#it's just bizarre. wondering if this is one of those cases where s1 of a show feels least tonally accurate

[thatsparrow]

giving psych another go after having watched the first season and a bit a couple years ago before stopping because I hadn't really been feeling it

only like six or seven eps in this time, and I am enjoying it, and I would like to stick with it this time, but god, now I do remember why I gave up on it in the first place. for all the show has going for it (which is a lot!) so much of the tone (and shawn is usually the biggest offender) falls back on those really insufferable attitudes from the mid ’00s of like. hit on every woman you see, getting laid is always the biggest priority. kneejerk disdain for anything nerdy or "uncool." I'm a guy and that means I care about porn and sports and that's it

[ljf613]

9 and 13, your pick of thing and its fandom

Let's go with ATLA.

9. worst part of canon This week I've been thinking a lot about the episode "The Waterbending Master" (S1:E18) and some of things that have always bothered me about it. My issues are rooted in the scene where Pakku tells Katara that he won't teach her:

First of all, he says it's forbidden for women to learn waterbending, but then he says that women learn healing. The phrasing here is kind of bizarre-- he seems to be saying that healing and waterbending are two completely different things that have nothing to do with each other, which is absurd; healing is one kind of waterbending, and fighting is another. (It bothers me in general whenever characters act like fighting is the only real kind of bending, because we literally see so many different applications of bending in the show beyond fighting, and acting like people who use their bending for building or art or healing or anything other than battle aren't real benders is absurd. Not all benders are soldiers, nor should they be!) Second, I dislike the false dichotomy presented here. Katara claims that she wants to fight, not heal, implying that it's one or the other. Not only does this suggest that she must choose between the two (and that she's chosen fighting over healing), it doesn't match what we see both before and after this arc: throughout the show, Katara uses her waterbending for both healing and fighting, sometimes in the same scene, and aside from this one episode, the narrative never treats this as anomalous. (Jeong Jeong even told her a couple of episodes back that healing was something done by "great waterbenders" and envied her for it, but now that's being retconned and we're told that it's a sex distinction and not even real waterbending?) Finally, I have a general problem with the difference between how modern society tends to treat traditionally feminine roles and skills compared to those that are traditionally masculine: things and behaviors that are generally viewed as masculine (in this case, fighting) are worthy of envy and emulation and everyone should be able and allowed to do regardless of sex, while those that are feminine (in this case, healing) are viewed as inherently degrading and pathetic (not to mention often unnatural and wrong) and only done by sad and unfortunate women who have no other options and are pressured into it. I find this entire mindset to be extremely sexist and, frankly, rather insulting to every woman in history. Imagine if the episode had been about Aang wanting to learn healing and being told only women got to do that, while boys should just stick with fighting. Now that might have been an interesting episode that would actually be perfectly in-character for Aang, as opposed to Katara "saves her friends' lives multiple times using her healing abilities" acting like learning to heal is a waste of time. (Ever notice that while we see several female waterbending fighters throught the franchise, there's not a single instance of a male waterbending healer? Is that because guys are incapable of healing, or are girls the only ones allowed to diversify their skillsets?) And none of this is to say that Katara was wrong for wanting to learn to fight or anything like that-- I just dislike the way the whole situation was framed.

13. worst blorboficiation The easy answer, obviously, is Zuko. I don't think I need to elaborate any more on that-- plenty of people have gone into this in the past, I don't think I have anything new to add there. (Although maybe that's more "woobification" than "blorbofication," if we're getting specific.) The one I find more personally grating is actually Kyoshi. I don't hate her, but I do hate the way people idolize her and act like she was the most amazing and wonderful Avatar ever-- usually while contrasting her with Roku, who gets such undeserved hate for... *checks notes* not wanting to kill his best friend.

Send me an ask that may incite violence.

[deltaengineering]

that was the winter anime 2021 that was

Still not quite ready for a dozen posts about how terrible the likes of Combatants Will Be Dispatched are, sorry. Watch Vivy though, it owns. Here’s some more things that are (mostly) good. As always, worst to best.

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki S3

Yatogame has long run out of hot Nagoya facts and its ensemble comedy never amounted to much, so now it seems mostly content to just spam more and more wacky character designs. About the only thing that it has left going for it is that 3 minutes a week are more effort to drop than to watch, so I expect them to make a movie next. 4/10

Go-toubun no Hanayome S2

Quints is a weird one. S1 was a barely good enough (i.e., well above average) implementation of the ages old harem chestnut. S2 is actually better at the core of its appeal, since it gives all the characters a sharper profile (things like taking Nino from joke to badass and making Ichika a villain are no mean feat), but it does pay a steep price for it. You see, to deliver a steady drip feed of meaningful character moments it apparently has to rush through the source material at a breakneck pace, which completely wrecks the "story" part of this story and makes every episode seem like a recap. And it still keeps wasting precious time on vestigial nonsense like its framing device and the Kyoto flashback scenario that was already the worst part of S1. But by far the most annoying aspect is its insistence on keeping all the options valid, since it prevents any real progress and makes everything seem arbitrary and pointless. So sure enough, after a season of much ado we still don't end up anywhere — you can't really raise the stakes if all at stake was "who wins" to begin with. It's watchable and even enjoyable scene-for-scene but it's getting harder and harder to call it a solid show overall. 5/10

Skate Leading Stars

I was watching this primarily because I didn't like Yuri on Ice much and wanted to see if something that is a blatant attempt to cash in on it would be better — because while YoI delivers on one aspect (being hella gay), it really is an absolute shambles of a sports show. And sure enough, Skate Leading has none of the auteur appeal of YoI, but it just works much better. In particular I appreciate how it managed to make me care even a little about a cast of assholes, which is a nice contrast to the nauseatingly ingratiating way YoI tries to make you love its characters. Also, Skate Leading is just generally cheap and unambitious, so not susceptible to trying hard and painfully flaming out on the presentation side like YoI is. But at some point you gotta let go of these comparisons and on its own Skate Leading is... just fine, I guess? Competent, mildly engaging, not very memorable. And that's probably where it loses to Yuri on Ice in the end after all, even if I think it's "better". 6/10

Idoly Pride

Idoly Pride sold itself on me with a really good (and hilarious/tragic) first episode that was just too bizarre to ignore — I mean, how can you ignore GHOST IDOL MANAGERS. Well, the majority of the show isn't like that. It's a competent and solid version of the idol franchise show, yes, but it really had more potential than that. Especially midseason, it gets lost in these dozens of characters, and while they're all likeable, it does seem like a waste of a good story just centered on Mana/Kotona/Sakura. By the end it comes back around to the heart of the matter with a Maeda-style sob story, which could be a disaster but seasoned veteran Jukki Hanada makes it work anyway. Overall, there's quite a bit of ridiculous hacky melodrama in this, but quite honestly that's the best part and I wish it would concentrate more on it. The rest is just okay. 6/10

Yuru Camp S2

Yuru Camp is still likely the best pure iyashikei show when it gets down to business. Compared to S1 though, this seems to happen less and less. At its peaks (i.e., basically any quiet moment with Rin) it's at least as good as ever, and there's some good cast additions like Mini-Inuko, but it appears that Yuru Camp simply has run out of things you can do with camping and it fills up the time with other... stuff. This stuff includes the generic school club shenanigans it was never particularly good at, and a gigantic helping of crass consumerism. Yeah, I would say the majority of Yuru Camp is just a straight up infomercial at this point, which itself ranges from the perfectly acceptable (which cute anime isn't about food constantly), to the sketchy (I don't know whether the Izu tourism board cut this production a fat check, but if they didn't, Yuru Camp still gives its best effort to make it seem that way) to the highly irritating – I am aware that camping requires gear and you can't just ignore that, but you most definitely do not require whole arcs dedicated to talking about raising funds for the purposes of acquiring the Lamp of Comfy Happiness at your friendly local Caribou™ either. Not to mention an arc where the aforementioned lame school club does the same, for double irritation. Make no mistake, this show is so riddled with scenes that beg for a solution to embed affiliate links in video files that it makes me wish I was watching something as anticapitalist and underground as Love Live. And irritating really is the last thing a show with this core concept, as stellar as it is at that, can afford to be. Bummer. 6/10

SKOO the Infinity

Skoo has one really huge asset: ADAM, its magnificent villain. It also has one really huge liability: Reki, its not magnificent protagonist. To be more specific, it's very good at anything outrageous, physics-defying and silly, such as most scenes ADAM is in, and quite bad at anything serious, dramatic (in a serious way) and down to earth, such as most scenes Reki is in. So, what's the verdict? Well, the rest of the cast is more ADAM-like, and Reki's co-protagonist Langa is fine as the straight (yeah, right) man. The tedious buddy drama is a comparatively small part of this show, and at least it pays off quite well in the end. Seriously, I was ready to give this a 6, but the final episode is probably the best one of the show, in all of its aspects. That's really not something you see often. Skoo's a great time. Except when it's not. 7/10

Non Non Biyori Nonstop

Speaking of the rare good ending, what about we gave one of those to a slim and inconsequential slice-of-life show? NNB has always been solid, comfy and amusing quality with a couple of standout moments (usually something with Renge), and Nonstop has that plus an ending as conclusive as any show of this type is ever going to have. Besides, it does a lot of things right by focusing on more characters than the central 4 (especially Konomi has great material in S3), it expands the universe just enough to not get stale, and it moves things forward — It's definitely a lot better than the movie, is what I'm saying. Apart from that, well, we're three seasons in, if you have any interest in this you probably don't need me to explain what's good about NNB at this point. Bonus points for being nothing but an ad for the manga. 7/10

Wonder Egg Priority

Oh boy, so here's the big one. Wonder Egg is the rare Meaningful Arthouse Show About Real Issues You Guys, as you might have heard. And well, the long and short of it is that it's a very good show with quite a few glaring problems (besides not actually being finished due to production issues, but what we have is enough of an ending to be able to meaningfully talk about it). In particular, one problem: WEP is, at its core, one of these metaphorical Magical Girl-ish series that are just a thin layer of abstraction over coming-of-age or societal problems. The issue is that "metaphorical" in this case means "literal" and "thin" means "basically nonexistent". This show is not subtle regarding what it's about, at all. This is a double-edged sword — on the positive side, some things really should just be said aloud, and I'm really, really fucking tired of the Ikuhara style of "here's some wacky things, maybe a blog post will eventually tell you how it's actually about the most important thing ever" obfuscation — if it's really so important, just spell it out. On the other hand, there are limits to this and when a second, different Ai appears I don't really need a voiceover line telling me that yep, this show is about parallel universes now. WEP spells out many important things, but it also spells out many things that are implicitly clear or better left vague. Not to mention that with being so obvious up front, the show's tendency to leave figuring out what it's actually saying about it up to the viewer can leave the wrong impression. Again, I settled on the opinion that it's subtle after all where it counts the most, but you might easily get the impression that it pulls its punches (Ikuhara does this the exact other way around — once you figure out what the fuck he's talking about it's abundantly clear what he's saying about it).

In fact, this show is so good at subtle, quiet character moments that it calls into question the need for big huge fighting fantasy layer in the first place, especially since I'm not a fan of the fantasy designs and the fights aren't great. Sure, they look impressive on a technical level (this show is very good looking in general), but the lack of actual impact or rhythm makes me think this is not made by people who are very familiar with action and maybe they should have asked some seasoned shounen veterans for this — or just, you know, not do it. They can (and do) impress with character acting in quiet scenes just the same. And while Ai's character story actually does pay off quite nicely by the end we got, and Momoe and Rika are also handled well, Neiru's backstory is significantly less good, not to mention the whole Frill subplot regarding the show's mythology that they introduced just before (and that's the part to be resolved at a later date), which is a huge can of worms. We'll see how well they handle that, I suppose, but as it is it's a weird and vestigial detour that doesn't add much besides thematic headaches.

But yeah, apart from all that — I like it, a lot. Great character writing in the details, cool looks for the most part, tons of ambition, and a message that I consider to be appropriately handled — for the most part, and for now. Not quite ambitious arthouse anime at its finest, but also not a pretentious disaster like Sarazanmai, Monogatari et al. 8/10

[landonkirbyappreciation]

This two part theory about malivore and Landon/why he's a perfect vessel just popped into my head(before I start the theory I just want to say that this theory is based on the hopes that they didn't forget or for some weird reason decided to changed what was stated back in s1 about Landon having none of malivores weaknesses). And this theory makes so much sense to me that I'm kind of hoping I'm right.

PART 1: so you know how it was said that malivore finally got it right with Landon. Making him his perfect son/vessel. I always found it weird that since malivore had got it right with Landon that he didn't just do what did to have Landon again. Giving himself more than one perfect child/vessel. And I'm sorry but there's just no way I can believe that malivore who's been planning and plotting for a 1000+ years wouldn't want to make sure he had backups just in case. So I'm thinking that maybe malivore only had one chance to have his perfect child. After that he just couldn't anymore. Making Landon his last and only chance for executing his endgame.

PART 2: so you know how whenever someone refers to what Landon is, they always either call him a phoenix or human. But they're never refer to him as a golem. And you would think with him being the son of a golem that at some point someone would have referred to him as a golem(makes me wonder if that's the writers ways of telling us that he isn't one at all but anyways...). So I'm thinking that malivore found a way to give Landon the powers of a golem without actaully making him one. He's part human and part phoenix with the powers of golem. And since he's part human that would also explain why he doesn't have any of malivores weaknesses. But since he's part human that also means he has all the weaknesses of a human. Which is where his phoenix side comes in(I know he doesn't have his phoenix powers right now, idk if it's locked away or if it really did die bc golden arrow. But I truly believe that he's gonna be getting them back sometime soon) play. His phoenix side blocks/protects his human side from all human weakness. So that makes Landon an immortal being with no weaknesses, processing all of malivore powers as well as all the powers of a phoenix. Making Landon extremely powerful, maybe even more powerful than malivore. Which is why to malivore makes Landon the perfect vessel, he'll pretty much be unstoppable.

P.s I hope that makes sense. And sorry once that theory popped into my head I couldn't not share it with someone lol.

That’s a really interesting theory! And you make a very good point because that’s so true, if Malivore was able to have Landon, why didn’t he do that again and have more children? That is weird, because exactly, you’d think he would want to have multiple vessels instead of only giving himself one option? So yeah, maybe whatever he did with Landon isn’t something that can be repeated. It’s all so bizarre because we still don’t know how exactly it even happened? Like Malivore must have taken DNA from other creatures or another phoenix to use for Landon, and also some of his own somehow, and Seylah obviously. But it’s just so strange to think about and I hope we get some answers so it makes some sort of sense and so we can know why exactly Landon is supposedly the only who can be Malivore’s vessel. I just wanna know the specifics of what Landon is already.

And you’re right, Landon is only ever referred to as a human or a phoenix. That’s very interesting, yeah, no one has ever brought up him being a golem even though his father is one. And idk why no one seemed to question him turning into mud either when he has physically always seemed human, has blood, etc. He’s clearly not made of mud and couldn’t be a golem. But because Malivore is one, you could be right and maybe Landon only got the powers of a golem. Maybe he only got the supernatural side of Malivore but not any literal mud from Malivore himself? And true, it seems him being part human makes him physically just like a human, not at all like how Malivore is physically or with those weaknesses. And when it comes to his phoenix powers, I’m sure he’ll get them back as well, and I really like the idea that his phoenix side protects his human side. And that seems to be true from what we’ve seen so far. So that really would make Landon super powerful, plus all the other abilities he might have that we don’t know about yet. And I also feel like Landon would have to be more powerful than Malivore with all his phoenix powers because I don’t think Malivore would create a vessel that was less powerful than him. He’d want to make sure he’d have no weaknesses and would be immortal, while also being able to have children, and Landon seems to fit all those things (with his phoenix powers). So you could be right! I really hope it will all be explained because it’s honestly so confusing.

And it does make sense! No worries, thanks for sharing your theory with me!

[calliecat93]

Star Trek: TNG Episodes 5-8

Where No One Has Gone Before: Well that was... something. When I saw the title I expected to be another attempt at copying TOS, this time with Where No Man Has Gone Before. But that ended up not the case. This was just as weird as that one though. Especially with allt he weird hallucinations or whatever was even going on in the second half. Aside from that, it was okay. Nothing that bad, but nothing that great. But again we ave Wesley being given far too much praise here. I mean yeah it’s good that he’s observant and empathetic towards The Traveler, but the praise eh got and being made an Acting Ensign? No, he has done NOTHING deserving of that. I don’t hate Wesley, he’s not that annoying and does come across as a well-meaning kid...but he’s a KID. So far his involvement has made all the adults look more incompetent, and in this kind of show that’s just not gonna work. I’m all for making kid characters who are smart and useful, but it cannot come at the trained adults looking like idiots int he process. There’s a time and place for it, but Star Trek simply isn’t one of them. Otherwise... meh. 2/5.

Lonely Among Us: Okay, this one was better. We have a diplomatic mission, a weird alien entity that can possess the crew, and rising tension throughout. I can absolutely imagine this as a TOS episode haha. I like Troi finally getting to be useful with her empathetic abilities and Riker and Crusher trying to confront posessed!Picard. Also Data with his Sherlock Holmes pipe was cute, haha! The diplomatic mission... went nowhere and seemed to be there more form comedic relief with the ending especially emphasizing that. Makes me wonder hwy they even bothered. Which just makes me wonder why they even bothered having it. It brings the episode down but it was still decent and allowed most of the characters something to do. Wesley’s part is also minor and he’s pretty uninvolved int he plot, allowing the adult characters to play their parts without looking stupid, Thank God. So not an amazing episode, but a pretty nice one all in all. It’s one of the better ones so far at least. 3/5.

Justice: Ugh... this was ugh... yeah... I know that S1 isn’t exactly great, but this was just weird. I guess it’s on par with some of TOS’ weirder episodes, but still. I mean Wesley getting sentenced to death for tripping on a flower is pretty ridiculous. But the Edo society as a whole is just... some weird paradise land. Kind of makes me think of the people form the TOS episode The Apple, especially with the s*x focus. I like the intention of the episode, a paradise-like world where breaking even a minor law like... tripping over a flower results in execution. It puts the whole society into a much darker perspective especially with the Enterprise dealing with the weird God-like entity. It’s also an interesting look at how different societies handles laws and justice, something that I suggested would have been a vast improvement to the TOS episode Wolf in the Fold instead of... what we got instead. But that may be an appropriate comparison since like that one, the plot is so bizarre that whatever message was in there gets lost, though at least this one wasn’t sexist, involve Jack the Ripper, and end with nearly everyone high. I can still get the message out of this one as well, but again the story is just too silly. Wesley also came off more like... well, a naive kid which is appreciated...t hough he probably shouldn’t have been allowed on the Away Team to begin with, but ah well. But yeah good message, weird plot. 2.5/5

The Battle: Oh great, the Ferengi again... whoo. To be fair they do come across as more villainous here... well Bok does anyways. This one was interesting with Bok forcing Picard to relieve one of his biggest past moments when he lead the Starship Stargazer which his actions were so well noted he got a maneuver named after him. But he also is forced to relieve the trauma and now given a moral dilemma in both thinking that he may have attacked an unarmed ship AND Bok screwing with his mind for revenge. Though that ends up being Bok’s undoing as his actions result in no profit so once his men realize it, he gets overthrown. Whoops! I loved seeing Riker in command with Picard mentally incapacitated and the climax was pretty dang tense. Even Wesley’s involvement was minor but useful and his little bit fo snark was funny, haha! Probably the best episode so far. It gives some insight on Picard with Patrick Stewart being fantastic, has some legit tension, and was a pretty good watch all in all. 3.5/5

And thus, we’ll call it a day. So far... TNG isn’t bad and I’m slowly warming up to it. But it still hasn’t quite gotten me. TOS more or less gripped me about now even if mainly due to the scientific/mental concepts of certain episodes. But so far TNG hasn’t had anything to really grip me and hwile the cast is fine and I certainly will say that they’re better at doing an ensemble than TOS was, they haven’t gotten me yet. But it took until the Triumvirate to form in full to really get me into those three fully and we’re still super early in S1 of a 100+ episode show. We’ve got 18 episodes of S1 to go. We’ll see how it goes then.

[multimetaverse]

Why do you think Andi Mack dropped so many plots it set up?

2a is where pretty much all of those dropped plots are set up and likely most of them were potential set up for a different version of S3 than we actually saw. The biggest dropped plots/set up that went nowhere I noticed on my 2a rewatch are in order below:

1) Gabriel set up in 2x03 as Bex’s toxic ex and the reason she thinks she can never get married then never mentioned again

It’s very likely that the re-shoots for A Good Hair Day (which was originally 2x04 in production order) were caused by a Gabriel related plot being cut. We know an actor was cast as his agency put out an instagram post about his casting and a later Disney quiz featured a photo of Gabriel which matched that of the actor they cast to play him. So this one is not the writers fault as for some reason Disney let them write and film whatever was going on with Gabriel in 2x04 and then decided that it had to be cut entirely. 

2) Cyrus saying in 2x03 that he one day would have to come out to all 4 of his parents as well as clear set up for Cyrus to kiss a boy after his 2nd kiss with Iris left him feeling like things wouldn’t get better

There’s no way to spin Cyrus straight up saying he would have to one day talk to all four of his parents about his sexuality; that’s Terri planning on doing it later on and never being able to follow up on it. Same with the clear set up for Cyrus to kiss a boy and have it feel right, Terri just didn’t know the limits she’d face with Cyrus’ story line at this point and it shows in the writing. 2x03 is only the 15th ep of the series and there were still 42 more to go and the show could have done so much more with Cyrus’ story line if Disney had only allowed them.

I don’t think Disney would have said no to Cyrus coming out to his parents in S3 but with there being no more than 2 coming outs allowed per season and with endgame Tyrus only approved with the writing of the series finale having Cyrus come out to his parents in 3x11 means you end the series with Jonah never knowing and if Tyrus never gets approved then you end with Cyrus single and only out to 2 of his 3 best friends which is a sad, pathetic ending. 

It’s no coincidence that 2x03 is TJ’s first appearance, he obviously would have been the guy Cyrus kissed but Terri probably envisioned him playing a big role in Cyrus coming out to his parents. Not only as someone who understands what Cyrus is going through but it was probably Cyrus dating TJ that was going to spur Cyrus to come out to his parents at some Jewish holiday or event as Cyrus didn’t want to hide his identity and his boyfriend around his parents any longer. I’m sure it would have been a wonderful ep.  Of course, that would have been dependent on Disney actually allowing canon Tyrus and whatever Terri’s original plan was I’m sure it didn’t involve waiting until the series finale to get permission for Cyrus and TJ to quietly get together. 

3) 2x07 had the second group date that went badly after the S1 Jamber/Ciris group date, this time for Jandi and Muffy. There never was a 3rd times the charm group date

Cyrus was out of the dating game so that leaves Jonah, Andi, and Buffy as characters available for this 3rd group date but Marty’s departure and the show later going with single Andi and Jonah endgame didn’t leave much room for another double date. We had a carnival and a virtual reality arcade and I can’t help but wonder what the 3rd group date may have been.

4) Celia says she’s selling the house in 2x04 because she doesn’t need that big space then puts her house sale plan on hold in 2x08 and that’s the last we hear of it

I had forgotten just how brief this plot was when I did my re-watch. I really don’t know what the plan was because Lauren Tom was on a four season contract just like the other mains and there was no way the show could have afforded to lose the Mack house set. And the series finale is dependent on Cece not selling the house for at least a few years otherwise Andi Studio is a bust. It’s pretty bizarre, I can only guess that maybe it was potential set up in case they suddenly got cancelled  later in S2 and they could bring it back up and end with the cast saying goodbye to the Mack house. 

5) Cyrus’ film career/Cyrus’ fortune starts in 2x07 but Cyrus never does anything film related after 2x11 and the texts after 2x13 spelled out that Cyrus would drop out of an Ivy league university like the fortune teller predicted because he’d go into film but nothing comes of it until a brief mention in the flash forward sequence of the series finale

It’s not a shocker that Cyrus has a disproportionate number of dropped plot lines but this one is all on the writers. They also dropped his love of reptiles and dinosaurs after him and Iris broke up. Giving Cyrus any kind of hobby or activity like Andi had her art and Jonah his ultimate and Buffy her track and basketball would have alleviated a lot of the complaints with how Cyrus was handled as a main character and would have made his story line feel much more balanced and developed. It’s not like Cyrus putting on a play or joining some junior paleontology club would have had to touch on his sexuality in any way and they could easily have kept TJ out of the eps focusing on Cyrus’ hobby if that would have been an issue. Also we know that Buffy’s basketball flash forward was only written during the 3c re-shoots as that’s when the casting call was put out for adult basketball players which means that Cyrus’ movie flash forward was a literal last minute tacked on thing.

6) Jonah shows up at Andi’s door at the end of 2x13 and seems like he wants to tell her about the panic attack but then asks her to be his official girlfriend, Jonah never tells Andi on the show 

This is another one that’s all on the writers. Andi is the main character of the show and her and Jonah are in every single ep, it’s not like Disney would have said no to Jonah having a solo scene with Andi to tell her about his panic attacks. I’m not counting the texts because most of the audience doesn’t have access to them and they’re no replacement for Andi finding out in person. It’s stunning that they had TJ of all people be told about the panic attacks yet it wasn’t important enough for Andi to know. It’s wild that Bowie, Cyrus, Buffy, Norman Goodman, and TJ all know but Andi doesn’t (and Jonah’s parents never get told either). Jonah’s ultimate and outdated slang get dropped in S3 but I think that’s more a reflection of the writers feeling embarrassed that what they though would be a quirky hobby and way of speaking became a running joke among the audience. 

I suspect that Andi didn’t find out in large part because they were dead set on single Andi and Jonah endgame and deliberately kept Andi and Jonah apart for most of the season. Most of their solo scenes involved Andi counselling Jonah about whatever failing relationship he was in at that time and perhaps they thought Jonah telling Andi about his panic attacks would have been too emotionally intimate of a scene and since it would have brought them closer together it might have gotten the audience hoping that they’d get back together. And the show may have wanted to avoid having to show Jonah on Andi’s doorstep in 2x13 on the previously on as that would remind the audience of Jandi. 2b spends a lot of time pretty much fixing the issues Jandi had and leaves them in a good place and then S3 just throws that all out so it wouldn’t shock me if Terri didn’t decide on single Jandi endgame until after S2 was over and was writing 2x13 with the expectation that Jandi would be together in S3. Regardless it was a big failing on the writers part as was much of Jonah’s story line in S3

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep1 Part 1: Yugi Ditches Algebra, Cards Become Real

Ah, a new season a new day. It’s Season 4. And we’re going to start of with:

A deep sea sub. Sure, why not?

So Yugi’s unofficial other grandpa, Arthur Hawkins, AKA one of the member’s of this show’s only really happening OTP has decided to kinda ditch his Granddaughter Rebecca and go to the bottom of the ocean. Don’t blame him. Down here is where, I guess, he will come across this very Grecian looking structure.

Like Yugioh nonchalantly passes a lot of bad history at me but like...he’s in the Atlantic Ocean and there’s Grecian style stuff everywhere?

Why? I mean at least he’s not in the Pacific but like...Yugioh. Anyways, we’re not in Greece but the show had very little time to invent a brand new ancient architecture style although I would be super down for that.

But like...here’s the thing about columns--you can go really deep into column lore and people are really freakin picky about columns and what they mean, and this could have been a low key hilarious place to make an entirely new column order just for Yugioh. They could’ve done it and they decided not to. It’s OK, I’ll save it for the Marik’s Boat Time spinoff they’ll never ever make.

But I just want to bring up just real super fast that Noah and Gozaburo must’ve known about this place for years right? Like they super lived underwater and had robots poised to attack mankind stationed all over the sea floor so...we can pretty much guarantee they already knew about this place?

Just gonna bring up what a shame it is Noah freakin died.

Also want to bring up what a shame it was that Arthur didn’t show up at the beginning of S3 and be like “hey Yugi, I was just in the neighborhood, noticed you got picked up by an undersea gang, what’s up?”

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, there he is, our 70 yo adventurer, who has more energy than I have at under half his age. Arthur Hawkins needs to take it down a few pegs.

Or is it Hawkings?

Wtv.

Anyways, I gave Hawkins this tweed colored font that I just realized is nearly the same as Joey’s so it’ll change if he ever comes back.

Thanks for that prologue, Yugioh. Anyway, apparently no one on this side of Japan freakin cares, because despite finding what looks exactly like Godzilla’s lair on the bottom of the sea, we’re gonna instead fixate on Rex and Weevil.

Y’all I was going to make a joke about “why does this show fixate so much on Rex and Weevil at the beginning of so many arcs?” when I remembered that Bakura basically murdered all the other mean mini bosses from S1 except for Bandit Keith, who probably got deported by now.

I had to think long and hard just now about whether or not I’ve used that joke before because it is S4 and y’all I just don’t even remember.

(I have a very long story about Warby Parker that I just deleted fyi)

Rex is a Christmas plaid now because there are too many characters in this show.

Now that Rex and Weevil have been reunited, which is surprising because I just assumed these two have been Bert and Ernie-ing it up in some condo in the NYC, They say:

I almost forgot about the secret side-plot of Yugioh, that everyone is a cheese monger and very open about it.

So anyway, they’re off to have a very simple storyline of “I will try and Challenge Yugi Muto for God Cards” which...good luck with that, it only took 2 seasons for Yugi to finally accept his challenge from Seto Kaiba. Have fun following around Yugi Muto for 2 seasons.

When there’s a...really bizarre twist that happens. Just a very weird turn of events. Like recall that it’s the middle of the day, and the sun is shining, and there’s people and cars everywhere, and it’s a good neighborhood, and then, like playing Pokemon in tall grass, this guy just appears in front of them.

And guys, I’m from the Bay Area and I have slipped and fallen right on top of my phone on Fillmore which was DEVASTATING so like...their unstoppable speed walk down this 12 degree slope is...

I think they wanted to run into them, I really think they did. I think people in this town are so desperate for any excuse to fall into a horrifying disaster that they are just magnetically attracted to anyone wearing an oversized blanket.

Also this guy’s look is...kind of forgettable. It’s somehow weird and also forgettable at the same time. Hit that sweet spot for me. I don’t even remember this guy’s name, it was so forgettable. I’ll look it up later. Maybe bro will do it. I dunno. He wears a Monocle so like...that’s all I can say about this guy.

OK so I just checked in with Bro and then Bro made a weird rant about this guy being called Gurimo and how bro had some strong opinions about Season 4. Then Bro said a statement that really stuck with me, although I only remember part of the statement which was: “...this guy can just go get more monocles from Forever 21 and Hot Topic...” which made me very quickly realize my adult brother has never entered either a Forever 21 or a Hot Topic if he thinks a cultist in a monocle would purchase monocles from there.

I learned a lot and now you have to know this too.

And in case you’re wondering “did Rex and Weevil deserve this?” No. He just immediately decided to steal their soul on the sidewalk in front of Women’s Foot Locker from what I assume is just down the street from Yugi Muto’s house/game shop.

(how did this storyboarder nail the 3/4 degree angle on Weevil here? Do you know how hard that is to do with not just glasses but weird ass chunky glasses?)

Ah, a duel disk that can stab yourself in the stomach with two very poorly laid out barbs.

Very nice rival to Kaiba’s duel disk that will behead you if you don’t fling your arm out just right.

So like...did he steal a duel disk from Kaiba and then mod it? Is that what they did? The whole point of duel disks is that you’re linked up to the Dueling Facebook or whatever...so did this Cultist buy a normal duel disk from Toy’s R Us and then say “ahahah I’m going to do so much card crime!” and then start modding it with help of a cosplay forum? Like what’s the story here of how this guy spent all of last year (and definitely all of last season) modding this duel disk over a computer desk, some metallic acrylic paint, and a sauntering iron, feverishly asking his forum if anyone can 3d print some sick ass runes for his soul-sucking duel disk?

And then I guess this guy dueled both Rex and Weevil at the same time? Like this was all off screen...but why didn’t Rex and Weevil just leave? Just don’t pull out your duel disk and you’re probably good?

Just so many ways to have avoided losing your soul in the first ten minutes of Yugioh.

Anyway, on the other side of town, Tea is worrying about Yugi which is basically her normal.

Joey and Tristan decided to meet up with her, not because she was clearly in distress, but because Yugi isn’t around, and why worry about Tea when instead your friend Yugi is probably going to destroy the world the moment you turn around (and he did. Yugi absolutely effed everything up the very moment these three took their eyes off of him)

And what was weird is that it took Yugi until, I dunno...several streets over to kind of come out of the ether and be like “heeey Pharaoh...um...what’s up?” Like it took him this long to say something. Probably so that by the time they would have walked back to school math would have been over.

So...did Yugi just not notice at first? Like it’s sort of amazing what these two don’t know what the other one is up to. Including this situation that little Yugi absolutely should have picked up on.

As it turns out, the cards are speaking very audibly to Pharaoh. This should have been somewhat of a...youknow...red flag...since Yugi can’t hear them but Pharaoh can. But, Yugi’s like “well...we’re so used to everyone just giving us the answer and that being the right call, I guess this must also be the right call.”

And...although he had quite the head start, These three are more than willing to drop the hell out of class and rack up those absences. I’m gonna assume they had to make up another wild excuse about Tea’s cat to that one teacher to get out of school just like last time, but they did all that offscreen.

And then Tea just kind of snapped, and she did so with a smile the entire time.

Her wording was somewhat different, but she did basically say something along the lines of “if you don’t remember me telling you this a million times, you are an idiot” and Pharaoh didn’t have an answer and so it was like he said without saying anything “yes, I am.”

Which he will further prove like five minutes from now.

Like Y’all, bless his cursed perfect ass, but Pharaoh is the biggest idiot in this show. Sometimes he’s brilliant, but if he’s ever left to his own devices, just the biggest idiot. He got duped by some guy pretending to throw his voice so that his cards looked like they were talking to him. Pharaoh thought cards can talk.

And so that’s how Pharaoh freakin caused the Apocalypse. The first of many.

He did so just so very easily.

His cards started wigging out, the tablet started icing over--it was like “hey remember what took 2 seasons to build up to? Well screw it.”

Also this happened, apropos of absolutely nothing.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand cards are real.

I mean they’ve been real for a few seasons but now the cards are officially real and they’re not cute like Pokemon. They’re all really gross and roided out and they probably have a funky smell. All of them.

I knew we’d get here eventually I just didn’t know it would be SO fast.

When no one was paying absolutely any attention--when my entire focus was inside of this museum, that was when cards became real.

Well...

...time to shove em into little balls I guess. Anyways, that’s it for this update because this episode was a lot of stuff so I’m gonna split it so y’all have it easier and so I have it easier too.

And if you just got there this is S4, if you want to start reading these from S1, here’s a link to the collection in chrono order, it’s basically like reading a Victor Hugo length of book except its just me ranting about WTF is going on in OG Yugioh for 100+ episodes, knock yourself out.

[gch1995]

Rumbelle Happy Beginnings Conversations

I’m pretty sure that I posted this on ff.net before, and it’s still on there. Even though I didn’t watch season sucks, and I never ever will because the writing for both Rumple and Belle was so atrociously OOC, I still will always have a soft spot for Rumple and Belle, which was why I wrote this fic. I don’t really blame either of the characters for doing and saying wildly OOC fucked up and stupid things in 6A because it was so obvious that Adam and Eddy were deliberately trashing what little realistic integrity remained in Rumple and Belle’s individual characterizations and relationship together by making them look as uncharacteristically unhealthy as possible in canon with 6A, so that they could make Hook/CS look better after 5A, even though that was still objectively far worse, which was what I was afraid would happen to Rumbelle after 5x11 sooner or later, no matter how little sense it made, and exactly the reason why I quit watching after 5B.

Tbh, I wish that all of 6A could burn in a fire, and I already was losing respect for the writing of the OOC characterization of canon!Belle by the end of 4B. I kind of wish the show had just ended with 3x11.

But in 6A, canon!Rumple wasn’t just framed as an OOC cartoon villain to make Hook look better like in 4A or 5B, but he was framed as a wildly OOC mad cartoon villain with Belle, his true love, so that Hook could look better. I was tired, and I didn’t need to see that shit, so I quit. Not that Belle was behaving any better towards Rumple in 6A, 4A, or 4B by needlessly pushing all of his buttons almost every step of the way, but I knew that she wouldn’t be the one getting vilified in the narrative. I knew they would still just be the “blameless misguided hero” and the “abusive purely evil villain,” even though she said that “What have we done to each other” line, even though, objectively speaking, both Rumple and Belle have victimized each other from S4-S6 in some atrocious ways that I cannot excuse, even though every other remaining main character on this show would have been in prison or executed for at least one crime in real life by that point, and even though everyone else got away with abusing magic in ways that violated consent whenever it suited them, including the formerly truly heroic characters from S1-S3 like Belle.

And don’t get me started on how ridiculously desperate, gross, and sad the lengths that Eddy was willing to go to make Rumple look horrible. Really? Magic scissors? Playing the Evil Queen to kill Zelena and to protect Belle and the Rumbaby by getting the shears in a complete 180 after being sexually assaulted by her twice first, even though he never technically cheats people in deals, though he does toy with words to imply that he’s willing to give them what they want only to screw them over by giving them something that they didn’t expect in return when they become too desperate to notice the details.

I think he meant it when he told Belle “It meant nothing” and told the EQ that she was a pawn who meant nothing, and that he played the long game” when she didn’t kill Zelena for him, which makes me think he was never really going to bang her either way. Still, seemed kind of OOC for Rumple to “play the long game” with people in deals. He’s a manipulative shady bastard, but when he makes deals with people, they’ve generally always technically been fair, though he’ll scam them with loopholes that those who deal with him are usually to odesperate to notice. I didn’t really see much of a loophole in his deal with the EQ, though. His interest in her was obviously not serious, but this was so not his m.o., which was just bizarre...Plus, while he had used his sexuality to manipulate others before in desperate situations, the shit with the EQ just seemed over the top and bizarre, unless you consider the fact that he’s been sexually assaulted before I could see him doing that then, but we never really got his POV in 6A that much in that arc, so it just felt weird, and Regina had never shown any romantic interest in him before. I think Eddy threw it in for shock value because he was a gross misogynist who hated Rumple, Belle, and Rumbelle just as much as he hated women...I know people say that there were scripts of deleted scenes where there was more of a “romance” with the Evil Queen that Rumple had in earlier seasons. However, if that were really the case, then they should have shown us evidence of said “chemistry” back in season one, and like not ever set up Rumple in a legit relationship with Regina’s back in season two in the FTL. I’m pretty sure it was revealed that he tried to break the contract that he signed with Hades for his second born child back in season five, too, so he could have babies with Cora at one point in the FTL, which was OOC, considering how most of his attention was focused on finding Bae at that point, he actually knew that Cora’s kid would cast his curse,he knew that he would have to groom them to cast for him, and for all of Rumple’s faults he’d never try to corrupt his loved ones with dark magic, so this reveal made no sense...But yeah, he was this close to being Regina’s dad! So like this “romance” was borderline incest now...It’s a “family show,” my ass!

Nonetheless, I wrote this fic when I heard that Rumple and Belle got their blanket happy ending that retconned most of the character assassinations that never fully got explained or discussed on screen in 6B or S7 to try and explain them as sympathetically and in-character of a way as possible as to why Rumple and Belle were acting so off the rails. I know I might be harder on Belle, but the worst that Rumple had done up to 6x04 was lie to Belle. Before the character assassination to prop up Hook of 6x04, 6x08, and 6x09, he’d never been controlling, cruel, scary, threatening, reckless, emotionally manipulative, or restrictive towards Belle and her safety and well-being, and that only took place over a few days when they were both being made OOC to freak out over a dream baby in the narrative. If anything, Belle had been getting away with treating Rumple in those problematic ways for nearly three months in the narrative of their present day relationship now, and only in 6A was everyone in the GA losing their shit about how “abusive” the Rumbelle relationship was because Rumple was treating Belle poorly. By the end of 6A, they were pretty much on objectively even playing fields of who had been the worst in this relationship, but Rumple was still the only one who’s crimes and problematic behavior ever got emphasized as horrible. I wonder if it was also done partly because the writers were too afraid to call out Belle on her shit, too by 5B, so they made Rumple look just as bad, if not worse by having him overreact like a wildly OOC deranged jackass.

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting now! Hope you enjoy this fanfic! I didn’t fix everything, or make sense of everything. In fact, most of this fic is self-comforting, and in character headcanons, rather than completely confirmed canon because season sucks will never make any more sense than the plot demanded it for Rumple and Belle to be written that way, but I tried, you guys...

"Rumplestiltskin walked into his pink Victorian house with Belle holding their son at his side.

"You know, I'm so proud of you, Rumple," Belle said softly, as Rumplestiltskin closed the door behind them, and they sat in the kitchen in the chairs next to each other. "But there's so much we need to talk about before we start over. Since Gideon is sleeping now, do you think we could talk here, right now?" She set Gideon down in his basket, took her husband's hands in hers to squeeze them gently.

"We can talk as long as you like, sweetheart," Rumplestiltskin said quietly, as he squeezed her hands back softly between his. Then, a flash of fear ran through him. "But you might not like everything you hear."

"Rumple," Belle said trying to clear the lump forming in her throat, lightly brushing the tears from the corners of his fearful brown eyes, her own growing suspiciously wet in the face of the pain that she had caused him by going back-and-forth to him so many times over in their relationship, "I promise that I won't leave, no matter how painful the truth may be to hear. I'm with you this time. I know that I haven't always proven that very well to you, but I mean it truly. I promise. Would it help if I asked you questions first?"

Rumplestiltskin nodded, pulling Belle into a tight embrace, and kissing the top of her head. "I'd like that," he whispered against the top of her head.

"Okay, what's the secret behind the haircut?" Belle asked hesitantly, lightly carding her fingers through her husband's shorn locks. "It's not bad, but it's not really you Rumple. In all the time I've known you, you've always kept it long. Why the sudden change?"

"I've always worn it long, even before we met, too," Rumplestiltskin said quietly, his voice trembling with tears, as he looked down at his shaky hands to avoid Belle's gaze.

"Then, why?" Belle asked a bit more forcefully, as she put a finger underneath Rumplestiltskin's chin gently to lift his face up to her level. "Please, Rumple. I promise I won't be angry with you, or feel ashamed of you. Tell me. Why did you cut it?"

"It was truly pathetic," Rumplestiltskin said, trying to hold himself back from outright sobbing, as the tears spilled over his cheeks. "It was supposed to be a cry for help. I thought you'd see it, see that I wanted to be better, and come back to me again. I said that you'd need me, but the truth is that I needed you. I didn't know how to tell you that anymore, though, and I was afraid to try."

"Oh, Rumple," Belle said gently, as she wiped the tears away from his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I should have known. I should have asked. But is that why you were with the Evil Queen? Had I truly broken you so thoroughly that you didn't want me anymore."

"No, no," Rumplestiltskin reassured Belle, gently squeezing her hands, hugging her close, and shuddering with disgust and terror at the memories of the kisses he shared with the Evil Queen, as he hung his head in shame. "That was something else entirely. It wasn't about love, companionship, desire, or a wish to move on, though."

"That wasn't how Zelena described it," Belle said a bit enviously as unbidden tears filled her blue eyes, and spilled over her cheeks.

"Belle, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Rumplestiltskin asked gently, as he brushed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs gently. "Please, tell me why you're crying? I didn't think it mattered that much to you at the time, but I promise you all I did was willingly kiss the Evil Queen twice, and led her on to believe it could be something more than what I intended to give her, so that I could get the shears, protect you and our son from her, and kill Zelena. What else exactly did Zelena tell you I did with the Evil Queen?"

"She made it sound like you two were having sex," Belle said brokenly as more tears filled her eyes, and she felt her voice breaking with sobs. "It's just that I thought I had lost you to the Evil Queen when Zelena told me that you two were together. Even if you had, I wouldn't have been truly held it against you for being involved with someone else because I had no claim on your heart at the time, but when I said I didn't care about how you two were together before, that wasn't entirely true. I-I was rather jealous, actually. If you say that you didn't lay with the Evil Queen, then I believe you. The way Zelena described it, though, made it sound like she had caught you two in the act. Were you planning to sleep with her? Did you want to? Did you enjoy what you were doing with her? I promise that I won't get angry and walk away, if you did. I loved you, I still love you, I'll always love you, and I know that I had no claim on your heart at the time. You were entitled to do as you pleased with whomever you liked at the time, but, please, I need to know. Is that darkness really what you wanted in a woman? Is that really what you craved?”

"Oh, Belle," Rumplestiltskin said with a voice full of regret as he cupped her cheeks gently, and brought her face close to his, so he could kiss her softly. "Sweetheart, no, of course not. That wasn't about love, companionship, or desire. That was about power play. I know I didn't give you much reason to trust me, I know I was being irrational, but you must know that I'll only ever love you. You're my light Belle. You and Gideon are my whole whole world. I never slept with the Evil Queen, and I was never going to be with her, even if she had killed Zelena for me first. You know how I can toy with words, so I made her believe I was willing to give her genuine affection. Do you truly think that I could ever betray our true love, betray you, and betray my own heart by sleeping with half a woman who meant nothing to me when you were still living in the same town and carrying our child? I just wanted her to give me the shears, I didn't want her to hurt you or Gideon, and I wanted Zelena dead because she could hurt me, she hurt you, she killed Bae, and she turned you against me. I know that I've given you no reason to trust me recently, but you must believe me when I tell you that the Evil Queen meant nothing to me. You, though, Belle, you mean everything to me, and I could never betray my own heart by giving it to another woman when it had belonged to you ever since that day you chipped that teacup in my castle. There truly is no reason for you to feel jealous of the Evil Queen, Belle.”

"Oh, Rumple," Belle said happily as she hugged him. Then, when she pulled back, still holding his hands in hers, she noticed how Rumplestiltskin's eyes looked suspiciously wet with unshed tears. She noticed how his lower lip seemed to tremble, and she noticed how he kept looking down, and fiddling with their intertwined hands. It was like he still was struggling to hide something from her about his whole deal with the Evil Queen that made him feel too uncomfortable to share with Belle because he thought it would make her feel ashamed of him.

"I believe you, Rumple," Belle said softly as she gently brought her hand to his cheek to comfort him by softly stroking it. "But there’s something more that happened between you and the Evil Queen that you're not telling me because you're afraid I'll be ashamed of you. The expression is written all over your face, but you don't have to worry about me leaving or getting angry, Rumple. I could never truly be ashamed of you because I love you, I know that you were scared, too, I know that you were hurt, too, and I know that I've abandoned you, judged you, and walked away from you when you've needed me most too many times now. Not anymore, not ever again. You're my husband, my true love, and my best friend. It's time I started acting like it again, so you can tell me anything, Rumple. I promise I won't think any less of you, or walk away."

"The first two times, she kissed me touched me, and invaded my personal space without asking permission..." Rumplestiltskin stammered quietly, looking down at his hands as he nervously twisted his hands together. "After what Zelena did to me by caging me, controlling me, and touching me, I-I froze up the first two times because the Evil Queen's advances reminded me of her the first two times she kissed me without my consent. I wanted to protect you and our son from the Evil Queen. She was always there, threatening mass destruction, and touching me, even after she gave me the shears. Then, I saw Zelena at Granny’s, and decided to lead the Evil Queen on in hopes of keeping you safe from her, and getting rid of Zelena. But I never intended to actually lay with her. I-I know that my decisions weren't wise, sweetheart, but I never was with the Evil Queen to hurt you. I wasn't with her because I wanted to be at all. She-she made me feel terrified by cornering me, though, and I wanted the shears…Then, I saw Zelena…How she could still be breathing, and get acceptance from everyone so easily after what she did to you, to Bae, it just makes me feel so-so angry. I don't-don't care about the fact that most of the town hates me, I don't need them. So long as I've got you and Gideon, I’m happy, but for Emma to act like Bae never mattered to her by forgiving his murderer so easily. For Zelena to use you as a pawn to hurt me…Belle, it just felt like no one ever truly cared about the ones I love. They'd let you get hurt, they'd sell you out for their own gain, they didn't care about Bae, and they didn't care about you or our son. I know I haven't proven myself much better to you, but you must know that I never meant to harm you, or our son. I only ever wanted to protect you and our son from myself, but I went about it in horrible ways and became the threat in the process, anyway."

Belle noticed that Rumplestiltskin started hyperventilating when he talked about the Evil Queen invading his personal space by kissing him, and her heart broke for him. She remembered how Zelena caged him, sexually abused him, and made him feel trapped. He was being assaulted by the Evil Queen, too. How dare that woman! But most of all, Belle felt angry with herself for never even bothering to ask Rumplestiltskin. Her true love couldn't even depend on her, and Belle hated herself for making Rumplestiltskin feel that way. How could Belle have been so blind?

Rumplestiltskin continued to look down at the ground as he tried to regain control of his breathing, and Belle gently tilted his chin, so that he would look up at her.

"Hey, shh…It's alright, Rumple, just breathe, I promise that you'll be safe from now on, so just breathe," Belle cooed softly, gently lifting his chin up, so that he could look at her, and stroking his hair to calm him in that way she knew he loved. “Just look at me, and breathe, darling."

Then, when his breathing calmed down, Belle pulled Rumplestiltskin close in a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around him, kissing his forehead, and pulling his head down to rest against her neck, so that he could weep softly against it as his shoulders shook with quiet sobs.

Belle felt her own eyes tearing up, as she felt Rumplestiltskin's quiet tears wetting her neck. If only she had pushed her husband a little more to talk to her! If only she had listened to him when he had tried to reach out to her, instead of running away! Rumplestiltskin had felt abandoned in his darkness and despair, the Evil Queen had approached him first, she had assaulted him, and she had made him feel trapped and frightened again just as Zelena had. While Belle could never excuse her husband's bad choices or his plans to use the shears by using Regina's dark half as a pawn, she was also beginning to understand why Rumplestiltskin would turn to blindly self-destructive behavior and go mad without any of her love and support when she knew that she was the only other person in Storybrooke who he could count on to listen to his suffering and understand. Yet, she had failed him when he needed her most.

"My Gods, Rumple!" Belle exclaimed sadly, her voice breaking through her own tears as he looked up at her, and she leaned her forehead against his own gently. "I'm so sorry! I should have let you just talk to me. I should have listened to you when you tried to reach out to me in the shop instead of running away. But you should have just told me that the Evil Queen made you feel scared and uncomfortable outright. I could have helped you. I would have helped you, and if worse came to worse I would have let you use the shears on our son as a last resort after he was born."

"I didn't want you to see me as weak," Rumplestiltskin said softly through his own tears as he pulled back a bit. "I didn't want you to feel ashamed of me for working with her because I felt it was the only way I could to use the shears, I felt it was the only thing that I could do to protect you and our son, and I felt it was the only way to way to kill Zelena. It wasn't love, desire, or even companionship that I had with the Evil Queen. I didn't even want that much from her. She was using me just as much as I was using her, but she wouldn't leave me alone, even after she gave me the shears. I was so afraid she would have hurt you and our child, if I didn't offer her what she wanted, and I wanted Zelena gone. But I never actually intended to sleep with the Evil Queen in the end either way. I was just trying to keep her away from you for as long as I possibly could to protect you and our son, and get rid of the woman who has been ruining my life ever since the day I was resurrected."

"Oh, Rumple!" Belle exclaimed brokenly, pulling Rumplestiltskin's head up to face her, so that he could look at her directly in the eyes, and so she could wipe away the tears with her thumbs. "I'm so sorry! I was wrong to not listen to you when you tried to reach out, and I was wrong to ever put you down as 'too weak to be good.' That was cruel of me, and I'm sorry. You're not weak. You're the most brave, loving, and selfless man I've ever met. Your capacity for good is so strong, and I'm sorry that I ever lost sight of that." "Even at your worst, you only meant to protect our son and me from the darkness," Belle said gently as she stroked Rumplestiltskin's cheek. "But you should have just told me that the Evil Queen made you feel afraid. You should have told me that she assaulted you, frightened you, and made you feel uncomfortable. If you had told me outright that the Evil Queen was assaulted you first, and had made you feel trapped and afraid, then I would have forgotten all about the plans you had with the shears. I never would have gone to Zelena for help. Instead, I would have strangled the Evil Queen's neck with my bare hands to keep you safe from her, heard you out, and helped you overcome your fears. I would have helped you find an alternative to the shears, and I would have tried to work with you to understand why our son seemed to hate you in a dream before you'd even done anything wrong."

"Well, I appreciate that my darling wife is just as feisty as ever," Rumplestiltskin chuckled softly with a smirk as he began stroking Belle's cheek gently in response to her telling him that she would have strangled the Evil Queen with her bare hands to protect him from her. Then, his tone turned into one of self-disgust, and remorse. "But Belle, I didn't give you much reason to trust me. I'm sorry, too, and sweetheart, going to Zelena for help wasn't your fault. I was behaving bizzarely, I was being insane, I overreacted in ways that were hurting you from the moment I trapped you on Hook’s ship. I had allied myself with the Evil Queen. I locked the door for a few days, and started creating that horrible bracelet in case you tried to run away as a back up plan. I threatened to speed up you your pregnancy when I caught you. Don't blame yourself for running away when you had every right -" Rumplestiltskin started to say.

"No, Rumple," Belle cut him off abruptly, putting a finger to his lips as she felt her eyes filling with tears, and she felt her voice crack with them. "I could have called you on my cellphone, and told you to open the damned door, so we could have talked! I could have made a deal with you that I wouldn’t run away if you agreed to only use the shears on our son as a last resort. I shouldn’t have gone to Zelena, but I was angry at you, I was scared, and I suppose some part of me deep down wanted to hurt you for shutting me out and kissing the Evil Queen by playing the role of the ‘blameless’ victim running away from the ‘horrid monster,’ rather than treating you as my equal. You weren’t in the right here either, but you’re notthe only one to blame for all our problems. Please, don't take all the blame when I was equally at fault for them, too, and I owe you an apology for doing and saying a lot of needlessly cruel and controlling things that hurt you, too, which go farther back than just a few days in our relationship since we reunited in Storybrooke. You've always said that you're the 'difficult one to love,' but I am, too. Yet you never gave up hope on me, even in your darkest moments. I'm so sorry, Rumple! You say that you don't always understand how I could ever love you, but how could you ever still love me?”

"Belle, how could I ever stop loving you?" Rumplestiltskin asked gently, looking at Belle with tender eyes, wrapping her in a tight embrace, and rubbing her back gently when he felt her shoulders start to shake with quiet sobs. He felt a lump grow in his throat when he felt the wetness of her tears against his neck. He’d done this to Belle. He’d hurt her first, and now she blamed herself. "You didn't do anything that I didn't start first by not being honest with you, sweetheart, so don't blame yourself for breaking me when I broke you first because I was a coward. Besides, you're the most amazing, brave, loving, selfless, and heroic-" Rumplestiltskin was cut off by Belle before he could finish.

"No, no, Rumple, stop it!" Belle sobbed by interrupting him abruptly and harshly as she put a finger to his lips to silence him, and pulled away from him as she continued to sob. "I haven't been truly brave, heroic, selfless for months now. I haven't been supportive, or loving of you for months now! Instead, I've been afraid, proud, hypocritical, childish, petty, selfish, unfair, controlling, demanding, unreasonable, unsupportive, and cruel to you so many times over in my fear to love you, even when you did really try to reach out to me for understanding with unconditional love, honesty, gentleness, patience, and support from the moment I started abusing that dagger, even when you didn't do anything that bad. So stop praising me! I don't deserve it from you anymore because you deserved so much better from me. I failed you and abandoned you when you needed me most, and I just can't bear to hear how I'm the light of your life, brave, or heroic when that hasn't been true of me for so long when it mattered the most.”

"Belle, love, it's alright," Rumplestiltskin said gently, pulling Belle close to him in a tight embrace, rubbing his hands against her back soothingly, as she continued to sob into his chest. He pulled her back slightly to look at her in the eyes, so that he could try to wipe the tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs. "I love you, I always have, and I always will, no matter what."

"But it's not alright," Belle said, sobbing as she put a gentle hand against Rumplestiltskin's cheek. "I've done horrific things to you that most people would never forgive, too, and I never even apologized to you, or took full responsibility for my bad choices from the moment I banished you. I don’t know what came over me. I'm sorry for ever using the dagger to control you. I'm sorry that I sent you to your knees before me, and used the dagger to banish you with nothing across the town line. That was wrong. I'm sorry that I refused to listen to you, or hear you out, like a petty child. I'm sorry that I refused to let you get a word in edgewise. I'm sorry that I refused to let you make a choice, or have a say in so many things that I should have treated as rightfully yours, including your own freedom, and the chance to name our son, even when you did try to reach out to me with love and honesty so many times, anyway. I'm sorry that I tried to kidnap our unborn child with Zelena's help when I should have just been considerate of the fact that she hurt you, hurt Bae, and ruined our lives so many times. She's a remorseless and wicked witch."

"I'm sorry that I ever went to Zelena for that stupid sleeping curse to try and stop the clock to give you enough time to stop Hades, then put myself under it without asking for your say on the matter first, and got us into this whole mess with Morpheus, the Black Fairy manipulating Gideon by working to turn us against each other, and our son getting kidnapped by your mother because I was too afraid to trust you," Belle continued on with tears choking her voice. "I'm sorry that I lashed out at you in the Underworld, controlled you with the dagger, gave you false hope, then rejected you again, anyway, and blamed you for the fact that I had darkened my heart to save you from Hades. I don't regret it, I never have, but I was being proud, childish, and insecure. It was my fault that everything had gone south with Hades in the Underworld because I wouldn't listen to you, and let you push Gaston into the River of Souls to save our family. I'm sorry that I was so cruel to you in the Underworld because I was afraid, afraid to let myself love you again, and then risk losing you to the darkness again, even though I saw that you were trying so hard to be more honest and open with me, giving me more love and patience than I ever deserved in return. I'm sorry, it's no excuse, but I was just scared, Rumple. The last time I had seen you with the curse, you had passed out in front of me, and the darkness had almost consumed your heart. I didn't want you to use dark magic for dark deeds, no matter how necessary they might have been, and no matter howwell-intended I know they always have been in regards to Baelfire, Gideon, and me. I didn't want to risk losing you to the darkness again. I'm so sorry Rumple. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't want to hurt you, I never have, but in the heat of the moment, in my blind and impulsive anger, fear, and desire to do what was right and whatever this awful town deems to be truly heroic, so long as you're their enemy, I abandoned my own bravery and ignored your pain and suffering because I was so scared that I wasn't good enough for you, for my mother, for our son, and for myself. I was blindly insecure and selfish in my pain, and I unfairly took it out on you, my true love, and the only one, who's ever truly loved and respected me for being me, or ever truly considered me a hero since my mother died. That's still no excuse for how I treated you, though, especially because I know what Zelena did to hurt you by controlling you with that dagger, and I, your true love, and last true friend and ally in this godforsaken town, hurt you by treating you as someone so beneath me, too. I should have known better than to ever control you with the the dagger! I should have known better than to refuse to hear you out, or allow you to get a say in anything, like a petty child, even when you did try to reach out to me with honesty and love so many times! I'm not saying that you went about things between us the right way, either, but the way I behaved was just as bad, if not worse. I triggered your breaking point by refusing to hear you out, using the dagger to control you, and by going to Zelena to try and kidnap our child from you. It wasn't my intention to hurt you by going to her, or even because I wanted to take Gideon away from you, but I was scared. I was angry with you, and she was the only other person in Storybrooke, who could open a portal, besides you.

I lashed out at you and abandoned you without ever asking what was wrong, or trying to be patient and understanding, even when you did try to reach out to me, and I'm sorry I was wrong, Rumple, But it took everything in me not to rush to your side, and hold you to make sure you were alright when I saw Zelena hurt you. I was so shocked. Then, when the anger wore down, I started to understand why you would want her dead. She hurt you, she hurt me, and she hurt Bae. Yet, no one ever seems to remember how awful she was to you, they sided with her, and they all condemned you, including me, your true love. I'm so sorry, Rumple. I know that she's ruined your life, ruined our lives, but I was scared. I'm sorry that I just stood there, and watched as she hurt you. I'm sorry that I ever said that I was anything like her. I didn't mean any of that. I've never wanted to hurt you, but I was angry, scared, and selfish. I was scared that you had completely abandoned the light. I was scared that you believed that I wasn't dark enough for you, and I was scared that you would hurt me and our son-"

"Belle, sweetheart, I'm sorry, too. My God, I'm more sorry than I can ever tell you for ever giving you reason to fear me again," Rumplestiltskin said, cutting her off, his voice cracking as his own eyes started filling up with agonized tears, and he gently cupped her cheeks between his palms, so that he could pull her close to him and softly rest his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry that I trapped you on the pirate's ship. I'm sorry that I put that cuff on your wrist to stop you from running away. Most of all, I'm so sorry that I panicked, terrorized you, and threatened to speed up your pregnancy. I know I have no excuse for the bad choices I made, but you must know that I never intended to harm you or our child. I never meant to make you feel frightened, worthless or trapped. I just wanted to protect you both from my enemies, and myself. But, instead, I got lost in the darkness, and became the threat myself in the process, anyway. I went about it in awful ways, I was a fool, I know that now, and I'm sorry. I was scared and selfish. I didn't know how else to get through to you, but I never would have sped up your pregnancy. I never actually intended to. I just didn't want to lose you or another child, sweetheart, and I-I needed to talk to you. I wanted for you to hear me out, and I didn't know how else to get you to listen to me. I know my behavior and my plans were inexcusable, selfish, and wrong. I know that I have no excuse. I that I drove you away, but you must know that I never meant to frighten you, or hurt you, or our child. I was such a monster, Belle, I'm so sorry! I've never felt more disgusted with myself than when I realized how terrified you were of me, and I promise that it will never happen again. But how you could ever trust me again? How you could still want to be with me ever again after treating you in those ways is beyond my comprehension! If it had been anyone else in my shoes doing and saying those horrid things to you that I did and said these past few days, I would have wanted them dead on the spot, and now I’m hardly any better than Hook, Regina, or anyone else who’s hurt you in the past. I imprisoned you, I was cruel, I frightened you, and I threatened to harm you. Belle what have I done to you? I’m beyond grateful for the fact that you somehow still love me, even after everything I’ve done, and I love you more than words can express, but if I wasn’t deserving of you to begin with, you’d be completely within your rights to hate me forever now. You’d be completely within your rights to never want anything to do with me ever again.

Rumplestiltskin started crying again then. His shoulders shook with the force of his sobs. He kept swearing to never hurt Belle, yet even though he never meant to do it, somehow it kept happening, anyway. He tried to keep his face averted downwards from Belle's gaze, feeling ashamed, but she wouldn't have it.

"Shh, it's okay," Belle said, feeling her own eyes well up with tears all over again, and she pulled him close, so that she could shush him, and he could rest his face against her neck and weep. "What have we done to each other? We both were being idiots, Rumple. We've both been horrible to each other. I've done and said atrocious things to hurt you, too, and I've made you feel trapped too. I've hurt you and frightened you, too. I've acted like a monster that I didn't recongnize in the mirror with you, too. Most people would be wondering how I’m any better than Zelena, or Milah. Most people would have left me a long time ago, and never forgiven me in your shoes, too, Rumple. I'm sorry, too. I should have just talked to you when you tried to reach out to me. I'm not excusing your bad choices, either, but mine were just as bad. I'm sorry that I ever lost sight of the good in you, and I'm sorry that I ever called you 'too weak to be good.' I was wrong, Rumple. You're the strongest person I've ever met, and there's so much good in you. Your heart is just overflowing with so much true love, it always has been, and I'm sorry that I ever lost sight of that. I know that you would never intentionally harm me or our child, though, Rumple, and you’ll always let me go when I ask. That’s why I love you. That’s why your different from Hook and Regina, Rumple. I know that you'll make a perfect father to our son, and husband to me now.

Look, why don't we both call it even on having been the worst to each other at this point these past few months, and learn to forgive ourselves, too?” Belle asked ironically with a wry grin when Rumplestiltskin looked up at her with more anguished tears dripping from his eyes that she wiped away. “You weren’t the horrible villain you pretended to be, and I wasn’t the 'blameless' hero I pretended to be either. We were just two damaged people who kept trying to pretend we were okay to protect what we loved and what we believed in in the worst possible ways, but we didn't do it to be cruel on purpose. Those problems don’t have to define us, Rumple. We can start fresh now. We can learn to forgive not just each other, but ourselves. We will go and get counseling for help, and we will rebuild trust with time. This time, I will also be the best mother to our son and wife to you that I possibly can be. I promise that I won't just walk away again when things get rough. I promise you that I will be here by your side to listen to you and support you every step of the way, so long as you promise to be totally honest with me, and try your best."

"Oh, Belle, sweetheart, I love you, I love you so much, and you've given me far more love and patience than I could ever deserve, and that’s why you’ll always have my heart, even if you’ve got your flaws. That’s why there’s no comparison to you to Milah, or Cora, and you’d always give me my freedom back,” Rumplestiltskin told Belle, holding her to him like she was his lifeline as he tried to stop the silent tears from flowing down his cheeks, and he buried his face against her neck. "You always come back! I promise to be honest with you, and I want to be able to promise you that I'll always try my best. But I can't bear the prospect of ever failing you and our son again. I can't bear the idea of ever losing you again, but you know that old habits die hard for me, Belle. I'm afraid that I might mess up again. Do you still have any desire to travel the world?"

"Rumple, all I want is a life with you and our son," Belle said, as she leaned up to kiss the tears away from those beautiful warm brown eyes of his. " I'd love to travel the world with my wonderful husband and our son. Besides, don't you see? The fact that you realize your mistakes, and feel guilty over them means that you've learned from them."

"I want to believe that," Rumplestiltskin said, pulling away a bit to catch a chestnut strand of her soft hair that fell across her eyes to twirl it between his fingers. "But, Belle, sweetheart, I've been thinking for some time, and Storybrooke's not a good place for us to stay. We only ever seem to get into trouble here, and we keep making the same mistakes over and over again because this town is toxic."

"Rumplestiltskin, I couldn't agree with you more," Belle said with a smile, leaning in to kiss him again, and cupping his cheeks. "I've spent too much time in this town pretending that all of these people are my friends, and avoiding you. But I know that you're the only one in this town, who has ever truly loved and respected me for being me, rather than for what I can give you. The others only ever want me when they can use me for their own personal gain, and they often do it to hurt you. I've realized that over the past few weeks, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to real. I love you, I love you so much, and I'm with you forever. I promise. No more running back-and-forth to you this time. I promise to stay by your side, even when things get tough between us. But where would we go? Without your magic, won't your curse consume you outside of a realm with magic? I'm never going to force you to choose power over me, Rumple, but I can't lose you to the darkness again. I won't lose you to the darkness again."

"That's just the thing, Belle, I've been thinking that I've held the burden of this curse for too long," Rumplestiltskin said with a slow smile, as he squeezed her hands gently between his. "I don't ever want to hurt you again, or our son, and I feel like the temptation of magic living in Storybrooke will always be too difficult for me to escape because there will always be enemies and threats that I'll feel that I need to protect you from, but if you break my curse with true love's kiss, then we could leave Storybrooke together with Gideon in the land without magic."

"Rumple, sweetheart, are you certain about this?" Belle asked him, softly, as she cupped his cheeks in her hands, and brought his face closer to hers, so that her lips were lightly brushing against his. "You don't have to do this, if you aren't ready. I promise that this time, if you ever struggle with the curse, I'll be there to listen and help you every step of the way, so long as you keep working on being honest with me, and promise to try. I was wrong to always walk away before, and never listen, even when you did try to reach out to me. I always say to do the brave thing, and bravery will follow. But I haven't been very brave, lately."

"Oh, Belle," Rumplestiltskin said softly against her lips, as he nodded his head gently. "Yes, I'm certain, love. I want this. And even if you haven't always been perfect because you're human, you are still capable of being very brave and heroic. The most heroic and brave thing you've ever done was agree to live with an ugly man to save your people, and show him that true love and hope were still possible when he thought those things were no longer possible."

"Hey, now," Belle said disapprovingly, pulling away from him, so that she could gently stroke Rumplestiltskin’s cheek. "Rumple, don't put yourself down like that. You're brave, intelligent, caring, funny, protective, passionate, romantic, and you love more deeply and purely than anyone I've ever met." Then, she tugged him towards her gently by his tie, so that she could flirtatiously whisper against his lips, "And if you must know, I have always found my husband to be quite handsome, too. But before we do this, could I ask you to use magic for me one last time to show me something?"

"Belle, thank you. I don't deserve any of those compliments from you, but I still appreciate them," Rumplestiltskin said gratefully, as a faint blush colored his cheeks at Belle's flirtatiousness when she pulled him closer to her by his tie. Then, he reluctantly pulled away when Belle asked him to use magic for her one last time. "Of course, sweetheart. Anything that you wish for me to give you is my command. What is it that you want?"

"Could I see your heart?" Belle asked him hesitantly, as she brushed her hand against his cheek softly. "Don't worry, I promise I won't crush it."

"Belle," Rumplestiltskin said gently, as he cupped her face in his hands. "If there's anyone in the world, who I could ever trust to hold my heart in their hands it's you. But why?"

"Just trust me," Belle said softly, as she stroked his cheek with light fingers. "I want to tell you something important, and I want to be able to explain something to you that will be much easier for me to tell you with the physical weight of it in my hands."

"O-okay," Rumplestiltskin said nervously, as he thrust his hand into his chest to pull out his heart from his chest, and placed it into Belle's cupped hands.

"This is mine," Belle said, as she laid gentle kisses to Rumplestiltskin's heart that he could feel in his very soul." Just look at how beautiful it is. It's not perfect, but it's pure nonetheless."

"If I had actually gotten what I deserved, then there would be nothing left of my heart, but darkness, and I would be dead," Rumplestiltskin said self-deprecatingly.

"But I'm not a good man, Belle, and I still should have fought harder," Rumplestiltskin said with a sad sigh, as he covered his face with both of his hands. "Besides, I've done so many awful things, and I didn't lose the curse because I chose to give it up at the time. It was removed from me by force, then I took it back because I was weak, and I thought I had nothing left. Not every dark deed I've ever committed was pure and well-intended to protect the ones I love, as you think. I killed my first wife by crushing her heart because I was angry that she had abandoned Bae, and I wanted her to suffer for it at the time. I-I attempted to kill Henry, Bae's son, my grandson, just because I wanted to save my own skin. I killed Gaston by turning him into a rose, simply because I was annoyed by him, and I didn't even think much of it."

"Rumple, you-" Belle tried to reach out to comfort him, but Rumplestiltskin raised his hand to silence her.

"Please, sweetheart, let me finish," Rumplestiltskin said to her, his voice cracking with more tears, as he continued on. "Even the well-intended bad choices I've made still don't justify the means I've used. I was inconsiderate, scared, and selfish. My god, Belle, I was such a blind and heedless fool in my desire to keep you and our child safe from myself when nothing bad had even happened yet that I actually threatened to do something to you that I swore that I would never do! I was never going to actually speed up your pregnancy, I just wanted to talk to you, I was selfish, I was scared, and I didn't know how else to get through to you anymore. But I still cornered you in an elevator with the threat of it before your eyes, and terrified you! I promised myself that I would never give you reason to fear me ever again when I threw you out of my castle over thirty years ago back in the Enchanted Forest, if you ever came back to me, and I did, anyway, because I was afraid and selfish. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

"Hey, it's alright. I forgive you. I never wanted you to be perfect, Rumple," Belle said softly, as she leaned in to kiss away the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like you had to be. You've made bad choices and mistakes, but so have I. So has everyone. Besides, I know you truly regret doing most of those things. I know there's darkness in you, but there's so much true love and genuine remorse in you, too. That's what I mean when I say your heart is true, Rumple. Regina, Zelena, and Hook have never felt so much genuine guilt over their crimes, but you, Rumple, you do because you have a conscience. You would never intentionally harm the ones you truly love for your own personal gain, like Baelfire, Gideon, or me, and you feel genuine remorse for most of your crimes, whether they were well-intended or not. You'll sacrifice your own happiness and made dark decisions by taking the weight of the world on your shoulders, so that your loved ones don't have to. You've made selfish choices, but even then, there's generally also been some sense of nobility, purity, love, and selflessness mixed within most of those, too. That's what I mean when I say that your heart is true, Rumple. Besides, look at how much goodness has been sprouting in your heart since the curse was removed, and you took it back."

Rumplestiltskin examined his heart. Since the apprentice had removed the curse from Rumplestiltskin's heart and cleansed it of the darkness, and then he'd taken it back again, it had changed. It was still mostly a blinding white, he still sometimes felt empty and blank, but amidst several slivers of reemerging darkness, there were also several bright pink spots that were forming too.

"I love all of you, Rumplestiltskin, the light, the dark, and the in-between. I always have and I always will. I'm sorry that I ever lost sight of that," Belle said, as she placed several light kisses to his heart in both the light places and the dark places, and then gently held it out for him cupped in between her hands in an offer to take it back. "Now, here, take this this back, remember why your heart is worthy of love, and remember that it is mine. Before we break your curse, though, I do have to ask if Zelena will still be able to hurt your heart?"

"No, she won't have any power over me anymore, sweetheart. That deal we made for that potion which my heart from blackening further only applies, if I try to hurt her as the Dark One, but Belle, thank you. I…" Rumplestiltskin trailed off, as he squeezed her hands gently between his own. He really wanted to tell his darling Belle how much he appreciated her faith in him, how much he appreciated being given a second chance that he never felt deserving of, but the tears forming in his eyes and the lump forming in his throat at the beauty of her words were making it feel difficult to speak. He took his proffered heart from her hands, and gasped slightly, as he placed his heart back into his own chest. Then, he tried to tell her just how much her acceptance meant to him again, as he took her hands in his. "Belle, I-I…" Rumplestiltskin trailed off, as the tears started streaming down his face, and he felt his shoulders shaking with sobs, even though there was a ridiculously wide grin spreading on his face that made his cheeks start to feel sore through it all. He was so damn happy and emotional today that he just couldn't seem to get through most of it without crying.

"Shh, I know you're grateful, but it's true. Besides, you don't need to be talking for what I'm about to do next," Belle said teasingly pulling Rumplestiltskin close to her by his tie again, wiping away his tears, and melding her lips against his softly.

As soon as Rumplestiltskin felt Belle's lips meet his own, he was fervently kissing her back, licking the seam between her lips with his tongue, seeking entrance into her mouth, and she was opening her mouth to welcome him. Suddenly, he felt the warmth of magic flowing through him, and the darkness of the curse in his heart felt a bit lighter. True love's kiss was working. Belle pulled back to look at him for a bit, but then he brought his lips back to her mouth, and whispered the words "Kiss me again, it's working."

"Really? Oh, Rumple, I love you. I love you so much!" Belle said excitedly, as she leaned back in to kiss him again with happy tears filling her cerulean eyes.

Rumplestiltskin continued to kiss Belle back passionately, as he felt the rest of the curse being lifted away from his heart. Then, he stumbled a bit, as he felt his limp returning, but he didn't care. He had his true love and their child by his side. He felt happier than he had in a long time, and he actually felt hopeful.

"Are you alright, Rumple?" Belle asked, as she grabbed his arm to keep him steady, so that he wouldn't fall over, and pulled him close to hug him. "It worked! How do you feel?"

"I'm more than alright, sweetheart," Rumplestiltskin said softly, resting his head against Belle's forehead, as a wide smile spread across his face. "I feel happy. Happier than I have felt in a long time."

"Here," Belle said, leading Rumplestiltskin by the hand to sit in a chair at the kitchen table. "Sit here for a moment, while I go and fetch your cane for you from the living room. Then, we can go upstairs to put Gideon in his nursery, and go to our room to sleep together."

"Our room? Sleep together?" Rumplestiltskin asked softly. "Oh, Belle, are you sure you want me back?"

"Rumplestiltskin," Belle said, sitting down in his lap, being careful to avoid his bad leg, cupping his cheeks gently between her hands, and wrapping her hands around the back of his head to bring him close to her, so that she kiss him deeply. "We just shared true love's kiss. We've been together countless times before, and I've never regretted being with you. We have a child. Besides, I've missed my husband. I want to feel what it's like to be yours again, I I want to feel what it's like to have you inside me…Unless, that is, you don't want me…"

"Don't want you? Belle, sweetheart, I'll always want you, and I've missed being with my little wife in bed" Rumplestiltskin said, pulling her close, smiling, as he leaned in to kiss her, seeking entrance to her mouth with his tongue against her lips again.

Belle melted into Rumplestiltskin's kiss, opening her mouth to give his tongue entrance to her mouth, exploring the caverns of his mouth with her own, and getting lost in the combined sounds of their low moans of pleasure. Then, Rumplestiltskin pulled back from the kiss as Belle tilted her head to the side to expose the creamy expanse of her neck for him to kiss, and he pulled his head down to her neck, so that he could kiss her there. Rumplestiltskin wasted no time in hesitating from what his sweet wife was silently requesting of him, nipping tender kisses up the side of her neck with his teeth and tongue, and then sucking on that spot just below her earlobe that he knew drove Belle wild, long enough to leave a mark.

"Oh, Rumple! Oh, Rumple!" Belle said breathlessly, holding him close, but then she remembered that they had a newborn baby, who they still had to put in his nursery, and she pulled him back to look up at her. "That feels so wonderful, darling! I've missed my husband, and we shall continue this in our bedroom upstairs, I promise. But we should put Gideon to bed first."

As Belle went to grab his cane, Rumplestiltskin peered down at Gideon in his basket. He was breathing deeply, fast asleep, and Rumplestiltskin leaned down to kiss him softly on the forehead. He was so lucky to have his true love and his son back, and he never thought that he would get the chance.

"Here you go," Belle said, as she handed him his cane. "Now, let's go upstairs, put Gideon to bed, and then go and have some fun together."

"Sweetheart, I'd love nothing more," Rumplestiltskin said with a smile as he grabbed the basket with Gideon in it with his free hand, and he and Belle walked upstairs together.

~Finis~

[ncfan-1]

ncfan listens to The Magnus Archives: S2 EP041, ‘Too Deep’

- The title has at least two meanings that I can determine. The first, most obvious one, is that Jonathan Sims delved rather too deep into the tunnels that run under the Magnus Institute for his own good, and only got out because of good fortune. The second is that Jonathan Sims is going rather too deep into the dark spots inside his own head.

I knew paranoia was going to be a big theme this season. Part of that is me being spoiled, and part of it is just being able to extrapolate future directions from what happened in the Season 1 finale. Sasha was replaced by Not-Sasha, and the Not-Them are associated with paranoia. Two, Gertrude Robinson was found shot to death in the tunnels. Finding out your predecessor was murdered and your boss didn’t deign to tell you so would, I think, put anyone on edge.

But Jon’s already on a bad trajectory here. He suspects everyone around him without stopping to think critically about things like means, motive, and opportunity. Gun control in the U.K. is strict enough that it would be hard to get a gun, and Jon doesn’t think about who has the resources to obtain a gun legally (And who has the resources to obtain a gun illegally). He doesn’t speculate on each “suspect’s” possible motives for shooting Gertrude dead. He doesn’t think about who would and would not have had the access to her required to kill her. He doesn’t consider that Gertrude’s killer might have been someone outside of the Institute. He’s just locked in a mindset of “I’ve got to figure out which one of these people killed Gertrude before they kill me, too.” He’s trapped in a paranoid panic, and it’s already clouding his judgment—the fact that he didn’t take anyone down into the tunnels with him or let anyone know where he was going to be being a prime example.

Anyways, let’s get on with the show.

No spoilers, please!

- Jonathan’s voice sounds hoarse compared to his S1 self. I can’t decide if he’s been talking into a tape recorder more than what’s good for him, if he’s dehydrated, or whatever.

- The fact that he can’t keep on track at first is another sign of his being in a bad place mentally right now.

- Martin continues to be a sweetie who does not deserve this shit.

- “Is he hiding something?” No, Jon, Martin just doesn’t want you to drop dead.

- He still feels like he’s being watched, even after Jane Prentiss and the worms are dead. “I’d think it was some aspect of the recorder itself.” Interesting.

- Seriously, going into the tunnels without taking someone with you, or even letting anyone know where you are, that would be incredibly dangerous even if there was no supernatural stuff going on. The tunnels are a maze, and as far as you know, the only way in and out is through that trapdoor, Jon. It’s not safe to go down there without anyone’s knowledge.

- “Every time I walked between the shelves, I swear I would see movement out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned, there was nothing.” I wonder if Not-Sasha goes home to Sasha’s place after work. I wonder if it’s something else.

- Not-Sasha marked the trapdoor? That’s interesting.

- Nice to know Elias (or possibly the ECDC) sprang to have the tunnels cleared of worm carcasses. But they didn’t clear out all of the carcasses.

- Jon getting lost very quickly is one of the mundane dangers of the tunnels—and I know I keep harping on this, but it’s one of the reasons he should not have gone down there by himself.

- The tunnels vary wildly in construction, though they’re all made from the same sort of gray stone. It feels like it was intended to be used, but was somehow twisted into a maze. There are rooms without doors, and doors without rooms (I’m reminded of the Winchester mansion, and I can’t help but wonder if these tunnels were constructed for a similar purpose).

- It is worth wondering just who stuffed all those cassette tapes in the room where Gertrude was found.

- The fact that the cleaning crew stopped clearing up worm carcasses in a clearly visible line. You’d think that the worms, even dead, would be considered a biohazard, and that they’d want to make sure they were gotten rid of in case some of them survived the “queen’s” death. It brings to mind a boundary line (boundary line of what, exactly?), and it certainly feels like Jon’s stepping into greater danger when he crosses it.

- And once Jon crosses that boundary line, the air is colder, and the light from his torch doesn’t carry as far. Which reminds me painfully of ‘A Father’s Love’ and ‘Growing Dark’—and makes me wish he’d just leave, so it made me a little happy when Jon chose sense over curiosity and turned around.

- There’s a burned door, and a warped corridor.

- The circle of worms Tim described is still clearly visible. What’s concerning is what’s in the circle. The circle was ten feet in diameter, and the stone within has… changed. It’s grown wavy, and porous, and soft. I can only assume the worms were trying to rip open a hole in the veil, or something, so something on the other side could come through.

- We’re seeing evidence for the presence of a lot of previously mentioned entities down in these tunnels, aren’t we?

- That other path through the worms was probably Tim, spraying them all down with carbon dioxide.

- Jon, not taking any chances would have meant coordinating with a team—having a radio and a GPS, maybe having yourself hooked up to a cable on a belt so you would certainly know your way back, or so someone would be able to follow the path down to you if you fell unconscious or something like that.

- I will admit that marking intersections with chalk arrows wasn’t a bad idea.

- The info about Millbank and Robert Smirke’s construction of it are interesting. The Panopticon (first proposed by Bentham for this place) by itself hearkens back to Jon’s persistent feelings of being watched, the open eye symbolism associated with Gerard Keay, “better beholding.” The fact that the original project had difficulty retaining architects until Smirke was brought on is, I suspect, something to watch out for. Between Smirke’s bizarre, maze-like construction of the prison, and what I suspect to be true of the tunnels beneath (which were likely not officially connected to the prison) makes me think that he was running some weird, sadistic supernatural experiment on prisoners. Which, seriously man? Not cool.

- The tunnels are also giving me serious House of Leaves vibes, especially with the spiral staircases leading down.

- I do wonder who drew the chalk arrow leading down a down-stairwell. There’s evidence that there has been recent human occupation in the tunnels, excluding Gertrude Robinson’s corpse—those wine bottles (one dating to 2003, so they’re not relics of the construction), and the packet of Mint Imperials Martin saw. It’s possible Gertrude drew it herself. It’s possible that one of the other humans who’s been down here drew it. It doesn’t have to have been drawn by any supernatural entity. Not necessarily.

- Jon only goes down the staircase (at least, I get the impression that was the reason) because he thought he heard someone walking through the tunnels behind him. And then he stepped off the staircase into a lower floor when he saw movement in the darkness. The differences in construction is more pronounced the further down he’s going, which makes me a bit itchy

- “I looked up to see the turning in front of me was no longer there. Instead, there was simply a dead end.” ‘Lost John’s Cave’ has come back to us, I see.

- “Leave.” Human in origin or supernatural? Warning or command or entreaty? Benevolent in meaning or malevolent? Who knows? Not me, at this point.

- These supplemental messages that I assume I’m going to be hearing more from do not give me a good feeling. Not least because Jon admitting that he’s playing up his interest in the tunnels introduces the element of unreliable narrator to the mix, and I’m left to wonder how much of that statement I can even trust.

- “Trust can get you killed.” And refusing to trust can get you killed just as surely.

[ussarchangel]

Syncable/Sinkable

giftee: @maegfen

prompt: 1)Reunion – Mirror Lorca and Prime Michael are (somehow) reunited post S1 slightly added in prompt 2)Away mission as well.

rated T for some swearing

a/n: i tried to put some actual plot in this but it just didn’t want to happen. dear @maegfen, i hope this does your amazing prompts justice <3

For all intents and purposes, the war has ended, but its haze of paranoia still lingers. Paranoia, that turns out to be more justified than not when the whispers of a Klingon-made biological weapon are confirmed through Starfleet’s top secret communication channels. This in itself would not have concerned USS Discovery, had the weapon in question not been, allegedly, running on a spore drive.

Commander Michael Burnham chewed on her lip as she listened to this news. Apparently, she has the privilege of going on a mission to gather more intel and, preferably, acquire the weapon plans. Admiral Cornwell seemed more reluctant than usual to send someone into a possible- if not likely- death trap. Michael wondered how many friends, crew and colleagues she has lost during those months the Discovery was absent.

And that is why, a very short while later, Michael stands in a narrow alley on a small, barely habitated moon just off Starbase 343, staring at some teashop’s back door, just meters away from the assigned meeting point.

She checks her communicator, but neither Tilly nor Saru have made contact yet. She decides that’s probably a good thing, and opens the door.

Michael finds herself in a nondescript room, plain walls, no windows. She walks a slow circle around the room, observing, cataloguing. It passes as an office, barely. A makeshift desk and a chair, some PADDs strewn about. A small collection of strange artefacts crammed into a suitcase lying next to the desk. She leans forward to inspect them more closely, careful not to touch just in case they’re as dangerous as they are bizarre.

She finds nothing that tells her who the person she’s here to meet is, or what their motives for helping the Federation are.

Her snooping is interrupted by the creak of the door opening and before she even has the time to turn around, a familiar, gravelly voice calls out.

“Hello Michael.”

She freezes, eyes widened in shock, adrenaline level spiking. She’s motionless for barely a heartbeat before instinct kicks in and she swiftly turns, phaser already in hand.

Gabriel Lorca stands in front of her, whole and very much alive.

Her mind races with possible explanations to what she’s seeing, her eyes roving over his form trying to make sure it’s not an illusion, a trick. Michael doesn’t know who or what’s in front of her, but she knows she doesn’t trust him.

“How?”, she demands. To her surprise, her voice doesn’t falter. “I saw you die, how are you here?”

Lorca grins. “Calm down Michael, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.“

The attempt at a joke falls flat since he might as well be. His face is pale and sunken, the blue of his eyes highlighted by the dark bags underneath. Yet there he is, alive and unharmed. Holding her gaze and pointedly ignoring the phaser aimed at his chest.

He raises his hands in a calming manner. “It’s me,” he insists. His voice is level and calm but there’s an almost imperceptible nervous twitch to his fingers. Lorca shakes his head, “I don’t know how, or why, but it’s really me.”

There’s something in his eyes Michael recognizes, hard determination, self-assured arrogance. The tiniest flicker of fear. Intense. Familiar.

It’s him. It is Lorca, the one she knew. Thought she knew. Thanks to whatever curse or miracle, Gabriel Lorca really is here and alive. Relief washes over her, followed closely by anxiety at the implications that the emotion brings, implications she does not have time to consider.

"Put down the phaser, Michael. I’m not going to hurt you.”

It’s true. She knows it the same way she knew he wouldn’t- couldn’t kill her on ISS Charon. There’s a sense of déjà vu to their current situation that could almost make her laugh. Michael shakes her head in resignation and lowers the phaser.

Lorca releases a small, relieved sigh and steps closer. She notices he’s still wearing the silver armor underneath his jacket, now with a stark, jagged, vertical slit in its center. It reveals nothing more than his undershirt but the sight still unnerves her. She can almost see the sword protruding from his chest, hear his surprised gasp as it impaled him.

She looks back up. “Why are you here?”

“I’m the informant you were sent to meet.”

“No, why are you here? In this universe, on this moon, alive?”

“Destiny?” he shrugs, almost teasingly. “The curious paths of the mycelial network? Take your pick, it’s as good a guess as any.”

She gives him a considering look but he doesn’t seem to be lying. Of course, that doesn’t mean anything anymore, but the issue of his resurrection is not her priority at the moment. Not to mention she’s worried what she might do or say if she doesn’t keep the conversation strictly to her mission objectives.

Michael keeps her tone curt and business-like. “Why are you helping us?” she inquires.

“Klingons have a weapon. I need a mode of transport,” he reasons. “A mode of transport Starfleet could provide, in their gratitude for my assistance.”

Michael raises a skeptical eyebrow. “And what makes you think Starfleet would be inclined to help you? Or anyone on Discovery for that matter?” She decides the unusable state of Discovery’s spore drive does not need mentioning.

He smirks. “Nothing. But I do think Starfleet would be inclined to try and avoid getting blown to shreds.”

She purses her lips, unconvinced.

He sighs, rolls his eyes. “Look, I don’t particularly want to stick around, and I’m sure Starfleet would love to get rid of me as well. There’s an Empire out there in desperate need of a leader,” he pauses, gauging her reaction. Michael doesn’t hide the disdain on her face. “And there’s nothing for me here,” he concludes.

The tone of his voice is detached, but Michael recognizes the question in it.

“How do you know Philippa hasn’t regained control of the Empire by now?” she bluffs.

Lorca’s mouth curves into a teasing smile. “As if you didn’t bring her back here with you?”

She can’t hide how the question startles her. The corner of her mouth twists into a vaguely guilty expression. “How-”

“You always were sentimental. Even the other Michael - my Michael – couldn’t easily abandon her, even after everything she’s done to her.”

A nostalgic sadness fills his eyes at the mention of the other Michael Burnham. Despite the truth revealed to her by Philippa, he looks like someone who lost a loved one. Michael wants to learn more.

“I am not her,” she asserts.

Lorca sizes her up. “No. You’re not. In so many ways you’re better, I told you that.”

His compliments have always made her feel… uncomfortable, but she never could pinpoint why. A certain warm feeling in her stomach, pleasant almost but intertwined with dread. She shakes it off, focuses back on her mission. Acquire the information. Get out. Easy.

“Let’s get this over with. What do you have for me? The weapon plans? Let’s hear it.”

“I don’t have the plans myself per se,” he drawls, “but I know a guy who does.”

Michael can feel the anger spark in her. “And who, pray tell, is the guy?”

“A fucking nutjob honestly, but reliable. Does business with anyone, no loyalty to any side. He has the plans and everything else you need.”

“And I’m guessing he’ll want something in return?” She gestures with her right hand which is still holding the phaser. It has the desired effect as Lorca glances nervously at it.

“A favor.” he replies. “He’ll give you what you need, but you’ll have to owe him a favor.”

Michael takes a moment to ponder that. Clearly, the Federation doesn’t do business with his type, but how much choice do they have?

“Alright”, Michael tucks her phaser back into its holster. “Where can I find him?”

“He’s usually somewhere around Vintaak system,” Lorca answers, his shoulders finally relaxing with the phaser out of sight. “But you can’t go there alone.”

Michael opens her mouth to protest but Lorca interrupts her. “He doesn’t talk to just anybody,” he explains. “You need someone he already knows. Someone like me.”

Michael nods. The whole thing is suspiciously convenient for him, and she’ll be damned if she lets him take advantage of her ever again. “Okay. Now tell me why should I trust a word of what you just said?”

He seems hurt at the abrasiveness of her words. "I’ve never lied to you, Michael.”

She cocks her head to the side, narrows her eyes.

He sighs, “Omitted facts, yes, but never lied.”

“Did you lie to her?” she asks abruptly. “To the other Michael?”

She doesn’t know what possesses her to open this can of worms now, but the words are out of her mouth before she can stop them. Her breathing quickens. All the unprocessed emotion of their unexpected meeting is bubbling up and she’s not sure she can keep it from spilling out.

His lips open in surprise. He walks closer, stops right in front of her. He raises his hand as if to touch her shoulder but then seems to change his mind and lowers it, balled into a fist. It doesn’t even matter because Lorca stares right into her eyes and it almost feels like a physical touch.

“Never.” His voice is raspy, almost breaks. “I’ve never lied to her. I was probably the only person who didn’t.“

Michael wants to come closer. She takes a step back.

“That’s not what Philippa said,” she protests, unconvincingly.

“You don’t believe me but you’ll believe the Terran Emperor?” he mocks. ”Because she has proven herself to be so trustworthy and honorable?”  He tsks, “Michael, I thought you knew better.”

Michael knows he has a point and she isn’t eager to admit it. To admit how quick she was to trust the woman with Philippa Georgiou’s face. Still, she presses on. “She told me what you did to her daughter. How you influenced her from a young age and…” She can’t bring herself to finish the sentence. The disgust written plainly on her face finishes it for her.

His mouth tightens. “That’s what she told you?” he grits out, leaning away from her. “She said-“

Infuriated, he starts pacing around. “I would never,” he swears. In two quick strides he’s back in front of her, towering over her. It would be intimidating were it not for the gentleness in his clear, blue eyes. “Not you. Not her, not- not any version of you, from any universe.”

Despite her better judgement, Michael believes him. There’s compassion in her for him, for the loss of his crew, his lover, his world. Still, it is far overpowered by anger and pain.

Back when she first learned of his true identity she barely had the time to deal with the news before she was fighting him, fighting for the lives of her friends, and then watching him fall to his death. Now she is forced to confront him and all the hurt his betrayal brought that she has tucked away, ignored.

And she must confront him, or it will fester inside her, keep her up at nights. She refuses to let him get under her skin like that.

“It doesn’t matter,” she fumes. “You still used me, manipulated me for your own gain from the moment that prison shuttle was beamed onto the ship.” She trembles, fingernails digging into her palms. “Did you orchestrate that too or was it destiny?” She spits out the word like an insult.

“You’re damn right I orchestrated it,” he admits, unfazed by her anger. “The second I saw your name in the database I made sure to help you, out of pure fucking sentiment,” he snaps.

He clenches his jaw, runs his hand through his hair. It’s not the confession she expected.

Lorca continues, heated, “You were not meant to rot away forever on some mining planet. You, Starfleet’s best and brightest. An officer who followed her own damn reason instead of some idiotic law or principle and got punished for it? They didn’t deserve you.”

He takes a deep breath, calms down. Looks away as if he can’t bear the sight of her.

“I got you out because that’s what you deserved. I kept you safe because I wanted you to be happy. And yes, because I needed you. I needed you to win the war, I needed you to get to Philippa and most importantly, I needed you because on some days seeing you was the only thing that kept me grounded and sane.”

His gaze lifts to meet hers and she is struck by the open emotion. It reminds Michael of the softness on his face when she lied and surrendered herself to him on Charon. He looks at her reverently, adoringly. It’s too much.

She sighs, closes her eyes, drags her hands down her face. She’s tired, tired of not knowing how to feel around him, tired of weighing his every word, seeking the truth and picking out the lies.

“What do you want, Michael?” he asks softly.

“Peace. I want peace of mind.” She neglects to mention the tingle she feels every time he says her name, stands close to her, tells her terrifying truths- it will never let her have that. There’s a difficulty in managing her emotions she experiences around him that has nothing to do with her Vulcan upbringing.

She opens her eyes. She doesn’t know what he sees but it looks like it makes him sad.

“It would be easier if I was dead again, wouldn’t it?” He blinks and suddenly he’s steady and composed. A mask. “Just end it,” he suggests. “I know you can’t do it in cold blood. Do you want me to attack you? Would that make it easier?”

She frowns. Her gaze falls down to his chest, to the open wound in his armor. Slowly, she reaches out her hand and touches the ragged edges. She hears him gasp, feels it under her fingertips. His death never sat right with her. It wasn’t justice, it was revenge. The thought of watching him die once again reveals one thing she feels about him that she can be sure of.

“I don’t want you to die,” she confesses.

“You should,” he breathes.

Her eyes slide up. She notices the gray in his stubble, the crow’s feet around his eyes, the firm line of his mouth. He is so familiar, yet not at all.

He has the face of the man who lied and deceived and saved her life. The man who spits on everything she believes in, the man who gave her a second chance. And yet there’s something different about him since his true identity has been revealed. Something softer, more… real. He’s afraid. Uncompromising. There’s an ever present ghost of a smile, directed only at her.

The fog inside her mind clears and with a cold shiver and a startling clarity, she finally understands. She likes this version of Lorca better.

It terrifies her.

“Discovery’s spore drive will not be operational until we find a non-organic navigator,” she finds herself saying. “It could be months, if not longer until that happens. Your best chance is to lay low until we get it fixed, and even then I can’t guarantee we’ll help you.”

The smart thing to do would be to bring him back to Discovery, keep him in custody and have him escort someone to Vintaak so they can gather the intel. Then send him to trial and execute the sentence. Mirror universe or not, he committed crimes and violated Federation laws. She’d never get to see him again, and he’d pay for his crimes.

She knows this, he knows this.

Lorca stares at her in reluctant amazement, slack-jawed, frowning. Michael stands her ground, head held high. With nothing left to tie him to her, no reason to help her now, she’s ready to say goodbye forever. She suspects – hopes – he won’t let her.

“Okay,” he agrees. Pauses, waiting for her to continue. She doesn’t. “I have the transport to Vintaak ready and waiting?” he adds. Lorca’s smiling at her like he’s just won a battle that was deemed doomed from the start. It’s an expression she has gotten to know well during her time on Discovery, though she’s not sure his eyes ever had this youthful spark they do now.

A million and one thought crosses her mind, plans and strategies cancelling each other out, until one plan, one idea is left.

Well, it’s not the worst she ever had.

Michael nods, straightens herself up, and holds out her hand.

“Let’s go.”

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 25: We Finally Address the Dead Bakura in the Room

It’s been a long while guys, a long wait. We had a lot of filler. That filler ended up being just a hell ton of characters, and since the show knew they would only be filler characters, every single one of them had to die. So, now that they are all absolutely dead (at least until we’ll need more filler later) we can finally get back to what we were trying to accomplish since S2, to finish this one single tourney that has been going on for a week in the show’s timeline but about a year and a half in the timeline of anyone watching from home.

It’s finally here, we’ve finally made it to...

A tower that Kaiba really did make in just that shape.

Sometimes you can really tell that this kid is a 16 year old. (who is occasionally 18 whenever it’s necessary. But only occasionally.)

I want you to know that it was probably this image that got this post flagged from my drafts folder. This show and getting me flagged, I swear. I’ve now reached a point, that the moment I click “Save” in my drafts folder, I get an automatic flag. Just automatically. Maybe once you’re tagged enough times, they just start putting you into a special group? I dunno. I’m not concerned about it since this blog is quite kosher, it’s just kind of funny to me that this will probably continue to happen whenever I post from here on out, and the massive dick tower Kaiba made is not helping my cause.

In case you are wondering, Kaiba and Mokuba are completely over losing their only surviving family. They act as if getting trapped in a VR nightmare where your Dad is trying to control all human life is something that is completely trivial and something that everyone goes through at one point. They’re completely over it. Most people would cancel the tourney after seeing the horrors they just witnessed but...Seto still wants those God cards, so, no one has spoken a lip about Noah at all. And probably never will ever again. RIP, Noah arc.

This episode (as well as the next one, since I’ve gotten in the habit of doing these two at a time for weekend updates) is pretty short. This is mostly because they’re recapping S2. Luckily for you and I, this is not really necessary since this is a recap blog and I can just...scroll down...to see what happened in S2 (and I did have to do that because I forgot...a lot)

But, I imagine kids who started watching this show who with the Noah Season and just kinda walked into this situation aboard the blimpjet from Hell were...hella confused at all these rando characters and Egyptian curses coming out of nowhere. The Noah arc and the Real arc are like two completely different feeling arcs.

(Read more under the cut)

They were probably also super confused at this random blonde lady in the hospital who is Joey’s friend but also, if I had not actually seen this show before, I’d just assume was his own mother because she’s drawn so much older than him.

Joey and Mai are now like...basically dating. Honestly, this is probably the best relationship Mai has ever had, and it’s taken place entirely when she’s in a coma.

On the other side of the Blimp, Marik is also checking up on his own beloved coma patient -- but by checking up on him, Marik actually intends to kill him.

Still trying to kill Odion. How many times are we gonna get this guy hovering over Odion’s bed with a knife (that they leave the tip off of in the English version) ?

What follows is a bizarre scene of Marik threatening to kill his Sister but never actually doing it. Honestly, this would be them until the end of time. Marik is never going to kill his Sister. It would be too much effort. He couldn’t even kill Odion when Odion was just asleep right in front of him.

And this is probably there as a sign that Marik still has a slightly less evil side in there somewhere but also...Marik is a villain that doesn’t like actually doing the work required to be a villain, which is how that entire Noah arc happened, youknow? Everyone should be dead by now. It’s been DAYS.

Honestly this whole scene was freakin weird, but not as weird as the next scene.

That’s right, the thing I’ve been waiting for for so long. That thing I’ve brought up every freakin episode for 25 episodes. We’re finally going to talk about it. We’re finally going to address it. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, I honestly thought this wouldn’t get addressed until S5.

It is amazing how many times Yugi’s friends have walked into Yugi having a freaking melt down with himself and how many times Yugi’s friends have been absolutely cool with it. They’re just...used to this now, I guess. They’re just used to Yugi crying at the top of his lungs with the lights off in someone else’s empty room. Completely normal Yugi behavior.

And then...this happens.

For absolutely NO REASON AT ALL, Yugi decides to lie.

I mean if I had a quarter for every lie Yugi says in this show, we’d be drowning in loose change, but it still surprised me a whoooole lot that Yugi would bother to lie about THIS. This thing that you could so easily debunk. This would be so easy to catch on to. The fact that no one wonders “wait, how is he getting air if the jet is still in the sky?” or the fact that when they’re outside, getting some air later in this very episode no one wonders “wait, Bakura’s not even here?”

Like why does any of Yugi’s friends even trust him at this point? Yugi is constantly lying and he’s not even good at it.

And maybe it’s because Yugi thinks that if he says Bakura died, then everyone would get their confidence shattered by Marik and would become too weak to fight back but like...they just witnessed half of Kaiba’s family die and now Yugi thinks they can’t handle Bakura--their shadiest asshole friend--getting killed by the same serial murderer that put two other people in a coma?

He doesn’t even tell the Kaibas “hey, so Marik killed one of your duel champions, do you maybe...need to do something about that?” No. He just...lets it be. Why tell Kaiba? Why tell the guy in charge of this tournament that one of the people in your tourney killed the other tourney people? Why even threaten Moki to threaten to enforce the rules for once his life?

Yugi, I swear.

God bless the storyboarder.

It’s been a while since I praised the storyboarder, mostly because I forget, but man, seeing this pose from this angle is such a good joke. Kaiba just committing to his signature pose until the camera cuts away.

And then, they step off the blimpjet and unanimously agree that Kaiba has deffo brought them here to murder them all and hide the bodies.

Admire this hell hole and then remember that Yugi told everyone that Bakura went outside for “fresh air” and they didn’t immediately ask “you mean in the dump? The literal trash compactor that’s outside? You said Bakura just walked out into the piles of weapon’s factory and rusty sharp metal and is just...waltzing around out there?”

I mean, at this point they should have put two and two together but it’s this team so...I guess they’ll just never know the truth.

And then Joey decided it was time to fight club again.

Marik really did leap up here and go like, “man, this is SO pretty” and it’s supposed to be taken as a sign that Marik loves destruction, but honestly? I don’t think Marik has any idea what things should look like above ground in the first place. He might think this is what normal above-ground people like.

Then, Marik patiently asked Mokuba what the duel order would be and that’s when Mokuba lost his freakin gourd just out of nowhere.

I mean Mokuba doesn’t really like talking to Marik, I get that, but how much of an asshole do you have to be before Mokuba doesn’t like you?

Anyway, they all enter the tower and learn about a whole new mode of playing the game. It took a very long time, and since I don’t go over card games here, is another part of the reason why this update is mercifully short.

They go on these...elevator cars????? And, as they attack eachother they sort of get pushed to the top of the tower, and whoever gets there first, is the first to duel and so on.

They make a very big hullaboo about who they want to duel in the finals. Every single person here. We spend like 5 minutes in everyone’s head wondering about what their strategy will be in this mini game that makes really not much of a difference.

There’s not even guard rails, they could’ve just given him a little push.

I take that back, there are guard rails on these things, but because none of these people ever sit down, the guard rails that are a foot and half off the floor of their cabin will make absolutely no difference.

Like please notice that every single one of their weird duel cars has a padded seat that none of them will even use.

Overall this looks like a whole lot of dueling and I’m looking forward to skipping it. Honestly it’s nice, when was the last time I had a 25 length cap post? S1, right? Like all the way since S1. Ah, good memories.

Anyways, if you just got here, this is a list of the other recaps of this series, starting at S1 Ep1 and moving forward in chrono order.