#(Fairly sure anyway. Its been a while since season 2 and even longer since i read some of the light novel)

[tar-oh]

Pick A Pile: What’s Coming At you in love

So, a few weeks ago I started a pile that ended up feeling really heavy and just not what you needed to hear. Like, I think a lot of us were going through some stuff (and maybe still are) and at that moment, it wasn’t a love message you guys needed. So, today I did a new one and this one felt so much better and happier? Also, you can tell I’m procrastinating schoolwork. lol So anyway, this is about what’s coming towards you in love. Most of the piles seem to focus on things that are already kind of going on, but some seemed to be about new things. So, I really do have to ask that you please only take what resonates and not try to make anything that doesn’t fit, fit. My biggest fear is that I’m going to give someone some false hope, so if it really does not sound like you or your situation, then don’t take it. But, also, know that it’s a general reading so it may not fit you and it also may be just super vague. That being said, you can choose more than one because maybe there’s one with more of the message for you or there’s more than one person coming towards you? Anyway, just choose the one you feel most called to.

Today, I’m feeling a Musketeers vibe so I’m using a picture of the guys from BBC’s Musketeers for you guys to choose: 1: Aramis, 2: Athos, 3: D’Artagnan, 4: Porthos :

Pile 1: Aramis

Cards: The Empress, 7 of Wands reversed, King of Swords, The Hierophant reversed, 8 of wands reversed, Death  I kind of get the sense that this pile is one that's been alone for a bit. I mean, maybe not a really long time, but like some of you were. With the empress I see that you're taking care of yourself, and even though it's 7 of wands and reversed, I get kind of a 9 of pentacles feel from this particular card. In this one she's just smelling the flowers, but content. But with it reserved, I see like this idea of feeling alone? Like, okay the first song that played when I started this pile was Moonlight Lines by Movements, and it's about two people who just kind of want someone to fill their bed with them. Like, this sense of wanting another body with them. Basically, a one night stand, but also someone to sleep next to for a night, right? I'm not necessarily getting a one-night-stand vibe as what's coming towards you (really, not at all), more just that feeling of wanting someone to be with you at night. A body beside yours. And, like this empress energy is you taking care of yourself but also you wanting to care for someone else. And, 7 of wands being reversed can be an exhausted energy. Like a, when am I going to find someone? But, also, I draw that 9 of pentacles feeling from it too because it's not like you're not doing okay. Like, I think you've been fine alone, but now you're just bored. The next song that played was Love Took The Last Of It by Movements, and I kind of think maybe you've been burned and maybe it took you a while to feel better and want to open up again. Or, maybe you just kind of have a habit of getting into situations that aren't for you and they fall through, so like, you're tired of this. I get the Death card with that, like you want to end this cycle. And I see death as being that, an end to a cycle. I always talk about how much I love that card, it's the card of change. Like, yes it means endings, but beginnings too? So, like, you're just ready to move out of this energy of being alone. The hierophant being reversed to me means that whoever it is coming towards you is not really your usual type. Upright, the Heirophant is all about convention and playing by the rules, and reversed it'd be the opposite, though I'm not reading it that way with this reading. Especially not with the King of Swords showing up. No, instead I'm just reading the Hierophant reversed as maybe this is someone who maybe at first when you meet, you're kind of like, "Oh, I don't know. They're not really following the standards I look out for." I don't mean someone not good for you. I mean, like as in maybe you have a list in your mind and this person doesn't really have all of those things on that list. Maybe they check a few, but there's a few things where you're kind of thinking that maybe it won't work. But, with the King of Swords, I see that they're really honest, maybe to a fault. And, the king on this particular card is old, but I don't really think it's that way for everyone, though I feel like for many of you there is an age gap but I don't think it's one like in this card where the girl towards the bottom of the card looks younger and he looks like he could be her grandpa or something. But, I think that him being older here also might point out that one of you is really wise. Like, old-soul wise. So maybe this is someone you look up to? A mentor of some sort, or just someone you look to for advice. I'm not sure. This could be reversed, and maybe your older than them/they look up to you, and maybe it's even that you're not their usual type? With the 8 of wands being reversed, I see that maybe this is just going to take a bit longer than you'd want. Like, maybe you two need more time to get to know each other. Or, even meet I guess since this is more along the lines of what's coming towards you. Anyway, I see it as coming slowly. Maybe it's delayed a little (which, I mean, at least here in the USA, things are still pretty crappy with Covid and doesn’t look to be getting better) So, this might just be a while out. But, again, with the death card, I see it being an end of a cycle. So maybe before you both can meet or end up together/around each other, you need to close out some things. Like, the Death card REALLY sticks out to me today. And it's funny because, it's the Scorpio card, and so that's like around Halloween, right? The Lovely Omen's deck Death card is so pretty. She wears this black and white striped suit, and like, it reminds me SO much of Beetlejuice lol so I'm getting halloween vibes here, so maybe that's significant to you both, like maybe a birthday in Scorpio season, or the surrounding sign seasons through out like Oct-Nov? Or, maybe that movie's plot has something significant to you both? (seeing this also with King of Swords too, like air signs, so Libra season so, again, october?) Or, maybe it's as simple as it being black and white and like again going back to the Heirophant being reversed and this idea that this is someone who may not fit what you're originally looking for or vice-versa, maybe it's like stop looking at everything so black and white. Look at the greys in between, right? I also want to point out that she's also wearing a moon necklace on the card, and this deck has a lot of references to the moon and stars in the other cards, but this necklace always stands out to me because it's reminds me of how with change comes uncertainty. So maybe it's going to feel really uncertain, especially with the idea of looking at the grays in between? Like, its kind of scary, but like, nothing in life is ever really all that certain? So, like, this unknown is staring straight at you, and I think these cards are kind of saying, "You obviously know how to take care of yourself, so you're going to be okay. Just try something new" Like, oof. I don't know where that last sentence came from, but yeah! Exactly how I'm feeling about this! Or. This person does have gray hair. Lol i mean I’m fairly young for gray hair and I get them when I’m super stressed. Like, look at Logan Lerman, he looks GORGEOUS with gray hair (and Im his age so!!! High Five to us for premature gray hairs!) (Okay, I had written earlier that this didn't seem like new energy but I deleted it because I was like idk, but the song Seneca by Movements came on -which i have it on shuffle but for some reason it's only playing this album?- and it's about someone thinking about how they still love an ex who's now engaged and like how bittersweet it is how they enjoy how happy they look but they miss them and like! Idk! for some this is definitely an ex, but for others it just someone you know already probably!!!) So, maybe even if it's not someone new, it's a new situation? Like, maybe this relationship with this person, even if you've never been in an actual one with them, it's like new to you both. New territory. And, the song In my Blood by Movements came on because again, it's not really shuffling the playlist, lol, but this feels like maybe this is someone you just have a connection to. Like, even if you two haven't known each other that long, you just feel that bond. And like going back to that scorpio energy, its intense I think. In that King of Swords card, that lady looks like she's kind of worshiping this king, and I think it's going to feel that way for both of you. Hopefully not like an obsessive thing, but more like a, you both really have the hots for each other and at any given point, you're both playing that lady on that card, hanging onto the other like that. And he looks really serious, so maybe someone here is really serious and more of an all-work-and-no-play kind of person, but like I don't read that as an absolute bummer. I read it more as someone who's like, just really good at getting shit done, even the hard stuff. Also, he's got a great body lmao so I think you're going to end up being super attracted to this person, even if it's not a jaw-dropping eyes meet the first time story, ya know? Like I said earlier, it's kind of a slow burn I think. I don't have any cups here, which I guess might pose a problem, because at first it seems like a lack of emotions? But I have swords and wands so I see a lot of action. But I also feel like you connect on an intellectual level, like I get that with the Hierophant (even if it's reversed) and King of Swords. I also feel like you'll have like an earthy kind of connection. Like, even though I feel there's a lot of passion, I also see that you two can just chill. Bottom of the deck energy for the Lovely Omens Deck was High Priestess. So, I definitely read this as you kind of maybe having a feeling that this is coming towards you. Also, with the hierophant, even with it being reversed, in this deck she's wearing moon earrings, but they're crescent moons. So, it's like the moon is whole with the two halves, and I definitely see that as another hint at knowing? Like, going back to the 7 of wands reversed and how I felt more of the 9 of pentacles with it instead, like you being alone for a while, but like maybe you kind of know something's going to happen. I think the death card also maybe says this to you, because you're aware that something's changing. Like, maybe you don't know exactly what, but it's changing and you feel this shift in the energy. The other deck has 7 of Swords here, and I really hate seeing this in a love reading, but I also kind of get that maybe it's just for those of you who do know each other, maybe at this exact moment you're not being truthful about feelings? Things that might be relevant: Taurus, Libra, Scorpio, October and November. Halloween. 13 or 31. 3, 7, Beetlejuice, I don't know! That black and white suit is so prominent to me today on that card! It always stands out but I never really thought about beetlejuice before, so lemme know if that resonates! Pile 2: Athos

Cards: Ace of Wands, 4 of Wands, Knight of Cups, The Hierophant, Judgement reversed, The Hanged Man With this one, I feel like someone in this is ignoring their feelings. Like, with the Hanged Man being here I definitely see that it's someone literally hanging back and thinking about things. And with Judgement reversed, I see that it's like a waiting period. So, I think this is an established connection, but like, nothings happening. Like, maybe not even communication, or like if there is, it's like you're not really talking. At least, not about what's going on between the two of you. And also Skin to Skin came on, and the first line in this song is interesting to me because it's "I'm certain that I'll circle back to you", so it's like neither of you are too worried, but maybe there's some frustration (but I don't really see that in the cards. They all kind of feel super chill, so I think whoever this is, they're really chill lol) There's also another line that makes me l think about this but also, the knight of cups gives me this vibe: "I know that you're so preoccupied..." And like, again, I feel this stagnation but like it's a chill one. Like you're both accepting that maybe it's supposed to happen? Just not now. And, so like this "preoccupied" person is like the hanged man, hanging back and thinking things through. I don't think it's that they're unsure. I think they know how they feel (the stars and the moons in her hair on the hangedman card definitely brings this to mind, like this knowing of the unknown, but also having hope, so it's like whoever this is, knows what they're not sure of if that makes sense! Same with the judgement card but she also has the sun on it! So she's holding all the hope, mysteries and happiness in her arms!!!) Ace of wands is like this new passion. Like, maybe after stagnancy is this moment where you two can express this passion, and with the Knight of Cups, I see that too. But, he's not moving on a horse like the other decks usually have. He's just sitting and look at that cup but looking really kind of...He looks like he's pouting honestly, but I don't get that from this. Like, he's looking at this covered cup and it's got stars, so again that hope is there. He has that hope, but it's covered up, so it's kept to him for now if that makes sense. But, with this ace of wands, I see a new start and like i think it's this start where he opens up that cup and out pours all those thoughts the hanged man had. And, the 4 of wands suggests this harmony that's coming with this. Like, you two just click and you balance each other out. And I'm sure you both know this. With this deck, sometimes you can read the looks on their faces two ways, like how the deck explains the card and also maybe a different way, so I kind of always can see two ways of looking at the faces. Some look sad but could also be contemplating things.  This card is definitely one of those cards. This one is about bringing difficulties to an end with alliances, I don't really think this was that difficult? Like, maybe I'm not getting the whole story. Maybe this period of stagnation has been a long time and you're both just tired of not seeing each other now or talking more, but like, I guess this is kind of you two coming together and bringing an end to this period of nothing. And the look on the one girls face, the one in the yellow dress, she looks tired but she looks so into this other girl, so like I think that's kind of what's going to happen. One day you're both are going to just simultaneously agree that you're done with this nothing and want something? Like, I don't think you're going to say it before deciding it but once it's decided you BOTH are going to be opening up your star cups and pour it all out. Bottom deck energy for this is the Death card and the high priestess. I wasn't going to mention it, but I almost feel like for a few of you, you should check out pile 1, mostly because Death was in that pile but also the High Priestess was bottom deck energy for that one too (just a different deck). But, these tell me that there's going to be a change. Like, I said you're going to get tired of this stagnation, and I think it's an end of a cycle within this particular relationship. And the high priestess brings back that idea of "I'm certain I'll circle back to you..." where there's a knowing that this isn't really done. It's just at a standstill. So, yeah. I think this stagnation will end. I don't know WHEN, I don't get a when. But, I don't think it's going to be FOREVER from now, especially because you did get 3 major arcana! Also, wands feels quicker and you got the ace of wands! So I feel like it's kind of a "whenever" kind of thing, which isn't very helpful. It could be tomorrow or next year, ya know? Though, as I was writing this the song 12 Weeks by Movements came on! So! For someone it MIGHT be 12 Weeks. It's interesting though, because the end of the song is something like "Fall in love and fall away", which I don't see that as an end, again kind of like you two caught feelings and then were put in a stand still? But, also with that 4 of wands card, it really feels like everything around them falls away around them, so maybe that's just kind of how you two are together. Like, you talk and there could be other people there, but it all falls away. You could be in a group conversation, but for some reason it feels like all the words you both say are pointed towards the other rather than the group? Again, take what resonates. If you know no one where your connection is like this than I really do not think this is your pile. Things that are relevant: Celestial bodies (like the sun, the moon, stars), butterflies (specifically pink and purple), Sagittarius, Taurus

Pile 3: D’Artagnan

Cards: Justice, The Star(s), Queen of Swords, 8 of Pentacles, 3 of Swords reversed, 3 of cups Justice was the first card to fall out, and immediately I knew it was about a group who got the short end of the stick or something when it comes to love. Like, I hear, short end of the stick, like. Okay, so Queen of Swords is always described as like a woman alone who's been scorned, but I usually don't go by that because I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are Queen of Sword types who haven't really had issues with love, they're just kind of That Way. But, like with Justice, I definitely see this as someone who was hurt in the past by love. Like, again. Short end of the stick. New Song D by the Front Bottoms is playing and there's this part in the bridge where he talks about how someone sold him a bike for $50 when the brakes weren't working, so like he was cheated out of $50 when he thought maybe it was worth $25 ? Like, Okay. So, with this, I'm getting that he was cheated money out of this, right? And maybe that is the case for some of you, but I'm getting more of an energy cheat if that makes sense. Like, you put a lot of energy into someone and a situation, and all they gave back was 1/4 of what you gave, and I'm getting that because I think maybe they thought they were giving you more (1/2 but still not enough), but they weren't, and you were just cheated out of this and left feeling drained because it was all one sided. And, I'm not saying this person didn't feel anything for you, I mean, they might have felt something but weren't able to give back the same amount because of things going on in their life. Or they were just like that. And there's another part in this song where he says "You wouldn't start because I wouldn't stop" and maybe it's also like you were giving too much even for them to like, take? Maybe it was just too much on their end and couldn't receive that much and too much for you to give so then you're both left with a disappointing situation. I also see 8 of pentacles kind of confirming this, like so much hard work was put into it on your end, but not enough to make it balanced. And it is NOT your fault. Like I feel the need to tell you that you have a big heart and that it's not your fault that someone else couldn't accept it the way you needed them to. 3 of swords reversed tells me that you're healing, though. Like, this happened and it probably really hurt but now you're healing. For some, because there are 2 3's, I think this was a case of being cheated on, but I don't think that's for everyone. Like, I really feel more like this was an unbalanced give and take situation. But, with the Justice here, I see that it WILL be balanced and whatever is coming in for you, will be more balanced. I almost feel, though, like this pile is less about what's coming and more about how you'll be doing better? Like, what's coming is really good and balanced, but also, you're healing, and I think it's always really nice to be able to look back at a heartbreak and not feel as bad about it as you did before. Like, sure it's probably always going to give a pang, but like with time, it heals. And, I know you probably wanted so badly for this to work out with this person, and I'm so sorry it didn't. Trust me, All I've ever known is unrequited love, so I really get that feeling of that realization when it becomes clear it's not going to work. One deck's bottom card was the Ace of Swords, so again, like I think this was that clarity you had about it not working, but I also see it as you seeing that it's just that this was not meant for you and that there's something better. And, that better is the star and justice. Like, this new person is going to bring in a lot of hope an balance. Like, this star card has two people on it, and it kind of looks like they're balancing out, right? So, yes. Definitely a lot of balance. And this person, I think, is going to be a lot of fun. The 3 of cups in this reading, to me, is more about how I think you two are going to hit it off in a friendly way first. And like, this might not even be a romantic love. It could just be a really good friend you make or have that's with you through your healing. But either way, platonic or not, I think this person is going to be someone you can lean on in this tough period, but also someone you can have fun with. The same song, new song d, has a part in the chorus where he says "I fell down, you propped me up" and I see this as being how your relationship will go. When someones down, the other will prop them up.But this isn't going to be all take and no give like this last person. No, again, it's going to be super balanced. Bottom deck energy for the other deck was Knight of Wands and in my last reading I compared him to D'Artagnan in the Three Musketeers and I think when he's not off trying to save the world, he's a really fun dude. Also, this is kind of weird and I'm going to have to make sure in the picture I take I get one of this Knight of Wands, because on the top border there's this weird like squiggle shapes, but it looks to me like...bodies? (It's kind of like that with the Queen of Swords too, with the top border?) Like bodies doing yoga lmao but like. I think you two are going to be physical (like! not in a sexual sense unless you're old enough and consenting!!), but more in a, touchy, huggy sense. So again, that propping up, but like physically and mental propping up. But, also, like maybe you two are always kind of touching. Like, shoulders next to each other, knees colliding, hand holding. Oof. That sounds so cute! I'm a little jealous. OH! This is also kind of weird, but in the same card behind him are this shapes that look like fleur-de-lis! And that's so weird considering that I think of D'Artagnan, a musketeer when I see this card! Ah! Anyway, I just see this as super healing for you, whoever this is. The shapes also kind of remind me of phoenix's, so! Maybe that's a message there. Like, emerging from the ashes of your former self? This is weird, because the next song that came on was Sour, a collab by 1990nowhere, Olivver the Kid and others, but I think that's interesting because maybe it goes with the past for you, like it soured. Like it looked sweet and then it soured? Then Are you Bored Yet? by Wallows came on so taking that literal, like you grew tired of how it was going. So I'm not sure if anyone resonates with those two songs, but I thought they seemed significant. Possibly relevant: Libra, Aquarius, Musketeers, fleur-de-lis, yoga, 1990, 3, 8 Pile 4: Porthos

Cards: Knight of cups, 2 of cups, 7 of wands, the lovers, 6 of swords, King of Pentacles I wasn't going to do a pile 4, but thought I should and like, yeah I'm glad I did because this feels like something someone needs to hear. So, someone here is leaving something. I think maybe you might want to read my last pick a pile I posted on here about what you need to hear. I definitely think this group showed up in that one. So, again, someone is leaving something, but I keep wanting to type someone! Ahh! Sorry! But, maybe there is someone leaving someone? I definitely have the song Scrawny by Wallows stuck in my head so maybe you're leaving a "scrawny motherfucker with a cool hairstyle"? lol or not! Maybe that's just a song being stuck in my head because it was in there earlier today, but? Like? Maybe it was meant to come back around for this reading. Anyway, I get this idea from 6 of swords because that can be about a spiritual/mental journal, but also sometimes a physical one. So, like mentally and physically leaving a situation. Also, I've read that 6 in tarot is about journeys, and we got two 6's (6 of Swords and the lovers), and even though the lovers is about unity, I think it's also leaving that life before that unity behind? So, I read that into this whole, you're leaving something (or someone in this is leaving something or someone, so it could be this person coming towards you leaving something). Also, 8 of cups was on the bottom of one of the decks, and that again is about leaving something, like mentally/spiritually. But, like, this has cups so there's more of an emotional element to it. Like, leaving something that wasn't fulfilling you, going towards that 9 of cups wish fulfillment, right? So, there is that energy here, and like, I kind of feel like 9 of Cups should have shown up too, because I almost feel like whoever is coming towards you is kind of a wish come true. So, with knight of cups, i kind of read it like I did for another pile, but maybe more into his expression than i had for that one, where he looks kind of pouty. For that pile I said it was like he was kind of waiting to open up this cup that is in front of him that he's looking at. It has stars on it, so it's like his cup of hope? And the knight of cups is usually seen as a love offer, (though I typed over so again, I think someone out there is leaving someone?) so like this star cup, when he opens it, will have that offer for you? Like his heart is in there for you (not physically like his organ lmao). And with 7 of wands, I almost wonder if maybe you're defensive to let it in or maybe they're even too defensive to open up that cup? Someone here is defensive, but I don't think that's needed because I see so much stability with this. Like, we have the King of Pentacles here. So, not only do I think one or both of you are doing okay like financially (like, able to pay the bills and maybe have a nice roof over your head), but I also just see it as stable. Like, they're a shelf and your love is safe to place on. Does that make sense? Omg I'm so corny in this pile I love it. Both the Lover's and two of cups are these soft cards. Like, physically, these two cards from these decks look so soft. The love in these cards, guys. Phew. The two of cups shows this lady kind of hanging on this man, and they have these soft, fond gazes at each other. And then, with the lovers in the other deck, it's so sweet. She's kissing the other girl's cheek and they just look like they're content in the moment? So, I definitely see this as something fulfilling for you both, like you're both gonna be such suckers for each other. Probably constantly getting those heart eyes. Like, think Evie and O'Connell heart eyes, if you've ever seen The Mummy from 1999. Like, the looks they give each other. I'm totally getting those vibes. Maybe you two are going to be really snarky to each other too? But you’ll find it so endearing. Another thing I want to add is that I think you two are going to be perfectly balanced like literally Yin and Yang. I mean, one girl on the lovers card is all white and the other is all black. And then on the two of cups, They're kind of contrasted in terms of hair. Also! Bottom card energy for one deck was Justice, so yes. Definitely balance and yin and yang. I think this also goes back to the King of Pentacles, like I almost even get that Two of Pentacles energy of balancing out things, but being able to do so whereas the other twos kind of are about choices. But this one isn't. And it's weird, because sometimes the lovers can be read as choices, but I don't here. Not with this pile. And maybe there is a choice about leaving something/someone, but like I think once that's done and over with, this love comes in. And it could just be simple like a mindset? Like with all the cups here, I definitely think it could be a mindset. Like one that makes you super emotional, so maybe this is an existing relationship that just needs like a change? That's probably for a few of you, but for others, I see that this is something that comes after a shift in mind, or like a physical one. I mean, the song Make Way by The Front Bottoms was playing here, and like, that song is kind of about making space for the new? "I make way for the expensive things in my head." And, I've kind of gotten this Death Card vibe with every pile, and at first I was like not getting that with this pile, but idk, with 6 of swords and 8 of cups, I kind of get that? Like ending something to begin something? Ending with the song Nobody Gets Me (Like You) by Wallows, and I think this is what its going to feel like with this person. This pile is so cute. :) Things that could be relevant: Gemini, Libra, water signs, Capricorn (Pentacles are earth, but I really get a cap vibe with this one today), heart eyes, The Mummy lol

[linklethehistorian]

Randou and the Sins of Season 3's Fifteen Adaption (Part 14/???)

Episode 27 — The God of Fire (2/4)

Contrary to the presentation of the conversation between Dazai and Chuuya following the former’s aforementioned actions in the anime, where it simply ends on the suicidal boy’s several agreements that shooting a dead body is probably excessive and unnecessary and that his partner is right to claim such, that is not really the way it truly unfolded within its source material; no, instead, when Chuuya asks him to show respect for the dead by not continuing to shoot the man’s lifeless form, Dazai only acknowledges his statement once — his superficially familiar “Yeah. You’re right.” taking on an entirely different tone and context in the novel — before adding that that is ordinarily what people would think and pausing a moment, laughing dryly at his own statement soon after as he walks away towards the mansion.

Of course, I suppose that you may be wondering why something as seemingly small as removing his laughter and perhaps swapping a few choice words out for others is such a big deal to me — or to anyone else, for that matter — when it ultimately all sounds much the same, and I suppose I can’t really blame you for that, either, but it’s necessary for you to understand that in this case, the key to the scene’s proper nuance really does lie in these very things that were taken away from us. As I said above, the words, “Yeah. You’re right” are used by Dazai in an entirely different light between the two versions; while in the animation, it was clearly used as an agreement with the redhead’s sentiment, in the novel, it functioned more as a show of attentiveness towards the person presenting their views to him, as well as an acknowledgement that this was something he’d heard many times before from other “normal” people and thus was not the least bit surprised to be told again — especially when Chuuya was, from his then-current perspective, not any different from the rest of the masses in his thought processes.

On the question of whether or not this is a compliment or an insult, I think that it is worth acquiescing that it may genuinely be a bit of both, for although I personally lean more towards the latter and have my own reasoning for believing it was meant as such, I do think that Lea also has some rather interesting insight into and ideas on the matter, herself, and I absolutely don’t want to just ignore her point of view on it, when I do feel that it too at least bears a decent amount of consideration; therefore, I will do my best to give a bit of elaboration on both angles, along with asking that if I fail to explain her thoughts well to you, you might feel free to check out the post in which she originally goes over it.

From Lea’s personal standpoint, it is her belief that the bandaged teen’s laughter at his assertion that Chuuya’s thoughts were ordinary compared to his was not meant as a mockery towards Chuuya or so-called “ordinary” people, but rather was aimed at himself; according to her explanation, this is because Dazai is well aware of how strange his mind is and, as such, how he himself can never qualify as or belong to the notion of anything ‘ordinary’, thus causing him to hold some bitterness towards himself for how out of place he is in the world and how little he believes he can ever fit in. As before, whilst I may hold a different opinion on the situation overall, I don’t actually think this interpretation is precisely wrong, nor do I think it should be completely overlooked, as I absolutely don’t doubt that Dazai does, to some extent, feel a deep dissatisfaction in himself because of how ‘different’ and, in a sense, removed from everyone else, he is, and how that has led to him experiencing this great emptiness inside and struggling to want to continue living; I don’t doubt for even a moment that there are and have often been times in the past when Dazai may have been, on some level, jealous of those around him and perhaps even had a part of him wish that he could be like everyone else, because I’m almost sure that all of this has been true — at least, at one point or another.

That being said, though, that also does not erase the fact that regardless of any envy he may feel for the general population, it is absolutely not because he in any way believes them or their ways of thinking to be genuinely superior; in fact, based on all that has already been established about Dazai — both in this particular entry and all of those in the past as well — I think it is very fair and safe of me to make the assessment that, if anything, it is exactly the opposite that is true. Dazai envies others and their thought processes not for some alleged superiority, but rather, for their supposed inferiority, which his emotionally and empathetically narrow mind perceives them to have; to the young so-called genius, his occasional desire to be like the ‘ordinary’ people around him is little more than a wish that he could sometimes turn his ‘logic’ off — to become simple and ‘naive’ enough to be unaware of what he thinks are the true ways of the world, or at least just be ‘foolish’ enough to see it and still be able to ‘delude’ himself into denying it anyway.

Assuredly, I can grant that the suicidal teen may dislike or even resent his own nature, but once more, it is not because he believes there is something wrong with him mentally, half so much as that he believes he is much too smart for his own good; thus, I hardly think it appropriate to say that his laughter is in intentional mockery of that or of himself, when I find it far more easy to believe that he is amused by and making mockery of the “lower intelligence” of others and their compassionate, ‘uninformed’, emotionally-driven outlooks.

Of course, if this conclusion of mine is indeed right, then we would naturally have a much better explanation for why this moment was omitted in the anime. I know that some people might think that it is very logical to presume that they simply cut whatever they could for time, and that this part was just one of those things that could be easily and fairly harmlessly expended, rather than to take the less charitable stance in saying that this was a calculated move of some kind; however, when you truly give any degree of genuine thought to it, you must admit that it is a little absurd to suggest the studio decided that these few potential seconds of additional dialogue were “taking up too much time”, especially when you consider that they were just fine with wasting much, much longer on credit sequences and extended events that did not even happen as presented in the original story on other occasions.

Furthermore, while no one is denying that the moments leading up to this removed final exchange aren’t exactly the best at providing pleasant representation for Dazai, there is still no ignoring the fact that without this last piece being kept in, it is nonetheless infinitely better for a more SKK compliant, ‘kinder Dazai’ narrative than it would be with it still maintained, as it not only makes Dazai look slightly nicer, but especially lends much more of a sense that Chuuya’s words had a profound effect on him than they actually did. As for what they gain in pushing this untrue portrayal I continue to allude to so often, and what reason I have to believe they’re actually doing that, well, that’s something I’ll get into much more later, but I imagine it isn’t so hard to at least partially figure out on your own anyway, in the meantime — even if you don’t truly know the full extent of the butchery they’ve committed to achieve it.

Temporarily setting aside this treachery and mutilation, though, even if this one choice hadn’t been a part of some much bigger picture, I would still be just as disappointed in their decision, as I feel it heavily tones down the full extent of the scene’s eeriness and loses the true sense of the two teens’ personalities, thoughts, and relationship with each other.

It is, true, too, I have no doubt, that the earlier addition of Dazai’s “what you say is probably correct” to the conversation, after twice confirming that Chuuya was right with his assessment, was included in order to mirror a certain scene in DEAD APPLE, but I don’t really have much to give of my own, commentary-wise, on it, since unlike the other alteration, its existence does not change all that much, and as a result, I neither hate nor adore it; it simply exists, and that is fine.

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[makeyourdeanabi]

Finale Reaction- 2 months later

In the wee hours after the Supernatural Finale, after tossing and turning in my bed, I got up and wrote this... this was before I was actually active on Tumblr and I never thought I would share this because I was too self conscious.  I deleted it shortly after I wrote it because it brought me so much pain to relive it.  I have since watched the Finale again and have come to terms with it and I felt it was a good time to share my thoughts. I hope that my words may bring other people comfort who feel the same way.  Thanks for reading :)

Alisha

P.S. Sorry so long, I was feeling things and the words just kept coming and coming  ___________________________________________

I don’t blog.  Never in my life have I sat down to tell the world about my feelings in such a manner.  I may contribute on message boards and social media comments, but I never thought anything was worth my time to spill my guts into the ether when I am near certain that not a soul will read them.  But here I am.  I have to write because if I don’t get these thoughts out of my head, I am going to go full on insane.

That ending was bad. It was a disservice to the 15 years of an incredible show that was not only genre bending it was cultural norms bending.

I could mention the various tropes that this ending (and the previous episodes) invoked, but I am not well versed in them and would never want to do anyone a disservice with a comparison that wasn’t apt.

The buildup up of each character arc and then the glaring lack of conclusion for said character arc was laughable.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement.

To say I am heartbroken is an understatement.

I am destroyed.  

I am destroyed that the two men who have been with this franchise since day 1 wrote and directed an episode that they thought was the perfect ending. They thought this is what their devoted fandom wanted.  

I am destroyed that the lead actors signed off on this script and went so far as to call it their favorite.  I realize Jared was the only one calling it his favorite episode. Jensen admitted he had reservations about the episode and needed the wise words of creator Erik Kripke to accept it. I do have to say that taking the word of a man who left the show 10 seasons ago and hasn’t been involved in all the plot lines and inner workings since season 5 is probably not the best idea. I could be mistaken about the extent of Kripke’s involvement, but I am fairly certain that I am right in my assumptions.  

Dean spent 15 years (probably more) of his life feeling unloved, unworthy, self-conscious and convinced that his life had but one purpose and that purpose would ultimately be the death of him, and he had made peace with that.

He is given a best friend, potential love interest, who helps him to see that he is more than that, so much more than that.  He is selfless, he is caring, he is a lover, not a killer. His friend’s soulmate’s sacrifice is the catalyst for him believing that all these things are true. He even takes the step of admitting out loud that he knows he has changed.  He knows that his life is worth living to the fullest and appreciating what he has every day and honoring those they have “lost along the way.”  

To then kill him during a routine hunting trip in which the boys are up against a vampire nest they could take down in their sleep.  What could possibly have been the purpose for that?  To show that once they were no longer God’s little play toys their lives were expendable?  WHY?

Dean, arguably the greatest hunter in the SPN universe, was taken out by a fucking rusty piece of rebar, and instead of trying to call for help and get the man to a hospital (not sure it would have helped) he has his final monologue, the one he has been due for the latter half all of Season 15.  He died scared, in pain, and sad.

Dean goes to heaven, and its not the heaven we have been told of in the past where you are living in your memories.  Its truly life after death and its wonderful. He meets Bobby again and told that various people in Dean’s and Bobby’s life are close by.  His parents live down the road.  His father, who was never confirmed to be but was most likely an abusive bastard, lives just down the road with his mother.  Wonderful. (WTF?) He gets confirmation that Cas is out of the empty and he smiles, nothing more.  He sees baby and goes for a drive, not to find Cas and thank him for his ultimate sacrifice, but to just drive.  I like this part because we see a happy, content Dean, and we finally get to hear Kansas’s “Carry on Wayward Son” (DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE LACK OF THE ROAD SO FAR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE). I just wish Dean’s path to heaven had been a little easier on him.

Dean deserved better.

Castiel, the selfless angel who just wanted to find purpose in his life and ultimately found it in death. He dies never being told that he is loved, after countless times of professing his love to his found family. The angel who sacrificed himself to the Empty, a horrible place of unspeakable torture, to protect the man he loves.  A man who, mere days later (in my mind anyway), arrives in heaven after being killed in a gruesome accident, rather than fulfilling his destiny that Cas fought so hard to protect.  Some sacrifice. It turns out that Cas is saved by the Empty from Jack, but we don’t get to see his joyful reunion with Dean, the man he loves.  

Cas deserved better.

Sam is left to live this life without his brother, and potentially the love of his life because the writers couldn’t be bothered to confirm Eileen’s re-existence after Chuck’s rapture.  He has a family, and he grows old (mind you with REALLY bad makeup in a show that is known for their incredible makeup/special effects departments).

He seems to be happy, but you can tell something is missing.  We come to see that he raised his son to be a hunter.  He raised his son in a life that, at the outset of this show, he was desperate to get out of and live a normal life.  Perhaps he no longer believes that anyone can live a normal life knowing what is out there. *EDIT* Looking back I don’t believe he raised his son to be a hunter, just gave him the tattoo in case.

He names his son Dean, because of course he does. He has a wife who we see from a distance and is never given the clarity if it is Eileen or not.  He finally dies after what looks like a slow and painful illness and is sent to heaven.

In heaven he meets up with Dean.  This was lovely.  The two of them meeting again after so long, for Sam, that is. Dean only had to seemingly wait for a few hours.

Sam deserved better.

For a show that had the potential to go out on a historically significant high, this is disappointing, to say the least.  The story had the potential to end with 2 brothers who have sacrificed so much and saved so many people, find a happy ending.  Not only that but find a happy ending with a deaf partner and a gay angel. If that isn’t breaking barriers and bending norms, I don’t know what is.  I really would like to know what prevented this from happening.  Be it the CW from restricting them or maybe the absolute lack of originality from the writers, I am curious as to their reasoning. Maybe it was COVID.  Maybe because they couldn’t have those two actors physically on set due to protocols, they didn’t want to shortchange them by having them appear otherwise: disembodied voice, phone call (DONT TOUCH ME) or even a flashback… hell STOCK FOOTAGE! I don’t know and I clearly can’t imagine the reason.

I realize that there is nothing that can be done about this episode now and that accepting it and moving on is really the only way forward.  But the legacy this show has left, and its lasting impact on me and my life, cannot be ignored.  I was looking forward to indulging in past episodes of this show for the rest of my life. It is going to be a long time before I can watch an episode without anger and resentment towards what I know to be their eventual end.  That, to me, is unforgiveable.  

I don’t expect anyone to actually read this because I do not have any followers. I have never blogged in my entire life and was only recently introduced to the online fandom, but I needed to write this.  I needed to share the impact that this episode had on me.  I do hope that it does reach those in the fandom that may have similar feelings and are able to use my words to help express how they are feeling.  We can move on, and we will move on, but we need to do it together.

I know that there are people who, if they read this, would shake their head in disbelief that I became so emotionally invested in this show that watching a bad ending would take such a toll on my mental health.  

To them I say, imagine this… The Pittsburgh Steelers (my favorite team, they can imagine their own) have an incredible season.  A season where they saw a myriad of highs and lows. Veteran players making incredible comebacks, rookie players coming in to their own.  Season ending injuries that lead to the next man stepping up and contributing in ways they weren’t sure possible.  Now imagine they make it to the Superbowl and after 3 tough quarters, in which they played their best, getting better with each quarter, they lose it in the final minutes.  All that blood, sweat, and tears for nothing.  Now imagine that was their last season and the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer an NFL team.  They are done.  No “we’ll get ‘em next season.”  No “it’s just a game and there is always another one”.  Just done.  Their entire franchise, for a brief moment in time, reduced to those final minutes where they failed to win.  Devastating. Of course, in the long run that is not what they will be remembered for.  I mean, after all, they have won 6 Lombardi trophies, and no one is taking that away from them.  But the sting will remain for a while. *EDIT* This was as close to prophecy as I will ever get, the Steelers did all of the above until the playoffs, but THANK GOD, there will be another season.

If I can’t make you understand with a sports metaphor than I will never make you understand.  

I love this show and this loss is devastating.  I do hope that it is remembered for more than their last-minute loss.  I hope it is remembered for the joy and acceptance that their fandom felt with each episode, for the laugher on set and the gag reels. I hope it is remembered for the individual players who gave it their all. I know it will be, but for me personally, this sting is going to last for a while.  

[ieatmypizzawithaforkandknife]

MAG 016 - Arachnophobia

Summary: Jonathan reads the statement of Carlos Vittery, regarding “his arachnophobia and its manifestations.”

Carlos: “I. Hate. Spiders.” Me: “Cheers, I’ll drink to that bro, guess this is gonna be one of those episodes, huh.” Lo and behold, halfway through listening to this I had a mini heart attack when I thought I saw a spider in the corner of my room closest to my desk. (Spoiler alert: It was a piece of dust. I live for the scares, but I think that, like Icarus, I fly too close to the sun sometimes.)

Anyway, from here on I’ll be formatting the titles of these posts closer to how they’re written on the podcast and, from what little I’ve seen, what’s recognized by the fandom. I still feel like an outsider, being so late to things, but at least my posts won’t look as weird now.

So obviously this episode was about spiders. Well, one spider in particular - and I’ll come back to that. But first I’d like to point out that spiders have come up twice before at this point. The first (and more notable) is in episode 8, when hundreds of spiders burst out of the rotten apple that was inside the box at the base of the uprooted tree at the house on Hill Top Rd. The second was only a mention, and it was in episode 9 (the serial killer episode) when the narrator said, of the shed in her back yard, “As far as I was concerned, the sturdy wooden structure was just the home of spiders’ nests and the rusted garden tools my parents would use once a year to attack the overgrown wilderness that was our back garden.” I almost didn’t include this second one, since it’s so fleeting and seemingly innocuous, but it could indicate some kind of connection between the spiders and the creepy ritualistic murder that was being committed in that shed, which is...disturbing, to say the least.

I find it interesting that the first appearance of spiders had them coming out of a rotten apple though. In this episode, Carlos tries giving Major Tom (the cat) food, but he just sniffs at it and walks away, which Carlos points out is unusual (and any cat owner knows is unusual). At the very end, Jonathan tells us that the coroner’s report said that Carlos had “foreign organic material” blocking his throat (though we don’t have confirmation of what the “material” was) and that “his body was completely encased in web.” But spiders typically wrap their prey in silk prior to eating them. Are all of these things related to that recurring theme of bad/rotten food? I’m not sure yet.

As a sometimes-writer, I appreciated the subtle but definite escalation in the threat of the spider. First, it’s on his kitchen wall - unfortunate, since that’s the room where you go to get food, but fairly avoidable. Carlos shuts Major Tom in there for 2 hours and is none the worse for it. The second time, it’s on his TV screen. Its body was physically between him and something he was going to use, and if he wanted to watch TV he was going to be seeing that spider the whole time. And then finally it’s on the ceiling above the head of his bed. A person’s bed should be a safe and comforting place, a place where you can go to rest and rejuvenate - and this marks the end of the last remaining “safe space” for Carlos, as this thing threatens to descend on him as he sleeps. Excellent writing as always.

Building off of the idea of an escalation in the threat is the idea that there’s some kind of malicious intent in this spider’s presence. “I hate spiders, as I have said,” Carlos says at one point, “but I would have sworn that this one hated me back.” He describes it several times as staring at him, and one time describes its “mandibles twitching with anticipation”. Spiders shouldn’t be malicious, no matter how much a person might fear them or not like them. But this one is. Just like caves shouldn’t be malicious either (episode 15). The world of TMA is a scary place and I’m just glad I don’t live there lol.

Especially scary is the idea that this was all caused by an accident Carlos had when he was a child. He says that he tripped and fell into that spider and its egg sac when he was 6 - and nearly 25 years later it’s coming back to bite him in the ass. But I wonder - was there always something supernatural going on with that spider, even when he was a kid? The story he tells doesn’t have any obvious supernatural elements that I can see, and the “ghost spider” (as Jonathan calls it at the end) only appears after the Jane Prentiss worms. My first instinct would be to say that there’s nothing supernatural at all about the spider itself, and that the spider was somehow...activated, I guess?...by Jane’s presence. But I know spiders are important in the series, so right now the whole thing is a big question mark for me. Which came first, the spider or the worms?

This post is part of a series where I write my thoughts about each episode and obsessively connect dots in an effort to figure out The Big Mysteries of the series. All posts in this series are tagged “is this liveblogging?” Comments and messages are welcome but I have only listened to season 1, so I ask that you not spoil me for anything beyond episode 40. In the words of Jonny Sims…thanks for listening!

(Spoilers for the remainder of season 1 under the cut.)

So I’d like to take a moment to share with you a story about just how much of an Absolute Dumbass I am. Here we go.

I’ve been keeping an ear out for familiar names (of people and of places), so when Carlos mentions his apartment is on Boothby Rd, I did a quick mental check and, nope, don’t believe I’ve ever heard that name before. But wait, it’s in Archway? At that point I hit pause. I thought to myself, I know I’ve heard that somewhere before... Cue me looking back and seeing that’s where Harriett Lee lived in episode 6 (specifically, on Elthorne Rd), and the last known location of Jane Prentiss! Hmm...well, just how big is Archway, anyway? Are those two streets even close to each other? So I pull out a map - and would you look at that, the two roads intersect! I do a little happy dance from putting that together. Unpause. Carlos’ next words were “While nearby Elthorne Road was full of houses and gardens-”. OK, a little disappointing since they “gave” the connection away right there...but it would still take a really good memory (or in my case, really good notes) to remember Elthorne Rd being mentioned in passing 10 episodes ago, right? I no longer feel great, but I still feel pretty good about making the connection. Some 30 seconds later: “Our building had acquired something of an infestation of some sort of insect I didn’t recognize - small, silvery worms, almost like maggots, but slightly longer, and I assume that they provided a good meal for the eight-legged little monsters.” Friends...I cannot describe to you the deep, deep disappointment I felt in myself at this point. Not only had I paused the podcast and done actual research when the answers were literally in the next minute of the podcast, but I had completely forgotten the worms made an appearance at all in this episode. SMH.

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House: 11 Louds A Leapin Review or It’s My Bobby in a Box

Happy Holidays errybody! Christmas returns to this blog after a bit of a break to tie up some loose ends, and celebrate my birthday with a return to the loud house.  It’s honestly good to be back. While it can be a struggle to cover a pure comedy, I genuinely like the show a lot, even with it’s flaws i’ve gone into, and my regular reviews gave  me a running gag in my hatred of rusty and a new respect for the show. It’s just with a buiser schedule and me not actually trying to have something resembling order to things, I kept shoving Banned Together back despite really wanting to see it since.. you know.. Luna episode.. until it ended up sliding into ANOTHER set of episodes. It’s things like this why I have a queue now: while it’s not set day by day, in case I want to do more than one i na day, it is there to keeep some semblance of order and keep me on track so this dosen’t happen again.  So with all that being said.. why did I choose to do A DIFFRENT loud house episode for the second time in a row before getting back to the current season? Simple.. i’ve been putting this episode off personally for even LONGER. I meant to watch 12 louds a leapin back when it first came out at the start of season 2... and just never got around to it. And just kept never getting around to it, wanting to watch it at christmas but then forgetting to do so for the last 4 years. Spare a thought there.. 4 years. In that time 80 years have passed, an era of marvel movies have come to an end, a tick series has come and gone, She Ra has come and gone, ducktales premiered then annoucned it was ending.. my point is way too many shows are ending too soon, and i’ve let this slide for far too long. So I bumped this one up to finally take a look at it, as i’ve waited this long and didn’t want to risk missing it a fifth fucking time. So yeah i’m taking look at what’s probably a classic episode in the fandom with fresh eyes. Let’s see what I thought shall we? It’s Christmas Eve at the Loud House and Lincoln is once again Zach Morrising it up .

Not what I meant.. whatever that is. It’s been 30 years since that episode aired, probably a good 12 since I first saw it and I still have no idea why they did this or if it was giong to end in a three way before the girls showed up. We just don’t know and the greatest minds in the country are baffled.. and you know working on the vaccine and making sure it’s safe. 

No Linc is talking to the camera about it being christmas while gearing up to go sledding with his sled big red. Meanwhile the rest of the louds are doing their usual christmas activities which we get introduced to as Lincoln gets ready. The girls sub-plots here are, outside of Lori’s., less plots and more running gags, various shenanigans by the girls tying into their personalities and christmasy stuff. It works perfectly.. while it’s a bunch of gags.. the gags are funny and it’s neat to learn more about just how the girls celebrate christmas and what they get up to every year. It’s part of what’s to love about holiday specials as you get a once or twice in a series chance to see how our heroes celbrate the holiday and thus a look into stories, gags and character stuff very unique to the holiday. It also uses the fact LIncoln was the protaganist at the time very well, using him as our viewpoint to set up all the christmas goings on as he makes his way out of the house, so we can cut back to them later as his plot goes on. It’s really good stuff. So what are the girls up to? Let’s go down the list by age shall we?

Lori: Lori has the most involved plot anyway so it’s best to start here. Lori and Bobby are having their first christmas together... though it does bring up the fact that they’ve only been dating 2 years at most, yet plan to get married.. I mean that is a lot but your also 18. Then again time is nigh incomprehinsiable to unpack in the loud house, and at least 3 years passed in the one year it took to get them all aged up, so I wouldn’t think about it too hard.  Lori, still being in huge bitch mode as she was early on, pressures bobby to get a good gift. She later gets said gift but despite being told to open it immideitly, her siblings chide her on her habit of tearing presents open and thus get her not to open it. So that’s a runner through the special, with Lana even putting her on a leash at one point, which I found hilarious. Less hilaroius is the conclusion as it turns out in the box on christmas day.. is BOBBY, who understandably is not looking so good...

Thankfully bobby’s not dead or they all would be, but still the poor boy missed christmas eve with his mom  and sister for this stunt. I mean I get it’s his fault, he’s apparently LITERALLY too dumb to live it turns out and should’ve you know made a noise sooner and probably didn’t want to ruin the suprise.. but we still nearly got an episode where a 4 year old had surivviors guilt for letting her older sisters boyfriend suffocate in a box. That’s dead santa from gremlins levels of fucked up. Thankfully Lori loves it and I assume bobby’s worried family joined them for christmas eve. That image fills my heart with hope. But seriously bobby never again we can’t loose you. At least not before Sergio. 

Leni: Leni’s is very simple it’s just a running gag of her taking various christmas things, making them into outfits then saying shhhh to whoever’s around when she hears, or in later cases is right there, with the person asking. Just a funny bit.  Luna: Is working on a christmas song. It’s one of the weake runners as the failed songs just aren’t that funny, but the payoff for the main plot makes up for it. WE’ll get to that.  Luann: Has one of my faviorite bits, her 12 puns of christmas which is both really adorable and leads to an adorable moment with her dad. Always loved their relationship. 

Lynn and Lucy: Are teamed up this episode which makes me genuinely miss how the two would be used as a pair ocasionally earlier on but just .. arne’t anymore> The rest of the girls status as roomates is used liberally but not so much these two. IT’s just weird and disheartning to me. That being said their plot is simply the two digging around to find where the presents are hidden, which I never got as why would you want to know weeks ahead of time. You can’t use any money to buy the stuff you dind’t get or they’ll know and they usually figure out you knew ahead of time and it just brings thigns down. But from a kid’s perspective I guess I get it and while it’s weird to have Lucy be one of the ones following I like it, as it shows that benath her gothy demanor she’s still just an 8 year old girl excited for christmas, and that’s adorable. A decent enough runner. 

Lana: Gets  a good one: She keeps accidently catching people, and a passing car in one case though she has a jack to help, in her reindeer traps. Its not only funny but really adorable especially since she dosen’t care about trapping SANTA persay, she just wants her own pet reindeer and frankly who wouldn’t want a rideable woodland critter who can fly. Dammit now i want one too. 

Lola and Lisa: Lola gets a fairly standard one tha’ts still pretty damn funny; She wants to get offf the naughy list by playing good for a day. What makes it funny is that last part.. that instead of doing it over a few days like most of this plot she’s trying to cram it all into one day while also trying not to strangle Lisa, who keeps showing up to say santa’s route is impossiuble. As ducktales covered he slows down time.. also you know.. not every kid celebrates christmas so ther’es probably a good number of houses he dosen’t have to cover in one night.  Lily: Just randomly pops out of stockings a bit. it’s precioous as it sounds.  The Parents: It had honestly been so long both since i’d seen a season 1 episode, and since the two had been both given actual names and fleshed out considerably, that i’d forgotten Rita and Senior had their faces obscured for all of season 1. It’s REALLY weird and jarring to go back to after getting to know them as fully formed people of their own over the past 3 seasons, and especally gorowing to love Senior, as he’s a loveably goofy dad but without the incompetence of most comedy dads. He can bumble but he’s also genuinely supportive, talented and pulls his weight in his marriage and family.  We do however start to really see their fully formed , full member of the cast perosnalities here: Rita is clearly tired from the sheer amount of shit she has to juggle, but is also nice and warm and while Lynn Sr.’s goofiness was established already, here it’s tempered into his current shape and his love of cooking and through role as the family chef is established. While he was established as cook earlier he goes from someone who’d use frozen food just to get by to a master chef who probably does use a lot of frozen stuff but can make anything taste good and will eventually have his own restraunt. It’s really fascenating to see them slowly emerge. They don’t really have plots themslves, and Lynn’s only real gag is wanting everyone to try his figgy pudding. 

So with the rest of the family covered let’s get to our main plot. Lincoln is sledding.. on the slide out back.. for some reason. 

The reason is simple.. his sled ends up in the yard of Mr. Grouse, their neighbor and old man who yells at louds. Lincoln explains grouse keeps everything that ends up in his yard and has taken a lot from the Loud Kids over the years. So lincoln.. uses the slide to sled.. DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIS YARD. 

I’ve been wanting to use pigtail kim since I made that one recently. But her points stands. What?!. I mean Lincoln can be stupid, he’s  only 12 it’s allowed, but usually more out of not realizing what he’s getting into or using kid logic. He’s not this brain dead. That’s Leni’s job. It just feels like plot contrivance. Just have him build some sort of contraption as a makeshift hill and tell the audience he’s doing this because his family dosen’t want him going to an actual hill on christmas or is too busy to take him. There are easier ways than this half assed rube goldberg machine of a setup. So naturally his sled ends up in the yard.. and he calls on Clyde to help....

Now if you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you know that reactoin is normally reserved exclusivley for this guy. 

But since Rusty was in his larval state with only a few apperances and hadn’t emeerged from his coocoon as the douche I know and love to take pot shots at, there was actually something WORSE. Something more obnoxious. And with far far worse implications. And that my friends was seasons 1 and 2 Clyde.  Clyde in the early seasons CAN be fine, and the self we know now. In fact I wish he interacted with the sisters more as the slumber party episode early on gave him a nice dynamic with all of them and the episode with him and leni was terrific. The problem one there was running gag with him, one character trait that utterly sucked the joy out of the room at best and made him into an unlikeable little shit at worst; HIs crush on Lori.  When she’s around at BEST he has a Master Roshi nosebleed, stammers her name and passes out, something that wasn’t funny the first time and quickly became grating the 80 other times they did it. But at worst, as he is here? He’s creepy, obessevie and worst of all. .a real dick to bobby. Who as we’ve established is...

So that was NEVER going to go over well and even ignoring that is still very bad. The little creep just constantly treats Bobby with hostility, which given this is Bobby, he dosen’t realize is going on. Any time their relationship is threantned Clyde’s main goal is to swoop in during the aftermath and win lori over. He constantly wants Bobby out of the way, The ONE TIME he dosen’t come off as a massive dick is when Lincoln thinks Bobby might be cheating, and that’s because Clyde isn’t planning on swooping into the wrecakge of someone’s relationship to get a girlfriend, but to punch the guy out for cheating on her. Bobby wasn’t and Clyde obviously isn’t capable of that, but it’s a bit more understandable and even CLYDE wants to make sure there’s evidence first. But more often than not he’s just under the assumptino Lori will be his despite the massive age gap, her having made it obvious she’s not intrested, and her being in  longterm relationship she’s really happy in with someone else. And this was season 1 lori who reacted to this, so the fact she’s not being the queen of all bitches about it only makes him look that much worse. And to add to that, Bobby not only KNOWS he has as crush on Lori but is suppportive of clyde, cheering him on when she kisses him once for doing something noble, and generally treating “Clydsdale” like he would any of Lori’s blood siblings. It was excurating then to sit through this every few episodes.. and it’s even worse now because the gag’s complete dissaperance from Season 3 onwards really paints the picture that this gag was entirely because series creator Chris Savino thought this was FUNNY and no one else did. And given he got fired for, you know, HARASSING WOMEN  AND NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER  you kinda see how an already bad bit was made worse. So yeah while the sled thing is bad this.. is objectively worse and drags the special down more. It’s thakfully not omniprescent but man is it hard to watch.  Clyde being in full dickhead mode is trying to get a kiss from lori and is using a missletoe hat for it.. And can we just agree that while Missletoe can be used well in stories, to help two shy people finally kiss or to ramp up romantic tension or what have you, that it’s often used by creepy douchebags to get kisses they don’t deserve both here and presumibly in irl before the plauge hit? We can? Good. But yeah that’s his plot, no suprise he gets one, bah hum bug. He also throws in some Bobby bashing by fantasising about him ending up in the yard and clyde ending up with lori since Grouse keeps bobby.. even though instead Lori would just ignore clyde, storm over there and rip an old man’s spine out mortal kombat style. 

So yeah Lincoln wants his sled back, but he can’t do it alone as the old man scares him, hence Clyde coming in. They make an elaborate plan using some careful blueprints. 

Their real plan is to have Clyde disract grouse while Lincoln grabs the sled but it fails and mean mr mustard finds it and takes it inside. Desperate, Lincoln prepares to do some crimes and head into his house. Clyde is afraid he’l end up in jail and never get to visit because only family can. Clyde you are family. Plus Prison visits aren’t limited to relatives only, any show with a character in jail storyline will tell you that. But Lincoln makes a valid point that Grouse stole his property.. I still dont’ think this is the right way to handle it and his parents should just go over and ask the loud, irate asshole to give the kids stuff back he stole to be a dick, but this is a kids show and again we wouldn’t have a plot but unlike last time my head dosen’t hurt from this. He’s desperate, he knows that probably wouldn’t work and again he’s 12. 12 year old logic is fine.  Naturally he ends up getting caught as Grouse didn’t leave for long, though having found a photo of Grouse with a sled as a kid, understandably fires back on him that he wasn’t always like this. Why he like this. He also has the much farier point that again, it’s his property and “My yard my rules” is about as much a legal rule as a note saying “I can do what I want, ron”. But Grouse understandably, hey he’s a dick but the boyd id be and e, makes him clean up and after Grouse fails to get the loud parents Lincoln, via a comination of a charming family photo and Grouse talking to his sister on the phone, finds out the real reason he acts like this: He misses his family and being on a fixed income can’t visit them often as he tells his sister he won’t be home for christmas to see his sprawling family. 

And while it doesen’t excuse his actions.. it does explain why Grouse is so bitter: you would be too if you had a massive family who clealry loved you and your on good terms with.. but through no fault of your own and presumibly despite working hard toa fford retirment you just.. can’t see them. Their there and you have the phone, but you don’t know how to work the internet and it’s just.. not the same as seeing them. Your just seperated from them and can’t be near them or hear their voices or get hugs. Which.. given the current pandemic i’m sure MANY of you can relate to that.. to being seperated from your loved ones and trapped, and especailly many people mr grouses age are facing that. While this special is good even without the context of seeing it this year it especailly resonates and i’m glad I waited this long simply beaause it came at just the right time. Grouse tells him to leave not planning on calling his parents.

So in christmas special fashion, Lincoln is touched byt his story, and feels bad for the old curmudgeon. Sure they don’t get along and the bastard broke his sled.. but again you’d be bitter too in his shoes. The guy has nothing and is alone.. and Grouse has done nothing to deserve that, even with his actions resulting from it. No one should be alone on christmas.  So Lincoln tells his sisters, all of whom rally around him, including Luna whose writer’s block is broken as she finally realizes... 

And not singing about that was holding her back. Luna has her song and Lincoln, as expected has a plan.  And we soon see that plan as Grouse gets a knock on the door.. and finds the Louds, parents included, and The McBrides all there singing him a christmas song. It’s pretty decent and the first time we really get to see Nikka Futterman sing and i’ts beautiful> Ther’ed be better, and worse luna songs to come but this is still pretty neat and sweet. THey came to offer him deocrations, dinner, company.. and a one way bus ticket to his family... presumibly the family will pay the other way or he can easier the day after christmas. Point is he’s touched, and genuinely and sincerly thanks them and invites them in, with Grouse’s actor John DiMaggio REALLY selling it hard. 

So our heroes gather for Christmas Eve all together, and under Grouse’s roof with Grouse giving the kids their stuff back having had a change of heart. Sure he misses his family.. but the Louds and Mc Brides have shown him he dosen’t have to shut everyone out as a result. And while Grouse apologizes tht his sled is gone.. Lincoln’s fine with it he got something better.  So the next morning we end on the kids opening presents, and Lori saving her boyfriend from axphisxiation, seriously between this and strife of the party i’m really starting to sour on lana. Regarldess Lucy finally belivies in santa both due to gifts nd seeing him last night, while Lincoln finds a sled from santa.. and then goes outside to see Mr Grouse off, recognizing he’s the one who played santa in  a really sweet and senitmental bit. The two part on good terms even if Lincoln breaks another window. Things have changed if not that much.  Final THoughts:  If it wasn’t obvious, I REALLY loved this one. While it has it’s flaws, and Chris Savino sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms obviously.. it’s still a really sweet, well constructed special and I really recommend checking it out. It’s on the nick app if you have cable and on CBS All Acess if you have that. Until next time merry christmas to all and to all a good day. 

And if ther’es an episode of the loud house you’d like me to review leave it in the comments or you can comission a review of it for five dollars. Just direct message me to work out the details or send an ask for my discord. 

[popwasabi]

“Westworld III” takes several steps forward...and several steps back (REVIEW)

Created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Aaron Paul, Ed Harris, Vincent Cassel, Tessa Thompson, Thandie Newton

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Season three of HBO’s “Westworld” cleans up many of the issues season two had but ultimately falls short of season one’s loftier thematic ideas.

It’s cinematically sharper, it’s about as well paced and fun as the show has ever been and that on it’s own makes it worth watching and certainly worth continuing the series going forward but for fans hoping it might have something new to say in the vein of its hyper meta-textual and thematic commentary of the first season it may leave you disappointed.

Season three may have raised the stakes of the series with its pending (and frankly, all too timely) apocalyptic vibes going on in the story but it lowers the bar on its cerebral nature opting more for fast paced thrills over anything more profound or hadn’t said already.

That said, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it anyways for better…and worse.

“Westworld” season three picks up not too long after the events of season two as Dolores has infiltrated human society and begun working on her master plan to bring it all down. She has spared Bernard, who now spends his life as butcher outside the major cities but he often wonders where she is and when this apocalypse will begin. Meanwhile a veteran named Caleb spends his life doing the same mundane tasks and mercenary work everyday to make ends meet pondering his existence as he deals with his PTSD. He decides to break the cycle however when one day he finds Dolores shot in an alleyway and joins her on her quest to start a revolution.

“Westworld” is one of the few series that hooked me immediately with its first episode.

Where some series take their time to gain momentum before going into overdrive in their season finale, season one’s “The Original” grabbed my attention from the start with a combination of mystery, action, stellar acting, and the kind of cerebral humanist story-telling I expect and want from the cyberpunk genre.

As someone with a father who talked extensively about myth, theme, and got me to listen to old Joseph Campbell essays on CD  growing up, a series that explored story-telling on a meta level with a high octane LARP concept setting was everything someone like me could ask for in a science fiction series.

(Seriously, there was some compelling analytical story-telling dialogue in this series.)

So invested I was in this tale of synthetics gaining agency and humans exploring their own personal myth-making and what it said about themselves made me a huge fan early on, proudly proclaiming it to be the best show on HBO several years ago.

I was so certain this series was creatively the best thing on television at the time that I strongly considered getting a maze tattoo like that in the show to proclaim my brand-new fandom.

But knowing there was still more seasons on the horizon, I held off thinking I should probably see this through before doing anything that brash.

Well, a few years later I feel pretty good about that decision…

(Imagine how fans who named their newborns Daenerys or Khalessi feel right now...)

I remember thinking at the end of season one “Where can they possibly go from here still? Other LARP destinations in this cyberpunk world? A robot vs human war? How can the world expand?”

The problem is these thoughts did not really ask the most important question following that first season; “What more does it actually have to say?”

The first season is, in my opinion, a perfect season of television. It’s a brilliant take on the stories we tell ourselves, the choices we make that define us in our personal myths, and the exploration of our nature and how that relates to choice all while playing out this synthetic mystery plot. The entire first season pulls all these arcs and ideas together through characters like Bernard/Arnold, William/The Man in Black, and of course Dolores. They all, more or less, complete their arcs in that first season and there’s not really much needed to be said beyond that when you really think about it. If the series ended on Dolores murdering Ford and the Delos guests in the season finale that honestly would have been a perfect ambiguous ending to send the story off on.

(Kind of itss own meta commentary on the journey of a fan and an ever-increasingly cynical series...)

But because this is HBO, and “Game of Thrones” is no longer the driving force of premium TV, Westworld MUST continue because it’s the new cash cow for the channel. Whether or not writer/producers Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan really knew what they wanted to do following that first season is anybody’s guess but it’s hard not to see that they have struggled a bit since that point.

Season two is a mixed bag, where the characters literally feel like they’re going in circles. Plotlines get muddled, characters become hyper versions of themselves, and while certain ideas and episodes reached similar levels of brilliance that the first season had it still lacked the narrative sharpness of the first season and that has a lot to do with the characters having mostly no other driving force besides survival and simply getting to the next physical plot point.

It just didn’t have much more to say and frankly in a story about stories that’s pretty damn important.

(This episode from season 2 is still one of its best.)

To their credit, Joy and Nolan appear to rectify quite a few issues season two had with season three. Again, it’s faster, better paced, there’s a clearer destination at the end for its characters and not to mention a pretty compelling villain for this season’s plot in Serac played by the brilliant Vincent Cassell.

But it suffers ultimately the same problem; it has nothing truly new to say.

This is not to say the season is without any meaningful messages or metaphors. It’s quite critical of our hyper surveillance and information gathering state, might even be the best depiction to date on the broader implications and consequences of a world where we all have our personal information readily online to mined and plundered by big businesses and government. Caleb, played by the always great Aaron Paul, is a good avatar for the everyman who has grown jaded and disenfranchised by this system. Though he spends most of the season looking overly shocked and gape-jawed at just about everything, it’s hard not to feel empathy and a connection to this character as we are quite literally living in a bit of a cyberpunk hell as it is these days and treated just as much as expendable commodities right now.

(You fucking jackasses are arguing for the wrong things! You’re all being swindled and cheated for nothing! *photo “unrelated”*)

The season is generally best when the focus is on him, as the first episode delivers a strong start in the same way season one did.

Where the season begins to fall apart though is when quite literally the world “Westworld” inhabits begins to do so itself. Serac’s Rehobaum, which reminded me just a little too much of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s” Deep Thought, releasing all its data to the world and everyone discovering they’re basically all dangerous assholes is almost hilarious to me. 

Though the idea of hyper data controlling our every move is a good cyberpunk metaphor to jump off of, the way this bit is executed is a little over exaggerated and clumsy.

(Though it does deliver a pretty powerful scene regardless.)

This isn’t actually a tremendous problem with season three, but it doesn’t do much to add to what we already understand about the story; which is how narrative controls us and how important choices and free will is to that. All this is already told and expanded on in the first season through Dolores, all season three does it bring it to a macro level and put that onus on the humans instead of the hosts. The hosts were already a metaphor for humanity anyways so again the story in some ways hasn’t changed much since season one.

It's interesting to have the narrative of the hosts turned on the humans but thematically it feels redundant.

I’ll add that this isn’t the worst idea they could’ve gone with, it works in moving the physical aspect of the story forward for sure, and I wouldn’t even classify it as a bad one, but again the problem is the story has largely run out of new things to tell us.

We like stories because we want to learn some truth about ourselves, whether we want it to or not, and Anthony Hopkins’ Ford makes a great point of this in season one. This has been the purpose of myths and legends since the dawn of time and it’ll be no different even when the 37th Fast & Furious comes out in 40 years. You could argue that the message of Westworld deserves repeating or that it’s not important to the entertainment value it still provides, and you might be right. But for a series like this, that is so invested in what stories mean I don’t think it’s wrong to think there should be more to it than this.

(Maybe, I should’ve...)

Of course, there’s still plenty more to see out of “Westworld” for the foreseeable future as HBO won’t be canceling it anytime soon and certainly it’ll have its chance to still tackle more ideas and themes in the future but, at this point at least, it’s been less meaningful that its first season.

There are other problems too, namely Dolores constantly changing and unclear revolution plans and arcs resolved offscreen, certain side plots with other characters ultimately going nowhere, and a fairly predictable twist with Caleb, but this is the crux of the problem with the series as it stands now and the one worth mentioning the most.

(And Maeve, *sigh* oh Maeve...)

That said, season three really is a lot of fun despite my issues with the narrative. The pacing, as mentioned, is great from start to finish. I was never bored or disinterested during this season, despite its flaws, and the action bits are frankly better than they’ve ever been as the series goes full cyberpunk in parts with great robot on human and robot on robot action.

The cinematography is sharp and striking too as Jonathan Nolan shows he’s definitely Christopher’s brother with some beautiful, haunting shots of the future Los Angeles city Gotham-esque skyline set to Ramin Djawadi’s excellent cyberpunk score that gives the new season a more noire-ish feel that would make Vangelis and Hans Zimmer proud.

(In the future Los Angeles will be Singapore!)

The acting is still stellar of course. Though Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard is largely wasted in this season and his plot goes nowhere, his scene with Gina Torres in the finale is touching. Luke Hemsworth is dry as hell in a good way as Chief of Security turned personal buddy bodyguard to Bernard as Ashley Stubbs. Ed Harris is wicked and dastardly as always as William and of course Evan Rachel Wood is solid as the driving force of the series as Dolores.

(Out of context season 3 spoiler.)

The finale doesn’t leave much to say beyond a pending machine vs human war though which has been building up since the first season anyways. While I can see some possibilities for an interesting direction here, I can’t say I’m as intrigued as even the finale to season two left me.

In some ways, season one left me not too much unlike William going into season’s two and three; looking for additional meaning in something that wasn’t looking to tell me anything deeper, at least right now. Perhaps the maze just isn’t for me anymore but moving forward I’ll be lowering my expectations.

(Oh my God! Meta commentary on meta commentary! It’s meta-ception! I’m beginning to question the nature of my reality!!!)

“Westworld” remains a fun cyberpunk action series that can hold your attention span for an hour, and I think it’ll maintain that energy consistently going forward, but it might’ve been best left where it was when Dolores put a bullet in Ford’s brain.

I do hope it can regain some of its original spark at some point but until then…it doesn’t look like anything (deep) to me.

VERDICT:

3.5 out of 5

You said it, Marshawn...

[star3yed]

The Chat Who Stole Christmas (MLSS 2019)

Hi @mizuminojosei​ I’m your @mlsecretsanta​ this year! I’ve had this story ready for a while and just wait until christmas to finally post it! I saw you liked the Antihero AU and I decided to jump a lil outta my comfort zone a write you one with action! This story has everything from frienship, to a lil angst and lots of fluff. I hope you’re having a happy holiday season and you enjoy!

Also thanks to my betas @sadrien​ and @tombombadilcankickyourass​ for making my ramblings coherent!

Summary: 

When Ladybug thought of how she would spend her night before christmas eve, she never would have suspected robbing a bank would be on top of her list. When Chat Noir had to buy presents for his Lady, he never suspected he'd have to break and enter. Follow them in their adventure being teenagers and antiheros. Antihero AU.

Ao3

Word Count:7268

————————————————————–

Ladybug was a heroine, she’d been put in many different situations, many of them difficult, yet none of them compared to the nerves she felt in her stomach doing this. She never once imagined she would end up in this position; her partner so quiet she could hear his accelerated heartbeat. He was nervous too. Ladybug’s head was flush flat against the cool metal surface, her eyes closed, and her hands otherwise occupied. 

“Are you sure about this bugaboo?” her golden-haired partner asked; bless his heart, always making sure she was ready before going ahead with something new.

 “Well, we wouldn’t really be in this position if I wasn’t 100 percent sure,” she retorted, her nose scrunching up. His concern was appreciated but she didn’t need his worry alongside her own 

“I just want to make sure you’re comfortable, this could really be a game-changer if we aren’t safe.”

“Everything we do is a game-changer if we aren’t safe enough.”

“My lady, I would never be able to live with myself if you ever felt unsafe. Unless, of course, it was with my hands.”

“Are you implying you’re dangerous Kitty?”

“Did you fur-get? I’m purr-haps the most dangerous cat on this side of the Seine.”

“Are you two done flirting or should I get the hose?” A voice cackled from behind them. “Al-” Ladybug stopped herself before exposing the secret identity of her best friend. “I want to make it clear that this is not flirting.” she grumbled as Rena Rogue laughed. Ladybug frowned and bit the inside of her cheek to avoid making it a bigger deal than what she knew it could become.

“My lady, we should let the cat out of the bag” Chat Noir purred “We should tell them about our history, how we are pawsitively more than fur-riends”

Marinette wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes long enough to give him a look, so he’d understand the excruciating pain he was putting her through with his dreadful puns.

“I think that would be a cat-astrophic idea, Kitty,” she teased, before closing her eyes and focusing on the task at hand. Had she kept her eyes on him she might’ve seen his cheeks brighten up.

Although they had been partners for the better part of 4 years Chat Noir couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat when Ladybug would rarely return his puns, or whenever she still called him kitty. He admired the blue-eyed heroine, and as time passed his feelings for her only increased, and even though through the years he had other girls he dated or was involved with, he never really got very far; his feelings for the polka-dot clad superhero prevented him from forming any real romantic connections, until he had met Marinette that is. The other blue-eyed girl had captured his heart and only her smile could make his heart skip a beat the way Ladybug’s did.

 Yet, as suave as he had become over the years he quickly quipped back.

“What is that Feline? Am I fortunate enough that purrhps the pawsibility has arisen that my purr-incess is finally warming up to my claw-ver puns?”

“Ugh, unless you want to do this Chat, I require the utmost silence!” Ladybug groaned, finding it impossible that Chat could find a cat twist to every other word, still a small smile found its way onto her face.

“Ladybug give me the word and I’ll shut him up for you!” Queen Bee exclaimed, with genuine enthusiasm. Although Chloe had grown closer to the team, she still couldn’t help herself with the dig at the leather clad boy. She was a tough cookie and her mean girl spirit never seemed to leave.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?” Chat cried before Queen Bee hit him with her spinning top. 

“She asked for silence!”

 “I KNOW I HEARD HER!” Chat spat back as Carapace laughed at both blondes while they fought about Ladybug.

Ladybug tuned out the rest of her team members, focusing on the task at hand, twisting the dial and slowly changing directions with every click. 

‘Crap, I might not be able to actually crack this’ she thought before letting out a loud sigh. If she didn’t concentrate, she wouldn’t be able to open the safe and their whole plan would be ruined. The last thing she wanted to do was use Chat’s cataclysm this early in the plan. Master Fu had been fairly certain that this individual possessed a miraculous and all the other places he could’ve stored the miraculous were empty. This was the last public place he could’ve hidden it, so if it wasn’t here, they’d have to break into his home. 

The vault door clicked three times, and suddenly it was unlocked.

 “Are you sure about this Chaton?” she asked, opening her eyes and stepping to the side. Blue eyes met green, and her companion smirked.

“You realize this will be the biggest one yet, right? I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” 

She smiled and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. Running around, stealing stuff and wreaking havoc was fun, sure, however Ladybug always feared that her partner would someday get tired of running away from the law. Although Chat Noir was far from a saint, he had a certain softness to him. She feared that softness would someday over take him and he would regret all the criminal activity.

She let the vault door open fully, exposing the white cold room, transparent shelf upon transparent shelf piled with gold bars in the center of the room, security deposit boxes of different sizes lining the other three walls, which contained precious jewels, euros, and documents. Unlocking those security deposit boxes was much easier than unlocking the vault door; they were all well versed in picking locks after all. 

“Ohhh, shiny!” Queen Bee gasped from behind them. Out of instinct, Chat Noir held his arm out and stopped his impulsive teammate from entering the room. Ladybug sighed and analyzed the room. Obviously, the room would have some backup sensor and if they didn’t want a quick interruption from anyone, they would have to be careful. Although part of the fun was kicking some private security details ass, if they could prevent any more notoriety than what they already had, it would be great.

“Rena, what’s the status on this vault?” Ladybug asked her companion. Say what you want about Alya, she was a tenacious reporter and very good at finding the dirt on everything and anything.

“The floor is pressure-sensitive, light lasers that will trigger an alarm if the connection is interrupted between their two plates and there is a door sensor on each security deposit box. You have about 5 seconds before an alarm is triggered.”

“Basically, don’t touch the floor or the lasers and don’t open doors. Chill,” Nino responded squatting as he looked at the vault. He knew that the lasers wouldn’t show up with another light source on. “Is there any way we can, like, turn off the lights inside the vault to see the lasers?”

“We can try to fry the power box but we risk getting locked inside this bank and alerting authorities that way,” Alya responded, “but if we fry it we have about three minutes of uninterrupted snooping before all the backup security comes back on.”

“How big of a possibility is it that we get locked in?” Marinette asked, trying to decide if it was worth it. 

“About fifty-fifty. They are between changing security systems because this one is faulty. We can get unlimited access as the backup security warms up, or it might already be on and the vault closes up again.”

Marinette exhaled loudly in frustration and looked at her partner. Although she called all the shots, Chat usually had good insight.

“I think those odds are good. Worst comes to worst I’ll just cataclysm our way out of here.” 

Marinette looked inside the vault; all three walls were filled with security deposit boxes. There was a light fixture she could swing upon, but once he used cataclysm, they would have to find a different place to swing on. 

“What’s above this again?” she asked the others and Queen Bee pulled out some blueprints from her jacket handing it to the girl in red. Being the mayor’s daughter had its perks. The blonde girl pointed to where they were, “Okay, so like we’d have to get past 2 floors of stairs to reach the front of the bank, but most likely police will have arrived.” She tapped her chin. “But I know helicopters take a bit longer to come so if we manage to find the stairways that lead to the rooftop, we can escape through there.“ 

“But won’t they use floodlights to illuminate every side of the bank?” Carapace injected, looking at the girls before Chat Noir smiled. 

“Not unless we escape down,” he offered.

"You mean through the sewers?” Rena asked.

“No offense cat, but aside from that being ridiculous and gross,” Queen Bee huffed crossing her arms, “it would also limit our escape route and if they decide to go through the sewers, they will immediately catch us. Besides it will probably take longer for them to set up floodlights anyways.”

“Look, there’s a mall right across the street and behind it is the Seine, I think going through the roof is best since we don’t have any map of the sewers or know it. It feels like we could be exposed if we get lost, especially if any of us end up using our powers.”

Queen Bee smirked as Ladybug spoke, happy Ladybug was on her side. The rest of the Antiheros agreed, “But I think if time is just too short, we might have to go through the sewers. But we don’t have much more time to change the plan.” She beckoned the others towards her and the blueprints on the floor

All five huddled around as she laid the blueprints on the floor. “Ok so where exactly is the power system?” Marinette asked.

The team managed to pull the robbery almost miraculously. Having lady luck on their side, things went better than expected. Carapace was able to cut the wires of the vault, and banks’ power grid. Luckily the backup generators weren’t up, so the bank was completely unarmed for a good few minutes, giving the Antiheroes some time to snoop around and take some souvenirs. Although they had very little time, they were able to open a good portion of the wall security deposit boxes, and they took some very valuable documents, cash in different currencies and jewelry. As Queen Bee, Carapace and Rena Rouge were distracted with the gold bars and Chat Noir seemed deep in thought while looking at something in a security deposit box, Ladybug slipped something in her yoyo. Then suddenly an alarm blared above, signaling that something was amiss. They decided to cut their losses and get out of there before any more attention was brought to them. With everything secure in their miraculous tools, they ran towards the roof of the building, and saw the lights of the patrol cars closing in, they were about to cross the busy highway when suddenly they saw a huge iron man grow from one of the patrol cars. 

“An Akuma!” Carapace called out.

“Well crap.” Ladybug groaned. “Let’s get rid of it.”

⛄❆❅☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅

Adrien threw his backpack into his room and collapsed in his bed arriving home after a long fight with an Akuma. This one had been rough. The steel man had been the bank director,  and he had previous boxing experience so it was a doozy. He groaned as Plagg started to complain next to him, how many times he had gotten hit as Chat was uncertain but Adrien lifted his shirt and saw an angry purple welt forming near his ribcage. He was certain it had been way too many for comfort. Another of his concerns was a certain blue-eyed girl’s reaction to seeing his bruises. Although the antiheroes were always careful to never get hit in the face or anywhere visible, an Akuma had once hit Chat straight across the face, leaving a nasty black eye. Marinette berated him about being reeekless and not putting his own life before Ladybug’s and the team’s. He felt her love but at the same time it was too much. Marinette’s reaction was really overkill for him, he knew his girlfriend cared but not to this extent. She took care of him, was so gentle and kind, Adrien felt a bit uncomfortable not getting that at home. She worried, and he was very touched that she did, but it also made him worry about not worrying her. 

His girlfriend had obviously known it was Chat who was hit, but Adrien had to make an incident happen at home so his black eye was explained as well. Luckily there were cameras in every crevice of his house, so him slipping and hitting himself on the bannister was more than enough of an excuse. He sighed and put his shirt back down. Plagg floated next to him holding a piece of cheese bigger than his entire oddly shaped head. “Worrying about baker girl?” he offered. 

“If my shirt rides up and she sees this, I’ll be toast.” He sighs.  

“Then wear a girdle,” Plagg said nonchalantly inhaling the cheese, to Adrien’s dismay. 

“I should really lower your cheese intake for the amount of sass you give me.” He narrowed his eyes at the cat god, before laying back down in his bed. 

“Don’t you even joke about that lover boy. Remember I am the god of destruction and I might feel inclined to destroy some of your favorite anime DVDs.”

“I can download them again online.”

“Not your limited edition, uncut Naruto DVD, signed by the voice actors in Japan.”

Adrien sat back up and looked at his Kawamii “You wouldn’t dare do that.”

“Don’t test me.” Plagg laughed before flying back to his cheese.

Adrien groaned and threw himself back on his bed, putting an arm over his eyes and sighed. “I bet Ladybug’s Kawamii wouldn’t threaten me as you do.”

“Sugarcube? HA. She would’ve killed you by now because you wouldn’t be able to give her sweets so readily like cheese. Might I remind you of the long-standing sugar ban in your house?”

“Might I remind you I have a baker girlfriend who’s parents own the best bakery in all Paris.”

“Of whom you’ve been dating for less than a year. How long have you been Chat Noir?”

Adrien groaned in exasperation, knowing the kawamii made a good point. He decided that instead of fighting with his Kawami he should focus his energy on something else, like the present for his girlfriend. He walked over to his desk, where he had already put all his gifts in a box, yet he still hadn’t wrapped. He looked over everything when his eyes landed on a small blue box. He had bought Marinette a bracelet, from that really expensive store Chloe always gushes about, yet it felt impersonal, and wrong to some degree. His girlfriend wasn’t much about jewelry and fancy things, and he knew she appreciated when he made things himself, much like he enjoyed her handmade gifts. He had the feeling that she would still wear the lucky charm he made her more than the fancy bracelet. He let out a long exhale and looked up at the ceiling. What else could he give her? It was too late to buy something at a store, and he definitely couldn’t gift her something he had stolen from the bank yet suddenly his eyes landed on the picture of his mom.  Why hadn’t he thought of that before? His dad was away in the USA, making sure the Agreste line was sold overseas and wouldn’t be back until after Christmas. Nathalie was with his father and Gorilla was fast asleep. He snuck down the hall, careful to avoid any of the camera’s and stood in front of his parents’ bedroom. He hadn’t been in his parent’s bedroom for the longest time, and it seemed his father hadn’t either, as he slept in one of the various guest rooms around the house. He took his unlocking tools from his pocket and worked the keyhole, and quickly stepped inside the dark and dusty room, glad that the door hinge hadn’t made a sound after all these years of neglect. He was surprised to smell his mothers’ perfume amidst all of the dust. The hairs on his arm went up as he realized he wasn’t alone in the room. 

“You okay kid?” He heard Plagg’s voice whisper to him, and Adrien calmed down.

“Thanks, Plagg” Adrien whispered back and smiled, feeling somewhat better after the assault on his sense. Plagg landed on Adrien’s shoulder, nuzzling next to his chosen neck, to give the teenager some sense of calm. He knew how hard it was for Adrien to remember his mother, even after all these years, the boy couldn’t get over the presumed death of his mother; Plagg realized once Adrien left where he was going and followed him, just to make sure the boy was okay. Adrien let his eyes adjust to the darkness before venturing further into the room. He could see the fine layer of dust on his mother’s vanity, where albeit organized had some things out of place where she used them the day before she was gone. He smiled and ventured closer to their closet, a huge walk-in with a variety of colors. He went towards his mother’s side, remembering how she used to go through her things, him sitting on a bench in the middle of the closet. He knew exactly where to go. He opened one of the drawers and found many scarves yet carefully pulled them out, to find a small safe. Even his mother kept some secrets from his father. He put in his birthday as the safe combination and the light turned green and he heard it unlock. He smiled and opened the top of the safe to find an assortment of jewelry boxes, documents, and pictures. Deciding he would never be able to come back, he took the documents and pictures with him, putting them next to the scarves before looking at the jewelry boxes. He found delicate yet fine jewelry that he knew his mother had a sentimental attachment to, her favorite pieces she only wore around places she knew, with the fear of losing them. He opened a small box and smiled brightly. His mother mostly wore what was in the box when it was just the two of them. His father didn’t let either one of them out of the house much and his mother made the most out of their time together. He was suddenly flooded with memories of her; his mother in jeans and a t-shirt the jewelry she wore catching the light and reflecting as she played the piano in their living room, his mother laughing with him as they cooked in the kitchen together, his mother running around the house looking for him as they played hide and seek and then hugging him when she found him, his mother singing him a song about kitties on rooftops following childhood nightmares, his mother hugging him goodbye before a photoshoot promising her son tea later that day before he never saw her again. 

He felt plagg purring on his shoulder bringing him back from his sudden memories, wiping a tear from his eye. He pets his kawami, took the box and put it in his pocket, before closing the safe and putting the scarves back as he found them. He grabbed the documents before heading out, the memories of his mother too much for him. 

He sneaked back into his room, careful to lock the door again and leave everything as it was. He put all the papers in a random drawer in his desk and put the jewelry box inside the gift box for his girlfriend. Plagg, floated away from Adrien as he went back to his bed, flinging himself on it, belly first and buried his head on his pillow. Plagg brought a blanket from his chosen’s sofa and draped it over him, before laying on Adrien’s head in complete silence. He had more experience with his chosen and learned when Adrien needed to be distracted and when he just needed support, this occasion was the latter. They stayed in silence for a while before Adrien lifted his head, pale face red and warm, eyes also red and his cheeks wet. He sighed before going to the bathroom to wash his face. 

The holidays have always been a hard time for him, yet seeing all his mother’s stuff was putting more of a damper on him. He let the sink faucet run before letting the cool clear liquid splash onto his hands. He looked at the water, seeing how it flowed freely, given no pressure, and the sound it made cascading from the faucet onto his hands and then trickling down onto his porcelain sink, carefree. He splashed his face to clear his mind. Reminding himself of things that made him happy. The way Nino moved around when the beat was ‘way too good bro’; the way Alya’s would smile mischievously whenever she had a lead on whatever case she was researching, the way Chloe would buy small things for Sabrina because it was ‘totally out of fashion’ for her, but her best friend would love jt; how ladybug would always pound his fist when they defeated an Akuma; Finally he thought of Marinette the way her blue eyes sparkled brighter than any star in the Parisian night sky and the melody of her laughter when she let herself be carefree with him, the way her body moved with fluidity and confidence when sewing details on her commissions, the curve of her lips when she joked around with him and the unwavering strength of volition in her voice when she spoke those three words that he could hear her say over and over again. He smiled, water dripping from his chin, his miraculous might have been an omen of bad luck, but he felt like the luckiest boy alive. He turned off the faucet feeling much better and dried his face with a towel. He walked towards his desk when he suddenly felt his pocket vibrate. He tapped his phone unlocking it with his face before smiling at the text he received. 

‘Hope the Akuma didn’t interfere with you Iron Man fanfiction.’

‘My princess you underestimate my love for my Iron Man self insert fiction.’

He didn’t have to wait long before his girlfriend texted back and his phone vibrated once again in his hands. 

‘Damn I don’t know if you are a weaboo

or a nerd.’

‘I haven’t mentioned anime ONCE

… Since our last convo.’

‘Nope, I was mistaken you ARE a dork.’

‘Working on my body pillow girlfriend as a Christmas present?’

‘Ah…

I suddenly have something else to do than participate in this conversation’

‘😿‘

‘😂 JK Dorkzilla

But hey are you okay?

Did the Akuma do any damage?’

‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMESRatAG04 ’

‘That cat looks terrified

But are you okay? Are you injured?’

‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R5jG_5N5ZU ,

but if that doesn’t convince you then you can come over 😽’

‘Alright

I’ll take it Dorkus Suprimious

I do have to sleep tho

Love you Chaton

Sweet dreams.’

‘Thanks for checking up on me Princess

Rest well and see you tomorrow

Love you bunches’

“Well, you seem to be in a better mood.” Plagg teased, hovering in front of Adrien again. 

“Thanks, Plagg,” Adrien said, putting his phone down. “You helped me back there.”

“It was nothing kid.” 

Adrien smiled and pet his Kawami, deciding that this was all he needed for the holiday season.

“Well, are we going to unpack what you stole from the bank or what?” Plagg asked and Adrien laughed.

“You realize curiosity killed that cat right?”⛄❆❅☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆

The following night Chat Noir ran across the rooftops in the quiet cold Parisian night, Christmas joy felt pouring out of their house, the dreams of children asleep with the hope presents delivered the following day. He glanced among the lights until he found the one he was looking for. There on the corner, on top of a small bakery, was a balcony emitting a soft glow. He ran with more vigor, feeling almost entirely carefree. There stood Marinette wrapped in a blanket looking at the night sky, deep in thought. 

To think that it was just yesterday that they had pulled the biggest heist to date, fought an akumatized bank director, stole about 6.2 million euros in combined assets of gold, jewelry, and cash. As Marinette stood there deep in thought, in her hand she held the most prized possession from the heist. An inconspicuous seeming black pendant. When she found it inside one of the safety deposit boxes, hidden behind more precious jewels, she knew it was the miraculous she was looking for. The mouse miraculous. She hadn’t had time to properly admire it and let the kawami free of its holding. Now that she was the Guardian, she was a bit more lenient with the kawamis than Master Fu had been, letting them free of their confinements. 

Chat Noir shot his staff from a rooftop over so he could walk over to his lady. “Penny for your thought Princess?” he asked, sauntering over. Marinette blinked and looked at her sudden companion. 

“Damn and I thought that buying that Valerian plant would keep you away,” she smirked, gesturing toward the flower. Chat smirked and walked towards the tall pink plant, bending over to smell its sweet aroma. Something inside him felt even more blissful if that were possible. 

"Princess, whoever told you that was way wrong. I’m pretty sure this plant is calling me more towards here. Oh, I’m so attracted to this plant, Mari, I could just about leave you for it.” This brought forth laughter from the girl and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“To think that it would only take a plant to get rid of you! I would’ve bought it years ago.” 

“Oh, you wound me princess! Would you really get rid of this amazing body and even better puns?” 

“I might’ve just kept the puns.”

 Chat Noir held a hand to his forehead and sighed dramatically. “Your words are like daggers tonight!” 

Marinette laughed again and opened an arm covered in a blanket, inviting her boyfriend to join the warmth. “I have to keep you alley cats on your toes.” She giggled as Chat Noir took her invitation, wrapped his arms around her torso and resting his head on her shoulder. She took this as an opportunity to pull the blanket over his shoulder and kiss his forehead. They remained in silence for a while, admiring the view from her balcony before Marinette felt Chat Noir shifting, the height difference between them finally getting in the way of their cuddling. “Too uncomfortable Kitty?” she asked as he pulled his head from her shoulder.

"Nothing is more comfur-table than your arms,” he purred. 

“I swear if you start with those cat—” Marinette was suddenly cut off as he moved his arms from around her and swiftly lifted her into the air. 

“Chat!” Marinette exclaimed as the blanket fell from their shoulders, her frame hovering a good foot off the floor, nestled between black claws and a leather-clad chest. Thankfully she was holding the pendant tightly in her other hand, if she hadn’t been, it would have surely dropped onto the floor, or worse, off the balcony and onto the street. He wordlessly carried her over to the loveseat she kept near the trapdoor leading to her room. 

He gently dropped her onto her side before going back to get the blanket. Marinette took advantage of this to slip the pendant in her pocket. “You know there are easier ways of shutting me up.” She said, moving her legs over the side of the bench to give the leather-clad criminal some space to sit. 

“I know of at least one other good way,“ Chat retorted, looking at the girl and wiggling his eyebrows. She threw a pillow at the laughing cat, her face bright red. "Okay! Okay! Truce! Damn, my girlfriend has a pretty strong arm,” he said chuckling a wide grin on his face. She stuck out her tongue in response. He picked up the pillow she had thrown at his head as well as the large pink wool blanket. “You know I’m glad you agreed to change your chair to this bench,” Chat said walking back towards it, but instead of giving her a chance to respond he put the blanket on her head. He smiled as he watched the petite girl struggled to find her way out of the blanket. 

“You realize I’m the cat, here right?” He laughed as Marinette pulled the cloth away from her face. With a newfound determination, she stood from the couch and walked up to the tall leather-clad superhero with a bit more sway to her hip. Chat smirked; green eyes focused on her entirely. 

“Oh, I know you’re the big cat here,” she said, flicking his bell with the tip of her fingernails. Chat swallowed loudly. “Which is why I am the strong bug here.”

 Chat looked at the girl quizzically yet had no time to really think as Marinette shoved him towards her trap door. He fell with somewhat of muffled thud onto her bed. Marinette laughed as he stared up at her from his position on the bed, wincing in pain get quickly changed his face to not worry his girlfriend. 

“Long live the king I guess,” he said, making the girl laugh with more vigor. Chat groaned and turned around trying to get up, his foot getting caught on one of the many pillows Marinette had on her bed and proceeded to fall face-first onto the bed again, prompting the girl on the balcony to howl with even louder laughter.  He groaned with pain, why was his little lady so adamant on hurting him today?

“You wish you were Mufasa,” she said, between gasps of air, bent over holding her stomach. in the time she had been distracted he popped his head through the trap door looking taking in the beautiful sight that was his girlfriend. 

"Why don’t you come here and say it to my face?” he quipped ducking back into her bed. 

She smiled and grabbed the blanket off her bench and went down her trap door stairs before closing it to keep the winter air out. She put the blanket over her boyfriend before settling on her knees as she heard the words, “Claws off” come from inside the blanket. She pulled the blanket off and There sitting on her bed was Adrien Agreste, holding his hands behind his back and a Santa hat perched on his head. “Ta-da” he whispered. 

She smiled and blushed, still not used to the model being her actual boyfriend.

“Hey Chaton,” she said softly, before he grinned.

“Nice to know you can practice magic princess.”

“I could say the same,” she said, gesturing towards the hat on his head. He had bought one with a small bell at the end and she dinged it with her fingers. “How is it you go around the world all in one night spreading presents?”

“Well you see princess, as you know I am a world-renowned criminal, infamous even, you might say, so I know my way around breaking and entering,“ he said with a wink.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little. "Without you being a renowned,”- she put air quotes around the last word- “criminal, you always seem to be able to break into my house." 

Adrien couldn’t help but laugh, a faint blush gracing his cheeks. "Don’t you mean I break into your heart?” he said before moving closer to the girl. 

“Humph,” was all her response, her cheeks tinged a bright pink. 

“Merry Christmas, Mon Amore,” he said kissing her cheek before producing a box from behind his back. He had hidden it inside his baton and taken advantage of the amount of time it took her to get down to retrieve it. 

“Chaton, thank you,” Marinette said, eyes widening. She gently took the present from his hands. It had been hastily wrapped, and obviously contained more than one object inside. “I see you still are terrible at present wrapping,” she chuckled. 

He laughed, taking it lightly. “It took about three tries to get it looking not so bulky. Why are the corners so hard to fold?” he mused. 

“It takes years to become a master at gift wrapping!” she replied, winking. “Although I am more surprised you managed to contain yourself and get me only one box.”  

“I knew you wouldn’t let me give you more than one present, after what happened the last time I tried showering you with celebration gifts” he said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. A few months after they started dating, Marinette had to make Adrien stop with the grand gestures every other day and limited him to only one present for celebrations. One time he went overboard and got her 50 presents, one of every kiss they had given each other since they started dating.

“I’m glad you know me so well kitty,” Marinette said as she started to unwrap the box and gently take the top off. She took out the tissue paper from inside the box and found three objects, a jar, a jewelry box and a picture frame. “Adrien…” Marinette trailed off as she took a good look at the frame. It was the picture Alya had taken of them on the train ride to London years ago. She had only heard of the infamous picture, never actually getting to keep it, her red-headed friend vowing it would be a great wedding present when Marinette would finally get the guts to confess to the blonde. “How did you get this?” she asked picking up the frame gingerly. 

“I have my ways,” he said, winking. 

In reality he had broken into Nino’s phone to get it, since no one could know they were dating. Even though Marinette knew his secret identity, finding out only after she helped him escape from one of their many heists, it was better if no one else knew. And to keep Marinette safe he had to make sure no one knew who he was really dating. Being a criminal for so many years only made Chat Noir, along with all the other Miraculous holders, more notable. And even though they lived their civilian lives normally, there was still a risk if they were ever unmasked, and he could not have any of the various enemies they have stolen from even catch wind of Marinette. It was also particularly risky given the fact that Adrien was a public figure, so it wouldn’t be hard to pinpoint the people he cared about. That meant he had to keep their relationship out of the public eye and from their friends, with the risk of them being akumatized. Thankfully Marinette understood and was a bit too on board with it, he had his suspicions as to why. 

She smiled and put the frame down on her bed and took out the jar. The sound was enough to shake Adrien from his thoughts. “Take one out whenever you miss me, or you feel angry or sad,” he prompted after she looked up at him quizzically. It was full of paper stars, and she suddenly realized he probably wrote little notes on them and then folded each slip of paper. He really was the most thoughtful boyfriend. 

Finally, the small jewelry box stared back at her. “Wait!” Marinette exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. 

Adrien looked taken aback as the girl scrambled down her lofted bed and disappeared underneath the bed, towards her desk. She returned towards the steps of her bed holding three neatly wrapped presents. She tossed them on top of the bed, nearly missing Adrien’s head and ran back up the loft stairs. She collected all of them and gave them to her boyfriend, with a small smile on her face as he had a wide smile on his face. 

“I think there was an easier way of doing that princess." 

“All the best things happen spontaneously and in threes.” 

“The best thing that happened was that you managed to do all that without tripping,” he teased his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes. “Joyeux Noël, Cherie,” she said as he tenderly accepted the gifts. Although he adored his girlfriend he was still surprised whenever she gave him gifts. 

He took the top gift and unwrapped it viciously, excited to see what was inside. He found a pair of knitted gloves, with four accompanying smaller ones. “Wait you made this for plagg too?” He said with wide eyes. She nodded. 

“And he’s probably busy with the camembert croissants I made for him,” she said, lying to cover that Plagg was probably with Tikki and the other Kawamis. 

“God you really are amazing,” he said leaning over to kiss Marinette, making the girl blush red. 

“It wasn’t such a big thing…. But open the rest!” 

He complied with her request putting the smallest box aside and opening the other one that accompanied it, being just slightly bigger than the previous one he just opened. He smiled and tore the wrapping paper again. “Mari…” he trailed off as he looked at the picture. It was a collage of pictures, both from his Instagram as well as candids that seem to be taken by Marinette himself, framed in a beautiful frame. He smiled a bittersweet smile as he saw she had included a picture of him and his mother. “This is just… it so thoughtful I don’t think my present can ever compete with this,” he said looking at his girlfriend. She hugged his frame and laughed 

“Kitty, you can’t ever compete because this isn’t a competition. Just having you here beats this whole thing,” she said reassuring leaning over the gifts to hug him. “Besides you had to do some serious hacking to get this picture so if it is a competition you have me beat, because even I wouldn’t go behind Ayla’s back.” He kissed the top of her head, deciding not to argue, but looked back at his hand and the collage. 

“Wait you haven’t opened my last present!” he said as she took her arms away from his shoulders. 

“That you are about right,” She said. “And you need to open mine.” She said gesturing to the large rectangular box.

 He nodded and started to unwrap his as she gingerly took the velvet box out of the present box. He stopped unwrapping and looked up at Marinette wanting to gauge her reaction. She opened her mouth as she opened the container. “Adrien, this is too much. I can’t accept it,” she said, looking up at him worriedly. 

“It used to be my mother’s,” he started to explain, taking the gift out of her hands. He looked down and saw the small golden heart pendant, lined with diamonds, a smaller heart shaped ruby right inside, with the accompanying stud earrings. “I saw it buried hidden with all her other jewelry; I know she would have loved for you to have it,” he said smiling brightly.

“You really do love me, don’t you?” she whispered in disbelief. To have given her something that special, that meaningful it meant Adrien saw a future with her, with Marinette, clumsy and normal Marinette.

He smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous way. “I do love you Mari, I just hope it wasn’t too much…” he trailed off. She shook her head and took the box from him. “I just saw it had studs and you always use those black ones and it looked like something you would really like…” he trailed off as he saw her gingerly take the necklace our of its packaging. 

“Can you put it on?” He smiled as she handed him the small necklace. He nodded as she turned around and lifted her hair. He clasped it on and kissed the back of her neck gently. “All done my lady.” He smiled, wanting to see if the name would bring forth a reaction from his girlfriend, yet she was too enthralled with the earrings. 

She couldn’t take off her miraculous, but she also couldn’t not put on the earrings, it would hurt him. So, she decided to change tactics. “You still haven’t opened my present, even though it isn’t as beautiful as yours…” she said putting her hair back down and moving away from her boyfriend. 

He smiled. “Anything you give me, my darling, is so special to me,” he said, ripping the neat wrapping paper almost instantly. 

“Sure you don’t need a cataclysm with that?” Marinette joked, trying to lighten the mood as she played with the pendent with her fingers. It felt expensive, no doubt since both Adrien’s parents were loaded it was probably real gemstones, she most definitely could not wear it every day. 

He laughed before opening the box. “A leather jacket?” he exclaimed, ecstatic. He had always wanted to wear one, yet it wasn’t in accordance with his public persona according to his father. 

“I made it myself, I thought it’s time to show the world how good Adrien Agreste looks in black leather.” She winked. He kept looking at the jacket dumbfounded when Marinette suddenly started to explain, nervous she had done a bad job stitching, “I know it’s not your dad’s brand but…”

“I love it! Marinette it looks incredible! It’s a Marinette Original.” He took the jacket out and immediately put it on. 

“How did you get my measurements?” he asked, "it fits like a glove”. 

“Seamstress magic!” she replied not wanting to admit she snuck into his room as ladybug, measured one of this tailored suits in his closet and then left. “I made it incase you ever felt you need a boast of Chat Noir in your day to day life,” she said smiling “And I was this close to making you kitty ears,” she said holding her fingers up very close together. He laughed and pulled Marinette towards him. “How did I get such a great girlfriend?” he asked her, peppering her face with kisses. 

She smiled. “I don’t know, kitty, how did you?” she teased back. 

Adrien pushed their presents to the side so they could lay down on her bed. He hugged her tightly and kissed her head before looking at her smiling. “Marinette, I’m so happy we are together, you really are the most open and kind person in my life, you are my everything.”

Marinette couldn’t help the weight that fell on her, the pendant in her pants felt almost burning, she had a whole side of her that Adrien didn’t know, and she had to find a way to tell him, she couldn’t keep that a secret from her companion, her best friend and her boyfriend. “And you are mine,” she replied smiling.

“Merry Christmas, my Lady.” 

“Merry Christmas, my Kitty.”

[the-ginger-is-loose-again]

Another relisten has made me much more hopeful about Daisy

Now a lot of the time, the different avatars within an entity have different powers when compared to each other

Mike Crew causing vertigo while Simon Fairchild is more about actually falling (his usually dont involve feels of vertigo, just feeling too small falling into something too big)

Elias seeing things while Jon pulls information and knows things (although I feel like jon has a bit of web power) and if we can indulge my HC that Gerard can see the marks of entities on people*

Jared being about bone and body mass while Tom Haan is in a lot of episodes with human meat=animal meat in killing floor and takeaway

But other times the powers are fairly uniform, like with the desolation devotees

Now we can get down to business, with hunt avatars they are often determined, willful, have great stamina to keep up with the hunt, and often compared to dogs, and Daisy straight up has some kind of werewolf transformation in 159, and she hasnt been seen since and Basira and the others are worried even though a body wasnt found that they know of

Now let's just say that the murder club were not hunt or slaughter avatars, they were in the thrall of it but the game didnt give any powers or protections so I'm ignoring those implications

But a hunt avatar, an unnamed male in The First Hunt, was seen as a normal human at first who transformed during the hunt into something sharp; sharp teeth, sharp nails, sharp eyes, sharp skin; skin that looks to be hairy on the inside (a lycanthropy trope), and that motherfucker got 2 shots to the head, 2 to the heart, and the rest of the shots from 2 rifles into the rest of his body and the victim got away but not before noting that the creature was injured and slowed but pulling the bullets from its wounds, alive due to its supernatural healing abilities

Which Jon also has, most of the avatars seem to, but only a few comment on it, and some of them are because they specifically are no longer human in the flesh sense (wax, taxidermy, meat and bone creatures) and those that specify it as noteworthy happen to be Jon and the american hunt guy which feeds into my "jon will harness powers from all entities by the end" theory quite nicely

In conclusion Daisy is physically fine, maybe she cant figure out how to change back and doesnt think Basira is a furry, or she is in the thrall of the hunt and is in a cat and mouse with the other hunters, or any other combo of things but I'm sure she is alive

I get that casualties and sacrifices happen and stick in this universe, but for Basira to lose Daisy twice? That seems excessively cruel, particularly after the work on her character arc this season, which was a good one but I dont think it is finished I think they could go farther with her before finishing her arc

*in Lost in The Crowd Gerard sees a woman who is clearly marked by Lonely and is going to be taken by it and goes out of his way to warn her, he can also see the grip Ex Altiora has in pageturner, and I think it's happened a few other times where it seems like he can SEE the traces of the entities on individuals

Anyways, in this essay I did, sorry for the rambling, never met a sentence I couldnt expound upon

[hayesit]

matt’s 2019 year in review

here it is! and it’s late because i had other/better things to do (and procrastinating), was recovering from hangovers (also procrastinating), and recovering from being sick (procrastinating).

i’ve been doing these year in review posts since 2016, so here is my fourth installment. every year i look back through my google calendar, my camera roll, and my bullet journal as a gratitude exercise and to chart my own development as an adult. 

here is my spotify wrapped 2019!

the beginning of this year was off to a good start: i met two friends that i know through the internet! i met my friend riley when she visited boston (i met her through a mutual friend and through overwatch league twitter) and my friend jimmy that i’ve known for…. 6 or 7 years (?!) through tumblr and designed the logo for me and alex’s late podcast, hardly tea, may she rest in peace. 

i moved dorm rooms in between the fall and spring semester, and once again i was not happy with where i lived. i lived with 4 rando’s that i was placed with and the 5 of us barely even talked with each other. my direct roommate i saw for only two weeks, and for the nights he slept over in the bed (that he was paying room and board for) and had the worst snoring humanly possible that not even earplugs could kill (video below). i hardly slept while he was there and roamed the halls of riverview suites like a ghost due to the anxiety i felt about my lack of sleep (we love a vicious circle)! he disappeared after those two weeks without notice and i lived in fear of him returning for the rest of the semester (which he didn’t), but returned to my normal sleep schedule. 

that semester was my first semester of full-time grad school. i got a poor grade on an assignment that had a note from the professor that said she knew i could do better and it hit me how much different grad school is from undergrad and how much more effort and dedication it requires. after crying in my professor’s office, my work ethic has improved since then, but it’s not anywhere near where i’d like it to be (more on that later). 

now to more positive things for the spring semester: i met some friends that semester both ~on and offline~ that made the semester far more bearable AND i did however truly pop off in every last one of my powerpoint presentations for class. i looooove making powerpoints and just fuckin telling jokes about my research topic and have ppl tell me that they are looking forward to my presentation & that i should teach college classes :)!

me and 4 friends had a social group in which we’d drink and play board games and forget about the board game and drunkenly talk shit called cabam after all our first initials! i always looked forward to that and dug the group chemistry a lot.

during this semester i grew a   “ beard “, otherwise known as i chose not to shave just to  “ see what would happen “ (praythatitfilledin). sorry about that!

the overwatch league was something that i had to look forward to watch every week and i had my experience enhanced through sideshow and avast’s unofficial companion streams, which guaranteed lots of laughs. i have bought tickets to two boston home games in 2020 which i am very excited about! analysts have predicted boston to be in 20th place this year (there are 20 teams) but i’m still excited for the 2020 season anyway!!

i can’t have a year-in-review of 2019 without mentioning game of thrones. due to the show’s final season being undeniably weak, i enjoyed the camaraderie with the other people that watched thrones during those six weeks. i haven’t thought about the show or its universe for quite a while, unfortunately. i truly was quite into the world of westeros, but the weakness of the end of the story cheapened the journey of each of the characters, in a way. such a shame.

while i got my diploma in december 2018, i walked across the stage of umass lowell’s tsongas arena with my bachelor of arts in psychology (and minor in theatre arts). it wasn’t as emotional or triumphant of an experience and just felt weird, considering i had already gotten my diploma and was going to remain in the clutches of rowdy the riverhawk as i am staying for my masters degree in applied behavior analysis/autism studies. i brought a ceramic monkey to graduation. it didn’t have any symbolism, but i just wanted to see if they’d stop me (which they didn’t)

 this summer was better than most summers of mine go, i hung out with alex nearly every weekend, got my very first iphone, and got a data plan. the combination of these three things got me back into playing pokemon go, an unexpectedly fun pastime! went on lots of walks!

my favorite day of summer was going to a lake with alex and our friend gianna, who i grew closer to after meeting her during macbeth last year. fond 2019 memories with gianna include: doing simulation patients with her, watching movies with her and alex, and the halloween party. what a great gd person and a great gd friend! big fan and eternally rooting for her. 

fire emblem: three houses came out on the switch in august and is, without a doubt, my game of the year. there’s truly so much to love about the game: the world, the characters, new changes made to the series, things that were gone but returned, interesting micromanaging, and best of all, how huge my brain feels when playing it. 

i got a 6-week summer job as a paraprofessional at an extended-school-year program for children with developmental disabilities at a preschool in haverhill which taught me a lot of lessons, such as: i hate cleaning shit off of children.

then i had feelings that didn’t make much sense for about a month! whoops!

my full-time job i currently have is working at my old high school as a behavior specialist. i provide consultation and work on programs to lead to more appropriate behavior in students, primarily ones with developmental disabilities. so far it’s been fairly rewarding, some days are more challenging than others, some days are a lot of sitting in meetings, and some days are a lot of running around. some days there is not much to do at all, which has its obvious upsides and downsides. working at the high school isn’t something that i want to do forever, but it’s a good place to start with. i’m definitely learning a lot and there are a lot of benefits to working here. sometimes i can work on my grad school work (which is all online until the 2020 summer semester) which is definitely huge. and my commute is either a 15 minute walk or 3 minutes if my mom drives me! 

a ~complex~ thing about working in my hometown is that it makes the most financial sense to live at home because it’s so close to work. this is my first time living at home full-time since high school and i’m not enjoying that part too much. most weekends i visit alex in lowell, but being stuck at home with no car (going to retake the license test in the spring when the ice melts!) and having to go to bed so early definitely hurts. sure, i have what is likely the lowest amount of expenses i’ll ever have in my life (no car-related payments, no rent, no groceries), but i feel landlocked. i feel like a teenager with minimal freedom, which is in part because my mom doesn’t quite understand yet that i’m a 22 year-old that should have a lot more freedom than i do now. the most i really do on weekdays after work gets out (2:30p) is go to savers with my mom if it’s tuesday (senior citizen day), maybe go for a walk if it’s nice out (which for most of the school year, it isn’t), or be on the computer watching bon appetit videos and playing overwatch, fire emblem, or pokemon, eat a bland dinner at 6, go to bed at around 9:30. sad! truly not a situation that i want to be trapped in that much that much longer!

i think the best and most important part of this year was becoming closer with alex. as i mentioned before, we see each other most weekends, to our great benefit. our living situations have flip-flopped, with me living at home and alex living in an apartment near campus, which in both similar and different ways have taken their respective tolls on us. having each other while going through changes and stagnations in our lives has been immeasurably important. thank you alex for providing a place to be myself other than my own head. thank you for being my best friend. 

now i come to the thing that i’m most excited about for 2020. not 2 suck my own horn but i have cobbled together a fuckin dream team of five friends (me, alex, chris, kelly, and molly). the two times we have all gotten together it has been so satisfying in such a wonderful and otherworldly way that i am filled to the brim of happiness being around them. the craziest thing is that i met chris and kelly through twitter! TWITTER. and they’re real-ass people and my real-ass friends! i haven’t been so pleased with something in my life like this for so long and it feels so good to have adult friends that i have chosen rather than friends by circumstance. it’s truly a crime that we can’t see each other more often, but we already have a day picked out for the next time we all do something together. feeling emotional writing this paragraph bc i love me gd friends so much!

there is a lot of uncertainty about this new year for me. i sure as fuck don’t want to live at home more than i have to but don’t know where to go, my practicum class starts for me this summer which means i’ll most likely have to change jobs (fine by me, but will be exhausting), i recently began my search for therapists and hope to find one soon to help me ~unpack things~, my thesis begins in the fall semester and i don’t know what to do for it, and i’m not 100% dead-set on working in special education. it’s been hard transitioning from living on campus and going to school full-time to the life i have now. 

[sunriseskog]

comethru- Auston Matthews

Request: n/a this was entirely self induglent bc im sad and ive had comethru by Jermey Zucker stuck in my head for weeks

Word Count: 2,267

Warnings: cursing, angst, dudes being assholes, mentions of tr*ding auston

A/N: ive been on hiatus for a long ass time so any feedback is more than welcome!!!! also i am fully aware that i used this gift for my last post but its hot and i dont care

It had been a little over a month since Auston left. No… that’s not quite right. It had been a little over a month since Auston left Toronto. It had been just barely under a month since you had left Auston.

You weren’t entirely sure who the trade surprised more, but you did know for a fact that it had had a far greater effect on you than it had on Auston.

He had remained optimistic in the beginning. After all, Buffalo is barely a 2-hour drive on a bad day. On a good day, he could probably make it in an hour and a half. But the two of you had quickly reached the conclusion that either of you driving 4+ hours a day wasn’t practical, and it wasn’t fair to whoever drew the short end of the stick, pun intended. You knew he would never ask you to move for him, hell even moving in together had been a stretch for you, but you also knew that there was an unspoken expectation that eventually the both of you would relocate closer to the arena.

Before he had even reached the border, you had managed to convince yourself that this short distance relationship would cripple your relationship before you could even begin filling out the US immigration forms to move with him, let alone actually convince yourself to do it. So you backed off. You knew that trying to exhaust what was left of the relationship would only end up destroying you the both of you more than was necessary, so you let go. You knew it wouldn’t take him long to pick up on the fact that you were becoming distant, taking longer to respond to texts, barely calling him back and conveniently timing your responses with the specific intention of him not being able to pick up. You may have been stupid, but you sure as hell weren’t subtle. You knew that as long you were the bad guy in the scenario, it wouldn’t take him nearly as long to get over you, and as long as you remained in control of the situation, you knew that you’d come out of the tail end of things perfectly fine.

And you were. You were absolutely, positively fine. But that was all you were. You weren’t good or great or doing well, you were just… fine. You were off-kilter, sure, but you were surviving, and that was honestly all you had come to ask of yourself. You were sure that the other shoe would drop soon enough, you had ridden the high and now you were at the plateau, but the comedown seemed to always be lurking around the corner.

One too many sleepless nights in a row had come to significantly impact your sleeping schedule. It had gotten to the point where your boss had come to expect your work day to end at 5 am instead of 5 pm. It was nice, though. To see the city when it felt like no one else could. To have your whole day to yourself, even though it was technically night. Everything was much quieter, and there were moments where it felt like you might be the only person in the entire city to be awake, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You rarely interacted with anyone, you didn’t even wake up until hours after the last of your coworkers had left the building, and every errand you had to run could be completed via the self-checkout of the 24 hr supermarket a few blocks away from your apartment building. You weren’t lonely by any means, you just so happened to be alone.

Except on game nights. You were never alone on game nights. Luckily, there weren’t very many Toronto residents that enjoyed watching one of their franchise players play in a different teams jersey, but you still couldn’t help but punish yourself by watching his games whenever they were on at the sports bar you frequented. You told yourself that as long as someone else put the game on, and as long as you left with someone new before the game was over, then it wasn’t nearly as pathetic as it seemed.

An issue arose the first time Toronto played the Sabres. You hadn’t checked the schedule, you just knew that there was a game. You also knew that if you were ever alone when a game was on you would curl up with far too much ice cream and a borderline dangerous amount of rum, neither of which were ideal. Immediately upon entering the bar, you knew that it was far too crowded for there to not be a Leafs game on, it was nowhere near baseball season, and the sea of blue jerseys couldn’t be for any other team. An involuntary wince consumed your face as Auston’s name reached your ears, it seemed like every congregation of fans in the entire establishment were talking about him, and a cursory glance at the nearest screen confirmed your fears.

The bad news was that if you stayed, you would have to watch Auston play, which was bound to be painful for any Leafs fan, but this one would hurt you just a little more than all the others— the knowledge that he was just across the city weighed heavily on your shoulders as you pushed through the crowd to find an empty stool somewhere. The worse news was that there was no way in hell a single guy in here would be willing to leave before the game was over, so you’d either have to watch all of it and then fuck the feelings away, or go home and watch all of it and probably end up crying for a majority of the third period. The former seemed like a more viable option at the time.

Now, though? You wished you had just gone home. Because it turns out you were wrong, there was a dude at the bar who was willing to leave before the end, as it would turn out, he was ready to leave before the second period was halfway through. That should have been your first red flag.

In your defense, you had a lot of other shit going on, and your brain was far too preoccupied coping with the stress that the game was bringing to consider the fact that the nice guy who had been paying for your drinks might not turn out to be that nice after all.

On the cab ride back to your apartment, you found out that his name was Sam and he was a lifelong Leafs fan. The two of you bonded over having grown up around hockey without actually playing it, and you even shared a cigarette at the entrance of your building’s lobby. It wasn’t until the two of you stepped into your living room that things took a turn for the worse.

The framed and signed Matthews jersey on the mantle had been more of a joke than anything else, all of your friends thought it was funny while the two of you were together, and you hadn’t had anyone over since the breakup, so you hadn’t found a reason to convince yourself to take it down. The look of disgust on Sam’s face as soon as he laid eyes on it would have been a fairly convincing reason if you actually gave a shit what he thought about you.

“That’s borderline sacrilege,” he commented, gesturing towards the display. You shot him an incredulous look, waiting for him to give any indication that he was making a joke.

“What?” You questioned, not really confused, just wanting to clarify if he was saying. What you thought he was saying.

“You can’t seriously call yourself a leafs fan and still support that guy! He’s a traitor,” He asserted. His over passionate gesturing indicated that he was genuinely this invested in the topic, which should have been your second red flag.

“I mean c’mon, (Y/N),” He continued. “You’re not stupid, are you?”

You couldn’t help but scoff at how pretentious and condescending he was being, without seeming to realize that he was acting like an absolute prick.

“I can assure you, Samuel,” You drawled sarcastically. “I am anything but stupid, but you have got to be absolutely moronic if you genuinely believe that I’m going to let you fuck me after speaking to me like I'm a goddamn child. Your kinks are your business but that's not really my style,” you sneered as you moved towards the doorway in order to invite him to throw himself out so you didn’t have to bother touching him any more than you already had.

“Now why don’t you get the fuck out of my house, dick head,” You spoke as your lip curled and your brow quirked, gesturing through the doorway to drive the point through his thick skull.

“Gladly,” He scoffed, slamming his shoulder into yours as he stepped past you. “Not like I’d want to fuck a whore like you anyways!” He shouted over his should as he started towards the stairs.

“Open your mouth that wide again and I’m gonna have to ask you to chortle my cock, Samuel” You responded, giving a middle finger to his back for your own satisfaction. You had never been one to censor your insults, and over the years they had become more and more lewd. This, of course, had never really presented itself as a problem until you caught the eye of your neighbor as you turned to storm back inside of your apartment. You couldn’t help but wince apologetically at the old woman, giving her a repentant head nod as you shuffled back inside.

You let your back hit the inside of the door, sliding roughly down until your tailbone hit the hardwood floor beneath your feet. Of course, the first substantial interaction you had in over a month would turn out to be a spectacular disaster. And of course, it was because of Auston. Realistically, you knew it wasn’t his fault, you just really really needed someone else to blame right now. You carded your fingers through your scalp roughly, and let out an elongated groan in the hopes that it would satisfy the overwhelming urge that you had had to scream at the top of your lungs for the past month or so.

As you stared at your own intertwined fingers in an attempt to calm yourself down, you couldn’t help but notice that your fingers were shaking. This wasn’t a recent development by any means, but this was the first time that you had noticed it being this aggressive. It usually only happened when you had coffee, which was why you had abstained from it for a majority of your life. As you looked back on what your routine had become, you realized that through all the late nights and later mornings, you had been popping caffeine pills and ordering espressos far more than the ‘one-time thing’ you told yourself it was. The realization that your life had done a complete 180 in the span of 5 weeks began to weigh on you, and it seemed like your mind was consumed entirely by flurries of memories of bad habits you had fallen back into and the lifeless moments you had spent floundering, convincing yourself that you were fine on your own, despite the fact that that was anything but the truth.

It didn’t take very long to find his contact picture in your recent messages. You hadn’t had much of a reason to talk to that many people lately. It took longer to open up the message thread, trying to prepare yourself to view the unbearably awkward finality of your most recent messages to each other. The preview underneath his name only served as a painful reminder that the last time he had texted you was to say that he loved you. And you hadn’t said it back.

You weren’t sure if he was going to respond, hell you went sure he was even going to read it. For all you knew it was entirely within the realm of possibility that he had blocked you a while ago. You knew exactly what to say, surprisingly, that wasn’t the hard part. Of the few letters that you typed, the closer you got to reaching out to him again seemed to calm you down more and more. By the time you tacked on the question mark at the end, your fingers had stopped trembling for there first time in what you could assume had been at least a couple of weeks. You let your phone drop to the floor as soon as you hit send, either he would be here within the hour or his response wouldn’t be worth reading. Those were the only options on the table. Either he was going to come and the two of you were going to get to be okay for a little while, or it truly was the end. If that was the case then you really didn’t want to see what he had to say. You heard your phone vibrate from where it laid just a couple feet away, and as much as the desire consumed you, you couldn’t bring yourself to move to see what it said. So you sat there, and waited to see if you would be able to hear those oh so familiar footsteps ascending your staircase again, responding to your oh so familiar request.

‘come thru?’

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 17: Monster Rebellion

Hey guys! Took the day off yesterday for Thanksgiving but I’m today I bring you the big climax of Season 1! One more chapter before we move on to Season 2! Enjoy guys! 

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: Star, Marco, Jackie, and Janna team up to try and take down Toffee once and for all! But first they need to convince the rest of the monsters to rebel against their cruel leader. But Toffee won’t go down without a fight. 

Check out my other stuff on Fanfiction! 

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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Toffee was in his room, just sitting quietly in the dark, scheming, when he was notified of the intruder in the castle. Bearicorn was the one to tell him, slamming the door open without a second thought, his usual fear for his safety overlooked in this particular incident, as he yelled loudly into the impenetrable darkness, “Master Toffee, Buff Frog is in the castle! We think he's here for Marco!”

Toffee just smiled, his claws absentmindedly fiddling with his glowing green ring, as he muttered darkly, “Predictable as ever.”

“Master Toffee?” Bearicorn questioned, fairly sure he had heard his leader whisper something under his breath, but had been unable to hear what he had said.

“Tell the others to find and capture him alive, I want him to pay for what he's done,” the suit wearing lizard commanded, suddenly stepping out of the shadows and into Bearicorn's sight. The bear monster nodded and went to leave, but stopped as Toffee added one final instruction to fulfill. “And have Lobster Claws bring Marco here for safety precautions. I will join you all once Buff Frog is subdued.”

“Umm, well, Lobster Claws was the first one to see Buff Frog so he left his post to try and chase after him,” Bearicorn hesitantly admitted.

There was a short pause, Toffee's face unreadable, before he spoke in a low, dangerous tone, “You mean to tell me you all left him unguarded.”

“Yes but, Buff Frog is on the other side of the castle, so Marco should be safe for now,” Bearicorn supplied timidly, trying not to look his master directly in the eye as his stony gaze rested on him and him alone, the monster sweating profusely.

“You said Lobster Claws saw him first?”

“Yes, Master Toffee. He said Buff Frog punched him in the face and then ran away like the coward he is,” Bearicorn growled angrily.

“So,” Toffee said thoughtfully. “You're telling me Buff Frog just suddenly gave himself away, ruining his element of surprise, only to run off and abandon Marco without a second thought.”

“Yeah, that's right,” Bearicorn said, sounding skeptical as he pondered the amphibian's strange behavior, as well. “Guess Buff Frog isn't as smart as we thought after all.”

“Indeed,” Toffee said cryptically, though he seemed to still be lost in thought. Finally, his confusion seemed to vanish behind his impassive mask, as he said in a businesslike tone, “Still, that doesn't make him any less dangerous. Go and join the others in their search. I'll keep an eye on Marco, myself.”

Before the bear could even say another word, Toffee was already gone, heading down the hallway with fast, confident strides, Bearicorn heading off the opposite way to catch up with the others and help apprehend the treacherous frog. But as the lizard continued forward, his mind became more and more troubled, his normally unreadable face beginning to show all of the emotions and uncertainties he tried so desperately to bury, too deep in thought to even bother hiding them at the moment. Something wasn't adding up in Toffee's mind, something about all of this felt wrong. He had already been anticipating Buff Frog's inevitable return, knowing that wherever Marco was the frog wasn't far behind, but his behavior not only confused Toffee, but alarmed him on several different levels. Though Buff Frog had made mistakes in the past, this felt like more than that, this wasn't a simple misstep or a slip up, this had felt intentional. He had allowed himself to be seen and had chosen to leave Marco behind even though it would have been far simpler to have just taken him right then and there, though for what reason Toffee didn't know. The lizard's gaze narrowed as he whispered in a cruel, savage hiss, “What are you playing at, Buff Frog?”

…

The monsters were frantic, as they searched the castle in a maddened haste. Somehow, Buff Frog had managed to slip away from Lobster Claws and now the rest of the monsters were forced to resort to the grueling task of searching every inch of the large, dark castle, so far with no luck in locating the tricky traitor. There were so many nooks and crannies it seemed almost impossible and as the search went on the monsters became more and more frustrated, Buff Frog seeming to have just disappeared from the castle without a trace.

And as Beard Deer continued on with the pointless search, he felt his anger only growing with with every failed attempt, unable to believe that stupid monster had actually had the guts to return to the castle. He would find him and when he did he was going to give that monster the pounding of his life for all the trouble he had caused.

Beard Deer sighed angrily, as he slammed shut yet another door that led to an empty room, the deer monster feeling no closer to finding the traitor than the last several rooms he had searched. What number was he at now? He had long since lost count. Why does this stinkin' castle have to be so big?! he thought in annoyance.

“Hey muscles!”

Beard Deer froze, dumbfounded by the familiar, cocky voice he had just heard, feeling a familiar anger flaring inside him. No, that's not possible, he thought, trying to keep himself from losing his cool, convinced he was going crazy, somehow hearing the voice of that annoying Impure even there in his own home. He turned to leave, but to his surprise, she was there, the smug Impure casually leaned against a far wall, giving him a provoking grin too real to be a hallucination. Beard Deer felt his teeth grind together at the mere sight of her, his hands clenching into tight fists. “Miss me?” Janna taunted, still grinning widely, causing any restraint he had to break as he roared in anger.

“I'm gonna destroy you!” he yelled, as he ran at the girl in a blind rage.

“Now your talking,” she said with a smirk, pushing herself off the wall and dodging the monster's attack, Beard Deer pounding a fist hard into the wall, ignoring the stinging in his wrist as he turned to see the girl running away down the hall, yelling over her shoulder, “But if you wanna destroy me you're gonna have to catch me first.”

This only infuriated Beard Deer more as he chased after her, his roars echoing off the stone castle walls. “When I get my hands on you I'm gonna break every bone in your body, you little brat!”

…

In another part of the castle, Lobster Claws, Potato Baby, and one of the other monsters Big Chicken were hard at work retracting the crustaceans steps in hopes of finding where Buff Frog had disappeared too. “I'm telling you I saw him go around this corner,” Lobster Claws demonstrated to his speech-inclined friends, waving his claw at the corner in question, before walking to the other side of it, the other monster right behind him. “And then he was just gone!”

Potato Baby mumbled something to him, which seemed to anger Lobster Claws as he glared at him. “No I didn't get distracted! He just vanished okay!”

Big Chicken then clucked something at him, Lobster Claws immediately responded loudly, “Yes, I'm sure!” He threw both claws into the air in exasperation, while the two other monsters shared a disbelieving look. “Ah, who cares what you think, anyways?” Lobster Claws added, turning away from the two. “Nobody but me can even understand you. Just help me look for him already.”

Suddenly, there was a loud whistle behind them, all of them turning on their heels to see a white-haired girl with a green streak waving at them, confidently, with no fear or anxiety on her face. All of them were shocked to say the least, staring at the teen wide-eyed, unsure how a Mewman stranger had managed to sneak into their castle, unnoticed. Or had found the secretly hidden castle in the first place. “Hey how did you get in here?” Lobster Claws growled, pointing a suspicious claw at her.

The girl didn't respond, instead she just turned and ran off, disappearing behind a corner, all three monsters chasing after her, trying not to lose sight of the unwanted intruder. But as they rounded the corner they saw that the girl was no longer on foot, but now riding on a skateboard, sailing expertly down the castle halls and quickly gaining speed. She turned and looked back at the monsters for just a second, as if provoking them to follow, and she was greeted by pounding footsteps behind her, as the monsters gave chase. Lobster Claws yelled after the fast-moving teen, already starting to pant, “Hey you, stop!” But Jackie wasn't shaken by the threatening tone in the monster's voice as she just focused on navigating the dark castle halls.

…

Meanwhile, in yet another part of the castle, the rest of the monsters were in hot pursuit of an intruder, trying to get ahead of her as she shot spell after spell behind her while she ran. “Cupcake Blast!” Star screamed, as she sent flaming cupcakes at the monsters, all of them being forced to duck underneath them before continuing their chase, somehow even the incredibly tall Spikeballs managing to avoid getting hit. “Is it just me or are these spells getting weaker every time?” the large monster stated to the others.

“She's getting tired,” one of the other monsters explained to the rest. “She's just shooting off spells randomly without even bothering to aim.” He smiled confidently, knowing the girl was becoming desperate. “We've got her now.”

“Got them now,” Star muttered tiredly to herself, panting wildly, looking behind her to see the dozen or so monsters still close behind. It hadn't been easy to get this many of them to follow her in the first place, having to go out of her way to find each of them and then taunt the monsters into the chase, each time more riskier than the last, the more monsters she had the greater chance of her getting caught, but if what Marco had told her was right then this should be most of them, Star trusting Jackie and Janna could handle rounding up the rest. She had to, her body quickly running out of steam from all the running, but if things went the way they planned then it would all be worth it in the end... hopefully.

“Strawberry Shake Quake!” Star screamed, making sure to aim her spell away from the monsters so she wouldn't hit any of them, but close enough to force them to slow down a bit, trying to buy herself a little more time. The monsters ducked and weaved around the strawberry-coated spell, the fruity projectiles coating the wall behind them rather than the monsters themselves, as they continued their pursuit.

Finally, Star ran into the meeting hall, where Toffee assigned the monsters most of their missions, essentially the heart of the castle. Several doors led into the single room, each providing entrance to the different wings of the castle. It was also the largest room in the mansion, matching Star's own great hall in terms of magnitude. And refinement for that matter, towering pillars and columns built around the room's base, a large, fancy table which the monster's used for meetings in the room's center, the whole area decorated with the same medieval tapestries as the rest of the old castle, giving the room an elegant look that was quite pleasing to the eye.

Not that Star noticed any of this as she ran in, more concerned about the monsters that were not that far behind. Just as she entered the luxurious room, another set of doors slammed open and Star saw Jackie skating in looking relaxed and at ease as she glided across the cobblestone floor, her three pursuers entering a moment later, panting like crazy from the exhausting trek though their own castle. “Hold... up... you... just a... minute,” Lobster Claws gasped out weakly, the two monsters beside him looking equally as exhausted, as they tried to catch their breath.

But Jackie ignored the monster's threat, as she merely skated over to her friend, cheerfully calling out to the blond royal, “Hey Star!”

“Hey Jackie!” Star returned, panting slightly, a hand over her pounding heart, finding herself wishing she had taken the time to learn to skateboard, as her lungs cried out in pain. Jackie came to an expert stop next to her, stepping off her prized board and kicking it up so she could catch it mid-air. She removed her helmet, tucking it under her arm, before shaking her hair out, letting it settle back in its usual position. “So what'd I miss?” the skater asked.

“Lobster Claws what the heck is going on here?!” the girls heard one of the monsters yell, turning to see the bear monster glaring at his crustacean friend and the rest of his tired team.

“Yeah how did the princess and her friend get in the castle?!” one of the other monsters shouted, the others agreeing via growl.

“How should we know, we didn't have anything to do with it?!” Lobster Claws cried defensively.

“Well zzzomebody let them in here?” Boo Fly pointed out.

Jackie and Star rolled their eyes at the monsters arguing, all of them seeming to have forgotten the girls were even there. “So think that's all of them?” Jackie asked, turning her attention to Star instead.

“I hope so,” Star replied.

“Something is starting to worry me though,” Jackie said, sounding concerned.

“What's that?”

“Where's Janna?”

As if on cue, there was a muffled yell from the other side of the final pair of doors, everyone freezing and staring at the closed entryway in shock. “I'm gonna kill you!” came the familiar scream of the monster's current second-in-command, all of the other monsters muttering confusedly, “Boss?”

Then, the doors to the room busted open, Beard Deer sliding in on his back, all of the gathered monsters quickly running over to help the monster up, yelling this time, “Boss!”

Janna smugly entered the room, walking slowly but surely past the monsters, before joining her two friends, who were both giving her annoyed scowls.

“Subtle,” Jackie said, raising an eyebrow at her creepy friend.

“We gave you one job, Janna. Just one,” Star hissed, raising a single finger up to demonstrate her point.

“What? I brought him here, didn't I?” Janna said, with a shrug.

“Yes, but we're trying not to hurt any of them, remember?” Star countered.

“Hey, he attacked me, all I did was defend myself,” Janna said, sliding her hands into her pockets, their attempt at scolding obviously not reaching her stubborn mind. The two girls sighed, knowing it was impossible to reach through their friend's thick skull, Star pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “Fine whatever,” the princess breathed, deciding to let it go. “Can we just move on to the next phase of the plan, please?”

Meanwhile, Bearicorn tried to offer Beard Deer a hand up, asking with concern, “You okay, boss?” But he was thwarted as the infuriated monster slapped his paw away, making the bear cry out in pain.

“I'm fine, you idiots,” Beard Deer growled, losing any and all patients for the monster's needless fussing. “Just grab those kids!” He pointed to Star and the others, who heard the monster's yell and were instantly on guard, all of them facing down the large group of monsters as they slowly stalked closer, the three retreating farther and farther back into the room.

“Um, maybe this wasn't our best idea,” Jackie anxiously pointed out, making sure to stay behind Star, who already had her wand drawn and ready, the whole thing glowing with magic energy. Star tried to ignore her own doubt, as she said in the calmest voice she could manage, “Look, we're not looking for a fight.”

“Well that's too bad, princess,” Beard Deer said, from the front of the pack. “Cause you're not leaving here without one.” He pounded a fist into his claw, the other monsters laughing cruelly.

“Stop!” Every monster froze, as they all recognized the source of the voice, all of them taken by surprise as Marco stepped out from behind one of the pillars, giving them all a long, hard stare.

“Marco!” all the monsters screamed. “What are you doing here?” Lobster Claws asked with concern, thinking that Toffee was going to take care of the hooded boy during all of this. “Your supposed to be in your room.”

“I couldn't just stay in there when all of this was going on, so I decided to come and help my friends,” Marco responded, something about his voice sounding different, it sounded more confident and self-assured, throwing all of the monsters for a loop.

But this was only increased, as Marco marched over to the group he was talking about, now standing among, not the monsters, but the Mewman princess and her meddling friends. “Marco, get away from them!” Beard Deer cried in a scolding tone.

“No,” Marco replied defiantly. “I won't. I'm not abandoning my friends.”

“Your friends!” Bearicorn screamed. “But their Mewmans.”

“So am I,” Marco said, putting a hand to his chest. “Does that mean you're going to beat me up, too?” All of the monsters looked uncomfortable at the statement, while Beard Deer continued to glare at Star.

“This is all your fault!” Beard Deer said, pointing an accusing finger at the girl. “Your weird magic is making Marco turn on us. Now change him back or else!”

“Yeah!” the rest of the monsters cheered, but none of the Mewmans backed down even an inch.

“I'm not controlling Marco, Toffee lied to you,” Star said, all of her years of princess training shining through at that moment, her voice projecting clearly around the room, sounding regal and composed.

“And why should we believe you?” one of the monsters yelled, all of the other monsters muttering in agreement.

“Because I'm telling the truth,” she responded, tossing her wand to the ground in front of her to demonstrate her trustworthiness, before shooting Marco a loving smile, taking his hand in hers. “I would never use my magic on Marco like that.” The monsters weren't sure how to react to that, looking amongst themselves with puzzled expressions.

“You guys didn't honestly believe that we were using magic to control Marco, did you?” Jackie asked, seeing their reluctance.

The monsters went silent, trying not to show their sheepishness. Though none of them wanted to admit it, the whole thing had seemed a little far-fetched even to them and deep down they all kinda knew Toffee was misleading them, but they had chosen to push their doubts aside and instead blindly trust the word of Toffee over their own common sense, the lie far less painful to accept than the horrible truth. “Yeah well, this-this has to be some kind of trick,” Beard Deer said weakly, feeling uncomfortable by the look Star and Marco were sharing.  

“The only one who has been tricking you has been Master Toffee,” Marco said firmly, he and Star turning their attention back to the monsters. “He's been manipulating and using you all to help him get what he wants.”

He looked between each of the familiar faces in front of him, surprised by all the shameful looks they were giving him, forcing Marco to realize something. “But you all know that already, don't you?” The disappointment in his voice was clear, all of the monsters feeling their stomachs churn with guilt for upsetting the boy.

There was a small pause before Spikeballs pitched in, “There's nothing we can do. He's our leader, we have to obey him.”

Marco looked hurt by the statement as he muttered, “So you all willingly followed his orders even knowing what you were doing was wrong?”  

None of the monsters dared to meet his eye. “You're just too young to understand yet, Marco,” Beard Deer said regretfully, his voice the same hurt tone it had been in the forest.

“I understand that you are all killing innocent Mewmans, like me!” Marco yelled back, all of the monster flinching at that.

“We had no choice, Marco,” Bearicorn countered. “The Mewmans had to pay for what they did to us. They stole our land. Starved us, forced us to live in poverty.” He glared at Star as he said this. “They treated us all like garbage. And then Toffee came and he helped us to show them who the real monsters were.” All of the monsters, muttered angrily in agreement, Star hanging her head in shame, not sure what to say, never realizing how horrible her own people had been to the monsters. Marco, on the other hand, wasn't done speaking.  

“But you're all better than that,” he said, his voice desperate and pleading. “I know you are. Toffee's convinced you all that the only answer is revenge, but it isn't. Even if things were bad that didn't mean you had to resort to violence. All Toffee's done is make things worse for everyone, monsters and Mewmans.” Marco paused for a second, taking in the monsters as they all shifted uncomfortably on their feet, the boy feeling hope that his words were actually getting through to them.

“But it doesn't have to be that way,” He continued, risking taking a few steps closer to the monsters and farther away from his friends' side. “We can make this right, all of us, we can turn on Toffee and fix everything.”

“Well isn't that a touching thought.” Marco felt the familiar pangs of dread overtake him, as he turned to see Toffee striding into the room, as confident as ever, barely even noticing the room go dead silent as he entered, as he just continued forward with one of his notoriously vacant expressions. “Monsters and Mewmans working together for a common cause, how profound.” He did a quick scan of the faces of the crowd around him, the monsters with fear and the princess and her friends with hatred and resolve. But suddenly, Toffee stopped, his gaze lingering on Marco, who stood frozen in the middle of the two groups, the look on his face somehow a combination of both sides, as he seemed to be deciding on whether or not he was angry or afraid to see the monster leader there.

Star, seeing Toffee's gaze halt on Marco, felt a lump of fear form in her throat, rushing over to the boy and pulling him back to her side, making sure to grab her wand off the floor as she did, Marco's eyes never once leaving Toffee.

“So you're still trying to sway them to your side, Marco. How foolish,” Toffee said in a condescending tone, moving so he was now standing between the monsters and the Mewmans. “Haven't you learned yet, they won't betray me... they know better than that.” Behind him the monster's all shuddered, unknowingly showing off the power Toffee still obviously had over them.

Though Marco felt extremely uncomfortable with Toffee's unblinking stare focused on him and him alone, he didn't back down, Star's presence next to him giving him courage. He shot the businesslike monster a narrowed glare, pausing for a moment before saying in a hard tone, “Why or else you'll kill them like you did my parents?!”

Toffee seemed visibly unsettled at that, hearing the baffled chatter behind him, his eyes narrowing on the boy, Marco's doing the same, as if they were both waiting for the other to make their next move.

“Master Toffee, what is he talking about?” Lobster Claws suddenly spoke up from behind Toffee, interrupting the intense moment, the lizard turning around to see the suspicious stares of the other monsters.

But true to form, Toffee kept his cool, calmly addressing his fellow monsters, “Pay no attention to this boy's delusions-”

“It's not a delusion!” Marco interrupted the lizard, before directing his attention to the rest of the monsters. “Toffee told me himself, he killed them because they wanted peace and he's been using me ever since to make you do his bidding.”

“Marco,” Toffee began in a warning tone.

“And he said that once he got what he wanted he would kill me just like he did them,” Marco finished, ignoring the lizard's scolding.

The monsters all gasped in shock, before boldly giving the lizard a narrowed glare. “Is this true?” Beard Deer asked, suspiciously.

“Of course not,” Toffee instantly replied, with a small scoff in his tone, as if the idea was utterly ridiculous, his face remaining as emotionless as ever, hiding his crimes beneath his poker face. “He is obviously still under the princess's control, nothing he says should be taken seriously,” But the monsters seemed divided, looking amongst each other with uncertainty, none of them sure who to believe, so Toffee added, “You know I have nothing against the boy. I only want what's best for all of you.”

“You liar!” Star shouted.

“Stay out of this, princess,” Toffee hissed at the girl. “This doesn't concern you.”

“No, I won't!” Star said, defiantly. “And I think for once you should let the monsters decide who's side they're on, instead of forcing them to follow you.”

“As compared to you,” Toffee countered. “Don't forget you are by far the most guilty person in this room.”

Star paused for a second, before speaking instead to the rest of the monsters in a far softer tone. “Look I know what my people did to you in the past was wrong and I'm so sorry that you had to suffer for my people's selfishness, but please, don't give Toffee the satisfaction of winning just because of a few people's mistakes.”

“Mistakes?” Toffee scoffed, crossing his arms. “I'd hardly call what they did to us a mistake.”

“No, but what you did wasn't a mistake, either,” Marco pointed out, uncharacteristic anger in his tone.

“I know I may not deserve it,” Star continued, giving the monsters a remorseful look. “But if you all give me a second chance, I promise that I will do whatever I can to make things right.”

“We both will,” Marco added, the two sharing a smile, as he gently squeezed her hand.

Toffee's face switched for a moment to a glare, but due to the fact that he was facing away from the monsters none of them saw it. “I believe this charade has gone on long enough,” he said in a barely restrained tone, struggling to keep his monotone voice in check. He turned to the other monsters, commanding, “Kill the princess and reclaim Marco.”

Star and the others immediately went on the defense, Star pulling Marco in closer to her and  raising her wand as a form of protection, and Jackie and Janna who had been waiting quietly for the results of the argument, jumped bravely in front of the two, courageously placing themselves between their friends and the dreaded enemy that threatened to overtake them at any second, using themselves as human shields for the two. “Wait!” Marco shouted, grabbing onto Star's wrist, preventing her from using the wand properly, the blond giving him a confused stare. “Marco, what is it?” Star asked.

“Just look,” Marco responded, pointing over to the monsters. And from the other side of the room, the unspeakable was happening, as for once in the entire time since Toffee's reign began the monsters hesitated, unsure what to do. “What are you waiting for?” Toffee said in a slightly raised tone. “Get Marco away from that girl before she can do any more damage.”

But the monster's were torn, trying to decide which of their two emotions was stronger: their fear of Toffee or their love for Marco, all of them looking between the venomous glare of their leader and the pleading look of the boy they considered to be their child. “Please... don't do this,” Marco said with one final beg, his voice pure agony. “It's not too late, you don't have to be this, you don't have to be what they all think you are.”

“You know what will happen, should you all fail to follow my orders,” Toffee said, menacingly.

Finally, one of the monster's walked forward, breaking away from the huddled group, Beard Deer, moving quickly past the lizard leader and now approaching the Mewmans with resolve in his every step. Star went to push Marco behind her, but to her surprise, Marco pulled away, slipping past Jackie and Janna and now standing directly in front of the monster.

“Marco!” Star screamed, Jackie and Janna looking equally as horrified. “Get out of there!”

But Marco didn't listen, just continuing to stare at the monster's unreadable face, trying to silently commune his pleading thoughts to the stubborn monster. The whole room seemed to hold it's breath, as they awaited the monster's reaction, Star, Jackie, and Janna ready to jump in if need be, all of them prepared to do whatever it took to protect the boy from the monster's possible wrath, Star struggling to keep herself from rushing over to Marco's rescue right then and there, as the seconds continued to stretch on and on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity later, Beard Deer sighed in annoyance, saying in a semi-frustrated tone, “Okay, fine, Marco. You win.”

“Really?” the boy said, his eyes shining with joy.

“Really?” Beard Deer responded, the monster ruffling the boy's hair, just like he had done a million times before, showing affection toward the Mewman the only way he knew how. Star and the others relaxed, the girls sighing in relief that Marco wasn't in danger.

Toffee, however, was livid, hissing at the monster, “What do you think you're doing?” Not even bothering to hide the venom in his voice, as his eyes narrowed with a killer intent.

Beard Deer looked hesitant, but as he looked down and saw Marco's encouraging smile, he turned back to the monster with a hard stare, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. “What I should have done all along,” the monster responded, coldly. “Marco's right. It's time we stood up to you.”

Marco smiled, before throwing his arms around the monster in a hug, thankful he had actually managed to sway one of the monsters to his side. From the other side of the room, the rest of the monsters were touched by the display, until another monster risked walking over to the other side joining up with Marco and his friends, then another, and another. Toffee just watched in growing resentment as his minion's abandoned him, one by one, Lobster Claws, then Potato Baby, Boo Fly, Spikeballs, until every monster now stood beside Marco, forming a protective circle around the boy, leaving Toffee alone.

“I don't believe this. You're not honestly going to side with this boy over me, are you?” Toffee asked, giving his ex-minions a glare. “After all the good I've done for you over the years.”

“Like using us all to do your bidding!” Beard Deer countered angrily, the others shouting in agreement.

“Yeah, you tricked us into going to war with the Mewmans,” Lobster Claws added. “A whole bunch of us have died just so you could get more power!”

“Not to mention all the innocent Mewmans that got killed, too,” Marco pitched in, helpfully.

This continued on for a while, the monster shouting and muttering their opinions, as Star, Jackie, and Janna silently joined in on the rest of the group, Star eagerly taking hold of the boy's hand again, giving him another proud smile. Toffee, however, just waited patiently for the monsters to calm down.

And after a while, the angry chatter did lower down to a dull roar, giving the monster leader the opportunity to speak once again. Toffee straightened his suit before addressing his monsters in a terrifyingly calm voice, “I admit my methods can be a bit, drastic. But do not forget who made you who you are. If it wasn't for me, you would all still be living in the dirt. And do you remember who threw you there in the first place?” His tone became slightly harsher as he spoke. “It was the Mewmans. Don't think they've changed. They will never change. They will always try to control and use you all. None of them deserve to live in this world I have created. If there is any hope for us to survive then we need to eradicate every last one of them before they can destroy us all.”

“Then you did kill Marco's parents,” Beard Deer growled, between clenched teeth. Toffee didn't respond, but his hesitation was proof enough, the other monsters all roaring in anger at the lizard, upset that he would kill the only two Mewman's (other then Marco) who they had considered to be good, Toffee's serpent eyes darting between them all, silently.

“It's over, Toffee,” Star spoke up, taking a step away from the monster crowd, Marco, his hand still intertwine with hers, did the same. There was a finality to her tone, her hatred toward the monster making her send him a hate-filled glare. “You've lost.”

For a few seconds, Toffee said nothing, just staring at the princess with the same creepy, monotone expression as always, until he said softly, “No. Not yet, princess.”

Before Star could even think about what he meant by that, Toffee snapped his fingers, every light in the castle simultaneously going out at once, a fail safe he had set up in just such an emergency. Star instinctively flinched as the world around her went pitch black, her hand losing some of its grip on Marco's. And in that second of hesitation, Star felt Marco being ripped from her grasp, as something quick and steady whooshed past her, dragging Marco along with it. “Marco!” Star screamed in terror, her heart pounding away in her chest, as she began turning in a dizzying circle, unsure which direction to go.

“Star!” Marco screamed back, his voice sounding distant, Star unable to tell how far away he was and having no doubt that with every second that past, he and his kidnapper gained even more distance from her.

Star was becoming panicked as she felt around blindly in the dark, her breathing becoming sporadic, as she tried desperately to locate the boy. “No! Marco! Marco, where are you?!” she screamed into the darkness, her voice wrenched with panic-stricken sobs, her concern growing as she could no longer hear a reply from the boy.

Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her hand, making Star jump in surprise. “This way!” the person called, Star recognizing the voice's source.

“Janna?” Star muttered in confusion.

“C'mon,” the half-monster girl insisted, pulling roughly on Star's hand as she dragged her along. The two came upon Jackie, who was also stumbling around blindly, Janna grabbing her unexpectedly by the wrist, as well, before leading her two friends through the encompassing dark.

“What, Janna, how?” Jackie asked with surprise, as she struggled to keep up with her friend.

“Night vision, remember?” Janna replied smugly over her shoulder. But as she turned back in the direction the boy and the lizard had gone, her smile dropped, listening to the muffled scream in the distance with a frown. Good. She could still hear the boy's panicked screams... for now at least. But Toffee was still far in the lead, moving quickly and speedily, and with his knowledge of the castle's layout Janna was at a severe disadvantage. She needed to hurry and catch up with them, before it was too late.

“Lead the way then, Jan,” Star said encouragingly, as she put all of her faith in her half-monster friend and her incredible vision, while Star's own were struggling to adjust to the darkness around her. Janna felt her heart expanding at the trust Star so obviously had in her and she silently vowed not to let her or Marco down.

“Right,” Janna responded, confidently.  

The rest of the monsters, it seemed, were recovering as well from their initial shock, rushing quickly after the lizard with battle cries, all of them out for blood it seemed, the few monsters who lacked night vision, following the sound of their comrade's screams. Soon, every single monster was in hot pursuit of Toffee, Janna and the others in the lead, as they all stormed deeper into the dark castle.

…

The air in the hidden passageway was cold and stale. The flaming torches that guarded the forgotten staircase reveling the two intruders in their dimly lit glow, casting sinister shadows on the wall beside them, the sound of echoing footsteps breaking the eery silence around the pair as they traveled deeper into the castle's underground. Toffee walked forward with steady, confident strides, his gaze and focus on the path before him, ignoring the struggling Mewman boy he was forcefully dragging behind him.

Toffee couldn't believe how badly things had gone! Thanks to Marco and that foolish princess all his careful planning had fallen apart, the once powerful, feared leader now forced to retreat with his tail between his legs, as his own monsters hunted him down like a common criminal. But this wasn't the end for him, not by a long shot. He would make them regret the day that had dared to defy him. And he would start by disposing of the annoying brat, of course, Toffee going to enjoy making them all squirm as he destroyed their one spark of peace, forever.

“Let me go!” Marco screamed, interrupting the monster's sinister thoughts, trying to pry his way loose from the lizard's grip, but it was too strong for him, the boy's arm beginning to hurt from how tightly Toffee was squeezing. “Must you be so loud,” the lizard mumbled, not even bothering to turn around. But the boy didn't give up, as he dug his heels into the ground hoping to slow the lizard even a little and buy Star and the others some time. This only proved to be useless, however, as the lizard just continued forward, causing the boy to stumble and almost fall. He looked behind him, screaming, “Star! Star, help!”

But there was no signs of anyone else in the dark passage, Marco having to try and fend off Toffee alone. He looked around for anything that could be of use, his eyes landing on one of the flaming torches hanging on the walls, waiting for his chance to grab one, knowing he would only get one shot. As soon as he was in close reach of it, he snatched it off the wall, preparing to fling it at the monster to force him to release his grip.

What the boy failed to account for, however, was that Toffee had sensed the boy's movement out of the corner of his eye, his tail flinging out and snapping against Marco's hand, making the boy cry out in pain and drop the burning torch. “Did you really think that would work, Marco?” Toffee hissed, as he forcefully pulled the boy in front of him, making sure to keep him away from the rest of the torches on their path, as the two descended the last set of steps.

“You'll never get away with this, Toffee!” Marco screamed, defiantly, still grunting as he tried to pull his way free from the lizard. “Star and the others are right behind us. They're gonna stop you.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Toffee replied, sounding not the least bit concerned. “By the time they catch up, you and I will be long gone.”

Suddenly, as if on cue, a voice could be heard in the distance. “Marco!” came Star's desperate, muted plea to the boy as it echoed around the narrow hallway. Marco turned to see lights in the distance, the group of monsters now holding flaming torches running at them full force, with Star in the lead. “Guys, over here!” Marco screamed to them.

Toffee glared daggers at the group, before shoving his struggling captive into the next room, a large bunker-like structure, Marco falling hard to his knees. As Toffee stepped into the room, as well, he hit a switch next to him and a layer of crystal-like glass lowered from the door frame, quickly sealing the exit closed, the lizard ripping out the device a second later to prevent it from being used again. Marco, seeing his only chance of escape about to be lost, jumped to his feet and tried to reach the door in time, but he was too late as the glass finally slid into place with a loud clunk. “No!” he cried in panic.

Ironically, Star and the others reached the now-blocked entrance at the exact same time, the blond putting a hand against the glass, and Marco doing the same, only a thin layer of crystal preventing the two from touching. For a moment, the two looked into each others frightened eyes, Star's muffled voice calling out to him, “Marco!”

“Star!” Marco screamed back.

“Hang on, I'm gonna get you out!” she replied.

“Okay. I know you wi- AHH!” Marco was taken by surprise, as Toffee grabbed the boy by his hood and pulled him uncomfortably away from the glass door.

“Marco!” Star screamed in terror.

“Let go!” Marco cried, trying and failing to pull his hood out of the lizard's claws, Toffee just watching in amusement at the boy's pitiful attempts of escape. Finally, Toffee pulled back on the hood as hard as he could, choking Marco and causing him to lose his footing. The boy had no way to stop himself as he fell backwards, causing him to bang his head on the hard, stone floor, screaming in pain.

Star, seeing Marco hurt, panicked, banging her fists hard against the glass, ignoring the throbbing pain that resulted each time her clenched hands made contact with the surprisingly strong crystal. Several of the monsters joined her, as they all tried to shatter the glass, yelling to the boy the whole time. “Marcooooo! Marco, no! Marcoooo!”

The crystal never gave, however, Star quickly realizing how futile the act was and instantly jumped to “plan b” for breaking the stubborn glass. “Everyone stand back!” Star screamed in warning, holding her wand out in front of her, just inches from the glass.

Jackie seeing this, quickly grabbed Janna's arm, pulling her back away from the door, saying to the monsters, “Do what she says?!” The monsters, realizing what the girl was about to do, all scrambled backwards, trying to give the girl a wide berth. Star began unleashing a flurry of spells on the dreaded crystal, the sound of explosions ringing through the enclosed space and the monsters having to cover their eyes from the bright flashing lights, smoke, dust, and debris flying everywhere, coating the startled monsters and the two girls, who tried feebly to shield their faces from the viscous onslaught.  

Marco, clutching his aching head, heard the tell-tale sounds of explosions ringing through his ears, looking up enough to see Star blasting away at the glass that blocked her path, and felt a surge of hope. But that hope was shattered, however, as somehow through Star's bombardment the glass held, every spell not even fracturing the tough crystal, the whole thing only glowing with some kind of energy, as if it was somehow absorbing every hit taken. Marco's eyes widened in terror as he realized that Star and the others wouldn't reach him in time.

Toffee just stood over him with a gloating look, saying in an almost taunting tone, “See that Marco, your dear princess can't reach you. Oh whatever will you do, now?”

Marco said nothing, just staring at the glass, petrified, his head still pounding slightly. What could he do now? Toffee had caught him and without an escape route, he didn't stand a chance of getting away on his own. Marco gulped, swallowing back the lump that was forming in his throat. He was trapped.

“I told you before, didn't I, Marco?” Toffee continued, the hooded boy finally drawing his attention away from his would-be rescuers and onto the monster, who was giving him a killer look that sent shivers down his spine. Marco tried to back away from the chilling monster, the lizard's face covered by shadows, making his narrowed eyes somehow glow a sickly green, as he slowly stalked closer, with a murderous purpose. “No one can save you from what I have planned.”

Then, out of nowhere, a sword fell between the two, sticking into the ground just inches from where Toffee's foot was. The two looked up to see Buff Frog dropping in from the ceiling, another sword in hand, swinging down at the dreaded lizard. Toffee managed to dodge the attack at the last minute, but was unsuccessful in stopping the sword from cutting off his right arm. As the severed appendage fell to the floor, it disintegrated into dust until there was nothing left of it.

Toffee stared daggers at the frog monster, clutching at the stump that was left of his arm with his good claw, as his opponent landed gracefully between Marco and Toffee, the Mewman boy looking up at his monster father in shock and relief. “Stay away from my son!” Buff Frog growled angrily at Toffee, holding his sword threateningly in front of him.

“Dad!” Marco screamed, his voice chocked with emotion.

“Buff Frog,” Toffee greeted coldly, his eyes narrowing to slits as his limb began to regrow itself. “I had a feeling I would see you again. Though I must say I am surprised to see you here of all places.”

“I could say same for you,” Buff Frog spat back. “You were not supposed to know about hidden tunnels.”

“Well, what can I say, I guess I'm full of many surprises,” Toffee said, intensely.

Buff Frog broke off his stare for a moment, as he yelled over his shoulder to his son, “Marco, run!”

Toffee began to chuckle, as his arm finally finished regrowing, clenching it into a tight fist. “Run?” he scoffed, giving the monster a toothy grin. “Run where? There's nowhere for him to go.” Toffee's tone dropped to a terrifying whisper. “Or you for that matter.”

Buff Frog charged the lizard, swinging a sword right at his head, but Toffee saw it coming, fluidly ducking under the blade at the last second, before sending a claw into Buff Frog's shoulder, trying to force him to release his hold on the sword. The frog screamed as pain shot up his arm, but kept a firm grip on his weapon, trying once again to swipe at the hated monster, but Toffee took a step back avoiding the sharp blade.

“Buff Frog, here!” Marco screamed, throwing the other sword to the monster, Buff Frog catching it expertly, shooting his son a loving smile. “Thank you, my boy.”

He turned back to the lizard with a grim scowl. “Now I will make you pay for all bad you have done,” he said in a hard tone.

“You can try,” Toffee responded, smugly. Buff Frog brought both swords down on the lizard, Toffee catching them with his bare claws. “But once I dispose of you, I'm going after your precious son.”

“No you will not!” Buff Frog spat in a strained tone.

“Really, still as blind as ever, Buff Frog,” Toffee chuckled, as his tail slowly wrapped around the frog's leg. Buff Frog was thrown off balance, as his leg was yanked out from underneath him, Toffee reaching out and slamming him hard into the ground.

“Buff Frog!” Marco screamed in worry, about to run over to check on his dad, but Buff Frog held up an arm, as he painfully rose to his feet.

“No Marco, stay back!” the amphibian yelled, panting heavily. “I will deal with this.” Toffee just smiled as he waited for his opponents next move.

...

Star refused to let up her assault, ignoring the crushing doubt she felt in her chest, as she shot spell after spell at the stubborn see-through wall, trying everything she could to break through the impenetrable barrier. Jackie and the others struggled to stay upright, as blasts of hot air flowed endlessly around them, but even they could see just how useless the princess' attacks were through the blinding dust cloud that had settled in the hall after every failed strike. Jackie risked walking closer to the girl, fighting back the powerful energy that flowed around her, using her arm to shield her eyes from the flying debris, as she called out to her friend, “Star! Star stop! It's not working!”

“Yeah, it's no use Star, it's not gonna break!” Janna added via shout.

“No!” Star screamed back, sounding desperate and tired. “It's going to work! I just need more power!”

Somehow, through all the smoke and dust, Jackie was able to spot Buff Frog fighting off the lizard and she felt hope in her chest. “Star! Star I think Buff Frog's in there!” The monsters all shared a look with one another at that news. “He's protecting Marco! Star, did you hear me?”

Star did hear her and she had, in fact, seen that for herself. But she knew it couldn't last. Buff Frog couldn't beat Toffee, she wasn't sure anyone could. Eventually, Buff Frog would tire and then Toffee would be free to go after Marco once again. So she had to get in there and save him, before that happened. She took a deep breath, gathering as much wavering energy as she could, as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “Cotton Candy Devastation Blast!”  

…

The sound of the explosion rang through the bunker, as the fight between Toffee and Buff Frog continued, the frog doing everything he could to gain an upper hand on his cruel opponent. Buff Frog leapt over the monster, landing behind him and thrusting his blade right at the lizard's unguarded back. Toffee's tail reacted at just the right moment, managing to block the stab at the last second, but getting itself cut off in the process. The lizard pivoted on his heels, smashing a fist into his opponent, causing Buff Frog to stumble back.

Buff Frog tried to regain control of the fight as he sent several well timed slashes the monster's way, but Toffee just kept coming, weaving around the attacks and ignoring the ones that landed, knowing they would just repair themselves in a few seconds anyway. Meanwhile, Buff Frog was taking far more damage the longer the fight went on, Toffee's sharp claws managing to catch him at odd places, as more and more scratches appeared on his body. And to make matters worse, Buff Frog was quickly running out of room as he tried to ward his fearless opponent off. If something didn't change soon, Buff Frog might end up backing himself into a corner where he would be at the monster's mercy.

In a last ditch effort, Buff Frog tried, once again, to thrust his blade at the lizard, but he was thwarted as Toffee blocked the desperate blow, knocking the sword out of the frog's hand and sending it tumbling behind them.

Buff Frog ignored the almost unbearable pain that was surging in his arm, a claw mark running all the way up the throbbing appendage, trying to remain focused on finishing off the monster. He gritted his teeth, raising his good arm, preparing to make another stab at the monster with his last remaining sword, but Toffee moved first, his claws digging deep into the frog's muscular chest. Buff Frog was finally pushed back, colliding with the wall behind him painfully, before falling to the floor, unmoving.

Marco seeing his dad defeated, felt tears rising up in his eyes, his mouth gaping open. He had to do something. That was all he could think, as his body began to move on its own, slowly inching closer to the two. He didn't know what yet, but he couldn't just sit there and watch as Toffee killed the only family he had left. He had to find someway to help him. He just had to.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash in Marco's eyes, the boy freezing, caught completely off guard, as he rubbed at his eyes, blindly. Once Marco's vision cleared, the boy spotted the source of the uncomfortable light: Toffee's ring. For a few seconds, Marco was caught in its hypnotizing glow, staring wide eyed at the embedded gem that seemed to be shimmering with some kind of magical energy. And that was when it hit him, the answer to all his problems, the truth so simple and plain that Marco couldn't believe he hadn't realized it before. Marco crept forward slowly, keeping a close eye on Toffee, picking the discarded sword off the floor.

…

Finally, it seemed Star had spent the last of her energy, as she collapsed to the ground, exhausted, watching in despair as Toffee stood over the now defeated Buff Frog. She panted as she tried to raise up her wand shakily for another attack. “R-Rain...b-bow B-Blast,” she managed to gasp out, a small puddle of multicolored goop pouring out of her wand and staining the ground bellow it.

“No,” Star cried in despair, clutching her head in her hands. “It's no use! I can't break it!”

Jackie walked over and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, looking sad. Behind them the monsters looked down, feeling equally disheartened, knowing that the super-powered princess had been their last hope to saving Marco. Janna, however, was staring out the glass with pain-filled eyes. “It's my fault, Jackie!” Star continued, her voice wrenched with sobs, as tears spilled from her eyes. “It's all my fault! Marco's going to die because of me, all because I couldn't keep my promise!”

Jackie opened her mouth, to say something comforting, but she was cut off as Janna spoke up from behind her. “Uhh, guys. You might want to look at this.”

Star and the others followed her gaze into the bunker, all of their mouths dropping open in disbelief at the sight of Marco slowly sneaking up on Toffee, a sword in his hand.

“Marco, no don't,” Star muttered in terror.  

…

“Well that was utterly pathetic,” Toffee said to his defeated opponent, who was trying to force himself to stand, grunting, his scar covered body aching as he tried to gain enough strength to continue fighting. “Did you really think you could win? How stupid of you.” Buff Frog just sent hate-filled daggers at the lizard, as he chuckled cruelly. “Goodbye Buff Frog and don't worry I'll take good care of Marco for you.”

Suddenly, Toffee saw something moving out of the corner of his eye, his tail whipping out and wrapping around the hooded boy's hands, preventing him from swinging the sword any farther, Marco coming dangerously close to running him through.

“What's this?” Toffee asked amused, watching as they boy tried to pull his grip free. “Trying to stab me in the back? Not very heroic of you, Marco.” He flung the boy to the floor beside him. “Not to mention intelligent.”

Toffee reached down to pick the boy up by his hood, planning on killing him right there in front of Buff Frog just to make him suffer. But Toffee was caught off guard as the boy suddenly jolted up,  swinging the sword toward the lizard with a large slash, the lizard not even having time to dodge out of the way.

The room went dead quiet as Marco's sword made contact with Toffee's outstretched hand. It was a clean cut all the way through, the two watching in silence as the lizard limb clattered to the floor, all of it disintegrating save for his middle finger, the green ring still glowing around it. For a few seconds, Toffee was frozen in shock, looking at his most prized and well-guarded object laying half-haphazardly on the floor. He couldn't believe he had made such an obvious mistake. He had been so distracted at the prospect of beating his opponent that he had allowed himself to expose his left hand and therefore the ring, permitting it to be severed by Marco of all people. Even Buff Frog was in disbelief, staring open-mouthed at Marco, a look of determination the likes of which Buff Frog had never seen shining in his boy's eyes.

Marco, however, wasn't in shock, as he quickly swiped the finger off the floor and tossed it in Buff Frog's direction, yelling, “Buff Frog take the ring, without it Toffee can't regenerate.” The boy directed his attention back to the blank-faced lizard as he rose to his feet. “Isn't that right, Master Toffee?”

The lizard turned to him with a blood-curdling glare, not even bothering to hide his fury from his normally melancholy face, but he spoke in the same controlled tone as always. “So someone finally figured it out,” he said, taking a step closer, Marco holding the sword weakly out in front of him in defense. “Tell me, Marco. How did you know?”

Though Marco was shaking, he answered in the strongest tone he could, saying, “Easy, Master Toffee. I've never seen you with that ring off, so it's obviously very important to you, but normally you treat it just like any other ring. So I thought it was kinda weird that the whole time you were fighting Buff Frog, you were keeping it hidden, only using your right hand to fight, even though I know you're left handed. That's when I realized that that ring must somehow give you the power to regenerate, because how else could you recover from so many hits without using magic.”  

The room went silent again as Toffee just glared at the boy, Marco feeling his heart pounding away in his chest. Finally, the lizard laughed, a short, disturbing chuckle that somehow frightened Marco more than his most evil of death glares. Suddenly, Toffee's claw shot out, Marco caught off guard, as he tried to block the attack with his sword, but was easily overpowered by the experienced Toffee, as his claw wrapped around the boy's throat. Marco chocked in the lizard's grasp, dropping the sword as he tried to pry the lizard's claws away from his neck. “I always knew that eventually someone would discover the truth of my 'miraculous' healing abilities. I just never would have guessed that it would be you,” Toffee said, his voice a cruel hiss, slowly tightening his grip on the boy's windpipes, Marco coughing in response.

The boy was becoming frantic as he fearfully tried to take short spurts of breath but was unable to, the edges of his vision going black as he slowly suffocated. Buff Frog seeing his son in distress, felt a deep primal fear overcome him, somehow finding the strength to stand, reaching a hand out to them uselessly, as he furiously shouted at the monster, a low growl rising from his throat, “No, Toffee let him go!”

“Gladly,” Toffee replied calmly, somehow at ease despite the intense, life-threatening situation that was unfolding around him. “All you have to do is return to me what's mine. And then I will give you what's yours.” The lizards voice was just dripping with superiority, clearing enjoying making the both of them suffer.

“No,” Marco gasped out, his voice a raspy wheeze. “Don't do it, Buff Frog. He'll just kill me anyways.”

“Quiet,” Toffee hissed, his eyes narrowing, as he squeezed tighter, causing Buff Frog to flinch, Marco squirming more in his grip, as he struggled to take in a breath. “That's better. Now then, do we have a deal, Buff Frog?”

Buff Frog tried not to show the overwhelming terror he felt as he watched his only son being strangled in his arch rival's grip, keeping a blank stare on his face. “How do I know you will release him once I give you finger?” he asked, suspiciously.

“Well, I have to let go now, don't I?” Toffee replied, spitefully. “After all, thanks to your son I only have one good hand.” The lizard held up the stump that was once his left hand, shooting a glare at Marco, who's eyes were beginning to glaze over, as he slowly lost consciousness.

Buff Frog said nothing, just looking at his son with unsuppressed sadness, knowing he couldn't allow this to go on any longer, unable to watch as the color continued to drain from Marco's normally vibrant eyes, unable to hear him gasp anymore for the breath that Toffee was stealing from his oxygen-deprived lungs, the pain and hurt it was causing the monster almost too much for him to take. He had to give the lizard what he wanted, even if that meant the end for him. It didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was saving Marco.

Marco tried to shout something to Buff Frog, warning him not to trust the deceitful lizard, but he was unable to produce anything even remotely close to sounding like speech, the end product sounding more like a garbled squeak than words. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open, the world fading into black, the boy's brain becoming fuzzy and dim, Marco struggling to form thought, as his oxygen-deprived mind screamed out for more air. If something didn't change soon, Marco was going to lose consciousness.

Toffee felt a giddy joy as he felt the boy's resistance continue to weaken, his heartbeat slowing as the last of his strength died out from beneath Toffee's fingertips. This was it, the lizard thought to himself, as he watched Buff Frog coming closer. The moment he had been waiting for over fourteen years. At last he could dispose of both his hated right-hand monster and the last of the Diaz's in one fell swoop and all right in front of the monsters and the princess. Toffee held back a smile. How utterly satisfying.

…

Star seeing the boy being slowly strangled by Toffee, felt a panic seize her again, wanting to reach out and help him, but was powerless to do so. “Marco, no! Marco!” Her voice was a broken whimper, as he eyes flooded with tears anew, not sure if she could bear watching Toffee kill the most important person in her life.

The girl began to weep on the floor, feeling hopeless, as she clutched her wand tightly to her chest. “Please?” she begged to the magical object. “Please, help me.” She sobbed once, trying to clear her tight throat enough to speak, squeezing her eyes shut, as tears continued to pour out of them. “Give me the strength to save him... just this once.”

And in that instant, Star's cheek marks turned bright white, her wand doing the same. Star felt a strength begin to fuel her, a deep, powerful energy unlike anything she had ever experienced slowly rising up inside her, making he whole body feel hot. Her thoughts ceased, everything vanishing around her, until all that she could feel or know was the magic that was burning like fire though her blood stream.

Jackie, Janna, and the monsters were confused as the air around them seemed to be electrified somehow, all of them feeling some kind of wave of energy flowing off of the princess, as she was lit up by the glow of her wand. Jackie removed her hand from the princess' shoulder, her and the others taking slow, cautious steps back. Star's eyes opened, both of them glowing pure white like her wand, a shockwave sent out by the action, knocking the monsters and girls to the ground, the glass barrier in front of her vibrating but refusing to break.

Without even realizing what she was doing, Star held the wand out at the barrier, a beam of pure light streaming from her wand and hitting the glass full-force. There was a loud cracking sound, as the glass finally shattered, Buff Frog and Toffee turning in the direction of the ear-splitting noise. With the glass now gone, Star easily stepped through, shooting off another beam, this one directed at Toffee. Buff Frog ducked to avoid the hit and Toffee was forced to let go of Marco in order to keep himself from being zapped by the powerful beam. The hooded boy collapsed to the ground, coughing and hacking as he tried to regain enough oxygen to breath normally again. He looked up at his rescuer through his dimming vision, his heart skipping a beat. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the sight of Star standing proudly and assuredly in the doorway, her body shimmering with unparallelled beauty and power.

Behind the princess, the glass barrier began sealing back, the damage reversing itself as the crystal-like substance became twice as powerful as before. Janna, seeing this, quickly grabbed the still-recovering Jackie by the hand, before pulling her through the closing gap at the last second. For a few seconds, the two just watched as Star fired another a light infused lasso at the monster, wrapping around the monster's waist and flinging him toward the nearest wall, trying to separate him from Marco as much as possible. Toffee skidded to a stop, managing to keep himself from slamming into the stone wall. But Star was far from done, as the magical princess took off like a flash, her still supercharged body making her practically glide across the floor, as she came straight for the hated monster, Toffee dodging out of the way at the last second, the spell Star released from her wand, destroying the wall behind him, the last of Star's overpowered state wearing off as her cheek marks and eyes returned to their normal form.

Janna, seeing this, turned to her skater friend, saying, “You grab Marco. I'll help Star.”

“Right,” Jackie said with a curt nod, before the two took off together, only separating to help with their equivalent tasks, Janna running over to help Star and Jackie using her skateboard to get to the boy faster. Buff Frog was already there at the boy's side, holding his hand and he turned to the girl with a fearful look. “I do not feel pulse.”

Once Jackie reached the two, she quickly knelt down to examine the boy. He didn't look too hurt, but the skater could see red marks on his neck from where Toffee had been squeezing. She zipped open his hoodie, putting an ear to his chest as she tried to listen for a heartbeat or breathing. For a few tense seconds, there was nothing, Jackie concerned that she had reached him too late, but then she felt the boy's chest rise and fall, as he returned to his steady intake of breath and she sighed in relief. “He's still breathing,” she said to the monster assuredly and Buff Frog also released the breath he had been holding in.

“Thank corn,” he muttered.

From the other side of the room, Janna, now full monster form caught up with the two combatants, throwing a loose punch at the monster, but unlike the rest of the monsters, Toffee was far more experienced in a fight, moving out of the way, and grabbing onto her wrist, throwing her forward and right into Star, causing the two to collide.

But the two recovered quickly, jumping up, before going after the monster again, this time moving as one. Toffee was able to stop them somehow, even with the single hand, using his tail as his biggest advantage, wrapping it around Star's wrist to force her to fire at nothing, while blocking another punch from the half-monster girl.

Star, her hands still trapped, re-aimed her wand, firing a spell at the monster's head, Toffee ducking underneath it, before using his tail to fling her out of the way, the girl skidding across the hard ground. Janna, seeing the lizard momentarily distracted, swept Toffee's legs out from underneath him, but the lizard caught himself before hitting the floor. He was up in half a second, Janna having no time to even counter, as the lizard's sharp claw connected with her shoulder, the girl crying out in pain, before the lizard used his own force to throw her back, the girl stumbling but managing to keep her footing.

Star fired a series of crystal heart daggers at her fearsome opponent, Toffee managing to dodge around all of them, his movements almost too fluid and quick for the inexperienced princess to keep up with, as he slithered around the battlefield. Though her spell did manage to keep him distracted long enough for Janna to catch up to him. She threw another punch toward the lizard, this one managing to connect, as the lizard was sent flying back, where he once again crashed hard into the wall, cracking the area where he hit. He growled in frustration and perhaps pain but he was far from down, as Star shouted, “Supersonic Leech Bombs!” the lizard pushing himself off the wall as he dodged the attack, a series of explosions going off behind him, but none managing to hit him, as he merely dusted off his suit, giving the two girls a superior look.

Star groaned in frustration, unsure how her and Janna together still weren't enough to beat the injured monster. Even without his regeneration powers he was still practically unbeatable.

In truth though, it was taking Toffee everything he had to hold the two girls at bay. Toffee couldn't recall the last time he had had to actually give his all in a fight, clearly growing too use to the power of regeneration the ring granted him. And this wasn't a fight with a pair of ordinary Mewman. No, this was him versus the wand-wielding Princess of Mewni and a cursed Impure, who's strength objectively rivaled that of the monsters. It was time he tipped the odds back into his favor. After all, he did have more than a few tricks still up his sleeve.

He smiled another one of his false smiles, as he said to Star, “What's the matter, little princess? You seem upset about something.” His voice just dripped with sarcasm, making Star burn with hatred. “Don't tell me you're still mad about Marco?”

Star eyes drifted over to where Buff Frog and Jackie were, Marco still laying unconscious in their arms and she felt her anger burn anew. She couldn't lose. Not to Toffee. Not after everything he had put her poor Marco through. She would beat him even if it was the last thing she would ever do. She glared daggers at the lizard, clenching her wand even tighter, as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “I'm gonna make you pay for hurting him, Toffee!” She held her wand right at the suit-wearing lizard. “Mega Narwhal Blast!”

Jackie was keeping a watchful eye on the fight as it continued, concerned as Star seemed to grow angrier and angrier as the fight went on, the skater fearful for her friend, hoping that she was able to keep her head through this troubling ordeal. “They need help,” Jackie observed and Buff Frog nodded in agreement.

“Dah. But I too weak to fight and must guard Marco. Who else can help us?” the frog monster asked, seriously. Jackie's eyes slowly drifted over to the sealed crystal barrier, the other monsters watching the events unfold from the other side. Though it seemed getting through the barrier itself was impossible, on further inspection Jackie could see small cracks and holes in the foundation around it from where Star had senselessly blasted at the area.

Jackie rose to her feet, saying to the monster, “I have an idea. But I'm gonna need your help.”

“You have it, friend of Marco,” Buff Frog replied, rising as well, holding Marco gently in his beefed up arms.

“Great, then let's go,” Jackie responded, heading off toward the sealed barrier, Buff Frog right on her heels. “Oh and just Jackie is fine,” she added, shooting the amphibian a smile from over her shoulder.

Meanwhile, from Star and Janna's end, the two refused to let up their assault, working as one to try and take the lizard down, Star throwing spell after spell his way, forcing him to go on the defensive, while the half-monster girl had ample time to go on the offense, hitting him at off times with a super powered punch or kick. But the lizard was far from just standing there and taking it, managing to slash and claw at the creepy girl (almost always with success) every time she went in for an attack and with the girl's arm injured from Toffee's first attack, she couldn't go into her bat form to dodge, unable to fly with a hurt wing.

But that didn't hold Janna back, as she went in for another strike after Star had tried to unsuccessfully freeze the lizard in place, running at the lizard with a raised fist. Toffee was able to keep the punch from connecting, blocking the fist with an opened palm, ignoring the pain that surged from stopping what felt like a brick wall. He tightened his grip on her, as he used her momentum against her, yanking her easily forward before releasing her clenched fist and instead wrapping his thick talons around the back of her neck, slamming her into the ground beneath him. “Janna!” Star screamed, seeing her friend in trouble. The girl struggled as she tried to fight the lizard off of her but Toffee had her properly pinned. Toffee soaked in the look of fear on the girl's face, before pulling the Impure up and then throwing her toward the princess.

Janna landed next to Star, with a hurt grunt, the princess screaming in fear, “Janna! Janna are you okay?!”

“Typical Butterfly,” Toffee said in a condescending tone, adjusting the cuff on his hurt arm. “Hiding behind her wand while her subjects throw themselves in harm's way.”

Star gritted her teeth at the lizard, keeping her wand aimed and ready. “Coming from the monster who hid behind the power of some ring and used Marco as a hostage,” she hissed back.

“I suppose you're right,” the businesslike monster responded, his face blank. But it switched to a toothy grin as he added, “I guess you and I are exactly the same.”

Star felt red hot anger burning in her chest at the look the monster was giving her, as she screamed, “I am nothing like you!”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Toffee threw a knife that he had kept concealed in his sleeve at the girl, Star barely having time to react as she blasted it out of the sky, but by the time she had, the lizard had closed the distance between them, slashing at the girl's arm, forcing her to drop her wand. Star cried out in pain, clutching the throbbing limb tightly, Toffee, kneeing the girl hard in the chest, before slamming her into the wall, pinning her there with his one good arm. Toffee smirked, as he suspended her wand in the air by his tail, before flinging it carelessly away, Star cringing as the object clattered to the floor. “You were right princess, we are nothing alike,” he said, his face just inches from hers, the girl struggling as she tried to break free. His tail picked up the discarded knife pressing the blade against her throat. “I would have seen that attack coming.”

…

There was a loud clunk as Jackie wedged her skateboard into the crack in the wall, pushing down on it for a second to make sure it was in properly. “There,” she said, satisfied it was in right. She turned to Buff Frog explaining to the frog monster, “If we pull on this we can loosen the wall enough to create an opening for the others to get through.”

“Good plan,” Buff Frog complimented, laying Marco down, before going over to help the girl. The two braced themselves, gathering their strength, as the frog awaited Jackie's command to go. “You on the other side,” she called to the others. “Try pushing against the wall as hard as you can when I say go.”

“Right!” came the muffled reply from the other side. “Ready...” she said, squeezing her board as tightly as she could, hoping that it didn't break before they brought the wall down. “Go!” She cried, the two pulling back against the board as hard as they could, straining from the overwhelming effort. There was a loud bang as the monster must have all hit the wall at the same time.

“Pull!” Jackie screamed again, louder than before, but the board refused to give an inch.

“PULL!” she repeated, this time feeling a small give from the board, seeing small chucks of rock and stone crumbling to the floor.

“We're doing it, guys! We're doing it!” she said, trying to encourage the others to give their all. “Just a little bit more!”

…

“Stay where you are, Impure,” Toffee warned Janna, who was giving him a death glare. “Or I will kill your princess.” He flicked the knife slightly, a small cut appearing on Star's neck. “Now be a good little monster and go bring me my finger.”

Star just continued to glare daggers at the suit-wearing lizard, quickly looking down at her arm to examine the damage, a thick cut running all the way across it, useless for stopping the monster from what he was about to do. “This isn't over, Toffee. I will beat you,” she said, viciously, trying to stay strong.

“Oh I highly doubt that,” Toffee responded. “You couldn't beat me even with your wand's strength. So how do you propose on beating me now.”

Before Star could respond, there was a loud crash behind the two, Toffee turning to see the wall around the crystal barrier collapsing, Jackie and Buff Frog covering their faces from the dust and debris that fell around them. “No!” Toffee hissed, infuriated with the others constant meddling.

Star, taking advantage of the distraction, finally managed to get her feet into a good position, as she pushed the lizard away with all her might, forcing him back while freeing herself from the trapped position against he wall. She didn't hesitate as she ducked under his slashing knife, sliding across the floor, before kicking at the back of his leg, the lizard stumbling but catching himself before he could fall. He rose to his feet, turning on his heels to stab at the girl and Star rolled out of the way.

Suddenly, Janna rejoined the fight, tackling Toffee with a yell, as she finally managed to bring the lizard to the ground, making him drop his knife. Toffee lashed out, Janna having to jump off of the lizard to avoid getting cut. Toffee rose to see Star running for her wand and he rushed at her, Janna screaming the princess a warning, “Star, head's up!”

Star was about to turn, when something grabbed onto her thick blond hair, pulling her back with all their might, pain shooting through her scalp causing her to scream. Star managed to turn last minute, landing on her knees, feeling them both instantly bruise and pain shooting up her hurt arm from catching herself, but ignored the pain as she jumped out of the way, as Toffee smashed a foot into the ground, right where Star had been.

Toffee looked over to see the monsters were fast on their way, screaming a loud battle cry, Buff Frog leading the assault, the amphibian trusting Jackie and a few of the other monsters to stay with and protect Marco. The calculating monster quickly realized that now was the time to go, pulling out his pair of dimensional scissors. Star saw this and immediately threw herself at the monster, slamming into him with all her might. The lizard faltered, Star grabbing the scissors out of his loosened grip, before immediately pulling away to avoid getting hit again.

After that, it was Janna's turn to interfere, a look of anger on her face as she punched him with every ounce of her strength she had, holding nothing back on the hated lizard. Toffee's body crumpled under the force of the attack as he was sent crashing into the wall, creating a giant crater in its side.

Toffee rose painfully to his feet, positive that that last attack had broken several bones, growling in unsuppressed fury, watching as the monsters caught up with the two girls, quickly surrounding the two. He considered his options all of them becoming quickly limited, as he knew he now had both the two powerful girls and the monsters to deal with. And with his body in the condition it was, he doubted he could continue fighting, having long since reached his limit. It was time to cut his loses. As much as he wanted to reclaim his finger, it was unlikely that now would be the best time to do so.

“Well, princess,” Toffee said, raising his claws in surrender, drawing everyone's weary eyes onto him. “I know when to give in. It seems you've managed to best me.” Everyone shared looks with one another, none of them really believing him.

“For real?” Star said, suspiciously.

“Of course. I'm not an idiot I know when I've been beaten.”

“Then, I guess, step closer,” Star said, still slightly unsure how to deal with this situation now.

“Slowly,” Janna said.

Toffee began taking slow, cautious steps closer, keeping his hands raised, limping slightly on his hurt foot. Once he was close enough, Bearicorn and Potato Baby restrained him. “So what happens now,” he asked, keeping his focus on Star.

“Now you pay for everything you've done,” Star spat back, giving him a narrowed glare.

“For all the lives you've taken!” Buff Frog growled.

“For all the lies you've told!” Lobster Claws added.

“And for hurting Marco in more ways than I care to count!” Star said, her body shaking with anger.

“Of course,” Toffee said submissively, lowering his head in defeat. But Janna' impeccable vision saw that behind his back he was slowly drawing something from his pocket, a small glowing sphere, one that Janna immediately recognized.

“Look out! He's got a magic bomb!” she cried in warning.

“Perceptive,” the lizard whispered.  

“What?!” Star asked, but there was no time for a response from her creepy friend as the lizard dropped the object to the floor, the thing clicking before it began flashing different colors, indicating it had become active.

Everyone gasped. “Move!” Buff Frog commanded in panic, everyone scrambling to get out of the bomb's destruction range, Bearicorn and Potato Baby releasing their hold on Toffee in the process, the lizard smiling before slithering away as quickly as he could with his limp, the others too distracted to go after him. He reached a far wall, pressing one of the loose stones, a secret passage opening up for him. He took one last look back at the doomed idiots before escaping into the underground catacombs.

Star couldn't help but beat herself up for not seeing the bomb as she ran with the others. Not that there was much point now, in a matter of seconds it would detonate and the whole area would be reduced to a pile of ash, she only hoped they could get clear of it in time. If only she still had her wand, then she could make a shield around everyone to protect them from the blast. Now all she had was...

Star looked down, staring at the pair of dimensional scissors still in her hands, an idea forming in her head. She immediately skidded to a stop, running back over to the bomb, much to the confusion and panic of Janna, who tried to shout the girl a warning. “Star!”

This, of course, caused the monsters to all turn, before gasping in surprise and fear for the girl who had clearly just lost her mind, Buff Frog actually trying to run over to the girl in an attempt to stop her. Star ignored the concerned screams around her as she reached the glowing bomb, which was switching between colors obsessively meaning it was probably close to going off. She picked it up, quickly cut open a portal, before tossing the bomb through. She didn't wait to listen for the explosion from the other side of the vortex, as she was already closing it back.

The whole room seemed to breath a sigh of relief knowing that the danger had passed, as the panic-induced moment ended. But Star didn't take a second to rest, as she looked over to the passage Toffee had escaped through, before saying to Buff Frog, “Come on. Toffee's getting away. If we go after him now then we might be able to stop him before he makes it out of the castle.”

With that she started after the monster, but Buff Frog put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in place. She turned back to give him a raised eyebrow, but was surprised to see the seriousness on his face, the creepy look in his eyes sending chills down her spine. “No, princess,” he said in a eerily calm voice. “We give chase. You and friends watch over Marco, he needs you more now.” Buff Frog looked over to where his son lay, Jackie and now Janna still staying close by his side.

Star followed his gaze and felt her stomach clench at the sight of her friend hurt, but she said, “Jackie and Janna can watch him. I want to come,” she insisted. “I want to make Toffee pay for hurting him like that.”

Buff Frog shook his head firmly. “No. People do not need to see another Mewman killing monster in violence, whatever reason may be. You should stay here.”

Star looked down, nodding, knowing Buff Frog was right. The amphibian, seeing the girl's sadness, patted her on the head as he added, “Believe me is for the best.” His tone became extremely harsh as he said, “You do not need to see what is about to happen.”

Star's eyes widened in surprise, looking up to question the amphibian, but he had already switched his attention to the other monsters, saying. “All monsters follow me! We going to take down Toffee!” They all yelled in agreement, rallying behind their fellow monster as they all ran quickly and efficiently into the tunnels, Star just watching them go in silent concern.

…

The going was slow and quiet as Toffee limped down the dark, damp tunnels under his castle, having to use the dust-covered walls as support as he continued on the memorized path. His body was aching with pain and his mind was seething with rage, all of which was directed toward Marco, that loathsome princess, and his treacherous lackeys. How could they reduce him to this? How hideous the idea of the most feared monster in all of Mewni to be forced to run from his own castle, a broken mess of his former self.

But this wasn't the end, oh no it was far from it. He would get his revenge. Once he regained some of his strength, he would gather a new army of monsters, a far more loyal and powerful group, and then he would return to destroy every single one of his old lackeys, if any of them managed to survive the parting gift he had left them with. And once Buff Frog and his pitiful little rebellion was crushed and he had reclaimed his finger from them he would set his sights on the Butterfly Kingdom.

Toffee smiled wickedly. Next time, things would be different. Next time he would hold nothing back on the villainous Mewmans. They would all going to regret the day they had ever set foot on his land. And not just them... no, he would punish anyone who dared to defy his vision. No one would be safe from his fury, no one would be spared from his wrath. He was going to burn Mewni to the ground.

The lizard froze, sensing a presence in the dark tunnels around him. He looked around and sure enough, he saw Buff Frog stalking closer, his eyes holding a sinister purpose behind them. Toffee showed no fear, glaring back at his long-time rival defiantly. For a moment, the two just stared at each other intensely, the air growing thick with blood lust, Toffee recognizing the killer intent behind the frog monster's eyes. “So, you actually managed to survive my final trick,” Toffee observed needlessly. “And now what? You've come to finish me off, to kick me while I'm down.” Buff Frog said nothing, his silence more telling than any response he could have given. Toffee scoffed. “Are you really going to kill me in this state, when I'm too weak to fight back. Not very heroic of you, Buff Frog. And here it thought you wanted to be a good role model for Marco.”

“Never speak his name again,” Buff Frog hissed in resentment, his yell echoing around the catacombs, making it sound more menacing. “I not pretend to be hero. I am what you made me into, what you made all of us into...” Toffee held back his fear as the rest of the monster's began appearing around them, surrounding Toffee with equally grim faces.

“Why do you look so surprised, Toffee?” Buff Frog asked with wrathful indignation, opening his arms wide. “This is what you wanted us to do, right? To kill without second thought.”

Toffee just glared daggers, becoming more and more agitated as he looked around for some sort of escape route that didn't exist. “I suppose you just never thought we would be capable of turning on you,” Buff Frog continued, his eyes narrowing with every syllable. “How stupid of you.”

“You are all making a huge mistake, siding with the Mewmans,” Toffee said savagely. “They will eventually turn on you all, just like they always do. And when that day comes, you will see that I was right all along.”

“Perhaps, but you will not live to see that day,” Buff Frog stated, brutally. The frog began stepping closer to the lizard, the others monsters doing the same and Toffee became frantic, his calm outer shell shattering, as he began shouting in a maddened state, “You fools can't defeat me. This isn't how this is supposed to happen. Only I decide how this all ends.”

Buff Frog stopped, now standing directly in front of the feared lizard. “This is end,” he whispered.

The only sounds that followed were the echoing screams of what was once the most feared monster leader in all of Mewni's history, his blood-curdling shrieks seeming to vibrate through every inch of the ancient castle, finally bringing Toffee's fearful and terrifying reign to a close.

[spn-rewrites]

01x07 (part 1)

Season One Episode Seven: Hook Man

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary: after searching for days for John Winchester, the group has no luck. upon stumbling across an article about a mysterious, death they go check it out. luckily for Dean, they’re surrounded by hot sorority girls. 

part 2 part 3

A/N: hey guys! i’m trying out a new format of breaking the episodes into parts because they’re so long so hope you like it! my main blog is still cracked-kingshawn but i made a side blog specifically for my SPN rewrites so that you guys can follow this and my shawn stuff isn’t clogging your dash! i tagged everyone that’s been being tagged in the previous parts, so if you’re confused that could be why!! haha feel free to message me if you have any questions or want to be tagged in future part

“Your half-calf vanilla latte is getting cold over here, Francis,” Dean said as Sam headed back to the cafe table that the three of you were sat at. Dean was hunched over the laptop while you were tapping your nails against the plastic table impatiently. There has yet to be a case pop up, so in the meantime, it’s been quiet conversations and fast food diners across the country. There has yet to be a conversation about anything the shapeshifter had said.

“Shut up,” Sam mumbled as he sat down on the chair.

“So, anything?” Dean asked, his eyes still not moving from the laptop screen in front of him.

“I had them check the FBI missing person database and no “John Does” fitting that description,” Sam groaned. He sounded frustrated and he had every right to be. The three of you had been searching for John for months now and there hasn’t been a single clue to where he could be. “I even ran his plates for traffic violations.”

“I’m telling you, I don’t think dad wants to be found,” Dean said the last thing Sam wanted to hear. “Check this out,” he said, shoving he computer over to Sam to show him an article that you barely caught a glance at before the screen turned away from you. Dean motioned his head for you to sit closer to Sam. You hesitated, but did anyway to read the article. “News item out of Plains Courier, Ankeny, Iowa. Only about 100 miles from here,” Dean said.

“Mutilated body was found near the victim’s car parked on 9-mile road.” Sam stopped reading but Dean egged him to keep going. “Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted saying the attacker was invisible.” Sam stopped now, looking up at Dean. Your eyes kept scanning the article but there was nothing else of value.

“It could be interesting,” Dean suggested. Since it was so close, it would make sense to just pop in and see what was going on. It wasn’t like you had anything better going on, anyway.

“It could be nothing,” Sam pushed back. “One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything. Doesn’t mean it’s the invisible man,” Sam shook his head and pushed the laptop back in front of Dean. You sat back in your chair and listened as the two went back and forth about it.

“What if it is? Dad would check it out,” Dean replied. The only answer that would make Sam do almost anything as if it meant finding John Winchester. Dean paid the bill for the two coffees that were ordered and one water before packing up all of your belongings and getting back into the Impala for the next 100 miles.

Ankeny, Iowa was a small town with seemingly nothing going on besides this invisible murder. Dean didn’t give any clues as to where you three were headed in this town but the smoke would have been coming out of Sam’s ears if this were a cartoon when he saw the frat house that you pulled up to. “Oh my god, why are we here?” Sam whispered to Dean as you stepped around garbage littered in the street.

There were a few boys working on a beaten up car and dirty furniture in the grass. “The victim lived here,” Dean explained. “Nice wheels,” Dean complimented as a boy rolled out from under the car. None of the boys answered him, so Dean continued on. “We’re your fraternity brothers from Ohio,” he said and glanced back at you. “And this is my girlfriend, Y/N.” The frat boys looked Sam and Dean up and down, trying to determine if they were telling the truth or not before looking at you. Their eyes lingered a little longer on your chest than you were comfortable with.

“We’re new in town, transfers. We’re looking for a place to stay,” Sam continued after the boys still remained silent. After a beat, they were more than welcoming and invited you three into the frat house. You always wondered what it looked like inside one of these. If it was as messy as some of the movies show or as preppy and stuck up like the others. This one was right in the middle.

Dean knocked on one of the doors labeled Purple Man and a man, who was painting himself purple, turned around and looked at the three of you. “Who are you?” He asked, stopping midpoint.

“We’re your new roommates,” Dean announced, throwing his hands up. The Purple Man seemed to be fairly accepting of this and shrugged his shoulders as he handed Dean the paint brush.

“Do me a favor? Get my back?” He asked as he turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. “Big game today,” he explained. You pursed out your lips as you looked around the room. It wasn’t clean but it also wasn’t horribly dirty. It was definitely not a place you wanted to sleep, though. At least motel rooms get cleaned.

“He’s the artist,” Dean pointed to Sam, handing him the paintbrush. “The things he can do with a brush,” he said. The Purple Man seemed content and was waiting for Sam to paint. Sam took a deep breath, sending his brother a glare and began to paint.

“So, who’s the girl?” The Purple Man asked, eyeing you up in the mirror. Sam cleared his throat and stepped in front of you, blocking his view from you in the reflection.

“Y/N, my girl,” Dean replied quickly, keeping the story consistent. The Purple Man held up his hands in defense. Like an apology for eyeing up his ‘girl’. Dean sat down on the chair in front of the window and keeping consistent, you sat down next to him. He picked up a magazine that had the guy’s name written on the top. Murphey. “So, Murph, is it true?” Dean asked.

“Is what true?” Murphey asked, glancing at Dean but his main focus was making sure that Sam wasn’t messing up his important game day body paint.

“We heard one of the guys here got killed last week,” he said nonchalantly. Almost as if it were no big deal that a young adult boy got murdered.

Murphey’s face fell and his expression made it clear that it was, in fact, a big deal. “Yeah.”

“What happened?” Sam asked, looking at Murphey in the mirror as he painted.

“They’re saying some psycho with a knife, maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy,” Murphey said, his pain evident in his voice.

“Rich was with somebody?” Sam asked, digging for more details.

“Not just somebody - Lori Sorenson,” Murphey said it and looked at Sam as if we were supposed to automatically know who Lori Sorenson was. Sam shook his head as Dean flipped through the magazine he was holding.

“Who’s Lori Sorenson?” Dean asked as he looked up from his reading. “Oh, you missed a spot. On his back,” he said as he pointed to a bare spot on Murphey’s back. Sam sent Dean another glare and you smacked his bicep gently.

“Lori’s a freshman. She’s a local and super hot. Get this - she’s a reverend’s daughter,” Murphey explained like he was in awe of this girl. Dean nodded and closed the magazine, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“You wouldn’t happen to know which church, would you?” Dean asked, hopeful to find this girl and ask her exactly what she saw and why she thinks he was invisible.

Murphey thankfully pointed you in the right direction and upon entering the church, there was a sermon going on. The pews were filled and you entered as quietly as possible, Dean following you. “Our hearts go out to the family of the young man who perished, and my personal prayers and thanks go out, as well, because I believe he died trying to protect my daughter. And now as time heals all our wounds, we should reflect on what this tragedy means to us as a church….” The reverend stopped as Sam slammed the door shut behind him. You sent him daggers and he shrugged his shoulders as if it were an accident. “As a community, and as a family. The loss of a young person is particularly tragic,” the reverend went on as the three of you sat down. A young woman in green, her hair tied up, had her head cranked to watch you the entire time. “A life unlived in the saddest of passings. So please, let us pray for peace, for guidance and for the power to protect our children.”

You and Sam both tilted your head down in prayer, to respect the church you were being welcomed into. You noticed Dean wasn’t praying so you elbowed him in the side. He nodded and tilted his head down as the reference read aloud a prayer.

When the sermon got released, the three of you lost the girl in green in the crowd. You decided to just wander around until you found her and when you spotted her, Sam took the opportunity to talk to her. “Are you Lori?” He asked.

“Yeah,” she said as she turned around to face the three of you.

“My name is Sam, this is my brother Dean and this is our friend, Y/N. We just transferred to the university,” Sam explained. Lori smiled at him and nodded.

“I saw you inside,” she said, keeping polite conversation although you were sure that you three looked very weird.

“We don’t want to bother you but we heard about what happened,” Sam said, a small smile played on his lap. The charming card, once again.

“We just wanted to say how sorry we were,” you added. She looked at you and then back at Sam and nodded as if she couldn’t find the words, or didn’t want to.

“I kind of know what you’re going through,” Sam admitted. “I-I saw someone…..get hurt once. Its something you don’t forget,” he stuttered on his words, choosing them carefully. Dean looked up at his younger brother but you avoided eye contact, once again the mention of Jess making your skin crawl. Before she could respond, the Reverend himself came up.

“Dad, this is Sam, Dean and Y/N.” Lori put her hand out to grab her father’s arm as she introduced us. “They’re new students,” she explained.

“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” Dean said as he stuck his hand out to shake the Reverends. “I must say, that was an inspiring sermon.”

“Thank you very much, it’s very nice to meet young people who are open to the Lord’s message,” the Reverend said.

“Listen, we’re new in town, actually,” Dean started as he put his hand on the Reverend’s back and walked him away from the situation so you and Sam could dig deeper into Lori’s side of the story. As soon as Dean left, you felt oddly uncomfortable. Ever since the shapeshifter, and lack of discussing what was said, you’ve felt weird around Sam. Like he knows you have feelings but they’re not reciprocated so he’s just ignoring them.

“Tell me, Lori, what are the police saying?” Sam asked, jumping right into the heart of it.

“Well, they don’t have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that,” she said as the three of you began to walk around.

“What do you mean?” You asked, inserting yourself into the conversation. Lori glanced over at you.

“My story, I guess I was so scared I guess I was seeing things,” she said and stopped walking. She looked up at Sam, worry in her eyes. It looked like she was reliving the moment over and over as she talked.

“The doesn’t mean it wasn’t real,” Sam whispered, shaking his head. After all these years of hunting things, that was the one thing you knew for certain. Lori hesitated for a moment and then smiled at him. You watched as Sam smiled back at her and it felt almost like you were invisible.

“So you believe her?” Dean asked as you walked down the aisle of the library hoping to find any books or records to help you out with this case. You excused yourself from Sam and Lori’s conversation without saying a word to go find Dean, who was now sitting alone by the Impala. It was only a few short moments before Sam joined you and you were off.

“I do,” Sam said.

“I think she’s hot, too,” Dean joked, raising his eyebrows and smirking at his brother. You hit Dean’s arm from next to him and he coughed, clearing his throat from the comment.

“No, man. There’s something in her eyes,” Sam explained, ignoring his brother’s comments. “And, listen to this. She heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car,” Sam told you the details of the night that you were too uncomfortable to stick around and hear for yourself. Dean stopped and held his hand out to stop Sam, too.

“Bloody body suspended? That sounds like -”

“Yeah, I know. The Hookman legend,” Sam cut Dean off and nodded his head as

if this was obvious.

“What’s the Hookman legend?” You asked, once again feeling left out but Dean looked over to you and smiled.

“It’s one of the most famous urban legends, you’ve never heard of it?” He asked and you shook your head in response. “You don’t think we’re dealing with the Hookman?” He directed his question towards Sam and he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Every urban legend has a source, a place where it all began,” Sam said, seemingly confident in his early diagnosis of the case.

“What about the scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?” Dean asked, listing off things that you were assuming were inconsistent with the legend of the Hookman.

“Well, maybe the Hookman isn’t a man at all. What if it’s some kind of spirit?” Sam asked, making Dean furrow his eyebrows and scrunch up his face in thought.  He tilted his head and that’s when you knew he had an idea.

What you didn’t know, however, was that this idea was going to cost you the next few hours of your life. The librarian slammed down two cardboard boxes covered in ancient dust. She groaned as she lifted them onto the table and wiped off her skirt. “Here you go, arrest records going back to 1851,” she said.

The boys nodded and thanked her for your help and you wiped off the dust that was caked on the lids of the boxes. As she walked away, you noticed Dean staring at her butt. You coughed, gaining his attention back and he cleared his throat, opening one of the boxes. “This is how you spend four good years of your life, huh?” Dean asked, referring to Sam’s college life.

“Welcome to higher education,” Sam joked as he tackled into his own box of records. After hours of digging and finding nothing, you had nearly fallen asleep in the chair next to Dean while Sam paced around the library and trying out every single reading position there was to stay awake. “Hey, check this out,” he said, getting your attention. “1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. He was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes.” You got up out of your chair and walked around the shelf that Sam was standing over. “Some of the deceased were found in their beds, sheets soaked with blood. Another suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.”

Dean picked up a piece of paper from the record that Sam was looking at. “Get this - the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident, had it replaced with a silver hook.” You were reading over Sam’s shoulder at the rest of the report and spotted the location of the murders.

“Look where all of this happened,” you said, pointing to the words printed on paper.

“9-mile road,” Dean read. You nodded and Sam scoffed, shaking his head as if this was all just a wild coincidence.

“Same place where the frat boy was killed.” Dean smiled and nodded, content with the information and most likely relieved that the search for information was finally over.

“Nice job, Dr. Venkman,” Dean said, smirking at his brother. “Let’s check it out.” Sam smiled and closed up the files as you began to clean up the ones you and Dean had sprawled across the table. You had to remind both the boys multiple times to make sure they were going in order for any future users, but they swatted you away and threw them in a mess anyway.

Tagged:  @matchamendes @stuckupstucky @sillydecoy @jessewa26 @kaelyn-lobrutto24 @liztorr1212 @icanreadbookstoo

[paulisweeabootrash]

First Impression: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Get in your robots, audience, it's time for Paul is Weeaboo Trash!  And today, I'm finally watching a show it seems like everyone just... assumes I must've seen:

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

Episodes watched: 8

Platform: Netflix

The idea of something being a "classic" may be in decline in the anime fandom, or at least be getting very specialized, since "anime" no longer implies a narrow interest in specific sci-fi and fantasy subgenres like it used to, but certain shows still manage to pervade the pop culture indirectly.  Neon Genesis Evangelion is one such show, enduring in the modern fandom and general internet culture because of its status as one of those old sci-fi anime classics.  It has contributed memes — not just as in image macros or running jokes, but as in units of culture in the form of iconic quotes or character designs or elements of the plot — to the point that you have certainly been in some way exposed to them without any knowledge of the source material.  But despite its reputation as a must-see cultural touchstone, it has been out of print in America for years.  Used copies of the DVDs sell for absurd prices, and I don't think I knew anyone who owned it when I was a young weeb in the mid-2000s.  I'm fairly sure my family did not have cable during the one specific season it was on Adult Swim, and there's no chance I would have been up at 12:30AM on Thursdays to watch it anyway.  I am not much of a fan of media piracy and wasn't even aware of that option when it was apparently everyone else's favorite pastime to ruin their computers with sketchy torrents.  So there was never a reasonable way for me to watch it, only for me to be dimly aware that this was An Important Show I Need To See.  Until now.  Because it's on Netflix.  As if I hadn't already been awaiting it, I was aggressively reminded of it, because social media and geeky news outlets were soon blowing up with retrospectives and Very Serious Analyses — and fans of the old ADV translation were offering hot takes on how Netflix's release compares.  So let me finally check this out for myself.

We start out in the distant future of... 2015, where UN forces are defending Tokyo-3 ("Old Tokyo" is mentioned and depicted later; no mention yet of Tokyo-2 unless I somehow already forgot it) against an attacking "angel", an immensely powerful alien with barely-comprehensible powers.  Meanwhile, an officer of a UN agency called NERV, Misato Katsuragi, brings our main character, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, to an underground NERV base under Tokyo-3 on the instructions of Shinji's father Gendo, who runs a secret research project.  Shinji has been brought there to pilot an Evangelion, or Eva for short, a giant robot operated by some sort of neural interface.  In combat.  With no training.  He is, understandably, not happy about this.  After seeing how badly injured the other available pilot, Rei Ayanami, is, however, he agrees to do it — and it works far better than he or anyone else expected.  He apparently has an innately great ability to "sync" with however exactly the Eva's interface works.  But this only gets him as far as starting the thing up.  When he actually engages the angel, he has trouble just getting the Eva to walk, and he feels the pain of the Eva taking damage once attacked, a frankly horrifying feature of the interface.  We cut to him waking up in a hospital, but having surprisingly won because his Eva "went berserk", operating on its own.  A flashback later shows what happened when he lost control of the Eva: it fought the angel by itself, but also took heavy damage, and we see its visor? faceplate? sōmen? of the Eva's armor come off to reveal a fleshy-looking face and a very biological-looking eye.  At this point Shinji blacked out, which is really the only reasonable response to this situation.

Over the next several weeks (the time scale is vague, but since Rei apparently fully recovers from the injuries she had when we first saw her before the time she and Shinji are both deployed, it must be at least 3 weeks between eps. 1 and 5), more angels appear, to the surprise of civilians and UN forces alike.  The Evas continue to be excellent weapons against them (though Shinji himself is still, uh, not great at using them), but despite having now killed several angels, the Evas are considered a ridiculous boondoggle by personnel of other UN branches, and Gendo's sinister superiors seem to be losing patience with his project.  In the words of... uh... that UN navy guy in ep. 8, "Shit!  A bunch of kids are supposed to save the world?"  The alternatives are wildly ineffective conventional weapons and a remote-controlled nuclear-powered giant robot that almost had a literal Chernobyl-style meltdown, which was averted by Misato and Shinji.  Although repairs are expensive, injuries common, and pilots in short supply, Evas indeed seem to be the only effective weapon against the invading cosmic horror, the barely-comprehensible aliens that are impervious to ordinary human technology and also don't fit our concepts of life or... uh... possibly physics.  So, instead, in the words of Misato later in the same episode, "This plan may be insane, but I don't think it's impossible."

While this is going on, Shinji has been adjusting to this new life poorly and slowly.  Despite being a pilot, he is still after all a 14-year-old, so he is enrolled into the same class as Rei at a local school whose student body has dwindled as more people evacuate over the initial angel attack.  He also needs somewhere to live, so Misato arranges for him to move into her apartment.  Some of Shinji's classmates think he's incredibly lucky to live with her, and spend a good deal of their screen time drooling over her, but Shinji is highly uncomfortable around her not just because Captain Katsuragi is his commanding officer, but also because she has a tendency to not wear much clothing around the house and is, er, a bit of a drunk and a slob.  Oh, and she has an inexplicable, clawed, beer-drinking penguin.  You know, all stuff that would make a nervous, lonely, scared 14-year-old completely at home.

Neither NERV training nor school guarantee a community, though, and Shinji, isolated and confused, could sure use one right about now.  He seems quite likely traumatized from the first battle.  He keeps ending up in situations that make him wildly uncomfortable while other characters take them in stride.  He repeatedly attempts to quit NERV or at least defy orders before backing out (or... backing back in?) at the last moment.  It would frankly be bizarre that they accept him doing this, except that (1) nobody really seems to take Shinji that seriously anyway, (2) he's the boss's kid, and (3) most importantly, it seems that only a small number of pilots, all the same age as Shinji and Rei, are even capable of using Evas.  (Wife and I are starting to suspect reasons why this might be, especially given the whole cyborgs with neural interfaces thing, but... uh... let's not embarrass ourselves with public speculations about the plot of a ridiculously famous show almost as old as we are.)  He only slowly gains any support or comfort from his new classmates and colleagues.  They don't reach out to him, and he certainly doesn't reach out to them, because who is he supposed to talk to?  His roommate/commanding officer who is twice his age?  His classmates who treat him as a celebrity, not a person, once they find out he's an Eva pilot?  Even if his default state since the very first episode hadn't been basically imploding into despair with no idea how to communicate that anything's wrong, there's nobody that really makes sense for him to try to communicate it to.  Except one person: Rei.  He notices that she's also isolated at school, and especially after seeing her dark, miserable, unmaintained apartment, he attempts to be friendly towards her.  I thought this might be a hint of growth indicating that he understands she is possibly the only person more isolated than him and the only one who might be able to relate to him, but then the next time he threatens to quit NERV after that conversation, he explicitly claims she doesn't know what he's going though, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe he just has bad social skills.

Sigh.

Shinji does start to make friends with Aida and Suzuhara, two of his classmates, though.  And it's interesting because they contrast against him in their reactions to the conflict outside.  Aida roleplays being in the military and finds Shinji's role as an Eva pilot glorious and enviable.  Suzuhara is initially furious at Shinji because his sister was collateral damage — she was injured when Shinji fought the angel — and his mind is changed only after Shinji rescues him (and Aida) from an angel.  Shinji, though, having been thrust into a role he doesn't even understand and about which he is ambivalent and unstable, lacks Aida's optimistic admiration of his role and a full appreciation of either Suzuhara's resentment or gratitude.  He not only rejects their praise, he calls himself a coward during (sigh) one of his attempts to quit NERV.  It occurs to me that this could be seen as indicating different perspectives about the military (ask any American vet who's sick of being "thanked for their service"), or even different perspectives about adulthood itself — I'll bet any millennial who did not achieve their dreams can recognize Aida's "wow this is amazing I can't wait to be a grownup too" roleplaying vs. Shinji's "I am doomed and isolated by the responsibility that has been thrown at me" actual experience in NERV.

Also thanks to the school scenes, we start to learn some backstory, including the famous "Second Impact".  A catastrophic asteroid impact in 2000 melted Antarctica's glaciers, which led to unprecedentedly rapid sea level rise, leading to mass extinction, including that of half of humanity through not only direct climate change impacts like displaced populations and crop failures but also conflict stemming from it.  Or so the official story goes.  It is later revealed that the Second Impact actually involved somehow the previous arrival of angels on Earth, although this has yet to be explained in detail.  (Actually, I accidentally saw spoilers about more detail about this while revising this review, because I went to sanity-check myself about some other detail on one of the fan wikis, so I know part of where this is going, but only part.)

Over the first eight episodes, which must be several weeks at least after the start of the show given that Rei has recovered from her initial injuries (although the time scale is very vague), Shinji fights four angels total and gradually improves, but the biggest improvement comes not from him being an individual hero but from finally working well with others.  For example, the octahedral angel that drills into NERV's base has incredible abilities to detect and counter incoming attacks.  It kicks Shinji's ass on the first attempt, because duh.  But Misato devises a plan to test its abilities and concentrate the power of... uh... Japan's entire electrical grid(?!) at it from a safe distance, and the plan succeeds only because of Rei giving Shinji cover.  An angel attacks a UN ship convoy transporting the third pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu, and her Eva, and she and Shinji fight the angel together in a ludicrous fight that involves both cramming in to pilot the same Eva together (which, interestingly, requires them to give it the same, or maybe just compatible, instructions together in the same language for it to work... yay neural interfaces).  So maybe/hopefully the direction this is going is "the chosen one is a stupid idea and even talented people need both training and cooperation to not suck at things"?

Episode 8 leaves off with Asuka joining Shinji and Rei's school class, and with the dramatic and creepy reveal of an embryo encased in bakelite which is described by Gendo as "Adam, the first human"...  Well.  That comes off as the kind of thing that would drive the future plot, and hopefully all the Biblical imagery will finally start to converge into something coherent instead of just sort of serving to draw extra attention to the fact that the humans refer to the aliens as "angels".  I've been wondering about that since the beginning.  There's the title, of course, but also the sefirot in the opening and on Gendo's office ceiling, the first angel's attacks using what appears to be a directed energy weapon which invariably forms glowing crosses, and the fact that most of the angels themselves are wildly non-humanoid (a choice which echoes the rather... eldritch... classical depictions of angels — see also the seraph in the opening).  NERV's motto is even explicitly, well, monotheistic at least, if not sectarian: "God's in his heaven.  All's right with the world!", which is counterintuitive at best with the idea of calling the alien invaders "angels".

Well.  I'll find out, and I plan to write a followup like I did with Re:ZERO, going into the broad swaths of the rest of the plot and my overall impressions of how they handled things.  Especially given that this show has a famously-controversial ending.  I jumped into this determined to watch the whole series, so I'm not backing out.

I'll just threaten to quit repeatedly then almost immediately come back.

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W/A/S: 4 / 3 / I feel kinda bad about this but 4?

Weeb: I mean, anything with giant robots fighting giant monsters deserves a few points just for that, right?  I don't think this requires much by way of Japanese cultural references or assumptions to watch, though.

Ass: Nudity so far has been brief, partial, censored by convenient angles and object placement, and not remotely sexy.  Thanks to another contextless spoiler I happen to have picked up, I expect an infamous later scene that is clearly supposed to be sad and disturbing in context, which is, again, not the kind of thing this scale was originally designed to describe.

Shit (writing): Even though I tend to overall like their plots, I always sort of sigh and eyeroll at the "let's put children/teens in combat and/or experiment on and/or just plain torture them to force them to become powerful" storyline formula that’s been semi-popular for the last few decades, and Evangelion is definitely in that category.  Friends have said the story is confusing or poorly-paced, and I kind of agree but also think some of the confusion is warranted by the choice to enter the story in media res in order to reveal what's going on to the audience at about the same time it's revealed to Shinji.  As for the tendency to have some long shots where literally nothing happens, that does get annoying, and I suspect its primary motivation was to save money, but I think it also usually emphasizes how lonely the whole situation is, at least before Shinji starts to warm up to Misato and Rei to Shinji in the last couple of episodes I've watched so far (which have, appropriately, had much more action and interaction).  Mainly, my writing complaints are actually about translation, because there are some noticeable and consequential differences between translations for the sub and dub.  Yeah, yeah, I've heard of the love vs. like thing everyone on the internet is already upset about, but I haven't gotten to that episode yet.  I'm talking about things like Misato saying "it will work!" in the sub vs. just "okay!" in the dub when Shinji is first able to control his Eva, a choice which suggests very different things about both her level of knowledge of the project and why Shinji has been called on for it at all.  The new dub also feels... uh... too at home as a dub of a '90s anime, as it prioritizes matching lip flaps over flowing like believable speech.  Having not seen the old dub, of course, I can't make any kind of judgement about whether this is a step up, down, or sideways from how ADV did it.  And the sub has many on-screen captions in Japanese are left untranslated — not things like signs in the background, but actual captions the audience is meant to get information from.

Shit (other): Maybe we're spoiled in this age of computer-aided art, but i's surprising to see a show with such limited animation — speech conveyed only with lip flaps, obviously reused shots within the same episode, foreground objects gracelessly sliding against a background to indicate movement — and so I'm willing to give the show a pass on most of that, especially since the characters are distinctive and the setting and aliens and robots so interesting.  Much of the limited animation actually serves to show the vast scale of NERV's facilities and the Evas vs. the humans and/or to emphasize loneliness like the pacing.  But there really are some painful mistakes from time to time in the art: objects and faces that look utterly wrong, like the artists just did not successfully figure out how to draw that particular character or vehicle from that particular angle.  The legendary opening theme is certainly catchy — it’s been stuck in my head almost continuously for the past week — but I just don’t think I enjoy it as much as other people do.  Some of the immediate complaints that were apparently worthy of news media attention were about the replacement of Fly Me to the Moon with a piece from the show's soundtrack as the ending theme.  I understand why people would be upset by that kind of change, but I am willing to take the controversial stand that it's not a bad change.  The piece they chose as a replacement is haunting and tense, which fits in with the mood of most of the episodes so far, while Fly Me to the Moon feels to me like an inappropriate mood change from that.

Content: Actually among the least graphic of the various shows I've covered involving violent or horrifying elements.

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Stray observations:

- God it was weird to write this by constantly abbreviating “Evangelion” as “Eva”, considering that Wife's name is Eva.

- A lot of people seem to hate Shinji as a character, but I find him understandable in a way that probably implies uncomfortable things about my own sanity.  I just... I understand that sheer degree of doom and misery and indecision and inability to articulate any of those.  Man.  Ugh.

- I don't know if you've ever seen an undisguised angel, but trust me: they're horrifying.  (link NSFW)

[deltaengineering]

Never mind the bollocks, here’s the top anime of 2018

Before it's time to stare into the abyss of a new season once more, it's maybe time to be a little more... positive. I'm not getting around to writing reviews much anymore, anyway.

5. BEATLESS

Beatless is, by most definitions, not a good show. It's full of terrible light novel tropes, has atrocious pacing most of the time, is riddled with dead-end subplots, and it doesn't look very good. However, it also happens to be one of the most thoughtful speculative fiction anime in a long time; since GitS:SAC, I'd say. I really can't excuse its LN nonsense completely, but this isn't simply an anime with robot waifus, or an anime that winks at you over how silly robot waifus are (and does them anyway), this is legitimately an anime that explores why robot waifus are a thing - amongst other things. And while you can find more concise or better looking shows pretty easily, an anime with the strengths of Beatless is a rare find.

4. Hakumei and Mikochi

There's been a lot of vaguely slice of life/cgdct/iyashikei shows this year as usual, and some of them were even quite good: Yuru Camp, Rokuhoudou and Harukana Receive come to mind. But the one that sticks with me the most is this show about a bunch of tiny Brooklyn hipster lesbians that try to get their artisanal soap/carpentry business off the ground while also consuming prodigious amounts of organic Limoncello. Less vapid than Kyampu, better looking than Rokuhoudou, gayer than Harukana Catcher, and it has one of the best OPs plus the best ED of the year on top of it.

3. Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan

They just announced like another half dozen or so Fate anime (and even released a prologue for Case Files, which is boring to a quite frankly embarrassing degree), so it's safe to assume that we're not done with this franchise any time soon. What's really surprising though is that out of all this shit, the one that turns out to be great is the irreverent short where Shirou feeds his harem. First of all, this is a top-tier production; cooking shorts are not usually known to be a Sakugabooru staple, but this one has lunacy like individually hand-animated grains of rice and the best action scene of the year - and yes, I did watch that one Boruto episode, and presage flower too. Secondly, the classic F/sn cast feels as comfortable as an old pair of shoes compared to the horrors that is basically anything else that came after. And releasing 12 minutes every month for a year is the perfect pace. It’s full of fateservice, of course, but it’s all done in subtle ways that won’t get in the way for those that don’t recognize it; it also doesn’t drown in exposition. Those two things alone make it the best Fate anime of all times.

2. Bloom Into You

Speaking of works on top of their respective genres, Bloom Into You is likely the best yuri anime of all time (read: it’s better than Aoi Hana, which it beats on everything but character design). Most obviously, it’s a great production package: It’s visually reminiscent of KyoAni’s latest efforts, if a little less plush. But unlike the sub-Lifetime movie writing that’s pretty much just there to make things happen in the likes of Violet Evergarden, it’s backed by some excellent ideas here. The characters are fleshed out and act fairly mature, so what drama there is is relatable and understated. It’s still taking place in yuritopia, but it’s self-aware enough to acknowledge on the fringes that reality is something else. And the most impressive thing is that the romance isn’t really the core of the show’s narrative, it’s actually about fiction and how people act out roles. Really good stuff, and it would have been a shoe-in for AOTY if it had an ending. Yeeeeah, it’s pretty much Aoi Hana all over again, please read the manga. It even ends on a great episode, just not one that supplies any narrative closure, not even to the subplot currently taking place. This will be fine should they ever make a sequel, but they didn’t announce one right away so that’s a real bummer. Still a great show though.

1. A Place Further Than The Universe

With Bloom Into you just abruptly stopping, the title falls back to the show that seemed sure to win it all year. Plafuni’s a more standard coming of age story, which is less impressive on an intellectual level, but makes more than up for it by having an intensely satisfying ending. The characters are just as strong, it’s really funny at points, has much more variety than usual by being half a road movie and it has great style, direction and production values. Coming-of-age has been done before in anime (like, in 80% of anime), but rarely in a close-to-perfect total package like this one. It’s notable that both of the top shows had Jukki Hanada as series comp, and the one that is his original wins. Well, Hanada also comped the biggest stinker I’ve seen all year (Steins;Gate Nothing), so let’s just say we’re even.

0. Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 2

Yeah this isn’t an anime, but it IS the most entertaining anime-adjacent thing I’ve seen this year so you can either count it as a honorable mention or a surprise upset winner. Thunderbolt Fantasy is, at this point, the single best thing Urobuchi has ever written and the puppet stylings soften a lot of his mannerisms. I really liked season 1 and while season 2 never quite reaches the levels of the predecessor’s magnificent ending, it gets going much faster and for a longer time so it’s overall better. So what is it actually? Well, it’s a droll wuxia puppet show with hot takes on heroism, and it’s carried mostly by said hot takes actually being of interest to anyone over the mental age of 12 (fuck off, MHA), and by being full of gigantic hams. The leads have the sort of effortless chemistry long running shows wish they had after dozens of seasons, and now we add Akira Ishida having an evil sword affair with his thirsty swaifu Aoi Yuuki. Suwabe somehow keeps getting cooler and congratulations Enigmatic Gale, you played yourself. Again. It’s just a great time, 100% of the time, and I wish it never ends. Thankfully, it looks like it won’t, at least for the time being.

[imnotcameraready]

If Villains Baked Cookies — Ch 1

A/N: hey!! since a few people asked about it, and I had some ideas floating around already, I’m making the story from this post into a longer Thing™. I can’t promise regular updates or anything, since writers block is very good at beating me down, and since I’m very much in the middle of semester at uni, but I CAN promise that I’ll be thinking about this story near constantly. chapter 2′s already in the works lol

also gonna tag @rebelrewriter since you asked about if this would b coming out! i hope you like it ^^

read it here on AO3!

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, a curse, cursing, violent threats (no actual violence in this one) — also to note is that this is written as dialogue! it’s all dialogue! all of it!!

Words: 2842

Pairings: some real light platonic moceit? other than that, uh, none. none in this whole story. its just Big FamILY time

Characters: Patton patton and more patton, Deceit, a bit of Virgil, mentions of Logan and Roman

hope you enjoy!

If Patton Hart were considering all of the factors, then he’d be able to trace all of these problems back to gardening. He hadn’t been raised a farmer — his parents had him apprenticed to a healer, which he thoroughly enjoyed, but found much more stressful than he could enjoy. And the grief after having a patient die on his table…. At the ripe old age of 22, he decided to retire from healing and moved out to a smaller village, near the kingdom’s outskirts, and began a farm.

He hadn’t expected it to be so challenging. The village he moved to was a farming village, with his closest neighbors being a few hours’ horseride away, and a royal liason coming to collect the village’s surplus foods every fortnight.

There was a blacksmith, doctor, tavern, city hall, and a small cell block in the village’s center. A few blocks away (closer to Patton’s actual house than the village) was a library, but he hadn’t seen anyone enter or exit it since he’d moved in. In fact, he never saw the lights on, either, and no one ever talked about it.

Farming was hard. The animals listened to him, thankfully, but nothing would ever grow. And he could only live off of animal products for so long (and god knows he would never kill them). Responses from those in the village ranged from sympathetically helpful to sarcastic rudeness, but all pointed toward the soil in his land plot being less than ideal for crop growing. Or something. There were a lot of reasons and Patton had stopped keeping track.

Other people in his little village were farming, though, so he thought that there was something wrong with his methods. Maybe he was using too much water? Maybe he should purchase a different type of fertilizer?

Patton was more of a people person, so his first instinct was to ask his neighbors for help.

Looking back, he wasn’t sure why he thought they would help. His neighbors had been passive-aggressively bullying him for a month, since he arrived. They laughed at him, scorned him for thinking arming may be easy, and refused to help.

Don’t think about them, Patton. They’re not long gone by now. Assholes.

He knew that. But Patton’s a nostalgic guy. And stop swearing! We have children in the house, now.

His second instinct was to go to the library. Sure, he didn’t know if it was open or even functioning, but any sort of help would be welcome, even just one book on farming.

When he went to the library (it was a spur of the moment decision) it was dark.

Patton lifted his lantern a little higher, casting light on the entirety of the high-ceiling-ed room. The library had two floors, as could be seen from the outside, but inside he noted that the second floor had an open balcony down to the first floor. There were a cluster of tables in the center of the room but every wall on both floors was covered in bookshelves, from ceiling to floor. Along with that, there were mismatched shelves between the center and walls, nearly as tall as the walls themselves, all full of books.

There must be something in here that could help, he’d thought, so Patton began looking.

Books were never his strong suit, but he did his best with searching for the right topics. Even just any key words. He scoured the shelves for two days and found….nothing. No books related to farming at all.

On the third day, because Patton was stubborn as an ox, he finally found something on the second floor. Tucked away in the lower-most corner of the farthest shelf against the wall to the left was a book titled “Gardening with Snakes.”

Despite not knowing much about farming, Patton was fairly certain from the beginning that snakes had little to nothing to do with gardening. He knew some snakes lived in gardens —

I don’t happen to do a lot of gardening.

This isn’t about you, yet, shush.

It was late in the day when he found the book, too, so Patton deemed it best to take the book home for reading.

A few pages in and it was clear that this was a book about using magic to garden.

Patton hadn’t considered using magic. As far as he knew, the only people in the kingdom who used magic worked directly with the royal family, and someone had to pass rigorous ritualistic tests to be considered for an apprenticeship.

But here this book was, almost like a “Magic for Fools,” something even he could digest despite not having any experience with the subject. And it looked like most of the magic in the book was actually aimed at gardening. There were spells on improving soil fertility, how to bless water to heal ones’ crops, how to protect farm animals from illnesses….

Patton was absolutely charmed.

Ugh….

It may have been an unconventional means of farming, but he’d lowered his standards for “conventional” fairly far. At this point Patton was ready to try anything.

So, within mere days, this book had him spellbound.

I don’t hate you.

I know you love me.

The first round of crops, using a simple-seeming soil fertility spell, grew wonderfully. The corn stocks were strong and sturdy, and in only one month they had shot up to his height. His spinach actually gave crop in only 2 weeks!

Patton celebrated all night and had a wonderfully fresh salad with a cheese-based sauce.

He didn’t know enough about gardening to know that his corn had grown at half the speed it would regularly, or that his spinach had grown thrice as fast. How would he? The whole point of his plight was that he didn’t know anything about gardening.

And, after the corn began producing after only three months and during the winter, his neighbors began to whisper.

He continued to study the gardening magic book, however, and began planting more crops completely out of season, and yet they grew. The wheat grew tall, the spinach produced plentifully, the green beans thrived….sometimes while covered in snow. There must be some form of witchcraft involved, the neighbors whispered.

And as soon as Patton realized he had a surplus, he began to bring his crops into the market at a nearby town. There was no way he could sell them at the high prices his neighbors would — he was always distraught when he went to the market and found himself a dollar coin or two short of even a loaf of bread. So he slashed his own prices. What need did he have for money, other than the occasional gifts and coins to send to his parents, or for paying for services every so often? People need to eat!

People flocked to his booth, drawn by his low prices and charming personality.

Patton, you’ve never been a people person.

Oh, I have been?

I thought you weren’t doing a story point of view thing.

Fiddlesticks! Don’t make fun of me, Dee, you made me break it!

Anyway.

His neighbors were once again aghast. Within a few weeks, they were up in arms. Not only was Patton drawing customers away from them, he was attracting the attention of the crown.

Now, unknown to Patton at this time, the royal family was well aware of the famine threatening to sweep the country. Access to food was scarce, so much so that most farmers in the nation were gaining less crops every harvest, therefore selling them at higher prices.

In order to secure a surplus of foods for the royal family, the King had ordered for 76% of all crops to be brought to the capital, at a slashed fee. It was like highway robbery!

It wasn’t highway robbery.

I’ve been trying to clarify my metaphors, Dee, it makes Logan feel better. Anyway, the King would send a collector every two weeks, and Patton knew that, but he didn’t realize how much was being taken.

First his neighbors confronted him about his prices. Of course, Patton felt bad for his neighbors, but he also pleaded with them to lower their own prices. People shouldn’t have to save up for a week to buy only one loaf of bread! The food is in plenty, and everyone needs to eat!

Then they warned him. He didn’t know what to think. They’d just been threatening him, threatening to burn down his barn, kill his animals, burn his crops….now they wanted him to be safe?

They said the King would come to his doorstep. Not actually the King but a liason, a squire or some sort of lord or something, to make sure Patton fell in line with the King’s “policy.” And if Patton didn��t, then the King would make sure his farm died with him.

Of course, Patton was more than a little worried either way. He didn’t think being a farmer would make him on the run from the law, but what can you do? He didn’t expect these sorts of problems to just

Crop up.

Ugh. I’m not leaving.

Fine, fine, no more puns! Stay!

One more pun and I’m not going to get Logan to finish the story. I fully care that he doesn’t know what happens.

Alright….

He noted it, dully, and continued with his farming. But, true to what his neighbors said, there was a proceeding of lords who visited his house the very next day.

They told him about the patriotism he’d be donating the food to, how it was for the good of the country. But Patton was good at seeing through lies at this point. But more on that in a bit!

He didn’t know how he knew they were lying, but he knew. So he said no. No, he wouldn’t be giving the King any of the surplus food. All of it should be given to the people, because if the King was getting food from everyone else, then he should be having plenty! And how much was he going to be paying for it? The King had a lot of money. Why should he get such a steep discount compared to the market price?

It didn't make sense to Patton, so he said no. And the lords threatened him with everything his neighbors warned him with. They said the King would retaliate.

So, in a moment that Patton didn’t understand for a while, he responded “I sure hope he does.”

That is the dumbest thing I have ever done. I’ve done a lot of dumb things, but I still think this takes the cake!

Oh, finally giving up on the narration?

You know what, Dee. I think I will. I think everyone should hear me scream about my life from my own voice, with my own name, because DANG NABIT it was hard!

You’re not valid, but it is not fun to listen to you refer to yourself in the third person.

Well….thanks, Dee. Alright. I’ll keep it up then!

That was also not the dumbest thing you’ve done, I disagree.

It was dumb, but you helped. D’you want to explain that or should I?

I think I would tell it better.

Okay, okay, I’ll explain. So, rolling back a bit to the magic book. The magic book Patton found was actually related to a specific deity. Not a negative or positive one, but just a deity of illusions and growth. Because of the growth part, he was one of the many small-time deities who were called upon in help for the harvest.

Since magic had been hoarded amongst the upper-class, very specific deities were picked to be worshipped and, well, taught about to the people. Patton didn’t even know about the deity his book was based around.

At first, he thought it was fake, but the more he used the book’s knowledge in his farming, the more he attracted the deity’s attention. It was the first time a human had called upon his specific teachings in hundreds of years. And then he had to watch this human be threatened by people who were supposedly representing his best interests.

That night, the deity showed himself to Patton. He said he’d been intrigued. Well. Technically he said he hadn’t been intrigued.

This deity, since he was the deity of illusions first and foremost, lied in every sentence. He’d actually been cursed to, by another god! At first it was confusing, but that was just how he spoke, ya know? Nothing he could do about that, and nothing Patton could do!

He said he’d been intrigued by Patton’s use of his magic, because it’d been outlawed years and years ago. Patton, surprised, offered the deity a drink and some dinner.

That wasn’t adorable. A human has always offered me food and beverage.

Look, Deceit! I’d never been faced with a god before! How was I supposed to know what to do?

Fair enough. Please stop.

We had dinner, the deity and….Patton. And they discussed.

Patton wasn’t particularly interested in learning more magic, but the deity promised to teach him all he knew about gardening. But to earn that, the deity also had to teach him other forms of magic. Patton had heard the kingdom’s histories with magic, how the kingdom villainized all mischievous forms of magic in favor of more powerful or controllable forms, but this deity claimed that the kingdom did this by casting away and levying laws against certain other magics and, ergo, certain other gods.

Do you want to explain this part?

Me? Um, well, I think I could definitely do a good job of being understood. And because the story is not yours, I fully believe I could do it justice in telling it. Plus I just want to say it.

Well, alrighty then! Another thing about this deity is that he was lonely. That’s putting it kinda blunt. This deity in particular was mad, mad that he’d been abandoned, mad that he’d been locked away, so he had an ulterior plan. If he could corrupt this one human farmer and make him carry out his bidding, then this god could level the kingdom and kill everyone who put him in ethereal exile!

But he was more lonely than he was letting himself admit, and so was the human. So when the deity showed up every night to teach the human magic, the human would cook up a dinner with whatever foods they had on hand. Soon the tutoring lessons stretched longer, and then the deity just started….gosh, was there even a grace period before you just started living at my house?

I believe there was. I completely remember when I began staying at your house, but after you built me a whole room, well, how could I refuse?

That’s true, I guess! And you cooked a little, too!

Aren’t I just the best house guest?

Good use of sarcasm.

I hate loopholes in the lying curse.

Loopholes are the best! Alright, so then….wait, where was I?

I don’t remember, you weren’t talking about the first King’s messenger.

Oh, right! After Patton took that threat in accidental stride, the messenger….probably went back to the castle and told the King! And I imagine he was furious, because within a week, uh….

Gosh, yeah, that did happen….

Do you want me to tell this part?

Well….

I won’t tell it—

“Hey, Patton?”

Ah—yes, Virgil?

“Um, Logan, uh-he messed up a spell and, um. Roman’s stuck in a wall.”

....He’s….he’s stuck in a wall?

“Yeah, uh, Logan was practicing a portal spell and Roman followed him through it, the portal, but L said he didn’t know, so, uh. It closed. And Roman’s stuck in the wall now, and the extra concrete’s sitting on the ground outside the wall and he’s kinda screaming at Logan. Lo can’t figure out how to get him out, either.”

I….Well, let’s go. Deceit, can you finish telling the story?

“Telling the story? Ah, shit, did I—shoot, I meant shoot. Did I interrupt something?”

Nothing too big! Dee was going to take over for me, anyway! I just figured I should talk about how our big ole’ family came together! Like an oral history?

“.....Yeah.”

And I don’t really want Logan, um, accidentally closing the rest of the portal while Roman’s halfway through it. That would be….wall-ful.

“....”

….

You’re right, that wasn’t my best.

“Pat, I think Roman’s crying by now, and that pun’s about to make me start crying.”

I cannot take over, Patton, you don’t need to deal with that. Tell Logan he’s not an idiot for trying a portal spell this early in his magic career.

He’s not an idiot! He’s still learning!

Yes, indeed, because you also nearly killed yourself while learning.

Hah! You know I did! So that was a truth! Loop those holes, Dee, loop ‘em!

“Patton, can we go?”

You’re right, Virge, you’re right — let’s go.

[cianmars]

I’ll leave the door on the latch. (AO3)

Season 2AU - Snow finds out that she's pregnant while Emma and Henry are in New York. Emma forces herself to try and be happy, until she can't anymore.

(A Charming family fic full of angst but it will have a happy end.)

Snow hadn’t believed it at first, despite all of the overwhelming evidence against her disbelief, since she had first gotten her periods she had been like clockwork, other than when she was pregnant.

She took 9 tests, all of them were positive.

So she went to the hospital, her husband went with her though she hadn’t told him why, just in case she was right. But the doctor confirmed it: she was pregnant.

Both parents were completely and totally over the moon, if a little shocked, and they’d be lying if they said that they had thought of Emma right, but that was understandable, they were in shock and beyond excited about their incoming arrival.

But they decided against telling their daughter or grandson right away for two reasons: 1) They wanted to be able to bond with Emma before everything changed, if that made them selfish then it was a label they were willing to accept, not a long time mind just a couple of weeks. 2) Before she had gotten pregnant with Emma, Snow had suffered two miscarriages, she wasn’t sure if it was down to George’s original curse or just a coincidence, they didn’t want to chance it this time.

So they gave themselves three weeks, just until they had the 12 week scan, when the chances of losing the baby were significantly lowered. Their scan happened to coincide with Emma and Henry going to New York to help Gold find his son, they had wanted to tell their daughter and grandson in person, so that bought them a little more time.

While they were gone they couldn’t resist trying to find any of their old things in Gold’s store. They found a couple of things, some unisex baby clothes they had bought for Emma, they wouldn’t dress their baby in them, not just cause they’d look a bit ridiculous in Storybrooke, but because they were Emma’s. This baby wasn’t a replacement for the life they would have had with their daughter, they would be their second child, they were both very clear on that, so clear they hadn’t needed to actually say it out loud. They found some other of their old things they had missed, and some of Emma’s things they would give her when the moment was right. Their best find was David’s mother’s necklace, they both shed a few tears when they saw that, they knew how much Ruth would have loved Emma and this new baby too.   “East to west.” David’s eyes clouded over with tears. “Another girl.”   Snow looked up at his beaming smile, gender didn’t matter to either of them, they would be happy with two girls, but David had always had a terrible sense of direction. “North to south,” she corrected, “David, we’re having a boy.”

When Emma and Henry got back from New York they weren’t talking, or Henry was barely talking to Emma, who was clearly very upset about the whole thing. Her ex, Henry’s father was back, if they had a choice now would not be when they told them. But Snow was showing and having to wear loose clothing out to avoid showing, the first trimester was over, Emma needed to know.

They waited until the day after the pair got back, Henry had decided to spend time with both Neal and Regina, and made it clear that he didn’t want to spend time with Emma.

“Kid, just wait a moment.” David managed to stop him before he walked out of the door.

“They’re my mom and my dad, I get to see them, I want to see them .”

“I get that you’re upset with your mother,” David hated to admit that he understood, but he also understood his daughter’s side, “but me and Snow need to talk to you two for a moment.” He led him to the kitchen table and Snow came down the stairs with Emma following her and led her to the table too. Emma looked hopeful at Henry, but when he blanked her her face just fell.

“We have something we need to tell you both, we would have told you earlier but we wanted to make sure��” Snow said looking from Henry to Emma. “But now we are, and everything’s fine-”

“-Are you sick?” Emma interrupted her brows furrowed as she looked at Snow. She turned her head to look at David. “Are you?”

Snow reached across the table and took hold of Emma’s hand, she could see how worried both Emma and Henry were, it was touching especially as Emma hadn’t bonded with this version of her and her husband yet. “We’re not sick, honey, we’re both well, very very well in fact.”

David reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the ultrasound, one of many, many, copies, he loved that this world had this technology, he also wished that he could have had scan pictures of his daughter. He placed the photo on the table and pushed across the table to his daughter and grandson. “You’re going to have a little brother,” he beamed at Emma then gave a small chuckle looking at Henry, “and you’re going to have a a little uncle.”

“What!” Henry’s chair scraped back as he stood up, his eyes were wide with excitement. “You’re having a baby?”

David and Snow both stood up with him, no longer trying to hide their smiles. “Yeah, you ready to teach your uncle

“You are not putting any swords near my baby,” Snow told her husband firmly, “I don’t care that they’re wooden.”

“What are you going to call him? You could give him my name as a middle name, I wouldn’t recommend the name George, and don’t name him after the dwarves.” Henry began to chatter.

Emma forced a smile on her face before her parents could look at her, if they were going to look at her, she seemed to have been forgotten in the excitement. But Henry was happy, that was a good thing, right? She stood up slowly. “Woah guys, that’s huge! Congrats!” She wrapped her mom in a big hug, then let David pull her in for a hug too. With her face against his shoulder she allowed her smile to drop before she had to put it back on. “When are you due?” She asked before Snow could cotton on.

After that conversation every single conversation since seemed to turn into talking about the baby. Emma could be adding some candy to the grocery list and Snow would say that she was thinking the baby would be the opposite and be really healthy, she knew , or she and David would be at the station and trying to tell him something and he would be really distracted, only a second later he would be showing her yet another toy or piece of furniture he had bought. To top that off Henry was still barely speaking to her, he hated her for lying to him, instead he was spending time with Regina and Neal. It was almost too much to bare. But she didn’t know that it was only about to get worse, much worse.

Henry was spending the night at the house Neal was renting, or more aptly he had been given by his father, and she couldn’t stand a whole night of just hearing about her parents second chance to get it right (they hadn’t called it that but she knew it was what they meant) so she spent her night in her room. She had realised Henry had left his storybook at the loft so decided to give it a read, perhaps that would make him proud, or she could persuade him to talk to her about it. She had read about her parents and grandparents and all the people she knew and truth be told it was fairly interesting she was even starting to feel more like David and Snow were her parents. She had reached her father introducing her mother to his mother, who got hit, then they had a small wedding. She thought that it was really nice,and she liked the sound of Ruth, but she was confused about George’s curse on Snow- perhaps it was creative licensing? But then Ruth was talking about how much David wanted to be a father, her cheeks blushed and she had never felt closer to him.

“He always wanted a son.”

Emma’s throat went dry. “And now he’s getting one.” She said quietly. She closed the book without reading anymore. She flicked off her lamp, led down on her bed, and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying too loudly. Yet another thing to add to the pile which was threatening to overwhelm her.

Emma was stood next to the loft stairs as the baby shower -come- celebration sort of party went on around her. The downstairs of the loft was swarming with people yet she had never felt so alone. Other than her mom not telling her to eat the food yet because people would be coming soon her parents had been too busy to talk to her that day.

Henry hadn’t even said hi to her when he came in, instead he went to talk to her parents, when she tried to talk to him again he blanked her, deciding instead to talk to everyone else. Regina and Neal were talking on the couch, Emma watched Regina opened up her locket and Neal leant closer to her chest to look at the picture of Henry inside of it. Emma half listened to Regina talking about Henry, the bits she could overhear anyway, but with Henry so mad at her she didn’t feel like she was entitled to that knowledge. She looked at her son as he walked over and squeezed in the small gap between Neal and Regina and felt a pang of pain in her heart. He looked so happy with them. Neal passed him a drink and she heard the automatic words, “Thanks dad”, and she wanted to cry, she was Emma to Henry, she hadn’t raised him, and she had been the one who had given him up.

She took some steps closer to the large crowd that surrounded her parents, she was biting her cheek to stop from crying, and for some reason she just wanted her parents, she wanted to talk about everything with Henry but most of all she wanted a hug. She couldn’t get very close but she could see Snow sat in the brand new rocking chair, David was sat on its arm, his hand resting on her tummy with protective pride. Close to them were a few new or expectant moms, Snow seemed so excited, and so right in her place there that Emma couldn’t bring herself to say anything or even to move closer. She didn’t want to stress her mom out, what if she went into labour? She was due anytime after all. Emma hated herself for dreading the day the baby was born.

“I’ll get Emma to tell me his name then.”

David chuckled at Ruby’s attempt to force them to tell her their son’s name. “She doesn’t know.” A smug smile came across his face.

Ruby’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, just a little, then she frowned a little in confusion. After all during the curse Snow had told Emma everything. “She doesn’t know?”

“Of course not.”

Emma hated how her father sounded so cavalier about that. She had asked a couple of times, she had figured they would tell her sooner or later, but it was later now and David was acting as though they didn’t care about telling her at all. Like she didn’t deserve to know as she wasn’t part of their family.

Emma was stuck where she stood, as though she was watching something on the tv, no one even noticed her there.

Snow was passed little Alexandra and she cuddled her close with a big smile on her face. “I can’t wait until he’s this age, she’s just so interested in everyone and the world.” David was smiling in agreement and watching the 18 month old looking around. “I would love a girl.” Snow said, misspeaking without realising, no one corrected her, then she laughed carelessly. “After this one of course.”

“One of each!” One of the new moms said happily and plenty of people agreed with her.

David leant down and pressed a kiss to the top of his wife’s head. “However many you want, my love.”

Emma moved away as everyone laughed and made jeering comments. She raced up the stairs and not a single person followed her, or even noticed.

Her room was full of baby gifts and some brand new furniture for the baby which were being stored in her room as they needed the space. She sat on her old and slightly rusted bed, her parents’- no Snow and David’s words, were going through her mind. David didn’t want his oldest to be a girl, Snow wanted her next one to be a daughter, and neither of them counted her as their child. She was simply a sacrificial lamb, a saviour who was useless now she had done her job, a test run child for them to work out all their mistakes. In her eyes the biggest mistake they had made was having her in the first place.

The only positive of the party was that she could finally cry loudly without anyone knowing, not that they would care in the first place.

Emma waited until everyone in Storybrooke was fast asleep before she packed up her things, loaded them into her car, and drove out of the town.

She did not leave a note.

No one would have cared to read it anyway.