#i’m on episode three and the amount of ‘girl what the Hell’s i’ve already screamed out loud

[supercomms]

these little bitches are absolutely deranged! good for them! good for them

[reallivegeekgirl]

StanQuest

Something clicked on in my brain a couple months ago and suddenly Sebastian Stan became the hottest man alive. So I decided to watch everything he’s ever been in. A friend and I called it StanQuest.

Here are my spoiler-free reviews for anyone considering something similar (in inverse chronological order starting with latest works and going back in time. The stars are an overall rating of the work, not of Sebastian’s performance.

This only lists things I could find streaming for free or a price I was willing to pay. It does not count after credits scenes, music videos, or works in which he was uncredited.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) - TV show - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This started it all. I very much enjoyed it. Good balance of humor and action, heart and heroics. I’ve watched it four times already, and will watch it again. Bucky Barnes is my favorite character of his and this is my favorite story of Bucky's so far. I can’t wait to see what he does next. (And I have a lot to say about how they treat his trauma in this show. I’ve definitely written about it before and may again.)

Monday (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one where he gets naked. If that’s all you’re looking for, enjoy. It was a very realistic portrayal of a relationship between two deeply flawed people. It can get depressing. But hey, penis.

The Devil All the Time (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you think Monday is depressing, this movie says “hold my beer”. But something about it is just captivating. It’s really disturbing, and if you’ve ever been screwed over by American Evangelical Christianity it might be more disturbing. Still, I’ve watched it twice. And as much of a bastard as Lee Bodecker is, he also looks really cuddly. He’s just barely in it.

The Last Full Measure (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - You will cry. A lot. It’s based on a true story. Sebastian plays a man who cares more about his career than this weird quest dumped on his desk by his boss, but changes his mind and his heart as he investigates why a war hero was denied a medal of honor 34 years before. Definitely recommend.

Endings, Beginnings (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - One of two love interests in the complicated life of Shailene Woodley’s Daphne, Sebastian is an adorable mess. The editing is interesting and fresh feeling. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean. Fair amount of sex in this movie, and you see his butt. It’s a very nice butt. I’ve watched this one a few times so far.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐ - There is no reason to watch this movie if you’re not familiar with at least most of the rest of the MCU. It plays merry hob with the rules of time travel, and only makes sense if you don’t really think about it. In my opinion, the ending is really freaking stupid comsidering his character’s history, but at least it sets up TFatWS, which was amazing.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) - Movie - ⭐ - If you’re into movies that are creepy but also almost nothing happens for most of the movie, this is the one for you. Sebastian is handsome as hell, but also a complete asshole. As fine as he is, I’m not gonna watch this again. I fucking hated it.

Destroyer (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- I had a hard time paying attention to the plot because it seemed like they made this movie just to get Nicole Kidman an Oscar nomination for wearing ugly makeup and playing a complete mess of a person. It’s a fine movie, and all of the performances are good. Sebastian looks surprisingly good with the short hair and goatee. Ultimately, the plot is depressing and the whole movie seems kind of pointless.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Again, no reason to watch this if you aren’t already familiar with all the movies leading up to it. It’s long and the villain looks like Grimace and a California Raisin had an evil baby. The ending made me scream with frustration that I had to wait until the next one came out. Now I just watch them back-to-back if I watch them at all. It’s not a good movie, but it is part of a long-form story that I enjoy in general.

I’m Not Here (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Another depressing one. Told over the course of one man’s terrible life, it’s a sad account of how much your parents can fuck you up. Sebastian portrays the middle part of the man’s life. J.K. Simmons plays the current day part and unreliable narrator.. Do not watch unless you are fully prepared to be sad for a really long time after.

I, Tonya (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- This movie is hilarious. I mean, the true story is insane and really stupid. The spousal abuse is hard to watch, and Sebastian’s mustache in this is a war crime. But the acting is great and it’s a very engaging movie. The parts that aren’t horrifying are pretty funny.

Logan Lucky (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Watch. This. Movie. Sebastian Stan is only in it a little, but it’s a really fun, clever caper/heist movie and everyone in it is fantastic. I don’t want to say anything else about it if you’re going in fresh. I’ll be rewatching this one a lot

Captain America: Civil War (2016) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you ignore how kind of silly the conflict over the Sokovia Accords is, this is a good Marvel movie. Sebastian gets a lot of screen time because Bucky is the more pressing concern/urgent point of contention than the Accords. Bucky is my favorite character of his partly because of this movie.

The Martian (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I’m watching it(again) as I’m typing this. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. Sebastian Stan isn’t in it very much, but he’s very cute and so is his little story arc. Mostly I watch it because Ridley Scott made a fantastic movie. If you can get your hands on the Blu-Ray, it comes with a ton of extras. They made a very complete story that isn’t all seen in the movie. A lot of it is stuff about Mars, but there are also extra “crew” interviews, so there’s another chance to see more of Sebastian’s character.

Ricki and the Flash (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - He’s not in this very much, but he’s very cute when he does appear. It’s all about the relationship between Ricki and her daughter. Definitely rewatchable. Meryl Streep is fantastic, because she’s Meryl Streep.

The Bronze (2015) - Movie - ⭐ - This is not a good movie. It’s about Olympic gymnastics, so it might be slightly more interesting right now while the Olympics are happening. Sebastian isn’t in it a lot, but his performance is certainly… memorable. Weirdest sex scene I’ve ever seen. Worth watching just for that.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one I can watch over and over. I bought a Winter Soldier face mask for when I need to feel like a badass. Bucky’s story is really sad, but he’s also extremely sexy with the metal arm and determined walk.

Once Upon a Time (2012-2013) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐ - This show is so stupid, but it’s also fun. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that fairy tale characters are real and live in another land. Snow White’s Evil Queen casts a spell to transport a bunch of them to a town she creates in Maine called Storybrooke, and gives them all fake memories so she can be mayor and watch them all not remember who they are. Sebastian plays Jefferson, a.k.a. The Mad Hatter. He’s in a few episodes in season 1 and 2, and doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but he’s really cute and tragic as Jefferson. It probably helps to watch the whole first season just to understand his episodes, but that’s up to your tolerance for weird shit. Note: IMDB says he’s in an episode uncredited, but I’ve watched it and didn’t see him anywhere in that one.

Labyrinth (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐ - Two episodes that tell a complete story. Sebastian isn’t in this one a whole lot, but he is adorable. It’s a strange story about religious stuff and a sort of Holy Grail that’s three books. It’s hard to describe. It’s on Amazon Prime right now, but they’re taking it down August 8, 2021, so watch it while you can.

The Apparition (2012) - Movie - ⭐ - If you like horror movies, you might like this. I did not. From what I understand, it’s not a very good horror movie. Watch with caution and expect it to suck.

Political Animals (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I had to buy this through Apple and watch it on a Mac, but it was worth it. Sebastian plays TJ Hammond, the out gay son of a former American president who is clearly based on Bill Clinton. Sigorney Weaver plays the former first lady and current secretary of state. TJ struggles with addiction and relationship problems. His performance is heart-wrenching. The whole show is pretty great. I wish there was more of it.

Gone (2012) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - More of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. Sebastian has a small amount of screen time as the worried boyfriend. Amanda Seyfried is good. She carries the film well on her own.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you haven’t seen this yet, I’d like to know what it’s like under your rock. This is a movie I can rewatch a lot, and have. I 100% cried in the theater. Sebastian looks fantastic in uniform as Bucky Barnes. This is his introduction and the start of his ultimately tragic story (before he’s saved by his best friend, again).

Black Swan (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Sebastian is barely in this. He’s basically just in one scene in a dance club. But I watched it to try to complete StanQuest, and I had seen it before. It’s a good movie, but might induce some nightmares, depending on what scares you. If Natalie Portman didn’t at least get a nomination for an award she was robbed.

Gossip Girl (2007-2010) - TV Show - ⭐⭐ - Carter Baizen is a little shit. The episodes with Sebastian in them might have made more sense if I watched the show from the beginning, but I didn’t want to. His character is an asshole, but a very cute one.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- The people who made this movie are bad at math, and their rules of time travel are sketchy at best, but it is funny and entertaining. Sebastian plays a ski patrol bro who’s paranoid about the Russians, which is hilarious irony to me. Worth watching if you want to laugh at something dumb.

Kings (2009) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐- Sebastian plays Jack Benjamin, the closeted gay son of the king of a fictional place. It’s loosely based on the David and Goliath story from the Bible. Sebastian is so sad and so gay. His family makes his life a living hell. Ian McShane is a force of nature in this. It’s only one season. I’ve watched it twice. I will watch it again.

Spread (2009) - Movie - no stars - This movie was practically unwatchable. It stars Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche as a romantic couple, I guess? I ended up just skipping to Sebastian’s scenes and only watching those. Still painful.

The Covenant (2006) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This movie is so fuckig stupid, and I will watch it a ridiculous number of times. It’s about magic and teenagers, like The Craft for boys. Nothing about it makes sense. It’s terrible, almost irredeemable, but an evil Sebastian with magic powers is a siren song that will make me steer my boat right into the rocks.

And there you have it. There are a bunch of earlier things on IMDB that I just can’t find or don’t want to pay to rent. Maybe some day I’ll watch them and add them to this list.

[hrh-selene-r]

Beyond Words (4/?)

The Big Sweep

Eight years have come and gone, and it seems that everyone has moved on; Hannah has a new life with a Baby upstate, and even Ray found a bit of happiness in his life, but where does that leave Adam? Still in the same apartment with the same problems. Now, feeling adrift in the stagnation he finds himself in, Adam will try to break old habits and  see if he can grow-up. Something easier said than done, that is until he meets you.

This is a bit of a post series/retcon picking up from where Adam’s story left off in Season 6 episode 8 titled “What will we do this time about Adam?”

Adam Sackler x Reader

4.5K Words

Warning: Angst, break up, Depression, cursing.

It’s been a week of secret apartment hunting and script reading for any new possible project, but his efforts finally bear fruit. ‘Fucking Ray. Thank god he came through’ Adam thought as he was one the line of his favorite deli just a few blocks away from his apartment. He shifts anxiously as he rehearses in his mind what he wants to say to Jessa when the moment comes.

It’s been a week of secret apartment hunting and script reading for any new possible project, but his efforts finally bear fruit. ‘Fucking Ray. Thank god he came through’ Adam thought as he was one the line of his favorite deli just a few blocks away from his apartment. He shifts anxiously as he rehearses in his mind what he wants to say to Jessa when the moment comes.

‘Jesus. Fuck’ He fixes his hair fidgeting (well dreading, really) the confrontation to come. Her clinginess hasn’t stopped in the least, wanting to go out together, stay in together, have sex in their old haunts; she’s even been texting him more frequently. It’s not that he didn’t like the attention (or the sex), but Jessa’s always been aloof, and independent. If anything, Adam is the clingy one; things used to be so easy before but this change in dynamic was a bit jarring to him, to say the least.

‘She’s just making things harder’

He was a thousand miles away when he finally sat down, and in true Adam fashion, he doesn’t eat, so much as he scarfs down his meal; six eggs (four of them just the whites), and two slices of turkey bacon. It’s while drinking what’s left of his coffee that his phone alerts him of a new incoming text. Fishing it out of his pocket and saw that he had three texts; two from Luke, letting him know that he got the callback for the Jim Anderson play with the details of where it’s going to be, the other asking if he had finished reading another script that he’d sent him.

‘Yesssssss!!’ He cheered on the inside, holding in his urge to scream it out loud. Finally! At least some things were looking up.

The other text was from Jessa, making fun about one of her classmates, with a rather mean spirited snarky remark.

He scoffs a bit after reading it, her smarmy wit coming through her words. It's moments like these that remind him of their friendship, and their shared chemistry. The thought only served to churn his stomach, bringing to the forefront of his mind what he’ll tell her.

‘ “Look Jessa, I’ve been doing some introspection lately, and I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re better as friends and that I need some time apart” Too formal? No….Shit! “Jessa let’s be real, you would’ve left me in a few months anyway, so I’m doing us both a favor” ..’

“Motherfuck!” He hissed under his breath.

He looked at the time in his phone and got up. He has to get going, not wanting to be late to meet his building manager.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The building itself wasn’t too far, it was still in Brooklyn, not like he could afford anything more upscale, and even then, rents in the boroughs were outrageous; gentrification saw to that. But for all the artisanal ice cream boutiques and organic green tea, there’s a charm in Brooklyn that has captured his heart; for now, this was home. This place has seen his loves and loses and has seen him at his worst and at his best.

Adam walks up to the front steps where a woman is sitting on the stoop, seemingly waiting; looking at her phone as she does so. She looks up and sees him in the eye, causing him to look away awkwardly to avoid her thinking he was a creep or something, but her gaze was more curious than anything.

She tilts her head sideways to get a better look at him. “Adam?”

‘Do I know her? Oh fuck, have I fucked her?’ he thinks, his mid going through the roster of girls to see if he knew her from somewhere. “Yeah?” he asked cautiously after his mind came up blank. He doesn’t know her....at least he thinks he doesn’t know her.

“I’m Jaime. I’m the building manager? My dad probably told you about me when he showed you the apartment.” She explains, hopefully jogging his memory, as she gets up to face him.

“You’re Jaime?” He asks, taking a good look at her. Her hair is long and dark up, reaching up to her waist; her body, clothed in oversized jeans and a black tank top, is skinny but not too skinny as to make her look malnourished, her complexion is dark, coupled with deep brown eyes, a wide nose full glossy lips and a beauty mark above her left eyebrow.

“Yeah, were you expecting anyone else?” she smirked haughtily at him, making him to quickly reply out an answer to avoid any embarrassment.

“No! I just thought that I’d be meeting your dad.” he corrects himself and holds out his hand to shake her hand in greeting. She responded in kind, extending her hand to shake his. Her hand was adorned by wide silver rings in her fingers, her nails were decorated with an orange nail polish that was mostly chipped away.

“He got held up, asked me to do it. Legally I can, as the building manager. So, you ready to sign?”

“Uh, Yeah.” he answers her as she gestures for him to follow her, leading him up the stairs to what will be his new apartment.

Climbing three flights of stairs, standing in front of a door marked ‘3A’, Jaime places the key in the lock and opens the door before gesturing for him to go in.

The apartment itself was big, or big for New York standards, at least, It was a one bedroom apartment, complete with a separate living room, the bathroom was down the hallway, and with a small kitchen right next to what could be converted to a small dining room. It suited him. The apartment was eerily reminiscent of the one he lives in now, the most remarkable difference is that the kitchen has a separate countertop for a bar, not to mention that the living room was roomier, with a tall window providing the space with a good amount of natural light.

It was thankfully in his budget, and that’s what mattered to him the most, nevermind the fact that he basically found an affordable apartment with this much space; which to be clear, is nothing short of impossible.

The pair start to walk into the empty living room space. “You’re lucky you were able to snag this place. We haven’t gotten the word out yet, or anything about this place. So you got the exclusive first look.” Jaimie mentions as she walks to the kitchen counter, grabbing the papers and the pen.

Not knowing how to respond to her and him having his own special brand of social skills , Adam just answers with a simple “Yeah.”

“If anything you’re lucky you know Ray, being on the city council makes you meet a lot of people in the community; and stick-in-the-mud Ray knows a lot of people.” She smiles at him.

“Yeah well we’ve been friends for a while, now.” He replies to her with a polite smile back.

“Yeah. Anyway, this is the contract.” Jaime changes the direction of the conversation to the issue at hand, sliding the contract file in his direction with a pen in her hand.

“Sign here, and here….I need initials here.” She directed him as he started to sign the papers, trying to keep up with her quick directions.

Once it was finished, she handed him a stack of papers. “Okay, so this is your copy of the lease, and these are your keys. Heads up.” She dangled the keys before throwing them in his direction for him to catch, moving towards the exit to leave to the privacy of his new place. Stopping at the door, Jaimie looks back to face him as he turns around to face her.

“So you already know my name. Rent’s due on the first. If you need anything, my apartment’s on the first floor; apartment ‘1B’. If you need me but I’m not in, just slip a note under my door. ‘Kay? Any questions?”

“Uh, nope.”

“Then it’s a pleasure to meet you Adam Sackler. Welcome to the building.” With that she gave him a small smirk and waved goodbye, shutting the door behind her on her way out; leaving him alone with his thoughts in his new apartment.

It’s official now, he can’t put it off anymore. He’s following the advice Ray gave him; hell, even Josh said it. Here, in the emptiness of his new space, in the bright white light of day, he finally sees what he’s been avoiding for so long.

He loved her, he cared for her, but was he ever in love with her?

He was just as quick to get back to her as soon as he realized that things with Hannah wouldn't work out. He quickly left Jessa once he found out that Hannah was pregnant and….’I don’t know.’ ‘Maybe I’m with her ‘cause it’s easy...I’m so fucked up!’ Adam furiously scrubbed his face with both hands, breathing deeply and exhaling through his nostrils.

Alone, in the middle of the empty apartment, bathed in the light from the windows, he knew. It was just like that time; he knew what he had to do.

It was time to rip the band-aid off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later in the day, after doing a few errands he had to do for the new place, Adam was standing outside of his (old?) apartment building. Looking at the window of the apartment, he takes a deep breath, gathering his bravery to face the situation.

He makes the journey up the stairs, and opens the door. The apartment is empty, judging by the hour, Jessa’s probably still in class. Taking advantage of the circumstances, he starts packing up his things; his mind making a list of the things to take with him .

‘My clothes, books. It's a good thing I don’t have a lot of stuff. I can buy food, and I already got a bed taken care of. I’m gonna have to come back for my work out stuff, my weights and the bench at least.’

Little by little Adam starts to take his favorite things, taking his time to consider what to leave behind. A practice he’s by now well-used to.

The front doors opens and in walks Jessa, her hair in a bun, wearing a loose red tee shirt with denim blue high waisted jeans, the bags in her hand suggest she bought something.

“Hey you in?!” Her voice rings through the small apartment, reaching Adam’s ears, causing him to freeze, inwardly flinching in anticipation of what’s to come. ‘Time to face the fucking music. *sigh*’ He moves out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to find her putting things away on the fridge.

“Heeeeeey.”

“I brought some groceries since the fridge was empty.” she told him casually, her head buried inside the refrigerator as she took things from the bag and placed them inside.

“You have a good day?” His stance is awkward, his hands behind his back as he debated on how to best start the conversation; break it to her while hoping to god that she takes it well.

“Not bad, Nancy is a fucking cunt, but that’s just her. Either way…” Jessa approaches him, pulling him for a kiss, smiling as she does so “She’s just irritates me, so...how was your day?” Her hands run through the familiar course of his chest sweetly. A small shrug moved his shoulders nonchalantly as he looked at her. Was this really it? “It was okay, I did a few errands.”

Hearing this her brow furrowed a bit, looking into his eyes as he stared at her. “You did errands, what errands? Didn’t you have an audition?”

“Yeah, look can we talk?” He asks as he nervously fidgets, gesturing for them to sit down on the couch. If there’s something that can be said about Adam is that he’s as subtle as a hammer.

Sitting on the coffee table in front of her, he nervously passes a hand through his hair, trying to find a way to get what he needed to say out. Jessa looked at him curiously, waiting for him to talk but finding herself growing impatient as the seconds passed.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” She urges calmly.

Adam’s forehead wrinkled in concentration, both of his hands pressed against his face as his fingers covered his eyes. “This isn’t something that I wanna have to tell you. I know this isn’t fair to you, especially after the whole thing with Hannah.”

“I’ve been doing some introspection, or whatever, and um...I’ve been going to meetings…”

“You’ve been going to meetings?” She interrupted, concern etched on her her face as her brows lifted before furrowing in thought.

“Yeah.”

“Well. Have you been drinking?”

“No!” He answered urgently. “I just…” Adam’s lips tense into an outstretched line for a brief moment while he finds a way to verbalize his thoughts.

“I’ve been going to meetings and taking time to think….And…” A few seconds pass. “Fuck” he whispered under his breath in a sigh. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that I; that WE..need time apart.” His eyes searched hers for any indication of understanding or sympathy, but they found nothing. Her gaze was blank as she was deep in thought as he spoke. “ Look, this has nothing to do with Hannah. Whatever she and I had. It’s over, it’s finished.” His baritone voice is soft and calm as he tries to sound as serious as possible. In his mind he is an adult trying to have a serious conversation with his partner. Gone is the lovable boyish demeanor he usually carried; replaced with a grim faced man as he leans over to look at her. His elbows rest on his knees and clasps his hands together, giving away his anxiety.

“I never told you how sorry I am for that...and I hurt you. It’s just that, I don’t know if it was filming the movie or if it was just life in fuckin’ general, but I was reminded of what Hannah and I had. I felt it, so I felt that there was too much history there to not try and set things right. To help her, and be there for her.” The sound of his voice reverberated through the small apartment as he looked at the floor. “ But we’re too different now and want different things. And...Now I feel like I need some space to figure shit out alone. Not just for me, because I really do care about you, Jessa.”

Jessa looks at the ground in silence, not wanting to look at him in the eyes and see her worst nightmare.

“I’m gonna be moving out, take the time to focus on my life. You can stay here, keep most of the stuff. I’ll still pay for your classes. I meant what I said.”

Jessa nods slowly, pursing her lips while processing his words.

“Okay...if that’s how you feel.” Her tone is a bit above a whisper, feigning understanding in her short words. She shrugs her shoulders and crosses her legs on the couch with a nonchalant expression. Like everything else, nothing fazes her.

Adam scoffs at her response, unable to believe how she can be so calm while he was essentially breaking up with her. No, he saw what this was. “ Oh, come the fuck on Jessa, this is just like last time. Do you seriously not give a fuck? I know you feel something. Get angry; hit me, throw something at me. For fuck’s sake, it isn’t good to bottle everything in...Just tell me how you feel.”

A deep sigh went through her nose, her eyes showed that something was beneath the surface as she shakes her head slightly and looks at him. “What do you want me to say? You haven’t done anything wrong. You’re communicating; and if this is how you feel, then there’s no point in fighting against it.”

‘Un-fucking-believable.’ Adam moves his left hand towards his cheek, lightly scratching at the hairs in his stubble. “That doesn’t mean that you’re not feeling anything; that your feelings aren’t valid.” He lets out a breath of frustration as he realizes that she put up her walls to him and she won’t budge. ‘The hitting and screaming would’ve been better.’ “Fine.”

Keeping with her attitude, Jessa clicks her tongue and leans back lazily before asking the dreaded question. “So when do you move out.”

“I was thinking about leaving today.”

“Oh...so you have a place to stay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. My stuff’s mostly packed, and I’ll come back for the rest later...But I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“Adam, stop worrying! You’ve done nothing wrong. If you feel you have to do this; you gotta do what you gotta do.” A sardonic smile graces her face. She makes everything sound so simple; black and white.

He gently grabs her tattooed wrist in his large hand and looks deeply into her green eyes, trying to find a way to get through to her, to really talk to her.

“Hey..I still care about you. okay?” He told her gently, almost as if she were a child.

“Yeah.” Her response was short and curt.

Her walls remain up; impenetrable in their might as she refuses to show him, to show the world an ounce of vulnerability. A defense mechanism that took years in perfecting. An aloof facade she shows the world.

Jessa moves to get up, leaving him alone. Adam’s well aware that this was just a front, Jessa hasn’t changed,. He couldn’t tell how bad it was, but he’s doing this for her too. He knew it’d be worse if he stayed.

No other words were said as she sat crossed legged in their bed, smoking a cigarette while he finished packing. In the back of her mind she wonders if this is what being in a relationship is really like; being off and on, having that person come in and out of your life….It’s what her father did. ‘No’ She knows that’s not true. She’s seen people get married, have families and be happy. And besides, Adam’s not remotely like her father, he’s not like the previous men in her life. He’s different.

She moves to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass or orange juice, pretending that nothing is wrong, desperately trying to ignore his presence. She found it unbearable to watch as he left her for a second time. This time she’s more aware of her feelings for him, and she dreads what will become of them, of her while watching Adam go in and out of the apartment; getting his things downstairs.

He tried to be as quick as possible; throwing this mindlessly into garbage bags, making sure he took only what was important to him.

The hardest part about breaking up is trying to leave and stay on good terms. And he’s attempting to do just that. He figured that if he could do it with Hannah, maybe it was possible with Jessa.

Adam reached into his pocket and fished out his keys, he placed them on the counter beside the sink.

“You take care of yourself, okay?” He said awkwardly, looking at her one last time. His mouth is etched in a pout and his eyes are sullen at her lack of reply, but he still waits a few seconds for her, almost as if he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t even look at him as he made his way out of the apartment.

Closing the door behind him, Adam takes a moment to just stand there, his mouth still set in a pout, his brows furrowed as he feels the weight of what’s happened.

Both lovers stand on either side of the closed door, each hoping that the other would take a step forward to open the door; to go back to the other, but neither one does. Adam stays there, feeling the guilt over what he’s done slowly spread; lamenting not just the loss of his lover, but the loss of his best friend.

‘It had to be done. There’s no point in staying anymore.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside of the apartment, Jessa just stood there, staring at the door; willing him to come back to her. Her face morphs from boredom to one of pure heartbreak. Her eyes start to water as her breathing changes to an erratic pace.

In the cold emptiness surrounding her, she couldn’t pretend anymore. Her mask vanishes, revealing the abandoned girl underneath, watching as her friend walked out of their home and her life.

This time she can’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt; can’t deny the devastation she feels as her world blurs. She places the palm of her hands over her eyes as the tears overflow.

‘He’s done this before, and he came back; he’ll do it again.’ She reasons in her desperation, clinging to the idea that Adam will be back, that this is just a pattern. Because the alternative would be to accept that he left her for good.

‘Fucking Hannah!’ As she cries her thoughts become more chaotic. ‘Don’t go. Don’t do this to me.’ Her inner voice cries as she slides slowly towards the floor, bringing her knees towards her chest.

‘This is just how he is.’ She reasoned, still expecting him to come back, her mind repeating his last words over and over. He did say he cared about her, he still loved her; but as she continued to reason his return, a small part of her feared she was just clinging to an empty promise, that she was stupidly holding on to hope...and that he really did leave her.

The silence inside the apartment is maddening, the space is cold; isolated from the world filled only with her small cries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He should be used to moving, considering how often he did in the past eight years, but no, it was always a bitch. And the worst part about it? Doing it because of a break up. To say that it was awkward was an understatement, but he needed to end things well off with Jessa. God knows he’s ran into people from his past before enough times to know better. New York may be populated by millions of people, but it can turn into a very small place, when Karma feels like it. It’d be worse if he didn’t do it this way, he’s sure of it.

After getting the last of his things upstairs, he starts unpacking bit by bit. He doesn’t have a refrigerator yet, or a bed for that matter; those come in tomorrow, but Adam has been through worse, and one day without furniture hardly phases him. That being said sleeping on the floor isn’t something he’s looking forward to. Plus, this is what friends are for isn’t it? ...to crash on their couch when needed?

Adam takes his phone out, scrolling through the few contacts saved in it. He could ask Ray; it wouldn’t be the first time he’d stay at his place, especially after a breakup. He could also ask Josh, he had offered his couch to let him crash before; maybe the offer’s still on the table.

‘Screw it.’

He hits on Josh’s contact and places the device next to his ear, waiting for a response on the other side of the line.

“Hey.” Josh’s deep voice sounds through the phone’s speaker.

“ Heeeey...listen, I got a favor to ask, if it’s not too much trouble, or whatever.” Adam started nervously, scratching his head as he talked.

“Yeah, man. Shoot.”

“I broke up with Jessa.” He blurted out. “I moved out.”

There was a slight silence on the line before Josh responded. “Well, shit. Do you need a place to stay? Until you find something?”

“I already got a place. I just need a place to crash until I can get the bed and fridge brought in here.”

“ Well you’re in luck, then. I’m actually on my way back from work. I gotta stop to pick up a few things and then I’m headed home.” Josh explained in his easy-going tone; like nothing bothers him at the moment. “ I’ll let Vanessa know; she’s coming over tonight.”

Adam hesitated “ I don’t wanna shit on your plans.”

“ Oh, fuck off. You’re not. Dude, trust me, Ness loves you. She’d be pissed if I didn’t help out. My sofa es su casa.”

Even though Josh can’t see him, Adam smiles at his friend’s words; his teeth peeking out from his lips and the corners of his eyes wrinkle as he does so. “ Yeah, okay. Just let me know when you’re at home. Text me or whatever.”

“You got it. Tonight we’re eating homemade Mexican food.”

“Yeah, Thanks.”

“Alright, see ya.”

With that, Adam hung up, comforted in the knowledge that he’ll be able to sleep in a comfortable, and most importantly cushioned, tonight. At least now he had a place to call his, and by pure stroke of luck, the apartment’s rent wasn’t as high as it could be. He’ll furnish it, little by little. He lives in New York, so someone’s bound to not want a couch somewhere. That leaves the matter of his kitchen. He’d have to buy glasses, plates and food, to at least have the very basics.

‘A bookshelf in the living room. I’ll put my bench in the bedroom...clothes go in the closet, I gotta get a chest or something with drawers..’

He turns to pick up the trash bags storing his clothes, taking them through the small hallway towards his bedroom closet. He’d have to do laundry before the end of the week, he reminded himself as he realized that he was in such a rush to pack everything that he didn’t think that some of his shirts in the bag used to be strewn across the floor of the apartment and stank of sweat.

He spent the next few hours doing what he can, organizing his clothes between what’s clean and what was to be laundered, he took his time to make sure everything was arranged to his liking; a far cry from how he was living 8 years ago. Back when he was an aimless mess living in an apartment cluttered with tools and random pieces of reclaimed wood; when he would rather fuck around with no strings attached than be emotionally vulnerable with someone.

To Adam, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Gone was the aloof fuckboy with an awkward haircut and no direction. Now in his place stands a more empathetic and responsible man.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard his phone come to life, sounding an alert to let him know he had just received a text and prompting him to look for it. Reaching for his back pocket, he fishes out his phone to see a message from Josh came in saying ‘Just got in.’ on the lit up screen. He’d finish unpacking later; now he was hungry, and Mexican seemed like just the thing…

——————————————————

Hey guys, I’m baaaaack!!!! :D

2020 has been a hell of a year, but I still wanted to end it on a good note. So here we have a short but sweet chapter where Adam wants to leave Jessa to focus on himself, but he knows how fragile and lonely she can be and tries to do it gently....Does it work? We'll have to find out. Safe to say, Jessa will be a reoccurring guest star on this show, so we’ll see how Adam handles this and how he manages to move on. So, leave a comment and let me know what y’all think.

Mucho Love and and a happy New year!!😊

Xoxo Selene R

Tag list for some friends (let me know if you’d like to be added) 

@kowalskibro-adamdriverblog @tsarinastorm @alexdaleks @thrivingamidstchaos @klauscarolove @misskitred @ah-callie @sarcasticbitch @jynz-andtonic @oh-adam @commanderbensolo @kylos-wren @adamsnackler @patersonn-kylo @adamsnacc-kler @ellelaconiwrites @that-only-exists-in-my-mind @ktellmeastory @fallinallinmendes @noocturnalchild

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

If You Just Realize

Part Six: Projecting

Summary: After being called to pick up Milena in the middle of the night, the weight of things causes friction between Sebastian and Y/N.  Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader Word Count: 2075 Series Warnings: Death, angst, sadness. Lots of creative licensing, I’m sure. Chapter Warnings: Couple curse words, hospital setting, stroke, light angst/confusion. Square Filled: This entire series will fill my realized feelings square for @marvelfluffbingo​​​. A/N: I’ve much enjoyed writing this series, and I hope all of you enjoy reading it! The tag list is open; requests to be added can be done so here. There are bits and pieces of Romanian throughout the series, mostly from Google Translate and the few things I’ve picked up as I learn the language.

Series Masterlist

GIF Credit

The wedding plans came together quickly. Without anything elaborate in mind, there weren’t a lot of details to work out. The dress had been purchased that afternoon, with Georgeta and Milena’s help before Milena went back to Alice and Tim’s house until the day of the wedding. Y/N’s immediate family and her grandmother would be in New York the day after tomorrow, the wedding would take place at City Hall the day after that, and then they would be married. 

Married. I’m marrying him. Seb’s going to be my husband, Y/N thought to herself as she stared up at the ceiling in the guest bedroom at Sebastian’s apartment. She had explained that she was getting overwhelmed and needed a little space. Sebastian was honest: he was feeling overwhelmed, too, and some space might be a good thing for both of them. 

“Not a bad start to a marriage, as far as honest communication,” Y/N mumbled to herself, trying to get comfortable. Her efforts were in vain, however, and when Sebastian knocked on the guest room door a few minutes before midnight, he only had to do so once before Y/N was sitting up and telling him to come in. He was still in the same t-shirt and sweats he had gone to bed in, but now he had donned sneakers and was stuffing the essentials — phone, keys, wallet — into his pockets. 

He leaned in the doorway then. “Sorry to wake you. Tim Hill is in the hospital; they think he had a stroke. Alice just called me, I’ve got to go get Milena. I didn’t want you to worry if you woke up and I was gone. I guess I could have texted you …”

“No, no,” Y/N assured, throwing back the covers and sliding out of bed. “I was awake. I’ll go with you — if you want.”

Sebastian’s tired half-smile conveyed his relief. Y/N hurried to put on some leggings with the t-shirt she had gone to bed in and push her feet in a pair of sneakers, then followed Sebastian out to his car. The drive to the hospital was silent, and when they arrived, they met in front of the parked car and joined hands without either of them thinking twice. 

“Thank you so much for coming,” Alice greeted quietly. She turned and motioned to Milena, who was asleep on a cushioned bench in a private waiting room. “I hated to wake her and bring her here but hated even more to not come with Tim. I suppose that’s selfish of me.”

Y/N shook her head while Sebastian scooped Milena up from the bench. “Not at all — you should be here. If there’s anything we can do …”

“Coming to get her is a huge help,” Alice sighed. Her eyes were puffy from a lack of sleep and from crying. “I thought I was going to lose him, you know. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Milena whimpered, holding tighter to Sebastian. All three of them focused on her for the moment, waiting to see if the whimpers would become full-on cries, but only a few seconds later, the little girl was asleep again. 

Alice brushed some hair away from Milena’s face. “Get her home and get her to sleep. I know you two have big plans coming up, and I’ll help where I can, but —”

“Don’t even think about it,” Y/N responded kindly, hugging Alice. “You take care of Tim. We’re all in this together, yeah?”

The older woman nodded and shed a few tears returning Y/N’s embrace. With one more reminder to call if they needed anything, Y/N followed Sebastian and Milena back out to the car. 

“Thank goodness you convinced me to keep a carseat in here,” Sebastian sighed. “I can’t imagine trying to figure that out at this hour and under the circumstances.”

Y/N gave him a tired smile. “Just being proactive is all — I’m here to help, remember? I’m doing what I’m here to do.”

Sebastian finished buckling Milena in, then turned to see Y/N still standing behind him. “I’ve buckled her in before, you know.”

“I know,” Y/N smirked, “but you’re also tired and a little worked up. Like I said, I’m here to help. I’m your backup, your support. If that has to be for something as little as getting her buckled into her seat, then so be it. Eventually you’ll learn the ropes and you won’t need me anymore, but for now …”

She trailed off with a shrug. Sebastian gave her half of a smile, gently squeezing her arm and kissing her forehead. 

The call from Philip came mid-morning, before any of them were awake. Sebastian scrambled to answer the phone before it woke Milena. 

When they had returned to his apartment, Milena was asleep in Sebastian’s bed for all of ten minutes before she woke up screaming. Nothing they could think of could console her; her eyes were open but it was almost as though she didn’t see them. It had taken over two hours to get her to calm down, when she finally fell asleep in Sebastian’s bed again, Y/N on one side of her and Sebastian on the other. The two adults had a hard time falling back asleep, waiting to see if the girl would have another episode. 

“Phil, hey, good morning,” Sebastian greeted, checking that both girls were still sleeping before he closed the bedroom door behind him. 

“I’ve got news,” the lawyer returned. “Apparently you’re already aware of Tim Hill’s medical emergency last night. Alice Hill’s lawyer contacted me this morning to tell me they’re filing a motion to delay the case. You’ll be granted temporary custody of Milena. They’re asking for visitation during this time, of course, but it doesn’t look like Tim’s going to be able to take care of himself, let alone help take care of a little girl, any time soon.”

Sebastian drew in a deep breath. “All right so … what happens next?”

“You have Milena now?”

“Yeah. We picked her up from the hospital last night.”

Philip paused. “As long as you allow them to see Milena within reason, we can move forward with legal guardianship, adoption — whatever you and Y/N would prefer. As a professional courtesy, we should keep their lawyer and the Hills informed, but the decision is up to you. There’s no reason why we can’t use this time to build your case.”

He yawned and rubbed a hand over his face, forcing himself to move toward the kitchen and start the coffee pot. “I should probably talk to Y/N/N about that, I suppose, since we’re getting married.”

“So that’s still a thing, huh?” Philip asked on a sigh. 

“Yes,” Sebastian chuckled, “it’s still a thing. I want to marry her, I’m going to marry her. I’ll talk to her when the girls are up and shoot you an email. Thanks for the update.”

“You’ll get my bill,” Philip teased. 

With a quiet chuckle, Sebastian disconnected the call and tossed his phone on the counter. The coffee started to brew, the smell drawing Y/N from bed and into the kitchen. 

“Morning,” she yawned. “You making coffee for one or two?”

“Two,” Sebastian smirked. “Milena still sleeping?”

Y/N nodded, covering another yawn with her hand. “Yeah, she’s out like a light. Lucky girl. We have to keep an eye on those terrors — maybe ask Alice if it’s happened before. Neither of us are working right now but eventually we will be. Not only do we need to sleep, but she’s going to have to stay behind and if we don’t get these issues under control now —”

“Philip called,” Sebastian interrupted, unable to listen to anything more about Milena’s potential issues, “because the Hills are putting off the custody battle. Tim’s going to be okay but he needs recovery time. As long as I — we — let them see her a reasonable amount, she’s mine. Ours. For the time being — uh, temporary custody, Phil said. I don’t — uh, we have a choice. We can do legal guardianship, we can adopt her. But since we’re getting married, we have to decide together what kind of a case we want to build.”

Y/N licked her lips and crossed her arms. “One tough subject to the next, huh?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned to the cupboard to pull down two mismatched mugs. He filled both of them with coffee and handed one to Y/N. Neither of them said anything for several minutes. Finally, Y/N set the half-full cup of coffee on the counter and made for the doorway. 

“I’m gonna change and go for a run,” she said quietly. 

Sebastian set his own coffee down and caught up to her in the front room; he gripped her arm, turning her to face him. 

“We have to decide this!”

She wrenched her arm from his hold and pointed a stern finger at him. “No, Sebastian, you have to decide. I am going for a run.”

The door to the second bedroom slammed behind her. A few seconds later, Milena cried from Sebastian’s bed. With a sigh and a hand through his hair, Sebastian put on the happiest face he could muster and went to tend to his niece. 

Y/N ran until her legs would no longer push her to run. What she was running from, she had no idea but she suddenly felt as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Maybe because she and Sebastian had never had any sort of tension between them, let alone an actual argument. 

Not to mention, the strength with which she was feeling as if his life was her life was downright frightening. Sebastian was her friend, one of her best friends, but the impending wedding and ready-made family … 

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Kennedy,” Y/N confessed to her closest friend back in Los Angeles. She had stepped into a smoothie cafe to recharge before starting the run back to the apartment and, feeling panic set in, called her friend. 

Kennedy yawned. “Slow down, Y/N/N. I get that you’re up and going already, but we’re three hours behind you back here, remember?”

“Oh shit,” Y/N groaned. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, just — just freaking out.”

“Okay, okay — like I said, slow down. First of all, I didn’t even expect for you to be gone for so long, and then you call me freaking out and I don’t even know — what’s going on out there?”

Y/N drew in a deep breath before she spilled out every detail over the next several minutes — about Sebastian, about Milena, about the wedding. About how scared she was to want what she was getting but wouldn’t be allowed to keep. 

“First of all, you need to take some deep breaths. Then, you’ve got to decide what you really want here. Sebastian is someone who I know means a lot to you, and I think you’re more concerned what all of this will do to your friendship as opposed to if you can take all of this on or how you’re gonna feel when it’s over.”

“You’re probably right,” Y/N sighed, leaning back in the booth. She took a long sip from her smoothie and swallowed it down. “Either way, I don’t want to lose him.”

Kennedy cleared her throat and yawned again. “I’m happy to support you through all of this, you know — in fact, I’m going to find the soonest flight out and try to make it for the wedding — but I really think you should talk to Sebastian about all of this. He’s probably just as overwhelmed as you are.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to him. And Ken, you don’t have to come out for the wedding — it’s so last minute!”

“I’m gonna be there, so shut your mouth,” Kennedy chuckled. “Go talk to Sebastian, Y/N/N. Tell him what you’re feeling. You’ve been there for him through all of this and that’s great, but you still have to let him be a friend to you, too.”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Let me know when you’re coming in, I’ll get you from the airport.”

Kennedy promised she would keep Y/N informed about her flight, and they ended the call. Y/N finished off her smoothie and stretched a little, tucking her phone into her hoodie pocket and leaving an extra tip for the staff before taking off down the sidewalk again.

AllOfTheThings: @captain-s-rogers​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​ @hurricanerin​ @horsesandbandsforlife​ @im-not-an-armrest-im-short​ @captain-rogers-beard​ @shynara51​ @sea040561​ @pinknerdpanda​ @xtina2191​ @jackryanplz​ @beakami​ @heartsaved​ @fullprunerebelstatesman​ @blackwidowismyhomegirl​ @averyrogers83​ @jennmurawski13​ @connie326​

IYJR: @elsatxx​ @tanelle83​ @amanda-teaches​ @etherealwaifgoddess​ @kmuir1​ @ntlmundy​ @jayankles​ @rebekahdawkins​ @denise1605​ @rhadigen​ @peace-love-hobbitness​ @itsallyscorner​ @mizzzpink​ @auspiciousharriet​ @the-murder-strut-murdered-me​ @learisa​ @tellmewhatyouwill​

[thegreatestofheck]

Ocean and Alcohol Pt. 7 ✘JJ Maybank✘

part one! part two! part three! part four! part five! part six!

(gif not mine! all credit to rudypankow!)

Word Count - 4471 Warnings - Swearing, underage drinking Synopsis - After the party at the boneyard goes slightly awry, you and the pogues take a trip down to the marsh to check out the wreck. You meet a number of unfriendlies along the way.  A/N - Here is the real start of canon material! Since I have issues with reading fanfiction that is verbatim, I changed a few things around, but it’s pretty much the same. Takes place during episode one from the boneyard party and onward! Thank you all for your support!

“Drug money?” You asked, agape. JJ put his hands on your shoulders from behind as he cackled.  “Yes,” Kie said, trying to keep her eyes on the road. “We want you in on it.” Your mind was running at a mile a minute. The boat, Scooter’s death, the connection to John B’s father, the money. Even a small fraction of that would be enough for a good lawyer and to get you and Kid somewhere safe. It was just the miracle you needed. “I’m so in.” You smiled at Kie. “What’s our next move?” “We’re having a party, Ellie. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” “There’s a chance we can make a shit ton of money and you’re throwing a party?” You asked, looking back at him. “Party’s already thrown,” he said, leaning back with his hands locked behind his head. “Alright,” you said with a sigh. “It’s a good night to get drunk.” The party was in full swing when you, JJ, and Kie pulled up. John B ran over with a large grin and a few beers in his hands. “Glad you could join us,” John B said, handing you one of the cups. “Glad to see you guys are still alive,” you said, matching his smile and taking a sip from the cup. “Welcome back Kie, JJ,” John B said, passing JJ a cup, which Kie promptly took for herself. “As you can expect, the kooks tried to take over so just…don’t start any fights.” John B looked directly at JJ, who put his hands in the air innocently. “Follow me,” JJ said, grabbing hold of your wrist. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Rafe and Kelce, who were whispering quietly back and forth. 

“Wait,” you said, pulling your wrist back. “We have to be careful with the kooks here.” “What do you mean?” You nodded your head toward Rafe, taking another drink. “You’re not scared of Rafe, are you?” “No, Maybank. But if he sees us and decides to tell my dad-” “Then we’ll be careful.” You let out a sharp breath, gulping down the rest of your beer. You offered your hand for him to take, which made JJ smile. He pulled you along to where Pope was attempting to woo a girl with his talk of dead bodies. The two of you plopped down in the sand by their feet. Pope sent an irritated look at JJ as you introduced yourself to the girl. JJ pulled you around, introducing you to as many different people as he could, using a different version of your name to each person. You weren’t sure how he came up with so many different forms of your short name, but he did. Somehow, he still made you laugh, even if your day hadn’t been the greatest. Just being in the presence of him and his smile eased the pain just a little bit. Despite the serotonin and alcohol running through your system, you couldn’t get the money out of your head. That money would save you and your brother. Part of you knew better than to get your hopes up, that there was only a small chance that anything would come of it. Still, now that you knew the money was an option, you wanted it more than anything. 

The night was wonderful, talking to Kie, sharing a few smiles with Sarah, dancing with the boys. And then it all dissolved when you let JJ out of your sight.    You were talking to Kie, laughing at a story of hers about the boys, when you saw JJ trying to offer Sarah and Topper something to drink. You didn’t see who threw the first punch, but as soon as you heard the sound of a fight, you knew exactly what was going on. JJ had said something that put Topper off and now they were rolling around in the sand beating the shit out of each other. You pushed yourself out of the sand, to pull Topper away from JJ, but Kie grabbed your wrist and pulled you back. When you looked at her with pinched eyebrows, she tilted her head toward Rafe, who was watching you carefully. You growled to yourself, forcing yourself to stand by with everyone else. John B stepped in, taking JJ’s place. Kie ran up to JJ and Pope and you stepped to follow them, but someone grabbed you by the wrist. “Come with me,” Rafe hissed in your ear. “Let me go,” you ground out, trying to pull your wrist away. “I need to talk to you.” He pulled you away from the growing crowd. You tried to reach your friends one last time, but Rafe pulled even harder on your arm. The best choice for you was to follow him. When he finally stopped, you ripped your wrist from his grip. “Just say what you want to say,” you snapped, crossing your arms. “I saw you come in with JJ and Kiara,” he said. “So?” “I know you’re always on lockdown. Sarah told me. You shouldn’t be out.” Your pulse began to race and you let a shaking breath. “What do you want, Rafe?” “I want to tell your dad that you’ve been sneaking around with the pogues,” he said, a proud smirk on his face. You resisted the urge to punch him right there.    “You tell my dad about sneaking out and I’ll tell your dad you’ve been pushing drugs, how about that?” You watched with a small amount of glee as his smile faltered and fell. “We’ve both got dirt on each other, why don’t we keep it under the table, huh?” Rafe set his jaw, shoving his hands into his pockets. You could barely hear the sound of people shouting in the distance, anything important drowned out by the others chanting. “You’re bluffing,” Rafe finally said. You narrowed your eyes at him. “I’ve literally seen you doing lines with Kelce. All I have to do is walk right up to your house-” “Fine!” He huffed out a heavy breath. “Fine. You win.” “Good choice.” You turned to run back to the fight, hoping you weren’t too late, but Rafe grabbed your arm again, spinning you back around. “Why did you kiss me?” He asked. “At that party.” You scowled and shrugged. “I was drunk,” you said with an irritated shake of your head. For the first time, you couldn’t read the look on his face. Before he could let your arm go, a series of loud gunshots echoed across the sky. Rafe dragged you to the sand as you covered your head. You heard screaming as the party-goers ran from the sound.    “JJ,” you breathed, tearing your arm from Rafe’s grip as you scrambled upward. “Elma!” he called after you, but he didn’t follow. You ran back to where the party had been. Everyone else had already ran off, all except your friends. John B was lying in the water on his back, Pope and Kie staring at JJ. “What the hell happened?” You demanded, walking forward. You stopped suddenly when you saw the gun in JJ’s hand by his side. “JJ is an idiot is what happened!” Pope said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “He was going to kill John B!” JJ exclaimed, waving the gun through the air. “JJ, be careful!” Kie begged, putting a hand up. Yelling wasn’t going to help anything. You knew that. Raised voices only made things worse. You took a careful step forward. “Give me the gun, JJ,” you said. “I’m not going to use it,” he scoffed. “I know, but you’ve had a lot to drink tonight and it’s safer if you put it down.” “Right, right.” 

As you neared, hand outstretched, he placed the gun in your palms before turning toward John B. He and Pope pulled their friend out of the water. You stood there, staring at the gun in your hand. If the money wasn’t a real possibility, the weapon in your hand always was. All you had to do was ask JJ for it. He would give it to you, no questions asked. It was just the pull of a trigger and your problem would be solved. “Elm?” You startled as Kie put her hand on your shoulder. “Let me take you home.” You nodded your head slowly. You walked over to JJ’s backpack and slid the gun inside. Looking back at the boys, you were tempted to offer a wave or even say goodbye, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. 

The drive home was oddly quiet for a while. “We were supposed to be laying low,” Kie said after a while. Your window was open, hoping that the wind would blow away the thoughts in your head, the hurt in your heart. “He was just trying to help.” 

“I know.” Kie let out a deep sigh. “We’re probably going to hang out a John B’s tomorrow. Can you come?” “I should be able to,” you said, looking over at her. “My dad will be out most of tomorrow.” “Thank God,” Kie said with a smile. “It’s nice to have someone else with brain cells to hang out with.” You felt yourself smile. Kie pushed your shoulder lightly with her hand and you let out a laugh. “It’s nice to have people to hang out with who don’t hate me,” you said. Keeping her smile, Kie pushed on the radio button, music starting to blast out of the speakers. The songs that you used to sing alone in your room, you were now singing with someone you could call a friend. The weirdness of the day was gone as the word passed through your head. Friend. For as long as you could remember, it was just you and Kid. Friends weren’t on your radar. But ever since meeting JJ, you had found four new friends and by some miracle, they actually liked you. You let all of those thoughts out of your hand, wanting nothing more than to enjoy the moment. Music pounded out of the speakers, flowing out of the open windows. Kie drummed her hands against the steering wheel as you waved your arms in the air to the beat. “I thought you didn’t dance,” Kie said, shouting over the music and the wind. “I guess I do now,” you replied, meeting her smile with one of your own. As you neared your house, you leaned over and turned the music down. “You can let me out here,” you said to Kie, whispering as if you were already at your house. “Are you sure? I want to make sure you get inside,” Kie said. You shook your head and gave a smile. “My house is right up the road. I’ll be fine,” you reassured her. Kie watched your face for a moment, as if trying to see if you were really going to be alright. “Well, we’re meeting at the house in the morning. I’ll see you there,” she said. You opened your door and stepped out. 

“Be careful driving home,” you told her before shutting the door behind you. Kie stayed where she was in the car as you started up the road. You didn’t hear her engine start again until you turned around the corner. The wind blew through your hair as you made your way up to your house. It had to be past midnight at this point. You weren’t sure how this one day could have been so long. You let the breeze blow away all of the thoughts that would keep you up all night if you let it. Sneaking past your front door, you clambered up to the roof outside your window, which was still open just a crack. You let out a sigh as you crawled into your room, exhausted from your full day. You didn’t even change or turn off the light before flopping onto your bed. Sleep claimed you almost instantly, swallowing you whole. 

***

You were still rubbing sleep out of your eyes as you drove toward John B’s the next morning. Letting out one last yawn, you slowed to a stop. When you arrived, it seemed like John B and JJ were in the middle of a heated conversation. You got out of your car as quietly as possible and snuck over to Kie and Pope, who sat by and watched. “Hey,” you whispered, startling Pope. “Shit, Elm!” He said, turning to look at you, hand over his heart. Kie looked up at you with an irritated smile. “What are they arguing about?” You asked, settling yourself onto a table. “Sheriff Peterkin said that as long as John B stayed out of the marsh, she would help him out with DCS,” Pope said, talking low as to not interrupt the conversation that John B and JJ were having a few feet away. “But JJ is trying to get him to go out there anyway,” Kie added, the same irritation on her face evident in her voice. “Wait, you’re giving up on the money?” Fear burst in your chest. That money was a shred of hope that you possessed, they weren’t really going to give up on it. Were they? “You really think it exists?” Pope asked, looking back up at you. You let out a sigh, chewing on your lower lip. “I have to.” “New plan!” JJ said turning around with a clap. He caught sight of you on the table and smiled. “Hey, Babe.” “Hi.” You smiled back. It was nice to see this smiley, happy version of JJ rather than the nearly unhinged version from last night. “John B is going to get us some scuba gear and then we’re going to go out to the boat, see what we can find,” he said. “And then we’ll be rich.” “Where is he going to get the scuba gear?” Pope asked, leaning his elbows against his knees. “Ward Cameron,” JJ said, beaming. “That is literally the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Kie said with a small shake of her head. You breathed out a deep sigh, pressing your fingers against your forehead. “It’s a great idea, Kie,” JJ said. “You think so, right Ellie?” You looked up, eyebrows raised. 

“It’s dangerous,” you said. “John B could get caught before we even go out into the marsh.” “Thank you,” Pope said. JJ’s smile fell and he put his hands on his hips. “But,” you continued. “We can’t give up so soon, right? I mean, what other chance are we ever going to get for this kind of money?” You watched Kie and Pope show different levels of disappointment and you grimaced. You looked up at JJ and he was smiling once again. “We’re so going to die,” Pope said, meeting Kie’s gaze. She nodded slowly. You had the feeling you just made a mistake. 

***

“You took empty tanks?” Kie gave John B her disappointed mom look as you looked at the second tank. John B sat beside her with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders, running a hand through his hair. “This one has some air,” you said, pointing at your tank. “How much?” Kie asked, leaning over to look. 

“About a quarter of a tank,” you told her, showing her the gauge. “At least one of us should be able to go down.” “Love it when a plan comes together,” Pope said, leaning back and feet up by the wheel. You glanced over at JJ, who leaned against the side of the boat. “Anyone know how to dive?” Kie asked. You shook your head, looking at your hands. By the time it was decided that John B was the one going to dive, you were really starting to regret giving JJ your stamp of approval. You were sure they probably would have done it anyway, but you felt like you should have kept your desire for the money to yourself. You helped pull Kie back to the boat after she tied her shirt to the line as the Pope helped John B into the gear. “Here,” you said, offering your sweater to Kie. She took it with a small smile. “These boys are going to kill me,” she muttered to you, pulling the sweater over her head. You tilted your head to the side with a short sigh. “You and me both.” Kie walked by and over to John B. You felt your face contort into a confused look as Kie placed a short kiss on John B’s cheek. You looked over at JJ, who was trying to cover a laugh. Maybe reading social cues wasn’t your best skill, but you thought you might have noticed if one of your only friends liked another, but apparently not. You leaned over the edge of the boat, watching John B sink below the surface. You felt your heart squeeze when you could no longer see him. There was a lot riding on whatever John B found down there, for you and for the others. There was also a lot riding on him not getting caught. You didn’t want him to be put in foster care just because you wanted money. All you had to do was not get caught. But, naturally, you did. Deputy Shoupe and another one of the deputies rolled up in their boat. You forced a smile onto your face as they neared. Heart hammering in your chest, you tried not to pull any of his attention onto you. If you could have jumped into the water a drowned right then and there, you would have. With how often your dad and Shoupe talked with each other, there was no way he wasn’t going to mention you being on a boat with a bunch of pogues. You tried to smile as Kie, Pope, and JJ talked their way out of it. You glanced down at the water, your heart pounding in your ears. There had to be a way that you could tell John B not to come to the surface. Shoupe walked around the Pogue, asking dumb little questions, obviously trying to catch them in a lie. You justified your lack of talking by telling yourself that you didn’t know anything about the boat, so how could you be of help? You didn’t take a single breath until the cops were in their own boat, driving away. All four of you raced to the back of the boat to wait for John B to surface. You let out a deep breath once you saw him pop out of the water.  “Did you find anything?” JJ asked as John B swam over. “Did I find anything?” He asked with a laugh, tossing his soaking wet bag onto the Pogue. You smiled at the sight of it. You helped John B out of the water as Pope rambled about the cops pulling up on the boat. “You scared the shit out of me,” Kie said once John B was back in the boat. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he said, smiling up at her. Looking back out over the water, you saw another boat nearing. “Kie,” you said, hooking your pinky around hers. “I think that boats coming toward us.” 

“Shit,” she hissed before turning to the others. “Bogey, two o’clock.” “What?” JJ looked up. “They shouldn’t be out here,” you said. “Deputy said the marsh was closed.” “Do you recognize it?” “No.” “What do they want?” Kie asked. “No way we’re waiting around to find out,” JJ said. “JJ, get the bowline,” John B said. “Yup.” “Pope, the stern.” “Should we wait for ‘em?” Pope asked. 

“Are you kidding?” Kie didn’t take her eyes off the other boat. 

You wondered if there was ever going to be a normal day on this goddamn island. You moved to the front of the boat to help JJ with the bowline. 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” you mumbled to yourself. “Are they coming for us?” JJ asked once the anchor was in the boat. You turned to watch the other boat, pulse racing. 

“Maybe they’re fishing,” Pope said, but from the tremor in his voice, you knew he didn’t believe it. “Ever the optimist.” You looked at him with an attempt at a smile. “Into the marsh,” he said, returning your smile with a quick one of his own. “I’m going,” John B said from the wheel. “Just act natural.” “Act natural,” you grumbled. When you turned back to look at the boat, which was the opposite of acting natural, you saw them closing in. “So,” you said, turning back to the front. “They may or may not be speeding up.” “They’re following us,” Kie said, glancing back. “Shit.” “Dude you gotta go faster!”

What was just supposed to be a simple matter of sneaking onto a wreck with stolen scuba gear suddenly turned into a boat chase through the marsh. You held onto the side of the boat as John B sped up, glancing back again, almost wishing you hadn’t. “That’s a gun,” you said, voice shaking. “What?” “Gun!” One of the men in the boat pulled the trigger and everyone ducked. “Get down!” JJ pulled John B’s arm, forcing him to crouch. “We’re going to die!” Pope yelled as another shot was fired. There had to be a way out of this, some way to slow them down. When you looked up at Kie, you could see that she was thinking the same thing. “The net,” she said, just loud enough for you to hear. You nodded your head. The two of you stood. “Don’t-” JJ tried to grab your hand, but you moved toward the front before he could. You met Kie in the front of the boat. “I’ll cover you,” you told her as she grabbed the net. She nodded her head once before you both took off for the back. You stood as tall as you could, hopefully drawing enough attention away from Kie as she crouched. You watched Pope try to grab her and pull her back to the floor of the boat, but she moved past him quickly. Another shot. It flew past you, barely missing your side. When JJ reached out for you, you couldn’t evade him and he pulled you down to the boat. “Are you crazy?” He asked. You shook your head, looking over at Kie as she threw the net into the water behind the boat. You lifted your head to see if it worked. For a few seconds, the boat behind continued to follow until it got caught in the net. You watched with a growing smile as the boat sputtered to a stop. “Ha!” You cried, throwing a fist into the air. Once you rounded the bend, finally out of eyesight of the other bought, JJ finally let you go. “That was amazing, Kie!” You pushed yourself up and hugged her around the waist. “Let’s never do that again,” Pope said, breathing heavily. JJ let out a holler, standing. John B laughed, looking back at Kie and over at Pope. You found yourself laughing off the rest of your adrenaline, the wind blowing through your hair. “That was insane,” Kie said with a laugh. Looking at your friends, all laughing after nearly dying, JJ’s words returned to your mind. What was the point of surviving if you weren’t living? This...this felt like living. The laughter, the adrenaline, sneaking around, doing whatever the hell you wanted with the wind blowing through your hair, you wanted it all. You soaked it in, closing your eyes and lifting your face to the sun. You didn’t let yourself think about what would have happened if you had died right then. It was important. It didn’t matter. Why worry about something that didn’t happen? The sun was nearing the horizon when you made it back to the dock. You still felt the adrenaline pumping through your system, smile still on your face. Everyone scurried off the boat, JJ tying it off. John B dropped the bag to the ground, everyone crowding around. “It’s gotta be money, right?” John B said, smiling up at JJ, who said something in response, but all you could do was stare at the bag. 

“Can we please just open the bag?” Pope asked suddenly. You all glanced up at him each smiling. “Wow.” “That was a rare outburst of emotion,” JJ said. You bumped his leg with your shoulder. “You guys are literally killing me with anticipation,” Pope said, showing his shaking hands to prove his point. John B finally unzipped the bag. Your heart beat so fast, you were sure you could feel the blood flowing through your veins at a million miles an hour. “We almost died for this,” Pope said as John B pulled out a metal canister. It took John B a few moments to untwist the lid, setting it on the ground. No one took their eyes off of the thing in his hands. When he tipped it upward, you craned your neck to see what landed in his palm. It was something wrapped in a towel. As he unfolded it, your breath hitched. Slowly, John B pulled a compass out of the towel. You felt your heart deflate at the sight of it. A collective, disappointed sigh came out of everyone except John B, who stared at it as if it was hypnotic. “Yeah,” Pope said, turning around. “That’s about right.” “Are you okay, John B?” You asked. Maybe he was in shock. After all, he had almost died twice to get nothing but a compass out of that sunken boat. “Dude, what?” JJ asked, his voice tighter than usual. “That thing isn’t worth anything.” “This was my father’s.” Pope turned back around to look at him. “Why did Scooter have your dad’s compass?” You asked. John B shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the thing. “I...I don’t know.” “We should talk to Ms. Lana,” Kie said, stepping forward. She knelt behind John B and placed a hand on his shoulder. You looked back at JJ with a ‘are you seeing this or am I crazy’ look. He made a face and crossed his arms. “Yeah,” John B said absentmindedly. “Maybe tomorrow.” “I should...I should probably go,” Pope said, turning to walk away from them. “Fun day guys. Let’s never do that again.” “I should go, too,” you said, standing. “Keep me updated.” “How are we supposed to do that?” JJ asked with a raised eyebrow. You shrugged. “Carrier pigeon?” He placed a gentle kiss against your forehead. “See you, guys,” you said. John B didn’t look away from the compass but Kie gave you a smile. You turned back toward shore, starting across the dock. “Pope, wait up!” ***

Taglist -  @bitterbethany​​​ @lovelymaybankk​​​ @ilymarkchan​​​ @downbytheouterbanks​​​ @clearcolourlessglass​​​ @obxwriterfan​​​ @tangledinsparkles​​​ @chill-sushi​

[madame-fouquet]

2020 Anime Retrospective

With the end of the year here, and all the anime that came with it now behind us, I feel like looking back and reminiscing on it. So, following the style of ANN's own yearly retrospectives, may I present my 2020 anime in review! Enjoy.

Best of the year: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken

    This is actually not the first time Yuasa and his crew of, let's be honest, visionaries have rolled something special out right at the beginning of the year in some weird power move against everything else that has to follow it. They did it back in 2018 with Devilman Crybaby, and then they hit us this year with Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken.     You ever have one of those shows where you're just constantly in awe of everything it does? Where you never found yourself chasing merch or hunting after content based off it online, but you consistently find yourself thinking about it? Yeah, that's what Eizouken did to my brain after I watched it. It was such an earnest love letter to anime and anime production, to animation in general, that I couldn't help but get sucked into its imagination and enthusiasm. The way it was able to so perfectly illustrate that pure, boundless, childlike joy that one can derive from the simple act of creating, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it had a powerful effect on my own desire to continue creating. (Corny as that sounds, it's true.) The sheer amount of love it contains, and the equal amount it puts out into the world make it so I know I am going to be thinking about it again and again for a long long time.

Runner-up: Akudama Drive

    I don't know if it's really quite a matter of my two favorites being opposites, but there are definitely some pretty sharp stylistic and tonal differences between my two top shows this year. Akudama Drive's cocaine-fueled bender of an intro episode made it very clear what it's intentions were and what it wanted us to be prepared for. That doesn't mean I had ANY idea of where it was headed narratively, but I did know I was in for one hell of a ride. And it delivered is spades on that promise.     The twists and turns, no matter how insane, illogical, or steeped in tropes they were, were all such a colorful energetic spectacle that it would be hard to hold anything against the series. Every character was such a force that I didn't really consider any of them a weak point. Yeah, some of them were more or less cardboard cut-outs of antagonistic elements, but when the cardboard cutout looks REALLY FREAKING COOL, it's hard to get too torn up over the details. It's a show that oozes style and knew EXACTLY what it wanted to do and be, and I have to respect that.

Runner-up-up: Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

    The next few entries aren't really in any sort of order, I actually found it near impossible to sort anything below my top two. Hanako-kun however does hold a bit of a special place for me though because, at least from a stylistic standpoint, it hits so many of my buttons. Just visually this show is the exact kind of thing my younger self would have latched onto immediately, even before knowing anything about the actual content. I suppose not much has really changed though.     I'm absolutely in love with the animation style of Hanako-kun, and I got really lucky that there is an interesting story and delightful cast of characters underneath that visual splendor. Along with the sharp lines, intense colors, and soft characters, I'm also a sucker for contemporary supernatural mysteries. That's a fancy way of saying one of my favorite shows as a kid was The X-files, but both make the point pretty well. The world of Hanako-kun has a lot to offer, and I can only hope it gets a second season so we can continue to delve into it's beautiful and terrifying mysteries.

Runner-up-up: Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2

    I know a lot of people will be talking about this one when it comes to “Best of” lists. I know a lot of people were talking about the first season when it reminded us just how funny anime can be back in 2018. Absurd high school comedies (Is that a genre?) could definitely be considered my favorite. Hell, of my top five favorite anime of all time, THREE of them fall under that category. So believe me when I say Kaguya-sama absolutely deserves the deluge of praise it receives. For what describing something as “laugh out loud” is worth, this show had me constantly needing to pause it just so I could finish laughing at whatever ludicrously funny misfortune had just befallen it's cast of lovable morons.     The thing is though, Kaguya-sama understands that you can't just earn love and goodwill on laughs alone, there needs to be a beating heart at the center of all the shenanigans. And when this season had me actually cheering on and feeling sorry for Ishigami of all people, I knew that beating heart was present and accounted for. Look, the cast are all self-centered idiots, but I'll be damned if they aren't also my dear children who I delight in watching slowly grow and become slightly less self-centered idiots.

Runner-up-up: Dorohedoro

    When the Dorohedoro anime was first announced, a lot of my experience was watching a group of people online scream about how they were so pumped that it was finally getting an anime. I had never heard of it before, but the excitement was very real and tangible. And I gotta say, sometimes you need to believe the hype.     I've never been one to shirk a series just because it was CG animation, (Watch ID-0 dammit!) but Dorohedoro makes a strong case for why people shouldn't sleep on something based solely on it's animation. The dirty, grease-encrusted world of Hole is brought to life with plenty of flair and style that, I feel, the CG didn't hold back at all. What I had seen said was that for a long time Dorohedoro was kinda considered “unanimateable” but I think MAPPA did the iconic manga a fair amount of justice. Even if pulpy ultra-violence isn't normally your thing, I still highly recommend giving Dorohedoro a look, it might just end up being a hole worth going down.

Honorable Mention: Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh!!

    I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. The first Show By Rock!! was definitely an indulgence for me. While not something I considered a high level series by any stretch: messy plotting, shallow characters, a weird isekai angle, a lackluster finale, and an even MORE lackluster second season, it still got is hooks into me with its sheer energy and fluffy charm. So despite the, as mentioned, rough second season, I was more than happy to check out the new series in the franchise. And boy was I glad I did.     Mashumairesh!! takes all the heart and sweetness that worked for the first series and dials it up. It then took a hard look at a lot of what DIDN'T work in the first series, and manages to fix most of the issues. Removing the isekai angle and the whole existential threat thing, and just letting the series be a “slice-of-life but in an electric animal filled music world” did wonders for the direction and consistency. Add to that more properly fleshed out characters, and you get a series that is far stronger than it's progenitor.     The next series, Show By Rock!! Stars!!, will be adding back the cast from the first series, and that could very well be a sign that it will be falling back into its old habits, but the presence of the Mahumairesh!! girls gives me hope that it might have a chance of staying the new, far better course.

Worst of the Year: Digimon Adventure:

    This one really hurts to say. What hurt more was how quickly I knew what show I'd be electing for this position. One thing to clarify is that I would not nominate a series that I'd only watched one or two episodes of, that's just not fair. So the award was bound to go to something I had at least dedicated a decent amount of my time too. And in any other year this may have gone to something that was more my “least favorite” or had an ending that disappointed me. But unfortunately I have to be honest and sit here and tell you that the newest entry in the Digimon franchise was easily the worst thing I watched this year.      I have been a long time Digimon fan. Ever since I was but a wee lass watching the original Digimon Adventure premiere on Fox Kids at a family reunion, I have always considered the franchise a sort of cornerstone of my anime fandom. So please understand the excitement I had felt when I found out they were doing a full on remake of that flagship series. Imagine how absolutely pumped I was when the bombastic movie-like premiere of Digimon Adventure: wowed us with everything it delivered, and all the promises of what was to come. And then imagine my disappointment, my despair as the show devolved until it showed us what it really was during the finale of the Fake Tokyo arc.     I would call it a production meltdown, but considering the precedent that got set back in episode 10 during the already shaky Ultimate Evolution arc, has been so clearly informing everything up to the current episodes in the early 30s, I have to be honest with myself and admit: this is what we were going to get all along from day one.     All of the heart that had made the original series so endearing, despite its own flaws, just isn't present here. What you get here is just a non-stop (and I mean non-stop) string of barely related fights with poorly-defined stakes, or sometimes no real stakes at all. It's just one ugly set piece fight after another as the children chase after vaguely implied evils. I think the most damning thing is how much more I could say about just how much this series has let me down. Like I said, this one hurts.

Best Theme-Song of the Year: Night Running (BNA)

     My opinion of BNA as a series is complex. But my opinion of its ED, Night Running, is simple: Its a god-damned bop! I could spend this whole section talking about the artistry of the ED animation itself, its fun and creative use of color, the slight variations for certain episodes, the focus on character, or the fact that it was done by an American animation team. I could even talk about the song's importance to the series as a whole and its place in the narrative. I won't though. The fact of the matter is that even without all that, I STILL probably would've picked Night Running as my best of the year because as a song it is just that much my jam. This is the kind of shit I could listen to on repeat for hours, days, weeks, and still keep coming back to it. Don't get me wrong, Ready To is a damn powerful and catchy tune that goes hard, but at the end of the day, I'm a sucker for a soulful pop tune like Night Running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTFfEnMCCc

Best Character: Sayaka Kanamori

    This was actually probably the hardest category for me to decide on. It was stuck hard between Eizoken's Kanamori and Akudama Drive's Doctor. I know those are a powerfully different pair in basically every way, but it was specifically for their startling differences that both characters stuck out to me so much. In the end though, it was the poignant rounding out of, and emotional hooks of Kanamori's character that let her triumph over her delightfully two-dimensional opposition.     Kanamori already had me from episode one. In a show that I wasn't really worried about the usual diversions of anime ingestion like picking a favorite character, Kanamori sealed herself as “Best-girl” from the word go. I have mad respect for a girl who knows what she wants, and has a clear idea of how she's going to go about getting it (See also: Doctor.) But Kanamori was more than a driving desire for success and money. Underneath her unstoppable ambition there was a very real, very relatable driving impetus. She stood apart, and yet still believably vulnerable and invested in the people she associated with. It was always a blast watching her suffer as the only thing keeping the more creative minds on track, and yet she was never reduced to a simple task master; her love and respect for her friends was always clearly visible. I could go on and on about how Kanamori is a nearly perfect character, but I hope I've said enough already without having to resort to senseless rambling.

Best Moment: Howan confesses her feeling to Himeko (Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh!!)

    By the time episode six rolled around, Mashumairesh!! had already shown marked improvements over its progenitor in basically every area. Not only was the story in a better place by focusing on what had worked in the original series, (Ya know the BAND part of this show about bands) but the cast was also doing a good job of standing out from their seniors and feeling more equally rounded out. Where the original series had just kinda been the Cyan show with guest stars, I felt like I had an actual grip on all four of the main girls now.     There were however the usual issues that come with a cute-girls-doing-cute-things series, chief among them the “ambiguously gay member of the group who constantly reacts with clear romantic interest towards the main protagonist but the writing will never actually do anything with those feelings” trope. Retoree had spent the better part of the first two seasons fawning over Cyan only for nothing to come of it and, despite the increased focus on all of the girls this time around, it looked like we were going to get the same old song and dance with Himeko's feelings towards Howan.     But then the climax of episode six hit and, midst a really intense subplot about Himeko's abandonment complex, Howan comes out with a straight up love confession. And I kept waiting for the usual dead-ends these moments always seem to have. The “I love you! I love the girls too! I love the band!” Or a “I love being with you.” and the dreaded, “I love having you as my most precious friend.” But none of that happened. It was a full on heart-felt, “I love you, Himeko. I want to stay with you forever!” I'm just not used to getting that sort of straightforwardness from my silly little band shows, so I was shocked, but also completely overjoyed. And frankly the series just kept getting better from there.     The evolution of their relationship built off that moment, no dreaded resetting of the status quo. I daresay it was on the power of this moment alone that I wanted to include this series in my top five at all. If there was anything I would want other anime to take from Mashumairesh!! it's that it's okay to introduce radical changes to character relationships partway through a season, and it's okay to let characters unequivocally state their feelings for each other. People will respond positively to that earnestness, I promise.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

You’ll Get Yours

Please leave a comment on Ao3 if you like it!

Thanks to @spiky-lesbian and @minky-for-short

Molly is now the proud owner of Summer's Dance. And the person who gave it to him deserves a reward.

--------

Molly wasn’t used to holding himself still but he made an effort now.

So much of his life so far, what little of it there had been, had depended on his knowledge of other people, his ability to know them quickly and make predictions about their behaviour. In fairness, this was hardly a life or death situation, there was very little at stake from his point of view. A bit of embarrassment, maybe. Having to eat a fair amount of crow for Yasha.

The tension he felt as he held very still under the thin, slightly damp covers was for someone else. That was something relatively new to Mollymauk; having a dry mouth and rapid heartbeat on account of someone else’s feelings.

He tried not to think about what that might mean.

His ears picked up, hearing footsteps passing the door to his room. Hard footsteps, almost angry but with a quality that suggested they could quickly become silent if they needed to. Beau. Not long after, lighter ones with a gait to them almost like skipping. Jester. Scrabbling ones, skittish and rapid. Nott. Molly listened carefully, hoping in silence. And finally, all three sets fell silent at the same time, muffled behind a creaking door not too far away. Yasha’s most familiar footfalls came soon after, going the other way down the hall.

Molly grinned. He didn’t know what Caleb had said to Nott, to get her to room with the girls. He’d thrown him a quick, exasperated look across the table when he’d grabbed the ‘feeling sick and needing to go lie down’ excuse first. That was Caleb’s go to. But Molly felt this whole thing would soon become less fun if they didn’t challenge themselves.

Soon there came heavy footfalls, easy and rolling. Fjord. This bit would be slightly tricky but Molly felt some confidence. Fjord seemed to have taken their trip into the swamp harder than the others, likely something to do with the gemstone eye.

Something about that whole episode worried Molly, a feeling he was certain the others shared. But that would have to come later.

Molly stayed with the covers pulled high over his head, as the door to their room creaked in protest at being opened. Fjord’s breathing seemed a little heavy as he moved around a little, tossing armour to the floor with a leather and metal thump, hanging his sword up on the wall. It wasn’t long before there came the heavy material sigh of him nearly collapsing into bed.

A little more anxiousness for his roommate plucked at Molly but he waved it away. Now wasn’t the time.

While he was waiting for Fjord’s snores- Molly held a lot of pity for whoever had to share close quarters with him on that ship of his- there came the last set of footsteps he’d been waiting for.

They were quiet, like everything else about him, trying hard not to be noticed. As quiet as the four other little feet that followed on his heels, along with the sound of a fluffy tail sweeping the dusty boards.

It may have been Molly’s imagination, but he couldn’t help but notice the slight hesitation in those footsteps outside his door. Just one missed beat. Almost as if Caleb was hesitating, looking towards their room, before moving on to his own.

Thinking about him? Wanting him, enough to resent even the short amount of time between this moment and the one where Molly would steal into his sheets?

He bit his lip under his nest of covers. He didn’t know what he was supposed to want.

Eventually, that hacking snoring he’d actually come to find kind of comforting started up from the bed across the room. Molly counted another two minutes, feeling them stretch on for a minor eternity, before he felt safe enough to carefully fold back his blanket and stand. Nothing from the lump of scratchy wool in the other bed. He’d mapped out where the noisy floorboards were on his way in and knew how to step lightly and avoid them.

Still, he didn’t relax until the door softly closed and the sound of Fjord sleeping was dampened to nothing. Molly allowed himself a triumphant little smile then, happy to know his talent for sneaking out to go meet lovers wasn’t diminishing with time.

He counted the doors on his fingers as he quickly crossed the corridor, making doubly sure he was about to open the right one. He’d have a lot of explaining to do if it wasn’t.

Molly checked that the belt around him was secure, that the magnificent golden scimitar rested just so against his bare leg, the metal cold enough on his naked skin to start getting him a little excited. He felt like a character in one of those trashy romances Jester was getting such a taste for. And, of course, he loved it.

After a soft rapping of his knuckles against the wood, Molly turned the knob and slipped inside. Immediately he felt the lovely prickle of Caleb’s eyes on him and when he turned, they were so satisfyingly wide, stunned and hungry.

“I said you’d be getting yours, Mr Caleb,” he purred, voice low and smoky, “Ready to have it?”

“Fucking hell,” came the raspy reply, the accent heavy in his sleepy, distracted state.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” Molly let the gorgeous golden sword swing at his side as he steps languidly towards him, aware of some other things swinging too. He prayed it looked sexy rather than ridiculous, “Thank you for it…”

“It just seemed meant for you, Molly,” Caleb’s cheeks turned bright red in that adorable way they always did and he shuffled under the blanket, the one Molly was itching to rip away and find him naked under.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Molly admonished, close enough to raise his leg on the bedpost and lean against it which, of course he did, “Don’t think you can so casually call me Mr Mollymauk and think that isn’t getting brought into our bedroom, love.”

A giggle burst out of Caleb, lighting up his face, “Okay. Mr Mollymauk.”

Yep. It still gave Molly the same wanting lurch in the very pit of his stomach, same as back in the cave.

“You look like a pirate,” Caleb was still giggling, looking like he didn’t quite know where to put himself with all of the energy inside him.

Molly grinned, his teeth flashing. He drew the sword in one hand, letting it flash and sing through the air before coming to rest at a very safe, playful distance from Caleb’s face.

“Oh? And who are you, the treasure I’ve come to carry off at swordpoint?” he murmured, eyes glowing like embers.

Caleb looked like he was going to struggle to form words until he managed to choke out, “I’d like that.”

Molly nodded, some curls falling artfully in his face, making sure to still show his teeth and keep up this character he’d stumbled into, “Then on your back. Legs up,” he let his smirk billow out, “Surrender.”

The noise Caleb made was heaven itself. It made the newly acquired Moonweaver symbol around his neck feel warmer than any metal had a right to.

The sword, the beautiful, wonderful sword, was cast aside with half a thought. Caleb’s thighs and what was between them proved much more interesting. Molly bent down between them, breath hot against skin which soon flushed accordingly, as if the red blush that spread there was actually his breath etched onto the inside of Caleb’s leg.

Sex with Caleb was always different, each and every time. Sometimes he would be tense and it would be Molly’s task to undo the knots inside him with his tongue, his hands, his cock. Sometimes he would be whimpery and wanting, unable to find words but showing in other ways how desperately he wanted to be made to come over and over until he was boneless and blissed. Sometimes he would giggle a lot as if amused by his own responsiveness, his body’s own hunger, utterly bemused.

Sometimes Molly would draw back and find Caleb crying. It had terrified him at first but when he’d asked if he should stop, Caleb had looked and sounded as if his heart might break if he did.

It was always different but every time Molly would get the strong sense that everything Caleb hid so carefully behind his deadpan voice, his guarded nature, even his enormous, patched coat, was all coming out in one desperate release.

And Molly would take it all ravenously. There was something so thrilling about seeing sides of Caleb that no one else did, like every time they fucked he was being given secrets along with the touches and tastes and screams. And Molly positively adored secrets.

Tonight, Caleb was unrestrained and noisy. Molly’s breath had barely kissed the skin between the base of his cock and his ass and already he was audibly keening, shaking all over.

“Easy,” Molly soothed, realising very quickly that his task tonight would be to relax him, give him a way to shut out everything clanging and jangling inside him, “I’m here, love, it’s alright. Just focus on right now, yes?”

Caleb gave a tight, rapid nod. He would get there.

Satisfied, Molly rested on his stomach and stroked Caleb’s leg with one hand, “Well, prepare to be boarded, Mr Caleb.”

That got a groaning laugh out of him, “Gods above, Mollymauk…”

Cackling at his own ridiculousness- his favourite pastime- Molly leaned in and lost himself. He ran his tongue in a broad stripe across Caleb’s perineum, tasting the heady muskiness of the wizard’s skin, a taste he’d so quickly become addicted to. He was rewarded with a whimper, a sound like Caleb was about to burst, so he saw no reason to wait. His mouth wandered down, to where he grew tighter, warmer, tongue pressing gently for entrance.

Shuddering and keening, Caleb yielded to him eagerly, allowing the tip of his tongue to press inside and seek out the bundle of nerves he knew would very quickly get them where they needed to go. As his mouth worked, Molly’s hands lightly skated up and down Caleb’s legs, anchoring him, keeping him in the here and now. Every so often, he’d let his nails bite in a little, just to feel him jump and hear him groan.

Soon, Caleb was utterly lost, riding Molly’s mouth in earnest, making the headboard thump rhythmically against the wall. The tempo picked up pace, gradually getting faster and more frantic, as the flush spread to Caleb’s chest and soon he was cursing in his own harsh language, muscles tensing for a new reason.

Molly knew how to read the signs, even as drunk as he was on Caleb’s body. And just before his wizard would be in real danger of tipping over the edge, he drew his tongue back and pulled away, panting.

Caleb positively howled, “Molly!” He threw himself into a sitting position, eyes wide and wet, pleading.

Molly laughed gently, “Come on, Caleb, it’s okay. I just want to switch it up is all. You’ll get yours, I promised, didn’t I?”

Caleb relaxed a little, “You promised…”

This was Caleb on the very edge, short sentences, repetition, a thicker accent.

“I did and I never let you down,” Molly nodded, horns jangling, “Now keep your voice down before Nott hears and thinks I’m murdering you.”

He didn’t think it was possible for Caleb to go redder than he already was but he was wrong.

Molly soothed him further with a lingering kiss while he lined their bodies up, now aware of his own need, so strong it was a shade away from painful. He could feel Caleb in a similar state, hard, hot muscle pressing against his lower belly. Kissing wasn’t something they’d done a lot of since they started sleeping together but whenever they did, Molly could never figure out why. Kissing Caleb was deliriously good, feeling his stubble scraping against his chin, his quickened pulse in his throat.

He would always remember why later, when he felt the pang, the one that accompanied the realisation that kissing was too close to something like a relationship. But in the moment, it was always so good.

Caleb always kept a vial of oil in one of his many pockets these days and he summoned it to his fingers from across the room with a mumbled word. It always amused Molly greatly, to see him using his brilliant, hard won magics just so he could get fucked faster. This one was teardrop shaped, wrought in red glass and the liquid inside smelled like spiced cherries when Molly yanked the stopper out with his teeth and let it drip onto his fingers. He’d never concerned himself much with how his lube actually smelled but he knew Caleb got hooked on certain scents, the same way he did with certain textures. Molly wondered if anyone else in the Nein knew that Caleb kept scraps of velvet or polished chunks of sea glass in his pockets, not for any spell work but just to hold when he felt nervous.

“Take it your good and ready for me?” Molly purred, running his slick fingers up and down his erection.

“Thanks to you,” Caleb murmured, voice husky and low and unbearably sexy.

Molly gave a light laugh and bent to kiss him again, just because he was a glutton for punishment. But then Caleb’s legs fell open and his hips moved just so and suddenly Molly was in him, sharing his body, and nothing else mattered. Not even the thorny truth that the more they kissed, the more it felt like they were playing at something else rather than living what they had.

“Mollymauk…” Caleb gasped. The way he said his name was darling, the way the first two syllables ran into each other and the whole thing softened.

“I’ve got you,” Molly whispered back against his lips, sending the words right down his throat, “It’s all yours.”

At those words, Caleb took it. His hips fell into an easy rhythm with the tiefling’s, their bodies knowing by now how to fit and work together. The rough heels of his feet pressed into the small of Molly’s back, urging him on, locking them together like neither could bare even an inch of space between them. Molly sucked hard at Caleb’s neck in answer to every moan and whimper he was given, leaving marks he knew would be covered by the high collar of his coat but would prickle all day tomorrow and leave Caleb thinking of him.

Soon there was so much slick between them that Molly had to fight to keep on top of things, bracing his hands either side of Caleb’s head, panting heavily. Caleb’s cries grew more ragged and desperate, wavering with the force Molly was slamming into him with. All the taut, wiry muscle he used to whirl his swords fast enough to cut the air itself was focused utterly on hitting that sweet spot inside of him.

“Molly,” Caleb’s voice cracked, “I’m gonna…”

“It’s yours, love, it’s yours to take,” Molly gasped back, going slow but deep now. He drew back enough to watch Caleb’s face, wanting to memorise every flicker of muscle.

He finally came, from nothing but the pressure inside him, with a throaty groan and an expression of hard won bliss on his face. Molly was so lost in Caleb, his own orgasm gripped him and he cried out in shock more than anything. And in the last second, it became Caleb’s name.

That hadn’t happened before.

Caleb was in pieces beneath him but Molly helped him get back together, kissing his cheeks, his nose, his chest, picking up his hands and kissing every one of his knuckles.

“Look who's back,” he laughed raspily as he saw awareness dawn in those harsh blue eyes.

“Ja,” Caleb laughed back, sitting up a little and moving back so Molly could pull out, “That was pretty amazing.”

“Well, it was a pretty amazing sword,” Molly smirked, hoping that would take the edge off him saying Caleb’s name. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with that yet.

It made his wizard laugh in any case, only making him look even more gorgeous in the rumbled, tumbled way he always looked after they fucked. Molly found himself laughing too, giving him more kisses. Each one a low grade bad idea.

While Caleb came back to himself, Molly stood completely naked in the middle of the room and practised with the sword, testing the weight of it, watching how the light played off it when he swung it. The gold wouldn’t hold up much in a fight but it was a gorgeous decorative piece.

“Summer’s Dance,” Caleb murmured, watching from the pillows, “It’s a lovely name.”

Molly nodded, holding the name in his mind. He thought of summer. He thought of warm nights, sleeping on top of his circus caravan with Yasha. He thought of the taste of that cherry wine he could only find in summer. He thought about the hot days, where Caleb would shrug off his coat when he thought no one was looking, rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. When his long hair would stick to his forehead and he’d wipe it away, tuck it behind his ears and look so beautiful doing the simplest things. When he’d lie back and look at the stars and once, when Molly asked, he told him all of the constellations, so clear and bright in the darkness of the summer night.

“It is a lovely name.”

[sofisnow]

A perhaps too long review of Killing Eve 3x07

307 is a gorgeous episode. The stakes were high and Laura Neal delivered in a spectacular way. The episode has the sensations and pace that characterise the show giving all the characters the necessary amount of screentime. No scene felt unnecessary or empty.

I will start talking about Carolyn and Geraldine, because if I start talking about Villaneve now, lorde help me I will never get to these two, I am weak. Mother and daughter are two ends of a spectrum and as much as I want Geraldine to have a more interesting role, it is still interesting to see Carolyn having someone she considers a stranger live in her house and constantly needing attention, conversation. Something we never saw with Kenny, who seemed to understand his mother a little better. This time however, we were able to see Carolyn loosen up and smash everything up in frustration. I do wonder whether Geraldine is going to realise her mother shouldn’t have to change the person she is and rather try to find a different way to communicate with her. I am also glad Carolyn warned her about Konstantin and that he was indeed using her, I was dreading having to see them being physical my stomach was not going to cope with that.

This family drama brings me onto Irina. My sweet murder child. I wonder it must have been Konstantin’s ex-wife who brought her to the detention centre because at first I thought it was Konstantin and it wouldn´t make sense for him to expect getting her out of there. Seeing him being unable to deal with Irina, who’s completely unaware she has done anything wrong makes us wonder what it must have been like when Villanelle was younger and whether we will ever see any of that period, Konstantin´s parenting styles are something to talk about. Back in season 1 Irina and Villanelle were a hilarious duo, but we couldn’t have expected Irina to become someone other than the psycho-killer that she’s become. As I am still unsure what is going to be of Konstantin, I can´t really figure out whether we will see more of Irina in season 4. However, a part of me would like to see some scenes with Irina and Eve, as both of them are starting their ‘Dark!’ paths this season.

Now onto what we have all been waiting for. First of all, this episode has been hilarious, every comment, every facial expression by Jodie and Sandra has been on point. The showrunners really knew what they were doing making Camille Cottin the cretin, manipulative boss she is. Every scene with Villanelle turns your brain into mush and gives you a headache because you can’t stop looking right and left. I am starting to wonder how come the 12 haven’t killed Villanelle yet, they don’t seem to be losing their patience with the amount of jobs she has messed up. One thing we can see consistently through the episode is Villanelle’s well-known coping mechanism she now uses constantly. We rarely see the Villanelle we once knew and we can’t really blame her nobody gives her a break. Her boss telling her she’s a literal monster was blunt and Jodie’s facial expressions during that scene, the amount of pain and rage she displayed was completely heartbreaking. I loved the moment Hélena awkwardly hugged and Villanelle, fighting back the tears grabbed her arm. That moment of weakness we are really not used to seeing, immediately followed by sarcasm and flirtatious comments. Seeing Villanelle like that, especially after the end of 306 really awakens something in the people who care about her the most (that’s us, sorry Eve) and who just want to protect her. Both Hélena and Dasha pressing onto her wound, trying to bring her down and remind her she is weak and she has lost what she once had serves as a visual reminder of what has been going through her head this entire season. From the moment she learned she had a family to knowing they never loved her and that small part of her that hoped she had people who cared about her, Villanelle’s only focus has been her identity crisis. We were expecting a bit more of the cat and mouse game that had been going on for seasons, but we weren’t really expecting for the cat to be so broken that she forgot the mouse would be waiting for her to come back and that they would still be chasing the cat back.

Contrary to what we expected, the scene at the train station where a worried Villanelle sees Eve run after the train and wave back at her is the moment Villanelle remembers that Eve is still there and that Eve wants her, whoever she is. That train scene was beautiful. I cannot believe the twisted and visceral show gave us two psychos who’ve tried to kill each other waving and looking at each other longingly while one of them runs after the train the other one is in. who gave them the right to do that?

Now onto Eve. Oh, Eve. Eve is my favourite person on the planet. She is tired of working on the case on her own, knowing the people she is working with either don’t know enough, don’t understand or don’t want to risk enough. Eve has not been able to stop thinking about Villanelle since the minute she saw her, and as much as she wants revenge for what happened to Niko, she is done fooling herself into thinking she does not want her. It is not that he doesn’t care that people notice, but perhaps she doesn’t know what is happening. One of the reasons why I love her character so much is because she is so impulsive. She acts one way and immediately regrets doing that. She stabbed Villanelle and immediately said sorry. She broke the window in the bus stop and screamed after doing so. She threw the cake over the roof and instantly tried to grab it back. So perhaps she doesn’t know that she looks like a crazy person trying to find a serial killer but she is just going for it. Sandra Oh is a genius and the way she portrays Eve’s determination, her ruthlessness and bluntness is incredible. Eve doesn’t have a proper plan, but she is 100% sure Villanelle is the answer. Carolyn’s comment regarding how heroes don’t get the girl was a great foreshadow the rise of the villain we have been waiting for. Eve is not the hero some people might have thought she was in season 1 and with Villanelle being unable to kill, the possibilities of Eve taking the lead in the finale/season4 are really exciting.

I really just want to mention the way Eve pronounces Villanelle and the amount of times she has said her name this episode, and thank Laura neal for that. Another thing worth mentioning is the parallel of Eve saying she left a man to die to chase after a psychopath referring to Hugo and doing the exact same thing TWICE in one day. Three times if we count pushing the American guy out of the car as soon as she got the information she needed. I do wonder what Eve’s first full kill is going to be like, I was really hoping to see Dasha die and I wonder how she’s going to die next week, or even whether she will have a role in season 4. However, the lack of hesitation she displayed stepping on Dasha, staring at her in the eyes and smiling at the sounds of bones cracking. It was visceral and thrilling. What would have happened if she had not heard the sirens and more importantly, what will happen when there are no sirens and she gets so finish what she started?

I could probably talk about Eve’s scene with Dasha for five straight hours but this is already too long. Eve has had one hell of a week. She’s almost lost her ex-husband, who’s done with her for good. She’s travelled to Barcelona and back in a day to find Villanelle, She’s done with her co-workers telling her to stop looking for her, she’s jumped in a dumpster and travelled all across the country and back and she still hasn’t seen Villanelle. And suddenly, as she was giving up and heading back to London there she was. This is one of the softest Villaneve moments we’ve had. I am surprised they didn’t play Clairo or Shura. They weren’t scared or angry, they weren’t leaving each other. This was a surprised Villanelle saying hello to the only person she has left, saying sorry I missed you I didn’t know you were looking for me. This was a relieved Eve. Not angry or frustrated that she missed her by a few seconds, but calm and just happy to see Villanelle. She was saying sorry I missed you, I’ve missed you.

I will stop talking now, I just want to say that I really enjoyed this episode as I’m sure you did too. I can’t wait to read more theories and please tell me what you think is going to happen next episode. How soon are they going to meet after the phone call? Who is going to arrive to the ballroom first, Eve or Leanne?

[docholligay]

Gatchaman Crowds Episode one.

God, I feel so many ways about this anime at once! I think I like it? Or at the very least, I could see myself liking it, it is only episode one, but I found myself immediately going, “Oh fuck yeah I’d give this a three episode run to draw me in, no problem, possibly up to five.” 

NOTHING IS PERFECT OF COURSE but here are my impressions from episode one. 

Theme: WHAT THE FUCK is going on with the opening theme? This is an actual question I want an answer to: Is the theme in English? It sounds like English but all the matrixing in the world can’t make it make sense to me. BUT I DEF HEAR ENGLISH WORDS. And that usually doesn’t happen to me with Japanese! If anything I’ll hear a Spanish word like ojala and cuyo (There’s a song on my anime running mix that “has” those two words in it and throws me off every time) 

Is this a Madoka situation (WHY IS THAT PHRASE BECOMING SO RELEVANT TO MY LIFE) where it sounded like Latin but was made up? Did the writer fuck me up with some English phonemes? 

Concept: I mean, there’s really nothing new under the sun about being charged with protecting the earth, it’s pretty stock, but being stock doesn’t mean I in any way dislike it, it’s just stock! So is a magical girl thing, and I have been known to fucking love a magical girl thing. 

That being said, I do think the presentation of it is really neat, and I love the idea that humans who have been absorbed can be salvaged, but it’s not really a neat process and there’s a lot of strange secrecy behind everything going on, even while we are getting frankly an overwhelming amount of information. I feel like I literally just watched the damn episode and I’ve already forgotten half of the stuff I was told. I know too much but I still crave to know more! It’s like I’m screaming WAIT COME BACK HERE at the show itself

For example, we’re defending the earth from aliens right? Great okay good, but we’re also getting help from aliens! Why are they willing to help us? How does our planet concern them? Should we not be more immediately suspicious of their motives? I mean I know Utena left me unable to trust and love but I also think in this exact moment I’m being reasonable. 

I love the book communication thing! I think it’s a really cool idea and I always do love a magical diary geegaw, always have, I’m not sure why. And I love that like 90% of Hajime’s deal is that she fucking loves planners. 

Characters: We barely know any of them so this is basically just initial impression and I reserve the right to change my mind. 

Hajime: She’s cute! I love her obsession with her decorative planners, it reminds me of all them people doing bullet journals more as a crafty/artistic theng than an actual planner. I love that her weapon is embroidery scissors? That’s amazing. I really hope they keep her boobs covered, there were a few moments in the episode where I gritted my teeth a little. 

Sugane: I think he seems like a pretty decent stock dude main character, he’s responsible and takes his job seriously, I find so far nothing about him objectionable. I really want someone to roll their eyes and go “Of fucking COURSE you picked a samurai sword, I bet your favorite color is blue, too” and for him to get all insulted. This will not happen.

OD: OD is obviously some flavor of genderfluid/gnc, and so I’m going to switch up pronouns for her on the regular, because the constant idea put forth that the only people who fuck with gender use they/them is an annoying internet habit, until the show itself tells me otherwise. I wonder why OD can’t transform? I assume this is going to become a plot point with them and I assume I also am not going to get to it in the time I have, but if you can’t transform, how do you even know you’re a gatchaman? Did Lord JJ (I’m sorry, that name makes me lol for reasons I can’t quite articulate) just tell him? Like, “Hey there, you are a gatchaman, but just kidding it functionally means nothing” She is intensely dramatic thus far and I love her. 

Utsutsu: I am sure the show has some bullshit reason she can’t wear fucking clothes. I don’t want to hear it. 

Jou: OH YOU MUST BE THE BAD BOY. Your hair looks stupid, you’re not that cool, my guy. 

Paiman: I don’t think this is a madoka style show in this way, so I actually think Paiman is on the level, and that we’re just going to have a hilarious ‘panda joke thing running through the anime. 

In Conclusion: I am really interested in where the hell this is going to go with all of this. Obviously, this was an infodump, and so there’s a lot of the deeper stuff that I haven’t been able to get into yet. I hope I can remember at least some of it because GOD THAT WAS SO MUCH INFORMATION. You can tell they aren’t trickling out the setup, they don’t give a shit, so I imagine they have Actual Designs on what they want to say. Here’s hoping!

[swiss-cheeze]

Midnight Memories || Eugene Sledge

Warnings: guns, violence, blood (probably), talks of genitals, semi smut (nothing graphic), swearing, making out & kissing, uhh I don’t know if there’s anything else.

A/N: this does NOT follow a specific episode however it does have quotations from the show.

———

“Look at all this dirt and mud on me, not one inch of me is clean” (Y/n) said, glaring at a new recruit, “and look at you, almost little to no dirt, barely fucking blood and you’re grinnin’ like a mad man in a slaughter house for killing ya first Jap” letting go of the man’s collar he stumbled back into the mud and growled.

“WOULD YA QUIT IT ALREADY” the man yelled, he stood up quickly and shoved (Y/n).

“WOULD YOU BOTH SHUT UP OR WE’LL LOOSE OUR POST” Eugene yelled at the pair, “(L/n) go back to the group” (Y/n) glared at the man she had shoved earlier and kept her eye contact.

“I’ sir” the girl mumbled before turning and walking away, heading for Snafu and the rest of the group, Eugene hot on her trials.

“Now you kiss your momma with that mouth?” Snafu asked with a shit-eating grin.

“Can it Snaf, aint in the mood for your games today” (Y/n) grumbled as she slumped down into the dirt, hitting her helmet a little to move out of her view.

“Goddamn it (L/n)” Eugene said as he slid into their ditch.

“And they say the men in the marines have the biggest balls” Snafu said with a grin to Eugene, (Y/n) quirked the corner of her lip.

“I got bigger balls then all of you guys combined” (Y/n) said half-heartedly, “if they allowed me, a woman, into the marines chock full of men and let ME of all of them onto the field then I definitely have bigger balls then anyone here”

“Doesn’t mean you have to yell at a newbie” Eugene said from the side, “I’ve been here shorter then you guys but it’s still no reason to pin him”

“So you wanna go now Sledgehammer?” (Y/n) threatened, a deadly glare shifting through the whole group, “I’ve seen things that would rock your core, I have more mud caked in my ass then you do in your feet. If you wanna go ahead and fuck me over too I won’t hesitate to shoot”

“Calm down love” Snafu said a little shaken, “we’re just waitin’ here. Kay?”

“INCOMING” a voice yelled, a large plane came over the top of the marines before shouting could be heard from in front of them.

“Japs” Snafu muttered as he started shooting.

“HOW IN THE HELL DID THEY GET PASSED US” (Y/n) yelled, “GRENADE”. A loud bang could be heard as well as some screams.

“MUST’VE BEEN TO SMALL FOR THE TROUPS TO KILL THEM BEFORE THEY GOT HERE” Eugene said from beside the girl, he loaded up one of the rockets, yelled out and shot off. A large booming sound came from the Marines side, “WHAT IN GODS NAME WAS THAT” Eugene yelled as he looked towards the sound. Men shouting and signing off could be heard to the groups left but they tried not to pay attention before a man army crawled over to them; Snafu, Eugene and (Y/n) kept firing their guns.

“OUR PLANE THOUGHT WE WHERE THE ENEMY, TOOK OUT THREE OF OUR FOX HOLES AND AT LEAST NINE MEN” the man yelled, Snafu kept shooting but Eugene stopped momentarily as he looked to (Y/n).

“Keep going, don’t stop” (Y/n) muttered, a tear slipped down her cheek but it was the only one, Eugene went back to firing his gun.

“CEASE FIRE. CEASE FIRE” a man yelled, Eugene growled as he stopped his rifle as one Jap kept moving slowly towards them. (Y/n) stood up, about to walk out and finish the man but Eugene was quicker, he pulled out his handgun and shot at the Jap, (Y/n) bent and held her arm up as cover before falling to her left into the arms of Snafu.

“IDIOT WHAT THE FUCK” (Y/n) yelled.

“I SAID CEASE FIRE” the captain yelled, Eugene started to walk away but the captain kept talking, “WHEN I SAY SIEZE FIRE YOU SIEZE FIRE” the captain stayed still as Eugene did too, “what where you doing?” the captain said harshly, the whole platoon was looking towards the captain and Eugene.

“Killin’ Japs” Eugene said coldly slowly turning around.

“You just gave away our GODDAMN position Marine!” the captain yelled.

“I think they got a pretty good idea of where we are in the first place” Eugene hit back, Snafu turned to (Y/n) quickly.

“Can of beans that Eugene will hit the captain” Snafu said with a cocky grin.

“I TOLD YOU TO CEASE FIRE, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE OBSERVING, what do I see? – I SEE YOU WITH YOUR GODDAMN SIDE ARM” the captain yelled.

“You’re on” (Y/n) muttered softly.

“WE’RE ALL SENT HERE TO KILL JAPS WEREN’T WE?” Eugene yelled, “SO WHAT THE HELL DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE WHAT WEAPON WE USE” Eugene got into the captain face and gritted his teeth, “I’ll use my goddamn hands if it had too” and he walked off. The captain turned around and glared at Snafu and (Y/n) as he walked to the pair.

“Get him under control” the captain said through gritted teeth before returning to his post. (Y/n) sighed softly and started to get up.

“I’ll see to him, you owe me a can of beans” (Y/n) said, she started to get out of the hole and holstered her hand gun before walking over to Eugene; sitting up a small mountain of rocks overlooking the bodies of the Japanese and the field, he was playing with a small bit of grass with his pipe in his mouth.

“Well marine, you sure pissed off our captain and Snaf now owes me a can of beans. Should I be proud or mad?” (Y/n) said with a grin as she came up the rocks and sat down next to Eugene.

“Snaf owes you a can o’ beans?” Eugene asked looking at the girl with a cocked eyebrow.

“Made a bet whether or not you’d strike the captain. I won saying you wouldn’t. Mommas boy you are wouldn’t do it” (Y/n) said with a childish grin as she too started playing with some pieces of grass and mud.

“Mommas boy I am wouldn’t strike the captain but still keeps track of how many Japs he kills?” Eugene questioned with a hint of a smile.

“Yeah, exactly” (Y/n) replied with a little body jump and a grin, “Fucking bullshit though, ‘f I find the goddamn F.O. that called the arty, I’d shoot ‘Im” (Y/n) said softly, her southern accent had started to come out. After spending some time with Eugene she had adopted the accent unwillingly.

“Sons of bitches’ll just do it again” Eugene muttered as he took the pipe from his mouth and looked at the burning tobacco.

“Why’d they shell us” (Y/n) mumbled, in the short amount of time they had of answers to the bombing she didn’t think Eugene would actually answer.

“Cause some asshole officer read a map wrong, nobody gives a shit about us.” Eugene muttered back, (Y/n) cocked a grin.

“Didn’t think you’d answer” (Y/n) said side-eying the marine next to her.

“I don’, just a suspicion” Eugene said before looking over to the groups.

“They’re setting up camp” (Y/n) muttered, “when did they even cross the field?” the girl asked rhetorically.

“Time passes by quicker when you’re having fun doesn’t it?” Eugene asked as he started walking to the camping ground.

“Oh so we’re having fun now?” (Y/n) asked with a grin as she followed Eugene across the ground.

“I was” Eugene said, before (Y/n) could reply Snafu threw their bedding as each other as well as a cover.

“’Ere, caps orders” Snafu said with his grin while chewing some gum, or tobacco, they didn’t know.

“Caps orders of what?” Eugene asked as he looked at the bedding and covers.

“Y’all are the last lookouts, from twelve in the morning until six” Snafu said, “so get some sleep now”

“Who’s first?” (Y/n) asked as she started setting up.

“Dunno, but shut up I’m tryna sleep” Snafu said, he rolled over in his bedding before throwing a can of beans in the pairs direction before dozing off.

“Eat now or wait until guard” (Y/n) said smirking to herself as she looked at the beans, turning the can over in her hands.

“Wait until we’re on guard” Eugene said dismissively.

“And why’s that Genie?” the girl questioned as she laid down in her bedding, Eugene didn’t answer for a few moments as he got into his bedding.

“Gives you a chance to eat without having to discharge by using a rifle” Eugene said, “Goodnight”, and with that Eugene rolled over.

“Night Genie” (Y/n) said with a small smile as she got into her bedding, a soft smile placed over her mouth as she looked into the night sky, it was more peaceful up there then down with them.

---

“Wake up, we got duty” Eugene said sleepily, shaking (Y/n)’s shoulder, the girl woke almost immediately with a grumble.

“We don’t get paid for this do we?” the girl mumbled softly as she slowly got up.

“Don’t think so” Eugene responded with a slight grin, (Y/n) stood up quickly as Eugene grabbed their rifles, extra bullets and started heading to the observation point, (Y/n) slowly trailing behind with her can of beans, a pot, a box of matches, and a spoon. Eugene sat down at the rocks the pair had been at before as (Y/n) slowly crawled her way up to his position and started setting up a small fire.

“Ya know, I think this may be the first time I’d be having beans that are actually cooked” (Y/n) said, she stuck her knife into the top of the canteen and started cutting away at the metal, taking back the lid and then dumping the contents of the can into the pot. Eugene lit one of the matches and started to burn the dead grass under the small sticks of the fire before putting the pot into the small hole of the fire, the beans slowly starting to cook as the sticks and twigs crackled beneath the metal.

“Ever or since you entered the war?” Eugene asked as he started to move around the beans making sure to get an even cook.

“Since I entered,” the girl sighed as she looked at the night sky, “haven’t had hot food for a long while actually” she mumbled softly before changing subjects, “so, what about you then huh Genie? Why’d ya get in here when you could be out there” (Y/N) said as she nudged the boy.

“Just wanted to help is all, can’t stand sitting back from something this big. Almost didn’t let me in though, my dad’s a doctor, said I couldn’t and shouldn’t because of the heart murmur I had” Eugene said blandly, “went against his rules in the end though, entered, got in. Now I’m stuck in this place until otherwise told”

“Well it aint all that bad I guess” (Y/n) sighed, Eugene looked at the girl with a cocked eyebrow, “haven’t died yet have we?” the girl asked with a large grin as she stretched out on the rocks.

“No, guess not” Eugene mumbled as he pulled the pot off of the fire and set it aside on the cool rocks, “dinner is done”

“Perfect, I’m starving. Literally” (Y/n) said, the girl sat up quickly and looked to the pot as Eugene put out the fire. Eugene laughed softly as the final remains of the fire got put out, grabbing the pot Eugene handed the pot handle to (Y/n) who quickly dug into the food. Scooping a large amount into her mouth quickly before chewing and handing the spoon and pot to Eugene.

“What? Cold?” he asked.

“No” (Y/n) said softly, “eat”

“Why”

“You need it, you may be gaining a little muscle but you need food to go with it” (Y/n) said, she nudged the pot and spoon to Eugene who took it carefully and took a mouthful before handing it back.

“It’s beautiful tonight” Eugene said absently looking up at the sky.

“Really? I thought it was beautiful all the time” (Y/n) said as she looked up as well, handing the pot to Eugene who took a mouthful with a confused look.

“The stench of dead bodies and blood and the firing of guns and screams is beautiful?” the boy asked as he handed the beans to (Y/n), the girl laughed softly as she looked to Eugene.

“When I get to look at you all day I’d say so yes” (Y/n) said with a cheesy grin. Eugene let a smile cross his face for a moment.

“A-are” Eugene cleared his throat, “are you flirting with me?”, (Y/n) laughed softly as the boy took the pot and ate what was left of the food.

“Have been since you got deported here Genie” (Y/n) said as she laid back on the rocks, arms behind her head.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice” Eugene said, internally scolding himself for saying something so weird.

“Don’t be Genie, nobody notices me” (Y/n) mumbled softly. A wind blew through the trees and the clouds moved as a sweet silence came over the pair, soft snores could be heard in the distance from the sleeping marines.

“I notice you” Eugene said after a little while, his arms wrapped around his shins and his chin rested on his knees.

“Don’t flatter yourself” (Y/n) said softly as she closed her eyes.

“I mean it” Eugene said he turned to crane his neck to look at the girl before giving up and turning fully to her, “I notice when you walk away from the group to go help someone with their riffle, I notice when you scrub your boots clean almost every night, I notice how serious you get when we’re in range and shooting the Japs, I notice when you curl yourself in almost every night and cry; every night you cry and I don’t know why. I notice when you bite your lip when getting yelled at by the captain, I notice when you realise something; a pattern in the Japs fighting, a kink in a gun or a bomber a mile away, you always quirk your lip and you always say ‘well I’ll be damned’” Eugene took a breath as (Y/n) sat up on her elbows, “I know we’re all just marines and we may just be a part of the body count when and if this war ever ends but I notice these small things, not because it’s things to get my mind off of the war but also because…” Eugene paused and sighed, “Because I really like you” Eugene went back to his previous position. (Y/n) sat quietly for a moment as she let the words sink in and let herself think for a while.

“You know I almost didn’t become a marine, didn’t sign up” (Y/n) said, Eugene took this moment to lay down next to the girl, “almost would have never have met you, Snaf, Leckie and everyone else” the girl sighed softly, “can I try something probably really stupid?” the girl asked as she stared up at the sky.

“We could die at any moment and you’re asking for permission to do something stupid?” Eugene asked with a small smile, turning his head to look at the girl.

“Yeah, you’re right I shouldn’t do it” (Y/n) girl sighed sarcastically.

“That’s not what I meant!” Eugene said loudly, shoving the girl softly. (Y/n) laughed softly as she sat up on her elbows.

“Fine fine! You asked for it” (Y/n) exclaimed, the girl quickly leaned forward to Eugene and connected her lips with his. Eugene’s eyes widened as he braced his hands behind himself to keep steady from the force of the kiss, the moon glinted in the background as the stars shone above the pair. As (Y/n) started to move back and separate the kiss Eugene realised what she was doing and brought his hand up to the back of her neck and pulled her forward to his lips again, Eugene’s hand slid to the side of her cheek and jaw as (Y/n) squeaked slightly from the sudden action. A soft hum came from the girl as Eugene glided his tongue over the girls bottom lip, (Y/n) opened her mouth slightly and let Eugene’s tongue dance with hers as her head tilted to the side slightly to get a better angle and her hands came to wrap around the boys waist as Eugene slowly pulled the girl on top of himself as he laid down. (Y/n)’s hand came to wrap in Eugene’s orange locks and pulled softly, emitting a soft groan from the boy beneath her as his head went along with her pulling; (Y/n) bent down and started to quickly kiss and nip at the skin of his neck as the boy whined softly, his hands going to the girls waist and pulling her down harder onto his groin, her growing wetter, him growing harder by every second that passed. A soft moan passed through the girls mouth as she slowly started to try and unbutton Eugene’s shirt, her hand going under the boys shirt and gliding her thumb over the soft skin she found there, (Y/n) was about to glide her hand down further south before-

“AAAAHHHHHH”

Feet.

Running.

Screams.

“THE JAPS” both (Y/n) and Eugene yelled together as they separated, Eugene scrambled for his gun as (Y/n) grabbed the siren left over by the team before them; setting off the siren as Eugene started to slowly pick off the Japs as the once sleeping marine scrambled for their guns and started to pick off what they could. There only seemed to be about 30 or 35 Japs coming for the large team but they were picked off extremely quickly, while guns were fired and the screams of the Japanese died down every minute (Y/n) and Eugene where laughing to themselves at the situation, not even contemplating the shit they’ll be getting from the captain, Snaf or their team mates.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Naruto Shippuden S21

What a tender intro omg also why is this filler so well animated

The introduction of modern technology will never not be funny to me. Kakashi on a laptop. Gaara sending emails. What has the ninja world come to 

I know it’s just superfluous background motion but that angry little cat design was amazing. Takes me tf out 

Hello again New English Iruka Voice time to feel slightly uncomfortable 

Doesn’t Inuyasha have a monopoly on this baby with a red ball imagery

Why! Is! No one! Making sure! Naruto is fed! He’s a baby!!!!!!

Naruto and Sasuke were such adorable children my heart

SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THE FAMILY WHERE ONE OF THE CHILDREN IS JUST A FROG? WHO IS DOING THESE BACKGROUND ANIMATIONS?????

In case you thought I wasn’t being literal:

[Accompanying dialogue to this image: “Did you hear the rumours that Lord Fourth died because of him?” WHO IS THIS FROG CHILD WITH A VENDETTA AGAINST MINATO]

This ninja cowboy music seems slightly misplaced but okay

Hiruzen. U r the literal ninja president. Naruto is foraging in the forest for food bc no one is taking care of him! How r u like ‘Hahah I’m hungry too :D’ 

“The things that we inconsequential humans worry about are often very petty indeed” “You’re right” It’s Philosophy Hours ft. Pre-Schoolers 

“Are you sure these mushrooms are safe to eat? “Won’t know ‘til we eat ‘em” HIRUZEN PICK UP THE PHONE 

SCREAMS FIVE YEAR OLD NARUTO JUST JUMPED OFF THE HOKAGE MONUMENT AHHHHHH

I miss Neji :((((((((((((((((

“Please make sure that you look after Neji” show us Neji’s mum you cowards!!!

“You have to be more positive, and confident!” Nejiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii my boy

“I wish that I could switch places with you, big brother” There’s a lot to unpack here and I’m wildly concerned about all of it. This episode ought to be titled Konoha Desperately Requires Child Welfare Programs

Making an mini-episode which largely depicts Neji’s tragic backstory and centring its ending on Hinata seems like an odd angle to take

 “I’m alone. I don’t have anyone, but I never cry” NARUTOOOOO

KJHFKJHG THIS NINJA BASEBALL OUTRO I LOVE IT 

SASUKE USING HIS SHARINGAN TO CHEAT AT BASEBALL I WHEEZE

Also not that I don’t like Genma but why is he a central figure in this ending. Has he had more than a single conversation with Naruto in his life

Lmao @ Sasuke and Itachi’s child versions going back to having their adult voices. Pick a lane SP!!!

“Things in season are always cheap and tasty” “Oh, is that so, Sasuke? Hahaha” Sasuke learning about the ninja economy

“We’re going to visit your mother’s family” Two questions: 1) Aren’t your families the same family (eep) and 2) Don’t they all live in the same part of the village

90% of this dialogue is recycled from prior episodes except delivered more slowly and it’s a little confusing 

Itachi sure knows a lot about cooking for an eleven-year-old 

Sasuke being a clumsy child is such a cute character detail ahhhh I love him so much 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“[Confused laughter] You want to be like me?” What a Mood Itachi

Sakura’s hideout in the woods is so sweet yes 2 semi-normal childhoods

Poor little Sakura already concerned about her appearance they never let girls live do they

“You’re really cute Sakura, don’t hide it” Ino and Sakura are the most adorable children in the WORLD I love their relationship 4ever

“If she’s cute like you say, then I would love to meet her” who will stop all men

“But Ino, aren’t you good friends with Sakura?” “No, not really” Okay not to project but. I have a lot of thoughts on this narrative 

GASP Inner Sakura’s first appearance!!

Tiny Team 7 is all I need in the world honestly I would watch a whole show that was just those three growing up

I have only just now noticed Suigetsu as third baseman. This ninja baseball game and season in general raise so many questions

Noooo Gaara don’t cry you are gonna be so loved in the future

Rasa, can I just say, from the bottom of my heart, I’m going to yeet you into the sun

“When I look up at the sky, the pain inside my heart feels a little bit better” He’s like 4!!!!!!! >:(

“Instead of a mother, you get to have me, Lord Gaara” Yashamaru: Self-Diagnosed Mumncle 

Ngl baby Gaara’s recollection of Karura is nothing like she looked like

I really don’t care for this new Iruka voice I just keep listening to him like ‘that’s not the sound of Naruto’s dad!!’

I will admit him spooking the sleeping children was cute I don’t know why I always find that so funny kjhgkjhg

“Let me buy into this fight” who taught seven-year-old Naruto to gamble

Christ alive the implication that Naruto has been doing the sexy jutsu since he was seven who will put this boy in ninja therapy

If Orochimaru had just continued to be Jiraiya’s long-suffering friend he might be half-endearing but alas he is fecal matter personified 

“Come on out, I made plenty, so you might as well stay and eat” Hjgjfjgfgffg I’m not sure what’s funnier about this scene the implication that Obito and Rin both independently followed Kakashi home without noticing each other, or that Kakashi did notice and rather than question this turn of events was just like “Guess I should make more fish”

“When you’re older, do you think you’ll become a chef” I would pay to see the AU where Kakashi becomes a professional chef why couldn’t that have been his Road to Ninja persona 

Ngl I spent the first half of Kakashi’s minisode wondering if Sakumo was dead or simply too depressed to take care of Kakashi and I think dead is the less upsetting outcome 

“It’s no fun when you’re not around, Kakashi” Obitooooooooooooooo

I’m not saying it’s suspicious that Sakumo is given two different depictions of his grave site in the anime but Sakumo fucked an alien and I stand by that statement 

All I remember from Sasuke Shinden is that a character called Sasuke “Sassy” as a nickname and if they do that in the Eng dub I won’t survive

“[Deep sigh] Alright Sakura, what is it?” Fhfjhfkjh what’s your damage Kakashi can’t your kids come to visit when people start exploding

God Sakura and Ino’s relationship is the realest.... she went to the Hokage bc her gal was worried abt her family friend and then comforted her from her loss... the looooooooove

Hinata not to devalue your work in any way but why did u collapse after poking one (1) man in the chakra point isn’t gentle fist based in taijutsu

Fhjfhkjhf I’ve seen that gif before of Kakashi knowing that Sakura was thinking about Sasuke but it’s still funny

Sasuke just hanging in the woods with kittycats what kinda redemption journey is this lmao

Ehehehe I’m still not over the fact that Sasuke recognizes Sai’s jutsu and Kakashi uses it to communicate like there are six members of team 7 and this arc PROVES IT HELL YEAH

I can’t believe I forgot the circus ninja oh my god 

“There’s good money to be found for performers like us” MOVE OVER EXPLODING HUMANS WHERE’S MY EPISODE ABOUT THE NINJA CIRCUS 

Everyone always commenting on the pupils and sclera of the Hyuga and Uchiha but nobody caring about Old Man Demon Eyes from the Bamboo Village:

You’d think at this point no amount of genjutsu could traumatize Sasuke 

They’re leaning wholeheartedly into the ninja cowboy music

That is not how I thought they would pronounce “Sassy” this show is full of twists and turns

“What about reviving the Uchiha clan? You’re the lone survivor right?” said Chino, inquiring about when Sasuke was planning to have vaginal sex

“You really think you’re going to find him inside that seriously scary looking cave?” GASP IT’S TENZO TIME

AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE IT’S MY BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

“You’re Sasuke, right?” asked Yamato, as if Sasuke had not provided the memorable introduction of stabbing a seasoned ANBU in the shoulder as a sixteen-year-old during a dramatic reunion with his team

“It would be easier for us to keep things coordinated, if you sent us progress reports as you went...” Okay not to be that gal but I love that Tenzo and Kakashi are an “us” in this mini-lecture about how Sasuke should call his father (Kakashi) more often

P sure that’s Yamato’s last speaking role goodbye sweet man we knew ye well

“So does this mean that you trust me?” GO TO JAIL OROCHIMARU

Every time that Orochimaru touches Sasuke I want to leap through the screen you leave that boy alone!!! Go! To! Jail!

Sasuke having to explain his social life to Taka is a dynamic I never knew I needed. What more do I want from Naruto than frames like this:

"By showing everyone that Sasuke isn’t in the Hidden Leaf Village and that he’s still out journeying around the world, it reduces the possibility that the village will be harmed” “So are you saying that Sasuke has to keep travelling forever” “That might be so” I can’t believe the entirety of Taka came up with a better explanation for Sasuke staying outside Konoha than Kishimoto himself

“Compared to me, the likelihood that Kabuto will return to evil is extremely low”

He still helped kill......... 40,000 people????? Okay dude

I CAN’T BELIEVE OROCHIMARU IS ACKNOWLEDGING HE IS STILL EVIL!!!! GO TO JAIL!!

I’m gonna pretend I don’t see Tenzo following Stranger Danger and he’s on vacation on a beach where he belongs

Fhjkhfkjhfkj what’s the meaning of this Orochimaru you’ve looked the same since you were 25:

Sasuke: No. She’s older than I am

Orochimaru: [Soft gasp] What?

Man I remember vaguely Sasuke being involved in this fight based on the Tenzo novel scene later on but hoo boy I do not like this

SCREAMMMM TENZO TRYING TO PROTECT PPL IN THE AREA HE’S HELPING

“I can’t make direct contact with him, so I better go now” I hope it is because you filed a restraining order, Yamato

“To increase the rarity, what I’ve even done is, had all but one person in a clan killed” at this point En Oyashiro is just trying to bait Sasuke

God I love how righteous Sasuke is being rn like this is the kind of dismantling of oppression I wanted for him instead of sad murder times

This battle is bonkers:

Villain: Looks like you brought a sword to a dodgeball fight

Sasuke: Looks like you brought a dodgeball to a magic eyes fight!!

Well I certainly breezed past this part of Sasuke Shinden hello Fushin

I find it hard to believe that anyone but Naruto could best Sasuke rn 

I keep joking that those eyes in the sky look like Tenzo but I’m right and I should say it

What a long, drawn-out and slightly suspicious backstory for Chino (looking at you, Fushin of two personality types)

“But now you’re still able to travel freely... and that is all because you have people who love and protect you” Team 7 cutaway with closeups of Sakura and Naruto, Narusasusaku game strong

“For the Leaf’s nourishment, your entire clan was absorbed by your village’s Roots” wow what a shitty time for such an excellent pun

Unbelievable kkhkjhfk and by this I mean completely believable:  

Chino: Please explain your change of heart re: village corruption

Sasuke: I got a boyfriend

Unbelievable x2:

Chino: KILL ME 

Sasuke: Consider this.... you have.... boy who is friend. Good enough

Chino: Wow Sasuke, you’re right

Lmao @ Kakashi proudly announcing that Sasuke is about to enter an unsanctioned jutsu fight in a bet to free enslaved people how did this letter go “Dear Hokage-dad-Kakashi, I am writing to inform you...”

Even funnier: If Tenzo wrote the letter bc Sasuke is shite at contacting people: “Dear Kakashi-senpai, Brace yourself to be worried and proud—”

“Are you Sasuke’s...” yes Chino, whatever the end of that sentence is, you’re correct

Huh I could’ve sworn at least a good chunk of these freed people go to the Leaf. I didn’t make that conversation up. I have discussed it many times!!! My poor Tenzo cut out for more logical story lines I guess 

Omggggggg the Raikage is telling Sasuke about Naruto’s most vulnerable Sasuke moment..... the love!!! Is this the only reason they invited A lmao

En Oyashiro joining Rasa and Hiashi in the Bad Dad Club

I’ve said this before but Naruto and Sakura going on a date to talk about Sasuke is the most legit representation for their relationship I’ve ever seen that’s it that’s what them dating would be like 

“You’re just like a one man police force” lol @ them cutting out the fact that Sakura said this bc Sakura’s not allowed to have individual connections to Sasuke and also just like....... how much Sasuke still wants to be a cop kjhgkjhgk baby stop

I’ve belatedly realized that Kakashi types to the beat of the intro music and it makes me giggle

“The adult world can be complicated” is that ur way of saying ‘nepotism’ Kakashi

“I’m startin’ to get a belly” “I don’t want to hear about all that” PLS

“You two are really the only ones who are special to me” aw Shikamaru

That slap was A  Lot, Temari, surely there are better ways to tell Shikamaru you want him to be your boyfriend

“You don’t really think that Sai has—” “Well, he is very innocent.” 

Kakashi about Sai: He’s the baby of the family

Sai: I’m the oldest and most experienced of all the youth???

Kakashi: I mark ur ages by when I got you xoxo ur legal age is 3

I’m not sure that that’s the intonation I expected for Hinoko but I guess that’s on me for stereotyping teen girls hahah

“That’s my ninja way” “Our ninja way” I feel like this is shinobi flirtation

The outro with Little Team 7 fading to Big Team 7... I have but one heart

Also the implication that they took a photo immediately post war jhgkjhgkj. Kakashi still has a barely healed stab wound and twenty years of trauma. Sasuke and Naruto both just lost an arm. Also who brought a camera to the battlefield. Who took this picture. (Tenzo waking up from a 224 episode coma: We gotta take a family photo)

“You might consider yourself a member of Team 7, but I wonder if they think the same of you” [Naruto voice] Believe it!!!!!!

“If we just kill the lookouts, it’ll be like easy to get past the checkpoint” okay calm down Soku

Lmao Shikamaru struggling to deal with rebellious teens jhghjkg why are the anime episodes I watch so fitting to my own life

Man not to get 2 real it’s fucked up that Soku fears peace wyd militarism 

I don’t really believe that Soku is deserting the village but it’s a good tactic

[Panning to the bird scene at the beginning of this arc] We call that foreshadowing

Komori’s judgement seems to be clouded by his lowkey crush on Soku

“I’ve just been having these really bizarre dreams lately” that’s PTSD Shikamaru

“Feudal lords are always [tyrants] no matter where you go” then why.... do you have.... feudalism.......... [Tobirama screams in the afterlife]

Not to judge these guys so much but like.... ur ANBU and a veteran ninja surely you should have a disguise after faking your death??????? Kakashi, Iruka, what shinobi standards are you teaching exactly?? U didn’t even change ur hairstyles???

“Something similar happened to me as well” what are you... are you talking about when you pretended to be asleep during the Chunin exams because that’s not the same thing as sleeping under a pile of corpses Shikamaru 

NOOOOOOOOOO SAI WHY ARE THEY HANGING MY ANGEL FROM A CRUCIFIX 

AHHHHHHH I don’t like seeing Sai like this, Kakashi’s right he’s a baby!!

“Let’s just say I’ve found the place where I belong” Fhdjskhfksjhf this is definitely Root Code for something because Kakashi uses this line on Tenzo in his Tsukuyomi dream

“Then why didn’t Naruto come to get me? You and I have never been particularly close, so why were you the one who came here?” LMAO SAI ‘you’re not on my list of eligible rescuers Shikamaru 😒😒😒😒’ 

“Fret not, to me this is but a trifle” said Ro, lying prostrate on the ground in between groans of pain (same)

I mean... Gengo makes some pretty compelling arguments abt the shinobi system

“The alliance of nations that the Leaf is currently a part of... is only going to maintain a dark, tenuous peace” I mean... Gengo’s right even if he is a dick

“Lord Hokage told me everything... and I had a hell of a time getting it out of him too” “I don’t want to know what you did... I don’t even want to imagine it” JHGKJHGKJHG I WANNA SEE TEMARI INTERROGATING A FORMER ANBU, KAGE-LEVEL NINJA I LOVE IT

Wait are these last twelve outros dedicated to each of the rookie teams + Team Guy bc that would be adorable

JHGJHGGHGJHG DO WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE TEMARI YELL AT KAKASHI

Update from 3 seconds later: We don’t but Kakashi’s “Euh?” sound as she knocks down his door is still very funny

“Friendship is useless” “If that’s true, then why are you crying right now” he’s been taking Sasuke lessons in his spare time

“Do you know of a man named ‘Zabuza Momochi’” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“These are my only friends” said Sai, about two giant cartoon lions 

Sai’s genjutsu scene was actually much sweeter in the book bc Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato’s chakra were all protecting him inside his own mind but I don’t mind my boy getting a hug

HAHAHAHAHA WHAT IS THIS CUTAWAY TO NARUTO BATHED IN GOLDEN LIGHT ANNOUNCING “RAMEN” LIKE IT’S A WHOLE SENTENCE OKAY STUDIO PIERROT U NEED A BREAK I GET IT

“What in the hell was that?” that was also my question Shikamaru

Shikamaru with full conviction: To be lazy.... that is my dream 

Hahahaha it’s Ninja Teen Romance Hours I guess

“Oh, you don’t want to [go out on a date]?” No that’s not what I’m saying” [walks away] TEMARI PLS

“Going on a date without a strategy, would be like trying to fight a tailed beast unarmed” [Nodding] “You have zero chance of winning, that way” I suddenly understand Kakashi’s dating life a lot more

They really rely on you being aware of Naruto the Last huh gjkhgkjhgk there’s been no mention in any of this filler of Naruto and Hinata even being in a relationship to this point as far as I remember

Fhjkfhkjhfkfh poor Iruka none of the kids know he’s President of the Naruto’s Dad Society

“I know I’m supposed to be striving to get ahead in my career, but there’s also a part of me that really wants to just continue teaching kids, one on one” Irukaaaaa <3333333

Looool even as Hokage, Kakashi just drops out of nowhere to give cryptic life advice and then leaves

Smash the statue, Tsukune, don’t let the establishment tell u what to do!!

“Eating ramen everyday isn’t healthy you know” am I to believe that Kakashi, the man who told Naruto, ‘if you're going to be a ninja, you need to eat your vegetables’ is on a ramen-only diet?? Falsehoods

“And it’s all thanks to you Iruka” khjhgkjhgjhg alright.... you win this round KKIR shippers

WHO IS ANIMATING THIS SCENE IT IS BUCKWILD??? There is no character model to speak of, most of the kids don’t have noses, everyone’s upside down or spinning around, and Iruka is... hiding in a frog sign???

There is no English translation of this caption???? EXPLAIN JAPAN. TELL ME YOUR FROG SECRETS YOU KNOW I LOVE FROGS [INSERT PICTURE OF TENZO HERE]

(Update I looked it up in the sub and the caption offers no more insight. “IRUKA UMINO, AROUND 30 YEARS OLD. STEALTHILY”)

“This is for Hinata, so let’s all try our hardest” Kiba loves Hinata MOST

You know how if you pause in the middle of an animated action, you sometimes linger on an in-between image that looks goofy because it was meant to add to the motion rather than be focused on? This whole episode is animated like one of those images

It’s okay Lee the only dumbbell Naruto is fixated on is Sasuke Uchiha

I know don’t usually post so many images in these liveblogs, but I really need anyone reading this to see the Leaf Village’s semi-canonical Unofficial Mascot Konorin:

He is??? The love of my life???

“I don’t even have a boyfriend and train every day from morning til night” yes you do. His name is Neji Hyuga and he’s very alive and he’s a jonin sensei and he will buy you all the knives you want after he takes all of Hiashi’s money and redistributes it. In this essay I will—

You see what I mean??? Neji wants to be there for Tenten (and Lee)!!!

Tenten: What would Neji do if he were here now

Neji: [starts manifesting]

“It’s you since you’re a taijutsu specialist, but Naruto and Hinata aren’t” yes????? Hinata is???? She doesn’t use weapons but Gentle Fist is entirely taijutsu??? Why does everyone keep forgetting

KHKGJHKJHGKFHKJHFKJ I CAN’T GET OVER NEJI JUST. MANIFESTING ABOVE LEE’S BED TO GIVE HIM SHITTY WEDDING GIFT IDEAS 

“And don’t forget: Hyuga” Neji........ what.... does this mean!!!!!!!!

Why say “Neji” like that Orochimaru and in fact why say anything at all [Konan voice] I’m the Hokage now, the entire criminal justice system is on its way you are going to jail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really can’t believe that the Naruto writers looked at Tenzo’s role in Naruto SD and decided “let’s do that.... but worse” 

They animated?????????? A smaller Lee??????????? Into Lee’s mouth???????????? As if the animation style wasn’t enough. I need a minute

They are really going full Naruto SD huh??? Cut away skit like a ‘genjutsu’ scne. Lee and Guy playing a married couple and Tenten a baby. Neji in drag. This is a choice

“How can you misunderstand Neji so much” “Even if it’s only as a ghost, I’m sure that Neji would appear” I need. Several minutes

Fhjkhfkjfh Shikamaru’s vision of Gaara, Bee, Kakashi and Tsunade hanging out at this fancy restaurant. Is this who he thinks Kakashi’s social circle is these days (he might be right)

“Okay, I’ll hear you out!” Is this implication of this scene that Temari thinks Shikamaru’s idea of a first date is marriage... and she’s WILLING TO GO ALONG WITH THAT. TEMARI PLS

“Hey Ino, why would you go out of your way to make something I love? Bc she looooves you Sakura

“Sakura, I thought the same thing” GOD JUST GET MARRIED

“It’ll be too late once we go in, I could get all caught up in the mood or something like that” wait........ does Temari think Shikamaru wants to get married or fuck???? Or both??? OH MY GOD

Gaara: Naruto’s getting married.... without meeeeeeeeeee

God I love Gaara’s Blank Period hair it is truly careless and happy hair

“His ramen’s extravagent?” JKGHKHKJH everyone in the Leaf Village trying to convince Gaara that Naruto’s taste is incredibly obnoxious which is true but not in the way being described 

Kankuro what’s your damage let Gaara buy a nice and personal present for the love of his life 

Every time I think this arc can’t get more ridiculous it exceeds my expectations:

[Vaguely horrified accompanying dialogue: “The Raikage—” “—Will do the Hidden Cloud Dance?”]

“Well then, Gaara is just going to have to do the Hidden Sand Samba” Ah. Of course. The Hidden Sand Samba. Why didn’t anyone think of this plan before

Gaara is blushing because his new dream is just to samba dance with Naruto into the night

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Teuchi giving Naruto an “all you can eat forever” coupon that’s cute our sweet boy is so loved 

Gaara: My wedding gift to you, Naruto... is me :)

“I’m just disappointed that we aren’t going to get to see you dance, Gaara” you know what that’s fair Kankuro me too 

Hahahaha Shino dissing Kiba’s plight for becoming Hokage to these random kids

I can’t pay attention to anything this ninja cat is saying because they’ve got Naruto’s voice and it is very distracting

There’s something to be curious about how it would be if Kiba married into a family that has a contract with the Uchiha lmao

Literally the girl who Kiba is supposed to be in love with is given Hinata’s voice #kibahinarights

“Oh, just take it. Money means nothing to me” the Beekeeper is truly one of the strangest characters in the Naruto universe just conceptually. Why are they wearing a giant bee stinger on their butt?

LMAO @ Kiba having absolutely no self-doubt whatsoever. Goals!!

Shino becoming a teacher after the war is actually one of the post-699 futures I like, good for him!

Iruka sweet man Naruto has compared you to a father like 1500 times have you not overheard him one (1) time

Kakashi is such a dumb stubborn bitch trying to find a way for Naruto to have a happy wedding... I love him

“This is my fault, I never taught him how to treat women! Not that I even really know about that kind of thing of course” Iruka Umino confirmed canonically gay

“I just have to bow my head a little” KKIR: 2; Me: 0

I love this tradition of Hokage boys bowing their heads for cooperation between villages yesssssssssssss

Outro for the whole OG Team 7.... I’m fine everything’s fine I’m good cool cool cool cool cool

The implication that they just sell Kakashi wigs in the village... amazing

I know this is about to be an emotionally poignant moment but what Naruto’s presence is reminding is that the only word he has said in the past 6 episodes is “ramen” LMAO

“I’m going to have to apologize to her for raising you as a such a thoughtless, inconsiderate man” raising you... RAISING YOU..................... TRULY PRESIDENT OF THE NARUTO’S DAD SOCIETY GOD BLESS IRUKA UMINO

LOOK AT THIS CRYBABY NINJA THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF KONOHA HIDEN WAS HOW IRUKA KEPT BURSTING INTO TEARS OVER NARUTO EVERY OTHER MINUTE THIS IS WHAT BONDS LOOK LIKE

God..................... the Team 7 lover in me just despairs of this final episode bc they’re all separated and also Tenzo needs justice 4 being Kakashi’s co-wedding planner it’s in the book I read it!!!!

I will set aside my feelings to recognize that Kakashi looks very handsome

Goodbye Naruto you were certainly an experience and I mean that in every possible intonation 

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9

So, I’ve spent the last few days trying to type up my thoughts on the last episode, sort of like I did for Episode 3. However, each attempt kept turning into random keysmashing and more profanity than I think that this forum will allow, and you guys did a good job of covering how complex the situation is. Therefore, let’s keep moving.

We open with aw jeez I have to see this again. My newest ship of Sayaka and Kyoko are at the train station, shortly before Sayaka’s Soul Gem breaks. (Also, what the heck is with this show and my ships? I ship Madoka and Mami, and Mami gets eaten. I ship Sayaka and Kyoko, and Sayaka turns into a Witch. I am therefore swearing off shipping in this show, as apparently my thinking two characters are compatible is Urobuchi’s sign to ax one off. My Ship of Death is hereby docked.) Sayaka mutters about a balance between happiness and curses, her tear falls… “I was so stupid… so stupid.” And we are in a new Labyrinth. This one created by Witch-Sayaka. There are strange runes floating around, musical bars and a checkered floors/walls, train tracks stretching through space. So it’s a mixture of Sayaka’s music-based wish and the trainstop environment? Also, what the hell, why is the music so awesome. This is a tragic moment, I do not need music that sounds so good I want to download it. Sayaka- Sayaka’s body falls through the air, Kyoko immediately transforms into MG mode and leaps for her- it. The Witch launches train tracks and train wheels and apparently a whole train at her, but Kyoko makes it through and grabs the body, ending up right in front of the screaming Witch. Sayaka’s body slumps in Kyoko’s arms while Food Girl tries to figure out what’s going on, or more likely refuses to acknowledge what just happened. I sadly do not have that luxury, as I have to report my thoughts to all you jerks. I hope you’re happy. Kyoko continues to dodge the tracks and wheels, until one explodes in front of her? Homura! I- I have mixed feelings about you showing up. Because on one hand, yay, you can help Kyoko out. On the other hand, the last time you were around Sayaka… Homura tells Kyoko to get back and the animators stop drawing her, then they draw a cylindrical grenade right in front of the Witch. Ok, I know the last one looked like a frag grenade but was actually a flash-bang. This one looks more like the flash-bang type I know from shooters, is it going to… yup, big bang. REALLY big bang, sends Kyoko’s hair waving. Homura pops back in front of Kyoko and tells her to take her hand, and then activates her shield when she does. Suddenly the Witch freezes, hand and sword casting a shadow over the three-two Magical Girls. Kyoko’s confused, and Homura warns that if she lets go of her hand time will stop for her as well, before they start running away. Kyoko asks where that Witch came from. Sorry to tell you Kyoko, but- Homura beats me to it, bluntly says that it’s what used to be Sayaka Miki. Kyoko doesn’t say anything like “What?!” or “That’s impossible” but just asks if they’re just going to run away, making me believe that she did realize but just wasn’t accepting it. As for running away, Homura says “If you want to fight it, drop that needless baggage and we’ll turn around to kill it right now.” … That’s… Ok, I know that Sayaka’s soul was already out of the body, but… for all my comments on meat puppets, it was still her body. To call it ‘needless baggage’... Knowing that Homura’s a freaking TIME TRAVELER and has presumably seen this before is one thing, but… Kyoko’s only response is “Like hell!” and keeps running, to which Homura says that she’s only dragging them down. Since Kyoko refuses to drop the body to fight the Witch (and likewise, doesn’t take action to fight the newly-created Witch in general…) they’re heading out. And in a burst of white light they’re back in the real world. Kyoko slumps to her knees still holding the body, and Homura does a Hair-Flip as the musical notes around them fade. Hoo boy. This is a predicament. Intro of LIES Episode 9: I’d Never Allow That To Happen There are flies/moths on a lamppost, forming a skull shape. Random happenstance? Sign of a Familiar or Witch labyrinth? Urobuchi and the artists being jerks? Who knows? Madoka slowly walks along some train tracks. When did we last see her? Oh right, it was right after Kyubey turned (temporarily) into Swiss Cheese and emotionless Homura broke down crying. And good grief, reading back over that part I am amazed at how naive I was. I was actually pissed off at Homura for killing the Incubator, because I thought that Madoka could finally get some powers. But good grief, after learning that apparently Magical Girls who run out of power turn into god-damned Witches, I am so freaking happy that the Incubator was stopped in time. Or at least for a while. We’ve already lost Mami and Sayaka, I don’t wanna lose little Madoka too. Then she looks up and sees two pairs of legs Oh. Oh no. I don’t want to see this. Madoka just saw Sayaka’s body. Said body being carried by the girl who she saw fighting Sayaka to the death a few days ago, and followed by the girl who murdered the Incubator right in front of her. Understandably, she freaks out, rushing forward and… asking Sayaka what happened… and where her Soul Gem went… Homura just does a Hair-Flip and says that her Soul Gem turned into a Grief Seed, and was destroyed when it hatched a new Witch. No, Madoka. They’re not joking. I wish to god it was a joke, that Sayaka would open her eyes and laugh and say “Boy, we got you good Madoka!”. But it’s the truth. The final secret of the Soul Gems. When they grow tainted/run out of power and turn completely dark, they turn into Grief Seeds, and the Magical Girl is ‘reborn’ as a Witch. “This is the inescapable fate of all who become magical girls.” A train roars by and Madoka collapses, saying that all Sayaka wanted to do was protect people from Witches. And now she is one? “It could only last until she had suffered an amount equal to the good she had wished for. From here on, for ever person she has saved, she will curse another.” Man, this is the dark side of karma, isn’t it? I’ve always heard of it in a sense of “life will get better than it is now, look forward to the future”. But this? If Fate/Stay was a cynical take on “The Needs of the Many”, then this is his take on karma. Kyoko lays Sayaka’s body down in front of Madoka. Then spins around and grabs Homura by the collar. Yes, thank you! Homura, I get that you’ve seen this before in the other timeline, that you’ve had time to process the event, but for us its the first time we saw Sayaka turn into a god-damned Witch! Show a little understanding! And maybe explain why you didn’t warn us this was going to happen, like you didn’t warn us about how Magical Girls are lichs! I mean, good God! I gave you so much flak about your Hallway Threat way back when, but now I can see that you were being too soft! If you knew this was going to happen, maybe you could give a more direct warning? Or a more clear threat to scare Madoka off, so all this doesn’t happen? Kyoko chews Homura out for acting all “Ooh, I’m a Time Traveler, I know all this stuff and you don’t”. She was Sayaka’s best friend! They knew Mami for a few days, and that was tragic enough. Madoka knew Sayaka for years! But all Homura does is say that they truly know what the thing they wanted to become is like. Oh, and try not to be seen with the corpse you insisted on dragging along, alright? Don’t be sloppy disposing of the middle-school girls remains, otherwise the cops might find it and then things just get distracting. ...wow. I’m going to have to take away your seat cushion for that, Homura. Kyoko asks how Homura can even call herself human when she acts so callous in the face of loss. And even I can know how Homura’s going to respond to that one: “I don’t, of course.” Hair-Flip. “And neither should you.” Well. You may have had an alternate timeline/who knows how many years as an immortal lich to get used to ‘not being human’, but Kyoko is not only likely younger, but came from a religious background. It’s not that easy for her. One final Hair-Flip and Homura walks off. It’s later now, and Madoka is in her room, curled up on her bed in her pajamas and failing to sleep. YOU. GET OUT. The Incubator is outside her window. Nope, no, uh-uh. I am not in the mood to put up with your shit right now, Incubator. I don’t care what you’re going to say, what excuses you’re going to give like “But you never asked” or “What does it matter what form your Soul takes” or “Well, we’re down a Magical Lunch Lady. Guess you need to pick up the pace to keep me fed. On that note, I know where you can find a newly-hatched Witch, shouldn’t be too hard to fight…” NOPE. Not putting up with your shit tonight.

*one angry sleep later*

*Deep breath*

Alright, Incubator. Let’s see what excuses you’ll make this time.

Oh, well thank you for asking to come in, instead of just showing up like at Homura’s. Very polite of you.

Madoka is very unsurprised to see that the Incubator is alive, considering last time it was Swiss Cheese. I’m guessing Homura told her?

Oh, never mind about being polite, the Incubator’s inside with all the stuffed animals now. Permission, what’s that?

Madoka asks if what Homura said was true, the Incubator’s all “Yep, true enough I can’t protest it. I can’t lie, nosiree.”

Aw, Madoka no. She looks so… blank. Burnt out.

She asks if the Incubator really has been turning them into Magical Girls just so they’ll become Witches.

“Please don’t misunderstand.”

Oooh boy. *Sits back, munches on popcorn* Alright, you little monster. You justified tearing out these girl’s souls to make them more effective Witch fighters, let’s see how you excuse Contracting them into becoming literal monsters.

You… don’t do this out of ill will towards humans?... bwuh?

“Everything we’ve done is for the sake of prolonging the life of the universe.”

...turning young girls into monsters is good for the universe. Seems legit.

Ok, huh? Why are you talking about entropy now?

Energy a fire gives off is not equal to the energy to create its fuel, sure. Standard thermodynamics here. How does this relate to Witches?

Amount of usable energy in the universe is decreasing, sure…

Does this apply to Magical Girls as well?

Hold up, I think I’m seeing where this is going.

Incubator’s Race: “Oh no, we need warriors to defend our physically weak race and get us food from stronger creatures. Hey, these ‘humans’ can wield great power, but they can’t unlock it on their own. Let’s uplift them and get them to fight our battles. This could in no way backfire!”

Incubator’s Race: “Hooray, they’re defeating all our foes… but they’re using up all of our power in doing so, they lack any idea of subtlety. We need some way to cull their numbers… hey, we just figured out a flaw we can introduce into their Soul Gems, if they use up too much power at a time it shatters and their soul corrupts, they can’t use our power anymore. They turn into monsters, sure, but there are so many humans we can always Contract a few more to fight them. And hey, these ‘Witches’ drop tasty treats!”

Ok, sorry for random speculation. Been on a Mass Effect kick lately, made a tenuous connection between the settings. Back to the Incubator.

So their race looked for an energy source that wasn’t bound by thermodynamics, to counter entropy. And they found a solution with Magical Girls?

The Incubator’s civilization created technology to convert… emotions? Into raw energy? An impressive technology, but then why not just use it on yourselves, unless humans are somehow more emotional? A sort of Vulcan/Humanity emotional divide? (And I feel dirty for comparing Vulcans to this little jerk.)

Wait, you don’t ‘possess the capacity’? Like, at all? Huh.

So they searched the universe for species to serve as emotion batteries for their new tech, until they finally found humans.

(Hoping that the finale is a bunch of these other races that didn’t meet the Incubators’ needs showing up and helping out the “young” Terran civilization against the Galactic Jerks)

Shots of empty chairs?

So since humanity was a Yeerk Class 5 species (big population, fast reproduction), and the emotional-energy (emergy?) produced by a single human is more than they use between their birth and growth, the Incubators had found their power source.

Yep. The Incubators consider human souls as the perfect fuel source.

Abridged!Mr. Popo: That carpet gets 10,000 miles to the soul. Abridged!Bulma: What? Abridged!Mr. Popo: The gallon.

Oh, but why settle for unleaded humans for emergy, when the most effective of all are girls in their “second stage of development”? Seeing as they experience the greatest fluctuations between hope and despair.

Hmph. And I’d imagine that girls who are not fully informed have more ‘fluctuation’ than girls who know exactly what they’re getting into, hmm?

Oh for-really? Really?!

“In the moment when your Soul Gems flare out and turn into Grief Seeds, enormous energy is created.”

That’s it?

That’s the whole reason for this farce?

Ok, sit down, Incubator. I SAID SIT DOWN.

Look, maybe there’s something I don’t understand about the process. But not a minute ago you said “a single human” produces more emergy than the energy they use in a lifetime. Bam, problem solved, you have energy for days right there. But no, you just had to get greedy, didn’t you? It’s not enough that you’ve got a source of emergy with plain old humanity that bites its thumb at thermodynamics, that solves your “Oh, energy of the universe is running out” problem just as it is. Nope! Instead you manipulate young girls into giving up their souls and turning into monsters because that gives you even more emergy!

This is not logic! This is greed! I am so glad to be wrong, you aren’t the Vulcans. The Vulcans would never stoop so low for a little bit extra. You’re the Ferengi!

*Sigh* So the Incubators go around collecting the energy, ‘hatching’ Soul Gems into Grief Seeds. Buddy, setting aside how wrong that is, what about all the lost potential emergy from the humans a Witch eats? Is one Grief Seed forming really enough to make up for that?

Madoka’s still in shock, mutters a question asking if Incubators really just see humans as disposable energy supplies. The Incubator asks if she knows just how many species there are in the universe, and how much energy they use all the time.

...which implies that the other species’ energy use is supplemented by the Incubators. Suddenly hoping they don’t show up after all.

“And someday even you humans will be able to leave your planet and come join all of us.”

Which will probably be pretty awkward. “Hey, so you’re the species that we’ve been harvesting to power our hot tub? Cool, cool, nice to meet you.”

Actually, why don’t they Uplift humanity? If a single planet of humans create enough emergy to conter the energy use of the rest of the universe’s species, how much emergy could be created by a Human Federation? See, Incubator? I’ve only known about this for a few minutes, and already I’m finding problems. You fail at logic!

Ahaha, NO. Incubator, you don’t get to try and blame humanity for the rest of the universe’s species using so much energy. Maybe they should cut back on their electricity, turn down the AC? If we leave our world to find an “empty and desolate” universe, that’s not our problem.

...don’t make me say it.

...I really don’t want to say it.

...ok, FINE. You may have a tiny, itty-bitty point. Yes, it would be advantageous for humanity as a whole to rise up into an established universal community.

BUT. You are saying that this comes at the cost of human lives.

Read my lips, Incubator. It was NOT okay for Mami to die. It was NOT okay for Sayaka to suffer. It was NOT okay for Kyoko’s family to implode.

“But we always ask and receive your consent before making the contract. Doesn’t that alone show our good will?”

Madoka screams that they do it by tricking all of us. YES.

“We aren’t able to comprehend what you mean by ‘tricking.’”

…

“Why is it that when humans regret a decision based on a misunderstanding they feel resentment toward the other party?”

…

…

… *snap*

FUCK. YOU. BUNNY-CAT.

This is not logic, this is not “for the greater good”, this is just being a dick. You claim to be an advanced species? Then you damn well understand what we mean by ‘tricking’ someone else. You knew all the details, and only gave out information at your leisure. If someone makes a decision based on a misunderstanding, it’s not their fault for not having all the knowledge. It’s the fault of whoever did have the knowledge, and neglected to share it for their own advantage.

Here, let me try something. Hey Incubator, I know about this other planet with a species that produces ten times as much emergy than any human, even a Magical Girl. Just fly off to the Alpha Centauri system, you’ll spot them easily!... Oh, what’s that? You flew all the way there and used up so much energy, but there was nobody there? Aw, what a shame. Hey now, what are you blaming me for? It’s not my fault you misunderstood that I was joking.

Madoka can’t follow the Incubator’s so-called “logic”. Believe me, Madoka, it’s good that you don’t understand that little jerk’s excuses.

Oh come the FUCK on, Incubator. You’re going to act the victim here?! Oh, I’m so sorry that it’s so hard for you to understand humans and our values system. We’ve got nearly 17 billion people, with 10 more every 4 seconds-

“-why should you care so much about the loss of a tiny handful?”

...WOW. Ok then.

Aaaand we have reached the tipping point. Madoka, our all-loving Protagonist, has said “If that’s how you think, then you really are our enemy.” Good job, Incubator! You proved to be so immoral with your faulty logic that sweet little Madoka has named you Enemy.

The Incubator soldiers on, acting all gracious that he came to try and explain themselves to her.

“I was hoping you’d understand what incredible good your sacrifices have done for this universe.”

Oh, well if you think that sacrificing these girls for the universe is for the best, then who am I to stop you?

The Incubator can’t understand Madoka’s point of view, and Madoka can’t accept the Incubator’s.

But the Incubator keeps up the compliments, saying that one day she’ll be the most powerful of Magical Girls. And then the wickedest of all Witches. A Witch with protagonist powers, brrr…

Oh, I’m so happy to hear that the harvesting of Madoka will get you an incomparable amount of energy, Incubator. That makes everything so much better!

“So if you ever feel like dying for the the sake of the universe, please call me anytime. I’ll be waiting for you!”

...wow. You dick.

The Incubator jumps away, and Madoka starts to cry.

*slight break between posts*

Aw jeez, sorry guys. I thought I’d take a few days to get settled into the fall semester, not get delayed over a month getting back. But on the plus side, as I’m sitting here, about to pull up Crunchyroll and resume the episode, there’s some emotional distance from that last part. Yes, I recognize the irony. And in that time, I have come to two realizations: Kyubey is right. And Kyubey is a moron. Hear me out. I’m going to try and do this response justice. If we accept what Kyubey has said as truth, then we are not alone. There are other species out in the universe, other inhabited planets. I don’t know how many there are, but let’s assume at least two others besides us and Kyubey’s race. If we go by pure, ‘unemotional’ math, we can say that humanity is outnumbered by 3 to one. And that’s not even factoring in the likelihood that these other races have settled more planets than our single world, the ratio could be much, much higher. Going by pure numbers, we are in the minority. In pure voting terms, if the other races are in agreement, our ‘discomfort’ means diddly-squat. And even beyond that, we’re talking about the heat-death of the Universe, the Incubators and the other races are working to prevent the end of reality. If that’s your goal, what sacrifice is too great? Especially if it’s not you who’s doing the sacrificing? So yeah, the need is there. Using emergy is a solution, perhaps the only solution, to the heat-death of the universe. Assuming that Kyubey isn’t lying about it being greater than entropy. In that, this single point, Kyubey is right. What I find painful however, beyond that whole ‘sacrificing young girls who knew not what they were getting into because you didn’t tell them’ thing, is that the Incubators are being criminally inefficient about this. It’d be funny if it wasn’t measured in lives. As Shay Guy said, they’ve found a local maximum with the emergy from a single human and just focused on maximizing that. Which I find to be criminally short-sighted on their part. I mean, seriously? You find a species that is the single solution to the heat-death problem, you maximize the emergy from young girls, and then you just leave it at that? Let’s run a scenario: Instead of sulking about in the shadows, creeping on little girls, you land a spaceship in front of the UN. An Incubator saunters inside, reveals that there are multiple alien species out there, and that they rely on human emotions to prolong the universe. Set up a few emergy-capturing satellites in orbit, rather than whatever method you use to gather emergy from individual girls, and start uplifting humanity to settle other planets, set up more emergy satellites… Hell, at worst if emergy satellites won’t work you get people who contract knowing the price. For crying out loud, I’d be willing to make the Contract myself, knowing that I’d get to enjoy power for at least a little while, be wary about my magic use and falling into despair so quickly, and knowing that my passing would result in the entire Universe lasting just a little bit longer. Ugh. Just, ugh. Incubators, what you are doing now is like finding a coal mine and setting it on fire to stay warm. Or whatever, I just cannot wrap my head around the inefficiency of this so-called advanced race. Bleh, whatever. Let’s get back to the Magical Girls. Been a while since I saw the episode, so I’ll pause here, watch up to where I left off, and then come back once I’m in the proper mindset. *Ten minutes later* FEEEEEEELS. Also, I demand an Incubator plushie for Christmas so I can punch it repeatedly. Camera is panning over Anime City (I know it has a real name, but I can’t remember how to spell it), settles on a table loaded with food. Ah, Kyoko! What are you up to? ...That’s Sayaka. No, that’s Sayaka’s body. Why do you have Sayaka’s body, Kyoko? What are you doing with your Soul Gem? INCUBATOR. GET OUT. It asks what Kyoko hopes to achieve, using so much energy to “keep the body fresh.” Aw, Kyoko. You haven’t given up on Sayaka, have you? I get it, I really do but… you know what happens when a Magical Girl uses up their energy or gives into despair, you’ve seen it happen right in front of you. Don’t put yourself at risk. Kyoko asks if there’s any way to get the Soul Gem back, the Incubator- Oh, you dick. “None, as far as I know anyway”? That is the worst kind of manipulation, saying that you don’t know but not completely dismissing the possibility. Because after all, it only benefits you if Kyoko uses up too much energy trying to fix Sayaka and Witchifies herself. Aaargh. Yup, after the Incubator says that Kyoko stops eating and pounces on the possibility, the fact that there’s stuff even the Incubator doesn’t know. Oh. Oh damn you, show. I accept that Sayaka is gone, that there’s no hope of her coming back, but then… “The existence of magical girls defies logic as it is.” This is a world of magic, of power greater than entropy. I can’t rule anything out. Heck, there’s apparently a time traveler running around (and doesn’t that say volumes about the show, that someone being a time-traveler has taken a backseat to this current issue). Like Kyoko, I am thinking about the possibility. I want it to be true, so bad. Argh, and the Incubator just keeps not committing. “There’s no precedent for it.” Speaking the truth, but framing it in a way that these poor girls are getting played. “Unfortunately, I can’t offer any guidance at this time.” GOOD. Now get out. Kyoko (and I) are done with your ‘advice’, you can just shove off. Later, it’s a new day! The sun is shining! The birds are singing! Madoka shuffles along to school, knowing that her best friend has become a Witch and fielding well-meaning questions from Hitomi! She tries to claim that she just didn’t get enough sleep. “Speaking of which, it looks as if Sayaka is staying home again today.” … Please stop talking. Please stop talking about how you should go visit her later, but you’re worried about how awkward things are between the two of you at the moment. Madoka is about to speak up- Sudden Kyoko telepathy! She rightfully calls Madoka out for trying to act like everything is normal and going to school, after the bombshell of yesterday. Kyoko says she needs to talk to Madoka, who says she’ll stay home today too and runs off, leaving a very confused Muggle behind. In what I assume is the touristy part of town, with the clean streets and windchimes, Madoka meets up with Kyoko. “Don’t you want to save Sayaka Miki?”... what are you planning, Kyoko? Maokda immediately leaps on the possibility of saving her best friend, and damn you Incubator I can see where this is going. Kyoko wants to save the girl who countered her “live only for yourself” philosophy… Side note: I know that I said I would stop shipping people in this show because apparently my saying “they would be a cute couple” is a death sentence. But am I allowed to ship people if one of them is already dead? I still think that comic of Kyoko and Sayaka is adorable, and she should be safe now that a ship is impossible. Right? Anyways, Kyoko questions why Madoka was going to school, not trying to save her best friend. Ouch. Well, I mean, I assumed that becoming a Witch was irreversible, too. Can you really blame Madoka for not trying something that she thought wasn’t possible? Oh? Kyoko’s apologizing for her phrasing? Damn, her personality has really mellowed since her first “let the Familiars feed on Muggles” introduction, hasn’t it? Still stubborn and headstrong, though, as seen here when she says that until they are certain whether Sayaka can be saved or not, she’s not going to give up. Ok, so what’s the plan?... Talk at the Witch and hope that when Madoka calls out to her, she’ll get back her human memories? Um. I… am not certain about the validity of this plan. I mean, if it is possible, then her best friend Madoka would probably be the only one capable of getting through to her. But given this show’s track record, I’m not so certain that “magic of friendship” plan is going to work. Kyoko admits that she has no idea if it’ll work or not. But that’s just the reason that she wants to try it. Heck, maybe if they cut the witch apart Sayaka’s Soul Gem instead of a Grief Seed would pop out. “Wouldn’t that be something? It’d be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all.” Urobuchi, stop laughing. I can hear you from here. Let me have this. Awwww. Kyoko’s talking about how she probably became a MG in the first place because she used to love those sort of stories. She’d forgotten… but it was Sayaka who reminded her again. Crap. Crap crap crap. I did it again, didn’t I? I just doomed Kyoko with my Ship of Death. I’m sorry, Food Girl, please forgive me! I didn’t mean to put you in Urobuchi’s crosshairs, I thought it was safe to ship you with a dead girl! And that sounds way creepier than I intended! Kyoko’s frank, saying that she won’t force Madoka the Muggle to follow the plan, that it’ll be dangerous if she does, and that Kyoko can’t guarantee that she can protect her. But our Protagonist agrees. Go Madoka, show that stupid Bunny-Cat what for! And we get the adorable pair-up of sweet, friendly Madoka and the tough, cool Kyoko. One joke about Madoka cramping her style and giving her some food (The Kyoko Seal of Approval), and the plan is in motion. Ouch. The classroom is looking a little emptier now, with multiple “absent” future-desks. And Homura claims sickness, walks out. Later that day, as the sun is setting, Kyoko and Madoka are walking along under a highway, heading to Sayaka’s Labyrinth. Madoka asks about if Homura would help them, but Kyoko blows it off, saying that she’s not that kind of person. Methinks Kyoko’s still a little bitter about the “drop that useless baggage” comment from the night before. Madoka, sweet loving naive Madoka, asks “Aren’t you the two of them friends?” Kyoko says not really, they did team up to beat enemies that they couldn’t defeat alone- Oh crap, Wally-Watsit, the Super Witch! I completely forgot about them! I mean, knowing that Homura is a time traveler, I’m not thinking that she’s intentionally summoning it, but… Ok, wild theory time, thinking about Homura’s philosophy of power. I think my idea that she summoned Wally-Witch could still work in the original timeline, but when she realized that she bit off more than she could chew she (somehow) went back in time to try it again. Try to warn Mami about the hospital Witch, keep Sayaka from making a Contract and turning into a Witch and distracting them from preparing for Wally, recruiting the outsider Kyoko to help in the fight… seems like a good plan to me. Pity it all went to pot. Oh, Kyoko is telling Madoka about Wally (Walpurgisnacht) now, warning her that it’ll arrive in a few days. Stronger than either Kyoko or Homura, if they team up they stand a chance. Incubator: “Oh, how brave of your friends to fight this terrible foe! But it’s really dangerous, they may not survive. But of course, if they had help from another Magical Girl, one with loads of potentia-” *Gets punted by Kyoko* And they’re at the construction site. Kyoko’s sure that it’s Sayaka, since the magic patterns are the same as yesterday. Kyoko finishes off her whatever-on-a-stick and transforms, checks one last time to make sure Madoka is up for the Labyrinth. “I’ve gotten kind of used to this, actually. Although… all I ever do is trail along behind others.” Nope, nope nope nope. You are doing just fine, Madoka, do not give into peer pressure now. But she’s still brave enough to go in as a Muggle. Kyoko smiles… and opens the Labyrinth. Inside what appears to be a dark brick-wall hallway, Madoka asks Kyoko if she’s a coward, since everyone else fights but her. Kyoko just asks why she would ever become a Magical Girl. It’s not a job just anyone can do. If Madoka gets to live a life that Kyoko dreamed of when she was younger and her father’s church was failing, good food every day and a happy life with her family… why give it up to fight monsters? “I’d never allow that to happen.” Daw, and Kyoko has joined the ‘Protect Madoka Brigade’. You may think that you’re weak, Madoka, but frankly you’ve got superheroines tripping over themselves to protect you. But of course Kyoko adds her own twist of tough love to this declaration of protection, saying she’ll pound Madoka’s face in before she became a Magical Girl. Heh. “I mean, putting your life in danger… only people who’ve got no other choice should do that.” Aw, Kyoko’s turning from a Barbarian to a Paladin. She keeps calling heroes idiots, but she is becoming quite a heroine. Damn you, Urobuchi, for making me see that as a sign of death. Let me have the hope that heroes can prevail, not just die tragically. Stop crushing my optimism. “But maybe a time will come when you’ll have no choice but to risk your life and fight. You should wait until then to think about it.” And with that lovely quote, they approach the end of the hallway. Now there’s another one, with glowing walls and a bunch of musical notes… oh yeah, Sayaka’s magic signature was music notes! Man, this scene’s going to have some good music, isn’t it? Yeah, I can hear an orchestra starting up- crud, the door just slammed shut behind them! She’s coming! Music is picking up- oh hell yes, it is an orchestra. And the Witch herself, swaying as if she’s conducting. Ladies and gentlemen. Showtime. Come on, Madoka. Call out to your friend. Let Sayaka be in there, let her hear Madoka. Let us get a happy ending… no, the Witch is attacking now. Kyoko summons up a barrier for Madoka and tells her to keep calling out while Kyoko parries the train wheels. Madoka’s pleading for Sayaka to remember how she wanted to fight for justice, to go back to her old self. But it’s not working. The (awesome) music is swelling as the Witch sends a stupid amount of train wheels at Kyoko, and oh crap the barrier just went down. Ok whew, Kyoko is still ok… but looks tired after that barrage. She just tells Madoka to keep it up, resummons the barrier and keeps at it. But she’s getting knocked around, Madoka’s not getting through. Come on, Kyoko, keep fighting, don’t just stand there and get hit. Aw hell no, Kyoko. Don’t get all maudlin on me now, stop talking about how you started off trying to kill each other. You gave her food, doesn’t that mean something! Stop reminiscing and start kicking ass! But nope, she’s thinking about a red-and-blue image of Kyoko reaching out to Sayaka only for the Blue to shatter and the image collapse. Crap. You really did like Sayaka, didn’t you? The barrier is down again, Madoka is exposed. Crap, the Witch grabbed her! You let our Title Character go! There we go, Kyoko is pissed off, get back up! She’s cut Madoka free, is yelling at the Witch… crud. Madoka is unconcious, the floor is collapsing, and Kyoko is praying. Is that… Kamijo? Oh thank god Homura’s here, caught Madoka. But… Kyoko is not doing too well. And she doesn’t have Sayaka’s healing ability. “Hey. You… take care of her for me…” No. “I was an idiot for dragging her into this.” NO. NO! Kyoko! You pull that barrier down this instant, young missy! Homura just got here, don’t you dare keep her from helping you! Don’t you dare throw her “you can’t fight when weighed down with a burden” words back at her, make her retreat with Madoka. Don’t you dare pull a self-sacrificing Paladin! Don’t you fucking dare! Kyoko undoes her hair, and a hairpin falls out. She grabs it, and then kneels down in front of the barrier and beings to pray, or rather use her magic to summon a bunch of giant spears. She talks to Sayaka, says that she’ll be here with her… kisses her Soul Gem… and then stabs it. Explosion. Homura and Madoka are out in the real world. And the Labyrinth is nowhere to be seen. Later, at Homura’s house/apartment/residence. Homura is sitting in her room, staring at the floor. Or maybe at the maps scattered on her table. Still planning for Wally-Witch, then? But without Mami, Sayaka, or now Kyoko, can you still face it this time without Madoka giving up her soul? INCUBATOR. GET OUT. Homura asks if there was any real chance for Kyoko to save Sayaka. “Of course not. She should have known that it was impossible.” Oh fuck you, Bunny-Cat! And then to go on, say that you would have stopped her if “her death had been needless”? That getting her out of the picture served a very important purpose? But of course, this all works out to your favor. Because like I said, now there is no one else to help Homura against Walpurgisnact. Even with the experience of a past life, she is not strong enough to face the Super Witch alone. “In order to protect this city, there is no choice but for Madoka to become a Magical Girl.” And here’s the terrible, terrible choice. Homura is defined as doing whatever it takes to save others from the fate of giving up their souls, becoming a Magical Girl. Everything she has done has been to prevent Madoka from making that sacrifice. But when the cost of Madoka’s freedom is her city getting attacked by a Super Witch? Can one life be preserved at the cost of the many? Homura won’t let Madoka make the Contract. She swears it. … OH FUCK YOU, UROBUCHI! You end on this downer note, I’m practically crying over the injustice of the Incubator manipulating things to where Madoka has to Contract in order to save the city, and then you blindside me with this beautiful artwork of Kyoko and Sayaka?! God damn it, just take my heart and stomp on it, why don’t you? And this end-credits song… Da fuq? Final artwork piece of Kyoko looking a lot older and much more cat-like. Ok? Alright, let’s hear this teaser for the next episode: “No one believe me about the future.” Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god. We finally get to see Homura’s story? Her previous life? “No one can accept the truth about the future. I won’t rely on anyone anymore.” ...oof, this next episodes going to be a gut-punch, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve come to accept that these episodes are murder on my emotional state, but seeing Homura try to distance herself from these people, to keep from despair? This is going to be brutal. 

[spideyxchelle]

happy valentine’s day

or Peter tries to sneak MJ into the Avenger’s compound for some pre-Valentine’s Day shenanigans. it does not go to plan. 

“Do you know what’s cool?” May poses, as she throws open her nephew’s bedroom door to the mutual screaming of two half-dressed teenagers. “Leaving the door open, like we discussed.” Peter tosses his blanket over his girlfriend and fumbles for the white t-shirt she discarded not-even five minutes ago. 

Thankfully, his Aunt doesn’t linger, but he feels the swooping embarrassment of being caught rush through him with a vengeance. He starts to scramble after his Aunt, to explain, to apologize. Michelle grumbles into his pillow, “Oh my god, don’t follow her.” 

His girlfriend is smarter than he is, certainly, but he doesn’t want May to think he’s some kind of derelict. That, and he is a teenage boy that doesn’t know when to leave certain things alone. “Wait, May...”

She yanks a pot down from the top cupboard in their kitchen. “Oh no,” she shakes her head, “honey, we aren’t going to talk about this. Just, uh, keep your door open.”

He flushes down to his toes, and says, “We weren’t doing anything.”

May tuts, “Oh, so, you were administering a breast exam on MJ, then? I didn’t realize you were a certified professional.”

He has to clamp down on the urge to smart that, in fact, he is a professional when it comes to his girlfriend’s breasts. He doesn’t think either women would appreciate his comment. 

Michelle toddles up behind him, fully dressed and appropriately sheepish in behavior. She tucks some hair he utterly ruined behind her ear, “Hey, May. Sorry about that.”

His Aunt waves her off with a smile, “It’s fine. I get it. That’s why we have the door rule.” Peter feels the accusation in her words. He flinches. May fills the pot with water, “Tea, MJ?”

Three empty tea cups later, Michelle curls into his side sleepily on his couch as they watch the fifth straight episode of some crappy True Crime show. Michelle is obsessed. And Peter is obsessed with his girlfriend, so she gets to decide what they watch on Netflix. 

Peter squeezes her shoulder, affectionately, and MJ positively purrs. Peter shutters, his body rallying to the dashed cause from earlier. Michelle kisses the length of his neck and whispers, “If you think I’m going to try anything with your Aunt home, especially after earlier, you’re crazy.”

He groans, defeated, “It shouldn’t be this hard to be alone with you.” 

Michelle teases, “Hard isn’t your problem, Parker.” 

He nips at her ear and she laughs and it is everything. God, he loves this girl. He loves her so much that he is literally dying for any measure of alone time. 

Which is when he has the most brilliant idea.

“Hey, you, uh, up for a drive?”

Michelle shakes her head, “We aren’t having sex in a car. We did that last month and my back still hasn’t recovered.”

Peter blushes and counters, “How about going upstate?”

Look, Peter Parker has a bedroom at Avengers’ Headquarters. He doesn’t occupy it much, only the odd mission here or there, but Tony had always insisted that he would have a home upstate. Even after, well, even after, his bedroom is still there for whenever he needs it. 

And he needs it.

It is only hours until Valentine’s Day. He needs to wiggle-in some alone time with his girlfriend that, without question, will not engage in any romantic dalliances on Valentine’s Day proper. He knows she has a thing about Valentine’s Day. And so, if he isn’t permitted to touch her tomorrow, he can sure as hell touch her tonight. 

Or that had been his plan before May basically kicked down the door to his little bedroom in Queens.

He is hoping upstate will be more generous to his sex life.

There is a long road that leads up to the entrance to HQ and Peter turns the lights off on his crappy, rundown car that he repaired with Tony two summers ago. His mentor had insisted that buying a car for Peter on his sixteenth birthday would have been too easy. Everything in life worth having is worth working for, or something like that. Peter hadn’t listened much. He had been buzzing from the excitement about having any kind of car.

Now that Tony was gone, the beatdown rust bucket was a treasure.

Except it was not the most inconspicuous car.

It hums when he turns the lights off and begins to make a little boom-shacka-shacka noise as he peddles along to the momentous Avengers’ structure. Michelle hides her face in her hands, “This is not subtle, Peter.”

Peter rubs the dashboard tenderly, “Don’t listen to her, Mary Jane. You’re the best car to ever car.”

His girlfriend replies, “She’s the loudest car to ever car, that’s for sure.”

Miraculously, they manage to pull-up to the surprisingly quiet headquarters without being spotted. Peter parks in one of the numerous empty parking spots, and when Mary Jane sputters off, Michelle observes, “Is nobody here or something?”

Peter squints up at the dark windows, “I don’t know.” He turns to look at his girlfriend and gets hit by that pesky affection that always overwhelms him whenever he looks at her. Fuck.

She notices him watching and nervously tucks the curly tendril that hangs in her eyes behind her ear. “What?” she demands with no bite, but a far amount of apparent self-conscious energy.

He closes the distance between them and kisses her. His hand cups the back of her head, his fingers weaving through her curls. She makes the smallest, most feminine noise and it unfurls in his chest like a blooming flower. When he pulls away, after a moment, her eyes are still sweetly closed, like she is holding on to his warmth. He has to peck her nose for that. It is too much tenderness for his already fond heart.

She swats at his shoulder playfully when they climb out of the car. Peter grins at her. And then, feels the hair on his arms spring to life in warning. He tucks MJ behind his body and folds them back behind the car to hide.

His girlfriend frowns and pointedly whispers, “What the hell, Peter?”

“AND THEN I SAID,” Thor booms, stomping over to his tiny car that is built for boys and not Norse Gods with arms the size of tree trunks, “I greatly enjoyed fighting with her and would like to do so in the future, but she has yet to take me up on my offer. Perhaps I misunderstood our connection.”

The scratchy, uncertain voice of Bruce Banner replies, “I dunno, Thor. Whatever is going on between you and Valkyrie is kind of, you know, between you and Valkyrie. I prefer to keep out of it.”

“What has she said to you, my friend? I know you two often go to Mr. Cheese’s place of games to eat pizza and be merry.”

Michelle smothers a laugh behind her hand and Peter buries his nose in her hair to suppress his own grin.

Bruce chuckles, “Its Chuck E. Cheese and I keep telling her there are better pizza places on Earth, but she’s very attached to the claw games.”

Michelle chokes on a snort. It echoes. The two teens freeze. Peter hears Thor yank his hammer free from the belt he keeps it hanging on for ease. He calls, “Who goes there?”

Peter yanks on Michelle’s arm, trying to guide her away from the car as covertly as they can manage. He knows the back door to the compound is nearby and if they can just manage to avoid running into Banner and Thor, well, they are home free.

Banner sighs, “Nobody is there, Thor.”

“I heard them!” Peter manages to swipe against the door in the darkness and he does an internal dance. Delicately, quietly and so, so softly, he pries open the door. It squeaks a little. Thor thunders, “See? I told you. Noise.”

Peter ushers MJ into the backdoor and just before he closes the door, he locks eyes with Banner. Peter freezes. The jig is up. They are caught. He is never going to get to have sex with his girlfriend now. Then, the strangest thing happens—the kindly scientist winks at Peter and turns Thor around, not facing the backdoor, and tuts, “You’re imagining things.”

The door clicks closed. They are safe in the compound and Michelle falls against the heavy, metal door. “That,” she says, “was very close.”

Peter nods and falls beside her.

She smirks, “Chuck E. Cheese?” 

It takes the two teenagers a bit of time and sleuthing to make it past the kitchen and Natasha, up the stairs to avoid Carol, and past a series of labs housing Shuri to make it into the housing wing of HQ. When they arrive at Peter’s door, he fishes for his key, the one he keeps in his backpack, the one he is always losing. And, just his fucking luck, Peter comes up short. 

Michelle nudges her boyfriend, “What’s the matter.”

He pales, considerably, “I can’t find my key.”

“What?!” she quietly hisses.

“I can’t find my key,” he repeats.

Michelle drops her head against his shoulder and he can feel how beaten she is by the entire evening. Sex should not be a stressful thing. Or, at least, it should be stressful in the normal ways, like, the am-I-doing-this-right ways or the holy-crap-this-feels-very-good-do-not-finish-yet-Peter ways. Being thwarted by his Aunt and trying to sneak around an Avengers compound was not normal.

Then again, Peter Parker was not a normal kid.

He sighs and scratches the back of her head, “I’m sorry. I wanted tonight to be, I dunno, special. And I’ve dragged us all the way up here and lost my key and you had to sneak away from Thor…”

She mumbles into the fabric of his shirt, “I love you, dork. You don’t have to try so hard.”

He stutters, “W-what?”

Michelle lifts her head from his shoulder and pecks his dumbfounded mouth. “I know this is about Valentine’s Day, okay? And, so what, we don’t get to have sex at the compound, and we don’t get to close the door at your house, and you definitely can’t do anything at my house under threat of death from my older brothers. Its fine. I just….like spending time with you. Everything else is just extra.” She looks so embarrassed, like she might ask him to stare at the wall so she can get her face under control.

And, fuck, Peter loves her.

“I’m gonna get this door open,” he asserts.

“Peter, its okay—”

“No,” he cuts her off. “I know you don’t need the extra stuff. And being with you however we’re together, even just watching t.v., is enough for me, too. But I dragged you all the way up here. And I really like your boobs. So.”

She laughs. It lightens everything. She makes everything so, so much better.

Peter clears his throat, “You, uh, might want to step back.”

Her eyes widen, “You are not going to punch down the door.”

“MJ, please.” He pulls his fist back.

“Peter Parker, I swear to God—”

He squeals. He never gets to knock the door in. Vision comes floating through the damn thing. “Mr. Parker,” he smiles, observing the shell-shocked, teenage superhero. “Miss Jones,” he address MJ.

His girlfriend slowly raises her hand in hello, “Uh, hey, Vision.”

“Pleasure to see you both.” There is one awkward beat that passes between the three of them before Vision adds, “Well, goodnight.”

Peter gallops after him, “Wait, wait. Can you, uh, can you open my door for me?” Peter hears Michelle facepalm somewhere behind him. He knuckles through his blush and waits.

Vision quickly assess the situation. He reads it, and Peter feels his skin crawl. “Are you allowed to be here, alone, with a girl, Peter?”

It cuts him to the bone and Peter tries not to squeak a response, “C’mon, man. It’s Valentine’s Day.” MJ groans. Peter ignores her, “Help me out.”  

“Technically, it is February 13th,” Vision corrects him. Peter gives up. This whole idea was stupid anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “But,” Vision says. Peter perks up.

The other Avenger floats through the wall and unlocks it from the inside. Peter has never been so gratified to hear the click of a door. Never in his young life. The click is almost erotic. Michelle must know he thinks so, because she rolls her eyes at him.

Vision walks out the now open door and smiles, “Enjoy February 13th, Mr. Parker.”

He throws his arms around Vision and squeezes him tight, “Thank you.”

The other man, computer, Avenger must dislike the contact because he phases and Peter falls right through him. “Yes, well, goodnight.”

Michelle slides her hand into Peter’s and squeezes the tips of his fingers. He turns to his girlfriend and grins stupidly, “An open door.”

She bites her lip, trying not to laugh, “I see that.”

He sweeps her up in his arms and carries her over the threshold. She looks distinctly unimpressed, but curious. And it is that curiosity he banks on, when they fall to his bed.

He slants his mouth over hers and tears a passionate, searching kiss from her. Between their mouths, she whispers, quietly, “I’m not still not celebrating Valentine’s Day.”

“Hey, Em?” Peter whispers.

“Hmm?” she hums.

“Shut up.” And he kisses her quiet. At long last. 

[discyours]

I watched that new HBO show Euphoria. All the episodes that are currently out at least (I believe the first season is halfway done). I didn’t expect it to be good but it was on the homepage of a streaming service and what can I say, the controversy had me curious. 

The LGBT representation in this show actually pleasantly surprised me. It wasn’t entirely positive nor entirely realistic, but it felt a lot different than what you usually see in media. The existence of homophobia/transphobia wasn’t ignored by any means, but it also wasn’t the main point. Characters were trans/gay/bi over being victims of transphobia/homophobia, if that makes sense. The trans character was also handled quite... uniquely? Most media treats trans women like trans first, trans women second. This show treated her like a woman first, trans woman second. 

I don’t find it entirely realistic that everybody treats her this way and that absolutely nobody sees or refers to her as a man, but honestly who cares? Sometimes LGBT people deserve stories that aren’t just about them being treated in ways that upset them. I don’t believe this portrayal is harmful to anyone, and the main concern I saw a lot of people having that she’d be portrayed as attractive to straight men and lesbians didn’t come true at all. The main female character she has somewhat of a relationship dynamic with is never referred to as a lesbian, and she’s shown to use gay dating apps while reminding the men that she meets on there that they aren’t actually straight. 

The portrayal of mental illness was okay. I hate it when OCD is introduced with the cliché counting thing, but it’s an understandable plot device and I found the main character to be realistic enough for her to be relatable. The way addiction was portrayed seemed pretty realistic to me too, but maybe I don’t have enough personal experience to be a good judge of that. 

The fucking mental hospital though. I swear I’ve never seen a psychiatric ward being portrayed without a token chronic masturbator and this show did not rise above that. They pulled out all the stops to show us that this is a Scary Bad Place that our main character does not belong in. The long white halls with harsh lighting, the significantly older residents, the fact that just about everyone except the guy that pulled his dick out seemed to be heavily sedated. They tried so hard to show us that Jules did not even remotely belong here with all these crazy people, and that fucking pissed me off. First of all, a depressed 11 year old would not end up in the same ward as a chronic masturbator in his late teens. There are residential wards for mentally ill children! Putting an 11 year old character in with a bunch of teenagers is just a plot device to show us how tragically depressed this character already was at such an exceptionally young age when really that shit is not even remotely special. A man or even an adolescent who is acting out violently and committing sex offences (yes public masturbation counts) would either be in (juvenile) prison or a criminal mental health ward. Again, never the same place as a depressed 11 year old. 

Mental hospitals truly are awful places in my experience, which just makes it all the more infuriating when people resort to cheap gimmicks to show that they’re unpleasant. It’s common for psychiatric wards (ESPECIALLY ones for children or adolescents) to be made as “homely” as possible. No plain white walls, no furniture that screams “psych ward”. It’s still traumatising to be locked up in a place that has flowers painted on the walls, in fact the shallowly “welcoming” environment can add to the discomfort. Most people who go to mental hospitals have “normal” mental illnesses like depression, PTSD, OCD, or unmanaged bipolar disorder. That last one is the only common condition that’s likely to cause someone to be sedated when they first come in, mass sedation of psychiatric patients is no longer common practice and portraying it as such is harmful. 

So those are all the specific points I had thoughts on, now for the overall premise of the show. 

Who decided that we needed yet another TV show about teenagers’ sex lives? 

This obsession with high schoolers’ crazy drugged up sex adventures has never been okay and I can’t believe that it’s still a thing. I’ve seen some people praising it as being “realistic” and “raw” and something parents need to watch the be aware of what their kids are really up to, but fucking hell dude. This show is literally just sexualising teenagers for adult consumption. Credit where credit is due, it is handled differently than most shows. To be blunt I’ve noticed that this show features a fucking record amount of penises. 5 episodes and I’ve seen literally countless of them, with maybe two or three (partially) naked girls in comparison? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it feels like a conscious decision was made to stay away from the traditionally eroticised aspects of heavily sexualised TV shows to instead show the... less visually appealing parts of it. I’m pretty biased when it comes to finding dicks gross though so who knows. 

Either way, it’s showing teenagers as being very very heavily sexual and that’s as harmful as it was the first time someone decided that making 20-something actors roleplay as high schoolers to fuck onscreen was a good idea. High schoolers do not look like this and most of them definitely don’t act like this. More harmful messages about the sexuality of minors is the last thing society needs. 

[the-lupine-sojourner]

Takara’s Hero Academia Season 2 Episode 5 [Eijiro Kirishima/OC] [Female!Aizawa/Hizashi]

Hey, guys!! Sorry for taking forever on this chapter! I feel really bad this took so long, but I do have a reason; my phone gave out on me and it took a while to get a new one cus I wanted to get my phone repaired but then the people said I needed to just replace it cus it was an iPhone 6 I’ve had for a few years, and then I tried to do an update to get my cellular data back, but then it said I still needed to update my phone to get my cellular data back after I did the update, and yada yada no one cares.

Bottom line, I have a Google Pixel now and I am really liking it so far. Now, let’s stop wasting time and get to the story, okay?! :)

Okay so here’s the Masterist for the Series (sorry I forgot to do that when I posted this lol)! And now for the taglist! 

Once again, before I get to that, I have to remind everyone that Hiyoko and Ryuji Tiechida belong to @elite-guard-hardygal !! My bestie is just being incredibly sweet and awesome and letting me use them for a cameo/side-character thing. Love you,  galfriend!! 

Okay so I’m also tagging @dailyojiromashirao , @souskena , and @fandoms-fandoms-everywhere99 . They are awesome people and I genuinely love hearing their (and everyone else’s) feedback. 

Also, real quick: I just saw that my blog has reached 100 followers!! That’s insane!!! Like, literally! Anyway, let’s get to the story for real this time! 

Hope you all enjoy this chapter!! 

God Bless and Good Day! 

~The Lupine Sojourner

(Looky! I made a gif!!)

“You better hope your stupid boyfriend doesn’t mess this up for us, Yamada.” Hiyoko snaps, crossing her arms, nodding toward Katsuki’s team.  

I blink, looking back at Katsuki’s team despite myself. “What?” I ask, raising a brow, then blush a little and scoff. “He’s not my boyfriend!” I then decide to change topics. “Just because we’re in the same class doesn’t mean-” I catch myself and clear my throat. “-we have more important things to discuss, like Quirks and strategy.” Hiyoko sighs. I blink. Did she always have cat ear-looking whisps of hair? And whisker-like markings on her face? Guess so...and she has a medial cleft that adds to the cat-like thing she’s got going on. I suppose that’s also part of her Quirk. Huh...

“Fine. Obviously, I got cat-like looks. And I have a solar panel on my back that I can use to store up energy and release it in claws of hardened light. I can use just my fingertips or my toes or both if I want. I can shoot out beams from these three middle fingers,” she holds up the three middle fingers on her left hand and I notice she’s wearing a glove made to fit over the fingers, with metal claws on the fingertips. “but it hurts a lot to do that and it drains my stored energy to almost nothing. That’s about it.” I nod, ignoring the odd, knowing look Ryuji gives me like he saw through my facade of not caring what team Eijiro ended up on. I clear my throat

“I can go next. I have two Quirks, actually; I control earth and water. Not great at earth, but I can track people using vibrations in the ground, so we won’t be caught off guard. Water is much easier, but my Quirk uses my blood sugar, so I can’t do it forever, and earth takes more blood sugar. That’s about it, really, besides having about a 6-meter radius.” I turn to Ryuji. “What’s your Quirk, Ryuji?” Ryuji scratches the back of his neck.

“Well, nothing fancy like yours. I can read people’s emotions, and if I directly tell the person what they’re feeling, it intensifies the feeling. And when I do that, it’s kind of like manipulating them into feeling more than they normally would.” Hiyoko scoffs.

“Yeah. Super annoying when he just spouts off therapist garbage at you because he can tell what you’re feeling.” Ryuji sighs, choosing not to rise to his step sister’s bait.

“Plus, I can’t turn it off. It’s not really my fault, Hiyoko-nee.” I nod. Oh geez. Despite not being able to turn it off, his Quirk is kinda cool!

“Dude, that’s pretty cool!” I reply, smiling. Ryuji smiles, probably sensing my genuine interest in his Quirk.

“Thanks.” He turns to Chiharu. “What about you, Chiharu?” She gestures to her ears.

“Well, I got the wolf Quirk, like Ami, and I can do a really loud bark, but it takes my breath away to do it. And that’s pretty much it.” I nod.

“That’s awesome!” I praise, smiling at her. She grins back.

“I know.” She teases with a wink. “Anyway, um, I know you’re in class 1-A, and Ryuji’s in my class in the General Studies course, but which class are you in, Hiyoko?”

“I’m in Class 1-B.” Hiyoko replies, crossing her arms. “I wanted to get into 1-A, but it didn’t turn out that way.” She seems pretty upset she didn’t get into 1-A, so I smile at her.

“You know, this whole rivalry between the hero classes is pretty stupid. It’s not like we meant to be attacked by villains or whatever, and Katuski is the only asshole in my class. The rest are good people.” I then decide to change topics. “Anyway, let’s talk strategy real quick. I know Hiyoko’s the rider, but who’s the front horse?” Ryuji puts his hand up.

“I know my sister the best out of the three of us and I am most likely the strongest- -no offense- -so I’ll be the front horse and Takara can be right and Chiharu will be left.”

I nod. “Sounds good. Now, do we want to run or try to grab headbands?” Hiyoko scoffs.

“Obviously, we need to play both defense and offense, Yamada. Defend the ones we have and grab a few more to ensure we place well. You all good with that?” I nod.

“Personally, I am. As I said, with my vibration tracking, I can tell where the other teams are and if they’re coming up in a blind spot. Plus, if I get some water I’ll be able to keep them at bay.” I then bite my lip. How was I gonna get more water? I doubt Oba will let me run to a vending machine or something. My range doesn’t reach the stands, either. Shit!

I then decide to try to suck any water I can out of the ground. I find piping below but can’t burst them as they are part of the school and I can’t damage school property, right? There’s not much, but I do add a tiny bit of water to my stash and sigh. I also need food. This game will be rough...I just hope I do well.

I then feel a puddle a little ways away. Izuku is standing by it talking to Ochaco. I raise a brow, but pull the water to me sneakily. Unfortunately, it attracts Mineta’s attention. He looks over and motions for me to walk over. I flip him off and scoot closer to my teammates. We didn’t have long till the game started, so we wait for the headbands to be passed out and we can get into formation. Hiyoko wraps the headband around her head and takes her shoes off.

“Alright, you guys. Don’t screw this up!” Hiyoko calls as the countdown reaches thirty seconds. I smile.

“We won’t. Just climb up already.” She does and Chiharu and I offer support as well as Ryuji. To our right stands a girl with black curly hair and a burly man with a weird bell-like face that looked like some odd helmet. I could see Izuku a little ways away, getting into position with his team.

“Alright! This’ll be fun!” Chiharu purrs, snapping me back to reality, as we make final adjustments to positions and the timer rings. Oba stretches her arms.

“Oh, goodie! It’s time to get this party started!” She cheers.

“Hey, hey! Look alive!, love” Dad prompts and I hear mom groan as she wakes up. I smile at the thought of Mom napping for fifteen minutes as I prepare to run wherever Hiyoko directs us. “After fifteen minutes to form teams and talk strategy, twelve teams are prepared to go head to head!” Dad cheers. Mom hums.

“I’m seeing some unexpected student combinations.” She notes. I bite my lip. Did she not approve of my team?

“C’mon! Everyone, get your hands in the air! It’s time for an arena-pumping UA Battle Royale!” Dda continues. “Lemme hear yah scream!” The crowd cheers eagerly and I bite my lip, trying not to think too much about the crowd watching. I just had to do my best and hope I make it to the next game. “One final countdown before the game starts! 3...2...1…”

“Begin!” Oba Nemuri calls, and it’s off. Hiyoko leans over toward me so we turn that way as we run, away from Izuku and the spotlight. Smart. It appears some other teams have our idea, running from the huge fight and focusing on keep their headbands and stealing if the chance arose. Once we get settled a bit away from everything, I see Izuku and his team take off into the sky!

“Whoa! What the hell?!” I exclaim, shocked. I then see a girl with pink hair in Izuku’s team and a backpack on Izuku’s back. The flying suddenly makes sense, if the pink haired girl is from the support course.

The support course students are allowed to bring their inventions, right? That’s the only way Izuku’s team could have those support items. I have to then focus on our team as we near the team with Tetsutetsu running after Izuku’s team, still airborne, and we nearly bump into Hagakure’s team, Kyoka sending her earphone jacks after Izuku, as well. Tokoyami is evidently on Izuku’s team because next second, Dark Shadow (I’d seen the bird-like thing a few times while we were training. He’s cool!) swats the jacks away.

“Stupid bird!” Kyoka exclaims in frustration. I smirk as we run away. No one in our immediate area was concerned with any team but Midoriya. Thus, as a team with a red-headed girl as rider was distracted, I get Hiyoko’s attention and nod to the team.

“I’ll grab their headband.” I whisper. Hiyoko nods, so I grab one of her two headbands off with a hook of water.

“Hey, what the- -give that back!” I had to be careful how much I use my Quirk because I don’t have unlimited blood sugar here, especially since I had to use my Quirk a lot in the obstacle course. Crap!

Wait, what the--Shoji’s with Mineta?! And Tsuyu?! How’d that pervert manage that?! Well, with Shoji’s arms protecting them, it’s not worth trying to grab their headband, besides...we had a good amount of points. As long as we kept this number, at least for now, I think we’ll be okay.

An explosion rattles the ground and I see Katsuki soaring after Izuku’s team, who had taken off again. “That can’t be legal!” I growl as Dark Shadow blocks an explosion. Hiyoko scoffs as Katsuki begins falling, only for Hanta to send tape out to grab him and yank him back to his team. I raise a brow. If they planned that out, they’re really smart.

“Is that even allowed!?” Dad asks incredulously. Katsuki lands gracelessly on his teammates’ arms, awkwardly shifting back into position and glaring at everyone.

“He never touched the ground, so technically it’s okay.” Oba Nemuri replies. I roll my eyes.

“Oh, hey, Yamada. Your boyfriend’s on that blonde asshole’s team.” I blush scarlet and refuse to look over, feeling more annoyed and irritated then I should that Hiyoko had brought up Eijiro being my boyfriend again after I told her he wasn’t. I knew he was on Katsuki’s team already.

“He’s not my boyfriend and I already knew that.” I growl.

“Calm down and focus on the game, Yamada. Hiyoko-Nee didn’t mean anything.” Ryuji murmurs calmly. I take a breath. Eijiro...wasn’t my boyfriend, much as I’m beginning to want him to be...so there wasn’t any point allowing myself to entertain that fantasy by responding everytime someone teases me about it.

Refocusing, I feel a two-person team rapidly gaining on us and slam a platform up as they leap at us. I smirk as they regain their footing and we keep moving. It was worth the loss in blood sugar.

“Ooo-hoo-hoo! A nice defensive move from Tik- -I mean, um, Takara Yamada of Class 1-A! Nicely done!” Dad gushes and I blush, smiling widely in pride.

“Hizashi, you’re supposed to be unbiased.” Mom chides.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Dad replies, and I can practically pouting. That red-head is back all of a sudden, raring to grab her headband back.

“We got a team coming up behind us, Hiyoko.”

“So? Use your earth Quirk!” Hiyoko snaps back.

“I told you, controlling earth is harder.” I reply, trying not to get mad at her again. “We’ll just have to avoid them. I can’t use either of my Quirks too much here. I didn’t get any food after the race, so I’m about half-empty right now.” I explain. Hiyoko huffs.

“Fine. Thanks for the heads up.” She says, looking around and directing us away from the other teams. Ryuji grimaces a little and looks like something’s hurting him, but before I can ask what’s wrong, Dad’s voice booms out over the crowd.

“Now, who wants to take a look at each teams’ points so far?! It’s been seven minutes since the game started, so let’s get those rankings thrown up on the screen!” I blink. It’d been seven minutes already? I glance up and see that we’re between Shoto’s team and Team Kendo, whichever team that is, but...whoa… “Hang on; this is an unexpected turn! Other than Midoriya, Class 1-A’s not doing so hot!” I shrink a little in embarrassment. We weren’t in the top four. Dad obviously saw that, so he’s probably talking about my team as well as the rest of 1-A. Crud… “Even Bakugo is losing!” I feel a tiny little bit better that Dad didn’t single me out, but have to refocus as that red-head comes back around for another try at her headband. We barely manage to get away. Ryuji is definitely pained now, and he’s trying his best, but he’s not as fast as he used to be, so once we’ve gotten fairly clear I decide to ask.

“Hey, Ryuji, what’s wrong?” He forces himself to look more normal.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just get headaches if there are too many intense emotions around me. The more intense, the more my head hurts.” I wince.

“Eesh. Who’s giving you a headache?”

“Team Bakugo.” He replies. “Specifically Bakugo.” I snort.

“Yeah, I’d imagine so. He’s...very intense.”

“Whatever! Focus!” Hiyoko snaps, not noticing that two person team from before when they change course to come after us, and I look over my shoulder to see that the horse is a girl with ram-like horns and is bounding over the field on all fours, and the rider looks startled that Hiyoko used her claws. I couldn’t do another earth wall, so I settle for warning Hiyoko.

“Close your eyes!” She hisses at us, then when we obey, she uses her sunlight as a kind-of stun ray, and we run past them, snatching a headband for good measure while they were reeling from the bright light. Before they recover, we’re a good distance away, dodging Tsu’’s tongue and Mineta’s balls. I can hear him cackling and saying something, but I don’t care enough to pay attention, focusing on dodging. Then, once we’re settled in the clear, Ryuji bites his lip to muffle a groan.

“C’mon, Ryu-boy, man up! Don’t let your headache stop you!” Hiyoko growls. I frown.

“Ryuji, is it getting worse?” I ask. He nods.

“Yeah. Bakugo’s so pissed off right now, I can’t focus! It’s really ramping up my headache.” I bite my lip.

“Hang on. We’ll try to put some dist- -holy shit you’re right!” I look over and flinch when I see Bakugo’s pure rage, directed at a boy I think is from Class 1-B.

“Monoma you ass, stop taunting him!” Hiyoko calls as we keep running.

“You in his class or something?” I ask.

“Yeah. Keep running!” Hiyoko replies. Despite the distance between our teams, I see the boy, ‘Monoma’, not listening to Hiyoko, twirling what I assume is Katsuki’s headband on his finger and saying something to Katsuki, who’s getting increasingly pissed off, much to his teammates’ concern and fear. But ‘Monoma’ doesn’t seem to mind. He simply keeps speaking, sealing his fate.

Honestly, I pity the guy. He picked the wrong person to-- I feel a team approach and I recognize it as Shoto’s team. Before I can even properly react to that, however, I suddenly feel very tingly, painfully so, and the pain increases as every muscle in my body seized up and I shook as electricity coursed through me. Damn Kaminari and his stupid electricity!

As our team reels back, groaning and aching, my feet suddenly feel icy cold. I try to walk to a warmer area, but I find my feet encased in ice. I blink. Shoto, you ass! Smart move, but still!

“Shoto!” I growl. The teams in the vicinity are frozen to the ground.

“Would you look at that!” Dad calls excitedly. “He’s stuck all those teams cold in their tracks!” I pout a little. Way to state the obvious, dad.

“But only after Kaminari had immobilized the students using his electricity. In the obstacle course, Shoto was surprised at how many people avoided his attack. He’s adapting his strategy.” Mom replies thoughtfully. I had to hand it to Shoto; he was a great strategist.

“Nice commentary, hun!” Dad praises.

“Yamada, melt the ice!” Hiyoko snaps. I look at her in shock.

“I can’t! I use liquid water! I can’t move ice! Defrosting it takes too much of my blood sugar, and I can’t create ice, either. I’m stuck with liquid water!” I reply.

“Ergh! Fine! Cut the ice with the water, then! Hurry!” I nod and begin cutting us out. Chiharu also uses her bark on the ice around her feet, and that helped a lot.

In our haste to get out of the ice, however, I dropped my guard and didn’t hear or feel a team approach till it was too late. Just as I was about to finish smashing a long-handled hammer of water against the last few spots of ice still stuck to us (Ryuji and Chiharu supporting Hiyoko while Chiharu regained her breath after her bark), I hear Hiyoko curse, feel the balance shift, and chuckling I knew all too well. I look up and see Shinso’s team jogging away, Shinso fixing the headband around his neck. I glare at him, feeling angrier than I should at the fact that he stole one of our headbands. We were now below Team Tetsutetsu, and Hiyoko leans forward.

“Shinso, you ass!” I bark, still feeling mad. “Get back here!” He just looks over his shoulder.

“It’s a competition, Takara.” He places emphasis on my first name, smirking as he does. “We can’t be too friendly here.” My eye twitches.

“Shinso, you better giv- -waittaminute...you did not!” I just notice that Shinso’s horses all look listless, eyes never closing...just blank slates. They were under the influence of his Quirk! That asshole brainwashed his teammates into being his horses, and then steals our headband?! No way!

There were less than six minutes left in the game, as I heard from Dad. We had to get our points back and then grab another headband in that time if we wanted to get into the final game. “Yamada, this isn’t the time to get upset!” Ryuji barks. “Focus!” I hardly heard him, whipping the water forward, but Ojiro was on Shinso’s team and his tail shattered my formation. I stagger a little. “See?” Ryuji adds. I grit my teeth, summoning the water back to me. Crap! I can’t lose my cool! He was right! I take a breath.

“Ryuji’s right, Takara. We have to get our points back, but if we lose our cool, that’s not gonna happen.” Chiharu adds. “What’s got you so bent out of shape, anyway? You know this guy?”

“We went to middle school together. He’s my friend. Let’s just go.” We go after him, then Hiyoko leans toward a struggling team with a kinda werewolf-looking front horse. I see that they have more than two headbands and send the water to grab one as we pass. Now, all we had to do was get our headband back. In just over four minutes. I look over and see that Shinso’s gotten a good distance away. “C’mon! We gotta move” I exclaim and race after my middle school friend. We got closer and closer just as I begin to feel woozy and lightheaded. Not good! I stagger on, though, gritting my teeth and pressing forward.

“Hey, Yamada! You okay?” Ryuji asks.

“Y-yeah, I...I’m okay,” I mumble. “Just getting low. Running also takes energy and I’m almost on empty here.” I explain further.

“It would help if you didn’t waste your energy on useless attacks.” Hiyoko snaps. I feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment.

“Fine fine, whatever,” I reply. We didn’t have a lot of time to catch up to Shinso.

“Only one minute left!” Dad exclaims. “Team Todoroki has cornered the 10 million point team and is poised to seize the ultimate prize!” I blink. Oh shit! Izuku better hope he can keep his headband for this last minute! “At least, that’s what I would have predicted five minutes ago!” Dad adds, laughing. I then shake myself and try to keep running, but the world was spinning now and it was hard to go in a straight line.

“Guys, Takara’s getting worse! We gotta hurry!” Chiharu notes, voice rising in concern.

“There’s less than a minute left! Hang on, Yamada!” Ryuji and Hiyoko reply almost perfectly in sync. I grit my teeth and keep running.

“Unbelievably, Team Midoriya has managed to avoid the ice master for the last half of the game!” Dad continues. I try to keep running, but it’s hard when your legs feel like they’re dragging weights behind them. We run by a huge ice wall just as we’re about catch Shinso. Guess Shoto didn’t...want...interruptions...gotta get the headband...Shinso...gotta...gotta focus! I reach out desperately with my water as the time ticks closer to ending. The world starts to go black and all I can think of doing is getting my team to the next game. As if from a distant tunnel, I hear Dad speaking and some commotion, but I can’t focus on that.

Gotta...reach...a little...further….just…

“Tak- -” The world blank as I hear Oba call out the end of the game.

=#=#=#=#=

I come to on the ground, my team around me, looking at me in concern.

“--ney, I think, uh, Team Teichida is having some kind of difficulty there.” I distantly hear Dad saying.

“One of the members passed out, it seems. She looks okay, but still. She shouldn’t have pushed herself so hard.” Mom replies. I feel embarrassed that Mom and Dad were criticizing me in a roundabout way.

“Are you okay?” Chiharu asks, shaking my shoulders. I groan sluggishly. This was not how I wanted to make an impression. As long as we advance, though, it’s worth it.

“...Did...did I do it? Did we get the band?” I mumble, sitting up and holding my head.

“...um...well…” I pale and feel ready to pass out again. No, no, no!

“We didn’t make it to the final game?” Ryuji looks at me sympathetically. He knew how I was feeling.

“No, but we tried our best. That’s what matters.” He says consolingly. It doesn’t help at all. Hiyoko sighs.

“Yeah, you tried damn hard, we all did, but it just...just wasn’t…” She swallows. “It didn’t happen.” Shinso is suddenly behind my teammates, looking at me in concern. Chiharu and Ryuji scoot aside a little so he can help me up.

“You shouldn’t have pushed yourself till you passed out, idiot.” He says. I nod.

“Yeah, but I wanted to get into the next game so bad...I didn’t think straight.”

“Hmm, and I probably shouldn’t have targeted your team like I did. Sorry.” I shake my head, ignoring the way it made me feel dizzy.

“No, no. Like you said, this is a competition. Congrats.” I’d glanced up after he stole our headband and saw that he was in the top four. He nods.

“Thanks. Let’s get you some food.” I shake my head again. I was feeling stronger now, and could make it to the vending machines alone. I...I needed to be alone right now. Luckily, it didn’t seem like Mom and Dad had moved on from my passing out, so I was okay to sneak out and get food. I didn’t want to face my parents right now.

“I’ll be okay, Shinso. I’m gonna go to the bathroom and get myself some food.”

“Food first, Yamada.” Shinso says, understanding why I declined his escort offer and walking away. Chiharu grabs my arm.

“Yeah, let’s go.” I feel my emotions rising and pry her hand off reluctantly.

“I really appreciate it, Chiharu, but I’ll be fine…” I assure her. “I’ll be back in a sec.” I walk away before anyone can call me back and somehow manage to make it to the bathroom before the dam bursts and suddenly I’m sitting on a toilet sobbing my heart out. I didn’t make it into the final game...I failed.

What would Mom and Dad think?! Oh dear Lord I can’t face them! They’re already disappointed, I know it! I tried my hardest and I failed! Thoughts lost all reason and sense at that point, flooding into me and back out again too fast for me to process. After what feels like forever, I manage to get myself together and shakily get to my feet, wobbling as I walk out and find a vending machine. Shinso was waiting.

“You forgot your wallet, Takara.” He says, giving me a small smile over his shoulder. He knew what I’d been doing. It wasn’t like you couldn’t look at me and tell I’d been crying. I instinctively lean my head on his shoulder tiredly as he inserts a bill and presses the buttons for gummies. Those gummies had a lot of sugar. Good. He lets my head lull to the side while he grabs the gummies and hands them to me. He then walks over to the drink machine and gets himself and I water. He then walks over to a bench and I follow.

“...Thanks, Shinso.” I mumble around a few gummies as we sit down.

“Don’t mention it. Now we’re even, right?” I chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I lean on his shoulder again. “Can I stay here a sec? I don’t want to go back yet.” He nods.

“Not too long, but yeah. Get yourself together.” I chuckle again and eat more gummies in silence. Why was he different than Eijiro? Why can I lean on his shoulder and not get super flustered?

Maybe it’s just that Shinso’s been around too long. I never grew attracted to him romantically because he had been there since before I thought of boys like that. He’d been my friend so long it was hard to picture him as anything else. Regardless, it was nice that he knew he didn’t have to give me a pep talk. He just had to be here, letting me lean on his shoulder for a moment. This was a moment I needed to collect my thoughts and composure. Not getting into the final game had been a blow.

I tried as hard as I could, but couldn’t quite get that headband we needed to get into the next game. That was that, no need to get caught up other thoughts.

“Oh, good. You’re feeling a little better.” Comes Ryuji’s voice as he rounds a corner. I smile at him.

“Yeah, a little. Sorry for worrying you guys.” I mumble. Ryuji smiles.

“Sorry I didn’t stop you using your Quirk sooner. That last formation took too much out of you. I should have said something.”

“Nah, I’m the idiot that made the formation despite knowing it really wasn’t my best move. I just really wanted to grab our headband.” Shinso sighs.

“And I really wanted to get into the next game.” I chuckle.

“I know. I don’t hold it against you. Oh, by the way, this is Teichida Ryuji. Ryuji, this is Hitoshi Shinso, a guy I- -”

“Went to middle school with.” Ryuji interjects, smiling. “You mentioned when he stole our headbands.” I frown, munching on the last of the gummies.

“Oh. Really? Sorry.” He shakes his head.

“No worries. You wanna head back or do you want me to bring someone here? You still seem pretty upset.” I sigh. While I did want to hug Eijiro right now, I’m not sure I want him to know how badly I reacted. “I mean, um, I- -” Ryuji looks flustered, waving his hands around a little frantically.

“It’s fine, Ryuji. Um...I think I’m okay to walk back, slow, but I don’t really want everyone knowing what I did, so…”

“You look like shit, Takara. That’s not going away easily.” I sigh.

“Thanks, Shinso…” Shinso points to the bathroom sign.

“Go back in there and splash your face with cold water a few times, don’t rub your eyes, and pat it dry.” He then holds up my water bottle. “Then chug this.” I nod. He had probably done this before and knew how to hide it. I felt horrible I couldn’t always help him when he got depressed and felt awful, but I do what I can.

I walk in and the water feels great on my face. I splash it a few times and gently wipe all the tear streaks away and pat my face dry. I feel better and come out.

Immediately, Shinso hands me my water. I drink it down and feel even better. I start walking back and side-hug Shinso when he catches up.

“I really appreciate this, Shinso.” I tell him. He nods.

“No problem. Just don’t mention it.” I nod in pretend sobriety.

“Riiight. Can’t let anyone know you actually feel things.” I tease. He chuckles, knowing I didn’t mean it literally.

“No, not at all.” He replies, then leaves me to walk the rest of the way over to my teammates. I wasn’t totally better but I was coming to grips with not being in the final game and I guess that was about all I can do at this point.

I can’t change the past. I can only live with it.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep 21: Hey, It’s a Party, Lets All Get Kidnapped!

Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve worked on these. I’m back from my cross-country travels, I’ve overcome my food poisoning because of said travels, and I did like 2 Inktobers so I’m officially allowed to quit and then never do Inktober again till the end of the month so now that’s over with, lets get back to Yugioh. Thankfully, Joey is here to recap for us what has been going on so far in the show, via a phone call to his sister where he literally started off the episode saying this line.

It is episode 21, Joey has run out of excuses, and the crew has decided that now is the time to finally find their friend who definitely is being tailed by a murderer with psychic powers.

Because no one wants to ever call the cops on this show.

I can see why Yugi and Grandpa might not, since Pharaoh may have done some criminal nonsense before he reformed at the end of S1 (I mean Season Zero isn’t not NOT canon) and I can see why Joey might not because bro mentioned that he had some sort of dealing with the mini-Yakuza or something in Season Zero (I look forward to that). Tristan already thinks he is a cop so I can see why he doesn’t either. But maybe Tea should call the police. She doesn’t work at the must-be-18-to-work-here-so-it’s-probably-a-stripper-joint-after-10-PM burger place anymore, she’d be fine. Probably.

I mean they did illegally invade a country last season and was complicit in the removal of that country’s leader’s right golden eyeball so like...yeah...

But now that Yugi has the company of three people inside of his head and Kaiba alongside him--who is always communicating with Mokuba on his jacket walkie talkie (like he went out of his way to make a jacket that has solely one function because it clearly doesn’t keep him warm without those arms--and the function is to call up his little brother and complain about the people who are two feet away and can hear him complaining about them), but this means Yugi actually has more people in his 2-person party than the other crew of 4 people. Anyway, he’s certainly not lonely.

But first we gotta throw Tea’s phone around and have some comedy hijinks.

(read more under the cut)

Tea x Cell Phone giving me more energy than Tea x Yugi but that’s actually true of every teenager and their intense relationship with their phone. Accurate. Hell, it’s true of me as an adult.

I also love how they throw this phone in our face just to remind us how neither Yugi has called Tea or how Tea could easily call Kaiba AKA the guy in charge who knows where everyone is, since he’s in their High School phone book, but wtv. We gotta first sort out who’s gonna pick up Serenity from the hospital although her bandages aren’t even off yet.

We’ve already clarified how dangerous this whole tourney is, and the fact that during these finals they might be ground zero for when the world might actually stop functioning entirely, maybe don’t throw your blind sister into the mix? Girl has enough problems right now. Maybe keep her in the hospital preemptively. Y’all are probably going to end up there anyway. She can book you a reservation.

I do appreciate the Tristan stance in this shot.

Anyway, sensing that the crew might actually do something, Bakura decides to show up and make some mad insane nonsense again. Ah, our wild card, Bakura, our Charlie Kelly.

Lol What? His big master plan is to feign an injury? (I’m assuming this is fake? But he’s also sweating a whole lot? Maybe they had a fight club behind the scenes that got edited out?) But you know, if you’re gonna try to sell a broken arm then wouldn’t you want to like...wear an sling?

Wtv, we’ve already learned from last season that literally all these people are the very worst boy scouts and would absolutely die in the woods. Apparently they would also absolutely die if they had to administer actual first aid rather than vague card magic. I was kinda thinking that Marik miiiight be a better scout from all his tomb runs, but from the looks of it he’s too busy being as incompetently evil as possible to learn how to tie a simple bandage.

Nice that Bakura waited until the moment Tristan left to start being shady again. I guess that Bakura also remembers that one time that Tristan hulk-punched him so hard - in the shadow realm where mere mortals should not be able to even move - that God-Mode-Bakura passed out for like 45 minutes.

I’m a little confused at how this at all works with Marik’s plan, since it’s really not that hard to abduct Grandpa, but o well, this was the plan they went with. They ARE teens after all, and teens kind of live by the mantra of “I dunno, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” I guess it’s less complicated than making sure he watches a haunted VCR tape.

So off Grandpa goes with Bakura, meaning Gramps is probably going to be a card or some other sort of lifeless husk in a few episodes or so. It was a good run, Gramps.

Honestly, Bakura should just heavily suggest Gramps just go back to work the counter of his Super Gonna Curse You Weasley’s Wizard Wheezly’s, you know, the shop he actually owns. That shop who’s name is canonically “Turtle Game” (good name for a card shop, really gets it across. Great business decision.) And really, it’s been 2 days since he’s stayed open past 9 AM. Does he not pay rent? He seriously might not, we do not know who’s the owner of that house/shop. For all we know it’s Yugi’s Dad who is........somewhere?......

And speaking of missing people, the two most direction-less folks in the universe decided to make this show even longer when they could have easily skipped like 8 episodes if they had just crossed the street. Instead, they’re going to backtrack back to the Shamu exhibit while somehow not overhearing Bakura screaming in his British(?) accent.

Sometimes I’m impressed by all the well placed irony in this show. Here come the two God-characters of the A-team. One has the infinite reaches of technology, the other has the infinite reaches of dark magic. They can do anything except navigate a map and find their friends who are within I assume a 10-block radius.

Now I know, I know, Namu’s an actual name people actually have. Much like Mary Jane. Or AceBluntz420. But forgive me, I am from California.

Also I just went down a rabbit hole of K-pop and the only song I could find that said “tree” enough times was “tree of Sephiroth” which was a pretty good banger but not what I was going for. Again, I’m stymied by my naive, elementary level K-pop education. One day I will be a master of K-pop but I am yet just a newbie with a couple of Black Pink and BTS on my Spotify.

One day I will know enough about Kpop to know which of the songs are about romance and which are about weed but alas, I just like looking at the pretty lights and the pretty colors and the fun dancing like a newborn babe.

But anyway, couldn’t help but notice - THAT’S the name he actually chose for himself, huh?

I mean I looked it up and Namu is also a Buddhism reference in Japanese and that’s probably what the show makers were going for, but safe to say, Marik is clearly not a Buddhist. He is literally in charge of a Pharaoh cult. Well, used to be. It seems like Marik’s just out to destroy his own God. He’d be the hero in really any other anime with motives like that. Hm.

Honestly, if it wasn’t for Marik wanting to vaguely rule the world I’d probably side with him completely, lets be real. Pharaoh is kind of a huge problem. And while I do like Pharaoh now, it took me kind of a while, and if Marik showed up S1 I’d be like “Yes, finally, please kill the already dead insufferable ghost.”

So, Marik decides to become friends with Joey and Tea.

This sure was a lot of work to become friends with Joey and Tea. Did Marik not realize that if they’re also buds with a guy who is possessed by a ghost, they might have low enough standards that he doesn’t need to jump through any hoops?

Marik could have just walked up and said “hey, remember me? From class?” and these two would have been like “yeaaaah” because it’s been so long since they’ve attended that they would have had no idea that he was never enrolled.

Anyways, Pharaoh’s arrived to scream at the top of his lungs about a bomb threat at a theme park.

Bummer that Mako Tsunami finished his act and I guess went back to his home island on the back of another whale he had parked outside the theme park.

Also it says a lot about what this town goes through that Yugi, shouting about how everyone’s going to die, doesn’t seem to perturb a single member of this audience. They’re just like “shaddup, I’m looking at the large dolphin.”

The total amount of time that Marik could handle being friends with Tea and Joey : maybe about 30 seconds.

Which makes you wonder why he even bothered with this charade, but maybe he just wanted to get rid of Bakura because that guys kind of a mess.

And then just when I thought it would never ever actually happen.

It happened.

I don’t recall any era where non flip-phones had little antennae. I think this was kind of before my time. Good. Finally something on this show that I’m too young for.

Jokes on this mook for thinking he could ever crush a Nokia with his shoe. Actually impossible. I’m sure there’s Nokias that have outlived being run over by a Jeep.

Yo my payphones never had digital minute indicators on it. You can even read the numbers on the numpad? And there’s no gum lodged in the coin slot? This is not how I remember payphones.

Yo second thought, maybe those are 33 seconds and not minutes? Eh, what do I know, I’m a millennial, I don’t really remember how those awful things worked. RIP payphones, you were always spooky and the worst. Like honestly if a ghost Pharaoh would live in anything, it would be a payphone. If you ever had to use a payphone with a phone card, then you’d understand that it’s more an unsolvable puzzle than any puzzle pyramid.

And I guess that Mokuba just felt left out, so he decided to leave his brother and just wander off by himself on a rooftop where there’d be no witnesses?

Mokuba, why are you on the roof? How does everyone in Domino have roof access? And is the internet so bad in this town that you must be on a roof to get any signal?

please admire the leg wraps on this guy’s ankles. They’re like high fantasy legwarmers.

*why ever duel with cards when you can freakin fly*

WOW, KIDS SHOW. That sure is dangling a small child off a helicopter!

And like, Mokuba just hangs there for a while--no joke, he’s just hovering in the background of every shot for kicks and I’m just like...how did this kid’s show get made????? The 00′s was a different time.

This past week I’ve been watching my older brother’s 5 kids and so I’ve been watching their TV shows and youknow The Descendants 2 would have been a very different movie with edgy, rogue helicopters in it. Though I will admit Yugioh could do with a couple more dance sequences. (and Yugioh might legit have better fashion than The Descendants 2, why the hell was Cruella DeVil’s son wearing bright red baggy capri shorts to a cotillion ball? Anyway, I’m putting Descendants on my “possibly recap this later” list.)

I get that the intern who was putting this scene together might not have known about the helicopter incident in the shot right before this when they drew in these people just on the street on their cell but mannnnnnn.

I love the implication that this happens so often to children in Domino that no one freakin cares anymore.

Reminder that Kaiba refuses to believe in magic and has no idea wtf is going on. Like he knows there’s some yummy cards he wants--that’s it. He doesn’t think this is the end of the world, he doesn’t think anyone here is magic. He just thinks Yugi is a super weird kid from Spanish class who's voice keeps cracking and that Marik is some sort of weird mafia boss. He was not expecting this tourney to become kidnapping central and I mean no one could have predicted this next part either.

...

So Marik’s plan, lets just walk through it.

These two loose to Kaiba and Yugi, then these two violently pass out, Pharaoh runs over and shakes up the fat one for a little bit, and then Kaiba and Yugi go to a theme park. These two guys intentionally lost and got beat up for no reason?

And then, he sends the same people who have Already Lost back to Yugi and Kaiba, to use a different deck than the one they used the first time?

Why not use this amazing deck they had the entire time the first time? Why are all of Marik’s plans so roundabout?

I mean I guess they had to lure these two to the roof but not really actually--once you beat Yugi in a game then boom the puzzle is yours so you don’t actually have to...whatever, they’re on a roof and and it’s edgy and it’s scenic and it’s gonna get real Jack Baur on us.

oh man this workaround to “but they never actually go splat because they die before they hit the bottom” which is infinitely worse than actually just falling down.

So seeing no other solution, they decide to endanger the lives of hundreds of people and play this exploding rooftop version of Yugioh.

I mean last season we sure did go through a lot of time trying to get Kaiba off a ledge of a tall building and now he’s just...back on that ledge. Well. OK then. These kids and ledges.

Really was a line in the show that Kaiba listed the only two things these guys have done wrong and it’s like--well they used the wrong deck the first time. That was probably actually a really big thing they did wrong. Also they could have kept Pharaoh in an infinite rock-paper-scissors loop but passed up on the opportunity. TBH these guys make a lot of mistakes but we’ve been over this before, Kaiba can only remember 2 things. Weird that this has become canon, but here we are.

I guess Kaiba suddenly remembered he had a grudge.

He forgot for a few episodes, but the grudge is back. He must have written it on the back of his hand “don’t forget you hate Yugi” and then when he went to  scratch an itch was like “OMG I can’t believe it, I forgot again!”

That bean.

Anyway, next week, on Yugioh:

Does Kaiba’s helicopters get into a helicopter fight with Marik’s helicopters and keep Mokuba dangling there the entire time? Does Joey get to throw a couple mooks over his shoulder like that time he took on 18 ruffians in a warehouse or will these ruffians be too ruffian even for Jo? Will Tea, after her hearts been consumed by darkness, and she becomes a nobody or a heartless or whatever, realize that she’s dating a dark wizard this entire time so it literally doesn’t matter?

Anyways, I mentioned K-pop so here you go, a moment of happy handsome boy Zen in this overwhelming world.