#need to do a rewatch it's been so long. i miss silly traps.

[beybladefanboy]

A brief(ish) review of every Beyblade Metal Fury episode

Well, this was a long time coming. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not put this off or abandon this rewatch because I dislike Fury. Not at all. Fury is actually my favourite of the three seasons. The reason I stopped this rewatch was two main factors: 1: it was around this time that I got really sucked into Yugioh VRAINS and with how chaotic my life had been during that time, I decided I would rather spend my free time watching new content than rewatch a show I’d rewatched many times at that point. And 2: I didn’t want to rewatch Ryuga’s death. Yeah… I mean I’m not gonna lie about it.

So after a certain episode, which I will say, the reviews are mostly from memory/rewatching specified scenes/skimming the YouTube uploads and episode descriptions. (Most of these however were written at the time I finished rewatching each episode.) Trust me that I’ve seen this show enough for me to be able to do that and I just didn’t have the time to rewatch all these episodes. However, it bothered me leaving this incomplete so today, I had some time and was thinking of Beyblade so I figured I could finally do it. Now, without further ado, my at first brief, but later not so brief at all because I have so many thoughts on and defenses of Fury, reviews of every Fury episode.

Episode 1: Star Fragment 8.5/10

The best first episode of a season. I love Kyoya and Gingka’s battles in general and seeing them go all out against each other, using the environment itself as weapons against each other is really damn fun. It also sets up the star fragment thing beautifully, instantly showing off their power and hinting at the greater story very early.

Episode 2: Legendary Bladers 7/10

A lot of this episode is exposition but it’s at least interesting. I can’t get over the fact that Beyblade took a real life end of the world prediction and made it part of their plot. The battle portion of this episode is also fine. I can’t tell if I like or hate Johannes based on this episode.

Episode 3: Lynx, The Monster Cat 8/10

Okay, I like Johannes now. He’s funny. And he miraculously gave Gingka a good fight, establishing him early on as a competent blader. Still a little silly that Gingka followed Johannes to a place where he should’ve known his bey would’ve been weaker though.

Episode 4: L-Drago Destructor 8.5/10

I don’t really have much to say on this episode outside of “I like it.” I like the scenes of them play-battling with the little kid, it’s the most light-hearted the show has been in a while, and I love Ryuga so obviously I love his presence in this episode.

Episode 5: Awaken, Anubius! 9.5/10

Ryuga slays three fools in a row and roasts people non-stop in this episode. Well, Yuki’s not a fool, he’s kind of a boss actually: shedding his anxious demeanour in a fit of rage to stand up for his friends. These characters are both amazing, they really shine in this episode.

Episode 6: Requirements of a Warrior 9/10

Having Gingka, Kyoya, and Yuki acknowledge that they need to actually master their beys and working to do so is really good and needed to be brought up. Also, that fire escape scene is really intense. The idea of being trapped in a fire really freaks me out so this could just be a me thing but it’s legitimately a well crafted scene. And Yuki, Kyoya, and Gingka fighting a volcano is the silly yet epic fun I expect from this show.

Episode 7: Kenta’s Determination 7/10

Oh boy, this episode. I both love and hate this episode. Well, not hate. I hate one scene of it that lasts a minute and really doesn’t affect the episode. The stalking though… I don’t know, it could just be me but it bugs me. Not as much as it used to, I’m willing to give this episode a fair score because it is really cute. Ryuga is a boss like usual and he shows a hint of his softer side for the first time in his scenes with Kenta. It’s pretty subtle, and easy to miss if you don’t know Ryuga all that well, which I like. This episode trusts that the audience knows Ryuga well enough at this point to know that him waiting on Kenta in the desert and later giving him food and letting him stick with him isn’t something he would do for just anyone. They’re small hints, which is all they needed to be, and they make the second half of this episode for me. It’s honestly one of my favourites to talk about and analyse, even if I feel that there are some… unwanted implications.

Episode 8: The Crimson Flash 7.5/10

The first half of the episode is pretty typical but still fun. Then we get to the second half and the moment they said that someone challenged the entire school to a battle, I was already dying of laughter and the rest of this episode straight up killed me. Johannes is so funny, I can’t take it.

Episode 9: The Greatest Tag-Team Tournament 9/10

The first half of this episode had me cry-laughing, between Johannes’s utter ridiculousness and the absurdity of some of these other opponents. Then the second half of this episode is Yuki depicting an accurate representation of one of my anxiety episodes which makes me instinctively want to shield him from all harm. Great episode overall.

Episode 10: A New Roar! 8/10

I love Kyoya, and this is a Kyoya episode. A Kyoya episode where he slays a fool and creates a new special move. His opponent is Johannes, who I've grown to love on this rewatch and find to be really entertaining. So why didn’t I give this episode a higher rating? Easy: the Motti stuff makes me uncomfortable. Johannes snapping at her and knocking both her and Benkei out (in the most cat-like way he could) was a good pay-off but that entire stretch of them kinda sexualizing (or at least romanticising) this underaged girl was really uncomfortable. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered (for some reason I remembered Johannes acting creepy during this and was exceedingly relieved and glad that he actually didn’t), but it does detract from an otherwise great episode.

Episode 11: Cosmic Tornado 8/10

This episode is ten times worse than the Gingka vs Ryuga Fusion battle for people with a fear of heights (me). At least in that one you could see the bottom. This is a bottomless pit full of mist that two teenagers are constantly dangling over. Like jeez, do you wanna give me a heart attack?!

Other than that, it’s fine, I like most of the characters and the ending is chilling but man does this episode give me anxiety.

Episode 12: The God of Saturn, Kronos 8.5/10

The title of this episode is so dumb, but the episode itself is good. The Beylin Fist are an interesting group and this battle is so back and forth I genuinely wasn’t sure who would win. Cool ass episode.

Episode 13: Showdown at the Tower of Babel 10/10

Ryuga, Kenta, and Tsubasa all in one episode battling in and eventually destroying a historical building? This should be my favourite episode ever! :D And I do love it, definitely the most out of the Fury episodes so far. It’s got a hint of Johannes toward the beginning, a nice treat, shows that Kenta has already grown a ton since he started following Ryuga (despite his loss he still gave Tsubasa a hard fight), has Tsubasa as basically the main character we follow throughout the tower, and has Ryuga make a new ultimate move, kick Tsubasa’s ass, and knock over the Tower of Babel (the symbol of humanity’s arrogance and pride from what I understand) like the total badass he is. I love everything about this episode.

Episode 14: New Team Dungeon! 7.5/10

The opening of this episode is a bit spooky. I forgot how much of a cult the followers of Nemesis really are. I actually 100% see how these characters fell for this stuff. “The world is a constant cycle of destruction and rebirth, only through great darkness will a new dawn occur.” Does actually sound legit. Villains are far scarier to me when you can see their reasoning and how people can fall prey to it…

The rest of this episode is mainly set up and exposition but it’s interesting stuff that brings Masamune, Toby, Zeo, and Tsubasa into the main plot, giving Toby and Zeo new beys, and even giving Team Excalibur a bit of screen time. Good stuff.

Episode 15: Destroyer Dome 8/10

This is my favourite stadium in all of Beyblade. That seems like a weird thing to draw attention to, but the Destroyer Dome itself is so damn cool. The way the beys circle around the whole thing like comets, sticking to the ceiling and walls and looping around in every possible direction. It’s a stadium Captain Capri would’ve loved- OH MY GOD THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK JUST TO BATTLE IN THIS COOL ASS STADIUM?! HELL YEAH! I love this episode.

I do have one major gripe with this episode though: the Garcias faking a fight was… well, kind of a waste of both time and potential. It would’ve been so much more interesting both as a story and for them as characters if the fighting was genuine.

Episode 16: The New Striker is Complete! 8.5/10

JACK MY BELOVED MAKES A CAMEO! AND KING THE FUNNY ADORABLE LITTLE SHIT IS INTRODUCED. OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!

Oh yeah and the Russian team and Masamune and some other people are there I guess. It’s a fun battle royale. I really like the part where Lera reveals she has a special move and it makes Jigsaw visible again. Good stuff, even if it ends too quickly.

Episode 17: I Am the Champion! 9.5/10

DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, DESTROYER DOME AT NIGHT, OH MY GOD IT’S SO PRETTY. THE BEYS LOOK LIKE FIREWORKS AS THEY CLASH OH MY GOD-

Also, the destroyer dome becomes a giant hamster ball and King and Masamune run with it like they’re on a treadmill. I dunno how the others got out when it was made clear by Blader DJ last episode that there’s no way to get out of the stadium once you get in but it’s cool so I’ll let it pass. But yeah anyways, King’s backstory gives him an honestly really uplifting reason that he’s so arrogant and reckless, which does lower the annoyingness of his previous and future actions a lot. He’s excited to be battling and not thinking of anything else in that excitement. He acknowledges that Masamune is someone he can use his full strength against and he respects him as an opponent. It’s nice and very sweet and all that mushy stuff. I love it.

Episode 18: The Maze of Mist Mountain 7/10

Half of this episode is just the main characters, and returning side characters Nile and Demure (nice to see them again) wandering around some mist. … okay then. The other half is a decent battle between Gingka and Ryuto. It’s a decent introduction to this story arc. I like the new character, Ryuto, even if he doesn’t really add much.

Episode 19: The Lion’s Pride 9/10

The travelling segments of this one are a lot more interesting than last time, being more than the characters just wandering around in some mist. And the battle portion is just really damn good. Team Wild Fang is back! Heck yeah! And Kyoya vs Aguma is a constant explosion match (both literally and figuratively) and Nile, Demure, and Benkei taking on Johannes, Bao, and the Beylin Fist bladers is also a fun side battle.

Also, while I was disappointed with how this character arc was resolved and the way it starts is a little weird (I’ll get to that later), it was still a really interesting idea to have Kyoya basing his self-worth on his independence, and seeing it as a weakness to rely on others. It’s a very toxic mindset that fits his character and would’ve been great had it been properly addressed. But I’ll get to that when I get to that.

Episode 20: Guardian of the Temple, Dynamis 8/10

Dynamis has probably the best introduction out of all the legendary bladers. All the others just kinda walk in like “hey I’m so and so and this is my goal.” Dynamis though? He speaks to the group when they’re lost in the mist as if he’s speaking from the sky like a god or something, then when they finally get into his temple he challenges them to a battle, smirking like a sassy little shit as he wins. Also, he literally can hear the stars talk, I forgot this detail. My point is Dynamis is hecking cool.

Episode 21: The Legend of Nemesis’ Revival 8/10

Gingka vs Dynamis is a good battle but then it gets cut off without an outcome and then the rest of this episode is exposition. Out of all the exposition dump episodes in this show, I do think this one is the best as it’s the most interesting and action-packed but there is too much information in this spiel. If there’s any part of Fury that I can agree is rushed, it’s this. I wish the exposition in this episode had been shortened and maybe some of it spread out to other episodes so it’s not all dumped on the audience at once. The main things we really needed going forward from this episode was the origin of Nemesis, the way they were defeated long ago, and the fact one of the remaining legendary bladers is the Venus blader with a Quetzalcoatl.

So while this episode wasn’t the best way to convey most of its information, it’s still interesting and important information for the story, which I do think is a good story. So I’m giving this episode a somewhat higher score than what it probably deserves. I just enjoy Fury’s lore and Dynamis and the commentary on humanity and its history that much. I can see how this episode could bore and there were times the over-explaining bogged me down while watching but overall it was still a delight.

Episode 22: The Four Season Bladers 8.5/10

Okay, this exposition is a lot simpler and easier to follow. It takes up far less of the episode and cuts to the chase much quicker. Then the rest of this episode is the craziest battle royale of the entire show so far, ending when Kyoya reaches his breaking point which has been building over the past few episodes. He allowed what may have been just a small feeling at first to fester on the inside since he refused to tell anyone what he was going through until he eventually just snapped, which is pretty relatable to me personally. Kyoya’s arc in these episodes is well done. I understand the criticism that it’s strange he took Aguma’s words to heart so much when Kyoya doesn’t really know him and normally wouldn’t care about taunts like that. I want to argue it wasn’t specifically Aguma, or even what he said, it was Kyoya’s own internal realisation that he wasn’t living up to his own standards of strength. He internalised the idea that relying on others was showing weakness, an idea he carried yet simultaneously seemed to have been contradicting even before the start of the show. That kind of life shattering realisation is going to cause a huge reaction, no matter what prompted it. If Kyoya’s character arc this season had been resolved better (which again I’ll get to), it would be one of my favourite arcs of the show. I cannot stress enough how good of a setup this really was and how much potential this had.

Episode 23: The Battle of Beyster Island 8.5/10

“tHaT gUy lOoKs iNtErEsTiNg.”

I love King, oh my god. He is so freaking excited and happy to be battling that even when Aguma reveals a move that could defeat him, King just goes “that is so awesome!” I love his energy so much, he’s basically an excited fanboy and I love it. This episode was fun overall but King is the one who shines the brightest in my opinion.

Episode 24: Two Big, Fierce Battles! 9.5/10

I can totally understand how the back and forth switching between two unrelated battles might be off-putting… but I don’t have that issue. I love all these characters. I love seeing Kenta’s growth and Gingka acknowledging him. I love getting more of those subtle hints that Ryuga has grown to care about Kenta, and of course, the banter between Ryuga and King. There’s a reason I created a ship between these two. Even though they only met once in this battle, King not knowing who he is and just being excited to battle a strong opponent and Ryuga being confused/annoyed with him is really fun. Kenta and Gingka’s battle is definitely the more plot relevant one (and oh my gosh I love that scene on the beach) while Ryuga vs King could definitely be called fan service, but it’s great fan service that fits right in perfectly dammit! It’s something kid-me wanted to see ever since King’s reverse rotation was introduced and it’s great!

Episode 25: The Unseen Opponent 7.5/10

Chris’s introduction episode. It still annoys me how insistent the characters are that Masamune has to be the Legendary Blader and ignore Chris entirely and Chris’s bey’s physics are impossible but the battle in this episode is still good. And my god do I love Chris. He’s already a huge mood with the way he talks about his job. “I’ve dealt with much worse than this!” “If I lose, I will not be able to survive in this world!”

Episode 26: Orion’s Whereabouts 8.5/10

This episode is so chaotic, I love it. Everyone is just in a mosh pit of madness, with King defending his friend, Gingka trying to get him to chill, Chris instantly sucking up to his new boss, Ryuga showing up to wreak havoc, it’s all so damn fun. Stand out moments from this episode definitely include Kenta hugging the evil out of Ryuga, King cheering Masamune up, and that chilling ending. It’s great fun, and could be the last really fun episode of Fury as soon we get into the emotionally intense stuff…

Episode 27: The Lion in the Wilderness 7/10

Yu is such a brat but in a charming way. I can’t stay mad at the little guy, especially when he’s the one to call out Kyoya for not knowing shit about lions. Haha if only that weren’t the closest thing to resolving this character arc. Overall, fine episode. I like Tithi just fine and Kyoya and Yu are at least funny. Next episode though…

Episode 28: The God of Venus: Quetzalcoatl! 5/10

Yu and Tithi’s battle is pretty fun, it’s a good official introduction to Tithi. The first half of this episode is fine, fairly enjoyable if a bit standard. The second half though… ugh. I wrote a whole fanfiction rewriting this which… should explain how I feel about it. What Kyoya does here feels so out of character at this point and even if it’s not, it’s just irritating and the destiny moral is really fumbled here. Every other episode says the choices of the legendary bladers will decide the fate of the world and the narrative of this very episode even supports that: Kyoya chose to leave the heroes and then chose to return. Destiny didn’t actually force him to do anything. Kyoya just claims it’s his destiny out of nowhere. It fumbles the “destiny is a choice” idea and feels like an excuse to get him to return quickly without acknowledging the reason he left in the first place. Yu saying lions hunt in groups isn’t good enough because Kyoya doesn’t even acknowledge that or think about it… at all. So yeah it’s lazy writing and really disappointing considering how much potential Kyoya’s arc had. The final scene is pretty cool though, good setup for the next episode.

Episode 29: The God of Destruction’s Revival! 10/10

(This is the point where I start reviewing the episodes based on memory/episode descriptions.)

I’ll be honest, most of the episodes that were originally two 11 minute episodes flow pretty seamlessly as one put together episode. This is the only one where I can tell this was originally two episodes, as the two halves follow two completely different sets of characters. The first half is the revival of Nemesis, a chilling, tense spectacle, while the first half almost exclusively, and a little out of nowhere, is a battle between Kenta and Ryuga. That being said, while I definitely prefer the second half, both halves are fantastic. A little odd when put together, but tonally they mesh well enough and I love how much Kenta has grown in this episode and his plan to beat Ryuga is so good that even though I knew it wouldn’t work, I see how it could have worked. Plus, y’all know I love their friendship, it’s just so damn wholesome, I can’t-

Episode 30: The Child of Nemesis 7/10

Hello, obviously Doji in a top hat and trench coat. Why are you here exactly? Yeah I know his first appearance was in the last episode but I have less to say about this episode than I did that one so I’m gonna talk about the Doji thing here. Bringing Doji back was almost completely unnecessary and weird but honestly, after seeing how much more poor and ill-fitting his presence in Shogun Steel was, his appearance in Fury feels pretty inoffensive and just… whatever. He’s pointless but not unbearable.

Otherwise, cool ass raid episode, I like evil Dynamis and Kyoya showing up at the end. Nothing else really sticks out about this episode but it’s not bad. It’s just… not one that I can instantly point to and go “ah yes, the episode where this happened!” The main battle is Gingka vs Evil Dynamis. We’ve already seen Gingka vs Dynamis and they don’t even get to finish their battle. The episode is still fun but… feels like it could’ve been trimmed back to tighten the pacing.

Episode 31: Four Hearts 8/10

Okay, this episode is much more memorable. Kyoya vs Dynamis and Aguma vs Tithi are both fun battles (even if I don’t get why the Planet bladers were descendants rather than reincarnations when the latter makes way more sense with what’s presented in this episode, is that just a dub thing?) and the bulk of Gingka vs Chris actually happens in this episode. I could’ve sworn that happened in its own episode but… yeah this episode and the previous and following one kind of blend together in my mind because all of them take place in this temple and flow directly into each other. That’s not a knock against the episodes, it’s just how my memory works. This one moves the plot along more than the last one and I love Chris so most of the episode being focused on his battle with Gingka is good in my books.

Episode 32: Come Together, Legendary Bladers! 9/10

Also known as the episode where Ryuga fucks everything up. And every battle from the last episode also ends. A lot of Ls were taken in this episode. By the characters, the episode itself is damn fun. This episode also has two halves that feel a bit pasted together, with the first half focusing on the fallout of the three battles and the second half being the part everyone remembers where all the Legendary Bladers attempt to join together only for the aforementioned Ryuga hecking up everything but these halves mesh much better as it focuses on all the same characters as the first half so there’s no random sudden shift in focus, it’s just the next logical event in the plot.

This episode also features the scene where King and Masamune pose like magical girls. I’m just bringing that up because it’s cute not because it’s relevant.

Episode 33: Diablo Nemesis 8.5/10

The temple getting wrecked took up more time than I remembered but oh well, the first half of this episode is a good display of Rago’s power and while the second half is tonally different, it’s the most logical direction for the plot to go. Plus it’s a nice chance to see the Legendary Bladers interact, in some cases meet, in a way that’s more low-key. As much as I love Fury, I do wish it had more scenes like that, more chances for the characters to just breathe or establish bonds.

Episode 34: To The Final Battle Ground 7.5/10

So for some reason, the official source for Beyblade on YouTube incorrectly titled this and the next episode and also put them out of order. Episode 136 is titled “To The Final Battle Ground” and has that episode’s description but the episode is actually “Episode 137 The Lost Kingdom” and vice versa for the next episode. While I’m not fully rewatching these last eleven episodes due to time constraints, I did check my DVD for Metal Fury (which is an official release) and it didn’t make that mistake, the episodes are titled correctly and in the correct order so this was a mistake the YouTube channel made and I don’t know why it happened or why they haven’t fixed it even 7 years later. For anyone watching Fury, be sure to get the correct order! The show didn’t skip over Aguma’s redemption, the channel just put the episodes in the wrong order!

Anyways, the episode itself. Yeah, it has Aguma’s big redemption moment and… I actually do think it works pretty well. It’s nothing super deep, but he comes to the logical conclusion that saving the world comes before the Beylin Fist’s feud with Beylin and shows his commitment to the group by helping them fight off Johannes and his goons and save their helicopter. The rest of this episode before the battle is just the characters training to prepare for the final confrontation as they don’t know the whereabouts of Nemesis before they get a clue to said whereabouts and decide to go there. Not the most eventful episode but it works well enough. Besides… the next episode is… more eventful to say the least.

Episode 35: The Lost Kingdom 8.5/10

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have pure pain directly injected into your heart? I don’t have to, I watched this episode.

Try as I might, I cannot get through this episode, or the following one, without crying. Some movies or shows that try to depict a character fighting to their very last breath with every ounce of their strength before ultimately fighting to their last breath, cannot convince me that the character gave it their all. This is not one of those moments. This battle is as long as it needs to be and every moment is there to further the struggle, the slow fall of the once invincible-seeming Dragon Emperor, and I feel every bit of it. It’s the reason I… couldn’t bring myself to rewatch these episodes again at the point in my life I was at when this rewatch occurred. I was already getting my heart violently ripped out by a new show (and general life events that I won’t go into) and didn’t want my comfort show also causing me pain. So while this episode is great, phenomenal even, it’s… the second hardest episode for me to revisit. Entrusted Emotions only barely edges it out because that episode literally traumatised me to the point of developing a phobia. This one… is just a really sad episode that I always grab tissues before.

Doji’s also in this episode and while I don’t feel like his presence in this season was necessary (and in retrospect, it may have just been there to set up Shogun Steel, which I overall didn’t care for), I will say having him specifically there to mock and enrage Ryuga makes it more painful, at least to me.

Episode 36: The Missing Star of the Four Seasons 10/10

Most of the episode, after the gang reacts to the death of Ryuga which is… also… really damn painful… is them struggling against Nemesis, unable to form the barrier to seal him away due to the passing of Ryuga and… yeah it captures that struggle well. The weight of the world is on the group’s shoulders and it is a hopeless impossible battle and you can feel that in the way they get knocked around despite their teamwork and despite them fighting at their hardest. Maybe it goes on a little too long but this is essentially the final battle and the feels are all there throughout and… the scene everyone remembers from this episode…

I did rewatch that scene (and a couple other scenes in the next episode), and my god is it still just as impactful all this time later. The build up, the atmosphere, the feels, the ANIMATION, holy fuck the animation. And the sound design, Ryuga’s harsh breathing, those final words. I don’t even know what to say, this moment is just phenomenal, my favourite in the entire series without question. Really, when I put Flash Sagittario in my top five Fury episodes all that time ago, it included this episode. Both are such a tense fantastic emotional spectacle that flow into each other beautifully.

Episode 37: Flash Sagittario 10/10

Everything I said about last episode applies to this episode, only now the tides have turned in the heroes’ favour with Kenta’s evolution into a legendary blader, with his new Flash Sagittario, which the episode shows off very well. That moment where he defeats Pluto with Diving Arrow gives me all the feels. If I have one gripe in this episode, it’s that there are more flashback sequences than they probably needed but it’s a final battle and the flashbacks don’t take away from or affect the pacing in any major way for me.

Episode 38: Hades’ Persistence 7/10

Oh, right, the last two episodes weren't the final battle. Honestly, could’ve fooled me, with a proper epilogue afterwards, that battle would’ve worked perfectly as the final battle, it shows the Legendary Bladers all working together and while it excludes a few older characters, the setup is cool and unique and fits the teamwork themes even better than Masters’ ending did and the battle itself is entertaining enough for me to forgive its shortcomings.

This… is just the fate of the world coming down to Gingka again. And everyone giving him their power. Again. Fusion did this first and did this better. Because that coming down to Gingka made sense, he was the one with the greatest connection to the villain, Fusion was very much his story and while he’s still the protagonist, he isn’t more important than anyone else in Masters’ final battle of the previous battle of Fury. This… ruins that, it feels really generic and phoned in. It’s not bad though, I do love Kyoya’s speech to Gingka before he and the others give Gingka their power. That does bring everything together really well and makes this otherwise pointless battle more forgivable for me. It’s a slip up for sure but it’s still entertaining.

Episode 39: A Ray of Hope 8/10

“Every bey has a Star Fragment in it so we can all contribute”… okay…? Well, that’s not incorrect or anything, it does fit the lore of the series and brings everyone together for the final climax in a way that episodes 36 and 37 didn’t but… eh, this never did much for me.

Now the epilogue post battle though? That’s some nice stuff. The gang have been through hell but now that it’s over, they pick themselves back up and start to heal. Enough so that Gingka and Kyoya are even willing to have a battle, a no stakes fun battle to see who the true victor between them is, just like old times. A great final note to a great show.

[danyok]

Hi! Can you do * “You’re an idiot.” “But you love me.” * for Fourth and Beam please?! I miss them so much. So exciting to see you doing some prompts. I love your writing!

Ahh thank you!!! I'm glad to be writing again and I'm glad you enjoy it. I miss Forth and Beam a lot too. I think this signals time for a rewatch tbh. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thank you for the prompt! This one turned out a bit silly and possibly OOC but it's fun anyway or I hope it is. [ Prompt Post ]

Pairing: ForthBeam Word Count: 811 Rating: G Prompt: “You’re an idiot.” “But you love me.”

Honestly, Forth had no idea how he found himself in the situation that he was in. He had just been minding his own business and somehow he ended up locked in… well, he wasn’t even sure what room it was in. He kept trying the door but the handle wouldn’t turn and okay, maybe he was a little too drunk to be wandering around alone but he’d needed to find the bathroom. He’d found the bathroom - he wasn’t sure where he was at that moment, though. It definitely was not the bathroom. It seemed more like a coat closet, honestly.

Forth continued to try the door but it wouldn’t budge and then he found himself stumbling backward over something - he fell to the floor and just sort of sat there blinking up at the darkness, trying to figure out just how this had happened to him. It took him far too long to realize that he should probably try to find his phone. He pulled up his most used contact and initiated a call only to huff out a breath when Beam ignored it. Forth tried again and that time Beam answered the call. “Help I’m trapped,” Forth said as soon as the call connected.

“What?” He couldn’t see Beam’s face but he could easily picture the way that Beam’s face would be twisted up in confusion simply from the tone of his voice. It almost made Forth laugh.

Maybe he shouldn’t have had that last drink.

“I’m somewhere dark and I can’t open the door and I don’t know how I got here.” Forth was almost whining as he spoke - almost, but not quite.

“I thought you went to the bathroom.”

“I did!” Forth groaned and tipped his head back only to wince as it hit something. “Ouch.” He mumbled and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “I was heading back and then… I was here. I think I turned right? No left. It was left. I think.”

“Exactly how drunk are you?” Beam had known that Forth had been drinking a bit heavily that night but it wasn’t until hearing him on the phone like that that he realized exactly how drunk Forth had actually gotten.

“Dunno. Come find me and help me. I don’t want to be stuck here forever.”

“You won’t be stuck in there forever.”

“Ai’Beam!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Beam wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to find Forth. He didn’t know the house very well - their friend was throwing a party and there were a bunch of people everywhere. Beam made his way toward the bathroom first and made sure that Forth wasn’t actually in there before he started to wander a bit. There wasn’t anything to the left of the bathroom but to the right there were a few doors and a sudden loud noise behind one of them. It made Beam sigh heavily before he made his way over to the door and opened it.

There, lying on his back with his feet up in the air and leaning against the wall at the back of the long closet was Forth. Forth tipped his head back to see who was there and he smiled when he saw it was Beam. “You got the door open! How?” he said as he quickly attempted to get up and stand.

“How did you end up li- I turned the handle,” answered Beam, changing his mind mid question as he decided he didn’t want to know.

“I tried that and it didn’t turn!”

“Did you turn it the right way?”

“I…” Forth’s eyes narrowed as he thought about it and stepped over a pair of shoes that were in the floor. “Maybe.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“But you love me.” Beam just stood there with both his brows raised, but he didn’t move away as Forth moved forward and wrapped his arms around Beam’s shoulders. “Hi.”

“I should get you home.”

Forth nodded his head a couple of times. “Maybe that’s a good idea.”

“I’m never letting you drink again.”

“That’s also maybe a good idea.”

Beam just sighed as he turned to walk away. He let Forth continue to hang onto him and they made their way toward the exit so that they could actually head home. Beam stopped at the kitchen on the way, though, to get Forth a glass of water to drink as they headed out to the car. Forth thanked him and grabbed onto his arm while leaning against his side when they continued walking to the front door. Forth was ridiculous even when sober, but when he was drunk he was even more so. Beam would say that he hated it to anyone that would listen. Forth really was just an idiot.

But Beam did love him anyway even if he wouldn’t admit to it at that moment.

[spudmcloughlin]

hey!! i hope you don’t mind me bothering about this-i’m new to watching jacksepticeye videos and was wondering if you had any recs of any good videos or stuff i can’t miss? lately i’ve only been watching the videos he puts out everyday :)

oh my goodness strap yourself in bc this is gonna get Long

first of all, welcome to the community!! most of the time it’s super friendly here and everyone is very welcoming. i’ve made so many friends here over the years and it’s just a fantastic place to be! i hope you enjoy it as much as i do, and feel free to come off anon to chat any time!

nostalgia week is a great place to start, it kinda gives you an idea of the most iconic series in the entire 7 years of the channel!

so a lot of my favorite series are the classics: subnautica, the sims (when he was still doing it), undertale is still up there! i rewatch it all the time! papers please, reading your comments, the escapists (which became one of my favorite games ever), those are all old series that i loved at the time and hold a very special place in my heart.

then we’ve got some silly games: the surgery games, happy wheels (you HAVE to watch happy wheels, that’s where about 90% of the well known channel memes came from. this is arguably the most popular series on the entire channel), skate 3 (that’s quite the blast from the past but it’s still fun to watch now and then!), EVIE!!!, akinator, bio inc redemption, would you rather, those are all good series that don’t really have a chronological order, you can put them on in the background and not pay attention or just watch one video from the middle of the playlist and it wouldn’t really matter

some of my favorite long series are: life is strange, shadow of the colossus (which is his favorite game EVER so watch that if you wanna hear him be happy for 10 hours straight), doki doki literature club (huge trigger warnings tho, depression, mentions of abuse, self harm and suicide, all that good stuff), the boss (developed by @sarcastic-pasta-games go check em out!), detroit: become human, MINECRAFT, inside, spyro 3, ori and the blind forest

next up we’ve got the egos. HOO. FUCKING. BOY. i’m just gonna link my own playlist of every video they’ve shown up in as well as their individual playlists bc explaining these would Literally take 90 minutes and i don’t have 90 minutes! we’ve got antisepticeye, who appeared for the first time in october 2016, dr henrik von schneeplestein, chase brody, jameson jackson, marvin the magnificent magician, and jackieboy man. i would die for every single one of them (and if it interests you, you better catch up quick bc we’re getting more of them soon!!)

up next are non gaming series: funniest home videos, meme time, flamingo shorts (a short story), pokemon go, bloopers and outtakes, try not to cringe, guessing phrases in other languages, drumming videos (his cover of "unholy confessions” by avenged sevenfold is so fucking good but it’s not in the playlist ;-;) and he’s also got a lot that don’t belong in a series like “the jacksepticeye roast” (not to be confused with pewdiepie’s jacksepticeye roast, or jack’s pewdiepie roast), reacting to weird/scary videos, there’s a lot of videos he gets from twitter i just can’t think of any more

i also feel the need to mention, a lot of these are from a long time ago so he’s changed so so much since a lot of these series. most of these are from the green hair days, but that’s when the channel was booming and it was kinda at its peak. so please don’t fall into the trap a lot of people do where they fall in love with that version of sean, and then become disappointed when he’s not like that anymore and want him to change back. also for the love of fuck do NOT ask him to dye his hair again lmfao he will smite you (not really he’s just annoyed by people asking all the time)

so TL;DR there is so much you’ve missed lmao but it’s all there on the channel just waiting for you to watch, the best/most iconic series are happy wheels, reading comments, undertale, subnautica, papers please, detroit: become human, and all the original anti stuff (even if you don’t get super into the egos, that whole month was extremely iconic and EVERYONE knows about it)

thank you so much for asking and i hope you love it!!! if you’d like i could also make a post about all the community memes over the years and explanations lmfao but i feel like that could take a long time and i’d miss a lot idk lmk haha

[joyofcrime-elinorhigh]

Dragon Ball Super: Battle of Gods Arc REVIEW:

Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and as I've said in the past screaming and punching is awesome! This is just an undeniable fact. And when it comes to the "screaming and punching" genre of cartoons there is none that does it better than Dragon Ball Z. (Okay, that's probably not true at all, but shut up alright? I'm trying to segway into this.) The best way to look at Dragon Ball Z, and the Dragon Ball series as a whole is to look at it as just a really cool superhero series, that doesn't try to come across as needlessly "dark" or "mature." It has dark and mature moments for sure, but not in the way that some comic books do where they try to shoehorn in these elements in order to be shocking or edgy. Dragon Ball does something that a lot of superhero type stories now of days tend to forget to do, and that's just be fun. From the over the top characters and powers, to the tonnes of convoluted lore that they make sound important, even though ever arc just ends up being a contest of who can punch the hardest, Dragon Ball was just a fun series. Flawed for sure, yes, (Seriously, next time you watch a Dragon Ball series play this game at home, it's called "Find the inconsistency.") but still a lot of fun regardless.  After finishing up the story of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z the original author, Akira Toriyama, decided to step away from the series for almost twenty years. He did help with some designs for some spin-off properties based off of the series, but for a long period of time Dragon Ball was pretty much over. But, and this a true story, after seeing the American live action adaptation of his series, Dragon Ball Evolution, and hating it so much, it inspired him to make another Dragon Ball Z movie. One that he would be directly involved in. That movie was 2013's "Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods." and the movie was a huge success. So much of a success that it got a sequel called "Dragon Ball Z: Reserection 'F'." The Dragon Ball franchise was given new life. And naturally with all this success, it was only natural for Toei Animation to announce a new Dragon Ball tv series. After 19 years there would finally be a new series, and that new series would be called "Dragon Ball Super." Fan's were hyped....

 ...Until it was announced that the first two arcs would be adaptations of the two newest movies.  

Yeah, fans were not happy to learn that they would have to wait 26 episodes before getting any "new" content. Especially since the movies had just came out a few years ago. But, who knows, maybe this could be a good thing. Maybe these longer versions of the movie could expand on the movies, and add new scenes or different plot elements to improve the movies story, and make it even better. How did this movie retelling work out? Well, let's dive into this and find out. But first some context.  First things first, when it comes to these reviews I will be reviewing the dub. This is because I started actually watching Dragon Ball Super at episode 63, when the website Crunchyroll started subbing it. I was following what was happening in the series before hand using online recaps and such, but I never really went back and rewatched the first 62 episodes, save for a few. So I'm using the new English dub to actually see for myself what I have missed. And since most fans of Dragon Ball seem to like the dub more anyway I think it be better to do it like this. Also, I just want to say that I will be comparing this to the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods film. It's kinda hard not to what with them being the same story and all. Also I want to state for the record that I LOVE the Battle of Gods film a lot. I was a casual Dragon Ball fan before watching that film, but after watching that movie I fell in love with the franchise. I loved the more comedic feel the film had, while still keeping in the drama that was needed. I loved the way it built upon the lore, and how it created a story and a villain completely different from anything that Dragon Ball had seen before. I consider the film of version of "Battle of Gods" as not just a great Dragon Ball film, but a great film in general! So keep all that in mind. Also, SPOILERS for everything Dragon Ball from here on out. Okay, ready? Let's go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsPw7x8LZC4

So just a quick rundown for anybody not in the know. Dragon Ball is the story of Goku, a psychopath man child alien who loves to fight things. He was sent to Earth as a baby to destroy the planet, but forgot about his mission after his adopted grandfather accidentally drops him into a motherfu*king canyon. Goku and his friends travel the world collecting the Dragon Balls, magical orbs that can grant any wish, but over the course of the series pretty much just becomes there "get out of death free" card. Then half way through the show suddenly becomes about fighting aliens. One of these aliens they fight is named Vegeta. A member of Goku's race called the Saiyans who, over the course of the show, goes from evil big bad, to anti hero, to just a frickin' tsundere by the time Super comes around. The Saiyans have the power to become more powerful using the power of "Super Saiyan" transformation, which increases there power and hair mass exponentially. Also this arc takes place four years after Goku defeats the evil pink bubblegum man, but six years before he abandoned his family to train some random Indian boy. HOPE THAT CLEARS EVERYTHING UP FOR ANY NEWCOMERS!  Anyway, this arc begins in space where, in typical Dragon Ball tradition, we are introduced to a new villain who just happens to be way stronger than our last villain, and has just happened to never be mentioned by anybody until now. This new villain is Beerus, a God of Destruction. His job, as we learn, is to go around the universe destroying planets in order to maintain the natural balance in the universe. Beerus looks like a giant purple cat, and this reflects his personality a lot. Because like a cat, all Beerus cares about is eating, sleeping, and being a general dick. Only this cat has the power to effortlessly destroy planets with a touch of his fingers. Beerus also has a helper, named Whis. A flamboyant but snarky blue guy who's job is to look after Beerus and make sure he's doing his job. He also acts as the straight man to Beerus's antics, and these two characters have great chemistry together. This is helped by the great voice talent of Jason Douglasas as Beerus, and Ian Sinclair as Whis. They do a great job portraying the duo.  We learn that Beerus has been sleeping for the last thirty seven years, so he just conveniently been sleeping for most of the Dragon Ball series. But he was awoken by a premonition dream, as he foresaw something called a "Super Saiyan God." and this "God" would provide him with someone he could call a rival. Beerus, like most characters in Dragon Ball, has a love for the thrill of combat. But since he's so powerful there are few who he can fight without just obliterating in an instant. So thus, he is really dedicated to finding this Saiyan. However, despite having the dream, he has trouble remembering the details of it, so he goes around destroying planets and eating, hoping that doing that will somehow jog his memory.  The way Beerus is portrayed is a point of contention for some Dragon Ball fans, when comparing the film to this arc. In the movie, while still mentioned that he was a destroyer of worlds, we never really saw it. And it seemed like he did it less out of malice and more because, as a destroyer god, it was his job to. While in the anime we see him destroy the planets, over petty things like the food he eats on the planets not being tasty enough. Most fans prefer the film version, but I actually don't mind the change that much. I mean we still knew that he had destroyed planets, so I don't see why showing it matters much. What I don't like about Beerus in the first half in this arc though, is the fact that they really play up him bumblingness a bit to much. The Beerus from the movie was able to really balance being a wacky, fun character and a real threat. He acted silly because he was so powerful that he didn't have anything to prove to anybody. Here they push it a bit closer to the comedic side, which I think is a miss because the movie got it just right, in my opinion.  After obliterating some more planets Beerus fully remembers his dream. He ask Whis how many Saiyans are left in the universe and Whis answers five And so Beerus and Whis decide to head out and find out which one of them can be the "Super Saiyan God." But enough about our villains, what are our hero's up to? Well, it's Bulma's birthday and everybody from the original series is invited. I really like this, because after being away from the Dragon Ball series for almost two decades it's great to have ever character from the old series, major or not, show up and just be themselves. It's nice seeing these guys when there not fighting and just hanging out. In the movie the party was just held at Bulma's mansion, but here it's on a cruise shop. I kinda like the former better, but it doesn't really matter.  Goku and Vegeta are both uninterested in the party, and want to spend there time training. Goku goes off to King Kai's planet to train but Vegeta is forced to go to the party because Bulma's his wife and more importantly scary. Meanwhile Old Kai and Kibito Kai sense that Beerus has awoken from his slumber. They are worried that if Goku finds out the Beerus is awake, and is as strong as he is, Goku will try to fight him, and that fight could risk that fate of the universe. By the way, I love how the gods view our hero and our villain as equal threats to the universe...There not wrong. We also learn that it was Beerus who trapped Old Kai in the Z sword. It doesn't say why, but I like to imagine that it was because Beerus wanted to make a SICK prank video for his GodTube channel bra!

 Old Kai tells King Kai to not tell Goku about Beerus. However, this doesn't work out very well as Beerus is already on his way to King Kai's planet to find Goku. When Beerus does find Goku he challenges him to a fight to see if he is the prophesied Super Saiyan God, and Goku accepts. In the original film Goku goes straight to Super Saiyan 3, but here he goes through each form one by one. It is kinda cool to see the fight extended a bit, but it is definitely there to pad the length, and also doesn't make to much sense on why Goku would start at a weaker stage, but it's kinda cool to see. Which version of the fight is better though will depend on what your looking for. Something quick or something a bit more drawn out. (And I'm not going to talk about the bad animation, because it's beating a dead horse at this point, plus they fixed it by the time it aired dubbed so who really cares?)  Regardless of which version you watch though, it's a complete curb stomp. Goku doesn't even land one hit on Beerus, and Beerus takes Goku out in three hits. Goku is left beaten and wounded, and Beerus decides to head to Earth to see if Vegeta is the Super Saiyan God. King Kai uses his telepathy to warn Vegeta about Beerus and tells him that if he can keep Beerus happy, they all might just live. Vegeta suddenly has a repressed childhood memory about a time where Beerus visited Planet Vegeta, and made a mockery of his father, using the King of all Saiyan's as a mere footstool. This knowledge, plus knowing how easily Beerus defeated Goku, makes Vegeta decide to suck up to Beerus. The only problem is that none of the other people at the Bulma's party knows who Beerus is, and Vegeta has no time to tell them. (They assume Beerus is some friend of Vegeta from space. Which is dumb because Vegeta has only been a "friendly" person for a couple of years at this point, and none of those years was he in space to our knowledge.) So Vegeta has to make sure that nobody at the party annoys Beerus, or else they'll all die. It's actually some good stuff as we get some good comedy and some actual character development out of Vegeta. The prideful Prince of all Saiyans has to swallow his pride and act a fool for the sake of the planet. It's good stuff. In the original movie we get to see Vegeta singing and dancing to a ridiculous bingo dance to distract Beerus from his rage, while here we see him being an over the top sushi cook. Both are good but...come on, bingo dance has this in the bag. No contest.

 Oh, something that I forgot to mention is that the Pilaf Gang are in this arc. The reason I forgot is because they really don't contribute anything to the story here. We learn that apparently at some point off screen they managed to find the dragon balls and wish to be younger, but they didn't specify how young and were turned into babies. So now they've naturally aged back up to about Goten and Trunk's age. They basically act like Team Rocket from the Pokemon anime, which is fun to see in a Dragon Ball series, but my problem is that the tv version cut out all there best scenes from the movie! They cut out the weird sudo-romance with Trunks and Mai, they cut out the hostage scene with a drunk Great Saiyan Man. Why? I mean we were trying to extend the film out the twelve episodes anyway, and heck that Trunks Mai romance thing actually comes up later in Super, and only makes sense if you saw the Battle of Gods movie, which I don't think is even cannon anymore. (Though I do like this one scene later on of Whis and the Pilaf Gang just kinda chillin'. It's funny seeing the most pathetic Dragon Ball villains and one of the most powerful characters actually getting along.)  Anyway, back to the main plot Vegeta is actually doing a good job of making sure that Beerus stays happy. This is until Beerus decides that he wants to try some pudding, but finds out that Buu is hogging all of it. Buu refuses to share and this enrages Beerus to the point of him deciding to blow up the planet. If there's no Super Saiyan God AND no pudding then what's the point, right? At this point all of the Z fighters start to realize that this Beerus guy is trouble and try to take him on, only to be very quickly clobbered. Bulma actually get's so fed up with all this crap that she slaps Beerus and tells him that he's ruined her birthday party. This causes Beerus to back hand Bulma, and this infuriates Vegeta. It's a touching and awesome moment showing how far Vegeta has grown since his first appearance as a sadistic killer. (Though this scene drags on way to long in the series.)  Vegeta channels his anger. He refuses to stand by and watch Beerus walk all over him and his friends. Vegeta's rage is so strong that it actually causes him to get stronger. Stronger than even Goku! Vegeta has finally surpassed his rival for the first time since the Cell saga and is about to unleash all of this new found power on Beerus head on!  ...It goes as well as you would expect...

(But hey, at least you landed a few hits onto him Vegeta. Be proud of that.)  Beerus is about to destroy the Earth, but he decides to give our heroes one more chance. If they beat him at rock-paper-scissors he'll spare their planet. Oolong is chosen to represent our heroes. Finally, after like four hundred combined episodes it's time for Oolong to enter the spotlight once again and save the Earth. Also THEY SPEND AN ENTIRE EPISODE ON ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS! OH MY GOD! AND YOU WONDER WHY MOST PEOPLE PREFER THE MOVIES!?  Anyway eventually Goku shows up, healed from his previous battle. Goku decides that if he doesn't know what a Super Saiyan God is, he can just use the dragon balls and ask Shenron about it. Beerus decides to let them, and we get a funny bit where even Shenron is scared by Beerus. (Though is this really a surprise? I mean even King Piccolo could kill him.) Shenron tell the legend of the Super Saiyan God, and how it can only be achieved by six pure hearted saiyans combining there power, and channeling it into one host. This is a problem though, because even with the half saiyans they still only have five. But threat not, as  Gohan's wife Vedel reveals that she is pregnant, and thus the baby is a quarter saiyan. It's a long shot, but they might have a chance to actually pull this off. They all hold hands together, and channel all there power into Goku. And then, Goku starts to transform and OH MY GOD THIS FRICKIN' TRANSFORMATION IS CARTOONISH LEVELS OF OVER THE TOP! It goes on for almost five minutes and has everybody glowing, the sky turns gold. It goes from day to night and back again.(Somehow? Seriously is that effecting the rest of the Earth?) It rains, it snows. It's all just to over the top. Especially since (outside of the manga) we NEVER see this form again after this arc. It really feels just like padding.

Anyway, after what feels like an eternity we finally see it. We see Goku's new form, the Super Saiyan God! I really like the design. After Super Saiyan 3 there was no way to make the Super Saiyan form buffer and with more hair, so like Super Saiyan 4 in GT they chose to reinvent the look. I like how it's slimmer, and the hair isn't as spiky. It works because it's reminisce of his base form, which works as this is suppose to be a new starting point for Goku. I like the way the red looks, and I like the touch of his eyes and even his skin turning red as well. It's really cool.

 Goku and Beerus begin to fight it out, though Goku has the disadvantage as he is still getting use to his new god power. Here Beerus's personality reverts into something a lot closer to the film version, which is very welcome. Old Kai and Kibito Kai monitor the fight and note that it doesn't seem like Beerus is actually trying to kill Goku, but rather teach him how to use his new found power. (After all, all Beerus wants is a rival who can challenge him, so why not help Goku reach his full potential.) It's really cool to see that element in the fight, as Goku and Beerus take on the student and mentor roles. The fight very quickly escalates into upper orbit. Then, as one of my favorite online reviewers Mr. Movie Sunday would say, "They punch for a bit then they're mates."  There are pros and cons to both the fight in the movie and the fight in the series. In the film the fight, in my opinion, feels a bit to brief due to the movies time constraints. The series has the opposite problem though, as the fight seems to drag on in some points. It's weird to say that, considering that the fight only last about five episodes, which is nothing by the standards of the Z. I think it might be because the fight mostly takes place in one location, and the quicker tone of Super makes all the stuff that seemed common place in Z just feel a bit off from a pacing perspective. I wish maybe they spent maybe one less episode on the fight, and devote that episode to more of Beerus at the party.  The film's fight also brings up the idea that Goku actually doesn't like using Super Saiyan God, because he doesn't like the fact that he needed other people's power to obtain it. (Though the Spirit Bomb is just fine I guess?) The theme is touched on in the series, but only in one line or two. Which is a shame because I actually think it's an interesting look in Goku's character.  The series also adds some additions to the fight scene that weren't in the movie, and these additions are very hit or miss. Some things are really cool, like how Goku actually mimics the three attacks that Beerus used to knock him out in there first battle. There's also this really powerful scene where Goku is drowning that really shows what Goku's character is really all about and has AMAZING voice acting from Sean Schemmel. We also get a great scene of the prideful and arrogant Mr. Satan begging for Whis to stop the fight, not because of he's scared for his own life, but because he's scared for the life of his pregnant daughter. It actually really touching. There's a scene of Piccolo getting up in Whis's face that's pretty bad ass and episode fourteen in general is awesome, feature voice acting and even animation that comes close to rivaling the film, which is beyond impressive for a tv budget.  But then there are some less good changes. Like there's this bit where the shock waves of Beerus and Goku's fight are so powerful that it might destroy the universe, and even does destroy some random planets. This is weird because, while Beerus is stronger than anybody we've seen fight in Super afterwords, he's not using full power in this fight and Goku get's way stronger in later arcs. So how come the universe is becoming torn apart here but not say next arc when a stronger Goku is fighting Golden Frieza?  Why is this needed? The fate of the Earth is already at stake, we don't need more risk. Also we get Vegeta dramatically staring up at the fight without talking FOR THE ENTIRE FIGHT! Why? what is this suppose to be indicating? YOU CAN'T SEE THE FIGHT VEGETA, THERE PRACTICALLY IN SPACE!

(D-Don't worry. That planet was PROBABLY not inhabited...Goku PROBABLY didn't just accidentally help commit a global genocide...hehehe.)  Anyway, as the fight goes on we learn that Goku's Super Saiyan God transformation is only temporary and he loses the power half way through the fight. However, he absorbed the godly power, making it a part of him. I honesty don't like this, cause it just confuses things on how this power thing works. Is base Goku now stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku was before this arc. And if so, are all the Super Saiyan forms stronger? And how does Blue work? Why couldn't God just be a transformation like it is in the manga, it's design is so cool! (Sigh) Well whatever. So Goku is now fighting Beerus in Super Saiyan Classic, but with the power of a god. But even so Beerus still out classes Goku and actually beats him! Yeah, that's honestly something really interesting to see. Goku isn't able to actually beat the bad guy, even with a new form and all of his talks about breaking his limits. Beerus is just to far out of his league.    Beerus heads down to Earth, ready to destroy the planet, and there's nothing our heroes can do to stop it. Beerus however, so tired from the fight, ends up falling asleep right as he fires the death beam and just happens to miss the planet. Or at least how it appears to be. What we learn afterwords is that Beerus never fell asleep, but rather chose to spare the Earth on purpose, as he finds the two Saiyans on that world most interesting. Probably regrets telling Frieza to blow up planet Vegeta now, huh. (Oh yeah, apparently Beerus did that. You would think that that MASSIVE Revelation would impact something, right?....nope.) In the movie, Vegeta demands that next time they use the Super Saiyan God ritual on him, while in the series Goku suggest doing it, Vegeta refuses, as he believes that he doesn't need some cheap ritual to shortcut his way to more power. I honestly like the series version better here, as I think it's more befitting of Vegeta's character.  So yeah, that's where the arc ends. Do I recommend it? It's kinda tough to say, honestly. Some of the new scenes that are added are really cool, and are definitely worth seeing. But there is also a LOT of padding, with scenes like the Super Saiyan God transformation and the rock-paper-scissors game that are a drag to get through, and only exist to help turn this hour forty minute movie into a fourteen episode saga. If you love Dragon Ball and really want to watch those really good moments, then you'll probably enjoy this arc. You'll just have to slog through some REALLY drawn out padding in order to get there. This arc isn't bad by any stretch, but in my opinion it just doesn't top the movie. The movie is much quicker, has better animation due to having a theatrical budget, and for ever good scene they have in Super there's a good scene in the movie that they cut out. (Seriously, they cut out Beerus break dancing!) You can watch the Battle of Gods film and then just jump into the rest of Super without missing much.  HOWEVER, if you do chose to skip over this arc, I do recommend you watch the first two episodes of Super anyway. These are the "filler" slice of life episodes, and there amazing. One of the best things about Super is the slice of life episodes where we get some fantastic comedy seeing the Dragon Ball gang in pretty much sitcom situations. The first episode is about Goten and Trunks trying to get a wedding gift for Videl, and the second episode is about Vegeta going on vacation with his family. Yeah, remember that one line from Z where Vegeta says that he'll take Trunks to an amusement parks if he's able to hit him? THEY BRING THAT BACK! Akira Toriyama forgot about who Launch was, but remember that! THESE WHERE THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF DRAGON BALL AFTER ALMOST TWO DECADES OF WAITING! AKIRA TORIYAMA IS A MASTER TROLL!

(I don't care how many flaws Dragon Ball Super has, this one images justifies it's existence to me.)  So yeah, that's my review of the Dragon Ball Super "Battle of Gods" arc. Not as good as the film, but still with some really good elements in it. But what do you think of this arc, or Dragon Ball Super in general? Leave those thoughts in the comments down bellow. I'd love to start a discussion, even if we don't see eye to eye. Also tell me what you think of this review. I hope to review every arc of Super as the series airs on television, so I really hope you all like this review. If you did like this review than please fav, follow, and comment and have a great day! (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/Dragon-Ball-Super-Battle-of-Gods-Arc-REVIEW-678214005 DA Link

[ghostbustermelanieking]

here

s8 vignette: roadrunners, deadalive, empedocles, vienen, existence. disgusting baby fluff. part of my series that i write as i rewatch the x files.

Summary: Four times Mulder or Scully talked to their baby, and one time they both did.

note: this is a sort-of sequel to ashes and dust (it takes place before and after it, so), but it could just as easily be a standalone. it’s canon compliant, but i also like to imagine that season 9 never happens after the end of this fic. it makes me a happier person.

warning for the depictions of the events in these episodes, and fear of losing a pregnancy.

---

i.

She wasn't thinking about the baby when she first went to Utah. She's barely thought about the baby at all since she found out she was pregnant; she didn't know how to, with Mulder gone and a new partner and all of it. She just wanted to find him, and that seemed to be all that mattered at the time. Guilt had hung over her like a low fog—finally, she'd gotten what she wanted, she was going to be a mother, and she barely even felt happy about it. When she'd woken up in the hospital after the ordeal in Arizona, she'd been relieved to find out that the baby was okay, fearing the worst after being thrown into a wall, but she hadn't been able to linger too long on it. She hadn't saved Mulder and she was stuck with Doggett and it hadn't seemed to matter.

Now. Now, Doggett has saved her life and she can't think about Mulder. She did, very briefly, when Doggett was carrying her away; she selfishly wished that it was him, that she wasn't going to wake up alone if she woke up at all. But when she was tied to the bed, all she could think about was the baby. How she could protect the baby. She screamed for help even though she didn't know if anyone could hear her; she just wanted to save the baby.

They do an ultrasound a few hours after she wakes up, the wound in her neck stitched up, and she cries when she hears the fluttering thump of the baby's heartbeat. She has no idea what the fuck the goddamn slug did to her, she'd been terrified of what it would do to the baby, and she couldn't fathom losing anyone else. Losing another child, Mulder's child… it was unimaginable. It is so hard to hold back with Mulder gone, when all she wants is to find him, to fill his place, but she has to. It isn't just her own life she's risking; she has to protect her baby.

There's very few people she'd do anything for. Her family, of course, and Mulder, but the living population of people that she would give her life for has grown slimmer and slimmer over time, all the people she's lost. But when she hears the heartbeat, knows that the baby is okay, she realizes that she has added another to the list.

She curls up on her side when the nurses leave her alone; it hurts to put pressure on the stitches. She reaches down and touches the spot where she knows the baby is, thinking of the diagram in her medical textbook from years and years ago. She's only a couple of months along, so her stomach is still flat, but she thinks she can still feel the baby. It's silly, but she feels connected to the baby in a way she's only ever felt connected to Mulder. Probably even more so.

“Hi,” she whispers to the baby, feeling even more silly. She knows that the baby can't hear her, but she can't help it. (Mulder would talk to the baby, she thinks. He’d be overjoyed.) “It's me. Your mom.”

The room is silent, the walls too white. Far off, she can hear the screech of a heart monitor.

“I’m sorry,” she blurts helplessly, and goddamnit, she is crying again. She's cold; she burrows under the blanket, but she keeps her hand over the baby. She wonders if the baby is cold. She wonders if the baby felt the slug burrowing up her spine. She shudders, wipes her eyes with her free hand. “I'm so sorry,” she whispers. “I never wanted you to be in danger. Never. I'm so sorry that this keeps happening.” She blinks back tears, lays her cheek flat against the pillow. Strokes the spot as if the baby can feel her.

“I am going to keep you safe,” she says. “I promise. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you. Ever.”

She sniffles, wiping her eyes and nose again. “And I'm going to find your daddy,” she adds, because it is important that she remember that. That the baby know that. “I promise that, too. He's going to love you so much.”

If she closes her eyes and concentrates hard enough, she can almost hear the phantom ka-thump of her baby's heartbeat. Your baby is just fine, the technician had said with a smile, handed her tissues as she burst into tears.

“I love you, too,” she murmurs. “I want you to know that, okay? I love you more than anything.”

ii.

The baby kicks for the first time the night of Mulder's wake.

The funeral is the next morning. She's here in North Carolina, in a too-fancy hotel because it's the only one that didn't make her think of Mulder. Snow is frozen on the window sill, not falling from the sky, almost brown with dirt in the parking lot. She wonders briefly how they will break the frozen ground open enough to lower Mulder into it, and promptly vomits in the bathroom sink.

Her mother tried to come into the hotel room with her, and she coldly responded that she needed time to herself. Closed the door in her face. She would feel bad if she didn't feel so numb inside. She sits alone in the room, curled into the corner of the flowery couch because the bed, with its huge mattress and fluffy comforter, looks too empty. She'll feel his loss, the empty space where he should be, too strongly if she sleeps there, and she still can't believe he's gone. In the soft space between sleep and awakeness, she's fooled herself into thinking she never lost him. And she doesn't want that, not tomorrow, so she sits on the couch alone. Tears smeared across her face, eyes swollen from tears she tried to hide.

People kept coming up all night and telling her that they were sorry. She hid in a corner, tried to stay out of sight, but they still found her. She wondered who had told them that she was his partner, mother of his child. She wondered if you could just see it on her face.

All these people she didn't recognize were there. People who never cared about him. A sample of the FBI’s finest, assorted Mulder relatives that Mulder had never mentioned in his life. Kersh, of all people. Doggett and Skinner and the Gunmen. Her mother hovered near her, holding her hand.

She avoided looking at the coffin. The government who had screwed him over again and again gave him a flag, like he was a hero. He was a hero, but the government didn't know it. Not enough people knew it. She knew it. She loved him so much.

Scully curls up numbly on the stiff hotel couch. She doesn't feel real. She doesn't have any idea how long she's been sitting there, how long until she has to get up and go bury the love of her life. She doesn't know how the hell she's going to do it without him. She just wishes it would stop, all of it. She wants a time machine, she wants to stop any of this from ever happening. She'll save Mulder, his sister, her sister, her daughter. She'd never let him leave. She'd never let him go. She wants it all to stop. She isn't thinking about the baby.

And then she feels a strange fluttering feeling.

She dismisses it at first; between bouts of morning sickness and grief, she's barely been able to keep any food down for the past few days. But it happens again and again, in an insistent sort of way. In a way she can't ignore. Almost like her baby wants her to know she's not alone.

Scully sobs, a sharp, broken sound. Mulder's child. She is having Mulder's child, a child he will never meet. He has left her, but he hasn't left her alone, and he will never know this. She touches her stomach and the baby kicks at her hand furiously. “Hi, baby,” she whispers, dissolving into hiccups. Tears roll down her cheeks and off of her chin, dotting her black dress. She wipes her face and takes steady breaths until she can speak again. “Hi,” she says, and the baby kicks again. “Hi, honey. I'm here.”

She can hear the heater rattling in the background and all the silence there to fill it. She can't remember what his voice sounds like anymore, but she knows he'd be over the moon. She can't remember the last thing she said to him. She hates that. She wants to go back to that moment where she said goodbye, wrap herself around him, never let go. Tell him, I'm pregnant, Mulder. Don't leave me. Don't leave us. This child of hers that will never know their father.

“I'm sorry,” she says, and she feels like she is always apologizing to her baby, but she means every word. “I'm so sorry you'll never get to meet him. He would've loved you. He would've been the best father in the world.” And then she's crying again, too hard to speak, and she presses her hand to the baby, and the baby is moving all the time as if to comfort her, to remind her that she is not alone.

She takes a few shaky breaths, doesn't move to wipe her face, and she rubs circles over the baby the entire time. When she can speak again, she does. “I'm here,” she tells the baby again, and thinks, Thank god you're here. She will get down on her knees and thank God for that. They've left her this, and that is something. She is not alone. “It's okay. It's gonna be okay. I'm here.”

She sleeps restlessly, quivering on the couch cushions, trapped in torrid dreams of Mulder that leave her waking up calling out for him helplessly. But she can feel the baby moving inside of her—quickening, her medical memory reminds her—and she is grateful. Thank you, she thinks, and hopes the baby can hear her.

iii.

When Mulder finds out he is a father, his first instinct is to find something to give the baby. Some apology for these months that he’s missed, how close he has come to never meeting this baby at all.

He digs into some boxes he'd retrieved the year before after his mother passed and finds the doll from his childhood. He'd carried it around for the first four years of his life until his sister was born and his father talked him into handing it over. Samantha had eventually gotten detached from the doll, when she was seven or eight or so, but it had been sitting on her bed when she was abducted, and it sat there until his mom moved out. It had belonged to both Mulder kids and now, cheesy as it is, he wants it to belong to his kid. If Scully wants it.

He drives over to Scully and finds her happy, waiting for a pizza. For one golden moment, he thinks everything might be okay, imagines a lazy day of movies and pizza and teasing each other and Mulder asking every single possible question about the baby. And then Scully bends over, gasping in pain, and all Mulder can feel is fear.

He kneels by the stretcher in the ambulance, gripping her hand. She's nearly unconscious, looking up at him with hazy affection, fear layered underneath. Her hand pressed to her stomach like she can physically shield the baby from harm. He kisses her forehead, reaching down and placing a tentative hand on the swell of her stomach. He offers up a prayer to no one that she is okay, that they are both okay.

---

They won't let him stay with Scully. Normally he'd wait out in the waiting room, but an Agent Reyes calls, asking for his help, and something in him can't say no. The distraction is welcome, but he feels horrible for leaving her alone. He never lets Scully wake up alone in the hospital if he can help it. He goes back as soon as he has an opportunity.

He is so incredibly relieved when Scully tells him that they're going to be fine. He touches her stomach again. They smile at each other like they can't believe it. He is a father, he thinks incredulously. A father.

---

He drives Scully home from the hospital. He doesn't leave her side. They take her down to the car in a wheelchair and he walks down beside her, helps her into the car, notes the doctor's insistence that she take it easy. He takes her home and orders another pizza to make up for the one she missed.

Scully is in love with the doll. She finds it creepy, she proclaims, which is fitting for two X-Files semi-retirees (or whatever the hell they are). “But creepy’s okay, I think. As long as it's not haunted or anything,” Scully adds firmly, smoothing the doll’s yarn hair before setting it down on the coffee table.

“If any family's doll would be haunted, it'd be this one,” says Mulder, completely serious. “Of course, I never experienced anything strange, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Have you ever heard of that possessed Raggedy Ann doll, Annabelle?”

Scully shoots him a sharp look before dissolving into giggles. “That's the last thing we need,” she says. “Let's not go there, Mulder.”

Mulder covers her hand with his in a tentative sort of way, and she intertwines their fingers warmly, letting her head fall against his chest. “Thanks for staying with me,” she whispers.

He strokes the side of her face with his free hand. “I wish I hadn't left,” he says softly. “But they wouldn't let me back because I wasn't the husband, and Agent Reyes called me in for help.”

“It's okay,” Scully says in a soft voice. “Although there was no reason not to let you back. I'll talk to Dr. Speake.”

He wraps his free arm around her in the tightest embrace they can manage. “I was worried about you,” he says in a choked voice. “Both of you. I was scared.”

“I was, too.” She tucks her face further against his chest and speaks into the fabric of his shirt. “But we're okay,” she says, and she sounds happy when she says it. He sniffs a little, tucking his nose into her hair, cupping the back of her head. “We're okay,” she says again, and he breathes out in relief.

He slips his hand down to touch her stomach again. He hates that he can count on one hand how many times he's done this. Every time feels like the first time, and it is stunning. The baby kicks under his hand, and he sucks in a stunned breath. “Hi, kid,” he whispers to the baby, and he feels Scully smiling against him. “You doing okay in there?”

The baby kicks again at the sound of his voice, and unexpected tears rise to his eyes. “I think… I think your mom disapproves of the haunted doll I've got for you,” he says, swallowing it back, and Scully laughs, shaking her head and drawing back from his embrace. He keeps one hand in hers and the other on her stomach. “But I think you can handle it,” he tells the baby seriously. “If you're half as brave as your mom is, you've got it covered.”

iv.

The helicopter that fishes Mulder and Agent Doggett out of the Gulf takes them to a facility in Texas. Scully has done a phone consultation with a doctor down there to instruct them what to look for to see if they are infected. Mulder is relieved—he doesn't want her to get infected, even though he doubts they are infected, and he knows she can't fly this late in her pregnancy—but standing there in soaking wet clothes, sore from jumping from so high and his head spinning from all of it, he wishes that she was here. He misses her.

They're cleared within a few hours and stuck on a plane home. Kersh is furious, Skinner reports over the phone. Scully has gone home to get some much needed rest, but she's offered to pick them up from the airport the next day. Mulder sleeps dreamlessly on the plane, exhausted.

They land in the morning. Doggett doesn't make much conversation, so neither does Mulder. They find Scully by the baggage claim, and relief washes over her face when she sees them. She gives Doggett a brief hug, and Mulder feels brief jealousy curdle in his stomach before she brushes past Doggett and comes to him. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him hard on the mouth, in an angry sort of way. “Next time, you tell me when you leave to go chase some dangerous alien virus,” she tells him sternly, her voice trembling almost inaudibly, and all he can do is nod. She kisses him again before turning to leave the airport. Mulder trails along behind her, awkwardly avoiding Doggett's eyes.

“Kersh is furious, as I'm sure you know,” Scully says as they exit the airport.

Doggett works his jaw back and forth irritably. “More or less what I figured,” he says.

“What else is new,” Mulder adds dryly.  

“It's worse than you expect. I've never seen him this upset.” Scully lifts her face up to meet his eyes, and her own eyes serious. A sort of a warning: this may be the final straw.

Doggett thanks Scully for her help and exchanges an awkward goodbye with Mulder before going to find his car—he'd driven himself to the airport. Mulder has been taking cabs for the past month, since he hasn't been cleared to drive yet. Probably hasn't been cleared to jump off of oil rigs, either, but what the hell does that matter.

Scully is quiet on the walk back to her car, quiet on the drive home. She takes them back to her apartment, and Mulder is relieved; he half thought that she would drop him back at home. “Scully, I'm sorry,” he says as she parks the car. “You're right, I should've told you I was going. It was a shitty thing to do.”

Scully sighs, her shoulders tensing. “It's okay, Mulder,” she says, turning to look at him. “It's like you said. You needed to be out there. Who knows what would've happened to Agent Doggett if you hadn't gone out there? I was just… worried.”

���I know.” He reaches for her hand and she takes it. She rubs at her face with her other hand wearily. He kisses the side of her head gently. “If it helps,” he says softly, “it looks like I might have a lot of time off fairly soon. No more avenues to run off during.”

“Oh, Mulder, I don't know if they'll fire you. This seems so… minor compared to other things you've been reprimanded for.”

“Nah, they've been looking for an excuse.” He presses his lips against the spot above her ear, the console bearing into his stomach as he leans towards her. The idea of being fired terrifies him, but not as much as it once would've, he thinks. He feels as though there are more important things between them now. The baby that is due in a couple of weeks, for one. He wraps his arms around her, stretching the seatbelt around his chest, halfway on top of the console.

Scully hesitates for a moment before hugging him back. “Promise me you won't run off without telling me,” she mumbles. “That you'll be careful, Mulder.”

He nods. He kisses her cheek, her forehead. She leans into his chest briefly before climbing out of the car. They go up to her apartment together.

---

They take a nap in her bed, Scully more than exhausted and Mulder right on the cusp. He falls asleep dizzily, wrapped around Scully, and wakes up a few hours later. She's still asleep, wrapped in his arms, and he smiles, rests his cheek against the back of her shoulder.

The baby is kicking, and his earlier words come to him, unbidden: When he's old enough, tell the kid I went down swinging. He didn't mean it, not really, had only said it in case he really didn't make it back. He doesn't want to leave the baby. He doesn't want to lose his chance at a family.

“Hey, kiddo,” he whispers, mostly because he thinks Scully is asleep. But also because he wants to apologize, even if he knows the baby can't hear him. He palms Scully's stomach gingerly. “Hey. I, uh… I told your mom to tell you I went down swinging if… if I didn't make it back. But I didn't mean to, uh. I didn't want to… I wanted to get back to you, more than anything. And I wanted you to know that I tried if I didn't. But I did.” The baby kicks at his palm again and again, and he smiles, tucks his nose against the base of Scully's skull. “I made it back. I'm here,” he says.

There's a sniffle from in front of him, Scully's hand coming up to cover his. He snuggles into her from behind, puts his other hand next to hers. “I made it back to both of you,” he whispers.

v.

She paces around her moonlit apartment with her son curled in her arms. She's already fed him and he's already stopped crying, but she doesn't want to put him back down yet. It doesn't feel real, any of it, and a smile rises to her lips as she holds William. She has a son. She and Mulder, they did this. It doesn't feel real, after everything that happened, all the times she thought she'd lose him, lose them both, all the times she'd thought it impossible. But he's here, her little miracle.

She's rocking William back and forth as he nestles into her, wrapped in a blanket her mom had picked out with his eyes half closed, and all at once she feels Mulder's arms come around her from behind, his warm palms on her stomach below where she cradles Will. His nose presses into her neck, her hair and the goosebumped skin beneath; she shivers. “Hey,” she whispers sweetly. “Thought you were asleep.”

“I woke up.” He's holding her against his chest, gently; he reaches up with one hand to touch William's little fist. “Wanted to see you two,” he says happily; she can’t remember the last time she heard him this happy.

She's smiling so hard her face hurts; she sways back and forth unconsciously and Mulder sways with her, tightening his arms around her in a desperate sort of way. Will makes small sounds and Mulder shushes him, his chin on her shoulder as he whispers to the baby. “Hey, buddy, it's okay,” he says softly, touching the top of his head.

William keeps whimpering anyway, eventually escalating into full-blown wails. Scully tries to shush him as she rocks him back and forth. “Oh, honey, it's okay,” she whispers. “It's all right, you're okay.”

“Here,” Mulder murmurs, nudging her side as he rounds her to face them. Understanding, Scully lifts William and sets him down in the cradle of his father's arms. Mulder makes small soothing sounds as he bounces the baby up and down. Watching them together makes a lump rise in Scully's throat; he's here, they're together, and she can't believe it.   

She steps closer to them, leans down and kisses her son's forehead gently. “It's okay, sweetie,” she whispers. She reaches up to soothe her son and William curls his tiny hand around her pointer finger. “We're here,” she says, tears welling in her eyes. She leans into Mulder's side where he's not holding the baby, and runs a finger down William's little nose. “We've got you, Will. We're here.”

[kinetic-elaboration]

August 9: The 100 2x01, The 48

Okay, settling down to rewatch 2x01, the start of my favorite season...

I love this Clarke so much. Badass Clarke, sneaky Clarke, a Clarke who will fearlessly do what she has to in order to escape and to get to her friends. A Clarke with convictions and guts.

How DO they know everyone’s names lol? Is that ever explained? (ETA: Monty was obviously the informant.)

Mount Weather is one of my favorite parts of this show, honestly. I love that their mission is in part to preserve the beautiful things humanity created, like art; they gave their prisoner Starry Night. The ORIGINAL Starry Night. I just find that very moving. All of these non-essential parts of being human... the show has abandoned them and that’s part of why it’s so hollow for me now, I think.

Level 5: where it all begins and it all ends.

The Clarke/Maya relationship could have been so much more, tbh. Like they had their good moments, like threatening to kill each other etc., but they could have gone deeper.

Surprise! Underground executive branch family dinner! This is the sort of twist I can get behind.

Haha remember when actual delinquents still existed? I joke but truly the later canon has ruined parts of this show for me.

I forgot Tristan survived into 2x01. Not for long. Such Grounder hypocrisy: “That’s one. I lost 300.” He makes it sound as if Finn marched into a village and killed 300 people--they were fucking soldiers on the attack you dum-dum.

“Only our warriors speaking English.” Well that sounds like bullshit based on literally everything we see after this point.

The statue of Lincoln is “the place we go to settle disputes.” First, please don’t say they settle disputes to the death or some nonsense, and second, that’s his namesake... Significant? I mean, objectively, no, but can I make something out of it somehow?

I disliked Luna but she COULD have been so interesting and she and Lincoln COULD have had quite a dynamic. I headcanon them as exes. I want to know their whole backstory tbh. When they met. How. If he wanted to go with her to the sea. If he did perhaps and then came back.

Drink every time someone cauterizes a wound.

You know what else they should have done? Story line about the meeting of Grounder and Sky People medicine. Oh wait that would have taken away from the repetitive war story lines never mind.

That dropship is so fucking impressive. WHERE ARE THE AWARDS FOR THE SET PEOPLE?

And the costume people for those awesome masks.

Am I supposed to feel bad for this Grounder and his charred friend? I do not. Next time, don’t attack the children for no reason and you won’t get burned to a crisp. Easy.

The thing is I can never get behind the Raven + Murphy friendship 100% even though their S5 dynamic looked interesting because he literally fucking shot her and that’s just not a bygones are bygones thing. But they do have personalities that mesh well together so in that way it’s sort of a shame. Also he 10000000000000% had a crush on her don’t even try to argue.

She fired that gun at him. I forgot that. She fired but was out of bullets, that’s the only reason he didn’t die right there. “Yeah I would have shot me too.”

I’m p. sure that’s the real Mount Weather?

I know the Mount Weather people have no leg to stand on when it comes to the Grounders and that they’re...pretty obviously racist, but in their defense--the Grounders were written to be pretty savage, so “savages,” while unforgivably racially tinged, is a fair descriptor of them.

I know I’ve harped on this before but Mount Weather has a judicial system of some sort and it’s possible to press charges there. Somehow. The world building on this show sucks balls.

“They also said you were their leader” is like some retconning, okay. Because you will not convince me that for most of S1 BELLAMY wasn’t the leader in the eyes of the delinquents.

“Kiddo.”

Fucking love Dante. Where are my Dante + Clarke mentor/mentee or ex-mentor/mentee or different-gen-rivals fics?

“We prioritize safety over sentimentality.” As Maya takes blood she absolutely doesn’t need but is having just in case and that she knows comes from someone else’s tortured body because she’s accepted this as something they do, because she’s not sentimental. But she already feels guilty.

Clarke is already using the word “capture.” I had a discussion with someone once about Clarke’s vision of Mount Weather versus, say, Jasper’s, and why it was different and I said some poorly phrased stuff that didn’t really reflect my thoughts and opinions and it still haunts me but I feel like this is...relevant to that. How she immediately feels ‘captured,’ trapped.

Clarke’s devotion to her friends and her people was still so pure and right here.

Dante really does believe he “saved” them. I wonder what his thought process was... I really hate the “savages” so I must save these children? These children look interesting, let’s meet some new friends? She’s right of course that if they were really guests, they could leave.

Multiple crash sites over 100 square miles = I should go on google maps to confirm my Pennsylvania/Farm Station theory but I’m too lazy.

GOD THOSE CLOTHES. I love that Clarke picks the pants and the high heel shiv.

There’s no way there’s actually time for natural selection to work that fast in 97 years and also I’m pretty sure the Sky People are genetically modified because their original pool was way too small for the process Dante is describing but whatever this show is all la-di-da science.

Also: this is how you run an underground Bunker OCTAVIA.

Dante was the only rival/antagonist/whatever Clarke has ever had that rivals her instincts and intelligence yeah I said it; fight me. I know she needed to be on the outside for this season to work but he should have been her mentor. He basically set her up to be mentored and then she ran off and into L who basically destroyed her and she’s never recovered.

THAT REUNION. Heartwarming. Though hard to watch too because this show did both Jasper and Monty so dirty. (Yeah I said that too WHAT OF IT.)

“Dying. Same as you.” Murphy gets all the good lines. That’s why people like him, forget this “redemption arc.”

The Grounder Raven killed was Murphy’s guard and honestly--hilarious. He abandons his post, realizes all his friends are skeletons, pickpockets one, then is shot by what he must initially assume is a dead body. Better character than almost anyone introduced from S3 on.

This cake scene is the most iconic. Jonty were scene stealers stfu. They’re children--basically. They get to act their age. They get to be happy and silly and they loved each other so much.

“Pretend like you’re happy to see me.” / “We are happy to see you.” See? Adorable. I know he’s no cinnamon roll but gosh, adorable.

And then Clarke comes in like secret espionage time and they just look so Tired TM.

I feel like Monty knew, or suspected on some level, that Jasper wasn’t just ‘bummed out’ by Clarke’s suspicions, he was panicking a little.

I can’t believe Jasper and Maya have known each other for like 10 seconds and she’s already seen his O face.

“Clarke’s the only reason we survived.” Um ex-CUSE me but I know you didn’t forget Bellamy’s existence, Jasper.

Clarke’s so smart!

Maya brings out the big guns, literally.

“I’m the one who fired the rockets. Should I not have done that?” is so heartbreaking. Mostly because of the delivery. I love this entire scene. There are like 8 different scenes I love in this episode, like whole-heartedly and truly love.

Clarke’s suspicions really do look like paranoia. Like I see what she’s picking up on, saw it even the first time I watched this ep, but there’s a sense in which she does appear irrational.

There’s actually something kinda funny about Bellamy running out with a spear in one scene, looking around blankly, and then getting chained up as a prisoner in the next scene. At least he inspired his little protege Monroe. Scenes like this are the reason she joined Pike in S3.

Tristan’s like “Who are these fucking children running at me and screaming?” Then he gets shot in the head. Goodbye Tristan you won’t be missed.

“We’re here now. Everything’s going to be okay.” This sounds like Kane playing out a hero fantasy he’s had since he was a child. Except he’s talking to two mud-stained kids who are looking at him skeptically instead of, like, a captured heroine or something.

I feel like they set up this conflict where the adults/Sky People elite come in and, like Kane says explicitly, assume they’re in charge and everyone will fall in line, but then the delinquents don’t see it that way or want that: they have their own priorities (their friends) and their own relationships (Finn and Bell don’t even LIKE each other but they’re still communicating by look) and their own knowledge (the pipes that allow them to move through the dropship camp quickly and without permission). But then... it sort of plays into the rest of the season...but not that much?? Not as much as I would like.

“You are not animals. There are rules. Laws. You are not in control here anymore.”

This show sacrificed a lot of complex relationships to just either make people buddy-buddy who had no reason to be or just arbitrarily assign relationships to scenes or episodes without regard for continuity at all.

Raven took Jasper’s goggles.... never over this.

How was bringing Octavia to TonDC faster than collecting some beetles for her to eat?

“Loss, pain, regret. Time eases these things.” I’d say this is the sort of line the show should be repeating but God when it gets a line in its teeth it never lets the fuck go so I guess it’s better this one remains pristine.

I find Dante very sympathetic but also so creepy.

They weren’t really patrolling for other people, were they? Because like...surely they would have found them. They’re at the dropship and close by. He was just bullshitting here. But why don’t they want to make even more new friends?

Dante’s stationery is presidential themed lol. Glad we stocked up the bunkers properly with the important stuff.

The crashed Alpha Station is beautiful. I believe this was the first time it was shown on the show? Ugh, this whole sequence with the music, it’s perfect and so touching.

Jaha is the most tragic and heartbreaking figure on this show. He also doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves. Just...the image of a man alone in space, talking to his loved ones, hoping they can hear them, not knowing if they can... I almost can’t handle it. I used to be very unsure if I liked where his story line went after this (seeing it in its entirety, I defend it) but surely he could not have died this way.

....I really gotta sleep now.

[afigureofspeech]

I’ve got a bad feeling about this: a Star Wars fic rec post feat. Ahsoka Tano and Leia Organa

Guys. GUYS. I’m having so many Ahoska Tano feels right now YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. So many feels that I am rewatching all my favorite bits from The Clone Wars series. So many feels that I have been reading and rereading fics over and over again. So many feels that I am coming back from the dead because I am compelled to make this rec post. So many feels that I changed my damn icon. So here it is.

Also I’ve got some Leia ones because I love Leia too and some misc. ones because they’re too good not to include. So it’s more of a “Here’s all my favorite Star Wars fanfics that happen to have a few key focus characters.” Also at some point during my aforementioned Ahsoka fanfic binge I started shipping Rex/Ahsoka by accident bUT IT IS NOT MY FAULT THE FICS ARE SO WELL WRITTEN OKAY.

In other news, I’m not in fandom so much any more, obv, so it’s not quite as thorough as my previous rec posts have been. Strictly fanfiction atm. Didn’t realize how many I’d collected until I made this list either lol. My other rec posts can be found here.

* = new →AHSOKA

Fialleril

Optimal Functioning AO3 | Tumblr Ahsoka is planning a major Rebel action, if only she can be sure Darth Vader won't interfere. Leia thinks she knows someone who can help. Fulcrum, meet Ekkreth. [Ahsoka & Anakin; AU; part 6 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

The Unstolen Child AO3 | Tumblr Every Force sensitive child must be registered with the Imperial Inquisition. When the time comes, they'll be collected for training. Ahsoka is determined to make sure that doesn't happen. And she has some unexpected help. [Ahsoka & Anakin; AU; part 15 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Jade-Max

Captain & Commander - AU Rexoka Stories FFN A collection of Vignettes that were spawned by, or didn't fit with, the original "TCW - Captain & Commander" thread. These are mostly Rex & Ahsoka being paired romantically - AUs of Vignettes that are written, or original versions of those already posted before that had to be tweaked to fit. [Ahsoka/Rex; AU]

The Clone Wars: Captain and Commander FFN A series of 'Episode Tags' from all of the various seasons featuring, primarily, Ahsoka and Rex. Written as they struck me; 'missing moments' and things I felt should have been seen 'on camera' as it were. Supposed to fit into canon universe. [Ahsoka/Rex]

Coming Home FFN Post Season 5, episode 100 AU. Clone Commando Captain Gregor hadn't expect to wake from the explosion that decimated the space port as the droids and Colonel Gascon escaped. Waking, however, is the least of his surprises… [Ahsoka/Gregor, Ahsoka/Rex; AUish]

Where It Is FFN Sequel to the Short Story "Gone Without Goodbye" of my "Captain & Commander: Rexsoka AU" stories. After Rex is sent after Ahsoka by Anakin, they leave Coruscant together and head to Saleucami to give Ahsoka the space she needs to heal, recover and decide what to do with the rest of her life. [Ahsoka/Rex; AU; WIP]

NascentSunbeam 

Battle-Tested AO3 Friendships are forged in the fires of war, but nurtured in moments of peace. Neither Captain nor Commander have ever encountered missions quite like these before. But Ahsoka supposes that's what Rex means, when he talks about "experience." [Ahsoka & Rex, Ahsoka & clones; warning: references of threats of sexual assault; part 1 of the Fire-Forged series]

Cuts Both Ways AO3 Ahsoka hasn't returned from Carlac yet, and Anakin's insecurities are beginning to get the better of him. ...Ahsoka is not in the mood to deal with insecure men at the moment. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & Rex]

Lex Talionis AO3 noun 1. the principle or law of retaliation that a punishment inflicted should correspond in degree and kind to the offense of the wrongdoer, as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; retributive justice. OR Rex learns from his past experience. [Ahsoka & Rex; part 2 of the Fire-Forged series]

Trusting Hearts AO3 Sneaking along the mission to the Citadel helps Ahsoka earn the greater trust of her Masters. But it also garners her some unwanted attention from some in the Republic and the Separatists alike. Luckily, she has Rex to watch her back. [Ahsoka & Rex; part 3 of the Fire-Forged series; WIP]

Nny11*

The Apprentice AO3 The doors only open when a Master opens them for their Padawan, a subtle reminder to them that a student needs a teacher's guidance and that teachers must let them go. The force thinks it's rather funny when it alters history by forcing Master Yoda to take on a very young Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan. Follows Ahsoka Tano from when she is found by the Jedi to when she leaves. [Ahsoka & Yoda, Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & everyone basically; heavily AU; WIP; part 1 of the Close But No Cigar series]

Interuptions AO3 [Ahsoka & everyone; heavily AU; WIP; part 2 of the Close But No Cigar series]

unwithered*

As Long As There Are Dreamers There Will Always Be Sailors AO3 Kal Skirata doesn't know why he's surprised when Ordo comms him to say that the entire 501st has up and disappeared from the barracks with no warning and no orders. If the Jedi worry that the Nulls and Omega are Kal’s private army, then the 501st is certainly Skywalker’s. Short fix-it for the end of the Wrong Jedi, wherein Anakin leaves the Order to follow Ahsoka rather than watching her walk off alone. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & clones; AU; part 1 of the Dreamers & Sailors series]

Die With You AO3 | Tumblr Trapped behind enemy lines and gravely wounded, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex have little hope of surviving and making it back to their base. Rex is ready to die for his Jedi, but she refuses to go on without him. [Ahoska & Rex; warning: attempted suicide]

Welcome to the New Age AO3 When Anakin and Ahsoka left the Jedi Order and the Grand Army of the Republic after the events of The Wrong Jedi, they didn't expect the 501st to follow on their heels - even though they should have. Drifting through the Outer Rim without a mission, a plan, or a clue, they have to find their own purpose and begin to construct new lives together, with the wrath of the Republic at their backs and an uncertain future ahead. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & clones; AU; WIP; part 2 of the Dreamers & Sailors series]

victoria_p (musesfool)

And All Along You Knew My Story AO3 | Tumblr | DW In which Ahsoka meets the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. [Ahsoka & Leia, Ahsoka & Luke]

Hide Yourself for Me AO3 | Tumblr | DW Ahsoka won't teach Leia to use the Force, but she can teach her to hide herself within it. [Ahsoka & Leia]

Stuck in the Middle with You AO3 | Tumblr | DW * "These are the flattest, saddest pillows I've ever seen." "They are sufficient," Obi-Wan says. "You must have very particular pillow needs." [Ahsoka & Anakin & Obi-Wan]

trade your heroes for ghosts AO3 | Tumblr | DW Vader presents Ahsoka with an ultimatum. [Ahoska & Vader; AU]

The Wild Chance of Living AO3 | DW "Not like you to use a honey trap, though." "That was not my intention." [Ahsoka/Aphra, Ahsoka & Vader; AU; warning: explicit sexual content]

WiliQueen

The Belonging You Seek AO3 A chance discovery gives Luke and Leia a glimpse into who Anakin was, and leads them to more than they ever expected. More questions, more answers... and more family. [Ahsoka & the twins, Ahsoka & Anakin; post-Rebels, Ahsoka lives; WIP]

Fractured AO3 The name burns in his mouth, as anything Skywalker loved burns. Kenobi is a white-hot lance each time he speaks it, Padmé an inferno he cannot even approach. "Ahsoka." [Ahsoka & Vader; Rebels-era, Ahsoka lives] 

zinjadu

All's Fair in Cake and War AO3 When Rex said he'd pay good money to see Ahsoka mess with Fives, he didn't think she'd take it seriously. Because the universe needs more clone trooper and commanding Jedi slice of life. Fluffy, silly thing, goes off a scene from Chapter 3 of "Enough for Us," also by me. [Ahsoka & Rex; canon compliant-ish; part 2 of the Between Eternity and Time series]

All too Fleeting AO3 After being raised up to Knight-Errant, Ahsoka has a day to soak up all the good feelings from her friends, reconnecting with her fellow Padawans, attending a Padme-hosted celebration, and, of course, partying with her troopers. Oh, and Fives drunk dials Rex. Just some cuteness before the pace picks up again. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & Padme, Ahsoka & clones, Ahsoka & Rex, hints of Ahsoka/Rex; AU; part 2 of the Knight-Errant series]

Enough of Us AO3 A series following the developing friendship between Ahsoka and Rex, which fills in the gaps between episodes where there was downtime, chock full of camaraderie, some burgeoning feelings, and how two people find happiness in the small moments.  Well, until they have to say good-bye. Goes up through the end of Season 5. [Ahsoka & Rex; canon compliant-ish; part 1 of the Between Eternity and Time series]

Howling in the Gale AO3 Ahsoka, on her way to rendezvous with Anakin and continue the fight for the Republic, has a vision. Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Barriss Offee struggles to make the other Jedi listen as she holds to her convictions about the darkness in the war. Working at opposite ends, these two (former?) friends find they might have to meet in the middle to save what is worth saving. However, Ahsoka, Anakin and their men need to take the Ringo Vinda station first. That is, if they can. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & Rex, Ahsoka & clones, Ahsoka & Bariss; AU; part 5 of the Knight-Errant series]

I Shall Not Live in Vain AO3 AU after Season 5. Ahsoka Tano left, but where did she go? What did she do, and what did she learn? And what if after Order 66, Rex found her.  This follows Ahsoka and Rex (and their cobbled together family) as they live through the last of the Clone War, Order 66, and the Empire era. They make a life for themselves, but as the Force calls Ahsoka back to help the people of the galaxy, she comes to accept that she never really could run from a fight worth fighting. [Ahsoka/Rex, Ahsoka & clones, Ahsoka & padawans, minor Ahsoka/Bariss; AU; warning: some explicit sexual content and also this will make you cry; part 3 of the Between Eternity and Time series]

In Pursuit AO3 AU - The Jedi Who Knew Too Much. Rex decides to stay "in pursuit" of his Commander; he jumps.  Now, with backup, Ahsoka navigates the lower levels and deals with Ventress.  Meanwhile, Anakin takes the Order to task, finds a little more support, and things turn out a little differently for everyone. And this is just the beginning. [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & Rex; AU; part 1 of the Knight-Errant series]

Lethe AO3 Alone, without memory, a woman walks on, and in so doing rediscovers herself. Inspired by Filoni's Digital Cards at Topps. Deals with themes of selfhood, memory, time, and being. [Post-Twilight of the Apprentice]

Lethe Coda: Faith be for aye AO3 Takes place after "Lethe." After the events of Return of the Jedi, Rex is told that Ahsoka's alive. He has to go see for himself.Reunion fic, but you don't necessarily need to read "Lethe" first. [Ahsoka & Rex]

Life, and Other Details AO3 Life in the rest of the Galaxy moves on. Ahsoka spends time with our favorite troopers, Anakin learns to adjust to life without Ahsoka always around, Kit Fisto teaches important lessons, Aayla Secura and Quinlan Vos have a chat that goes sideways, Wolffe and Tai (Plo Koon's padawan) continue to annoy the hell out of each other, Padme Does Politics, and more! Snapshots, adventures and moments of life all while there's still a ticking time bomb at the heart of the Republic. [Ahsoka & Rex, Ahsoka & Anakin, etc.; AU; part 4 of the Knight-Errant series]

On the Altar AO3 After the events surrounding Tup's death and Fives' faked death, those who know about the chips are trying to quietly deal with them and figure out a way to deal with the Sith that has been pulling their strings. However, Sidious has already set his newest attack dog on the young woman who seems to be near the center of events.  The young woman who is far too close to his desired apprentice. The young woman who might just tip the balance against him.It is time for Ahsoka Tano to die.... Meanwhile, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ventress (of all people) investigate a source of darkness on Coruscant and find more than they bargain for. [Ahsoka/Rex, Ahsoka & Anakin; AU; warning: explicit psychological/physical torture with threats of sexual assault, plus all the PTSD that goes with that; part 6 of the Knight-Errant series]

Shakedown Run AO3 After being raised to Knight-Errant, and getting some time to celebrate, Ahsoka gets her first mission as a Knight-Errant.  But the plan goes pear shaped (of course), things blow up, people get shot at, and Ahsoka has to make some hard choices. [Ahsoka & Rex, Ahsoka & clones, Ahsoka & padawans; AU; part 3 of the Knight-Errant series]

Sing, and Know that I’m with You AO3 Because sometimes, the only way to say something, is to sing it. Various moments throughout Star Wars when people needed to sing, written as I think of them. Tags added as I go. Not a "musical", but rather an exploration of the importance of singing in life and how we live together as people. [Link goes to second chapter which features Ahsoka & the clones but it’s all really good]

Slaves of the Republic AO3 AU of S04E12: Slaves of the Republic. Taking on the trope of "what if Rex was the slave and Ahsoka was the seller?"  How would our heroes really feel at dealing with the wrongness that is Zygerria, the sleemo that is the queen, and the pressure to complete the mission at the expense of their own integrity? By doing the job, of course, no matter how horrible and weird it gets. [Ahsoka & Rex, hints of Ahsoka/Rex, Ahsoka & Anakin; AU; warning: mature content]

Sleeping Patterns AO3 Anakin tries to get Ahsoka to stop falling asleep on the troopers after battles. It goes about as well as you would expect. [Ahsoka & clones, Ahsoka & Anakin]

Misc.

all the tender strength in your body. AO3 by vasnormandy seven times in the arms of the man who was almost your father; seven times with your arms around the daughter you almost got to keep. || snapshots of anakin and ahsoka's relationship over time, told through embraces. [Ahsoka & Anakin; warning: you will cry]

The Rogue Dreams of Stars AO3 by starbirdrampant (ineasako22) * With the DEATH STAR destroyed and Imperial forces focused on the task of eliminating the Rebellion, Rebel agents LUKE SKYWALKER and LEIA ORGANA have been sent to an unnamed planet on the Outer Rim in search of a weapon that will aid them in their fight against the Empire. Unbeknownst to them, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, missing since the Clone Wars, is trapped in a stasis pod on the planet’s surface, waiting to be awoken by either the Rebellion… or the Empire. Should they find their wayward father, the twins may set in motion a chain of events that could possibly bring the Sith Lord, DARTH SIDIOUS, to his knees... MEANWHILE, in the Clone Wars, Padawan AHSOKA TANO is left without a master in the throes of an increasingly deadly war. Without Anakin, she must become a Jedi Knight and learn to command the 501st Legion in order to find her way in a Republic that is soon to tear itself apart... [Ahsoka & Anakin, Ahsoka & Rex, Ahsoka & clones, Anakin/Padme, Anakin & the twins; part 1 of The Rogue Dreams of Stars series; AU (another one of those General Ahsoka AUs that I am all about); WIP]

Tano and Kenobi AO3 | Tumblr (Chapter 1; Tag) by FireflyFish Master Skywalker always said “The Force works in mysterious ways” and Ahsoka Tano has to admit, getting thrown backwards in time by about forty years was very mysterious. Now she just needs to figure how to get back home and how to get Master Qui-Gon Jinn to take Senior Initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan before the young boy is shipped off to Bandomeer to take up the quiet life of a farmer. Of course, that’s assuming she doesn’t take him as her Padawan first... [Ahsoka & Obi-Wan; time-travel fix-it; WIP; READ IT IT’S SO GOOD]

Time to Go AO3 | FFN * A version of the “Anakin doesn’t find Ventress at the end of season 5, with the result that Ahsoka gets Dramatically Sentenced To Death” plotline. Obi-Wan makes choices, Anakin freaks out, the Jedi Council behaves somewhat questionably, Darth Sidious behaves completely reprehensibly, and Ahsoka is generally her bad-ass self. [Ahsoka & Anakin & Obi-Wan; AU; WIP]

→LEIA (& LUKE)

Elizabeth (anghraine)

Daughter of Time AO3 Leia Organa, fifty times. [Part 2 of The Quality of Mercy series]

Son of Necessity AO3 Luke Skywalker, fifty times. [Asexual!Luke; part 3 of The Quality of Mercy series]

FernWithy

The Ascension of the Queen TFN with ami-padme In the sequel to "By the Grace of Lady Vader," the Skywalker family battles the galaxy and one another for ultimate control. [Padme lives/dark!Padme AU; warnings for even more dark themes.]

By the Grace of Lady Vader FFN | TFN with Aeryn & ami-padme When Amidala of Naboo rejoins her husband in Imperial high command after the battle of Yavin, they will stop at nothing to reclaim their family and avenge themselves upon those who tore it apart. [Padme lives/dark!Padme AU; really long and really good; warnings for dark themes.]

Father’s Heart TFN During Princess Leia's teenage years, she discovers a friend in an unlikely -- and disturbing -- person: Lord Vader. [Leia & Vader; canon-compliant iirc]

The Only Question FFN | TFN When Vader captures Leia on Bespin, he asks her only one question... the one she knows she can never answer. [Sequel of sorts to Father’s Heart; Leia & Vader]

Fialleril

Aftermath AO3 | Tumblr “I don’t blame you,” she said fiercely. “For Alderaan. I want you to know that.” (Leia meets with Vader in the aftermath of the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star.) [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 11 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Bedrock AO3 | Tumblr “And now, Your Highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel base.” (Leia's Death Star interrogation in the double agent 'verse.) [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 9 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Children of the Force AO3 | Tumblr In which Leia begins training in the Force with Luke in secret, continues to mourn Alderaan, and says goodbye to Ekkreth. Now featuring a bonus cameo by Han Solo, dweeby schoolboy with a crush. [Leia & Luke, Leia & Anakin; AU; part 13 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Decryption Codes AO3 | Tumblr Newly appointed Senator Leia Organa meets Darth Vader for the first time. And then she meets Ekkreth. [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 3 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

The Emperor’s Speech AO3 | Tumblr Leia hates the Emperor's interminable speeches. But they're slightly more tolerable when she has someone to mock them with. [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 5 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Empire Day AO3 | Tumblr Three birthdays with Leia Organa. [Leia & the Organas; Leia & Anakin, Leia & Luke; AU; part 14 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

A Larger World AO3 | Tumblr In which Leia discovers she is Force sensitive, finds herself a teacher, talks politics with Darth Vader, and reaches all the right conclusions…about the wrong parent. [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 4 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

The Only Verdict AO3 | Tumblr In which Darth Vader prevents Leia from Force choking someone (yes, really), Leia swears revenge, an escape plan is hatched, and Luke Skywalker finally makes an appearance. Or, the destruction of Alderaan in the double agent ‘verse. Because this is Star Wars, and everything is pain. [Leia & Anakin; AU; part 10 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Optimal Functioning AO3 | Tumblr Ahsoka is planning a major Rebel action, if only she can be sure Darth Vader won't interfere. Leia thinks she knows someone who can help. Fulcrum, meet Ekkreth. [Leia & Anakin, Ahsoka & Anakin; AU; part 6 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Rocks and Water AO3 | Tumblr part 1 part 2 Anakin builds a lightsaber, and Leia gets a delivery...and some surprising revelations with it. [Leia & Anakin, Leia & Luke; AU; part 16 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Sometimes as Many as Seven AO3 | Tumblr Leia and Han talk about the Force, philosophy, and that bounty hunter they ran into on Ord Mantell. A short coda to Rocks and Water, written as a tribute to Carrie Fisher. [Leia & Han, Leia & Anakin; AU; part 17 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

irnan

by a burning book FFN Leia Organa was once something like an ally; now, she would seem to be a problem. Lord Vader's problems do not often last long. [Leia & Vader]

just try not to worry FFN This is the last day of Leia Organa's life. From a certain point of view.

think our paths are straight FFN "You're far too trusting," Tarkin said, and that was a lie. She gambled for her very planet on that bridge, and she lost; but Leia Organa was never trusting. [Companion to just try not to worry]

Lisse

Aggressive Negotiations FFN Five times Prince Luke Organa's diplomatic powers failed him. AU, obviously. [Companion to Inversion]

Inversion FFN AU crackfic. "I'm Leia Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you." [Companion to Aggressive Negotiations]

Inheritance FFN Leia is nothing like her mother, no one at all whispers.

madame_alexandra 

Scream AO3 In Cloud City, Vader personally forces Leia to watch Han's torture. Heavily references my other piece concerning Vader's suspicions about Leia, Siren Song. [Leia & Vader; warning: references to sexual assault, psychological torture]

Siren Song AO3 Lord Vader has a crippling headache, and the source of it fascinates him. [Leia & Vader]

victoria_p (musesfool)

And All Along You Knew My Story AO3 | Tumblr | DW In which Ahsoka meets the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. [Leia & Ahsoka, Luke & Ahsoka]

Hide Yourself for Me AO3 | Tumblr | DW Ahsoka won't teach Leia to use the Force, but she can teach her to hide herself within it. [Leia & Ahsoka]

Just a Little Bit of History Repeating AO3 | Tumblr | DW "I'm in charge of security, Your Highness," Vader said, haughty and automatic, and had to shove away a sudden onslaught of memories. It was this building, he thought, and the presence of a small brunette senator with a smart mouth. That was all. [Leia & Vader; AU]

Mother Is the Name for God AO3 | Tumblr | DW * Leia dreams of a beautiful woman with long curly hair. Sometimes, she's smiling brightly, and sometimes, she's sad, but Leia knows, deep in her heart, that this is her birth mother, and that she loves Leia very much. [Leia & Padme, Leia & Bail & Breha]

Misc.

The Belonging You Seek AO3 by WiliQueen A chance discovery gives Luke and Leia a glimpse into who Anakin was, and leads them to more than they ever expected. More questions, more answers... and more family. [Leia & Ahsoka, Luke & Ahsoka, the twins & Anakin, Ahsoka & Anakin; post-Rebels, Ahsoka lives; WIP]

Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns AO3 by chancecraz I went to sleep on the worst day of my life and woke to find myself in the past on the second worst day of my life.  As experiences go, I don’t recommend it. [Leia time-travel fix-it; Leia & Luke, Leia & Vader, Leia/Han; WIP]

perfect & boundless attachement AO3 by leli1013 “My father fought alongside Jedi in the Clone Wars. He said they held a vow of celibacy. Will you do the same?” His quiet laughter and the tenderness in his eyes when he answers “No” sends a shot of some painful, nameless emotion through her heart. A distant part of herself wants to call it dread. [Leia & Luke, unrequited Luke/Leia; warning: accidental incest]

A Thousand Pieces FFN by motchi There was a puzzle there, you just didn't see it. Han/Leia oneshot, follows original trilogy.

→OTHER

Fialleril

Apology Accepted AO3 | Tumblr What really happened to Captain Needa. [Lorth Needa; AU; part 18 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Flowers for the Emperor AO3 | Tumblr * Someone is sending the Emperor seditious flowers. Senator Pooja Naberrie is delighted. (Or, I finally write the Bouquet of Disdain as an actual fic.) [Pooja Naberrie; AU; part 8 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Shape-Changer AO3 | Tumblr His Master liked to say that Vader was born in fire on Mustafar. But Ekkreth was born in the desert. [Anakin; AU; part 1 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Trickster Steals the Moon AO3 | Tumblr This is the story of how Depur stole the moon from the sky, and how Ekkreth the Trickster stole it back thrice over. (But that's no moon...) [Anakin; AU; part 7 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Trophies AO3 | Tumblr In which the Emperor is far from pleased with the destruction of the Death Star, Darth Vader remains a bit of a disappointment, and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death serves more purpose than he ever could have imagined. Or, Palpatine’s point of view following the events of ANH. [Palpatine; AU; part 12 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Words in the Heart AO3 | Tumblr “XF-53,” he said, “will your programming permit me to tell you a story?” “There is no prohibition against that. A story cannot do damage.” “Is that what he thinks? Good.” (Or, what Anakin was up to during those four hours between meeting the Grandmother and finally contacting Palpatine in Shape-Changer.) [Anakin; AU; part 2 of the Double Agent Vader (AO3; Tag) series]

Misc.

The Beginning After the End AO3 | Tumblr by notbecauseofvictories * Padmé wakes to the back of Obi-Wan’s head, his hair mussed and his arms spread, outstretched over her knees as though to shield her from all that would come. (Too late, Padmé thinks, feeling the dull ache around her throat, where phantom hands tightened. Much too late for that now.) [Padme lives AU; Padme/Anakin, Padme & Obi-Wan, Padme & Obi-Wan & the twins]

Circle into Motion AO3 | Tumblr | DW by victoria_p (musesfool) "A Jedi doesn't dwell on the past or fret about the future. A Jedi is present in the moment, in each moment, as it happens. But there's nothing wrong with occasionally reminding ourselves where we come from, and keeping our eyes open to where we're going." [Rey; Rey & Luke, Rey & Ahsoka, Rey & Leia]

i remember summer, dimly AO3 by stitchingatthecircuitboard In a secret compartment at the side of her bed — the bed they shared — there is a dagger. Long as her forearm, slim, elegant, deadly, it slides neatly from its hiding to sit against her skin, under her sleeve. She opens and closes her hand, remembering Sabé’s training, until the dagger leaps into her palm at the speed of thought. [Padme lives AU; Padme/Anakin, Padme/Sabé, Padme & Obi-Wan, Ahsoka/Bariss; WIP]

Last Serving Daughter AO3 by starbirdrampant (ineasako22) * Fifteen years after the fall of the Republic, Queen Sosha Soruna – the latest of Emperor Palpatine's puppet rulers of Naboo – decides that she's had enough. [Sosha Soruna; AU; part 2 of The Rogue Dreams of Stars series, part 1 of the Rebel Queens of Naboo series]

No New Thing FFN by Lisse Rey dreams of a dead man. No, not that one. [Rey; Rey & Anakin]

An Old Song, Re-Sung AO3 by Mira-Jade * Even as Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker dreams. [Anakin/Padme, Anakin & Obi-Wan, Anakin & Padme & the twins; AU; WIP]

A River Flowing AO3 by Barkour A shadow has left the force, but other threats remain as Padmé and Anakin prepare for the birth of their child. [Padme; Padme/Anakin, Padme & Ahsoka, Ahsoka & Anakin, Anakin & Obi-Wan; AU; WIP]

road trip playlist AO3 by magneticwave Rey is XO of a piece of junk, her captain is a foul-mouthed Wookiee who doesn’t respect people who respect authority, and there are pictures of naked people glued to the ceiling of the Falcon. She honestly couldn't be more thrilled. [Rey; Rey & Chewbacca]

Your Contribution To The War Effort (A Mercenary’s Guide) LJ by threeguesses [“Don’t pick a side. If you do, don’t broadcast it (this makes it easier to switch when the time comes). Do not, ever, under any circumstances, get involved in the fighting. (Exception: unless someone pays you obscene amounts of money to do so. Obscene.”] [Han; Han/Leia]

Updated as of 6/6/2017

[readersforum]

My product launch wishlist for Instagram, Twitter, Uber and more

New Post has been published on http://www.readersforum.tk/my-product-launch-wishlist-for-instagram-twitter-uber-and-more/

My product launch wishlist for Instagram, Twitter, Uber and more

‘Twas the night before Xmas, and all through the house, not a feature was stirring from the designer’s mouse . . . Not Twitter! Not Uber, Not Apple or Pinterest! On Facebook! On Snapchat! On Lyft or on Insta! . . . From the sidelines I ask you to flex your code’s might. Happy Xmas to all if you make these apps right.

Instagram

See More Like This – A button on feed posts that when tapped inserts a burst of similar posts before the timeline continues. Want to see more fashion, sunsets, selfies, food porn, pets, or Boomerangs? Instagram’s machine vision technology and metadata would gather them from people you follow and give you a dose. You shouldn’t have to work through search, hashtags, or the Explore page, nor permanently change your feed by following new accounts. Pinterest briefly had this feature (and should bring it back) but it’d work better on Insta.

Web DMs – Instagram’s messaging feature has become the defacto place for sharing memes and trash talk about people’s photos, but it’s stuck on mobile. For all the college kids and entry-level office workers out there, this would make being stuck on laptops all day much more fun. Plus, youth culture truthsayer Taylor Lorenz wants Instagram web DMs too.

Upload Quality Indicator – Try to post a Story video or Boomerang from a crummy internet connection and they turn out a blurry mess. Instagram should warn us if our signal strength is low compared to what we usually have (since some places it’s always mediocre) and either recommend we wait for Wi-Fi, or post a low-res copy that’s replaced by the high-res version when possible.

Oh, and if new VP of product Vishal Shah is listening, I’d also like Bitmoji-style avatars and a better way to discover accounts that shows a selection of their recent posts plus their bio, instead of just one post and no context in Explore which is better for discovering content.

Every feed app should steal Pinterest’s ‘more like this’ button

Twitter

DM Search – Ummm, this is pretty straightforward. It’s absurd that you can’t even search DMs by person, let alone keyword. Twitter knows messaging is a big thing on mobile right? And DMs are one of the most powerful ways to get in contact with mid-level public figures and journalists. PS: My DMs are open if you’ve got a news tip — @JoshConstine.

Unfollow Suggestions – Social networks are obsessed with getting us to follow more people, but do a terrible job of helping us clean up our feeds. With Twitter bringing back the option to see a chronological feed, we need unfollow suggestions more than ever. It should analyze who I follow but never click, fave, reply to, retweet, or even slow down to read and ask if I want to nix them. I asked for this 5 years ago and the problem has only gotten worse. Since people feel like their feeds are already overflowing, they’re stingy with following new people. That’s partly why you see accounts get only a handful of new followers when their tweets go viral and are seen by millions. I recently had a tweet with 1.7 million impressions and 18,000 Likes that drove just 11 follows. Yes I know that’s a self-own.

Analytics Benchmarks – If Twitter wants to improve conversation quality, it should teach us what works. Twitter offers analytics about each of your tweets, but not in context of your other posts. Did this drive more or fewer link clicks or follows than my typical tweet? That kind of info could guide users to create more compelling content.

Twitter Quitters And The Unfiltered Feed Problem

Facebook

(Obviously we could get into Facebook’s myriad problems here. A less sensationalized feed that doesn’t reward exaggerated claims would top my list. Hopefully its plan to downrank “borderline content” that almost violates its policies will help when it rolls out.)

Batched Notifications – Facebook sends way too many notifications. Some are downright useless and should be eliminated. “14 friends responded to events happening tomorrow”? “Someone’s fundraiser is half way to its goal?” Get that shit out of here. But there are other notifications I want to see but that aren’t urgent nor crucial to know about individually. Facebook should let us decide to batch notifications so we’d only get one of a certain type every 12 or 24 hours, or only when a certain number of similar ones are triggered. I’d love a digest of posts to my Groups or Events from the past day rather than every time someone opens their mouth.

I so don’t care

Notifications In The “Time Well Spent” Feature – Facebook tells you how many minutes you spent on it each day over the past week and on average, but my total time on Facebook matters less to me than how often it interrupts my life with push notifications. The “Your Time On Facebook” feature should show how many notifications of each type I’ve received, which ones I actually opened, and let me turn off or batch the ones I want fewer of.

Facebook is finally rolling out its ‘how long do I spend on Facebook’ dashboard

Oh, and for Will Cathcart, Facebook’s VP of apps, can I also get proper syncing so I don’t rewatch the same Stories on Instagram and Facebook, the ability to invite people to Events on mobile based on past invite lists of those I’ve hosted or attended, and the See More Like This feature I recommended for Instagram?

Uber/Lyft/Ridesharing

“Quiet Ride” Button – Sometimes you’re just not in the mood for small talk. Had a rough day, need to get work done, or want to just zone out? Ridesharing apps should offer a request for a quiet ride that if the driver accepts, you pay them an extra dollar (or get it free as a loyalty perk), and you get ferried to your destination without unnecessary conversation. I get that it’s a bit dehumanizing for the driver, but I’d bet some would happily take a little extra cash for their compliance.

“I Need More Time” Button – Sometimes you overestimate the ETA and suddenly your car is arriving before you’re ready to leave. Instead of cancelling and rebooking a few minutes later, frantically rushing so you don’t miss your window and get smacked with a no-show fee, or making the driver wait while they and the company aren’t getting paid, Uber, Lyft, and the rest should offer the “I Need More Time” button that simply rebooks you a car that’s a little further away.

Spotify/Music Streaming Apps

Scan My Collection – I wish I could just take photos of the album covers, spines, or even discs of my CD or record collection and have them instantly added to a playlist or folder. It’s kind of sad that after lifetimes of collecting physical music, most of it now sits on a shelf and we forget to play what we used to love. Music apps want more data on what we like, and it’s just sitting there gathering dust. There’s obviously some fun viral potential here too. Let me share what’s my most embarrassing CD. For me, it’s my dual copies of Limp Bizkit’s “Significant Other” because I played the first one so much it got scratched.

Friends Weekly – Spotify ditched its in-app messaging, third-party app platform, and other ways to discover music so its playlists would decide what becomes a hit in order to exert leverage over the record labels to negotiate better deals. But music discovery is inherently social and the desktop little ticker of what friends are playing on doesn’t cut it. Spotify should let me choose to recommend my new favorite song or agree to let it share what I’ve recently played most, and put those into a Discover Weekly-style social playlist of what friends are listening to.

How Spotify is finally gaining leverage over record labels

Snapchat

Growth – I’m sorry, I had to.

Bulk Export Memories – But seriously, Snapchat is shrinking. That’s worrisome because some users’ photos and videos are trapped on its Memories cloud hosting feature that’s supposed to help free up space on your phone. But there’s no bulk export option, meaning it could take hours of saving shots one at a time to your camera roll if you needed to get off of Snapchat, if for example it was shutting down, or got acquired, or you’re just bored of it.

Add-On Cameras – Snapchat’s Spectacles are actually pretty neat for recording first-person or underwater shots in a circular format. But otherwise they don’t do much more, and in some ways do much less, than your phone’s camera and are a long way from being a Magic Leap competitor. That’s why if Snapchat really wants to become a “Camera Company”, it should build sleek add-on cameras that augment our phone’s hardware. Snap previously explored selling a 360-camera but never launched one. A little Giroptic iO-style 360 lens that attaches to your phone’s charging port could let you capture a new kind of content that really makes people feel like they’re there with you. An Aukey Aura-style zoom lens attachment that easily fits in your pocket unlike a DSLR could also be a hit

Snap explored selling a 360 camera

iOS

Switch Wi-Fi/Bluetooth From Control Center – I thought the whole point of Control Center was one touch access, but I can only turn on or off the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It’s silly having to dig into the Settings menu to switch to a different Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth device, especially as we interact with more and more of them. Control Center should unfurl a menu of networks or devices you can choose from.

Shoot GIFs – Live Photos are a clumsy proprietary format. Instagram’s Boomerang nailed what we want out of live action GIFs and we should be able to shoot them straight from the iOS camera and export them as actual GIFs that can be used across the web. Give us some extra GIF settings and iPhones could have a new reason for teens to choose them over Androids.

Gradual Alarms – Anyone else have a heart attack whenever they hear their phone’s Alarm Clock ringtone? I know I do because I leave my alarms on so loud that I’ll never miss them, but end up being rudely shocked awake. A setting that gradually increases the volume of the iOS Alarm Clock every 15 seconds or minute so I can be gently arisen unless I refuse to get up.

Maybe some of these apply to Android, but I wouldn’t know because I’m a filthy casual iPhoner. Send me your Android suggestions, as well as what else you want to see added to your favorite apps.

[Image Credit: Hanson Inc]

[tallskinnyvanillalatte]

Castle Episodes (Seasons 1+2)

So, I decided to do a Castle rewatch because I miss the show a lot. And I thought I could write down some of my favorite moments and some important moments and just some random thoughts. Not on every episode but those that I thought needed to be mentioned. It’s a personal post, so I might mention episodes that you wouldn’t and it’s possible that I won’t mention episodes that you would. This post is for seasons 1 and 2 only, I’ll start with season 3 now and will publish the post once I’m done with season 3.

1x01 Flowers for your Grave: The pilot. Where everything gets started. Classic.

1x02 Nanny McDead: Some lovely Castle/Alexis moments. Also, “So what” is the ringtone of the dead person.

1x03 Hedge Fund Homeboys: There’s this adorable scene where Castle watches Alexis sleep and he’s really worried about her because of the case and makes sure that she knows that she could tell him everything. Also the next day, there’s this silly moment where Alexis beats herself up over not paying for the subway and not telling Castle about it and he’s like “yeah you need to be punished - mandatory ice cream for breakfast for a week”. It’s super silly but also super adorable.

1x05 A Chill Goes Through Her Veins: We get some first information on Beckett’s mother’s death. Also, Joshua Radin’s “No envy, no fear” plays at the end.

1x06 Always Buy Retail: We meet Alexis’ mom <3 Meredith is exhausting, but I wish we’d seen her more frequently on the show. Especially in the episode where Alexis was kidnapped. Also, Castle gets his “writer” vest in this one. Also the scene where Castle receives a message on his phone with his “dad! dad! dad!” ringtone is HILARIOUS. Also, Castle saves Beckett’s life in this episode. The last scene is too adorable where Meredith tells them that she got a job offer and thus can’t stay in New York. Castle looks super good in this scene and the way he hugs Alexis is so adorable. He looks so cute the way he smiles and how he holds her and my heart just <3 <3

1x07 Home is where the heart stops: Beckett saves Castle’s life.

1x09 Little Girl Lost: A two-year-old girl is abducted. Of course this gets a little personal for Castle. There’s an adorable scene with him and Alexis, where he hugs here. It’s a “pea-pod thing”.”I can’t imagine anything like this ever happening to Alexis” I used that quote on a gifset I made about Alexis’ abduction. (this one) 

1x10 A death in the family: Alexis wants to go to the junior-senior prom with Owen and she’s like “please say yes” and Castle goes “If I say yes, will you promise to stay up past your bedtime, have a good time?” It’s so cute <3 And then Martha goes “you’re letting her go out with someone you’ve never met? What kind of a father are you?” and he’s not too sure about it anymore lol and even asks Beckett for a background check on the boy. “Sweety, I want you to know that no matter what you think you look, you’re perfect exactly the way you are” There are so many cute Castle-Alexis moments. The scene where Alexis returns from prom and she and Castle talk - it’s so adorable and he loves his daughter so much, I wanna cry. Also, Castle has some new information on Beckett’s mother’s murder.

2x01 Deep in death: Beckett saves Castle’s life. Also, Castle to Alexis “Thank you. For just... being you.” <3 And Castle apologizes to Beckett.

2x02 The Double Down: Alexis has her first heartbreak. Also the scene where Castle hears Martha and Alexis fighting and he’s worried that Martha is beating Alexis, so he rushes into the apartment only to find them rehearsing for a play lol

2x04 Fool me once: “There’s no one in the world that I trust more than I trust you” <3 Alexis has violin lessons in this episode and her teacher happens to be “a hottie”, so Castle goes into full protective mode and wants his background checked and all that which causes a fight between Castle and Alexis. Also, Beckett reads Heat Wave in the bathtub and later in the precinct bathroom where she checks out the sex scene lol.

2x05 When the bough breaks: Meredith “Cruella” Blake from The Parent Trap is in this one.

2x06 Vampire Weekend: It’s Castle in his Firefly outfit. “Yes, you can go [to the party]. But if anything happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, anything at all, you call me. I don’t care what it is. And there’ll be no punishments, no recriminations, nothing, I promise, so long as you just call.” <3 Also Castle’s evil laughter and then choking. When Alexis calls because Paige is drunk, he just goes “I’m on my way” and takes care of them <3 It’s just so great to see Castle this caring and responsible, you know. He’s this silly child all the time and now he’s actually responsible and a parent. “There’s nothing that you could do that would stop me from protecting you or supporting you.” I just love their relationship.

2x07 Famous Last Words: “Angel” <3 The lead singer of a band Alexis likes is killed. “He called her a ... [realizes Alexis is in the room] B-I-T-C-H” “She can spell, detective” greatest scene. The way Castle looks at her when she leaves is pure love. He loves his daughter so much, it’s beautiful. “Weren’t you opening for P!nk?” OPENING FOR PINK OH MY GOD. lol “what about Alexis? She’s perfect, she has no alibi” lol Castle, your suspecting your own daughter.

2x08 Kill The Messenger: It’s Ryan, Esposito and Castle on the couch with a teacup and a bunch of kittens ;D Martha signs up on “MyFace” and meets Chet. “Are you looking at porn?” “I use Ryan’s computer for that.” 

2x09 Love me dead: “You know you can tell me anything, right?” Castle is worried because Alexis is clearly hiding something from him. He got even more concerned when Alexis called Beckett asking for advice and still not talking to him. And Ryan and Esposito aren’t really helping either :D “Maybe she got kicked out of school.” “Or she’s doing drugs.” “M-hm, teen pregnancies are on the rise.” “Woah, you met my daughter. You know that she’s the closest thing to perfect as humanly possible.” <3 Turns out, Alexis only wanted to ask Beckett about an exchange program to France because Beckett had studied abroad. There’s also this scene I’ve seen as a reaction-gif a couple of times where Alexis says that she wants to study in Oxford and Castle goes “You know that’s in England, right” “yeah”.

2x10 One Man’s Treasure: “Big Castle likes to get in the way. I’m sure little Castle is a pleasure.” Alexis is volunteering at the precinct. “First days of preschool, I used to hide in the bushes to make sure she was alright”. “Fact Fiction” plays in this one <3 Alexis closes her “who does that book full of personal pictures belong to” case. The way that Castle looks at her and smiles is just pure pride and love.

2x13 Sucker Punch: The storyline of Beckett’s mother’s murder continues. We meet Beckett’s dad. “I have a hard job, Castle, and having you around makes it a little more fun.” Beckett finds the guy who killed her mother, she just doesn’t know who hired that person. And she has to shoot the guy to protect Castle. The scene in which she tries to get him back is heart breaking. Maybe you should’ve aimed for his shoulder. You weren’t that far apart and he wasn’t in movement, so...?

2x14 The Third Man: Castle ranks #9 as the hottest Bachelor’s in town or something. Alexis’ principal wants a date. And her German teacher Fräulein Sonnenberg (no one is called Fräulein in Germany anymore but we) wanted Alexis to tell Castle auf Deutsch “du hast Sexappeal” lol it’s too cute. Also, Alexis is kinda pissed and annoyed at all this. And when Castle realizes that he grins all over and goes “Oh you hate me a little bit right now, don’t you”. Castle to Alexis: “You’re number one on mine [my list]. Look, it’s my job to worry about you, not the other way round.” Castle’s tie looks slighty different in the restaurant, the color is different. Maybe it’s the light or maybe they messed up.

2x15 Suicide Squeeze: Castle’s father is addressed once again.

2x16 The mistress always spanks twice: We meet Ryan’s girlfriend Jenny <3

2x17 Tick Tick Tick /2x18 Boom: so intense, such a ride, such a thrill. Need I say more?

2x19 Wrapped up: Love the episode, it’s hilarious! Castle thinks he’s cursed because he looked at an ancient mummy. Some weird things happen to him (some of which can be explained because the team tampers with them, others remain unexplained). There’s a scene where the elevator stops and he’s afraid it’s gonna fall, so he lays on the ground while the doors open. I’ve seen this as a gif several times (with the #dead writing on it). When he explains the situation, there’s a random cop just pissing himself in the background, it’s hilarious when you watch him. Also, Castle asks Martha if she would look after Alexis if something happened to him. And later, he asks Beckett, too, because “she looks up to you” <3

2x20 The Late Shaft: The final scene is so adorable when Alexis returns from her five-day-trip and Castle hugs her and goes “my best girl, oh I missed you so much, i’m so glad you’re home”. This scene is so beautiful. The way he speaks and hugs her, it’s just so beautiful, so much love.

2x22 Food to die for: Alexis wants to go on a weekend trip with her friends, but she also has exams coming up and wants/needs to study for those. She feels bad about every decision she makes, so eventually she asks her dad to tell her to stay home and study. That scene is adorable. And then Castle is like “1,001 ways to distract someone who’s studying. We start by freezing ping-pong balls.” Ah I just love their relationship <3

2x23 Overkill: Castle is so jealous of that guy that’s been working with Beckett all the time. He’s always been jealous but it gets even worse in this episode. And at the end of the episode (Lifehouse’s Crash and Burn is playing), he watches Beckett and the guy kiss and it basically kills him. The look on his face, oh boy.

2x24 A Deadly Game: Ah, the episode is so frustrating. Castle and Beckett clearly care a lot about each other, yet they both mess up and don’t get it right. Beckett breaks up with her boyfriend and starts to talk to Castle, thanking him, telling him that she had a great time with him. And then Gina shows up and Castle says they are off to the Hamptons for the summer and it really sounds and looks like Castle and Gina are back together. And I - as a viewer - get so frustrated because Castle and Beckett can’t get their shit together. Man, how did everyone feel when the episode aired for the very first time, not knowing what would happen after the hiatus. Anyway. Alexis is off to a summer program by Princeton University and Castle is so over-protective and in ‘jealous dad-mode’ because the rooms are mixed-gender and Alexis already met with a boy that’s going to the program too. It’s super adorable how jealous and protective he is. And when Castle tells the boys at the precinct about their goodbye, he goes “it was really emotional, there were a lot of tears. ... Alexis was fine, by the way.” :D

[shiningrye]

Baker’s Dozen -1 2016

Please lady, my tinnitus.

It may be a few months into 2017 but it’s not too late to review the year that was. It can be worthwhile to reflect on the past, to celebrate successes and learn from shortcomings, to track your progress and see how you’ve grown, and to dwell and ruminate on missed opportunities while you lie awake in your bed at two in the morning trapped in a nihilistic prison of your own mind.

I set out every year to challenge myself to do twelve projects. These can be paid gigs or just personal projects that I complete, but I try to get one finished a month. I feel it’s a great motivator and a good way to improve my skills and at the very least it’s a good productive outlet. I generally only count projects or goals that relate to filmmaking or digital media to keep me more focused.

Here’s how I did (in order of release/completion):

1. Four Feet Companion Foundation - Pucks for Paws

The first project of the year I finished was a volunteer gig for Four Feet Companion Foundation, this is a great little volunteer-run organization that provides financial and volunteer support to local animal charities. Being part animal myself, I was excited to take on this project and contribute to this cause. I believe this is played annually now at every Pucks for Paws event which is their big fundraising event that takes place at the Saddledome. Overall this was a pretty straightforward shoot and I was decently happy with how it turned out.

Some challenges were the logistics of scheduling and traveling to the different locations, as well as setting up the shoots alone without scouting the location first. A lot of these challenges were caused by a truncated timeline.

What I learned: Thinking back and rewatching the video, it’s obvious that in one interview the colour was way off. It ain’t purdy.

There were a few issues that I faced.

Mixed colour temperature. I was dealing with three different temperatures (daylight from the window, overhead fluorescents and a tungsten keylight) and without proper gels I really didn’t know the best course of action to take.

I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have suitable gels or flags and I flew blind into the location.

I dun goofed. Lastly, I made a mistake in setting the white balance.

Mixed colour temperature is a beast that can only be slain one way: Unifying all light sources to one temperature. As Alex Buono (SNL and Documentary Now! DP) says, there’s no tricks around it, you just have to get all light to be the same temperature the old fashioned way. It seems obvious and is relatively straightforward to do, if albeit time consuming. A quick flick of the switch killed the overhead fluorescents, which left the two mixed sources shining. Altering light sources isn’t so bad in a small room, if you have the tools.

But I didn’t have the tools.

Logistically this was the only room we could shoot in. There were no blinds on the window and no rod or frame to clip a blanket too, even if I did have clips. You think a guy without clips is going to have a flag (fabric designed to cut light that can be easily positioned)? Hell no. I also didn’t have large enough gels to cover the window (known as CTO or colour temperature orange, alters daylight to tungsten) or the keylight (CTB or colour temperature blue, which alters tungsten light to daylight). I just wasn’t prepared.

Lastly I made an M. A mmmm-m-m-m... A mistake. Yes. A big fat one. Juicy and all tender-like.

I didn’t change the white balance on the cameras to tungsten (3200K) from daylight (5500/5600K) prior to shooting. To add insult to amateruish injury, the walls were painted in what I swear to be Tungsten Yellow, which just compounded the problem.

You’d think someone who worked for a company as a corporate videographer with a few years under their belt wouldn’t make mistakes like this. But it happens. Or at least it happened to me. The trick is to learn from your mistakes and try not to retread the same territory again.

So how did I learn from my mistakes?

The colour temperature issue may have been avoided if I was able to scout the location beforehand. Short timelines can be hard to avoid, but one thing I would’ve insisted on for this interview would’ve been requesting some pictures

of potential shooting locations. Now they may not be able to accommodate the request in time, but you have nothing to lose by asking. I assumed, falsely, that shooting in houses are all relatively the same which wasn’t the case.

Furthermore, since this shoot, my kit has grown in size to hopefully avoid a similar issue in the future.

The white balance gaffe spurred me to make a consistent mental checklist and run through it prior to every shoot since. The checklist I will share in a future post! A simple flash of my Gray Card or using a Colour Passport also would’ve saved me a headache. Over the past year I’ve learned a lot more about colour correcting and grading.

(Top) Last year I was trying to counter the yellow and orange and then glazed it with magenta maybe as a feeble attempt to make it a bit stylized? I couldn’t tell ya. With knowing what I know now, I could salvage it somewhat (Bottom) but it’s best to not make those mistakes in the first place.

That’s also not the worst of it. To add to the stress of the shoot, embarrassingly I may or may not have forgot to bring the quick release plate for the B cam, rendering its tripod useless...

                                      1/4"-20 on a lightstand is there for this reason, right?

I’m not proud.

Yeah I could’ve balanced it on the tripod head. But I did have the sense to know that gravity wins every time.

Tip: Always check your kit before you leave. Another tip: I didn’t get bogged down and give up with the amateur-hour move, I looked at what I had and used it to jerry-rig a solution. If it’s stupid but it works, it ain’t stupid. Even if it still looks stupid.

2. PONOS Apparel

Had a good time shooting this one: a web commercial for a local athletic apparel company. Shot it in a day and overall it went smoothly. Had a quick and dirty shot list that was flexible so it was fun improvising sequences and putting it together in the edit. Loved working with the director, who made shooting it a breeze.

I believe a student who attends at a local highschool created the music.

Challenges were some of the shots such as running nearly full tilt with a Glidecam but I think they worked for what it is. This is where a gimbal or Steadicam or even a vest and arm attachment would’ve made light work of it.

What I learned: I would’ve made some different editing choices now. The part that really sticks out to me now is in the deadlift scene I’d remove the ‘jump cut + crash zooms’ on the kick beat. They’re unnecessary! Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I want to run with it, but it’s easy to trap yourself in a tunnel. So ideally I should’ve taken a step back and let the edit breathe a bit before committing. Also I need to watch my exposure and ratios. The final shot (which is also the thumbnail above) the highlights are too hot and it’ll bug me forever.

3. John’s Tongue is Not Long

I had a strong urge to shoot a short so I whipped up a poem and a video idea about one of my roommates at the time, John, and his short tongue. After shooting it, I thought that the poem idea lent itself better to a song. So I enlisted the help of Chris Koehler to help put this song idea in motion. I was hoping he would take one look at the lyrics and jump at the chance to sing such glory. But alas he encouraged me to. I love singing. Alone in my car. The sing-songy genes of my ancestors were weeded out long ago. Perhaps it’s the reason why they emigrated? But I had fun and I think Chris did too. I’m stoked with how the song turned out, he killed it.

Challenges were I didn’t storyboard this or even really shot list this, just kind of went through the lyrics and shot what I thought fit. This made for a bit of problem solving in the edit but it actually wasn’t bad at all and I enjoyed making it fit.

What I learned: The idea was to shoot the first half before John went in for surgery (his wee tongue was causing him discomfort) and finish it off once he has a glorious normal length tongue. I realize now however that this doesn’t come across in the lyrics or the video. My talented director and animator buddy, Jarett Sitter provided some indispensable feedback with just one constructive comment, “I wish he had a ridiculous over-the-top tongue in the last scene.” As soon as he said it I knew I dun goofed.

One of my screenwriting profs said the ending has to be worth the price of admission. (paraphrased, he actually said the ending has to be the best part of the story to make it worth it. i.e. shit ending = shit story). Rewatching my own work is tough but it’s the best way to learn, and when I watch this I realize there’s no click at the end, no spice that holds the rest of it together. Adding in something over-the-top like that would’ve made it a lot more effective as a whole and would’ve fit with the style of the video no problem. So the lesson here, no matter how silly your project you set out to make, consult with friends and revise the script a few times before setting it in stone, you’ll get a better product at the end.

4. GRIT

GRIT is a non-prof that educates kindergarten-age children with disabilities. They requested a slideshow be created so it could be played at their annual gala. Me not settling for just an average slideshow decided to give it a little flair.

Challenges were the flair. I used a fairly common plugin for After Effects (AE) called SureTarget, and needless to say I ran into some problems. I love Video Copilot. They’re a fantastic resource and their plugins are great. So I’m not going to complain about a free, 7 year old plugin. But I will tell you of my tribulations. I’ve used the plugin with success a few times before, but it was used on older versions of AE. It was also used with fewer pictures. This video required about 80 photos/clips to be used, which was also another challenge to try and fit that within the allotted time. I believe the combination of debatable-compatibility with the newer version of AE and the sheer amount of assets proved a nightmare. I don’t even want to look back at how many hours I spent trying to fix the weirdest issues both in animating and rendering. It was too many for what should’ve been a relatively straightforward project.

What I learned: Sometimes you just learn in the middle of production that something just doesn’t work. Due to my stubbornness I refused to demote the slideshow to a generic (worse) program to deliver something. I problem solved and problem solved to find a solution that worked. However, I have put the plugin to rest for good now. It was a good sendoff as I was tired of using it anyway.

5. Phantasmagoria

I got the chance to work with Tia Halliday, a local artist, in capturing video of her project, Phantasmagoria. The idea behind it was to explore the relationship of the body to sculpture and painting. The scope of the project was impressive: using dancers from Alberta Ballet to contort their bodies and hold positions inside fabric sacks to be photographed digitally and with a medium format film camera, both in studio and on location outside.

Challenges were I haven’t done much in the way of abstract video or at least capturing abstract art. So getting myself well-versed and acquainted with the project was the first step. The rest fell into place in the weeks leading up and on the day.

What I learned: this was a combination of behind the scenes videography and capturing the imagery first-hand so it was good experience being able to shoot both.

6. Cancer Crusher Flash Mob

This was a short social-media-focused piece. It was relatively straightforward, and fun since I didn’t know exactly what to expect until it was happening.

Challenges the lens I used is not my favourite but it’s versatile for fast-paced shoots like this, it’s just a pain in the ass to pull focus on, and my hope is to invest in a better zoom eventually. During this shoot I felt like a hummingbird with all the people and action going on, that for a couple shots I cursed at myself in the edit because I didn’t hold frame long enough and missed context because of it.

What I learned: For fast fly-by-seat-of-pants shoots, just need to remember to breathe a beat or two longer on shots.

7. Cancer Crusher 2016 Main Event Recap

This was the main event for Cancer Crusher where you could win prizes, eat, drink, listen to music, and smash fruit! This was a blast to shoot and I had a great time putting it together.

Challenges were not much different from other event videography gigs. Smaller venues can be a little more challenging to get the shot but there was time to get everything I felt I needed to. As always music is a challenge to find. I think I found something that captured the fun spirit with it hopefully not being too stock music-y.

What I learned: it’s always great to stretch the videography muscles so just getting more experience is always welcome.

8. Sally Shapiro - If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind

Directed by the aforementioned Jarett Sitter, this music video was fun and a very rewarding challenge to work on. It combined 3D assets - both still and animated, and 2D illustration and animation. My job was editing the video and combining those two sources to make them come alive.

Challenges were obvious. It was a fairly large-scale project in terms of scope (3D animation combined with illustration) and size (it’s a long song). 3D animation is a very time intensive process on the back-end especially, so if there are any changes, you have to prepare for hours (days) of rendering time. Due to the size of the project, the 3D guru, Evan, Jarett and I had to work simultaneously (picture us sprinting across a canyon, where one person is laying down slats and the other two are tying rope, trying to build the bridge as we go). So while consultations were frequent, the nature of it was generally only the big picture could really get nailed down. Figuring out an efficient workflow was key to the success of this project.

What I learned: I love compositing so getting a chance to get some more experience doing it was great. It was very rewarding coming up with solutions to the challenges some parts offered.

9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Lost Twentysomething Series

Last year I finished shooting five shorts that have been an absolutely labour of love. These have consumed my headspace for the past year, but it has been such an invaluable experience both personally and educationally. I’m pumped to see them coming together. Braden Paes along with my friends and family have helped me immensely in getting them produced. There have been challenges and tons of learning opportunities and in the coming weeks/months I’ll post more about them. In the meantime, I am steadily chipping away at them in post, hoping to have something to show in the early summer.

BONUS 14, 15, 16. Escape, Trillium, and Shasta Keychains

My dad’s little business, Camping Treasures is growing in inventory every month! The past year he needed me to draw out the dieline for three different trailers, the Escape, Trillium, and Shasta, so they could be made into 2-sided keychains.The designs have even been shrunk for wine glass charms and earrings. Take a look!

Conclusion

I haven’t written something this long since graduating university, but aside from shaking the rust off, my motivation for writing these is mainly self-serving. Overall I think I’m a patient guy but I often catch myself feeling like I’m in a rush, that I’m not progressing as much or as fast as I’d like, so I like looking back to reassure myself that I have been staying on track, learning, and applying what I’ve learned previously.

If you managed to get through it all, I sincerely hope that it maybe helped you do that thing you want to do or allowed you time to reflect on your own progress over the past year. What are you proud of? What challenges have you overcome and what have you learned from those challenges? Post in the comments or keep them in mind as you crush 2017!

I have started a new career this year which leaves me with less free time (except for right now), so instead of looking at quantity of projects finished, I’m going to be celebrating and looking at the smaller victories over the year.