#but I guess I’m being unfair saying this since I have some good riders

[tariah23]

Apparently, people were still complaining about the Demeter boss fight on twitter and were calling it “P2W,” and unfair like man, what??!?($(?

[amandajoyce118]

Agents Of SHIELD S7E01 “The New Deal” Easter Eggs And References

In the season seven premiere, most of the team ends up in 1931 New York thanks to some time travel shenanigans. We love shenanigans, right? The is the last season premiere ever, and it’s bittersweet, but I’m diving right in.

As always, if you don’t remember this from the last few seasons of me writing up Easter eggs (posts are tagged aos easter eggs if you want to read old ones), this list assumes you have seen the episode. There will be spoilers.

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Again, spoilers. Turn back now if you don’t want them. Okay? Good.

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The Episode Title.

It’s a reference to FDR’s political work. I mean, Coulson even references it and says the episode title in the show. I kind of love when show’s do that? This show didn’t used to, but they did it a lot more the last two seasons, so maybe it’s a thing now.

The Title Card.

I feel like it’s unfair to call this an Easter egg, but if they didn’t put a 1931 timestamp on the top of the episode, the title card could have told you what era the team was in. Whoever was in charge of designing it did a great job making it look like a classic film title card.

Faceless People.

Okay, so the chronocoms erase the faces of the people they wish to resemble. This isn’t really a thing in the comics, but there is a character called “Faceless One.” He happens to be an alien who wants to conquer Earth as well, but is basically a big yellow ball with legs, so I doubt there’s any connection other than the cool effect.

Coulson’s Data Flood.

Okay, we get that literally everything Coulson says when he’s not talking to Daisy, Mack, and Jemma are quotes from previous seasons, right? Good. He even downloads the information on Ghost Rider, his own death, last season, etc.

Deke Has A Workstation.

Okay, not an Easter egg, but I think we need to take a moment and appreciate that Jemma built Deke a workstation and Fitz left him the tool we saw way back in season five. Why? Because Deke never feels like he belongs and he wants so badly to be close to his family, and now, we see that they thought of him while upgrading their ship. He has a place. And it’s right next to Jemma.

Elena Is Quarantined.

That’s because she was infected by the shrike in season six, not because the writers are psychic and knew there would be a massive epidemic going on when the show premiered. (Sorry, typed that before I realized Jemma was going to actually say it in show, so it’s staying in.)

Gemini And Koenig.

Gemini is actually a pretty popular name/codename in Marvel Comics, so it being used as, supposedly, the code name for the person in charge of the speakeasy made me laugh. It’s much more likely here that the bartender didn’t react wrong to the use of the word, that it’s used to weed out pretenders, hence the double barrel shotgun he affectionately calls the twins. I also like that it’s a tease for a Koenig appearing since we initially thought the Koenig siblings were twins and it turns out there are too many for us to count at this point (not really, I’m exaggerating, but great that grandpa or great-grandpa Koenig looks exactly like the modern day Koenigs. I mean, come on, they’re clones or something, right?).

“It’s not exactly your first time being separated by space and time.”

Okay, look, if you have to keep inserting meta humor into a show about how often you separate your main couple, maybe you should stop separating your main couple. (Yes, I know, Iain de Caestecker had another job he was working on in seasons six and seven, but seriously, it’s not funny. Your audience is tired of it.) I mean, to be frank, Fitz is one of my favorite characters in the show, but I didn’t really miss him in this episode? That might sound bad, but I don’t think they needed to comment on him being gone so much considering Jemma told them at the end of season six she didn’t  - and couldn’t - know where he was.

Wilfred “Freddie” Malick.

Daisy explains who he is, but look, it’s the father of Gideon Malick, the same Gideon who became the leader of Hydra after a broken SHIELD (and the Avengers) decided to squash all of its heads, the same guy who got Ward interested in visiting an alien planet where he ended up as Hive. He’s, like, ancient school Hydra, not just old school Hydra. What doesn’t make sense here is that they’re saying the SSR forms in response to Hydra. Technically, the SSR forms, and then they learn about Hydra, unless I’m misremembering, which is totally possible.

The Substance.

So, I gotta wonder… what’s in the test tubes? The earliest we go in the MCU is Captain America, which is still a whole decade after the events of this episode. Prior to that, Hydra experimentation did create the Red Skull, but… still not sure what’s in the tubes. I don’t really have a frame of reference from the comics to speculate either since Hydra was into literally anything and everything. 

New York.

Okay, so I’m curious if anyone knows where they filmed their 1931 New York scenes. I have questions. Because they use the same couple of blocks for all their outside scenes, which makes me think it’s a studio backlot (which would definitely help keep the script quiet) and they’re going to use a different part of the lot next week. A friend asked me if I thought it was the same as the one used for Captain America when he’s in Brooklyn in his first movie. Cap’s first movie’s Brooklyn scenes were filmed on a Universal Studios lot where they had New York building facades and street signs. If you’ve been to the theme park, you basically know what it looks like without the 30s/40s dressing. I think it’s the same lot, and I say this because I actually kept thinking that they used the set pieces Disney used for The Newsies movie in 1992 while watching the episode. Do you know where that was filmed? On the Universal Studios backlot’s New York street set up right after it was renovated in 1991. Huh.

So, Mark Kolpack basically answered this on twitter when discussing VFX. They filmed their New York street scenes on the Warner Bros. backlot, not the Universal one, so I guess the people in charge of designing the set pieces did a great job because they look pretty much the same.

This Picture.

This boxing poster was shared by Jed Whedon on instagram. Honestly, I didn’t spot it in the episode, but that could just be because I have a small television screen and I can’t read the signs unless I pause on a computer and zoom. I have bad eyes, guys. Sorry. Usually signage is something I spot on a second or third watch, but according to Whedon, this is set dressing in the episode somewhere. Probably on the street the characters walk down multiple times. 

Let’s break down the names. Kitson is George Kitson, a story editor, writer, and production assistant on the show. He wrote this episode, and, actually, next week’s episode. The planet Kitson was also named for him. Titley is Craig Titley. He’s a producer and writer for the show, probably best known for writing “4,722 Hours” at this point. Brown is such a common name, but I’m going to guess it’s for Garry Brown who has directed a handful of episodes and is also a producer on the show. Bell is, I’m thinking, Jeffrey Bell, one of the producers and writers on the show. Tancharoen is for Maurissa Tancharoen, one of the showrunners, or you know, maybe her brother, who has directed several episodes (including this one!), or her father, who is in charge of transportation to sets. Gierhart is, I’m assuming, Billy Gierhart, who has directed a lot of episodes of the show, though I don’t think he’s directed any since 2017. (If you look at the matchups, it ends up being writer vs writer, producer vs producer, director vs director when you assume the Tancharoen is Kevin.) It says there are four main events though, and only three are listed?

Not sure if the October 15 date is intentional, but if it is, that’s the day “Eye Spy” aired in season one? Steve Roger’s mother dies on October 15, but in 1936. Not sure if that’s even canon since it’s in a promotional comic, not in anything on screen.

I’m sure there are more, and if you guys spot them and tell me, I’ll add them in. If I notice any on a rewatch, I’ll add them in as well. Who’s looking forward to the time traveling this season?

[efrmellifer]

FFxivWrite ‘20, Twenty-Three

Prompt: Shuffle, during Heavensward, 1,845 words (this could be considered a non-canon spiritual successor to Entry Eleven from the Wondrous Tails event)

Drinks were already on the table, ready when they were due to arrive, armored and bundled against an especially cold night.

Etien was the first to get to Camp Dragonhead (without already having been there, of course), with no knight’s responsibilities to keep her behind and running late.

Haurchefant had been called from the room to tend to some matter one of the younger knights had needed help with, so when he returned to find Etien seated, spreading out the cards, turning them over and doing tricks, he was a little surprised.

“Eager, are we?”

“Tataru gets the taverns, Alphinaud eavesdrops on the high houses’ gossip, and I get to see what the knights get up to in their free time,” she explained, examining her nails. “Not to mention that I enjoy the company of all three of you.”

“I can only apologize more of us couldn’t join in.”

“Such as?” she asked, folding her hands and resting her chin atop them.

“Oh, I don’t know. Corentiaux, Lucia, maybe some of the dragoons.”

Etien grinned, teeth glimmering in the lower light. “I don’t mind us keeping it small. More intimate that way.”

Haurchefant couldn’t hide the little giggle that bubbled up his throat at that. “You, my friend, must be careful saying things like that. Intimacy. Next, they’ll say you touch a gentleman's hand without gloves.”

She thought about the layers of leather and armor and thick fabric that had been barriers against even the most chaste of touches.

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d touched someone outside of maybe supporting them after a battle.

Nothing came to mind. She wanted to, though, wanted to feel the warmth of a cheek against her palm, or the brush of fingers through her hair.

She had a preferred partner for that sort of thing, if ever she could be so blessed. Despite her intentions not to, she’d looked—stared, even, if the quick, hungry gaze could be called that—at the fingerless gloves giving way to fingertips Etien would give just about anything to kiss even if only once. Though she wondered, didn’t he ever get cold?

Hells, she’d have to kiss his fingertips to stave off frostbite.

She wondered a lot, not just about the kissing issue, but why the gloves were fingerless at all. Did it increase his grip on his sword? She needed her fingers free for bowstrings and lyre-plucking, but even she either cut holes in them or added leather with extra friction.

She didn’t suppose she would ever have a good reason to ask, it wasn’t as though she could simply say—

“Oh, hello, Aymeric.” She tried to keep her voice light as she gathered up the cards she’d been playing with, scrabbling for her drink—oh gods damn, Haurchefant had added port to the chocolate.

Well, this was probably the best group for her to be drinking around; she could trust them even if the drink really was intoxicating.

When Etien had put her cup down, Aymeric greeted her, followed with an “Enjoying that?”

She nodded. “I hadn’t expected the wine, but it’s a nice touch.”

“Ah, I had meant to warn you,” Haurchefant interjected. “Mine apologies.”

She waved it away with a sunny smile. “Estinien coming soon?”

“He was only a few steps behind me,” Aymeric commented, looking towards the door. “So I would think so.”

The door opened, Estinien shaking snow from his hair.

“I would think it would be warmer, if snow was on the way,” Etien said with a little tint of confusion.

“It is not snowing,” Estinien grumbled. “Someone being careless with their Chocobo ran into a tree I was standing under.”

“Is everyone all right?”

“The Chocobo trotted off unscathed, but without its rider. I made my way here as fast as I could.”

“Ah,” resounded from Aymeric, Etien, and Haurchefant.

“So what are the rules tonight?” Etien asked as she lifted the cards again.

The three men shared a look among them. Something had sparked in Haurchefant’s eyes, but Aymeric looked hesitant and Estinien impassive. But no one seemed to disagree with whatever he was suggesting.

“Light armor, no other outerwear,” he said finally.

Etien shrugged off the draping cloak she had on, and unlooped her scarf from around her neck, laying it on the table next to her.

“No helmet, Estinien?” Aymeric asked.

“None of you have one; it seemed unfair if we were playing from armor.”

“Unfair to us, or you?” Etien asked, fiddling with her effects spread around her. She straightened her cup, refolded her scarf, fidgeted with her gloves.

“That depends. I hear you’re becoming a mean hand at cards these days.”

“I’m learning from the best,” she replied.

Haurchefant beamed as he sat down. “Would you like to shuffle, Etien?”

She nodded, scooping up the cards and shuffling them. “I didn’t intend to choose the game, one of you three can choose.”

She kept shuffling the deck as the Elezen debated the merits of a few common card games, or whether specific versions of the games were fair to play with someone who was still so new at the games themselves.

Eventually, they decided on one, and Etien passed the deck over to Haurchefant to cut. He tapped it. “I have no idea where you would have learned to count cards, so I think that won’t be necessary.”

She started to deal.

When she lost the first hand, she shrugged, popping open the clasp of her top, sliding it off her shoulders and letting it drape over the back of her chair.

She was more careful after that, cards close to her chest, playing with caution. And so a few hands passed by, hands she made it through with no trouble.

“I think I prefer this method,” Estinien commented, sipping at his drink while Aymeric tried to slip out of his coat gracefully while still seated. “I don’t lose any gil.”

“Good thing our clothing does not make the pot, then,” Aymeric responded.

Etien laughed softly. “it is, though I would love this,” she added, rubbing the blue material of the shed coat between her fingers. “So pretty. Is it comfortable?”

“I used to find it heavy,” he replied, attempting to be casual. “I have since gotten used to it. Are yours?”

“Comfortable enough. Not too heavy.” She gestured behind her, to the discarded boots. “Getting those on over the bottoms can be difficult, though.”

“It must keep your legs plenty protected,” Haurchefant commented, eyes on his cards. “I fear I must fold this hand.”

He kicked off his breeches, sitting down again. “What have we on, friends?”

Etien piped up first. “My undershirt and my field bottoms. And my socks. And my smalls, of course.”

“Good to know you wear them,” Estinien snorted, huffing harder when Aymeric elbowed him. “Ow. Breeches, gauntlets, my shirt. Everything under that.”

Haurchefant looked to Aymeric. “I still have everything on but my coat,” he responded.

“Guess that would mean you’re winning,” Etien said, draining her mug of port-and-chocolate.

“Certainly, because I would seem to be the least-dressed of us,” Haurchefant said, matter-of-fact. “Play on, friends! I shall watch eagerly.”

The trio laid their cards out.

“That would be impressive, Etien,” Estinien began, “but it doesn’t beat this four of a kind. Aymeric?”

“All I have is a straight.”

Etien stood, shimmying out of her bottoms and taking her seat again. “Who’s dealing now?”

“I’ll do it,” Aymeric said, holding his hand out for the cards. Everyone handed them over, and as he shuffled the deck, letting Etien cut it, Haurchefant stoked the fire.

“We cannot let her get cold, so unused to the Coerthan clime,” he explained, though he hadn’t needed to. All three of them could see Etien starting to shiver in only her shirt and tall wool socks.

Cards spread over the table, chatter accompanying them.

Just as everyone looked up from their cards, Aymeric happened to notice Etien’s ears flatten.

Maybe he hadn’t been paying attention before, but now that he had noticed, it was impossible to ignore. It was unfair to play cards with someone who, no matter how well she coached her facial expressions, would be given away by involuntary body language.

She clearly thought her hand wasn’t good enough to get her through the game still in her shirt. She was already shivering. Something had to be done.

“I-I fold,” he said.

“Surely your hand cannot be so bad that you would drop out immediately!” Haurchefant cried out.

“No, I assure you, it is,” he lied, standing and peeling away his shirt. That wasn’t so bad. It was like training.  Though usually he was a little warmer then...

He ignored the blush rising to his cheeks when he caught Etien’s eyes on him, but at least she looked a little more relieved. And it did serve to warm him.

When she, Estinien and Haurchefant laid their cards out, he scanned over them all before anyone had spoken.

Estinien’s three of a kind would have him losing those gauntlets, especially when Etien’s straight hand had only just edged him into last place.

Still, when she’d handed over her cards, Etien’s hands came to her upper arms, trying to rub some warmth back into them.

“Haurchefant, maybe we should end it here, I’m freezing.”

“One more?” he pleaded. “Besides, I think Aymeric has half a mind to keep you warm. Give her your coat,” he instructed, getting ready for a new hand.

Etien accepted the cards, tucking her tail under her leg and scratching at her ears, trying to disguise any movement they made.

So her sound thrashing with an utter bum hand of only Thordan-high had her sighing heavily, especially up against Haurchefant’s full house (including a pair of Flavien de Fortemps cards, no less), Estinien’s four of a kind, and Aymeric’s royal flush.

That flush became far more literal as Etien shrugged back his coat and her fingers curled around the hem of her shirt.  

She peeled it away, breaking into gooseflesh. “If we go much further than this, we really will be getting in trouble,” she said with a giggle.

“We… would do nothing of the sort,” Estinien replied. “I think I have had enough of cards. Seeing you like that is giving me a chill.”

He had found his voice, but Aymeric had not, eyes practically boring holes into the discarded cards strewn about the table.

Haurchefant was busying himself adding another log or two to the fire, and getting Etien something hot to drink. He had to get her warmed up again, at the very least. And so he occupied himself with that, even though he could tell from the growing tension in the room that he wasn’t only one who wanted to do so, though with very different method in mind.

And he had hoped this would spur Aymeric into action. Especially with how cute Etien looked, all curled up in his coat. She looked good in that shade of blue. Pity.

Haurchefant would just have to keep goading them, then.

[atopearth]

Fate/stay night Réalta Nua Part 6 - Heaven’s Feel Route (2/2)

Day 11-16 Aww, Illya was so sweet and thoughtful to wake up early and help suppress the pain on Shirou (from Archer’s arm) while he was asleep. I found it really cute how Shirou nonchalantly asked Sakura if it was all right for Illya to stay in the house forever, and that since she’s his partner and this is her home as well, he thought he should ask her for her permission and opinion. Sakura blushing was adorable haha. I loved how awkward it was when Sakura and Rin made lunch together, but I loved how Shirou gave Sakura the courage to call Rin “nee-san”, so that now they can finally kinda chase back the times they lost as sisters. I find it hilarious how Shirou always says unexpected things to Rider and it makes her put her guard down lol, he’s like her weakness since she can never keep up her cold exterior for long when it comes to him. It’s so cute how Rider was self conscious about her height haha. Shirou is right though, Rider is so tall and beautiful, it totally suits her. I also really liked how Rider seemed to appreciate Shirou going all the way to the shed just to give her his morning greetings (even though it was afternoon lol), it was funny when he admitted that he forgot about her until now lol, because I totally did too.

I feel like Shirou and Sakura don’t get to talk about much (aside from cooking and blushing at each other lol), so I’m kinda glad they got to have a little talk about how even though she and Rin weren’t really “allowed” to interact, Rin would still greet her at school and watch her practice at the Archery club. And it’s nice to see that Sakura appreciated her doing that. Lol at Sakura being subtly ruthless about Shirou being crappy at magic🤣 She’s probably right about Shirou being the “strongest” out of them three though, I think his pure determination and will is something that cannot be matched. Not sure what Sakura was talking about, but does that mean Shirou actually only has 7 days to adjust to Archer’s arm or he’ll die? Aaaand, no I don’t feel sorry for the piece of shit Shinji lol. I can understand why he’s the way he is, and sure you can blame the grandfather and his own father for raising him to be like that, but honestly he was a shit from the beginning. He always thought he was special and great because of their family origins even though he didn’t have magic circuits, but he always treated Sakura like trash and a servant because he was happy that he “was better” than her, that he was learning magic and she wasn’t. So when he realised that he was the actual trash that wasn’t the successor, and his grandfather and father stopped pretending to be nice to him, he just outright hated Sakura even more because she’s the actual special one, and she’s apologising to him for taking his place that was never his. He hates being pitied as trash and that’s probably why he hates Sakura, but really, even if Sakura wasn’t there, that place never would have been his either way. And he’s treated Sakura so badly her whole life, I honestly don’t care about him and never will. He’s so entitled and is like the epitome of everything I hate in a person, I would never feel anything for him tbh. I’m so glad Shirou took care of her right.

Umm, I hope Shirou isn’t being controlled or whatever and is doing some of those killings at night… Or maybe he’s just losing his memories due to the effects from Sakura draining his magical energy? I feel for Sakura though, she can tell that she’s slowly losing her mind but she doesn’t want to lose Shirou to anyone and wants to be beside him as much as she can because she loves him more than anything else. It’s just heartbreaking that he’s the thing that’s giving her some sanity but at the same time, his existence is causing her to want to destroy everything in their way so that she can keep their life together. I’m starting to think that Sakura might be a yandere and kill Illya and Rin to keep Shirou to herself though, very worrying… And is she turning Shirou into a sex craving monster?? Loll. Like, just as she needs to do it for magical energy, will it in turn consume Shirou to the point that he’s going to die if he doesn’t do it with Sakura or something?? It was saddening when Illya told Shirou that it was impossible for them to live together forever, because they both don’t have long to live… It’s also pretty saddening to see how much Shirou wants to ignore the fact that everywhere the shadow lingered, it smells and reminds him of Sakura. I guess that’s understandable though. Initially, they believed that since Sakura hadn’t killed anyone yet, she could be saved and should be saved. But if he were to realise that the shadow is actually Sakura, he’ll have to accept that Sakura has killed lots of people, numerous people, and she continues to kill people as long as she exists and there’s nothing that can really stop her. Not only will he then have to accept that he must kill her to stop her, he will also have to accept that it was because of his decision to save her instead of kill her back then that has caused all these people to suffer and die. How many people can really accept such a thing? I feel like Shirou’s gonna break at this rate… On the other hand, Sakura’s already broken lol. I guess by getting hurt by Gilgamesh and then swallowing him whole she’s finally realised that these “nightmares” of a monster walking around town was really just her going on a feeding spree. Not sure if she can accept it though, since she only seems to focus on the fact that for the first time, Shirou asked to have sex with her and not the other way around, so she thinks that she has to do anything she can to preserve and protect the life she has right now. By allowing her to live this long, Shirou has only caused Sakura to become more greedy and desire him more, and that’s probably facilitating her desire to need to “eat more” and never feeling satisfied, because in the end, what she wants is Shirou, and she needs to survive as long as she can to experience this happiness as long as she can…

I was wondering when Rin being fond of Shirou due to her seeing him high jumping would be relevant, and OF COURSE it would be heard by Sakura to further agitate her and think that Rin is stealing everything from her, whether it be the “good life” she could have had or the guy she likes the most. Not to mention Rin is telling Shirou that if it comes to it, she won’t hesitate to kill Sakura and told Shirou to think about that too, so yeah… Honestly though, at this rate, I feel like Rin dying might be the only way for Shirou to “wake up” and force himself to realise that he can’t let Sakura stay like this any longer. Or I guess killing Illya would also cause the same effect. Zouken took the broken fragments of the holy grail from the last war and embedded it into Sakura??? I’m surprised there was anything left that could really be put into someone but okay… I guess that’s why the shadow exists to “collect souls”, since it’s basically the holy grail that wants to complete itself by consuming souls? I’m not sure what Zouken wants by telling Shirou to kill Sakura before she becomes even more berserk? Is it because she’s not the holy grail he wants now, so it’s best to get rid of her? But anyway, I guess it’s making more sense now as to why Sakura is losing her human functions such as not being able to move etc, since she consumed so many Servants, and the more she consumes, the more she’ll need to use her functions to maintain them rather than to maintain herself as a human. She is losing herself at a rapid rate and there’s no way to really save her… It was kinda sweet to see Shirou being happy that Illya was fine and would still be able to retain herself as Illya even if she consumed Rider and Assassin as the holy grail. Or maybe Zouken is trying to get Shirou to kill Sakura just to get her to be even more out of control lol.

Honestly, when Shirou wasn’t able to kill Sakura, rather than resolve, I felt apathy and acceptance. Apathy towards Sakura killing so many people, and acceptance of the fact that protecting Sakura means betraying all his beliefs and his whole reason for living all this time. It felt like he accepted that there was no going back after this, and I guess Sakura felt that, because she laments about how her weakness is causing Shirou to break and be in pain for every step he takes in protecting her. Although I do blame Sakura for causing Shirou to have to make such difficult decisions and break himself over it physically and mentally, I was really happy when she forced herself to stay awake and not sleep, so that the shadow couldn’t go around feeding like the “nightmares’ she always had. I was also happy when she used her last Command Spell to order Rider to protect Shirou until the end. Even though Sakura is the cause of all Shirou’s problems, I can see why Shirou is willing to sacrifice everything for her. The fact that she can remain so pure and thoughtful despite her experiences is somewhat of a blessing, and honestly the problems she causes are out of her hands most of the time and is all because of Zouken, so I can understand why Shirou would be so adamant on saving her when the world has always been so unfair to her. Well, I guess I’m not surprised that this "impurity” within the holy grail is what “created” the black shadow and it’s now practically consumed Sakura enough for them to be like “one”. But her sanity restricts it, so as long as she’s Sakura, she can still restrain it~ but that thing that will be “born” from her with the collection of all those souls the shadow is eating sounds dangerous… Hmm how interesting that in order to save Sakura, the only way is for her to completely become the holy grail, and then for Shirou to use the power of the holy grail to eliminate the crappy stuff inside her while she’s still sane for those few seconds or whatever.

I have to say, seeing Sakura desperately want to protect the secret that Shinji was raping her all this time from Shirou was pretty saddening. Saddening that it was what ended up breaking her sanity and forced her to numb herself to the fact that she had killed her brother, and that killing someone could be so easy, as long as she wanted it, she would have the power to kill them. It was saddening to see that happen. As expected, Zouken wanted Shirou to break Sakura by betraying her, and in the end although Shinji was the one who pushed her into it, her love for Shirou contributed to it. Honestly, seeing Illya sitting down on the porch thinking about whether Sakura would come first to kill her/take her as the holy grail or whether Shirou would come and take her away with him was saddening. She’s accepted her fate that she’ll die no matter what, but I’m sure she really wants to spend whatever time she can with Shirou instead. On the other hand, I’m pretty disappointed in Sakura, understandable but still disappointed, because from her talk with Rin, you can tell she’s still her, she’s just allowing her negative emotions and thoughts overtake her and it’s honestly disappointing to see, mainly because all I can think about is that Shirou sacrificed himself for “this”, he sacrificed everything he was to help her and yet the one that isn’t helping her the most is Sakura herself. Although I kinda feel that she’s doing all this so that Shirou can be thoroughly disappointed in her and “give up” on her and kill her to prevent any more innocent people from dying, but still, I’m annoyed at her always being the one to give up when Shirou never gave up. I know she thinks it’s too painful to see Shirou compromise his morals and beliefs for her, but at the same time, now that he’s already done it, I really wanted them to power through it together to find a way to save her instead of resorting to this. Nice reassurance to have Rider save Shirou from herself though~ it’s kinda funny that even though Illya is the “youngest”, she’s probably the most mature and understanding one (despite how childish she can be when she’s with Shirou lol), she knows and accepts what her role is and is not one to falter against it. Illya’s farewell to Shirou was pretty heartbreaking.

I loved their interactions when Shirou reunited with Illya at the castle. Shirou’s pure desire to save Illya from all this even if it’ll end badly was honestly touching, mainly because Illya is obviously trying her best to do all the risky stuff so Shirou doesn’t need to, but seeing Shirou come to save her from it was just sweet. Illya’s smile is definitely worth it, and if I have to be honest, I much prefer and enjoy Shirou and Illya’s relationship in this route than with Sakura lol. LOL at Illya and Kotomine thinking Shirou was insane for jumping from the third floor of the castle without magic (although he did strengthen his feet) even though he just followed them because he didn’t want to fall behind haha. Although I knew Kotomine isn’t one to really sacrifice himself, I didn’t expect that his teachings of God was something that could kill Zouken. Now that I think about it, I think one of the reasons why I like Saber, Rin and Illya more than Sakura is because I feel like despite how logical they are, they would always prioritise protecting Shirou even at the expense of themselves, and that’s something you see in Sakura at times but I feel like most of the time it’s Shirou who does that instead.

I liked Shirou’s fight with Berserker, it was pretty cool how he was able to take off the cloth on Archer’s arm and project Berserker’s own weapon and fend him off, obviously it wasn’t possible for Shirou to really win, but it was Berserker’s hesitation in hurting Illya that allowed Shirou to actually win though. I’m surprised that Kotomine actually had a wife and child in the past because he wanted to experiment whether he could love another person, and she even killed herself to try and prove to him through her death that he loved her. Honestly, even though he thinks he didn’t love her, I think in a certain sense, he actually did, not necessarily romantically, but I think through her, he was able to understand that although he enjoyed seeing them when they suffered, he stopped experiments like these after her death. Regardless of what he truly feels, I think a part of him wasn’t interested in seeing such a thing happen again, and in a way I guess that was his kindness and love after dealing with her death? Or maybe I’m just thinking too much haha. Although, I do believe so, mainly because when you watch Fate/Zero, when he saw how devoted Maiya and Irisviel were towards Kiritsugu, I think aside from his hatred of Kiritsugu having everything he wanted (emotions etc) yet discarding them for saving humanity, it also reminded him of this wife he once had that possessed the same undying devotion to him as they did for Kiritsugu. I think even though he didn’t really “feel it”, he was touched by it in his own way. White hair Sakura looks all right, but yeah honestly, Kotomine is right, this “evil personality” of Sakura’s is really just herself. She just can’t accept that she has such dark thoughts and hates everyone so she tries to make it as if all these disgusting parts of her aren’t actually a part of her, when really, they’ve been a part of her all this time. It really shows how pitiful she is and how saddening her life is though. She’s been wanting to keep herself “pure” and kind so as to be good enough for Shirou, but really, Shirou would embrace her darkness if she allowed him to.

Ohhh so the thing Sakura is “giving birth” to is the eighth class of the Holy Grail War that the Einzberns broke the rules to summon and tainted the Holy Grail… Hmmm, I knew that since the Servants just get absorbed back into the grail when they die it didn’t really matter whether the Masters fought and died or whatever, but I didn’t realise that everything about the war is actually done to achieve this immortality miracle called Heaven’s Feel, which is some sort of sorcery (something that cannot be achieved with magic) that is the ultimate goal of every magus, and I guess that’s why Tohsaka’s dad was so intent on winning the war previously. And I guess we can see why Zouken wanted to achieve this so much, since Heaven’s Feel elevates the soul to a higher dimension and allows them to still influence the physical world, so I guess basically he’ll be like some kind of god or being that won’t die, but would still be able to stay in this world as a “human”. And hmmm I see, the Great Holy Grail is the magic circle that uses the land administrated by the Tohsaka family and it is with the combination of this and the Holy Grail by the Einzberns that they can use the absorbed spirits and everything to open a hole to the land where they can get unlimited magical energy. The story of the anti-hero Angra Mainyu where he was used as a sacrifice in a small village to be viewed and tortured as the epitome of all sins and evil in this world in order to create the impression that everyone else must be good because he embodies all evil already was just ugh. Not that it’s not believable, just…bland and unnecessary imo. And this embodiment of evil is the shadow of Sakura wanting to kill all humans because that’s what his role is I guess.

Initially, when Shirou took Rin’s pendant with him to hold onto whenever he felt like he would lose consciousness, I thought it was just his way of thinking about the person who saved him and getting some motivation from that, but now that he’s talking about it with Rin without realising what it actually is anymore (due to the side effects of using projection with Archer’s arm, which leads to him being unable to retain a lot of memories), it might actually be because Shirou is being influenced by Archer’s memories and emotions as well. Archer really cherishes that pendant alongside Rin, and seeing Shirou cherish it so really made it touching. Even if Archer is gone and only his arm is here, Rin remains the most important person in his memories. I’ve been waiting for Rider to do something again, so I’m happy that she’s cooperating with Shirou because she understands that Shirou’s goal has never changed, he will be on Sakura’s side until the very end, just like she is. Honestly though, Tiger Dojo 38 was pretty cool, you get to see Saber and Shirou face off against each other and Shirou actually wins! Well, he sacrifices his life to keep Saber there and allow Rin to go save Sakura, and we don’t know what really happens, but I think it was nice to see that Shirou was able to fight so vigorously and win. I thought it was really sweet how Shirou went around the house before the last battle and was able to recall all those precious daily memories of Sakura and how important she is to him in his daily life. Even if his memories are foggy and even if he is in pain, Sakura drives him on and renews his resolve for saving her. Even if he’s forgotten everything, he won’t forget her and I think that’s really heartwarming.

Ooh so Zouken’s main body is still alive, I was wondering how anticlimactic it would be if Kotomine really killed him in the forest lol. I think it’s more fitting for Sakura to be the one to kill him, especially since he’s the one who tortured her all these years and is still doing the same thing right now. Honestly, Zouken’s end was pretty cliche, but it was pretty satisfying to see Sakura squish him like the worm he was. To think that the worm inside of her was his real body though. I’m glad he’s done though, Zouken was a pretty boring villain tbh. Tiger Dojo 40 was pretty saddening! Like, I can so imagine Shirou not being ruthless enough to kill Saber even though he has the chance, but his kindness ending up leading to Rin’s death is so real and sad. Rin deserves better!🥺 I love how in the Tiger Dojo, they tell Saber fans to give up on getting a good ending for Saber in this route because there’s none, and that if they want one, they need to go to Saber’s route hahahah. Time to do the normal ending first! I really felt the pain and grief when Shirou stabbed Saber though. It was honestly heartbreaking to see all his memories with her flash, and see how in order to save Sakura, he needed to harden his heart and sacrifice others that he could not save. He chose the path of killing others to save Sakura, and he killed someone that was once so faithful to him. I guess one of the reasons why I don’t like Sakura as a villain is because in a sense even though she’s not as disgusting as Shinji, she’s similar to him in the sense that everything she does is as if she’s throwing a tantrum. Throwing a tantrum that she’s the only one suffering, that no one cares about her and that everyone is living a good life when she has to suffer. And just like Shinji, she doesn’t really use her brain to fight, she just uses whatever powers she has accumulated through her hatred to deal pain on all the people around her until she satisfied, it’s just that she can never be satisfied.. Honestly, I feel like the way Rin is towards Sakura throughout this route has felt rather…awkward and a bit unlike her imo, but I guess maybe it’s because of how awkward her relationship with Sakura is. The only obvious thing was that at this point, even though Rin excelled against Sakura in battle experience and brain in using the gem sword against her etc (which I’m honestly surprised that Sakura’s use of magic is limited by her weakness as a mage even though she has an inexhaustible amount), with Sakura crying at how painful her life had been, and with how much Shirou had all this time shown to Rin his resolve to save Sakura, it was expected that Rin wouldn’t be able to kill her. It’s just terrible that it took Rin to die for Sakura to realise that everything she wanted was already there, she just allowed her negative feelings to take over her.

Honestly, I felt rather dissatisfied with the normal ending. Using a projection of Caster’s Noble Phantasm to break Sakura’s contact with Angra Mainyu was nice and interesting though, didn’t really think it would work that way for this too. Anyway, my dissatisfaction! Maybe it’s because it played out as expected with Shirou sacrificing his life to save Sakura, or maybe it’s because I was dissatisfied at how Sakura chose to live her life after Shirou sacrificed his for hers. I think it’s probably the latter tbh. I just keep thinking about everything that happened across the 16 days, about everything that happened between Sakura and Shirou, about how difficult it was for him to give up himself to save her, about how much he loved her and gave her his everything, and yet what happened in the end? She spent her life protecting his house and wallowing in their past memories! Like, yes it’s romantic in a sense, and it totally suits Sakura’s personality to do that, but it killed me! I feel like Sakura’s love is just so “blind” that it fails to grasp what Shirou wanted for her. He wanted her to live a life of freedom, and a life of happiness with others like her sister. But instead of achieving that, Sakura just felt estranged by something new (instead of her past, it’s now Shirou), guilt at being the one who survived and feeling like she needed to stay in his house and isolate herself. Honestly, it felt so much like a bad ending lol. I guess as Rider said, Sakura needs Shirou to be there with her in order to really live, but seriously I’m still annoyed though, because it felt like such a waste. I understand that Sakura isn’t someone that can stand up by herself or be supported by anyone aside from Shirou, but sigh, such a waste. I felt like if she at least tried to fulfill things Shirou wanted to do with his life or what he wanted to do with her after saving her etc, it would have been much nicer. Sigh.

Ooh so for the true ending, Kotomine is there trying to protect Angra Mainyu. Before this, I didn’t really understand why he wanted it to come into being, but after his talk with Shirou, it’s understandable. Kotomine has at a certain point onwards always thought that it’s because he had a defect from birth that caused him to become a person that can only live happily by seeing people in pain and in grief. But what if he’s wrong? And I think that’s what he wants to explore. What if all along he was blaming it on something outside of his control, but really it actually was within his control? And I think that’s what he wants to see from this birth. When it’s born, will it have the emotions to understand what it has done all this time (killing people) and grieve over it or laugh at it, making it “evil” because it can differentiate between good and evil. Or will it instead just continue to be what it is not knowing emotions, and thus unable to be “evil” because it doesn’t understand what evil really is and only does what it has been born to do? I mean, it’s crazy for Kotomine to give it a chance to live and kill people, but it is something to be curious about haha. Honestly Zouken still being alive was so suitable for the worm that he is, but I really didn’t care for him finally coming to terms that he had to accept the Makiri line ended with him because he was lacking rather than because the land wasn’t suitable for them, and that living was more painful than death anyway. Like, at this point, he better be dead! Lol. I’m so sad. I honestly didn’t want to see Illya have to be the one to die instead of Shirou, but I know that if Shirou died, Illya probably wouldn’t be able to have the same happiness she has now anyway, but still!😭 Oh wow, Rider in casual clothes is certainly different lol, still beautiful though. Hmmmm so even though Shirou’s body died, Illya was able to use the Third Sorcery to revive Shirou’s soul and give him a body free of wounds, so even though that body isn’t really Shirou, it is Shirou since it’s his soul, so basically he’s just in a new form but he’s who he is haha. Although the ending felt lacklustre, it was really nice to see a more mature and beautiful Sakura and Rin, they look so good!!

However, I find it difficult to describe my feelings when I think about Heaven’s Feel overall. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either, and I personally think it’s due to the lack of emotions I felt towards Sakura. In terms of the story, like others have said, it is the “darker” route, but in all honesty, I felt like that was it all it was. A lot of the route involves building up Sakura as an unconscious killer that isn’t redeemable, yet Shirou chooses to sacrifice everything for her, which is all right, because I really felt his feelings of love and resolve, but that was only in the first half. In the second half, I felt the story was lacking, and even the emotions it rode on was lacking, the only thing that wasn’t too disappointing would be the fights, but since the first half is literally just Sakura eating everyone, there aren’t that many fights to begin with, but at least they weren’t as frustrating as the fights with Caster in UBW lol. Anyway, I really wanted to relate to Shirou’s strong determination towards saving Sakura, but I couldn’t. Sakura felt so much like a two dimensional character to me that I just couldn’t relate to how much he loved her and was willing to sacrifice for her, and unfortunately since the whole route is focused on that, the ending and everything didn’t move me at all, I felt so apathetic. I honestly felt more for Illya than Sakura. I feel like Sakura’s route wanted to show something like bitter happiness with Shirou’s physical and mental sacrifice of his whole being for her, but it’s hard to relate when Sakura isn’t worth it lol. I’m sorry, Sakura. 

I also think the thing with Angra Mainyu and the Great Holy Grail etc was boring and unnecessary. But I do acknowledge that Sakura was never meant to be a great villain or last boss kinda thing since it has always shown that this was all caused by her immense suffering and negative feelings that couldn’t be controlled, she’s really just a nice girl. But that made it boring imo. I related to her desire for an ordinary happiness, but I got a bit tired of relating to her needing everyone to die or suffer for it. Heaven’s Feel just really didn’t have the same relatable pain that Saber and Rin’s routes brought out within me even though their respective routes had their own problems. But I guess that’s what stories are like, none of them are flawless, but if they affect you, then they’re usually good, and I could very assuredly tell you that the Fate and UBW routes portrayed the goals of their routes very well, but HF didn’t. I also think HF is lacking because it doesn’t build up Shirou’s thoughts and emotions as well as the other routes too. In HF, he’s constantly losing his memories due to Archer’s arm etc so all he really does is recall his past with Sakura in the first half which can be nice and emotional in itself but it’s repetitive and bland because they’re just flashbacks lacking depth imo, and since most of the second half is Sakura kinda finding a way to die with Angra Mainyu without hurting the others, you really don’t see any more development for Sakura. So yeah, sadly, HF has more cons than pros and I can’t find it in myself to like it even though technically it seems to have less problems than the other two routes haha. Oh well.

[crossgartered]

P5R liveblog (7/?)

(start of Makoto arc)

[[MORE]]

Oh, hey, yoshizawa : )

Together umbrella together umbrella I know this is where it's going

Aww, thanks, Morgana! That was really considerate of him

Yeah, I had noticed that the talk around her has been getting more resentful lately. : (

Oh? I'm getting a phone call from the twins?? : D

Does this mean I can fulfill quests around town and WAIT NO EVEN BETTER I CAN NOW HANG OUT WITH THE VELVET TWINS YESSSSS

Omg FEEL THE WONDERS OF THE COSMOS

Awww their blushing sprites. I'm not sure we've actually seen Justine blush before. But they wanted to play with the toy!! And Justine doesn't like pickles!! I'm so pleased.

Ah, so they give me skill cards. Well, whatever. I just want this good content.

IZANAGI???!?!?!?!?!

Yes!!! Hanging out with Kasumi!!!!

Every time she mentions her phone I get nervous. Also, she just said her body doesn't feel like hers anymore, and that...hmm.

You know, with the velvet twins talking about pushing your own limits, and now this, I'm kind of curious if this is going to relate to the wish fulfillment aspects. Like, how the simulation is a stagnation, mentally. Idk

Blergh I don't know how I'm supposed to respond to her yet.

Tumbling? Huh. Wonder if they've changed Futaba's Position Hack then.

Man, her sprite look so young, relatively.

It's kinda nice that we'll probably start using the 3rd floor for more than just the library now.

You know, I had sort of headcanoned the p5 protagonist as having taken some gymnastics before. Not sure yet how to reconcile this with this link. Maybe she's just way more expert at it since she's an Olympic contender and he's just been taking lessons as a hobby.

Oh goddammit I hate when I choose the wrong selection by accident. I didn't mean to be a dick! I was trying to inquire about your well-being and I accidentally pressed X instead of Down

WAIT WHAT DID I MAX OUT YUSUKE'S BATON PASS IN ONE SITTING??!?!?!

AND ANN'S?!?!?!?????!?!

Ah, here we go. Sae's thoughts about my Justice link. Evading police detection, huh? Okay, that's valid. He did pull the strings quite a bit, especially during the school festival (and onward)

Oh, they really don't tell us when the velvet twins are available. That's kind of annoying. Guess I'll just have to keep checking.

Oh, hey, Makoto. Oh, I like how they retranslated this. Feels way more natural than before.

*sigh* just gonna toss out that bit of canon, thank you.

That's a weird position to sleep in. That can't be comfy.

You know, I always felt like Ann's "I feel like I've known you all forever" thing was meant to be a plot thread, but it never panned out. But now with Maruki saying that Ren seems familiar, like "an old friend", I wonder...

Maybe it is just a misfit thing. But maybe it's not. I'm curious.

So ann wants to "punish those corrupt adults and give courage to people in trouble..."

Yusuke's still a bit hard for me to read. He sees this method as civil. He wants to save the victims of the targets. He feels like he was saved himself. Punishment doesn't seem to come into play for him at all, unlike Ann & Ryuji. He mostly talks about self-improvement in relation to his being a Phantom Thief, though. It's very interesting.

Oh now, this is interesting. They're talking about their desire for a strategist. This will help to integrate Makoto more, when she awakens. Instead of her just saying I'm in charge now

THIS IS SUCH A BETTER TRANSLATION HOLY SHIT

"PS, I still believe porridge is the best way to end a hot pot." Yusuke ilu

I love yoshida with my entire soul

Oh WOW this makes way more sense than akechi just being weirdly intense thank you re-localization

Oh, I really thought this Sakai guy was going to be a Mementos request, not an items person

It really is unfair how everyone is asking Makoto to do something about the mafia boss. Like, what the hell? She's in high school? What do they expect her to be able to do about it?

OH, THAT SYMBOL ON MAKOTO'S COLLAR

IT'S A 'B' & A 'J'

THATS ON THE PILLARS OF THE HIGH PRIESTESS CARD IN THE RIDER WAITE TAROT DECK THATS SO COOL

Makoto you're so bad at this please let me talk instead please I just leveled up my charm and everything

"I tried to trick him into saying something, but he dodged all the traps I was laying down." Makoto pls

Ohhhhh my godddddddd I hate walking around the subway system I'm going to flip my shit this map is just a bunch of squares and lines please game I almost quit the first time I played the original p5 bc I couldn't figure out how to get to school please don't make me do this

Oh my GOD sae you're going to talk about the skill cards and not the calling cards or anything for yusuke?

Ah, Shinjuku. Here we go.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 8

*comment shared a comic shipping Sayaka and Kyoko*

What. What is this. Is shipping the Blue-haired Paladin and the Red-Haired Warrior a thing? Because I'm suddenly seeing it as a thing. Seriously that is adorable. Damn it. I'm still holding the "Letting Familiars Go" thing against her, but between her Tragic Backstory and that comic I'm now shipping the two. ...given how short my last ship was I'm suddenly worried.

And we’re back! Watching bloodstained Silhouette-Sayaka hack wildly at the the downed witch while Silhouette-Madoka and Silhouette-Kyoko watch.

Jeebus.

The labyrinth breaks down as Sayaka laughs, staring ahead wide-eyed and muttering about how “It’s easy once you know how to do it. I’m sure I’ll never lose this way.”

Sayaka. Just because you can shut off pain and use magic to heal damage to your body, does not mean that you should!

Back in the real world construction site, Sayaka picks up her first Grief Seed. Well, while I’m not happy with her new fighting style, at least she got

What’s with that creepy head tilt and glance back? Have you been taking lessons from Homura?

Why did you just throw the Grief Seed

Why did you just throw the Grief Seed to Kyoko

Argh. No no no. Sayaka, you know that you only have so much magic, right? That you are not some special Magical Girl that doesn’t need Grief Seeds to recharge? I get that you think that you’re making a point, but you just fought a Witch and used up who knows how much magic, you need to recharge more than the bystander.

So what, you gave Kyoko the Grief Seed so that you wouldn’t be in her debt? Ok fine, that’s a slightly better reason. But still, you’d better find another Grief Seed soon, so you don’t run out of mana when you really need it.

Ok, see?! You just dismissed your outfit and then had to get caught by Madoka! That fight took a lot out of you, you cannot afford to give away Grief Seeds right now! Stop being Lawful Stupid!

“That idiot…” See, Kyoko agrees with me! This is not just someone with a “me first” philosophy scoffing at charity, this is a matter of keeping up your defensive ability!

Intro of Lies

Ep 8: I was Stupid… So Stupid

Later, as it’s raining…

As a mournful cello tells us that “This is a sad moment, u guys!”, Sayaka and Madoka are sitting at a bus stop, Sayaka leaning tiredly against Madoka. Madoka’s trying to tell Sayaka that going all Blood Knight is not a good way of fighting…

“Just because you don’t feel it, it doesn’t mean it’s ok to get hurt.” Yes, exactly!

But Sayaka’s just focused on winning. If she doesn’t fight like that, she can’t win, because she “doesn’t have any natural talent.” Um, you did just start as a MG a little while ago, right? It’s really not that much of a stretch to think you’d be less able than who-knows-how-old-they-are Magical Girls.

Madoka’s still trying to get it through Sayaka’s skull that even if it works, it doesn’t mean that it’s good.

“What’s ‘good for me’?”

Uh oh.

Yup, back to “I’m this shiny gem being held right in front of your face, not the meat puppet you were just talking at.”

Sayaka’s really getting fatalistic, isn’t she? Saying that the only worth she has left in the world is killing Witches. That’s she’s a walking, talking corpse, pretending it’s still alive.

Ok, personal note. Isn’t that what all people are, if we go with the idea that souls exist? Not that I want to make Kyubey sound like he was right, but the body is not the consciousness. Yes, you should take care of your soul-container, but the body itself is not ‘alive’ in that sense. You are not dead, Sayaka, you’re just… offset? Look I’m trying to talk Sayaka out of being Lawful Stupid, give me a break.

There is so much “good that others could do for you now, Sayaka! You can still have friends, you can still enjoy things like good food and music. Heck, there’s my newest ship thanks to that comic you lot posted!

I mean, that solves all your problems right there! Kyoko can teach you to stop being so self-sacrificing and enjoy your life again, you can teach her to care about other people besides herself, and together you act as a more moderate Magical Girl duo like redwulf said. And it even answers your concern about you being so different than Kamijo now, Kyoko’s just like you, an immortal magic user!

It’s not stupid, Sayaka, stop saying that it’s-

Wait.

Ep 8: I Was Stupid… So Stupid

Um, yes! Yes it is very stupid to think about how you could be happy again, Sayaka. Keep thinking that it’s stupid until you’re proven wrong. *fingers crossed*

See, Madoka just wants to make you happy again, Sayaka. So stop making her feel like she’s a bad friend.

“Then you fight them.”

What.

Why are you telling Madoka that Bunny-Cat said that she has Protagonist Powers? Why are you telling her that she could beat Witches easily?

“If you really want to do something for me, you should experience what I’ve experienced first.”

Sayaka, stahp.

“You can’t give up being human just out of a little pity, can you?!”

Ok, that’s just unfair, Sayaka.

“In place of you, who could accomplish anything but won’t-

So don’t talk like you care, when you’ve conveniently overlooked that!”

NO. BAD SAYAKA. TIME OUT FOR YOU, YOU MADE MADOKA CRY.

AND STOP DOING THE CREEPY STARES.

Jerk-Sayaka tells Madoka not to follow her, then runs off into the rain.

Wow. Ok. That was uncalled for, Sayaka. Yes, this situation sucks, but that does not give you grounds to blame Madoka for not getting her own soul torn out!

Madoka’s left standing dumbfounded in the rain, no doubt blaming herself. Argh.

And Jerk-Sayaka runs along- crying?

“I’m so stupid…! Why did I say all that to her?”

Ah, ok. Still a jerk thing to do, but Sayaka realizes that she let her emotions get out of hand. I’m still waiting for her to apologize to Madoka, but I can understand.

Aw, no. Sayaka, you are not beyond saving. Just go back and say you’re sorry for the outburst, I’m sure she’ll forgive you.

Homura? Or a sign that says Homura? Oh, do we get to see Homura’s place now?

Whut.

Well ok. This is appropriately arcane enough for the Mysterious Transfer Student, I suppose. Glaring white walls and floor, candles everywhere, floating scrolls and some huge pendulum…

Seems that Homura’s invited Kyoko over, to go over plans for Walpurgisnact. Oh yeah, the Giant Flying Thing that should drop a Super Grief Seed, I’d almost forgotten about that. Really speaks for the intensity of the “MGs are Lichs” thing that I stopped thingking about it. How much longer until she summons the Super Witch, again?

Kyoko asks how Homura knows where it will appear, the MST says ‘Statistics’.

...what Statistics?

Homura refuses to elaborate. I’m guessing she thinks that Kyoko wouldn’t approve of a plan to actually summon a Super Witch on purpose. Still, Kyoko wants more info. And so does

Kyubey

Ok, good on you for summoning your spear that quick, Kyoko. Go ahead and kick the uninvited guest out. But Bunny-Cat says it came with some important information…

“Sayaka Miki’s deterioration is happening far quicker than I expected.”

Uh oh. So her Soul Gem’s running out of juice faster than usual?

“It isn’t just all the magic she’s using. She, herself, has begun to curse the world.”

Oh crap. I’m remembering Mami’s lesson on Witches, how they are born from Curses.

Are we going to see the Anti-Kyubey soon? I’m actually not sure how much worse they could be than Jerk Bunny-Cat, but whatever actually creates Witches… could it see Sayaka as an opportunity for recruitment?

Going back to my theory that Homura got her powers from Anti-Kyubey (since Kyubey doesn’t know where she got them from), I’m thinking that she made a Ghost-Rider deal and then proceeded to renege on it, just focus on increasing her own power and protecting Muggles who don’t actively get in her way. But if some antagonist could convince Sayaka to be more active against the “selfish Magical Girls”... Oh dear.

(“I was stupid… so stupid… to think that Magical Girls could ever be good. They are only selfish, so I will destroy them all!”)

Kyoko snaps at Bunny-Cat, saying that it’s their fault in the first place. Kyubey ignores that, and says that at this rate Sayaka will be causing them some trouble before Walpurgisnacht arrives.

Kyubey: “So watch out! I don’t want to lose any more Magical Lunch Ladies than I have to.”

Kyoko’s still a bit confused, but Kyubey suggests that she talk to Sayaka about it. And Homura already knows what he’s talking about… although it’s curious where she learned “such interesting things”.

Homura has finally had enough of Kyubey and orders it out. Kyubey just turns around and walks through some shadow out of the room.

Wait, where did it walk out again? That room’s pretty bright, the only darkness is the sides of the seats- oh, wow. Ok, so Kyubey can apparently phase through solid objects or something. No wonder it keeps showing up indoors.

Kyoko asks why Homura’s letting it go, she says that there’s no point in killing it. I’d disagree, but whatever. As for Sayaka…

“Her Soul Gem has become too tainted. If it is not purified soon, there will be no coming back for her.”

So, it’s like a corroded battery? Her Gem’s not got enough full magic-packets in it, so it’s not going to last much longer? And if she want’s to keep fighting after that, she’ll need some new power.

And transition to the classroom. Jeez, in all this drama I almost forgot they’re still middle-schoolers.

Sayaka’s absent again… And Madoka’s blaming herself for not going after her.

Now it’s later in the day and… aw crap.

Hitomi’s deadline has passed. She’s going to confess to Kamijo.

The two are walking by a huge waterfall/dam at sunset, and Kamijo is cluelessly talking about he never realized that Hitomi’s house was that direction. To which she cheerfully admits that she lives in the exact opposite direction. But she went that way today because she has something to tell him.

Madoka is talking to someone, learning that Sayaka’s not home and she hasn’t been there since yesterday… wait, Sayaka has parents?! Or at least a guardian? We haven’t seen anyone, so I was honestly assuming that she was yet another orphan.

Well, Madoka’s not going to give up yet. Off she goes to find her!

Now we’re back at the dam, watching Hitomi and Kamijo talking about something but not hearing their words. As Sayaka watches from the shadows…

Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it. She’s falling, isn’t she. She’s going from Paladin to Blackguard.

Now Sayaka’s stumbling through a dark bubbly background as her theme music is playing

Nope, now she’s screaming as she slashes through a labyrinth. She’s still trying to keep her word, kill Witches…

Sayaka, your Soul Gem is looking kinda dark. Please tell me you’ve got some Grief Seeds to recharge it by now…

Footstep? Sayaka turns around to see Homura walking through the car park towards her. Sayaka is not pleased to see her blank head tilt stare.

“Why can’t you understand? You don’t have the luxury of killing familiars.”

So that wasn’t a Witch? She still doesn’t have any Grief Seeds? Good grief, Sayaka. This is a matter of having the power to fight Witches or running out and being helpless, you need to recharge!

Sayaka rejects Homura’s advice, who only comments about how Sayaka’s Soul Gem must be at its limit and tosses a- Grief Seed! Thank you Homura, that’s just what is ne

Oh for fucks sake, Sayaka! Stop being so goddamn self-sacrificing and take it, don’t just kick it down the ramp! You will run out of magic, be unable to heal yourself from your reckless fighting, and die. Get it through your skull!

Yeah, Homura didn’t like that. Even scrunched up her mouth.

“Don’t be a fool. You’re in no position to be questioning anyone’s help right now. Or do you simply hate being rescued that much?”

Damn, Urobuchi really doesn’t like the self-sacrificing hero type, does he? Sayaka’s had nothing but bad stuff happen since she started, and now the character who’s going to basically summon a demon for more power is sounding pretty reasonable.

Now Sayaka’s saying her Heroic Creed from the after the last episode’s credits, about how she’ll be a different kind of Magical Girl. Good words, but you’ve got to take care of yourself to back them up.

To which Homura can only say “You are going to die.”

“So what if I die.” Aw. Aw Sayaka, no. “It just means I won’t be able to kill witches anymore.”

Ok, fine. If appealing to your own self-preservation isn’t working, how about these two points:

-You are completely neglecting all of the Witches you could kill in the future, all the lives that you would save, in order to go all out against the Witches and Familiars right now. If you really want to save as many Muggles as possible, to go to the extreme of “The Needs of the Many outweigh the Needs of the Few”, then you have to recognize that the lives you save now fighting recklessly cannot possibly measure up to all the lives you will save in the future if you just exercise a modicum of restraint

-If you die, Madoka will cry. Madoka will cry because of your foolishness. Don’t make Madoka cry.

If you define yourself as being “of use” or “not of use”, then recognize that you are loosing effectiveness as a Witch Hunter with this self-destructive behavior. Snap out of it!

So what if you “can’t” defeat Witches right now? You did pretty damn well against the one in the factory that almost killed Madoka and Hitomi, and you’re just starting out! Get some training under your belt and you’ll be a great successor to Mami. But not like this.

Homura can only ask “Why? All I want is to save you.” Aw, so she’s seeing Sayaka as someone to help again, after the whole “Competition for Grief Seeds” thing.

“Why can’t you trust me?” Um. Well, you kinda threatened Madoka’s family and knocked Sayaka out that one time, so…

Sayaka’s so out of it she can’t even come up with a reason that she can’t trust Homura. Other that that somehow, she knows she’s a liar?

“By looking at your eyes, I can tell you’ve given up on everything.” That she’s speaking hollow words, that even now she says she wants to help but it’s not what she’s really thinking. But she won’t fool Sayaka!... yup, Sayaka’s slipping. She needs Madoka-encouragement, stat.

Homura flips her hair and-

“You do realize that you’re just making Madoka suffer more and more?”

Hey, she’s using my second point! Lets see if it works at all.

Nope, Sayaka just says that it has nothing to do with her. Right, after your outburst at her, and the fact that she’s your best friend? Suuure it doesn’t.

“You’re wrong. Everything has to do with her.”

Bwuh? Where did this come from? Are you worried that Sayaka’s brooding will get Madoka to make a Contract, and pose a risk of getting the Super Grief Seed?

Um. Homura just transformed into Magical Girl Mode. Why did she do that?

Um. Homura just admitted that she has no desire at all to save Sayaka. She just doesn’t want Madoka to have to watch Sayaka destroy herself?

Is this Homura’s twisted “Non-Magical Girls are to be protected as best able, other Magical Girls are competition” logic?

“If you refuse my help here, there is no recourse for you but to

Oh no. no no no.

die.”

No no no NO. Sayaka. Transform. Fight back. Run away. DO SOMETHING.

“If you will make Madoka grieve more than she has…”

Running? Is Madoka showing up. Oh crap, Madoka’s going to see Homura kill Sayaka, isn’t she?

“...then I…”

Raised hand.

“...will kill you…”

Bright purple light.

“...here and now. Sayaka Miki.”

Run. Run run RUN!

Homura pulled back? What?

KYOKO!

I am so happy to see you! Character development, yes!

Kyoko the Hero yells at Sayaka to run, who… slowly gets up and shuffles off. Ok, at least she’s moving?

As for you, Homura, what the hell? Get out of that armchair, you can trade seats with Kyoko after that stunt you almost pulled.

Kyoko’s yelling at Homura now, who only says to let go of her. Oh? Oh! If Kyoko’s holding onto the MST, then she can’t use her teleportation!

But she can still do something with her shield?

Oh shit! Grenade! Kyoko quite reasonably leaps back. And that’s all Homura needs to vanish before sudden explosion.

Aw damn, it was just a flash-bang. I mean, still, ouch, but I could have sworn it looked like a classic frag grenade. I must be out of practice with shooters.

And she’s gone. Hopefully Sayaka got far enough away.

Ok good, looks like she got on a train. Although she’s having to listen to two dumbasses who are probably wearing fedoras. Strange art style, everything just black and white…

“You just can’t treat women like rational human beings.” Oh shut up.

Wait, when did Sayaka stand up?

“Hey, tell me more about her.”

Um, Sayaka?

Ok, um. Sayaka, they’re just idiots, there’s no need to go too far…

Listen, these two jerks are scum, they are not part of the world you’ve been protecting. Don’t let them spoil your view of the world.

Sayaka? Sayaka, what is happening? Why are you getting all squiggly?

Aw crap. Her magic’s finally going, isn’t it?

Madoka’s still looking for Sayaka, walking by the river.

Kyubey

. Who just appeared from the shadow of a lamppost. Was it there earlier, or is this confirmation Bunny-Cat can shadow travel?

It asks if Madoka is mad with him too. And instead of saying no, our All-Loving Heroine asks that if she was, if it would turn Sayaka back human. Damn, now you’re on even Madoka’s List, Kyubey.

Kyubey claims that it’s beyond its power to do that. Sure it is, I’m pretty sure it just doesn’t want to give up a Magical Lunch Lady any sooner than it has to.

But

Oh no

Madoka, NO.

Madoka is talking about how Kyubey once told her she could be an incredibly powerful Magical Girl.

No. No no no. Don’t do it, Madoka. We’ll talk her down, hook her up with Kyoko, anything other than that.

Kyubey is going on about how “incomprehensibly powerful” Madoka would be if she unlocked her Protagonist Powers, probably the strongest being in the show. I mean, world.

“If I had made the contract with you…”

Madoka, NO! Sayaka would have made the contract for her own Wish and to help others regardless, do not blame yourself for that!

What’s this? Kyubey doesn’t understand how Madoka’s potential could be so great? It’s on a scale that theoretically shouldn’t even be possible?

(Shades of Tephi’s “That’s not how charts work”)

Will we ever get an answer for this?

“I want someone to come explain it as much as you do.” Ergh. And now I’m torn between finding out and keeping the information away from Bunny-Cat.

So the power that Madoka could unleash could twist reality, or whatever? So her Wish could, I dunno, bring someone back from the dead? (Bring Mami back)

What, you’re saying that Madoka could “even become the god of this world”?

Wait. I’m seeing possibilities here.

If Madoka could really be that powerful, more so than any MG…

I’m picturing a world where Magical Girls are known to exist, where they don’t have to hide their powers. Maybe they could find a way to get Muggles to see Witches and stay away, recognize the threat. The Magical Girl Contract could be understood, and people who can actually give informed consent could make the choice to create Soul Gems and protect the people. (sudden mental image of cops in Magical Girl outfits, ha. Or can only women make the Contract?)

And over it all, Magical Girl Madoka Kaname, leading the growing Magical Girl movement as a team of modern-day superheroines.

Please tell me that’s where this story is going. And not that Urobuchi is going to stop all over my hopes and dreams.

Enough power to do things that Kyubey can’t or won’t do? Like grant Wishes and bring people back? (Bring Mami Back) Even turn Sayaka human again? Kyubey says that it would be child’s play for her (reinforcing my belief that he could turn her back, he just doesn’t want to).

Ergh. This is… if Madoka could really have that power…

Would it be worth trading her soul for? Or at the very least moving it outside her body?

Madoka says that it would. For Sayaka.

Well. Eight episodes into a twelve-episode show. I guess that it’s about time the main character came into her own power.

Madoka will do it. Make her into a mag

WHAT

WHAT

BUNNY-CAT IS SWISS CHEESE

WHAT

Kyubey is dead. Kyubey is dead and Madoka will never be a magical girl and Mami will stay dead and Sayaka will turn evil and

What

Homura?! What the hell?!

You just fucking killed Bunny-Cat! He was a jerk, but Madoka was about to get her powers! You just screwed Sayaka over, for what? Because you don’t want the competition?!

Oh for- this wasn’t about self-sacrifice, you psycho. Madoka was about to unlock enough power to make things better in this show. You of all people should understand that!

Ok, what the hell? I get that you consider Muggles like Madoka innocent, but you’re getting rather illogical about this. For the potential good that she could do, I think that knowingly putting her soul in a rock isn’t that bad.

What. Homura is crying. What. Why is the Vulcan showing emotion.

She’s babbling about how so many people would grieve if Madoka died.

Homura… are you…?

You’ve been trying to protect Madoka from the life of a Magical Girl. At first I saw it as wanting to prevent competition, then trying to guard the innocent little Muggle from the danger. But you were trying to protect Madoka specifically? Why would you do that, when it conflicts with your behavior?

“Have the two of us… met somewhere before…?”

Are we FINALLY going to get a damn explanation for the Vision? Like, Homura saved Madoka from a Labyrinth before and wiped her mind, or whatever?

Homura’s not saying. So Madoka’s leaving to find Sayaka.

...damn it. I almost got some damn answers here, but nope! Urobuchi is trolling me.

Instead of answers, we’re left with a bullet-riddled Kyubey, a crying Homura, and a running Madoka. And I wish I understood how we got here.

Whoa, what?!

“You knew there was no point in doing that.”

Kyubey?! You’re alive?

What the hell is that image, that silhouette balancing on the fence with red eyes.

“I have countless spares, of course, but making me use them up for no reason like this… It’s a waste.”

...what.

So Kyubey’s alive, and

OH GOD is it eating the corpse? Itself? What?

KANAYA: I Suddenly Dont Understand Anything And Am Currently Casting Sincere Doubt On The Laughable Insinuation That I Or Anyone Else Ever Actually Did For Even A Single Moment

Kyubey is a clone or whatever or what?

Homura’s gotten back to her feet and resumed her Mysterious Transfer Student attitude.

“That’s the second time you’ve killed me.”

Really? Was the first offscreen, or did I miss it?

“That was Time Magic, wasn’t it?”

Time Magic?

TIME MAGIC?!

“You’re not from this timeline, are you?”

YOU GUYS

HOMURA IS A TIME TRAVELER

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

-She knows Madoka from an alternate timeline that Madoka somehow got a glimpse of

-She’s seen all this happen before, knows where to show up and how to act to prevent things

-She could have gotten her powers from Kyubey, just not this Kyubey

-She’s fighting with the experience of two runs as as Magical Girl

-She’s acting so cold and detached because these are just counterparts of people she knew in her own timeline

-Her special ability isn’t teleporting, it’s pausing time and moving somewhere else before it resumes

That makes sense now! There’s still so much about this show that doesn’t make sense, but at least that does!

But it boils down to the fact that Homura knows what Kyubey was doing the whole time, coercing these girls into transferring their souls and becoming Magical Lunch Ladies.

...yeah, I guess that does sound pretty out there. No wonder she didn’t just outright say what it was up to.

Kyubey is being remarkable chill for recently learning his opponent has time-travel knowledge. I guess it’s pretty confident that it’s already succeeded, and even though Homura stopped him before Madoka could Contract, if it can replace bodies then it’s only a matter of time before it can catch up with Madoka and finish the deal.

But Homura is adamant that she won’t let things to according to Kyubey’s plan.

“Or should I say, ‘Incubator’?”

Incubator? What does…

Oh.

Oh shit.

Kyubey’s been storing the Grief Seeds.

Kybey’s always been around when a Witch shows up.

Son of a bitch. I kept on going on about some sort of Anti-Kyubey, who was creating Witches the same way that Kyubey was creating Magical Girls.

But if Kyubey was ‘incubating’ the Grief Seeds, planting the Grief Seeds…

Kyubey is Anti-Kyubey!

And if it’s been the one planting the Seeds…

Homura didn’t plant the hospital Seed, you did!!!

You son of a bitch! You killed Mami!

What, we’re just leaving it at that?! No way, we are going to get that thing to confess and

Oh wait, it’s Sayaka at a train station. Ok good, we found you. Let’s just get you home and talk this out. We need to discuss Operation ‘Kick Kyubey’s Butt’.

Oh hey, Kyoko found her! Guess Madoka’s still on the way. Kyoko takes a seat next to Sayaka and jokingly asks about how long she’s going to keep acting like Batman. Sayaka apologizes for making Kyoko look for her. Which confuses Kyoko. Where’s the brash Ally of Justice that she’s been fighting?

Sayaka says that she just can’t care about anything anymore, that she can’t remember what she thought was worth protecting… yup, this is classic Falling Paladin. Quick, somebody try to kick a puppy in front of her so she gets all “Justice Will Be Upheld” again.

Kyoko’s just chowing down on some potato chips during all this.

Sayaka’s pulled out her Soul Gem, and geez that is looking pretty freaking dark. How much longer before it’s completely empty and she can’t use magic anymore? Now she’s talking about how hope and despair balance back out to zero, throwing Kyoko’s words back at her. Ouch.

Yes, you saved people, Sayaka! Never forget that! But… then you started feeling resentment and hatred. Um. And hurt your best friend.

“For as much happiness as we wish on one person, we can’t help but curse someone else.” Oh come on, that’s not true! There’s… ok, give me a minute, I’m sure I can think of an example where someone doing good didn’t backfire on them in this show…

Ah! Mami saving the person who fell off the building! That was a good act that didn’t hurt her!

Aw no. Don’t cry Sayaka. Look, I know that things seem bad, but we can get past this. You can…

“I was stupid… so stupid.”

Whoa what the hell?

WHAT THE HELL THERE ARE FLASHING LIGHTS AND KYOKO JUST WENT FLYING

Sayaka. Sayaka your Soul Gem is cracking. I am fairly certain that your Soul Gem should not be cracking something that contains a soul should never break

Your Soul Gem just broke

That

That is a Grief Seed

Your Soul Gem just turned into a Grief Seed

What

What

“Sayaka!”

I… what…

Construction site.

“In this country, half-grown women are called “girls”, right?”

No. No no no no NO NO NO

“In that case, it’s appropriate that you, who will one day grow into Witches, should be called ‘Magical Girls’.”

…

what.

...after credits chibi-ish picture of Mami, Homura, Madoka, Sayaka , and that red-eyed ALWAYS SMIRKING MANIPULATIVE LITTLE-

Homura: “Maybe I’m being a fool, but until I know for sure whether she can or can’t be saved, I don’t want to give up.”

Episode 9: I’d Never Allow That To Happen

[firebirdsdaughter]

Onward!...

... To the O-T subs of Zi-O 21! Yay!

Also, fair warning, this will probably include spoilers for Ryuki. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet and doesn’t want anything spoiled.

In no order:

Still sad we didn’t get to see Geiz coming home. :(

Sworz and Herue’s family moment is still kinda sweet, despite them being who they are.

This, too, is Decade’s fault.

I LOVE THE ZI-OT3 INVESTIGATING!

Like I said in an earlier post today, I think I understand why it’s Ryuga and not Ryuki. Bc at the end of Ryuki, everything was reset and the events of the series never happened. Shinji didn’t just forget he was a Kamen Rider, he never was one in the first place. But just bc it didn’t happen doesn’t mean that somewhere, some place, the Mirror World ever went away completely. Maybe it somehow preserved Ryuga, and he’s just been hanging out, hiding in the new Shinji’s reflection? Waiting for something like this...

Poor Shinji. Given his reaction later, I’m wondering if he considers himself responsible--which raises my question of if he was actually trying to kill himself bc he thought that might stop the attacks, or if he was just so terrified he covered up everything and accidentally sealed himself in in a panic.

Hands, who thinks Kido is an idiot? ... Goddamnit, Ron.

I love the Zi-Ot3 having planning sessions, too.

Sou Okuno remains adorable and it is so unfair.

Like I said. Geiz is one of those people where if punching it doesn’t work, you just punch harder--and if you break your arm doing it? So be it.

He starts the sentence neutral, then switches to first person. Just... Decides it’s gonna be him. Bc he’s the soldier, and fighting with his life is the only thing he’s ever done.

Sougo clearly doesn’t quite understand the seriousness of the situation, clearly thinks they’re still brainstorming, (honestly don’t blame him--most people wouldn’t be expecting someone to actually be meaning to go through w/ that), but Tsukuyomi is clearly well aware of the fact that Geiz will absolutely do this, and she’s not happy.

Junichiro does the only acceptable impression of Kuro Woz ever.

WAS THE LEAF PILE MOVING IMPORTANT?

Shinji doesn’t just have no memory of it, he has double no memory of it! (that may have been a reference to that)

Kuro Woz begins to, well, Woz, and Sougo walks away. I LOVE THIS. Force the manipulative jerk to walk after you!

KWoz remains incapable of picking up on tacit cues. Seriously, dude, even I am clear on how uncomfortable Sougo is w/ this. And I am awful at tacit cues.

ELBOW HIM IN THE STOMACH SOUGO!

Okay... This seems a little more like they’re talking about something e don’t know about... But he’s still noting it might kill him, so my other comments do still hold. But other than some protectiveness that he’s in denial about, why does he think it has to be him? Did Shiro Woz do something? Was there more to that vision than we saw?

Well, maybe Tsukuyomi doesn’t know? She’s pretty against it.

The little face twitch after she reminds him Sougo didn’t like the idea either. I think he’s secretly touched Sougo cares, but too Tsundere to admit it.

No, we weren’t waiting. We just knew if we stood still for five minutes, you’d be somewhere in the scenery, creepily dropping eves.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

I can never hear that the same again.

I am still extremely uncomfortable w/ this phrasing. I’ve seen people connecting it to PreCure, where it’s the villain’s goal? And while I don’t watch PreCure, I absolutely agree. That’s not a normal way of referring to a peaceful era. It’s suspicious. Makes me think that either time literally is stopped, or that it’s ‘peaceful’ bc it’s all controlled by the future Nooks or something.

My hope for this is that they make a third timeline, and the point of the story is that we forge our own destinies, and sometimes not knowing exactly what the future holds is a good thing. Not everything is predetermined, that freedom is more important than martially imposed ‘peace’--and that even if things are apparently doomed to end w/ you murdering half the world, there’s always something you can do to change things. In a world where a lot of young people are suffering under the exacting expectations of others (and this is not saying Japan specifically, this is a thing everywhere), I feel like that would be a great message for kids. Wow. Okay. Got a bit mushy there.

Hm... Honestly, this translation makes Geiz sound more suspicious of it than anything--though given the flashback, I do think that the ‘peace’ part sounds good to them. However... Well, I have some other things to say on this subject, but we can get to that lower down.

THAT’S NOT THE FACE OF A PERSON I TRUST.

Poor Shinji, he’s so scared! He’s gotta have been seeing his reflection be like ‘hey, you wanna go murder this guy right, I’m gonna do it!’ so much he can’t even bear to look at it... Oh, sweetie... Ron! Come get Shinji he’s making me cry!

Need I remind anyone that I hate Shiro Woz?

Not you, Keisuke, you’re an angel and I’m thrilled you’re here.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

Ahem. Okay, anyway. This is another reason why I’m confused as to whether or not Toei wants me to think Geiz is actually going to switch ‘sides’ or something or not. He jumps in to defend Shinji w/out a single hesitation, and I really think there’s meant to be parallels between this and his initial stance towards Sougo. Like, that one scene w/ the flashback to Goggles (WHO IN TIME IS GOGGLES THE DEAD PERSON?) seemed to be meant to indicate that he was starting to believe Shiro Woz--but here? It’s coming across as the opposite. WHICH IS IT TOEI?

I will continue to believe that they will not do that to my precious tsundere baby until they actually do. And when/if (please dear gods I hope it doesn’t) that happens... Tea and shirts? I’ll make cookies?

G T F O Shiro Woz. No one wants your approval at all, esp not Geiz.

No! Poor Shinji... Ron, come help Shinji! Ron! ... What’s that? Not until the special? But that’s in March! We’ll be in another arc by then! Goddamnit, Ron.

I’m making a dumb joke, I have no clue if Ren is gonna be back in the special. I would be excited if he was, though.

Don’t listen to him, Shinji. You Rider Kicked him in the face in another... Another... A timeline twice removed? Or maybe once? Maybe they just never altered the Ryuki timeline since it did that one it’s own?

Ah, sweet justice.

Can’t believe I’m cheering for this asshole. But I just really dislike Shiro Woz.

Okay, Heure, you jerking Shiro Woz around is valid, but that dig at Geiz was unnecessary.

Also, even though there’s (well, was?) a ‘justifiable’ reason for what Shiro Woz was doing, Geiz remains unhappy about it.

... Okay, why did we get a ‘gasp’ reaction from Shiro Woz to that? What exactly happened on your ‘Day of Ouma,’ you snake? Oh what am I saying. Like he’d give me a straight answer.

Goddamit, Geiz. DX

We knew you were gonna do this, though.

Sougo finally arrives, and actually understands that Geiz has no chill whatsoever and will absolutely do this shit.

But it seriously kinda does feel like Geiz’s mentality is ‘I’m a soldier, I have to be willing to fight to the death’ sort of thing. Or maybe even ‘I’m the soldier so I’m more expendable’ (which the angst part of me kinda wants to be something that comes up--‘I’m the fighter, I’m the one who dies’ sort of thing; and then the other two smack him for it).

I just love Geiz as the ‘protector’ part of the triangle. Like, I feel like he’s starting to fall into it? Like, willing to protect the other two w/ his life (not that they don’t all protect each other, but... Do you know what I mean?).

Friendship moments are hard for Geiz, but this is still a good one. He’s literally getting forced to face the fact that Sougo cares about him and doesn’t want him to kamikaze attack.

I love this, though. Before, we saw that Sougo was uncomfortable w/ the Zi-O II Ride Watch, and its implications for his future. But he’d rather use an item that may very well be either a step or even a lock into him becoming the Demon King he was so disturbed and upset by before, than let Geiz die. Might be bad news for the world, but...

Makes me wonder if there’s gonna be a ‘I won’t let you turn into Ouma Zi-O even if I die’ thing, except it’s not ‘fight you to the death’ thing and more ‘I’ll keep trying to keep you good even if it gets me killed/I have to sacrifice myself.’

Oh my god. Like if there’s a way to keep Sougo from becoming Ouma Zi-O (like, w/out killing him), but it was, like, fatal. Geiz would absolutely do it. Or try to. Hell, maybe even both him or Tsukuyomi. Or they’d both try to do it, but also try to protect each other from it... Like she tries to stun him so he can’t, and he tries to beat here there, or something... There I go.

THE TRIUMPHANT MUSIC! And you just know it’s gonna cut out. XD

My guess is that it failed bc Sougo was secretly doubting his future. Like, he’s wholeheartedly ready to use it bc he doesn’t want Geiz sacrificing himself, but he’s still scared it’ll turn him into Ouma Zi-O? And maybe he has to be confident in his abilities before it will work? Me make sense? Who would do that.

Well, one thing I’ll say for him. Another Ryuga is cool.

Okay, okay. Here’s the last thing, I swear. If they’re trying to imply that Geiz is gonna turn on Sougo... No one told Gaku before he voiced those two ‘Zi-O!’s. That sounded way too frightened and concerned for someone you’re starting to doubt.

I swear, I’ve heard that music somewhere...

I loved how everyone’s reactions to this sequence was literally ‘well, I assume they’re showing us everything is backwards, but I couldn’t read kanji to begin w/, so...’ ^^ XD

Wow, nice on the signs O-T! How much harder was it to do the subtitles backwards?

Mirror¡Sougo is bouncy like bunny!

Mirror¡Sougo tries to be creepy, but regular Sougo doesn’t even register it. This kid would be both a joy and a risk in a horror situation.

I love the way Sougo dodges the ‘eye blocks’ when Mirror¡Sougo transforms, and Mirror¡Sougo hits one back w/ his sword when Sougo transforms... It’s cool.

Preview: Oh, yeah. Geiz dies next week. Now where’s my new favourite picture... XD I will love it if there’s a situation where Sougo is able to see out of the Mirror World and sees what’s happening. I mean, Another Ryuga can look out, why not Sougo? Maybe that’ll be what finally seals the deal on him actually using the Watch?

See, this ‘opening’ ‘creating ‘cutting open’ the future stuff rings to me like the goal is that thing I mentioned above. About choosing one’s own destiny, no matter hat tries to shape you.

Anyway, I like the Zi-O II suit. Excited for ep 22. ^^

That’s all, folks! (wonder how long it’ll be before I get sued for that XD). Virtual red velvet cupcakes for anyone who read all of that. And if you don’t like those, then... Well, pick your favourite flavour! ^^ And if you don’t like cupcakes, then pick a sweet you do like.

Anyway, I’m having a good time and enjoying this. I love the Zi-Ot3, in case that wasn’t clear, and atm I’m looking forward to 22. Of course, things could always turn out... Unfortunately, but I still have tea and shirts on standby.

... Now I want read velvet cupcakes again...

(If you count the number of bolded words in this post, you get a hardy handshake!)

[pinelife3]

Defending Green Book

Green Book, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, has had some run-ins with the press:

I want to look at some of these reviews and think pieces, talk about the arguments being made and try to defend Green Book. I’m not planning on talking about the plot or actors or any of the various scandals involving writer Nick Vallelonga. I could write a review saying that it’s funny, the music is beautiful, that it’s hammy at times but generally pretty nice and try to defend it that way, but I didn’t love Green Book - it didn’t suck, but there are other films from 2018 that had burly, surprisingly supple stories, brawny imagery, shredded performances, super jacked action, rippling jokes, rugged special effects, muscle bound implications (i.e. they were very sexy) which I would commend way more highly: Loveless, Widows, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Can You Ever Forgive Me, Burning, etc. Loveless in particular is a film I’ve thought about at least once a week since I saw it (around a year ago). Probably any of these films is more deserving of Best Picture - but I think the level of negative coverage Green Book has received is unfair and I want to try to rebut some of that.

ONE ARGUMENT: Green Book flopped because it’s not the kind of movie people want any more

While sniffing around for content, I noticed the URL for Vulture’s write up on Green Book’s box office performance refers to the film as a flop - a word which doesn’t appear anywhere in the article itself:

I checked the history of the article using the Wayback Machine and found that when the article was initially published in November 2018 it had this title:

How interesting. 

By December 15 the title of the article had been edited:

The actual content of the article hasn’t changed since it was published so this is likely not the writer’s doing and is just some sneaky shit from Vulture. (The writer is Mark Harris - who, just quietly, is a pretty big deal and generally seems like a nice guy. I know it’s wrong to define people based on who they’re married to... but dude is married to Tony Kushner!!) 

I imagine when the film ceased to be a flop, Vulture didn’t want to look like they were wrong. I’m not a journalist so I don’t know what standard operating procedure is in these cases, but from my time reading articles online I’ve observed that when a correction or change is made to a published article, some small text down the bottom of the page says something like “This article was originally published under the title...” or “This article originally misstated the number of fries served with...” or whatever. 

Anyway - here’s what Harris had to say:

Two weeks ago, the movie arrived. The crowds did not. Following a disappointing opening on 25 screens, Green Book expanded to 1,000 for Thanksgiving weekend and finished a somewhat wan ninth. According to IndieWire box-office analyst Tom Brueggemann, its cumulative gross of under $8 million makes it “a work in progress, with a struggle ahead.” That struggle may offer a lesson that after 50 years, a particular kind of movie about black and white America has, at long last, run its course.

This is the top 9 in American cinemas for the weekend of Green Book’s wide release:

Was Green Book expected to compete with Ralph Breaks The Internet or Fantastic Beasts? Considering Green Book’s budget, I don’t think is such a bad showing. Especially considering this is the type of film which typically relies on word of mouth to generate interest - it’s a gentle human interest story. Parents will recommend it to their kids. Kids will recommend it to their grandparents. Families will watch it at home on their sectional sofas with their golden retrievers and one of those 70s wooden bowls full of kettle cooked chips. The awards and nominations may not have been expected (Farrelly’s last film was Dumb and Dumber To), but they helped generate interest as they nudged the film into prestige territory.

Besides, you can see that Green Book’s per theatre average is $5,000 which is better than Widows, Robin Hood, Instant Family and Bohemian Rhapsody. If we’re talking about flops on this weekend, Robin Hood is the obvious candidate - it opened at #7 and grossed ~$14 million internationally against a $100 million budget! Based on Harris’ logic, this is the type of film that audiences are really saying they don’t want anymore: modern takes on heroes from the Late Middle Ages (sounds kind of obvious when you put it like that).

No one should have expected Green Book to be a box office juggernaut, it’s an indie racial politics road trip movie produced by (amongst others) Participant Media - a film studio which produces work intended as ‘social impact entertainment’. That is, films creating a conversation and maybe even spurring reflection and change around current social issues. Other recent films produced by Participant Media include Roma, Spotlight, Deepwater Horizon, RBG, Beasts of No Nation, He Named Me Malala, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and The Cove. A wide range of movies - I’m guessing the social impact element of Deepwater Horizon is that you can have too much of a good thing (when that good thing is millions of barrels of oil tumbling into the ocean, suffocating and poisoning everything it touches). Plus Deepwater is interested in OHS (Did you know BP pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter?) 

Participant Media occasionally delivers surprise hits (like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) but produces a lot of smaller budget movies (<$30 million) which barely make their money back. Haha even Deepwater Horizon failed to break even (budget including marketing, etc. was $156 million, box office was ~$120 million). When a Participant film gets awards recognition (see: Spotlight) their investment in the film multiplies well. Looking at their 2018 films (including Roma and Green Book) this may well be their strategy moving forward. The point I’m trying to make is that not even the people who made Green Book were expecting it to be a box office hit. 

In the Vulture article, Harris’ general argument is that Green Book’s ‘disappointing’ box office showing on its opening weekend indicates that America is over this type of movie. Harris states that there are two types of audience member: white and nonwhite (I’m sure there are lots of people who would take umbrage with being defined as nonwhite but Harris has a point to make about how progressive and non-racist he is so get out of his way), and that of those groups:

The portion of the white moviegoing audience that needs to be handled with this much care and flattery is getting smaller every year, and the nonwhite audience, at this point, seems justifiably wary of buying a version of someone else’s fantasy that it has been sold many, many times before...  

As one person commented on the article on Vulture:

More from Harris:

There were loud critical complaints that in Three Billboards, the black characters were plot devices, abstractions designed to facilitate the growth curve of the white protagonists. That didn’t matter to Academy voters, nor will it matter to some of them that Green Book is a movie that could have been made 30 years ago. But Academy voters themselves, almost 30 percent of whom have joined only in the last four years, are changing, too, so who knows? It used to be a certainty that you’d never go broke selling white people stories of their own redemption — and that may still be true. But in 2018, it suddenly seems possible that you’ll never get rich that way either.

Should Harris disclose here that he is a white person? And isn’t a white person like Harris rejecting a trite tale of white redemption itself a tale of white redemption? Indeed, Harris’ prescient savviness to not be fooled by ‘a film which could have been made 30 years ago’ is a stirring tale of white redemption to rival Green Book itself.

(I got all raged up about the coverage of Three Billboards last year as well - you can check that out here.)

ANOTHER ARGUMENT: gReN bOOk iS JusT aN iNVerSioN oF dRivInG miSS dAiSy (and that makes it bad - obviously)

From The New Yorker:

From The Telegraph:

From sore loser Spike Lee:

Green Book, like Driving Miss Daisy before it, tells the story of a black character and a white character who forge a friendship in the face of racial hostility while behind the wheel. (In Driving Miss Daisy, the driver is black, and the rider is white; in Green Book, it’s the other way around.) “I’m snakebit,” Lee continued in the press room. “Every time somebody’s driving somebody I lose.” He paused dramatically. “But they changed the seating arrangement this time.”

(Side note: one criticism of Green Book that’s pretty solid is that the story in the film may not be as truthful as Nick Vallelonga and Farrelly insist it is. These arguments could also be made about BlacKkKlansman, so. Provided I’m not watching a documentary, I don’t care how accurate a ‘based on a true story’ film is. See also: The Favourite.)

From The New York Times:

In the above, Wesley Morris (one of the only black writers I’ve seen cover this in a major publication) makes a really strong argument for the issues with Green Book and other films from the interracial friendship genre:

Not knowing what these movies were “about” didn’t mean it wasn’t clear what they were about. They symbolize a style of American storytelling in which the wheels of interracial friendship are greased by employment, in which prolonged exposure to the black half of the duo enhances the humanity of his white, frequently racist counterpart. All the optimism of racial progress — from desegregation to integration to equality to something like true companionship — is stipulated by terms of service. Thirty years separate “Driving Miss Daisy” from these two new films, but how much time has passed, really? The bond in all three is conditionally transactional, possible only if it’s mediated by money.

(FYI, the third film he’s talking about above is The Upside.) Morris actually seems to like Driving Miss Daisy - but he is openly disgusted by Green Book:

The movie’s tagline is “based on a true friendship.” But the transactional nature of it makes the friendship seem less true than sponsored. So what does the money do, exactly? The white characters — the biological ones and somebody supposedly not black enough, like fictional Don — are lonely people in these pay-a-pal movies. The money is ostensibly for legitimate assistance, but it also seems to paper over all that’s potentially fraught about race. The relationship is entirely conscripted as service and bound by capitalism and the fantastically presumptive leap is, The money doesn’t matter because I like working for you. And if you’re the racist in the relationship: I can’t be horrible because we’re friends now.

As a plot device, I think the point of the money or the job is that IRL people from different worlds and communities just tend not to meet. That’s true now - in what other context aside from work, dating apps or maybe sports would you meet people even from a different suburb? Logistically, how do you get them in a room together? There are still real class divides in the world - I went to a very fancy private school with an indoor pool, an equestrian centre, a ‘wellbeing centre’, etc. which is based in Corio, one of the most disadvantaged suburbs in the state. Very few (no?) families in Corio could afford to send their kids to our school. I have no friends from Corio. Probably no friends from ‘working class’ families at all. I work a white collar office job so I don’t meet working class or long-term jobless people at work. I live in a gentrified inner-city suburb. What would be the set-up to get me in a room with a person from a disadvantaged background? Would I be doing volunteer work with elderly people? Serving lunch to the homeless? A school teacher at an inner city school attended by refugee children? Would I be a psychiatrist working with a bright, but angry and confused young man? (Hey, Will Hunting!)

In Green Book, our protagonist Tony Lip (Mortensen) is initially v racist, as are most of the people around him - we hear them use slurs, and we see Tony throw out glasses because black men drank from them. As Tony works for Dr. Shirley, they chat in the car - this is really the only black man he’s every had a one-on-one conversation with. Tony also observes the more extreme racism of the South. All of this undoes his prejudices. And Tony and Dr. Shirley learn from each other along the way: Tony to be a more considerate husband, more restrained in dealing with conflict, and more warm and open-minded with people who are different from those he knows - and Dr. Shirley learns to open up, have some fun rather than protecting his pride, etc. Morris is right, initially “[t]he relationship is entirely conscripted as service and bound by capitalism.” Tony took a job. Which is not a bad or unusual thing to do. Morris makes it sound sinister - ‘conscripted’, ‘bound by capitalism’. But working for someone is pretty normal - Morris himself works for The New York Times, bound by capitalism to be a critic for a great publication! It’s not so bad. 

The common criticism is that Tony only changes through exposure to an exceptional black man, a piano virtuoso with a psychology degree, who is, in the film’s portrayal of him, not ‘typically’ black because he doesn’t like fried chicken or popular music. Critics argue that this microcosm doesn’t prove that Tony won’t be racist towards other black people, it doesn’t deal with larger issues of race throughout America - and worst of all, it depicts Dr. Shirley as so lost, lonely, and broken as a person that he chooses to settle for Tony, a recently and possibly only partly reformed racist, as his new best friend.

Sure! Okay! I think when people are from different races, communities, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. are put together, it’s easy for someone who studied post-colonial literature at uni to get into battle mode. But there has to be a non-offensive way to tell a story about people from different backgrounds being in a situation and getting along. Because those situations happen all the time and it’s a good thing they do. That’s why people talk about the value of diversity. And it’s not bullshit. When people who are different get together, it can work and they can learn important lessons from each other.

Morris also talks about Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing:

Closure is impossible because the blood is too bad, too historically American. Lee had conjured a social environment that’s the opposite of what “The Upside,” “Green Book,” and “Driving Miss Daisy” believe. In one of the very last scenes, after Sal’s place is destroyed, Mookie still demands to be paid. To this day, Sal’s tossing balled-up bills at Mookie, one by one, shocks me. He’s mortally offended. Mookie’s unmoved. They’re at a harsh, anti-romantic impasse. We’d all been reared on racial-reconciliation fantasies. Why can’t Mookie and Sal be friends? The answer’s too long and too raw. Sal can pay Mookie to deliver pizzas ‘til kingdom come. But he could never pay him enough to be his friend.

Maybe there’s something innately American about race relations and black history that I’ll never understand, but - is Morris arguing that black and white people in America can’t get on? Closure is impossible?

In this interview with the Associated Press, Mahershala Ali, as the only black person involved in Green Book, clearly felt pressure to defend it:

Ali grants “Green Book” is a portrait of race in America unlike one by Jenkins or Amma Asante or Ava DuVernay. But he believes the film’s uplifting approach has value.

“It’s approached in a way that’s perhaps more palatable than some of those other projects. But I think it’s a legitimate offering. Don Shirley is really complex considering it’s 1962. He’s the one in power in that car. He doesn’t have to go on that trip. I think embodied in him is somebody that we haven’t seen. That alone makes the story worthy of being told,” says Ali. “Anytime, whether it’s white writers or black writers, I can play a character with dimensionality, that’s attractive to me.”

...

“A couple of times I’ve seen ‘white savior’ comments and I don’t think that’s true. Or the ‘reverse “Driving Miss Daisy’” thing, I don’t agree with,” he says. “If you were to call this film a ‘reverse “Driving Miss Daisy,’” then you would have to reverse the history of slavery and colonialism. It would have to be all black presidents and all white slaves.”

Yet the debates over “Green Book” have put Ali in a plainly awkward position, particularly when Mortensen used the n-word at a Q&A for the film while discussing the slur’s prevalence in 1962. Mortensen quickly apologized , saying he had no right, in any context to use the word. Ali issued a statement, too, in support of Mortensen while firmly noting the word’s wrongness.

I don’t want to wade into that whole mess - but it does feel like a kind of ouroboros trap where you want to condemn a word and the people who used it but can’t say the word, so your condemnation and discussion of the word is really neutered. Like when people talk about ‘You-Know-Who’ in Harry Potter. The word still flashes through your mind.

Gah so Ali had to go on The View covering for Mortensen and explaining why we should forgive him for his just-shy-of-unforgiveable mistake so we could all still go see the film without feeling weird. What a horrible position to be in.

A lot of the coverage of Greek Book is from critics who are saying the film is regressive and offensive, that it uses black people as props, that America should be better able to handle its history by now - they don’t even hate it, they feel ick about it. And it’s so unfortunate that Ali has had to hear all of this. In various interviews, Ali has spoken about how long it took him to break out in Hollywood:

“I was exhausted by . . . I don’t want to say the lack of opportunity, but the type of opportunity,” Ali says. “I’d get offers to do two or three scenes, with a nice note from the director. But I felt like I had more to say.”

From a different article:

“Dr. Shirley was the best opportunity that had ever come my way at that point,” Ali said. “You gotta think, a year-and-a-half ago, coming off of Moonlight, which was an amazing experience, but I'm present in that movie for the first third of it. And that had sort of been my largest and most profound experience in my 25 years of working.”

“So to be presented Green Book and have Dr. Shirley, a multidimensional character who had agency, who chose...no one else was doing that in this time,” he continued. “He didn't have to hire a white driver, he chose to hire a white driver in 1962 to be in the south and have a white man opening your door and carrying your bags and for him to be in that relationship, to be the person in power, for him to be as talented and as intelligent as he was, the dignity in which he carried himself with, his own personal struggle to keep his life and things about his life private because for those things to be public, it would not have been embraced.”

Does it sound to you like Ali is trying to convince himself that it was okay to do this job? 

Conscripted as service and bound by capitalism.

About a month after Morris’ article Why Do the Oscars Keep Falling for Racial Reconciliation Fantasies? was published, Green Book won the Oscar and he reflected on the film again, sounding more resigned and sad:

First, for all the changing that’s been reported about the academy’s membership — it’s getting less white and less male every year — it’s not yet entirely reflective of all that change: white and male and, at this point, capable of feeling better about a movie like “Green Book” more than, say, a movie like “Vice,” a fever dream about Dick Cheney... Peter Farrelly makes comedies and this movie, if you’re inclined to find laughs at the friendship at the film’s center, is funny. And the last line is so good and right and pleasing that I actually went for a third helping just to make sure I wasn’t wrong about it all. Only once I start thinking about what and who I’m laughing at do I get depressed...

For reference:

That is toasty warm.

As I said at the top, I don’t think Green Book is a fantastic movie - I just think it’s better than the criticism it attracted. The bulk of the criticism seemed to be mean spirited, referring obliquely to the fried chicken scene, and focussed on Peter Farrelly having a career in broad comedies and therefore not being a worthy match-up for Spike Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, etc. - plus also the obvious laughs to be had from Farrelly being forced to apologise for flopping his dick out ‘as a joke’ on the set of There’s Something About Mary (because haha his penis is so small and gross haha that’s the real joke). Hatred of Green Book has become a fun meme for Twitter. 

I don’t believe Morris is writing this stuff for his own amusement, or to be contrary, or as some kind of performative wokeness. He seems very genuine - he went to see Green Book again just to check he really disliked it. He seems hurt and troubled by the movie. The best I can get to is that maybe I’m wrong for feeling optimistic and liking the kind of movie where everyone can be friends. I am very open to accepting that there is something I won’t ever really understand about racial politics in America - and if that’s the case I may not be equipped to properly defend Green Book. 

(This is someone’s cue to make a movie about an Australian blogger who doesn’t think she’ll ever get American racial politics and then - on a yoga retreat in Texas, in the midst of a bird flu/zombie apocalypse, has to team up with a wheelchair-bound black politician (who was at the retreat to treat herself after a very stressful primary election). And then I the blogger becomes her driver, fleeing the flesh-hungry birds across the Texan plains, heading who knows where, but always squinting into the sun. We’ll They’ll saw the top off a Land Rover and restore a Civil War-era gattling gun to make it a death Jeep and the hair in our their armpits will grow long. It ends with us them howling like wolves and eating raw zombie birds. It will win many awards and annoy much of film twitter because the movie should have been about the black woman’s election and the blogger should have been eaten by the reanimated birds.)

[easyobsession]

DWTS24 Cast Announcement and why Simone Biles won’t win.

Do you feel it? The anticipation, the desire, the lust for shirtless foreign men mixed with the scent of sweat dripping on hardwood?

YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT YOU DO. BECAUSE IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER SEASON OF OUR FAVORITE SHOW WE LOVE TO RIP APART SINCE THIS IS OUR VERSION OF THE GODDAMN NFL.

IT’S TIME FOR MY RECAP OF THE DWTS SEASON 24 CAST ANNOUNCEMENT. BASK IN MY DISPLAY OF EXCITEMENT VIA CAPS LOCK. HERE WE GO, KIDS.

The Guys

BONNOR BOLTON with pro partner SHARNA BURGESS:

To start us off, like a large portion of the cast this season, especially the males, I have no clue who this person is. Apparently he’s a bull rider and model? Because those two things are commonly associated with each other… Anyway, he looks 12 but apparently is almost thirty. Now, if you remember back to season 8, rodeo cowboy Ty Murray (ex-hubbie of singer Jewel, though they were still married at the time) managed to get to fourth place with Chelsie Hightower. Now I won’t take anything away from Ty, but the competition wasn’t incredibly stiff that year outside of the top 3. That being said, it is possible this Bonnor guy (raise your hand if you’ve ever heard that name before. Me either) could turn out to be the next James Hinchcliffe and shock us all (shoutout to James. We love and adore and miss the hell out of you and Shar. #GetMarried). But I doubt it. My expectations are low. Moving on.

RASHAD JENNINGS with pro partner EMMA SLATER:

Please welcome the latest inductee into the Pro Athletes I’ve Never Heard Of Because They Are In Fact Athletes Club! His bio says he’s a running back in the NFL. Wasn’t Tim Riggins a running back on Friday Night Lights? GO RIGGINS! (Shoutout to everyone in Dillon, Texas. #TexasForever) …That’s it for my football knowledge. But congrats to Emma for getting a partner that isn’t old enough to be her grandfather and is actually in good physical shape. He won’t win, but he sure as hell won’t be as bad as her usual partners. Yahoo!

CHRIS KATTAN with pro partner WITNEY CARSON:

I’m never upset to see Witters. I missed her on the tour. This guy’s turn on SNL was before my time, so I’m 0/3 thus far. I’m gonna make a guess based on physique and just first glance (because I wouldn’t be the Lo you all love if I wasn’t a judgmental asshole) and say he’s gonna suck and be out early. Sorry Wit. Enjoy your time with the troupe.

DAVID ROSS with pro partner LINDSAY ARNOLD:

Again, I’m always happy to see Lindsay. We’re up to 0/5 for my recognition of the males of season 24, and we have our second inductee into the season 24 IDK Athletes Club. My knowledge of baseball is limited to the new FOX show Pitch (watch it. Fall in love with it. Obsess with me and my friendys in the #bawson tag. And yes, that is Mark Paul Gosselaar from Saved By The Bell. Zack Morris is a sexy motherfucker with that beard. #ShamelessPlug) but he seems like a nice guy. Horray for the MLB finally getting someone on the show. Or really, I’m sorry to the MLB for finally getting someone on the show. Moving forward.

MR. T with pro partner KYM HERJAVEC:

I KNOW THIS ONE! YOU GUYS, I KNOW WHO THIS ONE IS. And Kym is using her married name! (BTW, sidenote, I’ve started watching SharkTank and now adore Robert. Just sharing #Sharkaroo) Anyway, I think we all know how this is going to turn out. Lord help us. And I’m already sick of hearing that catchphrase.

NICK VIALL with pro partner PETA MURGATROYD:

Sigh. Yes, I know this one too. First of all, let me say welcome back Peta. We’ve missed you and couldn’t be happier to see you back on our screens. However, I’d rather see her with damn near anyone else but this guy. Am I watching this season of the Bachelor? Hell no, and Nick is the reason why. I didn’t watch his seasons of The Bachelorette- I actually have only seen a handful of seasons, but I’m aware of what’s gone on. And I’m opposed to him being the Bachelor for two reasons: #1. It should’ve been Luke. And #2. He’s a dick. Go ahead and try to convince me otherwise. I’m waiting. He won’t be great, and hopefully he won’t be around long. Sorry Nick, yet again you’ll be sent home with only your hand to console you. BUH-BYE NOW.

The Girls

SIMONE BILES with pro partner SASHA FARBER:

Another sigh. Am I excited she’s on the cast? Yes. Will she do well? Pointless to even answer. Am I excited to see the routines she does and how epic her partnership with Sasha will be? Of course. But I’m 95% sure she won’t win and here’s why: it’s also why I’m upset she’s on this season: they can’t and won’t have two identical winners directly next to each other. Simone isn’t even just a gymnast like Laurie, she was literally on the same team and is damn near a carbon copy. Is that a bad thing in life? Hell no. She’s tiny, adorable, and too precious for planet Earth. Make no mistake, I’m in love with the girl. But Simone winning would be almost an exact repeat of last season, which I do not think TPTB (sorry, I mean “the public voters” O.O) will allow. This is why when directly after the Olympics Simone said she couldn’t do the fall season of the show because of other commitments but would love to do the spring season, I was concerned when they announced Laurie. It’s like when Riker Lynch competed and his sister Rydel (shoutout to R5 for being fucking rockstars. Also, #TeamRallison you are missed) said she’s wanted to do the show for a long time, I said even if her schedule worked out it would have to be several seasons before she competed because having siblings back to back is too similar. So really it’s unfair to Simone and unfair to Sasha as well that she’s competing this season, because it’s an almost guarantee she won’t win despite the fact that we know she’ll be one of the best on the floor. Will she make it to the finale? Of course. But I sincerely doubt she has a real shot at getting the mirrorball.

CHARO with pro partner KEO MOTSEPE:

Okay. I get it. With a lot of the male vets being gone, it makes sense that Keo would get another shot as a pro. Plus, in this scenario whether or not he’s a great teacher doesn’t really matter. Do I know who this woman is? Yes. And…I don’t think I need or want to say much more. Godspeed.

ERIKA JAYNE with pro partner GLEB SAVCHENKO:

The Housewives is actually one of the few reality shows I don’t watch, primarily because I simply don’t have the time. So I have no clue who this woman is. I have a feeling she’ll be similar to Kim Zolciak, who I also did not know during her run in season 21 but quickly fell in love with and still follow on social media to this day. So who knows? I’m open to it and wish her well.

NANCY KERRIGAN with pro partner ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV:

Nope. Don’t know her either. But I remember when poor Dorothy Hamill, another former Olympic skater, back in season 16 was tragically forced to drop out of the competition in week 2 due to injury. Dorothy’s first performance was epic though, and she and Nancy seem somewhat similar in build, so… perhaps this could work well. If nothing else, we know the Olympians know how to train. Again, I wish her luck. Let’s see how this goes.

NORMANI KORDEI with pro partner VAL CHMERKOVSKIY:

I will be honest: of all the members of Fifth Harmony, Normani is not my favorite. She’s actually 4/5 for me, and yes, I still count Camilla. But I’m open to new things. She seems cool. And just because she isn’t my favorite member of Fifth Harmony doesn’t mean I don’t like her, she’s just not my fave. I’m excited to get to know and love her. I think she’ll be great. I look forward to seeing her partnership with Val. I’m good with this.

HEATHER MORRIS with pro partner MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY:

OH MY HELL KIDS, HERE WE GODDAMN GO. “Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?” “Whenever I pray, I fall asleep.” “Mr. Schue, is he your son?” “When I pulled my hamstring I went to a misogynist.” “It’s a male duck.” “I’m pretty sure my cat’s been reading my diary.” “She’s the one they made me talk to when they found out I was keeping that bird in my locker.” IT’S BRITTANY MOTHERFUCKING S. PIERCE. Yes she toured as a dancer with Beyoncѐ. Yes she knows how to not just dance, but slay. Is it fair? Probably not. Do I care? Find my fucks, I dare you. This is my girl, this is my pick, this is it. The end. I’m sorry Simone, honestly I am and I wish to hell you weren’t in such a shitty position, but this is my One. Mic drop. I’m done.

The Troupe and Missing Pros

Again, sorry to see Mark absent, but he’s moved on and seems happy so good for him. I’ll miss Allison like hell and wish both her and Jenna well in whatever they’re doing next and hope to see them return at some point. Meanwhile, I’m popping bottles and toasting because #MANTISLESS24. Make it trend! Watch me work! PS- welcome to the newbies in the troupe. Mama’s spikin’ her Dr. Pepper tonight. YES INDEED!

Predictions

EARLY EXIT/THANKS BUT NO THANKS: Charo, Chris, Mr. T, and possibly Bonnor (he could go middle and surprise us).

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD/AT LEAST YOU TRIED: Nick, possibly David, Nancy, Rashad, possibly Erika (she could go lower. We’ll see if she’s more Nene or Kim).

GOING ALL THE WAY/LOVE ON TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD: Normani, Simone, Heather. Final 3, I’m calling it now. Unless they end up shocking us and letting Simone have it, I’m gonna predict Heather takes the mirrorball, Simone gets second, and Normani lands bronze. I know Amber Riley won back in season 17 and Heather winning would be the second Glee star to win, but I don’t think that matters as much as two Olympians from the same team winning back to back. That’s my prediction as of now.

I’ll be on vacation in DISNEY WORLD (yessir, let’s go Mickey) for the premiere but I will of course check out the routines online that night. I’m coming home Tuesday so within the next day or so I’ll watch the whole show and either write up something for this blog or toss out some tweets. Keep an eye out.

And that’s it! Season 24, it’s on. I thought for quite a while over the break that last season was season 24, so there you go. Big shock, I have no idea what’s going on. What else is new?

Feel free to join the discussion and hit me up on social media which has changed since last season- I am now @lauthom93 on Twitter and Instagram. You can also comment on this post, check out my ask box, or send me a message. I’m always down to talk. :)

You all know what time it is. Say it with me:

Until next time, love, hugs, and inappropriate gestures. <3

I love you guys to all the moons and back.

-LO.

[teenwolfpotential]

Season Facepalm Ep. 10

Overall, it still felt pretty paint by numbers.  It felt like they were trying to hit these emotional chords and I could see those attempts, but I couldn’t feel it.  It might be that at this point the season was so haphazard that I just couldn’t get into it enough to really identify with the emotions.  

There was a good amount of humor that hit correctly this episode, though, and that was nice.  Having all the characters finally come back helped, so at least I wasn’t wondering where they were all episode.

The plot seems as holey as ever though.  They tried to explain a few things, but some of those things still contradict stuff that happened earlier in the season.  I also have no clue at all what the point of the Wild Hunt is supposed to be when it’s not hijacked, how the Nazi alpha hijacked it effectively, and how the Hunt was stopped from entering the real world, but I kind of figured it would turn out that way.

General

I’m glad they suddenly remembered that everyone existed this episode

glad we finally remembered that Corey can move between worlds although it would have been more helpful earlier before Corey was taken and in fact it was used for very little useful in the end

so glad they finally acknowledged the difference in how time passes in the train station vs the real world, it would have done more good to explain why they kept not returning to the characters that were taken if they had acknowledged it earlier, but oh well

so glad they gave some sort of explanation for why Stiles didn’t meet up with everyone else, but it also begs the question why Stiles happened to be in the right room where all the action with the Ghost Riders and portals happened, it also doesn’t mesh with how Stiles tried to escape and just kept looping back into the same room and didn’t find any other rooms no matter where he tried to leave from

Ghost Riders

there seem to be a lot more Ghost Riders than I would have thought, seems kind of hacks

the Ghost Riders continue to seem suddenly super easy to beat by any and all methods compared to how impossible they were to fight earlier in the season

the Ghost Riders’ powers are pretty useful when the worlds are merging and shooting someone just ends up slightly displacing them in the regular world, not that I want the protagonists to die, but it would have been much more effective to kill them the regular way...  

they’ve diverted their problems to another town? why does diverting the train fix everything and make it all go away?

since they never explained how any of the Ghost Rider stuff works, I still have no idea why the train could even be diverted to start with, how the worlds were being merged, what the purpose and origin of the Ghost Riders is supposed to be when they’re not corrupted, how the Nazi alpha werewolf (still hurts) called the Hunt and kept it trapped, or anything else, but hey, at least I know his motive for wanting to make the Hunt his supernatural army in the real world, that’s something

Nazi alpha werewolf becoming a Ghost Rider and the Ghost Riders leaving after they were free of him was a neat way to wrap it up (so that Scott didn’t have to kill... yet again, not even Nazis apparently), but if they don’t have a leader, why were they ever under his control in the first place?

I’m guessing some of this was maybe explained a little at some point, but it’s all so jumbled that I couldn’t remember if I tried, not sure why they assumed remembering Stiles would magically fix everything either, pretty sure they proved themselves wrong on that

PSA

jumping onto a horse from a height is so not okay, that’s animal cruelty

people need to stop walking in the middle of damn train tracks, especially ghost ones, a train is likely to come out of nowhere and just splatter anyone on the track

Stiles

mostly I’m just damn relieved that Stiles and his dad both made it through the show alive, I’m already halfway considering not thinking of anything in season 6 as canon, but I’m positive that I’m not going to pay attention to the second half so I’m declaring Stiles’ dad safe

I very much approve of Stiles’ reappearing in his jeep

so glad Stiles used liquid nitrogen to hose down Parrish, nice callback to the fire extinguisher he used with Scott, I checked and it actually is something a hospital might have on hand

another tally for my Stiles at gunpoint list

add another to my count of Stiles’ head trauma incidents, that makes something like 6 or so, Teen Wolf Season 7: Stiles’ Long Term Brain Damage!

record for shortest time between getting back to the real world and getting taken again: Stiles, followed closely by Nishi from Gantz

still not 1 single positive interaction between Stiles and any version or fake version or hallucination of his mother, Stiles giving his jeep to Scott kind of feels like him letting go of his mother and after all the negative things, I’m not so good with that, you never really let go of a dead loved one anyway

appreciated the acknowledgement that Stiles is saving Scott’s butt a lot of the time

I’m well reassured that Stiles’ college is in a part of town called Foggy Bottom, seems right, I’m extremely glad Stiles’ key copies made an appearance, pre-FBI is cool, but I kind of prefer to think Stiles gets all the training he can and then ends up striking out on his own as some sort of supernatural tracker (but only for the bad ones)

Lydia

the fact that Lydia used her banshee scream and it was super effective! against the Ghost Rider threatening Stiles just makes her failure to use it when the Ghost Riders were first chasing Stiles even more baffling

“I didn’t say it back”, “You don’t have to” is an exchange that would make a lot more sense if Lydia were the one that were taken or if Lydia had given Stiles any solid indication of returning his feelings in the past, since she’s the one that hasn’t made it clear while he’s been pining all this time, yes, she kind of does need to say it

Lydia would have been super useful during the final showdown and yet she was separated from the major action like she always ends up being, it made sense before she got her scream working, but now that she’s got it, they should have let her really use it to the best effect

I’m assuming that Lydia is headed off to college with Stiles and won’t be on the show anymore since she’s in Boston?  and so she doesn’t get to say goodbye? we just get Mason and Liam saying goodbye to Stiles and Scott?  or just Stiles?  it seems rather unfair that Stiles gets to say goodbye to people, but he and Malia don’t even interact, Lydia didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone, and Jordan is back to pretending he doesn’t know anyone but the Sheriff

Scott

Scott being told he would have made an excellent Nazi Youth 1) seems like a poor choice even as a joke for your main character since a Nazi is seriously comparing the main character to Nazis favorably and has the authority to know what he’s talking about, 2) kind of makes my day a tiny bit even if it’s not really an accurate comparison, but I’ve got so many frustrations with Scott in general that I know will never get addressed on the show

Scott instinctively knows how to use a whip on the first try?

we didn’t get to see Scott reunite with Melissa???

I’m glad they acknowledged that Liam can’t really be alpha unless he kills Scott, but this also further reinforces (not that it was needed) that the way the show treats pack is far too loose and sloppy for what a pack should be, not so much an insult to Scott, but to the creators and writers

Parents and Pack

I kind of got fond of Corey and I’m not really sure how that happened, but I would follow him and Mason as the main characters of a different show probably, Liam came back from war big time, so he’s allowed to come to, and I guess maybe Theo because he and Liam seem to be the IT ship now

I like Hayden on her own, but for some reason I don’t like either her or Liam when they’re together, maybe because they just spend time being goopy

poor Mason, Liam finds the disappeared people and goes straight for a kiss with Hayden without so much as a by your leave for his best friend

still not feeling Melissa/Chris, but I’ll give them the line “that was so hot” because I like how the parents are allowed to be real people, this is probably my least favorite season for Chris though

I would complain about Peter getting redemption after he’s been a betraying asshole 2 times already, but I’ve always strangely liked him anyway, so I won’t bother being upset, I do feel like I’ve already seen this before about 2 episodes ago though

I give credit where credit is due, Theo saying Scott’s got a pack, Malia adding that Theo’s not in the pack, and Peter popping up to declare that he’s also not in Scott’s pack was pretty great

[furiousharmonykryptonite-blog1]

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"Frederick Maryland Cheap car insurance quotes zip 21705

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Looking to buy a jet-ski, just want to know about how much the insurance is, also how much the registration is in California, if anyone nos thx.""

How to approach a car insurance company to pay damages to my car?

Okay, I was involved in an accident a month ago. I was at the train station attempting to street park, I saw a car parked in the middle of the side walk and a private house driveway, I looked very carefully and no one was in the car, as I was backing up into the parking space I felt the impact on my passenger side back door, I didn't know what it was until I realized the car on the driveway had backed up into my car. The driver stated that he saw me attempting to park when he was walking to his car but he thought I saw him getting into his car, he said he was in a hurry and was late for work and I should have waited for him to get out first (he had a big ego). I never saw anyone in the car. I am the kind of person that I would have waited and then proceed. Meanwhile I only have liability coverage. My insurance company said that he was at fault- they will not pay for his damages $800. His insurance co. wont pay for mine because they said is 50 - 50 faults, my damages are $1,800 door damages estimated by the other driver claim adjuster. I dont have $1,800 to spend in fixing my car. 2005 Nissan Altima. How can I fight the other party insurance co. to pay for my damages?""

How will my insurance premiums be affected?

I got into a minor fender bender. No scratch on either car but the person I hit (I rear-ended them) is claiming that I caused their airbag light to go on. Now they are going through the insurance process and it is not known yet whether they will claim against their own insurance company or go through mine. How do you think my insurance premium will be affected by this? Thanks for your help.

""Which is better for car insurance, Go Compare or Confused.com?""

Which is better for car insurance, Go Compare or Confused.com?""

What to do with my auto insurance?

hello I plan to give my 18 year old daughter my car and I plan to get another car. Does anyone know how does this work. I mean I not only will be putting her on my insurance but I will be adding another car. Will I have to pay double because of this? Or would it be cheaper for her own insurance and if I should leave the car I am giving her in my name or put in her name?

Where can I get the third party insurance?

I am travelling in New Zealand and I am looking for a temporary third party insurance policy. I am a non resident of New Zealand and was wondering if anyone knows where i can get an insurance policy?

How much does a broken wrist cost after insurance?

I have a paper from school and in it I must in include all details of a situation. My story line includes a child breaking their wrist. I was wonder what someone would have to pay after insurance? If you could help me be detailed as much as possible like how much would it be for like x rays, doctor visits, medicine, etc. I've never broken anything so Im a bit lost. Even just a average estimate would be appreciated.""

Trying to find good dental insurance?

I've been looking and the best one I can find is a broker. They offer a bunch of plans and the cost is really affordable. Any suggestions? ...show more

What do you tell your work when you lose insurance ?

One of my best friend no longer has insurance because she can't afford it, andshe doesn't know how to tell her work. I though she needed to do something with her W2 but I don't know for sure, all I said is I think she needs to go in and ask to change it?""

Roughly how much will my insurance cost? (New driver)?

I am a 17 year old female, I am thinking of getting a car If I got a 1999 VW Polo and registered myself and my mother (who has held a full license for over 10 years) as named drivers, roughly how much will my insurance cost? I was hoping about 500? Is that unreasonable? Thanks""

Will this affect my auto insurance rate?

I accidentally hit a poll, no one was injured. Only damage to my front bumper. I went to a body shop and the estimate is ~$2000. My deductible is $500. Should I go through my insurance or just pay it out of pocket? Will a claim automatically make my insurance go up? I am a 29 y/o married male with a clean driving record.""

What would be my insurance cost if i got a 2010 Subaru RX STi in chicago?

any idea? like a year?

How much is insurance for teens?

Im almost 16 and im wondering cause my parents dont want to pay 300-400 a month. And i do good in school if that cuts costs down.

Dental program for low income families?

Are there any programs that provide low cost/free assistance wit dental? my son needs a badly infected tooth pulled and we dont have dental insurance. its urgent! can someone help?!

Car insurance that covers young people driving other cars?

I'm looking to buy car insurance as my renewal is due on the 30th of Nov, Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will let you drive other people's cars with the owners permission? I'm 20 at the moment and I'm aware that most insurers will only cover 25+ for this benefit but I want to know if there are any companies that offer this to younger people under 21, also if anyone knows of any companies that cover over 21 year olds this will also be helpful as I'm turning 21 during the course of the policy can anyone help me with this?""

What is the point of a health insurance plan if you never met your deductible?

I am 22 and applying for my first health insurance. I do not need much medical services, and want a low affordable premium. However, when I look at sites such as Blue Cross, it seems that low premiums go with high deductibles. I don't think I would ever meet the yearly deductible, and thus, cannot get any health services covered. So what is the point of such a plan? Thanks.""

What company gives cheap car insurance!?

got my test comin up and i plan on passin rollon the 31st hehe i already got me a car its 1.3L and i been lookin around for some insurance online and all gettin realy high price. so just wonderin does anyone happen to know what company gives cheap insurance i know im not gonna get really cheap just if there is a company that does deals for 1st time drivers or like under 25s or something? Thanks

Reason for sudden increase in price on car insurance?

When I bought my car I started paying 1,400 a year on insurance, and the other day I got a letter through the post from my insurance company saying that I need to renew my car insurance since it was close expiring. They said that if I want to continue with the same company I need to now pay 2,000 a year for the same car. I can't seem to understand why there's such a vast increase from my last quote. I haven't had to make a claim and I can't think of anything that may have happened that could result in the price increase. Do insurance companies do this or could there have been something I may have done which has put the price up? Thanks in advance.""

Frederick Maryland Cheap car insurance quotes zip 21705

Frederick Maryland Cheap car insurance quotes zip 21705

""How do I find affordable, personal health insurance at age 54?""

Kaiser would not take me back, after I had lapsed. I am normal, with aches and pains of most anyone, but afraid of being denied coverage at any new application!""

How do you get car insurance if you don't own a car?

Need to know the type of insurance people get when they don't own a car.

""Can i drive clients to appointments etc, i have business car insurance?""

my boss has asked me to take clients to appointments, not sure if this is right as i have only got business car insurance, which is for visiting clients, commuting to and from work, i was told to do a risk assessment as i only told my car insurance it was commuting to visit clients not sure if i will be covered, and many clients are high risk""

What about of 200% my current rates is supposed to be affordable?

The only way the Affordable Health Care Act can be affordable is if Bernanke works those printers even harder then they are now.

Car insurance for teens?

i want to get a 2004 spyder eclipse two door, and i'm on my parents insurance (farmers insurance) because i'm 17, and was wondering if anyone knows about how much it will be a month.......""

My insurance is going WAY up ?

My BCBS of AL policy was $174 per month for a $3250 Deductible. Now, its $303.40 starting in Jan for a $6350 Deductible. Oh, but I get up to 3 $35 vists per year. This is not affordable. In fact, Im considering going without again after having it for 2013 for the first time in 25 years. I expected an increase of maybe 20-25%. Not 75% and such a jacked up deductible. Im still not sure how the subsidies will work for someone like me who cannot accurately estimate their income for 2014. Honestly, it could be anywhere from $15k to $65k. I made $27k in 2011 & 2012 and will probably make $50-55k for 2013. Am I allowed to estimate my income and then the government kicks in every month for part of it and then when I do my taxes it all gets settled and I either owe them more or they owe me ? If I can keep my income below $30k, I might come out ahead with the new plan but Im not sure Im going to be able to do that. Much depends on the stock market. Heck, if I end up earning $18k, I might get my bronze plan for free. 50 year old male. Will be 51 next year. I found a cheaper plan with Humana for $250 per month but Id have to change Drs. Still have not been able to get thru to the marketplace website. But I was under the impression that Humana & BCBS were all thats available in AL. Another interesting thing, If I happen to earn below $10k one year, the government kicks in ZERO. But If I earn $18k, they pay for it all. How does that make sense ? Is there any way to just buy negotiated rates and not insurance ? I can probably handle even a heart attack if I got the negotiated rates.""

Which insurance company in Ireland provides the cheapest car insurance and best service?

Which insurance company in Ireland provides the cheapest car insurance and best service?

Car Insurance?

I just need some really cheap auto insurance for the next 6 months...... The cheapest I've found is ESurance but I've heard that they're known to drop you for absolutely no reason? I don't care about the whole they take forever to get back to you and stuff I just don't wanna randomly be dropped, being that it's only for 6 months....... anyone know anything about esurance? Thanks:)""

Is there some sort of reason that Car Insurance costs so much more in Nevada than it does in California?

Im looking into moving, and I cannot help but notice that the quotes I am getting are, well, DOUBLE what I pay in California. Granted, I am a 23 year old male and have a decent driving record, it is kind of shocking to see liability only coverage quoted at $250/month for my two 8 and 12 year old cars, when Im paying $125/mo. as of now in California for the same 100/300 coverage. Can someone explain this? I have some friends that have moved to Las vegas, with the same shocking increase in premiums... (And yes, I need the 100/300 since I own a home)""

I'm 17 and can't find car insurance for under 2000. Does anyone have cheaper?

what car, insurance company ect? thanks :)""

Rental car insurance?

I am going on vacation, and I need to rent a car to drive. I have insurance through state farm, but dont have full coverage. If I am renting, I would like to have full coverage on the rental car, BUT the insurance from enterprise is WAY TOO expensive. I will end up doubling the price for the week. Does anyone know of any other ways to get insurance for a rental car without going through the rental car agency? I keep hearing about something called Unlimited Non-Owned Car Coverage, but I dont think state farm has that because I dont see it on their website. Any suggestions would be a great help.""

Car insurance for a japanese import?

I am looking for car insurance for a japanese import car and I am trying to find companies which will deal with imports and are cheap. I am only 18 so I know that the insurance will be pretty expensive but if anyone has had any experience with imports at this age and can tell me some companies to try that would be great. The car I am looking at is a Mazda mx-3 1.5i . If anyone knows how to get cheap insurance for this I would like to hear from you. It would be cheaper if I was a named driver and could earn no claims discount but I don't know if any of the companies who do that accept imports. Any help or advice anyone could give me would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Cheap CAR INSURANCE please! (TX)?

im 25 and single and i have a 2008 suzuki car and i drive 2 minutes to my work. can you suggest any cheap car insurance i wanna change my insurance it cost me a lot and a penny is important to me nowadays. (im not broke just want to save and save LOL) im in san antonio, tx""

What is the cheapest car insurance to get for a 22 year old for full coverage?

What is the cheapest car insurance to get for a 22 year old for full coverage?

How much is insurance on a 05-06 chrysler 300c?

I plan to pay cash for it (around $8,000) and since I will only be 17, it will still be under my parents name although I am paying for it. Should I go with liability or full coverage, and how much would each cost?""

How much will insurance go up? ?

How much will insurance go up if you are 18 and just got into an accident with a park car and only hurt there bumper?

Would disability insurance premiums be deductible if you are self employed?

Would disability insurance premiums be deductible if you are self employed?

I would like to know which is the average prize for a scooter insurance?

I would like to buy a new scooter, i don't know yet which one exacly but it' s probably going to be a 250cc or 125cc , prize around 2000 - 3000. I would just like to know which can be the average prize to insure it, as I checked on the net for a quote but all of of them ask me for my details and everything....I am a little bit scared to give my all my details away to an unknown website over the internet, so I was just wondering if somebody could give me at least an idea on the average scooter insurance prize ( I know I know, I am so inexperinced about this things!!! ) By the way, my age is 32, if that makes the difference Thank you very much for your help in advance.""

Should vegetarians be required to pay as much for health and life insurance?

We get breaks for being non-smokers, not taking risks, why not for being vegetarian. It is a healthier lifestyle, for me at least, and why should we pay for the cardiac care of those who eat meat? Very few vegetarians suffer from heart disease - the leading cause of death in America.""

Which company health insurance policy is best?

Which company health insurance policy is best?

Can't we make a compromise between all out socialized healthcare and private health insurance?

Can't we do something like give insurance companies tax breaks for covering x amount of people who earn low wages at a sharply reduced price? Or have a smaller government program only for those who cannot afford insurance?

Is American Family Insurance a good insurance company?

Currently I have State Farm on my car and EMC on my house. I found out I would save money if I switched both insurances to American Family Insurance. I was wondering if this would be a good choice?

Any cheap car insurance company's for first time drivers?

can you help trying to find some cheaper car insurance companys for first time drivers.

How much is insurance on a ninja 250?

i am going to buy one in the next few weeks. i have a clean driving record. no tickets. no wrecks. im 22 years old. i live in kentucky. how much is insurance and what company's are best to get a quote from?

Do I need condo insurance in Florida?

As of Jan 1st 2009, our HOA requires us to show proof of insurance. I believe it is statue Section 718.111 (11). Anyways, I really don't have the money for condo insurance right now. I have read online that the HOA can purchase this insurance for me and then assess me for the balance. I recently moved to Port St Lucie, Fl where everyone is unemployed and foreclosures are so common. Anyways, can they place a lien if I do not provide them with proof of the insurance or will they just lay off for awhile? I appreciate any feedback right now as I am so worried. Thanks.""

Frederick Maryland Cheap car insurance quotes zip 21705

Frederick Maryland Cheap car insurance quotes zip 21705

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/york-maine-insurance-agents-william-burns/"

[3one3]

The Sequel - 843

Sunlight As Disinfectant

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

What a difference a week on the Côte d’Azur makes. Or a week with Juan.... Nah, it’s definitely the sun and the water. And Dirk finding his footing again. She’s like a different person. I didn’t even know she had so far to go before, André realized while he finished his lunch at the table, topside. Christina ate before he got there, and Lukas started eating a few minutes before he did so he was finished already, and the two of them were sitting on the back of the couch in front of him, playing some kind of game involving kisses and funny faces. They were having a blast. Mom was all the metals- bronzed skin, golden highlighted hair, blue eyes the color and luster of oxidized titanium, and Son was all the smiles- happy, surprised, giggly, cheeky, naughty, and delighted. André’s eyes weren’t sore at all but the two of them together were a sight that would have soothed any ailment he harbored. Their laughter wasn’t bad either. He didn’t know his wife could still look that beautiful, and youthful, and happy. It wasn’t like it was all down to her reunion with Lukas. They spent weeks apart all the time. He thought she was really starting to feel better about everything and thus look better before they split for their individual trips, but Christina looked so different to him when he arrived in Cannes that it was almost alarming. She couldn’t have been that close to happiness before. The gap in her vibe was too big.  

She really did feel quite good in that moment, but it really was mostly down to the arrival of Lukas and André. She knew nothing of any special luster, or visible happiness. Having her boys back was just irresistibly delightful, and helped her get over the tearful goodbye to Juan right before they got there. That part of the morning was so dramatic that she wondered if members of Lilly XO’s crew thought she was acting with one player or the other. They watched her go from miserable, sad, slightly weepy girlfriend treating her last breakfast with her boyfriend like it was her last meal ever, to hyper-excited, bouncy, smiley wife and mother welcoming her husband and son aboard for hugs and kisses. Surely her behavior couldn’t have been genuine in both cases. But it was. Christina missed the blondes and they were enough to help her forget that she already missed the Spaniard.

“All right, silly child. Do you want to go for a walk to see the other boats? Lucky and Spence want to get off the boat. There’re big boats that way and lots of smaller ones over there,” she explained to the littlest blonde. They were heading out on the water to spend the night offshore, but had some time to kill before Espen’s plane landed. “Do you want to go see? You can hold the leashes.”

“Okay!” Lukas nodded before flinging himself off the wicker couch, falling down when he landed, and then scrambling to his feet so he could try to catch a dog or two. The terriers were already over the arrival of the rest of their family, and had moved on to waiting patiently under the big table for André to drop some of his fish and vegetables. The chef and the Fonz did a big shop for food and supplies that morning for the week, including all of André’s favorites and requests. He was excited to have access to a gourmet chef who would ask him what to make, rather than visiting the restaurants of gourmet chefs and having the choices dictated to him. He was ready for unlimited snack availability too.

“Wait, I need to put some sunscreen on you or you’ll be a lobster.”

“Just put a hat on him,” Dad suggested.

“Because that does so much for his arms and legs and feet.”

“How long is this walk?”

“We all have short legs. We’re not like you,” Christina pointed out.

“Then wait for me. I’ll go too,” André winked back. She got off the couch and sat next to him on the bench behind the table, and reached up tall to smooch his cheek while he chewed greens in tomato water.

“I guess we can.”

“I like your nails, pretty girl.” The player nodded at his girl’s banana yellow lacquered fingers. The matte topcoat made them stand out. Is that for vacation, he wondered. Because she doesn’t have to ride for like 10 days? “Did you DIY or get a manicure?” She’s wanted a manicure and pedicure since before she moved to Dortmund, he recalled, memories of her longingly pining for the time and opportunity for some minor luxury vivid in his mind. He tried to take her to a nail salon or otherwise get her to go a few times, mostly so that she’d stop talking about it but also as part of his efforts to make her feel at home in Germany. Christina rebuffed the offers because being a mom and a rider and a trainer made having nice nails redundant, and because she didn’t think she’d have much of a reason to wear nice sandals and thus need nice toenails. André was pretty sure she didn’t need ice cream either but that never seemed to stop her from devouring pints of Ben & Jerry’s in thirds whenever she was having a particularly tough day, so he didn’t see why she couldn’t just go get her nails done. He didn’t understand that watching a fresh manicure get ruined, chip by chip, immediately after the paint dries, could be more depressing than bare nails and out of control cuticles.

“I did them myself yesterday while Juan read his John Grisham book to me. It’s totally not a John Grisham book. There were no lawyers. There were stolen F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts in it though, and it was crazy because the place we went for dinner last night is in this hotel where F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed for a while. He wrote a book there.”

“You had a good time with him, huh?”

“Yeah. The place was great,” Christina smiled before ducking to look under the table. A child, at least one dog, and a giant squeaky banana had all come in contact with her leg in rapid succession. There was a giggly chase on.

“I meant the whole week,” her partner clarified about his assessment. They didn’t talk that much about her time with Juan beyond the tick-tock of activities, and even that was basic, surface-level stuff. André didn’t ask about their more private activities, or how Christina felt about anything regarding the other player.

“I had a very good time with him,” she offered up very honestly. Something she took away from her last morning with Juan, and specifically from a conversation with him over fruit and croissants, was the conviction to avoid hiding her feelings and her thoughts on the state of their collective arrangement. There was no plan to sit André down and spill everything she felt following her week with Juan, but she wasn’t going to keep it all inside to protect him either. The Chelsea man impressed upon her the importance of making sure his old friend understood her thinking, and that it would be unfair to make him guess or deduce what she was feeling, or dealing with. “I felt normal again- like...the way I want to feel. You know how I’ve been saying for months and months that I was afraid I’d never get to that again, and I couldn’t even really articulate what that is? I still can’t explain it but I know I’ve felt it, now.” Her words hurt.

“I see.” André kept his words short because he didn’t want to get upset. He stared at what was left of his fish on the plate, and kind of tilted his fork back and forth on one tine beside it. His face fell so dramatically that it could have ended up in the game under the table.

“It’s not just him,” his girl stressed, as hurt by his reaction as he was by her statements. “It’s everything coming together, I think. Dirk was so good, and so effortless. I didn’t have to contrive to get from him what I used to get at minimum, by default. And you and I have been so good lately too, and everything is beautiful here. It’s easy to feel right here,” she added thoughtfully, the sentiment just having occurred to her as she spoke of it. It’s possible that it wouldn’t last at home, or even in London or something. It’s possible that just getting out from under Wife and Mommy duty and into a bikini is a major factor in suddenly finding the me I’ve been searching for since Lulu Schü was born.

“You mean here away from me and our fighting, or here away from our home you don’t really like?”

“Babe.”

“I’m just teasing,” the player replied, his objection half-hearted. “I’m really happy that you’re feeling good, Prinzessin. It’s just a little bit difficult to hear that it takes being alone with another guy for you to get that. I can see it in your face that it’s different. I think I could hear it most days when we talked on the phone too.”

“Yeah but I just said it’s not like that,” Christina reiterated, half whining and half pleading, voice low. “It doesn’t take being alone with another guy. If that were the case, I would have felt right a long time ago. It’s everything coming together.” Being honest was hard. All the things she wanted to tell him were stuck behind a blockade of escalating panic and upset. In the morning she thought it possible to lay out all the specific ways she felt better, and the kinds of things she and Juan talked about in regards to their future, and what they wanted, and what they felt they needed, and all the factors she was holding up against those things for consideration. If her partner’s reaction to the major theme on the top of the page was so upsetting to her, she didn’t know how she’d ever get to the sub-headings and bulleted points. She needed that awful disappointment gone from his face. “I want to stay this way. I want to feel good, and feel like myself- my old self- and whole, and happy, and content, and calm, and all of that, with you. I want it to be the same. I think that’s all that matters.”

“Mommy! Mommy, mommy, mommy!” Lukas shouted from just out from under the table. Lucky was speeding away with the giant banana, followed closely by his brother.

“What, Munchkin?”

“How many?”

“How many what?”

“How many?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“He’s at a stage where he has all these pieces of sentences or questions but he doesn’t put them together very well or have enough of them to make a complete thing of it,” André laughed as his loved ones tried to communicate like two people unfamiliar with each other’s language.

“Daddy, how many?” the child pressed, growing frustrated with the lack of understanding. He was tugging on his shirt in the front and stretching out the big Ralph Lauren polo pony on the chest.

“Six.”

“Six?”

“Yes. Six. Come here.”

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Mom inquired skeptically, reaching over to pick up the newly arrived little boy so she could pass him across her lap to his dad. He’s getting too big, she lamented when it was a struggle to lift him clear.

“No idea. But if you give him an answer then he shuts up or switches to another question. What’s up Mausi?” Dad grinned when he got his hands on his son.

“Banana.” Lukas stood on his father’s thigh and leaned over his plate to inspect what remained of his lunch.

“That’s yellow zucchini, not a banana,” Christina pointed out, assuming he was interested in the yellow vegetable.

“Do you want a banana?” André asked curiously.

“Banaaaana!” Their son stamped his foot and pointed across the sitting area at the dogs having a tug of war with their squeaky banana. It was for a much bigger dog than the little terriers, so it was perfect for them to both hang onto it with their mouths and play-fight over it.

“That’s Lucky and Spence’s toy,” the rider gently reminded Lukas. “They get to play with their stuff, right? You have your own toys.”

“Mommy is the best squeaky toy,” André interjected. He tilted his head to look the little boy in the face, and then looked at Christina too. “I know lots of ways to make her squeak.”

“Ew.”

“Some squeaks are only for me. There are ones for everybody though,” he continued, a growing vein of conspiracy in his tone and in his eyes that matched the water outside the marina. His girl’s blues joined the rest of her features in expressing warning. “Want to help me make her squeak? Want to tickle Mommy?”

“Don’t you-“ She was ready to issue a serious warning against the threat of double-team tickling, and both blondes were poised to disregard it and attack her with their fingers. Her phone began blaring Crockett’s Theme on the far side of the table though, and put everything on hold. It was on ‘loud’ because Christina didn’t want to miss Espen’s call when the nanny arrived at the marina entrance. There was security there to prevent just anyone from strolling onto the valuable boats. She sprang up from the edge of the bench to grab the phone and scurry away before either of the boys could resume their planned assault. It was Juan. “Heyyy, did you forget something?” she asked once she swiped across the screen to silence the noisy phone.

“I just emailed you something,” he told her.

“Okay?”

“Look at it by yourself.”

“What is it?”

“Something for you. Well, for me more than you, but also you.”

“Okay...”

“Don’t be worried,” Juan chuckled. “It’s a nice thing. I called just to say I’m about to turn the phone off on the plane and you won’t be able to call to complain or whatever you’re going to do about it. I’ll be available to hear it later.”

“You’re weird.”

“Have to go. Bye cariñaaaaa,” he said in a singsong voice before abruptly ending the call. Christina peered skeptically at the phone after withdrawing it from her ear. Should I be afraid? What on Earth could it be, she wondered during her pensive hold before giving in and tapping the email icon.

“Is Espen here?” André asked over Lukas’ giggles. The child received his mom’s tickle attack since she was unavailable. Mom mumbled back a “no” without looking up from the photos attached to Juan’s email. He’d been toting around a Leica that was vintage film camera on the outside and high quality digital camera inside. It was small and uncomplicated, and not at all like the entry-level professional camera André picked up in the Hamptons. It was a good size for tourists. He used it, at her urging, to take some pictures of her horses while they were back at the stabling, or on a walk. She saw him snap some photos of his first gourmet dinner aboard Lilly XO too, and of some details of the boat herself. His email included three pictures of the boat’s owner, one of which she posed for, and two of which were candid and new to her. That first one was her and Dirk and a clear plastic cup with what was left of her champagne after spraying it around on the podium. Christina held the cup up like she was giving a toast, and the horse reached all the way out of the grooming stall to try to sniff it. The photo was black and white, and it made her smile. She recognized the happiness in her face, and wonder even, at the animal invading from one side of the shot. He was all wet from his bath so he appeared extra shinny.

The second, more carefully composed and beautifully executed picture was of her leaning on the metal railing near the front of the boat on their second night in Cannes, at sunset. She still had that white bathing suit and the sarong on, and she was talking on the phone. I look soooooooooooooooooo hot, the rider commented to herself, delighted by her shape against the fading oranges and peaches in the distance. She was in focus and little else was. The blurring of everything but her included some lights on boats further down the quay, and even beyond the port, out in the sea. This is nicer than some of the professional photoshoots. Did he edit these? He must have. The ones he showed me every day weren’t this awesome. I don’t think I’m usually this shimmery, she decided after checking out the third image- a shot of her lying on her stomach on a white towel on the deck with her book, a cup with her green juice, and a bag of ice plastic wrapped to her ankle. Her other foot was up in the air, and she was oblivious to the photographer, or perhaps even talking to him over her shoulder. It was impossible to tell. From the baby blue bikini, she knew it was Friday morning but couldn’t remember much else. The whole picture was very bright, almost artificially so, as if I great big set of studio lights were trained on her. Her skin glittered from the sheen of freshly applied sunscreen. Yep, still hot. I love these. He has such an interesting eye for pictures! And it’s like...you can feel how much he likes what he’s seeing through the lens, kinda. Why did he think I’d complain? It’s not like that stupid spy photo, which somehow still hasn’t been posted anywhere that I know of. Wonder if he’d let me post these...

“Watcha doin’ pretty girl? We’re ready for the W-A-L-K.”

“Nothing.” I love them, Christina narrated as she tapped out a text for the Spaniard. “Get the SPF9000.”

“Where?”

“Coffee table.”

“Kiss first.” André stopped on his way to the sunscreen to get a little smooch, already over the discontent from their previous chat. Playing around with Lukas could do that, and his girl was right. It did matter that she wanted to be as happy with him as she appeared to have grown with Juan over the previous week. It was all he could really ask for, and he wanted to believe his long running hypothesis that getting her sorted with Dirk would reap rewards for her in everything, and especially in their marriage. It would be hypocritical to weight Juan’s presence more heavily than the horse’s performance, or the friendship more than the partnership.