#also its gonna be fucking torture watching the last season in real time trying to figure out if theyre doing nandermo or not

[someoldfires]

oh i have. A lot of thoughts

[jollyreginaldrancher]

Yellowjackets S2 e7 thoughts and stuff

Things are reaching a new low

It looks like they're snowed in.

I guess they're all gonna be pooping in the pee bucket now.

Shauna's still holding onto her child 😭

Is Shauna abrasive because of everything that happened or because she's worried they'll try to eat the baby?

The snow took Jackie from her and now she has to put her baby in the snow to protect it and I am not okay.

The credits are different this time. I never watch them but from the bits I've caught, they are definitely different this time.

The audio is different, lacking its usual gritty guitar riffs in the beginning, and layering the vocals over the vocals. Things are ramping up and we are really reaching the point of no return.

VAN BROUGHT THE TITTY PEN WITH HER. SHE KEPT THR TITTY PEN ON HER PERSONS THIS WHOLE TIME!

Tai you did not side-eye Van when Nat accused you all of needing help. You're the one eating puppies, my friend.

Though Van is shut tighter than a clam shell or a nun's legs, Taissa isn't Miss open book either.

Teen Van is really looking for the meaning of life. Ma'am you have a hot girlfriend during the cold winter. Keeping her warm is your purpose.

"I need to know why I'm still alive"

Because we love you, that's why. Next question.

Van for sure picked forage because Misty picked it. The pettiness 😅

Fuck Lottie specifically for the chore Shauna got

Ben is blurring the lines between the real world and his maladaptive daydreaming dimension

Bro's own fantasy bf dumped him.

He's gonna kill himself, isn't he?

Oh, Lottie is just straight up trying to torture the gals. She tried to put Misty in a full-on deathtrap. Run, Misty, run!

Maybe Gen is the pit-girl. Also thanks to Akilah for finally letting us know what at least one of the other girls is called.

Nah fuck Mari, I hope she IS the pit girl or that she dies because how dare you call my unhinged daughter psychotic? And how dare you insinuate my accidental murderer of a child is a killer?

Yas, Akilah! Thank you for side-eyeing Mari for me. Fuck you Mari.

Oh they're fully culting now.

I love how they're rationalising maybe eating the dead girl. Misty's not happy about it but I'm cracking up. Imagine you get cast in this and the one fucking time you get any screentime it's as a goon, rationalising potentially eating a corpse.

I'm genuinely surprised we haven't jumped back to the present. I can't remember the last time we stayed in one setting for this long.

Tai: I think my shadow-self is gone 🥹

Lottie: it better not be. That thing had gps.

Tai was graffiting.

Still not over Tai walking around in Van's clothes all season.

Tai: the other me is threatening my family

Lottie: that's your inner you telling you to run away with Van

Everyone keeps dumping on Misty for what though? They're just as bad 😭 let she among you who has not accidentally killed a friend or lover cast the first stone.

Anyway back to the 'fuck off Mari' days

Say what you want but Misty is a good friend who won't let her friends get eaten.

And now Shauna's mourning Jackie again but she's really gone and Shauna has to get through this in her own 😭😭

Fuck Todd and fuck Lottie for making Shauna think she had to kill the goat/the goat was gonna die.

I just want to hug Shauna 😭😭😭

Now it's Misty's turn to get tortured 🥺

Misty's guard is so persistent she even wears her glasses in a sensory deprivation tank.

I'm gonna pretend not to see the Morse code love notes and other indicators of Misty vibing with that guy and persevere with my MistyNat headcanon.

I still don't like or trust that guy hitting on Misty.

Did Ben bury Crystal? Or is Misty looking in the wrong place? Or was Crystal eaten by wolves?

I still think he's gonna kill himself or something.

He really looked Misty in the face and asked her to push him. He really did that. What a fucking asshole. Like not bad enough he wants to kill himself, he wants to do it in front of Misty and even wants her to kill him herself?!

What a fucking asshole.

Poor Misty

She doesn't deserve that. She doesn't deserve any of that. She's just a dumb kid trying to save everybody.

Oh fuck

Oh no

Oh fuck

No no no

No

No

Van can't have cancer

She can't have months to live

This isn't happening

LOTTIE DO YOUR FUCKING WILDRENESS MAGIC AND MAKE IT NOT SO

Tai took her ring off she was accepting shit and then Van announced this. No. No, i don't accept this reality.

I can't even get excited about them kissing and stuff anymore 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I can't even be happy that I was right about Van being sick because I didn't want her to be sick. Or at least I didn't want her to be this sick 😩

Lottie's therapy sessions are 100% in her head. I am positive.

I fucking knew it.

Van sharing her booze with Misty 🥹

They talk so badly about her that I find it genuinely surprising that they actually treat her like a human being, and even extend the odd olive branch her way.

I definitely notice a shift within Nat. The clothes, the attitude. She seems way more chill now.

What's interesting is that Lottie seems to have shifted too. Like almost like they swapped clothes and personalities in a way. Not completely but they definitely had an effect on each other.

Just like the last two days or so seem to have completely changed Taissa and probably Van too. I really hope we see more of Van pre-Tai in the present day just as a baseline.

But yeah as sweet as this reunion is I am stressed as fuck because you just know bad shit is gonna happen and this won't last. Like with Shauna's happy dream about the baby, you just know they're going to wake up to death in the morning.

But Florence and the machine is playing (I think) and the gals are pals and having fun and we're seeing them interact in different groups for once and it's so heartwarming and sweet and I love them so much 🥹

I desperately wanna know what Misty was gonna say about that summer

Tai is going through those stages of grief. She's at denial. Van is at anger and she does NOT want to talk about it 😭

Van and Shauna dancing 🥰 you usually just see Shauna interact with Taissa but it makes sense that she would have been close to Van too. I mean next to Tai, she was the only other girl she called out to in her dream, when the baby was missing.

Poor Misty, dancing on her own though 🥺

I feel so bad for Misty. Like even when she's included she's not included in shit. That feels so rough.

Did Shauna just deck her? What the fuck? She blames Misty for the baby? And she bit Van? Great, now Van's gonna have an infection to content with cause. I doubt they have toothpaste.

Lottie really just volunteered to be her punching bag 😮

These girls were really meant to die, huh?

Like this is some final destination shit. No one will be standing by the end of it.

Holly fuck

And they're calling Misty a murderer and stuff but look at Shauna go.

Geez

Is Lottie a ghost right now? Cause Shauna fucked her up and I wouldn't be surprised if she fucking died just then.

Honestly surprised she had that much energy. I don't have that much energy on a good day, let alone after months of starvation.

Also when they get back they ought to build a shrine to Misty for keeping their asses alive through all of this. Ben, Shauna and Lottie especially. Van too though. Actually Van shouldn't pray to any god since she is clearly stronger than all of them combined.

And they found that body and now the shoes are starting to drop. Surely they won't go anywhere with this. It's not like they'll mess up the status quo, right? Right?

[not-close-to-straight]

Random Wanda Vision Thoughts--

Episode 1: I am an emotional bitch crying at Wanda and Vision saying “i do” at the end of episode 1, like can these babies please catch a break? they just want to be happy. 

Also Agnes and the 70′s show mom are my favorite wtf. 

STARK TOASTERS I SEE YOU. 

WHO IS WATCHING THEM WTF 

Episode 2: 

Dottie should die, she seems like the type who needs gently run over by a bus

WHO IS IN THE RADIO

Elizabeth Olsen is so cute in this, absolutely adorable 

IS THAT DAVID SCHWIMMER PLAYING THE PIANO

Vision is drunk from getting gum in his gears, I’m actually cackling right now. 

Tiny bit culty with the “for the children” thing, huh? Yikes

BABY BUMP! 

Some creepo decides to get in on their world and Wanda literally went “i think the fuck not, let’s try this again and this time in technicolor” 

is that the cop who asked out Ant Man on the radio?

The difference in “sitcom” Wanda who is happy in her world and “real life” Wanda when she realizes something isn’t right is honestly astonishing and Grade A Face Acting. See what happens when they let women do more on screen then walk around in tight clothes with full lips parted in a sexy pout? 

Episode 3: 

Seventies Vision’s hair is ENDING ME, I can’t even deal with that. 

IT HAS TO BE DAVID SCHWIMMER except he looks like “russ” from friends instead of “ross” 

Poor Vision is not handling impending fatherhood well 

COMIC BOOK NAME DROP BILLY AND TOMMY I LOVE IT 

Poor pregnancy fritzing Wanda. DID WANDA JUST GLITCH A TIME ERASE AND NOT MEAN TO? Listen, I did not expect to love them as a couple this much. EW HER WATER BROKE OMG 

A STORK 

Oh Wanda, poor baby she’s so afraid, I write way too much fan fiction about how all these characters are secretly terrified to go through life alone to be okay with this. 

Why did I start crying immediately when the babies were born, I’m too emotional for this. She is so beautiful and Vision is so soft meeting his son as himself, oh my gosh. THE TWIN SCREAMS while the other twin comes omg this is Grade A Sitcom bullshit. 

The doctor knows something is Up and so do Herb and Agnes. *don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious*

...have we actually seen Ralph and I’m just blanking on it? WHY DON’T THEY LIKE GERALDINE? WHO IS SHE?

Oh no i’m crying again over pietro and the sokovian lullaby. Don’t let me watch this while I’m PMSing wtf this is torture. GERALDINE KNOWS ABOUT ULTRON

OH SHIT WANDA IS PISSED LOOK AT THAT DANGEROUS LADY. that head tilt is fucking lethal. 

I love agnes oh man. I know because of spoilers she’s something of a bad guy? but I love her

WHAT HAPPENED TO GERALDINE OMG DID WANDA KILL HER

Oh no, not dead. Just kicked tf out of the bubble. I just realized the symbol is for Sword. Is this some sort of experiment to keep Wanda contained post Endgame? I should have read more spoilers, I’m fucking confused. 

Episode 4: OH HOLY SHIT IT’S MONICA RAMBEAU AND IT’S POST EG SNAP OH MY GOSH SHE HAS NO IDEA SHES BEEN GONE FOR FIVE YEARS MY HEART IS BREAKING MY HEART IS BREAKING I CAN’T TAKE IT 

It IS the cop that hit on Ant Man! WHAT DO THEY MEAN WESTVIEW DOESN’T EXIST 

Oh it’s Darcy! Damn straight it’s Dr. Lewis. How very shocking, a woman was the one to show a room full of Ridiculous Men what’s going on?

ZOMBIE VISION OH MY GOD “no we can’t” oh man she is starting to CRACK and Vision knows something is wrong OH NO 

At this point I should point out that I am 1000% surprised at the quality of the show and 1000% pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying it. The bar for Wanda’s character development was literally subterranean, but this is has been frankly sort of amazing?? 

Episode 5

Agnes asking about “taking it from the top” WHAT. I love so much the way the characters “break character” it’s so interesting and well done! WHY IS WANDA LYING TO VISION. 

WHERE IS RALPH

oh my god the babies are children now?? why isn’t agnes noticing?? THEY’RE SO CUTE I COULD CRY ALL OVER AGAIN 

I do not. trust. hayward. Why is he asking about Wandas nickname? Monica knows whats up-- she knows Wanda is grieving and hurting. 

THE VISIONS CORPSE WHAT? WHAT IS WANDA DOING OH MY GOD SHE STOLE VISION. Vision has a living will? Don’t you have to be human for that? Are you telling me the woman that loved Vision would straight up ignore his wish to not be turned into a weapon after his death? I have a hard time with this. 

Oh no Vision is starting to worry me. He’s onto Agnes, he’s noticing Wanda getting careless...the boys are adorable though. Good on Agnes for not even flinching. 

DAMN RIGHT WANDA COULD HAVE TAKEN OUT THANOS LETS HAVE SOME RESPECT PEOPLE. Also, why is Monica being sketchy about Captain Marvel? 

EMAIL ALERT EMAIL ALERT “none of it is real.” oh my god what is happening?!?!

“Is this yours?” OH MY GOD. “This will be your only warning” she is so unafraid and I love her for it. I love her accent coming back when she breaks characters LOOK AT HER TURNING ALL THOSE MEN AROUND I LOVE HER. 

“Fix the dead” oh my god the shock on her face. The absolute irony of her trying to tell her boys there’s rules when she’s writing the playbook as she goes. Oh my god. “Can’t I?” Jesus, then the credits start rolling because she wants the episode to be over but Vision won’t let her OH MY GOD. My heart is breaking

WHAT DOES IT MEAN SHE DOESN’T KNOW 

SHE RECAST PIETRO

Episode 6

OOOOH look at the classic costumes! Pietro is slaying me. I mean, it’s the wrong pietro but its still very funny. The way Vision calls her out and then plays it off is.... spooky. She is fully aware thats not her brother. “Be good.” holy shit. 

Look at me not liking Hayward again. “which one is the sassy best friend” i feel like that’s....racist. “don’t use the last five years as an excuse to be a coward” DRAG HIM SIS 

Listen Uncle Pietro being a little shit head is my favorite. I use the OG Pietro in my fics but this one is hilarious. 

Vision lied about being on duty? Yikes. The one house where people are stuck in a loop? YIKES. Its crazy how everyone is starting to be super aware of Wanda pulling the strings--MAGIC CHILD OMG. 

Whats past ellis avenue? Is that the limit of Wanda’s powers? I don’t super understand how Vision has his powers if he’s technically dead. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE AVENGERS ARE she really just gave him enough life to exist just barely. Agnes knows he’s dead so she wasn’t snapped??

Agnes’s witchy laugh while dressed like a witch is legit awesome. We call that FOREEEEEEEEESHADOWING! Oh and there’s Ellis Ave. Got it. 

Monica’s blood is changed?? Idk how to feel about Black Character willing to die for White Charaxter? I mean I know Wanda should be Jewish but still. Uncomfortably close to icky tropes but maybe I’m reading too far into it.

YIKES where was she hiding the kids till now? How’d she do all this? “I’m not a stranger or your husband” YIKES.

OH MY GOD DEAD PIETRO

OH MY GOD VISION STAY IN THE BUBBLE SOMEONE SAVE HIM SAVE HIM OMG BILLY CAN HEAR HIS DADDY DYING SAVE HIM

“The people need help” oh Vision you are truly Worthy

She literally expanded her world to save him omg

DARCY WHERED YOU GO geez look at power of this girls mind it’s about damn time we got a glimpse at just how intense her powers are

Season 7

Ok is this like a reality show? Oh man she is GLITCHING.

Oh no it’s just Wanda not Wanda vision cos she feels alone? So sad. She really is losing it isn’t she and not in a “lol how awkward” sortnof way but in that truthful hard to watch way that so many of us feel when we’re at the breaking point

“I actually did bite a kid once” I literally ugly laughed right there

I KNEW I COULDNT TRUST HAYWOOD

It’s so nice to see Darcy used in a real way. Her character was totally wasted in Thor

The way Wandas little interviews get more and more sad :(

Uhhh what does that mean Agnes is quiet on the inside? Again with the Ralph thing. I’m starting to think there’s no Ralph at all??

LOOK AT THIS GIRL WITH HER SPACE ROVER . She’s got that same look of determination her mama had. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER WHY ARE HER EYES BLUE

“....soooo Wanda killed me?” I’m ugly laughing again and I shouldn’t be but the comedic delivery is excellent. The whole “office” vibe with the cameras is making an otherwise devastating episode fairly funny

LOOK AT THIS GIRL STANDING UP TO WANDA we love a sharp cheekbones beauty

“Maybe I already am” I mean, I would have loved to hear that post Ultron when for some reason everyone blamed Tony for everything?? But hearing it now is just horrifying and I hate it

Oh vision deciding to go get to his wife is beautiful.

WHERE ARE THE BABIES WHERE ARE THE BOYS OH MY GOD IM FREAKING OUT WHAT BASEMENT THATS NEVER GOOD

Uh hey what the fuck is up with Agness creepy basement of horrors??

AGATHA HARKNESS OH MY GOD

This song is a BOP wtf she deserves an Emmy for this shit

Snoopers gonna snoop what?

Episode 8

Of course it’s Salem, where else would a witch story start

“They simply bent to my power” What a queen

lmaoooo THAT ACCENT COMES AND GOES Agatha really said what we’ve all been thinking

Wait so Wandas power drew Agatha in? I thought maybe Agatha trapped her here?? SHE DOESNT KNOW WHAT WANDA IS

THE BABIES

Oh ouch this trip down memory lane is gonna hurt me isn’t it?

Oh no her mama I’m dying inside send help. The TV sitcoms. Oh my god is this her last memory before her parents died. HELP ME I CANT WATCH THIS

Oh my god, she had powers when she was little?? SHES NOT AN EXPERIMENT???

Listen I generally think telling a story retroactively is lazy writing? Just give us a well developed story the first time?? But this is BRUTAL and brutally well done.

SHE SAW HERSELF IN THE MIND STONE???

Would it have been so difficult for them to give us even a PEEK at this version of wanda vision in CACW? Marvel has the worst habit of just popping up like “oh hey these two love each other all the sudden with no real reason for it” but this is wonderful. So much character development.

Oh listen to this woman begging to be able to bury her husband omg. WAIT SO SHE DIDNT BREAK IN AND TAKE HIM?? WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO VISION?? DID HE PUSH HER INTO THIS PSYCHOTIC BREAK?? HE TOTALLY PLAYED HER INTO RECREATING VISION SHE JUST WANTED CLOSURE. He literally showed her visions dismembered corpse and said “say goodbye” I will kill this dude wtf

“I can’t feel you” guys I have to pause this so I can cry for a minute

“I can’t feel you” and then she leaves. Totally alone in the world. My heart is an empty husk.

Why the house though? Why west view?

OH FUCK ME UP ARE YOU KIDDING ME VISION WAS GOING TO BUILD THEM A HOUSE I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE

It’s not even real vision? Just the projection of her broken heart? “Welcome home” I am broken. Physically broken.

CHAOS MAGIC

SCARLET WITCH

I CANNOT

OH MY GOD WHITE VISION??? NO NO NO

[tomb-bloom-noctem]

Were there any episodes in season 3 where you felt they could've been written better? I'm only asking because I had some ideas I wanted to share with people about fixing them since, to me, the season started becoming a mess around The Phantom and the Sorceress. And the episodes don't need to be outright bad, there could just be parts in it you didn't like.

Oof. I've been a bit loud and obnoxious about certain episodes for sure 😅 I'll try to briefly sum up a few.

Also I'm just gonna say, some of these are just I don't like what they did rather than any huge fundamental problems like the finale.

Also disclaimer. This is not an attack on anyone who likes these episodes! Nobody has to agree with me! If you like these episodes cool! Glad you got something out of it! This is just Tombs being a nit pick loud mouth.

Rumble for Ragnarok

I can't complain too much about this one as it was still entertaining. Norse is part of my heritage and I'm a fan of the mythology which was on full display this episode. My only real issue this episode is that the message gets a little lost at least on me. And then two is I think out of all the episodes this one is the one that could absolutely be thrown out without losing anything really important. Trade this episode for something different. Something more important.

The Forbidden Fountain of the Forever Glades

Scrooge's behavior and leaving Webby in the jungle was painful to watch. (Much as I don't like the finale twist, the twist actually makes this episode worse.) [Also so much for Goldie's "fresh start" when in Split Sword of Swanstitine later showed she once again attempted to double cross Scrooge. Yeah. Fresh start. Totallyyyy.] Goldie is a fun character and I can't hate her too much. The episode has its merits and definitely still think this episode should be around but Scrooge's behavior here really kills me. Thankfully at the end he does better but ugh. It's low on the overall ranking for me based on how he behaves and treats Webby.

New Gods on the Block

I actually really love this episode but Storkules was pissing me off too much 😂 Nit pick for sure. I love this himbo but got dangit he was making me so mad. I get it was kinda important for the overall plot but come on we got so little Donsy content that it was frustrating that he was so intrusive.

The First Adventure

Nit picking again. I think it's kinda random how in the span of a few hours a hard ass like Scrooge went from "my obnoxious niece and nephew" to "my heirs and beloved family." I guess it's possible but not a fan of that kind of writing. For me it would make more sense that they had several adventures or at least more time with them before they became "his heirs" in his eyes. Extreme nit picking on my part though, the episode isn't bad at all really. Also no Hortense and Quackmore. Yes they were named. (Or she was) No we never got to see them. Rude! This was actually a really good episode though overall again I just have some minor nit picks.

The Fight for Castle McDuck

Okay this one is also kind of a nit pick but it's more like based on the episode's timing. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that Webby "Knower of all things Clan McDuck" has no idea that a family of Scots fights a lot. I can somewhat forgive it though as she's young and isn't as familiar with this side of the family in the flesh. But it's so weird how this late into the show we're seeing this?? I think I would have liked this episode more if it had popped up earlier into season 3 rather than so late? It just was a kinda weird episode and not the most enjoyable but the timing I think made it worse. Also the no mention of Hortense again. Referring to Matilda as the youngest when that's supposed to be Hortense? It's really not the worst episode. It just feels a bit off to me and again to me mostly the timing of it. Could have been better, could have been worse.

How Santa Stole Christmas

THROW THIS EPISODE INTO THE FUCKING GARBAGE. HATE HATE HATE IT. THIS ONE ACTUALLY MAKES ME RAGE.

This episode is actually worse for me than the finale. Literally I consider this episode the worst in the series. I just hate it!!!

I hate that this episode was about Scrooge and Santa. I really don't give a fuck why Scrooge hates Santa and this story in no way compelled me. (Also why was Scrooge and Santa's dialog weirdly shippy??? Thanks to this episode got another huge NOtp, "scranta" is gross, sorry, hate it. Absolutely cannot board that ship at all, I have the tag blocked.) I see absolutely no reason why this was the story we got when there was literally an option to follow up The Last Christmas now that Della was finally home????? MISSED OPPORTUNITY!!! I hate the weird crazy ass capitalist message going on throughout the episode, I get Scrooge is a capitalist himself but he didn't change from this episode? He walked away from Jennifer's obvious poverty life and went "ah as long as she's happy" instead of I don't know, maybe a message about helping the less fortunate??

Look maybe I'm just bitter from my own life. I've lived in extreme poverty my whole life. My parents home has literally looked so much liked the ruined place Jennifer lived in during the episode. And I live in Alaska so I KNOW COLD. I know how it feels to go cold for days on end, no food, no water, nothing. Extreme poverty. Scrooge could have done something. He wasn't like Donald who doesn't have much either. He's a freaking billionaire. He could have helped. And instead the message he walked away with is "if you're happy life is fine" or something. Whatever the message that was supposed to be from this episode is completely lost on me because all I see is a miserable rich old miser who hates letting kids have fun and won't help someone in need. Absolute garbage episode. I really wish they had instead just followed up on The Last Christmas. Or had some kind of family centric episode at least! I seriously fucking hate this episode so much. I would legit erase this episode if I could it is the WORST.

The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker

Nit pick again. Didn't love what they did with Kit. Okay I get the idea he grew up to idolize Baloo so he turned out more like him. It...wasn't great. Didn't like that much at all. Felt like they just tried to shove Kit into a DT87/DWD Launchpad mold. I didn't love that Baloo and Kit's relationship was mentioned weirdly casually? Like Kit called himself Baloo's sidekick??? Except in Talespin Kit calls him Papa Bear??? Also great, got another tag to block from this episode, the delkit ship. Not a fan, thanks.

Kinda weird for me with this episode I didn't really catch the meaning of it. To me it felt like the message was "defy expectations...by meeting them." It didn't really click and I kinda hated it for that plus the weird characterization of Kit. Actually I was on Twitter and someone was complaining about this episode and I responded in agreement and then FRANK REPLIED TO US 😅😅😅. Frank explained that the point was more of "if you're good at something, don't give it up" rather than "you can do anything you set your mind to" type message that appears a lot in kids media. (Also Frank please don't look at me when I'm criticizing the show 😂😂😂😂😭 I promise overall I do love it I'm just a loud mouth when I don't like something some times 😅)

After Frank explained that it did click a little better and I can see the message a bit more clearly. But I'm still not really in love with this episode like I wanted to be. I freaking love Talespin so that was a bummer. But as I've said a dozen times. I'm mostly nit picking my personal opinion.

The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck

Another one I wanted to like more than I actually did. And mostly this boils down to Louie having to apologize to Doofus when Doofus is the one who's like some wild sociopath or something. I get it Louie hasn't been completely innocent towards Doofus. He did try to use him and con him but Doofus flat out has tried to hold him captive and torture and even kill him. Doofus' sins outweigh Louie's. Louie having to apologize to prevent the tension and all just...feels like victim blaming? This one is harder for me to describe why I don't like it and I think others have explained it better than me. I think it could have been better if Louie AND Doofus both apologized and agreed to start over and let what happened between them before be water under the bridge. At least this way they're equals? Maybe it wouldn't have been the best fix but I feel it would have been better than Canon. This one I don't want to call a nit pick. This one feels like there is something fundamentally wrong with it but I struggle to explain. Mostly other than that though I think the episode was fine. A little weird that the karma court scale needed to be told the villains hearts rather than able to just know them (mostly looking at the Ma Beagle one here) but that part is more nit pick.

And finally...The Last Adventure

I have things I love about it. The individual character moments. The references and call backs. The music. This finale was clearly made with love and care.

But that damn Webby clone daughter thing twist changes things. I know some people say it doesn't but to me it does! I feel it messed with the family dynamic and the characters in a needless way. I feel it didn't add anything to but rather did take away from. I don't wanna say too much on it as there's already been so much talk on it so in keeping it brief- not a fan, didn't like, why the hell, no.

The thing with Bradford kinda threw me off too. His logic and insistence on not being a villain made him so interesting. He was truly a villain to rival Scrooge. Then in my opinion he was pushed into a weird middle ground. He didn't feel like he completely abandoned what he previously stood on but also didn't go full villain either? I get a villain like Bradford isn't easy. The writers have to truly bring their all for someone like him. But Bradford suddenly getting armor and the Split Sword and becoming a battling giant was kinda ????? inducing. Threw me for a bit of a loop. I probably need to watch this episode a few more times before I finally settle on where I sit with the Bradford thing but at least at this time I just feel kinda mixed on it. Maybe I missed something there.

Other nit picks from the finale. Donald's writing was a little weird, he sounded like he was going on vacation but then Della said he was moving out and Donald talked like "well you have the boys and Uncle Scrooge..." it just really sounds like he's leaving the family?????????? Especially at a time like this? Rude! I mean yes somebody please get this man a vacation but the writing here left me kinda confused and there is no reason Donald would ever just leave and act like "oh well their mom is back so my work here is done." Nope. DADnald for life.

Lena and Webby never getting shown to have made up after their fight. I imagine the giving June and May the friendship bracelets kinda implies it but come on. Even just a hug would have been good. Also...why are they giving up their friendship bracelets??? Confused, not a fan.

And also...in addition to the Clone twist, I really don't love that April, May, and June were all clones instead of Daisy's nieces. I really wanted to get to see them in the show and now I just feel like thanks I hate it! I admire the guts to make a twist like this and all but I really hate it.

Overall please let me say I LOVE Ducktales. The show as a whole to me is a huge important thing I love. This isn't an attack on anyone who likes these episodes. I am just once again being loud and obnoxious with my own opinions and nit picks and things I just would have liked to see or not see.

no idea if any of this rambling answers your question Anon but here you go. Hope it works.

[need-a-new-hobby]

the descent into hell isn’t easy

s1 ep 2

so i got 2 notes on my last post so imma keep going

did simon just compare jace to mick jagger?!? HA!

did clary just say that she thinks jocelyn is at the center of their war?!? WhAt? look, i get that this girl wants to find her mom, but assuming that the entire shadowhunter race (also they call themselves a race) is fighting over her mom is just... idek what to call it? Arrogance? Naïveté?

also did noone think to bring the body inside?

i swear alec is so done with jace and his mundanes. his entire thing is just ‘another one?’

i’m sorry, i think my eyes just rolled down the back of my skull with the whole ‘best friends’ thing. 

can i just point out that matthew daddario is just watching isabell flirt with simon with such amusement? it’s adorable.

my god, i forgot that they torture their tutor to get info on the circle. i know hodge deserves this later, but seriously, how could clace do that?

‘i hate to make you suffer like this.’ are y’all serious? she’s borderline torturing this guy for info. somehow she makes me angrier by apologising. 

also this kinda thing is so classic. ofc none of them know their own violent history. did no-one bother to find out growing up? i hate to say this but if clary’s right about one thing, it’s the insanity behind not knowing their own history.

also, this scene is one of the first that made me sorta dislike clary. rewatching it just makes me angrier.

‘what is a g. i. joe?’ them not knowing clary and simon’s pop culture references is the funniest. refer to mick jagger above

also where the hell was she planning to go? and clary’s explanation of what a g.i. joe is is kinda off. i always assumed a g. i. joe was like an all-american hero (see steve rogers)

yikes! clary stepped on mom issues. i have no empathy/sympathy for her, she needs to calm down

‘in the shadow world, no training and no plan gets you killed’ - the first sane thing i’ve heard jace say all season.

kay, jace has got to be some kinda genius to go from ‘my memory’s blank’ to ‘your memory’s been wiped’. my memory goes blank all the time. i don’t remember what i had for dinner last night.

one more implausible thing, how doesn’t she know what a warlock is? i mean she’s 18, it’s 2016, has she not heard of Harry Potter, or LOTR for that matter? she’s simon’s best friend, she has to have come across it at some point in time.

kay, first of all, we all saw dot fall through a window about maybe 10 ft high, crack her neck on a fence and fall on the pavement. how is she still alive? 

also, i know luke’s meant to be a good guy and all, but he literally just treated dot like crap considering all she’s been through. and insinuating that she can’t be trusted when he himself was a circle member is just plain discrimination. 

also, she gets it. ‘if anyone can help, it’s magnus bane’. i get it, my baby is super powerful, but please don’t get him killed. i can already sense the magnus bane sass™️

izzy’s so pretty! and her hair is flawless. but the way she says ‘he’s the ultimate protector’, i just can’t

btw, love the inclusion of the ‘izzy can’t cook’ gag from the books. but kinda implausible that she can make porridge but completely burns toast. nvm, the porridge looks nasty (sorry, iz, i still love you though, bad porridge and all)

can i just ask that if jocelyn fray’s real name is fairchild, why would searching her pseudonym come up as restricted? also, hodge very conveniently forgot to tell them that jocelyn was married to valentine or that her real name was fairchild. that’s just sloppy.

also luke’s friendship with his boss is so pleasing to watch (terrible phrasing i know) i mean so often female captains are seen as these stoic, always angry and fierce officers with terrible relationships with their underlings. it’s nice to see her joking around with a colleague. 

clary’s uncomfortability with izzy’s clothing is canon, but she’s basically wearing a camisole. it’s a lot less revealing that izzy’s regular clothes. at least there’s no slutshaming! plus she’s gonna be wearing a jacket on top, but ofc everyone’s comfort levels are different.

I’m so glad that Clary and Izzy are both so positive towards each other. I mean compared to the books, not that bad

‘do you know how to fight demons?’ to ‘i’m an internet search away.’ simon’s the best. 😍😍

i mean, who in their right mind would approve the mission? sure, they’re not teenagers, but they’re messing with Valentine, for crying out loud. besides, we all know how much the clave prioritises down and out warlocks.

‘little girl’

‘clave thing,’ someone needs to educate this selfish matchstick. first of all, she can’t expect alec to turn his back on the clave, they need the clave’s resources to keep the institute running. second of all, she doesn’t really need to go. think about it, if alec, jace and izzy can track down a shapeshifter to a nightclub, they can handle a warlock. besides, she’d just be dead weight anyway. i just hate that clary doesn’t get better than this.

haha, alec’s salt kills me. ‘well, since you have all the answers...’ 

oh, so she’s not gonna explain the vision giving gemstone lolling around her neck? fuuun

‘you were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me right?’ alec’s smile aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. i love one grumpy cat smile so much. also this is like his first smile in the 2 eps

sorry, but magnus’s face when dot grabs his arm, just like ‘bitch who do you think you are?’ 

instant priorities people. see, magnus understands the concepts of ‘risk’, ‘danger’ and ‘consequences’, unlike one matchstick i won’t name. (“I’ve been busy trying to save our people from certain death”)

hahaha, the foreshadowing -> “are you really gonna risk your life for a shadowhunter?” - this is why magnus is my fave.

okay, couple really weird things i have to point out. first off, clary sucks at running. i get that running in heels is hard, i can’t even walk in them, but i can’t believe that the entire institute doesn’t have one good pair of sneakers. second, alec is just walking in the back, that’s how slow they’re going. third, are they seriously just following clary around the club on some strange whim instead of attacking the club strategically? 

but seriously, her running though. her arms are just waggling around. seriously, guys, sneakers.

kay, clary is way too hyper right now. alec never said they were giving up, just that it wasn’t safe and they had to get back to the institute. which is absolutely true, if circle members are after dot in pandemonium, they’re probably in the vicinity

im sorry, but watching alec and izzy know exactly what jace is planning with the silent brothers and in sync just going ‘jace, no’

‘a process that can also kill you, so there’s that.’ i mean, what’s the downside?

‘your bedside manner is abysmal’ - kay, i’m still kinda pissed off rn so that’s probably coming across here, but dude, you are both adults and she needs to know the risks involved. how tf was he supposed to say that...not abysmally? sorry, im a big alec defender. i think its an older sibling thing.

wait, 18 rules? damn, jace has to have like a record or something. i reckon 18′s probably exaggerating. i’d guess at 10, maybe 12.

hold up, he’s asking clary to decide whether she should get her memories wrenched out of her by the silent brothers w/o knowing the risks involved? not a sound decision.

why is she so fucking smug towards alec? it’s kinda hard to see at first, you have to replay it a couple times. maybe it’s just me cuz im writing this late at night but her attitude towards alec really gets under my skin.

also, i think satan is on simon’s van. that’s not at all disconcerting

also, why is this all happening at night? and wasn’t isabelle making breakfast before? 

‘are you kidding? i was born afraid.’ first of all, mood. second of all, proof why simon is my child.

tbh, i really wanted to see a better brotherhood between jace and alec. like, it is still better than in the books, where jace practically ignores alec’s existence until he gets injured by Abaddon. (a moment i wish was in the tv show, but too complicated, i understand.) but i think in this scene, where they discuss the steps they’re taking, you kind of see the chemistry between them. well, not really chemistry, maybe more just their relationship. 

first off, alec tries explaining to jace that even though clary’s made the decision, they’re responsible for her wellbeing, something that isn’t in the book. i really appreciate this bit, primarily because you see why alec is so fussy about missions. as the season progresses, you see the kind of pressures that are on him, something that makes me hate clary all the more

second, jace counters this by giving him the bigger picture. this is a step they need to take to find valentine. i think that’s something the books don’t give you either. you kinda start seeing that without jace, alec gets stuck on the minor details i.e. rules, stipulations etc. and without alec, jace wouldn’t be able to calculate the risks of each decision, which i think is key to understanding them as parabatai.

third, alec’s soft little ‘you were never a stray’ tugs at my heartstrings every time. jace really is family to them, a brother for them and i love that he sort of forces that down; that despite their last names, despite their bloodlines, they will always be brothers, a sentiment i absolutely adore

haha, jace c*ckblocking simon since 2016

i’m still not over the notion that valentine is holed up in chernobyl, of all places. i am really glad though that they didn’t follow the trope of the US being like the only country in the world, or New York being the only city on the planet.

did i mention how confused i am that dot is still alive?

yeah, did not miss jace’s arrogance

‘kay despite the fact that i hate everything about her, i have to commend clary on how much she loves her mom. i mean, i know a lot of people who wouldn’t do the same. and despite the fact that jocelyn lied to her for 12 years (based on what she tells magnus later on) she’s still willing to do whatever it takes.

‘you’re clary freaking fray, you can do anything.’ cue alec eye-rolling in the back. look, it’s not that i have anything against simon and clary being vocal about their bff status, it’s just that a) i would never talk to my best friend like that and b) it is thoroughly making me cringe

kay, i’ve rewatched this scene a dozen times and here’s what i noticed

‘i have seen every horror movie ever and the funny best friend who gets left behind...dead man’

cue isabelle laughing

jace: you’re not that funny

alec is just so done with these f*cking mundanes. “the rune energy will kill any mundane that dares to enter, so please.” motions for the mundie to keep going. 

kay, before i keep going, i’ve noticed this post is going on for a bit, and re-reading, i feel like i have to clarify why i dislike jace’s arrogance but not alec’s. i think it’s mainly because jace’s arrogance stems from a need to be superior to others, which is common with victims of child abuse, or so i’ve read. knowing this makes it a little harder to hate him, but this kind of behaviour, while is justifiable, often leads to them tearing down another person’s self-worth, which you can kind of see in the books. alec’s arrogance mainly stems from being exhausted from dealing with other people’s bullshit, which i can’t really dislike. i’m an older sibling myself, so i kinda know what he goes through dealing with siblings and such. you’ll see with the next point.

‘talk about sacrifice, i’m missing a financial analysis class.’ first off, what kind of class starts in the middle of the night? second, i’d rather be in the city of bones than in financial analysis. third, i feel alec’s exasperation.

‘yeah, i can’t be around this, so imma mind the perimeter.’ *gestures to simon’s entire body*

i dunno why clary’s hugging simon like that, it’s not like he’s the one going down there. i’m gonna move on before i overanalyse and come up with more ways why i don’t like clary

izzy keeps making simon uneasy and I LIVE FOR THESE MOMENTS

aight, imma keep it honest, i skipped the whole city of bones/clace section the first time cuz they’re so boring. but it’s pretty much just jace making stupid jokes and clary being kinda whiny.

‘looking better in black than the widows of our enemies.’ a line that lives rent-free in my head.

also, he keeps saying she’s a shadowhunter now, but she hasn’t done much shadowhunting. she doesn’t even know what the clave is

aand now they’re holding hands. great. very professional y’all.

silent brothers. looking creepy since the dawn of nephilim. but for my book stans, where’s brother smackariah?

imma be honest, i feel bad for the silent brothers. i mean, they’ve devoted themselves completely to the shadowhunter profession, mutilated themselves for the attainment of knowledge, and yet, the first thing that comes to mind is fear instead of admiration. yikers.

“if you are not strong enough, the soul sword will kill you.” this show needs to stop getting my hopes up

“it literally never stops talking.” i love alec with all my heart.

i know i shouldn’t but it’s so funny that they keep referring to simon as ‘it’

“my father is valentine.” cue matchstick running. 

alec is the only sane person on this team. how is he the only one that doubts clary’s loyalty? i mean, i’ll admit he could have phrased it better, but book!Alec is canon for being straightforward so i’m shrugging it off. jace should’ve been a leetle understanding and for once, i think clary’s reaction towards alec was justified. finding out she’d valentine’s daughter, and then being accused of espionage isn’t a fortunate series of events. but alec is correct in his own right. as head of the institute, he needs to make sure. again, he’s always mindful of the consequences behind his actions. even when simon is kidnapped, he doesn’t act rashly, even though no-one would blame him for sticking an arrow through Raphael for kidnapping Simon. (don’t get me wrong, i love raphael.) but he doesn’t, keeping the accords in mind. they’d all be screwed if they broke the law, and alec would be held responsible.

that’s all folks. tune in tomorrow for episode 3

[dokkaebiking]

Pass the happy! When you receive this, list 5 things that make you happy and send this to 10 of the most recent people in your notifications!

Considering how 2020 has gone, this shouldn’t be a hard list to make as there’s not a lot that’s made me happy this year. I mean, this has been sitting in my inbox for far too long, simply because The Depresso™ has robbed me of the energy to do much of anything these days. However, Biden won the election, and although that cursed cheese ball shit bag currently in the White House is trying to undermine democracy, at the same time I know he ain’t gonna get away with it, so I feel lighter than I have in months, and I’m finally getting to things I’ve held off for too long. Not gonna tag anyone, but if you want to be tagged then I’m attacking you with psychic powers right now and tagging you spiritually >:D

1. Trash of the Count’s Family! I cannot overstate how much joy this Korean webnovel has brought me this year. I read the manhwa first, by chance, when I was cruising the “Isekai” tag, and after reading so many where a woman got sent into another world/was reborn in another world/took over the body of a side character in their favorite game or book or whatever/or otherwise transmigrated into a place that’s Not Here (and lucky them, amirite)...I was happy to see it happen to a guy. Not only that, but like the first chapter, aside from the prologue, was filled with so much fanservice of just this one guy that I was pleasantly surprised at the tables being turned. Especially since Isekai is very well known for it’s trashy female fanservice and gross harems that make no sense. CUE CALE HENITUSE COMING TO SAVE THE ISEKAI GENRE! 

He not only has no romantic interest whatsoever in the story, which is fantastic (doesn’t stop us fans from shipping left and right, but I love it when this type of protag just does not do romance at all), but he builds a harem that’s purely platonic and god damn it I’ve never seen Found Family done so well I wanna cry just thinking about it. Plus, Cale’s whole philosophy of “gotta create world peace so I can live as a slacker” is hilarious, considering how he just keeps being a Hero™ and hating it, but his dumb ass can’t stop. Also, there’s a baby dragon that he saves, sets free from a terrible torture chamber it began its life in, and rather than running off it decides to follow Cale around and basically Cale becomes a father of three kids, one being the dragon, and the other two being two precious (and very dangerous) cat kids. This story refuses to let the good guys die, which after GoT is refreshing as hell, but isn’t afraid to take bloody revenge on the bad guys, which is also hella refreshing. I’ll go on forever if I don’t stop here, but just look it up if you get the chance and any of this appeals to you—you won’t regret it.

2. KakaIru, easily, has been the stable foundation for me this year. The friends I met through the fandom before this year have only become closer, and more dear to me, and the new friends are just as lovely; these people are the only things keeping me sane, let me tell you. The @kakairuzine “Intertwined” was a big project that I was delighted to help mod for, and participate in as a merch artist, and I’m so thrilled that we reached all of our stretch goals, and then some! The @the-umino-hours server has brought me much joy during the year, as well as the forum @kakairu-rocks, participating in the @kakairu-mini-bang was a blast (and I’m working on the second part to that fic right now tbh), now I’m a mod (and participant) for the @kakairu-big-bang and am so excited for it. KakaIru has been with me since I was a kid, and it’s just so lovely that it’s still a fairly active part of the fandom, and still makes me as happy as it did when I was 14  (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

3. Spooky boys, like cryptids and folklore and eldritch horrors, are always a delight, but in a year that’s more horrifying than any of them could ever dream to be, it’s oddly cathartic to indulge in the monsters we imagine while surrounded by real monsters of our own making. Also, ever since I wrote my KakaIru fic Want Me Down to the Marrow I’ve had such a soft spot for the Gashadokuro, and still laugh at “Bone Daddy”. You’ll have to pry that title from my cold, dead hands.

4. “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!” It was honestly this otome anime that led me down the path that eventually brought me to “Trash of the Count’s Family”. So I owe a lot to this series, and really the series in and of itself is such a delight. I bought the light novels on Bookwalker because I loved it so much~♥ Katarina (aka Bakarina), thank you for your service. Because of you I looked up other series of a similar strain as your story, and found the manhwa “Beware the Villainess!”, which is a fucking delight, and thus kept looking into that genre and eventually found my way to Cale Henituse’s whacky adventures.

5. “The Rising of the Shield Hero” has made me happy from the first time I watched it, but I rewatched it this year, and the announcement for the second season’s release came just like...last month I believe, so that spike of serotonin was highly appreciated. I have the light novels for this series up to volume 17, and let me tell you, the story just gets better and better and I cannot wait for it to be animated. Naofumi, I love you you cinical little shit~♥

[rewatching-supernatural]

s12e12

5:20 PM

The whole family (+Wally) having dinner together

Omg Dean trying to hit on the waitress but she's only interested in Cas

These turning shots, everyone talking on top of each other, this is such a different vibe

*****

Oh, it's gonna go very bad

very bad indeed

*****

THE WOUNDED ANGEL

EARLIER

*****

"Urination. I understand." Cas 😂

*****

these moving shots are simply art

*****

A demon stronger than the demon blade???

stronger than Cas??

YELLOW EYES? AZAZEL?

more demons!

OH MY GOD STOP STABBING CAS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

NO 😭😭😭😭

Mary hit him with a car!

Cas is dying 😭😭😭😭😭

*****

9:05 PM

What the hell happened? Yellow Eyes??

*****

MOTHER MARY

Mary's working with the British Men of Letters

8:23 PM

oh

is that Michael? I feel like it is, I feel like we've seen it before and it was Michael

what the hell is Mary doing???

betraying her own kids, wow, great role model

*****

9:03 PM

Cas is dying and Mary is texting people

Dean coming in to see Cas 😭😭😭

something's wrong, he can't heal, and he's all black on the waist

😭😭😭😭😭

Oh, Crowley

Crowley???!!

*****

Ramiel?

ah, Prince of Hell, of course 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ this fucking show pulling things out of its ass

*****

SIX YEARS AGO

MR. CROWLEY

ah, the lance of Michael okay, I was right

so Crowley went to Ramiel for him to be King, and he refused, so Crowley took the place?

okay, that makes sense, I guess?

*****

Crowley being sorry for Castiel, uh

Dean's fucking breaking apart, he's angry

9:07 PM

Oh, Crowley's going to try

welp, that didn't exactly work

*****

A REAL BARN BURNER

9:12 PM

Cas is dying 😭😭😭

"Look, thank you. Thank you. Knowing you, it's been the best part of my life."

"You're my family.

I love you."

"Just, please, please, don't make my last moments be spent watching you die. Just run. Save yourselves. And I will hold Ramiel ofd as long as I can."

"Cas, no."

"Yes. You need to keep fighting."

"We are fighting. We're fighting for you, Cas."

"And like you said, you're family. And we don't leave family behind."

Dean and Cas' look here, the desperation and sadness

If we go down, we go down together

*****

Is Mary going to let them all die for what she stole?

Apparently she is

*****

They managed to kill Ramiel, but Cas? Cas is dying

Oh, Crowley's back, and he figured it out

the runes

I hate the music they chose for this scene so much, wow, really ruined the moment AND Crowley's move, great

Crowley saved Cas though

*****

ONE LAST THING

Men of Letters dude again??

Fuck him

Oh yes Mary, tell him

and also stop working with him, what the fuck

it's YOUR fault for trusting these people

*****

Wait wait wait

all of this

for THE COLT???

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

*****

They really did Crowley dirty this season, what the fuck

ah, and Lucifer

*****

// Okay, I have more thoughts about this episode

First, it goes in the favourites pile for how creatively different it is from the others: the camera shots, the jumps in time back and forth, the multiple storylines, the secrets, so many characters, the chaos and confusion that somehow makes sense

It had the vibes of a How I Met Your Mother episode

But, I profoundly hate what they're doing with Mary. Having her come back from the dead, to then not only betray her own kids, but actively work against them with the organization that tortured and tried to kill them??? the woman who died to try and save Sam, doing everything she can to get them hurt??? I'm not buying it, and there is NO WAY to justify what she's doing

She COULD tell them she's working with the Men of Letters to take out monsters and she'll drop them if there's anything fishy. She could tell them she wants to hunt and feel useless. She could tell them she wants to rid the US of monsters so they don't have to be hunters anymore. There is SO MUCH she could do that would make her make sense. But nope, she's going behind their backs and risking their lives on secrets.

Also, Crowley. Crowley, who would make deals and only help someone if it brought him something personally, is now an accessory? They took all his power, all his authority, all his grandeur, they took everything from him to leave him but a shell of the character he used to be. I know he drank human blood and was emotional for a while and that was awesome! But then, he needed to spring back. Not end up... whatever he is now.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Hi! I really like your blog. Your analysis posts about ships or other things are really interesting and your gifsets are super cute! I have just finished reading your two anime recommendation posts and I was wondering if you plan to write a third one about the remaining animes you like? I would LOVE to read it.

Hi:) Thank you so much! Haha these were more like “bromance anime recommendations” lists. I’m glad you liked them romances. Here’s part 1 and part 2 :)

14. Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun.

The relationship of the couple in this anime are one of the best on so many levels. They’re one of those “even the darkest part of me can’t hurt you” superior ships. They’re two of the main characters, 2 out 8 of the reincarnated warriors (who are all handsome af haha) that are meant to.. you know… save the world.

They’re both on the verge of death at the beginning and one (Shino) in order to survive agrees to live with a demonic sword inside of him which prevents him from growing old and growing per se (which is really sad for many reasons plus you’ll see him once in his 18-year old body and he’s so gorgeous), the other (Sousuke) takes half of a life from a dog, so he can tranform into it whenever he wants.

The problem is that during all of that Sousuke has split and lost his shadow aka the dark part of himself. His shadow works for the dark side, but all he really wants is Shino. The most amazing thing is that Sousuke loves Shino so much, that even his dark part would never ever hurt him. Like his shadow does some pretty terrible stuff to others like once he has made a deal with a girl so she would gave him her eyes just because Shino has said that they’re pretty lmao (I’m sory but its kinda funny), but he gets so pissed when Shino is hurt. So it’s the same as Akashi & Kuroko and Gauche & Lag: even for the darkest part of him the other one is his weakness. 

Also this is one of the animes where LITERALLY the power of gay love saves the world by the end. (p.s. sorry, Genpachi, I love you the most and I know you like Shino too, but your flirting can’t beat such deep feelings lol).

15. Assassination Classroom.

Not gonna spoil anything about plot, so I’ll say it’s about “problematic” kids trying to kill their teacher who has superpowers and that’s it. This anime is full of controversial stuff, like I really questioned things and what’s right or wrong, but one thing for sure is that no matter of what you think about the situation, you will 100% cry at the end. I personally think it’s a kinda happy ending considering all the stuff, but opinions are very different when it comes to this anime.

Now for the ship. Let’s just start with the fact that both Karma and Nagisa have ehhhh… psychological problems haha (but who doesn’t in this anime? lol). So Karma is a sadist (like for real, he likes to get creative with torturing) and I think he’s also a yandere when it comes to Nagisa. He threatens to kill those who even talk bad about Nagisa and once has almost beaten to death those who bullied him (which I didn’t mind tbh lmao). He never does anything if others ask, but when/if Nagisa says “please”, he immediately says yes (which is also funny). 

They both are in awe with each other and think the other one is absolutely incredible so it’s like a two-sided fan club. Karma is really scary, but when it comes to Nagisa he can be fluffy af. He also doesn’t care about people much, but Nagisa is his everything. Like the “I give up” moment will melt your heart, that was so cute. 

So this is one of those “you’re the only exception” ships. Bc Karma is a person who will enjoy skinning ppl alive, but when he’s with Nagisa he likes to hug, pick him up and coo about Nagisa’s height, play tag, discuss his fav movies and tickle fight. I’m like… I’m just… this is great.

16. Bungou Stray Dogs.

This one is about a detective agency where everyone has superpowers who are “enemies” with the mafia group where everyone has superpowers, but actually they’re all friends and half of the detective agency date the mafia xD (I’m sorry, but it’s the truth). Like I still don’t get why they won’t just make one organization, this is getting ridiculous.

I’m not a huge fan of the anime per se tbh, because like it has way too many characters who I can’t even feel for cause supposedly they’ve had a dramatic past, but what past nobody tells, so I like can’t empathize to someone who’s an asshole without knowing why he is that way. Plus there’re many characters in animes who have had a horrible childhood/past but are incredible people (hello to Todoroki and Levi). And some characters there for some reason are degrading instead of progressing which is the worst for me. But it’s pretty entertaining to watch if you won’t think much about stuff, powers are cool and it’s drawn beautifully (but there is one scene that was repeated 28 times 28 TIMES!, we’ve counted just for laughs, guess which xD, that’s like.. they could’ve made time for a whole new episode instead of this)

There’s one character whose progression is so incredible though that I’m happy to watch just for him. It’s Akutagawa. He’s like grown so much and I love everything about him, how he went from trying to kill Atsushi to risking his life for him and letting him use rashomon, how he’s homey with his sister and how he’s so good with feeling his powers, how Kyouka tried to kill him and he was like “I’m so glad you’re happy now”. Bitch, like that’s the character progression I’m asking for! Man, he’s just… he’s my favorite, I love seeing many sides of him. He made me so happy in s3 when I was ready to turn it off lmao

So there are two main ships in this anime. Dazai and Chuuya. They are one of those perfect combinations. But not in a usual way you think.. like characteristically. Chuuya’s full power is uncontrollable and the only one who can stop him is Dazai, cause his ability is to nullify other’s abilities, so he’s the only one who can stop Chuuya and also save him from being destroyed by his own power. So basically Chuuya trusts Dazai with his own life when they work together (which is.. I’d be scared if I was in Chuuya’s place lmao). It’s not like I’m scared that Dazai’s gonna let him die or anything, but stuff like “let’s watch a bit longer how Chuuya is going nuts cause it’s funny” doesn’t seem funny to me.

Let’s just say, I do ship them, I think they’d be perfect together if Dazai was like a fanfiction Dazai, you know. But the truth here is firstly their relationships progression is zero to none, like yeah, it’s fun to watch them bicker, but it like won’t give you any deep feelings. Plus Dazai was the most humane and emotional when he was with Oda (which I really don’t get, Oda was a dumbass tbh, like who makes a children shelter while working in MAFIA???! ofc they were fucking killed). Like Oda’s so special for him but then he treats Chuuya and Akutagawa like shit. And he had more feelings for Oda’s matchbox than for Chuuya in the last season. So my heart just won’t lie there fully, you know. Because there are no moments there that indicate like he’s the one for him.

Now to Akutagawa and Atsushi. This is a classic enemies to lovers stuff. Like they go from trying to kill each other to risking their lives for each other. They warm my heart on so many levels. So they’re both struggling to get over of their past and can’t. But then by the end they help each other to let go of their demons, they give each other what others couldn’t. Like I still can’t believe Atsushi came in like a wrecking ball and said the words Akutagawa wanted to hear for ages (his face, his face lol he was like “w-w-what?”). Atsushi himself admitted that Akutagawa is his cure in the last season. 

These two are like also hilarious bc they both think that they’re trash so their arguments are like “you’re the best”, “no, you’re the best”. Like Atsushi literally goes “Akutagawa is so strong and amazing, but he still thinks he’s weak” what a bae xD and Akutagawa thinks that he’s nowhere as good as Atsushi so it’s really funny. The relationships progression is like insane. They went from beating each other into a blood puddles to covering each other from bullets and being like “honey, don’t you dare die, I was going to kill you myself” lol

I still can’t believe Akautagawa gave Atsushi rashomon… he was wearing rashomon. I mean his ability, which is a part of him was okay with Atsushi using her. I mean.. maaaaaan fanfiction does come true! And they’re like the representation of yin and yang characteristically and even appereance-wise and I think it’s super cool. Plus the “lawnmower” is the cutest pet name I’ve ever heard lol

Anywho, this anime has like 20 bromances, so pick whichever you like.

Damn, that got long and I’ve only mentioned 3 haha, sorry. That way it’s gonna be like 50 parts xD

[huntsman-ash]

LiveThoughts: RWBY V8E6

Second attempt at this since last time Chrome just DIED for no reason...

Im going to put literally the entire thing with Cinder under one note; Called it.

Its a great set of stuff, sure, but it doesnt relaly tell us anything we didnt already know about Cinder, and I personally feel it doesnt really explain why she turned out the way she did. I feel like we’ve had another weird twist of the situation again...M+K? Coronas fault? Who knows. Either way, this section isnt great by my taste and I kinda skipped most of it. 

Few things to note though; Apperently in Mistral scrubbing by hand is still more viable floor cleaning tech than using Dust.

The wind vane on the roof has the Rooster Teeth symbols rooster on it. 

The hotel Cinder is bought by is named the Glass Unicorn, fittingly enough for...several reasons. 

The coffees behind the stepsisters when we first see them are the animated versions of the real life stuff RT put out just before this season went live. 

No one seems to notice the fact cinder has orange eyes. I wonder if weird eye colors are just a THING in Remnant?

The control collar/shock thing is incredibly inefficient in design, since it doesnt actually hold on to her very well. A more effective brace/choker design would have worked better.

The song that goes on during all of this is...kind of obvious and a little bland? Fitting for younger Cinder I guess. 

Mmm. Random greasy huntsman. 

I guess in Atlas its fine to laugh at struggling teenagers?

Im going to assume there’s a 3+ year gap here where she gets older, cause she stops being smol and gets closer to how we see her now.

Also even here, in Atlas...really? The most effective way to clean these carpeted floors is to have a TEENAGER SCRUB THEM BY HAND?

How do you scrub...I assume its carpet anyway?

And how you tell civilians are lame in Atlas; they are impressed...by a sword.  Just a sword. A boring, half-cut sword. Losers.

I assume this would be Cinder’s semblance manifesting. Also note on the desk; “we do not serve faunus”. Well THAT doesnt surprise me.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHE. Get fucked Cinder. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

I dont even feel pity for her, this is funny to me.  Also the fact that this kind of shit aCTUALLY EXISTS is...amusing to me. Like, really? So I guess indentured servitude is a thing in Remnant too. 

And this is why Cinder likes to use swords. Really. Wow. LAMEO.

Huh. Dual maces. Interesting. Thats a prety cool weapon.  Looks like they open up too. Bet he could bash some skulls with that.

“Hurting them isnt going to make your life any better”. Um, excuse me? I think hurting them is the very best thing to do in this situation. At least, for the moment anyway. 

Huh. So she’s ten at this point? Even as a child, shes older than she looks. 

And training montage. Huh. Or at least I assume it is. I get the feeling being able to go where you want too and do what you want too is the main reason Hunters exist. There must be crazy tight immigration laws...or, maybe, its just that traveling between kingdoms is stupid dangerous cause of Grimm. I think the latter is most likely considering every form of public transit extra-kingdom we’ve seen (even between cities, see Argus Limited) has some kind of defensive weaponry. Limited and ineffective, for th emost part oddly.

So you can take the exam at 18. Okay cool. Pre-that must be prep school. Wonder what happens if you wash out? Also I like how this dude is just “yeah, 7 years of training, we got this.”

I think this is the first time we’ve seen the other side of the moon. Or at least, the proper other side...bloody hell I STILL dont know how all those piesces are still held in place, the thing looks like it should start yeeting bolides at Remnant. 

Better still we see it MOVE, rotate in time to the passing of years. So it literally does rotate on its own axis, and more importantly, unlike OUR moon, its NOT tidally locked. We only ever see the same side of our moon. REmnants rotates MUCH faster. Also it doesnt seem to have phases like ours does. I’ll check on why that is. 

Well at least we have an explanation for why Cinders so damn good at fighting people. Trained by an Atlas Huntsman.

Also as a note the device is quite literally just an electrical Dust crystal attached to a necklace. Things the most inefficent torture device Ive ever fucking seen. 

Wonder how often they have to change the crystal.

And there goes the moon rotating again.

I like how NO ONE comment on the blade going missing and that guy never came back for it. I guess he must have just bought a new one.

I get the very distinct feeling they wont just let her go honestly, permission or not. 

AWWW WE DONT EVEN GET TO SEE CINDER MURDER THE SISTERS. Also no blood. Odd.  Good kill on the  stepmother though. Oh, that NECK CRACK.  I like how all the bitch can do is try and shock Cinder, like, uh...adrenaline up? SHE HAS A SWORD? MAYBE FIGHT BACK?

Hah. Weak ass fuckin Atlas people.  Also the clock going off in the back ground twelve times. How fitting. Welcome to midnight. 

Also shes kind of glowing here cause the room is dark, and I find it amusing this is probably the last time she wears white.

And THERES the Cinder we know

Sick ass music, cool. Also THAT is an interesting semblance...I guess he turns himself to metal? Also DAMN his aura broke after THAT? Hes a Huntsman...ah who cares. Again probably in Cinders memory more than anything. Which at this point is probably about as reliable as a coked up hookers.

SHANKED. Sucker. You shoulda seen THAT one coming.

And thats all it took to get the shock collar off. Lol. 

So what happened to the hotel? Did they just...write it off? I mean four people got murdered in there...

And now we’re back on the whale. HOW THE SCREAMING FUCK DID CINDER JUST...

Wow. She just got up after eating that blast. Fucking plot armor.

Merc making the hard calls honestly.  Im actually gonna watch all of this now which is nice because I want to know whats happening in the real world. PITY MORE THAN HALF THE EPISODE WAS THIS FUCKING FILLER.

I like how Cinder just...goes quiet the moment she realizes shes lost Mercury. Not that he was USEFUL mind you but if I had to guess she liked being the boss. But now shes...basically back where she started. 

So the whale is basically a ship. It has a bridge. Probably Salems throne room.

Man, Oscars literally just RTs punching bag this season isnt he? Literally in this case. 

His clothes are still scortched too which I find interesting.  The black eyes also staying. Auras not back up then? Aura repair and regen seems...werid half the time. Like RT does what they want with it.

Ah so someone finally says it...but at the same time what exactly does Salem have to fear? If she cant fight the whole world...what could they do? Maybe overwhelming her? It...Im having a hard time putting the “she cant be stopped” with “shes afraid of fighting all of Remnant”. 

Somethings missing here. I know it.

The sound of the “door” opening reminds me of the Flood doors in High Charity in Halo 3s Cortana. Fleshy twisting.

Mention from Hazel, but AGAIN...no details. I guess if you nail down how she can do stuff its harder to write? 

Glad someone made a comment on the futility of the Hunter academies. 

I really hate how Salems giving us creepy mommy shades. 

Hmm. So yeah the bridge IS the throne room/command deck. I like how Neo doesnt give a fuck is just casually kneeling. 

Ah okay THATS why he grabbed the scroll. 

Heh. Interesting. How exactly does this work I wonder. 

...Why does Salem have a ring. Has she always had that ring?

Neo looking at the Hound like “oh, I could ride this thing”. 

Oh cool the Ace Ops. And they’re arguing, shocker. Sounds like Elm doesnt trust tech either. No shock there.  Idiot.

Atlas elite. Yeah, right.

Huh, is this a Manta with landing gear? I guess they do have them...seems kind of silly to have them so high up though. I guess thats what the thing under the door is for, so they can deploy a ramp. Man, I really dont like Atlas’s airship design.

Hare needs some fuckin suppresants. 

Annnnddd...here we go, things go straight to hell. I was warned of this. I am going to try and not be mad...but from what Ive heard the incomptence of the military in this particular section is astronomical.

Huh. So...Grimm can be convirted into a rock-punching liquid? Interesting. Has that always been a thing or... Also why the fuck are you jsut standing there in awe, go kill the fucking thing! Fucking Specialists.

...that is all it took to get through Atlas’s shield? THAT?

I also love how no one does anything. Ironwoods like “wait what the fuck”. Come on bro. 

And...thats the Atlas navy. Everyone. Two lasers. One of which missed. Remind me again what exactly these things are used to shoot?

Wait, no, that took down part of it, and then the rest is, surprise, hitting the soft rock on the outside. 

THERE goes the shield. 

Hang on a second, how long have those giant squid things been there?

And...what. The whale just approaches, nothing happens? You’ve got 12 fucking ships there, shoot the fucking thing.

Again, WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING?

Oh, it just beach-headed. Okay fine, whatever. 

Im not really worried.

Lets see how RT makes this WORSE though...

And thats this weeks episode.

[celticheartedfangirl]

My OUAT Rewatch -- S6E13 -- Ill-Boding Patterns

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

Can you say STARVED FOR CONTENT?????

I have some issues with this episode, which I will discuss under the cut (most of them have to do with characters that have nothing to do with the two people pictured above) but overall it was fairly decent.  And as I said before -- the bar is LOW at this point, so anything that doesn’t make me scream and want to stab things already gets bonus points.  In this case, literally.  

So this is a Rumple centric -- when was the last one we had?  I think it was Devil’s Due which was a YEAR AGO in real time viewing.  This effing show, I swear . . . . . . . 

Anyhow, as far as Rumple centrics go, this was decent.  

I know that A LOT of people -- including Rumbellers and Dearies -- screamed “RETCON!!!” at this episode.

I was not one of those people.  As much as I bitch about the chronology and timeline of this series, trust me, if I saw a retcon I’d be yelling it from the rooftops here.

I did NOT see a retcon.  Based on the chronology, I can totally see, in the early days of Rumple’s Dark One life, Bae trying to protect his dad and Rumple erasing his memory to protect his kid.  NO it doesn’t damage the character of Baelfire, GTFO.  He had NO MEMORY of this, how could it damage him?  The only nit I have to pick regarding the flashbacks is I don’t think Rumple would be THAT sparkly at this point.  

Also I recall several people (again -- RUMBELLERS AND DEARIES!!!) disparaging this actor, this young man playing Baelfire.  

I’d kindly like to ask those people to please sit down and STFU.  This is a CHILD.  No it’s not the same as Dylan, but Dylan has aged out of the role at this point.  This young boy did a decent job of playing Baelfire.  That had to be a difficult thing as a KID to come into an established role 6 years after the fact.  Bobby praised him.  Anyone who said nasty things about him needs to look at their life choices.  And if you resemble that remark, yes I mean YOU.  

2017 me agrees with today me:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158607111632/the-boy-playing-baelfire-is-doing-a-good-job

So there’s that.  Let’s get more nits out of the way . . . . 

First, there’s Kitsis who wanted to remind us in an interview before this episode aired that Rumple is a good dad.  Hey shithead, we KNOW THIS!  2017 me:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158496759107/rumplestiltskin-has-always-been-a-good-father

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158608482017/rumple-is-seriously-such-a-wonderful-papa

This episode hit a ratings low.  Which is sad because it was a decent episode.  But here’s 2017 me explaining this:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158629719377/oh-baby-lets-do-the-8-dance-cause-those-were

Also, why was Hook in this episode?  No seriously, WHY?  I mean, he served no purpose.  Not that this is new, he NEVER serves a purpose, but his whole thing this episode was moping around cause he killed his girlfriend’s granddad and doesn’t want her to find out.  And then he goes to Archie -- ARCHIE -- who sits there coddling him and telling him how amazing he is.  

ARCHIE.

That guy.  The one being tortured.  BY HOOK.

Did we ever see Hook apologize for this?  Cause I’m gonna be like the CS fans who had little snits every time anyone not in their Hook bubble commented on something negative about Hook that Colin said at a con:

LINKS OR IT NEVER HAPPENED!!!!!

So . . . links?

*crickets*

No pun intended.  

Speaking of CS fans . . . . 

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158610021212/im-watching-the-captain-yawn-fans-melt-down-over

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158609437452/pinchtheprincess-ishtarelisheba-awww-there

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158609713432/bless

Also remember the ABC Hook Advisory Board that banned me?  Heh.

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158625703117/im-almost-positive-now-that-abc-has-purged-the

The Gideon and Rumple scenes were wonderful.  But should Belle -- you know -- be INVOLVED in this, since it was HER ACTION that started it all in motion?

Yup, me, a “Belle hater,” complaining that Belle is being shunted by the show.  Again.  Just saying . . . . . 

Also . . . . regarding Belle and the hug scene -- it would have been nice had it not been for THIS BULLSHIT RIGHT HERE:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158608556822/what-the-actual-fuck-is-she-talking-about

Do we have a running tally of how many times Belle said “For the first time” to Rumple?  Because if the number is more than ONE (it is), this is some shitty writing, AND it also implies that these two had no real relationship at ALL because they didn’t have any real conversations.  THIS is why I hate these fucking writers. 

Lastly, I want to comment on Snowing.  Namely, they weren’t IN this episode.

Eddy Kitsis (its ALWAYS him) stated early in the season that S6 was going to be the “year of Snowing” and . . . . . for about 8 episodes, one of them is in a sleeping curse so they can’t even be in scenes together, and now they’ve just flat out been taken out of an episode.  In the YEAR OF SNOWING.  So yeah.  These writers suck.  

Here have some fun flashback posts on Kitsowitz fuckery and why their show is TANKING at this point:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158661686892/can-you-even-conceive-of-the-magnitude-of

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/158644277207/so-heres-some-fun-stuff-for-you

Points tally:

40 points to start

15 points for Rumple centric

10 points for Rumbelle hug

10 points for Papafire

10 points deducted for Zelena and Hook

5 points for in character Rumple

25 bonus points for this one just because I think it is deserved and not even deducting for the Hook shit because we have 3 episodes of Hook shit to look forward to that I will have PLENTY to deduct from.

Total points:  95

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

[weirdochick56]

Mr. Evans- Chris Evans AU Chapter Seven

Teacher!Chris Evans x Student!Reader

Warnings: TeacherxStudent relationship. Slightly Underage reader x adult teacher. An almost-sexual-assault scene. If this triggers you please don’t read. Violence. (just a small fight scene)  Disclaimers: I don’t own CE or you. I don’t condone any relationship of this kind. This is for fictional and entertainment purposes only. 

A/N: Also, can we all just agree that if at any point a woman or anyone else says “no” or “stop”, you have to respect their wishes? CONSENT IS EVERYTHING PERIOD! Word Count:  4, 392 words

Read Chapter Six Here!!

*

(Gif isn’t mine!)

The thing you hated about parties the most was the fact that they never seemed to end.

Well, actually, that was the second thing you hated about them the most. The thing you actually hated the most about parties was having to dress up.

“God fuckin- Margo,” you groan, tugging at the soft fabric of your black cocktail dress.

“What?” She looks at you from the corner of her eye, gaze trained on the road ahead of her.

“This thing is too short.”

Laughing, your best friend shakes her head at your apprehensiveness. “You can not be serious, Y/n. That dress is like, six inches above your knees. Max. And it’s long at the back so...”

You lean back into the comfy seat of Margo’s sedan, grumbling. “I don’t like heels.”

She wiggles her brows. “They make your legs look great, though.”

You can’t argue the point with her any longer and hated to admit she was right. The strappy heels which wrapped all the way just below your knees and off-shoulder dress that hugged your top but spread out at the bottom required a considerable amount of cash from your father's bank account but looked really good on you.

The style was so far from your usual jeans and sneakers minimalist fashion but tonight you actually looked...pretty.

But that was just you. Margo insisted that you always looked pretty. The only difference tonight was that you looked “extremely fuckable.”

Not your favorite choice of wording but fair enough.

While getting ready, you’d asked her to go easy on the makeup (which she did not want to do) in exchange for you to let her do whatever she wanted to your hair.

She’d reluctantly agreed, only applying a thick layer of mascara to your lashes, shimmering eyeshadow to your lids and a pink-tinted lip gloss.

She didn’t do as much as you would’ve thought with the hair though, opting to curl it all instead of the crazy up-do you’d been expecting. The curls were big and loose and sexy. You looked bold and sophisticated and for once you felt good about your appearance.

“So this party,” you start. “How long is it gonna last?”

“Oh. As long as you want it to, baby.” She smirks in that typical Margo fashion that made you uneasy as hell.

“Oh no,” you groan softly under your breath.

Tonight was going to be a disaster, you just knew it.

*

Jenna Miller’s mansion was huge. Huge as in it may actually have been an entire estate.

The music was loud and even as you made your way up the steps of the front lawn, your feet still vibrated with the strong bass of “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People.

You almost hold back a wince at the multiple couples on the literal brink of having sex right then and there. Almost.

Margo, who wore a tight red dress showing off all her incredible curves and monstrous black heels, hugged you to her, puckering her ruby red lips. “C’ mon Y/n. Stop being such a prude. A little kissing never hurt anyone.”

You laugh at her incredulously, pointing to a nearby couple practically dry-humping eachother. “That is not kissing. That is full-on sex.”

She smirks. “You mind now, but I’m sure if it was a certain English teacher kissing you, you wouldn’t mind in the least.”

You flush almost immediately at the sound of Mr. Evans and kissing in the same sentence, gulping a lump in your throat. If only she knew.

“Let’s just go in, yeah?” You rasp, walking in ahead of her.

She mumbles something about you “acting weird lately” under her breath but follows you all the same.

The inside of the house is not much better than the outside, with people drinking and hollering loudly. Some are making out in various places of the living area and most are just dancing like crazy.

You link your arms with Margo almost instinctively, your social anxiety kicking in at the overwhelming sight. I should’ve stayed home watching the rest of the third season of Breaking Bad, you think regretfully.

Margo smiles down at you softly. patting your hand reassuringly. “It’ll be okay, Y/n. Just relax. I’ll be here with you every step of the way.”

The third thing you hated most about parties happened to be that Margo thrived in them. 

Which meant it’d hadn’t even when an hour before she’d gone to get you drinks that she’d been surrounded by a crowd of her other friends, obscuring your view of her except for her head as another crowd of sweaty teens came in, blocking her off completely.

This immediately makes you anxious and you push your way through the crowd but it’s almost impossible. A string of “excuse me’s” and “sorry’s” follow close behind as you practically shove people away in desperate search of your friend, but when you make it to the other side where Margo had previously been in, she was gone.

You look around the immediate premise for her a bit more, but she’s nowhere to be found. You just hope she’ll eventually make her way back to where you’d been last.

You assumed she’d gone off to mingle and didn’t want to interrupt whatever socially-strengthening experience she was having right now. Just because you were incapable of holding a casual conversation with others doesn’t mean you had the right to hold her back from doing so. You were already enough baggage as it was.

So you sigh, throwing yourself back onto the couch you had found in a dark corner. You hoped no one else happened to stumble upon it in the time it took Margo to come back.

Time ticked by torturously by. You watched a game of beer pong going on in front of you and laughed along to some of the stupidities the dares these kids had come up with. Somewhere nearby, a clearly not-sober girl had begun a striptease to the tune of “Partition” by Beyoncé. Guys hollered and you gasped, about to go save the poor girl’s dignity before another girl quickly steps in and takes the girl off the table, giving her her shirt back and using it to cover her as she tugged her away. 

So there you are, bored out of your fucking mind, playing random games on your phone and trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. It's been twenty minutes already when you feel the spot on the couch next to you sink.

Looking over, you raise a brow at who’s decided to sit next to you. He smiles that well-known charming smile of his and you suddenly realize why every girl in your school is in love with him.

“Hey,” James greets you warmly.

James McDaniels. Typical fuckboy. Hot as hell, dangerously charming and your town’s resident golden boy. The son of some big CEO who’d moved from another town down south, everyone believes he’ll make it to play football professionally.

But that’s beside the point. Why was the most attractive/popular guy in school talking to...you?

“Um...hi?” Rather than a greeting, you sound like you’re questioning yourself. You don’t wait for him to respond before you turn your attention back to your phone.

“Want a drink?” he draws your attention back to him, offering you a red solo cup.

You look at the cup then slowly trail your eyes from his hand to his -quite honestly- muscular arm to his handsome face which is pleasantly curved into an eye-blindingly sexy smile.

Immediately, your defenses go up and you shake your head disinterestedly. “No thank you. I don’t take drinks from strangers.”

He chuckles lightly, clicking his tongue. “I didn’t spike it if that’s what you’re thinking. Not that kind of guy, princess.”

His voice is incredibly attractive. Raspy and smooth and he has the hint of a southern accent which somehow makes it all the more attractive.

You finally look at him, putting our phone away in your clutch.

James McDaniels is not your type at all. He’s not dumb per se, but he’s not exactly an intellectual either.

And most importantly, he’s not Mr. Evans...

His eyes were a pretty hazel but they weren’t that gorgeous baby blue that occasionally turned into a deep aqua blue you loved so much. His hair was a dark brown, not a light dirty blonde you always have the urge to run your fingers through. His face was freshly-shaven and didn’t have the hints of a beard you utterly loved scratching your face. And his lips were nice, but they weren't Mr. Evans’s lips.

The thoughts infuriate you. Why are you still thinking about Mr. Evans, Y/n? That was a one-time thing and it was never even meant to happen. It’ll never happen again anyways. He’ll never be able to be with you in the real world. Wake up.

Shocking even yourself, you take the cup from James’s hand with a small smile. “Thanks.” And then you throw it back, drinking its contents in one go.

Immediately, you start coughing erratically, the alcohol burning your throat intensely. James laughs, patting your back lightly.

“Not used to drinking, I assume?”

You smile lightly at him, wiping your mouth. “Nope.” You frown. “What was that?”

He shrugs, downing his own drink easily. He crushes the cup in his hand and throws it over his shoulder. “Vodka maybe? Who even cares? It’s good, right?”

You find yourself smiling lightly, nodding along. “Yep.”

He smirks mischievously. “Wanna get more?”

You nibble on your lip, considering the offer lightly. It sounds fucked up, but for a few seconds, you were able to forget about Mr. Evans and the torture of not being able to ever really have him. You felt...good. Numb. So nothing, really. But that still was better than feeling the pain. You wanted to feel like that forever.

Plus, James McDaniels didn’t seem like bad company. You’d be cautious anyways.

You smirk at him. “Yes, please.”

*

Needless to say, as someone not used to drinking at all, your body did not grow accustomed to the alcohol that was constantly flowing into it fast enough whatsoever. 

It started out casual, but over time you’d become less and less defensive about the drinking, simply craving the feeling the alcohol gave you. The freedom from the memory of Mr. Evan’s lips on yours it offered you.

You were a lightweight and before you knew it, you were drunk.

Everything felt so much better when you didn’t feel like yourself. Even James, who you had no particular interest in became much more interesting with the alcohol. 

He was nice and flirty and over the time you’d spent conversing, he’d slowly moved in closer to you, expressing his interest in you with little brushes on your shoulder and face and legs...

You barely noticed, too lost in the euphoric feeling of the alcohol currently coursing through your system. Your muscles were loose and your smile came easy and you’d never felt so careless and free.

Margo never really made her way back to you but you were too buzzed to give a shit.

“So I fell off the fucking bleachers and landed on my ass,” James finishes his story and you can’t help but snort, quickly falling into a fit of giggles thereafter.

You don’t even know why you’re laughing so much, it’s not even that funny but you can’t help it. 

You calm down enough to ask, “oh my God, you really let that tiny guy shove you like that? For a girl?”

He shrugs with a soft smile, caressing your arm softly then looking into your eyes sincerely. “For the right girl, yeah. Sure princess.”

You can’t help but scoff, downing your tenth to eleventh vodka shot of the night.

“What?” James chuckles a bit confusedly.

You look at him with a grin. “Nothing, it’s just...you’re good.”

He raises a brow. “Good?”

You nod enthusiastically. “Yeah. Dangerously good. I mean c’ mon! ‘For the right girl, sure’?!” You huff. “That has got to be the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard!”

He smiles in a cute sheepish way that you suspect might also be rehearsed.

“Did it work at least?”

Feeling strangely bold, you smile flirtingly at him, slowly leaning in close enough to have your lips brush slightly. Your chest pressed against his, your finger makes a small trajectory from the sharp line of his jaw to his neck, chest, abs then lower... lower... it stops just above his belt.

You bite your lip seductively, looking into his eyes from underneath your lashes.

“Hm...” you hum softly, watching as his breath falters and his pupils dilate with desire. His lips part and his lids drop halfway.

“No.”

You lean back with a smug smirk on your face, almost bursting into uncontrollable laughter at the look in his face. He looked so disappointed. Your humor grows uneasy, though, when you think you think you see a pissed look flash across his face. It’s gone just as fast as it came and you wondered if you were imagining it when he laughs loudly along with you.

Shaking your head, you get up, slightly wobbling on your own two legs. You giggle at this.

“Where are you going?” James frowns up at you.

You smirk. “Calm down, dad. I'm going to piss, I’ll be back.”

You spin on your heels, almost tripping in the process and make your way to the back patio in an utterly clumsy manner. Truth be told, you just needed to breathe a little. All those people pushing up on you was suffocating. The heat was unbearable.

Stumbling your way outside, you take notice that the place was practically empty and sigh in relief. Silently, you take your phone out of your clutch. Typing quickly, you press Margo’s contact and write her a text message.

To: Bestie❤

Hey, where the hell are you? You better not be drunk cuz I’m hammered and you’re our driver.

You laugh stupidly at the text and it only takes a few seconds before she answers.

From: Bestie❤

Shit. I tried calling you, Y/n! After we got separated I was pulled off to talk and a few minutes later I got a call from my mom that there was a family emergency I had to leave for. I tried looking for you too, but you were nowhere to be found so I assumed you’d left.

I’m soooo sorry, babe!

You frown down at your phone. Crap.

“Shit!” You curse into the cool night but before you know what’s happening, the alcohol seeps into your brain, dismissing any coherent thought you could have. Soon, you find yourself shrugging dismissively and going back into your contacts in search of someone to call to come to pick you up.

“Dad? No, he does not know I’m here and we’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much,” you mumble to yourself. The rest of your contacts are Margo and fast food services and restaurants. 

“Should I call Dylan from Dominoes to come to pick me up?” You snort at your own little joke feeling careless as shit. “Hm...it’s times like these I wish I had more friends.” You sigh, about to give up on when you suddenly stumble across an unexpected contact name.

“Mr. Evans? When did I get his number?” You let out a small confused sound then smirk mischievously, a dumb idea suddenly popping up in your brain.

“Hm, doesn’t matter either way. I can have some fun with this.” You squeal excitedly and without a second thought, press on the contact name and put the phone to your ear, biting your lip to hold back the excitement equivalent to that of a five-year-old child on Christmas morning.

The plan was no plan, really. You just had a sudden urge to call him. To hear him. You felt so brave doing this.

It takes three full rings before he answers, his voice raspy and sexy with sleep.

“Hello?”

You can’t help but laugh, biting your lip even harder to suppress an inexplicable enthusiasm within you.

“What the-” you hear shifting for a second and assume it’s him moving the phone away from his face before he puts it back on, his voice suddenly more alert. “Y/n? What the hell is going on? It’s two in the morn-”

“You’re hot,” you impulsively blurt, immediately covering your mouth afterward.

“What?” You can hear him moving around as you giggle.

“You are. Like, stupid hot. You’re like out-of-this-world hot. I mean, you must know that right? Someone that looks like you do has to know they’re stupidly attractive, no?”

“Wh-”

“And you’re smart. Oh! A-and kind. Actually, you might be the kindest human being I know. It’s kind of funny actually. You are the one person I want to hate the most. But you’re literally impossible to hate.” You giggle. “Impossi-bleh. Ha. That’s a funny word. Impossi-bleh.”

“Y/n, are you drunk?”

You ignore his question, babbling off with a slur in your words. “It’s not fair you know? How can one person be so perfect? And why does that same person happen to be the only one I want but can’t be with?” Your voice grows softer towards the end, cautiously tender. 

He doesn’t respond at first so you continue, your voice strained with pain and utter desperation. “A-and why did you have to kiss me? That just ruined everything, ya’ know!? I was fine with having a stupid crush on my stupid English teacher because I was convinced it’d go away. But then-” you swallow the sudden and painful lump in your throat. “B-but then you kissed me, and that just ruined fucking everything!” You whine like a little girl. 

He sighs dejectedly over the phone. “Where are you, sweetheart? I’ll come to get you.”  

You laugh humorlessly, your mood abruptly turning sour. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about! Here I am telling you I literally hate how fucking perfect you are and here you are, saying shit like that and being all concerned for my wellbeing.” 

He sighs exasperatedly. “Sweetheart-”

“Stop calling me that!” You find yourself screaming hysterically into the phone, your grip on it tightening before you speak again. “You can’t call me that and assume it means nothing.”

“Okay, okay. Y/n,” he corrects himself gently. “Can you just tell me where you are so I can come to get you?”

You huff into the phone. “James is nice, you know? And cute. And he likes touching me a lot. I don’t really like it, but he brings me drinks so I guess it’s okay.” You giggle, shrugging and disregarding the fact that no one could see you.

“Oh no,” he mumbles worriedly. “Y/n can you please just tell me where you’re-”

“Anyways,” you cut him off. “I’m going to go back to drinking and forgetting about your stupid lips now Mr. Evans. Bye!”

“No! Y-” He tries to protest but doesn’t get to finish before you end the call, heading back inside with a small smile on your face.

That’ll show him, you think triumphantly.

Once you’ve made your way clumsily back inside, a red plastic solo cup is already waiting for you. You grin, walking over and sitting next to James excitedly.  

He smiles lazily and swiftly moves his hand to rest on your knee.

You paid it no mind, opting instead to squeal as “Toxic” by Britney Spears came on.

“I love this song!” You grin excitedly.

James gets up, offering you his hand and motioning to the dance floor where a bunch of people were already dancing. 

He smirks. “Would you give me the absolute pleasure of letting me take you out to dance, princess?”

You giggle softly, shaking your head. “Oh. I can’t dance.”

He raises his brows. “I can’t either.”

You laugh a bit and reluctantly place your hand in his. “Fine.”

He pulls you to him, placing a hand dangerously close to your butt and leading you to the dance floor.

Immediately, you’re squished together with James, the bodies of sweaty drunk teens sliding up next to you. Usually, you’d be gagging with disgust, but you just didn’t care right now.

James wraps his hands around your waist, pushing your hips to move. You look up at him weirdly for a second but your mind is far too fuzzy to even care about what he’s making you do, so you begin to dance as he instructs.

The music was far too irresistible to your intoxicated ears and you couldn’t hold back from moving your hips along to the beat, letting your hair be free in its movement. 

It doesn’t take long and frankly, you barely notice when you spin around and begin grinding on James, brushing your ass against his crotch and kissing his neck teasingly light.

He pulls you close to him, thick arm wrapped tightly around your waist and hips still moving against you.

“I knew behind all that good girl act you put up you’re actually a freak in the sheets, princess,” he rasps sultrily in your ear.  

Something about that doesn’t rub you right, even in your drunk state and you immediately cease your movements, looking up at him. “Let me go, please. I’d like to sit down.”

He frowns. “What? Why? We were having such a good time, princess. I like you and I know you like me.” He leans down, kissing your neck softly.

You don’t like the feeling and immediately shove him away, stumbling back on your unstable legs and heels. “What the hell makes you think that?” You snap drunkenly.

He laughs incredulously, reaching out for you again. “Uh, maybe the fact that you were practically flirting with me the entire night?”

You purse your lips, recognizing how that might’ve looked on your behalf. It’s just...you’d never really felt powerful and sexy and the alcohol gave you the courage you’d never had otherwise to express your sexuality. 

You were still sticking to your plan though. And giving your virginity to a guy like James McDaniels was not your plan. 

“Hey, James. I’m really sorry if I g-gave you any reason to believe this was going to go any further than what just happened.”

You struggle to stand upright and suddenly it occurs to you that James didn’t look all that drunk despite having been bringing you drinks all night.

“I-I think I’m just gonna go.” You point shakily over your shoulder, unable to keep from laughing at the stupidity of, well, you.  

At that moment, the same pissed off look you thought you’d been imagining before comes onto James’s face again, and this time it doesn’t leave.

“The hell you are, you big tease. You’re were the one who started this. And now you’re going to finish it,” he growls, gripping your wrist tightly, his fingers digging into your skin and making it abundantly clear he didn’t plan on letting you go.

You immediately tug at your wrist, shaking your head firmly. “Let me go, James.”

He grins darkly. “No can do, princess. You got me all ready for action and now you’re going to come through whether you like it or not.” 

And just like that, he starts dragging you away toward the staircase where the bedrooms were situated, you assume.

An uneasy feeling grips your gut painfully tight. He looks like he means it. 

“James! I’m serious, let me go!” You tug harder to no avail as his nails dig deeper into the skin of your wrist. You yelp in pain. “Someone help!” No one seems to even notice you, too lost in their little worlds. Your panic intensifies and your heart starts racing at an erratic pace. “Please James, let go of me!” He spins around in a fit, gripping your jaw bruisingly tight.

Panic takes over your mind, but you’re weak in your intoxicated state and not a match for the football player’s strength.

“Listen, slut, either you shut your trap or it’ll be worse for you. That’s a promise.” He roughly shoves your face back. 

But he doesn’t get a chance to spin back around and tug you into your worst nightmare before a fist comes crashing down into his jaw.

James groans in pain at the powerful attack, falling on his back with a hard crack.

You gasp, holding a horrified hand to your mouth as the figure, who you now realize is wearing a dark hoodie and sunglasses hiding his identity, straddles James and begins punching the living hell out of him.

Fist after fist strikes the harasser in the face, painful groans and yelps leaving his mouth whilst your aggressive savior only lets out breathy grunts and under-his-breath mumbles when his fists make contact with James’s face.

And although you were thankful to have been saved, blood was spraying on your legs and you knew if this continued, he’d kill him.

James begins picking himself up, though, landing some blows of his own. The stranger barely grunts in pain upon impact, his blows to James becoming twice as powerful as before and pummelling his fists down on him.

People quickly gather around you three, creating a huge crowd of people recording the fight and a string of “oohs” from multiple of them. No one steps in to stop them from killing eachother though.

Suddenly feeling sober, you jump in, gripping the stranger’s bicep tightly in your small hands. “Hey! Hey, stop! Stop it! That’s enough!”

At the sound of your voice, the stranger instantly stops the assault and gets up, gripping your arm firmly without a word. The grip was not enough to hurt you, but enough to easily sweep you out of the house, past the probing crowd and down the front lawn. 

You stumble along in your heels, still trying to make sense of everything that just happened.

“Hey!” You scream at him. “Where- ah!”

But before your still-buzzed mind can place exactly what it is that’s happening, the man is picking you up bridal style.

You squeak a little, wrapping your arms around his neck to stabilize yourself.

“What the hell, dude!? You just saved me from a scum-bag and now you’re-”

“Damn it, sweetheart. We need to get out of here!”

You freeze. You’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Mr. Evans?” you breathe.

Read Chapter Eight Here!!

***

Hehehe... Told ya’ shit was gonna go down this chapter...

A Special Thanks To:  ( I apologize for those of you I said I’d tag, but didn’t. I’m bad at keeping track of things. So please if you’re not here when I said you’d be, let me know!)

@bombsandsparkles

@meowsekai

@godohammers

@sp2900

@multifandom-foreverx

@missbosstown

@supernaturalyloki

@jungkooksbowlingskills

@spettrocoli

@woodworthti666

@tshollandlove

@weirdvishy

@buckysrcse

@doritoevansxwinterschildren

@superwholockwannabe  

@emmiejames

@rissamonique97

@zofty15

@sarcasticalphaofthelooserspack

@sydneynix8305

@badkatthings  

@pinnedandneedled

@taliarosej00

@lowkey-love-loki

@tomoyaevaans

@dontstopfreddienow

@notbexmader

@celestiial-angel

@primavera-nymph

@littlecherrydoll

@panic-naran

@chljmntgy

@phanmatch

@moonlightimagination

@cap-just-said-language

@covergirl122

And of course my forevers!

@jessikared97

@sherlockedtash88

@lilypalmer1987

@mogaruke

[beavesaintmarie]

good girls

lowkey otp: lol rn im into Annie and Dr. Ezra from Imposters. idk if it’ll be A THING yet but im enjoying their scenes this season so far. 

highkey notp: ANNIE AND GREG. KILL IT WITH FIRE. GREG IS THE WORST AND I HATE HIM THE SAME WAY MOST OF THIS FANDOM HATES DEAN. AT LEAST DEAN AMUSES ME SOMETIMES. THE ONLY GOOD THING GREG HAS EVER DONE IS HELP MAKE BEN. THAT’S IT. 

[softly] don’t notp: i mean again, i don’t hate dean. i know most of the fandom wants him drawn and quartered cause REASONS......but i feel like Matthew Lillard plays his position really well and i’ve been watching him for years and he’s always had LE RANGE but lol i do not get why Beth and Dean are still trying to pretend their marriage is anything other than a business arrangement at this point and also like a co-parenting situation in which they still live in the same house but like that’s it?? i kinda want their dynamic to evolve into, ‘LOOK WE HAVE 50-LEVEN KIDS AND WE SPENT A LOT OF YEARS TOGETHER BUT WE’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE NOT TRULY BUT WE HAVE GENERAL  LOVE FOR EACH OTHER LIKE GOOD FRIENDS AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE GONNA AGREE TO BE FROM NOW ON’. i just think the grey area is kinda tired and played out.......it’s literally s3 and they’ve been stagnated in that state ever since s1. 

highkey otp but i’m scared of saying it because it’s not a very popular choice: i ship Beth and Rio but not in the same way most of the fandom does. what i see from the fandom is like OMG WHY CAN’T THEY JUST BE THE KING AND QUEEN OF THE CRIME BOSS UNDERWORLD AND ALSO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER and its like...........lol no??????? they can’t BE a ~normal~ couple when they both wanna be top dog. and im not even getting into the amount of times rio has pointed a gun in beth’s face or how she LITERALLY shot to kill him last season or like how they’ve literally never talked about anything REAL outside of doing crime and fucking lol. or the general psychological torture Rio puts Beth through and how Beth really just wants to unseat him and take over and ~rule~ on her own. (but with annie and ruby ofc). tbh i think Brio has always been from day one a sitch in which THE STUDENT SURPASSES THE MASTER but the master can't deal and they have to battle it out for top spot AND ALSO THEY FUCK. it’s a dark and twisted dynamic and i loooooooooove it for what it is. 

highkey otp and anyone on my tumblr knows it: RUBY AND STAN. THE LEGIT ONLY ROMANTIC LOVE STORY ON THIS SHOW. BEST MARRIEDS. MOST DEVOTED HUSBAND AND WIFE. I LOVE THEM WITH MY WHOLE HEART. 

[pennamepersona]

Live With You

-All tags can be found on the ao3 post: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546492 -

I had a dream the other night

About how we only get one life

“Never liked trains much, myself, too slow and the noise, honestly, it’s all so repetitive and sounds way faster than it is, which, salt getting rubbed in the wound, and that’s not even good seasoning!” Wade says, lounging on the top of a couch that isn’t his, in an apartment that isn’t his, in a building that his own apartment isn’t in, in a borough he also doesn’t live in. “And honestly, I should know, I’ve studied cuisine. Mostly by eating a lot of food, but all those impressive civilizations didn’t have to collapse due to idiotic european invaders who didn’t even appreciate most of the spices they were so eager to find in the first place!”

His rambling is only met with brief silence, and then a soft but fierce exclamation of “fuck!” and the sound of wood snapping.

“You aren’t still doing models, are you?” Wade asks, falling off the back of the couch and just barely landing without pain, then walking over to the kitchen table where he’s met with the sad sight of a former assassin glaring down at splinters of wood, the fingers of both hands covered in paint, which actually looks pretty cool on the metal one, admittedly. Still, though.

“Ain’t it gonna be hell getting the paint out of all those cracks?” Wade makes to pick up Bucky’s metal hand, pausing briefly right before contact is made, a pause so small that no one not trained in killing, in the necessity of awareness of each movement, no one who hasn’t lived through battle and war, would notice. Bucky doesn’t flinch, so Wade grabs his hand, flipping it over and gazing at the intricacy of all its parts.

“Y’know, I understand very little about this whole cool metal arm thing, mostly because I don’t care about this shit and this isn’t the kind of science that Spidey-pie usually goes on about, but it seems like getting paint in it would be bad.” He flicks at some of the dried paint on Bucky’s palm.

Bucky’s hand twitches, very slightly, and it seems to be a simple response to touch, but Wade looks at his face all the same. Bucky’s just looking right back at him, his expression almost entirely resignation with the smallest dash of amusement.

“Should I get a loofa?” Wade asks. “Or! I could do the maid thing, everybody loves that. I should have a spare costume - ”

“Steve will clean it later.” Bucky says, his whole being softening at the thought. Wade coos.

“Aw, precious,” He boops Bucky’s nose. “I’ll leave that for some good ol’ fashioned bonding time between you two smitten popsicles, then.”

Bucky rolls his eyes, but he looks more amused than annoyed, which is part of the reason Wade hangs out here in the first place.

“For real, though, dude,” Wade says, glancing meaningfully at the pile of broken, mostly painted wood. “Models? Not your style, I’m thinkin’.”

“Steve says it might help with focus,” Bucky says. “Keep my hands busy like I want, without guns.”

“Oh!” Wade cries, which does make Bucky wince, so he lowers his pitch. “You wanna clean guns, don’t you? Take ‘em apart, slip ‘em right back together, all that stuff?”

Bucky pauses, then nods. Wade smacks himself on the forehead, then pulls out a smaller handgun from his side and tosses it down onto the table.

“Don’t know why that didn’t click sooner, honestly,” He says, sliding into one of the chairs and putting his feet on the table. “Go on, it’s been a bit since I cleaned that one. Only brought it ‘cuz Peter-man said low-to-no weapons around the trauma patient, so I had to dig out my littlest babies. You’ve got stuff, right?”

Bucky stares down at the gun, unmoving.

“I shouldn’t.” He says. Wade waits, to see if he’ll elaborate, which doesn’t happen within twenty seconds, so Wade goes on assuming that it won’t happen at all.

“Eh, you’re more comfortable with a weapon in your hand,” He says, waving his own hand as he speaks. “It’s what calmed you down for ages, why stop that now? Not like you’re any more or less likely to kill somebody if you’ve got a gun in hand or just the hand, ya feel? Could murder in cold blood just the same with the hard metal you’ve always got on ya.”

Bucky still doesn’t move, but he does glance at Wade.

“What if I do kill someone with it?” He asks, voice sounding what Wade would classify as both curious and nervous.

“Well, you’ve got the perfect test run right here,” Wade says, gesturing to himself. “Can’t die, pal, you’re not gettin’ a control group like this just anywhere.”

Bucky nods, then, and picks up Wade’s gun.

Nothing at all happens for a brief, charged moment.

Then, Bucky stands up, sets the gun back on the table, and goes to one of the end tables in the living room area, pulls out a drawer, and comes back, carrying cleaning supplies for the weapon.

Wade smiles as Bucky starts to take his gun apart and clean it, allowing for a stretch of silence he thought would be much longer, but then another impossibility happens.

Bucky looks over at him expectantly, and Wade knows that he’s waiting for Wade to start talking again. He still doesn’t look annoyed, hasn’t since the first week or so that Wade knew him, and it’s this moment of two clearly traumatized killing machines comfortably contrasting that lets a tiny knot in Wade’s chest unravel.

“I was wondering, too, if you knew anything about anniversaries,” Wade says, leaning back in his chair, half the legs off the ground. “I’m pretty sure one of mine with my arachnid amore is coming up, and you seem the romantic type. Got any pointers for me, wintogreen?”

“A ring,” Bucky says, a small smile on his face that Wade knows to his bones is mocking.

“Alright, I’ll give, why a ring?” Wade says, narrowing his eyes.

“You talk about him so much, figured you’d be dying to get on down to the courthouse and make your sap nice and legal.” Bucky’s still smiling, and yeah, Wade’s positive that it’s mocking, matches the shithead’s tone perfectly.

“Oh, so now we’re taking cheap shots?” Wade asks, leaning back even further. “Nice to know you’re not even trying, pal.”

“Always used to give my friends shit,” Bucky shrugs. “Why stop now?”

Wade falls backwards with a shout, cracking the back of the chair beneath him, and damn, it’s gonna leave a very small and quickly gone bruise, but even a lasting one would’ve been made up for by Bucky’s laugh.

And I had the week that came from hell

And yes I know that you could tell

Clint’s on what could, very generously, be called sick leave.

He’s not actually off the clock (never is, as an Avenger, which is mildly annoying but so’s most of Clint’s life), but they aren’t sending him on long, high-stakes missions at the moment. He didn’t do anything wrong, didn’t slip up, but he’s been...tired, lately. The higher ups (sometimes he thinks of them as his handlers, but he never really likes thinking that, so he tries not to) have noticed that tiredness, the way it doesn’t affect his physical reactions, but does make him less overall energized during training, during missions, even during what’s basically off time where it’s just him and Nat sparring, which he normally enjoys, but lately…

Well. The last time he got tired like this, he got emotional during a mission. And the last time he got emotional during a mission, actually let himself get invested, he brought Nat in. And that turned out fine (great, actually, in a lot of ways, Clint thinks), but no one wants that to happen again. Well, no one who makes decisions. Clint doesn’t like decisions. He doesn’t love being told what to do, but it’s usually better than thinking about what he’s doing. But when he’s tired, like this, he thinks more, and when he thinks more, he starts looking at what he’s doing, and that just makes things so complicated. He’s been doing all of this too long to overthink it now.

But he’s human, wasn’t tortured or trained or brainwashed or whatever they want to call it, like Nat and Bucky were. Like Wade was, too, and he supposes that last tack on is some part of the reason he’s outside the window of Peter Parker and Wade Wilson’s living room, watching the Winter Soldier and Deadpool play MarioKart.

He’s been keeping an eye on Bucky, while he’s on leave, or whatever, because he might not be close with Cap, might not know Bucky personally, but he appreciates that Cap’s always been trying to do the right thing and that it broke him down a lot when he couldn’t find his best friend (and lover, Clint’s brain helpfully reminds him) and keep him safe. And right off that thought is that Bucky is important to Nat, so maybe he doesn’t actually know Bucky Barnes, but he knows that he’s a worthwhile guy if those two care about him so much. And Bucky’s, like, really traumatized, and Steve tries to give him space, but he worries a lot, talks to Nat about it sometimes, and Clint’s kind of bored now? So he covertly babysits the Winter Soldier.

Definitely not the weirdest thing he’s ever done, but it makes the top ten, which is impressive in a really hard to explain and probably fucked up way.

All of this to explain why he’s watching two guys play MarioKart. Because Deadpool has also been looking after Bucky, but instead of hiding and being, like, stealthy and not dealing with feelings, Wade Wilson just breaks into the apartment that Bucky shares with Steve and talks to him about literally anything in the world.

And it works.

Bucky’s calmer around Wade, more relaxed. He laughs, sometimes, which Clint knows happens with Steve, but not often. He pushes Wade around, doesn’t worry about where his arm is and where weapons are, because Wade does this thing where he just hands a super traumatized former assassin guns and tells him to clean them while Wade chatters on (mostly about Peter, which also makes Bucky kinda smile because it’s hard to hate a guy who’s that in love). Clint may not like thinking too much, but he knows two and two makes four, and that keeping guns away from someone who’s been used to holding them for going on a century isn’t gonna make him less twitchy, and having him get used to feeling them in his hand and not worrying about Suddenly Murder around a guy who literally can’t die is, actually, really fucking smart.

Which could maybe mean that Clint can stop stalking the Winter Soldier and let Deadpool be the cool babysitter. He’s in good hands (Nat would smack him if he said that, but Nat’s version of good hands probably doesn’t actually exist, and also Nat smacks him a lot anyway, so he just assumes it means he might be right and she doesn’t want to say it, which is fine) and Clint’s not actually helping.

But here’s the thing: Clint really wants to play MarioKart.

No one plays stupid games with him much, and he kind of misses it? It happens sometimes, usually when Thor’s around or he’s bribed Nat somehow, but he’s realizing suddenly that he could probably go up to Wade Wilson at almost any time and ask him to play dumb video games and Wade would totally say yes.

And maybe he wants that. To play dumb video games that mean nothing tangible with some fucked up, traumatized dudes who just wanna let loose and be morons for a while because everything just keeps happening all the time and Clint’s fucking tired, and he’d bet his favorite hoodie that Nat stole three years ago and he’s been trying to sneak back for just as long, that those two are too.

So Clint does a stupid thing without thinking and opens the window to goddamn Deadpool’s living room and slides in.

“Hey,” He says. “You guys got another controller?”

You got something I need

In this world full of people, there’s one killing me

“Cap, I get that you’re worried, but why would I know where he is?” Peter asks, fiddling with the door to the apartment, bags weighing down his arms and phone shoved between his ear and shoulder.

“I don’t know, Bucky said something about Wade the other day, so I thought he might know,” Steve says, sounding frustrated. “And it’s impossible to get ahold of him, so I called you.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Peter sighs, kicking the door. “Wade! I know you’re home, you texted me like five minutes ago, open the door!”

The door opens, which is great because that means Peter can rush in and set down the grocery bags, but is also weird because Wade didn’t open it.

“Hey, Cap?” Peter says, shifting the phone so he’s holding it with his hand instead of his shoulder. “Found him. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

He then hangs up before Steve can say anything else and stares at Bucky fucking Barnes, who opened the door to his apartment, where Peter lives, with his boyfriend, who is not Bucky fucking Barnes.

“Spider-babe!” Wade cries, leaping over their couch and crushing Peter in a hug, which he returns much more lightly, still really confused as to what the hell is going on.

“Hey, Peter,” Another voice calls, so Peter looks, and yeah, turns out life can get weirder, because Clint Barton is eating pizza on Peter’s couch.

“Alright,” Peter says. “What the hell?”

“Boy’s night.” Bucky says, which just leaves Peter more confused, so he pushes Wade back to look him in the eyes, and whoa, Wade’s not wearing his mask.

Wade always wears his mask around people. Not around Peter, thank god, and he’s worn Wade down to usually not wearing it to dinners with Aunt May, but that’s about it. There are two people in this apartment who are not Peter or Aunt May, and Peter just got home, so the logical step is that Wade’s been not wearing his mask for a while.

It’s so strange, seeing Wade’s perfectly happy face in their apartment when there’s more than just the two of them. Peter’s not complaining, just confused, but if whatever this is makes Wade more comfortable...well, he’s probably not going to object.

“Really, though,” He says. “What the hell’s going on, Wade?”

“Like he said,” Wade points over his shoulder to Bucky. “Boy’s night. We would’ve invited you, but it’s more like ‘Boys Who Have And Will Probably Continue To Kill People And Are Also Probably Traumatized Or Whatever’ night, so you didn’t quite fit the bill, sugar cheeks.”

“No to sugar cheeks,” Peter says, which makes Wade whine, and then he looks at Bucky. “Cap’s looking for you, dude, might wanna call him. Won’t force you, just thought you should know.”

Bucky’s quiet for a moment, then he nods and goes to grab a small tote bag from the living room and walks out the door with only a small wave to Wade and Clint and Peter’s pretty sure he saw at least one gun in that bag?

“Uh,” He says, squeaking a bit. “Did he have a gun?”

“Little bastard better give it back,” Wade mutters, folding himself against Peter’s back. “Don’t worry, though, baby, he’s just borrowing it. Helps him to get used to being himself again, not some coddled and half-dead trauma patient.”

“He’s right,” Clint says, popping up in front of Peter, mouth still full of pizza. “Thanks for the hospitality, man. Text me, Wade.”

And then Clint’s gone, too, though he leaves through the living room window.

“Um.” Peter says, still not totally sure what’s going on, but really not wanting to stop whatever it is, because he’s almost never seen Clint that comfortable and he’s definitely never seen Bucky express anything but discomfort, anxiety, and dissociative hatred.

“It’s like therapy, but better,” Wade says in his ear, sounding content in a way that Peter’s worked towards for years, and there’s a tiny little prick of what could be a desire for it to only be Peter that makes him this kind of happy, but Peter’s not even remotely interested in indulging that, so he turns around in Wade’s arms and leans against his boyfriend.

“Alright,” He says, simply, giving Wade a quick kiss. “Help me with the groceries.”

Wade does, and it’s a nice little moment of domesticity. It’s probably the unexpected shock to this part of his routine that’s making Peter think, but when he does think for a minute, he realizes that he’s really happy.

He lives with his boyfriend, who is also his best friend, he’s got a Master’s Degree and is considering taking the plunge for his Doctorate, he does freelance science work and research that brings him more joy than he ever thought any job could, he has dinner with his aunt every other weekend, and he’s really, indescribably happy.

He turns to Wade once they’ve finished putting away the groceries and kisses him again, soft and firm.

“I love you,” Peter says, looking right at Wade’s eyes, right into the still-warm contentment there. “A lot. More than I ever knew I was capable of. I’m so happy, Wade, and so much of it is thanks to you.”

He can see Wade’s eyes getting a bit shiny, and when he leans in to kiss him again, Wade’s already meeting him halfway.

“Love you too, Peter.”

And if we only die once

I wanna die with you

It’s strange, Bucky thinks, dropping a shell and slamming into Clint’s kart in a quick maneuver that has both Clint and Wade shouting, to be feeling like this.

He can hear Steve in the kitchen, talking with Natalia about weapons safety for their apartment, can feel Wade’s knee brushing against his leg and Clint’s foot on his shoulder because Clint’s somehow ended up sprawled nearly vertical on the couch and mostly upside down, can see out of the corner of his eye Peter leaning against Wade’s side as he types on his laptop and absently chews on something he has on a necklace.

He knows where all these people are, knows who they are, knows what they’d do if he asked for anything. Knows that, even though this place isn’t his, is Wade and Peter’s, that he’s safe. Knows that he can trust these people with his life, if he needs to, could even trust them with Steve’s.

He crosses the finish line and Wade throws his arms up in the air and Clint groans about how Bucky always plays dirty and he can hear Steve laugh from the kitchen and it’s strange, to be sure, for Bucky to feel like this.

But as he stands up to go get another box of pizza from the kitchen, brushes against Steve as he does, feeling the casual warmth that always comes as Steve loosely pulls him in for a short embrace, a soft press of lips against his own, he also thinks that he wouldn’t mind doing this long enough for it not to be strange.

Clint’s lifting himself onto the table the pizzas are on, sitting cross-legged in front of Natalia and picking each individual mushroom off his pizza and tossing them at her to see if she’ll catch them in her mouth or her hand, and Bucky can see his lack of tension mirrored very directly in her.

Bucky looks back into the living room, Steve’s arm around him, and watches as Wade gently nudges Peter back into awareness and hands him a glass of water that is actually flat sprite, which makes Peter choke slightly and punch Wade’s arm, seeing so easily into the domestic teasing and care that seems to always run so fully through Peter and Wade.

It’s strange, to be so okay, so unworried, but Bucky thinks he likes getting used to it. He leans into Steve, and when his guy drops a kiss onto his head and laughs at Natalia tossing a mushroom back at Clint and hitting him almost perfectly in the middle of his forehead, Bucky smiles and gives himself to permission to do what he’s been trying to do for a while: be happy.

If we only live once

I wanna live with you

[calliecat93]

RvB17 Episode 11 Review: Omphalos

This is normally the part of the review where I write an intro. But honestly, last week hit me so hard in the chest that I am too filled with dread to come up with anything. So fuck it, let’s dive right in! Second to last episode folks. It’s gonna be intense!

Overview

Our heroes are trapped within the depths of The Labyrinth, as Chrovos explains to Donut. At first, Donut isn’t concerned as that means they’re near him so he just has to wait. But Chrovos explains that, well… it isn’t that simple. The Labyrinth, as explained last season is home to demons, monsters, and ‘the ghosts of the past’. But not in the physical sense. The Labyrinth essentially runs on irony. It takes those trapped within to a negative place. This is demonstrated as we see Tucker alone, Wash seeing everyone die under his command, and Carolina faced with her Freelancer self. So yeah… it’s essentially Santa’s Warrior Test, but even darker.

Donut wants to go in, but Chrovos doesn’t have the power. Donut offers to give back the fragment that she gave him, but it won’t be enough. At this point, Genkins joins them and gives some more explanation. You see, the ultimate end goal of The Labyrinth is to drive the victim to despair. It can do this in various ways, by giving someone what they think they want or just putting them back in an uncomfortable place. We see this with Sarge being in civilian life, wanting to be on the battlefield… which he promptly gets and take sit back. Grif is sent back to… high school? College? Basic training? IDK. Regardless, he has an utterly insane gym teacher who pretty much tortures him via a fucked up obstacle course straight out of Wipeout.

So what’s the final result of all of this? We get to see with Lopez, who in his scenario is… human. He can talk English and the Reds instead have a robot named Gustavo… which great joke there. This breaks Lopez and in the real world, we see him walk off the ledge, supposedly to his death; You see, The Labyrinth doesn't harm you directly, it drives you to harm yourself. Genkins goes to continue his fun, telling DOnut that he’ll be joining them soon enough. The Everwhen goes with him. With no way to get into The Labyrinth and Chrovos utterly powerless, it looks bleak. We do learn that The Labyrinth itself is an AI, but it’s very dangerous and just seeing its Avatar is enough to put you in danger.

But just as all looks bleak, there is one more person there: Doc. Yeah, he was sent there along with Donut… which makes no sense because he should still be blown up, but whatever. Anyways, with a second Shisno there, if Chrovos takes back power form him AND Donut, it’ll eb enough to send the two into The Labyrinth. The episode ends, and with it the finale draws ever closer.

Review

Okay, so… got some mixed feelings here. Before I get into it though, I really enjoyed the episode. The Labyrinth is probably one of, if not the most horrifying concept that the show has introduced. It’s just an area that fills you more and more with negativity. It takes you to your worst moments, your worst fears, gives you what you think you want but in reality, it just makes you depressed.  It doesn't physically harm you, it drives you to harm yourself. Essentially, the end goal is to make you commit suicide, as we saw with Lopez. Now whether he really died or not IDK… but that is really fucked up. No wonder no one ever came back out of the few that went before. It’s dark and angsty, and I fucking LOVE it!

What could have been better, though, is some of the visions. Now most of them were really good. Wash leading the team against the monsters of the Labyrinth, only to watch them all die with him losing control of everything. Carolina faced with her competitive, driven self in Freelancer, trying to tell her off and tell herself about how her efforts will mean nothing. Only for her past self to brush it off and mock her on everything that she currently believes. Even Sarge’s was pretty fucked up. In short, Sarge cannot handle civilian life… but he can’t handle war life either. It makes sense. He never really had a civilian life, let alone remember one, so an office job would be boring. But he was also an ODST and was in a war and that clearly fucked him up. Most of his behavior is a facade and always has been, but he doens[t know how else to live. It’s really depressing when you think about it and not what I was expecting for him. I gotta give kudos.

What I cannot excuse though is Grif’s scenario. Lopez’s I can live with. Because going off everything before… yeah being a human would be his worst nightmare. But Grif… I mean don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate what we got. If this was to explain how Grif started hating effort, it’s effective. The coach is Sarge, but a million times more crazy and sadistic. He nearly got Grif blown up, shot, crushed, and it sounds like Grif was coughing up blood at one point. Like… fuck man. If this IS a high school, what kind of fucking school allows that?! It certianly helps explain why Grif would hate putting in any form of effort and why he hated Blood Gulch so much if Sarge brought those feelings back. Heck, it can explain hating army life in general since he likely had to be yelled at/pushed to his limit all the time. So yeah, I can get what they’re going for and I was overall okay with it. Jaosn’s voice acting at least was fun~

The issue is… well, kind of one I’ve had all season regarding the writing for Grif. In S16, Grif went through a ton of development. He appreciated and dedicated himself to his friends more. He started to resolve his issues with the constant adventures. He started to put in more effort and was willing to try and do whatever it took to end things. He was actually hesitant about the paradox and even tried to stop it once he realized it was Genkins plan. He formed this friendship with Huggins, something I’m very annoyed just got ignored after her return...though really I have issues with how Huggins was done this season that I’ll reserve for the season review. I’m gonna have words about the character writing, not just Grif either.

My point is Grif had so much development and buildup from last season and S15… and this season has completely and utterly ignored it. The first half, it was understandable since memory erasure and he was at least the most willing to listen to Donut. Now? No. There is no excuse. While Grif is still doing the job without complaint, all his development has more or less been ignored. He seems to harbor no guilt or anything about the S16 finale. He has had no resolution with Huggins or tried to patch things up. His scenario here had a TON of potential. If they don’t want to go the backstory route, we have his time on Iris and the S16 finale to play off of. What do we get? Him being bullied by a nasty drill sergeant. While I didn’t hate it, it was… underwhelming and just kind of insulting because of how much promise with him these past two seasons have had. Considering Jason was a co-writer and wrote some of those scenes (Episode 6 and 8 for example) and Joe still made the story here, the fact that they utterly ignored this is bizarre.. I’ll go into it more in the season review, but… yeah, I didn’t hate it, but I’m not pleased either.

Okay, so moving on to the ending. Still have no idea how Doc is there because there was no way for him to be there. But whatever, he and Donut are going into The Labryinth. It’s hard to say if Chrovos is going to betray them or not, we’ll see. But my concern is… well, IIRC DOnut was brought back to life because of the fragment Chrovos gave him. So if she removed that to power herself back up, not only does Donut and Doc lose their protection against Genkins… but won’t that kill Donut? IDK, maybe I’m not understanding it fully. Regardless… we have one more episode, and so much to do still. How they’re going to wrap this up in one IDK, I guess we’ll see soon enough.

Final Thoughts

Good episode. While I am annoyed with how Grif was handled, everything else was really fun. It was certianly a rollercoaster of emotion that I wa snot ready for. Our stage for the end is set my friends, and I have no idea what the fuck is going to happen. But I’ve made it this far, and I ain’t dropping out now. So onward to the finale!

[takaraphoenix]

3x11: Lost Souls

@kimmycup and I watched the first episode of 3B!

First of all: Fuck Alec.

Like, seriously, fuck him. ALL of 3A was “gotta help Jace, gotta find out why Jace is acting weird, gotta be there for Jace” and now that Jace is saved it’s like “Urgh, get over yourself!”. I don’t know how much time is meant to have past since last episode, but it can’t have been more than a week (Luke’s wall of craziness and Maia returning indicates more than a day has past, but Clary only just woke up and the Clave now comes over so it can’t have been that long either).

He went through massive trauma. And Alec should know that better than anyone else because he was inside Jace’s head. But he has nothing but cold words for his parabatai?

But in the next scene we see him be all warm and soft and understanding and kind toward Magnus, which... Honestly, yeah that’s good because the way he’s been treating Magnus was mainly not good, but how does he not have this kind of warmth and understanding for the parabatai who was tortured and has all the memories of the deaths the Owl has caused? Like how is he so without empathy for Jace all of a sudden? “Sure my parabatai just went through massive trauma that I helped him be freed from but let’s play house with Magnus and Madzie instead of paying attention to Jace and trying to help him. I told him to get over it, that should be enough, right?”... Ooof. (Also, I am, at this point, already burying all my hopes that they’ll let Magnus be his own character beyond just being Alec’s Boyfriend... Like. I can take a hint. I had hoped they’d get their shit together in this final season, but I am clearly too optimistic for my own good.)

And it ain’t even just Alec. Izzy’s reaction of “What are you doing?” is absolutely ridiculous too. Those two know what Jace has been through. How are they acting like Jace should just brush it all off and soldier through it. And how do they all reduce it to Clary. Jace killed his grandmother, with his bare hands, and remembers it, he killed a lot of people there and remembers it. But sure, he lost the girl he knew for three months and that’s the most traumatic part of it all. Yeah. Can we please stop acting like romantic love is the peak of everything?? Humans exist beyond that, you do know that, right?

Anyway, moving on. The apartment.

How does it move?! Last season, when it moved, it cost Lilith a lot of magic and power to move it so Simon and Luke wouldn’t find it. And now that Lilith is gone, it can suddenly just move on its own without Lilith and without efford? Please try to be a bit consistent. Just a little bit.

Honestly, the Morgencest is like the best written part so far. And yeah I’m just not even trying to see that shit platonic. One thing that bothers me though is the way Luke plays Jonathan. Will played him with a lot of confidence (and manic energy), Luke plays him like such a fucking awkward bean. It’s an entirely different characterization.

Also: Why the ever-loving-fuck is Jonathan a redhead? Jonathan is supposed to be blonde. Hence the Jace and Jonathan being mistaken for each other. Are you really, genuinely, telling me that Jocelyn did not notice “Mh, strange this boy who claims to be my son is blonde when I distinctively remember having a ginger” - like I’m not saying hair color is everything considering both Clary and Jocelyn were horribly fake dyed redheads, but... a bit of consistency? Would be nice??

Isabelle is just plain ridiculous this episode though. “WHAT the Clave TORTURES?? *gasp*”... Like... You do know that Jace got tortured at the City of Bones, right? You know that. You know that Raph got tortured by Aldertree too, right? But at the very least you remember those canon moments where the Clave tortured Valentine and Magnus-in-Valentine’s-body and threatened to torture the chipped Downworlders, right? How, after every canon evidence presented in this show, is torturing prisoners in any way of shape a surprise to Isabelle? This is stupid. This is a whole new level of stupid. I assumed they were just so brainwashed by being raised by the Clave that they do not question the methods but now you’re telling me they are legit not seeing what is happening right in front of their eyes? Are you fucking with me?

I’m real mad at how they’re gonna rush into the S/zzy though. Like, you could taste it all over this episode. How Simon kept Maia at arm’s length, how Maia didn’t go with Simon to the sewers in the end and Simon didn’t want her there, how Maia had to go to Izzy to talk to her about what is going on with Simon, literally everything Isabelle said to Maia in that scene. Holy shit, they could have literally just broken Sa/a up right then and there because clearly they really wanna get to that point so they can have S/zzy...

I can already tell that the romantic relationships will continue to be written rushed and underdeveloped. Consider me not surprised.

Luke and his insane conspiracy theory board. I love it. Like. It sounds as idiotic and insane as he makes it look, yet it ~is what happened~. And honestly, having a character call out how bullshit your stuff is does not excuse the bullshit you pulled, guys.

But gods. I low-key love and hate that Luke was the first one to just... ask Jace how he is. The one thing I am looking forward this season is that I will be getting the father-son Luke-Jace bonding that I crave and deserve.

Literally the only good thing about this episode is that they flat-out wrote 0llie off the show and “relocated” her. They are already cramming so much shit in here that it’s convoluted, if they’d still let the obnoxious OC steal screentime from the actual main characters, I’d be real mad.

Also: Who at set-design has that boner for candles?? I mean seriously between Jace’s regular bedroom, that balcony scene with Magnus this episode and that absolutely over the top apartment of Lilith... someone at set-design has a real weird candle-fetish...

TL;DR:

Jace needs a fucking break and therapy and a parabatai who gives a shit

Alec’s characterization is all over the place and I am not fine

Isabelle is a doe-eyed idiot concerning the Clave’s methods and I’m not fine with it

Maia legit deserves better than any of this

please let Magnus be his own character beyond his relationship with Alec this season, even though it does not look that way so far

gimme the Luke-Jace bonding I deserve pls

damn the Morgencest was like the best part so far

[whichstiel]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural) Additional Tags: Spn 14x01, supernatural episode coda, episode coda, Episode: s14e01 Stranger in a Strange Land, musings on hope and humanity, demon dean flashback Series: Part 1 of Season 14 Codas Summary:

An episode coda for season 14, episode 1.

Dean and Castiel reflect on hope and humanity in the shadow of Michael’s possession. 

(Also included in its entirety below because it’s pretty short. But please tell me what you think on AO3 or Tumblr! Comments are always appreciated.)

They were whispering about him at the other end of the bar. Dean sipped his whiskey, savoring the burn against his tongue, and eavesdropped over the hum of twanging guitar playing on the bar’s speakers.

“How long do we have to stick around this dump of a town? I haven't killed anything in at least a week.”

The second demon’s voice was lower, as though she was afraid of being overheard. “Until Crowley says it’s time to move on.”

Dean rolled his eyes. Brent and Laura. They had been flexing their muscles all over town, painting a big target on the motley King’s court staying at the motel attached to the bar. Crowley really ought to do something about them. Kill ‘em, or send them away.

Brent snorted. “You mean, until Winchester says it’s time to move on. I’ll admit, I was on board with the whole Hell’s Knight thing when I thought we’d be rampaging the fucking countryside with, you know biblical flaming fucking swords. But so far we’ve just watched him and Crowley make…make fucking cow eyes at each other.”

Laura grumbled a disgusted reply.

“Did you know,” Brent lowered his voice and glanced around the bar. Dean prevented himself from reacting, staring at his whiskey glass like it was the only object that mattered in the world. “They set up another date? A date.” He spat out the word like it was a curse.

“No,” Laura sounded scandalized. “That’s so…so…civilized. I can’t believe we’re sticking around town so Winchester can have a…a fivesome.” She called across the room to the bartender for another drink and after she took a long swallow of beer she said, “Knight of Hell, my ass.”

“Fucking weak.”

Dean took another sip of whiskey. He let the glass linger on his lips, enjoying the fire against his skin. Dean heard a lot of imprecations against his character lately. That was a consequence of falling in with demons. If he acted against every insult he'd have perpetually bloody knuckles and a whole hell of a lot less fun.

The truth was, they weren’t sticking around for the triplets, though they were very fun. Instead, he and Crowley were sticking around because the bar’s nice. It had a good sound system and decent booze, and there was plenty of tail to chase in this transitory place. Crowley had suggested moving on, but Dean had stopped him. “When was the last time you ever had a chance to relax, man?” And Crowley had taken one good look at him and backed right down. That’s true. Never. Might as well.

It was a good situation, and Dean didn’t intend to screw it up any more than he had to. He’d just sit quietly, finish his drink, and maybe bamboozle the bachelorette party camped out in the corner out of some hard earned money. Or sleep with the bride-to-be. The night was young.

But of course that wasn’t the end of it. Of course there was more.

An elbow bumped into Dean a little while later, deliberate and sharp against his back. “Oops,” Brent said at his ear. “Sorry. ”

Dean turned in his seat slowly and let his gaze flick along Brent fleetingly, like he was a fly. He turned away again, only Brent cleared his throat and said, “How does it feel?”

Dean swiveled to Brent and raised his brows consideringly. “Excuse me?”

“How does it feel,” Brent said with a sneer, “to suck so miserably at being a demon? I swear to god, you’re the most white bread demon I ever—”

Dean smiled lazily and grabbed the demon’s arm. His fingers cut into Brent hard enough to elicit a wince and Dean’s smile grew into a grin. “You got a problem with me, Brent?” Fear flicked across Brent’s expression, but it quickly turned into disgust. Dean let him pluck his fingers from his arm and drop his hand away. “You’re drunk. Which is a real fucking accomplishment for a demon, so kudos to you.” Dean lifted his glass in a mock salute.

“Yeah? Well you’re a shitty demon. Shitty and boring and…” A knowing expression crossed his face. “Bet it was all the angel dick you were getting.” He thrust his hips once and hissed, “Oh yeah, that sweet fire of the lord! Diluting everything that should make you great. Making you a waste of…of everyone’s time. You’re not a real demon.”

The Mark hissed against Dean’s forearm. It bubbled like liquor in his blood and he found himself baring his teeth. He let go of his glass. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he warned.

Brent snorted. “Please, everyone knows. Crowley’s talked about it. Hell, everybody talks about it. I don’t know why we bother when it’s obvious you’ve been compro— urk”

A moment later, Dean pulled the knife out of the demon’s ribs, winking as the blade scraped against bone. He swiped Brent’s blood casually against his a paper bar napkin and tucked it back in the sheath hidden in his pocket. “Talk about Cas again,” he said pleasantly, balling up the bloodied paper and dropping it next to his glass on the bar top, “and I’ll turn you inside out.”

He fucking had limits, after all.

The thing about Michael, Dean learned quickly, was that he was not a people person. Er…angel. And Dean didn’t mean that the archangel was unfriendly, although he was without a doubt a complete dick. No, it was that Michael simply didn’t…get people. He didn’t understand their motivations, or their complexities. He would ask Dean, early on, about the proper things to say to a human to sway them to his side. Like there was a manual every human was born with, and he need only ask for a copy. He’d asked about the angel Anael as though he and Dean were two colleagues, still working side by side. He’d asked before he’d tortured. Before he’d taken.

He’d asked because Michael truly was baffled. That fundamental lack of understanding would be how they would win, Dean often thought. He stewed over the problem in the prison Michael had built for him in his own mind.

“You think in black and white,” he muttered as he leaned over the lock in his hands. By concentrating very hard, he was able to manifest a version of the lock Michael placed over his latest trap for Dean. With a physical representation in hand, it felt easier now to pick at it and worry at it like a mouse nibbling away at a wall.

Michael had ranted to him early on about “fallen things,” which Dean had come to realize encompassed all of creation - humans, demons, surviving angels - you name it. For Michael, there was a high state and a low state, and nothing in between. “You don’t understand want or need or…or love. Just words.” He pushed the pin in and heard a click. “Just weapons.”

Encouraged, he kept on with it. “We have dreams. Desires. Hopes. We care about each other. We want fucking peace, you asshole.” Another tumbler clicked and Dean smiled. “And I’m not gonna let you ruin that.”

He’d thought for a while that Michael would try to batter down the walls of Heaven and take dominion of the place. The archangel enjoyed worship, thrived on it even. Michael had been bitterly disappointed by the impressions of angels in Dean’s mind, however. He’d been even more disappointed by his meeting with Anael, the supposed rebel fighting against Heaven.

If there was any rebel against Heaven slumming it on Earth, it was Cas, though. But Dean kept Castiel wrapped up firmly in his mind. Ever since Michael had taken over, pushed Dean down, Dean had dragged as much as he could from his memories of his loved ones down with him and pushed it into the dark corners of his mind.

Dean chewed on his lip as he worked at the lock. There were a lot of dark corners in his mind. Corners filled with pain that kept Michael at bay, as effective as insect repellant. It was almost laughably easy to bury his heart away from Michael.

Dean remembered the last time he saw Cas, after Michael had entered his body. He’d been filled with power, with fire so heady it had taken all of his control to hold fast to the reigns and not slip away like a paper boat in a flood.

Castiel had stared at him, jaw clenched, and anguish painted across the lines of his face. Dean had noticed that first and then he’d seen him through Michael’s eyes. Power streamed off of Castiel like holy fire, constant and blue-hot. His wings hung from his shoulders in tattered pieces, mere fragments of what they once were before Metatron’s spell shredded them.

Dean had never seen any sight more beautiful. Castiel - glowing with his own glory. Castiel - broken once, twice, over and over again. Broken, but never giving up. Never. And he still looked at Dean like he believed in him.

Dean remembered how he had failed in Hell, so many years ago. How he’d cracked under torture, given up. Castiel had saved him then and the memory of him would save him now.

He would push back against the walls, the locks, the pain that burned him with every second of contact with Michael’s grace. Dean worked at the lock.

He vowed to fight, because he couldn’t stand the idea of backing down again. Of giving up. And most of all, he couldn’t stand the thought of letting Castiel down. Again.

The thing was, he felt like Cas was with him. Not just the memory of him, but him. There, and steady beside him. Inside him. Dean shook his head. It didn’t make sense, but he was tired of trying to sort things into real and fake in his mind, of all places. He wrapped himself around Cas, or Cas wrapped himself around Dean.

The lock clicked open and Dean gathered himself, pulled his heart around him like armor. He picked up the lock and watched it grow long and sharp in his hand. “Heeeeeere’s Johnny,” Dean shouted and felt Michael flinch like a tiger in the wild at the call of something wilder.

Leaping from his cell, Dean began to slice.

Castiel cleaned the blood from his face grimly with a sandpaper textured washrag. He wished somebody had told him just how rough he looked before he’d gone to speak to Jack. Telling Jack he would be okay without his grace to back him up would have been a shade better delivered if Castiel hadn’t looked like he’d just received the beating of a lifetime.

He sighed and scrubbed the blood from his skin, rinsing the rag under running water and watching the red blood swirl in the basin, then down the drain.

Even as a human, he’d never felt more mortal. He supposed that happened to everyone. The more people you cared about, the more you realized how tenuous everyone’s hold on life and happiness was. It was hard to keep up, some days, without feeling hopelessness crystalizing into something sharp and impenetrable.

The cut in his lip was beginning to heal, but Castiel still hissed involuntarily as he scrubbed at it. It stung.

The cut stung and Castiel was…he was…

Castiel pressed his hands to the sides of the sink and leaned against it for a moment. The porcelain was very cold. He watched the bloody water droplets run towards the drain. He stood there for a breath. Two. Three. Then he lifted his head again, resolutely.

Dean was out there.

Castiel finished washing his face. He wet one hand and combed it through his hair, pushing out the blood and laying it flat again. Dean was out there, burning within Michael. He would feel it if Dean were gone, wouldn’t he?

He would.

In his millennia of life, Castiel had watched many things die, and many more things cease to be entirely. He should be inured to it. But he wasn’t. And he wouldn’t let himself become that way. He’d keep the faith that Dean survived, that he cared to survive.

Castiel finished brushing his hand through his hair and let his grace shudder through his shattered wings, flicking the last of the fight’s grime from him. He was a fallen thing, more human than angel these days. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe, that human side of him helped him to believe, when everything seemed stacked against him.

He was fallen, but he was not low.

In the end, Castiel believed Dean would be saved.

And so, he thought, flicking off the light in his room and heading back towards the library, he will.