#and episode 3 has a trick in it for calming down that i still to this day use when i have a panic attack

[lunar-fey]

you have been ASKED!!!!!! use this chance to go off about something fun that you want to rant about. it can be one sentence or be an essay. do whatever! live life!

hello. today i ask all of you gathered here to think about mushishi. this is a mushishi propaganda post. i was going to rant abt how a lot of people discredit anime as a whole bc they mostly only know of shonen and maybe shoujo, and more people need to give seinen anime a chance. but now it is specifically about mushishi.

fun fact about mushishi btw, i read once in an interview that the mangka created ginko, the main character, when she was in a dark and low place in life, and made him to be kind of the ideal friend that she thought would bring her out of this! and thats so cool. hes literally the friend ever!

anyway mushishi is a largely episodic (imo you can watch it largely out of order and be fine. a few characters show back up, and occasionally other events are referenced, but after watching in order a few times i now usually just pick and watch my favorites. you can do whatever you want!) about a man named ginko who lives in a world with creatures called "mushi" (literally means bug if you dont know!) which are invisible to the average human eye, and are kind of like spirits but if they were critters. they are often just living their lives, but sometimes they cause detrimental effects to humans, and ginko travels to help people with these problems, often simply by giving people assistance, rather than like. Fighting The Thing. imo it can be interpreted a lot of ways, but many times it speaks strongly to me as a person with chronic illness - sometimes there isnt one single simple kill it with hammers solution. sometimes you just do your best to mitigate the symptoms. it is a very down to earth and thoughtful experience overall, with some incredibly gorgeous visuals and sound design.

its my person opinion that there is at least one mushishi episode that will speak to any given person in a deep way. even if it isnt Life Changing for you, i still think its a very meaningful show with a lot of interesting things to say. it can be darker at times, but largely retains its hopefulness toward the world, and i think it can like. still help you feel better and more alright with things. but also it WAS life changing for me, and if you like more slower paced stories that dont involve perfect solutions or fighting your problems with fists, but rather learning to live with the world and talking things out, you might like it! give it a try :)

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

I believe that episode 5 is totally underrated for how much Yuuri and Viktor learn from each other during their first competition as a coach & student team.

Let's start with Viktor.

Viktor has been training Yuuri throughout the summer, but when it comes to competitions, he still has zero coaching experience so relies on what is familiar to him:

dressing up:

Note his matter-of-fact explanation. This is not the demeanour of a vain person. Viktor knows that clothes make the man and thus dresses appropriately for the occasion. It's just a detail, but Viktor is that serious about being Yuuri's coach!

2. being cute:

Viktor tends to act cute around men to get their attention. His attempts to calm Yuuri down before the SP, however, fail gloriously because Yuuri is already on edge. Viktor's silly cuteness only results in Yuuri being anxious AND annoyed. Please also note. The contrast to Minami's coach who tries the same by yelling and flipping her fingers in front of Minami couldn't be greater! And while both coaches fail to calm their athletes, Viktor deserves credit for being respectful.

3. flirting:

As Yuuri doesn't react to cuteness as hoped for, Viktor eventually resorts to flirting and manages to calm his nervous katsudon enough to skate Eros. Whereas Yuuri isn't comfortable with being hugged without warning, Viktor's bedroom voice and his words work their magic.

4. praising Yuuri:

Viktor underestimates how much shame Yuuri still feels about last year's Jnats and how anxious he is as this is his first competition, especially since Yuuri faces a skater who beat him. Talking in euphemisms is not uncommon for interviews in sports His answer to Morooka falls into this category, while still being his honest (and overexcited) opinion. Nothing to criticise, one might think. But for someone with anxiety and low self-confidence... very bad idea. All that Viktor achieves is increasing the pressure. Luckily, Yuuri doesn't stand for it and Viktor is more sensible in the next interview.

5. imitating Yakov: the famous lecture after the performance

As has been pointed out in many a meta post, Viktor adopts Yakov's habit to lecture his students after their skate. Yakov was his mentor for many years--naturally, Viktor resorts to his observations of his former coach. Of course, Yuuri doesn't like this at all, and he's not the only one. As Yuuri wastes many points in his FS when he ignores his instructions, Viktor contemplates another lecture but changes his mind when he grows aware of how everyone is cheering and finally understands that a lecture right now isn't how he should treat Yuuri. In addition to this, Viktor learns that once he steps on the ice, Yuuri does what he thinks is right, and learns to love this about him.

Now on to Yuuri:

Yuuri's anxiety and his shame about his result at Jnats are the reason why he ignores the other skaters. Plus, he either never learned proper PR skills or couldn't put them to use due to his lack of confidence. Just because you understood something in theory doesn't mean you can pull it off, especially when your anxiety gets in the way. Ignoring the other skaters is like pretending they don't exist, which is supposed to make it easier for Yuuri to compete against them. For Yuuri, this makes perfect sense. But by ignoring them, he creates a larger threat in his mind than these skaters actually are.

Throughout the episode, we often see Yuuri with his shoulders pulled up, a crease between his brows and avoiding Viktor's gaze. This is pure anxiety behaviour.

However, the best way to beat your demons is to look them in the eye. But when one is caught up in anxiety, this often seems impossible even if one knows that this would do the trick. Anxiety trumps reason. It's that powerful.

Yuuri wants to win the Regionals. If he delivers a clean skate, one quad would be enough as of the four skaters he has the greatest experience and the most superb skating skills. Plus, after the SP, he leads by almost a 30 points margin. Viktor is right that Yuuri doesn't need three quads, in fact, there are many sensible reasons for lowering the difficulty of a programme in one particular competition. Why take unnecessary risks when one quad would suffice to win?

When Yuuri overhears the other skaters talking about attempting a quad in the FS, his anxiety convinces him that he must jump all three quads. Again, it's not logical, but by returning to the initial layout, he makes sure that the base score of his programme exceeds the base score of his rivals' programmes far enough that he can see a chance for a gold medal. He needs this to reassure himself.

Anxious or not, Yuuri knows that he can jump three quads and this isn't the first time he shows displeasure because Viktor underestimates him. He doesn't want to be coddled. He doesn't even need to be coddled, and, frankly, this would make it harder for him to overcome his mental issues. So, in the middle of his own personal battles, Yuuri teaches Viktor another lesson.

Now back to Yuuri ignoring poor Minami--and there are several aspects that aren't that obvious at first glance:

Viktor who likely never suffered from anxiety in competition (or forgot how it feels after being unbeaten for so many seasons), doesn't understand how Yuuri's anxiety works. Seeing Yuuri treat a skater, who looks up to him, so poorly angers him. Viktor doesn't care whether another skater is a rival or skates several leagues below him--he's always nice to his fans and treats skaters with respect.

In the end, Viktor's harsh reaction cuts through Yuuri's anxiety and brings him back to reason (he will do this again two episodes later in a way more dramatic manner). Plus, there's this

and this

Yuuri finally realises that Minami's admiration mirrors his own admiration of Viktor. And through this, he can empathise with Minami.

And when Yuuri cheers Minami on and watches his performance, Minami finally loses his terror as an adversary, and Yuuri starts to take him seriously. This entire part of Yuuri reacting towards the other skaters--it's a typical reaction of a person with anxiety and low self-confidence who tries to protect themselves without realising that their method is faulty because it's dictated by anxiety. Viktor slamming the guards onto the barrier and telling Yuuri how disappointed he is might seem rude but is necessary to get Yuuri out of his anxiety loop.

And Viktor is pleased as, be it by accident or design, his lesson was successful.

And last but not least, in this episode, Yuuri learns that he loves Viktor. He has not been able to name this feeling before, but the events in this episode preceded by the months he has spent with Viktor so far, seem to lead up to this realisation. This is speculation, but I believe that this happens during his free skating and causes him to jump into the barrier. Skaters pay attention to where they take off, and Yuuri is too experienced to allow for such mistakes. But he canonically flubs his jumps when something is on his mind, he must have been super distracted at this moment. Also, note how Viktor's expression changes when Yuuri dances through the step sequence only moments before this jump. He knows something is going on.

Episode 5 seems to centre on Yuuri's growth as we experience it through his unreliable narrator's eyes, but in fact, both he and Viktor undergo a learning curve while they stumble through each challenge by trial and error. Throughout the entire episode, Viktor gets to know Yuuri better and learns how to handle him in competition and thus become a better coach. His growth is directed towards Yuuri and their relationship. Yuuri, on the other hand, can handle Viktor already pretty well as shown by how he doesn't put up with Viktor's bullshit. His growth is directed inwards with a focus on his insecurity and anxiety.

This show is done with so much attention to detail, I could swoon over it for ages!

Bonus: Viktor being canonically savage

Viktor learning his first lecture on looking after an athlete during a competition doesn't mean that all the bottled-up annoyance evaporates--no, he vents it through backhanded compliments!

Viktor has yet to learn to trust Yuuri's decisions and be a more sensible coach overall, but it's the first competition of the season and Yuuri is a good teacher in this regard. There's still plenty of time for him and Yuuri to grow as a team and as individuals, but in this episode both take important steps in their journey together.

If you enjoy my meta posts, please consider giving my blog a follow or checking out my works on AO3(link in bio). You will find the results of my meta musings in there!

[growling]

bsd has done irreparable damage to my psyche anyway season 5

ep1:

two questions for this season before we get into it: 1 where ranpo. 2 where kunikida. 3 where akutagawa. sorry that was three

oh yeah the. coin bombs. oops

KUNIKIDAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whoops his hands are gone. thats easy kunikida jsut take the pen in your mouth and like and follow for awesome more loading screen tips from one and only tumblr user growling

akutagawa spotted in the intr- nvm dazai is here too my day is ruined

back to lucy's server :))))) hello lucy :))))))

kunikida running the torment gauntlet these past few seasons it looks!!

its him. my beautiful normal pet sigma once again

nikolai i missed you and your silly wacky hijinks. dm me after this

love u nikolai that is very helpful. 10/10 magic tricks my offer still stands if youre interested just please please please pl

you know its /srs once nikolai takes off that eyepatch card thingy

damn thats gay

the inherent homoeroticity of lust murder

ango calm the fuck down can you just. wait for a moment.

now look how stupid you look ango. idiot boy. that was SO goofy i'll say.............. something about this scene was just so funny to me

oooooh the leader is called kamui :333

awwww they're protective of and about to go very easy on their best buddy atsushi but when ango offers himself instead they're like "were gonna fucking suck blood out your arteries like caprisun"

katai........... they took his fucking electronics can't have shit in yokohama. look at him he's fucking dying

feral

fyodor and dazai are. really fucking bored in there lmaooooooo they're playing fucking number games in there. when's the second episode of ur two man comedy show im a huge fan

WAIT IT WAS RANPO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S RANPO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RANPO I MISSED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING THE ENTIRE LATTER HALF OF THE PAST SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RANPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO he saved literally every guy that was held captive :33333 ranpo is the second most powerful person in this world right after chuuya (though it kinda blurs)

and he stole a cape <3

he's so smart and wonderful and perfect guys.

POEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE'S HERE THEY WERE WORKING TOGETHER RIDE OR DIE AROAPLNARC4AROAPLNARC DUE THE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my throat closed when i saw him this is what these two are fucking doing to me

oh fukuzawa's sooooo mad about this lmao <33 i knew he'd be he looked so damn pissed the whole time <33333333

holding up the heinous criminal photo of the agency discussing their fucked up and evil atrocities and the image is just ranpo doing the peace sign with the

RANPO'S HERE yeah let's go ranp show these stupid fucking 0 IQ babies fukuzawa's words not mine what you got!!!!

LET'S GO RANPO WOOHOO!!!!!!! LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey Raven, I was thinking about how different twst boys react when put in a difficult place/having a breakdown. We've seen this with the dorm leaders. But I was wondering, how do you think it would be for scheming, collected characters that are always in control to be in that situation? Like, let's say Jade, because imagining him in that situation is kind of difficult, at least for me, because he is always the one in control of every situation, how would it be for him to be smarted out and tricked? How would he react? The closest thing to it that I can think of would probably be Azul, and it still is not easy to compare because I feel like he is way easier to read than Jade? Maybe because we got a whole chapter dedicated to him, but I would rather say that its because Azul is more upfront and you can tell something is wrong, along with more expressive, meanwhile Jade will put a kind smile 24/7 and stab from the back

Actually, I too wonder how it would be for someone like Rook, but he isn't as scheming as Jade ig

(I hope this isn't weird ahhh, I just love seeing the intelligent characters being put it difficult situations and how they react)

NO, NO I TOTALLY GET THE APPEAL OF A CALM, INTELLIGENT CHARACTER JUST. MCFUCKING LOSING IT😭 what can I say, it’s my type

I’d say that are “layers” yes, like an onion to Jade’s reactions? When he’s just surprised or caught off guard by something, he tends to maintain his politeness. We see this in instances like Kalim dumping a whole pot of sugar into his tea (in Jade’s School Uniform vignette), as well as when Jade realizes that he and Floyd were being distracted while Savanaclaw broke into Azul’s contract vault (in episode 3). This isn’t all that different from his normally collected, smiling self.

But then we go the next layer down, which is when his patience wears away and Jade’s “true” self starts to emerge through the cracks. I think a good example of this would be in Ghost Marriage, when Eliza unexpectedly slaps him. There is a very VEEERY subtle change in Jade’s expression following this; he wears a neutral expression, but he loses the shine in his eyes, lending him a dull look. He doesn’t say anything out of anger or upset, but the look alone gives the impression that he wants to kill Eliza if she wasn’t already dead. Another instance that implies icy, calculating rage would be in episode 4, in which Jade describes (while smiling) what he would do to someone who betrays him. It involves verbal abuse to the point of inducing a mental break, binding his victim with rope, and then drowning them 😬 Not pleasant, to say the least.

The final layer is something I think we’ve yet to see in canon, but is often depicted in fan art. This would be Jade completely losing it and going feral. I don’t doubt that Jade has this side to him, especially with the warnings other characters give (such as Azul saying in Happy Beans Day that Jade is scarier than Floyd because he’s more difficult to anticipate), his origins in the Coral Sea, and his shady family (if Floyd’s own violent, angry state is any indication). However, I struggle to think of a situation where Jade would really lose a grip on himself and spiral into this state. I think the most we’ll get to see of Jade reacting to situations he finds displeasing is that cold, contained anger that I described in the last paragraph. If the situation is immediately serious, he’ll quietly plot a way to get back, to get even, with whoever has wronged him. If it’s not as serious, then reacting with just light surprise will do.

I don’t believe that equating Jade’s reactions to Azul’s makes sense, because they’re totally different characters with different backgrounds, even if their personalities initially come off as being “similar”. Azul is shown to be naturally more emotional and concerned with maintaining his image, as he comes from a background of being bullied and wants to be treated with respect so as to not be the same crybaby octopus that he was in his childhood. The same cannot be said for Jade (he’s not typically emotional, he doesn’t have the same values or concerns, and he wasn’t bullied as a kid; their family structures aren’t even the same), so we cannot draw the same conclusions about how he would react in certain situations.

I wouldn’t say that Rook is less of a schemer than Jade 🤔 but rather that Rook doesn’t use his schemes to do malicious things like Jade does. I mean, Jade’s over in Octavinelle helping his dorm leader track down personal information of new students so Azul can use it to manipulate them into doing his bidding later (see: Jade’s Ceremonial Robes vignettes)... while Rook’s using his big brains to manipulate the people chosen for the VDC team and to get Vil to recognize that true beauty doesn’t come from popularity with the public (episode 5). The tactics are still underhanded, but Rook arguably acts in ways that ultimately benefit others while Jade acts in ways that typically harm others. 

When Rook is confronted with something upsetting, he still finds a way to make light of it. For example, he remarks that Vil’s Overblot form is still beautiful, albeit in a twisted way, and in Glorious Masquerade, he described the crimson flowers as “not beautiful” rather than outright calling them “ugly”. He tries to stay positive in spite of it all--but he also has those moments when that sly smile creeps onto his face and his eyes narrow into slivers, and his cunning makes itself known. That makes me suspect that his true anger is very similar to Jade’s: a sort of cold and calculating kind of reaction, paired with a relentlessness to pursue his target to the ends of Twisted Wonderland.

[heidi891]

Rewatching ML Season 3

Chameleon: Adrien pulls away from Lila. He’s very nice to her, but tells her not to lie to him. Akumatised Lila pretends to be mean Adrien. Chat Noir yet again sacrifices himself for Ladybug. Only Marinette and Adrien don’t fall for Lila’s lies. Adrien sit next to Marinette, but the whole class ends up sitting as they used to.

Animaestro: “Ladybug PV” as in-universe film. Marinette, why are you stupid enough to work with Chloé.

Bakerix: —

Backwarder: Alix says Adrien hates lies. Marinette giving Adrien the prescription is hilarious. So is Gabriel having a temporary villain lair in the train toilet.

Reflekdoll: Poor Juleka. So now Gabriel doesn’t care about Nathalie risking her life. Marinette and Adrien look cool as Lady Noire and Mister Bug. I think the episode is a little too critical of Chat Noir.

Weredad: Gabriel Akumatised a baby again. Marichat scenes. Have Adrien got only twenty peas to eat? His meal is ridiculous. Maybe he is forced to diet, because apparently he eats far too much cheese. Chat Noir says loneliness and isolation are the worst.

Silencer: —

Onichan: Calm down, Marinette, Adrien is kind and a little naive, but he isn’t stupid. Gabriel also thinks Adrien’s too naive. Adrien is fed up with girls fighting over him, but is touched by Kagami’s love for him.

Miraculer: Ladybug should listen to Chat Noir’s advice about talking to Chloé. Ladybug is too focused on defeating the villain, ignoring the emotional aspect. Chloé resists the Akuma. Chat Noir is hit with the Cataclism twice. Chloé is Queen Bee again.

Amnesio: Ladybug and Chat Noir lose their memory, detransform in front of each other and quickly assume they’re a couple, and they kiss. Adrien says he wouldn’t hide his identity from his girlfriend.

Desperada: Ladrien scenes. Adrien, where has your hair gone? Ladybug laughs at Adrien/Aspik’s jokes, but not Chat Noir’s. Adrien, what do you mean you’ve been trying for MONTHS.

Startrain: In the train Marinette sleeps on Adrien’s shoulder.

Kwami Buster: Adrien suspects that Marinette is Ladybug. Master Fu says using too many Miraculouses at once makes you mad (I see you, Monarch). Marinette as Mouse is cute, Adrien as Mr Banana is funny. Marinette tricks Chat Noir into believing that she can’t be Ladybug.

Feast: Master Fu’s backstory. Adrien’s worried about Nathalie.

Gamer 2.0: Chat Noir sacrifices himself.

Stormy Weather 2: There’re a lot of scenes from previous episodes. Marinette admits Adrien is her friend now. Nathalie admits she’s fallen in love with Gabriel and started caring about Adrien. Adrien recalls good moments with his father, but one of the memories is based on a lie (his father giving him the scarf). Plagg says Gabriel in the inside is either soft or rotten and while Adrien wants to believe the former, the latter is likely true. The second Christmas episode must have been before this episode.

Ikari Gozen: Kagami seems autistic. Chat Noir seems impressed with Kagami using the Dragon Miraculous. Adrien told Kagami that Marinette is his friend.

Timetagger: Ladybug and Chat Noir are bored and fed up with fighting Mr Pigeon for the 24th time. I wonder if Timetagger comes from their timeline or alternate timeline. Frankly speaking, I don’t treat those revelations about the future seriously. (#NoorooDeservesBetter) What’s more, Chat Noir and Nathalie say that future isn’t set in stone. From Cat Blanc we know that Bunnyx can travel to the future moments that ultimately become an alternate, non-existent timeline, so this is how I see the future that Timetagger comes from.

Party Crusher: Marinette, why are you so stupid. Adrien is surprised to see Marinette, but smiles when she still pretends to be Marino. Gabriel: ‘Joy? What’s going on in my house?!’ 

The Puppeteer 2: It’s both funny and sad that Adrien starts to believe that Marinette doesn’t like him at all. Adrien is just as silly as Marinette. Marinette kisses Adrien. Short Ladrien moment. Adrien tells Marinette that the girl he loves doesn’t like his jokes either.

Cat Blanc: The problem stems from the relationship between Adrien and his father. Adrien still loves him, but Gabriel is ready to use him to achieve his goal. This episode also shows that though Adrien is very nice and as Chat Noir he’s a carefree joker, he also has a lot of pain and anger inside. Additionally, reveals full of angst only weakens our superheroes.

Félix: Félix is fun to watch, he’s smart but emotionally unstable. He must be very lonely. Nathalie: Let’s Akumatise some teenagers.

Ladybug: Adrien says Marinette is fantastic. He stands up for Marinette when Lila accuses her of cheating. Marinette would’ve been Akumatised, if Nathalie hadn’t felt bad. Gabriel tells Nathalie not to use the Peacock Miraculous, but she does it behind his back. The Senti-Ladybug plot is a bit creepy in the context of season 5. Adrien forces Lila to withdraw the accusation.

Heart Hunter: Adrien likes Marinette with her hair down. She leaves him and Kagami alone after they’ve gone for ice-cream. She’s too distracted and makes a mistake that will result in loosing Master Fu. Chat Noir flirts with Ryuko. Chloé is jealous and joins Hawk Moth. Adrien and Kagami kiss.

Miracle Queen: Adrien says he wasn’t ready for the kiss and Kagami is hurt. Ladybug becomes the guardian of the Miraculouses. Will she forget everything in the future too?

Chris Master: I can’t stand that terrible old man in a red suit.

Miraculous World: New York: It looks like fanfiction a bit? Like everything’s a little over the top. The worst thing is Chat Noir accidentally killing a girl, it’s just so unnecessarily traumatic. It looks like this is his punishment for being dishonest with Ladybug. And with him sacrificing himself every other week and having some experience in being hit with the Cataclysm (Miraculer), I think he’d rather Cataclysm himself than an innocent girl.

Previous: Rewatching ML Season 2

Next: Rewatching ML Season 4

[jakesuit0]

Heat Signature Review

“Heat Signature” was clearly aired out of order. Not only was it released after the intended season finale, it should have come before “Video Makers”. Finn and Jake show Marceline the movie Heat Signature in this one, but intend on showing her Heat Signature 3 in “Video Makers”.

Finn and Jake go to Marceline’s house and it's great to finally see this trio hanging out for a whole episode now that Jake is over his fear. He even trusts her enough to let her bite him while his eyes are closed. Marceline has been portrayed as a loner, but here we find out that she at least has three ghost friends: Wendy, Booboo, and Georgy. It seems that Marcy hasn’t seen them in years, possibly centuries. They were in a gang in the underworld, which presumably means Marcy lived in The Land of the Dead for a while. Given Marceline’s age, I can buy that. It must have happened sometime after the flashbacks in “Everything Stays”. They were definitely a bad influence on Marcy. We don’t know much about Marceline’s life between getting bit and the start of the series, so it’s cool to have this detail.

Marceline pretends to turn Finn and Jake into vampires. Considering how Marcy feels about vampirism as seen in “Stakes”, she’d never actually turn them. But, she’s definitely not above using the idea for a prank. Yes, her turning was deeply traumatizing, but pranks and messing with people is her way of coping with trauma. This is another episode in which Finn and Jake are incredibly stupid, and it’s really funny. I can’t go over every moment, but it’s funny how easy it is to trick them and handwave their questions. Finn and Jake immediately think they are hungry for blood, which is really just them getting super into a role. It’s funny how calm they are about such a life-altering event, but it’s in line with their go with the flow lifestyle. 

Marceline has Finn and Jake go through vampire initiation to gain their vamp powers. As they’ll learn in “Stakes”, that's not at all how it works. Finn and Jake thinking they have gained invisibility is the funniest and best part of the episode. I love them twirling around screaming “invisible” like absolute morons, and their quick acceptance of Marcy’s bullshit reason for Finn and Jake still being able to see each other. They use their new power to harass a homeless person. What is with Finn harassing LSP as she’s just trying to chill in her hobo camp this season? Jake wasn’t with Finn in “To Cut a Woman’s Hair”, so we see his reaction to LSP’s new status. Lumpy Space Princess says she’s doing fine on her own, which we’ll learn isn’t true next season. Finn and Jake knock down LSP’s can of beans, infuriating her. As funny as this is, it's one of her most sympathetic appearances. She’s a starving hobo and Finn and Jake ruined her dinner. Marceline scares LSP with her bass axe, causing her to faint. They were so horrible to her in this episode!

The ghosts take things too far. While Marcy is just messing with Finn and Jake, the ghosts are downright bullying them. Marcy takes offense at Booboo calling them morons (although they do have a point). She’s grown a degree of affection for her boys, beyond just seeing them as her play things. Finn has softened her up a little, she wouldn’t go as far in her games as she did in “Evicted!”. Glob knows the fucked up pranks Marceline must have pulled with her gang back in the day. The ghosts still have some influence over Marceline. While she tells them to stop kicking Finn and Jake, she doesn’t reveal she’s pulling a prank even when Finn and Jake’s lives are put in danger. When Marcy tells her ghost friends to stop trying to kill Finn and Jake, Booboo replies “they’re gonna die someday”. They view the lives of mortals as meaningless. Marceline shared this attitude, seeing countless people die over hundreds of years. She was apathetic to the glass people in “Obsidian”, “they’re glass, they break, who cares?”  And she almost killed Jake in “Evicted!”. Her friendship with Finn and Jake has made her realize that mortals' lives do have meaning. 

The ghosts invite Finn and Jake to a party so they can suck their brains out. Their chant is actually a backwards message: “Farewell Pat. Goodluck in New York. Come back soon.” This refers to Patrick McHale, who stepped down as creative director after season two. Marceline comes to apologize. She can’t save them, as vampires can’t beat ghosts. I wonder what the third creature in the rock, paper, scissors analogy is, assuming the analogy is one to one. Maybe werewolves? Still, it shows that Marceline recognizes Finn and Jake as her real friends, unlike the ghosts. This completes the arc of Finn and Jake becoming true friends with Marcy that started in “Henchman”.

Watching Heat Signature is what saves Finn and Jake, as the ghosts are fans. It’s also a pre-war movie. The three ghosts never return, but that’s probably for the best, Marcy is better off without them. It would have been cool if they showed up in a flashback, though.

“Heat Signature” isn’t as emotional or complex as the season’s previous two Marceline episodes, but it's a very funny one with some good insight into Marcy.

Grade: A-

[kaminocasey]

Bonsoir Chapter 6: Golden Hour

Bonsoir Masterlist

Summary: Have you ever wondered what transpired at the Battle of Sarrish and what Gregor was thinking while he found out who he really was in the "Missing In Action" episode? Me too. Keep reading to find out! Pairing: Gregor/OC!Cassia Nu Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Depression, Violence, Angst WC: 3.1K A/N: I know this is two months late and I appreciate your patience. I also appreciate you all loving Cassia like I love her. <3

Gregor isn’t sure how this mission has gone so wrong. Sarrish was supposed to be easy. A quick in and out. Something the Foxtrot group had done hundreds of times before.

“FALL BACK!” Gregor shouts to his men. “FALL BACK!”

Gregor shoots at the Sarrishians that are starting to gain in numbers, looking around for his brothers but only sees Dyer as he’s retreating. Gregor tries shouting to him, but Dyer doesn’t hear him as he gets shot and drops. Gregor wants to shut his eyes, to block out the awful loss he’s suffered today. It’s only him left. There’s no one else.

Except Cassia. He has to keep going. For her.

Cassia’s smile fills Gregor’s mind as he starts running for a ship. It seems empty. Maybe he can escape and fly back to base and alert General Kenobi of what’s happened. Would he be considered a deserter? Surely not.

Gregor gets to the Sarrishian ship as fast as he can, glancing around him to make sure he’s not being followed. As soon as he shuts the door, he makes his way to the cockpit and puts his gun down, starting up the ship as quickly and discreetly as he can. Once he takes off, he starts flying back toward where base is set up. He’d have to tell General Kenobi about how badly the mission went, but maybe he’d be granted leave and he could see Cassia, if even only for a few days at most. It would be better than dying here on the battlefield.

All of a sudden there’s a cold metal pressed up against Gregor’s throat and he quickly realizes it’s a knife. Someone must have been onboard and he missed them.

Kriff, Gregor thinks as he struggles against the Sarrishian.

The Sarrishian says something in his native tongue but Gregor doesn’t understand Sarrishian. He tries to lurch the ship forward and up as he heads toward space. The Sarrishian falls back to the back of the cockpit, struggling against the wall. Gregor clicks his seatbelt into place and grabs his gun and shoots the Sarrishian.

As luck would have it, the ship starts getting shot at. Gregor rolls his eyes, cursing to himself. He starts flying toward the next planet, which he thinks is Abafar, if he remembers quickly.

All of sudden, when he reaches Abafar’s atmosphere, a huge explosion takes out the hull of the ship, causing the ship’s alarm to go wild.

“How the hell do they have the technology for that?” Gregor starts pushing buttons, and prepares for impact. “Good thing I can handle a rough landing I guess.”

When Gregor hits the ground, he’s proven wrong as his head gets slammed against the dash and everything goes black.

When Gregor wakes up, he isn’t sure where he’s at and why he is where he is.

Cassia wakes up with a start, finding her cheeks wet as she cups her own cheeks. It’s been eight months and she still can’t sleep well. Nightmares of Gregor being taken from her haunt her every single night.

She tried therapy for a while, but felt that she was getting nowhere. She tried the tricks that the therapist offered but nothing worked.

Cassia looks at the alert tooka next to her, staring at her with wide, concerned eyes.

“I’m okay, Wedge.” She pets his head and he makes himself comfy in her lap as she wipes her eyes and cheeks, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself.

There’s a rattle on the doorknob to her room and momentarily, Cassia’s heart clenches, hoping for him, even though she knows it’s Mara on the other side. She doesn’t think she’ll ever stop hoping for Gregor.

Mara walks in, sitting on the bed, next to her.

Since Mara lives there now, she doesn’t bother knocking. Mara moved in after a couple weeks of not knowing if Cassia was okay. She wouldn’t answer the phone, open the shop, or leave the apartment. The only thing she’d been able to do is take care of Wedge.

Things are relatively back to normal now. Except Mara doesn’t bring Dyer around, which Cassia feels terrible about. Mara shouldn’t have to hide any part of herself from Cassia. This is Mara’s first real relationship in so long.

“Do you want breakfast?” Mara asks.

Cassia shakes her head.

“Then, let’s go for a walk, hm?” Mara gives a sympathetic smile.

Cassia knows this trick. If she won’t eat, then she has to leave the apartment and get some sunlight.

“Okay.” Cassia sighs.

“I’ll put Wedge in his harness.” Mara squeezes her hand before picking up the Tooka and walking out of the room.

Cassia lies back down for a second before Mara’s voice fills the room from the doorway. “No laying back down.”

Cassia rolls her eyes, amused, and sits back up. She could do it today. Possibly. Getting out of bed, she throws on a sweater and pants. Looking in the mirror, she sees just how tired she looks. Puffy eyed, constantly. She’s aware she needs to get it together. But for now, puffy eyes and a sweater is all she can manage.

When Cassia finally emerges from her room, Mara greets her with a cup of caf, holding her hairbrush.

“You sit and drink, I brush.” Mara gives her a reassuring smile, guiding her to the couch.

The sun starts peeking through the living room curtains and Cassia watches the silhouette of the Coruscant skyline as Mara brushes her hair while she drinks her caf.

“You should invite Dyer to go with us.” Cassia murmurs, looking at Mara in the mirror in front of her.

Mara’s hands falter slightly and then continue brushing. “We broke up.”

“What?” Cassia pulls away to look back at Mara.

“It wasn’t working out.” Mara lies.

Cassia knows when Mara lies and Mara knows that Cassia knows. That’s when Cassia realizes it's because of her.

“Mara…”

“Cash, don’t worry. It was a friendly breakup. I can comm him anytime I want.” She squeezes Cassia’s shoulder. “Now, finish your caf so we can go.”

Cassia turns around and looks at Mara’s reflection in the mirror. She’d been so absorbed by her own grief, she didn’t even notice her best friend’s breakup.

“Mar… I’m so sorry.” She murmurs.

“Don’t be. Now, drink.” She kisses Cassia on the top of the head and starts braiding Cassia’s hair.

You have to be better, Cassia tells herself, you can’t shut down again.

The park that they go to isn’t the one that he took her to. It’s a different one. A closer one to the apartment. It’s surprisingly busy for an early morning and Cassia allows herself to take in the morning sun, realizing how good it feels on her skin. She didn’t realize how badly she needed this.

“Feels good, right?” Mara teases her.

“Yes.” Cassia rolls her eyes, smiling.

It was the first time in a long time that she actually smiled. She missed the feeling. Maybe things can start going back to a relative normal.

“Here. Eat this.” Mara pulls a sandwich out of her bag and hands it to Cassia.

The action may seem so small to someone else, but to her, it was everything. Mara was the only person she had left and she never stopped looking out for her, even when Cassia became difficult to be around.

“I love you.” Cassia rests her head on Mara’s shoulder.

“I love you too. No matter what.” Mara pats her leg.

Cassia sits up and starts eating the sandwich. It was delicious as always. Mara was the better cook of the two, for sure.

“Mm.” Cassia hums.

“I knew you were hungry.” Mara smirks.

“Glad you did, because I didn’t.” Cassia looks down at Wedge sitting patiently at their feet, watching all the people going by.

Mara was more than just her best friend or business partner. She was her sister. Her family.

Abafar, Outer Rim

“Gregor, take the garbage out, it’s getting smelly! Do you not smell that?” Gregor’s boss, Borkus shouts at him.

“Oh, sorry, Borkus. I was finishing up the last of the dishes.” Gregor apologizes, quickly going to grab the garbage pail underneath Borkus’ grill station.

“Be quick about it. Table three is almost done.” Borkus barks.

“Sure thing, boss.” Gregor nods, heading toward the back door of the diner.

He’d been working since early that morning for the breakfast rush and he was already exhausted. Borkus had been running him like a droid.

Hm. Not a bad idea, a service droid, he thinks to himself as he dumps the pail over the other garbage.

“UGH!” Gregor hears below him.

Gregor steps back, concerned, finding an angry looking Zilkan glaring up at him as he wipes the trash off of himself.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there.” Gregor apologizes, feeling terrible. “Look, I could get you some food, but uh, normally people come in the front door. But there's no problem.”

The Zilkan stares up at him, squinting tightly, trying to get a look at him. Gregor’s still confused.

“You do know that you’re eating garbage, right?” Gregor asks, gesturing toward the piled up trash behind the Zilkan.

The Zilkan tosses the stale bread aside and points up at him. “You’re a clone.”

“Excuse me?” Gregor asks. “Uh… I- I wouldn’t know about that. My- my name’s Gregor. Uh, wait. What’s a clone?”

The Zilkan climbs up on the dumpster to jump over onto Borkus’ trash pail to get a good look at Gregor. As soon as he meets him at eye level, he grabs Gregor’s face and pulls it toward him. It’s incredibly uncomfortable and very confusing. This man is acting like he knows Gregor. And what the hell is a clone?

The Zilkan exampines Gregor’s face, looking in each eye before pulling away.

“You are a clone.” The Zilkan laughs. “Are you working undercover?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gregor insists.

“Listen to me, soldier.” The little guy continues. “Whatever your assignment is, it can’t be more important than mine.”

“It is his first real mission.” The WAC-47 droid speaks up, obviously irritating his counterpart. “He is just a map reader.”

Gregor looks between the two of them. Where the hell did these guys come from?

“Don’t listen to that ignoramus!” The Zilkan shouts. “You are a clone and a soldier in the Republic Army, and I order you to take me to your ship. We need to get back to Coruscant immediately.”

Now, it’s just getting too weird. This man must be off his rocker. What Army? What ship? And he still doesn’t know what the hell a clone is.

“Uh, look friend, I was just trying to help. I’m sorry if you took it the wrong way.” Gregor lowers the pail gently to let the Zilkan down.

“I do not think that soldier believes you are a colonel, uh, colonel.” The droid salutes at the Zilkan.

All of a sudden, Borkus’ loud angry voice fills the back area, “Gregor! Get back to work!”

“Uh, excuse me, I gotta go.” Gregor stands back, giving the two little guys an apologetic look. “I don’t wanna lose my job.”

Gregor walks back into the diner, closing the door behind him, still confused.

At the end of the shift, Borkus and Gregor lock up the diner. It was a long day and Gregor was still thinking about what the Zilkan had said to him.

“So, uh, Boss… you know, I was just wondering…” Gregor scratches the back of his head.

“No, you can’t have a raise, Gregor.” Borkus shakes his head, locking the door to the diner, before waving him off.

Gregor follows him toward their apartments. “Oh… no, no, no… I- I don’t want a raise, sir. I- I just wanted to know, what’s a clone? Someone told me I was a clone today. They insisted.”

“Ha. A clone?” Borkus laughs. “Clones fight battles across the galaxy. They are brave soldiers. Does that sound like you?”

Borkus really wasn’t a nice guy, but he had given Gregor a job and helped pay his rent. He’s not in a position to challenge the man.

“You’re a dishwasher, Gregor. Forget about clones or anything like that.” Borkus grabs Gregor by the shoulder. “You have good life here, a simple life. More than you had when Borkus found you.”

Borkus folds his arms as if he’s disappointed in Gregor.

“I- I know, sir. And I appreciate everything that you’ve done, believe me. But I- I thought maybe you could tell me… how… How did I get here? Where did you find me?”

Gregor has tried and tried and tried again to remember just exactly how he got here, but he can’t. He figured something must have happened to make his memory this bad, right? Did he hit his head or something?

“Enough questions.” Borkus turns away. “Go home. Sleep. Come back tomorrow. Do your job.”

Gregor hangs his head in slight shame. He didn’t mean to upset his boss. Honestly, he just needed answers. Anything.

“I don’t want to hear that word “clone” again, Understand?” Borkus asks before walking off toward his home.

It’s just become more obvious that Borkus isn’t telling Gregor something. What it is, he doesn’t know yet. But, he knows he’s going to try to find out.

When Gregor gets home, he goes straight to the fridge to take a swig of wine that Milane, the woman next door, had gifted him a week ago for being a good neighbor and getting her tooka off the roof. He had told her it wasn’t a big deal but she insisted on repaying him somehow and while he appreciated the gesture, he was pretty sure if he didn’t take the wine, she was going to offer something else, something he wasn’t interested in.

He grabs his book out of his bag and looks at it, running his fingers down the cover before opening it like he always does, finding a heart next to the name Cassia and a wilted flowery weed braid that was clearly a bracelet at some point. Who Cassia was, he has no idea but he liked the heart and the way she signed her name. It was swirly and feminine and somehow with the flowery bracelet, it all felt so… personal?

All of a sudden, there’s a man in the room… “Captain Rex, reporting for duty.”

No, not a man… It’s Gregor? Without hair? He looks around, confused. “What-”

Gregor realizes it’s a hologram and steps toward it, cautiously, running his hand through it, still alert and confused. “I… I don’t understand… that’s me?”

“No, that’s Captain Rex.” Gregor hears the Zilkan’s voice behind him. “He’s a clone of the Republic Army. Just like you, Gregor.”

“I can’t believe it.” Gregor looks back at the clone captain, full of even more questions.

A little bit later, after Gascon, the Zilkan, and his droid friends try to explain to Gregor what he is and where he’s from. He’s reeling, trying to keep up.

“Okay… Slow down, slow down.” Gregor tries to keep up. “So, you’re telling me that there are more of these clones?”

“Millions. A whole army’s worth.” The spunky little WAC-47 droid chimes in.

“Uh-huh…” Gregor scratches his chin. “And they all look exactly like me?”

“No, those clones are warriors, professional soldiers created by the Republic, trained to fight, and die, if necessary, in our war against the Separatists. They’re not dishwashers living in some vermin-infested hovel.” Gascon tells him, firmly, clearly trying to get him to remember who he is.

“Look, I’m lucky to live in this place. Mr. Borkus says my salary doesn’t even begin to cover the rent, so he pays the difference for me.” Gregor turns around, looking at the book, flipping open the cover page to look at Cassia’s name again.

He can’t help but start to wonder… were you a part of his former life? Were you someone he knew? If so… did you miss him terribly or think that he was dead?

“Don’t you get it, Gregor?” Gascon asks him, “You’re his slave… We need to figure out who you really are, how you got here… Are you sure you really don’t remember anything?”

“All I remember is waking up on a transport.” Gregor replies. “Somehow, we crashed on Abafar. And, well… Mr. Borkus says I have amnesia.”

“Hmm…” Gascon nods. “Every clone has an identifying code on their wrist. Your military records will be in the database. Scan him, R2.”

The blue and white astromech rolls toward Gregor, and he sits down and holds out his wrist so R2 can scan him easier. This was all still so overwhelming to Gregor. He wasn’t just some dishwasher… He was a soldier.

R2 projects an ID and Gascon moves over for a better look.

“Impressive. Gregor, your designation is CC-5576-39. You were a captain and part of an elite squad. A clone commando.” Gascon tells him. R2 beeps and the projection goes away. “Your file says you were reported missing in action during the Battle of Sarrish.”

Gascon lowers his head, placing his hand over his heart and the droids all beep with sadness. The Battle of Sarrish…

“Sarrish… Sarrish…” that sounds so familiar… “Wait… What was the Battle of Sarrish?”

“It was one of the Republic’s most devastating losses…” Gascon tells him.

“Sarrish…” Gregor mumbles again, starting to feel a picture piece itself together in the back of his mind. It still seems so groggy… yet so familiar.

His men. His brothers… all dropping… the Sarrishians out numbering them… Gregor running toward a ship… Flying the ship… and then crashing… It all starts to make itself known… after all this time.

“Yes… now I remember…” Gregor sighs. “So many soldiers were dying…”

“Do you remember how you escaped Sarrish?” Gascon murmurs.

Gregor tells him about trying to get away from the Sarrishians so that he could warn the General. He was so close and then they chased him to Abafar. He mentions all the bodies… the bodies of his brothers… how they were everywhere. And then he looks at the book in his hands again.

Slowly… a picture of a young woman with beautiful brown eyes appears in his memory. Cassia. He remembers her. He remembers her smile. He remembers her eyes. He remembers her laugh. He remembers Wedge. He remembers laying in bed with her. Tears immediately spring to Gregor’s eyes as he starts to remember again.

He needs to get back to Cassia as soon as possible.

TAGS: @grievouus @brynhildrmimi @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @misogirl828 @rexandechosandwich @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @twistedstitcher27 @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @loverofclones @idlenesses @captain-splock-you

[sunset-a-story]

I have so many nice messages and asks--thank you for that! they've been such bright moments to see those pop up and I'm going to finally get back to today as a treat because, y'all, the last couple of days have been a lot fighting to get my brother-in-law proper care. I just need to have a rant post. (cw: mental health, American healthcare bullshit, threats of harm/SI)

We spent the last few days trying to get several hospitals to take us seriously to take care of my BiL. He's presenting as psychotic and two hospitals dismissed it as mental health and sent him away. He has NEVER behaved this way. One hospital kept him because he was threatening to harm himself and others. They held him for 12 hours and then discharged him because the doctor said he'd been calm since her shift started: from 3am to 6am. I'm also pretty calm at 3am. wtf. This is a man who used to work hazmat for the us military, combat vet, he works at ROTC, he took on parenting his best friend's children when needed. He's goofy but he's competent. They discharged him despite him not being able to identify numbers or colors. when asked what season it was he said, "Monday." He was babbling nonsense, banging on things with nothing behind his eyes, and couldn't keep his tongue in his mouth. He wasn't the man I know. He was like a toddler. And he was dangerous. Tricking him into getting into the car and driving with him in the car 45min to get him across the border to another state with a better hospital system was terrifying. If he had an episode, we could have crashed. I had pepper spray in my pocket the whole ride. Here's the thing. He had spinal surgery 11 days ago during which there was a spinal fluid leak that the surgeons couldn't find to close. He went back to the hospital with headaches 3 times and they kept sending him home saying it would resolve on its own.

But when he presented to hospitals like this, no one would listen to us begging them to CT his brain, check intracranial pressure, or check for infection. We were brushed off.

Once we got to a neighboring state, between me not backing down and my husband throwing his mental health care license around in a way that made him super uncomfortable, they finally looked for a medical cause. (Mental health IS medical but the ERs don't treat it that way.) He's now being treated for what they believe is an infection that spread to his brain. But we spent 12 hours yesterday trying to keep calm even when he didn't know who we were and then listening to him scream and fight when we couldn't. My husband was a hero. There's so much more but I'm tired. We're exhausted, physically and emotionally. We're still worried sick, waiting to hear if the antibiotics are helping. I'm furious with the medical system. I just hope he will be okay and recover to someone I've known for 20 years.

So thanks for listening to me rant and for all the lovely unrelated messages. I'm so excited to answer things and get my mind off of this for a little while.

[nobodysdaydreams]

The Mysterious Benedict Society Liveblog Season 2 Episode 8 "A Two-Way Street"

Alright, let's just cut to my worst fear: this finale description sounds very final, and I really really hope that this is not the last season and they just couldn't get SQ's actor back or the funds to continue and are ending it right here. If that is what is happening, it's hardly the show's fault, and it won't be the first time a hyper-fixation was struck down prematurely. Who knows. Maybe this time instead of deleting my accounts and vanishing into the night, I'll actually use this account for the next fixation. I already have one that's coming back that I think some of you might like, but that's a subject for another day. I will be sad if this is the last season, but in the event that this episode throws in a cool twist that keeps me invested, I will also be giving an appropriately unhinged rant which I know is why you are all here, so either way everyone wins. On to the episode.

1:00- Ah morning, is Curtain up? Oh yikes, he's gonna wake up with a massive headache after Milligan turned the van like that.

2:00- well well well. Nicholas and Constance please their joy is too much. Wait her name is actually number in this universe? "MOM HAD BEEN BRAVE ABOUT YOUR ABANDONMENT". Okay, side note: your children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, etc. cannot "abandon" you. You can say they decided to cut contact with you or put up boundaries. But "abandoned", really? You're the adult. Already skeptical of this family. What is with this family's names.

3:00- HAHA- not Jillson/Jackson and Jeffers fighting over authority. I love their sideplot. If the show is cancelled I will happily support their spin-off show. Oooo... "interim director" and he said it so carefully too look at Jeffers throwing fancy titles around. "Self-appointed" oooo burn.

3:20- Awe, he said he's very proud of number 2. I'm glad Nicholas is looking out for her.

4:45- "I'm gaining so much understanding" Yes that's how I feel when I meet my friend's families. Milligan gets it.

5:40- Is Reynie advocating for um... "ending Curtain"? Thank you Ms. Perumal.

6:10- speaking of, there he is fast asleep. What a weird way to wake up. PFT- inspired. "Betrayed" oh calm down Curtain. "that's beneath you" YOU DID EXPERIMENTS ON KIDS CURTAIN. "Away from the yes men" That's what I've been saying!

7:00- It feels so good, but it's bad. Nicholas does have a clear view. Is he overcoming the brain washing? Haha... "it's more like 12 miles" Curtain does do his homework.

8:00- Wait Curtain actually cares... oh no. Well, there you go Curtain. You can escape while the theme song is playing. Maybe you can find the son that you totally forgot about. Unless Nicholas is faking it to see how you react.

9:30- Lol, the mom wants grandkids. Wait "chaotic out there" are they doomsday preppers? Wow, she didn't send letters or answer calls. "new people: terrible prioritizes" YOU JUST WANT HER WORKING THE FARM. Don't like number 2's mom.

11:30- "Can I offer some observations" "mind tricks" lol

12:00- "I need you to wake up" oh Curtain is gonna lose it

12:30- "Everyone perhaps except Constance" wait if she goes back to the house, then we'll have our family reunion, we just need SQ and the whole Benedict crew is there.

13:00- "A lovely 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle" well that should keep her busy. I love that they are showing the puzzle in the montage.

13:45- "Please I don't know what to do" "Somehow if I could convince you it was good you'd think I was good" oh yikes, this could be the last season. Curtain's redemption arc isn't due for a while. He isn't falling asleep though so he must still be holding something back.

14:50- Wow Constance has done great work on that puzzle. Honestly impressive. She really does have a gift.

15:00- They've arrived! Time for home-alone style traps. I love that the traps didn't work on Jackson and Jillson. They really should be promoted.

16:00- "you tricked me" see now he feels betrayed. "the only way to get through was if you thought you lost me" yikes. Oh, the device worked? That's actually pretty clever. "It changes nothing" "I don't believe you that was real". Awe Nicholas apologized for the blowdart.

17:00- Wow that shot where you think Curtain might try to hug him and he just moves past him to look out the window. "They're here" oh Curtain don't be so ominous only one van got through, wait where did all these people come from.

18:30- "Stand down" "I've been Possibly approaching things the wrong way". Well that is an understatement. "Blinking in code" oh my gosh Jackson. "Please discover who you are": That line was meant for SQ. I wish he was here. Oh dear, he broke them. Oh no, are Jackson and Jillson gonna start a cult? Okay Jeffers, go off.

20:30- SHE NEVER FINISHED THE PUZZLE. NO.

21:00- "Insert an electrode" "well there are worse things" it's nice to see Curtain hasn't changed much. Even as a 'good guy' he keeps his personality. I think he and Constance would get along great.

22:00- Maybe you could restore Constance's happiness by promising a third season. And no, Nicholas you make her happy. "Remember when you broke the Whisperer with your brain, good times" *cuts to Curtain* I love it.

23:20- Insulting people makes Constance happy. Very good Reynie. Get Curtain to admit he's a theater kid. That will do it. OH MY GOSH NICHOLAS' MONOLOGUE, BAH HA HA- Curtain's like "ok Nicky, a bit much".

26:00- "Thank you for saying goodbye before you abandon us again" ma'am please get help for your abandonment issues, do not project them onto children.

26:30- Okay so Curtain is unfreezing his followers. Is he gonna finally see his son again? OR MENTION HIM? HELLO? Honestly, I think Curtain might have also faked (or understated) his redemption since Nicholas faked his brain-washing. And Curtain didn't fall asleep. Don't think I missed that.

27:45- Awe they're wrapping all the little conflicts up. Except SQ's. Yes I'm still mad. Don't play the happy music, that boy could be at the bottom of a well right now. He could be frozen. Well, I guess that doesn't matter because they won a wood-cutting competition and Sticky wrote Reynie a letter.

29:30- YES THEY ADOPTED THE ALPACA. Who knows what happened to SQ, but at least the alpaca made it out ok. Also, Constance's letter is fantastic.

30:00- Is she going to be adopted now? Oh, we're doing this? We're getting Constance's parents? Season 3 let's go!

30:30- "well I look 46" okay Curtain. "joining the society". Perfect, now we can have the Curtain/Constance banner I want- wait. WAIT WHAT. WHAT. WHAT.

Uh oh, looks like the director saw the fourth season of Sherlock and was like "oh I want to do that, but better, like actually develop it. Maybe that will distract from the fact that SQ's actor stormed off the set". THAT's IT?

Well, consider me fully re-invested. I have so so so many thoughts and will be blogging like mad the next few days so be prepared.

But for starters, why is Curtain not in jail? Redemption is nice but he still kidnapped and brain-washed people and ran experiments on children. Maybe I should give an emotional speech to the cops about family and learning lessons next time I get pulled over and they'll let me drive off without a ticket.

Also, is SQ at college? I swear they'll get the actor back for like season 5, and be like "he was in art school the whole time". (I actually have multiple theories on how he comes back into the plot, will be making posts)

Anyway, that's all. Must dash. Hope you enjoyed!

[susie-dreemurr]

Willow, Luz and Hunter for the character asks

(Edit: fuck it read more time)

Willow Park

1) First impression:

(Episode 3?) She seems a bit like the stereotypical sweet bullied best friend, but that’s okay. She’s nice and has some mischievous moments. Not much to say about her.

2) Impression now:

She’s still not a favorite, but I like her more now. I enjoy the parts where the girl subverts some of the tropes she was assigned (being allowed to being angry at her bully, not immediately forgiving, still a gremlin) and how just because Willow got more self-confidence, it doesn’t mean the teen won’t struggle with negative thoughts after getting put down for being “half a witch” for so long.

3) Favorite moment:

The monster in her mind being revealed to be Inner Willow after it was pushed into the water. Plus, the iconic: “I remember what you did, too. I can’t say we’re friends, but…it’s a start.”

4) Idea for a story:

We’ve seen Willow’s complicated feelings on Amity, now it’s time to explore what she and Skara got going on. Although I remember S1E17 hinting that Skara would be nicer to her and didn’t hate her, unlike Boscha, it’s still a bit weird to see one of Willow’s former bullies in her team when they’ve had zero on-screen development. Especially because, unlike with Amity, they don’t have any history to build on.

In other words. Fanfics of Willow & Skara friendship slow burn when.

5) Unpopular opinion:

Willow should have gotten more screen time, yes, but I think the girl’s current time explores her enough. She’s one of those characters who already feel complete since season one. (With that said, gimme some a Willow POV reason to ship Huntlow, bc if this is gonna happen, I need mutual content—)

You can argue that the girl hasn’t completed her arc yet, but, while that’s fair, I think the fact that we’re being shown that she’s in a better state than she ever was in her life, plus that she will keep growing, makes up for it.

6) Favorite relationship:

Willow and Amity. It’s not even a competition. Understand Willow, my best friend…

7) Favorite head cannon:

She’s somewhere in the AroAce spectrum! Maybe she can have crushes still, but they’ll be either very small and short, or they’re less “blushing, can’t function, etc” and more her normal attitude them + a mushy feeling in her chest and the desire to cuddle. Thought people were exaggerating about how intense their romantic urges were until Luminity happened. I’m not projecting.

Gus Porter

1) First impression:

Funny little man. Definitely not neurotypical. That’s it.

2) Impression now:

Labyrinth Runners changed me as a person, so listen. His whole character is about autism and the ND experience. His struggle of feeling guilty for not being able to read people as well as the others around him, therefore leading into being taken advantage of, mostly for his smarts, is a mood. Still a funny little man, but now is a character I love. This explains it better than I possibly could, but the point is: He Gets It!

3) Favorite moment:

His last on-screen Illusion Nightmare, when Hunter goes into the sphere to snap him out of his mind. Specifically the “I let myself get tricked…again” part because the slightly creepy and symbolic visual is my kind of shit. Aside of that, probably the whole scene where he calms Hunter down from a panic attack and then gives his speech.

4) Idea for a story:

Something exploring his post-King’s Tide feelings, because…imagine having to deal with being a 12 year old unable to go home to your only family member, who’s current status is unknown, going to your dream location in the worst way possible, and. As if that wasn’t enough, having to stay silent about his knowledge of Belos’s backstory, including the creation of grimwalkers, which his friend is. I am but a humble angst enjoyer and I need my crumbs.

5) Unpopular opinion:

Okay idk tbh. Although he was criminally underdeveloped in season one, TTGLR and LR came in clutch, so I don’t mind his lack of exploration as much as other fans. My main complaint is that I wish he got more focus on King’s Tide. Let him into the Angst Train in the next specials, Dana. You know you want to.

6) Favorite relationship:

As the Labyrinth Runners stan that I am, I’d have to be lying to say it’s anything but Hunter & Gus. It’s just an equally positive thing for both of them. They are nerdy sillies together me thinks

7) Favorite head cannon:

Augustus Porter has the autism swag (real)

Luz Noceda

1) First impression:

Luz looks like a regular “quirky child” kid’s show protagonist, but just because she’s not anything special right now doesn’t mean I won’t like her. She’s fun. I like her neurodivergent swag and…girlie made me cry in S1E02 😔 why would you hurt me like this. It’s not even a sad episode. It’s just… her being tricked by that self-indulgent illusion hit me in my weak spot 😭😭😭

2) Impression now:

ONE OF MY FAVORITES, JUST LIKE ME FOR REAL! Watch this video, it’s the best. Seriously, I still like her kid’s show protag vibes, yeah, but what really draws me in is her insecurities. It’s the alienation Luz faced due to being neurodivergent and never really fitting in anywhere until the Boiling Isles. It’s about the people pleasing and hiding away any signs that she needs help due to not wanting to be a bother, because being too much of a burden means losing your only friends. It’s about loving your parents but feeling as if they will never really get it.

The urge to self-sacrifice and put the blame on yourself in case anything goes wrong. It’s about reaching one of your lowest mental health points and thinking you’re a horrible person who ruins everything when you’re just a kid with some Issues and anger. When, at some point, you start only confiding on your sibling figure because they’re the only one who understands and you think won’t run away. Pushing away your friends and, after apologizing, being surprised at how instantly kind and forgiving they are. It’s about Reaching Out and Thanks To Them.

3) Favorite moment:

Camila watching her computer diary in Thanks To Them. Literally everything about it, but especially the reveal of her hyperfixation being a connection to her late father. Aside of that, moments like her bitter speeches in S2E02 (to Eda) and in S3E01 (to her class) are very cool…I relate to her so much 😔

4) Idea for a story:

I’m not very creative when it comes to these types of questions, so this is hard. You know what they say, when in doubt, go for a PMMM AU! She gets a Sayaka-like role! (it’s about the heroism complex and ideals, the destruction of the fantasy, the angst. And the gay, too. Amity, get in the Kyoko cosplay right NEOWWW—)

5) Unpopular opinion:

I mostly stick to my fandom bubble, so I always see similar takes, but. “She got some trauma and issues from the Boiling Isles, as no kid should bear the burden of the world’s fate in the way Luz does, Belos worsened her ‘I gotta do this by myself’ shtick” and “She already had trauma before the Boiling Isles, that island is essential to her healing atp, and her Owl Family + friends helped her get some coping mechanisms and actually rely on her loved ones” are all statements that can and do coexist!

6) Favorite relationship:

The Owl Family, aka Luz, Eda & King. It’s the heart of the show! Three outcasts, who grew to unconditionally accept and love each other, even when others don’t have their back. Three traumatized people with awful coping mechanisms who do their best teach each other how to be better. Found family that may not be perfect, but is essential in all its members in a growth and healing journey. Plus they’re really funny. Can best be described as “they’re a set, do not separate them.”

7) Favorite head cannon:

No “favorite” comes up right now, so regular ones it is. HC that Luz has not only ADHD, but autism and (for a while) depression as well! And undiagnosed eye problems, because she refused to ask for glasses and is deeply regretting it! I’m projecting! Also, when she stays in The Boiling Isles, she’s going to cut her hair to fit the Clawthorne Women Hair Style(TM) like how Eda looks in the EOTP flashback, but mixing it with her own style at the same time. The girl needs a cool leather jacket, too! Give her some more drip.

[bluejay-in-write]

trick or treat!! <3

Crying cause this is way late and I still don't know how this is supposed to work but I was watching avatar the last Airbender earlier and thought of my ATLA oc Aisha and what she would be doing in the first episode where you meet Suki...

I feel like Aisha would be a lot softer on outsiders than Suki is because Aisha was literally and outsider and it's thanks to Suki's mom the town leader that her parents were even allowed to stay. So while Suki is threatening to feed the gaang to the sea monster Aisha is backing her up but feeling really bad about it and is happy when the avatar and friends are allowed to stay.

And ofc you know after everything calms down Suki is in their shared bedroom ranting non stop about how much of a dick Sokka is and Aisha does her job as best friend and nods along while agreeing when appropriate. She doesn't get close to the Gaang because she's not great with new people but she does watch Katara and Sokka in interest. She's never seen anyone else who looks like her before other than her dad although her parents and Suki's mom are on a mission at the moment and left the second in command in charge so she can't go and ask them.

So she watches Sokka and Katara from afar and smiles in amusement as she watches her best friend kick the Sokka's butt. But later when the Avatar and friends have flown away and Aisha and Suki are all alone she'll tease Suki about her interest in the boy. And although Suki will complain and say she's not interested in a sexist jerk like that Aisha notices that there's some respect in her eyes gained from Sokka's apology and willingness to learn from Suki.

Then after Suki has drifted off to sleep Aisha will wonder where the Avatar is going, what it's like in all those other places, if she'll ever get to see anything outside the tiny island where she grew up and most important if she even wants to...

[batponiesrule28]

Kicking it off with an analysis of fluttershy, her character, her growth, and her episodes.

I think I would go as far as to say fluttershy and twilight are the two ponies that grow the most as characters over the course of the series. Fluttershy starts off with some reeeaaally obvious flaws. She’s weak, timid, and can’t stand up for herself. And one thing I’ve heard in criticism of fluttershy is that she just keeps learning the same lesson, which is true, she does! But she moves forward in baby steps. It’s not as simple as her going back to the beginning and overcoming these things by the end of the episode, she learns her lessons incrementally as she builds her confidence. In season 1 we get dragonshy, which has fluttershy facing down a dragon and overcoming her fears. In season 2 fluttershy gets two episodes, one about learning to be assertive and one regarding her physical weakness and performance anxiety. “Putting your hoof down” is neither here nor there, it’s a decent episode, and it introduces us to fluttershy’s journey with assertiveness. Hurricane fluttershy introduces us to her performance anxiety, and in the end I think she makes a lot of progress just in this episode. She has only one episode in season 3, but I think this one counts toward a lot, because this episode is none other than “keep calm and flutter on”, where fluttershy successfully begins the process of reforming discord. And she does an EXCELLENT job of this. I think this episode is one of if not the best fluttershy episode. It shows her maturity in a way that no other episode does. Fluttershy is typically portrayed as weak and gullible, and this episode knows that. Her friends are convinced that she’s been tricked for the whole episode, but fluttershy knows EXACTLY what she’s doing, and she comes out of it with a new friend and some newfound respect from the people around her. It’s a combination of the assertiveness she has learned and the kindness she shows even in the face of being treated as a pawn that makes her able to reform discord, and I think this is a real turning point for her character. While it’s absolutely true that she still had a few more episodes of learning and refining assertiveness and when to use it, this episode placed her pretty solidly within the realm of being able to be assertive and kind at the same time.

[femmeetart]

I posted 9,665 times in 2022

That's 2,592 more posts than 2021!

57 posts created (1%)

9,608 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cookie-sheet-toboggan

@robiinbuckley

@ronanceisintheair

@gothamgirlgayngs

@ronancebuckley

I tagged 9,665 of my posts in 2022

#nancy wheeler - 1,535 posts

#robin buckley - 1,459 posts

#fic - 1,443 posts

#stranger things - 1,267 posts

#art - 936 posts

#steve harrington - 686 posts

#eddie munson - 541 posts

#batwoman - 465 posts

#warrior nun - 336 posts

#legends of tomorrow - 328 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

“Don’t worry, Nance. I got you.”

“It-it’s so f-f-fucking cold,” Nancy, teeth-rattling, goosebumps erupting everywhere, wrapped her legs around Robin’s waist. “I’m n-never trusting you a-ag-again.”

from this fic↓ ♡♡♡

94 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#4

Ronancetober Day 5: Multiverse

different timeline/universe Robin

Somehow Robin woke up next to THE Nancy Wheeler. She knew that she went to bed in her own bed, how did she end up in Wheeler's bedroom? They were strangers, there's no reason for her to be in the same room as Nancy.

Nancy woke up to her girlfriend pulling that face she always did when she's silently panicking. Nancy's eyes slid shut and she muttered, "everything okay, sweetie?" She felt Robin tensed up under her and her breath hitch. She knew the effect she had on Robin and she'd never get tired of it but Robin was reacting weirdly.

"Wh- what is this- what is happening.. Why am I here? Why am I in bed with Nancy, the princess of Hawkins, Wheeler. This has to be a prank, a very sick joke you bullies are pulling ugh-" Robin jumps out of bed, "-unbelievable! Who in the right mind would kidnap me out of my room while I was unconscious!"

"Robin calm down! Lower your volume!"

"Oh I wonder why, I wonder who's behind the door waiting to catch my reaction? Is it Tommy? Hey-"

Nancy cups a hand around Robin's mouth, stopping her mid shout, "shh! You're going to alarm my parents! Please calm down and tell me what are you talking about," Nancy whispered out harshly.

OR

Do Revenge au

Eleanor Levetan woke up in a different bed, not her's or Gabbi's or Drea's. She's sleeping with a girl that.. actually kinda looks like her girlfriend but with curlier hair.

She had no idea what she was wearing but it smelled nice, it smelled like the bedsheets and the girl sleeping next to her. She knew something was wrong, she remembered very clearly falling asleep next to Gabbi. She remembered wearing silk pajamas, not a loose t-shirt and shorts. She never wore rings or dyed her hair back to brunette. She also had no idea who she was sleeping with. She got up as quietly as she could and tried to look for a phone. No phones but she found a phone that she only saw in 80's movies and vintage stores. She didn't know how to use it though. There's only one thing she could do.

"Hey, uhm excuse me?" She lightly nudged the girl.

"What're you doing, Robbie. Everything okay?" She muttered, eyes still shut and her hand reached around, searching for her.

"Uhh I'm not Robbie. You can go back to sleep once I figure out where the hell am I and who the fuck are you."

Nancy was now fully awake to that unusual tone.

106 notes - Posted October 9, 2022

#3

Ronancetober Day 16: Trick or Treat?

Post Trick or Treating, changed out of their costumes and their make up removed. They used Robbie's bucket hat to collect the candy.

Oh my god october is over

123 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

#2

Legends of Tomorrow 7x12 moments (mostly favourite lines and scenes hahaha)

evil gideon's "dammit"

(also, couldn't spoons just give gideon sara's powers? Oh well)

PROTECT GWYNNNN

See the full post

137 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

This is literally what happened in that episode (7x09)

Edits: wow that is a lot of notes, thank you so much

252 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[through-space-and-galaxies]

Vance hopper hcs but they're really just facts/j

- love language is quality time, acts of service and physical touch

- type of guy to hate pda unless he's initiating it first (in public anyways)

- unlabeled but tends to go for girls more

- has and will kiss a guy, a boykisser

- openly checks out girls but is more secretive and quick glances with guys

- more comfortable flirting with girls than boys, boys flirting gets him so off guard and flustered

- had a bf before yk, he got grabbed 😭

- very very touchy in private, HAS to have a hand or be close to someone at all times

- would date someone outside the gender binary but would be more confused on whether to call them a partner, boyfriend, or girlfriend

- bpd and autism AND anger issues AND dyslexia

- got diagnosed with autism at an early age but was never told about it so he just never found out about it

- hates when people don't listen to him (especially adults)

- his dyslexia was the reason why he got held back like 3 grades 😭

- used to love reading but the dyslexia made it super hard to and now whenever he picks up a book he just gets frustrated bc he can barely read it :/

- avid KISS listener

- music taste is very loud, some metal, rock, punk rock, and a few slow songs

- uses music as a coping mechanism and wrote a few songs

- actually has a decent singing voice, little raspy sometimes and nasally but he enjoys singing sm

- sings in the shower. I will take no other opinion

- anger issues does get the better of him a lot of times but he does know little tricks to try and help him calm down

- his friends help a lot with calming himself down

- he/him pronouns and not really interested in neos for himself but thinks some of them and the idea behind them are cool

- mania episodes are when he gets into a lot of fights, has a lot more energy so he tries to burn it off

- goes to a spot at night near a river to escape from the world, only brought one person to it

- would listen to cigarettes after sex

- speaking of cigarettes, got the habit of smoking from his dad from an early age

- mommas boy 100%

- would never hit a girl, boys are free range tho hands rated E for boys

- helps his momma cook and gets stuff for her when asked everytime no matter how busy he is or what he has going on

- tried to get into skateboarding but accidentally broke the board and never had enough money to get another one 😭

- draws on his hands and thighs

- likes to draw flowers but only on places he can cover

- crop tops in the summer

- likes August the most, not too hot and not too cold

- loves Halloween tho, went tricker treating with him mom for YEARS when he was still kicking

- hates Christmas and Thanksgiving for trauma reasons :(

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

Rank the different Omi headpats Omi has gotten from people pls ?

Sure! Off the top of my head, from worst to best:

10. Master Monk Guan

Guan's headpats were always deceptive by nature. Gave Omi one right before he stole his dragon buddy and absconded, and then he gave Omi one right after he tricked Omi into getting the crap beaten out of him and severely worsening his already bad trust issues. It's always just an empty pacifying gesture that accompanies even emptier words. 

I do like how Omi eventually comes to recognize that that’s what it is, though.

9. Dojo Kanojo Cho

Dojo sometimes rubs Omi’s head, like in Enter The Dragon. It’s cute, especially since Dojo presumably helped raise Omi to some extent and was probably Omi’s only source of physical affection for a lot of his life. Their bond is really sweet, if understated. It’s only technically a headpat though, it’s more so that he hugs Omi’s head. So it’s low on the list.

8. Raimundo Pedrosa

This pictured cap is specifically just him doing to poke fun at Omi being bald (hence the pout), so it's hard to count it as a headpat. It’s another technicality. There's also the minor one in the season 2 finale when they get promoted though, and even though it was brief, it was a nice gesture to show how far they’d come at that point.

7. Dashi

The last of the technically-a-headpats, Dashi putting his hand on Omi’s head to stop him and try to calm him down when Omi realized that he was trapped in the past with no way home. It definitely got a chuckle out of me.

6. Jack Spicer

And now we enter the realm of things that are genuinely headpats.

Jack sometimes pats on Omi’s head like a drum, sometimes rubs it, like during a hug. It’s never a gesture that has a ton of narrative weight, but it’s cute how often lowkey close and comfortable with each other they are, and I’m always a fan for their one-sided hugs that keep swapping around. Plus, this is one of the few cases where Omi returns the favor and gives Jack a headpat too.

5. Clay Bailey

Clay’s brotherly affection towards Omi is always cute, and him rubbing Omi’s head to try to cheer him up is a nice gesture. Also cute that he sometimes gives Omi his hat to wear, which is almost a headpat in spirit.

4. Klofange

The bright smiles they shared, the mutual admiration and praise. This whole exchange was so lighthearted and sweet. It’s the happiest, lightest we see Klofange for the whole episode. The fact that they have to say goodbye so soon after this is heartbreaking, but that only adds to how sweet this very genuine, open gesture was.

3. Good!Chase

Counting him as separate from Chase for the sake of this list.

There’s something so pure and sweet to see how Omi and Chase both light up with joy and relief at the sight of each other. Seeing Omi share this little moment of happiness and get this gesture of affection and care for his wellbeing after a season that was full of Omi getting the opposite of that makes it such a good moment. They’re surrounded by the strongest villains in the world, but they still stop to appreciate how much they mean to each other.

2. Kimiko Tohomiko

Kimiko and Omi’s bond is really sweet! Kimiko’s really physically affectionate with Omi, and it’s especially cute how often she breaks her “one per customer” rule for him. Omi acknowledging how strong and impressive Kimiko is and how much he looks up to her in his clumsy little way, and Kimiko grinning and rubbing his head and saying how much she looks forward to growing closer. I prefer their many hugs, but the headpats from Kimiko are great.

1. Chase Young

As manipulative as Chase himself is, the only times he patted Omi's head were to signal that there were genuinely no stakes between them at the moment. He does it right before he teaches Omi how to beat Sibini, and he does it after he stops the spar and he stops pretending he has any intention of “destroying” Omi for breaking him out of the Sphere of Yun. He sort of does it when he’s telling Omi about Hannibal’s plan in Omi’s town. He does when Omi is already on his side as a cat.

He doesn’t really do it the times when he’s about to set Omi up for a trap. It’s like their own personal olive branch. He pretty deliberately put his hand on Omi’s shoulder instead in Judging Omi, for example.

It’s always very cute to see how Omi’s body language loosens up and how he comes to like receiving physical affection from Chase more and more as they get closer, after starting off on pretty rocky footing. It’s something that exemplifies their growth really well, and not even season 3 managed to mess that up, really. It’s what makes the moments with good!Chase so impactful.

[subbymothpimp]

My entry into @aromansoul’s Boxer!Silco AU

TW: Blood, Injury, Graphic description of violence, angst, whump My entry, or an attempt on thereof, is set about a week or two after Arcane episode 3, so it features Act 1 Silco, Powder, and Sevika, as well as mentions of Vander and vague hints on Vanco.

I also focused on bare knuckle fighting instead of straight up boxing.

PART1 | PART2

This is part 3/5

Today without an illustration. I'm a bit too busy. I might make one later.

‘Til I’m laughing alone - ROUND 2

A tap of fists.

The first round was Kassal’s. Silco barely laid a punch. He knows he either raises the bar or goes down. 

And he won’t go down, ohh no. Not voluntarily anyway. He always fought till the end and this won’t be any different.

Jaw clenched, fists high and square in a closed stance, eyes wide and focused, he takes a deep breathe and-

Bell

-springs out of place before the bell is done ringing. A different technique, one more suitable to his lithe form.

A long step forwards, no dancing. Tendons tighten, right and left jab to Kassal’s chest. The third jabs at his throat. The younger man gurgles.

A potentially illegal move, too fast for the referee to register. Kassal falters after an upward haymaker to his lowered chin. 

Silco follows his backward stagger with a swift switch of his feet. Left front, right locks and turns as Silco forces the energy to spring up from the ball of his foot through the full left part of his body, higher, up, like a jolt up his arm, his fist shoots in a wide circle. A brutal hook onto Kassal’s right cheek sends the opponent tumbling to the side.

The two or three drunken steps Kassal performs feel more mechanical than conscious before he crushes to the floor.

Silco heaves, rolls his shoulder, turns to calm his heartbeat as the referee starts the first countdown of the match.

Silco’s left fist opens and closes, the knuckles are aching, his whole arm still vibrates with that vicious hit. The technique he chose is exhausting, always has been. Silco is not a tank type fighter, his strength lies in agility and stamina, but the fight is not well matched and he can’t risk getting hit more than absolutely necessary. He needs to bring his opponent down to his level. It’s worth it, not to mention this switch in approach finally got his blood flowing fast and proper; he can feel the adrenaline speeding his heart rate, pulsating in his throat and temples.

He’s feeling good. Excellent in fact.

The countdown only reaches five before Kassal climbs back to his feet. Their eyes meet, Silco’s are feverish with excitement, his opponent’s dark with fury.

The boy is mad because of that little dirty trick Silco pulled.

Good. Anger makes people do stupid things. Silco feels his busted lips twitching into a smirk.

A quick tap of the fists again, two steps away as both are now alert. Kassal is still dazed, his jab feels more like a testing move and Silco evades it by leaning back, retaliating with a straight of his own.

Kassal steps forward, fakes a jab, followed by a right hook into the ribs. Silco takes it, counter attacks with a right cross that separates them.

Now he has Kassal exactly where he wants him, until-

“Yeaah!! Give it to him, Silco!”

The high-pitched child’s voice somewhere close in the crowd breaks Silco’s focus.

Jinx? 

Stupidly, he glances in her direction.

The next thing he sees is a fist, just for a second before it blacks out his vision. Pain explodes in his right eye.

He grunts, stumbling backwards and lifting his arms into guard.

Not good enough.

A sharp hit into the stomach sends him another two steps back and that damned cage rattles behind his back. The black fog is still not lifting, white speckles dance before his eyes as he hears a heavy voice somewhere close to his ear.

“I can fight dirty too, old man…”

His vision comes back blurred and spinning just in time to register Kassal’s teeth-baring grin. His opponent stomps the heel of his boot down on Silco’s left foot, pinning it underneath while his knee prevents the smaller man from freeing himself.

Silco grits his teeth and desperately raises his guard again. Not that it matters. The swarm of hits that follow are indiscriminate, swatting his arms away from the sides.

Ribs and sides, left and right in quick session, left cheek, right jaw, left temple, right cheek.

Silco groans as something snaps in the right cheekbone. His defense falters in a wave of nausea, hands lower.

A straight hit square in the center of his face, strong enough that the back of his head crashes into the bars with a loud, dull thump that resonates in the arena. 

His eyes roll back and his vision is gone once again. Silco falls solid on his side with a weak gasp precisely as the bell rings.

*

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, wake up!” 

The voice means nothing in the numb fog, however the smelling salts beneath his nose are a whole different story.

Silco’s head snaps up, eyes frantic and wide as he draws a sharp breath.

“Are you with me?” Sevika slaps his cheek slightly to get his attention.

“Where?”

“Good enough. Close your eye, hold this.” Ever-practical, Sevika wastes no time, pressing ice wrapped in a wet towel to his right eye. Silco flinches, hissing between his bloodied teeth. His whole body clenches at the sensation. Pain radiates from every inch of his face and torso.

He grits his teeth and takes over the compress.

Sevika kneels and swiftly cleans the blood off of Silco’s mouth and chin, lifts his busted lip to see if his teeth are loose, then touches the sides of his nose, a bit more carefully, Silco winces away.

“Yeah, broken, huh?” Sevika utters with a hint of sarcasm, and leans closer, “Silco, pull out of the match. You’re a fucking mess and-”

“I’m so sorry, that’s my fault…” here’s that small voice again, riddled with tears and trembling. Silco takes off the ice to actually look at Jinx in surprise. 

The little blue-haired girl stands off to the side, chin shaking and eyes filling with tears of either anxiety or fear. Her hands, pressed into small fists, are pressing to the sides of her head. She whimpers and one of those small fists pathetically hits her own temple.

“I jinxed it! I jinx everything!”

Before she hits herself again, Silco catches her wrists, letting go off the ice pack completely.

“Stop it, listen!” He draws her closer, “You didn’t jinx anything, that was my mistake.”

“But I called you and you turned and he hit you and-”

“Because I wasn’t paying attention.” Silco stops her firmly. Jinx’s eyes dart over his face, her chin still trembling, threatening with tears. Silco smiles.

“Jinx…You were the only one to cheer for me. Thank you. Will you do it again?” “Do you… want me to? I won’t distract you?”

“No. If I win, it will be because you’re here.”

She smiles and Silco feels something break inside him. Sevika cuts their moment, drawing him back into the chair and forcing the ice pack into his hand again.

“Alright, very sweet, but we have only about a minute left. You keep icing. Hey, kid, I need two hands, you know how to align a broken nose?”

She grabs Jinx by the shoulder and drags her in front of Silco while she stammers.

“Sevika, no.” Silco protests, but she only draws her one arm around his head and pins it to her side. She ignores him, looking at the child.

“I’ll guide you. Both hands on either side of his nose, high up on the bridge, do it.”

“But…” Jinx’s hands hover. Silco tries to pull back.

“Sevika, seriously, no.”

“Look, if you don’t get it reset now, the doc is gonna have to rebreak it. You want that? Jinx, do it, fingers on both-."

Jinx grimaces with determination, presses both hands on either side of Silco’s heavily unaligned nose, and before either of them says anything, she snaps it left and down with a sickening crunch. Silco lets out a sharp, short gasp, trapped blood pours down his mouth. 

Jinx steps back to free the space for Sevika, who gives her a surprised glance.

“Nice. Good job, kiddo,” She wipes off the fresh blood and tilts Silco’s face up, taking off the ice pack and inspecting his eye.

“Listen, you have two rounds left. You got him pretty good the last time. Don’t let him corner you again. Keep your guard up, move, clinch him if you can. How are the ribs?”

“Still good.”

“Don’t let him hit you in that eye again. Offer him your torso if you have to.”

“Excellent advice, Sevika.” Silco scoffs quietly, he feels drained. Sevika waves her hand in front of his face.

“You’re laughing but one more shot on the right and you’re fighting blind, boss.”

The announcer calls for the next round. Silco frowns, thinking. The vision in his right eye is getting very bad, his sight is dominated by the left one now - everything is turning red and blurred as his bad eye supplements the ‘good’ one.

“Sevika, give me that smelling salt.”

“ You really shouldn’t have two-”

“No matter, give it to me, before the damn referee looks this way.”

Sevika glances at the arena, fishes out one of the capsules, and hands it to Silco. He crushes it between his fingers right below his nose. The strong scent makes his head snap back, eyes widen.

He discards the shattered glass into the crowd, feeling his heart rate spike with adrenaline again.

“Good luck!” He hears Jinx peep behind him as Sevika drags her out of the arena again.