#(if you didnt know writing a plot is my weakness i usually go with the flow)

[bubooo]

the temptation to make an smau,,, broooo,,,

[kichikichiko]

Not in my eyes

Self indulgent writing, not proofread, made this in 30 minutes, Im tired.

Wanderer x fem reader, comfort, fluff, called wanderer Kuni, not proofreads, soft wanderer

♡♡♡♡

Its late, the moon is shining brightly

You were standing in front of your house, frozen and looking at the doorknob

You took a deep breath and unlocked the door, you knew Wanderer would be home and with how youre feeling at the moment, you really didnt wanna worry him.

"Kuni! Im home!" You said, taking off your shoes and placing your duffle bag on the floor and walking to the living room, smiling a bit when you saw him sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hey you" he replied half heartedly, focused on his book. "How was it?" He continued, finally facing you with his signature resting bitch face, only... softer.

You froze in place for a while, before quickly responding "It was great, just tiring. You know, the usual" you nodded,

"Reading a book Kuni? How amusing!" You peeked from beside his face, resting your hands on the head of the sofa. You liked teasing him, and truly, you wanted to shift the conversation away from how youre doing.

"Lesser lord Kusanali kept on bugging me to try and read a book. To make her stop babbling on about everytime we meet, I'll do it just this once." He scoffed before fixing his eyes on the book he was reading. "At least she got me a mildly interesting book."

You giggled softly and read one of the pages to get a drift of the plot, smiling softly

Wanderer glanced at you, and noticed how your smile didnt reach your eyes. One usually wouldnt be able to tell the differences, as youre always smiling. But he can. He always knows.

"Youre not okay." He stated, finally facing you, his brows furrowed.

Your eyes widen and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Scoffing, as if you were offended. But you werent, you were scared he saw right through you

And he did.

"Youre acting weird. Whats wrong? What happened?"

"Kuni its nothing seriously. Im just tired, you know what? Im gonna go take a shower I stink anyway-" you frowned and started to walk away, avoiding the convo from escalating.

"(Name)" he said sternly making you stop walking, your back facing him

Silence ensued before you took a deep breath and looked at him, smiling. That damn fake smile always making him unsettled and worried for you "Im fine love. I'm going to take a shower. It was a long day training today."

He was about to retaliate but you beat him to it by walking to the bathroom.

He was gonna ask you later. Wanderer promised himself.

By the time you finished showering wanderer was already in the bedroom waiting for you.

You knew if you walked out he'd come complaining. Sighing in defeat, you walked to your shared bed and went to lay down.

Befire you could, wanderer held your shoulder gently to stop you.

He hesitated to start talking but got the courage after a while.

"(Name)... please tell me whats wrong. I want to help you.. please..?" He started, being gentle as possible as to not make you scared or alarmed.

You stared at him and teard swelled up in your eyes.

You cant hide it no longer.

As soon as he saw tears in your eyes, he pulled you in for a hug and sat in silence.

Whether or not you wanted to talk it was your choice and whichever choice you decided to take he will support it no matter what.

"I... its just... im.." you started, pausing after every word. Mainly because if you started pouring out on how you feel you'd start bawling your eyes out and on the other hand it's because you don't know how to express your own emotions as you've been suppressing it for all these years it's hard to be able to figure out how you truly feel.

"I felt uh.. like.. uhm.. useless? Weak? I dunno. Im just." Another pause

"Coach asked me "oh youre not back yet are you?"

I was confused because I was there. Then I realised.. he was talking about old me. The me who was trying to do her best when sparring. The kne who was burnt out but not on the verge if breaking...."

"It just got me thinking i suppose. Im not good at what I do. And either way... I hate what I do. But I cant quit." You chuckled, although it wasnt a genuine one, more like a tired and defeated one.

Want to listen to every single word you said before kissing your forehead gently and reply to what you said in a hushed manner. "Dont listen to them. He shouldnt have said a thing. If I could punt him I would, but it's late now" (and I wouldnt get the joy of beating him up if hes asleeo and unable to scream fir help) he didnt add that last part as that could have made you feel worse.

"Its hard.... and Im still useless.. and weak. I cant seem to be able to gain back my strength at all" you said as you closed your eyes and laid your head in his chest.

Wanderer wasn't the best with comforting people but for you he would try if he had to go fight Celestia themselves to be able to make you smile once again then he would he would go above and beyond to see you smile and be happy forever. But for now he knew that simple words of reassurance would help

"Youre not weak and youre not useless

Not in my eyes."

♡♡♡♡

[hyewka]

rana

rana rana rana

i just read choi yeonjun (and buddy system too but thats for later) and when i tell you i think that fic altered the trajectory of my life, i fucking mean it bc when i tell you i would fuck the shit out of that yeonjun i mean it,, i cant stop thinking abt it actually 😵‍💫 the writing was on point, the descriptives... i think the thing that has always drawn me to your writing is your vocabulary bc every word you use is always the perfect one for that situation holy shit

something abt cocky boys who are so subby actually makes me lose my head a little bit, and the repeated 'this is normal, this is just a one time thing' honestly i think i might need a bit to recuperate. also lets just ignore how the 'condoms in second drawer' made me twitch in a really embarrassing way 🙏 sPlEnDiD

something abt how much you write spit into it also gets me on my knees every time like O.O truly one of the best writers on moablr frfr

and now we have to get into buddy system bc when i tell you sub gyu is my weakness im sure you already know-- himn crying bc he was worried his dick didnt look good had me shaking like idk maybe i like whiny subby boys (or maybe its just txt lol) truly a piece of writing i will die on this hill

i think another part of why your writing is so delicious is you write your dialogue so well!! like ive never thought "oh that was an awkward response" bc it never is like its just so good

also another episode of perv ada printing out rana's fics... while i fuck you straight popped into my head the other night and is def inspo for a scene in my 170 page horny single parent au yeonjun fic (plot twist: its not yeonjun shes fucking) so i printed it and annotated it to find why it was so good, and yet again, it was the dialogue and word use you are just truly on another level <33

hoped you enjoyed my barely coherent review also i think dvp w tyunning could be something to experiment w for kink buffet 😳

When I tell you its been so long since I’ve felt so giddy over an ask, so much so I had to put my phone down and pace around my room for a few seconds because of how excited I got aghh!!!!!! You always deliver with these reviews lol I feel 10x more confident than I usually am about my writing lately—thank you so much, seriously!!! I really liked writing that part in buddy system, crying boys are my weakness and beomgyu’s soooo pretty so it adds to the charm, right?

Im blushing so hard right now i love you❤️ I saw your ask for the event i’m planning for kinktober and I’m definitely going to get on it <3 again you are so kind and thoughtful im beyond grateful and happy over this, genuinely made my day, hell, even month ❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you again, and im happy wifys could help with your vision

[compsonn]

Most Well-Written Fics 2023

personal favorites from the first half of 2023 across multiple fandoms. no particular order.

not based on plot or whatever, simply based on the writing skill and how HARD IT HITS!! most are worryingly heavy angst... none are pwp. these are all great and amazing btw and im just a REALLY really harsh critic and i didnt want this list to be 3 links long lol

for reference i have read 640 fics this year and have bookmarked 7. some of the below r old ones that i didnt put in my last list

Marvel (Stucky)

Tattoo by rinnya / stucky M. self-harm fic. really really good one of my faves.

The Dead Forest - hansbekhart / stucky T. one of my all time favorite fics. cant get over how much i love this one. steve finds himself in the modern era and is depressed as shit. circular ending is disgustingly good and i love this fic so much. makes me miss living in nyc lol

my arms in the sky by lvsr / stucky M. steve and bucky are not good right now and bucky is an ass hole to steve and steve tries to kill himself but.. open ending! also one of my top ten. love love love this one

Supernatural (Destiel)

right hand on his rifle, swore it on the bible by quensty / destiel T. pretty angsty. dean is empty inside rip. this fic is pretty good, definitely in the top 1% of the ones i read. still, why is it so hard to find fics that are well written like this one??

There's Only One Sure Thing That I Know by blinkiesays / destiel E. this ones not even that angsty, but i really really like it for some reason. dean and cas get stuck in ohio and lisa breaks up with dean bc of it. the fic is amazing. i had to sit down after this one no joke. its really good. pretty long compared to what i usually like tho

this is gospel by piesexuality / destiel series. very great, not super memorable but still amazing. if you want a selection of great fics written by this person then here u go. religious imagery

MISC from books/scripts (The Sound and the Fury / Waiting for Godot)

ik these are super unpopular but if you want to check out like. literature then read these

Unvirginity by vigilantempathy / shreve/quentin T (they fuck tho). this is one of my favorite fics as well. it's sooo good. "the mind is weak but the flesh is willing" has inspired me to read the bible 😭😭 really good. one of those fics that has stayed in my head for years. great writing

Syringa Vulgaris by babykid528 (private) / shreve/quentin G. also one of my favorite fics but tsatf has the best fics in general tho. really stays with you.

The Meteor Shower by vonpourrise / estragon/vladimir G. great fic, hits as hard as the original. formatted as a script.

that's all!!! nobody reads these but if you do, feel free to drop recs ! im always looking for new fics

btw- "American Vandal" the TV series has, like, the highest concentration of well written fics that i've seen. "The Sound and the Fury" the book has as well. if u like that kinda stuff check it out! ty for reading

[bixxelated]

20 questions for fic writers

was tagged by @marypsue, thanks for the prompt!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

8 as of right now ;)

2. What’s your total word count?

132,629 on ao3

3. What fandoms do you write for?

uhh including WIPs right now im mostly writing for stranger things, which got the most fics in progress, but also legend of zelda (botw/totk specifically), jak and daxter, dangan ronpa (mainly dr1 and nvdr3)

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

all these acts of violence> little red carp> these shadows you left behind> im supposed to take care of you> wavelength

5. Do you respond to comments?

i am Physically Incapable of Shutting Up About My Creations

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hm well for completed ones id have to say 'i'm supposed to take care of you', but including planned wips i dont know whether 'all these shadows' or 'wavelength' has more angst. theres also an ndrv3 fic in the works thats pretty downer

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i think Moonlight is pretty hopeful!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nah, usually me and my writing keep to ourselves

9. Do you write smut?

yeah, once or twice

10. Do you write crossovers?

y'know i havent really dabbled much in crossovers!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nnooooot as far as im aware

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope! ive been meaning to translate some of them into spanish tho

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i tried a couple of times but it fell apart pretty quickly. dont think ill be trying again

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

iiiii do not have one because i really dont care that much about ships tbh. at least theres nothing that immediately comes to mind

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

hmmm well. little red carp was a fun fic to write but i dont see myself getting interested in it again

16. What are your writing strengths?

people tell me im very good at character voices and personality! which i appreciate! im also good at visualizing my stories and writing action scenes!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

planning! im always getting tripped up by how to get from point a to point b and i always get stuck with the details! its the worst!

but i cant exactly pants a story either bc im always thinking "oh what if i take the story THIS direction" and then i end up having to go back and rewrite a lot of sections

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

writing in spanish is veeery weird compared to writing in english. i cant get the grammar to cooperate with me as much, and it always makes me feel like a kindergartner trying to use words they just learned to cobble together their first story

i usually try not to bother translating for languages i don't know. or do some research first. mostly i rely on either not giving context or just writing what theyre really saying "in italics like this"

19. First fandom you wrote for?

uhhh. balto i think. as in the 1995 animated film balto. i was obsessed with that film

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

i think wavelength! just because of how much fun i am having thinking of the dynamics and Plot Things that are going to happen. a lot of it is a mishmash of what-ifs? and things i thought were going to happen in stranger things itself but didnt

i tag @mysterygreentea @sakurablossomcreamlatte @alzheimersparrotroute and anyone else interested in doing this

[actualbird]

Good morning, Zak! Fairytales are usually read at night before bed but oh well sometimes you gotta break tradition.

So first off, you really nailed that fairytale feel of the first few paragraohs and I adore it so much!! It's not just adding "once upon a time", the enture beginning feels like I could find it written a book of old fairytales somewhere.

Second of all hehe repetition my beloved I'm eating well today. I already mentioned "once upon a time", but the repetition of them looking for each other is great too. Great job retelling the plot of Looming Nightmare so well!!!

Ria's tail squeezing Luke's leg like how she'd squeeze his hand aaaaa so much has changed but some things will always stay the same this is why I love childhood friends so much.

Aha whaat no way is there a story where the only ending is suffering haha :')

Love how in canon Tears of Themis Luke the new stuff Luke and mc have to get the hang of is suddenly feeling flustered at things they used to do all the time when they were kids and here it's girlfriend dragon now cgjcgkc

Luke is so right they're cowards draconic traits are one of the absolute best things characters can ever have it makes them look so pretty!!

Luke the most supportive boyfriend in the world he's just so supportive of all Ria's new draconic traits and instincts i love them both so much.

Thank you so much for writing this and also _seventastic for creating that gorgeous fanart!!! Characters with traits of mythical creatures are my biggest weakness in the world so dragon mc is just so, so good and I adore this au so much. Why'd Looming Nightmare have to end like that, why couldn't it at least be bittersweet :( but yes this fluff was exactly what I needed, it was so cute and I adored it so much. As always, I look forward to the next chapter of this when it comes out!

🌌

waaAAAHH HI HI MILKYWAYYY :DDDD thank u for reading the first chapter of "yes, she’s my lover, yes, she’s a half-dragon. any more questions?" hehe!!

fairytales can b read at any time, time isnt real, just magic and also im getting to this ask finally at 5pm in my time HAHA

im so glad u enjoyed the first bit of the chapter!! that was deffo the feeling i tried to evoke, just with much less archaic sayings/sentence structures. it was also kinda based on a minific i wrote here of the exact same card, but when it had just dropped on the cn server and we didnt know the story yet, just saw the images. im just a sucker for the fairytale vibe

and also im a sucker for repetition HSDVFJKHSDF on some level i was like "hm, ok, i think theres way too much repetition than is strictly speaking Necessary in this chapter" but then i was also like "but it makes me happy. so it stays."

and YEEEAA i rlly wanted to parallel their experiences cuz when i read looming nightmare, i was also looking for that like...clearer didactic framing of what they both went thru cuz it was all there! but since mc's story in the card only gets mentioned towards the end, it didnt get much time to shine.

(sidenote: this fic is actually gonna be me writing a bunch of what i wish we got to hear from mc in that story. as much as i love luke (i do, you all know i do So Much) among the many qualms i had with the card is that mc is a focal point in the plot but also so incredibly absent. we dont even hear (or rather, read) her speak.

well, shes gonna be speaking a lot in this fic as the chapters go on HVAJKHSFVAKJ)

you and i and every other person who got their heart crushed by what actually happened in looming nightmare: huh? sorry? wdym?? THAT DIDNT HAPPEN

and YESS HEHE the whole "gimmick" (i cant think of a better word to articulate this concept with?) of this fic was also inspired by the current event!! luke and mc adjusting to new things!!! theyre so cute and they love each other so much but thers gonna be a lot of awkward moments and learning curves and support along the way. also magic. cuz magic is so goddamn fun to write JHVDKJFHS

lastly, i adore dragons. so much. theres this fic, my dragon!marius fic, and also in three different fandoms ive been in in the past, i wrote 1 fic each where i turned a character into a dragon-hybrid of some sort.

this fic makes Five Fics Zak Has Written Where He Turns A Character Into A Dragon-Hybrid Of Sorts thus far

i just really dragons. im gonna keep writing this trope over and over in different iterations and nobody can stop me, HAHA

thank u so much for the lovely comment, milkyway!!! <3 looming nightmare was inhumane ajhsfvajshfva but i hope that this fic and the rest of its chapters can help as a fanon aloe vera salve for the brutal sunburn of angst that card gave us all

[cannibalisticcorpse]

didnt get tagged but im high and realllllly wanted to do this

How many works do you have on AO3?

63

What’s your total AO3 word count?

214,757

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Dream Team/dsmp, Achievement Hunter/fahc, Cow Chop/fake chop, Red vs Blue, RWBY, Wolf 359, (and these are all deleted/orphaned now) voltron, supernatural

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i promise the titles do not reflect me as a person

1. The Dick Pic Fic - 1884 kudos

2. the text fic - 1136 kudos

3. The Kitten Fic - 589 kudos

4. The Cup Fic - 516 kudos

5. The Piss Fic - 406 kudos

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

i try to, but sometimes i get like.... the same comment so many times that i cant really say anything more on it yk. but i usually try to say thank you at least T-T

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Cassiopeia and Cephus - GeorgeNotFound/DreamWasTaken, T, 1,187 words, among us AU, additional warnings in note

summary: Dream leans in and whispers, “George you’re supposed to be Cetus the sea monster, and I’m Andromeda, cast in stone.”

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I wrote fake ah crew/john wick where trevor was just... john wick.... that's it tho. i think it'd be fun to write a dsmp fic where every british person just talked like gavin but i dont think that's a crossover technically...

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...... i had a member of a youtuber group i have a tattoo on my shoulder of read one of my fics, a gorey smut fic, out loud, live, to over 1k people and then he read my twitter @ at the end of it. (and this was just 1 instance)

:biteslip: so yeah i guess you could say i've received hundereds of death threats and other nasty shit

i will say most of it is deserved to be fair

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

uh.......

yes. i have a kink request fic going so that's like..... everything? idk i usually write to vent and that means i write violent stuff sometimes and that gets turned into smut

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of, but i have inspired a lot of fic titles and plots. i had a 13 yr old accuse me of stealing their fic once?? idk i just blocked them

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

What’s your all time favorite ship?

ummmmm i dont know actually. maybe dnn?? snf? idk

Whats a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

T-T birds, stars and sunshine, the soulmate zombie apoc au

features childhood best friends to loveres bbh/skeppy, meet cute love at first sight karlnapity, and meet cute enemies to lovers dnf

it's such a good au but im so shit at world building for it

What are your writing strengths?

i genuinely don't know, the only common compliment on my writing i can think of is writing characters.... in character.. and dialogue? idk im a good ideas guy kinda

What are your writing weaknesses?

also genuinely dont know but im gonna say describing smells, feel free to tell me if any of u have read any of my shit

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

a few words are nice and cool, but just make it natural and don't over-do it? like if you're fluent in the language or have an editor who is then like pop off and write multi lingual characters, if it's like a whole conversation i beg u to put a translation after it. i only speak eng

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

supernatural

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Concept of Joy :(((( i've been writing it with my partner for over a year and i love it sm...

if u see this and you write, please do this too and tag me at the top so i see it for sure :]]]

[sleepypeaky]

amore?

michael gray x italian american male reader

wc: 1.5k

warnings: mentions of death, scars, you know the drill

request: My gay italian ass self would LOVE a Micheal Gray fic, but like, not sure he would like a guy who's italian after that fucking Luca incident.. and I dont know if you write for mlm..

a/n:  I hope you enjoy! idk why i made it so long but when i get a plot in my head i mean,,,,,

also i always try not to describe the readers features so everyone can be represented and i full mean for that when i say early on that michael sees him as italian. I personally dont look italian besides my nose- somehow the like 2% irish overrided it- so obviously this is a little off but i didnt know where to fix it

1927

Michael sat in his desk chair facing the window.

He was in New York City, he was the head of this branch of the company.

But he still felt like something was missing. Naturally, part of that feeling was from the fact that he had been exiled from his home. But the other was something else, boredom maybe, depression, loneliness. 

He sighed and turned back to his desk, where his meetings planner was open to the days page. 

His first meeting was a clandestine one, booked under a guise of what it really was. It was always intriguing, Michael thought, running a company that was a front. 

What he knew of this client was they were attached to one of the city’s hundreds of speakeasies, what these prohibition inhibited Americans called their secret pubs. And he assumed the client was coming to purchase some quality booze from the Shelby Company Limited.

What he he didn’t expect was who they were going to send. 

Normally the heads of the pubs sent someone to broker the deal in their place, a tall weasel faced man usually, who reeked of alcohol from every pore. 

Instead, when his secretary opened the door, an incredibly striking Italian lad strode through.

-

You weren’t expecting to see a man like that behind the desk. You figured it’d be some slimy old guy getting rich off of the illegal cash. Not a charming and incredibly handsome British boy.

-

“Uh hi, I’m Michael, Michael Gray.” He held his hand out to you and you shook it.

“I’m (y/n) (l/n).”

 He offered you a seat. 

“You’re not from around here are you?” You said.

He chuckled, “What gave it away?”

The deal was done in barely a half hour. But somehow you both found yourselves at lunch. 

“So how did you find yourself in, well, this line of work?” Michael asked.

“Well it’s pretty simple, there’s always work for people who don’t mind taking risks.” Michael smiled at that. You continued, 

“but I could ask you the same question.”

“Well lets say that this is one of the less illegal ventures of my family. And as you put it, risks are lucrative.”

“Ill cheers to that.” You smiled and raised a glass.

-

The lunches happened again, and then again.

Soon you were meeting daily, making up further excuses for getting to know each other.

-

“My family is, well, its complicated...” Michael chuckled one day as you were at lunch.

You smirked, “Michael, i’m Italian. My family is fucking nuts, trust me, your’s is no worse than mine.”

With people who had said that to Michael in the past he had laughed along and said sure, he was sure you meant it. Probably not in the same way, but he was in no position to argue.

“I might work in the illegal pub world, but some of my family is fucking nuts,”  You began. “My parents are fine, they came over from Italy before the war and brought my grandma, who i’m convinced my grandma used to be a spy or something in Italy. At least 3 of my cousins are working for the mob. It easy work for us, we’re all connected to one family or another between here and the old country.” You noticed a dark look on Michael’s face, a typical reaction “Dont worry, not the big guys like the Black hand, we don’t mix with Sicilians, they think they’re better because they live on an island.”

You went on for a bit more, just basic family outlining. And then it was his turn.

Michael went into the abbreviated version of his past (how he was taken and adopted) and the Shelby’s endeavors- the betting to drugs, smuggling, alcohol. Eventually he got up to the Changretta execution and John.

“John was killed by the Black hand in December ‘25.” 

“Stronzi, I’m sorry.” You cursed. 

He rubbed his right shoulder, “Yeah, after that my cousins decided to take down the boss, unfortunately I made some stupid decisions that could have ruined the plan and ended up exiled here.”

He took a weak bite of food. You tried to lighten the mood.

“Well, you weren’t kidding when you said you’re family was complicated.” 

You both laughed.

Shortly after this lunch you were both walking back to his office when a group of black clad men passed by on the street. They passed by without issue, but you saw that Michael paled and clenched his jaw. They were blatantly Black Hand. You saw he was rubbing his right shoulder again, nd you now figured it was a nervous habit. You endeavored to take his mind off it and started a new conversation.

-

About a month following this, you had brought Michael to the bar where you worked. You danced to the jazz and drank heavily, both getting caught in the energy of the decade. 

You ended up back at his office, now the only ones there, and he cracked open a hidden bottle of Shelby malt. 

Now both of you were on several glasses of liquor from the night, you found yourself floating in and out of conscious perception. Though you came to, suddenly, when you realized your lips were quite incriminatingly interlocked with Michael’s. 

Your inhibitions lowered, you continued gladly. And before anything progressed you both passed out drunk on his office floor.

-

You didn’t talk to him the next day. Mostly because your hangover was so severe you thought you would have permanent brain damage, but also because you were not sure how to proceed.

It would be easy to pretend like nothing had ever happened. To blame it on the booze, or just claim you didn’t have any recollection of the night. That was also gnawing at you, what if Michael didn’t remember?

It would be easy to just move past it, but did you want that?

-

Michael still felt the slight pressure in his head after 2 days. He rubbed his eyes and put the cigarette back to his lips. He was sitting in his apartment contemplating. He knew what he wanted, but did he want to risk it.

The door buzzer rang as he stumped the cigarette out. Who was calling at this hour? He took his pistol from the table.

He walked along the passageway to the door, he unlocked it and looked through the crack.

His heart skipped a beat and he released his grip on the gun.

“I got your address from your secretary.” You said. “I hope that’s o–” 

Michael cut you off by pulling you inside and kissing you against the shut door. You gave in to surprise and kissed back, pushing him through the hallway. 

Without breaking you unbuttoned your shirt and let it fall in your path. He broke for a breath of air.

You kissed him again and began to unbutton his shirt. He pulled back quickly to say something, but it was too late. You had already seen them.

Two knotted scars on his right shoulder.

“Michael what-”

“I didn’t want to tell you.” He looked down. “I was scared.”

Still in shock you watched as he finished unbuttoning his shirt. Low on his abdomen were two more scars. 

Suddenly in your mind you connected the signs, talking about john, the Sicilians, and the instinctive rub of his shoulder.

“They shot you too.” You said in a barely audible whisper.

Michael only nodded.

You walked forward and reached a tentative hand out to one on his shoulder. Tears prickled your eyes. You walked around to his back, you hand trailing over the soft skin before finding the exit scars from 3 of the bullets.

Michael turned to face you. 

“I didn’t think you’d ever find out.” 

You nodded.

He put his hand behind your head and guided it back to his. 

-

“What do your parents think?” Michael asked later.

Your head was tucked in the curve of his neck, your arm laying over his bare chest, playing carelessly with the sheet draped over it.

“My dads not really invested around to care, i think he knows but it’s just brushed over. Ma still thinks that maybe if she pushes the right Italian girl at me i’ll change. But honestly?” You laughed. “You’re catholic, she’ll be over the moon.” 

Michael smiled and threaded his fingers through your hand.

“What about you?” You moved back a little to see his face better, “Does anyone know?”

Michael let out a deep breath, the one that normally proceeded any talk referring to his family. 

“There was always so much going on that i didn't have much time to process, much less let anyone else see it. There were girls, i wont lie. That may have thrown them off. Even now, i think there is so much actual bad going on that what i do wouldn't make any of them bat an eye.”

“Is this what you want?”

He looked at you,

“I didn’t know until now.”

You breathed. 

“And?”

“More than anything.”

And he kissed you again.

☾ ✧ ☾ ✩ ☾ ✧ ☾ ✩ ☾

☾ ✧ ☾ ✩ ☾

☾ ✧ ☾ ✩

☾ ✧ ☾

☾ ✧

☾

[fandom-necromancer]

Questions for you (if you're ok answering): what is your favorite fic that you've written and what is your favorite that you've read of somebody else's

Okay, first of all: I love getting questions! I just tend to overshare so I hope that’s okay XD That’s a hard one, though. For one because I have a shit memory, but also because there are so many and I can’t decide. So, this will likely get long and I’ll put it under the cut not to disturb people that aren’t interested!

Shorts

My favourite one I wrote lately was likely the Cyberpunk AU for the Secret Santa? Because I could write whatever I wanted really and it was the first one in a long, long time that I sat down, had no idea what to write, began writing, was sucked in and a few hours later I was sitting there with a story that I absolutely loved. And that has become such a rare occasion lately because nothing is really fun anymore because Corona keeps me in a constant down phase? Idk. That was cool.

Also, the “A little distraction” series was fun! It’s an old story from last year and when I reuploaded that one, I was blown away how many people wanted more of that. As this had been planned for a longer story initially I had to condense into a short, it made me happy too, because people would have liked to read the longer version too, maybe? If I had ever written it? It was just really cool.

The Halloween short with Gavin being an eldritch shadow monster most people overlook completely was fun also because of the same reason as the Cyberpunk AU. I got lost in that one so hard. Really fun to write.

My all-time favourite short story  though is likely the pebble series. It started as a joke in my head but when I sat down to write it, it just felt natural. I kinda really projected on Nines in there and I think I like his personality there the most from all the fics I’ve written about him. They are both just really cute in there.

You can also look for the top ten stories in my opinion from last year’s anniversary if you search my blog in the tag #One Year of Stories and I think the real tag was something like #Last year revisited? I’m not sure though because tumblr and searching blog tags is horrible, hence the archive project XD. Should be around June 2020.

Big stories

I would say A Soldiers Purpose, but that doesn’t count as it isn’t a fic anymore while I rewrite it to be an original Story. Plan to publish that as a “real world” book in German and English hard copy as well as eBook and it should be international publishing? I’m not that sure as I’m still comparing self-publishers and some only serve Germany, US and Australia whats weird but okay. Although I believe with ISBN it should be available almost everywhere just not in stores? I always planned to have it ready before I finished my bachelor thesis but we will see if that is happening (I guess not but I will try). 

The Werewolf AU, definitely. It started as a vent fic to get me out of a really bad place (I guess anyone who read Somebody to die for knows it’s pretty dark) and I mean I’m here now and while I’m not happy I’m definitely happier than when I wrote it so... win? But now that I’m writing Wolfheart I really want to give them a happy ending and hopefully once that story ends the whole personal reason I started writing it ends too, so yeah. Maybe a really personal reason but I’m really invested in that story.

My favourite fic I have ever, ever written though will be one you never get to read (thankfully, hopefully). It’s super old, it’s German, it’s uploaded on a different platform I hope no one of you knows, it’s under yet another name of mine and it’s absolutely objectively bad. The writing is bad, the plot is okayish and I literally killed off the gay characters without noticing that as something bad because I was a very different person back then. But I love it to this day regardless because it got me through some hard times.

Also, as a last comment to my own stories I love my longer stories on AO3 far more than these shorts. Not because they are more fun to write or anything but because I feel like I put a lot of effort into them and put a lot of soul into the stories. But yeah, that’s to that.

Other’s works

My favourite fics I read are so, so damn many… I generally write more than I read but with the amount I write I guess it cancels it out. Also some are pretty old because I mostly read fanfic on the bus and now I haven’t really left the house for a year. I’ll try to keep it short. They are not in any particular order I just went through a few sites of my history. Really I just enjoy everything reverseAU, SoulmateAU, Mute!Nines and them all being softies. Also just the dbh stuff because I’m not sure you would be interested in other fandoms.

Accident by sv926 Soulmate AU, I really dig how the personality of Nines and Gavin are displayed and that it isn’t a “We are soulmates all is perfect now” storyline (although I like that too). Amazing.

Traitor by Skye_Willows, Stujet9rainshine If hurt/comfort was a fic. MedieavalAU. I really love the portrayal of manipulation and how Nines tries to save Gavin from it all. Also Nines is a painter so I’m in.

Soft Spot by Headfulloffantasy A story I really regret not reading earlier. Casefic with amazing characterisation and a plot that leaves you on the edge. Every time you think you got an overview of what happened or an idea of how it continues there is another facette revealed that you just didn’t expect. Can’t wait to read the next chapter.

XVIII by Sandara Cuteness overload but also prepare for the feels. It’s an ReverseAU that is set during the game events. It’s so damn well written I just love it.

Feral Nines by Kaini Nines whump. Kinda. I love it so much. Broken Nines is my weakness and also Mute!Nines. You get a lot of feelings reading this.

all the lonely nights in your life by  willgrahamssadness SoulmateAU that hurts but picks you up and shows you all the fluff in the end. I love it.

Safe and sound by a_calipygian Soft Reed900. With a lot of hurt/comfort. Lovely story about healing and found family. 

The Lion Tamer by celexdraw Equally cute as their drawings. CircusAU I didn’t know I needed but it is so well done. It is a happy story but has enough darkness to make me miss my busstop.

Despite it All by Jennilah Another SoulmateAU I absolutely love. Also has Hannor content I think but I didnt get to read that part yet.

Scrapyard Rookie by Pence Reverse AU that caught my heart. Really cute but with a little bastard GV if I remember correctly.

Sleeves by BloodthirstyMerc More Mute!Nines talking about Gavin’s past self harm. Super cute and comforting and aaaaa.

These Violent Delights by MechanicalBones Will absolutely destroy you. Is amazing and everything I ever wanted. Can recommend to those who too enjoy holding back tears on the bus.

Static Truth and Hunter Hunter Hunted by whatsanapocalae Both are super cute, super angsty and so, so comforting. The author has a really nice writing style too. Got to these fics because i wrote their Deus Ex stuff and discovered they write dbh too.

Rewind the Film by connorssock,Sylvestia Allen60. You will cry. And you will like it. I’m happy it was like 11pm on a bus  no one uses coming home from uni when I came to the part that hits you right in the feels. You have to read it.

Heavy In Your Arms by CatiDono More ReverseAU with Gavin whump. It’s also kinda a reset story. I usually don’t like these, but it starts after the reset so we never get to see the Gavin from before, just the onset of “I used to be a person before and there is someone loving me and grieving but I don’t know them but they are nice what do I do?” I really enjoyed this, although it’s kinda a heavy thing to read.

A mute Gavin one I can’t remember who or where it was from. I think it was on tumblr and timewise before the cornpocalypse but I’m not sure. Could be from connorssock? definitely on tumblr and Gavin lost his voice due to injury. I will try to find that again.

Also one from tumblr I can’t remember the name of, but it was homeless Gavin with Nines helping him. I think that one was from dumb-ways-to-deviate?

I could go on, but I already told far to much when you asked for like... 2 stories? I’m just excited to talk about stories XD

[shouta-aizawow]

2) What if.... Crossover with PJO? Like: Bakugou being a child of Athena or a child of Hephaestus or Ares or even Apollo or Nike. There are other demigods like Mic (Apollo's kid) and kids on other clases (gen ed maybe). Usually the demigods don't become heroes, it's too much doing quest and also being a hero, they want a pice of normality, but Kat is different and want to protect and save and win. The monsters are more difficult to fight but it's ok. Points extra if the class finds out. 😉😉

Okay, so I only read the first book of the PJO series (idk why i didn’t read the rest) YEARS ago, so I barely know anything about it. Only the very basics.

That’s why it took me so long to answer this!! I had to look some stuff up after I finished my morning classes!!!

Anyway, this would obviously take place after the original series ends for plot convience and more artistic liberties.

SO!!!

After much consideration, I say that Bakugou is the son of Zelus. (have I ever heard of this god before? no.)

He’s the god of many things, but what fits Bakugou is the Dedication, Emulation (though not imitation), Eager rivalry, and Zeal.

I was tempted to make him the son of the goddess of victory, Nike, but I feel like this would fit more. This way, he has a rival (“you’re the child of Nike, but i’m the one that’s gonna win”).

Also, in this AU, All Might would be Heracles.

Of course, people wouldn’t know that.

They’d think that he just has a quirk, but no, he’s Heracles. Maybe, still got the quirk from the previous OFA user, so he still passes that off to Deku, but he’s still extremely strong and whatnot.

I think that during the battle at Kamino, he still shrinks, but he’s still the strongest man. He was still injured, so he still coughs blood (does that happen with gods? idk but it does now).

So Bakugou still feels guilty and whatnot.

———

Every summer, Bakugou went to Camp Halfblood. Obviously, no one except his parents knew that.

(his canon parents. He looks like Mitsuki because she’s mortal and had a child with Zelus. Masaru is basically Katsuki’s stepdad)

At the camp, Katsuki met Shinsou, son of Aizawa, who’s the god of sleep. (greek name is Hypnos)

So when they find out that they’re both attending U. A., the only hero school that knows about gods and goddesses and whatnot and trains them, of course both of them are excited.

At the camp, they bond, and even when they have to go back to school, they find themselves meeting on the weekends and whenever both of them are free.

(There’s really no plot I have in mind, just characters and relationships)

So they get into UA, and here, Shinsou got accepted into Class 1-A of the hero course.

————

Things stay relatively the same plot wise, except more of the classmates are children of gods:

Momo and Jirou, daughters of Apollo (sisters in this AU)

(or if you don’t want them to be sisters, Momo could be the daughter of Athena and Jirou is the daughter of Euterpe, the muse of music)

Deku, son of Hephaestus (he was weak, but his father didn’t just have a fire breathing quirk, he was the god of fire, and this is why after only 10 months, he was able to wield the strongest quirk(s), OFA)

THAT COULD BE THE REASON WHY BAKUGOU HATES THE NOTEBOOKS. BECAUSE IT REVEALS ALL OF THEIR SECRETS.

OR DEKU COULD JUST BE A REGULAR HUMAN AND THE REASON WHY BAKUGOU PUSHES HIM AWAY IS BECAUSE DEKU IS THE CLOSEST THAT ANYONE HAS COME TO FINDING OUT HIS SECRETS!!!

Kouda, son of Gaia, “Mother Earth” and sister to Rhea, goddess of nature (the reason he’s so quiet is not only because he prefers nature to people, but because he’s a terrible secret keeper, and he doesn’t want to accidentally reveal anything)

Not in UA:

Ms. Joke could be Thalia, one of the Muses. the muse of comedy!!!

Inasa is obviously the son of the god of wind, Aeolus.

AFO could be Ares, god of war. ig

I DO NOT KNOW IF ANY OF THESE ARE ACCURATE. IM JUST LOOKING AT THIS LIST OF GOD(DESSES) ONLINE LMAO!!!

(and the formatting is probably really weird but i wanted to provide a hint of organization!!!)

————

So anyway, there are a few demigods and gods that either teach or are students.

They all somehow gravitate towards each other, and kinda bond over this.

Really all I can think about is them trying to balance living normal lives with normal humans and trying to deal with the monsters that are constantly being sent after them because they’re always managing to piss off the other gods and goddesses.

Like,, for some reason, Aizawa and a lot of the students that never miss a day are gone. The rest of the people there are panicking when none of them answer any calls or texts.

After about a day, everyone is ready to wreak chaos in search of their peers when they hear what sound like people collapse outside.

They run out only to find their classmates and their teachers in a heap on the ground, covered in dirt and superficial injuries and passed out.

They’re all confused/worried and just try to get them all inside.

Deku either wakes up and pulls out a notebook (demigod ver) or gets suspicious and pulls out a notebook (human ver), and Bakugou immediately gets up, destroys it (whether with his quirk or he just eats it) and passes out again.

Ofc everyone else is Even More Confused and Worried, but they just take care of everyone’s injuries and cleans them up as much as they can.

When the students and Aizawa wake up, they’re bombarded with questions, and everyone has a different excuse or just doesn’t answer.

After the 5th time this has happened, anyone that has the displeasure of having to take care of the exhausted pile of a god and some demigods just stops asking questions. (yes, they have woken up in stranger places and situations).

THIS IS REALLY LONG BUT NOT A LOT OF PLOT LIKE MY OTHER ONES!!! I JUST DIDNT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THIS, SO I HAD TO TRY MY BEST AND MOSTLY ENDED UP EXPLAINING WHO WOULD BE THE GOD OF/CHILD OF WHAT/WHO!! ITS NOT TOO BAKUGOU CENTERED BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LITTLE BIT OF ACTUAL WRITING AT THE END!!! IM SO SORRY!!!

THANK YOU THOUGH!! I DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY, BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN BORING WHEN I HAD TO LOOK STUFF UP FOR IT!!! 💖💕💓💞💗💝

[smutav]

So i posted the pictures I had for my xray and comic in this post here and I said id wait a year but I’ve decided I need to lay this project to rest and move on to what comes next. Its under the cut because its mad king heavy

the old man part was fully scripted out so I’m going to throw the script in here first then it’ll be just notes for the general plotline

(M) Old Man   = O1 / (J) Old Man   = O2 / Xray          = X / Vav           = V

we come in on Xray and Vav coming onto the scene but we start lookin at the old men

O2: "Uh Oh, the calvaries here" O1: "issit the popo? tell them they cant make me go back... to that horrible home... fulla old people..." O2: "No.. its those spandex kids again" O1: "Oh, the blue one confused me... so blue jus like those dirty cops" O2: "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE" [O2 throws something that lands nowhere near xray and vav] V : "Look you have to stop causing a ruckus!" O1: "ah ah ah prettyboy we got da bomb" O2: "Thats right if you get in our way it'll be a real stinker!" O1: "Uh Ohhhh"

X : "you have got to be kidding me" O1: "I'm too old for kidding, im old-ding over here" V : "What are you doing with a bomb!?" O2: "We've got demands!" O1: "Oh yeah lots of demands!" O2: "We want.... Pudding!" O1: "Oh yeah and none of that rice shit in there" O2: "get that rice out of our pudding no chunks!" O1: "itsa chokin hazard, I almost died when they had that at the home" O2: "thats why we left they was tryna kill us" O1: "But you only show up to stop two guys havin fun" O2: "Ya punks!" [Vav has snuck over to the obviously hidden 'stink bomb' and gags when he sees whats under the cover]

O2: "Ey!" [he smacks Vav with a cane] "gettaway from there" O1: "These two have no manners" O2: "they jus go touchin stuff that doesnt belong to them!" O1: "Well two can play at that game" [he moves towards Xray pointing at his glasses] "I want those" X : "How about I give you this instead" [he shoots a lazer at the old guy but it bounces off his walker] O1: "uh oh you shouldn't have done that" X : "oh yeah what if i do it again" [it really has the same result smart guy]

[Vav at the same time is dealing with.. a really slow old guy. and he dodges a punch an the old guy just keeps goin down and hits the ground] O2: "Ah! I'm hit thats it for me! [he tries to get up but just knocks himself over again] it's over for me I'm deadd. You killed me ya bastard" V : "I really didn--" O2: "this blood is on your handssss ohhh im goinnnn" [Vav backs off while the old man keeps slowly 'dying' to help out with Xray who's wrestling for his glasses from O1]

X : "Youre smudging up my glasses!" O1: "oh i'll do more than that" [he moves to take a lick at them] X : "no you dont!" [He punches the old man square in the jaw] O1: [catches himself on the walker] "you want a boxing match, i used ta have the belt ya know" [he lands a punch on xray who doesnt even flinch]

V : [Vav comes up from behind and pulls the old man away] O1: "No he's got me!" [he flails a bit but ineffectively to get out] "this is just like the 40s you cant stop all this" V : "We're sending you both back to the old folks home just stay there this time!" O1: "You'll never keep us caged! We'll always be ba-- Oh no is this a heart attack? Ma is that you in the light I'm-- I'm comin... comin to kick your dead ass" [and he's dead]

[Xray and Vav dump the old guys on an elderly bus they're used to dealing with these guys 'dying' and approach the stink bomb which is the stink jug but theres wires and stuff attached to supposedly detonate it] X: "Well I guess we'll have to deal with this" [he kicks the 'stink bomb' and Vav goes green] V: "I guess it'd be best to get it to Hilda she'll know how to get rid of it" X: "right lets go" [he starts walking leaving Vav to carry the barrel, poor vav]

I hope the notes after this make sense plot wise a lot of it was going to be explored deeper as we get drawing XDD ((also you get all my note writing jokes that i make to myself))

V = xray and vav / K = mad king / R  = rimmy tim / M = mogar

(V) - I need,, some basic everyday hero biz to start the story with - tIME TO THROW THE OLD MEN IN THERE (K) - He decides to try out his powers a lil test run ((around Hilda's lab)) - Xray and Vav crash the party ofc - He gets by them EASY slow mo can't do much against teleporting - He didn't have much of a goal for it but, now he knows he has the upper hand on Xray and Vav - He leaves victorious (V) - He gets the business end of a run in with ender ryan - What was that?? he can teleport?? - Well we have to figure something out! (R) - Rimmy Tim runs into Mad King - Which is wild! thought he was dead! - but he does have some weird ass shit going on (K) - Wow running into Rimmy Tim isnt that neat? - He pays no mind to the Battle Buddy (R) - Rimmy Tim is crashing at Jake's place ((to be relevant)) - He also meets Xray and Vav but nobody knows what his full deal is ((and theyre distracted from having they ass kicked))

(V) - Vav is the plan guy - They get intel that he has a weird power source - it gave him the powers so if they can figure it out maybe they can take them away! - We'll need to be stealthy boys... - MOGAR! - ask mogar for help, he distract while they sneak in and nab the gem (M) - The plan involves Mogar fighting Mad King up front - Mogar runs into Rimmy Tim and is suspicious of him (K) - Ofc he knew Xray and Vav would make a plan - Mogar comes to fight him aw they just decided to send a fwiend - Mad King is busy beating Mogar and doesn't notice that they got the gem ((Uh Oh! Plothole!)) (M) - They dont see him at the meeting place (K) - He Notices when he decides to experiment with it and tries out a lesser power source - Resulting in Zombie Mogar

(V) - They HAVE to find Mogar - poking around the outside for a sign of him they find his sword in the dumpster - thats,,, not good - its really heavy but if vav straps it to his back he can handle it - they wind up splitting up for any sign of Mogar (K) - Well if you're going to be rude about it - [teleports in the streets] - Have it your way do what you want - [and he leaves Mogar there] - when he teleports back Rimmy Tim is there and he quips ab how convenient tping is (R) - MK has him get rid of the new power source obviously a failure (V) - It gets dark but vav hears a noise in the alley - He finds Mogar! But he's eating something - Mogar growls and starts running at him - *british screaming* - As he BOOKS IT around a corner Xray runs into him and Vav just grabs his arm - NO TIME TO EXPLAIN - so what the plans just fucking run - oh wait thats Jake's van - *climbs in* wEHAVE TO GO HIT THE GAS - bro its a red light - iTS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT THERES NO TRAFFIC JUST - Mogar jumps on the vAAAAAAAA - Thats enough to convince Jake she slams on the gas - " you guys are paying for any tickets i get"

((for context, Jake is my oc she has an ask blog that I was planning to use to be like in between she and rimmy tim are hanging out and you might find out things from interacting w her. But for character knowledge she’s an appliance installer that works with The Monarchy’s Servants. Which that is the company that installs the stuff that comes out of Monarch Labs. there was also a whole bit where she and rimmy tim would be hanging out and he’d be joking like oh do you ever go in like “ah m’lord!! is this installation to your liking thank you m’lord!!” and she’d goof back if he ever had a house for her to install shit in she’d do it just for him.

and for how Jake and Rimmy tim met it was at 3am dennys a few years ago and they been buds ever since))

(R) - Jake's checking on her van later and Rimmy Tim comes out to give a hand - and he asks what happened and she's shaking a lil - she just leaves it as hero biz as usual she thinks (V) - bloody hell we have to help mogar! - yeah what did Mad King do to him! - they gotta bait and catch him (R) - Jake gets a call from xray and vav asking for help getting mogar to a lab - Rimmy Tim tags along and gets to see Mogar (M) - Xray and Vav catch mogar and have him leashed in the lab - But?? Is he dangerous?? Can he contaminate others??

(R) - This is wrong - RYAN is wrong - Rimmy Tim,, Has to do something - discussion doesnt work, Ryan's just a wall discussion wise - theres no talking him out of anything he's too absorbed (V) - Mogar has good moments - reference the rotten flesh test w vav (K) - Rimmy Tim is getting increasingly worried ab him - Rimmy Tim mentions Mogar - Well it wasn't on PURPOSE - but yeah i did that - No, I don't particularly know how to reverse it (R) - Rimmy Tim tries talking hey what if we just did this partner like - Nothing can beat the battle buddies then this can all be done right? - Mad King brushes him off and tells him to stay out of his business - Ryan gets caught in the rain - He claws Rimmy's face oh no! his money maker! - Rimmy Tim decides enough is enough and leaves to help Xray and Vav fix this,,, fix him,,, (V) - They hear Mad King in the rain - hhhhh i dont want to deal with more monsterrrrssss - Rimmy Tim joins the team! - he explains his history with Mad King - and how he's worried - wORRIED LOOK WHAT HE'S DONE TO MOGAR - He digs out the lesser power source that was used on Mogar - THIS made THAT *points at Mogar* (K) - Mad King is bandaged and goes to sleep off the pain and *emotions* (gross) of the evening - as he drifts off instead of dreaming he finds himself seeing through Jeremy's damaged eye - He just sees xray and vav but he cant hear a word - needless to say he feel betrayed

(Finale leadup)

- they need a plan to catch MK - Xray and Vav decide to drill RT ab possible weaknesses - he doesnt have much to contribute though they havent worked together in years and he didnt have all this magic junk going on. - and all RT's seen of the magic junk is teleporting - Well have you seen his hideout? can you explain like layout or whats going on there - oh fuck yeah i guess that is intel lemme sketch it out

- Hilda is playing around with whats the difference between the gem they stole from MK and the one that RT says changed Mogar - Mayhaps after some experimentation gone wrong she figures they cant use the thing against him but need a device that'll remove that specific energy - so you know a SUCKING machine - While she's working so closely with this she starts having enderhilda dreams but like when she's awake shes like yeah thats neat but you aint caught my interest you dumb gem

- Wait RT if you and MK used to be in cahoots do you have any powers that can beat him? - I got guns we were guns for hire you know battle buddies - wot MK doesnt use guns he plays mind games - well yeah NOW he does he uh-- didnt have it all together after our last mission

(flashback)

- Battle buddies are cleaning up after a mission - they're both pretty angry like we wound up being the bad guys AGAIN how does this keep happening - RT agrees he's not a fan of dirty cash - MK comes to the conclusion if i controlled these sheeple nobody would be calling my shots and makin me do the wrong thing - come on ryan ya cant control people thats wrong - whats a little more blood on my hands if it means making things better on the whole - and MK winds up leaving the battle buddies :C

(Finale)

- Hilda comes in like hey i got your guys's sucking machine go suck off mad king or whatever - and vavs like Alright! lets make a plan lads! - then we go to MK - he can see them coming, he's gotten practice watching through RT's eyes - he gets the machine from them as theyre barely through the door - "well I was curious what this would do but what does it matter anyways" - and he's got like some full ender shadow clones to help with the fight and they all pair off ((not like an army literally just enough to pair off MK dont need an army to beat these guys)) - the real MK personally faces off RT though :) - RT "why do i get the real ryan why couldnt you face off with like vav or something" - MK "im curious if you could shoot me 'buddy'" - RT "well I doubt i'll do something but i do owe you one ;)" and he do shoot him but yeah the bullets are stopped and do nothing - MK "I do hope you brought something else if youre turning against the MAD KING you have best be prepared" - RT "what can i say" [drops gun] "I stick to my guns" [throw punch]

- but yeah after the fighting and witty dialogue clears it looks like MK do have the upper hand - RT was left bleeding out ((stabbed through with pointy fingers oooo MK got his blood literally on his hands)) - While MK is monologuing RT sneaks into the bathroom which MK pauses mid monologue when he sees a flash of RT's bloody hand reaching for the showerhead - cant believe that fuck - and RT comes out and hoses him down ((yes it reaches that far LOOK its got a long hose)) - then MK's on the ground fucking sizzling - vav's like oh right! and jumps up to get the sucking machine and they use it on MK

(epilogue)

- Jake drops RT off where they got MK locked up and shes like "do what u gotta do man" and RT's like "thanks for understanding bud" - and he gets in MK shifts to look at him - RT starts to apologize for ruining his plan but gets interrupted as MK says "you were right" - which is a SHOCKING thing to hear from that guy - and mad king is like "thank you" - and we end on "anytime buddy."

so that was my plot I havent been kidding when I said it was a long comic plan. Its been heartbreaking to have this whole thing ripped from me but I can’t tell a story about friendship w a manipulator. 

I’m not sure how long it’ll be until I actually get another thing started but I hope its soon because I was very excited to share a good long story with the xray and vav fandom and I thought this plot wouldve been like a good season worth of content

I had some draws tagged under “#its all connected” and they were all me working on this idea before I actually decided to write it out and try for a whole comic after being inspired by some close friends and the good at being bad animation collab

[targsdaenerys]

I think everyone went on hiatus bc 6x13 didn't leave fans hyped but exhausted. I still believe in Bellarke but even if it happens in s7 I feel the potential was already kinda wasted and it lost the S4 "momentum". The time jump messed it up and now it can still happen but it's not the same. They had another chance in s6 and again the setup was thrown away. Even if they knew they had s7 the payoff should've been in 6x13. It feels like bad writing atp. Also JRoth's being...JRoth so...

eh, yea, i can see why that is the reason for this huge tumblr hiatus. i think im still here because, as i said multiple times this past week, i usually have another fandom to fall back on. i dont this year and between the GOT fandom extinction plus that, im seeing th hiatus more clearly. i dont know how it really was like previous years bc i didnt really pay attention. 

please read if you need reaffirmation bc man i just gave myself some i didnt even need.

although i can see where you are coming from with the lost momentum, i cant fully agree with it. heres how i see it, and im planning on doing a full meta on it when i get my fics and thoughts in order;

bellamy and clarkes story is a tragedy. the universe wants them together, they want them to be together, but its never at the same time.

(and before you freak out, a traged doesnt have to end a tragedy!!!!!! definition of tragedy: A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.)

every single season they build their relationship up, and then they are separated in the finale. from seasons 1-4 this happened. 

but every time they rebuild, theres still that base. still a bit of what was dropped the last time, stacked on top of the rest. its like the one step forward, two steps back, but backwards; three steps forward, two steps back. but you still have that one step that hadnt been taken away.

and the fact that they havent been separated for the two seasons after the time jump....three steps forward, yall. no steps back.

the time jump was a bit annoying, ill admit it. i didnt like missing those years with him mourning her, even though we had plenty of confirmation he did. but the fact that they focused on how he reacted. how clarke always specifically meant bellamy and bellamy only when it came to the radio calls....just showed that this plot line was about them.

that even though they changed as people, they still had that pull to eachother. and even though their mindsets had changed, the writing made it clear why they changed; 

bellamy turned his heart off to get over clarke. clarke had a child who was the only organic contact she had for six years (besides radioing bellamy. clarke opened her heart as bellamy closed his).

basically, the time jump was a test. one they won when bellamy forgave clarke; because if they were just leading partners, that would be way harder. its something bigger than that.

an the writers know it. in fact, its bigger than the plot. nothing will defeat b and c at this point; whether the writers intended it or not. it is ridiculous at this point; but they know that at this point, when they finally get together, its done. there wont be any forward direction with it; so it will have to be one of the last strings to knot.

during my rewatch i watched bellamy fall in and dragged out of love with clarke every season/separation. were no longer separated - and im confident to say for the rest of the series. 

were only going forward.

tldr: were in the last stretch. at this point it is annoying, but its also all for a reason. all of it is their love story.

[inonezurights]

plot twist: nezuko is actually going to be the one to use the breath of sun technique. theres some evidence for this scattered about the manga but it mostly plays into kny’s ongoing theme of inheritance. 

evidence under the cut!:

1.) nezuko conquers the very sun itself. 

as a demon she is able to do the one thing muzan could never dream of accomplishing (despite using alchemy and various other methods to fix this set back to his conditional immortality)

2.) the markings that appear when she taps into her well of power. she becomes more demon-like but gains a monumental power boost.

nezuko doesnt eat humans. my theory is that this is her demon slayer mark (you could argue that its just a demon mark but it makes more sense for it to be a demon slayer mark) vine-like marks appear all over her body. we know later on in the manga when demon slayer marks are revealed, that they come in all shapes and sizes.

her vines resemble gyomei’s marks in a way. demon slayer marks arent limited to a certain size or shape or only showing up in one location on the body.

3.) spider lily.

relates to the above point. ufotable sums it up best visually in the kimetsu no yaiba end theme sequence. nezuko is associated with spider-lilies. in the manga muzan is turned into a demon by a doctor through the use of a medication muzan’s spent centuries attempting to recreate. 

the medication held a key ingredient- blue spider lily. but a freshly turned muzan killed the doctor before learning its secrets, thinking it didnt work.

the vine-like demon slayer marks on nezukos body may be a reference to this!

4.) A: nezukos blood demon art. 

okay before we get into this.. lets clear up some things about breath of fire vs breath of sun.

all breaths are derived from the breath of sun. its creator, yoriichi tsugikuni did his best to teach as many swordsmen his talent but no one could perfectly recreate it. 

rengokus family utilized breath of fire. 

tanjiro remembers his fathers dance of the fire god in a near-death battle against rui. but... he was unable to sever ruis head by himself. the breathing technique took too much out of him 

(despite his father telling him theres a way to breathe where you wont grow tired even after hours of vigorous activity. tanjiro’s father being a frail man usually seen bedridden before his death but able to dance barefoot in the snow for hours)

just like tanjiros father comes to him in a near-death hallucination, nezukos will is awakened by her mother’s visage telling her tanjiro is in danger. she activates her blood demon art.

the ability for her blood to burn demons or take on an explosive quality.

its only by nezuko coating ruis strings in her blood, weakening them so tanjiro can actually cut through them.

this moments badass and turns the tides in the series but it almost takes a back seat to tanjiros dance of the fire god. its plainly there but the intrigue of his new sword style captivates the audience.

tanjiro and nezuko are the generation destined to end a cycle of hate. 

tanjiro inherited yoriichi’s hanafuda earrings.. but nezuko inherited his will and breath style. the ancestral memories tanjiro witnessed depict young yoriichi as the younger twin sibling to the first upper moon, kokushibou. 

young yoriichi is naturally talented with the sword but doesnt enjoy it like his older brother. instead opting to protect and support the weak around him (for instance their sickly mother. young yoriichi acting as a crutch for her)

(”youre weaker than your little demon sister. but anyways, youre pathetic!! You’re the big bro, so you ought to be the one protecting your little sis, not the one being protected.”

“Hey, man. How do you feel now? You’re alive, pathetic and alone. Your last ray of hope pretty much used up all her strength.”) the above page paralleling the plight of the twins.

during the fight with kokushibou he expresses similar sentiments. hes alive but hes all alone and pathetic, never able to surpass his human brother who died gracefully.

also, nezuko is often in a defensive / healer / support role like her twin counterpart. 

4.) B: Fire vs. Sun & Nezuko’s other blood demon art

Shinobu points out that theres a difference between the breath of flame and breath of sun / fire and to never refer to the breath of flame as the breath of fire. she tells him that he’ll have to speak to rengoku about it

taken from the wiki: “The kanji for "sun" (日ひ hi?) has the same pronunciation as the kanji for "fire" (火ひ hi?).”

nezuko’s other blood demon art is burning demonic poison out of inosuke and uzui

its an advanced form of the technique she uses to wake up tanjiro and the others on the infinity train!

5.) whats in a name? 

nezuko and tanjiros names. taken directly from the wikipedia:

“ The first part of her first name means "red bean" (禰豆ねず nezu?), and is also part of the Japanese word for a flower, the Japanese Snowball(五禰豆ごねず gonezu?). The second part is a common female name suffix, which translates to "child" (子こ ko?). “

nezukos name essentially means “flower child” further proving her connection to the blue spider-lily and it being an intentional detail. also interesting to note with her demon slayer marks.

“ His first name contains the kanji for "charcoal" (炭たん tan?), "to heal" (治じ ji?) and "son, male" (郎ろう rō?), which is also a common male name suffix. “ 

throughout the series tanjiro is shown to be a healer.

he heals urokodakis pain of losing his beloved students. he defeats the hand demon and releases all the dead childrens’ spirits.

he welcomes zenitsu as a travel companion and doesnt abandon him, becoming zenitsus first friend and a motivation for him to stay in the demon slayer corps. 

he earns inosukes respect and helps teach him what its like to live not just for the sake of survival. 

he heals giyuu who still blames himself for his sister’s death as well as sabitos. hes able to push giyuu to forgiving himself and working past his mental block

he even helps get genya and his brother sanemi to the point where they can understand one another again. he gives them that push

he heals shinobu. allowing her to know her older sister’s wish and legacy will be carried out even without shinobu there to ensure it. shes able to commit to her plan of taking in a lethal dose of wisteria poison so she can take douma out. 

he heals the rift in rengokus family with rengokus dying request. even leaving while still injured to speak with the deceased pillar’s surviving family. comforting rengokus little brother.

he helps kanaos heart awaken, giving her the push to do what she wants without the flip of a coin. its through his dedication and kindness he earns her respect

some examples with demons:

he shows mercy to ruis “mother” (killing her gently when he realizes she welcomes death to escape endless terror).

as rui dies he rests his hand on the boys back, realizing despite all the horrible things hes done, he was once a kid.

when confronting the drum demon kyogai (telling him his blood demon art was superb and treating his writing as if they werent trash by refusing to step on them) he allows the demon to remember who he was long ago.

he rolls the temari towards susamaru as she dies, wanting to play with her toy.

theres a few other examples but i think ive... made my point here.

6.) how?

like its creator, i believe breath of the sun came to nezuko naturally. its why shes able to rapidly gain strength in the heat of battle, why she doesnt need to consume humans. her will power is so strong (breath styles typically require self-discipline)

they even make a point of showing shes still breathing but asleep while tanjiro trains.

a style of breathing where the user can move without losing stamina... thats nezukos secret. 

this is how she will defeat muzan and try to save tanjiros life!!!

conclusion: tanjiros a red herring change my mind

[badanimereviews]

summer 2019 anime sum-up

lmao i realized i never did this and posted the fall season b4 this.... oops

kimetsu no yaiba: tbh started out kinda meh. and now it’s turned into one of the new big shounens. i was not expecting that. nearing the end got rly good and i was rly looking forward to more episodes! tanjiro gets cooler and cooler! animation is rly nice (thanks ufotable) and the way tanjiro’s water is animated. like. aesthetic asf. it’s so good. i love black-haired emo dude and zenitsu (my spirit animal) and ofc nezuko she is adorable im c r y. side note: the hashira? i think they’re called? some of the ugliest fkn characters i’ve seen in ages like flame boy? stone boy? i HATE them. and the gem dude too like man get a new tattoo artist on god.... he needs it.,,,,,,and inosuke is so pretty it’s unfair

dr stone: ok man dr stone rly went off. tbh. i’ve always been a whore for chemistry since reading the flavia de luce series (btw, i want more books of) and watching this just tickles my noodle brain in a good way... who needs prozac when i get a shitton of serotonin from watching senku dick around....  (btw what is going on with what’s his face and the girl. yuzuriha????? i can’t remember. i love senku don’t get me wrong but i need their perspective too... bc i hate lion dude... so much.... dick....) again i will repeat that i am a whore for chemistry so i get oFF on this. backgrounds are amazing/ animation so nice n clean (most o the time lmao). i thought i would hate the black n white haired trickster boi and ms yellow ponytail and suika but no! dr stone is such a good show that they are now great, loveable characters. also i am senku and chrome’s whore so jfc. man, i love the explanations of all the chemistry shabang, but some things i think would be better if explained! like senku doing physical labour at the beginning- ex. making all those pots and building that shit by hisself. i know he weak af. yes he smart but like. construction? difficult. pottery? even for me the artist . difficult. and that shed of his was filled to the brim. HOW. anyways, i love this so much i am crying constantly

just realized i didnt need to write about dr stone. oh well. 

danmachi 2: wtf yo. haruhime is so pretty but not a fan of her personality! bell still cute af and still don’t rly like aiz! animation good as always, and my god i shit myself whenever the argonaut theme starts up bc that is ? one of the best pieces of non-sawano hiroyuki pieces i’ve ever heard? addicted to it. and the opening! love the dynamics, the brief ‘rain’ scenes like when mikoto slashes the raindrops and just her motion basically? as an animator that is what i aspire to accomplish because i just love that. tiny little scene. 

arifureta: this would have been so much better had they dragged out mc’s op-ifying process! made him suffer more! i explained this briefly in my ‘first thoughts’ post for this season, but story-wise and pacing-wise his power-up could have been so much more deserved and gratifying. think shield hero- loser suffers, gets angry, slowly builds up power in an epic payoff! would have been so epic too. and also if they’d made his gained powers less.... crazy nerfed. again: HE SHOULD HAVE SUFFERED MORE AND THIS WOULD HAVE MADE A BETTER SHOW. harem thoughts: yue- meh. sucky char honestly. shea- my fav girl, she is a great character don’t judge- sexy and love her personality and love her character design and love how much fanservice she gets lol. panty flash ftw. dragon girl- discount darkness honestly , tho nice design. and mermaid girl- yuck, annoying,  DO NOT like the ‘papa’ trope! (ahem sao.) it’s gross. also just fuck mc’s classmates honestly- paladin dude sucks ass, healer girl OOF that last episode ruined her, samurai girl is ok i guess. hate ai-sensei too like shut UPP annoying ass HOEEEEE (postscript: opening=very epic too)

kanata no astra: plot twist? check. trillion well-done plot twists? check. this was done very well. i am so happy. all those plot twists and turns would usually suck in any regular anime- but this was written with GODLIKE ability. thank you, lerche. legit, this was such an enjoyable ride, i eagerly awaited each new ep! typically i hate space-related stuff but like! survival stuff gets my goat.... like this was good- (tho maybe more technical-stuff in the survival theme would make it so cooler) what shocked me the most: (spoilers alert) didn’t end up hating quitterie or funi. (tho the puppet made me want to strangle smth) luca’s gender had rly confused me but i’d decided on him being a boy- so basically that reveal left me like WHOA. i died. did luca rly have to show emo boy their tity tho... kanata losing his arm gave me the yeeeks, charce being the traitor was made sO WELL into a surprise even tho i’d kinda already suspected him<- like that was just fucking amazing writing there. gj. and ares the princess! ok man! shocked! AND also the whole clone thing, just fucked me right up. up the ass. like there are probably more plot twist layers in this than a fkn ogre has.... anyway shrek aside, yun?’s character arc was very pleasing, i think that was done very well! and the ending made me UwU like BRO? goals tbh. yeah this is a hidden gem and is just so good, so well-written overall. 

cop craft: didn’t have high expectations. i am now,,, quite,,, shocked &,,, blown away. sweetheart this is a good fucking show. so why @ livechart.me DOES IT HAVE 7.40 STARS WHEN FKN ARIFURETA HAS 7.72. can someone explain this to me? i’m outraged. LIVID.  matoba and tilarna were amazing characters btw! loved their dynamic! briefly i thought it might get romantic! nope, it didn’t, so it’s all good. actions scenes were epic, tilarna’s design and outfits were so much nicer than i thought they’d be like. she is so cute. and the op- man, if that is not such a bopper vibe then idk what is. i could watch it forever. it deserves so much more than what it’s got rn.

naka no hito genome: (serious question: is this considered some sort of isekai?) genome gave me btooom vibes honestly but like- this is SO much better than btooom and most game/trap/ kinda shows. fkn BOP of an op, especially the sequence at the end with short clips of each character in action (nutt). paka-san was a good boy and he deserves irl merch. i fell in LOve with all the characters (bubble boy= hot, akatsuki= ok meh actually kinda boring, karin= hot and i want her to punch me, ruromori= beautiful 12/10 would let her stalk me, sleepy eyes boy= baby + dazai vibes and hot af, twin boy= also hot, onigasaki= hot and love him so much, and loli girl= her light grenades got annoying but nice char design) anyways yeah more of this would be epic. i wanna see sakura and her twin reunite, and how they get out basically! also animation quality was very good which is surprising considering it’s a silver link anime.

kono yo no hate de koi wo utau shoujo yu-no: i include the whole title bc this is a good anime. (also livechart.me why 7.27 stars i will fuck you up) only meh part of this is the return to earth from dela granto bc that was like a culture shock and honestly at that point i’d forgotten a lot about what had happened on earth and didn’t care as much. btw, f ayumi and f the other brown-haired oneesan. mio and kanna ftw. obvs i didn’t understand the sayless x takuya thing like dumbass horny teenager . why u gotta creampie the worst girl. u have mio. bruh. (tho mio x ‘oyabi!’ boy is a great ship) also, takuya’s mom? keiko-san? idk if you’ve noticed but that’s literally my name so yeah just glad to finally have some keiko representation. altogether goodass anime. the time travel/ rezero esque reset thing almost got me but this was done well. so no problems. both ops very good. first song was bae, second also bae (just realized it’s by konomi suzuki, one of my waifu idols, so yea nice) and ed2 also so pretty! also yu-no’s design was rly pretty, the outfit colours, and her pigtails rly suited her :)

granbelm: sorry this is the last one lol this was a long ass post! other than the fact i dont rly like mecha this was good.... action, CHARACTER designs aesthetic asf, honestly rly pretty ok. i liked the cast, very diverse and more depth than most shows of this ilk. op was nicely choreographed- especially the part where the girls’ faces are contorted by their gems, showing their magical girl side. nicely done. mangetsu didn’t end up being that bad a char, and honestly? suigetsu is best girl and deserved better. and the ending too- like, bro, that made me kinda sad. some off points: anna’s mom was a little unrealistic as a mom like woman- please learn to control your child, and, white-haired girl’s sister should have played a bigger part, based on how her parts in the opening were emphasized! (quick note- blue girl, love her, great bad guy, when she dumped anna made me so happy honestly, she is beautiful, and i couldn’t actually decide who i wanted to win between her and suigetsu....)

hope u enjoyed this bad review. pls share ur opinions w/ me on some of of these more controversial shows. thank. 

[leftnipsdoodles]

also i think i finally grew the brain to be able to put into words why i hate narration boxing: bc its basically like having two different movies going at the same time.

you have a character who’s fighting off 12 guys so you’re looking at the panels and seeing the action, only to then be taken OUT of the action bc of the narration boxes.

the reason i keep saying ‘it worked for hellblazer and that’s where it should’ve stayed’ is bc hellblazer was never abt the action (i mean. towards the end it was. but hellblazer had a huge dip in quality at a certain point anyway lol). hellblazer didnt show you a picture of john fighting someone while the narration boxes talked abt his depression. hellblazer gave you john having his depression and then narrating it. the narration and the ‘action’ went TOGETHER. when john talks abt how cows will walk towards a body in the grass, he does so while there’s a body in the grass. which might sound lame in theory, but in reality, is just how storytelling should be handled and also it never FEELS lame. the narration boxes - his thoughts - are about what’s happening on screen. he digresses sometimes and over-analyzes and all that, but that’s his personality.

also, it wasnt used as much as you’d think! it depended on the writer ofc and again, after a while, hellblazer became more of a spin-off of itself if that makes sense so it became more used... but in general, there were a lot of times where you’d go pages and pages without a single narration box. but, tbf, even in hellblazer the narration boxing became too much sometimes. but, again, it was in-character. john constantine was a guy who was stuck in his own head. who could always count on ruining his own life. so when the narration got too much, when you got sick of hearing his thoughts, it was still in line with what you were reading and how you’re supposed to understand john.

anyway, to illustrate, i uploaded those pages: pages 1 and 2 are of the family man arc in hellblazer (sry for late arrival spoilers?) and imo it shows how to use narration boxing perfectly. these pages are AFTER the big fight. DURING the fight, there were no narration boxes. there was dialogue (and in this particular case, flashbacks. but even those were worked into it in such a way that it lead back to dialogue. you’ll have to trust me on this lol) page 3 is of the first new lobo issue which got the narration boxing right as well. there’s a bit of characterizing chit-chat from lobo while we’re waiting to get to the action; then his narration is worked into the action we’re seeing (and even cleverly subverts our expectations). it’s nice. it’s definitely not how most of the issue went tho, unfortunately. then pages 4 and 5 are of the new lobo series proper, and my bad examples. page 4 literally has one panel dedicated to rushing through the fighting action and then on TOP of that, the narration boxes are literally lobo talking abt something only slightly related (while also only giving you vague information abt it. ceremonial daggers, alright. given in peace times to remind you peace doesnt last? ok? are we ever gonna go into the cultural implications of this? no? alright. also then you waste two narration boxes on making a quip that carries no information whatsoever, not even characterization, bc we’ve heard him quip before. alrighty then.) page 5 has the same problem of taking away from the fight that’s happening on screen, but it also, again, uses narration boxes for NO reason. ‘can’t fret over it right now’ ‘i’ve got more pressing issues’. yes. we can SEE that. there was no reason to write this out. it’s a case of ‘tell, don’t show’ and its bad. its why very old comics are so hard to read, bc usually they would bombard you with text thats literally just telling you whats happening right now. the narration boxes need to ACCOMPANY the visuals, not make them irrelevant or be completely irrelevant to them. (the first two narration boxes in that page are excused bc a page earlier, the kid in question showed her tech expertise and it affected the fight that’s happening, plus it’s a hand-wavey way of explaining why she is and will be the tech guy throughout the next few issues. so that’s fine. the last two are justified too but im on the fence abt them anyway just bc the info we get from them is nill. we already know lobo’s not happy with the situation. in general, i think everything said in the narration boxes here could be worked into the story either visually or through actual dialogue)

SO.

overall, narration boxes are used more as a cop-out nowadays. it lets you tell your audience your character’s entire personality and deep characterizations without having to work up to them. it lets you basically write down their bio while also having the plot happen. it leads to ‘lazy’ writing, meaning: stories that don’t seem to have a real character arc (for the protagonist at least). i couldn’t tell you new lobo’s character development bc honestly i dont think there was any. he was presented to us on a silver platter. we didnt have to follow his story to get to know him. which, in turn, left a very weak impression. it’s like the difference of a metalhead friend you’ve known for 5 years telling you they secretly love knitting, and coming across someone’s tinder profile stating ‘i love metal and knitting’.

anyway if you’re still reading this you’re a weeniehead

[sieben9]

“the song in your heart” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

OK.

So.

…

You sure kept that one quiet, huh?

I just… :: gestures:: Wow. That was a lot. Also, I may have checked the episode two or three times while writing this, because I kept thinking that maybe I made all of this up. And nope! It’s still there.

Alright, I’ll just go to straight under the cut because I’m in a paragraph kind of mood.

So, this one is an odd one (surprise), and I’m really glad I’m not writing “review” at the top of these, because for the life of me, I wouldn’t know how to review this. I cannot tell if it was good. It very probably wasn’t, objectively speaking, but I just… can’t care. I had too much fun.

I mean look at them

And when all is said and done, I’m not sure what else I would expect from the one musical episode in a semi-serious TV drama. I think the placement hurt it, because this close to the finale, they had to combine the singing with at least some semblance of finale-level plot, but more on that later.

I wasn't incredibly impressed with any of the songs, but they were decent (and I still have that stupid pirate chorus stuck in my head; get out of there, guys, there's really not enough room as it is!) and so were the performances. Basically, none of the technical stuff was bad enough to take me out of the story, except for That Dress. Dear lord what happened there. (I mean, I got a very nice and comprehensive list of posts outlining what exactly went wrong, so I don't have to speculate, but still. Damn.)

As plot excuses go, the wish was... honestly, on par with what I've seen from other musical episodes. That’s the thing about putting a musical episode in something that usually has no singing—you kind of do need a plot excuse. (Unlike actual musicals, where the singing should only be acknowledged in the case of farcical comedy. Yes, I’m looking at you, Galavant.) Again, it was nothing to write home about, but enough of a handwave that it didn't take me out of the moment.

And the moment was fun!

I think what helped (most of) the episode was that for once, it didn’t take itself very seriously. Especially Regina’s whole introductory scene was “OK, this is ridiculous, but why not have fun with it”, which… is a good mindset to be in for this whole thing.

Also, the choreography was pure gold.

special mention goes to Granny's "wtf?" face

I won’t go through all of the songs individually, so here’s my highlight reel:

“curses, potions, or beans” Just… that line. I nearly suffocated from laughing too hard

also holy crap, Josh can sing

that damn pirate song is still stuck in my head!

as is Regina’s dramatic rock-piano thing. my head is a jukebox, don’t worry about it

also, Hook, have you considered just asking Rumple out on a date?

That ending song makes no sense, but I loved the chorus part and am therefore willing to forgive it for that

The weak link, as it were, seems to be the present-day plot. I mean, I get it. You have to string those 19 minutes(!) of music together somehow, but I can’t help but feel that a less… intense plotline might have been helpful. I mean, Emma deciding to give up her life so her friends and family can live is some heavy stuff, and squeezing it in between the singing extravaganza did it no favours.

Intellectually, I know that serious drama went down, but all my emotional space is occupied by chasing that damn pirate song out of my brain.

Same goes for the whole “Oh no, treachery dark and deadly!” reveal of Rumple working with the Black Fairy

Gotta say… that bit looked bad. What, pray tell, is your endgame here? Do you want her to cast the curse? Why? Is there any way you’re better off with that happening than without? Guh. Rumple. Talk to us.

And, just because it’s a bit too much of an event to just ignore…

the greenscreen is strong in this one... what happened, didn’t you find a large enough roof?

::sigh:: OK, you know I don’t exactly love this ship, so I’m just going to skip over all of that. But I’m also not a fan of this wedding in general. This didn’t look like something either of these characters would do. OK, maybe one exception: Emma having her family there. That’s something that I absolutely believe would have been important to her. But everything else seemed just deeply generic. Don’t get me wrong, having your family there is pretty generic, too, but at least that’s something any wedding of Emma’s should have contained, so I felt the need to point it out.

…now I want to write a thing. Which will have to wait, because Other Things have priority, but this is going in my idea folder, definitely ::cough::

To sum up: maybe this episode was an ill-conceived filler right before the finale of a season that didn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way. But frankly, if all it did was bring me, as a viewer, forty minutes of pure, uncomplicated fun, I don’t really feel like faulting it for that.

Mind you, it’s not what I’d want to see every week, because there’s other shows that do that better, so it’s quite nice that they all get horribly cursed at the end of this. Hopefully, the curse will also murder that dress.

…finale next time, huh? (Yes, we’ll be watching both episodes in one go)