#this two parter was super fun! I had such a good time working on them!

[airenfolio]

and 2/2 of that comm for @gale-dekarios !

Another pretty rogue, this time a teifling named Damakos!

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 47

Fortunately there is no time jump, so we return to World Enough and Time's final part, The Doctor Falls. This is good for answers, because sometimes two-parters jump around - we're still waiting to find out how Matt Smith got out of that cube and whether River blew up. But not this time! Here we are on a Cyberman infested ship again.

Also, here is something I genuinely enjoy about Steven Moffat's writing: he does very good and fun and engaging pre-credit cliffhanger resolutions to his two-parters, and this one is no exception. We are treated to an idyllic farm house with adorable innocent children and salt-of-the-earth rustic folk in a green countryside a few floors up in the ship, with Cybermen crucified as scarecrows all around them; a child feels an earthquake, and suddenly a space shuttle bursts up through the floor and crashes. And out of the wreckage walks Cyber-Bill, carrying the Doctor in her arms.

VERY FUN (the Doctor gets Cyber-shot like eight times in this episode, he does need carrying)

Anyway, this is a fairly straightforward episode plot-wise. After Missy and Master attack the Doctor, he changes the parameters the Cybermen are following to identify humans - now they will target 1 or 2 hearts, so suddenly the Gallifreyans are also at risk (I will admit this is one of those "Seems clever but is actually dumb as hell" twists that Moffat is so good at. "I only had time to make one small change!" says the Doctor. "I added a 2! Now they will also chase people with two hearts!" Okay but that is not how coding works. Either you change the number 1 to a 2 - in which case they would now EXCLUSIVELY track Gallifreyans and leave humans alone, problem solved - or you added an operator like AND or OR or what have you, in which case you used up extra precious seconds to deliberately ensure that these Cybermen would still track humans.)

(And actually, they don't track the blue man. And the Doctor takes pains in this episode to point out that the Cybermen still have easily fooled monkey brains. So like. At any point, everyone could have painted themselves blue and been fine. Hmm.)

ANYWAY

The change means Missy and the Master escape upwards with the Doctor, Nardole and Cyber-Bill, so we exchange Cardiff University and Bute Street the grime of the Cyber conversion level for the pastoral wilds of Abergavenny floor 507, a solar farm that therefore has a holographic sky and simulated weather. And then it's basically a village under siege story - the Cybermen are coming, and are upgrading as they go, a process that is happening in what appears to be days to our hero but is in fact years at the bottom of the ship. This also means they can't all go up in the lifts to escape more than a few floors now - the Cybermen will upgrade to stop them too fast.

(Except. There's about 50 things wrong with that as a concept. I can think of one previously noted plot point that proves that wrong and about five possible workarounds right off the top of my head - as I say, "seems clever but is actually dumb as hell." But this is an era finale and so the focus is not on the plot - a mere skeleton to prop up the actual star of the show - but the story. What matters here is the characters, and what they think and feel and say, and what choices they make.)

Ultimately, it turns out that Missy genuinely does want to change, and become a good person. This is genuinely poignant, because the Master therefore kills her to stop her. I'm not wild about that as a twist, actually - long franchises with recurring villains never like to allow true growth, but I think "villain trying to atone" is actually a super valuable narrative, and I always feel sad for characters who aren't allowed to do it. But I will admit that it's played relatively nicely, as a tragedy.

Fortunately, it's juxtaposed with one of the best monologues any character in anything has ever given; namely, Peter Motherfucking Capaldi turning his Acting skills up to over 9000 to explain why we should choose to do the right thing. It's beautiful and moving and timeless and true and I love it, wholeheartedly and unironically. I mean it's also bullshit from this particular Doctor, given that we have in the past watched Clara have to force him to even try to save people if they don't do what he likes (Christ she deserved a better Doctor T_T), but regardless, it's a fantastic speech delivered by one of the greatest actors of his generation.

So what does happen?

Well! Bill is Cyber-Bill now, and the process is written off as permanent. She retains her memories through force of will, but will slowly succumb. "I can feel the programming," she sobs at one point, and fuck me Pearl Mackie is also a phenomenal actor. "It's like a hurricane in my head, and I'm hanging on, but I can only hang on for so long."

This episode literally started with the Doctor altering the programming of the Cybermen.

"Alas," he tells her. "There's nothing I can do to fix this."

Well then.

The Doctor and Bill ultimately decide to stay and fight Cybermen off while Nardole is given the task of leading the humans up five floors to the next solar farm in the lifts; the Doctor then blows up the floor they're on with the Cybermen on it, and go out in a blaze of glory. This is... certainly a choice, isn't it? Every story with Nardole so far has shown him to be the plucky comic relief, and I include in that THIS EXACT STORY WHERE MISSY CALLED HIM COMIC RELIEF TO HIS FACE. We even got more Weird Nrdole Stuff this episode - apparently he's some sort of reformed con-man and a computer whizz. And yet!!! And yet he gets the Proper Companion Ending!!! This is such a tonally strange choice. The Doctor even convinces him to do it by telling him he's stronger than the Doctor, a claim for which we have seen zero evidence, and is actually the sort of thing that gets said to Proper Companions after they have been through two series' worth of character development. By rights, this should surely have been Bill's job? Lead the survivors in a post-apocalyptic world?

Instead, Bill dies as a Cyberman, and then suddenly, from our perspective, THINGS GET REAL WEIRD, because an unnamed water faerie with a star in her eye who apparently once cried on Bill turns up and goes "You're like me now," and they magic the Doctor back into the TARDIS that two minutes ago he said he couldn't reach, abandon Nardole in a Cyber-infested ship, and then fuck off to explore the cosmos together and have hot lesbian sex, I assume.

What the fuck.

And then to round off, the Doctor wakes up, cries that he doesn't want to regenerate, and staggers out of the TARDIS into snow and also the arms of David Bradley's First Doctor. Which brings us nicely to that story we've already seen! We've seen Capaldi's regeneration. That was a good one.

So! Let's update the board.

“She” (an unknown person) is returning (Suspects: River, Missy, Me, Clara)

There is something on Donna’s back

An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest. The Thijarian planet was destroyed by some sort of impact). Is this the Flux?

Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)

The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)

River is possibly blown up  (Nope: she is definitely not blown up)

The TARDIS has blown up  (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again. NOPE, back to not working.)

The universe appears to have ended  (the universe is back again)

The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole

(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? He used to be blue, and could apparently go back to it??? NEW INFO: he's some sort of helplessly criminal con-artist??? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)

There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons

Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?

What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?

Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)

Why is Amy’s pregnancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?) She’s deffo pregnant and the baby becomes River, but why inconclusive?

Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?

How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?

What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???

What happened with the Other Cyber War?

What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?

Why does Rose seem particularly important?

What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)

Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?

Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri (Not anymore, somehow)

There is a Lupari shield around Earth.

What’s a Time War?

What’s the Rift?

What’s Bad Wolf?

In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?

Why has Amy forgotten Rory? How did she forget a Dalek invasion?

Is Rory plastic or not? Yeah, must be, he couldn’t possibly remember being plastic otherwise

Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?

How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?

What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?

Which friend killed Strax?

Which friend brought Strax back?

Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?

What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?

How does Clara actually join?

Why so many Claras? A psychic midwife says she’s just normal human

Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven? NEW INFO: Is this because she's now dead?

Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?

What is Trensilor and what happened there?

Who is Handles?

The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man

The universe is being crushed by the Flux

Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?

Sontarans are invading Earth again

Who is Kate?

Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?

The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent

Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?

How did the Doctor forget Clara?

Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather? NEW INFO: This is presumably the star-eyed water faerie

How did Nardole die?

When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?

Whittaker is falling to her death rn

Was that ring relevant?

Does anyone know the Doctor’s name? NEW INFO:  Missy says it's "Who"

When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?

When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?

What’s happening with the bees?

What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?

What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?

What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”

If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?

How did the rest of the Time Lords die?

How and why did Amy melt?

What’s the question that will make silence fall?

Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?

How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?

How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?

What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?

Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?

What happened with the space whale?

When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years? Since Roman times, it seems

How does the Doctor survive River? He doesn’t, apparently

How does he erase himself from history

Did Captain Jack lose his memories to the same people as the Doctor? What did he lose?

When did the Doctor send the Daleks into a void to save the universe?

What’s with the weird crack in the wall and is it affecting memories?

Why do Amy and Rory think the Doctor is dead? Is it because of River as an astronaut?

Is Matt Smith’s Doctor a tree racist?

Why is the beautiful geode woman stealing people into a Passenger form?

River says she’ll die one day when the Doctor doesn’t remember her, let’s hope she doesn’t mean it

Why doesn’t the TARDIS like Clara?

When was the Master Prime Minister?

When will the Doctor go and rescue Nardole and the colonists?

[dwarvenstrapon]

TTRPG Rec: Lichcraft

The Year is 2069...

The setting is Great Britain. The Tories have been in power since 2010. 

Due to National Health Service cuts, trans healthcare has become increasingly hard to access. The waiting list for a first appointment at a gender identity clinic is now 300 years. They don’t want to outright refuse you; that would imply that the health service is over capacity or underfunded. Instead they will simply add you to the end of the list and wait for you to die. 

But they are fools. For you have learned the secrets of immortality. And you will get to the end of that waiting list, even if it means waiting another millennium...

-

Went searching and realised that nobody on this website seems to be talking about this game, which I think is a shame! I backed it on Kickstarter ages ago, and it's now available on Itch.io for $10

Super rules-light, I've played this game a few times, mostly as one-shots and once as a two-parter. It hits a really good balance between super flavourful and also being very easily adaptable. The groups I've played in have all brought real-world locations/local in-jokes/etc to our playthroughs, which has been really fun and made the catharsis of the game really hit

The only downside I'll give to the minimal prompting/light rules is that it's probably not one for newbie GMs to run. The prompts/setting text are super flavourful, but pretty light on specifics. I think if I'd GMed this near the start of my GMing experience, I wouldn't have had a super fun time

This is especially the alternative settings provided - there's a 40k spoof ('in the grim, cis, far future, there are only waiting lists') and a Roman-inspired setting which are both fun, but because the content on them is about half a page each, there does need to be a lot of work on players' part. I don't mind this too much (and with the groups I've played with we've had a lot of fun with worldbuilding), but it's something to be aware of

Speaking of groups, this game is designed for 2+ players, with the base mechanics intended for one GM and one player. I've only played it in larger groups though, and have found it adapts without much issue

I've always had a super fun time with this game. Despite the dark subject matter, the tone has always played tongue-in-cheek, and I've never stepped out of a game without finding some kind of catharsis. I think it's one you'll need to safety tool a lot with beforehand - my tables have been people I've been playing with for years, so we have a pretty good sense of each other, but still had some pretty frank discussions first. I also want to caveat that I've only played in all-trans groups (and been the only non-TMA person in most of them), which has def coloured my experience

[gren-arlio]

Ah, another 2 parter. Welcome to Part 2 of Episode 2 of Season 2 of Waku Puyo Translations.

(That's a lot of 2's.)

Hello everyone, it's the guy with Kempf calling Olwen a stupid bitch banner here, back at it again with translating a funny video game. Ain't that fun? Sorry for the delay, with tests going on, a super big assignment, and of course, English class, I haven't had too much time to finish these. Also I've had an illness for the past 5 days and that's been kicking my ass. Hope you understand.

As stated prior, this is Part 2 of Episode 2, because Arle's route has so much text from the information booth that its super hard to put all of this stuff in a very timely manner, thus making two parts. Thankfully, a delay still means this gets released, just in a weird time. With it, I bring this part.

Here's the link to the video:

Timestamps:

Sasori Midboss: (10:39, defeat at 13:00.)

Info Stuff Again: (13:25 through 15:15, with extra Momomo stuff)

Draco Boss: (17:28, defeat at 21:08)

Draco Revisit: (23:17)

Finally, this episode will be done. And with this, I hope you enjoy.

Major Edit:

First off, I want to thank Eudae for this. They told me about this and I frankly wanna thank them for it. Here's their Nexus page for their info:

I messed up a key gameplay mechanic. With the major mistake, the mechanic is NOT called pinning, but storing an item inside of a bottle, Ala a fairy from Zelda. The effect I explained is still the same, where inside the bottle, the item doesn't wear down, but the correction had to be made.

Second, Weathering as a name. I took the name literally, which I shouldn't have. In reality, gameplay mechanics wise, it's more like an item wearing down, ala...Zelda again. The effect is still the same, but the names itself are wrong.

Third and more minor, the item for bottling up items is actually called the "Bottling Wand" or an overly long "Put-it-in-a-jar Wand" rather than a pinning stick. Fixes have been made, and once again, thanks Eudae.

Sasori Midboss:

Arle:

Huh? You're...

Sasori Man:

How are you? I'm Sasori Man.

Sometimes I'm a mysterious mogul, other times I'm the informant working behind the scenes, and sometimes I'm the deadliest assassin of them all...

Arle:

???

Sasori Man:

Well, I'm busy with stuff, so shall we get right into it?

Arle:

What? I'm fighting you now? Alright then, I won't lose!

---

Defeat: (13:00)

Sasori Man:

You're a good one, you win.

I'm going back. Goodbye.

Arle:

He's gone. Let's go too, Carby!

Carbuncle:

Gu!

----

Info Booth Again:

(So with this, back to menu nonsense. The player clicks Bulletin and the order goes:

To You Who Has Obtained the Grimoire

Momomo Store Reopening <- 2

Fire Mountain

Water Paradise

Starlight Stage

Identification Recommendation

Trap Warning

Pinning Recommendation <- 1)

"Bottling" Recommendation:

Sasori Man:

How are you doing today?

Arle:

Oh, Heya. What can you tell me?

Sasori Man;

Well, you see, I have a lot of work to do.

So let's get right into explaining.

Arle:

O-ok...

Sasori Man:

Arle, do you know why food rots?

Arle:

I believe if an enemy attacks it, or a trap.

Sasori Man:

Yes, that's right.

If you eat rotten food, you'll have a horrible stomach ache, so be careful.

Arle:

Alright then.

Sasori Man:

Along with rotting, another issue is the item wearing down.

Arle:

The item wearing down...? Oh, the thing that makes items worse.

Sasori Man:

Yes. For example, a Medical Herb becomes an Ordinary Herb, and Medicine jusg becomes Water. That's what I mean by wearing down.

Arle:

The effects of the item dissappear too...that's rough...

Sasori Man:

Whether it rots or wears out, eating spoiled food is incredibly painful.

Arle:

Yeah, it sure sounds like it.

Sasori Man:

...Well, I have wonderful news for you!

Arle:

Aren't you really excited all of a sudden-

Sasori Man;

There's a way to prevent such problems.

Arle:

What? You're serious!?

Sasori Man:

They call it "Bottle-clogging." (For now, I'll keep this name based off the info given.)

Food and other items can be kept safe with the bottle...with no worries at all!

The bottle protects the item from incoming attacks!

Arle:

Wow, that's amazing...

Sasori Man:

You can also bottle up items like herbs and the sort.

Of course, even when bottled up, the item can still be used normally.

Arle:

So how many items can I bottle up?

Sasori Man:

All you have to use is an item called the "Bottling Wand".

They're dropped in dungeons occasionally, so you'll find one if you're lucky.

Arle:

A bottling wand... alright, so I CAN protect my items!

---

Momomo Store Reopening:

Bulletin Board:

The numbers of items in Momomo's store and gone up a bit. So come on in and buy even more stuff.

(You can then find him in Fire Mountain...but the player just sells items when he says welcome.)

-----

Draco Boss: (17:28)

Arle:

Oh, you were at the entrance...

Draco:

Ah, you've finally arrived!

...Hm? Do you have a Grimoire?

Arle:

Grimoire? I don't have one.

Draco:

Well...guess I have no other choice then.

If you want to clear this room, you're going to have to get through me!

Arle:

What? What is this, a beauty pageant or something?

Draco:

Hmpf...I thought you'd never be able to match my beauty...

...Wait, no! Not here... (As in, this ain't the place for this nonsense.)

Arle:

So are we going to play Puyo Puyo then?

Draco:

Hehehe, I can make 5 chains...

...No! This is a proper fight!

(In defeat, she just says Gao 3 times.)

----

Draco Revisit:

Draco:

Gao!

Arle:

It's you again...

Draco:

I have to say, you're much stronger than you look.

Arle:

Huh? I do?

Draco:

I need to train myself, so I'm here to get even better!

Arle:

Eh? Is this place good for training like that anyways?

Draco:

Hm? I mean, you can always enter the attraction again, but it'd be hard to get out of it.

Oh, and I see that you have red orb, take good care of that.

If you forgot to ever grab an orb, don't worry, they'll still be on the 10th floor.

Arle:

Alright...thanks.

Draco:

Alright then, cya.

Arle:

Yeah, bye!

-----

And with that, Episode 2 is properly done. Hopefully the 3rd one isn't as long.

Next time I'm here I'll most likely be doing an Extras episode. But with that...

Adios.

[popculturebuffet]

CODENAME KIDS NEXT DOOR:OPERATION NAUGHTY REVIEW (comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy mutants. It's been way too long since i talked something x-men related and given the last time I did was … this

It's been even longer since I talked about something GOOD from the house of X. Thankfully Kev had an idea left over from last X-Mas that I was eager to jump on this X-Mas: Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y, Codename :Kids Next Door's classic christmas episode spoofing the strangest heroes of all. And the fantastic four because apparently this episode wasn't personally targeting me enough as is.

For those Krakoans not as familiar with KND, in short KND follows the Kids Next Door, a group of child superspies trying to fight adult tyranny. KND takes place in a world where many adults take up supervillany just to impose their will on kids, from forcing braces on them, to shipping kids to the moon so their parents have no excuse not to work a billion hours, to bras actually being battle ready armor and teens all being douchebags who want to bully kids. In short it's every sterotype about kids and childhood taken up to eleven, and given cool gadgets. The show evolved from our main five kids, super cool british super spy and tightwad Nigel Uno, carefree pilot Hoagie Gilligan, spacey plushie lover Kuki Saban, perpetually angry aussie Wallabe Beatles and cool as a cucumber second in command Abigail Lincoln, Numbahs 1 through 5 respectively.

The show evolved, starting as simply the kids ocasoinally harassing people and fighting weirdos who werne't taken seriously by the rest of the world into a complex epic with the KND becoming a global orginzation and our heroes being one of a large cast of other KND agents, kids and characters. The show had a tight, expansive continuity that I ate up as a kid and even now wish to go back and rewatch some day. IT's a show I deeply loved and still do admiring it' screativity and having a continuity way thicker than most shows at the time, but gloriously so.

The show also LOVED it's pop culture refrences, including an entire episode that was just a parody of a short form the Animatrix, a two parter following empire strikes back, and many more. If the creators could squeeze in something they loved, they would. So it's not a shock that.

So it's not a huge shock the show would one day tackle x-men, which is another franchise about disenfranchised outcasts fighting an unfair system that has a massive cast, mythology and nice dollops of batshit insanity. The fact the storytelling is similar to the claremont run of x-men, i.e. fun one off adventures with ocasoinal bigger multi parters with a tight continuity and clear plans for the arcs, just makes it all the more obvious to me as an adult. Not only that they did it TWICE, though we'll save operation S.A.F.E.T.Y. for another day. The fact they made their x-men shout out a christmas episdoe and based their elves of x more on the comics than the movies, depsite the movies being red hot at the time and rightfully so, is just icing on the cookie. So join me won't you for some KVX as we dive into operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y.

We open with a Stan Lee style narration which just warms my heart. See back in the 80s Stan Lee did a LOT Of narration for marvel cartoons, including the failed 80's X-Men Pilot, Pryde of the X-Men, which I intend to review eventuallys. And while obviously I wa stoo busy not existing to see most of this, I did get a vhs tape of Firestar's origin episode in spider-man and his amazing friends, and I THINK pryde of the x-men as a kid, so I got to hear it plenty. So seeing someone tribute that and do a pretty good job capturing his energy if not his voice at all.. it really hits me right there.

It's Christmas Eve and the elves are all hard at work. THey even sing their own verison of the rainbow monkey rainbow monkey all very round and super chunky theme song, which is imbeded in my skull on a load bearing lobe. One elf isn't so jolly and that's Elf Logan, codename Wintergreen aka Weapon G. He's just here on santa's orders to keep an eye on things not to sing and dance and make presents.. which is fair. It'd be like asking your CIA assigned body guard to knit for you. That's not what there here for. There's one thing Wintergreen does best and what he does isn't very jolly.

Things quickly get all humbuggy as 5 familiar figures show up.. figures SEEMINGLY matching the KND.. but wearing masks and acting unusual. I mean showing up somewhere and shooting a bunch of adults with tranq dart,s including about 40 for Elf Logan because ti's the only way he sleeps at night. Otherwise he just strokes that picture of Elf Jean Grey longingly. It weirds the rest of the team out.

Still there's clear hints it's not them: besides the makss they dont' talk or yell. While they CAN be quite on a mission, it's usually not fo rlong and usually nigel would at least have to give out some order. Most dammingly.. you have Number 3 in a room full of Rainbow Monkeys and she DOSEN'T react? That.. that's not possibly her.

The elves reactions are also gold as their all holly and jolly even as their getting some mmmmm drugs. Even the one who yells at them for entering the REINDEER room tells them merry christmas. So they enter it and kindap the santy claws as we get our holly jolly credits.

One title explination later, we're back with what's the REAL sector V, though the special does do a good job keeping it ambigious: While most audiences first instnct, even child me, is to say "well of course it's not them" Numbah 4 mentions an icy fortress, and their all returning from somewhere that isn't revaled till later. Given this franchise it could just as easily be that Santa was evil or undre mind control or they stole it to save it from a greater danger. It's not of course but the fact we don't know if they did it and if it wasn't them who adds nicely to the tension and their are hints as to who.. but we'll get to those at the reveal.

Our heroes prepapre to head home, with Numbah 3 being the most excitable and kind of the group, happy to give Numbah 4 his gift. They have a very drawn out will they or won't they thing, though it's a bit more tolerable than most series as their children and Numbah 4 is in DEEP denial. Like jason fox or calvin insertlastname here levels of girls have cooties I don't have feelings YOU HAVE FEELINGS. STOP ASKING QUESTIONS. Their just kids so it works that it dosen't go anywhere and Kuki is empathetic enough I coudl see her patiently waiting for him to finally stop being a butt.

Turns out theres a snag as Wally didn't get her a present. Which is typical for him. What really clearly distresses numbah three.. is that NO ONE did. When she mentions a gift exchange EVERYONE else whitstles nonchanlantly and Nigie tries to change the subject as soon as possible. That makes what she does in the climax more understandable.. whlie Numbah 4's actions are crappy.. their typical for him. She's used to this dance in their relationship by now and for once he seems genuinely regretful till of course Numbah 5 teases him with a predictable response

But NONE of them, including Numbah 5 herself, bothering to get her a gift when she clearly wen tout of her way to get all of them one , especailly given how their one big family? Yeah that's far less forgiveable. She does, to her defense brush it off as it's better to give and receive but the gang has bigger issues. Someone has stolen the treehouse

Yeah this went from the ocasional shocking moment.. to being so common Nigel has a melt down over it and rightfully so. You'd get pissed too if your second home got kidnaped every other week. Though to answer his rhetorical question of "why", simple: it's your base of operations with all your stuff in it. Granted their flying bus thing MIGHT have some weapons stashed.. but given the KND also puts "blow up the engine buttons" on it's vehicles and how numbers 2 3 and 4 can be when it comes to actually doing their jobs at times, it's just as likely the emergency slot has a bunch of candy, broken rocks, comics, and rainbow monkeys instead of weapons. I mean it's still all useful it's just not when the best at what he does and friends come a knocking.

Naturally for wolverine's bootleg, Wintergreen is waiting propped on on one of the plane thingy's wheels with a candycane in mouth. Because if Marvel won't let the man who cannot get cancer and is in no remote danger of it smoke because "drugs are bad mkay" then Cartoon Network sure as heck won't.

I do love how they get Logan down so well though: After seein Garth ennis' attempts at parodying logan which were

That… it's nice to see one done with affection that really GETS the character: his manerisims, his attitude, his competnece, his sideburns, hell even how he looks shirtless. Which may be a weird thing to get down, but it's something that's been hilariously and weirdly consitant. That and the fact he goes shirtless a lot. The movies got some things right and other things horribly wrong, but the one thing they just downright nailed was that logan shows off those canadian abs a LOT. Him being shirtless is about as much of a costume to him as the old yellow and blues or the less used but still awesome browns and slightly lighter browns.

Point is it's very clear the writers of KND REALLY loved the x-men and this parody was done in good fun. The idea of making the X-Men into christmas elves is the weird kind of redressing this show is REALLY good at and it fits the x-men like a glove. As I like to repeat the x-men are REALLY fucking weird and i'm just skippy with it. Cyclops lived on the moon for a whlie, mutantkind as a whole lives on a sentient island that tried to murder them once, death is such a non factor that Mr. Sinsiters advice to seeing if ressurction will fix nightcrawler growing horns is just to shoot him, Storm is queen of mars with Magneto as one of her staunchest allies, and there's also Doop.

And most of that is just recent events. THey've fought demons, been to space so often mutankind is in good with a space empire with Xavier's clone daughter leading them, storm has merged with a space whale, an extradimeisdonal tv exective wants to record them for his shows, and one of them has a space dragon. The X-Men are so inherently gloriously insane that having an elf equivleant isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to them and finding out which one would be near impossible. Like I said though Wintergreen acts like Logan and it's thankfully not early days "will kill you just for looking at him sideways" logan, but later "calm and resonable but will cut a bitch if you cross him" logan. He asks for the REINDEER back civily wanting to avoid a fight. Our heroes are the ones who draw on him and while sure Elf Logan took their treehouse, they didn't bother to try and talk things out.

So we get KVX.. or KVE as the x-men here are Elpha Strike, a nice nod to alpha flight, a candian super team. Their really more like the avengers, down to having their own hulk in sasquatch, but since they started out in X-Men and are old friends of wolverine despite trying to kidnap him a few times, as you do with your buddies, their frequently part of the x-men. It helps they never really QUITE broke out like creator John Byrne was hoping.

So for this parody the team stuck with the classics, the four longest standing x-men who served as the teams core during Chris Claremont's legendary franchise defining run: You've met wintergreen who had peppermintium in his bones, but we also have Nutcracker, based on demonic looking german teleporter and badass preacher Nightcrawler (complete wtih telepoting and being mildly unsettling), Snow Angel, whose primarily based on queen of mars, former queen of wakanda and always survivor storm having her apperance and beign associated with the wather but also has shades of two other x-men; Ice man (having snow powers) and angel (having half the name and the wings), and finally conferous, based on Colosus. Sadly they didn't bring Elf Deadpool, nor an elf cyclops with visons of sugarplums. Maybe he was busy with Elf Madlyn Prior. I dunno.

Point is the fight is fun if mostly one sided: While the KND are good, they only have some chillip peper guns against people as strong as the uncanny x-men's best and just as skilled. The only reason the KND even turns the tied is their trying take the present Numbah 3 got for Numbah 4 thinking it's the reindeer and well.. Kuki may be one of the sweetest kindest people you'll ever meet in fiction but for fucks sake DO NOT. PISS HER. OFF. The fact she juggernaughts Elfa Strike all her own proves that. She even pantses Wintergreen and pushes him off the tree house stump.

Not wanting to do this because Numbah 3 would make a good new child sidekick but out of options Wintergreen calls in their strongest attack, the 12 days of christmas attack. Which is just dropping all those things on her. Including a danny partridge in a pear tree.

Wintergreen gets the present but SUPRISE it's just a special edition rainbow monkey which was where they were: in line at the offical store to get it as you can ONLY get it on christmas eve. Good thing it wasn't a tickle me wiggly. Wintergreen realizes wait something's off and BACK AT THE NORTH POLL, because Elpha Strike didn't think to check the room where the REINDEER you know was or comb it for Santa or the REINDEER itself as Kev pointed out to me because.. I guess they were hungry ? I mean I know how much wolverines love turkey

WE find out who it was: The Delightful Children From Down the Lane, a creepy hive mind of children and our heroes arch enemy. Their so called good children.. who instead bully and harass other children and try to take things from them as they feel entitled to it. Since they all loook similar enough, they easily pulled this off. It's also nice foreshadowing for a twist of just where they came from later. I dont know if this was setup or they just decided on it later and it fit into place but well played.

Naturally their NOT on the nice list being you know, evil little shits, but being ENTITLED evil shits, they've decided to use the REINDEER to get the presents they feel owed while everyone else gets coal.

The REINDEER itself is a clever concept, santaizing another X-Men concept; Cerebro. It's a cool looking metal helmet that telepaths, i.e. Charles Xavier or Jean Grey mainly, can use to find any mutant. It's also now backup for any mutants personality so they can be brought back from the dead.

This is the only part of the parody really taken from the movies as a big metal walkway leading into a giant dome room wasn't really a thing for cerebro till the movies, though its now so iconic it wasn't relaly changed till charles started wearing it full time. And it';s as dope looking as it sounds

It also has a neat grid and is how santa delivers presents: he links up with it and gives presents to any kid he finds nice and giving coal to the naughty. He also warns that like Cerebro it's a LOT. Not everyone can handle it which the Delightfuls naturally ignore.

So as the Delightfuls try to steal christmas, our heroes arrive at the poll, now all on the same page as most superhero team ups go: you fight a bit, realize you were bamboozled and then kick the ass of who made the misunderstanding happen. The Delightfuls just.. shut the door and reveal their contegency: Edna Jucation, a bitter susbtitue teacher whose mad Christmas overshadows substitute teachers day

And who unelashes the faculty four, a teachertastic verison of the fantastic four. WE have mr physically phtiastic, who instead of the skinny and stretchy genius reed richards is a buff gym teacher who can stretch, the unteillgible tutor who instead of the mepahtetic and unstoppable invisble sue storm is an headache inducing branaic, the human text , the human torch but made of paper instead of fire and fuckboy energy, and thesarsus rex… whose a dinosaur made of books instead of a grumpy brooklyn rock man because the pun was too awesome not to use. They were apparently suppsoed to be the secretary squad.. but Cartoon Network didn't think kids would get office jokes. Which sucks.. but is probably right and the faculty four fit the knds rogues better nad honestly i'm shocked they didn't fight our heroes again. They aren't any weirder or less specific than the foes our heroes usually face

Elfa Strike takes them on while Winty has our heroes sneak in. They find the delightfuls… all with grinch face and BEGGING for help. Turns out that's what abusing the REINDEER does, so our heroes yank it away from them with Santa's help and all is well right? Everyone's ready to call it a day, with Santa being greatful and it's a nice touch that Santa is one of the few non-parent adults our heroes fully trust. Even Nigel, who distrusts any adult who isn't a parent on sight, is happy to see the big guy. Even an anti-adult orginization knows Santa is an ally.

Problem is.. Kuki found the reindeer and while she intends to use it for good, to give her friends even more presents.. power corrupts and even the nicest soul has her hate and reseintment over her friends screwing her over take her over, going full Dark Phoenix and preparing to do what the delightfuls did. Santa has only one option: Send Numbah 4 In

We get a nice bit too as Santa outright tells Numbah 4 "You think if I had another option i'd be sending YOU?". And he's right as Wally giving Kuki his french fries is a warm enough gesture, she drops it instantly. Santa thanks the knd, but asks them to get stepping as he only has minutes to undo the damage. We do get a really nice moment with him and Numbah 3 though: she's genuinely sorry, on the verge of tears. .but he forgives her. He gets that the REINDEER is simply THAT powerful, and that she's truly sorry. SHe's a goo done. We also get a nice gag to cap things off as it's reveald Elfa Strike simply used the tree as a christmas tree for ice skating ala time square. Merry Christmas to all and al la good night bub.

This episode is excellent, a true christmas classic that not only combines two great tastes that taste awesome togehter, but is just a fun christmas story. It's not every show that could pull off christmas of x.. but not every show is KND. Thanks for reading.

[etakeh]

After listening to this two-parter on Dr Dobson, I realize that I, and my kid, kind of dodged some bullets.

I'm at a particular age where I was a small child in the early Dobson years, and had a small child in the late 90s, when things got really rolling for him.

This is going to be long, but I'm feeling some things. Feel free to skip my commentary and go listen to the podcast, I won't be offended. I do think it's worth listening to, especially since Garrison Davis is the guest, who has a personal connection to the "gay conversion" stuff from the second episode.

If you want my personal feelings on the thing, read on.

My dad was religious, after a lapse of two wives between his religious parents and his current wife. They were the type of Christians where...well like this.

I grew up with my mom, visiting dad on holidays. The one time I spent actual Christmas day with his new family, he sat me down and asked me if I knew what "the true meaning of Christmas is".

I was maybe 12. Not exactly the age where I could have avoided this knowledge, but he (I'm sure at the prompting of his new wife) assumed I didn't know. That I hadn't been exposed to that information, somehow.

If he'd been a better father, he'd know that I went to church with my great-grandparents, that I'd gone to Sunday school and Christian day camps. I mean not because my mom was particularly religious, but it was a free babysitter for a woman raising three kids with, you know, no father. In fact, when she talked about god, she was angry. "Why does god let babies die" etc.

anyway. They assumed it was ignorance that kept me from being a full-blown Christian. There's no way I could have heard The Word and not want to be actively Jesusing.

So, I have anecdotal evidence that I was a "strong-willed child". I have recently found letters from my mom, to my dad, detailing how "out of control" I was. Begging him to play a more active roll in my upbringing. or maybe just visiting every now and then.

I was kindygarden/1st grade when this book came out.

Not having had my dad take an active part in my childhood, I didn't have this "parenting advice" visited upon me. Thanks? I guess?

Fast-forward to the late 90s, and I am a single parent with a "strong-willed child" of the kindygarden/1st grade age. I now lived, by a long string of situations, not far from my dad and his not-so-new wife. It's nice, they are remarkably good grandparents. She did all the grandma things, baking and crafts and reading to my kid. My dad let my kid tromp around with him around the property, played video games with them, and built a pretty badass playhouse for the two grandkids.

But they kept trying to sneak in religion. He'd get them a new video game that was cartoon Christian history, she'd read a fun illustrated book of bible stories. That kind of thing.

And they both started suggesting I took these parenting classes that were being given at a local gathering place. I wasn't super smart about it, but when they gave me a flyer and it mentioned "Focus on the Family" I absolutely struck it down. I didn't say that was why, I just let it slide til they stopped asking me. They didn't want to push and stop letting them see my kid, and I didn't want my kid to lose the legitimately good time she had with them.

And now I'm listening to this podcast.

I sent my kid this message after the first part

I was fully joking. My kid is not neurotypical, so the kinds of "discipline" they were promoting would absolutely not have worked. And if it had, it would have fucked my kid up. like it probably did to a lot of kids.

Then I listen to the second part. that gets heavily into gay conversion therapy.

And send my kid this

cause you know what? my kid is queer. It wasn't a recognized thing when they were kindygarden aged, and I'd like to think I wouldn't have gotten overly influenced by this program, but I'm sitting here thinking, What if I had?

What if I'd decided to run with it. How fucked up would that be.

There's a chance my kid would have gotten sucked in as well. and/or that we ended up having a falling out because of it. and/or that my kid could have ended up dead.

It's honestly kind of terrifying.

So I guess thanks mom for being so angry at god, and thanks to dad for being so annoying about god. Between the two of you, it worked out.

and to my kid, You're welcome . Where's my prize.

[freetobeafcknriot]

slowly making my way through jake's panel and not even a minute in he's already going all out with innuendos lmfao i love him. i'm gonna use bullet points.

he's mentioned the odd couple spin-off for michael and adam again when someone asked him what kind of uncles michael and adam would have been. his reply: “fancy cool cute uncles. [...] i wish they were my uncles. i'm my own uncle!” aw ♡

okay i love this one, so, Q: “adam as a character kind of had a lot of mistrust with people and kind of betrayals, like during season 5 or when he came back. which character do you think he would punch hardest in the face?” jake: “i was gonna say god! i think that’s fair, i think he’s so close to michael that he’d be like, ‘Hey! Asshole! You mess with my ‘‘uncle-buddy’’, you mess with me.’ uh, yeah i think he’d punch chuck in the face real hard and he would have michael’s power when he did it. he’d be super pissed, like—” [insert onomatopoeic sound idk how to convey lol] 

oh someone asked him a neat thing-y (no it’s not a/b/o territory yet) !  Q: “if you were to write a supernatural story set in an alternate universe when everyone is human, who’s gonna get together, how raunchy is it, like—“ jake: “you shouldn’t use my imagination, you said it’s an alternate universe, which set me up and i was like going places. but they have to be human?” Q: “oh, they don’t have to, if you really don’t want them to be human, you’ve got other ideas. i’m not saying—“ jake: “you’re good! [...] i think we can piggyback on the odd couple sitcom idea, i think it’s definitely the way to go and yeah, you bet your butt it’s gonna be raunchy. the whole pitch— that’s my whole pitch, like, much like my panels the show’s a little horny. not inappropriately sooo! but we’re gonna ride the line a little, alright? Gotta Make Some Things Canon! yeah, so it would be— and as far as our physical form, hhm! we should be something. we should have tails or something. i’m not joking, i’m Not going There, stop saying that. [moment of silence] that’s it! :D” OKAY YOU MENACE.

off topic but i want the confidence of the girl who greeted him by saying 'hi bestie! :)'

anyway she asked him which one of his line would benefit from the f-word in his opinion and he ended up going with "since when do we get what we fucking want deserve," LITERALLY YEAH.

he got asked which character was more fun to play — a demigod and an archangel — and on one hand jake said michael never got to fly (we were robbed for that. assuming that he wouldn't have turned out like the au!michael vs lucifer mid-air fight lol) whilst luke did, but on the other hand he played two people in the same scene and that was also a lot of fun. "i got to work with my favorite actor, scene parter, he made me better i think i made him better," LMFAO

Q: "i was just wondering how you feel about adam being left behind in lucifer's cage, especially with how often dean and same are trying to save each other and then they just kind of rushed right past adam." jake: "yeah it's pretty shitty! it's a Pretty Shitty thing to do—forget about your brother. however, I Think the time spent between adam and michael was not wasted..." i'm sorry what. "and i honestly think the relationship— uh, i joked about wanting to be run over [by a bus. it's a joke about his coming back before s15 happened lol], but it was really fun to explore that close relationship that they had. i think that's like, it was really a unique thing to explore; this bond that was created, the fact they probably went insane together and then like... was each other's therapist. like got a grip on reality again. yeah, pretty messed up. appreciate it."

Q: "if you had a choice, what hair color would michael and adam dye their hair?" it's so funny :'D jake's answer is: pink mohawk for adam, and michael would probably just dye his hair darker. like the deepest back that's not available to humans.

Q: "what album or artist do you think adam would love, like, his favorite movie?" jake.exe has stopped working lol he didn't know right away so he asked the fan and she said she's a taylor swift fan, "so i think he's a sucker for Red," and jake agreed and added that, "adam thought he liked 1989 but then Red came out," then thought about it and said it would be a music compilation from '1998 reunion - now that's what i call music'.

... y'all, A/B/O time has come lol

LE CHAOS.

HIS FACE.

THE "you're welcomeeeeee," IN THE CROWD.

okay. i refuse to transcribe everything, but the question was about michael and adam's secondary genders lol. jake: "here's the thing! i hadn't A Clue what [stnads] meant when she—michelle sent that to me. i googled it. i took that bite from the apple of knowledge, and now i cannot take the taste out of my mouth. so, yeah she sent it to me for approval, she said, 'hey what d'you think?' and i was like, 'ehm, let me look this up,' and then i did. and i was like, Fucking Go For It! [...] okay so, who would be the alpha and who would be the omega. i think we all know michael would be the alpha, do we not agree?" (cue sounds from the audience) "we think Adam is the alpha?" (i should have been there i'm cackling. someone said 'because he keeps michael in check!') "... okay, now you changed my mind."

someone made a daddy joke about it, but i didn't get it so like, okay to each one their own. i still disagree and thought he got it right the first time around.

okay, he's talking about the natural-born killers episode a director pitched for him in season nine, we all know the one — with michael and adam on the road. we were robbed.

a fan is talking about a theory where adam is actually raphael's true vessel because he was pre-med and there’s a theoretical fourth brother somewhere out there. what makes me laugh is jake saying we'll had him to the sitcom and going, "another younger brother?" / "yeah we should have that," / "no we shouldn't. there can only be one alpha."

jake: i might just actually write that as a non-supernatural thing. not a bad idea! someone in the crowd: make it a fanfiction and pitch us it! jake: calm dowm.

alright, there is a whole lot of fun stuff going on and it's funny, like he and his brother thinking hanson were pretty girls and then finding out they’re actually pretty boys. also more a/b/o discourse. and he made his dean voice and went, "daddy's here," and "daddy's home."

Q: "since adam and michael spent a lot of time in the cage, of all the activities that they did to keep themselved busy what do you think was the dumbest?" jake: "grow a mustache and blow dry it."

Q: "if adam ruled hell, what's the first thing that he would change?" jake: "the elevator music would have '1998 now that's what i call music' on the loop because it still has to be a little bit like Hell. i think hell has elevator music."

and that’s it, that’s all folks :’)

[peppersonironi]

Sambucky Fic Recs #2

Part One |

Today's Theme: Soulmate Au's

Welcome to this today's theme! I happen to really enjoy these types of fics and thankfully there's a decent selection in the sambucky tag! Here are Ten fics for your enjoyment! (more under the cut)

1. A Touch of Pain by TowardTheStars

Sam had just turned seven when his world first exploded into pain.

Or, Sam feels his soulmate's pain and wishes to save them from their torment.

Quick warning before we get into things: This is currently a WIP. But I'm finding it great so far! This fic is more Sam-focused with great angst. Also some past Sam/Riley, which I'm always a sucker for!

2. Bright Colors Of Love by Yoursaltness_and_TheMemeQueen

The first time soulmates had skin to skin touch you’d be able to see the colors, that whenever you touched you’d be able to see the world in color, and that the first kiss made colors permanent.

When Sam Wilson is 20 he meets Riley, he falls in love. He takes a risk and holds his hand, the world stays black and white, and he thinks he understands why his aunt says that you don’t need a soulmate to be happy. When Riley dies, there is a bitter part of him that thanks the universe for not making them soulmates. - The first time James “Bucky” Barnes heard about soulmates was through the TV.

He reaches out to hold Steves hand and wonders if the universe can make mistakes.

He decides at about 17 that maybe soulmates are overrated, that the universe is too mysterious to trust. As he’s falling and hears Steve’s cry, he decided the universe is a bitch that knows too much and probably hates his guts. - Flash forward, Bucky knows they're soulmates, Sam doesn't.

Secret Santa Gift for Max!!

This has just the right amount of angst, and I was amazed by how well written it was! I love this fic so much!

3. Reach Out and Hold the Sun by Aluxra

When you touch your soulmate skin to skin, you leave a colour unique to you on them. 106 years and Bucky never received a mark.

Until Now.

Oh my gosh the mutual pining! The uncertainty! The fear of rejection! The utter relief and love that comes at the end! I was grinning ear to ear the whole time reading this!

4. redefining in every way what love is by lovelypenguins1717

On the non-dominant wrist of every person lays a soulmark. A unique mark that appears whenever their soulmate is born. It is the true north to their other half.

Bucky never had a mark and now he’ll never know.

Sam had found his, but the soulmark is meaningless now that Riley’s dead.

But sometimes soulmates are chosen.

*COMPLETE*

Now this is an interesting twist on soulmate aus! I usually love the ones where the people are destined for each other, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed the idea of choosing each other. It was so sweet!

5. Exactly What You're Looking For by @snarky-drabbles

When you lose something, it might appear beside your soulmate in the morning.

Sam never found anything from his soulmate until after Bucky Barnes dragged Steve from the Potomac.

Bucky grew up never finding a thing either, but after he finally gets free from Hydra, he starts finding things beside him the morning.

This is the story of them coming together.

now with a chapter of outtakes and alternate ending

I'll be honest, this fic is hilarious!! The romance aspect and yearning is great, but that ending is just on another level!

More Fics Under the Cut

6. I keep closing my eyes (but I can't blink you out) by @lesbianhozier

Bucky avoids eye contact as much as possible. He can hold a conversation without so much as looking at your face, the only exception to this being Steve. Sam definitely knows why and has seen it a few times before; soulmates. A brief moment of eye contact can change your entire life if it’s with the right person; your soulmate.

canon divergence in Civil War fic. I'll be honest this isn't necessarily my favorite, and it feels a touch weird near the end, but I still enjoyed it! The premise was fascinating and the writing was pretty good.

7. adored by @capnwinghead

The marks were legend - your soulmate's name on one wrist and your enemy's on the other. Most people spent their lives trying to decipher them. Bucky Barnes spent most of his life avoiding them.

Oh the angst in this one!!! So good!!

8. gunmetal grey by Someone_aka_Me

Soulmates wear the same mask, and only your soulmate can remove it.

Sam isn't expecting to find his mask in a history book, worn by a man who's been dead for decades.

I literally cannot sing the praises of this fic enough!!! Holy crap it's so good!!!! It takes place in ca:tws and continues afterwards, but it ignores AoU/ca:cw. I don't read to many fics from this era (working on more of them, though! I got a request for some fic recs, and my research is so much fun!), but I'm honestly adoring this so much. And the writing is so good too! And the whole premise of soulmate masks was fascinating to me! I've never read a fic like this before. BUT I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!!

9. there is a sweetness in you by Someone_aka_Me

AU: Your soulmate is the only person who cannot hurt you.

Sam gets kicked off a helicarrier — yet he can't help but notice the boot to the chest doesn't hurt like it should.

Yeah, yet another of this kind of au. They seem to be semi-popular for sambucky (Kinda? there aren't too many soulmate au fics though). But I'm a sucker for them, alright? And this one is so cute too! :-D

10. Fortune Tellers And Falling & Fortune Tellers And Falling: Part 2 by @jeffersonshattricks

Prompt: During a “game” Sam is told that is soulmate will be the next person to do “X” to him and it happens to be Bucky. Sam is in denial but destiny cannot be stopped.

&

The is Bucky's POV for the first part of this. It explains how he knew they were soul mates, and shows a bit of what he went through while waiting for Sam to catch up.

A Two-Parter right here, guys! So fun! I love fics that show both POV's, they just add a new dimension, alright? Also, the pining and uncertainty in these are super good!

And that's it for today folks! I really hope you enjoy these! Once again, feel free to hop into my asks and request any trope or theme you'd like! I already got one that I'm currently working on, so that'll be fun! I also have a coupole other themes that I'm working on right now too, and I'm really excited about them!

Also, let me know if you want to be tagged for these!

[supergirlfansworld]

Supergirl star Chyler Leigh steps behind the camera to direct Tuesday's episode of The CW superhero drama -- and it's not your typical hour of high-flying action. The conclusion of a two-part flashback arc set in 2009 Midvale, which turns back the dial to further explore the dynamics between Kara Danvers (Izabela Vidovic) and her sister, Alex (Olivia Nikkanen), in their younger years, picks up right where things left off. As young Kara experiences kryptonite for the first time, a young Cat Grant or "CJ" here (guest star Eliza Helm), may be the reason Supergirl never gets out of the Phantom Zone.

Directing a different kind of episode for Supergirl in its final season wasn't something Leigh had planned necessarily. "It didn't really strike me until I got on Supergirl that I didn't think that I would ever not do something else in the industry," the 39-year-old actress tells ET. "But watching the whole process and being part of it from the start of the show, just picking up on things and story, having a love for storytelling in general, I feel like I was already always directing."

Ahead of the latest episode, Leigh discusses making her directorial debut, the final season of Supergirl and why it was "special" to finally get closure on Grey's Anatomy in her surprise return.

ET: This week's Supergirl marks your directorial debut. Had you been working up to this moment in your career?

Chyler Leigh: It didn't really strike me until I got on Supergirl that I didn't think that I would ever not do something else in the industry. But watching the whole process and being part of it from the start of the show, just picking up on things and story, having a love for storytelling in general, I feel like I was already always directing. You just learn so much, I think, from really being able to take ownership of the character, but really having to step into a realm that I never imagined I would ever be a part of something like superheroes. I had been talking to the producers, to Greg [Berlanti] and Sarah Schechter, and then Robert [Rovner] and Jessica Queller for a few seasons now, where I was saying, "Hey, this is a great opportunity. I would really love to take a stab at it if I can." And they were like, "Oh my god, absolutely." When they told me that I was going to be able to direct this season, and then Robert and Jessica told me that it was going to be a Midvale episode two-parter, I was just like, "OK, this is awesome."

Are you content with where Alex's story ends?

It's bittersweet. There's obvious reasons for the show to be the final season. But at the same time, I still feel like Alex has so many more stories to tell, but I think that by the end of it, it'll be a pretty good wrap-up without that sense of, "Now this is their life." It's going to be a "to be continued" kind of thing. It's understanding that, OK, they've reached a certain point in their life where it's almost like the audience can hopefully give them permission to imagine them having some time to be happy and it not be dire straits all the time. There's always going to be bad guys. But my hope is to be able to see more of those moments, where they can find a bit of joy amidst the chaos, which they do. But obviously, it would be cool to have more of that. And we have so many of our actors, so many of us, that are finally now really in all these scenes together, which has been so much fun. It's just been great to mix things up here and there, and [explore] different dynamics between everybody. So I feel like it's rounding out really well. The story that we're telling is that you don't have to be a superhero to be super powerful. It's basically giving the people in National City or the people in the world encouragement that they can also be their own heroes. They can also tell their own stories and trying to empower people. That's the goal. And I think we're doing a pretty damn good job of that.

(xx)

[wishingicouldfly]

I've been actively blogging for more than six months, even though I've had a tumblr account for ten years. I started reading One Direction (specifically Larry) fanfiction about the same time.

Originally, I read exclusively canon compliant fiction--I was hungry for industry insider, what-could-have-happened narratives. But I've slowly branched out into other genres. I find fanfic--good fanfic--super calming. When I've had too much stunting, too much noise, I grab a fanfic and immerse myself. So I thought it was time to do a post about my favorites. Keep in mind, I'm terrible at cataloging, and I have over 150 bookmarks on my A03 Account, so this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I'm not including the classics like Tired, Tired Sea and Escapade. While I do love both of those (so well written), because a lot of people know about those already.

My all time favorites are by @helloamhere

1. The Multipicity of Powers - https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580229

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

Me: I never thought I'd love a super hero 1D cross over, but this is so well done. The backstory, the pacing, the characterization, the friendship. Read it.

2. Saving Symphony Hall and it's prequel Night Out - https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633921

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

Me: The best sex scene I've ever read is in the prequel Night Out. Sexy, but tender. I love the characterizations in this duo--ABO but not traditional. Doesn't feel out of character.

3. Just Let Me -https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695350

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

Me: I love love love this. Harry is so gentle, and Louis is so stubborn and needy. It's ABO but subtle. I'll read this one again and again. It's comforting.

@HelloAmHere is one of the best writers I know--amazing stuff. I also love their werewolf story, but it's not finished, so I won't link it here.

Other favorites:

1. Seven Up by cherrystreet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828539

Very loosely based on the British TV show "The Up Series" and somewhat inspired by the song “Something I Need” by Onerepublic, we follow the lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in an interview setting every seven years. They fall apart and come together, their lives and emotions recorded. Harry calls it a time capsule. Louis calls it a pain in the arse.

Me: Trigger Warning, major character death. I literally SOBBED through the end of this. It was lovely and devastating. So good. But be warned.

2. Light, Spark and Fire series by @greenfeelings

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Louis and Zayn run a music label, Liam is Britain’s up-and-coming pop star, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down until he builds his own up, and Niall holds them all together without realising he does.

Me: A nice healthy three-parter. Characters you just want to live with for a while.

3. Relief Next to Me by dolce_piccante - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117942

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Me: This one is super long, so be prepared when you dive in. It's got a lot of lovely bits, and some great smut.

4. 2012 'Verse by ashavahishta - https://archiveofourown.org/series/27601

Me: This is a five-parter and satisfies my love of canon compliant stories. It spans most of 2012 and into 2013, and illustrates the difficulties of Harry and Louis' relationship amid the band success and management disapproval.

5. Love After the End of the World by mercurial-madhouse (writing_practice) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31251434/chapters/77248901

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

Me: Really unusual (as far as I can tell) end of the world story. I loved the characterizations of soul mates here at the end of the world.

6. Flightless Bird by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401653/chapters/14656807

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

Me: Trigger Warning, sexual assault (by an original character to a major character). This was a little brutal because I hated to see a broken Harry, but it was well written and has a happy ending.

7. Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816771/chapters/3900322

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

Me: I loved Louis in this one--actually they are both pretty great. Scratch that, they are ALL pretty great.

8. Shake Me Down by AGreatPerhaps12 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331958/chapters/7285322

Harry's new to college, fresh out of Catholic school and conversion therapy camp, and Louis runs the campus LGBTQIA organization.

Me: I don't like the self-hate here, but it was necessary for the story and H comes around. Found family vibe.

9. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar - https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Me: I loved Harry in this one. Louis gets there. I don't like Liam, but I don't think you're supposed to. Zayn is great.

10. Own the Scars by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1010796

Louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friend, for the life he's supposed to want. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons. On the long and difficult road to recovery, Louis must confront the truths he’s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. Because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

Me: Harry is lovely in this one. Trigger warning, substance abuse and near death.

11. Wild Love by purpledaisy - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030904

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Me: I loved this way more than I thought I would. It's lovely and messy and I love it.

12. Victorian Boy by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosann1986/readings?page=6

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

Me: Historical fiction I didn't intend to love. I LOVE Harry in this one. LOTS of smut, so be warned.

13. Keep Me Closer by zanni_scaramouche - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752633

Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.

Me: lovely, protective Louis just trying to do the right thing.

14. Turning Page by purpledaisy for SockstheDog

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826345

AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been.  Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

Me: sweet love story. Niall owns a bar, and is pretty great.

15. Freedom Always Comes With a Price by Cyantific - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30278514/chapters/74624262

A shared dream brings them together onto the X-factor stage, but one decision changes Harry and Louis’ lives overnight. Thrust into a world of instant stardom, they're forced to live a lie to sustain their dreams, but years of living in the shadows and under strict management takes its toll.

With the bands impending hiatus, there’s no better time for change, so they think.

Desperate for a solution, they turn to an unlikely source with a radical plan. An unfortunate accident sets everything in motion, but not how they intended, leaving Louis’ memories altered, Harry broken-hearted and full of regret.

Can Harry figure out a way to fix everything? Will he even want to once he sees how Louis moved on after the hiatus? Will Louis ever find out the truth of their past and can he forgive Harry after all this time?

In the end, two friends find out that memories are elusive, trust is everything and love is the only antidote.

Me: Heartbreaking when they lose each other, but really good in the end.

16. Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025519/chapters/13821628

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

17. Hold You Now by solvetheminourdreams - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30253536/chapters/74556744

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind. When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

Me: Niall is great. They almost miss each other in this one, and you just want to bash them over the head. But they figure it out.

18. At Risk, I Fold by clare328 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542480

2015 is a stream of hotel rooms and whisky on the rocks, tired glances and touching hands under tables. It’s the bears and the bees under a rainbow sky, and Harry and Louis have to figure out how to grow up together, instead of apart.

Me: A canon compliant fic that feels like it could have really happened. Set in 2015. Lovely first chapter and scene where Harry writes If I Could Fly--i could read that chapter over and over.

19. Into The Blue by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035822/chapters/2065499

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Me: AKA the Scuba fic.

20. Tie Your Heart by ArcadianMaggie - https://archiveofourown.org/works/546688/chapters/973236

Harry grows wings.

Me: How can you not love a fic where Harry grows wings? Trigger warning: injury of a major character.

21. I think I'll end this here. My last and probably first favorite (read it more than once) is...

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach - https://archiveofourown.org/works/934996/chapters/1820282

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

Me: I LOVED the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I'm a huge fan of time travel, so this is right up my alley. It's really well done, weaving canon into fantasy and then going years forward in tme. I love everything about it. Great character development. Really good smut. Trigger warning, there's a little underage sex, so be aware. Anyway, LOVE this one so much.

I'll add to this but it's already longer than I meant it to be.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 35

It's 1941! The Second World War is now underway, and we, lucky things that we are, get the glory that is Christopher Ecclestone's Doctor back as we reach the Empty Child.

Incidentally, if you were a young Welsh adult in 2005, this episode absolutely blew your tits clean off even more effectively than Margaret's email. We held WATCH PARTIES for the second part. This was THE story we all went feral for, and it is fascinating revisiting it now, almost two decades later, as part of this incredibly pig-stupid watch order. It looks so dated! Everyone is so young! Richard Wilson has a role for a single scene and completely steals not just the show but the entire fucking series! That hospital is the Old Infirmary in Cardiff! Those train station steps are at Cathays! I'm having THE BEST time

Okay anyway

So this is the first of a two-parter - the Doctor and Rose chase a spaceship that's on Mauve Alert (aliens consider Red Alert to be camp, apparently) through the time stream to land in London, 1941, except they land a month behind it. On landing, the Doctor meets Nancy, a homeless woman who spends her time breaking into people's houses while the air raids are going and stealing food for a horde of adorable homeless urchins, except they're all being menaced by the titular Empty Child, who it emerges is a creepy gas mask zombie that used to be Nancy's brother - until a month ago.

It follows them and has Bluetooth. Likes asking if they're its mam. Connects with phones. There's a fun bit where it makes the TARDIS phone ring, which reactivated an 18 year old memory in me of me fucking GASPING at the time.

Eventually the Doctor makes it to the bomb site. The Old Infirmary I'm sorry a definitely real London hospital is nearby, and Richard Wilson is playing a Doctor inside (some SUPER FUN bits where Nancy says "You need to meet the Doctor" and we're all like "Whoa, another Doctor, say what -" look this episode BLEW OUR TITS CLEAN OFF, okay, it's so atmospheric and mysterious). He's the only one still alive - the wards are filled with rows and rows of people, gas masked like the Empty Child, and equally empty. This is where Nancy's brother was first brought, we're told; and the next day, everyone who touched him became like him. Within the week, so were all the patients. They now all have the exact same injuries, and they lie dormant, like creepy zombies.

It happens to Richard Wilson right in front of us and it's so, so creepy. Fuck me this is a good episode. Like I know, I know, it's a Moffat one, and I'm not going to pretend there aren't the occasional troublesome bit, but the fact is that the man does his best work when he has a talented editor who tells him no and takes the pen out of his hands before he wrecks his own stories. Moffat-edited-by-RTD produces some great stuff, and this is one. Yeah I said it. AND I'D SAY IT AGAIN)

MEANWHILE Rose immediately wandered off after landing ("Just once," the Doctor mournfully tells a random street cat he sees and instantly scoops up and cwtches, "I'd like someone who doesn't wander off. 800 years and it's the only thing that would still surprise me"). She decides to climb a random rope up a blimp for no reason other than The Plot Requires It (curse you, Moffat), and then gets rescued...

BY CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

We're getting this in order!!!! We haven't met him before!!! But oh, we have had him TEASED to us, haven't we - we know he gives Whittaker a warning to beware the Lone Cyberman, or billions will die. We know he'll "get round" to Me. And now we're meeting him!!!! Fantastic.

He is, too, he's the epitome of Be Gay Do Crimes. He's a conman. Turns out the spaceship they were chasing - which is somehow causing the gas mask people - was sent by Jack, because he thought they were time agents and wanted to fleece them. It's an ambulance! Though he made sure it was empty, so no clue yet how Bluetooth gas mask zombies are the result. Rose spends the majority of this episode absolutely horny on main for this guy; I mean it's very, you know, Moffatt writing, but also Jack is very fun and sexy so fair enough, girl, he's a sure thing and you got needs you chase that dick. He saves her from falling to her death, too, so that's fun.

Anyway the episode ends on a big cliffhanger. Nancy is found by her empty zombie brother, who corners her in a house and is asking her if she's his mummy. It wakes up all the zombies in the hospital, though, so they start menacing the Doctor, Rose and Jack. There were seventeen of us packed into a tiny student flat to watch the resolution of that, back in 2005. I sat on a cushion on the floor. I am very nostalgic.

Other things hinted at: the Doctor lost a son and a grandson, and knows what it's like to be the only child out in the cold. And Mickey is only Rose's sort of boyfriend, whatever that means. Not many new plot threads - only the cliffhanger really, but we'll be watching that immediately (waiting a week in 2005 was AGONY). But! We can remove the one asking who is Captain Jack Harkness! Fun fun fun.

“She” (an unknown person) is returning (perhaps River returned as Missy. Maybe Me? Maybe Clara???!)

There is something on Donna’s back

An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest.)

Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)

The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)

River is possibly blown up  (unless she’s Missy. NEW INFO: she is definitely not blown up)

The TARDIS has blown up  (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again)

The universe appears to have ended  (the universe is back again)

The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole

(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)

There’s a vault in the TARDIS and it contains Missy but we don’t know why (sometimes she knocks for the bants)

There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons

Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?

What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?

Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)

Why is Amy’s pregancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?)

Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?

How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?

What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???

What happened with the Other Cyber War?

What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?

Why does Rose seem particularly important?

What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)

Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?

Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri

There is a Lupari shield around Earth.

What’s a Time War?

What’s the Rift?

What’s Bad Wolf?

In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?

Who is the Master?

Why has Amy forgotten Rory?

Is Rory plastic or not?

Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?

How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?

What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?

Which friend killed Strax?

Which friend brought Strax back?

Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?

What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?

How does Clara actually join?

Why so many Claras?

Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven?

Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?

What is Trensilor and what happened there?

Who is Handles?

The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man

The universe is being crushed by the Flux

Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?

Sontarans are invading Earth again

Who is Kate?

Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?

The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent

Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?

How did the Doctor forget Clara?

Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather?

How did Nardole die?

When does Bill get Cyberman-ed and die?

When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?

Whittaker is falling to her death rn

Was that ring relevant?

Does anyone know the Doctor’s name?

When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?

When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?

What’s happening with the bees?

What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?

What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?

What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”

If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?

How did the rest of the Time Lords die?

How and why did Amy melt?

What’s the question that will make silence fall?

Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?

How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?

How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?

What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?

Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?

What happened with the space whale?

When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years?

How does the Doctor survive River

How does he erase himself from history

[laziarteest]

Ellie Rants About TMNT 2012

It took approximately three years, but I’ve finally watched every episode of this cartoon. I didn’t expect it to take me that long, but I got distracted. I didn’t expect my feelings to turn quite so sour towards the end, but.... Well I’ll cover that when we get to it. If you’re familiar with the show or saw my other posts, you might know what I mean. Gonna do my best to avoid comparing the show to any of the other iterations of the series since I feel like each one should be able to stand on its own.

So if you’ve been around on my blog since 2018, you might remember that I started watching this version of TMNT on a whim because hulu was working while Netflix wasn’t. Up to that point my knowledge of the franchise basically consisted of a tiny handful of episodes from the 1987 and 2003 cartoons that I’d happened to see one way or another, the fact that it was crazy popular in the 90s, and a couple fun facts that my dad would share. That meant that this was going to be my first time watching a TMNT cartoon from the beginning and trying to get invested in what was happening. I made it as far as partway into season 4 before I dropped it. It can’t have been long after Trans-dimensional Turtles. When I decided to watch all of the 2003 cartoon recently, I figured I might as well revisit the 2012 cartoon afterward since it was the show that got me interested in the first place. Instead of picking up where I’d left off, since I couldn’t remember where that was, I decided to just go back to the very beginning and watch it all again. It’s somewhat unfortunate that they decided to do 3D models for the animation, in my opinion, since when it comes to the way the show looks, it’s definitely going to age pretty poorly in the long run. Though the stylization of the models does help somewhat.

Season 1: I might as well get this out of the way early. Pretty much right away, Mikey tends to be treated fairly poorly. I don’t know if they intended him to come off as annoying or if it was just a side effect of trying to make him appealing for very young kids, but he tends to get on my nerves. I don’t hate him, but he’s by far my least favorite turtle. So if there’s an episode where the entire conflict happens or is exacerbated because of Mikey, there’s a good chance I don’t care for that episode, or at the very least that parts with him in it. The problem is that I desperately want to like Mikey because I know he can be done well. He just tends to not be. Thankfully the first couple episodes, the two-parter Rise of the Turtles, that start off the series are pretty enjoyable. They’re the whole reason I stuck it out as long as I did, I just liked those episodes that much. From that point I feel like the quality tends to fluctuate a bit. Episodes that contribute directly to forwarding the plot tend to be pretty solid. Anything else in between ranged between really good and meh for me. Anything to do with romantic relationships was definitely off-putting. It didn’t bother me as much the first time I watched these episodes, but revisiting them more recently, Donnie tends to be pretty creepy about April, and it’s slightly spoilery, but the thing between Leonardo and Karai is super squicky once you know the twist. Looking past these issues, I generally had a good time with these episodes. The problems were there, but were usually contained to just a couple episodes here or there. Season 2: When it comes to looking at the big picture, this season is one of the better ones. Dare I say, it could be my favorite? There were definitely some throwaway episodes, but there was also a lot of really cool stuff. Casey Jones shows up for the first time, we get some conflict between the turtles and April, got some good Leo moments in Fungus Humongous, the Rat King appears.... Lots of good episodes. Really like the finale. Plus there were some Mikey episodes that I didn’t tune out of because his childishness and randomness was actually useful a few times. One thing that was slightly annoying as soon as I noticed was that Leonardo’s voice actor got replaced partway through the season. I know why they did it, but it was still odd once I noticed. The guy filling in did a pretty good job at first, it wasn’t until a couple episodes into his run that I noticed some of his line deliveries felt off. Otherwise I don’t have a ton to say about this season? It was good. Some of the issues from before are still here, but they’re not really going to go anywhere for a while, if at all. Season 3: I’ve heard people tend to like this season? I’ll admit I found the first half with the farmhouse to be really fun. Any time they shake up the setting and let you look at something other than just city streets is usually a good time. Plus since I’m very biased towards good Leonardo content, watching him try to recover and deal with some internal strife was a good time for me. I will say that the episode A Foot Too Big gets a mixed reaction from me though. It was good to see Donnie realize he’s been really gross about his feelings towards April, and it would have been nice to see him get let down gently and they just be good friends instead. But then she had to go and kiss him and ruin the whole lesson. Speaking of Leo again, he also got his new permanent voice in this season. I wasn’t expecting them to attempt to give a reason for the change, but I guess Seth Green’s voice was different enough they felt an explanation was necessary. The voice took a while to grow on me, but I think he usually did a really good job. The second half of the season was a little more hit or miss for me. Most of the episodes were at least okay, but anything dealing with Karai felt like they were just retreading old ground that they forgot to cover earlier or didn’t have time for but wanted to use anyway. Especially since the resolution is so quick. At least there were some time traveling shenanigans with Renet. I understand that it would be really easy to overuse her since time powers are kinda OP, but I wish we got to see more of her. I sort of wish the build up to the finale was a bit smoother though. The previous two seasons did a pretty good job of setting up for the story of the finale episodes and then having the following season pick up right away from where they leave off. This time though it just drops the story in your lap with no foreshadowing. The first time I watched the show it didn’t bother me, but the second time through it caught me off guard how the Triceratons just come out of nowhere and are suddenly a world-ending threat. Sure the finale was very exciting, just wish it had been telegraphed better. I saw another post where someone mentioned they should have had Bishop show up earlier in the season, and I definitely agree that would have helped. It just sort of felt like they didn’t know they were going to be doing a space arc until they got to the last three episodes of the season and realized they hadn’t set anything up for season 4. While the high points of this season get pretty high, I think the low points go low enough for me to still prefer season 2, but if you can ignore a few stupid sideplots, it’s fairly solid and fun to watch. Season 4: Alright! Here we go! The season that probably should have been the last one and is where I originally dropped the series back in 2018! The first half of the season was... interesting? Like season 3, it takes place in a different setting. Most of the first 13 episodes take place either on a space ship or an alien planet. To me it felt like they tried to juggle too much. While there is a coherent story, it takes a lot of breaks that don’t really contribute. There’s an entire episode that just gets undone by the end, so aside from wanting to include Wyrm, it didn’t really need to be there. Looking at a list of episodes, there’s at least one episode I can’t remember at all, and I watched it like two days ago. And as fun as Trans-dimensional Turtles is, it doesn’t really contribute much in the long run either. Though I still like the episode. I’d say things pick up after the space arc, but for me the second half still felt fairly weak for a while. Shinigami seems really cool, but we never really learn more about her beyond the fact that she knew Karai when she lived in Japan. City at War didn’t really feel like the city was at war. Some of the stuff with April and her crystal was kinda fun though. Got some cool fights out of it. I wanted to like the episode with Alopex, it just seems like a waste to have alluded to her before and then she finally shows up, fights a little, and then we never see her again. Splinter sure did take a lot of abuse this season though, hoo boy. I got spoiled on it ahead of time, but geeeeez I did not expect some of the things they put him through. I’d possibly have to watch it again to be sure, but I thought Owari would have been a really good place to end things. It was somewhat bittersweet, but in the end they beat Shredder. The guy that just wouldn’t give up. More so than the previous ones, season 4 feels like a mixed bag. It had a handful of really great episodes, and then a whole lot of episodes that you could probably skip and not be missing anything. Mostly by this point, the one thing that kept me going aside from wanting to know how it ends was the fact that the look of the show had improved. It was still the same CG, but the composition of the shots and the choreography of the action scenes looked a lot higher quality. My dad kept commenting on how the background music was really good towards the end. Season 5: Also known as Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This one... I have VERY mixed feelings on this one. The idea of doing multiple smaller story arcs seemed like a decent idea. Some of them I thought were entertaining, but one of them. One of them I loathe. The first few episodes leading up to End Times were whatever. Not good, not bad. Passable. I thought bringing Shredder back AGAIN was overkill, but it was fine with the way it worked out. I’d prefer if this arc didn’t happen because why was Tigerclaw so gung-ho about reviving this asshole, but it’s fine if you just want to see some neat action. The episodes with Newtralizer were, again, okay. I wasn’t really curious about what had happened to him or Dregg, but it was fine. Nice to see Mikey actually be competent and not get beaten up for saying something dumb for the 47th time. The crossover with Usagi Yojimbo was pretty fun. I’m not terribly familiar with the source material, and it felt a bit rushed at times if only because they had to resolve the whole plot in only three episodes, but I had a good time and it made me appreciate Usagi’s character more. Lone Rat and Cubs was the only standalone episode, and honestly, I wish they’d done more to show the turtles when they were younger. Would I want an entire series about them being toddlers? No. But would I want two or three more episodes about single dad Splinter raising 4 rowdy boys? Yes. Probably my favorite episode of the whole season. Then we get to the arc that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Looking into it after the fact, this arc was apparently supposed to be the series finale. And I’m so glad it wasn’t and Nickelodeon made it non-canon. This arc is so depressing and it contradicts canon so badly. The Mutant Apocalypse arc is so terrible. I’m sorry if you happen to like this arc, but I hate it. Not only does it do wrong by all the characters, it doesn’t even properly explain everything that happened. My hatred for this arc is the whole reason I’m even making this post. So there was a Mutagen Bomb? Where did that come from? How did it affect the whole world? Why did it turn everything into a desert instead of making it look like Dimension X? Was it a different kind of mutagen? Why is everything Mad Max now??????? How did Raphael lose his memories? How did he grow a beard??? We’re told that Donatello’s body was near death, so he moved his mind into a robot. But how did he manage that? How is it that Casey, April, Karai, Shinigami, Slash, Mondo Gecko, etc seemed to have either died or just gone missing. That’s a lot of beloved characters to just decide are irrelevant. Yet Ice Cream Kitty is somehow fine??? Mikey can grow hair and is a crazy hermit?? I was already angry enough about what they did to the other three brothers, but then they show what happened to Leonardo and any hope I had of this arc being okay just dropped dead in front of me. They did this boy so dirty. They did all four of them soooo dirty. The only decent thing to come out of the arc were some okay visuals, but that’s not enough to overcome my contempt for this story. I just cannot properly express how distressed this story made me. AND THEY WANTED TO SHOW THIS TO KIDS? At least since that wasn’t the finale anymore, it got to be followed up by another story with Renet. This story is honestly pretty dumb, but it’s at least harmless in its stupidity. Maybe it’s because Raphael wasn’t around to punch Mikey for being stupid, but I actually found Mikey to be a welcome bit of comic relief for once instead of the annoyance he usually was prior. I think the most obnoxious part about Savanti Romero returning the way he did was just that it got so much wrong about the monsters, but I can overlook it since most kids probably aren’t well read enough to be familiar with Dracula and Frankenstein as they are in the novels. Plus Raph being a vampire was probably funnier than it should have been. Still wish we could have gotten more Renet content earlier on, but what ya gonna do. Then finally it ends with one last crossover with the ‘87 turtles. I wish we could have seen more of the 1987 dimension since it looked like the animation quality had gotten better since the last crossover episode. I think Trans-dimensional Turtles was the better crossover though. Maybe it was because of the shorter runtime, but it seemed like the ‘87 turtles were more competent in that one than here. I know I said at the top that I wanted to avoid comparisons, but it gave me Turtles Forever vibes the way the 2012 turtles were boasting about being better. Why can’t these turtle boys just get along Though I did think it was pretty fun how Bebop and Rocksteady got to save the day. Overall though? Season 5 is kind of a disappointment. I knew to expect that going in since I’d read all about how this show got screwed by the network, but I didn’t expect my opinion to go as low as it did. Out of the whole season, there’s really only a few episodes I would ever consider revisiting. An unfortunate way to end a series that was otherwise pretty great.

So after watching the whole thing, I’d say if you haven’t seen it before, but still want to after potentially getting spoiled, you should really stop after season 4. You could probably pick and choose from Tales if you really wanted to, but Owari was already the perfect ending. I know I complained a lot, but aside from that last season, I really did have a lot of fun watching the show. It might not be my favorite version of the turtles, but it is the one that introduced me to the franchise, so it’ll always be special.

BONUS Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past: It’s a goofy toy commercial. Has some really cute flash animation. It’s not canon or anything, but I did watch it. Not much else I can say lol

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, episode 17-20 thoughts! finishing up season two! the finale is the THIRD 2-PARTER OF SEASON 2. that's so many! I wonder how many season 3 will have?

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-UERGH WHY DOES VLAD HAVE AN AI WITH MADDIE'S FACE ON IT. SOOO CREEPY. AND MORE 'CREATIONS' waiiiit. vlad is Dr. Frankenstein! (despite his ghost design obviously referencing vampires) HE HAS 'CREATIONS' HE MAKES THEN WONT TAKE REAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR!!! this bitch.

-danny was late and his friends immediately start going off about how hes inconsiderate, and has been treating them like sidekicks??? he just overslept, my god. chill. even if he has, be nicer about talking about it with him?? he really can't help that he sometimes has to chase the ghosts, or has a secret identity to protect...

-'what kind of ghost haunts a miniature golf course' umm. me as a ghost. next question

-imagine going home and theres a tiny child on your bed claiming to be your cousin. with as many cousins I have, I would probably believe her. but the 'ran away from home' BIT....SHES 12?? SHES SO TINY. I hate that they have her belly out in her ghost form, but I like how her colors are asymmetrical. something about her design...maybe the proportions?? are weird to me...anyway danny was good to feed her, but he shouldve taken her to his parents FIRST. or, tbh, probably jazz. (JAZZ DIDNT EVEN GET TO MEET HER!!! NOOO. I mean she said she'll be BACK BUT STILL)

-ANYWAY. shes voiced by AnnaSophia Robb, the girl who was in because of winn dixie, played as violet from charlie and the chocolate factory, and was the girl from bridge to terrabithia. (the movie that made me cry hysterically when I was 12 and I never watched it again because it Broke Me!) thats super cool.

-vlad sucks: the episode, basically. what's new!! I love how he's like, I'm Not A Villain. *immediately cuts to him torturing danny to make him transform, to get mid-transformation DNA, to perfect a Clone.* *immediately shows that he doesnt give a shit about his new daughter Dani and just wants a ''more perfect clone'' and will put her in danger to get that. will let her DIE to get that*

-Dani is danny's clone and is a girl? transgenderism....one of them has to be trans. or they both are.

-dani just. leaving at the end. WHAT? SHES 12. DONT JUST. NO!!! SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST BORN, A MONTH AGO AT MOST, RIGHT?? SHE NEEDS...SOMEWHERE TO LIVE. MONEY? FOOD?? A FAMILY?? AN EDUCATION???! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S LEAVING!!! OKAY BYE I GUESS!!! D: concern!!!

-the next ep opens with skulker chasing a ghost down. ...does skulker count as a ghost hunter in the way valerie and danny do? I mean, sure, he hunts the good guys too, but he. he hunts ghosts...also, we haven't seen his Real Form since his debut episode! tiny...

-the guys in white are back! ngl, I assumed they were a gag for that one episode. you're telling me they might actually be a threat? ok.

-valerie in her lil nasty burger uniform looks so cute!! glad shes not in that mascot uniform this time. I guess she stopped hiding that she's working there now?

-gregor having white hair, dressed in black and white...and green eyes...sam has a Type, I guess.

-danny being unnecessarily hostile about gregor. danny!!! hes been nice so far. he looks a little...tall to be 14, but. danny doesnt know anything about him! (he does Suspect, but...you cant just spy on people and be rude to them from a hunch.) also, gregor kissed her, and when she freaked out, he was like 'oh no!! sorry, we can take it slow! I understand!' which was NICE. I hate jealousy plots still tho.

-altho. umm. tucker, being concerned about danny spying on them??? SAM AND YOU WERE SPYING ON DANNY AND VALERIE A FEW EPISODES AGO!!!!! im not saying its RIGHT, but dont be a hypocrite!!! AND THEN SAM BEING MAD ABOUT IT, TOO.

-DANNY IS A 7 ON THE SCALE OF ECTOPLASMIC POWER!!! out of 10? so I want to know where the other ghosts rank...I mean it's a list from the guys in white, so, it may not even be accurate, like, they havent seen ALL of his powers, have they?

-Lancer being like 'im not cooperating with the FEDS' until they said they could access his tax records. they already did that joke with jack, but like, its still funny. kings of tax evasion.

-tucker's aggressive third-wheeling. but gregor being super into it. gregor/tucker is the real ship here. then gregor kissing danny on both cheeks after hugging him. bi poly king gregor. (he does turn out to be a liar with a phoney accent. unsurprising, BUT THE CONCEPT OF HIM BEING GENUINE AND THEM ALL DATING IS FUN)

-THE...GUYS IN WHITE THINKING GREGOR IS DANNY PHANTOM. LMAOOO. GET HIS ASS. or,, Elliot. lmfao

-sam saying tucker is part of the package because theyre friends was super sweet <3 but also 'part of the package'...polyships are obviously the solution to these dumb jealousy/love triangle plots.

-danny crashed a whole plane. the collateral damage...

-is he....

-you know....

.... (ITS NOT GAY IF YOU'RE DOING IT TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU'RE NOT, AND LIE TO A GIRL. RIGHT? he was getting a little too into pretending to enjoy tucker's company, and the above...c'mon, guy.)

-lmao, freakshow is in actual prison. I didn't expect a follow up, or for him to show back up! in the finale of this season, too!

-THE SICK TATTOO GHOST IS NAMED LYDIA!!! more Lore On her. freakshow seemed genuinely concerned about her. also, is she mute? I don't think she talked the first time we saw her, either. and we didn't know freakshow 'envied' ghosts, either, the first time, we just knew he was controlling them. interesting!

-...they literally stole the infinity gauntlet from marvel and called it the reality gauntlet. is that legal. what the fuck. even with the gems in the lil slots, having different powers...they had freakshow in jail, but didnt check his pockets??! hes just still in his lil outfit??? what kind of ...oh, its in amity park. yeah, all of the adults are idiots, okay, sure.

-'freakshow!' 'in the anemic flesh!' dude take some iron pills then. also, sure, the red eyes could be contacts for his aesthetic, but the whites of his eyes are yellow! does he have jaundice?! he severely needs more...like, every kind of vitamin. (this is what im worried about as freakshow attacks danny with giant robots)

-again, goth circus is a sick theme, and I love his goth train.

-oh FUCK every single person saw danny transform. on a stage. including his parents via TV. oh god. the guys in white and immediately like 'youre coming in for experiments!' SCARY. at least the crowd is willing to help him to escape...perks of now being a local celeb! even the kids at school are accepting :) this is what, the third time his family has found out? its always been an alt timeline tho. and danny fully intending to just rewrite things again instead of...I dunno, trying to roll with it this time? hes really worried his family won't accept him, huh...

-'maybe our son IS THE GHOST BOY, but its not as if our family's ghostly activities have EVER PUT YOUR FAMILIES IN DANGER' maddie. mmmmmmmmmmmm. okay.

-danny 100% prepared to run away from home because of this :( oh :( and saying his parents are 'looking for him, or a scalpel to dissect him with' ouch...

-THE GUYS IN WHITE TRYING TO ARREST A 14 YEAR OLD. fuck da feds.

-side note (another one about voice actors...) freakshow's voice actor, Jon Cryer, was lex luthor in pretty much every DC tv show, which is why I recognized his voice, because my dad loves those shows so I've seen a good bit of them without seeking them out...)

-the old man saying 'hey, i still had minutes left!' and danny saying 'you gotta watch those roaming charges!' about danny destroying the people in the diner's phones so no one could report seeing him...would kids today understand these things. can you even BUY minutes anymore...I remember my first phone being a flip phone, and the fact I always had minutes when my sister ran out super fast, because I didnt have friends calling or texting me like she did...:/

-the fentons being genuinely like 'why didnt danny trust us and tell us this, we love him :(' and JAZZ LAYING INTO THEM WITH THE 'DISSECTION/MOLECULE BY MOLECULE' LINES. LITERALLLLY. they need to apologize

-technically, lydias stronger than you! -jazz lesbianism moments! when did you even learn her name!!! but also get freakshows ass. lydia is also cooler looking. looove her design sm still.

-jazz psychoanalyzing freakshow... (also, her also having ghost envy? au where jazz is a ghost!! id like to see it)

-im glad the kids still got to go to their respective vacation things, even if they cant really stick around and enjoy them much...

-furry: confirmed. (also tucker calling her hot. tucker is a furry confirmed)

-danny being mad someone at the comic con is selling comics of him without permission, lmfao. give him his royalties!

-freakshow > thanos because hes a drama clown and does use his gauntlet to be FLASHY AND DRAMATIC.

-jazz's 'USE PYSCOLOGY' to danny about freakshow LMAOO. AND THEN IT WORKING. but, oh, freakshow's ghost form sucks. I like him as a clown better tbh. good thing danny took away his ghost powers!

-his parents hugging him and saying theyre proud :"( and saying 'of course you lied to us, we never gave you a reason not to!' and saying they were in the wrong basically for always talking about hurting ghosts aaaa :""(

-then he WIPED THEIR MEMORIES AGAIN!!! FUCK. I can understand him wiping the goverments/student bodies' memories, but why his parents?? they were being accepting!! ARGHHH. season 3 couldve been them all trying to adjust to them knowing!

-I know, on a meta level the showrunners probably wanted to just reset things to the status quo of him having a secret identity. But. We've been doing that for (2) seasons, I'd love if season 3 could be like, his parents adjusting to this and trying way harder to learn more and accept it (and the shenanigans that could come from that) and for fun, if he didn't wipe the students memories, it could be him being popular for a while, then everyone slowly realizing, oh, he's still Danny. Like. he might have ghost powers but hes Just The Same Guy instead of putting him on a pedestal (and seeing them all try and help him hide it from the giw/people who don't know!!)

-fuck they didn't even explain WHY he wiped everyone except sam, tucker and jazz's memories. he just Did It right when his parents were saying they loved/accepted him!! and sam and tucker didnt question it at all!!! HELLO??? very annoyed about this turn of events.

-anyway. onto season 3! I know its shorter than the first two seasons, and is the last season... I might just do it in 2 bursts if I can... :3c depends on the episodes' content and how much I want to say about each!

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Another list! For 6x09 of Supergirl, “Dream Weaver”! Because fandom’s being aggressively negative again!

Spoilers!

So admittedly this list is a little more general because I’m very tired and only got to watch this episode once, so my recall of specific events is foggy. XD

Right then. FIRST AND FOREMOST: I think that, thus far, anyway, this season has been very successful in developing its core theme of ‘power’ by rooting each character’s conflict in that inciting trauma of the Phantom Zone (WHICH takes advantage of stuff these characters have been dealing with throughout the course of the show) and like, going from there.

Yes, there’s still a ‘big bad’ that they’re building to, but right now, everything is very character-driven and personal; the ‘villain’ that they have to overcome is just. Fear, trauma, insecurities, etc.

Which is WAY MORE INTERESTING than introducing a large mysterious organization that none of the characters have any personal ties to and just throwing plot at them for ten episodes or so.

(*sighs at season five*)

Anyways! This time around the spotlight is on Kelly (and sort of Nia? Like, it’s simmering in the background, coming to a rolling boil. XD) and BONUS she teams up with KARA ahhhh yes we love to see a variety of character combos, yes we do.

I like that Kelly becoming Guardian is rooted in a desire to help vulnerable communities and to do more for them sort of ‘outside the law’, leaning into protecting people rather than something like, ‘I wanna beat up bad guys.’

(Also COMIC ACCURATE GOLD SUIT! Well, not just yet. But soon. SOON.)

Joey and Esme are adorable. And Joey was reading a Captain Carrot comic book! Not necessarily the one shown below, but I grabbed this as visual reference because it includes Clark.

Another thing this season is doing really well overall: Making it feel like Kara’s a key part of the episode, even when the story isn’t really hers.

(I mean, Kara definitely had her own little arc, but the focus of the A plot was about setting Kelly on her path to becoming the new Guardian.)

Another example from this season, and an excuse to praise my favs once more: the Prom two-parter, while really a Nia and Brainy outing, still told a very compelling Kara story.

It feels balanced, I guess is what I’m trying to say.

It helps that Brainy and Lena sat this one out--makes it easier to manage/serve the remaining characters.

Reminds me of the Justice League cartoon; the writers wisely recognized that they could not juggle six team members every episode, so they cycled them out, spotlighting a different team member/set of team members for each mission.

ANOTHER GREAT THING: GAME NIGHT.

And the cut from said game night to Andrea's whiteboard of ‘What do the Super friends do for fun? Do they even HAVE fun?’

Excellent. Wonderful. Hilarious.

I liked that Andrea, though understandably annoyed with Nia for falling asleep right in front of her, sent her home for a mental health day.

And now, on the subject of Nia!

Alright you wanna know my one BIG nitpick for this episode? The one thing that took me RIGHT outta the moment? 

Nia wants to listen to the owl, and Nyxly doesn’t have a compelling counter argument BUT LIKE. 

MANY CULTURES VIEWED OWLS AS BAD OMENS. SYMBOLS OF IMMINENT DEATH, EVEN. That would be a good reason to not listen to the owl!

Yeah, yeah, she’s a 5th Dimensional Imp so she probably doesn’t know that but STILL. XD

Anyways, Nia agrees to team up with Nyxly, which I’m sure will work out totally fine!

(Very curious to see how Nia’s arc wraps up overall, and this little twist with Nyxly adds some nice conflict/intrigue.)

ONCE MORE I am impressed by how well everything is tied together this season. 

Also some very good Will crumbs; I will take what I can get.

(In particular, I liked the shot of Will and Kara discussing the money trail, with the early evening sunset behind them--it just looked really nice, especially when you consider the CatCo set is, you know. A set.)

(I have missed the LA sunlight, lemme tell ya.)

I really do hope that at some point we get a nice lil’ spotlight on Will this season. Kinda worried, as we inch closer and closer to the end, that there just won’t be much time, but. You know.  

XD

Also Kara’s hair/wardrobe was A+.

(It’s always A+, the fandom doesn’t know WHAT they’re talking about, but. This episode especially, everything was on point.) 

Oh, oh! Loved the shot of Kelly using the Obsidian tech to hack into those files at the foster home! Perfect bit of character continuity!

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of stuff but to wrap up: Another solid episode! Loving the emphasis on character-driven drama, as opposed to big plot stuff! Everything feels connected, and for the most part there’s a solid balance of giving the large cast of characters stuff to do!

My schedule is still hell! So I hope I can keep doing lists, but I probably won’t! XD

...But I’m definitely gonna try to come back for my boy Mxy’s episode because he’s going to explain Nyxly’s dark past IN SONG????? 

[firefly-in-darkness]

Misconceptions - 6/12

Characters: Y/N, the Avengers, Marcus (OC).

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Series Summary: Bucky Barnes overhears a conversation that he shouldn’t have… and now he regrets his reaction…

Word Count: 1.8k 

Warnings: Angst, jealousy...

Beta: The always lovely, Stacey - @princessmisery666​ // all mistakes are my own.

A/N: Erm... so yeah this happened... I think this is gonna be a 10 parter... with an epilogue... just fo a little extra somthing... or it could be another 5 parts. Who knows right now, I’m enjoying this story too much to give it up just yet! Hope you like the new part too - love the feedback as always

Catch up with the series here: Misconceptions Series List

Return to Firefly’s Library & Masterlist

Previously: It wasn’t until Sam started putting the cards back on the window sill that Y/N realised that there was nothing from Bucky. Has he even been to see me? With now only the glow of the small lamp and the beep of the machines filling her ears, she let the tears fall.

It had been nearly two weeks since she'd been rescued and brought to the medical wing. She was slowly starting to hate being here, she felt fine and just wanted to go back to her apartment in the compound. It also didn’t help to have the constant reminder from the cards, gifts and visitors that the one person that she wanted to see, still hadn't entered through the door.

Once more, Y/N awoke to the soft hum and the repetitive beep from the machines. Her blurred vision took in the soft light from the lamp and the navy sky beyond the window. It must have only been a couple of hours since she fell asleep after Clint’s visit.

She heard the door opening behind her, feigning sleep to find out who her visitor was. She couldn’t be sure if it was a certain super soldier paying her a visit, but after the team visiting her earlier who else could it have been? Y/N tried to keep her breath steady, hoping her heartbeat remained normal too, otherwise the machines she was hooked up to would betray her. 

Footsteps edged towards the seat beside her bed and she couldn’t have been more relieved that she was facing the other way.

“Hi sweetheart.” Bucky’s voice was almost a whisper, “Sorry I didn’t visit sooner. Sam’s a tough bodyguard. But even he must sleep at some point. Hopefully, I won't have to sneak in every night for much longer.”

Her heart skipped as his words washed over her. Every night? She scolded herself for thinking he wouldn't visit and made a mental note to reprimand her best friend for keeping him away when she was awake.

She was glad that she had feigned her sleep and prayed that he would continue talking but silence filled the room. If it wasn’t for the whirring of his Vibranium arm or the slight deep breath he took every now and then, she would have thought he’d left.

Y/N heard the muffled voice of Bucky, she’d fallen asleep again, but he was still here, the dark sky was slowly lightening, and she focused on his words as best as she could through her hazy thoughts.

“- Wanda’s been baking cookies, Vision is slowly getting the hang of using doors and Natasha is losing her mind without her drinking buddy.” Bucky scoffed, “I miss my movie nights with you Y/N. It’s only been a couple of weeks but yeah, I miss it. I miss you.”

“I shouldn’t have left you on your own. If I’d been with you like I was supposed to have been then you wouldn’t have ended up here...” Bucky leant his elbows on his knees, head in his hands and sighed.

His thoughts were consumed once more with the phone call he'd overheard, and the way Sam had protected Y/N without hesitation. The affection he had seen through the little window in the door; holding hands, forehead kisses, helping change her clothes, the laughter that filled the room. 

Fuck it, I need to say something. Bucky steeled himself and sat up straighter.

“I should tell you this when you’re awake but I-”

A shuffle from the bed had Bucky’s attention, Y/N had rolled over to face him and began to rub at her right eye.

“Buck?” Her quiet yet hoarse voice melted him.

“Hi Y/N, it’s early, go back to sleep.”

“I’ve slept enough for the last two weeks to survive an early wake-up call.” Her sleepy smile beamed at him, squishing the side of her face further into the pillow. 

“I guess you're right.” Bucky gave her a soft smile and ran his fingers through his short locks, “so how much of that did you hear?”

“Enough. Please don't feel guilty about what happened to me.”

“Y/N-”

She raised her hand, “Nope, it happened because I decided to leave at stupid o’clock.”

Bucky couldn't help but still feel responsible for what had happened to Y/N and now he felt worse for making her leave.

“I know you wished it was Sam on the mission.” His shoulders sagged and he sunk back into the seat. “I overheard you on the phone that night.”

He watched for Y/N’s reaction; her eyes widened, and mouth opened and closed several times but what surprised him was the way her cheeks were dusted pink.

“It’s okay, I get it. You two are really close.” Bucky stood up, collecting a brown paper bag from the floor and opening it.

Y/N’s silence made Bucky nervous, but he delved into the bag and grabbed the plums, placing them into the bowl. “I know it’s not much, but I remembered how much you liked the ones from the market.”

“Thank you, Buck.” She smiled, not taking her eyes off the fruit bowl on the table at the end of the bed.

Bucky headed towards the door and with a slight nod he left.

Y/N sighed at the sound of the door clicking shut, her eyes still focused on the plums. Of course, he visited and brought something. She was annoyed at herself for thinking he didn’t care, that she was too wrapped up in her selfishness. Bucky had occupied the table at the end of the bed with plums and fresh daisies. 

It was a reminder of their trip to Bucharest, revisiting his recent past. It was only a few months ago. They had eaten delectable fruit as they weaved through the market stalls, sat in a local park and made daisy-chains for hours. Bucky had delicately weaved the flowers and created a crown, placing it atop her head. When her attempt failed, she tucked a single daisy behind his ear.

Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of Bucky’s infectious smile as they laid in the luscious grass, the sound of the city muffled by their bubble. This was the moment that she knew that her crush was something more. Her heart had ached at the way he spoke of the women he had recently dated, and she obliged him with telling her own dating stories. They were all fake, but they eased the tension in her chest.

And now he knew, he had heard her phone conversation with Sam. It explained the way he had disappeared that night, he couldn’t be near her. Her mind reeled with how he had blatantly courted a woman in front of her, brought her back to the hotel suite. He was trying to tell her that he was not interested in her, not in the way she hoped at least.

The tears cascaded down her cheeks, small sobs racked through her already sore body. Bucky could never find me attractive, let alone love me. They had their friendship and that had to be enough. She used the heel of her hand to wipe at her cheeks, vowing to not cry over him anymore.

Two Months Later…

Y/N eased back into training. It was difficult at first but slowly she got back into the rhythm of working out and after multiple therapy sessions, she was on track to returning to the field once more. She had her downfalls along the way but with the help of her friends and therapist, she picked herself back up.

A small smile rested on her lips as she stretched on the mats, ready for a sparring session with Sam. It was the highlight of her week, taking down the all-talk-no-action Falcon. Speaking of the devil, his laughter echoed across the room, catching Y/N’s attention. She glanced up to see her best friend, clinging to his sides at something he had probably said; Steve blushed, and Bucky shook his head in annoyance.

Y/N’s smile faltered slightly, seeing the super soldier had her thinking of how their friendship had changed since that night. Everything seemed like it was back to normal on the surface, but things were different, and she couldn’t avoid accepting that any longer. Sparring with Bucky was completely off the cards, he had confirmed that as soon as she was back in the gym. 

‘I can’t spar with you.’ - No reason. No explanation. Nothing. 

Bucky no longer joined her when she and Sam headed out of the compound to go shopping, trying new restaurants and bars. Movie nights were no longer their thing, he had brought Wanda and Nat into the fold. Not that Y/N minded the girls being there, but it was still a prick to her heart.

“Hi, erm, Y/N?” The male voice brought her out of her thoughts.

She continued wrapping her hands and gave him a slight smile, “Yes, Agent Reynolds?”

Y/N looked over the tall tanned man, the short caramel locks a mess on his head, a few strands sticking to his forehead. She had become fond of him over the last couple of weeks; not only was he an incredible recruit, he’d been a good laugh whenever they’d been in the gym at the same time. Much like earlier today when they caught up over by the water fountain before hitting their own routines.

“You can call me Marcus,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I was just wondering if you’d like to go out for a drink sometime? Or dinner? Maybe?”

Y/N glanced over his shoulder. Eyes landing immediately on Bucky with his arm wrapped around Nat’s shoulders. Her stomach dropped and she turned back to Marcus, who patiently awaited her response. She knew it was time to move on, maybe a little bit of fun is what she needs right now.

She smirked and held out her phone. “With that uncertainty, I don’t know... How about we exchange numbers and you give me a call when you’ve decided on dinner or drinks, or both?”

Marcus’ cheeks dusted a light pink and Y/N was glad she hadn’t lost her touch. Maybe that only applied to the Super Soldier. Her charm and flirting seemed to have caught Marcus’ attention, so maybe it wasn’t her after all.

He punched in the number and called his phone, the little chime from his pocket confirming it had gone through. Handing it back to Y/N just as Sam jogged over to them.

“Are you ready to get your ass whooped, Y/N?” he chuckled, giving her a toothy grin.

Y/N tilted her head with a mischievous pout, “Oh boy, someone’s had their cocky pills today.”

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[ninjakasuga]

Sonally Celebration, Year Three, Day Five: Fading

Sonally Celebration Week, Year 3, Day Five: Fade

Well Day Five is already upon us. Dang time flies XD. This day’s prompt had me mulling for a time, as it’s potential thematic resonance could align with the ideas I have for the final days; prompt theme. Outside of episode continuity (if I’m not deciding on a completely unrelated one shot like one episode from last year), I usually avoid theme overlaps unless they can make for a good two-parter, so I wanted Fade to be different from Rest. What am I talking about? Well, you’ll all see on day eight. ^_^

Day Five: Fade.

Foreword: This takes place one-to-three-ish years after Crossroads, and a return to the more domestic slice of life.

Two sets of feet march toward the couch in the spacious ‘living room’ area, where the two bodies belonging to said feet flop down onto the sofa with matching tired sighs. Each slide an arm around the other and lean in, cheek-to-cheek. Tired, bloodshot eyes meet, as a tired voice mutters. “Kathy and J.C. tucked in bed?”

“Check.”

“Monitor set-up if they wake up from a nightmare and need consoling?”

“Check, we have one of Nicole’s new A.I. ‘kids’ watching their room. If either J.C. or Kathy wake up, or both, they’ll help them unless they ask for us.”

“Us tired as all hell?”

After a beat, both sigh and utter. “Mega check!!” Groaning as she rolled to curl against Sonic, Sally sighed again. Her body and mind woefully tired from the day. “I love our angels, but they can be so exhausting.”

Grunting in agreement, Sonic gave her a squeeze from the arm around her waist. “Doesn’t help they’re both already getting the hang of their speedy-abilities. Is it wrong I’m wishing they didn’t inherit my speed now?” He really didn’t, (his pride soared when it was clear they had his speed). However moments like these, he was considering how nice it would be for them to not have his super speed would be? Or the speed simply kicked in at puberty… or would that be worse?

“We wish it weren’t so today, but we’ll change tunes when that speed is sorely needed for them.” Muttered Sally, sharing his thoughts, but her ever-present pragmatism won out over in-the-moment whimsy. A thin smile emerged from her tired expression. “That said, I'm rather proud that they’re starting to understand that running around the palace is a no-no. Starting to, being the key word.”

That elicited a chuckle from Sonic as he smiled back and made a pleased sound as she moved her hand up his back to rub the back of his neck. He leaned against the fingers rubbing the sore area that had bothered him most of the day. “Maybe we’ll be lucky and that early maturity you had will kick in.”

“Mmm, I’m sensing a ‘but’ somewhere in there my love.” She murmured, making her own soft ‘murring’ as Sonic began to return the neck rub after moving his hand from around her waist to her neck. “Out with it Sonic.”

“Heh, got me pegged huh? Weeeell, you were mature for your age, but I don’t want our kids to be fun-kill-joys either.”

“I was a fun-kill-joy?” She raised an eyebrow, applying a bit more pressure to the spot where neck and shoulder met, causing Sonic to yelp and twinge from the application of pressure. “I call it knowing some of the stuff you wanted to do would wind us in trouble.”

“H-hey, heeeeeeeey, you had your moments of sly ideas that did just that!” He wiggled to avoid her grip, now shifting his hand back to her side, but with tickling intent as his fingers shifted and wiggled about.

Snerking, and then breaking into several laughs, Sally let go, and squirmed. “Pffft- n-no fair! T-two can play!” It was one and Sally sat up and pounced her husband, pinning him to the couch and letting her fingers fly over his body. Grinning widely, as tiredness gave way to playful-energy, Sally enjoyed herself thoroughly as she watched Sonic, her beloved, start to wiggle and laugh from her efforts.

“Hahaha, ahaha! C-crap Sal, you wanna throw d-d-down don’t you?” His emerald eyes gleam as the same burst of energy giving Sally a second wind coursed through him. Wiggling his fingers, his hands moved to strike; and with his super-speed applied: naturally he was able to cover more ground, much faster. As laughter erupted from Sally and she writhed and squirmed, his glee intensified. “You were saying Sal-MMPFFH?” Sonic’s boast was cut off as Sally mashed her mouth to his. The surprise kiss threw him off, but only briefly. Letting out a low, needy moan, Sonic ceased tickling Sally and proceeded to wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer as their kiss intensified.

A low, purr-like sound uttered from Sally’s throat, muffled as her lips were still thoroughly mashed against her husband’s. The squirrel-chipmunk hybrid rubbed herself against him. Ruling a kingdom, being a loving-attentive spouse, and a parent was a tall order. They made it work; but quality, private time became more of a premium. Even tired as Sally felt, the burning need to feel Sonic’s loving embrace and ‘skilled hands’ hit her like a freight train. How long had it been since they last had a moment like this? Actually feeling the urge, the need to make love? Maybe that was why, but truly who cared what the exact reason was? The moment was here, seizing it was key.

As the kiss broke, Sally’s breath hitched as Sonic’s mouth trailed down to her neck, and his hands rested on her posterior, before one hand grasped at her tail, which had been wiggling quite giddily as if to entice him. “S-Sonic, bedroom-ngh..”

“Why not here?” He murred against her neck, giving her a squeeze with both hands.

She licked his ear and nipped at the tip, whispering in a throaty voice. “I don’t want a repeat of last time; bedroom, door locked, you, me, on the bed, no clothes, ‘now’!”

Instead of his usual snappy retorts, Sonic processed her request, recalling ‘last time’ and only a big blanket prevented a truly awkward moment when one of the children woke up in the middle of the night. Hands move to scoop Sally up like the old days as he got off the sofa with her. It was a break of the rules, but he used a very-very small burst of his super-speed to zip to their room. His foot pushed the door closed, while Sally quickly hit the lock mechanism on the doorknob. A quick toss sent Sally onto the bed, and Sonic quickly joining her, both eagerly helping the other disrobe.

(Sorry folks keeping this PG-13 XD so fade to black!)

Once their bodily and spirit-rejuvenating needs were met, Sonic and Sally lay on the bed, tangled together. As they tried to catch their breath, each would out of parental-paranoia, check the monitor to the kid’s bedroom. No notifications, which meant the kids hadn’t woken up even once to go to the bathroom. A good sign they were sleeping through the night without ‘nightly accidents’ occurring. Even after a quick (for them) bout of love-making, being a parent never strayed from their minds.

Satisfied they didn’t need to redress soon, and attend to any nightly needs, the two sigh in content bliss. “It goes without saying Sal, we ‘needed’ that.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” She practically purred as she nuzzled against his upper chest as she draped over him partially. “Still got it.” She smirked, trailing a finger in a circle around the circular belly-fur of her husband.

“Ha, boy howdy!” Cackled Sonic as he lifted a hand tiredly for a high-five, which Sally gladly reciprocated. “Whoever said after 30 your love-life with kids dries up is an F’ing idiot.”

“Clearly someone who didn’t have a successful romance with their marriage.” Mused Sally, before a yawn tore from her throat. Curling into Sonic’s side, and pulling the covers over them. Sally felt the siren song of sleep, and was ready to greet it. “We should sleep while we can.”

Yawning himself, Sonic slipped an arm around Sonic, planting a kiss to her forehead, he twisted his body to better meet her own as they got comfortable. “Yeah, g’night Sal, love ya.”

“Love you too Sonic, *yawn* sleep well.” As another yawn left her, Sally closed her listening to Sonic’s heart-beat, and breathing. She could tell he was already out from the sounds he made, he didn’t snore, not really or fully. His breathing just became more ‘free’ if such a word could describe it. His heartbeat also steadied, still paced but clearly at ease. Such a rhythm helped her slowly fade from consciousness and soon, the warm embrace of sleep took Sally. Leaving only the sounds of both Sonic and her own breathing filling the darkness of their bedroom.