#WAIT! i have an idea who might work for this series AND still save mal from having to be clothed...

[agena87]

OK. Maybe red IS also Wolfie's colour!

And why does he look pretty in anything I put him in? That's so unfair to Mal who looks like an idiot in 87% of the things I put him in (and it raises to 98% when it comes to haircuts) which: granted, is not a problem since most of the time he is half-naked, but still...

On the plus side, I love that Wolfie accepted his more androgynous/feminine side, 'cause LOOK AT HIM! Stunning! And he's smiling! It's so rare and precious!

[greensaplinggrace]

do you have any darklina fic recs?

I certainly have a few! But first I want to clarify that I don’t really read fic when I’m writing it, and since I have so many fics in the works right now, I haven’t really been reading a lot of fanfiction. So this list probably won’t be as extensive as it could be.

Here are some other great fic recommendation posts, however:

DARKLINA FIC RECS by @vicioux

DARKLINA FIC RECS // part ii by @vicioux

Darklina Ruling the World Together Fic Recs by @clubofthestarlesssaint

Tumblr Ficlets

Aleksander’s First Memory by @kestrafagnor

Fivan Talk About Darklina by @jomiddlemarch

a little light in the great, big dark by @valkyrhys

Alina tells Mal she’s with Aleksander by @lorsanbitch

Darklina week day 5: intimacy & touch by @starlesscne

AO3 Fanfiction

if it ain’t me by larry_hystereks (Incomplete - 10/13 Chapters)

alina’s in her second year at Yale when she meets aleksander at one of his frat parties.

a hookup with the potential for more, only if alina wasn’t still struggling to piece herself together from last year’s breakup.

or: alina, zoya, their trust issues, and the men that fall for them

---

I’m only at about chapter 6 of this fic currently, but so far it’s one of my all time favorite Modern AUs. The characterization for Alina and Aleksander is incredibly well done, and the entire fic itself is so feminist and queer in such a refreshing way. Aleksander and Alina are bisexual as fuck, both with their own separate complex lives, and much of Alina’s own traumas and relationships are explored outside of Aleksander.

There’s some Zoyalina, with Nikolina friendship and endgame Zoyalai. There’s some mystery and some tension, but nothing too extreme, and a lot of the fic is merely an exploration in growth and overcoming one’s history and learning how to move on in healthy ways. I love it.

She Wears a Collar (With My Name) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

She is immortal, and whatever lingering hints of humanity she may have once had have long been bleached from her heart.

I will grant you one wish, boy, if it is in my power to do so. What does a Shadow Smith most want?

"You," he answers.

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 2: Role Reversal

---

This piece is just exquisite. This author’s writing style is one that I particularly enjoy. Their stuff is always so uniquely composed and crafted, and this one especially is a work of art. The way Darklina as a relationship is portrayed in particular is fascinating to me because it’s a role reversal but it’s still so complex. Aleksander’s character is nailed.

the bright sun was extinguish’d by athousandwinds (Complete)

Somewhere, deep in the dark forests of Ravka, a boy grows up on stories of Sankta Alina of the Wastes, the Sun-Scorched Saint.

---

This fic is just straight up magnificent. It’s so engaging and I love love love the way a role reversed Aleksander who joins the army is portrayed. He reminds me so much of Demon in the Woods Aleksander, as if he’s exactly what a grown version of that young boy would be. When I say I adore his characterization in this I’m not lying.

If I wanted any completed fic I’ve read to have a second chapter, it would be this one.

Winter in the Little Palace by redisxwing (Complete)

Written for Yuletide 2020.

Baghra and Alina's wildly different perspectives on the Darkling, and how things could have gone if nobody listened to Baghra.

Warning: Baghra is written as a harsh and arguably abusive parent, and this is darkfic about that relationship, with a side of shipping. Everything is terrible (except the parts that are pretty much okay).

Canon divergence pretty much as soon as Alina gets lessons in summoning.

This fic is likely not compatible with King of Scars (or any subsequent work).

---

As is said in the summary, this one makes Baghra a bit more extreme. If you’re a fan of Baghra, this fic probably isn’t for you. But since I’m not a fan of Baghra, I had no problems with it.

My biggest praise for this fic is in regards to the character interactions and the POVs. There’s a brilliant grasp of unique perspective and how to convey it, and that talent is carried over into the way character interactions are brought to life in the text. Also, there’s a scene where Alina gets kind of protective of the Darkling, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to Darklina.

Good Ideas by FelixRivers (Complete)

Alina Starkov had a very good idea. Aleksander Morozova would definitely agree. (or: Alina wants to go camping and Aleksander won't complain)

---

This fic is just straight up adorable and hilarious. They’re such a cute couple and Alina’s POV is great. It’s just pure fluff and humor 💕

I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you by SanktaJenya - @sankta-arya (Complete)

Winter had been hard on Old Baghra and Ana Kuya was worried about her, so she decided that Alina should make the trip to her cottage on the other side of the woods to bring her some food and kvas. On her way there, Alina meets a stranger...

Darklina Red Riding Hood/Company of Wolves AU

Darklina Week, Day 4, Fairytales

---

This fic has a splendid grasp of tension and atmosphere. It’s very enchanting and dark and intriguing, and it nails those aspects with absolute precision. I love the style and the way the fairytale is incorporated into the narrative. It’s truly a masterpiece.

The Wretched by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“We are strangers, but I want to help.” He growls at her, mocking and mistrustful. “I understand,” she said. “You think I am one of them. I certainly look like one of them. But I want to help you. Will you let me?” Prompt: fairytale. Alina saves a dragon.

---

Okay so I’ve mentioned this one before as one of my Top 5 fics of all time and I still stand by that. I can’t even describe why I love this fic so much except that the pacing is amazing and the prose is stunning and the story is beautiful. Aleksander is a dragon and Alina is a witch, and their relationship is just so...interesting and fascinating and lovely. I would literally kill for this fic. There’s such a softness to it as well. Such a tenderness. Idk, I just really love it.

Show Me Who You Are (I Want To Know) by Ceris_Malfoy (Incomplete - 12/?)

Alina takes her future in her own hands and makes her own decisions.

---

This is a great “what if Alina had stuck around after the reveal” rewrite. It doesn’t have Mal bashing and in fact still writes them as close friends, which is something I’m fond of in Darklina fics. Aleksander is allowed to be soft and Alina is allowed to be powerful, and I really enjoyed the take on their dynamics as a power couple wherein Alina is given a lot of control.

There’s something to be said for the way Aleksander is written in the scenes where he must be honest and earnest with Alina. I really enjoy the way they both come to equal ground, and I’m even more fond of the way Alina is allowed to grow darker without losing her light. She also engages a lot with quite a few other characters, developing tons of friendships and alliances on her own that help strengthen her as an individual character.

on this bridge between starshine and clay by @rhea-imagined (Complete)

"His breath narrows for a moment, his fist clenched tight before he forces himself to loosen it. She is his only opportunity for salvation, but vulnerability is not a cape he wears easily. “In those days, there was less prejudice against Shadow Summoners. But everyone fears the dark, in one way or another.” He does not look at her as he waits for the penny to drop, half-hoping it stays suspended in the air."

In which Alexander comes clean to Alina and tells her about his true identity in hopes that this will help convince her to take down the Fold.

A rewrite of the fountain scene in episode four, with a good!Darkling that is trying to make amends.

---

This is my all-time favorite good!Aleksander AU. He’s kept in character despite the major changes made to his motivations, and Alina is given a lot more agency in her own story. It’s the first fic in what might become a series, but it can stand alone beautifully.

I love how Aleksander and Alina’s relationship is allowed to grow tense without breaking, and how it’s a clear sign of change but not abandonment. I love how both characters are able to think for themselves and become self-aware and are given the chance to think critically. I love the character interaction so much because it’s honest and fresh and engaging. Everything from the smallest action to the most off-hand thought is in character and meaningful and incorporated with an amazing style of writing. It’s a very refreshing piece, and the writing only makes it that much better.

Bunnies of a Feather Stitch Together by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Just as Alina called to the light, gathering and twisting it into a ball in her hands, the door swung open.

Kirigan blacked out the door frame. His appearance enough would have surprised Alina, but there was something clutched in his arm, something dark and floppy. It almost looked like the stuffed toys that had been passed around to the younger Orphans." - Alina and The Darkling bond over a love of soft things

---

Soft stuffed animal shenanigans. Bits of trans!Aleksander, which I’m very fond of, as well as just a lot of fluff with a bit of something bittersweet and sad in a good way.

Half Lie by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Baghra always talked of the demon that had stolen her daughter." Or, Alina learns the hard way that the Darkling isn't the only one who deals in half-truths

---

This one is trans!Aleksander, and it handles it in a very interesting way. It’s quite sad, and deals a lot with Baghra & Aleksander’s relationship through Alina’s POV. I want to give a warning for transphobia, because it does center around that a lot as the premise, but it really is worth the read if that isn’t a trigger for you. This is one of my favorite trans!Aleksander fics, and the way it handles emotion and grief and pain is quite extraordinary.

The CEO and Helioseismologist by mrthology (Complete)

Aleksander Morozova doesn't get sick. He's the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, one that he had built from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears. He exercised daily (usually), maintained a healthy diet, and kept himself fit.

He wasn’t sick.

Too bad no one believed him. And too bad Genya decided to call Ivan to take him home before also calling Alina to take care of him.

Maybe, just maybe, being sick wasn't so bad. Especially not when he has such a wonderful girlfriend.

---

Both of the fics in this series are great, but I love this one in particular because I’m an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort. Anyone who’s been on my blog for a while knows that it’s my all time favorite trope to read, and this fic fits the hurt/comfort trope to a T in the best of ways. It’s very tender and in character, and Aleksander and Alina are so soft with each other. It’s adorable and really makes you feel for Aleksander, and the caretaking is done perfectly.

All the different layers of dark (thousand little suns) by Anuna (Complete)

One month after the Winter Fete, Aleksander returns to the Little Palace, and Alina has been missing him.

Or

Episode five canon divergence in which Alina had never left Os Alta.

---

This one is soft emotional hurt/comfort smut. They’re both so open and vulnerable with each other, and it’s so beautiful to read. I love the writing style and the emotion in this one. It makes my heart ache in the best way.

An Honourable Man by liviy695 (Complete)

A reimagining of the scene after the winter fete. Alina catches a glimpse of a caring Darkling after he returns from integrating the Conductor. Plus, no Baghra interference.

---

This one is what it says on the tin, in that Baghra doesn’t interfere and they’re allowed to talk after the Darkling interrogates the Conductor. But more than that, it’s a great imagining of how a scene where Aleksander reveals Marie’s death would have gone. There’s a sort of quiet to it that I appreciate, with grief and solemnity weighed against care and vulnerability.

I see the real you (even if you don’t, I do) by Anonymous (Incomplete - 8/?)

A series of questionable decisions lead Alina to meet the Black General a bit earlier. Butterfly effect ensues.

---

I’ve only read half so far (I hadn’t realized it had updated!! 👀👀) but I’m already in love with this fic. Alina’s dialogue and perspective is perfect, her relationship with Mal and the other cartographers is great, and I really enjoy how much personality she has. Aleksander is so smitten, but more than that, his characterization is soft but not weak. It feels almost as if he’s swept up by Alina, instead of the other way around, and I quite like that.

Of parenting by Anuna (Complete)

Alina finds out how her husband handled yet another parenting situation.

---

This is pure adorable Darklina parenting fluff and I live for it. Yet it doesn’t lack depth and in fact explored Alina and Aleksander’s relationship with parenting quite well.

i have a longing by LRCee - @ladylyannastark (Complete)

“So, Alina Starkov, risk-taker, how did you end up being editing’s newest wunderkind?”

Alina Starkov is rising in the publishing world. Singlehandedly responsible for editing (see: rewriting) the hottest book of the year, she lands a coveted spot at Morovoz Publishers. It's the position she's always wanted, at the biggest publishing house in the country. Life is perfect. That crush on her boss though, that's gotta go.

---

OKAY! I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH!! Let me tell you, as someone who is not too fond of Boss/Employee dynamics, I was very wary going into this fic. But boy did it deliver in a way that was perfect for me.

The relationship that develops between Aleksander and Alina is complex but healthy, and it never feels as if there’s too much of a power imbalance or anything that would make Alina feel forced or unhappy. The tension lies purely in how she fears others will perceive her, and not in how unhealthy her relationship with Aleksander is. For somebody who’s often attracted to unhealthy ships, I have to say that my favorite fics are usually ones that don’t have that type of dynamic between the characters. This fic delivers on that.

Also, Aleksander’s POV surrounding his struggle with his Russian heritage and his feelings for Alina is amazing, and has some of the best writing and characterization I’ve seen.

You receive: an evil demon; I receive: human souls by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

The next morning while she tried to tell herself it was a dream, that of course there wasn’t a fucking demon in her house, she found a note taped to her fridge.

“You might eat this shit,” it had written, “but I would like some fucking souls please.”

Darkling Week Prompt 7: free choice. Alina has a demon in her house.

This is absolute crack, and I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with me.

---

May I just say that this is the most fun I’ve ever had when reading a fic. It’s interesting with a bit of mystery, and Aleksander as a little shit of a demon is hilarious. Alina in this fic is great too. It’s such a unique take on her POV, especially when you reread it after knowing the ending. 10000/10, this fic is brilliant in every way and I love it.

I had been lost to you, Sunlight by BrytteMystere (Complete)

A Girl became a Woman, became a Sankta, became a Goddess.

Or: An Immortal Alina calls upon merzost to reunite with the Prince of Shadows she lost long ago. She may have lost herself in the process.

But then again, maybe time and endless wars did that instead.

---

You really just have to read this one to get it. It is utterly haunting and fascinating in the best of ways. The writing style is strange and novel and fits so well with the story being told. The composition of the fic as a whole is genius.

I Look Inside Myself (And See My Heart Is Black) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"When is a monster not a monster? Why, when you love it, of course."

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 6: Favorite Quote • King & Queen • Monster

---

Once more, this author comes through with an absolutely breathtaking writing style and story. The imagery is elegant yet brutal, simultaneously horrifying and glorious. There’s a certain way these stories are written, like fairytales, where the beautiful becomes the macabre and becomes ever more stunning because of it. It’s very dark but in a good way - an almost bewitching way.

Afterlife by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“You are asking me to leave?”

“Not asking, shadow,” she said. “Telling. Time to get unlost, loser.”

Day 3 Darklina Week prompt: Modern AU (I mean, barely)

Alina expels ghosts from purgatory.

---

@aceofnowhere once again bringing the best of the paranormal to the Grishaverse. Literally everything you write is amazing idk why I’m even pointing out individual fics when I could just rec your whole page. But anyways!! This is fun and interesting and Alina is a badass. Aleksander is, of course, compelling and dark and kind of a little shit, and it’s all incorporated seamlessly into an existential paranormal narrative.

Once Upon a Shooting Star by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"But most of all, she was drawn to a vast darkness that reached out above all of them, a void so hungry for companionship that she knew she could fulfill."

---

Let. Alina. Be. Feral!! Anyways, I clearly have a type when it comes to storytelling, and it’s whatever the fuck this person has got going on. Feral!Star!Alina is literally the light of my life. Her interactions with not only other people but the world in general are so well done, but my favorite parts about this fic are the numerous ways her relationship with Aleksander is described and depicted.

I love the dark and light imagery, especially with how it’s portrayed as them filling in the gaps of each other’s lives and supporting each other instead of trying to block each other out. There’s such clear passion and joy and love and devotion between them. The central focus of this fic is on her and Aleksander’s relationship, the interplay between them and their powers and the way her light fills his loneliness, the passing of adoration and trust and reliance between them. It’s very beautiful and I love it.

A Blaze of Light by Keira_63 (Complete)

They discover the Sun Summoner in the burnt-out remains of the Shu laboratory in which she has spent the last seven years of her life.

Or, the Darkling finds himself with a Sun Summoner whose greatest wish is to burn Shu Han to the ground. He is happy to oblige her.

---

👀👀 Badass Alina and Badass Aleksander. The ultimate power couple, and Alina burning a path through Shu Han before they both burn a path through the world together. The darkness and rage in this one are handled very well, and the way that rage turns to coldness and then resolve is done so well. This fic is very cathartic and also very furious, and reading it is certainly a trip down emotion lane.

One more for the Road by Rist (Complete)

He returns to the war room shaken, and finds an Alina that cannot leave without at least having tried.

---

This one hurts so much but its soooo gooood!!! Very smutty but also very tender and very bittersweet. Sad and soft all at once. I just... love the way Alina and Aleksander are written so much, and Alina’s complicated feelings for him are explored in such detail and depth. This one is truly worth the read.

[dumbasscorn]

Exothermic - chapter sixteen

Amalthea vs the Wolves Den

"I'm sorry-- the fucking what? Did you say vampire? Vampire girl? Bella, what the fuck do you be doing around here that people call you that? Vampire girl!"

previous chapter

1,298 words

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═

The car was filled with a somber silence, drizzles of rain splattered onto the windshield only to be wiped away.

Amalthea tore her eyes away from the racing drops of rain, "So, are we just not gonna talk about the dudes who got a bit mad, turned into giant ass wolves, and almost caused my cousin to die?"

Bella nudged her cousin on the elbow, signaling for the girl to shut her mouth. Thea whispered under her breath to the brunette, "No, I'm serious. The fuck happened to normal fist fighting!" The only reply she got was another nudge and silence.

Another minute passed before Amalthea opened her mouth yet again, "Bella I know we almost, you know, passed away- but we got to go back to Uncle Charlie's if I got to do Uley's part. Haven't even started on mine, was kinda hoping I could bribe him into doing it." Bella, skin still quite pale, pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

Embry and Jared sniggered as the girl muttered, thinking the wolves couldn't possibly listen in.

Embry pulled Bella's truck toward a tiny, weathered house. From the back, Jared jumped out and opened the passenger door. Both girls stayed unbudgingly still. Amalthea fearing how vulnerable not having the protection of the vehicle made the both of them, and Bella fearing for Jacob's fate.

Embry turned toward Jared, "Pay up. She didn't puke." Annoyed, the boy handed the other five bucks. "Told you she was tough! She runs with bloodsuckers."

'Bella runs with mosquitoes? The hell she doin' that for?' Amalthea thought, apprehensively looking at her worried cousin from the side of her eyes.

"Wait-- we should go back, make sure that Jacob's okay."

Jared cut in on her worries, "I hope Paul gets some teeth in him. Serves him right."

Thea had the decency to look affronted as Bella snapped her head toward the boy with squinted eyes.

"No way. Jake's a natural. Did you see the way he phased on the fly? Five bucks Paul doesn't touch him." Embry spoke, easing Bella's worries. Jared retorted back with agreeance.

The shape shifters noticed the girls hadn't moved at all, "Come on in. We won't bite." Embry spoke, grinning at the two.

Jared quipped back, "Speak for yourself."

Bella gently shoved Amalthea out, who was very much still hesitant on leaving her spot. Warily, the girls climbed out of the car and joined the waiting boys.

Embry stopped the Swan pair, "Oh, hey, about Emily - Sam's fiancé- try not to stare. Bugs Sam."

Responses of "Why would I stare--" and "Whatever man," were cut off as the shape shifters entered the house.

Hesitantly, Bella entered behind Jared and Embry, Amalthea following timidly behind her, trying to perfect her brave face. A woman was seen standing at a counter, taking freshly made muffins out of the tin. Long, black hair draped over the side of her face, "You guys hungry? Like I have to ask...."

The young woman looked toward the quartet, showcasing the three scars running from her hairline down to her chin. Quickly glancing at the lines that pulled down the woman's eye and twisted the corner of her mouth, Amalthea subtly admired the deep scars.

'Guess it's time to add facial scars to the list of things I find hot!' Thea silently thought, the voice in her mind sighing.

Amalthea's attention was broken from her thoughts when the woman spoke again, "who's this?" questioning Jared and Embry, who were beelining for the warm muffins.

Jared went for a muffin, "Bella Swan and her cousin. Who else?"

"Jesus fuck, I have a name!" Thea muttered, looking to the beautiful woman in front of her, "The cousin's name is Amalthea Swan."

A loud bang was heard from the small back yard of the house, followed by a yelp of pain. Emily pretended like the sound wasn't heard, keeping her attention on Bella.

"So you're the vampire girl."

"I'm sorry-- the fucking what? Did you say vampire? Vampire girl? Bella, what the fuck do you be doing around here that people call you that? Vampire girl!" Amalthea was absolutely appalled, confusion masquerading her fear. Both women ignored the girl and her anxious rambling.

'If shape-shifting, big ass wolves exist, who's to say vampires can't?' Thea suddenly felt a bit light headed at the idea, missing Bella's response to the woman.

"Werewolves? I'm just engaged to one. But these animals--" Emily slapped Embry's hand as she spoke, "Save some for your brothers."

It was as if the gravity of the situation finally set in. Amalthea paled and stood pin straight, with her back to the wall next to the entrance. Anxiety of all the unknown caused for her to close up. As Thea was struggling to stop trembling, Bella cautiously toed toward the counter, eyes peeled on the door for any sight of Jacob.

Thea felt buzzing in her ears, mind beginning to muddle with unpleasant thoughts and eyes never straying from her dirty shoes. She just wanted to go back to Charlie's. None of this would be happening if they just stayed at Charlie's. Breaths began to feel harder to catch, as if she just ran a mile. A weight felt like it resided in her chest and would never move again. She'd never have been in this situation- which Bella is dealing with shockingly well, may she add!- if she didn't try to see Uley. Thea wondered if he knew that his brother was a giant wolf in his spare time.

The deep, gruff voice that belonged to Sam Uley caused for her to jump in shock, heart stopping quickly just before picking back up its rapid pace again.

The man spoke from the door way, "Because there are bad things here." He walked toward Emily, "And they're getting worse."

'Whatever the fuck that means!' Thea took to cracking her knuckles, trying to calm herself down before having an actual panic attack, using techniques the guidance counseling sessions that she was forced to attend had taught her. People around the girl conversing worked as white noise to the loud thoughts that refused to leave her brain. The panic was incessant and  embarrassing, considering how unaffected Bella seemed to be.

Thea looked back up from the floor when two more people walked into the small house, laughing and jabbing at one another. She watched as her cousin took a breath of relief, Jared and Embry looking over the boys in search of injury. A scar was healing on Paul's arm, leading to Jared rolling his eyes.

Amalthea watched as Bella walked toward Jacob, eyes widening in fear that Bella might leave her alone in a house where every single person was a stranger. Well, that was until a tall - and seemingly buffer than before - teen walked in from the backyard.

Hearing a dramatic intake of breath, all eyes turned to the teenager who arrived. His eyes were trained on the small, very pale girl hiding against a wall.

"Oh my god, Mal! My bestie, I've missed you! Where have you been-- wait no where have I been. I was gonna break and tell you everything anyway," a hand slapped Trevor Uley's head, though not deterring him from prancing toward the girl, "The first time you called I almost cried. Honest! Did you go to Jackson's game? Shit, I hope so." The boy took to whispering, knowing the shifters could still hear him, "Stalker wouldn't let me go." He rolled his eyes, opening his arms for Thea to give him a hug.

Little did Trevor know at the moment, his presence felt like a saving grace to the girl. Thea knew he wouldn't ditch on her like Bella would. Apparently, he missed her too much to do so.

═ ∘♡༉∘ ═

Longer chapter today! Nearly 1,300 words!

How's your weekend going so far? I really am not looking forward to school again on monday, it is a STRUGGLE

The support for the series lately is so cool and it makes me smile, thank you for reading

Trevor!!!! How do you think Thea is going to react?

tag list: @ivettt @jjpogueprincess @demigodslut @sftpjmn

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please send me an ask or message me! Do the same if you’d like to be removed. :) 

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[firelxdykatara]

kitty i can't wait for your thoughts of Shadow and Bone asdfasfaw

Ok well I just finished and I have so many fucking thoughts. Most good! Some, less so. Part of it may just be my bias because I’ve only read the Six of Crows duology and have little interest in actually reading the original trilogy, because I know how it ends and Leigh clearly hates me personally and doesn’t want me to be happy (/j), so I was already predisposed to be far more invested in the Crows and Darkling/Darklina segments (genuinely, the Mal/Malina scenes/storyline bored me to tears, and while I appreciate that the show went out of its way to change Mal’s character to make him much less of a toxic douchebag [I’ve read enough excerpts and explanations of his actions in the books to really loathe book!Malina], it isn’t enough to make me ship them when Darklina is right there), but I also don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Crows absolutely stole the show.

It’s actually kind of funny, because I’d assumed they were only being so heavily marketed to hype the show up even more, since while there’s a lot of TGT/SoC fandom overlap they are also two fundamentally different genres and I’d wager there are a lot of people who are massive fans of one but not so enthused with the other, while remaining fairly insignificant to the overall plot. Turns out, they make up fully half of the show’s runtime (much to my delight). Which is part of what I think will help this series stand on its own, both as a book adaptation and simply as a fantasy TV series.

I’ll put more of my story-specific thoughts under a cut, so there’s lots of show spoilers to follow!

I know that a lot of early reviewers were saying that Alina’s motivations and storyline revolved too much around Mal, and that really held true for me. It made sense in the beginning--he was the only constant in her life, she was thrust into something new, terrifying, and completely unfamiliar, and they’d developed an unhealthy codependence as a coping mechanism for their childhoods and the traumas they faced, the lives they lead growing up in a war-torn country. But she started coming into her power, falling for the General--not just his power and charisma, but what she felt when she was with him. The way he helped her summon the sun, the way she felt free in a way she never had before.

Until it all went to shit--but the Darklina make-out scene in episode 5? Fucking iconic. Poetic fucking cinema. The way they were quite literally about to have sex on that wartable (and someone better write fic of that moment, what if they hadn’t gotten interrupted), and the General left, but then he ran back just to kiss her one more time... this is what OTPs are made of ok.

I think what really bothers me overall is that Alina ultimately lacked agency in her one storyline, pretty much the entire way through. She did make a few choices, but they were mostly incidental, and a lot of it was Alina desperately trying to get back to Mal rather than seizing her own power and destiny and running with it. The most prominent example is the end of episode 5--Alina is having happy make-outs and almost bones the General in his own war room, and then he leaves, and Baghra comes in and infodumps to her about how evil he is and how he’s only using her and she needs to escape.

I recognize that a lot of this is probably because that’s essentially what happened in the book and Leigh is an executive producer for the show so she has a lot of shot-calling power. However, I really think that even in the book this plotline would’ve been better-served by having Alina make these discoveries on her own.

For example, imagine that the letters which were used as framing devices for episodes 2 and 3 were vitally important to the plot, rather than being one-offs that are mentioned a few times but not really affecting much of anything. Alina begins to get suspicious when she doesn’t receive word from Mal, and she starts wondering if her letters are even reaching him--so she starts snooping. She finds ashes in the war room hearth, late at night,, and recognizes a fragment of Mal’s signature and larger piece of her own. She now knows that someone--possibly the General, but maybe that creepy priest guy, or someone else in the palace--is keeping her and Mal from contacting one another. So she starts snooping around even more. She asks the General leading questions, trying to figure out what the truth is of his intentions. She still feels this pull--this connection to him, and she hopes she’s wrong, but she’s not willing to just sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop.

The Winter Fete still happens, she still gets the hot make-out session with the General, and then when he’s called away, she snoops through his papers, looking for anything that can tell her the truth. She finds a hidden compartment filled with journals.

She reads about Aleksander’s past (and, incidentally, wasn’t that supposed to be a huge moment in the books, him revealing his true name to her in private? kinda wish it had been kept that way in the show but who knows where they’ll go with it in the future)--that leads to the flashbacks in episode 6. She feels for him, but she also reads further--she gets a firsthand look at his desire for power, something that began as a noble desire to save his people, but was twisted by a lust for vengeance (for his lost love and all the Grisha who were killed) and shot through with greed, the realization that if he found the Sun Summoner he could control the Fold, rather than just destroy it. He could create a new world where Grisha could live without fear--where Grisha could rule.

Alina is terrified. Whoever the General used to be--whatever humanity she saw flickering in his eyes, the way his heart fluttered when they kissed--she can’t trust that it’ll be enough to save her from plans centuries in the making. So she goes to Baghra, the woman who helped her discover her power, learn to channel it--the woman who always seemed to know much more than she ever let on. Baghra gives her side of the story--Alina got it from the General’s perspective first, now Baghra is telling her something framed much differently. She isn’t sure what or who to trust, but she knows that Baghra seems willing to help her escape--but rather than trusting her ‘loyal Grisha’, she makes the choice she made in the show, to choose the other path, and winds up with the Crows.

Idk how Mal and the Stag thing would fit into this (if it isn’t obvious by now, Mal just... doesn’t interest me), but Alina’s story and her character arc would be so much stronger for it. And she’s supposed to be the central character, so her story being weak and her agency so frequently being compromised ultimately hurts the show as a whole.

I know I’ve gone on and on about Alina and the Darkling (look, I’m a slut for enemies-to-lovers, and also lovers-to-enemies-and-back, so Darklina and Helnik are where so much of my investment is rooted--plus Kanej, but that almost goes without saying), but the true standouts of the series were the Crows. Inej, Kaz, and Jesper, and Nina and Matthias in their episodes, stole the show (along with the Darkling, Ben is far and away the best actor in the cast and I love that for him, but Freddy, Amita, and Kit are also amazing, and Danielle&Calahan were fucking phenomenal as Nina and Matthias--I do have to say, though, that the whole cast is really solid and has amazing chemistry).

They worked together so perfectly--Freddy and Amita communicated so much with their eyes alone, especially together, and a whole lot of their relationship dynamic is rooted in how they exist together, which really came through. The show altered the Crows timeline considerably (I’m pretty sure Kaz would’ve been 14 during the original trilogy lol), so Inej is still at the Menagerie, but things like Kaz putting up the Crow Club for Inej’s freedom, the way Kaz needed her but could never bring himself to say it (until the end of the season dklhfgdkjfgh i SCREAMED)--the way Jesper played off the both of them, and it’s so obvious they all love each other even though they’re criminals and thieves and murderers, and Kaz would never admit it (out loud--which actually feeds into my theory that his love language is acts of service; Kaz does things for the people he cares about, he never announces it and he will almost always try to downplay it, but the way you know he cares is if, for example, he puts his entire life, everything he built, up as collateral for your freedom), but they’re a family.

One thing that I was kind of iffy about was Inej’s refusal to kill--but I thought it might be something they were planning to work into her overall character arc, and they did. It was the one line she hadn’t crossed--in the books, I’d imagine that it took a while for Inej to wind up at that point, being willing to kill on top of everything else. So I actually like that they worked that into the Crows plotline, and Inej killing for the first time was to save Kaz’s life.

Just like Kaz’s first selfless act was to save her.

(He’d deny it, of course. He protects his investments. He needed her for the job. But the truth is, he did it for her. And he’d do it again. Even if he’d never admit it.)

Meanwhile, Nina and Matthias’ storyline was pretty much note-for-note according to their backstory as it was revealed in Six of Crows, and I loved every second of it. Their chemistry was perfect, their journey from enemies to begrudging allies to friends to maybe something more (Matthias’ stomach cockblocking them when they were about to kiss had me fucking SCREAMING AT THE TV, and then of course the whole ‘betraying him to save him’ thing happened and I sobbed), and then suddenly right back to enemies.

Because from Matthias’ perspective, he trusted a witch--believed in her, liked her, wanted her--and she turned on him. He has no idea that she wasn’t the one who knocked him out in the first place, and no reason to believe her, because as far as he knows, she just confirmed everything he’d ever been told about Grisha. That they are deceitful and treacherous, would turn on you as soon as look at you, that they are dangerous and not to be trusted. It wasn’t revealed in-show but I imagine Matthias’ backstory is largely the same, which means that his entire family was slaughtered by Grisha when he was a young boy, and then he was turned into a brainwashed child soldier by the witch hunters and never knew anything else.

They are perfectly primed for their SoC arc next season and I, for one, am so stoked to see the rest of their journey. And if I slip Netflix a couple twenties, maybe they’ll let Helnik have a happy ending please please please.

Anyway, yeah! I have a lot of thoughts but things are still percolating in my head so I’ll probably float around the tags for a bit and let things settle. This is just a preliminary overview of my thoughts in the immediate aftermath of bingeing the entire show in one night kldfjghdkjfhgkjgf

EDIT TO ADD: I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT THE TRUE STAR OF THE SHOW, M I L O

MILO BEST BOY. MILO THE MVP. MILO DESERVES ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD AND I HOPE HE LIVES A HAPPY AND HEALTHY AND FULL LITTLE GOAT LIFE.

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

The Angel Among Us (Cordelia X reader) Part 3

Warning I may go back and edit this later if i need to but for now I am content with it. 

~~~ and Italic is flashback/dream as per usual for me

^These parts were added after edit because I couldn’t decide it they were going in these or for the next.

This is technically a prequel to Fallen Angel (Work in progress), however it can be read as a stand alone series.

Summary:

If your reading as a stand alone: A witch heads back to Miss Robichaux’s 20 years after she left in hopes of being a teacher there. The only problem is she hasn’t aged a day.

If your from Fallen Angel: The event’s leading up to Y/N joining Michael and the Cooperative.

Warnings: N/A

Parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4(will be added when done)

Heartbreak, betrayal, lust, Lost. Happiness, unity, fulfilment. Kindness generosity. This is what it’s like to be human. There is no one way to live but through your life, you experience a lot, both positive and negative.

~~~

Cordelia informed you that the council would have to go back to Hawthorne, and you’d have to look after the school in their absence. You nodded, not questioning it. She promised she’d fill you in if anything happened that should concern her. You spent the quiet hours sitting in the lounge room reading about magical creatures as you normally did. When you stumbled across a passage you had seen a thousand times and never thought anything of it.

 You laid the book down in front of you, contemplating the contents. 

 That mark that you saw on Cordelia. The scabbed-up wound that looked like it was rotting and bruised. It looked like one that occurs when an earthly creature mingled with a heavenly one for too long. That couldn’t be right, when would she have interacted with an otherworldly creature?

 If you could figure out who or what caused it, you might be able to reverse the damage. It was worth a shot. You were in the dark, but with enough observation you could break the code, you thought. You might have to break some of your morals, but if it was for a good cause your actions could be justified. Who’s to judge? With a collection of books, you trampled up to your bedroom going into complete lock down to focus on the task at hand.

 There was a knock at the door interrupting your study. Without turning around, you opened the door, “Yes, who is it?”

 “Mallory.”

 “Mal, did anything happen?”

 “It’s dinner in five minutes.” It wasn’t her job to retrieve people, however she was helping you look after the girls and you guessed you. Cordelia probably put her up to making sure you did not get too carried away with your work. “The others should be back early tomorrow.”

 “Yes, they should,” You turned your attention back to your work and again the book in front of you. “I’ll see you downstairs.” Mallory nodded then left, already knowing you weren’t going to head down. 

 You were still at your makeshift set up on the floor in your and Cordelia’s room. Books scattered about on the floor with a pile of untouched ones stacked up high. To the side was an untouched plate of dinner that one of the girls on dinner duty brought up for you. You grabbed a book from the pile, settling it down and letting the book flip to the page you needed as you heard the bedroom door squeak open.

 Cordelia snuck into the room. Settling her belongings down quietly. 

 “I swear If I’m not here to tell you to go to bed, do you ever sleep?” You did not respond. She noticed the plate full of food, “and you didn’t go down to dinner either?” Again, no response. The woman snuck up behind you and peered over your shoulders. You stiffened, faced darting the direction of your girlfriend as all the books snapped closed. 

“You’re back!” You jumped up and hugged her. 

 “You look like you’ve been busy.”

 “Yeah,” You said. “Give me five minutes and I'll have this mess cleaned up and I’ll be ready for bed.

 “Oh no, where going downstairs and making sure you have a proper meal”

 “I had dinner,” Cordelia points at the dinner plate laying on the ground. Left untouched since being placed there. “When did that get there? I swear my work was important.”

 “More important than food?”

 “Yes-okay no. I was having a break though?”

 “Not an excuse”

 “Fine, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

 The coven had no idea what they were up against. Cordelia sent Madison to investigate the supposed ‘Alpha’ origins linking back to a large house in Los Angeles. The boy, Michael Langdon, brought back Misty from the hell, if that wasn’t a testament to his demonic power, what was? Misty claimed to get bad vibes from the male and that her instincts have been write since she was a young child. From the findings that Madison (and Behold who choose to go with her), Cordelia only had one rational idea for her next step, make a deal with the spirit world.

 Cordelia made a deal with Dinah Stevens the current reigning Voodoo Queen for her to Papa Legba. She wanted him to open the gates of the underworld for long enough for her to lure him into going inside.

 However, since this is such a risky task, Papa Legba told her that the price for this would be all the souls of her witches from the coven. The weight of what he asked for sunk in. Cordelia hadn’t been away of what her mother did, offering a student the spirit. Now it could cost her, her whole school. All those young girls unaware of the decision that was being made.

 As Cordelia went to refuse the offer, the man spoke again.  He shifted in his chair, getting a whiff of the air. “Hmmm, you have a powerful one on the grounds. Not like the others.” Cordelia had no idea who he was talking about. Mallory? She was the only one that stood out from the rest. “Not a witch.”

 “All my students are witches; I wouldn’t have anyone here if they weren’t.” Besides the help, of course but nowadays they got the students to do it. It kept them responsible for themselves.  

 What the spirit said brought the Voodoo queen concern. “I’ll make one more offer. The angel for the gate being open. You have no use for down here and she’ll be back where she belongs.”

 “Angel? We don’t have a- No. You can’t have my girls. If you want a soul take mine.”

 “You are not good enough”

 “I’m the most powerful witch on earth.”

 Papa Legba laughed. “I have made my offers, turn them down and you will not get another.”

 She turned them down. She didn’t want to get rid of any of her girls, not a single one. She wasn’t aware of who the spirit spoke of, but if they were a part of this coven that she protected, she wasn’t going to offer them up.

 “Dinah, what do I have to do? There must be something else I can offer something else I can do?”

 “It doesn’t work like that.” Dinah said. “Papa made you an offer-two- he never makes more than one- and you refused him. That’s it. You blew it.”

 “No no no”

 “Now not only do all your girls die but now six billion other people.” Dinah had all her belongings packed and was about to head out. For all their safety, they better hope the girl that Papa Legba thought was powerful enough to change his offer was good enough to save them all. 

The Supreme remained in her office questioning if she had made a mistake. Her duty was to protect her coven and by offering her students she had failed. By refusing the offer she had doomed them and the rest of the Earth. With no clue of the Langdon’s next moves, she was at a complete loss. Choosing to move on from her decision she made, she decided to search for a new way to save them all. Cordelia walked down the stairs when she almost collapsed on the final step. Zoe who was passing helped her gain her stability. She asked her friend to help her back to her room, not wanting any of the girls to see her weak like this. As Zoe helped her upstairs, Cordelia told Zoe that she was in no state to fight Michael. Zoe shared that she believed the woman was fading because of Mallory not Michael. She’d seen the girl do something she’d never seen done by a witch. She mentioned that she was going to go to you about it when Cordelia dismissed the idea.

 “Y/N doesn’t need to know. She’s your student, not Y/N’s. Let her worry about her own students.”

 Zoe was confused as to why she did not want you to know but said nothing. All the teachers loved celebrating students' achievements no matter how small and besides that, this would be something you would be genuinely curious about. A witch with abnormal powers, you would love to learn about that. She didn’t question her supreme, there was probably more going on in the background that she was unaware of. You were work orientated, maybe Cordelia was trying to sway you from that and you knowing would impact that in some way. Who knows, the two were private about their lives, you more than her.

 “Should I tell her about Coco’s new power or wait until Coco tells Y/N herself?”

 “Coco will tell the first time she sees her. Speaking of which, where’s Y/N?”

 “Your bedroom, I’d presume, she spends most of her time there when she has no classes,” Zoe said. “We need to get her an office; the floor can’t be good for her.”

 “I offered to get her a desk, but she refused.” Cordelia’s walking showed down the closer they got to her room. “She can have my office after- I doubt Mallory or whoever the next Supreme is will be ready to take over the school, that's if they even want to.”

 “Will Y/N be? She's nice to the students and knows the curriculum and has spent the most time at the school since she arrived but she’s always preoccupied on something else.”

 “She doesn’t need to be the face of the coven just the inner workings. I’ll leave her a list, so she isn’t left in the dark.”

 If Cordelia trusted you to do the job, that was sufficient for her. It went without saying, the council and the school’s students would be there for you as you have been for them in this trying time. You would all get through it together as she wants. For now, there’s no point in worrying.

 “I can make it the rest,” Cordelia said. If you were in there, she didn’t want to concern you. She could simply say she was tired or thought that you’d appreciate some cuddles.  Anything to hide the truth from you.  

 Cordelia woke up from her slumber with an arm of another draped atop of her. She smiled to herself at the thought of you seeing her asleep and choosing to join her. You had cuddled up to her side with one hand loosely laying on her. She brushed the hair of your face. The action causing you to snuggle closer to her body. 

 Sadly, she knew she would have to leave your sleeping form. She needed to catch up with the council about their finds. Myrtle had recreated one of her friends Bubbles McGee to help figure out the warlocks’ plan. Two of their own changed who they sided with, one vanishing from the face of the earth, the other overhearing her discussion with Madison about going to the house where Michael was born and joined not trusting the boy the others believed was the next ruler. 

 She pulled away from her girl, making sure not have woken her in the process before tiding herself up and heading downstairs. She’d ordered a special dinner for Mallory and the group to celebrate because it might be the last time, they were all together. 

 The group at dinner was informed by the two eldest witches of the warlocks that they had killed their brother as well as their plan to do the same to them. Mallory was upset because, in order for her to become Supreme, she had to take power away from Cordelia. Cordelia told her that she isn't dead yet and to enjoy the dinner. Mallory commented on your absent, she assumed as you were part of the staff and their group, you’d be joining them. If she was to rise and be the next supreme, you’d be her best lead on how to look after the witches after Cordelia’s gone.

 Cordelia didn’t comment immediately allowing the others to comment in on it. The others knew you weren’t in the loop as for the reasons why they weren’t sure. “Shouldn’t we tell Y/N?” It didn’t make sense as to why you were in the dark, you were one of them. You weren’t in the council, but you are one of the main carers for the students, if there was a threat, you should know so you can prepare for the worst-case scenario. “We can’t be completely irresponsible; we still have girls to protect. Someone needs to look after the students while we stop Michael.” The comments kept going.  “It might be a good idea to at least keep her in the loop, she’s a wiz with magic after all. Mightn’t see get sceptical if you don’t talk to her, she is your girlfriend after all.”

 “I’ll inform her about the warlocks-” Cordelia said. 

 “What about the rise of the next supreme? Does she know about you Michael or you fading yet?” Zoe asked.

 “Is that why she isn’t with us tonight? Haven’t you told her yet?” Mallory asked. 

 “She only just got me, I don’t want to tell her- She’s had a long day, that’s why she isn’t here.” She opted to change her tale mid-way through. She wasn’t in the mood to express her emotion fuelled reasoning. They were going to have to respect what she told her. It wasn’t their story to tell. It was hers and the time wasn’t right.  “We should go and save our fallen brother and prove that Mallory is my successor.”

 They go to the gas station where John Henry was killed. Cordelia asked Mallory to use her powers to bring John Henry back to them. She used her powers and passed the final test. They brought the man back to the school so they could question him on what happened in safety. 

 You were awake by the time the group came home. You had been up for an hour speaking to the warlock Behold Chablis who had been the coven the last few days. You’d taken the time to make sure he was comfortable while the others were out. He accidentally slipped out about the murder of his brother witch John. You acted oblivious to it, telling him you were sorry for the loss. He figured it out quickly that though you were a staff member you weren’t aware of the outer workings outside these walls.  It made him question his supreme. 

 The two heard the front door open and they both went to check on it. You noticed a group come back with a warlock. You looked at Behold as if to ask if that's his brother warlock, he gave you a nod of recognition. 

 “Everything alright?” You asked when you caught sight of Cordelia. She gave you a quick nod before asking you kindly to make some tea and bring it up to her office. Mallory offered to help you which you appreciated.  

 “I’m so happy you guys found him. I just heard he died. I can’t believe something like that happened,” You said getting a pot ready to make the tea. You preferred doing it the old way, electric kettles are good if you are making one but for multiple, brewing it in a pot was better. 

 “Coco, was the one that found him.”

 “Seriously? Coco, that’s awesome. Great job, new you had it in you.” You cheered; the girl looked embarrassed but flattered. “I feel like that calls for a celebration.”

 “I didn’t do much. Mallory was the one who brought her back.”

 Mallory’s eyes darted to Coco. It took a second for her to realise what she said was wrong. If you knew that she could reset how long would it take you to figure out the rest. Neither wanted to be responsible for you finding out. You eye the two of them. “Hell yeah Mal. Now were definitely celebrating. You two drink wine?” They both did. You informed them there should be the replacement bottle of wine you bought after Madison drank Cordelia’s. You’d bought a couple so you could save it for a celebration. 

 “There’s a half-finished bottle, should we have that first?”

 “Yeah. Madi must have gotten into the wine again.” The bottle was leftovers from the dinner they had earlier that night. Neither decided to mention that. “You guys pour the wine while I deliver this tea to the peeps upstairs.”

 You carried the tray to her office placing it on the coffee table Cordelia had set up for less formal meetings. You minded your own business as you poured a couple cups for the guests. 

 John started a coughing fit, when he settled you handed him a cup. He thanked you, locking eyes with you briefly. The night he died flashed into her head. You averted your gaze. You mumbled about getting the tea later as headed towards your escape. Cordelia thanked you as you left. 

 You ran your hand down your face, gathering yourself before joining the girls downstairs.

 The three of you finished the half bottle and moved onto another, by this time you’d had your fair share of alcohol. The other teachers and Madison had joined when they saw alcohol was involved. Zoe only had one glass and only stuck around to make sure you all didn’t wake up the sleeping students with your loud antics. 

 The topics shifted from television shows they’d seen to celebrity crushes. The girls were arguing over who was the hottest out one. Somehow, Madison started telling stories of her time in the industry and then it ended with her telling you how she ended up being sent to this school in the first place. That started everyone on their own personal journey on how they found their way to the place they all sat drinking in today. Some you already knew, but others like Mallory’s you hadn’t. “You know what I love about your generation of witches,” You caught all their attention. They expected you to tell them your story about how you found your place at the school. “You guys aren’t taught you get all your powers by your 40’s. Like what dumb ass came up with that. You never stop learning new skills, so why wouldn’t it be the same for magic? Take Delia for example- supreme at -what -like 42? Better than 18 like her mother.”

 “Anyone is better than Fiona?” Zoe joked. Mallory and Coco didn’t know much about the woman you spoke of but a tale or two had been shared about her and her time tormenting Queenie, Zoe, Madison and Cordelia.

 “Oh yeah, you guys met her, didn’t you? Poor souls.” You finished off your latest glass. “I’ve always been terrible at magic, but it’s history- no witch here could beat me, and I can bet on that. I think the misconception was to belittle the weaker ones, keep them in place like they did with the men.”

 “You’re talking like you aren’t one of use” They all look at coco like she was supposed to be in the know. “I don’t understand-”

 “She’s 45.”

 “You’re-” She gave you and full inspection. She was in disbelief by the information she’d heard. You nodded and quickly filled Coco on everything she had missed out on. “That explains a few things.”

 “Explains what?”

 “Nothing.” 

 You glared at her, she averted you gaze. You pushed it off deciding to take a sip of your drink instead. You knew what she was on about. The girls in the school were nice but they did talk about you. You shut in nature only helped to create more mystery surrounding you.

 Queenie steered the conversation away from the current topic to something more light-hearted. The attitude picked up a bit by everyone but you. 

 Cordelia and Myrtle came downstairs from their meeting to find the girls had been drinking. Thankfully however the one they needed hadn't drunk much. 

 She scolded the lot of you drinking on a school night, especially the three staff members. She asked whose ideas it was suspecting it to be the former movie star. When all fingers pointed to you, she was taken aback. You barely acknowledged her presence, deciding to forget about your glass instead taking a swig from the bottle. 

 She informed the group that the council had to deal with the warlocks and since the main supervisor of the school had gotten 'wasted', council member Zoe would have to stay behind and look after the school. Cordelia informed Coco that she would be requiring Coco's help tomorrow so the group would have to try and sober up before then. She also warned them to dress in black. There was going to be a witch burning.

  “You're in trouble now,” Queenie teased.

 "Oh well." You finished off the bottle before scrambled up and fumbling through your pockets for your packet of cigarettes. You shoved a stick in your mouth. It was lit the instant it met your lips. Bet Delia didn't know you could do that. Book nerd has learnt a thing or two. "I'm going to smoke. Don't stay up too late."

~~~

To truly understand something you must see it up close, to experience something (by either first hand or by a secondary source) and to formulate your own ideas on it.

“To tell you the truth, this may not be the best idea.” A cigarette in hand, you flicked off the ash into a tray nearby. You never said it was going to be the best idea. “You’ve gone in two deep. Someone’s going to get hurt-” You rose your hand cutting them off by their fear of you alone. 

“I’d call you a friend,”

“Thank you?”

“I’d hate to see you die too.” You brought your cigarette up to your lips, inhaling the deathly sweet smoke that has and will kill many. “But you treat me as a god and not an equal. I am no different than you. You see, I have to do this. You aren’t the first to confuse me for something better and if I am to truly understand, I must live in your shoes. Submit myself entirely to science.”

“But this can’t be done the way you plan without flaw.”

“So, let there be flaws.” Your friend, the man you’d been with since he was a young man, who dedicated his whole life to you was in disbelief. You were driving yourself into insanity and in turn bring him down with you, for he worshipped you, claiming he had found god reincarnated. But the man was wrong, you were no god. 

“And when it’s all done, what of it then?”

“That won’t happen until the end times.”

[winterune]

Pet - Thoughts and Musings

I am back with my seasonal anime musings/analysis/reviews/whatever. Because of various reasons, I have not written any of these posts since...I don’t know...last spring anime season? LOL I still have soooo many on my list from last year to watch gahhh. But I did caught up with Beastars and Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo - both of which were awesome, by the way. I wanted to write some things for them (especially Araburu, because I felt like there’s a lot of things I wanted to say), but...I don’t know. Life caught up?

Anyway, here’s Pet, with an average score of 6.57/10 on MAL. Quite a low one for my taste, as I rarely watch anything with a score below 7. However, this is one of those anime I decided to see not because of the MAL score or anyone else’s influence, but because I wanted to. Heck, when it was first announced, I was immediately excited, because 1) it’s directed by Omori Takahiro, who directed some of my all-time favorite anime, such as Natsume Yuujinchou, Durarara, Baccano, and Hotarubi no Mori e; 2) the screenplay is done by Sadayuki Murai, another favorite who has also worked alongside Omori-kantoku-san and was also the one behind Sidonia no Kishi’s series composition; and 3) the entire synopsis just sounds...soo good?? Not to mention that short PV-like thing they released way back when

OK, yes, I’m not fluent in Japanese, but the music and Hiroki’s voice acting really caught me.

However, time passed, and there was no word on the anime at all until it was announced that the anime was pushed back until the winter season of 2020. Now, I still had my initial hype, but I also had my doubts. It probably had production issues and so on. Things like that often don’t bring their best to the table and ends up becoming a disappointment. It showed on the first episode.

That episode was weird. I read what people thought about it on some forums and none gave me a positive image of the anime. But I thought, what the heck? There’s no harm on checking it. Though it wasn’t entirely bad, it was weird, and I had no idea what was happening. There was so much going on and the art felt a bit weird and the story seemed all over the place and I thought, ah, it shows.

My impression of it was: this show seems like it will have a good story, but not until some time later, so maybe I should wait for several more weeks and binge-watch it then. However, I came to learn that episode 2 was much better than its predecessor. It cleared up any kind of confusion and erased some doubts. It piqued my interest again. And now that I have finally caught up with the show, I am glad that I did not drop it. 

Because so far, Pet is amazing.

Since it’s been two weeks since I saw the first episode, it took a while to grasp the meaning of the terms and so on, but once I’ve got it, it was quite easy to get absorbed inside the show. There were a few time jumps and technical terms were thrown all over the place, and I needed to remind myself that is the director who made Baccano and Durarara. Durarara had a relatively continuous timeline, but the way it jumped POVs in those first few episodes were quite baffling and you only understood what was what much later on. Baccano was crazier imo, as I read that, unlike the light novels, Omori-san took the liberty to rearrange the story in the anime to make it so that there are several stories set in different timelines in one episode, and there are those terms and whatnot and though it makes a good mystery, it doesn’t make much sense, until that one episode where everything finally clicks into place.

I have a similar problem with Pet. I can see that the story so far is intriguing. We have these “crushers” and then “pets” and then loci in the minds containing memories, divided into “peaks” and “valleys”. And then there are “images”, which I think is some kind of protection armor? A form they take to get inside other people without letting themselves be consumed by the other’s memories and feelings. Aside from that, we have a “Company” with people who have the ability to get inside other people’s minds and alter memories. What’s worse is that we’re immediately dumped in the middle of the action with not much introduction, so all we can do is just sit tight and hang on, hoping for the best that everything will make sense in the end.

And then of course, we have our enigmatic characters.

First up, Hiroki, your shounen character in a serious drama. The longer I listen to him, the more annoyed I am haha. I don’t know. His voice kind of irritates me. Maybe because he’s this naive kid with a strong ability that doesn’t really understand what’s happening around him. And then there is that dependence toward Tsukasa, whom I will get to after this. Episode 3 makes me like him though. His heart is clearly in the right place, just that he’s in a bad environment, so he doesn’t know what to do. He is the character who will question the righteousness of their actions. I believe he hates his abilities, but using it has been ingrained into his body that sometimes, he’s unconsciously using it. Like when he almost got inside Katsuragi’s head, or when he showed the girl in episode 3 what her boyfriend was like (though it was partly his imagery of him, and he knew that and that’s why he was so conflicted when she came back). I can imagine what his childhood must have been like. Probably shunned. Probably lonely. Much like how Satoru had been before Hayashi “saved” him. And then Tsukasa came, who showed him how to protect himself and to utilize his powers. Tsukasa was his savior. That’s why in episode 2, though he was reluctant to kill, he also wanted to show Tsukasa that he could do it. They didn’t have to kill. He could save this man using his powers. he wanted to prove himself to Tsukasa. I am amazed that his heart has not been tainted, and I have high hopes for his character.

Next, we have Tsukasa. Even from the posters, this guy already looked fishy. In the first episode, there’s something off about him. He’s just too good. Too accommodating toward Hiroki. Hiroki wants something, then he’s going to give it. Hiroki says not to go with Satoru. All right, I won’t go with Satoru. Hiroki wants a shop. Here, this is for you, but I used the Company’s money, so I’m going to have to pay them back by doing jobs for them. Yeah I know you told me you don’t want to do any more of them, but I’ll be the one doing them, not you. You just need to sit tight and work on your little shop. You know that’s not what Hiroki meant. Still, I like him. So far, he’s a cool character, and I like him even more on his solo job in episode 3. But what I love the most is:

That smirk! Because yes, all this time, all we’ve seen are his facades. His facade when he is with Hiroki. His facade with Katsuragi. His facade when he does a job. And then we have this moment, this small moment, and much like how that small moment with the girl who buys guppies and her boyfriend builds up Hiroki’s character, this small moment between Katsuragi and Tsukasa, when Katsuragi tells him that his next job will be Hayashi and Tsukasa pauses for a moment before asking if Hayashi has been found, it speaks volume. Because then finally Tsukasa shows us his true self (or, at least, part of his true self). His tone changes. He scolds Katsuragi for being happy or pleased.

You seem strangely happy for someone who was outwitted for two whole years.

Tsukasa is clearly talking down to him. Katsuragi, who we thought was the boss. Katsuragi, who was the jerk who would kill people to get the job done quickly. He is surprised at the sudden change and becomes visibly nervous. He stiffens and keeps his eyes on the road. Tsukasa goes on to give orders to Katsuragi. Then Katsuragi nervously puts out his cigarette and says, somewhat formally, “Understood.” (though he’s just saying “hai” in Japanese, but it’s vastly different from the Katsuragi we know in the last two episodes). He obeys Tsukasa. 

I did wonder if Katsuragi was under Tsukasa’s control, but it didn’t seem like it. Heck, Tsukasa might actually be one of the Company’s higher-ups (or he might even be the Head of the Company, if I want to stretch it). And then we have that split-second smirk, that shows he is in complete control of the situation. It makes sense with how he refers to Hiroki as his “pet” in such an off-handed manner. It also makes sense with how he makes cold, calculating judgment. Of course he’s using the Company’s money to buy the shop. Of course he’s still doing odd jobs for the Company. He’s not the good guy he shows Hiroki he is.

Right now, I can actually see Tsukasa being the “big bad boss” of the series, if this series has any kind of villain. Or, well, I think he’d make a pretty good anti-hero. Just imagine a showdown between Tsukasa and Hiroki... So far, I am most intrigued with Tsukasa and I hope he will have a great arc.

[fivefootab1tch]

allllllrighty~ here’s my tHING~<3 i recognize that i talk pretty fast (and i was also trying to be hushhush so i probably didn’t come out as clear as i wanted to) so i’m including a script under the cut~

Tagged by @momtaku, @laffitine, & @dirtylevi ~ ♡ //thank y'all smmmmm// Tagging @shuuhuu @madcapraccoon @matcha-castella @starry-raven​ & everyone else on here who needs an excuse to do it and wants to. i’ll share the love and peer pressure asdkjfnak

'Aight, so here's my stab at Mamataku's SnK Voice Meme 4.0! I wrote a script to try and keep myself on track, but... the fuck if I ever know how to play right, so here we go~

State your name and username. 『sal, fivefootab-i-tch』 Is there a story behind your user name that you’d like to share? 『it's from an o.g. fandom video called "More Sassy Levi (Ezekieru Outtakes)". this was way before i was more or less tumblr savvy and i've gone through variations of it before settling on this one to mimic Ezekieru's pronunciation of BITCH. i'd wanna have a completely hyphenless version of this url to make my presence easier for the tumblr system to SWALLOW, kkkk but it's taken. the version of it with a 1 instead of the i isn't though... so maybe i'll switch to that one, i dunno. what's a brand?』 Where are you from? 『i'm from the states, southern california, bordertown asscrack of the U.S. you might get that lazy, high as balls, surfer feel from my voice since i've been here all my life』 How long have you been a fan of the series? 『i'm about two years late from the anime release, and i only know this because i immediately started writing fanfiction after binging the series in summer 2015. so... coming on 4 years? damn.』 What is your favorite and least favorite Arc? 『my favorite arc is the uprising arc, a pretty popular opinion, for a lot of reasons: the sudden turn of events, levi's collarbones, levi as a kid, KENNY, the characters all having their own unique identity crisis as their morals are suddenly taking turns, historia reclaiming her identity... (which was something that hits a little too close to home for comfort, but what's a good series that doesn't rip your personal feelings to shreds?)』 『i'm not a big fan of the marley side of things, another pretty popular opinion. for me, suddenly switching to a new cast of characters and setting after so much was accomplished in the uprising arc and return to shiganshina felt like betrayal. i mean... they get to the basement, which was the whole ass goal of the entire series up to that point, then we suddenly screech to a halt to tell someone elses' story. i can understand it... theoretically? i guess? bbut the whole time i was still like "wait a minute, what happened with the main cast?" bits and pieces of it have grown on me since, but i still have a ways to go to invest myself. politically, i just realized... marley really grinds my gears. why did i have to realize this? i'm shook. i can't believe this. i'll process it later.』 Do you have a favorite moment in the story thus far? 『eren screaming "the world outside the walls is my birthright" for... reasons. historia reclaiming her identity for... reasons... i've found myself hyperinvested in this series for immensely personal reasons i hope to eventually see through in my own life. i wanna be free, too. i also liked the moment in the uprising arc when levi thanked armin for saving jean. it was rough, but something he needed to hear. also any moment levi praises people. it's really cute.』 If you could resurrect one dead character who would it be and why? 『kuchel, because not only does levi deserve his mother but i would've loved to see more of her and how she raised levi into the compassionate kind of guy he is now. that side of him survived the tough love kenny put him through, so she must've breathed hella life into her kid and that's something i'd love to have seen more of』 Who is your favorite character and why? 『levi, for a lot of obvious as well as not so obvious reasons.』 『obvious reasons: he's pretty fucking cute. his sass and one liners are hilarious. his sense of humor's a clusterfuck of bad shit jokes and dark takes the people around him don't understand half the time and that's pretty funny in itself. he's o.p. as hell but the way the story makes it not matter when it comes down to it (because the universe is just THAT fucked up) is really something. he's in a league of his own but the depth of his characterization and development shows that's only a small part of who he is. the story demands so much more of him and the ways he rises (and sometimes falls) to the occasion makes me really like him. he's showcased as Humanity's Strongest but he's still human and flawed as fuck.』 『not so obvious reasons: he says fuck gender roles. he's short and makes the trans guy side of me feel pretty good. that particular character trait isn't just a gag for me. he started from the bottom now he's here. he always sides with the powerless, the helpless. he (to his own personal moral code) uses the strength he has for good as opposed to using it to keep people below him, something he could very well do if he uncritically internalized everything kenny spoonfed him, and wanted to. he doesn't sit on a moral high horse. he's open minded and accepting of letting people decide things for themselves. he's humble. if he doesn't understand something, he'll look to other people and he does all that while remaining confident and assertive in his own abilities. he doesn't hold himself above doing the dirty work if he feels he's best suited to do it. he genuinely cares about people and does his best to talk them through their issues when they need it, even if he's clumsy while doing it. it's really inspirational and personally validating .』 Any OTPs? 『erejean hits me a certain way. they're everything "boys will be boys" is SUPPOSED to mean, and i still can't get over jean calling eren cool. they're just so funny and i love their dynamic. hange and petra hits too for a reason i don't really understand yet. i don't get super invested in pairings, but i do like seeing character dynamics being explored in different lights and stuff. **** i bonded with my partner over roleplaying an au ereri thread, so that pairing's pretty special too. i didn't ship it at first, but being open to it has led me to getting to know this amazing person, so... yeah.』 You are able to transport to the SnK Universe for a day. How do you spend it? 『helping out. i don't know what i'd be able to contribute, but i'd want to be doing something to make the lives of the main cast easier. they have it really hard, and so many times i wanted to be able to do something for them. so i write my original characters into fanfiction. on the other hand, if it's a world where i'm independent and free to live whatever life i wanna live, i'd wanna go absolutely apeshit first. see everything there is to see and live all the life there is to live. ****perform a strip tease at a scout party and have the officers stick bills into my boobs.**** THEN commit myself to some sort of social or military work for the scouting legion. ****be their comfort... if yaknoe what i mean. it's good honest work~♡****』 Eren Jaeger did nothing wrong or Eren Jaeger did everything wrong? 『eren jaeger is what eren jaeger does. i can't vouch for whether or not he's right or wrong because there's no way i can really put myself in the situation he's in. mass genocide is very wrong, without a doubt, but something tells me there's something else going on and his real intentions are more complicated. a pivotal point in the series for him was his tribunal, where levi played the role of the arrogant wank to save his life and beat his ass before the whole military court. i think there's something similar going on here. he could be playing a role too, but it still stands that i have no idea. i'm not so invested in condemning or glorifying him, because the things i enjoy about his character aren't really going to be influenced.』 What is your favorite song in the series? Feel free to sing an extract 『i love them all. hiroyuki sawano makes such amazing soundtracks and all the vocals are powerful and chilling as fuckall hell. some favorites i do have are red swan, Vogel im Käfig, Bauklötze, call your name, it's answer song call of silence, youseeBIGGIRL, the spanish version of so ist es immer. so uh... even though i'm not very good at it, i do really love singing, so... i'm gonna try and sing some for y'all. i know a lot more english, japanese, and spanish than i do german so... i'm sorry!』 ****『Like the scarlet night veiling the dark You can hide your fear Can lie, my dear Kono mama yume wo mite Chi darake no tsubasa Hirogete』**** 『Las sillas ya juntas están Charlamos toda la noche  Este lugar no esta nada mal  Y creo que nos llevamos bien ****Solo estamos nosotros  Siempre es nuestra luz  Cantando y bebiendo, puedes estar tu Bajo el cielo azul  Siempre estamos asi  Y largas son las noches aqui』 『Ist das der Zerstörer oder der Schöpfer?』**** 『one of these days, when i feel more bearable to listen to, i'll... try and do some full ass covers, if y'all would be down for that ♡』 Bonus: What would Erwin do? 『about... what? everything going down now? i dunno. all i can offer is a dream daddy reference. he's chilling in Margaritaville somewhere... 』 Say the following: Wall Maria, Jean Kirschstein, Reiner Braun, Ymir, Theo Magath, Onyankopon, Kiyomi Azumabito, Hajime Isayama, Shiganshina Trio, Shingeki no Kyojin, Shinzou wo Sasageyo

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

August Picks

And so we’re back for another end of month wrap up! Looking back I feel like I didn’t watch too many new things; I finished a few shows that I talked about last month (the 100, Blood & Treasure to name a few). I guess it’s good I watched less-maybe I went outside more? 

Spoilers....

DERRY GIRLS SEASON 2

You all already know how much I love this show, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m starting with it I was SO EXCITED to hear that season 2 was coming to Netflix August 1st and I tried my best to drag out watching the episodes. But it’s really really hard when there’s only 6 of them (a half hour each) and they’re just SOO GOOD! So I finished in about a week, but I guess that’s better than a day. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I enjoyed season 2 more than season 1. I laughed so hard (and got a little teared up in the last episode-especially afterwards when it was over and I discovered that next season won’t start filming until 2020!) I LOVED the stories this season and how the adults got more of a major plot-line in each episode. At times I laughed harder at them (at the movie theater, Gerry making the sandwiches at the funeral). More people seriously need to check out this show. It’s hilarious and a quick watch that you won’t want to end. 

KRYPTON SEASON (SERIES) FINALE

Syfy’s Krypton ended a few weeks ago, but I was holding off watching it until last week. I know I had said this in my last review, but this season was tough for me to get into, but once I did then I was really enjoying it. However, once we got to the last couple of episodes I was losing interest again. Plus, hearing that the show was cancelled made it harder to finish. SPOILERS! So, we knew they had to defeat Zod and it made sense that he is now under the Black Mercy (like Lyta was), but obviously this is only a temporary fix. He’ll definitely find his way out; he’s smart. Then Brainiac and Doomsday are still an issue, so while things are safe for now things didn’t exactly get settled. Now I get they thought they’d get a third season so things would have to be resolved later, but this still feels like a lot. Of course I’m upset that we won’t see Jor-El getting rescued AND the next season build up with Brainiac taking him to Earth to create his very own “Superman” seems really interesting. But we won’t see it. Meanwhile Nyssa is off world and Lobo is back (he was funny so I was happy to see him again). Like I said, I’m not surprised the show got cancelled, but I think a third season would have been good. What do you think?

CATCHING UP 

ARROW

It might have been MONTHS in the making, but I FINALLY caught up and finished Arrow season 7. I was only 3 episodes behind, but it took me a very long time to complete. My main comments on this season was that the beginning was good and the rest was eh. I liked Oliver in the prison and while I was done with Diaz very early on I was happy to see that story-line resolved. Now, while I did take a very long time to watch this season in entirety (and that might be the main reason I feel this way), Oliver being in the prison feels like A LONG time ago (and a completely different season). When I look back on this season I really just think of him and Emiko who I was not a fan of. We lose Thea and welcome another half-sister who we learn knew about the sinking of the Queen’s Gambit before anyone else. The constant back and forth of trying to save Emiko got very repetitive and while I know Oliver as the hero could not give up on her fully, I wanted him to. I was also not a huge fan of the flash forward this year. At times I did like it, but I think the show did fine that one season when there was no added plot-line. The ending to this season was a disappointment. I was very curious how things with Felicity would end seeing as how she is not going to return for the final season. But overall it felt very much like a SERIES finale, which makes me worried for the last season. Will it just feel like a filler? How many people will return? Will we even be in Star City? Taking Oliver away like that sucked and I really hope he gets reunited with his children.

THE FLASH

As a big fan of all the CW Arrow-verse shows this past season I had a hard time getting into most of them and got VERY behind on episodes before just giving up on watching altogether. While Arrow was one that I was just a couple episodes behind for most of the year and Legends of Tomorrow I binged all at once the Flash and Supergirl dropped off my watch-list. This was sad for me because I had enjoyed these shows a lot, so now at the end of summer we’re giving it a second go! This month I began the 5th season of the Flash and am currently on episode 5? I only remembered the first 2 episodes, which shows you how long ago I stopped watching. I remember not being a huge fan of Nora West-Allen and this is mainly because they are making the actress seem a lot younger than she is. The mistakes she makes and her overall attitude feels better suited for a pre-teen/young adult rather than someone in their twenties. I’m still holding out hope that this changes as the episodes progress. I really love this idea of having Barry and Iris’ daughter in the past (because it feels very much like something Barry would do) and how they are still addressing the headline of the Flash’s disappearance. I feel like maybe as we uncover more about Nora’s past I will enjoy her character more. This season I like the return to the CCPD and Iris’ blog. Sometimes the alter-ego jobs get pushed aside and I am happy to see the return of Barry and Iris in the field as themselves. With this addition to her character plus the fact that Nora is being completely rude to her, I feel this is the most I’ve like Iris in a very long time. I love how she stands by her decision of keeping Nora’s powers a secret even though she hasn’t done so yet, and the fact that Barry is with her. I’m glad they’re finally taking her character to places outside of STAR Labs. I think Caitlin’s story-line of finding her father is really interesting as well as the origins of Killer Frost. This reincarnation of Wells will take some getting used to, but I already like his dynamic with Ralph (baby giraffe) and of course Cisco. (They are always the best.) I’ll continue watching and see if my feelings change, but I do feel that I’m getting invested again, which makes me happy. 

MOVIES

Descendants 3

Should I be embarrassed that I am putting Descendants 3 on this list and I am a lot older than the intended audience? Nope. While this DCOM came out at the beginning of the month, it has replayed on Disney Channel dozens of times already so I feel I have watched it fully or in clips many times. Out of the entire series this movie is one of my favorites. I like the songs and the overall plot. The idea of having one of the hero’s kids become a villain was genius and really said something about people’s innermost character. My main problem with this part of the movie was that I wanted more repercussions for Audrey. In the end she almost dies and they bring her back and everything is good because she apologies. But her intentions seemed real at the start of the movie. Could they vanish that quickly? (Now I know what you’re thinking...this is a kid movie. Of course she needs to learn what she did was wrong. But I think it would be even more interesting if she didn’t or struggled with it. Either way she should have had some sort of punishment. I don’t think they should have welcomed her back so fast.) I really liked meeting new characters from the Isle of the Lost, the new addition of VKs in Auradon and Hades. I wish all the new VKs would have gotten more screen time as well as Hades. From the promos leading up to the film he seemed really important and the actual BIG BAD of the movie. I would have liked to see a little more of that. But I did really like learning he is Mal’s dad. I loved seeing Uma, Harry and Gil working with the Auradon group. Again, this drove the message home about working together now matter what your background. There’s probably a lot more I could talk about but these are really the main moments that stuck out to me/my main concerns. I know I’ll be singing the songs for a very long time.  

Miss Austen Regrets

As a Jane Austen buff, it is probably very surprising to hear that I had not watched Miss Austen Regrets (2008) until last week. I knew about it, but am always cautious when it comes to a film adaptation of the author’s life; especially after Becoming Jane (which yes is a great movie, but not 100% accurate). It took learning that Tom Hiddleston was in the film to make me watch it. (I know, but just look at him. He’s got such a baby face.) :)

But a young and always good looking Tom Hiddleston should not be the only reason to watch this film (although it is a great reason). The movie focuses on Jane’s later years as she completes Emma. She visits her niece Fanny who is deciding who she loves and how to know what love is. In her early twenties, Fanny seeks advice from her aunt as to how to spend the rest of her life. Should she settle? Or wait for the man of her dreams? But what if he’s right in front of her? Her aunt, the author of romances, should have the answer, but in fact she believes she doesn’t. You get a little insight into some of Jane’s past loves and lots of echoes to Persuasion (one of the novels published after Austen’s death). I had just finished reading Persuasion for the second time and watching this film so closely behind it mirrored that tale of maturity, friendship and romance very well. Taken from the remaining letters between Austen and Fanny the movie feels authentic. Of course nothing can be 100% but I think Miss Austen Regrets does a very good job. 

BINGEING

THE WALKING DEAD

And so the summer binge continues on. Gotta say that I feel pretty obsessed with this show now. You know you are watching a lot when you start to have dreams where you are fighting walkers. (And yes, that recently happened to me.) Currently I’m in season 5. Just finished season 4 this week, which I think might be my favorite so far. I really enjoyed their time in the prison and while I thought the episodes with the illness dragged at times, once the Governor returned it really picked up again. (Although I didn’t love the stand-alone episodes focused on him.) Then watching the group be separated and anticipating the reunions between them all was great. Terminius definitely seemed too good to be true and I am happy that (right now at least) it seems to be resolved. Now we are heading to Washington. I like seeing the new characters that I know will be a part of the regulars. It does make me nervous about some of the originals. Losing Hershel was tough. I’m not ready to lose too many more. 

[the-real-anywolf]

Upcoming Fics and Yes, We MET!!

Frankie here: So, we noticed that there were quite a few comments from you awesome llamas on our most recent fic as part of the DCRB (These Waves are Mine) concerned about our radio silence. It wasn’t intentional, we’ve been writing a LOT. We’ve currently got eight (yes EIGHT) completed fics in the beta process right now, including one that will be posted next week as part of the Dystopian Bang. We’re also almost finished with the Playing With Fire sequel. So over the next couple of months, you will be getting a lot of stuff from us, and Hell, I think the shortest fic is 5k.

Any here: As y'all know we love to experiment with tropes, challenge ourselves and try out new different things. And we have a lot of "different" (Yes, I'm doing the air quotes with my fingers) coming down the road! Things we hadn't expected to happen!

But yeah at the moment we working hard on the Playing With Fire Series. So this will be finished before our sequel for In A Mirror, Darkly. I know y'all can't wait to read that but yeah there is a lot of story and work going into the sequel. So this just takes some time.

I'm especially proud of a little short story that's coming up soon, because we wrote the story from a new POV. Thinking of that story... we sometimes write nods to other fanfics that we wrote. So if you read all the new upcoming fics you might notice some fun innuendos.

I'm also super excited to upload our fic for DYSTOPIA!! *happy dance* Oh and we take part in the DCBB again!! Although this seems like still being ages away.

Frankie here: Gimme a minute. I’m still dying over you using the word: y’all. I’ve clearly been a TERRIBLE influence on you.

Any here: I WATCHED TOO MANY JARED VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE! I TOTALLY BLAME JARED! The guy is so funny I could watch him for ages *lol*

Frankie here: I second that emotion. Unlike some shippers, I’m all about adding Jared to cockles panels. Hell, all of them. Can we sign a petition to force Jared to jump in on all the panels? lolol.

Any here: LOL. I'm usually not on tumblr or twitter that much but I noticed that little war. *eyeroll*. I'm glad I only know shipper that are TEAM FREE WILL 2.0. REAL FANS DON'T EXCLUDE. PERIOD. (besides: with all the posts about Jared being shipper #1 and the amount of cockles/destiel stuff we got because of him, that really came as a surprise to me.)

Frankie here: Yeah, I saw one cunty post where a girl was making comparisons of Jared jumping in on the JIBcon cockles panel - to how you save up to buy a diamond, you’re super excited about the diamond, and you leave the jewelry store with a ruby. Someone responded with the best fucking call out: well, be grateful you can even afford a ruby, cuz not all of us can. There’s a lot of privilege when it comes to this fandom, and annoyingly so. I remember I was at the SF convention the year Jensen’s twins were born, like they were literally born the weekend of this convention and I overheard several fans say, “He BETTER show up.”

I said I hope he didn’t and stayed at home with his family just to spite them. He showed though, but still. I’ll say it once and only once, they do a lot for their fans, they do a lot for their community, so be decent fucking humans about everything and not ungrateful fucking brats. Lol. Anyway. We got (and by we, I mean me) a little off topic, what were we doing again?

Any here: Promoting upcoming projects and OHHH TALK ABOUT YOUR TRIP TO EUROPE!!!!! CUZ WE'VE MET IN JANUARY!!!! Here is the PROOF *lol*:

Frankie here: Any tried to keep me. Like really tried and I really wanted to stay. If only for couch cuddles and her husband’s cooking. LOL. And shit, I just realized the cuddles might be misleading, cuz I’m pretty sure some of our readers ship us.

Any here: Did you just try to correct your own accidentally queerbaiting? LOL. Do we even have a ship name? If we don't have a ship name no one ships us, right? I think we're safe.... I just realized I shouldn't have said this, because I know a few of you probably comment this with a ship name for us, right? You know who you are! *makes squinty eyes*

Frankie here: UGH our ship name is probably FRANY and just NO. NO NO NO. Don’t you fuckers do it. lol.

Any here: Well they don’t have to anymore. You already did it. Now we’re doomed! lol

Frankie here: Fuck. Ah well, anyway, Any dragged me to some cool ass places, including a chocolate factory! And a pub with board games, in which I introduced her to the beloved Cards Against Humanity and she introduced me to the best fucking game ever, “Halt Mal Kurz” or some german shit. Anyway, you get to slap Nazis in it, so A+++++++ game.

Any here: You can also slap the police because they look like Nazis… although that has bad consequences. Oh man, fuck, that was a fucking funny night.

Frankie here: Yeah it was. Goddamnit I miss you. We need to do that again. And I have legit introduced so many americans to this brilliant game. We also got to watch the Wayward Sisters pilot live together, which was AWESOME.

Any here: Watching SPN with someone who is a crazy as I am was fucking amazing and we celebrated that pilot so hard. We already started shipping Claire with Kaia... Oh man, this series could have been so brilliant if stupid CW had picked it up. I'm glad the story will get resolved in SPN though! (Also I’m still working on my evil plan to lure you back to Europe forever *muahahahahahahha* I mean seriously… who wants to live in a country with a orange assbutt as a president? Sure you have better weather and all but we have a health insurance that pays for almost everything)

Frankie here: Yeah, the more shit that orange psycho rapist racist lunatic keeps pulling, the less I want to stay in this country, but seeing as I’m an immigrant, I’m sure I’ll be deported sooner rather than later. Ugh. Anyway, yes, it was awesome watching it with someone who squealed at the same points I did, and HELL YES CLAIRE KAIA. Ahem. Anyway, yes! Sorry to our amazing and awesome readers and followers who were worried about our radio silence, it’s because we’re writing like maniacs. Hell, we’re working on the D&S series while we work on this blog update, if that gives you an idea. LOL. Anyway, we love you guys. And we can’t wait to see what y’all think of our upcoming stuff!!

Any here: Writing maniacs is so accurate. We sometimes write on 3 fanfics at the same time… But yeah, we’re still here, still writing and ditto to what Frankie said. Can’t wait for all the babies to go online :D

Frankie here: Yes! So much love and and fluffy destiel hugs and all that Jazz. Although it’s us, so more like fluffy destiel smut. ❤️❤️

Any here: Eeeek that reminds me of that smut fest we wrote that is also finished and in the beta stage.... Okay I shut up now and YEAH HAPPY DESTIEL FLUFFY HUGS from me too :D <3

[barpurplewrites]

The Second Great Pokemon Go

(First in series here)

Pokemon have appeared in Storybrooke again, but this time it was planned.

-x-x-x-

“Welcome to Storybrooke’s second Great Pokemon Go Event! Also known as the first one we’ve planned!”

The gathered crowd cheered at Regina’s little jest. Many of them knew of the effort that had gone into safely replicating the events surrounding Rumple’s bout of magical Flu. Months of spellwork and something that Henry insisted on called technomancy had finally borne fruit and now the town was ready to enjoy a day of catching pocket monsters. Unlike last time, there was an air of a carnival to this event, instead of the weary, low key panic that came with clearing the town of the latest magical disaster. Stalls were set up next to Pokestops offering drinks and snacks, bunting festooned the streets, the fairies had offered to act as marshals and were dressed as Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny to make them easy to find should anyone need help.

In the week leading up to the event everyone who wanted to take part had signed up to one of the three teams; Valour, Instinct or Mystic. For those who played the mobile game Team Instinct was considered a bit of a joke, so the numbers were initially very low, that changed when word got out about which team the dwarves had signed up for. During the Flu induced Pokemon event Bashful had proven himself to be a natural at catching flying types, once people heard that he would be playing in yellow sign-ups had increase. Instinct would still be the underdog, but they were confident they would give Valour and Mystic a run for their money.

Regina waved her hand in the air sending a shimmer of magic over the town.

“The Pokestops are active and the Pokemon are free! You have until three o’clock to catch as many as you can! The best Pokemon from each team will then battle the Gym Leaders. Ready? Steady? Go!”

The crowd roared in joy and became a confused mass of colour as everyone raced off to find Pokemon. After a moment a sort of order became apparent; the blues of Mystic were heading towards the docks and the beach; the reds of Valour were making a beeline for the forest and the yellows of Instinct were heading out into town. Regina stepped down from the podium and grinned at Rumple and Belle.

“Looks like every team has a plan.”

Belle shifted Gideon from her hip to his stroller and began buckling him in; “Oh yes, there have been loads of sneaky strategy meetings all over town.”

“So, what’s the inside info?”

Rumple raised an eyebrow at her, but his features quickly softened into a smile; “Valour are after bug and rock types, Mystic had opted for water types, and Instinct have chosen flying as their main power. Every team’s got people working on the medals to make sure that there is plenty of dust and candy on hand for evolving the best they can.”

Unlike the actual game where candy was specific to each Pokemon, they had decided to make it generic, so every team had plenty to evolve their best Pokemon and boost them up to strong stats in the hopes of topping the leader board. They had made a few other changes to the gameplay; the Pokestops would only drop berries and Pokeballs. It had simplified planning for Rumple, Regina and Emma, as had having only one Gym, no raids and limiting the Pokemon to the Kanto set.

Emma joined them just as Gold finished speaking; “I know for a fact that Lily and Mal are aiming for the most dragon types caught. Personally, I’m after a Squirtle.”

Gold pulled three Pokeballs from his pockets and juggled them, much to Gideon’s delight; “Shall we see what we can do for our little team’s score?”

The three of them would be acting as Gym Leaders for the battle portion of the day. They could have just magicked up their Pokemon, but had decided to collect them, so they could be part of the fun.

Belle gave Rumple a kiss and pulled a blue cap from the bag at the back of Gid’s stroller; “You guys have fun, Gid and I are off to help Team Mystic.”

“I suppose it was a given that Belle wold go out to bat for the blue team.”

“Of course, Emma, she looks best in blue.”

Regina and Emma shared a smile at the fond look on Rumple’s face as he watched Belle and Gid wave before they moved out of view.

“Come on, lets catch something.”

 -x-x-x-

 Archie adjusted his red cap and blew out a breath. Hansel dropped the now full Pokeball into their bag, as Gretel added another tally mark to their sheet; “That’s another Venonat for us, and it was a tough one.”

“Six balls to catch it! We’re going to need to circle back to the Pokestop.”

Archie nodded and followed as the kids led the way; “I hope the rest of the team are finding more rock type than we are.”

“Proves our idea was right.”

Gretel didn’t miss a step as she thumped her brother’s arm, and turned to walk backwards so she could look at Archie as she spoke; “We had this wild idea that because you were a cricket that Bug types would be attracted to you, it was just a daft idea, we didn’t be any offence…”

“No, none taken at all. And considering our haul so far, I’d say there is something to your idea. Is that why you suggested we should go for bug types?”

“Everyone underestimates them ‘cause they aren’t the best known, and they creep some people out.”

Archie considered this as he held the backpack while the kids climbed over a fallen tree. Once he was over the obstacle himself he asked; “Do you think anyone else in town has worked out that some of us have an affinity for certain Pokemon?”

The kids gave him matched looks of surprised; “Of course, why do you think Mal and Lily are aiming for the dragon type trophy?”

 -x-x-x-

 Snow shivered as another Kabuto appeared.

“Charming! Creepy one here.”

He two balls from his pockets and squeezed Neal’s hand; “We’re on it. There’s a Geodude over here.”

Snow tousled Neal’s hair as she switched sides with Charming. Most of the rock types she was fine with but the horseshoe crab-like Pokemon freaked her out. She was trying not to show it too much, she didn’t want Neal picking up on her hebbie-jebbies. From the sound of the conversation going on behind her she didn’t need to worry.

“Krabie is cute. Can we keep him as a pet, Daddy?”

“Erm, no we can’t son. We’ll look at the puppies at the shelter again tomorrow hey?”

Snow was glad they couldn’t see her face as she rolled her eyes. She’d already picked out a puppy at the shelter and was just having to wait until the little darling had his shots before she could surprise David and Neal with him. She’d have to come up with some reason why they couldn’t go and look at puppies tomorrow.

 -x-x-x-

 Grace hissed in sympathy as the Vulpix her Papa had been trying to catch headbutted the ball away. She was just about to throw him another ball when he tumbled forward and managed to get his hand under the ball and bat it back towards the Vupix. It looked a little put out as the ball connected and captured it.

Jefferson rolled and plucked the ball from the ground before bouncing to his feet and twirling to give his daughter a toothy grin. A tiny glimmer of doubt crept onto his face at the sight of Grace’s wide-eyed staring.

“Was that alright?”

Grace launched herself at him howling with laughter; “Papa that was awesome!”

He caught her and swung her around in a circle, laughing happily with her.

“Okay, I mean you are covered in leaves,” – Grace brushed at her jumper – “and now so am I, but we are going to save loads of balls if you can do that a few more times.”

“And that means less trips to the Pokestops, so maybe we can head further out than most people, might be able to grab some of the rarer ones, hey?”

She gave a thoughtful nod; “That would give us a better chance of getting the Catch ‘Em All Medal.”

Jefferson bowed with a flourish, that was only slightly spoiled by the scattering of leaves that fell from his clothes, and offered Grace his hand; “Shall we then?”

“We shall. Let’s see where Mom and Dad have got to, that Oddish shouldn’t have been too hard to catch.”

Aiden and Elsie were Grace’s parents under the Curse, for them waking up had been heart-breaking, because they lost the daughter they had always dreamed of. It had taken Jefferson time to accept that they weren’t going to try and steal Grace away from him, and slowly they had become their own sort of family. Jefferson still had his moments of panic, but Aiden, Elise and Grace got him through them.  Now he twisted around on the spot trying to find which way his co-parents had gone. A shout from his left gave him a direction and Aiden’s head appearing from around a tree pinpointed them.

“Have you two got any balls left? We’ve got an Ekans here.”

It was a good thing that Pokemon were not as skittish as regular woodland creatures, because the racket that Grace and Jefferson raced across the dry leaves would have scared it away.

 -x-x-x-

 Granny eased the tray of snacks onto the table and braced for the stab of pain that normally shot through her hands as she uncurled them; it didn’t come as badly as she was expecting. Whale had been right about these new pills, oh well she had a bottle of bourbon with his name on in the diner.

Astrid skipped over to the snack stand, and almost tripped over her own feet. Granny raised an eyebrow at her choice of costume for today.

“So Nurse Joy, hey? Would have thought you would have gone for Officer Jenny.”

Astrid shook her head as she carefully poured herself a cup of soda; “Oh no, I only dress up as a police officer for Leroy.”

Soda slopped over the table as Astrid’s brain caught up with what her mouth had revealed. Granny calmly handed her some paper towels and said; “Got a thing for firemen myself, but as long as it’s safe, sane and consensual it’s nobody’s business what you two get up in private.”

Astrid was still looking flustered, but at least she was smiling now. Granny took the chance to change the subject to spare the poor girl anymore embarrassment; “Have you seen my wayward granddaughters?”

There had been some people in town who had speculated that Granny wouldn’t be happy about Ruby’s True Love; after all they had whispered it wasn’t a natural sort of relationship was it? Granny had welcomed Dotty with open arms and sternly told the whispers to stop projecting their prejudices onto other people. Several people had been barred from the diner, which basically ostracised them from the town since Granny’s was the social hub. Some had educated themselves and apologized to Ruby and Dotty, and then been allowed back. Others had continued spouting their bile around town but were met with a cold-shoulder by the majority of folks.

“They’d just caught a Growlithe last time I saw them.”

Granny wasn’t great on the names of these little critters, but she knew that one; “They evolve into Arcanine, first time I heard the girls talking about that one I thought they were saying ‘our canine’, thought they were talking about Toto.”

Granny fondly rolled her eyes as Astrid spluttered on her soda and handed her some more paper towels.

 -x-x-x-

 In the park as shadow swept over Tink. Lily was circling in dragon form. She’d been doing this all day to pop back to the Pokestop, up until now it had been fine, but this time Bashful was taking aim at a Ghastly. Tink bit her knuckle as the ball bounced off the Pokemon and whacked into the dragon’s snout.

In an impressive feat of aerobatics Lily snapped forward and caught the falling ball. She landed lightly within yards of Bashful and spat the ball at his feet. Tink set her Officer Jenny cap firmly on her head and rushed across to the two of them, praying that Lily was in a good mood. She was still a little way away when Lily transformed and snagged the ball from the ground.

“Here you go Bash. You ain’t gonna get any points for catching me.”

The dwarf caught the ball and shyly pointed to his nose with a questioning look at Lily.

“Oh, barely felt it, go catch your spooky.”

Bashful tipped his yellow baseball cap and ran off towards where the Ghastly had drifted to float around the sleeping form of Walter.

“Problem, Officer Tink?”

Lily turned around slowly with a small sad smile on her face; “You thought I was going to toast him, hey six months ago you might have been right, but I’m doing a lot better these days.”

“I admit it crossed my mind and I’m really sorry Lily. It was crappy of me to think that.”

Lily’s eyebrows rose in surprise; “Think you can teach Snow and Charming to apologise that easy? They didn’t want me to take part today until Emma and Regina went to bat for me, still haven’t said sorry for calling me an ‘unstable flamethrower’.”

Tink didn’t even try to contain her eyeroll. Since Blue’s ‘retirement’ she and Tiger Lily had become the leaders of the fairies and both of them had their hands full trying to undo the hypocrisy that Blue had fostered in the royal couple.

“I’ll have a stern few words with them Lily.”

“Thank you, Tink,” – she nodded her head towards the Pokestop, - “I need to reload, I left Mom playing with a couple of Dratini.”

Tink nodded with a smile; “Sure thing, see you at the party later? First drinks on me?”

Lily gave her a thumbs-up, “You’re on.”

 -x-x-x-

 Down by the docks Henry handed his Uncle Gid a rusk as Belle took aim at a Lapras.

“Fingers crossed Uncle Gid we really want this one.”

Gideon chewed on his rusk, apparently indifferent to Team Mystic’s need for a good strong Lapras. He did giggle and shout ‘Whoosh!” when it vanished into the Pokeball, but he did the same when it escaped, so he probably wasn’t cheering his Mom on.

“Can you throw me another ball, please Henry?”

He opened his backpack, but before he could reach inside a Pokeball flew out circled around his head and then sped towards the Lapras. Belle and Henry watched as the flying ball made a perfect capture. Gid clapped his hands together and laughed.

“Okay. So, I guess Uncle Gid’s magic is coming out.”

Belle scooped the ball from the ground; “Looks that way. Well done Gid. That was a very good catch.”

Gid made grabby hands towards the Pokeball and only grumbled a little when Belle insisted on wiping the mushed rusk from his fingers first. When he finally got hold of his Pokeball he cuddled it to his chest and babbled gently at it as he snuggled back into his stroller. Belle snapped a photo to send to Rumple.

“Looks like someone is ready for a nap.”

Henry bounced a Pokeball against his palm; “Do you think he’ll let us use that Lapras for the Gym Battle?”

Uncle Gid was teething at the moment and could be a bit grumpy about letting go of his favourite comfort toys, which now included the best Pokemon they had caught so far.

Belle shrugged; “Erm, might be best if we can find another one, just to be on the safe side.”

Gid pointed a sleepy finger along the dock where another Lapras had just popped into existence. Henry whistled under his breath; “Thanks Uncle Gid.”

Belle chuckled as they started towards the new Pokemon; “I’m sure Gid didn’t make that appear Henry.”

Henry raised an eyebrow at her in a manner that was a pretty good imitation of his grandfather. Belle rolled her eyes; “Okay, he probably didn’t.”

Perhaps a quick phone call to Rumple would be a good idea just to make sure that Gid’s magic wouldn’t interfere with the spells already running today.

[fictionstuff]

Fire Force 炎炎ノ消防隊

Plot: Spontaneous Human Combustion: a chaotic phenomenon that has plagued humanity for years, randomly transforming ordinary people into flaming, violent creatures known as Infernals. While Infernals make up the first-generation accounts of Human Combustion, the second and third generations became known as pyrokinetics—people gifted with the ability to manipulate and control their flames while remaining human. To combat the Infernal threat and discover the cause, the Tokyo Armed Forces, Fire Defense Agency, and Holy Church of Sol produced their answer: the Special Fire Force. Young and eager third-generation pyrokinetic Shinra Kusakabe, nicknamed Devil's Footprints for his explosive ability to ignite his feet at will, becomes a member of the lively Special Fire Force Company 8. Upholding the brigade's duty to extinguish the blazing Infernals and lay their souls to rest, Shinra is determined to become a hero who will save the lives of those threatened by the flame terror. However, this is not the hero's game Shinra imagined. The Fire Force is a fractured mess of feuding brigades, abnormal Infernal sightings are increasing all over Tokyo, and a shadowy group is claiming to have answers to the strange fire that caused the death of Shinra's family 12 years ago. Faced with many obstacles within and outside the Fire Force, Shinra fights to uncover the truth behind the burning mysteries that have kept him in the dark [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Episodes: 24

Main Characters: Fire Force Company 8 (way too many)

Points: 8.5/10

The show excited me so much, I picked up the manga after the 20th episode, because I never wanted to miss it, especially if they didn't announce a second season. Gladly they did though, because there is still so much to come, so many great fights and so many more revealing moments, because Fire Force features a world of fear and mystery: humans simply explode and burn away (if they don't become horned demons or monsters). It's indeed a fight against fire for the fire force, although it may be questionable to fight fire with fire, because that's mostly what they do. There are different levels of humans and many can already control their power of fire. The anime very closely adapted the source material. I can attest to that since I watched and read both at the same time.

The first few episodes were okay-ish, but when the pace finally picked up, Fire Force turned out to be super exciting. So once you get through the first 5 episodes, you'll be captured by the charm that is a roller coaster ride of crazy fights and thrilling mysteries. The reveals and explanations come in slowly and even after many more manga chapters, there is still a lot that hasn't been explored, so there are still many questions, especially after that first season. That's why a second season is already in the making, so we should watch out for that.

Fire Force is a very refreshing take of a shounen series, the concept is completely original and promises many golden twists. The animation also gradually improved throughout the series, which is a major plus point, because the first fights weren't exactly flashy and mostly consisted of pictures being chained to one another to look cool (it was statical at best). Within Fire Force you will find many pretty consistent fighting scenes, that look awesome and also portray how nicely those flames can look like.

A minus point for the anime (and manga) can be the fanservice, which happens quite frequently. I got used to it after a few episodes and sometimes I even thought it was quite amusing for the story, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

After reading through the manga I can safely say I prefer the source material, but the anime adapted everything accurately, which is pretty good in my opinion. Canon divergent stories often happen to lose momentum. The manga is from Atsushi Ohkubo who also is the mastermind behind Soul Eater, which I still have to check out, but the man is a god, he knows how to create worlds that fuck everything up, I guess.

I've read up on the criticism for most characters being generic and undeveloped, but you need to keep in mind that this is just the set up for the story; the first season. It probably doesn't even feature half of the story, so it's safe to assume that many characters will show up again and receive proper development within the plot (which is true for the manga). After 24 episodes there's barely anything I can say about the characters, especially for Company 8, which is a bunch of dynamic and weird characters who work together extremely well. We have Shinra, the absolute main character, who lost his family to the fire and thus wants to uncover the secret and save people. He's got a knack of smiling in dangerous situations (or when he's nervous) and for now he is indeed a generic character, but not the type of annoying main hero. He's hard working and smart and clearly out to understand what happened to his family. The rest of the company are too many to mention, but we have a super cool captain, who has absolutely no fire power, a lieutenant who is non-cholant and strict, Maki a super strong girl, Iris (who will play a more important role in the future) a sweet young and innocent girl, Arthur a complete idiot but strong fighter once he's in the knight zone, Tamaki who will also be featured way more in season 2 as she has barely been introduced in the first as someone who can do nothing but get herself undressed, Vulcan a very cool engineer who's had a rough past and Licht, who is a crazy genius with ulterior motives.

None of them are exactly stereotypes or boring, I swear, there will be at least one character that will intrigue you. The criticism is absolutely stupid for the story has barely taken root in the first season. In comparison to my absolute favourite World Trigger, Fire Force has been adapted extremely well. I can't wait for a second season to air!

Ni no Shou

Plot: After his confrontation in the Nether with his younger brother Shou, Shinra Kusakabe's resolve to become a hero that saves lives from the flame terror strengthens. Finding a way to turn the Infernals back into people, unraveling the mystery of the Evangelist and Adolla Burst, and saving his mother and Shou—these are the goals Shinra has in mind. However, he has come to realize that attaining these goals will not be easy, especially with the imminent danger the Evangelist poses.The Evangelist's plan is clear: to gather the eight pillars—the individuals who possess Adolla Burst—and sacrifice them to recreate the Great Cataclysm from 250 years ago. Having been revealed by the First Pillar that the birth of a new pillar is approaching, Shinra is determined to protect his fellow pillars from the Evangelist. Thus, the fiery battle between the Special Fire Force and the Evangelist ignites. Together with the Special Fire Force, Shinra's fight continues as he uncovers the truth about the Great Cataclysm and the nature of Adolla Bursts, as well as the mysteries behind human combustion. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Episodes: 24

Points: 8.75/10

There is so much unnecessary hate on MAL for this season, even though there might be even more hate across the web, that this anime really doesn't deserve. Surely it has its own faults, but there are much worse series all around. Someone mentioned that this may be due to David Production working on this instead of Jojo (something I'll never ever watch in my life), so it may be due to jealousy but otherwise, I've seen many childish reviews of people who watched season 2, although they didn't like the first one as in it bored them and they never got into it and on the other hand they simply tried to find reasons to make it look bad, when in fact they simply had no idea about plot or characters. This is awfully childish. It's awfully normal that when a normal human is burned, they die, but a second or third generation won't just die as they are firstly used to fire and control it to a certain degree or why so ever aren't Shinra's feet burned? All these things are brought forward simply to make it seem illogical and boring.

The pacing is on the other hand is indeed a point that isn't really good, as it dreadfully drags on and relies to much on flashbacks and pieces and bits of information that has already been handed to us in the last season or even just in the last few episodes. That's in contrast to everything else a small annoyance though. There are many other good points of the show: an interesting premise and plot development, many lovely characters (which will never be completely developed due to the sheer number) which are being introduced to us anew or now shown for the very first time. We get to know a lot of fire companies and we dive much deeper into the world and get more information on the white clad.

The second season consists of quite a few interesting arcs, which are all very much existent in the manga as well, which is a delight, because I really like the manga, although many do prefer the anime.

We get introduced to Inka, another pillar and someone who obviously holds no love for the world or maybe she just likes to wreck havoc. She'll be shown more often in the future and I hope to know more about her, but I am not sure they'll ever focus on her again. Another new character is Juggernaut and a few others from fire companies, who won't receive much spotlight or die in combat which was sometimes quite unexpected. Juggernaut on the other hand is a lovely new character who's timid and shy but shows he can fight just fine, if he gathers his courage and tries his best. We also get the sensational Joker and Benimaru duo as they investigate the Holy Sol Temple and the “fake” religion? Apart from that we also meet the pillar Nataku Son, who has been experimented on and watched over by another company, where we also meet Kurono, a blood thirsty crazy man I'd say, but he isn't exactly a murderer either. There are still more scenes of him in the future which might be quite interesting to those who were intrigued by his character. Another small sub arc consists of the Nether investigation where Maki is being drawn from company 8 to serve in the military area until she decides to show her family, where she truly belongs and man, that was epic. Maki lives and breathes to help humans as a fire fighter, that much is clear and Maki remains one of the best female characters. Whil Ogun in this season was seriously the best. I think he’s truly one of the most interesting characters and a strong one at that and someone who shares quite a deep bond with Arthur and Shinra.

Not much yet has been revealed though, just bits of the cataclysm and that creating a second sun is probably the ultimate goal. Hopefully there will be a season 3 in the future. There is still a lot of material in the manga with many many interesting twists and turns.

The animation is even better than in the first season, thumbs up, David Productions.