#all set up for the 14 parter!!!

[tabbi-mysteries]

Detective Conan Rewatch Episodes 487-490 + OVA 8

Metropolitan police detective love story 8! Okay case is whatever, the victim kinda deserves it tho but the main point of the love stories is naturally Sato and Tagaki and I love them their romance is the funniest while remaining really sweet and can be really heartfelt too. In this case Sato's obliviousness is at max level but that's part of what makes it funny, girls gotta have a weak point somewhere XD and poor Tagaki is just confused. And Yumi meddler she is proves she can't be trusted to have your best interests at heart if your suffering is more entertaining for her XD

The devil at the TV station is... an odd choice for a special? But like the case is pretty good, the howdunnit instead of the whodunnit makes for a nice change when we get it every so often and the trick is a fun one to understand

Courtroom confrontation 3 is... well it's not bad and I like what they were going for definitely with the character arcs and stuff and like I wanna like Eri's court cases cause I like Eri and seeing her in EPs but the courtroom feels a bit bland compared to a deduction show :( Also that man ascended in the funniest way before falling which made it kinda hard to take seriously 😅

Deduction battle on the ski slope!!! It's everything I wanted out of that adaptation!!!! I love the Heiji cases and this one's top tier from the gorgeous animation (that snow!!!) And the case itself being fun, younger teens Heiji and Shiinichi at that interesting point in their lives were they're still learning to be detectives and not fully acknowledged as such by many others so striving to prove themselves (in a way that also (in)conveniently means they can't meet XD) it's really good up there with some of my favourite overall episodes of the whole series.

OVA 8 - casebook of high school detective Suzuki Sonoko. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect going into each OVA and I was honestly not expecting this one to be so funny! I was laughing so hard when the detective boys rescued E.T. it's a really funny, very enjoyable watch

[myobsessionsspace]

Jeongguk is so fucking cute. He is so whipped for his Jiminie hyung, it's not even funny.

Maybe a bit funny with the batting his lashes thing. Also, I'm a bit sad we never got that live - there's a universe out there where Jimin took JK up on his offers. That would be the timeline to be.

Little timeline question: the live JK did where he changed his fit several times, and ended up looking like Prince Eric (but better), was that on White Day?

Hi Lovely!

He’s just the cutest isn’t he! sorry Jungkook Ssi.

We definitely have to keep manifesting 😭 if we trust anything we can trust Jungkook’s determination when it comes to all things Jimin.

I mean this guy wouldn’t even let a single Jimin’s content go unwatched and not just watch it in silence, Oh Nooooo Jeon Jungkook commented like he was checking off his checklist of Jimin content, PJM much Jungkookie??

Your Question: “The live JK did where he changed his fit several times, and ended up looking like Price Eric (but better), was that on White Day?”

Short answer: Yesssss

Everyone I present to you......Disney Princes Jeon!

Now ARMY, I will allow you to get a little bit excited because this White Day live was set up by jungkook, it seems in everyway, to be a date night live!

Even his hyungs who dropped by to chat on the live caught the vibes

So y/n a little bit...I SAID A LITTLE BIT!

Get excited but not tooooo excited because as we know where one is, usually there's the other

And even when he had to stop watching the live, Jimin was still on Jungkook's mind. I mean he literally flew to New York the day before! Was on an opposite time zone but still came to watch Kookie's live

No the fanboy in the article wasn't JK😂

It's understandable that Jimin couldn't stay for all 4 parts of the live and the outfit changes.

This guy! lol🤭

Jungkook wrapped up his live to keep us focused on the important things, JIMIN'S SOLO DEBUT.

Set Me Free Pt. 2 Teaser was released midnight their time Teaser & Full MV

HEAD JIMIN STAN doing his part with the views in another weverse live.

Sorry Anon, I got caught up and rambled for way too long about this live!🙈

There's so much more that could be covered about the lives and the significance to Jikook, I'll stop here because so many bloggers have done this before me, and done it well!

Some lovely and in depth write-ups include one from:

@kanmom51

and also this multi-parter from @jmdbjk

Thank you Anon for reminding me of the warm and happy feelings his lives brought me.

💜

Just gonna leave this right here

As ALWAYS, please, please, please, watch original content and don't rely solely on the words of others, but directly from the members:

Jungkook Lives from March 14th 2023:

Live One, Live Two, Live Three and Live Four

[ak-vintage]

Quarry - Chapter 9 (Part 1)

Pairing: Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) x f!reader

Summary: Din Djarin is on what he expects to be his last bounty hunt for Greef Karga. After all, Nevarro is swiftly moving away from its previous reputation as a Guild member’s paradise, and Din has more important concerns now, like finding a Jedi to train his mysterious foundling. However, after capturing a wanted starship engineer who would rather go anywhere other than “home,” the Mandalorian is forced to reassess his priorities.

Your taste of freedom had been brief but glorious. Now you are a prisoner of the most infamous bounty hunter in the Outer Rim – it’s only a matter of time before he turns you in. There isn’t much you would not do to keep from being sent home, but as you find yourself growing closer to your captor and his strange little companion, you start to wonder whether escape is really what you want.

Set after Chapter 13: The Jedi but before Chapter 14: The Tragedy.

Chapter Tags & Warnings: 18+ MDNI! Reader is Mando's live-in starship engineer, second-person POV, Din Djarin POV, no use of Y/N, minimal descriptors of reader character, unresolved sexual tension, pining, light angst, implications of nudity

Series Masterlist | Read on AO3

A/N: I see this chapter as the first half of a two-parter. I split it in half for ease of consumption and because when I originally wrote it, I hadn't been able to post in ages. Enjoy these two little vignettes! You will get two more in the next "half."

___

The Refresher

After your conversation in the cockpit on your way to Trandosha, life aboard the Razor Crest returned to normal almost startlingly quickly. Mando permitted the ship to travel on autopilot for once, allowing the flight computer to calculate your path, and spent hours researching the last known locations, backgrounds, and crimes of the newest batch of bounties he had received from Karga. You fell right back into your routine of splitting your time between ship maintenance and occupying Grogu; the boy seemed positively thrilled to be back in his leather carrier strapped to your back as you puttered around the cargo hold. He was full of chatter, cooing and babbling and squealing more than you had ever heard. Not for the first time, you wondered whether he might eventually speak Basic or if perhaps his species simply didn’t communicate that way, but you decided that regardless, you liked the extra noise. You could almost imagine what he might be saying, and you found yourself filling in his half of your conversations in your mind as you went about your work. It passed the time, and it made you smile.

Now that you felt confident that you would be spending the foreseeable future in this way, with the Razor Crest as your home, it took you less than a week to come up with a draft for your largest improvement project to date.

“Hey, Mando – do you have a minute?” you asked, poking your head into the cockpit where the Mandalorian sat, bent over one of the computer consoles in concentration.

“What is it?” he replied distractedly. He did not meet your gaze and instead remained focused on the screen before him, which appeared to be a topical map of a dense, verdant forest.

You tucked the datapad you were holding close to your chest, rubbing your thumbs over the edge nervously. Stepping fully into the cockpit, you said, “I have a proposition for you. I’d like your support to start on…kind of a big project in the cargo hold.”

That was enough to get his attention. Pausing his perusal of the map, he turned in his chair to face you, planting his hands on his widespread knees. “What kind of project?”

His voice sounded cautious, and you could understand why. Most of the work you had done on the Razor Crest up until this point you had done without his involvement. He had purchased supplies for you when you requested, and he was always happy to review the reports you generated to demonstrate any efficiency gains you had achieved, but otherwise, you each had kept to your own activities. This was the first time you were asking for his blessing on something before simply doing it.

You took a steadying breath and explained, “With both of us living here for the long term, I really think we should invest in installing a fully functioning refresher.” You paused for a moment then added, “And an additional bunk, if I can figure out how to make one fit in the space we have.”

Mando was silent at first, appearing to consider the idea. “Is that possible?” he asked, his helmet cocked to the side skeptically. “The water storage and recycling systems on ST-70s weren’t designed to support full ‘freshers.”

You nodded in agreement. You had thought of this. “Yes. With the size of the water tank we have right now, you’re right – we could maybe support a running water sink and a privy, but never a shower. But I’ve been taking a look at the schematics, and I feel like there’s a better way to organize the forward space in the cargo hold.” You tapped through a few controls on your datapad and pulled up your sketch of the design, which you had laid over a copy of the Razor Crest’s blueprints. You held it out to him to examine. “It would be tight,” you added, “but I think, if you’re comfortable with it, I should be able to rearrange the hardware that is currently there in such a way that would allow us just enough space for a water tank one size larger than our current one and a ‘fresher.”

You watched, your lower lip between your teeth, as Mando zoomed in on your sketch, silently making note of all of the proposed changes. “Sounds…cramped,” he said after a moment.

You shrugged reluctantly. “It would be, a bit. But it would have a fully functioning door, instead of a curtain,” you argued. “We’d have somewhere to actually brush our teeth instead of using those chalky cleaning tabs. We’d have somewhere to store our toiletries. And we could take showers.” You almost groaned aloud at the thought. How long had it been since you had experienced such a luxury? “Actual, real, hot showers.”

On the space station that orbited Chardaan where the workers’ barracks resided, rows of sonic showers in communal bathrooms had been the norm. Sonic showers were efficient and generally more practical for space living, as they required very few resources to power, and at the very least, they removed dirt and oil and kept everyone from smelling like they had been living in a metal sphere with recycled air for months at a time. However, to you, something about sonic showers never left you feeling fully clean, and after months without access to even that, you were starting to feel truly uncomfortable in your own body. You yearned for the sensation of hot, soapy water sluicing down your skin and foaming up your hair, and if that was your experience, you could hardly imagine how Mando felt, wearing that suit of armor all day every day.

The bounty hunter nodded slowly as he silently reviewed your plans. “And the bunk?” he asked.

You grimaced. “That one I haven’t quite figured out yet,” you replied hesitantly. “I’m still sketching some ideas. I feel much more confident about the ‘fresher.”

“Hm,” he hummed, passing the datapad back to you. “Well, I approve of the refresher idea. Your design looks sound. Make a list of the materials you’ll need. I’ll see what I can do about getting them during our next stop.”

“Ugh, thank you, Mando!” You sighed heavily with relief, excitement buzzing in your chest. “You won’t regret it!”

A week later, after a successful first hunt, the Mandalorian returned to the Razor Crest with a large, male Trandoshan in binder cuffs and a repulsorlift sled laden with bins of supplies dragging behind him. It was all you could do not to fly down the gangplank and fling your arms around him at the sight. Instead, you managed to funnel that energy into just bouncing in place on your tiptoes as you began unloading the sled, your fingers positively itching to wrap themselves around your new toys.

You could have sworn you heard a rasping chuckle filter through your companion’s helmet as he watched your unbridled enthusiasm, and although it made your cheeks burn, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

From the time you took your plasma torch to the first piece of durasteel bulkhead to the time the refresher was complete and ready for use ended up being about two weeks of constant labor. But Maker, if it wasn’t a labor of love.

Piece by piece, inch by painstaking inch, you systematically disassembled everything to the left of the bunk, starting with that heinous multi-species vacuum ship head (which you had despised since your first day on board) and going all the way to the forward end of the hull. Water filtration? Enhanced. Clean water tank? Replaced entirely with one of a larger size. Scanners, jamming devices, antennae, even the ship’s headlights – all of it got taken apart down to its components, condensed, rewired, and fit back together to make room for the new space. Aside from the work you had done with Peli on the carbonite unit, it was easily the most challenging work you had ever done on a ship of this age, and you relished every second of it. You had always enjoyed puzzles, ever since you were a small child, and fitting each one of these systems back into the reduced space while still ensuring that everything functioned as it was designed was an especially rewarding puzzle.

Once you felt confident with your modifications, you began installing the refresher itself. Mando had been correct in his assessment when he evaluated your plans – the space was cramped, and due to budget constraints, it was almost excessively utilitarian. You had selected plain durasteel for the walls, privy, and running water sink. A single pane of transparisteel separated the shower from the rest of the room, left open on the far end to allow for easy entry without needing the space to accommodate a swinging door. You had managed to convince Mando to spring for a box of tiles of industrial, anti-slip flooring that would keep you both from sliding around in there, particularly when you were in flight, but other than that minor upgrade, everything you requested was about as economical as you could find.

It was far from glamorous, but by the time you finished waterproofing all of your seals and stepped back to admire your handiwork, you felt a rush of satisfaction at the sight. The Razor Crest was Mando’s ship, Mando’s home, but for the first time, you thought that perhaps one day, she might feel like yours, too.

When you finally felt ready to give everything a true test, Mando was out on a hunt. He had landed the Razor Crest on a remote planet in the middle of a humid forest, well-hidden by a copse of trees hung heavily with vines and moss, and you had neither seen nor heard from him in several days. You and Grogu had just finished your dinner for the evening, and the boy’s wide, dark eyes were heavy with fatigue. Seizing the opportunity, you tucked your little green charge into his hammock above the bunk, gave him a couple of gentle rocks until he began to nod off, and then eagerly dove into the newly-finished ‘fresher.

It was even better than you had expected.

The water from the shower was hot on your skin, almost shockingly so, and steam collected quickly in the cramped space, the fan you had fabricated working overtime to draw the excess moisture out of the room and into the exhaust vents. You had come across a lone bar of soap and a singular bottle of shampoo at the bottom of a storage bin one afternoon, and you used them both liberally. With how long it had been since you had last done so, it took multiple washes of both your hair and your body before you felt fully clean, but you couldn’t say you minded the extra time. It was an unspeakable luxury, to be able to stand under running water like this in a pre-Empire gunship that spent most of her time in hyperspace, and you found you couldn’t begrudge yourself the opportunity to bask in it.

Besides, the soap was clearly Mando’s. It was rich with the warm, spicy, masculine fragrance that you had first smelled in his bunk, and surrounding yourself with it like this had your skin flushing and your nerve endings buzzing. Perhaps you ought to have been embarrassed by your body’s reaction to nothing but a scent, but something about being tucked away in this tiny, little room, with its close walls and its own door that locked, knowing that Grogu was fast asleep and Mando wasn’t on board, had you feeling a bit bold. A bit shameless.

So caught up were you in your own enjoyment that you completely missed the sound of your comm link going off in your jumpsuit pocket, left crumpled in a pile on the bunk. On the other side of the door.

It was several more minutes before you found the motivation to turn off the water and step out of the shower. The prolonged heat (and perhaps also the arousal burning between your legs) had left you feeling a bit light-headed, so you toweled yourself off only briefly before wrapping the soft black material around your body and sliding open the door to get some cooler air.

However, to your great surprise, rather than being greeted by an empty cargo hold, you instead immediately met the impassive gaze of the Mandalorian.

His beskar was caked with mud, though he appeared uninjured, and he was in the process of freezing what looked to be an unconscious female Zabrack in carbonite. The gases were just beginning to dissipate and reveal her serene face outlined in matte gray, and although his body was facing her, his visor was fixed intently on you.

“Mando!” you gasped, your hands flying to your chest to grip your towel.

Silence, dense and significant, hovered between you. The bounty hunter continued to stare in your direction, and you could feel your throat begin to dry out and your heart speed up as you suddenly became acutely aware of your state of undress. Your towel was a little thing, a maintenance rag hardly meant for this purpose, and although it managed to cover from your breasts to the very tops of your thighs, that was hardly comparable to your typical boilersuit. And you had barely taken the time to dry yourself off. Your exposed skin shone in the dim cargo hold lighting; your long, unbound hair dripped a puddle onto the deck near your bare feet.

You felt strangely caught out, almost ashamed, as though the Mandalorian had discovered you in some compromising position.

A familiar, ill-timed wave of arousal flashed through you, raising goosebumps across your body and tightening your nipples as you caught a whiff of the scent that now clung to your damp skin. His scent.

Perhaps he had caught you.

Just when you thought you couldn’t bear the weight of this silence anymore, Mando replied simply, “Apologies.” Even through his vocoder, his voice sounded dry and deep, as though he had pulled the word from the depths of his chest, as though it had been a struggle to do so.

You swallowed thickly and shifted on your feet. “The, uh…” You cleared your throat, awkward and positively burning up from the inside. “The ‘fresher’s done. And the shower’s perfect. You should, uh…you should really give it a try.”

He offered you a single nod. “I will.”

You nodded, too. Your head felt loose on your neck, your mind spinning. “Okay. Good.”

Another silence, and you chewed on your lower lip as you cast your eyes around the room, searching for something, anything to look at that wasn’t Mando’s piercing gaze. Eventually, you landed upon your work boots, stacked neatly at the foot of the bunk, and the rumpled mess of your clothes spilling out of recess in the wall.

“Um. If…if I could just – ” you began, gesturing toward the pile of clothing with a little jerk of your head.

That, it seemed, was finally enough to pull the bounty hunter out of whatever shocked trance your appearance had seemed to inspire. He physically startled, turning away from the bounty in the carbonite chamber and drawing himself up straighter, and he dropped his satchel to the floor with a thud.

“Of course. Yes,” he said curtly, already moving toward the ladder up to the cockpit. “I’ll…start the take-off sequence. Let me know when you’re – ”

You found yourself nodding again. “Yeah, for sure. I’ll meet you up there in a bit,” you replied. Your voice sounded overly bright and forced even to your own ears, desperately eager to move past the heart-racing, thigh-clenching self-consciousness of the last few minutes.  

You watched then as Mando retreated up the ladder with a speed that you had never seen before. Tightening your hold on your towel, you slumped back against the ‘fresher doorframe, weak-kneed, and let the durasteel cool your flushed skin.

You weren’t ignorant to the tension that had been building between you and the Mandalorian over the last weeks, but it had never felt like…that. Like his gaze had been a physical touch on your skin, like your core had melted into liquid heat.

Like the delicious, warm slickness now coating the insides of your thighs.

Nothing had ever felt like that.

___

The Bazaar

Din supposed he ought to have known the question was coming sooner or later, but he still found himself somewhat taken aback the first time you asked to leave the Razor Crest during a hunt.

He had been guiding the ship in a steady descent through the atmosphere of Trevi IV, aiming for the spaceport port outside of Trevi City, when you broached the subject.

“I…really desperately need of some new clothes. And hygiene things. Now that we have the ‘fresher, you know,” you had explained haltingly, a charming flush burning high on your cheeks at the mention of your most recent project. “If you’d be willing to give me an advance on my pay, that is. I won’t need much – promise.”

The Mandalorian had found himself almost needing to bite back a groan at the mention of the ‘fresher. You had been correct, of course – the addition of that space had been a marked improvement to the quality of life on the Razor Crest since its completion, but no matter how many times either of you managed to use it without incident, he couldn’t help but recall the sight of you standing in the doorway – cloaked in steam, clothed in nothing but the mere suggestion of a towel, miles of soaking wet skin on display, and smelling unmistakably of him. The vision had nearly unmanned him in the moment, and still it continued to haunt him, even many days later.

It was entirely unprecedented, the way you had come to affect him. The lilt of your laughter at Grogu’s antics, the scent of your hair on the pillow in his bunk, the strong, capable grip of your hands on your hydrospanner, the dark, glossy shine of your eyes as you ran your gaze over his body when you thought he wasn’t looking. All of it had burrowed into the very depths of him, nestled itself near his heart, immoveable. He had never experienced anything like it in his life.

However, rather than confessing any of that, Din had instead simply nodded.

“Sure,” he had agreed. “I need to go to the bazaar district first on a lead anyway. You and the child can join me when we land, get what you need.”

The grateful smile you had sent his way had the Mandalorian feeling his face heat up even under his helmet.

It looked to be around midday local time when the Razor Crest finally landed, and by the time Din was ready to depart, he found you already waiting by the rear blast doors, Grogu strapped to your back in his favorite leather carrier and an eager expression on your face. You had dug an old satchel of his, threadbare and dusty, out of one of the storage compartments, and it hung limply across your body, empty and ready to be put to use. With a wordless nod and a hidden smile, he gestured in the direction of the doors. After you.

It occurred to him as he watched you descend the gangplank that this would be the first opportunity you had had to explore any of the planets he had taken you to thus far. Of course, your time with Peli had certainly been a change of pace from daily life aboard the Razor Crest, but that had been months ago now, and you hadn’t been permitted to leave the hangar at the time. And since then, he had all but insisted that you stay on the ship when he left to hunt. For your safety, and for the child’s, but regardless of how well-intentioned the reason, it wasn’t lost on him how little of the galaxy you had been allowed to see in your life.

Din resolved himself then that although today you would only be visiting a market, only purchasing some necessities, and although he was technically in Trevi City on a hunt, he would not allow you to return to the Crest until you had had your fill of the experience. He was on your timetable today. He would ensure you made the most of it.  

It had been some time since the bounty hunter had made his way to Trevi City, but he found it mostly unchanged as he led you and Grogu out of the spaceport’s docking yards and into the city proper. Trevi IV was a desert world, featuring miles of dusty plains and dramatic plateaus, but Trevi City was an oasis. Nestled against the craggy shores of the largest body of water on the planet, cooling, salty breezes wound their way through flagstone streets and buffeted against sundried brick buildings. Shops, stalls, carts, and tents of all shapes and sizes stretched in every direction, around every corner, and the crush of people was truly remarkable. Merchants – both local and traveling, customers of every age and walk of life, street performers in bright costumes, children and small animals darting in and out of the throng. At first glance, it seemed incomprehensible – the epitome of chaos.

And although Din had never been particularly fond of crowds, he couldn’t help but feel a small surge of satisfaction at the look of pure joy that spread across your face as you took in the bazaar.

First on your list, he knew, was clothing, so with a gentle nudge to your lower back, the Mandalorian steered you in the direction of the textile district – a few blocks down and to the left. The stalls there were draped in sumptuous fabrics, decorated with gold tassels, and staffed by women with sun-worn skin and friendly, welcoming smiles. You looked back at him then, uncertain, but Din gave you a wordless nod and scooped Grogu up and out of his carrier without preamble.

“Go on. I’ll keep an eye on the child. Just explain to one of them what you need, and they will help you,” he said, inclining his helmet toward the line of vendors. He wanted you to feel free to browse, to mingle unencumbered.

After a few halting introductions and some hesitant questions on your part, you did just that. From several yards away, the bounty hunter listened to you describe your needs to one of the women. He watched you tug self-consciously on the collar of your well-worn boilersuit, the olive green fabric now heavily stained with blood and engine oil and Maker knew what else, and he watched as the merchant woman nodded along, kindness in her eyes. Before long, she was looping your arm through hers and leading you deeper into the line of covered stalls, pulling items from racks and tables as she went.

Din kept his distance as you shopped, tracking the top of your head as you wound through the merchandise but never following. Only when you ducked behind a heavily embroidered curtain with an armload of items to try on did he look away, instead finding his attention captured by a display of colorful scarves and handkerchiefs fluttering in the ocean breeze. Before he could consider it further, he found himself in front of the display, running his gloved fingers over assortments of linen, cotton, and silk.

Mere moments later, he left the booth, a cotton scarf decorated with a delicate floral pattern in his pocket and a few credits less in his purse.

By the time you were ready to move on to the next items on your list, your borrowed, threadbare satchel was nearly full to bursting. Your face glowed with pride as you showed him your selections – a brand-new boilersuit (this one in a fetching deep blue), a pair of brown cargo pants and a matching jacket, a stack of undershirts, and two sets of soft, black sleep clothes. Din also tried desperately not to notice the new sets of undergarments hidden at the bottom of your bag as he dutifully handed the total payment over to the vendor.  

He, of course, was unsuccessful. The images of those scraps of fabric, revealed accidentally as you dug through your sack, were now burned onto the backs of his eyelids, ever-present whenever he closed his eyes.

“Hygiene next?” you asked eagerly, rocking back and forth on your feet like a small child. Grogu giggled from his perch in the bounty hunter’s arms, and the latter nodded, clearing his throat.

“Hygiene is this way,” he replied with a gesture to the east.

His voice sounded suspiciously strained even to his own ears.

Your time perusing the toiletry stalls was much briefer than your time with the textiles, but it left Din perhaps even more disquieted. Your first purchase was a pair of full-sized terry cloth towels, which in turn called to mind the image of the miniscule one you had clutched over your breasts in the doorway of the ‘fresher and caused his brain to short-circuit. You also picked up a wide-toothed, wooden comb for your hair, saying casually, “I don’t know if you have hair under that helmet, Mando, but if you do, you’re welcome to borrow it if you need to! You must get awful tangles,” which left him utterly speechless.

However, perhaps the most taxing of all was the booth boasting hand-made soaps and haircare products. The Mandalorian watched, his throat dry, as your capable, calloused fingers floated gently over the many colorful bars and bottles, occasionally picking one up and lifting it to your nose to give a delicate sniff. Without fail, you would always then extend the item to him, placing it directly below the edge of his helmet.

“What do you think of this one?” you asked. “Or how about this? Too fruity? That one’s too much for me, I think. Oh, this one smells like nightblossoms!”

And on and on.

It wasn’t really that he minded being asked for his opinion. On the contrary, he found your enthusiastic chatter pleasant, and something inside him warmed at the idea that you might actually care about his preferences when it came to your body products. However, there was a singular thought that refused to leave him alone every time you asked for his input, one he dared not voice.

On perhaps the tenth bottle of shampoo that provoked a noncommittal response, you sighed heavily.

“Come on, Mando, give me something here,” you whined, clearly exasperated. “You’re the one who has to be cooped up with me on the Crest every day, the one who has to share a ‘fresher with me. I’d think you might care about whether the shampoo I buy gives you a headache or not.”

Din cocked his head, considering. He thought of the dark, blown-pupil looks you sent his way when you thought he wasn’t paying attention, the burning flush that extended down your chest coming out of the ‘fresher, the way you leaned into his touch the few times he had dared run the back of his fingers across your cheek.

Perhaps…perhaps you might welcome him being a bit more candid with you than he had been previously.

“Well?” you pressed. Irritation crept into the edge of your voice then, and the Mandalorian found himself nodding.

“Very well,” he murmured, soft and gruff through his vocoder. “Follow me.”

Without another word, he led you to another stall, this one carrying similar products as the previous but with an aesthetic that clearly intended to be marketed toward men. The stall was draped in tactical netting with wares hanging from the ropes, and the tables were dressed with simple black cloths. The various bars and bottles were fashioned in more neutral colors, earthy and cool, and the merchant manning the till was dressed in an austere black suit. He nodded in your direction once but said nothing.

It did not matter. Din knew precisely what he was looking for.

Barely a moment later, before you could give voice to the questions that were clearly in your eyes, the bounty hunter plucked a single bar of soap and single bottle of hair wash off the table and extended them both to you.

You glanced from the proffered toiletries to Din’s face and then back again, your eyebrows raised quizzically. “These? You think I should buy these?” you asked dubiously.

He inclined his helmet in the affirmative. “Yes.”

Your eyes narrowed. “What are they?”

He simply continued to stare at you, silent, willing you to reach out and take them. Eventually, you did. Your fingers brushed his as you took the bar and the bottle into your hands, and if Din did not know better, he would have been certain that he could feel the warmth of your skin through his gloves.

Skepticism still apparent in your expression, you raised the bar of soap to your nose and sniffed lightly. Instantly, your eyes widened, and Din watched with liquid heat in his gut as your pupils expanded.

“This – ” you started, then paused and cleared your throat loudly. “This is your soap.” Your cheeks darkened, your lower lip disappearing between your teeth.

“Yes,” the Mandalorian confirmed.

“You – you think I should buy the same thing? The same as you?” You were stammering, seemingly struggling to maintain eye contact.

“It suits you,” he said. And it wasn’t a lie. As much as he enjoyed the scent on himself, it somehow was only enhanced on your skin, your hair. It was comforting, warm and inviting.

It spoke to a primeval part of his psyche, something that purred at the thought of you being marked as belonging to him. Only him.  

“Well, it’s all I’ve had ‘til now. You don’t think it makes me smell like a man?” you asked with a forced chuckle, a clear attempt to inject some levity into what had suddenly become a very weighted conversation.

At that, Din could not stop himself from taking a step closer, invading your space, forcing you to tilt your head back on your neck to keep looking in his eyes. His breath came short in his chest at the proximity, and his voice crackled through his helmet modulator as he replied, “Trust me. There is nothing about you that could be mistaken for a man.”

An almost bashful expression came over you then, and you dropped your gaze. “That a good thing?” you murmured.

The bounty hunter could only manage a nod in response.

You left the booth with three new bars of soap and three bottles of hair wash in his favorite scent, the haul quickly added to your satchel with a secret smile and a heavy blush.

At that point, Grogu began to fuss in Din’s arms, whining softly and smacking his lips in the way that you both had learned meant that he was getting hungry, so the three of you ended the afternoon hopping from vendor to vendor sampling a variety of Trevi street foods. Well, perhaps more accurately, the Mandalorian watched as you and Grogu enjoyed the local fare – he packaged up his own to take back to the Razor Crest.

First, you selected an almost comically large wrap from a stall run by a male Bith – a pillow-soft flatbread wrapped around some variety of savory meat, a relish of pickled vegetables, and a bright orange sauce with a heavily spiced aroma. The sauce left broad, messy streaks across your nose and cheeks as you ate, but you paid it no mind. Instead, you simply laughed and plucked a few choice bits of meat out of the flatbread and passed them over your shoulder to Grogu, who was once again strapped to your back in his carrier. The boy babbled and munched happily, and Din took it upon himself to go back to the stall and request a handful of napkins.

Next, you followed the unctuous scent of fry oil to a tiny cart staffed by a Truishii woman. This one was peddling small paper bags filled to the brim with an assortment of deep-fried vegetables, coated in a thin golden batter and soaking the bag with grease. You groaned under your breath at the first bite, and Din immediately purchased a second bag.

Finally, after a bit of leisurely meandering and browsing, you stumbled across an open-air cantina just as the sun was beginning to set. A hired band played a lively tune from one corner of the cantina’s patio, and barmaids wove gracefully between rickety tables carrying trays laden with tankards. The Mandalorian looked on as you watched the band, a soft smile playing at the corners of your lips, your body swaying unconsciously to the beat.

Before he could think better of it, he placed a gentle hand at the base of your spine to get your attention. “Would you like to sit down? Have a drink?” he asked, bringing his helmet down close so you could hear him better over the music.

You startled slightly under his touch, but Din could not ignore the way you seemed to lean into it, or the deep breath you took at the sound of his vocoder in your ear. You nodded silently in response, and the Mandalorian took that as his cue to lead you a table, flagging down a barmaid on the way.

He ordered you a tankard and Grogu a cup of bone broth as you settled into your seat, and the wide-eyed look of overwhelm as you took in the tankard’s contents made Din laugh out loud.

“What is it?” you asked, your voice tinged with awe.

He smirked. “I’m not sure what it’s called. It’s a local brew, made with honey.”

You swallowed heavily, giving the cup one more once-over before taking it in both hands. “Well. Bottoms up!” You inclined the tankard in his direction then brought it to your lips, drinking deeply.

In mere minutes, it was empty, and you were ordering a second, eyes glossy and cheeks flushed.

It was well past sundown by the time Din helped you stand from your seat at the cantina and led you back through the winding flagstone streets to the spaceport. Grogu had long since fallen asleep in his carrier, his little head resting on the back of your shoulder as he snored gently, and you had polished off nearly three full tankards of that honeyed beverage, leaving you giggly and wobbling on your feet. You were singing softly to yourself, humming one of the songs the band had been playing and grinning from ear to ear, and the effect was so charming, it was all the Mandalorian could do to keep himself from joining in.

When you arrived back at the Razor Crest, however, you seemed to have finally burned out all of your energy. You stumbled and lurched up the gangplank the moment it touched the ground, pausing only briefly once inside the ship to drop the bag full of your purchases unceremoniously onto the deck floor. Din called out your name like a question, but rather than answering, you simply removed Grogu’s carrier from your back, still holding the sleeping child, and passed it into the Mandalorian’s waiting arms.

“I have to lay down,” you said softly, almost to yourself.

Din nodded and gently steered you in the direction of the bunk. “This way,” he replied, just as softly.

At the entrance to the bunk alcove, you toed off your boots and then, to Din’s great surprise, stripped off your boilersuit, leaving you clad in nothing but a black breast band, a worn pair of gray undershorts, and a pair of crew-length socks. Everything else was left haphazardly piled on the deck, sure to be a tripping hazard when you woke, but you clearly couldn’t be bothered. Muttering to yourself, eyes half closed, you clambered into the bunk.

“Are you going to be all right?” he asked after a moment.

“‘M fine,” you murmured, your voice thick and muffled by the pillow. “Never drank that much before. Not allowed in the barracks. Couldn’t afford it when I ran away.”

Din nodded even though he knew you couldn’t really see it. “I understand. Alcohol was discouraged during my training in the Fighting Corps. It…takes some getting used to.”

You hummed in response, snuggling deeper into the bunk’s barren mattress. Something inside him warmed, and he smiled softly at the sight.

The bounty hunter took a moment then to carefully extract the sleeping Grogu from his carrier, settling him in the little hammock he had fashioned for the boy that stretched across the bunk alcove. It was only when he was preparing to walk away and settle himself in the cockpit for the night that he heard you speak again.

“Mando?” you called softly.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For today,” you whispered. You were nearly asleep, your words slurred and slow. “It was wonderful. You’re wonderful. Best day of my life.”

[idrellegames]

Wayfarer Dev Log 2022.11.04.

Hi friends,

I hope you all had a great October! November’s going to be a very hectic month. Wayfarer is still very far behind schedule (catching up is not going to happen at this point), but I am working my way towards an Episode 3 update. While I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo this year, I am aiming to write 50k this month (or more) to get the next section of the game finished. Good luck to everyone who’s participating!

✦ THE PUBLIC BUILD [VERSION 1.1.2. PATCH 2.5]

Patch 2.5. was released on October 12. This was a minor patch to fix some very small issues. You can read the patch notes here.

The next public update is TBD. As I want to finish both Episodes 3 and Episodes 4 on the alpha build before updating the public one, the next public update won’t happen until we’re well into 2023.

✦ THE ALPHA BUILD [VERSION 1.1.2. PATCH 2.5]

Episode 3 Scene 1 is still in development. The current material is around 158k words.

This new content has not been coded and added to the alpha build yet.

✦ BLOG UPDATES

The Wayfarer 2023 Pin-Up calendar is well on its way! The event organizers and I are in the process of vetting different charities. We’ve narrowed down our selection and we’re hoping to make an announcement about which one the calendar will donate to later this month.

✦ PATREON UPDATES

Location Sketches released on Oct 14. This bonus content is a behind-the-scenes look at my planning process when I’m working with big environment set pieces, like Rona’s town square or the Count’s villa.   

Hearth & Home, Part 2, released on October 21. This side story is the conclusion to a two-parter. Set at the Spire a year or so before the player character’s arrival, it features Cenric and Varyn. [Wayfarer tier and up]

Bi-weekly progress reports about Episode 3’s development. [all tiers]

Weekly Sneak peeks of new Episode 3 material. [all tiers]

Because I am focusing on finishing content and getting an update out, there will be no new side stories published in November.

Additionally, Wayfarer patrons now have a new, shiny Discord server! This server is separate from the public one and exclusive to my Patreon. The old patron-only channels in the public server are closed. If you are a patron and cannot find or access the new server, please message me on Patreon.

If you’ve enjoyed Wayfarer, used my tutorials, or would like to support my work, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Patrons receive access to the alpha build, a private Discord server, exclusive previews, bonus content, side stories, and other benefits.

Wayfarer is a passion project and creating it is a full-time commitment. Any little bit goes a long way to help me bring it to fruition.

If you aren’t in a position to support financially, reblogs, shares, ratings and comments, and spreading the word about the game are much appreciated and do a lot to help me out! 💕

[idolatrybarbie]

14, 16, 19, 25 it's yoour stupid ass friend sending this so be nice hi :}

you won't respond to my texts to confirm identity but i'm going to assume this is you izabelle

anyway—

14. fic(s) you re-read a lot: okie for starts, Go Ahead, I Dare Ya by @chronically-ghosted. i ... have re-read this two-parter fic like, a criminal amount of times. also wet work by @loversandantiheroes! ugh just amazing amazing fics.

16. author you give the most unhinged comments to and why: definitely @wannab-urs because we are fwends <3 and so i know that saying weird shit in gin's reblogs won't weird them out. but also i left a very uhhh T__T interesting comment on @covetyou's clown!dieter fic send in the clown. so really it's a toss up.

19. fic(s) you bookmarked (maybe forgot about) and then were really happy you saved: i save my tbr in my drafts and they tend to pile up on each other. anyway! i read you need to relax, sweetheart by @walkintotheriveranddisappear and loved it and swiftly forgot about it within The Pile. it is now in queue for my fic rec tag <3 one of my all time faves.

25. a fun writer quirk you've noticed (specific word(s) they repeat, detailed setting description, a lot of adjectives, trope they write really well, etc.): i love gin @wannab-urs fics of bloody freaky sex (i bite back, red right hand, and the starving season series) and good-evil guys.

hyping other writers asks!

[hypnostheory]

WIP Weekend Tag Game

I got tagged by @kiwiana-writes , @gayflyboy, and @happiness-of-the-pursuit .

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (If you're an artist or other non-fic fandom creator, questions can be found here!)

1. WIP List:

Okay so let’s put realistic WIP here (these are not in any particular order)

you don’t want to know me (needs a final chapter)

fell apart (in the usual way) - Bodyguard!Alex pt. 2

in a faith forgotten land (surprise)

secret moments in a crowded room (ThreesGiving)

sit there in this hurt (another surprise)

Whatever the piercer part 3 is going to be called

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

So you don’t want to know me is the only chapter fic of the bunch, so by default??? However, in a faith forgotten land is probably going to be a long one, and sit here in this hurt might end up being a two-parter.

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Same as the previous answer, it’s absolutely you don’t know me but I’m probably going to be most surprised by in a faith forgotten land or sit here in this hurt.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I’m really enjoying secret moments in a crowded room because it’s funny, but I also like the blocking of fell apart (in the usual way).

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Definitely you don’t know me, just because it’s the follow up to my most popular work and a lot of people have opinions on it.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

I stare at the outline of in a faith forgotten land every day. It’s very ambitious (read: overly complicated).

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

Everything I read goes through my partner. They check my dialogue and fact check, and they’re also good at fixing areas I’m stuck on.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

Name one that ain’t.

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

Don’t really do OCs, I try to traffic in cannon characters and only use an OC if I have to. Alex has a pretty fun secretary for in a faith forgotten land, but that’s about it.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

That’s like asking which clown drives the car, they’re all porn lol. I personally like all the shit happening in fell apart because Bodyguard!Alex is just inherently hot but secret moments is gonna have some spice.

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Either you don’t want to know me or sit there in this hurt.

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

Secret moments, but my partner says piercer part three.

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Probably secret moments, but I do like the scene setting for in a faith forgotten land.

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

Research wise, it’s you don’t want to know me or faith forgotten. Writing wise, probably fell apart because I’ve been picking at it for weeks.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

Well you don’t want to know me has to close out the series, so that’s pretty high. I think secret moments is going to be great, it’s really building on a character that doesn’t get a lot of love. And my partner will riot if piercer part three isn’t good lol.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

That would imply I sleep.

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

So like, writing chronic pain is very complex and the emotions involved are also very hard, which makes you don’t know me difficult. It’s also intensely autobiographical, so there’s a lot of layers. (Which is why updating it has taken so long, sorry lol)

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Absolutely secret moments, that’s half a comedy and half a smut fic.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

you don’t want to know me had one from June. There’s going to be a deep dive in secret moments on a side character. I think it’s interesting to go outside the main ship, especially for minor characters. I’m a background bitch stan.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Hmm I blab constantly but in secret moments I’m basing a characters personality on Elliot from Chambers, so there’s that.

I’m not going to be tagging as many people as I have WIPs because I have a lot, but I can for sure tag @futureseaempress and @affectionatelyrs 💖

[ncisfranchise-source]

It’s almost hard to believe, but the NCISverse reaches quite the milestone with the April 15 episode of the mothership, and to celebrate that, Entertainment Tonight put together NCISverse: The First 1,000.

The special both looks back at the very beginnings of NCIS—introduced as a two-parter on JAG—as well as the spinoffs that already exist, and ahead to the 1,000th episode itself and the two new shows still to come (the prequel Origins and the not-yet-titled Tony and Ziva series set in Europe). NCIS is currently in its 21st season and Hawai’i its third. Sydney is coming back for a second. Los Angeles aired 14 seasons, while New Orleans ended after seven.

Below, we’ve rounded up all the fun reveals from the special.

Cast’s Most Shocking Moments

Over the years and across the shows, there have been some unbelievable moments, from deaths to big relationship steps to major returns. And just like fans, the stars have the ones that surprised them the most.

Both Sean Murray (McGee) and Brian Dietzen (Dr. Palmer) name Kate’s (Sasha Alexander) death at the end of Season 2. “No one saw it coming—except if you go back and you look at the actual footage, you see Michael Weatherly [flinch] before she gets shot because he knows a burst of blood is about to hit his face,” Dietzen adds.

CBS

Rocky Carroll (Vance) says his character’s wife being killed off, while Noah Mills (Jesse) points to Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) getting her arm broken in the Hawai’i Season 2 finale.

For Diona Reasonover (Kasie), hers is probably the same as many fans’: Ziva’s (Cote de Pablo) return in the Season 16 finale after she’d been presumed dead. “They didn’t tell me. I found out with America, and boy was I surprised,” Reasonover recalls. “I literally pulled the script up on my phone and was like, ‘That’s not supposed to happen.’”

Mark Harmon Made It All Possible

ET‘s Kevin Frazier, who hosts the special notes, “None of it would have been possible without the distinguished service of this man, who seemed to know right from the start just where the series was going.”

Gary Cole, whose Parker has taken as team leader following Harmon’s Gibbs retiring to Alaska, says, “He’s the reason the show got on the air, pure and simple. Solid movie career going. He was a go-to series lead actor.”

Weatherly (Tony) recalls the first thing Harmon said to him: “‘You eat lunch with the crew.’ And it wasn’t a question.”

In a 2003 interview, shown during the special, Harmon said, “This show will work as a team or go down as a team, and that’s how I’ve always looked at it.” (We’ve seen how true that is over the years with the various cast changes.)

NCIS‘ Early Days, Starting With JAG

Weatherly notes that he did over 300 episodes of the mothership (he’ll be returning in the upcoming Paramount+ spinoff about Tony and Ziva) and what stuck with him from his first day on set. “In the middle of my first paragraph, [creator] Don Bellisario walked onto the set and said, ‘What are you doing, modeling? Don’t just stand there. Surprise me! Entertain me!’ and I just changed my simple thing, which was I didn’t care who found me entertaining. I just entertained myself, and I’ve been doing that ever since.”

Two JAG Season 8 episodes introduced the characters of Gibbs, Tony, Ducky (the late David McCallum), and Abby (Pauley Perrette), who would go on to be part of NCIS. They were joined by Robyn Lively as Vivian Blackadder, who didn’t make it to NCIS—and is the role that Jennifer Aniston had been considered for. (Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Bacon, Andrew McCarthy, and Patrick Swayze‘s names were all brought up to possibly play Gibbs.)

Harmon reveals that his character almost had a different name. “I read Leroy Jethro Gibbs and I said, ‘Wow, I like that name.’ Then for a brief second when I’d decided I really liked the idea and the project, the name changed. All of a sudden it was Bob Johnson or something like that,” he shares. “I just went, ‘What? No, it’s gotta be Leroy Jethro Gibbs,’ and the creator said, ‘No, you can’t play a guy named Leroy Jethro Gibbs.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ Then it went back, so I was happy about that.”

Originally, NCIS was pitched as Law & Order in the navy, half case and half courtroom, according to Frazier. But the investigation part tested best with audiences, who were also impressed with Harmon.

“Because it was two episodes of JAG, it wasn’t really a proper pilot,” says Weatherly. “And even when we started airing, they called it Navy NCIS, which is Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service. You can’t make that up.”

Remembering David McCallum

NCIS Season 21 paid tribute to McCallum and his character with its second episode, which saw a surprise return from Weatherly, reprising his role as Tony. “That was a very emotional day, seeing everybody,” Weatherly says. “Not a dry eye on that set.”

According to Carroll, “David McCallum was 70 years old when the series started, 21 years ago. And the story goes he told his wife, ‘I’m 70 years old. What if this show goes seven years? That’s a long time.’ And he ended up being with the show for 20 seasons.”

What’s to Come in Episode 1,000, Prequel Origins & Tiva Spinoff

First of all, the good thing about the ever-growing franchise is that characters from shows that ended could easily come back; LA‘s LL COOL J is currently recurring in Hawai’i Season 3. Eric Christian Olsen (Deeks on LA) does point out in the special, “I’ve always said that Marty Deeks ain’t dead. I think there’s plenty of room for these characters to come back.” And Harmon acknowledges that he’s asked “a lot” about returning.

Harmon is returning to the franchise, in a way—as narrator and executive producer on the prequel Origins, following Gibbs beginning in 1991 as he starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.

“I think seeing Gibbs coming up as a young guy is going to be fantastic,” says Murray. Weatherly suggests, “maybe Mark Harmon can play Gibbs’ father.”

As for the Tony and Ziva spinoff coming to Paramount+, they’ve been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them, and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.

“Cote de Pablo and I are also getting ready. Moving to Budapest for the summer of 2024, and it is Tony and Ziva now trying to raise their tween daughter and save the world. What could go wrong?” Weatherly asks. “We’re incredibly happy to be making something for the streaming platform because it gives you a little bit more latitude and shooting overseas.”

But first, there’s the 1,000th episode of the franchise, NCIS‘ “A Thousand Yards,” NCIS comes under attack by a mysterious enemy from the past. Also, Vance tries to mend fences with his estranged son by explaining why, despite the ongoing dangers of his job, he still chooses to stay at NCIS.

“All of NCIS is suddenly put under attack, so now you get to see NCIS: Hawai’i, NCIS: LA, NCIS: Sydney coming in to help,” teases Katrina Law (Knight). We already know Lachey and LA‘s Daniela Ruah (Kensi) are guest starring.

[hobbit-in-kuroshitsuji]

Kuroshitcember 2022 Prompt Nr. 25 - Christmas Special 3/3

prompt: Sebastian bears an awful resemblance to someone held near. Pick a character and let them realise this!

You can find all prompts here!

All of these will be uploaded/archived to this blog's Ao3 eventually

📌Because I ended up not being able to participate in quite a lot of prompts lately, I decided to put together a 3 part little story for 23rd, 24th, and 25th of December, each chapter inspired by that day's prompt. I tried incorporating as many characters as I could <3 I hope you enjoy!! I hope I can keep up writing after Christmas though <3 these prompts have been amazing, and it's been so much fun participating <3

Summary: On Christmas Day, the Phantomhives host a special Christmas Dinner. This year, it's even more special than they anticipated... as memories of Vincent flood everyone's minds. CW: kuroshitsuji spoilers (if you don't know about o!ciel and r!ciel, do not read this 3 parter!!), mentions death, suicide, anatomy study, workhouses - please be careful if you are easily triggered by real events that happened in the past. oh, if you don't ship Vincent/Undertaker, please don't send hate <3 it's just a fleeting mention, but still <3

“What…” Sebastian and Ciel stood in the dining room, forty minutes before the annual Christmas Dinner was set to begin.

The decorations that the servants, along with Agni and Prince Soma, had put together were………..

Interesting.

It was all made of paper and glittering glue. Tanaka had tried to show everyone the best way to create Christmas crafts to decorate everything – but the servants weren’t the greatest at following orders.

Amidst well presented art made by Tanaka were some that were… either plain ugly, burned to a crisp, or confusing imitations of Christmas trees.

Sebastian hoped they were Christmas trees, at least…

Oh, and the Undertaker had shown up early to the party, inviting himself to aid in the Christmas crafts to add some “festive skulls” to the decorations – of course, because why not?

Prince Soma had also taken it upon himself to change the way the table had been carefully prepared by Mey-Rin, removing all chairs for everyone to sit on cushions on the floor, and removing the “confusing amounts of cutlery”. How Prince Soma had managed to find a low enough table that housed over 14 people, no one knew. Not even Agni.

“He looks positively pale. That means we succeeded in what dear Finnian called the ‘wow’ factor,” the Undertaker said with an air of sarcasm only Ciel and Sebastian seemed to pick up on. The glares they sent his way only made the Undertaker fall into a fit of laughter.

“My lord, I will immediately change–“

“Don’t.” Ciel interrupted his butler. He sighed. “Despite what I might think of the decorations… it does incorporate the culture and personalities of everyone at the estate including the varieties of guests we’re serving. Christmas doesn’t belong to aesthetics. It belongs to the people. Just leave it. Spend the time double checking the food is… up to standards though. I’m starving.” Ciel turned to leave, but paused to add a quick: “Focus on the desert, actually.”

Sebastian sighed. This Christmas was definitely not running the smooth, traditional way it usually did. Then again, what else did he really expect at the Phantomhive estate?

“I think he liked our decorations,” Finny whispered to the others with glee.

Shaking his head, Sebastian left them to their joy to double check Agni had saved the food.

…

“He acts awfully fatherly, doesn’t he?” Ronald pointed out. He and his red dressed reaper partner were on their way to give William the… (sort of) bad news.

The holidays were a time when reapers had to work overtime. For a full 24 hours, they had to deal with suicides (this was not on Ronald’s pay-roll, only certain reapers were allowed to handle these), murders, starvations, people freezing to death, and other freak accidents (a lot of people die from candles, surprisingly)… Normally, there was a night shift. But with the added family drama humans often brought to the holidays, the night shift also had to work 24 hours alongside the day shift.

“Who?” Grelle asked.

With three more hours to go, things were starting to calm down. When Ronald and Grelle walked through the office, people weren’t running around with papers and bloody scythes anymore. People were starting to clean up instead, or slumping down in their chairs with a hot beverage to calm down.

Ronald pitied the reapers that had to take first shift in the morning after all these hours – but this was the life of a reaper. They had to suck it up.

“That demon of his. Of Phantomhive’s.”

“If you ask me, it only shows what good potentials he would have as a husband,” Grelle said simply, smirking.

“You want children?”

“If they’re mine I wouldn’t quite hate them so much,” Grelle scolded. “If they were mine, they would have impeccable taste and not shout so much. Obviously.”

Shaking his head at Grelle’s words, Ronald refrained from commenting on it. Truth be told, Ronald could see her being quite a good mother. There was empathy and gentleness hidden away behind a façade of craziness.

Though… that was not what either reaper should be focused on anyway, because they had just reached William T. Spears’ office door. Preparing themselves for the scolding of a life time, they opened the door to find their supervisor hunched over his table, paper everywhere from table to floor to even one stuck on the ceiling, and with his hair a complete mess. The long shift had taken a toll on him too, it seemed.

Which most likely only meant the scolding was going to be ten times worse.

“Ehm…” Grelle pushed Ronald ahead, forcing him to take point on the bad news. “Mister Spears, sir. We uh… We just came back from London-“

“Yes?” William snapped, lifting his gaze from piles of papers to try and locate a report in Ronald’s hands. Upon not seeing one, his eyes narrowed into anger which was dangerously murderous.

“Uh – Well, you see… Those uh, workhouse children you asked us to reap?”

“Yes?” Despite only speaking so few words, it was crystal clear what William still meant. Honestly, it was a gift that he could portray so much with just the inclination of tone… and glares…

Hurry it up, Knox, I have work to finish.

“Uh, we didn’t get their souls. The demon – Sebastian Michaelis – got in the way… We did, however, get some other souls that took their place if that’s-“

“What?” William straightened up behind his desk. “What do you mean he interfered? We- We would have known if he was going to! Those children were set for death, we were not told of any inclinations of possible fate twisting changes-”

Standing up, William began rummaging through the mess on his desk, lifting papers, throwing some to the floor even, to try and find what he was looking for.

It was madness, really. William T. Spears was never disorganised.

“William, darling,” Grelle piped up, stepping up beside Ronald with a less crazy look in her eyes than she usually had around Will. “Have you allowed yourself even a second’s break?”

“What does that have to do with the – There,” William found what he was looking for, apparently, and lifted one folder for him to read through. “Six souls, aged between 6 and 10…”

Then it got quiet.

“They’re not deceased?” William asked again for clarification.

“No, sir.”

“None of them?”

“None.”

William flopped back down into his chair, folder falling to the floor as he let out such an exhausted sigh that it looked like he had given up on life – again.

“It’s not in the report. Which means Sebastian acted upon a nature which was not predicted by fate, which indicates it even goes against demon nature… Those are four separate reports for me to fill in after work, not to mention the two reports I will have to write taking your statements, then write up a full conclusion of my own investigation as I go down there-“

“William,” Grelle interrupted. “That’s impossible for you to do all alone after this shift.” She walked up to him, noting he was still listing reports and documents he needed to take care of because of this one incident under his breath, not listening to her.

He was beyond exhausted. He was getting delirious.

“William…”

“No, you cannot help. There is a Christmas dinner being served for all who have participated in this long shift.” The words ‘you both should go, I’ll handle this’ were not said, but it was heavily implied.

“William, darling, you do so much for us all…” Grelle tried with a frown, earning nothing more but a shake of his head. Approaching him, she sat down on the arm rest of his office chair, wrapping herself around him, arm around his shoulders. William didn’t budge, not even leaning away from her to try and recover some personal space.

It was both an act of affection from Grelle, and her making good use of this version of William so she could have some intimacy… But it was mainly a testament to William’s exhaustion. If William had been feeling alright, he would have pushed further, moved away from Grelle’s attempts to let her help him.

“How about, we give you a break not for you, but for someone else?” That sentence was entirely confusing, even for Ronald. Both male reapers glanced at Grelle in confusion. Gently, she brushed some stray strands of hair away from William’s face, an act normally not needed should the supervisor be feeling like himself. “If you can’t take a break for yourself, then take a break for someone else…” That didn’t clarify it either. “Besides, you have to go there anyway to investigate the premises and search for that demon.”

…

Apologising profusely, Mey-Rin wobbled up the ladder. Her glasses were fogging up from the sheer anxiety… But she soon calmed down when Agni remained gently smiling at her, doing nothing more but climb the second ladder to assist her.

The entrance hall to the Phantomhive Manor was huge. Literally. It was a testament to the wealth of the Phantomhives, and a testament to the dramatic flair of a certain demon who had “helped” rebuild it.

Of course, the servants and everyone else didn’t know about the latter part.

Its grandness meant that the walls were extremely tall, perfect for fitting large portraits of long lost family relatives onto it; watching over the going-ons in what used to be their domain.

One such portrait was that of Earl Vincent Phantomhive, the previous head of the family before Ciel.

“Sorry to disturb you, sir,” Mey-Rin whispered to the portrait. “Twas all my fault, I’m too clumsy.”

In harmony, Agni and Mey-Rin lifted the long line of tinsel up and stuffed it back behind the top corners of the portrait. Around the entire hall, Christmas decorations were put up high up to create a flair of glistening beauty as a welcome to the guests. Mey-Rin had… somehow… tripped and let one plate fly up into the air, only for it to bring the decorations down with it.

Agni had been present, catching Mey-Rin before she fell face first onto the floor, before then proceeding to help her fix the decorations.

“There we are,” Agni calmly said, “all fixed again, and no one will ever know anything even occurred here.”

Yet, despite being done, both stayed up on the ladders, staring at the portrait. It was immaculately done, with details only the finest of artist, or closest of friend, would have known existed on Vincent’s face.

“He looked like a kind gentleman,” Agni eventually said. His voice echoed against the walls, but no one paid it any attention. All guests were currently in the dining hall, enjoying the peculiar decorations, the fine food and each other’s company. Even Ciel had been seen cracking a smile from time to time when Elizabeth said something – that in and of itself was a Christmas Miracle, truly.

“I wish I could have known him… I bet it woulda gladdened the Earl plenty if someone could tell stories about his dad,” Mey-Rin pondered.

“Tanaka could, no?”

“Tanaka does, but… There’s something between the two of them. I can’t tell what, but sometimes it feels like Tanaka doesn’t want to remind Ciel of the past, even the good stuff.”

“It can be painful sometimes… To know the good will never come back.” Agni sighed. “I see it in my prince’s eyes sometimes. He does not want to go back home, but he does miss it… I know he does.”

“But there’s new good things here,” Mey-Rin said.

“Yes.” Agni smiled at that, offering an appreciative smile toward the maid. “And that is the case for your master too.” Slowly, the two started heading down the ladder again. “I heard he spent the afternoon helping the poor.”

“Yes he did indeed, sir. My master is the kindest. He took us all in too, even if we were… not exactly the best of servants.” Done on the marble floor once more, the two continued to stare up at the portrait. “I wish he could have something other than a portrait of the good times, I do.”

“He has a great Khansama. Actually…” Both servants suddenly cocked their heads to the side, realisation hitting them both. “His Khansama looks a little like…”

“Yes,” a third voice said, “so you’ve noticed it too?”

…

“That was mighty kind of you, sir,” Ronald praised, stuffing his mouth full with leftover stuffing.

“You are meant to eat that with the turkey – Oh why do I bother? You’re going to do whatever you want anyway,” William sighed, rolling his eyes.

He, Grelle and Ronald were perched atop the church roof once more. Down below them, Christmas carols were being sung by a choir, their voices a beautiful background to a Christmas morning sunset. Across the road, the workhouse stirred with laughter, cheers and prays of gratitude. Not only had the children been offered toys that day, but the children had also been given a mysterious feast of Christmas food – prepared, unknowingly to them, by the reapers who had wrongfully predicted their deaths.

Sitting atop foldable beach chairs, the reapers took in the sight of their charity as kids rushed around sharing the food amongst each other; food they otherwise would have never gotten, not even a goose to share between them.

“It wasn’t my idea, Knox,” William corrected. “Though I suppose no one will ever believe it if we said Sutcliff offered up a luxury of hers.”

“Hey,” Grelle commented with offense, “I can be nice sometimes. Besides, you really needed a break from working with the dead.”

“That’s… awfully insightful of you,” William said in surprise. In his hands, he held a plate of food he was enjoying at the end of their shift. His held more turkey than the others. He’d been forced to have more turkey on his as he had made a simple comment that he enjoyed turkey – apparently, hearing William say he ‘enjoyed’ something was seen as a Christmas Miracle, which then urged Ronald and Grelle to fill his plate with turkey.

“I take offense to the fact you sound so surprised.”

“And I am surprised Miss Sutcliff isn’t throwing a tantrum over all these offenses thrown her way,” Ronald teased. “’Tis a Christmas Miracle!”

Ronald’s last words were said in unison with one of the kids rushing outside to throw themselves into the snow, creating a little snow angel out of glee to have new toys and food all within the span of 12 hours.

All three reapers – yes, even William – chuckled at that.

Sometimes, working with the dead meant little appreciation was offered to the living. All they saw was the suffering toward the end, moving past the good they saw in the cinematic records like it was nothing, but always taking note of the bad. The good… was easy to forget, and easy to set aside when in reality that should be what people focused on the most. Successfully eating three meals a day, successfully brushing one’s teeth, seeing a puppy on the street, having access to one’s favourite books, being able to go for a walk, laughing with friends – or, in this case, sharing Christmas dinner on the roof of a church whilst enjoying the merriment of happy children being fed by luxuries no one on Earth had (William was going to get in trouble for this, but for now… he didn’t worry about it).

As shifts ended, other reapers joined them too. It wouldn’t become a tradition, but it was a pleasant way of spending Christmas morning together as a found family in the afterlife.

…

“Yes,” a third voice said, “so you’ve noticed it too?”

The Undertaker had been taking a break from the merriment of nobles. He didn’t mind it so much, really, he was used to accompanying the Phantomhives at holidays. It was just… a lot, and a lot of colour and a lot of jokes that only made half sense to him as a being who knew the intricacies of the universe.

It got tiring to dumb it down sometimes.

Besides… lately… these holidays had been a tad more difficult for him. It used to be that Vincent sat at the head of that table, Rachel by his side and twins running around the table until they were told off by Madam Red. It used to be that the Undertaker sat on one end of the table, next to Vincent, whilst Rachel sat opposite him on the other side of Vincent.

It used to be that Vincent would hold both their hands under the table, offering glittering, appreciative glances to both as they secretly celebrated a shared holiday as a family bigger than the onlookers thought it was.

It used to be…

But it wasn’t no more.

Now, a child pretending to be another child sat at the head of the table, with the Undertaker far away… watching as a demon who had stolen the looks of his beloved tended to the butler duties and whispered in the young lord’s ear. It was suffocating to know more than even demon and master…

But it was also pleasant to be reminded of the old days, in a sad sort of way. And it was pleasant to be reminded of what he was attempting to change… what he was trying to accomplish…

So when he had walked back to the bathroom and heard the maid and prince’s butler talk about Vincent, the Undertaker had stayed in the shadows to listen in. He couldn’t quite help it.

Nor could he help but butt in once they realised a truth he so desperately wanted others to realise too.

Why did the demon choose a father’s face if demons could not care for humans?

“Yes, so you’ve noticed it too?” Mey-Rin and Agni spun around so quickly that the Undertaker simply had to cover his lips with oversized sleeves as he let out a giggle. “The face of a dead father returns in the shape of a black butler, mimicking the human like a raven found at cemeteries, picking at the dead… waiting to pounce…”

“I… sir?” Agni voiced as Mey-Rin was too scared to ask anything at all.

This particular guest was always an enigma to all. He helped the young lord, yet he also… was curious. Scary, sometimes. As if he was an antagonist waiting to show his true colours.

“teeeheee – look at your faces,” the Undertaker giggled. “Did I fool you? Vincent was a great friend of mine. If you want to know anything ever all you have to do is call on me. I aid not just the dead.” The Undertaker was beginning to walk away, when Agni stopped him with his words.

“Sir? Do you think Earl Ciel chose Sebastian as his Khansama because he felt… that the familiar face was comforting?”

The Undertaker dramatically turned around in a slow gesture, tilted his head to the side and offered a tooth revealing grin as he said: “Oh no, I think it was the exact opposite. Those with dark hearts are not meant to become attached, but I think something in the past of our beloved hell of a butler changed the man to want the child to choose him as his most trusted protector. Like a father. I think the man chose the son.” The Undertaker grinned at their confusion. “But then again, I’m just a crazy fool speaking far too many truths. I should return to the feast.”

Indeed… the Undertaker had a feeling that the face was chosen purposefully, so Ciel would feel calm around that which was a demon of hell, meant to scare kids. Whatever past the demon held had meant that the demon understood how a child’s mind works… It knew Ciel needed a father figure to help feel comfortable as he exacted revenge. To keep motivated.

And to feel safe.

…

“I don’t mean to speak ill of the master’s guests but… What a strange man,” Mey-Rin pointed out.

Agni quietly nodded his head, not wanting to speak ill of anyone either. “Let’s return to our work. The feast will be over soon.”

…

“Sebastian?”

The demon paused in the doorway. Room dark from the night. The only light source was the candle held by Sebastian, and the moon shining brightly outside. The child barely saw Sebastian. But the demon saw him as he turned to look.

It had been a long day, and Ciel was exhausted, his breathing even a little ragged from poor health making him even more easily tired.

“Yes, my lord?”

“If Timothy wanted you to be his father, how could you… take his soul?”

The question struck deep within the demon, eyes turning red. Enough about Timmy, already. His master really needed to learn to let go of the past – then again, if Sebastian started teaching Ciel that, his work to get Ciel’s vengeful soul to perfection would fail.

“In truth, my lord, I found ways to extend the contract. I am not proud of it, but I did. It was… a confusing couple of years.” Staying in the doorway, Sebastian only felt comfortable admitting this because of the distance between them, and the fact that Ciel’s question had come out slurred, indicating the boy was half asleep and might not remember this. “And it was not easy to take the child’s soul. Nor will it be this time.”

There was no reply. Sebastian assumed Ciel had gone to sleep and left the bedroom, locking the door behind him.

Left alone in the darkness, Ciel, quietly, pondered those words. The face of his father had spoken those words… It felt… Strange. Oddly comforting.

When Christmas Day ended, Ciel fell asleep with a peaceful smile on his lips…

__

taglist: @eemoo1o-animoo

[welovethecloudboytoomuch]

If MHA Vigilantes had an anime

During my latest reread of vigilantes, I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to group the chapters into episodes as if they were an anime and produced this list.

This covers all of the vigilantes chapters and attempts to group them into cohesive episodes that 1)cover about 15+ minutes of content and 2)makes sense with the overall flow/ grouping of chapters.

I took a lot of care to try to make this make sense but please tell me your thoughts about it! Let’s get into it!

(I can’t believe I nearly wrote 3000 words about this.)

Overall:

Season 1: 16 episodes

Arcs: Beginnings, Stendhal, Queen Bee

Season 2: 16 episodes

Arcs: Osaka/Villain Factory Investigation, Sky Egg, Aizawa Student Days

Season 3: 25 episodes

Arcs: BeePop, Underground Masquerade, Nightmare Night

Season 1

1: 1: The first episode of Vigilantes, we are introduced to Koichi, Pop, and Knuckleduster. They fight Soga, Rapt, and Moyuru in the alley before Knuckleduster says that he can make Koichi a true-blue hero. Koichi refuses.

2: 2: Knuckleduster breaks into Koichi’s house, then picks a fight with Eraserhead, while toy-man Mario plays with his toys. Koichi launches up and away, only to fall into trash.

3: 3-4: More slice of life-style. The X-Men are introduced, and the Crawler makes his debut! Pop and Knuckleduster take over Koichi’s house and they defeat the eel boy with some flour power.

4: 5-6: Introduction of Kuin Hachisuka. Covers her first attack where the pro heroes save the day and the other trigger attack where Knuckleduster is frustrated that he hasn’t had a good fight in a while.

5: 7-7.5,8: Introduction of the Turbo Hero Ingenium! He fights with the bat guy and offers Koichi a spot at his agency only for him to rescind the offer. Then the trio beats up on Enigma, and Pop remembers when Koichi saved her from the river.

(The above may be too much to fit in one episode but chapter 8 doesn’t flow well with the next “episode” and the chapter just comes out of the blue anyway. This also may benefit from having chapter 8 come before 7.5.)

6: 9-9.5: Introduction of Stendhal: The villain slayer! He saves Koichi from a hulked-out villain and then goes on to kill the Avengers, and is revealed to have a blood curdling quirk.

7: 10-11: The Stendhal fight. Soga gets in over his head and Koichi goes to save him. When that doesn’t work Knuckle swoops in to save the day. Ends with the emergence of the hero killer: Stain.

8: 12-13: Introduction of Makoto (in the 8th episode??!!! wow). She lectures Koichi about how the hero profession came to be and then goes to collect some research in the neighbourhood about it. Her laptop gets stolen, but is retuned by the Crawler (he’s a such cool guy 😉🤫).

9: 14-15: The introduction of Captain Celebrity! He swoops in to save the day and is kinda an asshole about it. While this is happening Koichi saves a dog. CC seems to be making moves on Makoto, but then she has his wife on speed dial.

10: 16-18: Koichi’s mom descends on the apartment and everyone in Koichi’s life gets together to pretend that they’re all normal. Makoto, Koichi, and Mom go out on a day trip, but are kidnapped by the Catbus. Ingenium and Koichi save the day while Koichi unlocks a new move.

(This episode would probably benefit from being a two-parter, but the content doesn’t flow well into the episode after, and there’s no good clear stopping point. So, it’s either pack all 3 chapters into 1 episode or stretch it over 2.)

11: SP1-SP2: This episode contains the two special chapters from volume 3. The first has the pro heroes meeting Tanuma to talk about the trigger attack, and the second has All Might and Tsukauchi’s first meeting. (This episode can kinda be placed anywhere in the first season.)

12: 19-20: Starts with Soga investigating Kuin. Knuckleduster visits his wife in the hospital, Pop begins to plan for Narufest, and ends with Knuckleduster setting his sights on Kuin.

13: 21-22: Prep for Narufest starts and we are introduced to the FeatherHats, queue montage. Teruo returns looking extra jacked. The event starts and Teruo knocks out the power. Ends with Knuckleduster’s “You’re coming home, Tamao. Mom’s waiting.”

14: 22-23: Start of the flight between KD and Kuin, she runs off and we cut back to Narufest where Pop takes the stage and calms down the guests. Cuts back to KD/Kuin fight and ends when she stops his heart.

15: 24-25: Knuckleduster is a proud papa that his little girl is such an effective villain. Their fight continues while we see the Narufest kids start to perform. We see knuckleduster buy the taserknuckles from Giran, and he kills the bees. Ends with a certain man in a jumpsuit singing idly to himself while he collects a bee as a sample.

16: 27-28: The final episode of the season, we’re back to normal weirdos in Naruhata. Knuckle leaves his things with Koichi and talks to Tamao in the hospital. Ends with Koichi’s narration, “At any rate, my battle hadn’t even really begun, back then. Not that anyone realized that…”

Season 2

1: 29-30: First episode of season 2, introduces us back to the gang and the settling and reintroduces CC and Aizawa to be bigger characters. Ends with Koichi being saved from the bat guy by CC.

2: 31-32: Start of Osaka arc. Intro to Fatgum and Kaniko. Koichi gets wall cling, and ends with the reveal that Kaniko is an undercover cop.

3: 33-34: Osaka cont: Introduction to Number 6 (as the scarred man), chaos ensues with the crab mechs and ends with Koichi and Pop back on the train.

4: 36-37: Investigation of the villain factory starts Starts with the Naruhata merch debate, Tsuakuchi talks to All Might, then Makoto, then to Aizawa and then to the Hottas. Also, he smells like roses.

5: 38-39: Koichi discovers shooty-go-blam! Number 6 boxes in his apartment before a poster of his mysterious master, and ends with Aizawa nearly getting KO’d by Octiod before Koichi jumps in to save him.

6: 40-41: End of the fight in the warehouse where Kamayan gets mad his teatime is disrupted. Octoid nearly gets jackhammered by Number 6, and 6 and Koichi just miss each other.

7: 42-43: The mixer with Koichi, Pop, Midnight, Rin, and she who will not be named. (The most hated episode of the entire series.)

8: 44-45: Knuckleduster finally shows back up after not being present the entire season and is revealed to have been O’clock (and the squeals of many fanboys ring out across the galaxy). This episode also includes Thomas the tank engine.

(I hate that I couldn’t make the KD is O’clock reveal a cliff-hanger, but If I did it would be attached to the mixer episode, so I think we all dodged a bullet there.)

9: 46-48: The Christmas episode where CC saves the girls and gets ready to head home to America. Setup for the Sky egg arc. Kaniko and Eraser play dress-up in this one.

10: 49-51: Sky egg celebration starts, Aizawa, Kaniko and Fatgum break into the villain factory, and CC begins to defend the sky egg. Ends with Koichi stepping out in front of CC.

11: 52-53: Sky egg battle, with Koichi defending CC and the flashback with CC’s wife (Luv u Pamela). Ends with Number 6 detonating the big bomber and the Sky egg starting to crash down.

12: 54-56: Tsukauchi begs All Might to save the day! And then he does. The clean-up begins, and Knuckleduster confronts Number 6 on the roof, ends when KD blows up the building.

13: 57-58: Continues the fight between Number 6 and Knuckleduster (and they blow up). Clean up continues at the sky egg and Pamela shows up to thank Koichi. Ends with CC, Pamela and Makoto going to America. Also includes Koichi narration of: “The danger would come at me all on its own.”

14: 59-60: Start of Aizawa school arc. Koichi and Aizawa apprehend a villain and it starts raining. Then we get into the flashback, Shirakumo strips naked, and the episode ends with young Midnight offering a job at her boss’s agency.

15: 61-62: Loud Cloud and Eraserhead intern at His Purple Highness’s agency and then fight Sensoji for the right to their googles. Ends with “We need back up immediately!”, “We need back up now!”

16: 63-65: Aizawa’s fight with Garvey, Shirakumo’s death, and the wrap-up including graduation and the talk with the Hottas. Ends with Aizawa leaving to become a teacher. End of season.

Season 3:

1: 66-68: First episode after the ~2 year time skip in Vigilantes and picks up with Koichi threatening to retire. Nomura is introduced. Makoto comes back and asks for Koichi’s hand. Ends with Pop’s “I’d better not loose!”

2: 69-71: Pop works on her solo career with Nomura. Ends with Nomura’s turn and Pop in the bee basement.

3: 72-74: The kids start looking for Pop and then Bee⭐️Pop makes her debut! Koichi gets dumped and thrown into trash, ends with Soga giving Koichi the letter: “‘I’ll make you a true blue hero,’ but that was a lie.”

4: 75-76: Koichi opens with the letter (best chapter of the entire manga FIGHT ME) and then Koichi and the gang go to the warehouse to start training. Ends with Koichi getting serious about using shooty-go-blam.

5: 77-78: Continue training (with a sick montage) and then Pop swears that Koichi will “never forget about her”. O’clock ll teams up the Compass Kid and Bee⭐️Pop’s second attack starts. Number 2 hero Endeavor is deployed to stop the villain.

6: 79-81: Koichi gets in the way of Endeavor’s attack, Compass Kid is killed in the line of duty (GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN), and Bee⭐️Pop sings her final song. Ends with Pop being shot by 6.

7: 82-84: Koichi grabs Pop as she falls and then has to dodge Endeavor and 6 at the same time. The Crawler takes his first flight and gets Pop medical attention. Ends with a burned Number 6’s declaration against Koichi.

8: 85-86: Continues the investigation of the Beepop incident and then transitions into the start of the underground raid arc. Ends with the start of Rappa and O’clock’s fight.

(The above two are the chapters I am the least happy with. It would make sense to fit all the BeePop fight into 1 episode, but then you would be hard pressed to fit 4 chapters in, and the first 2 chapters are just the fight and don’t have enough substance. So, I went with the 3/1 carry-over in conjugation with the start of the first underground fighting ring chapter. Messy but could work.)

9: 87-89: The start of the underground flight. KD let’s himself get hit by Rappa and heads to the sickbay to collect evidence. Along the way teenage Mirko crashes the party. People’s quirks start going wild and ends with a tease of the unnamed “ultimate resource”.

10: 90-91: Continuation of the fight of Rappa, Mirko, and O’clock vs Hood. Ends with Mirko’s “Call number one! We need All Might!”

11: 92-94: All Might shows up to save the day! (but he’s very sleepy) All for One talks about the nature of heroes and villains and we end the flashback and cut back to the present. Number 6 infiltrates the police station and blows up detective Tanuma.

(Season 4 would start here as it’s a nice cut off point, but then season 3 would be very short so let’s keep going.)

12: 95-96: Start of the set-up to the nightmare night arc. Koichi thinks about Pop and the moon, Tsukauchi acquires a warrant for the arrest of the Crawler and ends with Ingenium being deployed.

13: 97-98: The heroes are on the chase of the Crawler! Tsukauchi bickers with Soga, and the nightmare night officially kicks off with Number 6 locking down the city.

14: 99-101: The nightmare night begins in full. Number 6 starts executing the phases of his plan. The heroes are there to help the citizens and Koichi’s quirk powers up while he’s thinking about Pop. Ends with Number 6’s assault on the hospital.

15: 102-103: Number 6 attacks the inside of the hospital. Soga shoots, Koichi shoots-go-blams, and Number 6 quotes Thanos. The episode ends with Koichi landing back down on the ground to face 6 properly.

16: 104-107: The start of Number 6 vs Koichi! They race around Naruhata and Number 6 realizes he’s out matched, he kicks into higher gear ending the episode by switching to “Operation Anonymous, phase 6.”

(That’s right lads were trying to fit 4 chapters into one episode. These ones get really short because most of the page is taken up by visuals.

Also, the first time I did this I grouped all of the BeePop stuff and Underground fighting ring into one season, and the Nightmare night into the rest, but I think having a longer season here works better. Also maybe 3 seasons and 1 ending movie could work for vigilantes? but i’m gonna keep going with the episodes for now.)

17: 108-110: Number 6 attacks Koichi! But he doesn’t expect Koichi to counter by blocking with his quirk and shutting off his brain. 6 throws everything he has including the Anons at Koichi to force him down the street that he lives on. Ends with Knuckleduster’s return “We’ll too bad sucker. Cuz I’m here!” (absolutely manic smile)

18: 111-112: Knuckle explains his plan of attack, but then we switch POV’s and see Number 6 pick out his quirk. Knuckle goes to blow up the building but is thwarted by Soga. Koichi drags 6 off the building and the others look on at the shooting star.

(My one regret with this episode is that I couldn’t end it on 111 with Tamao looking up at the shooting star. Only for it to be revealed that she actually saw Koichi in the next episode. That functions as the midway stopping point in this one though.)

19: 113-115: Number 6 goes lightning mode and the mid-air battle beings! All for One sheds his disguise as he watches on at the spectacle. The citizens of Naruhata watch on in shock and awe. Number 6 fizzles out and summons the Anons to support him to create destruction style. Koichi is hurt and forced underground.

20: 116-117: Koichi finds himself stuck under rubble and has a chat with his master as he believes he’s dying, but he instead receives the gift of the fist and bursts out from underground. He then freaks out about said power while a hallucinogenic episode caused by blood loss. Dream Pop allows him to use the lethal power just this once. “Get it done hero!”

21: 118-119: Koichi continues to fight Number 6 while reflecting on his past, and how it was every kids dream to be a hero, but that “today his dream is coming to an end.” Koichi gets hit hard and we switch to 6’s POV. 6 and Koichi duke it out as kids and in real life. “Somehow, I’m still here.” Ends on that one sick ass panel you know the one.

22: 120-121: Koichi is battered and bruised but the townsfolk still cheer him on! The other heroes arrive just in time to aid the day. The people continue to cheer on the Crawler despite the other heroes. Number 6 explodes with rage and number 2 hero Endeavor shows up on the scene.

23: 122-123: All Might finally arrives on the scene! He and Endeavor execute a combo attack against the 6 bombers and save the city. Number 6 isn’t quite yet done though; he leaves Koichi with some parting words and a sick scar before he burns away. As he goes, Pop sings to him and Knuckleduster and Pop are pulled back from the brink of death. The nightmare is over and Eraserhead finds Koichi bleeding on the pavement. (Listen I’m getting sappy at this point.)

24: 123-124: Koichi wakes up in the hospital, and Makoto and CC storm the place to stop the unjust treatment of CC’s sidekick. Pop gives Koichi back his hoodie, and Koichi can’t help but put it on. All for One can’t fathom what makes Koichi tick, and the episode ends with the debut of CCC-02, The Skycrawler!

(Do I hate it that 123-124 work together so well and that 125 is just kinda off dangling by the edge? Yes. Am I going to change it? No.)

25: 126: A plane begins to crash over New York city, and Koichi comes in with the “Yep, that’s me. Koichi Haimawari” and saves the day. Public perception of him is still dubious so he swears to destroy Wall Street in an interview. We see all our favourite characters again, now closer to the places they will take in the main series, but crime still exits in Naruhata and while Koichi is protecting the skies over New York, Knuckleduster is here.

(This episode may benefit from leaning into the “okay now MHA starts now angle” by adding in more to smoothly transition it over. Maybe adding in something like All Might starting to chase the slime monster and then the episode ends when the villain finally sees Deku walking through the tunnel?)  

And that’s all folks! Thank you for coming along with me on this and tell me what you think or where you would make changes.

[classychassiss]

My excitement for earthspark has become one big sigh. My biggest fear of the writer's trying to have their cake and eat it too has come true. I almost can't enjoy the Terrans/Maltos because of all the other poor writing choices for no good. reason. Just seconding everything you said, and debating what is going with this show. Sigh.

I ended up finishing the season off, and I really enjoyed Lorin Williams (?) writing in Episode 14, I think that episode was really strong but then it was followed by like. The Bear One so that was weird. And the final two parter had these moments, like I loved Frenzy and Laserbeak being a terrible twosome and stuff but a lot of stuff was rushed/glossed over for shock value and that is disappointing. I know some people are like, excited over how the Bot Brawl is a nod to the gladiatorial combat on Cybertron but like. It feels too cartoonishly evil to me, like I understand its the Big Bad Evil Guys here, but there are ways to do things without resorting entirely to cliche ultraviolence.

Like why can't it be an underground Decepticon AEW with illegal sponsors? You can still comment on how humiliated they feel becoming essentially wrestling Rodeo Clowns to the humans for good will and energon, but if we're going with 1v1 racial allusions, I would think That would be more understandable than straight up hobo fight blood sport, no one HAS to die, but I guess you can't drive the point home if they don't get scrapped. I cant imagine that wouldn't work either, like Combaticons as micro celebs and underground champions? A Chance for humans to start seeing them as beings once they start thinking of them the same way they do their human wrestlers when GHOST and Mandroid come around? IDK! I also....Don't Know how I feel about it being set in Philly like its the Bad Part of town but Dats Me

I'll even be upfront: There are parts of me, and this may not be MY place, but there are parts of me that are a little uncomfortable watching two Blasian kids watching their Cybertronian mixed siblings get aggro'd with micro and macroaggressions in a narrative that presumably exists in a world where human racism doesn't, or else things would get too complicated against the Robot Racism. But the fact that its like a 1v1 to depictions of Real World Racism is a bit too much. Again though like, this is just me. I understand that this isn't uncommon in stories like this, and that some suspension of disbelief is needed, its maybe just an observation of hypervigilance on my end.

I think what the show could really use is some more showing not telling. Its not the worst TF show, not by a country mile, and I do enjoys the Maltos and Terrans, but it isn't what I was hoping for either, and I think the hammy writing in some areas and lack of consistent tone so far don't make it as enjoyable as it should :/ We'll have to wait and see if Season 2 will address the unanswered questions and shifting rules in the universe, and I'm curious about the Human/Terran powers!

[ghastlybespoke]

The essential Gaskell storyline episodes list. Episodes you absolutely must watch for the storyline are in bold, episodes that aren't must-watches but have Johnrik scenes are in italics, episodes that don't have John in them but are important for storylines he's involved in are in parentheses. (A lot of this is copied from post/697935241117040640/ on my blog lol.)

(Series 19 episode 58 “It Has To Be Now”) - This one doesn’t actually have Gaskell in it, but it sets up the history between Henrik, Roxanna, David Hopkins, and John. Basically, it's the prologue to the Gaskell storyline.

Series 19 episode 61 “Group Animal - Part One” and episode 62 “Group Animal - Part Two” - This two-parter is where John actually arrives. I’d say it’s THE best two episodes of Holby ever.

Series 19 episode 63 “We Need To Talk About Fredrik” - This one isn’t too important, but I’d recommend it anyway because it does a lot to start showing what sort of character John is.

Series 19 episode 64 “Always Forever” - Again, not too important, but it starts developing his character.

(Series 20 episode 1 "The Prisoner") - John isn't in this, but it's very important for the Oliver storyline, which John is quite heavily involved in.

Series 20 episode 2 “Ready or Not” and series 20 episode 3 “There By The Grace Of…” - This is where John’s medical trials start.

Series 20 episode 4 “Hanssen Is As Hanssen Does” - More important trial stuff.

Series 20 episode 5 “One Day At A Time” - John operates on his first trial patient.

Series 20 episode 6 “Not Your Home Now” - Some generally important plot stuff here, particularly related to Henrik’s storyline which of course ties into John’s. You could skip it if you really wanted though.

Series 20 episode 7 “Precipice” - Important interactions between John and Roxanna.

Series 20 episode 9 “Ache” - Skippable, but there’s some stuff with John and Roxanna that’s worth watching.

Series 20 episode 10 “Square One” - Really important, unskippable stuff about John’s trial.

Series 20 episode 13 “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are - Part Two” - More trial stuff, plus some Johnrik interaction. The two episodes before this aren’t that important to John’s storyline, though they are important to other stories.

Series 20 episode 14 “Tete a Tate”, series 20 episode 15 “Tate Gallery”, and series 20 episode 16 “New Ain’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be” - All important episodes for the trial.

Series 20 episode 19 “Bubble Wrap” - This is a HUGE episode for John’s storyline, especially the trial.

Series 20 episode 20 “Blind Spot” - Some minor stuff wrt John’s trial, and some good Johnrik scenes, but very skippable. It’s more important for Henrik’s storyline than John’s.

Series 20 episode 23 “None But The Brave” - John agrees to do surgery on Jac.

Series 20 episode 24 and 25 “Primum Non Nocere - Part One” and “Primum Non Nocere - Part Two” - Jac has her operation.

Series 20 episode 26 “Fallen Idol” - Roxanna comes to see John in Portugal and finds out about the patient he’s treating there.

Series 20 episode 28 “Into The Light” - More important stuff about John’s trial. There’s also a guest appearance by Ethan from Casualty!

Series 20 episode 30 “Two for Joy” - Important stuff regarding John and Jac.

Series 20 episode 32 “Bygones”, episode 33 “Bargaining”, and episode 34 “All Business” - REALLY important stuff regarding John and Jac.

Series 20 episode 36 “Keep Your Friends Close” - Roxanna travels to Lisbon to investigate John’s work, and asks Henrik to keep an eye on John while she’s away.

Series 20 episode 37 “All Lies Lead To The Truth” - The big confrontation between John and Roxanna. This has the most awful scene where Roxanna claims she never loved her husband David and wanted to be with Henrik instead, but sadly, it's essential to the storyline.

Series 20 episode 38 “One Man And His God” - A flashback to John, Henrik, and Rox’s university days.

Series 20 episode 39 “Undoing” - Follows on from the previous two episodes. This is THE biggest moment in John’s storyline. Prepare yourself - it's very dark and horror-y.

Series 20 episode 40 “Inscrutable” - Follows on from the end of “Undoing”, but John only appears at the very beginning and very end of the episode, so it can be skipped. I'd strongly recommend watching it anyway, but it feels unfair marking an episode where John appears so little as a must-watch, so I won't.

Series 20 episode 41 “The Three Musketeers” and series 20 episode 42 “Stains” - Really important stuff, building up to John’s last episodes…

Series 20 episode 45 “Report To The Mirror - Part One” and series 20 episode 46 “Report To The Mirror - Part Two” - The reveal of John’s backstory. The truth comes out about the trial. And part two is John’s final episode.

Series 20 episode 47 “One Of Us” - An epilogue to the storyline, clearing up the cliffhangers from “Report To The Mirror”.

thank you so much :)! ill try my best to make my way through this, but it might take me a while as life's been pretty busy and it might be for a bit longer, but ill definitely try and get through at least the important ones, thank you again, :)

[storiesofsvu]

Im honestly not even excited for tonight based off of what ive heard already. Im more ready for grey’s cause Addison. Lol. I will be making gifs while watching to occupy myself. Nonetheless… here we go..

I really need this detective and bell to date. Pls.

Oky WHY do they continually let victims families/civilians out in the field with them?! Like this is not okay… this is not ideal, this is not legal…

“do you think we can trust him to do this?” THANK YOU AYANNA. God.

Genuinely surprised they didn’t have the building fully surrounded wtf? Like yeah the boys got there eventually but woof.

Me chanting: flirt! Flirt! Flirt! Flirt! At the queers.

Ayanna: eye fucks her

Me: YAAS.

Okay, that’s a win for this episode that’s all I care about lol

Ah yes… dorm life… because eli who canologically should be like 14 is in college…

Moving on!

Tbh based on the promo I am kinda interested in mothership tonight, lets see how that goes lol.

Okay… so the promo had me thinking that Nolan would be a major witness and sam was running point on the case the whole time so im kinda bummed.

I was distracted actually watching and also gaffing but I have 2 notes:

-hugh dancy was WAY off his eyeline mark on his “its my decision sam!” line

-loved the way sam continually called Nolan out this episode. Loved that.

Okay… Churlish *doesn’t drink* but she thinks it’s a good idea to go UC on a roofie case? Wtf girl?!

Really?! REALLY?! They had to make these fucking sleezeballs Canadian!? Fuck you.

The EXACT same moment this pricks cl phone buzzed “redhead” my phone went off with a tinder notification.. I think that’s a sign from hell… defs not opening that app

Why is her water in a plastic cup? Like, I get that we have plastic glassware at my bar but it’s not like, plastic solo cups, theyre plastic cups that look just like our glass ones and you cant tell til you pick them up.

“you don’t have to say everything you think…” LOL.

This is like, a full personal opinion, but I don’t like them wearing their badges around their necks, when they’re on the belt’s it just looks better, they don’t get in the way, but that may just be me.

Okay, again, I get the loyalty and not liking all of your coworkers (beeeelieve me there) but like, there’s a time and a place, you can still be professional and courteous while absolutely hating someone lol. These guys are all being ridiculously immature about it. (also its weird Velasco & muncy are still allowed to be partners???)

Churlish is really out there what? Trying to tie muncy to this case or shit? Again, I understand if it maybe came up a little LATER in the case but for right now you’re just going to check out that bartender, talk to him, get his story. If something doesn’t line up THEN you’d go through his socials…

Man churlish is TINY isn’t she??

Man, they are pushing veluncy way too hard for me right now. Even if it’s just friends, there’s so many looks between them and this is considering they haven’t spoken in a week or whatever? Can we pls not do this.

Churlish really went and baited herself without clearing it with anyone AND making it look like muncy was trying to set her up…

“youre saying this was her idea?” MUNCY WHAT DID CHRULISH JUST FUCKING SAY IN THE VAN?

“you slid into her dms!?” muncy’s SO fucking angry, her little hand?! HAHAHA

Man if olivia felt like she was babysitting *before* she must absolutely hate this shit now. Like…as someone who is a manager and the team used to all be in their 30’s and very unproblematic, staying in their own lanes and now my team has babies on it, it’s annoying af.

The way Bruno had that work conversation while looking like he was flirting was some *prime* acting.

There’s only 15 mins of this left… is it a two parter?

Ok so the drug is in the salt?

The black shirt grace has on looks exactly like one molly has lol

Not surprised there’s a girl involved in this to get them outta the bathrooms

Ah… the limes.. okay…good to know nothing can be trusted in bars. (although… bartender pro tip… don’t ever put the fruit into your drinks or into your mouth. A very large amount of hands touch those fruits, and who tf knows the last time they’re washed, they’re constantly touching dirty dishes, money, debit cards, etc AND a large number of places probably don’t wash their fruits…)

Aside from giving teddy her pic for bait HOW WAS SHE RECKLESS?? SHE DIDN’T FUCKING DRINK! How was she supposed to know it was the limes???

But also yeah, she does have to be there for the right reasons and work with the team otherwise it aint gonna work.

This episode was… I dunno man the vibes are off. That’s all I got.

[a-few-of-my-favorite-mangas]

Sayonara Football

Story by Naoshi Arakawa

Manga Volume 1

Sports, Middle School Setting, Coming of Age

Story   ★★★☆☆   ||   ★★★☆☆   Art

Summary

14-year-old Nozomi Onda has only one thing on her mind: playing beautiful football. There's just one problem: no matter how much she longs to participate in official matches, she'd have physically superior boys as opponents. But when a boy from her past confronts her on the street, she decides she can't wait any longer.

Review

Nozomi is a great footballer who has always been the best player on the field, no one plays harder, or practices longer. Now that everyone is growing up, she finds that the boys she used to dominate are getting better, stronger, and taller... Nozomi is finding it a hard truth to swallow, and after an old friend challenges her she is determined to prove that she is still the best before time runs out and she is no longer able to compete against the boys physically. 

Nozomi is bold, stubborn, and passionate. It is a hard reality that she is facing and she is fighting it every step of the way. Her coach, her teammates, her bestfriend are all there trying to help her, but she really doesn’t want to listen, her pride is on the line and she hates to lose or admit defeat. 

I really love sports manga, but all the best ones feature boys or boy teams, so when I saw this one I was really hoping for a good series featuring girls, then I found out this was only 2 issues, lol.  It is a quick read and mostly about a girl who can’t compete with the boys anymore as they are all growing up and the physical differences make it harder for the girl (who remains a shorty) to keep up. I guess It was realistic (I remember when all of a sudden my little brother was taller and bigger than me, it was disconcerting and a little sad), and while I appreciate it, I did want more... 

Then I found out that the story continues in a new series called Farewell, My Dear Cramer that follows Nozomi and her best friend Sawa join a girl’s football team where the girls are just like her - good, competitive, and hate to lose! I am enjoying the series so far (about 6 volumes in) and all the new characters, more on that later. 

Not sure If you need to read this short 2-parter as a lead in to the regular series though. Other than learning more about Nozomi and her friends you don’t really need it to enjoy the new story. This story also gave some focus on her brother and guy friends too, which so far are barely seen in the new series, and since I know they exist, I kinda miss having some off-field moments with them, and keep expecting them to hang out a little. Everything in the new series (so far) is centered around the girls team, the girls and their rivals.  I don’t mind, but it does feel weird to have them around but no longer a part of the story in any meaningful way, as they were in this story. Read if you want more, but okay to skip if you just want to read about a group of sporty footballer girls.

[tirorah]

All right, now to dig into this. As happy and formative as this moment is for the team, we're also seeing something bad happening in this scene.

I mentioned here that Ami has demonstrated an affinity with her Senshi powers since early on. Hell, even her first transformation ended with her standing on water! But I ask you this: What do all of these displays of power have in common?

Exactly. Ami accepted her duty as Sailor Mercury because she wanted to fight at Usagi's side. She spent the entirety of episode 5 worried over what she perceived to be cracks in her and Usagi's friendship. And here in episode 14, Ami has fought tooth and nail for Usagi's safety. She even clung to Usagi when Kunzite was taking her away.

After Usagi wakes up, it's made clear twice over that Ami was a huge factor. Usagi pays her special attention in the cave, and later on tells them that Ami's voice was particularly loud. Ami is surprised, but then she smiles to herself, realising that sounds right.

Ami cares for Usagi in a way that goes beyond friendship (yes they don't state this explicitly, but it's really obvious). And she cares a great deal about Rei and Makoto as well; I'm willing to bet these three are the first true friends she's ever had.

The thing is...she cares too much.

There's no doubt in my mind that Usagi, Rei and Makoto are as close with Ami as she is with them. But none of them are experiencing this mix of affection, belonging and reassurance like the veritable maelstrom it is for Ami. Moreover, although Rei and Makoto have their own abandonment issues to grapple with, neither of them experience the type of anxiety and insecurity she does.

She is 100% invested in this. She's wanted friends for so very long and now here they are and it's perfect! But by being so emotionally invested, Ami is setting herself up for an equal and opposite reaction if anything goes wrong.

This is the true point of this two-parter. Usagi's near-transformation into a Youma is never relevant again (aside from foreshadowing her true power), but it's just pushed Ami into an exceedingly precarious state. Friendship is like a drug to her now. You take that away, the results aren't going to be pretty.

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Avatar, Part 7

I didn't realize how long it had been since we got to sit down and watch a few episodes! (My family getting invested has definitely slowed me down, since now we all have to be around to watch, but it's a lot of fun!)

11. "The Desert": This was a brilliant episode. Showing the Gaang at the lowest they've ever been, and especially the lowest Aang's ever been-- helpless to save Appa and nearly helpless to save himself or his friends, all while being severely emotionally compromised. He doesn't handle it well, which is good-- it's super realistic (especially given he's, y'know, 12) and keeps him from coming off as too perfect. If Toph deserved a medal last episode, Katara deserves one here, for putting up with this crap. Aang's freakout was scary. Another great reminder of how powerful he'll end up being. Of course I adored Iroh and his mysterious White Lotus thing, can't wait for some follow-up there. And they did NOT go the easy route and give Appa back to the Gaang at the end of this episode, which is both a good writing choice and also emotionally devastating. How dare they.

12. "The Serpent's Pass": This episode was packed and had some killer stuff in it. Love allll the callbacks and continuity stuff, that continues to be one of my favorite things on this show. Suki! Toph's rich-girl privilege! Jet, who I still don't like or trust! Sokka still dealing with emotional fallout from losing Yue! Aang still dealing with emotional fallout from losing Appa! And a great wrap-up with the baby and the wham ending with the drill.

13. "The Drill": Since on the DVD this was the second half of two-parter it's hard to judge entirely on its own. It felt more like set up than a story of its own. This was the first time a fight didn't quiiiite work for me-- it felt like there should have been a lot more effective things they could have done against the drill, so it felt more like they got nerfed than that the threat leveled up, the way it worked in "The Chase", for example. Azula and co were still great, I'm glad Zuko didn't pair up with Jet, Iroh's tea being his downfall is very on-point, I'm getting not-great vibes from this town.

14. "City of Walls and Secrets": BAD NEWS BEARS. My initial reaction was "how did we end up in a episode of Babylon 5?", which is 100% a compliment. Creepy oppressive government! Secret agents! Brainwashing! This episode was very intense. (Not sad to see Jet get arrested, even if the guy *is* technically right about Iroh and Zuko.) Where is Appa?????

15. "Tales of Ba Sing Se": (Where is Appa?????) Yes, all the vignettes were cute little character bits, whatever, we all know the main thing here was Iroh making us cry. (Both in-universe over his son and irl over his voice actor.) Just, seriously, full-on tears.

[magpiejay1234]

Watching first episode of ZEXAL feels weird. Some observations:

**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon's Japanese is Levias Dragon, but due to its Katakana spelling, it is supposed to reference the previous Vice Dragons, Jack's Vice Dragon, and Fujiwara's Clear Vice Dragon. This sets up Shark's role as one of major rivals, and technically being one of the final bosses.

***The "Vice" Katakana would also be referenced in Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss.

**Yuma's parents being archeologists is likely based off popular fanon about Yugi's father (Bakura's grandpa, was, of course, an actual one).

**Though the early ZEXAL runs on the idea of Numbers possesing people, later series retcon suggests the voice in Shark's mind was Don Thousand, hence purple lightning when Leviathan Dragon attack.

***This is also likely the lore behind Rebarian Shark.

**Though the early series has Yuma releasing Numbers from The Door of Contract, we later find out that these were scattered around already. This is obviously a retcon from the pilot, though a necessary one, otherwise the plot would be weird.

***I can't count all the Numbers, but I'm guessing there were around 50 ones surrounding Yuma, which explains the later reveal/retcon of half of Numbers belonging to Don Thousand, at least in the animé continuity (since OCG side will likely make alternate versions of manga Numbers eventually).

**That one Emperor's Key throne that keeps popping around fanart was apparently from ED1, obviously doesn't appear in the show itself.

***Yuma's pose there is supposed to reference Atem in Memory World, but in the series proper, that pose is of course used for Nasch instead.

**OP1/ED1 doesn't spoil much, it doesn't seem like they had a big idea on how the show would work initially. Most of the shots are just concept animation.

***Considering the Seasonal structure of the show, first Season (ie. first 25 episodes) was likely written in one go, then the next 24, and then the next 24. So outside of Kaito, there isn't anyone that is a big deal, except Number 96, who won't be relevant until ZEXAL II.

****We will discuss this more in detail, but apparently Shin Yoshida wrote 14 of the 25 episodes of first Season, Yoshifumi Fukushima wrote 5 of 25 episodes (Tokunosuke/Flip two-parter, Yuma & Shark tag Duel, Number 96 debut with Tetsuo), Yasuyuki Suzuki wrote 4 of 25 (Cathy episode, Yamikawa two parter, Oobomi episode), and Kenichi Yamashita wrote 2 of 25 (Jin/Fortuno two-parter):

**Yuma's VA really doesn't have the voice for the character in the first episode. It will get better, of course.

Either way, I wonder how many dropped plot points that people speculate are, and how many more we won't ever know. Since ZEXAL was supposed to be a soft-reboot, I expect tons. Emperor's Key throne thing takes the cake for now though.

Anyway, ZEXAL I sort of examplifies Shin Yoshida's preferred method of dealing with plot issues, just throwing even more characters in to distract the audience. ZEXAL II would try to avoid abusing this (since it will have less writers than ZEXAL I, as some of the writers of ZEXAL I will move on to ARC-V instead of ZEXAL II) to instead throwing even more lore, and backstory to distract the audience, which is Shin Yoshida's second preferred method.