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cognitivefunk · 4 years

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Yuma’s Possession

Lol, I’m terrible with titles. Anyway, here is the requested yandere Yuma x Yui fic with a scenario involving a transfer student. Since this is a school request, let’s just assume that Yui is 18, Yuma for the sake of stating it is also over 18. I made up a transfer student and had a little fun with it, lol. To be continued?

Fandom: Diabolik Lovers Pairing: Yuma Mukami x Yui Komori Rating: E - Explicit 18+ Warnings: Blood, crying, light choking, spanking, naughty words, slapping, humiliation Word Count: 4,819

Yui’s smile was bright and unguarded as she walked side by side next to the new transfer student of Ryoutei Academy. She had taken it upon herself to show him around since she knew what it was like to change schools, especially so late in the year. Akio was a quiet type, average build but slender and taller than she was. They stopped at the rooftop to have lunch since it was usually deserted at this time of day, just to give him some space from meeting so many new people. The stars illuminated the sky rather brightly that night, giving the roof a peaceful ambiance along with the soft lighting from the lanterns.

“Thanks for being my tour guide today,” he laughed, tucking a lustrous black lock of hair behind his ear. His hair was messy and layered, but fashionable. It did well to frame his face, accentuating his features. What had started out as an awkward exchange of information had melted into a relaxed atmosphere of sociability. The two of them set their bags down onto the rooftop and proceeded to set up their lunches. Unbeknownst to the pair, someone had been watching their encounter for a better half of the day they had spent together. Caramel eyes narrowed from a distance, watching the two of them getting along, with a fire that was growing like a deadly crescendo. Yuma gnashed his teeth together, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands.

Had he not been a vampire, he may have had lasting marks from the action. The crescent moon shapes slowly faded from his skin as he lessened the tension in his fists. The sting of the cut took some of the edge off of his rage temporarily, only for it to come roiling back to the surface. ‘Who does that sow think she is? I should go over there right now and teach her a lesson of whose property she is…’ The itch to move over to the pair was building inside of him, but he kept it at bay. Instead, he continued to watch in silence, simmering when he saw a faint blush cross the other man’s features as their conversation carried on. The transfer student’s hand had brushed against hers as they exchanged food from their lunches and it took all of Yuma’s self-control not to beat the man to a bloody pulp on the spot. ‘No. I’ll nip this in the bud early. This needs a more permanent solution.’ A smile tugged at the vampire’s handsome features, but it was not one of mirth. Rather, it was a sickly smile of an infatuated man on the verge of a violent rampage. He had seen enough, and his plan was already in motion as he retreated from the scene before him so that he wouldn’t ruin the surprise earlier than he intended.

“I made it myself this morning!” she beamed, as the other male tried her home cooking. He had brought leftovers from the night before that his sister had made, but it was nice to try something different than he would usually eat. The clafoutis was fluffy and decorated with dark cherries, and even though it wasn’t reheated it still had its sweet and airy taste. Yui had made sure to pack an extra serving for Yuma, topped with powdered sugar, that morning because she knew that he liked sweets and thought that it would make him happy.

“Thank you, I wouldn’t usually eat something sweet so early in the day. It’s really good! Your family must be very proud of you,” he shared her cheery demeanor as he showered her in compliments. His amethyst eyes were focused on the young woman’s face as she ducked her head forward, her platinum tresses cascading forward, hiding her face slightly. Perhaps he had misspoken.

“I live with some of the other students here right now,” she paused, clearly thinking about how to word her situation, “as part of an exchange program of sorts.” He listened intently, a glimmer of interest flashing over his features before he replaced it with another cheery smile. “Even more reason to be proud then, you must be very important.” The words stung a little bit, given the reality of her situation, but she was still thankful for his praise. There was something about it that gave her a sense of normalcy. She lifted her head again, tucking her hair back. When her hand brushed against her collar it briefly flashed a puncture wound that did not go unnoticed. “Yui? Are you ok?” Akio started to ask but the sound of the bell caught her attention and she started to gather her belongings, laughing halfheartedly. “I guess we stayed out here longer than I thought, we’d better get to class before we’re late!”

After the clock struck 2 a.m. it was time to go home for the day. It was difficult acclimating to being awake primarily during the nighttime hours, but for the most part Yui was accustomed to it. However, it still didn’t stop her body’s internal clock from crying out. When she arrived home, she trotted off to find Yuma to see if he liked the dessert that she had packed for him earlier. Perhaps she could also see if she should make something else for him before she got ready for bed. She found it strange that she hadn’t seen him at all during the day, even stranger that he hadn’t been there to accompany her home. A small amount of worry settled in her stomach, and she wasn’t sure if something had happened to him or if he was avoiding her. “Yuma?” she knocked against his door.

There was no answer. She tried again, louder this time, but to no avail. Kou rounded the corner and waved his hand brightly at the young woman. “M-Nekochan~” he called out, walking toward her with one hand tucked away in his pocket. His posture was relaxed and she subconsciously relaxed around him. “Oh, hi Kou…I was just looking for Yuma, have you seen him?” she picked at the fabric of her sleeves absentmindedly, peeking around the corner of the hall to see if he was on his way. A pout crossed Kou’s face and he let out an exaggerated whine, “Awh, why weren’t you looking for me instead? You know, I’m much more interesting than Yuma-kun…” He flashed one of his modelesque smiles and Yui couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his antics.

“Sorry Kou, it’s just I haven’t seen him all day and I was kind of hoping to talk to him before bed.” She was picking her sleeve slightly more aggressively, taking out her frustration on the cuff of her sweater. The blonde narrowed his eyes with a frown, but decided not to push the matter. After all, he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his brother’s rage for marking up his woman. “Hmm,” he leaned his head against the wall in thought before his eyes lit up in realization, “Oh! I saw him briefly after lunch and he didn’t look too happy… That’s right, M-neko, you must have really upset him!” he looked a touch too gleeful at that statement, a darkness lingering over his eyes as he watched her face grow with concern.

Yui’s eyebrows furrowed and she chewed the inside of her cheek in discomfort. She decided it would be best to busy herself in the kitchen after all, as she wouldn’t be able to sleep until Yuma came back home.

Akio had felt a presence following him for a good portion of the day, and it was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. As he walked the deserted path back toward his house he clutched his bag, readying himself for an ambush. As if on cue, Yuma took the chance to reveal himself by dashing out of his hiding place and pressing the other boy against a tree by the neck. The darker haired male winced at the sensation, but was sturdier than Yuma would have assumed given his frame. “Oy, I’m here to teach you a lesson about messing with someone else’s property,” Yuma’s voice was rough and filled with hatred and he buried his nails into the soft flesh of his victim.

The transfer student was unable to speak a retort back at the vampire due to his hand pressing into his windpipe. However, the taller male was quite obviously underestimating his ability to fight back even from this position. Akio curled his fingers toward his right wrist, unleashing a blade that he used to slash at the offending hand, falling down to one knee when the pressure was released suddenly and gathering his bearings as the oxygen flowed back into his burning lungs. Yuma jumped back, startled, clutching at the wound on his hand, staring in disbelief when it wasn’t immediately closing. “Heh? What the fuck is this!?”

“Is this how Ryoutei Academy’s students treat their new guests? I know we’re off campus but I’m sure they’d be very disappointed in you attacking a new student on their first day,” the sudden confidence in his voice was different than the way he had been conducting himself around Yui earlier. Yuma glared at the other man, shaking the spilled blood off of his hand and ripping off the bottom of his dress shirt to wrap the wound with. “Just who the hell do you think you are?” His eyes were nearly alight with the fury that was raging through him. He took on a fighting stance, sizing up his opponent differently this time, striking out quickly and swiping his fist against the side of Akio’s cheek as the other male dodged most of his attack. At the speed he was going, a human shouldn’t have been able to stand a chance, let alone nearly dodge a full frontal attack.

The taller male sniffed the air tentatively; he could have sworn he smelled human blood. But it was muddled. Now that he was focusing, he could tell there was definitely a trace of vampiric blood flowing through the other man’s veins. Unlike Yuma, who had once been human and then turned vampire, Akio had been born, a product of a human mother and a father who was a vampire. He was not as strong as a full-fledged vampire, but he did possess a similar skillset to Yuma, along with weak magical capabilities. It was enough to hold his own one-on-one with the enraged male.

“What is this property you’re going on about? Is it that girl?” Akio asked, taking on a protective quality in his voice. He wasn’t sure what the status of the relationship was between the two of them, but it was the only conclusion he could think of that would have gotten the vampire so riled up. It would seem he struck a nerve as Yuma spun around with a flying kick aimed right for his head. Akio ducked and grabbed Yuma’s steady leg from beneath him, rolling out of the way before the vampire could grab him down to the ground with him. The younger male leaned against a tree for support, having used a lot of his strength to drag Yuma down.

“Oy, oy, OY! Listen here you bastard,” Yuma picked himself up quickly, towering over Akio before he picked him up by the scruff of his shirt. “You’re really pissing me off.” He shoved him against the tree again, mindful of the hidden knife up the other man’s sleeve. “I ought to kill you right here,” he used his own head to crush into Akio’s disorienting the dhampir before throwing him to the ground and stomping his foot into his stomach. The darker haired man groaned in pain at the impact and scrambled to reach for his backpack, hands shakily ripping the bag open to throw the equivalent of a flash bomb at the vampire so he could make a quick retreat.

A scream of frustration ripped from Yuma’s throat as he realized that he had let him slip out of his sight and something about the device messed with his sense of smell temporarily. There was a ringing in his head and he clutched his hair with his good hand, kicking the dirt where Akio had been in irritation. He sighed, admitting defeat for the time being. The next time he saw the other male he would make sure to finish what he started. He made his way back toward home, figuring he could let out his frustration on the girl who he determined to be at fault for this entire situation.

In the kitchen, Yui had busied herself making a version of pavlova, a dessert made of sugar and egg whites with lemon curd she had prepared the day before and an arrangement of fresh fruits. The sound of the door slamming shut startled the young woman, but she wiped her hands on her apron, and tentatively peered her head out of the kitchen to see Yuma bee lining toward her. “Yuma, you’re home!” she offered, trying to sound cheery despite the nervousness that was settling over her body like a blanket. Yuma stopped when he was right in front of her, eyeing the dessert that she had been preparing.

“Is that for him too?” he spat, reaching over to smack the dessert off the counter but Yui jumped in front of his arm, “No!!” before she could tell him that she made it for him he pushed her to the ground and shoved the dessert and the delicate plate it was displayed on shattering to the ground beside her. Tears welled at her eyes and came spilling over, all her hard work was in a pile on the floor over a misunderstanding. “Yuma..” she opened her mouth to speak but he shoved her back against the kitchen floor, straddling her body as he ripped open the top of her shirt.

“Do I need to re-train your body to remember that you belong to me and only me??” his words rang out in the room, and he grabbed a piece of broken glass from the serving plate, still coated in the dessert she had made, and sliced into her collarbone. At first there was no pain at all, only a shocked sensation that racked her body, but then the air began to sting the cut and fresh tears welled in her eyes. Yuma didn’t give her time to speak yet again, forcing his tongue into the cut, widening it rather than soothing it, causing her to grunt and writhe beneath him. The pain was searing, but she felt as if her spirit was being sliced open. Her heart was bleeding for him and he didn’t even see it. That or he didn’t care.

Yuma moaned against the cut, tasting the sugary confection mixed with her blood. It was a shame he had scattered it across the floor, because it really did taste wonderful. For a moment, he let himself indulge in the sweetness of her, drinking her blood hungrily, his right hand throbbing from the cut he had received earlier. The thought of even a fraction of it being made with the other male in mind came sparking back to the surface and he tugged his fangs down, ripping open a wound on Yui’s pale chest.

Her blood flowed thickly, slowly blossoming across her chest and soaking her shirt. She sobbed out, her hands reaching out to hold onto Yuma’s arms. She noticed the makeshift bandage on his hand and turned her attention to him in concern, burying her own pain down. “What happened?” she asked softly, ghosting her fingers over the fabric that he wound tight around his hand. He lifted his head from her chest to glare down at her with concerning intensity.

“You’re an absolute fuckin’ idiot, you know that?” Yui attempted to look away as he insulted her, but he grabbed her chin firmly with his wounded hand, the coppery smell of both his blood and her own overwhelming her senses. “You were out there seducing a vampire hunter today weren’t you?” He smacked the side of her face, hard. She cried out in pain and could feel the sting heating up as the mark on her face turned a bright pink. He chuckled, bringing his hand down to strike her other cheek while the girl shuddered beneath him, eyes widening in confusion and terror.

“I was just helping him—“ he cut her off, raising his voice to a yell. “Just helping him my ass. I saw you share your lunch with him, saw the way the two of you blushed, or did you think you could whore yourself around the school without me taking notice? HUH?” He grabbed onto her sweater and shook her for emphasis, dropping her and letting her head knock against the ground. He sighed, looking at the mess in the kitchen and got off of her, kicking her in the side to encourage her to get up quickly. “Oy, clean this shit up. This is punishment for causing me trouble.”

Yui started to get to her feet but was pushed over again, eliciting a humorless chuckle from the man above her. “Did I say you could stand up? Crawl like the sow you are,” a shadow seemed to cast over his gaze and he crossed his arms, waiting for her to do as he asked. The girl trembled, her lip quivering, but she crawled on all fours, picking up the broken glass and scooping the ruined dessert into the trash with her hands. She reached for a towel but Yuma stopped her again, leaning over to lick the sugary mix off of her hands. A light blush crossed over her face as her body reacted to his touch. A smirk formed over Yuma’s lips as he pulled a finger into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the digit before biting down, mixing her blood with the taste of sugar once more.

He groaned, the overindulgent taste comforting a piece of him. He sucked a little more harshly and a squeak left Yui’s mouth, causing her to panic and scramble an apology before Yuma chuckled again. “It seems your body does know who it belongs to, hm?” He used his nails to rip the apron off of her body, signaling her to use that instead of a towel to clean the remainder of the mess. She did so and once completed with the task she folded the fabric and placed it in the hamper she had placed in the kitchen next to the trash. She was nervous to do anything to set Yuma off, so she waited to see if he was pleased enough to let her stand back up.

He grabbed something off the counter that she couldn’t quite see and beckoned her to stand. “Come on, up!” he patronized her as though he were talking to a pet. Once she stood before him, he placed a sour dried lemon into her mouth and closed her mouth around it, cupping his hand over her lips to keep it there. “Mmn!!” her mouth puckered instantly and she screwed her eyes shut. It was a particularly sour lemon and it was almost painful in the way it pulled the saliva to her mouth. “There, there. Keep it there, we’re not done. Not by a long shot…”

She was led back to his room, where the door was locked behind them as soon as they entered. Not that it mattered anyway, but it was more of a subtle warning. He stood her in the middle of the room, circling around her before stopping in front of her again, moving to rip off the remainder of her clothing, leaving her completely naked and vulnerable before him. He leaned forward to lap up the blood that was cooling on her skin from the wound he had made earlier. He dug his fingers into the cut, re-opening the slit enough to let fresh blood ooze over the old blood. He led her backward as he attached his lips to the wound, the bed shaking when they fell back onto it.

“Aaah, I can’t get used to it. Haah, you’re sweeter than sugar…I just want to drink, and drink, and drink until there’s nothing left,” he gasped, continuing his ministrations on her searing laceration. The pain had just started to dull before he dug his fingers in to re-open it, and the new wave of pain made Yui feel dizzy. Yuma moaned against her collarbone, the sensation vibrating against her chest. He reached up to smack her across the face when he noticed she was slipping and he pulled away from her tempting blood. He didn’t want her to lose consciousness quite yet. Not until he’d had his full of her. She chewed the lemon slice in her mouth, the sourness of it pulling her consciousness from its foggy haze before she finally swallowed it, freeing her mouth.

“I’ll remind you tonight that you belong to me,” he moved to stand next to the bed, grabbing her by the hair to drag onto the floor. “On your knees, sow.” He was still speaking coldly toward her, the pent up anger still coursing through his body. He undid his belt, but did not drop it, instead he left it bunched in his left hand, and he stared down at her submissive position. Another smirk crossed his lips as he undid his pants, pulling them down along with his boxers in one swift motion. He kicked out of the lower garment and gingerly pumped himself with his injured hand.

“I’ll give you a chance to say you’re sorry,” he breathed, guiding her mouth to his aching member. Her blood and crying face had gotten him excited. As she wrapped her lips around his member, he leant down to wrap the belt around her throat. “Go on, be a good girl, ok?” his words were a warning for her not to do anything to displease him, and he gave the belt a tug for good measure. The constriction around her throat was strange as she took his length into her mouth.

She bobbed her head along his cock, the tears on her face were dried to her cheeks and there were bits of blood smeared and caked across her chest and some patchy areas of her throat. Her saliva was thick from sucking on the lemon slice moments before, and she relaxed the back of her throat, taking him all the way to the base as best she could. The action of servicing the vampire was starting to excite Yui, and she felt a warm sensation starting to grow in her own body as Yuma bucked his hips against her mouth, using her body to pleasure himself.

He pulled her off of him, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “I don’t think you’ve had enough punishment yet,” he murmured, guiding her to lie over his lap, her head draped down toward the floor with her ass nestled right over his knees. He took the belt into his right hand and folded it over before he brought it down on her smooth skin with a crack.

“Aah, Yuma!” Yui cried out in surprise. Although she had an inkling of what he was up to when he draped her over his knee. It was humiliating and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. He struck down again, alternating the location of the strike to an uncovered area of flesh each time until her entire bottom felt raw and on fire. Little welts from where he let the buckle strike her flesh decorated her rear end and she knew that it was going to be uncomfortable to sit for a few days.

Yuma didn’t stop until another wave of tears fell from those pink eyes of hers. He soothed the irritated skin with his hand, massaging his hands into the fat of her ass. “That’s better, isn’t it? Know your place, and I’ll be gentle with you, hm?” his voice was softer than it had been earlier, but another part of him was hard and pressing against Yui’s lower belly in the position she was in.

He suddenly hoisted the young woman back onto the bed, settling her near the headboard. He removed his shirt before crawling over her body, already positioning himself to enter her. She was going to voice a protest but feared he may be rougher with her if she tried to dissuade him from going at his pace for now. She bit down on her lip as he rocked forward, stretching her insides around him. “This is still a punishment,” he breathed, watching her face contort in pain as he pushed into her slowly, not wanting to hurt her too badly but wanting her to feel discomfort.

Yui took in a shaky breath and nodded compliantly, a wave of pleasure shooting through her as she saw his face relax as the warmth of her pussy enveloped him. Even though he said it was a punishment, he was moving very slowly, and she felt a pang tug at her heartstrings. She lifted a leg cautiously, still adjusting to his thick length that was pulsating inside her with desire. She moaned softly at the spark of pleasure that jolted through her at the change in angle. Yuma let out a rumbling chuckle, “You’re already so wet…Oy, did you get excited from your punishment?”

He shifted and lifted her legs up, resting them against his shoulders as he watched his cock glide in and out of her wet heat. The sound of the two of them joining together was embarrassing, and Yui wanted to bury her face in her hands but she stayed put, a bright flush covering her face. Yuma’s strong hands were holding her legs in place and he was enjoying himself, watching the act of fucking her.

The erotic nature of the sight was exciting him further and he leaned forward, pressing her legs toward her chest as he took her arms and pinned them above her head with one hand. He pressed his weight against the hands beneath him and used his free hand to fondle her breast before he picked up the pace of his ravishing. Yui turned her head to the side, writhing beneath him and chanting his name like a prayer, over and over. It was as though she had forgotten all words aside from his name. Aside from Yuma. “Yeah? Does it feel good? Yuma, it’s Yuma who makes you feel like this, hm?” he moaned breathily, watching her with a lecherous gaze, “I’ll make sure your body never forgets just who you belong to. You’re going to give everything to me, do you understand?”

He latched onto her neck again, sinking his fangs into her flesh once more as he started to pound her into the mattress. If any of his brothers were awake they could most likely hear the banging of his bed against the wall and Yui’s cries as he took her. He didn’t care, and in fact, it only made him want to do it rougher. He leaned back once more, digging his nails into her hips and lifting her onto his cock, angling himself deep inside of her. Yui’s hands scrambled to grab onto the wall above her head as she pressed the back of her head into the mattress, arching up into the man above her. As soon as she felt his seed shoot inside of her, searing her insides, she climaxed around him. The overall sensation driving her over the edge with him.

Yuma caught his breath, and leaned back down to latch onto her neck once again. “Yuma! I’m gonna pass out,” Yui protested weakly, her vision already becoming hazy around the edges after her orgasm had ripped through her body. She was already anemic due to his never-ending thirst and she wasn’t sure if she could handle much more.

“Then pass out,” he murmured against her throat, gulping more of her down. He paused, looking down at her with serious eyes, “You’re not going anywhere tomorrow anyway. You’re not leaving this house again.” Those were the last words she heard before the world became muddy and thick like molasses. Her body became limp in his arms as he slowly finished drinking from her, rolling over to lie beside her. His body felt surprisingly sore after fighting with Akio and he wondered if it had to do with the blade that he used. It was something he would have to figure out later, however, one thought remained as the tendrils of sleep began to pull him to sleep: I’m going to kill him.

#usagiwrites #fanfic #fanfic request #diabolik lovers #yuma mukami #I'd say this is light yandere #cliffhanger #I actually thought about continuing something with this but I'm not sure #lolol #original character I guess #I can't write fight scenes to save my life so I'm aware it's a bit cliche #legit I was gonna have Yuma eat him and bring part of his body back to show Yui #but then I was like #I could have fun with this character alive #idk #I hope it's ok #if I write another chapter Yuma's gonna take a chunk out of him

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good-beans · 2 years

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13, 16, and 31 for the fe ask? (also hope ur well friend 💐)

Thanks pal!! I've been good :) I hope the same for you 😊

Haha it got a bit long, sorry, I'll put it under the cut...

13. What do you like most about Fire Emblem?

As you know, I think the gameplay is nice but I'm most definitely hear for story-related things. I think my favorite part is the sheer amount of unique characters. (Trust me, I'm aware they can be shallow, they often fall into tropes/stereotypes, there are overlaps, however) it's always really cool to play through a classic hero's journey story and think of how a huge variety of personalities would handle it.

Of course the charming and kind prince would team up with the dedicated tactician to slay the dragon and save the realm -- but how does the spunky princess handle it? How does the shrewd nerdy mage? The criminal who joined on a whim? The dancer so shy it's a wonder she's out on the battlefield at all? The secretive dragon rider who lost his mother? The overdramatic swordsman who lost his too? How do they interact and fight together as a cohesive army? How do they interact on a more intimate scale and bond during wartime? And every game has a new set of unique reactions to war and one another. (Then the addition of heroes gives your imagination an infinite playground of character behavior)

There's just something for everyone in each game -- any type of personality you could enjoy seeing in a story/relate to/project onto/love to write/fall in love with/etc.

16. What's your favorite world/setting?

Definitely Fates' settings! I love to sink into the comfort that Ylisse and Valentia give me as classic as beautiful fantasy worlds, but I can't get over the creativity of Fates' places. Like, what's cooler than a theater set on the water and the seats are fancy boats? There's a bridge between two warring countries that drops off supposedly bottomlessly. The skies shift from dusk to dawn in cycles. There's a kingdom entirely of beautiful floating islands and water and ruins. There's a fortress built from the bones of a dragon and it comes to life?? And Revelations' final battle location of star-filled dimension was just so beautiful. I loved the battle where poison and medicine were dangerously balanced around the fighters. I thought the idea of an uphill battle on seemingly endless stairs carved beneath the ground had so much drama. Even the visuals of spiraling towers and beautiful castles made me so happy.

31. Some moments of Fire Emblem you keep thinking of?

Well, I am always rotating Echoes in my mind asdjfshdg -- but specifically, I'll get caught up thinking of the Zofia Castle sieges (both Deliverance defending and attacking), Delthea's rescue, and that one specific conversation with Mycen at Rigel castle. I liked Delthea's rescue so much because in reality, no army would go out of their way to help some village girl. It was cool to see how Alm received pushback against the decision, but it's beautiful to me that he convinced them otherwise. Just an army led by village kids going against the noble adults to protect other village kids they'd never met before ;_; And I'll always be happy that they gave Alm the emotional break that he deserved. He shouldered so much at such a young age, just a pawn in his father's plans, and it felt real that he would scream at his not-grandfather-anymore. The pain in his voice is so tangible, it made him really human and I'll think about it a lot.

I also love the Awakening opening/closing scene! I think I've ranted about it before so I won't say too much. It's just such a beautiful moment that can be layered with a lot of emotion when you know what's come before, and what will come as a result of that fateful moment. The lovely opening of waking up to smiling faces in a flowery field without any knowledge of yourself. The heart-melting ending of knowing things ended up all right, it's over, you can be at peace, you're back with familiar smiles who you most certainly recognize this time around.

#in reality i know the character writing isnt great but thats okay -- when has that stopped fans before sdhfashd #thank you so much for the ask!#asdgh im currently putting off an assignment and it was a lot of fun to rant a bit about good things :)#hope youre doing well too!#ask #fe awakening #fe fates #fe echoes

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thatguywiththecoydog · 3 years

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Anpanman: Apple Boy and Everyone's Hope (2014)

Introduction

Fox's primary free-to-use streaming service, Tubi, had announced that they would be picking up at least 10 of the Anpanman movies to be released in English and Spanish back last October, with them slated for a fall 2020 release. This never happened, so many fans of the Anpanman franchise that spoke native English or Spanish would have to wait a little longer for dubs of these movies to come out.

The delay of these movie dubs went unannounced, leading fans to speculate that the dub was either in limbo or just silently canceled. This was until the first of them was released on April 15, 2021, with no announcement, or even complete details on who is dubbing them or the cast list. This had fans believing for a short while that the dub had taken a bit longer to assure its quality, but as you will soon read, this was most likely not the case.

Naturally, fans were excited as this was the first time these movies would see an official dubbed release in the west. There were other dubs of the franchise in English and Spanish, such as an English dub of the television series made for India that aired on Pogo, and a Spanish made in Spain sometime in the 1990s. However, these dubs are hard to come by and there are no official ways to watch these dubs in North America, as far as I'm aware.

Promo for the Indian Pogo dub posted by @doraedoramichan2021 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oxAx5EEdX_4

So now we have an official dub of one of the movies that can be watched at no charge with ads. Joy!

Plot synopsis (spoilers below)

The plot starts with Dokin (spelled as "Dokeen" in the dub) and Horrorman (dubbed as "Horror") as they read a book of fairy tales, landing on Snow White. They end up accidentally releasing a shadowy figure from the book as it flies off into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Melonpanna's and Creampanda's (spelled "Cream Panda" in the dub) class are making sketches of the ocean. This is where Baikinman comes in to cause trouble for them with his giant crab robot. Anpanman rushes in from the blue to beat the tar out of Baikinman to save the day as the theme song plays in the background.

After that, we cut to the movie's other titular character, Apple Boy, attempting to fly his hot air balloon over the ocean. After the balloon falls to the ocean, he is swept away by the current.

A whale finds him dehydrated and floating lifeless in the ocean, where he gives him to Anpanman so he can help. After offering a piece of his anpan head to Apple Boy, he takes him to Uncle Jam's bakery, where Uncle Jam and Batako let him stay while they wait for a new shipment of apples from SL-Man.

Back at Baikinman's lair, he discovers that the book of fairy tales was being read by Dokeen and Horror. Looking very worried, he explains to the two of them that he was told never to open that book.

Anpanman, Melonpanna, and Cream Panda find SL-Man with the apples, Baikinman comes by to ruin the apples with his giant caterpillar robot. After Anpanman slows him down, Melonpanna and Cream Panda take SL-Man to the bakery.

Uncle Jam and Batako receive the apples and make them into apple juice. They give the juice to Apple Boy which he quickly drinks and rejuvenates from.

As Anpanman is still fighting Baikinman, Melonpanna and Cream Panda come back with Apple Boy for assistance. Apple Boy ends up beating him by planting an instantly-growing apple seed on the robot's tongue, where Anpanman then punches him into the next time zone.

That evening at the bakery, Apple Boy explains to the crew, with Shokupanman (dubbed as Bread-head Man) and Currypanman there as well, that he needs his balloon to search for the fabled magic apple seeds that can apparently grow the biggest apples anyone has ever seen. Anpanman, Mellonpanna, and Cream Panda help him search for the tree that gives off the magic seeds, while Bread-head Man and Currypanman search for the Apple Balloon. With no luck in finding the tree, they return to the bakery.

As the heroes in the bakery are setting off to find Appleina, an apple girl who might have clues as to where one can find the magic seeds, Horror informs Baikinman and Dokeen of the whole situation through a mock TV newscast.

Once at Appleina's, she shows the crew (and by extension the young audience this movie caters to) how to grow large apples. After many hardships of growing the trees, they finally blossom. Just as they are admiring their hard work, a bunch of bats swoop in and suck the life out of all the other apple trees around them. Unrelated to this, Baikinman attempts to steal all the apples for himself.

At this point, the bats go together to form the wich from the Snow White book that Dokeen and Horror were reading at the beginning of the film, revealing that she was the shadowy figure at the beginning of the movie that escaped from the book.

The witch turns everyone into moldy apples for no other reason than she is evil. The only ones left standing are Apple Boy and Appleina. Uncle Jam and Batako rush to bake Anpanman a new anpan head so he can turn back from apple form and be powered up enough to beat the witch. However, the witch destroys the Anpanman Blimp's oven, meaning they can't bake the head. Apple Boy stuns the witch with the power of a magic apple that he ended up growing. This also bakes the cold head into a perfectly cooked one, giving Uncle Jam and Batako the chance to turn Anpanman back to normal.

They successfully do this and Anpanman beats the witch back into the storybook, as the movie ends and everyone sings about apples.

My opinions

Before you say it, I am fully aware this movie is made for young children, but that is no excuse not to have a quality movie in my opinion. If anything, kids deserve more good content so they can learn and remember seeing that content for years to come. It just makes me feel bad for these children who watch movies that don't have much substance purely because they are "made for children."

The movie itself

The movie is average at best, and boring at worst. I did type out a pretty large plot synopsis for this movie, making it sound like a lot, but there really was not as much as you would think. This movie is only 46 minutes in total too, so there really should have been more here. Like, there was some emotional stuff going on with Apple Boy back on the Apple Planet he came from, but it's never really relevant to the story, nor the series as a whole because of him being made for this movie and only this movie. The movie also has a surprising amount of filler. Like, the part where I briefly mention Anpanman looking for the tree is a montage in the movie that lasts about two minutes, along with a scene where Apple Boy falls off a cliff, which is also not relevant to the main plot. I want to say a good quarter of this movie in total was filler, so we only have about 33 minutes of actual plot.

The writing that is there is also broken. I believe that the most entertaining part about this series is the series villains, Baikinman, Dokeen, and Horror. They don't make too many appearances in this movie to serve as comic relief, rather, Baikinman feels shoved in here to serve as more padding to make that over-40-minute time slot. There are also parts of the movie that make absolutely no sense under any perspective, not just an outsider's. Like, why does giving Anpanman a new head suddenly transform him from a moldy apple back to normal?

Overall, I feel as though both adults and children would be bored to death by this movie. 3/10.

Dubbing quality

If the movie itself wasn't soleless enough, the dubbing somehow makes this worse.

The movie was dubbed by Macias Group, a Florida-based studio that is best known for dubbing English shows into Spanish but does have some English dubbing in their catalog.

They had hired voice actors that I have not even heard of, nor do I think anyone else has. This doesn't make the dubbing automatically bad, in fact, a no-name cast can be quite good if given the right direction. However, this cast I feel did not give enough life to the characters. Some characters sound fine, like Horror or Dokeen, but others sound like the actor is struggling to put on a good performance, like Baikinman.

The characters also tend to speak in a way I like to call "Dora the Explorer Syndrome." It's kind of hard to explain what this is over text, but characters will talk extremely slowly for the young children, along with sounding considerably condescending. Watch the first two minutes of a Dora episode and compare it to this movie and you'll hear what I mean.

The voice acting itself sounds a bit bland and flat, almost like the actors didn't really care for their roles and were just doing it for a small paycheck. I don't blame them, really. An obscure series that they most likely haven't even heard of streaming exclusively on an unpopular streaming service most likely won't pay too high certainly wouldn't get me motivated. To do something like this, it needs to pay high enough or be on a service where it will get more notoriety, and most importantly, the people need to have a passion for the project and voice acting in general, neither of which sounded like they were here. I also heard a bit of recording echo, but I'm going to chalk that up to the actors recording at home rather than a booth due to COVID restrictions. If the dub had a bit more heart, then I probably would have liked it that much more.

I feel as though some of the name changes could have been better. Like some were unnecessary like Dokin to Dokeen or Horrorman to Horror, but things like Baikinman and Anpanman were kept the same, which probably needed the most explanation to an English audience.

The iconic songs from the Japanese version were also translated to English, which is a rarity in 2021 dubbing land. However, the songs sound off from their Japanese counterparts. If you were to listen to the theme song (https://youtu.be/3qSiSWTJkzw) or the closing song (https://youtu.be/c4DY7xmLlQI), you hear that they are bouncy, happy, and catchy. The English versions sound a bit off-beat to the rhythm these songs are supposed to be in. Now, I don't mind if the rhythm is a bit different so it can be optimized to the English language better, but here, it's so off it makes the songs sound worse. Most likely, the singers were given no direction and only listened to the Japanese version a few times. Not only that, but the lyrics are nearly directly translated from Japanese, also messing with the flow of the songs. When listening to the Japanese musical tracks, it almost makes you wonder what could have been.

Overall, the dubbing is not too good and probably could have done better either with a different cast with more motivation, or a whole 'nother studio behind the wheel.

Final thoughts and other recommendations

If you do want another English dub of Anpanman that I think is miles better, watch the fandub by Thomas Blue on Fandubbers Unite, starring myself as Anpanman (renamed to Bean-bun Man) and @clwsblog as Baikinman (renamed to Cavity Creep). It has better writing, better acting, and better songs. Both kids and adults alike will enjoy this version. Before you ask me, no, there is no bias here. I truly believe we did it better and for no pay!

Here is a link to Thomas Blue's dub:

https://fandubbersunite.weebly.com/beanbunman.html

If you really want to watch the official English though, even after my warnings, then go ahead. Here's a link to the Tubi listing:

https://tubitv.com/movies/592033/anpanman-apple-boy-and-everyone-s-hope?start=true

#anpanman #anime #tubi #english dub

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the-trashy-phoenix · 3 years

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Supernatural season 4 review (part 2)

Link to part 1:

Irene and I have finished season 4, finally, and I was surprised I still liked it like the first time I've watched it. I couldn't wait to get there (who knows why?) and I was actually afraid I wouldn't get as excited as I thought I would; but fortunately it still gives me the idea that it is one of the best Supernatural seasons.

It all starts with Dean coming back from hell and being clueless about how he did it. He soon finds out the Angel Of The Lord Castiel held him tight and raised him from perdition and that he has a fundamental role in the intent to stop Lilith's plans to free Lucifer from his cage and unleash the Apocalypse.

Will this review (and probably the next 11 ones) most likely be a little bit biased for Destiel? Definitely. Will I try to stay as objective as I can? Yes, but this doesn't mean I'll be very objective, after all I'm writing this review knowing what is going to happen in the next seasons (and, more precisely, in the scene, you know which one I'm talking about).

I honestly don't even know where to start, so I'm going to comment on what I think is important as the season goes on.

I believe 04x01 is one of the best episodes of this season (and maybe even one of my favourite episodes ever) for several reasons. We have Dean coming back from hell and meeting again with Bobby and Sam (and both of these moments are very touching, especially Sam's one). Although the reunion might be heartwarming, Sam is already keeping secrets from Dean: he is collaborating with Ruby to defeat Lilith (and in the meantime he's using his powers, which are stronger than ever, cause he's drinking demon blood to increase them). He lies to Dean, telling him he stopped trying to use his abilities against the enemy, and that causes the biggest drama between the two brothers this season (that will continue on the next one). Dean (and the others) wants to find out who's trying to contact him and who brought him back from hell: I love the way Castiel is slowly introduced during this episode. At first with the ultrasounds and the handprint (which is definitely a fantastic touch, that kinda shows a little possessive side if you think about it, and it is inevitably funny if you know everything that happens later on), then through Pamela, showing already all his power, and at the end of the episode there's a "dramatic" moment where Dean (and Bobby) finally meets Castiel (in his vessel) for the first time, and this might be one of the most epic and iconic scenes in Supernatural. The dynamic between these two is fantastic from the beginning (am I saying this because I'm totally biased?) and the line "What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?" shows how Castiel has already understood Dean Winchester from just a look (and he's an angel who's not supposed to feel or understand feelings! Wow, the power of Destiel).

Moving on from this episode, in the second one we find out from Castiel that Lilith wants to break the 66 seals, foretelling the Apocalypse, in order to free Lucifer. On a side note, I like how bitchy Castiel is towards Dean at the beginning of their relationship ("Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier", "You should show me some respect, I dragged you out of hell, I can throw you back in").

I love episode 04x03 because I usually adore time travel (it often leads to some funny and very unusual situations) and I find this one extremely sad and touching, mostly because Dean has the opportunity to meet his parents when they are still young (and Mary and John's sides he didn't know about) and finds out how their family became cursed (and the worst thing is he can't change its destiny).

In episode 04x04 Dean finds out Sam has been working with Ruby this whole time and gets mad about it, which is pretty reasonable. As much as a part of me hates when Sam and Dean fight, another part of me loves it, especially in this season, and it's probably because I think both of them are right and wrong at the same time. Ruby seems reliable (for now much more than the angels) and Sam truly did some good with her, so it is logical for Sam to trust her, since she apparently hasn't done anything against him and she has also saved him (which Sam confesses to Dean on episode 04x09). On the other hand I understand why Dean wouldn't want his brother to continue his process of strengthening his powers: he's afraid Sam won't be the same. Plus his brother lied to him, so it becomes hard for Dean to trust him, and this episode marks a pretty sad change in their relationship that will only get worse later in the season.

I should also mention 04x07 in which two witches want to bring Samhain, a celtic god, back from the dead. By doing that another of the 66 seals would be broken so Dean and Sam, who were working on the case, are told by Castiel and Uriel (another angel) that Uriel has to destroy the city, since the two brothers can't stop the witches from bringing Samhain back. Dean wants to prevent Uriel from doing a massacre and convince Castiel to wait for a few hours and let them take care of the witches. They can't stop them and Sam confronts Samhain using his powers, although he promised Dean he wouldn't use them anymore. At the end of the episode Castiel confesses to Dean that his orders were to follow Dean's instructions and admits he has doubts towards God. I consider this conversation very important, since this is the first time Castiel lets Dean have a look at his inner thoughts, even if Castiel himself is afraid of them, which gets me thinking that he already trusts Dean.

I also wanted to point out that Dean starts calling Castiel "Cas" pretty soon, even if he doesn’t want to trust him yet (although I believe he already does unconsciously). And what's even funnier is that, by calling him "Cas", he removes from his name the part that means "of God", which kinda gives you already an idea of what it's going to happen to him.

In episode 04x09 we meet Anna, a fallen angel, who doesn't even remember she has ever been one, since now she's human and has lived a human life for years. Dean and Sam meet her because she seems to be capable of getting in contact with the angels and is suddenly wanted from both angels (who want her death because she rebelled from heaven) and demons (one of them is Alastair, who knows Dean from hell). Anna and Dean form a sort of bond and she tells him she fell from heaven because she fell in love with humanity (they also have sex in the Impala, but that's way less relevant, although I want to point out that she covers Castiel's mark on Dean's shoulder with her hand, which is a bit disturbing). They can't stop the angels from coming for her so when they arrive we see a beautiful totally not programmed and still hilarious scene of Dean and Anna kissing and Castiel looking at first intensively at them and then shamefully at the ground. I mean, what was that? I understand that Anna and Castiel are sort of parallels, because they are both two angels falling from humanity (they also talk about feelings and Castiel confesses he has already started having emotions), but isn't it the whole point of Destiel? An angel that falls in love with humanity because of one man (Dean, if that wasn't already obvious)? And we get this concept involuntarily since season four? That's… funny. Apart from all of that, Anna manages to get her grace back and hides from Castiel and Uriel.

Another important element in this episode, and in the whole season, is Dean's experience in hell, in which time works differently (four months equivalent to forty years). He finally tells Sam what it has been like and totally breaks down as he says he has spent thirty years being tortured and, since he couldn't resist anymore, the ten left torturing other souls. He also adds in the next episode, with shame, that in torturing souls he felt pleasure, because all the pain felt as a victim disappeared: this is what devastated him the most. I feel like Dean's time in hell inevitably shaped his personality a lot in this season, but it's a thing that changes him forever. He is more mature and somehow self-aware (and I love this aspect), but he's also way more desperate and hopeless (a trade I think characterises Dean way more than Sam in every season, but that's definitely more persistent in this one than it's ever been). I might be a bit sadistic, but I don't mind the bad parts Dean has kept from hell either: they show us a vulnerable side that Dean has always tried to hide. There's also the evident contraposition between Sam's physical power and apparent strong state of mind and Dean's unstable, weak and soft one (also relative to what Dean's big role is in this season and what Sam is actually capable of doing to prevent the apocalypse).

I'd talk about episode 04x14 just to mention the fact that the siren (who's supposed to turn into the person who should most sexually attract his victim) decides to show himself to Dean as a man. I get he was supposed to replace Sam's role as a brother, but the whole setting, the fact that sirens' attractiveness is usually sexual and the fact that even the actor who played the siren admitted the whole scene was a bit sensual should tell us something (it also seems funny that they had to precise multiple times he was trying to be his brother because otherwise that would have seemed too gay, it still seems gay, but whatever).

In episode 04x16 someone is killing the angels and Castiel asks Dean for help to find out who the killer is. The angels have the demon Alastair captured and Castiel tells Dean he's the only one who can torture him. The angel seems to be really upset about it, because he knows how this could hurt Dean, since this is what he has been doing for the past ten years in hell. Dean decides to do it anyway and he finds out from Alastair, during the torture, that he is the one who has broken the first seal (by deciding to torture souls) and made the first step to bring Lucifer back. This obviously breaks Dean even more, since he already hates what he has done in hell, and makes him believe he's not capable of doing what the angels want from him (and he admits it to Castiel, and in the next episode his superior Zacharia tries to convince Dean he's the right man by showing him that even in other realities he would end up killing monsters). We later find out that the one who killed the angels was Uriel that, hating humans, was on Lucifer's side. He asks Castiel to join him but he refuses and Anna, saving Castiel from a fight with Uriel, kills him. I don't have much thoughts on Uriel, I didn't like him even when he was supposedly on the good side. The only thing I like about him is that he had already acknowledged the fact that Castiel likes Dean (who would've thought?).

I have to mention episode 04x18 as I think is one of my favourites of the season and that starts a series of other fantastic episodes (and basically another reality). Sam and Dean find out their life has been written (and published) by Chuck, who's apparently a prophet of God (and turns out to be quite useful later on). This is one of my favourite things Supernatural likes to do: metanarrative. In my opinion it really brings out something new and extremely funny (especially since I know this won't be the last time the two brothers will have to deal with Supernatural).

Another important episode is 04x19, where Sam and Dean find out they have a stepbrother, Adam, who doesn't know about their dad's secret life of hunting. It's obvious the most hurt by the situation is Dean, who would have never thought John could lie about something like that and who's somehow jealous of Adam, since he had the opportunity to live a normal life that could have been possible for him and Sam as well. The one thing that surprised me was that he didn't want him to learn how to hunt (unlike Sam, who thought it could be a good idea for Adam to know how to protect himself). I think Dean shows how he has changed throughout the years and now believes that, since the kid had the opportunity to live a normal life, he doesn't want him to experience what they have. He's more mature and he has become way better than his father and it's funny how now Sam is the one who thinks more like John (although I think there is still a relevant difference between the two of them, fortunately). We eventually find out that it wasn't Adam, but the monster they were fighting, and that Adam is already dead: at first I was a little bit surprised because I remembered that Adam would be in the next season, but it's Supernatural, so I should be used to it by now.

The next episode is important especially for showing us sides of Castiel's life that were not entirely clear before: in this case we find out how the angel reached out his vessel, Jimmy Novak. As much as I can see why Castiel had to occupy Jimmy's body, it's totally understandable that the man wants to go back to his life and that he doesn't want anything more to do with Castiel and everything about him. I also understand that he doesn't want to be with the Winchesters, although objectively they are right to want to keep him away from his family. In general the situation is definitely complicated and, from Jimmy's point of view, quite tragic. We can also tell Castiel, as much as he is already more empathic than the other angels, is not human and can't quite think like one, even if he has Dean who shows him his perspective. Knowing everything that happens to him later on makes me understand how much he has changed throughout the seasons (and knowing who has made that change possible warms my heart). It was quite strange to see Castiel acting like this since at this point I'm used to the Castiel in the latest seasons, but overall I like him a lot in the earlier ones as well.

At this point of the season, drinking demon blood for Sam has become like a drug and Dean can't continue to let his brother ruin himself like that, so with Bobby he decides to lock him in Bobby's panic room. I understand Dean is scared of what Sam could become and is becoming, but at this point Sam is at a level so high that he can't make it without demon blood, and staying for a long time without it could really hurt him further. It also seems that Sam is the only solution to kill Lilith and end the arrival of the Apocalypse. Of course Dean continues to argue that it's best to exclude Sam from this matter given his status, but Sam runs away and tracks down Ruby, with whom he's been working all season trying to be as discreet as possible so as not to worry Dean.

Sam's series of lies, the concern that he might become a monster, and the close collaboration with Ruby increase Dean's anger and disappointment with his brother throughout the season. He no longer trusts him and this deeply saddens both Sam and Dean himself, because he realizes that something has broken between them by now. As much as Sam may have his good reasons for wanting to work with Ruby (and he has), I think he's handled this situation in the worst possible way and that Dean is right about not trusting him anymore (or maybe I'm just a little conditioned by my love for Dean).

I think another reason that has increased the anger towards Sam is the fact that he has repeatedly admitted that he has been decidedly stronger than Dean since he was in hell. It's probably something they both agree on, but Dean is used to considering himself weak and not strong enough to sustain a certain situation. The thing that saddens Dean the most is the fact that his brother thinks so too.

However, this conflict ends with a fight between the two after Dean is able to find his brother. As much as I'm on Dean's side, I hated it when he called Sam a monster, because he knows that's the biggest fear that haunts his brother and calling it like that must have really destroyed him. After the fight everyone goes for his path: Sam with Ruby and Dean, finally convinced by Castiel, with the angels.

Shortly after, however, he discovers that his real role is not to stop the Apocalypse but to stop Lucifer, because he will be Micheal's vessel, and that when Lilith is killed the last seal will be broken, giving way to the Apocalypse. Dean disagrees with the angels and tries to convince Castiel to side with him and abandon the angels to try to stop the Apocalypse.

The twist itself is well constructed, although in my opinion, to make it even better, they could have shown angels as decidedly more reliable creatures, and then break all our trust (and with it also Dean's hopes). During the end of the season, apart from Castiel, the most reliable one seems to be Ruby. And that's why I think this is a much better twist: Sam completely relied on the demon, who always proved to be there for him, and to kill Lilith seems like the most logical move to make to prevent Lucifer from resurrecting. Even when I knew Ruby was cheating Sam the dynamic seemed so unexpected to me that I didn't even remember how she would do it. On top of that Sam's willingness to kill Lilith (mostly for revenge) and to stop the rise of Lucifer is actually what permits Lucifer to rise. So I can only imagine how guilty Sam felt after he realized what he had done (and the worst but best thing at the same time is that it's not even his fault, not entirely at least). Eventually the two brothers open and close the circle of the Apocalypse's arrival, which adds a touch of perfection to the whole situation.

Dean, after convincing Castiel to side with him, goes to Chuck to find where Lilith, Ruby and Sam are. Castiel transports Dean to Sam and tries to stop the angels who want the Apocalypse to begin, losing his life. This is another great step Castiel takes for Dean against his own brothers, proving that he now considers himself at Dean's side more than any other person's side. Dean arrives too late to stop Sam, who has already killed Lilith, and the fourth season ends with a confused and desperate Sam, an angry and desperate Dean, and Lucifer returning.

In the end I believe that this is the best season of Supernatural so far for several reasons: the arrival of Castiel who adds new aspects both to the Supernatural universe (talking about angels) and to the character of Dean (and later also to that of Sam), the continuous struggle between the two brothers, Ruby's character (which I think has been made quite effectively and which has also improved this season, as well as her relationship with Sam), the plot twist and the change that hell caused in Dean.

Usually this is considered one of the best seasons of Supernatural, and I completely agree, but having seen the series with long time gaps I feel I'll be able to judge only at the end of the fifteenth if this (and the fifth) are actually the best seasons of Supernatural, at least for me.

- Carly 💚

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roswelldetails · 4 years

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RNM 2x10 - American Woman

EPISODE SUMMARY:

SECRETS OF THE PAST — After uncovering a cryptic message from the past, Alex (Tyler Blackburn), Isobel (Lily Cowles), Max (Nathan Dean), Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Maria (Heather Hemmens) set out in search of answers at the reservation where Alex’s mother grew up. Meanwhile, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) encourages Liz (Jeanine Mason) to reach out to someone from her past after Auturo (guest star Carlos Compean) gets detained. Marcus Stokes directed the episode written by Rick Montano & Vincent Ingaro & Jason Gavin (#210). Original airdate 5/18/2020.

DETAILS:

Tripp brings Louise to the Reservation in a body bag where the Navajo doctors are able to save her life.

"Your message said that you were gonna bring two women that would be no trouble. This looks like a lot of trouble."

"I must have gotten the codes wrong."

"No, don't give me that Manes man nonsense. Not here in my own home."

"Her name is Louise. I promised her friend Nora I'd protect them. My brother triggered an ambush before I could get them here. And Nora…"

"Wait, what does the Air Force want them for?"

"They're not from around here. They're from...up north."

"Yìiyáh. No. She can't stay here… What if your brother comes here and finds a fugitive. I can't put my people at risk for a white woman."

"Please. You're the only person I trust. If she doesn't make it, it was all for nothing."

"I'll have you remember that I was the one that saved your ass in Okinawa. I don't owe you anything. I'm only doing this because you're my family. And because I'm a damn fool."

A few notes on this scene:

--I don't know why Tripp pretends he got the codes wrong. Unless he's spiraling and talking about the timing of the attack. But it seems like he means the message that he was bringing them to the reservation. Clearly things didn't go according to plan. Though, it is always possible that we're still missing bits of the story.

--OG Easter Egg. "They're not from around here. They're from up north." For anyone who didn't watch OG, this is almost exactly how the exchange went when Max told Liz he was an alien in the 1999 pilot.

--Yìiyáh - I found nothing on this word. I'm assuming that it's a curse word or general exclamation of negativity, but literally got zero results on google. It's possible, of course, that it's misspelled in the captions. There were a lot of errors in the captions in this opening scene.

--While there really isn't any overt statement that Alex is half Navajo and this town is part of Navajo Nation (which has been in the news a lot lately and therefore is a good place in this country to be aware of), there's lots of clues or subtle enough statements that I feel like it can be accepted as fact, since: Harrison is a codetalker, the necklace is Navajo, tsela is a Navajo word. So I did a little peeking and it could work. The closest Navajo town is about a 4 hour drive from Roswell.

Navajo Nation:

(side note - Navajo Nation has extreme poverty but also is utterly gorgeous. And the Tribe gets income from tourism. Just a few places there that I'm dying to go? Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Shiprock. Check it out.)

Liz comments on Max's irregular heartbeat, with literally no acknowledgment of the fact that she's straddling him and has a history of causing his heart to race...and other forms of lack of control (think 1x03).

"I'm excited about this though. You know Alex dug up all that info on our bio Mom. You sure you can't come?"

"Got to take my dad in for his blood tests. I want to check on Jenna too. Cannot believe she's back in the hospital again."

"She's been in pain for weeks. I have no leads on the mysterious hunting van, and Charlie hasn't made contact."

"Hmm. To be fair, I do hear that phone service is a little spotty in flying saucers."

"Okay, I get that. You think my alien abduction theory is bogus."

"I know you're worried that this has something to do with you, but I don't think this is an alien thing."

"Cam and I had fractal burns on our necks. We had no memory of what happened. That's alien stuff. I just want clarity on something."

--Note that it's past time to abandon all hope of anything resembling a defined timeline for this show...once again we have weeks passing between episodes. This is the second time this season that the time passing has only been generically described as "weeks". It's been at least a year since Liz came back to Roswell (per her conversation with Diego), but a year would be summer (late May or early June, specifically), and in this episode Isobel mentions that it's winter (which would be a year and a half).

Maria's pitch:

"In conclusion, esteemed members of the Roswell Tourism Board, while the Pony is normally a sanctuary for locals during CrashCon, I think that my plan to turn it into the Contact Cantina Pop-Up Bar will be a hit with alien fans."

"We're talking more money than we first speculated, aren't we now?"

"You know, Mayor Bernhardt, I forgot to tell you about our new morning cocktail… It's coffee, vanilla cream, and our best bourbon. Let me get you a double."

Note: so this is the famous Mayor Bernhardt. Funded by the Long family. Doesn't like immigrants. Had a racist relative who wouldn't give first prize to the black man.

Maria's vision…

Herself, younger, sitting at the Pony bar.

"You have to let me go! You're just crazy! And I'm trapped!"

And then she runs from the bar crying.

She's not wearing the necklace.

Describing it to Michael:

"I had a vision, but it was more like a memory. Of a fight I had with my mom when I was younger."

Isobel interrupts Michael and Maria to pick them up for the road trip. Just a few relevant excepts from this scene:

"Pack your bags. We're going on a family road trip."

"Is this why Max wanted the day off?"

"In the photo of Max and Isobel's bio Mom, there was a water tower. Alex recognized that water tower from the town where his mom grew up. You should come with us."

Alex and Forrest talk in the Crashdown:

"Hope that limp isn't from a paintball injury."

"Nope. Those bruises have mostly healed. I just got a new prosthetic. Takes a minute to get used to. You working on your book?"

"I write my book on my computer. However, I write my angsty emo poetry in an angsty emo journal."

"I'm actually working on some poetry myself. Well, song lyrics, technically. It's a lot harder than it was in high school."

"Yeah, writing was easier for me when I was a kid too. Feelings...we bury 'em now. You just got to find that thing inside of you that doesn't have a voice. Lend it yours. You know? Listen, I have like, zero musical talent, but if you need help with the worst part, we could, uh…"

"Actually I'm leaving tomorrow for a few days to go talk to some recruits."

Michael interruptus, and the conversation goes casual.

--What happened to "angsty nerd isn't really my type." Or...was it FORESHADOWING!!!?! 😂

--Oh hi there clear shot of Forrest's clearly Deep Sky logoed ring…

Cam has been having debilitating migraines that have been keeping her bedridden since the abduction.

Nurse Kate is a badass. she tries to keep ICE from getting into a patient's room. Liz hears her and hurries to the waiting room, where there's more ICE activity. Liz panics and tries to get Arturo out of the hospital, but she caught the attention of the ICE officers. However, Liz knows her rights.

"He has applied for his green card. I'm his sponsor, okay? This is his G-1145 right here."

"You can show that to the court."

"It's okay. Call the lawyer."

"No. He is a diabetic. It is illegal to detain a patient."

"Exigent circumstances. Move."

"No. Hey, this is an unconstitutional arrest and the ACLU will be all over you."

"Elizabeth, we respect the law in this family. If you're in trouble, who will take care of the mouse?"

--G-1145 is a request for confirmation that your green card application has been accepted:

--The timing of this all. Liz has been prepared for this moment all her life and would fight it to the point of getting arrested herself, if not for Rosa. Rosa's safety is the only thing that convinces Liz to step aside.

--As an only semi related note, this is a really interesting contrast to how they wrote Jeanine's character out on Grey's Anatomy.

--Also feel like it would be remiss of me to not point out Liz's reactiveness and fightinf mentality is mirroring how Liz initially reacted to Max pulling her over in the pilot.

"Okay. So the Deputy on call says there's one detention center in the county. Here's the info."

"He doesn't have anything left in Mexico. No one. Nowhere to go."

"You can't think like that right now."

"I think like this always. Rosa and I used to recite our escape plan for if our parents got deported and we got separated in foster care. I begged my parents not to tell Santa where we lived because I was afraid he'd ask for papers. My whole life was built on a fear of this day coming, and it's here. If I'd have kept better track of his health, he wouldn't need these tests. I should have made him move to California. I thought we were safe being outside the hundred-mile zone, but after this election I should have known better. And I should have made him wear a sweater this morning because it's freezing out there. And what if he…?"

"...okay think. Is there someone we can call?"

"Kyle's at a conference, but I can have him call his mom."

"Do you know anyone with some real power? You know, Federal muscle?"

Cam gets dressed to take Liz to the Detention Center and Liz calls Diego for help.

The road trip group arrive at the reservation and meet Gregory Manes. He says he remembers them all from high school. He takes Max, Michael, and Isobel to learn about Louise while Alex and Maria go jewelry shopping.

Meanwhile Gregory is taking the Pod Squad to Louise's grave, but pauses for some flirting:

"You're still the Isobel Evans who convinced the basketball captain to pull four different fire alarms to get out of AP Gov, right? Yeah, legend. Here she is."

"Oh my God, it's covered in flowers. It's winter."

"Rumor is they grow year-round unattended. She was a healer. I'm told she helped with trauma, addiction, that sort of thing. All without speaking."

"This another grave?"

"She was pregnant."

"Louise arrived gravely injured. And the baby didn't survive.

--Louise died the same day the Pod Squad came out of the pods, confirming that she is probably the old woman on the reservation that was described in 1x09.

--Michael found the mysterious purple flowers growing on Louise's grave.

Alex and Maria at the trading post.

"Are you okay? Seem a little off."

"I had a vision during a meeting this morning. It almost cost me a deal that could save the bar. Maybe I should just wear the necklace. Go back to being a social media guru. Slash barkeep. Slash magical trope in our redneck mayor's fantasy."

"So why did you really come today? Your ideal day off isn't fighting for the radio silence with Isobel Evans, so…"

"This is the back of my necklace. The word stamped in the silver says Tsela. The necklace is Navajo, so I thought maybe that was the jeweler, but no one I've asked here seems to know who made it. I just want answers."

"Well, there's a ton of silver jewelry for sale here. So why don't we just keep looking for something with the same stamp?"

Pod Squad sharing a bottle of acetone by Louise's grave.

"Noah said our planet was war-torn. But the hell they found here can't have been worth it."

"Do you think that Louise's baby died from her injuries or do you think maybe it was never going to survive?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I was pregnant. When you died. Obviously I'm not anymore. I just can't help wondering if that was my last chance. Assuming that humans and aliens can't procreate because they're different species. Maybe that little baby wasn't viable."

"You almost died during the abortion, didn't you? I could feel it. Noah almost killed you again, huh? Oh, I need a minute."

After Max leaves Michael offers to be a sperm donor for Isobel if she ever wants to have a kid.

Liz at the Detainment Center

"It's Ortecho. Arturo Ortecho. He's my dad. And he needs gliclazide and beta-blockers. I brought both."

"We can't take contraband here, but there is an infirmary on-site, if he's here."

"You know, out of curiosity, did Nebane Abienwi visit an infirmary before he died of a brain bleed in your custody? What about Johana Medina León? She was 25 years old, okay? People walk through those doors and they die...Who's your supervisor? You need prior approval before conducting enforcement in a hospital. There was a compliance memo."

"Right, a memo, which is just like a law only not. Unless you calm down, I'm gonna arrest you for obstruction."

"Okay, Liz, maybe sit down. Sir, I'm Deputy Jenna Cameron, and we appreciate your interpretation of your guidelines, but we have an urgent health concern about an inmate here, if you just wouldn't mind checking the system."

Jenna goes with the agent…when she returns...

"Do you have a court case next week for a vandalism charge?"

"What? Yes, but I didn't do it. I'm just gonna plead guilty and pay the fine. It's nothing."

"They denied your dad's green card application because of a misdemeanor on your record. You can't be his sponsor."

Jenna's headaches overtake her. Meanwhile, the ICE agent comes back with news:

"Here just came up. Ortecho is being transferred to El Paso for his deportation hearing. You can see him there around Tuesday."

--Liz's misdemeanor is taking the fall for Rosa's vandalism from when she was arrested by Sheriff Valenti in 2x02.

Gregory takes the Pod Squad to see Harrison who is on his death bed. Manes boys are always welcome here, the woman tells them. Harrison is the only one Louise ever spoke to on the reservation.

"He met my great uncle Tripp Manes fighting in WWII. Harry was a code talker."

Michael gets Gregory to leave with him so that Max and Isobel can go inside of Harrison's head. Their conversation:

"You look like her."

"Harrison. You look different."

"That was a lesson I learned from Louise. How to take your mind to a better time when you're in pain. Come on. I haven't seen the sky in a while. I'll tell you about her...I taught Tripp the codes in the Pacific. That's how we set up the rescue. He was supposed to snuggle Louise and Nora here, but the plan fell apart."

In the past between Harrison and Tripp:

"You've changed. The man I met on that ship obeyed orders."

"Guess I saw what happens when good men fall in line with bad orders. I'm a Christian, Harry. When evil itself tells me to kill a woman with child, I disobey. Even if the evil looks just like my brother."

A nurse rolls Louise into the room in a wheelchair.

"Did you find a family for her?"

"There should be music where you take her. I think she's a dancer."

"You can give her a house full of music, Louise. Nora wanted me to protect you so that you could protect the child."

"No. He's coming for me and I can't even move. No. When the devil comes, I won't be able to fight for her. Please. It is hard to be a woman on your planet. It's only gonna be harder still for her. Roy Bronson believed in meeting hatred with compassion. And I want her to be like him. A light in the darkness. A little star on the ground. I want that for both my girls."

"Where did he take the baby?"

"Can't say."

"No. Tell us where our sister went."

"She isn't your sister. Louise rarely spoke, but when she did, she spoke of two daughters. Two stars on the ground. She had no sons. You aren't hers. You came from something else...She lived for decades longer than she should have, trapped inside of a body that could no longer dance, waiting for a sign that you would be all right. She loved you."

Jenna wakes up back at the hospital.

"I asked them to run a new test. Your headaches are spinal headaches. Because there was a hole torn into your spinal cord."

"I'm sorry, what? My kidnappers gave me a spinal tap?"

"Do you mind signing off so I can look at your tox screen?"

"Yeah, of course, but, Liz, you don't have to do this, okay? Your dad, and…"

"I need a distraction. I can't leave for El Paso until tomorrow, and they're not letting him have visitors other than his lawyer until Tuesday, so...thank you for being here. You used your privilege to help me. I'm furious that I needed it, but I needed it."

--Reposado is a type of tequila

--Spinal Headaches:

Isobel and Max on what they learned from Harrison:

"You've always been different than me and Michael, okay? Always. You were the leader. From the start. I mean, you're the special one. You're the healer."

"I was. Now I can't even sneeze without my heart skipping a beat. All my life, no matter how weird things got, I never felt alone. Because I was your twin. Maybe I'm different. Maybe I'm a freak...I can't stop thinking about being chained up when I was a kid. It didn't feel like someone bad chained me up. It felt like I was the someone bad."

"Max, you're not dangerous."

"Saving people destroys me. But killing Noah? That felt good. I was high. And whenever I think about what he did to you, I want to chase that high. I wish I could kill him a thousand times. Louise mentioned the devil. Maybe something evil was chasing them. And maybe that something was me."

"Okay. I want to show you something. You see this hand on her shoulder there? See, Michael thought it was just someone who got cropped out of the photo, but no. Any female would recognize that body language. She does not want that hand on her. Louise said the devil would come. I think something evil was after them, but it wasn't you. I want to find out who it was."

Alex and Gregory:

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you before we go. I also feel like I should congratulate you on getting out."

"Of the Navy?"

"Of the family. Getting out from under Dad."

"You got to break free of him, man."

"Do you feel free?"

"I don't think I get to be free until you are, Alex. You know, you're my brother. I wish that I would've stood up for you more."

"You know, I think he's actually getting a little bit better. It's like the stroke melted away the psycho in his brain or something."

"If you can forgive him you should. Cast off the stone. Let me hate him for you. I owe you that much."

Back at the trading post with the whole road trip group.

"We scoured the store for jewelry that said Tsela on it, but nada. Although I did manage to spend an entire week's worth of tips anyway."

"Tsela?"

"Yeah it was printed on the back of my grandmother's necklace. I thought I might find some answers here."

"Well, apparently, it is Navajo for star on the ground. So, you guys ready to go?"

"Star on the ground. Maria? What year was your grandmother born?"

"Uh, '48, I think?"

"Was she adopted?"

"Yeah. Oh my God."

"Your grandmother was my sister."

Note: The direct translation of Tsela is stars lying down. Interestingly, it's often a name in Navajo. When I googled it, the top results were names for Navajo boys.

Diego and Liz's conversation:

"Diego, I never would have reached out if it weren't an emergency. Thank your mom for me."

"The Senator was more than happy to call in a favor. She's always liked you."

"I like her too. We need more people like her."

"Look, we got lucky your dad got out at all, much less without an ankle monitor. And you pissed a few people off back there, so it's not likely that this is the end for you. Who's your lawyer? Or should I make some calls?"

"No, you've done enough. After what I did, I can't even believe you listened to my voicemail...How did you get here so fast?"

"I was at the airport in Phoenix when you called. Just had to reroute real fast."

"And how have you been?"

"Well, my fiancée left me. I'm kidding. No, I'm seeing someone. It's getting pretty serious, so…"

"Good. Me too."

"Good. We can be friends...And don't take this the wrong way. Please tell me you're not wasting that incredible brain of yours writing alien hamburger puns."

"I am working on a few projects. Nothing I can talk about, but, I'm not wasting anything."

"Well, all the coolest studies make you sign NDAs anyway, so…"

"You know what? There actually is something...Do you know what butyricol is? Worth a shot. It's this chemical I found in my friend's tox screen. I had never heard of it."

"Maybe you're slacking, Ortecho."

"I am sorry, it has only been a year. Did you literally forget everything about me?"

Note: I'm very pleased to say that when I googled butyricol, half of the top results were RNM related. Definitely not a real drug.

Malex fight in the bunker:

"We're closed!"

"Hey, that alien console piece that Jim Valenti left me...You still have it?"

"No. I sold it on eBay."

"You didn't attach it to your console."

"I tried. Doesn't fit."

"So, Tripp left this for my dad before he died. My dad thought it was a code, but this is a reference sketch of this exact piece. My dad's been looking for this thing for 30 years and Jim Valenti had it all along...I'm gonna give it to him. I want to see what he does with it once he's got it. Look, if it didn't fit in your console, then it fits somewhere else. My dad could lead us there.""Your dad hunts aliens, Alex. He'll lead my family right off a cliff."

"I've protected you so far. That's not changing. Besides, he's different these days...I don't trust him, Guerin. I just…I'm asking you to trust me.""When we were kids, you believed people were good, despite humanity doing everything to prove you otherwise. And, God, I loved you for it. But what was charming when we were 17, it's just stupid now. How do you not see that? You believe there's some good in your father?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. God forbid I have faith in people who don't give me a good reason to."

"That's not fair."

"No? Why is your hand covered? You miss your injury because you want to hurt. Your anger made you feel safe. I will always hate my father for what he did to you, but I don't want to live in that toolshed for the rest of my life. I don't want to walk around thinking that people don't change, that one day everyone's just gonna let me down, 'cause I am not building a damn rocket ship in a hidden lair. There's one way for me off this planet. And I need to believe in a reason to stay. I promise I'll keep you safe."

"Can't let you leave with that."

"What are you gonna do? Fight me for it?"

And then Alex leaves and is kidnapped. Hit over the head by an unknown assailant. The note from Tripp blows away.

Max and Liz are talking back at Max's house while Max drinks a lot of bourbon.

"You know, you never told me why your parents immigrated here in the first place."

"My dad wanted a family, but not in Juárez. There was no opportunity, no money. Women were disappearing there all the time. He didn't want my mom to be one of them. So he fled. You're wondering why your family came here."

"If I even had a family. I know so little about my own story. And the parts I thought I understood are just unraveling."

"Max. Family is the one area where I am certain that biology does not matter. Look, when I found out that Rosa was only my half sister that didn't change anything."

"This is different...There are only three of us on this planet, as far as we know. I mean, feeling disconnected from them makes me feel completely alone."

"Completely alone? I'm right here."

"When you needed a rescue today your Mensa society, old money son of a senator ex was there to answer your prayers. I couldn't even answer a call. You didn't need me."

"Oh my God. Okay, so would you prefer that I did need you? Would you prefer to come home to find me crying into my dad's windbreaker so that you can swoop me up and drive me to El Paso for his deportation hearing in the morning?"

"That's not fair. You wanted me to talk about today."

"Yes, okay. I'm sorry. I want you to feel better."

"Well, you think maybe you could go back in time and not meet someone as handsome as Diego? Seriously. He's like if someone mixed a cologne ad with a Kennedy. It's ridiculous. I will never feel adequate again."

"You're wrong. Max, let me be clear. You are objectively better in bed...And I never woke up on a Sunday morning to him singing Hank Williams in the shower...He never snuck unreasonable tips into my dad's checks. Or quoted Henry the Fourth. Coming home to you at the end of my worst days and my best days is the only rescue I need."

I actually found this background on the Ortechos to be fascinating. In case you don't know Juárez is a pretty big city directly opposite the border from El Paso. It does have some huge crime issues. But it also is one of those border cities where the border is a little thinner. Like San Diego and Tijuana. People live in Juárez and work in El Paso and vice versa.

If you want to see a really dark & gritty portrayal of Juárez, I'd highly recommend you to check out the American version of the show The Bridge. Which literally deals with an investigation related to disappearing women.

Isobel and Maria at the Pony:

"She looks so determined."

"Yeah, neither of us would be here if she hadn't been. You know she was paralyzed 50 years and she still managed to use her powers to help ease troubled minds. You know how hard that is? To take on someone else's suffering? I mean, it doesn't just disappear. She would have been carrying all of that."

"She suffered so much loss."

"I don't know how to be worth it."

Michael on the bracelet.

"The beads are made with pollen from the alien flower. I found another plant growing at Louise's grave. Okay my working theory is that they grow from alien remains. There's this UFO lore about that Libyan desert where the flowers have been discovered before. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. I know better than to think I can save Maria DeLuca. I hope you decide you can save yourself."

Max is still drinking after Liz went to bed. At 4:04am Diego calls and wakes her up.

"I made a call, about that toxin in your friend's system. Butyricol. It's a drug. It's a memory eraser. It was developed by a private organization and purchased by the military for weaponization. There's no approved application outside of violent combat."

Liz tries to call Alex, but he's too busy being unconscious in the back of his SUV. So his kidnapper pockets his phone.

Max has a memory flash. There's fighting, weapons clashing, a woman's voice...all while he's chained down in the cave. Louise appears and kneels down to touch his shoulder. He looks afraid, but she's trying to comfort him (even though she has blood splattered all over her white clothes). She smiles and nods and then cuts Max free of the chains with her alien weapon. She offers him her hand, but before he can take it a figure in white appears and he and Louise fight. Max cries out and hides his face.

Present day Max is visibly shook by the flash.

MUSIC:

1. Shelly Fairchild "Worry No More"

2. Powerslide "Just You And I"

3. Will Fox "Against The Tide"

4. Tommee Profitt feat. Sam Tinnesz "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"

#roswell new mexico #details #rnm season 2 #episode details #long post #rnm 210 #american woman

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who-talks-first · 4 years

Text

The Skywalker Legacy documentary confirms what I was already fairly certain was true.

I don't need to go in-depth for you Bendemption fans. I know you picked up on all the little things after the death of Kylo Ren.

But I just want to go over this a bit because, while I maintain that Kylo Ren didn't deserve redemption, if it HAD to be done, this was absolutely the best (only) way it could have happened, and I really respect Adam's performance and all JJ's attention to detail.

The metaphorical (and literal?) death of Kylo Ren and rebirth of Ben Solo don't need to be explained. But the inclusion of which gives us such a tangible, real, tactile setup for his redemption. It doesn't happen here. This is just the catalyst that lets it happen.

Harrison Ford's uncredited cameo is so beautiful. It makes this scene possible. I think it's meant to be intentionally vague, but I personally feel that Leia sent him through the Force. Memory, Force Ghost, regular ghost, guilt vision, whatever - Leia made sure her son saw it.

And from then on, with the rebirth of Ben, we get to see the man he could have been. Brave. Strong. Feeling. I don't know how they do it, but his entire affect AND appearance change. The way KR holds himself, how his hair falls is entirely different from those of BS. And it's impressive acting and makeup/wardrobe. Ben's hair is... dare I say it? Fluffy. Where we all mocked Kylo for his nasty greasy Snape hair. Something about Adam's face, even when he's fighting, feels more natural, more relaxed.

You know what? In 15 minutes of screen time for BS, I actually like him. Meaning, if he had been a character in movies instead of KR, I would have liked him and rooted for him along with the other heroes. He even looks more youthful. Instead of the 40 year old appearance in TLJ, Ben looks like he's 25 (a little closer to the character's actual age, I think). And I think that's good filmmaking that all those things can be made apparent * just like that.

Anyway. I want to focus on some details. There's probably something to be said about the costume change - from the hard, rigid armor of KR to the, uh, is that a sweater? of BS. When did he have time to do that? How'd he get off Endor? I have other questions about that escape, but that's not the focus of this discussion.

Anyway, I seen all the GIFs where scenes with KR mirror the behaviors his parents (like the Solo Slide). But I think that as Ben, we really see him channel his parents.

This is the most obvious one to me:

Han in TFA at Maz's castle/Ben arriving on Exegol (some kind person already GIFed it for me)

That's very deliberate given that these are both JJ's films.

Now this may not be as intentional as I think, but it's obvious to me. Leia training with her brother /Ben answering the knights' challenge

That casual, wide stance? I dunno. It feels like something he picked up from his mom like he picked up the other thing from his dad.

All this stuff just let you see and feel what was taken away by Snoke and Palpatine. He could have been a good man, strong fighter for the light, a Jedi like his mother before him and her father before her. It gives you that sharp contrast of what you lose when you choose the dark.

Then Ben and Rey both squaring up to fight Palpatine and then he straight up removes Ben from the fight completely. That's important. It makes sure there's no misunderstanding that this is Rey's fight. No one else can fight it for her or take it away from her. Kylo Ren said "that saber belongs to me" but the truth is Rey earned it. But I digress.

TROS builds up how strong Rey is in the Force throughout the movie, showing her ability to transfer life. Something it appears she learned on her own.

So when she falls. And it's made clear that she is dead. (Her body doesn't immediately disappear, however, and I think there's another discussion to be had on why that is!)

And Ben hesitates. You can see him wonder if he can do it.

He puts his hand on Rey and transfers far more than "a bit of life". Already drained by his and Rey's life-forces being used to revive Palpatine, it takes everything that is left in him. But he is also pulling Rey back from somewhere she hadn't yet pulled anyone with her own technique. Is Ben more powerful in the Force than she? (I don't think so, but I think in another life he could have been) I think Ben only knows all or nothing. It's part of how he got here in the first place. Perhaps he could have brought Rey back from the other side without using all his strength. Perhaps not. We'll never know.

Now I do not approve of the kiss. I don't even know how to begin discussing my feelings on it. But maybe it was necessary to include it just to pacify the Reylos (as if the redemption arc wasn't enough).

But the smile. The smile is so important. We've not once seen Kylo Ren happy anywhere in the series. I don't think anything he could ever achieve would have made him happy. But Ben, maybe even aware that he is about to meet his end, is so happy that she is alive, that he succeeded in saving her, that she defeated Palpatine, (that she is in his arms?) and he finally smiles and again we see the man that should have been. It's bittersweet. As relieved as I am to see Kylo Ren perish (because, like Darth Vader, after taking so many many lives, saving only one is not enough to live a free life) I am saddened to see Ben Solo die. There's probably a conversation to be had on how anyone can be tempted by evil. I dunno. I'm not a philosopher or anything.

Anyway. My sister, who is not really a Star Wars fan but who often understands storytelling far better than I, informed me that Leia was essentially possessing her son for the duration of the redemption arc. That's why her body doesn't disappear until Ben dies. That's why he fights like her, understands Rey's techniques better, can heal like that... I don't know if she's right, my sister. I don't think it's all Leia cuz I'll be damned if she kisses Rey on the mouth.

And then my bf informed me that Ben became a part of Rey when he disappeared into the Force. That's why his ghost didn't appear later. I don't know how I feel about that. I def don't know how Finn and Poe are going to feel when Rey tells them both this. I can't imagine wanting to smooch your gf after you find out that Hitler's wannabe poser grandson is possessing her. I mean.

Okay I've been writing so long I've lost what little coherency I started with. I'm so sorry.

But I just wanted to share my thoughts on all this with you guys. My main point is that if the redemption of Ben Solo had to be included in the film, I genuinely believe that it could not have been done better - from a storytelling standpoint AND with regards to the performance itself! - than they did for TROS. My hat is off to JJ and Adam, really.

(oh and his insistence on doing all his own stunts? Adorable.)

(I'm cool for discussion on the topic, but I have neither the time nor the energy to fight any Reylos about this and anyone trying to start drama gets the ol' Instablork.)

#The rise of Skywalker #star wars episode ix #Tros #Ben solo #Kylo Ren #Adam driver #Jj abrams #Daisy Ridley #Rey #Rey Skywalker #Princess Leia #Luke Skywalker #Han solo #Star wars

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thatsjustsupergirl · 7 years

Note

Random but I'm still peeved about the Alex/Kara argument in 2.02. Especially the part where Alex claims to have given up a career in medicine to protect Kara. I mean, I'm not sure if that's bad writing or Alex IC blatantly ignoring reality because Alex was not gonna graduate due to academic probation plus she was in jail for at least public intoxication if not a DUI (I can't remember if she got arrested before putting the keys in the ignition or not). 1/

She wasn’t exactly ‘days away’ from graduating med school or anything. Now Alex may have taken the job with J'onn to protect Kara but I’m pretty sure J'onn made the offer to throw a lifeline to a drowning Alex not to protect Kara. But the whole protect-Kara angle really doesn’t hold water since Alex didn’t give Kara even an ounce of potentially life-saving information that she learned at the DEO. Nothing about Kryptonite or secret anti-alien agencies who could blackbag her. 2/

It feels more like Alex enjoyed the leverage of knowledge even while Kara expressed dissatisfaction with her own life. (Did she like lying to her sister? Probably not. Was there a selfish satisfaction to knowing more the Kara, to being part of something bigger? Yeah, I think there was a bit.) 3/

But outside of the influences of redK Kara would never pick apart an argument like that IC but IDK it seems like a very significant character flaw that fandom tends to ignore which is disappointing because the selfishness plays so well off Alex’s deepseated guilt and sense of duty. Alex!Discourse usually focuses on her relationship with Eliza or making her a martyr for her sister which does as much disservice to the nuance of her character as it does to write Kara only as a space puppy. 4/4

This ask made me so happy.

I just finished my S2 talk time project a few days ago and then went back and rewatched the pilot, and let me tell you it is very easy to forget just how much progress Alex and Kara have made, because wow is it jarring to see them at the start of S1 where Alex is so much worse at emotional vulnerability and amped up on passive-aggressive snark.

I really loved that scene in 2x02, which I have written about before, because it highlights all of those flaws without taking away from the fact that Alex still makes a valid point that Kara needed to hear.

Nobody is perfectly consistent in how they express themselves. Ever. People are chaotic and messy and complicated, and they find ways to rationalize bad choices to themselves. They find ways to rationalize good choices, too. They forget about the emotions that motivated a decision over time, or their relationships change and suddenly a memory is recolored into something that isn’t quite reality anymore. A person’s internal logic or truth is not always *the* truth. But none of that means they are “out of character” the second there is a mismatch.

It just means they’re human.

And you hit the nail on the head: Alex was not telling the objective truth in 2x02, but she might well have been telling a truth she believed. Alex has spent years inventing excuses to justify her life choices and coming up with lies to tell her sister and her mother to keep them off her back. At some point the truth and the fiction are going to start blurring in her mind, at least a little. That’s just how our brains work.

Plus, we’re talking about a woman who was so confident she could beat a polygraph that she didn’t even break a sweat about having no time to prepare. The mental self-trickery that requires is insane. Alex Danvers is good at lying to others, but she’s even better at lying to herself.

So, when it comes to Kara and the complicated relationship they have as siblings? Alex can absolutely be petty, and mean, and hurttful. That doesn’t mean she loves Kara any less. It doesn’t negate all the things she does that are generous or compassionate or selfless.

What it does is make her a well-rounded character. Just like how Kara is more well-rounded for being impulsive and self-centered and stubborn in addition to all of her good qualities.

To return to your point about that period in Alex’s life where she was struggling and J’onn pulled her out: yes, she was absolutely giving Kara a revised interpretation of events. Alex’s memories from 1x17 were not actually things she spoke out loud during that interrogation. (At least, I am 99% confident she was not sharing all of her personal failings in explicit detail, especially since long-winded rambling is not part of a polygraph.) So Kara, as far as we know, still remains in the dark about the exact depth of her sister’s issues. And Alex clearly doesn’t ever want her to find out, because that would be damaging on a wayyyyy worse level than her occasionally being an asshole when they fight.

But, within that scene from 2x02, do we know for sure that Alex is lying? We can’t see into her head, after all. Maybe she genuinely believes she would’ve clawed her way out of her funk eventually and gone into medicine if J’onn hadn’t intervened. Maybe she legitimately wanted to be a doctor even though she was a depressed, self-loathing mess and on the verge of failing out. Maybe she only said yes to the DEO because she was afraid Henshaw would blackmail her or her family, or get Kara carted off to some creepy government lab if she turned him down.

All of that, however, does not negate your point, which is that once she got to the DEO, that choice became about her. Not her family, not her sister. Just her.

For possibly the first time in her adult life.

That had to be powerfully liberating. And I agree, it probably gave Alex some immense satisfaction to know that while she might not have Kara’s superpowers, she could still be out there in the world kicking alien ass anyway. We also know she felt good about the fact that her coworkers and her boss recognized her efforts and her talents, and that she was happy to find a space where that was even possible. Those were not things she’d ever had before. And yeah, she guarded them rather selfishly.

I am iffy, however, on criticizing Alex for not telling Kara about Kryptonite and such, because it’s one of the very first things she and J’onn explain to Kara in the pilot ep. (I’m also iffy because Clark knew Kryptonite existed for way longer than Alex did, and he never told her about it either!) And I don’t think Kara would’ve needed a warning about “secret anti-alien agencies,” at least not prior to her decision to start superheroing. Given that strange men showed up at their house when she was a kid and her foster dad changed jobs almost immediately thereafter and her family was constantly afraid she’d be taken away, I have a feeling Kara was already aware of that risk, at least on some level. You’ll note that she never questions the motivation behind Alex’s “never do something like that again” in 1x01, even though Alex is extremely harsh and hurts Kara’s feelings.

tl;dr: Alex, like the rest of us, has her flaws. She has a nasty tendency toward repressing or hiding negativity at her own expense, in part because she’s afraid to disappoint her loved ones, but also because her sense of empathy runs deep and she doesn’t like seeing others suffer. She can be passive-aggressive. She loses her temper in immature, ugly ways.

None of this means she’s a bad person. She’s usually a very good person! But it also doesn’t mean that we get to handwave the ugliness away as “shitty writing” just because it presents a challenge as far as understanding her character.

#alex danvers #danvers sisters #long post #my meta #anonymous #asks

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trancowboy · 7 years

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Hi Charlie, I'm making a thing and I was wondering if you could help me by shraing your view about steve rogers and bucky barnes, as individual characters as well as your view of their relationship together, headcanons and such, is totally okay if you can't, but if you do I'd be eternally grateful! Thanks anyway

Pal, you basically just invited me to write a whole entire essay about these two assholes, so… I’m sorry? This is gonna get long and most likely sad.

Steve Rogers:

Steve is an asshole, through and through. He’s got a heart of gold and being a good person is in his nature, but my god is he an asshole.

He will fight anyone who does him or anyone he cares about wrong. He won’t hesitate to pick a fight and he would much rather throw some punches than have a verbal conversation/discussion.

Steve Rogers talks with his fists. He’ll fight until he physically can’t stand anymore and even then he will stand up and push himself just that last little bit.

(”I could do this all day.” Steve, my angry baby, have a seat and take a nap.)

Steve is the bisexual we deserve. I think he’s always been aware that he’s attracted to both men and women, but he never told anyone about it back in the day. He didn’t need people to have another reason to beat him up, so he kept it quiet.

(And if he paid a little more attention to certain drawings of a certain boy, then that was his business.)

I don’t think he knew there was a name for what he feels until he woke up in the future. But once he found out and learned more about it, I like to think he’d be a Proud Bi and just tell everyone he comes across because it’s okay now and he can do it.

Sure, it gets a little tiring when he answers his phone with, “Steve Rogers, proud bisexual. Hello,” but his friends get used to it and strangers get past the confusion quickly.

Steve swears. A lot. Like a whole fucking lot. I actively ignore the whole “Language” line (unless it was a joke that Steve only told because he’s tired of the ~grandpa~ jokes, which, ok, I can get behind that) because Steve Rogers has the mouth of a fucking sailor.

Steve can swear up a storm but compliment him or flirt with him or be extra nice or anything and he’ll blush like a tomato and become so awkward he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

Even after all these years, Steve still feels a bit awkward in this new body of his. He doesn’t miss being skinny and sickly and tiny and on the brink of death all the time, but sometimes he doesn’t like being big and muscle-y either. Sometimes he doesn’t like how he can’t make himself invisible as easily as he used to.

Sometimes he just wants to curl up under the covers of his bed and hide from the outside world that has painted him as a person he’s not; a world that sees him as a soldier and Captain America™ rather than a human being.

He lives in a world he doesn’t recognize where everyone he ever knew and cared about are either dead or only remembers him half the time. This deleted scene from The Avengers shows just how detached to the world he feels and honestly, I have way too many feelings about that three minute video.

Steve throws himself into danger (jumping on a grenade without thought, crashing the Valkyrie, jumping out of a plane without a parachute, etc) because he doesn’t really care whether he lives or dies. He never feared death because death has loomed over him like a shadow since he was a child.

And maybe he wants death to take him sometimes. He definitely wanted to when he crashed the Valkyrie. He could have fought more, could have figured out a way to save the world and still survive, but he was tired and he just wanted it to end, so he stopped fighting.

And then he woke up 70 years later to more fighting and he just never slowed down or took a break, because if he did, he’d have to deal with how he was feeling and he couldn’t handle that. He didn’t want to deal with it because it was too painful.

While extremely heavy on the angst, Einherjar by thecommodore_squid perfectly portrays Steve’s depression. Steve in that fic is pretty much exactly how I see him.

MOVING ON TO HAPPIER THINGS, SHALL WE?

Steve is a Disney nerd. He probably didn’t get to catch up on all the new Disney movies between TFA and CW, but between giving up the shield and becoming Nomad (@ marvel let me have bearded!nomad!steve pls and thanks) he probably took a breather for the first time in years and started on the list.

(Does he sit with a laptop by Bucky’s cryo freezer and watches them with him??? haha shoot me)

Steve will fight for what he believes in, no matter what. He proved that in CW when he gave up everything for Bucky without thinking twice.

And then, of course, there’s my headcanon that Steve is trans but if I dive into that, this thing is gonna end up 100k on Steve alone.

Bucky Barnes:

Bucky cares so much. He’s the guy who stood by this skinny, little punk’s side when no one else did. He’s the guy who probably worked his ass off for hours and hours just to get enough money so Steve could get healthy (or healthier) again.

He’s the guy who went through torture and trauma and had the opportunity to get an honorable discharge after what he went through, but he didn’t. Instead he followed his best friend back into war and it cost him his life and freedom and self.

But I’d bet my left foot that he’d do it all again, because he’s Bucky and Bucky cares so goddamn much about everyone but himself.

Bucky is gay. Yes, he was with women back in the day and yes, he kissed them and fooled around with them and probably got off a little, but I think he did it just because it was expected of him.

If it wasn’t because it would be suspicious to everyone else, he would probably just stay home with Steve and pine every single day.

Bucky is such a giant fucking nerd. He finds science and technology incredibly exciting. I mean, he did spend his last night before going off to war dragging Steve to the Stark Expo (and their dates but eh).

Imagine his reaction to all the science stuff he missed while being used by Hydra? He’s gonna light up like a child on Christmas. God, I love my nerd son so much.

Bucky is smart as hell and no one can convince me otherwise. I mean, “[…] having been an excellent athlete who also excelled in the classroom” is proof enough.

Bucky has been through hell and back several times. He’s been wiped of his memories and himself until he was a blank slate for Hydra to do whatever they wanted to with, and it’s happened probably more times than he’s been able to keep track of. And every time he started regaining just a little bit of himself or just one little memory, the torture would start all over again.

He’s been through hell, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he suffers from a severe case of PTSD.

Bucky Barnes is a man who cares and protects and when he’s made into a weapon who kills and murders and destroys – when he himself becomes the danger, he locks himself away because he thinks that’s the best thing for everybody.

Steve + Bucky:

There’s no Steve without Bucky, and there’s no Bucky without Steve. Steve and Bucky have always been SteveandBucky, and one without the other means they’re never really whole.

They’re their own person, sure, but they’re better together. They make each other better. Bucky makes sure Steve doesn’t kill himself with his stupidity and recklessness, and Steve makes sure Bucky gets protected and cared for too.

Steve will give up everything for Bucky, no hesitation and no questions asked, and Bucky will do whatever it takes to protect Steve, even if that means hurting him in the process (ie going into cryo).

Bucky is Steve’s dark side and Steve will do anything for him.

I have mixed thoughts on who fell in love with who first. My first instinct is to say Bucky fell in love with Steve first because of all the obvious pining in TFA, but then I think about little Steve Rogers who everyone beat up and disregarded and didn’t care about getting saved by this wonderful boy who doesn’t look down on him and treats him like an equal and I think it was easy for Steve to fall in love with Bucky, so I’m just¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

It doesn’t really matter who fell in love with who first though, does it? What mattes is that they love each other unconditionally and ‘til the end of the line (and beyond cause c’mon. That kinda love is never gonna die).

To end on a lighter note, I’m gonna give you some fluffy headcanons cause I have A Lot.

Steve is the big spoon. He always has been. Bucky loved when there was a skinny octopus clinging to him and barely being able to cover him and he loves it when he’s surrounded by pillowy muscles and warmth.

Bucky was Steve’s favorite subject to draw. And even after everything, even when he hadn’t seen him for years and thought he was dead, Steve still drew him because he never wanted to forget the face of the man he loves.

Whenever Bucky talks about science stuff, he gets all excited and extra cute, and Steve always falls in love with him a little bit more.

Same for when Steve talks about art or literally anything he’s passionate about. Steve could talk about poop and piss for an hour, and Bucky would be making heart-eyes at him the whole time.

Steve used to wear Bucky’s shirts all the time. His excuse used to be that he was too lazy to do laundry, but really, he just liked wearing Bucky’s clothes. (Bucky never minded.)

Clothes sharing is a Thing with these two. It’s a Thing that happens a lot and no one can convince me otherwise.

Bucky loves having his hair played with and Steve loves to play with Bucky’s hair.

Bucky has always loved dancing. That doesn’t change over the years, and he will make Steve dance with him again. (”I don’t care that the serum didn’t fix your two left feet, Stevie, dance with me.”)

When they finally do get together (whether that was before the war or after TWS doesn’t matter) Steve never wastes an opportunity to tell Bucky he loves him, and Steve takes every chance he can to kiss him because now he can.

Steve was probably the one who made the first move.

Steve is a little shit and Bucky loves him even when he’s being Extra and Dramatic and even when Bucky’s exasperated with him. Steve can be as much of an asshole as he wants to, because Bucky will always love him.

Bucky loves flirting with Steve just to see Steve blush bright red. (Sometimes Bucky will just casually put his hand on Steve’s butt or boob and Steve will become Captain Tomato.)

Steve will fucking fight anyone who says anything bad about Bucky.

Conclusion: Give these boys some hugs and a happy ending, please and thank you.

Anyway, I’ve got a ton more Thoughts but this is already so stupidly long, so I’m gonna stop there. Hope this was helpful (was it??? idk) and thank you for letting me ramble on about these two fuckers.

PS, tell me more about your thing or link me, maybe, if you wanna 👀

#steve rogers #bucky barnes #stevebucky #stucky #otp: till the end of the line #anonymous #answered #this distracted me for a while #which i really needed #so thank you

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