#absolutely hate the two stories at the end of crisis with a burning passion and i think he should have died in the hurricane. anyways

[quatregats]

Reading through the TV Tropes page on Hornblower after going off on my own weird Hornblower ramblings truly like touching grass in the best and worst ways possible

[ash-etherwood]

Top 5: writing memories, songs, characters that are not blank rune, runes, food

♡

Linda I love you but are you trying to kill me … that’s so many Top 5’s! But alright, I’ll do my best! (Answers will probably switch between German and English RIP to every non-German-speaker who follows me and wants to read this for some reason I swear I’m normal)

WRITING MEMORIES

5.) The entire time I spent finishing my first (second?) longer writing project It was the year 2012 and it was a cyberpunk story about my friends’ and my edgy self inserts riding dinosaurs, fighting aliens and being badass. The plot twist in the end was that my character was secretly evil and wanted to kill everyone. (Things to show your therapist) The final boss fight made zero sense and also everything was incredibly weird and stupid. But sometimes I still think about those times when I sat in my grandma’s living room at night, eating chips and listening to Vocaloid covers while thinking this story was the coolest shit ever. Truly simpler times.

4.) Researching something about universities in Texas for OvF on a rainy Saturday afternoon I have no idea why this memory is still sticking with me to this day (I think it was around 2016 or something?), but I remember that it was just a really nice day and I felt really at peace at that moment?

3.) The entire writing process of Bathroom Blues It was such a spontaneous project and I still have no idea how I managed to power though it in just a little under two months! Also it was just incredibly fun seeing you getting excited over new drafts and I loved coming up with new plot points and Halloween costumes for everyone with you. :-D Truly a summer worth remembering.

2.) FINALLY uploading the prologue and intro chapter of WWBL Not really a writing memory, but that moment was … so sexy and magical. Seriously, you have no idea how long I had been waiting to finally start that story, waiting for the Steckbriefe to roll in and see people react to the prologue and generally the idea … I even made one of those countdown graphic thingies for the designated upload date! 8D At that point I had planned that story for about six months and just … yeah, that felt powerful to me.

1.) Writing the prologue for WWBL When I first started the draft for that prologue I was sitting at the window in my favourite hotel in Winterberg, Sauerland, wore my dark green flannel, had the window wide open breathing in the cool mountain air and allowed myself to listen to my WWBL playlist for the very first time. God, that felt so amazing. I even have a photo of it (which somehow makes it look like I have the biggest football shoulders in the universe) my sister took that night. God I miss Sauerland. )’:

- - - - -

SONGS

My apologies to every favourite song of mine that I forgot about, I have a whole playlist of them, but I think these are some of my oldest faves … (Honorable mentions for Don’t Mess With Me and Not That Big by Temposhark, Goodbye by Apparat, Me And The Devil by Soap&Skin, Heart Heart Head by Meg Myers, Pain and Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace, Beautiful Crime by Tamer, Gravity Of Love by Enigma, In Flames by Digital Daggers [thanks Phi u_u] and Murder Cries by Snow Ghosts AHHH FUCK IT I could’ve just made a playlist,,,)

5.) Vater Unser by E Nomine Starting off with some weird shit, won’t we? I’ve been in love with this song since fifth or sixth grade, when I was just starting to develop an actual music taste and although I have many favourite songs by E Nomine, this one has to be my absolute fave. Every time I can relate it to a character it makes me love said character even more. (Also I think about it every time my mom forces me to go to church for Christmas so … yay? I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even be able to remember the Vater Unser if it wasn’t for this song. 8D)

4.) Wires by The Neighbourhood I think this is the newest all-time fave on this list, I found it in … 2015? Thank you, Youtube AMVs. Yeah man, this one is just … on so many playlists it’s not even funny anymore.

3.) Heathens by Twenty One Pilots An edgelord classic but like … it’s on EVERY playlist of mine. Every single one. It’s just so good. The first time I heard it was on the radio tho, when I was having breakfast with Jessie and I forced her to shazam it because it immediately stuck with me,,,

2.) Imaginary by Evanescence My first Evanescence song ever and the first step towards becoming who I am today I think. This song has like … such a big history for me, man. It single-handedly turned me goth in 2008 and I have never really thanked it for that.

1.) Eternal by Evanescence Might be my favourite song of all time. The number of dramatic RP scenes I have written with this in the background … man. Oh, also this song is the reason for one of my oldest internet nicknames, ‘eternala’, which subsequently shortened into Etschuh and then Tschuh, my main nickname until 2017, when I came out as trans and finally found an actual name for myself I was comfortable with!

- - - - -

NON BLANK RUNE CHARACTERS

I know this was probably supposed to be about fandom characters but I can literally not come up with a single character right now that I love with a special burning passion and that is not my or one of my friends’ OCs so you’re getting OCs now. u_u And boy do I have a lot of those.

5.) Jackson Tracey from atroCITY (mine) This little piece of shit kept me company for a pretty long time and is still very close to my heart for some reason, although I haven’t drawn him or really thought about him in detail for a while now. My favourite thing is how I only realized what a horrible person he was after I stopped regularly working with him but honestly good for me. 8D His storyline and personality is kinda convoluted and tbh I’m not really sure how much of it is canon anyway (atrc was always a little weird about canon rip) but yeah. He’s an obsessive stalker piece of shit who pities himself way too much and he is also a semi-immortal demigod who likes knives. I hate him but he also helped me a lot with some gender and sexuality stuff so thanks I guess.

4.) Mayoko Imai from Century Riders DXPrototype (Maus’ and mine) Mayoko is a magical girl protagonist with a cool cyborg arm prosthetic and her main character trait was that she was basically a reverse weeaboo, a Japanese girl who was obsessed with American media, culture and comic book heroes! I actually love her concept a lot and she also had a pretty cool character arc in her story (which Maus and I wrote together and actually finished btw!), although it could use a lot more … polishing from today’s point of view. But I love her anyway. She always wanted to do the right thing and be a hero and got broken pretty cruelly and her ending is kinda bittersweet I guess? Ahh there’s just so much nuance to it … anyways, CR3 also stuck with me for a very long time and I enjoyed the time with her a lot. :3 (Her name had a cameo in Another Incident btw heehee)

3.) Tessa *insert extremely long chain of unnecessary first names here* von Lean from Nobody Is Perfect and Infernal Temptation (belongs to one of my old school friends) Tessa is just … a hand full. I love to hate her. She is badly written and developed and just OOZES mentally ill teenage girl’s idealized self-insert power fantasy, but she just … man, she was a big part of one of my most drama-filled high school friendships which I love looking back at so much. Tessa has fucked so many of my characters … good for her tbh! There are actually two versions of her, one is just a ‘normal’ teenage girl and one can shapeshift into a cheetah, but both of them are very close to my heart. I should really adopt and redesign her some day.

2.) Judy Khayat from Original vs. Final (mine) Look, I love all my OvF-characters and every single one of them is special to me in their own way, but Judy is just … the most complex of them all I think? Man, she went through so much … she is actually one of my oldest (semi)-active characters (I created her in 2009) and her latest version is from 2016 but I should really, REALLY revise her again tbh. She has a very complicated backstory that I didn’t handle as carefully as I should have, and anger issues and religious conflict and depression and PTSD and then Vance of all people becomes obsessed with her for no reason and decides to traumatize her even more … yeah. God I really love her but I seriously need to work on her. A LOT. I should also finally rename her tbh … let’s just see where she takes me next.

1.) Okami (I don’t even remember if she has a proper last name rn lol) from Split Realm (mine) Yeah, that bitch is just my favourite OC. She’s also very old, probably from around 2009, and initially was a magical girl with fire powers who I played in an RP with my friend Flauch but boy did she grow up! Holy fuck. Okami is a horrible person but I love her so much. She is so violent and full of anger and pain and sadness and treats everyone around her like shit and she is in love and she is a demon but also apparently the personification of the concept of Chaos but she just wants to be a teenager again and run away with the love of her life and ahhh it’s all so hopeless for her … also she turned out gnc af with time passing and pretty much went through a gender/sexuality crisis in real time with me, her creator, which is always fun. :^D I haven’t drawn her in a while tbh. Should really do that.

- - - - -

RUNES IN BLANK RUNE

I’m just gonna go with the arcs here, okay? Also this entire answer might look completely different if you asked me again tomorrow, you know how indecisive I am with Blank Rune shit ahha,,,

5.) Jera Look. I know I’m boring and stupid. But I just love Tave and Liam having their disgusting little foreshadowing talk, okay? I can read it over and over. I just love my horrible little shit crime boys. Also Rhy and Phillip are there. (’:

4.) Isa This one is here because it was the first arc I witnessed in real time which gives it a very special place in my heart and it also … hit pretty hard at the time. But having read Fehu it’s become even better now! It’s just such a wonderful, tragic romance between two horrible, ruthless boys and I … I’m not immune to Rhy, sadly. :-/ Just like Phillip.

3.) Wunjo We still haven’t seen everything that leads up to Wunjo yet, but we DO know more than we did initially (wow shocker) and it’s just always a fucking blast. Also, it has the first mention of Ash’s real name … the first Rhy POV (which what the fuck!! I always feel like we had one before but we didn’t!! Wild) and it has crazy blood-soaked murder Tave, my beloved. :///3

2.) Eiwaz You guys have heard me fanboy about Eiwaz so many times already. Eiwaz-OT3 (and Kain) my beloved!!! It’s just SUCH an amazing starting point and there are so, so many things that tie back to it and every time we find out about a new one my heart makes a little jump … und es beginnt von Neuem indeed.

1.) Gebo One of the most painful but also the most beautiful arcs yet in my opinion. It’s been hyped up for so long and boy did it deliver. God, my heart still hurts when I think about that last scene. Also all the dialogue … the golden lines we got … and it’s an arc without Rhy! Crazy!! :-D I just love the relationship between Ash, Astrid and Jakob so much. God fuck I want what they have. Just maybe without the murder suicide,,,

- - - - -

FOOD

5.) Diese Sonntagsbrötchen wo die Verpackung so plopp macht, wenn man die Folie abzieht Better than normale Brötchen for some reason. Most of the time. See 2.) Look man, I just really love a good breakfast …

4.) Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese topping One of the first things from a certain baking book I tried when I was getting into baking back in 2019. God they are so tasty. I don’t make them often so I don’t get used to them too much and eating them still feels special but ahhhh I love them so much!

3.) Grünkohl mit Kartoffelbrei und Mettendchen One of my favourite things about autumn/winter and one of my biggest comfort foods. God I love this shit so much. I just put … mountains of Grünkohl and Kartoffelbrei on my plate every time and I will just warm it up for four days straight until there’s no more left. It turns me into a fucking caveman. I’m not even big on eating meat but … yeah. Everything is different when there’s Grünkohl.

2.) Normales Brötchen mit Butter und Scheibenkäse aber ich bin beim Frühstücksbuffet im Hotel Oddly specific but that’s just how it is. Sorry. Nichts geht über Brötchen mit Käse.

1.) Chilli-Knoblauch-Nudelauflauf My beloved. My comfort food. I eat it literally every second day. At least one hour in the kitchen every time. Fresh ingredients. My only vegetable intake. And I’ve been doing that for three years. I just love it so much, man. I cook it for everyone who visits me. Chilli-Knoblauch-Auflauf cured my depression.

[randomfandomimagine]

End Of The Year Faves

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!

I was tagged by @myriadimagines and @musicallisto, thank you, lovelies!

10. Zack Fair (FFVII) gif imagine

I really love this one because it’s like the definition of short and sweet. It’s adorable, warm and I think I got Zack’s characterization pretty well and I often reread it when I need a smile. I just love my boy Zack and how this little thing turned out.

9. Connor (DBH) prompt (”I shouldn’t be in love with you”)

The reason I love this one it’s because I wrote it as one of my favorite things to write: a character study. I tried to express Connor’s struggle as he develops feelings for the reader and how conflicted he would be to have fallen in love with someone, having developed such a human thing as feelings. One of the many reasons why I love Connor is because of his arc in the game, because of how guilty he feels for becoming deviant despite being the very android that hunts them, it just gets to me. I’m just really glad that I could explore that in this prompt and that I managed to show it properly as well as make this more angsty, since my specialty is usually fluff.

8. Yennefer (Witcher) prompt (”I shouldn’t be in love with you” “Are you jealous?” “I’m so scared”)

This is the only Yennefer request I’ve ever gotten (besides one for a dating would include that I had already written), and I had so much fun writing it! Yennefer has appeared in my Witcher writings a lot, but never as a main character and never as a love interest, so that’s why this was so cool! I think she’s a very interesting character, so I really enjoyed getting the chance to explore her personality. I love how it turned out because I think it’s the perfect balance between her being sly and also being loving and showing her feelings for the reader. 

7. Too Nice (John Ambrose McClaren, TATBILB ficlet)

John Ambrose is another character I really like writing for. What can I say? I fell in love with him and it was great to write something for him. This is somewhere between love and almost hate, with a lot of misunderstandings and complex feelings that ultimately lead to a happy fluffy ending. He’s just the sweetest and it was curious to write his reactions to someone who doesn’t always respond well to his kindness, even if because it flusters them.

6. Special (Howl Pendragon, HMC ficlet)

And yet another character I love. It was a bit hard settling on just one version of the character, because I love both the movie and book versions, so I tried to make it a little bit of both... even if this Howl is more suave and charming like in the movie rather than the absolute endearing disaster that book Howl is. Still, I always have fun getting other characters involved with the reader and their love interest, so I loved adding Calcifer and Marko to the mix. As well as the cute interactions Howl and reader have, I love the ending in which he hints at the fact that the reader unlocked something in his heart that he didn’t think was possible.

5. Kind (Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad ficlet)

I don’t often get to write about Jesse, so this was awesome! Peekaboo was one of my favorite episodes and it was amazing to get to explore it. While it’s not perfect, I really like how the connection between Jesse and reader turned out, how kind (:D) he is and patient and respectful, and I think I also poured a lot of emotion to the reader with that background.

4. Separated (Zuko, ATLA ficlet)

By this point, it’s obvious that I’m more proud of ficlets (because they’re longer and take more planning and more time and effort) and about characters I love because I think the passion I have for them is more obvious. I wrote this one right when I was watching ATLA because I loved (and still love) Zuko so much. It’s sort of a character study as well (it’s established that I adore writing them) and I’m so glad that I had the idea of getting Iroh involved because he’s awesome. This ficlet just has a lot of pining and repressed emotions that come out in the end and I love it.

3. Weight On His Shoulders (PS4 Peter Parker ficlet)

This one if pretty recent, as I wrote it after beating the game myself. This game is just awesome, and this is my favorite representation of Peter ever. He’s cute, charming, nerdy, loving, kind, a bit awkward and just everything that Peter and Spidey should be (at least for me). I wanted to represent both his personas in this one, and I like the balance I achieved with it as well as the emotions, the pining, the secret identity and in the end the understanding of the reader. The part with Spidey saving reader is great and I’m very happy with how reader is prepared to confront him about it once they learn he’s Spiderman only to change their mind when they see how much it’s weighing on him so they decide to relax with him for a bit.

2. Reunion (Cloud Strife, FFVII ficlet)

I’ve written a lot of things for this fandom this year because I was super inspired after beating the remake with my brother, I loved it (honorable mentions to Heal My Heart and Stars In Your Eyes, two other ficlets that I wrote and I’m very proud of). Cloud has always been one of my favorite characters, and in this one I got to examine a side of him I usually don’t. Not only does this ficlet include Zack Fair (another one of my favorite characters) but it also goes along with an idea I had been thinking about for a long time of a female reader pretending to be a boy to get into SOLDIER and becoming friends with them, but it also shows Cloud as the meeker and shy boy he is in Crisis Core. It was so cool to write about him back then and after once he had joined AVALANCHE. His relationship with the reader was also bittersweet because of their past and it’s just so complex and emotional that I love it, especially their reunion at the end.

1. Soul of a Warrior (Jaskier x Nissa, The Witcher Fanfiction Series). This was a big project, as series always are. I spent several months planning and plotting the story and even more months writing it, and also revising it once it was finished before posting it. I put so much effort, love and time into this series that it absolutely had to be number one. Soul of a Warrior is probably the thing I’m most proud of (that I have written) in 2020. 

As most of you know (my mutuals definitely do, as they have gifted me amazing things with him), Jaskier is probably the character I fangirled the hardest about this year. I wrote many things for him (the ficlet What Would You Do Without Me? deserves another honorable mention because it’s probably my favorite thing I’ve written this year along with the series) and working on each of them has brought me so much serotonin. Jaskier is just such an amazing character, loving and compassionate but cheeky and selfish while at the same time being charming, optimistic, bubbly, extroverted and a huge flirt. So many layers!

But back to the series... Soul of a Warrior had one of the best faceclaims I’ve found, the sweetest friendship between my OC Nissa and Geralt and the slowest of burns romances with Jaskier. Him and Nissa are very similar in some aspects, so much so that they’re both too blind to realize the other’s feelings (idiots to lovers, am I right?) but they care so much about one another. The three of them were strangers, but they become family (found family, another one for the fandom bingo!) and I’m the proudest of how real and organic their relationship feels. Not to mention that their dynamic was super fun to write because Geralt is the only one that knows they’re in love and is so fed up and exasperated with their obliviousness. As well as this, I think I managed to mix action, emotion and depth really well. My secondary OCs feel more alive than others before them, Nissa was pretty complex and coherent and had a true voice of her own, and their part on the story feels important. There are tense moments, cute ones, sad ones, tragic ones... a little bit of everything. I think this one as a lot more angst and whump because I was in a bit of a dark place when I wrote it, but it still has hope and light in it, which I really love. The series also has a lot more violence than what I’m used to, but it was interesting to get out of my comfort zone a bit. 

Overall, not only do I think it’s fun to read, compelling, funny and emotional all at once, I’m just very proud that I managed to write something a little different from what I usually do and feel like I did it well. I put a big part of me in this series and for that reason Soul of a Warrior will always have a special place in my heart 💜

That it’s, sorry if I ranted a bit! I tag anyone who wants to do this!! 

[finalhxaven]

♫

Send 🎵 for a 5-10 song Playlist about our muses! (Still accepting)

oh just shut up, everyone, you KNOW this is my ship.

1. How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox Twenty One 

I sat down on the street and took a look at myself Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well, I guess, we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come

End of the world kind of songs really vibe with these two characters, especially in an au where Zack survives to face Jenova and Meteor head on. There’s a sense of denial that has to come with facing the end of the world, and they have enough of it to go into battle for the sake of fighting for what they believe in. So long as it’s together, they don’t need to have a future. It’s about the here and now, and what they can do for each other in this very moment.

2. Tonight by Seether

Like sugar and cyanide These worlds are gonna collide I want to yell it from the rooftops down Until it's over, and we're older

Their chemistry is raw, it’s simple touches that turn into passionate kisses, and just a single word from one has the other reeling. An incredibly reactive couple belying their own internal struggles that they help one another cope with at the end of the day. But man is it like fireworks with their feelings.

3. We’ll Be Fine by Rebecca Ferguson

When you're lonely Don't be afraid, I'll keep your heart close to mine Lay safe in my arms Lay safe in my armsWhen I'm falling I won't stay down 'Cause I will hold you Lay safe in my arms Lay safe in my arms

They understand better than anyone how to survive by themselves. Many people believe Tifa and Zack respectively can handle anything, but tend to forget that they deserve someone to lean on too emotionally. Someone who can be their balance. So when they start a relationship, there’s tenderness in the way they each speak to one another. Reassurance. Kindness. 

Love.

4. Time Adventure (From Adventure Time)

'Cause you and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then That's why You and I will always be best friends

This one’s special because it gives a bittersweet taste. Both characters are fully aware that nothing lasts forever, but it’s the feelings that are strong enough to transcend time and do magnificent things. (Also this song is just for you Rain in particular uwu)

5. Kokoro (From Xenosaga)

My beating heart begins to race When I turn to see your face I remember that sweet dream which you told to me

I wanted just to be with you So we could make the dream come true And you smiled at me and that was the beginning

Tifa to Zack. All he had to do was plant the thought in her head. “A family. Maybe a house? We could grow our own food and...” That’s all it takes for her, really. This song in particular has a sad ending, and I did that on purpose because there’s always that reminder that Zack’s demise was upsetting in every way, someone with so much love to give and hope in his heart even despite being hardened, deserved much more.

6. Futuristic Imagination by School Food Punishment

Tonight if you listen Tonight if you try You're gonna finally find out why I can't hate you Tonight if you listen You might realize How many bridges I'd dare to burn To keep tonight

TIFA TO ZACK AND IT’S SO SCARY ACCURATE. Tifa is pretty extreme when it comes to love. So while she spent a majority of her energy denying her feelings, at some point it comes to a head that she needs to convey her feelings. And yes, would go to the end of the world for him. This is an english cover that puts her feelings together simplistic with a passionate vocal I think fits Tifa better, but the original japanese has more complexity in the lyrics that fit Tifa’s emotions towards Zack more accurately.

7. No Choir by Florence and The Machine

But the loneliness never left me I always took it with me But I can put it down in the pleasure of your company And there will be no grand choirs to sing No chorus will come in No ballad will be written It will be entirely forgotten And if tomorrow it's all over At least we had it for a moment Oh darling things seem so unstable But for a moment we were able to be still

Love doesn’t fix everything. If you have abandonment issues or depression, that won’t magically go away just by being in love. but Tifa to Zack? She believes in TRYING, even despite her own flaws. Maybe even because she isn’t perfect, that she wants to spend the rest of her life always working on it with him. And at the end of the day, all they want is something quiet and sweet together.

For Your Zack In Particular, Rain: 

1. Modern Age by Anberlin

There is so much left we have to lose here. The more we give away. You just will never keep the promise said. If all we hold is yesterday.

It’s cute to think that Zack has everything together, but the guy’s been through a lot. Just as much loss if not more due to the events in Crisis Core, to the point where morality is too grey for him. But what makes Zack so wonderful is that he continues forward with a path he carves for himself, no matter what the future leads. Yours is the kind to keep moving towards the future.

2.  INFINITY≠ZERO by Nano

Show me how (don't look away, it's a time the world could change) To go on (don't let it go, be the light to shine on) Even if unable to see, I clenched my true heart, Extended my hand, and thereafter.. INFINITY≠ZERO

At first I didn’t get the title of the song when I heard it, but it was only after a couple of listens that I got what it means. INFINITY≠ZERO is a philosophical denial that the only thing eternal is nothingness. And it really hits home with your Zack because even with facing so much dread that brought each First Class Soldier down, he continues to believe in something more. That this world isn’t made of ambiguity towards the end, but can be worth fighting for BECAUSE it can be beautiful. 

3. Battle Cry (From Empire)

And all of my fears... And all of my doubts... Are lacing their boots... And grabbing their guns... The war is on now... Oooh And they're marchin' in... OOOoooh... And they're marchin' in... OOOoooh... And they're marchin' in... Ooooo... I can hear the battle cry At war with my heart and mind

There are complexities in war that aren’t just battle scars. Zack is more than the triumphs he has and the demise he got, because he regularly faces emotional conflict within himself as he learns more and more about what ShinRa is about. His resolve is not absolute, because he must always continue to face himself in order to fight on. Your Zack in every thread we’ve ever had, continues to face these dilemmas with human emotions and responses. And I love that about him.

4. King/Ghost in a Song by Grabbitz

I'm gonna start doing things I think I should 'Cuz I wanna die knowing I did all I could Days and days of restless worry Will I ever change a thing? Leave my mark on endless stories I just want to go out like a king I just want to go out like a...

He’s a king and he’s dead and it’s not okay.

5. Wings by Birdy

Oh, lights go down In the moment we're lost and found And I just wanna be by your side If these wings could fly Oh, damn these walls In the moment we're ten feet tall And how you told me after it all We'd remember tonight For the rest of our lives

Shit wait this was supposed to be Tifa to Zack. I’m such a mess forgive meeeeee

6.Who Tells Your Story by The Roots (From The Hamilton Mixtape)

Memories divided by perception Will it be water for chocolate or resurrection? The path to perfection is rarely achieved I head in that direction, I dream and believe An underground dude that overachieve From the windy city I was blowing they eaves Somewhere along the way I aired out MCs (who lives who dies who tells your story) But to stand out some days you may freeze Degrees

He’s always been a man who thought about legacy. The idea placed as a small seed from Angeal, growing further until full fruition for Zack to pass the same seed unto Cloud. 

But the awareness of mortality is properly achieved in the au of him living, Rain. He grows, he learns, he realizes that in order to continue living you MUST acknowledge death will always be at the doorstep. And that is where he finds cherishing what is all around him so much more prominent in your writing than in the media of him showed. Everyone always thinks of the tragedy, but what of the philosophical dilemma of continuing to live?

@xaksu

[echodrops]

Can we still send ships? Midotsuyu, Kiribaku, Kataang, Zutara, JoxLaurie (don’t know the ship name, little women)

Whoa, there are a lot here, so I’ll just write a little about each one.

MidoTsuyu:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

I quite like Tsuyu and her character. It’s refreshing to see a somewhat blunt female character who speaks her mind, is responsible, level-headed, and great in a crisis. She’s not only cute in her design but also in her reactions to other characters–her straightforward manner of making friends is very endearing to me. Even though she rarely gets as much of the spotlight as she deserves, I think that she and Midoriya could be a fine ship! In particular, I appreciate that if this ship was the main het ship, there probably wouldn’t be a lot beating around the bush and awkward romantic tension such as exists between Izuku and Ochako–Tsuyu seems like the type who would come clean about her feelings fairly quickly. Ha ha, it would honestly be pretty cute to see Midoriya completely flustered by having a girl confess to him–he’d probably melt into a puddle from the heat of his own blush.

I think this ship has a lot of potential and should get more attention from fans–maybe Horikoshi should spend a little more time giving Tsuyu some ship tease with other characters! I’m kind of partial to Ochako/Tsuyu myself.

KiriBaku:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

There are some ships where you just have to ask yourself what the creator’s intent was. Like do you think Horikoshi intended for the fans to like seeing Bakugou and Kirishima together as much as we do? Do you think he sees all the fanarts and asks himself “What have I done?!” or, deep down, do you think that sometimes manga and animation artists create these characters just KNOWING that fans are going to ship them, and secretly embracing that fan reaction, even if they don’t ever actually plan on making the pair canon in actual material? Sometimes when I look at KiriBaku, I just get the feeling that Horikoshi knew what he was doing when he started drawing the two of them together.

I love that Kirishima has zero fear of Bakugou’s threats and crappy attitude, and that he also won’t just allow Bakugou to trample over others. He’s such a good kid whose gentle chiding and constant corrections seem to be improving Bakugou’s mannerisms and helping Bakugou to make genuine friends (however grudging Bakugou seems to be about it lol). Kirishima makes Bakugou a better person just by being around him! But it’s also true in reverse–I don’t know if Bakugou’s really deliberately trying to cheer Kirishima up or just stating what’s on his mind because he’s honest, but Bakugou’s supporting words have been massive motivators for Kirishima, whose greatest weakness has always been his internal feelings of inferiority.

A good, mutually supportive and beneficial ship. A+.

Kataang:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Ten years ago I was not the mature adult I am today, and although I myself was never an active part of the ship war between Zutara and Kataang, I definitely read every single piece of back-and-forth drama between these two ships that I could get my hands on and was vocally on the Zutara side. To be honest, I recall hating Kataang with a burning passion back then. I just disliked everything about it, from the stereotype schoolgirl/schoolboy crush vibe it radiated to the irritating “clingy jealous girl“ scenes that got handed to Katara… Not to mention that, personally, I’ve always found it a bit odd when girls date younger men–I’m sure this is just ingrained societal stereotypes coming out, but… ha ha, is it bad of me to say that I’ve always found men to be less mature than girls? Dating a guy who is your own age can turn into a babysitting gig if he hasn’t got his shit together… Dating a younger guy might be even worse. XD

I felt like a lot of chemistry between these characters was kind of arbitrary… Almost like “Katara has never met any young men who weren’t from her tribe before but now she met someone new and ooh, he’s so cool and different as the Avatar!” There wasn’t anything wrong with Aang–he was sweet and fun and strong. But I could never see what particularly would have attracted someone to him romantically; his vibe and attitude were so explicitly childish through the first half of the story that I never quite got a “romantic” vibe and it kind of made me, as a nearly twenty-year-old viewer, a little uncomfortable to even try to imagine a twelve-year-old in a romantic light. I feel like a lot of the Kataang shippers might have been on the younger end, and therefore more likely to see Aang as a reflection of themselves?

In any case, as a more responsible adult, I definitely have learned my lessons on shipping and letting others ship–if Kataang is your cup of tea, more power to you guys! I was never my ship, but I can respect other people’s love for it.

Zutara:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Obviously if you’re not a Kataang shipper, you’re a Zutara shipper. I don’t make the rules, just abide by them. Zutara was my bread and butter for as long as Avatar was on TV. I remember calling my friend up on the good old house phone with a cord I had to stretch to the max just to see the TV and talk at the same time, wailing about all the ship tease scenes for this ship. I still remember the heartbreak I felt when watching the ending of the last season and knowing that Kataang was incoming. I remember grumbling through every Zuko/Mai scene wondering why in the hell the creators hated Zuko so much they’d throw him together with someone so ambivalent as Mai…

I love red/blue, fire/water, opposites-in-balance ships, always have and always will. I love the imagery, I love their motifs, I love the personalities that come along with these kind of elementally-aligned characters; I love the weight and automatic tension coding two characters with these colors or other opposite features brings and how creators can bank on these archetypes to add additional depth to character interactions–there’s just something very tidy and pleasing about color-coded ships.

Not to mention all the other wonderful aspects of this ship. I really wanted to see this one in canon. Alas…

Jo/Laurie:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

LOOK MAN. I might not have read Little Women since elementary school but you do not forget the perfection that is Jo and Laurie, the most perfect ship that never was. Screw you Louisa May Alcott, I’ll never forgive you.

I feel like, when you’re young and you read books, there’s that moment where you come across your first “real” romance, the first relationship where you go from seeing relationships as “blech, something for adults” to “this is why all the adults make such a big deal out of getting married because THEY’RE IN LOVE”–in some ways, what we read or see depicted to us through media early on in life becomes our lens for viewing and judging later relationships, and having Little Women as an early example of romance has definitely had a profound effect on my tastes and definitions of romance throughout the years, I feel.

Jo and Laurie had no right to never get together. It actually feels cruel, thinking about it in retrospect. How could their destiny be denied so coldly?! I’m getting sad just thinking about this lol.

Jo and Laurie were each other’s best friends, the absolute picture of “kindred spirits”–they understood each other, delighted in each other’s wit, and supported each other through the doubts and drama. There was an air about them that they existed in a world all their own, that they were just two very different people from all the other characters, who saw eye-to-eye in a way that others couldn’t touch and who brought out the best–and sometimes worst–in each other in a very vivid and human way.

They felt real, lovable, enjoyable, and made for each other.

And then it never happened. I’m going to leave my dissatisfied fan letter on Alcott’s grave, dammit.

[mmkelleywrites]

Call Upon Your God

My best friend growing up was obsessed with God. His family never struck me as particularly Jesus-y, but Art took it hook, line and sinker. He was always reading one of the books of the Bible. Even some more strange books, like Enoch. I remember when I mentioned I'd never heard of them, he just shrugged and said most sects considered them non-canon.

The strangest things about him were, in no particular order, that he was friends with me, and his obsession with meeting God. I've always been a godless heathen, for lack of a better word. He never seemed to care, and honestly I enjoyed the Bible stories he had to tell me. Weird shit, like Jesus banishing a dragon, Angels breeding with humans and making monstrosities. You know, *weird shit.*

Towards the end of highschool, I lost track of Art. I spent some time in and out of mental health facilities. Some of the people I met in those years really liked the stories I remembered from Art. Sometimes because of the absurdity, but some of them found some hope somewhere in there too. When I finally got home, Art was there waiting for me. Bright, full of Christ and with cookies from his mom.

It was like we never parted. He was extremely excited that he’d gotten into Bob Jones University. I laughed at him when he mentioned “B.J.U.” He ignored my crude humor, as always. I guess they have a program that’s very intensive in Bible studies. I asked him about meeting God. He was still as convinced as when we were ten.  After my stint in the facilities, I thought to ask, “Does that mean you want to die?”

“No!” he snapped.

        An awkward silence, then he apologized for being snappy. He calmly explained that if he were to kill himself, or possibly even die purposely, that he’d risk not going to the Pearly Gates. Of course he prayed,  and volunteered, and really anything he could do to emulate people who’d been Saints. He was working soup kitchens, advocating for AIDS patients, donating as much as his little job would let him to the homeless, and with all of that going on still manage to help out at the women’s shelter. He really latched on to the “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” bit from the big guy.

    Is it any surprise he hadn’t met God? I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but at the same time, I admired the difference he was making in the world. He called me on my lunch break one day. In one of his religion classes at BJU, the discussion apparently shifted to inmates. Someone said they’d heard a lot of death row inmates suddenly find God once their fate is sealed. In typical Art fashion, he wedged visiting inmates into his schedule. He passed those stories onto me, too. Some of them were absolutely proud of their crimes. No remorse, they nearly pissed themselves laughing at the mention of the Lord or salvation. There were those who’d seeked out salvation. Not all of them through religion, but many of them had. He focused on those. Even the ones who seemed to absolutely believe found it laughable that God had actually come to them. Disappointed, but he added “Prison Ministry” to his resume of good deeds and kept that a few days a month, too.

    I don’t really know if it was the same class, but discussion turned towards, “there are no atheists in a fox hole.” It was like he had been sitting on top of the solution the whole time. He dropped everything and joined the service. Three tours. Afghanistan once, Iraq twice. Assignments everyone else thought were crazy, he was the first in line. Every time he came back, he was the exact same Art. I honestly don’t know if he killed anyone over there. I didn’t want to ask, and he never seemed interested in talking about that part of his job. Eventually, he gave that up, and went back to BJU, this time on a GI Bill.

    I got the impression he wasn’t very strict with himself on his attendance this time around. He was digging into more of the “non-canon” books again. I’m not sure where he found it, but he kept talking about doing works in the name of God as a means of transformation. Art said he was still figuring it out, but that he was starting to see all of the work he’d put in trying to meet God as a means of personal transformation. Service as a chrysalis, he said.

    After that, I never knew when we’d talk. He’d call or show up at all hours of day, exhausted, but somehow invigorated at the same time. I kind of figured maybe he’d had some kind of existential crisis that lead into drugs and drinking. I’d seen it in the facilities, and he certainly fit the archetype that I’d seen do that. I just tried to be there for him as best I could. I tried to bring it up, maybe save him like he’d always tried for me. He swore up and down that he wouldn’t touch anything like that.

    This part of the story is where my details get murky. A rash of murders ripped through our city. Art was the final victim.  There were eight victims in total. The first person was an investment broker. He was plastered all over the news for very likely accusations of embezzlement. They came to raid his condo, expecting that he’d skipped town when he failed to meet his court date. No one was prepared for him, boiled in oil in his hottub. The murderer had broken in, put extra heating elements into the tub and refilled it with vegetable oil. They found two rare coins balanced on his eyes.

    The next victim was similarly high profile. A nationally syndicated personality, known for spewing vitriol and outrage. He targeted anyone outside of his political circle. The person responsible caught him early in the morning going into the studio. The aide that usually arrived at the same time was running late that early morning. The sound proof studio made sure no one heard what must have been a horrific racket. He was chopped, limb from limb. It must have been done quickly, because he had still been gasping for his final breaths when the aide found him. He was too far gone to give a description of his assailant. The camera’s only caught a person in all black, like one of those ANTIFA protesters from recently. No forensic data was recovered.

    The third victim is what started suggestions of more than one killer. The local news reported the wife of the second victim had been found dead in their home. They found her inside of a python. The small video clip of their house showed a small wine cellar that was only accessible from the kitchen. The person, or persons, must have broken in during the funeral and dumped a menagerie of snakes into the cellar after removing the ladder back into the kitchen. They’d removed the hatch and put the rug back over it. When she came home, she fell into Indiana Jones’ nightmare. Copperheads, water moccasins, pythons, cobras, an anaconda that came up missing from the zoo. It was a hateful death sentence. An expert from the zoo said that, if they hadn’t found her for awhile, there may have been nothing left in the python, as they digest bones and all.

    Number four was our Congressman. Not a hometown hero, but not a villain either. He had a passion for expensive wines and dinners. Expensive outings, mostly at the expense of corporations buying his votes. He had been nailed down to a chair in his study. The coroner noted small cuts inside of his mouth, that they chalked up to the rats that had apparently been force-fed to him while live. There were also toads and snakes slithering and hopping around the study, and remnants of them in his stomach at the time of the autopsy.

    At this point, people were mortified. Who was doing this? Comments on the local news’ website for these stories ran the gambit between praising someone for taking out the trash and admiration for their creativity in problem to disgust that no one could catch the person responsible for the depravity and being terrified that it would never stop. The fifth killing flew under the radar, but is now believed to be the fifth in the series of killings. An adult entertainment convention happened through town. One of the actresses was found burned alive in the alley along the hotel she was staying in.

    The sixth victim is where these killings started to find their links cemented past speculation. I personally knew this guy. Art did, as well. He was a science teacher we both had in high school, Mr. Fink. A very capable man, but full of himself to a fault. He was convinced he was God’s gift to everyone. If you cornered him being wrong, he simply gaslighted you into thinking that he was right the whole time. They found him strapped to a waterwheel. Official cause of death? Drowning. They think he rotated on the wheel for days before being found. Someone noticed that all of these were the Hell-bond’s punishments for the Capital Sins.

    They found the last two victims together. Art’s neighbor, Jim. He’d always spent so much of his life trying to one up Art’s family. They got a new car? He bought a boat the next week. Art got into BJU? His son was going to MIT. Art always ignored it. He said if you let the envy bother you, you’re just being prideful, and that’s just as bad. His wife found him in their chest freezer. It had been emptied, filled with water and he’d been forced in. The lid was weighed down with cinder blocks to prevent his escape. He was locked in a block of ice.

    Art was there, too. The police haven’t been able to figure out why he was there. His flesh was singed and his torso was split from neck to pelvis. Since we were so close, I got a chance to see his remains. It reminded me of a used cocoon, a spent husk laying on the garage floor. There wasn’t much left, some bone and flesh. The organs were gone. I did some reading, Art’s death wasn’t a punishment for sin, but Jim’s was. I haven’t heard from Art, but I get this feeling in my chest that he’s out there. Maybe he met God, maybe he turned into what he’d been worshiping all this time?

[mercyimagines-blog]

F.U. Part 2

Part 2 of this was highly requested a while back, so here it is and it’s officially my debut piece in writing for the first time in a while! I hope you guys are appeased with it and if you aren’t, then don’t read it? lol

Word Count: 1,817

Part one > here

-

It was only the third week.

The last three weeks have been a blur of ice cream, tears, friends and declining his calls.

Whenever he called, he would leave a message, always.

Whenever he left a message, you would listen, always.

Was it healthy? Of course it fucking wasn't, but what the hell were you to do?

Your eyes burned from the tears that left your tear ducts, staring at the little red notification by the phone icon. You knew you shouldn't, but you always did.

Delicately raising the phone to your ear, his voice deafened you with regret.

"Hey, Y/N. It's me, again. You're obviously listening to these because your mailbox isn't full. Or maybe, you're just deleting them and not listening to them which means everything I'm saying is going unheard. That's cool too, I guess. I just....I'm — I don't really know what I'm doing anymore I guess. It's obvious that you're not wanting to talk right now. When you do though, please give me a call. I want to talk to you, I'm....I'm sor—"

The machine cut him off, leaving him in a slight state of panic.

He sighs deeply, trying to hold it together, when really, he was absolutely broken. That was his own doing, and would be absolutely wrong to blame you for something he did; something he unapologetically did without thinking of the consequences.

The consequences being losing you.

It was a fucked up decision he made once, that he did again, and again, and again, until you finally caught on with him being more than careless with the evidence.

But losing you, had been the biggest mistake of his entire life, unfortunately it took him too long to realize that.

He clears his throat and presses his finger pads against his eyes, pushing them in until he sees spots in the dark.

"Fuck," he quietly whines.

Before he had any sane thought run through his head, he picks his phone up off the bed, dialing your number, again.

"Hey, this is Y/N. You've reached my voicemail, so please leave a message."

Beep.

"It's me, again. My other message got cut off and I just wanted to say that I was sorry. I know you're mad and don't want to speak to me, but I just....I need to hear your voice and know that you know how sorry I am. I honestly think I'll go crazy or die or do something stupid if I think you don't know how I really feel. I know, I was a vicious asshole and I...I'm just sorry, okay? Call me, please."

You slam your phone across the room, choking on a sob. You need this to stop, you need time to heal. And he's not going to let you do that, which begins to simultaneously piss you off and sadden you.

This needs to end.

By the time a month swings around, the amount of phone calls and texts have started to dwindle, but haven't stopped.

At this point, you've considered getting a new number, needing some peace and quiet from your ex-boyfriend. You have to give him props though, he's passionate about what he wants — but what he wants can't be you anymore.

He's just finished a couple of press junkets in Japan, returning home and catching eye of a lot of the social media news pages. What’s caught your eye, was how unkempt he looked, obviously not taking care of himself to his full potential.You were worried about him, of course, but he wasn’t yours to worry about anymore and to your dismay, you cannot escape him.

"Has he tried to call you today?" Your mother asks, biting into a fry from her fingers.

"No," you respond, pushing your sandwich around the plate.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but he called me twice yesterday." You sigh, sitting back in your chair. "I can't do this anymore." You say softly, exasperated. "I just want him to leave me alone and he doesn't get that!"

Your mother looks at you with worried eyes, but doesn't say anything and picks up her plate to bring to the kitchen.

A knock rings throughout the one story home shortly after, breaking the silence and getting you out of your seat.

  There he is.

"Shawn? What the hell are you doing here?" You say angrily, shutting the door quickly behind yourself so your mother wouldn't hear the two of you.

"Y/N, god it's good to see you."

"You need to leave."

"You're not answering my calls." Shawn frowns, his hazel eyes drooping.

"I haven't for the past month." You cross your arms, averting your gaze from the broken man in front of you. You're not responsible for how sad and miserable he looks in front of you, he did this to himself.

He's the one that cheated on you, multiple times, not you.

He's the one that acted like a manipulative bastard, not you.

"Why?" He whispers, his brows furrowing together.

"Because I don't want to!" You snap, opening your door. "Shawn, I swear, if you try and call me again or come to my house —" Think of something, Y/N! You didn't like what came to your head first, but you said it, anyway. "I will get a restraining order."

"Baby, please—"

"I mean it, Shawn. Stop calling."

And the door slams.

He stays standing and staring at your front door for a good two minutes, before he finally walks away, tears stinging his eyes.

He finally got to see you, yet you barely looked at him the whole time and obviously he knew that was his fault. But, a restraining order? Had he really been that bad? All he wanted was to explain and apologize, and you wanted a restraining order.

That practically ripped him apart at the core. You were - are the love of his life and sure, he took advantage of that and broke your heart. But, he loves you, and god damn it, he never wanted to hurt you. It was an accident the first time and then it became habit, ripping his morals apart at the seams.

Although he hated the thought, he left. He did want the best for you, no matter what you believed.

It had been eleven months.

Eleven long, dreadful months.

Eleven exuberant, freeing months.

You had spent time with your family, who missed the positive vibes that radiated from you, since leaving the relationship that was a spinning vortex of toxicity.

You missed him, no doubt.

You missed the way he used to hold you, as if you were the last thing on earth that was precious and delicate.

You missed your movie nights together where you and him would wrap yourselves in blanket burritos and start popcorn fights.

You missed his soft touches against your skin.

You missed his family.

You missed his lips upon yours.

You missed him quietly singing to you in the dark, when you couldn’t sleep.

You missed it all.

You didn't miss the way where you began to distrust him.

However, you were finally happy and able to move on, not hearing anything from him in a long time.

For the first two weeks after your break up, he of course tried to contact you; he wouldn't listen to your numerous attempts telling him to stop calling, texting, and coming around your house. All he wanted to to was to apologize and explain himself, but you wanted nothing to do with him. Why he didn't get that?

He finally stopped trying to contact you, when you threatened with police and a restraining order — which absolutely broke your heart to do. You would never do such a thing, but it got him to stop trying to get in touch with you.

And to this very day, you haven't heard from him. It's been almost a year since you called it quits, this is probably the happiest you've been since the start of your relationship with him.

He's been off doing tours and writing new music; the only glimpses of him you get is on his Instagram and in interviews you are sometimes able to catch on TV or YouTube. He looks like he's been doing well, and he looks good too. You're proud.

You haven't seen him since that day he showed up to your house, and there's a tiny piece of you that wishes he would pick up the phone and give you a call.

Obviously, if it had been eleven months ago, you wouldn't pick up.

But, if he called you today, you would probably answer, knowing he's changed.

You're currently getting your life back together, after the whole thing shattered, leaving you in only pieces. You have a stable job, you have a stable life, and you've made new friends - recovering from the crisis you set in for a minute, a couple of months ago.

The bell rings at the door and you head out to the front of the bakery, adjusting your apron.

"Hi there, what can I get for you?" You smile, and then you see him for the first time in almost a year.

He looks....really good, healthy, glowing. His beautiful hazel eyes stare at the board above you, his large hands reaching for the wallet tucked in his back pocket of the holey black jeans. His dark blue v-neck stretches tight around his biceps and his black ray-bans sit neatly on top of his curly hair.

"Shawn?" You say, surprised.

His eyes immediately flicker down to yours, pausing momentarily.

"Hey, Y/N." he lets out a breath, giving you a small smile.

"Hey." You respond, swallowing thickly. "Um...what can I get for you?" Your heavy heart pounds against the bones that cradle it, wow, you've missed him.

"Two blueberry muffins, please." You laugh, knowingly, grabbing the tongs inside the case.

"What's so funny?" He smirks, quirking his head, resting a ten dollar bill against the counter.

"Nothing, you just — you haven't changed." You say, pulling the muffins out and putting them into a pastry bag.

Shawn pauses for a second, closing his mouth.

"I have changed."

That sentence, struck you in the heart.

"I believe you." You reply, sliding the muffins his way.

He gradually grasps the muffins, spinning on his heel to walk out — when Shawn stops.

"Do you think that you would ever want to talk?" Shawn speaks, his brows furrowing together. "Like hang out, catch up?"

You smile at this statement.

"I would love to," you tell him, genuinely.

"Give me a call, sometime, okay?"

"Will do, same number?" He asks and you nod.

"Then I guess I'll be calling you later."

"I'll wait for your call." And then he takes off, leaving you feeling content in all ways possible.

Two days later, he called.

-

and that was part two of F.U.! I apologize if some things seemed a little choppy - I wrote this in a twenty three hour car ride home from Utah lol. I tried to fix most of it, but some may still be choppy - sorry dudes and dudettes. ALSO, I am 100% sure Shawn would never cheat on his girlfriend, it’s just a story, man.

[themattress]

The GOOD things about the OUAT Finale

The finale for the sixth season and original series of Once Upon a Time was sadly not on par with previous finales (save for Season 5′s) nor the ideal series finale it could have been.  But with that said, there were several positive aspects to it and I think they are worth looking at.

The Parallels - While the literal usage of the Dark Curse in order to give a sense of coming full circle was groan-worthy, there were many great parallels to the first season that came along with it such as Emma and Henry’s relationship, the evil gaslighting female mayor, Snow and Davd’s kiss and following exchange, the place they were married, Emma’s old apartment, Henry getting a sword from Mr. Gold just like Emma did in the finale, and of course the role-reversed True Love’s Kiss between Emma and Henry. That all worked.

Mayor Fiona - Fiona as the Black Fairy was a pretty lame villain, even with Jamie Murray doing her best in the role.  The awkward attempts to portray her as the Ultimate Evil and sheer unoriginality of combining many past Big Bad traits into one character left me very unimpressed.  But strangely enough, as the mayor of her cursed Storybrooke, Fiona finally became genuinely scary and despicable to me.  How seamlessly she could adopt the mask of being a kind, caring person made her even more hateful than the over-the-top Mayor Mills of Season 1, and her absolute psychotic conviction that all of her manipulative villainy was for a just cause made her frightening.  In the end, she was actually a pretty decent final foe.

The Multiversal Apocalypse - Even though the reason for it happening made absolutely no freaking sense (Why is the existence of all the realms suddenly bound to the Savior’s belief?), I still loved the stakes and intensity that it brought to the finale.  It was also a fantastic visual.  The image of a darkness consuming the world brings to mind the Nothing from The Neverending Story, which makes perfect sense for a show like this to reference. 

Operation Cuckoo’s Nest - Thank you, Henry. Finally a real nod to the fact that the psyche ward nurse and janitor are so clearly Nurse Ratched and Chief Bromdan from that story.

Hook’s Speech - In front of the beanstalk where the Captain Swan relationship officially began, Hook makes a passionate speech to David that sums up exactly why the couple, despite the missteps made with it in the past two seasons, is so great.  They weren’t some pre-destined pair that was guaranteed a happy ending by fate (the kind of relationship that Swanfire shippers insist that their ship was), it was two people who had to fight for their love and earn their happy ending.  Even better, Hook acknowledges the fact that is barely talked about in-show and out of it: that he and Emma made each other better.  Previously the show had been acting as if was just the love of a good woman than changed a bad man, while certain fans seem to think that Hook made Emma worse since S1 Emma is the pinnacle of strength and badassery (more on that later…), but in fact both characters have helped develop and improve one another over the course of their relationship. That is why CS > all.

Captain Charming - Following up from this, Hook and David’s beanstalk adventure and the reflection it shows on how their relationship has developed is beautiful.  If you ignore the bullshit retcon about Hook killing David’s father like the show does once its purpose of contrived temporary angst has been served, then the Hook/David bromance has been one of the show’s most endearing bonds over several seasons, and it culminates with the exchange where David admits to Hook that “he’s not trusting a pirate, he’s trusting his son….in-law.” 

Rumple’s Comical Misogyny - Rumple has always been a misogynist and usually it’s disgusting, but in both episodes of this finale it crosses the line into flat-out hilarity.  The first is when Fiona, after some dramatic build-up, reveals the supposed fate of Belle under this curse to him.  She has dared to pull a Milah, leaving her family to actually pursue her own dreams and sustain her own well-being by travelling the world!  Rumple’s horrified face as he looks through the obviously Photoshopped selfies of Belle at foreign landmarks is priceless. The second is when Rumple kills Fiona.  Not only is this another woman to add to his body count, but it’s his own mother!  Rumple’s habit of killing women who oppose him has finally reached the point where he kills the very woman whose womb he came from, the very woman who birthed him!  Again, his expression after this deed coupled with his shaking arm is hilarious, as if even he realizes just how fucked up his murderous misogyny has gotten!

The Book Burning Scene - The closing scene of Part 1, where Emma burns the Once Upon a Time storybook all while shit is getting real back in the Enchanted Forest, is excellently shot and scored.  I especially like when Fiona is to the side of Emma, tempting her, with flames seen just below her to signify how devilish she is, and when Emma sees the burning page of Hook’s picture which triggers something in her subconscious memory. It’s True Love, people.

“Hello there, Mummy” - Just…that line from Hook to Snow.  Best line in the whole finale.

The Evil Queen - One of the biggest surprises in the finale was the return of the Evil Queen who had been split from Regina and served as the main antagonist for the first half of the season.  Not only was the plot hole of her previous “happy ending” addressed (it wasn’t safe for her in the Wish Realm), but she proved to be noble and self-sacrificing in a way that Regina seldom has been.  I mostly liked the Evil Queen earlier in the season, and her performance in this finale just reinforces my firm belief that like with Jekyll and Hyde, it’s the alleged “dark” part who is truly the better half.  I can actually get behind her happy ending.

Gideon Gold - I never cared for Gideon throughout this season.  He was a whiny psycho who lacked charisma when he first showed up, and the retcon that his heart was being controlled by the Black Fairy still didn’t endear me to him.  But, like his surrogate mother, he was actually more effective here.  First he was a complete asshole under the curse which helped show how bad Fiona and what she has done is, then he was hilarious with his befuddled reactions to Fiona ranting on about magic and having his heart, and finally he was a truly sympathetic figure, forced to be a puppet who had to fight and kill Emma even when he didn’t want to, a huge improvement over his “I wanna be the Savior!” crap from before.  I actually felt for him, and was glad that he was reset into a baby, giving him another chance.

Emma’s Character Development - Whenever people say they want “Season 1 Emma” back, they seldom mean the Emma who had great plot relevancy who got to be the hero, nor the Emma who saw Regina for the sociopath that she was and stood up to her.  No, they mean they want the shallowly “badass” Emma who was cold and muted in her emotional reactions, wore leather jackets all the time, punched people, said snarky things to everyone, and who was cynical and unbelieving in magic…and who was also a sad, pathetic loner. She was someone with no life beyond her job, had no friends because she pushed everyone away with her “walls”, and refused to believe in magic that she was at the center of because her self-esteem was so low that she refused to believe she had any such worth.  All that bluster about “punching back and saying ‘this is who I am’?  Just a way to repress what she truly thought of herself: as an unlovable orphan.  In this finale, they brought Season 1 Emma back, were not subtle about how negative a person she was, and then showed just how she’s changed for the better.  Even when cursed to regress back to her Season 1 self, all of Emma’s development doesn’t just disappear.  It’s still there in her subconscious, and thus she ends up doing something the actual Season 1 Emma would never have done - believe in Henry and believe in herself because she wants to be the kind of magical hero he insists that she is and she’s willing to take a chance on becoming that hero. She’s truly punching back - against her own bleak outlook - and defining who she is: the Savior, giver of hope and light.

Rumple Beside Himself - Why did it take until the last episode for Rumple in his present-day Mr. Gold identity to stand opposite from his manic, sparkly past alter-ego?  Given how the Dark One was established to work in Season 5, this felt like a much more natural thing to have happen than Regina and the Evil Queen sharing screentime together.  Robert Carlyle is fantastic in both roles, as Rumple is tempted by his own dark side into once again making the wrong choice and screwing everyone over, but for some reason or other, he’s not having any of it this time and does the right thing.  This doesn’t redeem him by a long shot, especially since the current crisis is his own fault, but it’s nice to see him take a stand all the same.

The Final Battle - Fiona may go out in an anticlimactic way, but she does leave behind a pretty ingenious trap: she gives Gideon’s heart the command for him to kill Emma at all costs. If Emma is killed, then light magic as embodied by her will die.  If Emma kills Gideon, who is an innocent victim, it will cause light magic to die too!  In a callback to 6x02, Regina says Emma can find the third way that she could not when faced with a similar situation when the Charmings were attacked by the heart-controlled Edmond Dantes.  She finds that third way by allowing Gideon to stab her in order to save him, hoping that a self-sacrifice like this will spare light magic.  At the same time, Rumple gives Gideon’s heart the command to not kill Emma, which can’t fully override Fiona’s command but causes his stab to curse her rather than irretrievably kill her.  And because good as represented by the Savior and evil as represented by the almost-Savior both did the right thing, both combatants of the Final Battle are able to survive it.  I’ll admit it - that’s actually some decent writing. Still, I’d rather Rumple have died as a part of his contribution, since it’s pretty galling that he gets off scot-free. 

The Closure - The happy ending montage is beautiful…for the most part, anyway.  The “Swan-Mills Family” pandering moment is ridiculous, and Regina and Rumple’s big scenes are morally twisted and infuriating.  But the closing scenes for Snow, David, Emma and Hook are all perfect, with the first couple finally getting a better house complete with a barn and David’s old dog, and the second couple patrolling the streets as sheriff and deputy, with the hilarious added detail of a siren put on the yellow bug.  And if you’re actually able to stomach the presence of Regina, Zelena, Rumple and Belle, then the final shot of the big family dinner at Granny’s is pretty touching as well, especially when it turns into the final page of the book. 

[sportsandrec]

It’s Always Sunny is the Best Cartoon on Television

The show’s long tenure is a credit from its cartoonish qualities

In its twelfth season, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is continually putting out good television. They’re not stopping anytime soon either, with FXX already committed to the show through season 14. Not to mention the network’s big big brother Fox just started up a comedy starring Dee, err sorry, I mean Kaitlyn Olson playing a character almost exactly like Dee.

Seriously, you cannot convince me the idea for the Mick was anything other than someone watching Sunny and going, “What if we took Dee and made her the main character? But instead of having a bunch of guys her age shit on her, we’ll put her in charge of a family and have the kids shit on her!” Here’s the thing: it works. I’m loving the Mick. But here’s the much more incredible thing:

A company took a show running on its “Are we allowed to air this???” network and made a knock-off version for its major network.

That has to be about as successful as a show on a knock-off knock-off cable network can get. Does anyone remember when the show moved from FX to launch FXX? The show was so successful, they launched an entire network on its back. So on its way to being one of the longest-running live-action comedies on television, what is it that allowed the show to reach heights typically only reached by the likes of the Simpsons and Family Guy?

Probably because it is more like a cartoon than any other live-action comedy in history.

A bold statement? Sure, considering there is a lot of television out there I’ve never watched. However, I’m prepared to back up such a bold statement with uncompromising opinions masquerading as circumstantial evidence.

There are two major elements of a cartoon. First, there’s the ability to shed the limits of reality. In a cartoon, you have more leeway to commit unrealistic acts. People already see the characters aren’t real. In fact, cartoonists often add to that sense by giving characters odd noses, misfingered hands, or even a football-shaped head so big there’s no possible way it could have come out of a human vagina. These characteristics further remove us from the restraints of reality, so when something talks that shouldn’t or someone doesn’t die who should’ve, we’ve already accepted it as alternative fact. (sorry)

So where does Sunny fall on this scale? Um, have you seen the first episode of the twelfth season? (If you haven’t guessed by now there will be some spoilers in this article). Not only did the Gang Go Black, they went musical. It wasn’t the first time they’ve gone musical either. And I know, a lot of comedies sprinkle musical and other themed episodes into their repertoire.

Scrubs did a great job with themed episodes and fantasy sequences. That 70s Show was an entire series with a theme, and it used that setting to put its own spin on fantasies. Community is probably the closest to Sunny in the way it used themed episodes. (It’s no accident a former Community writer is now on the Sunny writing team). But in Sunny, when they do themes they go to a darker place than most other shows are willing to stoop.

There was an episode where they thought Mac was a serial killer. Then it turned out he was dating a transgender person. Then they were in the home of the actual serial killer who had 15 heads in his refrigerator. The killer came home and Frank fired up a chainsaw. They cut to credits, never addressing it in the next episode. Does that episode description sound like something from a sitcom or a cartoon?

The second element of cartoon television is lack of character development. People might make jokes about cartoon characters never aging, but it’s what gives show-runners the freedom to use the same characters successfully for decades. Every episode they hit the reset button. Yes, there’s callbacks and recurring story lines. But for the most part, everything that happened in a half hour episode will be completely forgotten by the time the next half hour airs a week later.

This is incredibly difficult to do in a live-action show. In Scrubs, medical interns get promoted. In That 70s Show, high schoolers graduate. Diddo in Community for college students. In Sunny, bar owners didn’t have to do anything. In fact, in twelve years they’ve done absolutely nothing. Absolutely. Nothing.

Oh, excuse me, in season 2 Frank bought the land the bar was on, placing him above Charlie, Mac and Dennis as owners and establishing him as part of the gang. So they made one change, and it was in order to write in Danny Devito - the biggest No Brainer of all time. Sure, they’ve crashed some cars and burned some apartments but nothing that would severely interfere with the half hour reset rule.

How did they do this? It’s because rather than develop their characters, they established them early on. When I try to get someone new to watch the show, I’ll show them the first episode and then I’ll show them “The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis” from season 4. It’s nothing against the rest of the first season, but when the gang solves the gas crisis the show embraces the caricatures most shows try to avoid. Yet, all of these character archetypes are done with the sadistic It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia twist.

Frank - the muscle

Network: “Okay, well you’ve got to have the father-figure.”

IASIP: “Okay… but what if he’s a shady businessman who hates being a father? What if it turns out he’s not the father at all? OOO! What if instead he’s the father of someone else in the show and he refuses to acknowledge it because he made the mother get a cheap abortion that didn’t take and he insists the mother is a whore and the father could be anybody? Yeah that’s good, write that down.”

Dennis - the looks

Network: “There has to be a good looking guy, the charming one.”

IASIP: “Right… oh, but what if we make him a sociopath? Like he’ll have these way too elaborate schemes to get women. And some of the girls will be way too young, it will be really creepy and gross. He could also imply girls will have sex with him because they fear what would happen if they didn’t! He’ll even fly off the handle every once in awhile so people will question if he actually is a rapist ! Yeah write that down.”

Network: “Are you talking about Trump?”

IASIP: “No no, you said good looking. He’ll still be good looking.”

Network: “Oh okay, that’s fine then.”

Charlie - the Wild Card

Network: “How about the dumb guy?”

IASIP: “Hmm… yeah but we still want him to be a terrible person. Maybe not as terrible as the rest of the group because he’s too stupid to be quite so terrible, but still pretty bad. Oh! And every now and then, he is like the master schemer!”

Network: “I don’t know, the dumb guy being smart for an episode has been done before.”

IASIP “Right… okay, well we’ll do it better by making him REALLY dumb. Like I’m talking full on illiterate. And he’ll be weird too. Real weird. He’ll be the one who survived the abortion for the father guy! And he’ll sleep on the same BED with that guy! No not bed, FUTON! And he’ll talk about ghouls and a Night Man and a movie about a giant nose on top of Dolph Lundgren’s body! Write THAT down!”

Network: “Perfect.”

(Notice how the network went from wanting the archetypes in the beginning to “this is gold, what else you got?” That’s how you do it. You write television so good you turn the demanders into beggars.)

Dee - the useless chick

Network: “We need a useless chick.”

IASIP: “Done.”

Mac - the brains

Network: “Alright, I think we’ve got a great framework here. But I still feel we need someone else, the man of action. The one who schemes and gets the group into difficult situations.”

IASIP: “Aren’t we using the good looking guy and dumb guy for that?”

Network: “Well the good looking guy’s schemes are mostly about getting women, so it won’t necessarily involve everyone. And you can’t have your dumb guy scheming too often or he’ll no longer seem like the dumb guy. You need another one. The passionate one.”

IASIP: “Gotchya… AHA! WE’LL MAKE HIM GAY!”

Network, disappointingly rolling eyes: “The passionate gay guy? That’s the best you got?”

IASIP: “Oh but don’t worry, he’ll be terrible too. He’ll be passionate about all of the wrong things. He’ll be racist and sexist, and he’ll say being gay is sinful. Meanwhile he’s hooking up with transgender people and constantly talking about men’s bodies in a sexual way. He’ll even have an exercise bike where he’ll cut a hole in the bike and there will be an object coming out of the seat towards his butt, but he still won’t come out of the closet.”

Network: “Gee, I don’t know I think at the end of the bike episode he would HAVE to come out of the closet.”

IASIP:  “… Yeah I think you’re right on that one. But we’ll leave it kind of open, where he might go back in the closet in a future episode. Oh, and the kicker will be that the rest of the characters, despite how terrible people they are, will have no problem with him being gay. It will show the homophobes that even the worst people we could come up with aren’t as bad as them.”

Network: thinking

Network: “Well, we love it. We’ll sign you up for 20 seasons.”