
”She swallowed the poison the Garleans fed her, and now she’s dying of it,” Conrad said mournfully.
“I mean, from the sound of it, it was an accident.”
Conrad sighed. “Sometimes, Lyse, it’s not about the little details, but the big ones.” He gave her an admonishing look that was an awful lot like one of Papalymo’s. “About the story folks will tell after we’re gone. The story of what was once Ala Mhigo.”
That was all well and good, but Lyse had more important things to think about than giving up. “So… what do we do with her?”
Conrad thoughtfully gazed at the ceiling above. “You said the patrol upstairs passes every bell, wasn’t it?”
“Right.”
“Then we’ve another half bell to wait.” He settled back against the bars of the cell. “May as well stay at her side, I suppose. No Ala Mhigan deserves to die alone in the dark. Not even the Butcher.”
⁂
“Argh! This is ridiculous!” Lyse whispered furiously. Over the course of the half bell, she had gone from sitting, to restlessly exercising, to now gesticulating wildly as she paced around the cell.
Lyse had never been an especially patient person. Her muscles constantly ached to fight, to run, to do. Waiting quietly in the dark while watching as some helpless woman’s breathing grew slower and slower was pure agony!
“This isn’t what fighting for the revolution is supposed to be like! Ala Mhigans killing Ala Mhigans! Ala Mhigans just - just sitting around watching each other die!”
“I know, Lyse.” Conrad said softly. He had looked up from monitoring Fordola at Lyse’s outburst. “But there’s naught we can do.”
“Of course there is! There’s always something we can do!” Lyse clenched her fists. “There’s got to be - oh, I don’t know what it is exactly, but it looked like an infirmary upstairs. If we took her there now, they might be able to save her!”
“And then what?” Conrad’s voice was unusually harsh. Perhaps his silent vigil had been weighing on him too. “Give up our one chance of escape? For sake of the Butcher?” He frowned deeply. “No. The Resistance may be finished, but I’ll not simply roll over and let the imperials kill me in one of their godsforsaken camps.”
“You’re right…” Lyse’s face fell. “It wouldn’t be fair to you. You don’t have to come.” She looked down, let her hands sheepishly relax back to her sides. “You can escape, and I’ll take her as far as the infirmary and leave her there.”
“And what were you planning to do after, lass? I keep telling you. You’ve got to think things through.”
“I was getting there!” Lyse bit her lip. There was a plan forming in her mind, a good one, but how to put it into words? “After that… I’ll come back here.”
“No. I’m not leaving you behind.” Conrad rose to his feet and beckoned her to the cell door. “I owe Curtis at least that.”
“That’s the whole problem!” Lyse suddenly burst out. “Stop it! Stop making everything about my father and my sister! I’m not them, and I don’t deserve what they deserved! You heard what happened in Ala Gannha. I barely understand the first thing about Ala Mhigo!”
“Lyse - “
“You said that Garlemald stole Ala Mhigo’s future by taking their youths. Well, then why aren’t we working to steal them back?” Lyse was back to making wild gestures. “The Resistance is finished without more Ala Mhigans?” She stabbed a finger back towards Fordola. “There’s your Ala Mhigan!”
“This isn’t a game, Lyse.” But Conrad cracked a tiny smile at her impassioned rant.
“I’m being serious! Look.” Lyse crossed her arms. “Nothing we’ve tried before has worked either, right? And - and Fordola seems to have some kind of a soft spot for me! So this is something only I can do.”
Not my father. Not my sister. Me.
“It’s too risky.”
“I’ll have a back up plan!” Lyse countered, holding up and waving the keys she’d snagged from Fordola’s belt. “Hard to keep me behind bars when I’ve got these.”
Conrad let out a dry chuckle. “Well then. It’s nothing like what your sister would have done, that’s for sure.” He glanced down, shaking his head at the still form of the dying commander. “And to tell the truth… it’s what I want too, sentimental old fool that I am.”
“Then… you think I should give it a try?” Lyse’s expression brightened.
“Aye. There’s many in the Resistance what might’ve disagreed… but they’re gone now, same as the rest. So if your mind’s made up and you’ve got the courage for it, you’ve my full support.”
“I’ll get you an army again! You’ll see!”
“Right then, Hext. That’s your mission: come back with the Skulls. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Lyse threw an eager salute and watched as Conrad disappeared up the castrum stairs and into the night beyond.
It was the last time anyone saw Conrad Kemp alive.
Tags: Modern AU/University, Falling in Love, Meet Cute
Rating: Explicit (later chapters)
Inviting Guydelot over for Starlight had been done on a whim, and Sanson could never have anticipated the ease in which his roommate slipped into his life. His family, of course, was not helping matters in the slightest.
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Organization for Transformative Works
“Would you like me to come with you to the aged care?” Guydelot asked as he returned to the living room.
Sanson’s first reaction was to say no; the part of him that desperately wanted to flee rearing its head once more. But the other, more rational part of his head butted in just in time, reminding him that he did invite Guydelot here in the first place, and he shouldn’t push the man away just because his head—and heart—was a tangled mess. He tried to keep his voice neutral.
“Sure, unless mum needs help setting up the dodo?”
She checked her watch. “I was going to wait until your uncle comes; he shouldn’t be too far away now. But, if you’d like to offer, I wouldn’t say no either.”
The Elezen held his chin like he was thinking, though his grin confirmed it was all an act. “Tough choice, beautiful lady or her equally cute son?” Yvaine giggled while Sanson rolled his eyes, a tell-tale pink tinge colouring his cheeks. “Forgive me, my lady, but alas another important task calls and pulls me away from your beautiful visage,” Guydelot claimed exaggeratedly as he bowed to the woman. Sanson sighed. Beholden to his whims indeed.
