#I don't like what we've heard so far about the beginning of season 3 so I guess I decided to fix it before it's even started

[geralt-of-vengerberg]

Fanfic

Title: Flowers (click title to read on AO3) Ship: Yennefer x Geralt Word count: 1.3k

The days are getting longer and the ruins of Kaer Morhen have been left behind for quite some time now, but not all that’s happened is completely behind them. The blooming flowers at least make up for the gloom that surrounds them most days.

Geralt still wakes up from screams in the night. When it’s Ciri she seeks solace with Yennefer, but when it’s Yennefer herself, it takes all his willpower to not let her sleep by his side, where he knows she feels safer. He can’t cross that line, not yet. 

They’re still not really talking, mostly discussing where to go next, what to eat and where to sleep. Ciri can’t seem to help but roll her eyes whenever he remains cool and distant. The girl has completely warmed up to Yennefer after everything that happened, so whenever he doesn’t treat the mage accordingly in Ciri’s eyes, she gives him the silent treatment for a while. 

“If she still had bad intentions, you would already be dead by now,” Ciri had grunted at him the night before while they were out hunting and she’s right. Yennefer has her magic back, she’s regained her strength during the past few weeks. If she really wanted she could probably kill or betray either of them in the blink of an eye. That’s how he knows she’s fully on his side and she cares for Ciri and for him, after everything. While she hasn’t outright said it, she’s shown it on more than one occasion. 

Today, they’d decided to just spend the day leisuring around, without having any goals or expectations in mind. The first rays of sun are peeking through the forest leaves and Yennefer and Ciri went out to train for a bit. For some reason leisure still means draining herself with magic according to Ciri, but it just tells him how much she just wants to spend time with Yennefer, and he wouldn’t take that away from her. 

He trusts her enough to not feel the need to have his eye on her all the time. He started trusting her again the second she slit her wrists for Ciri. That’s when he realised she was Yennefer again. No longer having the voice of a demon in her head, commanding her what to do. He knows it all had a toll on her. He can still see her sulking away once Ciri has fallen asleep in her arms. He doesn’t fully get it, because she finally has what she’s been longing for all this time. He would’ve expected her to feel happier . So he takes it upon himself to at least try to make her smile. 

Down by the banks, flowers bloom and if he remembers one thing, it’s that women like receiving flowers. Yennefer and him might not be talking, mostly because of his own need to put a barrier between them, but that doesn’t mean he can’t show her a little appreciation. She’s so good with Ciri, he sometimes forgets she wasn’t even around from the start. 

He picks out a few, mostly violet ones that remind him of her eyes. When he’s done he ends up with a colourful ensemble after all and he finds himself a blade of grass to bind it all together. The result looks nice and he can only hope Yennefer agrees. When he returns to their sleeping area, she and Ciri haven’t returned, so he’s able to leave the bouquet behind on her bedroll unseen.  

Sudden rustling and footsteps startle him and he quickly spins around to find Ciri walking closer, but she’s alone. 

“Where’s Yennefer?” he asks and Ciri must’ve picked up on the worry in his voice, because she rolls her eyes before she responds. 

“She’s freshening up by the river,” the girl says. She quickly notices the colourful flowers behind his crouched figure and smiles to herself. 

“It’s not what it looks like,” he tries, because he doesn’t want to give Ciri the impression that he’s trying to win Yennefer back or that there might be more between them at the moment. 

“What’s it supposed to look like?” she asks with a smile, but her question remains unanswered as she leaves again, armed with a knife and a sword. He assumes she’s out to let off some more steam. 

He feels an urge to go check on Yennefer, to see for himself that she’s indeed down by the river and that she’s okay. But he doesn’t trust himself if there’s a chance he might see her naked body and he’s sure not ready for how it might affect him in some way. 

The minutes alone seem to go on forever, but after some time Yennefer reappears. Her hair is still a bit wet, but he remembers that will make it all the more curly once it’s dry. He yearns to feel her soft tresses between his fingers again, to tell her he still cares too, to let her know he wants to try again too, but he can’t. 

From a distance he can see how her face lights up when she sees the flowers, a shy smile appearing. She picks them up, smells them and it’s as if her eyes start to sparkle. He can’t help but feel a little bit of pride to make her smile like that again. Finally he can see some happiness radiating off of her again. 

The rest of the day is spent collecting food and firewood for the evening. The flowers aren’t brought up, until later that night. 

In the evening, when they’re sitting around the fire, Ciri snuggles up to Yennefer. Seeking out comfort for the long night that’s to come. Her nightmares have been getting more frequent and more intense lately. Even to the point where Yennefer tried discussing it with him, but he didn’t have any useful answers to offer. 

“Thank you for the flowers,” Yennefer says softly as she presses a kiss to the top of Ciri’s head. 

“They weren’t mine,” Ciri smiles at the mage and Yennefer raises her eyebrow in surprise. 

Before she’s able to seek out his eyes with hers, he’s disappeared back into the woods for a while. He can’t face her while she knows, she might want to thank him, might make more of it than it’s supposed to be. Maybe he should’ve thought this through a bit better before he picked out those flowers for her in the first place. He just needs her to know that he cares too and that maybe he’s forgiven her and has for a long time now. The problem is that he still hasn’t forgiven himself for being too distracted by her to see a looming threat when it was right in front of him. If he’d paid more attention, he would’ve seen there was something wrong. If he’d given her a chance to open up to him, to tell him what she’d gone through, things might’ve gone differently. 

When he returns, complete darkness has fallen over them and both Yennefer and Ciri seem to be fast asleep. The fire from before is still smouldering and giving off enough heat to warm up his hands and feet. The days might’ve gotten longer, but the nights are still cold. He decides to get some sleep too once he’s warmed up again and that’s when he notices something on his own bedroll. There’s a small note waiting for him. 

“Thank you for the flowers.” 

-your dear friend

After that he finds it hard to fall asleep, having her this close and still so far out of reach. It’s his own fault, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less to not be able to hold her close to him. All he has now is her little note, scribbled in her neat handwriting. While the moon and stars stare down on him, he takes out the piece of parchment and brings it closer to his face. Just like her letters, the note smells of her.

[theaudacitytowrite]

Stay awake! (Sneak peek)

Part 1 is out!

A/N: Here's a little sneak peek of my upcoming Dean Winchester fic.

Since I finally started watching Supernatural, I'd say to expect a Season 1 -esque storyline... aka horror that's not really scary^^

I just wanted to see what you guys think of the beginning so far and if it's too slow-paced. The actual fic will be around 10k and play over the course of a week. So it takes a while to reach the climax of the story.

So... enjoy!

word count: 1.186

Dean’s feet lazily dragged over the ground. He groaned and huffed, sometimes a yawn would leave his throat.

„Come on, big boy. Let’s try it here.” you dragged him behind you while holding his hand so he would actually follow you.

You stepped up to the bed and breakfast, a rustic little single-family house. Dean and you were in desperate need of a place to stay the night. You had just finished a gruelling hunt and were beyond exhausted. But so far you hadn’t had any luck. All the motels in the area were booked.

“We can just sleep in Baby,” Dean muttered groggily.

“So you can whine about your sore back for the next couple of days?” you looked over your shoulder to look at him with a raised brow, “No thanks.”

"I wanna go home! My feet hurt, my back aches already and I'm tired! We've been on our feet the past 3 days!" he whined, pouting like a little overtired child.

“I know, my feet hurt just as bad and I’ve been awake just as long as you, you little baby.” you teased, “And I want to go home, too, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to drive another 5 hours to get home, while you nor I can keep our eyes open.” Dean grumbled but seemed to follow you more willingly now as he heard your reasoning.

When you entered the B&B a foul smell made its way to your nose immediately. It was sweet yet sour at the same time. You were surrounded by weird-looking paintings, figurines, and a collection of creepy dolls. It was quite dusty and weirdly gloomy in the house, and something just didn't feel right.

"Since when are bed and breakfasts worse than motels?" Dean muttered into your ear as he tried to not touch anything while walking through the small, crammed foyer to head to the unoccupied front desk.

"I don't know. We rarely visit bed and breakfasts." you shrugged as you let your gaze wander through the odd room. Dean scrunched his nose and almost pressed himself against you as he followed you like a shadow.

"Something wrong?" you glanced at him with an amused look.

"Nah." he shook his head and took a step back, "Just hurry up and ring the bell, so we can leave again."

“Leave again? You don’t think they have any vacant rooms?” you chuckled, “You’re so pessimistic.”

“I hope they have no free rooms.” Dean huffed.

"We have to tell Sam about this cosy little B&B. He'll love it here!" you snickered as your eyes roamed over the décor.

"He sure would…" Dean pressed his lips together, trying to breathe as little as possible. He bumped into you when you suddenly halted your steps, your gaze fixed on the fireplace in the next room.

"Do you see that doll?" you pointed in the direction of the fireplace. On top of it sat a little wooden doll with a rancid-looking dress. What caught your attention was, besides her size of an actual baby, her fluent movements. The doll seemed to wave in your direction, a wide grin plastered on her face.

"You mean that spawn of hell that creepily waves at us?" Dean dryly asked.

“Mhm… unnerving.” you hummed, completely focused on the doll.

„Good evening!“ the warm voice of an elderly woman suddenly chimed up, making you and Dean jump. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to scare the two of you.”

“All good.” you chuckled, clutching your heart.

“How can I help the two of you?” the woman smiled endearingly.

“We were wondering if you still have a room available for one night. We tried every motel and hotel, but they’re all booked.”

“Yes, my dear. We still have enough rooms.” the woman quickly looked through her little notebook, “We got two with single beds and another free one with a double.”

“I wonder why…” Dean muttered next to you, earning a swift nudge from your elbow into his ribs.

“We would love to take the one with the double bed.” you smiled sweetly at the woman.

After checking in the old woman led you to your room. To your relief, the room itself was much brighter and less smelly than the foyer. And even the number of dolls was drastically lower and the décor was much more modern.

“Heh… weird.” Dean chuckled as he looked through the room.

“What?” you hummed as you rummaged through your bag.

“Isn’t that the doll that sat on the fireplace downstairs?” Dean inclined his head as he approached the doll that sat on an old commode.

“Maybe she got two?” you shrugged, heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Mhm." was Dean's only response as he inspected the doll. It seemed like there were no mechanics at all. Still, her motions were so fluent and lively. Dean carefully picked her up to not break her. He pulled away the crunchy feeling fabric as he searched for the battery pocket but couldn't find one, no matter where he looked.

"Must be some kind of solar thing," he murmured to himself and shrugged. He plucked down the little dress the doll was wearing when an idea popped into his mind, a mischievous grin spreading on his lips.

As you returned from the shower and opened the door, you jumped immediately.

“For fucks sake, Dean!” you growled as the doll sat in front of the bathroom door, smiling sympathetically at you as she waved. Dean meanwhile was giggling while lying on the bed, elated that he had scared you successfully.

“Got you!” he cackled triumphantly, making you roll your eyes at him.

“You're lucky I love you.”

“I know.” he smiled sweetly, before heading for a shower himself, pecking your cheek swiftly as he passed you.

The two of you soon settled down in bed, overripe for a good night’s sleep. Dean was out almost immediately as his head hit the pillow. You on the other hand seemed not so lucky.

You lay wide awake in the bed, not knowing why. All you wanted to do was sleep. Maybe it was the unfamiliar surroundings, maybe it was the rest of the adrenaline from the hunt that still ran through your veins. And it didn’t help that Dean was felling trees right next to you. One day you’d smother him if he wouldn’t get that snore checked out.

You jumped slightly when there was a soft thud echoing through the room. You glanced at the clock that stood on the bedside table. A few minutes past 3a.m. You glanced at Dean who was still fast asleep, completely unbothered by the sound. He really was exhausted.

You sat up in the bed and scanned the room. You chuckled when you realised that your duffle bag had fallen from a chair onto the ground. You lay back down and sigh, trying to give sleep another try. You nuzzled against Dean who quickly encased you in a hug, pulling you against his chest. You hummed contently and finally managed to drift off to sleep.

If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know:)

[lunaslogs]

My Thoughts On Teen Wolf: The Movie

This is COMPLETELY my opinion and if you disagree, that is completely fine.

Unpopular Opinion: I actually really like the movie but that's mainly because I didn't even take it that seriously. It felt more like a comedy to me than it did a drama. I found myself laughing during parts I shouldn't have been laughing at. Eli getting taken by the Oni after he says "I can do this", Lydia yelling Allison's name, Scott's little entry montage when he exits the car before saving the little girl, Mr. Harris' reveal, literally any time Peter spoke, etc.

Most people call it a dumpster fire and a completely different universe from the show but personally, I don't really care.

I HAVE WATCHED THE ENTIRE SERIES BEFORE WATCHING THE MOVIE! So, I am familiar with all of the recurring characters from the series. I will admit, I wanted to see more of Hikari. Her character seemed very interesting. We got to see a little bit of her personality pop out in the beginning of the movie in the restaurant. A little bit of googling tells me that her and Liam are "good friends" and I kinda want to see their friendship more.

I think the only parts that truly disappointed me was Derek's death and the ending. Anyone who watched the show before watching the movie obviously felt a way about Derek dying and that includes me as well. But I didn't take it all that badly. It was more so the fact that his first beta, his uncle, his niece, and his son ALL watched him die and couldn't do anything to stop it. Like, that kinda killed me inside a little bit.

The ending where the guy goes "we've heard plenty of stories about teenage werewolves, there's always a new one" disappointed the hell out of me because they make it seem like there's going to be a sequel or continuation following Eli's storyline. While that would be ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, everybody in the TW fandom and their mother knows that it's not happening and that's the disappointing part. It would be freaking great to see Eli become the wolf his father believed he could be but we aren't getting that and even if it DID hypothetically come to fruition, knowing how most people feel about the writing of the movie, Eli's development wouldn't be done justice.

I get what people mean when they say that the writers completely screwed with Jackson's whole character and made him "dumb." This man's whole supernatural persona and his abilities were an entire plotline for a WHOLE season of the show and he even said that he has claws that can release paralytic venom and somehow, he didn't think to use it to his advantage? Granted, the movie takes place 15 years into the future where most of the characters that had already been established thanks to the show hadn't been in Beacon Hills or dabbled into the supernatural world in over half a decade. Not to mention that the time Jackson's character had exited the show, it was only season 2. So for him, it's almost 20 years. The Nogitsune plot appeared in the second half of Season 3 when he was already gone so he didn't exactly have a clue what he was up against. As far as supernatural ability, that can be excused. However, the naivety is a little... concerning. He was still funny as hell to watch, though.

Scallison amnesia plotline was a little bit mid but the montage of their memories together after Lydia yelled out Allison's name (which I laughed at, by the way) was kinda cute and jogged my memory a bit on the earlier seasons of Teen Wolf. Season 1 Scallison was honestly my favorite era of them and I think for a lot of Scallison shippers as well so seeing that made me a wee bit happy. Personally, I did like Allison better with Isaac but that's another story for another day.

Overall: I like it. But maybe cuz I don't take it all that serious and I just watch it to watch it. Eli must be protected at all costs, I want more Hikari and Liam interactions, let Jackson embrace the kanima completely, and live laugh love Roscoe Stilinski.

This is Luna, logging off!

[imaginespazzi]

I know it's W season so you're brain's busy with that but I don't think you've shared your starting lineup predictions for UConn for next year and I was curious to know what your thoughts were? Do you think Azzi will start to begin the season and do you Aubrey will eventually start? Also any thoughts on minutes distribution? We have a lot of players but I can't imagine they'll get playing time.

It's always hard to predict injury recovery timelines. But from what we've heard about Azzi so far, she's ahead of schedule, so it's very possible that she will be ready to start the season. If she is, I could see her being in the starting lineup on a minutes restriction.

If that's the case, I'd assume the lineup would be: Kaitlyn - Azzi - Paige - Sarah - Jana

If Azzi's not ready then probably: Kaitlyn - Ash - Paige - Sarah - Jana

Could Ice start over Sarah? Maybe but she's gonna have to take a jump this season. Kaitlyn and Paige are locks to start. Jana, I'm like 80% sure unless there's something related to her recovery as well.

I think whether or not Aubrey makes it back into the starting lineup is gonna depend on a lot of things. When she gets back to playing is obviously a big one but it also depends on how everyone else is doing at this point. Geno is not gonna shake up a lineup that's doing well and at that point who would you replace for Aubrey but she's very valuable off the bench.

As for minutes distribution, all the front-court players (Ice/Jana/Sarah/Ayanna/Aubrey) will see solid minutes I think. The back court is where some people might miss out on minutes unfortunately because a) we have a ton of gaurds and b) grandpa can be stubborn about what he likes. I presume the minute distribution will be pretty even in Big East play but in non-conference games, I could see some backcourt players not seeing the court or getting 2/3 minutes playing time.

[bamboobrat]

succession s4 e6 recap: bite me

happy international workers day, girlies!!

let's celebrate by watching billionaires be responsible for multiple SEC violations!

the bitch is back.

shitting on his children even from beyond the grave.

the video in question: logan speaking of their new product, living+, which will play a surprisingly large role in this episode, given we've never heard of it before.

shiv has a private jet rendezvous with mattson. they both excel at flirting:

mattson: we're buddies, can we talk? shiv: no, maybe i fucking hate you.

true romance<3

mattson tells her about the CE-bros and their little freakout on the mountain, which is the opposite of what her brothers eventually tell her during the meeting with the inner circle.

ken and rome, still adamant about tanking the deal, tell them that elon musk mattson is unstable and druggy etc etc etc --

somehow, i don't think any of them are buying it.

shiv sure as shit doesn't buy their bs.

this is the comeback i've been waiting for.

roman immediately makes his sadboy face and asks for a hug, because all he wants is love, but my heart is starting to harden. he is truly in his flop era this episode.

shiv pencils in 20 minutes in her calendar to cry.

i love you, shiv roy. ilysm, but you will never be holly hunter from broadcast news.

cry-time is briefly interrupted by making out with the future ex-husband she absolutely hates.

we've all been there.

roman has to deal with hollywood.

he is not pleased.

i can sense the utter distain jesse armstrong has for hollywood through my screen.

the hollywood exec pushes one of roman's buttons (lots of them lately) and he fires her in a way that reminds me of logan, but also doesn't. i have a feeling logan would send "the help" to do the dirty work for him?

roman's firing spree begins. we all know where this is headed.

kendall is being annoying.

asking too much and telling your staff they can never say no?

just a regular day for me, working with politicians.

also, a fucking minefield in terms of sexual harassment, don't we think?

anyway, he wants to play house on stage and fudge the numbers and be the cringiest of cringe. let kendall be kendall, i guess.

tom and shiv hook up twice in this episode????

unrealistic.

also they bite each other.

i shouldn't have to elaborate on that.

ken and rome are still working on their "tank the deal" plan and so far the road ahead seems very realistic and not at all like the potential symptom of bipolar disorder.

for once, greg is of use and summarizes their strategy pretty well:

bla bla bla business talk bla bla bla i don't care.

roman contemplates his own mortality, as one does, and thinks there should be some other option.

death is, after all, very much one-size-fits-all.

and where does he want to end up post death, you ask?

inside a tortoise 👀

conveniently, gerri calls him in for a talk to chat to him about some very serious issues, such as:

roman is shocked to know he can't just do whatever the fuck he pleases. but that's what my dad would do, he says, to which gerri responds, but you are not your dad.

i think we've hit another button..........

and gerri, having zero fucks left to give, does not hold back.

uh oh.

and thus, roman's firing spree continues.

i'm broken.

and also mad.

i know there are probably some readers of this recap not entirely obsessed with romangerri (but really, do you exist?!), but i just have to say, please endulge me.

we're just over halfway through the season and gerri's been fired twice. let me wallow.

kendall, however, is thrilled about this unhinged energy:

"fucking eat greg" is perhaps the funniest thing he's ever said.

meanwhile, after sleeping together, shiv and tom share a heartfelt moment.

just kidding.

tom says he loves money.

how gauche of him.

the set is not up to par for our mate kendall over here, so he morphs into joni mitchell for a short sec:

I'VE LOOKED AT CLOUD FROM BOTH SIDES NOW!

where are the clouds from berlin?? really makes u think:(

luckily, he can fudge the numbers some more to elevate the stock price to distract himself.

the sibs, however, notice his erratic behavior, and shiv convinces rome that this whole presentation is not a good idea.

and despite the eventual outcome, i think they are right, given ken's track record.

karl has a spine conspiracy?????

it feels good having the old guard telling the kiddos how they truly feel.

in the back of his mind, all karl is thinking about is that greek island. that's queen shit.

kendall goes on stage alone, because roman really doesn't want to wear his stupid pilot jacket.

he interacts with a video version of his late dad, which of course shows a man that is so very stable.

best roman quote of the episode: if i cringe any harder i might become a fossil.

gerri agrees, but in a more resigned way:

couples who hate on kendall's speeches together, stay together<3 (this is what denial looks like).

my summary of kendall's presentation: starts out shit, then he pivots into karolina's script and it's fine, and then he plays the dead dad card and we can't really argue with that.

living+ is still a fucking shitshow imo. not sure if i would go as far as mattson, tho:

yikes.

leave it to the swedes to underestimate nazi discourse (please don't come for me swedes, you know).

greg unfortunately has the best line of the episode:

and turns out, it is very much true.

tom channeling his inner oprah was not on my 2023 bingo card.

and they all agreed ken did a great job.

and karl devolves into his usual, spineless self:(

i have a feeling this all means an end to whatever sibling solidarity we've been seeing, given shiv and roman's reactions.

roman comforts himself by listening to what is basically an AI generated clip of his dad saying he has a small penis.

shiv and tom seem to decide to keep it all business, but also not??

it feels more or less like a high school relationship to me at this point. i love it.

and we get a clip of kendall in the water, but he didn't die, so i couldn't use one of my precious screengrabs on that.

you all should probably thank the tumblr gods that they have a 30 image limit on these posts.

see you next week for the afterparty, featuring more scandis for me to make strange references about!

[uhohbestie]

hey besties i have fanfic-themed but not directly plot-related questions! well, mostly

question 1) do yall have any favorite zombie media? was there anything in particular that yall are drawing on for your fic?

personally i've been scared of zombie movies all my life lol but because of tamn i've finally been trying to finish the world war z audiobook? (the last time i tried getting thru it was pre covid which has been. a weird experience) it's fully voice acted and i like it so far! super different from the 2013 movie with brad pitt

question 2) :3 do you guys think you'd be up to talk about the no-apocalypse au where scarian get to have a normal breakup someday? :3 it doesn't have to be now or anytime soon but i'd be into hearing about it!

anyways hope yall are having a good day lock and key ^_^

These are some really REALLY good questions!!!

for starters! for me (Lock) I actually didn't start watching zombie media until Key introduced me to it! We watched the Korean series All Of Us Are Dead together, and then followed it with Last Of Us (the tv adaptation) and the first seasons of The Walking Dead, so I've have a very curated window into zombie media (actually! We watched Walking Dead as research for TAMN, because Key wanted to make sure I understood what hordes of zombies in cities look like!)

As for Key's zombie exposure (lol): I (Key) WAS BIG INTO ZOMBIES GROWING UP!! Constant zombie media consumption--probably one of my earliest hyperfixations ngl I feel like what we're drawing on while we write TAMN is an amalgamation of all our favourite bits from the things we've seen together, as well as some of my favourite formative zombie medias while growing up.

The Walking Dead Season 1 remains like, one of my all-time favourite seasons of any television show ever, so that's definitely a big influence. (Some of the later seasons get a lot less of my love LOL) The Korean movie Train to Busan is also a popular one you may have heard of--I'd definitely recommend giving that a go if you're okay with zombie media that veer on the side of tragic. When The Last of Us (Part One) came out, it quickly became my favourite zombie-oriented video game, though a lot of its predecessors (Resident Evil series esp.) really gripped me (even though it took me ages to play-through cuz they would scare the shit out of me LMAO) Its TV show is also an excellent adaptation, so if you're not into playing it or watching a Let's Play, the show is a good bet! The UK series In the Flesh was also an interesting look into After™ the apocalypse, and though it was cancelled after it's second season, it's also worth a watch for a fresh perspective on zombie media. 28 Days Later was an excellent movie and ofc Dawn of the Dead is a classic. And then the usual comedies like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, etc.

I saw World War Z as a movie but never read the book! I should def give it a try--idk why I never did! God, honestly I could ramble about zombie media forever if given the chance 😂 None of this even begins to cover the sheer amount of zombie comics I read. I was very much a "webcomic" era kid, so a lot of my favourite old original zombie comics are either offline now or I simply don't remember what they were called anymore, so I have no way to track them down :( I did recently enjoy the webtoon Boyfriend of the Dead as a light-hearted, humourous read, but there were a lot of gripping, nuanced, plot-heavy original comics like a decade ago that I loved and I wish I could link. ANYWAYS. I'LL STOP MYSELF HERE AND LET LOCK ANSWER QUESTION NUMBER 2 LMAO

HI IT'S LOCK. I'M BACK. Now, as for a non-apocalypse Scarian scenario, we've actually thought about this a LOT! One of our favourite things to do is make an AU, and then multiple "what if one key things was different" spinoffs of the same AU.

We're gonna put this under a read-more, in case you'd like to keep the "what if" a mystery forever, but to sum up:

In an alternate reality where Scar and Grian break up and then the zombie apocalypse doesn't happen........ they stay broken up! Scar gets what he longs for in the fic: time away from Grian to hurt and grieve and heal with the support of his close friends who care about him.

It takes him a while until he feels ready to date again, but Scar does eventually start a new relationship with someone he knows really well, and has loved and trusted for a long time. They get engaged and start planning their wedding..............

............. and then Grian comes back and says he's sorry, that he misses Scar, that he was wrong, and that he doesn't want to be without him. And Scar................... takes him back.

It's-- listen, it's not the best possible outcome! But we're basing heavily on the Life Series Scarian dynamic, which is itself incredibly nuanced and complicated and tragic and a little bit "you're both bad for each other." It's part soulmates, and it's part codependence, and it's partly killing the person you love with your bare hands alone in the desert, and how that guilt ends up haunting you into every other subsequent timeline. Grian's not the best person for Scar as he is, and Scar's not the best person for Grian, but they want to be with each other, and unfortunately that desire often overrides common sense.

As for what happens after that.... we don't know yet! It was a thought experiment we worked through and ultimately realised "oh, it's WAY better for them that the zombies DID happen in the long run, 'cause without them this would be awful." (Not that the zombies are great, but woof......... Scarian, c'mon.) In this version of events, they lose a lot of friends when Scar takes Grian back, and the isolation suits Scar poorly. It takes them a much longer time to work through how to be good for one another. If the zombie apocalypse was good for anything, it was forcing a reckoning of what they wanted and how to get it--the only other option was death. Without that hanging over their heads, it takes Scarian years to reach any sort of resolution, which (no spoilers but) takes TAMN!Scarian a much shorter amount of time to get to.

Hope that answers your question! The 'what ifs' are our favourite, so we love to ramble about them hahaha <3

[paleparearchive]

My Story Begins Here

Rembrandt's New Year 4★ story (2/3) ( 1 - 2 - 3 )

Location: kitchen (night) ; museum exterior (New Year) | Characters: Rembrandt, Renoir, Hokusai, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Millet, Aoi/MC

Rembrandt: Mmmh! These kurikinton³ are so sweet and delicious. This black one over here is…

Hokusai: They're black beans. They're sweet and tasty too.

Rembrandt: … Mmmh, delicious!

Van Dyck: I've never seen osechi¹ before, but it's so beautiful…!

Millet: I heard that the appearance of the osechi¹ is also important, so I tried various ways to make it look beautiful. I'm glad you were pleased with it.

Velazquez: …

Renoir: Velazquez, what's wrong? You've been staring at Rembrandt for a while now.

Velazquez: No... I was afraid he could choke on this rice cake. With this much elasticity, it would be a big deal, just in case.

Renoir: Aaah… I guess I can't say that it's not a Rembrandt thing… Is it?

Aoi: Rembrandt-san, please be careful!

Rembrandt: I'll be fineee. Chew my food properly…

Wowoaah!? Sorry, I knocked over the zoni²!

Van Dyck: As expected from Rembrandt… It's a very unexpected happening.

Hokusai: Oooh oooooh! You're makin' me laugh from the start of the New Year!

Aoi: M-More importantly, we need to wipe the table!

Renoir: Fufu, it's so lively and fun.

—

Van Dyck: Aaah, we've come so far so fast since then. They're already packing up the stage and exhibits…

Millet: It's been a while since the event ended.

Velazquez: Besides, seasonal exhibits are not meant to be done for a long period of time. It would be out of season.

Van Dyck: I know without you telling me that! That's how much I liked it!

Renoir: My lady, we could start by cleaning up in front of the museum, right?

Aoi: Yes. After a quick cleanup, let's move on to the next stage.

Rembrandt: Got iiit. Then, let's get started… Wait, now that I think of it, where's Hokusai-san?

Millet: Since we're talking about Hokusai-san, he must be lost again, I think?

Van Dyck: More than that… He didn't go on a strike, did he? I mean, his room is always cleaned by you and the others, doesn't Hokusai seem to hate cleaning?

Aoi: Hmm, I told him about the cleaning, so I don't think he's on a strike, but…

I'm worried, so I'm going to look for him…

Hokusai: Hey hey, who you're lookin' for?

Millet: Ah, Hokusai-san… Wait, what's with that kimono!?

Hokusai: It's still like the event is on-going 'till the cleanup's over, right? We've come all this way, let's enjoy it to the end!

Renoir: I see, it's a very Hokusai thing. Well, then... Maybe I should go change my clothes too?

Van Dyck: It's the last time I get to wear that costume... I'll go get changed too!

Velazquez: Well... If everyone else is going to change, I'll go change too.

Millet: Ah, I'll go change too!

Aoi: O-Okay! What about you, Rembrandt-san?

Rembrandt: … I think I'll go change my clothes too! I'll take the chanceee.

Aoi: Fufu, right. I have other work to do now, so please take care of the rest.

Rembrandt: Yup, leave it to us!

¹: Osechi or osechi-ryōri are traditional Japanese New Year foods. Osechi are easily recognizable by their special boxes called jūbako (重箱), which resemble bentō boxes. Like bentō boxes, jūbako are often kept stacked before and after use. [From Wikipedia]

²: Zōni, often with the honorific "o-" as o-zōni, is a Japanese soup containing mochi rice cakes. The dish is strongly associated with the Japanese New Year and its tradition of osechi ceremonial foods. The preparation of zōni varies both by household and region. [From Wikipedia]

³: Kuri Kinton (Candied Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes) is a special dish of Osechi Ryori, or traditional Japanese New Year foods. Made of mashed sweet potatoes and chestnuts in syrup, kuri kinton is an important dish to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. [Source]

[sushishorts]

magic hour highlights!!!

i am gonna try to put the highlights under the cut; i survived the live with the kind people who were translating as they go

anyway, all of these are non-verbatim. onwards!

first segment is basically an interview by the mc; normal questions that we've heard before really

second segment is question from the fans!

key questions were what if kurosawa was the one with magic? and machi answered that kurosawa might use his power to solve adachi's problems HAHA

another one was after five years, if they had the opportunity to work together again, what would they want to work on?

sonnu was like "ACTION! WHERE MACHI IS THE BOSS! AND THEN HE SHOOTS ME THEN I DIE" (me: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)

third segment is called photo stories, where they share the backstory of the various behind the scene photos posted in the official account

one is this — basically they were waiting in between shots and machi doesnt even know that their picture was being taken?

another is the delulu date one with the champagne, posted here

ANOTHER is this

and sonnu mentions that the cherimaho pose is from one of the staff from the costume department (or sth, i don't remember the specifics); he and machi did a quick demo. it was adorable.

they also discussed this

where they mentioned that as much as they were relieved to be able to shoot properly during the pandemic, there was an overall sense of sadness that the production was over from both the cast and staff :'(

also MC asked what's their fave flowers: machi likes narcissus bc it grows in gunma apparently, and sonnu likes tulips bc he's from class tulip in kindergarten. aka that pinned tweet of his in twitter pfft

ANYWAY

fourth segment is MAGIC MOMENT RANKING, where sonnu and machi rank their top 3 fave cherimaho moments

sonnu 3rd: the kurosawa poetry scene

when asked what part he liked, sonnu just said that he likes the entirety of it HAHA. he was also excited to see it air, which made machi feel pressured to do his best for it HAHA

sonnu also said that he memorized the lines of the poem pfft

machi 3rd: when adachi stayed over

when the scene was airing, sonnu was laughing hard in the bg when kurosawa licked his chopsticks (apparently he never knew that machi did that when they were shooting so he only knew when it aired) tmachi also mentioned the gap between adachi at kurosawa's house and adachi at work, and machi was excited bc sonnu's expressions looked so cute

sonnu 2nd: rooftop kiss

they mentioned again the bottle thing that took 20 takes HAHA sonnu mentioned being surprised that the end of ep 3 aka this scene didn't have BGM; machi mentioned that during the scene, sonnu wasn't even looking at machi at all; sonnu said that he was looking at a building behind machi bc he was embarrassed

machi 2nd: confession scenes

yes, scenes: both kurosawa's and adachi's; he really liked that line adachi said about having the magic to touch kurosawa's heart

sonnu 1st: scarf scene

sonnu mentions that this is basically the scene where adachi's heart opens, and it's the beginning of it all, so that's why it's his fave

machi 1st: adachi mannerisms compilation aka

mc: what's your favorite scene of all machi: yes

sonnu demonstrates the face slap live after having a lil sip of water. which is cute as HECK

NEXT SEGMENT IS CAN YOU READ MY MIND portion, aka they try to guess what the other prefers more; this has a prize at the end and loser gets a punishment game

i can't remember all questions (i'm sure it's around in twitter) but:

COFFEE vs TEA - sonnu & machi prefers tea YAKINIKU vs SHABU-SHABU - both prefer yakiniku NIGHT vs DAY - if i'm not mistaken, sonnu likes night and machi likes day? OUTDOOR vs INDOOR - sonnu likes outdoor, machi likes indoor COOKING vs EATING - they both like eating, as far as i remember?; sonnu answered cooking for machi and machi was like "that's such a kurosawa thing" MONOCHROME vs COLORFUL - they're both wrong; they answered colorful but both prefer monochromatic SUMMER vs WINTER - they both like winter, but sonnu answered summer for machi bc of how sports-inclined machi is MOUNTAIN vs BEACH - they both like the mountains CAT vs DOG - they're both cat people! ONIGIRI vs RAMEN - they both like ramen! they also like tonkotsu ramen

ok forgive me i forgot the rest

anyway MACHI WON and he got blue muay thai shorts; sonnu's punishment is pressing on those electric shock gag pens. there's videos of this on twitter (I KNOW IT'S NOT ALLOWED) but the funniest part is how he managed to actually. convince machi to do it too even tho he won. SONNU GREMLIN

last segment is — SURPRISE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONNU GREETING

they had machi give sonnu the bouquet; sonnu is surprised bc he mentioned it wasnt in the script and he was nervous for a bit haha! while MC is translating his thanks, off-mic he leans over to machi and asks if he knew, machi just nods and smiles

ANYWAY that's pretty much it?? they mentioned their upcoming shows, said that they'll see us again on the bluray event, and thanked everyone for attending, yadda

nope, no season 2 news so far. i know, i know. also i couldnt resist squeezing event pics here and there i am so sorry

ANWYAY god this is long. excuse the typos i am sleepy as hell. CANT WAIT FOR THE BLURAY EVENT!

bye

[lovecolibri]

I was hoping Michael's recent growth would improve the next Malex interaction but we got two so far and both of them had him initially look all hopeful only to almost immediately try to bait Alex with some stupid line like 'I just want you to be a guy who gives damn' to push him to open up which of course won't work but will make Alex snap back at him defensively and this dynamic might as well have been copy-pasted from their very first scenes from the pilot. No wonder so many of us are frustrated. Kudos to Vlamis and his puppy dog heart eyes but I really need the show to let Michael use his words that he can apparently do now with everyone else except Alex. 'What are we doing, Alex?' is something that would have made sense for him to say in S1 but after 57 rejections in S2 it's honestly just weird. Alex telling him he would care a lot if Michael got hurt doesn't mean he's looking for something from him or doing the push/pull thing again. Malex has long been on Michael's terms now so suddenly reverting back to early S1 is confusing to me. I really thought the beginning of S3 would have Michael be able to talk about wanting Alex in his life even if he's with Forrest and the friendship/awkward tension of being possibly something more after Forrest's gone would follow but it's 3x07 now and there's no sign of that anywhere. It's getting to the point where them starting a relationship this season if the pacing remains wouldn't feel satisfying to me. But also I really don't think Vlamburn's excitement (especially from Tyler who's the only one who really understands how important good queer rep is no shade to Vlamis) means we're putting things off until S4. And they can't honestly expect to placate fans through another hiatus.

Yes to all of this! Reverting back to that season 1 dynamic where Michael looks hopeful, Alex says something mean, and Michael looks crushed is absolutely NOT IT after all this time, and especially after what went down in season 2. Malex is never going to feel satisfying if that isn't addressed between them, and trying to make the audience forget about Michael's behavior last year by making Alex be the mean one crushing Michael's hopes this season is a cycle I'm not interested in repeating. Mostly because Alex has every right to not think Michael wants anything more from him! Last season was all on Michael's terms like you said, so only giving us Michael's POV and making it look like Michael is hopeful and just waiting on Alex to make a move and putting it all on Alex to start things is ridiculous. But we also aren't getting Alex's POV, so there's not way to know what he's thinking or wants or where he stands with Michael. Is he still pissed about last season (but only at Michael, never at m*ria because we just can't have that. She's his "dream girl", haven't you heard? It's such a shame he's gay, because if he could, he'd pick her too. 🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🙄🙄🙄🙄)

Overall the lack of Malex interacting or talking about each other has been MORE than disappointing. Last season was a lot of misery porn for them, but at least they were in the same frame and we were getting to see them having feelings! Michael's may have had to disappear every time he wasn't in the Malex "bubble" because c*rina was The Worst, but still we got something. And I'm a little confused about the direction they are taking in season 3 because one of the big issues mentioned in reviews about season 2 was the absolute waste of that Vlamburn chemistry! Does this show even know how lucky they are?! As far as he has stated publicly, Vlamis is a straight man so they very easily could have ended up with lackluster chemistry or awkward physical contact scenes. But instead we got this absolute magic with Malex and they can't even be bothered to let them be in scenes together? And we've gotten the Vlamis glassy eyes a few times about Alex, but none of Alex's sad face so we are left speculating about what's even going on in Alex's head.

It's just really frustrating after that looooong hiatus during which they had plenty of time to go over the reviews from season 2 and address what didn't work and while they are doing good in some areas, the fact that they decided to put Malex back at the starting line of season 1 so they didn't have to address the m*luca mess is ridiculous. And on that note, this is NOT the m*ria d*luca show. I am SO BEYOND uninterested in seeing her take on Jones. There's zero indication she could handle what Isobel, Max, and Michael couldn't, especially since her mind is supposed to be deteriorating when she uses her "powers". Oh right, I forgot. She's "not like other girls". 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[lucarionycteus]

Why You Should Respect Ash's Lucario OR Why Anipoke Shouldn't Push a Rivalry between Lucario and Cinderace OR I have no idea what to title my first Pokemon Analysis

Now, as you read this, I know what you're probably thinking. Nycteus, tons of people have already analyzed this new season of the Pokemon Anime and Ash's team. Why are you kicking this beehive?? Well, sit down for a minute, and hear me out on this.

Ash's team this season, is a big deal. This season and the Pokemon he has adventured with are truly something special. And while there's going to be time for me to cover nearly all of them in due time there is one in particular who spurred me into action to write this post:

Ash's Lucario.

This absolute unit, this powerhouse of character development, this loveable mothertrucker is what convinced me of Anipoke's quality. Quite simply put, this Lucario is my favorite Anipoke mon we've had in years.

Now, Lucarios in the Pokemon anime are nothing new: we've had approximately 20 billion of them (I counted). Although in the past, Lucario's were basically background characters, their trainers being non main characters who appeared for 3 episodes or little more. There were a few exceptions, such as firstly, Cameron and his Riolu/Lucario (who are adorable and underrated)

And secondly, the one we all know, the Lucario from the 8th Pokemon movie (No, I'm not gonna refer to him as Sir Aaron's Lucario, because he's his own independent doggo)! Now this Lucario in particular, from the Mystery of Mew, is well worth going into detail on because of his relevance to Ash and my current season Pokemon GOAT, which I'll get into. In this film, Lucario was from a time far in the past, long before trainers and Pokemon capturing existed. He had a human best friend, named Aaron. Well, more accurately, Aaron saw Lucario as a friend, but Lucario thought that Aaron saw him as simply his student, and treated him as if one would treat a teacher. This misunderstanding, along with several other events, leads to one of the most tragic stories in the Pokemon anime.

Aaron, who in this film is an Aura Guardian and fights to protect his and Lucario's home, suddenly finds that home being devastated by a war. Their home, the Kingdom of Rota, is connected to the Tree of Beginning, a spiritually significant tree in which Mew, the legendary Pokemon, lives. It's at this point that Aaron makes a bold decision:

Aaron decides to sacrifice himself, and before doing so, he uses his aura staff and abilities as a Guardian to trap Lucario in a protective sleep within his staff, thinking that Lucario will try and follow him and could lose his life as well. Lucario remains in stasis for centuries until the aura of one boy in particular, wakes him up: Ash Ketchum's. Ash's aura is so similar to Sir Aaron's that, when Ash is wearing a costume made to honor Aaron (an award he was given by Rota's current government), his aura is virtually indistinguishable from the hero.

This Lucario wakes up in the time period of Ash's and is confused and even angry at first, mistaking Ash for his former friend Aaron. However, Lucario then decides to help the boy (whose Pikachu had been mistakenly kidnapped by Mew to The Tree of Beginning) the two even become friends after Lucario was initially distrustful of humans. Lucario goes through great character development and learns to help Ash, even bravely protecting him and his friends from other Pokemon at the Tree of Beginning who don't understand why a human is there and aren't afraid of showing violence to Ash and his friends. However, what makes this Lucario's story truly tragic, is how he ultimately succumbs to the same fate that Aaron did: as all of the time Ash and his human friends spend trying to rescue Pikachu put the Tree of Beginning in danger and the only way to set it right, is for the tree to be given the aura of a true Guardian. Lucario offers selflessly to help, and Ash does too, as he now remembers what Lucario told him about his aura being similiar to Aarons. Ash bravely works alongside Lucario to revive the tree, but ultimately, Lucario shoves Ash to the side, not wanting the boy to sacrafice himself. Lucario smiles at Ash, and with that, he leaves his life... Someone who Ash had formed a true bond with, just gave his life to protect Ash and every other living creature at the Tree of Beginning by preventing the Tree's death.

It's on this exact stage, that we now transition to the 21st episode of the Pokemon anime. In this episode, Ash manages to do the impossible and inspires a Pokemon to leave its egg early in the Pokemon Center purely through the inspiration with which Ash gives it.

Yes, you heard me correct, a Pokemon that hadn't yet hatched from it's egg, is so inspired by the positive energy, his aura with which Ash gives off that it hatches. And this Pokemon, is none other than Riolu the baby form of Lucario.

This, is a huge deal. This is something fans have been waiting for years to see, ever since Ash's aura was strong enough to wake Lucario up in the Mystery of Mew. Ever since the bond Ash had with Lucario in that film, fans were waiting for Ash to raise a Lucario of his own. And he did it: He welcomed this Riolu into his life with open arms. And even better, this Riolu has recently evolved into a Lucario, single-handedly from the friendship between the two of them. And... The rest is adorable Pokemon history...

Now, after this amazing first showing, something has changed. The recent Pokemon episodes have been neglecting on developing Lucario and instead focusing on cheap jokes involving it getting angry with Goh's Pokemon, Cinderace (Goh being one of several new main characters for this season. Not only is Lucario being involved in these rude and mean spirited jokes, but it is now even implied to have a rivalry with this Cinderace!

Which makes no sense, as previously they were friends, not to mention that Ash has been shown to be more of a mentor to Goh, so it makes no sense for Goh's Cinderace to be bitter with Lucario. It would make far more sense for Cinderace to want to learn from Lucario, considering Ash and his Lucario are clearly shown to be so strong...

However, I will not harp on this point, as my friend Sunseeksday has already made a far more well written post than mine on why exactly a rivalry between Ash's Lucario and Goh's Cinderace makes no sense.

Hiya! I like to write stuff! (requests closed) — Why a rivalry between Ash and Goh WOULD NOT work (tumblr.com)

Now, after you've heard this long passioned ramble from me, I have a question: Does it truly make sense for Ash's Lucario to be forced into a bitter, meanspirited fued with Goh's Cinderace? No, it doesn't make sense, and its not what Lucario or Cinderace deserve. They deserve to have satisfying development that isn't forced...

So, you guys feel similarly, right? OK, Good.

Tags: pokemon journeys anipoke pokeani ash ketchum pikachu lucario goh cinderace

[tuiccim]

Santi (Part 3)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 4538

Warnings: Fluff, flirt, Smut

Summary: While the team is still gone on their mission, you (Santi) and Bucky get called on for your own. 

Santi Masterlist

You managed a few hours of sleep. When you wake up you see the knife dried with some of your blood on the nightstand. You slip on some shorts and take the knife with you to the kitchen, wash it, and then start making coffee.

"Good morning." You hear from behind. You turn to see Bucky in a tank and grey sweatpants looking rested.

"Good morning. How did you sleep after…?" You leave the question unfinished.

"Best I've slept in a while. A long while. Took a lot of effort to get out of bed." He smiles and your heart flip flops. He looks so content.

"I'm glad."

"What about you? You seem like you're still tired."

"I'm good. I've never really been able to sleep well." You shrug. Bucky notices his knife on the counter, picks it up and looks at it, then looks at you. You raise an eyebrow, "Thought you'd want it back."

"Yeah. It's my favorite." He twirls it in his hand.

"I figured. Being under your pillow and all." You smirk, "Boys and their toys."

"I stabbed you." You hear the sadness in his voice.

"Buck, it's fine. I'm fine. And that stays between us."

He looks at you but his face is still sad.

"Besides," you continue, "Nat's been telling me I needed a good stabbing lately. Course, I don't think that's exactly what she had in mind." You laugh darkly. 

Bucky's face is unreadable as you turn to pull two mugs down for coffee. When you turn back around you are blocked by a wall of Bucky. You look up into his stern face. "It was just a joke, Bucky. You can laugh."

"Why'd you pull away last night?"

You knew exactly what he meant but something in you wanted to be coy, "I didn't. What do you mean?"

"Fine. Why'd you pull up, then? Kissed my forehead."

You bit your lip, "I… you...I had just imbued you. It can be confusing. For everyone."

"I wasn't confused." Bucky was staring a hole through you and at that moment his eyes flickered to your mouth for just a moment. 

"But I was." You said quickly, "I wasn't sure if it was the emotional high or the fear from the nightmare. My empathic abilities have wreaked havoc in the past. I want to be sure a kiss is about me, not just the heat of the moment. And I...I couldn't tell."

"What about right now?" He says. Those blue eyes challenging you while still remaining soft. You could scarcely breathe. Bucky had moved closer and closer as you had talked. There was barely an inch between your bodies. His face hovered just above yours.

FRIDAY chimes in, "Agent Delarosa." 

You take a deep breath. "You're timing sucks, FRIDAY." Santi says, keeping eye contact with Bucky

"My apologies. Priority One communication."

Separating yourself from Bucky, you smooth your hair before saying, "On screen."

Maria Hill's image appears, "Agent Delarosa. Sergeant Barnes."

"Agent Hill." You say suspiciously, knowing only one reason could be behind a call from her. You had a grudging respect for Maria but the two of you had never been overly friendly.

Hill begins immediately, "A top priority mission has come up. We believe we've found a Hydra base containing operations intel. Security looks minor. The two of you should be able to clear it. I've sent the information to you. Good luck."

You glance back at Bucky who nods affirmation of acceptance. "Yeah, sure. We'll go. Sounds like fun." You say sarcastically to Hill. 

"Is there a problem, Agent?"

"Captain Rogers is gonna be pissed."

"Can't be helped. Check in. 36 hours"

"You got it, kid."

"Ag…"

"FRIDAY, Screen off." You cut Hill off. Doesn't hurt to remind her you have 20 years more experience occasionally. You turn to Bucky, grabbing him by the tank, you pull him flush against you. Looking up into his incredibly blue eyes you say, “Conversation to be continued?”

“Yeah, Doll.”

“Good. We've got a mission. Suit up. Quinjet, 20 minutes."

"You're kinda hot when you're all business." Bucky surprises you by saying. 

“Only kinda?” You say with a smirk before heading to your room to change. 

15 minutes later you board the quinjet. Bucky is already there and has begun preflight. You stow your gear and head towards the cockpit. Bucky looks up and gives you a slow once over. He’s not seen you in your tactical gear before which include a tight suit, boots, holster with guns at your hips and a selection of knives. You give a slow turn to ensure he gets a full view. 

“Do I pass muster, Sergeant Barnes?” You say with hands on hips.

Bucky’s eyes say it all but his gravelly voice is even more telling. “Definitely hot when you're all business."

You let out a small giggle. "Let's hit it."

Once in the air and the autopilot set, Bucky relaxes in his chair. You look over to find him staring at you. "Nervous?" You say.

He rolls his shoulders, "I'm…I'm not sure."

"I'm always a little nervous." You say looking at your tablet. "Hopefully, the intel is right. It doesn't look like more than half a dozen guards. The base is small." 

"Do you have a schematic?"

"Yeah. Looks like our best point of entry is to go through this side door. It leads to the center of the base and connects to the main corridors."

"What is the main target?"

"Computer system at the center of the base. Then a general sweep for any unknowns. We should be able to turn and burn. Probably beat the team back. Speaking of, I should call Steve. He's gonna flip."

Bucky gives you a look that clearly says better you than me. You dial Steve saying under your breath "Don't pick up, don't pick up, don't pick up." Bucky chuckles as Steve picks up on the third ring. 

"Hey, Santi."

"Hey, Steve. How's the mission going?"

"So far, so good. We are still on track to be home tomorrow. How is Bucky doing?"

"Hey Buck, Steve wants to know how you're doing." 

"Tell the punk I'm fine." Bucky grumbles good naturedly.

"He says he's fine, punk." You laugh.

"Sounds like the jerk." Steve says.

"Yeah, so, gotta call from Hill."

"What? Why?" You can hear Steve's mind go into overdrive 

"Quick mission. We are heading to grab some intel." You breeze.

"What!?!" Steve's voice is hard.

"I heard that all the way over here." Bucky smirks from the cockpit.

"Yeah, he's heartbroken that I'm taking your virginity on this one." You sass to Bucky and hear Steve practically choke through the phone. 

"Santi!" Steve says in his aggravated tone. "Why did you accept?"

"Oh, yeah, like there was a way to turn it down. Plus, Barnes is the one that accepted." You say.

"Me?" Bucky reacts.

"You nodded. It's all your fault" You call to Bucky before turning back to the phone, "He takes full responsibility, Steve. Steve?...Steve I can hear you pulling your hair out over the phone. Stop!"

"What's the mission?" Steve asks.

"Don't worry I'm taking it easy on the first timer over here." You say grinning.

Bucky pipes up, "Hardly my first mission, Santi."

"I'll be gentle with him, Steve. I know how hard the first time back in the saddle can be. I'll return him without a scratch." You give Bucky a shit eating grin while he shakes his head.

"Santi!" Steve's aggravated voice.

"Small base. Turn and burn. Intel sweep. No biggie. Chill. I got your boy. I'll check in tomorrow. Bye."

"Be safe." Steve grouses.

"You got it, Cap." Ending the call, you turn to Bucky. "That wasn't so bad."

"That mouth of yours." Bucky chuckles.

"What about it?" You say innocently.

Bucky looks at your smile for a minute before his eyes flicker up to yours. "It's gonna get you into some dangerous situations."

"Oh but it gets me out of so many. What can I say? I have a very limber tongue." You say with a knowing grin. 

"I look forward to testing that out." Bucky shifts in his chair. 

"Uncomfortable?" Your eyes linger on his thick thighs.

"Let's just say the space is getting a little tight in here."

You chuckle, "Well, as much as I would love to continue this conversation we best get back to work. We need to go over everything and agree on tactics."

"You got it, Doll." Bucky shifts again in his seat but turns his attention to the tablet you're holding. Two hours later you're in the back of the quinjet triple checking the supplies. Finding everything in order you head back to the cockpit. "How are we looking?" 

"Closing in." Bucky says.

"You've got the landing coordinates in?"

"Yes."

"Is stealth ready?"

Bucky eyes you, remaining silent.

"Sorry." You say taking a deep breath. "I start to get keyed up and tend to micromanage."

"It's cute, Doll. Everything's ready. Is it me making you nervous?"

"No." You say with a shake of your head.

"Because I know we've never worked together before."

"It's not that. It's just me. I'm always like this before a mission. I'll mellow out by the time we get there." You flash him a nervous smile while bouncing on the balls of your feet. Might as well let him see your quirks now. "You should have seen me the first time I was on mission with Clint and Natasha. They were like a well oiled machine together and here I am a bundle of nerves. I think Nat might have tied me to a chair if Clint hadn't been there. Nat will tell you the story at some point but she says before we got there it was like I'd never been on a mission before and it wasn't until after we landed she saw the seasoned vet come out." 

"Well, we're almost there. It’s a trek to the base once we set down."

"Everything's ready." You felt the quinjet adjust trajectory and knew it must be approaching the landing space. Bucky turns back to the controls and watches as the jet approaches a clearing in the heavily wooded area. As soon as you land you both begin securing the jet and then carefully step out onto the terrain. After ensuring the area is secure Bucky nods his head in the direction you need to move and you follow.

After a while you spot the base and make out the entrance you had indicated on the schematic. One guard stood sentry by the post. Looking over to Bucky you see him take aim at the guard with his sidearm but you hold up your hand with a slight shake of your head. Instead you take out a small taser disc he immediately recognizes. However, Bucky looks at you, shakes his head and motions with the firearm. You stare at each other for a minute. A battle of wills going on before you fling the disc at the camera over the door. The guard looks up surprised and Bucky takes his shot. Together, you carefully make your way to the door. 

"Thought we should get rid of the camera before the guard." You smile slyly at him.

"I was going to take them both out with one shot." He grins at you for just a moment. 

"Right." You say while rolling your eyes.

Bucky hauls the guard up and places his thumb on the door scanner. It flashes green allowing your entrance. Inside it's quiet and dim. You take the lead and slowly make your way down the hall. Nearing the main corridors you spot another camera and fling a second disc at it. You round the corner and find yourself suddenly flying through the air slamming your right shoulder into the opposite wall. You fall to the ground stunned. The behemoth that threw you looks down at you but suddenly drops as a bullet tears through his skull.

"Santi, are you alright?"

"Fuck. Are there any more coming?" You struggle to your feet.

"No. Are you alright?" Bucky says insistently. 

"My shoulders dislocated. I need you to put it back in place." You grimace as your arm dangles.

"Shit." Bucky eyes your arm. 

"I'll be fine. Just gotta get it back in." You grab one of your knives and bite down on the grip. Nodding to Bucky, he takes your arm and expertly snaps it into place. You internalize your scream as much as possible. After a few moments you take the knife from your mouth and put it back in place, breathing heavily. Bucky has one arm holding out his gun to protect you and another holding you steady as your breathing returns to normal. "Fuck, that hurts everytime."

"Shit, I'm sorry." Bucky says.

"It's fine. It'll be completely healed in another minute." Rolling your shoulder, you wince and grab your gun. "Two down. Let's go."

Bucky nods and takes point. You make quick work of the remaining guards but remain on alert. When you enter the center of the base you cross quickly to the computer bank and begin work. 

"Know what you're doing?" Bucky jokes.

"Vaffanculo." You smirk.

"The mouth on you." He laughs.

"This is gonna take a few." You murmur as you work through the intel. Bucky remains vigilant while examining the rest of the room. 

"Got it." You say pulling the thumb drive from the port. You click through the security feed to see if any threats or areas of interest pop up. "Bucky, there's something in storage. Off the southwest corridor." 

"Let's go." He says. Both moving quickly you head to the storage room and find it lined with boxes. Bucky breaks the first one open and you look inside.

"This is all Chitauri weapons and armor." 

"You sound disappointed." Bucky says.

"Would've preferred something interesting." You shrug.

"What should we do with it?" Bucky asks. 

"Destroy it." You say. "We'll hit the base from the quinjet. Take the whole thing out."

"You sure?" He says.

"Standard order for finds like this. We don't want it and we don't want anyone else to have it." You head out the door and Bucky follows. Back at the quinjet, Bucky fires everything up while you set coordinates for the base destruction. The quinjet lifts off and once you reach a fair distance you see the base become a ball of fire.

"Turn and burn." You say as you and Bucky watch it for a moment. Bucky sets the autopilot and you both sit back in the pilot chairs to relax for a few minutes. You turn to him, "Congrats on your first mission."

"How's the shoulder?" He asks.

"Did something happen to my shoulder?" You ask mockingly.

"You heal but it still hurts, huh?" Bucky looks over at you.

"Yup." You say quietly.

"Is there anything you can't heal?"

"Not that I've found yet. I've been shot, stabbed, poisoned. Even took a bullet to the heart and still healed." You shrug. "Never been shot in the head though. That might be the one thing that can end me. I don't know." 

"Let's not test it out." Bucky raises an eyebrow at you.

You laugh, "Not planning on it. I'm starving. You want some food?"

"Yeah. That'd be great."

You head to the back of the quinjet to rummage around for the protein bars and two plums you had thrown in your pack. Bucky smiled as you handed him two of the bars and a plum. 

"Sorry it's not a nicer dinner." You say as you take your seat again.

"It'll work for now. Maybe I can take you to a nicer dinner?" Bucky blushes a bit as he looks over at you.

"You asking me on a date?" You smile at him.

"Yeah, Doll. You accepting?"

"Yes, sir, Sergeant. I'd be delighted." You grin at him.

"Steve said the team will be back tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"How about the next day?" Bucky cocks an eyebrow.

"I like the way you think, Sargeant. Give time for everyone to debrief and settle." Good God, looking at the man was making you hot. You question if you've ever been as attracted to someone. Not jumping him was gonna be hard. Your tongue darts out to moisten your lips and you bite down on your lower lip as you look into his eyes.

"Doll, don't do that."

"What?" 

He just stares at your mouth for a minute.

You smile wickedly. "This?" You repeat the action and he groans."Why, Sergeant, are you having impure thoughts about me?"

"Doll, I've been having impure thoughts about you since I saw you bite into that plum when we first met."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Me, too."

"Really?"

Quickly, you maneuver yourself onto your knees in your seat and, leaning over the console, pull Bucky in for a kiss. Your mouths meld and tongues dance as fire rips through both of you. When you manage to pull away, you're both breathless for a minute. "Really, really." You whisper against his lips.

"That mouth of yours is gonna be the death of me."

You grin, "Don't worry I know mouth to mouth." You both chuckle as you pull together for another kiss. 

After a minute you pull away and sit back down with a stupid grin on your face. Looking at him you're a little scared of the feelings welling up in you and whether Bucky was feeling the same way. You had gone from 0 to 100 quickly. Was it too fast? The old temptation to slip into his mind and decipher his emotions was strong and you had to fight it. It wasn’t right. Not without his consent. It was a violation. You didn’t care when it came to the enemy, but it was a matter of trust when it came to friends. He was staring out the windshield as you sat there pondering and studying his profile. He is so beautiful. Take it as it comes, Santi, you remind yourself. 

“You gonna fall asleep on me? “ You joke. 

“I’m a little too worked up to sleep.” He says with a wink. 

“We have a little over an hour left til we’re back. I’m gonna try to get the mission report done if you have no objections.”

“Doing the paperwork for the mission? Nope, not gonna object at all.” He grins. 

You laugh, “You’ll still have to read and sign it.”

“No problem.”

You get to work and by the time the jet is descending Bucky has reviewed and signed off on the report. He jokingly comments on your omission of your shoulder dislocation and glowing description of his work. 

“I figured I’d make you look good since it was your first mission as an Avenger.” You smirk.

Once the jet lands, you grab your gear. Going over to the console on the wall, you insert the thumb drive and upload the intel that was gathered. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., call Maria Hill please.” You say. 

“Yes, Agent Delarosa.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. responds. 

“Hill.” Maria’s face is on screen. 

“Hey, kid!” You smirk.

“Agent Delarosa.” Maria deadpans.

“Intel is uploaded. Mission report is filed. That must be a record.” 

“Good work, Agent, Sergeant.” Hill nods at both of you. 

“Seriously? That’s all you got? Come on, Hill, you gave us 36 hours and we finished in less than a third of the time. Gimme a little love. You know you want to.” You sass Hill and despite herself you see a little smile form. 

“Maybe next time. If you stop referring to me as kid.” Maria sasses back. 

“You should have more respect for your elders, young lady.” You blow her a kiss and wink as you say, “F.R.I.D.A.Y., screen off.”

Bucky looks as if he is holding back laughter. You smile at him, “Okay. I’m ready to get out of this gear, have a shower, and find some real food. How about you?” 

“My shower or yours?” Bucky raises an eyebrow. 

“Nice try.” You smirk as you head to the elevator. 

“You’re breaking my heart, Doll.” Bucky smirks back. 

Forty-five minutes later you meet Bucky in the kitchen and together make a quick dinner. After eating, you both settle on the couch.

“Whatcha wanna watch?” You ask.

“Something funny?” He says.

You smile, “I was thinking the same thing. Have you ever seen Bad Boys? It’s a mix of comedy and action.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You start the movie and within minutes Bucky has grabbed you by the waist to pull you to him. You lean into him and curl your fingers around his metal ones. It feels so right and easy. Bucky seems to love the movie. He laughs and enjoys the action sequences. Occasionally, he murmurs a question in your ear about different references. You had to pause for a minute to explain to him about the show Cops and the song Bad Boys. He seems to appreciate your willingness to explain and patience. When the movie ends, you look over at Bucky to find him staring at you. 

“What?” You say smiling. He doesn’t answer but leans in for a kiss. You respond immediately. His lips are so soft and you lose yourself in the feel of them. He shifts closer to you and you feel his hand on your waist pulling you in. Your tongues seek each other almost desperately. Arching into him, he groans. When you finally separate moments later you are both breathless and staring into each other's eyes. 

Bucky is the first to speak, “You know you’re pretty amazing?”

“Yeah? You’re pretty amazing, too.” You press a soft kiss to his lips. Standing up, you hold your hand out to him and he follows you to the elevator. As you hit the button for your floor, you say, “The team will be back tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“Wanna have a sleepover on our last night alone?” You look at him feeling nervous and bite your lower lip. 

The elevator doors open and Bucky backs you into the hallway wall. “What did I tell you about biting your lip like that?”

“Do it whenever I want to get my way?” You smile at him. 

He kisses you. A hard stamp on the lips. “It’s, um, it’s been awhile since i’ve had a sleepover.”

“I’ll go easy on ya.” 

“Not too easy, Doll.”

You lead Bucky to your room and pull him in for a kiss as you back both of you to the bed. He brings his hands up to cup your face and pulls away to look into your eyes. "Are you sure, Doll?"

Wordlessly, you lift your arms up so he can easily remove your shirt. He tosses it to the side and pulls his own off. Gently, he lays you back on the bed and melds his mouth to yours. Your hands travel over his hard chest feeling the muscles ripple before making their way to his waist where you pull his body even closer to you. He groans into your mouth as he lifts you slightly to unfasten your bra and slip it off your arms. You lay back with your arms above your head as he stares down at you. 

"You're gorgeous, Doll. All of you." He says before lowering his head to take a nipple into his mouth. You suck in a breath as he lavishes attention on your breasts. 

"Ohhhh...Bucky," you whisper as he slowly moves his hands to the waistband of your leggings and pauses, "yes."

He pulls your leggings and panties off as you reach to undo his pants. Pushing his pants down his legs he is already hard and you’ve barely touched him. You put a hand to his chest and push him down onto the bed. You devour him with your eyes and slowly slide hands down to his cock. He hisses with jaw clenched when you touch him. Unable to resist, you wrap your lips around his head and swirl your tongue. His hands go to your hair as he urges you on. You take him as deep as you can and listen to his moans as you work your tongue against him. Wrapping one hand around his base to work him and using the other to palm his balls, you continue to work him. 

“Fuck, Doll. That mouth of yours.” Bucky groans as he gently pulls you away and devours your mouth with his. His hand trails down your body and he presses against your core feeling the slickness. “So wet for me already.” he says as he presses kisses along your neck. His fingers slide across your slick folds skimming your clit before moving down to press a finger into you. Your breath hitches and you whimper at the sensation. Encouraged, Bucky adds a second finger while using his thumb to press your clit. 

“Bucky.” You moan his name as his lips wrap around your nipple. 

“Doll, want inside you so bad.” Bucky says,, “Can’t wait.”

“Yes.” You say quickly.  Bucky removes his fingers and rolls himself on top of you with a searing kiss. You feel him line up with your entrance and then agonizingly slow he pushes in. 

“I thought your mouth was going to kill me, but you're so tight. So wet.” Bucky groans.

You slide your hands to his ass and press him forward encouraging him on. “Feels so good, Bucky.” 

Once he fully buries himself he stills for a moment pressing his forehead to yours. “You okay?”

“So fucking okay.” You wrap your legs around him and encourage him to move. He begins to slowly work himself in and out. Each thrust nearly takes your breath away. You feel the pleasure coiling inside of you. “Harder.” you whisper to Bucky and it’s as if he needed the permission to let go. His hips begin to slam into you. “Yes, yes.” You can’t stop the moans escaping your lips. Bucky’s fingers dig into your sides as he continues thrusting. 

“You’re so perfect, Doll. So fucking perfect. I’m so close.” Bucky groans into your ear as he fastens his lips to the side of your neck. His words propel you over the edge. Your body clenches around his cock and you cry out his name. His hips stutter as he reaches his own release with a moan. 

Bucky rolls to his side and pulls you to him pressing a kiss to your temple. 

“Was I gentle enough?” you tease. 

“No, I think you broke me.” He laughs. “That was uh, the first time in a while for me. I didn’t mean to be in such a hurry but you got me so worked up, Doll.”

“Hey.” You kiss him. “I didn’t mind. You got me all worked up, too.”

“How long before I can get you worked up again?” He asks, nuzzling your ear. 

“You just say the word, Sergeant.”

“Now.” 

“Thank God.” You push him up against the headboard and straddle him. He seals his mouth to yours. Feeling his already growing arousal against you, you know you're in for a long, satisfying night.

Part 4

[speechless-illusions]

What if we got the story of the rooftop trio animated in season 5 of BNHA?

*Disclaimer before starting: This thread comes from my intense desire of seeing the Vigilantes Spin-off made an anime, and my desire to see the story of Shirakumo animated because I like to suffer. It's written in a "theory" way but I don't want to imply it's true or it's going to happen, because even though I'd love something like this, I feel it is too far-fetched and surely not going to happen. But what if...? So please keep in mind that I'm just joking, and not being really serious about this (..or am I?)

First of all, I'm going to explain how a strange thought like the possibility of seeing the story of the rooftop trio animated in season 5 came to my mind.

I'm obsessed with both bnha and vigilantes. I started reading vigilantes because I wanted to know more about aizawa and I heard that his past was explained there, but I ended up falling in love with vigilantes and I consider it something you must read if you really want to understand the bnha world more. To me, it is not only a spin-off, it's a very important part of the bnha story specially because I can't see someone feeling the same impact while reading bnha story (specially after the Kurogiri reveal) if they haven't read vigilantes too.

My best friend also loves bnha, but she hasn't seen the 4th anime season yet, and hasn't started reading the manga. She is going to start reading the manga soon and I told her "Keep me updated about what chapters you're reading because I want you to stop reading bnha when you reach a certain chapter, switch to vigilantes, read the whole vigilantes (or at least until Aizawa's past arc) and then come back to read bnha"

I want her to do this because I feel the Shirakumo/Kurogiri reveal doesn't hit you that hard if you haven't read the rooftop trio chapters of vigilantes. I mean, I read them before and the reveal got me the most shocked I've ever been. I can't explain how I felt but I couldn't close my mouth and I kept saying "No way... No way... Oh god..."

When do I think she has to switch from bnha to vigilantes? In other way, when do I feel like it's the perfect time to read vigilantes while reading bnha?

Well, this is a personal preference but I think it should be after the joint training arc. Why? Because of this scene:

It's (if I'm not mistaken) the first time Shirakumo is mentioned in the bnha manga. It's chapter 217, the last chapter of the joint training arc, before the meta liberation army arc starts. (Keep this in mind because it's important later in my analysis)

I think this dialogue is perfect, because it makes you wonder who that Shirakumo is? And it's when I think my friend should switch to read vigilantes. She will eventually read the Aizawa's past arc, meet Shirakumo, cry about him like I did, and then come back to read bnha, starting the meta liberation army arc. She will read that arc, which is very long and focused on the villains, so she will probably forget a bit about Shirakumo. This means when the reveal of Kurogiri happens at the start of the Paranormal liberation arc, she will be shocked.

I didn't like the idea of telling her to read Vigilantes right before the reveal because then, the moment she saw aizawa and mic going to Tartarus, she would be suspicious about that what is going to happen could be related to that. But making her read vigilantes after chapter 217, gives her like an amount of 40 chapters of the manga to read before the reveal. In those 40 chapters Shirakumo is not mentioned, so she will focus on other things, not Shirakumo, and when the reveal comes it will blow her mind.

You're probably wondering why I'm telling all of this when the title of the post is about season 5 of the anime. Well, here it comes:

Yesterday I was curious about what parts of the manga we will probably see animated in season 5, so I went to the My hero academia wiki and started wondering about it. Here's what I thought:

First, I thought about how the pro hero arc wasn't finished in season 4. In the anime, they cut the season when Endeavor wins against the nomu. But in the manga, Dabi appears right after that and then we see the first glimpse of double agent Hawks when both of them talk in private. This means the season is going to start with a few chapters left of the Pro hero arc. Watching the equivalent of manga and anime chapters in each arc, I came to the conclusion that usually in the anime, each arc is more or less half the chapters of that arc in the manga. The Pro hero arc has 10 manga chapters, and so far, we've had 2 anime episodes. So this means we could still get at least 2 or even 3 anime episodes about that arc...

Then, it comes the Joint training arc, which has 24 manga episodes. If we follow the previous estimations, it could be like 12 anime episodes (maybe less, since that arc has a lot of fights and fights are longer in manga than anime)

And then it's the Meta liberation army arc, or my villain academia, which is 23 manga chapters long. So maybe 11-12 chapters, but as I said before, battles tend to be longer in manga so maybe less anime chapters.

This seems correct. Adding those numbers we could get a 25 chapters season. But now let's imagine that my estimations are not really correct, and also the battles turn out to be much quick in the anime, so they end up with less chapters than the ones I've estimated.

Let's imagine they get only 23 chapters, for example. But they need 25...

Even if they could start the next arc and cut again the arc at the end of the season like they did in season 4, it would be weird. I mean, the Meta liberation arc is only about villains, and I imagine they're going to make that second half of season 5 only about villains. Opening and ending villain themed included. So it would be weird if the last one or two chapters of the season were from the following arc, because they would come back to the heroes for like two chapters after being only focused in the villains for 10 chapters... It would feel weird. It would be better if they end season 5 at the end of the meta liberation arc, when the LOV wins the fight.

But... What if they need more chapters to reach 25? What if the first half of the season needs those 2 chapters? (I see it more likely that this would happen to the first half and not the second, because the meta liberation arc would perfectly fit half a season in my opinion)

And this is where my brain said "What about... Animating the rooftop trio story?"

Okey, okey, I know. It sounds really far-fetched. I told you at the begining. But let me explain.

Remember what I said about my recommendation to my friend: that the perfect moment to switch to read vigilantes (and so the rooftop trio arc) would be at the end of the Joint training arc (which as I have analysed, would be in the 1st half of season 5) and before reading the meta liberation army arc (which will probably be the 2nd half of the season 5). That is the spot where I personally think it's the best moment to learn the story about Shirakumo to make the Kurogiri reveal most shocking (as I said, you would have at least like 20 anime chapters to "forget" about Shirakumo and then the reveal would be like "WHAT?! THAT SHIRAKUMO?! THE ONE FROM LIKE LAST SEASON?!")

Now, let's talk about length: if we cut out all the parts related to the vigilantes main story (because it wouldn't make sense to animate for example aizawa talking to Koichi), the arc about Aizawa's past (or Rooftop trio arc) is more or less, 6 manga chapters long. It has a battle, and some extra scenes that could be also cut, so let's say you could fit that story in maybe... 2 anime chapters. Only 2 anime chapters. Wow, that would come handy if you need to fill a 2 chapters gap in an anime season, don't you think?

Animating that arc right after Aizawa mentions Shirakumo at the end of the joint training arc would not only be the perfect spot in the bnha story to do it, but would also have the perfect chapter length to fit in the 25 chapters limit of season 5. It would give us the necessary info about Shirakumo to feel really really shocked about the Kurogiri reveal. I mean, it will surely hit harder if you know the whole story and how his relationship with aizawa was, than if you only know the few glimpses the bnha manga gives us about it.

Do you need another reason to get crazy about this? Well, remember this:

They literally put Shirakumo in the last ending of season 4. They put there a character that we were not supposed to know nothing about until season 6. Why hint him so soon? Well, maybe to hint something that could happen in season 5...? Something like... An arc about who's him and his story with aizawa and mic?

I'll let this right here. I'm not saying they are going to do it. I'm saying I would love to see this happening and that in my head IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE

[parachutingkitten]

Season 4 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challenged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for the season: It's a SuPeR fUn HaPpY pLaCe!!!!!

You don’t need to, but if you are interested, and haven’t seen my analysis of past seasons, you can find those here:

Pilot

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Hey guys! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Season 4! We are here! I am SO biased with this season. It has problems man. It has ALL the problems! ALL the plot holes! ALL the stupid, stupid stuff, but I LOVE ALL OF IT! okay, let's back up. I'm about to drop some context on you. 

So, when you're a military brat you tend to make friends with whoever you can, and when I lived in Germany I had a friend who was fandom OBSESSED. She, at the time, was super into Homestuck, something I managed to avoid being sucked into, though I do know more about it than I would like. Anyway, this was the point at which I started getting sucked into Ninjago. So, I figured that if I could trust anyone with a strange obsession, it was her. I showed her the last episode of season 3, and she decided she was just going to dive head first into it with me. We watched season 4 together as it came out, we talked about it, had a bunch of inside jokes about it, I wrote some very short fanfiction about it, she made some OCs, one in particular that I remember was Stormy, a ditzy cloud master who wore pink, we shipped him with... one of my OCs, I don't remember. She hadn't watched the first two seasons, so I had to fill her in on a lot, but she was the first person I ever fandomed with, and it was over season 4. So I guess you could say season 3 was the grand beginning of my love for this show, and season 4 was the peak of my fangirl experience (at least for that phase of my life).

Plot

This season is a real mixed bag. Coming off the heels of the first season, nothing makes sense. Suddenly there are more elements, completely discrediting Lloyd's supposed power of four powers. And now it's genetic, which brings up the problem of Jay, who... if either Ed or Edna were masters, they would have slipped by now (but also like, how cool would it be if Edna just busted out with lightning powers) and then Zane who... doesn't have genes. It makes the world bigger, yes, but it also discredits the lore of the last two seasons, and brings up the question "Where the hell were the rest of the EMs when the Great Devour attacked? Or the stone warriors? Or the final battle?!" Anyway, it's a bit jarring and sudden to say the least. It definitely was not planned beforehand. There aren't even any hints in season 3. Like wouldn't it be cool if in season 3 we saw them go to the noodle shop, or Wu was really vague about elemental questions. It would make a lot more sense then. Idk. It opens the universe up to the plotlines of most of the future seasons, but it does sort of discredit the first two. This season is also kinda choppy feeling wise. You go from the mood the past season have had in the first episode to this sort of native tribal feel on the island, and then the factory and then back to Ninjago. It's kinda a mess. Overall it was just an excuse to put these characters in cool situations (which I have done before, I understand). Which I get, and it makes for some cool stuff, but I don't think any of it ends up meshing together super well in the end. When I think of this season I think of the tournament. I forget about the whole snake stuff at the end most of the time. I forget about the while Garmadon conflict. The fact that I forget that's there has to be a bad sign, right?

Characters

Character work this season is really pretty good for the most part! There are a lot of new characters. And they all are very distinct and fun, and even when two people you don't know especially well battle, you're still really invested. All of the Cole and Jay stuff is pretty good this season! Major upgrade from season 3. The whole fight scene is absolutely fantastic. Garmadon is freaking awesome this season. He keeps on trying to kill himself, and it's stupid, and the show sort of acknowledges that it's stupid, cuz Lloyd is just like 'dude, what the heck'. Kai's arch this season is pretty good, exploring his darker side and putting that intense conflict in front of him was good. I can tell you one thing, I like it a heck of a lot better than season 7, but we'll get to that when we get to that. So, yeah. Overall improvement in character! It doesn't dive super deep or anything, but it all works and is all interesting.

Skylor

So... she is one of the reasons I call this season the fanfiction season. We have a whole bunch of other elemental masters we've never heard of, and one of them their power is... all the powers. I can not tell you how much this ticked me off! And she hardly ever uses them! She has pretty much infinite power, and she doesn't think to use it, pretty much ever! There are no restrictions on her! This is what I hate Skylor for. And I do mean hate. BUT aside from that, strictly character wise she is done pretty well. She feels pretty fake and overly sassy at the beginning of the season, but there's a reason for that. It's an act. But it's not like she changed her personality to fool him, she intensified her personality to cover her intentions. Her arch feels pretty natural. That one scene where she does the evil laugh... that was weird. But aside from that, it feels okay. She was raised to think that lying and cheating is the norm, so when someone presents her with another option she begins to change. It makes sense. I love the scene where Kai and her look at each other through the prison bars and (even though their freaking legos) you can feel her realization that she's ashamed of what she's doing now. And after she makes the transition, she's just really chill. Like, I would like to hang out with her. I guess it is kinda sweet that even though she had all of the powers of... ever, at the end she's happy to just run her noodle shop. It's kinda poetic. Anyway, she may be a bit overpowered, and she feels like a bit of a Mary Sue, but overall her personality and interactions are enjoyable enough for me to mostly ignore that. I do agree that she is best used in moderation. She doesn't need to be part of the team. I wish we had a quick cameo each season, but whatever. What we have now in season 9 is nice, but she definitely needs to step back out of the spotlight in future seasons (knock on wood) in order to remain as likable as she's been.

Karlof

Love him. Freaking love him. Honestly, I probably relate to him the most. He's the first loser of the tournament, he avoids trouble, he sticks to what he knows, and he says it like it is. I love his interactions with everyone down in the noodle factory. He's like this perfect blend of optimism and pessimism. His interactions with Cole are beautiful. Their chemistry is really great. One of, I think everyone's favorite masters, and there's a reason why.

Shade

So... typical darkness character. Obviously selfish. But once the climax hits, I actually like him a lot. He kinda serves as an antagonist at first and then flips. It's kinda cool seeing a character with moral boundaries that far out. He's purposely suspicious to take attention away from Skylor, which I get. I think he has a lot of missed potential, but nonetheless, a decent character.

Neuro

I absolutely love his power! I love his manor, I love his voice. He may well be my favorite EM. I don't even know what else to say about this guy. If Karlof is who I am, Neuro is who I'd like to think I am. Calculated, calm, reasonable, and much like Karlof again, not too risky. I like him a lot. Cool guy. I like seeing how far he's willing to go for the ninja, and where certain lines are for him. It's kinda cool to watch. He could use a friend though. I HC he and Paleman hang out. Both quiet. Both reserved. Neuro could probably locate him in a room even if he's not visible. Idk. Anyway, I like him a lot! Great character.

Griffin Turner

Classic speedster. Good enough. Not much to say. He's fun. He's cool. He's what you'd expect. Decent screen time. None of it particularly character developing. For what he is, he's good at it.

Jacob

So, let's ignore the part where they made us think he was dead. He's a lot of fun. Good for them getting a blind character in there. Still confused on what his powers can... do? But I like his spunk. I think we all have a little soft spot for him.

Chamille

One of the only girls and she's pretty much evil. Why do girls have to be evil at one point to be interesting? Idk. Don't really care for her, don't really think much about her. Whatever. She's there. She serves her purpose. Fine. Okay. Moving on.

Paleman

Friggin love him. For the master of light to be invisible is a great move, and pretty creative. His voice is kinda obvious, but very distinct. It's a creative background character to have. I like him a lot. Again, I feel he could use some more love. See above Neuro HC. Like him a lot and... yay.

Bolobo

Kinda missed the "mother nature" pun... could have had at least one more female master... that's okay. He's cool enough. Kinda disappointing though. I mean, vines? Is that it?

Gravis

Gravity is a dang cool power. Idk what else to say. He doesn't get a ton of screen time, so it's hard to praise him too much, but yeah. I really like that. Actually had an FC (she was a villain but you know whateves) with the power, so seeing that be a real element they used is really cool.

Ash

I don't like him. He's very strange. He's just got that one laugh. He seems comically over the top a jerk. I like the way his mouth looks though. Unique and kinda cool. I was looking on his Wiki page, and it said he and Chamille kissed in the background at one point? Is that true? I am way curious now

Tox

Okay. She's nonexistent here, no personality. I guess she's kinda tough. Yeah, this gets confirmed later in season 9, when she speaks. But even there she's pretty nonexistent. Here's my idea. Instead of having all your females being 'tough' why not flip expectation on its head? I think it would be way funny and clever if the master of poison was super friendly, and bubbly, and genuinely a nice person. I'm thinking almost like Jay's (lightning... or I guess adopted) mom, levels of talkative and nice. Wouldn't that be kinda fun? Idk. Whatever. It is what it is.

Kapau and Chope

Best villains ever 10/10. 'Nuff said.

Romance

KAILOR

Okay, I freaking love them! They're not my favorite couple or anything, but they work really, really well… under certain conditions. There are a few bumps I can't ignore. Can we have a protagonist in the show who doesn't send googly eyes at their future love interest the first moment they see her? And remember when they made us think Kai and Skylor were related... yeah... why did we need to do that? That was... kinda uncomfortable. BUT other than that, Skylor is exactly what Kai needed. First, he needed a redhead. Duh. Second, he needed someone who would see right through his Kai shmoltz and be real with him. Third, she had to be fun. And finally, she needed to wear the pants in the relationship. And Skylor fills ALL of those requirements! I like that Kai falls for her right away, and I love that she doesn't think she likes him until... she totally does and it's like 'Oh SNAP!'. I love that weird scene where Chen walks around with Kai like he's already his son in law, that cracks me up! I guess I like them more in theory than in practice. It feels a touch forced, and it needed a bit more time. Point being, the beginnings of the relationship are extremely awkward and strange, but towards the end of the season, it gets good! I just wish we could see more :)

The... love... triangle

Alright, by now, you guys should know how I feel about these things. They suck. They're stupid. I hate them. They're pointless. And this season is... quite possibly the stupidest. So... the whole Garma-Wu-Sako... thing this season is that Wu wrote a letter to Misako a long time ago, and Garmadon stole it, and then... Misako *groan* used it to determine which of them she was going to marry... okay. Yeah, Garmadon, that was a crap thing to do. But you know what, he was evil. Wu should have just signed the thing when he wrote it. But also, Misako... WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' GIRL?! Why... would you let a letter... be the final deciding point? I don't get that. And my main problem is that she basically chose her husband based on his writing ability. The thoughts Wu had in the letter obviously directly express what Garmadon wanted to say. In the end, his feelings for her were still the same. The only thing different is that he didn't write it. He's not good with words the way Wu is. But the show treats it like he lied about his feelings, and didn't even like her. Like he was using her for personal gain or manipulation or something. Idk. The whole thing makes no sense. Now, maybe if he did something to make Wu directly look bad or disingenuous THAT would be understandable. But... idk. I don't get it. Misako sucks. Let's move on.

Villians

Chen

Chen is my favorite villain. Hands down. No competition. Any way you slice it. I friggin love the heck out of this dude. And here's why. First off, he's a very comedic villain that still remains extremely threatening, which is an extremely thin line to walk. I mean, think about it. With all the other villains, they were intimidating, and the henchmen provided the humor. Here, I guess you could say they flipped it cuz Clouse is pretty intimidating, but Chen is still crazy scary on his own. And here's how they do it: He's insane. Straight up, he has lost his mind. Nothing he does makes sense, but that's fine, cuz it probably makes total sense to him. You can laugh at the quirky things he does, but also live in fear knowing that he has trap doors installed EVERYWHERE. Why? Cuz he likes them! Is there a better reason than that when you're crazy! That was my problem with people with Pythor. He is so smart, why didn't he ever think that the devourer might eat him too?! There is no explanation. But with Chen, that doesn't matter! He wants to be a snake! Why? Why not?! No flaws in that thinking, right? This is also why I like Ultra Violet so much. She's the only one to rival his position, but because she's more of a side villain, I don't feel that's enough to dethrone him. With insane villains, you never have any idea what they're playing at, if it's smart, or how to counteract, cuz they're just insane. I mean, seriously,

"Chen, the ninja have figured out our plan, what should we do?"

"COOL! Let's tell EVERYONE our plan!"

And it works! I love his voice. Just the way he says things makes me so happy! He's having so much fun, and I have fun with him! 10/10 villain. Great work.

Clouse

I can't get past the voice. It sounds so over the top evil and... it's kinda annoying for me? He has a decent backstory and such, but whenever he's on screen I always find myself wishing it was Chen. He just sucks the fun out of everything and leaves nothing there, so most of his interactions aren't particularly interesting. I don't know. Never really thought much of him.

Humor

Needless to say everything with Chen works! Everything with the EMs works. Jay's whole Positive Thinking streak is amazing! There's not a lot that falls flat on its face. It's really pretty fantastic.

Favorite joke: too many to count. If I had to pick one...

Chen's: the reds, the purples, the super dark purples!

Drama

This season has some damn good drama. It has my personal most sad moment in all of Ninjago. I'm of course talking about Garmadon's death...  JK! XD I WAS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THAT SEQUENCE! But we’ll get to that later. Okay. But for real, my personal most heartbreaking moment is when we find out Pixal is scrapped (of course it's Pixal related) but seriously, watching this for the first time, it broke my heart hardcore. I audibly gasped. They have these conversations, and she realizes he doesn't remember her, and it hurts her because they were comPATABLE GOSH DANG IT! And then he starts remembering, and she knows she can't go with him, so she lies to him to give him the motivation to make it out, and then the reveal, and Zane's heart breaks, and your heart breaks. This whole scenario reminds me of my own writing, it has all these things I enjoy using. Distinctions between fantasy and reality, characters lying to each other to protect them, and an ending realization of total and complete emptiness. Of course, Pixal is added into his head, and all is fine and dandy. It works for this season but serves her worse in future seasons. Regardless, that moment when Pixal says 'scrapped' is the most depressing thing I've ever seen. All of the Zane drama this season works really well. Zane having an identity crisis is something I didn't think the show would handle. When Zane says he's just a clone if himself I was like 'oh, dang! They went there!'. It's almost like he's comparing himself to Cryptor, and it's some heavy stuff. Everything this season is shrouded in mystery. I love that. For the first half of the season or so, I really like the tournament stuff. But as we get Cole, and especially Jay in the noodle factory, that plotline gets much more interesting. I don't get into the Nya and Lloyd and Garmadon stuff that much. The stuff with Kai is okay. But overall, there's some good stuff.

Climax

Okay, so... I... I mean I like the build up. The thing with all the trucks is really good. Most of it was really pretty good with all the EMs doing stuff the ninja would usually do. But the whole ending thing, with getting mini Pythor involved, and you know. The whole Garmadon death thing. He died an honorable death and all that, but... idk, I can't get past Lloyd's voice. As he reads him off I just couldn't stop giggling! It's so overdramatic, they feel like they need to make Lloyd mad at his dad for whatever reason so he can come back at the last second, and it all feels so forced. And then the ending is super overly cheesy for how serious the show wants to take itself at that moment. Idk. I don't like it. One of my least favorite finales.

Spotlight episode

There are some good ones to choose from this season. Some real good ones. But the one I find myself watching the most is Ninja Roll. This episode doesn't have too high stakes, it doesn't make much sense, it's kind of pointless, but it perfectly encapsulates the reason I watch Ninjago. I don't know exactly why I watch Ninjago. I'm not into the action most of the time. The romance is cute, but not potent enough to warrant watching the show. The humor isn't revolutionary, the characters aren't especially deep. No, the reason I watch Ninjago is cuz it's fun. Ninjago is just a good time. It has just enough of all of those aspects to make for something I love. It makes me smile. With seasons 8, and especially 9, Ninjago has shifted into this darker action based, lore-driven thing, which I thought I would like, and I do, but I think it's lost a bit of that fun factor. In my opinion, Ninjago is it's best when it's self-aware, and doesn't take itself overly seriously. When you don't have to end the season on an ominous dark cliffhanger. I mean really. What is this? Chima? No. I just want to go hang out with the ninja and the gang, whatever it is their doing. This episode takes advantage of every situation a roller derby with the ninja provides. Of course Jay roller skates with his mom. Of course, Kai is incompetent at it. Of course, Chen cheats, of course, it all comes down to Lloyd. Of course, there's freaking buggies that Chen releases! This whole episode makes me smile and laugh and it has a good message. This is what I miss about Ninjago, and that's why it's my spotlight.

Misc

I know everyone always teases Jay about his TV show, but what about Kai and his wrestling career? I just feel like that would come up more often

I completely subscribe to the theory that Pixal was scrapped to fix Zane cuz they beat him up so badly when capturing. I'd kinda like to think Pixal even volunteered herself for it... ONE SHOT IDEA

I have to scratch... my face.

I need a number on the trap door to button ratio on the island

This season has my favorite intro of any season. Mainly cuz the remix is FIRE and I hate the fact that they don't have an extended version that sounds more like the opening itself. 

So all together, the word to sum up season 4 is fun. Definitely not technically the best, or the smartest, or the most well done, but it's my favorite because of nostalgia, my inner child, and because it makes me smile. I love this season.

- Maya (Parachutingkitten)