#GIVE HER A NICE RETIREMENT AFTER TAKING A BULLET FOR THE SQUAD

[chirurgy]

I dream that Elena Salazar has managed to adopt Pepita somehow

[heizerux]

These are Desperada Times

Disclaimer: . . . ALL PRODUCTION CODES NORMALLY STAND FOR IN ANIMATION IS HOW MUCH MONEY, WORK, ANIMATION, AND RENDER TIME GOES INTO AN EPISODE AND THUS DECIDES WHICH EPISODE GETS ANIMATED FIRST. NOT THE STORY BOARD ORDER.

— 3D Building/Animation used to be my career path before I made a switch to what I do now btw so that’s how I know.

This time around we’ve got an akuma I’ve been dying to see because she’s got mariachi costume vibes to her!

The behavior of this episode storyline wise feels pre-Silencer and and pre-Ikari Gozen/Oniichan. I can get into it but imma save it for the master post I plan on writing detailing the storyline I’m picking up on.

Some key points I will be talking about in this post will be:

Marinette’s Squad Observations on Luka

Jagged (poss dad??) and Anarka’s history

Luka’s humble Personality

Desperada thoughts

The “Ships” 👀

ADRIEN

A Holder’s Destiney

Saddle up, compadres!

Marinette’s Squad Observations on Luka

I don’t have too much to comment about them actually, really I just have to let it be said that by paying attention to the girl’s observations about Marinette gives big indication on Marinette’s progress in terms of her growth regarding her crush.

Jagged and Anarka

I’m just gonna say. . . Jagged and Luka have an awfully similar face structure 👀. . .

LOL okay, what probably happened is that Anarka decided the rock n roll tour life wasn’t for her so she retired and had herself a nice family with a house boat to overlook Le Seine. Not a bad plan.

I was pretty pleased to see that Mama Couffaine has some rock star history, explains Luka’s love of music and Juleka’s aesthetic. (Also dont think I didn’t see you Rose. Standing in front of your gf bff to take a “bullet” for her 👀)

Also, wouldn’t it be awfully SCANDALOUS if Anarka quit because she got pregnant with Luka and didn’t say anything, eventually had Juleka with another guy, and because life happens, it ended up just being the three of them?

. . . No? . . . Just Me?

haha, I’m kidding—UNLESS 👀👀👀

Luka’s Personality

This boy is just so humble. We get to see just how patient he is with teaching Marinette a few chords, how trusting he is to lend Adrien his guitar, and how he assists Adrien with his tactics to find an escape plan. Really, Adrien described who Luka is best. I’ll talk more about why it matters we saw this in the last point.

Desperada

Her costume just drives me loco. Un poquitito loco!

Nothing is official about her background other than her being Jagged’s guitarist, but I find it comforting that her overall design is very reminiscent of a young Mexican woman who is cool pro guitarist for an English rockstar. I just love her. I only find it mildly upsetting we didn’t see her akuma happen but it’s really no biggie. We got other things instead *sips tea*.

The “Ships” are Firing 👀

There was just. . . A LOT happening, and I like it. Let’s look at the Ships Relationships we saw this episode

Julerose- I mean it, you are not fooling ANYONE Rose 👀

Lukanette- In Season 2, we already knew Marinette found Luka charming, but never really labeled it as anything. . . Until now more or less.

Adrigami- Their behavior with each other is precious. Adrien is such a gentlemen, the way they play off each other’s sarcasm. It’s precious. It really is. Also Kagami is a real ride or die 👀

Lukadrien- Their frienship. . . Their FRIENDSHIPPP 💖💕💖😩💕💖💕. They have each other’s back mutually, get along, praise each other, and overall I’m happy I saw this.

Marigami- I see the rivalry is very much alive. . . But not to a toxic level. I’ve said before that their dynamic isn’t actual “worst enemies”, it’s always been respect for the other, and Kagami made it pretty clear by the end of the episode when she let Marinette know about her target.

Ladrien- 💕💖💕💖😩💕💖💕 The mutual fawning over each other. . . Look, I just needed this, okay?

Ladspik (?)- Okay this is basically Ladrien with a custom skin but actuakly SEEING Ladybug being protectively held by Adrien (in a hero suit) did a number on me. I can’t even BEGIN—

Ladynoir- At the end of the day, a Lady always needs her Chat by her side. Nuff said U.U

Lukabug- . . . Luka I see that smile 👀

Adrienette- There wasn’t much progress here, but this isn’t the episode for that ;) I will note that this episode can maybe mark the key moment in which Marinette starts to get less “shy” about how she behaves with Adrien, seeing as she seems in deep thought about her actions thanks to what Kagami said.

ADRIEN

This episode set a few things straight people may have prejudged Adrien for in the past, and of the main one is that “Adrien Agreste is PERFECT and has no flaws.”

Far from the truth, guys.

In this episode, we saw Adrien try out a new miraculous and try to get closer to Ladybug only to fail time after time. He eventually just resorts to admitting to Ladybug his identity and his true feelings.

Because might as well, right? 🤣

Which btw, I love the change in panic, anger, and then realization her facial expresión goes through. It’s all all:

“You IDIOT!!! You mean to tell me that this WHOLE time you— Wait, you’ve been in love with me this entire time? . . .Really?”

I’m weak. Anyways!

A month (?!?) later in second chances, he eventually admits he can’t help and save her, and feels defeat. . . But it is okay.

I will talk more on this on my next point.

A Holder’s Destiny

I saved this for last for a reason, and I will pick back up on Adrien’s “failure”

“Do you know why Master Fu gave you the Ladybug Miraculous instead of me?” —Chat Noir (Reflekdoll)

I do find it interesting we got to see Reflekdoll first, an episode about a shift and effect with personalities and a power swap, which showed us exactly how Adrien and Marinette work so well with their default miraculous and how trying out the opposite of what they are each used to doing isn’t exactly easy.

Once again, we saw Adrien not be able to get a good feel of how to stategize with the Snake Miraculous. He tried to rush a move every single try, after all. This does NOT make him a failure, but it just showed that there wasn’t a compatibility with him. Same goes with the Ladybug and Aspik team.

The power of Creation and Destruction are opposite, but can make an excellent team.

Second Chance and Creation sound like a nice touch. . . But as we saw, it’s not enough to take down an opponent. Something lacks.

I spoke about Luka’s personality (Adrien it described best), which to summarize is PATIENT and TACTIFUL. With Second Chance, he didn’t rush any attacks, and instead studied his prey opponent every try to see what would be the best approach in defeating the akuma.

Some personalities are better suited for certain miraculous.

This is what this episode overall taught us here.

Conclusion: This episode wasn’t bad. Everyone in general gets along, we get a feel of everyone’s relationships with the other, and we overall learn more about how a wielder meshes with a miraculous.

No need to bash other ships or other people.

[whenimgoodandready]

(grabs the speaker hanging above) Attention everyone! This your conductor/reviewer speaking, for today’s review, we’ll be goin’ for a ride from Point A to Point B and as we journey in this state of the art revolutionary industrialistic mechanism, we’ll be seeing some oh so interesting sights along the way such as an adorable shipping moment, a view from our own Milky Way galaxy and a new superhero in combat! So please fasten your seatbelts, sit back, relax and do enjoy the ride, All aboard! (pulls the trains caboose and it sounds):

*Startrain-Ms.Bustiers class is taking a field trip to London, WHOA! London!? Damn! Wish my field trips were fun! They’re taking the Startrain! (not the villain) You know, that fancy modern looking bullet train that goes from the city of love to the Queen in seconds from “Bakerix”!? Yeah, that Startrain! Foreshadowing! Unfortunately, poor Marinette can’t go cuz if she does, Hawk Moth will have an advantage on akumatizing someone and they’ll be no Ladybug there to purify the akuma. On occasion, this is one of those eps where she acts responsible and not impulsive (depending on the writer), but Master Fu allows her to go cuz she needs a break! She works harder than anyone in Paris, France! She deserves a vacation! But! she’s still responsible, so Fu gives her the horse miraculous (power of teleportation) in case there’s any danger. Smart! As for Adrien, he sneaks off to his field trip cuz Gabe barely lets him go anywhere. Hey! Let the kid go eat a crumpet! Besides, it’s not the first time he’s run off to go do something against his fathers wishes. Nice guys can rebel! Elsewhere, Sabrina’s father, Lieutenant Roger, is bald-I mean! Running late on getting his daughter onboard cuz he’s too distracted by his code of honor on the force to focus which has the akuma go after him. Oh great! We’re gonna have Robocop again, okay, let’s see how this-wait what!? He calmed down? Oh cool. Sorry little akuma, run along! Nice try there Hawk Moth. Looks like Rogers hair isn’t the only thing receding over here! (Badum-tish🥁).

The class genius, Max Kanté, is excited cuz his mother, Dr.Claudie Kanté, is the conductor for the Startrain. Hey! Look at that! We’re expanding even more on Marinettes classmates and their families! Yea! We need to know more about these kids. As cool as it is to operate a train, Dr.Kantés real dream is to be an astronaut! She had to put that aside to support her son, but now that he’s all grown up and is a genius who can pretty much take care of himself, she’s free to follow her true passion. All she needs to do now is just wait for her results in her e-mail if she passed her exam to go into space. So she waits.......and waits......and waits.......and waits.......and waits.......and-Hey! Let’s see what’s goin’ in the train!

The Startrains futuristically fun! Service droids roaming around asking the passengers for drinks and automatically handing it to them! Are these things real! I’d love for them to be real! Chloe was in First Class (why bother, it’s still a cool train?) while the other kids were just being kids playing video games, drawing, browsing on their iPhones, yawning!? Oops! That’s Marinette. She’s exhausted from her earlier crime fighting and is just taking a nap. Good-night girl! Alya asks Adrien to switch seats with her to be with her boyfriend, Nino (😉), and he says yes. Here’s the part where everyone goes, “Awwwww”. I’ve seen fan art of this particular moment, the moment that’s so precious and so soft, there’s a word for it. Sleep Cute! The ✨Adrienette Sleep Cute!✨It’s now canon! Awwwwwww. The girl squad and everyone else think it’s the cutest thing in the world and they just-(record scratch) Wait! What’s Lila doing there!? Hey! Lila! No! Bad Lila! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! Alya! Thank God! Thank you girl! The leader of the squad saved the moment! Take that! Lila! The people may believe every word you say, but when it comes to the girl squads Adrienette ship, don’t.rock.the.boat!*snap**snap* Mmmhmm.

Wait! We’re not on a boat! We’re on a train! Lol! Forgot where I was for a moment there! Dr.Kanté grows impatient with her e-mail wait and thinks she probably failed her exam and that’s when the akuma comes (was it just fluttering around aimlessly?) in making her into Startrain. She’s a sci fi looking villainess who’s right arm is attached to the “dead mans switch” (or else it’s a dead stop) and makes the whole train, containing its passenger, her own rocket ship! Going all Magic Schhol Bus on them. 10.....9.....8.....7.....6.....5.....4.....3.....2.....1! BLAST OFF! 💥🚀💥And we have lift off! It’s a space case adventure and I had no idea how this was gonna go! Our heroes were in space with zero gravity! Where no one can hear them scream! Don! Don! Don!

Hmmmm, so another parent from Marinettes classmates has been akumatized and Ladybug and Cat Noir need extra help......I think we all know who that is. Ladies and gentleman, the holder of the horse miraculous, Max Kanté! A.k.a. Pegasus! (trumpets sound). Well, we all knew from “Party Crasher” anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . His Kwamie is a British accented uppity pony like being named Kaalki, the miraculous: a pair of glasses, the weapon: two horse shoes and it’s power:(we already know) teleportation by saying, “Voyage” that opens up a huge portal to wherever they want.

(grabs the speaker hanging above) Thank you for riding the Startrain, please unbuckle your seatbelts, take your belongings and exit in an orderly fashion as we come to our destination. We apologize for the inconvenience of our unexpected space odyssey as that was not planned in our schedule, but we thank you for staying calm throughout the journey. Have a nice day! It’s interesting how Marinette managed to get the highest score in “Ladybug” for her quiz (really? Even more so than Max!?) despite having to juggle her school work along with her superhero duties and social life and yet she felt drowsy here after another unseen supervillain fight. Well, since this ep took place before “Ladybug” she must’ve handled it better later. As for Adrien, let us count the ways he’s rebelled against Gabe: 1. Ditching his bodyguard to sneak off to the movies (“The Puppeteer”), 2. Running away to go to school (“Origins Part:1-2”), 3. Running away to blow off some steam (“A Christmas Special”), 4. Stealing the miraculous book (“The Collector”), 5. Sneaking off to see his moms movie (“Gorizilla”), 6. Lying about going to fencing practice to instead go on a date with Kagami (“Frozer”), 7. Having a party with Gabe gone (“Party Crasher”) and 8. Ditching fencing practice again with Kagami to hang out with their friends (“Desperada”). It’s all very reasonable cuz he has an overprotective (evil) father, lives in a mansion full of mostly stone cold people and is VERY lonely and miserable! Who wouldn’t wanna get away from all that!? Lieutenant Roger is blind to his daughters slavitude towards Chloe and just thinks she’s “serving and protecting” by being a “good friend”. Ironic that he’s a cop and doesn’t notice the injustice in this. Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! A little thing we learned about the akumas, Hawk Moth can’t control ‘em if they’re a distance away! Like space! He also reluctantly had to see his plan fail cuz Adrien was on the Startrain in space and was forced to let the good guys win for his sons sake. Was this the first time it happened? Cuz I think so. No Queen Bee in this ep cuz Chloe dear, you’re retired! I’m sensing her distraught over this is the reason for her third akumatization in the finale *cough*BattleoftheMiraculousPart2:MiracleQueen*cough* Yeah, wait for it. Another thing is Alya has a second blog for astronomy, so she’s not limited to her Ladyblog. That’s good! Give her a new hobby so she won’t look one-dimensional. So this was the space episode and sadly, there were no space related power-ups :P. Damn it! I wanted to see Ladybug and Cat Noir in space outfits! We see a member of Maxes family and we find out he has a mother who operates the Startrain, but really wants to be an astronaut. Hey, we’ve all been there. Stuck at a dead end job you had to take to support a family instead of following your dreams on what you really wanted to do. I can relate! I wanted to be a writer! I love books and reading, so I wanted to create some myself. Unfortunately, I wasn’t motivated much and didn’t get any support, so now I’m just a medical assistant to put bread on the table. That’s it! The closest I get to my writing career is writing in these reviews on my blog! It’s fine, just cuz I can’t do my real passion, doesn’t mean I have to stop. Right? Least Claudies dream came true. Congratulations girl! Boldly go where (no) man has gone before! (salutes). What everyone was really talking about was the Sleep Cute Adrienette moment :). When Marinette fell asleep on Adrien, he allowed it and even fell asleep as well. Wether you see it as either him being a gentlemen and not disturbing her or him just subconsciously being in love with her is up to you (I’m mixed on both, but mostly on the former). Lila was almost a c*ckblocker in that moment, but thanks to Shipper On Deck Alya, it was thwarted! Yea-ah! Really Lila, another “illness” you have? First it was tinnitus and arthritis (“Chameleon”), then it was “a lying problem” (“Ladybug”) and now you’re saying “motion sickness”! It’s amazing she’s able to walk! Isn’t anyone concerned!? Well, people almost saw her ruin the Adrienette moment which would make everyone start being suspicious of Lila as they all vouched for Marinette (“Ladybug”). Max is Pegasus! And his transformation had a techno beat! Cool! However, his powers were the same as Bunnyx. Teleportation! Why is that!? Viperion has a similar power to Bunnyx too, time travel! Why are all three of these the same!? I prefer each miraculous power to be individually different to stand out! This better not happen again with the other miraculouses! The miraculous for the horse miraculous was a pair of glasses.........glasses?........and it went to Max......how convenient 😒. As someone who’s born in the Year of the Horse, this was most disappointing. Guess I’m just like Kaalki who has high expectations and wants to be representative of my Chinese sign with “grace, beauty, nobility and freedom”.

[kurtty-drabbles]

Lovecraft au (cats)

N/A: I was walking on the path of life and this comes to mind. Human Kitty(?) will be used here.

@djinmer4

The sun is out of the sky and gives place to only the moonlight to share its light on this neighbour. One woman is in her house using her phone to chat with friends and family members, until, her cat jumps into her bed and is now sitting on her chest.

"Meow" the cat communicates with sounds but the woman can understand the meows by now.

"No, Jupiter, your master is not here. IT is out of this galaxy doing...something with the Skrulls, I didn´t ask for the details" Kitty put her phone down and gives full attention to Jupiter, the black cat, who is looking up to the ceiling as if expecting the master to return.

Kitty pets the cat behind his ears and receives a purr from the small animal. "You miss him. But, fret not, Jupiter, the scary IT will be here once his scary business is over with the Skrulls...either someone will have a good day or bad day"

Another meow is giving and Kitty nods. "I miss him too," she said and puts her phone down. The cat now is petting Kitty gentle, and then, the woman look at the time and is surprised. "wow, time flies fast, ok, Jupiter, I´ll need your help again"

Now the cat is bemused. A loud meow is given as if saying "again? Really?"

"Well, yes, I don´t want to repeat what happened last week," Kitty said strongly and the cat rolls his golden eyes but concede. So, Kitty Pryde takes the cat as if he´s the flashlight and is walking on her own house.

Technically, this house used to belong to her cousin, but, once she married and moves out of the US said cousin saw no problem in transferring this house to Kitty.

It´s a nice house, sadly, the cousin will never know about the small abominations that sometimes lurks around. Small ''children'' of IT who takes a liking to Kitty, and sometimes, the children don´t know the difference between cute and creepy.

"Thanks, we arrive in the bathroom without a problem," Kitty said after using the toilet, taking care of her hygiene and holding the cat as if he´s scared...well, is IT´s cat so...the cat is sacred somehow.

Kitty was ready to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water, when, still on the second floor, she heard a loud knock on her window on the first floor. Kitty´s blood got ice. Her heart feels too heavy.

"Intruders!" Kitty speaks softly to her cat as more than one footstep can be heard. Now, she wishes the ''children'' were here. Kitty Pryde is an X-men and she has...powers, she´s not worried about dealing with intruders, but, wants to avoid killing.

Using her new powers, Kitty can see they are just humans, robbers, and not cultists want to please some outer god. Kitty can deal with humans. So, she phases down never minding she´s using her PJs to a fight.

However, when she´s on the first floor, all the robbers, 3 of them in total, are surrounded by cats, lots and lots of black cats. One of them shoots at the first cat, yet, nothing happens.

The first cat only absorbs the bullet and spit out as if is nothing. This should make them run for their money, but, it didn´t one of the rubbers, not having once noticing Kitty, grabs his knife and is ready to kill the first cat among the hoard of cats.

But...

"Ahhh" the rubber can only give this intelligent reply as the cat´s mouth open to show the abomination within and in one chop the rubber is in the cat´s belly. Now, there are two rubbers.

They try to run for their lives, now, and only now. Sadly, the cats show tentacles and well, the rubbers certainly didn´t get the same ending as the first one. They get a more gruesome one.

The lights are now on and all the cats are gone, except for Jupiter who is licking his paw delicately. "Wow, that´s impressive, thanks, but, this is the third time rubbers are in this area...Let´s make sure is the last time"

The cat meow as if saying "you´re going to use your new powers? Cool!" and jump into her shoulders as Kitty´s eyes change to colour.

On the next day, the news is reporting how a squad that used to terrorize the neighbourhood, suddenly they all have a change of heart and they all went to the police to confess all their crimes. It was a miraculous phenomenon.

"No, I don´t kill people if I can avoid" Kitty replies giving a bit of tuna to Jupiter. The cat meows happily for the tuna and then to Kitty as if saying "If that makes you happy, I´m happy...now hand over the tuna"

Omake: It arrives when Kitty was just finishing to talk with the X-men, her early retirement didn´t take "IT´S eyes " on them permanently, but, it gives them a space to breathe.  Scott Summers is looking good for a man that´s far too old to still be a leader. He confesses he´s thinking in get retired too along with Rogue.

The conversation ends and now IT is back with his typical mask of a blue furry man with a tail and golden eyes. Jupiter hops into his arms demanding attention.

"Did you have fun?" He asked the cat and Kitty.

"You saw everything?"

"Of course, but, I still want to know how your week was"

"Then sit down, Kurt, cause´s this week everything happened"

[truthbeetoldmedia]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine 6x02 “Hitchcock & Scully” Review

What made Hitchcock and Scully become Hitchcock and Scully? Maybe it’s not a question you’ve ever asked yourself, but it’s a question the latest episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, titled after the two questionable heroes, seeks to answer.

For two peripheral characters — who I always thought were the show’s take on the lazy, doughnut-eating pigs stereotype about cops — Scully and Hitchcock been steadily developed over the past few seasons, becoming something more than caricatures. More than once, we see their rusty detective skills put to good use, and the ease and speed with which they can solve a case when they choose to do so always shocks their younger counterparts.

It’s not that Hitchcock and Scully are bad cops. In fact, they were once very good cops (as of Season 4, Hitchcock held the precinct record for most arrests). It’s just that they’ve left those days behind and desire nothing more than to work from their desks and coast to retirement.

An episode focused around Hitchcock and Scully probably wouldn’t have worked in early seasons. It’s only because the seeds for their past have already been laid and their esteem in the eyes of the audience has gone up in recent years that it works now.

The premise for the meat of the episode is this: Scully receives a call from Internal Affairs regarding a closed case he and Hitchcock worked back in 1986. Fearing that this is a move by the new commissioner to dig up dirt on his squad as part of their ongoing battle, Captain Holt assigns Jake and Charles to look into the case as well, and make sure that the commissioner doesn’t manipulate the facts in order to discredit two of Holt’s detectives.

For the first time, this pits members of the squad directly against each other (and it’s not even the only storyline of the episode to do so, but I’ll touch on that later). I think this show does best when it focuses on external conflict instead of internal squabbles, but there is so much to this storyline other than Jake and Charles vs Scully and Hitchcock that this time, the show pulls it off.

First: the juxtaposition of Young Hitchcock and Scully with Present Hitchcock and Scully. The casting of the younger counterparts of the two cops is perfect; between the mannerisms and the dialogue, it’s possible to see glimpses of the Hitchcock and Scully we’re familiar with in the hotshots, while still struggling to connect the young with the old. (Did anyone else have a minor existential crisis about the inevitable reality of aging? Just me?)

Setting Jake and Charles as the two cops on this case was extremely purposeful, I think — especially since Jake, at least, is still something of a young hotshot cop. In Young Hitchcock and Scully we see shades of Jake and Charles, which then leads us to thinking about what their own future looks like.

Second: this episode reminded me strongly of “House Mouses”, the Season 3 episode where Jake accidentally gives Hitchcock and Scully a case involving a huge drug ring, and he and Terry have to save them. Hitchcock and Scully may contain multitudes, as Jake himself observes, but they’re still...Hitchcock and Scully.

Briefly, Jake and Charles are led to believe that Hitchcock and Scully are actually bad guys (not a hard conclusion to come to, after being locked inside a smelly sex van), before learning that for the past 30 years they’ve actually been protecting one of their informants, Marissa — who works at Wing Slutz, Hitchcock and Scully’s favourite restaurant.

But Holt learns from the commissioner that Hitchcock and Scully aren’t actually under investigation by Internal Affairs — it was actually the drug boss whom they put away on that case 30 years ago who called Scully, fresh out of jail and looking to be led to the informant who put him there. (It isn’t hard to believe that Scully would fall for this ploy, since he’s previously fallen for at least twenty email scams.)

Hitchcock and Scully may have stolen a duffel bag of cash, but they gave it to their informant — who also happens to be the crime boss’s wife — since their captain at the time refused to put her in Witness Protection. They go to Wing Slutz so often because they have a code by which Marissa can let them know if she’s in trouble, but also because the wings are really good. They decide to strap buckets of “slut sauce” to their torsos in lieu of bulletproof vests, and then put their lives at risk taking a bullet for Marissa.

To repeat: Hitchcock and Scully contain multitudes, as does every other character on this show. The brilliant part of this episode is that the deep dive into their past doesn’t contradict anything we’ve been shown on screen in the five previous seasons, but rather enhances what was already there and gives the audience a deeper appreciation for these characters.

I wasn’t as happy with the B-plot of this episode. With the fourth floor still overcrowded after the first floor of the precinct got shut down, Amy is together with her old squad once again — but now her allegiance has changed, as her loyalty is to her uniformed officers.

Tensions are running high due to the lack of space, reminiscent of the episode where the Nine-Nine is forced to share their precinct with the Nine-Eight — except this time, it’s Amy vs Terry and Rosa.

I mentioned above that I’m not a fan of conflict between the main characters on this show. In the A-plot it worked, because Jake and Charles were investigating a past version of Hitchcock and Scully and had to realize just how much of their past — and by extension, their present — they weren’t familiar with. In the B-plot, it comes off as more contrived, since it’s only been a matter of weeks since Amy was moved downstairs, and I don’t see her instantly going to war for her new squad against Terry and Rosa instead of working with them to find a solution for everybody.

And yeah, I get it, families fight, especially when pushed into crowded and stressful circumstances. But that doesn’t mean I like watching it.

At least there is a reconciliation at the end, as both Amy and Holt realize that there are things more important than the lines they’ve drawn in the sand, namely the lives of people they care about as they go to rescue Jake, Charles, Hitchcock, and Scully from their sticky situation.

For Holt, earlier in the episode he’d put aside the comfort of his squad for the sake of his war with the commissioner. In retaliation for the closing of the precinct’s first floor, Holt plans on doing an interview during which he’ll call out John Kelly’s “vigilant police” policy for the backwards and discriminatory policy it is. While Holt’s heart is doubtless in the right place, such an interview would only fan the flames.

Speaking of John Kelly, the commissioner himself shows up this episode, a grandfatherly looking man who speaks threats with a smile on his face. He makes the skin crawl, which was no doubt exactly the intention.

As much as I already hate him, I hope we see lots of him this season. It’s been awhile since Holt last had a nemesis, and his rivalry with Madeline Wuntch in Season 2 was absolutely one of the highlights of that season. Holt can throw down.

In the end, Holt misses his interview to rescue Jake & co. (Gina does it in his place, and is a disaster). A common theme in this show is that people are more important than ideals, which is a nice message, I think. (*cough* 800,000 unpaid federal workers.)

Holt also promises to stop allowing his squad to be collateral damage in his war with the commissioner, so hopefully things return to normal soon. I like seeing Amy back with the squad again, but not at the cost of her fighting with them.

Footnotes:

“You’re fake news! Sad!” “Yup, that’s the language of the innocent.” I gasped.

“I’m not an idiot just because I have a heart.” I love Charles, and I love his optimistic naivety. I’m glad the small subplot regarding Nikolaj’s half-brother had a happy ending, too; not only does it validate Charles’ optimism, but in a world where it’s hard to trust things you find online, it’s good to know that some people don’t have malevolent motives.

So can we expect to get at least one bleep an episode now? I can’t even decide which squad member I want to swear next. (Amy, because she’s well-known for using words like “frickin” and “hoot”? Holt, because it would absolutely shatter his emotionless facade? Rosa or Gina, because it wouldn’t feel the least out of character coming from either of them?)

“My wife and my dad are here!” 1) I love Jake calling Amy his wife. 2) I love Jake calling Holt his dad. 3) The smile and wave Amy gave Jake is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

“I do give a hoot. I give a hoot about all of you.” Unlike Jake, I dearly hope that this “hoot thing” continues all season.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Sam’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝.5

[wannawrite]

All For One

who?: Wanna One’s Lai Guanlin, Cube Ent’s / Pd101’s Yoo Seonho genre: 🌸 type: bullet point blog navigator. • you have two Cube Chicks for best friends • is this a good or bad idea? this...is the cutest, softest thing...possibly...ever. I’ll try my best! Made me think of my best friends a lot  :”) TYSM @isaluciavevo for requesting - Admin L

• ahhhh the Cube Chicks are back together again • honestly,,,who...just who in the right mind thought that this would be a good idea • because it is a GREAT idea • but • warning: Cube Chicks may cause trouble out of good intention • good vibes only • that’s how y’all roll • if you want it • you go get it • and your boys will support you • both are competitive sportsmen • basketball team!! • captain • and vice-captain • it’s a v v messy yet memorable friendship • sometimes it’s you trying to keep Seonho and Guanlin alive • sometimes it’s Guanlin trying to keep you and Seonho from getting arrested • yeah • it’s Seonho for everything • have you seen this boy? • he gets in so much trouble its a miracle you haven’t bailed him out of jail yet • but he’s a good boy, don’t worry • he’s just clumsy and childish • kind of doesn’t think of consequences before acting • sort of plunges both feet into hot water without dipping his toes to check first • but • that’s how your entire friendship functions • it’s a good friendship • you share a class with Seonho • and it’s crazy • he sits next to you • some days he never pays attention to the teacher and gossips to you throughout class • other days he’s like • ‘hey seonho can I borrow a pencil-’  • ‘shush. pay attention to the teacher, y/n.’ • damn Seonho I just wanted a pencil I didn’t ask for this slander • but you love him • in school, he’s the first person to greet you at your locker in the mornings • with a bright smile, his backpack slung over his shoulder • then he ruffles your hair playfully, messing it up completely • true friendship :”) • ‘ahh, I know that person you like will definitely take notice of you now,’ he teases • then you guys walk to assembly and class together • sometimes in class, you guys have a sheet of foolscap paper in between the desks • and either one of you will draw or write some really cute, heart-warming, heart-fluttering bullshit • okay you get my drift • ‘you’re doing amazing sweetie’ • ‘cheer up!’ • ‘have fun at basketball practice later!’ • ‘i miss Guanlin :(‘ • ‘>:( what about me’ • ‘I love Guanlin :D’   • ‘ :”( ‘ • ‘ily2 dw ❤️’ • Seonho smiles before folding up the paper and sticking it into his bag just as your teacher walks by • he has an incredible knack of never getting in trouble • he can create trouble but he doesn’t get in it • explain later • okay now • Seonho is also super concern and caring • during lunch if he gets pizza, he makes sure to buy some for you too • and Guanlin of course • ‘pfpp lol hyung you can buy your own’ • ‘yah, you still owe me from last week’s frozen yoghurt.’ • bickers over food • visits your house very often • he just comes to nap on your bed • ‘nooo I’m here to inspect if you cleaned your room like you said you did in your Snapchat story.’ • really, he just wants access to your pantry and kitchen • while eating popcorn, you and Guanlin doodle things all over his arms when he’s sleeping • not dicks pls • Seonho is a child • he needs his sleep • after sleeping, he makes sure to go out with you and Guanlin a lot • barbecue is a MUST • in fact, the owner is a classmate’s parent • and always give you guys a discount • THAT’S how regular y’all are • and there’s always a tad bit more food for your table • karaoke is a favourite • time for swaggy rapper™️ to shine • speaking of Guanlin • he’s a year older • yet not that much more mature • or sensible • jk, he is • quieter and shyer than Seonho • but just as goofy when he opens up to you • is fake deep • ‘I want to get a tattoo of a burrito because we get so wrapped up in our internal feelings and sadness, that we ignore the crisp and goodness outside.’ • sends really meaningful things to the group chat at 12am • Guanlin🐥: you guys mean the world to me, I would never trade y’all for anything else • Seonho🐣: aww hyung :”) • you: 💓💓💓 • changes the group chat profile pic very often • he went through an entire streak of Kermit the frog for a month • Guanlin really likes memes • more than Seonho • and Seonho has a folder of 500+ pictures of memes alone • at 3.30am, Guanlin will send memes to the group chat • kermit the frog memes • pepe memes   • any other meme you can think of • sometimes recycles memes • edits memes • Guanlin🐥: hey Daniel hyung promised me a lifetime worth of pizza if I gave  Seonho to Minhyun hyung • Guanlin🐥: so lmao bye bye Seonho • Guanlin🐥: you’re the sacrifice • Seonho actually disappears for a couple of hours   • wh00ps • but Guanlin is EXTRA • extra sweet ;) • advises you both of life • ‘now...my young grasshoppers, I’m going to teach you how to sleep in class and not get caught.’ • ‘this is how you secretly eat pizza rolls in the middle of math’ • ‘LiSTEN, this is how you sneak in a waffle maker to make breakfast in morning assembly’ • but he does actually help • he helps both of you with studies • pushes Seonho to study by treating him to pizza • and ice cream • and chicken • Guanlin tells you tips and tricks to memorise math formulas better • uses creative analogies • ‘okay, imagine that x is a sheep. So 2x would mean 2 sheep and then 4x + -3x would be?’ • I don’t even know actually but let’s just pretend I do • ‘guys, if you get Mr Kai as your math teacher next year, tell me.’ • is a nice, responsible and caring older brother • gets really protective from time to time • it’s the small actions that give him away • like • ‘no, I’ll walk you out to the gate, don’t go by yourself.’ • ‘text me when you get home safe, okay?’ • will walk you to the bus stop and take your bus even if it goes the opposite way • makes some lame excuse • ‘uhh, my sister’s friend’s dog is in the area so I’m going to meet him and we’ll go back together.’ • ‘I need to pick up dry cleaning for my mother. You know how she’s fussy about her evening gowns.’ • ‘Lin, it’s 9pm at night...the shop is closed.’ • red-faced • ‘oh’ • Guanlin is #1 on speed dial on both your phones • ‘in cases y’all get drunk, call me, no one else knows how to take care of you two.’ • Seonho always texts him when he’s arrived safely at home • with a cute selfie sometimes • Guanlin tracks both the children’s sleep schedules in his diary watch him • is generous • pays for your haircuts • *pushes both of you into the salon Jinyoung works at* • ‘since school is almost over, you guys need a look for summer.’ • ‘hey Jinyoung, these are my friends so take good care of them wink wonk’ • ;) • I got you • Taiwanese chick is slyer than a fox • Seonho sits in the salon chair with pitch black hair • and emerges with a blonde streak down the middle • you don’t sense anything wrong • until Baejin starts to whip out green hair dye • ‘WAIT’ • you wrestle Jinyoung for that box • ‘HOW MUCH DID GUAN PAY YOU? I CAN PAY YOU MORE!’ • Guanlin’s hair ends up being blondish green • well done • he also once convinced Jinyoung to chop off a good 4 inches of your hair • I could use some 4 inches in height • hah • speaking of height • Guanlin is tall • so is Seonho • and Guanlin is just a bit more of that annoying tall friend who makes fun of everyone who isn’t as tall as them • yes thank you for putting MY box of cookies on the top shelf of my pantry • aww Seonho you sweetheart, thanks for helping   • he smirks and takes the whole box for himself • sigh • tall people • if you hang out in the evenings • Guanlin always drags Seonho’s ass out of your house to the basketball courts nearby • to practice • you know • time to grind😤😫 • you tag along • trying to win against a basketball team captain and vice-captain • some die heroes • ‘WatCH ME’ • your best friends just chuckle and shrug • but they are also your support squad • ‘jUst JUMP YOU GOT THIS!’ Guanlin yells enthusiastically • once, he even bought a loudspeaker • ‘LET’S GO TEAM!’ • and it got taken away by a park warden • then he brought another one • and a policeman on patrol swiped it • so Guanlin relied on his swaggy rapper™️ voice • Seonho becomes the spectator • ‘AND-AND WILL Y/N SCORE FOR THE FIRST TIME?’ • this is how you guys spend the weekends • ‘...THEY DO. A MIRACLE HAS HAPPENED.’ • Guanlin runs and catches you in a hug, overjoyed • Seonho joins soon after • and the three of you collapse in the cold court floor, bursting into laughter • but your heart couldn’t feel any warmer :”) • ‘ahhh, I could spend all night here.’ • but of course, realistically, you can’t • so all of you retire to Guanlin’s mansion • I make him a rich boy in every single one of my works I realised I’m sorry • sometimes it becomes a sleepover • like pillow fights   • making s’mores • scaring the hell out of his chef in the process • ‘dAMNIT GUANLIN YOUR PARENTS WILL KILL ME IF YOU BURN THE BOTTOM OF THIS POT.’ • ‘they’ll fire you if you swear at me, right?’ he says cockily, raising an amused brow • his chef just huffs. ‘I’ve known you since you ran around in diapers, goodness.’ • ahhh • his chef is gracious nonetheless and brings you guys platters of snacks for your movie night • includes a lot of yelling • Seonho getting spooked easily • Guanlin taking time to calculate if the scenario could happen in real life then reacting • the kind of best friends to watch Netflix with you until 12am • ‘c’mon,’ Seonho whispers. ‘Everyone should be asleep by now.’ • the three of you creep up to Guanlin’s spacious rooftop garden • star-gazing time • you pop open the soda bottles and get bags of chips • sipping cola • looking at the stars • back on the ground, head to head to form a circle • ahhh • ‘oh! shooting star!’ • ‘hey, that constellation looks like a horse!’ • it’s just a good time filled with laughter, jokes, food and friendship • as the night wears on, things get really deep and personal • these hangouts have sort of become personal therapy sessions for you • whatever you want to say • say it • all of you trust each other with your lives • a lot of things get lifted off each other’s chest • figure out problems together • help each other out • just a genuine, meaningful time of bonding • when it ends, you feel more secure and loyal to your friends • you and Seonho take the enormous couch in the gaming room while Guanlin sleeps in his bed a few doors down • he makes sure to tuck both of you in • and talk until one of you falls asleep before he tucks himself in • such a pure and real friendship • supportive • loving • loyal • and caring • during Christmas time, you guys team up to bake cookies and other holiday treats • it obviously isn’t the greatest idea • I mean, have you seen Guan and Seonho’s ‘It’s meringue time!’? yeah • seonho insists on icing his own cookies this year • he later spent almost an hour scraping icing off the ceiling of his kitchen • taking turns to help decorate each other’s houses • gift shopping for the rest of your clique together • synonymously agreeing to buy yet another fly swatter for Daniel • maybe some shoe insoles for Sungwoon • savages 24/7 • puns all around • breathe memes • especially Guanlin • like that boy has a basketball jersey with Kermit on the back • he actually wears it out • gave an identical one to Seonho for his birthday • and you received one as well for Christmas • from your Secret Santa • at basketball matches • it’s a given you’re there to support them, rain or shine • so if your crush wants to see you, they attend the game • a night before, you’re spamming the group chat with encouraging messages and gifs • they’re like ‘pffp we don’t need these’ but it actually cheers them up • HEART MELTING • there’s always a small spat in the group chat on whose jersey/jacket you will wear • Guanlin🐥: hEY I’M OLDER THAN YOU. • Guanlin🐥: THEY CAN WEAR YOURS ANY OTHER TIME, THIS IS ONE OF MY LAST COMPETITIONS 

• Seonho🐣: I FRICKIN WASHED AND DRY CLEANED MY JERSEY FOR THIS i’msorryimessedup

• on the day itself, you’re clad in Seonho’s practice jersey and Guanlin’s jacket • the cutest • everyone assumes y’all daring • but all of you are just the closest of friends • friendship goals • plus, they’re the best wingmen • just a super supportive, real, joyous friendship

[nickireadstfc]

The Raven King, Chapter 7 – Next Stop: Backstory Central

In which Kevin and Neil have a heart-to-heart that feels like an aftershock of last chapter’s earthquake, Neil continues his quest to becoming an actual human being, and we unlock like fifty levels of backstory thanks to everyone’s favourite chatty gay sunshine.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The Raven King.

Have I recovered from the sass fest from last time?

No.

Are we going to plunge in straight again with yet another 3k+ chapter?

Yes.

Let’s go.

           “You want to tell me why you have a hard-on for antagonizing Riko?” Wymack asked.

           “He started it,” Neil muttered into his tortilla.

Reason number 4597265 why I love Wymack: He uses the exact same expressions I would.

A hard-on for antagonizing Riko, amazing. <3

           “How can you stand having a team like ours, Coach? Isn’t it exhausting dealing with us and our problems day after day?”

           Wymack emptied his coffee with one big gulp. “Nope.”

Reason number 1 why I love Wymack: THIS. FUCKING THIS.

My grumpy Hufflepuff vodka dad I love you so much.

#dicksoutforwymack, always.

Grumpy Hufflepuff vodka dad is starting to see through Neil’s bullshit, though. He confronts him about “not adding up right” and even asks him about why he’s such a smartass to the powerful Moriyamas, but flinches when Wymack makes a wrong hand movement.

And Neil – amazing! Such character development! – answers him honestly, saying he doesn’t trust men his father’s age on principle.

As a prize for Neil’s honesty, we get Wymack’s backstory in return – the first of many, many this chapter, I can promise you that.

           “You parents must be something else.”

           “So must be yours if you spend so much time on us,” Neil said.

           “They were,” Wymack agreed.

           “Oh,” Neil said. “Are they both dead?”

           Wymack looked amused by his tactlessness. “My mother OD’d almost ten years ago and my father lost a prison fight the first year I started here at Palmetto state. I hadn’t spoken to either of them since I left D.C.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Wymack’s family is just as fucked up as the Foxes’.

Cue generic “dude comes from broken home, tries to make a better home for younger folks in same situation” trope.

Cue me crying.

           “Sometimes the world feels so big, but then I’m reminded how small it is.”

           “Big or small, just remember that you’re not alone in it,” Wymack said. “You have your team, but that’s a double-edged sword. They’re there for you anytime you need them, and they’ll hold you up if you want them to, but you actions have consequences for all of them as well. The more you antagonize Riko, the harder you make things on them.”

And just as I was about comment on how emotional I’m getting over all the team feels – Neil goes and ends the feels time again.

           “Like with Seth,” Neil said. “I know.”

           Wymack stared at him for an endless minute, then said too quietly, “The fuck did you just say to me?”

Well…. Fuck.

Wymack is decidedly not liking Andrew’s theory over the Mysterious and Dramatic Death of one Seth Gordon. He tells Neil that whatever happened is not his fault, as Riko – whatever he may have done – definitely crossed a line, or two, or fifty, all armed with missiles and wire and Keep Out Riko, You Big Fucknut signs.

You know, what any sane human being could have told Neil chapters ago, but as we know homeboy doesn’t exactly surround himself with the sanest bunch of people.

Also, for the record, I think Andrew’s “theory” is entirely correct. But we’ll see.

Onwards to the stadium and to more interesting confrontation in this chapter: Neil vs Kevin vs Literal Years Of Repressed Childhoood Memories.

           “You’re not really him,” Kevin said so low Neil barely understood his words. “Tell me you aren’t really Nathaniel.” (…)

           “Don’t call me that. It doesn’t matter who I used to be. I’m Neil now.”

Damn, brain, back at it again with the trans!Neil headcanons.

MY SON.

           “I figured the chances of you remembering me were slim and I gambled on you not knowing the truth about my family.”

           “How could we not remember you?” Kevin asked.

Bitch, you literally did not remember him until violently reminded by the Ravens. Do not come  to me with that shit.

Today’s Casually Mentioned, Yet Heartbreakingly Sad Neil Fact is this:

           “My mother didn’t tell me why we were running,” Neil said. (…) “It was always about the weather or our current language or the local culture – the next time she had anything meaningful to say to me was when she was dying.”

I CREI.

Now, did you think we were done with all the plot twists and backstory developments last chapter?

Hell fuckin’ nope. There’s one crucial bit missing.

(And probably like a million more that I have no idea are yet to come, but let me enjoy a moment of “maybe we’re done now pls”.)

           “You father was Lord Kengo’s right hand man, the most trusted weapon in Lord Kengo’s arsenal. (…) You were supposed to be like me. You were a gift, another player for the master to train.”

FUCKING WHAT.

Oh jeez. Oh shit. Fuck, no.

This just takes the fucking cake, but it’s considerably less yummy birthday cake and more The Help-actual-shit-cake.

To sum this up:

Tiny baby Neil was given a chance to be recruited by the Moriyamas: If he played well enough they’d keep him as a pet, if he didn’t, his own father would personally kill him. His mother ran away with him before he could get to that tryout, yet never told him a thing about their actual situation – for no understandable reason. Neil’s life could have basically gone two directions: A youth prodigy Exy star raised on domestic abuse and crippling anxiety, or the isolated runaway with internalized trust issues he is now. And now that the Moriyamas know he’s still out there, they want to salvage their “lost property” and make him the Raven he was meant to be.

There is legit not one part of that paragraph I’m not yelling “WHAT THE FUCK” at.

What is happening?? The fuck??? THE FUCK?????

Area Girl Thought She’d Seen The Last Of This, What Happens Next Will Shock You:

Because what happens next is wonderful, wonderful character development.

           Neil crouched and pressed his hands to the orange paint. “I don’t want to run. I don’t want to be a Raven. I don’t want to be Nathaniel. I want to be a Fox. I want to play with you this year and I want us to make it to championships. And in spring when the Moriyamas come for me I’ll do what they’re so afraid I will. I’ll go to the FBI and tell them everything. Let them kill me. It’ll be too late by then.”

SHIT BOI.

FUCK ME THE FUCK UP.

Have I like……….. mentioned I love this boy recently?? Yes?? Good.

           Kevin was silent for an endless minute, then said, “You should be Court.”

           It was barely a whisper, but it cut Neil to the bone. It was a resentful goodbye to the bright future Kevin had wanted for Neil.

//cries for a million years.

Honestly, the Kevin/Neil dynamic just keeps fucking getting me, and these recent developments are not helping.

Ah, speaking of character dynamics I’d probably take a bullet for –

           “Andrew has neither purpose nor ambition,” Kevin said. “I was the first person who ever looked at Andrew and told him he was worth something. When he comes off these drugs and has nothing else to hold him up I will give him something to build his life around.”

//cries for a billion years.

So, their deal is “I protect you from your crazy ass abusers and their posse, in return you give me a future”?

I can work with that. I can also imagine there’s probably more to it. Let’s wait and see.

Onwards to better and brighter things:

A few interesting developments in Neil’s Quest to Becoming An Actual Human Being.

           For the first time in his life, Neil wasn’t thinking about the future. He stopped counting days until the Ravens’ match and scaled back on how much news he watched and read. He threw all of his energy into practices, stayed awake through most of his classes, and juggled his teammates as best as he could.

You guys have no, no idea how happy that sentence makes me.

Yes, my son. Go out there and have a life full of happy practices and healthy social interactions. <3

           He knew things about [his teammates] he’d never bothered to learn about anyone else in his entire life.

Scratch that part before, this sentence makes me so much happier.

IT’S MOTHER FLIPPIN’ BACKSTORY TIME.

I’ll sum things up for you.

Matt comes from a wealthy, but broken family, and has a history of drug abuse (which we knew already). His boxer mum is probably the most badass woman there is.

Renee was born Natalie, used to be in the foster system (same as Andrew!), and knows Dan from back in high school where they used to be Exy rivals. Wymack signed them both and they became fast friends afterwards.

Dan did stripping as a way to support her aunt and newborn cousin while in high school, and although she has cut ties with her family, she’s still in touch with her strip squad. Dan also wants to take over coaching the Foxes after Wymack retires.

In short: FUCK. YEAH.

A few chapters ago I was just complaining about all the backstory we don’t yet have, and now we’re getting ambushed by it.

I am loving this development.

Even Allison starts coming around! We don’t get her backstory yet (although we do kind of have some already – daughter of a wealthy and famous family wants to prove herself as her own person), but she makes steps towards being a little more okay. V nice. V good.

*whispers* I really want to like you please give me a reason to.

But ah, mes amis, did you think we were done yet? Fuck, no.

Welcome to the best part of this chapter: It’s Backstory Time – Special Minyard Edition.

           “The coffee that interesting?”

           Neil wondered if the Foxes secretly installed him with a tracking chip and turned towards Nicky’s voice.

Bahahahaha. Wouldn’t put it past [eyes Kevin and Andrew suspiciously] some of them.

They bump into Aaron and Katelyn on their first totally-not-a-date (I still give about 0.2 fucks about this relationship) and Nicky doesn’t crack any jokes about it – a miracle! – but instead starts to randomly give more insights into the Andrew-Aaron dynamic.

Not that I’m fucking complaining.

           “Andrew hates her, you know?”

           “Why?” Neil asked.

           “Because Aaron likes her,” Nicky said, as if that was obvious. (…) “Andrew’s not really big on the idea of Aaron’s happiness, see? So if Aaron likes Katelyn, Andrew doesn’t want him to have her. Andrew might smile awful bright but he is a master of childish spite.”

Haha, that rhymed.

Andrew might smile awful bright, But he is a master of childish spite. “I have been raised on fear and hate Let Aaron suffer an equal fate.” His problems could be solved, my friends And Andrew could start making sense If Neil would think in that direction: The dude just needs some love and affection.

Thank you, thank you. Autographs at stage door, please.

Poetry time over.

Prepare for ALL THE MINYARD BACKSTORY.

(Who are we kidding. There’s probably still more. Dear god help me.)

           “I told you Aunt Tilda gave Andrew up, right? That’s only half of it. Truth is she put both of them in the system at first. One week later she changed her mind. (…) Andrew went off to foster care and Aaron became to living reminder of Aunt Tilda’s guilt and failure. Aunt Tilda tried as hard as she could to not deal with Aaron at all.”

Ohhh shit. One Child Neglect to go please, coming right up.

Seriously, what is wrong with that woman. Either take both of them or take none of them. Don’t separate siblings, especially not twins. What the fuck is that “I’m feeling bad so I’ll take back one BUT not bad enough to take back two” bullshit.

           “I’m thinking that’s why he wouldn’t talk to Aaron when Aaron wrote to him. He was – justifiably, I think – pissed off.”

Well, fucking duh. I’d be pissed off, too. Of course, it would be more reasonable to be pissed that the mother, but I can’t exactly blame Andrew for not being instant BFFs with Aaron.

           “Aunt Tilda moved them cross-country, started drinking more than ever, and got heavy-handed with Aaron. Aaron got into all kinds of trouble in some sort of traumatized rebellion.”

Oh nooooo shit my dude, now I do feel bad for Aaron.

What sort of fuckery even are the Minyard’s lives.

           “[Dad] introduced Aaron to Andrew. That’s when things started moving. Andrew suddenly got motivated. He started behaving and toeing the line and got released on early parole about a year later.”

           “Andrew decided he wanted a brother after all,” Neil said. “So what went wrong?”

           “Aunt Tilda died, and Aaron blames Andrew.”

OH SHIT.

Basically, what happened was that Andrew was standing in for Aaron – damn Minyards, back at it again with the twin tricks! – and he was in the car with Tilda when she caused a car crash that killed her.

Why are their lives so dramatic. What the fuck.

           “Aaron can’t accept that she’s gone. He misses her. He can’t forgive Andrew, and Andrew doesn’t understand or care about how much it hurt Aaron. Stalemate.”

Well, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful brother match made in heaven.

However, Neil has some interesting insights to share on the whole fucked-up shebang:

           “Andrew did care. That’s what went wrong. (…) Andrew would have traced Aaron’s problems back to their mother. Maybe he didn’t kill her for giving him up. Maybe he did it to protect Aaron. (…) She was hurting Aaron, so Andrew stopped her.”

For someone who says he doesn’t care about Andrew, Neil has suspiciously good understanding of how Andrew’s brain works.

Like, better than people like Nicky and Aaron, who have known him for literal years.

Just sayin’.

Also, what the fuck.

Also: That explains the “maybe he’s afraid she’ll die on him like the last woman he really loved” from a few chapters back!! Don’t you just love it when things… [clenches fist] add up.

           “I’ve realized I can’t fix it on my own. I hate to say it, but I wish Renee would hurry up and make her move.” (…)

           “What? I thought you didn’t like her.”

           Nicky bolted upright like Neil struck him. “Who doesn’t like Renee?”

TAGGED #ME. MY DAUGHTER. DESERVING OF ALL THE LOVE.

Apparently, if we believe Nicky, my beloved platonic goalie BFFs ship is a lot less platonic than I thought – at least from Renee’s perspective.

Idk how I feel about this. Could be problematic. But could also be cute and very beneficial for Andrew, and my sweet murder snowflake does seem like she could handle his shit.

…Alright, who are we kidding. The latter. I love this dynamic in every way, haters to the left.

However, Neil proves once again that he has about the emotional capacity of a brick, and offers the only solution to any problem he knows:

           “What about Exy?”

ARE YOU FOR REAL.

           “Exy isn’t an option here, okay? You can love Exy all you want, it’s never gonna love you back.”

           “So?”

           “Oh my God.” Nicky looked torn between horror and pity. “Seriously? That might be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Same, Nicks.

Nicky tries talking some sense into Neil and pointing out that Exy can’t be your end-all-be-all for an emotionally healthy future, but Neil quickly derails him with Nicky’s favourite subject: Gay Talk™.

           “Why don’t you like girls?” (…)

           “They’re so soft.”

           Neil thought about Renee’s bruised knuckles, Dan’s fierce spirit, and Allison holding her ground on the court a week after Seth’s death. (…) He felt compelled to say, “Some of the strongest people I’ve known are women.”

Bless feminist Neil.

(Nicky, of course, didn’t mean it like that and was talking about literally being soft, curves and all.)

And then – did you think we were done with backstory for today?

Because there’s one bugger still missing.

           “There’s religious and there’s super psychotic religious. Me and Renee, we’re the decent sort, I think. (…) But my parents are the black-and-white-crazy kind.”

Oh, shit no.

As it turns out, Nicky (bless his heart) tried coming out to his parents despite their fanatism, which promptly resulted in them sending him to bible camp and tried to shame the gay out of him, which resulted in Nicky being hardcore depressed and suicidal.

MY SON. FUCK NO.

What saved him was Germany – being abroad and having someone showing him how to balance faith and sexuality. And as much as I love this development and I’m happy for them, I can’t get over one thing:

The guy is called Erik Klose. As in, German football superstar Miroslav Klose. And I can’t get over the mental image of Nora being like “oh well, I need a German surname, guess I’ll just take a look at the football squad from that year, ah yes perfect, that one.”

It’s not even that funny, but I now cannot ever take Erik seriously.

Nicky, of course, reins the conversation back to Neil needing to have healthy emotional bonds with someone at some point, which makes Neil end the conversation altogether.

Except for one last thing- is that a sliver of – gasp! – actual Andreil I see at the horizon?

           For a moment Neil wondered. There was only one person in the world strong enough for all of Neil’s problems, and she was dead now. (…) Andrew, though, nodded in the face of his burden and told Neil to stay. He stood his ground when neil asked him for murder and gave him a key to their house.

           But that didn’t count, because Andrew was Andrew, and this was definitely the last turn he needed his thoughts to take.

:’)))))))))))))))))))) I’m fine.

If you like what I do here and you want to help me continue writing, please consider buying me a coffee! Thank you so much <3

[shadowsoverwatchblog]

OC Character

Name: William ‘Shadow’ Nightingale 

General Information: -DoB: 11/05/2016 -Age: 60 -Height: 6'2" -Weight : 192 lbs -Hair color: Silver -Eye color: Gray -ISJF -Zodiac: Scorpio -Place of birth: Anchorage, Alaska, USA -Nationality: American -Sexuality: Straight -Current Residence: San Antonio, Texas, USA -Occupation: Sniper (Formerly). Overwatch (Formerly). Farmer (Currently)

 Weapons: Two weapons of choice; The Silent Death (Sniper Rifle) and throwing knives (2 modes of fire similar to Genji) 

 1st ability: Firework; Shadow’s sniper rifle fires a large round stunning and damaging the hero it impacts and launches Shadow backward {10 second cooldown}

2nd ability: Ghost; Shadow pops a small smoke cloud giving him a brief moment to try and escape his assailant (s) {8 second cooldown}

Ultimate: One Shot; Shadow loads 6 shots into his rifle. Every shot is a one shot kill and can pierce through anything. Note: One bullet can’t pierce through multiple enemies.(Zenyatta ultimate, Lucios ultimate, Reinhardts shield, and D'vas defense matrix). Audio cue, Friendly: Get Down Enemy: Targets Confirmed

 Lore: 

(During Overwatch) Born and raised in Alaska, William 'Shadow’ Nightingale became a master sharpshooter hunting Wolves, bears, elk and much more. At the age of 18 he left his civilian life to train as a sniper in the US military in a few short months he became the top military sniper with a few rivaling his skill including Egypts finest Ana Amari. William was approached by the US government for their soldier enhancement program however, he decided against it due to his pride and his belief that the best use shear skill and do not require any enhancements. On the other hand he accepted an anti aging process enabling to keep his young look without sacrificing any performance. Of course Overwatch noticed him and Ana Amari but in the end it was Ana who was chosen to be a part of Overwatch’s Strike Team however, William joined Overwatch to take part in the battles during the Omnic Crisis. While William believed that it pure skill and training that made him a better marksman than Ana due to Ana’s biotic eye, both believed in lethal methods in terms of sharpshooting and came to respect her and asked her to train him from time to time. Despite him not being a part of the original strike team, he was constantly being sent on joint operations with the strike team. He took up the call sign of 'Shadow’ due to his numerous kills without the enemy even knowing he was there and disappearing seemingly into darkness. His final mission before the fall of Overwatch was a capture operation on a major Talon lieutenant. His role was a typical recon support sniper nothing that he couldn’t handle. All was going well until his team radioed in that it was a trap. As soon as word traveled there was a massive explosion from the building. Talon operatives began to swarm the building but Shadow picked them off one by one as he heard gunshots from the burning building. He radioed HQ for immediate extraction but the team was going to be late. For the next 20 minutes Shadow picked off as many Talon operatives until his rifle ran dry, his knives were all blunt and until his hands were bloodied and bruised. In the end 3 members of his team were killed and the other 2 were severely wounded.

 (Helix Securities) After the fall of Overwatch he was offered a job at Helix Securities back in his home state Alaska. Of course he did not see as much action as he did in Overwatch, Shadow’s roles were just to be on patrol or on guard duty outside the walls of the base he was assigned to. On one stormy night, a thick blizzard blew in from the North covering the base. Shadow was about to finish his patrol and radioed to clear his section when there was no response. When he realized there was intruders in the communications room he dashed back to find a mess of Talon operatives scattered looking for the RnD building. Of course they wouldn’t find it since it was half a mile away, but they were already dragging bodies to interrogate. He drew his rifle and aimed at the furthest target but as he was about to fire they executed the prisoners in a firing squad. Enraged he repositioned and aimed at the line of agents who executed the prisoners. In one shot his bullet pierced through all 7 agents heads. Despite the extremely low visibility due to the storm he went around and one by one picked off every Talon agent. As those bodies fell on the icy floor Shadow walked to his fellow comrades and removed their tags. An inspection team came a few days after the storm cleared. All they came back to was several rifles pinned in the ground with helmets and the tags of the men and women who served on the base. As they walked into the control room there was a letter that read “If you are reading this the base was ambushed by Talon agents. All intel on who they were and where they came from disclosed in the file. I am the soul survivor of the base. Please bury the dead and give their families my condolences. I am Captain William Nightingale callsign Shadow and I respectfully retire from Helix Securities. I thank you for offering me a job in your company. -Cpt William Nightingale” 

 (Life after OW and HS) Shadow left both organizations and decided to move to Texas to live his life as a farmer. His old friend pulled a few strings for him and got him a decent plot of land in which he settled in nicely. Every morning he goes out to feed his animals and goes out hunting for game to ensure his aim never falters and to keep him active. Even as a farmer he is renown for crops and his trophies he’s collected. He built 4 gravestones behind his house in memory of his fallen squad mates and for the members of the Helix Securities faculty members that he served with. His rifle hangs on a wall along with other memories from his time in Overwatch and Helix. With all the news regarding the word in peril Shadow has been reluctant on rejoining Overwatch but, until then only time will tell when he will sling his rifle over his shoulder and take the fight to the enemy. 

 Personality: Cool, calm, collected, strong silent type, the typical sniper personality he tends to be reserved and aloof until others open up to him. Despite all of this he is a true gentleman, kind, selfless with a heart of gold and a charming personality which very few know about. Funny enough nobody really knows anything else about him other than his skill at hunting which many could gather. He is still elusive and typically never talks about his past.

 Hobbies: Shadow loves to be outdoors. As a sniper hunting is his favorite past time, but when he doesn’t have a rifle slung over his shoulder he’s still always outside; camping, relaxing outdoors or having a casual stroll. Not really an indoors person but he would typically go to restaurants, cafes and upon occasion bars to have a drink to relieve stress. Can surprisingly make a really good cup of coffee and tea with natural leaves since he goes outside often. 

(So this is my OC character for all the OC canon week posts that I may or may not end up posting so please refer to him if you want things to make sense since well I am making stories based upon his lore)

[recentanimenews]

Last Week in Anime: Big Talk Edition

Welcome to Last Week in Anime, where we look at some of the greatest clips from the last seven days! The week before last we saw some major destruction and this week we’re keeping things going with some clips of people being destroyed, not in the literal sense, but metaphorically. There was a lot of big talk this week with some mixed results. A few made it out looking like champions while others were quickly put in their place. Without further ado, let’s get into this week's most severe verbal devastation!

As MEGALOBOX headed into its final match and Yuri made his preparations to make sure the battle would be the greatest showdown in Megalo Boxing history, Joe got some unexpected help from a familiar face. Aragaki’s subplot may have been the best of the entire series so it was nice to see he hadn’t entirely retired from the sport. Even better was the immediate light-hearted shit talking the two fell into once they were in the ring. I would have been perfectly happy if they devoted the entire episode to the two working out their frustrations after their bouts anticlimax. The musical lead-in ending the episode was great too.

I’m devastated HINAMATSURI is over, but not nearly so much as Mao’s martial arts teacher who thought they’d trapped her into never leaving their school. Faced with a souped-up Mechazawa capable of destroying head-sized rocks, they thought even a practitioner of supernatural martial arts would back down. The only thing better than watching their faces when she punched their extremely expensive kung fu robot through the wall was the almost off-handed joke when some of them got pelted by debris and did their best to pretend they weren’t in pain. We also got to see the full version of Mao's fight against her school's enforcers.

I have to admit I really like Hiro/Zero Two. It’s probably the best part of DARLING in the FRANXX. I can definitely respect his decision to brave the vacuum of space by himself in a valiant attempt to bring her back into the story, but it was still satisfying to see Hiro get called out by his squad. Goro pointing out his single minded obsession with his girlfriend over the wellbeing of basically every single one of the side characters was ambrosia for the spirit. The rest of the main cast get the raw end of the deal and haven’t had the same opportunities to shine as the central couple of the series so Goro’s words (and fist) really hit home for me, even if he was talking about something else. Anyway, they still decide to go to space with him.

Not gonna lie, watching Bakugo get owned in any situation is great, but being embarrassed by his mom in front of his childhood idol was some chef’s kiss content. This whole episode was great, providing a bit more time with the character’s parents to flesh out the characters by giving a look into their upbringing and the setting by showing their parents perceptions of all of the villainous attempts on UA. While Inko’s scene was the most important, Mitsuki may be the most unforgettable. A room full of murderous villains couldn’t faze Bakugo, but his mom had him shaking in fear. Even while you’re laughing she really shines a light on what must have gone wrong with the volatile child. I’m praying she has plenty of return appearances.

While a latecomer to the series, Fukaziroh quickly became one of my favorites with her obliging acceptance of her friend LLENN’s bizarre deathpact and the absolute irreverence with which she treats the game that everyone else takes way too seriously. Her heroic moment was made hilarious when she decided to take the opportunity to pose as a guy picking up a girl in his sports car even while a murderous Pitohui is putting bullet holes in her back bumper. Definitely the MVP of Squad Jam 2 in more ways than one.

That's all for last week! What was your favorite moment that you'd like to watch on repeat? Did any moments leave you pitying a poor victim? Let us know in the comments below!

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Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com