#I’m gonna watch the earthquake episode next

[unrealisticlea]

I rewatched “Under pressure” today I because I miss the weewoo show and because I wanted to see it dubbed in my language and I noticed some buddie stuff that I need to rant about:

First of all I’m dumb and I never realized the title “Under pressure” is from the infamous phrase “you’re badass under pressure brotha”. They really said “this is the most important sentence in the episode. Yeah, we have Bathena scenes for 20 minutes but what’s really important in this episode is BUCK AND EDDIE”.

i didn’t remember the grenade call was 10 minutes in. I remembered it being at the end of the episode, but no, buck and eddie enemies-to-lovers speedrun took HALF an episode. Not even an entire episode.

in my language buck doesn’t say “we might end up real close” he says “we might become one”. that’s a joke because he thought they were gonna explode together. idk if it’s a joke in English too and I never got it.

They have another call after that and it’s the head-stuck-in-the-microwave call. And Buck and Eddie jump in the pool together and are already more synchronized than synchronized swimming teams. This is in the episode they met for the first time. The message I’m getting from this scene is: look, they are ✨soulmates✨

in that call Bobby says “I’m gonna use the hammer” and Buck replies “no I wanna do it”. He’s already decided Eddie is his best friend at that point, so he’s not trying to prove himself. He is literally just trying to show off for him. Eddie tells him he’s good once and Buck’s brain immediately goes “how can I get him to tell me that again, every day, every second, forever”.

Bobby says “you didn’t win buck” and he IMMEDIATELY goes “Congratulation G.I.” because he’s so sure Eddie won because he’s super hot. This is the same scene as “He’s so cute” “yeah, you should see his kid” but it’s in the episode they met. Someone talks about someone else being hot/cute/great and Buck thinks “oh they surely must be talking about Eddie, my best friend Eddie, he’s the hottest/cutest/best person I know”

this has nothing to do with buddie but Chimney is dubbed by the guy who dubs the monkey in Shrek and this has absolutely ruined my viewing experience.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 08

✨GT Stands for Grope Tolerance.✨

All right, let’s just get this over with.  So they took the Oolong story from Dragon Ball Episode 4 and extended it to two parts. This episode sees the heroes’ plan put into practice.  Zoonama buys into Trunks’ disguise and takes him back to his lair, which is somehow a cave near a volcano that can only be accessed by a lake.  Trunks’ wig falls off, but Zoonama doesn’t care, because he thinks its just a different girl instead.  Trunks plays into this by introducing himself as “Tolerance”.  Why not just use your real name?  Even if “Trunks” was especially masculine, we’re on an alien planet, so how would he know?

So Trunks moves on to the next phase of the plan: getting Zoonama blotto’ed on sake.  Why is is red, though?  Because it’s alien sake, I guess.  The problem is that Zoonama is Straight Edge so he won’t drink it.  So Trunks distracts him and splashes it all over their dinner instead.  Wouldn’t he taste the sake on all the food?  I mean, I don’t drink either but I’m pretty sure if you soaked a dinner roll in whiskey, I would notice something wasn’t right.

While I’m on the topic, there’s this whole elaborate feast laid out on Zoonama’s table, and I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be the food the villagers were cooking up in the previous episode, while Trunks was getting fitted for his bridal gown.  But Zoonama never received the food, and even if he had, he never would have been able to take it home, since he’d have to carry it through the underwater tunnel.   So did he prepare all of this by himself?  No, that’s impossible, because he was shaking down the villagers for free food before this.  I’m pretty sure that was all he ever asked for until he decided he wanted a bride.

Yeah, here’s a flashback shot from Episode 7.  They’re giving this asshole all kinds of stuff, but how’s he supposed to get it into his house without soaking it through?  Is that a treasure chest?  Why does he need money?  Maybe those are actually scalloped potatoes instead of gold coins.

Never mind that shit, here’s Goku’s dick!  They’ve followed Trunks and Zunama to the lake connected to the cave, and Goku plans to swim around for clues, but Pan is aghast at him taking off all his clothes in front of her.  Look, Pan, it’s Dragon Ball, Goku’s gonna strut around nude.  You wanted to go along on this mission, so I don’t know what else to tell you. 

I like how she’s threatening to tell Chi-Chi about this, like she can do anything about it.  “Yeah, that’ll happen,” Chi-Chi will say when Pan gets back to Earth. 

All right, so the final step in Pan’s strategy is to link up with Trunks, then cut off Zunama’s whiskers, which is what he uses to start earthquakes.  They snip off one, but he wakes up before they can do the other, because they take their sweet-ass time about it.  Seriously, this whole series has been one rest-hold after another.  I recommend checking out a YouTube channel I found where this guy had edited every episode of GT down to under two minutes.  I watched them all in about half an hour’s time, and it still felt tedious.

So Zunama wakes up and the first thing he asks is why his bride is wearing that stupid outfit, so Trunks has to explicitly state that he’s a man.  It’d be funny if Zunama said “No, I figured that part out.   What I’m asking is: why are you wearing a beige sportscoat and khaki shorts?  You look like an idiot.”

Zunama finally figures out he’s been tricked, and tries to start an earthquake with his remaining whisker.  This time he threatens to cause the volcano to explode, which... wouldn’t that kill him along with everyone else?   They‘re right next to the damn thing, and just because he can cause earthquakes doesn’t mean he can survive their effects.

It doesn’t matter, because the quake stops even though his whisker is still wiggling.  Pan then deduces the truth: Zunama can’t cause earthquakes and never could.  Instead, he has the ability to predict earthquakes, and he’s been using it to fool people into thinking he could control them.

Then, as Zunama tearfully admits the truth, another earthquake happens, and the volcano begins to erupt.  See, in the last episode, it was established that Zunama’s visits had been getting more and more frequent, and that was because the seismic activity in the region was getting worse, and he had to put in an appearance each time in order to maintain his scam.  This has all been building up to this damn volcano erupting, which will likely destroy Zunama and the village, so it would have been smarter for Zunama to warn the others about the danger instead of threatening them for free shit. 

Anyway, they all head for the underwater tunnel, and Goku uses a Kamehameha to blast out of the lake, sort of like how he and Vegeta escaped Majin Buu’s head. 

But that doesn’t end the threat of the volcano itself...

So Goku fires another Kamehameha...

And destroys the entire volcano.  Would that stop the eruption, though?  Fuck it, who cares.  The point is Goku could have just done this from the start, or he could have whipped Zoonama’s ass and cut off his whiskers, and then when the earthquakes kept happening anyway, everyone would have realized the truth, and Goku could have taken out the volcano. 

Anyway, the villagers accept Zunama’s apology and decide to let him live with them, provided that he warns them if he senses anymore earthquakes.   Will his other whisker grow back? 

The gang receives the Dragon Ball as a reward, but then it floats out of Pan’s hands...

And over to this guy.

Who turns into this guy.

And he flies away. 

✨ “Good” “Ideas”, Poorly Executed✨

Why would an alien infiltrate this planet and steal a Black Star Dragon Ball?  That’s the big question we’re supposed to be left with, but I’m still stuck on the bigger question: How would an alien even know about the Black Star Dragon Balls in the first place?  Every Dragon Ball hunt in the original series involves a rival organization, whether it’s the Pilaf gang, Red Ribbon Army, Frieza Force, or whatever.  So this isn’t a new thing, and it probably makes sense to use it here, except the premise of the Black Star Dragon Balls makes it unworkable. 

Remember, these Dragon Balls were created centuries ago by the Nameless Namekian before he split into Kami and Piccolo.  They became ordinary stones in the meantime, reactivating only when Kami and Piccolo fused together to fight Cell. Since the Earth is still in one piece, it’s safe to assume the Black Star Dragon Balls were never used before Emperor Pilaf made his ill-fated wish in Episode 1.  Then they scattered across the universe. 

So even though the BS Dragon Balls have been around for a long time, they’re also very obscure.  Most beings in the universe don’t know about the regular Dragon Balls, and those actually get used for things.  The BS set has lain hidden in a closet on Earth for hundreds of years.  Even if a rival band of Dragon Ball hunters had a way to track them down, how would they even know to start looking?

Okay, it just occurred to me that it would be kind of neat if this was how Pilaf got tipped off about the BS Dragon Balls in the first place.  A space bad guy knew about them, but didn’t want to risk a trip to Earth, so he manipulated Pilaf into making the wish, because he knew the Balls would scatter and make it easier for him to get.  Except that still doesn’t explain how a space bad guy would know to do all of this.  Maybe an evil Namekian?  I don’t know, and this show damn sure isn’t going to provide any explanations.

Also, why didn’t any of these idiots do anything to stop this?  Goku just blew up a volcano for Pete’s sake.

✨Positivity Page✨

The one saving grace of this development is that it more or less ends the “Grand Tour” concept dead in its tracks.  The original idea was for Goku, Trunks, and Pan to roam the universe in search of these “ultimate” Dragon Balls that are scattered across seven different planets.  You can read this interview from 2005 with GT producer Kozo Morishita, where he explains more about how the show came to be, but the really telling line here is the following:

“Initially we made about 26 episodes worth of rough plot outlines. But around when the final script for episode 3 was finished, we thought “these travel episodes aren’t going to be interesting no matter how long we keep doing them, are they?” and so we stopped (laughs). That’s why Gill and the spaceship stopped appearing midway through, even though we had sensei go through all the trouble of drawing them for us (laughs).”  --Kozo Morishita

In other words, the people making Dragon Ball GT knew it was a bad idea by the third episode.  Going into the show, they had all these big plans involving spaceships and “the next generation” and a de-aged Goku, and they even got Akira Toriyama to design the ship and some of the characters.  But then they finished the script for Imecka and realized it wasn’t going to work, so they started pumping the brakes. 

I’m guessing Episodes 6, 7, and 8 were finished just to give them time to correct their course, and then Episodes 9-14 deal with the gang chasing after the bad guys who stole the Six-Star Dragon Ball seen in this episode. By episode 24, the story shifts back to Earth, and stays there for the rest of the series.  I suppose Episodes 15-23 pay lip service to the “Grand Tour” concept, but it’s mostly an extended conflict on one planet, so it’s pretty clear that the premise has already been abandoned. 

And that is a good thing, because I don’t think I could take another twenty episodes like the six we’ve just gone over.  That’s not to say GT gets good from here on.  The rest of the show is a garbage dump too, but it’s worth noting that it could have been much, much worse. 

Speaking of worse...

✨Is This Episode Worse than “The Roaming Lake”?✨

Yes, it is. 

Look, I’m sorry for not having more to say here, but... this series really sucks the life out of a person, you know? 

✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

Ka...me...ha...me...ha!

What took you so long, Goku?

Ka...me...ha...me...ha!

[violetpunk666]

Somehow mostly through choice paralysis I managed to wait and start with Scott’s episode 

Now I’m doing pixlriffs

Ohhh yeah this dude has that DM storytelling realness as always 

YES

DM PIX CANON LETS GOOOOO

FLOATING EYEBALLS???

NO DRAGON?!?

Part of me: the forgotten descendants of the titans pix mentioned are empires s1 and that’s why there’s no dragon and the portal is open 

Also me: no that’s stupid they said it’s all new world with all new characters, it’s unrelated 

Next up sausage 

Ok well sausage said it’s set over 1000 years after season 1 so is that just a fancy way to say this has nothing to do with season 1 or they are (however minisculy) related?

DUDE I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS A COINCIDENCE BUT EVERY BONE IN MY BODY IS SCREAMING THIS IS SEASON ONE SAUSAGE MAYBE???

Like he promised he was gonna “fix everything” and even if its a different universe s1 sausage can and was reality hopping at the end of season 1

ah— nvm, this build style doesn't really emulate that of mythland

Regardless if this is empires 1 sausage or not this man has already earned a spot as a blorbo

I am invested 

Gem is pretty and I am a lesbian 🥰

Shelby jumping straight into the lore 💃

Loving shubble’s character already 

And I already headcanon her age as late teens to very early adulthood 

I’m thinking like 17-18 maybe? She said she just (barely) graduated school I’m pretty sure 

The fade and land splitting earthquakes in Katherine’s backstory remind me of the fate of the overgrown, idk if that’s cause they’re connected in some way or just brainrot asdfghjkl 

Oh yo it’s on to false! I’ve never actually watched any of her videos before so I’m excited to catch her vibe

She too, like Katherine and shubble, is jumping straight into the roleplay 

10/10 invested in this character 

And now of course onto Joel!

The mad king of mezalea confirmed to have died of heartbreak (he says it’s over his palace but… 🧜‍♀️👀)

Fwhip saying not to hurt Joel, Exxtera stays winning 

Joel calls skulk suff “corruption” 👀

And looks like Joel is the one with the gold obsession this season 

11 ft you say? hmmm I’ll have to further evaluate that one before I can except it as cannon or not 

[outrunningthedark]

Can you make a list with the writers and directors that have made *those* buddie scenes (and storylines) come true? 🥺

2x01 - Under Pressure [Eddie's introduction] Directed by: Gwyneth Horder-Payton Written by: Tim Minear + Brad Falchuk 2x02 - 7.1 [Buck finds out about Christopher + gives Eddie assurance his son will be safe during the earthquake] Directed by: Bradley Buecker Written by: Zachary Reiter 2x03 - Help Is Not Coming [Buck watches the Diaz boys reunite] Directed by: Bradley Buecker Written by: Zachary Reiter + Tim Minear 2x04 - Stuck [Buck meets Pepa/Christopher spends the day with the 118/Buck introduces Eddie to Carla] Directed by: Sarah Boyd Written by: John J. Gray 2x06 - Dosed ["Yeah, he gets that a lot. You should meet his kid, though. // Eddie watches Buck talk to T*ylor] Directed by: Gwyneth Horder-Payton Written by: Juan Carlos Coto 2x10 - Merry Ex-Mas ["You two have an adorable son."] Directed by: Bradley Buecker Written by: Christopher Monfette 2x18 - This Life We Choose [livestream comment that reads "OMG thos two are So CUTE together!" // Eddie holds Buck's hand as he's stuck under the firetruck // Buck tells Maddie attending Eddie's firefighter ceremony is "more important" than staying home to rest his injured leg // Buddie hug] Directed by: Bradley Buecker Written by: Tim Minear 3x01 - Kids Today [Buddie hug at Buck's welcome back party // Christopher gives Buck a card to congratulate him // Eddie lets himself and Christopher into Buck's apartment so Buck can spend the day with Christopher and have a reason to get out of bed // Christopher tells Buck "You're gonna be okay, kid."] Directed by: Jennifer Lynch Written by: Kristen Reidel 3x02 - Sink or Swim [Eddie shows Hen + Chim a photo of Buck and Chris on his phone // Buck and Chris have a heart-to-heart while sitting in a firetruck surrounded by water] Directed by: Bradley Buecker Written by: Juan Carlos Coto 3x03 - The Searchers [Buck collapses in relief after Eddie and Christopher reunite // Eddie brings Christopher back to Buck’s place and tells him “There’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you.”] Directed by: Chad Lowe (Rob’s younger brother) Written by: David Fury  3x05 - Rage [Confrontation in the supermarket] Directed by: Jann Turner Written by: Lyndsey Beaulieu (first episode!) 3x06 - Monsters [Eddie forgives Buck for filing the lawsuit and creating distance between them, they hug] Directed by: Tina Mabry Written by: Christopher Monfette 3x09 - Fallout [The Kitchen Scene™ + Buckley-Diaz game night]  Directed by: Marcus Stokes Written by: Juan Carlos Coto 3x10 - Christmas Spirit [Chris asks to spend Christmas with Buck // Buckley-Diaz fam celebrates the holiday at the firehouse] Directed by: Alonso Alvarez-Barreda Written by: Andrew Meyers 3x11 - Seize the Day [”Are you boys single?” // “Uh, this is Eddie’s house. I’m not really a guest.” // Buck and Christopher “fighting” on the sofa] Directed by: Sarah Boyd  Written by: Lyndsey Beaulieu 3x12 - Fools [Juxtaposition between A*a’s handling of the skateboard incident vs. Buck’s] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Andrew Meyers 3x15 - Eddie Begins [...literally all of it???]  Directed by: Robert M. Williams Jr. Written by: Robert M. Williams Jr. + Christopher Monfette 3x18 - What’s Next? [Buck worries about Christopher going to summer camp // Eddie comes face-to-face with Buck’s ex and does not want Buck to risk his life to save her fiancé // Buckley-Diaz adorableness at May’s grad party] Directed by: Jennifer Lynch Written by: Juan Carlos Coto + Kristen Reidel 4x01 - The New Abnormal [”Eddie and Hen went back to their kids months ago.” // “At least it’s not a tsunami.” // Eddie is in charge of Buck’s rope as he makes his way to the bus that crashed into a building.] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Juan Carlos Coto 4x02 - Alone Together [Eddie attaches Buck’s rope before a rescue // Carla teaches Christopher about the idea behind invisible strings] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Lyndsey Beaulieu 4x03 - Future Tense [Eddie “I can know weird stuff, too.” Diaz makes an appearance // adventures in co-parenting // Buck buys Eddie the expensive coffee maker he wants as a “prank”.] Directed by: Marita Grabiak Written by: Andrew Meyers  4x04 - 9-1-1, What's Your Grievance? [Eddie tries to help Buck deal with his anger after meeting with his parents] Directed by: Brenna Malloy (The Queen has arrived!) Written by: Nadia  Abass-Madden 4x05 - Buck Begins [Eddie tries to reassure Buck that it’s not his fault he couldn’t save his brother - “That’s not on you.” // Eddie is the first one to see Buck after he is cleared by the doctor to go back to work // “I had to do it.” “I know you did.”] Directed by: Jann Turner Written by: Juan Carlos Coto 4x06 - Jinx [Banter at the firehouse // Eddie is not a fan of Buck 3.0 // “It’s like the universe is screaming at you and you refuse to listen.” // “I was wondering why Buck had a book in his hand, but now it all makes sense.” // “Ana who?”] Directed by: Jann Turner Written by: Taylor Wong 4x08 - Breaking Point [Eddie and Buck talk after Eddie returns home from his date // Christopher sneaks out of the house and takes an Uber to see Buck] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Bob Goodman 4x10 - Parenthood [...I think we all already know.] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Lyndsey Beaulieu  4x12 - Treasure Hunt [Eddie asking Buck to look for the treasure together // Eddie on the outside looking in as Buck + T*ylor brainstorm // Eddie is concerned when Buck says he doesn’t trust anybody] Directed by: David Grossman Written by: Bob Goodman 4x13 - Suspicion [Eddie is shot right in front of Buck. Time stops.] Directed by: Brenna Malloy Written by: Lyndsey Beaulieu & Andrew Meyers 4x14 - Survivors [YOU ALREADY KNOW.] Directed by: Robert M. Williams Jr. Written by: Kristen Reidel    - It’s a damn shame that John J. Gray and David Fury only wrote one episode each that was Buddie-centric (and those are two of the most memorable) - This Grossman fella has directed four episodes that feature one of the current “love interests”. Look out for that.  😶

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being a new Avenger who can’t control their powers

Avengers x reader

warnings:

a/n: reader has like, seismic manipulation, ig like sky from aos (ive never seen aos but yeah) and super strength and stuff

prompt: @the-radio-star: “Ooooh ok could I please request some marvel headcanons for the avengers accepting a new member that’s still struggling to control their powers?”

the avengers were no strangers to your situation

bruce was probably the most understanding of the bunch, knowing that having powers that you couldn’t completely control was a huge burden

tony would “analyze” you to see if there was any way he could help with his expertise

“okay, if you wear this necklace, it might lower the possibility of an ‘episode’”

“tony...that’s a collar”

“you are all so ungrateful these days”

yes, there were ‘episodes’

as in, you’re powers emerged at bad times and put other people in danger

“guys...is there an earthquake or.....”

“Y/N!” -everyone all at once

the avengers had different ways of calming you down enough for you to regain control

like, it usually happens out of the blue or it’s triggered by emotions, but the feeling of losing control only freaks you out more

none of the avengers were a bit scared of you

from the beginning they knew that they could trust you

natasha would fearlessly approach you while you were in the midst of a power-breakdown and just sit next to you, getting you to sit down too

“i’m just gonna stay here and wait for you, is that okay?”

“yeah...yeah, that’s okay”

“do you know what you want for dinner tonight? we can’t agree on anything”

thor just admired your power tbh

“a power like that would be envied by any warrior where i come from! you are not to be trifled with, young y/n”

clint 100% has “alternate activities” for you to partake in to distract you from any sort of matters that may cause a “power surge”

tony had to engineer a training room that could withstand your powers

wanda!!! she knew what it was like to struggle with powers, she went through a lot of training to perfect them

she used some of the more pleasant methods to help get your business under control

she wouldn’t dare use the torturous methods that HYDRA used

“okay, take a deep breath with me” *inhale/exhale* “open your body, extend your arms and legs. feel what is surrounding you. feel the power that is coursing through your veins”

she felt your powers begin to slowly work at your will

it wasn’t that you didn’t know how to use your powers, it was that sometimes they got the best of you

but on the battlefield? you were recognized as a total badass

“holy shit, y/n just turned the power up to 200!”

“should we help them?”

“i think theyve got it covered”

just demolishing the competition

sometimes your teammates would just stop and watch

but steve had to hop in sometimes, just to make sure you got all the help you could get

“dude, just stop worrying! y/n can handle themself”

“just because they can doesn’t mean they have to, sam”

sam took that one to heart

sometimes you couldn’t stop your powers and the team would straight up just watch you collapse while the ground vibrated beneath them

“who’s turn is it to carry y/n home?”

everyone ALWAYS makes rhodey do it

“you know, you all suck. the only reason i’m doing this is because i guess im the only one that cares about y/n. you’re all heartless”

you’d always wake up later and immediately be exasperated with yourself

“i did it again, huh?”

“yes. but good work! thumbs up!”

okay, but sometimes it was just little things

like, you sneeze and the floor shakes and scares the FUCK out of everyone

or you’re close enough to someone to make them feel like they’re falling

extremely. heavy. footsteps. STOMP STOMP BITCHES

oh, and grabbing dishes (plates, glasses, etc.) and them just completely shattering in your hands because you were buzzing a bit and now you’re only allowed to use paper plates and plastic cups

but now you don’t have to do the dishes!!!!!

you have a fucking nokia though bc you smashed your other phone

peter roasts the fuck out of you for it

“oh my god, y/n, is that a nokia? that’s stronger than thor’s hammer!”

“can i see your phone real quick?” *immediately cracks in hand* “tony can fix it”

“oh...”

pretty much just trying to keep your powers in check 24/7, which can definitely be exhausting, but you have a really good support system!!

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @rorybutnotgilmore // @locke-writes // @sweetheartliz07 // @queen-destenie // @natasha-danvers // @allthecreativeonesaretaken // @frostedgiant // @emygirl // @lotsoffandomrecs // @johnmurphyisbisexual // @teenwaywardasgardian // @pappydaddy // @captainshazamerica // @freya-xo // @ravenmoore14 // @purpleskiesstorm //

[midnightsnace]

A Thousand Worlds

Summary: Fix it fic of sorts after the trauma that was episode 6 of the Loki series. Loki is in pain after discovering Mobius doesn’t remember him. He’s been living in apocalypses to avoid capture by this new TVA until he formulates a plan to get his Mobius back.

Rating: T for later chapters

Emotional angst.

Chapter One.

Chapter Two.

“And so that’s where I grew up, the ends of a thousand worlds.”

The ends of a thousand worlds. The words of his accomplice echoed through the god’s mind as he fiddled with the straps of his worn and tattered holster. The fluorescent above him flickered with every gust of wind that battled against the sides of the building that Loki was crouched down in. He slid his long legs out against the tiled floor in front of him and sat with his head propped against the wall. He sighed. Loki tapped his foot on the door of the space he was hiding in to close it, drowning out the cries of fear from the people outside in their final hours of life. There he sat waiting for the tempad to charge. Alone. Living in another world where every person he met would be dead by the end of the day. Another world where Mobius didn’t exist. His Mobius.

Was this what it was like? For her? To never be able to stay in one place for more than a day? To always see the same faces riddled with fear as they awaited their painful fate? To only know destruction, screaming, fires, earthquakes, the literal gates of hel? To be utterly alone with your only desire to live in the hope that one day your glorious purpose would be fulfilled?

Glorious purpose.

Loki scoffed. The god didn’t know what his purpose was anymore. Taking down the TVA was a complete failure. The chances for fixing the mess they started seemed impossible now as branches grew and new timelines erupted, with endless TVAs to monitor every universe. At least, that’s what Loki assumed. He knew next to nothing about what they had unleashed. It wasn’t the same TVA. Different hunters, different analysts, different ruler. Many he recognized, but they were still different people. They weren’t the same. She wasn’t the real B. He wasn’t his Mobius. And Loki was at a complete loss on how to find them again.

The first tempad he stole only brought him back to the place he snatched it from. The same Time Variance Authority where Mobius didn’t remember him and not a single file existed for Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief, God of Outcasts, God of Lies. Even when he dragged the analyst through the timedoor into the roxxcart parking lot to access his memories, nothing existed of him. No laughter over silly metaphors, mischief at pompeii, not even the memory of their first encounter in the elevator. It was like they never met. This led to Loki wasting away their days hopping from one disaster to the next until his brain racked up a solution. The TVA never once did follow him. Why would they? No one remembered his brilliant discovery about the apocalypses. He could run free. But as the days whittled by, the hope Loki had began to fade into nothingness.

For awhile he kept track of the places he went and the time that had passed.

Day 1 - I finally stole a tempad and left that dreadful place. I came here first. Hoping I’d see you. But I guess that’s not how time travel works in apocalypses. No trace we were ever here. The storm reminded me of my brother. I hope to see him again one day. Now that I know we could have been friends. Everything was eventually going to be okay.

Day 24 - I’ve been sitting in a coffee shop awaiting the earthquake of 2098. Met a lovely redhead with the most peculiar of tattoos. But alas! Little does she know this friendship could never blossom in the wake of death!

Day 37 - I miss him. My brother. The pain that solitude brings makes me think of home more often. How ironic that the very place that caused me the most pain I miss. But anything is better than this. So today I visited home right before its destruction. I saw my brother. I saw Thor from afar. Oh how I wish I could have talked to him somehow and tell him i’m sorry for being such an ass.

Being there brought back memories of the silly metaphor he made using Mobius’ lunch. The corners of Loki’s mouth crept into a smile at the thought. But that smile faded away in the next second and was replaced with tears.

Day 56 - I went to Pompeii again. I stood in the shadows. I tried to picture your expressions of skepticism at my insane ideas. I tried to picture how your face lit up with pride and joy when you realized I was right. I wish I could have stayed longer but I never can anywhere I go.

He whistled like a bird before he exited through the time door.

By day 125 he had lost his will to live again. It was their fourth visit to Lamentis-1. Perhaps it was a mistake on his part to journey here once more and feel both the pains of betrayal and heartache at the prospect of never seeing Mobius again. The second time they had visited Lamentis, the god decided to stay until the very last second with the false hope that maybe him facing death would create a nexus event. His mobius would come find him and save him at the last second. But the time door never came. Maybe it was because he knew there was a chance to escape and he could take it. Or maybe it was because there were so many time branches no one would care to fix a world that was about to end.

“You were always meant to be alone.”

And so this time Loki threw the tempad to the ground and waited. He watched as the lethal disaster unfolded before his eyes once more, ready to die. Alone. Alone with no one to assure him everything will be alright in the face of death. Not a single soul would know he was gone. No one would care.

But at the last second they saw something on the tempad that made them change their mind. A glimmer of hope.

Any hope Loki had, a glorious purpose he had left to fulfill, it was in finding Mobius. It was the only desire left that fueled him to keep existing. He was all that mattered. His only friend. The only person left among the universes who trusted him and saw beyond his flaws. The only person left who hadn’t betrayed the fragile levels of trust the god could give. He was his hope that one day, he wouldn’t have to be alone.

And so he found himself walking the streets of New York in the summer of 2197, on the brink of some disaster he knew nothing about. Not a single idea when it would happen, where it would occur, and what he was doomed to witness. He saw something that could potentially lead him to his destination. The tempad had given him an alert for an aura match - two of the same people in one place. An oddity. Something that wasn’t supposed to exist.

They weren’t just any entity either. They were registered hunters in the TVA database. Which meant one had to be from another universe.

And he knew the TVA would be coming for them.

He had to get there first.

Loki speed walked down the sidewalk frantically scanning his surroundings for any clue as to what was happening. He couldn’t read any signs of fear or confusion on the faces of those who passed him. He didn’t know how much time he had.

Upon hearing shouts of anger, Loki broke out into a run across the street towards the source, dodging every dystopian vehicle that nearly collided with him in the process. It was coming from the roof of the parking tower. With a snap of his magic, Loki teleported himself to the top, hiding behind a parked vehicle to assess what he was working with.

There were two agents standing about 10 feet away who looked nearly identical, one waving her arms frantically while the other looked on stoically, possibly from shock, with a pruning stick in hand. Loki locked eyes on the tempad fastened to the belt of the frantic one. Then he glanced at the one in the other hunter’s hand.

Well shit.

Now he had to figure out which agent had jumped from the other timeline. He quickly flashed himself closer to the two, but not before one caught on that someone was there.

“I was given orders by a man to…what was that?” one of the hunters asked.

Loki crouched down farther on the other side of the wall. He reached for a dagger, ready to pounce once their suspicions subsided. They listened intently to the words from the first hunter for the first clue on who to attack.

“He sent me here to grab this,” the hunter pulled up someone on her tempad, “entity and leave. Those were the orders given to me. So if you’ll excuse me.”

The other hunter planted herself in front of her clone. “I can’t let you do that. Not until you’ve told me everything I want to know. How are you me? How is this possible?”

The first hunter was from an alternate timeline. Loki took that as his cue. But before he could sneak behind the hunter, he was shot backwards by a blast of energy from a ring of light.

Out from the ring stepped a peculiar man with graying hair who was wearing blue robes and an assymetrical cloak that sparked the curiosity of the confused hunter. Within a split second, the portal closed behind him. Loki laid very still on the concrete and held his breath in the hopes that the man would believe him to be dead.

“You know I can tell when someone is playing dead.”

Loki grimaced and winced as he heaved himself off the ground. He came face to face with the strange man, his hand lingering in the air where he placed the pocket for his dagger.

“You.” was all the man said.

“Am I supposed to know you?” the god questioned.

“You always manage to show up in New York again at the most in-opportune times.” The man raised his hands and Loki mimicked his movements, summoning his daggers in place.

“I’m gonna assume we’ve met before sir, perhaps in the future? I don’t know! And i’m terribly sorry about New York! Look let me explain…” they lowered their hands in their attempt to make peace with the angry man in front of him.

“Dr. Strange.” He kept his fist in the air, golden sparks flying from whatever spell he had in mind to attack the prince with. “And until you prove otherwise Im going to assume you are here for hostile reasons.”

Loki blinked. Well he’s kind of not wrong, they thought.

“Well I’m afraid I can’t prove anything else.” and with that the god blasted the sorcerer into the nearest column with their magic and teleported across the space.

Loki noticed that one of the hunters had disappeared. He assumed she had returned to the TVA. The other was charging towards him fast. He whipped out his daggers to face his attacker, but suddenly his feet were dragged out from under him and he hit the concrete hard. He was being dragged backwards, body scrapping against the concrete. So fast, that the god could barely think about what was happening to him.

When he came to his senses he cut the magic ropes with his powers and rolled across the ground. So he was dealing with another magic user, this “Dr. Strange.” Loki teleported again before he was up on his feet to where he was standing directly behind the hunter.

“D-11…” Dr. Strange said with a hint of caution in his tone.

So this was the man Hunter D-11 was working for. Before the hunter could turn around to face them, Loki snatched the tempad off her belt and snapped himself to the furthest side of the building. Dr. Strange reacted quickly and stood his ground in front of Loki, prepared to attack again.

“Loki, perhaps we can work out some type of deal. What is it that you want? Maybe I can help you. Maybe we can reach a compromise.”

Offer him a deal? Nah.

“I’m done trusting people I’ve just met. All they ever do is stab me in the back.” he conjured the time door behind him.

Strange titled his head. “You do realize we can follow you right straight back to the TVA?”

Loki turned to face him and D-11. “You’ll never find me. You won’t know the first place to look.” The time door closed with Loki inside of it, before the two even had a chance to reach their hands out to follow the god.

…….

And that’s how Loki had ended up here. At Roxxcart again, waiting for the new tempad to charge up before hopping through timelines again.

He breathed in deeply as he felt the bubble of excitement, relief, and happiness build in his chest for the first time in months at the prospect of achieving his goal. Being reunited with the only one who mattered: Mobius. His Mobius.

But as he released his breath in a sigh, his chest tightened again and worry clouded his mind. What if this didn’t work? What if this was just another dead end? What if this was just another one of the countless TVAs that might exist in the vast multiverse?

At first, all Loki felt was sadness and regret in the days following Sylvie’s betrayal. But now all he felt was anger boiling deep inside him. That same unwelcome feeling he experienced after discovering his father lied to him. The feeling that harbored in the abyss of Thanos’ chambers. The feeling that never left his soul until Mobius looked him in the eyes and assured him that he didn’t have to be the villain in his story.

She had taken everything from him and he was afraid he couldn’t wash away the resentment this time. He wanted desperately to feel anything besides the pain he had known for the past year.

He needed to feel love again.

“He cares about you.”

Loki couldn’t wait any longer. He picked up the tempad and tapped the time door request for the TVA home base. He drew in a shaky breath as he paused in front of the portal.

This was it.

He was either about to be reunited with his greatest source of happiness, or find himself hiding in apocalypses again for months as he searched for another plan.

And he would do it. He would search through a thousand worlds to find him.

[gyllenhaalstories]

BEST FRIEND!JAKE — PART 4.

warnings: mentions of them as children & teenagers (it is assumed they are close in age), mentions of underage drinking. mentions of cheating if you squint really hard. MINORS DON’T INTERACT, 18+.

notes: this is a request, and also a spin off on my 3 other parts except they’re absolutely not related and i’m going in a completely different direction. it was supposed to be nice, short and silly, but it got poetic real quick, oopsie! if you want to read the rest, check out my masterlist! i hope you guys will enjoy! <3

Jake and you had quite the history.

Neighbours, family friends, childhood shenanigans that always revolved around Jake stealing your toys as a way to invite you to come over at his place and hang out so more or you seeking your revenge by stealing his spot on the swings at the park,

You knew Jake like the back of your hand, except that you ignored his favourite colour but that does not invalidate your friendship.

You did not go to the same schools, but your parents set homework dates every night so you could help each other out and have time to catch up about your crazy day at school. One day you’d have dinner at Jake’s, the next one it was at yours.

Jake was more than the annoying kid next door. Jake was family to you.

And you were family to him too.

You celebrated the holidays with the Gyllenhaals’, you had presents waiting for you and surprise birthday parties at their place every year.

You set up plays and performances in the basement, dressing up with bits and pieces of costumes from movie sets that Jake took home, or his father asked to keep knowing it would entertain the two of you.

You watched Care Bear episodes, holding your favourite bear from the show, during rainy days and eat candies that would keep you up all night. You went up to your room, way past your bedtime. You hid under the covers with a flashlight, reading a book or drawing crazy imaginary creatures. You giggled wen your parents reminded you to go to sleep, you both had school the next day. Jake did not have time to move back down to his air mattress, he slept in your bed, holding one paw of the teddy bear he got you years ago while you held the other one.

If soulmates ever existed, you were the living proof of it.

*~*~*

Eventually, High School was coming to an end and you were facing the biggest dilemmas of your existence.

What to do, where to go... Jake had plans. He wanted to go out to college, to pursue his dreams. He brought home brochures and post cards, printed website pages and invitations to open houses of schools that might interest you. The problem was that your own dreams were very different from his.

All your lives, opposites attracted. Jake was quirky, played in a band, had this emo phase he would forever be in denial about. You were both whirlwind of emotions, opinions and ambitions, but for the first time ever: it became a huge problem. 

An earthquake came, bursting your bubble of plans and dreams with him.

What caused it? You might never know.

Maybe it was the fact you guys started to hold hands when you took a stroll around the neighbourhood on weekends, sharing headphones and discovering new music together. Maybe it was the fact you two would go to the mall, you’d buy him a nice t-shirt, he’d buy you a new bracelet. Maybe it was the fact you started to end your messages and phone calls with quick, but heartfelt, “i love yous”, not really knowing if you both meant it or not. Maybe it was the fact you stopped doing homework together, because whenever you showed up at his house, there would be this other girl from his school. She’d hold on his arm, steal his hoodies that were once part of your wardrobe. Maybe it was the fact you had an argument about prom, breaking the promise you made that you would attend together. Maybe it was the fact he told you he could not go, but you bumped into him at the party afterwards and caught him and that one girl kissing in the kitchen when you wanted to fill your red solo cup.

Maybe it was the fact that the two of you were drifting apart.

And you stood by the shore, watching the boat sail away in the distance.

*~*~*

The waters were calm and stable, you had found the right path for you. You had a job you did not hate that much, and you were living with someone who brought you joy and made you laugh every night. What else could you ask for?

One night, you could not fall asleep and you were sitting by the desk, diving deep into random google and wikipedia searches when you received a notification on your email. The address seemed familiar, the message simple, it was a link to one of your favourite song, growing up; that one song you listened to constantly on your MP3 player. The one song that came back in your most streamed music on Spotify.

“Together forever, remember?”

In an urge you could not understand, you put on shoes and an old hoodie from Columbia University, the same hoodie you received in the mail years ago with a plane ticket to the Big Apple that you never used. And you headed straight out of your small city apartment, with your car keys in your hands and you drove.

You drove deep into the night, becoming one of those weirdos who was out on the road at 3 am.

You knew the way by heart, one left turn there; a few more turns on the right.

You stopped the car, the parking lot seemed abandoned.

You walked, your feet disappearing in the cold sand. You followed the steps of the person that was standing by the beach, where the waves slowly caressed the shore. You opened your mouth to shout, but spoke softly instead. “Never gonna give you up.”

Jake turned around, the moon reflected on the water and lit up his face. There were traces of tears, of sadness and of fatigue.

You held his hands tightly in yours. They felt so warm, so familiar. They felt like home.

And you pulled him into a hug. Your face disappeared in the nape of his neck and his arms circled your waist tighter than ever before.

Jake stood there, silent. He did not feel like explaining what was weighing heavy on his shoulders. He knew that whatever was going on, it would be fixed by you. You always fixed everything.

You sighed in the embrace. It felt even better than what you imagined in the numerous dreams you had about this very special day you would reunite.

Life tried to keep you apart, but soul mates always found a way back.

You finally looked up and met his eyes, the sun was slowly rising in the horizon. You nodded, he smiled. It was like you both finally realized what you refused to acknowledge since the first time you met him, that you were two missing pieces of the same puzzle and the best way to fix this problem was to be together.

He broke the silence, promising to make you a room in his new apartment, to help you relocate and find a better job in New York City, to show you all the spots he sent you photos of during the year. He promised to make it up for all the broken promises he made in the past.

He ignored the extent of your existence, here. He ignored you had someone waiting for you at home, probably spamming you with messages and phonecalls. He ignored you had a big decision to make in this refreshing morning, whether to give Jake and yourself the chance you deserved or waste this second chance.

You were his safety jacket, who, once pressed tight against his heart, helped him keep his head above the water.

Jake was your lighthouse, guiding you home.

[moonamite]

Spilling  Memories

It was an ordinary day in the king’s castle, one warm afternoon, and the king’s secretary was going about his chores. He didn’t have to do them, nobody was making him do it. It was just something he’d grown used to doing as a part of his daily routine. Like something that was deeply rooted into his head, or something he knew by heart. He made his way to Meta Knight’s room, which was sparsely decorated. Surprisingly, Meta Knight was actually in his room, watching the television and looking very unamused. It was odd, since Meta Knight didn’t seem like the type of person to do such a thing. Maybe Dedede made him relax? That would make sense, since the king was always worrying about the knight and him overworking himself and never taking a break. That would also explain the sour look Meta Knight had. The snail made his way into the room, which was quiet except for the TV. The channel that was on featured a show of sorts, like one of those dramas. Meta Knight seemed unimpressed by it. Escargoon didn’t know if the knight was aware of his presence or not, but he continued with his doings. Right now, he was carrying a plate that held a cup of coffee on it. He knew Dedede didn’t want Meta Knight to be living off caffeine, but he probably wouldn’t mind if he just gave the knight one cup, right? The television droned on in the background, mostly drowned out by his own thoughts. But then he heard a line of dialogue that sounded all too familiar. He didn’t hear the context to it, but it caught his attention nonetheless. “...-ou’re gonna come with me, whether you like it or not!” In a flash, everything around him melted away like a dream, and he was back in the old castle, being dragged painfully by the wrist by his old king. He was tugging, trying to break free from the tyrant’s grip, but to no avail. Then came the crying and pleading. All he did was spill his tea, and for that, he was going to be punished. He knew where he was being taken, and he was begging not to go, crying out nearly a hundred apologies to an unforgiving monster. He was being taken to a place where he’d only ever been once before, and had prayed he would never go to again. The dungeons. A cold, dark and filthy place, the dungeons were a place built for prisoners. The king rarely used them for their intended purpose. Instead, he used them to punish anyone who displeased him, or in this case, for mildly inconveniencing him. Rats crawled just out of sight, no light shone through, and how the floor and walls were built from the same grey stone, it was built to drive people mad. The last time he was there, the king forgot about him and left him down there over night, and didn’t let him out until noon. Not that the king cared if he starved, because he could always just hire a new servant to replace him, and he was reminded of this every day. The king swung open the door that lead down to the dungeons, and carelessly threw the snail down the stairs, landing with a hard thud. The king laughed that unbearable laugh, and slammed the door shut, locking it with a sharp click. The mollusk rushed desperately up the stairs, his fear overpowering any physical pain he sustained from the fall. He banged and shook the door frantically, but it didn’t budge. Then, not even knowing why he bothered trying, he curled up into a miserable ball by the door and cried. His throat burned, and the little amount of salt in his own tears caused the same effect in his eyes. Occasionally he’d hear a noise from the darkness and cry harder, almost making himself vomit. It was moments like these where he wished he could drown in his own tears then shrivel up and become nothing, maybe then he’d finally be free... Suddenly, everything around him shook violently, like an earthquake, only for the vision to fade away as he came back to the real world. Meta Knight had held him by the shoulders and was lightly shaking him. Escargoon gasped as he finally completely emerged from his own memories. He whipped his head around wildly, only to realize that he was really back at the new castle, and that his old king was gone, and couldn’t hurt him. He looked down and realized he’d dropped the plate and the coffee, the shards scattered at his feet and liquid spilled over the floor. It took him longer to realize he was trembling like a leaf and sweating heavily, with tears stinging his eyes. “Are you ok?” The Knight asked. The snail opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He crossed his arms and held himself tight, as if worried he was still not all completely there. He took a shuddering breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “...Something on the TV must’ve triggered something in you.” Meta Knight realized. He gently grabbed the mollusks arm. “Come. You need to sit down.” He said, guiding him to a seat, sitting him down. “I’ll get you something to drink.” The knight said, leaving the room with a swoosh of his cape. The snail sat motionless. Thoughtless. The only sound in the room was the sound of his own shaky breaths. The knight eventually returned with water, and handed it to the mollusk. Suddenly, he began to cry again. This immediately got the knight’s attention. “What’s wrong?” He asked, concern in his voice. The snail stuttered for a few moments before choking out “I’m sorry.” The knight looked at him in confusion. “For what?” He asked. “F-for thi-is-” He sobbed, pointing to himself. He felt bad for inconveniencing Meta Knight with his episode, and was worried he’d been annoying him. “Escargoon. Look at me.” The Knight said sternly. The snail flinched, but did as he was told. When he looked up, Meta Knight had removed his mask, and was looking him directly in the eyes. “You did nothing wrong. That wasn’t your fault. And I am not mad at you. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for not being more aware.” He said genuinely. The snail whimpered, then continued crying. “You can cry if you need to.” Meta Knight assured him, pulling up a seat and sitting next to him. Maybe things would be ok after all.

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 14: So If You Put a Fraction Into a Duel Disk, the Card Explodes

We left on quite the cliffhanger last episode, so I’ll fill you in:

I did not get the haircut.

Like I seriously considered getting a Zigfried for a cool 3 or 4 minutes there, but then I decided to wait a couple of days and I basically forgot.

But, back to the arc finale, Seto has decided to walk, not run, to the Kaiba lab in order to fix the virus rapidly eating his entire company.

I just want to point out that Zigfried went through a LOT of work to get Seto Kiaba to go “uggggh” turn around, and pretend to calmly walk away. I’m used to Seto losing his nut kind of a lot and blowing things up but this season he’s like “be chill be chill be chill” so that the entire world doesn’t think he’s a spaz on TV.

And little aside about Seto’s design choices here, I fell down a hole of interior design videos, and can I just say: apparently these wood frame things on the wall are back in style? Good on you, 2002(3?) Seto Kaiba. Don’t think that current designers are painting them purple but...we’re halfway there to Yugioh fashion.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh decides to remind everyone that these stakes are hella low. The worst that happens is that Zigfried deletes the plane that Yugi needs to fly home...which would be an impressive virus.

Like it’s hard to tell if Yami even has a solid concept of “capitalism” and whether or not he cares about or understands the makeup of Seto’s company (which up till now has operated like a small country and not a business...which is a little more Pharaoh’s understanding. Either way...hard to tell if Yami would shed two tears for the loss of Kaiba corp.)

And, despite what I say in the caps, I feel like Leon and Zigfried are the first villains we’ve ever had that Yugi and Pharaoh didn’t unintentionally disclose that they are 2 people to. Zigfried and Leon are just...completely oblivious to how effed up Yugi’s bean is. They think that’s just a normal kid and lol no dudes...y’all got distracted by Seto Kabia but you have a literal Egyptian God just hovering around in the background and dating 3 people by accident.

Like when the show shelves the main storyline, it is very funny how it’s all “And we’re gonna put the Pharaoh crisis on hold--just put a pin in it. No one will notice this child is two nervous wrecks stitched together” and then Yugi and Yami just kinda hold it in and watch all patiently until it’s their turn to get off the bench.

(read more under the cut)

In the giant computer tower, Seto Kaiba shouts out a string of orders and numbers, admired the many sonar detector looking windows open on every monitor, and then sat down at his desk to like...check the firewall, I guess?

The virus is past the firewall. It’s um...it’s inside the firewall, pretty sure that was the point, but youknow, it’s a kid’s show so they’re just throwing out computer stuff that has no meaning to the writers of this show.

Mokuba thinks fondly of how Seto Kaiba has never screwed him over (which I mean...maybe not on purpose, ((except for that one time he did screw him over on purpose to get Gozaburo Kaiba to accidentally give Seto Kaiba the company, but you could say that was a grander scheme that he knew Mokuba would see through, which...)) but Seto certainly has screwed Mokuba over accidentally. At least once.)

And meanwhile, Yami fixes everything through card shenanigans.

So here’s the shenanigan this episode: I don’t go over cards here but this one requires a limited amount of explanation.

So every round the golden castle deletes half of Yugi’s cards. So he was like...I’ll just draw down to one card. They can’t delete half a card...so that means the card must delete one of the two cards on the field which means it must delete itself.

...which is like the closest Yugioh will probably ever get to abusing a glitch to do a speedrunning tactic like GDQ.

Anyway, like I stated in the title: there are no fractions allowed in Yugioh. If you do that to your priceless one-of-a-kind card you got from winning one of Pegasus’ murder tournies, it will irreparably bust the card.

I’m sure at least one of you will correct me with the proper way to insert a fraction into your duel disk. Cuz like...as I say multiple times so we never forget, I barely pay attention to this card game and I’m just flying by the seat of my pants.

I want to say Seto and Mokuba were in the hacker chairs for like...3 minutes maybe before they realized “oh...Yugi fixed it...” and walked the half a mile back to the duel arena.

and also, as I’m looking at Seto’s glasses here, I just realized...all of Kaiba’s team wears sunglasses all the time. Inside, outside, night, or day...

They haven’t outright said this...but what if those aren’t sunglasses?

Is Roland and that other Roland wearing fancy cyber glasses? They are, right? Because they wear them indoors?

Damn, they can’t take a piss without being on call with Kaiba Corp, can they?

Now the problem is...Yugi played all of his cards (he has two in front of him face down, but none in his deck) and after milling himself, this means he’s now basically a sitting duck for Leon to take the title of “King of Games.”

Leon insists that he defend whatever scraps are left of his card honor and not duel a person who is carrying no cards and Yugi was like “COME AT ME BRO THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW I’M ALIVE.”

He didn’t even have to do a horror on Leon, he just...played cards good? I skipped it, I’ll be honest, but overall Leon’s card honor was...saved? Maybe? I mean he also go destroyed when his competitor had not a single card in his duel disk so...

...Leon will have to work on his card honor off screen because he’s pretty well humiliated at this point.

But stumbling onto the playing field like he’s half dazed/daydrunk, Zigfried is like “You forgot I already won, bastards!”

Which is when we find out that Zigfried’s “delete all” virus failed to press “enter” and deleted basically nothing. Just like when my Mom attempts to send something in Gmail but doesn’t press “Send” and tells me that Google is down and broken.

Sorry my bro has informed me that he ALSO has had to help my Mother locate the “Send” button and I just...I know she absolutely did that but I’m in denial that this Riddle of the Sphinx has happened to her multiple times.

Honestly, the pep talk we get from Leon at the end to cheer up his bro was a whole lot of “we will pick ourselves up and we’ll do better next time. Together.” and sure you can translate that as “we’ll be honest next time” or you can translate that as “next time we will be not nearly as obvious about inserting a virus into their computer until it is done doing the job, bro.”

Just like Dartz, we didn’t really get a whole lot of retribution or closure when it comes to Zigfried. But, unlike Dartz, Zigfried didn’t do too much murder, so I guess this is fine. He tried to cheat in a card game...

...and I guess tried to delete Kaiba Corp but youknow...

...people let him have that. The police saw the ticket of “this man tried to delete Kaiba Corp” and they just...didn’t arrest him. The judge saw that ticket and didn’t put out a warrant. They just let Zigfried have this, almost like “better luck next time, ya?”

And then Roland clocked out for the day and went home, thus ending this arc.

Look at all these characters, most of which we never saw duel even one card.

We also got one shot of Mai for some reason although she was not in this arc.

AAAHHHH. Every time I’m like “the show is done screwing geography” we get another freakin geography spook!

But we went back to California in order to get a scene of these guys in an airport to get a flight to Japan...

which means Rex and Weevil just...were they shipped home by the Kaibas? Because way to ditch getting arrested by the American Government, hot damn. They are...literally terrorists who destroyed a Caltrain in a plot to kill everyone in the world so like...really surprised Rex and Weevil are in public...but maybe all the FBI were dead at the time so they just didn’t know?

Meanwhile, Duke has to go back to Death Valley and call a tow truck for his car, RIP.

I sure hope he got PTO during this stunt and isn’t going home to a pink slip.

I’m not sure of Dukes life or anything going on with Duke. I’m sure the thing about Serenity is him joking because we have all forgotten about that girl by this point...but also...is Duke...still living in the Tenderloin? The crime rate is very, very high and the ground isn’t solid, so it will liquefy if there’s an Earthquake, but it is one of the few places in the Bay Area that doesn’t light on fire every year. He has that going for him.

I just really hope Duke moves out of the Tenderloin one of these days, he needs a better life.

Meanwhile, Rebecca does one last crime.

This is like a post-epidemic reaction to a hug, but in 2002(3?).

I don’t think I’ll miss Rebecca too much. Wanted to like her more, but she was under-utilized, like most of the characters on Yugioh. Not even just talking girl characters here--most characters on Yugioh are super under-utilized, just Tristan Wallflowers doing nothing, but also being selectively OP as hell about very specific things they never, ever need to do.

Speaking of the devil:

Yugi...just saved his entire company...

But Mokuba is just has to make sure to make it seem like they owed Mokuba and not the other way around. Just in case.

So off they go on this massive plane. It’s probably more to do with the length of the trip as to why the plane is so big but also...

This plane is overcompensating.

But before we analyze that, lets close the book on Seto Kaiba’s very short therapy arc. Overall, it was a nice distraction, but I can see why people call it a filler arc, as it really doesn’t affect...anything going on in the major plotlines, which makes me think it could have been a movie or a game or something. But overall, it’s not bad, it’s just not what you’d expect if you were a Western audience.

Like I’m preaching to the choir, but typically, Western stories are entirely plot focused, and so our arcs always give or take away from that plot. But in a Eastern story arc, it may instead be character focused, where the climax is a character evolving or coming to some sort of cathartic realization, which this arc was, in a big way. We still had some plot, because this is a Shonen, but overall it was about characters, and specifically whether or not Leon and his bro would reconcile or change--which they did.

We did get to see a little more growth on Seto in that he...didn’t go bonkers and hallucinate during a card game. It’s been a while since we’ve had him not do that. Seto was very chill this arc, which makes sense, it was a very chill slice of life arc for everyone involved.

So, next we move on to the next one, which bro has informed me...is

still not Bakura.

According to Bro, the next arc didn’t even air in the Japanese version of the show? Like he’s got a lot of spicy Yugioh headcanons so he could be wrong (He did tell me that he thought that Zigfried was Seto Kaiba’s ex boyfriend when he saw this as a kid which...that sure is a way to interpret this arc, and it probably wasn’t just my little brother who went down that thought tube there...)

(Bro Note: To be fair, I didn’t watch much of this arc as a kid.)

But he says the next arc was originally a movie. But they released it in the States as episodes to be part of S5, just to put more episodes in there. Which, if he’s correct, makes it seem like we’re getting like the Mulan 2 experience kind of shoved in between this arc and the next

But um..

according to bro it has virtually no card games.

.......

I’m so used to only capping 10 minutes an episode, what?

Anyway, until then, here’s the link to read the rest of these from the start in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

I’m kinda itching to do a Season Zero, it’s been a hot minute--so those take a little longer to do, especially since I need to go to a different site I haven’t...checked out yet...I’ll be back...eventually? I just know that at some point in Season Zero they fight it out with yo-yo’s and I want to see it.

[internalsealpanic]

Cosmonauts

Summary: You always call Tim space related nicknames. No one knows why.

A/n: This is technically a follow up to Art Gallery Smile but it can be read on its own. This was posted on mobile so Idk how bad it got formatted. Will edit when I get to my laptop.

Warnings: mentions of panic attack and anxiety. No graphic detail but just in case. (Yes, I gave Tim anxiety. Fight me.)

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

“IT WAS ZOMBIE ADJACENT,” Roz protests, shoving another one of Tim’s fries into her gaping maw in a vain attempt to stop the petulant pout retching its way to her lips. You roll your eyes hard enough that your entire head follows along with their movement, taking a nibble of your own fries. Roz scowls, mouth twitching the way yours does (4 times to the left and 4 and a half times to the right) it was honestly the only way to tell that you two were related in any shape or form. 

“It wasn’t even close, you deep-fried stick of margarine,”

“It shambled, didn’t it?”

 

“So does Space Case over here when you don’t funnel enough caffeine into his system, what’s your point?” You bite out leaning back, slinging your arm over the back of the bench and over Tim’s shoulder making his breath hitch. Tim can feel his skin heat up. For once, he’s thankful for just how much Roz hordes your attention.  He’s starting to run out of excuses for the color of his cheeks. Not that you ever fell for any of it from the way you hummed every time he stammered out his excuse. 

 

Based on the way your hand flexes and not so subtly moves away, you noticed his flush but made no comment. Instead, you grin- all sharp teeth and cocksure and smug bastard- leveling your older cousin a look which roughly translated to ‘Checkmate, motherfucker’. Despite his apprehension, Tim can’t help the smile that twitched on to his lips. Your eyes flickered to him. It might just be his imagination but Tim was pretty sure he saw fondness chip away at your smug grin. Tim kind of wants to lean into your arm but instead, he leans forward pretending to pay attention hiding his smile in his hands. His face is gonna get tired from smiling too much around you. 

"It wasn't even close,"

"It was freaky looking,"

"Damn woman, you're being real judgy there,"

“Back me up here Duckie!” Roz screeches, shoulders hiking up making her look like a frazzled cat about to hiss pulling Tim away from his reverie. You roll your eyes all the way to the back of your head while Steph just snorts. Tim sighs. None of you have stopped calling him ‘Duckie’ or ‘Ducktective’ after that stint of being ‘Drake’.  Admittedly, it wasn’t his best idea but you didn’t have to laugh that hard and slap your knee. When you were done laughing, you vehemently protested the name change by wearing your precious, well-kept, one of a kind Red Robin hoodie for the duration of the ‘Drake’ thing. You had said it was to bring him back to his senses (sense of fashion).  Maybe you just wanted to fluster him. He certainly couldn’t put it past you. It worked. Oh, it definitely worked. Now, all he could think about was how nice you looked in his colors which inevitably lead him to think about how nice you would look in his shirts, in his clothes- Damn it. He’s doing it again. 

Roz clears her throat. It is loud and rough and it makes all of you wince despite the already loud atmosphere of the cafeteria. Really what does Roz expect him to say? One, Tim wasn’t fully paying attention. How could he when you two are smooshed together on a cramped cafeteria bench with you still wearing your Red Robin hoodie? Tim’s surprised he isn’t keeling over. Two- 

 

“See! Even our darling-” Tim’s brain short circuits. “Space Cadet can’t even defend your bullshit,” you laugh reaching over to Roz’s drink leaning a little too close to Tim’s face. He can almost feel the heat radiating off your skin. 

 

If I lean in just a little more, I could probably…

 

“It isn’t bullshit!”

 

“You’re right! Bullshit has more substance-”

 

“Sooooo, what’s with all the space nicknames for Tim? When do I get one?” Steph asks casually, popping another of Tim’s fries into her mouth. 

 

Has he even eaten any of his fries? It’s almost gone and he’s eaten at most one.

 

You choke making a pained noise, likely due to said carbonated drink going into your nostrils (and possibly your lungs), as you turn away. Your neck visibly red from where Tim is sitting. Based on the sparkle in Steph’s eyes, she can see it too. A manic grin spreads on Roz’s face wide enough that Tim legitimately worries that it’ll split her face wide open. A shrill sort of giggle escapes her which has you whipping your head to her direction to scowl at her. It does absolutely nothing to deter the sheer glee on her face as she sneers back to you. Some secret conversation passes between the two of you. Tim and Steph watch in slow motion as mortification creeps on to your face. 

 

Suddenly (not really), Tim’s thankful that his only sister is practically a saint. At least compared to the horror that is Roz. 

 

Actually, now that he thinks about it, you have a plethora of space-themed nicknames for him when you aren’t busy calling him whatever endearingly aggravating name Steph came up with that week. 

 

Cosmo

 

Space Case

 

Space Nuts

 

Rocket Man

Martian Manhunter

 

ET

 

Marvin (the Martian)

 

And your favorite, Cosmonaut.

 

At first, he figures it was because of his obsession love for Star Wars and Star Trek but no, that couldn’t be it since you had started calling him that long before you two ended up marathoning the entirety of Star Trek instead of working on your project. He can still remember just how engrossed you looked while watching as you hugged your knees to your chest leaning forward as you waited for the next episode to start up with bated breath. Your features highlighted by the glow of the laptop screen making it very easy for Tim to memorize the contours and angles of your expression. Yet another moment Tim really wanted to capture with a photo. You even did your mouth twitch thing without noticing.

 

 He really wanted to just keep an entire album of all the different expressions you made. Wait. That sounds weird. Does it sound weird? It probably does.

 

 Then again, maybe you called him those because of just how much of a weirdo he was. He couldn’t blame you if you did. But he found that highly unlikely. Sure, you can be mean at times (a lot of times) but you were too oblique for that. Years in customer service made sure of that. Your jabs were usually of the subtler, more needling variety. The type that makes you pause for too long.  Plus, you said every nickname with a fondness that made his heart skip a beat. It was like when you called Roz or Steph ‘Fucker’. Maybe a little warmer. Or he could just be imagining that. Probably. Hopefully not. It was hard to get the honey-sweet way you said them out of his head.

 

Maybe they were just jabs. Lighthearted one. They could have just had easily been comments on just how much he spaced out. Tim has a tendency to live in his own head and it shows especially when he’s stressed or tired or both. Sometimes he would completely shut down as a result of excess anxiety. He can still remember the number of times he had let his anxieties run rampant letting them drag him away from the moment. His breaths were too quick to back then. He felt like he was gonna faint but then you just smiled at him like you were there for him which as it turned out you were. You gently squeezed each segment of his fingers until his breaths slowed. Even when he did fully calm down, you didn’t relinquish his hand. You held them firmly in your own even as you looked entirely unsure of what to do and what to say. You didn’t whisper the usual ‘you’re ok’ or the classic ‘you’ll be fine’. No, you just sat there with him quietly. Letting his feelings ebb and flow as he needed them to. 

 

Tim really isn’t sure what he did to deserve even knowing someone like you but he would do it again and again if it meant being able to stick close to you. 

 

Roz, ever the agent of chaos, throws a conspiratorial smile around the table like a flail. You look like you’ve been hit by one.

 

“Sorry, Steph. You won’t get one,” she says glancing at you. Steph pouts before she and Tim follow Roz’s gaze expecting you to glower or snarl or get up to deck her. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. You just kind of sit there frozen and mortified with a face that simply says ‘Oh. God. This is happening.’. All you can really do is mouth a ‘fuck you’. This obviously pleases Roz. Say what you will about Roz, but there is abso-fucking-lutely no denying that she is petty as hell when it comes to revenge. Nothing is sacred to this woman. Nothing.

 

“Why’s that?” Steph asks innocently, smiling around her bendy straw also enjoying this rare chance to torment you. 

 

“I’m so glad you asked!” Roz answers her voice twisting into a horrifying facsimile of a daytime talk show host. You peel your arm away from the backrest and place your arms over your head and neck as you do in an earthquake drill bracing for impact. By the way, you were shaking, you’d think there was an actual earthquake. Your reasoning can’t be that stupid. 

 

“My dear Stephanie-” Steph scrunches her nose at the overly sweet tone Roz lathers on her name but makes no move to interrupt. “(y/n) only uses space-related nicknames for people they think are- and I quote- ‘waaaaaay outta their league’,” You let out a pained groan and Steph’s face unfurls as she lets out the loudest snort, loud enough to draw the attention of several tables around them. 

 

Tim’s mind is still reeling, still trying to process what Roz just said. 

 

Him?

 

Out of your league? 

 

Excuse him, isn’t it the other way around? 

 

What the hell? 

 

“Tim, for the love of Alfred, please unhear that,” you plead wetly, parking your head out just enough for Tim to see just how red your face has gotten. “God, please unhear it or I might just die,” Tim kind of didn’t doubt that you would. Steph somehow laughs even louder at this. Roz, not one to miss pouring salt in the wound, laughs along with her. You look like you wanted to implode out of existence.  You could certainly try but Tim seriously doubts the universe is kind enough to let you escape. 

 

Yeah, Tim’s brain has officially left the building. He’ll be back at 9 o’clock sharp tomorrow. Promise. 

 

“You mean to tell me that-” Steph chokes, unable to control her laughing fit. “-You’re telling me that you’ve been watching them pine for each other for over a year now and you just let them?!” Steph wheezes still holding her stomach.  

 

Roz looks offended and makes a whiny little noise. “Weeeell, technically I offered to wingman-”

 

“YOU WERE GONNA CHARGE ME FIFTY BUCKS,” 

 

“Hey, matchmaking is hard,”

 

“It isn’t worth fifty bucks!”

 

“You’re right! It is worth so much more,”

 

“God, I hate you,” you groan into the table. 

 

“God can’t help you now, kid,”

Tim frowns, mind backtracking to dissect the information. Apparently, his brain decided to clock back in. 

 

They knew. Even Roz ‘I don’t give a shit what you do as long as it doesn’t affect me’ Andrada, noticed. Was he that obvious?

A year? Wait. No. Over a year. They knew about this for over a year. 

Lastly, what do you mean each other?! As in mutual? Mutual pining? 

As if reading his thoughts, you ask “Wait… what do you mean each other?”

 

Roz blinks at you not entirely sure if you’re being funny. When you give her a look, she slumps back in her chair. “I’m related to a dumbass,”

 

“That you are. Speaking of dumbasses-” Steph whips her attention to Tim giving him a shit-eating grin.”-You said you were waiting for the perfect opportunity to ask (y/n) out, right?” Steph waves her hands doing jazz hands as she points at your still dumbstruck figure. She’s smiling as if she was the world’s best wingman at the moment.

 

 Tim suppresses a groan. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured it,”

 

Roz reaches into her pocket and produces a lighter. Grabbing the last of Tim’s fries and lighting it. “There. Mood lighting. Do the thing.”

 

“Ah yes, because surely the scent of burning potatoes is gonna sweep (y/n ) off their feet,”  Tim said flatly crossing his arms. He knows he’s definitely focusing on the wrong thing but as with all things it was easier to procrastinate. This is especially true when you’re afraid of the outcome.   

 

Roz huffs, waving the fry to extinguish it and muttering something about beggars and choosers. “Trust me kid that isn’t hard to do. Besides, did you not hear the part where I quoted (y/n) about you being ‘outta their league’,” You open your mouth to protest but slam it shut when Roz gives you a lopsided grin looking like she had a mountain of dirt on you which she likely did. He was definitely thankful that she has never met his family. He’s pretty sure Gotham wouldn’t survive. 

 

“How could I possibly be out of (y/n)’s league. I- I don’t- I mean- I’m not-”

 

Your body twists his way fast enough that he’s sure you either have whiplash or a twisted spine. Your eyes are set on him glowering as if he’d said something wrong. He’s pretty sure he didn’t although he did have a talent for putting his foot in his mouth. Your jaw is set tight, your teeth almost grind. He could see the tight hitch in your shoulders. He is 100% sure you’re going to deck him. 

 

“Do you want it listed alphabetically or what?”

 

“What?”

 

“Structure it like an argumentative essay. Speak nerd.” Roz instructs, earning her the full force of your glare. Your face pinches even more. Maybe this was the part where you implode. 

 

You suck in a calming breath before turning back to Tim. 

 

“Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, you are a fucking moron, and here’s why:” Taking another breath, you turn to face him fully your cheeks reddening but you press on either from pure unadulterated spite or determination. 

 

“You quite literally co-run a multibillion-dollar corporation. You’ve been doing that since you were seventeen apparently. You know several languages and you are not only fluent but proficient. You’re well versed in an insane amount of fighting styles. You are the smartest dumbass I know-” 

“Preach!” Steph jokes. 

 

“-You can basically operate any machinery I put in front of you. I have no doubt you can Macgyver one up if you fucking wanted. You could hack into any system you want just as a joke. You could probably throw the entire global economy into the toilet just for shits and giggles. Need I go on?”

 

Tim looks at you wide-eyed and speechless. You shrink a little as he continues to gape at you but you keep looking him in the eyes daring him to refute your claims. Really what was there to say? As much as he wants to come up with something witty to snap back at you, his chest is too crowded with warmth from the absolute sincerity of your voice. He knows you didn’t set out to make him fall deeper in love with you but he feels like he’s in free fall with your gravity pulling him downwards. Tim can feel the heat rising to the tips of his ears. 

 

You shrink again, your mouth twitching. “I-” Another calming breath. “I said too much. But my point stands!” The infinitesimal gap he felt between the two of you practically vanished. Still, he could do nothing but stare. Words fail him in the most inopportune moments even when you look so desperate for any kind of response.  You swallow thickly looking like you think you’ve ruined everything when the fact was you haven’t. Quite the opposite really. Tim feels like he could take on the entirety of Gotham’s rogue gallery right now. Still, his brain was drawing a blank. 

 

“Mood,” His brain has short-circuited and is now beyond repair. His palm is in his face before he even sees your reaction. You give him an entire speech about how great he is and all he can say is ‘mood’. Looking over at Steph and seeing her phone on her hands, he can tell she’s already transcribing the events to the group chat. Well, It can’t get any worse. 

 

You giggle snort eyes slamming shut from the force of your laughter. Joy suffuses throughout your tense body, loosening your tense muscles. “Thank you for proving my point,” you say between gasps.  

 

Tim falls victim to the infectious smile spreading on your face. He feels the warmth crowding his chest grow fuzzy. 

 

Now’s your chance.  

 

Tim takes a steadying breath. He rolls his shoulder back to straighten his posture. He waits for you to calm yourself a bit. When you do, he asks as confidently as he can “Are you free this Saturday?”

 

“No,”

 

Oh crap. He knew he screwed up. He feels cold seep into his feet.  

 

You shake your head at his panic. “I work Saturday, ET,”

 

“Oh, I-”

 

“I have all of Sunday off though,” A hum of excitement spreads through his limbs. “Name your time,”

 

“9 AM?”

 

You give him a look roughly translating to ‘You aren’t going to lose sleep over a date, so help me’.

 

“11:30?” He corrects. You smile and hum seemingly making the oxygen in the atmosphere disappear. He finds that he doesn’t mind, not when he feels like he’s floating on zero gravity. 

 

-------------------------------------------------

Bonus: 

 

Steph: Tim’s a dumbass😌🙃

Damian: Thank you for stating the obvious, Brown. 

Step: 🙄 Do you wanna hear about it or not?

Dick: 👀We’re listening…

Steph: (Y/n) made this whole speech about Tim and all Tim could say was 'mood' cycgu9c8ychic8td 5d8fcouv9ygpuv

Jason: F

Duke: F

Cass: F

Babs: F

Dick: F

---------------

Thanks for reading!!!!!

Taglist:

@idkmanicantenglish, @batarella, @batarella-mini, @birdy-bat-writes, @anothertimdrakestan, @founduebitches , @lucy-roo

[fizzingwizard]

So I’m sure you’re ALL on tenterhooks to find out what I thought of episode 36... the answer is.... LOVED IT!!!! No I really did. If you like Taishiro friendship, this is an essential episode to watch. Doesn’t blow me out of the water, but still just good.

Although Taichi has a big something to do as usual, it’s still very much a Koushirou episode. FREAKING YAY. I have a dozen thoughts about it, and what bugs me the most, of course, is how we needed this episode AGES ago ugh. But we’ve now had two or three episodes in a row that have actually felt like Digimon Adventure, so perhaps all that finger-crossing is working?

They could unravel all that good work in a minute by never addressing it again... or not letting Koushirou show his personality unless it’s his “turn” for an episode from here on... but you know, I will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Pic of the day:

“I don’t like people. But they are occasionally useful.” - 2020 Izumi Koushirou’s life lesson, lmao

*The red strip at the top is about the big earthquake that hit Eastern Japan yesterday. It’s annoying to have it there for the entire episode - usually they only stick around for a couple minutes - but this WAS a large earthquake. It caused many people to lose power. So making sure everyone knows what’s going takes precedence over Sunday morning cartoons. (I’m in Osaka and didn’t even feel it, but my friends in Tokyo prefecture very much did.)

Lots and LOTS of ranting from a rabid Taishiro fan under the cut!

(also I didn’t check for typos so. yeah)

The episode starts right off by assuring us this is a Koushirou episode. We get the trademark Izumi Koushirou floating in the void of space sequence, which is excellent and very encouraging framing.

Koushirou Kenobi: “Use the force, Taichi.”

Taichi: “Use it yourself.”

(the episode in a nutshell)

The initial thing that bugged me - okay, so the kids got separated for the umpteenth time many episodes ago, and since then we’ve stuck to Taichi like barnacles. The only glimpses we’d get of the other kids showed: Yamato running towards something, Koushirou flying towards something while researching the satellite malfunction, Jou in the hot springs, and Mimi at the crystal caves. For Jou and Mimi, I don’t care, because they never tried to move, but Yamato and Koushirou were constantly moving. Yet, in the end, it’s Taichi’s group that catches up with Koushirou, rather than the other way around. It DOES make sense - it seems like Koushirou told them to “meet at the giant gold pillar” because that’s where they needed to be to save the world, so it became the rendezvous point. But it just bugs me because, once again, all the activity is on Taichi’s side. But that’s a minor quibble. The end result is still THIS:

More of the team is together!!! Taichi and Koushirou are together!!! Yaaayy!!!

... the betting pool for how long it will be till the next separation is now open >.>

Poor Komodomon’s long mop dog fur is so dirty. “Fizz his fur always looks like that.” He’s tracking mud everywhere. “Fizz look at his ears his fur is supposed to look that way.” Next episode - everyone gives Komondomon a bath.

So the start of this episode is just a bunch of talking about how dire things are with the satellite situation. I’m not gonna bother translating. Watch the sub when it’s out if you really want to know :P The important thing is, the gold pillar is directly causing the malfunction, no one on Earth can stop the satellite from plummeting to Tokyo, the city is being evacuated, and there are only 20 minutes till impact.

Koushirou has an elaborate plan which Sora adorably sums up as “So, we’re gonna shoot it out of the sky *makes punching motion*”

The crux of Koushirou’s plan hinges on a repeat of how Omegamon saved Tokyo from the missile way back in like, episode 2 or 3. Taichi says, “Yeah, but I barely remember how we did that.” Which is hilarious because I don’t remember either because it was 30 EPISODES AGO. Once again this episode feels like it was meant to happen WAY EARLIER THAN IT DID. It’s just weird to be referencing something that happened 30 episodes ago after everything else that’s happened, AND on top of that, there are many references in this episode and none from later than like, episode 10 or 12. Making this all seem very oddly timed.

I’m not quite sure if, within the story itself, it matters that Taichi “doesn’t remember well.” He also doesn’t remember the Devimon battle where he and Agumon were infected with dark energy. That one makes sense for him not to remember. If that hadn’t happened, I would just take his “I don’t remember how we stopped the missile” to just mean it was so long ago. But together, it’s making me wonder if something else is going on.

Or maybe Taichi’s just been hit on the head one too many times (okay, that seems the most likely of all, haha)

People of Tokyo: Is it Godzilla again? I heard he’s itching to fight King Kong. You know, given how often our city is attacked by kaiju, some might wonder why we haven’t moved away by now. But home is home, ya know?

The group sets up to fly to the peak of the gold pillar. Obviously, without Yamato, there’s no Omegamon. No one points this out, but Koushirou seems very stressed with his plan, and it seems that he contacted Taichi in the first place because he thought “Taichi’s the one who can pull this off.”

After hearing the plan, Taichi shoots him through the heart with another “Koushirou, you’re so awesome!” and YAY I MISSED THIS SO MUCH!!!!!! *sobs*

Then he does his best to reassure Koushirou by remaining positive and determined that they can and will do this no matter how much Koushirou waves. The majority of the episode is them flying up the pillar while being assaulted by enemies trying to stop them, so it’s not like they get to talk about their feelings (lol). But at least we get a bunch of close ups of Koushirou’s and Taichi’s expressions, and that’s how we see this dynamic in play. Yes, Koushirou is the brainy one who made the plan, but he doesn’t have the confidence to take the lead, so he handed the reins to Taichi. As for Taichi - yes he has the confidence, yes he can do it... but he also has absolute faith in Koushirou. So that’s why this episode makes my little Koushirou fanatic heart skip a beat.

First of the enemies is this guy, aptly named BladeKuwagamon.

They’re actually pretty scary! They do real damage. (Blood in Digimon word is glowy unicorn-like stuff haha). Birdramon gets stabbed, but before Sora can get too upset, she just yanks the blade out of her chest...

... and then crushes it into dust with her beak.

Sora: Holy crap, my partner is metal AF.

Forgot to mention earlier but 5 whole minutes of the 20 minute countdown are used up just by digivolving apparently xD Taichi keeps asking Koushirou “how much time is left” and Koushirou’s panic grows more visible with each passing second...

MetaLiffeKuwagemon looks cooler than he is. Supposedly he’s there to bring out the big guns, but to be honest...

... the BladeKuwagamon don’t seem to need the help :P The enemy’s strategy is obvious: isolate each member of the team to prevent anyone from getting to the top. This is why Koushirou’s so stressed: he’s got a plan that is totally reliant on there being a leader strong enough to pull it off AND there being enough backup to protect that leader from the large number of enemies. And Koushirou doesn’t like these odds.

Garudamon gets stabbed AGAIN

Sora: Go on, we’ll be fine.

Taichi: Are you sure??

Garudamon: *DESTROYS EVERYTHING WITH FIRE*

I MEAN HONESTLY! Garudamon is not only my favorite of Piyomon’s evolutions, it’s pretty much my favorite Adventure evolution. Always has been since I was 11 years old. And she (and Sora) NEVER get that credit. Like. Growing up, with US dub Adventure, I interpreted Sora as more of a straight up tomboy than she is in the original. That’s okay, that’s whatever, but what was most important to me was that I saw her as the third “strong” member along with Taichi and Yamato. Those two were clearly in a class above her, but I saw her as being in the same “Taiorato” league. Garudamon seemed to prove that: she was so cool, so powerful, and... yeah, I just always thought she had so much potential to be awesome and never got why it wasn’t used. That’s also why I was disappointed in Tri - like, I liked Soushitsu, but I just wanted more from Sora’s arc. Same thing in Kizuna: I understand Sora’s arc, I don’t hate it or anything - I think it makes sense for her. But since I wanted something different for her all those years ago, it just left me feeling a bit flat.

but enough about other Digimon series :P Garudamon gets to be super cool here and I only hope we get to see more of it in this reboot. I’ll forgive it some of its other mistakes if we do :D

With Takeru/Hikari and Sora isolated by the BladeKuwagamon, it’s up to Taichi and Koushirou alone to race against the clock! Their teeth are clenched, sweat runs in rivulets down their skin, their hearts are pounding in desperation...

Koushirou: Taichi-san! If we don’t get to the top soon it’ll be too late!

Taichi: Just don’t call me late for dinner!

Koushirou: ASDFGHJKL;’ DAD JOKES NOW?? REALLY????????

MetaLiffeKuwagamon makes life that much harder by knocking them against the pillar. However, this is a pillar of data, which enabled the BladeKuwagamon to evolve into MetaLiffeKuwagamon in the first place. Bugs aren’t that bright.

Taichi and MetalGreymon are nearly submerged inside the pillar as a result, and then we get this sequence of red and black. The pillar had been emitting dark lightning, so I started to think... omg... is MetalGreymon gonna get a Dark Evolution???????

.... Nah. That would have made sense, but.... nah :P

Overall I’m glad though, because that would really have turned this into a Taichi episode instead of a Koushirou one.

I’m not personally certain what the point of bringing BlitzGreymon out was. I had figured he would be like, a super fast evolution that would enable them to make it to the top. That would also have turned this into a Taichi episode. But...

... Taichi tells Koushirou that he will have to go divert the satellite because Taichi has to deal with MetaLiffeKuwagamon.

I was both really pleased and really surprised. Because, again, now what’s the point of BlitzGreymon...? Why did we need a new Agumon evolution? There’s no particular reason why they couldn’t have just isolated Taichi with the enemy the same way the others were and had him tell Koushirou to keep going on his own then. They did do that, but first they gave him a new evolution. Why? Just because it’s cool?? I assume that must be the reason but we don’t even see BlitzGreymon fight xD It’s... it’s weird. But whatever.

Taichi: Go, Koushirou!!!!! You can do it!!!!!

Fiz: *dies a thousand brilliant deaths*

So, Koushirou tells Taichi that he can’t do it - he can support Taichi, but he can’t take the lead. Taichi’s just like that’s wack, dude, of course you can do it. What I LOVE about Taichi and Koushirou’s dynamic is just that: Taichi never sees Koushirou as a weakling. The fact that he’s small, or that he’s brains over brawn, or even that he’s kinda antisocial - those are all reasons an energetic, extroverted kid like Taichi might bully, or at least think poorly, of Koushirou.

But Taichi values Koushirou. He knows how hard he works and is impressed both by that hard work and his talent. What’s more, he doesn’t see Koushirou’s brains as his support system. The whole time Koushirou’s thinking he’s there to support Taichi with his plan, Taichi was thinking, “I’m here to support Koushirou’s plan.” That is SO, SO important. And that’s why I LOVE this episode. The one thing the reboot seemed to really understand, that hooked me from the start, was the way it just GOT Taichi and Koushirou. They each support and follow each other, while each feeling like the other is better than them. Ugh I could like, cry over Taishiro now... omg....

Taichi is successful in pushing Koushirou to go on, but of course Koushirou himself is still plagued with doubts. He reflects on how he’s always been fine being alone. He hasn’t particularly wanted friends and didn’t mind not having them, even though adults worried.

(Side note: this is a normal, if kinda rare, personality trait. I have it too. I always score Koushirou on “what Digimon character are you?” tests too lmao. Just like some people feel the need to be surrounded by others at all times, there are those whose social needs are very very low. I’m one of them. There’s nothing wrong with it except that even those people can get lonely and it’s easy to misunderstand them as shy or snobby. So what I love about Koushirou is, yes he learns to value his relationships more, but also learns to value himself. He is Koushirou: a brainy kid who’s happy on his own, but also happy with friends. While some people, like Mimi, struggle with that aspect of his personality, others, like Taichi, just accept it. To me that’s the best life lesson there is: there are always people who can and will be friends with you. Yes, I’ve lost friends because I just wasn’t social enough for them. But I have other friends who I’ve known for literal decades now. And I REALLY love those friends.)

Koushirou feels grateful that he has AlturKabuterimon, and also that he has Taichi. So... here he is, reflecting on the last time he had meaningful interaction with that great friend Taichi... back in episode three. -____________-

Seriously, this would mean a lot more if this dynamic had been built on continually until this episode...

Koushirou then briefly reflects on each of the other Chosen. Notably, every single solo image of them is from an episode that Koushirou either wasn’t in or wasn’t with them at the moment. Then we get this group image. It’s from EPISODE 12. (I’m actually not sure of the episode number but the point is, it’s from A LONG LONG TIME AGO. I think it’s the swamp episode??) That drives me NUTS. We shouldn’t have to reach soooo far back to find meaningful moments!!! Urk.

Koushirou makes it to the peak of the pillar and AlturKabuterimon attacks the satellite to drive it off course. We see the impression of what looks to be HerculesKabuterimon and I really thought we’d get an evolution - it seemed way more appropriate than freaking BlitzGreymon - but nope.

Oh well. Koushirou still saves the day. The people at home get to see the Crest of Knowledge take over their screens, hopefully giving rise to the idea that a nerd superhero is protecting them. Koushirou is the hero we deserve.

The satellite falls into the water. I was like, shouldn’t that cause a tsunami lol?

... be careful what you wish for >_>;

fortunately people were evacuated soooo things will be okay.

He did it!! He’s so happy! AlturKabuterimon’s triumphant holler is adorable.

Taichi and BlitzGreymon fought hard OFF SCREEN!! OFF SCREEN!! HIP HIP HOORAY! And then we get to see him leaning on Sora T_T could this episode give me any more perfect moments?? Looooove it

So yeah, if you can’t tell, I’m thrilled with this episode. There are just a couple things I would have liked to improve: better animation, at least one palpable heart to heart between Taichi and Koushirou, or just a bit more time spent explictly in Koushirou’s head - but honestly we got something that is pretty darn good, especially for this reboot. I hope we do get more like this, both for Koushirou and for the others. I hope the growth here isn’t forgotten moving forward. I really, REALLY want to see more of that “I lead, you support me - you lead, I support you” mutually beneficial relationship that is the foundation of Taishiro <3

So next week! Mimi’s back and the heads are gonna roll!

Lmao!

My theory that she’s finding crystals to make Crests seems unlikely to be the case now that we know the rocks constract the rock Digimon. But... hey, we’ll find out next week.

Also Taichi’s gonna make this face after talking with Mimi bahahahaha. I can’t wait.

[fanfoolishness]

All right! Off to liveblog Chapter 9, The Marshal!

Ah yes, recap. “Traveling for me, that’s no life for a kid.”

Except searching and searching for a Jedi takes time. Except Din and the kid fall into routines and habits and sweet little moments throughout the day. Except Din dreams sometimes, in the dark of deep space, that there are no Jedi... that the kid will always need him, and he wakes from these dreams feeling both grateful and guilty

Moff Gideon totally killed those poor Jawas, didn’t he.

What would it be like to be a Jawa, to find joys in scrap and metal, to dream of Egg???

To scavenge, perchance to dream....

I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the graffiti art for this scene

Also, Grogu’s pram absolutely got scorched in the flame trooper’s assault and Din didn’t go back for it or anything. Yet they’re using the one Kuiil made? This bothers me and it’s so petty.

3PO made it into the graffiti <3

Grogu is a budding art critic, change my mind

Gor Koresh, such a dick. But I love the music being so reminiscent of Jabba’s palace! Ludwig Goransson, you’ve done it again

I wonder if Grogu gets overwhelmed picking up Force vibrations in crowds? Is that a thing? Or does he mostly just get senses from other Force-sensitives?

Wherever I go, he goes. BECAUSE HE’S YOUR SON DINGUS

I can’t believe how adorable Din is, going on to total creepos about the fact that he has Been Quested

It just speaks to a very sweet earnestness on his part

“Put up your armor for the info” and Din: swivels his head like woah

What is Gor Koresh going to DO with the beskar anyway? He’s not even wearing any???? What a prick

He absolutely deserves everything coming to him

But Din even gives him a chance! What an idiot

Kick... BABY! (Anyone else ever play Peasant’s Quest on Homestar Runner???)

I always forget about the whipcord. How do I always forget about the whipcord?

Ooh Mando has a very homey cape this scene, I like

I’m glad he’s leaving this guy to be devoured by monster dogs, he’s gotta protect any other Mandalorians that may run across him

Does Razor Crest strike anyone else as a rather feminine ship? It reminds me of a sea cow. She’s got a belly on her.

PELI MOTTO MY QUEEN

She’s sooooo happy to see Grogu and he’s delighted to see her too and they’re all just so happy together

“I’m here on business.” Does that mean that they sometimes hang out not on business? Oh, what the hell, I’ve already written the fic.

Peli doesn’t dare leave the city walls. But maybe she will again someday? Sit a little in the desert, feel the suns on her face, the wind in her hair?

Is this R2-D5? Like, THAT R2-D5 that the Jawas nearly sold Luke?

The speeder bike has rusted. This lends more credence to my theory that Din and Grogu got to have a good amount of time together!

Grogu LOOOOOVES SPEED

Boy’s gonna be a pilot some day

I just... love... all of Din’s visits with the Sand People so much

Siiiiigh I love all speeder music in this series so much. Again, Ludwig Goransson, YOUR BRAIN

Just imagine being a little kid riding in the speeder with your dad, knowing he’s gonna take care of anything scary, and you get to go fast and see everything and feel the wind and it’s so delightful and you feel so safe even though you’re going 200km an hour <3

Hmm so a whole night fell on the way to Mos Pelgo. I just love watching episodes and looking for pockets of time that I can exploit with fic :)

Just imagine a Tusken calling him out and signing the word for “your son” and Din just having to go with it.

I always forget there is a little notch under the ear piece thing of his helmet. I’ve been drawing the damn thing for 2 months and still don’t have it down.

Short!cape version, activate!

Fake Boba Fett: *arrives*

Did he seriously have spurs back in the day? God I need to rewatch the original trilogy, don’t I?

Din watching Vanth order spotchka and being confused as hell, like “you know we’re not going to drink that in front of anyone, right???”

The body language in this scene is so good. The way Din stops, mid-step, and freezes. Then breathes, heavily, frozen in place. Ready to fight. Pissed as HELL. Take. It. Off.

Oh Din. “He’s seen worse” is not exactly a ringing endorsement for your ability to keep him out of trouble, lol.

Just imagine Grogu curiously feeling the vibrations of the krayt dragon and thinking he’s never felt anything so BIG in the Force before

I always forget what the name is the for the liquefaction of soil during a severe earthquake.... *doublechecks* goddamn it it’s just “soil liquefaction”

Doodle idea: Din having to clean tobacco spit off Grogu’s clothes from the spittoon

Awww Din’s speeder is so tiny next to Cobb’s pod racer engine speeder

Cobb Vanth: *runs away, steals ice cream, I MEAN A CAMTONO*

Yeeeeah running into the desert was maybe not the best way to survive in most cases

Luckily Jawas on Tatooine are honest and want to trade instead of steal his shit

I’m excited to see how shit goes down in the Book of Boba Fett! Do we get to see the Sarlacc escape on screen, FINALLY?

Weequay bartender: “But who WAS that masked man??”

Pew

God I miss the amban rifle so much!

It’s such a weird and sexy weapon

Do the dog things have a name? Tusken snarlies?

Every time Din speaks Tusken I die a little bit because I love it so

Awwwww he’s brushing the bantha’s teeth!!! It’s just very sweet to see

Grogu: ‘plz to not be eating me”

Din: *so fucking impatient about this guy not drinking a fucking gourd*

Grogu: *yay I love it when dad shoots fire!*

I love the sign for “kill it”

I also love how done Din is with petty squabbles, like, at all times

He just has no chill. Just “stop your whining, dammit.”

Grogu: “my dad is so smart”. He’s hanging on to every word Din says

Grogu: *watches dragon* DO NOT WANT

I love it when Din gets sassy. “They might be open to some fresh ideas.”

“It’s to scale.” *cackling*

Din volunteering the village is very yes. I also love when he is just absurdly old-fashioned. “Dragon will kill you if it takes its fancy, yadda yadda”

More energy thoughts from Grogu — everyone focused, tense, worried but Grogu isn’t sure why

A bantha is essentially a ground Appa and my husband votes to rename them a Grappa

Sand People always ride single file, to hide their numbers

Ooooh is this the same “the village rises up to defend itself” motif as when the Sorganites were training with Din and Cara?

It sounds very similar, but I could be making this up entirely

This episode was so fun on first watch but it doesn’t have a ton of emotional heft. I still like it, because I love all of them, but it’s definitely not as ripe for expansion of content as some of the others. Except, of course, to the Din/Cobb shippers, who said “hold my beer” and went off. Have fun, you crazy kids.

Run Sand People run!!!!

Seriously though Star Wars suffers from a serious case of the ecology never making any sense. What do banthas eat???? There’s gotta be SOMETHING for them to eat!

Krayt dragon: LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Mando tiiiiime but imagine Din glancing over to Cobb and for a second forgetting and being glad to fight alongside another Mandalorian but then he isn’t

Also there’s definitely room in this episode to write some cute little camp out scenes with Din and Grogu, awwww

Farewell to Mos Pelgo!

[cake-writes]

Compromise (Part Five)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Story Warnings: Mom!Reader, Dad!Bucky, Ex-Relationship, Co-Parenting Drama, Angst, Fluff, Separation Anxiety

Summary: You didn’t want to trust him again, because every time you did, Bucky broke your heart just a little more. Deep down, though, you wanted to get along with him. You wanted to be amicable. You wanted your daughter to know her father. You’d always wanted that. It just required a compromise.

Part Four / Master List / Spotify Playlist

The next hour or so went by in a blink.

Bucky finished up the dishes while you and Winnie watched another episode of her show. Now that you actually had a chance to sit down and watch it with her, you understood why she liked it so much. The main character was a queen, and a little female empowerment went a long, long way at her age.

And, well, at any age, really.

Still, you couldn’t help but sneak glances at Bucky every now and then after he joined the two of you on the sofa. Some small part of you liked knowing that he was there. It was stupid, sure, but harmless – as long as Winnie didn’t see, and she was far too absorbed in her show to notice an earthquake, even, let alone something so subtle.

Her father, on the other hand, was far more perceptive. After about the fourth or fifth time you looked over at him on the sly (or so you thought), he finally asked, “What?”

There wasn’t malice in his tone, but amusement. 

His sudden question startled you anyway.

With Winnie situated right in between the two of you and his arm resting on the back of the couch behind her, you thanked whatever deity there was for the extra space.

“Nothing, I just…” You started fidgeting with the hem of your blouse, turning back to the TV out of embarrassment. “This is kind of nice.”  

Bucky let out a quiet hum of approval, followed by a soft, “Yeah.”

And it was. It was comfortable.

Too comfortable.

You checked your watch, then, a distraction from your ridiculous thoughts – which was when you realized that you should probably get moving if you were going to go buy a car today. That was the whole reason you were here, after all. Not to spend time with him.

Even though you were kind of enjoying it.

“It’s already after 11,” you told him. “We should probably get going.”

“Oh, yeah.” There it was again; you’d caught him off guard. “Yeah, we should.”

As you pulled yourself to your feet, you turned off the TV and instantly received a half-frown, half-pout from your little girl in response. “Sorry, baby. We’ve got places to be.”

“Is Daddy coming?” Winnie asked, giving you the perfect pair of puppy dog eyes.

Now that was something she’d gotten from her father.

“He sure is!” you replied with a smile. “Won’t that be fun? All three of us going somewhere?”

“Yeah!” she exclaimed, beaming.

“Okay, princess, go get your things,” Bucky instructed, and she was off – sprinting to her room for the second time to get her belongings. This time, however, you had a better feeling about it.

Maybe this could work.

Of course, when it was just you and Bucky like this, you got nervous. He was still seated on the sofa, looking up at you with those soft baby blues like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, you held the eye contact for a second longer than necessary, before you stammered out a quick, “Be right back,” and disappeared down the hallway.

For the second time that day, you shut yourself in the bathroom as a means of escape.

Staring blankly at your reflection, you frowned at your appearance. Your skin wasn’t blotchy anymore, at least, but your makeup was definitely smudged from crying earlier and you cursed yourself for not bringing something to touch it up.

Then again, why did you care? This was Bucky.

But you knew deep down that you only cared because it was him.

So you took a few deep breaths, salvaged what you could of your makeup, and then flushed the toilet: another means of keeping up appearances.

You were in the process of strapping Winnie into her car seat when you caught a glimpse of Steve through the rear window. He must have just returned from a mission, judging by his uniform. 

While you couldn’t hear what he was saying to Bucky, it seemed serious – probably mission-related, or something else you weren’t privy to. Not that it mattered, because as soon as you approached, the tone of the conversation changed entirely.

“Oh, hey!” Steve said with a bright smile, pulling you in for a hug. “Long time, no see.”

God, he was just as heavy as Bucky. Good to see that hadn’t changed.

You gave him a quick squeeze around the waist and then took a step back. “Yeah, it’s been way too long, hasn’t it? How have you been?”

He offered you a shrug. “Fighting bad guys, you know, the usual. What about you?”

You snorted. Yeah, that sounded about right. “Still making coffee for those bad guys you’re always fighting.”

Once upon a time, Steve had busted one of them right outside your coffee shop in Manhattan. Judging by the laugh your joke earned you, he definitely seemed to remember.

“Hey, Steve,” you spoke thoughtfully, “You got a couple minutes? Winnie would love to see you before we go.”

“Yeah?” Steve’s eyes lit up, and you didn’t miss the way he glanced at Bucky, almost like he was asking for permission. Bucky just rolled his eyes and shoved him toward your car.

Over the last two years, Steve had seen Winnie even less than Natasha had, and it was a damn shame because he was her godfather. You knew he cared about her, probably just as much as Natasha, but he’d always kept his distance after you ended things with his best friend. Even though you invited him around every now and then, he always said no; only came by with Natasha, and only sometimes. You always got the impression that he didn’t want to step on any toes.

“Oh wow, you’re so big now!” came Steve’s excited voice from the back seat. Somehow, he’d managed to contort his large body to fit in the small space, and you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

“Uncle Stevie, you’re all spangly!”

“It’s my job to be spangly,” Steve told her pointedly, and then he started to talk about his mission – little bits and pieces, all good, non-violent things. She’d always liked his stories. 

It was nice to see her so happy like this, chatting animatedly with Steve just like she’d done with Natasha, and you knew she’d love to see the rest of the team, too.

“We’ll have to come around more often,” you found yourself saying, not really considering the implications of it – that you’d have to have a good co-parenting relationship first.

“You know you can come by anytime you want, right?”

Well, no, you didn’t, and Bucky’s suggestion caught you by surprise. You met his eyes for a moment, worrying your bottom lip in between your teeth as you considered it. No, it just didn’t seem right to come to the compound unannounced, for a multitude of reasons – particularly if he wasn’t here to greet you. When you opened your mouth to refuse, however, he just shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter if I’m on a mission, doll. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” you asked, brows furrowing. “That would be kind of…”

Awkward. Intrusive. Spiteful, even.

“Weird,” you finished lamely.

“Why?”

“Because they’re your friends.”

Bucky scoffed. “Hardly. Steve wanted to see you just as much as I did. Shoulda heard him.”

Your heart immediately skipped a beat, and you ventured hesitantly, “You wanted to see me?”

Bucky didn’t seem to realize what he’d said until you pointed it out, and he quickly looked away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Even you were able to notice the way his ears turned red. “Well, yeah. ‘course I did.”

What the hell did that mean?

Steve, of course, chose that opportune moment to say his goodbyes to your daughter, and you lost your chance to ask. Not that you had the courage to, anyway.

“I’ve gotta type up some reports,” Steve said, jogging back to the two of you. “Don’t be a stranger, okay? You’re welcome here anytime. Buck’s already sorted it out.”

“Thanks,” you responded unsurely. “See you later?”

Steve nodded, and then he clapped Bucky on the shoulder – the very same Bucky who shot him an irritated look, which Steve promptly ignored in favour of waving goodbye and making his way up the steps.

You grew a little wary at Bucky’s sudden change in demeanour. “What did he mean, you’ve already sorted it out?”

Bucky sighed exasperatedly.

“I had a swipe card made for you,” he explained, clearly annoyed, running a hand through his hair. “For the gate. If… If you want it. You don’t have to take it, I just thought—”

“Okay,” you accepted with a shrug.  

He just stared at you.

“It makes sense for me to have one, right?” Good thing you could think fast on your feet, because otherwise you would have seemed way too eager. “Especially if Winnie’s gonna be here. Right?”

“Right,” he said slowly. “Yeah.”

God, you were an idiot.

Bucky pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and cracked it open; and as he thumbed through it in search of the swipe card, you caught a glimpse of a photo: one of you and Winnie on her first birthday, glittery pink party hats on your heads.

The very same birthday he’d missed.

The very last straw before you left.

“Here,” he said, then, holding out a plain white card to you – plastic, the same size and shape of a credit card. “Just swipe it over the black sensor by the intercom.”

You swallowed thickly and accepted the card with a shaky, “Thanks.”

When your fingertips brushed against his, you nearly dropped the stupid thing – nearly jumped out of your own skin.

Bucky studied your face for a moment, and then, predictably, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

You pushed your feelings aside and shoved the card into your purse.

“Nothing,” you lied, walking around to the driver’s side of your car. “Come on.”

He’d probably only kept that photo because it had Winnie in it. Of course, you’d given him plenty more, so you still weren’t sure why he’d decided to put that particular one in his wallet.

It didn’t matter.

“Okay, but at least let me be a gentleman,” he teased, coming around to your side of the car.

When he opened the car door for you, you gave him what you hoped was a grateful smile before you settled into the weathered, sun-faded seat, thoughts racing just as much as your heartbeat.

Part Six

[lunanoirre]

Episodes 9 and 10

(actually reviewed, no seriously I’m back—)

Ok!

I am back!

Though, I’m going to do something a little different when compared to what I’ve been doing with my other reviews of episodes.

Since I have to rewatch these two to get myself back upto speed, I’m going to jot down my thoughts, live, as I go along!

It’s something I see pretty commonly among this and many other fanbases, so I’m gonna give it a shot!

I hope my raw reactions get at least a fraction of the laughs they give me.

Episode 9:

This is a weird place to start my thoughts, but I do like how relevant the recaps are. I got used to anime, where they tend to recap entire SEASONS for no reason.

Of course it’s a single mom with only young children moving into the Winchester’s childhood house.

“The chair”.... no chair is gonna stop spirits in your closet, hunny

And of course, the chair is moving. Aaaand mom’s in the basement. Cool !!

Why did John leave a box of keepsakes in THAT HOUSE ???????????? Especially pictures, jesus christ, those are always known to have supernatural links

What the hell is that flaming mass in the closet.

Ok, how the hell did Sam match his tree drawing to the tree in the photo—

“Why would you think that?” “Uh—... I jus-Uhm-“ valid point, good job Sammy

Seeing Sam so distraught is honestly really heartbreaking.

Why did Dean say he would never go back ...? I mean, I get it, trauma, but... Dean doesn’t seem the type to avoid that kinda thing.

Did they... Teleport back to Kansas?

I love how Sam immediately destroyed Dean’s lie—

They said the little girl’s name twice, and I did not understand it either time.

Y’know, Dean looks really upset to be there, and I am not liking that.

How is this mom not suspicious of how anxious Sam and Dean were acting—

Sam is NEVER this anxious, holy shit-

“I remember the fire.... the heat.... then I carried you out the front door.” Y... yeah, you were like, what, four? Of course you don’t remember much, Dean

Why is their dad so awful .

AW..,,, DEAN?????

HE’S SO AFRAID WTF

calling John again though. ugh.

Oh. Plumbing. I remember how this went, and I still hate that cymbols monkey.

y’know, garbage disposals are not blenders.

When I watched this with my dad, he also commented that it’s common practice to UNPLUG the disposal before fishing out of it—

Of course John was a marine.

Aah!!! Miss Missouri!!! I loved her!

She is such a comforting lady, I love her VOICE

Tfw she already knows their names

I want her to be my mom. The way she talks to them is so sweet

Dean has seen enough bullshit to not doubt psychics at this point, smh

I just remembered how this episode ends.

Oh, the ghost broke the playpen! Time to fridge the baby !

Why would the kid climb into the fridge at all though?

Thank god they brought Miss Missouri, or else this mom would not trust them ONE bit.

Throwing shade at Dean? Hell yeah.

Oh. Great, not the same demon. Cool

DEAN, DON’T TASTE THE PURIFYING HERBS.

How does no one hear the bullshit behind them???????? Opening drawers, sliding cords, dressers???

Why does everyone like to strangle Sam?

Ow. That light hurt.

“This is all over.”

And then it wasn’t.

Ooh, free earthquake simulator! Don’t even have to leave the bed!

I can’t tell if it’s “Jenny” or “Jinny”.

Ooh, creepy ass flame monster!

And then Sam was taken away.

Watching Dean bang on the door makes me feel much safer in regards to my break-in fears. That shit is LOUD

Mummy Winchester was the flame all alooooong!

These boys really do deserve better, holy shit...

Man, sad that Sam got to meet Mary for the first time as a flame spirit.

How.... did Sam obtain the powers of a medium?

Aw, Dean got the pics back

I’m... How the hell do spirits destroy themselves??? That still makes no sense

Wow. John’s such an asshole.

HE WAS IN THE TOWN AT THE SAME TIME ????????? THAT JERK! WTF.

Thank you, Miss Missouri, for saying what we’re all thinking.

“Not until I know the truth”— yeah, we get it. stop.

Episode 10:

Oh yeah, the asylum. This one isn’t that notable, I remember.

As someone who is neurodivergent, asylums in horror REALLY bug me, but I’m glad that this story turns things on its head.

Why does the anger give the possessed victims nosebleeds?

Ohhhhhh, their dad WAS in Cali.

I wish their dad was dead, instead of toying with them so damn much.

Yes, Dad wants you to work a job because he’s horrid.

I hate that Dean follows it so willingly, but I know that he’s just... looking for ways to please his dad.

Oh my god, they just pulled off a stunt to get the officer’s trust—

Why would you willingly want to explore an asylum? I just really don’t get the thrill.

I get certain “strange vibes” like Sam. But... I often mistake anxiety attacks as that sense, so it’s not that accurate.

Dean.... Dean.... Dean,,

He is in HARD denial about their dumbass dad.

I would be ASHAMED to be the son of someone who worked in an old asylum.

Sam is such a bad liar.

That was such a tease, I was hoping to hear Sam’s actual thoughts on Dean :c

As much as I adore my girlfriend, I would shit my pants if she brought me to an abandoned asylum as a “date”. Haunted house? I’d consider. Just not—.... condemned places are really, really creepy.

Here come the BOYS.

Spn’s editing really does creep me out sometimes. That spirit in the straitjacket, eughfhf...

I really do love that the asylum patients’ ghosts are peaceful. At least this show knows that none of this is their fault.

DEAN. Literally he JUST said to listen to horror movies, and then he just SPLITS UP—

Sam’s powers are kinda odd, but that’s ok.

How did Sam fall for that fake call.

And why does Sam go through the door that opened by itself? He should KNOW BETTER.

Dean calling him Sammy tho...

Good. Bad “doctor” is the villain.

Y’know, weaponizing normal, brotherly anger isn’t funny.

There’s the good little soldier line!!!

I SAW Sam’s brows crease in “wait, what?” when handed the real gun

*whispers* “Sorry, Sammy.”

Does—... Does Dean just use sea salt??

Thanks, Doc, for making a plasma ball in my mouth.

All these near-death experiences are gonna cause some REAL trauma.

Is it just me, or does Jensen have some really pretty eyelashes?

Ah, Christ, here we go—

I hate. Their dad. Already.

Ok, turns out I actually remembered more than I thought I would.

And! I actually watched episode 11. I just... forgot.

Anyway, my next post will have episode 11’s review, along with 12 and maybe 13.

I hope their dad isn’t as bad as I think he is so far...

[benetnvsch]

My Review of Japan Sinks 2020

Contains spoilers!

So the other night I watched Japan Sinks 2020. And then I watched it again immediately the next day to pay attention to smaller details. And now I’m writing a review because overall I found it really good but also some parts confused me and I feel like the show could have done a better job at.

Anyway, this is not going to be a clear review as I am a big idiot and do not know how to compose my thoughts whoops- as well as this is solely opinion as I am in no way an actual film critic and acknowledge that ppl have different thoughts and opinions on things- anyway, this is long so I’m putting it below a cut!

This is somewhat chronological and some of the things I saw weren’t addressed may have been I just have a small peanut brain and don’t remember it rip

First off, I liked how serious the first earthquakes were. Like, they didn’t hold back and I appreciated that. What I didn’t get as much was how the parents reappeared? Like the mom was in a river with a tsunami approaching literally in view while the dad was flung unconscious onto a truck/train(? I don’t remember) and then suddenly they were both on the top of the mountain? 

Ayumu I feel was a very interesting character as she was a bit sassy and doesn’t do much but honestly she’s a 14 year old injured girl who loses her parents fairly quickly and I can get why she’d be emotionally unstable during these times.

I feel like many of the characters could have been flushed out more/given a better backstory. The main family was good- We got a lot of flashbacks/stories and stuff but literally everyone else (except KITE) were a complete mystery. Nanami and Haruo I understand are family friends but I feel like we didn’t know anything past that? Like Haruo used to be famous for sprinting but then he stopped? Why? Also he carries around records? Why???? And Nanami? She was just a family friend? I honestly thought she was in high school or college or something but no, she’s apparently 26?? Anyway, she deserved better. Also I have no idea what the heck was going down between her and Haruo. Honestly, when I first watched it for the first few episodes I thought they were siblings until KITE’s appearance.

The dad’s death was great. I think it was really impactful killing him off right away. Straight to the point. I do find it funny that he died the moment they found the signs but I guess that makes it dramatic. They seemed overall though mostly unaffected by his death (except for ayumu) and that was kind of strange?

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate Nanami and Mari absolutely beating the shit out of the gas station guy? We love that. But then the guy’s glasses perfectly fit Haruo’s vision? Were they not prescription or did they get really lucky? 

And of course, the rave music playing during Nanami’s death I think added a lot lol And KITE’s appearance. The moment KITE appeared I knew exactly who was gonna survive: Him, Ayumu, Go, and maybe Haruo if the creators were feeling generous,,,uh,,,spoiler,,,they weren’t :( KITE’s my favorite. Kite is also my and one of my favorite ygo character’s name so bonus points for that.

The whole cult arc was so strange to me. Part of the appeal of Japan 2020 to me was the whole human vs nature aspect as humans literally have no control over nature but then unexplainable magic was brought in and that instantly made everything more unrealistic thus less intense in a way? Also Daniel’s entire character confused me. He was a magician or something? But how did he know of the cult city? And why did he want to go there so badly? Like??? Also the old man! Who was he? Why was he addicted to morphine? Why/how did he know about the child and why was he so determined to kidnap him? Why was Mr. Onodera there???? Why was he injured??

The sex scene seemed so out of place and extra but whatever,

Everyone being like, hey this food is strange and KITE being like “yea that’s the drugs!” and then Haruo being like, “I like it. Reminds me of my mom’s cooking. Btw, she was crushed and I watched her die” had me rolling like,, that’s too many different emotions to expose to me at once 

((Also, when the child finally spoke before being yeeted into the afterworld I actually found how abrupt it was to be quite funny which I don’t think it was supposed to be oops))

Overall I feel like the whole cult arc added really nothing that couldn’t have been added in a less bizarre way? Like right from when the old man appears to when they escape the city what happened? They gain Daniel and the old man’s company but then both of them die so net gain is zero right? I guess KITE and Haruo bond and Mari and Ayumu do too but I don’t know. it seemed kind of out of it to me- oh! Wait! They gained an entire Mr. Onodera so I guess that’s what they got out of it but it never really was explained how or why he was there so I guess in the end it still doesn’t really make sense?

Ok, the whole boat scene was good. I liked it. I liked how you got to see Ayumu’s leg deteriorating and I kind of sensed it was going to have to be amputated when it was her mom(?) who told her to never stop track and field. 

I’m a bit salty that we never actually got to see Japan sink and instead it was just like, oh wow, see this wreck, haha plot twist it’s actually the top of a sky scrapper, yea, Japan’s underwater now! The old man’s appearance and death was kind of creepy but the shark cameo was cool. I like sharks.

The whole scene of Go and Ayumu in the life boat was absolutely beautiful to me. I love how they both encouraged each other to win and their friendly sibling banter and how determined they were to stay together and idk maybe it’s because too, have siblings and don’t want to die, but I just found overall really touching. 

Anyway, then the mom dies. I don’t get really why she died because I feel like with all the rubbish floating around they have been able to find a type of lighter or knife to cut through the rope but I guess not? Also, did she die from drowning or because of her heart complications? Was she already close to dying because of her heart complications and that’s why she decided to sacrifice herself? Who knows. Not I.

I really liked Haruo’s character development from being quite and outcast to actually joining in and being helpful and volunteering.

Annnd, then KITE shows up with an entire tank??? Where did he get the tank?????? No matter, I’m just glad to see my boy again.

The rap battle was cute and all but v out of place for the type of series but you know it was started by KITE and I’ve learned not to doubt what he does so we’ll look past it.

The polaroid camera was a sign of death. Every time they’d take a picture someone would die. 

The whole KITE and Onodera in his layer thing was neat. I don’t get why it was in a cave but stranger things have happened. KITE’s cool and I love him with my entire being.

I really liked the small detail of Haruo reaching out to KITE while he’s desperately trying to revive Onodera. It just seemed touching considering what Haruo’s been through (losing his parents, and then losing Mari after trying to revive her)

I can’t believe KITE punched an old man back to life. What a legend.

Haruo’s death hit me the hardest. Especially since I feel like he’s grown the most. I’m so glad that he was able to be happy again though. His smile when running aaaaa. I feel like the wave that took him away wasn’t that bad and honestly he probably had a good chance of surviving it but maybe not, he was healing too so maybe that also prevent him from swimming well. KITE’s reaction to his death was extremely powerful as inferring from what KITE said before Haruo’s death would be KITE’s real first failure :’(

KITE in the next scene was v cool but also kind of extra, like why didn’t he just tell the kids, ‘hey I’m gonna signal for help, stay here with my phone and wait’ He gave me big Nagito vibes as he constantly talked abt his luck. Ultimate Lucky Student: KITE. But anyway, it was pretty cool. He was willing to sacrifice everything for these kids and I love that.

OH! ALSO! I personally loved all the ugly faces/expressions they animated. Especially during emotional scenes. Like, when Haruo cries after explaining his mom’s death or when Ayumu found the old man’s half eaten corpse in the life boat. When KITE is freezing and struggling on his balloon I love how ugly and detailed the animation is because I think his struggle was not supposed to be portrayed as a pretty thing and I think the realistic look to it added a lot to how horrifying and scary it would have been.

The ending was pretty good. Ayumu had to get her leg amputated which I predicted. All the characters I though who’d survive did. 

Go became pro gamer and had his mom’s ring as a piercing which is like when she said his medical staples looked like piercings and that made my heart hurt a bit.

OH!

KITE! PLAYS! HARUO’S! SONG! The one record of Haruo’s that KITE stole and played at the cult rave he plays when Ayumu does her jump!! Which means that KITE kept it and repaired it and u can see he repaired it with gold Kintsugi style like they saw back at the cult area and idk that was just kind of touching to me and because I do feel like Haruo and KITE became closer after the cult arc.

ALSO!!! TRANS KITE!!! WE love positive trans representation and characters who’s personality don’t revolve around the fact that they’re trans! 

Anyway, final thought? I liked the characters, the themes of man vs nature. The ending was nice and sweet. There were good scenes and good character development. There were a fair amount of plot holes/unexplained events and the whole cult arc brought unexplainable magic in it which I feel made the whole movie suddenly less impactful. The music, especially nanami’s death rave, sometimes felt out of place but other than that I really liked it. I’d rate it probably a 7/10. Yup. Definitely would (well, already have whoops) watch it again

[mayapenelopeclutterbucket]

*SPOILERS* Thoughts I had while watching TGD 3x18 “Heartbreak” aka MY SHIP IS FUCKING SAILING HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD I CANNT BREATHE LIKE IM STILL FREAKING OUT AND DYING HERE THIS POST IS GONNA BE SO LONG OKAY IM SORRY NOT SORRY

Y’all I AM REAAAADy FOR TONIGHT and not that anybody cares probably but I am really sorry about not catching up on my motifs that clearly didn’t happen but just that depression has been getting to me and I’m definitely gonna go thru them because after tonight I’m just so pumped and excited and still can’t breathe and love and appreciate all yours guys constant support and I’m just v emotional rn okay I want to cry from happiness after tonight’s episode ending also plz forgive me 😩😩

-yessss the shaire friendship I have been needing all fucking season ITS. ABOUT. TIME.

-I am in love with dr. Claire Browne okay 😭😭 she’s too pure and I love her with all my heart

-melendaire looking like the power couple of the century every time they’re standing next to each other and I’m HERE FOR IT 👏🏼👏🏼

-ooof shaun is triggered by ilys being shared

-aww Morgan’s arthritis is getting worse ://

-and Morgan referring to Claire and shaun as their last names really??? Haven’t we progressed further then that

-also Glassy is pissing me off like shaun can have friends who want to help him out he doesn’t need to do everything on his own fuck off with this narrative

-Morgan is breaking my heart here I wonder if she will go to a different field of medicine

-Claire don’t be swayed by this cheater lmaoo why you gonna listen to his dumbass

-damn Claire calling shaun out and shaun doing the same to Claire

-wow I am loving all this talk about dating with melendaire around SUBTEXT AM I RIGHT SEASON 5 ENDGAME WE ARE COMIIIING

-sometimes I feel like I miss things tho typing all this while watching it live 😂 oh well I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-damn call him out Claire for interrupting you MY QUEEN everyone needs to bow before her tbh

-OH SHIT SHAUN CALLED MELENDEZ OUT FOR BEING “nice” TO CLAIRE 👀👀👀 but got called a jerk in reply lmaooo the ogs are being so chaotic this ep I love it

-the melendaire look exchanged after that tho POETIC CINEMA

-also yeah shaun friendship is a two way street support should be going both ways

-daaaamn Melendez getting jealous about dash OH HOLY SHIT I CANNOT CLAIRE SHARING EVERYTHING TO MELENDEZ AND MELENDEZ GETTING JEALOUS AND IS TRYING TO BE LIKE WTF I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU DIDNT LIKE ROMANTICS??? Questioning dash and their relationship but in a nice way okay before y’all haters come for my ship GOD BLESS 🙌🏼🙌🏼

-like I feel like the both know and aren’t saying anything but that they do have feelings for each other like there was so much left unsaid with this interaction

-and Melendez telling Claire if it’s the right guys don’t wait for the right time is this foreshadowing?!?! And Claire making a move on melendez even tho he’s still her boss???!!!!? AHHH IM SO FREAKIN EXCITED 😭😭

-WOW MELENDAIRE SCENES PRACTICALLY BACK TO BACK IM DEAAAAD even if it was just about work the 2nd time around lmao

-Claire looks so great I love seeing her in something other then work clothes

-oh my god noooo CLAIRE AND DASH KISSED 😭😭

-omg melendez was inspired and got his idea from Claire’s!!!! He’s so in love with her and they make each other better!!! She amazes him EVERY DAY

-woooow shaun is really projecting and being a little shit no wonder Melendez threatens him with no longer being his resident the way he said the shit in front of the patient “it’s one thing to be rude to your colleagues but your patients hell no”

-y’all we’re only 30 minutes in and already sooo much content ooof I’m almost on melendaire overload 😂 like my heart can’t handle it

-Melendez trying to give advice to shaun love it and boo your heart healed because of Claire just ADMIT IT

-HE ALSO JUST SAID HES MOVED ON FROM HIS TWO HEARTBREAKS GOD BLESS L*MLENDEZ IS FINISSSSSHED 🙌🏼🙌🏼

-Morgan looks likes she’s about to quit after lims speech

-Lmaooo that guys car just got REKT

-Noooo Morgan my bby she just dropped her bombshell about ra and is quitting 😩

-awww lim giving Morgan her “last chance” to shine and do surgery and stuff a 3rd year wouldn’t typically do my babies

-I’m sick of shaun being surprised about Claire having good ideas I know he’s been undermining everyone this ep but I will not allow any asshole behavior from anyone to my bby!!!

-Melendez just put his HEART OUT THERE and Claire looked shooook MELENDEZ LITERALLY TOLD HER SHE INSPIRES HIM AND MAKES HIM A BETTER DOCTOR AND PERSON WITH HER AROUND and remind hims of why he became a doctor 😭😭

-Morgan is officially doing the surgery to “fix” her hands

-shaun getting back out there WE LOVE TO SEE IT

-CLAIRE LOOKS SO UNSURE ABOUT DASH LIKE BREAK IT OFF FINALLY PLEAAAASE y’know you really love Melendez

-is she gonna go see her boo her Neil Melendez

-god damn it @jillrox202 was right 😂 shaun is about to smash lea’s car what the fuck or at least wanted too

-wow okay shaun went off and went waaaay to far

-wow wow Claire went to her therapist is she gonna admit the feelings she has about her boss?!!?

-HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOLY FUCKING SHIT CLAIRE JUST ADMITTED SHE IS IN LOVE WITH HER BOSS I CANT BREATH I CANNOT BREATHE OH MY GOD WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOOOOR ALL SEASON SINCE SEASON 1 EVEN HOLY SHIT

-IS CLAIRE GONNA TELL MELENDEZ THO AS HES TRAPPED IN THE EARTHQUAKE WOW HOLY SHIT THAT WOULD BE POETIC CINEMA I CANT IM STILL IM SHOCK THE GROUP CHAT IS STILL IN SHOCK

-like I have dreamt and hoped for this and waited for this day to fucking come and now that it has I can hardly believe it 😭😭😭

-y’all we have waited for this for so long and it doesn’t feel real!!!!!

-okay I cant like oh my god the excitement I feel I cant deal I really can’t

-CLAIRE BEING IN LOVE WITH MELENDEZ IS FUCKING CANON JESUS CHRIST

-y’all I’m gonna cry now that I’m finally processing it wow just fucking wow

-I just want to keep typing to show my disbelief but this post is already long enough and just think of hopeless we were in in season 2B and look where we are now!!!!

SEASON 5 ENDGAME IS A FUCKING GOOOO